Participants: Lawrence Dorsey
Series Code: UR
Program Code: UR000007
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00:57 Good evening and welcome.
00:59 I am Pastor Henoc Paulicin, and I'm here at the 01:04 Ambassador Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:05 For those who are viewing, the Ambassador Church is in 01:09 Fort Lauderdale, not too far from the 01:12 Fort Lauderdale Airport. 01:13 We are a friendly, and very fast growing church, 01:17 and if you're in the Fort Lauderdale area, we welcome you 01:21 to come and worship with us. 01:22 I am here today with one of the members of my ministerial staff. 01:27 He serves as an elder, and I'll let him introduce himself. 01:31 I am Elder Mark Almy from the Ambassador Seventh-day Adventist 01:35 Church. Pastor Paulicin is my pastor. 01:37 And I need to welcome each and every one here tonight. 01:40 Those that are in our church audience tonight, 01:42 I'm very grateful that you're here tonight, 01:44 and those around the world as well. 01:46 I was sharing with Elder Almy a text that I love from 01:51 Matthew 24:14, which says that, This gospel of the kingdom 01:56 shall be preached in all the world as a 01:59 testimony to all nations. 02:01 And the reality is, Elder Almy, the event that we're having here 02:07 is the fulfillment of the words of Jesus. Amen! 02:11 Indeed, Pastor, as it says, the gospel of this kingdom shall be 02:15 preached in all the world. 02:16 And you know that you and I could not 02:18 make it around the world. 02:19 But this message, via internet, via satellite, radio wave, 02:24 it is going around the world, and so many people 02:26 are hearing it on the coasts of Africa, Asia, 02:29 and around the world. 02:30 And as you mentioned that, I got a call today from France. 02:35 And one of my friends who visited here... 02:38 In fact those of you who know Terry, his cousin, 02:40 who lives in France, called me to let me know that he has 02:44 been enjoying the services, and the preaching of 02:47 Pastor Lawrence Dorsey. 02:49 In fact, let me introduce the speaker. 02:51 We're looking at the series, Through the Eyes of John. 02:54 And the man of God that is sent to us this day is 02:57 Pastor Lawrence Stephen Dorsey, Sr. 03:00 And we're grateful that God is using him to open up the Word 03:04 of God as he preaches the prophetic message, 03:07 As Seen Through the Eyes of John. 03:09 But let us bow our heads in prayer, and Elder Almy, 03:11 if you would pray for us. 03:12 Our Father in heaven, we have been blessed. 03:17 For several nights now we have seen the Revelation 03:22 of Jesus Christ opened up. 03:24 And as Pastor Dorsey has mentioned, that it is not just a 03:29 line by line opening of Revelation, but how the book of 03:33 Revelation applies to our lives and affects the entire Bible. 03:37 So now as we move forward, heavenly Father, we ask that You 03:40 would bless Pastor Dorsey, that his words would not be heard 03:44 but Christ alone, and that You'd breathe upon him with 03:46 the Holy Spirit. Keep him in Your care, and bless us as we 03:49 hear, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 04:14 The blood that Jesus shed for me way back on Calvary, 04:35 the blood that gives me strength from day to day. 04:46 It will never lose its power, for it reaches to the highest 05:04 mountain, and it flows to the lowest valley, valley. 05:21 The blood that gives me strength from day to day, 05:32 it will never lose power. 05:42 It soothes my doubts, and calms all my fears, 05:55 and wipes away all of my tears. 06:07 The blood that gives me strength from day to day, 06:19 it will never lose its power. 06:31 For it reaches to the highest mountain, mountain, 06:42 and it flows to the lowest valley, valley. 06:54 The blood that gives me strength from day to day, 07:06 it will never lose its power. Amen! 07:25 It will never, ever lose its power! 07:31 Somebody ought to say Amen. Amen! 07:33 The power of the blood of Jesus Christ, the power to save, 07:37 the power that exhibits His love because He gave His life, 07:44 and shed His blood that you and I might live forever 07:49 in His very presence. 07:50 Good evening everyone. 07:51 We're glad to see you here tonight, those of you at this 07:54 wonderful church, the Ambassador Seventh-day Adventist Church. 07:56 And I just want to worldwide and just let everyone know, 08:00 those of you who are watching at home, and those who are on 08:02 internet, I appreciate the Ambassador Church for opening 08:05 the doors to Living Word Ministries, that we would launch 08:10 our ministry from this church. 08:12 The people are wonderful, and they have the best pastor 08:15 this side of Earth. Amen! 08:18 Ah, I knew that would be a hearty Amen. 08:21 We appreciate that. 08:22 Now we got some calls. 08:24 Pastor got a call from France, from people who are listening. 08:27 But I have some individuals who sent e-mails, 08:29 and have called from different places. 08:32 We have someone, a Sharon Walker, all the way from Canada, 08:36 and she said she is enjoying the meetings every single night. 08:39 And the most calls I received, and e-mails I got, came from 08:44 the island of Jamaica. Amen! 08:47 I know that would go well here also. 08:49 We have a Donovan, an Annette Doctor, a... 08:55 I can't read that one, and that was my own hand writing. 08:58 Shame on me! Wait a minute, it's Mabel Anadia, and we have 09:04 from California a group: Anita, Kelly, C. L. and Alma, and then 09:10 four people together: Chris, Steve, Lena, and Nicholas. 09:16 Then we have right here in the state of Florida a message from 09:20 John D. from Punta Gorda, and he said he thinks he knows me. 09:26 So I'm going to have to follow up on that one. 09:28 John D. we have to follow up on that. 09:30 But the furthest e-mail and call that we received last night, 09:34 and we don't have them all, there's so many. 09:36 It's from a Monica Garcias who said she was writing from 09:41 flood ravaged Australia. 09:43 And our prayers go out to her, and all of those who are 09:46 watching. And she is enjoying these messages, 09:50 and I don't think she's too particular about living through 09:53 some of the floods that are the signs of the times. 09:55 But at least she knows that God is with her, 09:58 and He is keeping her. 09:59 And she said something that was encouraging to me. 10:01 She said, and those of you who are watching last night, 10:04 and who were here last night, she said she likes to sleep 10:07 when it's cool also. 10:10 Tonight we will look at a message, and if we would say 10:13 these messages are compatible, I would say this is Part 2, 10:18 to the message from last night. 10:20 Last night we looked at The Overcomers Reward. 10:22 Tonight we will look at the message, The Sure Victory. 10:26 Shall we pray? Loving Father, again we are just so thankful 10:30 for another day of life. 10:31 We thank You that You have allowed us to come into Your 10:35 house of worship to tune in by internet, or in our own 10:40 homes on television, to have an opportunity to once again 10:45 hear the Word of God. 10:46 I ask, dear Lord, that You would hide me behind the cross 10:50 of Calvary, and that You would speak through these lips Lord. 10:53 Touch my mouth and my tongue, and let the words be clear 10:56 and let them bring to all of us messages of hope. 11:00 Bless us now Lord, for we indeed want the victory. 11:04 In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen! 11:07 Let us go directly to where we left off last night, 11:11 or should I say even began last night, in the book 11:15 of Revelation, chapter 15, chapter 15. 11:19 We want to start here and then move along. 11:23 Chapter 15, verses 1 and 2. 11:26 We looked at this yesterday, and we're looking at it again. 11:29 We see this marvelous scene in heaven. For it says: 11:41 And we talked about that. And it said: 11:59 And we saw through the message yesterday, last evening, 12:03 that these individuals who are standing on the sea of glass, 12:07 standing before God, standing there as victors, singing a song 12:11 that angels could not sing, are individuals that not only 12:15 receive the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, 12:18 and the number of his name, but they had to deal with personal 12:22 sin in their lives to get victory over these things 12:25 that will come to us as a group. 12:28 We also saw last night that there was something else 12:31 us living in these last days have to deal with, and that is 12:35 being born, and being here in the dispensation of the seventh 12:40 church, Laodicea. And we saw, if you would turn with me 12:43 to Revelation 3, we saw that the church, the seventh church, 12:49 Laodicea, had some real problems. 12:52 Jesus said in chapter 3, of verse 14, And unto the angel 12:57 of the church of the Laodicea's write; These things saith the 13:00 Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the 13:04 creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither 13:07 cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 13:10 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold 13:12 nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 13:15 And He went on to say in verse 17, Because thou sayest, 13:26 But then we had hope last night, ladies and gentlemen, I 13:29 for we saw that Jesus not only tells us what's wrong with us, 13:33 He shows us what we need to do for the cure. 13:36 And in verse 18 He says, I counsel thee to buy... 14:17 Then the promise in chapter 3, verse 21, To him that overcometh 14:23 will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 14:26 even as I also overcame, and am set down 14:30 with my Father in his throne. 14:33 The reward of the overcomer. 14:36 Tonight we see the same scene, chapter 15, verse 1, verses 2, 14:46 and 3. But we also see, in chapter 14, victorious saints of 14:53 God, Revelation 14:1 says: 15:31 In other words, ladies and gentlemen, John sees this group, 15:36 this 144,000, and folks, don't get excited about that number. 15:42 Are you listening to me? Amen! 15:45 Don't stress about that number! 15:48 Jesus doesn't go into detail about it, and we know the book 15:52 of Revelation is also literal, and symbolic. 15:57 When we look at this number, it's just showing us that in the 16:01 last days there will be a specific amount of people, 16:04 not necessarily a 144,000 only standing on the sea of glass, 16:11 because when we go to chapter 7, go to chapter 7 of the book of 16:16 Revelation, after they speak about the 144,000 there, 16:20 it says in verse 9... Now turn to it. 16:23 Find peace in your soul. Verse 9 says: 16:45 In other words, they were victorious, too. Amen! 16:49 So we don't have to worry about being in that number. 16:53 I have always preached, and I've always said that I do not 16:57 care if I am the last one through the gate, as long as I 17:01 am not the first one out. Hello! Amen! 17:04 So that should not bother you or me. 17:09 What I'm trying to say to us, ladies and gentlemen, 17:12 is that by the mercy of God, and by the power of His Holy Spirit, 17:17 we read throughout the scriptures, in the book of 17:20 Revelation, and we see individuals who will be 17:24 victorious. I've said this to you before, and I will say it 17:28 again, you must have the faith to believe that Jesus loves you, 17:34 He has saved you, He is working out our salvation in us, 17:40 day by day. We can't quit. 17:42 We must endure, we must go forward, 17:45 every single day in Christ Jesus. 17:48 If you fall, ladies and gentlemen, you must get up. 17:51 You can't stay down. Amen! 17:54 If you are down, and you think you can't get up, at least crawl 17:58 but crawl towards Jesus. Amen? Amen! 18:01 And He will lift you up by His hands of love, 18:04 and He will take you by His side. 18:06 And when we can't go any further, ladies and gentlemen, 18:09 you can count on Jesus to carry us. Amen! 18:13 Because He's that kind of God. 18:15 Now these individuals who we see victorious in chapter 15, 18:23 and chapter 14, and chapter 7, these individuals living in 18:29 these last days in this time frame of Laodicea, 18:33 with all of the things we hear about Laodicea, and, you know, 18:35 sometimes we get nervous, and we think Laodicea, it's a bad word. 18:39 It's not a bad word, it's just the condition of the church, 18:42 but we saw that there is a cure for the church. 18:45 Jesus has a cure for everything. Amen! 18:48 We need to understand, as a people, that God looks at us 18:55 with a special look of love, and He has great 19:00 expectations for us. 19:02 If you would turn to 1 Peter 2, 1 Peter 2, I would dare go on 19:11 record and say that these individuals who we see 19:16 in Revelation 15, and in Revelation 14, 19:20 and in Revelation chapter 7, victorious individuals 19:26 who receive the victory over personal sin in their lives. 19:29 Individuals who have gotten the victory 19:31 over the last day crisis. 19:33 Individuals who have taken the test, 19:36 and the reform movement of Revelation 3. 19:40 They have allowed it to work on their heart. 19:43 They have opened that door so Christ can come in. 19:46 They are individuals who Jesus is talking about in 1 Peter 2:9. 19:54 He says: 19:57 Friends to be alive in these days in time, 20:02 it's something special. Amen! 20:04 I don't know if you'd really understand the magnitude 20:09 of being alive in these days and times. 20:13 To be alive in these days and times, in the last days of 20:18 Earth's history, when the Bible tells us these are perilous 20:22 times; where the Bible tells us that many shall depart 20:26 from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, 20:28 and doctrines of devils. 20:29 These times when nature is in convulsion. 20:32 These times when nations, and wars, and all of these upheavals 20:38 in the political scheme of things, they are so precarious. 20:42 We are living in dangerous times. 20:45 But to be alive in these times, when the gospel of Jesus Christ 20:50 must go to all the world, and to be a part of that, 20:54 we are a chosen generation. Amen! 20:59 I continue to read. It says: 21:14 In other words, we weren't always perfect, 21:16 and we're still not perfect, but we're leaning on the everlasting 21:22 everlasting arms of Jesus. Amen! 21:24 And friends at home, that allows us to be perfect. Amen! 21:28 For when the Father looks at us, because we're hid in Jesus, 21:33 He doesn't see us, He sees Jesus. Amen! 21:38 And friends, every time the Father looks at me, 21:41 I don't want Him to see me, I want Him to see Jesus. 21:46 And that's what He will see. 21:49 It says that we were not a people, verse 10, 21:53 which in times past were not a people, but are now the people 21:57 of God: which had not obtained mercy, 22:01 but now have obtained mercy. 22:04 In other words, because of the blood of Jesus Christ, 22:07 because of the power of the Holy Spirit, we have become 22:10 partakers of the divine nature that is working 22:15 on us every single day. 22:17 Now folks let me just say this to you, 22:19 sanctification is the work of a lifetime. 22:24 And guess what? We will never attain full sanctification until 22:33 Jesus translates us, or resurrects us on the great 22:38 getting up morning. Amen! 22:40 We will continue to grow. 22:43 There will always be something in our character 22:46 that we can have perfected. 22:48 The closer we get to Christ, and see Him in His majesty, 22:52 in His righteousness, it will show the defects in our 22:55 character that we must give to Him that we 22:59 might be made like Him. Amen! 23:01 So we can never stop. 23:03 We can never get to that point where we say, 23:06 Hey, we've made it. Amen! 23:08 Now you might be able to say that if you go through one of 23:11 those gates. Hello! 23:13 Amen! Is that alright? 23:14 We've made it then by the grace of the Lamb, 23:18 not by our merits, but by His sacrifice. Amen! 23:23 Too many times when we look at Laodicea, before she takes 23:28 the cure, we find ourselves as a people not transformed, 23:34 but still like we are, but with a modified behavior. 23:39 We have more religion than spirituality, 23:43 and that's dangerous, because, ladies and gentlemen, 23:46 we find ourselves increased with goods, 23:49 and say we have need of nothing. 23:50 And we find ourselves as self-righteous, 23:53 and self-sufficient, sometimes egotistical, judgmental, 24:00 critical. No one can do anything right except us. Amen! 24:06 We find ourselves unforgiving. 24:08 And folks that's one thing we must learn to do as a people, 24:13 people of God. We have to forgive those who have done 24:17 things to us, because Jesus has forgiven us for the things 24:22 that we have done. Amen! 24:24 We have to be individuals who have faith, 24:27 and are not shortsighted. 24:30 Sometimes, ladies and gentlemen, as Christians we can only see 24:35 what's right in front of us. 24:36 But we don't see the big picture, the eternal picture 24:41 that God is working on. 24:42 And I am so thankful that this church has seen the big picture. 24:46 This is not just about a meeting here in the 24:50 Fort Lauderdale area. 24:52 But because of their dedication, and because of their finances, 24:55 we are able to take the gospel to the world. Amen! 25:00 I thank God for 3ABN. 25:02 They don't know me, but they know Jesus, 25:04 and they have taken a chance on me. 25:06 And I'm saying, Don't see me, see Jesus. Amen! 25:10 And let this gospel go to the world that men and women, 25:15 boys and girls, will hear the loud cry. 25:18 And as the Holy Spirit is poured out, ladies and gentlemen, 25:21 they will embrace it, and they will take it into their hearts, 25:25 and their lives, and they will be transformed to be ready 25:30 to meet the Savior when He comes. Amen! 25:33 And we would have done our part as individuals who were 25:37 not a people, but are now a people. Amen! 25:41 I look at this sure victory. 25:44 Folks it's promised to us! 25:47 If we want it we can receive it. 25:50 If we don't do our part, we'll get left out. 25:55 Well, how do I know? 25:57 Turn with me to the book of Exodus, Exodus 19, 26:04 and you tell me if this language is familiar. 26:08 Exodus 19 looking at verses 5 and 6. 26:50 Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've just heard that. 26:55 They had an opportunity to take the good news of Jesus Christ, 27:01 to tell the world the story of the Creator, 27:04 to let them know that God's commandments 27:06 are still in effect. 27:08 They had the privilege of taking this to the world! 27:11 And, folks, we have to understand we must not go as 27:17 far as we think we can go. 27:19 But we have to keep going to fulfill the mission 27:22 that Jesus has given us. 27:24 And even though they did their part for their time, 27:28 there were some things that were lacking, 27:30 and Jesus had to introduce to the world this gospel 27:35 through a new dispensation, the dispensation of the church. 27:40 And we who are living in the last days have the opportunity, 27:44 in this generation, to take the good news of Jesus Christ 27:49 to all the world, and let them know that salvation 27:53 is full and free. Amen! 27:55 To let them know that the commandments of God 27:57 are still in effect. Amen! 27:59 And most of all to let them know to get ready, 28:02 because the King is coming. Amen! 28:05 Now to get the full victory, to receive the sure victory 28:10 there are some things we must do. 28:12 If you will turn with me to 2 Peter, 2 Peter 1. 28:16 I find these words so encouraging because they agree 28:21 so much to what John has said, and shown us 28:25 in the book of Revelation. 28:27 2 Peter, 2 Peter 1 beginning with verse 2. 28:44 Knowledge of God, understanding of God, it sounds just like 28:54 verse 1, of chapter 1, of Revelation. 29:00 Let's go back. Revelation 1, keep your finger here 29:05 in 2 Peter, but let's go to Revelation 1:1. 29:10 What does it say? The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave 29:17 unto Him to show unto His servants things which must 29:21 shortly come to pass, and He sent and signified it by 29:25 His angel unto His servant John. 29:28 The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 29:32 The unfolding the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 29:37 Folks, again I'm trying to let us see something about the book 29:41 of Revelation. It is not something separate by itself, 29:45 even though it is separate, but it is all of the books of the 29:50 Bible ending and meeting in Revelation, all of the books of 29:56 the Bible, Old and New Testament saying the same thing. 30:02 We shouldn't be afraid of this book. 30:05 We should not fear to study it. 30:08 We should embrace it! 30:11 The things that we have studied in the nights that we have been 30:15 here. Haven't they thrilled your heart? Amen! 30:17 Aren't they easy to understand? Yes! 30:22 When we understand that these things are not left to private 30:25 interpretation, but the Bible is it's own expositor, 30:29 we can see it, we can understand it, we can embrace it. 30:33 It is a full part of all of the other books of the Bible, 30:37 and we said it night after night. 30:38 There are 505 direct, or indirect quotations from 39 of 30:44 the other 65 books of the Bible, in the book of Revelation. 30:47 So when we come to Peter here, in 2 Peter 1, and he says in 30:53 verse 2: Grace and Peace be multiplied unto you, 30:57 through the knowledge of God. 30:59 When I read that, ladies and gentlemen, it tells me that I 31:03 will even get that same peace that is multiplied by the power 31:08 of the Holy Spirit from reading Revelation, 31:11 like any other part of the book. 31:12 He goes on to say, now watch it, it gets even better. 31:17 According as His divine power hath given unto us all things 31:23 that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge 31:28 of Him that has called us to glory and virtue. 31:32 In other words, all that we need, ladies and gentlemen, 31:35 it's given to us by God through His Holy Spirit, 31:40 through Jesus Christ, through a knowledge of God, 31:43 and of Jesus Christ. 31:46 It's here for us! It takes me back to Romans 15:4. 31:52 I know I say these texts over and over again, but I want them 31:56 to become a part of you. 31:57 It says, Whatsoever things were written aforetime, 32:01 were written for our learning, that we through patience, 32:04 and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 32:07 Folks, the best thing you can do for your spiritual growth 32:12 is to read the Bible, and internalize it's truth. Amen! 32:17 It's the best thing we can do! 32:19 When you're lonely, when you're sad, when you feel down, 32:23 when you're disappointed, when you're happy, 32:25 read the Word of God! 32:27 It is comforting. And if you pray, and you should pray 32:31 before you open it's book, the angels that are by your side, 32:35 that are there with you, the Holy Spirit that is inside you 32:39 that will give you the knowledge of Spiritual things, 32:41 will direct your eyes, your mind to passage of scripture 32:46 that will comfort you like nothing on this earth can do. 32:49 Amen! That's the promise from the Lord and His Word. 32:54 Now watch this, it says in verse 4, Whereby are given unto us 33:01 exceedingly great and precious promises, that by these we might 33:07 receive, or we might be partakers of the divine nature, 33:11 having escaped the corruption that is in 33:14 the world through lust. 33:15 In other words, whatever we need for our salvation, 33:20 it's found in the book. and He has promised, 33:22 And He has promised, ladies and gentlemen, 33:24 that He will give us, He will give us the precious promises 33:28 that we might become partakers of the divine nature. 33:33 And if you have the divine nature of Christ, 33:35 you have the sure victory. Amen! 33:39 Are you listening to me? Yes! 33:40 If we have the divine nature of Christ, if we have been born 33:44 again, if the Holy Spirit has been allowed to take our minds 33:49 and renew it by His power, by the transforming of His power 33:53 by the renewing of our minds. 33:55 If we allow Him to take control of us, that's a sure victory! 34:00 Amen! You can't lose, if Jesus is in your heart, 34:04 if the Holy Spirit is in your life. 34:06 We lose when we fight against the Spirit of the Living God, 34:09 and we try to do things our own way. 34:12 I look at this and theologians call it Peter's ladder. 34:18 It goes on to give us different steps that we must attain 34:25 and different virtues that we must allow to have control 34:28 in our lives, to give us the divine nature. 34:33 Now folks, you don't have to get one first, and then move on 34:36 to the next one. These things will come to us as we allow the 34:41 Holy Spirit to bring them to us. 34:43 The first thing it says, ladies and gentlemen, 34:46 that we must have, verse 5, it says, And beside this giving 34:51 all diligence, in other words, put everything into this, 34:54 add to your faith virtue. 34:57 The first thing we have to have, the first thing. 35:01 What did I say? What did I say? 35:06 Virtue! The first thing we have to have is faith. 35:11 Amen! And I say this night after night. 35:14 And I say this all of the time, I say this at home. 35:16 Sometimes my wife looks at me and she's wondering why 35:21 I'm doing something, and she's saying, Aren't you upset? 35:24 Aren't you stressed out? 35:25 I said, I can't get stressed out. 35:27 I have to have faith that the Lord is going to 35:30 bring me through this. Amen! 35:32 You must have the faith to believe that God is going to 35:37 bring you through this. 35:38 The things are going crazy, everything is going wild, 35:42 all the plans are caving in. 35:44 You have to know that if God has set you on this course, 35:47 He's going to bring you to the shore 35:50 that He wants you to be on. 35:51 You just hold on! Amen! 35:53 You have to have faith! 35:55 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, 35:58 the evidence of things not seen. 36:00 You can't always see your way. 36:03 That's faith! Amen! 36:05 I look at my Bible and it tells me that my Bible, reading it, 36:12 hearing it, it will give me what I need for my faith. 36:16 Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. 36:20 Romans 10:17. It's there! 36:22 The more I read it, the more I experience, the more I trust 36:26 God, my faith becomes greater. Amen! 36:30 In this book of books, I see a young man who had faith to ask 36:41 for things he didn't even understand how they could 36:46 come to pass. But he had faith because he had heard, 36:52 and he had seen with his eyes, God answers other prayers. 36:58 Now folks I'm talking about Joshua. 37:00 And now when we talk about faith, all of the things in the 37:03 Bible, when you ask me, Dorsey, what brings out an illustration 37:09 of the greatest faith that you've ever seen in the Bible, 37:12 my mind automatically goes to Joshua. 37:15 It goes to Joshua. 37:17 I know there are a lot of people there that have shown excellent 37:20 faith, but when you look at human beings, the one that had 37:23 the most faith out of everybody, to me was Joshua. 37:29 Joshua, in chapter 10, is in the heat of the battle. 37:33 He's fighting against those five kings. 37:36 The battle is going on. 37:38 The sun is about to set, and night is moving on. 37:44 And he might have lost the battle because they could have 37:47 dispersed, and they would have come back to 37:49 attack Israel again. 37:51 Joshua had faith because Joshua, you know, 37:54 was the understudy of Moses. 37:57 And he had seen what God can do. 38:00 Oh my goodness, he had seen the mighty arm of God move: 38:05 Ten devastating plagues shaking Egypt down 38:10 to its very foundation, 38:12 the Red Sea opening up, the wind blowing from the east 38:18 all night long because God cares about details. 38:20 And they go through the Red Sea on dry land, because the wind 38:24 dried it out so the children of Israel wouldn't catch a cold. 38:28 Come on now! Amen! 38:29 They go through the Red Sea, and when all of the children of 38:33 Israel are through, and the Egyptians try to come through, 38:37 the water comes together and takes the enemies away. 38:40 He's seen it! He's seen the Lord use him, 38:45 and he goes through the Jordan River. 38:49 He had faith to believe! 38:51 So in the middle of this battle, ladies and gentlemen, 38:54 in the middle of this battle, as night is coming on, Joshua prays 38:58 that the sun stand still. 39:01 And night doesn't come! 39:04 Joshua was not a scientist. 39:09 He didn't understand how these things really worked, 39:13 because the sun is not even moving. 39:15 The sun is standing still in its place. 39:19 We, planet Earth, third planet from the sun, go around the sun 39:25 and one complete cycle takes, you know, 365 days, 39:31 6 hours and 9.54 seconds. 39:35 That one orbit around the sun is one of our years, 1 year. 39:41 As we go around the sun, ladies and gentlemen, 39:44 on these 365 days, 6 hours and 9.54 seconds course, 39:49 we are traveling at a rate of speed of 66,000 miles per hour. 39:56 But as we travel, ladies and gentlemen, we are not just 40:00 standing still, traveling at a rate of speed of 66,000 miles 40:05 per hour, we are spinning on our own axes that is a rate of speed 40:11 of 43,000 miles per hour. 40:14 So we're going around the Sun at a rate of speed of 66,000 miles 40:21 per hour, spinning as it were on our own axis. 40:24 And you know, and I know, that when we turn on the other side, 40:28 we have night, and when we face the sun, it is day. 40:31 Joshua didn't care about all of that. 40:35 He didn't know about the mechanics. 40:37 All he knew was his God, Creator, who put the sun in its 40:43 place, who was fighting for them, who had performed miracles 40:47 for them, had the power to stop the sun from going down, 40:53 that they could get their job done. Amen! 40:56 Folks at home, if you allow me to use my imagination, 40:59 I can only say that the Father looked at the Son, 41:02 and the Son looked at the Father and said, Oh Yes, 41:04 we have a live one here! 41:05 The faith is there! Amen! 41:09 Lets do it for Joshua! Amen! 41:13 And, ladies and gentlemen, we have to understand that today, 41:15 with all of our knowledge, we say that if the earth ever stops 41:20 spinning on its axis of 43,000 miles per hour, 41:23 the scientists say that everything would slide off. 41:27 The mountains would come down, and the waters would over flood, 41:30 and we would have a catastrophe here on planet Earth. 41:33 But friends, my God, who is in charge of everything, 41:36 He slowed down planet Earth from 43,000 miles per hour, 41:43 slowed it down to the point where it just stopped, 41:48 and just stood there. 41:51 And the Bible says, ladies and gentlemen, not Dorsey, 41:53 the Bible says in chapter 10 of the book of Joshua, verse 13, 41:57 at the end, it says, and the sun stood still, and the moon stayed 42:01 until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. 42:03 Is not this written in the book of Joshua? 42:07 So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, 42:10 and hastened not to go down about a whole day. 42:14 So it stood still a whole day! Amen! 42:20 And then it was over! 42:21 The Lord just put it back in gear, and it just moved right 42:24 up, and not one mountaintop came down. Amen! 42:27 No ocean over flooded the people and the victory was done. 42:32 That's faith! Amen! 42:34 You must believe that you can be saved. Yes. 42:39 You can't look at yourself. 42:40 You have to look at Jesus. 42:42 Jesus does the saving. Amen. 42:45 You can't look at your faults. 42:46 You can't look at your defects. 42:48 You can't look at your past. 42:49 The devil will magnify those things, ladies and gentlemen, 42:52 to tell you you can't make it, that you're wasting your time, 42:55 that you've tried it over and over again. 42:57 You have to look at the lovely Jesus, 42:59 and see Him in His majesty. 43:02 And know that He loves you, and that He cares about you. 43:05 And because we have His righteousness, 43:08 we are going to make it. 43:10 You must believe that it covers you. Amen! 43:14 You have to have faith. 43:18 The second thing it says in this ladder of the divine nature, 43:23 it says we must have virtue, which is moral excellence. 43:27 In other words, you have to allow the Holy Spirit to come 43:31 into your life, and take away the things that are unclean 43:34 in your life. Amen! 43:36 That means you can't watch everything on TV. Hello! Amen! 43:40 You can't listen to everything. 43:41 You can't go everywhere. 43:43 You can't do what everyone else does. 43:45 You are different. 43:47 Do you remember what Jesus said about us? 43:49 He said we are a holy generation. 43:51 We are a chosen generation. 43:53 We are a royal priesthood. 43:54 We have to be different. 43:56 We are a peculiar people. 43:57 Not strange, but different. Amen! 44:01 We don't march to the beat of this drummer here. 44:07 This is not our home! 44:10 We are pilgrims passing through. Amen! 44:15 The song says, We have a home in glory land 44:17 that outshines the sun. 44:19 And it's there, but we have to start living like we belong 44:24 there, by allowing Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, 44:28 to transform our character into His lovely character. 44:32 And we, ladies and gentlemen, must allow everything that is 44:35 unclean in our lives to be removed from our lives. Amen! 44:40 You're not going to get to heaven with a wife, 44:44 and a boyfriend, or a wife and a girlfriend, 44:47 or whatever way you want to do it. 44:49 It's not going to work! 44:51 I don't even care if you say they're all in the church. 44:54 It doesn't matter! 44:56 We have to be clean. Amen! 45:00 We have to be pure. 45:01 You have to be honest in church, and honest in business. Amen! 45:06 You have to be honest on April 15th! Yes! 45:12 I'm serious! Christians, how can you lie to the government? 45:17 God sees you. He expects us to be honest. Yes! 45:22 I read my Bible again, and I turn to Psalm 24, Psalms 24, 45:27 and it has something here that is so sweet 45:29 for us to understand. 45:30 And, folks, I want you to see this. 45:31 I want you to see this. 45:32 In Psalms 24 it says in verse 3: 45:40 Psalms 24:3. Folks remember what we read in Revelation 14? 45:45 They were standing on the hill of the Lord! 45:48 The victors! Can you see how all of the Bible matches? 45:51 It says, Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? 46:04 You have to be honest! 46:06 Moral virtue, moral excellence! 46:14 My Bible goes on to say, ladies and gentlemen, 46:17 to have this divine nature, we must have faith. 46:21 We have to have virtue, and we have to have knowledge; 46:24 a knowledge of God. 46:26 A knowledge of God that works for the saving of our souls. 46:32 Some of us know about God, but we don't know Him. Amen! 46:36 We know, we can quote scripture. 46:38 We can say the fourth commandment backwards. 46:42 We have a knowledge of the 2300 days, 46:45 and we can say all of the right things at the right time. 46:49 We understand all of these spiritual things, but we are not 46:53 spiritual, we are just religious. Amen! 46:57 We have to have a knowledge of God. 47:00 We have to understand and know that He wants to know 47:05 everything about us. 47:06 And that the first thing He wants us to know 47:08 is that we love Him. 47:09 He says, If you love Me, keep My commandments. 47:13 And, ladies and gentlemen, when you read the Word of God, 47:15 we see in Matthew 22, turn with me to Matthew 22:37-40. 47:23 It says, Jesus said unto them, verse 37, Thou shalt love the 47:30 Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 47:33 and with all thy mind. 47:35 This is the first and great commandment. 47:37 And the second is like unto that that, Thou shalt love thy 47:41 neighbor as thyself. 47:43 Verse 40, On these two commandments hang all 47:47 the law and the prophets. 47:48 So you can have all of this knowledge that makes you 47:54 religious, but if it's not based on a love relationship 47:59 with Christ, which makes it spiritual... Amen! 48:03 Because Jesus said the day will come that those that worship 48:06 me will worship me in Spirit and in truth. 48:10 In other words, by our attitude. Amen! 48:13 Why you do things. 48:15 Sometimes we do things just to be seen. Amen! 48:19 We want the applause of man. 48:23 We want people to think that we're the best thing 48:27 since sliced bread. 48:28 But that's not where it's at. 48:32 Sometimes we do things because we want people to say how wise 48:38 we are and how great we are, and how good we preach, 48:40 and how good we sing. 48:41 It's not about that, it's about uplifting the Savior. Amen! 48:46 Jesus knows the difference. 48:48 Because, folks, we can fool people for awhile. Amen! 48:52 You know, sooner or later your real self comes out. Amen! 48:55 You know, you can act all sweet, and humble, and kind 48:58 and everything, until you don't get your way... Uh oh! 49:01 ...or until somebody cuts you off in traffic. 49:06 Oh, yes, you just turn into a beast! 49:09 Not any of you; no one at home. 49:11 We don't know about those people. 49:13 But we must have a relationship with Jesus Christ to let 49:18 the things that He desires to be seen in our lives be things 49:24 that will be part of our lives. 49:26 And we will not have to go up and down in our experience 49:29 with Christ, but it will be something that will become 49:32 natural because that will be the new nature we have received 49:36 from Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. 49:39 It says we must have knowledge. 49:42 And I love the way Jeremiah says this in Jeremiah 9:23. 49:46 You have to look at this text. It says: 50:14 So you have to have a knowledge of God. 50:16 And the knowledge of God, friends, comes from knowing 50:19 the Word of God, studying the Word of God, internalizing the 50:23 Word of God, and allowing Him to transform us. 50:26 He says that we must have knowledge. 50:28 It says that we must have temperance. 50:30 Temperance is self control. 50:32 You can't do anything you want to do, when you want to do it. 50:35 It tells us in 1 Corinthians 10: 31, 50:47 We have to have patience. 50:49 Patience is the ability to endure without complaining. 50:53 I read my Bible, and you can take this down and put it 50:57 in your Bible, that you must have patience; the patience that 51:02 allows us, as it says in Romans 5:1-5. 51:05 We don't have time for this text now, 51:06 but write it down and look at it. 51:08 It says when we have patience, ladies and gentlemen, 51:11 it will work out what we need in our experience to be like Jesus. 51:17 He also says that we must have Godliness. 51:20 Godliness, ladies and gentlemen, is a piety, 51:24 which is characterized by a God ward attitude. 51:28 This is pleasing to Christ. 51:31 You know, one time my kids were fighting in the yard 51:35 when they were little, and I don't know who was right 51:38 or who was wrong, but a lot of times I would settle 51:41 an argument by saying, Now why don't you 51:43 guys be like Jesus? 51:45 And one of you'd be giving, and the other one, you know, 51:48 both of you try to be like Jesus, and just try to 51:50 give in to each other. 51:53 Now I don't know which one it was. 51:55 I can't remember. I'm getting a little older. 51:57 I think it was my son or my daughter. 51:58 But I don't remember, and I'm on here. 52:00 They'll be watching this and I'll be criticized, so I say, 52:02 I don't know which one it was, but one of them said to 52:04 the other one, Well you be like Jesus today. 52:06 We have to be like Jesus every day. 52:11 If we do that we'll be developing that divine nature: 52:16 patience, Godliness. 52:18 Then it says brotherly kindness. 52:19 And folks, you know what? the only way you can have 52:21 brotherly kindness is of you allow Godliness 52:24 to be in your life. 52:25 Brotherly kindness will move us to say, in the words of 52:28 Ephesians 4:32, as Jesus says through inspiration: 52:39 We must understand that, that we are debtors; 52:42 debtors to Christ, debtor to the Father. 52:46 So when people have done things to us, we have to learn to 52:49 forgive them, folks, because Christ has forgiven us. Amen! 52:54 And then it says after brotherly kindness, the one thing that we 52:57 have to have, the one thing that we must have, the bottom line, 53:00 it's charity. And charity is nothing more than love. 53:04 Verse 8 says, now we talked about the sure victory. 53:09 Read this: for if these things be in you and abound, 53:14 they make you that you shall neither be barren, 53:16 nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 53:19 But he that lacketh these things is blind. 53:22 That's one of the signs of Laodicea. 53:24 You see how they connect? 53:26 But if he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see 53:31 afar off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his own sins, 53:35 wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your 53:38 calling and election sure. 53:40 That's the sure victory. 53:42 For if you do these things you shall never fall. Amen! 53:50 Ladies and gentlemen, that tells me that this is a blueprint 53:55 for victory in Jesus. Amen! 54:06 I heard an old, old story, how Jesus came from glory. 54:17 How He bought me, and purchased me with His redeeming blood. 54:27 I heard about His groaning, and of His blood's atoning. 54:37 And I repented of my sins and won the victory. 54:47 Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. 54:56 He sought me, and bought me with His redeeming blood. 55:06 He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him. 55:15 He cleansed me with victory beneath His cleansing blood. 55:25 Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. 55:34 He sought me, and bought me with His redeeming blood. 55:44 He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him. 55:53 He plunged me in victory beneath His cleansing blood. Amen! 56:06 Oh my friends, victory is there for you. 56:08 It's there for me. 56:09 It's promised through the Word of God, 56:11 by the merits of Jesus Christ. 56:13 All we need to do is have faith, moral excellence, 56:18 knowledge of God, temperance, patience, Godliness, 56:22 brotherly kindness, and most of all, friends, 56:26 we have to have love; the love of Jesus in our hearts. 56:29 If it's your desire today to have that love in your heart, 56:33 won't you raise your hand? 56:34 Even those of you at home, just raise your hands, 56:38 reaching upward from whence cometh our help. 56:40 Jesus will give us victory. 56:44 God bless you! Continue to study, continue to pray, 56:49 and we'll see you soon, on Friday night, when we'll come 56:53 together and study the book of Revelation. Good night! |
Revised 2014-12-17