Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL090008
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend
00:02 and sit back as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of "House Calls." 00:22 Welcome to the place 00:24 where it's really happening as a church. 00:26 This is the place you ought to be, 00:27 so hit the record button, 00:29 you don't want to miss this program. 00:30 It's going to be really dead on 00:33 as we trust in the Holy Spirit 00:35 to bring to you what God has laid in our hearts. 00:38 And you know what, I am not alone, 00:39 I got my friend here with me, John. 00:40 Good to have you here, John. 00:41 It's great to be here, John, as usual. 00:43 I tell you, it's always good 00:44 when we're in the saddle together. That's right. 00:47 This way when we get those letters say, 00:49 Dear John, we really don't know who you mean. 00:51 You mean both of us or either of us. 00:53 We really appreciate that. 00:54 Even if they disagree, I can just think that 00:56 they're disagreeing with you. 00:59 Well, thank you for joining us, 01:00 but you know, we always like to begin with prayer 01:02 before we go into anything having to do with the Bible. 01:04 So bow your heads with us. Let's do that. 01:07 Dear Father, again we come before Your throne 01:09 and asking for wisdom and strength 01:12 and that Your Holy Spirit will guide us through Your word. 01:15 The truth is so important 01:17 and we just pray that you help us to know the truth. 01:20 And see how much it will make us free. 01:23 We just thank You for that 01:24 and look forward to You spending this time with us 01:27 and us with those who are watching or listening today, 01:29 in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. 01:32 Well, friends, you know, 01:33 this is greatly a part about this program, 01:37 there's a part about this program 01:38 that really makes a difference. 01:39 And it's your Bible questions, 01:41 that's right, Bible questions that you send to us 01:44 and we really appreciate whatever you send. 01:47 I know some of the questions are deep. 01:49 Some of you have the mind of a theologian, 01:51 thank you for that. 01:52 But try to make those questions concise and filter them down 01:55 because when we get past two pages, 01:58 we kind of wonder what's the question. 01:59 So try to do that in the very beginning. 02:01 And if you do have any questions, 02:02 you want to send to us, 02:03 you can send them to housecalls@3abn.org, 02:07 that's housecalls@3abn.org 02:10 has something to do with being organized, exactly. 02:13 So send those questions there. 02:15 And today we are going to dive into it 02:17 by having John bring us our first question. 02:20 John, this first question comes from Connard. 02:24 And he is asking us question in regard to 2 Peter 2:20-22. 02:31 So let's all turn there. 2 Peter 2:20. 02:38 And here's this question, he says, 02:41 you brought up a topic on how someone would know 02:44 if this were to happen to him in 2 Peter 2:20-22, 02:50 and so basically he is asking us to clarify our comments so. 02:54 How we would know that this was happening to us 02:58 in 2 Peter 2:20. 03:00 So I'm going to read this passage here first 03:02 and then we can talk a little bit about it. 03:04 All right, read it for me. Okay. 03:07 2 Peter 2:20, "For if after they have 03:14 escaped the pollutions of this world 03:16 through the knowledge of the Lord 03:18 and Savior Jesus Christ, 03:20 they are again entangled in them, and overcome, 03:24 the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 03:27 For it would've been better 03:28 for them not to have known the way of righteousness, 03:32 than having known it, 03:33 to turn from the Holy commandment 03:35 delivered to them. 03:36 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, 03:39 a dog returns to his own vomit, 03:42 and the sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire." 03:48 Okay, obviously something that 03:51 none of us want to happen to us. 03:54 But let's explore a little bit, 03:56 what Peter is talking about here in this passage. 04:00 Clearly those who have escaped this world, 04:02 the pollutions of this world 04:04 into a knowledge of the Lord 04:05 and Savior Jesus Christ is talking about 04:07 someone who is being converted. Right. 04:10 Who is being converted, 04:11 who has accepted Jesus as their Savior, 04:14 who has read and studied His word, 04:16 which has made them free from the power of sin. 04:20 So clearly there's been a deliverance here 04:23 in this passage from someone who has being converted, 04:27 who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. That's right. 04:30 But this then, it goes on to talk about 04:32 someone who had experienced that, 04:35 but then something else they've also experienced. 04:37 It says that they are again entangled in them 04:40 that is this world of sin and will overcome. 04:44 And of course, then they said the result here is 04:47 that the latter end is worse for them than the beginning, 04:49 which we know, includes the lake of fire 04:52 at the end of time, which no one wants, 04:54 none of us want to experience. 04:56 So good question here, how do we know 04:58 if this is happened to us 05:00 and you know, this is very similar, 05:02 John to another question that we get at times, 05:05 which is how do we know 05:06 if we committed the unpardonable sin. 05:09 And so a very good question, 05:11 my answer and I know your answer is been, 05:14 but if you're really worried or concerned about it happening, 05:16 that you want to be saved, it hasn't happened. Right. 05:18 Because part of committing the unpardonable sin 05:20 is a lack of caring about 05:22 spiritual things anyway in the first place. 05:24 And God can't redeem someone who doesn't care. 05:26 Okay, so this has to deal with the same issue. 05:30 And I agree there's a connection here. 05:32 But notice a couple of key words 05:33 that I want to bring out here before we understand 05:37 what has happened to a person who is entangled 05:41 in the pollutions of the world and overcome? 05:45 First of all, first key word 05:47 I want to bring up here is overcome. 05:51 Clearly the person that has been entangled 05:54 in the pollutions of the world isn't just entangled in there. 05:58 I mean, in other words, they just haven't committed 06:00 some of the old sins that they used to commit. 06:02 They have then overcome. Right. 06:05 Okay, this is the key. 06:07 In other words, they are, 06:10 they are no longer interested 06:12 in being spiritually committed to Christ, 06:14 they've been overcome by the pollutions of the world 06:18 and that means that they are no longer interested 06:21 or no longer susceptible to the power of the Holy Spirit. 06:25 Now if this were to stop with just simply saying, 06:27 they've been entangled by the pollutions of this world, 06:30 I would say, the text would be difficult for us to understand. 06:33 Because God is a forgiving God, 06:35 He doesn't say that when you sin, 06:36 or when you commit some of the old sins 06:38 you used to do that He leaves you alone 06:40 and never accepts you again. 06:42 So God is merciful, but the issue here is, 06:46 what is your desire? 06:49 Is your desire to remain entangled, 06:51 to just go back to that world of sin 06:52 and live in it and ignore the salvation 06:55 that you had once received? 06:57 If that is your desire, 06:58 I would say that it has overcome you again. 07:01 You've been overcome completely by the world, 07:04 and so I say that the word overcome there 07:06 is the keyword to this passage. 07:08 The second one is in verse 21, 07:12 it says, "It would have been better for them 07:14 not to have known the way of righteousness, 07:16 than having known it, 07:17 to turn from the holy commandment 07:19 delivered to them." 07:21 So the person that has been overcome 07:22 has also deliberately turned. Right. 07:25 See the intent here, John. 07:27 They have turned from the holy commandment. 07:30 In another words, they don't want 07:32 what is spiritually benefiting them, 07:34 which is the word of God, 07:35 which is Jesus Christ who would save them. 07:37 They now want the things of the world. That's right. 07:40 They have turned the side from that 07:42 back into a world 07:43 full of unrighteousness and full of sin. 07:46 So there is a deliberate action here. 07:48 And I would say an unpardonable sin of sorts, 07:51 not that God cannot forgive certain sins, 07:54 but that He is unable to forgive them 07:56 because of our desire for sin itself. 07:59 We don't want Him, 08:00 we don't want the Holy Spirits work on our life. 08:02 We'd rather have the world of sins, 08:03 so we've been overcome by. 08:05 We've turned from God 08:06 and we are now living in the world. 08:07 So this is the context of the person who can't be saved. 08:12 Not because God doesn't want to save them, 08:15 it's because they don't want to be saved. 08:17 They turn from the living God. 08:19 And so I would suggest that if, 08:22 you know, if you think, or have any question, 08:24 or any concern, or worry that this is happened to you, 08:27 but you want to be saved, 08:29 this isn't really speaking about your condition 08:31 because it's speaking about a condition 08:32 of someone who has turned away from God 08:35 and deliberately entangle themselves 08:36 with the world again, 08:38 and don't really be want to be part of it. 08:40 You know, you also add to that. 08:44 There is another text here. 08:45 This is talking about a complete shut off. 08:47 Not just, oh, I don't want to be 08:49 bothered right now. That's right. 08:50 This is talking about a complete shut off, 08:52 Lord I've made up my mind, I don't want to go that way. 08:56 Don't bother me. 08:58 And you'll find in the Bible it says, 09:00 it speaks of a man by the name of Demas. 09:03 In the Bible the last commentary we have of Demas, 09:06 who once was an apostle in the New Testament. 09:08 It says, "Demas has forsaken Me, 09:13 having loved this present world." 09:15 You also hear that said of many of those 09:17 who walked with Christ, 09:18 it says, and they walked with Him no more. 09:21 You see, so when you get the last commentary, 09:24 it says there's a shutoff, 09:26 there the valve has bee shut off. 09:27 They don't really care about spiritual things any longer 09:31 and that was the case when it came to Demas, 09:34 whom he also talked about the disciples 09:35 who were once working for Jesus. 09:39 But 2 Timothy, I want you to see 2 Timothy 2:25. 09:45 Want to go ahead and punch that one up here, 09:48 2 Timothy 2:25. 09:52 With modern technology nowadays, notice this text. 09:56 In this text, by the way he's referring to those 09:58 who may find themselves going in that direction 10:01 but haven't ended up there yet. 10:03 There's a still a chance for them to be saved, 10:05 because Lord talks to us about how we should handle people 10:10 that are going in a wrong direction. 10:12 And notice the difference, 10:14 verse 24 let me begin there, 2 Timothy 2:24, 10:18 "And the servant of the Lord 10:20 must not quarrel or must not strive, 10:23 but be gentle to all, able to teach in patient." 10:29 In humility correcting those who are in opposition, 10:33 or as the King James version says, 10:35 'that oppose themselves.' 10:37 You know there are some people that say one thing, do another. 10:41 Like the two sons, one says 10:42 I am not going to go, but he went. 10:43 The other says, I am going but I didn't go. 10:45 That's kind of the same situation. 10:47 "Who are in opposition, 10:49 if God perhaps will grant them repentance 10:54 so that they may know the truth?" 10:56 See, "And that they may come to their senses 11:01 and escape the snare of the devil, 11:03 having been taken captive by Him to do His will." 11:07 So there are some people that are taken captive. 11:10 I mean you can be in the worst situation 11:11 of being taken captive by the devil to do His will. 11:14 But even in this situation Lord says, 11:16 when you find a person like that, 11:17 which is unlike the person 11:19 that's described there in 2 Peter. 11:22 This person has a redemptive value. 11:24 They could be turned around again. 11:27 They could be lead in the right direction. 11:28 And so the question I think 11:31 the person will be asking himself 11:32 in an overall sense is, is it too late for me? 11:35 Well, if you're concerned about 11:36 whether or not it's too late for you, 11:37 it's not too late for you. 11:38 That's right. Okay. 11:39 Now the other question that comes out of this too, 11:41 John, which is one of those things 11:42 that the, the world, 11:45 the Christian world at large teaches is, 11:47 "Can you loose your salvation?" 11:50 And I would have to answer from the text 11:53 that was brought up here in 2 Peter 11:55 and there are several other texts as well, 11:57 that yes you can. 12:00 It's a choice that we all make. 12:02 Remember salvation is a choice to be saved, 12:05 but also we can't choose. 12:07 We don't give up our right to choose, 12:10 at the time we're saved. 12:11 We can choose also to walk away from the Lord. 12:14 And you talked about the commentary 12:15 of Demas and some others. 12:17 The person here that was once saved 12:20 and had experienced the saving grace of Jesus Christ 12:22 who has walked away, 12:24 in a deliberate way turned from the commandment 12:26 that we can walk away from Christ. Right. 12:29 It is possible to do that. 12:31 Now I agree the Bible also says, 12:34 the devil can't snatch us 12:35 or take us away against our choice 12:39 and that's the part the text 12:40 doesn't say there, but it implies. 12:42 The devil can't take us away, 12:44 unless we choose to walk away 12:46 and that's where God doesn't allow us 12:47 to slip up ever away from His hand 12:49 but that doesn't mean that we can't walk away, 12:52 we cannot choose to walk away from Jesus, our Savior. 12:56 So can someone be lost after they're saved? Absolutely. 13:00 I think the Bible is very clear on that 13:01 and very consistent on that. 13:02 You have to really, 13:04 if you accept that once you're saved 13:05 you're always saved, you have to be, 13:08 you have to ignore several texts 13:12 that are glaringly clear that, that is infact, not the case. 13:18 Right, the saving is that's what-- 13:19 it's a saving relationship. 13:21 And we know that that once saved always saved 13:25 concept is forgetting justification, 13:29 sanctification, glorification. It's a process. 13:33 You know that when you got married 13:34 and on the day you got married, 13:35 you are really in love 13:36 but if you've been married for 25 years, 13:38 you really at least you should be in love, 13:41 stronger than you were when you first got married. 13:44 Here's another text I want to point out 13:45 because we talked about those who are unable to comeback, 13:50 those who have just turned away from the holy commandment. 13:54 Here is the situation, this is a caution by the way 13:57 because this is about one of the disciples of Jesus. 14:01 You know his name, his name is Judas. 14:03 He did a couple of things but he did them too late. 14:05 Listen to this. 14:06 This is Mathew 27:3, "Then Judas his betrayer, 14:12 seeing that he had been condemned," 14:15 that is, that Jesus is being condemned to death, 14:19 "was remorseful" he felt remorsed, 14:23 "and brought back the 30 pieces of silver 14:25 to the chief priest and elders." 14:27 He felt remorse. Okay. 14:30 "Saying, I have sinned in by betraying innocent blood. 14:35 And they said, what is that to us? 14:37 You see to it." Then he go, he confess. 14:40 He was remorseful, then he confessed. 14:42 But look at verse 5, 14:45 "Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple, 14:48 and departed, and went and hanged himself." 14:51 Okay, you discover here. 14:53 He was remorseful, he confessed, 14:56 but his remorse and confession was too late. 14:59 And so as Jeremiah says, 15:01 we want to make sure that if we are remorseful, 15:03 that we confess while we have time. 15:05 The harvest is ripe. 15:08 The harvest that Jeremiah talks about 15:10 is the harvest that's past. 15:12 So at the time of the harvest, 15:13 when the harvesting is done, you can't be a fruit 15:17 and if you say "What about me?" 15:19 The harvest is done, there are no labors, 15:20 nobody's gathering anything, 15:22 you are left in the field 15:23 to burn with the rest of the refuse. 15:25 So if your heart is feeling condemned, 15:27 the time to repent 15:28 is to repent now while there is still time. 15:30 You know, and I would just say 15:31 Judas was remorseful, as you said. 15:33 And he confessed but he was not repenting. No. 15:35 Because God will never turn away 15:37 from someone who has repentant heart. 15:40 Because repentance includes turning around 15:41 and going the other direction. 15:43 So while he was remorseful, he felt sorrow, he confessed, 15:48 he knew that he'd done wrong, he wasn't willing to change. 15:52 Deep down in his heart there was no repentance there 15:55 and instead he hung himself. 15:57 And so there are many who I believe, 15:59 John who, you know, they do feel sorry for their sins. 16:05 They do confess their sins 16:07 but turning from their current way, 16:11 the direction they are going and following God's way 16:14 according to His word, 16:15 is something that many are unwilling to take the step, 16:17 that final step to do. 16:19 And so I would suggest that many of you, 16:22 if you are feeling sorrow 16:24 and you have confessed your sins, 16:26 read God's word and as you draw closer to Him 16:29 in your relationship with Him. 16:30 You'll see not only is he loving 16:32 but He wants to save you and help you turn. 16:35 Remember repentance, John, is a, or what you call it. 16:39 It's also a gift from God. 16:42 You know we can have sorrow, 16:43 we can if we want to confess but sometimes we need to pray, 16:46 Lord, put the desire within me. That is very good. 16:49 To want to not do this kind of thing anymore, 16:52 to be more repentant, 16:54 and if we ask, we're giving God the will, 16:56 or giving our will to God 16:58 and asking God to make that change within our lives, 17:00 and He can help us turn around. 17:02 He can help us turn the other direction. 17:04 And so these all are steps are part of our salvation. 17:07 You know, John you mentioned that, 17:09 you know salvation isn't just a one step process, 17:11 this isn't just been saved from the penalty of sin, 17:13 which is death. 17:15 It's also our sanctification that we grow in Christ 17:19 and we become, not only are we sanctified, 17:22 or we made Holy, we begin to do Holy things, 17:26 rather than doing sinful things. 17:28 And I notice that there are several references in the Bible 17:31 to those who are being saved, 17:33 or they've been saved, they've been justified 17:34 but they continued to be saved everyday. That's right. 17:37 And remember God wants to save you everyday. 17:40 And through Jesus, He can give you 17:42 the power of salvation from sin everyday, 17:46 but we need to live constantly with the attitude 17:48 and desire within our heart to live a pure and holy life. 17:52 You know I am glad that you mentioned that John 17:53 because there's a passage in the Bible 17:55 that lot of people kind of ignore, 17:57 but it says 1 Corinthians 1:18, 18:00 "For the message of the cross is foolishness 18:03 to those who are perishing." 18:04 Notice they are perishing, they're not-- 18:06 In the process of perishing. Exactly. 18:09 But to us who are being saved, it is a power of God. 18:12 Notice, perishing, process, being saved, process. 18:17 So don't forget those things. 18:19 Lot of times we say, are saved. 18:21 It's like saying, "I am lost." 18:23 You do want people to say, "I am lost." 18:25 I am being lost is probably more accurate. Exactly. 18:27 There's still a chance for them to be saved. 18:29 I am being saved. I am in the process. 18:31 God is perfecting in me more and more His character everyday. 18:34 He began it, and He is an author-- 18:36 He is the author of it and he will complete it. 18:38 He's going to complete it, so don't forget. 18:40 But here's another question we have. 18:42 Thank you Jenny, I won't give the last name, 18:45 it would be a dead giveaway. 18:46 "I believe like you do, 18:48 that the Bible makes itself very clear 18:50 that the wages of sin is death. 18:52 However what do I say 18:53 to those who bring up the story of rich man 18:57 and Lazarus? 18:58 I have heard you said that was just a story 19:02 that was popular in those days 19:03 and that Jesus was just using it to make a point? 19:06 I have two questions about that theory however. 19:09 First one is, why would Jesus use an inaccurate story 19:12 to make a point instead of one of His own parables? 19:16 The second is, why would that be 19:18 a popular story among the Jews 19:20 when they knew that the soul that sins it shall die?" 19:24 That is the point, okay. 19:26 "Or that they just got into corrupted 19:29 by the cultures around them." 19:31 Okay, that's the point. 19:32 Thank you very much for the question, Jenny. 19:35 The rich man and Lazarus is a parable in fact. 19:39 One of the point you actually 19:40 answered the question right in the question. 19:42 Yeah, she did. 19:43 Because the Jews have become so corrupted by that idea. 19:48 One of the things, many of the things 19:49 that were floating around was the idea that, 19:52 first of all if you're child of Abraham, you are set. 19:55 So Jesus said, okay you are child of Abraham. 19:58 Secondly, a theory came to the surface that 20:00 Abraham's bosom was a parabolical way of saying, 20:03 you're safe in heaven. You got it made, you know. 20:07 There's a phrases nowadays, burning in the bosom. 20:09 A confirmation that what I believe is in fact soul. 20:13 So in the case of the Jews of that day, 20:15 they had been affected by something called Neo-Platonism. 20:18 That's the common term for it nowadays. 20:20 Meaning they believed in the immortality of the soul. 20:23 It came from the Greeks. 20:25 It came from the Greeks schools of that day. 20:27 It began to infiltrate the schools of the day 20:30 that also was able to infiltrate the minds of the Pharisees 20:33 and Scribes in the scenes and all those who began to teach 20:36 and those who were a part of the sanctuary services. 20:40 They adopted the mindset, 20:41 so Jesus came to them, in the same way He says, 20:45 "I am, I am the resurrection and the life." 20:48 He did it at a time, when they believed that, 20:51 when literally Lazarus had died, 20:53 they believe that the soul took three days 20:56 to come back into the body 20:57 and if it succeeded after three days, 20:59 then He came back to life. 21:01 That's why Jesus stayed away four days 21:03 for his friend Lazarus. 21:05 And then he said to Mary and Martha, 21:07 "I am the resurrection and the life." 21:10 He had to dispel a lot of beliefs 21:11 that became accepted by the Jews of his day. 21:14 And one of those was the parable. 21:18 And Jesus used a fictitious Lazarus, 21:20 because this was the story given before Lazarus had have died. 21:24 This was not of Lazarus, 21:26 referred to as the brother of Mary and Martha. 21:29 This was a different Lazarus altogether. 21:31 But he used them to compare him 21:33 to the people of the day that had needs. 21:35 And the issue of the story was, 21:37 Lazarus had a need in his life, that the Jews ignored. 21:42 Lazarus wanted food, 21:43 which was the teaching of the Jews, 21:45 that they didn't give it to him. 21:47 Lazarus is a man who had sores 21:49 and the Gentiles were referred to as dogs. 21:52 So Jesus says, you guys say that you are part of kingdom 21:55 but there are people that have needs 21:56 that are not even being taken here by you, 21:59 they're being ignored by you, 22:00 but look at what the Gentiles are doing? 22:02 The dogs came and licked Lazarus' sores. 22:05 So he used the language of the day. 22:07 And to show that it was a language of the day. 22:09 When a Samaritan woman came to Jesus 22:10 and his disciples were there. He said, "It's not good. 22:14 It is not good to take children's food 22:16 and give it to dogs." 22:18 And they knew exactly what He meant. 22:19 He had to break down the prejudices 22:22 by the statements that existed in His day. 22:24 So Jesus used those parables not to buy into that 22:29 but He used the very same teachings 22:30 that they had already accepted to undo it 22:33 and show them that he is the real issue. 22:35 And you notice a number of things 22:37 that were somewhat elusive, not elusively, 22:40 but somewhat alluded to the truths 22:43 of that Jesus referred to. 22:46 One of those was that the rich man said, 22:50 I have five brothers. 22:52 Well, how many books that they've put their trust in. 22:54 The Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. 22:57 Go and tell them, and Jesus says, 22:59 even if one rose from the dead, you really wouldn't believe it. 23:02 And what happens when Jesus rose from the dead, 23:04 they didn't believe it. 23:06 So this is not just the parable 23:07 but Jesus interlaced in this parable a number of things. 23:11 One when your life ends, 23:13 there is no way that you can communicate truth 23:16 to those who are already lost. 23:18 In other words, there's a great gulf fixed 23:20 between the saved and the lost, 23:21 that was the truth 23:22 Jesus injected into that particular teaching, 23:25 so inaccurate parable. 23:27 The parable, if you made it literal, very inaccurate. 23:32 But that's the whole purpose of the parable. 23:34 It's supposed to not have a direct message. 23:36 Matter of fact, let me give you 23:38 a couple of the passages that Jesus used 23:40 and the reason why He used parables 23:42 at that time to His people. 23:44 Go with us to Mathew 13:13, and-- 23:51 let's go here. 23:54 Mathew 13-- yeah, here I am. 23:59 I'll start with Mathew 13:13. 24:01 Okay, I'm going up to it now, don't turn away, here is. 24:04 Okay, Mathew 13:13, 24:06 do you have it, John by the way. 24:07 Yeah, therefore. Why don't you read verse 13, 14. 24:09 "Therefore I speak to them in parables, 24:11 because seeing they do not see, 24:13 and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.' 24:15 Okay, notice what he says, and seeing, these people, 24:19 the Jews, didn't just begin to see, 24:21 they've been seeing all their lives 24:23 but just they do not see it. 24:26 They've been hearing for centuries, 24:28 but they just don't understand it. 24:31 And look at verse 14. 24:32 Matter of fact that goes back to the Prophet Isaiah. 24:36 "And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, 24:39 which says, hearing you will hear, 24:41 and shall not understand, 24:43 and seeing you will see, and not perceive" 24:46 For the hearts of this people have growing dull, 24:48 and their ears are hard of hearing, 24:50 and their eyes they have closed, 24:52 lest they should see with their eyes, 24:54 and hear with their ears, lest they should understand 24:56 with their hearts in turn so I should heal them." 25:00 So what do you think the problem was, John? 25:02 The problem was that they weren't hearing 25:04 and listening, seeing the truth. 25:06 Self-inflicted. 25:08 And so the parable was there, because the Lord says, 25:11 I didn't just start talking to them 25:13 I've been saying this for centuries. 25:15 And also the context of this parable. 25:17 If you look at the discussion between Jesus 25:21 and the people that were standing there, 25:23 had nothing to do with what happens 25:24 when you die. No. 25:25 It's just nothing at all, in fact Jesus, 25:27 always the parables, if you want to understand the parable, 25:30 look it in the context with which the parable begins. 25:33 Where, why he brings it up. 25:34 It's usually in the discussion of what is occurring 25:37 or that the conversation is going on between Jesus 25:40 and those around Him. 25:41 And in this case, there was no discussion 25:43 about what happens when you die. No. 25:45 This parable was not meant to talk about that at all. No. 25:48 It was not about a condition in death, 25:50 or what will happen as you said John after you die. 25:53 A couple of passages, Psalms 78:2, 25:56 David Psalmist wrote this about what Jesus would do, 26:00 "I will open my mouth in a parable. 26:03 I will utter dark sayings of old." 26:06 Verse 3, "Which we have heard and known" 26:09 he wasn't saying anything new. "And our fathers have told us." 26:13 "We would not hide them from our children 26:15 telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord 26:20 and his strength, and his wonderful works 26:22 that he has done." 26:24 So the testimony was established there 26:26 and also in Ezekiel now, 26:29 Ezekiel 17:2, "Son of man, posed a riddle, 26:34 and speak a parable to the house of Israel." 26:37 You notice what happened to the house of Israel. 26:39 Now why? Because he had been so clear to them. 26:41 Now he says, they're not getting it. 26:43 Let me use some object lessons. 26:45 So when you look at the story of here in Ezekiel 17, 26:50 the Lord brings out a truth through a picture. 26:56 And he talks about the parable of the eagle. 26:58 And last one Ezekiel 24:3, 27:02 "An utter of parable to the rebellious house 27:06 and say to them, thus says the Lord God." 27:10 And he starts with the parable again. 27:12 So notice this. 27:13 They have been used from generations to generations 27:15 to generations, the Lord speaking to them in parables. 27:17 But now when Jesus comes, 27:19 He says, I'm going to speak with them 27:20 because they haven't hard in the past, 27:23 and they're not hearing it now. 27:24 So that was just a confirmation 27:26 that He was speaking to the same people. 27:28 You know if, even if for the sake of argument, 27:32 you were to give someone this hope. 27:33 And we are talking about the subject 27:35 of what happens when you die, 27:36 you know there's your consciousness beyond death. 27:39 Are people's souls apart from the body 27:40 living in heaven right now? 27:43 Let's say you give them that some of these texts 27:46 that they bring up or prove that happens, 27:48 and there's may be, what four or five in whole Bible. 27:51 Argument, yeah. 27:52 Just for argument sake, let's say you give them that 27:55 and now you have a problem because there are many texts, 27:59 probably hundreds that tell you, 28:03 that when you die, you rest in the grave 28:06 and you don't know anything. 28:08 The dead know nothing. Right. 28:09 Because they have no part in anything 28:10 that goes on under the sun. That's right. 28:12 And the soul that sin shall die, 28:15 I mean I can, we can talk about hundreds of texts. 28:18 So you have a problem, 28:19 because now you make the Bible inconsistent. Right. 28:22 It is contradictory. It contradicts itself. 28:25 And now you start tearing down the word. 28:27 So the burden of proof is not on us, 28:30 to establish that when you die, 28:32 you rest in the grave until the resurrection 28:35 not knowing a thing that's going on 28:37 and then at the resurrection you're brought back to life, 28:40 body, soul everything together to go to heaven. 28:44 And so the burden of proof is not on us, 28:47 it's on someone else, 28:48 who is trying to take these other texts 28:50 out of the text of all of scripture, 28:53 these other texts that clearly establish the truth. 28:56 And you have a problem with God's word now. That's right. 29:00 You know, you got to be very careful 29:01 when you are reading any of these texts, 29:03 to make sure you're reading the preponderance 29:05 of the evidence, all the other texts, 29:06 everything else that deals with the subject 29:08 and putting it together. 29:09 Right, like a house, you put all the pieces together 29:12 and it doesn't become a car, 29:14 but if you just take a screw may be, 29:17 or a piece of metal from the building site, 29:20 and say, this came from a car, 29:22 somebody says, show me all the rest of it. 29:25 And he goes, it's not a car, it's a house. 29:27 So that's the thing you have to be very careful, 29:28 don't take a single text 29:29 and build a whole teaching around it, 29:31 because not even Jesus did that. Right. 29:34 Well, thank you for your questions 29:36 as you know, we don't always have time 29:37 to go through all the questions, 29:38 but if you have anymore, 29:40 if we've awaken within your mind 29:41 something you like to ask us, 29:43 send those questions to housecalls@3abn.org. 29:46 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 29:49 And we will get those answers to you 29:51 from the word of God as is our custom. 29:54 Thank you very much. 29:56 We're going to dive back into our topic 29:58 entitled "To tell the truth." 30:01 We've talked about some things in our prior program 30:04 and to set the stage again 30:07 to going back with that topic of discussion. 30:09 We talked about pluralism, relevancy, tolerance. 30:16 These phrases and words that have now 30:20 dived into Christian church 30:21 are swimming in the same pool with Christians, 30:24 and but are completely opposed to the word of God. 30:27 Here Christians are saying, 30:29 now since we are in the same pool now, 30:31 let's go ahead and listen to what they have to say. 30:33 And by the way, John, when you think about it, 30:37 pluralism was introduced at the tree 30:38 of the knowledge of good and evil. 30:40 Because they say, the devil said to Eve, 30:44 did God really say. 30:45 And he said, well, let me give my view point 30:47 that's what I think God said, 30:48 and he introduced another viewpoint. 30:51 He says, you will not surely die, 30:53 so the topic was death. 30:54 The topic was death, follow me. 30:56 Topic is death, Jesus says, you will surely die, 30:58 Satan says, you will not surely die. 31:00 Pluralism, right there. 31:01 So pluralism was in our world from the very beginning 31:04 but now it's found a home 31:06 and it's being sold through Christianity 31:09 to the rest of the Christian world. 31:11 And we are now down to the place 31:13 where it says, does it really matter. 31:15 Is it relevant? 31:17 Are you sure that your perception 31:19 is more important than my perception. 31:21 Look at all that's being done, 31:22 why are we spending time on things that are dividing us. 31:26 So let's find in what I am hearing being said, John is. 31:30 Let's find out what divides us and stop believing that. 31:33 But the problem is, if it's from God's word, 31:37 then we have to prefer the word of God over just the division. 31:41 And didn't Jesus say, 31:42 He came to bring us sword? Right. 31:45 So, there's some relevance there. 31:47 The truth is not always comfortable. 31:52 You know-- 31:53 I think I first heard it from Pastor Murray, 31:56 he says I came to comfort the afflicted 31:59 but afflict the comfortable. 32:02 And in many respects that's exactly what the truth does. 32:04 When you find the truth, it doesn't make you comfortable, 32:06 it makes you uncomfortable, 32:08 because you're out of harmony with God's word 32:12 and you are unreconciled with God, 32:14 but then He brings comfort through the truth, 32:16 because we begin to change our lives 32:18 and live according to the truth. 32:20 And so when we are talking about 32:21 a lot of these issues and there's someone's reluctance 32:24 or a desire to find another truth, 32:26 or another way of seeing the truth. 32:28 And pluralism, you know, 32:29 the different truths that are out there, 32:32 you know, we are saying that 32:33 people don't like this discomfort, 32:35 but they're not willing to push through it. 32:37 They would rather just stay and be comfortable. 32:39 I can't tell you how many times that I've done a series, 32:43 or we've done, I've done Bible studies, 32:47 where at the final, at the end of that it comes 32:49 to where they are going to make a decision. 32:51 And a lot of them have said 32:53 and I hear this over ago, over and over again 32:56 this is good information. 32:58 Now this is, I see the truth in this, 33:01 but they don't want to change. Isn't that ridiculous. 33:03 You ask them, so you see the truth of the Sabbath, 33:07 or you see the truth of what happens 33:09 when you die or you see the truth about God's church 33:13 and how God is using His church 33:14 to finish the work in the last days 33:16 and the prophecies and, 33:18 and you don't want to follow it? Right. 33:20 Or I have to say, I don't know, 33:23 I just feel like, you know, my whole church, 33:25 you know we love the Lord, 33:27 and excuse, I can't tell you, 33:30 how many different excuses I've heard 33:32 to resist following the truth. Right. 33:35 And it's almost like John, there is we've taken away 33:39 "Christianity itself at large" 33:42 we have taken away an accountability. Yes. 33:45 For living for God. 33:47 But somehow we can say that we live for Jesus 33:50 but not live for Jesus, or follow His truth. 33:54 And we talked last, in the last program 33:56 about being a slave to righteousness. 33:58 So what does a slave does, do? 34:00 He serves, we serve Christ. 34:02 We've become a slave to Christ. 34:03 We're obligated now 34:05 to follow His ways and His teachings. 34:08 You know, we want to be a disciple 34:09 but not listen to Him, or follow His examples. 34:12 You know the meaning of disciple is 34:16 that I follow my master's teachings. 34:18 I will learn from my master. 34:19 I will follow him and obey him that is what a disciple is. 34:23 But we want be a disciple and then do what we want to do, 34:27 rather than following the word of God. 34:29 And it just, it's an amazing thing, 34:31 I believe that the Bible clearly says that 34:34 in the last days, this kind of thing will happen? 34:36 Oh, yeah. 34:37 And we are seeing it happen, which is another reason 34:39 why I believe we are so close to the end of time. 34:42 John, I struggle and I know you struggle with this, 34:44 why aren't we seeing the numbers in North America? 34:48 Why aren't we seeing the conversions? 34:50 That may be we had once seen it at one point of time, 34:52 why are we seeing so few come to the truth? 34:55 Why don't we even have to have a-- 34:59 what do you call it, some kind of a program 35:02 or drive to have more baptisms this year, 35:05 or more conversions through the preaching of the truth. 35:08 And without actually seeing this kind of thing 35:12 that is happening in India, it's happening in Africa. 35:15 It's happening in so many parts of the undeveloped world, 35:19 thousands coming to the knowledge of the truth, 35:21 so finding such a wonderful precious gem of God's truth 35:26 and following and being baptized into it, 35:28 we're just not seeing it here. 35:30 You know I believe that in America, 35:31 we have to get to where they are already are in India, 35:34 rather than them getting to where we are in America. 35:36 When they get to where we are, 35:37 they begin to not treasure the truth, 35:40 but when we get to where they are, 35:41 we begin to see that the only thing 35:42 that really does matter is the truth. Yeah. 35:44 It does really matter. 35:45 Jesus made a point very clear in Luke 6:46. 35:49 And I've talked about Mathew 7:21-23, 35:51 many saying Lord, Lord. 35:53 Even Jesus say, I never knew you. 35:54 Well, here's the reason why. 35:56 Luke 6:46, "But why do you call me Lord, Lord. 36:01 And do not do the things which I say." 36:05 Talk about the word Lord. 36:07 Because I mean, that's what we study. 36:08 We got to talk about that 36:09 because we call Jesus our Savior. Right. 36:12 There are very few who call Him, or they call Him Lord, 36:14 but they don't make Him their Lord. 36:16 Right, Lord is in the same context of landlord. 36:19 He is in charge, he is the owner. 36:21 He is not in the passenger seat, he is the driver. 36:25 He's calling the shots 36:26 and people want Jesus for the salvation part, 36:29 you know they want, they like the Jesus part. 36:31 He saves us from our sins, He is our savior. 36:33 But He is our Lord also. 36:35 And that means, He tells you what to do 36:37 and those who have a problem with that 36:39 are in the pluralistic society nowadays, always saying, 36:43 well it doesn't, you know, 36:45 that's good enough for you, this is good enough for me. 36:47 That's why John, we begin to see people 36:49 that are falling away and saying, well, 36:53 if that's what your denomination teaches, 36:55 that's not what my denomination teaches. 36:57 And we have this denominationalism 37:00 and there's even the inference of non-denominationalism, 37:06 which is another cloak, of throwing out doctrines, 37:10 which infact if you're teaching from the Bible, it is doctrines. 37:13 Because the word doctrine 37:15 simply is another word for teachings. 37:17 Right. You see. 37:18 So you can't really get around that. 37:20 And non-denominational that word it's almost like 37:22 there is a pride element there with casting off 37:25 the baggage that holds denominational churches. 37:28 They say it's a real baggage or something, 37:31 but anyway it's almost like, what we're non-denominational 37:34 so, you know what that tells me sometimes 37:36 is more things are acceptable here in our church than 37:40 may be are acceptable in some other churches 37:41 and I find that sad. That's exactly what the case is. 37:44 They say well, if you couldn't do it in your church, 37:46 it's fine here. 37:48 And the other thing of this, 37:50 we have brought the world upto the church, 37:53 sorry, the church, 37:54 the world has brought the church down to the world. 37:58 Not the other way around. 37:59 Because the church is supposed to bring the world up, 38:01 meaning giving it new direction, 38:04 but you begin to see that it's not doing that. 38:07 Let me dive into some Bible text here. 38:09 Look at, we wrote down a little, 38:11 just to keep ourselves fluid here. 38:15 I want to show you one here 38:17 in number 37 here, text number 37. 38:22 And by the way 1 Timothy 2:4, 38:25 Jesus says who desires, who desires all men to be saved 38:29 and to come to the knowledge of the truth. And. 38:33 Right, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 38:37 But look at 2 Timothy 3:7, 38:40 "Always learning but never able to come 38:43 to the knowledge of the truth." You see. 38:45 People are always learning, they are always studying 38:47 but they never actually come to the truth. 38:49 Let's go and illustrate. 38:50 I'm saved, sanctified, 38:54 but I don't these truth things are not really relevant. 38:56 He doesn't only want men to be saved 38:58 and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 39:01 But men are always learning 39:02 and John look at the bookstores nowadays. 39:04 Christian bookstores are places 39:06 where people go to better their lives, 39:08 a very good thing. 39:12 But you can go to any stores, you go to Barnes and Nobles 39:15 or Blue Dolphins or you know, you name it. 39:20 You can just go to any bookstore and get the same books 39:22 that you find in the Christian book store 39:23 because all of that is pointing nowadays to temporary stuff, 39:28 they are ever learning. 39:31 But they are never able to come to the knowledge of truth, 39:33 that the truth is not acceptable. 39:36 I have to share this story. Go ahead. 39:38 We have, I have a member in our church 39:41 who is in charge of our Bible program, 39:44 correspondence Bible studies 39:45 or assigning somebody to do personal Bible studies 39:48 for somebody who's asked. 39:50 Anyway they said, they came to me one day 39:52 and they said, I have this lady 39:55 and she has taken Amazing Facts Bible study courses 39:58 and Discovery Bible study courses, 40:00 both the beginning and the advanced, 40:02 and she just will not make a decision. 40:06 And I said, you need to set an appointment 40:08 and I will go with you. 40:09 Let's go see her, let's go see her. 40:12 I didn't know who she was, I didn't know what to expect. 40:14 So she made this appointment 40:15 and we both went over to visit this lady 40:19 and a dear lady, very nice, very kind, 40:21 her husband was not a Christian at all. 40:24 He was in the next room, had the TV going 40:26 but we sat in her kitchen and I just talked to her 40:29 just, I know just let her the first time, 40:32 just to find a little about her, and she talked, and talked, 40:35 and talked, and talked 40:37 and then she told the story of a God convicted her once 40:40 that she talks too much. 40:43 And that she needs to listen to the Lord more 40:46 and to really hear what He is saying and follow that. 40:50 And then she continued to talk and to talk and to talk. 40:54 And of course, you know, what I was starting 40:55 to conclude myself there, I couldn't even get a word in, 40:58 I mean, she just constantly talked. 41:01 And I said, I have to stop you, 41:02 let me just ask you a few questions 41:04 and I pressed her a little bit 41:06 on the some of the stuff that she has learned. 41:08 I said, what do you gather from this. 41:10 And, you know, she talked and she talked some more 41:12 and talked around the subject 41:14 and I just got, I got tired, John. 41:16 I got tired, I was exhausted, 41:19 after talking and sitting with this lady for an hour. 41:22 I could not get her anywhere close to making a decision 41:26 on any of these things that she had learned. 41:28 Do it with the other word, shut up. 41:31 Anyway I've looked, finally I looked over the girl, 41:34 that the lady in our church who set up the meeting 41:39 and I talked to this girl as well, 41:42 I said to her very specifically 41:43 and I said, you have been learning 41:45 and studying many things 41:46 and am I take it with me from your studies 41:51 that you don't want to change the way 41:54 that you are following the Lord. 41:57 The Lord has taught you some new things 41:59 that you're not going to follow those things. 42:02 She said, well, I just, and she talked, 42:04 and she talked and she kept talking. 42:07 And finally I said, you know, what I really got to get going. 42:11 I said we've been here in hour, a pleasure to meet you. 42:14 I prayed with her there. 42:15 We had some good prayer time there to close and we left. 42:19 And my counsel to the girl who set up the meeting was, 42:23 you're done, you're done. 42:26 It's time that this lady will take more of your time 42:30 and she will never come to the knowledge of the truth. 42:33 She will take more of your time 42:34 away from those who are opened to the truth. 42:37 You need to be seeking out 42:38 those who are opened to the truth. 42:40 And so these texts are very relevant in the story 42:43 and that is there are some who study and study and study, 42:46 but they never come to the knowledge of the truth. 42:48 God is looking for those who will make Him their Savior 42:52 but also would make Him their Lord, 42:56 and they will follow Him in His teaching 42:58 and put it into the practice 43:00 as John, 1 John, we looked to this before. 43:03 Those don't let someone deceive you, 43:05 John it says, he who practices righteousness 43:08 is righteous. Right. 43:10 Not just someone who talks 43:11 about righteousness. That's right. 43:12 You got to practice, 43:14 you got to put God's teaching into practice, 43:15 then you are His disciple. 43:17 And I am sorry there are some today 43:19 who will never get there. 43:20 And I feel sorrow for them, John. 43:22 It's not like, don't think I'm just casting them off. 43:26 Even Jesus Himself said, 43:27 that if His disciples if you go into the town 43:29 and they don't receive you, 43:31 a symbolically, shake the dust off your feet 43:33 and keep moving, get to someone who will hear 43:36 and who will understand 43:37 and I have to sometimes reluctantly take that advice. 43:41 And it is true, when you have done 43:43 all that you can, all that you can 43:47 and although you have been impressed to do by God, 43:49 then you really can't do anymore. 43:51 Sometimes we have to allow, 43:53 and this is the only encouragement 43:54 I get from what you've said to me. 43:56 One plants, one waters, but God gives the increase. 44:01 So that the seeds have been planted 44:03 but they have been watered 44:04 but somebody's got to come along one day, 44:07 let me give you a story. It has to be somebody else. 44:08 Somebody's got to somebody else. Yeah. 44:10 Your work like you said, your work is done. 44:12 I was invited to a country to do a one-week evangelistic series 44:17 and I was there and the pastor, 44:19 well, pastor who, is there anybody here particularly, 44:22 we are talking about baptism this week, 44:23 anybody here particular-- 44:24 and we mentioned a brother, whose wife attended the church 44:29 and, he had been coming with her for years. 44:33 He said but this man just would not make up his mind. 44:35 I've done everything I could, may be we could visit him. 44:39 I went to visit him and asked him a few questions 44:42 and I says, what would change 44:44 if you gave your life to the Lord. 44:45 Well, do you still party and dance anywhere? No. 44:48 Do you still drink? No. 44:50 Do you go to church with your wife? 44:51 Yeah, periodically I go with her. 44:53 Any smoking anything? No. 44:55 Any running around? No. 44:57 Are you, do you have an honest relationship 44:59 in your marriage. Yes. 45:02 So what would change? Well, really nothing. 45:05 Nothing, much would change. 45:06 I said, yes. Something will change. 45:08 You know what will change. 45:09 You as the head of this household will open the door 45:11 for God to bring blessings into this family. 45:15 Right now it's partial, 45:16 because you haven't made up your mind to serve the Lord. 45:19 But if you open the door to allow the Lord to come in, 45:22 He sat and scratched his head 45:23 and I am thinking if I scratched my head that long 45:25 I'd be pulling my hair out. 45:27 Finally, I said I tell you what, 45:29 and here's what I would encourage 45:31 those of you who are in the tough situations, 45:33 say to people that are tottering on the fence. 45:35 You know, since you've been studying, 45:38 let me pray with you and claim you for the Lord. 45:41 And we're going to prepare for your baptism 45:42 next week, is that okay. 45:44 And I said, now, we want you to be in the kingdom, 45:46 the Lord does too. Next let's do that next week. 45:49 You already know everything else. 45:51 The next step is completing the process, 45:53 are you ready for that, and you know what, 45:54 he got baptized the very next day. 45:56 It was so exciting, 45:58 and we have a picture of him there getting baptized together, 46:02 and it was a wonderful thing, wonderful occasion. 46:05 And the Lord was praised by that 46:07 but here's what I want to encourage you. 46:09 You have done all that you could do, 46:11 but God's got to send somebody 46:12 with of totally different approach, 46:14 may be on the day when this lady is done talking. Yeah. 46:20 So just get into the kingdom. Yeah. 46:21 But let's dive back into the topic here, John. 46:24 Friends look with us to 2 Timothy 4, 2 Timothy 4. 46:28 Here's what we are up against, here's what we are up against. 46:31 And we've talked about some of the topics. 46:32 I think we mentioned the Sabbath, 46:34 on the endangered species list, didn't we John? Yes. 46:38 We talked about the commandments. 46:39 What's the another topic that's on the endangered species list? 46:44 Well, we're talking about the gifted prophecies, 46:46 another one of them, 46:47 that somehow may be that gift isn't going to be relevant 46:50 in the last days, or relevant even during our times. 46:54 And I think there are many who again, 46:57 they get very uncomfortable 46:58 when you are talking about the gift of prophecy. 47:00 In fact I find that one of the most difficult things 47:02 for Adventist in particularly talk about, 47:04 as they are giving maybe studies for baptism, 47:06 or talking about getting someone 47:09 to commit to following the truth. 47:11 Is the gift of prophecy, 47:12 it's just is a difficult topic for some people to understand 47:15 and instead of going forward to explain 47:17 that we back off. Right. 47:18 And we compromise, or even in our own lives. 47:22 Somehow that gift can be used in a way to convict us of wrong 47:25 as it was used in David's day. That's right. 47:28 You know and King David, he was doing wrong 47:31 but somehow he hadn't awakened 47:33 in his mind to how much wrong he was doing. 47:37 God sent Nathan, the prophet. That's right. 47:39 And under inspiration, 47:40 Nathan told him a story which was very convicting. 47:43 And I believe today we still can find that prophecy 47:47 and that gift can be used in the church 47:50 to help us follow the truth, or it isn't the truth, 47:54 the essence of the truth itself, the prophet 47:57 but it points us to the truth of God's word, 47:59 that's the tried, the right world of gift of prophecy 48:01 and I believe it is still alive today. 48:03 That's right and in some Seventh-day Christians 48:06 who are looking for-- 48:08 I would say meandering and amazed of mediocrity, 48:12 they kind of want to be in the mix, 48:13 that's the word I've used or the phrase I've used. 48:16 They sometimes minimized the fact that 48:18 God has gifted this Seventh-day Adventist church 48:21 with the gift of prophecy 48:22 through not only the work of the Holy Spirit 48:25 but specifically through the life of Ellen White, 48:27 which for many people that are in this modern, 48:30 postmodern society they say, 48:31 well, is she relevant any longer? 48:33 Well, if you ask commentators nowadays somebody, 48:37 I don't want to mention names here 48:39 but one of the world renowned motivational speakers. 48:42 Somebody talked about going to spend hundreds of dollars 48:45 if I will listen to this person, very, very well known. 48:48 And they said, and the things 48:50 that this person is saying about health, 48:52 sounds like we believe 48:54 and after one of the presentations 48:55 they went to this gentleman 48:56 and asked could I ask you some questions 48:59 and he showed them his notes and John, 49:02 references from Counsels on Diets and Foods, 49:06 Ministry of Healing. 49:08 This motivational heavily, very expensive gentleman 49:12 that pays you know, they pay thousands 49:14 to hear him speak to crowd 49:16 and change their minds of corporate executives. 49:18 He had just packaged what was already there. 49:20 He's taken it from Ellen White's book, 49:22 Counsels on Diet and Food, Ministry of Healing. 49:25 There's another Dr. Chow, 49:27 years ago the story was told about him 49:28 in the late to early '90s late 80s 49:33 when his church had 50,000 members at a time 49:35 and he told two Adventist pastors. 49:37 If you'd simply follow 49:39 the book evangelism in gospel work is your church 49:42 would grow as wide as this church is growing. 49:44 What's happening nowadays in this pluralistic world, 49:46 we're beginning to throw out the distinctive messages, 49:50 and accept things that are not really 49:53 "relevant" to salvation any longer. 49:55 You know, the question also begs, 49:57 you know, we know we are told that 50:01 in the very last days that God would call men servants 50:05 and maid servants, His prophets again to service. 50:09 That's right. That's right. 50:10 And if we can't listen to a prophet 50:13 already that has given us many words of good counsel, 50:16 how we are going to listen at the very end 50:17 when it's a matter of life or death. 50:20 We are not, as a matter of fact we are not. We won't. 50:23 And in fact, how many times do you find in the Old Testament 50:25 where a prophet was well received? 50:27 Oh, what did Jesus, what did Steven say, 50:30 how many times has the Lord sent prophets to you 50:32 that you have not stoned. 50:34 Correct. You see. 50:36 That's a good sermon title, 'the stone age.' 50:38 They've stoned the prophets over and over and over again. 50:42 And that's what happening today. 50:43 The word of God and those who are delivering it 50:45 are being put on the pedestal 50:46 to be stoned not to be directed to. 50:50 About the text I asked you to turn to a moment ago, 50:52 2 Timothy 4:3, 4. 50:55 and that's under the reference number 38 there. 50:59 Notice, read that for us, John, if you have it? 51:01 2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come 51:05 when they will not endure sound doctrine, 51:08 but according to their own desires, 51:11 according to what, their own desires 51:14 because they have itching ears, 51:16 in other words they need those ears scratched, 51:18 they need to have to comforting and tickle, 51:21 they will heap up for themselves teachers 51:25 and they will turn their ears away from the truth 51:28 and be turned the side to fables." Wow. 51:31 So what's happening nowadays, I know another words for fables 51:33 and some of you who ought to remember this, 51:35 old lives tales. 51:38 They rather pleasing, in another word, 51:40 the bible uses the word sophistries. 51:42 Oh, that's entertaining. 51:44 And you know, it's sad but a lot of the churches 51:47 nowadays are going towards the direction of entertainment. 51:50 Lights, camera, action. 51:52 And it's great for the feel good mentality 51:56 but it's not doing anything towards the issue of salvation. 52:00 And I did my own word search here. 52:02 And let me just share the statistics 52:03 with you very quickly on the word truth, 52:06 just to show you how relevant 52:07 the Lord believes the truth to be. 52:09 And I used about seven different translations here 52:12 to just kind of statistically look up the word truth, 52:14 just truth, not truth. 52:17 But in the King James Version 52:18 you find the word truth mentioned 235 times. 52:23 The New International version 224 times, 52:27 the New King James Version 223 times, 52:30 the Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard 146 times, 52:36 the New American Standard, 202 times, 52:39 the New Living Translation 205 times 52:42 and the God's Word translation 254 times. 52:46 Here's my point, not that some had more than the others 52:49 but the fact of the matters is 52:50 they all have the word truth in there. 52:53 Whether it's little as 146 or as much as 254 times, 52:57 the word truth is still there. 53:00 So is truth relevant is the great question we asked today. 53:05 How important it is for us accept to truth. 53:08 I mean what do you think? 53:10 It's a matter of being saved or lost. 53:13 I mean it really is that important. 53:16 You know, if I were to be stung 53:21 or bitten by a snake, 53:24 or if I already have something that would happen to me 53:26 medically that was life or death. 53:28 Would it be important for me to know the treatment 53:32 for that condition? 53:35 Above most importance. 53:37 And if I didn't follow the specific designs 53:39 or a specific treatment 53:40 for curing me of what just happened, 53:43 that condition, I would either die. 53:47 Well, I would die or be severely injured for life. 53:51 It is so essential, it would be 53:53 so essential for me to know what the treatment is 53:55 for what just happened to me. Yes. 53:58 And so the question is, 53:59 you know, do we know is the truth 54:03 that God's word tells us about our condition of sin 54:07 is the truth important 54:09 in getting us out of that condition. 54:12 Or do we really believe that we can claim Jesus as our Savior 54:18 that we can talk about Him as Lord, 54:20 that we can take His name on upon ourselves, 54:23 calling ourselves Christians 54:24 and not follow His prescription, 54:27 His antidote for sin. It's not possible. 54:30 As a matter of fact, you can't even include 54:32 the Holy Spirit in that scenario 54:34 because some people say well, 54:36 the Spirit is working in my life, 54:37 well, how could you say 54:38 the Holy Spirit is working in your life, 54:41 but you continually reject the truth. 54:44 Well, we have to ask ourselves the questions. 54:47 Are we submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit? 54:49 Here's the text that I want you to remember. 54:51 John 16:13, our reference number 30 there. 54:54 It says, "However when he, the Spirit of truth, 55:00 has come, he will guide you into all truth.' 55:04 Notice he doesn't guide into some truth? 55:06 So the question is, are there 55:08 relevant truths or irrelevant truths. 55:11 Well, according to the work of the Holy Spirit, 55:12 there is no such division. Right. 55:14 Now, I got to say this here 55:16 because I don't know the Holy Spirit 55:17 I think is impressing me do it. 55:18 But, you know, many read these texts about the truth, 55:22 and they interpret them this way, John. 55:25 Those that are not following the truth are the heathen. 55:29 And those that are in Christ that name Jesus as their Savior, 55:32 that have accepted Christ as their Savior 55:34 are those living in the truth. 55:36 And they boil down truth as simply, 55:39 have you accepted Jesus 55:41 or are you still a heathen out in the world or an atheist, 55:44 or someone that is not accepting Jesus. 55:46 And that's the truth, that's the clear cut thing, 55:50 that's how they interpret it. 55:52 We read these passages 55:53 because you know what the context is. 55:56 Here's the context, 55:58 let me read this to you. Go for it. 56:00 I want to get heated up here, I don't have time to finish it 56:02 but Jude, turn with me to Jude. Okay. 56:05 One chapter in Jude. I am going to read this for you. 56:08 Verse 3 and 4, 56:11 "Beloved, while I was very diligent 56:13 to write to you concerning our common salvation, 56:15 I found it necessary to write to you, 56:17 exhorting to contend earnestly for the faith 56:21 which was once for all delivered to the saints." 56:24 So who is he talking to? The saints. Look at this. 56:27 "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, 56:32 who long ago were marked out for this condemnation." 56:34 In other words they were chosen by the enemies souls 56:37 to come in and to do some damage. 56:38 That's the good point. 56:40 "Who were marked out for this condemnation, 56:42 ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness. " 56:46 Or another translation says, 56:47 a license for immorality. That's right. 56:50 "And deny the Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." 56:54 In another words, they're in the church 56:56 they're preaching the grace of God 56:58 but they're turning it into the license for sin, 57:00 a license to disobey God's word 57:02 and what's happening they are denying Jesus in the process. 57:06 That's right, you know, friends, 57:08 I want you to think about what he said 57:09 and rewind that later on but 3 John 1:4 Jesus says, 57:12 "I have no greater joy 57:15 than to hear that my children walk in truth." 57:18 Don't cheap in God's grace 57:20 by saying it does not include the truth. 57:22 Thank you so much for that reference, John. 57:24 The grace of God always includes the truth of Jesus Christ. 57:27 And the only way you'll know that 57:28 is by giving your life to Him 57:30 and the best time to start is today. 57:33 May God continue to bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17