Oh! Lord once again, we gather
into this place expecting to
00:01:04.00\00:01:12.14
hear your word expecting to
hear your voice speaking to our
00:01:12.17\00:01:21.40
soul. Lord we want to find
answers to some of the deepest
00:01:21.43\00:01:27.20
most painful questions that men
and women can ever ask. Please
00:01:27.23\00:01:30.17
give us those answers
this evening. As we look at the
00:01:30.20\00:01:37.05
dragon and the woman
of Revelation chapter 12,
00:01:37.08\00:01:41.74
we ask in Jesus name, amen.
00:01:41.78\00:01:46.24
Last August 14th,
it was just 3 weeks
00:01:50.56\00:02:08.05
before our 27th wedding
anniversary, 6 days before
00:02:08.09\00:02:12.06
Dina's birthday, 5 days
before my birthday, 4 days
00:02:12.09\00:02:18.11
before we would be leaving on
a vacation, we've been looking
00:02:18.14\00:02:22.17
forward to for a long time. I
had 2 frequent flyer tickets to
00:02:22.20\00:02:28.05
the Caribbean Cozumel, Mexico
and my father in law owns it.
00:02:28.08\00:02:33.17
Time share and they weren't
using it last year so they let
00:02:33.20\00:02:38.05
us have it and we have a whole
week in luxury motel in Cozumel
00:02:38.08\00:02:42.11
Mexico. A dream vacation,
we're both avid scuba divers
00:02:42.14\00:02:46.59
and we were just going to
dive and dive and have a great
00:02:46.62\00:02:49.97
time. We were sitting
in the doctor's office
00:02:50.00\00:02:55.34
just for a routine visit I
was sitting in the doctor's
00:02:55.37\00:02:56.34
before we rushed out and went
to pick up our dive equipment
00:02:56.35\00:03:05.44
from the dive shop and the
doctor came in, shook his head
00:03:05.48\00:03:14.66
said, I'm sorry, I was wrong,
Dina has cancer, I couldn't
00:03:14.69\00:03:31.20
believe it. I sat there stunned
Vacation, dream vacation, it
00:03:31.23\00:03:45.01
didn't even matter anymore;
it's gone, but even worse. We
00:03:45.04\00:03:54.28
were getting regular leave
in three weeks for Bozeman,
00:03:54.31\00:04:03.03
Montana for our next revelation
now meeting. We've been doing
00:04:03.06\00:04:04.78
Revelation Now
together for 27 years almost 28.
00:04:04.81\00:04:09.59
I asked the doctor, what
about it? She can't go! No way!
00:04:09.62\00:04:21.35
The next day we took
off for the mountains,
00:04:27.96\00:04:30.61
went to Mount Rainier,
that's Dina's favorite place.
00:04:30.64\00:04:34.03
She loves that mountain.
We just needed to get away,
00:04:34.06\00:04:38.84
we needed to able to
think, to talk, to decide
00:04:38.87\00:04:44.05
what are we going to do?
00:04:44.08\00:04:45.05
One of the things I needed to
process was the question, why?
00:04:45.06\00:04:57.11
We've given almost 28 years of
our lives to God and to His work
00:04:57.14\00:05:03.10
living on road, living out of
suitcases, 7 months out of the
00:05:03.13\00:05:05.66
year in an RV or motel or a
jungle hut, this is what we get?
00:05:05.69\00:05:13.27
Why? We follow the instructions
in the ask the pastor friends
00:05:13.30\00:05:27.22
and couple of church
leaders to come over to
00:05:27.25\00:05:29.98
our house and pray and anoint
her with oil just like the Bible
00:05:30.01\00:05:33.15
say we did. Couple of
days later we went back to the
00:05:33.18\00:05:41.06
doctor and was even worse.
It spread to her bones, so wide
00:05:41.09\00:05:47.27
spread they couldn't do
chemo, radiation, wouldn't work.
00:05:47.30\00:05:56.78
Why? Unfortunately, they
did find a new drug that worked
00:05:56.82\00:06:06.27
some of time and just a couple
of months ago after her first
00:06:06.30\00:06:10.03
round to treatment we
found that it was working and
00:06:10.06\00:06:12.84
hopefully they plan contain the
cancer and it won't spread and
00:06:12.88\00:06:17.80
fortunately she have a lot of
symptoms, no pain, no hair loss
00:06:17.83\00:06:22.72
and we thank God that and
thankfully she's here, me now.
00:06:22.76\00:06:29.20
And we want to do a lot
more Revelation Now meetings for
00:06:29.23\00:06:37.18
God, but why? Can you imagine
how young Cassie Bernall's
00:06:37.22\00:06:45.11
parents must have felt? April
20, 1999 when they kissed their
00:06:45.14\00:06:51.13
teenage daughter goodbye, send
her an off for a day at high
00:06:51.16\00:06:56.99
school she had a little What
Would Jesus Do bracelet on that
00:06:57.03\00:07:02.83
she always wore. She
even had her Bible with her
00:07:02.86\00:07:04.81
She always took it to school,
looking for an opportunity
00:07:04.84\00:07:08.04
to share her faith.
00:07:08.08\00:07:09.29
So, she left to go to school,
Columbine High School and lived
00:07:09.32\00:07:15.28
in Colorado. Two teenage boys
confronted her in library. Do
00:07:15.31\00:07:19.22
you believe in Jesus? Yes,
Jesus is my Lord and savior and
00:07:19.25\00:07:23.16
they blew their brains out.
Why? Oh, why? If God is a God
00:07:23.19\00:07:31.13
love why didn't he stopped
it? could have? Couldn't he?
00:07:31.16\00:07:38.17
He could have.
00:07:38.20\00:07:43.14
What kind of a world
are we living in today?
00:07:43.17\00:07:46.59
Bombs, terrorism, anthrax, gas,
Middle East fighting all the
00:07:46.63\00:07:57.82
time and they sign a
treaty, before the inks dry
00:07:57.86\00:08:00.29
they are fighting again.
00:08:00.32\00:08:01.38
What kind of a world that we're
living in parents strap a pack
00:08:01.51\00:08:05.21
of explosives on the back of a
00:08:05.25\00:08:07.06
four year old kid sending
him to a building them and
00:08:07.10\00:08:09.27
everyone else Why? The Bible
tells us, why? In Revelation
00:08:09.30\00:08:21.26
chapter 12:17 and the dragon
was angry at the woman and
00:08:21.29\00:08:29.14
then, he went off to make
war against the remnant of her
00:08:29.26\00:08:33.26
offspring those who obey
God's Commandments and have the
00:08:33.29\00:08:37.14
testimony of Jesus. The for the
heartache, the reason for the
00:08:37.17\00:08:39.29
testimony of Jesus. The
violence, the reason for the
00:08:39.32\00:08:43.08
terrorism. The reason is
because there is a battle
00:08:43.11\00:08:48.28
between the dragon and
the woman raging in this world
00:08:48.31\00:08:52.25
today and notice the dragon is
angry with those who obey God's
00:08:52.28\00:09:00.21
Commandments. That's you, if
you're determined to be faithful
00:09:00.24\00:09:04.56
to God and as long as
00:09:04.59\00:09:07.08
the battle between the dragon
and the woman rages, there will
00:09:07.12\00:09:11.05
be heartache and suffering
in this whole world then, why
00:09:11.08\00:09:14.08
doesn't God stop it? He
could, couldn't he? He can. Why
00:09:14.11\00:09:20.10
doesn't he? That's what we want
to find out tonight. Revelation
00:09:20.13\00:09:27.03
12:1 read through it with me
the first six verses. How great
00:09:27.06\00:09:29.17
and wonderful sign appeared in
heaven. A woman clothe with the
00:09:29.20\00:09:34.15
sun, pictured in your mind. A
woman clothed with the sun, the
00:09:34.18\00:09:39.06
moon under her feet and a crown
of 12 stars on her head. She
00:09:39.09\00:09:42.12
was pregnant and cried out
in pain as she was about to give
00:09:42.15\00:09:46.21
birth and then, another sign
appeared in heaven an enormous
00:09:46.24\00:09:51.06
red dragon with seven heads and
ten horns and seven crowns on
00:09:51.09\00:09:54.15
his head so, here's this
beautiful woman clothed with a
00:09:54.18\00:09:58.08
son and a red dragon appears
in front of the woman. The Bible
00:09:58.11\00:10:03.14
says his tails swept the third
of the stars out of the sky and
00:10:03.17\00:10:06.14
flung them down to the earth.
The dragon stood in front of
00:10:06.17\00:10:09.11
the woman who was about to give
birth so that he might devour
00:10:09.14\00:10:12.40
her child the moment it was
born. She gave birth to a son,
00:10:12.43\00:10:15.66
a male child who
will rule all the nations
00:10:15.69\00:10:20.75
with an iron scepter.
00:10:20.79\00:10:24.36
And the child was snatched up
to God and to His thrown. Three
00:10:24.40\00:10:32.25
characters in this Prophecy,
the dragon, the woman, and the
00:10:32.28\00:10:39.13
child. And we're going to
identify them. I want to start
00:10:39.17\00:10:45.95
with the easiest one first. The
easiest is the dragon. Who is
00:10:45.99\00:10:54.10
the dragon? Remember the book
of Revelation we learn on the
00:10:54.13\00:10:57.13
first night is the
symbolic book and the secret
00:10:57.16\00:10:59.12
understanding revelation is
to learn how to interpret the
00:10:59.15\00:11:02.09
symbols but the only way you
can safely interpret the symbol
00:11:02.12\00:11:05.24
and be sure that you're getting
the interpretation that God
00:11:05.27\00:11:08.26
intended you to get is to
let the Bible interpret itself,
00:11:08.29\00:11:12.26
remember? And how do you do
it, by comparing Scripture with
00:11:12.29\00:11:16.17
scripture. Now I could tell you
that the dragon is a symbol for
00:11:16.20\00:11:20.17
the devil and you could say
yeah that sounds good to me or
00:11:20.20\00:11:24.20
you could say I don't
believe that, it doesn't matter.
00:11:24.23\00:11:27.10
You don't don't have
to believe what I say.
00:11:27.13\00:11:28.90
But let's compare a
Scripture with the Scripture.
00:11:28.93\00:11:31.98
Let the Bible tell us what the
dragon symbolizes. Just go down
00:11:32.01\00:11:34.23
to verse 9, it's right there
same chapter, Revelation 12:9,
00:11:34.26\00:11:38.26
the Great Dragon was
hurled down that ancient serpent
00:11:38.29\00:11:43.25
called the devil or Satan.
And now you have to believe that
00:11:43.28\00:11:47.01
the dragon symbolizes the devil
because that's what the Bible
00:11:47.04\00:11:48.04
says. You see when you let
the Bible interpret the symbols.
00:11:48.07\00:11:54.08
It's simple and clear and
sure, certain. Now that was an
00:11:54.12\00:11:59.56
easy one. Let's go to ones to
a little more difficult. Who is
00:11:59.59\00:12:04.52
the son that the woman gave
birth to? The reason that's a
00:12:06.12\00:12:11.24
little more difficult is because
I believe that the son is Jesus.
00:12:11.27\00:12:14.56
Again it's doesn't
matter to you what I believe.
00:12:14.59\00:12:15.98
That's not what
we're here for tonight.
00:12:16.02\00:12:18.17
There are others who
say no, it cannot be Jesus
00:12:18.20\00:12:21.23
because it says that he rules
the nations with an iron rod
00:12:21.27\00:12:25.24
and Jesus is a God of love
and He would never rule with an
00:12:25.27\00:12:30.00
iron rod. Well then, who is the
son? Is it Jesus or is it not?
00:12:30.03\00:12:37.02
Compare Scripture with
Scripture or hold your place in
00:12:37.05\00:12:39.26
Revelation chapter 12 and just
turn a few pages back towards
00:12:39.29\00:12:44.05
the back to the 19th chapter
of Revelation 19:11, comparing
00:12:44.08\00:12:47.93
Scripture with Scripture.
00:12:47.97\00:12:49.32
Let the Bible interpret
itself. Who is the son?
00:12:49.35\00:12:52.20
Revelation 19:11,
00:12:52.46\00:12:54.34
I saw a heaven standing
open and there before me was a
00:12:54.39\00:12:59.14
white horse whose rider is
called faithful and true. So
00:12:59.17\00:13:03.01
picture this, a rider riding
through the sky on a white horse
00:13:03.04\00:13:05.09
what's his name, faithful and
true. And noticed in verse 17,
00:13:05.12\00:13:10.27
in verse 16 it says that on his
robe then on his thigh, he has
00:13:10.30\00:13:15.09
this named written King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. Who is
00:13:15.12\00:13:20.27
that? That's Jesus. It cannot
be anyone else. The rider on
00:13:20.30\00:13:22.24
the white horse has to be
Jesus Christ, amen? Now watch
00:13:22.27\00:13:25.27
this? Verse 15, out of his
mouth comes a sharp sword with
00:13:25.30\00:13:34.24
which to strike down the
nations and he will rule them
00:13:34.27\00:13:41.02
with an iron scepter. Jesus
does rule with an iron scepter.
00:13:41.05\00:13:49.23
So when we compare a Scripture
with Scripture, we can let the
00:13:49.26\00:13:52.26
Bible interpret self. In fact,
remember the other principle is
00:13:52.29\00:13:56.26
that book of Revelation quotes
the Old Testament or alludes to
00:13:56.29\00:14:01.10
the Old Testament over how
many times, over 600 times? And
00:14:01.13\00:14:06.36
here is one of those places
where it says that he will rule
00:14:06.40\00:14:11.60
with an iron
scepter and iron rod.
00:14:11.63\00:14:13.13
He's quoting the Old Testament
and actually quoting Psalms 2.
00:14:13.17\00:14:16.69
I'm not going
to read it tonight.
00:14:16.73\00:14:17.70
It's in printed copy.
You can go home and study it.
00:14:17.71\00:14:20.78
Psalm chapter 2 where
it is a Messianic Psalm,
00:14:20.81\00:14:24.28
a Psalm that sings about
the Messiah when he would come
00:14:24.32\00:14:29.55
in the future and
in Psalm chapter 2,
00:14:29.59\00:14:31.48
it says that when he
comes, he will smash the nations
00:14:32.22\00:14:36.47
like an iron rod smashing a
piece of pottery. We saw that
00:14:36.51\00:14:42.03
on the first night, remember?
Symbolized by the stone that
00:14:42.06\00:14:45.98
comes and smashes the image
symbolizing the nations of the
00:14:46.02\00:14:49.91
earth. And so again we
have perfect harmony in the
00:14:49.95\00:14:56.11
scripture when we let the
Bible interpret itself. There's
00:14:56.14\00:14:58.15
another identifying marks about
this child. It is a son. Jesus
00:14:58.18\00:15:01.07
was a son, male child. And
the Bible says that dragon tried
00:15:01.10\00:15:06.07
to devour that baby the moment
it was born. Well you know
00:15:06.10\00:15:09.13
that story. The Bible tells
us in the Gospel in Matthew that
00:15:09.16\00:15:13.04
when Jesus was born and
King Herod of the Roman Empire
00:15:13.07\00:15:17.12
discovered that the Messiah was
born, he issued a decree, all
00:15:17.15\00:15:20.24
baby boys under the age of two
would be put to death. And so
00:15:20.27\00:15:23.06
there, he's trying to devour
that child the moment he's
00:15:23.09\00:15:27.03
going the third identifying
mark, he was snatched up to God
00:15:27.06\00:15:29.27
and to His Throne. Jesus was
in fact caught up to God to his
00:15:29.30\00:15:34.27
Throne where he rules and
reigns today, amen? No doubt
00:15:34.30\00:15:39.06
about it. When you compare a
Scripture with Scripture then
00:15:39.09\00:15:42.03
we find the interpretation
is true, it is sure. You can
00:15:42.06\00:15:46.18
believe that without any doubt,
the dragon is the devil, the
00:15:46.21\00:15:51.20
son is Jesus Christ. Well that
shouldn't surprise us because
00:15:51.23\00:15:55.11
remember, we learn the
first principle to understanding
00:15:55.14\00:15:59.23
Revelation is that the Book of
Revelation is the Revelation of
00:15:59.26\00:16:05.04
Jesus Christ. And he has to
be the center of every one of
00:16:05.07\00:16:08.10
the prophecies. There he is
in this one. Now let's go to the
00:16:08.13\00:16:11.10
third one. This one is the most
complex. The most difficult to
00:16:11.13\00:16:17.13
understand and
that is the woman.
00:16:17.16\00:16:19.21
Who is symbolized by the woman?
00:16:19.24\00:16:25.07
Let me just give you a
clue. Right here in the very
00:16:28.27\00:16:35.03
chapter that we just reading,
who is symbolized by the woman?
00:16:35.06\00:16:40.12
Watch this, verse 9, now
get your minds to work, remember
00:16:40.15\00:16:45.06
compare a Scripture with
Scripture, Book of Revelation
00:16:45.09\00:16:47.24
quotes the Old Testament over
600 times. Put it all together,
00:16:47.27\00:16:50.21
who is the woman? Verse 9
the great dragon was hurled down
00:16:50.24\00:16:59.08
that ancient serpent called
the devil or Satan. Now tell me,
00:16:59.11\00:17:07.25
where in the Bible do you find
the story about a woman and an
00:17:07.28\00:17:17.01
ancient serpent called the
devil? Of course all the way
00:17:17.04\00:17:23.10
back to the beginning. In
Genesis the second chapter, in
00:17:23.13\00:17:30.07
Genesis 2, the Bible tells
us first of all that God created
00:17:30.10\00:17:31.95
this world. He created the
man Adam and the woman Eve.
00:17:31.98\00:17:35.18
And he put them in the garden
of Eden. And he told them,
00:17:35.22\00:17:39.20
plainly he told Adam you can
eat the fruit from any of the
00:17:39.24\00:17:42.72
trees in this garden. You have
your pick. You can have them
00:17:42.76\00:17:46.21
all. Eat all that you want but
there's one tree right in the
00:17:46.24\00:17:50.27
middle of the garden, don't
eat from that one. If you do,
00:17:50.30\00:17:54.27
you're going to die. Now the
devil knew that. And so there
00:17:54.30\00:18:02.26
was Eve. In the third chapter
verse two, standing under the
00:18:02.29\00:18:10.22
tree, looking up that big shiny
apple or whatever it was. And
00:18:10.25\00:18:16.97
guess who appears? The serpent,
the devil. Now we ought to ask
00:18:17.00\00:18:23.69
ourselves first of all what
was she doing under the tree?
00:18:23.72\00:18:26.93
You see when God says to avoid
something we should stay as far
00:18:26.97\00:18:33.12
away as we can. Don't play on
the devil's turf. If she never
00:18:33.16\00:18:38.08
gone under tree, she wouldn't
have eaten the fruit but there
00:18:38.12\00:18:43.01
she was under the tree
and the old devil appears.
00:18:43.04\00:18:46.79
He knows how to get
us in our weak moments
00:18:46.82\00:18:48.66
and the old devil is there
and in verse two the devil says
00:18:48.69\00:18:52.07
did God tell you must not
eat the fruit from the tree
00:18:52.11\00:18:55.45
in the middle of the
garden or you'll die?
00:18:55.49\00:18:57.36
And the woman said yeah
God said we shouldn't eat the
00:18:57.40\00:19:03.14
fruit and we'll die. And so
those serpents said in verse
00:19:03.17\00:19:07.02
four, the serpent said you
will not die. You wont die? God
00:19:07.05\00:19:20.16
knows that when you eat it,
your eyes will be open and you
00:19:20.19\00:19:26.04
will be like God knowing good
from evil. Eat it. You won't
00:19:26.07\00:19:31.22
die. Now she had to make a
decision. She should have never
00:19:31.25\00:19:36.38
had to make and here's the
decision, who was telling the
00:19:36.41\00:19:41.47
truth, God or the serpent? Go
ahead and eat it. You won't die
00:19:41.50\00:19:49.87
God's lying. He's holding back
from you because he knows that
00:19:49.90\00:19:58.24
if you eat that fruit then
you will know good from evil
00:19:58.27\00:20:03.06
yourself. You will be like God.
Your eyes will be opened. You
00:20:03.09\00:20:06.06
won't need God to tell you what
is right and what is wrong. You
00:20:06.09\00:20:13.06
can decide for yourself, go
and eat it. Now, watch this. I
00:20:13.09\00:20:15.06
want you to get what I'm
talking about, what the Bible
00:20:15.09\00:20:19.06
is talking about here because
this is deep and profound but
00:20:19.09\00:20:28.06
crucial for us to understand.
You want to know about the
00:20:28.09\00:20:34.06
world today. Watch this. Verse
6, when the woman saw that the
00:20:34.09\00:20:41.06
fruit of the tree was good for
food and pleasing to the eyes
00:20:41.09\00:20:48.06
and desirable for gaining
wisdom, she took some and ate
00:20:48.09\00:20:52.05
it. Now how did she decide that
it was okay to eat the fruit
00:20:52.08\00:20:57.06
from that tree. She saw it,
it was pleasing to the eye, it
00:20:57.09\00:21:06.06
seemed desirable to her. In
other words, before that time
00:21:06.09\00:21:14.06
the way that she could tell
if it was right or wrong to eat
00:21:14.09\00:21:19.06
the fruit was to simply believe
what God said. In other words,
00:21:19.09\00:21:25.06
God's word was to standard
to determine what is right from
00:21:25.09\00:21:31.06
what is wrong. But at that
moment, we see a huge paradigm
00:21:31.09\00:21:39.06
shift instead of relying on
God's word to decide what is
00:21:39.09\00:21:44.06
right and what is wrong.
She relied on what she saw. She
00:21:44.09\00:21:49.06
relied on what she desired.
She relied on what seemed right
00:21:49.09\00:21:59.06
to her. And the problem is,
there what seems right is not
00:21:59.09\00:22:08.06
always the same as what
is right. And if you can
00:22:08.09\00:22:10.20
understand what we're
talking about right now, you can
00:22:10.23\00:22:13.06
begin to understand what's
happening around us in the
00:22:13.09\00:22:19.06
world today. We have reached
the place where among the
00:22:19.09\00:22:23.06
intelligencia and the thinking
people. There is no longer a
00:22:23.09\00:22:26.06
right or wrong. But that which
is best for that particular
00:22:26.09\00:22:33.06
moment or situation. Now, who
is the woman In Genesis 3:15?
00:22:33.09\00:22:46.02
Adam and Eve had just
both sinned, plunged the world
00:22:46.05\00:22:49.35
into the depths of sin
and despair and then we see in
00:22:49.39\00:22:52.65
verse 15, God, I
love this. Actually,
00:22:52.69\00:22:55.84
even before that in verse
9, God comes down. He had been
00:22:55.88\00:22:59.04
used to speaking with them,
visiting with them one on one
00:22:59.07\00:23:01.06
Wouldn't you love to
have been there? Meeting God
00:23:01.09\00:23:04.06
everyday in the cool of
the evening? He comes down to
00:23:04.09\00:23:06.06
have this little appointment
with them and they got scared
00:23:06.09\00:23:08.06
and they run and what does
God do? He goes after them, He
00:23:08.09\00:23:11.06
says, Where are you? We
run from Him, He runs after us.
00:23:11.09\00:23:16.06
Praise God. That's a good God
that we have. Amen. Where are
00:23:16.09\00:23:23.06
you? He finds them. And then He
is the first prophecy and first
00:23:23.09\00:23:27.06
promise in the Bible. In
chapter 3:15, God said to the
00:23:27.09\00:23:32.06
serpent, I'll put enmity
between you and the woman and
00:23:32.09\00:23:37.06
between your offspring and hers
and he will crash your head and
00:23:37.09\00:23:39.06
you will strike his heel.
That's the first prophecy in
00:23:39.09\00:23:43.06
the Bible. What was that
all mean? He is speaking to the
00:23:43.09\00:23:46.06
serpent and He says to the
woman, I'll put enmity between
00:23:46.09\00:23:51.06
you and the serpent and between
your offspring and serpent and
00:23:51.09\00:23:54.06
her is speaking to serpent. I
may have put enmity between you
00:23:54.09\00:23:56.14
and the woman and between your
offspring and hers. Now, what
00:23:56.17\00:23:58.33
is he really is saying here,
is he saying that it's going to
00:23:58.37\00:24:00.49
be a fight with all these
little babies snakes running
00:24:00.53\00:24:02.75
around on the ground. No!
00:24:02.78\00:24:06.09
We know that, serpent was
the devil, and the offspring
00:24:06.13\00:24:11.59
of the serpent? Those who
choose to follow the devil
00:24:11.63\00:24:17.06
and seeing there be conflict
between those who choose to
00:24:17.09\00:24:22.06
follow the devil and the
offspring of the woman. Now,
00:24:22.09\00:24:23.10
who was the offspring of
the woman? I'm going to show you
00:24:23.13\00:24:25.06
tomorrow, we'll finish
this for I'm going to show you
00:24:25.09\00:24:27.06
without a doubt tomorrow the
offspring of the woman is Jesus
00:24:27.09\00:24:32.75
Christ because the offspring of
the woman gets a bruise on the
00:24:32.78\00:24:38.14
heel from the serpent. And Jesus
received the bruise on the heel
00:24:38.17\00:24:43.17
when he died on the cross. But
it was only bruise on the heel
00:24:43.20\00:24:48.16
because three days later,
He was raised up again. Amen.
00:24:48.20\00:24:53.63
Ascended to heaven and the
prophecy says, one day, He is
00:24:53.66\00:24:59.06
going to come back and crush
the head of the serpent. Now
00:24:59.09\00:25:06.06
listen to me, all of the rest
of the Bible from Genesis 3:15
00:25:06.09\00:25:16.07
to Revelation 22, all of the
rest of the Bible is unpacking
00:25:16.11\00:25:26.06
and explaining this one
prophecy about how is the seed
00:25:26.09\00:25:33.06
of the woman going to one day
deliver the death blow to crush
00:25:33.09\00:25:39.06
the head of the serpent.
All the rest of the Bible and
00:25:39.09\00:25:43.06
that's why when we get to
Revelation 12:17, we see the
00:25:43.09\00:25:47.06
dragon at war with the remnant
of the seed of the woman the
00:25:47.09\00:25:48.18
very last to God's people
on this earth. Those who obeyed
00:25:48.21\00:25:50.06
Commandments of God and
have the testimony of Jesus
00:25:50.09\00:25:52.06
It's the final phase;
revelation takes us to final
00:25:52.09\00:25:55.06
phase, the very end of this
conflict between the dragon and
00:25:55.09\00:25:59.06
the woman. All the rest of the
Bible unpacks that one prophecy
00:25:59.09\00:26:06.06
and do you want to know how the
seed of the woman is going to
00:26:06.09\00:26:08.06
ultimately crush the head
of the serpent? Do you want to
00:26:08.09\00:26:11.06
know how? He gives us a clue and
a remarkable clue, right here
00:26:11.09\00:26:16.06
in the Same passage verse 21,
remember when God saw Adam and
00:26:16.09\00:26:22.06
Eve they sensed they were
naked and they ran and they got
00:26:22.09\00:26:24.06
some leaves to cover themselves
because they were ashamed.
00:26:24.09\00:26:29.06
Verse 21, the Lord God made
garments of skin for Adam and
00:26:29.09\00:26:34.06
his wife and clothed them, where
did he get that skin. You see,
00:26:34.09\00:26:41.06
for the first time on this
beautiful planet, for the first
00:26:41.09\00:26:49.06
time in God's infinite universe
innocent blood have to be shed
00:26:49.09\00:26:57.06
to cover a sinful human being.
Does it sound familiar? How
00:26:57.09\00:27:05.06
will the seed of the woman
deliver the death blow to the
00:27:05.09\00:27:10.06
head of the serpent? We'll see
more about that tomorrow. Let's
00:27:10.09\00:27:15.06
go on tonight back to
Revelation chapter 12 and
00:27:15.09\00:27:20.06
answer the question Where?
Where does this battle begin?
00:27:20.09\00:27:24.06
Revelation 12:7, we find
a surprise, there was war in
00:27:24.09\00:27:29.06
heaven. Imagine, man thinking
that they can bring about peace
00:27:29.09\00:27:33.06
on earth when war actually
began in heaven. There was war
00:27:33.09\00:27:37.06
in heaven, Michael and
his angels fought against the
00:27:37.09\00:27:38.14
dragon, the dragon and his
angels fought back but he was
00:27:38.17\00:27:40.06
not strong enough. Praise
God and they lost their place in
00:27:40.09\00:27:44.06
heaven and where did they go?
Verse 9 says, The great dragon
00:27:44.09\00:27:49.06
was hurled down that ancient
serpent called the devil and
00:27:49.09\00:27:52.06
Satan who lives the whole world
astray. He was hurled to the
00:27:52.09\00:27:55.06
earth and his angels with him.
His tails swept third of the
00:27:55.09\00:27:57.06
stars out of the sky and flung
them down to the earth. Those
00:27:57.09\00:28:00.06
are the demon angels. Those are
the bad angels that we talked
00:28:00.09\00:28:03.06
about last night. Remember, I
said for every good angel there
00:28:03.09\00:28:07.06
is, for every bad angel that
took good angels his tail only
00:28:07.09\00:28:09.06
got the third of the stars.
Two thirds were left faithful to
00:28:09.09\00:28:13.06
God. That's why you don't need
to be scared of the demons, the
00:28:13.09\00:28:16.06
bad angels. But now they were
on the earth, the only way we
00:28:16.09\00:28:20.06
can really understand the book
of Revelation is to understand
00:28:20.09\00:28:23.06
the real nature of this battle
between the good angels and the
00:28:23.09\00:28:27.06
bad angels. What are they
fighting over? What is the
00:28:27.09\00:28:34.06
issue there? Again, the secret
is to compare scripture with
00:28:34.09\00:28:38.06
scripture. Let the Bible
interpret itself over 600 times
00:28:38.09\00:28:41.06
of book of Revelation alludes
to the Old Testament. Here's
00:28:41.09\00:28:45.06
another one, the dragon hurled
down to the earth. Where do we
00:28:45.09\00:28:50.06
find that in the old testament?
Isaiah chapter 14, the prophet
00:28:50.09\00:28:52.06
Isaiah says in verse 12,
how you have fallen from heaven,
00:28:52.09\00:28:54.06
Lucifer, son of the dawn.
Sound familiar? You've been
00:28:54.09\00:29:00.06
cast down to the earth, you who
wants laid low the nation. You
00:29:00.09\00:29:04.06
said in your heart, I will
ascend to heaven. I will raise
00:29:04.09\00:29:08.06
my throne above the stars
of God. I will sit enthroned on
00:29:08.09\00:29:12.06
the mount of the assembly,
utmost heights of the sacred
00:29:12.09\00:29:15.06
mountain. I will ascend above
the tops of the clouds. I will
00:29:15.09\00:29:19.06
make myself like the most high.
Somebody says the only thing
00:29:19.09\00:29:23.06
wrong with Lucifer was
he had problems. It's true.
00:29:23.09\00:29:27.10
God made a beautiful
angel, perfect in every way.
00:29:27.13\00:29:30.18
But he stood in front of
the mirror too long one morning
00:29:30.21\00:29:34.90
combing his hair and he
began to see how beautiful he
00:29:34.93\00:29:39.54
was and he started taking credit
for all that beauty and all that
00:29:39.58\00:29:43.73
wisdom to himself and he
rebelled about God. Look, he
00:29:43.77\00:29:49.23
wanted to put his throne above
God's throne. Now, the throne is
00:29:49.27\00:29:55.16
the seed of government, isn't
it? Throne is always the seed of
00:29:55.20\00:30:01.06
government. God rules the
universe from throne. Now here
00:30:01.09\00:30:05.17
is Lucifer who was an angel he
wanted to sit on God's throne.
00:30:05.20\00:30:09.02
He wanted to rule the universe.
He wanted to be ruler of the
00:30:09.05\00:30:13.40
seat of the government.
The throne is the seat of the
00:30:13.43\00:30:15.91
government and the heart of
every government, is his law.
00:30:15.94\00:30:18.06
So in effect this
Lucifer, this angel
00:30:18.09\00:30:20.47
rebelled against God but he
rebelled against God's law. He
00:30:20.50\00:30:24.48
rebelled against God's rules.
00:30:24.51\00:30:26.26
He said, look God
is too restrictive.
00:30:26.29\00:30:28.55
God is no fun. God won't
let you do anything. Has he ever
00:30:28.59\00:30:33.00
asked you your opinion about
anything around you. No he just
00:30:33.03\00:30:36.49
tells us what to do
and we have to do it.
00:30:36.52\00:30:38.44
You put me on the throne.
00:30:38.47\00:30:39.60
I'll show you how to have a good
time. You see, he was rebelling
00:30:39.63\00:30:44.21
against the law of God.
00:30:44.24\00:30:50.03
He said God laws are arbitrary.
00:30:50.06\00:30:51.03
He is just trying to control us.
00:30:51.06\00:30:52.43
He didn't recognize that
God's laws are laws of love.
00:30:52.47\00:30:56.93
He didn't know that to see Gods
law is to know love and to know
00:30:56.96\00:31:01.48
love is to see the death and the
beauty of God's law. His laws
00:31:01.52\00:31:06.01
teach us how to love God, how to
love one another, I don't know
00:31:06.04\00:31:10.22
if you ever thought about
it that way before or not.
00:31:10.25\00:31:12.26
God has lots of
different of kinds of laws.
00:31:12.30\00:31:14.63
He has physical laws, laws
that keep the universe in order.
00:31:14.67\00:31:20.37
What would it be like if
there were no physical laws,
00:31:20.41\00:31:22.74
stars and planets
that be crushing into one
00:31:22.78\00:31:24.77
another all the time.
00:31:24.80\00:31:25.94
The law of
gravity is a law of love.
00:31:25.98\00:31:30.26
You know we can take it for
granted and we may not think
00:31:30.30\00:31:33.24
of it if it's a
law of love but it is.
00:31:33.27\00:31:34.63
Imagine sitting here in
this auditorium tonight without
00:31:34.66\00:31:37.18
gravity. Now some
of you saying, oh yeah
00:31:37.21\00:31:40.06
that will be fun, would be like
the space man floating around.
00:31:40.09\00:31:43.12
Well, they had problems too.
Did you know the first spaceman
00:31:43.15\00:31:47.52
in space? Didn't know what to
do with their whiskers when they
00:31:47.55\00:31:49.81
shaved them off because they've
floating all around the capsule.
00:31:49.84\00:31:53.12
The gravity is the law, love.
Now you could say well I don't
00:31:53.15\00:31:56.15
care. I don't like
gravity. I don't want gravity.
00:31:56.18\00:31:59.78
I want to be free from gravity.
00:31:59.81\00:32:01.42
I want to just be able
to kick my legs and wave
00:32:01.45\00:32:03.43
my arms and float around and
you can choose to be free from
00:32:03.46\00:32:06.37
gravity. I will climb up to
the top of the space needle in
00:32:06.40\00:32:10.23
Seattle and I'll jump off
and kick my legs and wave my,
00:32:10.26\00:32:12.95
oh that will be so much fun,
I'm free for gravity and you
00:32:12.98\00:32:15.68
will be free from gravity
all the way down to the bottom
00:32:15.71\00:32:20.14
and then you
free from everything.
00:32:20.17\00:32:22.12
You see we can choose to
ignore God's laws of love
00:32:22.15\00:32:25.68
but you cannot avoid the
consequences on the other end.
00:32:25.71\00:32:30.05
The other physical laws, I
don't know if you ever thought
00:32:30.08\00:32:33.10
about this way but
the Bible is the best book
00:32:33.13\00:32:35.84
on health is ever written.
00:32:35.87\00:32:37.05
The Bible says, your
body is the temple of the holy
00:32:37.08\00:32:39.43
spirit, don't put anything
into your body that destroys or
00:32:39.46\00:32:41.77
defiles it and I think that
means that as Christians, we
00:32:41.80\00:32:47.26
should uphold and take care of
the body that the God gave us,
00:32:47.29\00:32:50.64
shouldn't we? We should be
health conscious. We shouldn't
00:32:50.67\00:32:53.67
be putting things into our
bodies that can be destroying.
00:32:53.70\00:32:56.32
We are going to watch what we
eat, we are to watch we drink,
00:32:56.35\00:32:59.11
we are to make sure that we get
plenty of exercises and drink
00:32:59.14\00:33:01.86
a lot of water and leave a
good healthy balanced life,
00:33:01.90\00:33:04.66
take care of the body.
00:33:04.70\00:33:06.78
Physical laws, laws of love
because God has good things in
00:33:06.82\00:33:09.24
store for you.
00:33:09.27\00:33:14.18
He doesn't want you lying
on a hospital bed with tubes
00:33:14.21\00:33:16.12
coming in out in your chest
gasping for every breath of air.
00:33:16.15\00:33:18.03
And then, there are other
kinds of laws, maybe you never
00:33:18.06\00:33:25.18
thought about this way
but the Ten Commandments
00:33:25.21\00:33:28.24
are laws of love.
00:33:28.27\00:33:31.41
The last six of the Ten
Commandments teach us how
00:33:31.44\00:33:34.05
to love one another, honor your
father and mother. Wouldn't you
00:33:34.08\00:33:37.05
like to live in a place where
everybody always honored their
00:33:37.08\00:33:42.26
father and mother? Thou shall
not kill, oh I'd like to live in
00:33:42.29\00:33:44.48
a place where
nobody was ever killed.
00:33:44.51\00:33:46.02
Though shall
not commit adultery.
00:33:46.06\00:33:47.50
Some people think that it
will be fun to live in a place
00:33:47.54\00:33:51.32
where it is okay to
commit adultery and almost to be
00:33:51.36\00:33:55.11
getting to be that
way here but it's not.
00:33:55.14\00:33:57.08
You know, I've been in
countries where people are free
00:33:57.11\00:33:58.28
to do whatever they
to do and it degrades,
00:33:58.32\00:34:00.93
it degrades humanity to the
point that you become almost
00:34:00.97\00:34:03.24
like animals because God's laws
are laws of love. They teach us
00:34:03.27\00:34:08.18
how to love one another.
00:34:08.21\00:34:10.47
Does a man really love
his neighbor if he says,
00:34:10.50\00:34:13.28
oh alleluia praise the
Lord, my brother I love you
00:34:13.31\00:34:16.06
while he's stealing his wallet
from his pocket. Is that love?
00:34:16.09\00:34:20.24
Does he really love his neighbor
if he is having an affair with
00:34:20.27\00:34:24.11
his neighbor's
wife? Is that love?
00:34:24.15\00:34:26.81
Of course not. God's laws teach
us how to love one another.
00:34:26.85\00:34:32.68
The first four of
the commandments teach us
00:34:32.72\00:34:40.03
how to love God. Can we
really claim to love God if
00:34:40.07\00:34:45.20
where having other Gods? Can
we claim to love him if we're
00:34:45.23\00:34:49.05
taking his name
in vain all the time?
00:34:49.08\00:34:55.08
I know people that don't
even claim to be Christians
00:34:55.11\00:34:57.11
that feel like it's wrong
to take God's name in vain.
00:34:57.14\00:35:01.16
Can we claim to love God
if we're worshiping idols?
00:35:01.19\00:35:05.62
Nobody worships idols
anymore today, that was back in
00:35:05.65\00:35:10.01
the olden days when they carved
them out of wood and stone in
00:35:10.04\00:35:12.52
gold and bow down and worship
or maybe we don't have idols
00:35:12.55\00:35:15.00
like that but we have
different kinds of idols today.
00:35:15.03\00:35:20.03
Some of our idols
have four wheels on them.
00:35:20.07\00:35:23.08
Some of our idols
are one- eyed idols
00:35:23.11\00:35:27.55
sitting in the living
rooms. Some people don't want
00:35:27.58\00:35:31.79
to study their Bibles or go
to Revelation Now because they'd
00:35:31.82\00:35:34.39
rather worship
their one-eyed idol.
00:35:34.43\00:35:36.02
I'm not saying that televisions
are bad and you need to
00:35:36.05\00:35:41.95
go home and smash
the television sets,
00:35:41.98\00:35:43.80
no because you can
Revelation Now tapes to put
00:35:43.83\00:35:47.17
on your television
set and that's okay.
00:35:47.20\00:35:49.03
What I am saying is
that anything that comes
00:35:49.06\00:35:53.73
in between you and
God becomes an idol.
00:35:53.77\00:35:58.36
Then, there's another kind
of idol, a sophisticated kind of
00:35:58.40\00:36:07.37
idolatry.
00:36:07.40\00:36:08.37
A God that exist only in
our own minds, a God of our
00:36:10.15\00:36:16.01
own creation, a God who
approves of the things that we
00:36:16.05\00:36:20.57
approve of and condemns
the things that we don't like.
00:36:20.61\00:36:25.06
We've already looked at it, we
call it today, we call it doing
00:36:25.10\00:36:38.22
your own thing finding
your self, situation ethics,
00:36:38.25\00:36:43.44
existentialism even
have big words for it,
00:36:43.48\00:36:46.73
it simply means that in
any particular situation, the
00:36:46.76\00:36:50.29
right thing to do is what seems
like the loving thing to you
00:36:50.32\00:36:55.82
at that time. The
Bible calls it sin.
00:36:55.85\00:37:03.70
All like sheep have gone
astray each to his own way.
00:37:07.30\00:37:17.03
It's dangerous for us to try to
choose what is right and what is
00:37:17.06\00:37:23.21
wrong because what seems
right s not always the same as
00:37:23.24\00:37:26.21
what is right.
00:37:26.25\00:37:27.23
I always remember the time
when I was on a trip to Chicago
00:37:27.27\00:37:32.38
for a special meeting and
happened to sit next to a lady
00:37:32.42\00:37:37.50
from New York
city on the airplane
00:37:37.53\00:37:41.25
and I always like to
pray when I'm going somewhere
00:37:41.28\00:37:43.69
and God, sit me next to somebody
that I can witness too and so
00:37:43.72\00:37:47.98
don't sit next to me on the
airplane if you don't want to
00:37:48.01\00:37:49.85
talk about the Lord.
00:37:49.89\00:37:50.86
I'm sitting there next to
the lady and I started talking
00:37:50.87\00:37:53.92
a little bit, she's from
New York. I can tell instantly
00:37:53.96\00:37:57.05
that she was an educated
person. I found out that
00:37:57.09\00:38:00.12
she had a PhD and sociology and
she was in charge in one huge
00:38:00.15\00:38:03.91
program over all New York
city for helping underprivileged
00:38:03.94\00:38:07.66
children. Her husband
was an archaeologist, PhD in
00:38:07.70\00:38:12.06
archeology and these are
really, really special people.
00:38:12.09\00:38:14.98
So we had nice little visit and
I kept asking her what she did
00:38:15.01\00:38:19.06
and her husband did and finally
she got the clue and she said,
00:38:19.10\00:38:23.12
well what you do?
00:38:23.15\00:38:24.16
I thought you've never
ask, I said I'm an evangelist.
00:38:24.20\00:38:29.99
She says, oh, my husband and
I are atheist and so I'm licking
00:38:30.26\00:38:40.02
my lips now and God give me the
right thing to say. So finally I
00:38:40.05\00:38:47.06
said, you know can I ask you a
question? She said, sure. Said I
00:38:47.10\00:38:54.08
can tell that you really
love those children that you
00:38:54.11\00:38:57.11
work with, am I right?
00:38:57.15\00:38:58.81
Oh yeah, I love them so
much, that's my whole life
00:38:58.84\00:39:01.57
next to my husband. So tell me
this, suppose you have a little
00:39:01.61\00:39:05.67
group of kids and you're
working with these children
00:39:05.71\00:39:07.06
and one of them comes in the
morning with two $5 bills in his
00:39:07.09\00:39:11.00
pocket. Another little boy comes
in no money, hungry, starving to
00:39:11.03\00:39:14.27
death, haven't eat in three
days, he goes to his friend
00:39:14.30\00:39:20.18
and he says, you have
two $5 bills, I'm hungry,
00:39:20.21\00:39:23.15
I haven't eat in
three and my family is poor,
00:39:23.18\00:39:25.52
can I have one to buy
some food for my family?
00:39:25.56\00:39:27.83
And the little boy says,
no it's my money not yours.
00:39:27.87\00:39:30.03
So while they're taking
their rest, a little fellow
00:39:30.07\00:39:33.51
slips over there and he steals
one of those $5 bills out of his
00:39:33.54\00:39:36.10
friend's pocket.
00:39:36.14\00:39:37.29
I said, tell me would
that be okay with you?
00:39:37.33\00:39:38.66
She said, of course
not. I said, why not?
00:39:38.70\00:39:42.28
Because that's stealing. I
know but I mean would it be
00:39:43.17\00:39:46.84
right for him to take it if
he is just getting the money
00:39:46.87\00:39:50.51
to feed his
family if he is hungry?
00:39:50.54\00:39:53.22
And she said, no it
wouldn't be right. I said, why?
00:39:53.26\00:39:55.29
Because it's
stealing, stealing is wrong.
00:39:55.32\00:39:57.26
I said, but why is it wrong?
00:39:57.29\00:39:58.95
You know, I'm not sure I
can answer that question.
00:40:00.08\00:40:04.88
Could I ask you
another question?
00:40:08.04\00:40:15.39
I guess.
00:40:15.42\00:40:19.83
I can tell, you
really love your husband?
00:40:19.86\00:40:22.96
Oh, yes I do I love
my husband, so tell me?
00:40:23.00\00:40:26.06
Supposed he had a secretary
that's married to an alcoholic
00:40:26.10\00:40:29.38
abusive man that beats up on
her every night and just really
00:40:29.42\00:40:32.67
an awful person and
finally she comes in and says,
00:40:32.70\00:40:35.09
you know I've had it, I
am ready to just end it,
00:40:35.12\00:40:37.44
I can't go on living like this
anymore, I want to just die,
00:40:37.48\00:40:40.25
I think I'm gong to take my life
and you have such a wonderful
00:40:40.29\00:40:43.03
husband. If my husband like
that, I know that I would have a
00:40:43.06\00:40:46.05
happy life. Tell me, If I could
just spend one night a week with
00:40:46.08\00:40:50.05
the husband, I think I could get
through the rest of the week.
00:40:50.08\00:40:53.05
Can I have one night with
your husband? Just one, what
00:40:53.08\00:40:57.02
would you say? You say no! Why
not, because he is my husband,
00:40:57.05\00:41:01.86
I know but wouldn't it be
right if you could just help
00:41:01.89\00:41:04.52
her to survive by
letting her have your husband,
00:41:04.56\00:41:06.95
she said no that would be wrong.
00:41:06.99\00:41:08.09
Why? Because that's adultery,
00:41:08.13\00:41:09.16
yes I know but
what's wrong with it?
00:41:09.20\00:41:11.46
What would make it wrong?
And his PhD in sociology said,
00:41:15.08\00:41:26.03
you know you're asking me
questions that I can't answer
00:41:26.06\00:41:30.02
and there are no answers unless
you have God's word to tell you
00:41:30.05\00:41:34.05
what is right and what is wrong.
00:41:34.08\00:41:36.08
See the problem is
today that several years ago
00:41:36.11\00:41:42.67
it was just symbolic
that happened long before that
00:41:42.70\00:41:44.63
but they ripped those Ten
Commandments of the classroom
00:41:44.66\00:41:47.05
walls and now they
realize that it was a mistake.
00:41:47.08\00:41:52.60
They want to nail
them back on it's too late,
00:41:52.63\00:41:58.12
the damage has been
done. We need God to tell us
00:41:58.16\00:42:00.54
what is right
from what is wrong.
00:42:00.58\00:42:01.93
You can't do what seems right,
00:42:01.96\00:42:03.25
because the Bible
says in Proverbs 14:12.
00:42:03.28\00:42:05.37
There is a way that seems
right to a man, but in end
00:42:05.41\00:42:07.74
it leads to death.
00:42:07.77\00:42:08.74
Listen to me in the end
some people are going to be lost
00:42:11.09\00:42:14.06
doing what's
seems right to them.
00:42:14.09\00:42:15.61
You can't do what seems right,
folks, you need to do what is
00:42:15.64\00:42:20.47
right.
00:42:20.50\00:42:21.83
So battle rages, the
dragon is there, he is saying
00:42:21.86\00:42:25.06
look God's restrictive. He
doesn't want you to have any
00:42:25.09\00:42:29.06
fun, do it my way and the Bible
says God withholds no good thing
00:42:29.09\00:42:31.02
from those who walk uprightly.
00:42:31.05\00:42:32.42
You will always be better off
ordering your life in harmony
00:42:32.45\00:42:35.16
with God's word
but the battle rages.
00:42:35.20\00:42:38.01
Who do you
believe? Who do you trust?
00:42:38.04\00:42:39.17
Who's telling the truth?
00:42:39.20\00:42:40.26
Have you ever wondered that tree
that's problem. Why did God put
00:42:46.07\00:42:52.08
that tree there in the Garden
of Eden. If He wouldn't have put
00:42:52.11\00:42:56.07
that tree there we wouldn't
be in this mess that we are in
00:42:56.10\00:42:58.28
today.
00:42:58.31\00:42:59.56
Do you ever wonder that? Why
did they put the tree there? Why
00:42:59.59\00:43:01.04
did they make
us, so we could sin?
00:43:01.07\00:43:03.23
He could have made us
so that we had no choice
00:43:03.26\00:43:05.37
in the matter that we
could only serve Him, always be
00:43:05.40\00:43:08.41
obedient to Him and
sin would never come in.
00:43:08.44\00:43:10.48
Why did He put the tree there?
I'll tell you why, because He is
00:43:10.51\00:43:12.88
God of love. I want you to
follow me. Love involves more
00:43:12.91\00:43:16.94
than one person, did you
know that? Can't love alone,
00:43:16.98\00:43:20.98
try it sometimes.
00:43:21.01\00:43:22.93
A beautiful moonlit night,
row out in the middle of the
00:43:22.96\00:43:26.07
lake get romantic all by
yourself. Can't love alone.
00:43:26.10\00:43:29.81
Love involves
more than one person
00:43:29.84\00:43:34.66
and that's why God
created the man and the woman
00:43:34.69\00:43:39.11
and He said be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth.
00:43:39.14\00:43:43.00
Because He wanted
beings who would love Him
00:43:43.03\00:43:47.69
and the Bible
even says He made them
00:43:47.72\00:43:50.04
in His own image and I'm
not going to go into all the
00:43:50.07\00:43:55.03
theological debate about what
image of God really but I think
00:43:55.06\00:43:59.02
we're safe to just assume that
if it says God made me in His
00:43:59.05\00:44:02.54
own image it means that he made
us in such a way that He could
00:44:02.57\00:44:06.03
could love Him in return. See
that's something special about
00:44:06.06\00:44:08.66
having someone in your
own image, it makes you love
00:44:08.69\00:44:10.64
smile them all the more and God
made us in His image so that He
00:44:10.67\00:44:15.46
could love us and that
we could love Him in return.
00:44:15.49\00:44:19.22
There is another thing about
love that we need to understand
00:44:22.07\00:44:24.81
and that is that
love involves a choice.
00:44:24.84\00:44:29.29
He could have
made us like robots.
00:44:29.32\00:44:34.45
We could all be robots, we'd
wake up with an alarm going off
00:44:34.48\00:44:39.36
and we jump out bed and
say hallelujah praise the Lord,
00:44:39.39\00:44:41.83
smile at everybody, isn't it a
wonderful day, brush your teeth,
00:44:42.05\00:44:44.03
get dressed go to work, singing
hymns all day long, hallelujah
00:44:44.06\00:44:47.19
praise the Lord, don't
you love Jesus my friend and
00:44:47.22\00:44:49.55
everybody said, yes!
00:44:49.58\00:44:50.61
Yes! I love Jesus too because
we can't do anything else,
00:44:50.64\00:44:53.53
is that love?
00:44:53.56\00:44:55.69
I mean that is like back to
old cavemen days if man wants a
00:44:55.72\00:45:01.03
wife goes in his neighbors cave,
grabs his daughter out by the
00:45:01.06\00:45:03.84
hair, throws into his cave
and now he's got a wife but he
00:45:03.87\00:45:06.58
doesn't have love, why not?
00:45:06.61\00:45:08.82
Because love involves a
choice. I remember when our
00:45:08.85\00:45:15.04
younger son, about two or three
years old and as I mentioned we
00:45:15.07\00:45:22.04
were on the road all the time,
we lived in an RV with two boys
00:45:22.07\00:45:27.36
and my wife and I, it
was kind of crowded in there.
00:45:27.39\00:45:29.60
If ever I wanted to have
place where I could study
00:45:29.63\00:45:31.66
I needed to be out of there,
so we bought an old mayflower
00:45:31.69\00:45:36.20
moving van, to put all of our
equipment in and then I built
00:45:36.23\00:45:39.18
an office in there with all
my books and everything so I
00:45:39.21\00:45:41.12
could go in there and I could
study all by self undisturbed
00:45:41.16\00:45:43.04
and one day I was sitting
and studying and then I'm really
00:45:43.07\00:45:47.06
intense on what's going on and I
heard that, big door creaking I
00:45:47.09\00:45:53.08
turn around to see what's going
it was open about that wide and
00:45:53.11\00:45:57.00
there was my little boy sticking
that big round face with the big
00:45:57.03\00:46:01.04
round brown eyes glistening the
looking up and saying hi dad I
00:46:01.07\00:46:03.06
love you and turn around and
run away. I want to tell you to
00:46:03.09\00:46:08.09
burst into tears right now
just telling you the story, why?
00:46:08.12\00:46:16.04
Because he didn't have to say
that. He didn't have to love me,
00:46:16.07\00:46:22.03
lot of children don't love their
parents, the fact that he didn't
00:46:22.06\00:46:27.05
have to love me makes his love
all most precious to me, that's
00:46:27.08\00:46:34.07
why God made us we the
choice so that we could
00:46:34.10\00:46:37.50
choose to love Him,
because it's only when we choose
00:46:37.53\00:46:41.29
to love God that love is
really love. Then if God gave us
00:46:41.32\00:46:49.78
the choice to love
him. How can He just destroy
00:46:49.81\00:46:55.39
IN hell everybody who
refuses to love Him. How can he
00:46:55.42\00:47:00.09
just let go of all the wicked
who reject him and still be a
00:47:00.12\00:47:03.51
God of love, how can
He just let them all go?
00:47:03.54\00:47:05.25
It's because of love.
00:47:05.28\00:47:06.71
Think about it. If God ever hope
to peace and harmony in this
00:47:11.04\00:47:14.09
Universe again, He is going to
have to remove sin. He is going
00:47:14.12\00:47:20.05
to take it out of way, because
sin brings pain and since He
00:47:20.08\00:47:26.02
gave us the choice to sin or
love Him and He's going to have
00:47:26.05\00:47:31.00
to let those who
sin and choose to sin.
00:47:31.03\00:47:33.36
He's going to have to let
them go if He ever hopes to have
00:47:33.39\00:47:37.20
peace and harmony in the
earth and in the universe again.
00:47:37.24\00:47:41.02
It isn't going to
be a fun day for God.
00:47:41.05\00:47:42.63
The Bible says it is
strange act but think about it.
00:47:42.66\00:47:46.53
Imagine that you had
family with 10 children
00:47:46.56\00:47:50.02
in it and you loved everyone
as much as you could possibly
00:47:50.05\00:47:56.06
love, but one of those children
started doing some bad things
00:47:56.09\00:48:00.06
and started beating up on
the other kids, cutting off
00:48:00.09\00:48:06.04
their finger, cutting their
hands, cutting off their hand,
00:48:06.07\00:48:09.04
cutting off the foot and then he
starts killing the rest of his
00:48:09.07\00:48:15.03
brothers and sisters one and
then another and then another.
00:48:15.06\00:48:18.10
How long are you going to let
this go on finally you are going
00:48:18.13\00:48:21.14
to have to say wait a minute.
00:48:21.18\00:48:22.44
You see God is looking
at His children and this
00:48:22.48\00:48:27.01
old world suffering day after
day doing battle with disease,
00:48:27.04\00:48:31.21
calamity, disaster, cancer and
all of these other things and
00:48:31.24\00:48:36.14
finally God is going to say
that's enough, it's enough! It's
00:48:36.17\00:48:40.30
over! And He's going bring it to
act stranger act but it's an act
00:48:40.33\00:48:49.28
of love we can't understand
it, but we can know that we can
00:48:49.31\00:48:55.01
trust Him. Well, then why didn't
he just zap Lucifer the moment
00:48:55.04\00:48:59.10
he rebelled in heaven when
he was that perfect angel that
00:48:59.13\00:49:01.04
rebelled against Him.
00:49:01.08\00:49:02.05
Wouldn't it be better, if
he would just got rid of him
00:49:02.06\00:49:03.74
right then. It's because of
love. Imagine we're on the big
00:49:03.78\00:49:07.89
meeting, a big rally, and all
the angels, we're all together
00:49:07.93\00:49:12.01
with the angels and He's
got a big as football stadium in
00:49:12.04\00:49:15.21
heaven all filled with the
angels and has Lucifer on the
00:49:15.24\00:49:18.21
stage and he is saying God
isn't fair, God's rules are too
00:49:18.24\00:49:20.37
restrictive put
me on the throne,
00:49:20.40\00:49:22.12
you'll see how to have
fun about round this place
00:49:22.15\00:49:24.00
and about that time God walks
in and zap there goes Lucifer.
00:49:24.03\00:49:28.71
Now how do you feel about God?
00:49:28.74\00:49:32.49
Whoa, better watch
what we do around here.
00:49:32.53\00:49:36.95
Who's next? See we start obeying
God out of fear instead of love,
00:49:36.99\00:49:43.08
trust and so God head to let
Lucifer to go. He had to let him
00:49:43.11\00:49:50.14
go He had to give him space. He
had to give him time. He had to
00:49:50.17\00:49:54.03
give him room to show what sin
is really like and once he has
00:49:54.06\00:49:58.75
demonstrated once and for
all. how hideous, how ugly,
00:49:58.79\00:50:00.12
how mean, how cruel sin is
then God can clean this thing up
00:50:00.15\00:50:06.10
and everyone will know that He
did the right thing, that He's a
00:50:06.13\00:50:10.13
God of love. Now listen to
me, that's the reason we have to
00:50:10.16\00:50:16.28
suffer. God knows that He's got
to give Lucifer a little room to
00:50:16.31\00:50:23.22
operate, to demonstrate what sin
is like. If every time Lucifer
00:50:23.25\00:50:29.04
wanted to attack me
God put a hedge around me
00:50:29.07\00:50:31.28
and says no Lucifer, you can't
touch. If every time He wants
00:50:31.31\00:50:34.17
one of you He puts a hedge
around He saying, no Lucifer
00:50:34.20\00:50:37.20
you can't go there and Lucifer
hey, you're not even keeping
00:50:37.23\00:50:39.27
your end of the bargain.
00:50:39.30\00:50:40.31
You're not giving me a
chance to show what it's like if
00:50:40.34\00:50:43.07
I had control. And so God's
walking a final line that only
00:50:43.10\00:50:47.28
God can walk. He has to let
us suffer a little bit, but yet
00:50:47.31\00:50:54.04
He answers our prayers and
He responds to us just enough so
00:50:54.07\00:50:56.25
that we can know that He's there
because the more He intervenes
00:50:56.28\00:51:00.88
and the more He blocks Lucifer
and the more He answers your
00:51:00.92\00:51:04.77
prayers and gives you good
things the longer it's going to
00:51:04.81\00:51:08.59
take to demonstrate what sin is
really like. Can you understand
00:51:08.63\00:51:13.86
Sometimes we just have to
step back and watch our children
00:51:13.90\00:51:18.18
learn the hard way Sometimes
they do suffer. I'll never
00:51:18.22\00:51:21.80
forget my boy he was riding
his bike and he got on to the
00:51:21.84\00:51:24.47
edge of the trailer sliced
his hand and I'm sitting there
00:51:24.51\00:51:27.11
with him in the doctor's office
and the doctor gets his big
00:51:27.14\00:51:30.40
needle and he's takes it
and he's about to stick it in my
00:51:30.43\00:51:33.80
boy's hand and he's sitting
on my lap, he looks up with me
00:51:33.83\00:51:36.70
with big, round eyes and,
dad you're not going to let him
00:51:36.73\00:51:39.57
do this to me are you?
00:51:39.60\00:51:40.68
And I had to let him do
it. That's why we suffer. Oh,
00:51:40.71\00:51:50.13
God could have done some
other things He could have just
00:51:50.16\00:51:54.21
left us here on planet
earth. You made your bed now
00:51:54.24\00:51:58.26
sleep in it.
00:51:58.29\00:52:00.73
I'm glad you didn't
do that because you knew
00:52:00.76\00:52:02.06
somewhere along the line, there
would be some of us who would
00:52:02.09\00:52:04.98
choose to serve Him and love
Him if we could. But how can
00:52:05.02\00:52:07.88
He save us? We've
sinned and He said if you sin
00:52:07.91\00:52:12.32
you'll die. How can He
save us and still be telling the
00:52:12.36\00:52:14.66
truth when He said,
if you sin, you'll die.
00:52:14.70\00:52:15.67
How can he save us and still be
telling the truth when He said,
00:52:15.68\00:52:17.38
if you sin you will
die. God did the one thing
00:52:17.42\00:52:19.55
the old devil never dreamed he
would ever do. The Bible says,
00:52:19.59\00:52:24.59
God loves the world so much
That He gave His only begotten
00:52:24.62\00:52:29.80
Son that's whosoever believes
in Him will not perish but have
00:52:29.83\00:52:34.97
everlasting life. The
devil never dreamed he would
00:52:35.01\00:52:38.58
ever do that but He did and all
we need to do is reach out and
00:52:38.61\00:52:42.95
take the hand of Jesus.
Accept Him as your Lord and your
00:52:42.99\00:52:47.33
savior and you can have life. No
I could never do that. I am just
00:52:47.36\00:52:54.26
too proud a person to
accept Jesus Christ as my
00:52:54.30\00:52:57.03
savior. Don't be too proud. You
know years ago in a community
00:52:57.07\00:53:05.09
not far from here at College
Place, Washington. Before
00:53:05.12\00:53:10.05
modern firefighting equipment, a
family, a house caught on fire,
00:53:10.08\00:53:15.19
was burning in the middle of the
night and the family trying to
00:53:15.23\00:53:19.48
put the flames out and neighbors
gathered around with their
00:53:19.52\00:53:22.91
little buckets of water
and their gunny sacks and their
00:53:22.94\00:53:26.26
brooms trying to beat back the
flames but finally they realized
00:53:26.30\00:53:29.75
that it was too late. They were
not going to be able to do it
00:53:29.78\00:53:33.66
So they all got out of the house
and was standing out in the yard
00:53:33.70\00:53:37.52
and there's the family watching
everything that they had just
00:53:37.56\00:53:41.35
going up in flames and suddenly
the mother realized that
00:53:41.39\00:53:44.17
she left her little baby asleep
in the crib so she ran to the
00:53:44.20\00:53:50.28
house but they grabbed her and
said you can't go it's too late
00:53:50.31\00:53:56.35
True love doesn't know when
is too late and her oldest son
00:53:56.39\00:54:01.32
broke out of the crowd ran
across the lawn up into the
00:54:01.35\00:54:05.61
house down the flaming hallway
into the baby's room wrapped the
00:54:05.64\00:54:09.61
baby in a blanket held it
close to his chest ran down that
00:54:09.65\00:54:13.46
flaming hallway tumbled
across the lawn a human torch.
00:54:13.49\00:54:17.72
They unwrapped the blanket
and the baby was unharmed
00:54:17.75\00:54:22.33
but he was so badly
burned that the doctors said
00:54:22.36\00:54:26.90
he would never
survive but he did
00:54:26.94\00:54:28.05
survive. And years later
you would see a strange sight in
00:54:28.08\00:54:35.45
College Place, Washington
A man whose face was so
00:54:35.49\00:54:40.35
badly disfigured and
scarred that he was beyond human
00:54:40.39\00:54:45.18
recognition, he had no hair; no
eyebrows; no eyelids, his eyes
00:54:45.22\00:54:50.27
peering through two holes where
his eyelids had been. His hands
00:54:50.30\00:54:56.08
are solid mass of gnarled scar
tissue. But that man would be
00:54:56.12\00:55:01.60
walking down the street with a,
beautiful young lady hanging on
00:55:01.63\00:55:07.08
to his arm and she
looked at him as though he
00:55:07.11\00:55:11.20
were the most handsome man
in the world. She wasn't ashamed
00:55:11.23\00:55:15.12
of the scars on the hands of her
brother who saved her life. And
00:55:15.15\00:55:22.46
don't you be ashamed of scars
on the hands of Jesus Christ
00:55:22.50\00:55:30.82
that saved yours. Reach out and
take the hand of Christ. Pray
00:55:30.85\00:55:39.14
with me. Lord we've answered
some deep questions, questions
00:55:39.17\00:55:54.01
that had bothered
the hearts of each person
00:55:54.04\00:55:56.24
here and Lord we know there
are still a lot more questions.
00:55:56.27\00:56:03.09
We'll never get all of our
answers until You come to take
00:56:03.12\00:56:08.07
us home to be with You
on the other side but you've
00:56:08.10\00:56:12.16
answered enough, you've
demonstrated enough. You've
00:56:12.19\00:56:16.19
shown us, Lord that we can trust
You and we can love You and
00:56:16.22\00:56:20.10
that You can save us and
so tonight while every head is
00:56:20.13\00:56:26.07
bowed and every eye closed
in prayer if the desire of your
00:56:26.10\00:56:31.12
heart is to walk hand-in-hand
with Jesus to take those
00:56:31.15\00:56:34.12
precious nails scarred hands
in yours, accept Jesus as your
00:56:34.15\00:56:38.26
savior to walk with Him, to live
with Him maybe you already are
00:56:38.29\00:56:42.23
Christian but you want to walk
with Him day by day that's a
00:56:42.26\00:56:46.05
desire of you heart just raise
your hand with me tonight. Raise
00:56:46.08\00:56:49.20
your hand say, yes Lord I want
to love You, I want to learn to
00:56:49.23\00:56:52.02
love you even more and more
everyday. Thank you for Jesus.
00:56:52.05\00:56:55.02
Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
00:56:55.05\00:56:59.02