Hello friends, grab your
Bible and a friend and sit back
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as we explore
God's word together
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on this edition of House Calls.
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Hello friends, welcome to
another edition of House Calls
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and we are so glad that you
have chosen to tune in today.
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It's a wonderful
day here in the Midwest
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and my name is John Lomacang
and I have my good friend.
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John Stanton,
we're here together again
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and it's good to
be here. That's right,
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we are back in the
saddle. You don't want to turn
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away today, we
have a wonderful topic.
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We've been talking
about Christian standards,
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something widely
important and you know John
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I've been noticing that,
that's something not talked
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about very much in
many Christian churches.
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Yeah, in fact people
kind of shy away from it.
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They feel that somehow
if they talk about standards
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that they're gonna lose people.
But you know we find that
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standards do much more
than you know lose people.
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It doesn't really lose
many but it actually allows us
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to have a deeper commitment
with Christ and they show
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that we are
responsive to his word.
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We wanna do what
he asks us to do.
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That's right. Yeah. And so
friends don't turn away today
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we have wonderful
program that's going to lead you
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and guide you down
the path of understanding
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what the Lord
has in store for you.
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But get your
Bibles, press record so that
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you can get the program
and we also like to encourage
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you to continue
sending your Bible questions.
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If you do have those send
them to Housecalls@3abn.org,
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that's Housecalls@3abn.org.
I guess that means organized.
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Organized, that's good. I
wish we were more organized.
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We've got a lot of questions,
you have been sending in
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and it's been great
seeing all your questions.
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We are using those for
answering on each program
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but at the same time
there are so many of them
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we can always get to
all of them, that's right.
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But we are trying
our best, bear with us.
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And as we go through
them and trying to responses
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back to you. And as we
encourage you sometimes,
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don't wait long dissertations
on studies because we are,
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there's so many to answer that
we don't always get to those.
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And those are kind of
put at the back burner.
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Because we try to
answer the ones that are
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a little more quick and
brief. But stay with us,
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send in your questions
and we'll continue to do
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what we can to get
answers back to you.
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Now before we go
into the questions,
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let's have a word of prayer.
So bow your heads with us.
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Father in heaven, Lord we
come to you again this morning.
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Today on this program, when
we ask that you will bless us,
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bless us with your
spirit. Guide us, instruct us
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by your word and may
the things that we see,
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enlightenment we receive
be all to your honor and glory
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in Jesus name,
amen. Amen. You know John,
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as I pray for honor and
glory, there is something about
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standards and we're
gonna talk about this later on
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in the program.
But standards that give
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God the honor and
glory. That's right.
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And so there's an aspect
there that we miss often by
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you know when we say
well we live for God,
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we believe in God,
and he says okay sure,
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you know give glory to
me. Well how do we do that?
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We're all about that.
I've got a question here,
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to start off with from
Dean. And it's a question about
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believing and he
says, if the Bible says,
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believe on the Lord
and ye shall be saved,
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does that mean if you
believe, you must also be
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a Sabbath keeper. Okay. If
you weren't a Sabbath keeper
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then you aren't, can't be
a believer who can be saved.
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In other words if you
are not a Sabbath keeper
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and some that
aren't, are they not saved?
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You know, how can you be saved?
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He says many are sincere
believers in other churches.
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You see them implied that only
SDAs or Sabbath keepers will be
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saved since they are
keeping the forth commandment.
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As also, and also outlined
in the Ten Commandments.
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Well actually we don't say,
I don't think we've ever said
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that only Sabbath keepers
are gonna be in the kingdom.
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You know they are
a number of issues.
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He is talking about salvation,
he is talking about believing,
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he is talking about
whether or not your denomination
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gives you free
access to the kingdom.
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Number of issues that are gonna
talk about that will begin.
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Yes. We'll try and
kind of cover all these.
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Because this may take a
little while to go through
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but I wanted to state
that we have never said
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that there will be
people who aren't keeping
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the Sabbath kept out
of heaven. That's right.
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And so this is something
that we believe is more handled
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from a faith perspective.
You've brought that up.
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He said if you believe in
the Lord you will be saved,
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so let's take a look at
that. One thing about faith that
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I believe people have
missed today is that faith
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is not a passive word.
Faith is an active word.
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It's an action of
exercising your faith.
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John, you and I've
been friends for years.
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And I would say as we
were developing our friendship,
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if you never heard from
me, we never talked much,
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we just say hey,
you are my best buddy.
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We never went
out and did things.
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When I said I got faith in
you and I am praying for you.
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You know I was never
there supporting you.
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Probably you would
begin to think, you know what.
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This relationship really
isn't doing anything for me.
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In my belief that he is
my friend really doesn't have
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any evidence
behind it. That's right.
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So I'm just
believing that he is my friend.
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Exactly and so there's
gonna be that relationship
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that causes interaction,
that causes me to help
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to be helpful to you,
to try and support you
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and do things for you.
And so that's what we do
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in our friendships.
Same thing with God,
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that we need to be spending
time acting on our faith.
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And so to look at that,
let's turn to James Chapter 2.
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Okay. And we'll start
off with James Chapter 2
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and take a look at faith
and what faith truly means.
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That's a very good
passage by the way in James.
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Yeah. Beginning in
verse 19. So turn with us to
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James 2 verse 19.
We're gonna go down
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through about James
2:24. Okay. Starting with 19,
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it says, you believe that
there is one God, you do well.
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In other words,
when Jesus said John,
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believe on me and you
will be saved, that's right.
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This is saying you
believe, you do well.
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But then it says even the
demons believe and tremble.
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Okay. So there is
something about, you know,
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what they're talking about
is your initial meeting Christ.
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You believe he is,
you exercise that faith
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and you put your
trust in him. Okay.
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But that trust aspect
goes on to verse 20 here,
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he says but do you know
want to know, oh foolish man,
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that faith
without works is dead.
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Now notice, belief in verse
19, the word faith no works
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ended up in
verse 19, that's right.
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But is indelibly connected,
your belief and your works
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and your faith
are interconnected.
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You can't believe and
not have one or the other.
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That's right. And
that's one of the things
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that it's saying here when it
talks about the demons believe.
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They believe there's a
God but they don't exercise
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the faith were trust in
him, their works don't reveal
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that they are in a
faith relationship with him.
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That's right. And so it says
faith without works is dead.
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Verse 21, was not Abraham
our father justified by works
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when he offered
Isaac his son on the altar.
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Do you believe or do you
see that faith was working
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together with his
works, and by works,
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faith was made perfect?
You know what that saying is
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in some teach
and I hear this out,
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and I know you
too, you do too, John.
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That well, they were
living in a dispensation of law
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that their work saved them.
But you know that's not what
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Hebrews 11 says, no. It
says over and over by faith,
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by faith, by faith,
speaking of the patriots of old.
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So they by through God's grace
were saved just like we are.
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What this is saying is
that Abraham not only professed
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his faith in God but
exercised that faith by doing
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what God asked him to
do. And therefore his faith
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was made perfect. Verse 23
and the scripture was fulfilled
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which says Abraham
believed God and it was
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accounted to him
for righteousness.
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And he was called
the friend of God.
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And I like that accounted
to him for righteousness,
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it almost is saying
John that by what he did
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that faith that he
believed that he put in God,
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that's right,
was made effectual.
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In other words, it
did something to put him
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on a standing of
oneness or harmony with God.
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So what he did, he
lived out his belief,
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he lived out his
belief, but what he did made
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his faith perfect. So if he did
not obey God what it tells me
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is that your faith is imperfect.
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It can't save you. And that's
the part that we often miss.
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Verse 24 to finish it
up, you see then that a man
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is justified by works
and not by faith only.
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So I think,
when some people say,
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believe on the Lord, that's
all you have to do to be saved.
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There is a part that is unsaid
in there and that is missing.
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Yes, we need to believe in God
and he does accept our belief.
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But it's an active role, we've
got to put our trust in him
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and follow him. Call
him Lord, but Lord means
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we follow and do as he has done.
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And so a huge aspect I
think that has been missing.
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I want to point
you friends also,
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when you talked about
Abraham, that opened the door.
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And friends, go
with us to Genesis 25.
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Genesis 26 and verse
5, I want you to see this,
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because it says that
Abraham and notice this,
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this was thousands of
years ago, Abraham was a man
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who by his works, his belief,
his faith in God was made valid.
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Now what did Abraham do and
by the way I wanna point out
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this very important
point, when this text points out
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what Abraham did, you will
find out later on that Abraham
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became the father of the nation,
referred to as the nation
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of the saved, the
nation of the Israel.
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Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you find that Jacob's children,
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the sons of
Israel, later on when Jacob
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was changed from
Jacob to Israel. Right.
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His sons became
the nation of Israel.
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But you find that
Abraham was not a Jew.
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Abraham was
Chaldean. That's right.
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And Chaldea was a
province of Babylon.
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Abraham who is not a Jew,
he did something to verify
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that he had faith
in God. What was it?
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Look at Genesis
Chapter 26 and verse 5.
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Listen to what the Bible
says; well look at the promise
00:10:03.52\00:10:05.65
first of all in
Genesis 26 and verse 4, yeah.
00:10:05.66\00:10:08.67
It says I will make
your descendents multiply
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as the stars of heaven. I
will give to your descendents
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all these
lands. And in your seed
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all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed.
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Here's the reason why friends.
We talked about the commandments
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and I think you brought
that up in your question.
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Because Abraham obeyed
my voice and kept my charge,
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my commandments, my
statutes and my laws.
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What an amazing
thing for a non-Jew to do.
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There are so many people
that teach in The Old Testament,
00:10:38.92\00:10:41.86
you had to be a Jew to
keep God's commandments,
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God's statutes and God's
laws, Abraham was not a Jew.
00:10:45.38\00:10:49.53
Abraham was from
Chaldea, a province of Babylon.
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And long before, this is before,
00:10:52.58\00:10:54.49
this is Abraham then there
is Isaac and there is Jacob.
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This is not yet to Jacob;
this is not yet the 12 sons
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even in existence.
This is not yet to formation
00:11:01.41\00:11:03.47
of those 12 nations, or
the 12 tribes of Israel.
00:11:03.48\00:11:06.07
Long before that time
this man Abraham believed God
00:11:06.08\00:11:10.11
and it was counted on
to him for righteousness
00:11:10.12\00:11:11.83
as you just read
in the book of James.
00:11:11.84\00:11:14.13
What did he do? And
there's a point when I answered
00:11:14.14\00:11:16.46
the question that you
also included in your question.
00:11:16.47\00:11:19.09
What about those who
don't keep the Sabbath.
00:11:19.10\00:11:20.88
Well friends keep this in mind;
the Sabbath is not the only
00:11:20.89\00:11:23.31
foundation of
salvation. It is Jesus Christ
00:11:23.32\00:11:26.20
who is the
foundation of Salvation.
00:11:26.21\00:11:28.41
But when you come to
the knowledge of something,
00:11:28.42\00:11:30.30
you ignore it you can
just say well my faith
00:11:30.31\00:11:33.16
or my belief is
going to save me.
00:11:33.17\00:11:34.80
Belief is not an
excuse for obedience.
00:11:34.81\00:11:40.58
You see, I can't
say, oh, Lord, I believe.
00:11:40.59\00:11:42.55
For disobedience. Right.
Exactly. Well, how did I say it?
00:11:42.56\00:11:47.29
That faith is not an
excuse for disobedience,
00:11:47.30\00:11:50.05
that we can't just disobey
and say, well I've got faith.
00:11:50.06\00:11:53.93
Right. You can't
disobey and say I believe God.
00:11:53.94\00:11:56.07
You can't disobey and
say I have faith in God.
00:11:56.08\00:11:58.36
Abraham believed God
but he was faithful to what
00:11:58.37\00:12:01.84
God had called him
to do. Now, if Abraham,
00:12:01.85\00:12:04.80
thousands of years ago in the
age of predominant ignorance,
00:12:04.81\00:12:09.03
under the commandments of God.
00:12:09.04\00:12:10.91
How could we in an
Age of Enlightenment,
00:12:10.92\00:12:12.79
know about the
commandments of God
00:12:12.80\00:12:14.36
and know about the
Sabbath and ignored
00:12:14.37\00:12:16.48
and still say, we're
saved. You know, and that's
00:12:16.49\00:12:18.92
a really good point.
Because what did Jesus
00:12:18.93\00:12:21.41
or God himself, we
understand that is the Lord,
00:12:21.42\00:12:24.20
he's Christ in the
future, but what did he promise
00:12:24.21\00:12:26.96
to give Abraham
and his descendents?
00:12:26.97\00:12:28.75
It says he gave them the lands.
00:12:28.76\00:12:31.91
All those lands
and what were they?
00:12:31.92\00:12:33.58
The lands of Canaan.
That's right. What are we gonna
00:12:33.59\00:12:35.76
enter into at the end of
time? The heavenly Canaan.
00:12:35.77\00:12:38.37
That's right. And so
here it's saying that you know
00:12:38.38\00:12:40.41
because of Abraham's
obedience to his laws,
00:12:40.42\00:12:44.16
his commandments, his
statutes, that he inherited
00:12:44.17\00:12:47.24
or was blessed by
going and entering
00:12:47.25\00:12:49.26
into his
descendents into Canaan.
00:12:49.27\00:12:51.98
Therefore at the end of
time, before we enter the
00:12:51.99\00:12:54.13
heavenly Kingdom, the
challenge is do you obey
00:12:54.14\00:12:57.83
my commandments?
Do you obey my laws?
00:12:57.84\00:13:00.47
And so, it says a parallel
here that we can't miss.
00:13:00.48\00:13:03.91
Once again I'm gonna show
you the flip side of that.
00:13:03.92\00:13:06.06
Now the Israelites
who were a nation that,
00:13:06.07\00:13:10.38
I would say for all
intents and purposes,
00:13:10.39\00:13:12.50
they boasted about the
fact that they did keep
00:13:12.51\00:13:15.25
the commandments,
did keep the statutes
00:13:15.26\00:13:17.78
and did keep the laws. If
you go to the Book of Hebrews
00:13:17.79\00:13:20.70
now, look at this last
parallel to that very important
00:13:20.71\00:13:23.80
conversation about
Abraham and about belief
00:13:23.81\00:13:27.37
and about
Salvation. It points it out
00:13:27.38\00:13:29.71
in Hebrews
Chapter 4 and verse 1.
00:13:36.86\00:13:40.53
Hebrews Chapter 4 and verse 1.
00:13:40.82\00:13:43.52
Matter of fact, start
with Hebrews 3 and verse 19,
00:13:43.53\00:13:46.63
that's the end of
chapter 3 of Hebrews, it says.
00:13:46.64\00:13:50.47
So we see that they could not
enter in because of what John?
00:13:50.48\00:13:55.81
On belief. There it is.
What you ask the question.
00:13:55.82\00:13:59.09
You must believe to enter
in, but there was not just
00:13:59.10\00:14:02.72
belief in God
because the Lord, even though
00:14:02.73\00:14:04.94
they said they believed,
he didn't see their works
00:14:04.95\00:14:07.86
to be in
accordance with their beliefs.
00:14:07.87\00:14:10.50
And that's why
verse 1 of chapter 4 says,
00:14:10.51\00:14:13.76
therefore since the promise
remains of entering his rest,
00:14:13.77\00:14:18.95
let us fear lest any of you
seem to have come short of it.
00:14:18.96\00:14:23.01
And then you go for the
down in that very chapter
00:14:23.02\00:14:25.76
he talks about the Seventh-day.
In that very chapter he talks
00:14:25.77\00:14:28.69
about the Sabbath and
then he says verse 11,
00:14:28.70\00:14:31.96
let us therefore be
diligent to enter that
00:14:31.97\00:14:34.48
rest lest anyone fall after the
same example of disobedience.
00:14:34.49\00:14:39.13
Notice what he talk about
in the same chapter of belief
00:14:39.14\00:14:41.66
and obedience in
the same chapter.
00:14:41.67\00:14:43.39
Yeah. Belief and disobedience
in the same chapter.
00:14:43.40\00:14:45.30
You know in fact verse
19 of chapter 3 which is
00:14:45.31\00:14:47.19
started off with, it
says they could not enter in
00:14:47.20\00:14:49.11
because of
unbelief, that's right,
00:14:49.14\00:14:50.72
the word unbelief is used
there. Look at chapter 4 verse,
00:14:50.73\00:14:53.87
the end of verse 6,
okay. Did not enter because
00:14:53.88\00:14:56.46
of disobedience. That's right.
00:14:56.47\00:14:59.41
So disobedience is unbelief.
Here is another aspect of this,
00:14:59.42\00:15:05.71
we can give you kind
of a well rounded approach
00:15:05.72\00:15:07.53
to this whole
subject, James 1 going back to
00:15:07.54\00:15:09.66
that briefly, okay.
James Chapter 1 verse 23,
00:15:09.67\00:15:14.15
says the following.
For if anyone is a hearer
00:15:15.76\00:15:19.41
of the word and not a
doer, he is like a man observing
00:15:19.42\00:15:23.84
his natural face in the mirror.
For he observes himself goes
00:15:23.85\00:15:27.84
away, and immediately
forgets what kind of man he was.
00:15:27.85\00:15:31.68
But he who looks in
the perfect law of liberty,
00:15:31.69\00:15:35.05
and continues in it is
not a forgetful hearer,
00:15:35.06\00:15:37.37
but a doer of the
work, this one is blessed,
00:15:37.38\00:15:40.86
really blessed in what he
does. Okay. In other words,
00:15:40.87\00:15:44.61
if we proclaim our faith
in Christ and we walk away
00:15:44.62\00:15:47.69
and we forget who
we are, that's right,
00:15:47.70\00:15:49.42
being new in Christ and
we continue to do everything
00:15:49.43\00:15:52.26
we used to do. He is
saying that, is that man,
00:15:52.27\00:15:56.10
did that man's faith, did that
man's trust in God, did it work?
00:15:56.11\00:16:00.48
No. It didn't work
because he forgot who he was,
00:16:00.49\00:16:03.75
new in Christ.
And so this is saying,
00:16:03.76\00:16:06.75
you know when we meet Christ,
when we put our faith in him
00:16:06.76\00:16:09.83
then we are a different person.
00:16:09.84\00:16:10.98
We really act like a
different person, that's right.
00:16:10.99\00:16:12.81
Here's something that Jesus.
But in the same way he says,
00:16:12.82\00:16:14.82
as we forget how we look
when we look in the mirror
00:16:14.83\00:16:16.92
and walk away
all discombobulated,
00:16:16.93\00:16:19.09
you cannot look into
the law of God and walk away
00:16:19.10\00:16:21.95
and forget it.
That's right. And ignore it.
00:16:21.96\00:16:23.88
He says it's just
like looking into mirror.
00:16:23.89\00:16:26.00
And forgetting what
you look like and going out
00:16:26.01\00:16:27.57
in society
looking discombobulated.
00:16:27.58\00:16:30.57
That's incredible. And
it calls it law of liberty.
00:16:30.58\00:16:32.77
Right. Not a law of
bondage, not a law of bondage.
00:16:32.78\00:16:34.77
There are so many
people that teach nowadays
00:16:34.78\00:16:36.65
that when you keep
the commandments of God
00:16:36.66\00:16:38.51
you are in bondage. No.
The Lord set the Israelites
00:16:38.52\00:16:44.15
free from Egypt and
the commandments begin,
00:16:44.16\00:16:48.37
I'm the Lord your
God that brought you
00:16:48.38\00:16:50.78
out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage.
00:16:50.79\00:16:54.39
And then it goes and therefore,
00:16:54.40\00:16:56.54
then he mentions
the Ten Commandments.
00:16:56.55\00:16:57.94
I took you out of
bondage, here's my law.
00:16:57.95\00:17:00.22
Now what a ridiculous parallel,
I took you out of bondage,
00:17:00.23\00:17:03.32
so let's go back into
it now by keeping the law.
00:17:03.33\00:17:05.16
It doesn't make
sense. That's Satan's trap.
00:17:05.17\00:17:07.32
Don't fall into it,
friends. Listen to Jesus,
00:17:07.33\00:17:09.99
Matthew 7 verse 21
to 23, that's right.
00:17:10.00\00:17:13.22
Not everyone who
says to me, Lord,
00:17:13.23\00:17:15.76
Lord shall enter
the kingdom of heaven,
00:17:15.77\00:17:18.51
but he who does the
will of my Father in heaven.
00:17:18.52\00:17:23.04
Many will say to me in
that day Lord, Lord we have not,
00:17:23.05\00:17:26.06
have we not
prophesied in your name?
00:17:26.07\00:17:28.04
Cast out demons
in your name and done
00:17:28.05\00:17:30.06
many wonders in your
name? John, don't we have a lot
00:17:30.07\00:17:32.63
of people doing those
very things to this day.
00:17:32.64\00:17:35.12
Workaholics. And
then it says in verse 23,
00:17:35.13\00:17:38.93
then I will declare
to them I never knew you.
00:17:38.94\00:17:42.89
Depart from me you
who practice and you can
00:17:42.90\00:17:46.02
listen to the word, lawlessness.
What they did was they may
00:17:46.03\00:17:50.16
cast out demons, they
may proclaim faith in Christ,
00:17:50.17\00:17:52.84
they may use the name of
Christ for everything they do.
00:17:52.85\00:17:55.70
But it says that
these never knew Christ
00:17:55.71\00:17:57.85
because they
practiced lawlessness,
00:17:57.86\00:17:59.54
in other words they
weren't law abiding citizens.
00:17:59.55\00:18:02.85
That is amazing how
this topic can get into
00:18:02.86\00:18:05.30
so many different areas.
Now don't lose your finger
00:18:05.31\00:18:08.54
in verse 23 of
Matthew chapter 7.
00:18:08.55\00:18:11.55
While you're holding that,
go with us to the last part
00:18:11.56\00:18:14.52
of this particular question.
This is only the first question
00:18:14.53\00:18:17.06
by the way.
First John Chapter 2,
00:18:17.07\00:18:20.22
First John Chapter 2, remember
all the things that were done,
00:18:20.23\00:18:24.09
were done by those who believed
that they had a connection
00:18:24.10\00:18:26.93
with God, but he
said, I didn't know you.
00:18:26.94\00:18:29.61
Now, why did say
he didn't know them,
00:18:29.62\00:18:31.85
he said depart from me,
you who practice lawlessness.
00:18:31.86\00:18:35.70
Look at First John
Chapter 2 and verse 4.
00:18:35.71\00:18:40.27
First John Chapter 2 and
verse 4 and the key here was,
00:18:40.28\00:18:42.96
he said he didn't
know them. Look at verse 4,
00:18:42.97\00:18:46.49
he who says I know him and
does not keep his commandments
00:18:46.50\00:18:50.54
is a liar and the
truth is not in him.
00:18:50.55\00:18:53.53
Friends, it is not
possible based on the Bible,
00:18:53.54\00:18:56.30
based on Jesus' measurement
of whether or not we say
00:18:56.31\00:18:59.69
or prove that we know him.
You see it's one thing to say
00:18:59.70\00:19:02.34
I know him, but he says
if you know me you will be
00:19:02.35\00:19:05.30
keeping my commandments,
but if you say you know me
00:19:05.31\00:19:07.21
and don't keep them, well
you can't be telling the truth
00:19:07.22\00:19:09.57
and then the
truth can't be in you.
00:19:09.58\00:19:11.32
That's right. You know
stay in verse in First John 2,
00:19:11.33\00:19:15.20
okay, you know our
minds are clicking here,
00:19:15.21\00:19:18.01
I can see you, okay, the
same direction I'm going.
00:19:18.02\00:19:20.27
Verse 17, there's something
that will help to clarify
00:19:20.28\00:19:23.40
what we are saying by having
to keep the commandments of God
00:19:23.41\00:19:26.46
as we put our faith in Christ.
Okay. Verse 17 of First John 2
00:19:26.47\00:19:30.16
says this, and the
world is passing away,
00:19:30.17\00:19:32.86
and the lust of
it, but he who does
00:19:32.87\00:19:34.80
the will of God abides
forever. Okay. Hold your place
00:19:34.81\00:19:39.25
in that verse and go
over to John Chapter 15,
00:19:39.26\00:19:42.31
the gospel of John Chapter
15, there's a concept here
00:19:42.32\00:19:46.15
that I don't want to
miss. I want to make sure that
00:19:46.16\00:19:48.79
we dwell in here
for just a minute. Okay.
00:19:48.80\00:19:51.74
John 15:10 and 11. Speaking
of the commandments again,
00:19:51.75\00:19:56.86
Jesus says here, if
you keep my commandments,
00:19:56.87\00:20:00.40
you will abide, what word
is there a commonality here?
00:20:00.41\00:20:03.70
Abide, abide in my
love; just as I have kept
00:20:03.71\00:20:07.15
my Father's commandments,
and abide in his love.
00:20:07.16\00:20:09.47
These things I
have spoken to you,
00:20:09.48\00:20:11.08
that your joy may be full
or my joy may remain in you
00:20:11.09\00:20:16.96
that your joy may be full.
And so what he's saying here
00:20:16.97\00:20:20.04
is that this concept
of abiding is something
00:20:20.05\00:20:23.78
that we need to look at.
We may proclaim our faith,
00:20:23.79\00:20:26.86
we may be
proclaim Christ's name,
00:20:26.87\00:20:29.27
but to abide in our
salvation experience,
00:20:29.28\00:20:32.85
we may say, Lord, I
believe in you and he saves us,
00:20:32.86\00:20:35.68
he puts us on a level
as if we have never seen,
00:20:35.69\00:20:37.83
he forgives us and we stand
clean in Christ by his blood.
00:20:37.84\00:20:42.69
But he says, don't just
come and let me clean you up,
00:20:42.70\00:20:45.85
abide and stay with me.
Abide means remain with me.
00:20:45.86\00:20:49.87
Stay where I have put
you, stay in the state
00:20:49.88\00:20:52.41
that I have given you,
that status of being saved.
00:20:52.42\00:20:55.82
Many say that, I got saved
on and they can name the date.
00:20:55.83\00:21:00.13
While the Lord isn't
saying, thanks for getting saved
00:21:00.14\00:21:02.83
on that day he is
saying, now stay saved.
00:21:02.84\00:21:05.09
That's right. Stay
in that relationship.
00:21:05.10\00:21:06.68
And so the way
that Jesus is to do it
00:21:06.69\00:21:08.58
is to keep his commandments
and then we abide or remain
00:21:08.59\00:21:12.73
in that saving
relationship with Jesus.
00:21:12.74\00:21:15.15
John 14 verse 21, read
that to end this topic.
00:21:15.16\00:21:17.76
14:21, He who
keeps my commandments,
00:21:17.77\00:21:19.84
who has my commandments,
excuse me, and keeps them,
00:21:19.85\00:21:23.93
it is he who loves
me: and he who loves me
00:21:23.94\00:21:26.74
will be loved by my
Father, and I will love him,
00:21:26.75\00:21:29.30
and manifest myself to him.
So friends, there you have it.
00:21:29.31\00:21:33.86
You believe and
you love the Lord,
00:21:33.87\00:21:35.97
we don't deny or doubt
that we don't have any basis
00:21:35.98\00:21:38.99
on which to doubt that
and deny your belief in Christ
00:21:39.00\00:21:41.63
but remember that your
belief in Christ does not exempt
00:21:41.64\00:21:45.15
you from obedience
to his commandments,
00:21:45.16\00:21:47.59
which includes
the Sabbath command.
00:21:47.60\00:21:49.76
Strangely enough the
one that is so attacked
00:21:49.77\00:21:52.58
by leaders in
the Christian world.
00:21:52.59\00:21:54.49
And we see today that
the first day of the week,
00:21:54.50\00:21:56.58
Sunday has gained
popularity, stores are closed,
00:21:56.59\00:21:59.90
people don't sell certain
things on Sunday till noon.
00:21:59.91\00:22:03.34
Keep in mind that's the travesty
that Jesus said something,
00:22:03.35\00:22:06.66
the Father established,
the Lord established,
00:22:06.67\00:22:09.03
Jesus lives it
out on his own life.
00:22:09.04\00:22:11.27
It was saying by
our belief in him,
00:22:11.28\00:22:13.15
we can now omit it
and still be saved.
00:22:13.16\00:22:14.97
You know, we're trying to
end this question, I know.
00:22:14.98\00:22:17.35
But I made it with one
thought, with one thought.
00:22:17.36\00:22:20.22
The answer to your
question, do you have to keep
00:22:20.23\00:22:22.81
the Sabbath to be saved,
to enter into the kingdom
00:22:22.82\00:22:26.51
in the end. We
talked about this topic.
00:22:26.52\00:22:28.81
Right. The answer to that
question is the same answer
00:22:28.82\00:22:30.99
you give yourself for do I have
to not kill people to be saved.
00:22:31.00\00:22:36.78
Do I have to not
steal to be saved?
00:22:36.79\00:22:39.40
Do I have to not
commit adultery to be saved?
00:22:39.41\00:22:42.21
All those questions
that you answer about
00:22:42.22\00:22:44.33
any of the other commandments,
the same answer must be provided
00:22:44.34\00:22:48.58
for the fourth commandment.
Do I keep the seventh day holy?
00:22:48.59\00:22:53.54
And so whatever
answer you answer for,
00:22:53.55\00:22:55.86
do I need to
stop killing people?
00:22:55.87\00:22:57.22
Do I need to stop murdering?
Do I need to stop stealing?
00:22:57.23\00:22:59.29
Give yourself the same answer
for the fourth commandment.
00:22:59.30\00:23:02.27
Wow. Thank you
for that question.
00:23:02.28\00:23:04.00
It opened so many doors.
Once again send the questions
00:23:04.01\00:23:06.80
to Housecalls@3abn.org.
But I have a second question,
00:23:06.81\00:23:10.83
we are not done yet.
Geoff from Massachusetts,
00:23:10.84\00:23:13.85
he said, you did a series on
television that you talked about
00:23:13.86\00:23:17.71
darkness in the last
days. You compared it to natural
00:23:17.72\00:23:21.21
and spiritual
darkness. I forgot the reference
00:23:21.22\00:23:24.01
could you please
remind me of the statement?
00:23:24.02\00:23:26.63
What I talked about is
in the last days the world
00:23:26.64\00:23:29.79
is becoming darker
and darker spiritually.
00:23:29.80\00:23:33.81
But the day is going
to come when it's gonna
00:23:33.82\00:23:35.29
become darker
naturally as a result.
00:23:35.30\00:23:39.03
Matter of fact, go with us
to the Book of Joel Chapter 2
00:23:39.04\00:23:42.04
and I will show you the
reference that I pointed out.
00:23:42.05\00:23:43.70
I mean, I eluted to
it, but I wanna show you
00:23:43.71\00:23:48.66
the reference
about this darkness,
00:23:48.67\00:23:50.26
that's going to grip the
earth, a terrible darkness
00:23:50.27\00:23:53.05
that will happen
before the great and awesome
00:23:53.06\00:23:55.92
day of the Lord.
Oh, boy! I tell you,
00:23:55.93\00:23:58.90
Joel Chapter 2,
Daniel, Hosea, Joel.
00:23:58.91\00:24:02.66
If you got to the Old Testament
you can't find that Daniel,
00:24:02.67\00:24:05.08
Hosea, Joel. It says
in Joel Chapter 2 verse 1,
00:24:05.09\00:24:08.43
Blow the trumpet
in Zion, there it is,
00:24:08.44\00:24:10.69
blowing the
trumpet. And sound an alarm
00:24:10.70\00:24:13.15
in my holy mountain.
Let all the inhabitants
00:24:13.16\00:24:16.57
of the land tremble: for
the day of the Lord is coming,
00:24:16.58\00:24:21.68
for it is at hand.
Notice what he describes
00:24:21.69\00:24:24.31
the day of the Lord to be,
the blowing out that trumpet.
00:24:24.32\00:24:27.04
He says verse 2, a day
of darkness and gloominess,
00:24:27.05\00:24:32.27
a day of clouds
and thick darkness,
00:24:32.28\00:24:35.81
like the morning clouds
spread over the mountains.
00:24:35.82\00:24:40.23
A people come, great and strong.
00:24:40.24\00:24:42.55
The like of whom has never been,
nor will there ever be any such
00:24:42.56\00:24:46.77
after them, even for
many successive generations.
00:24:46.78\00:24:50.79
Joel talks about the day
of the Lord that's coming.
00:24:50.80\00:24:53.18
He says blow this
trumpet, wake my people up,
00:24:53.19\00:24:55.74
because this day
that's coming is going
00:24:55.75\00:24:57.53
to manifest two things, a
darkness, a thick darkness,
00:24:57.54\00:25:01.59
clouds and thick
darkness, a day of gloominess
00:25:01.60\00:25:04.65
and darkness. This is
physical and spiritual,
00:25:04.66\00:25:07.64
because Isaiah
says it the same way.
00:25:07.65\00:25:09.76
Isaiah 60 verse 2 and
3 if you get there John,
00:25:09.77\00:25:12.37
read that for us.
The Lord talks about
00:25:12.38\00:25:14.84
how in these last days and
you will find that this time
00:25:14.85\00:25:18.41
that's coming; it's
for a particular reason
00:25:18.42\00:25:20.65
because the world
right now to a great degree,
00:25:20.66\00:25:22.47
many of the secular minds
of the world are rejecting
00:25:22.48\00:25:25.27
the light of Christ.
But he's in essence saying,
00:25:25.28\00:25:28.83
when the day comes
that becomes dark physically
00:25:28.84\00:25:31.82
and we'll talk about what
is gonna cause that darkness.
00:25:31.83\00:25:34.16
When the day grips
the earth with darkness
00:25:34.17\00:25:36.24
and thick clouds
something is gonna happen
00:25:36.25\00:25:39.28
to the people of
God in that time.
00:25:39.29\00:25:40.90
John, Isaiah 60 verse 2 and
3. 60 verse 2 and 3, it says:
00:25:40.91\00:25:44.45
For, behold, the
darkness shall cover the earth,
00:25:44.46\00:25:47.07
and deep darkness the
people. But the Lord will
00:25:47.08\00:25:50.50
arise over you, and his
glory will be seen upon you.
00:25:50.51\00:25:54.29
The Gentiles shall
come to your light,
00:25:54.30\00:25:56.53
and Kings to the
brightness of your rising.
00:25:56.54\00:25:59.64
You know I like this
because what it's saying is
00:25:59.65\00:26:01.26
in the midst of the darkness,
John, that God does not
00:26:01.27\00:26:05.81
leave us to things,
devices, to his deception.
00:26:05.82\00:26:08.54
That's right. And
we know that errors,
00:26:08.55\00:26:09.63
what causes this
darkness? That's right.
00:26:09.64\00:26:11.54
Those who are
believed, these thing set up
00:26:11.55\00:26:16.30
by Satan himself, his deception
and he's become so dark
00:26:16.31\00:26:19.28
and gloomy that there
was got to be a light,
00:26:19.29\00:26:21.56
there was got to be a
beacon of light shining
00:26:21.57\00:26:22.92
from somewhere and it
comes through God's people.
00:26:22.93\00:26:25.49
You know the Lord just
give me an illustration
00:26:25.50\00:26:27.14
and I think this is because
I like flashlights so much.
00:26:27.15\00:26:29.81
You know, Rochelle
asked me last night,
00:26:29.82\00:26:31.20
you know, he does, I mustn't say
00:26:31.21\00:26:32.55
he likes flashlights an
awful lot, it's like a new,
00:26:32.56\00:26:36.02
look at this LED flashlight.
I always have something new.
00:26:36.03\00:26:40.78
But friends, never get
yourself caught in darkness,
00:26:40.79\00:26:42.91
never be in a place
that could become dark
00:26:42.92\00:26:44.67
not without having a light.
I'm just of the nature that
00:26:44.68\00:26:47.30
if I'm in a mall anywhere
in California or anywhere else
00:26:47.31\00:26:49.61
in the world and
the lights go out,
00:26:49.62\00:26:52.01
everybody is gonna know
that, John is in the mall,
00:26:52.02\00:26:53.66
I'm gonna turn my flashlight on.
00:26:53.67\00:26:55.32
But here is the
illustration I want to make.
00:26:55.33\00:26:57.29
Just say for example you
are in an office building,
00:26:57.30\00:27:00.85
you are in a basement, you
are in a large shopping mall
00:27:00.86\00:27:05.00
and all of a sudden it's night
and all of the lights go out
00:27:05.01\00:27:08.41
and the emergency
backup lights don't work.
00:27:08.42\00:27:12.41
But all of a
sudden, all those people
00:27:12.42\00:27:14.05
that you never spoke to,
all those people that passed
00:27:14.06\00:27:17.10
you by when you turn your
flashlight on all of a sudden
00:27:17.11\00:27:21.52
they all gravitate toward
you because they see the light.
00:27:21.53\00:27:24.35
You follow my point,
John. When the lights were on
00:27:24.36\00:27:27.28
they didn't say hello,
they didn't care how you were.
00:27:27.29\00:27:29.84
But all of a
sudden the lights go off
00:27:29.85\00:27:31.51
and they gravitate
towards you, because they see
00:27:31.52\00:27:34.21
in the midst of darkness,
somebody couldn't guide
00:27:34.22\00:27:38.06
them out of the
darkness and show them the way.
00:27:38.07\00:27:41.19
That's the reason why the
Lord is going to allow darkness.
00:27:41.20\00:27:43.58
Physical darkness to grip you,
so that upon the people of God,
00:27:43.59\00:27:47.28
the light of God
is going to be seen
00:27:47.29\00:27:49.28
and the light
of God is his word,
00:27:49.29\00:27:51.27
his word is a lamb to our
feet and a light to our path.
00:27:51.28\00:27:55.23
That's right. Are
you amazed by the fact
00:27:55.24\00:27:57.98
that we only got
through two questions before
00:27:57.99\00:27:59.32
we have to go to our
topic. But friends, keep sending
00:27:59.33\00:28:02.31
those questions to
housecalls@3abn.org.
00:28:02.32\00:28:04.70
We must
transition now to our topic.
00:28:04.71\00:28:07.30
We have been talking about
Christian standards and John,
00:28:07.31\00:28:10.02
you know you talked
about something about
00:28:10.03\00:28:11.59
Christian standards early
today before we did the program.
00:28:11.60\00:28:13.68
Maybe you remember that
point. How important it is for
00:28:13.69\00:28:16.56
Christians to have standards.
Yeah, we, Christian standards
00:28:16.57\00:28:20.29
are there for us, it's a
safeguard first of all for
00:28:20.30\00:28:23.46
our lives to
abide, we talked about
00:28:23.47\00:28:25.55
abiding in
Christ. He has a standard,
00:28:25.56\00:28:28.13
the standard of his
word. And we are to follow it.
00:28:28.14\00:28:30.78
but those standards are not
only to be a safeguard for us,
00:28:30.79\00:28:35.69
but it's to glorify him.
And so by how we live our life,
00:28:35.70\00:28:40.05
we either give
glory to God or we don't.
00:28:40.06\00:28:43.30
We crucify him again. So
our actions have much to do
00:28:43.31\00:28:47.28
with how we live
and witness to the world
00:28:47.29\00:28:50.20
that we are Christ's. And
that's from the very beginning
00:28:50.21\00:28:53.21
John and
Israelites when he called them
00:28:53.22\00:28:55.39
and he said set them
apart as a Holy people to him.
00:28:55.40\00:28:59.15
He asked them, I
don't want you to be like
00:28:59.16\00:29:01.11
the rest of the
nations, that's right.
00:29:01.12\00:29:02.75
I wanted to do what they do.
00:29:02.76\00:29:04.83
I want you to be
a Holy people to me.
00:29:04.84\00:29:07.29
Now what did he give
them? He gave them standards.
00:29:09.37\00:29:10.65
Oh, friends. And so
that's why we are talking about
00:29:10.66\00:29:12.83
standards here. He
gave them standards
00:29:12.84\00:29:15.27
and you know what I
have been able to do this
00:29:15.28\00:29:17.19
a number of years ago,
and recently you went into
00:29:17.20\00:29:19.53
a study on
standards about a dormant.
00:29:19.54\00:29:21.66
About the way that
a Christian presents
00:29:21.67\00:29:24.81
his or herself to the
world, and it's amazing
00:29:24.82\00:29:27.71
and eye-opening to see
how many things are happening
00:29:27.72\00:29:30.93
in the Christian church today
that have no association with
00:29:30.94\00:29:33.81
Christ at all. That's right.
That have no connection with
00:29:33.82\00:29:36.45
Christ at all. It's
almost like to a great degree
00:29:36.46\00:29:38.66
that Church has
become a big shopping mall
00:29:38.67\00:29:40.88
for the world.
And it almost tries to
00:29:40.89\00:29:43.52
compete with the world and
keep this in mind, friends,
00:29:43.53\00:29:46.18
everything the world has
the church doesn't need to
00:29:46.19\00:29:48.35
counterpart to that.
We do need to find the way
00:29:48.36\00:29:51.85
to say for example, you know,
the world has entertainment,
00:29:51.86\00:29:56.51
then the church wants
to have entertainment,
00:29:56.52\00:29:58.73
then the world has specific
direction of the way to dress,
00:29:58.74\00:30:02.67
and the church has a
counter to that, a way to dress.
00:30:02.68\00:30:05.63
There are so many things that
the Bible establishes already
00:30:05.99\00:30:08.79
that will give us guidelines
as they how the Christians
00:30:09.30\00:30:11.27
should reflect the glory
of God as John just said.
00:30:11.28\00:30:14.32
You know, one of the
things if you look back
00:30:14.33\00:30:15.66
at the nation of Israel when
they apostatized many times.
00:30:15.67\00:30:18.48
What they built up
were places of idol worship,
00:30:19.19\00:30:22.36
called the high places.
00:30:22.65\00:30:23.77
Now if you look at
the references to that,
00:30:24.26\00:30:26.27
it doesn't often I can't find
00:30:26.28\00:30:28.31
say that they
tore down God's alters.
00:30:28.32\00:30:31.24
It says that they just
built up other ones next to him.
00:30:33.03\00:30:34.26
Right. Right.
00:30:35.25\00:30:36.28
So as they built
up these high places,
00:30:36.29\00:30:38.03
they built them up next
to God's places to worship.
00:30:38.72\00:30:42.78
And so it was in a situation
where they eradicated God
00:30:43.16\00:30:45.58
and put something
else there they built
00:30:45.59\00:30:47.88
it right alongside of God
00:30:47.89\00:30:48.98
so while they were a nation of
people that probably professed,
00:30:49.10\00:30:51.94
well we know that there was
a God in heaven our creator,
00:30:52.23\00:30:54.44
they also said but we have these
other Gods who do these things.
00:30:55.03\00:30:57.77
And so, what they did
was they have not only
00:30:57.89\00:30:59.60
identified with God
who actually set them
00:30:59.61\00:31:03.16
apart for his use as his people.
00:31:03.17\00:31:05.48
But they identified themselves
and committed themselves
00:31:06.11\00:31:08.72
to the other nations
because they adopted their Gods.
00:31:08.73\00:31:11.29
And so what you had John,
00:31:11.86\00:31:12.83
was not a
replacement of one for the other
00:31:12.84\00:31:15.17
but you had emerging
together of one with the other.
00:31:15.18\00:31:18.03
That's right. The
same thing happened
00:31:18.22\00:31:19.96
to the church in the
early, the dark ages.
00:31:20.15\00:31:22.81
The early church
was pure, was brought up
00:31:23.24\00:31:25.17
and set apart by God for use,
00:31:25.68\00:31:27.34
for a purpose of reaching
the world, but what happened?
00:31:27.35\00:31:29.90
Paganism and many of its
things. Its right ceremonies,
00:31:30.78\00:31:33.18
its symbols became to be
merged with Christianity.
00:31:33.33\00:31:36.95
And so what we see here
is a result of that merging
00:31:37.57\00:31:40.31
and we as Christians
as a people today almost
00:31:40.83\00:31:43.45
co-exist with that
apostate kind of false religion.
00:31:43.46\00:31:47.85
You know, you
made a very good point
00:31:47.89\00:31:49.12
with the phrase, high places.
00:31:49.13\00:31:50.87
While you are talking about
that I just did a quick research
00:31:51.56\00:31:53.48
in the Bible to see that.
00:31:53.49\00:31:54.48
In the New King
James version 79 times
00:31:54.91\00:31:57.75
you find the
phrase, high places.
00:31:57.89\00:31:59.40
But in the King James
Version you find it 98 times.
00:31:59.97\00:32:03.29
And the reason why, you
don't find it as many times
00:32:03.71\00:32:05.66
in the New King James
version is because sometimes
00:32:05.77\00:32:07.41
they substitute that
for spiritual places.
00:32:07.42\00:32:10.38
For example all
places of authority.
00:32:11.56\00:32:13.16
But how
amazing, when you look at
00:32:13.86\00:32:15.05
the Old Testament
references to high places.
00:32:15.06\00:32:17.29
You find that in the
mountains, in the gardens,
00:32:17.83\00:32:21.30
in the groves, in the desserts,
00:32:21.56\00:32:23.18
there were altars
established for worship.
00:32:23.49\00:32:25.30
And, I like you
just said wonderfully,
00:32:26.06\00:32:27.39
when the people of God
apostatized very few times
00:32:28.16\00:32:31.29
did they knock down the altar of
God but they built another one,
00:32:31.30\00:32:33.70
right by. Right, next to it.
00:32:33.71\00:32:35.02
That lead them
into apostate worship
00:32:35.50\00:32:37.28
and not only that lead
them into apostate worship
00:32:37.51\00:32:39.61
but they began looking like
00:32:39.62\00:32:40.74
and dressing just like
those who were in apostasy.
00:32:40.84\00:32:43.18
And then Paul only makes one
reference in the New Testament,
00:32:43.85\00:32:46.79
in Ephesians
Chapter 6 and verse 12
00:32:47.11\00:32:48.84
where he says, for you wrestle
not against flesh and blood,
00:32:48.85\00:32:52.01
but against
principalities, against powers,
00:32:52.59\00:32:55.33
against the rulers of
the darkness of this world,
00:32:55.46\00:32:57.29
against spiritual wickedness
in high places. That's right.
00:32:57.80\00:33:01.43
It's amazing only once
in the reference you find,
00:33:01.54\00:33:04.08
the New Testament
included in high places.
00:33:04.23\00:33:06.23
So, today people are
in high places of worship,
00:33:07.05\00:33:09.35
high places of
authority, spiritual authority,
00:33:09.60\00:33:11.69
but there is something
that's coexisting there
00:33:12.07\00:33:14.09
and those very same places
00:33:15.00\00:33:15.97
that God never intended
to be next to his altar.
00:33:15.98\00:33:19.24
You know, and
these are many things,
00:33:19.48\00:33:20.74
we talk about idols.
00:33:20.75\00:33:22.15
You know, when I think most
churches today recognize idol
00:33:22.82\00:33:25.39
worship is something we should
stay away from. It's the first
00:33:25.40\00:33:28.60
and the second
commandment, kind of together.
00:33:28.61\00:33:30.29
I don't worship or have
any other Gods before me,
00:33:30.66\00:33:32.87
don't make them or
make any carved images
00:33:33.13\00:33:35.24
or bow down to them.
00:33:35.25\00:33:36.25
And so we
recognize that as something
00:33:36.95\00:33:38.96
God doesn't want us to do.
00:33:38.97\00:33:40.59
But you know our
idols have began,
00:33:41.16\00:33:43.55
have gone so far beyond
what idols were of old, right.
00:33:44.16\00:33:47.89
They used to be
actual carved images,
00:33:48.45\00:33:50.23
but you know we have idols
00:33:50.45\00:33:51.53
that run the gambit of different
things today. That's right.
00:33:52.09\00:33:56.36
Idols of our cars, our boats,
00:33:56.37\00:33:59.45
our very expensive
houses, or other extravagances,
00:34:00.05\00:34:03.85
those things that
anything we put before God
00:34:03.86\00:34:06.38
can be set up as an
idol for us. That's right.
00:34:06.39\00:34:08.81
And so we need to be on
guard for many kinds of things.
00:34:09.35\00:34:12.29
And so, when we
talk about standards,
00:34:12.45\00:34:13.69
we are gonna talk about a
couple of specific points today.
00:34:13.70\00:34:15.81
But we're speaking
of just those couple,
00:34:16.55\00:34:18.85
but there are
many. There are many.
00:34:19.04\00:34:20.56
So keep that aspect in mind
that they are many things here
00:34:20.57\00:34:23.34
that we as Christians
need to be on guard for.
00:34:23.35\00:34:26.35
And you know John,
the important point
00:34:26.52\00:34:28.05
I want to emphasize
before we start pointing out
00:34:28.06\00:34:29.53
some specifics here is this,
anything first and foremost,
00:34:29.54\00:34:33.15
anything that you put before God
00:34:33.29\00:34:34.64
or that takes first place
in your life becomes your God.
00:34:34.65\00:34:38.20
However, there are things
that you may not put first
00:34:39.59\00:34:44.24
that our Gods in the eye
of God, in the eyes of God.
00:34:45.33\00:34:49.56
There are Gods we establish,
00:34:50.00\00:34:51.42
but then there are Gods that
have been established of old,
00:34:52.04\00:34:54.87
that the Lord says thou shall
have no other Gods before me.
00:34:54.88\00:34:59.14
So there are established
Gods, and I would like to begin
00:34:59.82\00:35:01.47
in the book of Second
Corinthians Chapter 6.
00:35:01.48\00:35:03.77
I want to show you
something, matter of fact,
00:35:04.61\00:35:06.05
you could write
this reference down.
00:35:06.84\00:35:08.03
First Corinthians
Chapter 10 and verse 31,
00:35:08.04\00:35:10.87
First Corinthians
Chapter 10 and verse 31,
00:35:11.17\00:35:12.79
which simply says, whether
you therefore eat or drink
00:35:12.80\00:35:16.58
or what so ever you
do, do all to the glory,
00:35:16.59\00:35:19.43
there it is again, do
all to the glory of God.
00:35:19.81\00:35:22.52
Wetalked about
the glory that God has
00:35:22.63\00:35:24.23
that should never be taken away.
00:35:24.24\00:35:26.74
Do all to the
glory of God, then also,
00:35:27.55\00:35:29.86
First Corinthians 6
verse 18 and 19 where it says,
00:35:30.62\00:35:33.92
or 19 and 20 says,
don't you know that your body
00:35:33.93\00:35:36.15
is the temple
of the Holy Spirit.
00:35:36.53\00:35:38.37
If any man
defiles the temple of God,
00:35:38.97\00:35:41.12
him will God destroy for
the temple of God is holy,
00:35:41.43\00:35:43.64
which temple ye are. Now,
lets look at the temple of God
00:35:43.78\00:35:47.37
and idols and
the same reference.
00:35:47.38\00:35:49.40
Now before we talk about
defiling the temple of God
00:35:50.67\00:35:53.08
but now lets look
at what Paul meant?
00:35:53.45\00:35:55.47
New Testament
references and we'll go back
00:35:56.17\00:35:57.88
to Old Testament
parallels to that.
00:35:57.89\00:36:00.21
Second Corinthians 6 and John,
if you read verse 16 for us,
00:36:00.70\00:36:04.28
beginning there. Verse 16 of
Second Corinthians 6, it says,
00:36:04.29\00:36:09.50
and what agreement has
the temple of God with idols?
00:36:09.51\00:36:12.32
For you are the
temple of the living God;
00:36:13.67\00:36:15.69
as God has said, I
will dwell in them,
00:36:16.53\00:36:18.89
and walk among
them; I will be their God,
00:36:19.32\00:36:21.61
and they shall be my people.
00:36:22.03\00:36:23.72
And verse 17. Therefore
come out from among them,
00:36:23.73\00:36:26.61
and be separate, says the Lord,
00:36:26.77\00:36:28.12
do not touch which is unclean,
00:36:28.60\00:36:30.27
or what is unclean, and
I will receive you, okay,
00:36:30.67\00:36:33.69
I would be a Father to you,
00:36:33.70\00:36:34.79
and you shall be
my sons and daughters,
00:36:34.98\00:36:36.80
says the Lord, God Almighty.
00:36:36.81\00:36:38.81
And notice the
reference there is come apart,
00:36:39.15\00:36:41.66
he separate that's right.
He says the same message, John,
00:36:41.67\00:36:43.98
as was given in
the Old Testament
00:36:44.06\00:36:45.44
to his people
Israelites. That's right.
00:36:45.67\00:36:47.60
He said what agreement does
00:36:48.24\00:36:52.00
the temple of
God have with idols?
00:36:52.01\00:36:54.21
Now I wanna take you
back to an Old Testament story
00:36:54.22\00:36:56.37
that begins to lay
some amazing foundation,
00:36:56.80\00:36:58.68
we talked about
in the Old Testament,
00:36:58.69\00:37:00.05
how in fact they were
those who worshiped images
00:37:00.44\00:37:04.13
that were carved and one of
the ways that people understood
00:37:04.35\00:37:07.00
what God was
worshiped by the people
00:37:07.71\00:37:09.40
that had these
particular images,
00:37:09.41\00:37:10.77
is it was based on the
mineral that it was made from.
00:37:11.21\00:37:13.83
For example, if it was wood,
00:37:14.24\00:37:15.21
they worship a specific God,
00:37:15.22\00:37:16.31
God of nature, God of trees.
00:37:16.32\00:37:17.56
That's why you
have in the California,
00:37:18.28\00:37:19.80
we say this now as a
kind of tongue and cheek term.
00:37:20.58\00:37:22.88
We call them treehuggers.
You know they're just,
00:37:23.58\00:37:26.31
don't cut down this
tree, a 3000 years old
00:37:26.32\00:37:28.67
and they have this
there is some energy
00:37:28.68\00:37:30.53
or some of kind of God
existing in nature. Yeah.
00:37:30.54\00:37:33.07
Worshiping the creation
rather than the creator.
00:37:33.36\00:37:35.93
Well this existed in Genesis,
00:37:36.51\00:37:38.25
go with us now to
Genesis Chapter 35
00:37:38.36\00:37:40.71
and we are gonna lay
some foundation to see
00:37:41.74\00:37:43.49
why it's so
important for a Christian today
00:37:44.09\00:37:46.18
to remember that the standards
that God established in times
00:37:46.19\00:37:50.01
of old are not
standards that have been lifted,
00:37:50.02\00:37:53.21
but for some reason
just like the Sabbath,
00:37:53.88\00:37:55.82
just like marriage attacked,
00:37:56.54\00:37:57.73
just like the
Sabbath is attacked,
00:37:58.09\00:37:59.27
like the
commandments are attacked.
00:37:59.28\00:38:00.52
Standards have also
been so watered down
00:38:01.02\00:38:04.36
that I wanna just
make the statement.
00:38:04.37\00:38:06.21
You can go to
some Christian churches
00:38:07.06\00:38:08.49
and you cannot tell whether
or not you're in a Church
00:38:08.50\00:38:12.01
or whether you are in a mall
or whether you're in a club.
00:38:12.62\00:38:14.76
Because of the way
that standards have been
00:38:15.67\00:38:17.83
so watered down that a person
00:38:17.84\00:38:20.18
will put on their
best to go to a wedding,
00:38:20.19\00:38:24.83
or their best to
go to a job interview,
00:38:25.54\00:38:27.44
but they put on
whatever to go to Christ.
00:38:27.74\00:38:29.40
They go to Church. And they say
it doesn't really matter friends
00:38:30.04\00:38:32.66
it so matters how you
present yourself before God,
00:38:32.67\00:38:36.58
Romans 12 verse 1 and 2. Present
your body as a living sacrifice,
00:38:36.59\00:38:40.18
holy and acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service
00:38:40.19\00:38:43.36
where as the NIV says
your spiritual act of worship.
00:38:43.48\00:38:45.49
No where in the
Bible can you find
00:38:45.89\00:38:47.93
that it doesn't matter how
you present yourself to God.
00:38:47.94\00:38:51.24
And so let's start
with Genesis Chapter 35.
00:38:51.98\00:38:53.80
Remember the story of Jacob,
00:38:54.91\00:38:56.16
he had deceived
his brother Esau,
00:38:57.60\00:39:00.17
and he was running for his life.
00:39:00.91\00:39:02.70
And the Lord appeared to
Jacob at a place called Bethel.
00:39:04.00\00:39:07.73
And we remember the story
as kids we sing that song,
00:39:08.01\00:39:11.08
we are climbing Jacob's ladder.
00:39:11.09\00:39:14.06
And the vision
of angels ascending
00:39:15.43\00:39:17.04
and descending on this ladder
00:39:17.05\00:39:18.46
as Jacob was
sleeping had a dream
00:39:18.47\00:39:20.70
God had given to him
and the heavens open.
00:39:20.71\00:39:23.04
And the Lord said
to him, I'm with you.
00:39:23.31\00:39:24.76
And that night the
Lord did something.
00:39:25.50\00:39:27.04
He blessed him and
he changed his name
00:39:28.53\00:39:30.56
from Jacob to Israel
meaning he was an over-comer.
00:39:30.57\00:39:33.45
But when he was married
now, he married a young lady
00:39:33.98\00:39:37.81
by the name of Rachel and
her father's name was Laban,
00:39:37.82\00:39:41.04
how we wanna
pronounce that, LABAN.
00:39:41.71\00:39:43.82
And Laban was a
man that sold idols.
00:39:44.64\00:39:47.34
He sold carved images.
00:39:47.85\00:39:49.77
And when Jacob married Rachel,
00:39:51.16\00:39:53.22
she bought all
her idols with her.
00:39:53.23\00:39:55.38
And Jacob said to
her, you know honey,
00:39:56.17\00:39:58.25
I like, I know, you got
your gigantic box of idols.
00:39:59.56\00:40:02.94
Nowadays we call it
gigantic box, a Jewelery box
00:40:03.46\00:40:06.38
You got all these idols.
00:40:06.51\00:40:07.93
But the Lord wants to
do something to our family
00:40:08.70\00:40:10.82
and here is what he wants to do,
00:40:11.18\00:40:12.64
but here is what
he requires of us.
00:40:12.75\00:40:14.39
John, Genesis 35
beginning with verse 1
00:40:14.40\00:40:17.06
going down the verse 4, okay.
00:40:17.07\00:40:19.01
Then God said to
Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel,
00:40:19.13\00:40:22.90
and dwell there and
make an altar there to God
00:40:22.91\00:40:25.93
who appeared to
you when you fled
00:40:25.94\00:40:27.64
from the face of
Esau, your brother.
00:40:27.65\00:40:29.38
And Jacob said he was household,
00:40:30.26\00:40:31.81
and to all who were with him,
00:40:31.82\00:40:33.87
put away the foreign
Gods that are among you.
00:40:34.46\00:40:36.80
Purify yourselves
and change your garments.
00:40:37.20\00:40:40.10
Then let us arise
and go up to Bethel;
00:40:40.70\00:40:42.86
and I will make an
altar there to God,
00:40:42.87\00:40:45.05
who answered me in
the day of my distress,
00:40:45.37\00:40:47.61
and has been with me in
the way which I have gone.
00:40:47.62\00:40:50.95
So they gave Jacob
all the foreign Gods
00:40:51.54\00:40:53.88
which were in their hands,
00:40:53.89\00:40:55.21
and the earrings
which were in their ears.
00:40:55.60\00:40:57.66
And Jacob hid them
under the terebinth tree
00:40:58.02\00:41:02.33
where was by
Shechem, which was by Shechem.
00:41:02.34\00:41:06.92
And so, yeah, you are right
00:41:06.93\00:41:08.16
I mean what we
see here is idols,
00:41:08.17\00:41:09.69
you know sometimes John,
most people think of idols
00:41:10.03\00:41:12.22
that's something that's carved,
00:41:12.23\00:41:13.25
you hold in your head
you set up on the shelf,
00:41:13.26\00:41:15.07
but this saying that
they actually hung their idols
00:41:15.74\00:41:18.01
on their ears, or in their
nose or wherever else rings go.
00:41:18.02\00:41:21.55
You know
friends, a lot of people
00:41:22.26\00:41:23.36
don't understand this topic
00:41:23.37\00:41:24.52
and we're gonna
really talk about this.
00:41:24.53\00:41:26.21
In Genesis 31, you will
find that Rachel had an unusual
00:41:27.00\00:41:30.36
practice and she wanted some
of these idols that her father
00:41:30.37\00:41:33.93
had to also be in her house.
00:41:33.94\00:41:35.84
You find it in Genesis
31, and it says in verse 19,
00:41:36.23\00:41:39.69
now Laban had gone
to shear his sheep:
00:41:40.13\00:41:42.49
and Rachel had
stolen the household idols
00:41:42.60\00:41:46.67
that were her father's.
00:41:46.68\00:41:48.53
That were her
father's. Genesis 31 verse 19,
00:41:49.19\00:41:52.25
so she came back and
then Laban realized hey,
00:41:52.74\00:41:56.09
she stole my Gods, idols, Gods.
00:41:56.10\00:41:58.99
In verse 30 he says,
and now you have surely gone
00:41:59.00\00:42:01.92
because you greatly, you greatly
long for your father's house,
00:42:01.93\00:42:05.94
but why did you steal my Gods.
00:42:06.07\00:42:08.66
My Gods. Idols, Gods.
00:42:08.80\00:42:11.22
This is a commandment that
so many people have missed.
00:42:11.74\00:42:13.94
The second one which you
talk about earlier today.
00:42:14.12\00:42:16.51
Thou shall have know
other gods before me,
00:42:16.72\00:42:18.98
thou shall not make
into me any graven image
00:42:19.11\00:42:22.30
and what you find today that
is parallel to the times then.
00:42:22.86\00:42:27.02
When Jacob said, remove
the strange Gods are among you.
00:42:27.14\00:42:29.80
Notice what he said,
put away the strange Gods,
00:42:29.81\00:42:32.51
purify yourselves,
change your garments.
00:42:33.73\00:42:36.84
What did they
understand him to me?
00:42:37.06\00:42:39.42
The Bible says so they
gave Jacob all the foreign Gods
00:42:39.43\00:42:42.47
which were in their
hands, carved images
00:42:42.48\00:42:44.71
and all the earrings
which were in their ears.
00:42:45.41\00:42:49.16
And Jacob hid them
under the oak tree,
00:42:49.35\00:42:51.55
I like the word oak tree as
the King James version says.
00:42:51.56\00:42:53.81
I had a problem
pronouncing terebinth.
00:42:53.82\00:42:55.23
Terebinth, really was,
the oak tree by Shechem.
00:42:55.24\00:42:59.20
Yeah. Now notice
what he didn't do,
00:42:59.40\00:43:00.38
he didn't leave
them on the dresser
00:43:00.56\00:43:02.68
when he went to the church.
00:43:02.69\00:43:04.05
Right. He didn't leave them
00:43:04.62\00:43:06.27
in the house and go
sanctify himself before the Lord
00:43:06.28\00:43:09.53
and then come back and
partake of those idols anymore.
00:43:10.22\00:43:13.73
He buried them, he made
sure that they were no longer
00:43:14.07\00:43:17.17
a temptation to
him and his family.
00:43:17.18\00:43:18.79
That's right.
00:43:18.80\00:43:19.77
And notice who made this claim,
00:43:19.78\00:43:20.99
the Lord told him to
get rid of these idols.
00:43:21.42\00:43:24.61
But you find there that
the example put forth by Jacob
00:43:24.83\00:43:28.00
was something that later on the
children of Israel fell into,
00:43:28.98\00:43:31.94
because they were in the
land of Egypt for 400 years.
00:43:32.31\00:43:35.17
You count 430 if you think of
00:43:35.57\00:43:37.49
when Joseph was
sold into slavery.
00:43:37.99\00:43:41.27
So for 430 years they
were in the land of Egypt
00:43:41.64\00:43:43.82
and they became
in every practice
00:43:43.83\00:43:46.00
much like the Egyptians, John,
00:43:46.33\00:43:47.98
they adopted many of
the things that they did
00:43:48.36\00:43:50.08
but when the Lord
called them out of Egypt,
00:43:50.22\00:43:52.72
he called them out
of a number of things.
00:43:53.25\00:43:55.02
He called them back
to the day of worship;
00:43:55.14\00:43:56.96
he called them
back to the proper diet.
00:43:57.39\00:43:59.29
But friends, he also called them
back to the proper adornment.
00:43:59.30\00:44:02.74
That's right. Look
at us, look with us
00:44:03.76\00:44:06.18
to Genesis,
sorry, Exodus chapter 32
00:44:06.19\00:44:08.67
and find out how the people
rebelled when God was trying
00:44:09.70\00:44:14.00
to change them from
who they were in Egypt
00:44:14.89\00:44:18.59
to who he wanted them
to be as they prepared
00:44:18.69\00:44:20.59
to go to the promised land.
00:44:20.60\00:44:22.01
You know sometimes, John,
you just have to look at the
00:44:22.14\00:44:23.84
the principle of
what God was doing. Right.
00:44:23.85\00:44:26.13
You know we sometimes focus
so much on a specific passage
00:44:26.14\00:44:29.47
or part of a
passage or a couple texts
00:44:29.48\00:44:31.38
and we rationalize it
away without going back
00:44:31.57\00:44:33.05
to the principle of
what God was trying to do
00:44:33.06\00:44:35.62
That's right. From
the very beginning God
00:44:35.82\00:44:37.32
knew that Israel had dwelt with,
00:44:37.33\00:44:39.07
in Egypt for hundreds of years.
00:44:39.08\00:44:41.22
That's right. And he knew
that it was gonna take some time
00:44:41.39\00:44:44.06
to bring them out of
Egypt and get them to do
00:44:44.07\00:44:46.58
and to be everything
that he wanted them to be.
00:44:46.88\00:44:49.49
And so here it
is, I think sometimes
00:44:50.43\00:44:52.28
you just got to spell it out.
00:44:52.29\00:44:53.76
And so we hear God actually
speaking originally speaking
00:44:54.08\00:44:56.68
from Mount Sinai
all Ten Commandments.
00:44:56.69\00:44:59.87
In fact the
people as they heard,
00:45:00.41\00:45:02.10
I don't think it was
just a fear of God's voice
00:45:02.89\00:45:04.58
but I think they
heard what God was saying
00:45:04.77\00:45:06.80
and they said my goodness.
00:45:06.81\00:45:07.98
That's right.
We're not like that.
00:45:08.37\00:45:09.64
Moses speaks to God, will
be killed, will be struck dead.
00:45:10.14\00:45:13.30
And so they saw
that God was holy much
00:45:13.91\00:45:15.93
more than they
had ever contemplated
00:45:15.94\00:45:17.72
and they had lost sight of.
00:45:17.73\00:45:18.96
And God was calling
them back to standards.
00:45:19.11\00:45:21.37
You know as a matter of
fact as you turn to that
00:45:21.58\00:45:23.56
as you turn to Exodus
32, you will also remember
00:45:23.57\00:45:27.22
you may remember in
Exodus chapter 5 and verse 5 one
00:45:27.23\00:45:30.30
of the reasons why
Pharaoh was so angry and forced
00:45:30.31\00:45:34.27
the Israelites to try to
make to brick without straw
00:45:34.28\00:45:38.72
is because Moses
had began to lead them,
00:45:38.73\00:45:43.38
he had began to lead
them back to the day of rest.
00:45:43.50\00:45:47.30
In Exodus 5 and
verse 5 and Pharaoh said
00:45:47.40\00:45:49.70
behold the people of
the land now are many
00:45:49.71\00:45:52.14
and he make them
rest from their labors.
00:45:52.15\00:45:54.22
If you look at
the word the rest,
00:45:54.40\00:45:55.92
it was not just
pointing to an auditory rest,
00:45:56.16\00:45:58.43
but Moses through the
leading of God began to
00:45:58.60\00:46:01.36
restore the Israelites to
the day of rest that they had,
00:46:01.37\00:46:04.63
before they were
in the land of Egypt.
00:46:05.27\00:46:07.36
So he began restoring it.
00:46:07.37\00:46:08.81
And so now he takes them out
00:46:08.82\00:46:09.93
and they're in the wilderness
now and during this time,
00:46:10.33\00:46:14.08
the Bible talks
about the very pattern
00:46:15.05\00:46:17.30
that the people began to follow.
00:46:17.66\00:46:18.99
And John, we
could start with that.
00:46:19.00\00:46:20.45
Let's start with
Exodus chapter 32 and verse 1.
00:46:21.07\00:46:25.61
Got to start right there. Okay.
00:46:25.62\00:46:27.33
Read that for us.
Exodus 32 and verse 1,
00:46:27.52\00:46:29.62
and in this context
Moses is now gone to the mount
00:46:29.79\00:46:33.24
to receive the Ten Commandments
written on tables of stone.
00:46:33.88\00:46:37.05
Okay. Now when the people
saw that Moses delayed coming
00:46:37.62\00:46:40.24
down from the mountain,
the people gathered together
00:46:40.25\00:46:42.66
to Aaron, and said to
him, come, make us gods
00:46:42.67\00:46:45.76
that shall go before
us; for as for this Moses,
00:46:45.77\00:46:49.72
the man who brought us
out of the land of Egypt,
00:46:49.73\00:46:52.02
we do not know
what has become of him.
00:46:52.03\00:46:54.20
Oh, look what they did. Verse 2,
00:46:54.52\00:46:56.32
And Aaron said to them,
Break off the golden earrings,
00:46:56.49\00:46:59.01
which are in the ears
of your wives, your sons,
00:46:59.02\00:47:01.45
and your daughters,
and bring them to me.
00:47:01.46\00:47:03.44
Verse 3, So all the people
broke off the golden earrings
00:47:04.04\00:47:06.64
which were in their ears,
and brought them to Aaron.
00:47:06.65\00:47:09.02
And he received the
gold from their hand,
00:47:09.82\00:47:11.31
and fashioned it
with an engraving tool
00:47:11.50\00:47:13.47
and made it a molded calf:
and he said, this is your God,
00:47:14.06\00:47:18.31
then he said, or they
said this is your God O Israel,
00:47:18.87\00:47:21.98
that brought you out
of the land of Egypt.
00:47:21.99\00:47:24.74
My goodness, can you imagine.
00:47:24.85\00:47:26.43
They put jewelery ahead of God.
00:47:26.56\00:47:29.04
That's right. They
said this earrings and rings
00:47:29.50\00:47:34.60
that they took out of their
ears, break off the earrings
00:47:34.71\00:47:38.41
which are in the ears of
your wives and your sons.
00:47:38.64\00:47:41.01
Now notice this,
today it's the same thing
00:47:41.19\00:47:44.28
men are now wearing earrings.
00:47:44.29\00:47:46.38
What even amazes me?
00:47:48.03\00:47:49.95
This amazes me to thy heavens.
00:47:51.04\00:47:52.65
That today Christian
groups, men, at one time
00:47:53.61\00:47:58.35
in our society that
right here in America,
00:47:58.36\00:48:00.38
it was clearly obvious
that it was an indication
00:48:01.18\00:48:03.22
of a man's sexual preference,
I'm trying to be mild on this.
00:48:03.23\00:48:07.85
When he wore earrings
and there was a time of men
00:48:08.45\00:48:10.89
will never be seen earrings,
because it is oh, you know,
00:48:10.90\00:48:14.46
he's making
some unusual choices.
00:48:14.69\00:48:16.26
Right. Trying to be kind.
00:48:16.64\00:48:18.17
But trying to be straight.
00:48:18.37\00:48:19.57
But when you see the
practice here in Exodus 32,
00:48:20.31\00:48:23.81
you will see
that this is not new,
00:48:24.03\00:48:25.84
where did they
gather this practice from?
00:48:26.04\00:48:28.29
They gathered it from the
practices among the Egyptians.
00:48:28.50\00:48:31.34
But you may ask the
question how do they end up
00:48:31.56\00:48:33.34
with all this jewelery.
00:48:33.35\00:48:34.36
When they left because they were
slaves in Egypt for 400 years
00:48:34.54\00:48:37.64
they were not
properly remunerated.
00:48:37.65\00:48:39.80
They were not
paid for their work.
00:48:39.96\00:48:41.46
So God when you read, you
got to read the story earlier
00:48:41.84\00:48:44.23
in the book of Exodus chapter 3.
00:48:44.24\00:48:45.42
When they left Egypt
they plundered the Egyptians,
00:48:45.74\00:48:49.00
but why did God give
them golden jewels and all
00:48:49.27\00:48:51.64
of these earrings
and necklaces and rings
00:48:51.65\00:48:53.99
that we're gonna talk
about in this chapter.
00:48:54.00\00:48:55.48
He gave that to them
to build him a temple.
00:48:56.11\00:48:58.53
That's right. So they
needed gold for the articles
00:48:59.08\00:49:01.43
of gold when they
built the earthly temple.
00:49:01.44\00:49:03.35
They needed all of
this for the furniture
00:49:03.75\00:49:05.89
in the sanctuary
and the tabernacle..
00:49:05.90\00:49:08.42
But instead of keeping
it for the temple services
00:49:08.83\00:49:11.44
they began to follow the pattern
of the Egyptians and put it on.
00:49:11.64\00:49:14.66
And notice what
they said in vers 6.
00:49:15.55\00:49:17.77
John read that verse 6,
00:49:18.77\00:49:19.99
then they rose
early on the next day,
00:49:20.94\00:49:22.86
offered burnt offerings
and brought peace offerings
00:49:22.87\00:49:25.12
and the people sat down to eat
and drink and rose up to play.
00:49:25.13\00:49:28.64
They became frivolous.
00:49:29.30\00:49:30.48
They became frivolous,
now their focus was changed,
00:49:31.03\00:49:34.53
their jewels and golds,
00:49:34.70\00:49:36.16
all that they were given to
take out of the land of Egypt
00:49:36.17\00:49:38.98
to build God's
temple, became Gods to them.
00:49:39.11\00:49:42.20
And they not only wore
them but then they turned over
00:49:42.60\00:49:45.40
to Aaron says make us a calf
00:49:45.41\00:49:47.01
and then they
have the nerve to say,
00:49:47.02\00:49:48.61
this is our God that brought
us out of the land of Egypt.
00:49:48.77\00:49:52.17
And that was time to
play and be entertained.
00:49:52.50\00:49:54.83
And look at what the Lord said,
00:49:55.75\00:49:57.15
in Exodus
chapter 32 and verse 7,
00:49:57.58\00:50:00.66
and the Lord said to Moses,
go get down for your people
00:50:00.91\00:50:07.87
whom you brought
out of the land of Egypt
00:50:07.88\00:50:10.23
have corrupted themselves.
00:50:10.24\00:50:12.64
But the question is how?
How did they corrupt themselves?
00:50:12.93\00:50:19.53
That's right.
Widely important question.
00:50:19.54\00:50:21.66
How did God feel
about what they did?
00:50:22.15\00:50:23.84
Look at verse 9
00:50:24.67\00:50:25.64
And I think verse 8,
verse 8, John read that for us.
00:50:26.83\00:50:30.50
They have turned
aside quickly out of the way
00:50:31.22\00:50:33.04
which I have commanded them:
00:50:33.05\00:50:34.32
they have made themselves a
molded calf, and worshiped it,
00:50:34.43\00:50:37.32
and sacrificed to it and said,
this is your God, O Israel,
00:50:37.33\00:50:41.30
that brought you out
of the land of Egypt.
00:50:41.31\00:50:43.01
And verse 9, And
the LORD said to Moses,
00:50:43.85\00:50:45.36
I have seen this
people, and, indeed
00:50:45.37\00:50:47.51
it is a stiff-necked people.
00:50:47.52\00:50:48.88
They're stubborn.
They're hard headed.
00:50:48.89\00:50:50.85
He said you know what, notice
what, and lets keep going now,
00:50:51.05\00:50:54.47
because this is a long passage,
00:50:54.48\00:50:55.73
you wanna catch
the rest of this,
00:50:55.93\00:50:57.27
very, very long passage.
00:50:57.28\00:50:58.41
Look at verse 31,
00:50:58.42\00:51:00.84
first lets go to
30, first 30 okay, yeah,
00:51:01.42\00:51:03.52
because it speaks of
what the actions of Israel
00:51:03.53\00:51:06.97
and what it was
in the sight of God.
00:51:07.26\00:51:08.86
That's right.
00:51:08.87\00:51:09.84
It says, now it came
to pass on the next day
00:51:09.85\00:51:11.50
that Moses said to the people,
00:51:11.51\00:51:12.78
Moses finally came down
and he's appearing before them
00:51:13.17\00:51:15.25
and he said you have
committed a great sin:
00:51:15.26\00:51:18.40
so now I will go up to the LORD;
00:51:19.37\00:51:21.09
perhaps I can make
atonement for your sin.
00:51:21.22\00:51:23.89
Then Moses returned
to the Lord and said,
00:51:24.84\00:51:26.44
Oh, these people have
committed a great sin,
00:51:26.66\00:51:28.71
and have made for
themselves a God of gold.
00:51:28.88\00:51:32.02
Yet now, if you
will forgive their sin,
00:51:33.03\00:51:35.05
but if not I pray blot me out
00:51:35.06\00:51:37.34
of your book
which you have written.
00:51:37.35\00:51:39.04
And the LORD said to Moses,
whoever has sinned against me,
00:51:39.75\00:51:41.80
I will blot him out of my book.
00:51:41.81\00:51:44.23
He said, I'm not
going to blot you out Moses,
00:51:45.44\00:51:47.71
those who
transgress are the ones that
00:51:47.72\00:51:49.85
I'm going to deal with.
00:51:49.86\00:51:50.83
But now the Lord gave
Moses some instruction
00:51:51.00\00:51:53.09
and this is a continual
story because the tabernacle
00:51:53.10\00:51:55.84
now is moved outside of
the camp and the Lord now gives
00:51:55.85\00:51:58.38
instructions that the
people must follow in order
00:51:58.39\00:52:01.37
to come before the
Lord into repentance.
00:52:01.38\00:52:03.35
Notice what the Lord says.
00:52:03.67\00:52:04.81
Exodus 33 and
starting with verse 1,
00:52:05.76\00:52:08.09
then the LORD said to Moses,
00:52:09.14\00:52:10.59
Depart, and go up from
here you and the people
00:52:10.79\00:52:14.38
whom you brought out
of the land of Egypt,
00:52:14.39\00:52:16.53
to the land which I swear
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
00:52:16.94\00:52:19.96
saying, to your
descendents I will give it.
00:52:20.15\00:52:23.77
And this is
amazing to me, friends.
00:52:24.98\00:52:26.47
Because up to this point
the Lord traveled with them
00:52:26.71\00:52:28.89
but notice what he says,
00:52:29.11\00:52:30.08
and I will send
my angel before you,
00:52:30.79\00:52:32.61
and I will drive out the
Canaanites, and the Amorite,
00:52:32.78\00:52:36.34
and the Hittite,
and the Perizzite,
00:52:36.67\00:52:38.73
and the Hivite,
and the Jebusite.
00:52:38.74\00:52:40.67
Go up to the land
flowing with milk and honey.
00:52:41.96\00:52:45.92
And this is a sad commentary.
00:52:46.94\00:52:49.25
For I will not
go up in your midst,
00:52:49.78\00:52:52.60
lest I consume you on the way,
00:52:53.17\00:52:55.13
for you are a
stiff-necked people.
00:52:55.30\00:52:58.02
Friends, the Lord follow them at
night through a cloud of fire,
00:52:58.34\00:53:01.70
a pillar of fire, he
follow them during the day,
00:53:01.83\00:53:04.40
through a cloud
that covered over them
00:53:04.51\00:53:05.78
and they always knew
that the presence of God
00:53:06.30\00:53:08.19
was with them when
they saw the Shekinah glory,
00:53:08.20\00:53:10.31
the glowing fire of God,
00:53:10.43\00:53:12.13
hovering over the most holy
place there in the tabernacle.
00:53:12.14\00:53:15.17
But notice what happened when
the people saw how angry God
00:53:15.89\00:53:18.58
had become because
of their transgression.
00:53:18.74\00:53:20.74
Look at verse 4,
John read that for us.
00:53:20.86\00:53:22.72
And when the people heard this,
00:53:23.08\00:53:24.23
heard the bad news they mourned,
00:53:24.24\00:53:26.34
and no one put on his ornaments.
00:53:26.35\00:53:28.74
When you look at
the word ornaments
00:53:29.98\00:53:31.08
in some of the
newer translations.
00:53:31.09\00:53:32.34
it says that no one
put on his jewelery.
00:53:32.35\00:53:34.22
Right. And nowadays
we have something that,
00:53:34.36\00:53:36.71
but I have to keep
going on, look at verse 5
00:53:36.72\00:53:38.94
and there is a
reason why they didn't do it
00:53:38.95\00:53:40.31
because the Lord had
given them a command.
00:53:40.32\00:53:42.12
Verse 5, for the
LORD had said to Moses,
00:53:42.85\00:53:45.15
Say to the children of Israel,
you are a stiff-necked people.
00:53:45.43\00:53:48.94
I could come up in your midst
in one moment, and consume you.
00:53:49.74\00:53:53.56
Now therefore
take off your ornaments
00:53:54.28\00:53:58.17
that I may know
what to do to you.
00:53:58.37\00:54:01.00
So the children of
Israel stripped themselves
00:54:01.41\00:54:03.89
of their
ornaments by mount Horeb.
00:54:03.90\00:54:06.55
Also by, that's
also Mount Sinai.
00:54:06.93\00:54:08.77
By the place that God
had given them a command
00:54:09.36\00:54:11.86
to continue going
forward, he said remove them
00:54:12.19\00:54:14.89
so that I may know
what to do with you.
00:54:15.05\00:54:16.67
That's amazing why
would, he say that I may know
00:54:17.04\00:54:19.32
what to do with you,
because the children of Israel
00:54:19.33\00:54:22.20
lost their
identity in this practice.
00:54:22.82\00:54:25.43
They were thought of by
other nations to be Israelites
00:54:26.13\00:54:28.21
or, not Israelites,
Egyptians or Ishmaelites.
00:54:28.81\00:54:33.82
Because the Israelites
didn't wear the ornaments,
00:54:34.65\00:54:37.60
the Ishmaelites did.
00:54:37.79\00:54:39.36
I will point that
out later on or maybe
00:54:39.90\00:54:41.66
next time on our
particular topic.
00:54:41.67\00:54:43.28
Well you know and
that's something that jewelery
00:54:43.29\00:54:47.11
has always been, to individuals.
00:54:47.12\00:54:49.73
It's always been a
symbol of two things,
00:54:49.93\00:54:51.63
status and
religious affiliation.
00:54:52.11\00:54:55.43
You know what
that's very powerful point.
00:54:56.25\00:54:57.61
I want to point this out
before we end the program today,
00:54:57.71\00:54:59.60
because I wanna
lay the foundation
00:54:59.61\00:55:00.96
and then give you
more on next week.
00:55:01.17\00:55:02.85
Lot of people don't know
where the wearing of jewelery
00:55:03.24\00:55:05.07
came in from,
why it's in the ears,
00:55:05.08\00:55:07.31
why it's in the nose, because
there was a paganistic belief
00:55:07.77\00:55:10.58
that existed
thousands of years ago
00:55:10.59\00:55:12.42
and for the reason that
I will share with you now,
00:55:12.86\00:55:15.77
they believe that they were Gods
00:55:16.23\00:55:17.71
that they served
outside of the God of heaven.
00:55:17.72\00:55:19.64
They worship the
Sun, the Moon the stars
00:55:20.15\00:55:21.76
and they believe
that when a person died
00:55:21.77\00:55:24.18
that their soul left the
body and roamed the earth
00:55:24.19\00:55:27.22
looking for a person to possess.
00:55:27.23\00:55:28.67
And so in order
to protect themselves
00:55:29.08\00:55:30.76
I will give you more
on this next program.
00:55:30.77\00:55:32.14
In order to protect themselves
00:55:32.57\00:55:33.73
from these
roaming restless spirits,
00:55:33.74\00:55:35.56
they believed that the God
they serve would protect them.
00:55:36.22\00:55:38.76
So, they put these Gods by
all the openings on their body
00:55:38.77\00:55:42.52
to they believe keep
these spirits from coming in.
00:55:42.81\00:55:46.28
So they put an earring to
block the opening in the ear.
00:55:46.81\00:55:48.96
And a nose ring to
block the opening of nose
00:55:49.25\00:55:50.84
and a mouth ring to
block the opening in the mouth
00:55:50.85\00:55:52.76
and the naval and sadly enough,
00:55:52.77\00:55:54.90
the eyebrow, the
eyebrow, opening the eye.
00:55:54.91\00:55:56.85
And wherever there
was an opening friend,
00:55:56.96\00:55:58.52
they put some kind of ornament,
some kind of a jewelery
00:55:59.17\00:56:02.29
to keep these spirits
from coming into their bodies.
00:56:03.05\00:56:05.63
They believed
that their God of gold,
00:56:05.94\00:56:08.48
of silver, Sun,
Moon, stars, trees walks,
00:56:08.57\00:56:11.61
the amulets they
wore, the sun dial,
00:56:12.05\00:56:13.96
they believe all these
to be articles of protection
00:56:13.97\00:56:16.37
and that's why
even to this very day.
00:56:16.75\00:56:18.93
If you are familiar
with the Wiccan sect,
00:56:19.24\00:56:21.55
which is
supposed to be good witch,
00:56:21.94\00:56:24.62
They believe their jewelery
00:56:25.43\00:56:26.43
to be their
protection to this very day.
00:56:26.44\00:56:28.78
And there is a connection
here with the rise of Wicca,
00:56:29.09\00:56:32.62
the practice of that religion,
00:56:33.44\00:56:34.54
arise of Wicca and
the new or renewed,
00:56:35.07\00:56:38.59
I guess you can call it style
of body piercings, earrings
00:56:40.32\00:56:44.28
and things in places where we
didn't have them ten years ago.
00:56:44.29\00:56:47.05
And you know
what saddens me, John,
00:56:47.46\00:56:49.66
is that now even Christians,
Christian music stores,
00:56:49.67\00:56:52.45
Christian book stores have now
gone down the path embarrassing
00:56:52.81\00:56:56.16
something that never
had any connection with God.
00:56:56.17\00:56:57.99
They now sell
Christian jewelery.
00:56:58.61\00:57:00.34
Is it like Christian
rock, or Christian pornography,
00:57:00.92\00:57:03.86
is it like, what is it,
00:57:03.87\00:57:04.84
Christian alcohol, I
mean, all these different things
00:57:04.85\00:57:07.49
are finding their
way in Christendom.
00:57:07.50\00:57:09.49
We're gonna talk about
this on our next program
00:57:09.89\00:57:11.19
but keep this in mind we wanted
to agitate you here is today,
00:57:11.20\00:57:13.87
get to go back
and study your Bible.
00:57:13.88\00:57:15.69
Because here on House
Calls as we both believe God
00:57:15.70\00:57:18.75
has a plan for Christians
00:57:18.76\00:57:19.96
and that is as John said
to reflect the glory of God.
00:57:20.19\00:57:22.83
So until we see you
again, stay in the word,
00:57:22.84\00:57:26.29
keep God first and
foremost in your life,
00:57:26.93\00:57:28.82
and continue following
him by beginning today,
00:57:29.25\00:57:31.50
have a great day in Christ.
00:57:31.78\00:57:32.85