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Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000183A
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00:20 Hello, thank you for taken the time
00:22 to join us here at A Sharper Focus. 00:24 It's time to study our Bibles here on Wednesday night 00:27 at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:29 Thank you for tuning in to continue our study 00:33 on the "Gifts of the Spirit." 00:35 And we know that you have joined us 00:38 to walk through the Word of God with us. 00:41 In just a moment, I'll tell you, 00:42 where you can get a copy of the lesson, 00:44 and where you can follow us. 00:45 But before we do anything else, 00:47 we always like to begin with prayer, 00:49 so bow your heads with us. 00:52 Loving Father in heaven, 00:54 thank You so much for Your Holy Spirit's guidance 00:56 that we can count on tonight. 00:59 We pray that You'll speak to our hearts 01:00 as we study Your Word. 01:02 And we also ask for the Holy Spirit 01:05 not only to teach us, 01:07 but to give us wisdom and understanding, 01:10 so that what we learn we can apply to our hearts, 01:14 and surely to our lives. 01:15 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 01:19 Now the topic is the "Gifts of the Spirit." 01:21 For a copy of the lesson, 01:22 go to the following website asf.3abn.org. 01:28 That's asf.3abn.org, and download lesson number 41. 01:35 And you may say we already have done so. 01:37 But we're going to start 01:39 from question number 19 tonight, 01:42 and then go on to about question number 29. 01:45 And so thank you for taken the time to study with us. 01:50 Now go to that website once again, asf.3abn.org. 01:56 Before we do anything else 01:57 that we always begin with our theme song, 01:58 and our theme song is Victory in Jesus. 02:01 So join us as we sing that song together. 02:11 I heard an old, old story 02:15 How the Savior came from glory 02:19 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:22 To save a wretch like me 02:26 I heard about His groaning 02:30 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:34 Then I repented of my sin 02:38 And won the victory 02:41 O victory in Jesus 02:45 My Savior, forever 02:49 He sought me and bought me 02:53 With His redeeming blood 02:57 He loved me ere I knew Him 03:00 And all my love is due Him 03:04 He plunged me to victory 03:08 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:12 I heard about a mansion 03:15 He has built for me in glory 03:19 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:23 Beyond the crystal sea 03:27 About the angels singing 03:31 And the old redemption story 03:34 And some sweet day 03:36 I'll sing up there 03:38 The song of victory 03:40 Key change. 03:42 O victory in Jesus 03:46 My Savior, forever 03:49 He sought me and bought me 03:53 With His redeeming blood 03:57 He loved me ere I knew Him 04:01 And all my love is due Him 04:05 He plunged me to victory 04:08 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:12 He plunged me to victory 04:16 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:23 Amen? 04:25 Tonight we're going to continue in our topic 04:27 entitled the Gifts of the Spirit. 04:31 What is the title again? 04:33 The Gifts of the Spirit. 04:36 And we've been talking about this 04:38 from week to week, 04:40 but tonight we're going to start 04:41 with a different approach to it 04:43 because before we go on to the gifts, 04:45 and how we can know the gifts are active in the last days, 04:50 we've been talking about prophets quite a bit, 04:54 prophets quite a bit. 04:56 About a week and a half ago, I listened to a new story. 05:00 And two people were... 05:01 This was here in Southern Illinois. 05:03 Two people were arrested 05:05 for passing around counterfeit $100 bills. 05:10 And I thought, 05:12 after a while you got to kind of get smart, 05:15 if all of sudden every place you go, 05:17 you know, you're passing out counterfeit money, 05:19 you know you're going to get caught eventually. 05:21 But I thought to myself, counterfeit $100 bills. 05:27 Could they have counterfeited $100 bill 05:29 if they were not real $100 bills? 05:32 And what's the answer? 05:34 No, they could not have. 05:35 There could be no counterfeit where there is not a true. 05:40 There can be no copy where there is not an original. 05:44 There can be no false where there is not a true. 05:50 And so when we talk about prophets, 05:51 it's really important to understand that 05:53 because they are false... 05:56 This false money. 05:58 And actually I looked up the definition, 06:00 this is pretty interesting 06:01 when I was talking about counterfeit. 06:02 Listen to the Wikipedia definition, 06:04 it was pretty interesting because 06:06 I thought about in the sense of 06:07 what we're talking about tonight. 06:09 And it says, "Counterfeit money is imitation currency 06:15 produced without the legal sanction 06:18 of the state or government." 06:21 Now we just thought counterfeit 06:22 meant a horrible copy of the real 06:25 or they almost got it 06:26 but they messed up and they got caught. 06:28 But in fact, even if it's an identical match, 06:33 counterfeit is currency produced 06:37 without the legal sanction of the state or government. 06:41 And so when I begin to apply that to false prophets, 06:44 prophets are false when they exist 06:49 without the spiritual sanction of heaven. 06:53 Well, heaven hasn't sent them. 06:56 They have no commission from God 06:58 to do what they've been doing. 07:00 There is no sanction, no divine sanction at all. 07:03 So they could say, "Hey, but I'm a prophet." 07:07 But we could say, "But heaven didn't send you." 07:10 But this money has been used to purchase items in the past, 07:13 but the state did not sanction that. 07:15 It's not legal currency, it's not legal tender. 07:18 And if you look at the currency 07:19 that you use probably on a day by day basis, 07:23 how many of you ever took the time 07:25 to read all that little fine print on there? 07:28 It has a legal tender. 07:30 You'll find phrases like that legal tender, 07:34 and that means the state sanctions it, 07:36 the government is behind it. 07:38 And then when you go to the bank, 07:41 checks have been forged. 07:43 That's why we have the FDIC, 07:46 the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 07:50 Well, I think there's a... 07:52 I think there's an FDIC in heaven. 07:54 We have... 07:56 I mean, not the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 07:58 if I could think of an acronym, I'll come up in just a moment. 08:01 But there is a guarantee by heaven that... 08:07 Heavenly Divinity Insurance Corporation, 08:11 okay, I could steal it, I like that HDIC, 08:13 Heavenly Divinity Insurance Corporation. 08:17 I could handle that one. 08:20 And thank you for that, Brian. 08:22 So there is a guarantee by heaven 08:24 that they are true prophets among the false. 08:30 As my good friend Doug Batchelor 08:31 once said, he said, 08:34 "Amidst all the broken glass, there is a diamond. 08:38 Amidst all the broken glass, there is a diamond." 08:42 And the question is, will the broken glass 08:45 or will the counterfeit diamonds 08:48 endure the acid test. 08:50 And you've heard about the acid test. 08:52 Acid doesn't even affect the real diamond? 08:55 Well, the key is we've been laying down the foundation. 08:59 And I like to begin with question number 19 tonight 09:01 because it really brings out a very important point 09:03 about how we can know that the person 09:05 that is being used as a spokesperson 09:09 is in fact authorized by God. 09:12 Here's the question for tonight, 09:14 question number 19. 09:17 It says, "What assurance does the Bible give us 09:21 concerning a true prophet?" 09:24 What assurance does the Bible give us 09:27 concerning a true prophet? 09:30 There are many prophets today 09:32 that are what I might refer to a sleight of hand, 09:34 sleight of hand. 09:36 In other words, 09:37 while they're carrying out a dastardly deed 09:41 with their left hand, 09:43 they're picking your pocket with their right hand. 09:45 They have their hands in your pockets. 09:48 It's really about money. 09:49 It's about finding ways to use people 09:52 to gain financial blessings or as I would say, 09:56 a fraudulent, fraudulent blessings. 10:01 But look at the answer, Jeremiah 28:8, 9 10:04 is where we find our answer. 10:06 Very interesting, the way the Bible unfolds it. 10:08 Jeremiah is a true prophet 10:11 unveiling, how the false prophet works. 10:14 But he says, 10:15 "The prophets who have been before me 10:19 and before you of old 10:21 prophesied against many countries 10:24 and great kingdoms of war, and disaster, and pestilence." 10:30 And he says, "As for the prophet 10:33 who prophesied of peace, 10:35 when the word of the prophet comes to pass, 10:39 the prophet will be known 10:41 as one whom the Lord has truly sent." 10:44 What is in essence saying is, 10:45 what did they prophesied of war or of piece. 10:48 If what they say happens, 10:50 you'll know that that person is sent from the Lord. 10:54 But a few weeks ago, 10:55 we looked carefully in Deuteronomy 13 10:58 because there are certain times 11:01 like in the case of Nostradamus. 11:04 You've heard Nostradamus before? 11:05 Nostradamus is a prophet during the 1700s, I believe, 11:10 maybe I might be wrong on my date, 11:13 but right now they escaped my mind. 11:14 But Nostradamus was a man 11:16 that put many predictions forth. 11:18 And people looking at him 11:20 as a prophet of his day, they said, 11:21 "Well, lot of his predictions were 70% accurate 11:26 or 69% of what he said came to pass, 11:30 but you had to do a whole lot 11:33 to figure out in somewhat of a numerology way 11:37 or making connections 11:38 that were really gray and shady to say, 11:41 'Well, that really did happen.'" 11:43 For example, he might say, "You know, 11:46 the dragon of the earth blew fire out of its mouth." 11:50 And somebody would say, 11:51 "Well, he was talking about a volcanic eruption." 11:54 But he didn't say... 11:56 Like the Bible says, 11:58 "There'll be earthquakes in various places." 12:01 Well, when the earthquake happens, 12:02 you don't have to try to figure out whether they said, 12:04 "Well the earth is going to quake 12:05 or the ground is going to shift." 12:07 It was so correct prophesied by the Bible, 12:10 happened exactly as the Bible said. 12:12 Now what I want to ping off of 12:16 is 2 Kings 8:7-10, 12:19 because one of the things 12:21 that were warned about by the Apostle Paul 12:24 is there will be, in the last days people 12:26 prophesying peace and safety 12:29 when there really is no peace and safety. 12:31 And sometimes the prophet of God 12:32 or the person that the Lord chooses to speak for Him, 12:35 we're going to go to 2 Kings Chapter 8. 12:37 My wife and I reading through the Book of 2 Kings, 12:40 phenomenal. 12:42 I mean, if you really want to see the track 12:43 and the growth of the children of Israel, 12:45 and the kings, and the prophets that led them, 12:47 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles 12:51 will give you some solid history 12:53 to see how the children of Israel grew, 12:55 how Judah, the wars that they faced, 12:59 the prophets that were true, the prophets that were false, 13:02 the kings that were honest, the kings that had apostatized. 13:05 This was a very interesting story 13:07 because it's about Elijah and the king of Syria. 13:10 The king of Syria is Ben-Hadad. 13:12 Ben-Hadad, first of all, didn't like Elijah anyhow. 13:15 Because anytime Elijah prophesied, 13:17 Elijah always said what God wanted him to say. 13:20 And Ben-Hadad didn't like it. 13:23 And even in the case of Elijah, 13:25 when Elijah was alive, 13:26 the kings that went against Israel, they said, 13:28 "How do they know what we're saying? 13:32 Is there somebody in our administration 13:34 leaking information?" 13:36 Does this sound familiar? 13:38 And they said, "No, 13:40 but there's a prophet of God in Samaria, 13:44 who knows exactly what you're saying 13:46 even while you're sleeping." 13:50 But in this case, look at verse 7, 13:53 very interesting story. 13:56 "Then Elijah went to Damascus, 13:59 and Ben-Hadad, king of Syria was sick. 14:04 And it was told him saying, 14:06 "The man of God has come here." 14:09 So in other words, he said, 14:10 there's a man of God in the community. 14:13 "And the king said to Hazael," verse 8, 14:17 "Take a present in your hand and go to meet the man of God, 14:22 and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, 14:25 'Shall I recover from my disease?'" 14:28 In other words, "Am I going to overcome this?" 14:30 And verse 9, "So has he went to meet him 14:34 and took a present with him 14:36 of every good thing of Damascus." 14:39 Look at what he took, 40 camel loads. 14:43 Man, he went to buy a good answer, 14:45 40 camel loads. 14:48 And he came and stood before him and said, 14:51 "Your son, Ben-Hadad, king of Syria 14:53 has sent me to you saying, 14:56 'Shall I recover from this disease?'" 14:58 And verse 10 is somewhat about... 15:03 My wife and I smiled, 15:04 in other words, when we read it. 15:06 Verse 10, "And Elijah said to him, 15:07 'Go say to him, 'You shall certainly recover.' 15:10 However, the Lord has shown me 15:13 that he will really die.'" 15:16 You could tell them what you want, 15:18 but the Lord told me something different. 15:20 And so the reason I used this verse 15:23 is that it's funny. 15:25 And when you read the rest of it, 15:26 Ben-Hadad is so upset, 15:28 he takes a towel, 15:29 fills it with water, and drowns himself. 15:32 Puts it over his face, and he drowns himself. 15:34 He said, "I'm going to die anyway, 15:35 I might just end this." 15:37 Because he doesn't want to die by the hand of God, 15:39 so he takes his own life. 15:41 And when you look at that, 15:42 there were many kings that went against Israel. 15:44 And although they wanted good news... 15:46 I forgot, in 1 Kings, we were reading one, 15:48 and there was another king that was so angry, 15:51 so upset that 15:53 they went and surrounded the house of Elijah 15:57 and demanded Elijah to come out 16:00 because they were going to take care of him. 16:03 And Elijah said, "Lord, blind them." 16:06 And the Lord blinded them. 16:07 So the part of the bottom line here 16:09 is God's prophets always have God 16:13 on his or her side 16:15 because there were also female prophetesses 16:18 spoken of in the Bible. 16:20 So the assurance is when a prophet speaks, 16:22 and it comes to pass, not 80%, not even 90%, 16:26 but when what has been said comes to pass, 16:28 you'll know that that person has truly been sent of God. 16:32 What assurance does the Bible give us 16:33 according to a true prophet? 16:35 The answer is their sayings come to pass. 16:39 Let's go to question number 20, 16:43 question number 20. 16:46 Here it is. 16:49 How can we know 16:52 that the prophet is connected to the true God? 16:56 How can we know 16:58 that the prophet is connected to the true God? 17:02 Lots of prophets nowadays, you could buy a prophet. 17:06 You could buy prophets course, 17:08 you know, you could go to prophet school, 17:12 yeah, and learn how to prophesy 17:15 or you could just make a whole lot of noise 17:17 and tell somebody the Lord spoke to you, 17:20 and they'll believe it. 17:24 What did He say? 17:26 God sent me a message for you, 17:27 nobody could tell what that person said, 17:30 but they said they were in the spirit. 17:32 Listen to what the Bible says. 17:34 1 John Chapter 4, 17:36 and we're going to look at verses 2, 3, 17:40 and here's what the Bible tells us. 17:42 By this you know the Spirit of God: 17:47 Every spirit that confesses 17:51 that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh..." 17:54 What? 17:55 "Is of God, and every spirit that does not confess 17:59 that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh 18:02 is not of God." 18:05 Now watch this. 18:07 Look at this in verse 3, 18:10 "And this is the spirit of the..." 18:13 What? 18:15 "Antichrist, 18:16 which you have heard was coming, 18:19 and is now already in the world." 18:22 And let me add some qualifications to this 18:23 or qualifiers to this. 18:26 Do you think the devil knows that text? 18:28 Somebody tell me, yes or no? 18:30 Of course, so he said, "Okay, now to really deceive somebody, 18:33 all I've got to do is say, 18:36 'I believe in the Christ.'" 18:40 Am I right? That's all. 18:42 If that's all it takes for people 18:43 to believe what I'm about to say, 18:45 I will be glad to say, I believe in the Christ. 18:48 That's why 2 Corinthians Chapter 11 warns us that 18:52 "Because a person sounds the role 18:56 or looks the role, 18:57 doesn't mean they are the one that God has chosen." 19:00 So Satan has converted, 19:01 he'll change into any kind of camouflage. 19:04 He's the chameleon. 19:06 He'll take on anything that's around him 19:09 in order to accomplish his design. 19:11 I may have shown you the passage before, 19:13 but it comes to my mind right now. 19:15 Go with me to 2 Corinthians. 19:18 It comes to me right now. 19:20 And I believe it's chapter 11. 19:24 I'll get there, and I'll tell you. 19:30 That's right, you cannot. 19:33 2 Corinthians Chapter 11. 19:38 Now there are other texts, we talked about that earlier, 19:40 what one of those is 1 John 2:3, 4 19:43 where it says, "He who says, I know Him 19:45 and does not keep His commandments 19:46 is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 19:48 But look at this, and by the way, 19:49 this is an example of how Satan says, 19:52 "Okay, well, what role do I have to take on 19:54 in order for people to listen to me?" 19:55 Here's what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 11:13, 19:59 speaking of those who will appear as apostles, 20:03 it says, "For such a false apostles..." 20:06 What kind of apostles? 20:08 False apostles, 20:09 "deceitful workers," look at that, 20:13 "transforming themselves." 20:15 Look at the three qualifiers, false apostles, 20:18 deceitful workers, 20:19 transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 20:24 Is that a tough thing? 20:26 Look at verse 14. 20:27 "And no wonder," or the King James, 20:29 and no marvel, "for Satan himself, 20:33 transforms himself into an angel of light." 20:37 Notice what's happening there? 20:39 See, the Bible says, "Be not conformed, 20:41 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." 20:45 So Satan says, 20:46 "Oh, is it transformation that you're looking for? 20:49 So I'll transform my false apostles, 20:52 and make them look like real apostles. 20:54 I'll transform myself, 20:56 and make myself look like an angel of light." 20:59 He said, "If that's what you want, transformation? 21:01 I could do that too." 21:02 And you have, I think, years ago, 21:04 movie came out called The Transformers. 21:07 What they look like, 21:08 and what they become is something altogether different, 21:11 but it goes on. 21:13 Verse 15, "Therefore 21:14 it is no great thing if his ministers..." 21:18 What's that word again? 21:20 "If his ministers also," third time, 21:23 "transform themselves 21:25 into ministers of righteousness, 21:28 whose end will be according to their works." 21:32 So there'll be saying what you may want to hear. 21:36 And there are people today as the Bible says, 21:38 look at another one. 21:39 Here's why that kind of deception will work. 21:42 Go with me to 2 Timothy. 21:47 Here's why that kind of deception 21:49 will work so well. 21:51 Okay, 21:53 2 Timothy Chapter 4, 21:56 2 Timothy Chapter 4. 21:57 The reason why that kind of deception 21:58 will be so effective, 2 Timothy Chapter 4. 22:01 Look at this. 22:02 And we're going to look at verse 2. 22:05 This is the reason why that kind of deception 22:06 works so easily. 22:09 We are told in verse 2, "Preach the word, 22:12 be ready in season or instant in season, 22:15 and out of season, 22:17 convince or reprove, rebuke, 22:20 exhort with all long suffering and teaching or doctrine," 22:23 if you have the King James Version. 22:25 And here's the key verse, 22:27 "For the time will come when they will not endure," 22:31 come on together, "sound doctrine." 22:35 In other words people don't want today, people don't. 22:38 You could say, "We're going to have a seminar 22:41 on the truth." 22:45 Okay, you made my point. 22:48 Nobody's coming. 22:49 We're going to have a miracle service tonight. 22:52 Parking lot, jam packed traffic at a standstill, 22:56 people want a pill, 22:57 a quick fix, not a change of life, 23:01 not a change of belief system, they want a quick fix. 23:05 That's why when the Pharisees said to Jesus, 23:07 show us a miracle, He said, "A wicked 23:10 and adulterous generation seeks after a sign." 23:15 I'm the Christ, why would you need a miracle? 23:17 I'm right here. 23:18 But it goes on further. 23:20 They will not endure sound doctrine, 23:22 and look at what happens. 23:23 These ministers of unrighteousness, 23:25 look at what they do. 23:27 But according to their own desires 23:30 because they have itching ears, 23:32 they will heap up for themselves teachers. 23:36 These apostles that transformed themselves 23:39 will have converts 23:40 because that's what people are looking for. 23:42 People that don't tell them the truth, 23:45 and tell them what they want to hear. 23:46 And you know the word itching ears mean? 23:48 It's like you're going like this, 23:50 and somebody said, "I'll give you a cue tip." 23:53 So you don't want to hear it, I'll give you, 23:54 I'll tickle your ears. 23:57 Another one, another way that the Bible says is, 24:00 old wives tales or fables. 24:03 And it says in verse 4, 24:05 "And they will turn away their ears from the truth, 24:09 and be turned aside to fables." 24:14 In verse 5, it's beautiful. 24:16 But you, in other words, don't you go that way. 24:19 Be watchful in all things. 24:23 "Endure affliction, 24:25 do the work of an evangelist, 24:28 fulfill, or make full proof of your ministry." 24:31 In other words, while everybody's going 24:32 in the wrong direction, 24:34 want to hear this, want to hear that, 24:35 don't want to hear the truth, he said, 24:36 "But don't let that happen to you, Timothy. 24:39 You do what you're called to do, 24:40 preach the word." 24:42 Say that together with me, preach the word. 24:45 Stand on that because that's the only unshakable foundation. 24:49 When a man is dealing with the Word of God, 24:51 you can't shake him. 24:52 I was talking to a minister once. 24:54 Before I go to question number 21, 24:55 I was talking to a minister once 24:57 on the topic of the Godhead. 24:59 And he was a minister of a different denomination. 25:03 And the person that invited me to be on the panel 25:05 was a minister 25:09 who used to be 25:11 a member of that person in a different denomination. 25:16 And then all of a sudden I'm talking to him, 25:20 and I kept saying, well, the Bible says, the Bible says, 25:23 the Bible says... 25:24 Every question, the Bible says, the Bible says. 25:26 He says, "Would you stop saying the Bible says, 25:29 and just give me your answer?" 25:32 I said, "Sir, what I say has no authority at all." 25:35 But what the Bible says has all the authority. 25:38 "He didn't want to hear the Bible." 25:39 Would you stop saying the Bible says, the Bible says, 25:41 and just go ahead and tell me what the answer is, 25:43 so give me your answer. 25:45 I have no answer outside of the Word of God. 25:47 Can I get an amen? 25:48 There's no answer outside of God's Word. 25:51 But false prophets will tell you 25:52 what you want to hear, and that's what Paul is saying. 25:54 "In the last days," He said, "Timothy, 25:56 people are going to have itching ears." 25:57 In other words they're going to say, 25:59 "The seventh day is the Sabbath." 26:02 What? 26:03 The seventh day is the Sabbath. 26:05 What? 26:06 I want to hear that. 26:10 And I tell you, it's changing rapidly. 26:12 I don't want to go into wrong direction here, 26:13 it's changing rapidly. 26:16 Look, look, go to question about 21. 26:18 So it's the answer, how can we know 26:19 the prophet is connected to God, 26:20 to the true God? 26:22 Try that spirit. 26:23 See whether they are of God. 26:25 Test the spirits because the Spirit of God, 26:28 and here's a very important point. 26:29 The Spirit of God will never lead you 26:32 to believe what the Bible doesn't teach. 26:36 It will never lead you to... 26:38 If it's not in the Bible, and somebody says, 26:39 the Holy Spirit told me that's not the truth. 26:44 Okay, you asked for the text. 26:45 Let's go to John Chapter 13. 26:47 I'm looking at your faces, and you're saying, 26:49 "I need a Bible verse." 26:53 You know, sometimes, 26:55 what they say a picture's worth 1,000 words. 26:58 I just got 5,000 words. 27:02 John Chapter 13, 27:03 John Chapter 16, John Chapter 16, 27:07 "The Spirit of God..." 27:09 And this is one of the problems that happen in the world today. 27:11 A lot of people say, I know what the Bible says, 27:13 but the Holy Spirit told me. 27:15 Well, if it's not in harmony with the Bible, 27:16 the Holy Spirit did not tell you that. 27:19 Look at John 16:13, 27:21 the Bible says, "However, when He, 27:23 the Spirit of truth has come, 27:26 He will guide you into," 27:28 how much truth? 27:30 "All truth, 27:32 for He will not speak on his own authority." 27:37 You know what that means? "Look at this. 27:40 "But whatever He hears, He will speak, 27:42 and He will tell you things to come." 27:44 Now get this, He's not going to speak independently, 27:48 He's going to speak whatever He hears. 27:51 He's not going to say anything that's in contrast 27:56 to what Jesus said. 27:57 And Jesus never said anything in conflict 28:01 with what His Father said. 28:02 Am I right? 28:04 He said, I, my own self can do nothing, 28:06 I do the will of the Father that sent Me. 28:08 And Holy Spirit says, 28:09 and the Holy Spirit now says, 28:12 the Bible says or Jesus says about the Holy Spirit, 28:14 "He will not speak on His own authority, 28:17 but whatever He hears, He will speak. 28:20 And He will tell you things to come." 28:22 And look at verse 14, 28:23 a powerful verse about how the Holy Spirit works. 28:26 Because today, the Holy Spirit 28:28 is the one that's being glorified. 28:30 When in fact, look at verse 14, 28:33 "He will glorify me," that Jesus saying, 28:36 "The Holy Spirit will glorify Me, 28:38 He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you." 28:45 That's the work of the Holy Spirit. 28:47 Whatever Jesus has already declared, 28:49 the Holy Spirit is going to continue to reiterate that. 28:53 That's why Jesus said, "It's necessary that I go, 28:55 if I don't go, the Holy Spirit will not come. 28:58 When He comes, He will abide with you always." 29:01 And when He says, I'll be with you 29:02 to the end of the age, 29:04 He will be with us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. 29:06 And Jesus made it very clear, even verse 15. 29:09 Notice how Jesus brings all three together, Himself, 29:12 the Holy Spirit, and His heavenly Father. 29:14 "All things that the Father has are..." 29:17 What? 29:19 "Are mine, therefore, I said, 29:21 He will take of Mine and declare it to you." 29:25 Notice in that one verse, He brought the Father, the Son, 29:27 and the Holy Spirit together. 29:29 Holy Spirit's going to take what I give Him, 29:31 but where did I get it? 29:33 I got it from the Father, passing it down the line. 29:36 So if the Father says, honor My commandments, 29:39 Jesus says honor My commandments, 29:41 what's the Holy Spirit's going to say? 29:43 Honor My commandments. 29:45 Declaring it all the way down the line 29:47 is vitally important to understand 29:49 that when a person says 29:51 he or she is a prophet or prophetess, 29:53 they must be in harmony 29:55 with the revealed written Word of God 29:58 because there's something nowadays 30:00 that exist called rhema word, 30:02 rhema word. 30:04 People will say, "Well, I got a word from the Lord." 30:06 In the middle of this, they say, 30:07 "I just got a word from the Lord." 30:09 And they'll say stuff, and you say, "Wow, 30:10 he just said he got a word from the Lord, 30:12 so he must have got a word from the Lord." 30:14 But you have no scripture reference for it. 30:16 And I've heard a lot of people say, 30:18 "The Lord just gave me a word for you." 30:21 But it's not in harmony with God's Word, 30:24 and they're not using Bible. 30:26 But it sounds good 30:27 only because of who it's coming from. 30:31 But remember the text in 2 Corinthians 11, 30:34 "For His ministers also transform themselves 30:36 into ministers of righteousness 30:38 whose end will be according to their works." 30:41 Be very careful. 30:43 Now we're going to transition to a very interesting part 30:45 because we must understand how God... 30:48 What happened to prophets 30:50 when God was communicating with them? 30:53 Various ways, the prophets experienced certain things. 30:57 What happened to them when God was communicating? 31:01 Excuse me, question 21, here it is. 31:05 When prophets are in vision 31:07 what is connected to their experience? 31:11 Daniel Chapter 10, if we go to Daniel, 31:14 what prophet you think we're going to talk about? 31:17 Daniel, that's right. 31:19 Daniel Chapter 10, 31:21 and we're going to peek at verse 16. 31:25 Daniel is a very interesting passage 31:27 because in Daniel 10... 31:32 Daniel is the chapter where as Daniel is praying, 31:37 he's going through great struggles, 31:39 great struggle to get his prayer through. 31:42 But the Lord is speaking to him. 31:45 Daniel 10:17, 31:51 actually, am I going to just give you verse 17. 31:54 I'm going to give you 16 and 17, 31:57 16 and 17, all right. 32:00 Ignore the syllabus, but it's 16 and 17. 32:02 Here it is, starting at verse 16, 32:06 "And suddenly, 32:08 one having the likeness of the sons of men 32:11 touched my lips..." 32:14 That means an angel shows up. 32:17 "Then I opened my mouth and spoke, 32:20 saying to him who stood before me, 32:24 'My lord...'" 32:25 Notice little L, not large L. 32:28 "Because of the vision 32:30 my sorrows have overwhelmed me, 32:35 and I have..." What? 32:37 "Retained..." What happened? 32:39 "No strength. 32:42 For how can this servant of my lord 32:45 talk with you, my lord? 32:47 As for me..." What? 32:49 "No strength remains in me now, 32:53 nor is any..." What? 32:55 "Breath left in me.'" 32:59 He was at a point where his physical attributes 33:01 seem to fail, 33:04 but his spiritual attributes were sharp 33:07 because the Lord is communicating with him. 33:10 In other words, you might pick up his hand 33:14 and it seems to be... 33:16 But he seems to be numb, seems to be in a trance. 33:19 But in fact, that's a point of communicating, 33:22 the Lord is communicating. 33:23 But on the other side, you had, in some cases, 33:25 you had the opposite, completely opposite experience 33:28 when the person seen extremely strong, 33:32 but you couldn't get a breath, 33:34 you couldn't feel any kind of sign of life, 33:38 and then a short while later, that person is fully conscious, 33:43 God communicating with him. 33:44 And Daniel was one, who in Daniel 10, 33:48 matter of fact from Daniel 8 to Daniel 10, 33:51 he had many experiences when he was faint, 33:54 and when he was weak, 33:55 and there was no breath left in him. 33:57 One of the signs of the way 33:58 that the Lord communicated through the prophet. 34:01 So write that down. 34:02 When prophets are in vision, 34:04 what is connected to their experience? 34:06 Sometimes they are weak. 34:07 Sometimes they are not breathing, 34:09 no breath left in them. 34:10 That means it has a dual application here 34:13 because it means in one sense 34:17 what has happened to me has flabbergasted me, 34:19 just taken my breath away, and the other aspect, 34:22 it means I'm as a dead person, I am not breathing. 34:26 But I'm in fact still alive. 34:29 Let's look at question number 22, 34:32 question number 22. 34:35 Moving at a good pace tonight, I feel good about that. 34:40 How can we know that a prophet 34:44 is being led by the Spirit of God? 34:49 How can we know? 34:50 Let's go to Matthew 7:15-16, 34:54 Matthew 7:15-16, 35:00 how can we know? 35:05 Isn't it nice that we're turning to the Bible 35:06 for our answers? 35:08 That's the place where the Bible... 35:09 That's what the place is where we find our answers, 35:12 in the Bible. 35:13 The best place to get some is in the Bible. 35:16 Matthew 7:15, we read as follows. 35:22 "Beware of..." 35:23 Say with me, "false prophets..." 35:26 Once again, how can they be true? 35:29 How can they be false prophets if there's no true? 35:31 "Who come to you in..." What kind of clothing? 35:34 "Sheep's clothing." 35:35 Why would they use sheep's clothing? 35:37 Because they're trying to mimic the shepherd. 35:40 "But inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 35:44 You will know them by their..." What? 35:47 By their fruits? 35:49 Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes, 35:54 or figs from thistles? 35:56 And what's the answer? 35:57 No, you don't. 35:59 Regardless of how they look, examine the life, 36:04 examine the life. 36:07 Inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 36:10 I don't want to be too specific in my application, 36:14 but I remember years ago, we were involved, 36:17 not involved as far as employment, 36:19 but we were involved 36:20 in television years ago, years ago, 36:22 I was invited to be 36:23 in different television programs. 36:25 And before people went on the air, 36:30 and after they went on the air, 36:32 it was like two different people 36:34 all together. 36:36 The meanest, the most unchristian things 36:40 were being said to the workers surrounding them, 36:44 walking into the studio firing people 36:46 because they popped in the wrong spot, 36:49 you know, and employees getting upset 36:53 with people on pins and needles. 36:55 Look out here they come, 36:56 and I'm thinking of some very famous Christian leaders 37:00 that were on television years ago, 37:02 you know, they're deceased now 37:03 and they're not Adventist to be candid about that. 37:06 But people would say, 37:08 "I see, is it like that all the times?" 37:09 Say, "Oh, people get fired here all the time 37:12 because we don't ever know 37:14 what spirit they're going to be in 37:15 when they come to work." 37:16 But if you've been around here, 3ABN at all, you could see, 37:19 it's quite a different spirit, different spirit all together. 37:22 Praise God for that. 37:23 And what makes a difference is, 37:25 who are you on the set and off the set. 37:28 Who are you in the pulpit, out of the pulpit? 37:32 Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes? 37:36 No, or figs from thistles? No. 37:39 In other words, you're not going to get 37:40 figs from thistles, 37:42 you're going to get your finger pricked. 37:45 And it's vitally important to know 37:46 that we have to be where, 37:48 especially in this day and age nowadays. 37:49 Right now, it's unfortunate but, you know, 37:52 there's a big meeting, Pope Francis has gone, 37:55 undergone a huge meeting for these years, 37:57 20, 30 years of sexual scandals 38:01 facing the Roman Catholic Church. 38:05 Thousands, it's just an amazing exhibit, 38:08 exhibition of what was happening. 38:10 And so you ask yourself the question. 38:13 Beware of those who come to you in sheep's clothing. 38:16 Be careful because inwardly 38:18 there's a different motive altogether, ravenous wolves. 38:21 So what would the answer be for number 22? 38:24 What would the answer be? 38:26 Check out 38:27 what's at the end of their branches, 38:29 fruits. 38:32 What should we look for? 38:35 Because it says, 38:36 "You'll know them by their fruits." 38:38 In other words, it doesn't just mean 38:39 the fruit of the Spirit, 38:41 it means look at their life. 38:43 Look at what's happening, not just what they're saying, 38:47 very important, very important. 38:50 Look at what's happening, not just what they're saying. 38:53 Let's go to another very important one, 38:57 another very important question. 38:58 Question number 23. 39:01 Now what you'll find as you look at 39:03 question number 23 39:04 is the Old Testament and the New Testament, 39:07 it's the same God. 39:08 Can I get an amen? 39:10 From Genesis to Revelation, there's only one God. 39:13 From Genesis to Revelation, there's only one Jesus. 39:16 In the Old Testament, 39:18 He was called the angel of the Lord or the Lord. 39:21 But His name was Jesus at His condescension, 39:27 when He came into the world through Mary, 39:29 called His name Jesus. 39:31 But then also at the same time, 39:33 they said call His name Immanuel, 39:35 meaning God with us. 39:37 So depending on the role He's in. 39:39 As some people may say, 39:41 "He is our savior 39:42 when it comes to the issue of salvation. 39:44 But He is our Lord 39:46 when it comes to the issue of how we live our lives." 39:49 Lord from the Greek word that we get landlord. 39:52 In other words, the person in charge. 39:54 Now if you are a tenant, 39:57 you don't make changes to your apartment 39:59 without permission from the landlord. 40:02 Any changes you make without permission 40:03 from the landlord could result in an eviction 40:06 or being put out or heavy fines, 40:08 whatever the case may be. 40:09 In the very same way, 40:11 Jesus is not just the one who saves us, 40:13 but He is the Lord, 40:15 that we should follow His examples, 40:16 we should follow His instructions. 40:18 And that's why He said in Luke, "Why call Me Lord, Lord, 40:22 and do not do the things which I say." 40:25 It's easy to say, I'm saved, but what are you doing? 40:28 How you living? 40:29 That's where the Lordship comes in, very important. 40:32 And where are we now? 40:34 Question number 23. 40:35 Here's the question. 40:37 What promise has the Lord made 40:38 to those that follow his instructions? 40:42 Really important council to Judah, 40:44 and this comes from 2 Chronicles 20:20. 40:48 2 Chronicles 20:20, beautiful passage. 40:55 We're told in 2 Chronicles 20:20, 40:58 "So they rose early in the morning 41:01 and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa, 41:05 and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said..." 41:10 Here's what he said, 41:12 "Hear me, O Judah 41:15 and you inhabitants of Jerusalem..." 41:19 Let's read this together, "Believe in the Lord, your God, 41:24 and you shall be..." What? 41:25 "Established, believe in his prophets, 41:29 and you shall..." What? 41:31 "Prosper.'" 41:32 Notice and that's where Lord comes in here, 41:34 believe in the Lord, your God, you'll be established. 41:38 Believe in His prophets, you shall what? 41:41 Prosper. 41:42 So what is, the Lord's word is for establishing us, 41:47 but we get prosperity when we follow the words 41:51 that the Lord has given to His manservant 41:55 or His maidservant, prophets, prophetess, 41:58 and all throughout 42:00 the existence of Judah and Israel, 42:02 the Lord spoke to them through prophets. 42:04 Now, from Malachi to Matthew, 42:06 the voice was silent 42:08 because the Israelites were in captivity, 42:10 they were in rebellion, the voice was silent. 42:12 When they were in Babylon, the voice was silent. 42:15 When they went into captivity, 42:16 the voice of the prophets were silent. 42:18 But between Malachi and Matthew, 42:20 the voice was silent. 42:21 That's why the Lord said in Malachi, 42:23 "Behold, I will send Elijah 42:25 before the great and dreadful day of the Lord." 42:27 And when Jesus came, 42:29 people saw John the Baptist preaching, 42:31 and they said, "Who is that guy?" 42:33 And Jesus said, "What did you go out to see?" 42:36 And they began to describe him, and they said, "Is he Elijah?" 42:39 And Jesus says, "He's greater than Elijah." 42:42 But He said, "If you hear his message, 42:44 he is the Elijah that is to come." 42:47 So the silence of the voice of God from Malachi, 42:50 but then when Jesus came, John the Baptist, 42:52 His cousin, who was six months older than Him, 42:55 can you fathom that? 42:57 Jesus, who is from eternity, 42:59 has a cousin who is six months older 43:01 in the human sense. 43:02 His cousin preached His... 43:04 He was the forerunner of Christ proclaiming His coming. 43:08 And Jesus said, "If you hear his message, 43:10 he is the Elijah that is to come." 43:12 And so many people think that when the Bible says, 43:15 Elijah the prophet is going to come, 43:16 that somehow Elijah in the physical form 43:18 is going to come. 43:20 No, it's the message of Elijah, the message of Elijah, 43:23 the message that Elijah took to King Ahab was, 43:27 "I am not the one 43:29 that's causing trouble in Israel, but you are 43:31 because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord." 43:34 Anytime, anybody forsakes the commandments of the Lord, 43:37 that person is not a true prophet of God. 43:40 Amen? 43:41 I want you to see that very quickly. 43:42 Now write the answer down. 43:44 What promise has the Lord made to those 43:45 that follow his instructions? 43:47 Believe in the Lord, He'll establish you, 43:49 believe in His prophets, you shall prosper. 43:51 But I want to give you a clear indicator 43:54 of how you can know 43:55 that person is a prophet of God. 43:57 I talked about it, I alluded to it. 43:59 I made reference to it. 44:01 But let's go ahead and see it very quickly, 44:02 doesn't hurt to see it. 44:04 And as you know, if we don't cover tonight, 44:07 we will cover it in our next program. 44:11 I always begin with the good intentions 44:13 of doing the whole thing 44:15 and come to discover the Bible is bigger than me. 44:18 Look at 1 John Chapter 2, 1 John Chapter 2, 44:22 and we're going to look at verse 3 and 4. 44:25 Find the answers in God's Word because anybody could say today 44:28 that they are prophet. 44:30 Anybody could say that, but here's the test. 44:33 Here is a very valid test. 44:37 Here's a very valid test. 44:39 1 John Chapter 2 beginning with verse 3. 44:43 Because the prophet is one that says, "I know the Lord." 44:45 Am I correct? 44:47 They say they know the Lord, but look what the Bible says. 44:50 1 John 2:3, 44:53 "Now by this we know that we know Him, 44:55 if we keep his..." What? 44:58 "If we keep His commandments." 45:00 But this is a powerful verse, verse 4. 45:03 "He who says I know Him, 45:06 and does not keep His commandments 45:09 is a liar, and the truth is..." What? 45:12 "Not in him." 45:13 A very important test, listen very carefully, 45:16 because there are a lot of preachers today 45:18 that say they are from the Lord, 45:19 ask this, this is a test. 45:21 Do you honor God's Ten Commandments? 45:27 Well... 45:31 Well, you get some cases nine 45:33 because they exclude the Sabbath, 45:34 they think that somehow that's an optional one. 45:37 And it's amazing that's the only one that says, 45:39 "Remember." 45:41 But so many preachers make that optional, 45:42 "Well, that doesn't really mean you." 45:44 Then they say that was for the Jews, 45:45 it was nailed to the cross, 45:47 it was done away with, it was fulfilled. 45:49 All the excuses when Jesus simply says, 45:52 "If you love Me, finish it with Me, 45:54 if you love Me, keep My commandments." 45:55 John, 14:15. 45:58 So if a person says, "I'm a preacher of the Lord, 46:01 I'm a servant of the Lord, I'm a spokesperson of God, 46:04 I'm a prophet of God, ask him or her this question, 46:07 do you honor the Ten Commandments? 46:09 And on the authority of God's Word, 46:11 if they say, "Well, I'm not sure. 46:15 Well, well, it depends on what you mean. 46:17 Well, it's just for the Jews." 46:18 No, do only Jews die? 46:20 Somebody tell me? 46:24 Are only Jews the ones... 46:25 Are the Jews the only ones that could be guilty of murder? 46:28 Yes or no? 46:29 No, are only the Jews the ones 46:31 that could be guilty of adultery? 46:32 Yes or no? No. 46:35 Are the Jews the only ones that have been given 46:36 the commission to honor their fathers and their mothers, 46:38 and if you're not a Jew, 46:39 you could dishonor your parents? 46:41 No, absolutely not. 46:43 So when you think about that, 46:44 if honor your father and your mother, 46:46 "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, 46:49 thou shalt not commit adultery, 46:50 thou shalt not bear false witness, 46:51 thou shalt not covet." 46:53 And then, "I'm the one that brought you 46:54 out of the land of Egypt by the house of bondage. 46:56 You shall have no other gods before me." 46:57 So is that saying that because you're not a Jew, 47:00 you can have any god you want? 47:02 No, all Ten Commandments apply to the same Lord. 47:06 And if we are creations of the Most High, God, 47:09 which all of us are, then it applies to us, right? 47:14 Very important, 47:15 believe in the Lord, He establishes you, 47:17 believe in His prophets, you will prosper. 47:19 But you cannot prosper 47:21 under a person claiming to be a prophet 47:23 that doesn't honor the commandments of God. 47:26 Don't forget that, 47:27 that's the key to not being deceived. 47:28 Can I give you one more? 47:30 'Cause it says in Isaiah 8:20, 47:32 I'm going to show you that the Old and New Testament 47:34 are not in conflict 'cause some people say, 47:37 I'm a New Testament Christian. 47:38 Oh, that means you've missed, you know, 5/6th of the Bible, 47:43 most of the books are in the Old Testament. 47:45 And if you're just the New Testament Christian, 47:47 then the question is 47:49 do you still believe in creation 47:50 because the creation story is in the Old Testament, right? 47:55 I hope you're a full testament Christian. 47:59 Because the apostles used the Old Testament. 48:03 None of the New Testament writers had the New Testament. 48:07 Did you get that? 48:09 James, John, Matthew, they all, Paul, Barnabas, 48:12 they didn't have a New Testament, 48:14 their writings became the New Testament. 48:17 They used the Old Testament. 48:20 Isaiah 8:20, and so did Jesus. 48:24 If the Old Testament's good enough for Jesus, 48:26 it's good enough for me. 48:28 And the Bible is not old versus new. 48:31 It's old covenant versus new covenant. 48:34 But in the new covenant, 48:35 the commandments of God are still there. 48:37 Okay, Isaiah 8:16, stop with that one. 48:40 One of the very few places in the Old Testament 48:42 where you find the word disciples. 48:45 Isaiah 8:16 says, "Bind up the..." What? 48:50 "Testimony, seal the law among My disciples." 48:55 In the Old Testament law and disciples, 48:58 testimony, law, and disciples. 49:00 Law, testimony, disciples, I want you to see that cadence. 49:04 Now look at verse 20, 49:06 "To the law and to the testimony, 49:09 if they do not speak according to this word, 49:12 it is because there is..." How much? 49:15 "No light in them." 49:18 No light in them. 49:20 Don't go in the tunnel with them, it's dark. 49:25 No light in them. 49:26 And you know what that means? 49:28 That means they may give you a little bit of tint of hues 49:32 of scriptures to get your attention 49:35 and then lead you down a dark road. 49:37 No light in them. 49:38 And that's, I want you to see something 49:40 because the law and the testimony, 49:43 what are they? 49:44 The law and the what? Testimony. 49:46 Now get this now, I want to make this, 49:48 the lesson kind of took a different turn here, 49:50 but I want to make this very clear for tonight. 49:55 If you... 49:56 Let me allude to you. 49:57 I'm not even going to give any kind of alluded to me 49:59 if I were or if you are, 50:01 but the devil because he knows that, 50:04 he knows what Isaiah the Prophet said, 50:06 he knows what the Apostle John said. 50:10 So who do you think he's upset with? 50:15 Those that keep the law and the testimony. 50:19 Let's look at this, Revelation 12:17, 50:22 a very familiar passage, 50:23 but the Lord is telling me 50:25 that I think I need to connect this with you. 50:27 And when I say the Lord is telling me, 50:29 He's not giving me messages through my ear, 50:31 but the Word of God is clicking together. 50:34 When the Word of God is clicking together, 50:36 we must honor that. 50:37 Here it is, the very, the very, very things 50:40 that Isaiah the Prophet warned against, 50:43 the various indicators that John the Apostle said, 50:46 "Look for," are the very things that make Satan angry. 50:50 Now here's the question before we read the verse. 50:52 Revelation 12:17, before we read the verse, 50:55 here's the point. 50:56 And I want you to answer me verbally. 50:58 If you do something that makes the devil angry, 51:02 are you doing what's right? 51:04 Yes. 51:05 If you do something that makes a devil happy, 51:07 are you doing something wrong? 51:09 Yes. 51:11 Okay, now let's see what makes him angry. 51:15 Revelation 12:17, Revelation 12:17, 51:19 by the way, verse 17, "And the dragon," 51:21 according to verse 9 of Revelation, 51:23 "the dragon is Satan, the Devil, serpent of old." 51:26 "And the dragon was enraged with the woman..." 51:29 Or the dragon was angry with the woman. 51:33 "And went to make war with the rest of her offspring 51:36 or the remnant of her seed..." 51:38 Depending on the translation you have, 51:40 but here's what's identical, 51:42 "Who keep the commandments of God, 51:44 and have the..." What? 51:46 "Testimony of Jesus Christ." 51:48 Notice, Isaiah said, "If they don't speak 51:50 according to the law and testimony, be careful. 51:53 John said the same thing, he, who says, 51:56 "I know Him, does not keep His commandments is a liar, 51:58 and the truth is not in him." 51:59 Look out for that. 52:00 He who says, I know Him, and does look out for that. 52:02 And then Revelation says, 52:04 the devil is mad if you keep the commandments of God 52:06 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 52:08 Now, the testimony of Jesus Christ 52:11 connects us right back to our lesson. 52:14 Go to Revelation 19:10, 52:16 Revelation 19:10 52:18 because the testimony of Jesus, 52:20 these two, not one or the other, 52:23 but these two components qualify you 52:28 to receive the Spirit of Prophecy. 52:33 Watch this, Revelation 19:10, here it is. 52:39 John speaking, 52:42 "And I fell at His feet to worship Him, 52:44 but He said to me, 'See that you do not do that. 52:48 I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren, 52:51 who have the..." What? 52:53 "Testimony of Jesus.'" 52:55 What did he say? 52:56 Worship God, and get this, 52:58 for the testimony of Jesus is the what? 53:01 Spirit of Prophecy. 53:05 When the Spirit of God is working in you, 53:07 when you are communicating the testimony of Jesus, 53:10 that makes the devil angry 53:13 because the spirit is prophesying through you. 53:16 And what is prophesying is the Word of God. 53:19 Paul even says in 1 Corinthians Chapter 14, he says, 53:22 "I wish you had all the gifts that I had, 53:25 but desire the best gift that you may prophesy." 53:30 That you may prophesy. 53:31 The word there prophesize is proclaim. 53:33 Not speak in tongues which in today's language 53:36 is a confusion, 53:38 is not interpretable 53:40 because it's not a language of a nation 53:41 that exists according to Acts Chapter 2. 53:43 "On the day of Pentecost, 53:45 everybody spoken language from where they were born." 53:48 But today, it's confusion at its height. 53:51 Now, let's go to 1 Corinthians Chapter... 53:53 Let's see if we can get a few more in here. 53:55 Question number 24, question number 24. 53:59 How do we know that the gift of prophecy 54:02 is still active today? 54:04 How do we know? 54:06 When the Lord established the New Testament church, 54:09 He made a very particular point to make sure that 54:12 what happened among His people of old 54:14 will continue because here's the key. 54:17 The same work He gave to the children of Israel 54:20 that they forfeited, that their leaders forfeited, 54:23 He continued that work. 54:24 He says, "I want this project to be completed, 54:27 and that's carry the gospel to the world." 54:29 But to do that, He had to equip them. 54:32 Here it is in 1 Corinthians 12:28, 54:35 "And God has appointed these in the church..." 54:39 These in the what? 54:41 "In the church, first apostles, second prophets, 54:47 third teachers, after that miracles, 54:52 then..." What else? 54:53 "Gifts of healings, helps, administrations..." 54:58 And get this, "A varieties of tongues." 55:02 When you look at that word there in the Greek, 55:04 varieties of languages. 55:06 And that's why the Apostle Paul says, 55:08 "I speak in more languages than all of you guys." 55:11 He wasn't meaning I made more confusing sounds 55:14 in all of you, he was a very educated man. 55:16 He said, "I speak with more languages 55:18 than all of you." 55:19 That was the gift the Lord gave him, 55:21 that's why he was able to travel 55:22 to so many countries 55:24 because he spoke in the languages 55:25 of those countries. 55:26 But on the day of Pentecost, 55:28 the Galileans that only spoke in that native tongue 55:31 were given the gift of other languages, 55:34 so they were able to communicate to those 55:36 from Arabia, from the Medes, the Parthians, 55:42 Elamites, all the different nations, 55:43 the Arabs, 55:45 they spoke the language of all those nations. 55:47 And Peter on the day of Pentecost, 55:49 who was a Galilean, 55:51 they from all these different nations 55:53 around the world said in Acts 2, 55:55 "We hear him speak in our own tongue, 55:59 where we were born." 56:01 So today people are told, 56:06 "If you sound like you're in gibberish, 56:08 the Spirit of God is involved in that." 56:11 No, God is not the author of confusion. 56:14 What did we say? 56:16 He's not the author of confusion. 56:17 If what is happening is confusing 56:19 and you can't understand it, 56:20 don't relegate it to somebody to interpret that 56:23 when it's not measurable by the Word of God. 56:26 Let me say that again. 56:27 It's always to be measured by the Word of God, right? 56:32 Not some independent person. 56:34 So here you find clearly 56:35 the Lord says in 1 Corinthians 12:28, 56:38 hey, prophets are still going to be there. 56:42 With our world being a worldwide work, 56:44 we just came back from Cali, Colombia. 56:46 I had an interpreter there. You know why? 56:49 Because I didn't have the gift of variety of tongues, 56:51 but now I'm learning Spanish. 56:53 I mean, I could say a more words now 56:55 that I went there, 56:57 but the Lord did not give me the gift of interpretation 56:59 or the gift of tongues because I had an interpreter. 57:04 But I had my sermon title, it was Agua Caliente. 57:09 Come on say with, what is that? 57:11 Hot water. 57:12 And I preached that sermon, 57:15 the pastor came to me and he said, 57:16 what's the sermon title? I said, Agua Caliente. 57:18 He said, "Hot water, is that really a sermon title? 57:23 Hot water? 57:24 I said, "That's the sermon title, 57:26 Agua Caliente, water, Caliente, hot. 57:29 See I just spoke in a different language, 57:31 but it's not a gift from the Spirit, 57:33 it's a learned language. 57:35 We're going to go into some deeper aspects 57:37 because we're going to see that not only 57:39 is the gift of prophecy still active 57:42 in the last day church, 57:43 the Holy Spirit is still doing the work through us 57:47 that the Lord had commissioned Him to do. 57:50 And He says, in the last days 57:52 I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. 57:55 And one of the gifts that makes the devil angry, 57:58 and here's why the gift of prophecy 58:00 is so important. 58:02 The gift of prophecy tells you what's going to happen 58:05 before it does, 58:07 and the devil doesn't want us to know, 58:09 what's going to happen before it does. 58:11 He wants to sneak up on us and catch us by surprise. 58:14 But Amos 3:7, the Lord says, 58:16 "Surely the Lord, God, will do nothing, 58:18 unless He revealed His secrets to His servants, 58:21 the prophets." 58:22 Friends, keep studying God's Word 58:24 because we are sure that if it doesn't make sense, 58:27 one day, it will come into A Sharper Focus. 58:30 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-01-14