Fires and floods, riots...
00:00:16.14\00:00:19.21
Everything in our
world is turned upside down.
00:00:19.88\00:00:21.95
And we want to
ask the question now,
00:00:21.98\00:00:24.15
"Where is God in all of this?"
00:00:24.19\00:00:26.35
Sometimes we question
whether God is a God of love.
00:00:26.55\00:00:28.89
Does He even
care about this world
00:00:28.92\00:00:30.36
and what's
going on in our world?
00:00:30.39\00:00:31.79
Welcome to, The Hour
of God's Judgment, part 4.
00:00:32.06\00:00:34.83
In the first three
sessions we talked about
00:00:35.10\00:00:36.90
the hour of God's
judgment in relationship to us.
00:00:36.93\00:00:40.04
In this last session
we're going to talk about
00:00:40.07\00:00:41.57
the hour of God's
judgment in relationship to Him.
00:00:41.60\00:00:44.81
Let's pray together as
we jump into God's Word.
00:00:44.84\00:00:46.74
Father in heaven, thank You
again for guiding our hearts.
00:00:46.78\00:00:50.81
As we open Your Word
right now we just pray again
00:00:50.85\00:00:53.31
that Your Holy
Spirit will lead us.
00:00:53.35\00:00:54.68
Speak to each one of us
and direct us to answers
00:00:54.72\00:00:57.92
to the questions that
if you are a God of love,
00:00:57.95\00:01:00.99
a God that's all
powerful, a God that cares
00:01:01.02\00:01:02.72
especially about Your people,
why is all this suffering and
00:01:02.76\00:01:05.39
evil taking place in our world?
00:01:05.49\00:01:07.16
Why are innocent
people suffering?
00:01:07.20\00:01:09.86
Why is this world in such chaos?
00:01:10.17\00:01:13.50
And where are
You in all of this?
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Guide our minds and
our hearts, we pray,
00:01:15.54\00:01:16.87
to answer these questions.
00:01:16.91\00:01:18.24
In Jesus' name, amen.
00:01:18.27\00:01:20.11
So we have already looked
at three parts of this series,
00:01:21.01\00:01:25.91
The Hour of God's Judgment.
00:01:25.95\00:01:27.28
We began in
Revelation chapter 14.
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That's kind of been
our foundational verse.
00:01:30.25\00:01:33.89
Revelation 14 speaks
to the everlasting gospel
00:01:33.92\00:01:38.83
being preached in all the world
as a witness to all nations.
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And we recognize that this
everlasting gospel includes
00:01:42.50\00:01:45.63
an hour of judgment.
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John says in Revelation
14, beginning with verse 6...
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So what we see here in the
context of these two verses
00:02:11.09\00:02:16.60
is a call to
God's judgment hour.
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We could identify
these verses as God's last
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message for the world.
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And in God's last
message for the world
00:02:23.94\00:02:25.97
there is a judgment
that is going to take place.
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And we're going to
review a little bit of
00:02:28.54\00:02:29.94
what we've learned about this.
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We know that in Matthew 12:36-37
Jesus talks about a judgment.
00:02:31.35\00:02:40.09
He says...
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So Jesus spoke
about an hour of judgment.
00:02:56.71\00:02:58.61
We know that Paul, the
apostle Paul also spoke
00:02:58.64\00:03:01.84
about an hour of
judgment in Romans chapter 14.
00:03:01.88\00:03:05.38
Paul talks about this
hour of judgment in the context
00:03:05.48\00:03:09.28
of not judging other
people in Romans chapter 14.
00:03:09.32\00:03:12.39
And if you look here at
verse 10, it's really clear.
00:03:12.42\00:03:15.32
Paul says...
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So Paul spoke
about a time of judgment.
00:03:23.37\00:03:25.80
Jesus talked about
a time of judgment.
00:03:25.83\00:03:28.17
The everlasting gospel
in Revelation 14 calls us
00:03:28.20\00:03:31.14
into this hour of judgment.
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James also, in the New
Testament, speaks about
00:03:32.81\00:03:35.54
a time of judgment when we'll
be judged by the law of liberty.
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He said that we should speak
and do as those that will be
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judged by the law of liberty.
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And that's in James 2:12.
00:03:42.82\00:03:45.99
And in the Old Testament we
have this judgment talked about.
00:03:46.52\00:03:50.09
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 talks
about, "The conclusion of the
00:03:50.13\00:03:56.16
whole matter is to fear God
and keep His commandments...
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For God is going to
bring every work into judgment,
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and every secret
thing, whether it's good
00:04:00.77\00:04:02.60
or whether it is evil."
00:04:02.80\00:04:05.87
So it's very clear
from the Old Testament,
00:04:05.91\00:04:08.18
from the New Testament,
it's very clear from the Bible
00:04:08.21\00:04:10.28
that God has an
hour of judgment.
00:04:10.31\00:04:11.65
And He's bringing
this all to a conclusion
00:04:11.68\00:04:13.55
in His last
message to the world:
00:04:13.58\00:04:15.15
there's going to be
an hour of judgment.
00:04:15.18\00:04:17.29
1 Peter 4:17 has
been another key verse
00:04:17.55\00:04:20.29
that we've looked
at in all of this.
00:04:20.32\00:04:21.66
Because 1 Peter 4:17 says
that this judgment must begin
00:04:21.69\00:04:25.59
at the house of God.
00:04:25.63\00:04:26.96
It says in 1 Peter 4:17...
00:04:27.26\00:04:29.66
Now here we have
an hour of judgment
00:04:43.31\00:04:45.51
connected with the gospel,
just like in Revelation 14:6-7.
00:04:45.55\00:04:50.29
So we've looked at the
reasons for the judgment.
00:04:50.32\00:04:53.32
We've looked at
three reasons so far,
00:04:53.36\00:04:55.16
and today we're going to
be looking at a fourth reason.
00:04:55.19\00:04:57.16
The first reason we
looked at is that we should stop
00:04:57.19\00:05:00.03
judging one another.
00:05:00.06\00:05:01.86
That's what Paul
says in Romans chapter 14
00:05:01.90\00:05:04.03
in the context of Paul
bringing all believers to this
00:05:04.07\00:05:07.10
hour of judgment.
00:05:07.14\00:05:08.47
In Romans 14 he
says, "Let us not therefore
00:05:08.50\00:05:11.17
judge one another anymore."
00:05:11.21\00:05:12.97
Romans 14:13...
00:05:13.01\00:05:17.78
So Paul is saying
basically here, rather than us
00:05:24.99\00:05:29.09
judging one another, we should
seek to remove stumbling blocks.
00:05:29.12\00:05:32.49
This was the first
reason for the judgment.
00:05:32.53\00:05:34.46
We are recused from
judging one another.
00:05:34.80\00:05:37.80
We no longer have
to have that burden,
00:05:37.83\00:05:40.07
that
responsibility on our shoulders.
00:05:40.10\00:05:41.94
God is the one that will judge.
00:05:41.97\00:05:44.07
We will all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ.
00:05:44.11\00:05:46.88
Reason number two is
to expose false believers.
00:05:46.98\00:05:51.41
Jesus talks in Matthew 7:21-23
about those who say they are
00:05:51.45\00:05:57.22
followers, they call
Him, "Lord," but they don't
00:05:57.25\00:06:00.39
do the things that He
is calling them to do.
00:06:00.59\00:06:02.72
They do many wonderful works.
00:06:02.76\00:06:04.49
They cast out
devils in His name,
00:06:04.53\00:06:06.03
and in His name do
many wonderful works.
00:06:06.06\00:06:07.56
But he says they
don't know Jesus,
00:06:07.83\00:06:10.37
and Jesus doesn't know them.
00:06:10.40\00:06:11.97
And they are
workers of iniquity.
00:06:12.10\00:06:13.90
We spent a whole meeting talking
about this particular truth.
00:06:13.94\00:06:17.31
Jesus Christ
says, "I never knew you.
00:06:17.34\00:06:19.21
Depart for Me ye
that worketh iniquity."
00:06:19.41\00:06:21.01
That word, "iniquity," is the
same as is used in 1 John 3:4.
00:06:21.04\00:06:24.88
They are
transgressors of the law.
00:06:24.91\00:06:26.65
They are transgressors
of God's commandments.
00:06:26.68\00:06:29.15
And we went through
the entire Bible to show
00:06:29.18\00:06:31.59
how the law of God, what
part the law of God plays
00:06:31.62\00:06:34.66
in the everlasting gospel.
00:06:34.69\00:06:36.02
That it convicts us of
sin and brings us to Jesus.
00:06:36.06\00:06:38.13
It's our schoolmaster
to lead us to Christ
00:06:38.16\00:06:40.30
so that we can be
justified by faith.
00:06:40.33\00:06:42.23
That if we confess our sins,
sin is transgression of the law,
00:06:42.26\00:06:45.07
we have
forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
00:06:45.17\00:06:47.14
So Satan is trying to
undermine the gospel by
00:06:47.17\00:06:50.17
destroying the law,
doing away with the law,
00:06:50.21\00:06:52.44
so we can't be convicted of
sin and so we won't confess our
00:06:52.47\00:06:55.18
sins to Jesus Christ.
00:06:55.21\00:06:56.54
So we spent a whole
presentation on that.
00:06:56.81\00:06:58.71
And then we looked at
another reason, a third reason.
00:06:58.75\00:07:01.08
And that is, that the
whole hour of judgment
00:07:01.12\00:07:04.32
involves silencing the
accuser of the brethren.
00:07:04.35\00:07:07.09
It says in Revelation
12:10 that we have an accuser
00:07:07.49\00:07:12.49
that accuses up
before God day and night.
00:07:12.63\00:07:15.00
And that now the time
has come that this accuser
00:07:15.03\00:07:17.83
should be cast down.
00:07:17.87\00:07:19.47
Can you imagine?
00:07:19.50\00:07:20.84
Day and night, 24 hours
a day, seven days a week,
00:07:20.87\00:07:22.54
365 days a year,
Satan never slumbers.
00:07:22.57\00:07:26.07
He never sleeps.
00:07:26.11\00:07:27.44
He is continually
accusing us before God.
00:07:27.48\00:07:31.15
And so we spent a whole
time, a whole presentation
00:07:31.18\00:07:33.82
on this emphasis of
how God is going to silence
00:07:34.02\00:07:37.12
the accuser, not by our
merits, but by Christ's merits,
00:07:37.15\00:07:40.66
and how we are to trust
in Him for our salvation.
00:07:40.69\00:07:44.03
And that brings us to the
fourth reason for the judgment.
00:07:44.06\00:07:46.19
And this one might be the
most significant in many ways.
00:07:46.23\00:07:50.10
And that is, vindication of God.
00:07:50.13\00:07:53.17
A vindication of who God is.
00:07:53.20\00:07:55.54
God is identified in the Bible,
1 John 4:8, as a God of love.
00:07:55.57\00:07:59.61
But a lot of
people ask the question,
00:07:59.81\00:08:01.64
"Well, how can
God be a God of love
00:08:01.68\00:08:03.48
with all these terrible things
taking place in the world?
00:08:03.51\00:08:05.81
How can God be up
in heaven loving us
00:08:06.01\00:08:09.42
and saying that He
cares about us when He let's
00:08:09.45\00:08:11.92
all this evil take place?"
00:08:11.95\00:08:13.29
And that is a judgment on God.
00:08:13.49\00:08:16.46
And a lot of people are
making these judgments on God.
00:08:16.66\00:08:20.60
In their words, in their
actions, in their lifestyle
00:08:20.63\00:08:23.47
they're just basically saying,
00:08:23.50\00:08:24.83
"I don't believe
in a God in heaven.
00:08:24.87\00:08:26.20
I don't believe in a loving God.
00:08:26.23\00:08:27.57
I don't believe
that He really cares.
00:08:27.60\00:08:28.94
I don't even
believe that He exists."
00:08:28.97\00:08:30.31
This is why God's judgment
hour is not just about us,
00:08:30.34\00:08:33.41
it's also about Him.
00:08:33.44\00:08:34.78
And we see this clearly
taught in the Scriptures.
00:08:34.81\00:08:37.31
We're going to look at a
couple of verses right off.
00:08:37.35\00:08:39.45
Romans 3:3 is
where we'll start here.
00:08:39.48\00:08:42.45
Romans 3:3
00:08:42.48\00:08:44.45
I'm going to start
looking at this hour of judgment
00:08:44.49\00:08:47.22
as it affects God,
or as it relates to God.
00:08:47.26\00:08:50.26
Romans 3 beginning with
verse 3, Paul says here...
00:08:50.36\00:08:53.03
Now Paul here is
speaking about People who
00:09:12.81\00:09:15.58
don't believe in God.
00:09:15.62\00:09:16.95
He's speaking about the
faith of God toward humanity
00:09:16.99\00:09:19.85
that doesn't get a
response from humanity.
00:09:19.89\00:09:22.22
God has placed a lot of faith
in humanity by giving Himself
00:09:22.26\00:09:25.06
in the person of His
Son to die for our sins.
00:09:25.09\00:09:26.90
And that is the faith of God.
00:09:27.40\00:09:28.86
That is the faith
of Jesus toward us.
00:09:28.90\00:09:31.00
He's done this for us
while we were yet sinners.
00:09:31.03\00:09:33.20
Paul explains this
in Romans chapter 5.
00:09:33.23\00:09:35.44
While we were His
enemies He died for us.
00:09:35.47\00:09:37.97
That's
exercising a lot of faith.
00:09:38.01\00:09:39.81
And he says here, basically,
00:09:40.04\00:09:42.18
"Well, what if
some don't believe?
00:09:42.21\00:09:43.91
You know, if God believes
in us, will we believe in Him?"
00:09:43.95\00:09:46.25
And a lot of people
don't believe in Him.
00:09:46.28\00:09:47.62
Even though He believes in
us, they don't believe in Him.
00:09:47.65\00:09:49.35
Even though He's
given for us, loved us,
00:09:49.38\00:09:51.65
poured out His life for
us, we're not responding
00:09:51.69\00:09:53.99
and giving to Him,
giving our hearts to Him,
00:09:54.02\00:09:55.62
giving our lives to Him.
00:09:55.66\00:09:56.99
And Paul says, "What
if some don't believe?
00:09:57.03\00:09:58.76
Does that make God a liar? No.
00:09:58.79\00:10:00.40
God forbid."
00:10:00.43\00:10:01.76
Because God is
going to be justified
00:10:01.80\00:10:04.87
when He is judged.
00:10:04.90\00:10:06.23
In other words, when
people stand before God
00:10:06.27\00:10:08.70
and they seek to raise
a finger of accusation,
00:10:08.84\00:10:11.61
God's love towards
them is going to silence
00:10:11.71\00:10:13.94
that finger of accusation.
00:10:13.98\00:10:15.34
God is continually being judged
00:10:15.64\00:10:19.25
by people who
don't believe in Him.
00:10:19.28\00:10:20.62
We see this all
through the Scriptures.
00:10:20.65\00:10:22.88
Let's go, for
example, to the Old Testament,
00:10:22.92\00:10:24.79
the book of
Daniel and chapter 3.
00:10:24.82\00:10:27.36
And just a little
bit of the context here
00:10:28.02\00:10:29.79
in Daniel chapter 3,
Daniel and his friends,
00:10:29.82\00:10:33.86
the children of Israel, God's
people in the Old Testament,
00:10:33.96\00:10:37.33
have been taken
captive by the Babylonians.
00:10:37.37\00:10:39.70
And in their time,
it was a very weak god
00:10:40.14\00:10:45.04
who would allow his people, or
the people that believed in him,
00:10:45.07\00:10:48.14
to be conquered
by another nation.
00:10:48.18\00:10:50.08
So the Babylonians
have conquered God's people.
00:10:50.11\00:10:53.05
They've basically
taken them into captivity.
00:10:53.21\00:10:55.05
They've destroyed
their city and their temple,
00:10:55.08\00:10:57.12
they've razed it to the ground,
00:10:57.15\00:10:58.49
they've destroyed all their
soldiers, their armies, etc.
00:10:58.52\00:11:01.59
And they've taken
some of the people captive.
00:11:01.62\00:11:03.73
And Daniel and his friends
are some of those people.
00:11:03.76\00:11:06.39
And when you look
at the context of this,
00:11:06.59\00:11:09.10
what is happening here is
Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians,
00:11:09.13\00:11:12.10
are basically
saying, "Hey, our gods
00:11:12.13\00:11:13.57
are strong and
you're gods are weak."
00:11:13.60\00:11:14.94
In fact, you find that
in the very first chapter
00:11:14.97\00:11:16.54
of Daniel chapter 1.
00:11:16.57\00:11:17.91
As the story moves on, you
find Nebuchadnezzar the king
00:11:17.97\00:11:22.71
erecting an image
all of gold in his honor
00:11:22.74\00:11:25.55
and asking everyone to bow
down and worship the image.
00:11:25.58\00:11:29.35
And that image made of gold
is idol worship to God's people.
00:11:29.62\00:11:35.06
and so they won't worship it,
00:11:35.09\00:11:36.42
they won't bow
down to that image.
00:11:36.46\00:11:38.06
And in that context
we find Nebuchadnezzar
00:11:38.59\00:11:41.36
threatening to throw them
into a burning fiery furnace
00:11:41.40\00:11:44.30
and destroy them.
00:11:44.33\00:11:45.67
And that's where we
pick up in Daniel 3:14.
00:11:45.70\00:11:49.94
Let's just look here
at verse 14 in Daniel 3.
00:11:49.97\00:11:52.97
So Nebuchadnezzar
speaks to them, and he says to
00:11:53.48\00:11:56.88
Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego...
00:11:56.91\00:11:58.58
You see what he's saying here?
00:12:31.01\00:12:32.35
He's despising God.
00:12:32.38\00:12:34.05
He's saying, "Who is
that God? There's no God.
00:12:34.25\00:12:36.32
You're God is a weak God.
00:12:36.35\00:12:37.69
I've already conquered your God.
00:12:37.72\00:12:39.05
You're God isn't a loving
God, He's not a protecting God,
00:12:39.09\00:12:41.09
He's not a God
that takes care of you."
00:12:41.12\00:12:42.86
And this is the very thing that
unbelievers say to Christians.
00:12:42.89\00:12:45.63
Many times when
Christians go through trials,
00:12:45.66\00:12:47.43
and difficulties,
and sorrows, and losses,
00:12:47.46\00:12:49.36
the words come to
them, "Where is your God?
00:12:49.63\00:12:51.60
What kind of God is this?
00:12:51.63\00:12:52.97
Is He going to protect you?
00:12:53.00\00:12:54.34
How is He going to
protect you from me?
00:12:54.37\00:12:55.90
How is He going to
protect you from us?"
00:12:55.94\00:12:57.44
And this is why God is included
in the hour of judgment.
00:12:57.74\00:13:02.31
Because everything
that happens to Christians
00:13:02.51\00:13:05.05
is a reflection on the
way people think about God.
00:13:05.08\00:13:08.08
We see this in another story.
00:13:08.12\00:13:09.58
We see this in many
stories in the Old Testament.
00:13:09.62\00:13:11.49
The next one we're
going to look at is in
00:13:11.79\00:13:13.12
2 Chronicles chapter 22.
00:13:13.15\00:13:15.56
2 Chronicles
chapter 32, excuse me.
00:13:15.82\00:13:17.89
2 Chronicles chapter 32.
00:13:17.93\00:13:19.63
And we're just going
to highlight verse 16.
00:13:19.66\00:13:22.00
2 Chronicles 32:16
00:13:22.03\00:13:24.97
We see this, for example,
in the exodus story also.
00:13:25.70\00:13:29.50
We see God's people
being questioned by Pharaoh;
00:13:30.27\00:13:33.98
Moses the representative, and
God, being questioned by him.
00:13:34.01\00:13:36.24
You know, "Who is
God that I should obey
00:13:36.28\00:13:37.91
His voice and let His people go?
00:13:37.95\00:13:39.28
Who is this God?
00:13:39.31\00:13:40.65
I don't know who your God is."
00:13:40.68\00:13:42.02
Because God is not a
God that has made Himself
00:13:42.05\00:13:44.65
manifest to deliver His people
who have been slaves in Egypt
00:13:44.69\00:13:47.56
for hundreds of years.
00:13:47.59\00:13:48.92
Because it doesn't seem
like He's protecting them
00:13:48.96\00:13:50.83
and looking after them
and providing for them,
00:13:50.86\00:13:52.56
Pharaoh is led to question
God, to judge God as a weak God.
00:13:52.76\00:13:56.16
We see the same
thing happening here with
00:13:56.20\00:13:57.57
the Assyrians and Sennacherib.
00:13:57.60\00:14:00.24
And so in verse 16
here, the servants speak.
00:14:00.34\00:14:04.34
Verse 16...
00:14:04.37\00:14:05.71
So there's a
question mark here about God.
00:14:26.76\00:14:30.23
"None of the other
gods had delivered them,
00:14:30.27\00:14:32.93
other nations, out of my hand.
00:14:32.97\00:14:34.30
And your God is
not going to deliver
00:14:34.34\00:14:35.67
you out of my hands either.
00:14:35.70\00:14:37.04
He's just like the other gods.
00:14:37.07\00:14:38.41
He's as weak as the other gods.
00:14:38.44\00:14:39.77
He's less able to
protect His people
00:14:39.81\00:14:42.34
than my god is able to
reign over and to take over
00:14:42.38\00:14:46.61
and to conquer your people.
00:14:46.65\00:14:48.15
So really, you shouldn't
be trusting in this God."
00:14:48.18\00:14:50.52
And that's exactly,
those accusations are
00:14:50.55\00:14:54.12
the voices today
echoing down through time
00:14:54.16\00:14:56.19
to our present day.
00:14:56.22\00:14:57.73
And people still question God.
00:14:57.83\00:14:59.49
And it's hard
because in life we have loss.
00:14:59.93\00:15:02.83
In life we have
pain, in life we have evil.
00:15:02.86\00:15:04.77
And we know that in John chapter
10, Jesus talked about this
00:15:05.10\00:15:08.24
and He says, you
know, "The devil has come
00:15:08.27\00:15:09.60
to do nothing but
destroy and kill and steal.
00:15:09.64\00:15:11.44
But I have come
that you might have life,
00:15:11.47\00:15:12.87
and have it more abundantly."
00:15:12.91\00:15:14.24
And that's what God
purposed for us, but we
00:15:14.28\00:15:16.75
struggle with, "Well then,
why all the pain and suffering?"
00:15:16.78\00:15:18.91
Well the reason why there's
all this pain and suffering
00:15:18.95\00:15:21.35
is because evil has
come into this world.
00:15:21.38\00:15:22.92
God didn't invent evil,
He didn't bring it in here,
00:15:22.95\00:15:24.75
He didn't choose to have
it as part of this world.
00:15:24.79\00:15:26.25
Actually, we did.
00:15:26.45\00:15:27.79
His creation did, beginning
with Lucifer in heaven.
00:15:27.89\00:15:30.69
And then going on to Adam
and Eve, and then down to us.
00:15:30.73\00:15:33.53
And so, the
responsibility for all of this
00:15:33.73\00:15:35.80
is the responsibility of choice.
00:15:35.83\00:15:37.33
And yet, we want to blame God.
00:15:37.37\00:15:38.90
And therefore, we put
God in the judgment seat.
00:15:38.93\00:15:41.94
So in this judgment
hour God's character of love
00:15:41.97\00:15:45.64
is in question.
00:15:45.67\00:15:47.01
And this truth, this
biblical truth is brought
00:15:47.38\00:15:51.38
clearly to the front
in the book of Revelation.
00:15:51.41\00:15:54.68
We're going to look
in Revelation chapter 11.
00:15:54.88\00:15:56.79
We're going to
sit here for a while.
00:15:56.82\00:15:58.15
Revelation chapter 11 and
we're going to start in verse 1.
00:15:58.19\00:16:01.29
Revelation 11:1 is a
very significant verse.
00:16:01.56\00:16:06.26
Historically it comes in the
wake of Revelation chapter 10.
00:16:07.16\00:16:11.30
Prophetically Revelation
chapter 10 is speaking about
00:16:11.33\00:16:14.24
a movement, an advent
movement, that predicted
00:16:14.27\00:16:17.04
the coming of Christ at
the end of the 2300 day period.
00:16:17.07\00:16:20.61
The prophetic period of
2300 days in Danial 8:14.
00:16:20.81\00:16:23.75
And they went
through, they had a sweet hope
00:16:23.85\00:16:26.75
in the advent of
Christ, but they went through
00:16:26.78\00:16:28.32
a bitter disappointment when
He didn't return to this earth.
00:16:28.35\00:16:30.32
They later realized that
the cleansing of the Sanctuary
00:16:30.72\00:16:34.39
was the transition of
Christ in heaven as mediator
00:16:34.42\00:16:37.13
from the Holy Place
to the Most Holy Place.
00:16:37.16\00:16:39.03
And so, in the wake
of that disappointment,
00:16:39.23\00:16:42.16
that sweet
bitter disappointment,
00:16:42.20\00:16:44.30
they were encouraged to
prophesy again before many
00:16:44.33\00:16:46.84
nations, kindred,
tongues, and people.
00:16:46.87\00:16:48.57
They were encouraged to go
back, to study their Bibles,
00:16:48.60\00:16:52.17
and to go forth with
this message of judgment.
00:16:52.21\00:16:55.24
And it's in that very context
that we read Revelation 11:1.
00:16:55.28\00:16:59.18
Revelation 11:1 is
actually the prerequisite
00:16:59.41\00:17:02.78
to Revelation 14 and
the three angels' messages
00:17:02.82\00:17:05.42
when it comes to the
hour of judgment because
00:17:05.45\00:17:06.79
this is the first place the hour
of His judgment is mentioned.
00:17:06.82\00:17:09.09
And we want to
dissect this verse,
00:17:09.32\00:17:11.49
we want to really
understand this verse
00:17:11.53\00:17:13.03
because it's coming in the
wake of the disappointment,
00:17:13.06\00:17:15.70
the wake of the advent
disappointment in 1844.
00:17:15.73\00:17:19.00
So what does it say here?
00:17:19.37\00:17:20.70
Let's start with Revelation 11:1
00:17:20.74\00:17:23.47
and just read it, then we'll
break down some of the symbols.
00:17:23.51\00:17:25.87
Revelation 11:1...
00:17:25.97\00:17:27.31
Now there are four symbols
here or four parts of this verse
00:17:40.62\00:17:44.69
that we want to
break down and identify.
00:17:44.73\00:17:47.10
The first one is, we
want to identify what the
00:17:47.13\00:17:49.50
word, "measure," means.
00:17:49.53\00:17:50.97
And then we want to identify
the phrase, "the temple of God."
00:17:51.17\00:17:54.24
And then we want to identify
the phrase, "the altar,"
00:17:54.27\00:17:57.01
the word, "the altar."
00:17:57.04\00:17:58.37
And then we want to identify
the word, "worshippers."
00:17:58.41\00:18:01.28
So what does it mean to
measure the temple of God,
00:18:01.31\00:18:04.48
the altar, and the worshippers.
00:18:04.51\00:18:06.01
So we'll start with
the word, "measure."
00:18:06.05\00:18:08.12
If you go back to the
Greek and you look up this word,
00:18:08.15\00:18:10.69
"measure," it comes
from the number 3354,
00:18:10.72\00:18:13.29
and it means, to judge according
to any rule or standard...
00:18:13.82\00:18:18.23
So what we have here is a
heavenly being talking to John
00:18:20.23\00:18:24.53
saying, "Now
listen, I want you to judge,
00:18:24.57\00:18:26.90
I want you to
measure, I want you to judge
00:18:27.10\00:18:29.37
the temple of God, the altar,
and those that worship therein."
00:18:29.40\00:18:31.77
And so, what exactly is
he talking about when he's
00:18:32.07\00:18:35.08
talking about the
temple of God and the altar?
00:18:35.11\00:18:37.08
So we put this word in there.
To measure means to judge.
00:18:37.11\00:18:39.08
Now we want to look at the
symbol of the temple of God.
00:18:39.11\00:18:41.22
What does the
temple of God represent?
00:18:41.25\00:18:43.75
And so, the temple of God is
identified in a number of places
00:18:43.95\00:18:47.32
in the Old Testament
and the New Testament.
00:18:47.36\00:18:50.06
We'll look first in the
New Testament Revelation 11:19.
00:18:50.09\00:18:52.49
It says here in
Revelation 11:19,
00:18:52.79\00:18:54.76
just a few verses over here...
00:18:54.80\00:18:57.40
"And there were lightening's,
and voices, and thunderings,
00:19:06.74\00:19:08.84
and an
earthquake, and great hail."
00:19:09.04\00:19:10.91
The ark of the
testament is where the
00:19:11.51\00:19:12.91
Ten Commandments were kept.
00:19:12.95\00:19:14.28
The ark of the testament is
where the law of God was kept,
00:19:14.32\00:19:16.15
right under the mercy seat.
00:19:16.18\00:19:17.85
And so, when the
temple of God is opened,
00:19:17.95\00:19:19.29
we see God's law.
00:19:19.32\00:19:20.66
That's what we see.
00:19:20.69\00:19:22.02
In fact, you look
in the Old Testament
00:19:22.06\00:19:23.39
and the same
truth is brought forth.
00:19:23.43\00:19:25.43
Let's just keep your
finger here in Revelation 19,
00:19:25.46\00:19:28.80
because we're going to come
right back to Revelation 19.
00:19:28.83\00:19:31.03
And let's go now
to Exodus chapter 25
00:19:31.23\00:19:34.44
and let's look at how
Moses describes this place,
00:19:34.47\00:19:40.28
the ark of the testament.
00:19:40.31\00:19:41.84
Exodus chapter 25,
Moses is describing this,
00:19:41.88\00:19:45.85
and we'll start
here in verse 22.
00:19:45.88\00:19:48.15
"And there I will
meet with thee..."
00:19:49.28\00:19:51.72
This is God speaking to Moses.
00:19:51.75\00:19:53.19
"I will meet with thee,
I will commune with thee
00:19:53.22\00:19:55.72
from above the mercy seat..."
00:19:55.76\00:19:57.09
So we're talking
about the ark now.
00:19:57.13\00:19:58.69
So God is saying,
"I'm going to meet you,
00:20:08.74\00:20:10.54
this is where I'm
going to meet you.
00:20:10.57\00:20:11.91
I'm going to meet you at
the ark of the testimony,
00:20:11.94\00:20:13.78
at the mercy seat,
between the cherubim.
00:20:14.41\00:20:16.01
That's where I'm
going to meet you.
00:20:16.04\00:20:17.38
And I'm going to command you
all the things that you need to
00:20:17.41\00:20:20.35
tell the children of Israel."
00:20:20.38\00:20:21.72
So this is an Old
Testament description of
00:20:21.75\00:20:24.59
how God meets us and
commands us, gives us commands,
00:20:24.62\00:20:28.26
at the ark of the testimony.
00:20:28.46\00:20:29.92
So the ark of the testimony
is the place where God meets.
00:20:29.96\00:20:33.86
In fact, the word, "testimony,"
means, a witness or a recorder.
00:20:33.90\00:20:38.20
This is God's
testimony, it's His witness.
00:20:38.23\00:20:40.67
And He meets us at
the ark of the testimony
00:20:40.70\00:20:43.87
as a witness, as a testimony.
00:20:43.97\00:20:45.34
He gives us the testimony.
00:20:45.37\00:20:47.08
That's what the whole
focal point of this is,
00:20:47.41\00:20:50.25
this hour of judgment.
00:20:50.28\00:20:51.61
You know, when you
think about a judgment,
00:20:51.65\00:20:52.98
you think about something
that comes in a court case.
00:20:53.01\00:20:55.12
You know, you have a
court case that comes
00:20:55.15\00:20:58.02
into before the
judge, before a jury,
00:20:58.05\00:21:00.56
and you have witnesses
that stand up and they testify
00:21:00.59\00:21:03.53
in relation to the defendant
or in relation to those
00:21:03.56\00:21:06.23
who are prosecuting.
00:21:06.26\00:21:08.16
And then finally, as
all the evidence is given,
00:21:08.36\00:21:10.97
you know, one witness
after another testifies,
00:21:11.00\00:21:13.03
then you have a decision.
00:21:13.07\00:21:14.40
A decision is made at
the end, a judgment is made
00:21:14.44\00:21:16.87
at the end of this court case.
00:21:16.91\00:21:18.24
That's what we see taking place
00:21:18.77\00:21:20.58
in relationship to the
hour of God's judgment.
00:21:20.61\00:21:22.74
We have witnesses for God
and witnesses against God.
00:21:22.78\00:21:26.61
We have a jury,
00:21:26.65\00:21:27.98
we have people who are
going to make a decision.
00:21:28.02\00:21:29.68
And this is going to
be an internal decision
00:21:29.72\00:21:31.45
for or against the
truth, for or against God.
00:21:31.49\00:21:34.29
God has been shaded in darkness,
He's been shaded in evil,
00:21:34.32\00:21:37.53
He's been shaded
in a negative light.
00:21:37.56\00:21:39.29
And when you look at the Bible,
especially the Old Testament,
00:21:39.49\00:21:41.93
you see a lot of
things there that are
00:21:41.96\00:21:43.30
questionable
about His character.
00:21:43.33\00:21:44.93
And it's hard for some people to
think that God is a God of love.
00:21:44.97\00:21:48.10
And then you look
at life's experiences,
00:21:48.14\00:21:49.80
and those add to
the burden of evidence.
00:21:49.84\00:21:52.87
And so the prosecutor, Satan,
is accusing, accusing, accusing.
00:21:52.91\00:21:56.08
And we need to see and
understand the truth about God
00:21:56.11\00:21:59.78
even though we have a lot of
evidence piled up against Him.
00:22:00.05\00:22:03.18
We need to know
exactly how He really is.
00:22:03.22\00:22:05.85
And sometimes it's hard
for us to see how He really is
00:22:05.89\00:22:08.42
because life
hits us so many curves
00:22:08.46\00:22:10.26
and we see so many
stories in the Bible
00:22:10.46\00:22:12.13
that don't seem to
measure up to a God of love.
00:22:12.16\00:22:14.20
And so we've got to
understand this in the context
00:22:14.23\00:22:17.13
of the evidence of
Christ, in the life of Christ,
00:22:17.23\00:22:20.37
that we see
primarily in the New Testament.
00:22:20.40\00:22:23.00
So, to measure is to judge.
00:22:23.04\00:22:26.27
And the temple of
God represents God's law,
00:22:26.31\00:22:29.84
it represents
God's commandments,
00:22:29.94\00:22:33.11
it represents the place
where God meets with us.
00:22:33.15\00:22:35.35
And of course, God's law is a
transcript of God's character.
00:22:35.38\00:22:37.69
So it's God who
is on trial here.
00:22:37.72\00:22:39.69
It's not some Decalogue
that's on tables of, you know,
00:22:39.72\00:22:42.92
cold tables of stone somewhere.
00:22:42.96\00:22:44.33
The law of God is a transcript
of the character of God.
00:22:44.56\00:22:46.93
Jesus says this in
Matthew chapter 22.
00:22:46.96\00:22:48.83
He says, "The law
says to love God with all
00:22:48.86\00:22:50.63
your heart, mind, soul, and
love your neighbor as yourself."
00:22:50.67\00:22:52.57
In Romans 13 and in
Galatians 5, it also says
00:22:53.40\00:22:56.84
love is the
fulfilling of the law.
00:22:56.87\00:22:58.74
And so, what we find
here is that if God is love
00:22:58.84\00:23:01.51
and His law is
love, law of love,
00:23:01.54\00:23:04.25
then the law of God is
a representation of the
00:23:04.35\00:23:06.51
love of God, and the
love of God is on trial,
00:23:06.55\00:23:08.45
the character of
God is on trial here.
00:23:08.48\00:23:10.62
He's being judged by a
lot of people in the world
00:23:10.65\00:23:13.15
as not being a God of love.
00:23:13.56\00:23:15.26
Alright, so now
we want to understand
00:23:15.29\00:23:16.96
what does the altar represent?
00:23:16.99\00:23:18.33
Okay, we've got the
temple of God representing
00:23:18.36\00:23:20.36
God's law, God's character.
00:23:20.40\00:23:21.73
What does the altar represent?
00:23:21.76\00:23:23.10
Measure the character
of God, the law of God,
00:23:23.13\00:23:25.47
and measure the altar.
00:23:25.50\00:23:26.84
Well, Paul tells us
in Hebrews chapter 13...
00:23:26.87\00:23:29.74
Let's just look
there in Hebrews 13.
00:23:29.77\00:23:31.67
It's just a couple of books
before the book of Revelation.
00:23:31.71\00:23:34.38
And Hebrews chapter 13
is really helpful when it
00:23:34.68\00:23:38.18
comes to
understanding the symbols,
00:23:38.21\00:23:39.95
especially the
book of Revelation.
00:23:39.98\00:23:41.45
Because many of the
symbols of Revelation
00:23:41.48\00:23:44.15
are Sanctuary
symbols: the temple, the altar,
00:23:44.19\00:23:48.12
the lamb, the
priest, the incense.
00:23:48.16\00:23:51.33
All of this stuff that we find,
all of the symbols that we find
00:23:51.36\00:23:54.50
in Revelation actually
take us back to the Sanctuary
00:23:54.53\00:23:58.07
that God gave as an outline
of the plan of salvation.
00:23:58.10\00:24:00.70
And the book of
Hebrews is all about
00:24:00.74\00:24:03.20
understanding the Sanctuary.
00:24:03.24\00:24:04.77
All through the book of Hebrews
we have all of the different
00:24:05.04\00:24:08.01
meanings of the
Sanctuary exploded,
00:24:08.04\00:24:11.25
distilled, made
plain, made simple, applied.
00:24:11.38\00:24:15.02
Especially
applied to Jesus Christ.
00:24:15.05\00:24:17.29
So we have a full disclosure
in the book of Hebrews
00:24:17.45\00:24:20.62
of the symbolism
of the Sanctuary.
00:24:20.66\00:24:22.16
And that's where we're
going to find a disclosure,
00:24:22.19\00:24:23.83
an understanding
of this word, "altar."
00:24:23.86\00:24:25.89
So Hebrews chapter 13
beginning with verse 10
00:24:25.99\00:24:29.60
Paul says here,
"We have an altar..."
00:24:29.63\00:24:31.20
See, we're
looking, what is this altar?
00:24:31.23\00:24:32.60
So he's saying here,
"We have an altar..."
00:24:50.09\00:24:51.99
And then he's going back
to the Sanctuary service.
00:24:52.02\00:24:53.76
He talks about it
in present day language
00:24:53.79\00:24:55.89
because the priests
were still involved in that
00:24:55.92\00:24:57.96
Sanctuary service
when he wrote this.
00:24:57.99\00:24:59.93
And he says, you know,
the bodies, the sacrifices
00:24:59.96\00:25:03.83
they brought in to this literal
altar, the beasts of sacrifice
00:25:03.87\00:25:07.00
were brought into the Sanctuary,
and then their carcasses were
00:25:07.10\00:25:09.80
burned outside the camp.
00:25:09.84\00:25:11.17
Well, Jesus fulfilled that.
00:25:11.21\00:25:13.01
He was the Lamb of God.
00:25:13.04\00:25:14.44
And when He came
to die on the cross,
00:25:14.48\00:25:16.75
He was taken outside the gate.
00:25:16.85\00:25:18.35
You know, He was taken
outside the city of Jerusalem.
00:25:18.38\00:25:20.45
That's where He was crucified.
00:25:20.48\00:25:21.92
And so he's saying basically,
the altar of sacrifice
00:25:21.95\00:25:25.32
in the earthly sanctuary
was a type that represented
00:25:25.35\00:25:29.29
Calvary on the cross.
00:25:29.32\00:25:30.83
It pointed to Jesus being
sacrificed outside the city.
00:25:30.86\00:25:33.60
It pointed to the ultimate
sacrifice of the Lamb of God
00:25:33.63\00:25:36.43
that takes away
the sins of the world.
00:25:36.80\00:25:39.03
So the altar
represents the cross of Calvary.
00:25:39.07\00:25:41.97
So far we've got this?
00:25:42.47\00:25:43.81
We've got one verse
that comes in the wake of the
00:25:43.84\00:25:46.37
advent movement, the
bitter disappointment,
00:25:46.68\00:25:48.68
that causes to prophesy
again, and then moves us
00:25:48.78\00:25:51.31
right into a judgment hour.
00:25:51.35\00:25:52.81
This judgment hour is
identified with this rod that
00:25:52.85\00:25:56.08
John is given and
he's told to measure.
00:25:56.12\00:25:58.05
Measure what? The temple of God,
00:25:58.09\00:25:59.65
God's character, God's law,
00:25:59.69\00:26:01.02
the altar, the cross of
Calvary, and the worshippers.
00:26:01.06\00:26:04.23
And so this last verse also
is included in the judgment.
00:26:04.43\00:26:07.83
We spent quite a
bit of time on this.
00:26:07.86\00:26:09.36
We are to measure
God's law of love,
00:26:09.56\00:26:11.93
we are to measure the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
00:26:12.03\00:26:14.54
And then we are going
to be measured in response.
00:26:14.57\00:26:18.14
Now before we get there,
let's follow the admonition
00:26:18.17\00:26:22.64
that is given to John.
00:26:22.68\00:26:24.01
Let's measure God.
00:26:24.05\00:26:25.81
Let's measure
the character of God
00:26:25.85\00:26:27.68
and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
00:26:27.72\00:26:29.35
You know, this is what
John says in John 1:29.
00:26:29.38\00:26:34.29
When he sees Jesus
coming, John 1:29, he says,
00:26:34.32\00:26:37.43
And that word, "behold,"
means, to see or to know.
00:26:41.73\00:26:45.33
See, it's the same thing.
00:26:45.37\00:26:46.70
John, in John 1:29,
is saying the same thing
00:26:46.74\00:26:49.47
that he's saying here
in Revelation chapter 11.
00:26:49.50\00:26:51.81
We need to measure the altar,
00:26:51.84\00:26:53.44
we need to
measure the sacrifice,
00:26:53.48\00:26:54.81
we need to measure
the character of God.
00:26:54.84\00:26:56.64
We need to know,
we need to see Jesus,
00:26:56.85\00:27:00.12
the Lamb of God that takes
away the sins of the world.
00:27:00.15\00:27:02.78
See, a lot of people
will hear stuff about God,
00:27:02.82\00:27:06.86
but they won't
investigate for themselves.
00:27:06.89\00:27:08.89
They'll hear stuff about, you
know, what kind of God He is,
00:27:08.92\00:27:12.46
and what the Bible
seems to teach, but they won't
00:27:12.49\00:27:14.36
dig into the
Bible for themselves.
00:27:14.40\00:27:16.23
They'll make some
pronouncements about God
00:27:16.26\00:27:18.20
without really
searching to understand
00:27:18.23\00:27:20.67
what God is really
like, to get answers
00:27:20.70\00:27:23.14
personally for their questions.
00:27:23.17\00:27:24.77
When you step beyond all
of the hearsay and you get
00:27:24.87\00:27:28.48
into the Bible and
prayerfully ask God to lead you
00:27:28.51\00:27:32.21
and guide you to give you
and understanding of who he is,
00:27:32.25\00:27:34.45
you're going to find a
completely different picture
00:27:34.48\00:27:36.05
of God than what you
hear about from other people.
00:27:36.08\00:27:38.72
Because a lot of people are
bias by their own experiences,
00:27:39.02\00:27:41.76
their own prejudice,
their own, you know, directions
00:27:41.79\00:27:44.43
in life, their
own choices in life.
00:27:44.46\00:27:46.13
And they're not
necessarily going to give you
00:27:46.16\00:27:48.46
the full picture that God
wants to give you of who He is.
00:27:48.50\00:27:51.20
God isn't afraid
to be brought into
00:27:51.30\00:27:53.57
the hour of judgment with us.
00:27:53.60\00:27:54.94
He's not afraid.
00:27:54.97\00:27:56.30
In fact, that's what we do.
00:27:56.34\00:27:57.67
All of us naturally judge God.
00:27:57.71\00:27:59.04
God's not afraid of that.
00:27:59.07\00:28:00.41
What He's afraid of is that
we won't stay around long enough
00:28:00.44\00:28:02.88
to get an answer from Him
as to what He's really like.
00:28:02.91\00:28:05.15
To get an answer.
00:28:05.18\00:28:06.51
Paul brings this out.
00:28:06.68\00:28:08.02
We're going to move now,
we'll get back to Revelation 11,
00:28:08.38\00:28:11.45
but we're going to
move now to Ephesians
00:28:11.49\00:28:13.92
because Paul really
spends some time on this
00:28:13.96\00:28:17.09
in the book of
Ephesians chapter 3.
00:28:17.29\00:28:21.23
And we want to just look there,
just spend a little bit of time
00:28:21.26\00:28:24.33
here because there's a lot
of verses here that kind of
00:28:24.37\00:28:26.13
bring this together.
00:28:26.17\00:28:27.50
Ephesians chapter 3.
00:28:27.94\00:28:29.40
If I were to just take
and summarize Revelation 14
00:28:29.44\00:28:32.97
and Revelation 11, and the
idea of that's brought out in
00:28:33.21\00:28:36.85
Romans 3, that God is
in the judgment with us,
00:28:36.88\00:28:39.01
if I were to try to
summarize all of that,
00:28:39.05\00:28:41.12
I would take you to
Ephesians chapter 3.
00:28:41.15\00:28:44.19
We'll start at about verse 8.
00:28:44.39\00:28:45.72
You can read the whole chapter,
we don't have time to read
00:28:45.75\00:28:47.69
the whole chapter, but
you can read the whole chapter
00:28:47.72\00:28:49.79
and it would
really kind of summarize
00:28:49.96\00:28:52.36
the message that is being
shared here in Revelation 14,
00:28:52.39\00:28:56.36
and in Revelation 11,
and in Romans chapter 3;
00:28:56.40\00:28:59.67
about God being
involved in the judgment,
00:28:59.70\00:29:01.44
and this whole trial
that He's involved in
00:29:01.47\00:29:03.71
and the witnesses that
He needs us to be for Him
00:29:03.74\00:29:07.08
to bring about a good
decision for individuals
00:29:07.28\00:29:11.31
so that people
can be eternally saved
00:29:11.35\00:29:13.48
and not stumble
over a misrepresentation
00:29:13.88\00:29:15.82
of His character.
00:29:15.85\00:29:17.19
So Paul here, speaking
in Ephesians chapter 3,
00:29:17.22\00:29:19.39
we'll start with verse
8, he says, "Unto me..."
00:29:19.42\00:29:21.56
Starting with verse 8...
00:29:21.59\00:29:22.92
So the Gentiles is another word
for someone who doesn't believe.
00:29:31.37\00:29:33.87
Okay? The Gentiles are
people who didn't understand,
00:29:33.90\00:29:36.67
didn't know the Bible.
00:29:36.71\00:29:38.04
And Paul says, "God has
given me grace to preach
00:29:38.07\00:29:40.18
the
unsearchable riches of Jesus,
00:29:40.21\00:29:42.68
the unsearchable
riches of Christ."
00:29:42.71\00:29:44.65
Then he goes on in
verse 9 and he says this...
00:29:44.68\00:29:46.45
So he wants, Paul wants
everyone to see this fellowship
00:29:56.49\00:29:59.96
of mystery with Jesus.
00:30:00.00\00:30:01.60
He wants people to
see the riches of Christ,
00:30:01.90\00:30:03.90
the unsearchable
riches of Christ.
00:30:03.93\00:30:05.70
And he goes on in
verse 10 and he says this...
00:30:06.03\00:30:08.14
So God here is
talking about the importance
00:30:20.28\00:30:23.82
of making known
the wisdom of God.
00:30:24.02\00:30:27.06
God is wise.
00:30:27.09\00:30:28.42
He's had to deal with an
issue, a controversy between
00:30:28.46\00:30:31.16
good and evil, a rebellion
in this world, in His universe,
00:30:31.19\00:30:35.83
and He's trying to deal
with this is a very wise way.
00:30:35.86\00:30:38.50
And sometimes when you see
the way God deals with this,
00:30:38.53\00:30:42.17
you question and say, "Why does
God allow sin and suffering?"
00:30:42.20\00:30:44.71
Well, what if God
would have simply wiped out
00:30:44.74\00:30:47.04
Satan right at
the very beginning?
00:30:47.08\00:30:48.41
What if God would have
just wiped out Adam and Eve?
00:30:48.44\00:30:49.78
What if God, as soon
as someone sins, God just
00:30:49.81\00:30:51.35
says, "You're gone."
00:30:51.38\00:30:52.71
That wouldn't be very wise
because then we would see Him
00:30:52.75\00:30:54.42
as some kind of
dictator, some kind of despot,
00:30:54.45\00:30:57.02
some person tyrant that
we would just be afraid of.
00:30:57.05\00:30:59.65
So God has allowed
sin, He's allowed evil
00:30:59.69\00:31:03.89
to manifest itself so that
we can see how horrendous it is,
00:31:03.93\00:31:07.30
how bad it is, and then
see Him as a God who wants to
00:31:07.33\00:31:10.77
rescue us from it,
even though He's allowed it
00:31:10.80\00:31:13.57
in order for us to recognize it.
00:31:13.60\00:31:15.04
So God is not some
kind of tyrant and despot.
00:31:15.54\00:31:18.34
God is not some kind of
evil wicked person up there
00:31:18.37\00:31:20.88
just hurdling lightning
bolts at us and wants to make
00:31:20.91\00:31:23.81
life as hard as possible.
00:31:23.85\00:31:25.51
And that's what Paul is
talking about here in Ephesians.
00:31:25.55\00:31:27.92
In verse 11, I'm just
going to read from the NIV here.
00:31:27.95\00:31:30.32
You see that?
00:31:41.10\00:31:42.43
Paul says, "I want you guys
to be able to approach God with
00:31:42.46\00:31:45.23
freedom and confidence."
00:31:45.27\00:31:46.97
Well you can't
approach someone who you feel is
00:31:47.00\00:31:48.50
a tyrant, and a
despot, and an evil person,
00:31:48.54\00:31:51.81
you can't approach them
with freedom and confidence.
00:31:52.01\00:31:53.88
You're going to
be afraid of them.
00:31:53.91\00:31:55.24
And so Paul is
saying, "I've had fellowship.
00:31:55.34\00:31:57.61
I've been searching the
unsearchable riches of Christ.
00:31:57.65\00:32:00.52
I've got grace.
00:32:00.55\00:32:01.88
And I want you guys to be
involved in the mystery of that
00:32:01.92\00:32:03.92
fellowship and to know
God the way I know God.
00:32:03.95\00:32:06.15
Because you're hearing
all this stuff about God,
00:32:06.19\00:32:08.79
but you don't know Him
the way that I know Him.
00:32:08.82\00:32:10.89
And I want you to know
Him the way that I know Him
00:32:10.93\00:32:12.63
so you can approach Him with
freedom and with confidence."
00:32:12.66\00:32:16.33
And he goes on in verse 14.
00:32:16.36\00:32:17.93
And he says...
00:32:18.43\00:32:19.77
This is it for Paul.
00:33:03.65\00:33:06.01
This is the
bottom line for Paul.
00:33:06.05\00:33:07.55
Paul here is wanting us to
enter into this fellowship,
00:33:07.58\00:33:11.25
to search out the
unsearchable riches of Christ,
00:33:11.29\00:33:14.79
to be in a
mystery of fellowship.
00:33:14.82\00:33:16.83
and He wants us to
do this by beholding
00:33:16.86\00:33:19.29
the length, and the width,
and the depth, and the height
00:33:19.33\00:33:23.63
of the love of God; that
we might be filled with the
00:33:23.83\00:33:26.74
fullness of God.
00:33:26.77\00:33:28.10
And I want us to look at this.
00:33:28.14\00:33:29.47
This is the whole point
of what we are talking about
00:33:29.50\00:33:32.87
in Revelation 14 and
the hour of God's judgment,
00:33:32.91\00:33:34.88
and Revelation
chapter 11, measuring God,
00:33:34.91\00:33:37.78
measuring His
character, measuring the altar.
00:33:37.81\00:33:40.22
Paul is saying the same thing.
00:33:40.52\00:33:41.85
He's saying, "I
want you to measure God.
00:33:41.88\00:33:43.22
I want you to measure
His width, and His length,
00:33:43.25\00:33:45.39
and His depth, and His height.
00:33:45.42\00:33:46.86
I want you to
measure the love of God.
00:33:46.89\00:33:48.69
Because God is love, and
I want you to measure that."
00:33:48.72\00:33:50.63
Why? So that you can be
filled with the fullness of God.
00:33:50.73\00:33:52.96
Because there's a lot of
darkness, there's a lot of evil,
00:33:52.99\00:33:54.86
there's a lot of negativity that
is going to try to undermine
00:33:54.90\00:33:58.17
what God is really like.
00:33:58.37\00:33:59.70
They misrepresent
what God is really like.
00:34:00.24\00:34:02.10
And so you've
got to measure God.
00:34:02.14\00:34:03.77
You can't stay
focused on the negativity.
00:34:03.81\00:34:05.57
You need to focus
on who God really is.
00:34:05.61\00:34:08.24
So when I think
about these four dimensions
00:34:08.44\00:34:12.15
of measurement,
for example, the width,
00:34:12.18\00:34:14.68
I think about how
Jesus died for all.
00:34:14.72\00:34:17.09
That He has taken in everyone.
00:34:17.12\00:34:20.76
The width of God's love
takes in every single person
00:34:20.79\00:34:24.29
on planet earth.
00:34:24.49\00:34:25.83
And we read that in John 3:16.
00:34:25.86\00:34:27.33
This is the most
precious verse in the Bible.
00:34:27.36\00:34:29.06
So God loves the
world, and whosoever believes.
00:34:37.94\00:34:41.04
That includes everyone.
00:34:41.24\00:34:42.81
So when I think of the width,
this is what Paul is saying.
00:34:42.84\00:34:44.45
You need to measure the
width, you need to measure that
00:34:44.48\00:34:47.72
God wants everyone to be saved.
00:34:47.75\00:34:49.08
Some people think, "Well, God
has a certain amount of people
00:34:49.12\00:34:50.89
that are going to be saved
and a certain amount of people
00:34:50.92\00:34:52.29
who are going to be lost.
00:34:52.32\00:34:53.66
A certain amount of people that
are pre-elected to be saved,
00:34:53.69\00:34:56.06
and that's it that
are going to be saved,
00:34:56.26\00:34:57.59
and a certain amount of people
that are predestined to be lost,
00:34:57.63\00:34:59.53
and they're going to be
lost; and that's the way it is.
00:34:59.56\00:35:00.90
God just predestined everyone."
00:35:00.93\00:35:02.26
Well that's not
exactly what the Bible teaches.
00:35:02.90\00:35:05.03
The Bible does
teach predestination.
00:35:05.07\00:35:06.57
But in Ephesians, that's
where you find the strongest
00:35:06.60\00:35:09.47
verses on predestination,
00:35:09.50\00:35:10.84
in fact, they're
in Ephesians chapter 1
00:35:10.87\00:35:12.67
as well as in Romans chapter 8,
00:35:12.71\00:35:14.48
you find that
God has predestined
00:35:14.51\00:35:16.31
everyone to be saved.
00:35:16.34\00:35:18.28
That God has not left anyone
out of that predestination.
00:35:18.45\00:35:21.48
Doesn't mean that
everyone is going to be saved.
00:35:21.52\00:35:22.92
Because God is a
gentleman and He will honor
00:35:23.12\00:35:25.52
the choice of every individual.
00:35:25.55\00:35:26.89
And a lot of people
are choosing against Him
00:35:26.92\00:35:28.26
because they're
listening to the dark,
00:35:28.29\00:35:29.62
they're listening to the evil.
00:35:29.66\00:35:30.99
But God is a God of
love who loved the world,
00:35:31.03\00:35:33.80
that whosoever
believes in Him might be saved
00:35:33.83\00:35:37.20
and have eternal life.
00:35:37.30\00:35:38.67
So that's what I think
about when I think about
00:35:38.70\00:35:40.04
the width of God's love.
00:35:40.07\00:35:41.40
When I think about
the length of God's love,
00:35:41.44\00:35:43.51
I think about how
God is long-suffering.
00:35:43.54\00:35:45.21
Like He just goes
to any lengths, like,
00:35:45.24\00:35:46.88
over and over and
over and over again.
00:35:46.98\00:35:49.64
In fact, 2 Peter
3:9, this was my verse
00:35:49.68\00:35:53.15
when I first came to the Lord.
00:35:53.18\00:35:54.52
I was 21 years old when
I gave my heart to Jesus.
00:35:54.55\00:35:56.92
And you know, when I was
21 I thought I was really old.
00:35:57.12\00:36:00.09
And I thought,
man, I believed in God,
00:36:00.19\00:36:02.69
I said my prayers every night,
00:36:02.72\00:36:04.06
I was raised in
a Christian home,
00:36:04.09\00:36:05.43
but I didn't really know Jesus.
00:36:05.46\00:36:06.80
I mean, I can
relate to Matthew 7:21-23
00:36:06.83\00:36:08.63
where it says, you know, "You
do these many wonderful works,
00:36:08.66\00:36:10.47
but your works are iniquity."
00:36:10.50\00:36:11.83
I wasn't living for Jesus
00:36:11.87\00:36:13.20
even though I was
believing in Jesus.
00:36:13.23\00:36:14.84
But when I accepted Him
as my Savior, I thought,
00:36:14.87\00:36:17.41
"Man, God's been
waiting for me for a long time.
00:36:17.44\00:36:19.21
He's been so long-suffering."
00:36:19.24\00:36:20.58
You know, 21 years. Wow!
00:36:20.61\00:36:21.94
But it's more than that.
00:36:21.98\00:36:23.31
It's thousands of years.
00:36:23.35\00:36:24.68
God has waited,
has been waiting.
00:36:24.71\00:36:26.48
Why?
00:36:26.51\00:36:27.85
Well, 2 Peter 3:9 says,
"The Lord is not slack..."
00:36:27.88\00:36:31.09
Not willing. God's not willing.
00:36:40.46\00:36:42.26
His will is that
none of us will perish.
00:36:42.30\00:36:43.87
Now He wants us to
come to repentance.
00:36:43.90\00:36:45.83
He's not going to
force us to be saved.
00:36:45.87\00:36:47.60
He's not going to
force us to not perish.
00:36:47.64\00:36:49.80
But He's not willing.
00:36:50.04\00:36:51.37
On His side, He's fully
desiring for us to be saved.
00:36:51.41\00:36:54.64
On our side, we
need to turn around.
00:36:54.68\00:36:57.25
That's what repent
means, to turn around.
00:36:57.28\00:36:59.15
Romans 2:4, the goodness
of God leads us to repentance.
00:36:59.38\00:37:02.38
The love of God turns
our life around back to Him.
00:37:02.42\00:37:04.95
That's what happened with me.
00:37:04.99\00:37:06.32
The love of God turns us around.
00:37:06.35\00:37:07.69
So Jeremiah 3:13
says the same truth.
00:37:07.72\00:37:10.53
The Old Testament;
the same God, same truth.
00:37:10.56\00:37:12.49
You think of the Old
Testament sometimes and you say,
00:37:12.53\00:37:13.86
"Oh, the Old
Testament God is different
00:37:13.90\00:37:15.23
than the New Testament God."
00:37:15.26\00:37:16.60
No, the Old Testament
God is the same God as the
00:37:16.63\00:37:18.63
New Testament God,
it's just that we have
00:37:18.67\00:37:20.80
misrepresented Him,
we've misunderstood Him
00:37:20.84\00:37:23.14
in the Old Testament,
what He's about, you know.
00:37:23.17\00:37:24.77
So we think that God is
different in the Old Testament.
00:37:24.81\00:37:27.74
He's not. Jeremiah 31:3...
00:37:27.78\00:37:30.78
An everlasting love.
That's a long-suffering God.
00:37:39.09\00:37:41.66
That's a long love.
00:37:41.69\00:37:43.02
God is long-suffering toward us.
00:37:43.06\00:37:45.59
In Revelation
13:8, I love this verse.
00:37:45.69\00:37:47.83
Why?
00:37:47.86\00:37:49.20
Well, because it's in the
mark of the beast chapter.
00:37:49.23\00:37:51.00
It's in the final conflict
between good and evil chapter.
00:37:51.03\00:37:54.30
Revelation 13,
the mark of the beast.
00:37:54.34\00:37:55.74
Everyone is
going to receive a mark
00:37:55.77\00:37:57.11
in their
forehead or in their hand.
00:37:57.14\00:37:58.47
No one is going to
be able to buy or sell.
00:37:58.51\00:37:59.84
Right in the
middle of all of this
00:37:59.87\00:38:01.21
it describes the
people who won't.
00:38:01.24\00:38:02.58
So we have this Lamb
that was lain from the
00:38:12.65\00:38:15.19
foundation of the world.
00:38:15.22\00:38:16.59
From the very beginning of time,
from the very beginning of sin,
00:38:16.62\00:38:19.06
from the very
beginning of creation
00:38:19.09\00:38:21.06
we have the plan of
salvation put into place.
00:38:21.10\00:38:24.83
It was there,
it's been there for us.
00:38:25.03\00:38:26.60
God is long-suffering.
00:38:26.63\00:38:27.97
So when I think
about the length,
00:38:28.00\00:38:29.37
I think about
God's long-suffering.
00:38:29.40\00:38:30.97
When I think about
the depth of God's love,
00:38:31.01\00:38:33.74
I think about how
He, God, became a man,
00:38:33.78\00:38:37.28
and even became sin for us
in the person of Jesus Christ.
00:38:37.31\00:38:41.18
That's what we're told in
Hebrews, and in 2 Corinthians,
00:38:41.22\00:38:45.85
and throughout the Bible,
Old Testament and New Testament.
00:38:45.89\00:38:48.99
Jesus Christ came
down to our level.
00:38:49.02\00:38:51.43
"Behold, a body hast
thou prepared for me."
00:38:51.46\00:38:53.90
Hebrews 2:9 says,
"But we see Jesus..."
00:38:53.93\00:38:57.43
In the context of Hebrews
it's talking about how God
00:39:08.01\00:39:10.65
gave dominion to Adam, and
Adam gave up that dominion.
00:39:10.68\00:39:13.72
And now we don't see Adam
having dominion over the earth,
00:39:13.75\00:39:15.78
but we see Jesus.
00:39:15.82\00:39:17.15
Jesus steps in
as the second Adam.
00:39:17.19\00:39:19.49
And He takes upon Himself
the consequence of Adam's sin.
00:39:19.52\00:39:24.29
We talked about that
in an earlier meeting.
00:39:24.33\00:39:25.99
We need to talk about it again.
00:39:26.03\00:39:27.56
2 Corinthians
5:21, powerful verse.
00:39:27.60\00:39:30.67
"He," God, "has made Him,"
Jesus, "to be sin for us..."
00:39:30.70\00:39:33.74
Jesus knew no
sin, but He became sin.
00:39:38.54\00:39:40.88
We know no righteousness,
but we become righteous.
00:39:40.91\00:39:43.95
That's the great
exchange of the gospel.
00:39:43.98\00:39:45.71
We become righteous
because we receive the
00:39:45.75\00:39:48.05
righteousness from Christ.
00:39:48.08\00:39:49.42
And He can give that
to us because He has taken
00:39:49.45\00:39:51.82
care of all of our sin.
00:39:51.85\00:39:53.19
He has taken our punishment.
00:39:53.22\00:39:54.56
He stood in our
place as a substitute.
00:39:54.59\00:39:56.16
And He has received the
penalty, the punishment,
00:39:56.26\00:39:59.03
for our sins in our place.
00:39:59.06\00:40:01.26
And He did that for us.
00:40:01.46\00:40:03.26
He didn't do it for Himself.
00:40:03.30\00:40:04.63
He didn't sin, He
didn't deserve to be punished.
00:40:04.67\00:40:06.74
And He did that for us
so that we who are sinners
00:40:06.77\00:40:09.40
and have no righteousness,
we don't deserve righteousness,
00:40:09.44\00:40:12.27
can have His righteousness.
00:40:12.31\00:40:13.64
So just like He didn't
deserve to be punished,
00:40:13.68\00:40:15.81
but He was
punished, we don't deserve
00:40:15.84\00:40:17.68
His righteousness, but
we get His righteousness.
00:40:17.71\00:40:19.81
This is the great exchange
00:40:19.85\00:40:21.28
that Paul is talking
about in 2 Corinthians 5:21.
00:40:21.32\00:40:25.15
He became sin for us that we
might become the righteousness
00:40:25.19\00:40:27.32
of God in Him.
00:40:27.36\00:40:28.69
It's powerful truth.
00:40:28.72\00:40:30.06
And so when I think
about the depth of God's love;
00:40:30.09\00:40:31.66
He becomes a man,
He becomes sin for us.
00:40:31.69\00:40:34.00
And then I think about
the height of God's love,
00:40:34.10\00:40:36.63
the height of the love of God.
00:40:36.67\00:40:38.00
And we're told that we
are actually going to sit
00:40:38.27\00:40:41.40
with Christ on His throne.
00:40:41.50\00:40:44.01
I mean, that's the
height of God's love.
00:40:44.04\00:40:45.94
God has purposed
that we would be exalted,
00:40:45.97\00:40:51.38
that we would be elevated,
that we would be lifted up
00:40:51.41\00:40:53.55
out of this fallen state
and be reconnected to Him
00:40:53.58\00:40:57.72
in heavenly places.
00:40:57.75\00:40:59.09
And Ephesians 2
talks about that.
00:40:59.12\00:41:00.46
But also Revelation 3:21.
00:41:00.49\00:41:02.79
It says there in
Revelation 3:21...
00:41:02.99\00:41:04.93
Can you imagine sitting
with Christ on His throne
00:41:17.21\00:41:19.31
just like He sits with
the Father on His throne?
00:41:19.34\00:41:21.24
We have a place with
Christ on the throne.
00:41:21.28\00:41:22.94
So when you think about this,
Paul is, in Ephesians chapter 3,
00:41:22.98\00:41:26.92
Paul is calling us to
understand, to measure
00:41:26.95\00:41:30.92
the character of God.
00:41:30.95\00:41:32.29
The same thing being talked
about in Revelation chapter 11.
00:41:32.32\00:41:35.09
Paul is calling us to
measure the character of God
00:41:35.29\00:41:37.69
that we might understand
the surpassing riches of Christ,
00:41:37.73\00:41:41.80
that we may have
fellowship in this mystery,
00:41:42.00\00:41:44.27
that we may be filled
with the fullness of God.
00:41:44.30\00:41:47.54
And as we contemplate this, Paul
says, "I want you to look at
00:41:47.70\00:41:51.61
the length, and I want
you to look at the width,
00:41:51.81\00:41:53.81
and I want you to
look at the depth,
00:41:53.84\00:41:55.18
and I want you to
look at the height."
00:41:55.21\00:41:56.54
So I think about the width:
00:41:56.58\00:41:57.98
God includes all,
Jesus died for all.
00:41:58.01\00:41:59.88
When I think about the
length: God is long-suffering.
00:41:59.91\00:42:02.78
He's waited and waited and
waited for every single person
00:42:02.82\00:42:06.35
who would turn to Him.
00:42:06.39\00:42:07.72
When I think about
the depth of God's love,
00:42:07.76\00:42:09.56
I think about how He came
all the way down to our level.
00:42:09.59\00:42:12.63
Because we
couldn't come up to His.
00:42:12.96\00:42:14.40
So He came down to our level.
00:42:14.43\00:42:16.06
He laid aside His
divinity and became a man,
00:42:16.10\00:42:18.93
He became a
servant, He humbled Himself,
00:42:18.97\00:42:21.20
even unto death,
the death of the cross.
00:42:21.30\00:42:24.57
He became sin for us
that we might become the
00:42:24.61\00:42:26.57
righteousness of God in Him.
00:42:26.61\00:42:28.28
And then when I
think about the height:
00:42:28.31\00:42:29.64
He came all the way down,
00:42:29.68\00:42:31.01
and He came down to bring us up.
00:42:31.05\00:42:32.38
To exalt us, to
bring us to His level.
00:42:32.41\00:42:34.52
To fill us with His fullness,
to restore us to His image.
00:42:35.05\00:42:38.09
He didn't come down
here to take our sins so that
00:42:38.12\00:42:40.42
we could just keep on sinning.
00:42:40.46\00:42:41.79
He came down here to take
our sins so that we could be
00:42:41.82\00:42:43.16
free from sin, free from
bondage, free from addiction.
00:42:43.19\00:42:46.53
So that we could live the life
that God created us to live.
00:42:46.56\00:42:50.10
A life of freedom in Him.
00:42:50.13\00:42:52.33
So this is the message
that John is bringing to us
00:42:52.43\00:42:56.40
in the book of Revelation.
00:42:56.44\00:42:57.77
This is the message
that is being communicated
00:42:57.81\00:42:59.67
in Revelation 11:1.
00:42:59.71\00:43:02.01
Let's just go back
there to Revelation 11:1.
00:43:02.04\00:43:05.61
We read the verse,
but we'll read it again.
00:43:05.81\00:43:07.25
"I was given a
reed like unto a rod..."
00:43:07.28\00:43:09.95
A measuring rod.
00:43:10.39\00:43:11.72
And so we've identified
four aspects of this verse.
00:43:19.86\00:43:23.87
The first thing we've identified
is what it means to measure.
00:43:23.90\00:43:26.77
It means to judge.
00:43:26.80\00:43:28.97
The second thing we've
identified is the temple of God.
00:43:29.07\00:43:32.17
The temple of God is where
we saw the ark of His testimony.
00:43:32.21\00:43:36.71
The temple of God
is where we saw the ark
00:43:36.85\00:43:39.91
that contains the law of
God above the mercy seat.
00:43:39.95\00:43:43.02
Law and mercy is a revelation
of God's character, who He is.
00:43:43.12\00:43:47.16
The law is a revelation of
love, it's a revelation of God
00:43:47.19\00:43:49.69
because God is love.
00:43:49.72\00:43:51.06
And so we're going to measure
God, going to measure His law,
00:43:51.09\00:43:52.99
we're going to measure the
very foundation of His character
00:43:53.03\00:43:55.33
and His kingdom.
00:43:55.53\00:43:56.87
And then we're
called to measure the altar.
00:43:56.90\00:43:59.80
The altar, Hebrews
13:10-12, represents Calvary,
00:43:59.83\00:44:05.47
it represents Christ,
it represents the place
00:44:05.51\00:44:08.38
where Christ was
sacrificed as the Lamb slain
00:44:08.48\00:44:10.95
from the
foundation of the world,
00:44:10.98\00:44:12.31
as the Lamb that takes
away the sins of the world.
00:44:12.35\00:44:14.32
He was slain outside the city,
just like the carcasses of those
00:44:14.35\00:44:18.32
beasts were
burned outside the city.
00:44:18.35\00:44:20.12
And so you have a
perfect representation
00:44:20.69\00:44:22.32
here of the altar.
00:44:22.36\00:44:23.69
And John is calling us
to measure God's character
00:44:23.73\00:44:28.36
and to measure the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
00:44:28.40\00:44:31.13
And then the worshippers.
00:44:31.17\00:44:32.50
The worshippers are
then measured, judged.
00:44:32.70\00:44:36.81
And we've talked about
this in previous meetings.
00:44:36.84\00:44:38.97
But it's really
important to understand it now
00:44:39.01\00:44:40.94
in a different context.
00:44:40.98\00:44:42.51
The context in which we
read it in Revelation chapter 11
00:44:42.54\00:44:46.18
is, God is measured
first, His character.
00:44:46.21\00:44:49.15
And the sacrifice
He's made is measured.
00:44:49.25\00:44:51.55
And then believers are measured.
00:44:51.59\00:44:53.22
So when we read 1 Peter
4:17. "For the time is come..."
00:44:53.42\00:44:58.19
It's gospel truth.
00:45:03.97\00:45:05.60
The judgment is gospel truth.
00:45:05.63\00:45:07.17
Why? Because it's
based upon a revelation
00:45:07.20\00:45:10.34
of God's character and a
revelation of the sacrifice
00:45:10.37\00:45:14.08
of Jesus Christ.
00:45:14.11\00:45:15.44
Those are the two
elements that are involved
00:45:15.48\00:45:17.65
in this judgment hour.
00:45:17.68\00:45:19.51
God is involved
in the judgment hour.
00:45:20.02\00:45:21.65
We see His character
on trial, if you will,
00:45:21.68\00:45:24.72
and we are called to
step in to measure that,
00:45:24.75\00:45:28.32
and then to become
witnesses for Him, if you will,
00:45:28.36\00:45:31.33
a testimony of
how gracious He is.
00:45:31.36\00:45:33.76
That's what Paul is laying out
for us in Ephesians chapter 3.
00:45:33.80\00:45:37.07
"I stepped into the
fellowship of this mystery.
00:45:37.10\00:45:39.83
I was persecuting the church.
00:45:39.87\00:45:41.34
And Jesus came to me in a
vision on the road to Damascus
00:45:41.37\00:45:43.77
and says, 'Why are
you persecuting Me?'"
00:45:43.81\00:45:45.67
See, Paul was
persecuting the church,
00:45:45.71\00:45:47.18
and Jesus said,
"You're persecuting Me.
00:45:47.21\00:45:48.68
You're misrepresenting Me.
00:45:48.94\00:45:50.51
You're actually
fighting against Me."
00:45:50.55\00:45:52.28
And Paul is
converted because He saw Jesus.
00:45:52.48\00:45:54.85
And Paul is
saying, "I've seen Jesus.
00:45:54.88\00:45:56.62
And my whole mind, my
whole heart was transformed,
00:45:56.72\00:45:59.92
and my life was turned around.
00:45:59.95\00:46:01.42
And instead of persecuting,
I became a proclaimer.
00:46:01.66\00:46:04.36
I became a witness, if
you will, of God's goodness,
00:46:04.39\00:46:07.26
of God's
character, of God's love."
00:46:07.30\00:46:08.90
This is what we see
taking place in the context
00:46:09.36\00:46:11.77
of the judgment hour.
00:46:11.80\00:46:13.23
It's time for us to
step up and be a witness,
00:46:13.27\00:46:16.64
a testimony, of
who God really is.
00:46:16.67\00:46:19.07
And we do this in our lives.
00:46:19.11\00:46:20.44
We do this in the way
that we relate to people.
00:46:20.48\00:46:22.04
We do this in our interactions.
00:46:22.08\00:46:23.75
But we can't reveal
God's character unless
00:46:23.78\00:46:26.95
we spend time beholding Him.
00:46:26.98\00:46:28.58
Because by beholding
Him we become transformed.
00:46:28.82\00:46:31.09
And so Paul is calling
us, Jesus is calling us,
00:46:31.12\00:46:33.72
the whole New Testament
and Old Testament is calling us
00:46:33.92\00:46:36.26
to behold Christ and to
be transformed into His image
00:46:36.36\00:46:38.99
so that we can be a
proper witness for Him.
00:46:39.03\00:46:41.00
Not a false witness, but
a proper witness for Him.
00:46:41.03\00:46:43.23
You know, in a court trial
many times they have witnesses
00:46:43.26\00:46:46.94
that they would like to bring
forth but their lives are so bad
00:46:47.20\00:46:50.54
that the prosecutor
would tear them apart.
00:46:50.57\00:46:53.14
You know, they don't live
a moral life or a good life,
00:46:53.31\00:46:55.14
they can't be trusted to
tell the truth, et cetera.
00:46:55.18\00:46:57.18
And so there's no
way that their testimony
00:46:57.21\00:46:58.78
is going to be believed.
00:46:58.81\00:47:00.15
And God is calling for
witnesses whose testimony
00:47:00.18\00:47:02.95
can be believed.
00:47:02.98\00:47:04.32
Because we live for Jesus
our testimony can be believed
00:47:04.35\00:47:07.26
and we can witness for Christ in
this hour of judgment message.
00:47:07.29\00:47:11.93
Mark 4:24, I want
you to look at this verse
00:47:11.96\00:47:15.36
because this is
really important for us
00:47:15.40\00:47:16.80
as we wrap this up right now.
00:47:16.83\00:47:18.60
Mark 4:24
00:47:18.63\00:47:20.50
Jesus says here,
"Take heed what you hear..."
00:47:21.14\00:47:24.97
So we need to look at this
in the context of the judgment.
00:47:30.55\00:47:33.21
Okay? When we look at
the context of the judgment,
00:47:33.25\00:47:36.15
God's character is judged.
00:47:36.18\00:47:38.05
We look at God's character,
We judge God's character.
00:47:38.09\00:47:40.89
And God's sacrifice is judged.
00:47:41.09\00:47:43.12
We look at God's sacrifice,
we judge God's sacrifice.
00:47:43.16\00:47:45.93
And then our
response to God is judged.
00:47:45.96\00:47:48.46
In the same measure we meet,
it will be measured unto us.
00:47:48.66\00:47:51.77
There are so many times as a
Christian I've heard people say,
00:47:52.10\00:47:54.37
"Oh, I don't go to church.
00:47:54.40\00:47:55.74
It's just a bunch of
hypocrites over there."
00:47:55.77\00:47:57.11
Well, that's the
measurement you're giving.
00:47:57.14\00:47:58.47
That's the
judgment you're giving.
00:47:58.51\00:47:59.84
Are you a hypocrite then?
00:47:59.87\00:48:01.21
Not that you'd be a hypocrite
because you don't go to church,
00:48:01.24\00:48:03.41
but are you a
hypocrite in your life?
00:48:03.45\00:48:05.01
In other words, are
you living up to your own
00:48:05.05\00:48:07.05
standard in your life?
00:48:07.08\00:48:08.52
Are you living up to
the morals that you know,
00:48:08.55\00:48:10.22
what you know to be
right in your own conscience.
00:48:10.25\00:48:12.45
I believe that most people are
hypocrites in one way or another
00:48:12.49\00:48:15.96
or to one degree or another.
00:48:15.99\00:48:17.33
And only the grace of
God can make it different.
00:48:17.36\00:48:20.03
And so when we see
hypocrisy, it's not so much
00:48:20.26\00:48:23.00
that it's different from
us, but rather it's a failure
00:48:23.03\00:48:26.53
to rely upon the grace of God
to make us different from them.
00:48:26.57\00:48:30.21
We need to be different
from hypocrisy in our own lives,
00:48:30.24\00:48:33.41
whether in the
church or out of the church.
00:48:33.44\00:48:35.18
We need the grace
of God to do that,
00:48:35.48\00:48:37.18
because human beings can't.
00:48:37.21\00:48:39.05
We've tried over and over
again, the experiment has failed
00:48:39.08\00:48:41.62
again and again and again.
00:48:41.65\00:48:42.98
And there's no man-made utopia
00:48:43.02\00:48:44.82
that can be
created on this earth.
00:48:44.85\00:48:46.79
God is the only one
that can transform us
00:48:46.82\00:48:50.29
and pull us out of hypocrisy
00:48:50.33\00:48:52.03
And Jesus has made
that very, very clear.
00:48:52.06\00:48:54.63
So it's only as we
measure God as a God of love
00:48:55.20\00:48:58.10
that we actually become love.
00:48:58.13\00:48:59.57
As a God of giving
self-sacrificing love,
00:48:59.60\00:49:03.34
giving
sacrifice in Jesus Christ,
00:49:03.37\00:49:05.01
that we actually can
become self-sacrificing
00:49:05.11\00:49:07.24
and others centered.
00:49:07.28\00:49:08.61
As we measure God,
we will be measured.
00:49:08.64\00:49:10.55
God is the only source of
power, the only source of love,
00:49:10.65\00:49:13.08
that can transform us.
00:49:13.11\00:49:14.45
And if you reject
that, we will not be restored
00:49:14.48\00:49:18.49
in any way into
the image of God.
00:49:18.52\00:49:20.12
We will find ourselves
living just like the world.
00:49:20.16\00:49:22.46
We'll find ourselves being
hypocrites just like the other
00:49:22.49\00:49:24.46
hypocrites, whether in the
church or out of the church.
00:49:24.49\00:49:26.33
We'll find ourselves
failing to live up to
00:49:26.36\00:49:28.30
what we know is right.
00:49:28.33\00:49:29.66
Our own morality.
00:49:29.70\00:49:31.03
Just like everyone else fails to
live up to their own morality.
00:49:31.07\00:49:33.20
So we will receive what we give.
00:49:33.30\00:49:36.67
As we judge, we will be judged.
00:49:36.71\00:49:39.51
And so it's important for
us to live up to the light
00:49:39.54\00:49:41.94
that God has given us.
00:49:41.98\00:49:43.31
And the first
part of that light,
00:49:43.35\00:49:44.81
the first part of that truth
is to believe in Jesus Christ.
00:49:44.85\00:49:48.15
There's nothing else that
we can do to start this journey
00:49:48.18\00:49:51.55
but to believe in Jesus Christ.
00:49:51.59\00:49:53.12
And so John 6:28-29,
the people come to Jesus
00:49:53.15\00:49:57.83
and they're saying, you
know, they know that He is,
00:49:57.86\00:50:00.26
you know, a man of God,
they know that He's a teacher.
00:50:00.43\00:50:02.86
They're impressed by Him.
00:50:03.47\00:50:05.07
They want to know
something about what
00:50:05.10\00:50:06.57
they're supposed to do.
00:50:06.60\00:50:07.94
And so they ask this
question of Him in John 6:28-29.
00:50:07.97\00:50:11.51
Now let's just
stop there for a second.
00:50:18.31\00:50:19.75
"What can we do that we
might work the works of God?"
00:50:19.78\00:50:22.28
And that's the question
that all of us kind of ask.
00:50:22.32\00:50:25.49
We want to be good people.
00:50:25.52\00:50:26.86
We don't want to be hypocrites.
00:50:26.89\00:50:28.52
We want to do
things that are right.
00:50:28.56\00:50:30.49
We want to be
respected in our community.
00:50:30.53\00:50:31.86
We want to be known as a person,
you know, that can be trusted.
00:50:31.89\00:50:35.86
I mean, if we
don't, then we've just...
00:50:35.90\00:50:37.63
That's, whoa,
we're way down there.
00:50:37.67\00:50:39.63
But God is here allowing
them to ask this question.
00:50:39.67\00:50:43.71
so that He can bring
them to a reality that
00:50:43.74\00:50:45.87
we all need to understand.
00:50:45.91\00:50:47.24
And that reality is found
in Jesus' answer, verse 29.
00:50:47.28\00:50:49.78
"Jesus answered
and said unto them..."
00:50:49.81\00:50:53.05
So the bottom line is,
it's not what we can do.
00:50:58.15\00:51:01.09
It's what God can do.
00:51:01.12\00:51:02.46
And our part is
to believe in God.
00:51:02.49\00:51:06.09
That's actually the
thing that God wants.
00:51:06.26\00:51:09.06
And that's even the work of God.
00:51:09.10\00:51:10.87
"This is the work of God..."
00:51:10.90\00:51:12.33
God works, and we respond
to that work by believing.
00:51:12.37\00:51:16.81
We believe in Him
because He first believes in us.
00:51:16.84\00:51:20.94
We have faith in God because
He first has faith in us.
00:51:20.98\00:51:23.85
And this is God's work.
00:51:23.88\00:51:25.21
And this is what
He wants us to do.
00:51:25.25\00:51:26.58
Because the question
was asked, "What can we do
00:51:26.61\00:51:28.65
that we can work
the works of God?"
00:51:28.68\00:51:30.02
And Jesus says, "Well,
this is the work of God,
00:51:30.05\00:51:31.55
if you really want to
know: You need to believe."
00:51:31.59\00:51:33.25
And when you believe in Jesus,
that's when your life changes.
00:51:33.96\00:51:36.49
That's when everything changes.
00:51:36.52\00:51:37.86
That's when
everything changed for me.
00:51:37.89\00:51:39.23
When we believe in
Jesus, another power takes over.
00:51:39.26\00:51:42.53
And that's why that
work is so important.
00:51:43.23\00:51:46.87
In fact, in the Bible
we're going to find that we are
00:51:46.97\00:51:49.17
going to be, in the judgment,
00:51:49.20\00:51:50.54
we're going to find that we're
going to be judged by our works.
00:51:50.57\00:51:52.07
We're going to
be saved by grace,
00:51:52.11\00:51:53.44
but we're going to
be judged by our works.
00:51:53.48\00:51:54.81
And this is the
first work that's going to
00:51:55.04\00:51:56.54
come up in the judgment:
00:51:56.58\00:51:57.91
"Did you believe in Jesus?"
00:51:57.95\00:51:59.45
"Did you believe in Jesus?"
00:51:59.85\00:52:01.18
You remember the
thief on the cross.
00:52:01.22\00:52:02.55
I mean, that man was
raised in a godly home,
00:52:02.58\00:52:05.52
but at some point in
his life he went astray.
00:52:05.55\00:52:08.96
And he was influenced
in such a bad direction
00:52:09.16\00:52:12.09
that he found
himself on death row.
00:52:12.13\00:52:13.70
And at first when Jesus
is there hung on the cross
00:52:13.73\00:52:16.33
with the two thieves, both
thieves are railing on Him.
00:52:16.36\00:52:18.60
But one of the
thieves, this one thief,
00:52:18.63\00:52:21.27
remembers a little bit
about maybe how his grandma
00:52:21.47\00:52:24.84
took him to worship
God when he was a kid.
00:52:24.87\00:52:28.28
You know, the influences of his
early life begin to come back,
00:52:28.38\00:52:32.41
and the things
he's heard about Jesus
00:52:32.45\00:52:34.12
begin to come back, and he
starts to have this belief.
00:52:34.15\00:52:38.15
Well, that's the Holy
Spirit working on his heart.
00:52:38.19\00:52:40.59
And as the Holy
Spirit works on his heart,
00:52:40.62\00:52:42.59
he takes ahold of that
work, he takes ahold of God is
00:52:42.62\00:52:47.36
working on his
heart, and he believes it.
00:52:47.40\00:52:49.26
He believes about himself
what God believes about him.
00:52:49.30\00:52:52.63
And that is, that he can
be saved in Jesus Christ.
00:52:52.67\00:52:54.80
And that's the same experience
any ones of us can have
00:52:54.97\00:52:57.37
at any moment in our lives.
00:52:57.41\00:52:59.17
That we can believe
what God believes about is.
00:52:59.21\00:53:01.18
And God's belief about us is
that if He dies for our sins,
00:53:01.38\00:53:05.98
He dies for our sins
even though we're His enemies,
00:53:06.01\00:53:07.98
because He believes
we'll respond to that,
00:53:08.08\00:53:09.78
and we'll accept Him, and
our sins will be forgiven,
00:53:09.82\00:53:12.72
and we'll be
transformed into His likeness.
00:53:12.75\00:53:14.36
We'll be filled
with the fullness of God
00:53:14.39\00:53:15.79
and we'll explore
now and for all eternity
00:53:15.82\00:53:18.46
the height, and the length,
and the width, and the depth
00:53:18.49\00:53:20.66
of the love of God
that passes knowledge
00:53:20.70\00:53:22.93
and be
transformed into His image.
00:53:22.96\00:53:24.33
That's what God
believes about us.
00:53:24.37\00:53:25.83
And so this is the first works.
00:53:26.50\00:53:27.84
So we're judged by our
works, but we're saved by grace.
00:53:27.87\00:53:31.17
Because there's no way we
can be saved by our works.
00:53:31.27\00:53:34.08
Our works judge
whether or not we have
00:53:34.24\00:53:36.95
accepted the grace of God.
00:53:37.05\00:53:38.71
Do we believe? That's our work.
00:53:38.91\00:53:40.62
Are we believers? That's a work.
00:53:40.65\00:53:42.12
That's what God
says here in John 6.
00:53:42.15\00:53:43.92
That's a work.
00:53:43.95\00:53:45.29
And that work testifies
if we've tapped into the
00:53:45.32\00:53:47.32
grace of God by
which we are saved.
00:53:47.36\00:53:48.79
So we step into the judgment,
00:53:49.12\00:53:51.49
we step into this hour of
judgment first and foremost
00:53:52.13\00:53:56.73
with the work of
believing on Jesus Christ.
00:53:56.77\00:53:59.00
And the only way that
can happen, according to what
00:53:59.03\00:54:00.94
we've read here in
Revelation chapter 11,
00:54:00.97\00:54:03.64
Revelation chapter 14,
and Ephesians chapter 3,
00:54:03.67\00:54:06.07
and Romans chapter 3,
the only way this can happen
00:54:06.27\00:54:10.28
is if we understand God's place
in this judgment hour conflict.
00:54:10.31\00:54:14.78
Because most of the
people who reject Christianity
00:54:14.88\00:54:18.49
reject it because they
have a misunderstanding
00:54:18.52\00:54:20.82
of who God is, they
have a misunderstanding of
00:54:21.19\00:54:22.89
God's character, they've
lost or never had the vision
00:54:22.92\00:54:26.46
of a God of love.
00:54:26.66\00:54:28.33
So let's summarize what we've
learned in this presentation.
00:54:28.50\00:54:32.30
As we close up
our four part series
00:54:32.33\00:54:34.04
let's summarize
what we've learned.
00:54:34.07\00:54:35.40
First of all, we've
been called to measure God.
00:54:35.44\00:54:38.47
And that call comes
to us in the context
00:54:38.74\00:54:42.41
of Revelation 11:1.
00:54:42.51\00:54:46.48
And we see that outlined
in John 3:16 and other verses.
00:54:46.82\00:54:51.32
"God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son..."
00:54:51.35\00:54:53.76
Is that true? Is that true?
00:54:53.79\00:54:55.86
"...that whosoever
believes in Him might not perish
00:54:55.89\00:54:57.83
but have everlasting live."
00:54:57.86\00:54:59.19
Do you believe that?
00:54:59.23\00:55:00.56
Or has someone or something
caused you to think that
00:55:00.60\00:55:03.13
that's not true?
00:55:03.16\00:55:04.50
Have you lost faith in
the truth of the Word of God?
00:55:04.53\00:55:07.77
Have you lost belief in
the truth of the Word of God?
00:55:07.80\00:55:10.14
That He loves the
world and He loves whoever
00:55:10.27\00:55:13.78
will believe in Him,
whoever will take ahold,
00:55:13.81\00:55:15.94
whoever will take
ahold of that work of God,
00:55:15.98\00:55:18.18
whoever will
respond to the work of God
00:55:18.21\00:55:20.42
and make that work part
of His life, believing back
00:55:20.52\00:55:24.45
in what Christ has done for him?
00:55:24.49\00:55:25.82
Having faith, exercising faith
00:55:25.85\00:55:27.32
in response to the
faith of God in us.
00:55:27.36\00:55:28.99
Are you still willing
to see God in that light?
00:55:29.32\00:55:33.40
And then the second point
that we've learned in this
00:55:33.43\00:55:35.20
meeting is that we need
to measure God's sacrifice.
00:55:35.23\00:55:38.90
Not only measure His
character, who He is,
00:55:38.93\00:55:40.60
but measure His sacrifice.
00:55:40.64\00:55:41.97
And this is really
significant because
00:55:42.00\00:55:43.71
the sacrifice
testifies to the character.
00:55:43.74\00:55:47.68
So God knew, Jesus
knew, that the Old Testament
00:55:47.84\00:55:51.98
was so filled with narratives
that could be misunderstood
00:55:52.01\00:55:55.22
about God's character,
that in His coming to this earth
00:55:55.25\00:55:57.69
it was very important for Him
to clarify who God really is.
00:55:57.72\00:56:01.09
And that's
exactly what Jesus did.
00:56:01.39\00:56:03.32
Even the Pharisees had been so
filled with the misunderstanding
00:56:03.59\00:56:07.00
of God's character
that they misrepresented God
00:56:07.03\00:56:09.46
to the people, and
Jesus many times had to combat
00:56:09.50\00:56:12.07
their false picture,
their false narrative
00:56:12.17\00:56:14.70
of who God was.
00:56:14.74\00:56:16.14
And He had to
introduce a paradigm shift
00:56:16.17\00:56:17.94
in the minds of the people.
00:56:17.97\00:56:19.31
On the Mount of
Olives He talked about God
00:56:19.34\00:56:21.38
as a God of love, and a God of
mercy, and a God that forgives,
00:56:21.41\00:56:24.31
and a God that
turns the other cheek,
00:56:24.35\00:56:25.68
and brings rain on
the just and the unjust,
00:56:25.71\00:56:27.18
and sunshine on the
good and on the evil.
00:56:27.22\00:56:28.78
And the people
were just like, "Really?
00:56:28.82\00:56:30.25
He loves the meek, and
He loves those that mourn,
00:56:30.45\00:56:33.05
and He blesses them?
00:56:33.09\00:56:34.42
Really? The underdog?"
00:56:34.46\00:56:37.03
That's the picture
that Jesus came to give.
00:56:37.06\00:56:39.63
He came to give a
right representation
00:56:40.13\00:56:42.53
of this God of love.
00:56:42.56\00:56:44.33
And then the third thing
we've learned in this last
00:56:44.57\00:56:47.10
presentation is that we
are going to be measured.
00:56:47.20\00:56:50.01
We are going to
be measured by God.
00:56:50.04\00:56:52.14
And you just
can't get out of that.
00:56:52.17\00:56:53.51
Revelation 14:7 takes
us into this judgment hour,
00:56:53.64\00:56:57.55
this time when the hour
of His judgment has come.
00:56:57.58\00:57:00.32
And if you're not a believer,
if you've never gone to church,
00:57:00.52\00:57:02.82
you've never studied the Bible,
you're going to be measured
00:57:02.85\00:57:04.45
according to the
light that you have.
00:57:04.49\00:57:05.82
Romans chapter 2
makes that very, very clear.
00:57:05.85\00:57:07.69
Your conscience
is going to dictate,
00:57:08.26\00:57:10.69
it's going to be a law to you.
00:57:10.73\00:57:12.36
Don't try to say, "Well,
you know, I've never gone.
00:57:12.56\00:57:16.23
So God is not going to..."
00:57:16.26\00:57:17.60
No, you are.
00:57:17.63\00:57:18.97
You don't come to the light
because your deeds are evil.
00:57:19.00\00:57:20.80
John 3:17-19
00:57:20.84\00:57:23.30
But you're still going
to be measured by those
00:57:23.34\00:57:25.07
things that you know.
00:57:25.11\00:57:26.44
And each one of us needs to
accept a fuller picture of God
00:57:26.47\00:57:29.64
so that picture can transform
us and we can find ourselves
00:57:29.68\00:57:33.78
on the right side
in the judgment hour.
00:57:33.88\00:57:35.75
We are hoping, I'm praying
that you'll see the testimony,
00:57:35.98\00:57:39.45
the witnesses of God's
character in His people
00:57:39.49\00:57:42.62
and that you'll be able
to take your stand for God
00:57:42.66\00:57:45.36
before this hour
of judgment is ended
00:57:45.79\00:57:48.30
and eternity begins.
00:57:48.43\00:57:49.76
And that's my
prayer for each one of us.
00:57:49.80\00:57:51.13
In Jesus' name. Amen.
00:57:51.23\00:57:53.03
Father in heaven, thank
You so much for Your Word.
00:57:53.07\00:57:55.40
Thank You for this
message from Your Word.
00:57:55.44\00:57:57.21
Thank You that You
stand in the judgment with us.
00:57:57.24\00:57:59.47
Thank You that You
have a way of clarifying
00:57:59.51\00:58:01.98
Your love and Your goodness.
00:58:02.01\00:58:03.35
Father, do that for
everyone that's listening here.
00:58:03.38\00:58:05.18
We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
00:58:05.21\00:58:08.52