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Jonathan shares his transformative journey from growing up in a rigid religious environment to discovering true freedom and identity in Christ's finished work.• Grew up in a strict Adventist home focused on doctrine and religious law• Struggled with pornography addiction from a young age• Repeatedly tried and failed to break free using willpower and accountability• Received discouraging messages that addiction would be a lifelong battle• Experienced a breakthrough when he learned to see himself as God sees him• Had a "dolly zoom moment" when he realized his identity is not in his mistakes• Found freedom by understanding Romans 6 and his death to sin in Christ• Now shares this message with others through  social mediaIf you're struggling with addiction or shame, remember that God has removed every obstacle between you and freedom. Your identity isn't determined by your struggles but by Christ's finished work.

Sunday October 20, 2024 at the Hub City Church How Can We BEST Use Our Numbered Days? | Psalm 90:12 Psalms: The Songs of Jesus Sermon by Matt Davidson | Student Ministry Leader Sermon Notes Psalm 90:12 is challenging us to: Remember that life is SHORT, and eternity is REAL, SO THAT we'll use our numbered days WISELY. The MAIN way that we can BEST use our numbered days is by: COMMITTING TO and LIVING FOR Christ's MISSION. Matthew 28:18-20; Galatians 1:15-16; 1 Peter 2:9; Acts 9:15 Take Away: Identify SPECIFIC ways that you can LEVERAGE your life for the cause of Christ NOW, so that you can make an impact on people's lives for all of ETERNITY! Colossians 4:2-3, 5 The Hub City Church is a local expression of the church in Crestview, Florida, making disciples Who Believe the Gospel, Abide in Christ and Obey the Word to the glory of God. Join us next Sunday at 10am. 837 W James Lee Blvd, Crestview, FL 32536.

Sermon Series: The Return of the King: The Gospel and the Future Sermon Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-8 Sermon Title: “Expect Turbulence” Sermon Slides: SLIDE 1 – Sermon Title Slide SLIDE 2 – Philippians 1:27-29 – “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ … and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation … For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” SLIDE 3 – Today's Big Idea: God's Kingdom Has Come in Part … So Expect Growth. But God's Kingdom Hasn't Come in Full … So Expect Turbulence. SLIDE 4 – Point 1: Paul's Assessment … You're Advancing in God's Kingdom (vv. 3-4) SLIDE 5 – Heb. 5:13-14 – “Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” SLIDE 6 – Insert Copy of Point #1 of Sermon SLIDE 7 – Point 2: Paul's Admonishment … You'll be Afflicted for God's Kingdom (vv. 5-8) SLIDE 8 – Hebrews 10:35-39 – “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised … but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” SLIDE 9 – Insert Copy of Point #2 of Sermon SLIDE 10 – Amos 5:24 – “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” SLIDE 11 – Insert Copy of Point #2 of Sermon SLIDE 12 – Five Uses of This Sermon for Our Church and Your Life. SLIDE 13 – In Christ's School, What's Our Church's Grade? SLIDE 14 – The Gospel is Counter-Cultural … So Persecution is Inevitable. SLIDE 15 – All Christians are Persecuted, But Not All Christians are Persecuted Equally. SLIDE 16 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) – “Jesus says each [Christian] has their own cross ready, assigned by God and measured to fit. They must all bear the suffering and rejection measured out to each of them. Everyone gets a different amount. God honors some with great suffering and grants them the grace of martyrdom, while others are not tempted beyond their strength. But in every case, it is the one cross.” SLIDE 17 – Better to be Persecuted for Christ Now, than Condemned by Christ Later. SLIDE 18 – D. Michael Martin – “The reminder that judgment inevitably comes to allserves as a reminder that believers must do all they can for themselves and for others to be prepared for that day … and is sufficient to encourage believers to persevere in evangelism and godly behavior.” SLIDE 19 – To be Persecuted for Christ is Not Loss … But Gain.

Garth Heckman  The David Alliance   BAM - watch them every Tuesday night on our Facebook page. This Week the Jezebel Spirit… and not just women have it.    August Friday and Saturday 16th 17th End times conference at HillSpring Church sponsored by The David Alliance,          The world will more and more think the church is out of its mind as we near the end times.  We see whats happening We know whats happening We understand why its happening We understand that Spiritual Warfare is key… We understand there are demonic influences We understand that others will deny and mock We understand that the battle is real, eminent and embraced by a lost world… and yet many so called christians are upset at what is happening as if God hadn't already told us.        The war is in our head. The ammunition is simply lies… The only and primary defense is the truth and prayer.  NOTE: we see both must be in relationship with Gods spirit.       The beautiful thing about warfare is that you truly don't know who you are or know what you need to work on until you choose to go to war. A man does not know who he is until he faces temptation. A woman does not know who she is until she faces the pull of insecurity or bitterness.   Warfare forces us to choose make a choice: My opinion The worlds opinion OR  Gods truth    I find it interesting that many Christians get mad when you point to current issues as if you are making fun or those dying or being persecuted or in wars across the world. As if to say God is a God of love and he is not in favor of this story line. God is a god of love - but love includes justice, judgement, truth, punishment, discipline and we don't get our way in Gods love…. Now… the truth and we may even call it the ugly truth is that God has preordained much of the suffering that is taking place and will take place. When someone naively says God would never do that… all one has to do is start reading Revelations and see what is starting to unfold right now in history… and more is to come. (Read judgements)    Warfare is not pretty wether physical or spiritual.      Eph. 6 18 seemingly The armor drops out of sight… but not the idea behind warfare!    Ephesians 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—   THE NAS says with this view Idea is… we know and see what is coming so pray up!    IN THE SPIRIT -   “in the spirit is being in gods empowering presence”     I PRAY BEST WHEN GOD CONTROLS MY TONGUE AND MY MIND. In his presence.      I as a human with limited understanding want Love and peace and joy and good times and flowers and milkshakes and corvettes for everyone and a skinny sexy wife the rest of my life and for everyone…. Ok a little over the top, but the point is - If im practicing living in Gods empowering presence… and I know the end that is coming… I see and understand things he sees…. There is not always an immediate happy ending.    We are closing in on the start of the final days, end times, rapture… whatever you want to call it… but its here. Its happening real time…. So what do we do?      V.18 PRAYING Praying… Pray with all manner of prayer Pray with all kinds of prayer  Pray with all kinds of prayer that are available formal, silent, vocal, secret, public, petitionary, explosion'ary -  sudden emergency, congregational.        PRAYING ALWAYS… GK at each and every occasion, at every opportunity, every time you get a chance, et every season or at any possible moment.   Pray… and why? So that we might aline ourselves up with Gods plans, his desires, his ultimate will. If you are upset at the war going on… then aline your life and actions to god… simply put- win someone to Christ… Now thats warfare.  And how can I speak this with such frankness… because the very next verse is Paul asking for prayers to continue to preach the gospel. 

Suffering Brings Fruit David Eells– 4/21/24 (audio) We must suffer the loss of our old life to bear the fruit of Jesus.  We must take up our cross daily to suffer the death of the flesh in obedience to the Word. Patiently enduring our cross brings quick results. Many have been going through suffering and the Church is about to go through great suffering. We all need to learn how to handle suffering the right way, because it's one of God's greatest tools for bringing about the righteousness of Christ in us. As disciples of Christ, we learn from the examples we have from Him and His apostles and many Christians throughout history.   We are told in 1Pe 2:18 Servants, [be] in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward (“unreasonable”). 19 For this is acceptable (Greek: “grace”), if for conscience toward God a man endureth griefs, suffering wrongfully. It's okay with God, and should be with us, to endure grief and suffering, even wrongfully, as it was with Jesus. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted [for it,] ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer [for it,] ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable (“grace”) with God. 21 For hereunto were ye called (We are called to suffer for doing right): because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps:   22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously. He left it all in the hands of His Father. When we're suffering, that's when our lowest instincts – all sorts of pride, rebellion and anger – come up in our mind, especially when we're suffering at the hands of another who we think should know better. But God brings us through suffering because of the lusts of our own flesh. For example, Christ, suffered for doing good and we are going to suffer for doing good, too. 1Pe 3:14 But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed [are ye:] and fear not their fear, neither be troubled; 15 but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord … So we get blessed by Father for suffering wrongfully.  Our first temptation when we suffer at the hands of a person or circumstance is to not make “Christ as Lord” in our heart; instead, it's every other fleshly desire that comes to mind. Jesus “committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously” when He was suffering. In other words, He wasn't taking thought of vengeance or falling into the mind of the flesh; He was leaving it up to God and He tells you the same thing: “sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord.” 1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind. Consider it your privilege and Christian duty to suffer in the flesh as Jesus did.  Do we have a mind like that? The fleshly mind is to run from any kind of suffering, to avoid at all cost the thing that we need the most. Christians in the United States, especially, need suffering because God wills it and people need to be delivered from their selfish interests and self-centeredness. 1Pe 4:1 … for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin … When our flesh is suffering, it's because it's not getting its way. When the flesh isn't getting its way, we're not sinning. It's so simple. We're called to suffer in the flesh and we need to know that suffering is our most precious friend. 1Pe 4:2 That ye no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. We need suffering so we can live the rest of your life as a servant of Jesus Christ, free from the bondage of the flesh.   How do you know suffering is from the Lord? When you understand God's purposes in suffering, it makes it a lot easier for you to endure because you see the good purposes behind it. We are no longer deceived by Satan into wrestling with flesh and blood, or into blaming, or anger. 1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you … The problem is that we see it as strange; we think that there is something not quite right about suffering but we need to change our mind. We need to have the mind that is in Christ and we need to expect that we're going to suffer for the name of Christ so that His name, His nature, can be manifested in us to prove, perfect and purify us.   1Pe 4:12 … as though a strange thing happened unto you: 13 but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy. If we can manage to rejoice in the midst of suffering, it will make it a lot easier. The Bible commands us to rejoice in our suffering. Rom 5:3 … We also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh stedfastness (perseverance); 4 and stedfastness, approvedness (character); and approvedness, hope. Suffering is all about bringing about the revelation and manifestation of the glory of God in us.   It goes on to say, 1Pe 4:14 If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed [are ye]. 19 Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator. Why does it say “Creator”? Basically you're like the clay in the Creator's hands when you do this. It says “Creator” for a purpose because that's how God creates in us the righteousness of Christ.   You know, suffering can be wasted. In the midst of suffering or a trial, you need to commit your soul in “well-doing,” in doing what is right in the midst of that trial. The suffering is coming upon you for a reason to prove you and to bring about the righteousness of Christ in you. Don't waste suffering because you don't want to have to go through it again like the Israelites who had to go back through the wilderness because they didn't pass the test. You need to make it useful by committing your soul in well-doing in the midst of it. We can't stop the suffering but we can do what's right in the middle of it.   1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 whom withstand stedfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world. The world suffers from the same things that we suffer from, but here's the difference: 10 And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you. God has promised that through suffering, He will perfect you.   If you look on suffering as God's method of perfecting you, that makes it much easier to endure the suffering and it also makes you not so willing to run away from it. The thing that we need the most is the thing that we seek to run away from or avoid the most. If you have a mind to please the Lord in the midst of suffering, if you have a mind to live Godly, first of all, you are going to suffer. 2Ti 3:12 … All that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Those who desire to live godly are going to suffer and persecution is only one area of that suffering, but you can't avoid it. Suffering is God's method of deliverance and of setting us free.  There's all kinds of suffering because there's all kinds of flesh that needs to be brought forth. Don't waste the suffering that you go through on self-pity, animosity, anger and, especially, don't waste the suffering that you go through on rebellion. The first rebellion that you have when you go through suffering is you want to run from it. Jesus didn't do that. When Jesus was going to the Cross, He said in (Luk 22:42), Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. What “cup” was that? It was the “cup” of suffering. Jesus wasn't going to take it away or run from it and, finally, He came to the revelation that it wasn't God's Will to take it away. So He went through it patiently. He didn't stand up for Himself.  He stood up for the people. He stood against the Pharisees. He stood up for the truth they were trying to destroy. They defamed him to try to destroy the credibility of that truth. 1Pe 2:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously. That's suffering that was not wasted. Suffering that's wasted is if you get in the flesh in the midst of it because then it will just come around again. Jesus didn't waste suffering; all of it was useful and that's what we want. We want all the suffering that we're going through and that we're going to go through, to be useful and to have the right effect in our lives.   You need to stop and think. Php 2:5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. When you're suffering in the flesh, you're ceasing from sin. 1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You get a cleansing either way. If you're humble enough to confess your sins, He is faithful enough to cleanse you of all unrighteousness, so have faith that you're going to get your cleansing. You cannot waste suffering in depression and self-pity, if you're rejoicing. You can't do both at the same time and that's why He commands you to rejoice in the midst of suffering. If you realize what suffering is for, then you can give thanks because it is for your perfecting.   Even Jesus became perfect through the things that He suffered. 1Jn 3:16 Hereby know we love (agape), because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Now this speaks of laying down our old life, which is the lusts of the flesh, anger, rebellion; this is agape love. Agape lays down the flesh life; agape is the opposite of the flesh life.  We become perfect, which is obeying the Word and learning to agape, through suffering. Agape comes from the inner nature of the spiritual man and it is conquering the carnal man; it is giving up your life according to 1 John 3:16. Suffering brings about this agape love, which is the nature and way of God's Kingdom. If that is God and what we are looking for is godliness, then we can't help but be as an end result, agape.   In fact, you'll know that love is nothing less than obedience. “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” It's not mushy feelings; it's just obedience. When Paul described agape to you 1 Corinthians 13, he said that it's more important than speaking in tongues, more important than knowledge, more important than faith. In fact, he said that if you had these things but didn't have love, you were nothing. The end result of everything that God wants to do in you is agape. 1Co 13:13 But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three: and the greatest of these is love. Notice, the thing that is going to get you into God's Kingdom is love because the King is Love.   Paul said you can make the greatest sacrifice but if you don't have love, there is no profit. 3 And if I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor,] and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Paul says that “love suffereth long.” How do you get longsuffering? You get longsuffering by going through a lot of suffering with people and circumstances; otherwise, you aren't going to get it. 1Co 13:4 Love suffereth long, [and] is kind; love envieth not (because self is the opposite of agape); love vaunteth not itself (not self-centered or egotistical), is not puffed up, 5 doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked …   Do you know how not to get provoked? You can get hardened to being provoked by having an opportunity over and over again to be provoked. You suffer with it so long that you give up. By this repetitive thing that comes against us, we can become hardened to our bad reaction to it. All we have to do is desire to please the Lord and see Jesus in the mirror because He exchanged His life for yours and you will overcome. It is not always overnight like you want, but eventually, if you desire to please the Lord in suffering, you will because suffering has that kind of work on you. That's why nobody is going to escape suffering.  I know people may still have questions about their suffering, but it is necessary, and our actions can determine how and when they end. Suffering is also for the purpose of bringing an end of sin so we can live to the Will of God. 1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 that ye no longer should live the rest of your time in flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. Suffering “in the flesh” here is not necessarily in your body but in the carnal nature, the old man. We are partakers of Christ's sufferings to be proven and to manifest His glory.   12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you: 13 but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy. Christ's sufferings brought Him to obedience and perfection, and they will bring us there, also. Heb.5:8 Though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation.   Suffering comes in order that our Creator may finish His new creation work in each of us. 1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator. We must cooperate with God in this process in committing our souls to Him. We will suffer in order to be perfected, established and strengthened. 1Pe 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you. Notice suffering has an end.   Walking by faith and patience in suffering will cause us to be counted worthy. Also, we need to keep in mind that this suffering is only a token of what we deserve. 2Th 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure; 5 [which is] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer.   Scripture tells us that all of God's true children will suffer chastening. What is chastening? Chastening is suffering evils and calamities in order to reveal sin and motivate us to serve God. It manifests the fruit of righteousness and causes us to be partakers of holiness. Suffering is necessary if we want to come into sonship. Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which reasoneth with you as with sons, My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art reproved of him; 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is there whom [his] father chasteneth not?   8 But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened [us] as seemed good to them; but he for [our] profit, that [we] may be partakers of his holiness. 11 All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, [even the fruit] of righteousness.   Our attitude in physical suffering should be that Jesus bore our curse on Himself and therefore we are delivered. Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus … The curse here covers all of the curse of the Law mentioned in Deuteronomy 28, which is everything detrimental that came upon man for his sins. If a person in the midst of chastening does not believe that Jesus took away the curse, he will not be delivered in many cases but, instead, suffers from an evil heart of unbelief. Our flesh goes through a suffering as we endure to the end of the trial of faith, to see the manifestation of the healing or deliverance we are believing for. Some get delivered through another's faith – one who has responsibility for them, as with Jairus, the Centurion, the Syrophoenician woman, mom or dad, etc.)   Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: 14 for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end. 1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. Jas.5:13 Is any among you suffering? let him pray. Is any cheerful? let him sing praise. 14 Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him.   Abraham and Sarah were under a curse of barrenness many years until they believed God's promise. This faith justified, in other words, reckoned or accounted them righteous, and gave them access to grace to be delivered. Rom 4:21 … And being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. 5:1 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand …   Abraham received grace to be delivered from this Deuteronomy 28 curse because he believed. We are told that we must agree only with the Word of God when we are under judgment in order to be justified and to prevail. Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment. “Prevail” as used here means to come through the chastening victoriously and be delivered from it.   Let's look at Mat 16:21-27 From that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples, that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. Jesus was willing to suffer at the hands of these wicked men and even lose His life to do the will of the Father. We too must suffer to lose our carnal life to please the Father. 22 And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall never be unto thee. (And there's your prosperity gospel. It's something we all have to get rid of, and Peter had to get rid of it. He understood suffering before it was over. And we have to understand it too, so we can cooperate with God and thank Him in the midst of it.) 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men. (Whenever anybody wants to escape the suffering of the death to self, this is where they're at.) 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. And that is to the painful death of “self”. Self is who you were before you knew God in His fullness, self is there and dying out as Christians who walk as disciples discover. It's not a sudden thing, it's a progressive thing. You have to make choices to give up the old life and accept the new life. And of course, you've got a lot of people around you that don't like that and don't want that and become angry with you because you don't follow with them anymore. 25 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. Life here is the word, psuchē (Greek) It means soul-life, which is synonymous with self-life.   Comparing this verse to one in Luke where Jesus is talking about us giving up our own self, you see that self is synonymous with the soulish life. Luk 9:25 For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self?   We have to give up our old soulish self-life. It is identified as the way that we've always been and done things. That person has to die in order to take on the life of Christ. The higher life is the born again soul life of Christ. Well, the devil wants us to grow in the self-life. To gain the things that promote the self-life, to run after the things, the idols, that promote the self-life. But we must go the other way to cooperate with God in the death of self. And this is painful to the old man. And he's out to gain the whole world even after he becomes a Christian. He has to have a renewed mind to understand that he needs to crucify the self-life.  Back to Mat 16:26 For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds. So if we don't take up our cross and follow Jesus, we cannot be his disciple as He said. And this is suffering and painful, but it is the price we pay for bearing fruit unto eternal life. The world comes against us. Sometimes we may think God has forgotten us, or he's left us in the hands of the wicked or whatever. It takes these people to put us on our cross; a crucifixion of the old self life. Of course we can have as much of the new life of Christ as we want but we must expect this suffering. Let's look at Act 9:10-16 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said unto him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth; 12 and he hath seen a man named Ananias coming in, and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight. 13 But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints at Jerusalem:   Well, as you can imagine, Ananias was fearful and questioning the Lord. He was about to put his life on the line here but he decided, the Lord knows best and He'll take care of all that and He did. He was willing to sacrifice his life in order to see the will of God done here. So he was questioning the Lord because Saul was a Pharisee of Pharisees and demanding the penalty of the Law on the Christians who had come to know Jesus. And the nature that Paul had was antichrist, although he was very religious. There are many very religious people out there that are antichrist, and they're quite willing to put you on your cross if you're devoted to the Lord and you're devoted to keeping His word even to the death of self.    Continuing in verse 14 and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon thy name. 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake.  (So Paul was going to suffer the same thing as Ananias.) So here's a man that is a about to become a great man who reflects the life of Christ, but he had to give up everything. He considered it all dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and he was willing to walk away from it all. He had prestige, he had the respect among his people. They, of course, turned on him when he turned to follow Christ and go down that road of bearing his cross, and it was painful. He went through many things. He mentioned them many times, but he was willing to do it for the great result that was coming in his life and for the sake of the elect.  Now look here in Rom 8:12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: 13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; Truly living after the flesh is very simply living the way you always lived to please self. Everybody who doesn't know Christ, even religious people who claim Christ, walk after the flesh. It's the natural thing to do. But Paul said it's the way of death. He's talking to brethren here when he says, but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.   When you walk after the Spirit, He will lead you to sonship. He is the Spirit of adoption. He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become a son at the last. We start out a child of God, but as we mature in our death to self, believing we have been given His life, we become sons.  Notice; he that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become a son at the last. First we are a servant who is a child. In a household there are servants but they are certainly not sons who have special privileges and authority over servants.. And that's exactly what he's talking about here in this teaching. 15 For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.  So it's the Spirit that brings us to adoption, first spirit, soul and then body; the fullness, of course, is the new body. But He brings us to this adoption if we follow His Spirit, if we're led by the Spirit of God, we will manifest our sonship. In fact, we have our sonship by faith if we follow the Spirit, and that's how we're empowered by the Spirit to go and manifest sonship. 16 The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: (That's where you start out as children of God.) 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; (and here's the condition) if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.   We've talked about glorification many times and how it comes to us as we behold Jesus in the mirror and become transformed into that same image, which is a son of God. 2Co 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.   When we accept the fact that we don't live anymore and Christ lives in us, the Spirit can begin to use that Gospel faith to empower us to grow to the place of sonship. He says, “if so be you suffer with him.” We're going to be joint heirs if we suffer with Him, as Jesus already said in Matthew 16, if you lose your life, you will gain your life.   And you can begin walking that way by faith as a baby in Christ. Every baby Christian should walk that way, denying self in order to obey the word of God. If you obey the word of God, you are bearing your cross because it is contrary to the natural life. If you use your reason that you've received from your natural parents, you'll follow the flesh and you will lose out. You have to drop your reasoning and take on the reasoning of Jesus Christ through the word of God. It doesn't make sense to your carnal man because he's contrary to God. The flesh is actually called the enemy of God. If you want this sonship that we're talking about, you're going to have to receive and be led by the Spirit of God. Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Read Acts to be filled with the Spirit the Biblical way. Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. Notice: The sufferings are miniscule compared to the glory of sonship. Now I mean when we moan, we groan, we try to avoid suffering all we can and when you avoid suffering, guess what? You're avoiding the death of the old man and the resurrection life of the new man, Jesus Christ in you. You're not choosing to have more of Jesus.  Now there is suffering that we shouldn't glorify because if God says, by whose stripes you were healed and you think, ‘No, I'm going to suffer this infirmity because it will glorify God,' you're wrong because the Bible says by whose stripes you were healed. You're supposed to avail yourself of the healing of God and that's what gives glory to God as Jesus clearly showed. When you read all the wonderful stories of Jesus healing the sick, you glorify Him because He heals the sick. You don't glorify Him because He leaves them sick. And 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.   22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, (The adoption of sons. Yes, we are in this process of crucifixion of our self-life. You've already got a born again spirit so you're a child of God, but the old soul life, the old mind, will and emotions has to die in order that you have the renewed mind of Christ and sonship. And he goes on to say, to wit, the redemption of our body. Now that's the full manifestation of sonship is when you get the new body. In order to get the new body, you need to have the new soul. And this new soul is the mind, the will and the emotions of Christ, and will gain you a new body.   We've already talked about how that there are different bodies; star glory, moon glory and sun glory in the Kingdom, and we all would like to have sun glory, which is a body likened to His body. Not everybody will have that. Not everybody will have the same reward, contrary to popular opinion. 24 For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? 25 But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. We're entering into this process, and even in the midst of this process, we don't see the end of our salvation. We see the beginning of it and you know Peter called it “the end of your salvation,” and that is the full manifestation of sonship. As long as we're on this earth, we're going to come into this manifestation in spirit and in soul and, to the extent that you have manifested Christ in your soul, you will have a body accordingly.  Now, how many things did the apostle Paul have to suffer in order to become a true representation of Christ? I mean, you can't give away something you don't have. He wasn't the great apostle in the beginning. He had to first learn these things and he learned them very quickly, and he became a great man because he did not refuse the suffering that the Lord sent his way. The suffering of the loss of self and religious life, etc.  Let's look at 1Co 4:9 For, I think, God hath set forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, The more you look like Christ in what you do, say, walk the more the world will hate you and the more the religious world will hate you. As Jesus said, “if they hated me, they will hate you.' Because the natural mind is so contrary to the spiritual mind and the spiritual walk, you're a spectacle, because there are many critical people out there who've refused the way of the cross. They have become persecutors, even though they still call themselves Christians. This is the way, this is the pattern and so these people, of course, are going to criticize you. The more they go down that road, the more corrupt their mind becomes, and they begin to be competitive and to lie and to slander and to come against you.  This is the way it happened to every apostle and Jesus Himself and to all the prophets and all of the men that were men of God, they had to go through this. And so it is with us, you become a spectacle. Your lost friends and lost family look on you critically and you become a spectacle to the world and the worldly church. Now continuing for we are made a spectacle unto the world, both to angels and men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, (Yes, if you're going to be a fool to them, follow Christ and count the cost, sonship is great. The suffering is nothing compared to the great glory that is to come as we've seen.) but ye are wise in Christ (Now he's correcting their worldly thinking in a very sarcastic way.); we are weak, but ye are strong; ye have glory (Well, if you have glory in the world, guess who's giving it to you?), but we have dishonor. In other words, if you're going to follow in the steps of Jesus, like the disciples, and the apostles did, you're going to have dishonor in the world and you can count on it.   11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; Now, he's not saying that through faith you can't receive everything you need. My God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory. He's has gone through the trial and the test. And many times you will go through the test too before you receive what you need and you want. It's not that God's going to let you go without if you walk by faith. 12 and we toil, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat: Everyone who walks in the steps of Jesus is going to be defamed, just like He was, just like the prophets were, just like the apostles were. You can see who's doing the defaming and it's their job. These are the crucifiers, these are the Judases, these are the apostates. He goes on to say, we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now. And so you can see that even in our day, we're following in the steps of people like Paul and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If you don't want to suffer, you are not going to be following Christ.  So now let's look at 2Co 4:7-18 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, (The treasure, of course, is that born again man, who is who is in the image of Jesus Christ. It's various sizes in various people because some are given over more or less to Christ. But the outer man's decaying while the inner man is being renewed day by day. We must give Christ room by the death of the old man because you only want one person to live in you and it's your spiritual man. The soul which is your mind will and emotions must be given over to your spirit by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's your spiritual man.) that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; (What can you do of yourself that is not corrupted and fallen? What we want is the power of God because we are weak to bring about righteousness, purity, good works and so on. Therefore, we must depend upon a higher power which is God to give us this gift as we walk by faith.)  8 we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; (Yes, we must suffer these things and it's confusing sometimes, which is the spirit and which is the flesh and which one are we following. The confusion comes in that our soul is somewhat double minded because we're partially in, partially out, partially spiritual, partially carnal, and so it is perplexing. But if we have a desire to live for God, He knows it and He will empower us and give us faith. And He will bring it to pass. But we go through these things to make decisions. Every time you make a decision against the flesh and for the spirit, you're gaining Christ and every time you make a decision for the flesh and against the spirit, you're gaining more flesh.)  9 pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; 10 always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, (Jesus went to the cross and His flesh died but His spirit man did not die. I don't care what some people say. His spirit man did not die. His flesh bore our curse and died and we also must lose our flesh.) that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. (Well, if you have Jesus manifested in your body, what is that? Sonship; yes, and to get there, the old self life has to die. You need to make up your mind that you'll believe the promises to obey the word of God. Put your faith in the Lord constantly, because He's the one that brings it to pass by His power. In other words, as we just read the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not of ourselves. Self has no way to please God.)   11 For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (The false religions deny that Christ cometh in the flesh, which is antichrist. Repentance and faith is the means to come into the image of Jesus Christ, to bear His fruit, as in the parable of the Sower, 30, 60, and 100-fold. This is what we choose to go after and it is sonship.) 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you. 13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak; (So when you believe, and you speak it, you can have what you say.)   14 knowing that he that raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus, and shall present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound unto the glory of God. 16 Wherefore we faint not; (And of course, you know when we're going through this suffering, the devil's going to tell you that God's forsaken you. But the truth is God is with you. Walk by faith and see the end from the beginning.   Remember, there's an end to every trial and it should be when you overcome it. Because once you overcome it, you don't need it, right? but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. So there's this reversal process here you see. You're losing the old man, the outer man and you're gaining the new man. The new man's coming to maturity, and the old man's passing away. And ultimately, the end of the process is there's nobody left but the new man, Who is ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory' and the old man has passed away. You must cooperate with God in this process. It's a suffering of a death to self.  17 For our light affliction, (We think it's pretty terrible, but he calls it our light affliction, which is for the moment. In other words, it's not going to last very long. Don't worry God's not going to leave you in the oven. You know you're in there to burn up the wood, hay and the stubble.) which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; (Who is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the glory. He is the shining forth from us.) 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, (In other words, get your eyes past the problem, and on the salvation that God provided.) but at the things which are not seen (Christ in you): for the things which are seen are temporal (The flesh is temporary); but the things which are not seen (Jesus in you) are eternal.  Let's go back to the apostle Paul again and look at some of the things he suffered, because there are many who say we cannot expect God to always deliver or heal us because of the example of Paul's thorn in the flesh. 2Co 12:7 And by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger (Greek: angelos) of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted overmuch. (To humble) 8 Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it (the angel) might depart from me. 9 And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for [my] power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.   10 Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses (KJV: Falsely translated “infirmities”), in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. Notice the four places I have underlined. In both the Received Text and in the ancient manuscripts, these are the same Greek word. The KJV translated only the third word “infirmities,” leading people to believe falsely that Paul had a sickness that God would not heal.   The same Greek word is used in the following verse: 2Co 13:4 For he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth through the power of God. The KJV correctly translated this “weakness” because, of course, Jesus was not crucified through infirmities. We can also find the same Greek word here: 1Co 1:25 … The weakness of God is stronger than men. Since no one can say God is sick, we know this translation is correct.   We do not have to guess what these buffetings are because they are listed in the previous chapter and we can read them. 2Co 11:23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty [stripes] save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep;   26 [in] journeyings often, [in] perils of rivers, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils from [my] countrymen, [in] perils from the Gentiles, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren; 27 [in] labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is caused to stumble, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things that concern my weakness (KJV: “infirmities”).   You will notice that not once in his list of weaknesses did he list a sickness! Although the words “weak” or “weakness” are all the same Greek word in all the manuscripts, the KJV translates only the last word “infirmities.” Paul's “thorn in the flesh” was an angel of Satan that “buffeted” him, meaning “to hit with many blows,” not just one blow, such as a sickness that would not depart. Four times in the Old Testament there are references to thorns in the flesh (Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13; Judges 2:3; Ezekiel 28:24) and not one of them refers to a sickness.   Was God saying that He would not deliver Paul from these places of weakness? No! 2Co 12:8 Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. “It” here was the demon that brought the buffetings. Paul said God delivered him out of all these places of weakness where he could not help himself. God's power was made perfect in Paul's weakness and He will be in ours! 2Ti 4:17 But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me; that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 18 The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom [be] the glory forever and ever. Amen.   As soon as God delivered Paul out of one trial, the demon brought another. Let's let God be found true, but every man a liar (Rom 3:4). Psa 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. 17 [The righteous] cried, and the Lord heard, And delivered them out of all their troubles. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the Lord delivereth him out of them all.   The Lord may not keep you from tribulation but He certainly will save, heal and deliver you from it, if you walk by faith. In fact, this is His method for maturing our faith. Am I saying God cannot use sickness to chasten and bring trials? Absolutely not, but God already guarantees your healing if you believe 1Pe 2:24  who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed..  If your sins were taken away and Ye were healed then you are healed. Let God be true and every man a liar. The Father sent the curse to motivate us to repentance and He sent the Savior to bring deliverance from the curse, but only to those who believe. Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth …  Here is a good example of what is happening in these days to bring people to repentance. An angel appeared to Dumitru Duduman (“Three Scrolls” – 7/01/94) and “took out a scroll which he began to unroll very quickly. It was so long that I could not see its end. On this first scroll of paper were written all kinds of names. Beside each name was listed their punishment – a type of disease (all kinds were listed), trial or torment. He said, ‘Those named will have to go through what is listed by their name in order to be cleansed and be able to stand.'”   In the second century, before much of the gifts of the Spirit gave way to ceremony and traditions of men, there lived a prophet named Hermas. His writings were famous among early Church fathers who still believed in prophecy. Many considered his writings a part of the Scriptures. Though I do not hold them on that level of inspiration, I do consider them the finest of the gift. Consider Hermas' revelation on chastening.     Excerpts from The Shepherd of Hermas.   Similitude Sixth   Of the Two Classes of Voluptuous Men, and of Their Death, Falling Away, and the Duration of Their Punishment.   Chapter I   Sitting in my house, and glorifying the Lord for all that I had seen, and reflecting on the commandments, that they are excellent, and powerful, and glorious, and able to save a man's soul, I said within myself, “I shall be blessed if I walk in these commandments, and every one who walks in them will be blessed.” While I was saying these words to myself, I suddenly see him sitting beside me, and hear him thus speak: “Why are you in doubt about the commandments which I gave you? They are excellent: have no doubt about them at all, but put on faith in the Lord, and you will walk in them, for I will strengthen you in them. These commandments are beneficial to those who intend to repent: for if they do not walk in them, their repentance is in vain. You, therefore, who repent, cast away the wickedness of this world which wears you out; and by putting on all the virtues of a holy life, you will be able to keep these commandments, and will no longer add to the number of your sins.   Walk, therefore, in these commandments of mine, and you will live unto God. All these things have been spoken to you by me.” And after he had uttered these words, he said to me, “Let us go into the fields, and I will show you the shepherds of the flocks.” “Let us go, sir,” I replied. And we came to a certain plain, and he showed me a young man, a shepherd, clothed in a suit of garments of a yellow colour: and he was herding very many sheep, and these sheep were feeding luxuriously (Editor's note: that which we cannot afford to do because of the high cost to our soul), as it were, and riotously, and merrily skipping hither and thither. The shepherd himself was merry, because of his flock; and the appearance of the shepherd was joyous, and he was running about amongst his flock. [And other sheep I saw rioting and luxuriating in one place, but not, however, leaping about.]   Chapter II   And he said to me, “Do you see this shepherd?” “I see him, sir,” I said. “This,” he answered, “is the angel of luxury and deceit: he wears out the souls of the servants of God, and perverts them from the truth, deceiving them with wicked desires, through which they will perish; for they forget the commandments of the living God, and walk in deceits and empty luxuries; and they are ruined by the angel, some being brought to death, others to corruption.” I said to him, “Sir, I do not know the meaning of these words, ‘to death,' and ‘to corruption.'” “Listen,” he said. “The sheep which you saw merry and leaping about, are those which have torn themselves away from God forever, and have delivered themselves over to luxuries and deceits [of this world.   Among them there is no return to life through repentance, because they have added to their other sins, and blasphemed the name of the Lord. Such men therefore, are appointed unto death. And the sheep which you saw not leaping, but feeding in one place, are they who have delivered themselves over to luxury and deceit], but have committed no blasphemy against the Lord. These have been perverted from the truth: among them there is the hope of repentance, by which it is possible to live. Corruption, then, has a hope of a kind of renewal, but death has everlasting ruin.” Again I went forward a little way, and he showed me a tall shepherd, somewhat savage in his appearance, clothed in a white goatskin, and having a wallet on his shoulders, and a very hard staff with branches, and a large whip.   And he had a very sour look, so that I was afraid of him, so forbidding was his aspect. This shepherd, accordingly, was receiving the sheep from the young shepherd, those, viz., that were rioting and luxuriating, but not leaping; and he cast them into a precipitous place, full of thistles and thorns, so that it was impossible to extricate the sheep from the thorns and thistles; but they were completely entangled amongst them. These, accordingly, thus entangled, pastured amongst the thorns and thistles, and were exceedingly miserable, being beaten by him; and he drove them hither and thither, and gave them no rest; and, altogether, these sheep were in a wretched plight.   Chapter III   Seeing them, therefore, so beaten and so badly used, I was grieved for them, because they were so tormented, and had no rest at all. And I said to the Shepherd who talked with me, “Sir, who is this shepherd, who is so pitiless and severe, and so completely devoid of compassion for these sheep?” “This,” he replied, “is the angel of punishment; and he belongs to the just angels, and is appointed to punish. He accordingly takes those who wander away from God, and who have walked in the desires and deceits of this world, and chastises them as they deserve with terrible and diverse punishments.” “I would know, sir,” I said, “Of what nature are these diverse tortures and punishments?” “Hear,” he said, “the various tortures and punishments. The tortures are such as occur during life.   For some are punished with losses, others with want, others with sicknesses of various kinds, and others with all kinds of disorder and confusion; others are insulted by unworthy persons, and exposed to suffering in many other ways: for many, becoming unstable in their plans, try many things, and none of them at all succeed, and they say they are not prosperous in their undertakings; and it does not occur to their minds that they have done evil deeds, but they blame the Lord. When, therefore, they have been afflicted with all kinds of affliction, then are they delivered unto me for good training, and they are made strong in the faith of the Lord; and for the rest of the days of their life they are subject to the Lord with pure hearts, and are successful in all their undertakings, obtaining from the Lord everything they ask; and then they glorify the Lord, that they were delivered to me, and no longer suffer any evil.”   Chapter IV   I said to him, “Sir, explain this also to me.” “What is it you ask?” he said. “Whether, sir,” I continued, “they who indulge in luxury, and who are deceived, are tortured for the same period of time that they have indulged in luxury and deceit?” He said to me, “They are tortured for the same time” (Editor's note: compare Revelation 18:7). [“They are tormented much less, sir,” I replied;] “for those who are so luxurious and who forget God ought to be tortured seven-fold.” He said to me, “You are foolish, and do not understand the power of torment.” “Why, sir,” I said, “if I had understood it, I would not have asked you to show me.” “Hear,” he said, “the power of both. The time of luxury and deceit is one hour; but the hour of torment is equivalent to thirty days. If, accordingly, a man indulge in luxury for one day, and be deceived and be tortured for one day, the day of his torture is equivalent to a whole year. For all the days of luxury, therefore, there are as many years of torture to be undergone. You see, then,” he continued, “that the time of luxury and deceit is very short, but that of punishment and torture long.”   Chapter V   “Still,” I said, “I do not quite understand about the time of deceit, and luxury, and torture; explain it to me more clearly.” He answered, and said to me, “Your folly is persistent; and you do not wish to purify your heart, and serve God. Have a care,” he added, “lest the time be fulfilled, and you be found foolish. Hear now,” he added, “as you desire, that you may understand these things. He who indulges in luxury, and is deceived for one day, and who does what he wishes, is clothed with much foolishness, and does not understand the act which he does until the morrow; for he forgets what he did the day before.   For luxury and deceit have no memories, on account of the folly with which they are clothed; but when punishment and torture cleave to a man for one day, he is punished and tortured for a year; for punishment and torture have powerful memories. While tortured and punished, therefore, for a whole year, he remembers at last his luxury and deceit, and knows that on their account he suffers evil. Every man, therefore, who is luxurious and deceived is thus tormented, because, although having life, they have given themselves over to death.” “What kinds of luxury, sir,” I asked, “are hurtful?”   “Every act of a man which he performs with pleasure,” he replied, “is an act of luxury; for the sharp-tempered man, when gratifying his tendency, indulges in luxury; and the adulterer, and the drunkard, and the back-biter, and the liar, and the covetous man, and the thief, and he who does things like these, gratifies his peculiar propensity, and in so doing indulges in luxury. All these acts of luxury are hurtful to the servants of God. On account of these deceits, therefore, do they suffer, who are punished and tortured. And there are also acts of luxury which save men; for many who do good indulge in luxury, being carried away by their own pleasure: this luxury, however, is beneficial to the servants of God, and gains life for such a man; but the injurious acts of luxury before enumerated bring tortures and punishment upon them; and if they continue in them and do not repent, they bring death upon themselves.”      Similitude Seventh   They Who Repent Must Bring Forth Fruits Worthy of Repentance.   After a few days I saw him in the same plain where I had also seen the shepherds; and he said to me, “What do you wish with me?” I said to him, “Sir, that you would order the shepherd who punishes to depart out of my house, because he afflicts me exceedingly.” “It is necessary,” he replied, “that you be afflicted; for thus,” he continued, “did the glorious angel command concerning you, as he wishes you to be tried.” “What have I done which is so bad, sir,” I replied, “that I should be delivered over to this angel?” “Listen,” he said: “Your sins are many, but not so great as to require that you be delivered over to this angel; but your household has committed great iniquities and sins, and the glorious angel has been incensed at them on account of their deeds; and for this reason he commanded you to be afflicted for a certain time, that they also might repent, and purify themselves from every desire of this world.   When, therefore, they repent and are purified, then the angel of punishment will depart.” I said to him, “Sir, if they have done such things as to incense the glorious angel against them, yet what have I done?” He replied, “They cannot be afflicted at all, unless you, the head of the house, be afflicted: for when you are afflicted, of necessity they also suffer affliction; but if you are in comfort, they can feel no affliction.” “Well, sir,” I said, “they have repented with their whole heart.” “I know, too,” he answered, “that they have repented with their whole heart: do you think, however, that the sins of those who repent are immediately forgiven? Not altogether, but he who repents must torture his own soul (Editor's note: compare 1 Corinthians 9:27), and be exceedingly humble in all his conduct, and be afflicted with many kinds of affliction; and if he endure the afflictions that come upon him,   He who created all things, and endued them with power, will assuredly have compassion, and will heal him; and this will He do when He sees the heart of every penitent pure from every evil thing: and it is profitable for you and for your house to suffer affliction now. But why should I say much to you? You must be afflicted, as that angel of the Lord commanded who delivered you to me. And for this give thanks to the Lord, because He has deemed you worthy of showing you beforehand this affliction, that, knowing it before it comes, you may be able to bear it with courage.” I said to him, “Sir, be thou with me, and I will be able to bear all affliction.” “I will be with you,” he said, “and I will ask the angel of punishment to afflict you more lightly; nevertheless, you will be afflicted for a little time, and again you will be re-established in your house. Only continue humble, and serve the Lord in all purity of heart, you and your children, and your house, and walk in my commands which I enjoin upon you, and your repentance will be deep and pure; and if you observe these things with your household, every affliction will depart from you. And affliction,” he added, “will depart from all who walk in these my commandments.” 

First in the House, and now in the Senate, Minnesota Democrats have refused to uphold our first American liberty - religious freedom.The whole point of the New World was escape from religious persecution. Now, Democrats in both chambers have betrayed that promise.As a reminder, last year, they added "gender identity" as a distinct protected class in the Human Rights Act without also adding it to the religious exemption. That had the effect of nullifying your First Amendment rights to religious expression and freedom of association. Churches can now be sued for refusing to hire a trans youth pastor, for instance.Religious groups and Republicans gave Democrats the maximum benefit of doubt, assuming the outcome had to be an oversight. We learned in a House Judiciary committee hearing recently that it was "not an oversight."That was a direct quote from Chair Becker-Finn. It was her intention, by her own admission, to violate her oath of office and conspire against the rights of Minnesotans. A growing list of Democrats in both chambers have affirmed the effect of that conspiracy, including every Democrat member of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, who have each taken an affirmative vote to deny Minnesotans their basic human rights. Soon, every single Democrat in both chambers will be presented with the binary choice to either uphold their oath or break it.Here's the call to action.Sign up to the Catholic Conference email list:https://mncatholic.orgSign up to the Minnesota Family Council email list:https://mfc.orgWatch your email and be ready to take political action when needed. Be ready to respond nimbly and in numbers. Organize your church, synagogue, mosque, and community.A particular word for my brothers and sisters in Christ: Now is the time to pause gospel navel-gazing. We don't need another sermon about how deeply God loves us, how assured we can be of salvation, or how important it is to pray for our enemies.Pray for victory! Then *act* like your God is worth serving. Have no doubt, this is your test. These people have told you to your face that you can not worship your God. To your face! They will not relent. Will you? Will you be Daniel with his windows open on the top floor facing Jerusalem, praying faithfully in defiance of King Darius. Or will you hide behind a false interpretation of "turn the other cheek" and let your children be taken into Babylonian captivity? You probably never imagined you'd be faced with such a choice. But brother, sister, it's here.---

Welcome to  Season 7 of On the Road, with a special focus on reaching Muslims for Jesus.  Leading up to Ramadan 2024 I plan to put out weekly episodes highlighting what God is doing among Muslims. Throughout Ramadan, I will drop short daily prayer prompts. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, or if you want them in your inbox, sign up at ontheroad.link.This is the first part of an interview with Mike Shipman, the author of the book "Any 3: Lead Muslims to Christ Now!"Links:Plan A BookAny 3 Book If you want a copy of this book and you live in the US, contact me and I can send you one for the shipping costs.Ramadan Prayer Focus: https://pray4movement.org/Great Quotes from Mike:"Plans are cheap until you have believers to work the plan with.""The Gospel is never intentionally delayed in the New Testament past the first meeting.""We work with the Holy Spirit to help people see the depths of their own lostness, and then the Gospel really is Good News."  Visit ontheroad.link to subscribe to get this podcast and blog posts from Pheaney delivered to your email.

Frank Sona preaches on the words of Joseph to His brothers, “Come near to me.” After all the failures, regret and difficulties of our lives, the Lord still graciously invites us to come near to Him now. Reading: Gen 44:18-45:8. (Message preached at Blue River Conference, WI, USA, 2023) The post Come Near to Christ…Now (8 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Colossians 3v1-4 “Remember Who You Are!” 3:1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 3:2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. 3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 3:4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. In the year 1993, I slipped into a coma on a Saturday evening during my sleep.  But that story is a bit of a bore and not really important. After a couple of days in hospital, I woke up and there was a face of a pretty woman peering down at me, smiling and asking "Do you remember who you are?"  My response was "Of course I do!!  But who are you, and what have you done with my wife". And that is the same for us as Christians.  If we are listening, we are constantly being reminded by God the Holy Spirit, of our status before God if we are His children.  The Holy Spirit is always there behind us, reminding us, that we are now His children and not His enemy, and therefore to stop living as if we were His enemy.  In these verses, Paul reminds us of our identity. This morning we are going to look at primarily our new identity and five facts about our Christian identity... Doctrine and morality What we believe, is intrinsically caught up with how we behave.  When at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the last century, the church started questioning the central core of our beliefs about Jesus, that was the beginning of a long slide into moral decay.  If the synods back then had stamped out doctrinal decay, then the synods today would not be discussing the moral decay within the church today and whether something is right or not.  If the 5 facts before us in these 4 verses weren't watered down by the church itself back then, and in some segments now, then perhaps we wouldn't be asking the moral questions that are now being asked of us. 1. What are we to do with this Jesus if we claim to be his followers and in relationship with him? These five things are fact.  They are not hypothesis.  They are not theory. They are not merely symbolic.  They are existent facts about us.  We are not marked as Christians because we go to Church regularly, though its a good idea if we do.  We are not marked as Christians because we were baptized, though I hope that we are.  We are not marked outwardly as Christians because we go to a Bible College, though its a good place to be, and none better than Moorlands.  We are marked as Christians, not because of any outwardly visible mark, but here Paul tells us what marks us out as Christians. a. We died with Christ (3a). Paul expounds this fully in his letter to the Romans.  Jesus not only died for us, but we died with Him.  Christ not only died for sin, but died unto sin to break its power.  Through the work of the Holy Spirit we are in Christ.  We died with Christ.  We can conquer our old sinful nature if we want to.  Our new identity is Christ and we have died with Him.  You have died with Christ. b. We are raised with Christ (1a). Just as we died with Christ, we are also raised with Christ.  It is a fact that we are raised with Him and we rule with him, seated at the right hand of the Father.  Our new identity is Christ and we have been raised with Him.  You have been raised with Christ. c. We live with Christ (4a). As Christian people, Jesus is our life and our eternal life, is Jesus.   We are dead to sin, yet alive to Christ.  Our new identity is Christ and we live with Him.  You live with Christ. d. We are hidden with Christ (3b). For those of you who like a good mystery, here is one for you.  We are hidden with Him!!  We no longer belong to this world, but we belong to Christ.  We are hidden with him in heaven.  That is not to say we are to neglect our earthly duties and responsibilities, but that our motives and strengths come from heaven.  Our new identity is Christ and it is hidden with Him.  You are hidden with Christ. e. We will be glorified with Christ (4b). When Christ comes again, we will see Him face to face.  When Christ comes again, He will take us home.  We shall enter eternal glory.  So, we will not be hidden with Christ perpetually because when Christ is revealed in glory, we too shall be revealed in glory.  We already have some of this glory, but one day the full extent of this glorification will be revealed. Our new identity is Christ, and we will be glorified with Him when He comes to take us home...  You will be glorified with Christ when He comes again in glory to take you home. These five events... These five facts cover all three tenses in time - past, present and future...  In the past, we died and were raised with Christ.  In the present, we live with Christ and we are hidden with Him.  In the future, when He comes again, we will be glorified with Him.And because we share in Jesus' death, resurrection and future glorification, we are to stop sinning.  We are to stop thinking about ways in which to sin.  This is what Paul says in verse 2.  Our feet are to be in this world, but our minds are to be with Jesus, focusing on ways in which to serve Him, day in and day out.  Look at the list of things we are to put to death in verses 5-10.  That list is not conclusive. Don't sin is the message, and yet we continue to do so... I long for perfection.  I yearn it.  Even when as a child, being dragged up irreligiously, I longed to be perfect. Yet, every time I succumb to temptation, and therefore disobey God, and sin, I forget who I am.  I forget my new identity.  I forget that I am a child of the Living God.  I forget that I have died with Christ.  I forget that I have been raised with Him.  I forget that I live in Him.  I forget that I am hidden in Him.  I forget that one day He is coming again and that I, Dave Roberts, will be glorified with Him.  When we sin, it is as if I am telling the Holy Spirit to rack off and leave me alone... Instead we should be telling our three enemies to rack off... Tell old hairy legs satan to depart from you.  Tell the world to get lost.  Tell your old nature, that it is dead and you have a new nature to which you seek to serve.By keeping our minds and hearts set upon Him, talk to yourself.  Talking to yourself is actually a sign of maturity.  Tell yourself these five things to help you in your Christian life.  You have died with Christ.  You have been raised with Christ.  You live with Christ.  You are hidden in Christ.  You will be glorified with Christ.  Paul elsewhere in his other letters, says "Have you forgotten who you are?"  Immerse yourself in the Bible.Steinbeck - "obsolescent religion." Travels with Charley.Only use, if there is a great deal of time... Who is this Jesus we worship.  Was he just a man?  Was he just a god?  Or was he both? Lets look together and find out.2. Jesus - fully human. That Jesus was a man is not really disputed.  Scripture says that  he was born of a woman  which in itself tells us that prenatally he was nurtured and formed in the womb as any other male baby was and is.  His genealogical line is given.   He grew into manhood as any young Jewish boy did.  With his humanity, he exhibited normal human emotions such as love, weeping, sadness, anger and anguish.  Jesus ate and drank. He had a body and a soul.  He undertook the baptism of John, just as others had done.  Jesus grew tired, he slept  & perspired.  Religiously, he worshipped as a Jew.  Jesus died, just as all mortal people do.  He was human in every way that we are - physically, mentally and emotionally.  The only exception is that he was sinless.  His humanity is beyond question, though unlike us, he was sinless.Jesus needed to be fully human for various reasons.a. so that his death could sacrificially atone for us.b. so that he can empathize and pray for us.c. Jesus exhibited true and perfect humanity.d. due to his perfect humanity, Jesus is to be our example to follow.e. true human nature is good.f. Jesus shows that while God is transcendent, He is not so far removed from us that He can't interact with his creation. 3. Jesus' deity Jesus' deity and the Incarnation are central and basic teaching of historic Christianity as it is central to God's eternal plan of salvation.  God's salvation plan for humans involved triumphant victory over sin, death and the grave.  However no person could be found that was eligible or capable to do this.  Because of this, God stepped into human history, so that this victory could be achieved.  This God-man would be fully human, so as to live every facet of humanity, including suffering and death.  This God-man would also need to remain fully God, so as to defeat sin, death and the grave.  Jesus, being sinless (Hebrews 4:15), was this God-man, consisting as he was of two complete natures: the God nature and the human nature.Anselm the church father observed that God had formed Adam without mother and father and had formed Eve without mother and father but from a man.  So he could certainly form Jesus, without the usual sexual reproduction process, from a woman.Recapitulation Remember who you are. Remember your identity. Remember you have died with Christ, Remember you have been raised with Christ. Remember you have new life in Christ - NOW!!. Remember you are hidden with Christ - NOW!!. Remember you will be glorified with Christ when He comes again. Conclusion Therefore let us conclude.  We are to focus our minds on Him for heavenly reasons.  We are to let heaven fill our thoughts. In another translation, verse 2 reads "habitually set your mind on things above".Jesus was fully-god and fully-man.  It is this Jesus we claim to follow.  Be assured of your identity. Remember who you are.  Stop sinning and remember who you are - a child of the living God.  Cast off all that hinders your Christian growth.  Live for Him and make a difference in a world that is dying without knowledge of Him.  Most of all, as a motivation to aspire to live a perfect life in honour of Him  - remember who you are, and I don t mean just your name!!  Remember.... Right mouse click to save this Podcast as a MP3.You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site! Click or tap on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!

That God has reconciled you to himself in the death and resurrection of Jesus, is the heart of the gospel. This reconcilation was applied to you when you believed, but even your believing was the result of that prior work of God the Spirit upon your heart, mind, and will we call regeneration--being born again. This is cause for great assurance and rejoicing for in no manner is reconcilation something left to you, but an accomplished fact grounded in the death and resurrection of Christ- -Now is the acceptable time . . . now is the day of salvation.-

That God has reconciled you to himself in the death and resurrection of Jesus, is the heart of the gospel. This reconcilation was applied to you when you believed, but even your believing was the result of that prior work of God the Spirit upon your heart, mind, and will we call regeneration--being born again. This is cause for great assurance and rejoicing for in no manner is reconcilation something left to you, but an accomplished fact grounded in the death and resurrection of Christ- -Now is the acceptable time . . . now is the day of salvation.-

That God has reconciled you to himself in the death and resurrection of Jesus, is the heart of the gospel. This reconcilation was applied to you when you believed, but even your believing was the result of that prior work of God the Spirit upon your heart, mind, and will we call regeneration--being born again. This is cause for great assurance and rejoicing for in no manner is reconcilation something left to you, but an accomplished fact grounded in the death and resurrection of Christ: "Now is the acceptable time . . . now is the day of salvation."

Beloved, the gospel message to sinners is an urgent message--We must tell them NOW that the way to Christ is STILL OPEN- -Just like the ark, the door is still open for any sinner who -will come- You can still get to and through the strait gate -that leads to eternal life- But it is imperative to flee to -Christ NOW. -For the lost, don't let it be said of you, for so long, YOU -COULD HAVE COME, NOW YOU CANNOT COME- --They which would pass from hence to you cannot- -neither can they pass to us, that would come from -you-.-1 Samuel 20-3- -Truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy -soul liveth, there is but a step between me and -death-.-Don't take that final step into eternity without Christ-

**Listen on Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh... **"The Writing Is On The Wall!" Video: https://youtu.be/zedJLN0RZ-c ** Here's the video about the jet stream is reversing and the winds will change: https://youtu.be/GUmrJsHggRE **Thank you for supporting this ministry, I lovingly refer to as "The Little Green Pasture." Click here: PayPal: http://paypal.me/JoanStahl **Please prayerfully consider becoming a ministry partner: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/joaniestahl **Contact Email: jsfieldnotes@gmail.com **Subscribe to me on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-534183 **Subscribe to me on Bitchute: I have been having trouble with the link so just go straight to https://www.bitchute.com/ and typing "Joanie Stahls Field Notes" in the search bar. Thank you! All day yesterday from early morning until today, I kept hearing these words, "O death where is they sting! O grave where is thy victory!" 1 Cor. 15:55.As I thought more about it I remembered the words from Isaiah 25:8, "He will swallow up death in victory..." The word "swallow" then began to be the word pinpointed. Lately I have been hearing of people being swallowed up with "overmuch sorrow," swallowed up with fear, heart break, grief, pain, and desperation. More people than ever are hanging on by a thread. To be swallowed up means "to take someone or something, in so that it is destroyed or no longer independent." The enemy of our souls is the "someone" who uses anything he can to defeat and wear out everyone at the end so they will think that God has forgotten and forsaken them. Are you feeling like you are being swallowed up by your current circumstances? By weariness? Illness? Pain and loneliness? I remember once I felt as if I was being swallowed up, and I cried out saying, "Lord! I feel as if I am being cast down!" He immediately replied saying, "If you are cast down then I am cast down and that is not possible." Satan cannot swallow up Christ, and you are in Christ NOW and forever. Jesus Christ WILL swallow up all of those evil issues and you WILL shout out, "O death where is they victory! O pain where is thy victory! O illness where is they victory!" Amen. Remember to keep yourself in touch with Jesus Christ always and let "the Peace of God rule in your hearts" in triumph. “Faith is not intelligent understanding, faith is deliberate commitment to a Person where I see no way.” ― Oswald Chambers --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joanie-stahl/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joanie-stahl/support

γεια σε όλους, I mean, Hey y'all!We've got a special treat for you this time. One of my all time favorite movies, not only because it's funny, but because it hits close to home so the cultural jokes hit harder. If you haven't seen this movie yet, after this episode you won't have to (but seriously, go watch the film)! We bring you My Big Fat Greek Wedding, narrated solely by Erin and I because we have this film memorized. Surprised? Shouldn't beNow I'm not one for religion and belief systems, but purely for traditional purposes on my end, we honor zombie day - I mean, Easter - with this all time cultural classic.Χριστός ανέστη Christós anésti everyone! (Which means Christ has risen)And you respond with αληθινά αναστημένο alithós anésti (which means truly risen)Now, in Armenian it's a little more complicated than that, and I guarantee you that every Armenian out there still mixes up their phrases between Christmas and Easter.We say: Քրիստոս հարյավ ի մեռելոց Christo haryav i merelotz (Christ is risen from the dead)And we respond with: Օրհնյալ է հարությունը Քրիստոսի Orhnyal e harut'yuny K'ristosi (Blessed is the resurrection of Christ)Now, with all that being said, let's go make sure yia-yia isn't causing havoc somewhereEnjoy the show everyone! And happy celebrating!

Series: Romans Dead to SinA New IdentityRomans 6:1-14  “In Christ” Realities  People who trust Christ have a changed identity.    In Christ/United with Christ = connected to Him in a complete, permanent way. Therefore, we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4  People who are identified as “in Christ” are changed.   When we are “in Christ,” ·      there is a death of self. ·      we receive a new life in Christ. Water baptism is an important, powerful picture of our union with Christ.    People in Christ are changed immediately and incrementally simultaneously.            Defeating sin is not automatic, but it is possible.    Live “in Christ” Now 1.  Believe what God's Word says about you.  So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.Romans 6:11  2.  Commit every area of your life to Christ. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.Romans 6: 13   Let your life illustrate the power of grace to changes people's lives.  

What are some places where transition and life calling intersect? What's the potential for life calling discovery through transition seasons? Chris Heinz returns for another conversation with Tim to probe these questions and more.Learn why relationship is at the core of Life Calling Discovery.About Chris:Chris Heinz is a certified coach, professional development speaker, and founder of the Christian Life Calling Institute. He helps Christians find their life calling and live with intention. He's the author of several faith-focused books including one on Christian life calling that will be released in Spring 2023. Chris also helps companies with employee engagement and talent development through his business, Chris Heinz Co. He is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, top-rated learning partner for Penn State, and frequent workshop leader. Chris serves on the National Board of Christ Now.He and his family live in Charlottesville, VA.Resources mentioned in this episode:Chris Heinz Co. Christian Life Calling Institute:  Use discount code CALLING2022The Great ResignationSchedule a coaching discovery call with Tim AustinSupport the show

Reflection is needed to be aware of what path we are on. We can easily find ourselves unaware of being off track when we lack reflection. Essentially, we'd be sleepwalking and moving on autopilot. In the walk with Christ, Christian believers should be moving with full attention and intention. Today, we witness a calling for an awakening. Over the past 40 years, David Bryant has been defined as a “messenger of hope” and a “Christ proclaimer” to the Church throughout the world. Formerly a pastor, minister-at-large with the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, president of Concerts of Prayer International (COPI), and chairman of America's National Prayer Committee, today David provides leadership to Proclaim Hope! whose mission is to foster and serve a nationwide Christ-awakening movement.  For decades, David played a widely visible role in the emergence of an unprecedented, worldwide prayer movement by building on citywide mass prayer rallies; organizing national and international conferences; creating training videos, seminars, and manuals; developing leadership coalitions; mentoring of younger leaders; and sharing his message by radio, television, and podcasts. Currently, David oversees the website ChristNOW.com, which provides hundreds of free resources all focused on the person of Christ. Listen as David discusses why Christian believers need to be reintroduced to Jesus again; similar to his book, Christ Is NOW! 7 Groundbreaking Keys to Help You Explore and Experience the Spectacular Supremacy of God's Son Today. David says that we use the right words, but we are not focused on the right person. He talks about taking time to have a moment of silence with Christ. David explores the true purpose of the relationship with Christ and the difference between the “Centrality of Christ” and the “Supremacy of Christ”. Most Christians today don't think about who Christ is now in the present day. What is the relationship? What is the purpose? Join today's conversation where Christian believers can be reintroduced to Christ. Time stamps: [00:18] - David Bryant is a “messenger of hope” and a “Christ proclaimer”. [02:36] - David tells the story of how he “came alive among the dead.” [04:15] - When did David know he wanted to go into Christian Ministry? [06:06] - David recalls a revelation he had at 11 years old that gave him a glimpse of his future path. [07:57] - Listen to this chilling story of David receiving a divine message before speaking at an event. [10:56] - What was the message that came upon David? [13:22] - David talks about the ripple effect of trusting the divine message he had. [15:26] - Make much of Christ. [17:57] - Kellogg's cornflakes inspired David's concept of Christian believers being reintroduced to Christ. [20:01] - Do you know the meaning of Christ in the present day? [22:22] - What is the purpose of “reawakening” in the life of a Christian? [24:20] - Is the Christian society in a crisis? David explains that the hearts of Christians not being felt by Christ. [27:05] - David talks about his observations of the Christian world. [28:50] - Chris announces a new shift  in Life Calling Today. [31:25] - Is today's church community operating without Christ? What happened? [33:35] - There's a difference between the “Centrality of Christ” and the “Supremacy of Christ.” [35:38] - Chris and David clarify the intentions of Christ working for THE good. [37:37] - David says his work is translated into the Chinese language for the audience in China to use the resource. [39:59] - Christ NOW is about getting a larger vision of Christ. [42:38] - Let's foster a reawakening for the people of Christ. [44:36] - David shares that he feels alive through Christ and hope. [47:04] - What does it mean to be wholly alive? Links: Chris Heinz Chris Heinz Co. ChristNow.com David Bryant's Books Christ Institutes Video Series Twitter Instagram YouTube Proclaim HOPE!

  Wake the Faith up Slayer… This is Garth Heckman with the David Alliance and you can reach me at TDAgiantslayer@gmail.com    Brought to you by wellbuiltbody.com Gym Apparel for men and women that rocks and shocks and ain't for everybody - but just might be for you. wellbuiltbody.com   Act your age and not your shoe size… My sister used to say that to me when I was younger… but at the time my shoe size was actually larger than my age… well now what?    1 Cor. 3:1 -4 3 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to spiritual people.[b] I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren't ready for anything stronger. And you still aren't ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren't you acting just like people of the world? You never sin once you are a Xn… uhm no. You were never a Xn in the first place if you sin…uhm no again. You can in fact be a Christian and sin… not just sin, but live a life of sin even after your accept Christ. You are filled with his spirit, but no longer controlled by his spirit! This is called being a baby.   But here is what I want you to Notice about this… there's something here… if someone is not spiritual or controlled by the spirit you can't really talk to them, you cannot connect with them because they are not on your level. There are certain things that they will not have register because they are controlled by the flesh. Paul said “when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ” Now this can sound like I am pushing the emperors new clothes line, but the truth is I have many times found myself in a group of Christians and even ecumenical pastors and there is not much I can really say to the group because they are not spirit filled… and in fact are quite Babyish in their faith… I know I know it sounds like I am posturing and bragging- I'm not- its just the honest truth. And in the same way I have a few pastors that walk much deeper than I do and probably see me as a little underdeveloped in my faith… and could talk over my head spiritually speaking… I get it and I am pushing into grow beyond that… thats the point of this right? Not to stick with milk, and not to go from milk to meat, but to go from milk, to pudding, to bread, to fruits and vegetables and ultimately to meat.   I also find it interesting that they are not talking about worldly things… They are arguing about Christian things… but its still wrong because its in the flesh… its still babyish. Paul nails it on the head with verse four… you are acting just like people of the world. May our prayer today simply be- quit acting like the world… quit acting like babies…. start allowing the Holy Spirit to control you and act like a grown up. 

Luke 9:18-22 Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” Jesus Foretells His Death And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Scripture Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 The Resurrection of Christ Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are … Continue reading →

Do You Know Who You Are? By Tammy Lacock Warren Litzman makes it clear, once again, that his mission is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the writings of the Apostle Paul. In this week's podcast, he goes on to explain the first use of the term “Christian” and what it means to be a Christian. It is only through Paul's epistles where we can begin to know who we are as Christians. The Apostle Paul was raised up by Christ, Himself, as the only writer in the Bible to deliver what he calls the “revelation of the mystery”. “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.” (Romans 16:25) “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words)." (Ephesians 3:3) So what is this mystery Paul speaks of? It is made clear throughout his epistles that the great mystery is Christ literally living in every believer. This is where the term “Christian” originates. We are Christ-persons, Christians. Paul first used this term in Antioch to define believers in whom Christ lives. “Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” (Acts 11:25-26) Paul shares his revelation of the mystery not only to the believers during his time but also to us NOW. His message is alive and well for us NOW! Christ NOW lives in us. When He died on the cross, we died too, to our old lives. And when He arose from the dead, we arose too, to a new life in Him. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Warren goes on to explain what it means to be a completed Christian. A mature, completed Christian knows their true identity, who he/she is in Christ. They've had the revelation of the mystery. They see Christ as their only life and will rightly divide the Scriptures between those who don't know Christ as their life and those who are born again and know Christ as their life. The law no longer functions for those who know Christ in them. It's no longer needed for those born again. Christ is their new life. Those who do not know Christ need the law in order to function. Christians are supercharged by another life they now live, Christ in them. They know that God sees Jesus in them now. He doesn't see a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Charismatic, or a Catholic, etc. Christians know that because God sees Jesus as their new life, we are His bona fide children, joint-heirs with Christ to His heavenly Kingdom. We are no longer earthly beings but are translated into His Kingdom. We are on our way to living in our Father's heavenly house. As ambassadors of Christ, we are here on earth now to represent His government and reconcile others to Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). Warren emphasizes God's heartfelt love for those who believe in Christ, His Son, as their Savior. When He saw Jesus pay that price for our sins to reconcile us back to Him, His Grace and Mercy poured out unto us, and is pouring out unto us every day. Do you know who you are?Dive into Paul's epistles and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the great mystery Paul writes about over and over in his epistles. The mystery of who you are! The mystery of Christ living in you! You are a Christ person, a Christian! And in the eyes of God, you are His bona fide child!

7 Reasons The Rapture is before the seven year great tribulation, which is also called Daniel's 70th week. The Rapture is Near! Get saved today! The Gospel of Christ: The Resurrection of Christ Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 NIV --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thedayofthelordisnear/message

Do you hate it when your friends give away the ending of a movie?... Even if they say SPOILER ALERT first, it doesn't make it any better. In today's message, Pastor Dan explains that in the Bible...spoiler alerts are GOOD... Fulfilled prophecies confirm that the Bible is TRUE. Ancient rulers were described BY Daniel even before they ruled. Some prophecies have already been fulfilled while many others will be fulfilled in the end times. You can trust in the Word of God and choose to follow Christ NOW.

"Since then you have been raised with Christ " Now that should get your attention. Paul is declaring a truth about you. Christian, you have been raised with Christ. And it happened the moment you believed. In the same way that God raised Jesus Christ physically 2000 years ago, he raised you raised spiritually to live a new life. Now, since this is true, seek the things that are above where Christ is. In other words, look to Jesus. He is now your life. And nothing in this world compares to Him. And while you are seeking the things above, set your mind there as well. That's where true joy and peace are experienced, You will never find them in the world So don't sell your self short. You have new life. You've been raised with Christ.

In places where people are FREE Jesus Christ is neglected, serve Christ NOW as HIS coming is soon and very sure. We are in the midst of a season we have never experienced before in this generation. Do the work of an Evangelist with the resources God has blessed you with. People are hiding to serve Christ in counties that are ruled with a iron fist the time is coming where those who are now experiencing freedom may feel their freedom slip away. This is the time to spread the Gospel for the sake of the Gospel. Don't allow rocks to take your place.

In places where people are FREE Jesus Christ is neglected, serve Christ NOW as HIS coming is soon and very sure. We are in the midst of a season we have never experienced before in this generation. Do the work of an Evangelist with the resources God has blessed you with. People are hiding to serve Christ in counties that are ruled with a iron fist the time is coming where those who are now experiencing freedom may feel their freedom slip away. This is the time to spread the Gospel for the sake of the Gospel. Don't allow rocks to take your place.

In places where people are FREE Jesus Christ is neglected, serve Christ NOW as HIS coming is soon and very sure. We are in the midst of a season we have never experienced before in this generation. Do the work of an Evangelist with the resources God has blessed you with. People are hiding to serve Christ in counties that are ruled with a iron fist the time is coming where those who are now experiencing freedom may feel their freedom slip away. This is the time to spread the Gospel for the sake of the Gospel. Don't allow rocks to take your place.

Watch/Listen here using the Embedded Subsplash Playerdiv.sap-embed-player{position:relative;width:100%;height:0;padding-top:56.25%;}div.sap-embed-player>iframe{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;}Central Baptist Church of Ponca City, OKDATE: Sunday AM, February 21, 2021SERMON BY: Dr. John WaterlooSERMON TITLE: The Beauty and Eternal Value of SacrificeSERMON THEME: A Different Aspect of the Willing Sacrifice of ChristSERMON SERIES: The Gospel by MarkSERMON VERSES: Mark 10:32-34; 8:31-33; 9:30-32; Philippians 3:8* Whatever we give up for Christ NOW, will be worth it in eternity!* Christians WIN! You only win with and in Christ. * We must lose... to win* It’s all in what you really want!The Five S’s of Genuine ChristianityServiceSelflessnessSeparationSufferingsSacrificesMark 10:32   And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, 33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: 34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.— — —Watch/Listen here using our Subsplash WebShare Playerhttps://subspla.sh/t926f27Listen here on Archive.orghttps://archive.org/download/022121-am-facebook-stream/022121AM-FacebookStream.mp3

John 8:1-12 (KJV) All that matters is that you have been liberated by the blood of Jesus! GO: 1.) Get over condemnation  2.) Go opposite of crime  3.) Grow onto Christ  Now what? My life is hidden with Christ in God and I shall not return  to what I have been exposed to in my past life.    More Info Join us online for Sunday Worship at 11am (EST) and stay connected with us at https://linktr.ee/icor  If you would like to support ICoR financially, you can give cheerfully via two ways: Givelify App: https://giv.li/qjwd9x  CashApp ($ImpactIcor): http://cash.app/$ImpactIcor  Real People. Radical Love. Lasting Impact.

This episode is part 1 of the series: Three Past Episodes for the New Year (Rebroadcast of Jesus, Seated and Supreme: The WOW of Christ NOW! (Ep. 9)

What Does God Want Us to Know?By Tammy Lacock “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1 Cor. 2:12, KJV) Warren Litzman makes it clear that the average believer doesn't know the things of God that are already given to us. He reiterates that we need only to read Paul's epistles to know that, as believers IN Christ, we have received “the Spirit which is of God.” Yet, how are we to know the “things of God” if we don't even know that we are NOW one spirit IN Christ. Paul's message is the Cross. Through Christ's death on the cross, we too died to our old lives and rose to a new life IN Christ (Gal. 2:20, KJV). There's nothing in existence that can replace what God did at the Cross. Only through Christ's shed blood are we baptized IN Him, not with water but in Spirit. Our old ways are washed away. Our eternal new life is Christ. Christ becomes our all in all. As believers, our lives are a love affair with Christ.  These are the things God wants us to know! Wouldn't it be awful to live a lifetime only to get to heaven and find out the liberating secret that Christ was IN us all along? Waiting for us to acknowledge Him? Waiting for us to know these things of God that are already given to us? We must allow the Holy Spirit to unclog our minds that have been misused by Satan for too long so that Christ may live freely and fully IN us. Yes, heaven awaits, but why not know and live Christ NOW?!

Paul's Gospel Is NOWBy Tammy Lacock “NOW [emphasis added] we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1 Cor. 2:12, KJV) Warren Litzman continues to emphasize the word NOW in 1 Corinthians 2:12, stating that the apostle Paul's use of the word NOW refers to a present message. It was a present message at the time of Paul's writings and continues to be a present message for us. The message is clear, that when we believe in Christ Jesus as our Savior, in that moment we receive “the Spirit which is of God,” that we “might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” NOW we are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Christ is available to us NOW because he is our new life. The knowledge of Him is also available to us NOW through the work of the Holy Spirit.  In the Old Testament, God was speaking to the people of that day. NOW, through Paul's epistles, God is speaking to us. God raised up only Paul to deliver the new gospel of Christ, in this new dispensation of grace that is NOW. We need only to take the time to read Paul's epistles and we too will come to the revelation that, as believers, Christ NOW lives in us. We are joined together as one spirit, “the Spirit which is of God.”  This dispensation of grace we are NOW living in is the last dispensation before the rapture. Paul is the last preacher. Let us NOW be followers of Paul, as he is of Christ, and pass this message of Christ IN us to all four corners of the earth. 

But in Rom. 8:11 Paul went beyond this to say that even today in our mortal bodies, we have the potential to experience that future way of life to the extent that we grow to maturity and are able to exercise the authority that we have even today as we reign with Christ NOW. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/overcominglife/support

Christ’s person and work is inseparable from His teaching. Christ’s person and work is the focus and the foundation of His teaching. If this foundation crumbles, then the entire structure of his teaching falls down. Jesus says this Himself in today's Gospel. After the Pharisees had referred the question, "What is the greatest commandment in the Law?" to Him and Christ had answered this question, He subsequently put forward the question to the Pharisees: "What do you think about Christ?" Now, that’s the real question.

God wants YOU to SURRENDER to the lordship of Christ NOW. I know this because he brought you here to hear this gospel.

A new MP3 sermon from Living Water La Pine is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Reign with Christ Now Subtitle: Romans Speaker: Dr. James Hofman Broadcaster: Living Water La Pine Event: Sunday Service Date: 9/6/2020 Bible: Romans 5:12-21 Length: 46 min.

The Mystery of Christ Is Being Revealed NOWBy Tammy Lacock ”How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words; Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ,) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” (Eph. 3:3-5, KJV) In Ephesians 3, Part 12, Warren Litzman emphasizes verse 5 by noting that the “mystery of Christ” IN the believer has not been revealed in any other time and to any other person in the Bible other than Paul in this current dispensation of grace. The time is NOW! The closest this mystery came to be revealed is when Christ, Himself, said to Nicodemus that one must be “born-again” to know the things of the Kingdom of Heaven. However, Nicodemus was confused and didn't understand. After His death, burial and resurrection, Christ raised up only Paul to bring forth this truth that anyone who believes, by grace, is saved and Christ NOW lives IN them. They are born-again. Their old sin nature is replaced with the God-seed of Christ, leaving no separation between the believer and Christ. With Christ as our new life, we stand before God as his adopted children. That's salvation! The mystery is revealed! The purpose of Paul's epistles is that we may learn and come to an understanding of his knowledge NOW, that we too might have the revelation of the “mystery of Christ” IN us.  Paul was not just an ordinary guy! He was an extremely learned and respected Jewish Rabbi who was struck blind on his way to Damascus to persecute believers. Christ spoke to him directly and Paul was changed forever. He made it clear that we are not saved by obedience to law, as he so vehemently enforced in his old life, but that in this very day we are saved by God's grace. He makes it very clear in all of his epistles, that by God's grace, we need only believe in Christ as our Saviour to be born again, “new creations” with Christ as our new life.  He states is ever so perfectly in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth IN me: and the life which I NOW live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  Right here, right NOW! If you believe, Christ lives in you! It's time to grow up in Him and spread this Final Gospel to the whole world!

Only Paul By Tammy Lacock “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery.” (Ephesians 3:3 KJV)  What gospel is God giving us for this day?  For this time we live in NOW?  It's not the gospel of Abraham, or David, or Isaiah or anyone else in the Old Testament. It wasn't revealed to Peter, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John or anyone else in the New Testament, except for Paul.  The gospel for today, the mystery of Christ, God revealed to Paul and to only Paul. Paul knew this so he turned around and made sure he passed the mystery onto us. That by just believing on Christ's death on the cross, his burial and resurrection, we as Christians are also crucified with Christ and born again. Our new life is Christ. Christ NOW lives IN us and we live IN Him. We are “new creations”, bona fide sons and daughters of God through Christ.  Warren Litzman again emphasizes that just as this new gospel, this mystery of Christ, was revealed to Paul, we too must come to this knowledge by revelation. We're not going to get it in our churches today. The average preacher isn't teaching the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as the source of our salvation. They aren't preaching “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20 KJV). They aren't preaching this new and final gospel of grace. Most are preaching a commingling of law and grace. This breeds confusion for us as believers and so we continue to wrestle with our old lives.  Are you wrestling with your old life? Through grace, Paul tells us that our old life has passed away and our new life is Christ.  If we are to come to this revelation for ourselves, we must study Paul's 14 epistles. He is the only man who teaches us how to live in today's dispensation of grace. He is the only one who teaches us a new and final gospel that fits this dispensation.  In Ephesians 1:17 (KJV), Paul prays “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” From Christ to Paul, from Paul to us....let the mystery be revealed unto all men!

In this episode, Pastor Kusi-Boadum during Traditional Day speaks on how God revealed himself to all tribes and nations on earth and how we are now reconciled with Him in Christ Now. Listen and be blessed.

The book of Galatians has also been referred to as the “Declaration of Independence for every Christian”•It is our declaration of Freedom!•There is freedom in ChristFreedom to be who we have been called to be by Christ•Now freedom is not a license to sin, but it is a power that has been given to actually overcome•We have been set free from the bondage of sinSupport the show (https://www.ccsrv.org/donate)

The book of Galatians has also been referred to as the “Declaration of Independence for every Christian”•It is our declaration of Freedom!•There is freedom in ChristFreedom to be who we have been called to be by Christ•Now freedom is not a license to sin, but it is a power that has been given to actually overcome•We have been set free from the bondage of sinSupport the show (https://www.ccsrv.org/donate)

Ephesians 1:15 – 2:10, Colossians 3:1 – 10 The post #3 The Resurrection: Raised with Christ Now appeared first on Trinity Church Unley.

Reeni Mederos speaks the oracles of the Lord from the heart of God with heavens frequencies concerning coming out of 2019 and bursting forth in 2020. As spirit beings, we are to walk in the KAINOS of God every single day, not just when the new year comes. Listen to the mystērion mystērion nuggets and morsels of God from the realms of God’s heart and start walking in the transfiguration and resurrection of Christ NOW while you are alive! Donate and give a heavenly trade at www.mysterion.tv to bless Reeni. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/reenimederos/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/reenimederos/support

I love nativity scenes. As a kid I would rearrange the characters every other day, it seemed. I loved how the little lamb in our main porcelain nativity had a broken leg that made it always bow towards the manger.I even love how my kiddos decided a couple of years ago to ADD to the nativity scene, and – running the risk of being a bit sacrilegious – I brought a picture of the additions. (There’s Luigi, and the troll doll, and of course Nemo. I like how the angel is laying down in front of the manger. And then you got one of the TMNT, Donatello, guarding the baby Jesus. And just to the left of the manger – Bowser, a bad-guy from Mario Bros., growling at the whole scene.Ah! Almost dragon-like, if you catch what I’m talking about. Which brings up a very interesting point to consider as we launch into our Advent season this year – Advent meaning preparing to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ…Now if you say my nativity scene is all wrong, I’d throw it back to you: do you have the magi there with the shepherds? That’s wrong. They came later. And while we’re on the magi, does your set include THREE wise men? If so, it may be wrong – we are never told how many magi came to the house where the baby Jesus was staying. (Yes, it was a house – not a stable – where the holy family was staying when the magi showed up.) Does your set include an angel? Not included in the biblical account – at least not at the manger. The angels were outside of the city, telling the shepherds where to find the baby… So the traditional set has many things “wrong” – but one of the most important things we get wrong is leaving out the dragon at the manger scene.Turn with me to Revelation, chapter 12. What? Isn’t this CHRISTMAS TIME, Trey? Yep. And I want you to see an overlooked account of the Christmas story. You want the story from an earthly point of view, check out Matthew and Luke. BUT if you want to see it from a cosmic point of view, you have to look at Revelation 12.

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Have you ever played the word association game? Many of you have, but for those of you who haven't the game goes like this: someone gives you a word, and then you are to say the first thing that comes to your mind upon hearing that certain word. If we were to play that game today and I gave you a few words to associate how would you answer? If I were to say food, you might say Pizza. If I said instrument, you may say Guitar. If I said, “movie” what movie would pop into your mind? I may say Batman and you would respond with Robin. If I were to say “Tennessee Vols Football Fan”” you might say, “SAD”…. right???… Many of these would be pretty easy to associate with something else wouldn't they? But what about this one: Christian… What comes to mind when you hear the word “Christian”??? That term has become very vague in how we as a society use it hasn't it?? When speaking of being a Christian people often say things like “I'm Christian because my parents were Christian” or, “I'm a Christian because I'm from the south” Or “I'm a Christian… But I don't care about that church stuff.” “Christians do this” “Christians don't do that” “Someone is a Christian if they pray before their meals” “Someone is NOT a christian if they see an R Rated movie, unless it's the passion of the Christ” It seems as if in our world today it's tough to pin down what we associate with the term “Christian" because we've made it into a ton of things. Did you know that Jesus never used the term “Christian”? The first time we see the term “Christian” used in the scripture is in Acts 11:26 when it says, “26 in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. “ So, if the followers of Jesus were not known as Christians what were they known as??? The text tells us… The disciples….. Consider this: The word Christian is used only 3 times in the entire bible… The word disciple is used 281 times in the New Testament alone… We see that even though our primary term would be “Christian” The authors of the New Testament, inspired by the Holy Spirit, primary term was “disciple” You may be thinking right now, “so what? Christian, disciple, tomato, tomAto, it's all the same…. Why does it matter if we changed our name from disciple to Christian?” Check out what Andy Stanley says of this when he says, “I want to suggest to you that in changing the primary word that we use to describe ourselves, we lost the clarity that the word disciple conveyed about what a follower of Jesus actually is.” So, if we know that “Christian” can mean a ton of things, what does disciple mean?” When looking at the word disciple in the original language we see that in the simplest of terms it means “learner”… or “follower” I hate to say this, but I believe that in our day and age, a lot of people who call themselves Christians are not actually disciples. Just because our parents went to church, does not make us a disciple. Just because we are from the south, that doesn't make us a disciple. Just because we choose not to watch R-rated movies does not make us a disciple. So, what does? One pastor says that, “Being a disciple is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.” And I believe that God is calling all of us to be His disciples. From the text here I believe we see 3 realties of being a disciple of Christ: First I believe we see the reality that…….. JESUS DOESN'T CHOOSE THE BEST, HE CHOOSES THE WILLING. 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Here we see that Jesus is making his first selection of the disciples he's going to build his dream team with. If you were a religious fan back in this day, I can imagine you would have had your predictions of who Jesus was going to pick. Will it be one of the amazing scholars in Egypt? Or will it be one of the great philopshers from Athens? No. No. I know, it has to be one of the most powerful men from Rome… And the religious fans would've waited in anticipation to see who Jesus' first selection would be… Those of you who know me, know that I love sports… Especially, the eight time national champion Kentucky Wildcats. I sometimes become convicted though, that I get more excited about sports then I do about church… So, I started wondering. What would happen if people treated church like they do sports… Check out what Kyle Idleman has to say about this: See if you can imagine this one.  People arrive hours early for church. On Sunday mornings, they don't just set a backup alarm on their cell phones to assure they wake up in time —they set a backup for the backup. Throughout the week, they talk about what happened the previous Sunday as excitement builds for the upcoming church service. There are all-day radio talk shows devoted to reviewing last week's service and breaking down the next one. There's even a  TV show called “ChurchCenter” that runs highlight clips of  church activities that have happened across the nation.  When Sunday comes, the people load up their trucks, SUVs,  and sedans hours before the service starts.  “Hurry,” Dad says frantically. “We're behind again.”  “It's 6:00 a.m.” Mom says. “Church doesn't start for five  hours.”  “Last time we left at this time, we had to park three miles  from the sanctuary and sit in the nosebleed seats. Someday, I re-  ally want to sit in the front row. But you have to camp out on the  church lawn to have any chance of that.”  The roads are really congested on the way to church, no matter how early you leave. At church, there are vehicles parked as  far as the eye can see. Some members are tailgating, laying out  elaborate spreads of barbequed meats on portable grills. Lawn  chairs dot the church parking lot. Some people have television  monitors and satellite dishes so they can catch updates from  other worship services while they wait for their own to begin.  Even in the dead of winter, they'll be out here in the same  numbers. And once the church doors open, the masses begin fil-  ing into the sanctuary, cheering with great passion and excite-  ment. As the service starts, the people are all on their feet — not  that they ever sit down. A bunch of young guys stand in the front  row. None of them wears a shirt, but each one has a letter paint-  ed on his chest. Together they spell J-E-S-U-S.  After several hours of worship and an extra-long sermon, peo-  ple start looking at their watches. Everyone is thinking the same  thing: “I hope the service goes into overtime!” Did any of you go to the NFL draft in Nashville this year? They said it was somewhere around 500 thousands people in attendance. People love the draft…. One of the most outstanding draft selections in the history of football came at a very unexpected time in the year 2000. The person walks to the stage to represent the New England Patriots. He takes a deep breathe and says… “With the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL draft, the New England Patriots select… Tom Brady, QB from the university of Michigan…” And everyone looked at each other and said… “WHO!?!?!” Not knowing that he would go on to be the greatest football player of all time. What if there was a disciples draft??? “With the first pick in the very first disciples draft Jesus Christ of Nazareth selects…… Simon Peter & his brother Andrew, fishermen from the city of Capernaum.” And everyone looked at each other and said “WHO?!?!” Fisherman were not on the top of the board of the religious list back in this day. Most likely, they had little education, little spiritual perception, and little to none religious training. It was an unexpected pick… Little did they know, they would be the ones Jesus would use to turn the world upside down. John Macarthur: speaks of this when he says, “God skipped all the wise of the day! The great scholars were in Egypt; the great library was in Alexandria; the great philosophers were in Athens; the powerful were in Rome. He passed over Socrates the great thinker and Julius Caesar. He chose men so ordinary it was comical. No Rabbis, no teachers, no religious experts...” Don't miss what I am about to say: God may not always call the qaulified, but He always qualifies the called…. Paul describes it even better there in 1 Corinthians 1:26 when he says, 26  Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” So, whether it is a lack of education, it's an insecurity you may have, a weary heart, or a sinful past, despite our shortcomings Jesus calls to everyone of us as he did Peter and Andrew and says, “Follow me… Be my disciples….” We see the reality that Jesus doesn't choose the best, He chooses the willing. Not only that, but we also see the reality that…… 2. TO FOLLOW HIM, WE HAVE TO LEAVE ALL. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Notice the two things they left in this passage. The Boat Their Father I think the author wants us to notice something here.. The boat is what the place they were most comfortable. Their father was one of their most significant relationships.. The author is trying to show us that a call to follow Jesus is one where He has to be of utmost importance to you, or it's not gonna work out. We see that Jesus says something similar in Luke 9:57. It says, “57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” In other words, being a disciple means being out of your comfort zone. We're not gonna stay in the boat the entire time. 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Again Jesus shows us that we have to love Him above everything and everyone in order to follow Him. One of the most popular teachings on this subject would be when Jesus said in Matthew 10:38, “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What do we know about a cross? It's a death instrument. Jesus is saying, if you are not willing to die to yourself daily, then you can't follow me. A call to follow Jesus means dying to anything that would be a hindrance to the work he's called you to. A call to follow Jesus is one that requires anything living within' us that causes us to love something else more than Him, to be put to death. That's why Deitrech Bonnohefer so accurately said, “When Christ calls a man to follow Him, He bids him come and die.” I know what you are prolly thinking… “Wow.. This doesn't sound fun at all to me.” All this talk about dying… I thought that following Jesus meant to have abundant life, not all this talk of dying.. So, which one is it Noah, does being a disciple mean dying or living? Here's the answer: Yes…. Let me expound… Here we see one of the great paradoxes of Jesus. Taking up your cross means dying to yourself. Trading in your earthly desires for the heavenly desires Christ wants to give you. Trading in the lie of trying to be fulfilled by things of the world, and becoming fulfilled by the things of God. It is the process of dying to the flesh, and living by the spirit. Becoming less of who you were before you knew Christ, and more of who He is calling you to be. The Apostle Paul had this same idea when he wrote to the Galatians and said, “20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” I like the way a popular worship song puts it when one of the lyrics say, “I found my life, when I laid it down." A call to follow Jesus means that we are to leave all. We are to love Him and seek after His will more than anything else in our lives… When it comes to being a disciple, not only do we see the reality that Jesus doesn't choose the best, he chooses the willing; not only do we see the reality that he calls us to leave all, but lastly we see the reality that…. 3. HE COMMANDS US TO SPIRITUALLY REPRODUCE. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus says, if you follow me, I will MAKE you fishers of men.. Not, “If you do this bible study, or you memorize this gospel presentation, then I'll make you fishers of men.” NO! In this text there's a command, and a result… The command: Follow Jesus. The result: become a fisher of men. Spiritually reproducing is not just something that a disciple does, spiritually reproducing is the main factor of who a disciple is… Have any of you heard of the Ennegram thing going around? It's basically like a personality test.. Like, a 7 is this. And if your result is a 4 then that means that you like this, but you don't like this… I don't know… I have to get my students to explain it to me… But, Jesus gives us a bit of a similar personality test in John 15:8..  “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples.” How do you prove you are a disciple? By bearing fruit. And if you are not bearing fruit, you have reason to question whether you are a disciple at all. Jesus tells His disciples how to bear fruit in His famous Great Commission: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In his book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman said: “When will the church learn this lesson? Preaching to the masses, although necessary, will never suffice in the work of preparing leaders for evangelism. Nor can occasional prayer meetings and training classes for Christian workers do this job... Individual women and men are God's method. God's plan for discipleship is not something, but someone.” Church, when it comes to making disciples, WE ARE PLAN A, AND THERE IS NO PLAN B. That's why we are happy to share with you guys this morning that we are launching what is called the “Who's Your One” campaign. We are encouraging every member of the church to identify one person whom they know that is spiritually seeking or lost, and commit to praying for that person, and taking the initiative in being the first piece of the puzzle that could help that person come to know Christ… Now, if you have been in church for a while, you may have heard of or been apart of something like this before. So, you may be wondering, what all this will entail. If it will be like the evangelistic campaign you did this time, or that time. I believe the best way I can explain what this campaign is, is to first tell you what it is not. 1. Who's Your One will not be motivated by guilt. Far too many times in the church culture we see a lot of these evangelist efforts driven by something of the effect “If you really love Jesus, you'll go knock on this door, hand them this gospel track, give this presentation” Who's Your One is not that… 2. Who's Your One will not simply be a leverage point for us to brag of our evangelist success. Will we be excited about people coming to Jesus? Yes! Will we be doing it all so that we can show everyone how amazing we are? No! We will do everything for the glory of God, and not ours. 3. Who's Your One will not be a process in which we turn people into projects… We will not approach people who do not know Jesus and turn them into our own little project that the church has us working on… Rather, we will love that person as Jesus would love them, and show them that we want them to know Christ because we love them, not simply because we are involved with a churches evangelist campaign. Through Who'sYourOne, I believe that God is going to show us that He is calling all of us to be His disciples. And we can jump into this season with confidence because we know that even though we may not be the best by the world's standard, God loves to use those who are weak to shame the strong. We know that if we follow Him and love Him above all else, he will in return give us a life that will truly satisfy and fulfill all we could ever long for. And by knowing these things, and believing them, we know that He will use as His disciples, to make disciples, all for the glory of His name.

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Have you ever played the word association game? Many of you have, but for those of you who haven’t the game goes like this: someone gives you a word, and then you are to say the first thing that comes to your mind upon hearing that certain word. If we were to play that game today and I gave you a few words to associate how would you answer? If I were to say food, you might say Pizza. If I said instrument, you may say Guitar. If I said, “movie” what movie would pop into your mind? I may say Batman and you would respond with Robin. If I were to say “Tennessee Vols Football Fan”” you might say, “SAD”…. right???… Many of these would be pretty easy to associate with something else wouldn’t they? But what about this one: Christian… What comes to mind when you hear the word “Christian”??? That term has become very vague in how we as a society use it hasn’t it?? When speaking of being a Christian people often say things like “I’m Christian because my parents were Christian” or, “I’m a Christian because I’m from the south” Or “I’m a Christian… But I don’t care about that church stuff.” “Christians do this” “Christians don’t do that” “Someone is a Christian if they pray before their meals” “Someone is NOT a christian if they see an R Rated movie, unless it’s the passion of the Christ” It seems as if in our world today it’s tough to pin down what we associate with the term “Christian" because we’ve made it into a ton of things. Did you know that Jesus never used the term “Christian”? The first time we see the term “Christian” used in the scripture is in Acts 11:26 when it says, “26 in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. “ So, if the followers of Jesus were not known as Christians what were they known as??? The text tells us… The disciples….. Consider this: The word Christian is used only 3 times in the entire bible… The word disciple is used 281 times in the New Testament alone… We see that even though our primary term would be “Christian” The authors of the New Testament, inspired by the Holy Spirit, primary term was “disciple” You may be thinking right now, “so what? Christian, disciple, tomato, tomAto, it’s all the same…. Why does it matter if we changed our name from disciple to Christian?” Check out what Andy Stanley says of this when he says, “I want to suggest to you that in changing the primary word that we use to describe ourselves, we lost the clarity that the word disciple conveyed about what a follower of Jesus actually is.” So, if we know that “Christian” can mean a ton of things, what does disciple mean?” When looking at the word disciple in the original language we see that in the simplest of terms it means “learner”… or “follower” I hate to say this, but I believe that in our day and age, a lot of people who call themselves Christians are not actually disciples. Just because our parents went to church, does not make us a disciple. Just because we are from the south, that doesn’t make us a disciple. Just because we choose not to watch R-rated movies does not make us a disciple. So, what does? One pastor says that, “Being a disciple is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.” And I believe that God is calling all of us to be His disciples. From the text here I believe we see 3 realties of being a disciple of Christ: First I believe we see the reality that…….. JESUS DOESN’T CHOOSE THE BEST, HE CHOOSES THE WILLING. 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Here we see that Jesus is making his first selection of the disciples he’s going to build his dream team with. If you were a religious fan back in this day, I can imagine you would have had your predictions of who Jesus was going to pick. Will it be one of the amazing scholars in Egypt? Or will it be one of the great philopshers from Athens? No. No. I know, it has to be one of the most powerful men from Rome… And the religious fans would’ve waited in anticipation to see who Jesus’ first selection would be… Those of you who know me, know that I love sports… Especially, the eight time national champion Kentucky Wildcats. I sometimes become convicted though, that I get more excited about sports then I do about church… So, I started wondering. What would happen if people treated church like they do sports… Check out what Kyle Idleman has to say about this: See if you can imagine this one.  People arrive hours early for church. On Sunday mornings, they don’t just set a backup alarm on their cell phones to assure they wake up in time —they set a backup for the backup. Throughout the week, they talk about what happened the previous Sunday as excitement builds for the upcoming church service. There are all-day radio talk shows devoted to reviewing last week’s service and breaking down the next one. There’s even a  TV show called “ChurchCenter” that runs highlight clips of  church activities that have happened across the nation.  When Sunday comes, the people load up their trucks, SUVs,  and sedans hours before the service starts.  “Hurry,” Dad says frantically. “We’re behind again.”  “It’s 6:00 a.m.” Mom says. “Church doesn’t start for five  hours.”  “Last time we left at this time, we had to park three miles  from the sanctuary and sit in the nosebleed seats. Someday, I re-  ally want to sit in the front row. But you have to camp out on the  church lawn to have any chance of that.”  The roads are really congested on the way to church, no matter how early you leave. At church, there are vehicles parked as  far as the eye can see. Some members are tailgating, laying out  elaborate spreads of barbequed meats on portable grills. Lawn  chairs dot the church parking lot. Some people have television  monitors and satellite dishes so they can catch updates from  other worship services while they wait for their own to begin.  Even in the dead of winter, they’ll be out here in the same  numbers. And once the church doors open, the masses begin fil-  ing into the sanctuary, cheering with great passion and excite-  ment. As the service starts, the people are all on their feet — not  that they ever sit down. A bunch of young guys stand in the front  row. None of them wears a shirt, but each one has a letter paint-  ed on his chest. Together they spell J-E-S-U-S.  After several hours of worship and an extra-long sermon, peo-  ple start looking at their watches. Everyone is thinking the same  thing: “I hope the service goes into overtime!” Did any of you go to the NFL draft in Nashville this year? They said it was somewhere around 500 thousands people in attendance. People love the draft…. One of the most outstanding draft selections in the history of football came at a very unexpected time in the year 2000. The person walks to the stage to represent the New England Patriots. He takes a deep breathe and says… “With the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL draft, the New England Patriots select… Tom Brady, QB from the university of Michigan…” And everyone looked at each other and said… “WHO!?!?!” Not knowing that he would go on to be the greatest football player of all time. What if there was a disciples draft??? “With the first pick in the very first disciples draft Jesus Christ of Nazareth selects…… Simon Peter & his brother Andrew, fishermen from the city of Capernaum.” And everyone looked at each other and said “WHO?!?!” Fisherman were not on the top of the board of the religious list back in this day. Most likely, they had little education, little spiritual perception, and little to none religious training. It was an unexpected pick… Little did they know, they would be the ones Jesus would use to turn the world upside down. John Macarthur: speaks of this when he says, “God skipped all the wise of the day! The great scholars were in Egypt; the great library was in Alexandria; the great philosophers were in Athens; the powerful were in Rome. He passed over Socrates the great thinker and Julius Caesar. He chose men so ordinary it was comical. No Rabbis, no teachers, no religious experts...” Don’t miss what I am about to say: God may not always call the qaulified, but He always qualifies the called…. Paul describes it even better there in 1 Corinthians 1:26 when he says, 26  Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” So, whether it is a lack of education, it’s an insecurity you may have, a weary heart, or a sinful past, despite our shortcomings Jesus calls to everyone of us as he did Peter and Andrew and says, “Follow me… Be my disciples….” We see the reality that Jesus doesn’t choose the best, He chooses the willing. Not only that, but we also see the reality that…… 2. TO FOLLOW HIM, WE HAVE TO LEAVE ALL. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Notice the two things they left in this passage. The Boat Their Father I think the author wants us to notice something here.. The boat is what the place they were most comfortable. Their father was one of their most significant relationships.. The author is trying to show us that a call to follow Jesus is one where He has to be of utmost importance to you, or it’s not gonna work out. We see that Jesus says something similar in Luke 9:57. It says, “57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” In other words, being a disciple means being out of your comfort zone. We’re not gonna stay in the boat the entire time. 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Again Jesus shows us that we have to love Him above everything and everyone in order to follow Him. One of the most popular teachings on this subject would be when Jesus said in Matthew 10:38, “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What do we know about a cross? It’s a death instrument. Jesus is saying, if you are not willing to die to yourself daily, then you can’t follow me. A call to follow Jesus means dying to anything that would be a hindrance to the work he’s called you to. A call to follow Jesus is one that requires anything living within’ us that causes us to love something else more than Him, to be put to death. That’s why Deitrech Bonnohefer so accurately said, “When Christ calls a man to follow Him, He bids him come and die.” I know what you are prolly thinking… “Wow.. This doesn’t sound fun at all to me.” All this talk about dying… I thought that following Jesus meant to have abundant life, not all this talk of dying.. So, which one is it Noah, does being a disciple mean dying or living? Here’s the answer: Yes…. Let me expound… Here we see one of the great paradoxes of Jesus. Taking up your cross means dying to yourself. Trading in your earthly desires for the heavenly desires Christ wants to give you. Trading in the lie of trying to be fulfilled by things of the world, and becoming fulfilled by the things of God. It is the process of dying to the flesh, and living by the spirit. Becoming less of who you were before you knew Christ, and more of who He is calling you to be. The Apostle Paul had this same idea when he wrote to the Galatians and said, “20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” I like the way a popular worship song puts it when one of the lyrics say, “I found my life, when I laid it down." A call to follow Jesus means that we are to leave all. We are to love Him and seek after His will more than anything else in our lives… When it comes to being a disciple, not only do we see the reality that Jesus doesn’t choose the best, he chooses the willing; not only do we see the reality that he calls us to leave all, but lastly we see the reality that…. 3. HE COMMANDS US TO SPIRITUALLY REPRODUCE. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus says, if you follow me, I will MAKE you fishers of men.. Not, “If you do this bible study, or you memorize this gospel presentation, then I’ll make you fishers of men.” NO! In this text there’s a command, and a result… The command: Follow Jesus. The result: become a fisher of men. Spiritually reproducing is not just something that a disciple does, spiritually reproducing is the main factor of who a disciple is… Have any of you heard of the Ennegram thing going around? It’s basically like a personality test.. Like, a 7 is this. And if your result is a 4 then that means that you like this, but you don’t like this… I don’t know… I have to get my students to explain it to me… But, Jesus gives us a bit of a similar personality test in John 15:8..  “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples.” How do you prove you are a disciple? By bearing fruit. And if you are not bearing fruit, you have reason to question whether you are a disciple at all. Jesus tells His disciples how to bear fruit in His famous Great Commission: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In his book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman said: “When will the church learn this lesson? Preaching to the masses, although necessary, will never suffice in the work of preparing leaders for evangelism. Nor can occasional prayer meetings and training classes for Christian workers do this job... Individual women and men are God’s method. God’s plan for discipleship is not something, but someone.” Church, when it comes to making disciples, WE ARE PLAN A, AND THERE IS NO PLAN B. That’s why we are happy to share with you guys this morning that we are launching what is called the “Who’s Your One” campaign. We are encouraging every member of the church to identify one person whom they know that is spiritually seeking or lost, and commit to praying for that person, and taking the initiative in being the first piece of the puzzle that could help that person come to know Christ… Now, if you have been in church for a while, you may have heard of or been apart of something like this before. So, you may be wondering, what all this will entail. If it will be like the evangelistic campaign you did this time, or that time. I believe the best way I can explain what this campaign is, is to first tell you what it is not. 1. Who’s Your One will not be motivated by guilt. Far too many times in the church culture we see a lot of these evangelist efforts driven by something of the effect “If you really love Jesus, you’ll go knock on this door, hand them this gospel track, give this presentation” Who’s Your One is not that… 2. Who’s Your One will not simply be a leverage point for us to brag of our evangelist success. Will we be excited about people coming to Jesus? Yes! Will we be doing it all so that we can show everyone how amazing we are? No! We will do everything for the glory of God, and not ours. 3. Who’s Your One will not be a process in which we turn people into projects… We will not approach people who do not know Jesus and turn them into our own little project that the church has us working on… Rather, we will love that person as Jesus would love them, and show them that we want them to know Christ because we love them, not simply because we are involved with a churches evangelist campaign. Through Who’sYourOne, I believe that God is going to show us that He is calling all of us to be His disciples. And we can jump into this season with confidence because we know that even though we may not be the best by the world’s standard, God loves to use those who are weak to shame the strong. We know that if we follow Him and love Him above all else, he will in return give us a life that will truly satisfy and fulfill all we could ever long for. And by knowing these things, and believing them, we know that He will use as His disciples, to make disciples, all for the glory of His name.

Last week we looked at Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well,And why these details, Samaritan, and Jacob’s well, are important.We looked at what made this encounter special, or radical.We looked at the state of this Samaritan woman;Her standing int he community, etc.,And how Jesus didn’t see any of that as a reason to put him off.Instead, Jesus saw all of that as the reason to show her His love for her.Now we move on to the end of this account.We see the disciples come back during this conversation and they ‘marvel’ at this interaction.And they know this woman is at the well at noon because she can’t come in the morning with the rest.And then they see her leave her water jar and go into town.Now this is important.I think it stands to reason that this lady didn’t have an abundance of water jars.And knowing that these jars were used to get the household water,For everything in the household; hygiene, cooking, etc.,It is not something that is likely to be just left about.It is important to everyday life.And there is nothing to imply this woman is wealthy, so she doesn’t have an excess of water jars.But, she just leaves it where it is, and goes into town.She does something else here.She leaves the safety of her solitude.She leaves a place where there is no one to treat her as less,No one to treat her as something to be pitied or scorned.She leaves a place where her shame can be kept out of the public eye,And goes right into a place where she has no cover.She is bare and vulnerable to the looks; the words; the actions,Of people who would wish her embarrassment or even harm.She goes into this town to tell the people in the town who she has just met.She goes, knowing what she is walking into, but being driven by a mercy and grace,That diminishes anything that could be said to her or about her,Because Jesus has come.And she know that they all…all…have been waiting for the Messiah to come.She know that Jesus is more important than her past,And more important than whatever she may face in town.This woman goes into town and says come and see this man who has told me everything about me…Could this be the Christ?Now, before we get to the rest of this part of the account,Let’s look at what the disciples are doing.Remember, they were off to get food and returned to see Jesus,Talking to woman at noon time at the well.The disciples, at this point, try to get Jesus to eat something.But Jesus tells them that He has food they don’t know about,And it is to do the will of the One who sent Him.The well meaning disciples are trying to get Jesus to eat, not realizing Jesus isn’t finished yet.While the disciples are trying to get Jesus to eat, The towns people are coming to the well to see Jesus.So Jesus tells His disciples, there is more important stuff to be done here than eating.Yes, food is necessary, but Jesus is telling them that God the Father will sustain you.You see the disciples were so attentive to the food, they were missing the harvest.Jesus tells them that the harvest was then…was right now.In other words, get to ministering to these pe

The Body of Christ“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” 1 Corinthians 12:27In one of the Apostle Paul’s exhortations to the church at Corinth, he explained unity of the body of Christ. There was an apparent schism between many of the believers that warranted an explanation of each of their roles, and how they related to one another. He spoke principally of how terrible it would be in the natural world if an eye thought that it was not important because it was not a hand. If the eye were the hand, what would do the seeing? He spoke also, of how terrible it would be if that same eye thought that the hand was insignificant. With this clearly outlined, he continued by discussing many of the spiritual gifts the Holy Ghost had imparted to the several members of the body as He saw fit, with each being essential. While the body had many members, it is unified by one overarching and controlling power, which is Christ.It occurred to me while contemplating the resurrection of Jesus, that His literal physical body was once in subjection to earthly limitations; not the least of which was death. When He completed His mission of being our example, He became sin and was obedient to the death of the cross. He died the second death once for all. On the third day, just as He had prophesied, He arose with victory and power in His hands. The blessing of Jesus’ resurrection, as it relates to His body the church, is that if He is raised, His church is raised with Him. Romans chapter six outlines that when Jesus died, we died in Him, and when He was raised, we shared in His resurrection. Since His literal physical body is risen and not dead, His church should have the same experience being resurrected from the bonds of sin.Do you feel entombed, and in need of a call from heaven saying, “Child of God, come forth; your Father calls thee?” The word of the Lord to you is that you do not have to be locked in the tomb of sin and shame. No longer do you need to experience the darkness of spiritual death. Since Christ is raised, you too can be delivered from the pit of sin and death. “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:11. “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Romans 6:9-13

This Sunday, November 4th, we will conclude our sermon series "A Grace-Full Life." God's grace comes to us in four movements: "Even There, Even Now, Even More, and Even Then," or more specifically prevenient grace, justifying grace, sanctifying grace, and glorifying grace. It all about living out our God's all-reaching, soul-saving, character-shaping, never-ending love. This week, we will focus on Romans 8:38-39 which tells us that nothing can separate us from God's amazing love. Even physical death cannot separate us from God's love - God's grace extends throughout our life EVEN WHEN we pass from this life to the next. The gift of God's glorifying grace is that we don't have the fear the death of these earthly bodies. God is with us. It is God's never-ending love and grace that allows us to both live and die well. We talk about dying well - living confidently in Christ NOW and THEN! We take some time and think about death and even examine the condition of our souls. While no one really likes to sit around and think about their death, talking about living and dying well is one of the most important conversations we can have with ourselves and God. Subscribe to our Sunday Morning Sermons on: - Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-hope-umc-sunday-sermon-podcast/id1093524425?mt=2 - Stitcher Radio: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=87782&refid=stpr - Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Ijonx62ajd5qwxv3qgxkizdqnva?t=New_Hope_UMC_Sunday_Sermon_Podcast

Introduction Revelation is the incredible book of the unveiling of Jesus Christ, the Glorious One, whose glory we cannot see now. We have never seen him, as 1 Peter 1 says, and yet we love him. Revelation also reveals the coming future. God’s Heavenly Preparation of the Day of His Wrath Everything is Meticulously Prepared In 1734, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon in preparation for perhaps the greatest revival of religion that has ever been seen in the United States, the First Great Awakening. He began the sermon with these words: “It is the manner of God, before he bestows any signal mercy on the people, first to prepare them for it.” He preached from 1 Kings on the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Edwards pointed out that God had been preparing the Jewish nation for years for an amazing revival of religion that day on Mount Carmel. To prepare the people for that, God had with withheld dew and rain from the land for three-and-a-half years. There had been a drought, which brought severe famine as a result on the land. He had raised up an amazing and bold prophet named Elijah, who carefully set up this contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel at the instruction of God. Elijah said in his own prayer that he had done everything at God’s word. In this contest on the summit of Mount Carmel, two altars were set up — one for Baal, and one for Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A sacrificial animal was laid on each one. Prophets of Baal would call out to Baal and Elijah would call out to the Lord; the God that answered from Heaven to earth by fire would be revealed as the true God. All of this was carefully orchestrated by God in advance. When the fire fell from Heaven to earth, the people fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, He is God.” In their turn prior to Elijah’s, the prophets of Baal had failed to do anything. There had been no supernatural display of Baal’s power in answer to their prayers. The Book of Revelation makes a similar but opposite point to Edwards’ point about how God prepares His people for His signal mercies; I put it like this: “It is the manner of God, before he pours out his just wrath on the wicked of the earth, first to prepare them for it.” God has been setting up a clear display of evil and wickedness of sin and rebellion against God throughout redemptive history, and it will culminate at the end of the world. God has been preparing the wicked of the world for such a time as that will be. Proverbs 16:4 says, “The LORD works out everything for his own ends — even the wicked for a day of disaster.” God works everything out for His own purposes, including rebellion; He has a meticulous careful plan for the wicked of the Earth. The Bible reveals that God is slow to anger. He is patient, as He revealed to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7: “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” There will come a day when his righteous judgment will be revealed. Romans 9 says that God bears with great patience the objects of His wrath, but the same verse says that they are prepared for destruction. God Has a Meticulous Plan God has meticulously planned how He will deal with the wicked. He has borne with great patience their wickedness in every generation: they have flouted His laws, flaunted their freedoms, abused His people, fanned their lusts into a flame, blasphemed His holy name, taken in the blessings of His sunlight and rain without giving Him thanks, worshipped false gods of various types, and much more. God has borne all of this with great patience. All this has been part of God’s plan to give us what we wanted, what our first father asked for in the Garden of Eden on our behalf. We wanted an education in evil, starting with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We have since had millennia of education in wickedness and evil. God has drawn it out, as the Book of Romans says, “…in order that the trespass might increase…” that we might actually see in all of its dark colors just how evil and wicked sin is. The wicked of the earth have worshipped various gods and goddesses and made idols. This idolatry will be consolidated in the end into one final idol, the Antichrist, the man of sin, who will come up out of the sea. A corresponding image of him will be formed to focus the wicked idolatrous hearts of the people of the earth on this one man. This will be the final false religion. At the end of time, God will pour out His judgments in a very wise, orderly way, little by little, but escalating and increasing. Revelation 9:20-21 makes it plain, however, that the people, even with great judgments being poured on them from Heaven to earth, still will not repent. Revelation 9:20-21 says, “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood-- idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” God will unleash a series of meticulously prepared judgments, one after the other, that culminates in a final crescendo of judgment depicted in Revelation. Previously in this book, Jesus has broken open the seven seals, resulting in a series of escalating judgments. Out of the seventh seal come seven trumpets (Revelation 8 and 9), judgments on the ecology of the earth in which a third of the plants and trees are burned up along with all of the green grass, a third of the oceans are turned to blood, a third of living creatures die in the ocean, a third of the fresh water is poisoned, and a demonic army is unleashed on the inhabitants of the earth, resulting in the death of a third of mankind. Even in His wrath, God is showing restraint. There is still a vast number of survivors, the ecology somewhat recovers, and life goes on for a short time longer. They have been warned one final time. All of these things were prepared or planned in the mind of God before the world began. Now in Revelation, the time will have come to unleash the final judgments, the final plagues, like the most devastating doomsday machine ever seen. Like a Terrifying Doomsday Machine The most terrifying, devastating doomsday weapon ever concocted by humans is the atomic bomb, made in the Manhattan Project of World War II. The greatest physicists, mathematicians and engineers available worked together for three years at a total cost of over $2 billion (a huge amount of money in the mis) and a workforce of 120,000 people. They produced the weapon that unleashed the power of the atom. The science was precise and complex and the final effect was unspeakable. On July 16th, 1945, the first nuclear blast in history was detonated at the Trinity site in New Mexico. The man in charge of the project, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, quoted Hindu poetry at that moment, saying, “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” When it was dropped on Hiroshima, the atomic fireball over that city was devastating and awesome, killing 90,000 people in one explosion. I have been to the Peace Museum in Hiroshima, a sobering sight. But all of that is as nothing compared to what will be unleashed in the seven bowl judgments depicted in the next chapter, Revelation 16. The Heavenly Display of the Seven Angels A Sign in Heaven Revelation 15 is a preface, the shortest chapter in the Book of Revelation. It introduces the careful preparation of the final judgment that will be poured out from Heaven on earth for human sin, flowing from the character of God and His heavenly temple. Revelation 15:1 says, “I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues — last, because with them God's wrath is completed.” John opening words emphasize his role as seer, a visionary prophet, able to see into the heavenly realms things that we cannot see. He calls it a “great and marvelous sign.” The word “sign” was used of Jesus’s miracles, called signs and wonders, indicating what the coming kingdom would be like, where there would be no more death, mourning, crying or pain. Jesus in His mercy banished illness and even death for a short time in the few years that He ministered, able to handle any disease and sickness. Those were signs of a coming kingdom. The great and marvelous sign here is the coming judgment of God on the wicked of the human race. Seven Angels, Seven Plagues This brief chapter of Revelation introduces the bowl judgments, seven last plagues brought by seven angels, to be revealed in detail in the next chapter. The seven angels will be God’s chosen instruments to pour out these bowls of judgment on the surface of the earth. The number seven is familiar — a number of perfection or completion. The seven seals give way to the seven trumpets, which give way finally to the seven bowls. The Completion of the Wrath of God Verse 1 says, “seven angels with the seven last plagues-- last, because with them God's wrath is completed.” The wrath of God is a perfect expression of His character. It is nothing that He must repent from or snap out of later; it is not irrational or mindless. It flows from His character, a perfect expression of His justice and His passionate nature. Our God is passionate; He has emotions. We are created in His image, so we have feelings too. Our anger, however, is usually unrighteous, not often mirroring God’s righteous wrath and righteous indignation. Usually our wrath is based on pride or inconvenience. Wrath is His necessary, perfect emotional reaction to the existence of evil, and it also relates to His love for His people and for His creation. He hates anything that harms His people and destroys his beautiful creation. His wrath is linked with His love, but this display of His wrath in these judgments is not His home base, not His central nature. God is love. His wrath is not one of the things presented first and foremost about Him. Isaiah 28:21 speaks of God’s wrath being His strange, alien work, not His normal home base. That is why He puts it off so long. In the book of Jonah, the only thing harmed is the vine that grows up. All the threatened judgment never happens. Everything survives — the pagan sailors, the whale, Jonah, the worm — everything except the plant, because God is deferring His wrath and judgment on Nineveh and on Jonah. This is strange, alien work, but it will come. With the seven bowls poured out, God’s wrath will be finished for redemptive history. There will be no more such display of His wrath of God in the New Heaven and the New Earth, except for the eternality of hell. The Heavenly Celebration by the Victors Triumphant Worship Revelation 15:2-4 says, “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: ‘Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.’” In this heavenly vision of triumphant worship, the victors, who have survived all of the attacks on their souls and the terrors of the reign of Antichrist, the Beast from the Sea, are assembled there to worship and celebrate that God is about to finally destroy all of their enemies and display His power and His righteous indignation. This is a song of victory for them, celebrating God’s character and the mighty deeds. The Sea of Glass They are on the crystal sea, which we saw first in Revelation 4 in the vision of God seated on His throne ruling over Heaven and earth. Revelation 4:6 says, “Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.” In this heavenly vision, the sea is mingled with fire. This crystal sea is in direct contrast to the churning turbulent sea out of which the four beasts in Daniel 7 and the one beast in Revelation 13 emerge as a restatement or consolidation of the four beasts. The original vision, Daniel 7:2-3, says, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.” Four great beasts came up out of the churning sea. The sea represents God’s judgment upon nations with their turmoil and fighting, wars and rumors of wars. Isaiah 57 says, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.” But in Heaven, the crystal sea is placid. God reigns over a heavenly harmony and peacefulness. It is hard to imagine. We are so filled with anxiety and turbulence. The crystal sea in Heaven is first seen on Mount Sinai. Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and the elders of Israel went up on Mount Sinai and saw the throne of God and an expanse, like sapphire, clear like the sky, between them and God. He was reigning over this crystal expanse. Ezekiel 1 tells of the incredible, almost indescribable vision of God of wheels within wheels, eyes on the rims of the wheels, wheels of fire and Seraphim and more, and then above and above and above. Imagine being Ezekiel having to try to put that into words. He did the best he could on the iteration of the Holy Spirit, but it is difficult to picture. Above all of this is an expanse, like a crystal ceiling, and above that comes the throne of God. This crystal sea is mingled with fire, which is not mentioned in Revelation 4. This fire must represent the peacefulness of God in His heart, but also His vengeance and justice which will be poured out on the sinners of earth. As the river of fire flowed from God’s throne onto His enemies in judgment, so the fire combined with the crystal sea indicates that God is at peace while He judges His enemies. It doesn't ruffle Him or destabilize His soul to do so. The Triumphant Saints The NIV says “beside the sea”, but “on the sea” is more accurate — the triumphant saints, walking on the sea almost like Jesus walking on the water, experiencing the perfect tranquility and peacefulness of God in Heaven as they walk there before Him. These triumphant saints are described as conquering heroes in Revelation 15:2 (CSB): “I also saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had won the victory from the beast, his image, and the number of his name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God.” They are conquerors who have run the race with endurance and crossed the finish line, especially in the final phase of human history, the most terrifying and dangerous time. It will take the most courage to stand up for Jesus during the reign of the Antichrist and the Beast from the Earth, the false prophet. On pain of death, they will testify to their allegiance to Jesus. They will conquer; they will overcome. Jesus ends every letter to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, “To him who overcomes…” To those who overcome, he promises reward: the right to eat from the Tree of Life, a new name, a place in the temple of God, never to leave it. These rewards are promised to the victors, who stand firm to the end. Romans 8:35-37 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we are being slaughtered all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” These super conquerors are the ones who stood firm in the hardest test and triumphed over the beast and his image and the number of his name. Revelation 13 tells us who the beast is: the Antichrist, the one-world ruler who will come under the power of the dragon, the Devil. He will claim his throne over all the peoples and languages of the earth, not only going to be political power but religious power as will. People will worship him as God and bow down before him. He will require everyone small and great to receive the mark of the beast on the hand or forehead; no one will be able to buy or sell without it, and those who will not receive it will be executed. They will behead those who will not yield and bow down to worship the idol or the beast. Revelation 12:11 says of them, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Their Worship Song These triumphant conquering heroes stand on the crystal sea mingled with blood, holding harps given to them by God, singing a worship song. Harps and trumpets are the only two musical instruments mentioned in the Book of Revelation. God gives them this gift to celebrate the triumph. The song of triumph is called The Song of Moses and of the Lamb. The Song of Moses reminds us of the days of the Exodus. Moses is called the Servant of the Lord because he did the Master’s bidding. God used him to lead the Jews out of four centuries of bondage in Egypt. God brought them out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm after pouring out ten terrible plagues on the wicked Egyptians. But He hardened Pharaoh’s heart to chase the Israelites with his mighty army and pin them against the Red Sea. The people were terrified and cried out. There seemed to be no escape, but Moses called out to God, who extended His hand over the Red Sea. A mighty east wind came all night and opened for them a way through the sea. They crossed as on dry ground, with the water walling up on the right and on the left. Two million Israelites crossed at night, with the pillar of fire leading them. It is a picture of coming up out of darkness, out of death into resurrection — a picture of our faith in Christ. There are many images like this in the Old Testament. When the dawn came, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened one more time, and he led his army into the Red Sea. The water came crashing down; the enemies were destroyed and they all died. The enemies they saw that day, they would never see again, just as God had promised. When that finally happened and those words were fulfilled on the other side, they sang a song of celebration. It is called the Song of Moses, the song of triumph. Exodus 15:1-3 says, “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: ‘I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.’” This song is not called that. That was a great deliverance, but we have an even greater deliverance to celebrate at the end of all time, the deliverance worked for us by the Lamb of God, Jesus. However great that exodus was, however mighty was God’s hand over the enemies of the Jews back then, this is even greater. We will be delivered at last from all the enemies of our soul, from the world, the flesh and the devil, delivered by the Lamb of God who shed His blood on the cross for sinners like you and me. We deserve to be swept away in the wrath of God, but we will reach the other side. We will be on that crystal sea, and we will celebrate the greatness of the grace of God, to the praise of His glorious grace. We will celebrate and sing, perhaps with incredible singing voices. We will celebrate the victory of the Lamb who shed His blood for our souls, the Song of Moses and of the Lamb. At the end of Revelation 5, the worshipers around the throne sing a song when Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes the scroll from the right hand of Him who sits on the throne, in cascading worship. Revelation 5:9-10, 12 says, “And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth…. Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” The only lyrics to the Song of Moses and of the Lamb that we know are the few that are given here in this chapter, though I think it will be a longer song. Revelation 15:3-4 says, “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” The song celebrates God’s great and marvelous deeds. These are all the deeds of sovereign grace that He has worked throughout history — miracles and mighty acts — to save the elect, to redeem them and bring them safely to Heaven, but also to judge the servants of Satan, the enemies of the Gospel. Works of salvation, works of judgment. In Heaven, we will be church historians. Do not dread it; it will not be boring. We will retell the great and marvelous deeds of God and celebrate His character. He is the sovereign ruler of the universe, and His ways and judgments are just and true. He is no tyrant, acting capriciously. He acts perfectly according to justice. He is the King of the Ages. His reign will last forever and ever. Antichrist gets three and a half years. Nebuchadnezzar realized that he would die and his kingship would end, but God gave him a revelation of a kingdom that would never end. He celebrated in Daniel 4:34: “His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. Who will not fear you O God and bring glory to Your name?” Imagine being in a terrifying situation, like the earthquake my family and I experienced in Japan. Someone asked us if we were afraid. Seeing the entire house shake under your feet, with nowhere to go, who would not be? I cannot imagine a person in that situation who would not feel fear. These saints are saying the same thing. “‘Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name…’ O majestic King of the Ages?” It doesn't make any sense to have no fear in His presence. It shows the irrationality of the world’s rebellion, and yet the overwhelming majority of people on earth, even at that time, will not fear His name and will not bring glory to His name. These saints cannot comprehend it; they give reasons why He should be feared — God alone is holy there is an infinite gap between God and all creatures; He is immeasurably high and lifted up. All nations will worship before God because He deserves it and has mandated it. Outside of the door to my right, there is a world map above which is one of my favorite verses, Habakkuk 2:14: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. All nations are going to worship Him and bow down before Him.” Psalm 22:27-28 says, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.” Who will not fear such a God, who will not bring praise to His name? All nations will come. Because God’s righteous acts have been revealed, culminating in the work of Christ, who would be so insane as to not fear Him, not come bow down before Him? The Heavenly Source of the Wrath of God Origin of God’s Wrath The song of the victors pinpoints the theological source of the wrath of God. It flows from His character and His position in the universe. He is a holy righteous King, and He loves righteousness and hates wickedness. His wrath flows from His person and His commitment to His people. He is motivated to vindicate His people and protect them from their enemies. Origin of the Seven Bowls Revelation 15:5 tells us, “After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.” The word “tabernacle” is not in the ESV but is a better translation. John, with prophetic eyes, looks into the heavenly Holy of Holies. According to the Law of Moses in the Old Covenant, the Israelites set up a tabernacle, a tent, in concentric layers around the holy place and the most holy place, or the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could enter that innermost space, and only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for his own sins and the sins of the people. Solomon’s temple was a physical building that depicted the same idea with the Holy of Holies, but the heavenly temple is the reality. The tent and the building are shadows and types. They are gone, nowhere to be found; they have been destroyed. But John is able to able to gaze into the heavenly reality of the Holy of Holies with prophetic vision. Tabernacle of the Testimony Revelation 15 speaks of the tabernacle of the testimony, referring to the Ark of the Covenant, the golden box in which the stone tablets, on which God inscribed His laws with His own finger, were placed. It is on the basis of God’s holy law that these judgments flow, out of this tabernacle, out of the law of God that is perfect and holy. He demonstrates His commitment to His holy law, the Ten Commandments, which the human race has violated every day of its existence. “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make any idols or worship any idols. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Do all your work in six days and rest on the seventh, for God made Heaven and Earth in six days and rested on the seventh. Honor your father and mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.” If we have any uncertainty about the spiritual nature of these commandments, how they apply to our hearts, the tenth commandment makes it plain. Coveting is something you do with your heart. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus extends that heart focus to the commandment about murder. Though we may never murder, we likely have been angry enough at times to want to kill. Even that puts us in danger of the fire of Hell. We may not physical commit adultery, but looking at another person lustfully is adultery in one’s heart. Jesus shows that none of us can survive the scrutiny of the Ten Commandments. After making this clear, He summarized all of the law in two great commandments. Matthew 22:37-39 says, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” We cannot keep and have not kept the Ten Commandments or the two commandments. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Seven Holy Angels The judgments in Revelation 16 flow from God’s commitment to that holy law, which we have violated. John gazes into the righteous, holy character of God and His commitment to His commandments for the human race. From this heavenly tabernacle of the testimony, this wrath will flow because of transgressions against His holy law. Revelation 15:6 says, “Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests.” These angels are serving God, deputized to pour out on earth these seven last plagues. They are dressed in clean, shining linen with golden sashes around their chest as Jesus did in Revelation 1 — valuable attire symbolizing their perfect holiness and purity, enabling them to pour out the plagues to purify the earth in Revelation 16. They emerge from the tabernacle to bring the curses of the law of God on the violators of His Word. The Living Creatures Revelation 15:7 says, “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.” In Revelation 4:7-8, the four living creatures are before the throne of God: “The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’” These four living creatures are actual creatures up in Heaven. They represent physical creation, which has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth, under bondage to decay because of human sin, waiting to be liberated by the redemption of the children of God and resurrection, waiting for the New Heaven and the New Earth. They are groaning. It makes sense for these living creatures to hand over the bowls of judgment to the angels, like liquid wrath to be poured out on the earth. 300 million people died of smallpox in the 20th century, and perhaps over half a billion people have died from it overall, making it the worst plague in history. Because of Edward Jenner’s vaccination, little by little it was conquered to some degree. Now, the only place it exists is in two research laboratories, one in Russia and one in Atlanta, Georgia. Imagine being responsible for transporting this liquid death in a box. Smallpox is nothing compared to this round of judgments in Revelation 16. It is hard to describe what we are about to see. The human race cannot long endure after the seven bowls are poured out — it will not be a third this time but the entire thing — the whole ocean, all the rivers. It is terrifying. These four living creatures give the seven angels the liquid death and wrath in these bowls. The Smoke of God Fills the Temple Revelation 15:8 says, “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” We have seen this before. When the tabernacle was finished, Exodus 40:34-35 says, “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” Even His choicest servant could not enter in at that point. God alone was in that place. When the temple was dedicated, 1 Kings 8:10-12 says, “When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. Then Solomon said, ‘The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud.’” God is unapproachable. 1 Timothy 6:15-16 says, “God will bring about in his own time — God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.” The smoke in Revelation 15 makes a cloud of unapproachable darkness. God is doing this on His own. He is using the angels and the four living creatures, but this is something that He alone has the right to do. He is unapproachable in His time of wrath; no one can approach Him or stop Him. Isaiah 43:13 says, “No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?” Moses interceded for Israel in Exodus 32:12: “Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.” God heard Moses’ intercession, but in these last judgments, He will hear no petitions for mercy; the time of His wrath will have come, and the end will be near. Isaiah 14:27 says, “For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” Applications Flee to Christ NOW!! First, our top priority is to the Gospel call. It is vital for us sinners to realize the danger that we are in apart from the redemption of Christ. We need to understand what Jesus is a Savior from. He saves us from the terror of the wrath of God. We need to flee to Christ now, while there is time. This is the day of salvation. In His first coming, His first advent, Jesus is presenting Himself as meek and mild and lowly and humble. He is gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. The picture of the Virgin with child and the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger is a picture of the mildness and meekness of Jesus. This is the time to come to Christ, the time to confess that we have violated God’s Ten Commandments. We are not under any deception about this; we know we have broken His commandments. We have not loved Him with all of our heart. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. Flee to Christ. Get This Message Out While There Is Time For Christians, this is our time. Not only this December Christmas time, but this day of salvation, this avenue of grace, is opened and we are its messengers. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” [Romans 10:13-15] That is our job. We get to bring the good news to lost people even this week. Be prayerful about what kind of sacrificial giving you should do to keep missionaries on the field through our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. I have the formal privilege of presenting the names of every missionary who will be appointed by the IMB this year. It is a glorious rubber stamp. I love to say their names and say that my sub-committee recommends them to be appointed as missionaries. But it takes a lot of money to keep them on the field; it is expensive. They are in big cities, with big city costs, reaching hundreds of thousands of people who have never heard the name of Christ, so be sacrificial and give. Finally, look forward to the celebration that we will have when we are finally walking on that sea of glass, celebrating with the Song of Moses and of the Lamb. We will give Him the victory and the praise and we should do that now as well. I love doing corporate worship with you. Let’s worship by the Spirit continually, the praise and the redemption that Jesus has worked for us. Closing Prayer Father, we thank you for the time that we have had to study your Word. Thank you for the things that we have learned. Lord, we know this is an incredible introduction to an outpouring of wrath we can scarcely imagine. Help us to understand it, help us to be ready to take it in. But knowing that it is coming, O Lord, help us to live holy and upright lives in this present corrupt age, and to warn people who have yet to come to Christ, to flee to Him while there is still time. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Introduction For most of my adult life, I have been a student of military history. Until the advent of the explosive power of gunpowder-based weapons, the most terrifying sound heard on the battlefield must have been the sound of the approach of enemy cavalry — mounted warriors. It must indeed have been beyond terrifying for foot soldiers, trained to stand their ground, to feel the earth shaking beneath their feet from an army of half-ton of animals traveling as fast as 30-40 miles an hour toward them. In Job 39:21-25 God boasts about the horse in military terms: “He paws the ground fiercely and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, and is afraid of nothing. In frenzied excitement, he eats up the ground. He cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.” The horses alone would have been terrifying, to say nothing of their mounted warriors. The first four seals bring to us one of the more famous images from the Book of Revelation: the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Here, we will see for the first time in the Book of Revelation the judgments of God unleashed on sinful Earth. His judgments will be a dominant theme throughout the rest of the book of Revelation. In Revelation 1, John, who was in exile on the island of Patmos, has a vision, which he introduces as “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” It is an unveiling of Jesus Christ, first and foremost, and of future things that we would have no other way of knowing. In his vision, he sees the resurrected, glorified Christ dressed like a priest, moving among seven golden lamp stands which represented seven contemporary local churches, but also His Church across history, showing a constant, active interest that Jesus has for local churches around the world. Those seven churches were the focus of the seven letters which make up Revelation 2-3. In these letters, we learn both what Christ loves and is attracted to in churches, and what He hates or wants to see destroyed in them. This brings forth the beautiful balance of that which is part of healthy church life — hard work, discipline, diligence, orthodox doctrine, a genuine love for God and for one another, and a willingness to expose and to shun false doctrine. It also reveals His hatred for lukewarmness, for secret sin, and even for tolerating sin among a local body. In Revelation 4, John saw a door standing open in the Heavenly realms, and he was invited by Christ to ascend and to go through that doorway to see what was going on there. Of course, he could not obey that unaided, but the Spirit moved him from the Earth through the doorway into Heaven in a spiritual flight. He immediately saw the central reality of the physical and spiritual universe — Almighty God, the Creator on His throne. Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones with elders seated on them, pouring forth beautiful, powerful, continual worship for the Creator who created all things; day and night they praised Him. By His Word, they were created, and by His word, they are sustained, or continue to have their being. As that scene unfolded before John, we saw last week in Revelation 5, the Creator God held in His right hand a scroll. The scroll was sealed with seven seals, with writing on both sides. A mighty angel cried out a challenge to all creation: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” No one was found in Heaven, or on earth, or under the earth who was worthy, and John wept and wept as a result. One of the elders told him, “‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’” He heard this about the Lion, but turning, he saw instead a Lamb looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, a clear declaration of his deity. Jesus is the Lion and the Lamb, possessing a beautiful combination of attributes. His triumph is the victory of the cross: By His blood, He has purchased people for God from every tribe, and language, and people, and nation. When Jesus had taken the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, worship for Him exploded and cascaded from those around the throne. Now we come to Revelation 6. This chapter unfolds with the breaking open of six of the seals on the scroll. Because of the difficulty of interpreting the words of this and following chapters, many pastors shrink away from preaching verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Revelation. Certainty flees; at best one can render godly opinions. With careful study of other people’s opinions and interpretations, I will do my best to manage the specific challenging details. However, the large, central themes are crystal clear and we will see those repeatedly: God’s sovereign control and power over the events on earth; His active, aggressive wrath crescendoing at the end of human history, in the days, weeks, months, and years preceding the Second Coming of Christ; His love for His people; His desire to protect them from persecution or to avenge them where He allows it; and the ultimate destination of both the righteous — the redeemed, and the unrighteous — the wicked. We can approach the seven seals in two different ways. On one hand, we could see everything described from a future perspective that none have happened yet — that John’s words describe the events at the end of redemptive history, future not only for him but for us as well. This future time is known as the Great Tribulation. Jesus described a time of tribulation — the Little Apocolypse — in Matthew 24, which can be seen as an interpretive key to the Great Apocalypse. In Matthew 24:21-22 “…then there will be great distress [or great tribulation], unequaled from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” There is yet to come a terrible tribulation, unlike any that has ever been seen in human history. That language sets it apart. In this view, these events, beginning with the seven seals, are nothing we have ever experienced before; all are tied to the Great Tribulation. A second approach, one that I personally favor, is that the events described, especially in the first five seals (though, you could extend it to the sixth seal as well, depending on how you read prophetic language) represent recurring patterns of wrath, judgment, and suffering that will happen, again and again throughout redemptive history, all over the earth. But they will find their last and greatest and most dreadful fulfillment in the events leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. Matthew 24:6-9 says, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” During the unfolding of redemptive history that God has ordained, there have been and will continue to be regular patterns of what we will see with these first seals, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: peaceful conquest as with the White Horse; war as with the Red Horse; famine as with the black horse; and death as with the pale horse. While all this suffering occurs in every generation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ will continue to spread to every nation and language on earth. Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” The rise and fall of wicked rulers and the general hatred of the human race for the Gospel result in much persecution of the messengers of that Gospel, suffering in every generation, leaving an unbroken trail of blood throughout twenty centuries thus far of church history. This includes the apostasy of many false believers who buckle under the pressure of persecution going on in their lifetime, in their generation. Jesus said in Matthew 24:9-10, “…you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.” The fifth seal unveils the ever-growing number of martyrs who will have paid the price in their own blood for the spread of the Gospel. Revelation 6:9-11 says, “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.” We see the events of the first five seals repeated in church history, again and again, just as Jesus said we would. He said they would continue until the end of the world, but at the end of the world, in the final phase of human history under the Antichrist, we should expect a great consummation of intensified conquest, war, famine, death and martyrdom. Jesus Himself gives us permission to use this perspective in Matthew 24:37, when He said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came, and took them all away.” That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” I take that phrase, “as it was, so it will be” (or already/not yet) as a guide to look for repeated patterns of these events until the end. I do not think this holds true throughout the book of Revelation. When we get to the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgements, we will see events described that have never happened in human history. Nothing approaching the carnage and ecological disaster of Revelation 8 or the demonic army and the subsequent suffering of Revelation 9 have ever occurred from the beginning of time until now. But we are at the beginning of the story as Jesus takes the scroll and begins breaking open these seals. We believe that God is actively involved in maintaining the universe He created. We are not Deists, thinking that God has left us alone to our own devices and things are running by their own forces. He actively intervenes in everything, including displaying His wrath every day. In Romans 1:18, it says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” But though it is presently displayed, the final outpouring of God’s wrath will hit levels such as we have never seen before nor even imagined. That final tribulation will begin by following the pattern unfolded in these seals. The First Seal Broken, the First Rider Unleashed: Deceptive Peace Let us now do the best we can to understand each of these seals in detail. The first seal is broken, and then the first rider is unleashed, bearing some kind of peace. Revelation 6:1-2 says, “I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.” The Lamb Initiates Everything The first thing we notice, which I will repeat because it bears repeating, is that the Lamb, Jesus Christ, initiates every event that is described. Human rulers may think they are in charge, that they are making judgments and rendering decisions that will change history — that they are the movers and shakers — in reality, ultimately they are the ones moved and shaken. They are pawns in God’s overarching plan. In Isaiah 14:26-27, we read this refrain:“This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” God has a plan; His hand is omnipotent. He sets the course of human history from beginning to end. We see this as Christ breaks open each seal; events start to move in Heaven first, and then on earth. As He breaks open the first seal, one of the four living creatures is cued to cry, “Come!” His voice sounds like thunder. Often, voices from Heaven have overwhelming volume. It seems that John could feel it in his chest, like the sound of thunder, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake, and the sound of many waters like a mighty, roaring waterfall. He imparts a sense of a stunning level of power among these angelic beings. In Isaiah 6, when the seraphim were crying to one another, “Holy, holy, holy”, the door posts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke — at the sound of their voices, not God’s. These are powerful created beings; they show us how weak and puny our voices are. As the first creature cries “Come!”, the First Horseman of the Apocalypse is unleashed. The First Horseman Described John described this horse as being white, implying in some sense that it was physically attractive, alluring, appealing. The word “white” is generally associated with godliness and righteousness in the book of Revelation, as we see with the robes given to all of the redeemed from every tribe, language, people, and nation. The rider carried a bow, but had no arrows — no open weaponry. “He rode forth like a conqueror bent on conquest.” He sought to build an empire, but by means other than the usual military conquest. Yet, we could argue, that the bow in his hand implied the threat of a war. The First Horseman Interpreted Many solid, godly commentators believe that this first Horseman represents Jesus Christ and the spread of the Gospel. Their strongest scriptural is in Revelation 19:11, when Jesus is depicted at the Second Coming riding a white horse and wearing many crowns. That is compelling and not off-base to say that the first horse represents the spread of the Gospel. In Matthew 24:14, as we saw a moment ago, Jesus said, “This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” When Pontius Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king, Jesus replied, “You are right in saying that I am a king. For this reason, I was born, and for this I came into the world: To testify to the truth.” His Kingdom is built by the testimony of the truth. He said to Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” It is not an earthly Kingdom, so it does not advance in the usual way. However, I do not think that is the best way to interpret this first horse. First, it seems unlikely that the Lamb in Heaven would break open a seal and then show up as His own response, especially since He is coming in response to the living creature giving the command to come, as though the horses are unleashed by the order of the living creatures. Second, and more significant, in my opinion, is that the Four Horsemen should be seen together as one whole package of judgment and wrath on the earth. This first Horseman only appears to be righteous and delightful and alluring, but in truth is not. These four Horsemen bring death and judgment on the earth together. This beautiful Horseman a counterfeit Christ, looking like Christ but without His holiness or power. This theme of counterfeiting is seen throughout the book of Revelation. It will resurface in Revelation 13 with the rise of the beast from the sea, who ends up playing an Antichrist, or substitute Christ. Together with the dragon and the beast from the earth, the three comprise an unholy, ungodly trinity, which is a mocking counterfeit to the true Trinity the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Temporary Success of the First Rider This carries out the theme of already/not yet as well. A kingdom is being advanced by subtle, even treacherous means, that are different from what is expected, but extremely effective: sly treachery and a deceitful peace, rather than by warfare, though with the threat of war thinly veiled and ever-present. In Matthew 24:24-25, Jesus said, “…false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-- if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.” He spoke in the plural, not the singular, implying that we would see repeated patterns. Throughout history, there have been devious, wicked, sly politicians, who have skillfully conquered lands by evil and by treacherous treaties and false diplomacy which they later break. This is seen clearly in the Book of Daniel. In Daniel 11:21, Daniel prophesied about one of the successors of Alexander the Great, a Greek king who was to come, in this way: “He [the previous king] will be succeeded by a contemptible [meaning of low birth] person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue.” What is intrigue? It's treachery. It is being a sly politician, possessing charisma and savvy to be able to draw people in under false pretenses in order to gain control. Further, Daniel 11:23-24 says, “After coming to an agreement with him [another king... There's a king of the north and a king of the south who are always battling each other in Daniel 11], he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did.” He will conquer by treachery, by deceit, by lulling the people of those lands into a false sense of security. One of my favorite verses in Daniel is 11:27. This is what I picture when I think of the United Nations or discussions between ambassadors of two pagan nations. “The two kings [king of the north, king of the south], with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.” This happens often in the political world and other realms (such as business). There is treachery, but one king is much better at it than the other one. This man in Daniel 11 represents an actual king, Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a symbol of the future Antichrist. That is why so much detail is given to him in Daniel 11. He was a real ruler; he rose politically through treachery and intrigue; he made covenants and broke them. He set a pattern that we see acted out in history, again and again. We saw the same pattern with Adolf Hitler in Munich, when Neville Chamberlain, afraid of a coming cataclysm, terrified of repeating World War I, sold Czechoslovakia up the river to get a piece of paper signed by Hitler, saying that Germany would never go to war against England again. In retrospect, we can see what a liar Hitler was. He was happy to sign the false treaty and send Neville Chamberlain home waving the piece of paper on the tarmac, saying, “We have peace in our time.” That lasted for another 10 months before Germany took over the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia and the whole country. No one could do anything, and within a year, they invaded Poland, setting off World War II. That is one example of many throughout history that depicts conquest through deception and treachery. This is a recurring theme in history, but will be ultimately fulfilled right before the Second Coming of Christ. The Antichrist will come initially by appearing beautiful and attractive, but his heart is treacherous. He advances and is given a crown and “[rides] forth like a conqueror bent on conquest.” The Second Seal Broken, the Second Rider Unleashed: War The Lamb Initiates Again: the Second Seal is Broken This leads to the second seal being opened, because the unloaded bow is short-lived. Revelation 6:3-4 says,“When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come!’ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.” Again, the Lamb initiates, and then, when He has broken the seal, the living creature cries, “Come!” The Second Horse and Rider Described and Interpreted When the living creature has given this order, the second horse, the fiery Red Horse, is unleashed. There is no doubt how to interpret this one — this is simply open warfare. The color red must signify the flow of blood, especially since the rider is given a sword to wreak massive slaughter. Whatever treaties, whatever promises of peace have been made have all been swept aside, and now, there is open warfare. As we have already seen, warfare has long plagued the human race, stampeding and trampling down the pages of history with bloody red footprints. In Matthew 24:6-7, Jesus says, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Warfare, with one nation fighting another nation, demonstrates two things. First, Satan hates all human beings; he wants all of them to die outside of Christ. When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, it was the Nazis fighting the Communist soldiers. I doubt there were many born again soldiers on either side; the ideologies represented were satanic. Millions and millions of Germans and Russians died in that conflict. Second, this pattern is judgment from God against sinful individuals and nations. Isaiah 34:2-3 says,“The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood.” The blood-red carnage begins with the breaking open of the second seal. There will be an end-time fulfillment of this when the beast from the sea is given power to rule over the entire earth. No human ruler has ever ruled the whole earth. Genghis Khan conquered a quarter of the land mass of the earth, the highest of any nation in terms of real estate. But this beast from the sea will have it all. The people of the earth will not give up their land and power easily, once they realize the intrigue and treachery that have taken place. The Antichrist will be forced to show his military power. Revelation 13:7 says, “He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.” The second Horseman, ultimately, represents the bloody conquest by a final world ruler, who will begin his conquest through deception, intrigue, and false diplomacy, but who will end his conquest by warfare, the swinging of a large, bloody sword given to him for a short time. The Third Seal Broken, the Third Rider Unleashed: Famine The Lamb Once Again Initiates the Next Horse and Rider Following this bloodshed, the third seal is broken and the third Rider, Famine, is unleashed. Revelation 6:5-6 says, “When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’” Once again, the Lamb initiates events by opening the seal. A living creature responds to the Lamb’s initiative by calling out, “Come!” and the third horse and Horseman come. The Third Horse and Rider Described This horse is black, which, technically is not a color but rather the absence of light. It is darkness. The Rider is holding scales, which were associated with merchants in that era for weighing merchandise and money — a rod with platters or plates hanging by chains. The merchants would weigh out their goods and then calculate the currency and weigh it against standardized weights. The picture we are meant to see is that of buying and selling of merchandise. As this black horse and its Rider move across the earth, John hears a voice coming mysteriously from among the living creatures. John does not know who speaks, but the voice is like that of a merchant calling forth his price for his commodities. He is calling for the careful weighing of a quart of wheat for a full day’s work. People will work all day to get a quart of wheat to take home to feed their families. That qualifies as famine. The barley, a little more available, was a lower-quality grain, but three quarts was still not enough. Famine is truly a logical consequence of war. When armies are running roughshod over the countryside, farmers cannot plow, plant, and reap. Consider the famine going on in East Africa right now. Human warfare, resulting in anarchy, has been responsible in large part for that. The same thing happened after World War II; if it had not been for the Marshall Plan and other wealthier nations helping out, there would have been worldwide starvation in a scope scarcely imaginable. BUT the Famine is Not Universal Jesus said that there would be famines in various places. This famine is not universal. The voice that called out the famine conditions limited it, saying, “Do not hurt or harm the oil and the wine!” — referring to olive oil. This famine is not as bad as it possibly could be. It is possible, as some commentators believe, that the more wealthy will be able to obtain provisions but the poor will suffer, since items like oil and wine can be considered luxuries in times of famine. That is possible, though I do not know. This limitation perhaps lends a future aspect to this seal — in the Old Testament, when famine came, no one was able to get any food, no matter how rich. People could not eat their silver or gold. No food meant no food for anyone. The Fourth Seal Broken, the Fourth Rider Unleashed: Death Now Comes the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse! Finally, the fourth seal is broken and the fourth Rider is unleashed. Revelation 6:7-8 says,“When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!' I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” Like the other three, the initiative is with Jesus. He breaks the seal, the fourth living creature says, “Come!” and the pale horse rides forth. The Fourth Horse and Rider Described Where this horse is described as pale, the Greek uses the word “chloros,” from which we get the word “chlorophyll.” It is a greenish tint, what we might describe as a ghostly green. There is a sense of decay and death. The rider is clearly identified: his name is Death, like the decaying of a corpse. Hades, the grave, follows right after him. The horse and rider together are given power from Heaven to kill one quarter of the population of the earth, not only by sword, with military might, but also by famine, plague, and wild beasts. We truly do not comprehend how much God restrains animals and birds from attacking the human race, but imagine if He did not, how terrifying that would be. Note also that the sword, famine, plague, and beasts are the standard plagues given in Old Testament prophetic books about what would happen to Israel with the invasion of an army. The horror escalates with each subsequent horse. The slaughter of one quarter of the earth’s population is absolutely mind-boggling. Every generation has experienced war, famine, and death to some degree, but this is a scope never before experienced in history. The death toll connected with World War II, including from fighting, collateral civilian casualties, death from diseases that were otherwise curable, and other factors, was at the highest between 60 and 70 million people. The population of the earth in 1940 was 2.4 billion. That is a total of 2.6% of the world's population. This carnage is 10 times that. A literal interpretation of one quarter of the earth’s population from these first four seals renders this a definite futurist interpretation of what will happen right before the end. And yet, Jesus says in Matthew 24:8 “All these are the beginning of birth pains.” Persecution follows with the next seal, but we will cover that in the next sermon, God willing. As a preview, Matthew 24:9-10 says, “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other…” Betrayal, persecution, and martyrdom. Applications Understand the Sovereign Power of Christ Over Events on Earth Here are some quick applications. First, understand the sovereignty of God over all things. The events of today and the future do not happen by accident. This is part of God’s plan for the ultimate consummation of the new Heavens and the new earth, the salvation of the righteous, and the condemnation of the wicked. We must understand the sovereign power of Jesus Christ over these events. He has the right to ordain and initiate these events. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Him. He owns the earth; the title deed to the earth is His by right. As he breaks open each seal, the judgments that follow are his righteous reactions to the sins of the human race. As a Christian, do not fear that the world is spinning out of control, even as we see the beginnings of birth pains: wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes in various places. See the Pattern of “Already/Not Yet” Second, see the pattern of already/not yet in world events that unfold each day. We may even see them escalating, but still the end is not yet come. It is not imminent in that way, though we need to be ready for death and for the Second Coming at any point. Most of these terrors are still in the future. Prepare for the End of the Universe by Living a Holy Life and Spreading the Gospel Third, 2 Peter 3:11-13 tells us how we should think about the end of the world: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” It is because of sin that these judgments are coming. Ephesians and Colossians corroborate this: because of the sins of sexual immorality, of rage, and anger, and covetousness, and idolatry, these judgments will come. We Christians should flee them. We should put sin to death by the Spirit, and live holy and upright lives. As we look forward to the day of God, and speed its coming through evangelism and missions. We must take these themes out to people in the Raleigh-Durham area and share the Gospel. Many people believe these things will not happen, but we know that these words are true, and that beyond these events will come Judgment Day. Embrace the Doctrine of the Wrath of God for Sin Embrace the doctrine of the wrath of God for sin. We will see it many more times in the book of Revelation. It is not an embarrassing or dirty secret that God does this kind of thing; it is just and righteous for Him to bring judgments on the sinners of the earth. Once More… Flee to Christ NOW!!! And then, finally, at the end of Revelation 6, everybody is looking for refuge, for a cave or some other hidden place to flee the wrath to come, but they will not find it. This is an appeal to you who are outside of Christ, that you would realize that the time for fleeing is now. The refuge is available now in the Gospel. Flee to Christ. God sent Him, His own Son, into the world, to live a sinless life and die in our place on the cross, that we might have forgiveness of sins. You can escape the wrath to come, not by works — by what you do — but by trusting in Him. Closing Prayer Father, thank you for the words of the Book of Revelation and what we have learned through studying these words today. It's enough to make us tremble, oh Lord, to realize the kind of terrors that will come on the earth. They will be even worse than I have described here. I pray, oh, Lord, that you would please give us strength to read this, and strength to believe it. I pray that we who have already fled to Christ, who we have been delivered from the wrath to come, would realize we have a responsibility to those who have not yet trusted in Christ, to share the Gospel with them, and a responsibility to You to be holy. Thank you for the Word of God, and for the chance we've had to study it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Flyover of Isaiah Amen. So this morning, just right before worship, I was talking to a young man and he looked at where I usually put the sermon outline, and he said, "Are you preaching about nothing today?" So, I'm not preaching about nothing, there's going to be a lot. I just couldn't give an outline for the Book of Isaiah. About six years ago, I was invited by Danny Aikin and David Platt to do a commentary on the Book of Isaiah. And they said two things, they said you can have five years to do it and that it's not supposed to be a verse-by-verse commentary. Well, I knew right away I was going to take the whole five years, that was a given. But the thing that was an agony to me was that I wouldn't be able to go into every verse like I love and to celebrate the truth and wring the truth out of each verse. But sometimes I think it's valuable to do that. For us, the saying of an individual, you can't see the forest for the trees. They're so focused on details, they can't see the big picture. But the beauty of the word of God is that both the trees, the individual details and the whole glorious forest are radiant with truth and that the tiniest details can bear the closest scrutiny and investigation but so also the big overarching story is worth studying as well. So this morning we're going to go through the whole Book of Isaiah, as Chris said, a kind of a flyover. Some years ago I was at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, and I saw an IMAX movie which was a kind of a flyover of the continental US, and it was really cool. They timed it so that the length of the movie, I think an hour. They began in New York Harbor looking at the Statue of Liberty and then went across, and you're just moving it at just the right pace to get across the entire span of the continental US, and you're seeing the hills of Pennsylvania, the farms of Pennsylvania and then the coal mining district of Western Pennsylvania, then on and you know, the cities like Cincinnati and then as you kept going across the corn fields of Indiana and then across the... You know, swung down to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the gateway to the west and then you're moving across all the wheat fields of Kansas, it was just beautiful, the deserts of Nevada and Utah. And then, Yosemite, the Half Dome and finally the sparkling sea, the Pacific and the Pacific Northwest, and how beautiful that was along that coast, and I'll never forget it. And I thought it might... It's just an amazing thing to be able to figure out how to do that, what height to fly at, how high, how low, and what you could see, when to go faster, when to slow down. And it was really cool. So I want to try to do some of that with the Book of Isaiah today, the most visionary of all prophets. That's how Isaiah begins. The word of the Lord that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw. So he's just a visionary prophet. Toward the beginning of my Christian life, I heard one of the best sermons I ever heard from John McArthur and he's been a role model and a mentor for me in terms of verse-by-verse exposition and sequential exposition which I believe in. But this sermon was entitled, A Jet Tour Through the Book of Revelation. And it was really cool because he went through the whole book of Revelation in one hour. It's ironic because that's where we're going, God willing, next. And I'm not doing any jet tour next week. We're going to begin to go through those chapters. But I love the way he gave a fascinating overview of the entire book in one hour. Now if anything, the Book of Isaiah would repay even more that kind of handling and special handling as we study through the themes that are so rich and so full. And I have less than one hour with you today. Now there are lots of ways that I could do this, this overview of the whole Book of Isaiah but it seems best for me to focus on how the prophecy of Isaiah unfolds salvation, or foretells really, salvation in Christ. That's going to be the center piece of what I'm looking for. Now, I could go topically and logically through the book in a theologically and a logically organized manner, letting the topics dictate what verses I would bring out. But that would result in a confusing jump around through the book from this chapter up ahead to this one, and then back again to this and then zeroing on this and then... It's like, it'd be jumping all around. And I thought it might be better to go in consecutive order, honoring the way that the Holy Spirit has given us the book, beginning at chapter 1 through chapter 66. My goal is to present or see how the book presents the amazing grace of God in Christ as the savior of the world. Now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to project on the screen these cross references so that you don't have to jump around. We're going to be going fast and I want you to be able to see it so that you're free from having to jump ahead in the book and just look and read or just listen as you do it. But I know that Mark is happy to try to stick with me. You're ready, brother? But the first verse that I wanted to share is actually from Revelation 19:10, and it says there, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. In other words, the essence, the spirit of prophecy is to give witness to Jesus. So the central purpose of the majestic sprawling complex vision of the Book of Isaiah is to give testimony of Jesus. Now, John says this incredible thing about Isaiah in the Gospel of John, in John 12:41, that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. Now essential to that is the ability that God alone possesses to predict the future and this sets Christianity apart from every other world religion. God challenged the idols of Isaiah’s day You heard Chris focus on this just a few minutes ago, but these are some amazing verses. God challenged the idols of Isaiah's day with this challenge. Isaiah 41:22-23, it says, "Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were so that we may consider them and know their final outcome or declare to us the things to come. Tell us what the future holds so that we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear." The idols can't do it. There's no way the idols can predict the future, only God can. And again, Isaiah 41:26-27, "Who told of this from the beginning, so that we could know or beforehand, so we could say, he was right. No one told of this. No one foretold it, no one heard any words from you. I was the first to tell Zion." And then skipping ahead to Isaiah 46:9-10, "Remember the former things those of long ago, 'I am God and there is no other, I am God and there is none like me, I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come. I say my purpose will stand and I will do all that I please.'" So God in the Book of Isaiah makes plain that he is the only one that can predict the future. He's the only one that has that power. God alone can predict the future because he alone is sovereign over the unfolding events of human history. He decrees what comes to pass and then he makes it happen. What makes Isaiah so amazing and so challenging is how God weaves together events from planet Earth, things that were current in that day and things that were unfolding in at that time, including the rise and fall of nations at that time, together with his spiritual plans for the redeemed of all nations, of all time, he weaves that together. So the coming of Christ was predicted and unfolded in great detail in the Book of Isaiah. Now, when I first went through Isaiah in its entirety with the idea of doing this sermon, I zeroed in on 36 passages to highlight, and I just started to do the math, and I said, "Okay, that's less than a minute for each one." I'd barely have enough time to read them so I reduced it somewhat, but as I was going over this sermon this morning, I realized I barely have enough time to talk about each of them. So this is definitely a jet tour flyover. However, this is my 80th sermon in the Book of Isaiah, and I think all of them are online. So if you want to go back and dive into some of the more details I think they're available online. The Sinfulness of the Human Race and God’s Call to Repent We're going to begin in Isaiah 1:2-4 with the sinfulness of the human race and God's call to repent. The prophecy begins with these words, "Hear O heavens, listen O Earth, for the Lord has spoken. I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger. But Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord. They have spurned the Holy One of Israel, and turned their backs on him." God called a nation, the Jews, Israel to represent the entire human race. God gave them many blessings, but they refused to trust him, they refused to obey him, so God had to bring judgments on them. Now, the depravity of the entire human race is taught with great clarity throughout the book. But the focus is first and foremost on the Jews on Israel, and their sinfulness. So God calls on the people to repent of their sins and to reason with him. Right there in that first chapter, Isaiah 1:16-20, there he calls on the people, "Wash and make yourselves clean, take your evil deeds out of my sight. Stop doing wrong, learn to do right. Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless. Plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us reason together says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you'll eat the best from the land, but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Now, this sets the stage of the whole book really. The people actually cannot obey those commands, they cannot. They cannot wash and make themselves clean. They cannot take their evil deeds out of God's sight, they cannot stop doing wrong, they cannot learn to do right. But Christ can do all of those things for us. Indeed, he has done all of those things for us. Christ can change our rebellious ways. Christ has the power to remove the heart of stone and give the heart of flesh. He has the power through his shed blood to atone for our sins, and to give us a new nature, and enable us to walk in God's ways. The Vision of the Entire World Streaming to Salvation in Christ Now, the next is the vision of the entire world streaming to God in Christ. In Isaiah 2:2-4, it says, "In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains, will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, 'Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in His paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, He will judge between the nations and settle disputes for many peoples, they will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.'" Now, this is one of many verses in Isaiah that speak of the gospel spreading to the ends of the Earth, beginning in Jerusalem. It's going to spread to all nations and in this text, it says they're going to stream up Mount Zion effectively. You have this incredible image of a supernatural streaming of the nations uphill, counter to all laws of physics and gravity. And they're going to stream to Mount Zion by faith in Christ. And they will both come and they will say, "Come." In other words the spiritual pilgrimage that we are on as we follow Christ who is the way and the truth and the life, and we come to the Father through Him, as we're streaming to the heavenly Jerusalem, we are also evangelists and missionaries, we're not only coming but we are saying, "Come," to the nations, and we have both of those roles to play. The Vision of the Preincarnate Christ on His Throne Next, we have already the vision that's been read for us this morning by Jason. The vision of Isaiah's call and the pre-incarnate Christ on his throne. When the Apostle John said that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him, we can think first and foremost of Isaiah 6. In verse 1-4 it says, "In the year of the King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted. And the train of his robe filled the temple, and above him were seraphs, each with six wings. And with two wings, they covered their faces, and with two, they covered their feet, and with two, they were flying and they were calling to one another, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole Earth is full of his glory.' And at the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke." This is a vision of the pre-incarnate Christ, seated on his throne, worshiped by angels and by spiritual beings, holy angels and they're crying out. And this brings a tremendous sense of guilt in Isaiah himself, verses 5-7, he says, "'Woe is me, I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips. And I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty.' And then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and with it, he touched my mouth and said, 'See this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away. Your sin is atoned for.'" Now, this is Isaiah's calling to be a prophet to the nations. But he's told right away that the people wouldn't listen to him. Verses 8-10, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And he said, 'Here am I, send me.' And he said, 'Go and tell this people, be ever-hearing but never understanding, be ever-seeing but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people callous, make their ears dull, close their eyes, otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.'" Isaiah would take in and absorb the vision of the holiness of Christ, Almighty God and of the people's sinfulness, he that lived in a land of people of unclean lips, and he would take that message also of Christ's atonement how sin can be atoned for and removed. And he'd take it out to his own people, but they wouldn't accept it, they wouldn't believe it, they would reject it. The Promise of the Birth of a Son Called Immanuel Next, in the very next chapter, we have the promise of the birth of the savior, of a son called Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14, "The Lord himself will give you a sign, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." This is the mystery of the virgin birth of Christ, how he had a human mother, but no human father that God, Almighty God was his father. Fully God, fully human. That foreshadowed here in this prophecy, not just the assertion, the virgin will be with child, but the very word Immanuel, which means God with us. That he came to Earth to live with us in a physical human body. This is even more heightened by the next famous passage in Isaiah 9:1-7, there it says, "In the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." This is the prediction of a great light that's shining in a land, not just a land but a world of darkness. People walking in darkness who have no hope. Of a great victory won and of plunder of spoils from that victory, given to us. Why? Because to us a child is born. And so the birth of a child speaks to the humanist. But the titles, Wonderful Counselor, literally miracle counselor, Mighty God. A child that's born who is called Mighty God in a fiercely monotheistic setting, this is the incarnation of Christ, the God Man, the deity of Christ, established centuries before Jesus was even born. And it satisfies our yearning for a righteous government, a government that's perfect and upright that will last forever. And the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, it will go on for eternity. The Picture of the Greatness of Christ’s Kingdom Next, in Isaiah 11:1-9 we have a picture of Christ's kingdom and of that government, it says there, " A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wickd. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." This predicts the future, perfect righteousness of Christ's reign. The removal forever of the curse from nature. Animals will no longer be red in tooth and claw, ripping and shredding each other, living for death. And there will be a perfect peace, a peaceful Earth on which he will reign. Now, in that same chapter, we have the prediction of missions, which is a theme again and again in the Book of Isaiah. This message has to be taken to the ends of the Earth. And Isaiah predicts it again and again. Isaiah 11:10-12, "In that day, the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. In that day, the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and he will gather the exiles of Israel, and he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the Earth." Now, next comes a regular theme in Isaiah, and that is the wrath and judgment of God on all the nations. There is continually woven together God's saving purpose for his people, and his wrath and judgment on his enemies. And we see this again and again. Isaiah 13:9-13 focuses on this wrath, his judgment. In those chapters, Isaiah focuses on Babylon first and Assyria next, but the implication is all the godless nations of the Earth will come under God's judgement. Isaiah 13:9-13 says, "Behold, the day of the LORD is coming--a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger-- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger." It is because of this terrifying wrath to come that we must flee to Christ. There is no other refuge, there's no other place. God Controls the Unfolding Plan of Human History So, we see how God unfolds and controls his unfolding plan of human history. Again, Chris quoted this in his prayer, Isaiah 14:26-27. "This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out and who can turn it back?" This is the plan, this is the hand. The plan is God's sovereign plan crafted before the creation of the world for all nations, all people established before the foundation of the world. And then his hand is his sovereign power, the right hand of omnipotence, moving out over the nations, moving out over human history. He is the Alpha, he is the Omega, he will make it happen. This is the plan, this is the hand. Isaiah 14:26 and 27. Now, in Isaiah 13-26 there are many oracles of nations, and these nations were these small nations that lived around Israel and Judah at that time, but it becomes representative of God's sovereign control over all the nations, over all the surface of the Earth throughout all of human history. And it culminates in this vision in Isaiah 24:1-6, it says, "Behold, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants-- it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. So, God is going to destroy all his enemies and the enemies of his chosen people. But the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Death itself. And that is clearly predicted in Isaiah 25:6-9, one of my favorite oracles, it's also not well-known. Isaiah 25:6-9, it says there, "On this mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine, the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain, he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the Earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day, they will say, 'Surely this is our God, we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.'" Isn't that marvelous? There'll come a day in which death will be swallowed up forever, and that began to be revealed at Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, the destruction of death in the death of Christ. Hope of the Resurrection of the Dead! And by simple faith in Jesus, we have access to that banquet, that feast that's spread for all nations. By just simple faith in Christ, we trusted in him, it says, and he delivered us. And so, Jesus' resurrection is our great hope that someday death itself will die. So Isaiah 26:19, it says, this is speaking of the general resurrection, "Your dead will live, their bodies will rise, you who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the Earth will give birth to her dead." Now, one theme we see again and again in Isaiah is how often the Jewish people resorted to religious machinery to try to save themselves. We see it right in the first chapter when they're bringing this trampling of God's courts and this bringing of animals and bulls and sheep and all that, and God was sick of it. But then in Isaiah 29:13, he talks about what God, what his problem was with it. And Jesus quotes this concerning the Jews of his own time, Isaiah 29:13, the Lord says, "These people come near me with their mouth, and they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is only made up of rules taught by men." This is a great danger for religious people around the world, even for us who have heard the gospel of Jesus, for us churchgoing Christians as well, to trust in the religious machinery rather than trusting in Christ, to trust in our own religious works and to have no genuine heart after Christ. Instead, God tells us what true salvation is, Isaiah 30:15, This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.'" That's justification by faith alone apart from works, that's what that is. In repentance and rest and trust and quietness, that's salvation in Jesus. But the people didn't want it, they weren't interested in it, they rejected it. Terrifying Predictions of the Coming Wrath Now, of all the predictions of wrath that's going to come on the Earth, perhaps none is more graphic and terrifying than Isaiah 34:1-10. It's hard to read these words and not tremble inwardly if we believe they're really going to happen. Isaiah 34 says, "Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it! The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood. All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed. The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat-- the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in Edom. And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat. For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause. Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise forever." Now, God is fully able to carry out this wrath, but he gives us dress rehearsals throughout history to see what it might look like. I think about what Europe look like in May of 1945, what Germany looked like, Berlin. I think about what Tokyo looked like in August of 1945. Just completely leveled, totally destroyed. We get images of this again and again throughout history. One of the clearest indications of God's power to do this is when the Assyrian surrounded Jerusalem and threatened to wipe out the Jews from the face of the Earth and extinguish the lineage of David that would trace down to Jesus. And God will that it would not take place, it would not happen, and he dispatched the angel of the Lord, who many commentators, including me, believe it was pre-incarnate Christ, and Jesus went out and killed 185,000 troops. Look at Isaiah 37:36, " Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning-- there were all the dead bodies!" When the people got up the next morning there were all the dead bodies, this was not difficult for Jesus to do, it was easy to do, it did not cause him any physical difficulty. He can put to death people without any effort at all, by speaking with the sword that comes from his mouth, we'll talk about it, God willing, next week. The Turning Point: Isaiah 40 Now, Isaiah 40 marks kind of a turning in the Book of Isaiah, I believe Isaiah 40 is along with Isaiah 53, the two greatest chapters in the Book of Isaiah, maybe two of the greatest chapters in the entire Bible. And Isaiah 40 begins with a message of comfort to sinners, look at Isaiah 40:1-2, "'Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins." A word of comfort to broken-hearted sinners like us, that atonement, full atonement is possible in Jesus. And it speaks of the coming messenger of the Lord, fulfilled by John the Baptist. In verses 3 through 5, "A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low, the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places, a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." And speaks of the transient nature of all humanity. Kind of like the central message of Scripture to us as human beings. Verse 6-8, "A voice says, 'Cry out.' And I said, 'What shall I cry?' 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.'" The Proclamation of the Glory of the Lord It speaks of the proclamation of the glory of the Lord. And what's so beautiful about Isaiah 40 is you get infinite majesty in that chapter, and infinite condescension and humility and meekness. Look at verses 9-11, "You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout. Lift it up. Do not be afraid, say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God.' See the sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See his reward is with him and his recompense accompanies him." I love verse 11, "He tends his flock like a shepherd, he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have young." Do you not feel as a Christian the tenderness and the gentleness of Jesus in caring for you? He is your good shepherd. He holds you close to his heart. But this is the same one that it said in that same chapter, in verse 12-15, is infinite in majesty. "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust." This infinitely majestic God who marks the heavens with the span of his hand. Verses 22-24, " He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff." This is the immense, infinitely wise, infinitely powerful, omniscient God, God the creator, God the ruler, God the judge who has come to Earth in the person of his Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Unveiling of Christ, the Savior of the World! In the chapters that follow Isaiah 40, we have multiple visions of the coming Christ, they're called the suffering servant passages, and they begin in Isaiah 42:1-4, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope." Don't you love that picture of Jesus? A bruised reed, fragile, he doesn't break it, he binds it back up and it gets healthy again. A smoldering wick, he doesn't snuff it out, he ignites it until it's a blazing bonfire of righteousness, that's Jesus. He's gentle with broken sinners like you and me, and he builds an empire not by crying out in the streets, but by gentleness, the proclamation of peace and forgiveness through faith in his name. And then Isaiah 49:5-6, this servant of the Lord will not merely be the Savior of Israel, but of all the Earth. Look at verse 5 and 6, "And now the Lord says, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring back Jacob to him and to gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength. He says, 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the Earth.'" It's too small a thing for Jesus just to save the Jews, too small a thing. Now he is the Savior of the ends of the Earth. He's the Savior of Gentiles like you and me. He is the light of the Gentiles, he is the light of our lives and it was predicted long before he was born. But the price tag for that salvation would be high for Jesus, infinitely high. And so in Isaiah 50:4-10, this is Jesus speaking, I think, through the prophet; predicting what it would be like for him to suffer and die for us. Think of this as Jesus speaking, "The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up. 10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God." Again and again justification by faith, trust in this Jesus who offered his back to those who beat him; trust in this Jesus who didn't hide his face from mocking and spitting and from his beard being plucked out, who willingly laid down his life. Now the greatest single chapter in Isaiah generally called Isaiah 53 actually begins in Isaiah 52 and it portrays, I think it really is the theological center of the whole Bible, actually. Not just of Isaiah, the whole Bible. Begins Isaiah 52:13-15, "Behold my servant will act wisely. He'll be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him. His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness, so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him, for what they were not told they will see and what they have not heard they will understand." Jesus's form was disfigured beyond any human likeness on the cross. As he suffered and died on the cross it would be hard to imagine that there was depicted the wisdom and the love and the mercy of God, but there it was. And by his death, he, it says, "will sprinkle many nations." That Levitical sprinkling of the blood brought cleansing, and even more infinitely more the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus brings cleansing to the nations. The Greatest Chapter on Substitutionary Atonement Then Isaiah 53:1-6. Now, I think this is the greatest single chapter on the topic of substitutionary atonement. It's the idea of a substitute who is sinless, who is innocent, who died in the place of sinners to remove judgment from them. It's taught again and again in these verses, and I would say it's taught no more clearly anywhere else in the whole Bible than here in Isaiah 53:1-6. Listen to this. "Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." This is the clear prediction of substitutionary atonement, of a Savior who was sinless in and of himself, but took on our iniquities and died under the wrath of God. We have no other hope than this. What other hope is there that sinners like us that can stand before an infinitely wise, holy God and survive Judgment Day. This is our only hope. And it's a sure and certain hope because God sent him for this very purpose. This is the clear prediction seven centuries before Jesus was born of his death on the cross and of the transfer of guilt from sinners to a substitute, and there's no hope apart from that. This is how we are forgiven and healed by his bloody death. Isaiah 53:7-12, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." This is the gospel, this is the centerpiece of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We sinners have no other hope, but this is a sure and certain hope, isn't it? This is a message and it begins in 53:1, "Lord, who has believed our message?" And so, just by believing this message is our forgiveness. The Open Gospel Call and Missionary Success So you have an invitation, an invitation, but it's right from Isaiah 55:1-3, "Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend your money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me and eat what is good and your soul will delight in the richest of fair. Give ear and come to me, hear me that your soul may live." That is a gospel invitation right in Isaiah 55, pleading with us to stop living our lives for things that don't satisfy, that will leave us empty and will condemn us on judgment day. Come to Christ, feed on Christ, drink and eat of Christ. But God also tells us this opportunity will not last forever. We have an opportunity now, today. Isaiah 55:6-7 says, "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on him and to our God and he will freely pardon him." This is the gospel that's been going out, beginning at Jerusalem through Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the Earth and God promises that his word will most certainly succeed. It's going to bring in a great multitude from every tribe, language, people, and nation. Isaiah 55:10-11 says, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return without watering the Earth, making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth, it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." So the missionaries that bring the message of Christ to the ends of the Earth will most certainly succeed, verses 12-13 of Isaiah 55, "You will go out in joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands, instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, instead of briers the myrtle will grow, this will be for the Lord's renown for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed." This week I'm going to Richmond, I'm a trustee at the International Mission Board and I wanna just go and talk to the missionary candidates that we're going to appoint and give them verses 12-13 for hope. You're going to go out with joy, and be led forth with peace, and you will go in the name of the Lord whose word never comes back empty and you will lead people to Christ, Amen, hallelujah. Now, this gospel comes as an invitation from the high and holy God, Isaiah 57:15. This is what the high and lofty one says, "He who lives forever, whose name is Holy. I live in a high and holy place but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite, isn't that a great verse? It's like if you can memorize this one verse, I don't think this would be it, but it would be a great verse to memorize. It's a marvelous verse. The high and holy God of Isaiah 6, the one that the seraphim are covering their face, he's inviting you to his high and holy place to live with him forever if you'll just be humble and broken and ask for his salvation in Christ. The Glory of Zion, the New Jerusalem, Will Be Made Up of People All Over the World And this is going to happen, people from around the Earth are going to stream like we saw in Isaiah 2, they're going to stream into Zion, and Zion's going to become more and more and more and more glorious; bigger and bigger, more and more glorious. Isaiah 60:1-7, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple." Some of those missionaries go out to the Arab-speaking world. Isaiah 60 tells them that they're going to be successful, there's going to be some elected that are going to come from those tribes and languages and peoples and nations and they will bring offerings forever in the heavenly Zion. Jesus was anointed to bring this message. He is our Messiah, he is the Savior and he said so in Isaiah 61:1-3, this is how he began his preaching ministry, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion." And he rolled up the scroll of Isaiah and he sat down and he opened his mouth in his hometown and said, "Today, in your hearing, this Scripture is fulfilled." This Jesus will never stop speaking until his bride, the heavenly Zion, is finished, beautiful, radiant. Isaiah 62:1-3, "For Zion's sake... " think of Jesus saying this, "For Zion's sake, I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake, I will not remain quiet till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You'll be a crown of spender in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." That's the bride of Christ, that's the new Jerusalem. That's the heavenly glory that Jesus is going to keep on speaking until it's done. So the Book of Isaiah ends with a clear depiction of the new heavens and the new Earth and of hell, that's how the book ends. First, the new heavens and the new Earth, Isaiah 65:17-19, "Behold I will create new heavens and a new Earth. The former things will not be remembered nor will they come to mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people. The sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more." No more death, mourning, crying or pain, gone forever. The new heavens and the new Earth, that's where you in Christ are going, rejoice and be glad forever. Isaiah 65:25, you've heard this before, "The wolf and the lamb will feed together, the lion will eat straw like the ox, the dust will be the serpent's food, they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain." Now, this beautiful new Jerusalem is not going to get built by human skill, human architects, human construction companies, human efforts will not build this. Isaiah 66:1-2, this is what the Lord said, "Heaven is my throne, the Earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things and so they came into being?" We can't build the new Jerusalem, we can't build the new universe that's coming, only God can do that. Then he says in verse 2, "This is the one I esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word." Again, justification by faith alone in Christ. Only humble believers in Christ will enter it and so the gospel will spread to the ends of the Earth to claim them, to bring them in. Isaiah 66:19-20, "I will set a sign among them, I will send some of those who survive to the nations, to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians, famous as archers, to Tubal and Greece and to the distant islands, who have not heard of my fame or seen my glory and they will bring your brothers from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord." The elect from every nation will spend eternity in God's presence, worshipping Him. 66:22-23 says, "As the new heavens, and the new Earth that I make will endure before me declares the Lord, so will your name and descendants endure from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the Lord. But the rebels will be destroyed forever. Verse 24: "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me, their worm will not die nor will their fire be quenched and they will be loathsome to all mankind." Close with me in prayer.

David Garrison talks about his new book, A Wind in the House of Islam. God is drawing Muslims to faith in Jesus Christ all around the world. David's book examines 45 Muslim movements to Christ. He helps us understand what God is doing, and shows us how to get involved in reaching the world's 1.6 billion Muslims. "A Wind in the House of Islam" (David Garrison) David also mentions: "Camel How Muslims Are Coming to Faith in Christ!" (Kevin Greeson) "Any-3: Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime -- Win Muslims to Christ Now!" (Mike Shipman)

David Garrison talks about his new book, A Wind in the House of Islam. God is drawing Muslims to faith in Jesus Christ all around the world. David's book examines 45 Muslim movements to Christ. He helps us understand what God is doing, and shows us how to get involved in reaching the world's 1.6 billion Muslims. "A Wind in the House of Islam" (David Garrison) David also mentions: "Camel How Muslims Are Coming to Faith in Christ!" (Kevin Greeson) "Any-3: Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime -- Win Muslims to Christ Now!" (Mike Shipman)

We are continuing to Look at the Events After Easter and Determine What we are Supposed to do with Christ Now as we get the finale lessons from Peter's redemption!

One Verse Destroys Incarnation What a privilege I have week after week to stand before you and proclaim the word of God, how awesome is the scripture you heard What I just said from Hebrews four Word of God is living and active, it's an amazing thing that you hold in your laps and I'd urge you to get the Bible and just read along with me as I preach because really, that's all I'm doing. I'm really just taking Hebrews, and going, phrase by phrase. There's not a lot of artistry to it. My goal is, I just want you to understand Hebrews 9:23-28 in context today. That's my goal, but it's just an amazing work. The Scripture is it's a miracle and encounter with eternity, that we have with scripture. And let me give you a clear example of what I'm saying, why I'm even beginning the sermon this way. It has to do with Verse 27, Hebrews 9:27 is the first verse that I ever knew in the Book of Hebrews, early in my Christian life as I was learning how to be a witness and trying to share the gospel, someone told me Hebrews 9:7 was an important verse to memorize, and so I did memorize it. Just as a man is destined to die once and after that, to face judgment, that verse is a fountain of truth. And so many things come from it to refute some of the errors that Satan has sown in the hearts of human beings over time. Let me take for an example, the issue of reincarnation. The idea of reincarnation, the idea that after we die, our souls are then in some sense born alive again in some other living being, could be an animal or some other living thing, and that you go through life again, and then you die and go through it again. So, life's a big cycle fundamental to Hinduism and Buddhism, these Eastern religions, but it has been infiltrating the west for centuries. It's not a new thing that people in the West have been interested in reincarnation, but it is distressing to me how much that this false idea of reincarnation has made its way into American culture as a whole. There's a lot of media elite people in Hollywood and other places that embrace the idea of reincarnation, make movies like Robin Williams made a movie, What Dreams May Come. It was about reincarnation, Sylvester Stallone holds to this false teaching, Oprah Winfrey has frequently people on who teach based on these kinds of things, Shirley MacLaine, the actress, of course, believes in this, she said "Life is just like showbiz. You do it again and again until you get it right." Well, that's just absolutely wrong. In Hebrews 9:27, one verse, I tell you, one verse of Scripture is sufficient to explode that false teaching, if you embrace the idea that all scriptures God breathed and that the scripture is perfectly true, then this one text, this one verse is sufficient to destroy the doctrine of reincarnation. A recent poll in 2009 said 24% of American Christians believe in reincarnation, one out of four approximately. That is terrible. It's a false doctrine, it is not true. 31% of European Roman Catholics believe in reincarnation. It's just not true. So I tell you one verse of scripture is sufficient to explode that false doctrine. But it's not just that, there are other false ideas, for example, atheistic materialism, Darwinian evolution. The idea that all we are atoms and molecules. So what that means is that when you die, you're done, you're finished. Parasites eat whatever is left of you and you are gone. There's nothing else, because all you are is a chance assembly of those molecules and whatever it is you think is reality etcetera, is just an accident of time and chance and molecules and physical processes, that's atheistic materialism. That is completely destroyed by this one verse, because it says that it is appointed, we are destined to die once and after that, you see, to face judgment. So what that means is, there is an after that when it comes to death, something will come for each one of us after death, and that is Judgment Day. So away with atheistic materialism, there is something after death. And it also destroys that false idea that wicked people have that they can escape the consequences of their wicked actions by suicide. I think about Adolf Hitler in that bunker as the Red Army was pressing in and about to capture him. He thought to escape the consequences of his dark crimes by going into a back room with his wife of one day, Eva Braun, and apparently it seems biting on a cyanide capsule. And the peace of death just kind of coursed through his veins, and he just lay on a bed somewhere, and he was gone. And he thought to escape. But Hebrews 9:27 won't let him escape. It's just like in Hamlet, when he said To be or not to be, he's contemplating suicide, he's thinking about ending it all, thinking that he's going to escape the pain of his life and the consequences of his sins and he's trying to escape, but he says to sleep per chance to dream. Aye, that's the rub. Yeah, that's the rub. It's more than just a rub. It's a certainty, There is something after death, and suicide is no escape. So you cannot kill a bunch of kids at some camp and then kill yourself and think you're going to escape the consequences of your actions, for it is appointed to each one of us to die and after that, to face judgment, and so therefore this one single verse of the Bible is good for witnessing for evangelism. I think it's our job as evangelists, it's my job as a preacher, as a pastor to communicate a sense of urgency about time. This is an urgent matter here. We are all going to die. It is destined for us to die. And I'm going to talk more about this later, but all of us are going to die. And so Richard Baxter, the Puritan pastor, said I preached as a dying man to dying men. Well, I am a dying man. I don't know of any diagnosis against my health right now, but I'm just telling you, this verse tells me I am a dying man, and you may not know any diagnosis against yourself, but you are a dying man or a dying woman if you're listening to me today and I don't care how old you are, you may be young, but you are in the process of dying, and it is destined for you, it's appointed for you to die once, and after that to face judgment. Are you ready for that? Are you ready for judgment day? Are you ready to stand before your maker? Are you ready to stand before the judge of your actions of your motives are you ready for death? This text stands in front of us and causes us, forces us to look at death, and say, "Am I ready for this?" So yesterday at the outreach and so grateful for Matthew and Zenaida and for all that labored to put on the summer sizzle outreach in the community, Matthew, brother, sweet work, praise God for you. Be patient, be faithful in what you're doing and God will bless what you do. We're sowing seeds in the community. When I see people come to faith in Christ… I was talking to a 14-year-old young African-American gentleman and his friend, maybe he didn't say how old he was, but he's 16, This 14-year-old told me that he was an atheist. I said, "You're too young to be an atheist. How can you be an atheist at age 14?" And so we talked for a while, as long as they would bear, and just the Lord and His grace brought up this verse Hebrews 9:27. Do you know it's appointed to you to die? And after that, to face judgment, whether you're an atheist or not, that's going to happen to you. And then I had the privilege of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and I don't know what effect it's going to have. There was no obvious positive feedback but I think those are four different ways. This one single verse is powerful in application, but I have in doing that more or less taken it out of context. But we are told, we're always supposed to be interpreting verses in context, we're told as preachers, you have to get the main idea and preach the main thought in the text, and verse 27 isn't even a finished sentence, just as it is, as man is appointed to die once, and after that, to face judgment, dot dot dot, is there a finish to the thought? Is there something else that comes? Well, you have to read verse 28. So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And there's more in verse 28, but there's the completed thought. And so the central idea here is not any of the things I've been discussing so far. The central idea is that Christ died once for all, the supremacy of the death of Christ never needs to be repeated once for all, for every one of God's people, that will end up in Heaven. It was one sacrifice that got him there, and it's Jesus. That's the meaning of the text. And so, I'm going to do both, I've already done both. I've already given you the spin-off doctrines and all that, and I've given you the main idea and all of it is valid friends, this is what scripture does it's a river and ocean of truth that flows through your head, that's the beauty of scripture. It's a miracle to me. So we don't have as much time as I'd like to go through these verses, but how powerful is the word of God? Now what is going on in verses 23-28, we're right in the middle of the doctrinal section of the Book of Hebrews, the author is talking about Christ as our great high priest, who offered the sacrifice of His own blood to God for us in our behalf, and in that way, put an end to all animal sacrifice forever, showed its ineffectiveness, really as anything but a symbolic tool, and ushered in in that way, the new covenant by which we are saved and so the author is going in detail and with some repetition through those concepts, teaching us the significance of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. And so he's been saying in verses 18-22, that everything in the tabernacle, everything associated with animal sacrifice had to be sprinkled with blood, it had to be cleansed with blood, the blood of the covenant. And it says, in fact the law required that everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. That's where we were last time. I. The Necessity of Purification (vs. 23) And so the author picks up and says, in verse 23, "It was necessary then for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." So we're right in the middle of a flow of thought and what the author is saying he's in verse 23, he's giving us the absolute necessity of purification. There must be a purification here. That's what he's giving us, He says it's necessary. He uses a strong word in the original language, it is necessary, it is required, that there be this purification by blood. That's what he's saying, And you would say, "Well why is it necessary, why is it required?" Well simply put, in verse 22, the law requires it, God has commanded it, and therefore it must be done. Well, that's the simple answer, but let's go a little deeper. Why did God command it? What forces drove him to make this command? And it has to do with the twin truth of God's absolute perfect holiness, and our defilement in our sins, and if God is going to have a relationship with us, he must purify us we must be made clean from our sin. And that purification has to happen with blood. That's what we're saying here. And so it is necessary, then this purification is necessary. I would say if there's nothing else, if there's a central teaching, if we could go to a central teaching, of the character of God, what is God like? We try to understand the main idea of who is God, there's so many things we could say, but I would put my finger on holiness above everything else, that the Scripture wants us to know that God is holy. So, in Isaiah 6:3, the seraphim are calling to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of His glory." We've said before, say many times, again, there is no other attribute of God spoken of in that way three times. Holy, holy, holy, God is separate from us, and in every way, I think specifically here, I mean separate from wickedness and evil, and sin. He can have nothing to do with it, 1 John 1:5, "God is light, And in Him there is no darkness at all." God cannot dwell with darkness, he cannot be in the presence of wickedness and so there must be purification, that's what it's saying, and we... Apart from Christ, are wicked we are, defiled apart from Christ, cleansing, we are filthy. In that exact same passage, Isaiah felt it, you remember that, he says, "Woe is me, I am ruined! I'm a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips. I'm unclean. And my eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty." When you see God's Holiness, you feel your defilement that you're dirty, you're unclean, because of sin, and you needed cleansing, Just like Isaiah had said earlier, in Isaiah Chapter 1 and when God was saying, I don't want your prayers anymore, I don't want your religious actions. Your hands are filled with blood. Take your evil deeds out of my sight, wash and make yourselves clean. I can't be in the presence of filthy people. So there must be this purification you see, at the end of Romans Chapter 1, the apostle Paul just puts together a series of expressions talking about the wickedness of the human race apart from Christ, He says, that apart from Christ, we are "filled with envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice… Gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful, inventors of evil, we disobedient parents, senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless…" That's unclean, God can't dwell with that. And so we must have a cleansing thanks be to Jesus that there is such a cleansing for a sinner like you and me that we can be clean through the blood of Jesus and so it is necessary, this cleansing is necessary. Now, what's amazing to me is the copies of those heavenly things. It's necessary for them to be purified. You might say Why. What are the copies of the heavenly things? Well, the beginning of the chapter in Hebrews 9, he talks about a tabernacle, being set up a tent and it had artifacts and it had an Ark of the Covenant, had an altar table where there was a sacrifice made, it had a lamp stand, it had all of these things. Every one of them were crafted and made by human beings, a heavenly vision, of pattern was given, but they were executed by human beings, they were carried out by people, and therefore, defiled. That's what the author's saying even those things done by the direct command of God, because human beings made them, they had to be purified. And I find this quite fastening we're in Bible for Life, with Nathan Finn and we're looking at how the Spirit of God came on Bezalel. And how the Spirit of God moved him to execute these designs and now Hebrews 9 tells us, once they're done, they have to be purified. That is staggering to me. You can be under the influence of the Spirit doing something God has directly commanded you to do and you need a cleansing and a purification by what you... Because of what you do. And it makes sense, the more you think about it. Are there any of your good work? So you can say, Okay, I got this one alone, Jesus, I don't need your help on this one. This is a pure good work. I did all by myself. It just doesn't work friends, we are so sinful even our best, good works, even in the power of the Spirit still need a purifying force. We still need this purification so those copies of the heavenly things, the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant all of those things had to be purified with those sacrifice the animals. They were good for that. A symbolic cleansing, but nothing else. But the heavenly realities, with better sacrifices than these. Now, this is a deep and difficult phrase. It's my job. I've told you before, to bring you into difficulties that you didn't know you had. That's my gift. You didn't know you had a difficulty but you do because it's your text as much as it's mine. Why did the heavenly realities have to be purified? And why is the word sacrifice, plural here when the authors are bound to tell us that only one sacrifice offered one time forever does it? Okay, on the second question, I give you a very simple and clear answer. I have no idea. I don't know. I have no better answer if you... Anyway, I don't know why the word is plural. Different commentators… I read them all, I don't know, nobody knows. Amazingly: The Heavenly Things Needed to Be Purified But the deeper question, why did the heavenly realities have to be purified? That's difficult for me. Some people say it's because the wrath of God against sin kind of, it's like God had a big wrath fit and once it's done, then you kind of have to clean up heaven. Does that sound good to you? Wrong. God's wrath is pure and holy, and righteous, altogether. That's not it. Others say, "Well it's because Satan and his angels messed Heaven up as they rebelled and so Heaven needs to be cleaned up from Satan's rebellion." Does that sound good to you? Not to me either. We're not talking about Satan here, we're not talking about demons here, we're talking about human sin. And human sin, how did that get up there? Heaven's a pure place. How do we understand that? John Owen said that what's happening is that the Old Covenant, the animal sacrifices inaugurated or opened up the tabernacle for business, basically consecrated it and dedicated so it could be used. And in the same way, Jesus's blood opens up and consecrates Heaven for us. That would be good except that that's not what the Word says. It's purified. So, with all due respect to John Owen, I don't know, what to do with that one. Someone else said, "We are ultimately, the Body of Christ is ultimately the heavenly tabernacle where God will dwell with us together." We are the Body of Christ. And we had to be purified. That's better, and maybe right. I think it may be that we are heading toward a perfect world, a new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness that God intended to dwell with us forever. His throne in our midst, we looking at His face, that's a new world, and that had to be purified because of our sins. He couldn't dwell with us any other way. That's the best I can do with that one. If you want to keep thinking about it, do. That's what the Word of God does. It challenges us to think. But you see the need for purification. Now the rest of the text talks about the purification that was provided and how superior it is, how perfect it is, how effective it is. II. The Superiority of Sacrifice: Christ Himself (vs. 23) And so we have the superiority of the sacrifice. Better sacrifices than these. What is that better sacrifice? It's none other than the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus shed His blood, and that's a better sacrifice than the animals. The blood of bulls and goats and all of those things could not purify from human sin, it's ineffective and so we had to have a better sacrifice and that sacrifice was offered. Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross for sins. And so it's so beautiful how it says in 1 Peter Chapter 1, "For you know, that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect, He was chosen before the creation of the world, but has been revealed in these last times now for your sake, through Him you believe in God who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him and so your faith and hope in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth…" and he goes on. Do you see the blood of Jesus purifies us from sin? 1 Peter 1:18-22. That's what Peter is saying, that's the purification. We are purified by a better sacrifice and so Jesus's offerings is better than whatever the Levitical priests offer. They offered the blood of bulls and goats and sheep. Jesus offers His own blood and it's superior, it's better. III. The Superiority of Place: Heaven Itself (vs. 24) We see also it's better in terms of the location, the place. Where did Jesus offer that blood? Look at verse 24, "For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one, he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence." And so we've already seen the man-made sanctuary is the tabernacle. It was made by the command of God. There was nothing wrong with it. It had a purpose. It was made under the inspiration of leading of the Holy Spirit. Bezalel, was filled to the Spirit as he executed those designs. So nothing wrong with it, but it was man-made. It was earthly. Jesus does His work as our great High Priest, in the heavenly sanctuary. The one not made by human hands. And so Jesus has entered heaven on our behalf, for us. Isn't that sweet? Look at those words, He has entered heaven for us. If you're a believer in Christ, He's entered heaven for you, on your behalf. How majestic is that position, that place? Just meditate. Isaiah 57. Isaiah 57:15, it says, "For this is what the high and lofty one says, He who lives forever and whose name is Holy 'I live in a high and holy place.'" Think about that. "I live in a high and holy place." "But also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit." Think about that, too. How did we get there? How do we get to go to the high and holy place? Because Jesus went before us, He entered on our behalf as our high priest, and no ironic, no Levitical priest would have ever been permitted to do so. It would have been physically impossible, for no one ever ascended into heaven except the one who came from Heaven, Jesus. And so no ironic priest could ever physically have gone up there and nor would they have been permitted spiritually because every one of them were sinners, offering sacrifices first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus has entered heaven on our behalf, and there, He pleads the merit of His blood shed once for all. So look at the superiority of the place God in a high and a holy dwelling place, who looks down from Heaven. Isaiah 40, "He sits and throne above the circle of the Earth, and its people are before Him like grasshoppers." It says in 1 Timothy 6:16, He "Lives in unapproachable light." But Jesus boldly went into the presence of that unapproachable light, to plead the merits of His blood, and bring us there. And so the superiority of place is so clear, so plain. Now, the author is writing this to wean the Jewish believers in the first century, off of the temple. To wean them off. They were raised revering the temple. In their day, in Jesus's day, it would have been Herod's temple, refurbished by a wicked man, a tyrant, really, but a magnificent building and God was still using it, in the Old Covenant way it was still a place where Anna was there and Simian was there. And there was a godly focus. There's nothing wrong with it in that sense, but they were too attached to it, in some way. Solomon knew the limitations when he made it, he said, "But will God really dwell on Earth?" Is that even possible? "Heaven, even the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this building, that I've made." Stephen quotes that in Acts 7, says, "But the Most High does not live in houses built by men." And they stoned Stephen for saying it. That he was speaking against the temple of the Lord. "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord," Jeremiah 7. Just speaking blasphemy against this holy place. Well, it's not blasphemy for Jesus to say, "It's finished, it's done. You don't need the temple anymore, we're finished with it." And so He actually spoke it directly as you remember to His apostles. In Mark 13, they're coming out and He says, they say to Him, "Look teacher, what massive stones, what magnificent buildings." Jesus said, "Do you see all these things? Not one stone will be left on another." Every one will be thrown down. That's pretty plain to me. Do you get it? I mean that's very direct. "No more temple, it's going to be destroyed. You won't need it anymore after I'm done with my work." So the superiority of the place. The author to Hebrew is trying to wean these first century Jewish Christians off of a focus on the temple on to the heavenly work of Jesus. Don't need the temple anymore. And so that's what he's doing. IV. The Superiority of Time: Once for All (vs. 25-26) And so we see also the superiority of time, which I think is the main idea here. Once for all. Isn't that beautiful? Just meditate on that. Once for all. Look at Verses 25 and 26, "Nor did he enter heaven to offer Himself again and again the way the high priest enters the most holy place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times, since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself." So the author begins by talking about the superiority of what Christ is doing by way of contrast. He says what He didn't do, in verse 25. He did not enter heaven to offer Himself again and again. So again, speaking gently, but truthfully, I think the idea of the Roman Catholic dry sacrifice for Jesus, offered again and again is just un-Biblical. He doesn't need to be offered again and again. Jesus when we use this language which skates it a little bit close to that of pleading the merit of His blood, just know He's not offering it again and again. It's been offered. And so what the pleading is the intercession is based on a finished work. It's based on an achieved work once for all. Does that makes sense? So He doesn't need to offer it again and again, He doesn't need to enter heaven again and again, it doesn't have to be done. And the author says if that were so then He would have had to suffer many times, since the creation of the world. You could argue that basically every generation He'd have to be incarnate and die on the cross. And in that sense he would be very little different than the animal sacrifices, ineffective. Like a surgeon who has to go in a second and third time on the same patient and you're like, "Alright do you know what you're doing?" It's ineffective. Or pain medication that wears off, and needs to be taken again. How about one pill that handles the whole thing? Amen. One pill, infinitely greater one sacrifice that handles the whole thing. And see the power of that. If I told you there were a medication that could take care of the adverse pain in your life, the rest of your life. One pill would you take it? How much would you pay for it? How much infinitely greater than this one sacrifice, once for all, Jesus made? And so, He's greater than these animals that were offered again and again. We'll get into that topic more in Chapter 10, The repetition shows ineffectiveness. We'll get to that, I don't want to say it now, but once for all. And what that means is that Jesus doesn't have to offer Himself in every generation. He doesn't have to reincarnate and die every generation for the sins of those people, who are at that time. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times, since the creation of the world. But He doesn't need to. Why? Because God has ordained that the cross of Jesus Christ stands in the center of time over all of it. Past, present, future and they're all here in this text. Past, from the creation of the world, until now. Now is right in the text, now is then, you know what I mean, when the author wrote it, the author is saying He doesn't need to suffer again now, He has already done that. And He will not need to suffer again until He returns, and when He returns He's not going to come back to bear sin. He's very clear about that. When He comes back there's no need to bear sin. Why? He's already done that. Never again, and so the cross of Jesus stands over time, over all of time, this linear time, not like reincarnation, going round and round in a big circle. It's a line. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, He's the first and the last, the beginning and the end. That's what He is doing and His death is right in the center, and therefore you know what that means. All of the Old Covenant saints were cleansed the same way that we are, through the blood of Jesus. Isn't that magnificent? Moses's murder, and Noah's drunkenness, David's adultery, and murder, all of the sins of those Old Testament saints were covered by Jesus's blood. Paul makes the same point, in Romans Chapter 3, that God had passed over the sins committed beforehand left them unpunished, because He was going to handle it, at the cross. Now, what the author is doing here, is he just extends it from that point forward, to the end of time. All sins of God's people, all of them handled by one sacrifice, once for all. And how powerful is that? How awesome is that? And so the author at the end in Verse 27 and 28, just is making this point, "Just as man is destined to die once," emphasis on once "and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once for the sense of many people." That's the point he's making. Doesn't ever need to be repeated again, it's therefore effective. And so this is the magnificence of the work of Christ. V. The Three Appearings of Christ Now, in the middle of all this, I want you to notice a word that popped up and has become very rich to me, and it's this word appearing or appeared that Christ has appeared, He appears to us. It's used three times, once in verse 24, once in verse 26 and one in verse 28. And it's a powerful word. It has a sense that of hiddenness. And then He shows up. It's a dramatic word. Isn't it awesome? How many times do you want God to show up? Oh, Jesus, would You just show up here with Your power, with Your might, would You just show up? And He appears here, do you see? It's as though He's in some way hidden for long ages past, as it says in Colossians, and now revealed and made known. I get the picture. Just my mind working in illustrations analogies like cavalry over the hill, you're about to get wiped out, you're going to lose the battle. And the cavalry comes up over the hill with a mighty captain and wins the day, and you win the victory. Or perhaps a court trial, where the trial for an innocent person accused of murder is going very badly until the star witness appears in court. We actually use that word, their appearance in court, they appeared there, and it's dramatic. It turns the day. Save the innocent person or athletic analogy, MVP player injured in the first half, in the locker room, nobody expects to see that person again, then suddenly they show up and win the game. Very dramatic, and so it is also I think in Revelation Chapter 5, when the scroll is in the right hand of the one seated on the throne and it seems like no one is there who can take it and then behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, He appears. Isn't that awesome? So I'm going to get out of the order that the author gives us, try to do it reverently but I'm going to reverse it and put it in redemptive historical order. Incarnation Leading to Crucifixion (vs. 26) First in Verse 26, the Incarnation leading to the crucifixion, "but now He has appeared once for all, at the end of the ages, to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Do you see that? He shows up in human form. He appears, born of a virgin, in the fullness of time, He appears. And His appearance goes right to the cross, He appears in front of Pilate, He appears going up the hill, he appears on the cross, He takes away sin, He has appeared for us, to take away sin at the end of the ages by the sacrifice of Himself. I love that phrase, end of the ages, as though this is the culmination of all of human history. The culmination of human history is Jesus appearing at the cross for us, taking away sins. Ascension and Presentation to God in Heaven (vs. 24) The second is in verse 24, Christ "entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence." So after Jesus died, after He rose from the dead, He ascended to Heaven, He then appears for us in the presence of God and just hug those words for us. Jesus is there for you, He's appearing for you in God's presence. Now God the Father expected Him. It's not like He was surprised. "Oh, here's Jesus. Do you have something to say?" Oh no, He knows exactly why the Son is appearing. He is there to open a new enlivening way for us into the very presence of God, and so He has appeared in heaven for us and opened up the way for you and I to go to heaven. Second Coming Glory to Finish Our Salvation (vs. 28) But there is one more appearing yet to come, Amen. Do you see it at the end? The second coming of Christ, Christ returning in glory Verse 28, "Christ will appear a second time, not to bear sin." That's done, "But to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." That's the future appearing. Are you yearning for that today? Are you able to say "Maranatha come Lord Jesus." That's what John says at the end of the Book of Revelation. Oh, Jesus, come. Come and bring that kingdom come and bring that glory, we're weary of fighting sin and death and wicked people, just come and bring Your kingdom. And so He's going to come, He's going to come bring salvation to everyone who's waiting for Him. So He's not bringing salvation to everybody. Just to those who by faith, by hope are waiting for Jesus to come. VI. Looking Ahead: Waiting for Christ or Waiting for Judgment (vs. 27- 28) Is that you today? Are you waiting for Jesus to appear the second time? He's going to come. And so therefore, we are looking ahead as Christians, we are looking ahead, we'll talk much more about this in Hebrews 11. Faith, the faith chapter is always about looking forward and looking ahead to what's coming. So "just as man is destined to die once and after that, to face judgment, so Christ also is sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." So death is in your future, you are destined to die. No, I know, I know. There are some biblical exceptions. I love this church. You're a meticulous people. And I appreciate that, I appreciate careful Bible students. You're going to come and talk to me about Enoch. "He didn't die pastor." He walked with God and God took him for he was no more and he could not be found. And you're going to tell me about Elijah, how he went up to heaven in a chariot of fire. And how Elisha watched him go. Look, Enoch and Elijah are a clear exceptions and I still say there's a text that stands over both of them, and that is that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. So at some point they left their flesh and blood, Amen. They were glad to do it by the way. So I don't know what you call that, but I might call it death but at any rate, it was clearly a different way of getting out of this world than any of us can hope to do. Now, God hasn't said He'll never do it again, and you can keep hoping if you'd like to be the next Enoch or the next Elijah. Go ahead and do it. But you need to walk with God first, like they did and be faithful in your generation. And you might also tell me some of you sharper thinking ones. You can say, "Yeah, what about all those people that were raised from the dead, in the Bible." Elijah raise somebody from the dead, Elisha raised somebody from the dead, Jesus raised people from the dead, the apostles raised people from the dead. They didn't die once, now, did they pastor? They died twice. Friends, I know that. This is just the norm here. It could be that you might be raised from the dead, and then die again, 12 years later, that might be in your future. God can do anything. And there is one grand and glorious exception. 1 Corinthians 15 says that the final generation of the human race will not die. "Brothers, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed." And so, if you are, if we are among that final generation, as we hope to see Jesus come in our day, by the way, if you want to know what the price tag on that is, read about it in the Book of Revelation, if you want to be that final generation. I think a nice time in the ICU, might be better. It's up to you. But see, now I'm saying. Pre-trib rapture and all that, on and on it goes. Let's debate it endlessly. But at any rate, the fact of the matter is, there is going to be a generation that will not die in the ordinary way. But friends if you're not the next Enoch and Elijah, and if we're not among the final generation, if the Lord wills to tear you for another two or three centuries, you are going to die. You're going to die and the next time you visit a dying friend in the hospital, think as you're ministering to him or her, some day this will be me. Some day I'm going to die. Are you ready? Because after death, comes judgment. Do you know what that means? It means that you are going to stand before God and He is going to call to account everything you have ever done, every careless word you have spoken, the court will be seated, the books will be open, everything will be read, there'll be nothing covered, there'll be nothing hidden, everything will be uncovered and laid bare. Everything exposed. And on that day, I want to ask you, are you going to be saved? He comes to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. Will He save you on that day? Are you in Christ or not? And all you need to do is repent and believe and trust in Him, and you will be saved, on that day. Now, when I say He comes to bring salvation, I mean more than just you'll escape judgment day. I say, as I've said before, you're not done being saved. And He comes to bring the rest of your salvation, with Him. And you know what that entails? It entails a resurrection body, a glorified body and a resurrected world and you are going to live in perfect unity with brothers and sisters in Christ. And better with God Himself in a perfect, resurrected new heaven and new earth. How glorious is that? He is going to bring that salvation to you who are waiting for it. Are you ready? If you're not, then you're looking ahead only to judgment. And I'm not stealing the thunder of Chapter 10, but in 10 and 27, it says if you turn your backs on the Gospel and if you don't believe nothing remains for you accept "a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." That's what you have to look forward to, if you don't believe in Christ. VII. Applications So what application can we take from this? Well, first and foremost, just understand the greatness of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, once for all, dying for sinners, never again, to be repeated. See the superiority of it and put your hope, your trust fully in that work. Trust in it again. You don't need to tell me, "Well Pastor, I've been Christian of for 22 years." Doesn't matter, trust in Him again, trust in Him now, put your trust in Him now. And set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Set your hope fully on that time, when He comes back to finish your salvation. In the meantime, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Let Him give you down payments through the Holy Spirit, make progress in Christ, get involved in the spread of the gospel, that's what we're here to do, to grow in grace in the knowledge of Christ, and to preach the gospel to lost people. So let's be faithful in doing that. And if you are being faithful, if you feel like you've had a good day, there's nothing wrong with that. Praise God for it. Just understand that even those things done by the power of the Spirit and the command of God still need the purifying of Christ's blood. There's nothing we do that's independently pure, you know that, and just know that everything you do whether sin or righteous act stands under the blood of Jesus, that's His great grace to you. And if you are lost, my final word is to you. I speak as a dying man to a dying person, a man or woman, or child, don't leave this sanctuary Christ-less. Don't leave this place without Jesus as your advocate on that final day. Close with me in prayer.

Introduction Isn't it a marvelous, marvelous thing how it says in the scripture: Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. That's a beautiful thing, isn't it? All my life, I have wanted to fly. That's true. I have wanted to just be able to jump off the surface of the earth and go up to the clouds. It's a desire that I have, and I don't think I'm the only one that has this desire. It says in the book of Ecclesiastes - I bet you're wondering what's coming next - It says in the book of Ecclesiastes that God has put eternity in the hearts of men. But I think just from a common experience, I think he's also put flight in the hearts of men, too. We would love to be able to fly like the birds. I remember when I was in Acadia National Park looking at birds of prey just soaring on thermals and just riding higher and higher, and I thought, I would love to be one of them. Sitting on a cliff overlooking Echo Lake there in Maine, at that beautiful park. And I saw the same thing in the Grand Canyon. When I was a teenager, I had a dream, the most vivid dream of my life, literal dream, middle of the night. And I dreamt that I was standing on the parapet of an ancient castle, Bavarian kind of castle in the Alps. I just was standing on the wall, and then moved by some impulse, I just threw myself from the wall. And instead of falling, one of those falling dreams, I started to soar out over this beautiful Alpine lake. It was an unbelievable thrill. And I thought, “Wow, this is incredible.” I saw these sailboats sailing below me. I saw birds next to me and I was doing better than they were. I was having the time of my life. Until, suddenly, I woke up. And with bitter disappointment, I realized that had just been a dream, but I still remember the details of the dream. It was in the Alps somewhere, I was on a castle and I was flying over a lake. I remember it distinctly. Thinking, “Oh God, I would love to be able to do that. I would love to be able to just soar through the air.” Now, people, I think from ancient times past have had this desire. Ancient Greek mythology have Daedalus and Icarus who make wings out of wax and feathers, they didn't choose good engineering materials, dear friends. And they went up too high and they got too close to the sun god, and his heat melted the wax and they fell to their death. But, I didn't realize this, in around the year 1,000 AD or 1,010, somewhere in there, a Benedictine monk in England named Eilmer of Malmesbury made a glider and flew 250 feet in it, till he crashed. He didn't die. But that meant this has been a desire that human beings have had for a long time. Leonardo da Vinci invented all kinds of stuff, on paper only, never built it, flying machines, including one he called an aerial screw. It looked like a kind of propeller that would just kind of screw you up into the air. I don't think that was gonna work, but he had some helicopters and some other things that actually look pretty much like what we have today. Now, we all live in North Carolina, which has seized from the state of Ohio the claim “First in Flight.” I'm not a native of North Carolina. If any of you who are, wanna come and quibble with me, you do what you want. I see the license plates. I know what it says. Orville and Wilbur, two Ohio boys, brought their research from Dayton, Ohio, here to some sandy place where the winds were right, and they flew here. And the 20th century has seen a, has seen a tremendous development of flight, but you know something? That's not what I'm talking about. I have taken 11 different flights in the last three weeks, up and down, take-off and landing 11 times. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of taking my shoes off in public places, having people rummage through my private things. I'm grateful for the TSA agents that keep us all safe. I would like them to know I am not a terrorist, and I'm not going to hijack any airplane, but they don't know me, so I don't mind taking off my stuff and surrendering my beverages and my shaving cream that's a little bit too big and didn't fit in the bag. But the fact of the matter is, that's not the kind of flying I'm talking about. I would just like to just slip from the earth and fly through the clouds. That's what I would like. And you know, the amazing thing is, the Lord has in some mysterious way, promised that all of us in Christ are gonna get at least one such flight. Now, the closest thing I've seen recently, to any of this, is a crazy YouTube video of some base jumpers in a fjord in Norway. I don't know if you've seen these guys. They stand on a cliff and then they just jump, and they've got these tiny little parachutes behind them. They've got these web suits that look like flying squirrels. And they fly down, 120 miles an hour, near the cliffs, and they land safely, so beautifully. Isn't that wonderful? On their feet. Closest thing to flying you'll ever see. That's not flying, that's falling, dear friends. And they don't tell you that many of these base jumpers die for their sport. Now, I don't wanna die. I just wanna fly. When the space shuttle Challenger blew up, Ronald Reagan, president at the time, quoted this poem, “How they slipped the surly bonds of earth and touched the face of God.” Yes, but they died. I wanna slip the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of Christ and not die. I wanna meet the Lord in the air. And so do you, don't you? And that's what we're talking about today. We're talking about the doctrine of the rapture. The doctrine of the rapture is that Jesus Christ will return and he will dispatch angels and he will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. And we will meet the Lord in the air. And so we're looking at Matthew 24:31. I also want you to take time, while I'm speaking now, to put your finger or some bookmark in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, which teaches the same thing. And by looking at these two passages of scripture, I think we're going to get a good grounding in this doctrine of the rapture of the church. And as I do, I'm going to present a positive doctrinal assertion of what the Bible does, in fact, teach about the rapture, what it is, what it means, what's happening with it. But I also have to do some negative work too, and I have to do my best to defend you, I think, from doctrinal error. And I consider the so-called secret rapture, which is very popular in most evangelical circles to be an error. It's not a major error. It's not a killing, a soul-killing error, but it's an error nonetheless. I was speaking to Tom Geers before worship today, and I likened it to, remember those cartoons when you were growing up, and some character in the cartoon in the midst of some kind of frenzy, runs off a cliff. And he's doing just fine, he's floating in mid-air until suddenly, he stops and looks around. And he looks down in particular and realizes that there's nothing under his feet, and then he looks at us, and then he drops. Right. Well, I want you to have solid doctrine under your feet at all times. I want you to be able to trace everything you believe about the Christian faith to some passage of scripture rightly exegeted. I want us to rightly divide the word of truth. And so, I think it's important for us to have a right understanding of the rapture, and so I have to preach against a very popular view, and that is the so-called secret rapture. Popular Views of the “Secret Rapture” What do we mean by the secret rapture? First of all, in one sense, the Rapture isn't secret at all. Some of those that defend it hate the term “secret rapture” and say, “We're doing everything we can to make the rapture very public and open and honest,” but that's not what I'm talking about. It's secret to those that are left behind. That's the point. And they don't know what happened after it's over. And so, to some degree, the second coming of Christ, the first version of the second coming of Christ in that doctrinal scheme is a secret to those that are left behind. They don't know what happened, and they kinda have to figure out what happened. To them, it's a secret. Jesus not only comes as a thief in the night, but he leaves as a thief in the night with the church, steals her away, saves all of the redeemed, brings them out just before the seven-year tribulation. It's called the pre-trib rapture, and what I call the secret rapture, because it's a secret to those that are left behind. They don't understand it. They don't know what's happened, and I find this un-Biblical. I think that when Jesus returns and catches the church up in the clouds, everybody's gonna know it's the second coming of Christ. That's what I believe. Now, I think it's possible to disagree. I just wanna be sure that your methodology is right. I wanna be sure that you have, in fact, certain passages of scripture under your feet, and that you've understood them the best way possible. Left Behind: A Worldwide Phenomenon Now, the secret rapture scheme has been presented and popularized in a lot of different ways, most recently, of course, the Left Behind series. Without the secret rapture, you don't have the Left Behind, because it's a real short time. Those that are left behind go to judgment by Jesus as he returns, so there's not enough time for... What is it? 15 books that are written after they're all left behind. I do believe there are gonna be many people left behind, but they're gonna be left behind not for long, because Jesus is coming back in judgment, and destruction is gonna come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman. That's what it says. Judgment is coming. I do believe that there will be many left behind. Matthew 24 teaches that. We'll get to that later, but the fact of the matter is, in this scheme, there's a long delay in time for a whole development, a whole history, the seven-year tribulation. The book begins with a pilot, Rayford Steele, who's a 747 pilot, flying out, I guess, over the Atlantic, the middle of the night. Suddenly, he sees a woman in the story, Hattie Durham, and she's just shaking inconsolable, doesn't know what to do. People are missing from the plane, hard to do on a plane over the Atlantic, but there's lots of people missing, dozens of them, and their piles of clothing kind of fully arranged in the original position, and they're just there, and people have gone. And it turns out to be not just on that plane, but all over the world. This is the rapture. Christ has come back in that story and taken the church, and off they go. By the way, I want you to notice that in Matthew 24:31, it says he comes and gets the elect. It doesn't say he comes and gets all the believers. I believe elect equals believers at that point. All of the elect have come to faith by then. I believe that, okay. But at this point, it's all that all of those that are ready, those that have come to faith, and he comes and the Lord comes and gets them. And so, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, they claim that while their series is fiction, they say it's based on absolute biblical facts, all of theology and good exegesis. That's the thing I'm questioning today. I don't think so. They have added some vivid details, which, I would like to know where the solid theology is for like the necklace around the lady's neck that's left, that the indentation in the pillow, that kind of thing. There are all kinds of vivid details that really capture the imagination, but where are the verses? How do we know the necklaces are gonna be left behind? And the clothing, too. These are just surmisings. For me, I just want eschatology to be based on scripture, and to not speculate, but instead just see what the scripture says. And so, we're gonna look at Matthew 24:31, and 40 and 41. We're gonna look at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. Secret rapture is the definition that Christ returns not once, but twice. First time as a thief in the night to catch as many true believers that are ready at that point in the middle of life, leaving unbelievers to wonder where they went. And I'm gonna say in this message that, that was the doctrinal innovation that came in in the 19th century. It was unheard of before then, for the most part, and instead, the doctrine of the Rapture is taught and we're gonna see that today. The Rapture Described Let's look at what it says. Look at verses 29-31 in Matthew 24. “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened. The moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the nations of the Earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Well, first, let's deal with this word “rapture.” It's in the sermon title. I tell you, it's not found anywhere in the English Bible. It doesn't mean that it's not a biblical truth, that, that word isn't found in the Bible. We know that the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible, but we think it's a helpful term to help us understand the doctrine of the trinity, etcetera. The word “rapture” comes, I think, from the passage in 1 Thessalonians 4, like I told you to look there, just keep your finger in these two passages, we're going back and forth. But if you look at 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, it says, “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” Now, look at verse 17. “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up”- Caught up - “together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever.” That's the Rapture, caught up. The word “rapture” is really just an English version of a Latin word. The Latin word from which we get the word “raptor” also, kind of birds that come like eagles or vultures, that snatch up their prey or grab them up, or a falcon, something like that. And so, the idea in the Greek is of being caught up or snatched up in some way. The Greek word here is passive, so something happens to you. It's nothing you do. You don't go get yourself raptured. You have to be raptured, something has to happen to you. 1 Thessalonians 4 doesn't say how, but that those who are left will be caught up together with them. And so, there's something sudden, I think, something passive that happens. Matthew 24:31 Gives The Agents of the Rapture: Angels Back in Matthew 24:31, go back, we're going back and forth. But if you look at verse 31, it says how it's going to happen. Gives you the agents of the rapture, and they are angels. Now, the Bible says repeatedly in the second coming of Christ, there will be angels. Not a few angels, lots of angels, myriad angels, mighty angels, a mighty warrior host returning with Jesus. Matthew 16:27 says, “The Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” And then in the next chapter, in Matthew 25:31, next from where we're at, it says, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory, and all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats.” Mark 8:38 says this, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his Father's glory with his angels.” I mean, it's again and again, it's not one or two, it's many. Even Enoch, seventh from Adam, foresaw this angelic host returning with Jesus. Jude 14 says, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam prophesied about these men,” false teachers, “Behold, the Lord is coming,” listen, “with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones.” I mean, that's the seventh man from Adam, and God showed him the second coming of Christ. The Lord planned this before the foundation of the world, how it was gonna be, and he was gonna come with angels. Daniel 7 implies that there are 100 million angels and the angelic host is going to come. And so, Revelation 19 makes it plain that Christ is returning at the head of an immense army of angels. Revelation 19:11 says, “I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called faithful and true.” And verse 14, “the armies of heaven were following him riding on white horses dressed in fine linen, white and clean." The Dispatch of Christ: Rescue My People And so, Jesus returns verse 30, in verse 31, he sends out his angels, he dispatches them. Verse 31, “He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other.” Christ is coming for the sake of his elect to rescue them in every way from this sin-cursed planet. Now, the word “elect” means chosen ones. It's a biblical doctrine that God knows his elect. He knows his chosen ones, he knew them by name before the foundation of the world, chosen in Christ, before the creation of the world. The word elect is mentioned three times in this chapter, Matthew 24:22. “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24:22. And then again in 24:24. It says, “False Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - if that were possible. See, I've told you ahead of time.” And now here in this verse, verse 31. Now, who are the elect? Well, they are the ones that God chose in Christ to be Christians. Ephesians 1:4 and 5 says, “He chose us in him,” that is, in Christ, “before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Chosen in him. These are love gifts from the Father to the Son, the elector, and not one of them can be lost. Isn't that a beautiful thing? Rest in that. Rest in God's sovereign election. He knows you by name, he has called you my name, you are his sheep, and he will not lose you. And so it says in John 6:37-39, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. For I've come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” Notice how Jesus says in John 6, “I have come down from heaven.” He's talking about his first coming, his first advent coming down from heaven to go to the cross and the empty tomb, all of that. But he's gonna come down from him, and the second time also for the elect, that he shall lose none of them but raise them up at the last day. Isn't that a beautiful thing? And so, he sends out his angels and he's going to come and get you. Nobody's gonna get missed, there's no one that should be coming that will be left behind, no one falls through the cracks, he is perfect in what he's doing, the angels know you, and they're going to come and get you, and they're going to grab you, so be ready friends, be ready. I remember we were at a birthday party at the fire station for one of my sons, and the fireman came in in all of his scary garb, he had this rubber mask on and this breathing thing. Like that. And he's saying, “Now, don't be afraid, don't be afraid when I come in and get you, and rescue you because I'm here to help you. Okay?” Don't be afraid dear friends, when the angels break into your daily life, when the angel comes and gets you, he's here to help you, he's here to rescue you from this sin-cursed world. And so, not one of the elect is going to be missing. The Angelic Mission: “Elect from Every Nation” And notice the extent of it. They're going to go all over the world. All over the world. The angels are gonna break into the middle of life, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man, because in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage.” We'll talk about that next. Not today. But the angel's gonna be breaking in and they're gonna go all over the world, “He will send his angels and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Now, remember earlier in Matthew 24 and verse 14, it says, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” The gospel, dear friends, is going to be effective all over the world, there are going to be elect from every nation, and the angels have to go to every nation on earth and get them. Oh, what a beautiful and glorious gathering that will be, as the gospel had its way, and the gospel was triumphant and victorious, and missionaries spent their lives to go get those elect. Paul says, “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” The gospel was effective dear friends, and the angels have to go, and they're happy to go all over the world to get them. The geographic scope, and notice that standing next to one of these elect people will do you no good if you're not one of them. Proximity to a believer will not help you at that point if you're not a believer. And so look again in verse 40-41, it says, “Two men will be in the field. One will be taken, the other left.” Verse 41, “Two women will be grinding with a hand mill, one will be taken and the other left.” Friends, it will be too late at that point to repent and believe, the door will have closed, there's no chance at that point for faith. The sign of the Son of Man is already shining in the sky, there's no chance for faith, the day is over. Those that are left behind there, they don't get a second chance during the tribulation, they're done, they're finished, it's over. Dear friends, don't be left behind then. He's coming to get the elect. Now, you may say, how can I know whether I'm elect? It's very simple. This morning, you have already heard and you will hear again the gospel of Jesus Christ, you'll hear how Jesus came to earth and how he shed his blood on the cross for sinners like you and me, and how you are a sinner, and you violated the laws of God, and you're not ready to stand before God in judgment. The wrath will come on you, it's eternal wrath, not temporary, and you're in great danger if you're not in Christ, and all you need to do is flee to Christ, is trust in him. Everyone who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved. The Bible teaches us the only ones that respond to that are the elect. You wanna know if you're elect, respond to that. Come to faith in Christ. You're to make your calling and election sure, you believed years ago? Okay, let your heart resonate with what I'm saying now and say, “That's my gospel, that's the message that saves me a sinner.” That's how you know you're elect, by response to the gospel of Jesus Christ, trust in him, call on the name of the Lord. I freely admit that the rapture is not one of the central doctrines of the Bible, I freely admit. But this one is, the gospel of Jesus Christ is, and if you will repent and believe in him, you will be saved. And part of that is he's gonna send an angel to come get you. So believe in him. Meeting the Lord in the Air All over the world, the gospel is going to spread, and he's gonna send out angels, and what are they going to do? They're gonna gather the elect and they're going to meet the Lord in the air. The Lord is returning to the earth, he has a purpose. He's coming from heaven to earth to rescue his church and to destroy the antichrist and Satan and all of his works. And establish a righteous kingdom that will be eternal, and so the rapture enables us to meet him in the air. He comes back with the clouds, surrounded by the awesome turbulence of the clouds, they're always mentioned. We will defy gravity in the grip of an angel and fly up to meet the Lord. The Timing of the Rapture At the Second Coming of Christ Now, when will that happen? Now, that's an interesting question, isn't it? And here I want to just cling to the passage that was read, that Jack Evans read so beautifully for us. I think it gives us a very clear timetable. So look down in Matthew 24:29, “Immediately after the distress of those days.” Now, the word “distress” is translated in another version, “tribulation.” Okay, let's just stick that one in there because I think it's helpful. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” Talked about that last time. Verse 30, “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the nations of the Earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming with the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” That is the second coming. Preached about that last time and the time before that. Tribulation. Second coming. What's verse 31? What would you call verse 31? “And he will send out his angels, and they will gather the elect from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other.” That is the rapture friends. Tribulation, second coming, rapture. And Second Coming, rapture, same time. That's it. I think that's a good order, don't you? Friends, let's just stick to the scripture, let's just go with the order that you find in the Bible, tribulation, second coming, and the rapture. I think that's it. But if you need some more help, go over to 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Thessalonians 4 gives us the same teaching. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, “According to the Lord's own word, we tell you, we who are still alive, who are left 'til the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up” - Rapture - “With them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” This is the second coming of Christ. The word “coming” at the coming of the Lord is “parousia” in 1 Thessalonians, the Greek term for the second coming. Verse 16, in 1 Thessalonians 4 speaks plainly of the second coming, “The Lord himself will come down from heaven.” That sounds like the second coming to me. What do you think? “The Lord himself will come down from heaven.” If I were to say “What doctrine does that describe?” You would say, “Second coming.” At the Same Time as a Loud Command... the Voice of the Archangel...the Trumpet Call of God “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.” What is the loud command? I think he's commanding the archangels to go. The archangels then are commanding other lesser angels to go and, like an army, that's the way it is, Jesus is the commander of a great army and everything is orderly, and there's discipline and structure, just like the centurion saw in Matthew chapter 8. There's just order and he gives an order, and then it just goes down and the voice of the archangel, and then they come and gather us. “Bring forth my elect,” says Jesus, and they go. At the Same Time as the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ And what is this trumpet call of God? Well, it's also mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the great resurrection chapter, which according to 1 Thessalonians 4, that's when this is happening, at the second coming, at the rapture is the resurrection. I don't deny that there's difficulties when we read Revelation 20, it's hard to put all this together. You know what it seems with eschatology? It's like a puzzle and you put it in all these pieces and they fit so neatly except this one piece, and whatever scheme you have, there's always at least one piece that just doesn't seem to fit. What I do with that is, I don't take out scissors and trim off that offending tab, and fill in the other part that just doesn't seem to... I just say, look, I don't know how to put all this together. I'll do the best I can. In particular, millennium, how that fits together, difficult for me to say. But 1 Thessalonians 4, I don't think it's that difficult when it comes to the resurrection. The dead in Christ rise. We also meet them. 1 Corinthians 15 then says, “in a flash, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, we will be changed.” And there's your resurrection body, we have resurrection bodies that we're still alive, the dead in Christ get theirs as well, and so we will be with the Lord for how long? Forever, forever. And so there it is. The Secret Rapture Rejected The Secret Rapture Messes with the “Coming of the Lord” So I think we need to reject the concept of the secret rapture, secret rapture, basically says it's going to be a secret. It's going to be here in the inner rooms, or there out in the desert, and Jesus said, don't do that. As lightning that comes from the east is visible in the west, everybody will know what's going on. Everybody. The Secret Rapture Is a New Teaching Secret rapture as I said, is a new teaching, I will not bore you with details, but it came in in the early 1800s was popularized by a Scottish pastor named Irving, Edward Irving, and he got it from a 15-year-old girl that had a vision of basically two second comings. J.N. Darby, who really started dispensationalism, I think, influenced C.I. Scofield. Scofield put it in a reference Bible that was printed a million strong up to 1930, and it just spread everywhere, the idea of the two-second comings and the secret rapture popularized by the Scofield Reference Bible. Then 1970, Hal Lindsey put it in The Late Great Planet Earth. 1972, there was a movie made called A Thief in the Night that popularized it, and now we have the Left Behind series, and so it's with us. And all I want you to do is just be noble Berean, that takes it and says, “Is it so? Is it so?” The Secret Rapture Is a New Teaching I think that the secret rapture is driven by the desire to escape the tribulation. Look, who would want to go through the tribulation? Read the book of Revelation, find out just how horrible it is, but it all comes down to one verse, I think in particular, in Revelation 3:10, the Lord says, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” So they take that one verse, which is to one of the seven churches, and they extend it out to all true believers, and all true believers will miss the final seven-year tribulation period. First of all, the translation itself is questionable, could be, “I will keep you in the hour of trial that's gonna come on the whole earth.” And isn't that God's usual way? Not so much to whisk us out, but to preserve us, protect us so that we make it through, and doesn't that actually fit Matthew 24 a little bit better? Matthew 24:22 says, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive but for the sake of” - who? “the elect, those days will be shortened.” Why? Because they're going through it, because they're suffering through it. Frankly, even the Left Behind people, they tell you some of God's elect you do go through it, they don't talk much about election, I notice. But some of God's people, they call them tribulation saints. They go through the tribulation, they go through it. They weren't ready when Jesus came. And so therefore, in my opinion, I think they're being spanked, punished by God, so they have to go through the tribulation. None of this makes much sense to me, and whether it makes sense or not, I don't find it in the Bible. To put the whole thing down on one verse, I think is inappropriate. Instead, isn't it God's usual way to preserve and protect his church in the midst of great suffering and trial? And that's what I think he does. Frankly, in Revelation 16:12-15, it seems that the elect actually are going through the tribulation. It says, “The sixth angel poured out his bowl in the great river, Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East. Behold, I come like a thief!” Listen to this, “Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed,” Notice the thief statement, he says, “I'm coming, therefore, blessed are those who are ready and are…” And that's right in the middle of all the bowls and the seals of Revelation. So I think actually, biblically, it's more likely that God's people will have to endure a time of great suffering before the end. But Jesus comes back to rescue us from it. Amen. Isn't that beautiful? He's coming back to get his bride and get her out of trouble, because those days had been cut short. Someone Will Do a U-Turn... Christ or Us Frankly friends, when it comes to the second coming, someone is going to do a U-turn, it's either gonna be us or Jesus. Jesus comes from heaven down to the earth, or toward the earth, right? The rapture means we're gonna meet the Lord where? In the clouds, but neither Jesus nor us is staying in the clouds, that's not our final home. Somebody is doing a U-turn. Do you not to see it? Either Jesus gets the church and goes back up to heaven for seven more years, or we meet the Lord and we do a U-turn and escort him back to the Earth. And frankly, the Greek word for “meet” in 1 Thessalonians is that precise term of a delegation sent out from a city to meet a coming king or dignitary, and escort him back into the city. And I think that's precisely what is happening at the rapture, we go up, we meet the Lord, and we come down to do some damage, friends. Although frankly, if you read Revelation 19, we don't need to do much damage, all the damage is done by Jesus, 'cause you got the sword coming out of his mouth, and he can slay anyone he wants any time, because he is the Sovereign God. And when he says to the antichrist, “Be dead.” That's it, because he slays them with the breath of his mouth. But we're gonna be there as witnesses, Amen. And we're gonna be with the hosts of heaven, and we're gonna meet the Lord in the air and we'll be with him forever. But What about the “Thief in the Night” Passages? Now, what about the thief in the night passages? Not yet. Later we'll come to them. But basically, if I can say simply, it's this. It comes like a thief in the night to those who don't read the Bible and are not ready. Jesus doesn't want us to be like that and so he's told us plainly what's gonna happen, and he's saying that they will not surprise you like a thief in the night, you will be ready. And part of the rest of Matthew 24 is to get you ready, so that you're ready for the second coming of Christ and live every moment for the second coming of Christ. The Significance of the Rapture It Demonstrates Christ’s Power So what is the significance of the rapture? Well, it demonstrates Christ's power, we see his power in the clouds of the sky with great glory, specifically his power over the antichrist and overall force of evil, we will see that. His power also to raise the dead, because the dead in Christ will be raised at that point and Jesus's power over death will be open and obvious. Amen. At the rapture, we will see his power, we will be in resurrection bodies. It Demonstrates Christ’s Love for His Church It demonstrates also Christ's love for the church. He said on the road to Damascus, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He takes it personally when his elect are beat up on earth and he's coming back to rescue them. Conversely, he takes it very personally when his elect are well-treated on earth in his name. And he rewards people, sheep and the goats, you'll see it, but he rewards people based on how his people are treated. And so He is coming back because he loves the church. It is a Reward for Faithful and Courageous Service It's also, the rapture is, a reward for faithful and courageous service. Revelation 7:13-17, “One of the elders asked ‘These in white robes - who are they and where do they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘Well, these are they that have come out of the great tribulation. They've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb, and therefore, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them, and never again will they hunger, and never again will they thirst, and the sun will not beat on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd, and he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” And it says at the end of Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me.” Rapture is part of his reward. Catch you up in the clouds to meet the Lord, It Enables Us to Accompany Christ to the Earth And the rapture enables us to be with the Lord as he comes down. I wanna be with him, don't you? Don't you wanna see him, don't you wanna see him in his hour of glory, in his hour of triumph? To be there as an eyewitness? You didn't get to be there as an eyewitness with the first generation, those were the apostles, that wasn't us, but we get to be eyewitnesses of his second coming glory. We get to glorify him. It Signifies the End of the Old Order of Things It signals also the end of the old order of things. The resurrection is the end. The old order of things will have passed away. It Begins Our Face to Face Fellowship with Christ and Our Perfect Unity with Each Other It begins also our face-to-face fellowship with Christ that will last forever, and our perfect unity with each other. We're not going to precede those that have fallen asleep, we're gonna be together, the dead in Christ, the living in Christ together, we'll be together from every tribe, and language, and people and nation, and we will be one. It Fulfills the Lifelong Yearning of Many to Fly And finally, it fulfills my lifetime yearning to fly, so at least I'm happy about that. If any of you else would just be honest and say, “I actually always wish I could fly too.” Then don't feel you're yearning to go. If you couldn't care less, it doesn't matter, you're going if you're a Christian, so he's going to come and get you and you will fly as well, at least just one time. Application Come to Christ Now! So what application can we take from this? Well, first, come to Christ now, this could be your last chance to hear the gospel. I'm not trying to be melodramatic, but you don't know when you're going to die, you don't know how many more minutes you have on earth, come to Christ now, look to the blood of Christ, trust in him, don't put it off, not because the rapture might happen tonight, but because your death might happen tonight. Be ready at every moment. Delight in the Power of Christ to Protect His Church and Relish the Togetherness of the Church And delight in the power of Christ in protecting his church. Relish the togetherness of the unity of the church, so we're gonna be together forever. Yearn for that. Think Carefully About the Secret Rapture...and Reject It Think carefully about the secret rapture. If I haven't persuaded you, then go back and look at the passages on rapture and see if you can place it. See if you can find a place where Jesus comes secretly, gets the church, and disappears for seven years. And if you can support it and believe it, show me the passage, and I'd like to learn as well. Be Strengthened by the Coming Triumph of Christ And one final thing from a hymn we sang earlier for all the saints, it's powerful while we're seeing it just hit me how important this is, you know why we need to teach on the second coming of Christ? You know why this is important? Well, listen to this verse, and for all the saints, “And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and hearts are brave again and arms are strong. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.” If you're feeling weak in your battle with sin today, hear the distant victory song today and say, someday you're going to triumph over all sin. So be strong today against temptation. And if you're weary of evangelizing and the whole missionary endeavor, let the distant victory song steal in your ear and get brave again in sharing the gospel. Let your arms be strong one more time. Close with me in prayer.

sermon transcript The Covenant-Making God Calls for Holiness We come this morning to Genesis 17, and the institution of the covenant sign of circumcision. As I come to this Scripture this morning in Genesis 17, I'm brought to another place in Scripture, Matthew 5:17, where our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said this, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Well, that's what Jesus said about the written Word, and that includes here in Genesis 17, a command for circumcision, which in this Scripture seems established to be timeless. And so, those that were inerrantist, those that wanted a literalistic interpretation of the Bible in the first century, were greatly troubled by those who said, "You don't need to circumcise your children." They said, it says, it's timeless, it's an eternal covenant. And so, it brought the early church into the flames of controversy. The Holy Spirit led the church through that, so that we who are Gentiles by birth, are not required to be circumcised in order to go to Heaven. Somebody say amen, praise God for that. How hard would missions be if we were still required to undergo the old covenant ceremonies? Very difficult. There would be some that would be willing just like Abraham was at age 99, but God has not so ordained for us. So that brings us to another question, doesn't it? Why? Actually, two questions. Why did God establish circumcision in the Old Covenant for Abraham and for all his descendants? What was He doing? What was the purpose? And, secondly, why did he remove the requirement in the new covenant? Those two questions are going to be in the back of your mind, but first I want to just unfold Genesis 17, try to see what's in that text, and then we will come full circle at the end and try to understand those two questions. Context: The Limitations of Human Flesh Exposed Now, the context for the giving of this circumcision sign, the sign of this old covenant with Abraham was Genesis 16. Now in Genesis 16, as we looked last week, was Abram and Sarai's attempts in their own flesh to fulfill the promise of God? It was pretty obvious that try as they might again and again, Sarai, her womb barren, the two of them just could not have children physically, it was impossible. And so, they decided to take matters in their own hands, and Sarai said, “Now, here's Hagar, my Egyptian servant. Now you go and marry her and have a son by her, and he will be reckoned as mine.” And so, Abram fit into the cultural norms of the day and did a sinful thing, he did something that God did not intend. We saw the outcome of that last week in Genesis 16. God Appears to Abram Now you are in Verse 1, it says, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.’” Thirteen Years of Silence Now, this ends 13 years of biblical silence between God and Abram. We don't know for sure; the Bible doesn't say that there were no words from God during that time, it doesn't say that, but I think the silence is pretty stark here. Thirteen years, God has not revealed anything in Scripture, at least to Abram. After 13 years of silence, He comes and says, I am God almighty, walk before me and be blameless. God’s Call: Personal Daily Holiness There is a sense of holiness here, a sense of the righteousness of God and of His purposes as well. Now, I think the reason for the 13 years and for the strong word here is that God wants to reveal His power in human inability. Really, in human impossibility. God loves to say, “With man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” And so, it's clearly established that the arm of flesh can accomplish nothing. And so, He waits for 13 years as Ishmael grows up. He waits to chastise Abram and Sarai, to train them and to teach them one central lesson, said later by the prophet Zechariah. Zechariah 4:6 says, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” You don't take matters in your own hands in God's kingdom. You don't do it the way you think is best. You wait on the Lord and let Him tell you what He says to do. And so, the Holy Spirit will lead. It is the spirit that will work, it is God who will get the glory when human inability is so clearly established. The human flesh has its own ways. We have our own ways of doing things. And so, Abram and Sarai took matters into their own hands. God waited to put human strength and schemes at an end. Until it became very obvious that “Abram's body was as good as dead−since he was about a hundred years old−and that Sarai’s womb was also dead.” Romans 4:19. Hebrews 11:12 says, “And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” So, God is waiting for the dust of their rebellion to settle. And after 13 years, comes this word, this promise, again. And so, God appears to Abram, and we see here, the working of God's grace. God didn't cast off Abram and Sarai, he didn't throw them out because they were sinners or they disobeyed His patterns established from the very beginning concerning marriage, He didn't throw them out. God redeems sinners. God uses sinners. Anybody here not a sinner? Anybody willing to come and tell us how to do it? I think everybody I'm looking at here is a sinner and I'm a sinner too. And yet, if I'm a sinner, I'm up here and God can actually use me and God can use you, too. And so, he works through sinful people to accomplish His ends. The grace of God. Sometime later, Genesis 17:1 says, “When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.’” He appears to him, and he gets a reaction from Abram. Abram, it says, falls face down. And so would you, if the Lord had appeared to you, wouldn't that be delightful to be just slain by a vision of God this afternoon, could you spend better time this afternoon than that, to fall face down before an appearance of God Almighty? And the terror and the fear of the Lord came over Abram at that moment. And he feared and he fell face down. And then came the call, God's holiness, God's purity, His perfection. Out of the perfection of His nature and His heart, He said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.” This is a call for each one of us today. Be holy because I am holy, says the Lord, it's a call in the old covenant, and it's a call in the new covenant as well. God is a Holy God, He is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. And when it says, “Walk before me,” it means live your everyday life in front of me, Abram. Let me watch how you live. Job says, “Does He not see my ways and count my every step?” He knows the slightest inclination of my heart, He sees every word before it's on my tongue, He knows it all together completely. He knows everything about us, and so walk before me, he says, live your life on a stage in front of me. Let me watch you. And as I watch you realize, my eyes are too pure to look on evil, I can't tolerate wrong. Walk before me and be blameless. This is a rebuke, I believe, for Genesis 16. Don't do things your way. Don't follow the cultural norms. Find out what it is I want and do it, even if it's costly. The Covenant Repeated, with New Tokens Having introduced this, then He refreshes or renews the covenant, this is the grace of God. He comes again with the covenant, and you are going to see in the Covenant as it's renewed with some new tokens here, some new aspects, you are going to see the same two central promises, a multiplicity of descendants and the promised land, you are going to see those same two things reiterated here, but some new tokens. Look at Verses 2 through 8, God says, “I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell face down, and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.’” This is the covenant reestablished as it were. Not that it ever went away because God's gifts and His calling are irrevocable. But here He refreshes it, He renews and He gives some new tokens. Why God Repeated the Covenant Now, why does God keep refreshing and renewing this covenant? Well, could it be that people are just forgetful? We forget, it's been 13 years after all, and if it's been silence, 13 years of silence and realized, he didn't have the blessing we have, you realize what a blessing this book is? We can read this day after day and refresh and renew our sense of the promises of God. Abram didn't have the written scripture, all he had is the last word that God gave him, the last word to go on, the last vision. And so, he comes and he refreshes and he renews his faith by means of the word. It's the same promise again, faith, can I tell you right now? Faith is a living thing. It's like a plant, it needs fertilizer, it needs water. My wife and I, I'm not trying. . . just me, let's put it on me. We kill all the plants we get; we kill them all. I don't know what it is we haven't killed. I had a cactus once and it took me two years to kill that, and that was tough, but other than that, we can kill anything. Christy is better than I. I don't in any way, want to talk about this later this afternoon, but anyway, definitely. I'm the one that . . . and the fertilizer, the water. That kind of thing. It needs it. Your faith is alive, it's alive and it needs food. You know what food it needs; it needs this, it needs the word. You have got to feed your faith, if you don't feed your faith, it's going to wither, it's going to shrink up. It's going to be fruitless. You have got to feed your faith with the Word. And so, God comes and He gives Abram his faith, a big meal here. He renews the promises and He speaks to him. But he also wants to establish Abram’s pattern of obedience, this could be translated in effect; “I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless, so that I may confirm my covenant with you.” In other words, there needs to be a pattern of obedience, Abram, or I cannot confirm my covenant with you. If Abram had become utterly faithless, if he had not believed the promise, if he had, for example, had no marital relations with his wife, it would have been literally physically impossible for this promise to be fulfilled. He had to obey, he had to act on his faith, Genesis 18, 18 and 19, we're going to see that shortly. But God speaking about Abraham says, “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just,” listen, “so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.” You see, there's a connection between our faith-filled obedience and the fulfillment of the covenant promise. And so, He says, “Walk before me and be blameless so I will confirm my covenant between me and you…” And then, He gives him this remarkable token, the change of a name. Now, as a preacher here, it was hard for me to change Abraham's name to Abram, but from now on, I have got to go back to what I've always known. This man is Abraham, and so he gave him the new name, Abraham. Abraham’s Name Change Names are significant in scripture. They could refer to a character trait that could be like Jacob, He who grasped the heel, he's a con-artist, he's a deceiver. There's a sense of name for Esau because he was reddy, a red or a ruddy, with his red hair, he was named Edom or Esau. Many times, in scripture, there is also the sense of the changing of a name. When Jacob went to Israel, he who wrestles with God, there was a change of the name there. Also, for God's people in Isaiah 62:2, it says, “The nations will see your righteousness and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.” Isn't that marvelous? And that very same promise is picked up in the Book of Revelation, in Revelation 2:17, listen to this, this is so wonderful. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” What an incredible blessing that is, and God has the power to change a name. And what was the change? Well, Abram meant exalted Father. Abraham meant the father of many nations. Past Tense: God Calls Things That Are Not as Though They Were Notice that God uses the past tense here in Verse 5, he says, “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” I have made you a father of many nations? That's exactly right. God speaks and it is even if it isn't yet, you know what I'm saying? It's as good as done because God said it. “Let there be light,” He said, and there was light. God speaks, and it is, or it will be most certainly in his good timing. And so, it says in Romans 4:17, “As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. And he does it right here in this verse, do you see that? He said, “I've made you a father of many nations,” even though he is the father right now of just Ishmael, “father of many nations.” And so, Abraham was designated to be the father of many nations, even though his body was as good as dead, and Sarai's womb was also dead, yet God has the power to call things that are not as though they were. And you know what? That's what he does at the moment of salvation, isn't it? He calls into your soul something that wasn't there before, a love for God, an estimation of the weight of the glory of Jesus Christ, the glory of God in the face of Christ. In 2 Corinthians, Chapter 4, He called a light into your soul that didn't exist before. It's called regeneration, being born again. He can do that to anybody. He has the power to speak to dead people as though they were alive and they come alive like Lazarus. And you know what, He's going to do it to you when you're in the grave. All who are in the grave will hear his voice and come out, he has the power to give life to the dead on that great resurrection day. He can do that to whole nations, he can rise a nation up out of the dust and make them a world-conquering empire, and then he can send them back into the dust. God does all these things. He calls things that are not as though they were. The Covenant Sign Given and Circumcision First Covenant Requirement Then, He gives him the covenant sign of circumcision. Look at Verses 9 through 14, this is the first covenant requirement, circumcision. In Verse 10, it says, “Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.’” Verse 10, “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” And so, here is the covenant sign of circumcision. Now, up to this point, the covenant has been one way, God in effect saying, “This is what I will do for you.” But now here is a covenant obligation or responsibility, a covenant command, you must be circumcised and all your males with you. It is a sign, Verse 11, “it will be the sign.” Look at that word in Verse 11, “You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.” The Sign of the Covenant Now, a sign is a symbol or something that represents a reality that already is. And so, the covenant had already come, God had already made his covenant in Genesis 15. This is so vital and so important, and Paul picks up on this in a major way in the Book of Romans. The reality was already there, the sign was given later, and so circumcision is a covenant sign. The same word is used in the Hebrew of the sign of the rainbow. For the flood of Noah, in Genesis 9:12-16, God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant.” So, here's another aspect of the sign, the sign causes remembrance. When you look at this and you see the sign, you remember the covenant. And that's the purpose of the covenant of circumcision. It was a sign. The same thing was true of the sign of the blood of the Passover lamb. In Exodus 12:13, “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Here's the thing, this is a covenant sign, this is a representation that causes remembrance, that when you look at it, there is a reality behind it. There is a covenant promise. God had said, I will not destroy any of your first born, if you obey this and paint the blood of the Passover lamb, it's a sign, and that's so important. And yet in a strange way, it's also called a covenant unto itself. Look at Verse 13, “Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.” Oh boy, now we get into some problems, and we'll get to this in a minute, this word everlasting, but there it is, it's a covenant in the flesh, the covenant of circumcision that is given. I can't go long in Genesis 17 without saying, Paul, tell me what it means, I need to understand. And so, Paul gives us an inspired commentary on this whole thing in Romans Chapter 4. Paul is dealing with the question of justification by faith alone. What does that mean? It's the way a sinner like you and me is able to stand before a holy God, righteous and unafraid on judgment day, and even before that, that today we can be, like Jesus said in John 13, the foot washing, we can be clean because of the word He has spoken to us. Aren't you hungry for that? Don't you want to be clean before God today? To stand before Him blameless and unafraid. That's justification righteousness, that we can stand before Him. Well, how does it come? Well, how did it come for Abraham? This is what Paul writes in Romans 4:9-12, "Is this blessedness” of forgiveness, of being clean before God, “is this blessedness only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised?” We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited unto him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised.” That's us as Gentiles. We believe, but we were not ceremoniously or religiously or covenantally circumcised. We were not. He is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness may be credited to them. And, he is also the father of the circumcised,” those are the Jews, “who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that their father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” The Extent of the Sign Let me unravel all that very simply, okay, it's really this simple. Genesis 15 comes before Genesis 17. And in Genesis 15, God said, "You're righteous." In Genesis 17, "Oh, by the way, be circumcised." And so, we don't need to be circumcised in order to be righteous. That's the point that Paul makes very simply, and he makes this whole argument on the ordering of the narrative in the Old Testament, that's the way that Paul argues. The circumcision came after the righteousness. Now, what is the extent of the covenant sign? Well, look at Verses 12 and 13, "For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner−those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant." The Penalty of Disobedience So first of all, every male among you, any male among you, part of your group, they must all be circumcised, it should be done for a newborn infant eight days old, that's when it's done at eight days, and it's to be done for generations to come, for it's an everlasting covenant. We'll get to that in a minute. Now, is there a penalty for disobedience? Yes, there is, look at Verse 14, "Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." Now, that is serious. Do you see that as a covenant penalty, if you are not circumcised, you don't circumcise your children, you're cut off from Israel? You are left out of the people of God, very serious. That meant they were no longer a Jew, they were no longer a descendant of Abraham, as it were, because they are not circumcised. That's how serious this is. Was Circumcision an Everlasting Covenant Now, let's get to this question. Was this covenant an everlasting covenant, the way it says the word is translated here, everlasting covenant. Well, this Hebrew word “everlasting” is sometimes used to refer to God Himself. It says in Psalm 29:10, "The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever." Is that like forever and ever and ever and ever? Yes, you just can look and see it's eternal. God is King forever. He's eternally the king, or how about this one? Isaiah 40:8, "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever." Is that forever and ever? Yes, it's eternal, God's Word is eternal. So, concerning God's throne and concerning His word, the same word means eternally. But we get into problems when it comes to the Old Covenant issues, because the same word is used for things that became temporary when the New Covenant came, and so the word actually can mean until further notice coming from God. And, I know that that's troubling to you, but that's in effect what it is, you must circumcise until I tell you to stop. And we Christians have to accept that, because that's literally what happened. We've got to circumcise. You want to be part of the people of God? You must circumcise until I tell you to stop. The same was true of the Old Testament sacrificial system, wasn't it? You must do this. You must do it; you must do it until I tell you, it has been fulfilled. Now, here's the thing. Jesus said in the quote that I gave you at the beginning, a Sermon on the Mount, He said, ". . .until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear. . ." until what? "Everything is fulfilled." Well, this has been fulfilled, brother and sisters, this has been fulfilled. The animal sacrificial system has been fulfilled and so has circumcision. So, the word can mean something other than eternally. For example, look at Deuteronomy 15:17, don't turn there, but just listen. Speaking of a servant who wants to become a permanent member of the family, it says, ". . .then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life." Now, is that a different forever than God's throne? Well, yeah, I mean, servant until he dies, so at least that much is the case, not eternal. Or how about this? Exodus 29:9, "You shall gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and bind caps on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever," or is that an eternal priesthood? Aaron's priesthood, an eternal? No, the Book of Hebrews said it was temporary. How about dietary regulations? Leviticus 3:17, "It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, and in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood." Jesus declared all foods clean. Or the atonement sacrifice. Leviticus 16:34, "This will be a statute forever," these are all the same Hebrew words for you, "that atonement may be made for people of Israel once a year because of their sins," blood atonement, animal sacrificial system. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. These old covenant regulations were called eternal or everlasting, even though the New Covenant came and overturned them or ended them, fulfilled them really. And so, the basic meaning here is that this is established as a covenant until I come and tell you otherwise. And that's exactly what happened in the New Covenant. The Covenant Child Designated: Sarah’s Son Isaac Well, God goes beyond that in Verses 15 through 22, He designates the covenant child. He makes it very clear. Now, apparently Abram, Abram, you did not know. Let's call him Abraham now. See, I have to learn. See Abraham picked it right up. He knew he was Abraham that same day. But for me, it takes a little while to go back and forth−so Abraham. Sarah’s Name Change: Meaning = Princess You apparently are confused concerning who the woman is through whom you are going to have the promised child. Well, let's make that very clear right here, and right now, Genesis 17, "God said also to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’ Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man 100 years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’ And Abraham said to God, 'If only Ishmael might live under Your blessing!' Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.'" Verse 22, "When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him." It's very clear after that, through whom the child, the promise is coming, it's coming through your wife, Sarah. God Exalts Marriage: It is through Sarah the Seed Will Come So, God exalts marriage the way he originally established, one man, one woman, one flesh for life. This is your wife, and it's through her that the child is going to come. Now, Sarai’s name change, the new name means princess, is fitting for a mother of kings; the previous name Sarai, the meaning is unclear. But in effect, this is a new start for Sarai, she is going to be Sarah from now on, and she is going to be the mother of kings, it's not going to be some rabble or some hoard, it's going to be an organized people with kings one after the other. And so, it's an exalted name for her and a new start and a promise of fruitfulness and blessing. Verse 16, "I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. . ." only with God's direct, supernatural blessing will this ever come. Sarai's womb had been barren, Sarah's womb would be fruitful one time, she would have a son, and his name would be Isaac. Abraham’s Joy and Concern Well, at this point, Abraham falls face down and laughs. Now, you could think this is the laugh of unbelief, and in Genesis 18, that's what it was for Sarah, she couldn't believe it and laughed through unbelief, but this is not the laugh of unbelief, this is the laugh of joy. This is what God does to you. He blesses you so that you laugh with joy or maybe you cry with joy, but God is into filling your heart with His blessings, and so he just falls on the ground and laughs. How do we know that he believed the Lord at this moment? Well, it says so in Romans. See, Romans is the commentary. You say, "Well, what commentaries do you use? I like to use Romans 4:19-21 to comment on Abraham's life. I think it's a great commentary, and so it says right there in the commentary, it says, "Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead−since he was about a hundred years old−and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Isn't that marvelous? And so, he was strengthened in his faith, and as I was going over this text this morning, God showed me an indicator right in the text that he believed the Lord right there. Look what it says, "He falls on the ground." And what does he say? "Will a son be born to a man 100 years old." And what does he say next? "Will Sarah bear a child at age 90?" He didn't say Sarai. I mean, the news about Sarai to Sarah, that was just a few seconds old, he picks it up by faith, and the woman that he had known for all those decades as his wife, the wife of his youth, he had known her all her life as Sarai, he instantly changes her name in his mind to Sarah because God said so. And if God says so, that settles it to him, he's a man of faith, and so he changes her name in his own mind to Sarah, he believes the Lord. He also has a concern, and his concern is for Ishmael, like a good father, like Job who offered sacrifices for his sons and daughters thinking they might have cursed God in their hearts. If you are a good father, you will pray for your children, if you are a good father, you will be concerned about the spiritual welfare of your children. You'll intercede for them, and that's what he does for Ishmael here, "If only Ishmael might live under Your blessing," he knew in the providence of God and the sovereign will of God, Ishmael was not the child of promise, God's plans were going to go another way, but he said, "What about Ishmael?" He said, "I have heard you: I will surely bless him.” “But my covenant I will establish with Isaac.” God is very clear about that. The Covenant Obeyed Immediate Obedience: To Delay is to Disobey Well, in Verses 23-27, we see Abraham's faith in action. He obeys Him. To delay is to disobey, isn't it? You don't wait. If God tells you to do something, you do it. If He wants you to be in the intensive evangelism workshop, for example, maybe. To delay is to disobey. Alright, if God is calling on you to do something, you have to do it. And Verse 23 tells us, "On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and he circumcised them, as God told him." True Faith Always Results in Obedience Now, I doubt that God has asked you to do anything that difficult in the last year. This is a 99-year-old man, a 13-year-old son, every male that is with them, he had a large entourage with him, he led his family in obedience, and it was costly obedience. It was painful obedience. It was humbling obedience, and he did it, and he did it promptly, and he did it completely. True faith always results in complete and total obedience. The Promise and Purpose of Circumcision: Fulfilled in Christ Now we get back to our questions, I said at the end we would come full circle, what are the two key questions? Well, why did God command circumcision for the Jews? And why does He not command it for us? Circumcision Was Required for Jews Now, that's the question in front of us. First of all, was circumcision commanded for the Jews? Absolutely. We've seen it right here in the text. And you remember later in Exodus 4, when Moses had neglected to circumcise his own children, his wife, Zipporah, circumcises them and then basically chews him out saying, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me. . .” because you've not obeyed in this matter of circumcision." And it says right in that text, ". . .the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him” because he did not obey concerning circumcision. So yes, this was absolutely required for the Jews, no doubt about it. Circumcision Not Required for Christians Is circumcision required for Christians? No, it isn't. And why? Well, they had a big meeting in Acts 15, it was the mother of all church conferences there, and they all met and everybody came and they discussed things out, and you think you've had some hard church conferences. Well, this was very hot because you had some folks that read out of Genesis 17, now this is meant to be an everlasting covenant, it's meant to be an eternal covenant. And so, unless the Gentiles are circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses, they cannot be saved. Paul and Barnabas come into sharp dispute and debate with them that they have got to meet to settle it, and so they do. And in Acts 15, we see a marvelous thing as both Paul and Peter stand up for what God wanted done. And that was a gospel of grace, a gospel of no longer being under the ceremonial law. And so, they wrote a letter to the Council of Jerusalem and refused to require Gentiles to be circumcised. Acts 15:28 says, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements." It then gives a list of four things that help them not to offend their Jewish neighbors, but there is no sense of obligation or requirement to be circumcised in order to go to Heaven. And so, they resolved it. Meanwhile, the Apostle Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, wrote a whole book about it, the Book of Galatians, in which he takes on the circumcision party and says very plainly, we have freedom from the ceremonial law. You are begun by the Spirit; you are not completed by the flesh. Now that you have been born again by the power of the Spirit of God, you don't then go back under a bunch of rules and regulations that neither we nor our fathers were ever able to keep. And so, it's an epistle of freedom. Martin Luther called it his Katie Von Bora, that's his wife's name. He loved Galatians because it freed him up from the legalistic system of Roman Catholicism which is so much like that circumcision group, freed up, and Paul establishes it very plainly. As I've said in Romans 4, Abraham was justified by faith alone just by hearing the word long before he was circumcised. And so, we do not need to be circumcised physically. But the New Testament also gives us a new way of understanding circumcision, not just a physical circumcision, a cutting off of the flesh physically, but rather a new circumcision inwardly, by the Spirit. Listen to this. Romans 2:28-29 says, "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God." You must be circumcised, but not in the old way, you must be transformed by the Spirit, you must be given a whole new nature in Christ, you must be born again by the Spirit because neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What counts is a new creation, it says in Galatians 6:15. Also, in Colossians 2:11, it says "In him you are also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ." Now, why then did God command the Jews to do it if we don't have to do it? Well, I was reading a book recently by Jay Wile called Reasonable Faith: The Scientific Case for Christianity. This man is a good speaker and I really enjoy the things he writes. He says that circumcision was done for hygienic purposes. Have you heard this before? Dr. Wile shows how the rules regarding circumcision are based on medical knowledge that has only recently been uncovered over the last 30 years, showing that Jewish women have an amazingly lower clinical occurrence of cervical cancer than do non-Jewish women, and they trace it to the issue of circumcision. Well, that's probably true, but I don't think it was God's main thought. Okay. And why was it probably not God's main thought? Well, you know, I'm kind of offended that God would be so concerned for the Jews physically and not care about me as a Gentile. Doesn't He care about my wife? You see what I'm saying? Why would he take it off in the New Covenant, if that was His reason, hygiene? Same thing is true of the dietary regulations, they say it's because of pork. There wasn't refrigeration and all that. Have you heard this before? I'm thinking, “What? He doesn't love us.” If the reason was hygiene, He should have kept it on. Right, it wasn't hygiene. That's not why He did it. Why then? Why the rule for circumcision? Well, I believe that God put the ceremonial laws in there to carve out a people unto Himself, calling them Jews, a barrier as it were, a wall around the Jews that kept them Jewish until Christ was born. And once Christ was born, once the Seed came, there was no longer any need for the ceremonial regulations. Let me read to you. That's what it says. Galatians 3:19, "What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come." Who's the Seed? It's Christ. Once Christ was born of a virgin, once He was born, you did not need animal sacrifice, you did not need circumcision, the dietary regulations, all that's done, because Jesus was born a Jew, and once the salvation is from the Jews, once the Jewish Savior was born in a Jewish nation, God changed what He wanted done with that barrier, that dividing wall. There was a barrier, dividing wall−Jew, Gentile−He tore it down. He took it down, and you know why? Because in the New Covenant, He wants one new person. Listen to this, this is Ephesians 2:14-16, speaking of Christ, "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one, [Jew, Gentile] and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility." Jesus at the cross tore down the barrier between Jew and Gentile, and so there wasn't any need for circumcision as a ceremonial regulation, and from then on it really is hygienic, it's not ceremonial, there's no purpose, ceremonially, there's no advantage and no disadvantage in your spiritual relationship with God concerning circumcision, and therefore decisions, if you have a boy baby, they really are hygienic, it really has nothing to do with religion, and frankly, it must not, because we're in a New Covenant now and the barrier has been torn down. Application Now, what application can we take from this. Well, first of all, just marvel at God’s ways. I mean, only God could think up something like this. Circumcision, it's not an easy sermon to preach, this is the expository kind of approach, and it's like the kind you want to skip, you know. But at any rate, in Genesis 17, I want to understand, why did He do it? I want to put my mind under His, because as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than ours. So, let's marvel at God's higher ways, at the fact that He wanted to carve out a Jewish nation. And once Jesus was born, there was no need for the barrier any longer. Secondly, understand the purposes and limitations of those ceremonial laws, like I just said, they are finished. You don't ever need to go back to that legalism again, you must not. We have freedom from all of those regulations, but we do not have freedom from the law of Christ. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and we are still to love our neighbor as ourselves. Above all things, trust in God's higher promise in Christ. You know, circumcision, uncircumcision, none of that means anything. What counts is being born again. If you're sitting and listening to me today, it doesn't matter how much regulations, how many of the rules you keep and all that, you'll never go to heaven that way, it's only by believing in Jesus Christ, the promised Seed, who was to come that you have eternal life, trust in Him today. Trust in Him, follow Him, love Him. And just like Abraham did, walk before Him and be blameless, and I'm speaking now to all of you who are born again, who call yourselves Christians, in effect, the Lord comes in the same way today as He did to Abram, Abraham, and He comes and says, "I am the Lord Almighty, walk before Me today and be blameless."