Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180052A
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00:31 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:34 I'm Jill Morikone and we are delighted that you have 00:37 taken time to open up the word of God with us 00:40 as we share on our Quarter, "Oneness in Christ" 00:44 It's hard to believe we are at the very end, 00:46 we're on Lesson #13 of this quarter and this has been 00:49 an incredible study... unity in the church, 00:53 unity in the body of Christ as believers and how God 00:56 wants to work that in our lives. 00:59 This particular lesson is: "Final Restoration of Unity" 01:04 I'm so excited about this topic because this is the goal 01:08 of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - to reunite 01:11 each one of us here on earth with Him in heaven, 01:14 and that this great controversy, the world of sin and suffering, 01:18 sickness and death will be forever over. Amen! 01:21 I want to introduce our panel at this time... 01:23 To my left, Pastor Ryan Day, Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:27 Shelley Quinn and Pastor John Lomacang, 01:30 and it is a privilege to study with each one of you. 01:33 You're men and woman of God and of the word, 01:38 and I have learned so much this quarter from each one of you. 01:40 So thank you. Amen! 01:42 And, we are delighted that you have joined us as well. 01:45 I'm sure by now, you have a copy of the Quarterly, 01:48 but want to give you the website one more time 01:50 in case this is your first time tuning in 01:52 or they probably have next quarter and next week 01:56 will be next quarter, so either way 01:58 you're going to need a copy. 01:59 So go to the website at: ABSG.Adventist.org 02:04 That stands for "Adult Bible Study Guide.Adventist.org 02:10 You can download your own copy, follow along with us 02:13 or we always encourage you to visit your local Seventh-day 02:17 Adventist Church and they would love to give you 02:19 a Quarterly and invite you for Bible study and for fellowship. 02:23 Before we go any further, we want to go to the Lord 02:25 in prayer and Ryan, would you pray for us? Yeah, of course. 02:30 Our Father in Heaven...Lord, here we are gathered again 02:33 and we are here to study Your word, but we are fully 02:37 dependent on You, Lord, to speak through us, 02:40 to allow us to see things through Your eyes 02:43 and Your mind. 02:44 Lord, we don't need to doubt where You are because 02:48 You have promised us that where two or three 02:50 or more are gathered in Your name, there You are 02:52 in the midst and I believe that's so for our viewers 02:54 at home. You are with us all God and I pray that You will 02:57 lead us and guide us continually. 02:59 Help us to see our uplifted Savior for who He is, 03:01 and help us to be drawn closer together as brothers 03:04 and sisters in Christ and forever closer to Jesus Christ. 03:07 We ask in His name... Amen, Amen! 03:10 Thank you so much. 03:12 As we think about this concept of 03:13 "Final Restoration of Unity," we know that there was 03:16 perfect unity at creation. 03:18 When God created the world, there was perfect unity 03:21 and harmony. 03:23 Sin! When sin entered the world, 03:25 it brought disunity and division, insubordination, 03:30 and inequality, selfishness and sin, unrest and 03:35 unhappiness, prejudice and partiality, rebellion 03:39 and racism, suffering, sickness and death. 03:44 But Jesus said in John 10:10, that He came that we would 03:49 have life and have it more abundantly. 03:53 He came to reconcile us back to the Father. 03:56 He came to reunite us, as it were, and bring back 04:01 healing and redemption and unity again and here 04:05 on this earth, we see that measure of unity. 04:07 Well we've studied it this quarter looking at Pentecost 04:10 and the unity of the early church. 04:12 We know that God wants us to be united here in the last days. 04:17 But in a special sense, the final restoration when all of 04:22 the sin and all of the suffering and all of that 04:25 strife and division will be over, won't take place 04:28 until the second coming of our Lord and Savior 04:30 Jesus Christ and heaven and the New Earth 04:33 and that's what we're looking at in this lesson. 04:36 Our memory text is 2 Peter 3:13, the Bible says... "Nevertheless 04:44 we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a 04:48 new earth in which righteousness dwells." 04:52 On Sunday's portion of the lesson, we look at the 04:55 certainty of Christ's return. 04:58 I want to break it up into three portions... 05:00 The promise - That's the promise of His return as revealed in 05:04 John 14. 05:06 Then we'll look at the postponement or why does it 05:10 seem like He delays His coming. 05:13 We'll look at 2 Peter 3 for that. 05:15 And finally, we're going to look at the preparation. 05:18 What you and I need to do in order to be ready 05:21 for His soon return. 05:23 There are many passages on that but we're going to 05:25 look specifically at Romans 13. 05:27 So let's look at the promise. 05:29 Turn with me to John 14, we're going to look at verses 1-3. 05:33 We know this passage of Scripture, John 14:1-3. 05:38 You know, Ryan, when I was a teenager, I went once to 05:42 an adult Sabbath School Class, I grew up in the 05:44 Seventh-day Adventist Church, and normally I went 05:46 to the Youth Class but this day I went to the Adult Class. 05:49 And I remember an older woman, I thought she was old, 05:52 but she was probably 50 which makes her very young, 05:55 but at the time, as a teenager, I thought she was very old. 05:58 And she was there and we were talking about Christ's 06:01 second coming and I remember she said, "Even if there was 06:06 no hope of the hereafter, if there was no eternity, 06:11 I would still follow Jesus and I 06:14 said, "You've got to be kidding me." 06:17 The only reason I was even in church or anything was 06:21 because of what I thought there should be some hope 06:24 or something of the hereafter. 06:26 That is because I had not met, yet, the Lord Jesus Christ 06:31 because when you meet Him, you experience... 06:33 we can have a piece of that heaven here on earth 06:38 and I would agree with that older lady now, 06:41 although I'm becoming that age now. 06:43 I would agree with her because I would say that 06:46 even if there was no hope, the love of Jesus, 06:51 the forgiveness, the friendship 06:53 with Him makes all the difference in the world, 06:55 but there is hope and I am so thankful for the 06:58 certainty of His soon return. 07:01 Now the setting for John 14, John 13 was the Upper Room 07:04 experience - remember, The Last Supper, and Jesus was 07:08 with His disciples and He revealed at that time 07:12 that one of them is going to betray Him, 07:14 and they're troubled... who is the betrayer. 07:17 He also revealed that He's going to be leaving them. 07:21 And Peter says, "Lord, where are you going?" 07:24 So they're troubled about this, He's leaving. 07:27 And then Jesus also tells Peter, "You're going to deny Me." 07:30 So we pick up with John 14 and the first words out of Jesus' 07:33 mouth are, "Let not your heart be troubled, (because 07:36 He knows they have some uncertainty here 07:39 in Upper Room with what was just taking place) 07:41 "Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, 07:44 believe also in Me. 07:47 in My Father's house are many mansions; 07:50 if it were not so, I would have told you. 07:53 I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare 07:56 a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself 08:01 that where I am, there, you may be also." 08:04 I think that Scripture has been the hope of Christians 08:07 down through the ages; Christians who are persecuted, 08:10 Christians who endure suffering, Christians who are sick 08:13 and don't know where to turn, they have the hope. 08:17 This world is not all there is, that Jesus is coming again, 08:22 that there is a hope and a future. 08:25 Now let's look at the postponement... 08:27 Turn with me to 2 Peter 3, because we have the hope 08:33 that He's coming but then we say, "But He hasn't come yet." 08:37 So there seems to be a delay or a postponement in that. 08:40 And Ryan, do you have that Scripture? 08:42 You want to read it? 2 Peter 3:3-4. 08:47 Verses 3-4, "... Knowing this first, that there shall come 08:51 in the last days, scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 08:55 And saying, "Where is the promise of His coming." 08:58 For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue 09:00 as they were from the beginning of the creation." 09:04 Greg is my husband, his grandpa is 95, 09:08 and he was told when he was a teenager, "Don't get married, 09:12 Jesus is going to come before you even make it to college," 09:17 and he's 95... "In the last days, scoffers come 09:21 saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" 09:25 Where is the promise? What? Wait a minute? 09:27 Why is the delay? What is going on? 09:30 It seems like sometimes in the Bible, you read of 09:33 stories when people had to wait a bit on God. 09:35 I think of Noah, he waited probably 100 years before 09:39 he entered the ark. 09:41 Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years before their promised 09:45 son, would come... that was Isaac. 09:48 Abraham's descendants waited 400 years to possess the land 09:53 that was first promised to him. 09:55 Mary and Martha waited three days for Jesus to come and 09:59 and heal Lazarus and they thought, "Why the delay?" 10:03 "Why is He late," but He wasn't late. 10:05 He was right on time. That's right. 10:09 God is never late! Amen! 10:11 I think of the 70-year prophecy in the Book of 10:14 Jeremiah where he says that Israel would go into 10:17 captivity in Babylon and guess what happened? 10:19 At the end of 70 years, they returned. 10:22 I think of the prophecy for Jesus to be born 10:25 when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His son 10:28 born of a woman, born under the law and what happened? 10:31 At the right time, Jesus was born. 10:35 I think of the gospel going to the Gentiles and the 10:37 stoning of Stephen - that took place at the right time. 10:41 I think of the investigative judgment in 1844 10:46 at the end of the 2300 day prophecy - that occurred 10:50 right on time. 10:51 So we can rest assured that the second coming will happen 10:56 right on time. Amen! 10:59 Why the delay? I believe, this is just 11:01 Jill's opinion, it's because God is not willing 11:04 that any should perish but that all should come 11:08 to repentance, that's 2 Peter 3:9. 11:12 Now let's look at the preparation... 11:14 We had the promise of His coming; 11:16 the postponement or seeming postponement of His coming; 11:20 and then we have the preparation. 11:21 Now let's turn to Romans, Romans 13, 11:26 we're going to read verses 11-14. 11:29 Romans 13:11-14, this is the preparation, 11:33 and how you and I are to live in light of His return... 11:37 as we wait for the promise of His return. 11:41 And I see four things here, four keys to that preparation. 11:47 #1... Wake up, that's in verse 11. "And do this, knowing the 11:51 time, now it is high time to what? Wake out of sleep 11:56 for now our salvation is nearer than when we first 12:00 believed." Because His coming is soon, we must be 12:03 awake; we must be watching; we must not be like those 12:06 foolish virgins who went to sleep and didn't even have 12:10 the necessary oil - so when the cry came, 12:15 they said, "We don't have it, we don't possess it, 12:18 we are not ready." So now is the time to prepare. 12:22 now is the time to wake up! 12:25 #2... Use proper weaponry. Now that may seem like an odd 12:31 analogy, but let me explain here. 12:35 "Use proper weaponry." Why would you even use weaponry 12:39 as you prepare for the coming of Christ? 12:40 Let's read verse 12, "The night is far spent, 12:43 the day is at hand; therefore, let us cast off the works 12:48 of darkness." I want to stop right there. 12:50 What are we to cast off? Ephesians 4:22, "You put off 12:55 concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows 12:58 corrupt according to the deceitful lust. 13:01 Cast off the works of darkness. Cast off the old man. 13:05 And then, let's keep going. "Put off the works of darkness 13:09 and put on the armor of light." 13:14 Now the word in Greek for "armor" is literally weapons. 13:18 Put on the weapons of light. 13:21 Okay, so what are the weapons that we have as Christians? 13:25 You know where I'm going... Ephesians 6, "The armor of God." 13:29 How are we supposed to engage in this battle? 13:32 We're to be clothed with the armor of God. 13:34 Our waist girded about with truth and the breastplate 13:37 of righteousness. 13:38 Sandals shod with the preparation of the gospel 13:41 of peace. The shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. 13:46 The sword of the spirit which is the word of God and prayer. 13:49 These are the weapons with which we prepare 13:53 and fight the battle as we wait for Jesus to come. 13:56 #3... Walk appropriately. Let's look at verse 13. 14:01 "Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry 14:06 and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, 14:10 not in strife and envy. We are to walk properly 14:15 and not in those other things." 14:18 And finally, #4... We are to prepare for battle. 14:22 Read the next verse. "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ... 14:27 (I love this Scripture) Put on the Lord Jesus Christ 14:31 and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill his lust." 14:36 We are to put on Christ. 14:37 We are to be clothed with His righteousness. 14:40 We are to be clothed with His character and His glory, 14:43 and sanctification. 14:45 We are to have the mind of Christ. 14:48 We are to make no provision... 14:50 That's how we prepare for battle. 14:52 Not only do we put on Christ, we make no provision 14:55 for the flesh to fulfill its lust. 14:59 That means if you're tempted by a certain book in your home, 15:01 you throw it out... so it's not there to tempt you. 15:04 That means if a certain magazine subscription 15:07 in your home bothers you, you cancel that subscription. 15:10 That means if the television bothers you in your home, 15:13 you get rid of that. 15:14 That means we put aside whatever is a stumbling block 15:19 in our walk with Christ. 15:21 Make no provision for the flesh. Amen! 15:24 So Christ has promised John 14- He is coming 15:27 again - we don't have to worry about the delay 15:30 because He is coming and during this time, we can prepare 15:33 for His coming. Amen! Amen! Amen! 15:36 Praise God! That was powerful! 15:39 You know, not only do we have the beautiful 15:42 obvious promise of Christ's second coming, 15:45 we know very clear that there will also be a complete 15:49 restoration. Amen! 15:51 There is a promise throughout the Scripture that God is 15:54 going to completely restore everything like He had it in 15:58 the beginning before sin came into the picture. 16:01 And so I'm going to begin reading today in Isaiah 11:1-11, 16:06 and this is a rather lengthy passage but there is so 16:09 much amazing truth packed into this passage, 16:12 and we're just going to kind of read through it 16:13 and pick it apart and have a good old-fashioned Bible study. 16:16 So I'm going to begin in verse 1 here. 16:19 It says, and again, the idea is the promise of restoration. 16:23 So listen to these words, it says... 16:24 "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem if Jesse, 16:29 (so that word "rod" automatically speaks to me 16:32 ... I know if you're a student of the word, then you know 16:35 what this rod is that's speaking of who and we know 16:38 that this is a promise of Christ bringing a complete 16:41 restoration - the stem of Jesse) 16:44 It goes on to say... and a branch shall grow 16:48 out of his roots. What passage of Scripture 16:52 does that remind you of? I'm thinking of John 15 16:55 where Christ says, "I am the vine," vine, roots, 16:58 it's kind of similar, but I am the vine, you (we) 17:01 are the church - are the branches. 17:03 So it says a branch shall grow out of his roots. 17:06 (God's people come from Christ, they are established on Christ) 17:10 And then verse 2 is a rather intriguing verse. 17:13 It's a very special verse and I love it. 17:15 It says here... "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, 17:20 the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 17:23 the Spirit of counsel and might, 17:26 the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord... 17:31 Now some people may not be aware of this, but if you 17:34 you really break this verse down and consider what it's 17:37 saying, obviously there's a complete list there of the 17:40 Spirit of this, the Spirit of that, the Spirit this... 17:42 When I was reading this verse, I automatically thought of 17:45 Revelation 5, now there are multiple verses in Revelation 17:50 in prophecy that speak of the seven spirits of God. Yes 17:53 But more specifically, Revelation 5 where we see 17:55 Christ as a baby lamb that's just a pure wonderful lamb, 17:59 He appears before the throne of God, slain, but it says 18:03 he has seven eyes and those seven eyes are... 18:06 They are the seven Spirits of God. 18:10 And so if you look back at this, the seven Spirits 18:12 of God, I believe here, are listed in this particular verse. 18:15 Notice it says, first, number 1, the Spirit of the Lord 18:19 shall rest upon him, so there's #1, the Spirit of the Lord. 18:22 The second one, the Spirit of wisdom, and of course, 18:25 it says, "and understanding," so the Spirit 18:28 of understanding, there's number 3. 18:29 Number 4, the Spirit of counsel there, that's number 4. 18:33 And then it says, "might," 18:35 another word for "might" would be "strength." 18:36 So the Spirit of strength or the 18:38 Spirit of might, that's number 5 and then the 18:42 Spirit of knowledge, that would be number 6, 18:45 And of course, the last one, And of the fear of the Lord. 18:48 So the Spirit granted us the fear of God, 18:51 a reverence, a special honoring of God. 18:53 That is just beautiful, the seven Spirits 18:56 of God presented right here in this verse. 18:58 It goes on to tell us, in verse 3, "His delight 19:01 is in the fear of the Lord." (speaking of Christ, this rod) 19:05 and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, 19:08 nor decide by the hearing of his ears... 19:10 (how will he decide?) Notice what it says in this 19:13 next portion... It says, "But with... what? 19:15 With righteousness He shall judge the poor, 19:19 and decide with equity (or fairness) for the meek 19:23 of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod 19:26 of His mouth and with the breath of His lips 19:28 He shall slay the wicked. 19:30 And here's that word again, Righteousness shall be 19:33 the belt of His loins (and then notice this next word) 19:35 and faithfulness, the belt of His waist. 19:38 You know, righteousness by faith - right there. 19:42 So righteousness and faith are in the character of this Rod, 19:46 in the character of Christ Jesus. 19:48 And then in verses 6-11, I'm going to read through this 19:52 rather swiftly here, but notice the beauty of this... 19:54 We remember this verse or these particular series of 19:57 verses - it gives us a beautiful promise of the details 20:01 of the restoration that God is going to bring. Amen! 20:05 Notice in verse 6 here... "The wolf also shall dwell 20:08 with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down the young goat. 20:13 The calf and the young lion and the fatling together." 20:17 That's incredible. Amen! 20:19 Notice this... "And the little child shall lead them. 20:22 Could you imagine that picture in your mind, 20:24 a little child leading a lion, a leopard and a wolf. 20:27 It's just completely unfathomable. 20:29 But it goes on to say, "Their young ones shall lie 20:32 down together (Oh excuse me, I skipped verse 7) 20:35 And the cow and the bear shall graze together. 20:37 And then it goes on to say, Their young ones shall lie 20:39 down together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 20:44 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned 20:48 child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 20:51 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy 20:57 mountain. (what an amazing restoration) 20:59 For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, 21:02 as the waters cover the sea. 21:04 Then it goes on to say in verse 10... And in that day 21:07 there shall be (there it is again) a root of Jesse, 21:10 (speaking of Christ) who shall stand as a banner to the 21:13 people for the Gentiles shall seek Him and His 21:18 resting place shall be glorious. 21:20 It shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set 21:23 His hand again the second time (and don't miss this 21:26 next portion) It says... to recover the remnant. Amen! 21:31 We know that God's remnant will be protected. 21:33 God has a remnant people. 21:35 It says, "to recover the remnant for His people 21:38 who are left from Assyria and Egypt, and Pathros, 21:41 and Cush, and Elam, and Shinar and Hamath, 21:44 and, of course, the islands of the seas." 21:46 You could just add right there, "All the parts of the earth." 21:49 God will restore His people, His remnant. 21:52 So there's going to be a complete restoration. 21:55 And, you know, I heard a ministry years ago, give an 21:58 illustration of this, so God is going to restore 22:01 everything back just as it was in the Garden of Eden. 22:04 So how would you illustrate that? 22:05 We, obviously, cannot begin to fathom that, but biblically 22:08 you can see this very clearly... 22:09 I saw an illustration of this, so if you walk through 22:11 the front door of the Bible, what book do you come to? 22:14 Genesis! You come to the Book of Genesis. 22:15 Obviously, Genesis means origins. 22:17 And so you walk through the front door of the Bible 22:20 and, of course, right there in the opening 22:21 chapters of Genesis, what do we see? 22:23 What do we see God doing? He is creating. 22:26 Yes, He is working His wonderful work of creation. 22:28 So what we see there is God creates everything 22:31 and He sets into place a beautiful uninterrupted 22:36 communion between Himself and men. That's right. 22:39 And that's ultimately what this Bible is all about; 22:42 God is trying to completely restore a broken relationship 22:45 between Himself and His creation. 22:47 So you walk through the front door of the Bible, 22:48 perfect uninterrupted communion between God and man. 22:50 And what book do you come through in the last 22:53 door of the Bible or the back door? 22:54 Revelation! The Book of Revelation. 22:56 What do we find happening in the latter scenes of Revelation? 22:58 Just what we're talking about, God is restoring 23:01 everything back just like it was in the beginning. 23:04 Again, perfect uninterrupted communion between God and Man, 23:08 Genesis and end of Revelation, perfect uninterrupted 23:11 communion between God and man once again. 23:13 It's just a powerful thing. 23:15 We have that promise and we can cling to that promise. Amen! 23:17 I want to read one more passage here found in 23:19 Revelation 21, we're very familiar with these verses; 23:23 verses 1-5, notice what the Bible says here. 23:27 And this is, of course, John, he's in vision and he 23:29 sees the beautiful City of God coming down. 23:31 He says, "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth 23:35 for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. 23:39 Also there was no more sea and in verse 2... 23:42 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, 23:46 coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a 23:50 bride adorned for her husband. 23:52 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 23:55 "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, 23:59 and He will dwell with them." 24:01 That's His ultimate desire, He wants to be with us. 24:04 He doesn't want to be separated. 24:06 I think of the sanctuary... "Let them make me a 24:08 sanctuary that I may dwell among them." 24:10 We see this same thing happening right here. 24:12 "Behold the tabernacle of God is with man and He will 24:14 dwell with them and they shall be His people. 24:17 God Himself will be with them and be their God. 24:20 And God will (I love this) wipe away all tears 24:24 from their eyes; there shall be no more death (can you 24:26 imagine that... we can't imagine that because 24:28 that's all we've known is death) nor sorrow, nor crying. 24:32 There shall be no more pain 24:34 for the former things have passed away. 24:36 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold I make all things 24:40 new." And He said unto me, "Write for these words 24:43 are faithful and true." 24:45 My brethren, do you believe those words? 24:47 Do we have faith and trust in the word of God 24:50 and His promises? Amen! 24:51 I want to end with this beautiful, beautiful quote 24:53 from "The Story of Redemption," p.432-433. 24:58 It says, "As the years of eternity roll, they will bring 25:02 richer and more glorious revelations of God and 25:04 of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, 25:07 reverence and happiness increase. 25:09 The more men learn of God, the greater will be their 25:12 admiration of His character as Jesus opens before them 25:15 the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements 25:18 in the great controversy with Satan. 25:20 The hearts of the ransomed beat with a stronger devotion, 25:24 and they sweep the hearts and gold with firmer hand 25:30 and ten-thousand times ten-thousand and thousands 25:32 of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus 25:36 of praise." Amen! Amen! 25:39 Thank you so much Ryan! What an incredible promise 25:43 of restoration. 25:44 We're going to take a break and we'll be right back. 25:51 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 25:54 again or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 25:57 Well you can, by visiting 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.com 26:02 A clean design makes it easy to find the program 26:06 you're looking for. 26:07 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 26:10 so you can follow along. 26:12 Sharing is easy, just click share and choose your 26:15 favorite social media. 26:17 Share a link, save a life for eternity! 26:23 We are in the middle of our study on 26:24 "Final Restoration of Unity," and Pastor Kenny, 26:28 you want to pick up "Resurrection and Restored Relationships." 26:31 Yes, to me that's a powerful title even just like this 26:34 whole lesson is - when you think about resurrection, 26:37 about our loved ones that are asleep in Jesus and how we 26:41 just long to see some of them who have been at rest 26:44 for a long time. 26:46 Right now, I was thinking of mommy and daddy, 26:47 and you know, different kinfolk and different ones, 26:50 and how wonderful that's going to be. 26:52 And I've heard people say, all the time, "I want Jesus 26:56 to come," and sometimes it for different reasons. 26:59 I want Jesus to come but we want it to be for 27:01 the right reason that we want Him to come. 27:03 We're tired of this world of sin. 27:05 We want to go home with Him. 27:07 We want to spend eternity with Him and we long 27:10 for Jesus to come and certainly Christ's second 27:15 coming is going to affect all humanity. 27:18 It's going to affect every person that's ever been 27:20 alive or ever will be. 27:22 Everyone is going to be involved in it and so I just... 27:25 I want the Lord to come! Yes! 27:28 I think we can say that with positiveness today. 27:30 I want Him to come! 27:32 I heard someone say the other day... 27:34 "I'm ready for Jesus to come, I'm ready, 27:37 I have my life in order, I want Him to come." 27:40 And I will say, "I want my life in order 27:42 by the grace of God because I want Him to come, 27:44 and I want to spend eternity with Him." 27:47 And so the Scripture talks about the second coming 27:51 and we talked about before is our blessed hope, isn't it? 27:54 So was it Titus 2:13... "The blessed hope of the 27:57 Christian is the coming of who? Of Jesus Christ." That's right! 28:01 What does He do? He comes to redeem us. 28:04 Where it says in Titus 2:14... "He comes to redeem us 28:07 from all iniquity (now notice) and purifying to Himself a 28:13 peculiar people zealous of good works." 28:15 He's coming after a people that dare to be peculiar. 28:20 He's coming back after a people who dare to be different. 28:23 A people who dare, by the grace of God, to be holy; 28:27 to be that which is used in the Creator's hands to be 28:30 holy and righteous and proclaim a message to the world. 28:34 But, you know, before that takes place, and restorations 28:36 that you've talked about right here, He does promise 28:39 He's going to restore all things, Acts 3:21 and I think 28:43 Acts 17:11, but before these things take place, 28:48 notice - I found this in "Manuscript 39, in 1896," 28:52 and, you know, pay attention to this - it's very important... 28:56 It says, again and I go back to this all the time and I 28:59 believe the Holy Spirit just keeps leading me back, 29:01 all the time, because we're talking righteousness by faith. 29:04 We're talking about what you mentioned in a previous lesson. 29:06 We're talking about victory over sin. 29:08 It's reality of the power of God, not the reality of me 29:13 because that's an impossibility with me, but with God 29:16 all things are possible. 29:17 And it starts like this... We must have the same 29:21 mind which was in Christ... that makes sense to me. 29:24 Our likes and our dislikes, our desires to favor self 29:29 to the disadvantage of others must be overcome. 29:32 Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, Christ must 29:36 be in us a living (notice this) what? Living working power. 29:43 Not just what He's in me, He has to be - He's living 29:45 inside you - that means something is going on. 29:47 Christ alive! Christ well! Christ living! 29:51 I mean just transformations take place and that 29:53 should not be... Well, 5 months ago, 10 years ago, 29:57 I... you know, we can't live on the past. 30:00 Let's live right today what God is doing for us right now. 30:02 He wants to do, so really one of the most exciting aspects 30:05 we talk about of Christ's coming 30:07 is gathering of the saints. That's right. 30:09 Oooo - gathering of the saints, the elect in Matthew 24:31, 30:14 the Bible says... "And He shall send His angels 30:16 with a great sound of what? Of a trumpet and they shall gather 30:21 together His elect (notice from what) the four winds and from 30:25 one end of the heaven to the other." 30:27 This is a promise when He comes, He's not going to 30:30 leave anyone behind. 30:31 When He comes, He's coming for everyone. 30:33 He's going to sound that trumpet. 30:34 The dead in Christ, we know, is going to rise first. 30:37 This is a moment, the Bible talks about, that the 30:41 righteous will come to life and receive immortality. 30:44 You know, in our lessons previous passages are always 30:47 used and sometimes used over and over and they should, 30:49 1 Corinthians 15, I read it every time I get spiritual 30:53 goose bumps from this, you know - the dead in Christ 30:56 rise first, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and then He said, 31:00 "We shall all be changed," in 1 Corinthians 15, 31:02 "in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye!" Oooo! 31:05 At the last trump - it talks about. 31:07 That's when we're going to be changed! 31:09 Someone brought that up in another lesson and I got 31:10 goose bumps just setting and listening. 31:12 When is the change going to be taking place? 31:13 We don't have to worry about trying to guess when is the 31:16 change taking place? Well, it takes place when... 31:17 It takes place at the last trump at the coming of 31:20 Jesus Christ - is what the Bible says. 31:23 There's going to be a reunion like no other 31:25 reunion that's ever been. That's right. 31:27 I hear we take off time and we go here for family reunions, 31:30 it's all good - we have a good time but think about what 31:33 kind of reunion this is going to be. Amen! 31:35 A reunion with all of our loved ones and with Jesus! 31:38 You know there's a song so many of us sing sometimes... 31:40 "It Will Be Worth It (Oooo) ALL One Day When We See Jesus." 31:43 It will be worth it all, no matter what you've 31:45 been through - the promise is sure that has been brought out 31:48 here - "I will come again." 31:50 We can shout along with Paul when he says in 1 Corinthians, 31:54 what is it, 15:55... He said, "O death, Oooo, where is 31:58 thy sting? And, O grave, where is thy victory?" 32:01 Right now, it's painful, it's hurtful when we see 32:05 loved ones passing on. 32:07 "Letter 55, just in a few moments here we have, 32:10 1895, it says... "None can dwell with God in the holy heaven, 32:15 but those who bear His likeness." 32:17 Here I go back again - I want to believe the Holy Spirit 32:19 and its leading for none other than for my life. 32:22 I'm not trying to convince you of anything, but have ears 32:25 to hear and let the Spirit lead and guide in your life. 32:27 None can dwell with God in heaven but those 32:31 who bear His likeness and if I can look at the likeness 32:35 of what little bit I can understand about it, 32:37 I say it like a far cry... "O God, help me, 32:41 God help me as we see Jesus nailed upon the cross... 32:43 as I see my example. 32:45 What is it we say? 32:47 "Oh, I'm like you - hey, I'm ready to go." 32:49 I'm saying, "God have mercy on me a sinner." Yeah 32:51 The closer I get to Him, the more I realize 32:53 how foolish and pathetic I am, and I see Jesus, 32:56 and I want to see Him as He is and none but those who 33:00 bear His likeness - those who are redeemed, Oooo, 33:03 are to be overcomers. 33:05 That's what we read in Revelation over and over. 33:07 They overcome, "I'll grand to sit with Me on the throne." 33:10 Overcomers is what he said. 33:12 "Acts of the Apostles," p.321, says this... "Glorious is the 33:15 triumph awaiting the faithful." 33:18 I'm waiting for that, I'm tired of this life. Amen! 33:22 Every day we live, there are things that are happening 33:26 in the world that is just indescribable. 33:29 I don't even want to think about what's happening to many 33:31 men, women and children around the world today. 33:33 Things that happen that only God looks down upon, 33:36 and only God said, "O man, people, come on, 33:39 let's get it together." Is it alright if I paraphrase? 33:41 Let's get it together because He wants to come back. 33:44 He doesn't want to see all these things take place anymore. 33:47 "I want to come back and I want to take you unto Myself 33:49 that where I am... He said, there ye may be also." 33:53 Glorious triumph awaits the faithful. 33:56 The apostle realizing the possibilities, (notice), before 33:59 the Corinthian believers sought to set before them that 34:02 which uplifts them from (here again) selfishness and the 34:07 sensual, but glorifies life with the hope of immortality. 34:11 See, people might have tried to take that hope away from 34:14 you, you don't let them take it away. 34:16 They might point a finger at you and they say... 34:18 "You are not worthy, you're not any good." 34:20 They realize those fingers point back. 34:22 Let's be conscious of the fact that we need to, 34:25 before God, we spread everything out. 34:28 We leave everything before Him and He says His blood 34:30 will cleanse us whiter than snow. 34:33 I thought of looking at people sometimes and they'll 34:35 say, "Well, you're gonna be lost over here 34:36 and you're not gonna make it over here." 34:37 Is that gonna make a real Christian happy that you 34:40 pinpointed somebody. 34:41 You pinpointed him and you predicted they're going to 34:44 hell - they're going to end up in hell. 34:46 Is that going to make anybody happy? No. 34:49 No, not a Christian - we want everyone to make it. 34:53 We love them, we want them to be in the kingdom. 34:55 We are willing and we are waiting. 34:57 "Acts of the Apostles," p.53, says this quickly... 35:00 The Spirit, Oooo, will take the things of God and 35:04 STAMP them upon the soul! 35:06 I need some stamping! Amen! 35:09 And at times stomping. 35:10 I don't know about you, but I need that sometimes, 35:13 and I give God permission to do that... seriously 35:15 because there are times we need to wake up out of this 35:18 doldrums of mess that we're going through and all the things 35:21 that happen every day. 35:23 But I'm asking Him and I know that you are too, 35:25 and those of you at home, bless your heart, 35:26 ask Him to come in, let the Spirit of God 35:29 come in and take the things of God 35:32 and stamp them on my soul. Amen! 35:35 Brand me with those things, so that they what? 35:40 So they won't pass away, they won't wash off, 35:42 they won't go in matter of circumstances 35:44 and situations that are going on. 35:46 They're going to always be there for us, 35:48 and I praise God for that. 35:50 Let's let the Spirit of God, as we wind down my 35:53 portion of it here, let's ask Him to do it right now. Why not? 35:57 Why not ask Him to do it right now? 35:59 "Oh God, let that Spirit come in." AMEN! 36:02 Let your stamp of approval, Oooo, put Your seal 36:05 of the living God, right? ... in my forehead, 36:07 in my hand and my mind so that regardless of 36:09 what happens in this world over here, I'm going to 36:12 remain faithful to You. 36:13 I can't do it on my own, God; I need some help, 36:15 and You've promised to help us. 36:17 I know You will. Let's be faithful. 36:18 AMEN! Amen! What a wonderful promise, 36:21 the resurrection and restored relationships. 36:24 You know, it's not just our restored relationships between 36:29 our family, but we get to be face-to-face with Him. 36:34 My lesson on Thursday is titled: "A New Earth for the Redeemed" 36:40 And it's interesting because the focus of the lesson is 36:43 on the New Jerusalem, so I want to start off 36:45 by telling you this story... I had a friend that I was 36:48 speaking with a number of years ago, 36:50 right before we moved up here... 36:51 And he was a Christian, I hadn't seen him for a 36:54 few years and I just kept telling him - Uh! 36:57 We're talking and I said, (we were on the phone) 37:00 I said, "Jesus is coming soon! He's coming soon! 37:03 And all of a sudden, he said, "Ah! I hope not! 37:06 My daughter just got accepted to college; 37:08 my son is going to be a senior next year. 37:11 I want them to have the opportunity to live their life." 37:15 And you know, think about this for a minute.. 37:16 When you're talking about people who are saying, "I'm ready 37:19 for the Lord to come," it's usually older people 37:22 who feel they've lived their lives... 37:23 And what I said to him is, "If that is the way you think 37:29 about this, you don't know what's in store for us. 37:33 I said, "You know, because if you knew what God's plan was, 37:37 you'd be saying, "Come now Lord, so that my children 37:39 don't have to go through all 37:41 of this pain and sorrow and everything." 37:44 And I shared with him... I said, "You know, we're not 37:46 going to be spirits floating around, strumming on the harps 37:52 because Jesus said in Luke 24:39... He was saying, 37:56 "Behold My hands and My feet, and He said, "Handle Me." 38:01 You know, just look for yourself, a spirit doesn't have 38:04 flesh and bones." 38:06 So see, when the Bible says, "Flesh and bones don't inherit 38:12 the Kingdom of God, it's talking about this old flesh and bones. 38:17 But when we are resurrected as 1 Corinthians 15:53 says, 38:22 that at the last trump, we're going to come up 38:25 and we're going to get a glorified body just like Jesus. 38:28 He obviously just passed through the door into the meeting 38:33 with them... I mean I have no idea but it's going to be 38:36 exciting and then I said, "You know, Isaiah 65:21, 38:43 says, "Hey, we're going to build houses and live in them; 38:46 We're going to plant gardens and live, 38:48 you know, we're going to be gardeners." 38:50 And so see, the thing about the new heavens and the new earth, 38:56 you talked about Revelation 14:1-3 where Jesus said that 39:00 He is preparing a place for us... we're going to have 39:04 a house in the city, in the New Jerusalem, and a house 39:10 in the country and we're going to go back and forth, 39:12 so let's look at this... We've looked at the fact that 39:17 Peter tells this story that the heavens and the earth 39:21 are going to pass away with a great noise, the elements are 39:25 going to burn with fervent heat and then he says in 39:29 2 Peter 3:13... "Nevertheless we, according to the promise 39:34 look for a new heavens and a new earth in which 39:38 righteousness dwells. (no more evil, 39:41 righteousness only). 39:43 Isaiah had the vision of it in Isaiah 65:17. 39:48 He's quoting the Lord and the Lord says, "For behold, 39:52 I create new heavens and a new earth and the former 39:58 shall not be remembered or come to mind." 40:01 That's the only reason there can be no more tears or sorrow. 40:04 Once when all the books have been opened and we've gone 40:07 through that millennium, that thousand years, 40:10 and we understand why maybe momma didn't make it... 40:13 we understand all of this, then God closes up that book 40:18 and the former is not going to be remembered. 40:21 We're not going to be going around saying, 40:23 "Oh, I can't believe she didn't make it." 40:26 We're going to be so happy. 40:30 John had the same vision in Revelation 21:1. 40:35 He says, "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth 40:39 for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away." 40:43 And his description of it of the New Jerusalem is one of 40:49 unity and harmony. 40:51 Let's look at verse 2, Revelation 21:2... 40:54 Listen to this... "Then I, John, saw the holy city, 40:58 New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 41:01 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 41:05 You know, in Revelation 19, it says that God's people 41:09 are the bride - now he's saying the holy city 41:12 is the bride, so the saints and the city together 41:15 are the bride of Christ. 41:17 Now he goes on in verse 9, well, let me skip to verse 10. 41:21 He says, "He carried me away in the Spirit to a great 41:26 and high mountain, and he showed me the great city, 41:30 the holy Jerusalem, (this is the Jerusalem in heaven) 41:35 and he said, it is descending out of heaven from God, 41:39 So the holy city descends to the new earth, 41:43 this is going to be the capital city of God's eternal kingdom 41:48 right here on earth. 41:50 Verse 11 says... having the glory of God. 41:53 Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper 41:59 stone, clear as crystal." 42:01 Do you remember when God came down into 42:05 the Holy of Holies and the Shekinah Glory told about 42:11 His presence? 42:13 It's like the Temple of God and His Shekinah Glory 42:18 is just making this city absolutely beam. 42:25 So verse 12... "Also she (speaking of the city) had a 42:29 great high wall with twelve gates, twelve angels at the 42:32 gates and names written on them which are the 42:35 names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 42:38 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, 42:40 three on the south and three on the west." 42:42 You know, Jesus said, "They are going to come from the 42:44 north, the south, the east and the west." 42:46 This is a universal city, everybody is going to have 42:49 an unlimited access to God. 42:51 Then he says in verse 14... "Now the wall of the city 42:55 had twelve foundations, on them were the names of 42:58 the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 43:00 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, 43:04 its gates, and its wall." 43:05 Reminds you of Ezekiel 40-42, doesn't it? 43:09 Then look at verse 16... (I love this part) 43:13 "The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great 43:17 as its breadth. He measured the city with the reed, 43:20 twelve thousand furlongs. (now listen to this) 43:24 Its length, breadth and its height are equal." 43:30 What is so precious about this... this is a cube. 43:33 This is a perfect cube, just as the Holy of Holies, 43:38 the width, the length, the breadth - it was a perfect cube. 43:43 So God's presence is in the Holy of Holies in that cube. 43:46 The New Jerusalem is a perfect cube and when you 43:49 think about it, how many edges does a cube have? 43:52 Twelve! Twelve straight lines if you're trying to draw 43:56 out a cube, 12 x 12,000 is how much? 144,000 44:01 which is the symbolic number of the redeemed of God! 44:06 It just gets so exciting. 44:08 Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to the 44:13 measure of a man. And then he said the 44:15 construction of its wall was of jasper and the city 44:19 was pure gold like clear glass." 44:22 Everything radiates the glory of God. 44:26 The foundations of the wall were adorned with all kinds of 44:29 precious stones; the first jasper, then sapphire, 44:33 chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, 44:39 topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst." 44:45 These are the twelve stones that were on the breastplate 44:48 of the high priest and the twelve gates were twelve pearls; 44:52 each gate was a single, big pearl. 44:55 And it says the street of the city was like pure gold, 45:00 like transparent glass." 45:01 What was Solomon's temple? What was the floor? 45:05 It was overlaid with pure gold! 45:08 And then he says, (verse 22), "But I saw no temple in it 45:12 for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 45:17 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine 45:21 in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, 45:24 and the Lamb is its light." 45:26 The radiance of God's presence makes the sun and the moon 45:30 unnecessary - we have the Lord as our everlasting light, 45:35 and we come in and there's a river that's flowing out of it, 45:40 just like out of Eden and there is that Tree of Life, 45:43 and we have access to the Tree of Life. 45:46 I think that's why Isaiah 66 says that we're going to 45:50 from Sabbath-to-Sabbath and new moon-to new moon; 45:53 there's twelve fruits, there's a new fruit every month. 45:56 We're going to go eat from the Tree of Life that is 45:59 restored from the Garden of Eden. Amen! 46:04 No sense stopping now! 46:06 I am so fired up right now, if you touch me, 46:10 you're going to get burned up! Laughter... 46:12 I'm going to begin by talking about life on the new earth. 46:15 First of all, we're going to talk about all the old things 46:17 gone - all the new things coming in. 46:19 There's no way that I'm not going to touch on a little 46:22 bit of what each one of you have already said. That's fine! 46:24 Isaiah 65:17, let's start there, I call this 46:28 out with the old. 46:30 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; 46:34 and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind." 46:38 The news we get today will not be in the new earth. Amen! 46:42 The top story will be, "Jesus is the speaker for 46:46 this afternoon's message, COME all ye unfallen worlds! 46:50 Gather together! And they shall come from the 46:53 north, the south, the east and the west. 46:55 The skies will rain with unfallen inhabitants, 46:59 the billions of galaxies that astronomers have said 47:03 "Thus far they have discovered would be the gathering place 47:07 of the message of God and His voice will echo through the 47:10 unlimitable places in space." 47:13 This voice that called the world into existence will resound with 47:18 the resonance that only Divinity can have and there 47:22 I will be sitting with my sweetheart right next to me, 47:26 Angela, Angel-A... I'm overcome! 47:32 I'm overcome with the glory of God. Amen! 47:36 ... And what He's going to do for us! Amen! 47:38 I've paused all through this listening to each one of you, 47:41 trying to say, "Lord, hold me," the former will not be 47:46 remembered nor come to mind." Amen! 47:49 He is going to do a new thing. Isaiah 43:19... 47:53 "Behold I will do a new thing, how it shall spring forth. 47:58 Shall you not know it? I will even make a road 48:02 in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." 48:06 Not only will He do a new thing, but He will have us. 48:09 We'll all be a new creation. Amen! Thank God for that! 48:12 2 Corinthians 5:17... "Therefore (you can't get in if you're old, 48:18 I'm not talking about chronology, I'm talking about 48:20 character - the old nature) if anyone is in Christ, 48:24 he is a new creation; old things have passed away; 48:29 behold all things have become new." 48:31 If we're in Christ, we are new, we can get in if we're new. 48:36 He's going to be checking everyone to be sure that they're 48:39 new and they'll be the guarantee because Revelation 22:11 48:44 says... "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; 48:51 he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; 48:55 he who is holy, let him be holy still; 48:57 he who is filthy, let him be filthy still." 49:00 So there will be only two divisions not 15,000 49:03 denominations but only two divisions 49:05 all redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 49:08 Not only a new creation, but we'll have a new name. Amen! 49:12 The Gentiles, Isaiah 62:2... "The Gentiles shall see your 49:17 righteousness and all the kings, your glory. 49:20 You shall be called by a new name which the mouth 49:24 of the Lord will name." 49:25 I don't know what my new name will be... 49:27 I don't mind "John" because it means 49:29 "the one whom He loves." 49:31 But whatever name He gives me, I'll respond to it. 49:33 Praise the Lord. Amen! 49:35 Then a new heaven and a new earth... 49:37 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, 2 Peter 3:13, 49:41 look for new heavens and a new earth in which 49:46 righteousness dwells. (I must put a plug here... 49:49 There will be no eternally burning hell. Absolutely not! 49:53 There will be no eternally burning hell. 49:56 The gift of God is eternal life. 49:59 Eternal life is not given to the wicked and without 50:02 eternal life, you cannot burn eternally. Amen! 50:04 The wages of sin is death. 50:08 The wages of sin is death, even death 50:10 itself is going to be destroyed. 50:12 And put a pin in this... Satan, himself, will be 50:15 turned to ashes. That's right! 50:17 If Satan will be turned to ashes and will be no more, 50:21 how could the wicked be burning forever? 50:23 If the origin of wickedness is no more, 50:26 how could his subjects whom he deceived 50:29 burn longer than the one that caused the problem? 50:32 The Lord says in Malachi. Malachi 4... "He will leave 50:37 neither root nor branch. (now follow this...) Follow this 50:40 Ryan, thank you Jill, thank you Shelley... 50:43 Follow this Ryan... He's the vine, we are the branches. 50:47 The branches will not be disconnected from the vine 50:50 throughout eternity, but neither will Satan be 50:53 disconnected from those he led 50:54 into perpetration of wickedness. 50:56 And the Lord said, "I will leave neither root nor branch... 51:01 Another word for branch is vine. 51:03 We're the branches of holiness, Jesus is the vine. 51:08 Satan is the root of unholiness. 51:12 His subjects are the branches, Jesus is the root, 51:17 we are the branches. 51:19 Satan is the root of... 51:21 So if the root is going to be destroyed, how can you 51:23 have a tree and branches without a root? That's right! 51:27 Which brings me to a quotation... I gotta read it. 51:29 I want to make sure this is echoed throughout the world. 51:32 In the devotional book, "Heaven," by Ellen White, p.147, 51:36 "Between the school established in Eden at the beginning and the 51:40 school of the hereafter, there lies the whole compass 51:44 of this world's history. The history of human 51:47 transgression and suffering of divine sacrifice and the 51:50 victory of death and sin. 51:52 Not all the conditions of that first school of Eden will be 51:55 found in the school of the future life. 51:59 (follow this...) No tree of knowledge of good and evil 52:03 will afford opportunity for temptation." Halleluiah! 52:07 It won't be there. Thank you. 52:08 No tempter is there. No possibility of wrong. 52:15 Every character has withstood the testing of evil and none 52:21 are longer susceptible to its power." That's beautiful! 52:25 Amen! AMEN! So when this ideology that 52:28 there's a possibility of sin, it's a lie. Amen! 52:33 It's a lie! You know what that means? 52:36 There could be a possible need of another Savior. 52:39 Oh, I'm sorry - I denounce that ideology because 52:43 the only One that's worthy of eradicating sin is Jesus! 52:47 If He can't do it, nobody can. 52:49 Amen! Preach it! 52:51 Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory 52:54 through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 52:55 I'm continuing... Not only a new creation 52:58 but a new name. Yes. 53:00 He says, "I'll give them a new name." 53:02 We get a new heaven and a new earth but Ryan are you ready? 53:05 Revelation 5:9... "And they sang a new song... WOOHOO! 53:10 Amen! Thank you! They sang a new song! 53:16 That's right brother! They're going to sing a 53:18 new song but you gotta be a new creation to get into the 53:21 New Jerusalem to live in the new heaven, 53:24 and to walk on the new earth. Halleluiah! 53:26 You gotta have a new name to sing a new song! 53:29 That's what the new world is going to be. 53:32 Between that old world, everything is eradicated... 53:36 The former things will not be remembered nor come to mind. 53:40 God is going to create all things new. 53:42 "Behold I make all things new." Halleluiah! 53:45 He who sat on the throne said, "Behold I make all 53:48 things new," and then He said, "Write, for these 53:52 words are true and faithful." 53:55 They'll be no old arguments there! 53:58 They'll be no old controversies there. 54:00 They'll be no old division... that's why our 54:03 responsibility right now is to get rid of the old, 54:06 and get ready for the new because when that day comes, 54:09 and there's no more sin, no more suffering, 54:11 no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, 54:13 for the former things are passed away and then 54:16 we're going to be standing on the sea of glass. 54:17 Thank you for reading the description of Revelation. 54:21 Even though Solomon's temple was made of pure 54:23 gold, it wasn't transparent. That's right! 54:26 The reason why the walls are transparent is this... 54:28 We're going to see and behold the reward of the wicked. 54:33 They're going to look through our walls and see the 54:37 reward of the redeemed. 54:39 I want to be on the inside, what about you? 54:41 Here is the most beautiful quotation I've ever found... 54:45 "Great Controversy," p.678... "The great controversy is ended. 54:51 Sin and sinners are no more. 54:54 The entire universe is clean. 54:57 One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the 55:00 vas creation from Him who created all for life and light 55:05 and gladness throughout the realms of illimitable space 55:09 from the minutest atom to the greatest world, 55:12 all things animate and inanimate in their unshadowed 55:18 beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love." AMEN! 55:24 That's the bottom line, thank you Pastor! 55:26 Glory to God. Praise the Lord! 55:29 I think of Revelation 5, "Holy, holy, holy, 55:33 Lord God Almighty for You are worthy, O Lord, 55:37 to receive glory and honor and power. 55:40 You created all things and, by Your will, they exist 55:44 and are created." 55:45 This has been a powerful study. 55:48 Thank you that God is going to restore. 55:52 I want to give each one of you a moment 55:54 to share a final thought. 55:57 Wow... that's overwhelming. Yes! 56:00 You know I just... just from the bottom of 56:01 my heart and this message is just as much to me 56:04 as it is to all of us and all of our Adventist brethren at home. 56:08 You know, at a time such as this, we need to put aside 56:12 unimportant things, with all the distractions of the world, 56:15 Jesus is coming soon and now, today is the day of salvation. 56:21 Now is the time for us to band together, unify and put our 56:25 faith in Jesus Christ. Amen, Amen! 56:28 Pastor Kenny... We realize we live in a world 56:30 that's coming to an end and we realize that one day soon 56:34 humanity is going to be restored to its original purpose. 56:38 We understand that and then we're going to live in 56:41 harmony as has been brought out with God and with the 56:44 angels and all of heaven, a true harmony. 56:47 And I think what the emotion that John felt was because 56:51 we realize we will be faced to bless and faced to Jesus. 56:57 I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God 57:00 and he shall go out no more. 57:03 That's what He says about us. 57:04 We will go out no more. To God be the glory! Amen! 57:07 Thank you Pastor Ryan, Pastor Kenny, 57:09 Shelley and Pastor John. 57:11 Thank you for joining us at home. 57:13 At 3ABN, we want to be there 57:17 and we want you to be there as well. Amen! 57:20 So as Revelation says, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 57:24 Join us next Quarter for a study of the Book of Revelation. |
Revised 2019-01-02