Participants: Mike Leno
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000042
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00:29 I was driving down the road one day,
00:31 listening to as I usually do, 00:33 a number of radio stations 00:35 switching from channel to channel. 00:37 And all of a sudden I hit upon a Christian radio station. 00:41 And the Christian DJ had decided to comment 00:45 about some of the songs he was playing 00:48 and he said something that so astounded me 00:51 that I had to pull over to the side of the road 00:53 and write down what he was saying. 00:55 You know, I--I have to tell you 00:57 I was not entirely happy with what he was saying, 01:00 but here's what he said. 01:03 God does not save us because He is big hearted. 01:07 Although He is. 01:10 God does not save us 01:11 because He is a loving and kind person. 01:15 Although He is. 01:17 God saves us because Jesus paid the price 01:22 by dying for us on the Cross." 01:26 Now, in spite of how good 01:28 and holy those words might sound. 01:32 What they apparently mean is this. 01:35 That God loving us and God saving us 01:39 are two separate and unrelated events. 01:43 Secondly, that Jesus' death on the Cross 01:47 somehow brought about God's desire and ability to save us. 01:54 Now the obvious text decide in this case is John 3:16 01:58 "For God so love the world 02:00 that He gave His only begotten Son." 02:02 In other words, it was out of His love 02:05 that Jesus came and lived and died. 02:10 You see, "Fear God and give glory to Him 02:16 for the hour of his judgment is come." 02:19 Is that--it's that text out of Revelation 02:23 that if we don't understand what the judgment means, 02:26 it scares us to death. 02:28 What about the judgment? 02:30 How do we live in these last days of earth's history 02:34 knowing that the Judgment Day of God is upon us? 02:37 Is God needing to save us? In some way talking God into it? 02:44 And what about that judgment scene that we imagine 02:47 with God or Jesus sitting up high 02:51 with all the angels gathered around? 02:55 Are you afraid of that scene? 02:58 You realized that Jesus never used fear to motivate people 03:02 to following-- follow Him? 03:05 But let's face it. 03:06 The prospect of a sudden end to the world 03:08 and facing the judgment can seem rather frightening. 03:11 Fear can get our attention, but it can't save us. 03:16 Likewise, the prospect of the judgment 03:19 can get our attention. 03:20 It can scare us to death. 03:22 And that may be necessary, but that fear won't save us. 03:28 If it creates a desperate hunger for the good news, however, 03:31 it will put us on the right track. 03:34 What does God say about the judgment? 03:37 What does the Bible say about the judgment? 03:42 Did you know that there's a book in the Bible 03:45 whose name has the word judgment in it? 03:49 It's the Book of Daniel. 03:51 Daniel literally means "God or Yahweh is judge." 03:57 The Hebrew concept of judge and judgment however 04:00 should be explored a little more 04:02 because it's a little different 04:03 than what we might expect sometimes. 04:05 The Hebrew concept of judge and judgment 04:08 was one of deliverance. 04:10 A judge in Israel was a savior, a deliverer, a ruler. 04:13 He brought justice in the time of injustice. 04:17 He brought freedom to people who were enslaved. 04:21 He punished the guilty and defended the oppressed. 04:26 Also we need to realize that the temple or sanctuary 04:30 was symbolic of God's kingdom on earth. 04:34 Now both the sanctuary and the concepts 04:37 of judgment figures prominently in the Book of Daniel. 04:44 After Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, 04:47 the temple lay in ruins. 04:49 He carried off all the sacred vessels and objects 04:51 and brought them back to Babylon with him. 04:55 And so Daniel, as a captive in Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, 05:01 begins to wonder when God will save His people 05:03 and put things right. 05:05 When will things be vindicated? 05:08 When will God vindicate His people, 05:11 His temple, and set up His everlasting kingdom? 05:15 And while Daniel is wondering about all of this, 05:17 he receives a vision. 05:19 In Daniel 8:14. 05:22 And the angel says in this vision. 05:24 "And he said unto me, 05:26 unto two thousand and three hundred days, 05:29 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." 05:32 Now it's interesting there are several different translations 05:36 that we can find of Daniel 8:14. 05:39 I just read to you the King James. 05:41 The New International version said, 05:43 "He said unto me, it will take 05:44 two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings 05:46 then shall the sanctuary be reconsecrated." 05:51 The evenings and mornings is actually 05:53 a more literal translation of the original Hebrew. 05:57 But, of course, evenings and mornings, 05:58 if you go back to Genesis refers to a day. 06:02 The first day, second day, third day, et cetera. 06:04 Evening and the morning was that day. 06:08 The new American Standard said, "And he said unto me 06:11 for two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings 06:12 then the holy place will be properly restored." 06:15 And the RSV, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings 06:19 then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state." 06:26 The word cleansed in the King James 06:29 or reconsecrated in the NIV or properly restored 06:32 in the New American Standard or the RSV's rendition 06:36 restored its rightful state. 06:37 The original Hebrew is actually a very interesting word. 06:40 The Hebrew word is Nitsdaq. 06:44 Now Nitsdaq is a form of another word Sadaq 06:48 which means to be just, righteous. 06:51 It's also associated with vindication. 06:54 Nitsdaq then means to be put right 06:57 or to be justified, vindicated, or cleansed. 07:01 Now let me ask you. 07:04 Where do we find vindication, restoration, 07:07 or cleansing of the sanctuary? 07:10 Actually, in the previous chapter of Daniel, Daniel 7, 07:15 we find a parallel passage to this judgment scene. 07:19 Daniel 7:21 to 22 says, 07:21 "As I watched, this horn was waging war 07:26 against the saints and defeating them, 07:30 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment 07:33 in favor of the saints of the Most High, 07:36 and the time came when they possessed the kingdom." 07:41 Now let's review what we've read so far 07:44 out of the Book of Daniel. 07:47 First of all, Daniel the word itself means, 07:50 Yahweh is judge. 07:53 A judge in those days was looked upon 07:57 as a savior, a deliverer. 07:58 Someone who would set right what had not been set right. 08:02 Somebody who would vindicate people 08:04 who needed to be vindicated. 08:05 Somebody who would deliver captives 08:07 who were in captivity. 08:09 So rather than a horrible, 08:15 horrible impending doom kind of concept, 08:18 judgment to the Hebrew people 08:20 especially when they were in captivity 08:22 was a wonderful concept. 08:24 It was the concept of salvation to them. 08:28 And this concept of deliverance, of vindication, 08:33 we find in one of the greatest prophecies 08:36 in all of the Bible, Daniel 8:14. 08:38 "Unto 2,300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." 08:43 And this-- this word for cleansed, 08:45 Nitsdaq contains within it 08:47 the concepts of vindication being put right, 08:51 restored all of those concepts that went into a putting right 08:56 in a deliverance of God's people. 08:59 Now let me ask you. 09:01 What service in the sanctuary, 09:06 in the yearly schedule of sanctuary services 09:09 in the ancient Hebrew system 09:13 had to do with cleansing and vindication? 09:18 Well, there is one prominent one 09:20 and that is the Day of Atonement. 09:24 Yom Kippur. 09:27 Yom Kippur is pictured as the priest 09:32 going into the Most Holy Place once a year. 09:36 And as the priest approached the--inside the Most Holy Place, 09:42 he approached the Ark of the Covenant 09:44 and there on either side of the ark 09:46 were the two angels, the covering cherubs. 09:49 Between those two cherubs was something called 09:52 the Atonement Cover or Mercy Seat. 09:55 And underneath the Atonement Cover 09:57 or Mercy Seat, inside of this ark 10:00 were the Ten Commandments. 10:03 The sanctuary is symbolic of the Kingdom of God. 10:08 First of all, the literal Kingdom of God 10:10 which was literal Israel in the Old Testament, 10:13 and secondly, the sanctuary is--is symbolic 10:16 of the spiritual Kingdom of God in the New Testament 10:20 or new Covenant Times. 10:22 The land of Israel, 10:26 physical, literal Israel had geographical boundaries. 10:29 It was made up of certain national people 10:35 or ethnic origin of people. 10:38 But in the New Testament, we find that the borders 10:40 of Israel, of spiritual Israel 10:42 are expanded to include the whole earth. 10:44 Now the prophecies to literal Israel 10:48 are expanded to be applied 10:50 by the people of spiritual Israel. 10:53 All believers in Christ are considered now part of Israel. 10:58 And that's why the sanctuary is such a potent symbol, 11:01 not only in the Old Testament, but in all of time. 11:03 The sanctuary was symbolic 11:05 of how God relates to His people. 11:12 On the Jewish Day of Atonement, the priest and all of the people 11:17 have actually been fasting and praying for 10 days already. 11:22 Their system of-- of fasting and praying 11:25 started on the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah 11:29 which starts just 10 days before the Day of Atonement. 11:33 And on the Day of Atonement, the priest symbolically places 11:39 all the sins of the people 11:41 before God in the Most Holy Place. 11:43 Symbolically, I mean, 11:44 because as he sprinkles the blood, 11:46 he is symbolically placing the sins 11:49 of the people before God, before the Ark of the Covenant. 11:54 This service cleansed and vindicated God's people 12:00 by the sacrifice for sin. 12:02 The blood was from the sacrifice 12:03 that have been already offered out in the courtyard 12:07 and then the priest brought that blood in. 12:09 So symbolically, he was cleansing 12:13 the sanctuary of the sins of the people 12:16 because this sacrifice had been offered all year along. 12:19 And then once a year the high priest 12:21 would go in for this-- this high day, 12:24 this--this Day of Atonement ceremony. 12:29 The ceremony judged and banished evil also 12:32 by placing the sins upon the scapegoat 12:35 and letting it out into the wilderness. 12:38 Likewise, the Day of Atonement has meaning for us today 12:42 especially at the end of time. 12:45 I refer you to Hebrews 9. 12:48 The Book of Hebrews, by the way, 12:50 was written especially at a time 12:53 when the Jewish people who had become Christians 12:57 were wondering how does their whole history 13:00 and all of their ceremonies and services, 13:04 how--how does all of that apply now under the new covenant? 13:08 How can we understand the sanctuary service now 13:12 as believers in Christ? 13:13 You see, in the Old Testament 13:15 they offered the sacrifices in anticipation 13:18 of the Lamb of God who would be slain 13:21 to take away the sins of the world. 13:23 But now after the Cross, 13:25 what meaning did the sanctuary service have? 13:28 It was no longer being conducted. 13:29 You remember when Jesus died on the Cross, 13:31 you remember when the-- the temple curtain, 13:34 the veil was ripped in two from top to bottom, 13:37 indicating that now the way was made directly 13:41 into the Most Holy Place by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 13:45 No longer was it necessary 13:47 for a priest to minister in the temple 13:49 because our priest had also become 13:52 the sacrifice on the Cross. 13:54 And so Hebrews explains how the sacrificial system 13:59 now relates to the New Covenant. 14:01 We read in Hebrews 9:24 to 26. 14:05 "For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary 14:09 that was only a copy of the true one. 14:12 He entered heaven itself, now to appear 14:15 for us in God's presence. 14:18 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself 14:21 again and again, the way the high priest enters 14:24 the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 14:28 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times 14:30 since the creation of the world. 14:32 But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages 14:36 to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 14:42 How do you live in the end time, the time of the judgment? 14:49 Answer confidently in the assurance 14:52 of salvation through Jesus. 14:54 Our High Priest who was also our sacrifice, 14:59 the lamb of sacrifice died once and for all 15:03 to take away the sins of the world. 15:04 And now according to Hebrews, he appears in heaven for us. 15:09 No longer does he have to offer himself 15:12 as the High Priest once did, as the High Priest offered 15:16 sacrifices that were-- that was not his own blood, 15:19 but he did it once a year. 15:20 Christ did once and for all. 15:22 And now appears in heaven to apply the benefits 15:26 of His sacrifice for us. 15:29 Why do we not need to be afraid of the judgment? 15:32 Because all of this symbolism points to the reality 15:39 that God poured out His love in that event on the Cross, 15:43 and that love is still being manifested 15:47 in heaven through the person of Jesus Christ, our sacrifice. 15:50 He is there with His father, 15:54 exhibiting the benefits of His sacrifice for all time. 16:01 How do you live in the end time? Confidently. 16:04 According to 1st John 2:1 and 2. 16:07 "My dear children, I write this to you 16:09 so that you will not sin. 16:10 But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks 16:12 to the Father in our defense. 16:14 Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 16:15 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, 16:20 and not only for ours 16:22 but also for the sins of the whole world." 16:26 The good news is, the judge is on our side. 16:34 My friends, 16:38 God loving us and God saving us 16:41 are not two separate and unrelated things. 16:46 God's act on the Cross and Jesus dying on the Cross 16:51 was an outpouring of His love for us. 16:55 And because of that love for us, 16:57 He not only died on the Cross, but He ascended to heaven 17:00 and is there with the Father, our Mediator, our High Priest 17:05 qualified to be so by His own blood. 17:10 John 16-- I'm sorry, John 5:22. 17:17 "Moreover, the Father judges no one, 17:21 but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." 17:25 What does that mean? 17:27 It means amazingly enough 17:29 that our Defender is also our Judge. 17:33 You see, not only are we defended by someone 17:37 who is on our side who died for us, 17:40 but we also discover that our Defender is also the Judge. 17:43 It's like going into court and discovering 17:45 that your lawyer is not only defending you, 17:48 your lawyer is sitting on the bench, 17:50 pronouncing judgment. 17:51 Now if your lawyer and your judge 17:53 are the same person, how easy it is-- 17:56 is it to win your case? 17:59 That's the point. The case is already won. 18:02 It was won at the Cross. 18:06 Notice what Jesus says in John 16:26 and 27. 18:10 "In that day, you will ask in my name. 18:14 I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 18:17 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me 18:22 and have believed that I came from God." 18:27 Scripture demonstrates clearly, that God saving us 18:33 and God loving us are not two separate events. 18:38 You see, sometimes we're tempted to think that, 18:42 like the DJ at the beginning of this message, 18:44 that God saves us not because He's loving, 18:47 but because He has to, because Jesus died on the Cross. 18:52 And maybe we're convinced that Jesus loves us, 18:54 but sometimes we're tempted to think that maybe Jesus talked 18:57 the Father into loving us, but the Father 18:59 didn't really love us as much as the Son did. 19:02 And sometimes we feel like 19:03 maybe we can relate to Jesus, which is natural. 19:07 After all, He is the one that lived on this earth. 19:10 And we can understand Him. That is why He came, 19:13 so that we could understand Him better. 19:15 But Jesus came to reveal the Father. 19:18 Whatever Jesus is, the Father is like that. 19:23 God is not sitting up in heaven and saying, 19:26 "Well, I really don't want to let 19:27 these miserable wretches into my kingdom, 19:29 but Jesus, you know, since you did it, 19:32 you died on the Cross, I--you know, I'll let them in." 19:35 No, that's a horrible picture of God. 19:37 Jesus said, "It's--it's not that I have to ask 19:41 the Father for you." 19:42 No, He says. 19:44 "The Father Himself loves you because you've loved me." 19:49 Forty two-year-old David Saunders 19:52 was waiting in his driveway for his little daughter 19:55 Danielle to come home from school. 19:59 He saw the school bus pull up in front of the house. 20:03 He saw a truck come up and see the school bus stop 20:06 and so it too stopped. 20:08 Little Danielle got off the bus and started to cross 20:13 the street and headed for her own driveway. 20:16 At that moment, David looked up the street 20:19 and there was a car coming down the street extremely fast. 20:23 It did not see the school bus 20:27 and it ran right into the pathway where Danielle was. 20:32 Reacting instantly, David rushed into the street, 20:35 grabbed his daughter through her up on the front yard 20:39 and then he himself was struck and killed by the car. 20:46 My friends, 20:51 that car represents sin. 20:56 And death is our destiny because of sin. 21:01 We stand in the way of an out of control, 21:05 oncoming, sinful car that will run over us, 21:13 if someone doesn't do something about it. 21:16 The Cross is a picture of a loving Father, 21:19 not just Jesus Christ, but God the Father 21:22 also participated in this. 21:24 The Cross is a picture of a loving Father, 21:27 who would rather jump in the way of oncoming death 21:32 and throw us out of the way, willingly accepting 21:35 the natural results of sin in our stead 21:39 so that we could live. 21:41 This is not a picture of a Father 21:44 who saves us and loves us on the side 21:50 and the two are not related. 21:51 This is not the picture of a God 21:53 who has to be talked into liking us or loving us. 21:57 This is not a picture of--of God who goes to the Cross 22:03 and creates a legal loophole, 22:05 so that we could get into heaven. 22:08 This is a picture of a loving Father, 22:12 just like David Saunders who jumped in the pathway 22:16 of an oncoming car in order to save the life of his 22:20 precious daughter. 22:22 This is a picture of a God who loved us so much 22:27 that He would rather die than be without us for eternity. 22:31 Can you understand that kind of love? 22:33 No, I don't think we can. 22:34 In our human capacity, it's hard to understand 22:37 a God that could love His creatures that much. 22:43 But the Bible says 22:46 that truly is how much He loves us. 22:49 God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. 22:55 Both the Father and the Son were involved in that act. 23:01 It was not the Father sending 23:03 His Son to do something that He didn't want to do. 23:06 It was not the Father 23:09 who reticently agreed to love us 23:15 and to take us into His Kingdom because His Son, after all, 23:20 loved us and had sacrificed Himself for us. 23:26 You see, we don't have to be afraid of the judgment, 23:32 because of what Jesus did on the Cross. 23:34 We don't have to be afraid of the judgment, 23:36 because the Cross reveals 23:39 what kind of person God really is. 23:41 We don't have to be afraid of the judgment, 23:43 because we know that the picture of God 23:46 on the Cross is also the picture of a Savior 23:50 who will come back and deliver us, 23:53 just like those judges and those deliverers 23:57 from the Old Testament. 23:58 God will come back to this earth 24:00 and He will deliver us from this bondage. 24:07 We turn now to 1st John 4:18. 24:12 The Book of 1st John 4:18. 24:24 "There is no fear in love. 24:28 But perfect love drives out fear, 24:32 because fear has to do with punishment. 24:35 The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 24:41 I submit to you today that if you are afraid 24:47 of the judgment, it's because Christ 24:50 has not completely won your love yet. 24:55 Now you can't be scared into loving someone. 24:58 You have to be won into loving someone. 25:03 How do you picture the second coming in your mind? 25:07 Do you picture it as a horrible event 25:10 or the Judge of the Universe is going to come 25:12 and with steely laser eyes look at you through and through 25:16 and examine you if there is one small fault 25:18 in you and cast you aside if there is? 25:22 Or do you see the second coming as a homecoming? 25:28 Do you see the second coming as a chance 25:31 to meet your best friend, a chance to meet your lawyer 25:37 who went into court with you? 25:38 The lawyer who is also your judge. 25:43 You see, you don't have to be afraid of the Christ 25:46 of the second coming if you know the Christ of the first coming. 25:50 They are after all the same person. 25:54 And that person reveals to us the kind of person God is 25:59 and the kind of love that He has for us. 26:03 The second coming will be an awesome event. 26:07 And out of our human frailty, we will probably be afraid. 26:13 But we will find out soon enough 26:15 that it is a wonderful homecoming, 26:17 not a time to fear. 26:19 Won't you come home today? 26:22 Won't you say yes to Jesus' invitation to come home? 26:26 Isn't it time to put yourself completely on His side? 26:29 Aren't you tired of living in fear of the judgment? 26:35 Do you long for the chance to take a stand for Christ 26:38 to say, "Yes, I'm His child, not because I deserve it, 26:44 not because I've obeyed all the commandments 26:47 in order to earn enough merit for salvation, 26:50 not because I've grown up in the church 26:52 or not because I came to the church late in life, 26:54 but because, out of His generosity, 26:57 out of His love for us, 26:58 Christ voluntarily went to the Cross for you and me." 27:05 Won't you accept that gift? 27:08 Won't you accept the fact that Jesus loves us so much? 27:14 Love is such a cheap word today. 27:16 And yet, if you look at the Cross, 27:18 its cheapness evaporates. 27:20 Love was not cheap. It had an infinite price. 27:24 The price of the blood of the Son of God. 27:29 Won't you say yes to Jesus? 27:33 After all, He's offering you the free gift of salvation. 27:40 It's not something you have to be good enough for, 27:43 and it's not something you have to wait for. 27:45 You can know now. 27:47 You don't have to wait until the second coming to know 27:49 that you can accept salvation right now. 27:52 He has a place prepared especially for you. |
Revised 2014-12-17