Hello and welcome to
Foundation of Our Faith,
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a production of the
Dare to Dream Network
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here at 3ABN.
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My name is John Lomacang.
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I'll be your
host for this program.
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Our speaker for this
episode is Elder Dwayne Lemon,
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a young man who found
deliverance in the Lord
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that found him in the
R&B and hip-hop industry.
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The Lord called
him out of the world,
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and now he is
traveling the world
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and reflecting the glory
and beauty of the message
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and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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He's gonna bring a
message today entitled
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"The Enemies of the Goal."
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What are the
enemies? And what is the goal?
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You'll find out
about that in this message.
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The Lord has called him to
share also in the preaching,
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teaching, and healing ministry,
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and he believes that
medical missionary work
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along with the
three angels' message
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is a combination that
will help people get ready
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for the coming of our Lord.
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We know that we're gonna be
blessed today by his message.
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But before he
comes, Esther Alonso-Neal
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is going to be blessing us
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with a song entitled
"My Life is in Your Hands."
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As you listen to
this minister of music,
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one who has traveled the world,
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one who is
known internationally,
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one whose desire and
goal is to share Jesus
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in multiple languages,
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you'll discover
through this minister of music
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that surely our lives
are in the hand of the Lord.
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Life can be so good
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Life can be so hard
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Never knowing what each day
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Will bring you where you are
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Sometimes I forget
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Sometimes I can't see
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That whatever comes my way
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You'll be with me
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My life is in Your hands
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My heart is in Your keeping
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I'm never without love
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Not when my future is with You
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My life is in Your hands
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And though I may not see clearly
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I will lift my voice and sing
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'Cause Your love
does amazing things
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Lord, I know my
life is in Your hands
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Nothing is for sure
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Nothing is for keeps
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All I know is that Your love
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Will live eternally
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So I will find my rest
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Yes
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And I will find my peace
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Knowing that
You'll meet my every need
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My life is in Your hands
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My heart is in Your keeping
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I'm never without hope
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Not when my future is with You
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My life is in Your hands
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And though I may not see clearly
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I will lift my voice and sing
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'Cause Your love
does amazing things
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Lord, I know my
life is in Your hands
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When I'm at my weakest point
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You carry me
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And I'll be at my strongest
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In Your hands
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My life is in Your hands
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Though I may not see clearly
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I will lift my voice and sing
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'Cause Your love
does amazing things
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Lord, I know my
life is in Your hands
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I trust You Lord
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My life is in Your hands
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We are so
grateful and so thankful
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when we can have the
assurance, the blessed assurance
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that our lives are in
the hands of the Master.
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When our lives are in
the hands of the Master,
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we can resonate with those words
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that were said
well over 100 years ago
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that we have nothing
to fear for the future,
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except as we forget
the way the Lord has led us
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and His teachings
in our past history.
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I am so grateful
that we have the privilege
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to speak the words of God
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and to hear the words of
God at such a time as this.
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May God bless each
and every one of us
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as we hold to
the blessed assurance
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and let it be a true testimony
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that our lives are in His hands.
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By the grace of God today,
the Lord is gonna challenge
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each and every one of us
and not only challenge us
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but also help us to hold
fast and hold fast to the end.
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My son is a pianist and he,
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once the Lord gave him his gift,
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I would always ask him to
play before Daddy would speak
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the Word of God to God's people.
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And my favorite song
is "Hold Fast till I Come"
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Hymn number 600.
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And I think
about that right now,
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you know, we're living
in some very serious times,
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some very solemn times,
and we need the assurance
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that our lives are in His
hands and that we must hold fast
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until He comes
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because today
we're gonna talk about
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this principle, this reality
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that there are
enemies to the goal
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that God wants
to be accomplished.
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And any time we
have to talk about
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getting ready to
face our enemies,
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you know, that
causes different emotions
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to rise up in
the heart of people
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but my hope and my prayer
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is that our hearts will
not be filled with fear,
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but we will be
filled with courage
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that we will be able to know
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that we can do all
things through Christ
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who strengthens us
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and that when
the rest of the world
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turns into
cowards that we must learn
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to gather strength
from their weakness,
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we must gather
warmth from their coldness,
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and we must gather
courage from their fear.
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And my hope and my prayer
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is that each and every one of us
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will take courage in our
Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ
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and to stand upon
His truth for this time
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as we prepare to meet our God.
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I believe the best
way to prepare our hearts
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for this message is
through a word of prayer.
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And so again, I'm
gonna go to my knees,
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and if you'd like, you
can go ahead and join me,
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you can kneel with me as well,
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otherwise, let's
just bow together
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and let's pray
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and let's let the
Lord speak to our hearts.
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Our loving Father,
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we are grateful
for the privilege
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and the opportunity
to hear heaven speak.
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Lord, we thank You so much
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that we can study
Your words of truth
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and that we might
receive it within our heart.
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Lord, I am praying that
You will please abide with us
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as You will grant us
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the presence of Your Holy Spirit
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and that He may
minister to our hearts
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and open our eyes and help us
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behold wondrous
things out of your word.
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Make Your word plain to us today
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for we ask it
all in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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I would like to go ahead
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and begin by
simply encouraging us
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to turn to the
book of 1 Peter 1.
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We're talking about
"Enemies of the Goal",
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and we're gonna define
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the various points of
enemies in just a moment,
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but I think we need
to understand the goal.
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What is it that
God wants to accomplish
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at the end of the day?
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In the book of 1 Peter,
we're gonna consider chapter 1,
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and when we look at 1 Peter 1,
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we're gonna consider
verses 15 and 16 specifically.
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And you will notice that
the Bible says in 1 Peter 1,
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and we're now looking
at verses 15 and verse 16.
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And here's the
great goal of God.
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The Bible says,
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"But as He which
hath called you is holy,
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so be ye holy," and how much?
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"In all manner of conversation.
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Because it is written,
Be ye holy, for I am holy."
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Now the reason why I
highlight this verse here,
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there's a reason for it.
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Some of us think
that the mere goal
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of the church is
to preach the Gospel.
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Well, my friends, you can
preach the Gospel all you want.
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If it does not
produce what God wants,
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then we're gonna
continue preaching
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until God gets what He wants
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because I've
learned something about
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my Father and
your Father in heaven.
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He will not be satisfied
till He gets what He wants.
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And God does not just want
a whole bunch of preachers,
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God does not just want
a whole bunch of teachers,
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God does not want us to
simply carry forth a message
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by which we know nothing
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of its corresponding experience.
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God says that the message
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is to be
realized in the lifestyle.
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When you look at that word
conversation in 1 Peter 1:15,
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it's not just
talking about words,
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it's talking
about the way we live.
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"In all manner of conversation,
in all manner of lifestyle,"
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God says, "I want
you to be holy people."
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You see, my
friends, God is holy,
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and the only
people that God can allow
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in His house
are people like Him.
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Nobody is going to get to heaven
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because they're
simply good preachers.
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No-one gets to heaven simply
because they're good teachers.
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No-one gets into the kingdom
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because we are
phenomenal at professing.
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That's one of the
reasons for the judgment.
00:11:47.67\00:11:49.27
The judgment is gonna
expose the true from the false.
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It's gonna help
really show who are the ones
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that really have
been justified by faith
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versus those who have
been talking a message
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but are void of its experience.
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And so God wants us to
have an experience with Him,
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and that experience is holiness
00:12:05.35\00:12:07.56
for when the
character of Christ,
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which is holy, you
remember in Luke 1:35,
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literally, Jesus was referred
to in a very beautiful term.
00:12:13.33\00:12:17.00
And I want you to look at
it. Luke 1:35. Think about it.
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In Luke 1, it was right
there in the 35th verse,
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here's what the Bible says,
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as it was
describing Jesus Himself.
00:12:25.41\00:12:27.51
It says in Luke 1:35.
00:12:27.54\00:12:29.61
"And the angel
answered and said unto her,
00:12:29.64\00:12:33.08
'The Holy Ghost
shall come upon thee,
00:12:33.11\00:12:35.58
and the power of the Highest
00:12:35.62\00:12:37.25
shall overshadow thee,
therefore also that..."
00:12:37.29\00:12:40.19
what kind of thing?
00:12:40.22\00:12:41.56
"That holy
thing..." Notice that.
00:12:41.59\00:12:43.76
"That holy thing
which shall be born of thee
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shall be called the Son of God."
00:12:46.26\00:12:48.56
Jesus, my
brothers and my sisters,
00:12:48.60\00:12:50.97
is holy and what God wants
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is He wants us to reflect
the lovely image of Jesus
00:12:53.67\00:12:56.97
before we get to the kingdom.
00:12:57.01\00:12:58.54
And so if Jesus is
Holy, then we must be Holy,
00:12:58.57\00:13:02.38
and that's the goal.
00:13:02.41\00:13:04.45
God wants all the
preaching, all the teaching,
00:13:04.48\00:13:06.95
all the evangelism,
all the benevolent work,
00:13:06.98\00:13:09.75
everything must
bring us to a place
00:13:09.78\00:13:12.49
that we're not
just "good people"
00:13:12.52\00:13:15.42
but we are holy
people, just like God.
00:13:15.46\00:13:20.66
And, my brothers and
sisters, the reality is this,
00:13:20.70\00:13:23.70
when we seek to
become holy as God is Holy,
00:13:23.73\00:13:27.30
when we are
willing to accept Christ
00:13:27.34\00:13:29.07
our righteousness, our holiness,
00:13:29.10\00:13:31.07
our sanctification,
00:13:31.11\00:13:32.44
when we are willing to let Jesus
00:13:32.47\00:13:35.08
have full complete
dominion over all the choices
00:13:35.11\00:13:38.78
that we make every single day,
00:13:38.81\00:13:40.38
over our words, our
thoughts, and our actions,
00:13:40.42\00:13:44.39
when we seek to
live this kind of life,
00:13:44.42\00:13:47.06
the Bible makes a
very definite statement,
00:13:47.09\00:13:49.46
and it is found in
the book of 2 Timothy 3.
00:13:49.49\00:13:52.93
It is our reality, my friends,
00:13:52.96\00:13:54.76
and there is no way to avoid it.
00:13:54.80\00:13:56.80
And I just want to
let you know this now
00:13:56.83\00:13:58.17
so we can get it
out of our heads,
00:13:58.20\00:13:59.53
to think that if we
live the life of Jesus,
00:13:59.57\00:14:01.74
all will be well.
00:14:01.77\00:14:03.10
Well, this is true in one sense,
00:14:03.14\00:14:04.74
but it's not
true in another sense.
00:14:04.77\00:14:06.27
And let me prove it.
00:14:06.31\00:14:07.64
In 2 Timothy, I want you to
see what the Bible says now,
00:14:07.68\00:14:10.58
as we consider the
third chapter, 2 Timothy,
00:14:10.61\00:14:13.48
and we're looking at chapter 3.
00:14:13.52\00:14:15.78
And the Bible says in
the book of 2 Timothy 3,
00:14:15.82\00:14:19.62
notice what it says
as we consider verse 12.
00:14:19.65\00:14:23.53
The Bible says in 2 Timothy
3, right there in verse 12.
00:14:23.56\00:14:27.23
It says "Yea..." And how many?
00:14:27.26\00:14:29.43
Notice it says "All" all right.
00:14:29.46\00:14:31.57
"Yea, and all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus
00:14:31.60\00:14:37.31
shall suffer persecution."
00:14:37.34\00:14:42.21
My brothers and my sisters,
00:14:42.24\00:14:44.51
if we are going to
reflect that blessed
00:14:44.55\00:14:46.61
and lovely
image of Jesus Christ,
00:14:46.65\00:14:49.75
if we say that
we believe in Him,
00:14:49.78\00:14:52.92
we must understand
that belief in Christ
00:14:52.95\00:14:57.16
is more than a profession.
00:14:57.19\00:14:59.83
You know, I
marvel at how so often
00:14:59.86\00:15:03.57
in the religious
world today there are people
00:15:03.60\00:15:06.43
who love to say,
00:15:06.47\00:15:08.10
"Oh, if we only
would believe in Jesus,"
00:15:08.14\00:15:10.31
and "I believe in Jesus,"
and "We believe in Jesus,"
00:15:10.34\00:15:12.87
and there's a lot of
profession of Christianity.
00:15:12.91\00:15:15.34
I come from the hip-hop culture.
00:15:15.38\00:15:17.28
And today, if you
look into hip-hop,
00:15:17.31\00:15:18.65
you'll see that there
are a lot of rappers today
00:15:18.68\00:15:21.28
that will
curse, they will swear,
00:15:21.32\00:15:23.39
they will lie, they will
cheat, they will fornicate,
00:15:23.42\00:15:26.32
they will do all sorts of things
00:15:26.35\00:15:27.89
that the Bible clearly calls sin
00:15:27.92\00:15:30.46
and separates us from God
00:15:30.49\00:15:32.36
and is not a
demonstration of godliness,
00:15:32.39\00:15:34.90
yet they will say
they believe in Jesus.
00:15:34.93\00:15:37.10
My brothers and my sisters,
00:15:37.13\00:15:38.47
we need to understand
something very important.
00:15:38.50\00:15:40.24
It is true that in Romans
10, it is true that it says,
00:15:40.27\00:15:43.77
if we confess with our
mouths and believe in our heart
00:15:43.81\00:15:45.97
the Lord Jesus
Christ, we shall be saved.
00:15:46.01\00:15:47.84
But it doesn't
stop simply there,
00:15:47.88\00:15:50.41
there's more to the text,
00:15:50.45\00:15:51.81
and that's why you always
take the whole of scripture.
00:15:51.85\00:15:54.88
Can I show you
what Jesus himself said
00:15:54.92\00:15:56.75
if you really believe in Him?
00:15:56.79\00:15:58.42
Do you know that
Jesus made it plain
00:15:58.45\00:16:00.96
who and how we can identify
00:16:00.99\00:16:03.06
who the real
believers in Jesus are?
00:16:03.09\00:16:05.59
Did you know that He
gave us such plain language
00:16:05.63\00:16:08.36
that we cannot miss it
as long as we can read?
00:16:08.40\00:16:11.07
Notice what the
Bible says in John 14.
00:16:11.10\00:16:13.23
Consider this, John 14.
00:16:13.27\00:16:15.17
In John 14, watch
what the Bible says.
00:16:15.20\00:16:18.64
John, we're
looking at chapter 14,
00:16:18.67\00:16:21.24
and I want you to just watch
what Jesus said right there.
00:16:21.28\00:16:23.31
It's Him, His
self, it's His words.
00:16:23.35\00:16:25.98
And in John 14,
00:16:26.01\00:16:27.35
Jesus is speaking about
those who believe in Him.
00:16:27.38\00:16:30.69
I want you to think
about every politician
00:16:30.72\00:16:32.75
that you have ever heard
say, they believe in Jesus.
00:16:32.79\00:16:34.86
I want you to think
about every entertainer
00:16:34.89\00:16:36.96
who has said
from their own mouth
00:16:36.99\00:16:38.43
that they believe in Jesus.
00:16:38.46\00:16:39.79
I want you to think
about every individual
00:16:39.83\00:16:42.10
who has said at
some point or another
00:16:42.13\00:16:43.87
they believe in Jesus.
00:16:43.90\00:16:45.27
I want you to even
think about yourself
00:16:45.30\00:16:49.50
when you say and I say,
00:16:49.54\00:16:51.27
"I believe in Jesus,"
00:16:51.31\00:16:52.64
because you know
what Jesus is about to do?
00:16:52.67\00:16:54.21
He's gonna test us.
00:16:54.24\00:16:56.28
You want to know how He does it?
00:16:56.31\00:16:57.65
Look at what He says in John 14.
00:16:57.68\00:16:59.05
The Bible says in John 14,
right there in the 12th verse,
00:16:59.08\00:17:02.12
look at it very
carefully, "Verily, verily..."
00:17:02.15\00:17:04.29
In other words, truly, truly,
I'm telling you the truth.
00:17:04.32\00:17:07.52
And Jesus does not lie.
00:17:07.56\00:17:09.09
He says, "Verily,
verily, I say unto you,
00:17:09.12\00:17:12.99
he that believeth on
Me, the works that I do,
00:17:13.03\00:17:19.03
shall he do also.
00:17:19.07\00:17:23.00
And greater works
than these shall he do
00:17:23.04\00:17:26.47
because I go unto my Father."
00:17:26.51\00:17:29.14
Jesus makes it clear,
if you want to see a man
00:17:29.18\00:17:31.95
and if you want to see a
woman that believes in Me,
00:17:31.98\00:17:34.02
then watch their
works because Jesus says
00:17:34.05\00:17:36.65
if they really believe on Me,
00:17:36.69\00:17:38.29
the works that I
do, they shall do also.
00:17:38.32\00:17:41.29
Now, watch this.
00:17:41.32\00:17:42.66
This is where
sometimes we get sidetracked
00:17:42.69\00:17:44.63
or we suffer from
something called blind spots.
00:17:44.66\00:17:47.76
You know what a blind spot is,
00:17:47.80\00:17:49.13
when you're
driving down the road,
00:17:49.16\00:17:50.50
you know, you've
got a blind spot,
00:17:50.53\00:17:51.87
you know, you can see
clearly what's in front,
00:17:51.90\00:17:53.34
you typically can
see what's behind you,
00:17:53.37\00:17:55.20
but it's those blind spots
00:17:55.24\00:17:56.57
right on the
right and to the left
00:17:56.60\00:17:57.94
that if you do not
turn your head to look
00:17:57.97\00:17:59.74
and carefully
check that blind spot,
00:17:59.77\00:18:02.24
we can perhaps end
up into a collision,
00:18:02.28\00:18:04.78
and that collision can
cause the death of individuals.
00:18:04.81\00:18:07.45
And so blind spots
are what we would call
00:18:07.48\00:18:10.02
very, very dangerous.
00:18:10.05\00:18:11.65
If we are not careful,
we can suffer a blind spot
00:18:11.69\00:18:14.86
and end up in a collision
00:18:14.89\00:18:16.22
that can cost the lives
of others, even ourselves.
00:18:16.26\00:18:18.89
So it is that
there are many today
00:18:18.93\00:18:20.96
that have blind spots.
00:18:21.00\00:18:22.33
In other words, when
they study the Bible,
00:18:22.36\00:18:24.00
they look at certain
aspects of the life of Jesus.
00:18:24.03\00:18:28.60
They will look at the
fact that oh, he healed,
00:18:28.64\00:18:30.51
so then you've got a
whole bunch of people
00:18:30.54\00:18:31.87
that love to heal.
00:18:31.91\00:18:33.24
Then they'll say, "Oh, well,
I look at this side of Jesus
00:18:33.27\00:18:35.01
and He was very, very
giving, going about doing good."
00:18:35.04\00:18:37.68
So they love to
go about and do good,
00:18:37.71\00:18:39.05
so they'll do everything
from feed the homeless,
00:18:39.08\00:18:41.02
and do all sorts of wonderful
what we call benevolent work,
00:18:41.05\00:18:43.82
you know, clothe the naked
00:18:43.85\00:18:45.19
and visit those
in prison etcetera,
00:18:45.22\00:18:46.55
and all these things,
00:18:46.59\00:18:47.92
and there are some who
are just focused on that.
00:18:47.96\00:18:50.06
There are others who just focus
on the preaching of the truth
00:18:50.09\00:18:53.56
but they neglect
the practical duties
00:18:53.60\00:18:55.46
like I just mentioned
in the benevolent work.
00:18:55.50\00:18:58.00
All of these various groups
of believers can do good works
00:18:58.03\00:19:02.20
but still suffer
with blind spots.
00:19:02.24\00:19:03.77
In other words,
there are certain things
00:19:03.81\00:19:05.14
they did not see about
the character of Christ
00:19:05.17\00:19:07.71
that they have not
applied in their lives
00:19:07.74\00:19:10.75
that they might
give the fullness
00:19:10.78\00:19:13.08
of his character
demonstration to the world.
00:19:13.11\00:19:15.68
You see there's no
way Jesus is coming back
00:19:15.72\00:19:17.95
until we
reflect His image fully.
00:19:17.99\00:19:20.92
That means no blind spots.
00:19:20.96\00:19:22.39
That means that every dynamic
00:19:22.42\00:19:24.29
of the life of
Christ must be practiced.
00:19:24.33\00:19:26.70
And I'm gonna show you a
dynamic of the life of Jesus
00:19:26.73\00:19:29.30
that I believe that even
people in the church today
00:19:29.33\00:19:32.57
are very fearful
of demonstrating,
00:19:32.60\00:19:35.74
even though it's a reflection
of the character of Christ.
00:19:35.77\00:19:38.91
There are many people
who are very fearful of it.
00:19:38.94\00:19:41.38
And notice what the Bible
says it is as we go to John 7.
00:19:41.41\00:19:45.85
In John 7, Jesus
is having a dialogue
00:19:45.88\00:19:48.82
with His brothers.
00:19:48.85\00:19:50.85
And as He's
talking to His brothers,
00:19:50.89\00:19:53.22
His brothers didn't
even believe Him either.
00:19:53.25\00:19:55.19
They didn't believe
the fullness of who He was,
00:19:55.22\00:19:56.93
and they began to challenge Him.
00:19:56.96\00:19:58.66
And I want you to
watch this story now.
00:19:58.69\00:20:00.66
As we go to John 7,
and let's start at verse 1,
00:20:00.70\00:20:03.70
and I want you to
see what the Bible says.
00:20:03.73\00:20:05.77
The Bible says in John 7:1.
00:20:05.80\00:20:07.40
"After these things
Jesus walked in Galilee.
00:20:07.44\00:20:09.80
For he would not walk in Jewry,
00:20:09.84\00:20:11.44
because the Jews
sought to kill him.
00:20:11.47\00:20:13.88
Now the Jew's feast of
tabernacles was at hand.
00:20:13.91\00:20:16.01
His brethren
therefore said unto him,
00:20:16.04\00:20:17.81
depart hence,
and go into Judaea,
00:20:17.85\00:20:19.68
that thy disciples also may
see the works that thou doest.
00:20:19.71\00:20:22.85
For there is no man that
doeth any thing in secret,
00:20:22.88\00:20:25.99
and he himself
seeketh to be known openly.
00:20:26.02\00:20:28.56
If thou do these things,
show thyself to the world."
00:20:28.59\00:20:32.13
But why did they say
that to their brother?
00:20:32.16\00:20:33.70
It says in verse 5,
00:20:33.73\00:20:35.06
"For neither did his
brethren believe in him."
00:20:35.10\00:20:37.70
It's amazing how people
can challenge you to do good
00:20:37.73\00:20:40.07
but it's based off
00:20:40.10\00:20:41.44
of a
speculative suspicious mind.
00:20:41.47\00:20:44.01
And here it is that in
verse 6, Jesus now answers them,
00:20:44.04\00:20:46.27
and I want you to
watch the answer of Jesus
00:20:46.31\00:20:47.91
very carefully.
00:20:47.94\00:20:49.28
It says, "Then
Jesus said unto them,
00:20:49.31\00:20:52.38
My time is not yet come,
but your time is always ready.
00:20:52.41\00:20:56.69
The world cannot hate
you but Me it hateth."
00:20:56.72\00:21:01.36
Wait a minute.
00:21:01.39\00:21:02.72
The world hates Jesus?
00:21:02.76\00:21:05.09
You know,
depending on the picture
00:21:05.13\00:21:06.80
that we have in our
minds, all we know of Jesus
00:21:06.83\00:21:08.86
is that He went
about doing good,
00:21:08.90\00:21:10.23
and I would say amen to that,
00:21:10.27\00:21:11.60
'cause I believe
everything He did do was good.
00:21:11.63\00:21:13.20
But at the same time,
00:21:13.23\00:21:14.70
sometimes our understanding
of doing good is simply,
00:21:14.74\00:21:18.47
like I said,
sometimes the benevolent work,
00:21:18.51\00:21:20.31
you know, feeding the
homeless, clothing the naked,
00:21:20.34\00:21:22.71
and visiting those in prison
00:21:22.74\00:21:24.08
and constantly giving
words of encouragement,
00:21:24.11\00:21:26.18
and these type of things.
00:21:26.21\00:21:27.55
And all of that is true
but Jesus is about to show us
00:21:27.58\00:21:30.25
something about His character
00:21:30.29\00:21:31.62
that a lot of
times we don't consider
00:21:31.65\00:21:34.19
or sometimes we get very fragile
00:21:34.22\00:21:36.22
in letting this
aspect of His character
00:21:36.26\00:21:39.09
be lived out within our lives,
continuing with the verse.
00:21:39.13\00:21:42.33
It says, "The
world cannot hate you,
00:21:42.36\00:21:44.00
but Me it hateth..."
00:21:44.03\00:21:45.37
Why?
00:21:45.40\00:21:46.74
"Because I testify of it
00:21:46.77\00:21:48.10
that the works
thereof are evil."
00:21:48.14\00:21:52.77
My brothers and sisters,
00:21:52.81\00:21:55.08
did you know that an
absolute part of the ministry,
00:21:55.11\00:21:59.68
the work of Christ on the earth
00:21:59.71\00:22:02.65
was that He would let
those in the world know
00:22:02.68\00:22:06.59
that what they
are doing is evil,
00:22:06.62\00:22:09.32
what they are doing is wrong,
00:22:09.36\00:22:11.53
what they are doing is sinful,
00:22:11.56\00:22:13.90
and they must turn
away from their sins,
00:22:13.93\00:22:16.23
and they must come to
God before it is too late,
00:22:16.26\00:22:19.10
and this is a dynamic
that in many respects,
00:22:19.13\00:22:22.64
this aspect of
ministry is not in the forefront
00:22:22.67\00:22:26.88
as it could be
especially to the world.
00:22:26.91\00:22:30.81
My brothers and my sisters,
00:22:30.85\00:22:33.11
we must
understand all who live godly
00:22:33.15\00:22:35.22
in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.
00:22:35.25\00:22:38.95
Why?
00:22:38.99\00:22:40.32
Because when we
testify of the evil
00:22:40.36\00:22:43.53
that we see taking place,
00:22:43.56\00:22:45.89
you see, if we're
calling individuals to holiness,
00:22:45.93\00:22:49.36
then it is going to by default
expose what unholiness is.
00:22:49.40\00:22:53.23
If we call people to godliness,
then it's gonna, by default,
00:22:53.27\00:22:57.91
show people what ungodliness is.
00:22:57.94\00:23:00.68
And when those two principles
are exposed for what they are,
00:23:00.71\00:23:05.58
it is going to bring hatred,
00:23:05.61\00:23:09.05
it's going to bring persecution,
00:23:09.08\00:23:11.49
it is going to bring,
00:23:11.52\00:23:13.25
my brothers and
sisters, enemies.
00:23:13.29\00:23:16.06
And so therefore
there is a such thing
00:23:16.09\00:23:17.76
as enemies of the goal.
00:23:17.79\00:23:19.46
And the question is this,
00:23:19.49\00:23:20.83
when Jesus was telling the world
00:23:20.86\00:23:22.46
how evil they were
00:23:22.50\00:23:23.83
and the behaviors
that they were doing
00:23:23.87\00:23:25.20
and calling out all
these sins by their right name,
00:23:25.23\00:23:27.00
was He doing it
because He hated them?
00:23:27.04\00:23:29.74
What do you think?
00:23:29.77\00:23:31.11
Well, I would
definitely say absolutely not.
00:23:31.14\00:23:32.47
We know that Jesus
didn't hate the world.
00:23:32.51\00:23:33.88
The Bible makes it clear
that God so loved the world
00:23:33.91\00:23:36.44
that He gave His
only begotten Son.
00:23:36.48\00:23:37.85
Jesus was in
harmony with His Father,
00:23:37.88\00:23:39.28
He loved the world and
the Father loved the world,
00:23:39.31\00:23:41.78
while they were yet
enemies, Romans 5 tells us.
00:23:41.82\00:23:45.75
So therefore we
know that there is no way
00:23:45.79\00:23:48.29
that Jesus had hatred
when He told them of the evil.
00:23:48.32\00:23:52.29
You see, go to the
book of Revelation 3,
00:23:52.33\00:23:55.26
many of times when
the Ministry of Rebukes
00:23:55.30\00:23:57.90
has to go forward,
00:23:57.93\00:23:59.33
I call it the
Ministry of Rebukes
00:23:59.37\00:24:00.77
because rebuking
is also a ministry.
00:24:00.80\00:24:03.51
It's a part of it.
00:24:03.54\00:24:04.87
And there are times
00:24:04.91\00:24:06.24
where things have to be
called out for what they are
00:24:06.27\00:24:07.98
and it's not gonna
make people comfortable,
00:24:08.01\00:24:10.81
but making comfortable
00:24:10.85\00:24:12.18
was never the
purpose of the Gospel,
00:24:12.21\00:24:15.32
that was never the
focus of the Gospel,
00:24:15.35\00:24:16.89
it wasn't to make
people comfortable in sin,
00:24:16.92\00:24:19.09
God forbid.
00:24:19.12\00:24:20.46
It was to make us
so uncomfortable in sin
00:24:20.49\00:24:23.09
that we would
want to run to Jesus
00:24:23.12\00:24:24.79
and say, "Lord,
please take away my sins."
00:24:24.83\00:24:28.06
But the problem is
that if we give a message
00:24:28.10\00:24:29.76
that just basically
loves everybody to sleep,
00:24:29.80\00:24:31.83
well, that's a problem.
00:24:31.87\00:24:33.30
And so it is
that there are times
00:24:33.34\00:24:35.14
where a rebuke has to be given,
00:24:35.17\00:24:36.91
and this is
gonna be a reflection
00:24:36.94\00:24:38.84
also of the ministry
00:24:38.87\00:24:41.01
and the
character of Jesus Christ
00:24:41.04\00:24:42.48
because love always
wants to win people.
00:24:42.51\00:24:47.48
We never rebuke to
repel, we rebuke to win.
00:24:47.52\00:24:51.69
Rebuking,
according to the Bible,
00:24:51.72\00:24:54.32
is actually a
demonstration of God's love.
00:24:54.36\00:24:57.03
And some people have a
hard time believing that
00:24:57.06\00:24:58.76
but the Bible says so.
00:24:58.79\00:25:00.13
In Revelation 3, God is
talking to the last church era,
00:25:00.16\00:25:03.80
which is the church of Laodicea,
00:25:03.83\00:25:05.93
and Laodicea had a major issue,
00:25:05.97\00:25:07.67
they think they're all
right when they're all wrong.
00:25:07.70\00:25:10.67
That was the issue at
Laodicea, bottom line.
00:25:10.71\00:25:12.94
And God began to give counsel
00:25:12.97\00:25:15.38
and He counseled
them in verse 18,
00:25:15.41\00:25:17.41
I want you to bias me, Laodicea,
00:25:17.45\00:25:18.88
you're in a
deplorable, disgusting position,
00:25:18.91\00:25:20.78
you make me want to
vomit, but God says,
00:25:20.82\00:25:22.72
but at the same time,
00:25:22.75\00:25:24.09
my desire is
that I still want you
00:25:24.12\00:25:26.15
in my house with me,
00:25:26.19\00:25:27.69
but I need you to let
me in that I can change you
00:25:27.72\00:25:31.66
and make you holy as I am holy.
00:25:31.69\00:25:33.13
So in the midst of God's counsel
00:25:33.16\00:25:36.26
to the Church of Laodicea,
00:25:36.30\00:25:37.90
He says something very
powerful in Revelation 3:19.
00:25:37.93\00:25:41.60
He says, "As many as I hate..."
00:25:41.64\00:25:45.21
Is that what the verse says?
00:25:45.24\00:25:46.74
No, that's not what
the verse says, is it?
00:25:46.78\00:25:48.64
It says, "As many as I
love, I rebuke and I chasten.
00:25:48.68\00:25:54.02
Be zealous
therefore and repent."
00:25:54.05\00:25:57.49
God wants us to
come home with Him,
00:25:57.52\00:25:58.85
my brothers and sisters.
00:25:58.89\00:26:00.42
God is not
satisfied with this idea
00:26:00.46\00:26:03.29
of communicating
with us through prayer.
00:26:03.32\00:26:05.93
God looks forward to the
day He can get rid of prayer.
00:26:05.96\00:26:08.96
God looks forward of the day
00:26:09.00\00:26:10.33
that there will not have
to be this medium activity
00:26:10.37\00:26:12.37
by which we can
commune with Him.
00:26:12.40\00:26:13.90
Prayer will no
longer be necessary
00:26:13.94\00:26:15.67
once we're face to
face with Him again.
00:26:15.70\00:26:17.11
Do you understand that?
00:26:17.14\00:26:18.67
So God
appreciates prayer right now.
00:26:18.71\00:26:20.58
It's a necessity right now.
00:26:20.61\00:26:21.94
But He looks forward to the day
00:26:21.98\00:26:23.31
that He has an even
closer communion with His bride.
00:26:23.35\00:26:26.68
My brothers and my
sisters, we need to understand
00:26:26.72\00:26:29.85
that God says but
there was one thing
00:26:29.88\00:26:31.95
that broke up the
face to face communion.
00:26:31.99\00:26:34.36
It was in Isaiah 59:2,
00:26:34.39\00:26:36.36
our sins have caused Him
to turn his face from us,
00:26:36.39\00:26:39.06
so He wants us to get
victory over those things,
00:26:39.09\00:26:41.36
victory over every sin,
00:26:41.40\00:26:42.86
which is possible
through the merits of Christ.
00:26:42.90\00:26:45.67
And then, God says,
00:26:45.70\00:26:47.44
I can now have face to
face communion with My bride.
00:26:47.47\00:26:51.57
God longs to be with
each and every one of us,
00:26:51.61\00:26:53.94
but He can't save us in sin,
He can only save us from sin,
00:26:53.98\00:26:57.68
but we have to
recognize our sins
00:26:57.71\00:26:59.88
and therefore God
raises up preachers
00:26:59.91\00:27:02.92
that will call
sin by its right name.
00:27:02.95\00:27:05.62
Why are they doing it?
00:27:05.65\00:27:06.99
Not because they hate the people
00:27:07.02\00:27:08.36
but because
they love the people.
00:27:08.39\00:27:09.92
"As many as I love,
I rebuke and I chasten.
00:27:09.96\00:27:14.03
Be zealous
therefore and repent."
00:27:14.06\00:27:15.93
I read in a little
book called Education.
00:27:15.96\00:27:18.17
And in that book
Education page 57, it tells us,
00:27:18.20\00:27:21.24
"The greatest want of
the world is the want of men,
00:27:21.27\00:27:24.31
men who will not
be bought or sold,
00:27:24.34\00:27:27.04
men who in their inmost
souls are true and honest,
00:27:27.08\00:27:30.68
men who do not fear to
call sin by its right name,
00:27:30.71\00:27:35.85
men whose
consciences are as true to duty
00:27:35.88\00:27:39.79
as the needle to the pole,
00:27:39.82\00:27:41.59
men who will stand for the right
00:27:41.62\00:27:43.76
though the heavens fall."
00:27:43.79\00:27:47.03
God needs more men like this.
00:27:47.06\00:27:48.83
God needs more women like this.
00:27:48.86\00:27:50.93
God needs to have
more people like this
00:27:50.97\00:27:53.07
that when we see the evil
that is so prevalently running
00:27:53.10\00:27:56.44
all throughout our world today
that we, by the grace of God,
00:27:56.47\00:28:00.18
will love the people
enough to tell them the truth,
00:28:00.21\00:28:03.51
even if it makes
them uncomfortable,
00:28:03.55\00:28:05.35
even if it means we
might lose our popularity,
00:28:05.38\00:28:07.98
even if it means
that certain favors
00:28:08.02\00:28:09.68
that we received today
will no longer be received,
00:28:09.72\00:28:11.95
even if it means
that the positions
00:28:11.99\00:28:13.92
that we hold right now
in the name of occupation
00:28:13.96\00:28:15.96
or otherwise might
have to be taken away,
00:28:15.99\00:28:17.99
even if it means
that we may one day
00:28:18.03\00:28:21.63
have to even lose our lives.
00:28:21.66\00:28:24.53
Do you have that kind of love?
00:28:24.57\00:28:26.47
My brothers and sisters,
this is the kind of love
00:28:26.50\00:28:27.84
I ask God to
reproduce in my heart every day,
00:28:27.87\00:28:30.34
to love people enough
that when a time comes
00:28:30.37\00:28:35.04
that I see them
going on a wrong path
00:28:35.08\00:28:37.11
that I can love
them enough to say,
00:28:37.15\00:28:38.48
"My brother and my sister,
00:28:38.51\00:28:39.85
I see us going in
the path of danger,
00:28:39.88\00:28:41.22
God wants to save us,
00:28:41.25\00:28:42.58
and that thing
you're getting ready to do,
00:28:42.62\00:28:43.95
the Bible calls sin
and God cannot accept that.
00:28:43.99\00:28:46.05
Please, please turn away.
00:28:46.09\00:28:48.22
Please come to Jesus.
00:28:48.26\00:28:49.59
Let's let Him give us
victory over these things.
00:28:49.62\00:28:50.96
Let's pray together."
00:28:50.99\00:28:52.33
We have to learn how
to plead with each other
00:28:52.36\00:28:54.36
that we will
cooperate with heaven
00:28:54.40\00:28:56.33
as we get ready to see
the final scenes unfold
00:28:56.36\00:28:58.77
that's gonna take the
majority of the people
00:28:58.80\00:29:00.24
in this world as an
overwhelming surprise.
00:29:00.27\00:29:04.17
And so it is that
when I think about this,
00:29:04.21\00:29:06.41
there are gonna be
enemies to this goal.
00:29:06.44\00:29:08.28
This goal of
holiness that God wants,
00:29:08.31\00:29:10.25
there's gonna be enemies,
there's gonna be enemies.
00:29:10.28\00:29:12.51
And those enemies are
gonna come, basically,
00:29:12.55\00:29:15.28
from what I'm gonna
call in three directions
00:29:15.32\00:29:17.72
or three
dimensions, if you will.
00:29:17.75\00:29:19.29
Three types of enemies,
three types of persecution,
00:29:19.32\00:29:22.32
and so what I'm gonna do
for the remainder of our study
00:29:22.36\00:29:24.76
is I'm just
gonna talk a little bit
00:29:24.79\00:29:26.36
about the various places
00:29:26.39\00:29:28.30
that we might expect persecution
00:29:28.33\00:29:30.03
and then God can help us
to know how to overcome it
00:29:30.07\00:29:32.87
so we do not get
derailed in our Christianity.
00:29:32.90\00:29:36.67
Sometimes, when people
give their hearts to Jesus,
00:29:36.71\00:29:38.57
we begin to follow
Him and we have a picture,
00:29:38.61\00:29:40.71
and I had, of what
church is supposed to be like,
00:29:40.74\00:29:42.74
what life is supposed
to be like, and sometimes
00:29:42.78\00:29:45.58
that image we have in
our heads is not reality,
00:29:45.61\00:29:48.52
and therefore, we get derailed.
00:29:48.55\00:29:49.92
And so God loves us
enough to tell us the truth.
00:29:49.95\00:29:52.52
You know, one time,
Jesus, He goes ahead
00:29:52.55\00:29:54.26
and He chooses
these 12 disciples, right?
00:29:54.29\00:29:57.36
And I thought
this was interesting.
00:29:57.39\00:29:59.33
Jesus chose 12 disciples,
and when He chooses them,
00:29:59.36\00:30:02.46
He has to give them
all sorts of admonishment
00:30:02.50\00:30:05.37
as they're
preparing to do ministry.
00:30:05.40\00:30:08.30
And look at what Jesus taught
in class with the disciples
00:30:08.34\00:30:11.91
early in their
ministry as He's getting ready
00:30:11.94\00:30:14.08
to launch them
out to do service.
00:30:14.11\00:30:15.58
Go to Matthew 10.
00:30:15.61\00:30:16.95
In Matthew 10,
you're gonna see now,
00:30:16.98\00:30:19.45
Jesus actually
warned His disciples
00:30:19.48\00:30:22.25
of certain
realities that some would say,
00:30:22.28\00:30:24.59
"Man, Jesus,
wasn't that little early
00:30:24.62\00:30:26.15
to drop that bomb on Him?
00:30:26.19\00:30:27.52
You know, that
might discourage them."
00:30:27.56\00:30:28.89
But I believe Jesus
is the master teacher
00:30:28.92\00:30:30.46
and He knew
exactly what He was doing.
00:30:30.49\00:30:32.23
And so therefore, I
believe it was wisdom
00:30:32.26\00:30:34.30
by which Christ
demonstrated here in Matthew 10.
00:30:34.33\00:30:37.53
It was in Matthew 10
that verse 1 tells us,
00:30:37.57\00:30:39.97
He brings all these
12 disciples together,
00:30:40.00\00:30:42.20
but then he
begins to counsel them.
00:30:42.24\00:30:43.61
He starts to give
them all sorts of counsels
00:30:43.64\00:30:45.87
from verse 5 and onward.
00:30:45.91\00:30:47.48
"Go not into the
way of the Gentiles,
00:30:47.51\00:30:49.24
or the Samaritans,
but go to the lost sheep
00:30:49.28\00:30:50.88
of the house of Israel."
00:30:50.91\00:30:52.25
When you go to a house,
00:30:52.28\00:30:53.62
I want to make sure you do this.
00:30:53.65\00:30:54.98
You know, He's giving
them all these instructions,
00:30:55.02\00:30:56.35
but then He gets down
to a place in verse 16.
00:30:56.38\00:30:59.62
This is in the
beginning of their ministry.
00:30:59.65\00:31:01.19
This is the launch
of their discipleship.
00:31:01.22\00:31:03.09
And Jesus says in verse 16,
00:31:03.12\00:31:04.76
"Behold now, I
send you forth as sheep
00:31:04.79\00:31:08.20
in the midst of wolves."
00:31:08.23\00:31:09.70
He makes it clear, He
says, "I send you forth a sheep
00:31:09.73\00:31:11.43
in the midst of wolves,
00:31:11.47\00:31:12.80
be ye therefore
wise as serpents,
00:31:12.83\00:31:15.00
and harmless as doves."
00:31:15.04\00:31:16.50
Now there are so many
applications to this verse,
00:31:16.54\00:31:18.37
I wish we had
time to go into it.
00:31:18.41\00:31:20.34
"Be wise as serpents
and harmless as doves."
00:31:20.38\00:31:23.65
Then He says, "But beware of men
00:31:23.68\00:31:25.41
for they will deliver
you up to the councils
00:31:25.45\00:31:26.98
and they will scourge
you in their synagogues
00:31:27.02\00:31:28.85
and ye shall be
brought before governors
00:31:28.88\00:31:30.32
and kings For my sake
for a testimony against them
00:31:30.35\00:31:32.82
and the Gentiles.
00:31:32.85\00:31:34.19
But when they deliver you up,
00:31:34.22\00:31:35.56
take no thought how
or what ye shall speak
00:31:35.59\00:31:36.93
for it shall be
given you in that same hour
00:31:36.96\00:31:39.09
what ye shall speak.
00:31:39.13\00:31:40.46
For it is not ye that speak
but the Spirit of your Father
00:31:40.50\00:31:42.80
which speaketh in you.
00:31:42.83\00:31:44.17
And the brother shall
deliver up the brother to death,
00:31:44.20\00:31:49.04
and the father the child,
and the children shall rise up
00:31:49.07\00:31:51.77
against their parents
00:31:51.81\00:31:53.14
and cause them
to be put to death.
00:31:53.17\00:31:54.54
And ye shall be
hated of..." How many men?
00:31:54.58\00:31:57.75
"Ye shall be hated of
all men for My name's sake,
00:31:57.78\00:32:00.92
but he that endureth to
the end shall be saved."
00:32:00.95\00:32:06.19
Straight words from Jesus.
00:32:06.22\00:32:07.62
And this is early in ministry.
00:32:07.66\00:32:09.39
This is not after three years
of them walking with Jesus.
00:32:09.42\00:32:11.99
This is in the beginning
of their walk with Jesus.
00:32:12.03\00:32:14.83
And Jesus says, I'm
gonna tell you straight,
00:32:14.86\00:32:16.36
I'm gonna give
you straight warnings,
00:32:16.40\00:32:17.73
and I'm going to let you know
00:32:17.77\00:32:19.10
that all these
challenges will come
00:32:19.13\00:32:20.47
but be not
afraid because He says
00:32:20.50\00:32:22.20
if you endure to the
end, you're gonna make it,
00:32:22.24\00:32:24.81
you'll be home with me.
00:32:24.84\00:32:26.34
And then Jesus
began to walk with them
00:32:26.37\00:32:28.34
and show them how to
embrace their realities.
00:32:28.38\00:32:31.65
Praise God for Jesus.
00:32:31.68\00:32:33.82
Praise God for
His wonderful example
00:32:33.85\00:32:35.92
that He sets before us.
00:32:35.95\00:32:37.62
My brothers and my sisters,
there's gonna be persecution,
00:32:37.65\00:32:41.36
there's gonna be enemies
that are gonna try to hinder us
00:32:41.39\00:32:45.09
from experiencing these goals.
00:32:45.13\00:32:46.93
And so it is
that the first enemy
00:32:46.96\00:32:49.33
that we're gonna consider
is what we'll call the world.
00:32:49.36\00:32:52.27
Now we have to understand
that we are not of the world,
00:32:52.30\00:32:56.60
we're in the world,
but we're not of the world.
00:32:56.64\00:32:59.77
When you think of the world,
you just look at 1 John 2:15.
00:32:59.81\00:33:02.54
Lust of the
flesh, lust of the eyes,
00:33:02.58\00:33:03.91
pride of life, well, that's
not a part of Christianity,
00:33:03.95\00:33:06.01
at least it ought not be,
00:33:06.05\00:33:07.38
it should not be
part of our experience,
00:33:07.42\00:33:09.28
but there are
those who are totally
00:33:09.32\00:33:10.72
for the lust of the flesh.
00:33:10.75\00:33:12.09
They promote
the lust of the eyes
00:33:12.12\00:33:13.59
and they definitely
demonstrate the pride of life.
00:33:13.62\00:33:16.79
And when we begin
to see these things
00:33:16.83\00:33:19.36
and call them out
by precept and example,
00:33:19.39\00:33:23.90
you're gonna find that the world
00:33:23.93\00:33:25.57
is not only gonna hate
Jesus, it's gonna hate us.
00:33:25.60\00:33:27.90
And notice how
Jesus said it in John 15.
00:33:27.94\00:33:30.21
In John 15,
00:33:30.24\00:33:31.77
it was Jesus
Himself that said it.
00:33:31.81\00:33:33.64
The first form of persecution
that many of us will notice
00:33:33.68\00:33:36.21
when we give our hearts to Jesus
00:33:36.24\00:33:37.75
and choose to follow Him,
00:33:37.78\00:33:39.45
that first enemy that
is gonna come in our path
00:33:39.48\00:33:42.82
is gonna be the world.
00:33:42.85\00:33:44.19
We're definitely gonna see it.
00:33:44.22\00:33:45.55
We're gonna see the world
in a whole different light
00:33:45.59\00:33:47.49
because when you're in darkness,
00:33:47.52\00:33:48.86
you don't see darkness,
but when you're in light,
00:33:48.89\00:33:50.86
that's the first
time you see darkness.
00:33:50.89\00:33:52.83
And so when we
receive Christ, our light,
00:33:52.86\00:33:54.76
we're gonna notice
how dark the world was,
00:33:54.80\00:33:56.67
and we're gonna
say, "I was in that?
00:33:56.70\00:33:58.93
Man, thank the
Lord for deliverance."
00:33:58.97\00:34:00.47
And we're gonna praise God,
00:34:00.50\00:34:01.84
but we still got to be
in the world, don't we?
00:34:01.87\00:34:03.94
We still got to go to
work, we still have to go ahead
00:34:03.97\00:34:06.14
and perform our businesses,
00:34:06.17\00:34:07.51
we're still going to
have to do all those things
00:34:07.54\00:34:09.71
in the name of life,
and that's why Jesus said,
00:34:09.74\00:34:12.15
Father, I don't pray that
you take them out of the world,
00:34:12.18\00:34:14.28
just keep them from the
evil, He said in John 17.
00:34:14.32\00:34:18.65
And so it is
that there are times
00:34:18.69\00:34:20.02
that we're gonna
see things like that,
00:34:20.06\00:34:21.66
and Jesus says to us in John
15 some very important counsel.
00:34:21.69\00:34:25.59
In John 15, notice
what the Bible says
00:34:25.63\00:34:27.43
in verse 18.
00:34:27.46\00:34:29.30
The Bible says,
"If the world hate you,
00:34:29.33\00:34:32.70
ye know that it hated
me before it hated you.
00:34:32.73\00:34:36.20
If ye were of the world,
the world would love his own.
00:34:36.24\00:34:39.97
But because you
are not of the world,
00:34:40.01\00:34:42.61
but I have chosen
you out of the world,
00:34:42.64\00:34:45.18
therefore the world hateth you.
00:34:45.21\00:34:47.42
Remember the word
that I said unto you,
00:34:47.45\00:34:49.75
the servant is not
greater than his lord.
00:34:49.78\00:34:51.95
If they have persecuted me,
they will also persecute you.
00:34:51.99\00:34:56.39
If they have kept
my sayings, however,
00:34:56.42\00:34:58.89
they will keep yours also.
00:34:58.93\00:35:02.10
But all these things
will they do unto you
00:35:02.13\00:35:04.20
for my name's sake
00:35:04.23\00:35:05.57
because they know
not Him that sent me."
00:35:05.60\00:35:07.97
There are gonna be times
00:35:08.00\00:35:09.34
that when we're
shooting for the goal
00:35:09.37\00:35:11.07
and we are seeking
to cooperate with God
00:35:11.11\00:35:12.97
and let Him
demonstrate His holiness,
00:35:13.01\00:35:14.91
and righteousness,
and godliness within us,
00:35:14.94\00:35:17.05
the world is gonna
come along and say,
00:35:17.08\00:35:18.91
"What's wrong with you?
00:35:18.95\00:35:20.85
Why do you behave like that?
00:35:20.88\00:35:22.25
Why do you eat like that?
00:35:22.28\00:35:23.75
Why do you drink like that?
00:35:23.79\00:35:25.15
Why do you dress like that?
00:35:25.19\00:35:26.65
Why is it that you only
listen to these forms of music?
00:35:26.69\00:35:28.79
Why is it that you will not
come to certain environments
00:35:28.82\00:35:31.29
and certain places
like the rest of us?
00:35:31.33\00:35:32.79
Why is it that you
even believe in God?"
00:35:32.83\00:35:37.40
And they will begin to persecute
00:35:37.43\00:35:38.77
and they'll
begin to challenge us
00:35:38.80\00:35:40.14
and they'll begin to taunt us.
00:35:40.17\00:35:41.50
And my brothers and sisters,
00:35:41.54\00:35:42.87
you are
starting to see right now
00:35:42.90\00:35:44.24
that the church
is being squeezed.
00:35:44.27\00:35:45.61
I don't know if you see it.
00:35:45.64\00:35:47.88
I'm thankful for it personally
'cause I think it's high time.
00:35:47.91\00:35:50.85
Wonderful
brother, a friend of mine,
00:35:50.88\00:35:53.48
a gentleman that I
know and respect as well,
00:35:53.52\00:35:55.72
Pastor Doug Batchelor,
00:35:55.75\00:35:57.15
one time he made a
beautiful statement,
00:35:57.19\00:35:58.55
he said, "One of
the great reasons
00:35:58.59\00:36:00.49
why the church is not
undergoing persecution
00:36:00.52\00:36:02.56
right now is
because, in many respects,
00:36:02.59\00:36:05.49
we are not taking up the stand
00:36:05.53\00:36:07.10
as we should
against certain evils
00:36:07.13\00:36:09.23
that are happening in our world.
00:36:09.26\00:36:10.60
And once we do, oh,
yes, persecution shall come."
00:36:10.63\00:36:15.40
We're living in a
time and in an era
00:36:15.44\00:36:17.27
where the church is
becoming very timid,
00:36:17.31\00:36:19.51
we're seeing evil running
so prevalently in our world,
00:36:19.54\00:36:22.28
but it seems as
if we want to think
00:36:22.31\00:36:24.31
that silence is virtuous.
00:36:24.35\00:36:26.48
My brothers and my sisters,
00:36:26.51\00:36:27.85
when we see that the world says
00:36:27.88\00:36:29.75
that that blessed
and holy institution
00:36:29.78\00:36:32.05
that God made in
the beginning of time,
00:36:32.09\00:36:33.99
marriage, has
now reached a place
00:36:34.02\00:36:36.16
that now instead
of man with woman,
00:36:36.19\00:36:37.66
it's now man with man.
00:36:37.69\00:36:39.03
Well, my brothers and sisters,
00:36:39.06\00:36:40.40
it's not hard to go
through scripture to say,
00:36:40.43\00:36:41.76
"Well, these
things are not God's will.
00:36:41.80\00:36:44.13
These things is what the Bible
refers to as an abomination."
00:36:44.17\00:36:47.84
But it's a deeper issue
when the churches are now going
00:36:47.87\00:36:53.38
before the world
and saying, "We agree.
00:36:53.41\00:36:57.15
Jesus is love and therefore
Jesus thinks it's okay."
00:36:57.18\00:37:01.08
Now, my brothers and
sisters, I'm not wondering...
00:37:01.12\00:37:02.48
I question what
Bible are they reading from
00:37:02.52\00:37:04.05
because when I go to Matthew 19,
00:37:04.09\00:37:05.99
I believe Jesus, His
words are very clear.
00:37:06.02\00:37:08.32
So notice what the
Bible says in Matthew 19.
00:37:08.36\00:37:10.46
In Matthew 19, Jesus
was speaking on marriage,
00:37:10.49\00:37:13.56
and this would be my
message to all of those.
00:37:13.60\00:37:15.10
It's funny.
00:37:15.13\00:37:16.46
I get the privilege of
speaking with individuals
00:37:16.50\00:37:18.27
who choose to live a
homosexual lifestyle.
00:37:18.30\00:37:20.54
They don't
believe it's a choice,
00:37:20.57\00:37:21.90
but
nevertheless, that's a debate
00:37:21.94\00:37:23.27
in and of
itself, but nevertheless,
00:37:23.30\00:37:24.84
there are
individuals who are living
00:37:24.87\00:37:26.57
a homosexual lifestyle.
00:37:26.61\00:37:27.94
Of course, they
endorse gay marriage
00:37:27.98\00:37:29.41
and they'll ask
me what do you think,
00:37:29.44\00:37:30.78
why, and so on.
00:37:30.81\00:37:32.15
And I actually have
such a communion with them
00:37:32.18\00:37:35.98
that they want to
know what I think.
00:37:36.02\00:37:37.72
And they say, "Brother, I
know you're gonna tell the truth
00:37:37.75\00:37:39.52
so tell me what
does God say about it."
00:37:39.55\00:37:42.12
And I always love to
take them back to Matthew 19,
00:37:42.16\00:37:44.46
I said, "Listen,
00:37:44.49\00:37:46.76
I must respect a man's
decision or a woman's decision
00:37:46.80\00:37:49.80
even if it is
not a godly decision.
00:37:49.83\00:37:52.50
And at no point do you merit
my disrespect or my rudeness
00:37:52.53\00:37:57.51
or ungodly attitude or behavior
00:37:57.54\00:37:59.57
because you are
living a lifestyle
00:37:59.61\00:38:01.51
that as a
Christian I don't believe in.
00:38:01.54\00:38:03.24
That does not merit
me to treat you that way
00:38:03.28\00:38:05.21
because God loved us even
while we were His enemies.
00:38:05.25\00:38:09.52
And therefore, you
deserve my love no matter what,
00:38:09.55\00:38:11.72
but you need to understand
that I need to love you
00:38:11.75\00:38:13.42
enough to tell you the truth,
00:38:13.46\00:38:14.79
even if that truth contradicts
00:38:14.82\00:38:16.16
the very
lifestyle you're living.
00:38:16.19\00:38:17.53
So I'm gonna
tell you the truth."
00:38:17.56\00:38:18.89
And then we go to Matthew 19.
00:38:18.93\00:38:20.26
And here's what it says.
00:38:20.30\00:38:21.63
In Matthew 19:1, it
says, "And it came to pass
00:38:21.66\00:38:24.40
that when Jesus had
finished these sayings,
00:38:24.43\00:38:27.24
he departed from Galilee,
00:38:27.27\00:38:29.30
and came into the
coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan.
00:38:29.34\00:38:32.74
And great
multitudes followed him,
00:38:32.77\00:38:34.11
and he healed them there.
00:38:34.14\00:38:35.48
The Pharisees
also came unto him,
00:38:35.51\00:38:36.85
tempting him,
and saying unto him,
00:38:36.88\00:38:38.71
"Is it lawful for a man
00:38:38.75\00:38:40.08
to put away his
wife for every cause?'"
00:38:40.12\00:38:41.72
In other words, is it all right
00:38:41.75\00:38:43.08
to divorce his
wife for any reason?
00:38:43.12\00:38:44.75
Then it says in verse 4.
00:38:44.79\00:38:46.35
"And he answered
and said unto them,
00:38:46.39\00:38:48.62
Have ye not read..."
00:38:48.66\00:38:50.46
I like how Jesus started.
That's beautiful, isn't it?
00:38:50.49\00:38:53.23
He took that thing
right back to Scripture.
00:38:53.26\00:38:55.53
Jesus says, listen,
I'm not just gonna tell you
00:38:55.56\00:38:56.90
what I think, I'm
going to take you back
00:38:56.93\00:38:58.27
to the very scriptures
that you say you live by.
00:38:58.30\00:39:00.47
And so he said he
says, "Have you not read?
00:39:00.50\00:39:01.84
Did you read?"
00:39:01.87\00:39:03.20
That's one of the great problems
00:39:03.24\00:39:04.57
we have in our world today.
00:39:04.61\00:39:05.94
Too many things are
being called righteous and holy
00:39:05.97\00:39:07.31
and people aren't reading.
00:39:07.34\00:39:09.04
They're quoting God
00:39:09.08\00:39:10.41
but they're not
reading God's words.
00:39:10.45\00:39:12.35
And so, here it
is that Jesus says,
00:39:12.38\00:39:14.22
"Have you not read?"
00:39:14.25\00:39:15.68
And then he goes
on, "Have you not read
00:39:15.72\00:39:17.65
that he which made them at
the beginning made them..."
00:39:17.69\00:39:21.26
What? "Male and female."
00:39:21.29\00:39:24.83
Now, stop right there.
00:39:24.86\00:39:27.16
In biblical
hermeneutics, when you're gonna
00:39:27.20\00:39:29.86
through like how
to study the Bible,
00:39:29.90\00:39:31.93
there are many principles
of how we study scripture
00:39:31.97\00:39:36.20
one of which is a
principle called parallelism.
00:39:36.24\00:39:39.77
And when you
think about parallelism,
00:39:39.81\00:39:41.38
you're basically
making one point,
00:39:41.41\00:39:43.78
but you're
expressing it in different ways.
00:39:43.81\00:39:45.91
There are lots of examples
in the Bible of parallelism.
00:39:45.95\00:39:49.08
An example is when David
says, "Purge me with hyssop,
00:39:49.12\00:39:51.79
and I shall be clean.
00:39:51.82\00:39:53.15
Wash me, and I shall
be whiter than snow."
00:39:53.19\00:39:54.99
He's making the same point.
00:39:55.02\00:39:56.89
"I just want to be
clean. Lord, clean me up."
00:39:56.93\00:39:59.33
That's all he was saying.
00:39:59.36\00:40:00.70
"Purge me with
hyssop, I shall be clean.
00:40:00.73\00:40:02.46
Wash me, and I shall
be whiter than snow."
00:40:02.50\00:40:04.03
That wasn't two
thoughts. That was one thought.
00:40:04.07\00:40:06.00
He just expressed it
in two different ways.
00:40:06.03\00:40:08.17
That's an
example of parallelism.
00:40:08.20\00:40:09.70
Jesus is about
to do parallelism,
00:40:09.74\00:40:11.74
He just started in that verse,
He says, "Have you not read
00:40:11.77\00:40:15.14
that He which made them at
the beginning made them..."
00:40:15.18\00:40:17.41
What? "Male and
female." Very good.
00:40:17.45\00:40:21.05
Now watch the next
verse, "And said..."
00:40:21.08\00:40:23.25
So he's
continuing with the thought.
00:40:23.28\00:40:25.15
He says, "And said, For
this cause shall a man..."
00:40:25.19\00:40:29.86
Now what was the first
one mentioned in verse 4,
00:40:29.89\00:40:32.56
it was male, so
male and man go together.
00:40:32.59\00:40:36.30
So it says, "He made them man,
the man shall leave his father
00:40:36.33\00:40:40.80
and his mother and
shall cleave to his wife."
00:40:40.84\00:40:44.84
The wife constitutes the female.
00:40:44.87\00:40:48.04
"The wife and they
twain shall be one flesh."
00:40:48.08\00:40:52.05
So Jesus Himself
endorsed the original program
00:40:52.08\00:40:57.22
through the
example of parallelism
00:40:57.25\00:40:59.32
that male equals man
and female equals wife.
00:40:59.35\00:41:04.26
Jesus Himself has endorsed
00:41:04.29\00:41:06.83
that marriage is to be
between a man and a woman
00:41:06.86\00:41:10.77
and He has never
repealed such a position.
00:41:10.80\00:41:13.10
So I question how did
the church get to this place
00:41:13.13\00:41:15.97
except it be that
we fear persecution?
00:41:16.00\00:41:19.07
But, my brothers and sisters,
we have nothing to fear.
00:41:19.11\00:41:21.84
You see we must let
love knock out our fears.
00:41:21.88\00:41:24.38
1 John 4:18 says,
"There is no fear in love,
00:41:24.41\00:41:29.72
but perfect
love casts out fear."
00:41:29.75\00:41:32.49
I want God to
perfect His love in me.
00:41:32.52\00:41:34.16
I can only imagine
00:41:34.19\00:41:35.52
what John the
Baptist went through
00:41:35.56\00:41:36.89
when he would go to
Herod and he would have to say,
00:41:36.93\00:41:39.03
"Herod, the marriage
that you are in right now
00:41:39.06\00:41:41.73
is an unjust marriage,
00:41:41.76\00:41:43.16
it is an act of
adultery and murder combined,
00:41:43.20\00:41:45.60
and you have
sinned against heaven,
00:41:45.63\00:41:47.17
and except you turn
your heart back to God
00:41:47.20\00:41:49.77
and do that which is
right, you will not be saved."
00:41:49.80\00:41:53.68
Do you understand for
John to say that to Herod,
00:41:53.71\00:41:56.75
John had to know,
00:41:56.78\00:41:58.48
"I am more than
likely going to die,
00:41:58.51\00:42:02.08
I'm gonna die for
telling Herod this."
00:42:02.12\00:42:04.42
So what is it that
compelled him to do that?
00:42:04.45\00:42:06.65
"Greater love
hath no man than this
00:42:06.69\00:42:08.06
than when a man is
willing to lay down his life
00:42:08.09\00:42:09.49
for his friends."
00:42:09.52\00:42:10.86
Herod and John knew each other.
00:42:10.89\00:42:12.23
John knew, "Herod, I love
you too much to lie to you.
00:42:12.26\00:42:15.40
I got to let you know,
00:42:15.43\00:42:16.87
even though it's
going to cost me my life."
00:42:16.90\00:42:20.44
That's the question,
is do we have enough love
00:42:20.47\00:42:22.54
that when we see the
world going in the path of sin
00:42:22.57\00:42:24.77
that we can say to the
world, "You are in sin.
00:42:24.81\00:42:28.78
This is error.
00:42:28.81\00:42:30.15
And if you do not
change, you must turn to God
00:42:30.18\00:42:33.55
before it is too late."
00:42:33.58\00:42:35.48
My brothers and my
sisters, there's very few people
00:42:35.52\00:42:37.15
that have this kind of love,
00:42:37.19\00:42:39.45
and therefore, they
don't have that courage.
00:42:39.49\00:42:41.46
And therefore, when
the enemy of the world
00:42:41.49\00:42:42.82
begins to come to us
00:42:42.86\00:42:44.19
and tries to dictate
to the people of God,
00:42:44.23\00:42:46.29
dictate to the church,
"Stay silent or punishment,"
00:42:46.33\00:42:49.56
it seems like a lot
of people are bowing
00:42:49.60\00:42:51.97
rather than standing.
00:42:52.00\00:42:53.34
My hope and my prayer is
that we will never surrender
00:42:53.37\00:42:54.97
to the enemy,
that we must understand
00:42:55.00\00:42:57.77
that we are going to receive
persecution from the world.
00:42:57.81\00:43:01.24
The world is gonna
make it known that,
00:43:01.28\00:43:03.45
"Hey, we do not agree
with what you stand for.
00:43:03.48\00:43:06.75
We do not agree for what you are
00:43:06.78\00:43:08.42
teaching and preaching.
00:43:08.45\00:43:09.78
We do not agree
with these things
00:43:09.82\00:43:11.15
and it's getting to the
place that if you're not careful
00:43:11.19\00:43:13.29
that we will go ahead and
execute A, B, C punishment,
00:43:13.32\00:43:16.09
and we must understand
that we do everything possible
00:43:16.12\00:43:18.96
to live peaceably with men.
00:43:18.99\00:43:20.50
But if you put my
back against a wall,
00:43:20.53\00:43:23.20
I ought to obey
God rather than men."
00:43:23.23\00:43:25.70
We have to have that position.
00:43:25.73\00:43:28.24
And, my friends, we're
gonna receive persecution
00:43:28.27\00:43:30.04
but Jesus says,
"Listen, the world hated Me
00:43:30.07\00:43:32.81
before it hated you."
00:43:32.84\00:43:34.34
But was Jesus's
attitude towards the world?
00:43:34.38\00:43:36.71
Don't render evil for evil.
00:43:36.75\00:43:39.11
Jesus says in Matthew 5,
he says, "Love your enemies,
00:43:39.15\00:43:43.22
pray for them
that persecute you."
00:43:43.25\00:43:45.92
You see when the world
wants to demonstrate us as evil
00:43:45.95\00:43:48.56
and even persecute us,
we must be willing to say
00:43:48.59\00:43:51.93
"Lord, no, I
will not render evil
00:43:51.96\00:43:55.13
for evil by Your grace.
00:43:55.16\00:43:56.93
For every lash of
hatred they give me,
00:43:56.97\00:43:59.40
I will let that be strength
to demonstrate greater love."
00:43:59.43\00:44:02.90
And the more that we learn
00:44:02.94\00:44:04.41
how to make this a
principle that I will not do
00:44:04.44\00:44:07.11
what the world
has called me to do
00:44:07.14\00:44:08.51
and I will live as
God has called me to live,
00:44:08.54\00:44:10.85
and even though it
will invite persecution,
00:44:10.88\00:44:13.62
I will bear it in Jesus' name,
00:44:13.65\00:44:15.92
but I will not be moved.
00:44:15.95\00:44:17.99
We must have
this kind of attitude
00:44:18.02\00:44:20.06
because, again, there
are enemies to the goal
00:44:20.09\00:44:22.99
and the enemies are
gonna come from various forms.
00:44:23.02\00:44:25.39
Now continuing with
this, we must understand that
00:44:25.43\00:44:27.96
the enemies or the persecution
00:44:28.00\00:44:29.43
doesn't just come from without,
but it also comes from within.
00:44:29.46\00:44:33.40
And there are two dynamics
of which we're going to look at
00:44:33.44\00:44:35.54
as far as
persecution coming from within,
00:44:35.57\00:44:37.44
the enemies within.
00:44:37.47\00:44:38.81
The first one is in Matthew 10.
00:44:38.84\00:44:40.48
Go back to Matthew 10.
00:44:40.51\00:44:42.91
What is the
other form of the enemy
00:44:42.94\00:44:44.91
that we are going to see
00:44:44.95\00:44:46.45
in different times
in different places?
00:44:46.48\00:44:47.88
Matthew, we're
looking at chapter 10,
00:44:47.92\00:44:50.25
and now we're going
to consider verses 34-36.
00:44:50.29\00:44:53.79
And the Bible says
in Matthew 10:34-36,
00:44:53.82\00:44:57.29
Jesus says,
00:44:57.33\00:44:58.66
"Think not that I am
come to send peace on earth,
00:44:58.69\00:45:01.36
I came not to
send peace but a sword.
00:45:01.40\00:45:03.67
For I am come to set a man
at variance against his father
00:45:03.70\00:45:07.64
and the daughter
against her mother
00:45:07.67\00:45:09.57
and the daughter in law
against her mother in law
00:45:09.60\00:45:11.81
and a man's foe shall be
they of his own household."
00:45:11.84\00:45:14.88
My brothers and sisters,
00:45:14.91\00:45:16.24
the reality is that
sometimes we're gonna realize
00:45:16.28\00:45:19.28
that our enemies are
not just from without,
00:45:19.31\00:45:21.78
but our enemies
are going to be within.
00:45:21.82\00:45:25.35
And sometimes, it's
going to be so closely within
00:45:25.39\00:45:28.02
that it's going to
be within our own homes.
00:45:28.06\00:45:30.59
You know, it's a sad thing.
00:45:30.63\00:45:31.96
You know, a home was supposed
00:45:31.99\00:45:33.33
to be an example
of heaven on earth.
00:45:33.36\00:45:34.70
Did you know that?
00:45:34.73\00:45:36.06
Home was supposed to be a place
00:45:36.10\00:45:37.43
where husbands looked
forward to seeing their wives,
00:45:37.47\00:45:39.53
wives would look forward
to seeing their husbands,
00:45:39.57\00:45:41.80
parents would look forward
00:45:41.84\00:45:43.17
to communing
with their children,
00:45:43.20\00:45:44.54
children would look forward
to communing with parents.
00:45:44.57\00:45:46.74
Today, we live in a
very different world,
00:45:46.78\00:45:48.28
even in the churches today,
00:45:48.31\00:45:49.78
you see children
sitting on the left
00:45:49.81\00:45:51.15
and you see parents
sitting on the right.
00:45:51.18\00:45:52.51
It seems like
people don't even know
00:45:52.55\00:45:53.88
how to sit together as a
family even in church service.
00:45:53.92\00:45:57.35
It seems like there's a
massive line of separation
00:45:57.39\00:45:59.29
that's happening
not just in the world
00:45:59.32\00:46:01.49
but it's also
happening in the home.
00:46:01.52\00:46:03.26
And so it is that
sometimes, as Jesus says,
00:46:03.29\00:46:05.86
we're going to see
00:46:05.89\00:46:07.23
that there are
going to be enemies
00:46:07.26\00:46:08.60
that are going
to be in our midst
00:46:08.63\00:46:09.96
and it's going to be right
00:46:10.00\00:46:11.33
from within our
own house borders.
00:46:11.37\00:46:14.50
This was not God's plan
and enemy hath done this,
00:46:14.54\00:46:18.54
but it is a reality.
00:46:18.57\00:46:20.88
And this is why, my
brothers and sisters,
00:46:20.91\00:46:22.91
what does Jesus say in
verse 37 of Matthew 10?
00:46:22.94\00:46:25.75
He says, "He that
loveth father or mother
00:46:25.78\00:46:28.92
more than me is not worthy of me
00:46:28.95\00:46:31.29
and he that
loveth son or daughter
00:46:31.32\00:46:33.36
more than me is not worthy of me
00:46:33.39\00:46:35.86
and he that
taketh up not his cross
00:46:35.89\00:46:38.16
and follow after me
is not worthy of me."
00:46:38.19\00:46:40.43
Jesus was making it clear
00:46:40.46\00:46:42.03
that, "Look, our
world got into the trouble
00:46:42.06\00:46:45.13
that it's in right now
00:46:45.17\00:46:46.84
because a man loved his
wife more than he loved God."
00:46:46.87\00:46:51.27
His name was Adam.
00:46:51.31\00:46:53.17
When Eve fell into sin,
Adam did not have to join her,
00:46:53.21\00:46:57.51
but the problem was
that Adam's adoration
00:46:57.55\00:47:00.52
and love was stronger
for Eve in that moment
00:47:00.55\00:47:04.49
than it was for his Creator.
00:47:04.52\00:47:06.52
And hence we now live in a world
00:47:06.55\00:47:08.09
with all these
thousands of years of sin.
00:47:08.12\00:47:10.66
God wants us to understand
00:47:10.69\00:47:12.03
we ought to love our
fathers and our mothers,
00:47:12.06\00:47:13.90
we ought to love our
husbands and our wives,
00:47:13.93\00:47:16.26
we ought to do
everything possible
00:47:16.30\00:47:17.93
to cooperate with heaven
that we can allow our homes
00:47:17.97\00:47:21.40
to be a little heaven on earth."
00:47:21.44\00:47:24.97
But, my brothers and sisters,
00:47:25.01\00:47:26.34
what we cannot do is
choose son or daughter,
00:47:26.37\00:47:29.51
husband or wife,
mother or father,
00:47:29.54\00:47:31.35
we cannot choose them over
God for God has already laid out
00:47:31.38\00:47:35.82
through holy writ the reality
00:47:35.85\00:47:37.92
of what happens when we do that,
00:47:37.95\00:47:39.29
it brings sin and
it brings destruction.
00:47:39.32\00:47:42.42
Sometimes the enemy
will be from within,
00:47:42.46\00:47:45.73
and that times is going
to be the enemy from within
00:47:45.76\00:47:48.33
that's going to be
right there in our homes.
00:47:48.36\00:47:51.10
And this is why we must learn,
00:47:51.13\00:47:53.17
this is why the words
of Jesus are so powerful.
00:47:53.20\00:47:55.10
He says, "Love your enemies.
00:47:55.14\00:47:56.60
Pray for them
that persecute you."
00:47:56.64\00:47:57.97
If you believe your husband
or your wife is your enemy,
00:47:58.01\00:48:00.18
first we need to understand
the true enemy is Satan.
00:48:00.21\00:48:03.41
And what he's doing
00:48:03.45\00:48:04.78
is he's trying to
use husband or wife
00:48:04.81\00:48:06.38
to play against each other,
00:48:06.41\00:48:07.75
and so we ought not to
even really look at our husband
00:48:07.78\00:48:10.42
and our wives and our children
our brothers and sisters,
00:48:10.45\00:48:12.85
we are not to really
look at them as our enemy,
00:48:12.89\00:48:15.29
the devil is our
enemy, but what he's doing
00:48:15.32\00:48:17.56
is he's trying to use
the ones that we love.
00:48:17.59\00:48:20.60
And when we understand
it from this perspective,
00:48:20.63\00:48:22.46
instead of hating your wife,
00:48:22.50\00:48:24.07
you're gonna pray for your wife,
00:48:24.10\00:48:25.53
instead of hating your husband,
00:48:25.57\00:48:26.90
you're gonna
pray for your husband,
00:48:26.94\00:48:28.44
you're going to do everything
possible to win them back
00:48:28.47\00:48:31.21
into the arms of God
because that's what you do
00:48:31.24\00:48:33.68
with people you love.
00:48:33.71\00:48:36.31
And we have to understand that
00:48:36.34\00:48:37.68
this is what God
has called us to do.
00:48:37.71\00:48:39.81
So even when we see
that sometimes the home
00:48:39.85\00:48:42.08
which was supposed to be
a little heaven on earth,
00:48:42.12\00:48:44.09
sometimes there will
be enemies in the home,
00:48:44.12\00:48:46.05
but when we
identify the enemies,
00:48:46.09\00:48:47.86
don't render evil for
evil but give good for evil.
00:48:47.89\00:48:51.69
There's a wonderful chapter
in the book Adventist Home,
00:48:51.73\00:48:54.00
and I find myself
doing a lot of counseling,
00:48:54.03\00:48:56.26
I mean a lot, more
than preaching and teaching,
00:48:56.30\00:48:58.20
I do counseling.
00:48:58.23\00:48:59.57
And I do a lot of counseling
with husbands and wives.
00:48:59.60\00:49:02.50
And many a times, the
husband, "My wife is my enemy."
00:49:02.54\00:49:04.47
Many a times, the wife,
"My husband is the enemy."
00:49:04.51\00:49:07.01
And they go
through all these things
00:49:07.04\00:49:08.61
and we start going
through the Word of God.
00:49:08.64\00:49:10.75
When we start going
through the Word of God
00:49:10.78\00:49:12.11
and God's books of inspiration,
00:49:12.15\00:49:13.48
it's amazing how
quickly people will start seeing
00:49:13.52\00:49:16.15
that there are some
problems more so with them
00:49:16.18\00:49:18.22
than even with their spouses.
00:49:18.25\00:49:20.89
And God begins to fix and
move and do beautiful things.
00:49:20.92\00:49:24.49
And in the book Adventist
Home, I believe it's chapter 57,
00:49:24.53\00:49:27.53
it actually has a
wonderful chapter there
00:49:27.56\00:49:30.03
on how to deal with
an unbelieving spouse.
00:49:30.07\00:49:33.07
I have to refer that chapter
so many times to God's people.
00:49:33.10\00:49:35.84
And many a times
when they read that,
00:49:35.87\00:49:37.41
I'll always say,
"If you don't get it
00:49:37.44\00:49:39.01
and if you're still
confused, call me back."
00:49:39.04\00:49:41.14
And do you
know, 90% of the time,
00:49:41.18\00:49:42.51
I get no callback?
00:49:42.54\00:49:44.25
In other words, it's
filled with so much counsel
00:49:44.28\00:49:47.28
that God shows us how
those who we understand
00:49:47.32\00:49:49.78
and deem enemies
even in our own home,
00:49:49.82\00:49:52.95
that by the grace of God,
00:49:52.99\00:49:54.32
we can actually
overcome, by the grace of God,
00:49:54.36\00:49:56.86
we can actually overcome.
00:49:56.89\00:49:58.23
And God, I've
seen, turned many homes
00:49:58.26\00:50:00.90
that reflected hell
and God has turned them
00:50:00.93\00:50:03.93
into little heavens on earth.
00:50:03.97\00:50:05.33
Is that not what we want?
00:50:05.37\00:50:06.80
And so, yes, we're
gonna sometimes see enemies
00:50:06.84\00:50:08.74
within the home border,
00:50:08.77\00:50:10.11
but God has given us
instruction on how to overcome.
00:50:10.14\00:50:12.31
What about the book of Acts 20?
00:50:12.34\00:50:14.14
Well, that's a different
persecution from within,
00:50:14.18\00:50:16.08
so let us quickly turn there.
00:50:16.11\00:50:17.88
In the book of Acts 20,
the Bible again talks to us
00:50:17.91\00:50:21.58
about persecution from within
00:50:21.62\00:50:25.02
because persecution
doesn't just come from without,
00:50:25.05\00:50:27.19
it also comes from within.
00:50:27.22\00:50:28.92
And now I want you to
see what the Bible says
00:50:28.96\00:50:30.29
in the book of Acts 20.
00:50:30.33\00:50:31.66
The Apostle Paul
is getting ready to go
00:50:31.69\00:50:33.40
on his journey to Rome,
00:50:33.43\00:50:34.76
and as he's getting ready to go,
00:50:34.80\00:50:36.13
he is giving some final
instruction to the elders.
00:50:36.16\00:50:38.33
And as he does it,
he says in verse 28,
00:50:38.37\00:50:41.04
he says, in fact, verse 27,
and then we'll take it down.
00:50:41.07\00:50:44.31
He says in Acts 20:27,
"For I have not shunned
00:50:44.34\00:50:47.48
to declare unto you
all the counsel of God.
00:50:47.51\00:50:50.85
Take heed
therefore unto yourselves
00:50:50.88\00:50:52.65
and to all the flock,
00:50:52.68\00:50:54.15
over the which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers,
00:50:54.18\00:50:57.32
to feed the church of
God which he hath purchased
00:50:57.35\00:51:00.52
with His own blood.
00:51:00.56\00:51:01.89
For I know this,
that after my departing
00:51:01.92\00:51:04.13
shall grievous
wolves enter in among you,
00:51:04.16\00:51:08.63
not sparing the flock.
00:51:08.66\00:51:10.10
Also of your own
selves shall men arise,
00:51:10.13\00:51:12.30
speaking perverse things,
00:51:12.33\00:51:13.67
to draw away
disciples after them.
00:51:13.70\00:51:15.97
Therefore watch, and remember,
00:51:16.00\00:51:17.34
that by the space of three years
00:51:17.37\00:51:18.87
I ceased not to
warn every one night
00:51:18.91\00:51:21.68
and day with tears."
00:51:21.71\00:51:24.48
We must understand
that the enemy sometimes
00:51:24.51\00:51:26.58
will be realized
not just in the home
00:51:26.61\00:51:28.48
but also within the church.
00:51:28.52\00:51:30.32
They are gonna be individuals,
00:51:30.35\00:51:31.69
and it can come
from pastor to the pew,
00:51:31.72\00:51:34.39
individuals who are
not cooperating with God.
00:51:34.42\00:51:37.43
And as a result of them
not cooperating with God,
00:51:37.46\00:51:40.20
they can now
cooperate with the devil.
00:51:40.23\00:51:42.16
Always remember, at one time,
00:51:42.20\00:51:44.03
Jesus had to look
Peter in the eyes and say,
00:51:44.07\00:51:47.57
"Get thee behind me, Satan."
00:51:47.60\00:51:50.24
And it's amazing
because the same Peter
00:51:50.27\00:51:51.97
that he said, "Get
thee behind me, Satan,"
00:51:52.01\00:51:53.68
is the same Peter that was used
00:51:53.71\00:51:55.04
under the early reign power
00:51:55.08\00:51:56.64
in the
establishment of the church.
00:51:56.68\00:51:58.28
It is possible at one time
00:51:58.31\00:52:00.48
to be an
instrument of the devil,
00:52:00.52\00:52:02.02
but thank God it's possible
00:52:02.05\00:52:03.85
that we can be an
instrument of God in the close.
00:52:03.89\00:52:06.99
But the reality
is that sometimes
00:52:07.02\00:52:09.09
we're gonna see
great persecutions
00:52:09.12\00:52:11.16
and challenges, enemies
00:52:11.19\00:52:12.69
that will be
within even the church.
00:52:12.73\00:52:16.90
This is why God has
always made it clear,
00:52:16.93\00:52:18.97
respect elders,
respect preachers and teachers,
00:52:19.00\00:52:22.77
respect evangelists and pastors,
00:52:22.80\00:52:24.97
but never put
your trust in them.
00:52:25.01\00:52:27.18
I don't read
anything in the scripture
00:52:27.21\00:52:28.54
that tells us that
because what a man is today,
00:52:28.58\00:52:31.21
he could be different tomorrow,
00:52:31.25\00:52:32.88
and we have to be
willing to embrace the reality
00:52:32.91\00:52:35.05
that sometimes those who
call themselves brethren,
00:52:35.08\00:52:39.39
if they are not careful,
00:52:39.42\00:52:41.32
that they can begin
to become instruments
00:52:41.36\00:52:44.79
even in the devil's hands
00:52:44.83\00:52:46.86
and they can become enemies
to the faithful people of God.
00:52:46.90\00:52:50.80
This is why, my
brothers and sisters,
00:52:50.83\00:52:52.20
Jesus sometimes He had to
give these strong rebukes,
00:52:52.23\00:52:54.64
He had to give
very strong rebukes
00:52:54.67\00:52:56.04
even to those
who were "Pharisees,"
00:52:56.07\00:52:58.87
they were those who would
really truly seek to honor God
00:52:58.91\00:53:03.24
and do all things
according to the Word
00:53:03.28\00:53:04.88
but sometimes
they got disengaged.
00:53:04.91\00:53:07.28
And as a result of
them getting disengaged,
00:53:07.32\00:53:08.98
they would start
advocating things,
00:53:09.02\00:53:10.82
preaching
things, teaching things,
00:53:10.85\00:53:12.19
and doing things that was
contrary to the will of God
00:53:12.22\00:53:14.56
and they became a
persecuting power to the people.
00:53:14.59\00:53:17.43
One day Jesus had to go ahead
00:53:17.46\00:53:19.16
and begin to
give rebukes to them
00:53:19.19\00:53:20.76
and you'd definitely
read this in Matthew 23,
00:53:20.80\00:53:23.77
you can't miss it there.
00:53:23.80\00:53:25.13
But I thought of this point.
00:53:25.17\00:53:27.14
Even when Jesus had
to rebuke these men,
00:53:27.17\00:53:29.07
look at what it says,
in Steps to Christ page 12.
00:53:29.10\00:53:32.47
"Jesus did not
suppress one word of truth,
00:53:32.51\00:53:35.44
but He uttered
it always in love.
00:53:35.48\00:53:38.28
He exercised the greatest tact
and thoughtful, kind attention
00:53:38.31\00:53:41.55
in His
intercourse with the people.
00:53:41.58\00:53:44.19
He was never rude,
00:53:44.22\00:53:46.69
never needlessly
spoke a severe word,
00:53:46.72\00:53:50.19
never gave needless
pain to a sensitive soul.
00:53:50.23\00:53:54.03
He did not
censure human weakness.
00:53:54.06\00:53:56.40
He spoke the
truth, but always in love.
00:53:56.43\00:54:00.24
He denounced hypocrisy,
unbelief, and iniquity,
00:54:00.27\00:54:02.97
but tears were in His voice
00:54:03.00\00:54:06.04
as He uttered
His scathing rebukes.
00:54:06.07\00:54:08.51
He wept over
Jerusalem, the city He loved,
00:54:08.54\00:54:10.81
which refused to receive Him,
00:54:10.85\00:54:12.18
the way, the
truth, and the life.
00:54:12.21\00:54:13.55
They had
rejected Him, the Savior,
00:54:13.58\00:54:15.18
but He regarded them
with pitying tenderness.
00:54:15.22\00:54:18.15
His life was one of self-denial
and thoughtful care for others.
00:54:18.19\00:54:20.86
Every soul was
precious in His eyes.
00:54:20.89\00:54:22.86
Every soul was
precious in His eyes.
00:54:22.89\00:54:25.46
While He ever bore
Himself with divine dignity,
00:54:25.49\00:54:28.03
He bowed with
the tenderest regard
00:54:28.06\00:54:30.37
to every member
of the family of God.
00:54:30.40\00:54:32.87
In all men He saw fallen souls
00:54:32.90\00:54:37.14
whom it was His
mission to save."
00:54:37.17\00:54:40.24
You see there are times
we're gonna see persecution
00:54:40.28\00:54:42.71
from without,
00:54:42.74\00:54:44.48
there are times we're going
to see persecution from within,
00:54:44.51\00:54:47.18
we're gonna see challenges
00:54:47.22\00:54:48.55
that are gonna
happen in the world,
00:54:48.58\00:54:49.95
we're gonna see challenges
that are happening in the home,
00:54:49.98\00:54:52.15
we're going to see challenges
00:54:52.19\00:54:53.52
that are
happening in the church,
00:54:53.56\00:54:54.89
brothers and sisters,
we're even going to receive
00:54:54.92\00:54:56.26
persecution deep
within from our own hearts.
00:54:56.29\00:54:57.79
You know, we
are our worst enemy?
00:54:57.83\00:54:59.63
Do you know that self is
the greatest of all enemies
00:54:59.66\00:55:02.83
that we have to battle with?
00:55:02.86\00:55:04.53
James tells us that these sins
that we perform in our lives,
00:55:04.57\00:55:08.24
they come because of
lusts that are deeply desired
00:55:08.27\00:55:10.44
within our
hearts, James 1:12-14.
00:55:10.47\00:55:13.48
We go through these things
00:55:13.51\00:55:14.84
and sometimes we
are our worst enemies.
00:55:14.88\00:55:17.31
It's not just
persecution from within,
00:55:17.35\00:55:19.11
it's not just
persecution from without,
00:55:19.15\00:55:21.22
there's also persecution
deep within our own hearts.
00:55:21.25\00:55:25.12
Sometimes we are best
at condemning ourselves
00:55:25.15\00:55:28.09
more than others.
00:55:28.12\00:55:29.82
But, my brothers and sisters,
you must remember Romans 5.
00:55:29.86\00:55:32.59
In Romans 5:1, it says,
00:55:32.63\00:55:34.03
"Therefore being
justified by faith,
00:55:34.06\00:55:35.76
we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ."
00:55:35.80\00:55:38.27
Do not listen to the
suggestions of the devil
00:55:38.30\00:55:40.84
even when he
suggests in your own mind
00:55:40.87\00:55:42.84
that you are not
worthy of salvation.
00:55:42.87\00:55:44.57
Yes, it is true that I'm a mess,
00:55:44.61\00:55:46.41
but thank God Jesus
came to save a mess.
00:55:46.44\00:55:50.31
We must learn not to
entertain the wicked thoughts
00:55:50.35\00:55:52.91
that go even in our own minds
00:55:52.95\00:55:54.85
where we sometimes
are our best persecutors.
00:55:54.88\00:55:59.65
It is true.
00:55:59.69\00:56:01.32
A well-rounded noble character,
to be holy as God is holy,
00:56:01.36\00:56:06.59
my brothers and
sisters, that won't come easy.
00:56:06.63\00:56:08.96
There are people
who say that, you know,
00:56:09.00\00:56:11.00
"Living a righteous life
00:56:11.03\00:56:12.47
even by the faith of
Jesus Christ is easy."
00:56:12.50\00:56:14.14
Well, I don't, I
respectfully disagree.
00:56:14.17\00:56:16.10
In Christ's Object
Lessons page 331, it says,
00:56:16.14\00:56:18.57
"But Christ has
given us no assurance
00:56:18.61\00:56:21.68
that to attain perfection
of character is an easy matter.
00:56:21.71\00:56:25.05
A noble, all-round
character is not inherited.
00:56:25.08\00:56:28.02
It does not come
to us by accident.
00:56:28.05\00:56:30.02
A noble character is
earned by individual effort
00:56:30.05\00:56:33.02
through the merits
and grace of Christ.
00:56:33.05\00:56:35.12
God gives the talents,
the powers of the mind,
00:56:35.16\00:56:37.49
we form the character."
00:56:37.53\00:56:38.96
And then it says,
"It is formed by hard,
00:56:38.99\00:56:42.30
stern battles with self.
00:56:42.33\00:56:44.97
My friends, we're
gonna battle with ourselves,
00:56:45.00\00:56:48.67
we are going to see
things that's unlike God,
00:56:48.70\00:56:50.94
we're gonna see things
00:56:50.97\00:56:52.31
that are demonstrating
traits of character
00:56:52.34\00:56:54.11
that will often disappoint us,
00:56:54.14\00:56:56.11
but this is not
when we look to ourselves
00:56:56.14\00:56:58.38
because Hebrews 12
says, looking unto Jesus.
00:56:58.41\00:57:01.02
Why?
00:57:01.05\00:57:02.38
Because He's
not only the author,
00:57:02.42\00:57:03.75
but He's also the
finisher of our faith.
00:57:03.79\00:57:07.19
My friends, yes, you're going
to face persecution without,
00:57:07.22\00:57:09.99
yes, we're gonna
face persecution within,
00:57:10.03\00:57:12.33
and we're even going to
face persecution deep within,
00:57:12.36\00:57:15.06
but John 16:33, Jesus says,
00:57:15.10\00:57:16.93
"Be of good cheer, I
have overcome the world."
00:57:16.97\00:57:20.14
Will you let Him
overcome in your heart today?
00:57:20.17\00:57:22.50
Yes, we have
enemies, but through Christ,
00:57:22.54\00:57:24.37
we'll have victory.
00:57:24.41\00:57:25.74
Father in heaven, please help us
00:57:25.77\00:57:28.04
always to
remember, through Jesus,
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we can overcome and
even love our enemies.
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In Jesus' name. Amen.
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