Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL190004B
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00:10 Welcome back to the second part of our program.
00:14 Jay, I'm being so blessed. 00:16 I am too and seeing prayer and even a deeper light. 00:20 Yes. Yes. 00:22 And I think that, it's just so important 00:24 that we really revisit prayer on a regular basis 00:28 because that's how, that's how we connect with God. 00:32 And make it practical, not formal. 00:34 Yes. Yes. 00:36 Let's just talk to God. That's what Adam and Eve did. 00:38 You know, you hear sometimes... 00:40 [inaudible] 00:49 Come into your prayer closet and just talk to talk to me. 00:51 Just talk to me because I don't talk differently to you, right? 00:55 That's right. That's right. 00:57 So I want to talk to God. I don't want to be flippant. 00:59 Right. Right, I want to be respectful. 01:01 Absolutely. 01:03 And we are respectful in a way and we should be respectful 01:04 when we communicate to one another 01:06 and then with God too, 01:07 but to go off in this whole different language 01:10 or this whole different way of talking, 01:11 you know, what I'm saying, and not just communicate. 01:14 And I think that makes prayer difficult for some people. 01:16 I think so too. 01:18 Well, it formalizes it in a way that makes it uncomfortable 01:22 so that you don't feel like you're talking to a friend. 01:26 It's too... I think it needs to... 01:29 We need to consider and I read this somewhere 01:33 where you're talking to a king, 01:37 so you're going to have that kind of respect, 01:39 like you're talking to a king 01:41 but that king is your best friend. 01:43 So you have both, you know, the respect factor 01:47 and the intimacy. 01:49 So Abraham, and I just want to just give a little bit of... 01:54 A little bit of practical, biblical perspective 01:58 on how we can pray to God. 01:59 Oh, good. 02:00 So Abraham is very respectful to the God of all the earth, 02:03 destroy a city of these 50 righteous men. 02:06 He's asking, he's quiet. 02:08 We can question God, if we do it respectfully. 02:10 What about 45? What about 40? 02:12 What about 20? What about 10? 02:14 You would do that, would you? Would you? 02:17 And then you have Moses. I can't talk. 02:20 I can't do this. There's no way I can do this. 02:23 What am I going to tell him if... 02:25 Who's sending me? What am I gonna say? 02:27 You see what I'm saying. It's very heartfelt. 02:31 And then David's like, God help me, 02:33 and here's how I feel right now. 02:34 I'm so angry, I just want you to consume him, 02:36 just take him out. 02:37 That's how I feel about it, I just want, but we don't, 02:39 we never talked to God like that, 02:40 like that would be a reflection on us, wouldn't it? 02:43 So we want to say, "I'm a good Christian, 02:46 I love people so much and so, if you could answer my prayers 02:48 because I go to church and pray. 02:50 No, David is real with God, Abraham is real with God, 02:53 Moses is real with God, but they're real 02:56 about their own struggles, their weaknesses, 02:59 and the fears that they have and they express that. 03:03 And then the disciples, when you see them praying, 03:06 you don't hear necessarily 03:07 what they're saying in the upper room 03:09 but you know what they're saying. 03:10 You know what they're saying. 03:12 They're just like, man I messed up. 03:14 Man, I messed up. Yeah. 03:15 You know what's interesting to like when... 03:17 If you take it back to Genesis, right, 03:19 when Adam and Eve were in the garden 03:21 and they had sinned, and God was looking for them 03:24 and He started asking them a series of questions. 03:26 I mean, that's so much like a parent, you know, 03:30 you do something wrong, and then they ask you questions 03:34 they already know the answer to, so... 03:37 Why did you to come to self-revelation 03:40 and they want you to be honest yeah, 03:42 to work through it and to be honest. 03:45 And even Peter so, 03:46 here's another prayer engagement with Peter 03:48 that's, that is clear, okay. 03:51 So after Jesus is resurrected, He comes to the lakeside 03:54 and they're out on the fishing boat, 03:55 and have you any meat and they don't, 03:57 throw it on the other side, they get it full, 03:58 and then he come, it's the Lord. 04:00 And so they eat and then Peter 04:02 is tested by Christ three times. 04:05 So, Peter, do you love me? 04:07 He says, "You know, Lord, you know my heart" 04:11 before he was supposed, you know my heart. 04:13 It's interesting because when Jesus asked him, 04:15 "Do you love Me." He uses the word agape. 04:19 And the first time He asked him, 04:20 he says and this is John 21:15, 16, 17. 04:25 Do you agape me more than these? 04:28 Because remember He said, 04:29 "They'll forsake you, but I won't." 04:31 And Peter's like, "Lord, you know. 04:34 You know that I..." 04:35 And the word he uses is Phileo. You know, I Phileo You. 04:39 I don't agape You, I Phileo You. 04:41 And then Jesus asks him the second time, 04:42 "Do you love me, agape. 04:44 Do you agape Me." He doesn't say more than these. 04:46 And Peter says, "You know, I Phileo you." 04:48 And then the third time, He asked him, 04:50 Peter, "Do you even Phileo me?" 04:53 Now, what's the difference? Tell us the difference? 04:55 So agape love is a love that is describes God's love. 04:58 It's based on principles immovable. 05:00 Phileo love is like family. 05:02 It's like the love we have for blood where... 05:05 But you know there's some stuff, 05:06 that can one forsake here suckling child. 05:08 Yeah, she can, but I won't forsake you. 05:10 That's God's love. 05:11 So Phileo love is more like feeling an emotion. 05:13 Okay. 05:15 So when Peter was in the courtyard, 05:16 he was overwhelmed with his feelings and fear, 05:19 and he denied Christ. 05:21 Agape love doesn't do that. 05:22 Agape love stays true all the way. 05:23 It says in John 13:1 that Jesus loved them unto the end. 05:28 They forsook Him, they denied Him, 05:30 He still loved them, see. 05:32 So Jesus is questioning Peter. 05:34 And Peter finally says, 05:36 "I guess, I don't even Phileo You, 05:37 like I don't even have, I don't have any love really 05:39 in and of myself." 05:41 So here's this communication and then... 05:43 [inaudible] 05:49 He knows our hearts. Right. 05:50 And so that's what Peter says. 05:52 He says, Lord, you know, you know. You know me. 05:57 I don't have to give you any flowery speeches. 05:58 I don't have to pretend that I am. 06:00 You know the wretchedness of this heart, 06:02 and that's the bottom line for me. 06:03 Sometimes when we pray, we pray about 06:04 all the wretchedness of other people, 06:06 but what God really wants us 06:07 to get to the bottom of our wretchedness 06:09 who we are down here, how we feel about the people 06:12 that we're pretending with the situations 06:14 that we're trying to make look good 06:15 when really down in our hearts, and then God can cure that, 06:18 He can take care of, He can take that out. 06:20 But we got to be honest with Him. 06:21 We do. And we have to turn it over to Him... 06:23 Yeah. 06:24 Because we can't change ourselves. 06:26 Right. 06:27 You know, we cannot change ourselves. 06:28 So if we just give it to the Lord 06:30 and ask Him to show us who we are, 06:33 to show us because the heart is deceitful 06:35 and desperately wicked, right, and who can know it? 06:38 So we have to ask Him like, 06:41 "Lord, please show me who I am." 06:44 Can He changes? Can He? 06:46 Absolutely. 06:48 That's the good news right there. 06:49 Yes, that's right. That's right. 06:51 Only He can. Only He can. 06:54 So okay, so go ahead. I love that. 06:55 No, I'm good. I'm good. Okay, we have question. 06:57 We do have questions, but let's go to a song 07:00 before we jump into the questions. 07:02 That sounds good. 07:03 So we have the Burchfield Brothers 07:05 who they're going to bless us with "Be Still My Soul." 10:34 Be Still My Soul, so beautiful. 10:38 I love the Burchfield Brothers. Yes. 10:39 And we're talking about prayer, so be still. 10:41 Exactly, exactly and just focus on the Lord 10:45 and just talk to Him, just talk to Him. 10:49 We have some questions and answers. 10:50 Speaking of, I mean, you have the answers, 10:52 we have the questions. 10:53 That's right. 10:55 So you've been sending in your questions, 10:57 and please continue to do that. 10:59 We're going to ask answers as many as we can. 11:03 Jay, you have some. I do. 11:05 So well, first, this young lady, 11:08 Patty starts off by saying, "Guys, I am so glad 11:11 you will have the Daniel series 11:13 with quite a few exclamation marks. 11:16 I've been waiting for it." Praise God. 11:18 And her question is, "If we know that things 11:21 are going to get more challenging when we pray, 11:24 would it make any difference?" 11:28 And then I am, she says, "I am so scared 11:30 about what is going on. 11:32 I can see where this is going. 11:34 I can see the beast getting deeper and deeper 11:36 and becoming more visible at a fast and rapid rate. 11:40 But I know that it will get worse it is prophesied, 11:44 would it make any difference to pray." 11:48 So this is where I want to get into the Great Controversy 11:50 just a little bit, 11:52 and I want to get through Revelation also, 11:54 just the two, Book of Revelation, 11:57 the Great Controversy which I think 11:58 is inspired commentary on Revelation, 12:00 it's really powerful. 12:01 And in the Book of Revelation, we have a beast picture there. 12:05 There's two, one out of the sea, 12:07 one out of the land. 12:08 In Revelation 13:11, the beast out of the land, 12:11 it has two lamblike horns. 12:14 And those lamblike horns represent gentleness. 12:18 They represent Christian principles. 12:19 I believe that denotes liberty and freedom, 12:25 freedom of conscience in civil matters 12:28 as well as freedom of conscience 12:29 in religious matters. 12:31 And we talk about this nation 12:33 of the United States of America. 12:36 There's a difference between the political part of it 12:39 and the principles that made this nation great. 12:43 And a lot of people that are patriotic, 12:44 they don't always know 12:45 how to differentiate between the two. 12:47 And my loyalty is to the principles 12:51 that made this nation great 12:53 because those principles I think are represented 12:57 in the Book of Revelation. 12:59 They're represented in the Bible. 13:00 They're represented all through the Bible. 13:02 And, so when I stand for patriotism, 13:04 I stand for those principles, regardless of what, 13:07 how the government is changing that. 13:09 And I think David gave us the same example. 13:11 You know, he stood for principle, 13:13 regardless of what Saul did, regardless of how he acted. 13:16 David stood for principle. 13:17 He was a man after God's own heart. 13:19 So the question is asked there 13:22 is really powerful and really important one. 13:24 And the answer is powerful. 13:25 And that is, we've just gone through the entire Bible 13:29 and showed how powerful prayer is 13:31 and how prayer makes a difference. 13:33 And every crisis that we've looked at 13:35 is culminates in the Book of Revelation, 13:39 'cause the Book of Revelation 13:40 simply culminates all the past crisis. 13:42 So you're talking about what Abraham went through. 13:45 You're talking about what Moses went through. 13:46 You're talking about what David went through. 13:48 Well, what delivered them? What helped them? 13:51 Well, we left one guy out 13:53 and this guy really connects with the Book of Revelation, 13:56 and you know who that guy is? 13:58 Daniel. 13:59 Is Daniel a man of prayer, 14:01 like, was prayer important to him? 14:02 Three times a day at least. 14:05 Now, as soon as Daniel gets into political arena, 14:10 you got understand for our viewers, 14:12 we haven't done Daniel yet so you know this is, 14:14 it may be new territory for some of the viewers, 14:17 but as soon as Daniel's in the political arena, 14:19 and he is with three of his friends, 14:22 they're being educated to fill political positions. 14:25 And right away, they're confronted 14:27 with conflicts with what they believe conscientiously, 14:31 and it's on the level of food, 14:33 and what they're going to eat, what they're going to drink. 14:35 And the first thing they do is pray. 14:37 They give it to God. 14:38 And as Daniel surrenders to God, 14:42 he makes a request to be tried for 10 days. 14:45 He goes through this test, and he's proven 14:49 that he can be healthy on this vegetarian diet 14:52 of pulse and water, right? 14:54 And immediately, Chapter 2 delivers a dream 14:57 that Nebuchadnezzar has, the king has 14:59 and he can't remember. 15:01 And right away, Daniel and his friends 15:03 are threatened with the loss of their life. 15:06 What's the first thing they do? Pray. 15:08 Give us time, we gonna pray to God, 15:10 and they go and pray to God. 15:11 And no one in the whole kingdom can help Nebuchadnezzar. 15:15 He is so upset that all of his wise men, 15:17 all of his vice-presidents and all of his, you know, 15:21 council and you know, his cabinetry, 15:24 nobody can help him. 15:26 The senate can't help him, the congress can't help him, 15:27 none of the house representatives, 15:29 nobody can't help him, right? 15:30 Right. 15:32 And Daniel's praying and God gives him an answer. 15:35 And you know, when he goes in there, 15:36 he prays, he says, "We need to pray 15:38 that God won't let us perish 15:40 with all the wise men of Babylon. 15:41 We don't want to die with the senators, 15:43 we don't want to die with the house representatives, 15:45 you know." 15:46 When he comes out, he says, "Don't kill any of the senate, 15:50 don't kill any of the democrats, 15:51 don't kill any of the republicans," right? 15:54 "God's given us an answer," right? 15:56 So prayer changes us, not just gives us answer 15:59 but changes us, you see. 16:00 Daniel has this experience where his prayer time 16:04 caused him to bring an answer 16:05 that saved the house of representatives 16:08 whether they're democrats or republicans, 16:10 you can choose which ones are the bad guys. 16:12 Right. Right. That's up to you. 16:13 And so prayer is powerful. 16:15 Now, Daniel understands that 16:17 so by the time you get to Nebuchadnezzar 16:19 which is one president, prime minister, king 16:22 to the next one which is Belshazzar, 16:23 another president, prime minister, king, 16:25 to the next one which is Darius, 16:26 another president, prime minister, king. 16:27 Daniel's like he's hooked on prayer, 16:30 like evening, morning and at noon, 16:31 "Well, I pray and cry aloud and God will hear my voice." 16:34 And so, then the political guys, right, 16:38 the opposition party, whether that's republic or democrat, 16:41 we don't know, can't tell. 16:45 They're like, "We got to get this guy out of here" 16:47 and they try to find mud on him. 16:49 Man, he's squeaky clean, like this guy is a really clean 16:53 like, you know, this is Ben Carson type guy, 16:56 you know what I mean. 16:57 We can't find nothing on this guy. 16:58 And so what they do is they realize 17:01 that the only way we can get him 17:03 is if we bring up something in relation to his God, 17:08 so they talked Darius into passing a law 17:11 that nobody can ask a petition hallow. 17:13 No one can talk to anyone except for Darius, no God. 17:16 Daniel's like, always talking to God, 17:19 so now I mean, Daniel's faced with this incredible thing, 17:23 do I preserve my political position influence 17:28 or do I preserve prayer? 17:31 Which one do I choose? Right? 17:34 And which one does he choose? Prayer. 17:37 Is prayer powerful? Yeah. 17:38 He doesn't even let his shade down. 17:40 No. 17:41 You know, he doesn't hide that he is praying 17:44 three times a day. 17:45 This is his testimony. 17:46 This is the time when he's gonna give 17:48 all the glory to God. 17:49 If you're God and give glory to Him, 17:50 the hour of the judgment has come. 17:52 And so he prays openly and God delivers him. 17:56 Yeah, so whatever we're facing, the lions, 17:59 the devouring lions that are coming at us 18:02 in that pit that were being thrown into 18:03 in Revelation that the question was asked, 18:06 whatever facing, does prayer make a difference? 18:08 Oh, if it doesn't, then the Bible, 18:10 we just might as well throw the Bible out the window. 18:12 Because every single story throughout the Bible, 18:15 Old and New Testament tells us that the only way 18:18 that the church is going to have any kind of footing, 18:20 any kind of influence, any kind of real estate, 18:22 any kind of impact on this world, 18:25 is if the church lays aside politics 18:27 and become men and women of prayer. 18:30 That's it. That's our answer. 18:32 Yes. It's good. It's good. 18:33 Yeah, that is. That is. 18:35 What question do you have, Mom? 18:36 Since Adam and Eve had to eat from the tree of life 18:39 to maintain life, where we also 18:42 have to eat from the tree to maintain life as well? 18:45 That's an easy answer, yes. 18:47 So when they sinned, they weren't allowed access, 18:49 because they're mortal sinners. 18:51 And then when you go to the Book of Revelation, 18:52 it says, "Hey, there's a tree of life," Revelation 22, 18:55 "it's going to have 12 manner of fruit every month 18:57 it's going to give another 18:58 and we're going to eat of that tree, 18:59 live forever." 19:01 Easy answer. That's good. 19:04 Okay, here's another one, Jay. 19:06 It seems like there's a debate 19:07 among the different denominations 19:09 about whether Saturday or Sunday is the Sabbath. 19:12 Can you please elaborate on this topic? 19:14 Absolutely. 19:15 So from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is crystal clear, 19:19 the seventh day Saturday 19:21 is the Sabbath of the Lord our God. 19:23 Now I say that coming from a Catholic background, 19:25 I was raised Catholic, went to church every Sunday. 19:27 And when I was first introduced 19:28 to the idea of going to church on Saturday, I thought... 19:31 It was my sister who talked to me about, I thought, 19:32 that's ridiculous, come on, who goes to church on Saturday, 19:36 that's not in the Bible. 19:37 Give me a Bible, I'll show you it's Sunday, 19:39 you know what I'm saying, that was my attitude. 19:41 And so I've researched this, 19:42 but here's the problem with Sabbath Sunday. 19:46 I've met a lot of people that go to church on Sunday, 19:49 who seem to be more Christian, more Christ like 19:53 than people that go to church on the Sabbath, 19:56 like sometimes when we look at the history, 19:59 for example of the Jews. 20:00 The Jews persecuted and killed Christ. 20:03 Now we're Christians because we follow Christ. 20:06 And it's very important for us not to become so Jewish 20:12 in the way that we focus on the law, 20:14 and keeping the Sabbath 20:16 that we actually end up persecuting Christ 20:19 in the way that we treat people. 20:21 So what I try to remind us 20:22 is what I think is really important is, 20:24 the Sabbath is not a theological doctrinal issue 20:27 as much as it is a sign of our salvation in Jesus, 20:33 our dependence on Christ. 20:34 It's a sign of righteousness by faith. 20:37 So when you look at the Sabbath 20:38 in its institution in the beginning, 20:40 i.e., the seventh day that God rested 20:43 when He created the world. 20:45 Here's the picture you get. 20:47 God created the whole world without us for us. 20:50 Nothing we could point to and say, Hey, 20:52 see that tree over there? 20:53 God made the trunk, I put on the limbs, 20:54 He put on the leaves, I put on the fruit. 20:56 No, we were made on the last day. 20:58 And the first thing that God asked us to do was to rest. 21:02 Like, Whoa! What? 21:04 Just rest, rest in everything I did for you, without you. 21:08 That's the Sabbath. 21:09 So when we fall, Jesus comes. 21:13 He trod the winepress alone 21:15 of the people who was none with Him. 21:17 He did it all for us, without us. 21:20 He accomplished our complete redemption. 21:22 He lived a perfect life, that's what we need. 21:24 He died our satisfactionary death 21:26 for our sins, that's what we need. 21:27 And He says, "Now I want you to rest 21:29 in everything I did." 21:30 In fact, just like creation week, 21:32 on the sixth day, when He was on the cross, 21:34 He said what God said, "It is finished." 21:37 And then He rested. 21:39 And so He wants us, the Sabbath is a sign of us resting 21:42 in His completed salvationary work. 21:44 When we see it that way, boom, it becomes significant. 21:49 And I think in that context, the Sabbath in the last day, 21:52 the call in Revelation 14:6, three angels' message, ABN, 21:56 worship God! 21:57 Revelation 6:7, the everlasting gospel. 21:59 The gospel is rest in Christ, trust in Christ, trust in Him. 22:01 He said, "Worship God who made heaven, and earth, 22:03 and sea and all." 22:05 Wait a minute, that's going back to Genesis, 22:06 that's creation week, 22:07 that remind us of the seventh day Sabbath. 22:09 "Worship God because the seventh day 22:11 is the Sabbath of the Lord, thy God." 22:13 Exodus 20:8-11. 22:15 Wait a minute, that's talking about the Sabbath. 22:17 Why is that in the everlasting gospel? 22:18 Don't receive the mark of the beast, 22:20 because the mark of the beast is all about trusting 22:23 what we can do, and not what God has done. 22:27 That's the real conflict. 22:28 It's not about a day, as much it is about trusting 22:31 what Christ has done or trusting on what we can do. 22:33 That's the last day conflict that we were looking at. 22:35 Yes, yes. 22:36 And I think this is a good time 22:38 to bring up the free offer again, 22:40 because all of this is in the Great Controversy, 22:44 and you can have a copy of the Great Controversy 22:49 with the New King James Version scripture in there 22:52 which will make it a little bit easier 22:54 for those who are not 22:55 used to the thee and thou and all of that. 22:58 And so you can get that 22:59 by calling us at 618-627-4651. 23:05 That's 618-627-4651 23:09 or emailing us and for the free offer. 23:13 So free, is it live@3abn.tv. 23:19 Whoa! 23:21 Yes. 23:23 Now this question that I'm about to ask you. 23:25 We've been getting a lot of these, 23:26 and I'm sure you've seen them in your email 23:28 because I've sent you some of these questions. 23:32 This one says, "Is the 144,000 23:36 a symbolic number or a literal number? 23:40 When is Daniel... 23:42 Okay, and then when is Daniel 23:43 scheduled for Salvation in Symbols? 23:46 April. 23:47 We're scheduled to record it in April. 23:48 Yeah, but then sometime after that. 23:50 Right. It won't air in April but... 23:52 So is it symbolic or literal? 23:54 So the 144,000 are mentioned in three places in the Bible, 23:58 Revelation 7, Revelation 14, 24:00 and they're not mentioned by name in Revelation 15, 24:03 but they are there on the sea of glass, 24:07 in the song of Moses and the Lamb. 24:09 A lot of people leave those verses, also described 144,000. 24:13 So if you're just gonna go from a biblical perspective, 24:15 the 144,000 in Revelation 7, 24:19 and 144,000 in Revelation Chapter 14 24:22 are symbolic, 24:24 and the reason we know this is because 24:26 the 144,000 in Revelation Chapter 7 24:29 takes place in the context 24:31 of the four winds being held back, 24:33 and the servants of God been sealed with the seal of God, 24:36 in preparatory to those winds being let loose, 24:39 and we know that's the close of probation, 24:41 that's the end of time. 24:42 So the seal of God comes upon all of God's people 24:46 before probation closes. 24:48 And a lot of people think, "Well, you know, that's us, 24:51 we're going to be sealed." 24:52 But another question that was in here, it says, 24:54 the question that was asked was, 24:55 when does the judgment start for the living? 24:58 And I'm going to answer that question 24:59 as I'm answering this one. 25:01 So this question, it supposes that the judgment started 25:04 for the dead first, and that's true. 25:07 Judgment which is synonymous with the sealing 25:10 began with the dead. 25:12 You cannot be sealed until you're judged. 25:15 In Revelation 7, the 144,000 are sealed. 25:19 So the 144,000 must include the dead 25:22 and the first dead person that came up in the judgment 25:25 must have been Adam, 25:26 because he was the first one to believe in the Lamb of God 25:29 who takes away the sins of the world 25:30 because God set up the sacrificial system 25:32 right at the very beginning. 25:34 He gave him the promise, 25:35 I'm going to put enmity between you and the woman. 25:37 This guy's coming that's going to bruise his head, 25:40 but his heels going to be bruised. 25:41 That's Jesus. 25:43 Adam saw the Lamb and he put faith in the Lamb. 25:45 And he comes up in the judgment and he's sealed. 25:48 And Eve comes up, and Abel comes up, 25:49 you know what I'm saying. 25:51 And so we go through the whole judgment. 25:52 is a symbolic number, 25:54 it's not literal. 25:55 And a lot of times Satan wants us to argue 25:58 about stuff that's important for a different reason. 26:01 We want to argue about the number, okay? 26:04 Let's not argue about the number. 26:06 Let's look at what's in there that's so important. 26:09 And what's in that Revelation 7 that's so significant 26:12 is this picture of the 12 tribes 26:14 because when you look at Revelation Chapter 7, 26:16 the 12 tribes, they are different 26:17 than the original tribes. 26:19 In Revelation 7, there's a tribe there 26:22 that wasn't in the original 12. 26:24 When you go back to Genesis 49, 26:26 Jacob is describing all of his children, 26:28 all the 12 tribes and he gets to verse 16 26:31 and he describes Dan. 26:32 He says, "Dan!" 26:33 Dan is like a serpent in the way, 26:35 like an adder in the path that bites the horse heel, 26:37 so the rider falls backwards. 26:39 He's a serpent, he's a backbiter, you know, 26:41 a serpent is the accuser, Revelation 12:10, 26:43 he accuses before God day and night. 26:45 In fact, the word Dan means to judge. 26:48 The word Daniel means "God is judge." 26:52 Interesting. 26:53 Let's make that transition, right? 26:54 Yeah. Daniel, God is judge. 26:56 So Dan is not in Revelation 7, because the message that God 27:00 is communicating there is not about a number. 27:02 The message God's communicating there is about character. 27:07 So Dan's gone because God isn't going to seal people 27:09 who are critical, judgmental, backbiting, serpent like. 27:12 So, who replaces Dan? Manasseh. 27:16 Now, Manasseh was the first son of Joseph. 27:20 And the reason why Joseph called Manasseh 27:23 was because Joseph was mistreated by his brothers. 27:25 You ever been mistreated 27:26 by your church brothers, sisters? 27:28 Okay. 27:29 And he went through a terrible time 27:31 but in the end, he's like, "God overruled this." 27:36 Communication with God, Lord, Lord, God overruled this. 27:39 And he has the son in Manasseh... 27:40 He has the son, he calls him Manasseh 27:42 because Manasseh means to forget. 27:45 God has caused me to forget, I'm going to call Manasseh 27:47 because God's caused me to forget. 27:49 And the word forget in the New Testament 27:51 is this root word for forgive. 27:54 God has caused me to forget or forgive 27:56 everything my brothers did to me. 28:00 And when they came, he says, 28:01 "Hey, don't, don't be afraid of me. 28:03 God overruled. God brought me here." 28:06 What do you mean God brought you here? 28:08 We would want... No, God brought me here. 28:10 See so as Christians, as believers, 28:12 we got to start thinking, wait a minute, 28:13 what's God doing it through this? 28:15 How is God going to overrule this? 28:17 God, I'm going to give You all this. 28:18 How are You going to work through this? 28:20 David's praying that prayer. Abraham's praying that prayer. 28:21 Moses is praying that prayer. 28:23 Right? Yeah. Yeah. 28:25 That's the power of prayer. 28:26 And so when you look at the 144,000 in Revelation 7, 28:29 you've got to see that picture, its character. 28:32 Who's going to be sealed? 28:33 You know, it's inclusive of all of God's people 28:36 from Genesis on, because all of God's people 28:39 have to be sealed from 1844 onward, 28:41 now I'm getting into theology, 28:42 but let me move to Revelation 14. 28:45 The mistake we make in Revelation Chapter 14 28:47 with 144,000 is we put them in the end time prophecy, 28:51 because Revelation 13 28:52 is talking about the mark of the beast. 28:54 Right? 28:55 And so right away, we say, Revelation 14, 28:57 it's in Revelation 13, 28:58 so it must be the end time people. 28:59 And then it's the three angels' messages in six through, 29:02 you know, so it must be the end time people. 29:03 But when you start Revelation Chapter 14, 29:07 it says that John looked and he saw a group of people... 29:11 Yeah. 29:12 And when you look at where they're standing, 29:13 this is the most important thing, 29:15 where they're standing. 29:17 You said Revelation... I've got my... 29:19 14... 14... 29:20 I've got my removable Bible here, 29:23 so I don't know if you guys have this. 29:25 Removable Bible? 29:26 They have these removable pages, 29:28 you take them out and put them in. 29:30 If you read verse 1, Revelation 14:1, 29:35 it says, "And I looked, and lo, 29:38 a lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000." 29:45 Okay? 29:46 Mount Zion, according to Hebrews Chapter 12, 29:50 Mount Zion is the heavenly Jerusalem. 29:53 It's the church of the firstborn, 29:56 where names are registered in heaven. 29:57 This picture that John has seen here 29:59 is a picture of the redeemed in heaven, 30:02 after all this is over. 30:04 And the reason why God has given us that picture 30:06 is because God wants to encourage us, 30:07 I know, I just told you about the mark of the beast, 30:09 and I know I said that everyone small, great, rich, poor, 30:11 free and bond, they're going to receive the mark. 30:13 But let me show you that there's going 30:15 to be a people in heaven 30:16 who ain't gonna receive that mark. 30:18 They're gonna follow the Lamb wherever He goes, 30:20 see, that's the thing. 30:21 And then the question would be asked, 30:23 well, how did they get there? 30:24 Then you get to Revelation 14:6, 30:25 and I saw an angel flying through the midst of heaven, 30:27 they got the everlasting gospel. 30:28 Right. 30:30 So you can't use Revelation 14:1-5, 30:31 to designate biblically the 144,000 30:34 with only end time people because they're in heaven. 30:37 And when you get to heaven, everyone's there. 30:38 Resurrected and translated without death. 30:40 They're all there, so both of these scriptures 30:44 do not give evidence 30:46 for the 144,000 being a symbolic number. 30:48 Now it gets more significant than that. 30:50 When you go through the characteristics 30:51 in Revelation 14, you've got virgins, 30:54 male virgins, 30:56 if you want to get literal, because if you're going to do 30:58 the numbers, got to be literal everything else is 31:00 Jewish male virgins, 12 tribes 31:02 that haven't slept with women, right? 31:04 They haven't lost in the mire. 31:05 So you've got now 144,000 literal Jewish male virgins, 31:09 and a lot of our evangelical friends 31:11 will go with that interpretation. 31:13 And it's consistent, but we don't. 31:15 We know the virgins said Corinthians 11:2-4 represents 31:20 being committed 100% to the gospel. 31:23 Not defiled with women means, we're not defiled 31:26 with false doctrine of other churches, 31:27 we're committed to Christ, okay. 31:30 We know first fruits for example 31:31 means born again, James 1:18, 31:33 they're first fruits, they're born again, 31:34 to be a first fruit of his creatures. 31:36 So when we look at Revelation Chapter 14, 31:39 we see the symbolism there. 31:41 So the number must be symbolic too, 31:43 especially if it's in Mount Zion. 31:44 So, yes, it's a symbolic number. 31:46 Now, some of viewers may not be convinced by this little, 31:48 you know, two or three minute... 31:50 If they're not, I've got a book, I've written. 31:53 And they can get a hold of me at Light Bearers, 31:55 and the information will be up, and I'll send them 31:58 an electronic copy of the book, 32:00 or they can order a hard copy of the book. 32:02 It's an exhaustive study on the 144,000, all the verses, 32:05 every statement I could find on it, 32:07 and they can read it through and study it, 32:08 and maybe that'll help. 32:10 That's great. That's great. 32:12 You got another question? 32:15 I've got a question if you don't. 32:16 You go ahead with yours. 32:18 Okay, so this question is long, but the basis of this question 32:21 is talking about how God allows evil and people 32:28 who are alive today, that basically, 32:33 you know, it seems like, 32:35 why is God allowing all of this? 32:36 And then He goes on to say actually, 32:40 I think it's a lady that's asked this question. 32:41 It goes on to say, some people, some teacher say 32:44 that God picks people, you know, before they're born, 32:47 so you got all this evil taking place, 32:49 why is God allowing this if some people are put on earth 32:51 with no intention of ever being saved? 32:54 So the idea is... 32:55 Somewhat predestination? Predestination. 32:57 Okay. 32:58 God has predestined people to be lost 32:59 before they're even born, 33:01 they come and they do all this evil, 33:02 why does God allow this evil 33:03 if those people can't even be saved? 33:05 And so I would say, 33:06 this is such a good question by the way. 33:08 This is such a good question. 33:09 I remember and I was driving out here to 3ABN, 33:13 and I was looking 33:14 for a Christian station on the radio. 33:15 It's not hard, 33:17 you guys are in the Bible Belt, you know, 33:19 and so it's not like Christian stations like which one. 33:22 And I was listening to the station 33:23 these two guys... 33:24 And that was before you came within the range of 3ABN Radio. 33:26 Oh, yeah. That's right. Thank you. 33:30 I was trying to help brother out here. 33:32 I was, might be in St. Louis, so I don't know where I was, 33:35 way out of range. 33:36 Okay. All right. All right. 33:38 And I was listening these guys, and they were talking, 33:41 actually might even been for the most 3ABN Radio. 33:43 I don't know wasn't quite a while ago, 33:45 I've been coming here a long time like, 33:46 since I was a kid I've been coming to 3ABN, you know... 33:50 1990 something when we first came. 33:53 I know you guys started in 84', that's when we started too. 33:56 So these two guys were talking about the idea 33:58 that God predestined certain people will be saved 34:00 and certain people will be lost. 34:02 And they coupled this with the idea 34:05 that the people that are lost 34:07 are going to burn in hell for eternity, 34:11 never ending flames and I could, I mean, 34:14 I literally started crying when I thought 34:16 about that picture of God. 34:17 That God creates people with no hope of salvation 34:20 to burn them for all eternity. 34:22 What a misrepresentation of the character. 34:23 And it's not biblical by the way, 34:25 that's not biblical. 34:26 Predestination is biblical, but good news. 34:30 God has predestined everyone to be saved in Jesus Christ, 34:34 everyone. 34:35 Romans Chapter 28, excuse me, Romans 8:28 and onward, 34:39 clear on this. 34:41 For whom He predestined them He called. 34:43 When He called them He justified, 34:45 whom He justified them, He sanctified him, 34:46 or glorified him, and glorify. 34:48 So when you look through that list, 34:50 and you apply that to through the Bible, 34:53 you find that Jesus says, 34:55 "If I be lifted will draw all unto Me." 34:58 John 12:32. 35:00 But you're not saying that all will be saved. 35:01 No, I'm saying all will be drawn. 35:03 That is to make sure that... I'm saying all will be drawn. 35:05 Okay, 'cause we want to make sure 35:06 that the viewers understand 35:08 that's not what you're not saying. 35:09 God has predestined everyone to be saved, but He's going to, 35:12 He's a gentleman, He's gonna honor our choice. 35:14 So we've been included. 35:16 See, God hasn't determined before we're born 35:18 that certain ones are going to be saved 35:20 and certain ones are going to be lost. 35:21 Okay, God is all knowing. 35:22 He knows who's going to respond, 35:24 but He's determined everyone will be saved, 35:25 but He's not going to step in and force us to be saved, 35:29 but He's made provision for every single person. 35:31 Yes, so He has predestined us 35:34 based on His foreknowledge of our choices? 35:38 Well, I would say it this way, I would say, 35:39 He's predestined us and He knows our choices, 35:42 but we still have freedom to make those choices. 35:45 We still have freedom. 35:46 And we may even choose differently 35:48 in certain situations, 35:50 and I give you an example of this. 35:51 Do you remember when God said, 35:53 "Hey Jonah, go down in Nineveh." 35:56 Forty days they're done, so Jonah goes down in Nineveh, 36:00 40 days, you're done. 36:02 And Nineveh repents. 36:05 Did God know they could repent? Yeah. 36:07 Of course, He did, and so, 36:10 but Jonah didn't give that option, 36:12 God didn't give him the message to give that option. 36:13 He says 40 days and you're done. 36:15 So they repent and God's like, 36:18 "I'm not gonna destroy them, they repented." What? 36:21 And what does Jonah do? 36:23 He caught some attitude, he caught some attitude, 36:24 he's like what? 36:26 What? 36:27 I knew it, I knew it, like "Come on prophecy will fail, 36:30 tongues will cease, but love doesn't fail." 36:32 Right, 1 Corinthians 13, so we still have choices, 36:37 and we may surprise people like Jonah, you know, 36:42 in some of the choices we make. 36:44 And you could look at a lot of stories in the Bible, 36:46 where you see these things taking place. 36:47 There's a little bit of wiggle room there. 36:49 And so we'll say, "Well, why didn't God?" 36:51 God knew that, God knows every option, 36:52 God knows every option, every choice, 36:54 everything that's going to happen. 36:55 God knows it all. So He... 36:57 Here's the most important point, 36:59 Isaiah 53 "All we like sheep have gone astray, 37:02 we've turned, everyone their own way, 37:03 and God has laid upon Him 37:05 Jesus Christ the iniquity of us." 37:07 Okay, so everyone has been provided for in Jesus. 37:13 And when I tell people, you know, oh, I've done this, 37:15 I've done that, I'm too wicked, there's no way I can be saved. 37:18 Then there's no chance for me, right? 37:21 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 37:22 The wages of sin is death. 37:24 The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 37:26 So let's not cop out on God 37:30 with the idea that I'm so wicked, 37:32 I must have been predestined to be lost. 37:34 That's a cop out. 37:35 No, God has a place for every single person. 37:37 God is long suffering toward us, 37:39 not willing that any should be lost, 37:41 but all should repent. 37:42 Now, I have a study, we've just taken a few minutes on that, 37:44 I've got to study on predestination too, 37:46 and would love to share that with anyone whoever's asked, 37:49 you know, the question was asked here 37:50 by this lady and anyone else. 37:54 How can people reach you to? 37:56 Through like various, 37:58 you got the information that's gonna come up. 37:59 And we have the website. 38:01 Yep. Your website? 38:02 Website, James@lightbearers.org is my email, 38:05 or the number that you can call in 38:07 and ask request the studies and all, 38:08 and I can email them to you 38:10 or give you hard copies of the books whatever we got. 38:13 So Jay, let our viewers know 38:15 how they can reach Pastor James. 38:17 Well, you can write Pastor Rafferty 38:18 at Light Bearers Ministry, it's 37457 Jasper Lowell road, 38:25 and that's Jasper, Oregon, 97438, 38:28 or you can give them a call at 541-988-3333 38:35 or you can check out his website at LightBearers.org 38:40 and you can even email him at James@ lightbearers.org. 38:45 There's multiple ways to get in touch with you. 38:47 That's right. Just laid it all out there. 38:50 That's great. That's great. 38:51 We have another question? 38:53 Yes, and this question says, "What should we pray 38:56 when praying for the leaders of our government?" 38:59 I'm so glad that they asked that question, 39:01 because that question takes us to some verses 39:03 that I really wanted to cover before we're finished here, 39:06 and those verses are in 1 Timothy... 39:09 Well, actually 1 Timothy Chapter 2, 39:11 but I'd like us to look at the context of these verses 39:13 because there's a beautiful context to this. 39:18 The question is, what should we pray for? 39:20 How should we pray? 39:21 What is it that you know God wants us to pray? 39:24 And so before we read 1 Timothy Chapter 2, 39:27 I want to just give you the context 39:28 of 1 Timothy Chapter 1. 39:29 So let me give the context and then, Jay, 39:31 if you could start reading in Chapter 2, 39:32 when I'm done with this context. 39:35 Paul in Chapter 1, 39:37 he's writing to this young man named Timothy. 39:39 It's toward the end of his ministry. 39:42 Paul has actually been brought before Nero, 39:45 in his ministry he was brought before Nero twice. 39:49 And Nero was like the president of Rome. 39:51 I mean, he was the king, he was the emperor. 39:54 And the second time he was brought before Nero, 39:56 he was executed. 39:58 He was a Roman soldier, I mean, a Roman citizen 40:00 so he was executed, his head was chopped off. 40:03 Peter was crucified 'cause he wasn't Roman and so, 40:06 but Romans couldn't be crucified 40:07 so he was executed... 40:08 So just to get the context of where Paul is at? 40:11 What he's facing? What he's gonna go through? 40:14 And then you read these words. Okay. 40:16 So his first point is, in verse 5 of Chapter 1 is, 40:19 "The end or the goal of the commandment 40:23 is charity, love," you know, Jesus told us that 40:26 in Mathew 22:38-40, He says, 40:28 you know, the great first law is, "Love your God 40:31 with all your heart, mind and soul." 40:33 The second is like it, 40:34 "Love your neighbor as yourself." 40:36 And Paul talks about this in Romans Chapter 13, 40:39 he talks about the duty we owe to the government and he says, 40:44 we should pay taxes due, taxes and due, 40:46 and we should obey the laws 'cause God sets up governments. 40:49 And governments aren't for people 40:51 who are law abiding citizens, 40:52 governments are for law breakers, 40:55 they're for criminals. 40:57 And if we are in harmony with the government, 40:59 then we don't have anything to fear from the government, 41:01 and we should support the government 41:04 in everything that has to do with the civil laws, 41:09 and then he starts quoting in Romans 13, 41:11 he starts quoting Bible verses, from the Ten Commandments. 41:16 And what's interesting is this. 41:19 He only quotes the second half or the last six commandments. 41:25 He never quotes 41:26 any of the first four commandments. 41:27 And then when he's done quoting a few of them, 41:30 he doesn't quote all of them, he says, 41:31 "And if there's any other commandment, 41:33 it is briefly comprehended in this 41:35 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'" 41:38 Now the odd thing about that, 41:39 that's so instructive for us today is, 41:42 there are other commandments but they're not comprehended 41:45 in loving your neighbors as yourself. 41:47 The other commandments that he doesn't quote 41:48 from the first four are comprehended 41:50 in loving God with all your heart, mind and soul. 41:51 Paul is talking about relating to civil government, 41:56 and he says when it comes to civil government, 41:58 that has nothing to do with the first four commandments. 42:01 When it comes to obeying civil government, 42:03 it has nothing to do 42:04 with how you keep the first four commandments. 42:06 He's separating church and state right now 42:08 in Romans 13. 42:10 Okay. 42:11 He's saying, if there is any law 42:12 that has to do with the last six commandments, 42:14 "Thou shall not kill" for example, 42:15 civil governments support that 42:18 and civil governments by the way 42:19 are not breaching liberty of conscience and freedom 42:23 by enforcing laws, 42:25 they're in harmony with the last six commandments. 42:27 There's no freedom to break those last six commandments 42:30 that we should support in civil government 42:32 and think that we're giving 42:33 freedom of conscience to do that. 42:34 Right. No, no, no. 42:36 But the first four commandments, 42:37 they're excluded from that, so any civil law 42:40 that steps into those first four Commandments, 42:43 i.e., the Sabbath, forcing worship, 42:46 we are not obligated to obey those 42:48 according to Romans Chapter 13. 42:50 And that to me... That whole thing is masterful. 42:54 And Paul just really did a good job there. 42:57 That was just amazing what he did right there. 42:59 And so in 1 Timothy now, that's the context, 43:02 he's coming towards the end of his life. 43:04 He's saying we need to go... 43:05 Love is our goal, love is our goal, love is our goal. 43:07 And then he says this, he talks about 43:08 how the law is made, 43:10 again in 1 Timothy, he talks about... 43:12 We know that verse 8 the law is made, 43:14 "We know the law is good if a man uses it lawfully." 43:18 For verse 9, "Knowing this that the law is not made 43:20 for a righteous man but for a lawless." 43:22 For disobedient, for law breakers, 43:23 for ungodly etc, etc. 43:25 So same points he's making. 43:27 Then he goes down and he says this, 43:29 "This is a faithful saying," verse 15, 43:32 "And worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus 43:34 came to the world to save sinners, 43:36 of whom I am chief." 43:38 Why is he chief? Why does he say, I'm the chief. 43:41 Because when Paul got on the scene, 43:43 he was a religious zealot 43:45 that was violating the principles 43:47 that he talked about in Romans 13. 43:49 He was using the church to persecute Christians, 43:53 who weren't worshiping God according to the way 43:55 he thought God should be worshiped. 43:56 He was persecuting them to death. 43:59 And God through Christ got his attention 44:02 on the road to Damascus, came to him, 44:04 and this light almost blinded him, right? 44:07 And said, "Paul, why you're persecuting Me?" 44:09 How am I persecuting you? 44:11 "You're persecuting My people, you're persecuting Me." 44:13 And so Paul was like, wow, 44:15 that's what he learned his lesson 44:16 of church-state separation, right? 44:18 And that's what he means, when he says 44:19 "I'm the chief of sinners 'cause here I am, 44:20 killing Christians under the guise of religion." 44:24 Talk about Revelation 13, 44:26 and that whole controversy right there. 44:28 Killing Christians under the guise of religion. 44:31 And then he goes on to say, "Howbeit for this 44:33 cause I obtained mercy," verse 16, 44:35 "that in me first Jesus Christ 44:37 might shew forth all longsuffering, 44:38 for a pattern to them who should hereafter 44:40 believe on him to everlasting life." 44:41 'Cause I did it ignorantly. 44:43 I didn't know, but when he knew... 44:45 When the mark of the beast issue comes up 44:47 and when people realize seventh day is a Sabbath, 44:49 can't enforce another day by law, don't do that. 44:53 People are ignorant of it, they're gonna be enlightened 44:55 and then there's no excuse. 44:57 That's when the mark of the beast becomes enforced. 44:58 No one's got the mark of the beast right now. 45:00 Nobody does. 45:01 But when it's enforced, that when it becomes an issue. 45:04 That's the context of this, right? 45:06 I'm the chief of sinners but God saved me. 45:08 So if a religious leader who is persecuting people 45:10 under the guise of religion, persecuting God's people 45:13 under the guise of religion can be saved. 45:16 You see what I'm saying? 45:17 Then you get to 1 Timothy Chapter 2, 45:19 let's just read verses 1 and 2. 45:21 Okay. 45:22 "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, 45:27 prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks 45:30 be made for all men..." 45:32 For who? Keep reading. 45:33 "For kings and all who are in authority, 45:36 that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life 45:40 in all godliness and reverence." 45:42 There's some words that aren't here, 45:45 I don't know if you didn't hear them. 45:47 Criticism's not there, dungeons not there, 45:51 you know, they're not there. 45:53 And notice what he says, "I exhort therefore." 45:55 What therefore? What do you mean therefore? 45:56 Therefore what I just said, how Christ saved me, 45:58 I'm a religious leader persecuting... 46:00 Because He saved me, I'm exhorting you. 46:03 There's gonna be kings, and presidents, 46:04 and princes and all these leaders, 46:06 they're gonna be doing what I was doing. 46:08 But I want you to pray for them. 46:10 And I want you to intercede for them, 46:13 and I want you to give thanks for them, 46:14 and I want you to supplicate for them. 46:16 He just keeps... 46:17 He doesn't say, pray for them, he says pray, 46:18 supplicate, intercede, commit... 46:21 Uh-uh, uh-uh, you know like, yeah, get with the Christians, 46:25 what are you doing or failing to do. 46:27 Yes. 46:29 And so the question that's been asked is, you know, 46:32 what specifically should we, you know, 46:34 what is it that we should pray? 46:36 Okay, let's keep reading, Yvonne, keep reading for us, 46:37 I want you to read verses 3, 46:39 all the way down now to verse 8. 46:42 Okay. 46:43 "For this is good and acceptable 46:45 in the sight of God our Savior, 46:47 who desires all men to be saved 46:49 and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 46:51 For there is one God and one Mediator 46:54 between God and men, 46:56 the Man Christ Jesus, 46:57 who gave Himself a ransom for all, 47:00 to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed 47:04 a preacher and an apostle, 47:06 I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying, 47:09 a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 47:12 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, 47:16 lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." 47:19 Wow! 47:21 Lifting up holy hands is a biblical injunction 47:23 when we pray. 47:24 Yes. 47:25 I don't know if you ever watch sports, 47:27 you watch the Olympics, 47:29 you watch, you know, these different games, 47:31 when people win what do they do? 47:33 Wow! We won, we won. 47:35 Right? Yeah. Yeah. 47:36 So the idea psychologically is when you're lifting up, 47:38 you're claiming victory. 47:40 You're claiming the power of heaven. 47:41 You're lifting up to heaven, you're claiming victory, right? 47:43 Okay. 47:44 But notice, you're lifting up holy hands without wrath. 47:49 I mean, we got so much wrath against our government, 47:51 against our leaders, against that party this, 47:54 and that party that, and they're doing this, 47:55 and they're doing that, 47:57 we've missed the whole injunction 47:58 and the question was asked is 47:59 "What should we be praying for?" 48:01 Well, it says here, 48:03 "Who will have all men to be saved 48:04 and come to the knowledge of the truth." 48:05 That's what we needed to pray for. 48:07 We needed to pray that these presidents 48:09 and princes that they are saved 48:11 and come to the knowledge of the truth. 48:12 Yes. That's what we're praying for. 48:14 That's what Paul's telling us to pray for. 48:16 And the only way that we can enter 48:18 into this experience, right? 48:21 Is if we let all the stuff that we have, 48:23 you know, all the stuff that we have. 48:24 Yes. Man, I don't like that guy. 48:26 I don't like that person. 48:27 I don't like what they're doing. 48:28 I don't like their policy, blah-blah. 48:30 We gotta all that stuff, gotta give that all to God. 48:31 We gotta remember, 48:32 God took care of Sodom and Gomorrah. 48:35 God took care of Egypt and Pharaoh. 48:38 God took care of Saul, right? 48:40 God took care of the Jewish leaders 48:43 and the political Roman leaders in the early church time. 48:46 God made a way. God made a way. God made a way. God made a way. 48:49 Are we forgetting that? 48:51 Or we're getting so immersed, you know, 48:53 people tell me sometimes, they say "I don't watch TV, 48:56 I just watch the news." 49:02 I would rather have you 49:03 watching cartoons than the news. 49:05 'Cause at least you know cartoons aren't real. 49:07 You don't know the news isn't real. 49:09 It's not. But you don't know that. 49:10 Right. You think it is. 49:12 And the news today is not news. 49:14 Just for your information sake, anyone out there 49:16 that can relate to this, the news is not news. 49:18 The news is brainwashing. 49:20 The news is telling you how to think, how to believe. 49:22 How to, you know what I'm saying... 49:24 Yes it is. 49:25 And depending on which channel you watch, 49:27 you know, if you watch one channel... 49:28 And it can go either way. Oh, that's what you think. 49:30 If you watch this channel, you're gonna get 49:33 totally left perspective, if you watch this channel, 49:36 you're gonna get a totally right perspective. 49:38 It's like, who's doing objective news. 49:41 Yes. And here's the deal... 49:42 All news has a spin now. Yeah. 49:44 And they do it over, and over, and over, and over. 49:49 I mean, I can turn on any of those news channels 49:52 in the morning and I'll turn on the evening, 49:54 and they're saying the same thing again and again. 49:55 And you know what that is? 49:57 That's brainwashing. That's true. 49:58 Yeah, repetition deepens the impressions. 50:00 Yes. Yes. Yes. So... 50:01 That's what they do in other, you know, countries 50:03 that were there, you know it is. 50:05 And we think it's freedom. Yeah. 50:06 We think, it's freedom of the press 50:07 or the media or whatever, 50:09 and we don't realize that we have digressed 50:11 from what the actual purpose was to report. 50:13 Yes. 50:15 And then, you know, in Philippians 4:10, 50:17 "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, 50:19 whatsoever things are pure, 50:21 whatsoever things are of good report, 50:22 if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 50:23 think on these things. 50:25 Oh, man. 50:27 So we're missing our heavenly mandate. 50:28 And this is happening all around us. 50:30 And it made me so sick at one point 50:33 because I found myself getting pulled into it, you know, 50:35 oh, yeah, you know, 50:36 and I'm like, everyone around them like, 50:38 what in the world are we talking about this stuff for? 50:41 Let's stop talking about this, because our biblical mandate 50:44 is to be other worldliness world, 50:47 to be ambassadors for heaven, 50:49 to be in a different place in a different space, you know. 50:51 Which doesn't mean that, we don't have our principles. 50:56 Yes. 50:58 Right? Right. 50:59 Upon which we, you know, we should be voting. 51:02 We should be voting for issues, yes. 51:03 For issues and voting with a principled base. 51:07 And defending the principles of that lamblike right, 51:10 those lamblike horns, those freedom of religion, 51:14 civil freedoms, we need to be based on that 51:16 following the guideline that Paul gives us in Romans 13, 51:19 separating church and state. 51:20 Yes. 51:22 Dealing with the issues that have to do 51:23 with loving your neighbor as yourself. 51:24 Supporting that, paying our taxes, good citizens, 51:26 leading a quiet and peaceable life. 51:27 Right? That's right. That's right. 51:28 Not taking those political stand, and it's hard, 51:30 it's hard to navigate that for the Bible tells us how. 51:34 Daniel shows us how to do it, you know, I mean, 51:36 when you look through all of these biblical pictures, 51:40 stories, history, it's a beautiful picture. 51:44 And when you do get caught up in it, 51:46 you get frustrated. 51:47 Man, just got to give it to God. 51:48 Give it to God. Give it to God. That's right. 51:50 Let Him have it. Let Him have it. 51:51 Let Him have it. Yeah. 51:52 Because Joseph and Daniel 51:54 worked in political circumstances 51:57 that were less than ideal for them. 51:59 Daniel was with the astrologers and soothsayers. 52:02 He was over that whole wise men department of the cabinet. 52:08 He worked with three different kings, 52:10 three different presidents. 52:11 Three different presidents he worked with. 52:12 Yes. That's right. 52:14 And still maintained his integrity 52:15 throughout all of that, and they couldn't find 52:17 anything wrong with him, no fault. 52:19 Yeah. 52:20 So they had to find a way to attack him 52:22 which was through him worshiping God. 52:24 Right. Yeah, he, they... 52:26 That the thing that they said about Daniel, 52:28 over and over again was, 52:30 there was the Spirit of the God was in him. 52:33 The Spirit of the God's in him. The Spirit of the God's in him. 52:36 He had a different spirit. That's right. 52:38 Totally different spirit. Yeah. 52:40 And I think part of that didn't serve him well. 52:43 Under Belshazzar, I think 52:44 Daniel disappeared from political presence. 52:47 His political presence disappeared, you know. 52:50 He was older by then. He was, but also he wasn't... 52:54 He, because he maintained his integrity, 52:56 and because Belshazzar didn't appreciate that, 53:00 he went down. 53:01 And then when he was soft, well, 53:02 there was a guy that used to really be close to your dad 53:05 and used to counsel your dad. 53:06 His name was Daniel, he had a good spirit. 53:09 Okay, bring him. That's right. 53:10 Let's go ahead and bring him, you see. 53:12 So when we follow principle, we may not always be, you know, 53:16 in the limelight, people may not be listening to us. 53:18 What does it mean to compromise? 53:20 See, what politics do, does is it changes with the wind 53:23 to please, you know, the crowd to go along. 53:26 Daniel didn't do that. That's right. Right. 53:28 And even if he lost position and influence, 53:30 he didn't do that, he stayed the course. 53:32 So God is calling us to stay the course. 53:34 It may not be popular in our time to stay the course. 53:37 But we've got to let the Bible be our mandate, 53:39 our instruction book. 53:41 Principle, principally driven. Yes. 53:42 Principally driven. Right. 53:44 Yep. Love it. 53:45 You know, it just dawned on me that I want to make sure 53:48 that people don't misunderstand. 53:50 Daniel was not practicing these things. 53:53 He was just, his job was that 53:55 he oversaw that whole realm of the kingdom 53:59 but he wasn't. 54:01 He's not an astrologer. No. 54:02 No, no, I didn't get that for viewer's sake. 54:03 Okay. Good. 54:05 I want to just make sure that the viewers did 54:06 because that might have been, 54:07 you know, people write in and say, 54:09 "Is she saying that he was an astrologer?" No. 54:11 I want to quickly refer to the Great Controversy, 54:13 because that's the book we're offering. 54:15 I'm just going to give a little bit of an overview. 54:17 I just love this reference in the Great Controversy 54:20 for our viewers that are asking for free outline, 54:24 the free copy of that book, page 210, 54:28 and I'm just going to summarize it, 54:30 not going to read it. 54:31 It's during the Dark Ages Reformation, Martin Luther. 54:34 Martin Luther is able to carry forth the Reformation 54:37 because he has powerful kings, powerful princes, I should say, 54:41 that are supporting him. 54:43 Now, there's kings and religious leaders 54:44 that are against him, 54:45 but he's got powerful kings that are supporting, 54:47 princes that are supporting him. 54:48 And at one point, they say to him, 54:51 "Hey, we're gonna you some military power, 54:55 like, you're going to need protection, 54:56 you're going to need us to step in and fight for you." 54:59 And, you know what he says? 55:02 He says, "Not one sword." 55:04 He says, "God's in control. 55:07 He's overruling, and prayer is more powerful 55:10 than anything you can give me." 55:12 Wow! 55:13 Prayer's the most powerful thing. 55:15 He said so, "If you want to help me, pray, 55:16 and during that time, in the Great Controversy 55:19 historically we're told, he would spend three hours 55:22 every morning in prayer, the hours best suited for study 55:25 he would spend in prayer during that time, yeah. 55:28 And that's what shook the world during the Reformation 55:31 was from the power, from the secret power of prayer 55:34 came the power that shook the world in the Reformation. 55:37 So just want to throw that for our listeners 55:38 that Great Controversy book, prayer's all through it. 55:41 And it tells us in the end of time, 55:42 that's what we're going to need. 55:43 And let's, let our viewers know how to get that book again. 55:47 You can call 618- 627-4651, 55:52 or you can email us at live@3abn.tv. 55:58 And we got some prayer requests that I was thought 56:00 we might want to pray for them. 56:01 Yeah. 56:03 I think that it would be good to end the program with prayer. 56:05 We've been talking about prayer, and the Lord, 56:09 I believe would have us to in this program with prayer. 56:12 Amen. 56:13 So we just want to thank our viewers in advance 56:16 for being with us. 56:18 And we are just so grateful 56:19 that you joined us this evening. 56:21 And we ask you to join us in prayer as we pray now, 56:24 you pray at home as well. 56:26 If you have not asked the Lord into your lives, 56:29 please ask Him, just invite Him to be your Lord and Savior. 56:34 Let Him know that you're sorry for your sins. 56:37 And that you know that He, 56:39 that Jesus Christ gave His life for you 56:42 and will welcome you into the kingdom. 56:44 Amen. Amen. 56:45 So let's pray. Yes. All right. 56:50 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You 56:51 for the opportunity to even talk to You, 56:54 to bring our issues to You, 56:56 to present our praise to You as well. 57:00 The fact that we can commune with You such a blessing 57:03 and we want to lift up all of the viewers request 57:07 whatever is on their hearts, someone's sick, Lord, 57:10 we ask that You would heal them Father, 57:13 people praying for their grandchildren. 57:14 Lord, we ask that You would be with that situation. 57:17 Every situation, we ask that Your will would be done 57:21 and thank You for the opportunity 57:22 to talk about this very important topic, 57:28 prayer and politics. 57:30 Thank You Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 57:32 Amen. Amen. |
Revised 2019-02-20