Participants: Pr. John Lomacang (Host), Pr. C A Murray
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL080030
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00:01 Hello friends, grab your Bible and a friend
00:03 and sit back as we explore God's word 00:05 together on this edition of House Calls. 00:22 Hello, friends and welcome to another 00:23 House Calls excursion. As you know, 00:25 this is always a journey because we go 00:27 through the deepest place in the earth and 00:30 it's not a whole in the ground somewhere, 00:31 but it's God's word. It is a pit from which 00:36 all the great blessings are found. 00:37 And maybe the pit is not the best word to use, 00:40 it's a treasure, that's a better word. 00:42 It's a treasure house where God is going 00:44 to speak to us today. So, thank you for tuning 00:46 and you may wanna hit the record button 00:47 right now because this is a program you do 00:50 not wanna miss. As you know, 00:51 my name is John Lomacang and 00:53 I have in my, in the studio with me today 00:55 my very good friend Pastor C.A. Murray, 00:57 good to have you here C.A. 00:58 Good to be here maybe we ought 00:59 to call it a mine you know, we can, we can, 01:01 you dig gold from a mine, so. 01:03 That's good, a mine shaft, a mine shaft. 01:05 The word pit just didn't fit on that one. 01:08 I know, I tell you it's always good 01:10 to be on the program with you. 01:11 Likewise I haven't done this in a while man, 01:12 it's good to be with you. 01:13 I know our, our color's somehow yellow 01:15 and blue do, they do match together, 01:17 well, somehow we're gonna make it work 01:19 because that, that's what we have, 01:20 that's the fall for today. Yes. And as, 01:23 as many of you watching the program may 01:25 know we go back ways, I call him C.A. 01:28 now, he was my pastor in New York, 01:31 and the Lord is worked it out, 01:32 I'm his pastor now here in Thompsonville. 01:34 So, I'm getting him back for all the things 01:36 he preached at me for, but he brought me 01:39 by his preaching as a youth out of the world. 01:41 And I just discovered that we're not too 01:42 far apart in age. So, I can't use the word 01:44 youth and. Yes, but we're both young then. 01:47 We were both young then, yeah, 01:48 there you go, but before we're going to 01:50 our program I'm gonna ask the Lord to bless us 01:52 and Pastor C.A. would you have prayer for us? 01:54 Be glad to, okay. Heavenly Father, 01:55 again we do thank you for your word, 01:57 for the power of your word. 01:59 We thank to you that spiritual things are 02:01 spiritually discerned, and we ask now for 02:04 spiritual eye self and eye side that 02:07 we may understand and teach that which 02:09 we know who is right, but more than that 02:11 may we be given the strength to put into 02:13 practice those things which we learned 02:15 from your word. So, that we can be like 02:17 Christ Jesus and be prepared when 02:20 He comes and we thank you for this program 02:22 and for this ministry in Jesus name, amen. 02:25 Amen, and friends, as you all know Bible 02:29 questions are a large part of this program 02:31 and many of you have send in Bible questions. 02:34 And thank you for your faithfulness because 02:36 we do need to be able to answer questions 02:37 that somebody else maybe wondering what 02:40 the answer for that is. So, one of the reasons 02:42 why we answer them on the air, 02:44 is because not everyone but thing of the 02:46 question that you thought of, 02:48 but it would answer something that they 02:49 have had linger in the back of their minds. 02:51 So, if you have any questions you can 02:53 send those to housecallls@3abn.org 02:56 that's housecallls@3abn.org. 02:59 And that's where we go to download them. 03:01 And we have some questions today that 03:04 hopefully we're going to take at the first 03:05 half of our program. So, C.A. 03:07 why don't you just dive into the first question. 03:09 What do we have for today? 03:10 Alright, and, you can, you can weigh 03:11 in on this one pastor. Yeah. You know, 03:13 Teresa calls and she says, 03:14 I would like to have solid scriptural evidence 03:17 that I can use to defend the Sabbath. 03:19 All the major doctrines I always like 03:21 to sort to commit to memory five good 03:23 strong texts. And then if anything else, 03:24 okay, pops up I add to them. 03:26 So, I, I would, Teresa I will take you first 03:29 to Genesis 2:2 and 3 and 4, which, 03:33 which the Lord ended His working, 03:34 blessed the Sabbath so He sanctified it, 03:36 He hallowed it. Now, the reason I start with 03:38 Genesis is because you want to deal 03:39 with the argument people will say that 03:41 Sabbath is a Jewish institution. 03:43 Well, when you begin with the creation week, 03:45 there are no Jews. We are 2000 plus years 03:49 before the first Jew. Right. 03:51 So, at the end of creation week, 03:53 the Sabbath is put into existence, 03:54 it is sanctified, hallowed and blessed 03:56 by the Lord. That's the first one, 03:58 the second is Exodus chapter 20, 04:01 verses 8 through 11, of course that is 04:04 The Sabbath section of the Ten Commandments. 04:06 Those are the laws given by God, 04:11 they were put on tables of stones, 04:13 they were eternal, they're a transcript 04:15 of God's law. So, then you have you the 04:16 first codification, the writing down, 04:20 that giving out of the Ten Commandments, 04:22 Sabbath commandment part of the 04:23 Ten Commandments. Ten Commandments 04:25 always in force, Ten Commandments for all men 04:27 for all the time, Sabbath at the center 04:29 of the Ten Commandments. 04:30 The Sabbath is where God signs His 04:32 name to the Ten Commandments without 04:34 the fourth commandment we wouldn't even 04:35 know who the author of the 04:37 Ten Commandments is? The first commandment 04:38 says, Thou shalt have no other Gods before me, 04:40 but who is He. We find out who He is in 04:42 the fourth commandment, 04:43 of course it starts with the day. Remember, 04:45 then a favorite of mine, Isaiah 58:13 and 14. 04:50 "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, 04:51 from doing thy pleasure on my holy day." 04:53 God says, it is my holy day, not man's holy day, 04:55 my holy day. "And call the Sabbath a delight, 04:58 holy of the Lord, honourable. 05:00 Not doing than our words and finding them, 05:01 doing their new ways and finding their own 05:03 pleasures, no speaking their own words. 05:05 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; 05:06 and I will cause thee to ride upon the high 05:08 places of the earth, and feed thee with the 05:09 heritage of Jacob thy father: 05:10 for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." 05:12 Going kind of fast, I wanna get through 05:14 all of this. Next I will go to the New Testament. 05:18 One of my favorite Mark 2:28, 27 and 28 05:21 you know those. Okay. The Bible says, 05:25 He is the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath, 05:28 let's, let's read that because I'm, you know, 05:29 I'm trying to go so fast. Yeah. Mark 2:27 and 28. 05:33 Yeah and, and that one really jumps out at me, 05:35 because He says, then he unto them. Yes. 05:37 The Sabbath was made for man, and. 05:39 And not man for the Sabbath. 05:40 Well, therefore, therefore, 05:42 that will the son of man is, someone is Lord 05:43 of the Sabbath. Okay. So, it, it tell us which 05:46 day he is Lord of and also tells us what 05:48 is the Lord's day. You hear many people talk 05:49 about the term Lord's day, 05:51 which only appears one day, 05:52 one place in the Bible in Revelation by the way, 05:55 but this kind of explains it for you. 05:58 It's says that, Jesus Christ is Lord of the 06:00 Sabbath. So, Jesus Christ is the Lord of the day, 06:03 which is the Lord's day and of course 06:04 the Lord's day then is the Sabbath. 06:07 One other Luke chapter 4 verse 16. 06:11 Christ went into the synagogue on the 06:12 Sabbath day as His custom was. 06:15 So, it was Christ custom to keep the Sabbath 06:17 to go into synagogue on the Sabbath, so, 06:19 He didn't change it. Then of course the 06:22 last one I would commend you to would 06:23 be Acts chapter 13 verses 42 through 44, 06:27 where the Apostles met and taught on the 06:29 Sabbath day. So, that's lets us know that 06:31 even after Christ died and ascended and 06:34 went to heaven. The Sabbath was still being 06:36 kept by the Apostles. So, that's five or 06:38 six texts that you can use right off 06:40 Genesis 2:2, Exodus 28, Isaiah 58, 06:45 Isaiah 58:13 and 14, Luke 4:16, Mark, 06:50 Mark 2:27 and 28, and Acts 13:42 through 44. 06:55 Wow! He said that is fast as a New Yorker would. 07:03 What's good about that is you recorded 07:05 that and you could rewind that and slow 07:08 it down in Thompsonville speed. 07:11 Yeah, it was, it was a little quick, but, 07:13 but that's good to you. Those are, 07:14 those are strong texts and, 07:15 and of course there are many, many, 07:16 many other because the Sabbath is throughout 07:18 the Bible. It is such an important doctrine that 07:21 God gives us many clues to it's keeping. 07:25 There was Exodus 13, where it talks about 07:27 it is the sign between me and thee, 07:29 that the Lord does sanctify you. 07:31 And so there are a lot of things about the 07:32 Sabbath and it is actually one of the 07:33 more easy doctrines to defend because 07:36 there is recorded no change of the day. 07:39 The only day that God ever asks us to keep 07:41 was the day that He made holy, 07:43 and of course that is a Sabbath day. 07:45 You know when we talk about the Sabbath, it 07:48 is such a beautiful, it's such a beautiful gift 07:52 from God, I'm gonna use that word because 07:55 I think of the Sabbath and a lot of people 07:57 say well that's the difference with the day, 07:59 I mean what difference does it make, 08:00 what day you select? I've been married 08:03 now for 25 years and I won't tell my wife 08:05 that on May 22nd. What difference does 08:08 it make? The difference with the Sabbath 08:10 as compared to any other day it's a love 08:13 relationship. Yeah. And so when the Bible 08:15 says in Exodus 20, I believe it says 08:18 in verse 10. He says, "For the seventh day 08:22 is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." 08:25 Now, the question I always ask people or the 08:28 question I put forth is not so much which 08:30 day would, would be better for you, 08:33 but which Lord are you serving? 08:36 If you serve the Lord of heaven and earth 08:38 the one who created the world, 08:40 then He says, the seventh day is the 08:43 Sabbath of the Lord thy God. 08:46 So, the question is who is your God? 08:48 So, when you narrow down who your God is? 08:51 You already know who the day? 08:52 It's just like saying, when I narrow down, 08:53 if there are seven women in a room 08:55 you know, a pastor E.E. 08:57 Cleveland did this well and Pastor C.D. 08:59 Brooks and so many famous evangelists would 09:01 do that's to put seven women on the stage. 09:03 Yeah. And they all say to the church does 09:07 it matter which one I take home. 09:09 I know and Church would say, yes. 09:12 Remember that? Oh, yeah. And then he was 09:13 starting narrowing them down. 09:14 When I narrow them down. 09:16 What do they all have in common? 09:17 They're all women. Well, like all days of 09:20 the week they're all just days. 09:22 Well, lets start narrowing them down. 09:23 One name is from New York, 09:25 if you're not from New York get off the 09:27 stage and you know narrow that down. 09:29 Well, if you're not from Brooklyn get off 09:30 the stage and narrow it down even more, 09:31 if your name, last name doesn't end 09:34 with the word Brooks get off the stage 09:36 and narrow it down. And if your anniversary 09:38 is not actually, just get off the stage. 09:39 And before you know there is only one woman 09:41 standing there and he would ask the church, 09:42 is it okay, if I go home with this one? 09:44 And they all say, yes because he said, 09:46 the reason is this is the one that God sanctified; 09:50 this is the only woman that God has given 09:52 an identify mark that there is a love 09:54 relationship between us. So, the Sabbath is 09:57 an identifying mark, as a love relationship 10:00 between you and God. So, if you love Him, 10:02 he's already picked the day. Precisely. 10:05 You know, yeah, and register on that. 10:07 Yeah, you know, it's the, the day has been it, 10:09 it's God's Sabbath day, He sanctified it, 10:12 He made him, but He did it for us. 10:14 Right. It was, it was, it was created for man, 10:18 it was created for us to take time to 10:21 reflect on to, you know, if you, 10:23 if you never spend time with your wife, 10:26 she probably wouldn't be your wife very long, 10:29 same with mine. You need to spend time 10:32 with the person that you're in love with. 10:34 And so God has carved out of the weak 10:36 a temple in time for us to turn off the 10:40 background noise of the world. Yeah. 10:41 And concentrate on him and reaffirm. 10:44 Now, of course we're doing little things all 10:45 the time like you're giving flowers, right, 10:47 you're you know, you're saying nice things 10:48 all the time, but they set aside time for you 10:51 to spend time with, with the Lord. 10:52 And that is the sabbath day. 10:53 And, and really John, if you think about it, 10:55 if everybody in the world kept the Sabbath day. 10:59 Certainly we would, we would be closer to God, 11:01 we'd be closer to one another. 11:03 And we, we would, we would walk better, 11:07 our lives would be better. Keeping Sabbath 11:09 is not something we have to do, 11:12 it's something you want to do. 11:13 When Angie says, your, your wife as we tape 11:15 this, this broadcast is a little ill. 11:17 So, when she said last night, 11:19 John could you get me a glass of water? 11:21 Did you shake your head and say, 11:22 I got to go and get you water. 11:23 Why would I have to get you water? 11:24 Yeah. What is that all about? 11:25 Even though you gladly got up and 11:28 got her water, right, because you love her. 11:29 Right. And it's part of, of a formula, 11:30 it's not a big deal for you. 11:32 No. It's not; it's not putting wonder works. 11:34 You would say, Angie now you're 11:36 put me under works. You know, 11:37 I'm under grace her. You're putting me 11:38 under work. I like that. You said, no I'll 11:41 be glad to do it. What does it say, 11:42 well it's something we have to do, 11:43 it's something you want to do, right, 11:45 because you love the Lord, 11:46 you want to spend that time with Him. 11:48 I like the way you did that because there 11:49 are so many things of people that are not 11:51 in love would find to be burdensome. 11:53 Sure. Let's go and use that word burdensome. 11:56 When the Lord says, if you love me 11:59 keep my commandments and my commandments 12:00 are not burdensome. Correct. 12:02 You see, the commandments. 12:03 This is the love of God that we keep His 12:05 commandments and his commandments are not 12:06 burdensome. Yeah. But when you don't 12:09 love Him, it's gonna be a burden, 12:11 when you don't love Him, it's going to look 12:13 like you are in bondage. Yeah. 12:15 And so, anybody that's in a relationship 12:16 that that resembles bondage, 12:20 this really stuck into my crawl here. 12:22 I forgot where I saw, but it just really sticks 12:24 out right now because somebody asks, 12:26 what do you, what gift do you are gonna get? 12:30 And this particular reference was, what, 12:32 what gift are you gonna get for Christmas? 12:33 And he said, the guy said, 12:35 I'm getting a divorce. And he said, 12:37 no seriously. He says, no I'm really getting 12:39 a divorce, that's my gift I'm giving to myself. 12:42 Well, I can guarantee you that that relationship 12:44 is a bondage. Yeah, yeah. 12:46 Well, there's something really going wrong 12:48 in a relationship well we want to get 12:49 divorced from it. So, the question would be, 12:51 if you love the Lord you would say. 12:54 Oh, like I love my wife. You say, 12:56 oh tomorrow is May 22nd, wow! I'm, 12:59 I'm excited for a number of reasons. 13:01 I'm not gonna be doing anything with 13:02 anybody else. Yeah. This is completely 13:05 a day for us alone, we get up with this fresh. 13:07 Matter of fact, we end the day before 13:09 with anticipating looking forward, yeah, 13:12 to the next day spending it all together. 13:13 And it's just always a wonderful time, 13:15 a Kodak of our love for God. 13:18 So, the Sabbath really in fact is not 13:20 something that you have to keep. 13:21 You don't have to do anything, 13:23 but if you love him, you along with the 13:25 Sabbath and you'll remember it like 13:28 you remember anything that is special in 13:29 your life. That's a nutshell and there's so 13:31 much more we can say about the Sabbath. 13:33 Very much, so. It's very important, talk, talk, 13:34 talk on the Sabbath because it's a joy now. 13:37 As you're taping you, you preached 13:39 a particularly fine sermon this past Sabbath. 13:42 And, and there is, there is this blessing 13:45 as you well know John that comes from 13:46 keeping the Sabbath that you cannot get 13:49 at home in your bed. You cannot get it 13:51 any place else, but in, in fellowship with God 13:54 and with the brethren, can I say? Oh, 13:56 there's a certain little something that God has 13:58 promised that that is sort of the cherry on the, 14:01 the sunday as it were that is, 14:02 that is the Sabbath. And you can't get any 14:04 other time and I heard someone say you know, 14:06 I keep all days holy. And I said, 14:08 no we don't keep any days holy because 14:10 we don't have the ability to make anything holy. 14:11 Very good. We cannot make ourselves holy. 14:13 It is only indwelling of the Holy Spirit abiding 14:15 in Christ that that righteousness comes 14:17 from that, our own righteousness is 14:19 filthy rags. So, we say I keep all days holy, 14:21 you're not being honest with itself or with 14:23 your God. You can only keep holy what God 14:25 has made holy. That's right. 14:27 You can't, you can't invent holiness, 14:28 it's not our ability to do that. 14:29 And I go back to the illustration very well 14:32 put. I go back to the illustration of our, 14:34 our anniversary. If I, let me not even use 14:38 myself in the example because I plan on 14:40 staying with this one woman till the Lord 14:41 comes and even after that, but if somebody was 14:44 in a relationship and something happened 14:45 to their first wife and God forbid was 14:47 a divorce or whatever the case maybe and 14:49 the guy got remarried. And he said to his 14:51 second wife you know; before I met you 14:53 I was keeping you know, October 7th for 14:58 the last 32 years. Yeah. And I know we got 15:03 married on June 4th, but would you mind if I, 15:06 if I could still with our new relationship keep 15:09 October? His wife is going to say, 15:13 I don't care how long you were married, 15:16 we're not gonna be honoring the day that 15:18 connects you to your first wife. Right. 15:20 We're gonna be honoring the day that 15:21 connect us together. And there are a lot 15:23 of people that want to hold onto that day 15:26 when in fact what I'm saying to you, 15:28 you need to hold on to the Lord 15:30 and then the day makes sense, 15:33 then the day has a foundation that 15:34 is based on love and love alone. 15:36 Yeah, and I think we probably could step 15:37 away from this, but rather than allow 15:40 yourself to be put on the defensive. Right. 15:43 Ask them show me the day for the change. 15:46 That you got, go to Exodus 20 verse 8, 15:50 that's the, the, the, the codification of the 15:53 Ten Commandments it's, it's there. 15:56 Ask the person who is, who maybe debating 15:58 with you or discussing with you, 15:59 show me where God has said do this. 16:03 Where is a change, if you can show me the 16:04 change then you got a legitimate. Right. 16:06 Argument, but if God says, do A and there 16:10 is never been a change to B, 16:12 then B had to come from some place else. 16:15 Right. Someone else has to insert B there. 16:17 It's not in the word, so don't worry, 16:19 allow yourself to be put on the defensive, 16:21 when you're dealing with the word of God 16:22 because the word of God is, is your foundation, 16:25 you can stand firm on this. 16:27 God has made the statement, 16:28 He has never changed. You remember that also, 16:30 we're talking about this the other day. 16:31 Oh, yeah. The, the, the, the father did it, 16:33 the son wouldn't, wouldn't and the Apostles 16:36 couldn't, who did it, who did it? Okay. 16:37 And it's a great question to ask. 16:39 That's right. Yeah, who made the change 16:40 because the change is not in the Bible, 16:42 it's not justified by the word of God. 16:44 And we do want to put this one to rest, 16:46 but one last comment. And it may not be because 16:48 just like with you, John and I, 16:50 it opens another door. It really is a simple, 16:53 it's a simple exercise just ask yourself the question. 16:57 Why am I, if you are uncomfortable? 17:00 I'm not suggesting you, but if you are 17:01 uncomfortable about honoring the Sabbath, 17:03 don't look at the day, look at the Lord. 17:07 When you become comfortable with the Lord 17:08 and you fall in love with Him. 17:11 Boy, I mean that day means you, 17:12 you it would be a delight Isaiah 58. 17:15 Oh, yeah. It would be delight. 17:16 Exodus 20 verse 12, "Hollow My Sabbaths; 17:20 and it will be a sign between you and Me 17:23 that you will know that I'm the Lord that 17:25 sanctifies you." Yes. It's gonna be a beautiful 17:27 thing because we can't sanctify ourselves. 17:29 So much more we got to go on from that one. 17:31 Oh, yeah. Here's another one Sandy, 17:33 where are the evil angels when Satan 17:36 is bound on earth for one thousand years? 17:39 Well, you know, they're gonna with him 17:41 like they were with him when he got kicked out 17:44 of heaven. Couple of texts I want to give you. 17:46 Revelation 12:9, let's look at that one 17:49 Pastor C.A. I'm gonna read Second Peter 2 17:52 verse 4 and you are turning to Revelation 12:9. 17:55 What we want to show you is that, 17:56 there is a partnership in rebellion; 17:58 the partners in rebellion are also the 18:00 partners in punishment. They all went to prison 18:03 together, they all got kicked out of heaven 18:05 together, they're all gonna be on the earth 18:06 roaming together during the thousand years, 18:08 but the central foca point is the one who 18:11 caused the problem. He's gonna be the one 18:13 that's talked about most and that's why 18:15 we find out, when Revelation talks about 18:16 the thousand years, is that Satan is bound, 18:19 but showing you that it's a situation, 18:21 a circumstance not so much a whole that 18:24 he's stuffed into and handcuffed and 18:26 sealed over, but it's a set of circumstances 18:28 because there is no one on earth to temp. 18:30 Right. The righteous are in heaven, 18:32 the wicked are still dead, they were either in 18:34 their graves already or destroyed by the 18:36 brightness of the Lord's coming. 18:37 So, so those who are in heaven are not 18:40 in the region to be tempted any longer. 18:43 Those who are on earth are dead, 18:45 no one to tempt, so the binding of Satan 18:47 is the circumstances. And he and his evil 18:50 angels will be in the same situation. 18:52 Revelation 12:9, read that one first for me 18:54 'cause I want to put in the proper perspective. 18:57 "So the great dragon was cast out, 18:59 that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, 19:02 who deceives the whole world; 19:04 he was cast to the earth, and his angels 19:07 were cast out with him." They were all evicted. 19:12 Precisely, okay, all evicted, all evicted. 19:15 And what happened to them? Here's another 19:17 text and go with me 19:19 as I read this one. Here's another text Second 19:22 Peter 2 verse 4, "For if God did not spare 19:26 angels who sinned, angles purled, 19:29 but cast them purled down to hell and delivered 19:34 them into chains of darkness to be reserved 19:38 for judgment." So, the judgment, 19:41 the lake of fire judgment that's talked about 19:42 in Revelation chapter 20, is gonna be for 19:45 everyone of them because they were all cast down 19:47 to hell, they were all delivered in chains 19:49 of darkness. And if you look at some 19:51 of the stories in the New Testament 19:52 you'll find that even one, on one occasion 19:55 the demon said to Christ, please, please do not, 19:58 have you come to torment us before 20:01 our time. Because they knew that they have 20:03 a reservation made and they will surely fit 20:06 that reservation, they would surely make that 20:09 appointment and that's the lake of fire. 20:10 Yes. Look at Matthew 25:41, 25:41, 20:14 "Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 20:18 Depart from me, you cursed, 20:20 into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil 20:23 and his angels." Okay, there it is. 20:26 Prepared for the devil and his angels. 20:28 The, the devil cause it, but you know, 20:31 I have heard this also pastor, 20:32 that in a when one criminal gets caught the 20:37 friendship ends, because there is no, 20:39 there is no friendship in crime, 20:42 it may look that way at the, at the very outset, 20:45 but when one gets caught he's gonna blow 20:47 the whistle on all the others. 20:48 So, partners in crime are also partners 20:50 in punishment. And lastly Jude verse 6, 20:53 you know, there's only one chapter." 20:55 And the angels who did not keep their proper 20:57 domain, but left their own abode, 21:01 He has reserved in everlasting chains under 21:05 darkness for the judgment of the great day." 21:08 So, they're gonna all be in that same abyssus 21:12 and word there darkness also is Greek 21:15 derivative of the Hebrew word abyssus from 21:18 which we get, from which we get the, 21:21 the condition of the world in the very 21:22 beginning. You know, the world was without 21:24 form and void and darkness was upon 21:26 the face of the deep. This was gonna be 21:28 a dark place for a thousand years. 21:31 The light of God is not going to be here, 21:32 the glory of the Lord is not gonna be here, 21:34 the earth is not gonna be without form 21:36 and void and the angels that live for, 21:39 for, for torment and for destruction will have 21:42 their day in court at the end 21:43 of the thousand years." 21:44 Indeed, yeah well done. So, what do you have 21:47 for us? This one actually is, is addressed to you, 21:49 it says, Brother John, I heard you say, 21:51 the devil knows all that we have ever said, 21:55 how can that be? Do his demons spy 21:57 and tell on us? I know the devil can't be 22:01 everywhere and know all, so just how does 22:04 he know all I ever said? I thought that he can't 22:07 read my mind. So, how, so how? I'm very puzzled, 22:13 thank you for your great show and God bless you. 22:16 This is from Ann, and she says, Godspeed and 22:20 loves to all the other pastors especially 22:21 at 3ABN, your sister in Christ. Yeah, 22:25 well this question that you just sort of flows 22:28 into this one. Okay. Because we know that 22:32 when Satan left heaven was ejected, 22:35 evicted from heaven. All of those angels who 22:39 sympathized with him who landed on the 22:40 side were, were, were ejected also. 22:43 So, there is more than just one devil. 22:45 There are demons are plenty. Right. 22:47 A fixed number we don't know, 22:48 but it's a lot because we know there was one 22:50 third of the heavenly host. That's right. 22:51 So, it's, it's a great number. 22:54 So, there we suspect there's communication 22:56 between, between demons and she says, 23:01 can he read our mind, he cannot read our mind. 23:03 He can't read our minds. Cannot read, 23:04 but he certainly can hear what you say, 23:06 and he can act on what you say, 23:07 plus the devil is a fairly good student of, 23:09 of human nature. He has had six thousands 23:12 plus years to study us. So, I think he kind 23:14 of knows and one of the things that that the 23:16 devil knows that history shows us is that, 23:19 we haven't change that much in the last six 23:20 thousands years. You know, human nature, 23:23 yeah human nature is pretty much the same. 23:24 Right. The Bible says, the, the, 23:25 the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, 23:28 pride of life, still the, the same stuff that he 23:32 did six thousands years ago he's using today. 23:34 Is, is he more slick, is he more sophisticated? 23:36 Oh, yes, but humans are still humans. 23:39 So, he cannot read their mind, 23:40 but he can read our thought, not our thoughts, 23:42 he can read our actions, if, if a pretty lady 23:45 comes by and your pulse rate goes up 23:48 and that pretty lady is not your wife, 23:49 he's aware of that. So, he knows that pretty 23:51 ladies makes your pulse rate go up. 23:53 So, when he's preparing his trap, he says okay, 23:58 John Smith, I was gonna say, John Lomacang, 24:00 I will say John Smith. Yeah, thank you. 24:01 Pretty ladies makes his pulse go up you know, 24:03 that kind of thing. So, so he's a student of, 24:05 of human nature, if, if we have psychologists 24:07 and psychiatrists who study human nature, 24:08 do not think that Satan does not also. 24:11 So, he's aware of those kinds of things. 24:12 Then of course he uses those things to trap us. 24:15 And you know, he's also call the tempter. 24:18 Now, when you refer to the word the tempter, 24:22 why would he tempt you, if he doesn't know 24:25 what tempts you? That's a very key aspect 24:29 why would I tempt a person who has never 24:31 smoked with cigarettes? Right. 24:33 Why would a person tempt a person who 24:35 doesn't have a taste for alcohol without 24:37 with whiskey. Why would I tempt a person 24:39 as you just pointed out. Who is a faithful 24:41 person married to his wife and faithful with women, 24:44 when that's just doesn't even spin his, 24:47 spin his web. The devil has to and his demons 24:51 are and all the whole corporation here because 24:54 when you talk about Revelation 12 it says, 24:57 'Woe to the Inhabitants of the Earth." 24:59 Yes. And I will read, "And of the Sea For 25:00 the Devil has Come Down Unto You, 25:02 Having Great Wrath Because He Knoweth 25:03 that he Hath but a short time." 25:05 He knows he has a short time to continue his 25:06 temptation to try to get you to fall. 25:08 He knows he has a short time. 25:10 And notice also the one who deceives the 25:14 whole world that's what we just read in 25:16 Revelation 12:9. So Satan, "So the great 25:19 dragon was cast to the earth, 25:20 the Devil called Satan, who deceives the 25:23 whole world." How could he deceive the whole 25:25 world unless he has files on the whole world. 25:29 So, let me give you an example. 25:31 A person is born, demons, you, 25:33 you're born in the neighborhood where, 25:35 you could be born into the ritziest neighborhood. 25:37 There's drugs in the ritzy neighborhood 25:39 as well as in the broken down neighborhoods. 25:41 You know, people come from crown heights 25:42 and go to heights wherever they go; 25:45 they go from Penn State to State Penn. 25:47 People are the same no matter which direction 25:49 you go. So, if the devil has a work force. 25:54 Let's use UPS as an example. 25:57 UPS is not the devil's force that's not what 25:59 my inference is, but one of the reasons why 26:03 UPS or Federal Express or DHL, 26:06 whatever company I want to include them all, 26:08 so they don't sound exclusive. 26:10 One of the reasons why they know how to 26:12 plant their offices is because they do what's 26:15 called a demographic study. They discover how, 26:18 how large the community is? 26:20 What the spending habits of the community is? 26:23 And so they know what, what kind of mails going 26:25 to be going through that, how many 26:26 businesses are there, what kind of loading 26:29 dock they're going to need? You wouldn't 26:30 put a truck, loading dock with 52 trucks in 26:33 Thompsonville, you'll be wasting money. 26:37 Right. And so the devil knows that he needs 26:39 more angels in this community because there 26:42 are more people. He needs less angels from 26:44 that community because there are less people. 26:46 He studies us demographically and like 26:47 you said, he has a six thousand year 26:49 study record. So, can you imagine how 26:51 successful any company would be and 26:53 if they had six thousands years of data. 26:55 Of data, sure. Preceding the establishment 26:58 of the company. They would not ask 27:00 the question I wonder what they need 27:01 in this neighborhood. Yeah, yeah they'd know. 27:03 They'll say, I've been here for six thousands 27:05 years, I know what they need. 27:07 So, that's why say the devil knows. 27:08 He knows it not based on what is in our mind, 27:11 but based on our actions? And human nature 27:15 drugs, drugs are drugs, alcohol is alcohol, 27:17 pornography is pornography, killing 27:19 people is killing people, the whole gamut of 27:21 human temptation follow into three categories. 27:24 And you say that lust of the flesh, 27:25 lust of eyes, and the pride of life. So, 27:27 in that context no, he doesn't read our mind, 27:29 praise the God for that, but let me 27:30 encourage you in this way. Don't shut down 27:33 your audible prayers because you know, 27:35 he doesn't read your mind. Some people say, 27:36 okay since he can't read my mind, 27:38 I'm just gonna pray in my mind from now on. 27:41 The Lord whom we serve is much greater than 27:45 the one who is our advisory. Yes. 27:47 So, if God before us, Romans 8, 27:50 who can be against us. So, don't be fearful, 27:52 the devil doesn't know what's in your mind, 27:53 but he sure does have a large work force. 27:55 How many he has working for him. 27:57 We don't know, but let's just narrow this down. 28:00 Although he's not omnipresent, 28:02 not omniscient, not omnipotent, 28:05 if you look at the condition of the world 28:06 I would say he's got a lot of angels working 28:08 for him. Yes, yeah. And so, praise God for that, 28:11 but you know, we have a lot of other questions 28:12 we'll keep it for another program, 28:14 but if you have any questions or comments 28:16 you like to send to us once again, 28:17 thank you for all of your questions and 28:19 your comments. Hopefully, 28:21 we did some justice to what we answer today. 28:23 Send those questions and comments to 28:24 housecalls@3abn.org that's 28:27 housecalls@3abn.org. And we'll try our best 28:32 to answer them accordingly. 28:34 Now, our topic today kind of fits somewhat 28:37 along what we're gonna talking about in 28:38 this sense. It is entitled the investigate 28:42 judgment, we're gonna do a short what 28:44 I would called a touch up because we've done 28:46 some programs in the past in greater detail 28:48 about the investigative judgment, 28:50 but sometime you have to revisit our topic that 28:52 is as in depth as the investigative judgment. 28:57 Some of you watching the program depending 28:59 on where you're watching us from you may have 29:01 heard of the fact that in America, 29:04 if you are not an American citizen or 29:05 don't live here, there are lots of court shows, 29:10 you know, judge Judy, judge Mathis, 29:13 judge I remember many years ago, 29:16 mayor Koch used to be a judge. 29:17 Oh, yes, yes, yes. You know Mayor Koch, 29:19 former Mayor of New York City you know, 29:22 he was a judge. All these judge shows and 29:26 the Lord says in His word. We must all appear 29:29 before the judgment seat of Christ. 29:32 So with that in mind I would hope that before 29:36 we appear in court an investigation 29:38 has been done. And so when you look 29:41 at the investigative judgment, 29:43 let's by the way, lets, lets crack this egg 29:45 open as quickly as we can. 29:47 Go to Second Corinthians 5 and verse 10, pastor, 29:52 Second Corinthians I'm gonna call you C.A., 29:54 so we could be I'm a pastor too, 29:56 we want to just kind of be casual because 29:57 you guys we know our viewing audience. 29:59 We keep our ties in our closet and 30:01 we've got quite a number of ties that we 30:04 wear in other programs, but we wanna be casual, 30:07 we don't want the walls as they would say 30:09 in New York the walls to go up. 30:12 Second Corinthians 5 and verse 10, got it, 30:14 you have it, read it for me. Bible says, 30:16 "For we must all appear before the judgment 30:18 seat of Christ, that each one may receive 30:21 the things done in the body, 30:23 according to what he has done, 30:25 whether good or bad." You know, 30:26 you know pastor it makes sense, 30:28 if Christ say, I'm coming and my reward 30:31 is with me. Okay. Someone's gonna have 30:33 to make a determination who gets the reward 30:36 and who does not? It's, it's, it's not illogically, 30:38 it follows in the train of thought, 30:39 if there's something coming, 30:41 if the gift is gonna be given, 30:42 if a present or a price is gonna be given. 30:45 Somebody's gotta determine what that 30:47 price is? Given the parameters of, of, 30:50 of judging. These are the rules. 30:52 Now, we've got to look and see who obeyed 30:53 the rules and who didn't obey the rules. 30:56 Those who obeyed get the price, 30:58 those who did not, do not. And that that's not 31:00 illogical, it is a logical step. Right. 31:03 If something is coming and the world is gonna 31:05 be open to it then the Lord is gonna have 31:07 to be judged to see who is available to it 31:09 and who is not? And, and you know, 31:12 when you follow that train of thought, 31:13 that's how God is and that's the way our 31:16 court system's are established pretty much 31:18 in the entire world. We're not talking about 31:20 the end result, some people stick you in 31:22 a dungeon and leave you there for the rest 31:23 of your life, you don't get any water as 31:25 compared to the United States, you get three 31:26 square meals, you get television, 31:28 you get education, you can get a degree 31:29 in prison. You know, people in other country 31:32 say that's not a prison that's a hotel, 31:35 but whatever the case maybe there's always 31:37 a trial preceded by investigation. Yes. 31:43 Preceded by an act whether good or evil. 31:47 Now, you don't find good people going to court, 31:49 having to face a judge fearfully. 31:51 So, the reason why we all must appear before 31:53 the judgment seed of Christ, 31:54 it's because all have sinned and fallen short 31:59 of the glory of God. I think there is a Romans 32:01 3:23. You just double check on that for me, 32:04 but, but I want to read another text. 32:07 The investigation, now let's think about the 32:10 investigation in this sense, 32:12 if you never claimed to be a Christian, 32:15 I'll never have to investigate whether 32:16 or not you're living a Christian life, 32:19 if you never claimed to follow Lord, 32:21 I will never have to investigate whether 32:23 or not you are following the Lord according 32:25 to what He has said. And case in point, 32:28 the Lord says he that believeth and is 32:30 baptized will be saved, but he that believeth 32:33 not is condemned already. Precisely, 32:36 you are, you're correct in quoting Romans 3:23 32:38 all are sinned and of course the companion 32:40 text of course is 6:23. Exactly. 32:43 And, and it gives us the, the colonel of 32:45 our problem. Because it says the wages 32:48 of sin is death. Right. But the gifts of God is, 32:51 is your life. So, when you put those together, 32:53 you have a problem. Right. 32:55 Everybody has sinned, and the wages of sin 32:58 is death. Right. So, all of us should have died 33:01 or should be dead, but the gift of God is 33:04 eternal life. So, somewhere between 33:06 the wages of sin being death and the gift 33:08 of God. A determination has to be made as 33:11 to who gets the wages of sin and who gets 33:14 the gift of God. That's right. 33:15 And of course that determination is the 33:17 judgment, okay, it is what we're talking about 33:19 today. Exactly, somebody's gonna be 33:20 investigating and the investigation is not 33:23 gonna be done by people that are, 33:24 that have a myopic vision. You see, 33:27 not people that are narrow minded because 33:29 with the sin. Should I judge you, 33:31 you're in my community, you're in my class, 33:33 you're in my neighborhood, you had, 33:34 you had the same education. 33:36 I have this, matter of fact, 33:37 Ecclesiastes 12 verse 13 and 14. 33:39 I know you are thinking a something else, 33:40 don't lose it, but I will turn to that while 33:42 I'm talking to you. Okay. You have to understand 33:44 that there is a parameter, there is a system 33:47 by which we're gonna be judged, 33:49 we're not gonna be judged based on race, 33:50 class, creed, education, family of origin, 33:54 how much we have and how much we don't have. 33:56 I think I have covered the gamut pretty 33:57 much there, if you have a lot of money 33:59 it doesn't matter in the judgment. 34:00 What matters is, whether or not you have 34:03 been obedient or whether you have continued 34:06 in disobedience. For we must all appear. 34:09 The text that you talked about earlier in the 34:11 inception of this topic was Revelation 34:13 22 verse 11, precisely, he that is unjust, 34:16 let him be unjust still. He that is filthy, 34:19 let him be filthy still. He that is righteous, 34:21 let him be righteous still. He that is holy, 34:23 let him be holy still. That's the verdict, 34:27 that's not the investigation, 34:28 that' the verdict, the verdict, as handed down. 34:31 Heaven or lake of fire, hell or eternal life, 34:34 that's the verdict. And then the judgment, 34:37 so you have the investigation. 34:40 First of all, you have the act, all of us have fallen 34:43 short of the glory of God, all of us have sinned. 34:45 Then you have the investigation for those 34:47 who have sinned, now Lord I don't wanna be a, 34:49 I don't wanna be on death row any longer, 34:50 I wanna be saved. Okay, come on in, 34:53 but I'm gonna make sure that before you 34:54 get into the kingdom that your life is in 34:56 harmony with what you claim to be. 34:59 Yeah, alright, yeah. And here's the text, 35:02 First Peter 4 verse 17, "For the time has come 35:06 for judgment to begin at the House of God; 35:09 and, if it begins with us first, what will be 35:13 the end of those who do not obey the Gospel 35:16 of God." Verse 18, "Now "If the righteous one 35:20 is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly 35:24 and the sinner appear?" Notice both categories, 35:26 righteous, ungodly, the sinner, you can't, 35:30 ungodly and the sinner in the same category. 35:31 The righteous, if we barely make it in. 35:34 Then what that means is by the grace of God, 35:36 precisely, we're not making any based 35:38 on sermons we've preached. 35:39 Or how many people we baptize. 35:41 We're not making them by our statistics. 35:43 We're making it in by the blood of the lamb. 35:44 Yeah, yeah you know, you mentioned something 35:46 before that people who are innocent need 35:48 not fear the court system, well, well many do. 35:50 And that is because, that is a problem 35:53 in the court system. There are, there are, 35:55 there are on this earth those who are 35:56 innocent, who are. They are, they're guilty 36:01 till proven, they're proven guilty and then 36:03 those who are, are guilty who get, 36:04 we get off free. One of the things that we can, 36:07 we can relax and rest and repose and rejoice in, 36:11 yeah, is the fact that God so loved the world 36:14 that He gave his only begotten son. 36:17 That whosoever believeth in him should 36:18 not perish, but have everlasting life. 36:20 So, you know where to use a, a New York phrase, 36:22 where Jesus is coming from? Okay. You know, 36:24 we know where He is coming from? 36:25 In John 10:10, "I have come that they might 36:29 have life and have it more abundantly." 36:31 So, Christ is on the side of life. 36:33 He has, he is bent towards, 36:35 he is bias towards life. It is His desire, 36:38 His will to get everybody in. 36:40 So, if you don't get in is because you made 36:44 the mistake. You know, lets picture that song, 36:46 nobody's fault but mine. Oh, yeah. So, 36:48 we know where, where the judge is coming from. 36:50 The judge is saying, I want to get you in. 36:52 I'm gonna be fair, I would like to get you in, 36:55 I'm gonna do all I can including sending my 36:58 son to die, to make sure you get in. So, we 37:00 know that that this is a fair court. In fact, 37:03 if it's, if it's bias, it's bias and trying 37:05 to do everything possible to get you in. 37:07 Right. So, we know that we're going to court, 37:09 we're gonna be judged fairly. 37:11 And we can relax in that because the judge 37:13 is our friend and our advocate. 37:14 Oh, you said the word the very, 37:16 very segue word I was talking about, 37:19 if you think that you have to wake up in the 37:24 morning and say, okay, okay my aim today is 37:29 to not mess up. You just messed up. 37:32 Yeah. Okay, your aim for each day is to put 37:35 on the Lord Jesus Christ. Because in your 37:39 that is, as Paul says, sin resides in me, 37:45 in my mind, this is Romans chapter 7, 37:48 there is a powerful testimony in Roman Seven 37:50 because it's a picture of Paul after his conversion. 37:53 He says, with my mind I serve the law of God, 37:56 but with my flesh the law of sin. 37:57 And then he ends, "O wretched man that I am! 38:00 Who shall deliver me out of this body of death?" 38:02 I mean I'm dying here. I want to do right, 38:05 but that which I don't want to do that's what 38:06 I'm doing, that's what I, what I want to do, 38:08 I can't do it. There's a battle going on 38:10 everyday and you know it, 38:11 there's a battle everyday. 38:13 Somebody once said I was saved 15 years ago, 38:15 saved from what? Right, very true. 38:19 Let me help you understand what your 38:20 mean by, by saying you're saved. 38:23 You're saved from the penalty of sin. 38:28 When you accepted Jesus Christ, 38:29 he takes you off from death row, 38:31 but there are two more phases in this whole 38:33 walk of salvation. Daily you've got to be saved 38:36 from the power of sin. That's why you put 38:40 on Jesus everyday, for it's God who works 38:42 in you both to will and do as his pleasure. 38:44 It is no longer I who live the Christ who lives 38:46 in me. The life I now live in the flesh, 38:48 I live by faith in the son of God who loved me 38:50 and gave himself for me. I can do all things 38:52 through Christ who strengthens me. 38:54 Okay, so you got that, but the last part of 38:57 that is when Jesus comes we will be saved 38:59 from the presence of sin. First, 39:02 penalty of sin, that's becoming a Christian. 39:05 Power of sin, that's the living the Christian 39:07 life sanctification. And then finally from the 39:09 presence of sin before we're saved from the 39:12 presence of sin, we've got to go through the 39:14 investigation, precisely, you see. 39:16 So, here's the text, First John 2 verse 1, 39:19 excuse me, my little children, 39:22 if you get my Bible. I've in First John 2. 39:24 Go and read it, I'm not gonna take it from then. 39:26 "My little children, these things are right to you, 39:30 so that you may not sin, I like it, 39:31 if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the 39:33 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 39:36 So, our minds are working the odds. Okay. 39:37 We have notes here but we happen to refer 39:38 to them because we're kind of moving in the, 39:40 in the. Pastor now one, one door opens the 39:43 Lord leads us down to rest of it. 39:45 And, and, and basically we're, 39:46 we're establishing the point that that once 39:48 Christ is in you that that cleansing process 39:50 is going on. And, and the righteousness 39:53 that you have is a byproduct of an abiding 39:56 relationship with Jesus Christ. 39:57 So, then you are freed from the power of 40:00 sin because a new part has taken control 40:02 of your life. Yes, the, the power that reigns 40:05 in your now is the power that causes 40:07 Paul the Apostle to say, I can do all things 40:10 through Christ who strengthens me. 40:12 That's the power, when we're baptized; 40:14 we're at the place where Jesus was, 40:17 when He was resurrected. He said, all authority, 40:20 all powers given unto me. And when you read 40:22 John chapter 10, let me go there very quickly, 40:26 I want to, I want to quote this very quickly, 40:27 but I will just say it verbatim. 40:29 When you read John 10, the Lord says, 40:31 I have given you authority over serpents 40:35 and scorpions and over all the power 40:36 of the enemy, and nothing by any means. 40:40 John 10 verse 19 that's where it is. 40:42 And nothing by any means shall hurt you. 40:45 "And he says in next verse, verse 20, 40:46 "Don't rejoice in this fact, but rejoice that 40:49 your name is written in heaven." So, 40:50 so we were rejoicing over the fact that 40:52 we're citizens of heaven. Yes. But we will one day 40:55 live there you see. My wife was thinking 40:58 about having dual citizenship. 41:00 She was born in England, but she's now an 41:02 American citizen. There is some people that 41:04 hold dual citizenship, but they live in one 41:06 other countries or the other. 41:07 We can't abide them both places. 41:08 We live like we'll, we should live like 41:11 we're citizens of heaven, but we're living on earth, 41:14 living on earth. We have the passport Jesus, 41:18 but we're living on earth. You see, you have. 41:20 Yeah, so He gives you, He gives you the, 41:22 the passport and then He fits you for it. 41:24 Okay. Because you can't go to heaven just 41:25 like we're. You know, you've got the title, 41:27 but now he needs to clean you up, 41:28 it's like we get a, we get a, an invitation 41:33 to the White House, right, you got to get the 41:34 correct duds you know. You're not going 41:36 in the baggy jeans. No, you can't go in jeans, 41:38 excuse my, in a T-shirt. Right. You got to 41:41 be presentable for that. So, he gives us 41:44 a passport and then he begins to work 41:45 in us through the power of Holy Spirit to, 41:47 to make us fit citizens of, of heaven. 41:51 And but before all of that, 41:52 determination again has to be made, 41:55 are we worthy to go and that's of course 41:57 is the investigative. And of course if you're, 41:59 if you're abiding in Christ from John 15 42:02 then you have nothing to fear. If, 42:03 if you're going to court with a traffic ticket 42:07 and you know, you weren't speeding and 42:10 you've got some proof, you going kind of 42:12 with the chest out. Right. Of course, 42:14 now if you, if yours, if yours speeding you 42:16 kind to get a ask for a little mercy, little grace, 42:18 but if you know, you weren't speeding then 42:21 you can, you can go in and defend your case. 42:22 Well, is, it's this way, if you abide in Christ. 42:26 You know, then salvation is yours it's, 42:29 it's a byproduct of abiding in Christ, 42:31 if you're in Jesus, you're gonna be saved man. 42:33 There is no way to get around it, it's, it's, it's 42:36 it's ordained, we were created the Bible says, 42:41 for, for good works. And if you're doing good 42:43 works and you, Ephesians 2:10, 42:45 precisely and if you're holding onto Jesus Christ 42:48 and walking in Jesus man you're, 42:49 you're getting fit everyday. 42:51 You know, what's the beautiful about that C.A. 42:53 is this. When you become a Christian, 42:55 there is a work that starts in your life. 42:57 And let me just go ahead put it in this perspective. 42:59 It's like going to an old abandoned house that 43:03 just looks like it's hopeless. 43:04 I have seen restorations of barns. 43:09 In the, in the North East, yes, boy there's some 43:12 beautiful homes that were once just a barn. 43:16 And people have walked them to the property 43:18 and you say, I like to buy that barn for 43:19 $12000. People say, you could have it. 43:22 So, what they do is they dismantle that barn, 43:25 wood-by-wood almost marking where 43:28 everything came from. They take that barn 43:30 all of that aged wood and take it to a different 43:33 location and begin to reconstructed, 43:35 but they turn the insides of that barn 43:37 into a house. They have this huge, 43:39 huge floor space, make it two floors, 43:44 and they come away with this, 43:45 I'm using New York quarter slamming house. 43:48 Big windows, but on the outside it looks rustic, 43:51 it has that old barn look to fit into the 43:53 country side setting. You know what the Lord does, 43:56 we may not look new on the outside yet. 44:01 What does the text say? It does not yet appear, 44:04 yet appear, well we shall be, but we do know this. 44:07 that when he appears we shall be like him for 44:11 we will see him as he is. You're in First John 3 44:13 and I've got, it's on, I'm looking at it right here 44:15 and as you could see. Go ahead read it, 44:16 my Bible is open and it's underline, read it. 44:18 I'm gonna give you 3:1 and 2. Okay. 44:21 "Behold what manner of love the Father 44:22 has bestowed on us, that we should be called 44:25 the sons of God. So, again we've got this, 44:27 this bias towards God. God wants us to 44:29 be saved, right. "Therefore the world 44:31 knows us not, because it knew him." 44:33 Now verse 2, "Beloved, now we are children 44:37 of God." Stop and say that again, 44:39 when the children of God. 44:40 Now, we are see you, you are now once 44:42 you are in Christ, once you give your life to Him. 44:44 When are you children of him? Right now, 44:46 now, right now, okay. "We are children of God 44:49 and it has not yet been revealed what we 44:51 shall be, but we know that when 44:54 He is revealed, we shall be like Him, 44:57 for we shall see Him as He is." 45:00 Now, you know the only way I know, go ahead, 45:02 you could comment on that because 45:03 I'm gonna, I'm reading fly here. 45:04 No, no, go ahead because I've got something 45:06 I'm coming up with. The only way that we 45:08 could be like Him is under his work, precisely, 45:11 for it is God, Philippines 2:12 I believe it is. 45:15 "For it is God who works in you both to 45:16 will and to do of his good pleasure." 45:19 So, so God is the one working in you. 45:22 God is the one doing the work. 45:23 So, don't be discouraged, if you think oh man, 45:26 I don't think, I'm ready for heaven. 45:27 If you're God's child he's gonna get you 45:31 ready for the investigation. Precisely, 45:34 yeah, okay, yeah. And, and that's why 45:35 I want to, to pause and come behind here 45:37 because the next verse sort of puts a 45:39 bull in what you just said, right. 45:40 "And everyone who has this hope in him 45:43 purifies himself, right, just as He is. 45:47 So, it's the hope in us that does the 45:48 purification work. It's, it's not use, 45:50 as you said before saying you know, 45:52 I really got to make sure I don't misstep and 45:54 mess up today. No, what you do if you lock 45:57 onto Jesus and the indwelling of the 45:59 Holy Spirit is the cleaning process. 46:01 So, it is the hope in you that purifies you. 46:04 And, and, and makes you presentable to God 46:06 you know, when I was a single pastor my mom 46:08 used to come and visit me. Yeah. 46:09 And my mother was just she was a, 46:12 she was an x-ray technician in hospital, 46:14 okay, and she was fanatic about dirt, 46:17 and I knew that about my mom. 46:18 So, when my mother was coming I would 46:19 always go to through the house and clean. 46:21 You know, pre-clean, right, she would get in, 46:24 take off her coat, talking to me little while, 46:27 immediately she's in a kitchen with a bucket 46:28 of water. And, and a mop and, and she, 46:30 she would find dirt. She was, 46:32 she find she gone top of the refrigerator 46:33 behind the refrigerator and under the toast, 46:35 and you know, she just find this places 46:37 I wouldn't normally go. And as long as she 46:39 was there she was always cleaning. 46:41 And it kind of aggravated me because I would, 46:42 I would try to pre-cleaning, okay, 46:44 but I never get it clean enough for her 46:46 and she would always find dirt. 46:47 It was like that with the Holy Spirit. 46:48 You could really preclean your life, 46:51 but you will never get it clean enough 46:53 for the Holy Spirit John, you just wouldn't. 46:55 So, the Holy Spirit comes and begins to get 46:56 into those places where dirt lies. 46:59 And that you may not even know about it. 47:00 And as long as you're in Christ, 47:01 it's always cleaning, that's his job, 47:04 find dirt and get rid of it. You know, 47:06 he's finding dirt and getting rid of it. 47:07 So, constantly you're getting better, 47:09 you're getting better, you're getting better, 47:10 you're getting cleaner, and cleaner 47:12 and cleaner and cleaner, and cleaner, 47:14 and cleaner and God is actually preparing 47:15 you to live with Him forever and to meet 47:18 that judgment in safety and in uncleanliness. 47:21 Who has a better glove than Christ, 47:23 yeah, to clean our houses? Precisely, 47:26 he comes in and He doesn't even have to, 47:29 he doesn't even to take the glove treatment 47:32 because you know, I'm thinking back when 47:33 I was in the party scene. I, I confess, 47:37 I used to party in the city, partying hard 47:40 in the city. That's when you were preaching 47:42 to me, I coming to church sleep and, 47:45 and Pastor C.A. is preaching his heart out, 47:46 repent give your life to Christ. 47:48 Eventually it kicked in, and the Lord 47:50 is continuing His work. Praise God for that. 47:52 But one of the worse things you could 47:54 do when a person is partying, 47:57 is when the party is about to end and 47:58 the person who wants you out of their house, 47:59 just turn all the lights on. It's the most 48:02 uncomfortable feeling because you start 48:03 seeing people that you thought looked good 48:06 in the dark, that you thought looked good, 48:09 but the lights on and say, you mean I was, 48:11 I was dancing with her all night. 48:14 And you, you need, you start thinking 48:15 this is not what I thought it was. 48:19 You see in the dark a lot of things appear 48:22 to be one way, yes, but Jesus is the light 48:25 He always sees things as they are? 48:27 And one of the reasons why He is able to be the, 48:30 the advocate that He is, is for a couple of reasons. 48:33 Let me share with you the standard 48:35 of judgment. Ecclesiastes 12, 48:37 the standard of judgment. 48:40 What is he gonna judge us based on? 48:41 And I talked about not class, creed, education, 48:43 race, all those things that people throw in 48:45 your face, they don't really mean anything, 48:47 don't be discouraged if somebody has more 48:49 than you have because they're not going 48:51 anywhere with it, it's not gonna get them 48:52 off the ground. And here's what 48:54 the Lord says, a favorite of mine, 48:55 I love that text. Here it is, and I look, 48:58 you know, what I like about this text. 49:00 This is the capstone, if you were, 49:02 if you were into a, what's that thing that 49:05 canny peaches, what do they call that 49:08 preservative, preserve, preserving, 49:10 canning and preserving, canning and preserving, 49:12 I have never done that, my wife and I are from 49:14 the city. You know, we want something, 49:15 we go buy it, at the food store. 49:16 People in the country, man they could 49:18 preserve wood you know, they, 49:20 and I have gone to some people's homes 49:22 where they have preservatives that have 49:23 been made like 3 years early, 49:25 they vacuum pack that thing and it's sealed in. 49:29 And but they have a particular standard by 49:31 which they work. And so the Lord is 49:32 saying here, this is the capstone I'm sealing 49:34 the whole issue by saying here, 49:36 here is the reason why we're gonna be 49:37 all judged fairly. Ecclesiastes 12 verse 13, 49:43 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole 49:47 matter: Yes, Fear God, and keep his 49:50 commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 49:55 For God will bring every work into judgment, 49:58 with every secret thing, whether it be good, 50:01 or whether it be evil. Yeah, yeah, 50:03 now notice, the secret, secret is in there, 50:05 secret, secret. And no secrets with God, 50:07 no secrets with God. Ecclesiastes we sort 50:12 of look at as, as, as Solomon's diary of his 50:15 experiment with life. You know, he, he, he, he, 50:17 he's a Wiseman, but he did some very foolish 50:20 things for a Wiseman, but he kept this sort 50:23 of running log of, of his experiment with life. 50:25 I got this, I got that, right, and I found that 50:27 everything was vanishing, it just didn't work. 50:30 So, at the end of his diary before he puts 50:32 his pen down, he signs off with this, 50:34 that's right, conclusion of the whole matter. 50:36 I have, I have, I have dealt with this, 50:37 you name it, I've owned it. Or if I, 50:40 I could buy it or I could take it because 50:41 I was king and I was wealthy, 50:43 and I was smart enough to get it. 50:45 But having gotten it, I realize it wasn't 50:49 satisfying to me. So, here is a conclusion, 50:51 here's a submission. This is, this is the bottom 50:53 line now. Fear God, keep his commandments, 50:56 if you do that then you're ready for the judgment, 50:58 you will have a good life now and you also prepare 51:02 for eternal life, it doesn't get any better than that. 51:06 And you know, what's so hard about that 51:07 is that the human heart does not naturally 51:10 incline itself to be obedient, precisely, 51:13 Paul makes that clear in Roman 7. 51:15 He says, with my mind I serve the law 51:17 of God the commandments, 51:18 but with my flesh the law of sin. 51:20 So, the problem in the judgment is not that 51:23 we have to get rid of the commandments 51:24 to be found just because you know what? 51:27 This is an amazing point and you want to 51:30 hit record, if you haven't done so yet 51:31 or you may want to lean your ear closer. 51:34 Is you cannot be vindicated unless there is 51:38 a law that you are vindicated in the 51:41 presence of. You cannot be declared 51:44 innocent unless there is the possibility of 51:47 you being declared guilty. You cannot 51:49 rejoice in your freedom unless there was a 51:52 possibility of you doing life or being 51:55 executed. So, the rejoicing that the saints 51:58 are gonna say, or the rejoicing that's gonna 52:00 happen at the end of the investigative 52:01 judgment is that we have been declared 52:03 righteous and holy and just, but let us not 52:08 conclude that we're gonna be made righteous 52:09 and holy and just based on our righteousness, 52:13 but we're gonna be made righteous, 52:15 holy, and just based on His righteousness. 52:18 So, it's all about Christ in us. I think I was 52:21 looking for that text here, 52:22 I believe I found it. Well, Paul makes it clear 52:27 Christ in you is the hope of glory, yes, yeah. 52:30 You know, so when the Father sees me 52:32 and the investigation we have an advocate 52:34 with the Father, I got to stop here and say 52:37 something. You have a text? I do, okay, 52:39 yeah, Galatians 6:7, okay go ahead, yeah. 52:41 You know, be not deceived, 52:44 God is not mocked, okay, what you sow you 52:46 reap, we tend to look at that negatively, 52:47 if I do bet him, that is gonna happen, 52:49 but it's also a very positive text. 52:50 Okay, because if you, if you so positively 52:52 you're gonna read positively, that's right. 52:54 And it gives you assurance in the 52:56 judgment, if I meet the commands of the law, 52:58 and by the law is the knowledge of sin. 53:00 So, we cannot through the law, 53:03 if I do what God asked me to do, 53:04 if I abide in Christ, I'm gonna reap what I sow. 53:08 And if I sow good, if I stay with Jesus, 53:11 if I deny myself, take up my cross and 53:13 follow him, that's what I'm gonna reap. 53:14 I'm gonna reap the rewards that our promised 53:16 to those who are in Christ Jesus. 53:18 So, it's not a negative text, 53:20 it is comforting text, if you're doing what God 53:24 has asked you to do and abiding in Christ. 53:26 Yeah, when you're, when you're abiding 53:27 in Christ the joy is there because you realize 53:30 as any furbished home, as any home and I, 53:35 I'm telling the whole world. I used to 53:36 refurbish homes. I would come in to a house 53:39 that was just a big box. And for a short time 53:41 I worked in for the city of Orlando, 53:42 we go into a house that was just one 53:45 of those you know; $2000 houses shack literally. 53:49 And it was just one huge room, 53:51 and when you walk and you're in the house, 53:52 that's it, but people said, they wanted to 53:54 section of this to be a bedroom, 53:55 and we want that room to be the kitchen 53:57 and all those different things we saw it how 53:58 it was laid out. And when it was done, 54:01 they'd walk in there again and say, 54:03 wait a minute oh, and they would say 54:06 I couldn't imagine that it could look so good. 54:08 Well, the encouragement is here, 54:10 is that he who has begun a good work 54:12 and as well completed, yes, you see. 54:15 So, when you're looking at the investigate 54:17 of judgment and I said to you, 54:18 we're doing the bridge version today. 54:19 When you will, when we look at the 54:21 investigative judgment, do not look at that 54:23 is a fearful thing, but look at it as a 54:26 solemn responsibility. Look at it as inevitable, 54:30 look it as something that will happen and 54:32 we cannot avert what's going to take place, 54:34 but look at it as an opportunity to receive the 54:37 greatest reward man can ever receive. 54:41 And that's why as you talked about whatever 54:43 we sow, we reap. Galatians 6 verse 9, 54:46 "Let us not grow weary while doing good." 54:51 King James says, in-well doing. 54:53 New King James, while, don't go grow weary 54:56 while doing good for in due season we shall reap, 55:00 if we faint or do not loose heart. 55:03 Yes. So, if you look at yourself and say you 55:04 know I'm just a knuckle head, I blew it today 55:07 don't worry about it, dust yourself off, 55:10 say Jesus forgive me and if we ask our sin, 55:13 if we ask, if we confess, he's faithful and 55:14 just to forgive, cleanse us from all righteousness. 55:17 And then come to the joyful part in this. 55:19 The Lord is working in us, yeah, 55:21 the work He began when we're done, 55:24 we're gonna see ourselves in heaven 55:25 and say, I didn't think I could be like this. 55:27 Yeah, praise God, praise God. 55:28 You know, dub telling on the, on the text 55:31 that talks about he who has his faith 55:33 purifies himself, yeah, I was looking for this. 55:34 I found it in First Peter chapter 1 verse 13, 55:38 "Therefore, gird up, gird up the loins of 55:41 your mind." You know, that's a biblical way 55:44 of saying what we've said, you know, 55:45 give yourself together, pull it together, right, 55:46 you know, you, you know, pull, 55:47 pull yourself together. "Gird up the loins of your 55:49 mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon 55:54 the grace that is to be brought to you 55:56 at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 55:58 So, you're not trusting in your own ability 56:01 to meet the judgment, you're trusting in your 56:02 own ability to prepare for the judgment, 56:04 you are trusting in Jesus, you are resting in Jesus. 56:07 You're placing all your hope, 56:08 banking as it were John on Christ because 56:11 Christ is able to keep you. And to keep 56:14 that which you commit to him against that day. 56:16 Okay and you open that, 56:17 he is able to keep what we commit to him 56:19 and that's the key. What do you committing 56:20 to Christ is really the question? If you're 56:22 committing yourself he is, he is able to 56:24 keep you. And he's able to keep you from falling, 56:26 yes, Jude 24 and 25, 25, oh yes. 56:29 And here's the one that I want to cap this 56:30 program over with powerful. 56:33 Hebrew 7:25 and friends make this the 56:35 capstone of the joy that you find and 56:37 that you could only find in Christ. 56:38 "Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost, 56:42 those who come to God through him, 56:45 since he ever lives, yes, to make intercession 56:49 for them." Is that good news for us today? 56:51 Powerful it is, it is, it is the assurance 56:54 that Christ is able. And that's a big thing 56:56 all part is committed to him, he is able. 56:58 So, when you put it in Christ's hands, 57:00 it's not like putting it in the stock market 57:03 or a place where there is risk of loss or failure. 57:06 Once Christ got it, he's able to keep 57:08 and to deliver to his father a pure and 57:10 chase bride. And of course we're, we're, 57:12 we're part of that. That's right friends and 57:14 that's why here at House Calls we hold the 57:16 word of God and Jesus Christ up 57:17 as the center post. When we look to Christ, 57:20 look unto Jesus the author and finisher 57:23 of our faith. And we pray that today 57:24 you make that move because we are living 57:27 in the time of judgment, 57:28 so when Jesus comes may your faith 57:30 be strong and begin that walk 57:31 with Christ today, God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17