Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000062
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 The Great Controversy with John Bradshaw. 00:23 On last evening, my wife and I were driving home from 00:27 this auditorium, from these meetings, 00:29 driving down Thompsonville Road. 00:31 A long road with some twists and turns. 00:35 And there ran out of the bushes on the side of the road 00:38 a small white animal. 00:39 We didn't know what it was. 00:40 But it darted out so fast there was no time to stop, 00:43 no time to hit the brakes. 00:45 And of course, we hit it. 00:48 And you know, you feel that little bump under your tires 00:50 as you're driving along. 00:52 And Erma said, "Well, what was it?" 00:54 And I said, "I'm not sure." 00:56 Because it happened so quickly. 00:58 On the way back to work this morning, we discovered that 01:00 it was a fairly large possum. 01:03 And my wife has a particular sensitivity to hitting animals. 01:08 It just makes you feel bad when you feel that little bump 01:10 under your tire and you know you've taken a life. 01:14 The Bible says that the heavens declare the glory of God, 01:17 the earth shows handiwork. 01:18 But also in looking at the natural world, 01:21 we are given to understand that there is a controversy, 01:24 there is this pull between life and death, 01:28 good and evil, darkness and light. 01:30 I was jogging along our road, Paulton Road, the other day. 01:33 And someone had hit a fairly large deer. 01:37 And I had to jump over it to keep from 01:39 tripping over it myself. 01:40 You know, you see a beautiful animal like that lying on the 01:43 side of the road damaged by a car, it says something about 01:46 life and death. 01:48 I don't know what's going to happen in heaven. 01:52 I know there will be no more death. 01:55 I guess we won't be driving cars. 01:56 And when we're flying around, I guess we won't bump into 01:59 each other or bump into animals. 02:00 There certainly won't be any killing. 02:02 I don't know quite how that's going to work out, but I 02:04 look forward to a time when there will be no more death. 02:07 And I think one of the most traumatic things about 02:10 living on planet earth is the fact that the young get old, 02:14 the old get older, and the older die. 02:17 And even that reality is cut short sometimes 02:20 by accidental death. 02:22 Even the death of a small squirrel or an animal. 02:25 They are creations of God, so they must mean something to Him. 02:29 We know that Christ didn't die to redeem animals. 02:32 But if He cares about the sparrow, 02:35 He certainly cares about us. 02:36 And He cares about the death of those creatures 02:39 that He has made. 02:40 So we see a glimpse of the great controversy. 02:43 And that's what we're talking about this very week. 02:45 Our speaker is John Bradshaw. 02:47 He is the speaker and director for It Is Written. 02:50 He does a very, very fine job. 02:52 Just a nice guy. 02:53 When you meet him, he's someone that you like immediately. 02:56 He is a student of the Word, but he's also a student 02:58 of human nature. 03:00 And he lends himself to individuals, 03:02 and they are drawn to him. 03:04 So we are very, very pleased to have John Bradshaw 03:07 with us this week. 03:08 Tonight's particular topic is going to focus on the 03:11 controversial cross. 03:13 We will be dealing with the great controversy and 03:15 its aspects and ramifications throughout the course 03:18 of these meetings. 03:20 But tonight we will look at the controversial cross. 03:22 And I am quite sure that we will be blessed 03:25 as he comes and speaks to us. 03:27 And he shall do so shortly. 03:29 But we want to introduce to you now a couple that has 03:32 moved to our church in, oh, the past year or so. 03:36 We didn't know that they were as talented as they are. 03:39 He, Mike Berry, is a pianist. 03:41 His wife, Celestine, or if you would prefer, Celestine Berry, 03:45 is a singer. 03:46 He will play, she will sing, and we will be blessed 03:51 as she sings this song, You Alone. 03:54 We will have prayer, we will hear the ministry 03:56 of the Berry's, and then the next voice that you will hear 03:58 will be that of our speaker, our friend, Pastor John Bradshaw. 04:03 Shall we pray. 04:04 Father God, we just praise You and thank You 04:07 for this, another opportunity, to lift up the name of Jesus. 04:11 We are thankful, Lord, for the fact that Christ came, 04:15 Christ lived, Christ died, Christ rose again, 04:21 Christ now ministers for us. 04:24 And that one day soon, and very soon, the great controversy 04:29 will be over. 04:32 Father, may we be found ready and working, 04:37 and as it were, waiting, for the coming of the Lord. 04:43 Speak now to our hearts this night. 04:45 Bless the speaker, bless those who hear. 04:50 May Christ be glorified. 04:52 In Jesus' name, amen. 04:55 I'm C.A. Murray. 04:56 It is my pleasure to introduce now Michael and Celestine Berry. 05:29 I lift my eyes when I am troubled. 05:36 I lift my hands, I lift my heart. 05:43 And there I stand knowing nothing can defeat me, 05:49 just as long as I know where You are. 05:56 In You alone is where I find my comfort. 06:03 In You alone, You're my only hope. 06:10 In You alone my heart has found a resting place. 06:18 In You alone, in You alone. 06:27 So I won't fear though darkness hides me. 06:34 No, I won't let my courage sway. 06:42 For You are near, and at the brightness of Your glory 06:48 the shadows of the night melt away. 06:54 In You alone is promise I can cling to. 07:02 In You alone, You're my security. 07:09 In You alone my soul has found a dwelling place. 07:18 Only in You alone. 07:25 What could separate me from Your love? 07:31 Neither life nor death, nor anything at all. 07:38 Anything at all. 07:42 In You alone is where I find my comfort. 07:49 In You alone, You're my only hope. 07:56 In You alone my heart has found a resting place. 08:04 Only in You alone. 08:12 Only in You alone. 08:19 Only in You alone. 08:42 Well, all I can say is thank the Lord and thank you. 08:45 Good evening, everyone. 08:47 A blessing to see you tonight, a blessing. 08:48 A blessing. 08:49 It's always a blessing when we can gather together 08:52 to share the Word of God together. 08:53 Isn't that right? 08:54 Every single solitary time. 08:57 I have a feeling that tonight we're going to be blessed. 09:00 We're looking at a subject very dear to my heart. 09:02 It's the great controversy. 09:05 Dr. Herb Douglas calls the great controversy theme, 09:09 the grand theme of the Bible. 09:12 I'm inclined to agree with him. 09:13 I think he got that right. 09:15 The grand theme of the Bible. 09:19 This great theme works its way through the Bible 09:22 like a golden thread. 09:25 And it helps us pull together the various subjects and 09:29 thoughts of the Bible and compiles them, 09:32 if I can use that word, in a way that helps us make sense. 09:35 Sense of, if I can say this, the Word of God. 09:38 Sense of this crazed world. 09:41 We can make sense of the questions that trouble us, 09:44 and stir us, and cause us to lie awake at night. 09:49 There is a big picture. 09:51 We sort of introduced ourselves to that thought last night. 09:54 We'll go back to last night and retrace our steps 09:57 ever so slightly. 09:59 And then press forward and entertain some new thoughts 10:04 this evening. 10:05 I just want to say how very thankful I am 10:10 to be able to be here and share with you. 10:13 And I just can't resist the opportunity to encourage you 10:16 to get our It Is Written "Daily Devotional." 10:21 It's 60 seconds long. 10:23 Now there are sometimes that we go nuts and really 10:27 blow it out big. 10:28 We go from one minute to two minutes. 10:31 And we figure that's not going to be too hard 10:34 for people to take. 10:35 Every day there's a brand new daily devotional. 10:38 It's either on our website or we can email that to you, 10:41 email the link to you. 10:42 You just click the link and then it pops up. 10:44 "Every Word" is the name of the devotional. 10:46 Perhaps you've heard of it. 10:47 If you have, then good. 10:48 If you haven't, now you have. 10:50 And you can get that every single day by going to 10:52 our website, itiswritten.com and subscribing to it. 10:56 I'll tell you why this can be a helpful thing for you, 11:00 not just a blessing in your own life. 11:02 A friend of mine told me about a person he met 11:05 through a business dealing who said to him, 11:09 "I wish you would tell me how it is that you 11:12 can be so positive every day. 11:15 What is it that makes you so positive?" 11:18 And my friends said, "Well, I have found that if I start 11:21 my day with a spiritual thought, then that will really be a 11:25 good thing that will really help. 11:27 So here's what I do." 11:28 And he pulled out a little card and he gave it to him. 11:30 It was one of the Every Word cards. 11:31 He said, "I watch this spiritual thought every day." 11:35 Now you know, this was just his opening 11:38 discussion with this man. 11:39 He couldn't open up the Bible to the book of Revelation and 11:41 take him to some heavy prophecy. 11:43 He had to start somewhere, so he started here. 11:45 "This is what I look at every day. 11:47 I find it a real blessing." 11:48 Two weeks later, the man came to him and said, 11:49 "You won't believe how blessed I have been 11:53 by getting that devotional every day. 11:55 I get it, 60 seconds long. 11:57 I watch it and I just feel so much better about myself, 11:59 about life, and I'm closer to God." 12:01 And so on. 12:02 So it's something you can share with others too. 12:03 Not just for you, but for others. 12:05 Now I believe that it's going to be a real help 12:08 in your life and in the lives of others, as it is in mine. 12:10 I make sure I watch it every day. 12:12 And there are times that I am blessed. 12:14 So I hope you can be too. 12:16 If you want it again, I'm just going to repeat it; 12:18 itiswritten.com, that's where you go. 12:19 It's our little website. 12:21 And you'll find it right... 12:22 Now it use to be big in front and center. 12:25 Now you have to look for it a little bit because we've done 12:27 the Paris theme for our meetings in Paris, France coming up. 12:30 But you find it there and subscribe to it, 12:33 and that will come to you regularly. 12:35 Every Word, a one minute daily devotional. 12:37 And you'll be blessed. Good share as well. 12:41 Well, let us pray now. 12:43 And not just ask God to bless us, but expect God to bless us 12:48 as we study the Bible tonight. 12:50 Let's pray. 12:53 Our Father in heaven, we thank You that we can come to You 12:56 tonight in the name of Jesus. 13:01 I am thankful to know that there is a God on heaven's throne 13:07 who's heart is full of love towards this 13:09 erring sinful world. 13:12 I thank You that Your Spirit is with us tonight, and I pray that 13:15 You will be merciful towards me, a faulty human vessel. 13:22 I pray that in spite of the limitations of fallen humanity, 13:25 Your Spirit will still work and touch our hearts. 13:29 So please Lord, would You guide us and bless us. 13:33 And see to it that whatever Your will for these next few 13:36 minutes is, that it is done. 13:40 We thank You and we love You, and we want to love You more. 13:45 And we ask that You would work now. 13:48 I pray that over these next few minutes, our focus will be 13:51 sharp, distractions will be minimized or not at all, 13:55 according to Your will. 13:58 Thank You for gracing us with Your presence 14:00 and this opportunity to gather around Your Word. 14:02 We thank You for it and we pray in Jesus' name. 14:07 Let us say amen. 14:13 My wife, Melissa, is fond of taking photographs. 14:19 And she had never really had a decent photograph taking camera 14:26 until a couple of Christmas' ago when an especially nice man 14:31 bought her a camera for Christmas. 14:36 I won't tell you who that was. 14:40 And standard on the camera is a 28 to 55 millimeter lens. 14:48 Now if you have an SLR camera or a... 14:51 I don't know enough about them to tell you 14:52 too many other kinds of cameras. 14:53 But a half decent camera. 14:55 It likely comes with something like a 50 millimeter lens. 14:59 A 50 millimeter is standard. 15:00 If you have a 50 millimeter lens and you look through a 15:03 50 millimeter lens, then what you see is normal. 15:06 It's not zoomed in, it's not pushed out. 15:09 50 millimeters is about normal. 15:13 Now my wife has a lens, a standard lens, 15:15 that goes up to 55 and back to 28. 15:18 That's very helpful. 15:20 Because there are times you are wanting to photograph 15:23 a group of people, and a standard 55 millimeter lens 15:27 might just be too close. 15:30 Maybe a large group of people and you don't 15:32 have room to get back. 15:33 Or you might be looking at a view, some sort of vista, 15:37 maybe a cathedral or a tree, or I don't know. 15:41 Whatever you want. It could be anything. 15:44 And there are times that you might want a lens a little wider 15:49 than 50 millimeters. 15:50 So this 28 millimeter thing, we find a... 15:53 Now it's not a fisheye lens. 15:56 If you've got an 8 millimeter lens or a 10 millimeter lens, 15:59 now it brings you back so wide you can see the 16:02 curvature of the earth. 16:03 You know, that's a fisheye lens. 16:04 You don't always want that. 16:06 You take a photo of someone like this, and with a fisheye lens 16:09 the person is shown leaning over like that. 16:12 That's okay if that's what you want, but you don't always 16:14 want the subjects in your photograph leaning over 16:16 like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 16:19 A 28 millimeter lens will just allow you to pull back 16:21 a little bit and now you can get the whole tree. 16:23 Now you can get the whole group, everybody's head. 16:26 The whole cathedral, perhaps. 16:28 Or whatever it is that you're looking at. 16:30 It's helpful. 16:31 Instead of just seeing part of the building, 16:33 you get the whole building. 16:35 Instead of seeing part of whatever it is 16:39 you're looking at, you now can see the big picture. 16:46 And when we come to the Bible, we want to see 16:50 not just the part, but the big picture. 16:54 Again and again and again it is demonstrated, 16:56 and I tell people this frequently, 16:57 that if you are wrestling with a verse in the Bible, 17:01 one verse, what you want to do is step back from 17:04 that verse a little bit. 17:06 Broaden your field of view. 17:08 Instead of reading that one verse and saying, 17:11 "What does this mean," 17:13 you might want to read the verse ahead and the verse after. 17:16 Three verses. 17:18 Or you might want to read the entire chapter. 17:21 And then if you want to get the chapter 17:23 in some sort of meaningful context, you might even 17:26 need to read the whole book. 17:28 That works when you're reading Ephesians or Galatians. 17:30 If it's Exodus, I mean that's a big book. 17:32 But you know what I'm saying. 17:34 You want to see the big picture when you come 17:36 to the subjects of the Bible. 17:39 These things are of eternal importance. 17:41 We're dealing with life and death. 17:43 And I mean eternal life and eternal death. 17:45 Very, very important things. 17:48 And if you want to back off a little bit 17:52 from some Bible verses and you want to see the big picture, 17:57 then you might do well to consider what we 17:59 started considering last night when we were here. 18:03 We found out, and I don't expect this is news to too many people, 18:06 but we found out that we here on planet earth 18:08 are caught in the middle of something. 18:09 A battle, a battle. 18:11 It's a controversy that rages throughout the entire universe. 18:17 And we looked at some passages last time we were here, 18:19 some Scripture references to help us to understand 18:23 that long ago, in fact you could say very long ago, 18:27 there was something that marred the perfect peace of heaven. 18:34 It scarred heaven, I could say, literally. 18:37 Literally it scarred heaven. 18:40 Inextricably, a rebellion began deep in the heart of 18:45 one of the most privileged angels ever created. 18:50 Lucifer, for some reason, decided that he wanted 18:54 to be like the Most High. 18:58 He wanted to stand in God's place. 19:01 He would be glad to receive the leadership God exercised. 19:07 He wanted to receive the honor due only to God. 19:11 And receive to himself worship of which only God was worthy. 19:18 He was evicted from heaven. 19:20 Here to the earth he came. 19:24 And because sin cannot help itself, and because Lucifer 19:28 was filled with a malignity that burned white hot within him, 19:34 a bitter hatred for the God of heaven and for everything 19:38 that God loved, because Lucifer was that sort of being, 19:42 he immediately sough to win the affections 19:44 of our first grandparents. 19:47 He sought to win their loyalty. 19:50 Adam and Eve were the targets of his bitterness. 19:53 And in getting their allegiance, Lucifer did here on earth 19:59 what he had done in heaven. 20:01 He lied. 20:03 We looked last night at some of the lies in Genesis chapter 3, 20:06 "Has God really said..." 20:09 "God is only keeping that fruit from you because He knows 20:12 if you eat it you'll be like Him, you'll be as gods. 20:14 Your eyes will be open." 20:15 He lied. 20:16 Of course there was some truth. 20:18 They would know good and evil, that's true. 20:22 But Lucifer is a master at adding untruth to truth, 20:29 at adding error to what is right and what is appropriate. 20:33 He lied. He lied about God. 20:36 And he misrepresented even the character of God. 20:41 You know, there are some remarkable 20:44 statistics in this world. 20:46 You will read statistics in sports, and in finance, 20:52 and in history, and in science. 20:54 You read them in economics. 20:56 You read some remarkable statistics. 20:59 But one of the most phenomenal statistics that I have ever 21:02 come across is found in Revelation chapter 12. 21:05 Why don't we just turn in our Bibles to Revelation chapter 12. 21:10 In Revelation chapter 12, you read a stunning statistic. 21:16 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 4. 21:18 The Bible says, speaking of Satan, that "his tail drew the 21:21 third part of the stars of heaven and did 21:23 cast them to the earth." 21:25 We take this to mean that when Lucifer fell, 21:27 one third of all of the angels in heaven fell with him. 21:30 That's a phenomenal statistic. 21:32 Thirty-three and a third percent of all the angels in heaven 21:36 sided with Lucifer, arrayed themselves against God 21:42 in this thing. 21:43 That is just stunning. 21:45 There had never been any sin. 21:47 God had never lied. 21:48 God had never given a single angel any reason 21:51 to turn against Him, to even think against Him. 21:55 But by the time Lucifer was done, one out of three 22:00 had rejected God and were evicted from heaven with him. 22:04 Now that's a stunning statistic. 22:06 You know, in old English history, 22:10 in old English history there was something 22:11 terrible called, the black death. 22:13 The black death came in the 1300's. 22:14 Maybe late 12's, early 13's. Up through the 1300's. 22:17 The black death. Not just England, but in Europe. 22:20 The black death was bad. 22:21 You know, I read that in Oxford University when the 22:23 black death hit, there were 30,000 students. 22:25 By the time it was done, there were 10,000 students. 22:28 And we're not talking about people who went home to be safe. 22:30 We're talking about people who died. 22:32 In other parts, they say 50% of people died because 22:35 of the black death; 50%. 22:37 But think about that. 22:38 One in three; that was a common statistic. 22:41 One in three people died. 22:42 And you say, "That's shocking." 22:45 I remember being in a great African city and walking 22:47 down a street with my friend. 22:48 And we both had heard that in this great city, 22:51 one in three people were HIV positive. 22:54 And I must tell you, in the interest of full disclosure, 22:56 that I revisited that statistic. 22:58 And the truth is, it's now one in six; 17%. 23:01 That's a lot better than one in three. 23:03 But that's a tremendous statistic, 23:05 a staggering statistic. 23:06 Even one in six, man. 23:08 One in three people died from a terrible disease. 23:11 One in six people are facing a lifetime of difficulty, 23:14 and their family and their friends are implicated in this, 23:16 because they have the human immunodeficiency virus. 23:19 And it makes life tremendously difficult. 23:21 And we thank God for advancement in science and medicine. 23:24 We do. 23:26 But one in three! That's a stunning statistic. 23:30 One in three of the angels of heaven were 23:32 caught up in Lucifer's mess. 23:34 Stocking. 23:35 They were inflicted with the black death of sin. 23:39 Unbelievably horrifying. 23:42 And from that time, Satan has done everything he can to 23:44 draw people away from God's great heart of love. 23:46 He has done everything he can to obscure the beauty of 23:49 God's great gift of salvation. 23:51 Adam and Eve were created in the enemy... 23:54 I'm thinking ahead. 23:55 Adam and Eve were created in the image, 23:57 in the image of God. 23:59 And the enemy of souls seeks to destroy anything that 24:02 he can find that has even the last trace of the 24:06 image of God upon it. 24:08 At the end of time, we see that God's image 24:10 is restored in human beings. 24:13 We'll get to that before we're done tonight. 24:14 God's image is back where it belongs; in those who are saved. 24:18 We see then that the plan of salvation is far more than 24:22 human beings simply being sorry for their sins. 24:25 We have sinners, Jesus died, the saved go to heaven. 24:28 That's true, that's part of it. But there's more. 24:32 This great controversy that we are in, indeed, involves the 24:35 entire plan of salvation. 24:37 Salvation contemplates our complete recovery from the 24:41 power of sin and our recreation into the image of God through 24:45 faith in Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 24:50 We looked briefly last night at a passage that 24:52 I want to revisit tonight. 24:54 Please, if you would, turn with me to 2 Kings 6. 24:57 2 Kings chapter 6. 24:59 For even though we are the targets of Satan's venom 25:02 and wrath, we can be assured tonight and encouraged tonight. 25:10 For the sake of a recap, for the sake of clarity, 25:15 I want to just revisit a couple of points and expand upon them. 25:19 You understand that as we talk about the great controversy, 25:21 we're into a series that's going to take us 25:24 five parts to get done. 25:25 You could say the best part of five hours. 25:28 So I would hate for you to think that if you caught a 25:30 little bit, that was the sum total of our 25:32 treatment upon this thing. 25:34 2 Kings chapter 6. 25:35 And what you find is that Benhadad, the king of Syria, 25:38 is perplexed. 25:39 He was intent on crushing Israel. 25:41 Think about this. 25:42 The enemy of God was intent on crushing God's people. 25:46 This calls to mind, I'm sure, the great controversy 25:48 in which we find ourselves. 25:49 As the people of God, we are the subjects, we are the objects, 25:53 we are the targets, 25:56 of a hatred of the enemy of souls. 25:59 We are up against a foe, an enemy. 26:02 One who wants to trouble us, and perplex us, 26:04 and weigh us down, and burden us, and separate us from God. 26:07 Not only so that we'll be lost, but think if you would, 26:11 Satan doesn't want that we just be lost. 26:14 Satan wants that God's character is disrespected, 26:17 misunderstood, and misrepresented. 26:20 That's what makes the enemy of souls happy. 26:23 For if God is misrepresented, Satan's lies are validated. 26:27 There is a controversy here. 26:29 The created being is up against the Creator, 26:32 putting on the Creator his own hateful attributes. 26:35 "God is unfair, God is unjust, God is a liar. 26:38 God is keeping something back from you." 26:40 That's what Satan is. He is all of those things. 26:43 Benhadad announces his plans to his servants, 26:45 "We will camp here." 26:47 And then somehow, miraculously, that plan is relayed to 26:51 King Joram through the prophet of God. 26:55 "Don't go there," Elisha says. "The Syrians are there." 26:57 This happened several times so that the king of Syria 27:01 was beside himself. 27:02 "Who's ratting me out? 27:04 We've got a traitor in our midst." 27:06 And one of the servants said, "No, King. 27:07 No traitor, no traitor at all. 27:09 But the prophet Elisha, he knows what's going on. 27:13 God has got a man down there who's receiving communications." 27:17 The enemies plans were foiled by one who 27:21 had the gift of prophecy. 27:25 I wonder if we can say here that in this great controversy 27:30 it is good to know that God has given us a prophetic message. 27:38 The Israelites were embroiled in a controversy. 27:42 They were up against a brutal and a vicious pagan king. 27:48 We are up against the same thing. 27:50 And they would have perished wholesale had not God 27:56 blessed that people group with the gift of prophecy. 28:00 I don't believe this is too early in our series on 28:03 the great controversy for me to suggest that God has likewise 28:08 blessed His people living down in the last days 28:10 that we be safe from the attacks of a pagan king 28:14 by listening very carefully to the gift of prophecy. 28:17 Can you say amen? 28:19 God has given us that gift to keep us from falling prey to 28:22 Satan's strategies and schemes. 28:25 It is obvious God's people would not have survived the 28:29 Syrian incursion without the gift of prophecy. 28:33 If the prophet had been ignored, the people would have perished. 28:39 There's that verse in Scripture that says, 28:41 "Where there is no vision, the people perish." 28:44 And I hope you'll allow me to use that verse 28:46 homiletically here. 28:48 God knew that His people were in the midst of something 28:51 much bigger than themselves. 28:53 God knew that His people were not up to the task. 28:57 God blessed them. 29:00 He had told those people, "You will be okay 29:04 if you'll learn to rely on Me. 29:06 I will never let you down. 29:08 I will never sell you upstream. 29:09 I will bless you with every spiritual provision 29:12 that you need. 29:14 I'm giving you the gift of prophecy. 29:17 Listen, trust, take heed. 29:20 Act on that special gift." 29:22 You know, God didn't choose Israel because they were 29:24 the biggest and the baddest. 29:25 He didn't choose them because they had all the weapons 29:27 and all the smarts and all the skills. 29:29 In fact, we know they were small. 29:32 They weren't the fiercest people group in the Middle East. 29:34 They weren't the best trained. 29:35 They weren't a warrior type of people. 29:39 But they were willing to follow Him. 29:40 God said, "I will bring you up out of Egypt and 29:43 you won't have to fire a shot. 29:45 I will drive your enemies out of the Promised Land 29:47 before you get there even." 29:49 Well, not all of them. 29:50 "I'll send hornets before you and run them off. 29:54 The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace. 29:57 I will allow you to walk across a river in flood stage. 30:01 I'll just stop the thing from flowing. 30:04 I'll dam it up here and let the water run down there. 30:06 You all just walk across." 30:08 I grew up on a river. 30:09 And I mean that almost literally. 30:11 I can't say a stone's throw, but if I had a cricket ball... 30:15 Now in civilized countries, we don't have the baseball. 30:17 We have a cricket ball. 30:19 And if I had a cricket ball and threw it about four times, 30:23 the fourth one would have seen it roll down the river bank 30:25 and plop into the water. 30:26 I grew up near a river. 30:28 It was summer time when the sandbank... 30:31 We called it the sandbank. 30:32 Out there in the middle of the river almost. 30:33 The sandbank would come up. 30:35 Now nothing really came up, but the river level would come down. 30:38 Lack of rain, and there were hydroelectric power schemes 30:40 along that river, and so the river level would drop down 30:44 and the sandbank would rise up. 30:46 And we could walk out. 30:48 Man, before you had to... 30:49 In fact, you wouldn't even swim out because the sandbank 30:51 was under water and you wouldn't swim out to stand on the water. 30:53 I mean, you couldn't do anything out there. 30:57 But in the summer time, the river was down. 31:00 But you could only go half way. 31:02 You got to the other side of what we called the sandbank 31:04 and you saw that it dropped off. 31:06 Man, it was like the Mariana Trench. 31:09 Nobody messed with that part of the river. 31:11 But here's what God did. 31:12 He just stopped the thing from flowing. 31:15 "If you just rely on Me." 31:18 I've said this before and I will say it again, 31:21 all God really wants from His people is that His people 31:24 let God be God. 31:28 If you just let God do His job, He'll do it successfully 31:33 and you won't have a thing to worry about. 31:36 God said, "I will do it for you if you listen to Me." 31:40 And part of listening to God, a major part of listening to God, 31:44 is listening to the voice of the prophets. 31:45 Friends, if we will do that, if we'll take our lead 31:50 from the testimony of Jesus, which is the gift of prophecy. 31:55 If we can say, "The prophets said it, I'm going to follow it. 31:58 I know it might not be popular in all quarters, 32:00 but it sure is popular with God, and so it's popular with me." 32:04 If we'll have the good sense to say, "God has sent light 32:07 not just for us to look at, but to walk in," 32:11 if we walk in that light, we can hardly go wrong. 32:15 If we'll have the tenacity to say, "I'm hanging onto the 32:18 Word of God, and I'm hanging onto the testimony of Jesus 32:21 because this is light given us by God." 32:23 If like Joram you have the good sense to say, 32:26 "This is God's message to me and I will listen and trust," 32:30 God can do something for you. 32:31 If they had rejected the gift of prophecy back then, 32:34 they would have been wiped out. 32:37 If God's people were to reject the gift of prophecy down here 32:40 at the end of time, there's no way we would be able to stand 32:42 safely over on the other shore. 32:46 Remember in the great controversy, God has sent you 32:49 heavenly guidance. 32:50 Heavenly. 32:51 I remember reading a story about a fellow who, 32:53 during the cold war, he was a pilot. 32:55 And I don't know just what this guy did wrong, 32:57 but he found himself, he got off course. 33:00 And by the time he figured out what was going on, 33:01 he was way deep into enemy territory. 33:04 Now for some reason, he couldn't rely on his 33:06 navigational instruments. 33:07 And I don't know why. 33:09 But there was something he could rely on. 33:10 He looked outside and he could navigate by the stars. 33:14 And as he navigated by the stars and as he followed the stars, 33:18 the guidance system worked. 33:20 It was an old fashioned guidance system. 33:25 But it worked. 33:26 Friends, God has given us an old fashioned guidance system; 33:30 the Word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ. 33:34 It might be old fashioned, but it works. 33:37 It will help us in the battle, it will help us against the foe. 33:41 It will see us victorious. 33:43 It might be old, but it is tried and it is true. 33:47 And when everything new might fail away, 33:50 there is something that's going to stand like the heavens; 33:53 the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 33:58 You think Satan knows that? 34:01 I think he does. 34:02 That's why he plots, and that's why he plans, 34:04 and that's sows doubt. 34:08 And that's why he gets people to come off with you about, 34:11 "Well, you can't trust anything." 34:12 "He said..." Anything. "She said..." 34:13 "You can't trust that." 34:14 I'm telling you that you can trust it. 34:16 You know what Satan does? 34:17 He studies and he watches. 34:19 It's part of the great controversy. 34:22 I recently had an interesting conversation with a 34:24 fellow named Will Baron. 34:26 Will is a tremendously nice man. He's an English man. 34:29 That probably helps. 34:31 He wrote a book about 20 years ago called, 34:33 Deceived By The New Age. 34:35 If you haven't read that book and you do, you'll find it 34:37 very, very interesting. 34:39 But we sat down and had a conversation for an upcoming 34:41 It Is Written television program. 34:43 We're going to look at, in this program, on the affects 34:46 of the New Age in the world and in the church today. 34:49 And you can think about the New Age in very broad terms. 34:52 You know, it's not just the Harry Potter movement, 34:53 but it's yoga and it's any number of things. 34:58 And Will said that when he was in the New Age movement, 35:01 he was a New Age priest. 35:03 He was a high flyer in the New Age movement. 35:07 He said that the spirit guides came to him and others 35:10 at their New Age group. 35:11 And when I say "spirit guides," what am I really meaning? 35:13 Demons, exactly. 35:15 And they came and they said, "We want you now, 35:17 not just to be a New Age group, but to flip over 35:19 and now be a Christian church. 35:23 To show yourself to be a Christian church." 35:27 Now the demons weren't saying, "Go be Christians." 35:31 The demons said, "We want you to model as a Christian church 35:34 so as to be able to better deceive Christians." 35:40 This is what's interesting. 35:41 The spirit guides... 35:43 And what were the spirit guides? They were what? 35:45 Demons. That's right. 35:46 They came and they said, "Here's what we want you to do. 35:49 I want you to go into Christian churches and meet with 35:51 Christians and teach them New Age meditation techniques." 35:57 Are you hearing me? 35:59 Isn't that something? 36:01 And we say, is it just circumstance or happenstance 36:05 that various things pop up in churches around the world? 36:09 No. 36:10 Ladies and gentlemen, Satan is smart. 36:13 I have said before that I aspire to be as good at my job 36:17 as he is at his. 36:19 He's smart. 36:21 And he's not just letting things go and letting things happen. 36:24 He is calculating and he is working and he is manipulating 36:28 and he is pulling strings. 36:30 Remarkable. 36:31 You'll want to see that program when it comes up. 36:32 And you'll be able to watch it right here. 36:35 The point is, Satan is in earnest. 36:39 And what's going on in this world today 36:41 as a controversy rages between right and wrong, 36:44 light and dark, between Christ and Satan, 36:47 it's not just an accident. 36:50 But there is something intentionally 36:52 that is taking place. 36:55 Satan is the master conspirator. 36:59 And there is a conspiracy afoot. 37:02 Now I run the risk of digressing just a little bit here, 37:05 but I cannot help myself. 37:07 So I'm going to have to. 37:09 Mentioning conspiracies brings something to mind. 37:12 You know, there are always people you're going to find 37:14 who are obsessed with conspiracies, and conspirators, 37:18 and conspiracy theories. 37:20 Have you noticed that? 37:22 I'm about to lose at least one friend. 37:25 But it's probably worth the price. 37:29 I would like to encourage those who spend their time 37:33 studying the fine points of the trilateral commission, 37:37 and the Bilderbergers, and the Illuminati, 37:42 to find a pursuit more worthy of your energies. 37:47 I'm not suggesting that one should be ignorant entirely 37:51 about such things. 37:55 But I encounter people who read about this stuff online 37:58 and they study about this stuff. 37:59 And it becomes their stuff. 38:00 I met a kid... 38:01 That's disrespectful to call him a kid. 38:03 I met a young man recently and he said that when he 38:05 came to the church, someone got a hold of him and started 38:07 sharing with him some of this stuff. 38:09 He said, "I woke up one day and found that all I was studying 38:11 was about conspiracy theories and I wasn't studying my Bible. 38:14 I knew the conspiracy theories, 38:17 but I didn't know Jesus." 38:19 We make a great mistake. 38:21 I've read the book of Revelation and I find 38:23 no mention of the Illuminati. 38:25 None. 38:27 I have read other good books that comment on the Bible 38:31 and none of the reliable ones mention the conspiracy theories. 38:34 I'm not suggesting that they're not out there. 38:36 But there are people who want to rush up to me 38:38 and talk to me about Bohemian Grove. 38:40 They've never been there. 38:42 They don't know anyone who's been there. 38:43 They read about it on the internet. 38:44 And of course everything you read on the internet 38:46 has to be what? 38:47 Has to be true. 38:49 Especially when it's about something that 38:51 you can't validate. 38:54 You know, there's a reason I don't know anything 38:56 about secret societies. 38:57 You know what that reason is? 38:59 They're secret. 39:02 And if they're so secretive, how do we have so many 39:04 experts in our midst who can tell you all of the 39:06 last details about them? 39:07 Ladies and gentlemen, if you want to study anything, 39:11 study the Bible. 39:12 If you want to be up on something, be up on Jesus. 39:15 If you really want to know who the enemy is, 39:17 the enemy is Satan. 39:18 If you want to know who he's working through, 39:19 he's working through the beast. 39:21 Study that. 39:23 And I'm not going to say that everyone else 39:25 is absolved of guilt. 39:27 I'm not here to pretend that there's not other 39:29 interesting things you might be able to learn. 39:30 I'm not trying to say that people associated with 39:33 this group or that group or some other group 39:34 are all choir boys. 39:35 I don't mean that. 39:37 But part of Satan's great conspiracy is to get 39:41 people so worked up over the conspiracies 39:43 that they go cold on Jesus and wonder away from the 39:47 truths that are central to the great controversy. 39:51 It's important that we let the main things be the main things. 39:55 You know, I was talking to a group the other night 39:58 and I said to a lady... 40:00 She was sitting right by the piano, so I took her 40:01 for a piano player. 40:02 And I said, "Would you sit at the piano, please." 40:04 I put her right on the spot and I took a bit of a risk. 40:06 I said, "Would you play a major cord, please?" 40:09 And she played a major chord. 40:12 Beautiful. 40:13 Now I asked the congregation, "Do we need these major chords?" 40:16 "Oh, yes we do." 40:17 I asked her, "Would you please play a minor chord?" 40:20 And the minor chords wasn't... 40:22 It was like... 40:25 I don't do a minor chord any better than I do a major chord. 40:28 But I tried. 40:30 Now the minor chords, they don't sound very nice. 40:33 They sound all sort of suspenseful. 40:37 I don't like it. 40:39 But I asked the congregation, "Do we need the minor chords?" 40:41 "Yes, we need the minor chords." 40:43 The major chord needs to be complimented by the minor chord. 40:45 But you know, when the minor chords overtake the thing 40:48 and all you're getting are minor chords, 40:49 I end up feeling a little bit uncomfortable. 40:51 Now somebody who's a composer or an expert in music 40:53 will help me to understand there is an exception to that rule. 40:55 I know that. 40:57 But thumb your way through the hymnal and you will 41:00 find that the minor chords are minor. 41:03 And the major chords are major. 41:05 Friend, if you're going to hum a tune, a biblical tune, 41:08 let it be filled with major chords and let the 41:11 minor chords be the exception rather than the rule. 41:14 I hope I've said enough about that. 41:17 The worst thing about this stuff is sometimes it 41:19 just sucks up your time. 41:20 And you're not an expert in Jesus anymore, 41:22 you're an expert in the conspiracies. 41:24 God has given us a message. 41:26 It's the three angels messages. 41:29 Now back in Elisha's time... 41:31 We don't want to lose our thread here. 41:33 In Elisha's time, they were confronted by a pagan king, 41:35 just like Satan, planning the demise of God's people. 41:39 Here's what I want you to see. 41:40 I want you to see that there was something 41:42 going on behind the scenes. 41:44 The people were embroiled in a controversy, 41:46 but there was something going on behind the scenes. 41:50 They said, "That's it, let's go wipe these guys out." 41:52 They went down to Dothan, they found that Elisha was there. 41:54 They got themselves down to Dothan. 41:57 And the servant of the man of God saw all these cats and said, 42:00 "Man, this isn't good. What are we going to do? 42:02 There are so many of them." 42:03 And the word came back, "Now hang on, fear not. 42:07 They that be with us are more than they that be with them." 42:10 Elisha prayed, "Open up his eyes, Lord." 42:12 The man's eyes were opened and he saw horses and 42:15 chariots of fire round about. 42:16 See, listen. 42:17 Behind the scenes in the great controversy, 42:19 there are things you cannot see. 42:21 God is at work. 42:22 And you can rely on that and you can count on that. 42:25 You can know that in this battle, the numbers 42:28 are on the side of the child of God. 42:30 If Christ is with you, just you, then you are in the majority. 42:34 You and Jesus equals a huge majority. 42:38 It doesn't mean your life will always be peaches and cream. 42:40 It doesn't mean it will always be weather like San Diego. 42:44 Sometimes there's going to be a frost 42:46 on the ground of your life. 42:47 Sometimes the winds will blow, maybe mighty hard. 42:49 There may be things that will topple. 42:52 But if Christ is with you, then you can be confident of 42:55 deliverance and ultimate victory. 42:58 We are involved in something out here. 43:01 An angel, and angry angel, rebelled. 43:04 Sin entered the universe. 43:06 God could have ended it just like that 43:10 by destroying Satan. 43:12 But if He had, He wouldn't have ended it. 43:14 He would have just begun it. 43:16 If God has wiped out Satan, He would have been opening up a 43:19 Pandora's box. 43:20 And there was no way of telling all that would have 43:24 climbed out of that thing and destabilized the universe. 43:29 God could have put it down, but He said, 43:31 "In this great controversy, let's do something. 43:33 Let sin run its course." 43:34 Why? Satan has raised accusations. 43:37 "I could deny them, but that wouldn't prove anything. 43:40 Let's let sin run its course." 43:41 Satan has made certain claims about himself. 43:44 "I could destroy him, but what would that do?" 43:47 It would just cause doubt to rise. 43:48 Fear would enter the universe. 43:50 People would be scared stiff. 43:52 And they'd all say, "Maybe Satan was right." 43:56 Let's let this run its course. 44:01 And everybody is going to have the opportunity to 44:02 allow this wretched thing called sin play out. 44:06 The cost would be high. 44:08 It meant that people would get sick and people would die. 44:10 And there would be tragedy, and there would be premature death. 44:13 And there would be babies born ill and there would be 44:15 marriages that fell apart. 44:17 The cost would be high. 44:18 But our grandparents, Adam and Eve, were told 44:20 the cost would be high; sin would lead to death. 44:23 You reap what you sow. 44:24 They sinned; death came into this universe. 44:27 The cost would be high. 44:28 How high? 44:29 The cost would encompass something as valuable 44:33 as the life of Jesus Christ. 44:36 Sin entered this world. 44:40 And when it did, the death warrant of Jesus was signed. 44:44 Because it was agreed ahead of time. 44:45 In fact, let me read you something I read here. 44:48 "God made the world to enlarge heaven." 44:49 I like that. 44:51 "God made the world to enlarge heaven." 44:52 He desired a larger family. 44:55 How cool is that? 44:57 Why did God bring you into this world? 44:58 So that you can live forever. 45:00 So that God could have you as part of His family. 45:03 So that Jesus could have you as a sister 45:05 or as a brother, forever. 45:07 God brought this thing into existence so that we would be 45:10 blessed beyond our capacity to imagine. 45:13 Back to the quote. 45:14 "And before man was created, God and Christ entered into a 45:17 covenant that if he," that's man, "fell from his allegiance, 45:20 Christ would bear the penalty for transgression. 45:25 Man fell, but he was not left to the power of the destroyer. 45:28 'God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, 45:30 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 45:33 but have...'" What? 45:35 Yes, everlasting life. 45:36 "To the Redeemer was given all power to impart to 45:40 fallen human beings for their benefit and blessing." 45:44 Look, sin came. Jesus didn't leave us. 45:47 He said, "I'll take care of that. 45:48 And I will give you everything you need; every benefit, 45:52 every blessing, every advantage. 45:54 I will give it to you so that you're not going to be 45:55 rudderless out here in this world." 45:57 Satan says, "I will be like the Most High." 46:01 We can't know all that he said. 46:02 That's not in the biblical record. 46:04 You know that he lied and he schemed and he connived 46:06 and he was cunning. 46:07 And he misrepresented God. 46:09 The rebellion had to have huge affect on the entire universe. 46:12 People, angels, wondering what is the truth of all of this. 46:17 What's God really all about? 46:19 What's really going on? 46:21 Where did Lucifer come up with these ideas? 46:23 Is God just? 46:25 Is His law just? 46:28 Questions that demanded answers. 46:30 Could God's law be kept by human beings? 46:33 Because after all, Adam and Eve were put on the earth 46:35 and they fell. 46:37 God has got this perfect law, maybe that whole law is unjust. 46:42 And Lucifer might have said, "If they can't keep the law, 46:47 and I didn't keep the law, we're all on the same level. 46:51 If You're going to save them, You ought to save me as well." 46:56 As a race of people, we find ourselves, because of sin, 47:00 hopeless and helpless. 47:02 How could we get out of this mess. 47:03 I have good news for you. 47:04 We're going to cram all the good news into just a few minutes. 47:07 When Jesus came to this earth, He came not just to succeed 47:10 where we failed, but to demonstrate to the universe 47:12 what God was really like. 47:14 And frankly, if you stop and think about it, 47:16 the larger purpose was demonstrating to the universe 47:18 what God's character was like. 47:20 Whether we're saved or lost has to only be secondary. 47:22 The glory of God must be supreme. 47:25 Remember when David went into battle with Goliath? 47:29 What was motivating David wasn't the drive to kill a giant. 47:34 Wasn't the drive to marry the king's daughter. 47:36 He said, "Who is this person, this uncircumcised heathen, 47:39 who's dishonoring God?" 47:42 He was going to see to it that God was honored. 47:44 That's got to be our motivation out here; the honor of God. 47:47 "What's wrong with this sin that I'm committing?" 47:49 Hang on, you're asking the wrong question. 47:51 The question is, "Where's the honor of God in this?" 47:54 "Do I really need to do this thing to get to heaven?" 47:56 Stop, stop. Number 1, you don't do nothing. 47:58 You yield and Jesus does the doing in your life, 48:01 with your cooperation. 48:02 Christ in you, the hope of glory. 48:03 But secondly, you don't want to be asking ticky tacky questions. 48:07 You want to ask the big question, 48:08 "Where is the honor of God in all of this? 48:11 How is God glorified in all of this?" 48:15 That's the question. 48:16 Jesus came to this earth to restore in us the image of God. 48:21 That's one of the keys of the gospel; restoration. 48:24 Restoration in us God's image. 48:26 To restore in us the image of our Maker. 48:28 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to..." What? 48:32 "...forgive us..." Yeah, yeah, yeah. 48:33 And to do what? 48:35 "...cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 48:37 Get out of us the black death of sin and into us the new life 48:41 that comes when the image of God is restored in us. 48:45 Jesus would come, He would pay our debt. 48:47 Fallen into sin, prisoners in a world now that 48:51 is being claimed by Satan. 48:53 Jesus came to pay the debt and give us the opportunity 48:56 to choose life and not death. 48:58 Now we still have that choice. 48:59 You can choose death if you want. 49:00 It's a foolish choice, but you can do it. 49:03 When John Wesley was coming to the place that he was 49:05 founding Methodism, he had an argument with George Whitefield, 49:08 or Whitfield... 49:09 It's spelled Whitefield, but some of these English people 49:11 like to say Whitfield. 49:13 So whatever you want to say, say. 49:16 But Whitfield was a Calvinist. 49:17 He believed that there was no free choice. 49:21 He believed you're either born to be saved or lost, 49:23 and there was nothing you could do about either. 49:25 You're either damned to be damned or damned to be saved. 49:28 What could you do? 49:30 John Wesley said that this idea "made God 49:32 to be worse than the devil." 49:34 That's an exact quote. 49:35 God gave us choice, "Choose ye this day whom you will serve." 49:39 "Whoever comes to Me, I will by no means cast out." 49:42 There at Lincoln College in Oxford, they had some 49:44 discussions, you understand. 49:46 Christ would die on the cross to give us a choice. 49:49 God told the serpent, "You will bruise His heel, 49:52 but He is going to bruise your head." 49:54 I have to tell you, I don't have a soft spot for serpents at all. 49:57 I know people, they keep snakes as pets. 50:00 I don't know why? 50:02 I think it's evidence of a form of insanity. 50:05 Can I say that? A form. 50:07 Maybe a pretty gentle form, but a form of insanity. 50:10 What do you want one of them for? 50:14 No disrespect. 50:15 Well, okay, truthfully a little bit of disrespect intended. 50:18 I think you could say. 50:21 Jesus would bruise the snakes head. 50:25 He would bruise his head. 50:27 How would He do that? 50:28 He would do it at the cross. 50:31 That cross which would end up being the focal point 50:34 of this great controversy. 50:36 Everything before, in the minds of some, 50:41 raised questions about God and His goodness and His kingdom, 50:46 and His kindness and His love. 50:48 Everything after, all you've got to do is look back at the cross 50:53 and say, "That settles it." 50:55 God is good, look at the cross. 50:58 You think the great controversy costs you something. 51:00 Stop and think about what it cost God. 51:05 He gave His only begotten Son. 51:06 Now listen, I tread on thin ice when I say this. 51:10 If I gave my only begotten son, in as much as he's my only son, 51:15 I can't even imagine how I would breathe after that. 51:17 My boy is 11 years old, coming up 12. 51:20 He's at the place now that he's reminding me; almost 12. 51:27 How old was Jesus when He died on the cross? 51:30 Now you might say 33, and you'd be right. 51:32 But come on now, how old was Jesus? 51:34 Can you imagine how attached God and Jesus had to have been? 51:38 They had been together for how long? 51:39 Tell me. 51:40 Forever. How long is forever? 51:42 A long time. 51:44 And God... 51:46 I haven't had to send my kids off to college. 51:49 I have friends, they weep when their kids go to college. 51:51 We have other friends who celebrate 51:53 when their kids go to college. 51:54 That's another matter. 51:55 They weep. 51:56 Imagine when God fare welled Jesus and sent Him 51:58 down to this earth. 52:00 What a battle, what a struggle. 52:01 What a struggle, but Jesus came because the serpent's head 52:05 had to be bruised. 52:06 That meant the price for our sins had to be paid. 52:10 And also it would be demonstrated before 52:12 this universe once and for all that God was love. 52:17 He would demonstrate on the cross the character of God. 52:20 Love; Jesus hanging on the cross. 52:23 "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." 52:27 When Jesus is on the cross... 52:29 What does that verse say? 52:31 "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 52:34 He died for His enemies. 52:37 He didn't just give His enemies money for food, 52:41 He died for His enemies. 52:44 Died knowing that most of them would spit on His grave. 52:48 Yet He died for them anyway. 52:50 That's love. 52:51 Enemies nailed Him to a cross. 52:53 And as He was being nailed to a cross, He breathed a prayer, 52:57 "Father, forgive them because they don't even know 53:00 what they're doing." 53:01 Who else would have done that? 53:03 Nails being stuck in their hands and feet, "Forgive them." 53:08 Most of us would have called down the curse of heaven. 53:13 Heavenly intelligences had the right then to think about 53:17 Satan's charges. 53:20 I don't know what was in the minds of the angels. 53:21 I don't know, so I'm not going to try to pretend. 53:24 But any angel who had ever wondered now saw Jesus 53:27 lay down and stretch out His arms on that cross. 53:30 They didn't wonder anymore. They knew. 53:32 And I just wonder now, I'm just wondering. 53:33 And it's dangerous to wonder too much. 53:36 But I'm wondering, what do you think the 53:38 fallen angels were thinking? 53:40 When they saw Jesus carry His cross, carry that thing, 53:45 thorns on His brow, back whipped open. 53:47 He carried His own cross. 53:49 He got up to the top of Calvary, He didn't protest. 53:51 He laid down on the cross and stretched out His arms. 53:53 What did the demons think? 53:55 Don't you think one of the demons had to have thought, 53:57 "Wait a minute, this isn't what we were told. 54:00 We were told He was lousy. We were told God was unfair. 54:02 But I'm not seeing any lousiness and unfairness 54:05 being demonstrated here." 54:07 I don't pretend to think that they were about to repent. 54:09 I have no idea. 54:12 Too late by then anyway. 54:13 But I just imagine if something thrilled the 54:16 heart of a fallen angel. 54:17 Maybe they were just so cold it didn't matter anymore. 54:21 The cross answered the charges, the arguments, the claims, 54:27 the lies of Satan. 54:30 The cross would uplift and refine and ennoble human kind. 54:35 The door was open wide now. 54:38 Salvation was before us. 54:40 Heaven was not locked. 54:43 God's goodness and God's grace had been dispensed 54:46 since time began. 54:48 Don't make the mistake of thinking grace 54:50 only happened after the cross. 54:52 Noah and Lot, in fact everybody who was saved back then, 54:55 saved by grace through faith in the Messiah. 54:58 Just the Messiah who was to come rather than the 55:00 Messiah who has come. 55:02 But through this gift of the cross, human beings 55:06 would be lifted up, human beings would be refined, 55:09 our price would be paid. 55:11 That sins price would be paid. 55:13 Debt would be lifted, burdens would be lifted. 55:17 Debts would be cancelled. 55:19 Cross would see to it Jesus died. 55:21 He said, "It is finished." 55:25 And it was finished. 55:26 It was accomplished when Jesus died on the cross. 55:30 When Jesus died on the cross, now the image of God 55:33 could be restored in fallen humanity. 55:36 Oh thank God for what the cross accomplished. 55:40 Oh thank God for what Jesus did on Calvary. 55:43 Carried that cross up the hill. 55:45 Laid down on the cross. 55:47 Nails put in His hands and feet. 55:49 Lifted up and dropped that cross, dropped down in the 55:52 hole with a thud. 55:54 Christ was in agony. 55:56 But the cross demonstrated to the world, Satan is a liar. 55:59 The cross demonstrated to the world, God is able to restore 56:03 in you His own image. 56:05 The cross told us we are not under a sentence that 56:08 damns us forever, but now we are free. 56:11 Chains are gone. 56:13 Sin does not have to drag you down to hell. 56:15 The old mind doesn't have to stay old. 56:18 This has been done, price has been paid, 56:21 burdens are disappeared. 56:22 Jesus has died on the cross. 56:24 Opened to us heaven's storehouse of grace and blessings forever. 56:30 Because Jesus died, answering Satan's charges. 56:33 Friend, we have a great God and a mighty Savior. 56:38 And as the time ticks away, in our time this evening 56:40 we're going to pray briefly 56:43 and ask that Jesus would make real forever what He 56:45 accomplished when He died at Calvary. 56:47 Would you pray with me. 56:48 Our Father, we are thankful that as undeserving as we are 56:56 You, in Your goodness, allowed Your Son, Jesus, to die for us. 57:01 You showed us what You are really like 57:03 and settled forever Satan's charges against You. 57:06 As we study on, open our eyes and hearts and minds. 57:09 Thank You for blessing us tonight. 57:10 And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 57:14 I'm thankful that you've been here tonight. 57:16 And I'm thankful that you have been here tonight. 57:18 God bless you. 57:19 Be sure to join us next time as we study our next part, 57:23 part 3 in our study here on The Great Controversy. 57:27 God bless you and good night. |
Revised 2014-12-17