Participants: John Lomacang (Host), C.A. Murray
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL090004
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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 together 00:05 on this edition of "House Calls." 00:22 Hello and welcome to another journey through the Word of God. 00:25 We thank you for opening your hearts 00:26 to allow us to come in. 00:28 And we also encourage you to hit the record button. 00:30 This is a program you want to share, 00:32 you don't want to miss it. 00:33 My name is John Lomacang and I'm not here by myself. 00:36 I have my good friend with me Pastor C.A. Murray. 00:38 Good to have you here. 00:39 John, it's always good to be with you, 00:40 always good to spend little time in the word. 00:42 I appreciate your scholarship. 00:44 We were just practicing our New York accents 00:46 before we came on air. 00:47 Just had a little fun together. We are New Yorkers. 00:49 And we've seen a lot in that town, 00:53 lot of wonderful people who really love the Word of God. 00:55 And so it's a good opportunity to study the Word of God. 00:58 So we, on that note we have say 00:59 if you are from New York City, we want to say welcome to you, 01:02 really good have you in our house today. 01:04 But before we do anything, before we go any further, 01:06 we're gonna have you have prayer for us 01:08 that we can invite God's presence 01:09 to guide us today. Surely. 01:12 Gracious Father, again before we open Your Word, 01:14 we open our hearts to You, 01:15 asking that You would come in and give us understanding 01:18 and fill us with Your Spirit 01:19 that we may rightly divide the word of truth. 01:22 But there are those who need to hear a word from the Lord. 01:24 Who are seeking health and hope 01:26 as they walk the road that leads to glory. 01:28 May they find that here today as we open Your Word 01:31 and receive from it strength for the journey. 01:33 And we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. 01:37 And friends, as you know 01:38 your questions make up a large part of this program. 01:41 So continue sending your Bible questions. 01:43 And if you have any today, 01:45 send those to housecalls@3abn.org, 01:47 that's housecalls@3abn.org. 01:50 I guess that means organize. 01:51 We are organized by the way. 01:53 We will download those questions 01:55 and try our best to keep them centered in the Bible, 01:57 if it is our opinion, we will say this is our opinion. 02:00 But thank you so much for your support, 02:02 praying for the program 02:03 and supporting us also financially. 02:06 Now it's time to dive into the word. 02:07 Our first question for today, are your ready? I'm ready. 02:10 Okay, I'm gonna put this glasses on, 02:12 these are becoming less of a fashion statement 02:14 more of a necessity. 02:15 That means I'm getting wiser as I get older. 02:19 Says, dear brothers, for House Calls please explain 02:23 and I like that when they say please explain. 02:26 Please explain Mark 7:19 02:30 the latter part in brackets. 02:32 Turn there, C.A. 02:35 In saying this Jesus declared all foods clean, 02:39 I heard the discussion on the TV today 02:42 and wondered about this first. 02:45 It's not in red letter 02:46 so was this added by Mark in error or ignorance? 02:51 Thank you, please reply. 02:53 Mark 7:19 was Jesus declaring all foods to be clean 02:57 by what is recorded here? 02:59 Well, really to get context for this 03:01 you have to pick it up in 18 03:03 because 19 says 03:06 "Because it entereth not into the heart." 03:07 So you got to find what it is 03:09 and that is of course it's the establish in verse 18. 03:11 So I'm in Mark 7:18 "And he saith unto them, 03:15 Are ye so without understanding also? 03:17 Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing 03:20 from without entereth into the man, 03:22 it cannot defile him, 03:24 Because it entereth not into his heart, 03:26 but into his belly, and goeth out 03:29 into the draught, purging all meats?" 03:34 And the word purging there means getting rid of. 03:38 The issue that Jesus was addressing here 03:40 was not so much that you could eat anything 03:41 that crawls across your plate. 03:43 Was the issue that those 03:45 that he was talking to had defile lives, 03:48 defile hearts, and thought by clean diets. 03:52 Their defiled lives would be overlooked 03:55 and that's what Jesus was addressing. 03:57 Very much, very right, true. 03:58 First your got to realize who his audience was. Exactly. 04:00 His audience was a Jewish nation. 04:02 So the idea at that point that they would accept 04:04 any doctrine that said that those unclean meats were true, 04:09 he would have been rejected out of hand. 04:11 We always have to look at as you 04:12 well know, pastor that context of a statement 04:15 and you cannot rip a statement from its context, 04:20 because then it's a pretext. 04:22 And this is not dealing with meats per se 04:25 as much as dealing with clean lives and clean living. 04:29 Eating clean meat 04:30 and putting it into a sinful life 04:32 does not make you clean. 04:33 What Christ is saying is that 04:34 following rules and rituals doesn't clean you. 04:37 What cleans you is the indwelling of the Spirit of God. 04:39 That's right. 04:41 I mean that's the nutshell of that whole passage is-- 04:42 matter of the fact you find that the disciples 04:45 were a people that were affected by their society 04:48 and a lot of us are affected by society. 04:51 You go to some parts of the world 04:52 and you'll find that people are either welcoming of who you are 04:56 or they're very unwelcoming. 04:57 They may say well, I don't want Americans to be here. 05:00 And sadly enough in parts of America 05:02 there is some prejudice about either race, or class, or creed. 05:06 And Jesus dealt with that quite a bit. 05:08 And you found-- let me give you an example. 05:10 The woman at the well 05:11 before Jesus met the woman at the well 05:13 who is a Samaritan. 05:15 He sent His disciples away 05:17 because He knew they had an issue with the Samaritans. 05:20 And He did not want to impact her meeting 05:23 by guys that had a prejudice against her. 05:25 It wasn't even the skin color issue, 05:28 but the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. 05:31 She even said that to Jesus, 05:32 you being a Jew have no dealings with the Samaritans. 05:35 And here we are talking about water and well. 05:37 Yeah, she would have read the body language, 05:40 the intonations, you know, I know, talking to this lady. 05:44 And Christ didn't want that to interfere with her soul 05:46 that He was trying to win. 05:47 And, John, if you continue on, you know, "And he said, 05:51 That which cometh out of the man," 05:52 I'm in verse 20. "That defileth the man. 05:54 For from within, out of the heart of men, 05:56 proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, 05:57 fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, 06:01 wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, evil eye, 06:03 blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 06:07 All these things come from within, and defile a man." 06:09 So what He is talking about are issues of the heart, 06:13 our life issues. 06:14 What's going on in your heart, you life, putting clean meat, 06:18 following clean regulations, 06:19 taking baths, bathing, all the things are nice 06:22 but, they don't change what you are. 06:25 If your heart is defiled, 06:26 you can follow all those regulations and rules 06:29 but your life will still be unclean 06:30 and as such unacceptable to God. 06:32 So this is not a meat issue, 06:33 just as that, that she did came down 06:36 in Acts was not a meat issue. 06:39 Sometimes Christ will use things to explain other things. 06:42 So this is not a meat issue per se, 06:44 this is a issue of lifestyle and giving your heart to God 06:47 and letting Christ dwell within that heart. 06:49 And I'm so glad that you made reference to that meat issue. 06:54 Often times in the Book of Acts 10 06:57 the vision that the Lord gave to Peter when he was hungry. 07:00 This is so funny because, you know, being pastor sometimes 07:03 you get to pastor certain time in the sermon 07:04 and people get hungry and they get sleepy. 07:07 Well, that was the case, Peter the sermon was done, 07:11 it was around noon day, Peter was hungry 07:14 and he fell into a sleep 07:16 while I believe the food was being prepared 07:19 and he had a vision of all these unclean animals. 07:22 And the Lord said "Arise and eat." 07:24 And Peter said, Lord, 07:26 I've never eaten anything common or unclean. 07:29 That's in Acts 10:14. 07:33 But in verse 15 of Acts 10 07:35 "And the voice spoke to him again the second time, 07:37 What God hath cleansed, you must not call common." 07:41 So a lot of people look at that verse 07:43 and they say see right there in the New Testament 07:45 after the ascension of Christ. 07:48 Jesus right out cleansed all the foods 07:51 and so He said nothing from this point anymore 07:54 is unclean. 07:55 But if you look at verse 28, 07:57 Jesus clarified exactly what He did. 07:59 And that's what pastor meant about context. 08:01 When you look at the entire picture, 08:03 you see what was the focal point of the story. 08:05 Yes, yes, it had nothing to do with food, 08:08 because right after that Cornelius 08:11 and someone else made their way to him. 08:13 So this sheet, this vision prepared him 08:18 to receive those who are already on the way. 08:21 And had it not come he probably would see 08:22 Peter had some issues as you well know. 08:26 And this prepared him to expand his ministry 08:30 to a Gentile world. 08:31 And when he got to Cornelius' house this was even-- 08:34 it was so bad that he had to get permission 08:37 almost as it were from the Jewish leaders 08:40 to go there because he said 08:41 what dealings do you have with a Gentile. 08:44 Why are you going to his house? 08:46 So some of them went with him 08:48 to make sure that Peter's visit was an authorized visit. 08:51 That this was not some 08:53 individual preferential desire on his part to go 08:56 and anyhow with people that could defile him. 08:59 And when he got there, Cornelius was waiting for him. 09:02 And the Bible says in Acts 10:28. 09:06 Matter of fact look at Acts 10:25. 09:09 "And as Peter was coming in, 09:11 Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, 09:14 and worshipped him. Yes. 09:15 But Peter lifted him up, saying," 09:17 And you know I could go so far with that one, 09:19 because Peter wasn't the first pope. 09:22 I had to thrown that in for no extra charge. 09:26 "Peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up, 09:29 I myself also am a man." 09:31 Showing, you shouldn't bow down before men and worship them. 09:35 That was right there in. 09:37 I don't want to be flipping about that comment 09:39 I just made, but truly Peter didn't say 09:42 I'm the beginning of the New Testament Church, 09:44 I'm the first apostle, I'm the first pope. 09:46 Now bow down and worship me or bow down before me. 09:49 He said, don't do that. Yeah, yeah. 09:51 It's a great story because Cornelius says, 09:53 you know, I've been praying for four days about this. 09:55 And just a little while ago someone stood before me. 09:58 He says a man in bright clothing. 10:01 And says your prayer is heard. 10:02 Meanwhile on the other side of town, 10:04 God is preparing Peter for this mission. 10:06 So God is bringing two things together 10:09 for the spread of the gospel. 10:10 So this is not about meat, 10:12 this is about spreading the gospel 10:14 to those who need to hear a word from the Lord. 10:16 And that's why verse 28 is the summary of that. 10:18 But that says "Then he said to them," 10:20 And I'm reading from the New King James Version. 10:22 "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man 10:26 to keep company with or go to one of another nation. 10:30 But God has shown me, " Peter saying that. 10:33 I know what you think, but this is what God says. 10:36 "God has shown me that I should not call 10:37 any man common or unclean." 10:41 And so the beauty of the story is 10:43 as it is in the case of Mark 7:19. 10:48 The Lord was dealing with the issues of the heart. 10:50 And matter of fact to summarize that Mark 15:11. 10:54 The Lord says "Not that which goeth 10:57 into the mouth defileth a man, 10:59 but that which cometh out of the mouth, 11:01 this defileth a man." 11:03 And, Pastor, could you go to 1 Corinthians 10:31 11:07 to show you that the New Testament does support 11:10 the principles of clean and unclean 11:11 what should do with your body. 11:13 We know nowadays you can pollute your body 11:16 in so many different ways. 11:18 Doesn't even have to be by what you eat physically, 11:20 but sometimes by what you drink or by smoking, 11:24 many unhealthy practices and many perverted practices, 11:28 you could defile your body. 11:30 But the body is God's temple 11:32 and that's why He gives us this principle 11:34 when it comes to what goes into your body 11:36 as well as what comes out of it. 11:38 And in verse 31 11:42 "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, 11:44 or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 11:49 And, you know, we can combine this 11:50 with 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17, 6:19 and 20, 11:53 which let us know that our bodies are the temple. 11:55 We have been purchase by God 11:57 and we must give glory to God in our bodies which are His, 12:01 because He's paid the price for them. 12:03 And I think it's important, 12:05 you know, if you look at the thing that we're eating 12:09 it is true and you hear this so often, pastor, 12:11 that we are digging our graves without knife and fork. 12:13 Everything that's on your plate can't be eaten. 12:16 And you can look at the rise of certain kinds of diseases, 12:19 looking at this the other day, 12:20 that if you look at when fast foods became invoke, 12:24 late 50s when certain restaurant chains 12:26 began to come invoke. 12:28 And you look at the health statistics, 12:30 there was a correlation 12:31 with the proliferation of fast food 12:33 and hospital visits and doctor visits and death. 12:37 You can't eat everything. 12:40 We have to be very careful what we put in our bodies 12:42 and what we do with our bodies, 12:44 because they are the temple of God. 12:45 That's right, very, very, very important point. 12:47 As matter of fact the food and drug administration 12:50 which it in times passed has not always been 12:52 in the harmony with scripture. 12:54 And I'll be true. Very much so. 12:55 FDA, I mean you could walk into warehouse 12:57 with 12 tons of meat 13:00 and they would stamp like a one carcass as approved 13:03 and there are like 6,000 more carcasses 13:05 that are not even examined 13:06 and they say this whole lot is FDA approved 13:09 and it starts spreading cancer all over the world. 13:11 But the point of the matter is 13:12 your question is not so much that Jesus cleansed anything, 13:16 but that He is saying that we should be clean vessels 13:19 through which and in which the Lord works and abides. 13:23 Here's another question we have. 13:25 Thank you Rene for this question. 13:28 Says, hi, pastor, House Calls. 13:30 I would like to know-- and like this one. 13:33 You know, often we get questions about 13:34 whether or not the Sabbath is the true day of worship, 13:36 what day is this, whether it was changed. 13:38 This person has asked the beautiful question. 13:40 And all your questions are very valid. 13:43 I would like to know how to keep the Sabbath? 13:47 Is it okay to wash dishes on the Sabbath? 13:49 I really want to know how to enjoy the Sabbath. 13:53 Thanks so much. 13:55 Your program continues to be a blessing. 13:57 Thank you so much Rene. 13:59 Let's start with Isaiah 58. 14:03 You know, we have a-- 14:05 there are disasters that happen all over the world. 14:07 We're gonna start with Isaiah 58. 14:09 I'm not gonna add a time frame to this program 14:11 but one too long ago that we experience 14:13 in our own community some terrible storms. 14:18 Some hurricane as it was in the Midwest. 14:21 I mean, how do you have a hurricane in the Midwest. 14:23 We're 1,200 miles to the east, 1,200 miles to the south, 14:28 almost 2,000 miles to the west from an ocean. 14:31 And traditionally hurricane spun off of the ocean. 14:35 How do you have an inland hurricane? 14:36 Well, the principle of the Sabbath 14:38 and you'll see where I'm going with this 14:40 is the Sabbath is not a day of bondage, 14:44 the Sabbath is the day of celebration, 14:46 it's a day of freedom, 14:47 it is the day of acknowledging the beauty 14:50 and the blessings that God brings to us everyday. 14:53 But there are some things that we can do 14:56 to make the Sabbath a burden. 14:58 And that's what I think this question is all about. 15:01 How do we make the Sabbath a delight? 15:03 And if you could begin and I know, 15:06 I mean, this is an easy one for you I know that. 15:08 But start by reading verse 13 15:11 and then add to it the blessing that is in verse 14 15:14 and we're in Isaiah 58. 15:16 Matter of fact start from verse 12 15:18 and you're reading King James Version, right? 15:20 I've got the King James Version. 15:21 Okay, I just like the way it sounds there. 15:23 Start from verse 12 down to verse 14. 15:25 We will stop at each verse and break that down. 15:28 "And they that shall be of thee 15:31 shall build the old waste places, 15:34 thou shalt raise up 15:35 the foundations of many generations, 15:37 and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, 15:41 The restorer of paths to dwell in." 15:43 Notice the four things that we're called to do. 15:46 Raise up the foundations of many generations, 15:51 restore pads to dwell in, right. 15:55 Repair the bridge and build up the old waste places. 16:00 So if the people that say, that's old. 16:02 Oh, the Lord is saying just that's the point. 16:05 It is old, it is so old 16:07 it has a proven record of validity. 16:11 You know, so things that are old. 16:12 Old recipes are valuable, 16:14 you know, old furniture is valuable. 16:18 The Word of God which endures from generation to generation 16:21 is tried and tested and proven. 16:24 Matter of fact 16:26 to even give more validity to that when you buy a book, 16:29 the greatest value is in the first edition, 16:32 you see, it's old, that's the whole point. 16:34 There is value in each-- 16:35 you know, I was talking about this 16:36 the other day with the friend. 16:38 We were talking about how cars, when you buy a new car. 16:40 It depreciates the moment you take it out of the showroom. 16:42 It gets down and down and down then there is a point, 16:46 don't know where that is, 16:47 where it actually begins to increase again, you know. 16:51 It will get older and down and down 16:53 then it becomes an antique and once it declared antique, 16:55 now the price goes back up 16:57 and the older it gets the more valuable it is. 17:01 The Word of God is as ancient as God is Himself. 17:05 And its value is in the fact 17:07 that it is so enduring and so lasting. 17:09 In this day and age when everything is temporal, 17:11 everything is temporary, 17:12 everything is here today, gone tomorrow. 17:15 Those things that have withstood the test of time, 17:17 have proven themselves to be the sure things 17:20 and that certainly is the Word of God. 17:22 And so and the Lord is leading into 17:23 something that is needs to be restored, 17:26 it needs to be build up by those who belong to Him. 17:29 The streets need to be made clear, 17:31 the path need to be fixed, 17:34 and He's gonna make it clear 17:35 exactly what He is talking about 17:36 and this is where we get the principles 17:38 of how to make the Sabbath beautiful, verse 13. 17:39 Isn't that interesting that 17:41 He proceeds this discussion on the Sabbath 17:44 with it's time to restores, it's time to get back, 17:46 you kind of slipped away, let's get back. 17:49 Now in getting back here is what you do. 17:51 "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath." 17:53 Okay, verse 13 follow us along. I'm in verse 13. 17:56 "From doing thy pleasure on my holy day, 17:58 and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, 18:01 and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, 18:05 nor speaking thine own word. 18:08 Nor finding thine own pleasure"-- 18:10 I'm going from memory but let me just read it. 18:13 "Honorable, and shalt honor him, 18:15 not doing thine own ways, 18:16 nor finding thine own pleasure, 18:20 nor speaking thine own words." 18:23 So we've got a number of things 18:24 that the Lord is sort of stacking up here. 18:26 Not finding thine own pleasure, 18:29 not speaking thine own words. 18:34 We are not turning ourselves away from those things 18:37 that have occupied for us for the past six days 18:40 and concentrating on the Lord. 18:43 I take it as mistake to try to stack up a list of things 18:45 that you cannot do on Sabbath, 18:48 but rather to look at all of those things 18:50 that you are free to do. 18:51 You play the piano. 18:53 You are free to play the piano, because you practice. 18:56 I am not free to play the piano, because I've not practiced. 18:59 So it's not a burden, it's a joy that I cannot have, 19:02 because I have not practiced. 19:04 I'm not free to be play the piano. 19:05 Are you saying it's a joy not to hear you play the piano? 19:08 No, I'm not saying that. 19:11 But so it's not that He is enjoining us 19:14 from doing all these other things, 19:16 He is freeing us to do some other kinds of things 19:18 that concentrate on Him. 19:20 Now if my hands are full of the work of the week, 19:23 I am not free to grasp a Sabbath 19:25 because my hands are full. 19:26 So the Sabbath freeze me to let go of the work's week 19:31 or the week's work 19:33 and now to grasp fully the Sabbath. 19:36 So I'm not speaking mine own words, 19:39 I'm not finding my own pleasures, 19:40 I'm finding a new kind of pleasure 19:42 in doing the things of God. 19:44 And the principle added there notice there three things 19:48 that the Lord pointed out from doing your own ways. 19:55 In a day and age where autonomy, 19:59 people like to claim autonomy, meaning I'm allowing to myself. 20:03 You know, I'm my own corporation, 20:05 I decide my own diet, my own dress, 20:07 I mean I belong to me 20:08 what I do doesn't really 20:10 cause anybody to cry for accountability. 20:14 Well, the society would beg to differ, 20:16 because in our world 20:17 where there are laws and rules and regulations 20:19 in the very society you are in. 20:21 By the way let me add this caveat. 20:23 If you live in a society 20:24 that has no rules and regulations and no laws, 20:25 I could guarantee you that you are not happy. True. 20:29 You can't be happy. Yeah. 20:30 Because its like an open game, 20:32 its like going out to the safari, 20:34 its like being in the safari 20:35 and you hear in the distance a jeep coming 20:38 and you are saying to yourself, 20:39 I'm a lion and I know in the minds of those hunters, 20:42 I'm open game. 20:43 Only the strong will survive. You don't want that. 20:46 But the Lord is in essence saying, 20:47 in a day and age where people are throwing out accountability, 20:51 you have to be accountable because this is my Sabbath day, 20:54 it's an holy day, I don't want you doing your own things. 20:58 And let me just go and add a few things. 21:00 Let's talk about the beauty of the Sabbath. 21:02 The Bible says, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. 21:05 You know, the Jews had this thing about 21:08 making the Sabbath a burden 21:10 and the reason I want to spend 21:11 the few minutes on this, pastor, is this. 21:15 A lot of times people look at the Sabbath 21:17 and because you're Seventh day Adventist, 21:18 they say well, what a burden. 21:21 You're honoring a burdensome day, 21:23 oh, what a burden. 21:24 But we're not celebrating the freedom of Christ, 21:28 you know, being set free from the tomb. 21:30 Oh, we're celebrating the very same thing. 21:32 But the Sabbath is not a burden, 21:34 it's a day of delight but I could imagine. 21:38 And I'm using this is as an example 21:39 not in the same setting of a person 21:41 who doesn't honor the Sabbath. 21:43 But if you are not in a relationship with someone, 21:46 let's use marriage for example. 21:48 If your wife and you are not having a good marriage, 21:51 you don't look forward to your anniversary, believe me. 21:55 You'll say, oh, anniversary. 21:57 Why would I want to spend a day, 21:58 a whole day with him, you know, or with her. 22:03 You know, last thing I want to do. 22:06 Well, the principle of the Sabbath 22:07 is the Lord is saying, 22:08 if you are in a relationship with me, 22:10 this day is exclusively ours, you see. 22:14 So what you do when you love somebody 22:15 and they say, hey, let's spend the day together. 22:18 Would you say to your wife. 22:20 Well, Irma, I know you want to spend a day, 22:22 I know it's our anniversary, but you know what, 22:25 I've got to go play some basketball first. 22:29 When I'm done that what else can you do? 22:31 Anytime left we'll hangout. Exactly. 22:34 You know, John, whether it's a burden or not 22:36 it's really predetermine by your relation with the God. 22:40 You don't have a problem 22:42 spending time with Angie. Oh, no. 22:44 You know, I don't have a problem 22:45 spending time with Irma unless we're just shopping, 22:48 then I fatigue a little bit. 22:50 But other than that I don't have-- 22:52 I have no problem because you love your spouse, 22:55 you love your wife. 22:56 If you love God the fact that you get a day 22:58 where it's just He and you is an exciting thing. 23:01 How can it be a burden 23:03 to spend time with someone that you love. 23:05 Could be in the presence of somebody 23:06 that you long to be with who fulfills you, 23:09 who gives you joy, who gives you a certain 23:12 something that only they can give you, 23:14 that no one else can give you. 23:15 Why would you not want to do that. 23:17 So how can that be a burden. 23:19 Now if you don't love the Lord, 23:21 if you don't want to be with the Lord, 23:23 if you don't want to follow the Lord, 23:24 well, then that 24 hours is a pain for you, 23:26 but if you love Him not a pain at all. 23:29 Let me go and share with you 23:30 to answer you correct question directly. 23:31 And that's true when you love somebody 23:33 it's not a pain, you just enjoy. 23:34 Matter of fact when you love somebody, 23:36 you don't want that day to end. Precisely. 23:38 You say oh, man, my wife 23:40 and I we do sometimes we get away, 23:42 we, you know, spent time together 23:44 and we actually get giddy, 23:46 you know, we just love being with each other. 23:49 And I was driving with her just a few days ago 23:51 and she reminded me as I drove little, 23:54 the next day she said, you said something to me yesterday 23:57 that just really, just really made my whole day. 24:01 And I said what was that? 24:02 She said, you told me that I'm the light of your life. 24:05 And she said, you know, 24:07 here we are our anniversary is not too far way. 24:11 And when you told me that, boy, 24:13 that just made such a difference. 24:14 You know, when the Lord knows, 24:18 also He said to us, we are the apple of His eye. 24:20 He's already told us how much He loves us. 24:23 But when we say Lord, you are the light of my life. 24:26 You don't want that day to just run past, 24:28 you want to spend all the time you can, 24:29 you almost lament that day going away. 24:32 But she asked about dishes. 24:33 My wife and I and many wives and husbands 24:37 that have company over on the Sabbath, 24:40 you either someday just say, 24:42 you know what, we're doing the paper plates, 24:43 we're doing the foam plates. 24:44 And some days you say, you know, let's just go ahead 24:47 and go all out, let's get out the nice china. Yeah. 24:51 And so what you do when you have your nice china out 24:53 and everybody is eating on the Sabbath. 24:54 My wife says to the people that are visiting leave it, 25:00 I'm just gonna put it on the counter in kitchen 25:01 and I'll take care of it tonight. 25:04 And let's just sit down and talk and just reminisce together 25:06 and spend time together and fellowship together. 25:09 And is it--now here's the thing I want to make clear 25:12 and I want you to register on this 25:14 because good and bad is less of the issue here more principle 25:20 because if it's bad to wash dishes, 25:21 it's bad to wash dishes any day. 25:24 You don't do bad things. 25:26 So it's not so much bad 25:27 as much as it takes away it detracts 25:30 or one of the stories you want to read 25:32 and put this in your archive is Exodus 16. 25:35 The Lord talked about, 25:36 don't go out on the Sabbath looking for bread, 25:38 get twice as much on Friday. 25:40 So that when the Sabbath comes, 25:42 you don't have to do any cooking, you know that. 25:44 So do all your preparation on Friday evening. 25:47 My wife gets a table already, 25:49 house is nice and clean, all the silver ware is out, 25:52 the napkins are there at the table, 25:53 all the meals are done. 25:54 So when people come over by the time they get there 25:56 the food is ready. Yes. 25:58 You see, so you know that's like. 25:59 I mean, you've been entertaining for many, many years. 26:03 Well, my wife also like Angie loves to cook, 26:05 Irma loves to cook and loves to have people over. 26:08 And it does occasion a certain amount of work. 26:11 But we're kind of just pile our dishes in the sink 26:13 until after the Sabbath and then deal with it. 26:15 Now if you got a special problem, 26:17 you know, God is in it and He understand it. 26:19 Some people live in situation 26:20 where you can't have food lying around, 26:22 you don't want, you know, things. 26:23 Then that you can do that 26:24 but the principle is you want to spend 26:26 as much time with the Lord as possible. 26:29 You want to concentrate on the Lord. 26:31 You know, somebody will say, well, can we watch 26:33 Sabbath movies or do other kinds of things? 26:36 You want to get as close to the original, 26:38 you want to get into your Bible on Sabbath. 26:40 You want to spend time in nature on Sabbath. 26:42 Now out in an emergency 26:43 is it lawful to do good on Sabbath. 26:44 I had an elder years ago, 26:46 when I was pastoring few more churches. 26:48 House caught on fire, burnt all Friday night, 26:50 so worship service, we had a couple of testimony. 26:54 I said gentlemen, let's go home, 26:55 let's change our clothes and let's go help this guy, 26:57 'cause his house is burnt to the ground, 26:59 he need some help. 27:00 So we had prayer, we canceled service, 27:04 the woman got some food together, 27:05 we put on our jeans and our, 27:07 you know, gloves and went over and help this guy 27:09 whose house has burnt all Friday night. 27:11 And I thought that was a good thing to do on Sabbath. 27:12 We had recently as you mentioned 27:15 a hurricane come through. 27:16 There were some people who needed some help on Saturday 27:20 and so there were people with chainsaws 27:22 trying to get trees off of houses. 27:25 One woman had a really bad situation, 27:27 brethren got together and helped her on Sabbath. 27:29 It is lawful to do good on Sabbath. That's right. 27:32 And so when you tie the burden in, 27:35 when you tie the word burden or difficulty 27:37 in with the principle of the Sabbath 27:38 or the beauty of the Sabbath 27:39 and let me not use the word principle 27:41 when I connect with the Sabbath. 27:42 But with the Sabbath, 27:44 because the word principle modifies 27:45 and just broadens it. 27:47 But the Sabbath specifies that the Lord has set aside 27:50 a 24 hour period from sunset Friday 27:52 to sunset Saturday for the Sabbath. 27:54 But when you look at the relationship 27:56 that's where the burden evaporates 27:58 and as many things as you can possibly avoid, the necessities. 28:03 If you can't avoid some of the necessities, 28:05 the Lord understands that. 28:06 We want to remove the burden, 28:07 but you're not gonna paint your house, 28:09 you're not gonna, you know, go out and cut the grass 28:12 all these things that are not emergency issues. 28:15 And you know what? 28:16 There are some individuals and I want to register this. 28:18 There are some churches, 28:20 there are some people that believe that 28:22 well, you know, since we need to be out more in the community, 28:24 let's not have church service, 28:26 let's just go ahead and pick Sabbath morning 28:28 to go cut people's grass 28:29 and, you know, go do it on Sunday, 28:31 because they understand that. 28:34 Go do it on Sunday if it's not an emergency. 28:36 Now if somebody is barricaded in their house 28:38 because their grass is that tall, 28:41 help them get out, 28:42 but things that are not an emergency, 28:45 go ahead and set aside a different day for that 28:47 and make it a ministry rather than 28:49 something that takes away from the fellowship 28:51 that we should have on the Sabbath. 28:53 You want to, John, involve yourself 28:56 in those kinds of things that draw you closer to God 28:59 or that help lift up the plight of humanity. 29:02 Those kinds of things 29:04 are fair game for Sabbath actively. 29:07 That's right, that's right. 29:09 And we have one more question 29:10 that's gonna kind of lead us right into our topic today 29:13 and the reason I love this for here is 29:14 because it wonderfully leads right into it. 29:16 Thank you so much for the question. 29:18 But here's our last one before we go our topic. 29:22 Interesting, this is the person 29:23 starts with the word interesting period. 29:25 Each 3ABN station break includes 29:27 and proclaiming Jesus Christ soon return 29:29 then it seems anyone and everyone 29:31 who gets an opportunity to appear on 3ABN 29:33 comes up with the variations on theme 29:36 such as a second dying world. 29:38 We are in the end times, the end is near, 29:41 the closing days of earth's history 29:42 and on and on and on and on it goes. 29:45 Well, excuse me if I don't accept such doom 29:47 and gloom for if I did why should I bother to plan 29:50 weekend outings down on the river. 29:53 I would prefer to go by the facts, 29:55 no matter which Bible you read the general pastor is the same. 29:59 No one on earth knows when Jesus is to return. 30:04 You are exactly correct almost, 30:08 we don't know when Jesus is to return, 30:10 are you there? 30:13 Not there yet-- Matthew 24:32. 30:15 I was actually in Revelation. Okay. 30:17 But I've got something, I want to go to your Matthew 24 30:19 'cause I think I know where you're heading. Okay. 30:20 Because when you're dealing with Matthew 24 30:22 of course you're dealing with signs 30:24 of the second coming. That's right. 30:25 So Matthew 24:32, I'm there now. 30:28 "Now learn a parable of the fig tree, 30:30 When his branch is yet tender, 30:33 and putteth forth leaves, 30:34 ye know that summer is nigh." Next verse. 30:38 "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, 30:42 know that it is near, even at the doors." 30:46 Okay, so the Lord is saying, 30:49 we don't know the day, we don't know the hour. 30:52 But I would conclude that if the winds begin to pickup 30:58 and the skies begin to get grey 31:01 and they start looking ominous, 31:03 I could conclude with pretty good accuracy 31:06 that a storm is on the way. On the way, surely. 31:08 When we look at all the pieces 31:11 to the picture of the last days 31:12 that the Bible writers had given to us, 31:14 not only Old Testament but New Testament writers, 31:16 you know, wars and rumors of wars, 31:18 famine, pestilence, earthquakes 31:19 in various places, scoffers, perilous times, 31:22 men lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, 31:24 all these things are the signs that Jesus talks about 31:27 learning the parable of the fig tree. 31:29 We're seeing these things happening in rapid increase. 31:33 So we know that it is near even at the door. 31:36 And here's the point. I want you to say this. 31:38 Is the message of the coming of the Lord gloom and doom? 31:42 That's the point. Okay. 31:43 The message of the coming of the Lord is our great hope, 31:47 it's our great anticipation, we long for that day. 31:51 Christ says in Revelation 22:12, 31:53 "Behold I'm coming quickly and my reward is with me." 31:57 I'm waiting to get my reward, what about you? 31:59 Oh, that's right. That's not gloom and doom. 32:02 That's like a birthday party is coming 32:04 and you're counting a days 32:05 until you get your present. That's right. 32:07 You know, it's not gloom and doom, 32:08 that's something to be excited about, 32:10 something that we are longing for, 32:11 that we are groaning for, that we are waiting for, 32:14 it's a great day, so it's not a glooming. 32:16 The reason we talk about it so much 32:18 is the same reason you talk about you new suit 32:21 or your new car or a present that you're getting, 32:23 because it's something that excites us that thrills us, 32:26 that we can't wait to happen. 32:27 So rather than gloom and doom, 32:29 we talk about it so much 32:30 because it's something that thrills our souls. 32:32 It is the reason we live and moving have our being. 32:35 It is the reason this station exist. 32:37 It is the reason that we preach, 32:39 that we teach, that this show exist, 32:41 because we're looking forward to the coming of the Christ 32:43 and trying to get a world prepared for that coming. 32:47 This world is not so great 32:49 that we wanted to go on ever, you know. 32:51 We don't want pain, and we don't want misery, 32:55 and we don't want aging, we don't want sorrow, 32:57 we don't want graying of hair, and dimming of eyes, 33:00 and all of those kinds of things. 33:03 You know, sometimes we play basketball 33:05 and after you have a good hard run 33:06 you feel it the next morning 33:08 when you get up, you know-- You get up slowly. 33:09 You get up a little slow than you did the day before, why? 33:12 Because we're getting older. 33:13 And this earth is waxing old just like an old body. 33:15 Well, we want that to end. 33:17 We are looking forward to the coming of Christ, 33:19 to brand new bodies, to an eternity of life, 33:21 and health and strength, 33:22 rather than gloom and doom, it is the passion, 33:25 it is our joy to move from trial to triumph 33:28 and we're looking forward to that day. 33:29 And, you know, the flip side of it 33:31 and I want to caution you of the flip side of that 33:34 as we could become so complacent with 33:35 well, Jesus is not coming anytime soon that 33:39 let me just go ahead and enjoy myself 33:40 and eat and drink and marrying given marriage 33:43 but the danger there is they didn't know 33:45 until the flood came and took them away 33:47 in Noah's days, they had become so complacent 33:49 with the message that Noah preached 33:51 that destruction was coming. 33:52 And that's why 2 Peter 3:3 33:55 brings us to a caution point 33:56 before we go into our topic for today. 33:59 He said, "Knowing this first 34:01 that scoffers will come in the last days 34:03 walking according to their own lust." 34:05 I have this to do, I have that to do, 34:06 I have this desire, that desire 34:08 and saying where is the promise of His coming. 34:11 For since the Father's fell asleep 34:13 all things continue as they were 34:14 from the beginning of creation. 34:16 Nothing different. 34:18 We've had earthquakes for thousands of years. 34:20 We have fire and floods and wars for thousands of years, 34:22 but there are things happening today 34:24 that didn't happen thousands of years ago 34:26 which is showing us that we're closer. 34:28 And here's what the Bible says. 34:29 "For this they willingly forget, 34:33 that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, 34:35 and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 34:38 by which the world that then exist perished, 34:41 being flooded with water. 34:43 But the heavens and the earth 34:44 which are now preserved by the same word 34:47 are reserved for fire until the day of judgment 34:50 and perdition of ungodly men." 34:52 And here's how it ends. 34:54 "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing." 34:57 And I read this. 34:58 "That one with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, 35:02 and a thousand years as one day." 35:04 And here it is. 35:05 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, 35:08 as some count slackness, 35:10 but is longsuffering to towards us, 35:12 not willing that any should perish, 35:13 but that all should come to repentance." 35:15 So why hasn't He come yet, 35:17 He is not willing that any should perish, 35:18 He is giving us time. 35:20 But don't take that time to be a complacent time 35:23 or time where God has forgotten His promise. 35:25 Take it as a time of preparation. 35:26 Yes and the Bible tells us over and over again. 35:28 Don't be caught up over charge, 35:32 weigh down with the cares of this world 35:34 that that day slip in on you unaware. 35:36 So with your fishing and you know, 35:38 the buying and the selling, 35:39 you know, these kinds of things that are necessary to life 35:42 don't get your eyes so focused on that, 35:44 that you forgot that Jesus is coming 35:46 and He is coming soon and He is coming quickly. 35:48 You got to be prepared for that day. 35:50 That's right, that's right. 35:51 So friends, thank you for your questions 35:53 and your comments 35:54 and that we always enjoy going to them 35:56 but if you have any more questions, 35:57 you can send those questions to housecalls@3abn.org, 36:01 that's housecalls@3abn.org. 36:04 And we will try our best 36:05 as you can tell we enjoy studying with you 36:07 and going into the Word of God 36:09 and we hope that you also enjoy that. 36:11 Pastor C.A., on that same note 36:13 the reason I use that question where I did, it's a segue 36:16 because we're talking about how to encourage 36:19 and strengthen your heart 36:21 and give you reasons to know 36:23 that the coming of the Lord is near. 36:26 We're not gonna use a cliche even at the door, 36:29 or even so come Lord Jesus, 36:30 or proclaiming Jesus Christ until He comes. 36:33 We're going to point you to the Bible 36:35 showing you that Jesus is in fact coming again. 36:39 There is a song says 36:40 lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring, 36:42 Jesus is coming again. 36:44 Matter of fact what I like to begin by reading is Acts 1 36:51 unless you have something for us in Isaiah. 36:52 No, I will go to Acts 1. Acts 1. 36:55 We're gonna start with the verse 9-11. 36:57 Truly, friends, it is not a fairytale, 36:59 we're living in a world that's hurting, 37:01 a world that's hungry, a world where loneliness, 37:03 and crime, and violence, and outburst of diseases 37:08 whether swine flu or AIDS or epidemics 37:12 or the incurable cancer that continues to run rampant 37:15 throughout the lives of millions every year. 37:17 This world is waxing old. 37:19 It's getting worse and worse and unstable day by day. 37:22 And truly these are the things that the Lord said, would come 37:25 but He did not hinged the promise of His coming 37:28 just on the conditions of the world 37:30 but He hinged the promise of His coming 37:32 on the fact that He left. Acts 1:9-11. 37:35 Turn to Acts 1:9, 37:37 "And when he had spoken these things, 37:39 while they beheld, he was taken up, 37:42 and a cloud received him out of their sight. 37:44 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven 37:47 as he went up, behold, two men stood by them 37:50 in white apparel, Which also said, 37:53 Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 37:57 This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, 38:01 shall so come in like manner 38:03 as ye have seen him go into heaven." 38:07 So did Jesus go to heaven? Yes, He did. 38:09 Okay, for the fact that He went is the promise 38:13 that He will come again. Yes. 38:15 And, you know, how many years 38:16 they waited for Jesus to show up. 38:18 This is the thing that so strange about it, 38:19 friends, if you become weary, 38:22 the weariness tend to cerate an atmosphere of complacency. 38:25 What did happened to the Jews 38:26 who were the ones who are the depositors of the truth, 38:30 they had become weary, they had for thousands of years, 38:33 you know, okay, another lamb, 38:34 another dove, another bullock, 38:36 another goat, slit their throat, 38:39 throw the blood, I got to go play soccer. 38:41 I'm trying to minimize. 38:42 I'm showing you the complacency here. 38:44 They got so locked into the rituals of everyday life, 38:47 that when Jesus came, 38:50 they didn't even know who He was. 38:51 Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally missed it. 38:54 There are some who were studying, 38:56 there were many who were not, 38:57 there were many who are looking 38:58 but didn't know what they were looking for 39:00 and when the sign came, they didn't recognize the sign. 39:02 And that could happen to us, it is easy to get caught up 39:05 into the things of this world. 39:07 There are so much going on, things you have to do, 39:10 you've got to work, you've got to eat, 39:11 you've got to take care of your family. 39:13 But in all of that, don't forget about God, 39:16 you know, get wisdom 39:17 and that further Lord is the beginning of that wisdom. 39:19 So you got to keep your focus and your priority straight 39:22 when it comes to the second coming of the Lord. 39:26 Now the world is not looking forward 39:27 to the coming of the Lord, 39:28 but here's what the devil wants to do. 39:30 He wants to create in the mind of the last day believer 39:35 what he did in the mind of the early believers. 39:39 John 1:11 says it this way. 39:43 "He came to his own, 39:45 and his own did not receive him." 39:47 Okay, now that's his own. 39:50 I want you to catch that if he came to his own 39:53 and his own didn't receive him. 39:55 The world is not even looking for him. 39:58 So it almost becomes a complete surprise 40:01 to the world they're not looking. 40:03 But even worst to his own because the Bible says 40:07 if you began to say my Lord delays His coming. 40:10 Now what happen you eat and drink with the drunken, 40:12 you begin to beat your fellow servant. 40:14 He says, I will come at a day that you do not expect 40:18 and I'll appoint you your portion with the hypocrites. 40:21 So it's even more special. 40:23 What do you think that those of us 40:24 who are Christians be ready at any moment. 40:26 Very must so. 40:28 You've got to keep your eye and there is pressure even, 40:30 you know, this world is designed 40:31 to take our minds off of the Lord. 40:34 And even Christians can become very routine, 40:36 you could begin to do things by road, 40:37 you got to church by road, you eat by road, 40:40 and you know, you reading a Bible by road, 40:42 praying even just sort of mechanical. 40:45 Our prayers, our life has been under girded 40:47 by the ever present fact 40:50 that Christ is coming again and it's like a fireman. 40:52 You always get ready for that bell to ring, 40:53 you know, you live in anticipation, 40:56 you plan in anticipation, you spend your money 40:58 and do things in anticipation 41:01 of the second coming of the Lord. Yeah. 41:04 I'm glad you mention that 41:05 because truly for those of us who are on the frontlines 41:08 and working diligently for the Lord, 41:09 sometimes we can get complacent. Yes. 41:11 You mentioned something that I caught myself in once 41:15 mechanical prayer. 41:17 You know, prayer is so important? Yes. 41:20 If I spoke to C.A., I said 41:23 I don't want to talk to you like I'm writing a letter. 41:25 So I'm not gonna say to you 41:28 like a mechanical machine everyday 41:30 the same thing over and over and over again 41:32 that's why we have to make sure 41:33 that our waiting for the Lord does not become mechanical, 41:36 that's an easy thing to do. 41:38 And so, so much time had gone by 41:40 and by the time Jesus arrived His own didn't even accept Him, 41:45 didn't receive Him and didn't even know that 41:48 that was the one that they were preaching 41:49 for thousands of years that He was going to come. 41:52 Now 2000 years or more they waited for Him, 41:57 He stayed here three and a half years and left 41:59 but this time He comes back, 42:00 He's coming back to get us to take us where He is. 42:02 Let's look at that promise together. 42:04 John 14, if you have your Bibles verse 1 to 3. 42:08 The promise of Christ return. 42:10 "Let not your heart be troubled, 42:12 ye believe in God, believe also in me. 42:14 In my Father's house are many mansions, 42:16 if it were not so, I would have told you. 42:19 I go to prepare a place for you. 42:21 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 42:24 I will come again, and receive you unto myself, 42:28 that where I am, there ye may be also." 42:32 And you know what? 42:33 We find there is another promise that the Bible has for us. 42:37 This is a great promise Hebrews 9:28. 42:41 Why don't you turn with us in your Bibles there? 42:43 What we just read was, if I go. 42:47 Now that's a huge three words if I go. 42:50 The beauty is I did go. If I go, I will come again. 42:57 Now here's the promise, I don't want you to miss that 42:58 because that's one of those 43:00 traditional passages by the way, pastor, 43:02 if I go it should be because I went. 43:06 Yes, yes, yes, that if has many shades of me. 43:10 That's right. 43:11 And it can be maybe or can be given that I'm going, 43:16 you know, fait accompli, fact done, 43:19 given that I'm going, I'm coming back. 43:21 Right, so now so today we'll say since He went, 43:24 He is coming back. Good, now Hebrews 9:28. 43:28 9:28 "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, 43:32 and unto them that look for him 43:34 shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." 43:38 Okay, now here's the beauty of it. 43:40 If they were looking for Jesus to come the first time, 43:43 He would have come and they would have known 43:45 who He was and when John said in John 1:29 43:49 "Behold the Lamb of God, 43:50 which taketh away the sin of the world." 43:51 They would have said, ah, 43:53 we've been waiting for thousands of years, 43:54 my parents told me, my grandparents told me, 43:56 here He is. Yes, yes. 43:58 That's why Paul we believe is a writer of Hebrews. 44:01 He says unto those who look for Him 44:04 well, He appear second time without sin on to salvation. 44:07 That's a big part 44:09 because when He came the first time, 44:10 He came to bear our sins. Yes. 44:13 See, He is not coming back to do that any longer. 44:16 When He comes back, He is coming back to save us 44:18 from the presence of sin. 44:20 He came the first time to save us 44:22 from the penalty of sin and the power of sin. 44:25 He is coming back to save us from the presence of sin. 44:28 So, friends, you could be sure that 44:29 because Jesus left 44:31 and you don't have to be a Christian 44:33 to verify that signs and archaeologies 44:36 and religions of the world say, 44:38 yes, there was a man by the name of Jesus. 44:40 We don't what happened to Him. I just told you, He left. 44:44 He left that He is coming back. Praise God. 44:47 And you know, He is not in some country 44:48 somewhere hiding out. 44:50 He left this country, He left this earth 44:53 and went to get a house ready for all of us 44:55 and He is coming back. 44:56 But now when He comes back, 44:59 Acts 1:9-11 says the clouds received Him. 45:04 But let's look at Revelation 1 45:06 and find out what's gonna happen when He comes back. 45:10 Those clouds have a special significance. 45:13 Revelation 1:7 if you read that for us. 45:16 And turn on your Bibles with us there. 45:18 Revelation 1:7. 45:21 And my Bible is misbehaving here. 45:26 Okay. There we go. 45:28 Revelation 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds, 45:32 and every eye shall see him, 45:34 and they also which pierced him, 45:36 and all kindred of the earth shall wail 45:39 because of him. Even so, Amen." 45:42 Now notice, behold he cometh with clouds 45:46 and every eye shall see him. 45:48 Now it was amazing how when we read in Acts 1, 45:55 it says that "And a cloud received Him 46:01 out of their sight." 46:02 Now I don't know if you thought about that 46:03 but clouds don't receive you. Yes. 46:05 Okay, clouds are clouds, they don't do anything, 46:08 they just kind of hide you, they shade you, 46:12 they shield you, but clouds don't receive you. 46:14 So, pastor, those clouds 46:16 had to have some kind of meaning. 46:18 Yes, yes, yes. Tell us what are those clouds? 46:20 Those clouds are escorting angels, 46:23 I read, new angels and that of course is verified. 46:25 When we look at the scenario of Christ return. 46:29 That he is coming with the accompaniment 46:33 dare I say, He's not coming along. 46:35 He is coming with clouds of angels. 46:38 And I guess, you put 10, 20 million angels 46:42 in the sky kind of looks like clouds. 46:47 Matter of fact when you think of the number, 46:50 let's go to Matthew 24, 46:55 Matthew 24. 46:58 This is going to be a phenomenal event. Yes. 47:05 Matthew 24:27-31. 47:09 You're going to see the whole gamut 47:11 come together there. 47:14 We have tried in our best attempts 47:17 to make things grand in our world. 47:19 You know, I'm sure there's some of you watching the program 47:22 have that one time or another been awed 47:24 or left breathless by a firework show 47:27 or you have seen maybe some movie 47:29 or some event where you were left reeling like the-- 47:33 just to say the word wow. 47:35 Was, just it took all the energy that you could muster up. 47:39 But I would tell you and I think that 47:41 when this event occurs 47:42 when the coming of the Lord occurs, 47:44 the word wow is not even gonna come out. 47:47 We're not gonna be able to, 47:48 you know, I think lo, see wow is two letters-- 47:52 wow is three letters, lo has two. It's two. 47:54 We're gonna have just enough breathe to say lo. 47:58 This is our God. 47:59 Got to take a breath even after lo, 48:00 you know, the writer in the Bible 48:01 puts a coma there lo. And you take another breath. 48:05 We're breathing, 'cause first is a gasp. Yeah. 48:07 You ought to be, you got to breath in a continue talking. 48:09 So I tell you. But Matthew 24:27. 48:12 The beauty of this look at this, 48:14 look at the coming of the Lord described here. 48:15 I'm in verse 27. 48:16 "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, 48:18 and shineth even unto the west, 48:20 so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." 28? 48:26 All the way down to 31. Very good. 48:28 "For wheresoever the carcass is, 48:30 there will the eagles be gathered together. 48:32 Immediately after the tribulation of those days 48:39 shall the sun be darkened, 48:41 and the moon shall not give her light, 48:43 and the stars shall fall from heaven, 48:46 and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." 48:47 I'm in verse 30. 48:49 "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, 48:52 and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, 48:55 and they shall see the Son of Man 48:56 coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." 49:01 And verse 31. 49:02 "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, 49:07 and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, 49:11 from one end of heaven to the other." 49:13 Okay, and He will send His angels. 49:17 So when He comes, He's not coming by Himself. 49:20 As a matter of fact I read Matthew 16:27. 49:23 Notice what was beautifully illustrated there 49:25 as lightening flash from the east to the west. 49:27 If you are in Taxes, 49:29 if you are in any of the panhandle States, 49:31 if you are in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, 49:34 if you are in Illinois, 49:35 any of those states were thunderstorms are like, 49:38 let's look for shelter event. 49:41 You will know exactly what the Bible is saying. 49:44 This as the lightening flashes from the east to the west. 49:47 See in the Midwest here 49:48 when you have a lightening storm, 49:50 you can close your curtains, 49:51 you gonna still see the lightening. 49:52 Very much so. Right. 49:53 Have you had those experiences? 49:54 Oh, yes, yeah, it will lights up the whole room. 49:57 Yeah, even with your blinds drawn 49:58 and your curtains close. 49:59 Yeah, it's just like every eye will see Him. 50:02 I'm turning my flash light on 50:03 and your curtains are not thick enough 50:05 to hide the Lord's flashlight. 50:07 So when the Lord comes, 50:08 He's going to come back with the glory, 50:11 a glory unseen by anything 50:13 our eyes have ever, ever beheld. 50:15 As a matter of fact listen to Matthew 16:27. 50:18 "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father 50:23 and with his angels, and then he will receive 50:27 or then he will reward each according to his works." 50:31 When He comes back, He's gonna do that. 50:34 Matthew 24:31 we just read that one. 50:36 Here's another one Mark 8:38, 50:41 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words 50:44 in this adulterous and sinful generation, 50:46 of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed 50:48 when He comes in the glory of His Father 50:51 with the holy angels." 50:53 See so that cloud that He is gonna come back do the math, 50:57 10,000 times 51:01 and thousands of thousands that's hundreds of millions. 51:06 And I tell you, we haven't seen anything like that. 51:10 It's gonna be glorious 51:11 and beyond anything that we can anticipate. 51:14 So remember the story when the Lord said to Peter. 51:22 Peter put your sword away. 51:25 He said, I could have asked My Father 51:28 to sent 12 legions of angels. 51:31 That may blow you away in a minute. 51:32 Jesus said, Peter you are just one man 51:36 with the sword and you are upset. 51:38 The Father could have send Me 80,000 angels. 51:41 That's 12 legions of angels. 51:45 He could have send me up with 80,000 angels, 51:48 so put your sword away, I don't need your help. 51:51 So, friends, when the Lord comes back with angels, 51:55 we are not going to be by any means adversely 51:58 or in any way standing by saying 52:02 well, I've seen things 52:05 better than that before, you know. 52:07 We haven't seen anything 52:08 compare to what the Lord is going to do. 52:11 But there is something else that's going to happen, 52:12 not only is the beauty of the Lord coming 52:14 going to be the things that grabs our attention, 52:16 but what's gonna happen on the earth. 52:17 There's an earth quaking event that's going to take place. 52:20 1 Thessalonians 4. 52:24 There is something that's gonna happen, this beautiful. 52:27 And by the way you will notice that 52:28 we're not focusing so much on the signs 52:30 of the wars and rumors of wars, we'll talk about that later on. 52:33 But something is gonna happen to this earth. 52:36 And this is necessary because if this doesn't happen, 52:41 then it will almost make of no effect the death 52:45 and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 52:47 But we know that Jesus died and He rose again 52:52 and so this event 1 Thessalonians 4 52:56 and we're gonna start from verse 13-18. 53:01 You read that for us. Here we go. 53:02 Beautiful story. 1 Thessalonians 4:13. 53:06 "But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, 53:09 concerning them which are asleep, 53:11 that you sorrow not, 53:12 even as others which have no hope. 53:15 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 53:19 even so them also which sleep in Jesus 53:22 will God bring with him. 53:25 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord." 53:29 So we're getting it straight from the Lord here. 53:31 "Then we which are alive and remain 53:33 unto the coming of the Lord 53:34 shall not prevent them which are asleep. 53:39 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 53:41 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 53:44 and with the trump of God, 53:46 and the dead in Christ shall rise first." 53:49 So we have what's gonna happen, 53:51 who is its going to happen to, how its going to happen 53:53 and even the sequence of its happening. 53:57 That's right. Verse 17. 53:58 "Then we which are alive and remain 54:00 shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, 54:04 to meet Him in the air, 54:06 and we shall ever be with the Lord." 54:09 Okay, so break that down for me 54:11 I mean, there's a lot talked about right there. 54:13 You have a lot of events taking place right there. 54:15 You have not only the coming of the Lord 54:17 but the Bible says the Lord Himself. 54:20 I want you to get this because sometimes we miss this 54:22 and there is a certain verse 54:23 if you don't read that carefully, 54:24 you think that the Lord is coming back with His saints. 54:28 But that's not what is being talked about. 54:30 Let me just go and read that. 54:31 It says in verse 16 "For the Lord himself 54:37 will descend from heaven with a shout." 54:39 The only one accompanying the Lord 54:40 when He comes back is His holy angels, not people. 54:44 Now when it said in verse 14, 54:48 "If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 54:50 even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus." 54:54 You read that verse and some people say, 54:56 that means when Jesus comes back to the earth, 54:59 He is bringing people back with Him. No. 55:01 That says God will bring with Him 55:03 those who sleep in Jesus. 55:05 So when Jesus comes back to the Father, 55:08 He is bringing back to the Father 55:11 those who sleep in Him. 55:12 Yeah, not coming down, He's going back home. 55:13 That's right, exactly. 55:15 And taking us back home with Him. 55:17 Now He is bringing back to the Father 55:18 those who sleep in Jesus. 55:20 They are not sleeping in heaven, 55:21 they're sleeping in the graves, 55:23 that's the whole context of the story. 55:25 So when He comes back, it's gonna be a grand event 55:28 and that's why Paul says therefore in verse 18 55:31 comfort one another with these words. 55:35 That's going to be some shout, what do you think? Oh, yes. 55:36 I mean, when people shout, I've heard people shout. 55:40 Could I just say, you were in Ephesus in New York? Yes. 55:43 You've had some members that shout? 55:45 Oh, yes, yeah, yeah. 55:47 We had some shouters back at 55:48 your home church in Bethel. Oh, yeah. 55:50 That's when we shouted for the Lord. 55:52 Undignified Bethel. Yes. 55:54 And they would shout. 55:55 Well, this is going to be dare I say, 55:57 a very noisy event. That's right. 56:00 The announcement of the event is a trumpet sound 56:03 or shout that can be compare to a trumpet sound. 56:06 The Lord try to send them with the shout, 56:08 the voice that you can answer trump of God. 56:10 So there is going to be this fanfare 56:12 that accompanies this eschaton, 56:15 this coming back of the Lord 56:17 and then of course you've got folk praising God. 56:19 You've got people rejoicing in their salvation, 56:22 so this is going to be a very effervescent, 56:24 a very joyous event. 56:26 Of course when you're happy when you are joyous, 56:30 you audiblize, you can't keep it to yourself. 56:32 So this is gonna be a very, very excited, 56:34 very loud event, 56:36 so loud I dare say, the whole universe will hear it. 56:38 Remember Eastern Parkway 56:40 since we talked about New York those of you in New York, 56:42 Eastern Parkway parade loud, loud it's-- 56:45 but Eastern Parkway parade is a whisper 56:48 compare to what's gonna happen when Jesus comes. 56:50 Psalms 50:3 our closing text "Our God shall come, 56:54 and shall not keep silent, a fire shall devour before him, 56:59 and it shall be very tempestuous all around him. 57:03 He shall call to the heavens from above, 57:05 and to the earth, that he may judge his people. 57:07 Gather my saints together, 57:09 those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." 57:12 Friends, the greatest event 57:13 of all the ages is soon to occur. 57:16 Yes, there is that cliché again, 57:17 but it's not a cliché, it is a fact. 57:19 So get rea dy for that because here at House Calls 57:22 one day God is gonna make a call on your house 57:24 and we pray that by the decisions you make, 57:27 you are ready to meet the Lord in peace. 57:30 God bless you and make that preparation today. 57:32 Have a great day in Christ. |
Revised 2014-12-17