Participants: Lawrence Dorsey
Series Code: UR
Program Code: UR000006
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00:57 I'd like to say good evening to the Ambassador Church family.
01:00 Greetings to our viewing audience. 01:04 I'm Henoc Pauliein, pastor of the Ambassador Seventh-day 01:07 Adventist Church. And we welcome you whether you are in Asia, 01:12 or Africa, or in the West Indies. 01:14 We want to thank you for being a part of this broadcast. 01:19 We have been talking about prophecy, and today I stumbled 01:24 upon some prophecies that were made by some 01:27 psychics about 2010. 01:31 One prophesied that there would be a war between Israel and Iran 01:37 and there'll be another successful terrorist attack 01:40 on the United States in 2010. 01:43 Now we know that didn't happen. 01:46 Another one said that there'd be an attempted assassination of 01:51 President Barack Obama in 2010. 01:53 That didn't happen. 01:56 Another one said that President Obama would have a 02:00 heart attack and die. 02:01 And the Vice President will have the unpopular, 02:05 and mistaken intention of declaring war on North Korea 02:09 only to discover that North Korea 02:12 has weapons of mass destruction. 02:15 And still another one said there will be a great rise in 02:21 skin cancer among children in the year 2010. 02:26 Now the truth is none of these things happened, 02:30 and the reason they did not happen is because there is a 02:34 difference between the prophecies of man, 02:38 and the prophecies of God. Amen! 02:40 The Bible lets us know in 2 Peter 1:20, 21, But know this 02:46 first for all that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of 02:51 one's own interpretation. 02:53 For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, 02:57 but man moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Amen! 03:02 It is in this fashion that the speaker, Pastor Lawrence Dorsey, 03:06 is not speaking his own words, but he's preaching about 03:11 the prophetic Word as given to us by God. Amen! 03:15 And night after night we have learned that not only is the 03:19 prophetic Word given by God, but it is also true. 03:24 And so before we invite the speaker to come, 03:27 let us bow our heads and pray. 03:30 Our Father in heaven, once again we thank You for the beauty of 03:34 Your Word; that we can count on the veracity of Your Word. 03:39 We pray for the man of God that You have sent to us, 03:43 and we ask that You continue to pour upon him a double 03:47 portion of Your Spirit. 03:49 Hear us as we pray. 03:50 This we ask in Jesus' name, Amen. 04:14 When all my labors and trials are o'er, 04:21 and I am safe on that beautiful shore. 04:27 Just to be near the dear Lord I adore, 04:33 will through the ages be glory for me. 04:41 Oh that will be glory for me, glory for me, glory for me. 04:56 When, by His grace, I shall look on His face. 05:04 That will be glory, sweet glory for me. 05:16 Friends will be there I have loved long ago. 05:24 Joy like a river around me will flow. 05:30 Yet just a smile from my Savior, I know, 05:37 will through the ages be glory for me. 05:48 Oh that will be glory for me, glory for me, glory for me. 06:02 When by His grace I shall look on His face. 06:11 That will be glory, sweet glory for me. Amen! 06:34 It says, When by His grace, we shall see that face, 06:40 that will be glory for me. 06:42 And, ladies and gentlemen, it truly will be a glorious day 06:45 when we behold the face of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. 06:50 When you try to even imagine that day, sometimes there's 06:55 goose bumps that will pop up all over me, 06:58 and then other times tears fill my eyes when I think about 07:02 how good God has been to me, and how merciful He has been, 07:06 and how long-suffering He has been, 07:09 and how patient He has been waiting for me. 07:13 And to be able to see Him coming in the clouds of glory, 07:17 Oh my goodness friends, that will be glory for all of us. 07:22 Amen? Amen! I like the part where it says, 07:26 friends will be there, friends will be there, 07:29 individuals we have had contact with on planet Earth. 07:33 Those individuals who have gone through tribulation and trials 07:37 with us. Individuals who we've prayed with, and prayed for. 07:41 Oh yes, individuals who have been snatched back from 07:44 the enemy to the very loving Savior, 07:47 because of the Word of God. 07:48 And when we see these individuals in the kingdom, 07:52 and we know that our labors were not in vain, 07:55 Oh my my, what will it be? 07:59 It'll be glory for me. 08:01 Before we get started with our message tonight, I just want you 08:04 to know that we got some calls from not only Florida, 08:09 but we have received some calls, one lady called us 08:12 all the way from Trinidad, a sister Jean Leteren, she called. 08:17 And she said she's enjoying the meetings, 08:19 and she's having a good time. 08:20 And there was a surprise for me. 08:22 That was one of my first ushers when I pastored 08:27 the Lighthouse Tabernacle Church in Brooklyn, New York. 08:30 And there she was in Trinidad! 08:33 Then we received a call from an Anita Davidson. 08:36 She's in North Carolina. 08:38 And if you're watching, Sister Anita, we've prayed for you, 08:40 and we pray that things will be well. 08:42 And we appreciate you following us night after night. 08:45 She says she hasn't missed a meeting. 08:47 Then I got a call from a Kenneth in St. Kitts. 08:52 Kenneth, if you're there in St. Kitts, we say hello to you. 08:54 And he said he wants all of the messages from this series. 08:58 He's buying a big flat screen television, 09:02 and he's going to show them, and show these as an 09:04 evangelistic series there in St. Kitts. 09:07 So we're going to pray for your message, 09:09 and for the ministry that you are getting started with. 09:13 We have more, but we don't have time for them now, 09:15 but each night we'll give a little hello to those of you 09:18 who have been calling in, and sending our e-mails. 09:23 Tonight we have a subject that I think we really need 09:28 to pay attention to. 09:30 Each one we should pay attention to, 09:33 but this one is very personal. 09:36 It's entitled, The Overcomers Reward. Amen! 09:41 And those of you who are at home, we, too, want you to pay 09:45 strict attention to the Word of God. 09:47 Get your Bible, sit down, say a prayer, and ask God to bless us 09:53 all as we go into our study tonight, The Overcomers Reward. 09:58 Loving Father, please do for us what we cannot do. 10:03 Let Your sweet Word live again and draw us to You, 10:08 because without You we can do nothing. 10:10 We pray that as we come together that the Holy Spirit will rain 10:16 on us discernment, and enlightenment that we might be 10:19 empowered to live holy lives in Your name. 10:23 Than You, in Jesus' name, Amen. 10:27 I'd like for us to turn to the book of Revelation. 10:30 And again we're finding each night that the treasures 10:34 of Revelation are something that are there for us. 10:37 These special gems, these special treasures that are there 10:41 to enlighten us, and to help us on our way. 10:45 And I'm so glad we have chosen, because as the letters come in, 10:49 e- mails come in, and as the calls come in, the people are 10:52 pleased. And folks, we're glad that you're giving us 10:55 this feedback. But people are pleased that we are opening up 10:58 this book that for some people it was so veiled. 11:04 It was not understood, and it was not clear. 11:08 But they are saying that it's coming over clear, 11:10 and that's all we ask, in Jesus' name. 11:13 Now turn with me, please, to Revelation 15, Revelation 15, 11:18 beginning with verse 1. 11:20 Again, another marvelous sign. 12:12 Ladies and gentlemen, this is a spectacular scene, 12:16 a spectacular scene. 12:17 Here we see the saints of God, who have received victory in 12:24 this life standing, as it were, before God Himself, 12:29 and before the Son, having in their hands harps 12:34 to play beautiful music. 12:36 Ladies and gentlemen, you know I can't sing at all. 12:39 I can't sing. The only thing I can sing is a solo, 12:44 and that's so low, people that they can't hear it. 12:46 I make a joyful noise. 12:49 But when I get to heaven, I am so glad God has promised us 12:56 that we will be able to sing. Amen! 12:58 Every time you see me in heaven, by God's grace, 13:01 when I come up to you I'm going to sing. 13:02 I'm going to say, Hello! 13:05 How are you doing! 13:07 I've always desired to be able to sing. 13:10 I wish I could sing like C. A. Murray. Come on now! 13:12 We all know him. C. A. I know you're watching. 13:15 He can really sing. 13:17 And some people just have that natural gift. 13:19 But, like I said, I don't have it. 13:21 But when we get to heaven I will no longer make a joyful noise. 13:24 I will be able to sing with the best of them. 13:27 And it tells us that we will receive not only the golden 13:31 voices of heaven, but we will receive the empowerment 13:35 to play musical instruments. 13:37 And we will play and sing praises to the Lamb. Amen! 13:43 A spectacular scene to see it in heaven, see it here 13:50 in scripture, seeing ourselves there by faith. 13:54 But before we get there, we have to be overcomers. 13:58 Now I want us to go back to verse 1, verse 1. 14:02 It says, And I saw another sign in heaven, 14:15 Now folks, all through the book of Revelation we have seen this 14:18 number seven, and we spoke about it the other night. 14:20 We said that the number seven is the number of completion. 14:25 In Revelation we not only see seven angels, with the seven 14:30 last vials, with the seven last plagues, but we see them with 14:34 seven candlesticks, and seven stars, and seven seals, 14:37 and seven trumpets. 14:39 We saw seven eyes, and seven horns, and seven spirits before 14:43 the very throne of God. 14:44 And, ladies and gentlemen, when we look through the book of 14:47 Revelation, we also see that it mentions that there are seven 14:51 churches. And those seven churches were at one time 14:55 the literal churches that were in existence. but it is also 14:58 But it is also symbolic of the seven churches of all time. 15:02 And as we live today, ladies and gentlemen, 15:05 in these last days of Earth's history, we indeed, 15:09 are that seventh church, that last church called Laodicea. 15:13 Laodicea, whose name means, the judging of the people. 15:18 So when we look at this it lets us know that we are living in 15:22 the last days, and it lets us know that 15:25 we are the last church. 15:26 Now in the book of Revelation chapter 3, the Lord God in His 15:31 mercy, and in His goodness, and in His desire to save us, 15:35 gives advice to all of the churches. 15:39 But when we look at Laodicea, we see that there is something 15:44 very particular for us to understand, that we must do 15:49 if we would be overcomers. 15:52 You see, before we go to Revelation 3, let's just pop 15:54 back to Revelation 15 for a moment, and look at verse 2. 15:58 It says that they were standing on the sea of glass. 16:01 And that is before the very throne of God. 16:03 And it says, As though it was mingled with fire. 16:06 And that's just because it's made of pure gold, 16:08 and it's reflecting the glory and majesty of Christ. 16:11 It said that they had gotten the victory over the beast, 16:19 And next week we will look at those different aspects of the 16:23 book of Revelation, and what they are, and what they mean. 16:26 But they are victorious. 16:28 Before they could get over those things, they had to get over 16:34 personal sin in their lives. 16:36 Before they could understand that they must be victorious, 16:42 they had to have a relationship with Jesus on an individual 16:47 basis. These individuals will come out of Babylon, as it were, 16:53 and come into the remnant church, which keeps the 16:56 commandments of God, and has the faith of Jesus Christ. 17:00 That last church, in this last day, Laodicea is God's church. 17:07 But there are some things that Laodicea has to do to be an 17:11 overcome herself. 17:13 In other words, individually we must overcome, but as a church 17:17 body in group, we have to overcome something also. 17:21 So when we turn to the book of Revelation 3, we see here the 17:27 advice that comes to Jesus, that we need to understand, 17:32 so we can overcome not only corporately, but as individuals 17:37 who are members of God's church, the remnant in the last days 17:40 to be victorious. It says, in verse 14, of chapter 3: 18:04 Friends, the God we serve, sees everything. 18:07 He knows everything about us. 18:09 It tells us in Proverbs 15:3 that the eyes of the Lord are 18:14 in every place, beholding the evil and the good. 18:17 He sees us. He sees us in the night. 18:20 He sees us in the day. 18:22 He sees us in the light. 18:24 He sees us in the darkness. 18:25 Not only does He see us, but, ladies and gentlemen, 18:28 He does not have to guess what's going through our mind. 18:32 He knows our minds. 18:34 He knows our thoughts. 18:35 He knows us better than we know ourselves. 18:39 He knows us down unto the bottom of our heart. 18:42 And, ladies and gentlemen, the book of Jeremiah tells us 18:45 that the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, 18:48 and who can know it? 18:49 We don't even know it. 18:50 But it says the Lord Himself knows the heart. 18:54 So when He says this about us as a corporate church, 18:57 when He says that these are the characteristics that will be 19:00 prevalent in our experience, during this time, 19:03 we have to understand that God knows what He's talking about. 19:08 He continues here in verse 16, for it says, So then because 19:20 Now folks, that's not a good thing. 19:23 That's not a good thing. 19:25 To know that you are the Remnant. 19:28 To know that you are in the church, in a relationship with 19:34 Christ, and then upon examination of Christ, 19:39 He says to us, that we are lukewarm. 19:42 We're not on fire. 19:43 I wish you were on fire! 19:46 I wish that you were warm. 19:51 No, I wish that you were cold. 19:53 For if you are cold you need, you know you need to get warm. 19:59 I've been married for 39 years now, and there are some things 20:04 that, no matter how many years we're going to be married, 20:08 I think we're going to have this little controversy. 20:12 I like to sleep when it's cold. 20:15 She likes to sleep when it's hot. 20:18 So we play who gets to the control last? 20:23 I turn on the air conditioner and make it nice and cold, 20:26 and before I can fall asleep, or when I fall asleep, 20:29 I don't know because we saw last night that in sleep 20:33 you don't know anything. 20:34 It goes off! And then that heat comes back on. 20:39 So when I'm too hot, I know I have to get up and cut that air 20:42 on. And when it's too cold she knows she has to get up 20:46 and she has to do her part. 20:47 And it's a back and forth. 20:48 And folks, when it's not the air conditioning, 20:50 when you have the window open, it's the same thing. 20:52 I want it open, she wants it closed. 20:54 When it's too cold you look for that blanket. Hello! 20:57 When it's too hot you open that window. 21:01 But if you're just right, lukewarm, 21:04 you just stay there and sleep. 21:06 Well, when we look at this metaphor, when it compares 21:09 to us, when we talk about our spirituality, folks, 21:12 it's not good to be lukewarm with Jesus. Amen! 21:16 That means you have enough religion in you to get to the 21:20 church on Sabbath, but it's not enough to get you 21:23 there at prayer meetings. Hello! 21:24 Unless there's a crisis you just do what you need 21:29 to do to get by, and then you begin to lie to yourself 21:34 and say everything is okay with you. 21:37 We become more religious than spiritual. 21:42 And that's dangerous, ladies and gentlemen, because there 21:45 were no people as religious as the Pharisees, 21:53 and they rejected Christ. 21:55 So when I look at this message that is given to Laodicea, 22:00 that's given to us, we have to understand the principles of it. 22:03 It continues to say in this chapter, it says 22:08 because, verse 16: 22:31 Oh my friends, to hear that coming from Jesus, 22:34 that has to hurt! I heard one TV preacher say, when something 22:39 like that is read, say Ouch! 22:40 Well, we need to say Ouch! on that one! 22:42 Hum, it says, wretched, miserable, poor, blind, 22:49 and naked. But I thank God the Lord doesn't just tell us what's 22:53 wrong with us and leave us. 22:55 He tells us what we can do to get things right in our lives. 22:59 He says in verse 18: 23:13 And then He continues to read and say,... 23:23 And friends, the eye salve is the power of the Holy Spirit. 23:27 Now let's just go back for a moment. 23:30 In chapter 15 we see these seven angels having the seven last 23:38 plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 23:43 And folks, that word wrath means the anger, or violent rage, 23:48 or fury that is in God. 23:50 Ladies and gentlemen, God has been merciful to planet Earth. 23:53 Folks at home, He's been merciful to planet Earth. 24:00 When we see the things happening to planet Earth, that's not God. 24:04 That's the enemy. His wrath has not been poured out yet, 24:11 but it will. The record says that these angels are lining up. 24:17 They are waiting and they won't move until God says move. 24:20 But when He says it, that's going to be it. 24:23 Ladies and gentlemen, we need to understand that God is merciful, 24:29 that He loves us, and the time that we have here each day, 24:34 and each day, and each month, and each year that God gives 24:38 to us, it is because He is long suffering. 24:41 He's not willing that any should perish. 24:44 He is waiting for us to get our acts together. 24:48 If you would turn in your Bible, Old Testament now, to the book 24:53 of Lamentations found right behind Jeremiah. 24:57 It comes right behind Jeremiah. 24:59 The book of Lamentations. 25:00 It tells us in chapter 3, chapter 3, verse 22. It says: 25:19 He's faithful to us, ladies and gentlemen, 25:22 more faithful than we are to Him. 25:24 If you would turn in your Bible to the book of Exodus 34, 25:29 Exodus 34, ladies and gentlemen, you will see here that the Lord 25:35 Himself proclaimed Himself as merciful. 25:39 And He's not bragging. 25:40 He's just telling the truth. 25:42 Chapter 34, book of Exodus, beginning with verse 6. 26:21 In other words He's saying, I will be merciful to you. 26:24 I will forgive all sin. 26:27 And, ladies and gentlemen, we have here represented all three 26:31 classes of sin: iniquity, transgression, and sin. 26:35 Iniquity is that secret sin that you manifest in your heart, 26:39 and in your mind, and you do it on the sneaky side. 26:43 The down low side, as they say. 26:46 That's sin that you do in your mind that people can't prove it, 26:52 until they catch you: iniquities, secret sin. 26:57 We also see the word transgression, 27:01 which means open rebellion. 27:04 You know, there's some people when you get so bold in your sin 27:08 and you just don't care who sees it. 27:11 You just do what you want to do, knowing it displeases God. 27:14 But you weren't there, and you're going to 27:16 just live your life. 27:17 And then there's the word sin that means 27:21 falling short of the mark. 27:23 You've tried your best, and you just didn't make it. 27:26 And God, in His mercy, forgives iniquity, secret sin. 27:30 He forgives transgression, the boldness of sin. 27:34 And He forgives us when we fall short of the mark. 27:38 Oh what a merciful God we have! 27:40 But the bottom line is if you want that forgiveness 27:44 that can only come from God, ladies and gentlemen. 27:47 You have to ask for Him for that forgiveness. 27:51 You see, there's four things God can't do. 27:56 Four things He can't do. 27:57 And you have to understand it. 27:59 As mighty a God as we serve, there's four things 28:02 He can't do. The number one thing God can't do, 28:06 and you can write this text down and look at it later. 28:08 Titus 1:2, and Hebrews 6:18, and in Hebrews 6:18 He says 28:14 it's impossible for God to do this: God cannot lie. 28:18 He can't lie! It's impossible for Him to lie. 28:22 The Bible tells us that the devil is the father of lies. 28:26 But God cannot lie. 28:28 When we read, and we just read it, in Exodus 34:7, 28:36 the middle of that verse, He says, He will by no means 28:40 clear the guilty. Now what does that mean? 28:44 We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God, 28:48 which means we're all guilty. 28:50 So does that means that God won't forgive us? 28:54 The answer is no. 28:55 When we understand what we have done, when we understand 29:00 that sin is the transgression of the law. 29:02 When we understand that we have broken His commandments, 29:05 and we have done our own thing. 29:06 When we understand that we've been born in sin, 29:09 and shapen in iniquity, and we reach out to Him as our Savior, 29:15 forgiveness comes to us. 29:18 So as you sit there tonight, don't worry about your past, 29:21 what you have done. 29:22 No matter what you have done, the loving God in heaven, 29:26 He can forgive you even though you have been proclaimed guilty 29:32 by your own mind, and by your own actions. 29:35 The blood of Jesus Christ will suffice. 29:39 You can say Amen to that. Amen! 29:42 But when you don't accept the sacrifice of Christ, 29:46 when you don't allow Him to save you, 29:50 and He's done everything He can to save you, 29:53 you place yourself in a position where you will find yourself 29:58 among those who will be in that great host that will number 30:02 as the sands of the sea, that will end up in that hell fire, 30:06 we talked about the other night, with Satan and his angels. 30:10 And we have to understand that Matthew 25:41 tells us that hell 30:15 was made for the devil and his angels, not us. Amen! 30:20 It's impossible for God to lie. He can't do it. 30:25 2. He cannot change His law. 30:28 He can't change His law! 30:30 Ladies and gentlemen, if God could change His law, 30:33 there was no need for Jesus to die on Calvary. Amen! 30:37 You see, the Bible tells us in 1 John 3:4 that sin is the 30:41 transgression of the law. 30:42 When you look at Romans 6:23 it says, 30:47 the wages of sin is death. 30:50 So if there were an opportunity for the law to be changed 30:56 then things could have been 30:58 worked out where the Son of God didn't have to pay the penalty 31:02 for sin, and die for your life and my life. 31:05 But because the law could not change, as it tells us in 31:12 Psalms 84:34, My covenant will I not break, 31:19 He can't change His law. 31:21 Malachi 3:6 says, I am the Lord, I change not. 31:25 He can't change His law! 31:28 So that means we who have broken the law, 31:32 need someone to be a Savior for us, 31:36 to pay the price for our sin. 31:39 And Jesus was that Lamb of God. 31:41 And we looked at that on the second night. 31:43 He is that Lamb of God, slain from the foundation 31:46 of the world, which means it was a covenant that He had intact 31:50 with His Father, that if man sinned, and He knew 31:54 man would sin, He made a provision for us 31:57 to reconcile us back to Himself and to God. 32:00 And when Jesus came here, ladies and gentlemen, 32:03 He came here on a threefold mission: 32:06 1. A mission of revelation to show what the Father is like. 32:10 He came here on a mission of salvation. 32:13 He said He came to seek that which was lost, 32:16 and to give them life; a life much abundantly. 32:19 And the third reason He came here, ladies and gentlemen: 32:22 to reconcile us back to God. 32:25 Don't you know, ladies and gentlemen, don't you know 32:27 that He could have come here and revealed the character 32:30 of God to let us know that God is love? 32:32 He came here to bring salvation. 32:34 And, yes, He died on the cross for us. 32:37 And, folks, He could have left it like that and went back 32:40 to heaven, and never really had to deal with us because the sin 32:44 problem was solved. 32:45 But He didn't do that. 32:47 He went a step further. 32:49 He reconciled us back to God. 32:51 And the word reconciliation means to restore things 32:55 like they were before. Amen! 32:58 And before man had face to face communion with God. 33:03 And, folks, we saw the other night when we looked at the 33:06 message, glimpses of glory. 33:08 Heaven is a real place. 33:09 We saw that the Father and the Son will move Their throne 33:14 in the third heaven, which is paradise; 33:17 where the river of life is, and where the tree of life is. 33:21 They're going to move it here at the end of the millennium, 33:24 those thousand years. 33:25 He's going to move it here on planet Earth, 33:29 as this Earth is made new. 33:31 And He will tabernacle, He will live here with us. 33:34 And this place will be paradise. Amen! 33:40 Isn't the Bible wonderful? 33:42 We don't have to speculate about our future. 33:45 We don't have to speculate about what's going to happen. 33:47 We don't have to be fearful of the future, because we have 33:51 a God that holds our future in His hands. 33:55 And it allows you to go to sleep at night. 33:58 You can put your head on your pillow and know that even if 34:02 you don't wake up; if a tornado comes through, if an earthquake 34:06 comes through, if a stray bullet comes through, 34:09 if somebody comes in and robs the house, and slays you in your 34:13 bed, or if there's a fire, if you never wake up 34:15 just by natural causes. 34:18 Now I'm not trying to make anyone afraid 34:19 before you go to sleep, but what I'm saying is if you go to sleep 34:24 in Jesus, the next voice you'll hear will be His voice. 34:29 And He will tell us, Come up from that grave! 34:32 What a merciful God! 34:35 So He cannot change His law. 34:38 When He was here in person, in the flesh, 34:41 ladies and gentlemen, and I want you to just see this, 34:43 and take the time to see this, because sometimes there's 34:46 some confusion in this. 34:47 But we have seen it here night after night, that the Bible 34:51 tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all scripture comes from 34:57 inspiration of God, and it's profitable for doctrine. 35:01 And when I look at Matthew 5: 17 it reads thusly: 35:34 Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! 35:37 The law of God will continue to last, ladies and gentlemen, 35:43 because it's the royal law of liberty, as James says, 35:47 and it is a picture of the character of God. 35:53 It shows our love for Him, and our love for one another. 35:57 Because Jesus has told us, ladies and gentlemen, 36:00 if you love Him, we must also love our fellow man. 36:05 And these are the things on which the whole law 36:10 is based, or weighed on. 36:12 So I look at these four things that I have to understand 36:15 in my relationship with Jesus. 36:17 He cannot lie. He cannot change His law. 36:20 He cannot justify a unrepentant sinner. 36:24 Now folks, I know tonight is a little different, 36:29 and I don't know what you have been expecting here 36:32 night after night. 36:35 I'm not here to take the book of Revelation, chapter by chapter, 36:40 and break it down. 36:41 That is good, but that's not what we're doing in this series. 36:45 We are looking at the book of Revelation and how it relates 36:50 to us with the rest of the Bible, so we can see that it is 36:55 a part of the Bible, and that all of the doctrines 37:00 of the Bible: justification by faith, righteousness by faith, 37:05 the judgment, the second coming, the signs of the times, 37:10 all of them are interwoven in this same book. 37:14 And it also lets us know how we have to live 37:21 to please a loving Savior. Amen! 37:26 So when we come here night after night, it's not just 37:29 looking at these things in the book of Revelation, 37:33 verse by verse. That's not in this series. 37:36 We are trying to see how we can make the book of Revelation 37:41 understandable to all, and how we can live a practical 37:46 Christian life in these last days, where we really need 37:51 to understand these things. 37:53 So when we see this third thing that God can't do: 37:58 He cannot justify an unrepentant sinner. 38:02 When we read about the wrath of God, like we looked at 38:05 in Revelation 15. 38:07 And it says, these angels, verse 1, having the seven last 38:10 plagues; for in them is filled the wrath of God. 38:13 That's His anger. That's His violent rage 38:15 That's His fury. When those seven last plagues are looked at 38:19 next week when we look at that message. 38:21 And Revelation 16, there are some people who will question 38:25 the love and mercy of God. 38:26 Folks God has been loving and merciful to us. Amen! 38:31 There comes a time when enough is enough. Amen! 38:35 Genesis 6:3, He tells us, My Spirit shall not always strive 38:41 with man. There comes a time when we have to either accept 38:47 Him as our Lord and Savior, and see the evil of our ways, 38:51 or accept the punishment for what He has told us, 38:56 and tried to tell us will happen if we continue to live 39:02 a life contrary to His will. 39:04 That's it, that's plain, and that's simple. 39:08 And He cannot, He cannot justify an unrepentant sinner. 39:13 Because, ladies and gentlemen, He gave His only begotten Son, 39:17 His only begotten Son! 39:22 Would you give your son for someone who didn't love you? 39:28 Would you give your son for people who ignored you? 39:35 Would you give your son to people who worked with your 39:40 son's enemy? I don't think we would. 39:44 But God commended His love towards us 39:48 when we were yet sinners, when we didn't know Him, 39:53 when we had no relationship with Him, 39:55 when we were caught in the very grasp of Satan. 39:58 Some of us unwillingly, and some willingly. 40:02 But still He extends a hand of love. 40:07 But still He reaches out and He draws us to Him. 40:11 Still He goes to the hill of Golgotha, ladies and gentlemen, 40:16 to Calvary, that He might save some man, some woman, 40:20 some boy, some girl from the torment of dying 40:24 and not being in the very presence of God. 40:27 He has done it, ladies and gentlemen, that whosoever 40:31 will can have salvation. Amen! 40:35 That goes for all of us here. 40:37 That goes for all of us watching at home or on the internet. 40:40 He died for us personally. 40:43 And one Bible writer said that if only one of us had fallen, 40:48 He would have still come to die to pay the price for our lives. 40:57 So when we look at this, He cannot justify the unrepentant 41:01 sinner because this unrepentant sinner didn't respect 41:04 the sacrifice. Folks, I hate to say it, but it's the truth. 41:08 They get what they deserve! 41:10 My Bible tells me that we must repent of our sin. 41:20 You see, He can't save or justify the unrepentant sinner. 41:25 And, 4. it tells us He can't save a man against his will. 41:29 In other words, He's not going to come down here, as much as He 41:34 loves us, and drag us to heaven. Amen! 41:37 There's some folks who would be miserable in heaven. 41:40 That's true! And it will be merciful unto them to be able 41:47 to die and not exist anymore, because their character has 41:52 been molded unto their father, Satan himself. 41:55 They would be miserable in the very presence of God. 41:59 Have you ever noticed this? 42:02 Have you ever noticed this when you're not right with God? 42:06 When you're not right with God, how you really 42:13 don't want to be in church? 42:15 Don't really want to be around the saints. 42:19 Can't really pray. 42:23 Run from your Bible. 42:26 When lightening and thunder starts up you get real nervous. 42:35 Come on now! How do I know? 42:37 I've been there! I know! 42:40 I know when my life was not right with God, 42:43 and when I would hear a gospel song, it would make me burst out 42:46 in tears, because I knew where I need to be, and I wasn't there. 42:50 And I felt the void of not being with God. 42:52 But, ladies and gentlemen, when you feel that, 42:54 I want you to know that that is when God is closest to you. 42:59 And He's calling you, wooing you, whispering in your ear 43:02 and saying, Come home! Amen! 43:05 When you don't feel anything, then you have a problem, 43:10 because the Holy Spirit is not calling you. 43:13 But if you feel Him whispering to you, even right now, 43:16 even in this sanctuary, even in your home, even by internet, 43:21 if you feel an apprehension, as these words pour from my lips, 43:25 it is not Dorsey, it's the Holy Spirit. 43:28 And He is saying, Come back to Me! 43:30 Come to Me. Give Me your life. 43:32 Give Me your burdens. 43:34 Give Me, give Me. All that you need I have it! 43:38 Come to Me! Amen, praise the Lord! 43:42 That's what this is about. 43:44 It's not about me standing here preaching. 43:47 It's not about people singing to show how good they can sing. 43:51 It's not about us showing the beauty of this church. 43:54 It's to warn somebody: some mother, some father, some uncle, 43:58 some auntie, some granny, some husband, some wife, 44:01 to let them know. Some child who feels alone. 44:05 Some orphans, somebody that God cares about you. Amen! 44:11 But if you don't want to go, my friend... 44:14 And folks, you know what? God understands it sometimes 44:17 where we have been so hurt in this world, 44:20 and we've been so disappointed, even by some of the lukewarm 44:23 church members, and we turn our backs on God when we have 44:28 these broken relationships with the church. 44:31 You have to look above that folks. 44:33 The people might have done what they've done, but God's Son 44:37 Jesus, hasn't done anything wrong. 44:40 I say this over and over again. 44:44 People get angry and say they don't want to go back to church, 44:48 because there's hypocrites in the church. 44:49 Well, there's hypocrites at work. Hello! 44:54 And you still go to work because you need a check. Come on! Amen! 44:59 There's hypocrites in school. 45:00 You have to go to school. 45:02 You need that degree. Hello! 45:04 Some of you, not all, now I'm not throwing stones, 45:08 but you go to the club. 45:10 And the club is full of hypocrites. 45:13 Especially the Christians who are in there. 45:15 Hello! No I'm not going, no I'm going to leave that alone. 45:16 But you go there, and you have a good time week after week. 45:22 And when you get out of there, your conscience 45:24 is, it's bothering you. 45:26 But the hypocrites are there! 45:27 So don't exclude your presence from the church. 45:32 The Bible tells us not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 45:36 together, especially as we see this last day coming, 45:39 ladies and gentlemen. 45:40 At least inside the church there is something there that can 45:45 help you and the hypocrites. Amen! 45:49 The Holy Spirit is there, and He's working on hearts, 45:54 and He's knocking on their doors, and He is holding them, 45:57 and He is asking them to let Him in so He can save us. 46:02 You know, there's some portions of scripture that when I read 46:09 them it amazes me. 46:12 And this scripture is one of them. 46:15 It's found in Isaiah, Isaiah 1, Isaiah 1:18, 19. 46:25 You see, as mighty as our God is, He is so humble, 46:36 and so loving. I mean, why does He want us? 46:44 Church, what does He want with us? 46:49 Excuse me, what does He want with us? 46:57 The days of our years are threescore and ten. 47:02 If we make it past that, that's fine. 47:05 But do we remember who we are? 47:07 We come here with bad attitudes. 47:12 We come here selfish, envious, lying. 47:17 I mean you take a little baby, and you put them in the room, 47:20 and you say, Don't touch those cookies. 47:22 And you go out of the room, and the first thing that baby 47:25 does, excuse me, he runs over there, 47:28 and he picks up those cookies. 47:30 And if they're chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate carob 47:33 cookies, whatever you want to say, and he eats them. 47:37 And the cookies are all over their face. 47:39 And you come into the room, and you say, 47:41 Did you touch those cookies? 47:42 And that baby will just shake his head no, 47:46 cookie in hand, cookies on the mouth. 47:49 What does He want with us? 47:53 We can't be trusted too well. 47:56 How many times have we failed Him? 47:59 Even mature adults like us who say we're going to serve 48:02 the Lord with all our heart, every day, on and on. 48:05 And our experience is one of up and down. 48:09 Siding with the enemy, letting creeping compromise 48:13 come into our lives, but still He loves us. 48:17 He gave His life for us. 48:20 It says He came unto His own, His own peculiar people, 48:25 and His people knew Him not. 48:29 His own! But He still loves us! 48:32 He calls us the apple of His eye. 48:36 He says we're His darling. 48:38 And I love that word darling. 48:40 You know that darling means you're the only one. 48:43 And I guess we are, nobody else messed up. 48:46 But He saved us! Halleluiah! 48:50 I look at this and I get excited to know that He loves me with 48:57 the love that will not let me go. 48:59 He says in Acts 2:38 for us to repent and be ye baptized. 49:06 Repent means to be sorry for our sins, folks. 49:12 The problem is we say we want to be in heaven. 49:16 We want to be with God. 49:17 And we modify our outward behavior, but we still have a 49:22 lot going on in our minds. 49:25 We have to truly repent. 49:29 Real repentance brings us to the point of not only revival in our 49:35 life, which means a new life, and any man who is in Christ, 49:39 must have a new life, but the revival has to move forward 49:43 with a reformation. 49:44 In other words, we have to see structured changes. 49:48 We have to be intentional in our Christian walk. 49:52 In other words, you can't keep doing the things you were doing, 49:56 and say you want to serve the Lord. 49:58 You have to ask Him to come into your heart, 50:00 and to come into your life, and to change you by His divine 50:03 power, by that Holy Spirit. 50:05 And as you hear the Lord speaking to your voice, 50:09 and speaking to your heart, and speaking to your mind, 50:12 you will know the things that He shows you in your life, 50:16 that you will gladly give to Him. 50:19 And when you talk about the things you used to do, 50:22 you won't have this big smile and glee. 50:25 Haven't you ever talk to someone and they started telling you, 50:29 Well, I've been in the church for seventy years. 50:31 But I used to dance, and I used to drink, and I used to do all 50:36 of that, and they start talking about those things, 50:39 and they get a supernatural glow. 50:41 Something's wrong! 50:44 Folks, we need to be sorry for the things that we did 50:49 that caused our Jesus to go to the cross of Calvary. Amen! 50:53 Think about the worst thing you have done in your life 50:57 right now. Those of you who are over here, and those of you 50:59 who are at home, think about the worst thing you have done 51:02 in your life, that you wouldn't want to be made public, 51:06 and how you would never want anyone to mention those things 51:10 to you. Just think about that for a second. 51:16 Somebody's even getting tense thinking about it. 51:19 Well, that's the way we need to be about all sin in our lives. 51:25 That it's cut off. That it's over. 51:27 That it won't come back. 51:29 And, ladies and gentlemen, when we let Jesus into our hearts, 51:32 when we allow Him to transform us by the renewing of our minds, 51:36 His Holy Spirit will make us brand new in Him, 51:40 and it's something that we all can experience. 51:43 But we must be willing to give it all to Jesus. Amen! 51:47 Oh my friends, we must fight the good fight of faith. 51:51 We have to endure to the end. 51:54 We must keep the faith. 51:56 We must allow the spirit of Laodicea, 52:01 the spirit of lukewarmess, to be removed from our lives. 52:07 And we must allow the power of the Holy Spirit to come into 52:13 our lives, and to make the changes. 52:15 He says, and I go back to Revelation 3:17. 52:19 He says, Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased 52:22 with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that 52:25 thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, 52:27 and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, 52:32 that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest 52:36 be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; 52:40 and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. 52:44 And then He says, As many as I love, 52:48 I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 52:52 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: 52:57 If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in 53:01 to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. 53:05 And then verse 21, it says: To him that overcometh will I 53:10 grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, 53:17 and am set down with My Father in His throne. 53:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith 53:29 unto the churches. 53:31 Let the Spirit of God come in to the door of your heart. 53:46 All to Jesus I surrender. 53:58 All to Him I freely give. 54:11 I will ever love and trust Him. 54:24 In His presence daily live. 54:37 I surrender all. I surrender all. 55:02 All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender, I surrender, 55:28 I surrender all. Amen! 55:43 Friends tonight God has given us another opportunity to say 55:50 we surrender our lives unto Him. 55:53 And even right now wherever you are, 55:56 in this sanctuary, in your home, if you would close your eyes 56:00 and just open your heart unto the Savior as we pray, 56:06 Loving Father, tonight in light of the message that we've heard, 56:12 as it expounds Your love, and Your long-suffering towards us, 56:17 we say collectively, Lord we surrender all unto You. 56:23 Come into our lives and save us, for we cannot save ourselves. 56:30 This we ask in Jesus' name. 56:33 Let the people say, Amen. Amen! 56:36 My friends, continue to study. 56:39 Continue to be intentional. 56:42 Strive to enter in through the straight gate. 56:46 And when we have endured, we will hear the voice of our 56:53 Master saying, Well done, thou good and faithful servants. 56:59 Goodnight! |
Revised 2014-12-17