Participants: Pastor Charles Byrd
Series Code: IST
Program Code: IST000004
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00:01 Welcome back to In Search of the Truth.
00:04 I'm Karen Bryd. 00:05 New York City, Paris, London, great cities indeed 00:11 and the destination of many tourists. 00:13 Yet no city compares to the colossal cube the Bible 00:17 calls the New Jerusalem. 00:20 Each side of the city is 375 miles long, a full 00:25 1,500 miles in circumference. 00:27 And did you know the Bible tells us that 00:29 it will be coming to planet earth! 00:32 Revelation chapter 12 tells us that the cities 00:34 "length, breadth, and height are equal. " 00:37 That means to go from the bottom of the city 00:41 all the way to the top is also 375 miles! 00:44 Last time we were together, Charles showed us a picture 00:47 drawn by an artist who was given the facts 00:49 of this city right from the Bible. 00:52 This artist envisioned the city with 12 stories 00:55 each over 30 miles above the other. 00:58 This colossal city has streets of gold, 01:01 gates of pearl, a tree and a river of life. 01:04 This city, our heavenly home, is the hope of millions 01:08 around the world. 01:09 But what will it take to get there? 01:12 How can we become citizens 01:13 in this promised home of the redeemed? 01:15 Lets join Charles as he goes in search for the ticket in. 02:01 Last time we were together 02:02 we learned about a colossal city in space that God 02:05 is preparing for those who will live with Him forever. 02:09 If you ask, most people will admit 02:11 that they'd like to live there someday. 02:13 Christians, Jews, and even Muslims talk about heaven 02:16 and hold it up as the eternal reward of those who are saved. 02:21 But how do we get to live there? 02:23 What are the conditions 02:24 for residency in this wonderful place? 02:27 If you want to go fly in a plane you'll have to have a ticket. 02:32 And if you want to attend a movie, again, 02:35 you'll need one of these. 02:38 But what about heaven? 02:39 What is the ticket that will open 02:41 the pearly gates for you and me? 02:44 The Bible has a vocabulary that explains 02:46 what having a "Ticket to Heaven" is. 02:49 Let's look at it together. 02:51 1 Timothy 2:4 "[God] desires all men to be saved 02:54 and to come to the knowledge of the truth. " 02:58 SAVED is this ticket to heaven. 03:03 The word saved is in the Bible 104 times 03:06 and many of those texts are directly related to this ticket, 03:10 to getting out of this world of sin and sadness. 03:14 If you've seen the movie Shindler's List 03:17 than you can appreciate the word SAVED. 03:19 Saved from the tragedy and carnage of World War II, 03:23 the wholesale slaughter. 03:25 Those Jews that Shindler SAVED from Hitler's madness 03:29 have a very real experiential meaning for the word Saved. 03:33 Recently I was in Israel 03:35 and stood beside Oskar Shindler's grave. 03:38 As I look at this grave I wonder how many other men, 03:41 women, and children need real salvation. 03:45 Not just from one war, one cancer, 03:48 one accident but real salvation: 03:51 eternal salvation that will keep us from ever 03:55 going to another funeral. 03:57 Real salvation that will allow us to live with God in heaven 04:01 someday where there will be no sickness, no death, 04:06 no war and no more tears of sadness. 04:09 While in Israel, our guide, Rimon, 04:12 showed us the grave of his father that was just a few steps 04:15 removed from Oskar Shindler's. 04:18 Rimon told us that he held his father in his arms as he died. 04:23 How sad. 04:25 Death always makes me ask, 04:27 "Is this it? Is this all there is?" 04:30 The good news is, there is something beyond. 04:33 You can choose to be saved or lost. 04:37 Today I want you to know, from the Bible, 04:40 how you can be saved. 04:42 Today you can know what the Bible says 04:44 the ticket of salvation is made of? 04:47 Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians 04:50 "by grace are ye saved through faith; 04:53 and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 04:56 Not of works, lest any man should boast. " Ephesians 2:8-9 05:00 Each of us are saved by grace. 05:04 Grace is a favor rendered by one who need not do so. 05:08 It is a favor given even to one who does not deserve it. 05:12 Grace provides the guilty with an immunity or exemption 05:16 from the penalty of sin. 05:18 You see, there was war in heaven. 05:20 The Bible tells us that the angel who God created 05:23 to stand next to him, to carry out His bidding 05:26 chose to rebel against his Creator. 05:29 This angel brought that rebellion to earth 05:31 and tempted our first parents to rebel with him. 05:34 God told Adam and Eve that their happiness was dependant 05:37 upon complete obedience to His law of love. 05:41 He told them that if they disobeyed they would die. 05:45 But they chose to sin, to disobey. 05:48 From that day to this all mankind has suffered... 05:52 War, famine, heartache and eventually death. 05:57 Man does not deserve any more of God's goodness. 06:01 We've chosen to rebel. 06:03 But God wants to restore us 06:05 to His kingdom of goodness and love. 06:07 He wants us to be saved. 06:10 So God offers each of us His saving grace, 06:14 even though we don't deserve it. 06:16 If you take the time to read every text in the Bible 06:19 on this subject you will find that some well meaning people, 06:22 in their zeal for others to know about God's Grace, 06:25 only present a shallow perspective of what SAVED is. 06:28 Perhaps you are one of those people who've been asked, 06:31 "Are You Saved?" 06:33 For me the answer is simple. 06:36 I have been saved 06:38 and I am being saved 06:40 and by faith, I will be. 06:43 SAVED is like a simple math problem, 06:45 1 + 1 + 1 equals 3. 06:49 If three is SAVED you need all three parts 06:53 to have complete salvation. 06:55 Let me explain. 06:57 This is SALVATION. 07:00 But complete salvation is made up of three 07:02 related but different parts. 07:04 Just as an egg has three parts, the shell, the egg white 07:09 and the yoke, so salvation has three parts. 07:13 The first part of SAVED is called Justification. 07:17 This is the part where God calls you righteous. 07:21 This is the way Paul described it 07:23 when he was writing to Timothy. 07:25 2 Timothy 1:9 "[He] has saved us and called us 07:28 with a holy calling, not according to our works, 07:31 but according to His own purpose and grace 07:34 which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. 07:39 " Notice when this happened. 07:41 "Before time began. " 07:44 God, just because He is God, the Creator 07:47 of all things decides He wants to save us. 07:50 So before time even began 07:52 he set about the work of saving you and me. 07:55 Not because we asked Him to, 07:57 but because of His great love He just wants to. 08:01 Notice again the past tense of this verse in Colossians. 08:05 Colossians 1:13 "He has delivered us 08:07 from the power of darkness 08:09 and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love," 08:13 "Has delivered us. " 08:15 "Has translated us. " 08:17 Justified, called righteous. 08:20 All this is past tense and spoken by God before it happened 08:24 as if it already had happened because 08:27 in His mind it already has. 08:30 Are you perfect? 08:31 Are you sinless? 08:33 Are you just before a holy God? 08:36 No your not. 08:37 In fact none of us are. Then how can God call us righteous? 08:41 The same way he called Abraham the father of a great nation 08:46 in Genesis chapter 12, even though at age 75 08:49 he had NO children! 08:51 But 25 years later at age of 100, 08:54 his wife at 90 and well past child bearing Isaac is born 08:58 to this aged couple just because God decided - and made it so. 09:04 That's the power of God's justification. 09:08 Romans 4:17 tells us "(As it is written, I have made thee 09:12 a father of many nations,) before whom he believed, 09:17 even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things 09:20 which be not as though they were. 09:23 Abraham wasn't even a father of one child 09:27 let alone a great nation. But God calls those things 09:31 which be not as though they were. 09:35 So the first part of the SALVATION process 09:37 is Justification. 09:38 God calling you saved, calling you perfect, 09:42 calling you His son, His daughter. 09:45 You look at yourself and you say, "No way. I'm not perfect, 09:48 I'm not sinless. " 09:50 But you are in Him. That's the message Paul 09:54 is trying to get the folks in Ephesus to understand. 09:58 In Ephesians Chapter 1 He says, 10:01 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 10:05 who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings 10:08 in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us 10:11 in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be 10:15 holy and without blame before him in love: 10:17 [He] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children 10:21 by Jesus to himself, according to the good pleasure 10:24 of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, 10:28 wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 10:31 In whom [in Him] we have redemption through his blood, 10:35 the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches 10:37 of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us 10:39 in all wisdom and prudence; [He] Having made known unto us 10:43 the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure 10:47 which he hath purposed in himself: 10:49 That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might 10:53 gather together in one all things in Christ, 10:57 both which are in heaven, 10:58 and which are on earth; even in him:" 11:01 Justification is what He did for us. 11:05 Now let's look at the second part of SALVATION, 11:07 it's called Sanctification. 11:11 Sanctify in the Bible is the same as Holy. 11:13 Something that is holy or sanctified 11:15 is something that is set apart for a certain use. 11:19 Your iron for example. 11:20 Your iron might be holy for ironing your clothes. 11:24 You don't want your children to use it 11:26 for waxing their snowboards. 11:29 If we were going to be SAVED then we must be Holy, 11:33 we must be Sanctified, we must be set apart 11:36 for God and God alone. 11:39 This step, Sanctification, is where God doesn't just call us 11:43 righteous, but He actually and in fact makes us righteous. 11:47 And He has to do this miracle, this new heart transplant 11:51 because only good people get to go into the Holy city. 11:56 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit 11:59 the kingdom of God? Paul tells us 12:01 1 Corinthians 6:9 Do not be deceived: 12:03 Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers 12:09 nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 12:12 1 Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves nor the greedy 12:16 nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers 12:19 will inherit the kingdom of God. 12:21 1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what 12:23 some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, 12:28 you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ 12:33 and by the Spirit of our God. " 12:36 Sanctification is the step in Salvation that gives us 12:40 a new heart so that the liar becomes honest, 12:44 the drunkard becomes sober, the lustful person becomes pure. 12:48 Some folks think it doesn't matter if we keep on sinning 12:52 just as long as we accept God's declaration of Justification 12:56 but the Bible tells us differently. 12:59 Paul tells us in Hebrews chapter 10:26 & 27 13:03 " if we sin willfully after we have received 13:07 the knowledge of the truth, 13:09 there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins" 13:14 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment 13:18 and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 13:24 Jesus tells us that heaven, His New Jerusalem will be 13:28 a place of purity, safety and holiness. 13:32 "And there shall in no wise 13:33 enter into it any thing that defileth, 13:37 neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: 13:41 but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. " 13:45 So Justification is God declaring 13:48 we are fit to live with Him. 13:50 Sanctification is God making us fit to live with Him. 13:54 We need just one more part of this equation 13:58 to complete the SALVATION process. 14:01 The third part is Glorification. 14:03 Glorification is when God gives us a new body 14:07 at His second coming. 14:09 Paul talked about it in 1 Corinthians chapter 15:50 14:12 "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood 14:16 cannot inherit the kingdom of God; 14:18 neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. " 14:21 1 Corinthians 15:51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; 14:25 We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed," 14:28 1 Corinthians 15:52 "In a moment, 14:30 in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet 14:33 shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, 14:38 and we shall be changed. " 14:40 1 Corinthians 15:53 "For this corruptible must 14:41 put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 14:46 " 1 Corinthians 15:54 "So when this corruptible 14:47 shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have 14:51 put on immortality, then... 14:53 Death is swallowed up in victory. 14:56 1 Corinthians 15:57 "... thanks be to God, 14:58 which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. " 15:03 Someday Jesus is coming again. 15:07 Someday soon He will give each of us a new glorified body 15:11 and transport us into the Holy city of God. 15:15 Then and only then can we say with absolute confidence, 15:20 "I AM SAVED." 15:23 But be assured of this, God wants you to be saved. 15:27 He wants you to live with Him in heaven. 15:30 2 Corinthians 5:19 "... God was in Christ, 15:32 reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their 15:35 trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us 15:39 the word of reconciliation. " 15:41 John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, 15:44 that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 15:47 believeth in him should not perish, 15:50 but have everlasting life. " 15:53 You are loved by the God of the Universe, the God of creation. 15:58 He is wild about you, He wants you to be part of His family. 16:03 He is willing to declare you righteous, 16:06 to look at you as if you had never sinned! 16:09 That is just the first step in SALVATION. 16:13 Romans 5:1 "Therefore being justified by faith, 16:15 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" 16:19 Just imagine a man and a woman who love each other deeply. 16:23 They choose to have a child and wait patiently 16:25 until the child is ready to be born. 16:28 Then comes that great day - He's born! 16:30 Now they plan with joy to soon take the little tyke home. 16:34 That child is loved, it was loved before it was conceived. 16:38 It is loved while it is being carried and now the parents 16:41 are ready to take their treasure home but they discover 16:44 this new member of the family has a heart problem. 16:48 Do you think that they love their baby less? 16:51 This is what justification does. 16:54 Justification declares, 16:56 "I still love this child. He is precious to me. " 17:01 Nothing is withheld to make sure 17:03 the child gets well and can come home. 17:05 No money is too much money. 17:07 No care is too much care, no trial too heavy, 17:11 no waiting too long. 17:14 This is what Sanctification is all about. 17:17 Just as surely as the child is loved and cherished 17:20 by the parents, even with the defects, 17:23 they are not contented to leave their precious treasure 17:26 in that less than perfect condition. 17:28 And so the work is done, the sacrifices made, 17:31 and then that glorious morning arrives. 17:35 It is home coming day! 17:38 That is like glorification, when all that is wrong 17:41 is made right, all that was inadequate is complete, 17:45 all that was to be - is. 17:51 This is SAVED. 17:54 This is the ticket. 17:55 But there is one more important point 17:58 to this three-step process. 18:00 It's all about HIM. 18:02 He loved us first. 18:05 Paul tells us in Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love 18:08 toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, 18:11 Christ died for us. 18:13 You see, it's all about Him. 18:15 While we were enemies He called us friend. 18:18 Romans 5:8 is not just theory. 18:20 Judas, was His disciple and the very one 18:24 who betrayed him with a kiss. 18:27 And what does Jesus say to Him? 18:31 Matthew 26:50 "Friend. " 18:32 He justifies us. He calls us friend. 18:36 He dies for us in a plan He made even before humanity rebelled. 18:42 He is our righteousness! He is our justification. 18:46 It's all about HIM. 18:48 He chose you before the foundation of the world. 18:52 That's what it tells us in Ephesians 1:4 18:54 "... He (God) chose us in (Christ) before the foundation 18:59 of the world, that we should be holy and without blame 19:03 before Him in love. " 19:05 From the inception of life God chose 19:08 that our lives would be holy. 19:10 It is not just a good idea. 19:13 It's His stated mission and purpose for us. 19:17 1 Peter 1:16 "Be ye holy; for I am holy. " 19:20 For His kingdom of love to work we have to be like Him. 19:25 We have to be holy. 19:27 But we can't do that so He makes it happen. 19:30 John 1:12 "But as many as received him, 19:32 to them gave he power to become the sons of God, 19:35 even to them that believe on his name:" 19:39 First God gives us the motivation to obey. 19:43 He talks about that motivation in Jeremiah Chapter 31:33 19:48 "But this shall be the covenant that I will make 19:51 with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, 19:54 I will put my law in their inward parts, I will write it 19:59 in their hearts; and will be their God, 20:02 and they shall be my people. 20:04 Then He gives us the power to obey. 20:08 "For it is God which worketh 20:09 in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. " 20:13 Simply - He is the reason we are sanctified. 20:17 He guides us with His wisdom and truth, motivates us 20:21 with His Holy Spirit and love, empowers us with His divinity. 20:25 He is our sanctification. He is our righteousness. 20:30 It's all about HIM. 20:32 He's the one, the only one, who has true glory. 20:36 And do you know what that glory is? 20:39 Moses asked to see it one day. 20:42 Exodus 33:18 "And he said, I beseech thee, 20:43 shew me thy glory. " 20:46 And God passed by and showed Him His glory... 20:49 Exodus 34:6 "... The LORD God, merciful 20:52 and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant 20:54 in goodness and truth, 20:55 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity 20:58 and transgression and sin, and that will by 21:01 no means clear the guilty; 21:05 His glory is His goodness, His goodness to those 21:09 who do not deserve it. His glory is His mercy 21:14 and His kindness, His forgiveness and His grace. 21:18 King David said it like this... 21:21 Psalms 21:5 "His glory is great 21:23 in your salvation. 21:26 It's all about HIM, but in the most selfless of ways. 21:31 On that great day when He returns in power 21:35 and might His glory and our glory will be the same. 21:39 The glory will be His goodness, His character, and that goodness 21:44 and character will be ours because daily 21:46 we have accepted His salvation. Accepted His assessment 21:50 that we are His righteous children. 21:54 Accepted His indwelling grace to live a sanctified life. 21:58 And on that grand and glorious day, those who accept Him 22:03 will be able to sing 22:05 Jude 24-25 "Now unto him 22:07 that is able to keep, able to keep you from falling, 22:11 and to present you faultless before the presence 22:15 of his glory with exceeding joy," 22:17 Jude 25 "To the only wise God 22:19 our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, 22:24 both now and ever. Amen. 22:30 Do you want to have His ticket to heaven? 22:32 Do you want to be SAVED? 22:35 Well, just as you must pay your money to receive your ticket 22:38 to get into the movies there are some conditions 22:41 to getting your ticket into heaven. 22:44 First you must admit three things: 22:47 The first thing you must admit is I am a sinner. 22:51 Paul tells is in Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and come 22:54 short of the glory of God. " 22:56 We have to accept that is God's assessment of our lives. 22:59 I am a sinner. 23:02 Secondly, I am doomed to die. 23:05 "The wages of sin is death. " Paul tells us in Romans 6:23. 23:10 The wages of sin is death. We've earned death, 23:13 we've worked hard for it. We've sinned and sinned 23:16 and we deserve to die. 23:19 And then, three, I cannot save myself. 23:23 Jesus says "Without me you can do nothing. " John 15:5 23:27 I can't save myself. If I'm drowning in a middle of a lake, 23:30 I can't throw myself a life preserver, 23:33 we have to trust in Jesus to do that for us 23:37 and then you must believe three things. 23:40 The first thing you must believe is that He died for me. 23:44 Paul tells us that He tasted death for every man 23:48 that includes you. 23:50 Admit it, believe it. He died for me, He wants me, 23:54 He cares about me. I'm special to Him. 23:58 Secondly, He forgives me. 24:02 The Bible tells us that if we confess our sins He is faithful 24:05 and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us 24:08 from all unrighteousness. In 1 John 1:9 24:11 He forgives me, I have to believe that. 24:14 I don't deserve it. But He wants to do it. 24:18 I choose to accept it, His forgiveness for me. 24:21 And then last, He saves me, I have to believe 24:25 that He saves me. 24:27 "He that believeth on Me will have everlasting life. " 24:31 Jesus told us in John 6:47. 24:33 Do you believe on Him? 24:35 Believe that He saves you and He will. 24:39 By asking for, believing in, and accepting 24:42 the great gift of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, you can be saved. 24:48 Justified, Sanctified and Glorified. 24:53 Justified, declared righteous as though you had never sinned. 24:57 Sanctified, actually made righteous 25:00 by His indwelling Holy Spirit. 25:03 And Glorified, recreated in the likeness of God, 25:07 first in our character each day and finally, in body as well 25:12 on that resurrection morning at His second coming. 25:16 And what makes this all possible? 25:18 After Adam and Eve sinned, God decided that 25:21 He would take the penalty for their disobedience and ours. 25:25 He humbled Himself, came to earth as a baby and was borne 25:30 in a stable in Bethlehem. 25:33 He lived His whole life serving others, caring about others. 25:38 And then He died on a hill just outside Jerusalem. 25:42 This old stone quarry had come to look like a skull. 25:46 There He hung and bled for hours, 25:49 spotless, pure and undefiled. 25:53 At His death he was taken to a tomb that "was nigh at hand". 25:59 The grave couldn't hold Him. Satan couldn't keep Him there. 26:02 The Roman soldiers were no match for the glory of the single 26:06 angel that made them fall to the ground as dead men. 26:11 Then the angel's voice was heard, "Son of God, come forth; 26:15 thy Father calls thee," and Jesus came forth from the grave 26:20 with the step of a mighty conqueror. 26:23 The Monarch of heaven, proclaimed 26:25 over the rent tomb of Joseph, 26:27 "I am the resurrection, and the life. " 26:32 Today, Jesus is offering you His gift of Salvation. 26:36 Not a temporary salvation like from a fire or from drowning. 26:40 He's offering you Himself. He is the one who gives you 26:45 His justification, His sanctification, 26:48 His glorification. He is our righteousness! 26:53 He is our ticket to heaven! 26:58 Yes, Jesus is the ticket, 27:01 and today He is offering Himself to you. 27:04 Will you accept His offer to pay the cost of your salvation? 27:08 This topic is far too important to take casually, 27:11 so get your pen and paper ready for our free study guide. 27:15 It will help you find the answers to your questions 27:17 right from the Bible. 27:19 Questions like, "Does God really care about someone like me? 27:22 How can I be sure of that love? 27:25 And how can I receive Him and pass from death to life? 27:28 And much more. 27:29 Now here is the information you'll need. 27:33 Rescue from Above 27:37 To acces this powerfull resource go to www. amazingfacts. org. 27:43 and simply select the studies button. 27:46 From there, you can order the entire set of the study guides 27:50 or you can look and listen to this particular study guide. 27:54 You can even enroll to the free online bible study course 27:57 wich will answer many of your bible questions. 28:00 Again, this study guide is available to you anywhere 28:03 in the world at www. amazingfacts. org 28:10 Eternal life or eternal death? Saved or lost? 28:14 These are the two choices everyone must make. 28:18 In our next program Charles will go in search of the truth 28:22 concerning death. 28:24 You will join him on Mt. Gilboa in Israel. 28:27 We'll see you next time as we go together 28:30 in search of the truth. |
Revised 2014-12-17