Well, it's not that we couldn't
spend more time on Revelation 1
00:00:29.99\00:00:34.86
but we are going to move on,
00:00:34.90\00:00:37.23
we've laid a good foundation,
we've looked at principles
00:00:37.27\00:00:41.04
and we connected
to the Book of Daniel,
00:00:41.07\00:00:43.37
we've understood
some of the themes
00:00:43.41\00:00:45.44
and I think that we
have the tools we need
00:00:45.47\00:00:48.78
to start our journey
00:00:48.81\00:00:50.45
right into this first
epic of the seven churches,
00:00:50.48\00:00:53.42
so we're going to
look at the seven churches
00:00:53.45\00:00:55.58
or at least begin the
seven churches' journey,
00:00:55.62\00:00:57.72
we're going to
look at the first church
00:00:57.75\00:00:59.12
we'll just move
through... again...
00:00:59.15\00:01:00.49
we don't have an agenda
so we can move through this
00:01:00.52\00:01:02.09
as fast or as slow
as the Holy Spirit leads
00:01:02.12\00:01:04.83
so it's understandable.
00:01:04.86\00:01:06.59
So, we'll start with the
first church which is Ephesus,
00:01:06.66\00:01:09.70
we'll read the verses
and we'll start to break down
00:01:09.73\00:01:12.77
the timeframe to
figure out where we are,
00:01:12.80\00:01:15.37
what this message means
in the context of history
00:01:15.40\00:01:18.91
and also, what it means
to us today which, you know,
00:01:18.94\00:01:22.31
there's the
principle there of idealism
00:01:22.34\00:01:23.71
that allows the principles
to be applicable to us
00:01:23.75\00:01:25.88
even right now
00:01:25.91\00:01:27.25
and I think we're going
to get some good stuff here
00:01:27.28\00:01:29.92
out of the seven churches,
it's a beautiful picture so
00:01:29.98\00:01:32.85
let's start with
a word of prayer,
00:01:32.92\00:01:34.26
Ivor, you want to lead us off?
00:01:34.29\00:01:35.62
Sure, "Heavenly Father,
00:01:35.66\00:01:36.99
we want to ask that
you would bless our study
00:01:37.03\00:01:40.60
as we open the Word once
again, give us insight Lord,
00:01:40.63\00:01:45.57
anoint our eyes that we
may be able to see the things
00:01:45.63\00:01:50.54
that you desire us to see,
00:01:50.57\00:01:51.91
we thank you Lord
for caring and answering,
00:01:51.94\00:01:55.51
we ask this in
Jesus' name, amen.
00:01:55.54\00:01:58.25
All: Amen...
00:01:58.28\00:01:59.61
Now I wanted us to pick up
on the theme, the love theme,
00:01:59.65\00:02:02.72
because love is a huge theme
here... in the first church,
00:02:02.75\00:02:06.62
they lost their first
love is what is said about them
00:02:06.65\00:02:10.49
but before we get
into the first church,
00:02:10.53\00:02:12.29
we have a picture of Jesus
standing among the candlesticks
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and they're identified
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and we did this in
the earlier session,
00:02:17.30\00:02:18.83
they're identified in
verse 20 as the churches
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and so, here's the picture and
I call this... a prelude of hope
00:02:21.27\00:02:25.14
but I want us to pick up this
picture with an eye on romance,
00:02:25.17\00:02:29.04
okay, here is the picture
00:02:29.08\00:02:32.01
of Jesus staying
among these churches,
00:02:32.05\00:02:33.62
the churches have
problems, they have issues,
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they have baggage,
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you know,
relationships have baggage,
00:02:38.69\00:02:40.16
they have baggage
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and the thing that I
love about this picture
00:02:41.56\00:02:44.43
is that even
though they have issues
00:02:44.46\00:02:48.20
and they have baggage
and they have problems,
00:02:48.23\00:02:50.13
Jesus is with
them... All: Hmmm... hmmm...
00:02:50.17\00:02:52.03
James: Jesus is with them,
00:02:52.07\00:02:53.57
now, what's
really significant is...
00:02:53.64\00:02:55.44
as we look
through these churches,
00:02:55.47\00:02:57.24
we're going to find
that there are two churches
00:02:57.27\00:02:59.74
that have nothing
negative said about them,
00:02:59.77\00:03:02.24
the first one is Smyrna,
00:03:02.28\00:03:03.75
which is going to be the
second church in our order,
00:03:03.78\00:03:06.25
and the next
church, the second church
00:03:06.31\00:03:08.58
that has nothing bad
said about it is Philadelphia,
00:03:08.62\00:03:10.85
the church of brotherly love,
00:03:10.89\00:03:12.22
all the other churches,
00:03:12.25\00:03:13.86
Jesus affirms
and then He corrects,
00:03:13.89\00:03:17.89
he affirms, he
corrects, which, by-the-way,
00:03:17.93\00:03:19.93
marriage... relationships...
start with the positive
00:03:19.96\00:03:23.30
affirm your wife,
affirm your husband,
00:03:23.33\00:03:26.30
affirm your
children before you correct,
00:03:26.33\00:03:29.24
He affirms and He
corrects, Jesus was the Master
00:03:29.27\00:03:32.57
and He knows that
they've got issues
00:03:32.64\00:03:35.98
before He gets to the issues,
He pictures Himself among them.
00:03:36.01\00:03:40.82
"I'm with you, I'm with you... "
00:03:40.85\00:03:42.62
now, He could
have pictured himself,
00:03:42.68\00:03:44.42
just with two of the churches,
00:03:44.45\00:03:45.79
he could have just
pictured Himself...
00:03:45.82\00:03:47.16
as with Smyrna and Philadelphia
00:03:47.19\00:03:49.52
and He could have
had this attitude of,
00:03:49.56\00:03:51.13
"When you other five
churches get your act together,
00:03:51.16\00:03:53.63
when you listen to
what I have to say,
00:03:53.66\00:03:55.00
and when you follow my rebukes
00:03:55.03\00:03:56.36
you can join our
little group over here...
00:03:56.40\00:03:58.27
we've arrived
and you can join us"
00:03:58.30\00:04:00.90
but He doesn't do that,
see, Jesus meets us where we are
00:04:00.94\00:04:03.67
and this is the message
of the Book of Revelation.
00:04:03.71\00:04:06.88
Jesus meets us where we
are, He knows our baggage,
00:04:06.91\00:04:09.74
He knows our struggles,
He knows our weaknesses,
00:04:09.78\00:04:12.55
we see this in the
gospels, the woman at the well,
00:04:12.58\00:04:15.35
in the middle of the afternoon
00:04:15.38\00:04:17.82
because that's when no
one else would be there
00:04:17.85\00:04:19.22
and this woman didn't want to be
00:04:19.25\00:04:20.69
seen or talked
to by anyone else,
00:04:20.72\00:04:22.09
Jesus... meets... He
knows her life history,
00:04:22.12\00:04:24.73
He knows everything about her
00:04:24.79\00:04:26.13
and He tells her that He
knows everything about her
00:04:26.16\00:04:28.16
but the way that
He relates to her
00:04:28.20\00:04:31.63
and the way that He
communicates to her,
00:04:31.67\00:04:33.30
tells her that he
cares about her and loves her
00:04:33.34\00:04:36.64
and she now is free
from all that insecurity,
00:04:36.67\00:04:39.57
all that history... that she's
free to run into town and say,
00:04:39.61\00:04:41.64
"Come and meet a man
that told me everything
00:04:41.68\00:04:43.01
I ever did wrong. "
00:04:43.04\00:04:44.38
Isn't this the Messiah?
00:04:44.41\00:04:45.75
Okay, that's the picture that
00:04:45.78\00:04:47.95
Revelation is
giving us of Jesus Christ.
00:04:47.98\00:04:50.39
He knows all the problems we
have, but He's still with us,
00:04:50.42\00:04:53.56
ahead of time, He shows us that.
00:04:53.62\00:04:55.32
I want to add something
there, in Revelation chapter 1
00:04:55.36\00:04:59.39
Jesus is described as
having on a golden girdle
00:04:59.43\00:05:02.86
and that is very key because
00:05:02.90\00:05:05.50
that description goes
back to the Old Testament
00:05:05.53\00:05:09.50
when the High
Priest, in fact, is found...
00:05:09.54\00:05:11.94
it's Exodus 28 verse 4
00:05:11.97\00:05:16.28
and it describes the
garments of the High Priest
00:05:16.31\00:05:19.31
that he was supposed to put on,
the verse ends with these words,
00:05:19.35\00:05:22.58
"that He may minister
unto me in the Priest's office"
00:05:22.62\00:05:26.09
so when we see Jesus
with these garments on,
00:05:26.15\00:05:30.79
it's signifying that He has now
entered into His priestly work,
00:05:30.83\00:05:35.00
part of that priestly...
of course, that's going to be,
00:05:35.03\00:05:37.67
after His
resurrection, He's ascended,
00:05:37.70\00:05:40.47
so the vision
here of the churches
00:05:40.50\00:05:43.20
begins with Christ beginning His
work of ministry of intercession
00:05:43.24\00:05:49.64
but the nice
thing about this is...
00:05:49.71\00:05:51.35
that He wears a
Breastplate, right, with the...
00:05:51.38\00:05:54.65
with the names of the
children of Israel on it
00:05:54.68\00:05:58.42
meaning what? He's
bearing them on His heart
00:05:58.45\00:06:02.12
so that picture of
Christ carrying us,
00:06:02.16\00:06:05.29
Christ caring for
us, Christ loving us
00:06:05.33\00:06:08.43
is what comes before...
00:06:08.46\00:06:10.40
"before I begin to...
like... tell you about yourself,
00:06:10.43\00:06:14.00
let me just let you know
that I have you in my heart... "
00:06:14.04\00:06:17.31
Yvonne: Yes...
James: That I'm with you.
00:06:17.34\00:06:18.67
Ivor: I'm with you.
James: I'm standing with you.
00:06:18.71\00:06:20.04
Ivor: Exactly, exactly.
00:06:20.08\00:06:21.48
James: I got your
back... Ivor: I got your back.
00:06:21.51\00:06:22.94
James: This is the picture,
in fact, we see the same picture
00:06:23.01\00:06:25.35
now, again,
Revelation is simply picking up
00:06:25.38\00:06:28.28
this story of the Bible,
00:06:28.32\00:06:29.78
so, Ivor, went to
the Old Testament?
00:06:29.82\00:06:31.59
The Priest had the breastplate,
00:06:31.62\00:06:33.32
in the New
Testament we see here,
00:06:33.36\00:06:35.02
He's among the candlesticks,
so how do we see this
00:06:35.06\00:06:37.69
illustrated in
the life of Christ?
00:06:37.73\00:06:39.09
Do you remember when
Christ was getting ready
00:06:39.13\00:06:41.30
to go to the cross,
He was in the garden...
00:06:41.33\00:06:43.57
He was in the Upper
Room with the disciples,
00:06:43.63\00:06:45.83
He was getting ready to go
to the Garden of Gethsemane
00:06:45.87\00:06:47.50
and then the cross and
He told His disciples that
00:06:47.54\00:06:49.94
what they were going to do was
they were going to betray Him,
00:06:49.97\00:06:52.64
every single one of them,
even Peter denied, "I won't... "
00:06:52.67\00:06:54.98
"No, you're going to...
00:06:55.01\00:06:56.34
you'll be the worst...
okay, other than Judas... "
00:06:56.38\00:06:58.25
but then He said this, He
said, "But after I am risen,
00:06:58.28\00:07:03.08
I'm going to go
before you to Galilee... "
00:07:03.12\00:07:06.96
now think about
that, Jesus says,
00:07:06.99\00:07:09.32
"You're going to forsake me but
I'm not going to forsake you,
00:07:09.36\00:07:11.49
you're going to run from me but
I'm not going to run from you
00:07:11.53\00:07:13.63
you're going to deny me but
I'm not going to deny you. "
00:07:13.66\00:07:16.06
Yvonne: Hmmm...
00:07:16.10\00:07:17.43
James: See this is
the picture of the gospel,
00:07:17.47\00:07:19.53
this is the
picture in Revelation,
00:07:19.57\00:07:21.10
Jesus is with us in spite
of our failures, our faults,
00:07:21.14\00:07:25.77
in spite of our
abandonment of Him,
00:07:25.81\00:07:28.04
He sticks it out with us
00:07:28.08\00:07:29.41
and that's the
love that draws us...
00:07:29.44\00:07:31.61
that's the love that draws us.
00:07:31.65\00:07:33.18
Ivor: We love Him
because He first loved us. "
00:07:33.21\00:07:35.28
James: And so, this picture is
vital as we open up the churches
00:07:35.32\00:07:38.65
because what's going to happen
is we're going to look at those
00:07:38.72\00:07:40.82
churches and we're
going to see history...
00:07:40.86\00:07:42.19
the first church is
going to show us the history
00:07:42.22\00:07:44.16
of the early... of
the early apostolic age
00:07:44.19\00:07:45.99
but we're also
going to see ourselves.
00:07:46.03\00:07:47.76
We're going to see ourselves,
We're going to see ourselves...
00:07:47.80\00:07:49.96
and we're going to
think, "Wow! I thought... "
00:07:50.00\00:07:52.47
Okay, let's just start
with the church of Ephesus,
00:07:52.53\00:07:54.87
Jason, read for us the first
what is it, seven, five, six...
00:07:54.90\00:08:00.14
seven verses...
00:08:00.18\00:08:02.51
Okay, "Unto the angel of
the church of Ephesus write;
00:08:02.54\00:08:06.25
These things
saith he that holdeth
00:08:06.28\00:08:08.52
the seven stars
in his right hand,
00:08:08.55\00:08:10.72
who walketh in the midst of
the seven golden candlesticks;
00:08:10.75\00:08:13.62
I know thy works, and
thy labour, and thy patience,
00:08:13.66\00:08:17.33
and how thou canst not
bear them which are evil:
00:08:17.36\00:08:20.93
and thou hast tried them
which say they are apostles,
00:08:20.96\00:08:24.57
and are not, and
hast found them liars:
00:08:24.60\00:08:27.10
And hast borne,
and hast patience,
00:08:27.14\00:08:29.84
and for my name's
sake hast laboured,
00:08:29.87\00:08:32.57
and hast not fainted.
00:08:32.61\00:08:34.08
Nevertheless I have
somewhat against thee,
00:08:34.11\00:08:36.91
because thou hast
left thy first love.
00:08:36.95\00:08:39.68
Remember therefore from whence
thou art fallen, and repent,
00:08:39.71\00:08:44.35
and do the first works;
00:08:44.39\00:08:45.72
or else I will
come unto thee quickly,
00:08:45.75\00:08:48.09
and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place,
00:08:48.12\00:08:51.13
except thou repent.
00:08:51.19\00:08:52.93
But this thou hast,
00:08:52.96\00:08:54.66
that thou hatest the
deeds of the Nicolaitanes,
00:08:54.70\00:09:01.70
which I also hate.
00:09:01.74\00:09:03.91
He that hath an
ear, let him hear
00:09:03.94\00:09:07.91
what the Spirit
saith unto the churches;
00:09:07.94\00:09:10.41
To him that overcometh
00:09:10.45\00:09:12.15
will I give to eat
of the tree of life,
00:09:12.18\00:09:14.85
which is in the midst
of the paradise of God. "
00:09:14.88\00:09:17.85
So, look at this and
understand how it relates to us,
00:09:17.89\00:09:24.23
"I know your works...
your labor, your patience,
00:09:24.26\00:09:27.03
you can't bear
those that are evil,
00:09:27.06\00:09:28.56
you tried them which say
they're apostles and they're not
00:09:28.60\00:09:30.47
and you found them liars,
you've borne, you had patience
00:09:30.50\00:09:32.43
for my name's
sake you have labored
00:09:32.47\00:09:34.30
and you haven't fainted... "
00:09:34.34\00:09:35.67
I mean, who among us
00:09:35.70\00:09:37.04
would not like to
have that said about them?
00:09:37.07\00:09:39.51
Who? That's just a
pedigree right there,
00:09:39.54\00:09:42.04
Jesus pouring it on,
this is all just good stuff
00:09:42.08\00:09:45.01
and this describes the
experience of the early church,
00:09:45.05\00:09:48.52
the early Apostolic church.
00:09:48.55\00:09:49.92
So we're
starting in Christ's time,
00:09:49.95\00:09:52.09
we're starting
in the Apostolic age
00:09:52.12\00:09:54.19
with this... with
this... what was the word again?
00:09:54.22\00:09:57.06
This sequence of
Genesis chapters 1 and 2,
00:09:57.13\00:10:02.30
we described the
sequence of seven.
00:10:02.33\00:10:06.33
Ivor: Creation... yeah...
one through seven... the cycle.
00:10:06.40\00:10:08.40
James: The
cycle... the cycle of seven,
00:10:08.44\00:10:10.31
we're starting... right here,
00:10:10.34\00:10:12.01
we're starting
with the Apostolic age
00:10:12.04\00:10:13.38
with the cycle of seven
00:10:13.41\00:10:14.74
and it's going to take us all
the way down to the very end,
00:10:14.78\00:10:17.38
the second coming of Jesus,
time of the judgment, post 1844,
00:10:17.41\00:10:20.42
the first
church... Apostolic Church...
00:10:20.45\00:10:22.58
this describes...
they were full of faith
00:10:22.62\00:10:24.62
and patience and labor
00:10:24.65\00:10:25.99
and they tried those
that said they were apostles
00:10:26.02\00:10:27.36
and they're not
they found them liars
00:10:27.39\00:10:28.72
and they had labored even
more, they had more patience
00:10:28.76\00:10:30.83
but... what happened?
00:10:30.86\00:10:32.49
There was something that
took place in that early church,
00:10:32.53\00:10:35.13
something that started to
slip in their relationship
00:10:35.16\00:10:39.67
and it can
happen with all of us,
00:10:39.70\00:10:41.04
when I first came to Jesus,
I had nothing to offer Him,
00:10:41.07\00:10:45.61
I was just out of the
world, fresh out of the world,
00:10:45.64\00:10:48.44
the words of that hymn,
00:10:48.48\00:10:50.21
"Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to thy cross I cling"
00:10:50.25\00:10:53.11
I had nothing to offer
Him and so, I was just...
00:10:53.15\00:10:56.42
I had this
first love experience,
00:10:56.48\00:10:57.95
I mean, I was just on fire
because Jesus had forgiven me,
00:10:57.99\00:11:00.49
He accepted me and I
just wanted to live for Him
00:11:00.52\00:11:02.86
because I just...
all this guilt was gone,
00:11:02.89\00:11:04.86
I was like, "Yes... " but
then you know after a few months
00:11:04.89\00:11:08.16
I started... I
learned about the Sabbath,
00:11:08.20\00:11:09.86
I started going to
church on the right day,
00:11:09.90\00:11:11.47
I learned about tithe...
and starting paying my tithe...
00:11:11.50\00:11:14.14
learned about
the Ten Commandments,
00:11:14.17\00:11:17.34
and just started following
all the principles of the Bible
00:11:17.37\00:11:19.87
and studying and...
a few months go by...
00:11:19.91\00:11:22.34
I am doing this
and I am doing this...
00:11:22.38\00:11:24.45
and I've labored and I've
got patience and I've got faith
00:11:24.48\00:11:27.15
and I've tried those and
said, "they're apostles,"
00:11:27.18\00:11:29.15
I was going to a lot of
different churches actually,
00:11:29.18\00:11:30.89
not just the Adventist Church
00:11:30.92\00:11:32.25
and so I was trying
the different doctrines
00:11:32.29\00:11:34.92
to see which one was
true, so now, well... now...
00:11:34.96\00:11:39.29
I've little bit more
of a pedigree there...
00:11:39.36\00:11:41.33
I have a little
bit more going on,
00:11:41.36\00:11:42.73
I guess what I'm trying to
say is, "The greatest enemy
00:11:42.76\00:11:46.40
of our love for Christ
are our works for Christ...
00:11:46.43\00:11:50.04
the greatest enemy
of our love for Christ
00:11:50.07\00:11:53.24
is our works for Christ... "
00:11:53.27\00:11:54.61
okay, I'm actually quoting
Oswald Chambers on that one
00:11:54.64\00:11:57.55
but it's true...
00:11:57.58\00:11:59.35
the more we do...
the greater the danger
00:11:59.38\00:12:03.52
that we would
start... slip our...
00:12:03.59\00:12:05.49
slip from our full
confidence, full trust,
00:12:05.52\00:12:09.26
full weight on Christ to
our works, just a little bit,
00:12:09.29\00:12:11.73
we're just going to lean
this way just a little bit.
00:12:11.76\00:12:13.86
Ivor: Self righteousness...
James: Self righteousness.
00:12:13.90\00:12:15.93
Ivor: Let me
throw something in here,
00:12:15.96\00:12:17.87
we talk about the
cycle of one through seven
00:12:17.90\00:12:21.30
and how the first
church is the beginning
00:12:21.34\00:12:24.67
so it's interesting that...
00:12:24.71\00:12:26.78
that's the very thing
that happened in the beginning,
00:12:26.81\00:12:29.31
Adam and Eve were
created in perfection,
00:12:29.34\00:12:32.85
they were like...
this is like... first love
00:12:32.88\00:12:36.35
but something happens
00:12:36.38\00:12:38.52
that causes them to
lose that first love,
00:12:38.55\00:12:41.29
they lost that first love,
they fell from their position
00:12:41.32\00:12:44.76
just like we're
reading about this first church
00:12:44.79\00:12:46.66
and what happens?
00:12:46.70\00:12:48.26
Satan came in and told them,
00:12:48.30\00:12:49.63
"You can be
righteous by yourself,
00:12:49.66\00:12:51.13
you don't need God in
order to be righteous,
00:12:51.17\00:12:53.74
you can know 'good
and evil' for yourself,"
00:12:53.77\00:12:56.30
and so we're seeing
here... this reflects...
00:12:56.37\00:12:58.87
almost like this
repetition of history
00:12:58.91\00:13:00.94
between the first church and
what happened with Adam and Eve,
00:13:00.98\00:13:05.01
and it's
interesting because guess what?
00:13:05.05\00:13:06.38
What does He say is the
reward for this first church?
00:13:06.41\00:13:09.92
James: Eat of the Tree of Life.
00:13:09.95\00:13:12.42
Yvonne: Hmmm...
00:13:12.45\00:13:14.52
Ivor: It points us
right back to the Tree...
00:13:14.56\00:13:16.42
why is He pointing our
mind back to the Garden?
00:13:16.46\00:13:18.23
could He be trying to tell us,
"Listen, I want you to remember
00:13:18.26\00:13:21.96
how mankind got into this
situation in the first place,
00:13:22.00\00:13:26.17
look if you're faithful,
00:13:26.23\00:13:27.70
I'm not going to cut you off
00:13:27.74\00:13:29.14
like I had to do with Adam
and Eve from the Tree of Life,
00:13:29.17\00:13:31.31
if you're faithful and
don't make the same mistake
00:13:31.34\00:13:33.38
of self-righteousness,
'I can be like God... '"
00:13:33.41\00:13:36.01
James: Sewing fig
leaves together...
00:13:36.04\00:13:37.45
Ivor: "Sewing fig
leaves together...
00:13:37.48\00:13:39.21
right, then... I'll
give you the Tree of Life. "
00:13:39.25\00:13:41.68
Yvonne: Hmmm...
00:13:41.72\00:13:43.05
James: Powerful, good
stuff because when we see this,
00:13:43.08\00:13:45.89
when we see the description
here, we apply it to us,
00:13:45.92\00:13:48.29
we can apply... we're
very practical on applying this
00:13:48.32\00:13:50.63
but we know it's
the early church,
00:13:50.66\00:13:52.19
it... it... probably...
we're going to look at this
00:13:52.23\00:13:55.10
as the early church period
probably to about 100 A.D.
00:13:55.13\00:13:57.93
Paul, as he begins
to pass from the scene
00:13:57.97\00:14:01.17
and later John as he begins he
begins to pass from the scene...
00:14:01.20\00:14:03.71
both of them are
warning the church
00:14:03.74\00:14:05.47
of the apostasy
that's coming in,
00:14:05.51\00:14:07.18
of people that want the
"preeminence," John says,
00:14:07.21\00:14:09.98
of those that are
going to come up among you
00:14:10.01\00:14:13.05
to draw
disciples after themselves,
00:14:13.08\00:14:15.95
now that is the
spirit of Antichrist
00:14:15.98\00:14:18.35
and sometimes we
think about Antichrist
00:14:18.39\00:14:20.66
as one religious system
and one religious person,
00:14:20.69\00:14:23.66
no, John says, "There
are many Antichrists... "
00:14:23.69\00:14:25.29
"Anti" does not
necessarily mean against...
00:14:25.33\00:14:28.26
it also means "in the place of"
00:14:28.30\00:14:30.90
"in the place
of," in other words...
00:14:30.93\00:14:33.90
we are in danger
of putting ourselves
00:14:33.94\00:14:36.30
in the place that
Christ should occupy
00:14:36.34\00:14:38.24
in the minds and
hearts of other people
00:14:38.27\00:14:40.11
and this is where we
have to be very careful,
00:14:40.14\00:14:43.04
even here, right
now, at this table,
00:14:43.08\00:14:44.91
we have to
point people to Jesus,
00:14:44.95\00:14:46.82
we have to point
people to the Word,
00:14:46.85\00:14:48.62
we can't be pointing people
to our opinions, to our pedigree
00:14:48.68\00:14:51.72
to what it is
that we have to offer,
00:14:51.75\00:14:53.49
the whole point of this
00:14:53.52\00:14:54.99
is to open up the Word of
God and point people to Jesus
00:14:55.02\00:14:57.83
because He's the only
one that can really restore
00:14:57.86\00:14:59.53
and so, about 100
A.D. and onward...
00:14:59.56\00:15:02.60
there's this transition
that starts taking place
00:15:02.63\00:15:05.97
in the early churches,
00:15:06.00\00:15:07.34
the first Apostles, Disciples...
passed from the scene,
00:15:07.37\00:15:10.17
John passes from the scene...
00:15:10.21\00:15:11.67
and he's warning the
church of what's going to come,
00:15:11.71\00:15:13.81
there's some heavy persecution
00:15:13.84\00:15:15.48
and heavy persecution will
take us into the next church
00:15:15.51\00:15:18.11
and that's followed by
some compromise that takes place
00:15:18.15\00:15:20.72
and so we see this
beginning right here
00:15:20.75\00:15:23.12
the doctors of
doctrine that's coming in...
00:15:23.15\00:15:25.45
the doctrine of Nicolaitanes
that is causing compromise
00:15:25.49\00:15:30.33
in the early church period.
00:15:30.36\00:15:32.09
Yeah, we should touch
on that... on Nicolaitanes
00:15:32.13\00:15:35.60
do you have a question?
00:15:35.63\00:15:36.97
I did... I just want to...
well, it's more of a comment...
00:15:37.00\00:15:39.63
in verse 4, when
you think about...
00:15:39.67\00:15:43.87
when you think
about a love relationship,
00:15:43.91\00:15:46.78
and you think about how
that... the first love...
00:15:46.81\00:15:50.05
that's your first love,
that's so important to you
00:15:50.08\00:15:53.28
and how you're
going to nurture it
00:15:53.31\00:15:54.98
and how you're going
to spend time with it
00:15:55.02\00:15:58.15
and how you're going
to get engaged in it,
00:15:58.19\00:16:01.22
then, Jesus is saying,
"You've left your first love,"
00:16:01.26\00:16:06.66
again, this book of love,
this is the romantic thing here,
00:16:06.70\00:16:11.73
you are walking away
00:16:11.80\00:16:14.80
from our relationship...
00:16:14.84\00:16:17.77
I like this, I think
we need to build on this
00:16:17.81\00:16:20.04
just a little bit here because
00:16:20.08\00:16:21.58
what this is saying to us is,
00:16:21.61\00:16:23.04
"You can have all
the doctrines right,
00:16:23.08\00:16:25.35
you can figure out
who the Nicolaitanes are
00:16:25.38\00:16:27.98
and you can figure out who...
00:16:28.02\00:16:29.35
you can try those and
say they're possibly not...
00:16:29.38\00:16:30.72
you can find them liars,
00:16:30.75\00:16:32.09
you can have
all that stuff there
00:16:32.12\00:16:33.46
but if you don't have that
relationship with Jesus Christ,
00:16:33.49\00:16:34.99
it's a "not" the
candlestick's gone...
00:16:35.02\00:16:37.83
the candlestick's gone,
00:16:37.86\00:16:39.19
it's all about
that relationship.
00:16:39.23\00:16:40.63
Ivor: The fire has
died... James: Hmmm... hmmm...
00:16:40.66\00:16:42.96
Yvonne: Oh, taking
away the candlestick
00:16:43.00\00:16:45.77
is taking away
the... come on now...
00:16:45.80\00:16:48.50
taking away the fire...
Ivor and Yvonne do a fist bump.
00:16:48.54\00:16:52.67
Yeah, the fire...
00:16:52.74\00:16:56.75
Ivor: Yeah, the fire is
gone... the love is gone...
00:16:56.78\00:16:59.91
because that's what the
book of Song of Solomon actually
00:16:59.95\00:17:03.45
equates or tells us that
fire is a symbol of love.
00:17:03.49\00:17:07.32
"Love is like a fire
that cannot be quenched"
00:17:07.36\00:17:09.52
so when that fire goes out,
what God is saying is that...
00:17:09.56\00:17:12.39
He's not saying, "I've
lost my love for you... "
00:17:12.43\00:17:14.93
He's saying, "You
have lost your love for me"
00:17:14.96\00:17:17.43
James: But you
can rekindle the fire.
00:17:17.47\00:17:19.97
Ivor: You can rekindle the fire.
Yvonne: Come on... come on...
00:17:20.00\00:17:21.80
we can even call the
Program, "Rekindle the Flame. "
00:17:21.87\00:17:24.47
Yvonne: "Rekindle
the Flame!" I love it...
00:17:24.51\00:17:27.01
James: That's this one
right there that's enough.
00:17:27.04\00:17:28.74
Yvonne: Yeah... yeah...
00:17:28.78\00:17:30.11
Ivor: So, it's interesting that
we can even look back and see
00:17:30.15\00:17:35.98
that this very thing
happened with Lucifer,
00:17:36.02\00:17:37.92
he was created
perfect and righteous
00:17:37.95\00:17:42.22
but he ended up
falling, right? from his place
00:17:42.26\00:17:46.66
because he left his first love,
00:17:46.70\00:17:48.96
so this is something that we see
00:17:49.03\00:17:51.93
reflecting many different levels
00:17:51.97\00:17:54.84
even though it's
applicable to the church
00:17:54.87\00:17:57.11
in this particular time
period we can see the principle
00:17:57.14\00:18:00.68
spilling out into other
areas of the Plan of Salvation
00:18:00.71\00:18:04.11
and so, where are we right now?
00:18:04.15\00:18:07.38
we are... this first church...
00:18:07.42\00:18:10.45
is revolving around the
70-week prophecy, right?
00:18:10.49\00:18:16.49
the fulfillment
of that prophecy...
00:18:16.52\00:18:18.53
the first church and
where is our location?
00:18:18.59\00:18:21.36
we're in the Holy Place, right,
00:18:21.40\00:18:23.97
so that's just
important to understand
00:18:24.00\00:18:25.77
as we move forward but
about the Nicolaitanes,
00:18:25.80\00:18:29.17
if you look down in
verse... chapter 2...
00:18:29.20\00:18:32.71
and look down in
verse 14... it says,
00:18:32.74\00:18:35.68
"But I have a few
things against thee,
00:18:35.71\00:18:37.25
because thou
hast there them... "
00:18:37.28\00:18:38.61
now this is speaking
about the second church,
00:18:38.65\00:18:40.02
we're not going there yet
00:18:40.05\00:18:41.38
but we're looking at
this... for the first church...
00:18:41.42\00:18:43.89
"thou hast there them that
hold the doctrine of Balaam,
00:18:43.92\00:18:46.59
who taught Balak to
cast a stumbling block
00:18:46.62\00:18:49.32
before the children of Israel,
00:18:49.36\00:18:50.69
to eat things
sacrificed unto idols,
00:18:50.73\00:18:52.29
and to commit fornication.
00:18:52.33\00:18:53.66
So hast thou also
them that hold the doctrine
00:18:53.70\00:18:56.36
of the Nicolaitanes,
which thing I hate. "
00:18:56.40\00:18:59.17
So the doctrine of the
Nicolaitane... whatever that was
00:18:59.23\00:19:02.10
was very similar to
the doctrine of Balaam,
00:19:02.17\00:19:04.31
whatever Balaam was doing,
00:19:04.34\00:19:05.91
and what Balaam was doing...
00:19:05.94\00:19:07.48
Balaam was
"supposedly" a prophet of God
00:19:07.51\00:19:11.01
but he was working
against the cause of God.
00:19:11.05\00:19:14.52
Okay, so, this
principle of compromise,
00:19:14.55\00:19:18.55
when you stand for God,
you're supposed to stand for God
00:19:18.59\00:19:20.96
but this principle of compromise
in the name of the Lord,
00:19:20.99\00:19:23.29
that's what's going
on in the early church,
00:19:23.32\00:19:25.86
right? the Nicolaitans are
teaching some kind of doctrine
00:19:25.89\00:19:30.53
in which compromise...
00:19:30.57\00:19:32.27
"Hey, hey, we're for God...
00:19:32.30\00:19:33.97
we're for God, you
know we're for God... "
00:19:34.04\00:19:35.37
but there's
beginning to be compromise
00:19:35.40\00:19:37.04
coming into the church.
00:19:37.11\00:19:38.44
This is, I think, a
pretty interesting point...
00:19:38.47\00:19:43.88
is that Paul
00:19:43.91\00:19:47.35
who wrote the epistles...
00:19:47.38\00:19:49.28
he also wrote, "To
seven churches... "
00:19:49.32\00:19:52.42
Yvonne: Hmmm...
00:19:52.45\00:19:53.79
James: Interesting... the seven
is epistles to other churches,
00:19:53.82\00:19:55.79
Romans, Corinth,
Ephesians, Galatians,
00:19:55.82\00:19:59.39
Colossians, Philippians...
and Thessalonians, okay.
00:19:59.43\00:20:05.13
So seven churches...
several different letters
00:20:05.17\00:20:07.84
but seven churches.
00:20:07.87\00:20:09.20
Ivor: Now John's
letters to the seven churches,
00:20:09.24\00:20:12.01
come after Paul's
letters to the seven churches
00:20:12.04\00:20:15.01
but if you read Paul's
letters to the seven churches,
00:20:15.04\00:20:17.05
guess what he's doing?
00:20:17.08\00:20:18.41
He's warning
against apostasy to come,
00:20:18.45\00:20:21.65
2nd Thessalonians... "a
man of sin is going to arrive,"
00:20:21.68\00:20:24.49
Galatians... "Let no one
00:20:24.52\00:20:28.02
deceive you and
introduce to you another gospel"
00:20:28.06\00:20:31.53
Colossians... "be aware
of the worship of angels"
00:20:31.56\00:20:34.30
Corinthians... "all the... "
00:20:34.33\00:20:35.90
That's right, all
these things, these points...
00:20:35.93\00:20:38.60
it's as if Paul was warning,
00:20:38.63\00:20:41.30
"Listen, something's coming guys
00:20:41.34\00:20:43.91
and you guys are letting
something come up in the church,
00:20:43.94\00:20:45.97
if you don't address this... "
00:20:46.01\00:20:47.71
so when John is
writing, he's saying,
00:20:47.74\00:20:51.61
"Look, these things...
they're beginning to occur now,
00:20:51.65\00:20:55.28
'You've lost your
first love' these things...
00:20:55.32\00:20:58.72
and as a result, you're going
to see the man of sin rise,
00:20:58.75\00:21:02.12
you're going to
see this teaching
00:21:02.16\00:21:04.09
where we pray to
angels instead of...
00:21:04.13\00:21:06.03
you're going to see
another gospel being introduced
00:21:06.06\00:21:08.93
that is not the one
that Christ spoke...
00:21:08.96\00:21:10.40
all this is a result of leaving
your first love described here
00:21:10.43\00:21:14.87
in the Book of...
in the first church. "
00:21:14.90\00:21:16.60
Yvonne: Wow...
00:21:16.67\00:21:18.01
That is really powerful because
Paul is more explicit about
00:21:18.04\00:21:22.04
specific aspects of what
that false teaching was...
00:21:22.08\00:21:25.41
or what those false teachings
were... he identifies them
00:21:25.48\00:21:28.25
in a number of different
places like in Galatians
00:21:28.28\00:21:31.15
and he talks about specifically
what they were doing
00:21:31.19\00:21:33.96
and the most important thing...
the most important solution
00:21:33.99\00:21:37.69
as you said, Ivor, the
most important solution
00:21:37.73\00:21:39.63
to what they were doing
was to reconnect with Jesus,
00:21:39.66\00:21:42.26
they were being
taught about another Jesus,
00:21:42.30\00:21:45.87
they were
receiving another gospel,
00:21:45.90\00:21:47.47
they were
receiving another spirit
00:21:47.50\00:21:49.00
and just like
in Thessalonians...
00:21:49.04\00:21:51.54
he says in 2nd Corinthians
that the devil would come
00:21:51.57\00:21:55.34
with ministers of righteousness
00:21:55.38\00:21:57.01
and as an angel of
light and by-the-way,
00:21:57.05\00:21:58.91
Lucifer was a God-given
name and it means "Light bearer"
00:21:58.98\00:22:02.05
so you've got the
light, the light, the light
00:22:02.08\00:22:03.92
and that light going
out... and Lucifer is the one
00:22:03.95\00:22:06.92
who is trying to
put out the light,
00:22:06.96\00:22:09.12
he's trying to quench the light.
00:22:09.19\00:22:11.33
Ivor: The love...
00:22:11.39\00:22:12.73
James: The love...
the love... the love...
00:22:12.76\00:22:14.20
and the other thing
that's interesting is
00:22:14.23\00:22:15.76
the picture that Jesus
has here in the candlesticks
00:22:15.80\00:22:18.70
is Him tending the
lights... tending the lights.
00:22:18.73\00:22:21.60
Ivor: Yeah, keep
the love burning.
00:22:21.64\00:22:24.14
James: Yeah and in
Matthew 25... the ten virgins...
00:22:24.21\00:22:26.84
they're trimming their wicks
so the light can burn brighter
00:22:26.88\00:22:29.61
and they're
needing that extra oil
00:22:29.64\00:22:31.11
to be added so the
light can burn brighter.
00:22:31.15\00:22:32.98
Ivor: So the
five foolish virgins
00:22:33.01\00:22:34.35
actually run out of love...
00:22:34.38\00:22:36.18
James: Yes, Holy Spirit love...
00:22:36.22\00:22:39.25
Yvonne: Hmmm... that is so deep.
00:22:39.29\00:22:42.02
Ivor: Yeah, they burn out.
00:22:42.06\00:22:43.39
James: And this is all
00:22:43.43\00:22:45.09
"a relational...
" this is what the
00:22:45.13\00:22:47.03
Book of Revelation
is, it's relational.
00:22:47.06\00:22:48.86
Yvonne: And I think
that's really what the focus,
00:22:48.90\00:22:53.30
our focus... so
often, in our church
00:22:53.34\00:22:56.37
we get... we
start majoring in minor,
00:22:56.40\00:22:59.44
you get pulled into a
whole other way of thought
00:22:59.47\00:23:03.51
which is legalism and so
often in many other churches,
00:23:03.55\00:23:07.48
you get pulled
into... anything goes...
00:23:07.52\00:23:09.88
"I can do whatever I want... "
00:23:09.92\00:23:11.25
I did a little
research on the Nicolaitanes
00:23:11.29\00:23:13.76
and... and the word...
the word that was involved was
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"Antinomianism" and it
really is like "cheap grace"
00:23:20.20\00:23:25.00
now, grace is never
cheap but the whole idea of
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"you can kind of do
whatever you want... "
00:23:29.84\00:23:32.87
and giving it... you
kind of have permission
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to do whatever you want...
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this is showing... and we
have to really apply this to us,
00:23:37.18\00:23:43.18
how are we
relating to our first love?
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Have we gotten
sidetracked from our first love
00:23:46.09\00:23:49.76
that we're just so busy
doing the work of the Lord,
00:23:49.79\00:23:52.73
or we're so busy
doing whatever we're doing,
00:23:52.76\00:23:54.40
whatever it is... that
we've lost our first love
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and we give excuses for
it like the Nicolaitanes.
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So think about... whenever
you start a relationship,
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whether it was, okay,
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the person that you
ended up marrying right?
00:24:06.78\00:24:09.88
before you got married and
you were dating that person,
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courting that
person... whatever...
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there was that fire there
00:24:13.88\00:24:15.58
and there was that love
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and "Ah man, I can't
wait to be with this person
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and I love
spending time with them"
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and then imagine the feeling,
like, especially as a man,
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to know that the
woman that you love
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is now looking elsewhere,
you know what I'm saying?
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That feeling of,
"What are you doing?"
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"Why are you doing this thing?"
00:24:33.64\00:24:34.97
You're not like...
"Get out of here... "
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you're just like... "Please... "
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but I want you to think...
just take a moment and think
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what is Jesus thinking
as He feels His Bride-to-be
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beginning to lose
her... her love... and wane...
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and look at this
letter to the first church
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that's Christ saying,
almost with tears saying,
00:24:53.46\00:24:57.03
"Please, don't
do... don't leave me...
00:24:57.06\00:24:59.09
don't leave me... "
00:24:59.16\00:25:02.06
because that's what
Satan is trying to do...
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he's trying to say,
"Look, there's better over here"
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Christ is saying,
"What do I need to do?
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no, no, no, not
what I need to do...
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look at what I have
done, look back at the cross,
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look back at
the 70-Week Prophecy
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and look at what I did for you
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as a fulfillment
of that prophecy,
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I came and died for you,
I love you... this much...
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remember me, remember
what I've done for you
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and please come back
to your first love. "
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Yvonne: Hmmm... beautiful.
00:25:32.23\00:25:34.13
James: One of the verses in Jude
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and this Book is just
before the Book of Revelation
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that I think it really nails
what Yvonne was saying also
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in relation to the
doctrines of Nicolaitanes
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is Jude... and I
don't say chapter
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because Jude is one Book,
there are no chapters in here
00:25:48.48\00:25:52.01
so Jude verse 4,
"For there are certain men
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crept in unawares, who
were before of old ordained
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to this
condemnation, ungodly men,
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turning the grace of our
God into a license for sin,
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lasciviousness,
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and denying the only Lord God,
and our Lord Jesus Christ. "
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I say "a license for sin"
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because that's the modern NIV
translation, modern translation.
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"Sin... " we're told in
1st John chapter 3 verse 4,
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is "transgression of the Law,"
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these men are
coming into the church
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and they're
taking the grace of God
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and turning it into a
license to transgress God's Law
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and to know the man of sin
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and so Jude is
warning the same thing
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and he... this is also a
prophetic chapter if you will,
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talking about the second coming,
the third coming et cetera,
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so, we have this
picture that takes place here
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that fits perfectly
with the early church
00:26:43.37\00:26:44.83
and what was taking place in
the history of the early church,
00:26:44.90\00:26:47.24
we have principles
that apply to us today
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and that is... the application
of those principles to us
00:26:50.34\00:26:54.01
is called idealism,
00:26:54.04\00:26:55.38
taking the history and
working out the principles
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and applying it
to our lives today
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and that's what we
see taking place in this,
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again, we're out of time but
we want to remind our Viewers
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that they can send in their
questions in the form of video.
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Yvonne: Yeah, yeah...
00:27:12.46\00:27:16.06
Jason: sss@3abn. org
00:27:16.10\00:27:19.60
James: sss@3abn. org
00:27:19.63\00:27:21.40
and we want to answer
some of those video questions,
00:27:21.44\00:27:23.81
the reason why it's video
is because we want to have
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their beautiful mugs
involved in the program,
00:27:26.17\00:27:29.24
we want to encourage
and involve them, so,
00:27:29.28\00:27:32.28
all right, Jason, close us out
00:27:32.31\00:27:33.78
with a word of
prayer, would you?
00:27:33.82\00:27:35.28
Jason: Sure,
"Dear Heavenly Father,
00:27:35.32\00:27:36.99
thank you so
much for being with us
00:27:37.02\00:27:38.65
as we study the Word today
00:27:38.69\00:27:40.79
and please be
with the people at home
00:27:40.82\00:27:42.96
and help them to retain the
information that was discussed,
00:27:42.99\00:27:45.93
thank you so much for
designing such an intricate...
00:27:45.96\00:27:50.17
but yet... an
intricate Word but yet
00:27:50.20\00:27:55.00
making it understandable to us
00:27:55.04\00:27:56.97
thank you for all
the many blessings
00:27:57.01\00:27:59.94
that you bestow upon us
and for giving us a mind to
00:27:59.97\00:28:03.95
be able to study, discern
and retain the information
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in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:28:07.98\00:28:09.82
All: Amen...
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