Hello, my brothers and sisters.
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I pray that you
are being blessed today
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as I'm here with
you at the Faith Chapel.
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My name is Carlos Pena.
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I am the pastor of the
Belvedere and the Rochelle,
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Seventh-Day Adventist Churches.
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The Lord said something to
us while He was on this earth.
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It is found in Mark
chapter 3, verses 28 and 29.
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And this is what he said.
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He said,
"Assuredly, I say to you,
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all sins will be
forgiven the sons of men,
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and whatever
blasphemies they may utter
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but he who blasphemes against
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the Holy Spirit
never has forgiveness
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but is subject to
eternal condemnation."
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Before we
continue I invite you all
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to have a short prayer with me.
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Dear Father in heaven,
we come before You, Father,
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because we are Your children.
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We pray, Father, that
you forgive us our sins.
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And we pray, father, that
the Holy Spirit be here with us
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as we study Your word.
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We ask all in the name of
our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
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It is something
to commit blasphemy
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and have an unpardonable sin,
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something that
He will not forgive
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because if your
sins are not forgiven
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then you cannot go to heaven
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because only people that have
their sins forgiven are saved.
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So it's important to understand
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just what it means to
blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
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The book of Luke
chapter 12 and verse 10
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gives a little bit more insight
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as to what the
Lord is talking about.
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Luke 12:10 says the following.
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"And anyone who speaks a
word against the Son of Man,
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it will be forgiven him
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but to him who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit,
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it will not be forgiven."
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Verse 11 says, "Now when
they bring you to the synagogues
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and to the
magistrates and authorities,
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do not worry about what you--
what or what you may answer
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or what you should
say." And verse 12.
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"For the Holy Spirit will
teach you in that very hour
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what you ought to say."
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First of all to understand
what it means to blaspheme
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the Holy Spirit
we have to understand
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what the job of
the Holy Spirit is.
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And this is also
told by us in the Bible,
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in the book of John,
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chapter 16, verse 13.
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The Bible says
this, it says, "However,
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when He, the
spirit of truth, has come,
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He will guide you into all
truth for He will not speak on
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His own authority but
whatever He hears He will speak
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and He will tell you
about things to come."
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So we see right away that it
is the job of the Holy Spirit
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or one of His functions
is to guide us to the truth.
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So what we have to understand
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and ask ourselves
just, what is the truth?
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Now there are many
definitions of truth
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by philosophers in the world
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but there is also a definition
of truth by the Bible itself
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and the Bible very plainly
lets us know just what truth is.
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And let us see what the
Bible tells us what truth is.
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In the letter to-- in
the book of John 17:17
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or chapter 17, verse 17,
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the word of God says this,
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it says, "Sanctify
them by Your truth.
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Your word is truth."
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So we know right away
that the word of God is truth.
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So we have to ask ourselves
just what is the word of God
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and where is the
word of God found?
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You know, the
word of God is found,
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of course, in your
Bible, from the book of Genesis
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all the way to the
book of Revelation.
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All of this Holy
Scriptures are inspired by God
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or inspired by the
Holy Spirit to make--
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He inspired men to
write these things.
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I've always believed
that there is only one truth
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and there is
only one Holy Spirit
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and the Holy Spirit guides
everyone to that one truth.
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So we must be open minded.
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We must be--
allow the Holy Spirit
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to guide us to this truth.
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And one thing that He will
use, He will use the word of God
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which is the Bible to
guide us to the truth.
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The truth is found in scripture.
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Everything the
scripture says is the truth.
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It comes from the
Holy Spirit Himself.
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It comes from the word of God.
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So as we learn
to study the Bible,
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as we take time
to read the Bible,
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as we take time to
go through the Bible
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we must also take time
to be willing to change
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if we come across
something in the Bible
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that does not agree with
what we think or how we live.
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You know, when we
come upon certain passages
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that are difficult to understand
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we must also pray for
guidance by the Holy Spirit
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so that He can
help us understand.
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Because there are
things in the Bible
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even now that are
difficult for me to understand.
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So as you start
to study the Bible,
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as you start to read the Bible,
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pray that the Holy Spirit
will give you understanding
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so that you can make
those changes in your lives.
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And be not afraid
to make those changes
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because as the Holy Spirit shows
you these truths in the Bible
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whatever they may be.
You know, before that time
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if you did not
know that was a truth,
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you were not sinning.
You were okay with God.
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But now that you know the truth,
then you must make a decision.
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You will either accept the truth
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and accept the
truth in your life
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and continue to live
that truth in your life
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or you can choose to reject that
truth and not accept that truth
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and act as if you had
never heard that truth.
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Well, up to that point you were
not breaking the law of God,
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up to that point
you were not sinning
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but if you
continue from that point
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forward to reject the truth
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that you already know
then now you are sinning,
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now you are
breaking the law of God.
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And you are in a very
dangerous situation before God.
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Because the Holy
Spirit takes his time
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to show you what the
truth is. That is His job.
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If you reject
anything that the Bible says,
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you are
rejecting the Holy Spirit.
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And if you are
rejecting the Holy Spirit,
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you are calling Him a liar.
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You are saying I
know more than You do,
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therefore, I don't have
to accept what the truth
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that You are showing me is.
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And by rejecting the Holy Spirit
and by calling Him a liar,
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you are in effect blaspheming
against the Holy Spirit.
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How can the Lord forgive
you if you know the truth
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and refuse to follow the truth?
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Unfortunately,
that is the situation
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with most of the human race.
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You know, a lot
of people get to know
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what the truth is but
they choose to reject it
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and they choose to behave
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as if they had
never heard the truth
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and they are in
very shaky grounds.
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They are on dangerous grounds.
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Because if you know the truth
and you refuse to follow it,
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then the Lord
cannot forgive you.
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How can He? I urge
my brothers and sisters,
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that if you know
certain truths of the Bible
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that you have been rejected,
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I urge you to change your
lives and act accordingly.
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Accept those truth that
the Holy Spirit has shown you
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and begin to live those truth
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that the Holy
Spirit has shown you.
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And not only that, teach others
what the Holy Spirit teaches you
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because at the end that
is what we are here for.
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We are just not here to
learn. We are not here study.
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We're also here to teach
others what the Lord teaches us.
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Another question that we have
to answer ourselves is this,
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What is the word of God?
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Well, my
brothers, the word of God
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is the whole Bible.
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From Genesis all the way
down to the book of Revelation.
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And I know there are certain
religions and certain peoples
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that reject part of the Bible.
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I know that our
Hebrew brothers and sisters
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they do not study
the New Testament.
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They only study
the Old Testament.
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Some of our other
brothers and sisters
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reject some of
the letters of Paul.
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Some other brothers and sisters
reject the book of Revelation
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when all of the Bible has
been inspired by the Holy Spirit
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and given to men to
write these things down
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that the Lord
showed them in visions.
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So they are all the truth
and they all point to the truth
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and they make a
nice complete whole.
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The situation that we
may be in is we may think
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we know more than
God and choose to reject
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certain portions of the Bible.
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And we have no
authority to do that
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because the
whole Bible is inspired
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by the Holy Spirit Himself.
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Do not get
yourself in a situation
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where you're rejecting the truth
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that the Holy Spirit shows you.
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Because if you reject the truth
that the Holy Spirit shows you,
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you are once again in
very dangerous grounds.
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I urge all my
brothers and sisters
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to learn to accept
everything that the Bible says,
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to learn to accept everything
that is written for you
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because the Lord
took time to inspire the--
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to inspire men to write
these things down for us.
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Especially in these last days
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where the whole human race
needs to get to the Bible more
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and learn more
about what the Bible says.
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But the only way to get to
it is to learn to study it.
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And you learn to
study it on a daily basis.
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To get more on what the truth
is in John chapter 14, verse 6,
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the Bible gives a further
definition of what the truth is.
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And it says this,
"Jesus said to him,
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'I am the way, the
truth, and the life.
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No one comes to the
Father except through Me.'"
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Jesus himself talking to us
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lets us know
that He is the truth.
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And this great
truth that the Father
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has given us is to be followed.
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He is our great
example on how to do things,
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our great
example on how to live.
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Jesus is the
answer to everything.
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Jesus-- the
Bible is written about
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Jesus from the book of Genesis
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all the way to the
book of Revelation.
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Just because Jesus was
born in the New Testament
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does not mean
that he was not around
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when the Old
Testament was being written.
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Jesus was there
Himself even though
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Jesus was born in Bethlehem
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does not mean that he
did not exist before that.
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Jesus has always existed.
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Jesus has always been our truth.
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He is our example and we
should learn more about Him
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so that we can
do the things He did
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and walked the way He walked
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and do everything
the way He did it.
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Jesus is all--has
always been our example
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and He will
always be our example.
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He is our only
hope for us to get
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out of the
situation that we are in.
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He is the way
and He is the truth.
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No one goes to the
Father except through Him.
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So how do we learn
about our Lord Jesus Christ?
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Well, we go back to the
Bible and we see what Jesus did.
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And we believe
as Jesus believed.
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We taught as Jesus taught.
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One of the things that
we may not have in common
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with most Christians as we try
to believe what Jesus believed.
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So what did Jesus
believe about certain things?
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That's what we do, you know.
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And another example
of what the truth is,
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the Bible lets us know
in Psalms 119, verse 151.
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It lets us know, it
says, "You are near, O Lord,
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all Your
commandments are truth."
00:11:04.07\00:11:07.30
So here we see the complete
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biblical definition
of what the truth is.
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The Bible lets us know
that all the word of God,
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all scripture is the truth.
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It is what the Holy
Spirit uses to sanctify us.
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The Bible also lets us know
that Jesus Christ is the truth
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and He is our example
in everything that we do.
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And the Bible also lets us know
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that the
commandments of God are truth.
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It is what we use in our
lives to change ourselves.
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Now I know that
keeping the law of God
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or keeping the commandments
of God is not going to save us.
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But not keeping
the-- not keeping them
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and knowing that they
should be kept may condemn us.
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You know, this
great country of ours,
00:11:52.55\00:11:54.03
this great country of
ours is known for its liberty.
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It's known for, you know,
the rights that the people
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of this great country
of the United States have.
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But the people
have these rights,
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the people have these liberties
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because this is a
country that is run by law.
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The Constitution of this
great country lets us know
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that the people that live
in this country have rights.
00:12:11.90\00:12:14.80
The people that live in this
country have certain freedoms
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that are given to
us by the constitution.
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It is the law of the land.
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Imagine yourself if this--
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if the laws that run this
country were done away with.
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If the laws
that run this country
00:12:27.31\00:12:28.85
were done away with,
there would be no freedom.
00:12:28.88\00:12:31.61
There would be no rights.
00:12:31.64\00:12:33.24
There would be
no civil liberties.
00:12:33.27\00:12:35.05
There would be no hope.
00:12:35.08\00:12:36.45
There would be complete chaos.
00:12:36.48\00:12:38.73
Let us keep in mind that the
law truly does bring liberty.
00:12:38.76\00:12:42.25
The true--really, the
law really does keep us safe.
00:12:42.28\00:12:46.25
And just like the laws
of this country keep us safe
00:12:46.28\00:12:48.71
and give us these rights, so
does the law of God keep us safe
00:12:48.74\00:12:52.74
and give us rights
that nobody else has.
00:12:52.77\00:12:56.23
When the Lord was asked
00:12:56.26\00:12:57.63
while He was on this earth what
the two great commandments are,
00:12:57.66\00:13:00.32
He said, "Love the Lord
thy God with all your heart
00:13:00.35\00:13:03.09
and with all your soul
and with all your mind."
00:13:03.12\00:13:05.64
And He also said, "Love
your neighbor as yourself."
00:13:05.67\00:13:09.70
When you study
the Ten Commandments
00:13:09.73\00:13:11.25
you see how
these Ten Commandments
00:13:11.28\00:13:13.02
are related from those two.
00:13:13.05\00:13:14.42
In fact, these Ten Commandments
00:13:14.45\00:13:15.82
come from those
two great commandments.
00:13:15.85\00:13:19.10
They are what they hang from.
00:13:19.13\00:13:21.22
This is the great law
that runs the entire universe.
00:13:21.25\00:13:24.27
The Ten
Commandments are simply--
00:13:24.30\00:13:25.67
they were written in a way as
00:13:25.70\00:13:27.07
how they apply
to the human race.
00:13:27.10\00:13:28.91
And that is how those two
great commandments apply to us.
00:13:28.94\00:13:33.16
If we truly understand
that the law of God is truth,
00:13:33.19\00:13:36.38
we are not going
to blaspheme His name.
00:13:36.41\00:13:38.53
We are not going to
use His name in vain.
00:13:38.56\00:13:40.97
We are not going to have idols.
00:13:41.00\00:13:42.45
We are not going
to bow down to them.
00:13:42.48\00:13:44.75
We are going to keep
the seventh day Sabbath,
00:13:44.78\00:13:46.78
because that is what
the law tells us to do
00:13:46.81\00:13:49.34
and the Bible
itself has let us know
00:13:49.37\00:13:51.60
that that is where the truth is.
00:13:51.63\00:13:54.12
Now the last six have to do
00:13:54.15\00:13:55.52
with loving our
neighbor as ourselves.
00:13:55.55\00:13:57.81
If we truly love
our neighbor as ourself
00:13:57.84\00:13:59.81
we are not going to
steal from our neighbor.
00:13:59.84\00:14:02.04
We are not going
to commit adultery.
00:14:02.07\00:14:03.65
We are going to
honor our parents.
00:14:03.68\00:14:05.22
We are not going to desire
anything that is our neighbors
00:14:05.25\00:14:08.07
because we love our neighbors.
00:14:08.10\00:14:09.94
When you study the law
and for what it truly is
00:14:09.97\00:14:13.02
we see that the law
is a relationship law.
00:14:13.05\00:14:16.17
It's, how do we
relate to our Father
00:14:16.20\00:14:18.29
and how do we
relate to each other?
00:14:18.32\00:14:20.30
That is truly
what the law is about.
00:14:20.33\00:14:22.71
Now we read it sometimes
00:14:22.74\00:14:24.11
and we see a lot
of do's and don'ts.
00:14:24.14\00:14:25.90
But in reality it
is about relationships.
00:14:25.93\00:14:29.09
And the Lord wants
us to relate with Him.
00:14:29.12\00:14:31.31
The Lord wants us to relate
00:14:31.34\00:14:32.73
with our fellow
brothers and sisters.
00:14:32.76\00:14:34.57
How do we choose to do that?
00:14:34.60\00:14:36.81
And the more
you study the Bible,
00:14:36.84\00:14:38.82
the more you see that
the Ten Commandments are holy
00:14:38.85\00:14:41.80
and they are true and they are
just and there is nothing wrong
00:14:41.83\00:14:46.84
with them as they are
written in the book of Exodus.
00:14:46.87\00:14:51.53
Unfortunately, many
people want to think
00:14:51.56\00:14:54.04
that it's possible
to change the law of God
00:14:54.07\00:14:56.82
and they do not follow the law
of God the way it is written.
00:14:56.85\00:15:00.56
but it is up to us who now know
the truth to show these people
00:15:00.59\00:15:04.95
what they should be doing.
00:15:04.98\00:15:06.35
To show these people
that the law of God is good.
00:15:06.38\00:15:09.16
Because that is what the Bible
tells us what the truth is.
00:15:09.19\00:15:13.31
Once again the
Bible lets us know
00:15:13.34\00:15:15.78
that the word of God is
truth and we have been shown
00:15:15.81\00:15:18.93
that the whole Bible is truth,
not just the New Testament,
00:15:18.96\00:15:22.21
not just the Old Testament,
but every bit of the Bible
00:15:22.24\00:15:25.33
is where the truth is found.
00:15:25.36\00:15:28.39
You know, many people say
that the book of Revelation
00:15:28.42\00:15:30.66
is difficult to understand
and they refuse to study it
00:15:30.69\00:15:33.83
because it is
difficult to understand.
00:15:33.86\00:15:36.16
But one of the reasons that
it's difficult to understand
00:15:36.19\00:15:38.23
and people don't
really take time to read it
00:15:38.26\00:15:40.54
is because most of
the book of Revelation
00:15:40.57\00:15:42.68
is found in the Old
Testament, almost word for word.
00:15:42.71\00:15:46.71
So if you don't take time
to study the Old Testament
00:15:46.74\00:15:49.36
there's no way that you
can study the New Testament.
00:15:49.39\00:15:52.51
You know, when John the
Baptist was on this earth
00:15:52.54\00:15:55.45
and when he saw Jesus
for the very first time,
00:15:55.48\00:15:58.49
the very first words that
came out of John's mouth were,
00:15:58.52\00:16:01.49
"Behold, the Lamb of God
00:16:01.52\00:16:03.24
who takes away
the sin of the world."
00:16:03.27\00:16:06.29
Now you may not think that's
important but try to explain
00:16:06.32\00:16:09.65
that verse without
using the Old Testament.
00:16:09.68\00:16:12.70
First of all, how do you
know what the Lamb of God means
00:16:12.73\00:16:15.59
unless you go to
the Old Testament
00:16:15.62\00:16:17.67
and see what the lamb represent
00:16:17.70\00:16:19.49
and see what the lamb is about?
00:16:19.52\00:16:21.36
Even the very word
sin, you cannot understand
00:16:21.39\00:16:23.77
what sin is unless
you go back to Genesis
00:16:23.80\00:16:26.69
and see what Adam and
Eve committed the first sin
00:16:26.72\00:16:29.25
and you can understand
what sin is truly about.
00:16:29.28\00:16:32.01
So that simple verse
that John said to Jesus Christ
00:16:32.04\00:16:34.80
cannot be understood unless
you go back to the Old Testament
00:16:34.83\00:16:38.69
and see where sin developed
00:16:38.72\00:16:40.51
and also see what the
Lamb of God is all about.
00:16:40.54\00:16:43.97
I always question these
people that when you show them
00:16:44.00\00:16:46.53
quote from the Old
Testament they simply say
00:16:46.56\00:16:48.47
that it's in the Old Testament.
00:16:48.50\00:16:49.87
It does not
apply to them anymore.
00:16:49.90\00:16:51.69
But I say to these
people, you cannot understand
00:16:51.72\00:16:54.27
the New Testament unless
you study the Old Testament.
00:16:54.30\00:16:57.99
You cannot
understand Jesus Christ
00:16:58.02\00:16:59.89
and His mission
unless you read about
00:16:59.92\00:17:01.74
what He was supposed to
do in the Old Testament.
00:17:01.77\00:17:04.69
Because the Old
Testament tells us
00:17:04.72\00:17:06.66
what Jesus the
Messiah was supposed to do
00:17:06.69\00:17:09.24
and we can see how Jesus
fulfilled scripture in His life
00:17:09.27\00:17:13.48
by studying what the Old
Testament says about Him.
00:17:13.51\00:17:16.61
So my dear brothers and sisters,
00:17:16.64\00:17:18.01
please take time to understand
00:17:18.04\00:17:21.65
just how
important it is to study
00:17:21.68\00:17:24.00
the whole word of God,
00:17:24.03\00:17:27.41
the Old and the New Testament.
00:17:27.44\00:17:29.76
They are still
inspired by the same Holy Spirit
00:17:29.79\00:17:32.32
and the same Holy Spirit
00:17:32.35\00:17:33.72
is still guiding
us to the whole truth.
00:17:33.75\00:17:36.17
And as we get to
know more about our God
00:17:36.20\00:17:38.49
and we get to know more
about our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:17:38.52\00:17:40.88
as we study scriptures,
the Holy Spirit will continue
00:17:40.91\00:17:43.47
to lead us to
find out more truth.
00:17:43.50\00:17:47.44
And once again
He has let us know
00:17:47.47\00:17:49.40
that the
commandments of God are truth.
00:17:49.43\00:17:52.46
So the question again, how
do we blaspheme the Holy Spirit?
00:17:52.49\00:17:56.00
Well, reject His truth
00:17:56.03\00:17:58.23
and you are
blaspheming the Holy Spirit
00:17:58.26\00:18:00.70
because the Holy Spirit
takes time to teach you.
00:18:00.73\00:18:04.35
It is important to
realize that we are in a school
00:18:04.38\00:18:08.52
and the Holy
Spirit is the teacher.
00:18:08.55\00:18:11.43
And we are all in
that school somewhere.
00:18:11.46\00:18:14.27
Some of us may
be in kindergarten,
00:18:14.30\00:18:16.20
some of us may be in
first or second grade
00:18:16.23\00:18:19.06
or some of us may
be in high school.
00:18:19.09\00:18:21.40
Some of us may be in
college or a major university
00:18:21.43\00:18:24.29
going for various degree but
we are all in the same school.
00:18:24.32\00:18:28.75
And it is the teacher--
the teacher is the Holy Spirit
00:18:28.78\00:18:31.57
who takes time to teach us.
00:18:31.60\00:18:33.39
And He will not teach
us more unless we grasp
00:18:33.42\00:18:35.99
what He's teaching us before.
00:18:36.02\00:18:37.55
In other words, He will
not take us to the next class
00:18:37.58\00:18:40.55
or the next grade until we have
mastered those grades before us.
00:18:40.58\00:18:44.81
And I have seen people
that have been in the church
00:18:44.84\00:18:46.80
for 15, 20 years and have
not gotten out of first grade.
00:18:46.83\00:18:51.61
You know, they are still there.
00:18:51.64\00:18:53.01
You know, they don't understand.
00:18:53.04\00:18:54.94
They're still there
causing problems for the church
00:18:54.97\00:18:57.04
because they refuse to grow.
00:18:57.07\00:18:59.84
You know, when
you look at a child,
00:18:59.87\00:19:01.24
when you look at an infant
00:19:01.27\00:19:02.87
and if that
infant is not growing
00:19:02.90\00:19:05.07
then we take him
to the doctor to see
00:19:05.10\00:19:06.56
what is wrong with that child
00:19:06.59\00:19:07.96
because we know that
that child should be growing.
00:19:07.99\00:19:10.64
It is the same thing with
us in our spiritual lives.
00:19:10.67\00:19:13.70
You know, we are all
born-again Christians.
00:19:13.73\00:19:15.53
We all start out as infants
00:19:15.56\00:19:16.94
but the Holy
Spirit expects us to grow.
00:19:16.97\00:19:19.54
But if we refuse to grow
00:19:19.57\00:19:21.10
it is because there is
something wrong with us,
00:19:21.13\00:19:23.69
not with the Holy Spirit.
00:19:23.72\00:19:25.44
Because He is doing
everything He can to teach us
00:19:25.47\00:19:28.33
that He is
guiding us to the truth.
00:19:28.36\00:19:30.05
And He uses the same
method that He has used forever.
00:19:30.08\00:19:34.30
The same methods
that He uses with us,
00:19:34.33\00:19:36.60
He has used in the past.
00:19:36.63\00:19:38.00
He is always
showing us the Lord.
00:19:38.03\00:19:39.65
He is always
showing us scripture.
00:19:39.68\00:19:41.26
He is always showing us the law.
00:19:41.29\00:19:43.73
You know, when you
look at what has happened
00:19:43.76\00:19:45.26
throughout history,
you know, we can see
00:19:45.29\00:19:47.46
that the people of God
reject one truth or the other
00:19:47.49\00:19:51.20
but very rarely accept
the whole complete truth.
00:19:51.23\00:19:55.44
When Jesus was on this
earth, the people of God,
00:19:55.47\00:19:58.09
His people, the people of
Israel claimed to keep the law.
00:19:58.12\00:20:02.89
But yet they rejected
the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:20:02.92\00:20:05.90
Now we know
that the law is truth
00:20:05.93\00:20:07.96
and we know that the
scriptures are truth.
00:20:07.99\00:20:09.82
And the people during
Jesus' time, especially
00:20:09.85\00:20:12.40
the Pharisees, they were
masters of what the Bible said.
00:20:12.43\00:20:16.01
And in fact, one of
their favorite sayings was
00:20:16.04\00:20:17.79
that if they had lived
during the time of the prophets
00:20:17.82\00:20:20.08
they would not have
stoned the prophets.
00:20:20.11\00:20:22.52
And yet see what they
did to our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:20:22.55\00:20:26.17
So they grasped
part of the truth
00:20:26.20\00:20:28.08
but they didn't
grasp the complete truth.
00:20:28.11\00:20:31.14
And now us, as
Christians 2000 years later,
00:20:31.17\00:20:34.27
we claim to know and
believe and accept Jesus Christ
00:20:34.30\00:20:37.60
but we rejected
the rest of the truth.
00:20:37.63\00:20:40.22
Some of us Christians reject
00:20:40.25\00:20:41.62
what part of the
Bible says about Him.
00:20:41.65\00:20:44.31
And some of us Christians reject
part of the books of the Bible.
00:20:44.34\00:20:47.42
And some of us
Christians reject the law.
00:20:47.45\00:20:50.04
But the people of
God will always accept
00:20:50.07\00:20:53.06
the complete truth
which is, of course,
00:20:53.09\00:20:56.10
the whole Bible,
which is, of course,
00:20:56.13\00:20:58.58
accepting His Son as the Savior
of the world and, of course,
00:20:58.61\00:21:02.42
accepting the law of God as
the law that not only rules us
00:21:02.45\00:21:06.65
but rules the entire universe.
00:21:06.68\00:21:09.07
It is time for us to wake up.
00:21:09.10\00:21:10.75
It is time for us to understand
that we live in the last days.
00:21:10.78\00:21:14.62
That we are living right
before the coming of the Lord
00:21:14.65\00:21:16.99
and there will be
a people who will be
00:21:17.02\00:21:19.99
ready to accept the Lord.
00:21:20.02\00:21:22.49
We are told many times
that there will be a people
00:21:22.52\00:21:25.17
who do keep the law and who have
00:21:25.20\00:21:27.29
the testimony of Jesus Christ.
00:21:27.32\00:21:29.01
And they will be
ready for their Master
00:21:29.04\00:21:31.92
for when He returns.
00:21:31.95\00:21:33.35
And I pray that all of us
here will be ready for that day.
00:21:33.38\00:21:37.82
I pray that all of us here
are willing to accept the truth,
00:21:37.85\00:21:41.31
whatever it may be
and however painful
00:21:41.34\00:21:44.41
it may be because I know
that the truth can be painful.
00:21:44.44\00:21:48.45
I know that the
truth can divide families.
00:21:48.48\00:21:51.32
I know that the
truth can divide friends.
00:21:51.35\00:21:53.79
But in a situation like
that, it is better to follow God
00:21:53.82\00:21:57.74
rather than men because people
are not going to save you.
00:21:57.77\00:22:01.57
God is going to save
you. The kingdom is coming.
00:22:01.60\00:22:04.46
The kingdom of glory
is a kingdom where there--
00:22:04.49\00:22:06.49
it is a kingdom run by law.
00:22:06.52\00:22:08.69
And God has shown us
over and over and over again
00:22:08.72\00:22:11.82
that a kingdom must have law
00:22:11.85\00:22:13.98
so that there
can be law and order.
00:22:14.01\00:22:16.14
If there is no
law, there is no order.
00:22:16.17\00:22:19.70
Sometimes we think
that the law is bad,
00:22:19.73\00:22:21.37
that somehow the
law restrains us.
00:22:21.40\00:22:23.14
But it does not. In
fact, the law gives us freedom.
00:22:23.17\00:22:27.32
It is the law of liberty.
It is a law that is good.
00:22:27.35\00:22:31.03
It is a law that is truth.
00:22:31.06\00:22:34.28
You know, and there
are certain situations also
00:22:34.31\00:22:37.03
where we may catch ourselves
lying to the Holy Spirit.
00:22:37.06\00:22:41.86
We know in the
books of Acts 5:1-11,
00:22:41.89\00:22:45.44
there is an interesting
story about a couple.
00:22:45.47\00:22:48.62
And it is a couple
that lied to the Holy Spirit
00:22:48.65\00:22:52.58
and then Holy Spirit took
things into His own hands.
00:22:52.61\00:22:56.43
And sometimes when we
think of the Holy Spirit,
00:22:56.46\00:22:58.18
we think of the Holy
Spirit as being someone
00:22:58.21\00:22:59.64
that is very timid.
00:22:59.67\00:23:01.07
But we can see that
sometimes He does take matters
00:23:01.10\00:23:03.63
into His own
hands and takes action.
00:23:03.66\00:23:06.43
We will start reading in
the book of Acts chapter 5
00:23:06.46\00:23:08.66
starting at verse 1.
00:23:08.69\00:23:10.56
It says, "But a
certain man named Ananias
00:23:10.59\00:23:13.31
and Sapphira his
wife, sold a possession.
00:23:13.34\00:23:16.55
And he kept back
part of the proceeds.
00:23:16.58\00:23:18.40
His wife also being aware of it
00:23:18.43\00:23:20.61
and brought a certain part
00:23:20.64\00:23:22.08
and laid it at
the apostles' feet.
00:23:22.11\00:23:24.23
But Peter said,
'Ananias, why has Satan filled
00:23:24.26\00:23:26.73
your heart to lie
to the Holy Spirit
00:23:26.76\00:23:30.43
and keep back part of the
price of the land for yourself?
00:23:30.46\00:23:33.81
While it remained,
was it not your own?
00:23:33.84\00:23:35.51
And after it was sold, was
it not out of your own control?
00:23:35.54\00:23:38.81
Why have you conceived
this thing in your heart?
00:23:38.84\00:23:41.68
You have not lied
to men but to God.'"
00:23:41.71\00:23:45.76
Verse 5 says, "Then
Ananias, hearing these...
00:23:45.79\00:23:49.91
Ananias, hearing these words,
fell down and breathed his last.
00:23:56.86\00:24:00.24
So great fear came upon all
those who heard these things."
00:24:00.27\00:24:04.38
Now it is interesting
that as when his wife came in
00:24:04.41\00:24:06.64
the same thing happened to her.
00:24:06.67\00:24:09.94
Now when we think of
the Holy Spirit sometimes
00:24:09.97\00:24:11.80
we think of a timid individual.
00:24:11.83\00:24:14.46
But we see that He
is not timid at all.
00:24:14.49\00:24:17.41
When He gets
angry, when He gets upset
00:24:17.45\00:24:19.96
this is what He does.
00:24:19.99\00:24:21.98
This family lied
to the Holy Spirit.
00:24:22.01\00:24:24.68
They promised the
Holy Spirit something
00:24:24.71\00:24:26.87
and then they didn't go through,
they didn't follow through.
00:24:26.90\00:24:29.63
The Holy Spirit took
matters into His own hands.
00:24:29.66\00:24:32.33
He did not forgive them
and did what He had to do
00:24:32.36\00:24:35.60
for the good of the church.
00:24:35.63\00:24:38.49
My brothers and sisters, please
do not lie to the Holy Spirit.
00:24:38.52\00:24:42.40
If the Holy Spirit is
going to take time to show you
00:24:42.43\00:24:44.94
what the truth is and
you tell the Holy Spirit
00:24:44.97\00:24:48.66
that you are
willing to accept the truth,
00:24:48.69\00:24:51.19
when He shows it to
you, you better accept it.
00:24:51.22\00:24:54.93
Because if you don't accept it,
00:24:54.96\00:24:56.33
you will once again be
lying to the Holy Spirit.
00:24:56.36\00:25:00.12
And we do not want to be
caught lying to the Holy Spirit.
00:25:00.15\00:25:04.35
We have to remember
that God does not change.
00:25:04.38\00:25:07.01
God is the same today or
yesterday, today, and forever.
00:25:07.04\00:25:10.75
He changes not. We are
the ones that have to change.
00:25:10.78\00:25:16.52
Another way to upset
the Holy Spirit is to bring
00:25:16.55\00:25:19.17
in strange fire to the temple.
00:25:19.20\00:25:23.61
Remember the
brothers, Nadab and Abihu?
00:25:23.64\00:25:25.90
That is found in the
book of Leviticus chapter 10,
00:25:25.93\00:25:29.66
verses 1 through 3.
00:25:29.69\00:25:34.09
This is what the Bible says.
00:25:34.12\00:25:36.54
"Now Nadab and
Abihu, the sons of Aaron,
00:25:36.57\00:25:39.06
each took his
censer and put fire in it,
00:25:39.09\00:25:41.61
put incense on it
and offered profane fire
00:25:41.64\00:25:44.11
before the Lord which
He had not commanded them.
00:25:44.14\00:25:46.69
So fire went out from
the Lord and devoured them
00:25:46.72\00:25:49.11
and they died before the Lord."
00:25:49.14\00:25:51.35
Now that's interesting.
00:25:51.38\00:25:53.50
Some people think and
claim that God doesn't kill,
00:25:53.53\00:25:55.65
that God doesn't hurt.
00:25:55.68\00:25:57.14
But yet here we
have two instances
00:25:57.17\00:25:58.54
where He took
matters into His own hands
00:25:58.57\00:26:00.92
and they all had to
do with holy things.
00:26:00.95\00:26:02.70
And Ananias and
Sapphira promised
00:26:02.73\00:26:04.73
something to the Holy Spirit
00:26:04.76\00:26:06.14
and then they
went back on their word
00:26:06.17\00:26:07.86
and the Holy Spirit took action.
00:26:07.89\00:26:09.75
Here Nadab and
Abihu, sons of Aaron,
00:26:09.78\00:26:12.70
one of them was going
to be the high priest.
00:26:12.73\00:26:14.69
They got a little bit-- a
little bit drunk, I guess.
00:26:14.72\00:26:18.36
And they did things
they weren't supposed to
00:26:18.39\00:26:20.07
and they brought
strange fire into the sanctuary
00:26:20.10\00:26:22.79
or into the temple area
00:26:22.82\00:26:24.41
and the Lord took
care of it Himself.
00:26:24.44\00:26:28.17
A strange fire in modern
times would be a way of bringing
00:26:28.20\00:26:31.54
in strange
doctrines into the church.
00:26:31.57\00:26:34.07
Every person that
brings in his strange belief,
00:26:34.10\00:26:36.00
it better be
tested by the word of God
00:26:36.03\00:26:38.68
to make sure that it
is from the word of God.
00:26:38.71\00:26:41.28
And not some weird idea
or weird way of thinking
00:26:41.31\00:26:44.32
that every now and
then creeps into the church.
00:26:44.35\00:26:46.79
Everything must be
tested and we must not allow
00:26:46.82\00:26:50.55
strange thoughts or strange
ideas or strange doctrines
00:26:50.58\00:26:53.89
to somehow creep into the church
00:26:53.92\00:26:56.22
because that will
only upset the Holy Spirit.
00:26:56.25\00:26:59.05
And once again they will take--
00:26:59.08\00:27:01.16
or He will take
matters into His own hands.
00:27:01.19\00:27:05.39
I urge you, my
brothers and sisters,
00:27:05.42\00:27:06.98
not to upset the Holy Spirit.
00:27:07.01\00:27:09.75
I urge you to accept
everything that He teaches you.
00:27:09.78\00:27:12.72
I urge you not to lie to Him.
00:27:12.75\00:27:14.81
I urge you not to profane
His name because He is God.
00:27:14.84\00:27:19.73
I pray--let us get together now
and have a short word of prayer.
00:27:19.76\00:27:25.08
Dear Father in
heaven, I thank you, Father,
00:27:25.11\00:27:27.17
for your Holy Spirit.
00:27:27.20\00:27:28.62
And the trouble that He goes
through to show us the truth.
00:27:28.65\00:27:31.17
Teach us,
Father, not to upset Him.
00:27:31.20\00:27:33.51
Teach us, Father,
to follow His ways.
00:27:33.54\00:27:35.96
For we ask all in the name of
our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
00:27:35.99\00:27:41.88
I urge you, my
brothers and sisters,
00:27:41.91\00:27:43.38
never to take the
Holy Spirit lightly.
00:27:43.41\00:27:46.42
He loves us very much.
He loves Jesus very much.
00:27:46.45\00:27:49.10
And He continues to
guide us to what the truth is.
00:27:49.13\00:27:51.80
And He expects us to follow
the truth. Thank you very much.
00:27:51.83\00:27:55.37