Participants: David Asscherick
Series Code: EHE
Program Code: EHE000008
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00:17 Good evening friends and welcome to another
00:19 edition of the Eleventh Hour Evidence 00:21 coming to you live from Battle Creek, Michigan. 00:23 Are you folks being blessed? Amen. 00:26 Now, we're Seventh-day Adventist, which means 00:28 that nobody excels our amens. 00:30 You know, we're not big clappers, 00:31 but we know how to say amen. 00:32 Let's try that one more time. Amen, amen, 00:35 Praise the Lord. Isn't God good? 00:36 I'm so excited about the messages 00:38 that we've been hearing night-by-night. 00:40 And now we're in the second part of that series 00:42 that David Asscherick has been sharing. 00:44 He is standing by for us 00:46 and he'll be out in just a moment, 00:47 but before that we're turning to our friends 00:50 Buddy Houghtaling, Dan Grentz and Romon Weber. 00:55 Hey, I just thought of it at the last second there. 00:57 How about that? Glad you guys are here with us; 01:00 I know you have something special, what's on, on, 01:02 can you say on tap? Is that alright? 01:05 That's dangerous isn't it? 01:07 What do you have for us tonight? 01:08 The song will be called Mercy Road, Pastor Jason. 01:11 Thank you, take it away. 01:29 In the coolness of the evening, 01:33 on a lovely garden path, you would walk in sweet 01:44 communion with the Lord, amen and amen. 01:51 Till one day and suddenly stop, 01:57 and a gate without a home 02:03 and you knew it will last forever, 02:09 it after all the Mercy Road. 02:15 Mercy Road, the way of sorrow road, 02:22 But you chose that way to go 02:27 So that they could have tomorrow 02:33 You placed your feet on Mercy Road 02:45 On the way you healed a blind man 02:50 chased away birds faraway, 02:57 but in the joy of recreation was a place 03:05 You couldn't stand. 03:08 You're never weary from your mission 03:14 As so stay to leave you strong. 03:21 To the Cross on the horizon at the end of Mercy Road 03:33 Mercy Road, the way of sorrow road, 03:39 But you chose that way to go 03:44 So that we could have tomorrow 03:50 You kept your feet on Mercy Road 03:56 Mercy Road, the way of sorrow road, 04:03 But you chose that way to go 04:08 So that we could have tomorrow 04:14 You kept your feet on Mercy Road. 04:20 So that we could have tomorrow 04:35 You kept your feet on Mercy Road. 04:39 Thank you guys, isn't that just wonderful to know 04:42 that Jesus Christ kept his feet on Mercy Road for us. 04:46 Isn't that just wonderful? I don't know, 04:48 if anyone has ever had a chance. 04:49 How many of you here in the studio were in a, 04:52 as we would say in the 04:53 Urbandale Seventh-day Adventist Church. 04:54 That's what we know it as. 04:55 How many of you have met my wife Stephanie? 04:57 I want to show you something 04:59 I got for her a couple of years back, a little bit 05:02 more then seven years ago. 05:03 Take a look at this beauty 05:04 right here that is a Movado, the museum watch. 05:08 It's a very nice watch. Can you see it? 05:10 There you can see it. It's an amazing, amazing watch. 05:14 And nothing but the best would do. 05:15 I was getting ready to ask my wife to marry me 05:17 and so doing the good Adventist thing 05:19 I got her a watch. 05:21 And this Movado cost me a fair penny truth be told. 05:25 It didn't cost me anything. 05:27 I have got a really nice mom and a really nice dad. 05:29 And I wasn't making much money at the time. 05:31 So, my mom helped me buy my wife's engagement watch. 05:36 And she didn't have very much money 05:38 at the time to reciprocate. 05:40 And so it was a few months later, we were laying out 05:44 on the patio at her parent's place and she, 05:47 she, I felt something being put on my arm 05:49 and I looked up and there was this lovely watch. 05:52 The band's broken I've worn it out. It's a Citizen, 05:55 it's not nearly as pricey as the Movado, 05:59 but it was the best that she could afford at the time 06:01 and I put it on and I enjoyed it for quite something 06:04 after that and another day came when we were, 06:06 we were driving in the car about 06:08 two or three years later. And I was talking to my wife 06:11 and I said you know we need to simplify our lives. 06:14 We need to simplify our lives. 06:16 We, we don't want anyone to think 06:17 that we're putting on a show. 06:18 Let's, let's get rid of the watches. Let's sell them, 06:21 I'm gonna open that watch back up for you. 06:24 My wife burst into tears. 06:25 She said, you just don't understand. 06:28 I said, honey come on you know, let's be frugal, 06:31 let's just use the money for the Lord. 06:32 She said, you don't understand, you don't understand. 06:35 So, I said, well explain it to me. 06:37 My wife said to me, she said, honey 06:41 when I married you. I hardly had any money, 06:46 in fact when we got engaged I didn't have any money. 06:48 And so what I did is I took all my graduation money 06:51 that was given to me. And I poured it out 06:55 into this Citizen watch that you're wearing. 06:59 And that wasn't enough to get the watch I wanted. 07:02 So, I went down to the blood bank and I sold my plasma. 07:06 So, that I can purchase for you the watch 07:10 that I thought belonged on your arm. 07:12 And I realized that what I was wearing 07:16 was the blood of my wife around my hand. 07:19 And I realized something about the love 07:21 that she had for me. 07:23 Friends, she gave me a piece that represents time, 07:30 but Jesus Christ did something even greater 07:33 than my wife did for me. 07:35 The greatest thing anyone has ever done for me 07:37 is exceeded by what Jesus Christ did for me. 07:40 When he poured out his blood 07:42 to give us another time piece, we call it eternal life. 07:47 What's it worth to you 07:49 Pastor Asscherick asked that question. 07:52 Amen, wasn't that a great story. 07:55 Amen. I'll bet you felt like a real heal, didn't you? 08:02 I can just imagine, let's sell the watches. 08:09 And, and I know, Jason well enough to know 08:11 he's very persuasive, so I can see him just you know, 08:14 come on sweetie what's the problem you know, 08:16 let's sell it. And all of a sudden you know, 08:18 open mouth, insert both feet. 08:22 Well, praise the Lord, he keeps us humble, amen. 08:25 Amen. Amen, well it's a pleasure to be back 08:27 here with you. Did you have a nice weekend? Yeah. 08:30 Wonderful, I had a nice weekend as well. 08:32 It was a whirlwind weekend where I, 08:34 I flew down to Florida and spent the day in Florida 08:37 and when the sunset on Saturday evening, 08:39 yesterday evening I got on a plane and flew back. 08:41 And it's, it's a privilege to be here with you, 08:44 but I will say that the weather is considerably. 08:46 nicer there. I don't know if you knew that or not, 08:49 the rumors are true. It is much nicer there, 08:52 but it's very warm inside of here, amen. 08:55 Amen. As I look out and see all of your smiling faces 08:57 and certainly for our television audiences. 09:00 I look out it's, it's wonderful to have you 09:02 all with us. And wonderful to be here 09:03 in warm Michigan. Amen. 09:06 Amen. Well, we're actually concluding a two part 09:08 series today. Our message is entitled the Cross, 09:12 The Fulcrum of The Ages part II. 09:15 And we had part I the last time we were together 09:17 and so we will commence with the second part 09:19 of this series. And before we get into the 09:21 message proper, what are we going to do first. 09:23 That's right we have some housework to do, don't we. 09:26 So, let us first pray and invite the 09:27 the Lord's presence to be with us. 09:31 Father in heaven, as we come before you now, 09:33 we're moved by the story that Pastor Jason 09:36 has told us. Father, what commitment that would 09:39 have taken for Stephanie to go out and to actually 09:42 give her own blood to afford this watch. 09:44 And Lord this is a microcosm a picture of what 09:49 Jesus has done for us. Shedding his blood 09:51 that we might have a beautiful gift. 09:53 Father, please be with us now as we open the word, 09:56 as we study. We pray that our heart would be knit 10:00 together with your heart. And that your spirit 10:02 and your angels will come and dwell in this room 10:04 and be our teacher. Father, I pray that I would 10:08 not be a distraction but an extension 10:10 of what you're trying to do. 10:12 Not just here in Battle Creek, 10:14 but the world over through 3ABN and these programs. 10:17 Be with us now Father as we continue to investigate 10:20 this Eleventh Hour Evidence for we ask it in Jesus name. 10:24 And everyone can say, amen. Amen. 10:27 Well, let's do a little bit of review. 10:29 Our message again, as we've already said 10:32 is the second of a two part series. 10:34 And the last time we were together we read 10:36 Revelation chapter 12 through in its entirety. 10:38 How many of you were with us the last time 10:39 we were together raise your hand, good. 10:41 Okay, now how many of you were not. 10:42 Just so I can have an idea here. 10:44 You were not with us, okay. 10:45 So, we have quite a bit of review to do. 10:46 We're going to rush through this as quickly 10:47 as is possible. We read Revelation 12 through 10:50 in its entirety and we subdivided 10:52 Revelation Chapter 12 into five elements, 10:54 five elements. In some ways, I wish it wasn't already 10:56 up on the screen here for you, 10:58 so that I could test you on it. Maybe I should make 11:00 you close your eyes, but I won't do that 11:01 the interest of time. We subdivided 11:03 Revelation chapter 12 into five elements. 11:06 The first was the woman, that's what John saw 11:08 there a women clothe with the Sun, the moon 11:10 under her feet and upon her head a garland 11:11 of twelve stars. Then he saw the wicked dragon 11:14 after that we heard about the war. 11:16 We're going to talk more about the war this evening. 11:18 The fourth element was the weapon and we're going to 11:20 spend all of our evening tonight on points four, 11:23 oh pardon me, three and four, the war and the weapon. 11:25 And the last element that we're introduced to there 11:27 is number five, the winners. That is to say those who 11:30 overcame the dragon by the blood of the lamb 11:33 and by the word of their testimony. 11:35 And we said that of all the chapters in the Bible, 11:37 there is no other single chapter that distills down 11:41 this great cosmic conflict. 11:43 This great cosmic controversy between good and evil, 11:47 light and darkness more than Revelation chapter 12, 11:49 that is the single best chapter that shows us 11:53 the great back drop of war and conflict that is taking 11:56 place between the kingdom of darkness and 11:58 the kingdom of light, are you with me so far, yes or no? 12:00 Amen. Alright, let's continue then with our review. 12:02 We talked about also this, this Eden-to-Eden concept. 12:07 This Eden-to-Eden paradigm and remember that we began 12:09 in Genesis. And we noted that in the fist two chapters 12:12 of the Bible we find a perfect God in perfect 12:14 communion with a, what everyone? 12:16 A perfect people that's exactly right. 12:18 And then we move down to the last book of the Bible. 12:20 The Book of Revelation, written by John there. 12:22 He was stranded out 24 miles into the Aegean sea. 12:25 And he was on an island called Patmos. 12:27 He had been exiled there because Christian tradition 12:29 tells us that he Roman emperor Diocletian had 12:33 tried to kill him. And the method that he used to put 12:36 his life to an end was he put him into a pot, 12:37 a cauldron of boiling oil. After he had been in there 12:41 for sufficient time to, to elicit the desired response, 12:44 namely his death. They went over, they lifted up 12:46 the lid of the cauldron of boiling oil 12:48 and he was alive. And the Roman emperor Diocletian 12:52 was afraid of this. Afraid of this man and said, man 12:54 this is a kind of person that we can't kill. 12:56 And so at that point he was exiled 12:58 to the island of Patmos. 12:59 And that is where the Revelation was given to him. 13:02 And that's where he wrote that incredible book 13:04 that we have. Now, when we come to the last two 13:06 chapters of Revelation, what we find is, 13:08 the same thing that we find in the first two 13:10 chapters of Genesis. Namely, a perfect God 13:12 in perfect communion with a perfect people. 13:14 And this is easily illustrated, 13:15 if you just take your Bible and think in your minds 13:18 that on this cover we have Eden. 13:20 On this cover we have Eden restored. 13:23 So, what we have here are these two Edens, 13:26 back-to-back. This end and this end and everything 13:29 in between is telling the story of how we lost 13:32 it here and how we regain it here, 13:35 this Eden-to-Eden perspective. 13:37 When we said the last time we were together 13:38 that the Bible suggests an Eden-to-Eden perspective. 13:42 Now, the reason that we say the Bible suggests 13:45 that is to make it crystal clear that this is not some 13:47 arbitrary or capricious category or categorization 13:51 that is being thrust upon the Bible. 13:53 This is something that is intrinsic 13:54 with the Bible itself. It's not a co-incident that 13:57 the first two chapters of Genesis and the last two 13:59 chapters of Revelation have this great theme 14:02 as they're under girding. You remember then we put 14:05 Genesis over here and Revelation over there 14:07 and I ask you that if we step just one chapter 14:09 this way, what chapter would we be in. 14:11 We said, that would be Genesis III. 14:12 And then if we were here in Revelation 21 and 22. 14:15 And we step just one chapter this way we would be 14:17 in Revelation 20. And then we ask this significant 14:19 question. Is there are any parallel between 14:22 Genesis III and Revelation 20? And the answer is yes. 14:25 In Genesis III, we find the first conflict 14:28 or the first battle that Jesus Christ fights 14:30 with the serpent on planet earth. 14:32 We find the first battle there. 14:35 We find the, what word did I say, everyone? 14:36 First. First battle, now remarkably when we come down 14:39 to Revelation. Revelation chapter 20, 14:41 what do we find there. Last battle. 14:44 The last battle that Jesus Christ fights 14:45 with the serpent on this planet and so what we have 14:47 here it's absolutely remarkable. 14:49 We have a large paradigm or a large construct, 14:52 a frame work with which we can begin to understand 14:55 the great themes of the Bible. 14:56 Namely that on this end, a perfect God 14:58 and perfect communion with a perfect people 15:00 move one direction this way, the first battle between 15:02 Christ and the serpent. So, to in Revelation 15:04 a perfect God and perfect communion 15:06 with a perfect people. And we step just one chapter 15:08 this way and yet again we have the last battle. 15:10 And so this gives us a sweep, a large panorama 15:14 and overview of the great themes and the 15:16 great picture in scripture. Now, 15:18 if this makes sense, do you say amen? Amen. 15:20 Alright, so far so good. The Bible also implies a 15:23 first battle and a last battle perspective. 15:26 And then what we did is we traced that battle 15:28 through the pages of scripture. And we noted 15:31 there were six phases. How many phases 15:33 everyone? Six phases. Six phases, let's note 15:35 them very carefully. The victory was declared in 15:39 Eden. That is the eventual victory of Christ over 15:42 Satan and his kingdom. It was declared in Eden. 15:45 Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. Number two, it was 15:48 begun in the earthly ministry of Jesus. 15:51 Number three; it was achieved on the Cross. 15:54 The victory was achieved on the Cross. 15:55 We're going to hone in that, hone in on that more 15:57 tonight. Number four, it was proclaimed by the; 16:00 what is that word everyone. The 16:02 resurrection, the victory is continued in the, 16:06 church and it will be concluded after the one 16:09 thousand years, what we just eluded to in 16:11 Revelation chapter 20. Now, that more or less 16:13 brings us right up to speed. We have this, this 16:17 overview that sort of sets the tone for what we're 16:19 going to discuss tonight. Now, of those five 16:22 elements that we talked about in Revelation 16:24 chapter 12. Remember the women and the wily 16:26 dragon, the war, the weapon and the winner. 16:28 So, what we're going to do tonight is hone in on 16:30 the weapon and on the war. The weapon and the 16:34 war. So, let's go to Revelation chapter 12. 16:35 As we now leave our review and begin on new 16:39 territory. Revelation, what chapter are we going 16:41 to everyone? Twelve. Revelation chapter 12. 16:45 Now, let us note beginning in verse seven. 16:47 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 7. The Bible 16:51 says, and war broke out, where everyone? 16:55 In heaven, Michael and his angels fought with 16:57 the dragon, and the dragon and his angels 16:59 fought. Now, there is no mystery here as to the 17:01 identity of the dragon. Notice verse 9, so the 17:03 great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old 17:06 called the devil and Satan, who deceives the 17:07 whole world, he was cast to the earth and his 17:08 angels are cast out with him. So, notice the war 17:11 begins in heaven. Where does the war begin 17:13 everyone? In heaven. In heaven, now do you 17:15 remember where the war finishes or where it 17:17 reaches its conclusion in climax? On earth, 17:20 that's right. Notice verse 17. And the dragon was 17:22 enraged with the woman and he went to make 17:24 war. There is the word, that's only the second 17:26 time it occurs in Revelation. Just those 17:28 two times in Revelation chapter 12. The dragon 17:30 was wroth with the woman and went to make war 17:32 with the rest of her offspring, who keep the 17:34 commandments of God and cling or have the 17:37 testimony of Jesus Christ. And so the far begins in 17:41 heaven and finishes on planet earth. Are you 17:43 with me on that, yes or no? Yes. Very powerful. 17:46 Now, let's try to understand a little more 17:49 clearly, what's taking place in verses 7 through 17:51 12. And let's walk through them as carefully 17:53 as we can. Notice verse 7 with me again. And war 17:56 broke out in heaven. When did this transpire? 17:59 We're going to try and unpack that this evening. 18:01 Michael and his angels fought with the dragon 18:03 and the dragon and his angels fought, but they 18:05 did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in 18:09 heaven and notice the last two words there, any 18:12 longer. Now, when it says that their place was not 18:15 found in heaven any longer, what do you 18:17 automatically know? What do they, what does the 18:19 addition of those two words tell you? That they 18:22 formally had been there, are you comfortable with 18:24 that, yes or no? They formally had been there, 18:27 but now that they have been cast out or threshed 18:30 out, their place was found in heaven no longer 18:33 or not any longer. So far so good. Yes or no? 18:36 Yes. And notice beginning in verse 9. So, the 18:38 great dragon, and notice this phrase occurs three 18:40 times. This cast phrase, so the great dragon was 18:43 cast out, that serpent of old called the Devil and 18:46 Satan who deceives, how much of the world 18:47 everyone? The whole world. He was cast to the 18:50 earth and his angels were cast out with him. 18:53 Now, what is the obvious emphasis there in verse 18:55 9. What is John trying to get across to us? What's 18:58 the thrust of verse 9? That he was cast, that's 19:01 exactly right. He was cast, he was cast, he 19:04 was cast three times in that one verse. Now, this 19:07 raises the question. When did that take place? 19:11 When did that transpire? Notice verse ten. 19:13 We're walking through this now in chronological 19:15 sequence. Then I heard a loud voice saying in 19:18 heaven now, what is that word everyone? 19:22 Now. Now, and I want you to take that word 'now' 19:23 and put it on a shelf in your mind, because we're 19:26 going to comeback to that word. What words on 19:27 the shelf in your mind? Now. Now. Now, notice 19:30 what verse ten says. Now, salvation and 19:33 strength and the kingdom of our God and the 19:35 power of his Christ have come. For the accuser of 19:38 our brethren who accused them before our God 19:40 day and night has been what everyone? Cast out, 19:43 there it is a fourth time. Again John emphasizes 19:47 that he is cast out. Now, verse ten tells us that 19:50 four things happened now. Four things transpired 19:54 and I wish we had time to go into all of them, 19:56 but let's just note them quickly and carefully. 19:58 The four things that were initiated, that were 20:00 brought into existence at this time whenever now 20:03 is, are the following. Salvation and strength 20:08 and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his 20:11 Christ. Do you see those four, yes or no? 20:13 Salvation, strength, the power of our God, and the 20:15 Kingdom of his Christ. Now, when did that 20:17 happen? When did this take place, you got it 20:19 right. Now, but the question is when is NOW. 20:23 Alright, let's continue. Notice now verse 11. 20:26 And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb 20:30 and by the word of their testimony, and they did 20:32 not love their lives to the death. Now, quick 20:34 question, where was the blood of the lamb 20:37 spilled? Where did that transpire? On the Cross. 20:41 Now you remember the last time we were 20:42 together, we asked the question and we went to 20:44 the Gospel of John and we tried to determine 20:46 according to Jesus, according to the Gospel 20:47 writer John. When was it that Satan was cast out? 20:51 Do you remember? Let's go to John chapter 12. 20:55 Go with me to John chapter 12. Now, take if 20:56 you have one of these fancy red ribbons, take 20:59 that ribbon and put it right here in Revelation 21:01 chapter 12 'cause we're going to comeback to it 21:03 in just a moment, but first let's go to John and 21:05 the 12th chapter. John chapter 12, now it is 21:08 significant to know that the same John that wrote 21:10 the Gospel of John is the same John that wrote the 21:13 Book of Revelation and you find significant 21:15 similarities in language between the two, if you 21:18 know the Gospel of John and the, the Apocalypse 21:21 or the Book of Revelation, significant similarities 21:23 not just in language, but in thematic context that 21:25 is to say the themes are the same. So, we're in 21:28 John chapter and we're reading in verse 31. 21:30 What verse are we reading everyone? Thirty one, 21:32 now what's the first word of verse 31. Now. 21:35 It's the word 'now' isn't it? Now, when is 'now' 21:38 let's notice what Jesus is saying. Now is the 21:41 judgment of this world and he says it again. 21:43 Now, the ruler of this world will be what's the 21:46 next two words? Cast out. Now that's exactly, 21:51 that's about the identical figuration, the same 21:54 phraseology and grammatical configuration 21:56 as we just read in Revelation chapter 12 21:58 and verse 10. Now, he is cast out, isn't that what 22:01 said, what it said there in Revelation chapter 22:02 12, yes or no? Amen. And Jesus just said that too. 22:06 Now, this raises the question, when is now? 22:09 In what context is the prince of this world cast 22:12 out. In what context is this world judged. And 22:15 verse 32 makes it crystal clear. You know, 22:18 verse 32 probably many of you by heart. 22:20 It says, and I, if I'm lifted up from the earth, 22:23 I will draw all peoples to myself. Now, quick 22:27 question for you, when was it that Jesus Christ 22:29 was lifted up from the earth, you tell me. 22:32 On the Cross, now let's put these two verses 22:34 together because they are in the immediate 22:36 context of one another. Jesus says in verse 31. 22:39 Now, is the prince of this world judged. Now, the 22:42 ruler of this world is cast out and then he says in 22:44 verse 32, if I'm lifted up all people will be drawn 22:47 to me. In other words on the Cross. So, in the 22:50 immediate context of the Cross Jesus affirms that 22:54 Satan was cast out, that he was what everyone? 22:59 Cast out. Cast out, now let's continue to unpack 23:01 this. Go with me to John chapter 14. John chapter 23:04 14, we're putting together piece-by-piece. 23:08 A very powerful and significant Bible truth 23:11 that will broaden our picture of the significance 23:14 of the Cross of Jesus Christ. John chapter 14 23:17 and I'm reading in verse 11. John chapter 14 and 23:21 I'm reading in verse 11. And pardon me, verse. 23:27 John chapter 14, we'll pick it up in verse 11. 23:29 Jesus says, believe me that I'm in the Father 23:31 and the Father in me or else believe me for the 23:34 sake of the works. The sake of the what 23:36 everyone? The works themselves. Now, what 23:39 works, to what works is he referring? Notice 23:41 verse 30. Verse 30 Jesus says, I will no longer, 23:45 same chapter. I will no longer talk with you much 23:48 for the ruler of this world is coming. Who is 23:49 the ruler of this world, everyone? Satan. 23:52 Satan, that's exactly right. The ruler of this 23:54 world is coming and he has nothing in me. 23:57 So, Jesus now has used this phrase two times to 24:00 refer to Satan. The ruler of this world is judged, 24:02 the ruler of this world comes and has nothing 24:04 in me. Now, what does Jesus mean when he says 24:06 the ruler of this world has nothing in me? 24:07 What do you think he is saying? Any ideas. 24:12 He is sinless. He is sinless, that's exactly 24:14 right. What he's affirming here is that Satan 24:16 comes to condemn. Satan comes to accuse, 24:19 Satan comes to cast down and to condemn and 24:23 Jesus says, he has no answering code in me. 24:26 He finds nothing in me. Did Jesus ever commit 24:28 a sin, yes or no? No. Now, is Satan fair in his 24:32 condemnation of you without the blood of 24:33 Jesus covering you, yes or no? Sure he is, but he 24:36 had nothing in Jesus. Nothing to condemn in 24:39 Jesus and in that context Jesus says, the prince of 24:42 this world comes, but he has nothing. He can say 24:44 nothing. Now, Jesus uses this phrase one more 24:47 time and this was in John chapter 16. Notice with 24:49 me verse 11. John chapter 16 and verse 11. 24:53 Jesus is speaking about the coming of the Holy 24:55 Spirit, the coming of the comforter and he says in 24:56 verse 11 of judgment because the ruler of this 25:01 world is judged. The, who of this world is 25:03 judged everyone? Ruler. Now, it's remarkable that 25:06 Jesus uses that phraseology. Why would 25:09 Jesus refer to Satan as the ruler of this world, 25:11 the ruler of this world and the prince of this 25:13 world? Chiefly for this reason. Remember the last 25:16 time we were together, we talked about that 25:17 experience there in the Garden of Eden. 25:19 Where God had given everything into the hands 25:21 of Adam and Eve and they were to stand on his 25:24 word and to trust him, but in and hearing to the 25:27 words of Satan over and above the words of God, 25:33 they effectively changed loyalties or switched 25:34 allegiance. Are you with me on that, yes or no? 25:36 They effectively stepped from the side of God 25:40 over to the side of Satan and because Adam was 25:43 our genetic father and our representative 25:45 ambassador, when Adam gained, went over to the 25:48 side of Satan and gave him his allegiance and 25:50 him his loyalty; Satan became effectively the 25:53 ruler of this age. It was Adam whom God had said 25:57 to him, you have, you shall have dominion and 26:00 you can subdue the world etcetera, etcetera. 26:03 And so when he now gives his allegiance and 26:05 his loyalty to Satan he has effectively handled, 26:08 handed the baton of this world, the rulership of 26:11 this world over to Satan and Jesus affirms that 26:14 three times. The ruler of this world, the ruler this 26:17 world, and the prince of this world. Now, write 26:18 this verse of scripture down because it's 26:20 incredible, we don't have time to go there. 26:22 Second Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4. 26:25 In Second Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4, 26:27 the Apostle Paul says something that is utterly 26:29 remarkable, in referring to Satan he actually 26:32 calls him. Listen to this carefully, the God of 26:35 this world. How many of you were aware of that? 26:39 That Satan is actually referred to as the God of 26:42 this world in the Bible. You can read it in Second 26:44 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4. Now, now 26:46 what does that mean? What does it mean when 26:48 Jesus affirms that he is the prince of this world 26:51 and Paul says, he is the God of this world, 26:53 to what are these men referring? Well, in order 26:57 to understand that let's go back now to Revelation 26:59 chapter 12. And let's see if we can put all of these 27:01 puzzle pieces together in to a cohesive hold. 27:04 Revelation chapter 12, Revelation chapter 12. 27:09 Jesus says that Lucifer, that is Satan was cast 27:13 out at the Cross. At the where everyone? Cross. 27:16 At the Cross. Now, let us note that again in verse 27:19 9. Revelation 12:9, so the great dragon was cast 27:22 out, that serpent of old called the Devil and 27:25 Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast 27:26 to the earth, and his angels were cast out with 27:28 him. Now, if we were to ask Jesus, Jesus when did 27:30 this happen. He would say exactly when I told 27:33 you it happened at the Cross? At the what 27:36 everyone? Cross. At the Cross. Now, notice this, 27:39 in verse 10, it says then I heard a loud voice 27:42 saying in heaven, 'now,' that's the very same word 27:45 that Jesus used. Now, salvation and strength 27:49 and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his 27:52 what? Christ, what's the word Christ means. 27:54 It means anointed. The messiah, he is saying at 27:58 this time, the strength, the salvation, the power 28:01 of his Christ and his Kingdom have come, 28:04 when did the power of his Christ come. 28:06 When was the power of the Christ most perfectly 28:09 epitomized and manifested, when was it? On the 28:12 Cross. Now, watch this, let's plug this into our 28:16 equation and you're going to see something utterly 28:18 remarkable. The contention that we're making 28:20 here is that at the Cross Satan was utterly cast 28:24 out from heaven, utterly cast out from the 28:26 Celestial Kingdom. Now, I know what you might 28:28 be thinking. You're saying, no, no, no Pastor 28:29 Asscherick you got that wrong. He was cast out in 28:31 the beginning. Sometime back thousands of years 28:34 before the Cross around the creation time, that's 28:36 when he was cast out. And the answer is, you're 28:38 right, but only partly. You're only partially 28:42 correct, if you say that's when he was cast out. 28:44 What I'm going to show you now, is that 28:45 according to Revelation he had been cast out in a 28:48 sense before that, but his fullest casting out 28:52 actually took place at the Cross. And let us 28:56 continue, this gets so powerful. Notice verse 28:58 ten, now salvation and strengthen the Kingdom of 29:00 our God have and the power of his Christ have 29:02 come for the accuser of our brethren, who accused 29:04 them before our God day and night has been cast 29:07 out. Let me ask you a quick question, according 29:08 to verse ten, did Satan have access; some kind 29:12 of access in verse 10 to God, yes or no? 29:15 Yes. Sure he did, because it says that he was 29:17 accusing them before our God day and night. 29:20 And John is rejoicing here. He says, Praise the 29:23 Lord in essence because now he has been cast out. 29:26 The one who formally was accusing day and night 29:28 no longer has access. Now notice verse 11, 29:31 it gets so, so much better and they overcame him 29:33 by the blood of the lamb and by the world of their 29:35 testimony and they did not love their lives to the 29:37 death. Notice verse 12 therefore. Now, you've 29:42 probably heard me say this before, but let me 29:43 repeat it. When you see the word therefore in the 29:46 Bible, you ask yourself what is therefore, amen. 29:50 Amen. The word therefore is used as a concluding 29:53 remark. What kind of a remark? A concluding 29:56 remark, in other words you've point number one, 29:58 point number two, point number three. And then 30:00 as you come to your conclusion, you say 30:01 therefore, are you with me, yes or no? 30:04 Yes. On the basis of my foregoing preemies 30:07 therefore this is my conclusion and notice 30:10 carefully John's conclusion, we've not read 30:13 this verse yet, but note it with me and note it 30:14 very carefully. Therefore rejoice all, what's the 30:19 next word. Heaven. Heavens and you who dwell 30:21 in them. According to that verse, who is to 30:25 rejoice? The heavens and those who dwell in 30:28 them. Now, notice what it goes on to say, woe to 30:31 the inhibitors of the? Earth. Earth and the sea, 30:34 for the devil has come down to you having great 30:37 wrath because he knows that he has a short time, 30:40 isn't verse 12 an interesting verse. 30:43 Verse 12, sends out paradoxical commands. 30:48 The first command is, if you live in heaven 30:50 rejoice. The second command is, if you live 30:52 on earth wow! Watch out, be aware, caution, 30:57 why? Why the paradox? Why the duality of, of, 31:01 of encouragements here. One to rejoice and one 31:03 to, to watch out and be careful and woe! Why? 31:07 Chiefly for this reason friends. At the Cross, 31:10 Satan was fully cast out from heaven. He lost all 31:15 access to heaven and the only place that he 31:18 continues to have access to the minds of free 31:21 sentient volitional beings is right here on planet 31:26 earth. Notice verse 13, now when the dragon saw. 31:32 When the dragon, what everyone? 31:34 Saw. When the dragon saw, the word there is 31:37 perceived. When the dragon perceived that he 31:41 had been cast to the earth. Notice there it is 31:44 again cast to the, what everyone? To the earth, 31:48 he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the 31:49 male child. Notice it at the end of verse 12, 31:51 it says, that now he knows he has a great long 31:55 amount of time. A short time and then in verse 31:58 13, it says, he saw that he was cast out. 32:01 What was it that sealed permanently and 32:05 inexorably and irrevocably the faith 32:08 of Satan. What was it that sealed the faith of 32:10 Satan? It was the Cross. Now, let's continue to, 32:12 to unpack this. Well, let's go to the screen. 32:15 Satan still had limited access to heavenly 32:18 realms, and he used this access to accuse God and 32:22 his people. Let me note this very carefully with 32:24 you. After the sin of Adam and Eve. After his 32:28 initial rebellion in heaven up to the time 32:31 of the Cross Satan still had limited access to 32:35 celestial realms. He had what kind of access did 32:37 I say? Limited access, that's John's whole point 32:41 there in Revelation chapter 12, verses 32:42 7 to 13, that's why he says, woe to the 32:45 inhibitors of the earth because now all of his 32:47 resources, all of his energies are concentrated 32:49 in the here and now, but the heavens can rejoice 32:51 because he cannot harass them any longer. 32:55 Now, let's continue this, Satan still had limited 32:57 access, why? What happened at the Cross. 33:00 Friends the Cross exposes the true nature 33:02 of Satan's character and plans. At the Cross, 33:07 we saw what the devil is really like, but more 33:10 than this what the Cross shows us is what God is 33:14 really like. Now, do we have some Bible proof 33:18 that Satan still had access to, to heavenly 33:21 realms, to some sort of celestial realm before 33:24 the Cross yet after his fall? Do we have some 33:27 Bible evidence of that, yes or no? Job. 33:29 That's exactly right. The Book of Job, let's go to 33:31 Job chapter 1. Now Job, is that in the Old 33:35 Testament or the New Testament. Old. That's in 33:37 the older testament. That's right, go with me 33:39 to Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1 just before the 33:42 Book of Psalms. Job chapter 1 and I'm going 33:45 to begin reading in verse 6. Job chapter 1 and I'm 33:48 reading in verse 6. Now, there was a day when 33:51 the sons of God came to present themselves 33:54 before the LORD, and Satan also came among 33:57 them. Now, you can be confident that the, 33:59 that this is not Lucifer the unfallen angel, 34:02 because it refers to him as Satan. Satan, 34:05 so Job says, there was a day when the sons of God 34:07 we don't know who the sons of God are, but some 34:08 sort of heavenly beings. Heavenly counsel 34:11 members come to present themselves before the 34:14 God of the universe and Satan comes lollygagging 34:17 into the assembly. Notice verse 7, and the Lord 34:22 said to Satan from where do you come, if, 34:24 if I might give a little paraphrase here; a little 34:27 interpretive paraphrase. What God is saying is, 34:29 what are you doing here? Are you with me? 34:33 Where are you coming from? The rest of verse 7. 34:36 So, Satan answered the Lord and said, well you 34:38 know, from going to and fro on the earth and from 34:40 walking back and forth on it. Why does Satan say 34:43 that? What he's essentially saying here? 34:46 You know, God I, I have just been walking to and 34:49 fro you know; back and forth on my planet, 34:53 planet earth. Now, friends the fact that verse 7, 34:57 where God says, where are you coming from and 34:59 the fact that he says I'm coming from earth proves 35:03 that this thing didn't take place on earth, 35:06 amen. Amen. See, I wouldn't ask you, if we 35:08 had an assemblage right here in the Urbandale 35:10 Church and we were in the Urbandale Church and 35:13 I said, where did you come from? It wouldn't 35:15 make any sense if you were already always in 35:17 Urbandale Church. You follow that, he said what 35:19 do you mean where did I come from. This is what 35:20 I'm at, this is where we're at. The very fact 35:23 that God says, why are you here and where did 35:26 you come from is Prima facie evidence friends 35:28 that they were not on planet earth. Are you 35:31 with me, yes or no? Yes. Now, where did this take 35:33 place, the answer is, are you ready here is the 35:35 Bible answer drum roll, we have no idea. Alright, 35:40 we just don't know, we have no idea where this 35:43 took place, but we do know where it didn't take 35:45 place and that's right here on planet earth. 35:46 It took place somewhere out there in celestial 35:50 heavenly realms, the sons of God are there in this 35:52 assembly. They're presenting their case 35:54 before God, they're there as representatives of the 35:57 unfalling universe, Satan comes walking in, God 35:59 interrogates him, what are you doing here? 36:01 Well, you know, just walking to and fro back 36:03 on my planet, that's the obvious implication 36:05 of what Satan is saying. Now, you know that 36:07 that's what Satan is saying here and you know, 36:09 that's the implication of what he is saying because 36:11 notice God's response in verse 8. God's response 36:13 in verse 8 proves that that's exactly what Satan 36:16 was saying, then the Lord said to Satan, have you 36:19 considered my servant, who everyone? Job. 36:22 Job, that there was none like him on the earth, 36:25 a blameless and a bright man who fears God and 36:28 shuns evil. What's God saying here in essence? 36:31 You claim the planet as your own, but have you 36:33 considered my servant Job, he doesn't follow 36:36 your ways, sure many of them do, but he is not 36:39 under your rulership and under your banner. 36:41 He does not take you as his representative. 36:44 Are you with me, yes or no? God here is taking 36:46 issue with Satan's claim to have universal control 36:50 over this planet. Notice verse 9, so Satan 36:53 answered the Lord and said, does Job fear God 36:55 for nothing. Why does he fear you God? 36:58 Why does he, why does he give you reference, 37:01 respect and, and reverence and, and he is 37:03 deferential toward you. Verse 10, have you not 37:07 made a hedge around him and around his 37:09 household and around all he has in every side, 37:11 you have blessed the work of his hands and his 37:12 possessions have increased, but now he 37:14 says stretch out your hands and touch all that 37:17 he has and he will surely curse you to your face. 37:19 Friends, what is Satan saying? What is he 37:23 saying? What, what is the the thrust of what Satan 37:25 is saying about Job's obedience? That it's a 37:29 farce. That's what he saying. He is saying it's 37:32 farce. The only reason that he obeys is you give 37:35 him the goodies. If you take away the goodies, 37:37 he will turn on you and he will curse you to your 37:39 face. He is accusing. He is what everyone? 37:43 He is accusing God, amen. Amen. And he is 37:47 accusing Job. His acquisition of God is, 37:51 the only way you can get friends is by giving 37:53 them the goods. And his acquisition of Job is the 37:56 only reason he is loyal to you, the only reason 37:58 he stays faithful to you is because you give him 38:00 all of the nice goodies and amenities of his life. 38:03 It's an acquisition party. Are you with me? 38:06 And then next, that's the context of the Book 38:07 Job and you know the context of Job, 38:09 everything is stripped away from him, family, 38:11 material goods, health, everything is taken away 38:14 and I love that phrase there in Job or in Job 38:16 where he says, though he slay me, yet will I 38:20 trust him. Amen. Amen. Amen. At one point his 38:23 wife comes to him and says curse God and die, 38:26 though he slay me, yet will I trust him. 38:31 Job proved that Satan's acquisitions were 38:34 groundless and false, amen. Amen. 38:36 But don't miss the larger point. The larger point 38:39 here is that Satan had access both to God and to 38:45 earth. So, he could accuse God and he could 38:47 accuse his followers somewhere in the heavenly 38:50 realms. Are you with me, yes or no? Amen. 38:52 But what John is saying in Revelation chapter 12 38:54 is, is that limited access was cut off, when? 39:01 At the Cross. Now, why might that be? Why 39:04 might it be that at the Cross no longer Satan was 39:08 allowed access to these other celestial realms? 39:13 Friends the reason is just this. The only place 39:16 that is yet undecided about Satan and his plans 39:21 and his ploys is planet earth. Are you with me on 39:24 that? The only planet that has not yet made up 39:27 its mind is this planet. Friends, at the Cross all of 39:33 the unfallen worlds, all of the angels, all of the 39:37 unfallen universe, universes and galaxies 39:39 and whatever is out there. All of them saw 39:43 that Satan was a murderer. Satan was a 39:44 what word did I say? Murderer. Murderer, now 39:48 you say well big deal, we know that. Well, let's, 39:51 let's back up here just a moment. Satan had raised 39:56 acquisitions and insinuations against the 39:58 government and character of God, true or false? 40:00 True. True, that's exactly right. You can read 40:02 it in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 and other 40:04 places. He basically said in essence I could 40:06 run the government, I could run the 40:07 government of this universe better than God 40:10 can and he began to raise insinuations and doubts 40:12 about God's government, about his nature and 40:14 about his character. Now, do you think his 40:17 arguments were persuasive, yes or no? Yes. 40:20 Absolutely, how do we know they were 40:22 persuasive? Because a full one third of the 40:26 unfallen angels. That is to say, angels that had 40:29 the full capacity of their mental strength. 40:33 They believed his, his insinuations, they 40:36 believed his persuasive innuendos and 40:39 insinuations and they followed him. Are you with 40:43 me on that? Amen. Now, now these must have 40:45 been some very persuasive arguments because 40:48 civil war basically took place right there. 40:52 Now, do you think that there would have been 40:53 questions in the minds of the two thirds that 40:55 remained, yes or no? Of course, think about 40:59 that friends, a full one third of the loyal angels 41:01 have left, they've abandoned God for this 41:04 character Lucifer now Satan and, and they're 41:06 gonna be scratching their heads and thinking well 41:09 it, it doesn't seem like what Satan is saying is 41:11 right but maybe he is on to something. 41:14 And friends when Jesus Christ came incarnate and 41:17 he was put into the womb of Mary and he walked 41:20 the path with; of tears and he came as a man and 41:24 he grew and he went eventually to the Cross 41:26 through that whole period of 30+ years the angels 41:29 in heaven were basically looking down and 41:31 holding their breathe. They were terrified, what 41:36 will happen, God becomes a man. And friends, 41:40 when, when Satan took Jesus and laid him out on 41:43 that Cross and through those soldiers, put him 41:47 on that Cross and raised him up, all of the loyal 41:50 angels saw that what God have been saying 41:53 about Lucifer all along, Satan all along was true, 41:57 mainly that he was a murderer. And when the 41:59 unfallen universes saw that. When they saw him 42:02 put him on the Cross and actually kill God, 42:04 they said we, we're not interested. We want to 42:07 have nothing to do with this. Are you with me on 42:10 this? Amen. So friends the minds of the unfallen 42:13 universes was made up at the Cross. Jesus says 42:18 in John chapter 8, verse 44. He is speaking to the 42:20 Scribes and the Pharisees and he says, you are of 42:22 your father, the devil and then he says, he was 42:24 a murderer from the beginning. Now, that's a 42:27 remarkable thing for Jesus to say. He was a 42:29 murderer from the beginning. Did God know 42:31 that yes or no? Yes. But here is the point, 42:34 the other angels didn't. It wasn't until the 42:39 Cross that they could see with clear vision what 42:43 Satan's all about? What his plans are and the 42:45 direction that it will take the universe? 42:47 Now, think about this for just a moment. 42:50 Imagine with me that one of President Bush's 42:52 senior level advisers; one of his senior level 42:55 cabinet members begins to raise doubts and 42:57 insinuations about the president. And, and he is 43:00 charging or she is charging major scandal. 43:04 Major scandal throughout the entire presidency 43:06 and you know she; she is ready to document it 43:08 and here and here and she is about ready to go 43:10 on television and announce the whole thing 43:12 scandal throughout the whole administration and 43:14 the day before or two days before, she is to 43:17 leak all of this information, she turns 43:19 up dead. Just out of nowhere, surprise. She, 43:24 she died in a tragic car accident. Now, what if 43:27 that happened, of course this is a 43:28 fictitious situation, but just imagine with me. 43:30 What is everybody going to assume if that 43:33 happened? What do you think, what do you think 43:36 people would think? She was on to something, 43:40 you following me. She was on to something. 43:42 And so they couldn't afford to have it come 43:43 out and you got rid of her. Now, think about 43:45 this in terms of the celestial, this cosmic 43:48 conflict. Satan begins to raise doubts about God's 43:50 character, about his graciousness, about his 43:52 nature. He begins to say, well you know, I could 43:54 really run things better. God's not the benevolent, 43:56 nice guy that he seems or the, the magnanimous 43:58 nice guy that he seems to be. He is really 44:00 malevolent malefactor. He is a bad guy. 44:04 Obviously this was persuasive and if God in 44:06 a moment had just said, that's it you're out. 44:09 And he had killed Satan and he had killed all of 44:12 his followers. What do you think the other 44:15 angels may have thought? He was onto 44:19 something. And friends it probably would have 44:21 only confirmed their very fears namely that God 44:23 was a great big bad guy. Are you understanding 44:26 now, yes or no? So, what did God do? God 44:30 gave Satan this planet and he said, alright go 44:32 down there, try to tempt Adam and Eve. And after 44:34 they fell he said; okay the, the planet is yours, 44:36 that's why Jesus says the ruler of this world, 44:38 the ruler of this world, the prince of this world. 44:40 And Paul says, the God of this world because 44:42 this little planet is a theater for the entire 44:45 universe to see how God's plans contrast with 44:49 Satan's plans. How God's governmental system 44:52 contrasts with Satan's governmental system. 44:54 And at the Cross all of the unfallen universes 44:57 says, no, no, no. We see where this thing is going. 45:00 We see what Satan is all about. We're not 45:02 interested, but you and I as individuals are still 45:07 making up our mind. Now, let's go very 45:10 quickly to First Corinthians chapter 4. 45:12 First Corinthians chapter 4, that's in the New 45:14 Testament. First Corinthians, what chapter 45:16 everyone? Four. Four, very quickly verse 9. 45:19 Who wrote First Corinthians by the way? 45:21 Paul. The Apostle Paul and in First Corinthians 45:22 chapter 4 and I'm reading in verse 9. The Apostle 45:24 Paul says this. For I think that God has displayed 45:28 us, the apostles lashed as men condemn to death 45:32 for we have been made a spectacle to the world 45:35 both to angels and to men. Now, notice he says 45:39 there we've been made a spectacle. We've been 45:41 made a what? Spectacle. Spectacle, now I'm 45:43 reading from the New King James version. And if 45:45 I look in my marginal reference there of that 45:46 word spectacle. There is a little one by it. 45:48 And if I go over hoop to the center call and I look 45:51 up that word spectacle. Do you what word appears 45:53 there. Theater. Theater, that's exactly right. 45:56 It's the word for theater. It's the Greek word for 45:58 theater. Now, let's try to understand what 46:00 Paul is saying here. Paul is saying that we 46:02 the apostles that is to say the church of God we 46:05 are the theater for both angels and men. In other 46:09 words, what do you do at a theater? You say, I, 46:14 I don't know, I have never been to the theater. 46:15 Well, you're good Christian folk that don't 46:17 go to the theater, but what do other people do 46:20 at theaters. They watch. And Paul here is saying 46:24 this whole great cosmic conflict. This whole great 46:27 cosmic plan, this great battle between good and 46:30 evil, light and darkness, righteousness and 46:32 unrighteousness is being played out and we're a 46:35 theater, we're a spectacle and all of the angels are 46:38 watching. Amen. Are you understanding now? 46:41 Yes. And friends, the, the, the moment of most 46:44 intense interest was when they saw Satan ding, 46:48 ding put Jesus on the Cross and when they saw 46:50 that, not interested. Their minds were made up 46:55 and that's why John says there in Revelation 46:56 chapter 12. He says, verse 4, or verse, 46:59 Revelation 12:12 he says therefore rejoice you 47:01 heavens and those that dwell in them, but woe to 47:03 the inhibitors of the earth and of the sea 47:04 because the Devil is coming down. And he 47:06 knows, he's got just a short time. Why rejoice 47:08 to the heavens because God took away Satan's 47:11 access to those celestial kingdoms. Their mind 47:14 was made up, what's the point. Why should Satan 47:17 be allowed to have access anymore. Their mind is 47:19 totally made up and so Satan, that's why it says 47:21 in verse 13. He saw that he was here, I don't know 47:24 what happens. I don't know how spiritual beings 47:26 travel, but maybe it's like star trek where they're 47:27 beamed up you know, beam me up, but maybe 47:30 Satan tried to do that, he said. And he couldn't, 47:36 he saw, he perceived that he was stuck to this 47:40 planet. And when he realizes that he's stuck to 47:43 this planet and he sees what has taken place on 47:45 the Cross and that Jesus has come out of the tomb 47:48 triumphantly on resurrection morning. 47:50 Now, he knows his tomb, or pardon me, 47:54 his destiny and his faith is sealed. 47:58 Amen. And what does he do, repent. No, now he 48:02 pours all of his energies and all of his resources 48:06 into one central locality, namely a neighborhood 48:11 near you and I, planet earth, coming to a 48:15 neighborhood near you friends. Satan pouring 48:17 out all of his hellish resources right here on 48:21 this planet. Why? Because at the Cross, he lost his 48:25 access. So it's kind of making sense now, 48:28 yes or no? Yes. Now, notice it becomes even 48:31 more powerful, go wit me to several verses I 48:35 want to go to. Let's go to, let's go to First 48:37 Corinthians chapter 1. Since we're right there 48:40 in First Corinthians, let's stay there and go 48:42 to First Corinthians chapter 1. This planet is 48:45 the only planet yet undecided, have you ever 48:49 heard of the term sympathy for the Devil? 48:50 You ever heard of that? Yes. We're the only ones 48:52 that manifest sympathy for the Devil. Have you 48:54 ever heard somebody say, well you know let me 48:55 just play Devil's advocate. You understand 48:58 it. We're the only planet that's not made up 48:59 our minds yet friends. The only ones and here is 49:02 the thing about planet earth. Planet earth will 49:04 not make up it's mind corporately. All of planet 49:08 earth is not going to decide one way or the 49:10 other. Planet earth will be saved as individuals. 49:14 As individuals we will decide whether or not we 49:17 want to follow Christ or the Kingdom of darkness. 49:20 Remember Colossians chapter 2 and verse 15. 49:22 And the hostile princes and rulers He shook off 49:24 from Himself, and boldly displayed them as his 49:27 conquests, when by the Cross He triumphed over 49:29 them. Remember that verse, that's the verse 49:31 where, where Jesus basically took Satan by 49:33 the scruff of the neck and walked him through 49:35 the streets of the universe and said, this is 49:37 the one. He triumphed over him, where did he 49:40 triumph over the man? At the Cross, at the where 49:43 everyone? At the Cross. At the Cross. Brothers 49:46 and sisters, this is absolutely powerful, 49:49 there is this great cosmic conflict. 49:51 This great controversy going on, every one of 49:53 the angels has made up their minds friends. 49:56 The unfallen angels have made up their minds 49:58 for God, and the fallen angels have solidified 50:00 their decision for Satan and the only people yet 50:02 decide are people like you and I, who must 50:04 decide Christ's way Satan's way. We will not 50:07 make this decision as a planet or as a nation. 50:10 This decision is not even made as a family. 50:12 This decision is made as an individual. 50:15 Amen. Are you understanding, yes or no? 50:17 Yes. Right here on planet earth we see this 50:19 contrast, this playing out of the Kingdom of 50:22 Christ, verses the Kingdom of Satan. Now, 50:26 I told you to go to First Corinthians chapter 4, 50:27 but let me sort of paint the picture here. 50:30 In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus tells the parable 50:32 of the sower. The parable of the, what everyone? 50:34 Sower, keep your fingers there in First 50:36 Corinthians chapter 1. We'll come right back to 50:38 it. And go with me quickly to Matthew chapter 50:40 13. In Matthew chapter 13, we're going to get a 50:43 a lesson in speed reading. Are you ready? 50:47 Matthew chapter 13, Jesus tells a parable and 50:49 I'm in verse 24. What verse am I in everyone? 50:51 Twenty four. Verse 24, Another parable put he 50:54 forth unto them, saying the Kingdom of heaven 50:55 is like a man, who sowed good seed in his field. 50:57 What kind of seed? Good. Good seed, but while 50:59 man slept, he came and sow tares among the 51:01 wheat and went his way, but when the grain has 51:02 sprout and produced a crop. Then the tares also 51:04 appeared and the servants of the owner came and 51:05 said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in 51:07 your field? How then does it have tares? He said 51:09 to them an enemy has done this. The servant 51:11 said to him, watch this carefully. Do you want us 51:13 to go then and gather them up? You want us to 51:16 gather up the bad stuff. What does he say in verse 51:19 29, but he said, what's the word, no, why? Lest 51:23 while you gather up the tares you also root up the 51:25 wheat with them, let both grow together until 51:27 the when everyone, harvest and in the time 51:30 of the harvest, I will say the reapers first 51:32 gathered together the tares and bind them in 51:33 bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat 51:34 into my barn. Now, any gardeners here, I'm a 51:39 gardener. Well, my wife and I have a beautiful 51:41 garden in the back of our house, 13 feet by 24 feet 51:44 and two years ago, would you believe out of that 51:45 little garden plot, we got 280 pounds of 51:47 tomatoes, amen. Amen. We said, Lord Jesus, 51:50 bless the garden and boom did he ever bless 51:51 it, tomatoes everywhere. Tomatoes, tomatoes here 51:55 is the point. For somebody who is not a gardener, 51:57 who is not schooled in these things. When, when 51:59 you go out and you look at, at those fresh little 52:04 budding burgeoning plants, it's tough to tell 52:07 for somebody who does not have a green thumb, 52:08 the difference between a weed and the plant. 52:12 So you send out an inexperienced person and 52:14 they're gonna say. Umm! And they might pull up 52:17 the one you want to keep. Why? Because friends, 52:21 listen carefully it's tough to tell in the beginning 52:24 what's the bad and what's the good, but when they 52:26 come to maturation, when they come to harvest, 52:28 is it tough to tell the difference between a 52:29 fissile and a tomato plant where they're fully 52:31 grown, yes or no? No. Now, think about that, 52:33 when Satan began his rebellion. It was tough 52:37 to tell, but now that his rebellion has come to 52:40 total fruition and Jesus was put on the Cross, 52:43 it's crystal clear now friends what that is all 52:46 about, are you with me, yes or no? Amen. 52:48 That's Jesus whole point. And he says, in the time 52:50 of the harvest, it will be very clear both the wheat 52:53 and the tares must fully mature before they can be 52:55 perfectly distinguished from one another, amen. 53:00 Amen. So, then I'm in First Corinthians chapter 53:02 1. And I'm reading in verse 18. Paul says, 53:07 for the message of the Cross is foolishness to 53:09 those who are perishing, but to us who are being 53:11 saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 53:14 I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring 53:16 to nothing the understanding of the 53:17 prudent, where is the wise? God calls out 53:19 almost rhetorically. Where is the scribe, 53:21 where is the disputer of this age, has not God 53:23 made foolish the wisdom of this world, for 53:26 sensing the wisdom of God, the world through 53:27 wisdom did not know God, it pleased God 53:29 through the foolishness of preaching to save 53:31 those who believe. For the Jews request to sign 53:34 and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach 53:37 Christ crucified, Christ what everyone? Notice 53:40 what it says in verse 23. To the Jews, a stumbling 53:42 block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those 53:45 who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the 53:47 power of God and the wisdom of God, because 53:50 the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the 53:52 weakness of God is stronger than men, amen. 53:56 Amen. Now, notice chapter 2, in verse 2. He says, 53:59 for I determine not to know anything among you 54:00 except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 54:03 Notice Paul says, when we go out and we preach 54:05 the Cross. When we go out and we preach the 54:08 Cross, we find that there are three potential 54:11 responses. How many potential responses? 54:14 Three, he says, when we preach the Cross the, 54:17 the, the Greek step over and it's foolishness to 54:19 them. They're not interested. What do the 54:21 Jews do? They stumble over the Cross. And 54:24 friends your option tonight is to stop and 54:27 shoulder it. Amen. There only three options 54:30 friends, Paul says, when we preach the Cross, 54:32 this is the only planet that is not yet decided 54:35 right here. The rest of the universe has decided, 54:38 this planet has not yet decided and friends when 54:41 Paul said that he preached the Cross. 54:42 The smart people, the Jews, the Athenians, or 54:44 pardon me, the Greeks, they would step over the 54:47 Cross, not interested, it was foolishness to them 54:49 and the Jews looked at and they said, no, no, 54:51 no. We do not believe in the messianic identity of 54:53 Jesus. And it's not something that they 54:55 stepped over intellectually, it's 54:56 something that they stumbled over, are you 54:58 with me, yes or no? Amen. Now, you only have 55:01 three options. You can step over it like the 55:03 Greeks, you can stumble over that like the Jews 55:05 or you can stop and lift it like Simon. 55:09 Amen. Amen. Amen. Friends, the universe has 55:14 made up their mind. The question tonight is, 55:17 will you make up your mind. Friend, I put this 55:20 question to you. Tonight what will you do with 55:24 the Cross. The Cross is the fulcrum of the ages. 55:31 The Cross is the great fulcrum that will decide 55:32 not only the destiny of the universe, but your 55:34 destiny. Are you understanding, yes or no? 55:37 Yes. Now, as we close I'm wondering if there is, 55:40 if there is a young man in here or a young 55:41 woman or somebody in this room who wants to 55:43 stand to their feet right now, not everybody, 55:45 but somebody who wants to say tonight I'm 55:46 making my decision for Christ. Tonight I'm gonna 55:50 follow him all the way. Why doesn't that person 55:52 stand right now, who is that person? Is there 55:55 somebody in this room who will stand right now 55:56 and say for me it's all the way. I'm making my 55:58 decision tonight. Some young man, some young 56:02 woman who wants to stand to their feet and 56:04 say this is my decision. Friend, how about you? 56:10 You're sitting there tonight in our television 56:12 audience. What would prevent you from standing 56:15 and joining those of us here in the Urbandale 56:16 Seventh-day Adventist Church? Friend, what will 56:18 you do with the Cross of Jesus? Will you step 56:21 over? Will you stumble over it or will you stop 56:24 tonight, stop and shoulder it. You can lift 56:28 the Cross, Jesus said pick up your Cross and 56:30 come after me. Friend, lift your Cross for Jesus. |
Revised 2014-12-17