Welcome to this presentation 00:00:20.86\00:00:23.44 of Revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:00:23.74\00:00:26.98 And we are looking at the sixth presentation 00:00:27.18\00:00:32.49 that we've done so far 00:00:32.69\00:00:34.06 if you followed us each one of those. 00:00:34.26\00:00:36.59 We're to the fifth church 00:00:36.89\00:00:39.33 which is the church of Sardis. 00:00:39.63\00:00:43.11 And so that's what we'll be looking at today 00:00:43.41\00:00:46.74 as we look at the church of Sardis. 00:00:47.04\00:00:49.33 But we hope that as we've gone through each one of these 00:00:49.63\00:00:53.21 that they help you not only see what counsel 00:00:53.51\00:00:56.49 God has for you as an individual 00:00:56.69\00:00:59.39 but it also helps you to understand the church back then 00:00:59.70\00:01:02.46 and helps you understand the church age 00:01:02.76\00:01:05.79 and what is taking place there. 00:01:06.09\00:01:07.84 And so we hope this all fits together. 00:01:08.14\00:01:10.35 And to those of you who are watching by television 00:01:10.55\00:01:13.63 we thank you... glad to welcome you. 00:01:13.93\00:01:16.39 If you're listening on the radio, 00:01:16.69\00:01:18.06 glad that you're tuning in. 00:01:18.26\00:01:19.96 And those that are watching on the Internet 00:01:20.26\00:01:22.52 we hope that these presentations will be a blessing to you 00:01:22.82\00:01:26.19 as we continue to go through the book of Revelation. 00:01:26.49\00:01:29.30 This is a study. This is not entertainment. 00:01:29.60\00:01:35.55 This is a study... 00:01:35.69\00:01:37.88 a study of the book of Revelation chapter by chapter. 00:01:38.18\00:01:43.54 So that's what we're looking at. 00:01:43.84\00:01:45.29 And we hope that as we go through, 00:01:45.59\00:01:47.78 you have your Bibles with you. 00:01:47.98\00:01:49.90 Take your highlighter... highlight some of those texts. 00:01:50.20\00:01:53.14 Write down notes. Begin to put it together 00:01:53.44\00:01:56.24 so that when this series is finished 00:01:56.44\00:01:59.46 you ought to be able to read through 00:01:59.77\00:02:02.03 the seven churches of Asia Minor... 00:02:02.23\00:02:04.79 understand what God was talking about. 00:02:05.09\00:02:07.33 What He was having to say to that church. 00:02:07.53\00:02:09.14 When we're finished with the whole presentation, 00:02:09.45\00:02:12.79 you should be able to read the book of Revelation 00:02:13.09\00:02:15.75 and say: "Yeah, I know what the Lord's talking about here. " 00:02:16.05\00:02:19.07 That's the purpose of it. 00:02:19.37\00:02:20.82 And so we hope that you are following as we continue 00:02:21.12\00:02:24.18 to study the book of Revelation. 00:02:24.38\00:02:27.38 We're very happy each evening to have Chuck Allgaier 00:02:27.68\00:02:32.43 come out and to read the scripture to you. 00:02:32.63\00:02:34.87 And you can either follow in your Bible 00:02:35.17\00:02:37.53 or you can watch it on the screen... 00:02:37.83\00:02:39.64 whichever you want to do. 00:02:39.84\00:02:41.27 But we want you to get an overall picture 00:02:41.58\00:02:44.45 of what Christ is saying to that particular church 00:02:44.75\00:02:47.75 at that time and what counsel it may have to you 00:02:48.05\00:02:52.10 as an individual. So that's the reason we have it read to you 00:02:52.30\00:02:55.75 as he goes through it with you each evening. 00:02:56.05\00:02:58.82 Also, during this particular session 00:02:59.13\00:03:01.12 we've been very happy to have Joe Pearles with us. 00:03:01.42\00:03:05.51 Joe comes from a place called Greenbrier 00:03:05.81\00:03:09.77 which is just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, 00:03:09.97\00:03:12.85 where he raised his family and lived there 00:03:13.15\00:03:15.95 and conducts a music ministry traveling all over this country 00:03:16.26\00:03:21.53 and out of the country singing and praising the Lord. 00:03:21.73\00:03:26.04 And it's always wonderful to have Joe come and sing for us. 00:03:26.24\00:03:29.43 And today he's going to sing a song entitled 00:03:29.73\00:03:32.63 Something Good is Happening in Galilee. 00:03:32.93\00:03:36.02 But before he does, 00:03:36.12\00:03:37.22 Chuck Allgaier is going to come and read the Word of God to you. 00:03:37.42\00:03:40.99 If you have your Bible with you, 00:03:47.58\00:03:49.11 would you like to turn to the book of Revelation 00:03:49.31\00:03:52.13 chapter 3 verses 1 through 6. 00:03:52.44\00:03:56.34 That's Revelation chapter 3 verses 1 through 6. 00:03:56.65\00:04:00.59 Let us read: 00:04:00.89\00:04:03.71 When He was 12 He was found 00:05:34.24\00:05:38.56 in the temple 00:05:38.86\00:05:41.85 confounding 00:05:42.98\00:05:45.41 Jerusalem's wise men. 00:05:45.61\00:05:50.03 But from then till He was 30 00:05:51.45\00:05:55.25 and was baptized by John 00:05:55.65\00:05:59.64 we don't see Him in God's story 00:05:59.94\00:06:04.84 again. 00:06:04.94\00:06:07.90 What was Jesus doing 00:06:08.34\00:06:12.76 before His ministry began 00:06:13.06\00:06:17.03 but making plans to save 00:06:17.33\00:06:21.73 you and me 00:06:22.04\00:06:24.74 and growing in favor 00:06:26.25\00:06:30.12 with God and with man. 00:06:30.42\00:06:34.36 Something good was going on 00:06:34.66\00:06:38.64 in Galilee. 00:06:38.84\00:06:42.56 Was He often on the street 00:07:00.95\00:07:04.62 there in Nazareth 00:07:05.12\00:07:08.58 as He was in the town 00:07:08.88\00:07:13.19 synagogue? 00:07:13.50\00:07:16.73 Do you suppose He was happy 00:07:17.84\00:07:21.67 or was He mostly alone? 00:07:21.97\00:07:26.07 This young man whose real Father 00:07:26.37\00:07:31.25 was God. 00:07:31.45\00:07:34.47 What was Jesus doing 00:07:34.77\00:07:39.34 before His ministry began 00:07:39.64\00:07:43.48 but making plans to save 00:07:43.78\00:07:47.91 you and me 00:07:48.21\00:07:51.44 and growing in favor 00:07:52.63\00:07:56.69 with God and with man. 00:07:56.99\00:08:00.93 Something good was going on 00:08:01.23\00:08:05.36 in Galilee. 00:08:05.56\00:08:09.20 Something good 00:08:09.77\00:08:11.93 was going on 00:08:11.96\00:08:14.02 in Galilee. 00:08:14.32\00:08:18.57 Our gracious Lord, 00:08:36.79\00:08:38.59 we come to You today 00:08:39.71\00:08:42.13 praying, Lord, that we 00:08:43.51\00:08:45.62 might make sure, Lord, 00:08:46.82\00:08:50.32 that our lives are committed to You. 00:08:50.63\00:08:54.79 That they may be filled with Your Spirit. 00:08:55.39\00:08:58.40 That we might know Your presence. 00:08:59.41\00:09:02.09 Help us, Lord, to be alive. 00:09:02.39\00:09:06.61 To be active. 00:09:06.91\00:09:09.08 Carry forth their message and prepare our hearts and our souls 00:09:09.38\00:09:15.14 for Your soon return. 00:09:15.44\00:09:17.93 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 00:09:18.23\00:09:22.19 Well, step by step 00:09:26.90\00:09:28.72 we are going through the different churches. 00:09:29.02\00:09:31.70 Started out with Ephesus 00:09:32.00\00:09:34.03 talking about this church that had a problem... 00:09:34.33\00:09:38.06 it had left its first love. 00:09:38.26\00:09:40.32 And then we looked at Smyrna which 00:09:40.62\00:09:43.65 went through a great amount of suffering... 00:09:43.95\00:09:46.68 and yet no rebuke. 00:09:46.98\00:09:49.58 Christ talked about what she had done. 00:09:49.89\00:09:52.39 Told her to be faithful. 00:09:52.59\00:09:54.07 But there was no rebuke to that church. 00:09:54.27\00:09:56.87 And then we looked at Pergamos, 00:09:57.17\00:09:59.43 this church that finds itself elevated. 00:09:59.73\00:10:04.09 And we find the inroads of the world and the state 00:10:04.29\00:10:08.52 coming into the church. 00:10:08.82\00:10:09.96 Then we took a look at Thyatira 00:10:10.26\00:10:13.90 and we found out that as the world moved into the church 00:10:14.20\00:10:18.15 much of what she held she lost. 00:10:18.45\00:10:22.59 What she faced at the beginning of the Reformation. 00:10:22.89\00:10:27.07 And now we're taking a look at Sardis here... the 5th one. 00:10:27.37\00:10:32.65 And He addresses the church and says: 00:10:32.95\00:10:34.84 To this particular church... writing and giving them counsel 00:10:38.28\00:10:43.48 as to what is happening. 00:10:43.68\00:10:45.40 This word Sardis means that which remains. 00:10:45.70\00:10:49.09 And that's very, very important 00:10:51.74\00:10:54.44 because of the situation of that church at that time: 00:10:54.74\00:10:58.31 that which remains. 00:10:58.61\00:11:00.66 As you can see on the map, we've come from Ephesus 00:11:00.96\00:11:05.85 up to Smyrna, Pergamos... all along the coast 00:11:06.15\00:11:09.27 of the Aegean Sea. 00:11:09.58\00:11:10.70 Then we moved to the east and a little south to Thyatira 00:11:11.01\00:11:15.60 and now we're moving a little farther east 00:11:15.90\00:11:18.23 and a little farther down to that of Sardis. 00:11:18.44\00:11:21.69 But when you come down here and you start over to 00:11:21.99\00:11:27.25 Sardis, all of a sudden you come to a large mountain. 00:11:27.55\00:11:33.52 Mount Tmolus rises 6,700 ft. 00:11:33.83\00:11:39.52 from the plain there. And as you get over close to the mountain 00:11:39.82\00:11:43.57 and approach it, up on the edge of the mountain 00:11:43.87\00:11:47.47 partly up on the side of the mountain about 1,500 ft. 00:11:47.77\00:11:51.56 you find the city of Sardis. 00:11:51.86\00:11:54.76 That's where it was built. 00:11:54.96\00:11:56.46 Behind there you can see... these are the ruins 00:11:56.67\00:11:59.10 and behind of it you can see the fog there... 00:11:59.40\00:12:01.77 but there's Mount Tmolus back behind it. 00:12:01.97\00:12:04.84 This is where Sardis was built. 00:12:05.14\00:12:08.46 This was a Lydian city 00:12:08.76\00:12:12.23 built about 1100 BC was when it started and all. 00:12:12.43\00:12:17.99 And it was... it became the capital of the Lydian Empire 00:12:18.23\00:12:22.98 and was an extremely wealthy city 00:12:23.28\00:12:25.92 and really governed the whole part of the world 00:12:26.22\00:12:30.22 at that time from Lydia. 00:12:30.43\00:12:32.87 And it was a very, very important part. 00:12:33.18\00:12:37.78 Went there... and there they carried on their activites 00:12:38.18\00:12:43.55 and operated the government and all from that. 00:12:43.75\00:12:46.70 Since it was built here on this 00:12:47.00\00:12:50.44 side of the mountain 00:12:51.95\00:12:53.62 the embankment that came up there was almost perpendicular. 00:12:53.92\00:12:59.59 I mean, and the only way you could get to Sardis 00:12:59.82\00:13:03.31 was through a narrow passage up that. 00:13:03.41\00:13:05.95 And it was easily guarded and was considered impregnable... 00:13:06.15\00:13:10.54 that you couldn't possibly get into it. 00:13:10.84\00:13:12.89 The only problem with that is 00:13:13.29\00:13:15.94 is when you have something like that 00:13:16.34\00:13:19.00 and you think something can't change or can't be overtaken 00:13:19.30\00:13:23.35 or it's impregnable or whatever, 00:13:23.55\00:13:25.30 you have a tendency to be over-confident. 00:13:25.60\00:13:28.85 You know. And when Cyrus of the Medes 00:13:29.15\00:13:33.06 came down to where that city was there in the valley 00:13:33.36\00:13:38.16 they saw him there but they didn't pay any attention. 00:13:38.46\00:13:40.87 They figured it was impregnable; 00:13:41.17\00:13:43.60 that nobody could get to them; that they were all right. 00:13:43.80\00:13:47.42 And one of Cyrus's soldiers 00:13:47.93\00:13:51.36 went over that night to the edge of the mountain 00:13:51.66\00:13:56.29 and was just studying it... trying to figure out 00:13:56.60\00:13:59.11 how they might could get into the city. 00:13:59.31\00:14:01.45 And while he was there, he noticed some soldiers - 00:14:01.75\00:14:05.80 Lydian soldiers up there in the city - 00:14:06.10\00:14:09.23 talking and laughing. And while they were, one of them 00:14:09.53\00:14:13.51 dropped his helmet, and his helmet fell over the embankment 00:14:13.71\00:14:18.09 down quite a little ways. 00:14:18.39\00:14:20.60 And he watched this soldier come down the embankment 00:14:20.90\00:14:26.75 through a pathway that they didn't know about... 00:14:26.95\00:14:30.24 came down and got his helmet and went back up. 00:14:30.54\00:14:33.36 And he went and got the soldiers and followed that same thing 00:14:34.44\00:14:38.62 back up into the city. And they overthrew the city 00:14:38.82\00:14:43.11 of Sardis. 00:14:43.31\00:14:44.41 Over-confident, see? 00:14:44.71\00:14:47.17 So often we can be over-confident. 00:14:47.47\00:14:52.00 I hear - and I'll say a little more about this - 00:14:52.30\00:14:56.17 but I hear church members say: 00:14:56.47\00:15:00.13 "Oh, we've got the truth. " 00:15:00.44\00:15:01.89 Be careful. You know, there's a great, great danger 00:15:03.48\00:15:07.98 in being so confident that I don't give study, 00:15:08.28\00:15:13.98 I don't give care of the truth that I should. 00:15:14.18\00:15:17.43 Very, very important. 00:15:17.73\00:15:19.45 Also, this was where most historians will tell you 00:15:19.75\00:15:23.63 that money was invented - coin money - was invented. 00:15:23.83\00:15:28.27 And you're looking at a coin that was minted at that time. 00:15:28.57\00:15:32.40 And this was where it came into use 00:15:32.70\00:15:35.51 and exchange was in this city of Sardis 00:15:35.72\00:15:38.77 where they began to use coin money. 00:15:38.97\00:15:41.75 So Sardis had a lot of things that was very interesting, 00:15:42.05\00:15:45.74 very helpful, and gave impetus 00:15:46.05\00:15:50.80 to the world's wealth and direction. 00:15:51.00\00:15:54.00 Now He comes to His identification. 00:15:54.31\00:15:56.45 Christ is identifying Himself to them, and He says: 00:15:56.65\00:15:59.50 You see, it's the Holy Spirit - 00:16:07.52\00:16:10.12 the seven Spirits, the Spirit of God - 00:16:10.42\00:16:12.27 and that word star, folks, refers to messenger - 00:16:12.57\00:16:18.28 it refers to minister. And I can tell you 00:16:18.58\00:16:21.79 it's only when the Spirit of God 00:16:22.09\00:16:25.27 fills a person that he shines. 00:16:25.57\00:16:29.21 Put it down. It doesn't work any other way. 00:16:30.57\00:16:32.98 Without the Spirit of God it's dead. 00:16:33.28\00:16:36.48 It's the Spirit of God that comes in 00:16:36.78\00:16:38.63 and makes the difference, lights up the person's life. 00:16:38.83\00:16:41.84 That's what it does. He - Christ - is the One 00:16:42.14\00:16:44.80 that has the seven Spirits and the seven stars. 00:16:45.00\00:16:48.67 And so what is the condition of the church at Sardis? 00:16:48.97\00:16:54.46 What do we find? 00:16:54.66\00:16:56.02 All of the churches... 00:17:06.87\00:17:09.03 all four of the churches that we have looked at... 00:17:09.33\00:17:13.98 when we come to this part here where He talks about 00:17:14.28\00:17:17.18 the condition of the church He has commended them, 00:17:17.38\00:17:21.20 but this one He condemns. 00:17:21.90\00:17:26.13 He says: "You have a name that you are alive 00:17:26.44\00:17:29.06 but you are dead. " 00:17:29.36\00:17:32.58 Something very, very drastically has happened. 00:17:32.88\00:17:36.62 They have lost their spiritual experience. 00:17:36.83\00:17:39.37 They have lost their experience with Christ. 00:17:39.67\00:17:41.76 They are spiritually no longer alive. 00:17:42.06\00:17:46.05 Now... church age. Uh, again I must emphasize 00:17:46.35\00:17:51.61 this is talking about an age. 00:17:51.81\00:17:53.76 Really when we say beginning about 1700 AD 00:17:54.06\00:17:57.05 that really laps back into the other age 00:17:57.35\00:18:01.72 because there's several things that happened back then 00:18:02.02\00:18:04.22 that brought about the condition of the church here. 00:18:04.52\00:18:07.12 And there's some things in 1800 that take place 00:18:07.42\00:18:10.12 that lap into the next one. So don't try to tie it down 00:18:10.32\00:18:14.43 to an exact date... but it represents an age. 00:18:14.63\00:18:17.94 The dates that I give you there are just to kind of give you 00:18:18.24\00:18:20.95 an idea of the time slot that it fits in. 00:18:21.15\00:18:25.91 But this was the period of time that several things happened - 00:18:26.01\00:18:29.88 that take place - that typify the church of Sardis 00:18:30.08\00:18:34.55 and what happened as far as the church age is concerned, 00:18:34.58\00:18:38.03 and we will talk about that. 00:18:38.23\00:18:40.34 You see, as you read 00:18:40.64\00:18:43.11 about the church of Sardis 00:18:43.61\00:18:47.17 God doesn't say a word about there being a Jezebel. 00:18:47.47\00:18:50.72 He doesn't say anything about there being a Balaam. 00:18:51.12\00:18:55.24 He doesn't say anything about there being the Nicolatians. 00:18:55.54\00:18:59.18 You don't read any of that about that in the church of 00:18:59.48\00:19:03.34 Sardis. Why not? 00:19:03.44\00:19:05.84 I mean, this church is existing. 00:19:06.14\00:19:09.27 Why... why doesn't He talk about this and say 00:19:09.47\00:19:12.55 "these are problems with this church? " 00:19:12.85\00:19:14.61 He doesn't. And the reason He doesn't, folks, 00:19:15.51\00:19:19.22 as far as the church age is concerned 00:19:19.52\00:19:21.93 the Reformation has cleared all that out. 00:19:22.13\00:19:25.42 I mean, those men have got up and they have preached 00:19:25.72\00:19:28.92 and they've cleared all that kind of stuff out. 00:19:29.22\00:19:31.41 And so through the preaching of Luther 00:19:31.72\00:19:33.86 got up and told the people that they found faith 00:19:34.16\00:19:38.97 in Jesus Christ and it was in their commitment to Him 00:19:39.17\00:19:42.25 their acceptance of Him... and he preached 00:19:42.45\00:19:44.56 the gospel to those people and he cleared out all those 00:19:44.76\00:19:47.47 teachings of Gnosticism and all that... got rid of them. 00:19:47.67\00:19:51.92 Along came Calvin, along came Knox 00:19:52.22\00:19:55.69 and Zwingli and all that 00:19:55.89\00:19:57.31 and they cleared that out in the Reformation. 00:19:57.41\00:19:59.90 These people had the truth; they knew what it was. 00:20:00.10\00:20:03.60 It was clear, 00:20:03.80\00:20:06.52 and that had all been done. 00:20:06.82\00:20:09.17 So this is... this is why you don't read anything about 00:20:09.48\00:20:13.91 Jezebel or Balaam or Nicolatians. 00:20:14.11\00:20:18.48 Those are all things that they had taken care of; 00:20:18.69\00:20:21.67 the Reformation had cleared all that out of the churches. 00:20:21.87\00:20:26.53 But the Reformation 00:20:26.83\00:20:30.57 was tremendously hard 00:20:30.87\00:20:34.35 on the Catholic church. 00:20:34.65\00:20:37.54 The reason it was is, of course, 00:20:39.31\00:20:43.33 Luther and Knox and Zwingli 00:20:43.54\00:20:47.74 and all those men preached righteousness by faith. 00:20:48.04\00:20:52.43 They taught the people that Jesus Christ was their Redeemer. 00:20:53.98\00:20:57.92 That He was the Mediator. 00:20:58.23\00:20:59.97 That He was their Savior. 00:21:00.27\00:21:01.72 That the church did not save them. 00:21:02.02\00:21:03.67 And they taught them all those truths. 00:21:03.87\00:21:05.87 And secondly they did something else: 00:21:06.17\00:21:08.23 they preached the prophecies of God's Word. 00:21:08.53\00:21:12.09 They stood up and preached about the prophecies. 00:21:12.49\00:21:14.91 They preached Revelation! 00:21:15.01\00:21:16.39 And Luther got up and he said: 00:21:16.70\00:21:19.38 "That beast there in Revelation 13... 00:21:19.59\00:21:21.43 that's the papal power. " 00:21:21.63\00:21:22.93 And preached it and talked about it. 00:21:23.23\00:21:25.69 And those... preaching of those things 00:21:25.99\00:21:29.22 pulled the people out of Catholicism 00:21:29.42\00:21:33.62 and they came out of Catholicism by the thousands. 00:21:33.82\00:21:38.03 Folks, just through the preaching of John Calvin 00:21:38.33\00:21:43.66 500,000 Frenchmen accepted the Reformation. 00:21:43.96\00:21:49.12 So to give you an idea of what was happening, 00:21:49.42\00:21:52.51 these people were leaving and these were... 00:21:52.81\00:21:54.94 many, many of these people were the intelligenci of the country. 00:21:55.14\00:21:58.43 They were teachers and professor and businessmen. 00:21:58.73\00:22:01.17 This is what was coming out and accepting Christ 00:22:01.47\00:22:04.13 and the Reformation and taking their stand. 00:22:04.43\00:22:06.89 And so what had happened had shaken the Catholic church 00:22:07.19\00:22:12.66 clear to the very foundation. 00:22:12.86\00:22:16.65 And because of that, they called what was known as the 00:22:16.95\00:22:22.54 Council of Trent. 00:22:22.64\00:22:24.66 The Council of Trent was to get the church back 00:22:24.96\00:22:30.56 on a solid foundation 00:22:30.77\00:22:32.78 and to meet the problem of the Reformation. 00:22:33.08\00:22:37.82 This was what the purpose of it was. 00:22:38.12\00:22:39.75 And there was a whole group of cardinals 00:22:40.05\00:22:43.48 and archbishops and bishops, deacons - 00:22:43.68\00:22:47.83 these people that were leaders in the Catholic church - 00:22:48.13\00:22:50.90 that said: "Listen, if the Catholic church 00:22:51.00\00:22:54.21 is going to get on a solid foundation, 00:22:54.41\00:22:57.95 it must come back to the Word of God 00:22:58.25\00:23:01.11 and take a stand solidly on the Word of God. " 00:23:01.31\00:23:04.56 This is where it must stand. 00:23:04.86\00:23:07.18 But there was a group of cardinals 00:23:07.58\00:23:11.80 and archbishops and bishops 00:23:12.10\00:23:16.47 that said: "No. " They said: "If the church 00:23:16.77\00:23:20.86 is going to be on a solid foundation 00:23:21.06\00:23:23.09 then it has to build it on the scripture and tradition. 00:23:23.29\00:23:27.52 They have to be equal streams of truth. " 00:23:27.82\00:23:31.78 Well, the Council of Trent 00:23:35.33\00:23:38.66 lasted for 17 years, 00:23:38.96\00:23:43.26 and this was talked about, argued, 00:23:43.56\00:23:47.99 debated, written about... back and forth, 00:23:48.19\00:23:51.10 back and forth for 17 years. 00:23:51.30\00:23:55.23 Finally at the end of 17 years 00:23:57.68\00:24:00.88 the Archbishop of Reggio 00:24:01.08\00:24:04.49 stood up and gave a presentation. 00:24:04.69\00:24:09.34 And in that presentation he argued and he said: 00:24:09.74\00:24:14.82 "If the church is going to stand on scripture 00:24:15.05\00:24:18.99 and scripture alone, 00:24:19.19\00:24:22.50 then she will have to go back to keeping the Biblical Sabbath 00:24:22.80\00:24:28.35 because the keeping of Sunday is based on tradition 00:24:28.65\00:24:34.11 not on the Biblical teaching of God's Word. " 00:24:34.31\00:24:38.39 And the Council of Trent voted 00:24:40.25\00:24:43.84 that it would take a stand on scripture AND tradition. 00:24:45.01\00:24:50.71 And that's where she stood. 00:24:50.92\00:24:53.18 So she took that stand, and since the Reformers - 00:24:53.49\00:24:58.27 Luther and Knox and Zwingli and those men - 00:24:58.57\00:25:01.40 were preaching and were preaching the prophecies 00:25:01.60\00:25:05.46 and saying "this is the antichrist, " 00:25:05.76\00:25:08.87 the folk called in two men... two priests 00:25:09.17\00:25:13.34 by the name of Ribera and Alcazar... 00:25:13.64\00:25:16.26 and he said: "I don't care what you do, 00:25:16.56\00:25:19.00 but get the finger off of us. " 00:25:19.20\00:25:22.45 Those two priests developed two different concepts 00:25:22.97\00:25:28.56 of prophecy. Now the Reformers... 00:25:28.76\00:25:31.55 if you go back and if you want to read about this 00:25:31.58\00:25:33.86 and you want to study it, then I would recommend 00:25:34.06\00:25:36.10 to you a set of books entitled 00:25:36.30\00:25:37.80 The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers by Froom. 00:25:38.01\00:25:41.39 And He will trace that for you 00:25:41.59\00:25:42.99 step by step so that you can see. 00:25:43.19\00:25:45.28 But the Reformers... they were preaching what is known 00:25:45.58\00:25:47.93 as the historical view of prophecy. 00:25:48.13\00:25:50.77 That's what they were standing for. 00:25:51.07\00:25:52.98 But these two priests developed a view called the Predister view 00:25:53.28\00:25:56.88 and the other was called the Futurist view. 00:25:57.08\00:25:59.73 The Predister view just takes the prophecies 00:26:00.03\00:26:03.54 and sticks them all in the past 00:26:03.74\00:26:06.39 and says they've already been fulfilled. 00:26:06.69\00:26:09.31 They don't have reference to us today. 00:26:09.61\00:26:12.43 And there's still some of that around today, folks, 00:26:12.73\00:26:15.00 that teach that. That that's all been fulfilled; 00:26:15.30\00:26:17.66 it doesn't apply to us today. 00:26:17.86\00:26:19.52 But it didn't really catch on very strong. 00:26:19.82\00:26:22.42 But the other one developed what was known 00:26:22.83\00:26:25.39 as the Futurist view. 00:26:25.59\00:26:27.62 But what he said - and you need to follow me carefully - 00:26:27.92\00:26:31.07 because what he said is: 00:26:31.37\00:26:34.00 "Everything after the 4th chapter of Revelation 00:26:34.20\00:26:40.17 is future. " 00:26:40.47\00:26:42.57 Now when we finish this session on the chuches 00:26:43.98\00:26:47.16 we're going to be starting with the 4th chapter of Revelation. 00:26:47.36\00:26:49.80 And you need to see that and understand it 00:26:50.01\00:26:52.56 because he's saying: "everything from that point on 00:26:52.76\00:26:55.45 is future and the church is going to be raptured out of here 00:26:55.65\00:26:59.70 and it doesn't have any reference to you and I... 00:26:59.90\00:27:02.49 we don't have to be concerned about it 00:27:02.70\00:27:04.27 because we're not going to be here. " 00:27:04.57\00:27:06.14 That idea caught on, and it moved across Europe 00:27:06.44\00:27:12.27 and brought about what was known in history 00:27:12.40\00:27:15.59 as the counter-Reformation. 00:27:15.79\00:27:18.58 And it stopped the growth of the Reformation. 00:27:18.88\00:27:23.72 I'll assure you, it was never God's intention 00:27:24.02\00:27:28.49 that the Reformation would stop in the 1700s. 00:27:28.69\00:27:33.84 It was God's intention that that Reformation 00:27:34.14\00:27:36.93 was to continue on. And it makes reference to that 00:27:37.13\00:27:40.25 here in the church of Sardis. 00:27:40.45\00:27:42.50 I'm giving you this background because you need to understand 00:27:42.80\00:27:45.69 what killed it... what says "you're dead. " 00:27:45.89\00:27:49.08 Because all of a sudden these things begin to be preached 00:27:49.39\00:27:53.77 and people begin to have doubts about what they believed. 00:27:53.98\00:27:57.06 And they began to accept it, and it began to change things. 00:27:57.26\00:28:00.46 Two churches that received no praise: 00:28:00.76\00:28:06.19 Sardis and Laodicea. 00:28:06.49\00:28:09.70 We read about Sardis, 00:28:10.00\00:28:13.44 but as far as the church age is concerned 00:28:14.04\00:28:17.70 we live today in Laodicea. 00:28:18.01\00:28:21.06 If the church in Laodicea doesn't have any praise, 00:28:22.72\00:28:27.65 then you and I better take a good, close look at ourselves 00:28:28.26\00:28:34.18 and ask ourselves some very very pointed questions 00:28:36.09\00:28:39.65 about our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ 00:28:39.85\00:28:42.81 and where we stand... because He has no praise. 00:28:43.11\00:28:46.05 In fact, to be honest about it, He says the church of Laodicea 00:28:46.36\00:28:50.42 "makes Me sick" is what He says. 00:28:50.52\00:28:53.05 So you and I need to look at that. 00:28:53.29\00:28:55.37 Well let's see what He says the problem is. 00:28:55.67\00:28:57.98 "Be watchful, strengthen the things that remain... 00:29:08.20\00:29:13.67 they're ready to die. " 00:29:16.04\00:29:17.74 You see, as time passed on 00:29:18.04\00:29:22.13 and as these Reformers died and fell off 00:29:22.33\00:29:25.23 the others that came on didn't carry the same burden; 00:29:25.53\00:29:28.46 they didn't carry on. 00:29:28.56\00:29:29.56 Just as you are sitting here tonight or watching on 00:29:29.76\00:29:32.47 television or listening on the radio 00:29:32.67\00:29:34.76 forefathers believed and taught and all, and they 00:29:35.16\00:29:39.24 stood for it and it was precious in their sight. 00:29:39.44\00:29:41.41 Do you feel the same way about it? 00:29:41.71\00:29:44.00 That's the question you need to ask yourself: 00:29:46.34\00:29:48.22 do you feel the same way? 00:29:48.42\00:29:49.96 Is it a burning power and passion in your life 00:29:50.26\00:29:53.82 or is it just something you do? 00:29:54.12\00:29:55.79 Because it needs to be there. 00:29:57.49\00:29:59.36 This is what they believed, this is what they taught... 00:29:59.57\00:30:01.61 and these people didn't. And therefore He said: 00:30:01.81\00:30:03.81 "It's ready to die for I have not found your works 00:30:04.01\00:30:06.94 perfect before God. " 00:30:07.14\00:30:08.76 You know, it's one thing to be 00:30:10.54\00:30:15.48 religious... 00:30:15.68\00:30:17.80 The Pharisees, the scribes: 00:30:18.10\00:30:22.88 they were religious. 00:30:23.18\00:30:25.16 You see, exterior religion 00:30:47.24\00:30:51.01 isn't worth anything, folks. 00:30:51.51\00:30:54.56 Exterior religion isn't worth anything. 00:30:54.86\00:30:58.06 If it doesn't touch your heart, 00:30:58.36\00:31:01.59 if it doesn't speak to you in your soul, 00:31:01.89\00:31:07.03 then it's strictly on the outside. 00:31:07.33\00:31:10.63 It's like whitewashing a tomb. 00:31:10.93\00:31:14.02 That has to be real. 00:31:14.52\00:31:17.64 It has to count; it has to work in our lives in a special way. 00:31:17.85\00:31:22.26 You know, I... summer before last 00:31:33.69\00:31:37.13 I spent some time in Europe. 00:31:37.33\00:31:40.35 I can still remember going to Wittenberg 00:31:40.65\00:31:45.68 and going into Martin Luther's church. 00:31:45.98\00:31:49.51 And as I walked into the church the organist was playing 00:31:50.92\00:31:55.88 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. 00:31:55.92\00:32:00.04 And I can remember the chills that it sent up my spine 00:32:00.34\00:32:05.66 as I listened to that and stood in that church 00:32:05.86\00:32:08.79 and the mightiness of it all. 00:32:08.99\00:32:12.05 But after it was over and I walked through that church 00:32:12.35\00:32:17.76 I realized it wasn't anything but a museum. 00:32:18.06\00:32:22.05 That's all it was. 00:32:23.83\00:32:25.48 All the fervor, all the belief, 00:32:25.78\00:32:29.67 all the things that they hoped for, 00:32:29.97\00:32:32.12 all the things that they stood for... was dead. 00:32:32.42\00:32:36.07 No more! It had died! 00:32:36.37\00:32:40.58 As you go throughout Europe 00:32:42.37\00:32:44.88 and you visit these mighty cathedrals 00:32:45.18\00:32:47.78 all they are, folks, is just museums. 00:32:48.08\00:32:50.77 And some of them are graveyards. 00:32:51.07\00:32:53.70 All there... it's all dead. "Having a form of godliness 00:32:54.00\00:32:59.37 but denying the power thereof. " 00:32:59.57\00:33:01.91 No longer do they stand up and say: 00:33:02.11\00:33:04.38 "This is what the Word of God says. This is where we stand. 00:33:04.58\00:33:08.67 We won't be moved. We're not going to compromise. 00:33:08.87\00:33:11.50 We're not going to give up on the Word of God. " 00:33:11.70\00:33:14.06 They don't stand there anymore. 00:33:14.36\00:33:15.74 In fact, most of them are afraid to say anything. 00:33:16.04\00:33:21.06 God says this isn't what He wants. 00:33:23.11\00:33:28.42 You and I need to come back. Says: 00:33:28.72\00:33:31.99 If we aren't, He's going to come upon you and upon me 00:33:35.71\00:33:41.38 as a thief. 00:33:41.68\00:33:43.60 Now I... I just want to say here 00:33:50.60\00:33:54.32 if it happened back then, I can assure you it can happen today. 00:33:56.22\00:34:02.21 And if these people who stood for... so staunchly 00:34:05.61\00:34:11.60 for the truth in the days of Luther and Knox and Zwingli 00:34:11.80\00:34:15.15 and Calvin and those men 00:34:15.35\00:34:16.68 and today are willing to compromise what they believe 00:34:18.11\00:34:24.01 or even willing to go contrary to what a clear 00:34:24.31\00:34:27.21 "thus saith the Lord" says 00:34:27.41\00:34:29.39 then I ask you: 00:34:29.69\00:34:33.31 Can we be in the same position 00:34:35.26\00:34:37.85 that we are willing to compromise our belief 00:34:38.05\00:34:41.23 and say: "it's not that important? " 00:34:41.43\00:34:45.07 Are you watching? 00:34:47.15\00:34:48.98 Are you strengthening the things that remain? 00:34:49.18\00:34:51.96 "Watch out! Make sure that nobody deceives you. " 00:35:04.41\00:35:09.06 I can remember 00:35:12.06\00:35:14.43 being in the church... preaching in a church 00:35:14.53\00:35:19.57 and preaching on the second coming of Christ 00:35:19.87\00:35:23.59 and about the soon return of our Lord. 00:35:25.54\00:35:28.09 And when it was over the pastor told me... he said: 00:35:30.47\00:35:33.30 "Don't you ever preach a sermon like that in this church. 00:35:33.60\00:35:36.40 I don't want my people thinking that Jesus is coming. " 00:35:39.36\00:35:43.43 Dear friend, let me tell you something: 00:35:48.45\00:35:51.35 you can give up the belief, but He says: 00:35:51.85\00:35:57.83 "Take heed that nobody deceives you. " 00:35:58.13\00:36:00.35 Are you spending time in the Word of God? 00:36:00.65\00:36:06.00 Are you too busy today to have worship? 00:36:07.63\00:36:12.34 Are you taking time in the morning and in the evening 00:36:13.81\00:36:18.55 to have worship? 00:36:18.85\00:36:20.80 Or are you so busy you just don't have time to do that? 00:36:21.10\00:36:23.83 Those of you that have children 00:36:26.05\00:36:28.82 are you making sure that child 00:36:29.32\00:36:33.71 understands that to you that is the most important thing 00:36:33.92\00:36:38.72 is to have worship with them? 00:36:40.20\00:36:41.94 That that should be ahead of any other thing 00:36:42.14\00:36:47.01 that you worship God together. 00:36:47.31\00:36:49.86 Are you spending time in prayer? 00:36:52.14\00:36:56.78 Oh, I'm not talking about saying grace at the meal. 00:36:58.68\00:37:03.82 And I believe in that... don't misunderstand me. 00:37:05.45\00:37:07.94 But I'm asking you: do you take time to pray? 00:37:08.24\00:37:11.91 Are you conversing with your Lord? 00:37:12.42\00:37:17.67 Are you talking to Him? 00:37:17.87\00:37:19.58 Are you visiting with Him? 00:37:19.88\00:37:21.83 Are you inviting Him into your life 00:37:23.49\00:37:26.46 to change you and to make you different? 00:37:26.76\00:37:30.61 Are you taking time just to praise Him? 00:37:30.91\00:37:33.68 This we are to be doing. 00:37:36.96\00:37:38.66 I put down just some things that I feel that the church 00:37:40.51\00:37:44.96 of Sardis did that you and I need to be very careful 00:37:45.16\00:37:49.67 of today. And one is self-righteous. 00:37:49.87\00:37:53.93 Be careful, friend, be careful. 00:37:56.25\00:38:00.43 I'll assure you, if your relationship is right 00:38:00.73\00:38:05.41 with Jesus Christ then you won't feel 00:38:05.51\00:38:10.52 self-righteous. I'll assure you. 00:38:10.72\00:38:13.26 That relationship just doesn't promote that. 00:38:13.56\00:38:16.75 It changes that, and there's no such thing 00:38:17.05\00:38:20.98 as being and feeling self-righteous 00:38:21.18\00:38:23.43 if your relationship's right with the Lord. 00:38:23.73\00:38:26.67 Self-importance. 00:38:26.97\00:38:29.67 Like I said, you know: "Oh we've got the truth. " 00:38:29.97\00:38:32.91 You know? 00:38:33.21\00:38:36.25 I have a sister-in-law who's not a Seventh-day Adventist. 00:38:36.55\00:38:42.11 And I can remember talking about 00:38:42.51\00:38:48.02 being in one of our churches, and she had been there visiting. 00:38:48.22\00:38:53.42 And one of the dear saints asked her, said: 00:38:53.73\00:38:56.58 "Are you one of us? " 00:38:56.78\00:38:57.89 You know? You know, in other words 00:38:59.82\00:39:03.72 we place self-importance on ourselves. 00:39:04.02\00:39:08.01 We need to be careful and realize 00:39:08.31\00:39:11.68 that you're not here, that you don't have anything 00:39:11.81\00:39:16.30 if it wasn't for Jesus Christ. 00:39:16.50\00:39:18.53 You and I have nothing to offer. 00:39:18.83\00:39:21.06 It's only through Him that we do. 00:39:21.37\00:39:23.40 Pride in the possesion of a knowledge of truth, 00:39:23.70\00:39:26.94 which they fail to practice. 00:39:27.14\00:39:29.36 I have a knowledge of the truth, 00:39:30.67\00:39:32.71 but I don't practice it. 00:39:33.21\00:39:36.39 No. If you're not walking the talk 00:39:36.69\00:39:42.61 then dear friend, let me tell you something: 00:39:42.91\00:39:45.53 your witness is considered nothing. 00:39:45.73\00:39:49.90 Absolutely nothing! 00:39:50.20\00:39:52.22 You and I must practice what we believe. 00:39:54.24\00:39:59.27 I cannot say: "This is what I believe 00:39:59.37\00:40:02.59 and this is how I act. " 00:40:02.89\00:40:05.61 That won't work. 00:40:06.11\00:40:08.48 You've got to put both of them together. 00:40:08.79\00:40:11.52 And only when you put them together... 00:40:11.82\00:40:14.25 only then will people believe you. 00:40:14.55\00:40:17.28 They won't believe you otherwise. 00:40:17.58\00:40:19.98 You can say all you want to 00:40:20.19\00:40:21.26 about "this is what I believe, " 00:40:21.36\00:40:22.37 but if they see your actions are over here 00:40:22.48\00:40:24.32 they're going to believe your actions. 00:40:24.62\00:40:26.38 That's what they're going to believe. 00:40:26.78\00:40:28.55 So I need to be careful about the truth... what I possess. 00:40:28.76\00:40:33.18 Well, let's see what counsel He gives to the church of Sardis. 00:40:33.48\00:40:38.40 You see, if you and I don't watch, 00:40:56.98\00:41:00.05 we're not going to be ready. 00:41:00.35\00:41:02.48 I will never forget when I was at the Seminary 00:41:04.49\00:41:09.19 in Washington, D.C., 00:41:09.39\00:41:11.19 the teacher gave us an assignment. 00:41:11.50\00:41:14.02 The assignment was that we were to visit five churches 00:41:14.32\00:41:17.45 in the D.C. area and out of that five 00:41:17.65\00:41:22.08 pick one and to write a paper about that one. 00:41:22.28\00:41:26.88 We were to write when the church started. 00:41:27.18\00:41:29.47 We were to write about what their mission was. 00:41:29.67\00:41:31.62 What kind of missionary activities there had been, 00:41:31.92\00:41:34.18 what they had done, and all about their past. 00:41:34.38\00:41:37.43 And so I visited five different churches, 00:41:37.63\00:41:40.06 and I found one that I particularly liked - 00:41:40.26\00:41:42.99 very, very beautiful church - 00:41:43.19\00:41:45.16 and I decided that's the one I'd write the paper on. 00:41:45.46\00:41:48.48 I went to their church library. 00:41:51.15\00:41:56.04 I looked up everything I could find about the church 00:41:56.24\00:41:59.31 and studied the whole history of that church... 00:41:59.61\00:42:02.84 and wrote my paper about it. 00:42:03.14\00:42:05.12 But I just wasn't really satisfied. 00:42:05.42\00:42:10.16 Particularly for the last ten years of the church 00:42:10.46\00:42:13.89 I just didn't feel like I had enough information. 00:42:13.92\00:42:16.37 So I decided to go back and visit the church. Now folks, 00:42:17.88\00:42:20.78 this is a beautiful, beautiful church in Washington, D.C. 00:42:21.08\00:42:25.29 I mean, it's a beautiful structure. 00:42:25.59\00:42:30.06 It looks like a church. 00:42:30.36\00:42:32.25 And when you get there, I can still remember 00:42:32.55\00:42:36.60 when you walk in the front door 00:42:36.90\00:42:38.96 you're met by the deacons. 00:42:39.16\00:42:41.34 A deacon dressed in a tuxedo - 00:42:41.64\00:42:44.36 I mean they are dressed - he will take you 00:42:44.56\00:42:49.45 and usher you to your seat and give you a church bulletin. 00:42:49.65\00:42:53.74 I went in and had a seat. 00:42:55.32\00:42:57.32 The stained-glass windows in that church are just fabulous. 00:42:57.62\00:43:01.78 And it's one of these churches 00:43:02.08\00:43:04.94 when you walk into it even gives you a feeling 00:43:05.14\00:43:08.22 of sacredness and all, you know. 00:43:08.42\00:43:11.75 And went in and had a seat 00:43:11.95\00:43:14.09 and looking at all the beauty of that gorgeous church 00:43:14.29\00:43:18.14 and pretty soon the organist came in and began to play. 00:43:18.34\00:43:21.48 And man, I mean, from the moment he touched the keys 00:43:21.88\00:43:27.79 you could... knew that he was extremely accomplished, 00:43:27.99\00:43:32.57 and the music was beautiful as it came out of that huge 00:43:32.77\00:43:35.80 pipe organ. And after he had played a little while 00:43:36.00\00:43:39.67 the choir began to file in. 00:43:39.87\00:43:42.44 They all filed in and took their place, 00:43:42.74\00:43:45.88 and the moment they sang you could tell this was not 00:43:47.15\00:43:52.09 a choir that practiced once a week. 00:43:52.29\00:43:54.16 I mean, they... their music was fabulous. 00:43:54.46\00:43:59.48 It was just gorgeous, and I sat there... enjoyed it immensely. 00:43:59.68\00:44:03.35 And after that then the minister came out 00:44:03.65\00:44:05.75 and had a wonderful sermon. 00:44:05.95\00:44:07.71 I enjoyed sitting there and listening to it. 00:44:07.91\00:44:10.06 It was a great sermon and all. 00:44:10.27\00:44:12.61 And when the service was all over 00:44:12.85\00:44:14.71 and the deacons ushered us out 00:44:14.92\00:44:17.57 and I was out in the foyer of the church, 00:44:17.77\00:44:19.51 I just stepped over to the side and let people pass by. 00:44:19.71\00:44:23.13 And after a little bit, one of the deacons came over to me 00:44:23.43\00:44:26.29 and said: "Can I help you? " 00:44:26.39\00:44:27.55 And I said: "I hope so. " 00:44:27.65\00:44:29.74 And I told him I was a Seminary student. 00:44:30.04\00:44:31.98 I had been writing a paper on their church, 00:44:32.18\00:44:34.22 and shared some of the things that I had learned 00:44:34.42\00:44:36.48 about their church with him. And I said: 00:44:36.59\00:44:38.27 "What I need to know is I need to know some history 00:44:38.47\00:44:41.37 about the church for the last ten years. 00:44:41.57\00:44:43.30 Can you help me? " 00:44:43.50\00:44:44.57 I said: "For instance, how many people have been brought 00:44:44.77\00:44:47.34 to Christ by this church in the last ten years? " 00:44:47.54\00:44:50.06 And I can remember he hung his head 00:44:51.60\00:44:54.86 and he said: "Not one... not one. " 00:44:55.06\00:44:59.32 You see, it had a name that it was living 00:44:59.62\00:45:03.32 but it was dead. 00:45:03.62\00:45:05.72 You and I can have a name that we're living 00:45:06.03\00:45:10.65 but dear friend, if you're not witnessing, 00:45:10.95\00:45:13.77 if you're not telling other people about Jesus Christ, 00:45:13.97\00:45:16.68 I'm sorry... you're dead. 00:45:16.98\00:45:18.78 Just simply what you and I must do 00:45:19.08\00:45:23.48 if Christ is all and everything to you, 00:45:23.68\00:45:27.71 we need to be telling about Him. 00:45:28.01\00:45:30.05 We need to be preparing our hearts. 00:45:30.25\00:45:32.38 Dear friend, don't let Christ come upon you 00:45:32.68\00:45:36.01 as a thief in the night. 00:45:36.21\00:45:38.20 Because if He comes upon you as a thief, 00:45:38.50\00:45:42.49 you're lost. 00:45:42.69\00:45:44.34 That's what the scripture says. 00:45:44.54\00:45:47.69 Now He doesn't say that everything in Sardis is lost. 00:45:56.63\00:45:59.64 He said: "There's a few names who have walked with Me 00:45:59.94\00:46:03.74 in white... " OK? "They are worthy. " 00:46:03.94\00:46:09.03 These are people that stood for what God's Word said. 00:46:09.33\00:46:14.43 They said: "No, we're going to follow the Word of God. 00:46:16.24\00:46:19.10 We're going to stand here. 00:46:19.50\00:46:21.91 Not going to let teachings that are contrary to scripture 00:46:22.11\00:46:27.12 take us away from God's Word. " 00:46:27.42\00:46:29.65 You need to make sure that you're reading it... 00:46:29.95\00:46:33.09 that you're understanding what the scripture says. 00:46:33.39\00:46:36.00 Spend time in the Word of God, friends. 00:46:36.30\00:46:39.17 And as you read it, God will open it up before you. 00:46:39.47\00:46:42.80 One of the main things is you have to keep your heart open. 00:46:43.10\00:46:47.31 You have to be willing to let the Spirit of God 00:46:47.51\00:46:50.11 guide and lead you, and be willing to walk as He leads you. 00:46:50.14\00:46:54.44 You cannot say: "Well, I understand what that says 00:46:54.74\00:46:59.87 but it's so hard for me to change. " 00:47:00.07\00:47:02.62 It may be hard, but you and I need to surrender 00:47:02.92\00:47:07.31 and let the Holy Spirit do its work in our lives. 00:47:07.52\00:47:10.61 This is how you received; this is how you heard. 00:47:16.58\00:47:20.36 In other words, He's telling you: 00:47:20.66\00:47:22.15 "Get back into the scripture. " 00:47:22.35\00:47:25.29 Believe it; understand it; follow it. 00:47:25.59\00:47:27.75 And I would like to say to those who are watching by television 00:47:36.69\00:47:42.03 or listening on the radio or following on the Internet, 00:47:42.23\00:47:44.78 dear friend, if you have believed 00:47:45.08\00:47:49.07 and have left the Word of God 00:47:49.27\00:47:51.82 and gone off and accepted something different 00:47:52.12\00:47:55.43 than what the Book says, 00:47:55.63\00:47:56.96 then dear friend... come back to what it says! 00:47:58.09\00:48:02.66 Repent and come back and stand on the Word of God. 00:48:02.86\00:48:06.72 God is calling people to do that today. 00:48:07.22\00:48:10.49 And then the promise that He gives: 00:48:10.79\00:48:13.53 Ah, marvelous promise. 00:48:25.32\00:48:26.96 To him who what? Overcomes. 00:48:27.26\00:48:30.89 Dear friend, you and I by the surrendering of our life 00:48:31.39\00:48:36.98 to the Holy Spirit, we must day by day be overcoming. 00:48:37.81\00:48:43.77 That is absolutely important. 00:48:43.97\00:48:46.37 Clothed in white garments, 00:48:46.67\00:48:48.77 and "I'll not blot his name out of the Book of Life. " 00:48:48.97\00:48:52.14 Will be clothed in white garments. 00:48:52.18\00:48:54.37 What a marvelous privilege. Think about that. 00:48:59.99\00:49:03.83 To have Jesus Christ say: 00:49:04.13\00:49:08.32 "Father, John is My servant. 00:49:08.62\00:49:14.54 He follows Me; he obeys Me. 00:49:14.77\00:49:17.53 He's given his life to Me. " 00:49:17.83\00:49:19.94 What a marvelous privilege to have Christ confess your name 00:49:20.14\00:49:22.76 before His Father. 00:49:22.96\00:49:24.95 And it says that if He confesses our name 00:49:25.25\00:49:28.35 then our name is what? 00:49:28.55\00:49:31.81 Entered in the Book of Life. 00:49:32.11\00:49:35.73 Written down in the Book of Life. 00:49:36.03\00:49:39.66 I have a name written down in glory. Amen! 00:49:39.96\00:49:44.51 Marvelous. My name written down in glory. 00:49:44.81\00:49:48.67 Don't have to be in doubt about that, dear friend. 00:49:48.77\00:49:51.61 Just tell you right now... 00:49:51.81\00:49:53.34 if today you've accepted Jesus Christ, 00:49:53.54\00:49:55.68 you've given your heart to Him, 00:49:55.88\00:49:57.14 your name is written down in glory in the Book of Life. 00:49:57.34\00:50:00.65 And because your name is there 00:50:01.05\00:50:03.86 He will confess you before His Father which is in heaven. 00:50:04.06\00:50:07.61 Yes, they're written down in heaven. 00:50:23.30\00:50:26.52 You see your name can be taken from the Book of Life. 00:50:36.06\00:50:40.15 About to be moved out. 00:50:42.25\00:50:44.26 And let me tell you, what makes it taken out of there 00:50:45.32\00:50:48.38 is if you're dead. 00:50:48.58\00:50:50.00 Spiritually you're dead? 00:50:51.71\00:50:53.86 Your name's going to be taken out of the Book of Life. 00:50:54.06\00:50:56.42 So dear friend, don't... don't die spiritually. 00:50:57.02\00:51:02.97 You don't have to. 00:51:03.15\00:51:04.50 Christ will give you life. 00:51:04.81\00:51:06.60 No, doesn't have to happen. 00:51:12.98\00:51:15.74 Marvelous. 00:51:22.55\00:51:23.66 Going to be clothed in white garments. 00:51:23.96\00:51:25.96 White robes given to you and to me. 00:51:49.20\00:51:54.98 White represents purity. 00:51:55.28\00:51:59.46 But let me tell you something: 00:51:59.96\00:52:02.94 it's not your righteousness. 00:52:03.44\00:52:06.60 It's His. 00:52:07.40\00:52:09.69 He has clothed me. 00:52:19.18\00:52:21.10 This is not something that you and I have of our own. 00:52:21.30\00:52:24.77 It's a garment that Jesus Christ gives us. 00:52:25.07\00:52:27.76 He puts that robe on you and covers you 00:52:35.87\00:52:40.15 and your sins are seen no more! 00:52:40.35\00:52:43.94 That Jesus Christ does for us. 00:52:44.24\00:52:47.81 He will confess us before His Father and His angels. 00:52:53.23\00:52:56.38 You see, it's His righteousness friend. 00:53:03.38\00:53:07.65 Not yours. 00:53:09.53\00:53:11.01 It's His righteousness that counts. 00:53:11.31\00:53:14.84 It's His worth. 00:53:15.14\00:53:17.58 Our righteousness is as "filthy rags. " 00:53:19.10\00:53:23.98 It's... He is the One who is worthy. 00:53:24.28\00:53:29.12 And you and I are counted worthy because of Him... 00:53:30.21\00:53:36.17 not because of us. 00:53:36.47\00:53:39.59 It's His integrity that counts. 00:53:39.89\00:53:43.51 He is the One that can stand before His Father and say: 00:53:43.81\00:53:47.18 "Father, I plead My blood in behalf of this person. " 00:53:47.38\00:53:51.54 Now this is talking about you and me... 00:53:54.74\00:53:57.42 and what our part is: 00:53:57.72\00:53:59.41 Dear friend, when it comes to salvation 00:54:10.03\00:54:13.35 that is totally and completely of God. 00:54:13.65\00:54:16.68 You and I can't add one thing to it 00:54:16.98\00:54:20.17 in any way, shape, form, or fashion. 00:54:20.37\00:54:23.54 That is God's. 00:54:23.84\00:54:26.17 When it comes to our responsibility, 00:54:26.47\00:54:29.38 very simple: obey. 00:54:29.68\00:54:31.60 That's it. 00:54:32.00\00:54:33.96 You and I are to obey... to follow. 00:54:34.26\00:54:37.67 He is my righteousness; He is my salvation. 00:54:37.98\00:54:43.24 And thus He says: 00:54:43.34\00:54:44.96 So, God's Word to the church of Sardis: 00:54:51.37\00:54:55.71 those that had a name that they were living but were dead. 00:54:56.01\00:55:00.00 In our next presentation we'll be covering 00:55:00.30\00:55:02.92 the church of Philadelphia: 00:55:03.12\00:55:05.63 the church of brotherly love. 00:55:05.93\00:55:08.87 May God bless you. 00:55:09.17\00:55:10.40 May you have a great, great day. 00:55:10.70\00:55:13.15 Hello, folks. 00:55:14.77\00:55:16.14 One of my favorite things to do in the springtime 00:55:16.44\00:55:18.67 is to take a walk and look at all the new growth. 00:55:18.87\00:55:22.25 The earth seems so fresh, 00:55:22.55\00:55:24.18 and each tree bursts forth with buds and flowers. 00:55:24.38\00:55:27.25 That reminds me of a parable that Jesus told His followers 00:55:27.55\00:55:31.47 in Luke 21. 00:55:31.67\00:55:33.07 You see, He had just described the events which will happen 00:55:33.37\00:55:36.75 immediately before His second coming. 00:55:36.95\00:55:39.36 But in verse 29 Jesus turns their attention 00:55:53.28\00:55:56.97 to the fig tree. 00:55:57.17\00:55:58.42 And ever since then, budding trees have served as a permanent 00:55:58.62\00:56:02.31 reminder that our time here is very short 00:56:02.41\00:56:05.44 and the second coming is very near. 00:56:05.64\00:56:08.61 Folks, many of these signs are already upon us. 00:56:23.37\00:56:27.21 The earth groans from the greed of those who have 00:56:27.51\00:56:30.16 exploited her resources, ravaged her land 00:56:30.26\00:56:33.90 and destroyed plants and animals and atmosphere alike 00:56:34.00\00:56:37.10 in a selfish pursuit of wealth. 00:56:37.30\00:56:39.89 Have you seen the signs? 00:56:40.19\00:56:41.68 Have you seen men's hearts failing with fear? 00:56:41.98\00:56:44.44 If you haven't, then I'm afraid you're not watching 00:56:44.74\00:56:47.53 very closely. However, the Holy Spirit is hard at work 00:56:47.73\00:56:51.53 and so are many Christians who long for an end to sin 00:56:51.73\00:56:55.39 and look forward to their soon-coming Savior. 00:56:55.59\00:56:58.65 That's why we continue to preach the gospel 00:56:58.95\00:57:01.42 to as many as we can through any means that we can 00:57:01.62\00:57:05.68 as often as we can. 00:57:05.88\00:57:07.84 Our ministry team is supported solely 00:57:08.14\00:57:10.40 by your contributions... and we thank you for your 00:57:10.60\00:57:13.78 faithful prayers and financial support. 00:57:13.98\00:57:17.36 May God richly bless you. 00:57:17.66\00:57:19.74 Please consider what you can do for those who still don't know 00:57:19.94\00:57:23.29 about Jesus. As the Holy Spirit impresses, 00:57:23.49\00:57:26.02 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 00:57:26.22\00:57:28.48 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 00:57:40.48\00:57:42.83 through television and radio. 00:57:43.03\00:57:44.65 Your gifts help bring the blessed hope of salvation 00:57:44.85\00:57:47.08 to millions around the world. 00:57:47.28\00:57:49.60