Participants: John Lomacang (Host), James Rafferty
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL120010
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and your friend and sit back
00:03 as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of "House Calls." 00:23 Thank you, friends, for tuning in to another 00:25 exciting Bible excursion. That's right. 00:28 This is not just a Bible program. 00:30 This is a journey through the Bible. 00:32 And I have with me another son of thunder, James. 00:35 James and John, the sons of thunder, 00:38 if you haven't read your Bible, 00:40 you have absolutely no idea what we mean. 00:41 But those of you with scriptural integrity, 00:46 we are the sons of thunder that we were followers of Jesus 00:48 and we still are today. 00:50 So good to have you here, James. 00:51 Good to be here, John. 00:52 This is a fun program because we are relaxed. 00:55 We walk through the Word of God together, 00:57 but one thing we do seek to maintain 01:01 a scriptural integrity. Amen. 01:03 We want the Bible to be the basis 01:05 and foundation of everything we teach and preach. Exactly. 01:08 That's why those of you who have joined us get your Bibles, 01:11 get your pens. Relax right now. 01:14 You've been waiting for the program 01:15 and here we are to once again expose to you 01:18 the living Word of God, the written Word of God, 01:20 the breathed Word of God 01:22 and your life will not be the same. 01:24 For those of you who have been recording the program 01:26 continue to do so, share with your friends and family members. 01:29 And we have even received letters where people say, 01:32 "We recorded this and showed this 01:33 on Wednesday night at our church." 01:35 So if that's happening, welcome, ourWednesday night crowd. 01:38 But whatever you do, we're gonna have prayer 01:40 before we go into our topic 01:41 and before we address your Bible questions. 01:43 James, pray for us. 01:45 Father in heaven, again we just want to thank you. 01:47 It's a privilege and a blessing to open your Word 01:49 and to know that as we read it our hearts 01:51 and lives will be transformed. 01:53 That we'll be lifted into heavenly places 01:55 and that we will understand more of your heart and your desire 01:58 and mission in this earth through Jesus, 02:00 through your Holy Spirit. 02:02 We pray that our minds and hearts 02:03 and those of each of us will be available for you right now. 02:06 And that you'll make it a personal 02:08 individual house call to each one. 02:10 We pray in Jesus name, Amen. Amen. 02:14 Now as you know, friends, we always answer 02:15 Bible questions to begin and some of you 02:18 have also indicated that you appreciate 02:20 that part of the program. 02:21 And what we also appreciate is whenever we don't fully 02:24 answer the question, you pull our coattail and say, 02:27 "Wait a minute. What about the rest of it?" 02:28 So hopefully, today we'll try to complete that picture. 02:31 But we do have some questions that you have sent to us. 02:33 And if you have any questions, you'd like to send. 02:35 Send them to housecalls@3abn.org. 02:38 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 02:41 That's our website where those questions are 02:44 and try to make them concise. 02:46 Some of you get excited and send us, 02:48 you know, there are people that send us 02:49 6, 7 pages. I mean small type. 02:52 And sometimes we just look at that and get overwhelmed. 02:56 So try to make that concise and just include your question 02:59 without the doctoral dissertation. 03:00 We do appreciate that though. 03:02 It's interesting that you mentioned that, John, 03:03 because as I was going through some of these questions 03:05 and seeking to find some of them to answer, 03:07 I did come across a few that were very long. 03:10 And again I just felt overwhelmed as you said. 03:13 I felt like, "Okay, I've got to find 03:14 some shorter ones here." So good point. 03:18 Sometimes, there are some preachers out there 03:20 that really want to preach a sermon. 03:21 Then they ask a question, "What do you think about 03:23 what I just said?" That's another long answer. 03:26 What do you have for us today? 03:28 Well, there's a question. It's come in here from Fernando. 03:32 His question is, "Does Satan have access 03:36 in the judgment to accuse sinners 03:38 who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior?" 03:41 Now this is a very important question. Very significant. 03:44 And I think we need to unpack it first of all, 03:45 by identifying the whole idea of the accusations of Satan 03:50 and we can do that in a couple of scriptures. 03:52 One of them I think of is in a Revelation Chapter 12. Okay. 03:56 Revelation Chapter 12 and specifically verse 10, 04:00 describes Satan as the accuser of the brethren. 04:05 Now Revelation Chapter 12, beginning here with verse 10. 04:09 It says, "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 04:14 now is come salvation, and strength, 04:17 and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ 04:20 for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, 04:24 which accused them before our God day and night." 04:30 Something is very significant about the context 04:32 of this chapter in relation to the accusations of Satan 04:35 is that Satan deceived in verse 4, 04:39 the stars or third part of the stars of heaven. 04:42 Now we understand this verse to be symbolic, 04:44 stars representing angels. 04:46 And so when Satan brought his accusations 04:49 originally against God, 04:50 he deceived the third of the angels, 04:52 the unfallen beings of heaven. 04:54 War, we are told in verses 7 through 9 04:56 of Revelation 12 began in heaven. 04:58 And it began with Lucifer, the covering cherub 05:00 who deceived these angels and misguided them 05:05 into misunderstanding the character of God. 05:08 Now I don't believe, John, 05:09 in the context of this heavenly war. 05:11 I don't believe that these were the only angels 05:14 that were introduced to questions 05:16 about God's character. 05:18 In the context of this, I think what we're seeing here 05:21 is a focus on the cross because in the context of Chapter 12, 05:26 we have a woman who's great with child. 05:29 Now a woman in the Bible represents 05:30 a church. That's right. 05:32 This woman is great with a child 05:34 who is to rule all nations, so that's Jesus. 05:36 Satan tried to destroy this child 05:38 as soon as He was born, but He was caught up 05:39 to the throne and to God in heaven. 05:42 That's talking about the fact that Jesus came, 05:44 He lived a perfect life, 05:45 He died a perfect death, 05:47 the death for our sins and He was raised to heaven. 05:50 And when that happened 05:52 all of the questions were answered in heaven. 05:55 All of the questions that might have been placed in the angels 05:57 that did not fall from heaven, 05:59 but Lucifer were answered. That's right. 06:01 So what we have here in this context is, 06:03 is a statement in verse 10 06:05 that says that the accuser is cast down, 06:08 in the sense that can no longer accuse 06:12 before the angels in heaven, 06:14 God's people or God obedient just 06:16 or unmerciful or unfair in anyway, shape or form. 06:19 All of the accusations have been answered in heaven 06:23 concerning the character of God 06:25 and concerning the character of Satan. 06:27 Satan has been unveiled. 06:28 Satan has been unmasked by the cross, 06:30 but woe, unto the inhabitants of the earth. 06:32 Now the reason why we bring this out 06:34 is because verse 12 tells us, 06:36 "That the heavens can rejoice 06:38 and those who dwell in it can rejoice 06:40 but woe to the inhabitants of the earth 06:41 and the sea for the devil has come down to you, 06:43 having great wrath, because he knows his time is short." 06:46 Now the accusations of Satan 06:49 are still coming against God's people. 06:52 Even though heavenly beings don't buy them, we still do. 06:56 And what I mean by that is, 06:58 there are times when we believe that God is unfair, 07:00 that God is unjust or we're not sure 07:02 if God loves us and forgives us, 07:04 when we give Him our sins and confess our sins 07:06 and accept Christ as our Savior. 07:08 And Satan is the one that is making us feel this way. 07:10 He's the one that's seeking to overwhelm us. 07:12 He's that one that is accusing us day and night, 07:14 24 X 7, 365 days a year. 07:17 Eternally accusing, never taking any vacation, 07:20 continually accusing us before God. 07:23 Now what does that mean before God? 07:25 It doesn't mean that he's in heaven, 07:26 that he has access to heaven. 07:27 That's very clear in the context of this 07:29 he's been cast down, cast out. 07:31 But what it means is that the God is omniscient. 07:33 God has a full view of what Satan is doing 07:35 and the work that he's doing of the accusations of Satan. 07:38 He sees it, He knows it and He recognizes 07:41 the conflict that we are going through. 07:42 That's why in 1 John 2:1, it says, 07:45 "We have an advocate with the Father." 07:46 Someone who speaks in our defense to the Father. 07:48 That's right. Jesus Christ the righteous. 07:49 It's not because the father is against us. No. 07:51 And Jesus is for us and He's trying to convenience 07:53 the Father to love us. 07:55 If you've seen me, Jesus says you've seen the Father. 07:57 It's because we have an accuser of the brethren. 07:59 Satan is accusing us. 08:01 So to answer this question, yes, Satan is able to accuse us. 08:05 He does it before God because God is omniscient. 08:07 But, no, Satan does not have access to heaven. 08:10 He does not have access to the heavenly beings. 08:11 Their minds are clear. 08:13 He's been unmasked before them. 08:14 There is no way that his accusations can affect them. 08:18 They affect us. 08:19 And again, God is interceding on our behalf. 08:22 You know, I think the person that put that question 08:23 together looking at the context of it 08:25 or looking at the broad sweep of it, 08:28 may have remembered the story in Job 08:31 where when the sons of God 08:32 came to present themselves before the Lord. 08:35 Matter of fact, if you look at that in Job Chapter 1 08:37 and Job Chapter 2, this is two references here 08:39 that show you at a particular time, 08:42 that it doesn't say where this meeting was held. 08:45 It doesn't say it was held in heaven, 08:46 it doesn't say it was held on earth. 08:48 But where ever the meeting was held, 08:50 there was a gathering of the sons of God. 08:52 And when the Bible speaks about the sons of God, 08:55 it speaks about the godly. 08:57 In this context-- other unfallen beings. 09:00 And the Bible speaks of here, 09:02 Satan coming in the midst to them. 09:07 Job 1:6, "Now there was a day when the sons of God 09:10 came to present themselves before the Lord, 09:12 and Satan also came among them. 09:15 And the Lord said to Satan, 09:17 from whence comest thou or from where do you come? 09:22 So Satan answered the Lord, and said, 09:24 from going to and fro on the earth, 09:26 and from walking back and forth on it." 09:30 And so you find that very same thing 09:32 talked about again in Chapter 2:1-2, 09:38 Satan said, "From going to and fro on the earth, 09:40 and from walking back and forth in it." 09:43 And so you see clearly Revelation 12, 09:47 also gives us another aspect that shows 09:50 that this accusatory being and I think one of the things 09:53 we talked about here is Satan will always be the accuser 09:57 of our brethren until his life comes to an end. Yes. 10:00 Of one of the illustrations we used earlier was, 10:03 if you have a dog that liked to bite people, 10:05 how long will that bite people? 10:07 As long as it's around. Yes. 10:09 That's why sometimes when people 10:11 are viscously attacked by animals 10:13 the police may say to an owner, 10:15 "Well, you have to put that dog down 10:17 because that dog is dangerous." 10:19 Or a child is mauled by an animal 10:21 and we've heard those instances 10:22 where they put the animal to sleep. Yes. 10:24 Or in the mad cow disease, when the cow was affecting 10:27 or infecting all the other parts of the cattle, 10:29 put that animal down. 10:31 Well, Satan will continue to be the accuser of our brethren, 10:33 however, because of the blood of Christ. 10:38 Because of His judgment being righteous 10:41 and the forgiveness of Christ blotting out our sin, 10:44 the accusation will not stand in the judgment. Amen. 10:47 You know, the question is asked. 10:51 The hour of His judgment has come. 10:53 Revelation 6 ends, the great day of His wrath is coming, 10:56 who shall be able to stand? 10:58 And that David adds, those who have clean hands 11:01 and pure hearts will be able to stand. 11:03 Well, when you look at the context of this whole thing 11:05 Daniel adds another component 11:07 that I want to include in this, the court scene. 11:11 And in every court scene, you have a defense attorney, 11:15 you have the jury and the-- you know, the Bible says, 11:18 the judgment was set, and the books were open. 11:20 But you see all those who are seated 11:22 in the judgment as Daniel 7 brings out. 11:26 But what else do you have? 11:28 You have a prosecutor who is accusing that the person 11:34 who's been defended. Yes. 11:35 So in that very context, during the judgment 11:38 that is going on now, 11:39 Satan is continuing in the accusatory way to say, 11:44 James, shouldn't be saved because of this. 11:46 John shouldn't be saved because of this. 11:47 And I'm reminded of the vision that 11:49 or the dream that Martin Luther told 11:52 of how he was tormented in his dream 11:55 that Satan was continuing to accuse him before God. 11:58 But he said, in the dream 12:00 God showed the scroll of all of Luther's sins, 12:05 but over that each sin was stamped the Word pardon. 12:09 By the blood of Christ. 12:10 Pardoned, pardoned by the blood of Christ. 12:12 And so truly Satan is the accuser of our brethren, 12:15 but that accuser is gonna be around us, 12:18 as long as accusation is going to be around us, 12:21 as long as the accuser is around, 12:22 but when he ceases to exist so does his accusation. 12:25 And that's what I like about Job. 12:27 These two chapters you brought out 12:29 Job is probably one of the oldest books in the Bible. 12:32 And these two chapters you brought out 12:33 make a couple of ideas here 12:36 that make it very clear that first of all, 12:39 Satan had access to other worlds at certain times. 12:46 He came to the presence of God, 12:47 the sons of God were there and he accused and said, 12:50 "Hey, I'm representing earth." 12:51 And so we see him having access in the presence of God 12:55 and who is it that he's seeking to deceive or convince? 12:59 It's the sons of God. 13:00 It's these representatives of God's unfallen creation 13:05 that he is seeking to influence 13:07 and yet when we look at the context now 13:10 of the New Testament we see 13:11 that his influence has been cast out of heaven. 13:13 We see he's been cast out. 13:15 He's no longer influencing these beings 13:19 that come into the presence of God. 13:21 So Satan can no longer influence the heavens 13:24 as it says in Revelation 12:12, 13:26 but woe to the inhabitants of the earth. 13:28 Another picture of this is given in Zechariah 3, 13:30 the Old Testament. 13:32 Zechariah, one of the Minor Prophets, 13:34 right next to Malachi, Chapter 3:1, 13:37 it says, "And he showed me Joshua 13:38 the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, 13:41 and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him." 13:44 So Satan is no longer going to the heavenly courts, 13:47 to the presence of God, 13:48 but he is still standing at our right hand to resist us. 13:51 Joshua, the high priest is a representative 13:54 of the intersession of Christ, in our behalf. 13:57 "And the Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, 13:59 O Satan even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem 14:02 rebuke thee is this not a brand plucked out of the fire?" 14:05 Now verse 3, "Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments," 14:08 'that's us' and he stood before the angel of the Lord." 14:11 This is a picture of us standing before God 14:14 with our filthy garments. 14:16 It's not literally in the presence of God, 14:17 you understand. Right. 14:18 And Satan standing at our right hand to resist us. 14:20 Right hand is the hand of strength and power. 14:23 He has a lot of power over us, 14:24 a lot of influence over us because we've sinned. 14:26 We've fallen short of the glory of God. 14:28 But notice what it says here, verse 4, 14:32 "And he the angel answered and spake to those 14:34 that stood by before him, saying, 14:36 'Take away the filthy garments from him.' 14:38 And he said unto him, 'Behold, 14:40 I have caused your iniquity to pass from thee, 14:42 I will clothe you with change of raiment.'" 14:44 So it's the Lord that changes us verse 4, 14:49 takes away our filthy garments and gives us His righteousness. 14:51 It's the Lord, verse 2 that rebuked Satan. 14:53 We can't rebuke Satan. 14:55 We have no power or strength of righteousness 14:57 to rebuke Satan. That's right. 14:59 But God rebukes Satan in our behalf. 15:01 He is our advocate. He's our mediator. 15:03 And so, yes, Satan has access to us 15:05 and he accuses us and God sees it and hears it, 15:08 but Jesus Christ stands in our behalf, 15:10 gives us this change of raiment, 15:11 takes away the filthy garments and rebukes Satan. Praise God. 15:14 And we are blucked-- we're brand plucked-- 15:17 Out of the fire. 15:19 That's a new word bluck, 15:20 combine them together to get that word real quickly. 15:23 It will be on internet in no time. 15:25 It's gonna be on the internet, I tell you. 15:27 A brand plucked from the fire. Amen. 15:30 Which is a bluck. Anyway, thank you for that. 15:34 Very, very important, very solemn topic, 15:37 very important to know that we're not gonna have to deal 15:39 with accusation throughout eternity. 15:40 Praise the Lord for that. Amen. 15:42 Here's another person, this is a very interesting question. 15:45 You know, this question says to me 15:47 that the one of the reasons why this question has come 15:50 because this person wants to assurance 15:52 and I thank you for the question. 15:55 You would have put your name, but you didn't. 15:56 It just simply says, "Sent from my iPod." 15:59 So for the purpose of the question, we'll call you iPod. 16:03 "I grew up believing and keeping the Sabbath holy 16:06 and still believe this. 16:08 However, another Adventist recently made the statement 16:13 that God never said which day to worship? 16:19 God never said which day to worship on 16:21 but that the Sabbath is the day in which to rest only. 16:25 This person has been attending a Sunday church 16:27 in addition to their regular S.D.A. church. 16:30 I always believe that Saturday is God's day of rest 16:33 and worship, but now I feel challenged 16:37 to confirm and prove my beliefs. 16:40 Does God in fact, say that the Sabbath is only a day-- 16:45 is the only day we are to worship. 16:47 Thank you, for your help." 16:49 Wow, interesting. That's very interesting. 16:52 Let me begin with a couple of things, 16:53 you know, sometimes you go backward to go forward. 16:58 I always said to people, 16:59 you'll never be lost if you do what Jesus did. 17:03 Because Jesus is our example, 17:07 because He is the one we follow. 17:10 Because we pattern our lives after how He lived His life. 17:13 You will never be omitted or excluded from eternal life, 17:17 if you simply do what Jesus did. 17:20 Secondly, I don't believe that Jesus did anything 17:22 because it was customary 17:24 or because it was the tradition of the day. 17:27 You find that He did those things 17:29 He did because it was right. 17:31 Because if you say, "Okay, well the reason 17:33 I do this is because Jesus did that." 17:35 And then you say, "Well, he only did that 17:37 because it was a tradition of the day." 17:40 Then you find that we give strength to tradition 17:42 rather than to the authority of God's Word 17:44 or the authority of His act. 17:46 Luke 4:16 makes it very, very clear that Jesus-- 17:49 "every Sabbath," read that for us. 17:51 I 'm going to turn to another passage. 17:53 Every Sabbath Jesus did something that we should do. 17:59 And I believe that the pattern He established 18:02 as He made it very clear in John 13, 18:05 I've given you an example that you should do as I've done. 18:07 Look at what He did? Okay. 18:09 Luke 4:16, "And he came to Nazareth, 18:12 Jesus came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and, 18:16 as his custom was, he went into the synagogue 18:19 on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." 18:21 Okay. So what did Jesus do every Sabbath? 18:25 Now why would he go to the synagogue on the Sabbath? 18:27 Because that was the day that the Jews honored. 18:31 But the Jews did not honor that day 18:33 because they were Jews. 18:35 The Jews honored that day 18:37 because of the record of creation. 18:39 Because we know for more than 1500 years before 18:42 there was any written record the Sabbath 18:44 had already been blessed and hallowed and sanctified. 18:48 And one of the things that we find as God establishes 18:51 what the Sabbath is for-- 18:53 we find two words joined together. 18:56 Now I would like you to go to Leviticus Chapter 23, 19:00 Leviticus is a book that addressees 19:01 not only the weekly Sabbath, 19:03 but it addresses all the other ceremonial Sabbaths. 19:07 Leviticus Chapter 23, I'm getting there now. Okay. 19:13 This is my big Bible. All right. 19:18 And we're going to look at verse 1-3, 19:28 "And the Lord spoke to Moses," Leviticus 23:1-3, 19:34 "Andthe Lord spoke to Moses saying, 19:35 speak to the children of Israel, 19:37 and say to them, the feasts of the Lord, 19:40 which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, 19:44 these are my feasts." 19:47 Now notice, one of those, 19:49 the word there used is "Holy Convocation" 19:52 and I'll bring that back again in verse 3. 19:54 "Before he breaks down the Passover, 19:56 the unleavened bread, the feast of Pentecost, 19:58 the Day of Atonement, of Tabernacles, the trumpets, 20:01 He first lays the foundation for the weekly Sabbath. 20:05 The first thing He does. 20:06 Six days work shall be done, 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath 20:12 of solemn rest, a holy convocation. 20:16 You shall do no work on it. 20:20 It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings." 20:23 Now one of the things that you'll find when it says, 20:26 when the Lord speaks about ceremonial Sabbaths, 20:28 He uses the small 's'. 20:30 When He speaks about the weekly Sabbath, it's capitalized. 20:35 But what I want to point out in this particular verse 20:37 is a phrase that you may have sped right by, 20:41 the word convocation. 20:44 And when you look at the word convocation here, 20:46 I brought it up in front of me, so I could share this with you. 20:49 The word convocation means holy assembly, holy gathering. 20:56 Now what do we do on the weekends? 20:59 Its a holy assembly. It's a holy gathering. 21:01 What's the purpose of a holy gathering? 21:03 That holy gathering that was established 21:05 through the establishment of the Ten Commandments, 21:09 through the establishment of the blessing of the Sabbath, 21:12 at the end of the creation week, 21:14 through the children of Israel. 21:17 Through the lives of the apostles 21:21 was the establishment of a time of worship. 21:24 When they got together, all convocations were 21:27 for the purpose of worship. 21:28 And when you look at themes of the Bible, 21:30 the very theme of the Bible is 21:32 we are either worshipping the Lord 21:34 or we are worshipping false Gods. 21:37 Every gathering was always for the purpose of worship. 21:40 And so this holy convocation that the Lord 21:42 established here in the Fourth Commandment, 21:49 the moral law of God plus for the purpose of honoring 21:53 the Bible Sabbath in convocation. 21:55 So let me turn to one more passage 21:58 before we get away with this one 21:59 and I want you to see that this convocation established here-- 22:02 talked about here was something that continued 22:04 even after the death, burial, resurrection 22:07 and ascension of Christ. Okay. 22:09 Let's go to Acts Chapter 13. 22:13 And now remember this is after the ceremonial law 22:16 had been done away with 22:17 and the reason I'm going to that is particular example 22:20 it's because a lot of times-- James, 22:22 that was amazing, one turn-- 22:25 No, no way. Got to Acts Chapter 13. 22:27 It took me several turns. How did you do that? 22:29 I need a Bible like that. Where do you get those Bibles? 22:31 I just grabbed the pages, one turn, Acts Chapter 13. 22:35 Its not you though, it's the Bible. 22:36 It's the Bible. Yes. 22:38 It's the Bible. I got to say that. 22:39 Okay, now we are going to Acts Chapter 13, 22:42 where we are going to speak about the journeys of Paul 22:44 and Barnabas. Okay. 22:46 How they are sent to Antioch. 22:48 And the book of Acts is simply the acts of the Apostles. 22:53 We're going to go ahead and speak about 22:55 this powerful sermon that they preached there, 22:57 while they were in Antioch. 22:59 Starting with verse 42, the sermon is listed earlier, 23:03 but verse 42 is where I would like to began. 23:06 "So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, 23:10 the Gentiles begged" or "besought 23:13 that these words might be preached 23:14 to them the next Sabbath. 23:19 Now when the congregation had broken up, 23:22 many of the Jews and devout proselytes 23:25 followed Paul and Barnabas who, speaking to them, 23:28 persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 23:34 On the next Sabbath day almost a whole city came together." 23:39 Convocation, gathering, coming together. 23:43 What did they do? Why did they come together? 23:45 When did they come together is why they came together. 23:51 Sabbath day is when they came together. 23:53 Exactly. Okay. 23:54 Sabbath day is when they come together and it's also 23:57 why they came together. Okay. 23:59 Because the Sabbath day was the day of gathering, 24:01 the day of holy gathering. 24:02 They gathered and whenever there was no synagogue 24:05 as was the example in the gospels. 24:08 Jesus met down by a river where women were. 24:11 And when you follow the history 24:12 the reason why there was no synagogue 24:14 is because they needed at least 12 men among-- 24:19 9-12 men to establish a synagogue. Okay. 24:22 So Jesus met down by river, 24:24 but there was always a gathering on the Sabbath. 24:26 So let's look at verse 44, "On the next Sabbath 24:29 almost the whole city came together 24:31 to hear the Word of God." 24:33 So that's why they came together. 24:35 They came together on the Sabbath 24:36 and they came together to hear the Word of God. Exactly. 24:38 So that's a worship service then. 24:40 When you hear the Word of God 24:42 what is the Word of God calling us to do? 24:45 Is it calling us to worship man? 24:47 Is it calling us to follow man? 24:49 Is it calling us to put stock in people? 24:51 No, it's calling us to focus on God. 24:54 Now so the Sabbath was when they came together 24:57 and was also why they came together 25:00 because the Lord established a holy convocation. 25:02 Wherever the Sabbath is talked about, 25:04 the Sabbath is talked about as a gathering. 25:07 So when people say the Sabbath is a day of rest, 25:10 the day of rest from the work of the Sunday to Friday. 25:14 You are resting from all your labor. 25:16 And why are you resting? 25:18 Because the Lord did it Himself. 25:19 Yes, but we're also resting from our labor 25:21 because we're now engaging in worship. 25:25 That's the point of the Sabbath. 25:26 The point of the Sabbath, the reason why God is giving us 25:28 a rest from all of our labor, 25:29 our secular labor is so we can worship Him. 25:32 I mean, this is clearly taught in the Bible. 25:34 Isaiah 66 for example. That's right. 25:36 And we are going to the Old Testament, 25:38 but this Old Testament passage is actually 25:40 a foretelling of prophesy of not just a New Testament idea, 25:44 but an eternal idea. That is right. 25:46 That God is showing us what we're going 25:48 to be doing in the new heaven in the new earth. 25:50 Isaiah 66, and I am just gonna read verse 23. 25:53 That's a beautiful passage. 25:54 But let's read it in the context of verse 22. Okay, do that. 25:56 'Cause it gives us the new heavens and the new earth. Okay. 25:59 This is what the Lord says in Isaiah 66:22, 26:02 "For as the new heavens and the new earth 26:05 which I shall make shall remain before Me," 26:07 says the Lord, "So shall your seed and your name remain. 26:10 And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, 26:13 And from one Sabbath to another," 26:16 heavens a new earth "shall all flesh come 26:20 to worship before me, says the Lord." Okay. 26:24 So worship is connected. 26:25 Right here in this verse it's connected with the Sabbath. 26:29 This is not the only place though. 26:30 No, not at all. 26:31 If you go to the New Testament-- 26:33 of course, this is the New Testament verse 26:34 in a sense because it's a prophesy. 26:36 But if you go to Revelation 14, 26:38 John is actually quoting 26:39 from the Fourth Commandment in Revelation 14:7. 26:44 By the way John, I love this 26:45 because the context of verse 7 26:47 in Revelation 14 is the everlasting gospel. 26:50 The Sabbath is all about the everlasting gospel. 26:52 It's about resting from our labor and our works 26:55 and putting our trust in Jesus Christ. That's right. 26:57 Worshipping Jesus because He's our Savior, 26:59 worshipping Jesus because He has redeemed us, 27:01 worshipping Jesus because we love Him. 27:04 And so Revelation 14:7 says, "Fear God and give glory to Him, 27:08 for the hour of His judgment has come 27:09 and worship Him who made heaven and earth, 27:13 the sea and the fountains of waters." 27:15 Now here is the word worship again 27:17 and it's connected directly to what God 27:19 has done in creating this earth. 27:21 So it directs us back not only to Genesis 27:24 and the creation story where God blesses 27:26 and sanctifies and sets apart the seventh day, 27:28 but also to Exodus and the Fourth Commandment. 27:31 It's almost a direct quote from the Fourth Commandment. 27:33 It is. The Fourth Commandment-- 27:35 do you have it there, the Forth Commandment? 27:36 Yeah, I know by heart. Okay, here it is. Right here. 27:38 I am gonna-- I don't either. 27:39 I'm going to go back here while I do, 27:41 but I don't want to risk misquoting it. 27:43 Exodus Chapter 20. Here's what it says-- 27:45 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Yes. 27:47 "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 27:50 and the sea, and the fountains of waters 27:52 and rested on the seventh day. 27:55 Wherefore the Lord blessed 27:56 the Sabbath day and hallowed it." 27:58 So Revelation 14:7 is quoting the commandment, 28:03 the fourth commandment the Sabbath commandment 28:05 when it calls us to worship. 28:06 So you've got Revelation 14:7 connecting Sabbath with worship. 28:10 You got Isaiah 66:22, 23 connecting Sabbath with worship. 28:14 You know what's wonderful about that passage, James. 28:18 I was just going to call you John. 28:20 But I talk to myself. 28:22 You'll be talking to yourself if you call me John. 28:24 I call myself. 28:26 Revelation 14 we talked about the everlasting gospel. 28:29 Say on Ty, say on Ty. 28:31 See what I did there, I called you Ty. 28:33 Okay, I heard that. 28:35 Revelation 7 and Revelation 14 28:37 reiterations of the everlasting Gospel. 28:40 In Revelation 14, this is an amazing thing, 28:42 when the Lord established the Sabbath 28:44 He did that by resting. Okay. 28:47 And that rest continues synonymous to be with worship. 28:53 Isaiah 66, Luke 4, Acts 13 and number of other passages. 28:59 You'll notice that those who refuse to honor the Sabbath 29:04 are still going to be involved in worship, 29:06 but there is something that they are not going to receive. 29:11 Let's go to Revelation 14:11. Okay. 29:13 Those who refuse to honor God's Sabbath 29:16 there's something that they are not going to receive 29:19 although they worship. Oh, yeah. Okay. 29:20 Yes. Now I want you to get this. 29:22 This is very powerful because God's Sabbath includes worship. 29:24 Other worship that is not God's Sabbath does not include 29:26 what God intented to be involved in it. 29:29 That's why today some people only honor an hour. 29:31 They don't get a whole day of rest. 29:33 Get my point? Yes. 29:34 Revelation 14:11, "And the smoke of their torment 29:38 ascends forever and ever and they have no--" 29:42 what's the next word? Rest. 29:44 "No rest." Same rest that's talked about in Genesis. 29:46 Same rest that Jesus had at the end of creation week. 29:49 Why don't they have rest? 29:51 Look at this, "who worship the beast and his image, 29:55 and whoever receives the mark of his name." 29:58 So when you decide that your worship 30:00 is not gonna be God's Sabbath 30:01 you're not going to receive the rest. 30:04 Now look at Hebrews Chapter 4. 30:06 Matter of fact, Hebrews Chapter 3. 30:07 Okay. Let's go there. 30:10 Hebrews Chapter 3. 30:14 What was one of the issues that continued 30:17 to haunt the steps of the Israelites? 30:22 One of the first tests that God put them through 30:24 when they left the land of Egypt was 30:26 He restored to them the Sabbath. 30:27 As a matter of fact, He restored it in Egypt 30:30 when Moses gave them one day in seven to rest. Yes. 30:36 And that was so angering to Pharaoh 30:38 that he took away their straw from their brick and said, 30:40 "Okay, now make brick without straw." 30:43 'Cause this man gives them one day in seven to rest. 30:45 The word there rest is the same rest 30:46 you find in Genesis, the same rest. 30:49 Moses was saying, "You forgot God's Sabbath. 30:52 Before you leave Egypt, I'm going to remind you of it." 30:55 and it angered Pharaoh like it angered Satan for those 30:57 who are leaving Egypt accepting God's Sabbath rest. 31:01 But you also find when they got to the wilderness, 31:04 one of the first tests was on remembering the Sabbath. 31:07 Exodus Chapter 16, the manna falling everyday 31:10 except on the Sabbath, taken twice as much on the sixth day. 31:14 God blessed it on the Sabbath. 31:15 It didn't stink, but everyday 31:17 that they took too much it rotted. 31:19 See, and the Lord, when they refused to honor the Sabbath, 31:22 when they were those amongst them that went out 31:23 looking for manna on the Sabbath He said, 31:25 "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments 31:28 and My statutes and My laws?" what commandment? 31:31 The Sabbath rest. 31:32 But now look at Hebrews and this is a very amazing aspect, 31:35 it shows you one of the reasons 31:37 why they could not enter in was synonymous for two reasons. 31:41 Hebrews Chapter 3 and go ahead 31:44 and read verse 16 to 19, if you can for me. 31:47 16 and "For some, when they had heard, 31:50 did provoke how be it not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 31:54 But with whom was he grieved those forty years? 31:59 Was it not with them that had sinned, 32:02 whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? 32:04 And to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, 32:07 but to them that believed not? 32:10 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." 32:14 Right, they could not enter in-- 32:16 To His rest. Right. 32:18 And so a lot of people say, "Well, I know 32:19 they didn't enter into the Promised Land." 32:21 But it was not just the Promised Land He was talking about. 32:23 They didn't enter into His rest. 32:24 Yes. Because of unbelief. 32:26 For those who don't believe the Sabbath, 32:28 you won't enter into the rest. 32:29 In fact, verse 11 says that, "So I swear in My wrath, 32:32 they shall not enter into my rest." 32:33 "Shall not enter into my rest." Okay. 32:35 So you see, it's not just physical rest that people get. 32:39 It's not just sleep, but there's a spiritual rest 32:41 that comes along with it. 32:43 That's why the very next chapter 32:44 He reiterates what He does, in verse 8. 32:47 And down to verse, well, verse 8 all the way through. 32:54 I'll just give you a few of those. Verse 1-- 32:59 Go for it. Okay. 33:00 "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left 33:02 us of entering into his rest, 33:04 any of you should seem to come short of it. 33:06 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them." 33:08 Which to me is a powerful connection 33:10 to Revelation 14. Okay. 33:11 Everlasting gospel, worship God, 33:14 rest from your works as He did from His. 33:16 That's the context of Hebrews Chapter 4. 33:19 We are entering into a spiritual rest. 33:21 We are entering into the rest of Jesus Christ, 33:23 the rest of salvation. 33:24 And when you read verse 3, 33:26 you see exactly what He connects it to. 33:27 Look at verse 3, it says, 33:29 "For we who have believed do enter that rest, 33:33 as He said, so I sworn in my wrath, 33:35 that they shall enter into my rest although--" 33:37 Look what He connects it to, 33:39 "my works were finished from the foundation of the world." 33:41 Creation. And I love that. 33:43 Because it's reiterated again here in verses 9 and 10, 33:46 "For there remains therefore a rest." 33:49 And the margin on my Bible says, 33:52 "a keeping of the Sabbath to the people of God. 33:55 For he that is entered into his rest," 33:56 that's the spiritual rest, 33:58 "He also ceases--" and that means to rest, 34:02 that's what the Word means in the Greek. 34:04 "He also ceases from his own works, as God did from his." 34:08 How did God rest from His own works? 34:09 He rested-- Rested on the Sabbath. 34:11 That's why verse 4 and 5 as we want, 34:13 "For he has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day 34:17 on this wise or in this way 34:19 and God rested on the seventh day from all His works. 34:21 And again in this place they shall not enter my rest." 34:24 So the Israelites for whom God had delivered 34:27 and made them an example to the world, 34:29 they continue to violate the Sabbath 34:31 over and over and over and over and over and over again. 34:34 And God is showing us in these verses in Hebrews 34:37 a vital connection between the spiritual rest 34:40 that the everlasting gospel gives to us 34:42 and the Sabbath day which calls us 34:44 to let go of all of those things 34:47 that the world is pressing upon us. 34:50 All of our labor, all of our own work to accomplish 34:54 and to get to let it go 34:57 and put our complete trust in Jesus Christ. 34:59 That's right. That's right. So this is wonderful passage. 35:01 So friends, in a nutshell, 35:03 a huge nutshell at that the Sabbath rest is there 35:07 when you choose another day, but the Bible Sabbath, 35:09 the seventh day Sabbath, Saturday, 35:11 from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. 35:13 You don't have the whole rest 35:15 because you can't bless something 35:16 that God never blessed. 35:18 I can't find in May 24 a celebration 35:21 for my wife and I's anniversary because it's May 22. 35:25 No matter how lovely that day is 35:28 the sun rises and sets like any other day. 35:30 That day is sanctified and set apart and set aside 35:33 and special because God has ordained a relationship. 35:36 Sabbath is more than just a day. 35:38 It's a relationship between you and the Lord. 35:39 And that's why He says, "Hallow my Sabbaths." 35:42 It will be a sign between you and me 35:44 that you will know that I am the Lord that sanctifies you, 35:47 Ezekiel 20:12, 20. 35:49 You know, John, one other thought here, 35:50 I know we are running out of time, 35:52 but whenever Jesus healed, 35:54 whenever Jesus touched people's lives 35:56 they always responded by worshiping Him, 35:58 worshiping Him, worshiping Him. Oh, yes. 36:00 And the question to me is asking, 36:03 is there a disconnect between the Sabbath and worship? 36:06 Is Sabbath just a day to rest, 36:08 but it's not really a day to worship? 36:10 And I don't think that anyone-- 36:13 any person who's life has been touched 36:15 by the grace of Jesus Christ cannot want to worship Him. 36:20 And so worship is vitally connected 36:22 with what we do with Jesus 36:24 and the Sabbath is vitally connected 36:25 with the time that we spend with Jesus. 36:27 So you can't disconnect the Sabbath from worship. 36:30 And you can't disconnect worshiping Christ 36:32 from the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's right. 36:34 Everybody He healed on the Sabbath 36:35 ended up worshipping Him, glorifying, 36:38 praising, shouting in the temple. 36:39 Yes. And where did they go? 36:41 They knew where to go. Except for the blind. 36:43 And sometimes when Jesus healed the blind, 36:45 they weren't sure who it was that healed them. 36:46 And then Jesus would come and show it. 36:48 Oh, You are the one, You are the one. 36:50 That's right. Always giving glory to God. 36:51 So praise the Lord for your questions and comments. 36:53 We took a little bit more time because that was important. 36:55 But tell me if you have any more questions 36:57 that come into your mind and I am sure 36:58 we tap some of those things 37:00 that may have opened the door for you. 37:02 Send those questions and comments 37:03 to housecalls@3abn.org. That's housecalls@3abn.org. 37:07 And we surely will do our best to get to your questions. 37:11 We're going to take the remaining time 37:12 of this program to touch on this topic 37:14 of immortality of the soul again. 37:18 And, James, in our last broadcast 37:20 we talked about this beautiful story in the Bible 37:23 that illustrates how Jesus made it very, very clear 37:27 that everything has an order. 37:29 There's no immortality resident in men 37:32 and you mentioned after we finished the program 37:34 that you want to catapult back into that 37:35 with a particular passage in the Bible. 37:38 So I'll throw it to you. Yeah. 37:39 John Chapter 11, this story to me is beautiful 37:44 because it outlines in the New Testament the state of death, 37:48 what happens when you die, 37:50 and in the context of that the promise 37:52 of Jesus Christ of the resurrection. 37:54 Now the part that really brings it all together, 37:58 we've gone through the story of Lazarus, he's sick. 38:01 Jesus says he's sleeping, he's sleeping. 38:03 The disciples say, "Oh, if he's taking a nap, he's doing well." 38:05 And Jesus says, "No, no, no, you don't understand. 38:07 He's dead." Death is like a sleep. 38:10 Sleep is an unconscious state. We are not aware of it. 38:14 We are resting and that is what we white outline in relation 38:18 to creation and the spirit and the dust 38:20 and how they come together and form a soul 38:22 and when they separate, that soul ceases to exist. 38:25 That would be how Jesus describes death 38:28 an unconscious state, waiting for the resurrection, 38:31 waiting for those two parts 38:33 to be brought back together again. 38:34 Now notice what Jesus says to the sisters 38:37 in the context of this truth. 38:39 He's talking to Martha and Martha says, 38:43 "You know, Lord if you would have been here 38:44 my brother wouldn't have died." John 11:21. 38:48 And then she goes on to say in verse 22, 38:50 "But I know that even now whatever you will ask of God, 38:54 God will give it to you." That's right. 38:55 And so Jesus says unto her, 38:57 "Your brother shall rise again." 39:00 So where is he? That's right. 39:01 Obviously, he's in the grave. He's going to rise again. 39:04 Notice He didn't say, "Your brother shall descend." 39:07 Right. Well, I'm going to bring him back down from heaven or-- 39:09 Right. Okay. 39:11 Or you are going to see him in apparition. No. 39:14 Verse 24, "Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again 39:18 in the resurrection at the last day." 39:20 Now I have to get off my seat here, just a little bit. 39:22 Almost want to stand up. 39:23 Jesus obviously had taught 39:26 Martha, Mary, Lazarus, His disciples 39:29 about the resurrection of the last day. 39:31 They obviously knew that. 39:32 They obviously knew that it was a doctrinal teaching. 39:35 They understood that it was going 39:36 to take place in the last day. 39:38 It was not something that took place at death. 39:41 Now notice this, "Jesus said to her," 39:43 verse 25, "I am the resurrection and the life." 39:49 I am the resurrection and the life. 39:51 "He that believes in me though he were dead, 39:55 yet shall he live and" verse 26 39:59 "whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. 40:06 Do you believe that?" 40:07 Now this is so powerful to me, John, 40:09 because what Jesus is saying here basically is, 40:12 if you are a believer in me, you don't die. 40:15 Aah, and so what do you do? I like this. 40:17 You sleep. Hey. 40:18 Jesus has turned death into a sleep 40:21 for those who believe in Him. Praise the Lord. 40:23 Let me just say that one more time. 40:24 Jesus has turned death into a sleep 40:27 for those who believe in Him. That's right. 40:29 It's an unconscious state and we'll wait the resurrection 40:32 just like Job Chapter 14 identifieds. 40:35 We sit in the grave. 40:36 "Don't forget me." Job said. 40:38 When your wrath passes over, remember 40:40 and I will hear your voice and I will respond to your call. 40:44 The resurrection Martha says that Jesus has taught her, 40:47 the resurrection in the last day. 40:50 We'll call all of those who believe in Jesus from the grave 40:53 and they will be resurrected, 40:55 brought back together with the breath of life 40:56 and again they will become that living soul. 40:58 And so when Jesus said, Lazarus is dead. 41:01 He said, "Wait, this is not the second death. 41:04 This is the death that happens to everybody. 41:06 This is not an issue." 41:08 Matter of fact, there's a passage in Matthew, 41:10 we are going to go there in just a moment 41:13 that is often used to try to reiterate the idea 41:15 that see, see there's a soul. The soul is immortal. 41:18 But they fail to connect it with it. 41:21 And when you made that point, James, that death is a sleep. 41:26 It is not us as a denomination or a movement 41:29 that says death is a sleep. 41:31 It's what the Bible says. It's what the Bible teaches. 41:32 If you put the phrase in the Bible 41:34 just want to have fun. 41:36 Put this phrase in "Slept with his fathers" 41:40 you'll find 36 references in the Old Testament 41:45 of prophets, of patriarchs, of godly men who die-- 41:51 So David slept with his fathers. So Solomon... 41:54 Was buried and slept with his fathers. 41:56 Rehoboam slept with his fathers. 41:59 You know, this is talking about what happens. 42:01 Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried. 42:03 Yes. 1 Kings 14:31. 42:05 So if you put that phrases "Slept with his fathers" 42:07 it's not some denominational teaching. 42:09 It's a scriptural teaching. 42:10 You know, John, I like the way you're saying this 42:12 because this is not only what the scriptures teach. 42:16 This is what the New Testament church taught also. 42:19 In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit 42:21 has been poured out. That's right. 42:23 So the believers now, they are in one accord. 42:25 They are in one place. 42:26 They are not, you know, mixing truth and error. 42:29 You know, one time Peter said, you know, 42:31 "You are the son of God and then 42:32 Jesus told him about the crisis. Oh, no, no, don't go there." 42:35 These guys are fully immersed in the Spirit of Christ. 42:38 And under the Spirit of Christ, 42:39 the New Testament church taught this. 42:41 Notice what it says here, Peter is giving 42:43 his famous sermon where 3000 are baptized. 42:46 And he says in verse 29, "Men and brethren 42:49 let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David 42:53 that he is both dead, he is buried, 42:56 and his sepulcher his grave is with us to this day." 43:00 Verse 34, "For David is not ascended into the heavens." 43:04 That's why when Jesus brought forth Lazarus he says, 43:06 "Lazarus come forth." 43:08 He didn't say Lazarus come down or Lazarus come up. 43:10 He said, Lazarus come forth 43:11 because Lazarus was in the sepulcher. 43:14 "For David is not ascended into the heavens" 43:16 Acts, did I say what chapter this was? 43:18 Acts Chapter 2. Acts 2:29, 34. 43:22 "But the Lord said unto my Lord, "Sit at my right hand 43:25 until I make your enemies like footstool." 43:27 Excuse me, "Until I make thy foes my footstool." 43:31 So here the New Testament church is teaching 43:33 this very same truth. 43:34 David has not gone anywhere. 43:36 And people might say, well, you know, maybe David, 43:39 maybe David was not a part of those who went. 43:41 David was a man who did sin as all of us. 43:44 He repented, was forgiven, given a new heart. 43:46 God said, "A man after my own heart." 43:48 So if anybody were to qualify to go to heaven and the reason, 43:53 why it's so wonderful that is put there, 43:55 if it was in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John 43:58 I've had these arguments come. 43:59 People would have said, well, 44:01 Jesus had not died yet and ascended. Yes. 44:02 And so it happened after Jesus ascended. 44:05 Jesus is in heaven now. 44:07 And they said, "David has not ascended." 44:10 So you can't even add any chronological event 44:14 to the fact that well, when Jesus ascends, 44:17 then David will be in heaven. David is still in the grave. 44:20 His sepulcher is with us. He has not ascended. 44:23 Now I like the fact that, that Luke was so through 44:26 he didn't just say, David his sepulcher with us 44:29 until this day 'cause people would say, 44:30 "Yeah, but his body, though his soul is in heaven." 44:33 He made a quick it. He did not ascend. 44:35 Well, why did Jesus say to Mary, 44:37 "Don't touch Me. Don't cling to Me. 44:38 I've not yet ascended?" Yes. 44:40 Because there is an ascension that takes place 44:42 and one of the things the Bible points out is 44:45 Jesus already left, outside of the ones 44:47 that we know, Enoch, Elijah 44:50 and the resurrection of Moses outside of that. 44:52 Everybody else is gonna go in a separate time. Yes. 44:55 That's what the resurrection is all about. 44:58 Matter of fact, 1 Corinthians 15 is the book 45:00 that dealt with the whole issue of the body, 45:02 the grave, the resurrection. 45:04 It is one of the most detailed books. 45:07 As a matter of fact, I'm going to honor you 45:09 by making the statement here. 45:11 The faith book, the faith chapter is what chapter? 45:15 Hebrews 11. Okay. 45:16 The faith book is what book? 45:18 James. James the entire book of James is all about faith. Okay. 45:24 And so when people say what's the faith? 45:26 Where is faith talked about in the New Testament? 45:27 The entire Book of James. It begins with faith. 45:31 It says, "A man that is unstable in all his ways--" 45:35 Speaking about that faith, that's vacillating. 45:37 And then it ends in chapter 5, you know, 45:39 "When we have faith we could heal and anoint 45:43 and the faith of the-- would save the sick. 45:46 That whole passage, the whole book is about faith. 45:49 But this is the chapter about death, burial, resurrection 45:53 and the power of the resurrection, 45:54 as it relates to Christ. 45:56 Now let's first start with verse 20 45:58 of 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. 46:01 This was an issue because right up 46:03 the Corinthian church had a lot of controversy. 46:05 Matter of fact, when some people say, 46:07 "I want a Corinthian experience. 46:08 I would say, well, I'll pray for you 46:10 because they had a lot of controversy." 46:11 They fought over the issue of tongues and all these issues. 46:15 The Lord's Supper-- apart, 46:17 you know, following man, who is the greatest? 46:20 This Paul-- One issue after another. 46:22 Paul had to deal with all these issues 46:24 among the Corinthian church one of those he dealt with was 46:26 the issue of whether or not the resurrection had passed. 46:28 Yes. Whether or not Christ even rose? 46:31 So verse 20, well, let's start with verse 17. 46:38 Well, verse 12. 46:41 "Now if Christ is preached, 46:43 that He has been raised from the dead, 46:47 how do some among you say 46:48 that there is no resurrection of the dead? 46:50 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, 46:52 then Christ is not risen. 46:53 And if Christ is not risen, then your preaching is empty 46:56 and your faith is also futile or empty. 47:00 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, 47:03 because we testify of God that He raised up Christ, 47:07 whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead do not rise. 47:12 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 47:15 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, 47:18 you are still in your sins. 47:20 Then also those who have fallen" what? 47:22 Asleep. "asleep in Christ have perished. 47:26 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 47:29 we are of all men the most miserable." 47:31 I like that word miserable. 47:32 New Kings put pitiable. Okay. 47:34 Miserable is a more significant word. 47:37 I'm miserable not because I'm only hopeful in this life 47:40 and you know, James, before I go to the next verses-- 47:42 there are people that have-- 47:43 the reason why a person can have $40 million in the bank 47:46 and be sour because they don't have Jesus. 47:48 Well, you read about these famous stars, music stars 47:53 and the drugs and the recent deaths of a number of them 47:57 and you have to ask yourself were they happy. 47:59 They had the money. They had the glamor. 48:01 God has never created humans to be stars. 48:04 Then the context would have been worship and idolized by people 48:06 and it's just overwhelms us. Very good point. 48:09 Because stars-- if you look at the Bible stars, 48:11 stars of heaven, the stars of God. 48:14 God never established his stars that he worshiped, 48:16 that's why when John bowed before the angel, 48:18 the angel said, "Wait, a minute. 48:19 Don't worship me." Yes. 48:21 Now we have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, sidebar. 48:25 Well, let's continue here. Verse 20 now. 48:28 "But now Christ is risen from the dead, 48:31 and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 48:37 For since by man came death, 48:39 by man also came the resurrection 48:41 of the dead." Powerful. 48:43 "For as in Adam all die, 48:45 even so in Christ shall all be made alive? 48:48 But every man or each one in his own order, 48:52 Christ the first fruits, afterward those 48:55 that are Christ's at His coming." 48:59 So when is this resurrection going to take place? 49:03 At the coming of Christ. 49:04 Yes. For the believer-- That's right. 49:07 You know, this is so beautiful because it ties 49:08 the whole subject into Jesus Christ. 49:11 When you look at Jesus Christ 49:12 you see an example of the resurrection. 49:15 You see an example of life after death. 49:17 That's right. What does it look like? 49:18 It looks like a human body not a spirit. That's right. 49:21 The disciples saw Christ and they thought it was a spirit 49:24 because they have been maybe contaminated a little bit 49:26 by this false theology. 49:28 And yet, when Christ appeared to them, 49:31 "He said, touch Me and see a spirit does not have flesh 49:35 and bones as you see Me have." 49:37 So when we talk about the resurrection in the context 49:41 of what God has for us, in relation to after life. 49:45 It involves a physical body 49:46 that can be touched and also that eats. 49:49 Jesus Christ ate in this resurrected body, 49:52 in this physical body. 49:53 So I like this, John, because this is so beautiful. 49:56 It ties it all into Jesus and it shows us first of all 49:59 that Jesus is the example of the resurrection. 50:03 Not just of the Sabbath but also of the resurrection. 50:05 Number two, it ties with the heart of God. 50:09 Think about it. 50:11 Why would God say listen, "My believers in fact, 50:14 all people are going to rest in the grave. 50:16 They are not going to go to heaven 50:18 and they're not going to go to a place called hell. 50:21 What are they going to go?" They're going to-- 50:23 why would God say-- why would God have that plan. 50:26 I tell you, it is going to be the grandest coronation 50:31 that humanity has ever experienced. 50:35 But one of the reasons why and I'll throw it back to you 50:38 because I know you have probably a different angle to this, 50:41 but uniting them together we can't go to heaven 50:44 unless something happens and the rest of this passage 50:47 chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians tells us, 50:50 "You can't go unless something changes." 50:53 Yes, that's a good point. 50:55 Okay, before we get that. 50:57 I'm a believer, I die. Right. 51:01 God's plan is--it isn't. This isn't God's plan. 51:03 But let's say God's plan is I go to heaven. 51:05 So I'm up there in heaven I'm looking down. 51:07 I'm watching my funeral, I'm seeing all-- 51:09 you know, I'm seeing everything's that's happening. 51:11 You know along with the rest of the unformed universe. 51:13 We are all watching, even the angels of God 51:14 were told Matthew 18, see everything that happens. 51:17 I'm looking down there, I'm just thinking, 51:18 "Oh, my--" You know what, and we were-- 51:21 you know, we are weeping, we're crying, 51:22 we miss them, no matter what. 51:23 We go to and we, "Oh, no, don't do that because-- 51:26 And then or opposite, I'm an unbeliever 51:29 I don't believe in Jesus and so I die 51:31 and immediately I go to... Hell. 51:33 And I'm burning, and I'm burning, 51:35 and I'm burning and so God His heart is revealed here. 51:38 His plan is not this idea that we be in heaven 51:42 witnessing the pain and the sorrow of our loved ones 51:45 as they miss us and of life on this planet 51:47 or in some burning place not even given an opportunity 51:51 to recognize, you know, the judgment, et cetera, 51:54 but be down there just burning and rising and plucked out, 51:57 judging and thrown back again. 51:59 God has a plan that reveals his heart. 52:01 It reveals His character. 52:02 That rest which is unconscious to those who are resting 52:06 is a place where God holds us. 52:08 We're put on hold until the final decision is made. 52:11 And there is no-- 52:13 I'm going ahead of you, I'll meet you there. 52:16 Jesus the promise He made, one of those 52:17 that is not often used in context 52:19 with the topic of death is John 14:1-3, 52:23 he made it very, very clear. 52:24 He didn't say, well, let me just quote it. 52:27 "Let not your heart be troubled, 52:29 you believe in God, believe also in me. 52:31 In my Father's house are many mansions, 52:33 if it were not so, I would have told you. 52:35 I go to prepare a place for you. 52:39 And if I go and prepare a place to you, 52:42 I will come again, and receive you unto myself, 52:47 that where I am" presently, 52:49 "there" future "ye may be also." 52:51 Maybe. I love it. Love it. 52:53 He didn't say, "I'll see you when you die." 52:56 He said, "I will come again to receive you 53:00 because you can't come up." 53:02 You're not going to meet Me up there 53:04 that's why when you put this all together. 53:06 "When the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, 53:09 with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, 53:11 the dead in Christ rise first. 53:13 Then we which are alive and remain 53:15 shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet" 53:21 that means we don't need Him at death. 53:23 We are caught up together. 53:24 The living righteous and the resurrected righteous 53:26 are caught up together to meet. 53:29 We meet him ogether. 53:30 This is a meeting that's going to be a coronation. 53:32 People don't graduate at separate times. 53:34 Graduation day is coming. Resurrection day is coming. 53:37 Glorification day is coming. Immortality day is coming. 53:40 Incorruptible day is coming. It's all coming. 53:43 This corruptible will put on incorruptible. 53:44 This mortal will put on immortality. 53:46 When is that going to happen? 53:48 At the last trumpet. Amen. 53:50 And so what's going to happen, I'll take a sidebar here. 53:53 Go to second, sorry go to Philippians, my favorite book. 53:58 I call this the athlete's book. 54:00 This whole book is labeled with phrases and terminologies 54:06 that just really gets you excited. 54:09 Philippians 3:20, 21. 54:12 Now I thought you're going there. I'm right here. 54:14 "For our conversation is in heaven, 54:16 from whence also we look for the Savior, 54:18 the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change" 54:20 verse 21 "our vile body, 54:22 that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, 54:26 according to the working whereby he is able 54:28 even to subdue all things unto himself." 54:32 And that Word when it says our citizenship or our conversation, 54:35 our citizenship is in heaven 54:37 for where we wait for the Savior. 54:40 Paul didn't say I'll be up there and, you know, 54:42 there are those who try to take that absent from the body, 54:44 present with the Lord passage and make it the all 54:48 encompassing Olympic text that we use, 54:53 we catapult ourselves. Right. 54:54 We pole-vault ourselves from the death bed 54:58 right into heaven and it's not what Paul intended. 55:01 No, he had another state of being there. 55:03 He talked about these two houses. 55:06 The mortal house and the immortal house. 55:08 And then he says, you know, I don't-- 55:11 I'm between two hard places. 55:13 I don't know if I want to be in this house or that house 55:15 because when I'm in that house, I'm with the Lord. 55:17 And then he goes on and he says this, 55:18 he says, not that I want to be naked. 55:21 Not that I want to be naked. That's right. 55:23 There is a time when we are not cloaked 55:24 with this house or that house. 55:26 And that's the time when we're in the grave. 55:28 Now I'm wanting to be with the Lord 55:29 and I'm wondering what to do and I'm struggling with this 55:31 but its not-- don't get the wrong impression. 55:33 It's not that I'm wanting to be naked. 55:35 It's not that I'm wanting to be in the grave. 55:36 I know there is that time when I'm not cloaked 55:38 with either one of them, you see. 55:40 And a lot of Christians miss that. 55:41 They don't see that third stage that, 55:43 that the Bible very clearly teaches about. 55:48 He talks about the celestial and the terrestrial, 55:51 but they failed to realize that there's a dust part too. 55:53 Yes, there's an unclothed. There's a naked. 55:55 Those are the phrases he used. I don't want to be unclothed. 55:57 I don't want to be naked. I'm not wishing for death. 56:00 I'm knowing that when I die, I'm in an unconscious sleep 56:03 and the next thing I know is Jesus Christ. That's right. 56:06 And so when the Lord comes, 56:07 this is something that's so widely important. 56:09 There is nothing about us mortal man 56:12 and this is a powerful point. We right now are mortal. 56:16 We have the promise of eternal life. 56:18 We have the promise of immortality. 56:21 But we're not immortal yet. We are still mortal. 56:24 Only God has immortality. Yes. 56:26 First Corinthians-- First Timothy-- 56:27 First Timothy 6:16. Only God has immortality. 56:30 We don't have it yet, but we will have it. 56:33 And so the reason why we can't go to heaven 56:34 when we die is because a mortal man cannot exist 56:38 in the presence of an immortal God. 56:39 And that's what you're talking of 1 Corinthians 15. 56:41 First Corinthians 15 clearly teaches 56:43 that we're going to put on immortality. That's right. 56:46 Or if we've already gotten immortality, 56:47 why we need to put it on? 56:49 We're going to put on immortality 56:50 and the last enemy that's going to be destroyed is death. 56:54 Beautiful, and so to show you 56:56 how powerful being in the presence of God 56:59 and clothed by His righteousness is, 57:01 is when the fire falls there are going to be 57:03 more than just three Hebrews. 57:06 The fire is not going to touch or tinge 57:07 or make a difference to any other believers. 57:10 First of all, the fire is not going 57:11 to be around the believers. 57:13 But what God has called us to do 57:14 is to be clothed by His immortality 57:16 and that will take place at the coming, 57:18 the second coming of Christ. 57:20 And so, friends, here at "House Calls" 57:22 we believe that one day there's going to be house call. 57:24 It's going to be the sound of a trumpet 57:26 and all that we have now will be left behind 57:28 and all that we will be will be added to our lives. 57:31 So keep trusting God until that house call 57:33 comes to your life. God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17