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Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000182A
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00:01 Music...
00:22 Hello and welcome to our Wednesday night Bible Study 00:25 here at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:26 Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in 00:28 as we continue our study on prophets... 00:32 what the Bible says about true and false prophets 00:35 and the gifts of the Spirit 00:37 so all you need tonight to follow along is the Bible 00:41 and just in a few moments 00:42 we'll tell you where to download a copy of the lesson, 00:44 but we'd like to welcome you with a hearty "Amen" 00:46 can we all say, "Amen. " 00:47 Audience: Amen. 00:49 And wherever you're joining us from, 00:50 we know that this is going to be a blessing 00:52 when we ask for the Lord's guidance 00:54 and for the Holy Spirit to be our teacher, 00:56 so, right now, before we do anything else, 00:58 let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 01:00 "Loving Father in heaven, 01:02 we thank you so much for your goodness and your mercy 01:04 and surely for your grace, 01:06 we pray that you will guide our minds tonight 01:09 as we open your Word, 01:10 we pray that you'll be our teacher... 01:12 such a vitally important topic as the prophets... 01:16 the true and the false... the gifts of the Spirit... 01:20 we pray that tonight you'll just give us wisdom 01:23 and not only understanding 01:25 but also a determined heart to serve you, 01:27 we pray in Jesus' name, amen. " 01:30 Now we're in lesson number 41 01:33 and if you'd like to get a copy of that, 01:37 go to the following website, ASF.3ABN.org 01:40 download lesson number 41, 01:43 maybe you've done that before, 01:44 but there are additional questions added to it 01:47 and the copy that you download should have 23 questions. 01:51 Make sure each of you has that, 01:53 you should have 23 questions. 01:55 Now, we always sing our theme song before we go into our Study 02:00 and our theme song is, "Victory in Jesus" 02:02 join us as we sing that song together. 02:05 Music... 02:14 I heard an old, old story, 02:17 How the Savior came from glory 02:21 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:25 To save a wretch like me, 02:29 I heard about His groaning, 02:32 Of his precious blood's atoning, 02:36 Then I repented of my sins, 02:40 And won the victory. 02:44 O victory in Jesus, 02:48 My Savior, forever. 02:52 He sought me and bought me 02:55 With His redeeming blood, 02:59 He loved me ere I knew Him, 03:03 And all my love is due Him, 03:07 He plunged me to victory, 03:10 Beneath the cleansing flood. 03:14 I heard about a mansion 03:18 He has built for me in glory. 03:22 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:25 Beyond the crystal sea; 03:29 About the angels singing, 03:33 And the old redemption story, 03:37 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 03:41 The song of victory. 03:45 O victory in Jesus, 03:48 My Savior forever. 03:52 He sought me and bought me 03:56 With His redeeming blood; 03:59 He loved me ere I knew Him, 04:03 And all my love is due Him, 04:07 He plunged me to victory, 04:11 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:15 He plunged me to victory, 04:20 Beneath the cleansing flood. 04:25 Amen. 04:26 Tonight's topic is, "The Gifts of the Spirit" 04:32 what is that? Say it with me... 04:34 The Gifts of the Spirit. 04:37 Now, before we get to the gifts, 04:39 what we're doing first is we're outlining 04:42 how to understand and know 04:44 whether or not a person is a true prophet of God. 04:48 We've been covering that from week to week 04:50 but what I wanted to start with you tonight is 04:53 a couple of passages that 04:55 in the beginning of the lesson we went to this verse, 04:58 I'm going to point to Amos 3 and verse 7, 05:01 if you have your Bibles, turn there with me. 05:04 Amos 3 and verse 7, there is an assurance text, 05:08 this is not just an assurance text, 05:12 but this is an insurance text 05:14 because the Lord makes a promise that we can hold on to 05:18 in Amos 3 and verse 7 05:20 and the very first word 05:23 really brings the point home very clearly. 05:26 Notice the very first word. 05:28 What's the first word in Amos 3 and verse 7, what is it? 05:31 "Surely... surely the Lord God does nothing, 05:36 unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. " 05:42 So, the Bible says, if God's going to do anything, 05:45 who is He going to reveal it to? 05:47 His servants the prophets. 05:49 Is He going to do anything unless they know? 05:51 No... He'll know first and then He'll inform them next 05:56 before He does anything 05:57 so anything that happens... God knows it 06:01 then He reveals it to His servants the prophets 06:03 then it happens. 06:05 It will never happen 06:07 unless He reveals it to His servants the prophets. 06:09 That's an assurance 06:10 and for that very reason, 06:12 I want you to now turn to the book of 1st Kings 06:18 for that very reason Satan always seeks to misguide 06:23 or to preempt... whenever God is at work with His prophet 06:28 and He sends prophets that are not sent by God 06:33 to try to preempt the work that God's prophet is going to do. 06:37 Now, I'm turning to 1st Kings chapter 13. 06:40 This is a very interesting story 06:44 and it could be simply summarized... 06:47 "The Sin of the Prophet" 06:50 is the way that it's summarized. 06:52 Now, 1st Kings chapter 13 06:57 begins with the word in verse 1 or the phrase... 07:02 "And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel 07:06 by the word of the LORD, 07:09 and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 07:13 When you go down throughout the story 07:15 it begins to point out that the one who was sent... 07:18 God sent His prophet 07:21 to communicate a particular message. 07:22 so we're going to go down to verse 7. 07:24 The king's name is mentioned clearly... Jeroboam 07:28 but now we go down to verse 7, 07:30 "Then the king said to the man of God, 07:34 'Come home with me and refresh yourself 07:39 and I will give you a reward. '" 07:42 You see, the man of God communicated to the king 07:44 what He needed to know 07:45 and the king wanted to reward the prophet of God 07:48 but God told Him not to go home with anyone 07:50 and notice what he said, 07:52 Verse 8: But the man of God said to the king, 07:57 "If you were to give me half your house, 08:00 I would not go in with you; 08:03 nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. " 08:07 Verse 9, "For so it was commanded me 08:11 by the word of the... 08:12 by the word of the LORD, 08:14 'You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, 08:18 nor return by the same way you came. '" 08:20 So... it says in verse 10... 08:22 "So he went another way 08:24 and did not return by the way he came to Bethel. " 08:28 So the Lord sent His prophet and the Lord said, 08:31 "Don't go back the same way" 08:32 because He said... 08:34 the reason why... the Lord sees before we see. 08:36 Amen. 08:38 He sees what's ahead of us before we see what's ahead of us 08:40 so the Lord said, we're in 1st Kings chapter 13, 08:43 so the Lord said to the... to the man of God... 08:45 the one he gave the message to the king through, 08:48 He said, "When you go back, don't eat with anybody, 08:50 don't go to their house, don't sit with them, 08:53 don't drink water with them 08:55 and by-the-way, to stay safe, go a different way. " 08:59 Let's follow the story showing you how... 09:03 showing you how Satan seeks 09:05 to preempt the work of the prophet of God. 09:08 Verse 11, "Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, 09:11 and his sons came and told him all the works 09:15 that the man of God had done" 09:18 so you have a prophet... then you have the man of God... 09:20 now this old prophet... 09:24 he is old and he is a... 09:27 go ahead, say it Yani... Yani: Prophet. 09:30 He is old and he's a prophet 09:32 but watch... not everyone that's called a prophet 09:37 is a prophet of God. 09:38 Pause. 09:41 And he says in verse 11, 09:43 "Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, 09:45 and his sons came and told him all the works 09:48 that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. " 09:51 Bethel means, "The house of God. " 09:53 "They also told their father 09:55 the words which he spoke to the king. 09:58 And their father said to them, 'Which way did he go?'" 10:02 He didn't go back the same way he went: 10:05 "For his sons had seen which way the man of God went 10:10 who came from Judah. 10:12 Then he said to his sons, 'Saddle the donkey for me. ' 10:15 So they saddled the donkey for him; 10:18 and he rode on it, and went after the man of God 10:21 and found him sitting under an oak. " 10:23 Notice, a prophet went after the man of God, 10:28 Satan comes after those who are doing God's work, 10:32 He went after the man of God. 10:35 Look at this, and it says: 10:38 Found him sitting under an oak. 10:41 Then he said to him, 10:42 "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" 10:44 And he said, "I am. " 10:46 Then he said to him, 10:47 "Come home with me and eat bread. " 10:49 And he said, "I cannot" 10:52 because the Lord told him not to. 10:54 "I cannot return with you nor go in with you; 10:58 neither can I eat bread 11:00 nor drink water with you in this place. 11:03 For I have been told by the word of the LORD, 11:07 'You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, 11:11 nor return by going the way you came. '" 11:13 Here's the point I want to just bring up 11:15 before we read the very next verse, 11:17 if someone comes along and says... they are a prophet, 11:19 but they are not a prophet of God, 11:22 the prophet of God should have no association with him at all. 11:25 Did you get that? 11:26 The person that speaks for God 11:28 should have no association at all 11:30 with the person that does not speak for God 11:33 even though he may call himself a prophet. 11:36 That's a lot... 11:38 and you'll see how this fits into the lesson tonight 11:41 but look at the key verse, this is where Satan comes in 11:45 verse 18: He said to him... 11:48 that is the old prophet... said to the man of God, 11:51 "I too am a prophet" or... I am a prophet also 11:54 "I too am a prophet as you are" 11:57 and here's where the lie came in, 12:00 "And an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, 12:05 saying, 'Bring him back with you to your home, 12:07 that he may eat bread and drink water. '" 12:10 But he... what? 12:11 but he lied to him and look at this, 12:15 "So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, 12:19 and drank water. " 12:20 Now, there's a particular point I'm going to emphasize 12:22 by reading the story because today you'll see 12:25 how... how relevant this is for today. 12:28 Now it happened... in verse 20: As they sat at the table, 12:32 that the word of the LORD came to the prophet 12:35 who had brought him back; 12:36 and he cried out to the man of God 12:40 who came from Judah, saying, 12:41 "Thus says the LORD: 12:43 'Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, 12:45 and have not kept the commandment 12:48 which the LORD your God commanded you, 12:50 but you came back, ate bread, 12:52 and drank water in the place of which the LORD said to you, 12:56 "Eat no bread and drink no water," 12:58 your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers. '" 13:02 So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, 13:05 that he saddled the donkey for him, 13:07 the prophet whom he had brought back. 13:09 So when he was gone, a lion met him on the road 13:13 and killed him. 13:14 And his corpse was thrown on the road, 13:16 and the donkey stood by it. 13:18 The lion also stood by the corpse. 13:20 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road 13:25 and the lion standing by the corpse. 13:28 Then they went and told it in the city 13:30 where the old prophet dwelt. 13:32 So when the prophet who had brought him back from the way 13:36 heard it, he said, "It's the man of God 13:38 who was disobedient to the word of the LORD. 13:40 Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, 13:43 which has torn him and killed him, 13:44 according to the word of the LORD 13:46 which He spoke to him. " 13:48 This is a very... a very chilling story... 13:51 because the chilling aspect of it is, 13:53 God had a prophet who He said, 13:56 "Go tell the king what you need to tell him 13:59 and when you go back, no matter who needs you 14:01 along the way, don't stop... " 14:02 but somebody comes along and says, 14:04 "I'm a prophet too. " 14:06 And today you have that going on in the world. 14:08 There are many people... there are many... 14:11 so, let's go to the question now 14:12 because this lays the foundation perfectly... 14:15 this lays the foundation perfectly 14:17 for Question Number 14. 14:20 When the Lord gives you a message 14:23 and He says, "Don't stop and ask anybody anything, 14:27 don't even go back the same way you came... " 14:29 He says, "Don't have association with anybody 14:32 because I'm not sending anybody" 14:33 but somebody comes along and says, "I'm a prophet also" 14:36 and I think that's how the King James Version says it, 14:39 "I am a prophet also... I too am a prophet... " 14:42 be careful and here's the reason, 14:44 Jesus, I believe... 14:46 because He is the One who knows... 14:49 the One who gives wisdom... the One who gives direction... 14:52 the One who has spoken these things to us, 14:54 look at His warning... 14:56 Question Number 14, 14:57 "What did Jesus warn us about concerning the last days... 15:02 What did Jesus warn us about concerning the last days?" 15:08 Notice what He says, very powerful... Mathew 24:24, 15:12 Matthew 24:24, that's a chilling story. 15:16 It's a chilling story 15:18 and today in our world you got schools of prophets, 15:23 you got prophets selling oil, prophets selling napkins, 15:27 prophets selling splinters of the cross, 15:30 prophets on television saying, "If you send them this amount, 15:33 you're going to get the blessing on the way. " 15:35 False prophets are all over the place, 15:38 but the man of God who has measured up 15:40 to the test of a man of God, 15:44 should never have association with anyone 15:46 who God has not given the authority to speak for Him. 15:50 Matthew 24:24, 15:51 what did Jesus warn us about concerning the last days? 15:54 here is the answer, let's read this first one together. 15:56 It's on the screen, "For... " what? 15:58 "false Christs and false prophets will rise 16:02 and show... " what? 16:04 "great signs and wonders 16:06 to deceive, if possible, even the elect. " 16:10 Now I want to bring this passage out 16:11 because it didn't say the elect will be deceived 16:14 but it says, "If possible... " 16:15 which means, are the signs going to be amazing? 16:18 Oh yeah, you can't... 16:20 you know, you can't trust... 16:21 you can't trust the sleight of hand... 16:24 today they give them a new word, they wall them illusionists. 16:27 I remember, you know, the illusionists... 16:29 they have so many famous ones, 16:31 I don't want to even remember the name 16:32 but years ago... David Copperfield 16:34 and... David Copperfield... a very well-known one, 16:37 and you know you have Edgar Cayce, 16:39 you have so many other prophets that claimed to have that gift, 16:42 but in fact, they were lying prophets, 16:44 we're going to point that out also, 16:46 because sometimes, a prophet will say something 16:50 and portions of it will come to pass 16:53 and they'll say, "See there, I'm a prophet" 16:55 and if you look at the story we just read, 16:58 you'll notice that the old prophet 17:00 that lied to the man of God... 17:03 the Lord used His mouth to tell the man of God 17:08 that he had gone the wrong way... 17:11 in the very same way, check this out, 17:13 in the very same way that Saul... 17:15 when he went to the Witch of Endor 17:17 and she brought up this conjured spirit 17:21 that looked like Samuel, 17:23 he spoke to Saul... and warned him what the Lord had said 17:27 pause 17:31 which says to me, 17:32 the Lord can communicate through trees, 17:35 He can communicate through a donkey... didn't He do that? 17:38 Balaam's donkey... 17:40 can you imagine, Balaam was a prophet of God 17:43 and Balaam... going awry for money 17:46 was... was propositioned to curse the children of Israel 17:49 but he couldn't curse them 17:50 and on his way to do his evil deed, 17:53 the Lord started talking to him through a donkey 17:55 and the donkey... 17:57 wouldn't that get your attention if your donkey starts talking? 17:59 He starts talking to him through an animal 18:01 and he doesn't pay attention to the animal 18:03 and the animals says, 18:05 "What have I done to you wrong that you keep hitting me?" 18:08 So the question is, which prophet was dumber? 18:10 Which one was dumb... the animal or the prophet? 18:13 The prophet was 18:15 but notice what it says, 18:18 so here's the answer, "What warning... 18:21 what did Jesus warn us about concerning the last days?" 18:23 False prophets... 18:26 and they'll show what kind of signs? 18:28 Great signs and wonders to deceive if possible... 18:33 now the reason why they won't or cannot deceive the elect 18:36 is because the elect 18:38 are shielded by the truth of God's Word... 18:41 the elect are shielded by the truth of God's Word 18:44 so if someone comes along... let me give you an example. 18:48 We're going to go now to a very... 18:50 and there are some that we read before... 18:52 so I'm just going to quote them off the top of my head, 18:54 Isaiah 8 and verse 20, the Bible says, 18:57 "To the law and to the testimony: 18:58 if they do not speak according to this word, 19:00 it is because there is... " how much light in them? 19:03 "there is no light in them at all. " 19:05 So if somebody comes along and says, "I'm a prophet" 19:07 you got to simply ask the first question, 19:09 "Do you honor the commandments of God?" 19:11 "Well, uh... some of them... 19:13 they've been nailed to the cross... 19:15 well they're... they're just for the Jews. " 19:16 When you start modifying that and turning away... 19:19 you say, "Sorry, see ya... " 19:20 because the Lord made that clear. 19:23 "To the law and to the testimony... " 19:25 and wouldn't Satan focus on distorting God's message 19:31 when he knows as Amos 3 verse 7 says, 19:34 he knows that before God does something, 19:36 He's going to let his prophet know 19:38 to warn His people before it happens 19:41 and that's how you see the pattern all through the Bible. 19:43 God... before He allows anything to come... 19:46 any calamity or any blessing or any direction, 19:49 He tells His prophet first then they tell the people of God 19:52 and they know that when it happens, 19:54 God has spoken. 19:56 Now, the next two questions... so write that down... 19:59 great signs... 20:00 and don't forget... it says, "if possible. " 20:03 What phrase did I just say? "If possible... " 20:06 that means, it's not possible but it's going to be so close 20:10 that unless you check out what a person does... by God's Word, 20:13 you could be deceived 20:15 because people could twist stuff. 20:16 They'll say phrases like this and this is the... 20:19 this is the closest twist you get in the Bible. 20:21 "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. " 20:25 That's not in Scripture. 20:27 It says, "I would rather be absent from the body 20:30 and be present with the Lord. " 20:32 So, they're going to say, 20:33 "To be absent from the body is to be... " 20:35 that's not in Scriptures 20:36 and the devil also came to Christ and says, 20:38 "Cast yourself down... He will give His angels charge over you" 20:43 he said that to Jesus 20:45 and he left out the middle of the verse, 20:47 "He'll keep you in all your ways. " 20:50 So, the devil can quote Scripture also, 20:53 he leaves out the key components 20:54 that will prevent you from being deceived 20:56 but he couldn't deceive Jesus because He is the Word, amen. 21:00 Couldn't deceive Jesus, so, when you see this, 21:02 false Christs and false prophets will arise... 21:05 as a matter of fact, go with me to Revelation 13, 21:08 I want to just give you a... a follow-up Scripture on this, 21:11 Revelation chapter 13 because we're living in the day and age 21:15 where we haven't seen anything yet... 21:18 we haven't seen anything yet. 21:20 Satan is going to come with great power... 21:23 great signs... great wonders... 21:25 and the world is going to be deceived by it. 21:29 Okay, look at Revelation chapter 13, all right, 21:34 pause 21:36 speaking of this Power to come, 21:37 verse 13, it says, 21:42 "He performs... " what kinds of signs? 21:46 "great signs, 21:48 so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth 21:53 in the sight of men. " 21:54 Can you remember two other examples in Scripture 21:57 where fire came down from heaven as a response... 22:00 as a sign that God sent it? 22:01 Two key ones. 22:03 Mount Carmel... that's right, in response to Elisha's prayer 22:07 and what was the other one, very key... 22:09 the day of Pentecost, the day of Pentecost... 22:14 cloven tongues as of fire... 22:16 it was the sign of the Holy Spirit coming down. 22:19 So, all of a sudden, you have now the devil saying, 22:21 "Well, God brought down fire 22:23 and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, 22:25 He brought down fire 22:26 and destroyed Jerusalem for disobedience, 22:29 He brought down fire on the day of Pentecost in response, 22:32 He brought down fire in response to Elisha's prayer, 22:35 let me do the same thing, it says, "He brings down... 22:39 he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth 22:43 in the sight of men. " 22:44 and look at verse 14, and he does what? 22:47 "and he deceives those who dwell on the earth. " 22:52 That's the earth... that's the world he's talking about, 22:54 not just the... not just a local area. 22:56 "... by those signs which he was granted to do 23:00 in the sight of the beast... " 23:01 and then what happened as a result? 23:04 "Telling those who dwell on the earth, 23:07 to make an image to the beast 23:09 who was wounded by the sword and did live. " 23:11 And you see this... 23:13 and I just... very candid with you, 23:14 these... these signs are going to happen 23:17 here in the United States. 23:18 Satan appearing as Christ... 23:20 uniting the world together under false signs 23:23 that he's going to be given the power to do... 23:26 that he's going to be allowed to do... 23:27 and then pointing people back to the first beast 23:30 of Revelation chapter 13... 23:33 the risen healed power of the kingdom of Rome 23:39 which right now... if you look at the hierarchy of Rome, 23:43 there's no power on earth with such great power as them 23:46 although they've been going through their recent scandals, 23:50 their power still stays... as far as dignitary and politics. 23:54 Let's go to... now... Question Number 15. 23:57 This is a fascinating... this is a fascinating example 24:01 of what we just talked about 24:02 why you have to be really, really careful 24:05 because if the devil's going to show great signs and wonders, 24:09 he's going to try to bring the false... so close to the true 24:12 that it will be hard... except by the Word of God 24:16 to tell the difference. 24:17 It will be very difficult except by the Word of God 24:20 to tell the difference. 24:22 Now... okay, here I am... 24:24 pause 24:26 okay, now here's the question, Number 15, here it is, 24:28 "Why are signs and miracles unreliable in following God... 24:34 why are signs and miracles unreliable in following God?" 24:39 And as you go to Deuteronomy now, 24:40 we're going to go to Deuteronomy chapter 13, 24:43 and this question extends into two questions... 24:46 these answers extend to the two questions. 24:49 "Why are signs and miracles unreliable?" 24:51 Okay, here it is, 24:54 let's start with verses 1 and 2 of Deuteronomy chapter 13, 24:59 it says: "If there arises among you a prophet or a... " what? 25:04 "dreamer of dreams, 25:07 and he gives you a sign or a wonder... " 25:10 and watch this... 25:12 "and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, 25:16 of which he spoke to you saying, 25:19 'Let us go after other gods... which you have not known... 25:24 and let us serve them... '" 25:25 let's go on... that's what happened... 25:28 so notice what he's doing... 25:30 he's... he's making... let's pause... 25:31 because we're going to go to verse 3 and 4 in just a moment, 25:33 the first thing he does is... let's look at the answer, 25:38 "Why are signs and miracles unreliable in following God?" 25:42 somebody tell me... 25:44 I don't often open up but somebody tell me... why? 25:46 Pause. 25:48 Okay, I'll answer it, 25:50 because somebody might perform a sign or a miracle 25:53 to get you to serve a different God. 25:56 That's what he says, he might say, 25:59 "Let us go after other gods which you have not known 26:02 and which you have not served" 26:03 and he'll give you a sign and he'll say, 26:05 "Okay, if you think that signs and wonders and miracles 26:08 is an evidence of a true God, 26:09 here is a sign... here is a dream... 26:11 it happened... so, let's go follow this god" 26:14 pause 26:16 and you might say, "Well, it is true, 26:18 you did tell me and it did come to pass, 26:20 so, therefore, maybe I should follow another god. " 26:23 but that's not... that's not the end of the story, 26:26 so, write the answer down, here it is. 26:28 "Why are signs and miracles unreliable in following God?" 26:31 It's an attempt... it could be an attempt 26:35 to get you to be... 26:37 an attempt to create an allegiance with a different god 26:41 and you'll see that as the story unfolds... 26:44 this is very powerful 26:45 because there are people... 26:47 I remember we were in Hawaii a number of years ago... 26:50 oh... a long time ago... 26:52 so long ago... it was before you needed ID to get on the plane. 26:56 That's a long time ago... in the '90s 27:01 and the reason why this is amazing is because 27:03 we were going to Hawaii 27:04 pause 27:06 and we went to a church on Sabbath 27:08 really, really close to the beach 27:09 so there were some people that said, 27:11 "Hey, come go walk down to the beach with us" 27:13 and we walked... and it was such a beautiful area, 27:15 we looked at the sand 27:16 and this was a side of the island we had never seen before 27:18 and they said... so we had a small car... 27:22 we parked and it was in visual sight of us 27:26 and we had... 27:27 our wallets in the trunk, Angie had her purse... 27:30 I had... whatever I had, I think I put it in her purse, 27:33 whatever... it was in the bag in the trunk 27:36 and we went back and when we got to the hotel, 27:38 we opened the trunk and there was her bag... 27:41 her wallet was gone, my wallet was gone, 27:44 I mean, gone... 27:46 and I thought, "This is crazy" 27:51 and thankfully, it was before you needed ID, 27:55 all you needed was a ticket, 27:56 so, that was back then, if you... any of you older now, 27:59 if you remember, you buy a ticket 28:00 but you won't use the "return" part 28:02 and you would sell it to somebody if they wanted it, 28:04 remember that, anybody ever did that? 28:05 well, that was back in the day, but you can do that now 28:08 so, I made a funny little video on the bed... 28:12 "My wallet is stolen, it's all gone, I feel horrible" 28:14 and we found out later on, that while we were... 28:17 and the car was locked... 28:19 in the short time it took us to walk just like... 28:22 maybe from here to the kitchen 28:23 for those of you who know how far that is 28:25 and turned around and walked back to the car, 28:27 they had broken into the car, 28:29 popped the trunk... closed it without us hearing 28:31 took what they wanted and just left, 28:33 pause 28:36 but that's just half the story, 28:38 a few days earlier while we were in the room 28:41 just thumbing through the channels, 28:45 we came to show that we thought was quite innocuous 28:48 and unthreatening, it was David Copperfield 28:51 and David Copperfield... he's an illusionist 28:54 and he makes airplanes disappear 28:56 and cows show up in milkshake bottles 28:59 and all kinds of strange stuff 29:02 so, here we are... he shows... 29:04 he says, "Hey, for those of you that are watching this Program, 29:07 I'd like you to participate in this next puzzle. " 29:09 I said, "Angie, turn that off... turn that off... 29:11 that's the devil trying to put... turn that off. 29:14 she said, "I'm a participate... " 29:16 she said, "Now, it couldn't really be that bad of a problem" 29:19 I said, "Honey, turn it off. " 29:20 She said, "But how many other people are participating, 29:23 we... he could not possibly... " 29:25 so he put all these things, 29:26 guess this... guess this... guess this... guess this 29:28 guess this... and he eliminate... 29:29 eliminate... eliminate, eliminate 29:30 and he gets down to about seven steps later 29:32 and he says, "And the number you picked was... " 29:34 and she said... oh yeah, he said, 29:37 "Touch the screen 29:38 and put your hand over the number you selected" 29:40 and she touched the screen, 29:42 and that was the number he had selected 29:45 whatever the number was 29:47 and he said, "That's your number" 29:49 and she went, "Aaahh... " 29:50 she said, "How could he know that 29:52 because all these other people are participating 29:54 all over the world... everybody... 29:55 how can they all have chosen the number 12?" 29:57 I said, "Honey, you let the devil in" 29:59 and two days later, our wallets got stolen 30:03 and I said, "Honey, I... " 30:05 I couldn't help but to say, 30:06 "Now, if you hadn't let him in our room, 30:08 he wouldn't know what color our wallets were. " 30:10 Audience: Laughter. 30:14 And thankfully, we didn't have a lot of stuff, 30:16 we just had a few credit cards at the time, 30:19 and... but it was still traumatizing because any... 30:22 come on ladies, if you lose your wallet, 30:24 is that the end of life for most of you? 30:26 Pretty close, right? 30:28 Audience: Laughter. 30:30 I had old pictures that I never got back... 30:32 I had my... you know... and then, the Bank traced it... 30:34 they used it in gas stations and different places in Hawaii, 30:37 but we haven't got back anything, 30:38 and I had a copy of my Social Security Card in there 30:41 that I always carried around with me... never got it back, 30:44 that's what happened to it, I was wondering how I lost it, 30:46 just reminded me... 30:48 but here's the point, this sign or wonder that came up 30:51 notice what the prophet said... 30:53 notice what the dreamer... the liar said, 30:55 it came to pass... and then he says, 30:58 "Now, let us go after other gods which you have not known 31:02 and let us serve them. " 31:03 Pause. 31:05 So, the reason why we cannot use miracles 31:08 as an indication that this person is led by God, 31:12 is because when they do not measure up, 31:15 because the devil could perform signs and wonders. 31:17 He could easily do that. 31:19 He did that in Egypt... 31:21 when Moses threw down a rod, he duplicated that, 31:25 Janness and Jambres resisted him with a miracle of their own 31:28 and James talks about that in the book of James. 31:31 They... they resisted the miracle that God had wrought 31:34 but, let me tell you something, 31:36 God will always give you ways of knowing 31:38 whether or not this is a prophet from Him. 31:41 Let's finish it, let's go to the next two verses. 31:45 Question Number 16, here it is. 31:47 "What are the issues behind God allowing miracles?" 31:51 Now you go to ask... very important question... 31:54 "Why would God allow a false prophet to perform a miracle?" 31:59 Why would He allow it? 32:02 Pause. 32:03 Very important question, right? 32:05 Let's go to the same chapter verse 3 and 4 32:07 here it is, 32:11 "You shall not listen to the words of that... " who? 32:16 "prophet or that dreamer of dreams, 32:19 for the Lord your God is... " what? 32:22 "testing you to know 32:26 whether you love the Lord your God with... " how much? 32:29 "all your heart and with all your soul. 32:32 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him... " 32:37 and do what? 32:39 "keep His commandments and obey His voice; 32:42 you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. " 32:46 So, when this prophet comes along, 32:47 you can be sure that he's not a person 32:49 that honors the commandments of God 32:50 so the Lord says, "Let me see if a miracle... " 32:54 this is huge... 32:55 "is a miracle by a false prophet is enough 32:59 to get my people away my commandments. " 33:02 Did you get that? 33:04 He says, "If all it takes is a miracle 33:07 to get you to stop honoring my commandments, 33:10 then you're really not grounded. " 33:13 So he allowed the test to come 33:15 and there are many people today... and I hate to say it 33:18 I know some people that are even through the years... 33:20 members of our church... 33:22 I know of a... years ago... a pastor went to a... 33:25 he had a bad disease... bad leg or something... 33:28 he was praying like Paul to get healed 33:31 and he wasn't getting healed 33:32 so he went to this "Miracle Service" 33:35 and he got healed or so he thought 33:38 and the next week he came up walking just perfectly fine. 33:43 What he did not know... 33:44 whatever was happening in his life... 33:46 he was... he was afflicted by the devil... 33:49 the devil removed it... 33:50 but the Elders in his church said, 33:52 "Pastor, how did you get healed?" 33:54 This is an Adventist Pastor... 33:55 "How did this happen?" 33:57 He said, "I went to a Miracle Service, 33:58 they prayed over me and the affliction left. " 34:00 He said, "Pastor, are you willing 34:03 for us to pray over you and here's our prayer, 34:06 'If this is not from God, reverse it. '" 34:09 This is a true story, 34:12 "If this is not from God, reverse it. " 34:14 They prayed over him and it reversed. 34:17 He was limping around again. 34:18 You know what happened? 34:21 He went to a false prophet 34:24 to get an answer where God would not answer him. 34:27 Saul did the same thing, God would not answer Saul 34:31 and Saul went to a witch 34:33 and then guaranteed that the witch 34:35 would receive God's protection. 34:37 He said, "As long as I live, 34:39 the Lord your God will not bring any harm to you. " 34:41 He promised a witch divine protection. 34:44 Pause. 34:48 When you are not obedient to the commandments of God, 34:51 you'll find yourself eating at the table of a witch 34:54 because the witch put some food together for Saul to eat. 34:58 So you got to be careful. 35:00 The commandments of God is the line of demarcation 35:03 that's going to help you... that's going to protect you. 35:06 Let's go to Revelation 12:17, 35:08 this is a... this is an example of it. 35:10 By-the-way, don't go yet, sorry, don't go yet 35:13 because we didn't finish the story... it has one more verse, 35:15 one more verse... 35:16 so, what are the issues behind God allowing miracles? 35:19 What's the issue? 35:20 "You're being tested. " 35:21 Say it again, Marlina, you're being tested. 35:24 He is... he is trying to figure out 35:26 what is... what's strong enough 35:27 to get you away from honoring my commandments 35:29 and there are people that know the Sabbath is right... 35:32 there are people that understand the truth of God's Word 35:35 but they'll find themselves in other places 35:37 trying to get miracles and trying to get... 35:40 your... your ship is coming in 35:41 and somebody's going to bless you 35:43 if you put this oil in your lamp 35:45 all these kinds of nonsense 35:46 and they're going to the false altars of men 35:48 that are not chosen by God 35:50 and some of them get their answers 35:52 but what happens? 35:53 They walk away from the commandments of God. 35:55 We had a lady in one of our churches, 35:57 remember she used to come to Wednesday night prayer meeting, 35:59 remember in Fairfield, California. 36:00 She used to come to Wednesday night Prayer Meeting 36:02 all the time, she was a faithful lady, 36:04 our Prayer Meeting used to be full... 36:06 our chapel was full out on to the hallway, 36:07 she'd come all the time and she'd say, 36:09 "Pray for me to get a job, pray for me to get a job... 36:11 pray for me to get a job... " well, she got a job 36:14 and we didn't see her for a few weeks 36:17 that is... on Sabbath... 36:19 we said, "Haven't seen you for a few weeks. " 36:21 She said, "Well, the Lord answered my prayer. " 36:24 I said, "Well, praise the Lord, what happened?" 36:27 I got a job working at such-and-such a company 36:30 but it's on Sabbath. " 36:31 Is the Lord going to give you a job 36:34 that gets you to violate the Sabbath, yes or no? 36:36 No... 36:37 I said, "Really?" 36:38 She said, "But I've been praying the Lord answered my prayer 36:40 and I got this job, it's a very good-paying job. " 36:42 I said, "But would the Lord give you 36:44 an answer to violate His commandments?" 36:47 She wouldn't answer me, she said, "Well, I was praying 36:48 she said, "Well, I was praying and I asked Him... " 36:50 let me tell you, the devil will hear your prayers 36:52 and will bring an answer to test you 36:54 and the Lord will allow it 36:55 because He knows the secret issues of our hearts. 36:57 He'll allow that test to come, 36:59 He'll say, "She's not really dedicated to me, watch this. " 37:02 You know what happened? 37:04 Not only did she accept the job, 37:06 but in about six months, she was a Lutheran Minister, 37:10 left the church all together and joined the Lutheran Church 37:14 and compromised in her head that, 37:16 "At least I'm still serving God. " 37:18 Ended up at a different altar all together 37:21 and that shows that she really wasn't grounded. 37:23 We always wondered... 37:24 "This... you know... what's going on here?" 37:26 But I'll give you a flip side of another story. 37:28 We had another guy who was a trucker 37:31 and he kept trying to find a job 37:33 from week to week to week to week 37:36 and one Sabbath he came to me and he said, "Pastor... " 37:38 this is in California... in another church that we pastored 37:40 and he said, 37:42 "Well, if we don't get an answer this week, 37:43 we're going to be moving back to Michigan. " 37:44 And this was in Antioch, California 37:47 and I said, "Ron, what's the issue?" 37:49 He said, "Every trucking company requires me to work on Sabbath" 37:53 I said, "Ron, I'll see you next Sabbath. " 37:55 He said, "I told you if I don't get a job, I'm leaving... 37:57 we're gone. " 37:59 I said, "I'll see you next Sabbath. " 38:00 He said, "Well, how could you say that?" 38:01 I said, "Because you made a declaration 38:03 that you will not dishonor God's Sabbath 38:04 so God's going to bless you. " 38:06 He called me next Thursday, "Pastor, guess what?" 38:10 I said, "What?" 38:11 He said, "I got a job and at the interview I told them 38:14 I'm shutting my truck down before sunset on Friday, 38:17 I'm not moving it until sunset on Saturday, 38:20 and they said, 'That's just fine. '" Amen. 38:23 Audience: Amen. 38:24 But he honored God and he got the job, 38:27 you see, sometimes God will stretch you 38:29 to see whether your allegiance is to His truth 38:32 or to something else 38:33 and that's what the problem is, 38:35 when your allegiance is not to God's Word, 38:37 He will send a prophet along to give you what you asked for, 38:40 He'll let the devil answer your prayer. 38:43 That's a crazy concept, 38:45 but the devil says, "Hey, I got a great miracle for you. " 38:49 "Expect your miracle... " 38:51 that's what you hear on television now-a-days 38:52 not "follow God's Word" but "expect your miracle" 38:54 and people are flocking by the thousands... 38:57 if we put up a sign, "Miracle Service... free oil... 38:59 free prayer cloths" 39:01 you won't have place for this parking lot. 39:03 But if we say, "Come and learn the truth of God's Word" 39:06 "I don't want to hear no nothing about truth... " 39:07 that's a miracle... we want everything like a microwave. 39:10 That's not a part of the message tonight 39:12 but I just want to put that in there. 39:14 But I want to just make that point 39:15 because that's what's happening. 39:17 The Lord is... He's making sure that when the end comes 39:20 and He's going to give His final message to the world, 39:24 He's going to make sure that everybody in that army 39:27 wants to be there. 39:28 That's what He did to Gideon's army. 39:30 How many did they begin with? 39:31 Audience says something... 39:33 How many...? No... no... 39:34 large... large number than that 39:36 how many? 39:39 30,000 and the Lord said, "Too much... " 39:43 "How many of you don't want to fight?" 39:45 20,000 of them went home. 39:47 And the Lord said, "Gideon, too much... " 39:50 So they said, "Test... go down by the brook 39:53 and have them drink water, 39:55 whichever man put their face all the way down to the water 39:57 send them home 39:58 but those who drink and keep their eyes up looking around, 40:00 keep them. " 40:01 He narrowed it down to 300, 40:03 He said, "That's all I need" 40:05 and Gideon said, "Lord, 300...? 40:07 Do you realize the large... 40:08 do you realize the army against us?" 40:10 The Lord told Gideon, 40:12 "I can deliver you by many or by few. " 40:15 So, don't let numbers even indicate 40:18 that God is on your side. 40:20 God plus one is the majority, 40:23 Elisha... case in point 40:25 so don't listen to them 40:28 because if they don't keep the commandments of God, 40:30 I don't care what they give you, 40:31 I don't care what they promise you, 40:34 don't take it... don't associate... 40:36 let's go to Question Number 17, 40:38 "What are the issues behind God allowing miracles 40:41 to see whether or not you are allegiant to His commandments. " 40:45 That was clearly pointed out, 40:47 hold fast to Him, love Him with all your heart. 40:51 Question Number 17, look at this 40:54 and this is a two-parter... 40:56 "What council does God give concerning false prophets?" 40:59 Oooh... now we're staying in the same chapter, 41:03 what council does God give concerning false prophets? 41:06 Ha... 41:08 I'm enjoying my lesson, I don't know about you... 41:11 I'm just... "Thank you Lord for helping me out tonight. " 41:14 Pause. 41:16 Here it is, Deuteronomy 13 verse 5, 41:18 now this is continuation from verse 1 to verse 4, 41:22 now verse 5, so this prophet that comes up 41:24 with all these miracles and makes things happen, 41:26 look what the Lord said we should do, 41:28 "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams 41:32 shall be... " what? 41:33 "put to death, 41:35 because he has spoken in order to turn you away 41:39 from the Lord your God, 41:41 who brought you out of the land of Egypt 41:44 and redeemed you from the house of bondage, 41:48 to entice you away... 41:51 to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God 41:54 commanded you to walk. 41:56 So that you... so you shall put away the evil from your midst. " 42:01 So what the Lord is saying, 42:02 "If there's somebody like that in the middle of... 42:04 stone him to death... get rid of him. " 42:06 Get that evil away from you 42:08 because he's trying to do... what? 42:10 He's trying to deceive you. 42:11 I brought you out of Egypt and you see the exact reason... 42:14 is because this Deuteronomy by-the-way 42:18 is the latter... 42:19 Deuteronomy is written to the children of the... 42:22 of those who came out of Egypt. 42:23 You see, Exodus, Leviticus... are for the adults, 42:27 Deuteronomy is written to the children that came out of... 42:31 they grew up now in the course of 40 years 42:34 so they didn't see all the foolishness 42:36 that their family did, 42:38 those that died... 23,000 in one day... 42:40 they didn't see all that stuff, they remembered like saying... 42:43 "Well, do you remember that?" 42:44 "Ah, very vaguely. " 42:46 So, the Lord said, "Now let me... 42:47 let me give you some experiences here" 42:49 so the Lord allowed them to face some of the same things 42:52 to see whether or not they were fit to go into Canaan 42:55 and sadly enough, out of all the men that came out of Egypt, 42:59 pause 43:01 only Joshua and Caleb... 43:03 pause 43:06 and that, by-the-way is 20 years older... and 20 years and older 43:11 because they were the ones that were responsible. 43:13 20 years old and older... they were the ones responsible. 43:17 So, notice what it says, did I finish the text? 43:20 Did I finish it? Yes, I did. 43:21 So write this down, 43:23 "What council does God give concerning false prophets?" 43:25 What does He say? 43:27 "Put them to death. " 43:29 Now, I'm not... I'm not passing an edict tonight... 43:32 that's... go around start killing people. 43:34 But I'm saying that's how the Lord feels 43:37 about those who do not speak in His behalf. 43:39 Pause. 43:40 All these ridiculous people. 43:42 Go with me to Jeremiah chapter 27, 43:44 I want you to see this 43:46 and we're going to go to Revelation 19 and verse 20 43:48 in just a moment. 43:49 I want to add some... inserts from other passages in here, 43:52 Jeremiah... 43:57 Jeremiah 27... look at verse 15 44:03 okay... 44:08 Jeremiah 27 verse 14 44:12 and Jeremiah... Jeremiah 44:16 Jeremiah does not give false prophets a break, 44:20 shouldn't... but notice what he says in Jeremiah 27, 44:25 this is... this whole chapter 44:27 is the conflict with false prophets. 44:30 It says in verse 14, "Therefore... " 44:32 Well, let me just... let me just kind of go to verse 12 because: 44:38 I also spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah 44:40 according to all these words saying, 44:42 "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, 44:46 and serve him and his people, and live! 44:49 Why will you die, you and your people, 44:52 by the sword, by the famine, 44:54 and by the pestilence, 44:56 as the LORD has spoken against the nation 44:59 that will not serve the king of Babylon?" 45:01 Now watch this. 45:02 "Therefore do not listen to the words of the prophets 45:08 who speak to you, saying, 45:10 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' 45:13 for they prophesy... " a what? 45:16 "a lie to you; for I have not sent them," 45:20 says the LORD, 45:21 "yet they prophesy a lie in My name... " 45:24 didn't we read that earlier? "Many will come in my name... " 45:27 "they prophesy a lie in My name, 45:29 that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, 45:34 you and the prophets who prophesy to you. " 45:38 In other words, the Lord is saying, 45:39 "They're saying I said stuff and I didn't say it. " 45:43 Look at one more, Jeremiah 14:14. 45:46 Jeremiah the prophet of stern rebuke, 45:49 continually had to give the children of Israel guidance 45:52 because they just wouldn't listen, 45:55 Jeremiah 14:14 is another one, 45:58 Jeremiah 14:14... 46:01 Pause. 46:05 I'll start with verse 13, 46:09 once again the Lord is talking about the Israelites 46:12 to Judah particularly: Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! 46:16 Behold, the prophets... 46:18 prophets say to them, 'You shall not see the sword, 46:22 nor shall you have famine, 46:24 but I will give you assured peace in this place. ' 46:28 And the LORD said to me, 46:29 'The prophets prophesy lies in My name. 46:32 I have not sent them, commanded them, 46:36 nor spoken to them; 46:37 they prophesy to you a false vision, 46:41 divination, a worthless thing, 46:43 and the deceit of their hearts. '" 46:46 Notice what... and that's what happened. 46:48 God was continually trying to lead Israel... 46:51 continually trying to lead Judah... 46:53 but all along the way, they encountered people 46:56 who claimed to be... what? 46:57 Fair... a prophet... 47:00 and the whole thing was to keep them from their destination 47:05 and today, that's what's happening in our world. 47:07 You can find them by the... by the penny... everywhere... 47:12 but be careful of the ones 47:14 and these are the ones you have to be careful of... 47:16 the ones that come in Jesus' name. 47:19 Pause. 47:20 They claim His name. 47:21 Pause. 47:23 I remember reading a passage, 1st John 2 verse 3 to 4... 47:25 3 and 4 to somebody, 47:27 and he said, "That's harsh Pastor. " 47:29 I said, "If I were the one that wrote it, yeah, that is harsh 47:32 but the Lord wrote it, I didn't write it, 47:34 I'm just communicating the test. " 47:36 If somebody says to you... because you know now-a-days 47:38 you can just go to the nearest Army and Navy Store, 47:42 there's really a nice one in... in West St. Louis, 47:45 a beautiful Army and Navy Store 47:47 I like all that kind of paraphernalia 47:48 you know the caps and the camouflage and all that stuff 47:50 and I like those army types of things 47:53 but you can go buy a... you could buy a Navy Uniform, 47:55 you could buy an Air Force uniform, 47:57 you could buy an army uniform, 47:58 you can buy the whole regalia, and say you're a soldier 48:02 and they'll say, "What Platoon?" 48:04 You have no clue... you just look the part. 48:07 you could buy a police uniform... 48:09 that happened, a lady was driving home in Florida 48:11 and a car was coming behind her... the lights were flashing 48:14 and she had heard about somebody being pulled over 48:18 and she refused to stop, she sped up... 48:21 because a few days earlier a police... 48:24 a guy that "looked" the part of police 48:26 pulled someone over... had on the full regalia... 48:30 robbed them at gunpoint and shot them 48:32 and it wasn't a police. 48:33 So, even if they look the part, 48:36 test them by the Word of God, amen. 48:38 God always tests them by God's Word. 48:40 Question 17, Revelation 19 verse 20 is the second part. 48:44 The second part... the Bible is full of tests... 48:48 full of tests... 48:50 because there are a lot of nice... 48:52 I mean, there are lot of nice people in the world 48:53 but you got to check it out. 48:57 Pause. 48:59 "What counsel does God give concerning false prophets?" 49:03 Revelation 19 and verse 20, 49:05 "Then the beast was captured, and with him the... " what? 49:08 "false prophet who worked signs in his presence, 49:13 by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast 49:18 and those who worshiped his image. 49:21 These two were cast alive into the lake of fire... 49:25 into the lake burning with brimstone. " 49:28 Pause. 49:29 So, you see, what is the prophet's job there? 49:34 To get people ready... 49:36 the false prophets are to get people ready 49:38 to receive the mark of the beast 49:41 because the Mark of the Beast is contrary to the Seal of God, 49:45 the Seal of God is in the Law of God. 49:49 The Mark of the Beast is in the creeds 49:51 that represent the power of the Beast 49:54 and I tell you the coalition 49:56 is going to be quite an extensive one 49:58 when Babylon is pulled together. 50:00 Okay, let's go to Question Number 18, 50:03 we're making some good headway, 50:04 I think... I don't want to prophesy anything falsely 50:08 but we may not finish tonight. 50:11 Okay, Question Number... what question did I say? 50:15 Question Number 18, let's go there, 50:17 here it is, "What makes the gift of prophecy indispensable... 50:24 What makes the gift of prophecy indispensable?" 50:28 Matthew 26 verse 56 what makes it indispensable? 50:33 Pause. 50:35 I began the Program by saying, 50:37 "God will not do anything 50:39 unless He tells His servants the prophets. " 50:41 When He tells them... then it will happen. 50:43 but it will not happen unless He tells them, Amos 3 and verse 7, 50:47 "Surely the Lord God does nothing, 50:49 except He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets. " 50:52 All right... look at verse... Matthew 26 verse 56 50:56 and here's what the Bible says, 50:57 Pause. 50:59 "But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets 51:04 might be... " what? 51:06 "might be fulfilled. 51:08 Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled. " 51:12 This was... this was when the fear... 51:15 this was when the fear of the crucifixion of Jesus was coming, 51:19 the disciples were nervous, they thought that... 51:22 "How could Jesus be persecuted this way?" 51:25 Well, this had to be fulfilled. 51:26 In the next chapters you find the disciples 51:29 hiding behind some closed doors 51:33 and people... "false prophets" say 51:35 that was the Sunday Service. 51:36 Pause. 51:38 But they were hiding behind the doors for fear of the Jews. 51:41 When they heard about the persecution 51:45 that Jesus was going to face, they said, "We're out of here, 51:48 thank you Master but we're out of here. " 51:50 All of them forsook Him and did what? 51:52 They all fled... but what happened according to... 51:55 what happened to Jesus was... so that all... 51:58 so that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled 52:01 and when you see everything that happened in the life of Jesus 52:04 happened according to prophecies 52:06 so, it could be a verification 52:07 that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah. 52:10 Now, if you looked at the life of Christ 52:12 and something that was prophesied did not occur, 52:15 you can be sure that Jesus is not the Christ, 52:18 but everything that happened in the life of Christ 52:21 was prophesied in the Old Testament 52:23 and it came to pass 52:24 and He said, "I'm going to tell you these things 52:26 so when it comes to pass, you will believe 52:29 but it will never lead you away from His commandments. 52:32 Amen. 52:34 So the answer is, 52:35 "What makes the gift of prophecy indispensable?" 52:37 What makes it indispensable based on this? 52:40 The Scriptures will be fulfilled that's right, 52:44 it's indispensable, 52:45 those words will happen, the Scriptures will be fulfilled 52:47 it will be fulfilled, that's right, okay. 52:52 Now we're going to start diving... 52:54 taking a little turn here 52:55 because we laid some really serious foundation 52:57 about how to avoid being deceived by false prophets 53:01 so, we're going to take a turn now 53:03 and we're going to start building on the foundation 53:05 of understanding the gifts 53:06 but let's go ahead and do a couple of more things 53:09 before we get to that. 53:11 Question Number 19... 53:12 Question Number 19, 53:13 "What assurance does the Bible give concerning a true prophet.. 53:17 What assurance does the Bible give concerning a true prophet?" 53:22 Okay, and that is Jeremiah 28 verse 8 and 9. 53:28 It says, "The prophets who have been before me 53:34 and before you of old 53:37 prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms... 53:41 of war and disaster and pestilence. " 53:45 And verse 9, 53:46 "As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, 53:50 when the word of the prophet comes to pass, 53:54 the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has... " 54:00 What? "truly sent. " 54:05 So... and by-the-way, 54:06 just so that you don't see a... a contrast here 54:10 that may be confusing in any sense 54:12 everything that a prophet prophesies must come to pass. 54:16 When it does, you can know... 54:19 you say, "God sent him. " 54:21 Pause. 54:23 God sent that prophet. 54:25 Pause. 54:27 "As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, 54:30 when the word of the prophet comes to pass, 54:33 the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has sent. " 54:36 Last night we were reading... 54:38 Angie and I were reading in the book of 2nd Kings 54:40 about Benhadad... I think it was... 54:42 Benhadad... Benhadad was sick... 54:44 and Benhadad didn't like the news anyway 54:47 so, Benhadad sent to Elisha... 54:49 he says, so... 54:51 a certain man from Benhadad came to Elisha and says, 54:53 "What's going to happen to Benhadad?" 54:55 He said, "Can I tell Benhadad he's going to make it?" 54:57 He said, "You can tell him he's going to make it... 55:00 sure you can tell him that... 55:01 but the Lord told me... he's going to die... 55:02 you can tell him anything 55:05 but the Lord told me he's going to die. " 55:06 So, he went back to Benhadad 55:08 and said, "You're going to make it. " 55:09 And Benhadad knew that this was not going to happen 55:12 so, he put water... 55:13 he put water over his own face and took his own life. 55:16 He put a towel full of water over his own face 55:21 and drowned himself he... he knew... 55:22 and earlier... and Elijah... 55:24 in Elijah's day... 55:26 before Elijah passed the mantle to Elisha, 55:28 the false kings that were against the Israelites 55:33 always wondered... 55:34 "How... how do they always know what we're up to?" 55:36 And they said, "They got Elijah... 55:39 he knows what you're thinking while your sleeping. " 55:42 So, they said, "Where could we find him... 55:44 where could we find him?" 55:47 It's amazing... God always lets His prophet know 55:50 so, the prophet of God is resting securely 55:54 and the house is surrounded in which he is 55:58 pause 56:01 and he wakes up in the morning and his servant says, 56:03 "We're surrounded... " 56:05 Elisha says, "Relax... relax... " 56:10 and he goes outside and he sees all these men 56:13 and he says, "Lord... " to his servant... 56:17 "open his eyes that he may see. " 56:20 And the Lord opened, I think it was Gehazi's eyes, 56:22 if I'm mistaken... I'll correct that later... 56:26 the Lord opened the eyes of his servant 56:28 and he said... he saw around... in all the mountain around 56:34 chariots of fire and horses, 56:38 those chariots surrounding the army... 56:41 can you hear the chariots ready, just a mmm... mmm... 56:45 can you hear the fire crackling? 56:47 "Lord, open his eyes that he may see" 56:49 and he said to his servant, 56:51 "They that be with us are more than they that be with them" 56:56 and the prophet prayed, "Lord, blind them... " 57:01 and the Lord blinded the whole army... led them to Samaria 57:05 "give them something to eat" and when they were eating 57:10 "Lord, open their eyes" 57:11 And He opened the eyes of the soldiers 57:14 they realized, "they could kills us" 57:17 and then he says, "Go home" 57:19 and they went back to their king 57:21 and the Bible says, "And they came no more" 57:23 they didn't come back because they said to their Commander, 57:26 "You want to fight them, you go back, 57:28 after what we saw, there's no way we're going back. " 57:30 You see, when you can trust God's Word, 57:33 God's Word is reliable, can you say, "Amen. " 57:35 Beautiful stories of the reliability 57:37 of the prophet of God... 57:38 never to fear but here's the test, 57:40 if they do not speak according to the commandments of God, 57:43 it's because there is no light in them. 57:45 Friends our study has come and gone, 57:47 keep studying God's Word 57:49 and we can guarantee you, by the Word of the Lord, 57:52 if it doesn't make sense one day, 57:53 it will come into a sharper focus. 57:55 God bless you. |
Revised 2018-10-30