Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL120002
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend
00:02 and sit back as we explore God's word 00:04 together on this edition of House calls. 00:23 Welcome to another edition of House calls, 00:25 and you guessed it. That's John. I'm John. 00:29 And this-- this is the program. 00:31 If you have a Bible, this is the program 00:34 that you should be watching every time it comes on. 00:36 This is the book and thank you for tuning into 00:39 what we believe is one of the best Bible programs, 00:42 I made a mistake, the best Bible program 00:45 on the television right now. 00:46 That's why you're watching it. 00:48 Thank you for tuning into 3ABN and my name is John 00:50 and you are also John. Is that correct? 00:52 That's right-- that's right. 00:53 And we have come to bring to you what God wants 00:56 to share with you today from His words. 00:58 So get your Bible, get your pens, get your friends, 01:02 hit record if you want to do that. 01:03 Because we're gonna continue our topic 01:05 on faith, something everyone needs. 01:07 Before we do that though, we always take 01:09 your questions, your comments, and we'll tell you 01:11 how to send those to us in just a moment 01:13 but before we go any further, we need to pray. 01:16 John, would you have prayer for us today. 01:18 Let's pray. Father in heaven, 01:19 we are so thankful for an opportunity from week 01:21 to week to study Your word, to open up Your truth. 01:25 And Lord, we're talking about faith, 01:27 we need faith and part of why we are getting together 01:31 here in these few programs is to 01:34 strengthen our faith and our trust in You. 01:37 So, Lord, as we exercise that faith today, 01:39 we pray for your Holy Spirit to come dwell here, 01:41 within us, and to lead us to where You want us to go 01:45 as we look in faith to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. 01:48 We thank You for His presence here today. 01:50 In Jesus name, amen. Amen. 01:53 And as you know, those of you who sent questions, 01:57 you know where to send them. 01:58 But for those of you who haven't, you can send 02:00 those questions to housecalls@3abn.org. 02:04 That's housecalls@3abn.org. That's our website. 02:07 But if you like sending letters like these, 02:12 don't send huge letters with very small print 02:15 and pages written back and front with oh, 02:18 we get some letters, don't we, John? 02:20 I mean, we get some bold, underlined. 02:22 But if you have a question, send them. 02:24 Try to make it as small as you can 02:26 probably not as big as this envelope. 02:28 And we will try to answer those questions on the air. 02:30 Send them to PO Box 220, 02:33 West Frankfort, Illinois, 62896. 02:35 And then, send them attention 02:37 House calls, and I'll get them. 02:39 But, John, we have some questions today, 02:41 and I like this part of the program because 02:42 this is where the people say, hey, answer me. 02:46 Yeah. Tell me what the Bible says about this. 02:48 Where do they send their questions into? 02:49 They send it to housecalls@3abn.org. 02:51 They send to you actually. Yeah. 02:53 Well, I mean, they send them in by email. 02:56 They send them in--you can actually call them too. 02:57 You can. That's our call center 03:00 handles fields calls or questions. 03:02 That's right. We'll give that phone number later. 03:03 But we thank you for being a part of our program 03:05 as John is saying and I want to share with you 03:08 here a first question that came in. 03:10 All right. And the question is, 03:12 "Was Jesus brought into the God head?" Okay. Wow. 03:16 Good question. I thank God for your program. 03:18 Thank you very much. He's saying, he looked 03:21 at Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1, Proverbs 8:22-30. 03:29 I believe in the Holy trinity and Holiness of Jesus. 03:33 However, was Jesus brought into the God 03:36 head at some point in eternity past? 03:40 And so the question is, you know, and I think 03:42 we feel other types of this question which is, you know, 03:46 "Was Jesus' created by God, by the Father? 03:49 You know, in fact, sometimes the begotten-- 03:53 the word begotten is turned into 03:55 the creation of Jesus at some point in time. 03:57 We'll look at that here in just a minute 03:59 but let's read first of all, 04:01 Colossians 1 verses 15 through 17. 04:05 We'll pick up both verses on either side of 16. 04:08 It says, "He is the image of the invisible God, 04:12 the firstborn over all creation. 04:14 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven 04:19 and that are on earth, visible and invisible, 04:22 whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, 04:26 all things were created through Him and for Him. 04:29 And He is before all things." He's before what? 04:33 All things. All things and in Him all things consist. 04:37 All right, so a couple of things in here and it's 04:40 important to read these things 04:41 in their proper context. 04:43 What this passage is saying is that, 04:46 Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. 04:51 Now some would say, okay, that means He was born. 04:53 You know, you have to understand that firstborn 04:56 doesn't mean born or created. 04:59 Firstborn means, first in line, in other words 05:02 the one that is over all, in charge of all. 05:05 That's the idea of the first born in the Old Testament. 05:08 The first born was always the one that received what? 05:11 The inheritance. Right? That's right. 05:12 He was in charge of everything. 05:14 He was given charge over everything. 05:15 And so in that context, Jesus is the one 05:20 that did all the creating. 05:21 He's the one that holds things 05:23 together in which they consist. 05:25 He's also the one that is in charge over all creation. 05:29 I think another verse, in fact, 05:30 maybe you can find this one, John. 05:32 It says that, He's first born and that 05:34 He's preeminent over all creation. 05:36 It's speaking of His preeminence 05:38 not that he was actually born. 05:40 But in another verse that I think gives some 05:42 real help here in this topic is to whether or not 05:45 Jesus was created at some point or brought into 05:48 the eternity and given His Godness, 05:49 which we do not believe the Bible describes too. 05:52 No. Is John Chapter 1? 05:55 And so we'll turn here quickly to John Chapter 1 06:00 and I'll just read a couple of verses here for you. 06:05 Verse--verses 1 and actually let's do 1 through 3. 06:10 Okay. In the beginning was the Word, 06:13 now the Word is capitalized there 06:14 denoting that it's speaking of Jesus. 06:17 So it's the name Word not the written word 06:22 but the name Word, and the Word was with God, 06:27 and the Word was God. 06:29 He was in the beginning with whom? 06:31 God. With God. All things were made through Him 06:35 and without Him nothing was made that was made. 06:40 So another words, there's two things 06:42 we can gather from this. 06:44 He was in the very beginning with God. 06:46 In other words, there was no time that He was 06:48 brought into the God head. Okay? 06:50 Pretty, pretty clear on that one, John? 06:52 Oh, I'm very clear on that. 06:53 He was in the beginning with God. 06:55 In other words as the God had comprised as three, 06:59 three beings or individual personalities of God, 07:03 yet, is comprising one God in purpose. 07:08 Jesus from the very beginning was part 07:10 of that a triune God, that God head that 07:13 existed from the beginning. 07:14 But secondly notice it says here that, 07:17 nothing was made that was made, 07:19 that didn't come through Him. 07:22 In other words before anything was created 07:25 in the universe, what happened? Nothing. 07:30 So God, Jesus was there in the God head 07:33 from the very beginning, you know, it's hard-- 07:35 it's a hard concept to grasp for us who are 07:39 created beings that anything would have 07:42 an eternal existence into the past. 07:45 But this is exactly what has--what the Bible 07:47 is telling us that God has always existed and Jesus 07:51 is clearly identified in this passage as being with 07:54 the God head that has always existed. 07:57 So I can't find anyway around that but to say 08:00 God and Jesus in no way 08:02 was created at any point in time. 08:05 Now this idea kind of came back, if you want to 08:09 kind of put it to a point in time came through 08:10 the Arianism kind of a perspective 08:13 where Jesus was a created being. 08:15 And so I recognized that some 08:16 denominations actually hold to that. 08:18 I won't name them out of respect, but it is important 08:21 to understand that in Christian orthodoxy, 08:23 in the standard of Christianity, 08:25 as we understand it, Jesus was not 08:27 a created being nor has He ever been 08:29 a created being, He is God fully. 08:31 Right. And, you know, the problem with that concept, 08:33 John, is or the problem as I speak to our audience is 08:38 if He's not the creator, He is the created. 08:43 He can't be both. That's right. 08:45 I can't be the-- I cannot be the-- 08:51 if a mother gives a baby life, the mother 08:55 can't also be the baby. Follow me carefully. 08:59 Yes. The mother procreates. 09:03 In the context of Jesus, the Bible says in that text, 09:09 I was gonna stop you there for a brief moment 09:11 because it reads so powerfully when we just 09:15 consider what it says in First John, 09:17 sorry in John 1 and verse 3. 09:19 It says, all things were made through Him. 09:23 King James says, by Him and without Him 09:27 nothing was made that was made. 09:29 What was made before Him? What was made without Him? 09:33 Nothing. Nothing. 09:34 That means not even any other created being. 09:40 So if all things were made by Him. 09:43 It means, He wasn't made and then other things were made. 09:46 It says, all things were made by Him. 09:48 The mystery of the God head is this. 09:53 All powerful, all knowing, ever present but also 10:00 always existing and that is something 10:03 that men have tried to put into a bottle. 10:06 We've tried to find a way to, okay, 10:08 but we know that they had to have a start somewhere. 10:11 Well, surely we know that but you have to come 10:14 to grips that John 1 goes further 10:16 back than Genesis Chapter 1. 10:18 Hebrews 1 goes back farther than Genesis Chapter 1. 10:23 These are books telling you how was 10:24 even before the world was created. 10:26 So in the beginning was the Word, 10:27 the Word was with God, the Word was God. 10:29 That's just how it is, simply. 10:31 And for us to try to determine, well, 10:33 some where along the way Jesus had to come in. 10:36 What John was saying a moment ago 10:37 is when the phrase, the first begotten of God 10:39 is in the same context as the Bible used about David. 10:43 Now David wasn't, 10:45 David wasn't the first born at all. 10:47 He was the youngest of all of his brothers. 10:48 Yet, he was referred to as the first born. Why? 10:52 Because of the position that God put him in. 10:55 David, he was the youngest, but he was 10:59 referred to as the first born. 11:01 How could the youngest be the first born? 11:02 The oldest is the first born. 11:04 But in the same context, preeminence. 11:05 That's what you're talking about preeminence. 11:07 God put him in a position to inherit all things 11:09 that the Father passed down to him. 11:11 So that's the context that Jesus has spoken of. 11:13 And in Colossians, when he's speaking about Jesus, 11:15 he's speaking about Jesus in his earthly context. 11:19 Firstborn over all creation. He is the preeminent one. 11:21 He is the one that created all things. 11:23 So He comes to redeem His creation. 11:26 You don't send-- you don't send another-- 11:30 I want to try to make this as human as I can 11:31 and as easiest as I can, but the problem is 11:33 you kind of break divinity down. 11:34 I have a couple of more texts 11:36 I'm gonna share with you. 11:37 But unless there's something wrong, 11:41 this is probably not the best example 11:42 so bear with me. 11:48 A mother has the most joy of being the first one 11:51 to hold her baby, unless you decide 11:54 to give that child up to another woman. 11:56 It is often said and I've-- you know, I'm a guy, 11:59 I don't know this is true or not, but it is said 12:02 the first bond that is made is 12:03 when a mother holds her child. Okay? 12:06 In the very same context, the creator, 12:09 the greatest bond is the one who brings 12:12 the creation into existence. 12:14 Jesus the procreate-- Jesus the creator 12:17 brings us into existence. 12:19 So there's no other person between us and He. 12:21 There's only one--that's it. That's Him. 12:24 But if you think about his preexistence, 12:26 He even addressed that question in John Chapter 17. 12:30 Jesus said, speaking to His Father, 12:34 and now, O, Father, glorify Me together 12:37 with Yourself, with the glory, 12:39 which I had with You before the world was. 12:44 And somebody may say, well, I know that's what it says, 12:46 but then maybe He was created before the world. 12:48 Undoubtedly Jesus existed before the world. 12:51 But there's another text here in Isaiah, 12:54 'cause Isaiah speaks of the preexistence of God. 12:57 You know, sometimes people think that, 12:58 sorry the preexistence of Jesus, who in fact, 13:00 is God, had He not been so, 13:03 the Jews would've been, in fact telling the truth. 13:06 When they said, you being a man, consider yourself God. 13:10 That's blasphemy. Well, Jesus made it very clear. 13:13 Well, if I'm not God, you're in trouble. 13:15 Right. He didn't say it that way. That's right. 13:18 Let me go ahead and make this point 13:19 here in Isaiah 44 and verse 6, 13:23 and I'm reading from the new King James Version. 13:24 And the Bible speaks of the Father 13:28 and the Son in this wise. 13:30 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel 13:35 and His redeemer the Lord of hosts. 13:41 Who's saying? Both of them are saying. 13:42 The Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, 13:45 the Lord of hosts, I'm the first, and I'm the last, 13:50 besides me there is no God, singular. 13:54 So the Father and the Son are spoken of here as one. 13:58 And you find clearly when Genesis brings them 14:01 into different categories. 14:02 When Genesis began to understand, 14:04 help us understand that, yes they are one, 14:07 but they are three at the same time. 14:09 And this mystery has been one that men have 14:11 with futility tried to make clear. 14:14 So what we do is just go as far as the Bible 14:17 allows us to go and simply say, this is a mystery 14:20 that we will understand even more clearly, 14:23 when we are before the Father and before the Son. 14:25 Bottom line for me is, He is my redeemer. 14:29 He is my Lord. He is my savior. 14:30 He created all things, 14:32 and He recreates us into His image. 14:35 That's the most important thing to me. 14:37 And to suggest that God, the Father 14:41 would have created Jesus and then 14:43 at some point given him his Godness-- 14:46 Right. Is, is simply speculation 14:50 and far reaching speculation with that because 14:53 to suggest that, the very element of God 14:56 and who He is, is His eternalness. 14:58 Okay. We can't have deity without eternity. 15:02 So you can't give Christ, He's God standing. 15:08 Either He's God and He's always existed 15:11 or He's not God, and there's only two ways about. 15:15 And to suggest that there's this somehow 15:17 He receives his Godness or He's brought into, 15:19 you know, the God head at some point is just 15:22 not even from--is beyond the realm of possibility. 15:25 Nor does-- and the Bible say anything 15:27 or suggest anything about that. 15:29 The other thing to is kind of-- just I'll add to this. 15:33 I know it's not part of the question, John, 15:34 is that it's only most who deal in or believe 15:40 in this respect about Christ that somehow 15:42 He was created at some point or given his Godness 15:45 or something happened there also believe that 15:49 the Holy Spirit is not a person of the God head. 15:52 Right. These are package deals here 15:55 and there're different veins or roads kind of 15:59 and conclusions that people go on. 16:01 But a lot of times, it's a reaction to not wanting 16:05 to accept the Godhead as three in one 16:09 or the trinity so to speak. 16:11 And I would say the trinity because there's 16:13 this baggage that comes with it, well. 16:15 Somehow that's a concept of the Roman Catholic Church, 16:20 the papacy, so we need to stay away from that. 16:22 That's their thing, the trinity. 16:23 But now actually if you look back at how 16:26 that whole thing came into being, it was very much 16:29 as a result of scripture reading, 16:31 and an established truth the churches have accepted 16:34 as orthodoxy for many, many years, 16:36 not only Rome but the reformers. 16:39 So you have to be very careful when you tread on 16:42 this ground especially when it comes to God. 16:44 Because it is something that is not easily understood 16:47 and I like what you're saying John, 16:48 there when you say, we can only go 16:50 as far as the Bible will tell us. 16:51 Right. To make speculation beyond that point, 16:54 I believe frankly, is kind of dangerous ground. 16:56 So-- Yeah. It is. 16:58 I'm not sure we can spend a lot of time on that. 17:00 I can see our time is slipping away 17:01 fairly quickly as far as our question time but-- 17:03 The last one. Go ahead. 17:04 The last point of this Hebrews 1 because you 17:06 mentioned this and it brought, 17:07 it brought this thought to my mind. 17:09 Yeah. I've got it here with verse 8. 17:11 Okay. Why don't you read that? 17:14 But to the son, He, that is the Father, 17:16 God says, your throne, O God is forever and ever. 17:22 So he refers to Jesus as God and immediately, 17:25 like we said deity without eternity, 17:27 that's an impossibility. 17:29 He ascribes God that is Jesus to a eternity past. 17:34 Right. Point very well, very well, made. 17:39 Now I have a question here, from a gentleman. 17:43 I like his name, sounds like he's from France. 17:47 Jean Pierre that name is so common. I mentioned-- 17:51 I don't usually mention full names, 17:52 but I just had to get the roll, Jean Pierre. 17:56 You, I like the way he spelled you, Y-U. 17:59 Yeah, I agree with that. Why waste another letter? 18:02 Y-U. Y-U are my favorite preachers with Pentecost. 18:08 I'm Jean Pierre. Wow. From Cairo, Egypt. 18:14 Yeah. Praise the Lord. Welcome Egypt. 18:18 And wow. That's great. 18:22 On one hand, some preachers taught-- 18:27 this is the question he had. 18:28 Who are the five king--five kingdoms that had fallen? 18:32 On one hand, some preachers taught that those 18:35 kingdoms are the empires that opposed the Lord. 18:38 So they stopped back at the time of Egypt, 18:42 Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, 18:44 Pagan Rome and Papal Rome. 18:46 On the other hand, some preachers taught 18:48 from Babylon going down to Pagan Rome and Papal Rome. 18:51 If you can send me a small text because I'm in Lebanon 18:57 now where there is no 3ABN live in my sister's house. 19:02 We gotta change that. We got to get 3ABN Lebanon. 19:05 That's right. Okay. I will surely appreciate it. 19:07 Well, I hope you're watching the program today. 19:09 We'll try to go ahead and respond by email too. 19:12 But I have--you know, John, because 19:14 this is an unfolding prophecy here, meaning 19:17 this is not one that you'll lock down 19:19 and just say okay it has no other meanings. 19:21 Instead of going to kingdoms, 19:23 I actually-- the five have fallen. 19:26 The one is, the other has not yet come. 19:28 When he comes, he must continue a short space. 19:30 I actually go to systems, 19:33 which applies to all these kingdoms. 19:34 Which apply-- it could apply to Egypt, 19:36 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, the papacy. 19:39 You could apply all the way across, 19:41 because what I see-- and let's go to Revelation. 19:44 Just to add really quick here--not just ruining 19:47 your thought here, but the suggestion there 19:51 that it would be a system is not out-- 19:52 necessarily out of the context in Revelation 17. 19:55 No, not at all. We're talking about Babylon here. 19:56 Right. So Babylon is described 19:59 as a false system of worship. 20:01 A system of worship. 20:03 So it's not out of the context here of this passage 20:08 to suggest that these that are 20:10 risen and fallen are systems. 20:12 And the point that is really important is, 20:15 we have to keep in mind when John mentions 20:16 five are fallen, John is on the island of Patmos. 20:19 So by his time, five of those systems that comprise 20:24 the seven and then the eighth comes later on. 20:26 You can't miss out the prophecy because 20:28 the prophecy actually talks about eight. 20:30 Five are fallen, and one is not yet come. 20:31 When he comes, he must continue short space. 20:33 And then it says, there's also an eighth, 20:36 who is of the seven, but he is coming 20:37 out of the bottomless pit. 20:39 So we know clearly whenever the Bible talks about 20:41 the bottomless pit, it is referring to Satan himself, 20:43 satanic activity, the one that comes 20:45 and joins them altogether. 20:47 My approach to this whole prophecy was this, 20:50 all throughout, ever since the entrance of sin, 20:53 Satan has had systems through which he has worked. 20:57 Introducing them as time has gone on. 21:00 And when we get to the end time, all of these systems 21:04 will now coalesce together in the final push 21:08 against the forces of light and the forces of truth. 21:12 Thus Babylon finally coalesces together. 21:15 The word coalesce simply means, they're all in unity. 21:20 They're all in harmony, they're ready now to put 21:23 all their forces of darkness finally against 21:26 the people of God, and then, what happens 21:28 is they all are fallen because 21:30 the topic is Babylon is fallen, is fallen. 21:35 So what happens now by the time John gets this picture, 21:39 remember now, this is a study altogether by itself. 21:42 When John begins to write on the island of Patmos 21:46 up until that point, five of the systems 21:48 of Babylon have already fallen. 21:50 He says five are fallen. 21:51 But it was not completely fallen yet. 21:54 So what I'm saying is when John wrote this 21:57 five are fallen, but Babylon was not yet completed. 22:00 That's why this is the message that's repeated 22:02 in Revelation 18, because it had to be 22:05 complete in its scope, all seven systems 22:08 before it would fall completely together. 22:11 You follow me carefully? So five by John's time 22:14 was fallen meaning they were exposed 22:16 for what they really are. 22:17 So understand this, the first system that I 22:21 suggest was introduced, which could fit 22:22 into anyone of these nations. 22:24 So it's not even getting rid of Babylon, 22:26 Medo-Persia, Egypt, Greece, Libya, Lydia. 22:28 It's not getting rid of any of those because 22:30 these systems, the first one that was introduced 22:32 at the entrance of sin was what, in the Garden of Eden? 22:34 What's the first lie told? You shall not-- 22:37 Surely, die, yeah. Okay. 22:39 What was that introduced? Spiritualism. 22:42 The first thing introduced that has been working 22:44 ever since the Garden of Eden is spiritualism. 22:48 That has-- that system has been 22:50 operating for the longest. 22:53 And so by the time John writes this prophecy, 22:57 he is in essence saying because of 22:59 the coming of Jesus, that system has been exposed. 23:02 Spiritualism has been exposed. 23:03 As a matter of fact, the way that Jesus 23:05 exposed spiritualism in his own life, 23:07 was he completely obliterated-- 23:09 by raising Lazarus, he completely obliterated 23:13 the idea that men don't really die. 23:17 Because he said to Mary, Lazarus is dead. 23:19 That's why he stayed away four days because 23:21 this whole teaching of Neo-Platonism 23:26 affected the Greek Church. 23:28 The Jews were affected by this. 23:29 And they believed that the soul took three days 23:33 to attempt to get back into the body and after 23:35 three days if it was not successful, 23:37 then he was really dead. 23:39 Jesus stayed away four days and he said this to Mary, 23:42 I'm the resurrection and the life killing spiritualism 23:46 right there because according to what 23:49 Satan says, you shall not surely die. 23:51 Jesus said to Mary, Lazarus is dead. 23:54 He said it to the disciples Lazarus is dead. 23:57 He made it clear I've come that the glory of God 24:00 may be revealed through this act of raising Lazarus. 24:03 Okay, so spiritualism was the first one. 24:04 And then you have, what happened not too long after-- 24:08 well, it doesn't actually say how long, 24:10 but the first major event to impact 24:12 our world was the flood. 24:14 What was the predominant existing system 24:19 that Satan used then? Heathenism. 24:22 I mean you look at Genesis, it talked about the thoughts 24:25 of men's hearts will only evil continually. 24:27 Matthew, Mark, and Luke contributes to that. 24:29 You wanna say something to this point? 24:31 I don't want to keep from-- No. Keep going. 24:32 Okay. Matthew, Mark-- see you have spiritualism, 24:34 then you have heathenism, 24:35 strong and rampant in the earth. 24:38 But then after that, you find at the tower of Babel. 24:43 There was another system introduced. 24:45 This is after the flood, which today we can commonly 24:48 refer to this system as the post flood system, 24:51 which today, I believe, 24:52 is the foundation of all atheism. 24:54 This distrust in God. We cannot trust God. 24:57 Atheism introduced there God confused the languages. 25:01 Because by the time God called Abraham, 25:04 we know that the knowledge of God was almost 25:06 obliterated from the face of the earth. 25:09 So you have spiritualism. You've heathenism. 25:11 You've atheism. But then you've something else. 25:15 Then God called that entire nation 25:18 and that nation eventually rejected Him. 25:20 Then you have Judaism. What did they leave out? 25:22 They rejected the Christ, so the Judaism today 25:25 is the system that rejects Christ. 25:27 Every one of these systems rejects Christ. 25:29 Every one of these systems put divinity 25:31 outside of that system. 25:33 Judaism accepts God, but they don't accept Jesus. 25:36 You believe in God, believe also in me. 25:38 Spiritualism, heathenism which today 25:40 is embodied in secularism. You've atheism. 25:43 You've Judaism. You've these four systems. 25:46 Then John is existing during the time of Rome. 25:50 How's Rome embody today? 25:53 How does Rome exist today? Under what system? 25:55 Papal. Papal Rome exists today. 25:59 So, John, Jesus also exposed that system. 26:02 He exposed the powers of Rome. 26:05 He made it very, very clear, I'm not connected. 26:07 My kingdom is not of this world. 26:09 So today we call that system of Rome Catholicism. 26:12 So get this, spiritualism, heathenism, 26:14 atheism, Romanism, by the time John was writing this, 26:17 those five systems have been exposed. 26:19 They have fallen already. Judaism as well. 26:21 Yeah, Judaism. But you also have, 26:24 oh, this one, I left out. 26:26 This one I left out here, which I'll-- 26:28 I'll include in just a moment here. 26:29 You've Islam also included in that. Okay. 26:32 So then you have two more coming. 26:35 You've--that are not yet here. 26:39 What came during the dark ages? 26:40 God brought back to the surface Protestantism. 26:43 We are Protestants, are we not? Okay. 26:45 But what will happen to-- what will happen to 26:47 Protestantism eventually? It will become what? 26:50 Apostate Protestantism and if you go throughout 26:53 all history-- all of human history, 26:55 you find that Protestantism--how will 26:58 Protestantism become apostate Protestantism? 27:01 Yeah. Rejects the law of God and the whole 27:06 system that He's established of truth. 27:08 As has--as had every other system, 27:11 they reject the truth about Jesus. 27:15 The truth about Jesus is rejected and then you final-- 27:18 the last one that comes, the eighth, 27:21 who comes to pull all these false systems- 27:23 spiritualism, atheism, Judaism, Islam, 27:28 Catholicism, apostate Protestantism, 27:30 who comes to put them altogether? 27:32 Revelation 17 look at that very quickly as we segue. 27:35 Revelation 17, as we segue, 27:40 all right and it says down in verse 11. 27:45 Okay, we'll start with verse 10. 27:47 These--they are also seven kings now. 27:50 Five have fallen, one is, when John was existing, 27:54 Rome was in power, one is, the other has not yet come, 27:58 Protestantism is yet to come to the surface, 28:02 when he comes, he must continue a short space. 28:04 Out of all the systems that existed, 28:06 Protestantism is the youngest. 28:09 Finally and the beast verse 11, that was, 28:14 and is not, is himself also the eighth, 28:17 and is of the seven, and is going to perdition 28:20 and then you find that what's going to happen 28:22 with all these systems, these will have one mind. 28:25 They'll have one mind because they will all 28:27 ultimately reject the truth about Christ 28:29 and they will all join together to fight against 28:31 those who embrace the truth about Christ. 28:34 Now you can apply that to Babylon, Egypt, 28:37 Libya, Persia, Rome the papal system, 28:40 you can apply that all the way across the board. 28:43 So I have a little different approach to that. 28:44 It's just my thoughts, this is not solid 28:47 doctrinal based but these are my thoughts 28:51 showing that Babylon is a complete system from 28:53 the very beginning to the very end 28:54 and so the king of all of that. 28:56 Yeah, because we don't really know definitively-- 28:58 Right. Exactly. Definitively. 28:59 This is prophecy and it's still not fully revealed 29:02 but very interesting points and I appreciate that. 29:05 It's--I think sometimes we don't think about 29:09 the entire structure of the enemy and how he's put 29:12 this thing together so beautifully 29:15 from his perspective to deceive the world 29:17 at the end of time and just having that 29:19 explain the view I think is very important. 29:21 That's a very good point, John, and on that note 29:24 we wanna say that one of the reasons why it's important 29:26 to look at the larger picture is because 29:29 individual nations rise and fall but the system 29:33 of Babylon as it will present itself from 29:35 the end time against the people of God 29:37 will be a collision that finally pulls together 29:41 all of its forces and then Babylon is fallen, 29:45 is fallen, one in the eyes of God already. 29:48 Finally, it'll fall on the eyes of man. 29:51 Well, thank you for your 29:52 questions and comments today. 29:54 We took a little bit of time on that because 29:55 that was a very rich question. 29:57 Thank you so much for that. 29:58 But if you've any more questions, 29:59 you can send those questions to housecalls@3abn.org. 30:03 That's housecalls@3abn.org and we'll try 30:07 our best to get to those questions. 30:09 But thank you for your faithfulness, your prayers, 30:11 your financial support of this program, 30:13 and also this network. 30:16 Now John, why don't you lead us into our topic today? 30:20 We started on the topic of faith, but I'll go ahead 30:25 and let you get us back into that topic, 30:28 very widely important topic. 30:29 Yeah, we've been talking about different aspects 30:31 of faith and how important it is to exercise, 30:34 to practice that faith in an active way, 30:37 not a passive way, a passive way would be 30:40 just a mental ascent to God's existence. 30:44 Right. You know, He is there. 30:45 An active faith is the day by day walk in, 30:48 in putting your trust in-- your faith in God 30:52 and holding onto Him to provide, 30:54 where you know, you can't provide for yourself-- 30:56 That's right. And your family. 30:57 And so we're gonna start looking 30:59 at the different nuances of that. 31:00 We've already kind of started with that in trouble. 31:03 You know, we saw that God 31:04 will avenge His people speedily. 31:06 We can have confidence in that. 31:07 We learnt that in the Book of Revelation it talks about 31:10 those that have faith in Jesus in response 31:13 to that question, will there be faith in the world? 31:15 The people will have faith in Jesus and they will keep 31:18 the commandments of God in conjunction with that. 31:20 So there's an obedience element to that as well. 31:22 Faith and obedience go hand in hand. 31:23 They go hand in hand. Okay. 31:24 And so now the question we kind of wanna dive into is, 31:29 under what circumstances, 31:32 will faith help us to endure? 31:33 In other words what kind of environment 31:36 are we right now in, in this world. 31:38 And, I mean, John we look around this world today 31:41 and we see tornadoes devastating, 31:45 you know, the mid west. 31:46 We see climate change and the heat 31:49 is changing a situation there. 31:51 The world seems to be falling apart in kayos. 31:54 You know, the middle of-- the Middle East crisis 31:56 and terrorism is rampant and all these things 32:00 that are happening that weren't there 10 years ago. 32:04 True. So the world has changed 32:06 significantly over the last 10 years. 32:09 We as Seventh Day Adventist pastors and Adventists 32:12 in general believe that this is a sign 32:14 that the end is imminent. 32:15 Right. And so we're looking for what's happening here. 32:19 We're very careful as, I love the words of Jesus, 32:22 He says, you know, hymn, watch and pray. 32:26 So we're watching the signs and what's happening, 32:28 but we're praying and that's a parfait. 32:31 And so although the signs are happening, 32:34 being fulfilled around us that's the environment, 32:36 you know, prayer is how we link 32:40 and trust and hope that God. 32:42 And a faith that God will deliver us and so 32:45 that's kind of what we want to dive into now. 32:48 And we'll start with Revelation 13, 32:50 I think verse 10. Okay. 32:52 It's a good place to kind of segue. All right. 32:56 And so Revelation 13 verse 10 I'll read that. 33:04 And he who leads into captivity shall go 33:07 into captivity, but who--he who kills 33:10 with the sword must be killed with the sword. 33:13 Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 33:17 So as Revelation, the Book of Revelation 33:19 is revealing this time of trouble where 33:24 the saints are keeping the commandments of God. 33:26 They're holding fast to Him and they're 33:28 keeping the faith of Jesus. Jesus, their redeemer, 33:31 the one is gonna avenge them and deliver them. 33:33 What we find is they're doing that in the midst 33:36 of persecution, trouble, in the form of even death 33:44 is what they are facing and while we're not there now, 33:48 although I would suggest some Christians are 33:50 in parts of the world are being persecuted. 33:52 Faith is the only thing we have and so I think 33:57 as these things--times come, it's gonna reveal 33:59 whether or not, we've been strengthening 34:01 our faith prior or in advance of this 34:03 and are ready for that time of trouble. 34:06 I'm glad you brought that up because our faith 34:08 is the faith that we have 34:11 is in fact what God has imparted 34:14 to us to get us ready for that difficult time. 34:17 We think about the faith chapter. 34:20 We think of Hebrews 11. 34:21 But if this is not new to you bear with us, 34:25 but there is a faith book in the Bible. 34:28 The faith book is the Book of James. 34:31 All through the Book of James, James is actually 34:34 broken down into capsules of expressions of Gods-- 34:39 of the faith that we must have in Christ 34:41 and so when I think about this time that's coming, 34:46 I want to say this it is not enough 34:47 to just say, we trust God. 34:50 It is not enough to just say we have faith in God. 34:55 So the Lord allows difficulties in trials 34:57 to come to test the fabric of our faith. 35:00 How strong is your faith? 35:02 What can your faith do for you? 35:04 Can your faith really cause you to endure 35:06 and so if our faith is going to be the means 35:11 through which we endure faith and Jesus 35:13 we're gonna be the means by which we endure. 35:15 How do we know our faith is being developed today 35:18 is the question I would like to lead into. 35:19 And for the answer I'd like to go to James Chapter 2. 35:22 How do we know that our faith is being developed 35:26 to the place where we could endure when the time come. 35:29 When that time of trouble comes and here it says, 35:31 we're going then to James. Here's what I wanna say. 35:34 The devil knows that faith will endure, 35:37 will keep us in the time of trouble, but he also knows 35:41 that the lack of strengthening our faith 35:44 now in preparation for that time is going to 35:47 bring people down and this is why the secret rapture 35:53 and the teaching of a second chance is so deadly. 35:56 Right. Because around the world there're Christians 35:58 today almost goes back to that apostate Protestantism 36:02 we talked about in that one question. 36:04 The present world today has embraced this futuristic-- 36:08 the futurist approach to interpreting 36:11 the second coming of Jesus, which is a secret appearing, 36:14 a rapturing out of the church 36:16 prior to the time of trouble. Right. 36:18 And Christians are going around today with this false 36:21 sense of security that they will not be here 36:23 when trouble comes. 36:25 Yet throughout the Bible, we find no where, 36:28 any evidence of God taking somebody away 36:30 from trouble not to experience it. 36:32 He instead allows them to go through trouble 36:35 and He keeps them through that time of trouble. 36:38 So I know we don't-- this is in a subject 36:40 on the secret rapture, but I do wanna say 36:43 that this we see this here at House calls, John, and 36:46 we've talked about this and taught on this many times. 36:48 We see the secret rapture as absolutely deadly 36:52 for Christians today because they are not aware 36:55 nor are they're watching for 36:57 the time of trouble soon to come. 36:58 And they'll be-- they will find themselves 36:59 in the middle of trouble without a faith 37:02 strong enough to stand. 37:04 We want to see your faith strong enough to stand. 37:07 So that's why we have programs such as this. 37:12 So back to that initial question, how do we know 37:15 our faith is growing in preparation 37:17 for the time that's ahead of us? 37:19 James 2. Look at this. And by the way, 37:28 very powerful example here in the life of Abraham. 37:35 First of all I wanna begin with verse 18. 37:41 But someone will say, 37:44 "You have faith and I have works." 37:48 Show me your faith without your works, 37:51 and I will show you my faith by my works. 37:56 You believe that there is one God. You do well. 37:59 Even the demons believe and tremble. 38:03 But to you-- but do you want to know, 38:07 oh, foolish man that faith without works is dead? 38:11 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, 38:14 when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 38:17 Do you see that faith was working together 38:21 with his works and by works faith was made perfect 38:25 or made complete and the scripture was fulfilled, 38:28 which says Abraham believed God and was 38:30 accounted to him for righteousness 38:31 and he was called the friend of God. 38:34 You see then a man is justified by works 38:37 and not by faith alone. 38:40 Likewise was also Rahab the harlot justified by works, 38:42 when she received the messengers, 38:44 and sent them out another way. 38:46 So as the body without the spirit is dead, 38:48 so faith without works is dead also. 38:51 So what the Bible in essence saying here is your faith 38:54 has to be substantiated by the way 38:56 that your life is lived, and the reason, 38:58 I say works is a lot of people think well, okay 39:00 what work does the Bible call me to do? 39:02 The Bible doesn't call you to do a work, 39:05 but the Bible calls you for a work. 39:08 There's altogether different. 39:10 It doesn't call you to do a work but it calls you 39:12 in preparation for a work. 39:15 You're not saved by your work, 39:17 but you're saved for work. 39:20 Well, you almost have to go to Ephesians 2. 39:23 Okay. All right. That's the segment-- 39:25 that's the segment as you-- or the segue 39:27 that the growing progression of what faith really does. 39:31 See faith isn't something you receive 39:33 at one point in time and then you're good. 39:37 There's a false conception of faith. 39:38 The faith is something that you receive 39:41 as a mustard seed. It's small. Okay. 39:44 But Jesus talks about how that mustard seed grows 39:46 into this mustard tree so to speak and it bears fruit. 39:54 Something happens-- things happen as a result 39:57 of that faith and so you know--and Paul speaks off 40:01 when you first come into the faith 40:02 that you're baby. That's right. 40:04 Babies got to grow up. So a lot of us 40:07 aren't growing up, increasing our faith 40:10 that's part of growing up. You're right there. 40:13 Yes, matter of fact, the apostle said 40:15 as you go to Ephesians, you want 40:17 Ephesians 2 verse 8, 9, 10. Okay, the apostles 40:20 and leading into that ask Jesus, 40:23 they said to the Lord in Luke 17:5, 40:26 Lord, increase our faith, see. So faith is not static. 40:32 It is ever growing, ever being nurtured. Okay, 40:35 take us to that Ephesians 2 verse 8-10, John, go ahead. 40:41 All right. Verse 8, for by grace 40:45 you have been saved through faith, 40:47 and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 40:51 not of works lest anyone should bow. 40:53 So we can pause there and we can say 40:55 there is no possible way to be saved 40:57 except through faith in Jesus by His grace. 41:02 It is a gift. It is free. You cannot earn it. 41:04 You cannot work to get it. There's nothing you can do 41:08 that would allow yourself to be seen as worthy 41:10 to be saved for God. 41:12 God does it all through Jesus Christ. 41:14 That's right and I'm glad you said that 41:16 before we go to verse 10. I mean, 41:18 you just said a moment ago, just as you tailed off 41:20 that statement very, very powerful 41:21 because a lot of times you read this text 41:23 and you say we're saved by grace through faith. 41:26 No we're not. We're saved by Jesus. 41:28 Yes. His grace. Through our faith in Him 41:32 is what brings that salvation to us. 41:34 For the grace of God, that bringeth salvation 41:36 has appeared to all men Paul says in the Book of Titus. 41:39 So when I say by grace through faith, 41:41 grace which we don't, we have no claims to. 41:46 By our faith in the Christ that we don't see, 41:49 connects us to the God who does exist 41:51 and He is the one that saves us. 41:53 So how we're saved? We're saved by Christ. 41:55 Grace we don't merit. Faith gives us the eyes 41:59 to see the one who extends to us salvation. 42:02 Very important point. You know, and before I read 42:04 this too can I inject something real quick 42:06 here on grace? I think you can. 42:09 I have your permission. You know, grace-- 42:12 I think is very misunderstood today. It is. 42:15 Grace is some ethereal kind of God is so good grace. 42:18 Yes, but that's not the full grace in its power. 42:23 That's right. You know, we define-- 42:26 or the definition of grace is unmerited favor. 42:31 I don't use that even anymore. 42:33 It's correct but I don't use it anymore 42:35 because it's just too brief. And here's how I explain it. 42:40 Just in my ministry as it evolves, 42:43 I've transitioned to this definition. 42:44 Okay. So I'll give to you. Anytime God reaches out 42:49 and down to do anything for us that's grace. 42:53 That's right. Very, very-- 42:55 Anytime He reaches down to save 42:57 that which is unsavable by any other means, grace. 43:00 That's right. When you're weak 43:03 and you need strength and He gives you strength, 43:06 He just gave you grace. 43:07 His grace is efficient. 43:08 Grace is power. Grace is favor. 43:12 Grace is anything God does for us 43:15 that we can't do for ourselves. 43:16 Uh, beautiful, I like that. That's grace. Right. 43:19 So we can't save ourselves only God can do it. 43:22 That's grace and the way you connect. 43:24 I got this word from a friend of ours, 43:26 Andy, who works in soy business. 43:29 You know, who I'm talking about. Yeah. 43:31 The stuff that he's working on, 43:32 they've been looking for what makes soy so healthy 43:36 and they've kind of boiled it down to this thing 43:39 that seems to activate, the healthiness 43:41 of the soybean, you know, this--this agent within it, 43:45 that's causing it to be so healthy. 43:46 Soy agent. Well, yeah, 43:48 but I love what he uses, what he-- 43:50 the term they use. It's the activating agent. 43:55 Faith is the activating agent for God's grace. Amen. 44:01 When you exercise your faith, 44:03 it activates a response from God to stoop down, 44:06 to come down and do it for you 44:07 what you can't do for yourself. 44:09 In essence that's an every area of our walk. 44:11 No matter, yeah, whether it's when you 44:13 first believe or when you need faith 44:15 and strength to move on. 44:17 That's God's grace and it's activated. 44:19 It's an activated agent by, the agent is faith. 44:23 So exercising faith boom, God moves, that's grace. 44:26 So this text has become so powerful-- 44:29 I've a whole sermon series on just this text. 44:32 You sound excited about it. 44:33 Oh, I am--I love it because it's done so much 44:35 for my life in developing this understanding 44:37 and I just, I praised God, so now as we transition now. 44:40 But you-- I've to respond. 44:42 Go ahead. Go for it. I'll be excited. Okay? Go, go, go. 44:44 Because truly when you think about that 44:45 and I wanna emphasize what you just pointed out 44:48 but a different way. 44:49 God really doesn't owe us anything. 44:51 I mean He doesn't owe us a thing. 44:52 He doesn't have to do anything for us. 44:53 As a matter of fact, as I pointed out one of my studies 44:56 if the Lord did any, if the Lord decided 44:58 He wants to destroy us, 44:59 Hewould be just in wiping out 45:01 every human being that is ever sent. 45:04 But He is, is grace the song we sing that I once said 45:09 if I hear that song, "Amazing Grace" 45:11 one more time, I'm gonna just lose it. 45:13 But you know I'm beginning to appreciate 45:15 because it is amazing, 45:16 it's amazing that God would even want 45:19 to do something for us. Yeah. 45:20 But that goes back to for God so loved us 45:24 Yeah, that His love is-- His love is accented 45:29 through the grace and then He helps us 45:32 through grace when we're weak. 45:33 He comes to our side through grace 45:35 when our faith is waning. 45:36 His grace keeps us. His grace guides us. 45:39 Yeah. Gracious. You see that phrase, gracious. 45:42 So I'm working on another sermon now 45:45 you just gave it to me. Powerful, powerful. 45:47 But I'll let you preach it. 45:48 So what does grace do? I mean 45:50 now that we've activated that grace by faith 45:52 because that's our subject today. Right. 45:54 Then we read in verse 10 here, 45:56 for we are His workmanship. We're not our workmanship. 46:01 He is the work-- He is the master. 46:03 He is the one working on us where His workmanship-- 46:05 Created in Christ Jesus for good works, 46:09 which God prepared beforehand, 46:11 that we should walk in them. 46:13 If someone comes to you and says, 46:15 you know, works aren't the issue. 46:17 When it comes to being saved, it's all about faith. 46:20 Let me tell you, faith without works 46:23 we've already is dead. That's right. 46:25 James clearly tells us that. 46:27 It's a misunderstanding of faith 46:29 being this namby pamby. Kind of, 46:33 I mean, what else do I say? How do you describe it? 46:36 This, well, God's grace and we just kinda-- 46:38 it goes off as if it doesn't do anything for me 46:40 except it just makes sure that I'm gonna be in heaven. 46:42 You know, God's grace transforms. 46:45 It takes what you don't have and gives you 46:47 what you can have through Christ, 46:49 bringing Christ into the life 46:50 and then generating good works. 46:54 So if there're no good works, 46:56 if you don't see the Christians life changed, 46:59 then you know that faith hasn't taken. 47:02 Faith isn't the faith that activates 47:04 the grace of God and is allowed 47:06 to transform the life. Right. 47:07 We want to encourage our viewers 47:10 and our listeners out there 47:11 to exercise their faith in a way 47:16 that transforms their life 47:19 and that means that it generates works. 47:22 I've gotta add something here to this. 47:24 I'm not advocating you say now, 47:26 okay now I gotta quit my lesson, 47:27 go out and do my works. Exactly. 47:30 Because we know Philippians 2. Okay. 47:34 Right? You know where I'm going, Philippians 2:13, 47:38 for it is God who works in you 47:41 remember we are His workmanship. 47:43 It's His workmanship. It's God who works in you 47:47 both to will that is to cause you to want to 47:49 and to do, to actually help you do it-- 47:52 Of His good pleasure. Of His good pleasure. 47:54 That's right. So you-- 47:57 all you can do is choose to be used by God. 47:59 You can't choose to do the works of God. 48:01 You can choose to be used by God 48:03 and that's what God's grace is all about. 48:05 That's what faith can generate or cause 48:08 to happen in the life of the Christians. 48:09 So that's what Paul the apostle means 48:11 when he says for God will finish the work 48:14 and cut it short in righteousness. 48:16 He's doing the work. Oh, wow, 48:19 you know, boy, that's powerful. 48:20 It just got me. Ah, man, okay, my shoulder, 48:26 this completely puts a whole different spin 48:29 on the works that we say we're doing. 48:31 It's-- we don't do the work anymore 48:33 than the extension cord makes our computer work. 48:37 That's right. The extension cord in fact 48:40 would be representative to me of our faith 48:44 that connects us to a source that, 48:46 that sends through us the power 48:48 to activate in our lives those things-- 48:50 You want to hold there, Alan? 48:52 Why did Jacob dream about a ladder? 48:53 Wow. That's right. The ladder that faith that reaches up-- 48:58 The power cord that reaches up to God. 48:59 You know, so we're like power-- 49:01 we're like extent--no, we-- 49:02 we're more than extension cords but in fact 49:04 God works through us, He works through us-- 49:07 Through the extension cord of Christ to us 49:09 to activate the computer. Wow. 49:11 The work that He's doing in us 49:12 and so we don't have any claim to that. 49:14 We can't even say well thank you Lord, 49:15 thank you Lord, now I need my reward for my work. 49:18 He said no although and that's you know, 49:19 I've mentioned that what's so powerful 49:21 about the work that God does in us 49:22 and we always want the topic of grace and faith, 49:24 what's so powerful about that is when time rolls, 49:28 when eternity rolls, and we are not standing before God, 49:31 this is the beauty of God. 49:32 He says I will now give to every man 49:35 according as his work shall be. 49:36 And in that, it's Him who's doing the work 49:39 through us but we're simply vessels 49:40 making ourselves available to God. Wow. 49:44 That shows you that salvation is a very, very-- 49:47 salvation brings you to the place 49:49 where God says okay, now are you-- 49:51 I've just saved you, are you willing 49:53 to let me work in your life now. 49:55 Uh, yeah, it's so powerful. I mean this is the elements. 49:58 This is the eliminate principles of, 50:01 of, of Christianity. Right. 50:03 This is where it's got to start 50:05 and I don't think we're understanding this 50:06 to the degree that we should. 50:07 I wanna read a verse here. Sure. 50:09 Because, you know, we're talking about-- 50:11 I'm John 14 now. So I-- 50:14 you know, we've got this, 50:15 I love the term you use extension cord 50:17 because the power is in heaven. That's right. 50:20 The powerless is on the earth 50:22 and the only way to get the power from heaven 50:24 to earth is through the conduit of Christ 50:27 who is the representation of this ladder. 50:30 What Jacob was dreaming about was, the ladder was Christ 50:35 and angels are going down back and forth 50:37 on Christ which is, are His merits 50:39 giving and ministering to those 50:42 who need the power down here. 50:44 So now here's the other element to this. 50:47 Here's the other element to this. 50:48 Slow down. I love it.Okay. 50:50 John 14. Look at verse 16 through18. All right. 50:54 And I would pray the Father, 50:56 and he will give you another helper 50:59 that he may abide with you forever; 51:01 the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, 51:03 because it neither sees him nor knows him, 51:05 but you know him; for he dwells with you, 51:08 and will be in you. Number one 51:11 the Holy Spirit can dwell with you. 51:14 Another words he can work on you from the outside. 51:16 He can work on your mind. He can consciously-- 51:20 he can be your conscience. He can work as much as 51:22 he can with you, but God notice-- 51:25 but Jesus wants him to be in you. That's right. 51:28 So he's telling disciples he will be with you 51:33 and in you. We want the Holy Spirit 51:36 with us and in us. 51:37 We don't want him just with us. 51:38 With us is conviction, 51:40 those things that draws us to Christ 51:42 In us, is the power. 51:44 Okay, Now look at verse 18. 51:48 I will not, this is Jesus now, 51:50 I will not leave you orphans; 51:51 I will come to you. That's right. 51:55 Jesus is coming into you through the Holy Spirit, 51:59 which was once only outside of you at work. Okay, exactly. 52:03 So the power cord has been plugged in, 52:05 the Holy Spirit's coming in, Christ has taken his throne 52:09 on upon your heart through the Holy Spirit. 52:11 And what we have today now 52:13 are a contrast in Christianity, 52:16 one with the power and one without the power. 52:19 Problem for us pastors is they're both sitting 52:22 in the pews. We want you all to be powered, 52:27 empowered spirit filled Christians. 52:29 Right. That's what, yeah. 52:31 You know, and when you think about this, 52:32 it comes down to the whole picture here, 52:34 Christ in you the hope of glory. 52:36 But now with that very foundation 52:39 you laid in John 14, John 15 comes now 52:42 and says okay, I am the vine, the power cord, 52:45 you are the branches, the extension cords. 52:48 And that's why Jesus when He left 52:50 and, you know, this is a very remedial earthly term 52:53 when we use the phrase extension cord 52:55 and connect it to Jesus Christ. 52:56 There's so much more power there than extension cord. 52:58 Right. But we just wanna use 53:00 a kinda an object lesson here. 53:02 He said I'm one extension cord while I'm here, 53:05 but when I leave, I'm gonna turn my whole church 53:08 into extension cords. 53:09 That's why He says more works than these will you do. 53:13 Can you imagine unplugging one extension cord 53:16 and plugging it again? I'm plugging it, 53:17 and unplugging it again. The Lord says wait a minute. 53:20 Let me just give you 28 million 53:23 extension cords and we could do a lot more, a lot faster. 53:26 And does that through the Holy Spirit. 53:27 It does that Holy Spirit activates our lives, 53:29 extends us to the world and so when we read 53:32 Ephesians 2:10 where we come to the-- 53:35 for you are his workmanship. 53:37 It is not ending at verse 8 and 9, 53:39 save by grace or faith. It's going to verse 10 53:41 and say okay, yes Christ wants to work in my life. 53:45 He does it by me accepting him by faith 53:48 but now He activates me. Thank you, John. 53:50 He activates me now to be a moving active agent 53:54 of His power all through the earth. 53:57 And it doesn't take away the will, 53:59 the power to choose and our choice, 54:02 the only--the choice we have to make day by day 54:04 is to exercise our faith. 54:06 That's why it comes down to faith. 54:07 If we're not continually exercising that faith 54:10 that we've been given, even though 54:12 it was very small at first, 54:13 it can't get stronger and not only that, 54:17 the Holy Spirit and here's where you got 54:20 this one's saved always thing comes into play. 54:22 The Holy Spirit-- you can actually 54:24 quench the Holy Spirit. How do you quench? 54:28 A PCB equipment from working, how do you stop it? 54:32 You'll pull the power cord out. Right. 54:35 So what happens here is when Paul says, 54:39 do not quench the spirit, 54:40 what He's saying is don't turn the lifeline, 54:44 your Christian experience off. 54:46 Right, don't disconnect. 54:47 Don't allow yourself to become lost 54:50 when you've already been saved 54:52 by such a wonderful grace and power 54:55 the God has given to you. Wow. 54:57 So we continue to exercise our faith 54:59 which is keep that power source 55:02 from God running through to us 55:04 and in us and God is asking us 55:07 and has given us that faith, that ability to do that 55:10 and He's saying don't ever give up. 55:13 There's one message we can give 55:14 to all of our congregations. It would be never give up. 55:17 That's right. Never give up even we you're failed. 55:19 The devils weren't telling you, 55:20 you can't get on your knees again. 55:22 That's right. Get on your knees immediately 55:24 when you fail and say Lord I'm sorry. 55:25 I put my faith and trust in you again 55:27 that your blood will blot that sin out. 55:31 Anyway that's another subject. 55:33 But now so the person who says okay, well, 55:37 I love the Lord, but I don't have 55:39 as much faith as I think I could have. 55:42 Uh, Romans 10 verse 17. Faith comes by hearing, 55:48 hearing by the word of God. 55:50 Boom you wanna hear what God-- 55:52 you want that constant flow on a constant divine power, 55:55 I've come to the conclusion 55:57 that this is not just a Book of Books. 56:00 It's not just a--this is the only living book on the earth. 56:05 Well, it's the word of God which suggests 56:08 an element of audibility or at least at a transference 56:13 of a message from God to you. That's the way He does it. 56:15 A living word. Jesus we know is the living word 56:18 but he transfers the power into His word 56:21 and as Paul says in Ephesians, 56:23 it effectively works in you who believe. 56:27 So if you need to increase your faith, 56:28 which is what we just talked about here, 56:30 ever increasing faith John-- Luke 17:7, 56:33 increase our faith. 56:34 You got to do by the constant study of the word of God. 56:36 Which Paul also says is able to save our souls. 56:40 Uh, that's right. 56:41 So the word of God brought into the life maintains 56:46 that connection first of all but also allows God to speak 56:51 His will to give to put His will in place of our will. 56:54 To the point where you know, 56:56 Paul says I die daily that I-- 56:59 that is I die to my will daily. 57:01 It's no longer Christ who lives in me, right? 57:05 It's no longer, I who-- 57:07 I'm sorry, I who live, but Christ who lives in me 57:09 Right. And that continued relationship, 57:12 that continued allowing Christ to live, that's-- 57:15 that's what we want to have by faith. 57:16 That's right and faith is so widely important friends. 57:19 You know we believe here in House calls 57:20 that faith is available but you have to reach out 57:22 by God's power and take hold of the faith 57:26 that He wants to extend to you. 57:28 Give your life to Christ. Try His word 57:30 and your faith will always increase. 57:32 God bless you till we see you again. |
Revised 2014-12-17