We left off in Revelation 7:1-3
with these four mighty angels
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holding back
the winds of strife.
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And they are holding those
winds for a very good reason.
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We'll go ahead and
continue with the text.
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"Then I saw another
angel ascending from the east,
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having the seal
of the living God."
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We might come back to
that if we have a chance.
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"And he cried with a
loud voice to the four angels
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to whom it was granted to them
to harm the earth and the sea,
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saying, 'Do not harm the
sea, or the earth, or the trees
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till we have sealed the servants
of our God in their forehead.'"
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So this mighty angel
cries out to those angels,
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"Keep holding.
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Keep holding
till we have sealed,
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till we have
gotten God's people ready.
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To answer that question,
'Who will be able to stand,'
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till we've got them
ready to be able to stand
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for this mighty event of
the coming of the Lord Jesus."
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So they're holding
back the winds of strife.
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And the Bible pictures them
holding back the winds of strife
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while twelve
thousand from each one of the
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tribes of Israel are sealed.
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Now some people
have tried to maybe say,
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"Oh, so this is real Israel."
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No, no, wait a minute.
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You have to go back
to the seven churches,
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and there you will
see the church referred to
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as the synagogue,
and you'll find them
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referred to as the Jews.
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Sometimes they were impostors
and say they were Jews,
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but they're not Jews.
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No, this is symbolic
of the Christian church.
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And the tribes of
Israel, of course, had
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all kinds of
different characters.
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And I think it's
given to us from hope.
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If you study the characters
of those twelve tribes,
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or those twelve sons of
Jacob, if God can bring people
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ready to meet Him
out of that group,
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there's hope for all of us.
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And that's good news.
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So in the midst of this, God
is saying, "I'm going to have a
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people ready to stand,
and I can bring them out of
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some pretty tough characters."
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So the picture is 144,000.
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Now some people think that
maybe that's a symbolic number
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or a real number.
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I tend to think
it's a symbolic number.
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And the reason for that is
because just a little while
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later we see the 144,000,
and it's called a number that
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cannot be numbered, we see
them in the kingdom of heaven.
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We'll see that in
just a little bit here.
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The joy of a great multitude.
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So there's, I
think, a symbolic group.
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And I believe it will be a large
group from all over the earth.
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Certainly not the majority.
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But listen to me.
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There are seven some billion,
between seven and eight billion
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people on the earth.
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Even if one in ten
were ready, that would be
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seven hundred million
people that heeded the message.
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I don't know how many people
will be ready for Jesus to come.
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But I believe that the
great gospel commission
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is going to end,
not in a whimper,
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but in a mighty successful
onslaught against the devil
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and all the victims that
he's been holding in his hand.
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We're going to see the
power of God do amazing things.
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God is going to have a people
who are ready to meet Him.
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And they're going to get ready,
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and heaven is
going to rejoice over it.
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So then we see this next
picture in Revelation 7:9-10.
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"After these things I looked,
and behold, a great multitude
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that no one could number..."
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Still talking about the 144,000.
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I think that's symbolic.
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I don't have time to get into
the symbolic numbers right now.
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You can do that on your own.
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"...of all nations,
tribes, peoples, and tongues..."
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From all over the
earth they're going to come.
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"...standing before
the throne and the Lamb,
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clothed with white robes, with
palm branches in their hands..."
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That's palm branches of victory.
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Remember the seven churches
and how it ends every time
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a promise to the overcomers?
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Well these are
victorious people.
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They've got palm
branches in their hands.
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"...and they're crying
out with a loud voice, saying,
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'Salvation belongs to our
God who sits on the throne,
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and to the Lamb!'"
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In other words, the reason we've
been able to come through this,
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the reason we have salvation,
is because of the Lamb of God
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that's taking us through.
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Then John has a conversation
with one of the elders.
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One of the elders
comes up to John and says,
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in chapter
7:13-14, he says to John,
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"Who are these
arrayed in white robes,
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and where did they come from?"
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He's just re-emphasizing
the fact that this mighty
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Jesus has been able
to bring them through.
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Who are they? Who are they?
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And John says to him, "You know.
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You know who they are."
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And then the elder says to John,
he says, "These are the ones
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who've come out of
great tribulation."
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That's a sobering thought.
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Because this great tribulation
is coming on the world.
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But I want to tell you that
we have the incomparable Jesus,
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the invincible Jesus, who's able
to bring His people through.
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You can be brought through.
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Your Savior is
not a weak Savior.
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He's got power to
help you overcome,
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and to help me overcome.
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We've got to quit concentrating
and worrying about the
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power of the devil
and focus on the power
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of the One who
created the universe,
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the One who went
to Calvary's cross,
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who lived a sinless
life and was resurrected.
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He has the power of salvation.
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And all of them
are rejoicing in Jesus
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and what's He's
been able to do for them.
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Then he goes on to say this:
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They not only come
out of great tribulation,
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but then he says something,
and this is emphasized.
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It's emphasized with the
bride of Christ in chapter 19,
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it's emphasized with this
symbolic, I believe, 144,000,
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that says, "...they've
washed their robes and made them
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white in the blood of the Lamb."
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Notice again,
they wash their robes.
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They wash their robes
in the blood of the Lamb.
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Why do they wash their
robes in the blood of the Lamb?
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And what does it mean when
it says they do the washing?
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What does it mean?
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Scripture is
pretty clear on that.
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So we have to
answer that question.
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First of all, they come
out of great tribulation,
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great chaos, great trouble.
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And with it comes great
temptations and great pressures.
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The mark of the
beast is not going to be
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an easy thing to come
through in the end of time.
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It's going to be a
very difficult thing.
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But those who wash
their robes are in contrast
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to those who cry for
the rocks and the mountains
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to fall on them.
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When people wash their clothes,
why do they wash their clothes?
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They wash their
clothes because they're
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getting ready for some event.
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They want to look good.
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They want to be
ready for the event.
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They don't want to be
like the man in the parable
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of Jesus who showed up
without a wedding garment.
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He wasn't ready for the event.
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So these people who wash their
robes in the blood of the Lamb,
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they're getting
ready for Jesus to come.
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And this washing is
helping them to be ready
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to stand through this
time when probation closes.
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I want to say that,
yes, the blood of the Lamb
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cleanses us from sin, but
it also does something else.
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It not only forgives our sins,
now listen to me carefully,
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it delivers us
from the power of sin.
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The power of sin
is broken in our life
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when the love of sin is broken.
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And when you love this
incomparable Jesus enough,
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sin will not have
power in your life.
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Now we are all,
of course, sinners.
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We all have a carnal nature.
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We've all sinned and come
short of the glory of God.
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And heaven knows
that we're not perfect,
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but Jesus said to be
perfect, even as your Father
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in heaven is perfect.
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And as I mentioned in one
of the other presentations,
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Jesus made that
clear that we need to learn
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to be like our heavenly
Father, to love like He loves.
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Because He loves everybody.
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I don't have time to go into
that, but I want to come back
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to this, the
blood of the Lamb here.
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He delivers us from sin.
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You know, if you
die in Christ right now,
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you'll be sealed.
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Isn't that right?
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If you die in
Christ, you're sealed.
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You can't be tempted anymore.
The devil can't get to you.
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Your old carnal nature is
going to be left in the grave
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on the morning
of the resurrection.
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So everybody that
dies in Christ right now,
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they're sealed.
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They're ready for
the coming of Jesus.
00:08:54.26\00:08:56.77
But when you come to
the close of probation,
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something different happens.
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Because everybody
has made up their mind.
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Nobody else
wants any forgiveness.
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Then Jesus changes
His role in heaven.
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Those who love Him,
they have made up their mind.
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They're not changing, by
the power of the Holy Spirit.
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And so Jesus takes
off His intercessory robes
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and He puts on His kingly
judgmental robes, if you please.
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Because He's
coming back in judgment.
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And so, if somebody sins between
the close of probation...
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People ask this. They
ask it very seriously.
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I had some young
people not long ago ask me,
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"What happens if we
sin during that time
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between the close of probation,
00:09:36.97\00:09:38.81
and there's no
forgiveness in heaven?
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What will happen?"
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Well here's the good news.
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The good news, if you come up
to that time and you're ready,
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by the power of the Holy
Spirit you're not going to sin.
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Because you're going to be kept
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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And that's the good news.
00:09:54.12\00:09:55.46
But let's take a look at
this just a little bit more.
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If a person dies, as I just
mentioned, they're not subject.
00:09:58.43\00:10:02.03
But if you come to
the close of probation,
00:10:02.06\00:10:04.63
then you're still alive.
00:10:04.87\00:10:06.30
And Jesus has
changed His role in heaven.
00:10:07.34\00:10:09.60
You're still alive.
00:10:10.07\00:10:11.57
So you're still
subject to temptation.
00:10:12.21\00:10:14.88
The carnal nature is still
there, it hasn't gone away.
00:10:14.91\00:10:17.08
Because you don't
have that new body yet.
00:10:17.28\00:10:18.91
The devil and his evil
angels, they're still active.
00:10:19.55\00:10:21.75
It's still a selfish world.
00:10:21.78\00:10:23.22
The mark of the beast
and all of its deceptions,
00:10:23.25\00:10:25.32
Jesus said if it were possible,
it would deceive the very elect,
00:10:25.35\00:10:27.36
all of that stuff
is swirling around you.
00:10:27.39\00:10:30.03
How are you going to
make it, so to speak?
00:10:30.59\00:10:34.23
Well the good news is we have
this wonderful, wonderful Jesus.
00:10:35.26\00:10:39.60
And He is able.
00:10:39.83\00:10:41.54
Because the saints
that are going to be ready
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have washed their robes
in the blood of the Lamb.
00:10:43.54\00:10:46.24
What does it mean to wash your
robe in the blood of the Lamb?
00:10:46.27\00:10:50.51
Well let me just tell you this.
00:10:50.81\00:10:52.15
And I want to say this again
just in case somebody forgets.
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Jesus has earned our salvation.
00:10:54.75\00:10:56.35
It's not about us
earning our salvation.
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This is about getting
ready for Jesus coming in glory.
00:10:58.12\00:11:01.52
What are our robes?
00:11:02.02\00:11:03.36
Our robes are our characters.
00:11:03.39\00:11:05.36
And our character is
made up of our actions.
00:11:05.73\00:11:08.56
And our actions are
made up of our choices.
00:11:08.60\00:11:11.57
So when the sealing time
comes, what Jesus is doing,
00:11:12.63\00:11:15.67
He's saying, "I want
you to be so close to Me
00:11:15.70\00:11:18.87
that all your
choices will be My choices,
00:11:18.91\00:11:22.78
and that your character
is going to be transformed
00:11:22.81\00:11:26.48
because I'm going to be
in charge of your character."
00:11:26.72\00:11:30.79
Now the blood of
Jesus was unselfishly
00:11:30.99\00:11:34.49
shed for all of us.
00:11:34.52\00:11:36.49
And in the
unselfish blood of Jesus...
00:11:36.86\00:11:39.93
And the Bible says
the life is in the blood.
00:11:39.96\00:11:42.06
In the unselfish blood of Jesus
we are going to wash our robes.
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We not only find forgiveness,
but we find power for obedience.
00:11:48.34\00:11:52.91
In the unselfish blood
of Jesus we are empowered
00:11:52.94\00:11:57.51
to wash our selfish thinking
into unselfish thinking.
00:11:57.55\00:12:02.12
We're empowered to
wash our selfish deeds
00:12:02.15\00:12:06.09
into unselfish deeds.
00:12:06.12\00:12:08.36
We're empowered to
wash our lawless living
00:12:08.52\00:12:12.63
into lawful living and come
into harmony with the universe.
00:12:12.83\00:12:17.20
We are empowered
by the blood of Christ
00:12:18.10\00:12:21.50
to wash ourselves
so that our feebleness
00:12:21.54\00:12:24.51
become strong and
vigorous, our faulty characters
00:12:24.54\00:12:28.88
become like the
character of Jesus.
00:12:28.91\00:12:31.81
All of this is an
exercise of faith.
00:12:31.91\00:12:35.25
Faith drives our behavior.
00:12:35.28\00:12:37.89
I tell some people
sometimes, I say, "Listen,
00:12:37.92\00:12:41.06
everything you do is because you
trust in someone or something."
00:12:41.09\00:12:45.16
Our faith in Christ
must become so powerful
00:12:45.26\00:12:49.20
that there are no
gaps in our faith,
00:12:49.23\00:12:51.50
that there's no
stopping of becoming
00:12:51.70\00:12:55.14
like our wonderful Jesus.
00:12:55.17\00:12:57.24
I want to tell you that getting
ready means living by faith now.
00:12:57.64\00:13:03.81
Living by faith in Jesus,
having this union with Jesus.
00:13:04.11\00:13:08.32
We have to have
a faith in Jesus,
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a faith that has
no interspersion,
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that's continually
strong and constant.
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We can have this
invincible faith in Jesus
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because He will come
in answer to our prayer
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to develop a character like Him
and be ready for Jesus to come.
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