Hello, friends, and
welcome to 3ABN Worship Hour
00:00:26.86\00:00:30.56
where we worship the
Lord in spirit and in truth.
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That's right.
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The Bible says that
God is indeed worthy
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to be praised and worship.
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And that's exactly what
we're going to do here today.
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And I just wanna
thank you for joining us
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and taking time out of your day.
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We wanna encourage
you to grab your friends,
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your family, your children,
your aunts, uncles, enemies,
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anybody that you have
gathered them to gather,
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get your Bibles,
get your notepads,
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we're gonna dive deep
into the Word of God today,
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and we're going to worship
Him as we said earlier in truth.
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We're gonna pull out
the truth of God's Word.
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And we're gonna learn
something powerful today.
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A little strange title,
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but I think you'll get
it in just a few moments.
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The title of today's message is
"Blurred Lines and Dim Minds,"
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but until then,
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we've got our good
friend Tim Parton with us.
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He's here at the piano,
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and he's going to lead us out
in a time of prayer and song.
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Thank you, Ryan.
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We have a
wonderful group of people
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here in pastoral department,
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who head up the
prayer warrior email,
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and I have a
couple of prayer requests
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that I think many
of you can relate to.
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And we just wanna take
some time to pray about those.
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This one prayer
request comes in.
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It says, "Lately, I
started to share some views
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and information
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on my social media page
about the current situations.
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And after sharing
information continuously
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I have become very
fearful of the future.
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I am now feeling very anxious.
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They say, "I would like
prayer for peace and deliverance
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from fear, anxiety and worry.
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Would love to be
able to rest at night."
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I think of Ecclesiastes 1:18,
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it says, "For with much
wisdom comes much sorrow,
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the more
knowledge, the more grief."
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Sometimes we think that
living in a day of information
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and easy access on the internet
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would be just a great thing,
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but
unfortunately, the more we know,
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the more we can be overwhelmed.
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So, Lord, I'm asking that
You would help us to be wise
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in how we handle the
information that we know,
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that we would not
focus all of our attention
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or our time on sharing
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on those social media pages
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that we would not
dwell on the news that
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we would dwell on Your Word.
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In fact, Colossians 3:2 says,
"Set your mind on things above,
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not on earthly things."
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So, Lord, we thank You
that we have an alternative.
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You are our alternative.
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And I pray that You
would become the main focus.
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Another viewer sent
in this prayer request,
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it says, "I have
been having terrible,
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severe anxiety,
and panic attacks,
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which have made me sick.
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And I can't sleep at night.
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I'm a mom and a wife.
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And I'm always afraid."
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Maybe you find
yourself in that same situation.
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I love Isaiah 26:3 that says,
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"You will keep
him in perfect peace,
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whose mind is stayed on
you, because he trusts in You."
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Speaking of God.
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Father, I thank You that
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I can have
perfect peace when my mind
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stays on You.
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And I trust You,
God, to be my peace.
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So, Lord, I pray for those
who are watching right now.
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They're having anxiety
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and lacking peace.
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Lord, I pray in Jesus' name
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that You would
give them the wisdom
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and the heart to trust in
You, to look to You for peace.
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O soul are you weary
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And troubled?
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No light in the
darkness you see?
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There's light
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For a look at the Savior
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And life more abundant and free
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Turn your eyes
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upon Jesus
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Look full in His wonderful face
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And the things of earth
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Will grow strangely dim
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In the light
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of His glory and grace
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His word shall not fail you
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He promised Believe Him
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and all will be well
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Then go to a world
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that is dying
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His perfect salvation to tell
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Just turn your eyes
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upon Jesus
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Look full in His wonderful face
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And the things of earth
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Will grow strangely dim
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In the light
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of His glory and grace
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Let us pray.
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Our Father in heaven,
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Lord, You're so wonderful.
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You're so mighty.
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You are truly our God.
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Lord, we wanna pause today
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and give You worship and praise,
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and the glory and
honor that You deserve.
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We thank You for singing.
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We thank You for
prayers and praying.
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We praise, You
God, and thank You that
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the lines of communication
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are open for us to talk to You,
and to communicate with You.
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And so, Lord, as we continue on
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with our Worship
Hour, I pray, Father,
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that You will fill
me with the Holy Spirit
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right now in Jesus' name.
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That every word,
every passage, every text,
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everything that is communicated,
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is according to Your
will, and heard by Your people
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this morning, including myself.
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Save us O God today.
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Draw us closer to You
we ask in Jesus' name.
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Amen. Amen.
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Thank you, Tim.
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As I mentioned before,
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today's message is entitled
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"Blurred Lines and Dim Minds."
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I would like to
begin this message
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with a couple of quotes
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from a couple of
different sources.
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And I want you to pray for me,
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pray for that clock
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because I have
lots of information
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to share in such a short time,
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but I know the Lord
will see us through it.
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I wanna start
this message by reading
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from the fifth
volume of the Testimonies
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to the Church, page 214.
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And it says, "Not one of us
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will ever
receive the seal of God
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while our
characters have one spot
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or stain upon them.
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It is left with us to remedy
the defects of our characters,
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to cleanse the soul
temple of every defilement.
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Then the latter
rain will fall upon us
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as the early rain
fell upon the disciples
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on the Day of Pentecost."
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Now much like the
quote that we just read,
00:10:02.60\00:10:04.93
I wanna read another
one right in behind that
00:10:04.97\00:10:07.00
when dealing
with the same subject.
00:10:07.04\00:10:08.97
This comes from
Maranatha, page 240.
00:10:09.00\00:10:12.74
And notice what it says,
"Now is the time to prepare.
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The seal of God
will never be placed
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upon the forehead of
an impure man or woman.
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It will never be placed upon
the forehead of the ambitious,
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world-loving man or woman.
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It will never be placed upon
the forehead of men or women
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of false tongues
or deceitful hearts.
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All who receive the seal must be
00:10:37.37\00:10:40.14
without spot before God,
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candidates for heaven."
00:10:43.54\00:10:47.71
I chose to start
00:10:47.74\00:10:49.08
this particular
message with those quotes
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because I believe it
provides a clear foundation
00:10:51.21\00:10:53.78
of some of the content
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that we're gonna
share this morning.
00:10:55.18\00:10:57.29
I love how that last part ends
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that we just read that
00:10:58.92\00:11:00.26
we must be
without spot before God,
00:11:00.29\00:11:02.46
candidates for heaven.
00:11:02.49\00:11:05.06
Isn't that what this
lifetime is all about, right?
00:11:05.09\00:11:08.00
We're here to prepare
to meet God in heaven.
00:11:08.03\00:11:12.50
He is coming back soon.
We know this to be true.
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The Bible tells
us thousands of times
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that we can look forward
to the soon return of Jesus,
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but today, my friends,
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I would like to
communicate such a message that
00:11:22.98\00:11:25.51
I believe is again
another awakening message.
00:11:25.55\00:11:28.95
It's not a message of worry,
it's not a message of doubt,
00:11:28.98\00:11:31.39
it's not a negative message
to cause anxiety or fear,
00:11:31.42\00:11:35.49
but a message to spark within us
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a heartburn for Christ,
00:11:37.76\00:11:40.40
a good heartburn for Christ,
much like the men on the road
00:11:40.43\00:11:43.43
to Emmaus as their
hearts burned within them
00:11:43.47\00:11:46.13
after they just had
that encounter with Jesus.
00:11:46.17\00:11:48.10
I hope that this message
sparks within us heartburn,
00:11:48.14\00:11:51.64
so that we come to
know Christ more and more,
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we draw closer to Him,
00:11:54.28\00:11:55.91
and we prepare for
the soon coming of Jesus.
00:11:55.94\00:11:59.48
You see, we're
living in a time of urgency.
00:11:59.51\00:12:03.02
We are living in a
time of preparation.
00:12:03.05\00:12:06.69
And it should
not surprise us that
00:12:06.72\00:12:08.26
we are also living
in a time of judgment.
00:12:08.29\00:12:11.13
We need to approach the
times that we're living in,
00:12:11.16\00:12:14.36
in these last days,
with a no nonsense mentality.
00:12:14.40\00:12:19.23
The devil is
like a roaring lion,
00:12:19.27\00:12:20.70
the Bible says,
00:12:20.74\00:12:22.07
and he is seeking
whom he may devour.
00:12:22.10\00:12:23.84
Each and every
hour of every day,
00:12:23.87\00:12:25.44
he is working
hard to make sure that
00:12:25.47\00:12:27.21
you do not make it
into the kingdom of God,
00:12:27.24\00:12:29.64
but at the same time,
we have the Spirit of God
00:12:29.68\00:12:32.28
that is warring for our
hearts and souls as well.
00:12:32.31\00:12:35.38
God is still pleading for you.
00:12:35.42\00:12:37.69
He is still
pleading his case for you.
00:12:37.72\00:12:39.65
The Spirit of God is
still working on you.
00:12:39.69\00:12:42.09
Time is not up,
00:12:42.12\00:12:43.46
but time is diminishing quickly,
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my friends.
00:12:44.86\00:12:47.20
In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
00:12:47.23\00:12:51.67
we sense this sense of
urgency in Paul's writings.
00:12:51.70\00:12:56.10
In fact, I wanna
just go there right now.
00:12:56.14\00:12:57.91
This again is 1
Thessalonians 5:1-3,
00:12:57.94\00:13:02.51
notice what the Bible says.
00:13:02.54\00:13:04.38
"But concerning the times
and the seasons, brethren,
00:13:04.41\00:13:06.68
you have no need that
I should write to you.
00:13:06.72\00:13:10.09
For you yourselves
know perfectly that
00:13:10.12\00:13:12.15
the day of the Lord
00:13:12.19\00:13:13.52
so comes as a
thief in the night.
00:13:13.56\00:13:17.93
For when they say,
'Peace and safety!'
00:13:17.96\00:13:21.16
then sudden
destruction comes upon them,
00:13:21.20\00:13:23.30
as labor pains
upon a pregnant woman.
00:13:23.33\00:13:25.77
And they shall not escape."
00:13:25.80\00:13:30.47
When we read this
particular passage,
00:13:30.51\00:13:32.57
we see two groups
of people mentioned.
00:13:32.61\00:13:34.98
There is the, you, notice here,
00:13:35.01\00:13:37.48
brethren, you have no need
that I should write to you,
00:13:37.51\00:13:40.55
but then there's a second group
00:13:40.58\00:13:41.92
that he refers
to as they, he says,
00:13:41.95\00:13:44.35
"For when they
say, 'Peace and safety!'
00:13:44.39\00:13:47.32
We're talking about
two separate groups,
00:13:47.36\00:13:49.12
God's remnant,
His people, His elect,
00:13:49.16\00:13:52.03
and the people of the world.
00:13:52.06\00:13:54.20
And we are reminded here
in this particular passage,
00:13:54.23\00:13:57.33
as Paul says that
we should not worry
00:13:57.37\00:13:59.43
as we're connected to Christ.
00:13:59.47\00:14:01.20
We know that His coming
is like a thief in the night,
00:14:01.24\00:14:05.47
but yet the people of the world,
00:14:05.51\00:14:07.41
their hearts
that are in the world,
00:14:07.44\00:14:09.48
they say peace and safety
00:14:09.51\00:14:11.91
with an indifferent
complacent attitude that says,
00:14:11.95\00:14:14.52
"Oh, well, if it
happens, it happens.
00:14:14.55\00:14:16.12
If it doesn't, it doesn't."
00:14:16.15\00:14:17.49
But yet they're saying peace
and safety, but then Paul says,
00:14:17.52\00:14:20.36
"Then sudden
destruction comes upon them
00:14:20.39\00:14:22.12
as labor pains
upon a pregnant woman."
00:14:22.16\00:14:24.56
And here's what's interesting.
00:14:24.59\00:14:25.93
If you read the
original Greek here,
00:14:25.96\00:14:28.00
he uses the Greek word
ou mé for the word not here
00:14:28.03\00:14:31.63
where it says, and
they shall not escape
00:14:31.67\00:14:34.17
the Greek word ou mé.
00:14:34.20\00:14:35.80
And if you
understand what that means,
00:14:35.84\00:14:37.17
and you know that Paul
is using a double negative
00:14:37.21\00:14:39.47
here in the Greek to
emphasize a sense of urgency
00:14:39.51\00:14:42.64
and the
importance of this message.
00:14:42.68\00:14:44.28
He says, and they shall
in the Greek, no, not escape.
00:14:44.31\00:14:48.02
In other words,
00:14:48.05\00:14:49.38
he's not scratching the surface,
00:14:49.42\00:14:51.55
he's not sugar-coating or
watering down the message.
00:14:51.59\00:14:54.19
He's saying, "Look,
if you do not prepare
00:14:54.22\00:14:56.32
and you are not ready
for the soon coming of Jesus,
00:14:56.36\00:14:58.73
if you are not awake,
00:14:58.76\00:15:00.10
if you are
sleeping and slumbering,
00:15:00.13\00:15:03.37
but you are not
watching the signs of the times,
00:15:03.40\00:15:05.20
and this sudden
destruction may come up on you,
00:15:05.23\00:15:07.50
as the labor pains
upon a pregnant woman,
00:15:07.54\00:15:09.37
and you shall no, not escape."
00:15:09.40\00:15:13.74
But it's interesting
that we live in a day and age
00:15:13.78\00:15:17.51
where people are now starting
to murmur and say, "Yeah.
00:15:17.55\00:15:21.72
Have they been
saying that for a long time?
00:15:21.75\00:15:25.92
My great, great, great
grandma and grandpa thought
00:15:25.95\00:15:28.52
Jesus would come back
in their day and He didn't.
00:15:28.56\00:15:32.09
My great, great
grandparents thought that Jesus
00:15:32.13\00:15:33.83
would return in
their day and He didn't.
00:15:33.86\00:15:36.90
And, of course,
my great grandparents
00:15:36.93\00:15:38.47
and also my grandparents
and it goes on down the line,
00:15:38.50\00:15:41.04
even my parents
before I was born,
00:15:41.07\00:15:43.17
or at least in their
lifetime, believed that Jesus
00:15:43.20\00:15:46.21
would come back in their
day and they would scream
00:15:46.24\00:15:48.08
from the mountaintops.
00:15:48.11\00:15:49.44
Jesus is coming.
00:15:49.48\00:15:50.81
Jesus is coming very
soon, but He has not come back."
00:15:50.85\00:15:54.52
The Bible says
that there are scoffers
00:15:54.55\00:15:56.28
in the last day that will say.
00:15:56.32\00:16:00.29
Where are the
signs of His coming?
00:16:00.32\00:16:03.19
You see there is a proper
term for this type of mentality.
00:16:03.22\00:16:08.46
It's called a
normalcy bias mentality,
00:16:08.50\00:16:13.37
and those who have a
normalcy bias mentality,
00:16:13.40\00:16:17.17
let me describe
this to you for a moment.
00:16:17.21\00:16:19.34
This often results in situations
00:16:19.37\00:16:21.74
where people fail
to adequately prepare
00:16:21.78\00:16:25.25
for a disaster
or a certain event.
00:16:25.28\00:16:27.98
The assumption that is made
00:16:28.02\00:16:29.35
in the case of the normalcy bias
00:16:29.38\00:16:31.75
is that since a
disaster never has occurred
00:16:31.79\00:16:34.26
or this particular warning event
00:16:34.29\00:16:36.59
has never occurred before,
00:16:36.62\00:16:37.96
then it will
never actually occur.
00:16:37.99\00:16:41.83
It also results in
the inability of people
00:16:41.86\00:16:43.97
to cope with a disaster
00:16:44.00\00:16:45.80
or an event once it
actually does occur.
00:16:45.83\00:16:49.87
People with a
normalcy bias mindset
00:16:49.90\00:16:53.21
have difficulties reacting
00:16:53.24\00:16:55.01
to something they have
not experienced before.
00:16:55.04\00:16:58.98
People also tend
to interpret warnings
00:16:59.01\00:17:01.95
in the most optimistic
and careless way possible,
00:17:01.98\00:17:05.29
seizing on any ambiguities
00:17:05.32\00:17:07.62
to infer a less
serious situation,
00:17:07.66\00:17:11.89
normalcy bias.
00:17:11.93\00:17:15.06
Those people that are saying,
00:17:15.10\00:17:16.43
"Oh, you know,
they've been saying
00:17:16.46\00:17:17.80
this gonna happen for years.
00:17:17.83\00:17:19.17
They've been saying
that Jesus is coming,
00:17:19.20\00:17:20.54
but is He really coming?"
00:17:20.57\00:17:21.90
And you know what,
there are even many Christians
00:17:21.94\00:17:24.24
that I have
personally met that have said,
00:17:24.27\00:17:26.14
"What does it matter?
00:17:26.17\00:17:28.51
Who cares if Jesus comes today,
tomorrow, six years from now,
00:17:28.54\00:17:33.31
18 years from now, or 100 years
from now, who really cares?"
00:17:33.35\00:17:36.92
If you're ready,
then you're ready.
00:17:36.95\00:17:38.69
If you're not, then you're not.
00:17:38.72\00:17:40.32
Again, a
normalcy bias mentality,
00:17:40.36\00:17:43.32
who really cares?
00:17:43.36\00:17:46.16
You see, this type of mentality
00:17:46.19\00:17:47.86
is expressed many times
throughout the Scripture
00:17:47.90\00:17:50.70
that we read.
00:17:50.73\00:17:52.23
Many instances in Scripture,
00:17:52.27\00:17:53.64
we see a great
example of this normalcy bias
00:17:53.67\00:17:57.44
that I'm speaking of.
00:17:57.47\00:17:58.91
I would like to
show you one passage now
00:17:58.94\00:18:00.98
or take you to one
passage in Scripture
00:18:01.01\00:18:02.94
that I believe is
most relevant for our time.
00:18:02.98\00:18:05.55
It's dealing with
the signs of the times,
00:18:05.58\00:18:07.08
it's dealing with the last days
00:18:07.12\00:18:08.72
prior to the
Second Coming of Jesus.
00:18:08.75\00:18:10.79
And I'm gonna take
you now to Luke 17:26-30.
00:18:10.82\00:18:15.36
Of course, this
is Luke's version
00:18:15.39\00:18:17.29
of the great Olivet Discourse
00:18:17.33\00:18:18.73
where Jesus is giving
the signs of the times
00:18:18.76\00:18:21.63
and He's helping the
disciples to understand
00:18:21.66\00:18:23.73
exactly what is gonna happen
prior to His Second Coming.
00:18:23.77\00:18:27.20
So I'm gonna
start in Luke 17:26.
00:18:27.24\00:18:30.44
And we're gonna
read on to verse 30.
00:18:30.47\00:18:32.01
This is a passage that
you've heard many times,
00:18:32.04\00:18:34.08
but nonetheless,
sometimes it helps that
00:18:34.11\00:18:35.91
we take a second, a third,
00:18:35.94\00:18:37.38
a fourth, or even more looks
than that so that we understand
00:18:37.41\00:18:40.38
what it is God is saying to us.
00:18:40.42\00:18:42.02
Luke 17:26-30, the Bible says,
00:18:42.05\00:18:46.05
"And as it was
in the days of Noah,
00:18:46.09\00:18:49.36
so it will be also in
the days of the Son of Man.
00:18:49.39\00:18:52.39
They ate, they
drank, they married wives,
00:18:52.43\00:18:55.76
they were given in
marriage, until the day that
00:18:55.80\00:18:58.13
Noah entered the
ark, and the flood came
00:18:58.17\00:19:00.64
and destroyed them all.
00:19:00.67\00:19:02.94
Likewise as it was
also in the days of Lot.
00:19:02.97\00:19:06.78
They ate, they drank,
they bought, they sold,
00:19:06.81\00:19:09.88
they planted, they built,
00:19:09.91\00:19:12.58
but on the day that
Lot went out of Sodom,
00:19:12.61\00:19:15.28
it rained fire and brimstone
00:19:15.32\00:19:16.92
from heaven and
destroyed them all.
00:19:16.95\00:19:20.16
Even so," Jesus says,
"will it be in the day
00:19:20.19\00:19:23.99
when the Son of
Man is revealed."
00:19:24.03\00:19:29.16
Normalcy bias,
it's describing a people
00:19:29.20\00:19:33.70
that much like the days of Noah,
00:19:33.74\00:19:36.71
who approached the coming flood,
00:19:36.74\00:19:38.81
the coming warning
that there would be
00:19:38.84\00:19:40.81
a worldwide destruction
of flood that was coming.
00:19:40.84\00:19:44.18
Much like those
people in Noah's day,
00:19:44.21\00:19:45.95
Jesus says that
the last days prior
00:19:45.98\00:19:48.22
to His Second Coming
will be exactly the same way.
00:19:48.25\00:19:51.15
They will have the
exact same mentality
00:19:51.19\00:19:54.09
with a very indifferent
and complacent attitude.
00:19:54.12\00:19:59.49
The people of Noah's day
00:19:59.53\00:20:00.86
did not heed the
warning messages.
00:20:00.90\00:20:03.73
Again, we're talking
about a normalcy bias mindset,
00:20:03.77\00:20:07.17
but in other words
00:20:07.20\00:20:08.54
because it's never
rained before Noah,
00:20:08.57\00:20:10.07
what is this rain?
00:20:10.11\00:20:11.44
Rain, you speak of rain,
00:20:11.47\00:20:12.97
God's gonna allow it to
rain and destroy the world.
00:20:13.01\00:20:15.91
Surely not. It's
never rained here before.
00:20:15.94\00:20:19.45
And so that's why we have
many, many people, even today,
00:20:19.48\00:20:23.42
they doubt, they scoff,
00:20:23.45\00:20:25.82
they hear that
Jesus is coming soon
00:20:25.85\00:20:28.62
and you start to
see a degradation
00:20:28.66\00:20:30.59
of their spiritual mind.
00:20:30.63\00:20:33.40
You start to see the doubt
take control of their thoughts,
00:20:33.43\00:20:36.63
their decisions, their ideas,
00:20:36.67\00:20:38.93
where they become
almost desensitized
00:20:38.97\00:20:40.70
to the world over time.
00:20:40.74\00:20:42.80
And when the warning message
00:20:42.84\00:20:44.34
is given each and
every time to be prepared,
00:20:44.37\00:20:47.71
arise, trim your lamps,
go out to meet the bridegroom
00:20:47.74\00:20:51.01
because He is coming.
00:20:51.05\00:20:52.68
They are not prepared.
00:20:52.71\00:20:54.12
They don't have
enough oil in their vessels.
00:20:54.15\00:20:56.05
And, of course,
00:20:56.08\00:20:57.42
sudden
destruction comes upon them
00:20:57.45\00:20:58.82
as labor pains
upon a pregnant woman,
00:20:58.85\00:21:00.86
and they shall no, not escape.
00:21:00.89\00:21:04.03
How can we make
sure that we don't adopt
00:21:07.06\00:21:12.70
such a horrible normalcy bias
mentality in these last days?
00:21:12.73\00:21:18.27
How can we make
sure that we are grounded
00:21:18.31\00:21:20.98
and rooted in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ,
00:21:21.01\00:21:23.24
that we stand firm
like many of God's servants
00:21:23.28\00:21:26.21
in the days of Scripture,
that we can stand confident
00:21:26.25\00:21:29.35
at the appearing of Jesus
and know that we are ready.
00:21:29.38\00:21:32.62
I would like to take a look
00:21:32.65\00:21:34.22
and examine that
passage that we just read.
00:21:34.26\00:21:36.83
If you have your Bibles,
00:21:36.86\00:21:38.19
and you know,
it's there in Luke 17.
00:21:38.23\00:21:39.56
I'm just gonna
reference a couple of things,
00:21:39.59\00:21:41.90
but I want you to notice that
00:21:41.93\00:21:43.26
when it speaks
of the days of Noah,
00:21:43.30\00:21:45.70
it says that they
ate and they drink.
00:21:45.73\00:21:48.64
You see,
there's some clues here.
00:21:48.67\00:21:50.44
And often we approach
00:21:50.47\00:21:51.81
this passage
where it talks about
00:21:51.84\00:21:53.27
the days of
Noah, the days of Lot,
00:21:53.31\00:21:54.74
where they ate,
they drank, you know,
00:21:54.78\00:21:56.24
they were married
and given in marriage,
00:21:56.28\00:21:57.71
and we look at
that passage and we go,
00:21:57.75\00:21:59.41
"Oh, it's describing how
life just went on as normal."
00:21:59.45\00:22:02.78
And then Jesus
suddenly appeared.
00:22:02.82\00:22:04.72
And while I believe
that we can pull from that,
00:22:04.75\00:22:07.69
that particular sentiment,
or that particular conclusion,
00:22:07.72\00:22:10.26
I wanna suggest
to you this morning
00:22:10.29\00:22:12.06
and submit to you that
00:22:12.09\00:22:13.43
there are some
clear clues in here
00:22:13.46\00:22:15.06
that if we studied
deeper and allowed God's Word
00:22:15.10\00:22:17.73
to interpret itself,
there is a much deeper meaning
00:22:17.77\00:22:20.80
that Christ is
trying to communicate to us.
00:22:20.84\00:22:22.74
And the
question we're asking is,
00:22:22.77\00:22:24.11
how can I make sure that
I'm not like these people
00:22:24.14\00:22:26.34
from the days of Noah
00:22:26.37\00:22:27.71
or these people in the last days
00:22:27.74\00:22:29.08
that will not be prepared
for the soon return of Jesus?
00:22:29.11\00:22:31.25
We're gonna be asking
that question right now.
00:22:31.28\00:22:32.61
We're gonna be answering it.
00:22:32.65\00:22:33.98
So notice here,
the days of Noah,
00:22:34.02\00:22:35.88
they ate and they drank.
00:22:35.92\00:22:37.25
They also did this
in the days of Lot.
00:22:37.29\00:22:38.62
They also married wives
and were given in marriage.
00:22:38.65\00:22:41.62
I wanna just take a
moment to talk about that.
00:22:41.66\00:22:43.56
They ate and they drank,
00:22:43.59\00:22:45.33
that concept of
eating and drinking.
00:22:45.36\00:22:48.00
Now again, a lot of
people will read that and think,
00:22:48.03\00:22:50.00
"Well, Ryan, you know, is
it a sin to eat and drink?"
00:22:50.03\00:22:53.03
Is it a sin to, you know,
participate in taking the food,
00:22:53.07\00:22:57.14
the daily food that we need?
00:22:57.17\00:22:58.51
Obviously, that is not
00:22:58.54\00:22:59.87
what Christ is
talking about here.
00:22:59.91\00:23:01.24
Obviously, we do
need food for nutrition.
00:23:01.28\00:23:03.28
And we do need to drink
water and healthful liquids
00:23:03.31\00:23:06.85
to make sure that
00:23:06.88\00:23:08.22
we are nourished
and taken care of,
00:23:08.25\00:23:10.25
but there's something about
the eating and the drinking
00:23:10.29\00:23:12.95
in the days of Noah,
00:23:12.99\00:23:14.32
and in the days of Lot
that Jesus is talking about
00:23:14.36\00:23:16.66
in a negative context here.
00:23:16.69\00:23:18.53
And now I wanna
take us to Luke Chapter 5
00:23:18.56\00:23:20.56
in reference to
eating and drinking.
00:23:20.60\00:23:22.36
I wanna look at Luke
Chapter 5 because I believe that
00:23:22.40\00:23:24.43
there's an
answer here given to us
00:23:24.47\00:23:26.03
as to why Jesus is talking about
00:23:26.07\00:23:28.04
this in a negative context.
00:23:28.07\00:23:30.34
We're going to Luke Chapter 5
00:23:30.37\00:23:31.71
and we're gonna
read verses 33 to 35.
00:23:31.74\00:23:34.68
Notice what the Bible says here.
00:23:34.71\00:23:36.85
Jesus is having an
encounter with the Pharisees.
00:23:36.88\00:23:39.55
And notice what
they're saying to Him.
00:23:39.58\00:23:40.92
It says, "Then they said to Him,
00:23:40.95\00:23:42.82
'Why do the disciples
00:23:42.85\00:23:44.19
of John fast
often and make prayers,
00:23:44.22\00:23:48.62
and likewise
those of the Pharisees,
00:23:48.66\00:23:51.79
but Yours," there
it is, "eat and drink?'
00:23:51.83\00:23:56.26
And He said to them,"
this is Christ speaking now,
00:23:56.30\00:23:59.13
He says, "'Can you make
00:23:59.17\00:24:00.50
the friends of
the bridegroom fast
00:24:00.54\00:24:02.44
while the
bridegroom is with them?
00:24:02.47\00:24:04.91
But the day," notice,
"But the days will come
00:24:04.94\00:24:08.01
when the bridegroom
will be taken away from them,
00:24:08.04\00:24:10.75
then they will
fast in those days.'"
00:24:10.78\00:24:13.18
Then they will fast
in those days, my friend.
00:24:13.21\00:24:15.85
So notice the scenario here.
00:24:15.88\00:24:17.82
When Christ is
speaking of the days of Noah,
00:24:17.85\00:24:20.42
the end of time prior to
the Second Coming of Jesus,
00:24:20.46\00:24:22.66
and He's saying
that they're eating,
00:24:22.69\00:24:24.09
and they're
drinking, and they're marrying,
00:24:24.13\00:24:25.46
and they're given in marriage.
00:24:25.49\00:24:26.83
When we're speaking of
the eating and drinking,
00:24:26.86\00:24:28.20
we have a clear understanding
and connection in Scripture
00:24:28.23\00:24:30.53
that tells us that
00:24:30.57\00:24:31.90
when we are eating and drinking
in this particular context,
00:24:31.93\00:24:34.47
it's talking about a
spiritual application,
00:24:34.50\00:24:36.94
a greater spiritual
application that goes to
00:24:36.97\00:24:40.04
or is connected to
the concept of fasting
00:24:40.08\00:24:42.34
and preparing and
praying in the last days.
00:24:42.38\00:24:45.11
During the days of Noah,
00:24:45.15\00:24:46.51
these people were eating
and drinking in the sense that
00:24:46.55\00:24:48.72
they were not
fasting and praying.
00:24:48.75\00:24:51.02
And I love what Jesus said here.
00:24:51.05\00:24:52.39
He said, "Look,
I'm with them now.
00:24:52.42\00:24:54.26
I'm with them now and therefore
they don't have to fast,
00:24:54.29\00:24:56.73
but there's gonna come a
time when I no longer with them.
00:24:56.76\00:24:58.93
And in those days
00:24:58.96\00:25:00.30
they will need
to fast and pray."
00:25:00.33\00:25:02.10
My friends, God had
been teaching me, Ryan.
00:25:02.13\00:25:04.33
And I just wanna say right out
throughout this entire message,
00:25:04.37\00:25:06.57
I'm gonna be
stepping on my toes,
00:25:06.60\00:25:08.37
I'm gonna be
stepping on your toes,
00:25:08.40\00:25:09.74
or should I say the Word of God
00:25:09.77\00:25:11.41
is gonna be
stepping on all of our toes,
00:25:11.44\00:25:13.21
but that's okay
00:25:13.24\00:25:14.58
because the truth
shall make us free.
00:25:14.61\00:25:16.01
Amen.
00:25:16.04\00:25:17.38
God has been
convicting me lately.
00:25:17.41\00:25:18.75
Ryan, you need
to do more fasting,
00:25:18.78\00:25:20.58
you need to surrender that
portion of your life to Him.
00:25:20.62\00:25:23.82
And I have been
praying, I have been fasting,
00:25:23.85\00:25:25.59
I've been practicing
intermittent fasting.
00:25:25.62\00:25:26.96
And you know what?
00:25:26.99\00:25:28.32
There are more types of fasting
than just food and drink.
00:25:28.36\00:25:30.59
Yes, we need to
practice more temperate lives
00:25:30.63\00:25:32.99
when it comes to what we eat,
00:25:33.03\00:25:34.36
and what we drink, but
there's also a spiritual,
00:25:34.40\00:25:37.20
a deeper spiritual
message here, my friends,
00:25:37.23\00:25:39.13
that there's
many types of fasting
00:25:39.17\00:25:41.07
that we can do in our lives.
00:25:41.10\00:25:42.44
And in these
particular last days,
00:25:42.47\00:25:44.71
we must learn to fast
from the cares of this world
00:25:44.74\00:25:47.98
in order to prepare
for Jesus' soon return.
00:25:48.01\00:25:50.61
There may be someone at home
00:25:50.65\00:25:51.98
that is dealing
with, I don't know,
00:25:52.01\00:25:54.38
spending too much time
00:25:54.42\00:25:55.75
on their
computer or on media or,
00:25:55.78\00:25:57.62
you know, having too much fun,
00:25:57.65\00:25:59.09
or doing all these
different types of things.
00:25:59.12\00:26:00.56
I'm not saying it's wrong
to have fun, but my friends,
00:26:00.59\00:26:02.46
certainly, the
message that we're seeing here
00:26:02.49\00:26:04.46
is Jesus saying life
was going on as normal that
00:26:04.49\00:26:06.86
they were just eating
and drinking carelessly.
00:26:06.90\00:26:09.16
There was no sense
of self-examination,
00:26:09.20\00:26:12.03
there was no sense of
afflicting the soul like you
00:26:12.07\00:26:14.34
would see on the
Day of Atonement.
00:26:14.37\00:26:16.14
Aren't we living in an
anti-typical Day of Atonement?
00:26:16.17\00:26:18.77
Aren't we living in
a time of judgment in
00:26:18.81\00:26:20.58
which we should be
afflicting our souls,
00:26:20.61\00:26:22.34
examining
ourselves and saying, Lord,
00:26:22.38\00:26:24.15
purge the sin from my body,
purge the sin from my life.
00:26:24.18\00:26:27.72
That's what he's saying here.
00:26:27.75\00:26:29.38
He's saying they're
eating, they're drinking.
00:26:29.42\00:26:31.09
They're not
fasting. They're not praying.
00:26:31.12\00:26:32.69
They're not
seeking me earnestly that
00:26:32.72\00:26:34.59
they might surrender
all their life to me,
00:26:34.62\00:26:38.26
but then notice the second part,
00:26:38.29\00:26:40.60
very interestingly,
they married wives,
00:26:40.63\00:26:43.67
and they were given in marriage.
00:26:43.70\00:26:46.50
Is it a sin to marry?
Well, obviously not, right?
00:26:46.53\00:26:49.80
God established
marriage in the Garden of Eden.
00:26:49.84\00:26:52.44
So God isn't talking
negatively in the sense that
00:26:52.47\00:26:54.68
no one should
marry in the last days,
00:26:54.71\00:26:56.91
but I do believe that
00:26:56.95\00:26:58.28
there is maybe
deeper message here.
00:26:58.31\00:26:59.75
And obviously, we see
that it's in connection
00:26:59.78\00:27:01.48
with the days of Noah.
00:27:01.52\00:27:03.22
So I wanna take you back
00:27:03.25\00:27:04.59
and I wanna show
you that actually,
00:27:04.62\00:27:06.22
the root cause that brought
about this great gigantic flood
00:27:06.25\00:27:11.09
that would take out the majority
00:27:11.13\00:27:12.76
of the world in the days of Noah
00:27:12.79\00:27:14.40
was actually
connected to this marrying
00:27:14.43\00:27:17.23
and given in marriage.
00:27:17.27\00:27:18.60
I want you to go with
me to Genesis Chapter 6.
00:27:18.63\00:27:20.84
Genesis Chapter 6
and we're gonna read
00:27:20.87\00:27:22.40
the first
couple of verses there.
00:27:22.44\00:27:24.27
Notice what the Bible
says, and we're talking about
00:27:24.31\00:27:26.27
this marrying and
given in marriage.
00:27:26.31\00:27:28.04
There's a deep spiritual message
00:27:28.08\00:27:29.41
here, my friends, and
we need to comprehend this.
00:27:29.44\00:27:31.55
It says here in Genesis 6:1-2,
it says, "Now it came to pass,
00:27:31.58\00:27:36.15
when men began to multiply
on the face of the earth,
00:27:36.18\00:27:38.92
and daughters were born to them,
00:27:38.95\00:27:41.12
that the sons of God
saw the daughters of men,
00:27:41.16\00:27:46.19
that they were
beautiful, and they took wives
00:27:46.23\00:27:49.20
for them of all
whom they chose."
00:27:49.23\00:27:53.37
Now I just
wanna write off front.
00:27:53.40\00:27:55.00
I don't really have a
lot of time to unpack this,
00:27:55.04\00:27:57.01
but I wanna say very
clearly, and very boldly
00:27:57.04\00:27:58.97
and straightforward.
00:27:59.01\00:28:00.34
There's some
teaching out there that
00:28:00.38\00:28:01.71
refers to the sons of God
as some type of Nephilim like,
00:28:01.74\00:28:05.35
you know, where they
basically the fallen angels,
00:28:05.38\00:28:08.02
they came from
heaven, they fell from heaven,
00:28:08.05\00:28:10.52
they somehow procreated
with women here on the earth,
00:28:10.55\00:28:13.96
and they created
these giants that would come
00:28:13.99\00:28:15.89
about in Scripture and
throughout all the lands.
00:28:15.92\00:28:18.09
My friends, there's absolutely
no scriptural basis for that.
00:28:18.13\00:28:20.73
And I wanna make
that very, very clear.
00:28:20.76\00:28:22.30
The question is,
who are the sons of God?
00:28:22.33\00:28:25.07
Because we have a contrasting
group of people here,
00:28:25.10\00:28:27.07
we have the sons of God,
and the daughters of men.
00:28:27.10\00:28:30.34
So who are the sons of God?
00:28:30.37\00:28:31.71
I think we have
a very clear answer
00:28:31.74\00:28:33.61
in multiple parts of Scripture.
00:28:33.64\00:28:35.21
Obviously, the
sons of God can be,
00:28:35.24\00:28:37.38
they can be angels, but
they're good angels, right?
00:28:37.41\00:28:40.75
They're good angels.
00:28:40.78\00:28:42.12
And we know this because notice
00:28:42.15\00:28:43.49
what it says in Romans 8:14,
here's a very good clear clue
00:28:43.52\00:28:47.46
as to who the sons
of God are in Scripture.
00:28:47.49\00:28:50.43
Romans 8:14, the Bible
says, "For as many are led
00:28:50.46\00:28:54.46
by the Spirit of God,
these are the sons of God."
00:28:54.50\00:28:59.73
So if you, my friends,
00:28:59.77\00:29:01.10
today are led by
the Spirit of God,
00:29:01.14\00:29:03.44
you are sons of God.
00:29:03.47\00:29:05.71
So the contrasting view of that
00:29:05.74\00:29:08.04
would be anyone who is not led
00:29:08.08\00:29:11.41
by the Spirit of
God are not sons of God.
00:29:11.45\00:29:14.38
In fact, they would probably
fall into this category,
00:29:14.42\00:29:17.09
this contrasting,
different category
00:29:17.12\00:29:19.75
that we see here,
the daughters of men.
00:29:19.79\00:29:22.09
Now we don't have to
go very far as to know
00:29:22.12\00:29:24.13
what these two groups are
00:29:24.16\00:29:25.49
because we see very clearly
this is Genesis Chapter 6.
00:29:25.53\00:29:28.40
If you go back to
Genesis Chapter 4,
00:29:28.43\00:29:31.13
you see a very clear
genealogy, two different seeds.
00:29:31.17\00:29:36.60
Obviously, when
Cain killed Abel,
00:29:36.64\00:29:39.07
he killed the righteous seed.
00:29:39.11\00:29:40.74
So you would think, but
obviously, God had plans.
00:29:40.78\00:29:43.35
He brought about Seth.
00:29:43.38\00:29:44.71
And so the holy
lineage of the Lord
00:29:44.75\00:29:46.75
in which the
lineage in which Christ
00:29:46.78\00:29:48.12
would come through
00:29:48.15\00:29:49.48
would be that of
the lineage of the line
00:29:49.52\00:29:50.85
or the bloodline of
Seth, but then there's another
00:29:50.89\00:29:53.62
seed group, there's
another line or lineage
00:29:53.66\00:29:56.79
and we see that that
is the lineage of Cain.
00:29:56.83\00:29:59.89
Now I wanna spend a
lot of time on this,
00:29:59.93\00:30:01.36
but I wanna unpack
this, I'm showing you
00:30:01.40\00:30:02.83
something spiritually
here that is powerful
00:30:02.86\00:30:05.63
when you take this in.
00:30:05.67\00:30:07.14
When Jesus says over
on the Olivet Discourse
00:30:07.17\00:30:09.77
in Matthew 24, Luke 17, Mark 13,
00:30:09.80\00:30:12.24
and forward, when
He's talking about
00:30:12.27\00:30:13.91
how in the days of
Noah, they ate, they drink,
00:30:13.94\00:30:16.21
they married wives,
00:30:16.24\00:30:17.58
and were given in marriage.
00:30:17.61\00:30:18.95
He's very, very much
communicating something
00:30:18.98\00:30:21.48
powerfully, spiritually to
us, that we need to comprehend.
00:30:21.52\00:30:24.95
In this case, it's
interesting to know that
00:30:24.99\00:30:27.46
while the sons of
God are those led by
00:30:27.49\00:30:29.56
the Spirit of God,
the daughters of men
00:30:29.59\00:30:32.39
are those of the world.
00:30:32.43\00:30:34.66
It's interesting to
note daughters of men, right?
00:30:34.70\00:30:37.53
Daughters of men,
00:30:37.57\00:30:38.90
when you follow
that woman's seed back
00:30:38.93\00:30:42.34
you trace it to
the lineage of Cain.
00:30:42.37\00:30:44.81
And it's interesting
00:30:44.84\00:30:46.17
in the latter verses
of Genesis Chapter 4,
00:30:46.21\00:30:47.98
specifically
verses 16 through 22.
00:30:48.01\00:30:50.85
There are three
daughters mentioned
00:30:50.88\00:30:53.78
or three women mentioned
that came from the seed of Cain
00:30:53.82\00:30:58.32
that are
mentioned in that chapter.
00:30:58.35\00:31:00.06
And if you know anything
about names in the Bible,
00:31:00.09\00:31:01.99
then you know
that they hold meaning.
00:31:02.02\00:31:03.93
They mean something.
00:31:03.96\00:31:05.29
It's in many times
often revealed character,
00:31:05.33\00:31:07.53
the character of the person.
00:31:07.56\00:31:10.13
For instance, these three women
their name there in Genesis 4,
00:31:10.17\00:31:14.34
the names are
Adah, Zillah, and Naamah.
00:31:14.37\00:31:18.81
And when you look at
the meanings of their names,
00:31:18.84\00:31:21.58
Adah means get this,
00:31:21.61\00:31:23.85
decked with
jewels and ornaments.
00:31:23.88\00:31:28.35
Zillah means tingle or
quiver to musical instruments
00:31:28.38\00:31:33.42
or sensual dancing.
00:31:33.46\00:31:36.42
And Naamah means to be lovely,
00:31:36.46\00:31:38.49
delightful or
beautiful in appearance.
00:31:38.53\00:31:41.90
Now you put all this together,
the sons of God are going out
00:31:41.93\00:31:46.40
and marrying the
daughters of men.
00:31:46.43\00:31:47.77
This is what brought about
00:31:47.80\00:31:49.14
the judgment of
the flood, my friends.
00:31:49.17\00:31:50.81
God's Church is
going outside of the elect.
00:31:50.84\00:31:56.11
They have stepped outside
of the spiritual will of God.
00:31:56.14\00:31:59.31
And they've now
turn to the world to mix
00:31:59.35\00:32:02.28
and mingle their seed
with those of the unrighteous.
00:32:02.32\00:32:06.62
And when we look and see
00:32:06.65\00:32:07.99
the type of women that
God's men begin to marry,
00:32:08.02\00:32:10.56
and begin to
mix and mingle with,
00:32:10.59\00:32:12.19
we see that it's women
that were decked with jewels
00:32:12.23\00:32:14.73
and ornaments,
tingle and quivering
00:32:14.76\00:32:17.17
to musical
instruments, sensual dancing,
00:32:17.20\00:32:20.54
and of course,
delightful and beautiful
00:32:20.57\00:32:23.14
in physical appearance.
00:32:23.17\00:32:25.11
This is what drove them.
00:32:25.14\00:32:26.78
And, of course,
this drove God to make
00:32:26.81\00:32:28.58
a very difficult
decision and destroying
00:32:28.61\00:32:30.55
all of the righteous
00:32:30.58\00:32:31.91
because He saw how
much out of control
00:32:31.95\00:32:33.65
it was getting, my friends.
00:32:33.68\00:32:37.05
So when it says that
they were eating and drinking,
00:32:37.09\00:32:40.26
God is seeing the
spiritual state of these people.
00:32:40.29\00:32:43.12
Their minds were blurred.
00:32:43.16\00:32:45.99
They were murky.
00:32:46.03\00:32:47.50
They couldn't see spiritually,
00:32:47.53\00:32:49.36
they'd become spiritually
blind to their own condition.
00:32:49.40\00:32:53.50
They were eating and
drinking. They weren't fasting.
00:32:53.54\00:32:56.17
They weren't praying
00:32:56.20\00:32:57.54
when this
judgment came upon them.
00:32:57.57\00:32:58.91
They were marrying and mixing
and mingling with the world.
00:32:58.94\00:33:02.71
They weren't
staying within God's people.
00:33:02.74\00:33:04.75
They weren't staying
within the Holy will of God.
00:33:04.78\00:33:08.28
That's what this message is.
00:33:08.32\00:33:10.15
And what's even more interesting
00:33:10.19\00:33:11.52
is when you go study about Lot.
00:33:11.55\00:33:12.89
What about Lot?
00:33:12.92\00:33:14.26
We have a
scripture that it says,
00:33:14.29\00:33:15.62
"Remember Lot's wife?"
00:33:15.66\00:33:16.99
Well, I'm gonna ask
the question this morning,
00:33:17.03\00:33:18.36
remember Lot.
00:33:18.39\00:33:19.73
What about Lot?
00:33:19.76\00:33:21.10
Notice what the Bible tells
us here in Genesis Chapter 19.
00:33:21.13\00:33:23.67
Now you know the story
00:33:23.70\00:33:25.03
of Lot very
clearly and what we...
00:33:25.07\00:33:26.60
Let me just kind of set this up,
00:33:26.63\00:33:27.97
you basically have
00:33:28.00\00:33:29.34
what is called a
Christophany here,
00:33:29.37\00:33:30.77
prior to this particular
text that we're about to read.
00:33:30.81\00:33:33.17
Christophany is basically
when Jesus Christ appears
00:33:33.21\00:33:36.18
in the flesh before
or after his virgin birth
00:33:36.21\00:33:39.55
or after His earthly ministry.
00:33:39.58\00:33:41.18
And so there's clear evidence
in Scripture that God Himself
00:33:41.22\00:33:44.12
and we believe in faith that
it's Jesus Christ in the flesh,
00:33:44.15\00:33:46.82
that He comes and
shows up many times
00:33:46.86\00:33:48.66
in physical human
form in the Old Testament.
00:33:48.69\00:33:51.89
One of those would be during
the time of Abraham and Lot,
00:33:51.93\00:33:55.53
and we read there in Scripture
to set this up very clearly
00:33:55.56\00:33:58.87
that God actually
appears in the flesh,
00:33:58.90\00:34:02.70
Christ Jesus
appears in the flesh
00:34:02.74\00:34:04.11
to Abraham with two angels.
00:34:04.14\00:34:06.78
And so, at the very
end of this conversation
00:34:06.81\00:34:09.81
or this occurrence that
00:34:09.84\00:34:11.18
He has with Abraham,
Jesus sends on two angels
00:34:11.21\00:34:14.22
to the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:34:14.25\00:34:16.28
You know the story very clearly.
00:34:16.32\00:34:18.35
And He warns Abraham that
00:34:18.39\00:34:20.02
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
00:34:20.06\00:34:21.39
will meet their fate that
they're going to be destroyed.
00:34:21.42\00:34:24.96
And, of course, you can imagine
00:34:24.99\00:34:26.33
the conversation
that Abraham had there
00:34:26.36\00:34:28.36
with Jesus as he's
pleading and saying,
00:34:28.40\00:34:30.07
"Well, you find, if
you find 50 righteous men,
00:34:30.10\00:34:32.37
you save the city, will
you find 40 or 35 or 30,
00:34:32.40\00:34:35.74
and 20, and 25,
all the way down to 10.
00:34:35.77\00:34:37.61
If you find 10 righteous people,
00:34:37.64\00:34:39.37
you save the city."
00:34:39.41\00:34:40.74
And in all of the mercy of God,
00:34:40.78\00:34:42.11
Jesus says, "Sure,
00:34:42.14\00:34:43.48
I'll save it if I
find 10 righteous people."
00:34:43.51\00:34:45.45
But of course,
He wasn't able to.
00:34:45.48\00:34:47.42
But what I wanna pick up
00:34:47.45\00:34:48.78
is right here
in Genesis 19:9-17.
00:34:48.82\00:34:51.85
Notice what the Bible
tells us, Genesis 19:9-17,
00:34:51.89\00:34:56.22
a rather lengthy passage,
00:34:56.26\00:34:57.59
but I wanna show
you something here.
00:34:57.63\00:34:59.13
Just like we have
three angels' messages
00:34:59.16\00:35:01.86
or three angels' warnings
given to us in the last days,
00:35:01.90\00:35:04.63
did you know that God sent Lot
00:35:04.67\00:35:06.13
and his family
three warnings by angels?
00:35:06.17\00:35:09.80
Notice this.
00:35:09.84\00:35:11.27
It says, "Then
the men said to Lot."
00:35:11.31\00:35:12.91
This is where
they finally showed up.
00:35:12.94\00:35:15.14
They've had the encounter
with these evil men of Sodom.
00:35:15.18\00:35:17.48
And these two men
who are angels are now
00:35:17.51\00:35:19.21
speaking to Lot and his
family and they're warning Lot,
00:35:19.25\00:35:21.95
and notice what
they say in verse 10.
00:35:21.98\00:35:23.52
"Then the men said to Lot,
'Have you anyone else here?
00:35:23.55\00:35:27.49
Son-in-law, your
sons, your daughters,
00:35:27.52\00:35:30.23
and whomever you
have in the city,
00:35:30.26\00:35:31.89
take them out of this place!"
00:35:31.93\00:35:34.66
I wanna pause there,
00:35:34.70\00:35:36.03
we're gonna come
right back to it,
00:35:36.06\00:35:37.40
but I wanna pause
there, emphasize this.
00:35:37.43\00:35:38.97
My friends, do we
have a message warning
00:35:39.00\00:35:41.80
from an angel that
says come out of her,
00:35:41.84\00:35:44.61
get out of this place?
00:35:44.64\00:35:46.01
Yes.
00:35:46.04\00:35:47.38
Revelation 18, "Come
out of her, My people."
00:35:47.41\00:35:49.44
God had people in that city
00:35:49.48\00:35:51.05
and He was warning
them so He's warning Lot.
00:35:51.08\00:35:53.01
Notice what He goes
on to say in verse 13.
00:35:53.05\00:35:55.35
"For we will destroy this place,
00:35:55.38\00:35:58.12
because the outcry against them
00:35:58.15\00:36:00.59
has grown great
before the face of the Lord,
00:36:00.62\00:36:02.49
and the Lord has
sent us to destroy it.'"
00:36:02.52\00:36:04.66
Now notice this in
verse 14, "So Lot went out
00:36:04.69\00:36:07.56
and spoke to his sons-in-law,
00:36:07.60\00:36:09.63
who had married his
daughters, and said, 'Get up,
00:36:09.66\00:36:13.27
get out of this
place, for the Lord will
00:36:13.30\00:36:15.74
destroy this city!'"
00:36:15.77\00:36:17.11
But notice how
they respond here.
00:36:17.14\00:36:18.74
"But to his sons-in-law
00:36:18.77\00:36:20.91
he seemed to be joking."
00:36:20.94\00:36:25.85
He seemed to be joking.
00:36:25.88\00:36:29.02
Notice verse 15.
Make note of that.
00:36:29.05\00:36:31.35
"When the
morning dawned," notice,
00:36:31.39\00:36:33.09
he was supposed to
get out immediately,
00:36:33.12\00:36:34.66
but now the morning is dawned.
00:36:34.69\00:36:36.02
He'd been waiting all
night, he's been lingering.
00:36:36.06\00:36:37.93
It says, "The angels
urged Lot to hurry, saying,"
00:36:37.96\00:36:40.83
here's the second
message, "'Arise, take your wife
00:36:40.86\00:36:43.83
and your two
daughters who are here,
00:36:43.87\00:36:45.73
lest you be consumed
00:36:45.77\00:36:47.10
in the punishment of the city.'"
00:36:47.14\00:36:48.77
And notice this,
"And while he lingered,"
00:36:48.80\00:36:50.57
notice, Lot had spent
so much time in the city
00:36:50.61\00:36:53.41
of Babylon or excuse me,
00:36:53.44\00:36:54.78
in this case,
Sodom and Gomorrah,
00:36:54.81\00:36:56.14
we might call it
spiritual Babylon
00:36:56.18\00:36:57.65
that is lingering.
00:36:57.68\00:36:59.01
You don't wanna leave.
00:36:59.05\00:37:00.65
So notice what the
Scripture continues to say,
00:37:00.68\00:37:02.55
we're coming to
a great point here.
00:37:02.58\00:37:04.29
"So while he lingered,
00:37:04.32\00:37:05.69
the men who took
hold of his hand,
00:37:05.72\00:37:07.69
his wife's hand,
00:37:07.72\00:37:09.06
and the hand of
the two daughters,"
00:37:09.09\00:37:10.43
so they had actually
physically removed them,
00:37:10.46\00:37:12.49
"the Lord being
merciful to him,"
00:37:12.53\00:37:14.06
it says, "and
they brought him out
00:37:14.10\00:37:15.96
and set him outside the city."
00:37:16.00\00:37:18.63
Outside the city emphasize that.
00:37:18.67\00:37:21.37
And then here
comes the third message.
00:37:21.40\00:37:23.10
"So it came to pass,
00:37:23.14\00:37:24.47
when they had
brought them outside,
00:37:24.51\00:37:25.84
that they said,
'Escape for your life!
00:37:25.87\00:37:29.01
Do not look behind you nor
stay anywhere in the plain.
00:37:29.04\00:37:32.91
Escape to the mountains,
lest you be destroyed.'"
00:37:32.95\00:37:35.98
I love that, my friends, He
said, "Get out of the city."
00:37:36.02\00:37:40.06
Have we heard that before?
00:37:40.09\00:37:41.59
Get out of the cities,
00:37:41.62\00:37:43.06
go to the mountains,
go to the wilderness,
00:37:43.09\00:37:45.49
get out of here
and don't look back.
00:37:45.53\00:37:47.33
My friends, the message
00:37:47.36\00:37:48.70
that we need to understand today
00:37:48.73\00:37:50.07
is that we have people
00:37:50.10\00:37:51.57
in God's Church in
God's remnant movement
00:37:51.60\00:37:54.37
that are still,
00:37:54.40\00:37:55.74
they're
physically in the church,
00:37:55.77\00:37:57.67
they're physical
members of the church,
00:37:57.71\00:37:59.64
their names are on the book,
00:37:59.67\00:38:01.01
but their hearts are
still in Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:38:01.04\00:38:03.48
They're lingering
in Sodom and Gomorrah,
00:38:03.51\00:38:05.28
their hearts are
still in Babylon.
00:38:05.31\00:38:07.68
And God is saying, "Get
out, get out while you can."
00:38:07.72\00:38:11.25
Escape to the mountains,
00:38:11.29\00:38:12.62
as he says here,
get out of the cities.
00:38:12.65\00:38:15.06
So we see how
the sin of the world
00:38:15.09\00:38:18.13
began to erode at
the spiritual mind
00:38:18.16\00:38:21.26
of Lot and his family.
00:38:21.30\00:38:22.73
And this is happening
today, my friends, and yes,
00:38:22.76\00:38:25.03
don't think for one moment
00:38:25.07\00:38:26.40
that it's not
happening in the church,
00:38:26.43\00:38:28.17
where Jesus said there is wheat,
00:38:28.20\00:38:29.70
there's also tares.
00:38:29.74\00:38:31.07
There are people in our church
00:38:31.11\00:38:32.74
all around
Christianity today that
00:38:32.77\00:38:35.21
have at some point
claimed the name of Jesus.
00:38:35.24\00:38:37.81
They have prayed out
and cried out to Jesus,
00:38:37.85\00:38:40.18
but have not been
completely spiritually
00:38:40.22\00:38:42.42
transformed by the gospel.
00:38:42.45\00:38:43.99
Their minds are
being eroded away
00:38:44.02\00:38:45.95
in the city of Babylon,
00:38:45.99\00:38:47.32
their hearts are
still in Babylon.
00:38:47.36\00:38:49.46
Their negligence
00:38:49.49\00:38:50.83
these people Lot and his family.
00:38:50.86\00:38:52.19
Their negligence led
to the spiritual lines
00:38:52.23\00:38:54.93
of demarcation being blurred
00:38:54.96\00:38:57.23
and their minds becoming
foggy with the sin of the world.
00:38:57.27\00:39:01.87
They became desensitized to sin.
00:39:01.90\00:39:07.18
Normalcy bias.
00:39:07.21\00:39:11.65
He heard that the city
was going to be destroyed,
00:39:11.68\00:39:15.98
but he still lingered.
00:39:16.02\00:39:19.35
He heard that the city
was going to be wiped out,
00:39:19.39\00:39:24.39
but he still lingered.
00:39:24.43\00:39:28.06
The same dim-minded state
is prophesied for our time.
00:39:28.10\00:39:34.27
Now we do know
that Lot was saved,
00:39:34.30\00:39:38.71
but did you know
his family wasn't?
00:39:38.74\00:39:41.11
The Bible says
that only Lot was saved.
00:39:41.14\00:39:43.04
Now you know that
his daughters came out,
00:39:43.08\00:39:47.25
obviously his wife turned around
00:39:47.28\00:39:49.38
and she turned
into a pillar of salt
00:39:49.42\00:39:51.39
and his daughters
made it out of the city,
00:39:51.42\00:39:53.56
but notice this, notice
just like his son-in-laws
00:39:53.59\00:39:56.73
that were destroyed in the city.
00:39:56.76\00:39:59.36
Lot had become so
desensitized to sin,
00:39:59.39\00:40:01.66
my friends, while
living in the world.
00:40:01.70\00:40:05.50
He had broke
away from the truth.
00:40:05.53\00:40:07.04
He had been living
in a sinful atmosphere.
00:40:07.07\00:40:09.40
He'd become so
desensitized to sin,
00:40:09.44\00:40:11.77
that even his own witness
00:40:11.81\00:40:13.78
to his own
family became tarnished.
00:40:13.81\00:40:16.58
And in the end, even
though his daughters made it
00:40:16.61\00:40:18.55
out of the city,
we know that they were
00:40:18.58\00:40:21.08
so too far past
gone in the world,
00:40:21.12\00:40:23.42
this they
started committing sins
00:40:23.45\00:40:24.99
and things that would bring them
00:40:25.02\00:40:26.35
to their demise.
00:40:26.39\00:40:28.92
You see this as I said before,
this same dim-minded state,
00:40:28.96\00:40:32.66
this cloudiness,
this blurry line state,
00:40:32.69\00:40:36.80
the lines are
blurred, the truth is blurred.
00:40:36.83\00:40:40.04
The same thing is
prophesied for our time.
00:40:40.07\00:40:43.14
Notice 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
00:40:43.17\00:40:47.31
The Bible says, "But know this,
00:40:47.34\00:40:49.74
that in the last days
perilous times will come.
00:40:49.78\00:40:52.81
For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money,
00:40:52.85\00:40:55.48
boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents,
00:40:55.52\00:40:59.09
unthankful, unholy, unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers,
00:40:59.12\00:41:03.26
without self-control, brutal,
despisers of good, traitors,
00:41:03.29\00:41:06.93
headstrong,
haughty, lovers of pleasure
00:41:06.96\00:41:09.60
rather than lovers of
God, having a form of godliness
00:41:09.63\00:41:13.97
but denying its power."
00:41:14.00\00:41:18.11
And what hurts my heart
more than anything, my friends,
00:41:18.14\00:41:21.58
among all that list there,
00:41:21.61\00:41:23.04
all of those
things are horrible,
00:41:23.08\00:41:24.41
all of those things are bad.
00:41:24.45\00:41:25.78
And we don't wanna make
one more worse than the other,
00:41:25.81\00:41:28.48
but the one that
always catches my eyes,
00:41:28.52\00:41:31.09
disobedient to parents.
00:41:31.12\00:41:32.72
We are living in a strange time.
00:41:32.75\00:41:34.46
The parenting of today
00:41:34.49\00:41:35.82
is not like the
parenting of yesterday.
00:41:35.86\00:41:40.06
My parents were not
abusive, but I tell you,
00:41:40.10\00:41:41.96
I lived in a very...
00:41:42.00\00:41:43.33
I grew up in a very conservative
00:41:43.37\00:41:44.70
strict home.
00:41:44.73\00:41:46.07
They did not
abuse us or beat us,
00:41:46.10\00:41:47.64
but they certainly
didn't mind giving us a spanking
00:41:47.67\00:41:50.37
when we needed
one or a whipping,
00:41:50.41\00:41:51.74
or I'm from the south.
00:41:51.77\00:41:53.11
So it's a
whooping where I'm from,
00:41:53.14\00:41:54.48
we got whoopings, right?
00:41:54.51\00:41:55.84
But nonetheless, you know,
00:41:55.88\00:41:57.21
I'm not saying that
all kids need whoopings
00:41:57.25\00:41:58.58
or spankings or whippings.
00:41:58.61\00:41:59.95
I'm not saying that
that's not necessarily
00:41:59.98\00:42:01.48
the perfect type
of parenting style,
00:42:01.52\00:42:03.82
but nonetheless, we know that
there's a state of the youth,
00:42:03.85\00:42:07.92
the state of the
minds of the youth of today
00:42:07.96\00:42:10.09
have changed to the
point that it's prophesied that
00:42:10.13\00:42:12.26
they will become
disobedient to parents.
00:42:12.29\00:42:14.16
And my friends of
children and youth will become
00:42:14.20\00:42:16.50
disobedient to parents.
00:42:16.53\00:42:17.90
How much more
disobedient will they be to God?
00:42:17.93\00:42:21.00
What type of
generations are we raising here?
00:42:21.04\00:42:24.77
What can be said about
00:42:24.81\00:42:26.14
the spiritual state of
our youth in these days?
00:42:26.17\00:42:30.11
Why does it seem
more and more young people
00:42:30.15\00:42:33.68
are desensitized to
the ways of the world
00:42:33.72\00:42:36.82
and have no
interest in spiritual things.
00:42:36.85\00:42:39.59
And I just wanna
say for the record,
00:42:39.62\00:42:40.96
I'm not shoving all youth
00:42:40.99\00:42:42.39
or all young
people under the bus here.
00:42:42.42\00:42:43.96
I recognize that God
00:42:43.99\00:42:45.33
still has a young
people that He's leading.
00:42:45.36\00:42:47.50
I recognize that
00:42:47.53\00:42:48.86
there are still
wonderful young people
00:42:48.90\00:42:50.23
who are led by the Spirit of God
00:42:50.27\00:42:51.60
in these last days.
00:42:51.63\00:42:52.97
So I'm not throwing everyone
under the bus, but nonetheless,
00:42:53.00\00:42:54.54
it's prophesied that not only do
00:42:54.57\00:42:56.47
we have to worry
about the spiritual state
00:42:56.50\00:42:58.17
of what was before
us, and what is now,
00:42:58.21\00:42:59.97
but we've got to worry
about the future, my friends.
00:43:00.01\00:43:02.54
And when I say
worry, understand them,
00:43:02.58\00:43:04.01
I use that loosely,
00:43:04.05\00:43:05.38
we must be aware
that's probably a better word,
00:43:05.41\00:43:07.62
we must be aware of the future
00:43:07.65\00:43:09.65
and the state of
future generations.
00:43:09.68\00:43:11.95
Notice Judges 2:7-10.
00:43:11.99\00:43:15.72
And I'm going to
emphasize verse 10
00:43:15.76\00:43:17.56
here just for the sake of time,
00:43:17.59\00:43:18.93
I may not read all of
this, but this is talking about
00:43:18.96\00:43:20.70
after the days of Joshua.
00:43:20.73\00:43:22.73
Joshua has died.
00:43:22.76\00:43:24.10
And there have
been several generations
00:43:24.13\00:43:25.57
that have come after him,
00:43:25.60\00:43:27.00
but notice verse
10 of Judges 2:7-10.
00:43:27.04\00:43:31.61
This is Judges 2:7-10,
but I wanna go to verse 10.
00:43:31.64\00:43:35.88
So right there on
the screen is 7 and 8.
00:43:35.91\00:43:37.81
Let's go on down to
verse 10 there, it says,
00:43:37.85\00:43:40.12
"When all that generation
00:43:40.15\00:43:42.52
had been
gathered to their fathers,
00:43:42.55\00:43:45.95
another
generation arose after them
00:43:45.99\00:43:49.02
who did not know the Lord
00:43:49.06\00:43:51.33
nor the work which
He had done for Israel."
00:43:51.36\00:43:55.16
And I asked the question, why?
00:43:55.20\00:43:57.63
Because doesn't
the Bible teach us
00:43:57.67\00:43:59.30
in Proverbs 22:6,
00:43:59.33\00:44:01.54
"That if you train up a
child in the way he should go,
00:44:01.57\00:44:04.14
and when he is old,
00:44:04.17\00:44:05.51
he will not
depart from it," right?
00:44:05.54\00:44:08.34
Why are these
generations growing to the point
00:44:08.38\00:44:11.11
to where they
don't know the Lord,
00:44:11.15\00:44:13.85
and they don't
know the work of God?
00:44:13.88\00:44:16.28
It's because the generations
before although may be
00:44:16.32\00:44:19.75
a spiritual type of
people, they were not grounded
00:44:19.79\00:44:23.22
and led
completely by the Holy Spirit
00:44:23.26\00:44:25.33
because in their day,
00:44:25.36\00:44:26.80
the lines of
spiritual demarcation
00:44:26.83\00:44:28.80
have become blurred.
00:44:28.83\00:44:30.97
And now in the
minds of the youth,
00:44:31.00\00:44:32.80
who are now coming generations
00:44:32.83\00:44:34.17
after the lines of
truth, the lines of the truth
00:44:34.20\00:44:37.37
and the lines of the
spiritual demarcation,
00:44:37.41\00:44:39.01
they're blurred now,
it's kind of, you know,
00:44:39.04\00:44:41.58
how do we know what
is really the truth?
00:44:41.61\00:44:44.35
Truth is what you want it to be.
00:44:44.38\00:44:46.28
Truth is what you
perceive it to be.
00:44:46.31\00:44:51.25
Notice 2 Corinthians
13:5, I wanna go on there.
00:44:51.29\00:44:55.32
2 Corinthians 13:5,
00:44:55.36\00:44:58.73
Laodicea needs an
examination, right?
00:44:58.76\00:45:01.76
We're living in Laodicea.
00:45:01.80\00:45:03.26
Notice what the Bible says
in 2 Corinthians 13:5, it says,
00:45:03.30\00:45:06.33
"Examine yourselves
00:45:06.37\00:45:08.40
as to whether
you are in the faith.
00:45:08.44\00:45:11.61
Test yourselves.
00:45:11.64\00:45:13.61
Do you not know yourselves
that Jesus Christ is in you?
00:45:13.64\00:45:17.91
Unless indeed you
are disqualified."
00:45:17.95\00:45:22.02
You see, sometimes we need
00:45:22.05\00:45:23.59
a little bit of
self-examination.
00:45:23.62\00:45:26.22
Sometimes we need
to afflict the soul
00:45:26.25\00:45:27.99
like on the Day of Atonement.
00:45:28.02\00:45:29.76
We need to ask
God to reveal to us
00:45:29.79\00:45:32.59
our personal condition,
that He can change us.
00:45:32.63\00:45:36.06
He can renovate
00:45:36.10\00:45:37.43
and do an overhaul
of our spiritual mind,
00:45:37.47\00:45:39.33
so that we might stand confident
00:45:39.37\00:45:40.87
at the appearing of Jesus
00:45:40.90\00:45:42.24
and know that we
are indeed in Christ.
00:45:42.27\00:45:45.31
I remember years ago,
00:45:45.34\00:45:46.68
I listened to an
old sermon by CD Brooks.
00:45:46.71\00:45:48.48
He's one of my
favorite speakers.
00:45:48.51\00:45:50.08
CD Brooks, and I used
to listen his sermons,
00:45:50.11\00:45:52.95
a powerful speaker,
00:45:52.98\00:45:54.35
and there's a sermon that
he once preached entitled,
00:45:54.38\00:45:56.69
"I Want My Church Back."
00:45:56.72\00:45:58.45
And he says it many
times, "I want my church back."
00:45:58.49\00:46:00.86
And he preaches
from 2 Timothy 4:2-4,
00:46:00.89\00:46:04.76
not just this sermon,
00:46:04.79\00:46:06.13
but many sermons
that he preached,
00:46:06.16\00:46:07.50
and I wanna preach it today
because it goes right along
00:46:07.53\00:46:09.40
with our theme, 2 Timothy 4:2-4.
00:46:09.43\00:46:12.33
This is from the
King James Version.
00:46:12.37\00:46:13.97
Notice what the Bible says.
00:46:14.00\00:46:15.37
It says, "Preach the word,
00:46:15.40\00:46:17.67
be instant in season, out
of season, reprove, rebuke,
00:46:17.71\00:46:21.11
exhort with all long
suffering and doctrine.
00:46:21.14\00:46:23.35
For the time will come
when they will not endure
00:46:23.38\00:46:25.48
sound doctrine,
00:46:25.51\00:46:26.85
but after their own
lusts shall they heap
00:46:26.88\00:46:28.55
to themselves
teachers, having itching ears,
00:46:28.58\00:46:32.12
and they shall turn away
their ears from the truth,
00:46:32.15\00:46:34.92
and shall be
turned unto fables."
00:46:34.96\00:46:39.26
My friends, we're
talking about a people
00:46:39.29\00:46:41.76
who believe they are
saved when they're really not.
00:46:41.80\00:46:44.97
We're talking about a
people who believe they know God
00:46:45.00\00:46:48.24
when they really don't.
00:46:48.27\00:46:49.60
We're talking about a people
00:46:49.64\00:46:50.97
who believe they know
the truth all the while
00:46:51.01\00:46:53.21
they are rejecting the truth.
00:46:53.24\00:46:55.01
You see, the very
essence of deception is that
00:46:55.04\00:46:58.08
you are unaware
that you are deceived.
00:46:58.11\00:47:00.45
And that's the
state of Laodicea.
00:47:00.48\00:47:02.65
They think they're rich
00:47:02.68\00:47:04.02
and abundant and
everything in need of nothing,
00:47:04.05\00:47:06.32
but yet they're
miserable, poor, blind,
00:47:06.35\00:47:08.02
and naked, and wretched, right?
00:47:08.06\00:47:11.53
Are the spiritual lines
00:47:11.56\00:47:13.63
of demarcation
blurred in your life?
00:47:13.66\00:47:16.80
Has the truth become something
00:47:16.83\00:47:18.57
that maybe it
once was not, right?
00:47:18.60\00:47:22.70
Is it different? Do you
perceive it differently?
00:47:22.74\00:47:26.47
Do we seem to be
00:47:26.51\00:47:27.84
in a spiritually
inebriated state?
00:47:27.88\00:47:30.95
Drunk on the mentality
eroding wine of Babylon?
00:47:30.98\00:47:36.15
Are we drunk on
Babylon's wine, my friends?
00:47:36.18\00:47:39.09
You see, Satan wants your mind.
00:47:39.12\00:47:41.09
He wants to take
control of your life.
00:47:41.12\00:47:43.43
He wants to blur the
truth from your life.
00:47:43.46\00:47:45.59
He wants you to not be
able to see clearly spiritually.
00:47:45.63\00:47:49.10
He doesn't want
your spiritual eyesight
00:47:49.13\00:47:51.30
to be anointed,
where you can see clearly
00:47:51.33\00:47:54.80
the spiritual
things of God's will.
00:47:54.84\00:47:57.07
Notice Manuscript 1,
1890. Powerful statement.
00:47:57.11\00:48:00.84
Powerful statement.
Notice what it says.
00:48:00.88\00:48:02.51
Either the devil, excuse me.
00:48:02.54\00:48:04.05
"Either the evil
angels or the angels of God
00:48:04.08\00:48:07.42
are controlling
the minds of men.
00:48:07.45\00:48:09.62
Our minds are given
to the control of God
00:48:09.65\00:48:11.55
or to the control of
the powers of darkness,
00:48:11.59\00:48:13.76
and it will be
well for us to inquire
00:48:13.79\00:48:16.52
where we are standing today,
00:48:16.56\00:48:18.36
whether under the
bloodstained banner
00:48:18.39\00:48:20.23
of Prince Emmanuel
00:48:20.26\00:48:21.66
or under the black banner
of the powers of darkness."
00:48:21.70\00:48:24.70
And with that one,
00:48:24.73\00:48:26.07
I got to also add
Letter 8 coming from 1891.
00:48:26.10\00:48:31.21
This is a letter here.
00:48:31.24\00:48:32.57
Powerful words,
notice the quote, it says,
00:48:32.61\00:48:34.31
"When the mind is not under
00:48:34.34\00:48:36.04
the distinct
influence of the Spirit of God,
00:48:36.08\00:48:38.25
Satan can mold
it as he chooses...
00:48:38.28\00:48:41.28
This leads to
controversy with those
00:48:41.32\00:48:43.18
who are trying to walk
in the way of the Lord.
00:48:43.22\00:48:45.52
They, that is
those who oppose truth
00:48:45.55\00:48:48.56
will call light
darkness and darkness light,
00:48:48.59\00:48:51.73
and good evil, and evil good."
00:48:51.76\00:48:55.76
Now you might be asking here,
00:48:55.80\00:48:57.13
we're coming close
to the end of this,
00:48:57.17\00:48:58.63
but I wanna just line
something out very clearly,
00:48:58.67\00:49:00.17
my friends.
00:49:00.20\00:49:01.54
You might be asking, Ryan,
00:49:01.57\00:49:02.90
how in the world
does it seem that
00:49:02.94\00:49:05.67
we come to this spiritual state?
00:49:05.71\00:49:08.18
How does it seem
00:49:08.21\00:49:09.54
that the lines
have become blurred
00:49:09.58\00:49:11.41
and the minds of
God's people so dim?
00:49:11.45\00:49:14.38
Why does it seem
like the spiritual nature,
00:49:14.42\00:49:18.65
the spiritual
mind of God's people is
00:49:18.69\00:49:21.39
fast changing or
being fastly altered?
00:49:21.42\00:49:23.76
And I would say that
00:49:23.79\00:49:25.13
while that's not
happening in everyone,
00:49:25.16\00:49:26.49
and I wanna be very
clear, I recognize that God
00:49:26.53\00:49:28.56
still has a people,
00:49:28.60\00:49:29.93
He still has a remnant
that is on fire for Him,
00:49:29.96\00:49:32.87
but nonetheless, we know that
00:49:32.90\00:49:34.64
the devil is also attacking
God's people on the last days,
00:49:34.67\00:49:37.94
and I'm here to
call warning to it.
00:49:37.97\00:49:39.74
I'm here to
bring some light to it,
00:49:39.77\00:49:41.91
but I would also tell
you there's great news,
00:49:41.94\00:49:44.01
there's great news,
00:49:44.05\00:49:45.38
you do not have to
remain in that state.
00:49:45.41\00:49:46.75
And we're gonna talk about
that in just a few moments,
00:49:46.78\00:49:48.55
but I wanna list
you three clear reasons.
00:49:48.58\00:49:50.79
Now I'm not limiting
00:49:50.82\00:49:52.72
this particular
situation to just three reasons.
00:49:52.75\00:49:55.09
I recognize that this
is a very complex subject,
00:49:55.12\00:49:57.49
but I believe there
are three main reasons
00:49:57.53\00:49:59.13
while people begin to
drift or wander off into
00:49:59.16\00:50:03.13
this very dim-minded
state where the lines
00:50:03.16\00:50:06.57
of spiritual
demarcation are blurred
00:50:06.60\00:50:08.80
or the truth
seems to be unclear.
00:50:08.84\00:50:11.34
Number one, we live
in the age of opinions
00:50:11.37\00:50:15.14
and personal philosophy.
00:50:15.18\00:50:18.48
We are living in a time
00:50:18.51\00:50:20.42
where everyone's got an opinion.
00:50:20.45\00:50:23.55
And everyone has their
own personal ideologies
00:50:23.59\00:50:26.35
and philosophies.
00:50:26.39\00:50:27.72
Now I wanna say for the record,
00:50:27.76\00:50:29.09
I praise God that
I live in a country
00:50:29.12\00:50:31.73
that allows freedom of speech.
00:50:31.76\00:50:33.19
I believe in that right.
00:50:33.23\00:50:34.56
And I praise God that, you know,
00:50:34.60\00:50:35.96
we can listen to
other people's opinions.
00:50:36.00\00:50:37.70
People have a right
to their own opinions.
00:50:37.73\00:50:39.50
I'm not trashing
that, I understand that,
00:50:39.53\00:50:41.67
but I also wanna be very clear,
00:50:41.70\00:50:43.64
you can have an
opinion my friends,
00:50:43.67\00:50:45.47
you can have your
personal theories,
00:50:45.51\00:50:46.91
your personal ideologies,
00:50:46.94\00:50:48.48
your personal
perspective on things.
00:50:48.51\00:50:50.38
You can even have your
own personal philosophical
00:50:50.41\00:50:52.58
approach to many of
the truth of God's Word,
00:50:52.61\00:50:55.05
but if it is not in harmony
00:50:55.08\00:50:56.82
with thus plain saith the Lord,
00:50:56.85\00:50:59.42
then it is not in
harmony with God's philosophy.
00:50:59.45\00:51:02.42
It's not in harmony
with God's way of thinking.
00:51:02.46\00:51:04.99
It's not in harmony
00:51:05.03\00:51:06.36
with obviously the
truth of God's Word.
00:51:06.39\00:51:08.60
So we have to make
sure that is clear.
00:51:08.63\00:51:10.83
Notice
Philippians 2:5, powerful,
00:51:10.87\00:51:14.04
"Let this mind be in you
00:51:14.07\00:51:16.77
which was also in Christ Jesus."
00:51:16.81\00:51:19.37
Well, yes, we have
every right in the world
00:51:19.41\00:51:21.21
to think for ourselves.
00:51:21.24\00:51:22.84
Make sure that
we're thinking in harmony
00:51:22.88\00:51:25.45
with the way Jesus thinks.
00:51:25.48\00:51:27.02
Make sure we're
thinking in harmony with the way
00:51:27.05\00:51:28.85
the Word of God
actually teaches the truth to us
00:51:28.88\00:51:32.15
rather than how
we might perceive it.
00:51:32.19\00:51:34.26
I meet, brothers and sisters
all the time, they say to me,
00:51:34.29\00:51:36.46
"Well, Ryan, that's
your way of seeing things,
00:51:36.49\00:51:38.63
and I've got my
way of seeing things.
00:51:38.66\00:51:40.60
You know, that's
your personal perspective.
00:51:40.63\00:51:42.56
And I've got my
perspective, you know,
00:51:42.60\00:51:44.33
that's your
interpretation of things,
00:51:44.37\00:51:46.23
but I've got my
interpretation of things."
00:51:46.27\00:51:48.00
No, my friends.
00:51:48.04\00:51:49.37
At the end of the day,
00:51:49.40\00:51:50.74
I'm not saying
that Ryan day perceives
00:51:50.77\00:51:52.11
everything perfect
or everything right
00:51:52.14\00:51:53.48
because I know the
Lord is still working on me,
00:51:53.51\00:51:55.38
but at the end of the day,
00:51:55.41\00:51:56.75
my friends, we are
all held accountable.
00:51:56.78\00:51:58.28
There are two different types
of interpretation in reality,
00:51:58.31\00:52:01.82
that's right and wrong, a
right way to interpret things
00:52:01.85\00:52:05.59
and a wrong way
to interpret things.
00:52:05.62\00:52:06.96
Make sure you fall
under the right way,
00:52:06.99\00:52:08.82
led by the Spirit
of God to understand
00:52:08.86\00:52:11.13
what the Bible teaches.
00:52:11.16\00:52:12.49
I'm going to skip the next verse
00:52:12.53\00:52:13.93
for the sake of time.
00:52:13.96\00:52:15.83
I wanna go to my second point.
00:52:15.86\00:52:17.50
Number two, it's
kind of all connected
00:52:17.53\00:52:19.67
even though we have
00:52:19.70\00:52:21.04
our own opinions
and philosophies.
00:52:21.07\00:52:22.97
The second one is,
00:52:23.00\00:52:24.34
we have drifted away
from the Word of God.
00:52:24.37\00:52:28.71
That's why the Bible
tells us in Psalms 119:11,
00:52:28.74\00:52:32.11
"Your word I have
hidden in my heart,
00:52:32.15\00:52:33.72
that I might not
sin against You."
00:52:33.75\00:52:37.32
My friends, are
you in the Word of God?
00:52:37.35\00:52:39.39
Are you allowing the Word of God
00:52:39.42\00:52:40.96
to lead your life?
00:52:40.99\00:52:42.32
Are you allowing the Word of God
00:52:42.36\00:52:43.69
to be the only rule
of faith in your life?
00:52:43.73\00:52:45.89
We need to get back to the Word
00:52:45.93\00:52:47.26
because when we
drift away from God's Word,
00:52:47.30\00:52:49.96
we are also
drifting into blurry areas.
00:52:50.00\00:52:53.23
We're drifting
into a dim-minded state.
00:52:53.27\00:52:57.21
We wanna make sure
we're of the mind of Christ.
00:52:57.24\00:52:59.31
My third point
00:52:59.34\00:53:00.68
and this is a big
one we could spend...
00:53:00.71\00:53:02.71
In fact, I might even do
00:53:02.74\00:53:04.08
an entire sermon on
this one in the future,
00:53:04.11\00:53:05.78
but this is a big one.
00:53:05.81\00:53:07.15
Don't miss it.
00:53:07.18\00:53:08.52
Number three,
why are we drifting?
00:53:08.55\00:53:11.09
Why does it seem like
more people are drifting
00:53:11.12\00:53:13.02
into this blurry
state, this murky mindedness?
00:53:13.05\00:53:16.73
Here it is.
00:53:16.76\00:53:18.09
"The everlasting Gospel of Jesus
00:53:18.13\00:53:19.93
is under attack due
to the disregard of truth
00:53:19.96\00:53:24.00
and the lack of surrender
00:53:24.03\00:53:25.43
in the lives of
Christians everywhere."
00:53:25.47\00:53:27.64
The devil is attacking
the plain truth of God's Word,
00:53:27.67\00:53:30.97
my friends.
00:53:31.01\00:53:32.67
It seems like the
church is flooded, my friends,
00:53:32.71\00:53:36.21
with men and women
00:53:36.24\00:53:37.58
who don't even believe
in victory over sin anymore.
00:53:37.61\00:53:40.48
This false...
00:53:40.52\00:53:43.75
For lack of better words,
00:53:43.79\00:53:45.12
evangelical gospel
has flooded the minds
00:53:45.15\00:53:49.42
of people throughout
the Christian church.
00:53:49.46\00:53:51.23
And we have reached a
point that we believe more
00:53:51.26\00:53:54.50
or at least it seems that
00:53:54.53\00:53:55.86
we have reached a point
where many believes more
00:53:55.90\00:53:57.73
in the power of the
devil to cause them to sin
00:53:57.77\00:54:00.94
than the power of God
to help them overcome sin.
00:54:00.97\00:54:04.71
My friends, the
everlasting gospel
00:54:04.74\00:54:07.28
is all about victory over sin.
00:54:07.31\00:54:09.71
Why did Jesus
Christ die on the cross?
00:54:09.74\00:54:11.95
Not that you just
might have forgiveness.
00:54:11.98\00:54:14.98
Praise God that we've
got forgiveness, right?
00:54:15.02\00:54:17.25
Praise God that I
can go on my knees
00:54:17.29\00:54:20.19
and I can pray and
say, Lord, I'm a sinner.
00:54:20.22\00:54:24.23
I don't deserve righteousness.
00:54:24.26\00:54:25.59
I don't deserve
everlasting life,
00:54:25.63\00:54:26.96
but, Lord, I'm a
sinner and confess those sins
00:54:27.00\00:54:30.03
and repent of those sins.
00:54:30.07\00:54:31.80
Praise God that I can ask
God to forgive me of those sins,
00:54:31.83\00:54:34.20
but my friends,
00:54:34.24\00:54:35.57
Jesus did not die on the
cross just for forgiveness.
00:54:35.60\00:54:39.84
He died on the cross that
00:54:39.87\00:54:41.21
we might all have
complete victory over sin.
00:54:41.24\00:54:46.68
Jude 1:24. What does it say?
00:54:46.72\00:54:49.95
"Now to Him who
is able to keep you
00:54:49.98\00:54:52.22
from falling or stumbling,
00:54:52.25\00:54:54.29
and to present you
faultness before the presence
00:54:54.32\00:54:57.13
of His glory and exceeding joy."
00:54:57.16\00:55:00.00
Let's continue
on, Philippians 4:13.
00:55:00.03\00:55:01.70
Notice this.
00:55:01.73\00:55:03.06
Have we stopped
believing, my friends?
00:55:03.10\00:55:04.93
"That we can do all things
00:55:04.97\00:55:06.94
through Christ
who strengthens me."
00:55:06.97\00:55:08.50
Notice we can
have victory over sin.
00:55:08.54\00:55:10.94
And how does that
victory over sin come?
00:55:10.97\00:55:12.67
Not by my work,
not by your work,
00:55:12.71\00:55:14.91
not by my efforts,
not by your efforts,
00:55:14.94\00:55:17.21
but by Christ.
00:55:17.25\00:55:18.58
Notice, it is
Christ that strengthens me.
00:55:18.61\00:55:21.68
Have we stopped believing
in what Jesus told the woman
00:55:21.72\00:55:24.62
who was caught in adultery
00:55:24.65\00:55:25.99
when He told her in John
8:11, "Go and sin no more."
00:55:26.02\00:55:31.69
That's powerful. We
can have victory over sin.
00:55:31.73\00:55:35.16
In closing here
I've got to read this.
00:55:35.20\00:55:36.63
This is powerful.
00:55:36.67\00:55:38.00
I'm gonna skip down to
The Upward Look, page 303.
00:55:38.03\00:55:41.04
The Upward Look, page 303.
00:55:41.07\00:55:44.21
Notice what this says, powerful.
00:55:44.24\00:55:46.07
It says, "Christ took humanity
00:55:46.11\00:55:49.08
and bore the hatred of the world
00:55:49.11\00:55:52.25
that He might show men and women
00:55:52.28\00:55:54.32
that they could
live without sin."
00:55:54.35\00:55:57.69
That is powerful, my friends,
but we got people deceived
00:55:57.72\00:56:00.86
into believing that Jesus
00:56:00.89\00:56:02.22
doesn't mind if
they just keep on sinning
00:56:02.26\00:56:04.63
and sinning and
sinning and sinning and sinning
00:56:04.66\00:56:07.03
all the way up until He comes.
00:56:07.06\00:56:09.63
My friends, I don't
think we'll ever reach a point
00:56:09.66\00:56:12.90
where we say to
ourselves, I'm perfect.
00:56:12.93\00:56:15.67
I don't think we'll ever
reach a point in our lives.
00:56:15.70\00:56:17.34
We're so arrogant to say,
00:56:17.37\00:56:18.71
I'm without sin
because the Bible says
00:56:18.74\00:56:20.81
if you say that then
you're a liar, right?
00:56:20.84\00:56:22.51
We're all
sinners, but nonetheless,
00:56:22.54\00:56:25.18
I believe that it as we
started with this sermon.
00:56:25.21\00:56:28.48
The gospel is the gospel,
00:56:28.52\00:56:30.19
that devil is
attacking the gospel.
00:56:30.22\00:56:32.75
And we see that God's
people, some of God's people,
00:56:32.79\00:56:35.46
with our members
upon the church books,
00:56:35.49\00:56:38.13
but they're just
going through the emotions
00:56:38.16\00:56:40.70
as if God's Church is a club.
00:56:40.73\00:56:42.86
I wanna make an
appeal in closing today.
00:56:42.90\00:56:46.03
Give your hearts to the Lord.
00:56:46.07\00:56:47.40
Let the true Gospel of Jesus
Christ transform your life.
00:56:47.44\00:56:52.14
Put your hand in
the hand of Jesus,
00:56:52.17\00:56:53.78
let His mind,
Christ mind be in you.
00:56:53.81\00:56:58.61
So that when He comes
back we can stand confident
00:56:58.65\00:57:02.22
at His appearing.
00:57:02.25\00:57:03.92
And know with certainty
that we have ran the race,
00:57:03.95\00:57:08.19
that we have kept the faith,
00:57:08.22\00:57:09.79
and that we have
always, always trusted in
00:57:09.82\00:57:13.60
what Christ can do through us
00:57:13.63\00:57:15.16
rather than what
we can do through us.
00:57:15.20\00:57:17.83
My friends, that's the message.
00:57:17.87\00:57:19.47
That's the gospel.
00:57:19.50\00:57:20.84
I don't have any
more time, but take that.
00:57:20.87\00:57:22.94
Take it to your family.
Take it to your friends.
00:57:22.97\00:57:24.97
Get back in the Word of God.
00:57:25.01\00:57:26.37
Give your hearts to Jesus today.
00:57:26.41\00:57:28.28
Praise the Lord.
Thank you for joining us.
00:57:28.31\00:57:30.18
We're gonna have
a closing prayer.
00:57:30.21\00:57:32.05
Father in
heaven, thank You so much
00:57:32.08\00:57:34.55
for allowing us
today, to hear Your truth
00:57:34.58\00:57:38.62
and to be
transformed by the truth.
00:57:38.65\00:57:40.72
Take us away here safely today,
00:57:40.76\00:57:42.92
Lord, and bring us back again
00:57:42.96\00:57:44.29
safely in the truth
molded in the truth,
00:57:44.33\00:57:47.40
grounded in the truth
that we may know Jesus Christ
00:57:47.43\00:57:50.30
and be with Him
for all eternity,
00:57:50.33\00:57:51.67
we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:57:51.70\00:57:54.50