Participants: John Carter
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000022
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
00:14 live from the Community Adventist Fellowship Church. 00:18 Present Truth with John Carter. 00:21 Well, we do welcome you to Los Angeles California, 00:25 to the city of Arcadia, which is where this beautiful edifice, 00:31 which also serves as the headquarters 00:34 for The Carter Report, is located. 00:36 Pastor John Carter has been here for many years now, 00:39 and this beautiful facility, that he tells me God gave 00:44 to this congregation. 00:45 And certainly, He opened the doors and opened the pocketbooks 00:50 of those who support this ministry in order to make 00:54 this purchase possible. 00:56 And what a beautiful place it is. 00:59 We just praise God that we can be here. 01:02 We are enjoying getting better acquainted with the members here 01:05 and visiting with people, talking to some of you 01:08 that have become Seventh-day Adventists and become 01:11 Sabbath keepers and accepted the three angels messages 01:16 from watching Three Angels Broadcasting Network, 01:19 and you have come to be with us. 01:21 And this has been an exciting few days 01:25 that we're here already. 01:27 And tonight is absolutely going to be no exception in this 01:32 series that our friend, John Carter, is presenting 01:35 on present truth. 01:37 The subject tonight is one that I hope you will 01:41 call your friends and tell them to watch. 01:44 It's, The Blood Atonement. 01:46 And this is the most important subject, in my way of thinking, 01:50 of any that we could every look at from the word of God. 01:55 It talks about salvation and the atonement 01:59 that Jesus Christ bought for each one of us. 02:04 Well tonight, I'm going to invite John Lomacang to come. 02:07 John Lomacang is pastor of the 02:09 Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, 02:12 which meets in the Three Angels Broadcasting 02:15 worship center. 02:16 And Pastor John and his wife, Angie, who's right there 02:21 on the front row, are very important members 02:24 of the 3ABN team. 02:26 And I'm going to ask you, John, to do something. 02:29 If you would, before you sing, two things; 02:32 have a word of prayer and then tell us a little bit about the 02:35 message of the song that you're bringing tonight. 02:39 Let's bow our heads. 02:40 Gracious Father in heaven, tonight we sit under 02:44 the inspiration of Your Holy spirit. 02:47 We thank You, Lord, for your manservant, who unashamedly 02:51 and with courage proclaims the good news of 02:53 Jesus Christ and His redemption. 02:56 Tonight Lord, prepare our minds to receive and to 03:00 fully understand the atoning blood of Jesus. 03:05 We pray a blessing, not only that we understand 03:07 that our salvation has been bought, but help us to 03:10 understand the impact on our changed lives. 03:13 And so Lord, tonight, we pray a blessing on Elder Carter 03:15 as he breaks the bread of life for those who are watching 03:19 and listening to the program, even the audience 03:21 that is assembled here. 03:22 We pray that tonight, Your name will be honored and glorified. 03:26 In Jesus' name, amen. 03:31 My wife and I have had the distinct privilege 03:35 of traveling around the world with The Heritage Singers. 03:37 As a matter of fact, I was one of them and sang with them 03:40 for a number of years. 03:41 I travelled full time from 1984 to 1986. 03:44 And to be traveling with 15 family members, 03:47 as we referred to it, was sometimes quite a challenge. 03:51 There were days when we wanted to quit. 03:54 There were days when we wanted to sing 03:56 for the rest of our lives. 03:57 On this particular week, we had a tremendous challenge. 04:00 It seemed like nothing was going right. 04:02 And we were determined, my wife and I were determined, 04:04 at the end of this week, this is 1985, 04:06 that we were going to quit the group and go back to life, 04:09 quote unquote, "normal living." 04:11 And while I was there with Art Mapa loading my portion 04:15 of the Heritage Singers bus with the equipment, 04:17 I song poured into my mind with all the lyrics. 04:21 I ran on the bus, wrote all the words down, 04:24 and that was the first song the Lord gave to me. 04:27 You know, it goes along the line of the text in Isaiah 43:1, 04:30 which says, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; 04:35 I have called you by thy name." 04:37 And the song title goes along with the end of that verse, 04:40 "You are Mine." 04:42 So tonight, if you're encourage or discouraged, I pray that 04:45 you remember, whether you pass through the waters 04:47 as they rise or as your finances fall, do not forget that 04:51 you belong to the Lord and He belongs to you. 05:13 There are times I wonder why I'm here, 05:20 and I wonder if He really cares. 05:28 Then I wonder if He died for me 05:35 when He gave His life on Calvary. 05:42 Then I see the sun begin to shine, 05:49 and the warmth I feel brings peace of mind. 05:57 Through the rays He says, I love you so. 06:04 You are Mine. 06:09 He said to me, you are Mine. 06:15 For you I died on Calvary. 06:19 You are Mine. 06:22 Through My blood I set you free. 06:27 So when the clouds begin to gather, 06:32 remember you are Mine. 06:41 My Lord, I want to understand 06:48 just how I fit into Your master plan; 06:56 if the fruit I bear is from Your tree, 07:02 and if the world can see Your love through me. 07:10 But now I know, oh Lord, just why I'm here, 07:17 and now it's plain to see You really care. 07:25 So I thank You now because I'm glad to know 07:32 that You are mine. 07:37 He said to me, you are Mine. 07:44 For you I died on Calvary. 07:47 You are Mine. 07:51 Through My blood I set you free. 07:55 So when the clouds begin to gather, 08:00 remember you are Mine. 08:09 You are Mine. 08:13 For you I'm coming back again. 08:17 You are Mine. 08:21 I'll be with you till the end. 08:24 Through your life, I know that the world will understand 08:31 that you are Mine. 08:35 And oh, you are Mine. 08:42 I have saved you through My grace. 08:46 And I know one day, one day I'll see you face to face. 08:53 So when the clouds begin to gather, 09:00 yes, when the clouds begin to gather, 09:08 and when the clouds begin to gather, 09:14 remember you are Mine. 09:30 Amen, amen. 09:32 Praise the Lord. 09:34 Thank you very much, John. 09:36 I appreciate that message. 09:38 John just has a wonderful, wonderful 09:42 story to tell of his life. 09:44 And if you haven't heard him present the gospel, 09:47 you need to hear him. 09:49 Well listen, I'm going to invite Pastor John Carter to come now. 09:52 He is no stranger to the viewers at 3ABN. 09:57 He could introduce me, but it's been my privilege 10:00 to introduce him. 10:01 Ladies and gentlemen, this is Dr. James Gilley, 10:04 the President of 3ABN and my friend for many, many years. 10:08 Yes. 10:10 I just want you to know that it is an honor to be your friend, 10:14 and to be friends with your dear wife, Beverly, 10:17 and with all of your children, especially David. 10:20 It's very nice of you to say these nice thoughts. 10:23 Well we appreciate you so very, very much. 10:25 Now can I just give you a... 10:30 Can we just talk a little? 10:31 Oh, of course we can. 10:33 Just as old friends over the back fence? 10:35 Yes. Okay. 10:37 In Texas where we worked together for some time. 10:39 Where we had a back fence. 10:42 You're a Seventh-day Adventist church leader. 10:45 Yes, yes. Well I guess. 10:48 A lot of folks, as you know, don't know much about 10:51 Seventh-day Adventists. 10:53 A person asked me in Australia once years ago, 10:56 was I a Seventh-day Adventurer? 11:00 I said, that about explains it. 11:02 But then I told him a little bit more what a 11:04 Seventh-day Adventist is. 11:06 That we are Christians. 11:08 Absolutely. 11:09 When folks ask me, Jim, my religion, I say, 11:13 "First and foremost, I'm a Christian." 11:15 Now you know, just a struggling sinner saved by grace. 11:19 I'm saved by grace, but I'm a Christian. 11:21 Remember what John Newton said. 11:22 He said, "My memory is almost gone, my eye sight is gone. 11:27 I can remember just two things; 11:29 I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior." 11:32 Amen, and that's enough to remember. 11:34 Now, you're the President of this wonderful Christian network 11:38 that's called, 3ABN. 11:41 What does Christ mean to you personally? 11:44 You know, Jesus Christ means everything to me personally, 11:47 Pastor John, everything. 11:49 He's my Lord, my God, my Savior, my Counselor. 11:53 He has led in all my life, totally, completely, 11:57 from the time that I gave Him my life as a young man. 12:00 I have not always followed when He was leading. 12:02 Sometime I got off the track. 12:04 But you know something? 12:06 It's like He waits for you to get back on track. 12:09 I made a wise decision when I was 15 years old. 12:13 I asked Him to take charge of choosing the woman 12:16 I would spend my life with. 12:18 And boy, that's an amazing decision for a 15 year old 12:23 that had very few serious thoughts. 12:24 You got a gem. 12:25 But I tell you, the Lord heard my prayer. 12:28 Yes He did. 12:29 And He gave me this wonderful wife that I have. 12:31 And when I gave my life to Jesus, He gave me life eternal. 12:36 He covered my sins with His blood. 12:38 He gave me the assurance of life eternal. 12:41 He will not carry me screaming and kicking into the kingdom 12:46 if I decided that I did not want to. 12:48 I don't believe in once saved always saved. 12:50 But I do believe that if a person wants to be saved, 12:54 gives their life to the Lord Jesus Christ, 12:56 he says, "No one can pluck you out of My hands." 13:00 So I don't think others can pluck you out of His hands. 13:03 You can pluck yourself. 13:04 He gives you the right of free choice. 13:07 But I don't think anyone else can. 13:09 As long as we trust in Him, believe in Him, rely upon Him, 13:14 then we have the assurance. 13:15 So we believe in Jesus. 13:17 Absolutely, totally. Absolutely. 13:19 That's what the meeting is about tonight. 13:20 Absolutely. 13:21 We're going to talk tonight about the 13:22 precious atoning blood. 13:24 And we'll be praying for you as you're sharing 13:27 this beautiful truth. 13:28 Thanks for being my friend, Jim. 13:29 Thanks for being mine. 13:31 God bless you. 13:36 So tonight we're going to talk about, not an important subject, 13:40 but perhaps the most important subject in the Bible. 13:44 And that is, the blood atonement. 13:46 Now this is a question that I've been asked, my friends, 13:49 down through the years. 13:51 Do Adventists believe that they are saved by keeping the law? 13:56 A lot of people think that we believe that we're saved 13:58 by keeping the law. 14:00 Or do they believe, do we believe, you see, 14:03 in salvation through the blood of Christ? 14:06 I want to say to every person watching this telecast tonight 14:09 that Jim Gilley believes, I believe, we believe, 14:13 that we are saved, not by keeping the law, 14:16 but through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 14:20 I want you to take your Bibles with me please, 14:23 and turn over here to the book of Hebrews chapter 9 14:26 and verse 22. 14:27 And this makes it very apparent. 14:30 Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 22. 14:34 That text is found over here in the New Testament. 14:42 Got that text? 14:43 I want to give a welcome to the audience around 14:46 the world tonight. 14:47 To my great friends across this great land 14:50 of the United States of America, up there into Canada, 14:54 down into the Caribbean. 14:56 Also right across Europe. 14:59 We get letters also from places like Saudi Arabia. 15:03 We want to say to our viewers in Saudi Arabia, 15:06 God bless you. 15:08 And we say this to you, God bless you in the name of 15:11 the Lord Jesus Christ. 15:13 And I want to send greetings to my old home land, 15:16 because I've got a new home land now. 15:18 But I want to send greetings to my old home land; 15:21 the land of Australia, and all my friends over there. 15:24 I've still got some left. 15:26 Look at Hebrews chapter 9 verse 22. 15:33 The Bible says, "In fact, the law requires 15:37 that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, 15:40 and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." 15:47 It's very, very plain in the Bible that you can't be saved 15:50 by keeping the law, you can't be saved by keeping the 15:54 commandments, you can't be saved by being good enough. 15:57 Because the only person who is good enough 15:59 is the Lord Jesus Christ. 16:01 And so, I want to come over here to my super hi-tech blackboards. 16:09 I've been using this sort of stuff now for, 16:12 as they say in Australia, for donkey's years. 16:15 And donkeys live for a long, long time. 16:18 I want to put up two words, and these words are precious to me. 16:22 We are saved by Jesus only. 16:29 And the Bible tells me that we are saved... 16:32 I want to say this to all of my friends out there in 16:34 the Christian world. 16:36 I want to say to my friends in the great 16:38 Roman Catholic church. 16:40 We want you to know that God loves you, and we love you too. 16:44 I want to say to the Baptists and the Presbyterians, 16:47 I don't care what religion you are, 16:50 our friends in the great Salvation Army. 16:53 We want to say this to you, God loves you. 16:56 And we love you too. 16:58 And we want you to know that we believe that we are saved 17:03 by Jesus only, and we're saved by the blood of Christ. 17:08 The Bible talks about two mountains. 17:12 There's a mountain that is called Sinai. 17:16 And that's where the holy law of God was given. 17:21 My friend, I believe in the law of God. 17:25 But I don't believe the law was given to save me. 17:29 But the Bible tells me that there is a mountain 17:31 by the name of Sinai. 17:33 But you'll never get home to glory by trying to 17:38 climb up the quaking sides of Mount Sinai. 17:43 You can never be saved by keeping the law, 17:47 and by trying to get right with God by your own obedience. 17:51 The Bible tells me that I am saved by works; 17:56 Christ's works. 17:58 The Bible tells me I am saved, 18:01 I am saved by works, yes; Christ's works. 18:05 I am saved by goodness; His goodness, not my goodness. 18:11 And the Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in the 18:15 great doctrine of... 18:18 I preach this over and over again. 18:20 People think I know Latin. 18:22 I do, about 10 words. 18:23 ...solus Christus. What is it? 18:26 Only Christ. 18:27 Sola scriptura. What does it mean? 18:30 Only scripture. 18:32 We don't have two Bibles, we don't have three Bibles. 18:35 We believe in sola scriptura. 18:38 And if you can't get it out of the Bible, 18:40 you shouldn't be getting it, my friend. 18:42 So, solus Christus, sola scriptura. 18:45 Sola gratia. What does that mean? 18:48 Only grace. 18:49 You're saved by grace and by grace alone; sola gratia. 18:53 Sola fide, the reformer said. 18:56 Only faith. 18:58 Not faith and works. 18:59 You are not saved by faith and work. 19:01 You are saved by a faith that works. 19:07 So I want you folks to know tonight that we on 3ABN, 19:12 and I'm proud to be... 19:14 Now I'm not employed by 3ABN. 19:17 What do you say "no" for? 19:18 You're saying that as though you're glad. 19:21 Somebody working for 3ABN, I said I'm not employed 19:24 by 3ABN, and she said, "No, you're not." 19:28 And sort of sighed. 19:30 I guess Jim Gilley got her to say that. 19:33 But I'm proud to be associated with 3ABN, 19:37 because 3ABN believes in Jesus only. 19:43 And we believe in the blood of the cross. 19:47 You'll never get home by trying to climb up the 19:49 quaking sides of Sinai. 19:52 The only way you can be saved is through the cross of Calvary. 19:58 So you've got these two mountains; Sinai and Calvary. 20:02 Sinai is law, but Calvary is grace. 20:07 And we need the blood of Christ because of sin. 20:15 And the Bible teaches, "All have sinned and fall short 20:19 of the glory of God." 20:20 I want you to turn over here to Romans chapter 6 and verse 23. 20:24 Are you glad to be here in church tonight? 20:27 Now say it loud. 20:28 Are you glad to be here in church tonight? 20:31 I'm glad to be here in church tonight because 20:34 the Spirit of God is here tonight, my friend. 20:36 Romans 6 and verse 23. 20:39 Got that text? 20:43 The great apostle Paul says, are you ready, 20:46 "For the wages of sin..." What is it? 20:49 "...the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God 20:55 is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 20:59 The Bible tells me the wages of sin is death. 21:04 And the Bible tells me that we are a race of sinners. 21:10 We are a race of sinners and we can never be saved 21:15 by our own works. 21:16 Because all of our works are polluted. 21:21 It's pretty hard for the carnal nature to accept that, 21:24 because pride says, "I'm a good person, I'm a righteous person." 21:27 Look at Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. 21:31 And this chapter tells us the need for a blood atonement. 21:40 The Bible says, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world 21:46 through one man..." 21:47 Who was that? 21:49 I believe in Genesis, I believe in Adam. 21:53 "...and death through sin, and in this way death came 21:58 to all men, because all sinned." 22:03 What I'm going to tell you now is not a made up idea. 22:09 But the Bible tells me that Adam was the head of the human race. 22:16 He was the representative of the human race. 22:19 And when Adam sinned, I sinned in Adam. 22:24 You understand that? 22:25 He was driving the car and we were in the back seat. 22:29 And when the car went off the road, we went 22:32 off the road with him. 22:35 And we were lost in Adam. 22:37 And as one great preacher, the prince of preachers said, 22:43 "In us is the blood of Adam, and it's coursing through our veins. 22:49 And because we are born sinners, we need a Savior." 22:56 People say, "No, you grow up and after a while, 22:59 you become a sinner. 23:01 And then you need a Savior." 23:03 I need a Savior from the very moment when I am born. 23:11 Because the Bible says, "In Adam all die. 23:17 Even so, in Christ shall all be made alive." 23:22 So we've got the blood of Adam in our veins. 23:27 And sin raises its head everywhere. 23:30 Have you heard the story of the man... 23:33 And all my stories are true. 23:35 Not like Elder Gilley's. 23:40 No, his are true too. But mine are truer. 23:46 A man who use to walk through the gates of a great big factory 23:52 every night pushing a wheelbarrow. 23:55 They thought he was steeling stuff. 23:58 And every night they would stop him and they would take 24:01 the wheel off the wheelbarrow and examine it. 24:05 And look in the handles of the wheelbarrow. 24:08 And this went on for months. 24:10 And each night, he walked through the gates 24:13 with a wheelbarrow. 24:15 They couldn't find out what he was stealing. 24:17 Later on, they discovered he was stealing wheelbarrows. 24:24 Now I want you to know, I want you to know, 24:29 sin raises its head everywhere, in the most unlikely places. 24:37 We are a race of sinners, and we need the blood of Christ. 24:43 I want to quote from a great American evangelist; 24:50 Dr. Billy Graham. 26:05 Can you say amen? 27:14 And that is why I tell you tonight; sin is so powerful, 27:18 it is so devastating, we need a Savior. 27:23 We need Christ tonight. 27:26 Nobody but Christ to come and save us from our sins. 27:35 There have been, I have observed, different theories 27:40 to explain the human condition. 27:43 There was Karl Marx who said our problems were 27:47 political and economic. 27:50 The grave Russian experiments show that Marx was ugly 27:54 and completely wrong; with the deaths of 50 million people 28:00 butchered by the communists. 28:02 Sigmund Freud, the psychotherapist 28:06 who said that our problems were tied up with the self, 28:11 and particularly associated with our sexual urges. 28:16 Of course, he had some truth. 28:19 Others are saying prominently today, our problem is 28:24 fixed in our genes. 28:26 It is our DNA and we are born to be what we are, 28:33 and nothing can change the human condition. 28:36 Now DNA, of course, does have something to do with it. 28:40 I hold here a card from one of my beautiful daughters 28:45 who sent this to me for Father's Day. 28:50 "Dad, I know growing up, I was sometimes a little difficult, 28:59 a little stubborn, 29:01 a bit of a know-it-all. 29:05 But there was a good reason for it. 29:10 Heredity." 29:21 It's true. 29:25 We pass it on. 29:27 So it is in our DNA. 29:29 It is in our genes. 29:32 But I tell my children that insanity also is catching. 29:36 You know what they say, insanity is infectious. 29:41 Have you heard this? 29:42 Insanity is infectious or contagious. 29:47 You catch it from your kids. 29:55 Now these theories have, all these theories have some truth. 30:00 But there's more to man than economics, politics, 30:03 and psycho analysis, and his DNA. 30:09 There was a wonderful Baptist missionary lady doctor 30:13 in the heart of Africa. 30:15 I've been to Africa on a number of occasions. 30:17 I love Africa. 30:20 I think God blessed Africa with the most wonderful 30:25 wildlife, mountains. 30:27 It's God's own country. 30:29 I've just come back from South Africa, a wonderful country. 30:34 But in the Congo, there was a Baptist missionary. 30:38 I'm glad to have friends in the Baptist church, aren't you. 30:42 I'm glad to have friends in the great Roman Catholic church. 30:46 Did you know God has got my beloved ones here tonight? 30:50 God has got a big family. 30:53 And when people are in Christ, they are in Christ. 30:57 You see, as Dr. Gilley said. 31:00 There was this awful virus that broke out in this village 31:04 deep in the Congo. 31:07 The symptoms were devastating. 31:09 Firstly a little cough, then some spots, 31:13 then a raging fever, 31:15 and then ulcers on the tongue and ulcers in the mouth. 31:19 And then death always followed. 31:22 This Baptist missionary worked with grace, diligence, 31:28 and devotion. 31:32 And then one day, she was carrying out an autopsy. 31:38 She wanted to send some of the tissue back to the scientists 31:42 in New York City. 31:43 They would try to find out what this thing was. 31:47 And that day, the knife slipped and she nicked her finger. 31:51 She immediately ran to the tap and turned on the 31:55 explosion of water. 31:58 But within a few days, she had a blinding headache. 32:02 And then spots on her tongue. 32:05 And then the ulcers in the throat. 32:08 And she died. 32:12 The doctors in New York received the tissue. 32:17 And even though they donned protective care, 32:21 some of those doctors working in the laboratories 32:24 caught the fever, called the ELISA virus. 32:29 There was a fear that never got onto the streets of America 32:33 because they covered it up. 32:34 Because they said, "If this thing gets out onto the 32:38 streets of New York, New York will perish, 32:41 they will die." 32:44 Later, they discovered it was caused by rats. 32:48 It was a virus that could be contained, 32:53 but there was no cure. 32:57 Thousands of years ago, a virus got loose in the universe, 33:04 my friend, and it spread down to this earth. 33:08 And everywhere it goes, there is pain and suffering and death. 33:13 It is called, sin. 33:15 And there's only one cure for sin. 33:18 It is not psychology, it is not philosophy, 33:23 it is not more education. 33:25 Even though all of those things are good. 33:27 There is only one cure for the virus of sin. 33:32 It is the blood of Jesus. 33:35 And the Bible tells me, without the shedding of blood, 33:38 there is no remission. 33:42 Let me say it slowly. 33:43 There is only one thing that can give us hope, 33:48 peace, forgiveness, a life that satisfies, and a life that 33:54 only increases in worth as the years of eternity role; 33:59 and that is the blood of Jesus. 34:02 I want you to turn to Romans chapter 5 34:06 and notice verses 20 and 21. 34:12 And I'm an old fashioned Bible preacher. 34:15 That is why I pause and turn to the text. 34:20 I believe the power is found in the Word. 34:24 "The law was added so that the trespass might increase. 34:28 But where sin increased, grace increased all the more." 34:33 Spurgeon called this, abounding grace. 34:37 "So that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign 34:43 through righteousness to bring eternal life 34:47 through Jesus Christ our Lord." 34:51 I want to say to every person who is watching today, 34:56 I need more than a perfect example. 35:01 I believe that Jesus is our example. 35:04 But I need much more than the Jesus who is 35:09 just a perfect example. 35:11 If I am in a raging current and I'm going down 35:16 for the third time, I need more than a swimming lesson. 35:23 I need a Savior. 35:25 I need a lifeline. 35:28 And I need more than a Christ who comes down from glory 35:32 and says, "Do this and thou shalt live." 35:36 I need a Christ who will redeem me with His own blood. 35:43 Years ago, I was friends with a great scientist. 35:49 A man who had PhD's, many of them. 35:53 A wonderful mind, a great mind, and a great man. 36:00 But he lost his way. 36:01 He found it difficult to reconcile the discoveries 36:05 of science with the words of scripture. 36:09 But we must recognize that there are many things that 36:13 we will never understand. 36:15 And so he lost his faith. 36:18 But a little while before he died, when he was 36:21 out in Australia, he made this remark to his friends 36:25 as they were out walking on a Saturday afternoon. 36:28 He said, "There are many things I do not know." 36:31 But I do know this, I need a Savior." 36:37 And I need a Savior tonight. 36:40 The greatest teaching in all the Bible... 36:42 I want to say to my Baptist friends, my Catholic friends, 36:47 I want to say to every person, and to my Adventist friends, 36:51 the greatest teaching in all the Bible is the 36:54 blood atonement of Christ. 36:57 And for a few moments now, I want to talk upon this subject, 37:00 which is the most wonderful of all topics. 37:03 Would you please come to Romans 1 and verses 16-18. 37:10 Romans chapter 1 verses 16, 17, and 18. 37:19 "I'm not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God 37:24 for the salvation of everyone who believes; 37:26 first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 37:30 For in the gospel, a righteousness from God 37:33 is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith 37:36 from first to last, just as it is written, 37:40 'The righteous will live by faith.'" 37:43 So we are saved by the good news of the gospel. 37:46 And the word "gospel" means good news, not good advice; 37:50 contrary to a thousand sermons. 37:54 The gospel does not tell you what to do, 37:58 it tells you what has been done for you. 38:01 It is good news. 38:04 Now the next verse is a verse that we should read. 38:10 "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven 38:14 against all the godlessness and wickedness of men 38:18 who suppress the truth by their wickedness." 38:21 The Bible talks about the righteousness of God, 38:25 and it talks about the wrath of God. 38:30 We live is a dreadfully superficial age. 38:34 But the Bible talks about the righteousness of God, 38:38 and because God is righteous, God hates sin 38:42 while loving the sinner. 38:45 But the Bible talks about the wrath of God. 38:49 The wrath of God. 38:51 People say, "This is a concept I could never believe in; 38:56 the wrath of God." 38:58 I believe it because of the righteousness of God. 39:02 And the Bible tells me that because of the righteousness 39:06 of God, God by His nature reacts against sin. 39:14 Hence, we need a blood atonement. 39:16 Would you come over here to Romans 3 verses 4 and 5. 39:20 And follow this logic, please. 39:30 "Not at all. 39:32 Let God be true, and every man a liar. 39:36 As it is written, 'So that You may be proved right 39:40 when You speak and prevail when You judge.'" 39:42 God is a righteous God, and God will judge the 39:46 world in righteousness. 39:48 "But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness 39:51 more clearly, what shall we say? 39:54 That God is unjust in bringing His wrath on us?" 39:58 So the Bible talks about the wrath of almighty God. 40:05 I want these great truths... 40:07 And I'm talking to a wonderful television audience, 40:10 and I say this to you tonight, in the name of the Christ 40:14 who sent me to preach. 40:16 I want you to know that God loves you. 40:21 He loves you with a heart that is bigger than the universe 40:27 and bigger than eternity. 40:28 He loves you. 40:32 But there's this virus in the universe. 40:34 And this virus destroys everything it touches. 40:39 And because God is righteous, God reacts against that sin. 40:45 And God shows wrath towards sin. 40:52 There was a great English reformer, his name was Tyndale. 40:56 He said the book of Romans is: 41:06 And I want you to notice some of the most amazing 41:10 words ever written in Holy Writ. 41:13 Romans chapter 3, verse 20 and onwards. 41:17 These are not easy verses. 41:21 But the best things in life are hard to attain. 41:24 Please notice them. 41:26 Verse 20, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous 41:30 in His sight by observing the law." 41:32 Because we've all broken it. 41:34 "Rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. 41:38 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been 41:42 made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 41:46 This righteousness from God comes through faith in 41:50 Jesus Christ to all who believe. 41:53 There is no difference, for all have sinned and 41:57 fall short of the glory of God." 41:58 It says, "fall short of the glory of God." 42:00 That means everybody continues to fall short 42:04 of the glory of God. 42:09 "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 42:11 and are justified..." declared freely, 42:15 justified declared righteous, 42:17 "...freely by His grace through the redemption 42:20 that came by Christ Jesus. 42:22 God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, 42:28 through faith in His blood. 42:31 He did this to demonstrate His justice." 42:37 Now listen carefully. 42:40 We need to ask ourselves the question. 42:46 Who killed Christ? 42:52 This is a pertinent searching question. 42:55 Who killed Christ? 42:57 The Bible says that Christ gave Himself as a sacrifice 43:02 of atonement because of our sins, 43:04 because of the wrath of God against sin. 43:08 Now who killed Him? 43:09 Would you come to Acts chapter 2 43:13 and verses 22 and 23. 43:18 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man 43:27 accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, 43:31 which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 43:35 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose 43:40 and foreknowledge." 43:41 God did it. 43:43 "And you," the Jewish people, "with the help of wicked men," 43:47 the Roman soldiers, "put Him to death 43:50 by nailing Him to the cross." 43:55 The Bible tells me, the Jewish leaders crucified Him. 44:00 You know that. 44:02 The Bible tells me the Roman solders drove in the nails. 44:08 And the Bible tells me God did this by handing 44:12 Jesus over to them. 44:16 Therefore, it was God's purpose that Christ should die. 44:23 So the Jews were guilty. 44:26 The Romans were guilty. 44:29 God was finally responsible. 44:33 But the Bible teaches, personally 44:39 it was my sin 44:42 that nailed Him to the cross. 44:45 And the Bible teaches this. 44:47 Would you please come to 2 Corinthians 5 44:51 and verses 20 and 21. 45:00 Look at these words. Profound words. 45:04 "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though 45:09 God were making His appeal through us. 45:12 We implore you on Christ's behalf; be reconciled to God. 45:17 God made Him who had no sin," He was sinless. 45:21 Never say that He was a sinner, friend. 45:24 "God made Him, Christ, who had no sin to be sin for us, 45:30 so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 45:37 I pray earnestly now, as people are watching the telecast, 45:43 as you are participating, I pray for the miracle now 45:47 of the illumination of the Holy Spirit. 45:51 We now enter the Holy of Holies. 45:56 I am a poor faltering sinful man 46:02 who dares talk about this subject. 46:06 What happened on the Roman cross. 46:13 The Romans nailed Him there, the Jews gave Him up. 46:16 But it was God's purpose, 46:20 because God knew that we were lost and damned and 46:23 on our way to hell unless there was a blood atonement. 46:28 And on the cross, we put our Lord, our blessed Lord, 46:33 our Lord Jesus Christ, over here. 46:37 We put us over here. 46:39 And we are sinful. 46:43 We are unrighteous. 46:46 This is the teaching of holy scripture. 46:51 We need not debate these points. 46:54 The court has sat and the verdict is in; 46:59 we are guilty. 47:02 Sinful, unrighteous; and our reward is eternal death, 47:12 separation from God. 47:14 Our blessed Lord is sinless. Can you say amen? 47:20 He is righteous. 47:23 Look upon Jesus. Sinless is He. 47:27 And because He is who He is, He has eternal life, 47:34 in communion with the God of the universe 47:38 who has wrath against sin. 47:40 The righteous God 47:43 on the cross. 47:44 Do I understand this? Of course not. 47:47 Nobody understand this. 47:49 The great transaction that in some way, 47:52 incomprehensible to our minds, Jesus our blessed Lord 47:59 came and stood over here. 48:03 And the sin of the world was imputed to Him. 48:10 He was sinless. 48:12 But upon His sinless soul, the sin of the world; 48:17 your sin, my sin, the sin of every human being, 48:22 every adulterer, every murderer, every Sabbath breaker, 48:28 every proud Pharisee, the sin of Adolph Hitler, 48:33 everything was placed upon Him. 48:36 He felt the weight of a terrible unrighteous world. 48:42 And He tasted eternal death. 48:47 One great theologian said, listen to this, 48:55 "He could suffer more in six hours than the human race 49:01 could suffer in a trillion years because He was God." 49:06 His capacity for suffering was infinite. 49:11 On the cross, He felt the doom of the damned. 49:22 And from His lips came the cry, 49:26 "My God, My God! Why have You forsaken Me?" 49:36 A famous Roman Catholic, Bishop Fultun Sheen, said, 49:41 "For one brief hour in time, He was unfurled on the cross 49:47 like a wounded eagle." 49:52 The same great bishop told the story of the born fools; 49:57 a group of Baptist Christians in the Gulag Archipelago 50:01 in the Soviet Union. 50:05 And in those days, the communist officials would take prisoners 50:09 and beat them to pulp, and sometimes murder them 50:13 with their own batons. 50:15 They killed millions. 50:16 That's atheism in practice. 50:19 No hope, no God. 50:21 Man is nothing. 50:23 Man is a cosmic accident. 50:25 He is a mistake. 50:26 He is a product of time plus matter plus chance. 50:29 He is animated mud on the way to dust. 50:34 And when they would come to beat some of the atheists, 50:38 the Baptist Christians said to the guards, 50:41 "Don't beat them, because they curse and 50:44 they blaspheme so much. 50:45 And so much more poison is spread out into the world." 50:50 The Baptists said, "Beat us, and we will praise God." 50:56 They said, "You fools." 50:59 So they called them, born fools. 51:03 And so these Baptist Christians, in a sense, took upon themselves 51:10 the sins of the unbelievers, and were beaten. 51:20 In a very real sense, Jesus felt the pain 51:27 of every person who has ever lived. 51:31 The person dying of cancer; He felt the pain, 51:34 the anguish, the heartache. 51:36 He felt the despair and the damnation of the man who 51:42 is shut outside the kingdom of God at the very end. 51:51 Ellen White said, "Hanging on the cross was the gospel." 51:56 It's true. 51:58 What sort of God is this, I ask you? 52:01 I ask you, what sort of God is this? 52:03 What sort of people are we? 52:08 The God who made the universe... 52:11 I've studied astronomy a little. 52:14 I am overwhelmed by the incomprehensible mysteries 52:18 of the universe, the vastness. 52:21 But the hand that made the stars was the hand that was 52:25 nailed to the cross. 52:27 How He must love us. 52:31 On the cross, He made a perfect blood atonement for the 52:37 sins of the world. 52:38 We do not believe in the moral influence theory that says 52:42 He was a great example. 52:43 I need more than an example. 52:48 I need a Savior. 52:50 I do. 52:52 No one can ever say, no one can ever say, 52:56 "God doesn't understand how I feel." 53:04 There is infinite power in His blood. 53:08 You must experience it. 53:10 You must come to Him tonight, you must believe in Him. 53:13 You must put away unbelief. 53:15 Come to Him and know that this is bigger than anything 53:18 you've ever heard. 53:20 Infinite power in His blood to forgive, to justify, 53:23 to transform, to redeem, 53:25 from the gutter most to the utter most. 53:29 Elder Gilley, a dear friend, was a friend of H.M.S. Richards; 53:36 the dean of our preachers, a great preacher. 53:40 He knows the story. 53:41 Some of you will know it too. 53:44 When Harold Richards, a man who raised up the 53:47 Voice Of Prophecy, was a little boy, 53:51 he was always teasing his brother. 53:55 He had his brother screaming, almost hysterical. 53:59 His beautiful mother said, "Harold, this must stop. 54:03 You're driving your brother crazy, it's got to stop." 54:07 "Oh, I won't do it again if you tell me not to." 54:10 But he couldn't help himself. 54:12 That's how it is with sin. 54:14 You can't help yourself. 54:16 You try, but you can't help yourself. 54:19 You know what you need? 54:21 The blood. 54:22 You need to know that God loves you. 54:25 She said, "Harold, if you ever do it again, 54:27 I'm not going to beat you, you're going to beat me." 54:30 Oh never. 54:31 He said "I'll never do it again." 54:36 But he couldn't control the sin. 54:38 His mother sent him down to the creek at the back 54:40 of the property to get a stick, a big one to beat her. 54:44 He came back with one this long. 54:47 She sent him back time after time 54:49 until he came back with a rod. 54:50 And H.M.S. Richards told the story how his mother 54:53 took him into the bedroom, sat him down on the bed, 54:56 and bared her shoulders, and said, "Harold, beat me." 55:01 He said, "I can't beat you, mother." 55:04 He spoke of the terrible struggle; 55:07 obedience to his mother who stood for him in the 55:12 place of God, and his love for his mother. 55:15 But she said, "Harold, beat me." 55:17 She bent over the bed and he lifted up, lifted up the rod, 55:21 and tried to bring it down. 55:25 Then he broke down. 55:27 And his mother put her arm around the shoulder of H.M.S. 55:31 and told him the story of how the innocent was beaten 55:37 by the guilty, for the guilty, with the guilty. 55:41 That's when he found out that Jesus loved him. 55:46 Listen. 55:48 I just wish, I just wish tonight that every person here tonight 55:53 would know this; that God loves us so much 55:59 that He went to the cross for us. 56:01 You think of it. 56:03 God went to the cross for us. 56:05 And He paid the price for our sins with His own blood. 56:10 I need more than an example, I need a Savior. 56:15 And if you and I come to Him as little children, 56:22 recognize that we are sinners and open up our heart to Christ, 56:28 He takes away all of our guilt and all of our sin. 56:33 And He gives us everlasting life. 56:36 Hallelujah, hallelujah. 56:39 Let us pray. 56:42 Oh my Father, thank You for Christ. 56:48 Thank You for the sufferings of the Son of God, 56:51 which were the infinite sufferings of an infinite God. 56:56 We raise our hands tonight, we raise our hearts. 57:00 Lift up your hands and say, "Thank You, Jesus." 57:05 Say it. 57:06 Thank You, Jesus. 57:07 Thank You for the blood atonement. 57:11 Cover me with the blood of the cross tonight. 57:16 I rejoice tonight. I thank You tonight. 57:20 In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name, amen. 57:27 And God bless you all. |
Revised 2014-12-17