Participants: James Rafferty
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000089
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 Decoding Apocalyptic Prophecy with James Rafferty. 00:22 Good morning and welcome. 00:24 And we'd like to welcome all of our friends around the world, 00:26 as well as those of you here that come locally. 00:30 And some of you have traveled a while to be here. 00:33 Thank you for joining us for Anchors Of Truth. 00:35 How many have been blessed by brother James Rafferty already? 00:38 Okay, a lot of you. 00:39 If we could see the hands of those at home, 00:41 I have a feeling there'd be thousands, maybe 00:44 hundreds of thousands. 00:45 And I was talking to him a little bit before we 00:47 came out here and I asked him, "How long have you been 00:50 coming back to 3ABN?" 00:51 It's been about 20 years. 00:52 I heard of him before that. 00:54 I heard about these two young men. 00:56 It seemed like they were barely 20 years old 00:59 that had a burden for the gospel and were on fire for Jesus, 01:02 and began to preach all around. 01:04 And then I think it was an ASI around 1992 or so that we met. 01:08 And they've been coming here, Ty Gibson and James Rafferty, 01:12 for a long time. 01:13 Today, welcome to Anchors Of Truth. 01:15 And I was thinking about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 01:20 Today, the topic is on Babylon. 01:23 And as Christians, we're commissioned to go 01:25 tell the world, right? 01:27 We're not suppose to have a secret society. 01:29 There's all these secret societies around the world. 01:32 But we don't have a secret society, do we. 01:34 Jesus says, "Go ye into all the world. 01:37 Preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, 01:39 tongue, and people." 01:40 They asked a government leader some time. 01:42 I forgot who it was, but I remember hearing this. 01:45 They asked him, "What do you do?" 01:47 They heard he had this job that's pretty secretive 01:49 and said, "What do you do?" 01:51 And he said, "Well to tell you the truth, 01:52 my job is so secretive, I don't know what I'm doing." 01:58 Hello, somebody get that? 02:00 The job is so secretive, he doesn't even 02:01 know what he's doing. 02:03 Well that's not the way it is with Christians, is it. 02:05 Our job, God has said, "Go ye into all the world." 02:07 The greatest asset that we have is our own personal testimony 02:11 of what God has done for us. 02:13 So I encourage each and every one of you today, 02:16 those of you watching at home from around the world, 02:18 listening by radio... 02:19 I have to say that, Jay Christian is here. 02:21 So I want to make sure I put in radio, Jay. 02:24 Radio, internet, however you're watching 3ABN, 02:27 listening to 3ABN. 02:29 ...to develop a personal relationship 02:32 with the Lord Jesus Christ. 02:33 Nothing like it. 02:34 "Great peace have they which love Thy law, 02:36 and nothing shall offend them." 02:38 And we live in turbulent times. 02:40 But right now, we can have a great peace 02:42 in the midst of the storm. 02:44 What I'd like to do, I'd like to say a little prayer. 02:47 We're inviting, we've already done so here, 02:50 the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon this program. 02:53 And then we're going to have Dr. Yvonne Lewis. 02:56 And Dr. Yvonne Lewis is going to be doing some music. 02:58 But let's bow our heads together right now. 03:01 Father, we thank You for another beautiful Sabbath day 03:03 that You've given us to worship You. 03:06 We thank You for life and health and strength. 03:08 We thank You for the opportunity of being here today. 03:11 We invite Your Holy Spirit to be in our midst, to rule and reign. 03:15 That You would give brother James Rafferty words of 03:17 wisdom from on high. 03:19 Lord, we thank You for Light Bearers, for what 03:21 they have been doing. 03:23 Millions and millions of pamphlets and brochures 03:26 and booklets giving Your gospel message into all the world, 03:30 and personally traveling around the world preaching and teaching 03:33 others about You and Your soon coming. 03:35 We pray for anointing upon James, upon his ministry, 03:38 upon Ty, upon their families today; 03:41 protective hedge about them as they endeavor to take 03:43 this gospel into all the world. 03:46 Thank you for this Anchors Of Truth series, 03:48 that we can continually put out good news 03:51 to a lost and dying world. 03:52 These things we ask and pray in Jesus' name, amen. 03:56 I'd like to invite Dr. Yvonne Lewis. 03:59 She's going to be singing a beautiful song, He Still Leads. 04:03 And right after this, the next voice you'll hear 04:06 will be brother James Rafferty. 04:26 Though trials and tears have come my way, 04:34 when I have failed or I have strayed, 04:43 my heart can hope, 04:47 for I believe that He still leads. 04:55 He leadeth me. 04:59 When daylight fades and life is dark, 05:08 when night is long and faith is hard, 05:16 I trust in Him though I can't see, 05:24 for He still leads. 05:28 He leadeth me. 05:33 He still leads with hands extending grace. 05:41 He still leads with mercies new each day. 05:49 Whatever comes my soul He'll keep, 05:57 for He still leads. 06:01 He leadeth me. 06:12 And when I stand on Jordan's shore, 06:20 when death is near and life is over, 06:28 I will not fear though water is deep, 06:37 for He still leads. 06:40 He leadeth me. 06:45 He still leads with hands extending grace. 06:53 He still leads with mercies new each day. 07:02 Whatever comes my soul He'll keep, 07:10 for He still leads. 07:13 He leadeth me. 07:18 He leadeth me, He leadeth me. 07:26 By His own hands He leadeth me. 07:37 He faithful follower I would be, 07:45 for by His hand He leadeth me. 07:57 By His saving grace He still leads. 08:09 Know each day whatever comes, 08:16 my soul He'll keep. 08:20 For Jesus leads. 08:24 He leadeth me. 08:32 Oh Jesus leads, He leadeth me. 08:52 Amen. 08:54 Thank you, Yvonne. 08:55 That has been the theme of our series all through this week. 09:00 Hasn't it? 09:01 He leadeth me. 09:03 Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go. 09:06 So the whole idea is that we need to find Jesus. 09:09 And of course, we're in the book of Revelation. 09:12 So it's vital for us to find Jesus there because that 09:15 can be a very scary place without Jesus. 09:19 A lot of us have gone there without Jesus. 09:21 A lot of people have gone to the book of Revelation 09:23 without Jesus. 09:25 But we've decided that we're going to turn around and 09:27 go back to Revelation chapter 1, find Jesus, 09:31 before we venture into the rest of the book. 09:34 And that's what we've been doing night by night. 09:36 We've been looking for Jesus so that we can identify 09:40 and understand the rest of the book of Revelation. 09:43 This morning, we're going to be talking about Babylon. 09:47 And this topic is no exception to the foundation 09:53 that we've laid, the principle that we've laid, 09:56 in looking for Jesus first. 09:59 The only way that we can really identify Babylon 10:03 is if we find Jesus. 10:05 The only way that Babylon can even be felled in our lives, 10:11 that is, destroyed, terminated, decimated, 10:14 is when we come in contact with Jesus Christ, who is 10:18 the everlasting gospel. 10:20 Revelation chapter 14 makes this very, very clear. 10:22 If you want to open your Bibles there this morning 10:24 to Revelation 14. 10:26 We talked about this a little bit last night. 10:27 But for those of you who were playing hooky... 10:33 ...we'll review. 10:34 I know you weren't really. 10:35 You were all watching at home, right? 10:37 Yes, good. 10:38 So you know what we're going to say right here. 10:40 You know it is, the point that we're going to make. 10:43 And that is that Revelation 14 gives us an outline of the steps 10:48 that we are to take as we proclaim the everlasting gospel. 10:52 The outline being this. 10:53 Revelation 14:6, "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven 10:58 having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that 11:01 dwell on the earth, and to every nation, kindred, 11:03 tongue, and people." 11:05 The gospel comes first. 11:09 The gospel comes first. 11:11 Jesus first. 11:12 Now the first angel may say to the second angel, 11:16 "You go ahead and you go first. 11:17 I'm a gentleman, I'll let you go first." 11:19 But the second angel insists, "No, no, no, no, no. 11:22 I cannot go before you. 11:24 Because my announcement is, 'Babylon is fallen.' 11:28 And there is no way that Babylon can completely fall 11:32 unless you proclaim the gospel with a loud voice." 11:35 Babylon is identified in many ways. 11:40 Probably more ways than we can even articulate today. 11:44 It is so intricately involved and intertwined 11:46 in everything we do. 11:47 In fact, Revelation chapter 18 identifies Babylon as this world 11:50 and everything in this world. 11:52 That there is no way that we could have enough time 11:56 to go through all of the symbols and facts 12:00 that identify Babylon in our lives. 12:03 That is why the Word of God tells us, "Focus on the gospel." 12:09 The more you become familiar with the gospel of Jesus Christ, 12:13 the more clearly Babylon will be identified and destroyed. 12:18 Keep your focus on Jesus. 12:20 And you will find Babylon is not only out there in some 12:23 other denomination or in some worldly enterprise, 12:26 but Babylon is the very core center of the human heart. 12:31 And you will find that the only thing that can help us 12:33 on that level is Jesus. 12:36 Babylon, I think, can be defined in many ways. 12:39 One of the best ways that I define it 12:41 is in the original language. 12:43 And that is, confusion. 12:44 That's also taken from the tower of Babel. 12:47 Confusion concerning the gospel, the everlasting gospel. 12:51 Confusion concerning religion. 12:54 You see it in the context of the message itself. 12:57 Babylon is confusion. 12:58 Many times, my wife and I will get into 13:03 a little bit of confusion. 13:04 She tells me I'm losing my hearing. 13:08 I think it might be selective. I don't know. 13:11 But the fact of the matter is, there are times when she will 13:13 tell me something and I will not hear her. 13:16 And I will be confused. 13:19 Babylon represents confusion concerning what we are hearing 13:24 about God and the gospel, about salvation. 13:28 Notice what it says here in this context. 13:30 Verse 8, "Another angel followed saying, 'Babylon is fallen, 13:33 is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations 13:36 drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'" 13:40 Wine in the Bible represents, well, primarily it represents 13:44 the blood of Jesus Christ. 13:46 "This is the wine of My blood." 13:47 It's the gospel, it's salvation. 13:49 But there's fornication that's being mingled here. 13:53 Fornicating wine here in Revelation chapter 14 verse 8. 13:56 Babylon has mingled salvation with other things. 14:00 And there's confusion about salvation 14:03 in relation to Babylon and what it's teaching. 14:05 There's a lot of religious confusion in the world today. 14:09 And I could stand here all morning and try to give you 14:12 examples of that religious confusion, 14:15 but it would not help us for two reasons. 14:19 One, it would only cause us to look at those examples as 14:23 Babylon and miss Babylon in our own hearts. 14:25 Two, it would fall short of a complete picture. 14:30 Therefore, even though we're talking about 14:34 Babylon, we're actually talking about the everlasting gospel. 14:39 Because the only way we can identify Babylon 14:41 is to lift up Jesus and lift up the everlasting gospel. 14:45 So really this morning's meeting is, 14:47 The Everlasting Gospel, part 2. 14:50 Surprise. 14:53 Jesus tells us that this Babylon is going to fall. 14:56 Now that word "fall" means, to come to an end. 14:58 This Babylon is going to fall when the gospel is preached. 15:01 Look in Matthew chapter 24. 15:04 This is one of those prophetic chapters 15:07 found in the synoptic gospels. 15:09 Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 are all prophetic chapters. 15:13 They all parallel the book of Revelation 15:16 as well as the book of Daniel. 15:18 Matthew 24, Jesus talks about all these signs 15:20 that are going to take place before His return. 15:22 And we are familiar with a lot of them. 15:24 There's going to be wars and rumors of wars. 15:26 Yes, there are wars and rumors of wars. 15:28 There's going to be earthquakes and 15:30 natural disasters in different places. 15:31 There's going to be famine and pestilence. 15:33 We see all of this taking place today. 15:35 It's been taking place for many, many years. 15:37 Jesus said it was going to escalate like a 15:39 woman in birth pangs. 15:41 I know how that is. 15:42 I remember when my wife gave birth 15:44 to our daughter, specifically. 15:47 Our son was, well, his labor was about 31 hours. 15:51 He was born first, he was our firstborn. 15:53 Our daughter, well we thought it would be 15:55 at least half that time. 15:57 But, well she was born, from the time my wife started 16:00 having birth pangs until she was delivered; 16:02 2 hours and about 15 minutes. 16:04 The problem was, we were about an hour and a half 16:07 from the hospital and it was January in mid winter. 16:10 And we didn't leave until about an hour before she was born. 16:15 Because we thought we had time. 16:17 So my wife was in the back seat having birth pangs. 16:20 And I was driving. 16:21 I was having my own kind of pangs. 16:23 And those pangs got more intense and more frequent 16:26 until finally my wife said, "Pull over. 16:27 I'm having this baby here." 16:29 And I looked around and I said, "I'm not pulling over. 16:31 We're almost there, we're almost there. 16:32 We're almost there." 16:34 I was hyperventilating by the time we got to the hospital. 16:36 My knuckles, my hands were like this in steering wheel position. 16:39 I pulled them off the steering wheel and hammered 16:41 on the door of the hospital. 16:43 They wouldn't let me in... 16:44 ...until they got a call identifying who I was and 16:47 who was in the car with me. 16:48 Our daughter was born five minutes after we got there. 16:52 Birth pangs increase with intensity and frequency 16:55 until finally something is delivered. 16:58 In this case, the something is going to be a uniting of 17:01 all nations to afflict God's people for God's name sake; 17:05 Matthew 24 and verse 9. 17:09 In that context, when all the nations hate you 17:12 because you love Jesus, when all the nations unite 17:16 together to do something about the calamities, 17:18 the global warming and the natural disasters 17:22 and the wars and the famines and the pestilences, 17:23 when all nations comes together to do something about that, 17:26 and you stick out like a sore thumb because you know 17:28 the answer isn't in what we can do but what He can do, 17:32 not what we can solve but what He can solve, 17:35 that you're pointing to Jesus rather than 17:37 to people and politics, 17:40 then people aren't going to like you very much. 17:41 They're going to think you're against the movements, 17:43 you're against the unity. 17:47 And you're going to be hated. 17:48 In that climate, the gospel is going to be 17:51 preached as a witness. 17:53 That's what Jesus says in verse 14 of Matthew 24. 17:55 He says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached 17:58 to all the world for a witness unto all nations." 18:02 That word original; martyr, martyrdom. 18:06 We're not going to love our lives unto death. 18:07 We talked about that last night in Revelation 12 verse 11. 18:12 Only God can give us that kind of love. 18:14 That self-sacrificing love that was manifested in the heart 18:18 and life of Jesus Christ. 18:20 It comes as we see God's love for us. 18:22 And it says that then, verse 14, "the end will come." 18:28 The end of what? The end of Babylon. 18:30 The end of this world. 18:32 Revelation chapter 18, it's going to fall, 18:34 it's going to fall, it's going to fall. 18:35 Why? Look in Revelation chapter 18. 18:36 You're going to see the very same thing. 18:38 And I want you to think about what the key element is 18:41 in each one of these verses that we've looked at. 18:44 Matthew 24, there's a key point there. 18:46 Revelation 14, there's a key point there. 18:48 Revelation 18, there's a key point there. 18:50 Revelation 18 beginning with verse 1. 18:54 Are you with me? 18:56 Trying to keep you awake this morning. 18:58 I know there's a lot of flu and sickness going around. 19:01 I know you've been in bed all week, some of you, 19:03 fighting that sickness and flu. 19:05 But it's time to wake up. 19:09 We're in the Word this morning. 19:12 Praise God for His Word. 19:13 It's powerful. 19:15 It is able to wake us up. 19:17 "After these things I saw another angel come down 19:20 from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened 19:25 with his glory." 19:27 Whose glory is that? 19:28 It's the glory of God. 19:30 And the glory of God is the everlasting gospel. 19:32 The gospel is lightening the earth with the glory of God. 19:35 The gospel is illuminating the minds and hearts 19:38 of the entire world population. 19:41 That's the same thing we see taking place in Matthew 24. 19:44 This gospel will go as a witness to all nations. 19:46 The same thing we see happening in Revelation chapter 14. 19:49 The everlasting gospel preached to every nation, 19:52 kindred, tongue, and people. 19:53 In the context of that, as a consequence of that, 19:57 Babylon falls. 19:58 Notice what it says here in Revelation chapter 18 verse 4. 20:01 "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 20:03 'Come out of her, my people.'" 20:06 Well, I've gone a little bit too far here. 20:08 Verse 2, "And he cried mightily with a strong voice saying, 20:11 'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen.'" 20:14 Now I like the way that's termed there in Revelation 18 verse 2. 20:20 It says, "Babylon the..." What? 20:22 "...the great." 20:24 And if you don't know that, it's time to wake up 20:26 and smell the roses. 20:27 Babylon is great in this sense, that it is taking a hold of 20:31 and seeking to crush the life out of every one of us 20:35 individually, and the church corporately. 20:37 It is a great insurmountable power 20:42 that inundates our lives and our hearts. 20:45 But guess what. 20:48 God can bring it down. 20:50 God can bring it down. 20:53 How is He going to do that? 20:54 Well, it's going to be the gospel. 20:57 And it's going to be preached, Revelation 14, 21:01 with a loud voice. 21:03 Praise God for the gospel. 21:05 Praise God for Jesus. 21:06 Notice what it says here. 21:08 "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the 21:10 everlasting gospel to preach unto them... 21:13 ...to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." 21:15 Verse 7, "Saying with a loud voice..." 21:18 That's what my wife has to do sometimes. 21:20 I'm just not hearing well, and so she'll have to 21:22 say it with a loud voice. 21:24 And then I get it. It's clear. 21:27 Loud doesn't mean yelling. 21:28 It just means that it's clear. 21:29 The gospel is clear. 21:33 So what is the gospel clearly saying to us? 21:37 Well the gospel, in essence, is a revelation of God's 21:40 unconditional love. 21:43 There are people, Christian people, 21:46 who are confused about God's unconditional love. 21:49 They think that God loves a certain group of us, 21:53 namely believers, that God has given His life 21:56 for a certain group of us, namely for those who have 21:58 responded to that, that God is the Savior of a certain 22:01 group of us, that God has given faith to a certain group of us. 22:07 But I don't find a text in the Bible that says, 22:10 "For God so loved Christians 22:12 that He gave His only begotten Son." 22:15 Or that, "God so loved Baptists or Adventists 22:21 that He gave His only begotten Son." 22:23 The verse that I'm thinking of in John chapter 3 and verse 16 22:26 says, "God so loved the world 22:29 that He gave His only begotten Son." 22:31 Well there's a clear declaration of the gospel. 22:33 "God loves the world so that whosoever 22:37 believes in Him..." 22:39 God has not predestined certain people to be saved 22:42 and certain people to be lost. 22:44 Which, by the way, addition to that means, 22:46 in some people's minds, burn in hell forever. 22:50 God has predestined certain people to burn in hell forever. 22:52 See, that confusion about God is going to be decimated 22:58 by the everlasting gospel. 22:59 "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." 23:02 The whole world is included in this unconditional love. 23:06 Jesus Christ... 23:07 Well let's just take a look at the verses here. 23:10 The next one is found in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 10. 23:18 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10. 23:24 Jesus Christ wants the world to know about His love 23:28 for every single person. 23:30 Jesus Christ wants the world to know. 23:32 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10. 23:36 Are you with me? 23:37 You there? 23:39 I'll give you as much time as you need. 23:40 No, just kidding. 23:42 "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, 23:46 because we trust in the living God, 23:51 who is the Saviour of all men, 23:55 and especially of those that believe." 23:58 There are two categories there, friends. 24:01 And this has to be in the context of John 3:16. 24:04 John 3:16 interprets 1 Timothy 4:10. 24:08 God is the Savior of everyone. 24:11 And especially, in an eternal sense, of those who believe. 24:13 There will be people who will be lost, 24:15 who will not be saved eternally. 24:16 It's not because God doesn't love them. 24:17 It's not because God is not their Savior. 24:21 Are we together this morning? 24:22 The everlasting gospel dispels predestination. 24:26 Not in a biblical sense, because God has predestined 24:28 everyone to be saved. 24:30 God is longsuffering to us, 2 Peter 3:9. 24:32 He doesn't want anyone to be lost. 24:34 And therefore He has given, Romans 12:3, 24:38 everyone a measure of faith. 24:40 Everyone. 24:42 Jesus is the author and He is the finisher of faith. 24:46 And He hasn't left anyone out. 24:48 There isn't a long line of people coming to Jesus 24:51 and He's doling out faith, and He's doling out faith. 24:53 And those that get there first get the most faith. 24:54 And those who are in the back of the line, 24:56 "I'm sorry, I've run out of faith." 24:57 No. 24:59 He's the man that took the loaves and the fishes 25:02 and fed the multitudes. 25:03 And there were still baskets left over. 25:07 There is plenty for everyone. 25:10 Revelation does not picture Jesus standing at the 25:12 pearly gate saying, "143,998. 143,999. 25:17 Quick, quick. Last one, quick. 25:19 You John, 144,000. Okay, that's it. 25:22 That's it. Sorry Angie." 25:26 No, no, no. 25:28 The 144,000 is a symbolic number of the redeemed. 25:32 It represents those who are saved. 25:34 If you want to see what they look like and not hear, 25:37 you need to look at the great multitude that 25:39 "no man can number," of every nation, 25:44 kindred, tongue, and people. 25:47 God has in His Word made it very clear 25:51 that His grace comes to all. 25:53 Look at Titus chapter 2. 25:56 Titus is right after Timothy. 25:57 So if you're in Timothy, you just throw those pages over, 26:00 just a couple pages over and you're going to come to 26:01 Titus chapter 2 and verse 11. 26:05 Titus 2 and verse 11. 26:07 "For the grace of God that brings salvation 26:11 has appeared to..." 26:13 Yeah, not just to the Christians. 26:15 Not just to the believers. 26:17 It's appeared to all men. 26:18 We are surrounded with an atmosphere of grace. 26:23 Take a deep breath. 26:29 That helps me to relax actually. 26:34 That breath cost God everything He has. 26:39 And He gave it as an evidence of His unconditional love 26:44 for every human being. 26:47 That's what the Bible teaches. 26:49 Look at it. It's in Acts chapter 17. 26:51 Acts chapter 17. 26:53 Let's move there together. 26:56 We're talking about Babylon again. 26:58 Babylon is coming down, is coming down, is coming down 27:00 as the gospel is preached. 27:03 The confusion about God, the confusion about salvation 27:07 is being decimated. 27:08 God's character is being uplifted. 27:10 He loves us. 27:12 He doesn't just love you, He loves all of you. 27:15 Continue out into the world. 27:18 Babylon is a symbol not only of religious confusion, 27:21 but of the confusion that's in the world. 27:23 There are people in the world that have a wrong picture 27:26 of God, and therefore they refuse to have 27:28 anything to do with religion. 27:29 And God says, "I love them. 27:32 I love those people in Babylon and that confusion. 27:34 I love them because the religion they hate 27:37 is the religion I hate. 27:40 The ideas that they hate of a God that would 27:43 torture people in fire and brimstone 27:46 for a million, a billion, a trillion, a googillion years 27:50 is the same picture I hate." 27:52 And there are a lot of atheists that hate that picture 27:54 and they want nothing to do with a God like that. 27:55 Well I don't either, and neither does God. 27:58 So God says, "I've got people in Babylon. 28:00 I've got people in confusion and I want them out of it. 28:02 Because they think the way I think. 28:05 They actually know Me even though I've been masked 28:08 by this religious confusion, by this fornication, 28:11 this mixture of truth and error that Babylon is. 28:14 It is the essence of Babylon." 28:17 God says in Acts chapter 17, beautiful here how Paul is 28:22 preaching to the world in his time, to Babylon in his time, 28:26 to those who are confused in his time. 28:28 He says, and I'm going to start in the context of verse 24, 28:32 "God that made the world and all things therein, 28:34 seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, 28:36 dwells not in temples made with hands; 28:38 neither is he worshipped with men's hands, 28:40 as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all..." What? 28:45 "...life, and breath, and all things." 28:49 Everything that anyone has is from God. 28:56 "And he has made of one blood all nations of men," verse 26. 29:00 That's right, we're all related. 29:03 So there goes racism. 29:05 Just went right down the toilet. 29:08 Good place for it to go. 29:09 "He has made of one blood all nations of men that 29:12 dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined 29:15 the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." 29:18 God know where you live. 29:21 He has every hair on your head counted and numbered. 29:29 That's not about hair, that's about care. 29:32 I stopped caring about the numbers of hairs 29:34 on my head a long time ago. 29:36 I know some of you did too. 29:37 It's like "Okay, they're in the sink now." 29:43 God knows. 29:45 Not a sparrow falls, but He knows. 29:48 He knows the heartache that you're feeling, 29:50 He knows the struggles you're going through. 29:52 He knows how lonely you feel. 29:54 He knows how strong your passion is. 29:59 And how overwhelmed you feel when you're taking that test, 30:02 or when you're interacting with other people, 30:06 or when you're working, or when you're struggling with 30:10 those inner thoughts that are not at harmony with who He is. 30:14 He knows. 30:16 He's with you in that. 30:18 He's not against you, He doesn't hate you. 30:20 He loves you. 30:21 He empathizes, He sympathizes. 30:24 He is your friend, not your enemy. 30:28 And like no other being in the universe, 30:32 He is for you. 30:34 He's got your back. 30:35 And your front. 30:37 And everything around you. 30:39 He surrounds you with life. 30:42 That's why, verse 27, "that they should seek the Lord, 30:46 if haply they might feel after him, and find him, 30:49 though he's not far from every one of us. 30:51 For in him," in him, in him, "we live, and move, 30:55 and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said 30:59 'For we are also his offspring.'" 31:00 We are in Jesus Christ in a very real and tangible way. 31:04 The entire world is in Christ. 31:07 Now it's a temporal way. 31:09 It's not an eternal way. 31:10 Not everyone in the world has decided for Christ. 31:13 But the only way that decision can be made is if we're in Him. 31:18 In a temporal way, at least. 31:20 We've got to at least have temporal life. 31:22 You understand what I mean by temporal life? 31:24 Temporal life; this life. 31:25 This life that's temporary; temporal life. 31:28 If we're going to have eternal life, 31:29 we've got to have temporal life, because this life 31:31 gives us the opportunity, the opportunity for eternity, 31:36 to make a choice. 31:38 But friends, listen closely. 31:41 This temporal life cost God everything. 31:47 Everything. 31:48 The cross did not just give us eternal life. 31:52 It gave us temporary life. 31:55 Without the cross we wouldn't have temporary life. 31:59 Because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 32:02 and the wages of sin is death. 32:05 And we should have died a long time ago. 32:08 But Jesus stepped in our place. 32:11 And He took our penalty so we could have temporal life. 32:14 And God is saying to us, "You know what? 32:17 I would really love it if the life you have now 32:20 would never end. 32:21 I'd like to kind of have you just hang out 32:23 with Me for all eternity." 32:25 "Not me. You don't like..." "I love you." 32:26 "Yeah, really? You love..." 32:28 "Yes. 32:29 There's a few things I'd like to see changed. 32:33 But I think you would too if you see more of Me. 32:35 I think you're going to see that selfishness isn't the best 32:39 for you or anyone else. 32:41 But I'd like for your life just to continue on, 32:43 just to continue on for all eternity." 32:48 Sometimes people say to me, "Well I don't think 32:50 I want to live for eternity. 32:52 I mean, you know, life is bad enough 32:53 with just the threescore and ten. 32:55 Who want to live for eternity?" 32:57 Well think, think, think, think, think, for a second. 33:00 Not about the trails you're going through now, 33:01 not about the way you feel health wise now. 33:05 But think back to a time... 33:08 I don't know when it was in your life. 33:10 I know when it was in mine. 33:12 It might just have been a moment of time. 33:14 A few days, weeks. 33:16 It might have been just an hour or a minute. 33:19 But just think back to a time in your life 33:21 when you were truly happy. 33:23 All out, no holds barred, happy. 33:25 I mean, you were so happy that nothing could touch you, happy. 33:29 I mean, you were just like floating on a cloud. 33:31 It was just like, wow. 33:33 Think about that. 33:35 That time when you were really happy. 33:37 And imagine what it would be like to be in that moment 33:41 of time for all eternity. 33:44 To feel that way for all eternity. 33:48 Because that's what eternal life is. 33:52 It's joy and peace and happiness without end. 33:57 It's not just a place. 33:59 It's an experience that God wants you to have. 34:01 And even though there's evil and pain and sorrow 34:03 and suffering and sin in this world 34:05 that interrupts that experience... 34:08 Perhaps for some of us, more than we have the experience 34:11 we have interruptions to that experience. 34:13 As long as we have that experience even for a 34:16 few moments, we have an earnest, if you will, a down payment, 34:20 of what God really wants for us, 34:22 of what eternal life really is going to be all about. 34:26 And so God gives us this taste unconditionally. 34:29 He wants us to unconditionally how He feels about us. 34:32 He is the Savior of all. 34:33 Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 9 says "Jesus Christ 34:36 has tasted death for all." 34:38 Not just for a few, but for all. 34:42 And one of the reasons why 3ABN is here, 34:45 why this program even exists, is found in 34:48 John chapter 1 and verse 9. 34:53 We're talking here about the unconditional 34:56 manifestations of the everlasting gospel 35:00 that is going to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people 35:03 that dispels the darkness, that diminished the confusion, 35:08 that decimates Babylon, that brings it down. 35:12 John chapter 1 and verse 9. 35:16 It's talking about Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, 35:18 coming to this world and dwelling among us. 35:21 And it says in verse 9, "That was the true Light..." 35:23 Are you there with me? 35:24 And that true light, lightens... 35:27 What does it lighten? 35:28 "...every man," oh every man, "that comes into the world." 35:35 God gives light to all. 35:36 He gives life to all. 35:38 He gives faith to all. 35:40 He died for all. He is the Savior of all. 35:44 He loves all. 35:48 Do you see the picture that is developing here 35:49 in the everlasting gospel? 35:51 It's a powerful picture when you think about it. 35:55 2 Corinthians chapter 5 tells us that God reconciled all. 36:02 This is the message that we're to proclaim. 36:05 This is the everlasting gospel that will decimate Babylon. 36:09 Babylon is confusion, not just about the gospel. 36:12 Babylon is also confusion about prophecy. 36:16 For that understanding, we need to look in another book. 36:18 The book of Daniel. 36:20 If you want to open there to Daniel, 36:22 we'll start with chapter 2. 36:24 Daniel is an Old Testament minor prophet. 36:27 If you go back to the book of Matthew and then start 36:31 moving backwards, from Matthew backwards, 36:33 into the Old Testament; Malachi, Zechariah, Zephaniah, 36:36 you're going to come to Daniel, the book of Daniel. 36:37 It's right here between the book of Hosea 36:41 and the book of Ezekiel. 36:43 Daniel chapter 2. 36:45 It's all about a dream. 36:46 It's all about a man named Nebuchadnezzar. 36:50 Some people call him, the Nebster. 36:54 Nebuchadnezzar was a heathen king. 36:57 He was cruel, he was a tyrant. 37:00 I'll give you an example. 37:02 He had a dream, he couldn't remember it. 37:03 He told all his wise men, "Tell me the dream." 37:05 They said, "We can't figure it out." 37:06 And he said, "Well you're dead then. 37:07 You tell me my dream or you die." 37:09 I mean, that's got to be worse than any CEO 37:11 you've ever worked for. 37:16 But God was the one who gave Nebuchadnezzar the dream. 37:20 In fact, God brought an evangelist 37:24 into Nebuchadnezzar's life. 37:27 His name was Daniel, Daniel the evangelist. 37:30 It wasn't an easy assignment for Daniel. 37:32 He had to go through some physical modifications. 37:40 Leave his family forever, not just for six weeks. 37:44 Didn't get to fly upgrade on United Airlines. 37:48 Actually had to walk to Babylon. 37:50 It was a long way. 37:51 And he was only a teenager. 37:53 So it was hard to say good-bye. I know. 37:55 When I enrolled my daughter at 14 into Academy 38:00 this last year, it lasted about one month. 38:04 And then we pulled her out and brought her home. 38:07 It was hard to say good-bye, I know. 38:09 When my son went to Academy in his senior year, after being 38:13 home for his sophomore and freshman and junior year, 38:16 it was very hard. 38:17 And he was a senior. 38:21 For Daniel, I don't know how hard it was. 38:23 All I know was that he found faith and strength 38:27 and courage in God. 38:29 And he's in Babylon. 38:30 And he's there for a purpose. 38:32 And it's not about him. 38:34 So he refuses all the luxuries of Babylon 38:36 because he has a mission. 38:37 And that mission that he purposes in his heart 38:40 is that God's love will be revealed to this 38:42 heathen king named Nebuchadnezzar, 38:43 who everyone fears. 38:45 Except for Daniel. 38:48 Because Daniel fears God. 38:50 And when you fear God, there's no earthly 38:52 fear that you can have. 38:53 And so Daniel is there at the perfect time and place. 38:58 Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. 39:00 Can't remember it. 39:02 And obviously doesn't know what it means. 39:04 All the wise men are going to die. 39:05 And Daniel steps in. 39:07 He says, "Give me some time and I'll tell you the dream." 39:09 And so Nebuchadnezzar says, "Oh I'm desperate. 39:11 I'll give you some time." 39:13 Daniel goes into prayer. 39:16 If you want to understand prophecy, 39:19 you need prayer. 39:22 The more you pray, the more understanding 39:24 you're going to get. 39:25 It's not reading of the words and checking out the different 39:28 references and looking at the different commentaries 39:30 that are going to figure out the prophecy. 39:31 When you're on your knees just thinking and praying, 39:33 thinking and praying, and sometimes just being quiet 39:36 before God, He's going to tell you. 39:38 He's just going to tell you. 39:40 That's what He did with Daniel. 39:41 Daniel didn't have any books to look to. 39:44 He didn't have any scrolls to go check out. 39:46 This dream was non-existent. 39:48 It was not on the records. 39:51 He could only get it from heaven. 39:52 And that's exactly what happened. 39:54 He went into this prayer meeting. 39:56 And when he went in, he said, "Hey guys, friends. 39:58 We've got to pray, because all the wise men are being killed. 40:00 And we don't want to be killed with the wise men." 40:02 That's what he said. He said, "We need to pray." 40:05 Daniel said, "We need to pray because 40:07 they're killing the wise men." 40:08 "And we," verse 18, "need to desire mercies of the God of 40:12 heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows 40:14 should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." 40:16 He goes in praying that he would not perish 40:19 with the rest of the wise men. 40:20 He comes out of that prayer meeting, not only having a 40:23 better understanding of the dream, the vision, the prophecy, 40:26 but also having a higher experience. 40:28 What he said here is, verse 24, "Therefore Daniel went in unto 40:33 Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy 40:35 the wise men of Babylon. 40:37 He went and said thus unto him; 'Destroy not 40:40 the wise men of Babylon.'" 40:43 Wow. 40:46 See, this isn't about us. 40:48 This isn't about us getting knowledge and us 40:50 being able to prove that we understand, 40:52 therefore we can be saved. 40:53 This is about us and them. 40:56 The other people, the wise men. 40:57 The ones that don't care about us. 40:59 If the wise men had gotten the dream, they wouldn't have said, 41:00 "Hey, don't destroy Daniel and his friends." 41:02 They would have said, "Get rid of those guys. 41:03 We're smart enough, we can run the kingdom. 41:06 We don't need those kids." 41:08 But Daniel, when he connects with God, 41:10 you and I, when we connect with God, we come out changed. 41:14 We have a different attitude. 41:15 Our attitude is concern for them, not just concern for us. 41:21 We're going to talk about that more this afternoon 41:22 when we get into marks and seals, and why it is that 41:26 we keep the Sabbath the way that we do. 41:29 Sabbath keeping is not just about us. 41:31 It's about them. 41:33 But that's another sermon. 41:35 So Daniel comes out with this heart burden for the wise men, 41:38 as well as for Nebuchadnezzar. 41:40 And he tells Nebuchadnezzar the dream. 41:41 Nebuchadnezzar was the first person to attend 41:44 a Daniel seminar. 41:49 He sat on the front seat 41:52 where the angels sit. 41:56 He listened to every word. 41:58 And when the evangelist Daniel was done, he said, 42:01 "I want to join your church. 42:03 I believe in your God." 42:05 And so he was... 42:07 He got membership immediately. 42:09 "Alright, you're in." 42:10 "You're in." 42:14 There were some problems that Nebuchadnezzar 42:15 had later on though. 42:17 That happens sometimes. 42:19 The net catches a lot of fish, a lot of things. 42:24 And he struggled. 42:26 And we could have given up on Nebuchadnezzar. 42:27 Daniel could have said, "Well, you know, he wasn't ready. 42:30 There's got to be some other fish in the sea." 42:32 But he didn't. 42:34 God didn't give up on Nebuchadnezzar. 42:36 God kept working with Nebuchadnezzar 42:37 and growing Nebuchadnezzar. 42:39 And Nebuchadnezzar... 42:41 Well, Nebuchadnezzar is going to be in the kingdom. 42:46 We know that from his personal testimony in chapter 4. 42:48 But before we get to chapter 4, we have to 42:50 pass through chapter 3. 42:52 And chapter 3 is what identifies Babylon 42:55 in relation to Bible prophecy. 42:56 And here's what we see in Daniel chapter 3. 42:58 We see a man who took the truth of Bible prophecy, 43:02 this image of gold and silver and brass and iron, 43:06 and iron mixed with miry clay, that was going to be crushed by 43:11 a stone out of the mountain without hands. 43:13 He took that image and he changed it. 43:16 It was still an image. 43:17 There was still some truth there. 43:19 But the truth was perverted. 43:23 Nebuchadnezzar was afraid of that image because 43:27 the head gold represented Babylon and the silver 43:30 represented another kingdom. 43:32 And he didn't want another... 43:34 He didn't want to come to an end. 43:35 He didn't want to see his vision of the world changed. 43:38 He liked the way things looked from his perspective. 43:41 He was afraid to trust God for the future. 43:43 There are a lot of people out there today that are 43:44 afraid to trust God for the future. 43:46 There are a lot of religions out there today that are 43:48 afraid to trust God for the future. 43:49 There are people that believe they're going to be raptured 43:51 out of here before everything ends and fails. 43:53 They're afraid to trust God to bring them through 43:56 this time of trouble that's coming, 43:58 that's going to be ahead of us. 44:01 But Nebuchadnezzar, afraid as he was, 44:03 and Nebuchadnezzar, as much as he apostatized, 44:06 and confused and became a part of this Babylonian confusion 44:10 of prophecy, Nebuchadnezzar was saved in the end. 44:14 There's a message here for us. 44:16 There's a message here for us. 44:18 God has people in Babylon. 44:21 These people are honest at heart. 44:24 They have genuine fears and genuine concerns 44:26 and genuine questions about Bible prophecy, 44:30 about what the Bible teaches, about who God is. 44:34 And God is looking for Daniels today. 44:37 People who are more concerned about others than 44:40 they are about themselves. 44:41 People who may be more concerned about themselves 44:44 than they are about others, but they're willing to 44:45 connect with God in such a way that God can change them and 44:48 cause them to be more concerned about others 44:50 than they are about themselves. 44:52 Any people who are willing to follow Jesus wherever He goes. 44:58 You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to have arrived, 45:00 you don't have to be free from the temptations 45:03 and the weaknesses that all of us have in the flesh. 45:06 You don't have to pretend with God. 45:08 Even Jesus said, "God, I don't want to go to Calvary. 45:11 I don't want to go to Gethsemane. 45:13 I don't want to bear this cup." 45:14 Even Jesus was honest with God. 45:17 God can deal with that. 45:19 It's when we pretend, Laodicea, when we pretend that 45:21 everything is okay, that's when we're in trouble. 45:25 But God can handle our realities. 45:28 Surely He can. 45:30 He loves us unconditionally. 45:33 And only His love can change those realities 45:35 into who He is and what He wants us to be. 45:42 So there are people in Babylon. 45:44 Look at it with me. 45:46 There are people who are building upon the foundation, 45:48 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 11, 45:50 there are people who are building upon the foundation 45:53 of Jesus Christ. 45:54 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 11. 45:56 The same way that Nebuchadnezzar was building. 45:58 They're building wrong stuff. 46:01 He had the foundation but he build an image all of gold. 46:03 He wanted Babylon to continue. 46:05 He was afraid for the future. 46:06 God got him straightened out. 46:08 Daniel didn't give up on him. 46:09 God didn't give up on him. 46:11 There are people in... 46:13 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 46:14 And I believe that Paul may be borrowing 46:15 from this statue of Daniel. 46:17 He may be borrowing from the language of the prophecies 46:19 of Daniel when he talks in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 46:21 He says, "For other foundation," verse 11, 46:24 "can no man lay than that is laid, which is..." Who? 46:28 Jesus. 46:29 Or we could say, the everlasting gospel. 46:32 There's no other foundation but the everlasting gospel. 46:34 Now notice this, verse 12. 46:36 "Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, 46:40 and precious stones..." 46:41 That's the way the image comes. 46:44 It's gold, it's silver, it's brass, it's iron. 46:46 It has these different metals. 46:51 Then he goes on to say, "wood, hay, and stubble. 46:55 Paul here is differentiating between good and bad material. 46:58 The good material is gold, silver, and precious stones. 47:00 The bad material is wood, hay, and stubble. 47:02 We know this because he's about to identify for us 47:05 what's going to happen when the fire comes. 47:08 When the fire, when the test and the trials of life come. 47:15 Verse 13, "Every man's work is manifest. 47:18 For the day declares it, because it shall be revealed by fire; 47:21 and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 47:24 If any man's work abide that he has built thereupon, 47:28 he shall receive a reward." 47:30 So if you have Jesus as the foundation 47:32 and you are building on that foundation 47:34 gold and silver and precious stones, if you have the right 47:37 theology and a right understanding of 47:38 Bible prophecy and you understand the 47:40 everlasting gospel, praise God. 47:41 That's super, that's fantastic. 47:45 Praise the Lord. 47:46 But don't forget the other people. 47:49 Because God loves them too. 47:51 And you're not better than them. 47:54 They have a foundation. 47:57 They may be building on that foundation wood, hay, and 47:59 stubble, but hold on just a second. 48:00 Notice what it says here. 48:03 "If any man's work shall be burned," 48:05 wood, hay, and stubble, verse 15, 48:07 "he shall suffer loss. 48:09 But he himself shall be saved; 48:14 yet as by fire." 48:15 It's going to be a trial. 48:17 I mean, when the church is not raptured... 48:20 Be with me now. 48:21 When the church is not raptured, 48:24 and the seven last plagues come, 48:26 and the antichrist is set up, 48:28 and everyone is still here, 48:30 that's going to be a hard trial for some Christians. 48:33 What are we going to be doing? 48:35 "I told you so." 48:38 I hope not. 48:40 We are going to be doing whatever it is that 48:42 Jesus would be doing at that time. 48:45 I mean, look at His life. 48:48 Jesus, when He was on this earth ministering, 48:50 He went to talk to the Samaritans. 48:52 Jews wouldn't touch the Samaritans. 48:54 He went to talk to the centurion. 48:56 He went to talk to the Phoenicians. 48:58 He went to talk to the Greeks. 49:00 He talked to everyone; the publicans, the sinners. 49:03 Jesus even sought out the Pharisees. 49:07 Sshhh, don't tell anyone that. 49:11 He went everywhere seeking everyone. 49:14 He didn't limit Himself to some group or some people. 49:18 Jesus was our example in all things. 49:23 It's going to be difficult... 49:25 ...for them. 49:27 And for us. 49:29 When our little pet doctrines and our little pet 49:32 understandings of Scripture don't pan out. 49:36 If we think that there is not a cherished opinion 49:40 that we're going to have to give up, we are going to be 49:42 sadly disappointed. 49:44 And when those times happen, we just need to allow God 49:47 to humble us. 49:50 I mean, look at Daniel. 49:52 Daniel is like this guy that is just incredible. 49:54 I mean, he's just a man without fault, He's just blameless. 49:57 He's just writing out these prophecies; 49:58 boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. 50:01 And all of a sudden, he comes to one and he says, "You know what? 50:04 I don't get this. 50:05 I just don't understand it, I just don't get it." 50:09 And God says, "Well it's okay, Daniel. 50:11 I'll seal that one up. 50:12 That's not for you to understand." 50:13 "But I want to understand all of it." 50:15 "Sorry." 50:16 Can you handle that? 50:20 Can we handle that we don't have all the answers? 50:21 Can we handle that only God is all wise and all knowing 50:25 and all understanding? 50:27 Can we trust ourselves with Him? 50:34 The message that God has for us in the fall of Babylon 50:39 is a message of good news. 50:41 Why? 50:44 Because even though Nebuchadnezzar was 50:45 afraid that his world was going to come to an end, 50:47 it had to come to an end. 50:50 This world is filled with greed and selfishness. 50:55 You're reminded of that every time you fill up your gas tank. 50:58 Wickedness, sex trafficking, mass murders, political war. 51:05 Political war. 51:08 Exploitation. 51:10 It's got to come to an end. 51:12 God wants to end it all. 51:14 Why do we look at this world the way that we do? 51:16 Well maybe because we live in America, I don't know. 51:18 Maybe we're oblivious to all this stuff. 51:19 I'm so thankful now for all of the different ways that 51:23 we can communicate with the rest of the world. 51:25 Take a look out there and see what's happening. 51:27 You need to see it. 51:28 Because it will make you sick to your stomach. 51:31 And it will make you long for an end. 51:33 It will make you long for the end, for the fall of Babylon. 51:37 Read Revelation chapter 18 and understand what's taking place 51:40 it the world today, because it's all right there. 51:42 The slaves and souls of men being bought and sold. 51:45 It's all right there. 51:47 Someone asked me about ten years ago, they said, 51:48 "You know, I read that there's going to be 51:50 slavery in the end of time. 51:51 I don't see how there could be slavery in the end of time." 51:53 Well now we know how there could be slavery in the end of time. 51:56 Right in our back yard. 51:58 There's more sex slave traffic on I-5 than anywhere else. 52:01 That's where I live, right on the I-5 freeway. 52:03 Between California and Canada. 52:06 It's sickening, it's heart sickening. 52:09 And when I'm driving that freeway and I'm thinking about 52:11 what's going on around me, I just don't even know 52:15 how God handles it. 52:20 God longs for the end to come. 52:23 But it cannot come until everyone has had an 52:26 opportunity to hear of His unconditional love 52:30 for them individually. 52:32 And that gospel has got to break through all of the confusion 52:35 that Babylon is, that Babylon has brought to this world. 52:39 It's got to help us to understand what it means 52:42 in that context, what it means to fear God 52:47 and give glory to Him. 52:48 The hour of His judgment has come. 52:50 What that means in the context of good news. 52:54 And that's what we need to look at 52:57 as we study this everlasting gospel message. 52:59 It is not a message that primarily focuses on 53:02 one denomination or one church. 53:05 It is a message that lifts up the gospel so that 53:08 Babylon can be discerned and understood 53:10 wherever it lies, wherever its slimy, dirty, filthy 53:17 remains remain... 53:20 ...in the deep recesses of our own hearts. 53:22 So the gospel can bring it to light and crush it out. 53:27 Crush out that slime of selfishness 53:29 and make us new people in Jesus. 53:31 2 Corinthians, just a few pages over from 1 Corinthians, 53:36 is where we'll close this morning. 53:38 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 53:44 We're tired, some of us. 53:46 I've been preaching the gospel for 30 years now. 53:49 I know, I started when I was 5 years old. 53:55 We're older, we're more worn. 53:57 I'm officially now a member of AARP. 54:02 Some of you can relate to that. 54:03 Some of you don't have a clue of what AARP is. 54:05 If you don't, good for you. 54:07 Stay young. 54:12 We get weary. 54:14 Our motivation lags. 54:16 We wonder what's going to keep us going. 54:18 Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 what kept him going. 54:23 He says in verse 14, "For the love of Christ constrains us." 54:29 The love of Christ constrains us, it motivates us. 54:32 It pushes us on. 54:34 There's nothing else, there's no news or information 54:37 or intellectual understanding of anything that's going to 54:40 motivate you like the love of Christ. 54:42 And if your motivation is lagging, if you feel like 54:45 your losing motivation, you need to lay everything aside, 54:48 everything that's in your life, everything that's 54:49 surrounding you, everything, and you need to go back again 54:52 and just fill yourself with the love of Jesus Christ. 54:55 Don't listen to anything, don't watch anything, 54:57 unless it's talking about the love of Jesus. 54:59 And when you get filled with that love, 55:03 then you need to just let God lead you to do this. 55:06 Notice what it says. 55:08 "For the love of Christ constrains us, 55:09 because we thus judge," start judging this way, 55:12 "that if one died for all, then all died." 55:15 That's what the New King James language says. 55:17 All were dead. All died. 55:19 What does that mean exactly? 55:20 It means that when Jesus died on the cross, 55:23 He didn't die for Himself. 55:24 Because He was innocent. 55:26 He died for you and for me. 55:28 But He didn't just die for us. 55:29 He's the Savior of all men, He died for everyone. 55:31 Therefore, He has taken upon Himself the sins of everyone. 55:35 Therefore, everyone died in Jesus, objectively. 55:39 So when you look at a person now, you don't see that person 55:43 in their sinful life, because Jesus died for those sins. 55:46 You see them in Jesus. 55:47 You see Jesus dying for them. 55:49 This is what it means in the context, verse 15. 55:52 "And that he died for all, that they which live should not 55:54 henceforth live for themselves, but unto him which 55:57 died for them and rose again." 55:59 So now you're not living for yourself anymore. 56:00 Notice what it says in verse 16. 56:02 "Wherefore henceforth we know no man after the flesh." 56:08 Now we're going to stop right there. 56:11 Because I'm going to let you study the rest of these verses 56:14 on your own. 56:15 But this is the kicker. 56:17 Henceforth, from now on, we don't know 56:20 anyone after the flesh. 56:21 Now I know you after the flesh and you know me after the flesh. 56:23 Let's just say. 56:25 I know some of you better than others. 56:28 My wife knows me better than any of you, 56:30 after the flesh. 56:33 But she doesn't know me after the flesh. 56:35 Because everything that she knows about me that is 56:37 faulty and sinful and wrong, Jesus died to redeem. 56:42 And so she doesn't see me after the flesh anymore. 56:45 See, and that's what he means in verse 17. 56:47 He says, "If any man is in Christ, he's a new creature." 56:49 He sees things differently. 56:51 He's not just new in the sense that, 56:53 "Oh, I've been born again. I'm going to heaven." 56:54 He's new in the sense that he sees other people differently. 56:57 He has a whole new way of looking at people. 56:59 He's motivated by the love of God. 57:01 And that destroys Babylon. 57:05 It's not just a proclamation, friends. 57:07 It's an experience that God wants us to have. 57:10 And there's only one way that we can have this experience, 57:12 today and every day. 57:14 And that is by asking God to take over. 57:17 Would you like to have that experience today? 57:21 Let's pray together. 57:22 Father in heaven, we're going to ask You right now to take over. 57:26 To take our hearts, we can't give them. 57:28 But they're Your property. 57:30 To save us in spite of our selves, 57:32 our weak unChrist-like selves. 57:34 To mold us, to fashion us, to raise us into a pure 57:37 and holy atmosphere. 57:38 Father, You can do it. |
Revised 2014-12-17