Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: RT
Program Code: RT000003
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00:05 3ABN presents The Robe with Stephen Bohr.
00:11 And welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:16 And it's located here in Thompsonville, Illinois. 00:20 And some of you wonder... you hear West Frankfort, 00:23 you hear Thompsonville. 00:24 You know something amazing... before I came here 00:27 I was a little confused. Well, are they in West Frankfort 00:30 or are they in Thompsonville? 00:32 West Frankfort's where our mail comes from 00:34 and it's actually the address for most of us 00:37 even though we live 10 miles from West Frankfort. 00:40 But right up the road is the line to Thompsonville. 00:44 And Thompsonville is about a mile or less - 00:46 beautiful, downtown Thompsonville - 00:49 from where 3ABN's headquarters building is. 00:54 And so the Worship Center is located actually 00:57 in Thompsonville. And the Thompsonville SDA Church 01:01 meets here on Sabbath morning in the Worship Center. 01:06 And most of us are members of the Thompsonville SDA Church. 01:11 And so we meet together here for worship 01:14 when we're not out on the road somewhere preaching the message. 01:19 But we are so fortunate here 01:22 to be able to have so many of God's wonderful servants 01:27 come and to preach to us. 01:29 And this is our Sabbath morning service, 01:31 but we will be continuing this series on The Robe 01:35 that is being brought to us by Pastor Stephen Bohr. 01:39 Pastor Bohr is one of the most popular speakers 01:42 on Three Angels Broadcasting Network, 01:44 and he's on our television and radio both. 01:48 And we just really enjoy his ministry 01:52 and we are so happy that he can be with us today. 01:56 He's going to be talking to us on the subject 01:59 Examining the Robe. 02:03 Pastor Bohr is pastor of the Fresno Central SDA Church, 02:07 and he is also the speaker/ director for Secrets Unsealed. 02:12 And that is the name of his ministry which is reaching out 02:16 around the world. 02:19 And so we are so happy to have him here. 02:21 And before we listen to the message today 02:24 we're going to invite Pastor Bohr to come 02:28 and to lead us to the throne of grace. 02:39 Good morning. Good morning. 02:42 It's good to see all of you here this morning 02:45 to praise the Lord and to pray to Him 02:49 and to study His Word. 02:52 Before we being this morning I would like to 02:55 extend a very special greeting to my church in Fresno - 03:00 Fresno Central Church - where I'm going to be preaching 03:03 this morning on television. 03:05 And so I wanted to say hello to all of my beloved members. 03:09 I love you all. 03:10 Now I'd like to invite you to bow your heads with me 03:13 as we pray. 03:14 Father in Heaven, as we come to this place this morning 03:19 we want to hear the voice of Your Holy Spirit. 03:22 We want to know what Your will is for us. 03:25 We want to know clearly so that we can obey Your will 03:30 and we can live in harmony with what You have revealed. 03:34 Father, as we study this morning about Examining the Robe 03:39 we ask that You will be present in our midst 03:42 to instruct us and to give us the capacity 03:46 and the strength to live in harmony with what we study. 03:50 And we thank you, Father, for hearing and answering our prayer 03:53 for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. 03:59 During this series we've been studying 04:02 about the robe of Christ, 04:05 and we moved first of all into the camp. 04:11 Jesus came to live His life in our midst. 04:15 And then we followed Jesus into the court 04:19 where Jesus went to die to pay our penalty for sin. 04:24 And then in our last sermon we moved into the holy place 04:29 where Jesus serves as our Advocate or as our Intercessor. 04:35 Now today we're going to follow Jesus into the most holy place 04:40 of the sanctuary. 04:42 The title is: Examining the Robe. 04:47 And I'd like to begin by saying that we're going to study 04:51 a parable of Jesus that shows beyond any doubt 04:56 that the judgment takes place before Jesus comes 05:03 and it takes place in heaven before Jesus comes. 05:09 That is going to come forth clearly because 05:12 Seventh-day Adventists have always taught 05:14 that the judgment is not simply when Jesus comes 05:18 for the second time. There is an investigative judgment 05:21 that takes place before the close of probation 05:25 before Jesus comes on the clouds of heaven, 05:29 and this parable is going to make it absolutely clear. 05:33 Now I'd like to invite you to open your Bibles with me 05:36 to Matthew chapter 22 and we're going to read verses 1-14. 05:42 Matthew 22 verses 1 to 14, and then we're going to interpret 05:47 this very important parable. 05:51 It says there: 05:53 "And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables 05:58 and said: the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king 06:04 who arranged a marriage for his son 06:09 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited 06:14 to the wedding, and they were not willing to come. 06:18 Again, he sent out other servants saying: 06:22 'Tell those who are invited see, I have prepared my dinner. 06:27 My oxen and fatted cattle are killed 06:31 and all things are ready. Come to the wedding. ' 06:37 But they made light of it and went their ways... 06:40 one to his own farm, another to his business. 06:45 And the rest seized his servants, 06:48 treated them spitefully, and killed them. 06:52 But when the king heard about it he was furious, 06:55 and he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, 06:59 and burned up their city. 07:02 Then he said to his servants: 07:04 'The wedding is ready but those who were invited 07:08 were not worthy. Therefore, go into the highways 07:13 and as many as you find invite to the wedding. ' 07:17 So the servants went out into the highways 07:21 and gathered together all whom they found... 07:24 both bad and good. 07:26 And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 07:30 But when the king came in to see the guests 07:34 he saw a man who did not have on a wedding garment. 07:39 So he said to him: 07:41 'Friend how did you come in here without a wedding garment? ' 07:46 And he was speechless. 07:50 Then the king said to the servants: 07:53 'Bind him hand and foot. 07:56 Take him away and cast him into outer darkness. 08:01 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth 08:06 for many are called but few are chosen. ' " 08:11 Now let's interpret the meaning of this parable, 08:14 and we'll do it studying verse by verse. 08:18 Let's go to verse 1. 08:21 "And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables 08:26 and said: " Now, Jesus spoke in parables. 08:29 According to the experts who have studied the parables 08:33 the purpose of a parable is to teach one central truth 08:37 but the details of the parable are very, very important 08:42 in pointing to that central truth. 08:46 Now let's go to verse two: 08:48 "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king. " 08:52 Now the king here represents God the Father. 08:56 That's going to become very clear as we study. 08:59 "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king" - 09:02 God the Father - 09:04 "who arranged a marriage for his son. " 09:07 Very clearly the son is none other than whom? 09:11 The son is Jesus Christ. 09:14 Now of course, if you're going to have a wedding 09:17 you need to have guests at the wedding. 09:20 You need to send out invitations. 09:23 And so in verse 3 we find a call inviting the guests 09:28 to the wedding. It says in verse 3: 09:31 "And sent out his servants to call those who were invited 09:36 to the wedding... and they were not willing to come. " 09:42 Now the question is: who are these servants 09:44 that were sent out by God the Father to arrange 09:47 for the wedding of His Son? 09:50 The key expression is: "He sent out his servants. " 09:55 I believe the answer is three-fold as to who 09:58 these servants were who were sent out to call 10:01 to the wedding of the son. 10:04 Notice John chapter 1 verses 6 and 7. 10:07 John 1:6-7. This is the first individual who 10:10 was sent out to invite these people to the wedding. 10:14 It says there in John 1:6-7 10:16 "There was a man... " and here's the key word... 10:19 "sent from God whose name was John. 10:24 This man came for a witness 10:26 to bear witness of the life" - of course, it was Jesus - 10:30 that all through Him might believe. " 10:33 So who was the first servant sent out to invite 10:36 this group to the wedding? 10:37 It was John the Baptist. 10:40 But there was a second group. 10:41 Notice Matthew chapter 10 verses 5 through 7. 10:45 This group was sent out by Jesus to announce to these people 10:50 to get ready for the wedding 10:51 because the bridegroom was in their midst. 10:54 Matthew 10 verses 5 through 7. 10:56 Speaking about the twelve: "These twelve 11:00 Jesus sent out. " See, there's the key expression again: 11:04 sent... sent out. 11:06 "And commanded them saying: - 11:08 now this is important - 11:09 "do not go into the way... " That Greek word 11:14 is translated later on in the parable 11:18 highways. It's the identical Greek word. 11:21 You need to remember that. 11:23 He says: "Do not go out in the way 11:26 of the Gentiles. " 11:28 So the word way refers to going to whom? 11:31 To the Gentiles. Highway it's translated in the parable. 11:35 So He says: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles 11:39 and do not enter a city of the Samaritans, 11:42 but go... " See, they're being sent. 11:45 "go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 11:48 And as you go, preach saying: 'the kingdom 11:52 of heaven is at hand. ' " 11:53 So what is the second group that was sent 11:55 to call these people to the wedding? 11:58 It was the twelve disciples. 12:01 But there was another group. 12:02 Notice Luke chapter 10 and verse 1. 12:05 Have you ever heard of the group of the 70? 12:07 Notice Luke chapter 10 and verse 1 12:10 and once again we have the key expression "sent them. " 12:13 It says there: "After these things the Lord appointed 12:17 seventy others and" what? 12:21 "sent them two by two before His face" 12:24 into every city and place where He Himself 12:28 was about to go. 12:30 So those who were sent to call 12:34 specifically the Jews to the wedding 12:37 were John the Baptist, the twelve disciples, 12:41 and the group of the 70 to call the Jews 12:45 to prepare for the wedding of the Son... Jesus Christ. 12:49 But the Bible says that they rejected the message. 12:53 So what was God going to do? 12:55 Notice verse 4 in the parable. By the way, 12:58 keep your finger there in Matthew 22 12:59 because we're going to continually go back there. 13:02 Verse 4: "Again he sent out other servants 13:08 saying: 'tell those who are invited 13:11 see, I have prepared My dinner. ' " 13:14 Now here comes an important detail. 13:16 "My oxen and fatted cattle are killed. " 13:20 At this time the oxen and fatted cattle have been killed" 13:24 and it continues saying: "and all things are ready... 13:28 come to the wedding. " 13:30 Let me ask you: what is represented in this parable 13:33 by the killing of the fatted cattle and the oxen? 13:38 What did the sacrifices in the Old Testament represent? 13:41 They represented the sacrifice of Christ. 13:45 At this point in the parable Jesus has already what? 13:49 Jesus has died! 13:52 Notice Isaiah 53 and verse 7. 13:54 So you see that the sacrifices of oxen and fatted cattle 13:59 represented the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 14:01 It says in Isaiah 53 verse 7 speaking about Jesus: 14:05 "He was oppressed and He was afflicted 14:07 yet He opened not His mouth. " 14:10 "He was led as a lamb to the" what? 14:14 "to the slaughter. And as a sheep before its shearers 14:17 is silent, so He opened not His mouth. " 14:21 So when the parable says that the fatted cattle and the oxen 14:26 are killed or have been killed, all things are ready 14:29 it's referring to something that takes place 14:32 after the death of Christ. 14:34 Did God send additional messengers 14:38 after Jesus died on the cross? 14:40 He most certainly did according to this parable. 14:44 Now how did they react to this message 14:47 that was sent for the second time to the same group... 14:50 to the Jewish nation? 14:51 Notice verse 5: 14:53 "But they made light of it and went their ways... 14:59 one to his own farm and another to his business. " 15:02 In other words, some of them simply ignored the invitation. 15:06 But others opposed it. 15:08 It says in verse 6: 15:10 "And the rest seized his servants, 15:13 treated them spitefully, and killed them. " 15:17 This is taking place after the death of Jesus 15:21 because the fatted cattle and the oxen have been killed 15:24 at this point when the additional messengers 15:27 are sent out. 15:29 Now go with me to Matthew 23 15:31 and let's read verses 34 and 35. 15:34 Here Jesus is speaking two days before His death. 15:39 This is in the chapter that has the woes on the scribes 15:42 and the Pharisees. It's happening only two days 15:46 before the death of Jesus. 15:47 And notice what Jesus is going to say 15:50 is going to happen after His death. 15:52 It says there: 15:53 "Therefore indeed I send you" - 15:57 two days before His death - "I send you... " 16:00 what? "Prophets, 16:03 wise men, and scribes. " 16:07 So He's saying I'm going to send you what? 16:10 "I'm going to send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. " 16:14 And by the way, Luke chapter 11 and verse 49 16:18 adds that He would send apostles. 16:21 Interesting. And how would they react? 16:24 "Some of them you will" what? 16:26 "Kill and crucify. " Notice will... future. 16:30 "Some of them you will kill and crucify 16:33 and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues 16:37 and persecute from city to city. " 16:41 Let me ask you: who are the prophets that were sent 16:43 to Israel after the death of Jesus Christ? 16:46 I can mention two. 16:48 Steven... who had a vision of Jesus in heaven. 16:52 And also Silas - who in Acts 15:32 16:57 is called a prophet... 16:59 as well as others in Acts of the Apostles. 17:02 Who were the wise men that Jesus was going to send? 17:05 The seven deacons in Acts chapter 6 are called 17:09 "chose seven wise men to be deacons. " 17:13 And, of course, the word apostles applies to all 17:15 of the twelve apostles. Who were the scribes? 17:18 Well, the primary scribe was Saul of Tarsus. 17:22 The Bible says that he studied under a very famous 17:26 scribe called Gamaliel. He sat at his feet. 17:29 And so the scribe is Saul of Tarsus. 17:32 And notice that Jesus says here in Matthew 23:34: 17:37 "Therefore indeed I will send you prophets, 17:40 wise men, scribes... " and Luke adds apostles... 17:44 "Some of them you will kill and crucify. " 17:47 By the way, who was crucified? 17:50 Peter. Was James also killed? 17:53 You find the story in Acts chapter 12. 17:55 By the way, who were scourged? 17:59 Several! Peter, John, 18:02 Silas, Saul of Tarsus were scourged. 18:08 And notice it says: "And you will persecute from" where? 18:13 "from city to city. " 18:15 Let me ask you: who was it that persecuted 18:17 from city to city? 18:18 It was Saul of Tarsus until he became what? 18:22 Until he became converted. 18:25 And so this is talking about the messengers that were 18:28 sent to Israel after the death of Jesus Christ. 18:31 So notice we have moved from messengers before the death 18:34 of Jesus. We have moved in the parable to the death of Jesus. 18:38 Now we have moved to the period after the death of Jesus 18:41 when a new invitation is given to the Jewish nation 18:45 to come to the wedding of the son. 18:48 The Bible says that they rejected the message. 18:53 They rejected the messengers. 18:55 And so what happens with the king? Notice verse 7 18:58 of Matthew chapter 22: 19:01 "But when the king heard about it 19:05 he was" what? "Furious. " 19:09 What does the king represent? 19:12 The king represents God the Father. 19:15 And what did he do as a result? 19:17 "And he sent out his" what? 19:20 "He sent out his armies, 19:24 destroyed those murderers, 19:28 and burned their city. " 19:31 What event is being described in this verse? 19:33 The destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD. 19:39 Let's read about it in Luke chapter 19 19:41 and verses 41 through 44. 19:43 Luke 19:41-44. 19:47 "Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it 19:52 saying: 'If you had known, 19:55 even you, especially this in your day 19:58 the things that make for your peace - but now 20:01 they are hidden from your eyes. 20:03 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build 20:07 an embankment around you, surround you and close you in 20:11 on every side and level you 20:14 and your children within you to the ground. 20:18 And they will not leave in you one stone upon another. ' " 20:22 And then the reason is given: 20:24 "Because you did not know the time of your visitation. " 20:30 Do you see the chronological sequence in this parable? 20:33 It begins with John the Baptist, the apostles, and the 70. 20:38 It continues with the death of Jesus Christ. 20:41 It continues with the additional messengers that are sent: 20:45 Paul and Peter and John and Silas among others 20:51 that present the message once again to the same group 20:53 that it was presented to first. 20:55 They reject the message, 20:57 and so then it takes us to the destruction of Jerusalem 21:00 in the year 70 AD. 21:02 So what was God going to do? 21:04 Notice what we find in verse 8. 21:07 "Then he said to his servants 21:10 'The wedding is ready, 21:13 but those who were invited... " 21:16 that is the first two times... 21:19 'those who were invited were not' what? 21:22 'were not worthy. ' " Very important word: 21:26 the word worthy. 21:29 Notice Matthew chapter 10 verses 5 and 6. 21:33 Let's take a look at that word worthy to see who the first 21:37 message was sent to. Matthew 10, 5 and 6 21:39 and then we'll jump down to verses 11 through 15. 21:43 It says in Matthew 10, 5 and 6: 21:45 "These twelve Jesus sent out 21:49 and commanded them saying: 21:52 'Do not go into the way of the Gentiles. ' " 21:55 I mentioned that word way is the word highway 21:58 in the parable. 21:59 So highway refers to the Gentiles. 22:02 "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles 22:05 and do not enter a city of the Samaritans 22:08 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. " 22:12 To whom do the first two invitations go to? 22:15 To the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 22:17 Not the Gentiles; not the Samaritans. 22:20 Verse 11: "Now whatever city or town you enter" - 22:24 that is, in Israel - 22:28 what do they need to do? 22:30 "Inquire who in it is worthy 22:35 and stay there till you go out. 22:37 And when you go into a household greet it. 22:40 If the household is worthy" - 22:44 they're going to the lost sheep of the house of Israel - 22:46 "let your peace come upon it. 22:48 But if it is not worthy" - 22:51 in other words, if they reject the message 22:52 about the wedding of the son - 22:54 "let your peace return to you. 22:56 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words 22:59 when you depart from that house or city 23:02 shake off the dust from your feet. 23:04 Assuredly I say to you 23:06 it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah 23:10 in the day of judgment than for that city. " 23:14 Did you notice the importance of the word worthy? 23:17 Those to whom the message that was given first 23:20 were not what? Were not worthy. 23:23 And clearly Matthew 10 says that those who were not worthy 23:27 were the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 23:31 Now let's go to verse 9 in the parable. 23:35 You know, this is kind of frustrating. 23:37 God sends out two invitations to the wedding 23:40 and nobody responds. Nobody wants to come to the wedding. 23:44 And so now He sends out another invitation. 23:48 Verse 9: 23:50 "Therefore, go into the highways. " 23:54 What does that word refer to when it says 23:58 "go into the highways? " It means go to who? 24:00 To the Gentiles. Exactly. 24:03 See, you would never know from the translation 24:05 that the word way is the same word as the word highway... 24:08 but it's very, very important. 24:10 "Therefore, go into the highways" - 24:12 which by the way is the way of the Gentiles - 24:15 "and as many as you find invite to" what? 24:19 "Invite to the wedding. " 24:21 So now the invitation of the gospel goes to whom? 24:24 It goes to the Gentiles. 24:27 It goes to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people! 24:31 By the way, has the wedding taken place at this point yet? 24:36 Does the wedding take place when the first invitation is given 24:40 by John the Baptist and by the apostles and the 70? No. 24:45 Has the wedding taken place when Jesus dies? No. 24:48 Has the wedding taken place when an additional group of servants 24:51 is sent to the Jewish nation? No. 24:54 Does the wedding take place yet while the Gentiles are being 24:58 gathered in from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people? 25:01 Absolutely not. 25:02 The wedding has not taken place yet. 25:05 Now let's go to Matthew chapter 8 verses 11 and 12 25:09 and talk a little bit more about this message that goes 25:13 to the highways. In other words, goes to the Gentiles. 25:17 Notice Jesus even during His ministry spoke about this fact. 25:22 Matthew chapter 8 verses 11 and 12: 25:25 "And I say to you that many will come from east and west" - 25:31 by the way, these are the Gentiles - 25:33 and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 25:38 in the kingdom of heaven. 25:41 But" - notice those who were invited first - 25:44 "But the sons of the kingdom" - who would those be? - 25:48 Those to whom the first two invitations went. 25:51 "But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out 25:54 into outer darkness. 25:55 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. " 25:59 Let's go to Luke 13 verses 22 through 30. 26:02 This is the parallel passage to the one that we just read 26:05 in Matthew chapter 8. 26:07 Luke chapter 13 and verses 22 to 30. 26:11 It says here: 26:13 "And He" - that is, Jesus - "went through the cities 26:15 and villages teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem. 26:19 Then one said to Him: 'Lord, 26:22 are there few who are saved? ' 26:24 And He said to them: 'strive to enter through the narrow gate 26:28 for many, I say to you, will seek to enter 26:32 and will not be able. 26:33 When once the master of the house has risen up 26:36 and shut the door and you begin to stand outside the door 26:40 and knock saying: 'Lord, Lord, open for us' 26:43 and he will answer and say to you 26:47 'I do not know where you are from. ' " 26:50 Now who is He speaking to here? 26:53 Let's continue reading. Verse 26: 26:56 "Then you will begin to say: 'we ate and drank 27:01 in Your presence. ' " Let me ask you, who were the 27:03 ones who ate and drank in the presence of Jesus? 27:06 The Jewish nation. 27:08 "And You taught in our streets! 27:11 But He will say: 'I tell you, I do not know you... 27:16 where you are from. And depart from Me, 27:18 all you workers of iniquity. ' 27:20 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth 27:22 when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob 27:25 and all the prophets in the kingdom of God 27:28 and yourselves thrust out. " 27:30 And then He speaks about the Gentiles. 27:34 They will come from the east and the west, 27:36 from the north and the south, 27:38 and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed 27:41 there are last who will be first. " 27:44 To whom did the message go to last? 27:46 The Gentiles. 27:48 "And there are first who will be" what? 27:52 "Last. " Those who received the message first. 27:55 In other words, Jesus is saying that the kingdom 27:58 will be taken away from those who received the 28:00 first two invitations and it will be given to the Gentiles. 28:04 In fact, let's read about it in Matthew chapter 21 28:06 and verse 43. Matthew chapter 21 and verse 43. 28:12 Very important. It says here: 28:16 "Therefore I say to you 28:18 the kingdom of God will be" what? 28:22 "taken from you and given to a nation 28:26 bearing the fruits thereof. " 28:28 Unfortunately the word nation you would never know 28:32 that it's the word ethnos which elsewhere in the 28:35 New Testament is translated Gentiles. 28:39 In other words: "Therefore I say to you 28:41 the kingdom of God will be taken from you 28:43 and given to the Gentiles that bear the fruits of it. " 28:48 By the way, the apostle Paul was also preaching with Barnabas 28:51 and I want you to notice this in Acts 13 28:55 and verses 47 and 48. 28:57 Acts 13:47-48. 28:59 The Jews are rejecting the message and they're 29:03 giving Paul and Barnabas problems 29:05 as they're preaching the gospel. 29:07 And I want you to notice what takes place. 29:09 Acts 13 verse 47: 29:11 "Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said: 29:16 'It was necessary that the Word of God 29:19 should be spoken to you' what? 29:22 'first. ' " Interesting. 29:26 'But since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy 29:31 of everlasting life, behold 29:34 we turn to the Gentiles. ' " 29:37 The same word where Jesus said the kingdom will be given 29:41 to a nation or to the Gentiles. 29:44 "We turn to the Gentiles 29:46 for so the Lord has commanded us: 29:49 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles. 29:53 that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. ' " 29:57 So now where does the gospel invitation go to? 30:00 The gospel invitation goes to all the world. 30:03 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 30:06 in all the world as a witness to ALL the nations. " 30:10 The word nations once again could be translated Gentiles. 30:13 "And then the end will" what? "And then the end will come. " 30:18 And so the first two invitations were rejected... 30:22 now the message goes to the Gentiles. 30:24 It goes to the highways, so to speak. 30:26 Notice verse 10 once again... In the parable, verse 10. 30:31 It say: "So those servants 30:34 went out into the highways" - 30:38 same word that's translated way earlier in the parable - 30:41 "So those servants went out into the highways 30:45 and gathered together all whom they found: 30:49 both" - what? - "bad and good, 30:55 and the wedding hall was filled with guests. " 31:00 Question: has the wedding taken place yet? 31:03 No. 31:05 Does the wedding take place while the Gentiles 31:07 are being gathered in? 31:09 While people from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people 31:12 are being gathered into the wedding hall? 31:14 Absolutely not. The wedding has not yet taken place. 31:18 Now it's interesting to notice 31:20 a parable of Jesus that's parallel to this. 31:23 Did you notice that it says that "bad and good" were gathered? 31:28 Now notice Matthew chapter 13 31:31 and verses 47 through 50. 31:33 Matthew 13 and verses 47 through 50. 31:36 This is the parable of the dragnet. 31:40 You know they used to fish with nets not with hooks, 31:45 so this is talking about fishing with nets. 31:47 It says there in Matthew 13:47 31:50 "Again the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet 31:53 that was cast into the sea 31:55 and gathered some of every kind 31:59 which when it was full they drew to shore. 32:02 And they sat down and gathered the good 32:06 into vessels but threw the bad away. " 32:10 Interesting. 32:12 Let me ask you: what is meant by the casting of the net? 32:16 It's the preaching of the gospel. 32:18 Didn't Jesus tell His disciples 32:21 "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men? " 32:23 So casting the net is preaching the gospel. 32:27 But when you preach the gospel 32:28 only good people respond to the gospel and come into the church 32:32 and claim to follow Jesus Christ. 32:35 Absolutely not. 32:36 There are good and bad. 32:37 How do you know who are good and who are bad? 32:40 There has to be a what? 32:44 A judgment... 32:46 to separate the good from the bad. 32:50 By the way, when I was growing up 32:52 in the country of Venezuela, 32:54 our family used to take a vacation almost every year 32:57 at a pristine island called Margarita Island. 33:02 At that time it was beautiful; 33:04 hardly anybody ever went there. 33:06 Now it's full of hotels and it's full of businesses. 33:09 And one thing that we would love to do was 33:12 real early in the morning - about 3 o'clock in the morning - 33:15 go to this beach where the fishermen were coming in 33:18 with their nets. And you had several boats cooperating 33:22 and they had this big net that covered a good share of the bay. 33:26 And they would bring in the net to the shore. 33:28 And then when they got to the shore they had 33:30 all sorts of things. They had starfish. 33:33 They had sharks. They had... you know, 33:35 catfish. They had all different kinds of fish in the net. 33:39 And they would sit down. They had baskets, 33:41 and they would separate the good fish that they were going to 33:44 take to the marketplace from the bad fish 33:46 because the net gathered all kinds of fish. 33:51 And so the gospel net - when it goes to the Gentiles - 33:53 it gathers both good and bad. 33:56 So how do you know who is good and who is bad? 33:59 Verse 11... We come to the critical part 34:03 of this parable now. 34:04 It says here: 34:07 "But when the king came in to" what? 34:12 "see the guests, 34:18 he saw a man there who did not have a wedding garment. " 34:24 Let me tell you something about that word see. 34:27 That word see in Greek, according to the Exogenical 34:32 Dictionary of the New Testament, means 34:34 to see regularly; 34:38 intensive, thorough, lingering, astonished, 34:44 reflecting, comprehending observation. 34:48 In other words He didn't just come in: "Oh, let Me take a look 34:51 here. " No. The word means that He had an intensive, 34:57 thorough, lingering, astonished, 34:59 reflective, comprehending observation. 35:03 And He finds as He examines the guests 35:07 plural... Let me ask you, are all of the guests examined? 35:11 They most certainly are. 35:12 All of the guests are examined. 35:14 And as He is examining the guests 35:16 He sees one individual that is present there 35:20 that does not have on "The Robe. " 35:25 We're studying about The Robe, right? 35:28 Now what does that robe represent? 35:32 I'd like to read a statement from Christ Object Lessons 35:35 page 310. Last night we talked about The Robe. 35:39 Actually the last two times that we met together. 35:42 We noticed that the robe represents the robe 35:44 of Christ's righteousness that covers our nakedness. 35:49 But we noticed that when we come in faith 35:53 and when repent and we confess our sin 35:55 and we are baptized, not only does Jesus credit His life to us 36:00 but our faith is a faith that changes the life. 36:04 It's a faith that works, correct? 36:06 And works show if faith is genuine or not. 36:11 Now notice Christ Object Lessons page 310. 36:35 Let me ask you: did that guy profess to have the right 36:38 to be in the wedding hall? 36:39 He sure did! 36:41 The net went out, gathered him in. 36:43 He came in, said: "I have a right to be here. " 36:45 But he didn't have what? He didn't have the robe. 36:48 She continues saying: 37:17 It's obvious that if Jesus brings His reward 37:21 that reward must have been determined before. 37:25 You know, it's common for Christians to say 37:28 "Oh, you know, we're not going to go through the judgment. 37:30 It's only unbelievers that are going to be judged. " 37:34 The fact is there's nothing clearer in the New Testament 37:38 than the fact that everyone will appear before the judgment 37:40 seat of Christ to see if they have the robe. 37:43 II Corinthians 5 verse 10 says: 37:45 "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ 37:49 to give an account for what we have done in the body. " 37:53 In Matthew 12:34 Jesus says: "By your words you will be 37:57 justified and by your words you will be condemned. " 38:01 Words... actions. 38:02 Ecclesiastes 12 verse 14 says not only our works 38:06 but our secret things. 38:08 It says God will bring to light "every secret thing. " 38:11 Revelation 22 and verse 12 says that Jesus comes 38:16 to reward everyone according to his or her what? 38:20 Works. In other words, works reveal if we truly have 38:25 the garment of Christ's righteousness 38:27 because when we have His garment of righteousness 38:29 our life will change. 38:33 By the way, the New Testament makes it clear that everyone 38:36 who professes Christ is not a follower of Christ. 38:38 Have you ever read that passage where Jesus says: 38:40 "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' 38:43 will enter the kingdom of heaven? " 38:45 By the way, are these Christians? 38:47 Of course. They're calling Jesus 'Lord, Lord. ' 38:49 "Many will say to Me in that day 38:52 'Lord, didn't we cast out demons in Your name? ' " 38:55 That is the name of Jesus. 38:56 "Did we not prophesy in Your name? " 38:59 "Did we not perform many miracles in Your name? " 39:01 And Jesus is going to say: "Oh, yes, come. You're Mine. " 39:04 No! He's going to say: "I never knew you. 39:07 Depart from Me you" what? 39:11 "Workers of iniquity. " 39:14 In other words, they profess Jesus but their works 39:17 deny their faith. 39:18 Have you ever read in II Corinthians 11 39:21 where the apostle Paul speaks about ministers who 39:24 disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness 39:28 when they're really ministers of unrighteousness? 39:31 Have you ever read the parable of the wheat and the tares 39:35 that are together? And they're together until the harvest. 39:38 Have you ever read the parable of the 10 virgins? 39:41 Did the 5 foolish virgins claim to be followers of Jesus? 39:45 Yes! Did they have lamps? Absolutely. 39:48 Was there SOME oil in their lamp? Absolutely! 39:51 They claimed to be followers of Jesus Christ 39:55 and yet they were counterfeit believers 39:58 because they did not have fully 40:01 the robe of Christ's righteousness... which 40:03 was revealed in their life and in their actions 40:08 and in their words and in the secret things of their hearts. 40:12 Christ Object Lessons page 310. 40:14 You ought to read the last chapter in 40:16 Christ Object Lessons. This is a spectacular chapter 40:19 where Ellen White is talking about the robe. 40:22 This is what she says: 40:57 She says in Christ Object Lessons page 312: 41:01 "Righteousness is right doing, and it is by their deeds 41:06 that all will be judged. " 41:07 Our characters are revealed by what we do! 41:12 The works show whether the faith is genuine. 41:16 Now you say: "Pastor, are you perfect? " 41:18 Far from it. 41:20 All of us have struggles with sin. 41:22 But as long as we repent and we say: "Lord, I'm struggling 41:25 with this sin; give me the victory over this sin" 41:27 and we hate sin, Jesus does not forsake us. 41:31 And He will give us the victory over sin. 41:34 Notice what Ellen White says in volume 2 of 41:37 Selected Messages page 380. 41:38 She's in perfect harmony with scripture. 41:41 We've already noticed it in the Bible. 41:43 She says: "That which God required of Adam before his fall 41:46 was perfect obedience to His law. 41:48 God requires now what He required of Adam: 41:51 perfect obedience. 41:53 Righteousness without a flaw, 41:55 without shortcoming in His sight. 41:57 God help us to render to Him all His law requires. 42:02 We cannot do this without that faith 42:05 that brings Christ's righteous- ness into daily fact. " 42:12 Powerful! 42:14 You see, the robe of Christ's righteousness 42:15 is His imputed righteousness. 42:18 But when we truly have His robe of imputed righteousness 42:21 our life will reveal it. 42:24 Because his imparted righteousness as we're going to 42:27 speak about in our next sermon together 42:29 will be revealed in our life. 42:32 And so this man is found in the wedding chamber 42:37 without a garment. Let me ask you: 42:40 is this talking about something that happens after Jesus comes? 42:44 Do you actually think that after Jesus comes, you know, 42:47 God's people are gathered in heaven 42:49 and Jesus comes and says: "How did you get in here? " 42:53 "What are you doing here? " 42:55 Of course not! When Jesus comes, He's going to take 42:58 only His faithful children home. 43:01 Which means that in the parable the examination of the guests 43:04 takes place BEFORE Jesus comes 43:06 and it takes place in heaven. 43:08 It's through an examination of the books. 43:11 You see, I'm in two places at the same times. 43:13 You say: "Have mercy... one of you is enough! " 43:18 I'm in two places. 43:21 Personally, I'm here 43:24 but in heaven I'm written in books... 43:26 God has an exact transcript of me up there. 43:29 And so in the judgment when God calls me before the judgment 43:32 seat He opens the books 43:34 which have an exact transcript of me. 43:37 And by the way, Jesus is personally in heaven 43:40 and on earth He is found in 66 books. 43:44 So I am in books where I am not personally. 43:47 And so this individual was actually in the Book of Life. 43:52 He claimed Jesus as his Savior, 43:54 but when the records of his life are examined 43:57 it showed that his faith was counterfeit. 44:01 That his repentance was not genuine. 44:03 That his confession was really crocodile tears. 44:06 Are you understanding what this parable is saying? 44:10 Does the wedding take place before all of the guests 44:13 are in the wedding chamber? 44:14 Absolutely not! By the way, the final judgment takes place 44:18 when everyone is in the wedding chamber. 44:20 Absolutely. The judgment finishes with the judgment 44:24 of the living, and then you have Jesus marrying 44:28 humanity. That's what the... that's what the wedding 44:31 represents. It's when Jesus takes over His kingdom 44:34 because His kingdom is made up... 44:36 In other words, He already knows who all of the subjects 44:39 of His kingdom are. And so now He can marry humanity 44:43 because all of His subjects have been gathered together 44:46 in the wedding hall. 44:48 Now notice what we find in verse 12. 44:52 "So He said to him: 'friend'... 44:57 Notice He doesn't say "you rascal. " 45:00 "So He said to him: 'friend'... 45:10 Did he sneak into heaven? No. 45:13 Is he on earth while this is happening? Yes. 45:17 But his records are being examined where? In heaven. 45:20 Is this an investigative judgment 45:22 before the second coming of Jesus? Absolutely 45:25 and clearly! And it's taking place in heaven. 45:28 And only when all of the guests have been examined 45:31 THEN Jesus can marry His kingdom 45:33 because His kingdom is complete. 45:39 Now how does this man respond? 45:42 "Well, Lord, the flesh is weak. " 45:48 "Well, Lord, I grew up in a bad environment. " 45:53 "Well, Lord, the world was just so attractive. " 45:58 "Well, Lord, You just don't know how powerful the devil is. " 46:04 You know, we might give excuses now 46:09 for defects and flaws in our character, but we won't then. 46:14 Romans 3:19 says: "Now we know that 46:17 whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law. " 46:31 In Christ Object Lessons page 317 Ellen White states: 46:36 "Men may now excuse their defective character... 46:44 The same book - Christ Object Lessons - page 315 and 316 46:48 she says: 48:12 What a powerful statement. 48:16 Now you say: "Are you saying, Pastor Bohr, then 48:18 that an individual can be written in the Book of Life - 48:21 that an individual can be pardoned - 48:26 and then afterwards God can revoke what He did 48:31 in the judgment? That's exactly what I'm saying. 48:34 We don't believe in once saved always saved. 48:38 Now let me give you another parable of Jesus 48:40 that illustrates this clearly and explicitly. 48:43 That an individual, if their works show 48:47 that their acceptance of Christ was a sham, 48:51 in other words, if the acceptance of Jesus 48:54 is not translated into a change of the life, 48:57 forgiveness will be revoked. 48:59 That is Biblical. 49:01 Notice Matthew chapter 18 verses 23 to 35. 49:06 Here we have the parable of the two debtors. 49:10 Ever heard of that parable? 49:14 Let's read it and then interpret it. 49:18 Matthew 18:23... 49:20 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king" - 49:24 that's God the Father - "who wanted to settle accounts" - 49:27 that's the judgment - " with His servants. " 49:30 That's us. 49:32 "And when He had begun to settle accounts 49:34 one was brought to Him" - 49:35 in other words, he didn't come freely, he was brought - 49:38 "who owed Him 10,000 talents. " 49:42 By the way, this is such a huge amount 49:45 that this man could have never paid it. 49:47 He couldn't have paid in 10,000 years. 49:49 It was an unpayable debt like we have an unpayable debt 49:52 before God. 49:55 Verse 25: 49:56 "But as he was not able to pay, 49:58 his master commanded that he should be sold 50:01 and his wife and children and all that he had 50:04 and that payment be made. " 50:09 Was that justice? Of course it was justice. 50:13 He owed the king this. 50:15 Verse 26: 50:18 "The servant therefore fell down before him 50:21 saying: 'Master, have patience with me 50:24 and I will pay you all. ' " 50:26 Could he really pay? Of course he couldn't. 50:28 There was no way in his lifetime or a thousand lifetimes 50:32 that he could pay this debt. 50:34 And so the king does something unbelievable. 50:38 It says in verse 27: 50:40 "Then the master of that servant was moved with" what? 50:43 "Compassion. " That's God's mercy; that's God's grace. 50:47 "And released him and forgave him that debt. " 50:51 Wow! Is that what Jesus has done with our unpayable debt? 50:56 He most certainly has. 50:57 This man appeared to be repentant. 51:00 He appeared to be sorry. 51:01 Actually confessed, and he head the willingness to pay. 51:06 And so you say: "This man was saved. 51:08 His debt was cancelled once and for all... forever. " 51:11 Ho ho... let's finish the parable. 51:15 Notice what we find in verse 28: 51:18 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants 51:24 who owed him 100 dinara. " 51:28 By the way, that's the equivalent of 100 days work. 51:32 It's a payable debt; it could have been done in installments. 51:35 "And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat 51:39 saying: 'pay me what you owe. ' " 51:43 Did his works show that he appreciated the forgiveness 51:46 that he received for his large debt? 51:48 "Forgive us our debts as we... " 51:51 "forgive our debtors. " If you don't forgive, 51:53 you will not be forgiven. 51:55 "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet 51:58 and begged him saying: 'Have patience with me 52:01 and I will pay you all. ' And he would not. 52:04 But he went out and threw him into prison 52:06 till he should pay the debt. " 52:09 Did he have the character of the king? 52:12 Just the opposite. 52:14 Was he truly repentant? 52:16 No, he was sorry he was going to go jail 52:17 and everything was going to be sold. 52:19 He was sorry for the consequences 52:21 but he wasn't sorry for what he had done 52:24 in stealing from his Master. 52:26 And so it says in verse 32: 52:28 "Then his Master after He had called him, said to him: 52:31 'You wicked servant. 52:33 I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ' 52:37 Like we do when we beg for God's grace. 52:42 'Should you not also have had compassion 52:46 on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you? ' 52:49 And his Master was angry and delivered him 52:52 to the torturers until he should pay all that was due him. 52:57 So My Heavenly Father also will do to each of you 53:02 if from his heart he does not forgive his brother 53:07 his trespasses. " 53:09 Had this individual been forgiven? Yes or no? 53:12 He had been forgiven a large debt, 53:15 but when it was examined how he treated his fellow 53:18 human being, that forgiveness was what? 53:22 It was revoked. 53:25 In other words, it was his life - the way he treated 53:27 his fellow human being - that showed whether he truly 53:30 comprehended and grasped 53:33 the love and mercy of the king in forgiving his large debt. 53:39 Are you catching a picture of what's going on here? 53:42 It's the life that is examined. 53:45 Now let me explain. 53:46 It doesn't mean that our works save us 53:49 but our works show if we are saved. Amen! 53:52 We have to... our works are not meritorious 53:55 because really it's Jesus living in us. 53:57 You see, imparted righteousness is also Christ's righteousness. 54:02 It's Him living in us. 54:05 I am crucified with Christ. 54:06 I don't live but Jesus lives in me. 54:09 It is still His righteousness. 54:11 When I have His imputed righteousness 54:13 and I truly have it and I understand the large debt 54:16 that He has forgiven me, it will be a delight for me 54:19 to live as He lives and to reflect His character. 54:25 Verse 13 of the parable: 54:27 "Then the king said to the servants" - 54:29 by the way, these are the angels - 54:32 'Bind him hand and foot; 54:36 take him away. ' 54:37 That is the individual who was without a wedding garment 54:40 who was in the wedding hall - he was in the Book of Life, 54:45 he claimed to be a follower of Jesus - 54:47 But it says: 'Bind him hand and foot; take him away 54:53 and cast him into outer darkness. ' 54:56 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. " 55:01 And in Matthew 13 verse 30 - the parable of the wheat 55:04 and the tares - we're told: "Let both grow together 55:07 until the harvest. 55:09 And at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: - 55:12 these are the angels, by the way - 55:13 'first gather together the tares and bind them in bundles 55:16 to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn. ' " 55:23 So let me ask you, does the judgment take place 55:26 before the second coming of Jesus? 55:28 Yes or no. Yes! 55:30 Does it take place in heaven? Yes. 55:32 Is everyone examined? Yes. 55:35 What is it that is examined? 55:37 Whether you have what? The robe. 55:39 And the robe is Christ's imputed righteousness 55:42 that is revealed in our what? 55:45 That is revealed in our character that is revealed 55:48 in our life. And I praise God 55:51 that there's going to be a people. 55:54 Because Jesus says: "For many are called 55:57 but few are" what? "Chosen. " 55:59 Let's go to Revelation chapter 17 and verse 14 56:02 as we draw this to a close. 56:04 Revelation 17 verse 14 56:06 speaking about the wicked that will try and slay 56:09 God's people. I want you to notice that there are some 56:11 that will be with Jesus, 56:12 that will have accepted this invitation. 56:14 It says: "These will make war with the Lamb. " 56:17 These are the kings of the earth at the end of time. 56:19 "And the Lamb will overcome them for He is Lord of Lords 56:23 and King of Kings. And those who are with Him" - 56:27 that is, with Jesus - 56:28 "are called, chosen, and faithful. " 56:34 Not only chosen. 56:35 "Called, chosen," and they prove to be what? 56:40 They prove to be faithful to Jesus Christ. 56:44 So is the Seventh-day Adventist church wrong when it says 56:48 that the judgment takes place, 56:49 that there's an investigative judgment 56:50 before the second coming of Jesus? 56:53 In fact, yesterday was October 22. 56:55 We were celebrating the 166th anniversary of 57:00 the beginning of the judgment that we talked about 57:02 this morning. Jesus Himself taught it. 57:05 It's not only in Daniel 8:14 57:08 and Revelation chapter 14:6-7. 57:10 It's found from the very lips of Jesus. 57:13 And I pray to God that all of us 57:16 will have that experience of first of all receiving 57:20 Christ's imputed righteousness. 57:24 Truly. And that that will be manifested 57:28 through a life like His. |
Revised 2014-12-17