Participants: Ivor & Atonte Myers
Series Code: BOF
Program Code: BOF000047
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00:14 Welcome to Battles of Faith.
00:16 We're your host, Ivor and Atonte Myers, 00:19 and we're with Power of the Lamb Ministries. 00:22 I have never had the honor to serve on a jury. 00:25 I have been called but never chosen. 00:28 You know the Bible talks about a jury selection, 00:32 that's going to happen in the future. 00:35 And this jury selection, I want to be a part of, 00:38 I don't want to be not chosen for this selection. 00:42 That's right, Atonte, our study today 00:44 is gonna take us into this 00:45 incredible concept of a jury selection. 00:48 And in order to understand 00:50 that we are going to take a look at the word of God. 00:53 And get a context of this jury selection, 00:58 why it's necessary and what it's all about, 01:02 so, let's journey right into the Bible, 01:04 we invite you to home to get your Bibles. 01:06 And we're gonna start with the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 28 01:10 which is speaking about the fall of Lucifer from heaven. 01:14 It's talking about his rebellion 01:17 and how he would be ultimately judged. 01:21 So let's go ahead and pick up reading from verses 14 and 15. 01:26 And verse 14 says, 01:28 "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, 01:31 and I have set thee so, 01:33 thou wast upon the holy mountain of God, 01:35 thou hast walked up and down 01:37 in the midst of the stones of fire. 01:39 Thou wast perfect in thy ways 01:41 from the day that thou wast created, 01:43 till iniquity was found in thee." 01:47 The Bible here is describing Satan as a covering cherub. 01:51 Now we learned in our previous program 01:53 that a covering cherub was an angel 01:56 that was found in the very presence of God, 02:00 hovering over the very throne of God if you will. 02:04 We recollect looking at the Old Testament sanctuary, 02:07 seeing there that sanctuary that God had given Moses to, 02:12 had instructed Moses to build, 02:14 was a miniature model of his kingdom in heaven, 02:18 of his throne room in heaven. 02:20 And so as we look at this Ark 02:23 that was found in the most holy place 02:25 was covered by a mercy seat. 02:27 All of this represented, 02:28 the mercy seat represented God's throne. 02:31 The ark, the law upon which that throne rested, 02:35 simply shown that the foundation 02:37 of God's throne in heaven is his law. 02:41 On either side of this, 02:42 of this mercy seat were two covering cherubs. 02:46 And the job of these angels, 02:51 if you were, was to protect or reverence the law of God. 02:57 And so we see here that Lucifer was one of these two angels 03:01 before he rebelled. 03:02 The Bible says, then that inequity was found in him, 03:05 and we also saw that inequity 03:07 according to 1st John Chapter 3 verse 4 03:10 is transgression of the law. 03:13 The very law that Lucifer was to be defending, 03:15 he ends up turning against and the Bible says as a result, 03:19 that there was war in heaven. 03:21 Now this brings us to this issue of jury selection. 03:24 Because something very important needs to be understood here. 03:29 Most people, a lot of people 03:30 when they read this story about this rebellion 03:33 that took place in heaven. 03:34 The question will often come up, 03:36 why didn't God immediately judge 03:39 Lucifer like right then and there. 03:41 Why didn't He just destroy him right then and there? 03:43 And many people have that question. Yeah. 03:46 Because they were if He would have just destroyed him there, 03:49 then He wouldn't have been able to come 03:52 and tempt us here on earth. Exactly. 03:54 Like he tempted Adam and Eve. Later on exactly. Right. 03:57 So we're gonna take a look at another scripture 04:00 that's going to give us insight into this question. 04:03 Now this scripture is found in 04:04 Deuteronomy Chapter 19 verses 16 through 19. 04:08 So, Atonte, I'm gonna ask if you read that 04:12 unless I get there before you. 04:14 Well, let's see. Deuteronomy 16. 04:15 We're having a race and I think you might have won but.. 04:18 Verse 19, okay, I'll go ahead and read. 04:19 Actually I think I did get there first, okay. All right. 04:23 "If a false witness rise up against any man 04:26 to testify against him that which is wrong. 04:30 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, 04:33 shall stand before the Lord, 04:34 before the priests and the judges, 04:36 which shall be in those days. 04:39 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition and behold, 04:43 if the witness be a false witness 04:45 and hath testified falsely against his brother. 04:48 Then shall ye do unto him, 04:50 as he had thought to have done unto his brother, 04:53 so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." 04:56 Okay. So, this was a principle that our God had given to Moses. 05:01 That whenever a controversy came up between two parties, 05:05 there had to be a third party if you will. 05:09 A jury that would decide between the two parties. 05:15 Now that's a very fair principle God lays out 05:19 for a very simple reason. 05:21 Let's say that someone wanted to, 05:23 you know, take you to court, Atonte. 05:25 And you said, all right, I'll see you in court and, 05:29 you know, I know you don't even a chance of winning the case. 05:33 You and the person go to court, 05:34 and the person is sitting there in the courtroom 05:38 and he's excited because he just knows that 05:40 he's got this case all sort out. 05:43 And when they say all rise, because the judge is walking in, 05:46 to that person's horror, 05:48 they see you walking in, you are the judge. 05:51 How fair would that be. That would not be fair at all. 05:54 You know, that would be unjust actually. Right. 05:57 For the person being accused to sit as judge over the accuser. 06:02 There has to be a third party. Right. 06:05 So as we lift this principle that God had given to Moses, 06:10 and place that principle in the context of the rebellion 06:14 that occurred in heaven. 06:16 We need to ask ourselves a question, 06:17 how many sides were there in this rebellion? 06:22 The Book of Revelation Chapter 12 verses 7 through 9, 06:25 tells us about this war. 06:27 And it basically divides it into two sides, 06:29 it says Michael and his angels 06:33 fought against the dragon and his angels. 06:37 So how many sides were there? Two. 06:40 Two sides and only two sides. 06:42 You were either for God or against him, 06:44 for Lucifer or against him. 06:47 So you see here there is a stale meat 06:49 that appears to be taking place in heaven. 06:53 But there is something very key, 06:55 back in that passage we read earlier, 06:57 Ezekiel, Chapter 28 towards the end of that passage. 07:01 I believe is verse 17, God is speaking to Lucifer 07:06 and He says to him, "I will cast thee to the ground, 07:11 I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee." 07:16 Now every time I think about this, 07:18 I like to use my imagination and imagine Lucifer saying, 07:23 wait a minute, lay me before kings, 07:24 by the way that term to be laid before, 07:27 to be laid before kings is a term 07:29 that is synonymous with judgment. 07:32 It's as though God was saying to Lucifer, 07:34 I'm going to have kings judge you or behold you. 07:39 And so I can imagine Lucifer saying, 07:40 wait a minute, who you're gonna get to judge me 07:42 because don't you see that all heaven 07:45 has been polarized into two sides, 07:48 like who are you going to get to judge me. 07:52 It was beyond at that time, Lucifer or Satan's imagination. 07:57 Because they were no other... 07:58 Or understanding. Right, or understanding. 07:59 That's right. Because what we're going to find 08:01 is that God creates as it were a third party, 08:08 a jury if you will. 08:10 Let's go over to the Book of Genesis. 08:13 Genesis in fact, you know what let's not go to Genesis, 08:16 let's go to the Book of First Corinthians Chapter 6, 08:21 First Corinthians Chapter 6. 08:23 The Bible tells us something absolutely amazing here. 08:28 Because you probably guessed the answer already, 08:30 who would be that jury, who would be that third party 08:34 that God would use to judge Lucifer. 08:38 Atonte, would read verses 1 through 3. 08:42 "Dare any of you, having a matter 08:44 against another go to law before the unjust 08:48 and not before the saints? 08:50 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world. 08:53 And if the world shall be judged by you, 08:55 are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 09:00 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? 09:02 How much more things that pertain to this life?" 09:05 Amazing verse First Corinthians 6:1-3 09:08 tells us that the saints are going to judge the world 09:14 and the saints are going to judge angels. 09:18 Now we know we're not talking about heavenly angels 09:20 because they have no need to be judged. 09:22 Right. We're talking about those fallen angels. 09:25 That's right. It's an amazing thought, Atonte, 09:28 that God, one of the reasons that God created humanity 09:33 was to serve as jurors in the Supreme Court of heaven. 09:40 I mean, what a call, what a privilege to be able to, 09:44 to be invited to serve in such an office. 09:47 Let's look at another verse very quickly, 09:49 it's found in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 26. 09:52 Because you'll remember in Ezekiel 28, 09:55 the Bible says that, 09:57 that God was going to lay Lucifer before kings. 10:02 In Genesis 1:26, when God creates Adam and Eve, 10:05 the Bible says that -- it says. 10:08 "And God said, let us make man in our image, 10:11 after our likeness and let them have dominion 10:15 over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, 10:17 and over the cattle, and over all of the earth, 10:20 and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." 10:23 Dominion, who is it that has dominion but a king. 10:29 Adam and Eve were created as kings 10:33 who were ultimately to serve as judges in this crisis, 10:39 this conflict that had unfolded in heaven. 10:42 In fact there's another verse in 10:43 Revelation Chapter 1 verse 5 and 6. 10:47 Revelation Chapter 1 verse 5 and 6 10:49 where the Bible specifically tells us 10:53 that this was part of Jesus' mission to make us kings, 10:58 it's Revelation 1:5 and 6 it says, 11:01 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, 11:04 and the first begotten of the dead, 11:06 and to the prince of the kings of the earth. 11:09 And to him that loved us, and washed us 11:11 from our sins in his own blood." 11:15 And has made us what? Kings and priests. 11:19 'Unto God and his Father, to him be glory 11:23 and dominion for ever and ever." 11:24 So we're clearly told here 11:26 that God desires us to be those kings, 11:31 those priests that will be called to serve jury duty. 11:37 And this is a privilege. It's a privilege. 11:39 To be called to serve in God's jury, 11:42 and just like here on Earth, in our country I should say, 11:49 there is, there are regulations and rules on 11:53 who can be selected to be a part of a jury. 11:57 You cannot have any knowledge of this crime 12:02 or be associated with people who are involved. 12:04 Right. With this situation. 12:06 And it's amazing because, 12:08 as you look at that characteristic, 12:09 having very limited knowledge about the crime, 12:12 where was humanity when this rebellion occurred in heaven. 12:17 We weren't even created? We weren't created. 12:19 If you look at the creation account, 12:22 there is no account of angels 12:23 being created in during those six days. 12:27 So we know that the angels were around 12:31 way before Planet Earth was created. 12:34 So we fit the, we fit the bill there, 12:37 as human beings who were not around when the crime occurred. 12:42 There is another characteristic that jurors must have 12:47 and that is that jurors must be law abiding citizens. 12:53 So any people in jail or in prison 12:55 right now cannot be jurors. 12:57 You have a criminal record, 12:59 it eliminates you from being a juror. 13:00 And when God created Adam and Eve, 13:03 in fact Romans Chapter 2 verse 15 speaks about 13:07 how the law has been naturally written 13:10 on the hearts of mankind. 13:12 And so we know that when Adam and Eve 13:14 were created in their perfection, 13:16 they were law abiding citizens of the kingdom of God. 13:22 So they weren't there when the crime happened, 13:24 they were law abiding citizens of a kingdom of God. 13:27 And we also know that a juror is chosen 13:31 because he must have sound discernment. Right. 13:36 Be able to discern between what? 13:38 Good and evil. Good and evil. 13:41 And of course, Adam and Eve were created 13:45 with this very power to be able to 13:50 discern between good and evil. 13:52 And that's an interesting point, Atonte, because 13:57 when Satan comes to Eve in the Garden. 14:00 By the way, how does he come to them? 14:04 Why does he come to them? 14:05 Because he knows if these are ones that are to judge me, 14:14 I think I need to try to bribe the jury. 14:17 That's right and you've heard of that happening 14:20 maybe not so much here in America, 14:22 but in other countries where the jury 14:26 or those who are to judge this person are bribed. 14:29 That's right. Either with money or whatever 14:31 to try to change the decision 14:34 that they were originally going to make. 14:35 That's right, exactly and that's exactly 14:38 what we find Lucifer doing. 14:39 We find him basically okay, if this is who is to judge me, 14:45 then I need to disqualify this juror, 14:48 I need to make it so that this jury is eliminated 14:53 from jury selection and think about this. 14:56 What Satan is really trying to do, 14:58 he doesn't want his judgment to come. 15:00 So he is trying to eliminate every juror, that's it. 15:04 He wants a hung jury if he will, 15:07 he wants a jury that's been disqualified, 15:09 he doesn't want to be judged. 15:11 Because he knows that sentence is coming. 15:14 And you know, he is really not creative 15:16 if you think about it because he saw that 15:18 his argument worked with a portion of the angels. 15:22 So he thought, you know, I'm gonna try this again. 15:24 Exactly. 15:25 On these creative human beings and Eve fell for it. 15:28 Exactly. If we look at Genesis Chapter, 15:31 Genesis Chapter 3 verses 1 through 6, 15:35 we don't need to read the whole thing. 15:37 But I just want to look at verse 4. 15:42 The Bible says here, after Eve says to the serpent, 15:44 you know, God has said, 15:45 we cannot eat of the tree or else we'll die. 15:48 The Bible says "And the serpent said unto the woman, 15:50 Ye shall not surely die." 15:53 Verse 5 says "For God doth know that 15:55 in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, 15:59 and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil." 16:07 Now, it's very interesting here because the word Gods 16:10 is that the Hebrew Elohim, and it means judges. 16:15 So it's almost as though Lucifer is saying, 16:17 hey, you want to be a real good judge, 16:19 eat from this tree and then 16:21 you will be a really, really good judge. 16:24 You will really know the difference 16:26 between good and evil, 16:28 but wait God had already created them. 16:31 With that capacity. 16:32 To know the difference between good and evil, 16:34 they knew that eating from the tree was evil. 16:37 Because God said so. Because God said so. 16:39 Not to eat of it. And so Satan brides the jury. 16:43 He convinces Eve that she is to eat from the tree. 16:46 And by the way, Satan did not say to Eve, Eve, 16:53 would you like to be evil. 16:55 Eve would not have fallen for that. Right. 16:58 He said, Eve, you can be like God, you can be like God. 17:06 But you don't have to obey Him in order to be like Him, 17:08 you can be like Him without obeying Him. 17:11 It's the very same argument he used on the angels in heaven. 17:15 Isaiah Chapter 14 verse 14 speaking of the fall of Lucifer. 17:20 Lucifer said, "I will be like the most High" 17:24 and what he meant by that was I can be righteous 17:30 and holy all by myself. 17:32 I don't need a law to tell me how to be righteous and holy. 17:35 And so that same argument that deceived the angels 17:39 in heaven into thinking yeah, 17:42 God doesn't have the market on righteousness, 17:44 you know, we can be righteous and still do our own thing, 17:46 we're free moral agents. 17:48 And if we're really free, why do we need a law? 17:50 That very same argument he uses on Eve. 17:53 And Eve, the Bible says when she saw 17:56 that the tree was good for food, 17:59 and that's another amazing thing. 18:00 Because the tree was not good for food. 18:02 God had said, it was not going for food. 18:04 But after she listened to Satan, her view of things changed. 18:10 And you know not only was Satan successful 18:13 in using this trick on the angels in heaven and on Eve. 18:18 But this is what he is daily attempting to do with each 18:21 and everyone of us everyday. 18:23 And when we give Satan an ear, 18:26 because Eve was listening to him first, 18:29 it starts to sound good to us and our judgment 18:34 or discernment starts to change 18:35 and it is possible without the power of God 18:38 to make the wrong decision. 18:39 But the point is, don't give Satan an ear to hear his words. 18:43 That's right. We can learn a lot from this particular portion 18:48 of scripture because it is revealing to us 18:50 how Satan works. 18:53 How he operates. 18:54 He tells us that we don't need to do exactly what God says. 18:58 We can still be good, we can still be righteous. 19:03 We can be all right and do something opposite 19:06 from what God says. 19:08 And there is a danger in that because many people 19:10 are falling for this deception of self-righteousness. 19:14 Self sanctification and again, 19:17 not until we see this conflict and how it unfolded in heaven 19:21 can we really begin to understand 19:23 its implications for us here on Earth. 19:26 Like God has called me to be a juror. 19:29 He's called you to be a juror. 19:32 He has called you to be juror. 19:34 And so what is the devil trying to do? 19:36 He is trying to eliminate you, 19:39 he is trying to say to God, come on, 19:40 are you going to use this guy, this girl as a juror, 19:44 they're not even keeping your commandments. 19:47 They're not even following your will, how can you use them. 19:50 This is exactly what he says to Adam and Eve, 19:55 you know, once Adam and Eve fall, it's like okay. 19:58 Were these the ones that you're gonna use. 20:01 And so the question now becomes what does God do? 20:05 Does God say, well, Adam and Eve, 20:07 I wipe my hands clean of humanity, 20:09 you know, you're no good you're out of here. 20:12 What does he do? 20:14 By the way, before we even answer to that question. 20:16 Another very interesting point is, 20:18 just as when Satan was cast out, 20:22 because he rebelled against the will of God. 20:25 He was cast out of heaven. 20:27 The very same thing happens to Adam and Eve. 20:31 They sin, and the Bible tells us in 20:34 Genesis 3 around verse 21 to 24 20:38 that God removes Adam and Eve from the garden. Why? 20:44 Because they rebelled against His will, 20:47 against the foundation of His government. 20:52 And so it appears that mankind has been trust out, 20:57 but God did not just put them out, 20:59 He did something else. 21:00 He came into the garden and the Bible says, 21:04 He gave us a promise. That's right. 21:07 It's found in Genesis Chapter 3 verse 15. 21:11 And it basically in a nutshell states that one would come, 21:18 we know that one to be the Messiah, 21:21 and the Messiah would ultimately gain victory over Satan 21:26 and redeem humanity, in other words... 21:29 Praise the Lord. 21:30 The whole purpose of the gospel is to restore us 21:35 to being a law abiding citizens of the kingdom of God, 21:40 who have sound discernment and judgment. 21:45 And are able to discern between good and evil. 21:48 That's the whole purpose of the gospel. 21:50 God wants to restore us, to the original creation. 21:55 And you know, it's just so awesome 21:58 how Adam and Eve they did go against the will of God. 22:02 And they did not believe in His, 22:06 I mean they did at a point believe in his word, 22:08 but when Satan came and tempted Eve to do what she did, 22:14 then they were no longer following the will of God. 22:17 But then God had already made away, 22:20 already had a plan on how to restore them and us. 22:25 And that's the loving kind God that serve. Exactly. 22:30 The Book of Romans Chapter 8 describes the carnal mind. 22:34 When Adam and Eve were created, 22:36 they were created with a spiritual mind. 22:38 But when they sinned, when they rebelled against God, 22:43 that was the birth as far as 22:45 humanity goes of the carnal mind. 22:47 And the Romans Chapter 8 22:50 describes that carnal mind to a tee, here's what it says, 22:55 Romans Chapter 8 verse 7 it reads, 22:59 "Because a carnal mind is enmity against God, 23:04 for it is not subject to the law of God, 23:08 neither indeed can be." 23:10 So look at the pattern, Lucifer in heaven, a covering cherub, 23:15 standing over the law of God or the Ark of God, 23:19 which is the foundation of His throne. 23:21 Lucifer rebels against that law and he has cast out of heaven. 23:25 God creates humanity in part to serve as jurors, 23:30 in this trial between God and His angels 23:34 and the devil and His angels. 23:35 Satan sees are these are the jurors who have to judge me. 23:38 He goes and he bribes the jury to get them 23:41 to turn against the law of God, 23:45 and they too are cast out of heaven. 23:49 Paul here in New Testament writes, 23:51 the carnal mind, if you want to know 23:53 if you have a carnal mind, just go down the law of God. 23:55 And anyone of those laws that you say, 23:57 I don't think I need to keep that. 23:58 I can be like God, I can be just like Jesus 24:01 and not keep that one, that one doesn't matter. 24:04 At that moment, you know, 24:05 what mind you're operating out of, it's the carnal mind. 24:09 Jesus has come to restore in us a mind 24:16 that is subject to the will and to the law of God. 24:21 Satan's battle is the exact opposite. 24:23 He wants to make us law breakers, 24:27 he wants to make us so that we are confused about 24:30 what's good and what's evil and you know, 24:33 we can look at society today. 24:35 And we can see just how confused. 24:38 Wow! Society is about good and evil. 24:42 And one of ways that he is so successful 24:44 in doing this is keeping us out of the word of God, 24:47 and keeping us from an intense prayer life with God. 24:52 Because it's only through true communion with God, 24:55 are we able to discern good and evil. 24:58 We're so many thousands of years away from 25:01 perfect humanity and through generational sense and just, 25:06 with cultivated sense. 25:08 We as very difficult for us a simple human beings 25:10 to be able to discern, and that's why 25:13 we need to get to know Jesus for ourselves through His word, 25:17 through an intense prayer life with Him. 25:19 Yeah, it's interesting and, you know, 25:20 you may be sitting although watching 25:22 and just thinking about all the things 25:24 you maybe seeing in the news and how, 25:27 you know, things that are, 25:29 that you once thought were good, 25:32 our society is now calling it evil. 25:35 Or things that were obviously wrong. 25:37 Evil. Society is saying, it's okay. 25:39 It's okay, it's good, there is nothing wrong with that news 25:41 and if you say something is wrong with that then. 25:43 You're in trouble. 25:44 You know, you're in trouble watch out. 25:45 So the devil is flipping this thing because he know, 25:48 he understands the high calling 25:51 that has been given to humanity. 25:52 He understands the high calling that has been given to you. 25:55 I mean, it's like we're walking around, 25:56 not realizing that God has called us to serve as jurors. 26:01 Now we know that we don't serve as jurors now, 26:03 that jury duty begins at a time in the future. 26:07 And we're gonna deal with that in a future program, 26:10 but suffice it to say now that the entire conflict 26:14 that's going on right now is simply about Satan 26:17 trying to eliminate the jurors. 26:19 And God trying to create jurors, 26:22 people who are law abiding, 26:23 who are discerning between what's right and what's wrong. 26:27 And this is the Gospel in a nutshell. 26:30 Because this is the reason Christ came, 26:33 this is why Christ is calling us unto Him, 26:35 because He wants to put His law 26:37 in our minds and in our hearts. Amen. 26:40 So fit us for the very kingdom of heaven 26:43 that Lucifer was once a part of, but has now been cast out. 26:47 That's right. And so again it is so important for us 26:51 to just to spend that quality time. 26:54 There are so many distractions with media, 26:58 with just I mean not just media with just busyness of life. 27:02 I mean even for us Christians who are in ministry 27:04 just in doing ministry things. 27:06 We can sometimes get so busy 27:08 that we don't spend the quality time with God 27:10 and we can also become very confused 27:13 and not as discerning as we should be as well. 27:16 That's right. And God tells us pray for wisdom. 27:18 That's right. Because we need it in this time. 27:21 Judges need to be wise, jurors need to be wise, 27:25 and Satan who was very wise himself 27:29 is seeking every possible way to eliminate you as a juror. 27:33 And so I hope in this program that you have discovered, 27:37 wow, you know, I thought my calling was 27:39 to be a doctor or you know even a pastor.. 27:41 That's secondary. 27:42 That might be secondary, but the ultimate, 27:44 your ultimate purpose is that you've been called 27:46 to fulfill the will of God. 27:48 And part of that is that God is calling you to serve, 27:52 God is calling you to jury duty, don't skip out on jury duty. 27:56 That's right, and there is much more to this series. 28:01 And on the next program you don't want to miss 28:04 because we're gonna be talking about going more specific, 28:06 going more deeply into the blueprint, 28:09 God's plan for salvation. 28:10 Until next time, God bless. |
Revised 2014-12-17