Participants:
Series Code: WHO
Program Code: WHO200023S
|
00:01 [piano and orchestral music]
00:26 Hello friends, and welcome to 3ABN Worship Hour, 00:30 where we worship the Lord together in unity, 00:34 in spirit, and in truth. I love that scripture; 00:37 I know I often quote that scripture when it comes 00:39 to worshiping the Lord, because it's true. And if 00:42 we are going to worship the Lord, we must worship 00:44 Him in spirit and in truth, and that's what 00:46 we do here. We are so thankful that you are 00:48 joining us this morning from wherever you are 00:50 around the world. We're gonna dive deep into 00:52 the Word of God this morning, and we're gonna 00:54 have a powerful, powerful uplifting message, that I 00:57 believe is very relevant for our time. In fact, 01:01 I believe it's very relevant for any time, 01:03 no matter where we are or what we are doing. 01:06 Today's message is going to remind us of the very 01:08 foundation of what Christianity is all about - of what being 01:12 a Christian is all about. Today's message is entitled, 01:17 "Cross Examination". That's right. "Cross 01:21 Examination". I think as Paul reminds us, 01:24 we all need to examine ourselves from time to 01:27 time, to make sure that we are, indeed, in the 01:30 faith. So again, we invite you. Grab your pens, 01:33 your paper, your iPads, your pen pads - whatever 01:35 it is you need to take notes - because you're 01:37 gonna want to write some of this stuff down and 01:38 be reminded later. Before we go any further, though, 01:41 we will need to ask the Holy Spirit - we need 01:43 to ask for the Lord to give us the Holy Spirit - 01:45 that we can be guided spiritually to have the 01:48 mind of Jesus. So, let's go to the Lord in prayer. 01:51 Our Father in heaven, Lord, we all need a 01:57 spiritual covering by the Holy Spirit. Lord, 02:02 we know that Your Word tells us that we're two 02:04 or three or more, gathered together, in Your name. 02:08 There You are in the midst. And I know, Lord, 02:10 that all around the world right now, and even right 02:12 here at 3ABN studios, we are gathered to give 02:16 You worship. We are gathered to uplift Your 02:19 name. And so Lord, we don't want You to just 02:21 be around us; we want You to fill us with Your 02:23 Holy Spirit. Lord, give me the spiritual mind 02:26 of Jesus, the spiritual eyesight, the spiritual 02:29 hearing, to be able to communicate the words 02:32 of the Lord today. Lord, bring us back to an 02:37 examination, an examination of self, so that we all can 02:41 make sure that we are walking in Your ways. 02:43 So we thank You for the religious liberty that we 02:46 have to be here - to preach the Word, to hear 02:48 the message - and on this special day, we uplift 02:51 You, and we thank You, Father, for this opportunity. 02:55 We thank You, Lord, for Your never-ending love, 02:57 grace, and mercy that You bestow upon us every 02:59 day, and we ask this in Jesus' holy name. 03:02 Amen. Amen. Cross Examination. Paul is 03:10 probably my favorite Bible writer. Of course, 03:15 I enjoy all the Bible. I enjoy all the Bible 03:17 writers, because there's so much to glean from 03:19 each and every book of Scripture, and each and 03:22 every passage, but... Paul just has a very 03:25 special way of communicating the gospel that I can 03:27 relate to personally. One of my favorite 03:30 passages comes from the book of Philippians, because 03:33 right here in the book of Philippians from chapter 03:35 1, that we're about to read, Paul actually is 03:37 making an appeal to the church at Philippi. 03:41 He's telling them, "I'm gonna pray for you, 03:43 and these are the things that I'm going to pray 03:45 for us." So, notice here, Philippians 1:9-11. 03:50 Listen to these precious words, because there's 03:51 something here that's gonna help us to set 03:53 a foundation for what we're gonna talk about 03:55 today. Philippians 1:9-11 says... [text on-screen] 04:31 I love that scripture, because it reminds us 04:33 as he is telling the church, he's saying, 04:36 "I'm gonna pray for you, and what is it more than 04:37 anything that I pray for? I pray that you are filled 04:41 with the fruits of righteousness!" And where 04:43 does that righteousness come from? He says, 04:46 "Which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise 04:51 of God." My friends, I am convinced - I am 04:55 ultimately convicted and convinced - that from Genesis 05:00 to Revelation, if you could simply juice down 05:03 the Bible, or you could give some type of summary 05:05 of what the texts of Scripture are about, 05:08 it's none other than the message of righteousness 05:10 by faith. Now, I know we hear those words 05:12 quite often. I know that we often hear ministers 05:15 preach on righteousness by faith; and sadly enough, 05:18 there are several different versions of what "righteousness 05:21 by faith" is, floating around in the church 05:23 today. But I am ultimately convinced that if we 05:28 read from Genesis all the way through to 05:30 Revelation, each and every passage, each 05:32 and every text, hiding and creeping behind 05:34 every corner of the Bible, I think we see 05:37 clearly a synopsis, a very narrative of 05:41 Scripture, that communicates to us the message of 05:44 righteousness by faith. And, again, mentioning 05:47 the scripture from Philippians 1:11, 05:51 being filled with the fruits of righteousness. 05:55 We need to have an experience of righteousness 05:58 by faith. In fact, I am convinced that if 06:03 we hone in on what that means, righteousness by 06:07 faith, I don't think it's too difficult. 06:09 I think, sometimes, people make it a little more 06:10 complex than what it should be. I think right 06:13 there in the very name, "righteousness by faith", 06:17 I think if you just focus on what it's 06:20 saying, it's telling you what the gospel is all 06:23 about. Righteousness. What type of righteousness? 06:26 Whose righteousness? Not my righteousness, 06:29 not your righteousness, because what does the 06:30 Bible say about mine and your righteousness? 06:33 The Bible tells us that our righteousness is 06:37 like filthy rags, right? No good. Absolutely 06:41 no good. But the Bible makes it very clear that 06:45 our righteousness comes by Jesus Christ and His 06:48 works. So when we're talking about righteousness 06:51 by faith, we first need to identify whose righteousness 06:55 are we talking about? There's no question - we're 06:57 talking about the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But then 07:02 we have to ask, "Okay, obviously, it says, 07:04 'righteousness by faith,' which means it must come 07:08 by faith, right?" If we're going to obtain or replicate 07:11 the righteousness of Jesus in our lives, then 07:16 it has to come by faith. But then I ask the question, 07:19 "By whose faith?" [laughs] Yes, we are counseled 07:23 in Scripture to have faith, to put faith in 07:26 Jesus. But at the end of the day, I don't know 07:29 about you; I don't even trust in Ryan's faith, 07:31 right? I don't even trust in anyone else's faith, 07:34 even though we, in a directional sense, need 07:36 to put our faith in Jesus-we look to Jesus 07:39 in faith; that's absolutely foundationally true-we 07:44 also need to be reminded that it's not our faith 07:47 by which this righteousness comes. We are reminded 07:49 in Revelation chapter 14:12, right there in the third 07:53 angel's message, we are told. It says... [text on-screen] 08:07 That's very, very clear. "The faith of Jesus." 08:11 Not my faith, not your faith, but the faith of 08:13 Jesus. We need to be able to exercise the 08:15 faith of Jesus, because if we can exercise the 08:18 faith in which Jesus practiced here on earth 08:22 during His time, then that righteousness 08:24 of Christ will come. That being said, my 08:27 friends, I want to point out at this moment that 08:32 righteousness by faith, again, is on display 08:35 throughout all of Scripture ...but I believe there is 08:38 one clear illustrative example that I believe 08:44 clearly paints a picture of what true righteousness 08:49 by faith looks like. While, again, there 08:52 are many examples, this one blueprint, this one 08:57 map that I believe Jesus gave us, shows us the 09:01 pathway to righteousness. It shows us in example, 09:08 in illustration, the faith in which Christ 09:11 practiced that leads to righteousness. And, 09:14 of course, what I'm talking about is that 09:16 of the sanctuary message. I love this picture here. 09:20 I want to give a shoutout to my brother Ivor 09:23 Myers. He gave me permission to use this artwork, and 09:26 I believe this is a beautiful picture, 09:27 because it looks like a blueprint, and it's 09:30 exactly what the sanctuary is. It's the blueprint 09:33 that God gave us to help us understand His way, 09:38 His way of salvation. I love this message that 09:42 we can find in The Faith I Live By, page 197. 09:47 Notice what it reminds us-again, in connection 09:49 to the sanctuary, this is what this message 09:51 says-it reminds us that we can indeed see and 09:54 find the message of righteousness by faith 09:56 in the sanctuary. Notice what this says. Again, 09:59 The Faith I Live By, page 197. It says... 10:03 [reads text on-screen] 10:58 So we are reminded that if we pay attention to 11:02 the pattern of the sanctuary that God gives, 11:06 it's not just some Old Testament message. 11:09 I know there may be someone watching right 11:10 now that says, "Oh, not this sanctuary 11:11 thing again! That's Old Testament stuff." 11:14 But my friends, I reassure you, without the message 11:16 of the sanctuary, you can't understand the 11:19 majority of Scripture! In fact, I find it 11:22 interesting that when you get into the great 11:23 prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation that are 11:26 meant for our time, these last days that 11:29 we are living in, I will submit to you: You cannot 11:32 fully understand the books of Daniel and 11:34 Revelation if you do not have an understanding, 11:37 a sufficient knowledge, of the sanctuary message. 11:41 It is truly God's GPS. When you're lost, you 11:47 need a map-and in these days, we use a Global 11:50 Positioning System-but the sanctuary, all through 11:53 God's Word, is truly God's GPS. It is God's 11:57 Gospel Plan of Salvation. The Bible says that all 12:02 we like sheep have gone astray. We have [gone] 12:05 our own way...but we're reminded in Psalm 77:13 12:14 that, "Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary..." 12:20 So whose way? It's God's way! [laughs] Not my 12:24 way, not your way - God's way! Again, 12:28 we, like sheep, we're astray; we're lost. 12:31 And when a person is lost, they need a road 12:33 map. They need to be pointed back and put 12:36 in the right direction. Sometimes, I have 12:39 found myself many, many times, driving down the 12:41 road, and I just feel within my heart and 12:44 soul that I'm headed in the right direction. 12:48 It just feels comfortable, I know I've driven the 12:51 road, perhaps, many times, and, well, after I get 12:54 down the road a little piece, I find out that 12:56 I have missed my point of turn, or I've missed the 13:00 proper direction or location that I really 13:02 needed to be going towards, and that happens 13:04 sometimes. You know, many of us have that 13:07 experience in our spiritual walk with Jesus. Many of 13:10 us are lost, and then we don't realize that 13:13 we are lost, because we feel or sense that 13:15 we are headed in the right direction. But 13:20 one way we can know for sure if we are headed 13:23 in the way of the Lord is by looking at the 13:26 sanctuary pattern. It's beautiful to consider 13:31 that when you look at that sanctuary model 13:33 there, it's amazing to consider that, "Your 13:37 way, O God"- Christ is hiding behind- not 13:41 hiding... It almost sounds like He's hiding. But 13:43 again, He's there; His way, His mentality, His 13:48 heart, is etched on every single aspect of that 13:52 sanctuary message. From the gate to the first 13:57 article of furniture, the second article 13:58 of furniture, to the tabernacle itself, 14:00 the way it's designed - each and every element 14:03 points us to Jesus Christ. It represents that of 14:07 the life and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But I 14:12 find something even more amazing. If you were 14:15 to get in an airplane, or a helicopter-again, 14:20 I'm using an illustration here. If you could remove 14:22 the roof of that tabernacle and you could just simply 14:25 stare down in an overhead view of the sanctuary 14:29 model, the sanctuary pattern there, it's 14:32 powerful to note that when you look down 14:35 overhead, and you trace around each one of those 14:40 articles of furniture, look what you see there. 14:44 [laughs] It's a cross, and I believe it's a cross 14:49 for a purpose. I believe that there's something 14:54 about the cross, the message of the cross, 14:57 that ties all of this together. Again, I 15:00 don't think that that necessarily means that 15:03 the cross is more important than any other aspect; 15:08 I believe it's a very clear cornerstone, a 15:10 foundation, a message, that we find within this 15:14 sanctuary model that helps point us in 15:17 the right direction, puts us on the right 15:19 path, so everything else can function properly. 15:24 In fact... Again, we said earlier that His 15:27 way, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and 15:31 the life." No one can go to the Father except 15:35 through Jesus. And so, if Jesus is in the sanctuary, 15:40 His way is found in the sanctuary, and we, like 15:44 lost sheep, are gone astray, went our own 15:47 way, and we need to be put on the right path. 15:51 Then, we look back at this sanctuary. We say, 15:53 "Jesus, where would you have me to begin?" Well, 15:57 let me remind you of what Jesus said in John 16:00 chapter 10:1. I think there's a connected 16:03 message here that is vitally important for 16:05 us to understand. John 10:1 - notice what Jesus 16:09 said. He said... [reads text on-screen] 16:27 I think there's a powerful message right there in 16:29 that one text. Christ is obviously referring 16:33 to Himself as the Door; and so, again, He's 16:35 reminding us, "I am the way. I am the only way. 16:39 I am the truth and the life! So if you are going 16:41 to come to the Father, if you are going to gain 16:44 access to the Kingdom of God, it is through Me, 16:48 Jesus Christ, the Son of God." That's what 16:50 He's saying! And so, if we're looking toward 16:53 the sanctuary model, and Jesus is saying, 16:55 "Hey, look! I am the way; I am the door." 16:58 Is there a door? Is there a gate that we see right 17:02 there in the sanctuary? There is! In fact, it's 17:05 interesting to know that if you could visualize 17:09 this-I know it's not in this particular picture- 17:10 but if you could visualize for a moment that there's 17:13 a camp of people all around this tabernacle. 17:17 There's tents and tents and tents - I mean, 17:18 hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions 17:20 of people that were encamped all around this 17:23 sanctuary...but many of them remain in the 17:27 camp. They never actually make their way to the 17:32 sanctuary; and Jesus is saying, "I need you 17:35 to come to the sanctuary, but you must enter through 17:38 the door. I'm the door, but you must enter through 17:40 the door." Now, we're going to speak a little 17:42 bit in a literal sense now. If we were to 17:44 look right back at that same sanctuary model 17:47 again, and maybe they could put it up on the 17:48 screen there one more time... If you look at 17:50 this- I just want to illustrate this very 17:52 clearly. Now, there's a gate. We see that 17:54 toward the bottom of that picture, you're 17:56 gonna start at the gate, and then you're gonna 17:57 make your way to the altar of sacrifice, and 18:00 then from the altar of sacrifice, to the 18:02 laver, and then from the laver into the first 18:04 compartment of the sanctuary, which is 18:06 the Holy Place. There, where you have the 18:08 table of showbread to the right, and right across 18:11 from it you have the seven-branch candlestick; 18:12 and then right before the veil, there is the 18:15 altar of incense. And then if you go through 18:17 the veil into the second compartment, you have 18:19 the Most Holy Place. Now, for most of us 18:23 who understand the sanctuary, this is all 18:25 just a review. But nonetheless, there's 18:28 a sense of progression to this sanctuary model. 18:33 If Jesus says, "You must enter by the door," in 18:36 a spiritual sense, we know that that means 18:37 you must go the way of Jesus. But in a literal 18:41 sense, my friends, I'm going to submit to you 18:43 that many of us are still in the camp, but 18:46 we haven't even made our way to the sanctuary yet. 18:49 Jesus is calling for us. He's saying, "Hey, look- 18:51 give Me a chance. Let Me transform your life." 18:54 We're still wandering in the camp; we haven't 18:56 even made our way to the sanctuary. But... 19:00 many of us have come to the sanctuary...but 19:04 we haven't necessarily entered by the door. 19:08 You see, what I'm trying to communicate is that 19:12 there's a sense of progression to the sanctuary message - 19:16 that God's blueprint of salvation, His gospel 19:19 plan of salvation, must be progressed through 19:24 in a very delicate chronological fashion. You see, some 19:30 people I meet today know-they understand- 19:35 that God's presence is in the Most Holy Place, 19:39 and it is ultimately our goal to be in the 19:43 very presence of God. It is our goal to be able 19:49 to find ourselves right there, reconciled in 19:53 God's very presence. And in order to be in 19:57 God's presence, we have to have a Most Holy Place 20:00 experience. But my friends, don't miss this next 20:03 point. This brings us to the meat of our 20:05 message, okay? Up to now... I know it seems 20:08 like we've been talking a lot, setting the foundation, 20:11 but this is vitally important to get, 20:12 'cause from here on, we're gonna really, 20:14 really press this home. While we must have 20:18 a Most Holy Place experience, you cannot come to the 20:22 gate of the tabernacle, or from the camp, 20:26 directly into the Most Holy Place. What did 20:29 Jesus call those type of people? He said, 20:31 "The same as a thief and a robber! You're 20:34 not entering by the door. You're not entering by 20:36 the gate. You're not going through the proper 20:40 plan, the proper pattern, that I have set forth." 20:44 And I find that many, many, many Christians - here's 20:46 the biggest mistake that they make, my friends. 20:49 Many Christians come to that gate, and they 20:52 look at that altar of sacrifice. They see 20:55 that laver, and then they may peer across 20:57 into the Holy Place and see the showbread and 21:00 the candlestick, and they look and they see 21:01 clearly that altar of incense. And they think 21:06 to themselves, "Okay, I don't mind to have 21:08 that experience, but I want to rush through 21:10 that. I'm gonna quickly get through it." Or in 21:12 some cases, many people don't even have a proper 21:15 experience in any of those levels, and they 21:17 want to take it directly right into the Most Holy 21:20 Place. And then when they're in the Most Holy 21:22 Place, they become overwhelmed. They become overwhelmed 21:25 because of all of the righteousness in the 21:28 message of the gospel. So please don't miss this. 21:33 In order for us to make it to the Most Holy Place, 21:35 my friends, we must have a courtyard experience. 21:40 We must have a sufficient Holy Place experience, 21:45 but I will submit to you something even 21:47 deeper. I believe that many of us are not 21:55 experiencing truly what it means to have a Most 21:58 Holy Place experience, because we have bypassed 22:03 a vitally important part of the courtyard. You 22:10 see, there is a reason why the plan of salvation 22:13 begins at the altar of sacrifice. That altar of 22:19 sacrifice is where the sinner would bring the 22:22 lamb, the dove, the pigeon, the goat, and 22:29 they would place their hands upon the head 22:30 of that lamb, and they would confess their 22:33 sins. There's a spiritual symbolism that would 22:38 take place, that now the record of sin has 22:40 [gone] from the sinner to the lamb, and now 22:44 unto the blood of that lamb, because the Bible 22:45 says that the life is in the blood. So now, 22:50 that sinner is gonna take a knife, and he's 22:54 going to take the life of that lamb...shedding 22:59 its blood, because the record of sin has [gone] 23:01 from them to the lamb, to the blood, and now 23:05 that blood is gonna be taken as a record into 23:08 the sanctuary. Many people miss the significance of the 23:15 altar of sacrifice. It really truly is all about 23:18 the lamb. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who 23:24 takes away the sin of the world. And so, there's 23:27 a reason why Jesus begins the experience of the 23:34 plan of salvation. The transformation of 23:37 redemption begins with an experience at the 23:43 altar of sacrifice. It begins with an experience 23:47 at the foot of the cross. I'm gonna have them 23:50 to put that cross sanctuary picture up there one 23:53 more time. I want you to see this. We need 23:55 to have an experience at the foot of the cross. 23:59 If you look at that sanctuary model, what is at the 24:02 foot of that cross? My friends, again, it is the 24:04 altar of sacrifice! It points us to the Lamb. 24:08 If everything above that-we're talking 24:10 about the laver; we're talking about the table 24:12 of showbread; we're talking about the altar 24:13 of incense, the seven-branch candlestick, and of course, 24:16 the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place- 24:19 if all of those things are gonna function 24:20 properly in our life and we're going to 24:23 take that pattern and that pathway to salvation, 24:25 we must first have a courtyard experience. 24:29 We must first take a stop and really take 24:32 in the scenes that have transpired on Calvary. 24:36 In fact, notice in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2. 24:42 I love this verse, because Paul makes it very, 24:46 very clear. I love this. 1 Corinthians, again, 24:49 2:1-2. He says... [reads text on-screen] 25:09 I think Paul understood a little something about 25:13 the power of the cross. You see, many of us 25:15 need a cross-examination. Many of us are going 25:19 and taking some big, giant leap into the 25:21 Most Holy Place. We're trying to- we're really 25:23 trying. We have taken upon ourselves, without 25:26 even knowing it many times, this "works" 25:28 approach to salvation, this "I've gotta white-knuckle 25:31 my way into the Most Holy Place," and we 25:34 haven't really humbled ourselves at the foot 25:37 of the cross. You see, nothing of the sanctuary 25:39 will function properly if you spend little time 25:42 or try to bypass the gate which leads to 25:47 the altar of sacrifice. Please let that soak 25:50 in. In fact, I love this beautiful quote here- 25:54 powerful, simple-but just amazing quote here 25:57 from Acts of the Apostles, pg. 209. Don't miss this 26:00 one, 'cause this really probably sums up everything 26:03 we're talking about right now. Acts of the Apostles, 26:05 page 209. Notice what it said here. It says... 26:07 [reads text on-screen] 26:15 Mm! I love that. "To remove the cross from 26:20 the Christian would be like blotting out the 26:23 sun from the sky." Let that just soak in there 26:27 for a moment. If you remove the cross, then 26:31 you have broken the pattern. Many people 26:34 have spent little time at the foot of the cross. 26:36 They're trying to bypass it or get quickly by it 26:38 so they can get into the Holy Place, or they 26:40 can get into the Most Holy Place, and then 26:42 it's no wonder why we find Christians today- 26:44 I have so many Christians that come to me and they 26:46 say, "Ryan, I'm really struggling in my faith. 26:49 I know the message, I know the truths, I know 26:53 the doctrines..." I even have some ministers 26:55 that've admitted to me, "I preach this message, 26:58 I understand this message, I believe in this message, 27:01 but man, I'm struggling. I'm really struggling, 27:03 because it seems like I can't get victory, 27:05 or I can't really- my faith is just not strong. 27:09 I struggle with unbelief." And it's clear to me. 27:14 In my personal experience, when the devil comes along 27:18 and he sneaks his way into my life, and he 27:20 tries to put me down, or he tries to discourage 27:23 me, it's very clear that I need to go revisit 27:27 and find myself at the foot of the cross, because 27:29 one look at the Savior hanging on that cross 27:33 makes everything else make sense. It's powerful, 27:36 my friends. Revelation chapter 5... I'm gonna just 27:40 set this very clearly before we read this 27:41 text. It's no wonder that we see that as 27:45 John is ushered-of course, in vision; he's in vision now- 27:48 he's ushered in vision into the very presence 27:51 of God, right there in the Kingdom of God. 27:53 He's ushered into the Holy Place of the heavenly 27:57 sanctuary, and there's this horrible dilemma. 28:02 The history of humanity is on the line, humanity's 28:06 redemption is on the line, and it has been 28:09 declared throughout all heaven that there's no 28:11 one who can open this scroll that's in the hand 28:14 of the Father; and humanity's redemption 28:18 is all summed up within who and how they open 28:22 those seals on that scroll ...but no one is worthy 28:26 to open them. And so, John begins to weep. 28:29 He understands. You can just sense it there, and 28:30 the emotion and the passion that he's pouring forth. 28:33 "Oh, no!" because he understands those seals 28:36 need to be opened, and there's no one there. Oh, 28:38 there's no hope! And then, out comes the message. 28:42 One of the elders says to him, "Hey, John, don't 28:44 weep. Don't weep, brother. Guess what. 28:46 We have found the worthy One. There is one who is 28:50 worthy. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has arrived!" 28:55 But then when John looks up and he sees this Lion 29:00 of the tribe of Judah, standing before the 29:03 throne of God, he sees something interesting. 29:07 Notice what he sees in Revelation 5:6. [text on-screen] 29:28 What is the answer to our redemption? What 29:33 is the answer of the hope for humanity? 29:37 My friends, it's a slain Lamb...but there's 29:42 something even more powerful that I wanna 29:44 show you. It's just amazing. John did not 29:50 just see any type of lamb. You see, the 29:56 general word in the Greek for 'lamb', if you were 29:58 to read the Greek... Friends, it's if someone 30:01 was to say, "Oh, yeah, so a lamb over there." 30:03 For instance, in, I think it's John chapter 1, 30:05 where John the Baptist sees Jesus coming. He 30:07 says, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away 30:09 the sin of the world." Well? In that Greek, 30:14 it says, 'amnós'. It's the Greek work 'amnós', 30:18 which is the general word for 'lamb'. But 30:21 it's interesting that every time John sees 30:24 Jesus in the book of Revelation, and especially 30:27 in this case in Revelation chapter 5 verse 6, where 30:30 he sees the lamb appear as if it had been slain. 30:32 He sees something, and he refers to it as 'arníon'. 30:37 The Greek word 'arníon'... which is not translated 30:43 just any ol' type of lamb. What John saw 30:46 and what he used to describe this lamb - 30:49 the word 'arníon' describes a lamb as being a baby 30:54 pet lamb, a lamb of the first year. A very young 30:59 pet lamb. Why? Why did John see it in that manner? 31:06 My friends, I believe there's a powerful 31:08 message here that many of us have not really 31:10 fully comprehended. The purpose of the cross 31:13 and Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, dying on 31:16 a cross- there's a clear significance here that 31:20 many of us have not comprehended, which 31:21 is why we're struggling to have that Holy Place 31:24 and Most Holy Place experience! Baby pet lamb. Could you 31:29 imagine having to take the life of your pet? 31:35 We live in a world today where our pets are like 31:37 family members, right? I know that in my home, 31:40 we have a family member. I've said in the past 31:44 and in previous messages I'm not much of a cat 31:46 person; I prefer a dog over a cat. But nonetheless, 31:49 you know what, my wife is a cat person, and she 31:52 loves this cat. I have grown to love this cat. 31:54 This is our cat Yitty. Okay, yes, you heard 31:58 me. Yitty - Y-I-T-T-Y. That's a whole 'nother 32:01 story in and of itself as to how she got that 32:03 name. But this is Yitty. I can't imagine taking 32:08 the life of my innocent little pet. She's just 32:11 full of it. I mean, she's a bundle of joy. She 32:16 has become a very important part of our 32:19 family. And my wife here, as you can see in this 32:22 picture, she loves her so much. We have grown 32:24 to love this cat. As mischievous as she can 32:27 be sometimes-it drives me crazy-this cat has 32:32 become an important, loving part of our home. 32:37 Now, that being said, my friends, I want you 32:38 to just picture this. John saw a baby pet lamb. 32:43 Why? Because Jesus is trying to communicate a 32:49 sense of feeling and significance to the 32:54 result of sin. Sin costs. What does sin cost? 33:02 It costs life...and not just any life. In order 33:08 for us to be redeemed, in order for us to be 33:10 saved, it cost the life of the Son of God, our 33:15 Savior! In fact, it's interesting. You get 33:18 a clearer picture of this in Scripture when 33:21 you go to Exodus chapter 12, and you read about 33:24 the institution of the Passover. Let's read this - 33:26 and I want to show you something significant. 33:27 This is powerful. Exodus chapter 12, beginning in 33:30 verse 3. Notice what the Bible says. [reads on-screen text] 33:58 "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the 34:03 first year." So we're talking about a young 34:04 lamb. It says, "You may take it from the sheep 34:07 or from the goats." Now notice this next part. 34:10 This is the significant part. [reads text on-screen] 34:23 What is happening here? What in the world is 34:27 happening here? You'll notice that in the beginning 34:31 of this passage, it says that on the tenth day, 34:36 they had to go out and find a baby pet lamb. 34:40 Or in this case, a male of the first year. It's 34:43 still a young lamb, so they have to go out and 34:46 find this on the tenth day. And then, they 34:50 would bring it back to their house-and then 34:52 notice this-God would not instruct them to take 34:55 the life of that animal until the 14th day at 34:59 twilight! Now if you count that time frame- 35:01 don't miss this-if you count that time frame, 35:04 that is three and a half days, about. Again, some 35:12 powerful imagery into the life of Jesus Christ 35:16 and into how Christ would spend His time as the 35:20 anointed Son of God here on earth. His ministry 35:23 lasted for three and a half years! But why did 35:27 God have them go out and gather that little 35:29 baby pet lamb on the tenth day, and not have 35:32 them take its life until the 14th day? My friends, 35:35 they would bring that little lamb into their 35:37 homes for three and a half days. And what would 35:40 happen? I could just imagine. The families 35:43 would grow close to it, they would feed it, 35:46 they would nurture it, the children would play 35:49 with it... There would be a sense of connection, 35:53 because they would have time to spend time with 35:57 that little baby lamb. So when the head of 36:01 that household on the 14th day would take 36:04 that little lamb and take it out to the sanctuary 36:09 or to wherever it is that it would be done 36:11 at that time, and he would have to take the life 36:14 of that lamb, you could imagine the hurt, the 36:19 crushed feelings, of the little children, and the 36:23 mother, and the father... the head of the household 36:26 who would have to take the life of this innocent 36:29 lamb. You see, the wages of sin is death. Why did 36:35 God institute it that way? To show us the 36:38 cost of [sin] so that we would feel something! 36:41 That when you spend time at the foot of the cross, 36:44 you feel something for what's happening and 36:46 transpiring upon that tree! There's a reason 36:51 why when we look up at the Savior hanging on a 36:54 cross...that it should mean something to us. 37:00 You see, if it doesn't mean anything, and you 37:02 don't really focus in on the importance and 37:05 significance of what is happening upon that 37:07 cross, that when you get to the laver, it's 37:10 not gonna make any sense. It's not gonna be legit. 37:14 When you get into the Holy Place, and you're 37:15 eating of that showbread, you can take in the 37:17 bread of God all day long, my friends - 37:20 but if you have not had a genuine experience 37:24 at the foot of the cross, then knowledge of the 37:27 Word of God is of no significance! You could 37:31 spend all day long thinking that you have the light 37:35 glowing within you, that the Holy Spirit is just 37:38 burning within you and your heart. But my 37:40 friends, if you have not had a genuine experience 37:43 at the cross, then none of it makes sense. You 37:46 can lift up a prayer- and hey, I'm certainly 37:49 not as a minister trying to hinder or discourage 37:52 anyone from praying; I think that's where it 37:54 starts!-but my friends, if you think you can 37:56 bypass the cross and go spend time at the 38:00 altar of incense, then it's of no avail; it's 38:04 of no significance, because you don't 38:06 understand the significance of that. And even more, 38:10 my friends: Go into the Most Holy Place without 38:14 having a genuine experience at the foot of the cross? 38:16 There are people who are trying to have a Most 38:19 Holy Place experience in their life, and they're 38:21 struggling. They've taken upon themselves, like I've 38:25 said before, a "works" approach to salvation. 38:27 It's all about what I eat, what I do, it's 38:29 all about how I say, how I dress, all these 38:31 o- all of those aspects of Christian living are 38:34 important, and I'm speaking of those Christian standards 38:37 that help tell the story of a person's faith. 38:39 But my friends, many people are eating the 38:42 right things, they're dressing the right way, 38:44 they're saying the right things, they're having 38:46 all of these, what they believe, to be a Most Holy 38:48 Place experience, that makes them feel so holy. 38:51 Like, "Hoo, woo! I'm really, really- I'm 38:53 really striving for Jesus! I'm really a good Christian," 38:57 or, "I'm a good Seventh-day Adventist Christian!" but 38:59 have not spent any significant genuine time at the 39:03 foot of the cross, and that's why they're so 39:06 hardcore about things. That's why they can't 39:07 win anyone to Jesus, 'cause they're beating 39:09 people over the head with the Most Holy Place 39:11 message, they're beating people over the head with 39:14 the Holy Place message, but they have not spent 39:16 any time at the cross. Let me tell you something: 39:18 None of those messages, as great and important 39:20 as they are, none of those experiences amount to 39:23 anything if you don't first take a look at the 39:27 uplifted Savior, and spend time understanding 39:31 what is transpiring and happening at the foot 39:33 of that cross! Hebrews 12:1-2. Powerful text; 39:42 one of my favorites. It says... [text on-screen] 40:21 My friends, can we fully comprehend that? Do we 40:25 fully understand what it means when it says 40:28 Jesus endured the cross? Man, that's a message 40:30 in and of itself. Maybe one day, I'll take a 40:32 message to just take you through a realistic 40:36 kind of virtual tour of what Jesus would 40:39 have [gone] through at the cross. It's very 40:41 graphic, it's very emotional, it's a scene that's hard 40:48 to behold...but He endured the cross. And when you 40:56 find yourself at the foot of the cross, 40:59 really taking in that scene... Mm. And you 41:05 look up at the uplifted Savior, and you spend 41:10 time there...and you really take it in... 41:17 ...it means something. It changes you...forever. 41:26 That's why it says in Zechariah 12:10... 41:31 [reads text on-screen] 41:59 Mm! You see, I can't fully comprehend that, 42:05 'cause I don't have children. But there may 42:08 be someone right now, watching... I certainly 42:11 don't want to bring up any bad memories, but 42:13 for the sake of illustration, there may be someone 42:15 watching who can relate to this text. "They will 42:18 mourn this as one who mourns for his only son, 42:23 or grieves for his firstborn." [sighs] That's what sin 42:30 does. Sin leads you to the foot of the cross, 42:34 where you see the cost, the payment...redemption 42:38 hanging on a tree, and you will look upon Him 42:42 whom you have pierced, and you will mourn. Why? 42:46 Because you get it! It makes sense. Your heart 42:51 is pierced, because you realize that it should be 42:54 YOU hanging on that tree! You realize that YOU 42:59 murdered Jesus Christ; your sins nailed Him to 43:02 a cross, and it leads you to a mourning 43:05 experience. No wonder why Jesus in His very 43:10 first recorded sermon in Scripture, the great 43:13 Sermon on the Mount, He opens- His introduction, 43:16 when He opens His mouth and begins speaking- 43:18 many people look at those Beatitudes, and they just 43:21 see them as individual little bullet point inspirational 43:24 sayings. You know, like, "Blessed is this kind of 43:26 person, blessed is this kind of person, blessed 43:28 is this person, and this kind of people," and all 43:31 of that is wonderful, but I want to just hone 43:32 in on this for a moment. If you look at the progression 43:36 of those Beatitudes, my friends, what is Jesus 43:38 taking you through? He's taking you through a 43:40 righteousness-by-faith experience! From one 43:44 Beatitude to the next, He's taking you through 43:48 from one level of Christian character development to 43:51 the next! And where does it all start? Where does 43:55 the Christian righteousness- by-faith experience start? 43:59 Well, the very first words out of His mouth, 44:01 Matthew 5:3... Notice what it says. [text on-screen] 44:12 What is He saying? Blessed are the poor in spirit? 44:16 What does that mean? Well, in other words, 44:20 blessed are you when you realize your spiritual 44:25 poverty. In other words, you've hit rock bottom. 44:31 There's nowhere else for you to go, but to 44:33 turn to Jesus...or to completely reject Him. 44:36 We hope it's the first. But when you turn to 44:40 Jesus because you realize you are spiritually bankrupt, 44:44 you know where He leads you? He leads you to the 44:48 foot of the cross. He takes you to the gate, 44:51 and He says, "I'm gonna put you on the right path. 44:54 I'm gonna put you in My way! But in order 44:57 for you to understand and comprehend My way, My 45:01 plan of redemption, My 'Gospel Plan of Salvation', 45:05 we first have to take a first foundational 45:08 important stop," and He leads you to the altar 45:11 of sacrifice. And that's why the next Beatitude 45:15 says in Matthew 5:4... [text on-screen] 45:24 You see, that's consistent with what we just read 45:26 in Zechariah. "They will look upon Me whom they 45:29 have pierced, and they will mourn." Why are they 45:32 mourning? Why does Jesus say, "Blessed are they 45:34 that mourn"? He's saying, "Blessed are they that 45:36 mourn." Why? Because once you realize your 45:39 spiritual depravity, you will mourn and be 45:43 comforted. Why are you mourning? Because you've 45:45 been brought to the foot of the cross, you're having 45:47 a cross experience, you're seeing Jesus high and 45:51 lifted up, and when you take in that scene and 45:54 you see what the cost of sin is, the wages of 45:58 sin is. The Son of God who did no wrong has 46:02 taken your debt, and He's hanging high up 46:04 on a tree, and you behold that scene. The natural 46:08 response is you will mourn! It hurts! It pierces! 46:15 You can't stand it, because it's like your pet, that 46:19 little baby pet that you're having to take 46:21 its own life - you can't even comprehend it 46:23 because it's insane to think about! But it wasn't 46:27 insane for the Son of God. It was out of love. 46:33 He says, "I want to save you. If I have to give up My 46:37 life for you, I will save you." You see, 46:42 that's why when you look at that sanctuary pattern, 46:46 it all makes sense when you look at it from the 46:51 perspective of the foot up. When you start at 46:57 the gate and then find yourself at the altar 47:01 of sacrifice, everything else falls in place and in 47:05 harmony after you've had that true, genuine 47:09 experience in the courtyard. I love this next quote. 47:15 It comes from The Desire of Ages, page 88. Notice 47:18 what it says here. I love it. It says... [text on-screen] 48:05 [chuckles] My friends, woo! This is powerful. You see, 48:10 I know too many people. I've met too many of 48:13 my Christian friends, who they know the 48:16 message. They're champions of the doctrines; but yet, 48:22 they do not have the Spirit of the Lord, 48:25 leading and guiding them to activate the power of 48:28 that knowledge that they have, because they have 48:30 not spent time at the cross. How in the world 48:33 are we gonna win people to Jesus, my friends, 48:35 if we're approaching them with, "Hey, um, is that 48:38 coffee? Don't you know what the Spirit of Prophecy 48:40 says about that?" My friends, come on! Yes, 48:44 we know caffeine's not good for you. We praise 48:47 God for that knowledge that we have and we 48:49 try to stay away from it, but you don't approach 48:51 someone with that type of knowledge if you first 48:53 haven't spent time at the foot of the cross, because 48:56 that person's never gonna give up that coffee, 48:58 they're never gonna give up those unclean meats, 49:00 they're never gonna change their dress or have dress 49:02 reform; they're never gonna change all those 49:04 aspects of their life until you first take 49:06 them to the foot of the cross! And that's the 49:09 mistake that many of us are making! We ourselves 49:12 have not had an experience at the foot of the cross; 49:15 we've jumped head first into the Most Holy Place! 49:18 We're walking around, and they're so excited 49:21 and so overwhelmed at the same time, because 49:24 the formula has been broken. The formula 49:27 has been broken. Testimonies, vol. 6, pg. 67. I'm skipping 49:37 ahead a little bit, but I wanna just nail this 49:39 one right here. Testimonies, volume 6, page 67. Says... 49:44 "Christ crucified - talk it, pray it, sing it"... [laughs] 49:50 I'll certainly sing it. "...and it will break 49:53 and win hearts." What will break and win hearts? 49:56 All of those other messages of Christian standards 50:01 and all that? No, no, no, no- those are things that 50:03 come later as they had a sanctifying experience. 50:06 But my friends, notice, what- Christ crucified- 50:09 we talk it, we pray it, we sing it; it will break 50:12 and win hearts. "This is the power of wisdom 50:14 of God to gather souls for Christ." It's all 50:23 about the cross. You see, it all makes sense in light 50:29 of the cross. [chuckles] [piano plays softly] I have learned 50:32 in my personal experience. You see, my methods of 50:36 witnessing have changed. I used to be that preacher 50:40 when someone would come- I was like a shotgun 50:43 ready to go. "Oh, have you heard this? Have 50:45 you heard-"...but at the end of the day, 50:47 my friends, we're not s- I'm certainly not 50:49 saying we shouldn't share that message. We should; 50:51 it's a precious message. All of those Christian 50:53 standards, all of those things that we're striving 50:56 for, more holiness in Jesus Christ, we should 50:58 do those things...but it is of no significance 51:05 if it does not come from the perspective of the 51:08 cross. Christ wrote His love in red. It was written 51:13 in red. And now, I want you to listen to this 51:17 beautiful song, 'cause it testifies to my heart, 51:20 and I hope it witnesses to yours. [song begins] 51:31 In letters of crimson God wrote His love 51:42 On a hillside so long, long ago 51:53 For you and for me, Jesus died 52:03 And love's greatest story was told 52:14 I love you I love you 52:25 That's what Calvary said 52:35 I love you I love you 52:48 "I love you," Written in red 52:57 [piano] 53:05 Down through the ages God wrote His love 53:15 With the same hands That suffered and bled 53:25 He was giving all He had to give 53:36 A message so easily read 53:47 I love you I love you 53:57 That's what Calvary said 54:06 I love you I love you 54:20 "I love you," Written in red 54:38 "I love you," Written in red 55:02 Praise the Lord. The message of the cross 55:08 is foolishness to those who are perishing. But 55:14 to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. 55:21 You know, the devil wreaked havoc in heaven, 55:28 and he split the Kingdom of God. He told lies against 55:34 the character of the Lord, and he was able 55:37 to convince 1/3 of the angels in heaven, that 55:41 God was not who He says He is...that He's restrictive, 55:46 He's unclear, He's selfish, He's all about Himself, 55:50 He's a harsh, judgmental God... And because of it, 55:57 one-third, again, of the angels of heaven- 56:00 perfect beings who had never sinned before- 56:04 they chose to believe a lie, because they 56:06 were fully convinced that Lucifer was right. How 56:11 would Jesus combat such a lie? By squashing him 56:16 like a little mosquito? No. That would've 56:18 probably confirmed many of the accusations that 56:21 had been tossed out there against Him. 56:25 But how would Jesus combat this lie about 56:31 Himself? Yet He says in John 12- and again- 56:36 we're gonna read verse 32 in just a moment, but 56:38 I want to read this one first. John 12:31 says, 56:42 "Now as the judgment of this world, now the 56:43 ruler of this world will be cast out." How will 56:46 he be cast out? The next verse. I love it. John 56:50 12:32. "And I..." [text on-screen] 57:00 My friends, Jesus is drawing you. I don't 57:02 know where you are right now or what type of situation 57:04 you're in, but Jesus is drawing you. Look to 57:07 Jesus! Look at Him high and lifted up. Spend time 57:11 at the foot of the cross, and everything else in 57:14 your Christian experience will make sense. Father 57:18 in heaven, be with us, Lord. Take us to the 57:22 foot of the cross. Show us who Jesus really is. 57:26 That is our prayer today we ask in Jesus' holy 57:29 name. Amen. [outro music] |
Revised 2020-11-09