Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG002704
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00:09 It's been 2000 years since the glorious light of the cross 00:12 illuminated the world veiled in darkness and confusion about 00:16 the character of God. And still today the greatest need of 00:19 mankind is a revelation of God's love as revealed in the life of 00:23 Christ. Amazing facts presents the everlasting gospel with 00:28 Pastor Doug Batchelor coming to you each week from 00:30 Sacramento Central Church in sunny California. Discover 00:33 hidden treasures in God's word today. 00:39 A happy Sabbath friends. Good to see each of you there. We pray 00:46 you will pray for me as I speak this morning. I have an 00:52 important subject and you might think, Pastor Doug why would 00:56 you dedicate time Sabbath morning worship service to 01:01 something like this. I ask you to hear me out and I think 01:05 you'll better understand. I remember when I was a boy one of 01:09 the highlights of my youth was maybe once or twice a week 01:13 I would be given a box of crackerjacks. Some of you 01:19 remember when there wasn't the proliferation of candy, 01:23 choices that we have today. There were only a few things 01:26 you could get, a Babe Ruth, a box of crackerjacks and I forget 01:30 what else, Hershey bar and what was the best thing about the 01:35 crackerjacks? The prize inside. And every now and then of course 01:39 they'd have to upgrade their prizes. And I remember at one 01:42 point they went through a series of prizes that were 01:45 charms. You had to get your own bracelet but they would supply 01:50 these little, and they were probably plastic, charms that 01:54 were in the crackerjacks box. Each of them represented some 01:58 different power, you know. They had a shoe that was supposed to 02:02 help you run faster, a little horseshoe to give you good 02:05 luck. I don't remember what all of them were but I ate a whole 02:08 lot of crackerjacks trying to fill up a charm bracelet with 02:12 all these things so I could have the powers that were connected 02:15 with it. Well that will set the stage a little bit for what I 02:19 have to share this morning. The message is titled 02:23 Unlucky Charms, Unlucky Charms. Turn with me in your Bibles to 02:29 the book of Ezekiel chapter 13 and I'm going to be reading two 02:35 verses, verse 18. I'm reading out of the New King James 02:38 Version here, verse 18 and verse And say thus says the Lord 02:44 God, Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves 02:50 and make veils for the heads, the heads of the people on the 02:55 height to hunt souls. And then verse 20: Therefore thus says 03:01 the Lord God, behold I am against your magic charms 03:04 by which you hunt for souls like birds. He's talking about 03:10 these charms. What in the world is that dealing with? 03:14 As a matter of fact, in the King James Version they'll say 03:16 pillows. You say what's the difference between a pillow and 03:19 a charm? These are these charms that were like crescent moons 03:23 and they were involved in sun worship, moon worship and they 03:26 would cast spells with these things and it was supposed to be 03:31 enchanting and it was connected also with immorality and 03:36 worshiping of pagan gods. So the people were being ensnared with 03:40 this pagan worship. A lot o f Ezekiel deals with those 03:44 issues. Now I should probably say something that Jesus said. 03:48 You pray for me as I share this message because it is a 03:54 controversial subject but I believe it's much more important 03:59 that people think. Jesus said in John 6:66 and 6:67: From that 04:03 time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more 04:08 Some of you after today's message may not want to come 04:12 back. But I'm going to share the truth with you and isn't 04:16 that what you want? I believe you want the truth and I want to 04:20 be sensitive. I want to do it with love and with compassion, 04:24 but I also want to do it with conviction and clarity. Turn in 04:27 your Bibles to II Kings. How many of you know the story of 04:31 the bronze serpent? II Kings chapter 18 verse 4. First I'll 04:36 give you the background for this You remember the Old Testament. 04:39 The children of Israel were bitten by these serpents and 04:43 they were dying. So God, God, instructed Moses to take a 04:48 bronze serpent, to fashion one with their metal workers, put it 04:54 on a shepherd's staff or pole, hold it up so if the people 04:57 looked at it they would be healed from the venom of the 05:00 snake bite. And of course this was a type of Christ. Jesus said 05:04 As Moses lifted up the serpent so will the Son of Man be 05:07 lifted up and whoever who believes in him should not 05:10 perish but have everlasting life That's the precursor story to 05:14 John 3:16. Well now, I want you to fast forward about a thousand 05:18 years. It's talking about the reign of Hezekiah. Was Hezekiah 05:23 a good king or a bad king? Good king, godly king. Listen to what 05:28 he did. Part of the revival that Hezekiah affected, he removed 05:32 the high places and broke down the pillars. These were the 05:35 pagan implements of worship that had found their way into the 05:39 kingdom again. And he cut down the Asherah poles and he broke 05:44 in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made. Why would 05:48 you break the bronze serpent that Moses made? Wasn't it 05:52 God's instruction? Moses was a good guy. Why break it? 05:56 I'll tell you why, keep reading. For in those days the children 06:01 of Israel did burn incense to it and he, Hezekiah, called it 06:06 Nehushtan, which means piece of bronze. They had made a god out 06:10 of it and that was never his plan. They began to worship and 06:14 revere it and it was distracting them and it really had become an 06:17 idol. So he broke it to pieces and said it's just a piece of 06:21 metal. He never intended you to worship it. The Bible forbids 06:26 idolatry. Perhaps you remember the story in the Bible where the 06:30 children of Israel were going into battle with the Philistines 06:34 and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phenahas, they said let's 06:38 bring the ark with us into battle and if we've got the ark 06:42 there with us in battle well you know it's a good luck charm. 06:46 We can't lose. And they went off fighting against the Philistines 06:50 singing before the ark. What happened in that battle? 06:55 The ark was not a good luck charm for them. They lost the 07:00 battle and it was captured by the Philistines. The Philistines 07:04 said, Aha, we've got the ark now. We will have the power of 07:07 their gods. They took the ark of God. And by the way, who 07:10 instructed the ark to be made? God. What was it made out of? 07:14 Gold with the rocks inside. The important thing about the ark, 07:18 everyone wants the gold around the ark and they didn't want the 07:21 important thing. It was just a box with the rocks in the box. 07:24 It was the stones that were the 10 commandments inside. That was 07:27 the treasure in the ark. Well now the ark was captured by the 07:30 Philistines. They put it in the temple of Dagon and it became 07:33 an unlucky charm for them. They woke up in the morning and 07:37 Dagon had fallen on his face. This big idol fell over and they 07:41 said well it must be an earthquake during the night. 07:43 They thought what was that? They stood him back up and the next 07:45 morning he fell over again and his head and his hands fell off 07:48 showing here was a god that could not speak and he couldn't 07:52 do anything. Had no brain and no hands. So pretty soon the 07:56 plague came on the Philistines. They said why is this plague? 08:00 And they said, It must be the Ark of the Covenant. We have 08:03 stolen their God and he's punishing us. So they said let's 08:07 make an offering. So they put these charms inside the ark as 08:10 an offering. They were being plagued with mice and we're not 08:14 even sure what it was, it says tumors. Some versions translate 08:18 that hemorrhoids, really. They don't know what it was but they 08:22 put these gold mice and things and tumors inside the ark and 08:27 sent it back as an offering. Well now the ark comes back into 08:31 the land of Israel and it ends up landing with a man named 08:35 Obed Edom and God ended up blessing that man because he 08:39 received it when everyone else was afraid of it. They thought 08:42 it was bad luck. The problem was never with the ark. The problem 08:45 was people were not obeying the rocks in the box. God wanted 08:49 them to obey the law. It wasn't a relic, it wasn't a charm, it 08:53 wasn't an emblem of good luck. I'm surprised there's an element 08:58 of superstition in the church. And I don't think that sometimes 09:03 we realize what these things mean. Now having said that, do 09:08 we sometimes get sidetracked with good luck charms and some 09:13 of those emblems in our culture? Let me tell you what I want to 09:16 talk about. I'm going to tell you what I want to talk about 09:19 then I'm going to tell you about it, then I'll tell you what it 09:24 is I talk about. I want to talk about jewelry. Oh listen to the 09:29 gasp. And I want to preface any remarks that I'm making on this 09:33 subject by saying I believe there are going to be millions, 09:37 thousands of people in heaven who wear or wore jewelry. 09:42 is that clear? I don't want you to be looking around to see what 09:45 someone sitting next to you has on. I have given our studio 09:49 careful instructions about their audience shots not to make 09:53 anybody self-conscious because this is one of those sermons 09:56 that when you talk in a church like this where people come from 10:00 all different backgrounds about a subject, someone could be made 10:03 to feel self-conscious. But when do I get another chance? 10:06 Someone's got to say something because friends I think there's 10:10 an epidemic. I think it's gotten out of hand. I'm one of those 10:14 people who believes that Christian jewelry is an oxymoron 10:18 and the Bible talks about it and we need to talk about it. 10:21 A little bit of history. 10:22 When did people start wearing jewelry? Do you 10:26 think Eve was walking along in the Garden of Eden one day and 10:32 said oh look, a piece of gold. I think I'll put it in my ear. 10:37 Why would she do that? I mean, when did it start? The best they 10:42 can tell when they try to trace back the history of people 10:45 wearing minerals, I'm not even getting to the piercing yet. 10:49 That's later... was because it was associated with the various 10:53 gods that they worshipped. There's no example of it really 10:56 before the flood. You find in history more and more of it 11:00 appears after the flood and it's all been with serpents and 11:03 things. The sun and the moon were primary objects of worship. 11:07 This is an emblem. I looked at some artifacts they had online 11:10 and one of these was connected with moon worship, one with sun 11:13 worship. As a matter of fact, the Egyptians, one of their 11:16 principle gods was the sun and you can see everywhere... 11:18 I think I've got this slide of Horus the falcon god but always 11:21 above their head they've got this solar disk. Matter of fact, 11:25 many of the halos you see around medieval art are taken from 11:29 ancient paganism and those were solar disks. I mean nothing in 11:32 the Bible talks about folks going around with glows of gold 11:36 behind their heads. It all springs from sun worship. A lot 11:40 of it, a shocking amount of the ancient jewelry, has demonic 11:45 symbols in it. It's serpents and dragons. It's amazing how much 11:49 they have recovered of these serpents and dragons. So some of 11:54 the jewelry was money. Matter of fact, when Eliezer went to get a 11:58 wife for Isaac it says he took a bracelet off and he gave it to 12:02 her and it tells the weight of the bracelet because it was 12:05 a value of money. They didn't have paper money back then. 12:07 Sometimes they wore it and they got into trouble doing that and 12:11 we'll talk a little bit more about that in a little bit. 12:14 But now we're living in an age where idolatry and spiritualism 12:18 is still connected with minerals and stones and most jewelry is 12:23 made out of various forms of minerals unless you've got 12:26 plastic jewelry and if you do you probably don't tell people. 12:30 But the new age movement, you'd be surprised at some of the 12:34 things they teach. I found one article on healing crystals. 12:37 Let me read you an excerpt from an article by Michael McKnight. 12:42 Listen carefully. Metaphysically the quartz crystal can be easily 12:46 programmed to help provide a positive outcome. It can clear 12:50 away negative energy from the aura and realign the chakra; 12:53 that's the energy, centers of the body. It can also be useful 12:58 in long distance healing through imaging and meditation. Did you 13:04 catch that? I've never heard so much rubbish in my life. Quartz 13:08 crystals, metaphysical alignment and energy. You know these 13:12 people are just so superstitious But you know it is all connected 13:17 with very ancient pagan practices of believing that 13:22 there are some enchanting properties to these minerals 13:28 and these charms and they were often associated with various 13:31 spirits and gods. I don't think people really understand the 13:34 history of wearing of jewels and minerals and where it came from. 13:39 By the way, since we're talking about charm. You know what charm 13:44 means? Enchanting magical attraction. Have you ever heard 13:49 someone say why they're charming They have got this enchanting 13:54 attraction about them. Is it just my imagination? You know 13:59 friends, I just have to say that I am aware of what's out there 14:02 in the movies. I don't go to the theater but all you've got to do 14:05 is fly on an airplane and unless you put a bag over your head 14:09 it's hard not to know what's out there. They had this recent 14:14 trilogy of blockbusters called Lord of the (audience) Rings. 14:18 Aha you see you know too, right? It's all built around the ring. 14:23 Titanic was a blockbuster and it's talking about this necklace 14:26 The whole thing is built around looking for this necklace and 14:29 it's finally offered to the sea. The rings are offered to the 14:32 volcano. You'd be surprised if you look. Everything from King 14:35 Arthur's sword, it's got magical powers. People are very 14:39 superstitious and they start to become attracted to these charms 14:43 and things. I think that we invite, I think that we invite 14:48 evil influences subconsciously without even realizing it by 14:53 embracing some of this. Now let's go to the Bible. Some of 14:57 you remember a story in the Bible, Genesis chapter 35, it's 15:02 Jacob and you'll see there's a connection between idolatry and 15:06 various forms of jewelry and various forms of jewelry. 15:08 Specifically ear rings are mentioned here. Jacob's sons had 15:11 gotten into big trouble. They had just slaughtered the people 15:15 of Shechem and Jacob now needs to reconsecrate himself and his 15:19 family to the Lord. And God said to Jacob, Arise and go to Bethel 15:24 Who knows what the word Bethel means? House of God. Arise and 15:27 go to Bethel and dwell there and make an altar unto God. I want 15:31 you to return to me, reconsecrate your family to me. 15:35 The God who appeared to you. I made a covenant with you. You're 15:38 drifting, when you fled from the face of Esau your brother. Then 15:42 Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, not 15:45 not just his family but all the others, the servants and some 15:49 that had joined him, put away the foreign gods that are among 15:53 you and purify yourselves and change your garments and let us 15:58 arise, be pure, and go to Bethel Let's arise and go to the house 16:01 of God and I'll make there an altar unto God who answered me 16:05 in the day of my distress and was with me in the way in which 16:09 I went and they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods that were 16:13 in their hand and the rings that were in their ears. Did you 16:18 catch the association that is made between idols, gods and 16:22 rings in their ears. Evidently, I mean if there was nothing 16:26 wrong why did he say take it off and then they buried it under an 16:29 oak tree and then they went and they met with the Lord. Do you 16:32 think they went back and dug up their idols again later? Was it 16:35 just for that one church service He said dwell there in Bethel. 16:39 They didn't go back. And I think some of us would do well to find 16:44 an oak tree and dig a hole and make an offering. This stuff is 16:49 just becoming so prevalent among God's people. It didn't used to 16:53 be that way. By the way, what I'm teaching you today is not 16:57 just what used to be the theology of my church. This used 17:01 to be the theology of the Baptists, the Methodists, the 17:05 Puritans, as a matter of fact, most protestants. I'm just an 17:09 old hold out. Most have given it up. I think there should be a 17:13 distinction between the appearance and the attire 17:15 of Christians in the world. Let's look at another example 17:18 here in the Bible. I think that there are pagan connections with 17:23 these things. Deuteronomy tells us there shall not be found in 17:28 your midst enchanter, a charmer it says in some translations. 17:32 How many of you remember the golden calf story? Exodus 35. 17:37 The children of Israel got tired of waiting for Moses. I'm going 17:41 give you the background first while you find Exodus 35 verse 5 17:45 and they said, look we don't know what happened to this Moses 17:49 that's Exodus 32. He want up a mountain and he hasn't come 17:53 back and they said let's make gods. They wanted to make gods 17:58 like the Egyptians. So Aaron said, break off the ear rings 18:01 that are in your ears and they took the ear rings out of the 18:05 ears of their sons and their daughters. Now you know 18:08 20 years ago when you preached this sermon it would only relate 18:11 to the girls. Today it relates to the boys too. Am I right? 18:15 By the way, this was the church wasn't it? So don't feel bad, 18:19 this was the church. Oh by the way, how did they get the ear 18:23 rings in their ears? When they left Egypt the Bible says in 18:27 Exodus 12 verse 35 they had not been paid for their service of 18:32 slavery and so they spoiled the Egyptians and what was the 18:35 money back then? They didn't take out George Washington and 18:39 Ben Franklin. They gave the articles of silver and gold 18:42 which they frequently wore their money and they paid the 18:45 Israelites with this. Well they didn't just put it in their bags 18:49 They're now wearing it because it said break them off from your 18:53 ears. So the payment they received from the Egyptians they 18:56 began to wear it like the Egyptians wore it. God intended 18:59 for them to plunder the Egyptians so they could use 19:02 those resources to build the sanctuary. Because later when 19:05 they got it straight they brought those things, they 19:07 brought those things, they melted them down, they built 19:08 the temple to God. Now they were hanging them on their bodies and 19:11 building golden calves. So you got the background for what's 19:14 happening here. They took up a big collection and they turned 19:18 it into an idol and they worshipped it. And listen to 19:23 what the Lord says. Now go to Exodus 33 verse 5. For the Lord 19:27 had said to Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, you are a 19:31 stiff-necked people. I will come up into the midst of thee in a 19:35 moment and consume thee. Therefore, now put off thine 19:39 ornaments that I might know what to do with thee and the 19:43 children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments 19:46 by Mount Horeb. God was about to pronounce a judgment on them for 19:51 this sin with the golden calf and he said you're a stubborn 19:54 people. I saved you from the Egyptians and you're acting like 19:57 the Egyptians. Take your ornaments off before I 19:59 announce what your judgment is. Have you noticed that when 20:03 people go to court and they're going to stand before the judge 20:07 they sometimes dress different. I remember one time, I won't 20:10 tell you what it was all about, but I had to appear in court. 20:13 I wasn't in trouble, I was there and the attorney asked me what 20:17 will you be wearing? He was very particular about what I would be 20:21 wearing. And it does make a difference. I Corinthians 20:26 chapter 10 verse 11, Paul speaking of the children of 20:30 Israel said all these things happened unto them for examples 20:35 They are written for our admonition upon whom the ends 20:38 of the earth are come. What the children of Israel went through 20:40 By the way, that was God's church. They were his people. 20:43 He had saved them, but they were starting to migrate back to the 20:46 practices of the people they had been saved out of and God said 20:50 break off your ornaments that I can know what to do with you. 20:53 You are a stubborn people. That is what he said. Would God say 20:57 that to his church today? That was a little thing. I mean you'd 21:01 think the golden calf was the big problem. But he said look 21:05 if you're going to meet before me purify yourselves. Stop 21:09 looking like the world. And I think that is the central 21:14 message of God this morning. There are so many big things we 21:17 can talk about. This may be a comparatively little thing but 21:21 it's important enough for God to mention it in his word. I know 21:25 you're going to have questions and I want to do my best to answer them. Does it 21:28 matter what we wear? When you get to the book of Revelation 21:33 and God identifies the true church and the apostate church 21:37 church through what symbols does he identify the two churches? 21:42 The symbol of a woman, two women One is in Revelation 12 and one 21:46 is in Revelation 17. Through both prophecies neither of the 21:51 women speak. The way we know which is the true woman and 21:56 which is the apostate church is based on what? What they're 22:00 Wearing? One is clothed with God-made light. She is standing 22:04 on the moon, she is clothed with the sun and she's got 12 22:08 stars hovering above her head representing the sun, the moon 22:12 and the stars, the light that God made. This is natural light 22:14 that God made. God made the sun, he made the moon, he made the 22:17 stars. Jesus said to the church you are the light of the world. 22:19 It's God's light. The other woman is wearing the gold and 22:25 the pearls and the purple and scarlet and there's nothing 22:30 divine about the illumination she has. It's all worldly. They 22:34 may both be beautiful, but one is the beauty of the world and 22:38 one is the beauty of God. Can you sometimes tell something 22:42 about... I know, we're not supposed to judge a book by 22:44 the cover and we all know there's some people that had a 22:48 good cover and a bad book, and there are some people who've 22:52 got dubious covers but they're good inside. Right? Matter of 22:55 fact, I've been surprised by some books. The cover was so bad 22:58 but the contents was good. So I agree with that, you're not 23:02 supposed to, but how many of us do look at a cover before you 23:05 read the book? They spend millions of dollars working on 23:08 those covers because they want you to buy the book and it does 23:11 matter what's on the cover if you can make a difference with 23:15 it. We are to represent Jesus. Let me read a few verses for 23:18 you. New Testament. I've given you a couple from the Old 23:22 Testament. I Timothy 2 verses 9 and 10. Paul said, In like 23:26 manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel 23:31 with shamefacedness. That means humility and sobriety. Not with 23:35 broidered, they used to weave gold in their hair, broidered 23:41 hair or gold. Not with gold, or pearls or with costly array. 23:46 That means that we don't need clothing that's flamboyant and 23:51 distracting, but that which becomes women professing 23:56 godliness with good works. It's not that these things are good 24:01 luck charms, it's the obedience in the life that God is looking 24:05 for. I Peter 3 verses 3 and 4. Whose adorning, he's speaking 24:10 of godly women but this applies to men too, let it not be the 24:15 outward adorning of the plaiting of hair, of wearing of 24:18 gold, let it not be the wearing of gold, or putting on of 24:22 apparel but let it be the hidden man of the heart which is 24:25 not corruptible even the ornament, here's the ornament 24:27 God wants us to wear, here's the lucky charm, I shouldn't even 24:33 say that, a meek and quiet spirit which in the site of God 24:37 is of great price. It's what's supposed to be on the inside. 24:40 I'll be very honest with you, forgive me for being so frank, 24:46 but I have never yet met a man who said boy I really like that 24:52 girl. Yeah, why? I think it's her jewelry. Or I've never heard 24:56 a man, I mean I've sat around with a lot of men just talking 25:00 like men talk and I've never heard a man say you know she'd 25:04 be more beautiful if she wore more jewelry. That's a myth. 25:07 If anyone out here, ladies if you didn't know that surprise, 25:11 surprise. But I don't any man who's ever thought that. 25:17 The Bible says a beautiful woman without discretion is like a 25:22 jewel of gold in a pig's nose. It's in Proverbs somewhere, but 25:27 I don't remember where. I mean, you know, it's what's in the 25:31 heart. You can put all kind of jewels on somebody and it 25:34 doesn't make them more beautiful in the sight of God and quite 25:36 frankly it doesn't make them more beautiful in the sight of 25:40 men either. Now women will sometimes say oooh isn't that 25:45 pretty. They've got a jewelry channel. I just went up to 25:51 Covelo and we got one of those great big old satellite dishes 25:54 and we're not paying for anything. So you've got to surf 25:57 the sky and see if there's any news. I wanted to get the 26:00 president's address this week, see if I could see it. So I'm 26:02 moving the satellite around and the only thing I could get was 26:04 this jewelry channel. Any men enjoy watching the jewelry 26:08 channel? But if we don't have a problem, we've got a whole 26:12 channel dedicated to looking at jewelry on television and they 26:16 almost sell it making it sound like there are magical qualities 26:20 to these different things. It's enchanting. And these things are 26:25 beautiful. I mean did God make gold? Did God make pearls? 26:30 The high priest, what's on the vestments of the high priest? 26:34 The high priest had get this beautiful garment and it's got 26:39 gold and beautiful stones that were made for representing the 26:45 different tribes and on his shoulders he had two great 26:47 jewels that were the Urim and the Thummim and they would 26:51 consult God and he spoke in a way. That was a symbol for 26:55 prayer and the mediation of Christ, but God never asked 26:59 anybody else in Israel to do that. Well I'll get to that in 27:02 just a minute, talking about the Day of Atonement. What are we 27:07 going to walk on in heaven? Gold Does God like jewels? I mean 27:12 what's the 12 foundations of the new Jerusalem. Beautiful, 27:16 precious stone. We're going to walk on gold. What are the 27:20 gates made of? Pearl. Did the devil make these things or God? 27:24 They're beautiful things. You can love and appreciate them. 27:28 The question is do we hang them on our bodies? By the way before 27:35 I leave heavenly examples, how was Lucifer adorned? Did you 27:40 know the Bible says if you read there in Ezekiel every precious 27:46 stone was thy covering and look where it got him. So there! 27:52 Another reason for us to consider this is the reason of 27:57 if we follow Christ Jesus was meek and lowly. It has to do 28:02 with pride and humility. Proverbs chapter 30 verse 12. 28:06 Here we are told there is a generation that is pure in its 28:10 own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness. I have never 28:16 heard so many people try to justify all these excuses for 28:21 poking holes in our nose and our ears and wearing minerals and 28:27 justifying themselves. Really at the heart of it is a lack of 28:32 the spirit of Christ. Keep in mind, I want to reiterate, I am 28:36 not here to judge anybody. I have met some of the most godly 28:40 loving people who wear various amounts of jewelry. They maybe 28:43 have never have even thought about it before. I've had a lot 28:46 of people come up after a message like this and say Pastor 28:48 Doug, I'm so glad you talked about that. I've got some 28:51 beautiful jewelry, I've worn jewelry all my life. I've just 28:53 never thought about it before. And now I see it in God's word 28:56 it makes sense. So nobody's here to judge anybody but you don't 28:59 hear too many messages like this do you these days? It's not 29:04 considered popular especially when the whole business has 29:08 gotten so far out of hand. Read with me in Isaiah chapter 3 29:11 verse 16 while we still are talking about the pride issue. 29:17 Isaiah 3:16: Moreover the Lord says, because the daughters of 29:22 Zion are haughty... what does haughty mean? Proud... and walk 29:28 with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes... It's connected 29:33 also with trying to be sexually tantalizing... walking and 29:37 mincing as they go. You know what that means? You want me to 29:42 demonstrate how a woman walks and swishes. I won't do that 29:45 because it will be on camera and it will be used against me. 29:49 ...walking and mincing as they go and making a tinkling with 29:53 their feet... They also had toe bells I guess. Therefore the 29:57 Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the 30:00 daughters of Zion. The Lord will discover their secret parts 30:03 and humiliate them in other words, in that day of judgment. 30:07 The Lord will take away, listen, the bravery of their tinkling 30:11 ornaments about their feet and their calls, that's a word that 30:15 is also translated charms, the round tires like the moon, their 30:19 chains and their bracelets, the mufflers, the bonnets, the 30:22 ornaments of the legs, the head bands, the tablets, the ear 30:26 rings, that's also translated charms in some Bibles, the rings 30:30 the nose jewels, that wasn't an issue in North America. You know 30:33 I came back from India and the church there some of them have 30:37 a little bit of a moral dilemma because a lot of ladies they 30:40 wear a jewel in their nose signifying whether or not they 30:44 are married. But let me just tell you for the record, it is 30:48 not practical. I won't go into details, but those dear ladies 30:53 struggle with that nose jewel and it causes a problem. I don't 30:57 think God ever intended for us to add any holes to the existing 31:02 ones he designed us with. He designed us perfectly with the 31:06 appropriate number and I don't think he wants us to add to that 31:09 or diminish from it. It causes problems. Your body is the 31:13 temple of the Holy Spirit and so he would take that away. 31:17 ...nose jewels. Now you might say Pastor Doug, but everybody's 31:20 doing it. It's so prevalent. Listen to what Jesus said. 31:24 Luke 16:15: For that which is highly esteemed among men is an 31:29 abomination in the sight of God. Just because something might 31:33 be highly esteemed in the world and even in the church, does not 31:37 mean that God looks at it the same way. Matter of fact, one 31:40 of the characteristics of the church in the last days is the 31:44 Laodicean condition you find in Revelation chapter 3 which is 31:48 not knowing that they are poor and wretched and blind and 31:52 naked thinking they are rich and increased with goods. And what 31:55 is one of the reasons they think they are rich and increased with 31:58 goods? Because they're wearing their riches and God says I will 32:02 spew you out of my mouth. They don't have the humility and the 32:08 mind of Christ. Body piercing. Do you think a pastor needs to 32:13 talk about this in our day and age? Is it part of practical 32:17 Christianity when you got a culture where self-mutilation is 32:22 just absolutely rampant? Where did this come from? Let's take a 32:26 little tour. I went to India and saw some of this when I was here 32:31 just last November. In these pagan cultures where they 32:34 worship the pagan gods, thousands of gods, they mutilate 32:37 and punish themselves to please the gods. They hang all these 32:40 charms and there are symbols for everything they are doing, 32:43 hooks all through their bodies and they pull things with it. 32:47 Some people come out to look but it's a religious festival. They 32:51 are not doing it for entertainment. If you go to 32:54 Nepal you'll find there that for hundreds if not thousands of 32:59 years it was the custom to surround the ear with special 33:03 charms and the purpose was to prevent evil spirits from 33:07 speaking to you. Africa. Again I could go from tribe to tribe 33:12 and there'd be all different kinds of examples I could give. 33:16 I just captured this one where they're piercing and all those 33:20 things are supposed to have spiritual significance. But is 33:23 it Christian significance? That is my question. If it's not 33:27 Christian, what kind of spirit is it? Burma. You've probably 33:31 seen this before. Actually their necks aren't longer. What they 33:35 do is they start adding these rings when they're young and it 33:38 basically pushes their collar bones down in their torso. 33:41 They have very short life expectancy. It's extremely 33:44 unhealthy. But again, religious purposes for these things. 33:48 Now of course, California. We've got similar religious things. 33:52 (Laughter) It's the cheese! Let me read some very plain 33:57 verses for you. I thought we needed to lighten things up 34:01 a little bit because I knew this would be tense. Leviticus 34:05 19:28: You shall not make, now that to me sounds like a command 34:10 I mean when God says thou shalt not it means thou shall not just 34:14 like all the other commands. You shall not make any cuttings in 34:18 your flesh for the dead. They used to do it for the dead. It 34:23 was what the pagans did. He says I am the Lord. You are holy. 34:27 When the prophets of Baal wanted to get the attention of their 34:31 God, what did they ultimately do? They jumped up and down on 34:35 the altar and they cut themselves. If you want that 34:38 verse? I Kings chapter 18 verse 28, till the blood ran out. 34:42 When Jesus encountered a man filled with a legion of demons 34:47 what was one of the characteristics of his 34:49 demonic possession. Mark 5 verse And always night and day he 34:53 was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting 34:58 himself with stones. Deuteronomy 14 verse 1 and 2: 35:03 You are the children of the Lord your God, you shall not cut 35:07 yourselves for you are a holy people. Your body is the temple 35:11 of the Holy Spirit. We are not to deface God's temple and yet 35:15 what do we see in the world around us today? I even wondered 35:18 whether or not to show you some of these pictures because for me 35:21 it's revolting. But I thought I'd use a little bit of shock 35:26 effect. This stuff is not made up. People are really doing 35:30 these things and it is connected with satanic worship. 35:34 Well you might say Oh Pastor Doug of course this stuff is 35:38 going to an extreme, but you know a little bit's okay. Oh 35:42 really? How much like the world and diabolical worship do we 35:46 want to look? Well but Pastor Doug, what do I do? I've already 35:49 my ears or my nose, I've got a hole there. Well God will 35:53 forgive you. Some of you have got tattoos too. I mean God will 35:57 forgive you, Amen? But take that stuff off and live a holy life 36:01 and be pure. We're living in the last days. Oh by the way, you 36:06 know who does believe in body piercing? The devil. How did 36:12 Jesus die? Jesus died at the hands of Satan's piercing. 36:17 Another reason for us to consider this; I Corinthians 8 36:22 verse 12. We don't want to be a stumbling block. Now I've told 36:25 you there's going to be a lot of good Christian men and women 36:28 that have worn various amounts of jewelry for different 36:32 purposes and sometime we might say well it was a wedding ring 36:35 of it was a family heirloom or whatever. I mean we're not here 36:38 to judge. God knows the heart. Amen? And I'm not here to judge 36:40 anyone's heart. I just need to be faithful to preach the word 36:43 and get you to think. What you do about what you hear is 36:46 between you and the Lord, but I'd like to challenge you to 36:49 think about not just you and what you're doing for you but 36:53 what are other people seeing? You might say well look I just 36:57 wear a couple of little tasteful pearl ear rings. Now I'm talking 37:00 to the men. Could be, huh? And the women. But someone else 37:09 might look at you and let's face it are there people who struggle 37:12 with insecurity? Are there people who struggle with low 37:15 self-worth. It's a fact that some people think, it's a fact 37:18 they think they're going to raise their perceived value 37:22 by putting valuables on and they're trying to raise their 37:25 perceived beauty or their perceived worth by putting these 37:30 things on and they go hog wild and they start dressing up, I 37:34 won't use any names. And in order not to make someone 37:38 stumble I don't wear any. I used to wear a tie clip and today 37:42 let me tell you I picked my tie carefully today. One time I 37:46 preached this message and I'd worn a Rush Limbaugh tie, these 37:49 fluorescent, cosmic tie somebody gave me and everybody saw my tie 37:52 and they say how dare you talk about jewelry? So today I tried 37:56 to get the most boring tie I could wear. By the way don't use 38:01 the inconsistency in some other area as an excuse for another 38:04 one. Because if you continue to use inconsistency in one area 38:08 to excuse your inconsistency, your always walking down towards 38:12 more inconsistency. If something is true it's true and I know one 38:15 thing I will not stand before the Lord in the judgment day and 38:18 have God say Doug, I'm sorry, I'd like to let you in but I 38:23 can't. Why Lord? You didn't wear enough jewelry. You see what 38:26 I'm saying. I'm safe. I don't want to do anything to make 38:30 anybody else stumble. I'm not bragging because I'm not humble, 38:34 but my father gave me a Rolex watch. It was my brother's. My 38:38 brother was a jeweler. He put a new face on it and fixed it up. 38:41 It's probably worth thousands of dollars. He gave me a Rolex 38:44 watch. I don't wear my Rolex. For one thing, it's heavy. You 38:48 know jewelry is not practical is it. No it's not practical. Did 38:52 you ever try to cook with a bunch of jewelry on. Can't do it 38:58 Cassio, $19, indestructible. I hit it with my racket ball all 39:03 the time. It's practical. I mean God wants us to be practical. 39:06 Jewelry is not really practical. You have to take it off when 39:10 you go through the metal detector at the airport, right? 39:14 By the way, there's a metal detector in heaven. I can't show 39:19 you the scripture for that right now. I Corinthians 8:12, I never 39:24 did read this to you. But when you sin thus against the 39:27 brethren and you wound their weak conscience you sin against 39:32 Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble I'll never 39:36 eat meat again. The issue back then was some of their converts 39:40 to Christianity from Judaism, they couldn't even eat the clean 39:43 meats that had been butchered in the pagan temples. They said 39:46 why they butchered this in a pagan temple. If I eat it then 39:49 I'm involved in idol worship. Paul said well if you didn't 39:52 offer it it's no big deal but if it's going to make someone else 39:55 stumble, them seeing me do it if they think that it's idolatry 39:58 I won't even ever eat meat again rather than made someone 40:01 stumble. If that was the attitude of Paul then why would 40:04 we want to dress in a way and cross a line. There is a line 40:08 where you either do or you don't wear jewelry and my appeal to 40:12 you is don't. You're never going to get in trouble for not 40:15 wearing it. Does that make sense Day of Atonement. Here is what 40:21 I think is another very compelling reason. 40:23 Yeah there have been examples in history where different people 40:26 wore different amounts. King David wore a crown. I just 40:29 talked to you about where they gave Rebekah a bracelet. 40:31 The prodigal son comes home and the Father says put on him the 40:35 best robe and put a ring on his finger. Of course that was the 40:39 family signet ring and it was a utilitarian thing in purpose. 40:43 But keep in mind frequently in the Bible Jesus talks about and 40:47 the Bible talks about what facts are. It doesn't mean it endorsed 40:51 what was happening. Does the Bible talk about laws regarding 40:56 how to treat multiple wives? Yes it does. Does that mean that 41:02 God endorsed multiple wives? Karen, somebody, help me. 41:07 (Laughter) No, of course not. So God often talked about things 41:10 that were prevalent but it doesn't mean he approved of it. 41:13 Does God make laws about how to treat your slaves? Yes, even in 41:17 the 10 commandments. That mean he endorses slavery? No. Because 41:21 of the hardness of our heart he dealt with these things. 41:22 So if you find varying examples in the Bible of people wearing 41:25 jewelry it doesn't ever mean that God intended Adam and Eve 41:30 to hang minerals on their bodies That wasn't his plan. Now in 41:34 heaven God will give you a crown but him giving you a crown is 41:38 different than your crowning yourself. By the way, you know 41:41 when David crowned himself? Right after he killed Uriah and 41:46 sinned with Bathsheba. His heart was not right at that time. 41:50 We are living in the day of atonement. We are in the last 41:53 phase of Christ's priestly ministry. He is the Holy of 41:57 Holies in heaven. You know there was one time in the year when 42:00 the priest would minister before God and he did not wear his 42:04 ornaments, the Day of Atonement. He stripped himself of those. 42:08 Listen. Leviticus 16 is where you find the passage about the 42:12 Day of Atonement. He shall put on the holy linen tunic and 42:17 linen trousers on his body and gird it with a linen sash. Linen 42:20 linen, linen. And with a linen turban. He had all this white on 42:24 him. These are the holy garments Therefore, he shall wash his 42:27 body and put them on. He was to be pure and put them on and that 42:31 is how he went in on the Day of Atonement. And the people when 42:34 they met before the Lord, what was their attitude on that day? 42:39 The Lord says here, Leviticus 16:31 It is a Sabbath, a solemn 42:43 rest for you. You shall afflict your soul. You know what that 42:47 means? Humble yourselves. You shall afflict your souls. It is 42:52 a statute forever. It was a day when they would humble 42:54 themselves before the Lord. As the children of Israel came 42:57 before the Lord there at Mount Sinai he said strip your 43:01 ornaments. As Jacob came with his family before Bethel they 43:04 stripped themselves of their ornaments. Is Jesus getting 43:08 ready to come? As we near the end of time are we to be getting 43:11 closer to the ideal of Christ or further away? But what do you 43:15 see happening in the church. Karen said something last night 43:19 and I said I've got to share that with people. I sometimes 43:23 bounce my messages off of her. We have known people who have 43:26 been raised in the remnant church that believe as I'm 43:29 teaching to you that you don't wear jewelry. But somewhere 43:32 along the way they struggle and they say you know maybe it's not 43:34 that big a deal and they put it back on to varying degrees. 43:38 I have never yet seen one of those people who when they do 43:42 that they suddenly become more spiritual. Their lives then 43:45 suddenly start drifting the other way. It is almost like it 43:49 is an unlucky charm. And they're giving the devil permission to 43:53 draw them like it's a magnet. I have never seen anybody 43:58 who has said, I'm just going to put a little on and then I'm 44:01 going to have a personal revival It doesn't work that way. I have 44:05 seen many, many people say I'm going to take it off and they do 44:09 experience a spiritual revival. Because they see that like I 44:14 said you're getting more like Jesus. When he died... By the 44:17 way, that's my next point. Christ is our example in all 44:20 things, Amen? I John 2 verse 6: He who says he abides in him 44:27 ought himself also to walk just as he walked. I Peter 2:21: 44:32 For to this you were called because Christ also suffered for 44:36 us leaving us an example that we should follow in his steps. 44:41 Jesus said whoever's going to come after me, let him deny 44:45 himself, take up his cross and follow me. Now when Jesus took 44:48 up his cross we know exactly what he was wearing because they 44:51 took away everything he was wearing at the cross. Isn't that 44:54 right? When they gambled for his clothing, does anyone 44:57 remember saying anything about jewelry there? They took away 45:01 his outer garment, his robe, his undergarments. They never 45:05 gambled for his jewels. He did not wear them. He's our example. 45:09 Well but Pastor Doug, I just wear a cross. It's for good luck 45:15 Does Jesus ask us to wear the cross or to bear the cross. Talk 45:19 about a good luck charm, at least some people think it is. 45:23 Remember those old vampire movies. You do too so don't act 45:28 so pious. (Laughter) Where the vampire comes and they take out 45:32 the cross and hold it up and he goes ah oooh. Is the devil 45:35 scared of somebody wearing a cross. I know people they hang 45:38 the cross around my neck. I've got to wear my cross, I'm flying 45:41 this week. Or they hang it from the mirror in their car. 45:45 I really had a friend tell me. I said what's that? I didn't 45:47 know you were a Christian. He said, Oh I'm not. He said when 45:50 I'm driving and I'm drunk it keeps me safe. (Laughter) 45:54 They think it's a good luck charm. Did Jesus say wear the 45:57 cross anywhere in the Bible or did he say bear the cross? 46:01 Whole lot easier to wear one than bear one. I think I told 46:05 you, I think Christian jewelry is an oxymoron. Ultimately 46:09 friends there's going to be a big liquidation sale someday. 46:15 Did you know that? Isaiah chapter 2 verse 20, verse 21. 46:20 In that day, speaking of the judgment day, a man will cast 46:25 away his idols of silver and his idols of gold which they have 46:29 made each one for themselves. Cast them away to the rats and 46:33 the bats and the moles. Well I tell you if you're going to 46:37 unload do it now when you can invest that stuff and put it 46:40 into God's work. Amen? I mean otherwise you'll just be 46:44 throwing it into the dirt. If everybody waits until there's a 46:47 big sell off, what happens to the house prices when everybody 46:51 is selling. Do they go up or down? If you're waiting until 46:55 everybody says oh better liquidate, you've waited too 46:58 long. If you're going to liquidate, better liquidate now. 47:01 Ezekiel 7 verses 18 and 19. They will be girded with sackcloth 47:06 horror will cover them, shame will be on every face, baldness 47:10 on their heads. They will throw the silver into the streets and 47:14 their gold will be like refuse. And we're going to wear it now. 47:18 You now we want to be good witnesses and a... Bear with me 47:25 for just a moment here. I'll be back...I went shopping yesterday 47:35 I've got big old fat fingers. If I concluded this message 47:47 like this would you find it distracting? You would? 47:54 Why? It's a little too big. If it was smaller it'd be okay? 47:58 But everyone's got varying ideas how big and small it should be. 48:02 Did you have a problem before I put on any? No, because if you 48:07 don't have it it's not a problem But wait. I'm not done. 48:09 You know I worked with some... 48:12 I can't even get my hand in my pocket with this thing on. 48:17 I worked with the Navajos for a year and a half and they wore 48:25 and made the most beautiful turquoise jewelry and I would 48:30 say to them, I shared this message, I've shared it my whole 48:34 Christian experience because I think it's a biblical message. 48:37 And they would say Pastor Doug it's different for us because 48:40 this is our money. And it's true They would make these beautiful 48:43 turquoise and silver jewelry and I'd say well it's fine to 48:49 have money but does God want us to wear it? What do you think of 48:53 somebody... Oh wait a second. You know what I'm going to do? 48:57 If I can get my hand here in my pocket. I started to make my 49:01 offering and I put it back in my pocket. Did anybody see that? 49:04 Because I decided rather than give it and this would just be 49:08 $1 costume jewelry. Here's a $100 bill. By the way that's not 49:11 our offering. Karen makes the real offering in a check. I just 49:14 like to do something up front so you'll know that I'm being 49:19 supportive. But where would you rather see this? In the church 49:26 offering envelope or like this? No really if you were an angel 49:32 and you know in heaven... what's the asphalt in heaven? Gold. 49:37 Would we wear asphalt on our bodies? In California I know but 49:42 I do these things because it's the only part of the sermon 49:46 they'll remember. Would you rather see it in my ears or in 49:50 the church offering envelope? Now some of you say, well Pastor 49:54 Doug, we spend too much money on our houses and we spend too 49:57 much money on our cars and... You're right. Remember what I 50:01 said, Don't use one inconsistency as an excuse for 50:04 another. Let me read something to you. John Wesley. I told you 50:09 this is not new. This is the founder of the Methodist church. 50:14 This is not unique to our church 50:52 I don't think people know that to some extent I do believe that 50:55 We can inhibit what God wants to do through our witness 50:59 through these things. E.G. White in case you're wondering, 51:02 Testimonies Vol. 3, p. 366 and I could read hundreds of 51:06 statements. We are commanded... 51:16 Now, I'm watching the clock. I think I have time. I prayed 51:20 about whether or not... I thought if there's still time on 51:24 the clock Lord I'll say something. There's still time. 51:29 What about a wedding ring. Pastor Doug our church baptized 51:33 that a few years ago. No they didn't. You haven't read it. Some people in some 51:38 countries wear wedding rings because it is just about 51:40 mandatory in their culture or they are ostracized and they 51:43 could even be imprisoned because they are considered 51:45 to be philandering. And they only wear a simple gold band. 51:50 They don't wear the diamond studded things. Where does the 51:54 wedding ring come from. Well it comes from Babylon and it found 51:57 it's way into Egypt. Once a woman was no longer a virgin 52:01 they would put a ring on her finger. There was a connotation 52:04 that you'll understand, I won't go into. From Egypt the Romans 52:08 adopted it when they conquered Egypt. From pagan Rome it found 52:12 it's way into the Roman church. Protestants in North America 52:15 never had anything to do with it until it became... You know 52:19 largely we're a Catholic country now by population and the 52:22 culture changed in the last 150 years. Let me read something 52:26 to you from history that I found amazing. I didn't know this till 52:29 this week. When the New King James Bible was translated they 52:33 had a historical footnote that they put in and you can find 52:37 this online and read this for yourself. When King James was 52:41 approached, when he first came to the throne, they had a number 52:44 of the Puritan protestant preachers that came to him and 52:48 they had a petition. It was called the millenary petition 52:51 because they claimed they had a thousand pastors in England 52:55 who had switched to Protestantism and here's 52:58 what their appeal was to King James to relieve them from the 53:01 pressures, because in case you didn't know, some of the 53:04 monarchs in England were Protestant, some were Catholic, 53:06 some were Anglican, they went back and forth from king to king 53:10 Now they had a king who was friendly to the protestants and 53:13 so they appealed to him. Listen to their appeal. The petition 53:17 requested the removal of all popish elements from the worship 53:20 of the church. It asked they not be forced to show the sign of 53:24 the cross, that it be abolished in baptism, the use of the ring 53:29 be dropped from the marriage ceremony and the wearing of the 53:32 garments that the priest wore and they've got a whole list of 53:36 things. But isn't that interesting? And that's where 53:39 it comes from. By the way, you know when it became popular? 53:43 It's all over the world now. But the De Beers Diamond Company 53:46 spent multiple millions of dollars on a campaign for 53:52 wedding rings about 100 years ago and it suddenly became very 53:56 prevalent and especially diamond wedding rings. Japan never wore 54:00 any kind of wedding rings and now everybody in Japan there's 54:03 a wedding ring that's a diamond wedding ring. It's just begun to 54:06 spread. You say Pastor it's got a function. I'm not here to 54:09 condemn anybody I'm just telling you nobody has ever had a 54:12 problem with me not wearing a ring. Mrs. Batchelor has never 54:16 worn a ring in our marriage and she works in the hospital at 54:19 UC Davis and there was never any problem. This idea that all of a 54:22 sudden you're going to be assaulted from every side, 54:24 that's a myth in my opinion. I haven't found that. People who 54:30 are married sort of exude the aura that they're married. 54:33 The men all kind of look hen pecked and the women all look 54:37 tired. (Laughter) No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. 54:41 But you people can tell when you're married. Well I won't 54:45 take that very far. Let me add one more thing I was going to 54:50 share on that subject of the wedding ring. Um. John Henry 54:55 Newman Catholic cardinal, he wrote giving a history of the 55:00 church, Constantine the Roman emperor, this is a Catholic 55:05 cardinal. In order to recommend the new religion, Christianity, 55:08 to the heathen, the pagan Romans, he transferred in the 55:11 outward adornments to which they were accustomed in their own. 55:15 It's not necessary to go into the subject with diligence. The 55:18 Protestant writers have done this. The use of temples, 55:20 dedicating of saints, incense, the ring in marriage are among 55:26 the many things that were introduced. It's just come 55:28 straight out of paganism. Show me in the Bible a wedding ring. 55:32 Yep. It's totally from the pagan culture. And I'm not here to 55:36 condemn anybody. I'm just telling you. I want you to 55:38 think about these things. Because what ends up 55:40 happening is someone looks at one little crack in the dam and 55:44 pretty soon the flood gates break. My sermon today is not 55:48 going to change everything friends. I'm just hoping that I 55:52 can help hold the flood back a little bit by my small voice. 55:55 I hope you take this tape and you circulate it among God's 55:58 people, not to beat them up with it but as a truth that we want 56:02 to represent Jesus in these last days before he comes. Amen? 56:07 This is just one little thing important of many things where 56:11 we in our lives attempt to become more like Christ and 56:15 less like the world. That's my concern, that's my appeal. 56:19 There's just so much compromise going on friends. Jesus is our 56:23 example. He's concerned with the inner adorning. It's not the 56:27 gold on the outside, it's the rocks in the box. It's the law 56:31 in the heart. What's the new covenant? It's the rocks inside. 56:35 Jesus is the Rock. Jesus is the Word. He was the Word written on 56:39 those stones that was in the heart and when we've got that 56:42 mineral, that's the only mineral I want you to wear. 56:45 The law of God in your heart. When you've got that written in 56:48 your hearts then it begins to change the whole life. That's 56:51 the reason to change, because of the love for the Lord friends. 56:55 I have never seen people when they're in love have a problem 56:59 with any kind of restriction. When we're in love we're willing 57:02 to make all kinds of sacrifices for those we love. So my appeal 57:06 to you is if you're born again and if you love Jesus that we do 57:09 what God commanded the children of Israel to do, that we unload 57:13 and we get ready to meet before the Lord. Amen? 57:18 Loving Father, Lord we have explored and studied some 57:22 difficult subjects today. Some things that strike close to home 57:26 some things that can be sensitive and we pray right now 57:30 Lord that you will take the showers of the Holy Spirit and 57:34 sprinkle them on every mind and heart so we can know, we can be 57:38 illuminated to know how to apply the truths that we considered. 57:42 Lord help us to represent you. Help us to remember that we are 57:46 living in the final hours of earth's history that we are at 57:50 a time when we are to humble ourselves before you and come 57:54 into your presence pure, a holy people. Bless each person so 57:58 that we might know how we can best apply the things and also 58:03 represent you in a fallen world. In Jesus' name we ask, Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17