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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023019S
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00:12 (music ends) 00:16 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:18 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:20 We're glad that you could join us this week and every week 00:23 as we dig into this quarter's Sabbath School lesson. 00:26 This week we are going to be looking at 00:28 "Worshiping the Creator." 00:29 This is lesson number seven, so around halfway through, 00:33 a little over halfway through our journey 00:36 as we continue looking at the three angels' messages, 00:39 these cosmic messages that God sends to us 00:43 to help us know what's going on in our day 00:46 and what the future holds, 00:47 and how we can be ready for Christ's soon return. 00:50 Our guest this week once again is Pastor Mark Finley, 00:53 he's an international speaker and evangelist. 00:55 We're delighted to have him again this week, 00:58 and we're gonna have prayer 00:59 and then dive right into this lesson. 01:02 Let's pray. 01:03 Father, we thank You again for giving us an opportunity 01:06 to delve more deeply into Your Word, 01:09 to find encouragement, to find hope, 01:10 to find help in times of need, 01:13 and we ask that You'll bless us as we do so. 01:16 We thank You in Jesus' name. 01:17 Amen. >>Amen. 01:19 >>Pastor Mark, thank you once again for joining us. 01:21 >>I have been really enjoying this; 01:23 the dialogue is great, 01:24 two evangelists. 01:25 >>I know, it's amazing 01:26 that we get this into half an hour. 01:28 That would be a tough one to pull off, 01:30 but by the grace of God, so far, so good. 01:32 Lesson number seven, "Worshiping the Creator." 01:35 We're in the middle of our journey together, 01:38 we've looked at some bits and pieces 01:40 of the three angels' message, 01:42 and we've got some more to certainly go through. 01:46 As we look at the book of Revelation 01:47 and certainly Revelation, chapter 14, 01:50 but Revelation as a whole as well, 01:52 what would you say is the general theme, 01:54 the big overarching theme 01:57 that God wants us to get to, 01:59 to grasp, to understand the book of Revelation? 02:02 >>Well, the great theme of Revelation, of course, 02:04 is the controversy between good and evil, 02:07 this cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan, 02:10 but is at the center of that theme, is the issue of worship. 02:13 When you look at the book of Revelation, 02:15 starting with chapter one, you find Christ, 02:20 the divine, eternal, everlasting Christ 02:22 is One worthy of worship. 02:24 You go to chapter four and it's a worshiping scene, 02:27 there are thousands around the throne of God, 02:30 there are cherubims and seraphims and the four elders, 02:34 the four beasts are there, 02:36 you know, the symbolic beasts of worship, 02:39 and the cry goes out, 02:41 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, 02:42 "to receive glory and honour and power, 02:43 because You created all things." 02:44 So His worthiness for worship 02:48 is because of creation. 02:50 But then you go to chapter five, again 02:52 there's this beings worshiping God, and it says, 02:55 "You've redeemed us out of every nation by Your blood." 02:59 You've got worshiping beings. 03:01 You go down to chapters 14, 03:06 which is the very heart of the book of Revelation. 03:08 It talks again about worshiping the Creator. 03:11 So let's go there to Revelation, chapter 14, 03:15 because this theme of worship, the worthiness of worship, 03:19 and then there's the contrast between the two worships, 03:22 the worship of the beast and the worship of the Creator, 03:25 is at the heart of this great controversy. 03:27 Revelation 14 and verse six and seven, 03:31 "I saw another angel flying in the [middle] of heaven, 03:34 "having the everlasting gospel to preach 03:36 "[un}to [those] that dwell on the earth, 03:37 "...to every nation, ...kindred, ...tongue, and people, 03:40 "saying with a loud voice, 03:41 "'Fear God, ...give glory to Him; 03:43 "'for the hour of His judgment is come: 03:44 and worship Him,'" there's our theme again, Pastor Eric, 03:47 "'worship Him [who] made heaven, and earth, ...the sea, 03:50 and the fountains of waters.'" 03:51 So in Revelation 14 and verse seven, 03:55 you have the appeal to worship the Creator. 03:58 In Revelation 14, verse nine, 04:00 then, "The third angel followed them, 04:02 "saying with a loud voice, 04:03 "'If [anybody] worship[s] the beast and his image, 04:05 and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand....'" 04:08 In a future lesson, we'll talk more about that, 04:10 but the central theme is worship, of Revelation. 04:13 You go to Revelation 19 and you have it starting out 04:16 with beings around the throne of God, 04:18 four times singing, "Hallelujah." 04:21 In Revelation, numbers are significant, 04:23 four signifies universality, 04:26 so you have universal worship and praise. 04:29 Then of course, Revelation 21 and 22, 04:31 and with the New Jerusalem, 04:34 the new heavens, and the new earth, and a scene of praise. 04:36 So the great theme of Revelation is worship, 04:39 and the great theme of Revelation, chapter 14 04:42 is who we worship. 04:44 Do we worship the Creator or do we worship the beast? 04:47 >>And ultimately, everybody is going to fall 04:49 into one of those two camps, 04:50 there's no Switzerland at the end of time. 04:54 You know, everybody's either inside the walls 04:57 or outside the walls. 04:58 >>Right. >>And the decisions, 05:00 the choices that we make today 05:01 about who we're going to worship, who we're going to follow, 05:04 it's often been said 05:05 that the highest form of worship is obedience. 05:08 It's easy to say you love Jesus, 05:11 but it's a whole 'nother thing 05:12 to let Him actually have say in your life 05:16 and to make your decisions for you, 05:19 and ultimately, at the end of time, 05:21 there's a division of people 05:23 that are going to take place, right? 05:25 >>Exactly, exactly. 05:26 In fact, it has to do with that text I just read, 05:30 whether you worship the Creator, in verse seven, 05:34 worship the beast, in verse nine, 05:37 and then verse 12 summarizes it all. 05:40 It talks to us about what it means to worship the Creator, 05:43 what it means not to worship the beast. 05:46 It says, "Here is the patience"-- 05:48 another word for patience from the original language 05:50 is "endurance"--"of the saints"--of believers-- 05:53 "here are those who keep the commandments of God 05:56 and the faith of Jesus." 05:57 The only way you can keep the commandments of God 05:59 is if you have the faith of Jesus. 06:01 But what is the contrast between worshiping the Creator, 06:05 worshiping the beast? 06:07 The essence of worshiping the Creator 06:09 is having a love for Jesus that is so deep 06:11 that we keep His commandments, 06:13 and one of those commandments 06:14 specifically talks about worshiping the Creator, 06:17 namely the Sabbath. >>Right. 06:18 So that day, 06:21 that memorial helps us to remember 06:24 the fact that He is our Creator. 06:26 It was established all the way back there at Creation week 06:29 and exists down through our day 06:31 and will continue to exist throughout eternity. 06:33 We live in a world today 06:35 where it seems like an increasing number of people 06:38 are saying, "Creation 6,000 years ago? 06:41 But doesn't science tell us...?" 06:43 And you get these millions and millions 06:45 or billions and billions of years. 06:48 It's difficult, well, it's impossible to try 06:51 to reconcile those two. 06:53 We're either going to believe the Bible 06:55 or we're not going to believe the Bible. 06:57 Science is a wonderful thing, 06:58 good science is an even better thing. 07:01 But the things that scientists find, they change over time. 07:04 One thing I like about the Bible, it doesn't change, 07:07 it remains the same, 07:09 and it's something that we can absolutely trust. 07:11 >>You know, if God created the world 07:15 over millions of years, 07:17 and if there was no original Creation week, 07:20 there would be really be no reason for the Bible Sabbath, 07:25 because the Sabbath is a memorial 07:28 of a literal Creation week. 07:30 Also, if you accept the evolution 07:33 in what the scientists would call it, some scientists, 07:37 there are many creation scientists. 07:38 >>Yes, absolutely. 07:39 >>And there are many forms of people 07:41 who believe in different forms of evolution as well. 07:44 But if you accept 07:45 what I would call "pure evolutionary thought," 07:49 the idea is we evolved from lower forms of life; 07:52 those lower forms of life died, 07:54 and higher life forms came out. 07:57 So you would have to have, before the creation of-- 08:00 before the evolution of human beings, 08:03 you'd have to have death. 08:04 So death would come before Adam and Eve 08:07 because they would be higher forms of creation. 08:10 If death comes before then, where does sin come in? 08:13 So you really do away with the whole concept of sin, 08:16 and if you don't have a rational choice 08:21 where sin comes in and the wages of sin then is death, 08:24 then there's no really reason for the death of Christ. 08:28 So you've knocked out Creation week, 08:30 you've knocked out the Sabbath, 08:32 you've knocked out the salvation in Christ, 08:36 you have really minimized what sin is all about, 08:39 and you really have again, 08:42 undermined the whole faith in the Word of God. 08:45 So evolution in its pure thought, logically, 08:49 would have to lead to an atheistic point of view, 08:52 and for that to exist, 08:56 one would then feel that there was nothing after the grave. 08:59 So we are hopeless, filled with despair, 09:02 where the Bible gives us such hope, 09:05 such meaning, such purpose in life. 09:08 I was created by a loving God, 09:10 that God cares for me, 09:12 that God is interested in me, 09:14 that God has a plan for my life, 09:16 that God will be with me in my joys and sorrows, 09:19 and after death, one day, Christ is gonna come, 09:22 I can be resurrected and go home. 09:24 The Christian faith gives you such hope. 09:26 >>It really does, 09:28 and this week's lesson is all about worshiping the Creator, 09:30 because He's the One who gives us that hope, 09:32 He's the One who's made it possible 09:34 for us to have eternal life. 09:36 Without Him we would have no hope, 09:38 without Him we would have no eternal life, 09:40 without Him it would just be 60, 70, 80, 09:43 maybe 90 years on this planet, 09:45 the latter part of which 09:47 is probably in declining health and happiness. 09:50 >>Sure. >>And lack of hope. 09:52 But fortunately the Bible gives us a lot more hope. 09:56 So in a practical way, 09:58 understanding that we have a Creator, 10:02 that He happens to also be our Redeemer, 10:05 how does that in a practical way impact our lives today? 10:09 >>I think it impacts it tremendously. 10:12 First, knowing that Christ created me, He cares for me, 10:16 it gives me a sense of worth, 10:18 it gives me a sense of meaning, 10:20 it gives me a sense of purpose, 10:21 I'm not some speck of cosmic dust, 10:24 I'm not simply genes covering-- 10:29 skin covering bones. 10:30 When the genes and chromosomes came together 10:32 to form the unique biological structure, my personality, 10:37 it was designed by God. 10:39 You know, we're designed by God, 10:42 we are made by God. 10:43 Now, are there aberrations? 10:45 Yes. 10:46 Are there anomalies because of sin? 10:48 Yes, but that does not make us less valuable to God. 10:52 God is still Creator. 10:54 He is still Creator, 10:56 and I think the thing to me that makes this so practical 11:00 is God created us, therefore, we have self-worth. 11:05 The One who created us cares for us. 11:07 We have a God who's with us, 11:09 who says, "I'll never leave you. 11:10 I'll never forsake you." 11:13 The One who created this world 11:15 holds this world in His hands, 11:16 and one day He's gonna come to redeem it. 11:19 The fact of a Creator gives us hope. 11:24 >>If we can believe the numbers, 11:25 and I think to some extent we can, 11:28 there are rising numbers of people 11:30 who are dealing with depression. 11:32 Some of them are not getting the help that they need, 11:35 finding the hope that they need, 11:37 and we're seeing a number of lives 11:39 unfortunately end in suicide. 11:42 They lack hope, it would seem. 11:47 What kind of hope can they find in this? 11:51 We've touched on it some, 11:54 but if there's somebody out there 11:55 who's struggling with self-worth, 11:58 how can they find hope in the fact 12:00 that they have this Creator, 12:01 that they have this God who loves them enough 12:03 to make them individually unique, 12:05 even with all of their faults and shortcomings, 12:09 and that they may have heard too much about from someone? 12:13 You know, there's bullying, 12:15 whether it's in person or online. 12:18 A word of hope for folks who may be needing that. 12:20 >>You know, there is an absolute wonderful passage 12:23 in the 139th Psalm, 12:25 that to me is one of the most encouraging passages 12:28 in all the Bible. 12:29 It's Psalm 139, starting with verse 15. 12:33 Here David writes, 12:34 now, you have to understand 12:36 if there was anybody that could be depressed, it was David. 12:38 He's fleeing from King Saul, who wants to take his life, 12:44 separated from family and friends, 12:45 living often as a fugitive running in the wilderness, 12:49 but David says, chapter 139, verse 13, 12:53 "For You formed [me in] my inward parts; 12:56 "You conceived me in my mother's womb. 12:59 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." 13:02 Verse 16, 13:04 "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. 13:07 "And in Your book they all [are] written, 13:10 the days fashioned for me, when...there was none of them." 13:13 In other words, back in eternity. 13:15 "How precious...are Your thoughts [toward] me, O God! 13:18 "How great is the sum of them! 13:20 "If I should count them, 13:22 they would be more in number than the sand." 13:24 Here's what I would say, 13:26 God knows your name, 13:28 He formed you, He created you, He's thinking about you, 13:32 and He's there to give you support and encouragement. 13:35 >>Those are encouraging words, 13:37 and I hope that they're an encouragement to you, 13:39 or if you know someone who could use that encouragement, 13:42 share that Bible passage with them. 13:44 We're going to continue our journey here 13:47 through the God who created us, 13:50 looking at Him, looking at His relationship with us. 13:53 It's part of these three angels' messages 13:56 that we've been looking at week by week together 13:58 and I want to encourage you to get this copy of the book, 14:00 the "Three Cosmic Messages" by Pastor Mark Finley, 14:03 the complement to this quarter's Sabbath School lesson. 14:06 You will gain so much wisdom and insight 14:09 by reading the words 14:10 that are contained within these two covers, 14:12 adds so much more to your study. 14:14 Where can you find it? 14:15 itiswritten.shop. 14:17 Go to itiswritten.shop 14:19 and look for "Three Cosmic Messages" by Pastor Mark Finley. 14:23 We're going to come back and pull some more ideas together 14:26 into this idea of "Worshiping the Creator." 14:30 Why is that important, 14:32 and how does it affect us in a real way? 14:35 How does it impact with judgment? 14:37 We'll be right back and find the answers to those questions. 14:40 (bright music) 14:44 >>You see evidences of God's creative power everywhere, 14:48 in animals, in the birds of the air, in plants and in trees. 14:54 Have you ever stopped to look at a seashell? 14:55 No, I mean, have you really looked? 14:58 Have you stopped to think about what they are, 15:00 what they're for, and how they're made? 15:03 I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like seashells. 15:06 Visit the beach 15:07 and you'll find people walking with their heads down, 15:09 looking for shells, looking for something beautiful. 15:13 In order to learn more about these incredible things, 15:16 I traveled to Minnesota to talk with Marilee McNeilus, 15:20 who has a remarkable shell collection. 15:22 She's been shelling for years, 15:25 she even has a shell named after her, 15:28 and her experience with shells 15:30 has given her a close-up view of God's incredible creation. 15:35 "Seashells: Wonders of Creation." 15:39 Watch now on It Is Written TV. 15:45 (bright music) 15:50 >>Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:51 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:53 We're taking a look at "Worshiping the Creator" 15:56 as part of our journey through the three angels' messages. 16:00 Pastor Mark, as we work our way through this week's lesson, 16:04 Wednesday talks about the gospel judgment and creation. 16:08 What relationship do the gospel and judgment 16:12 have to creation? 16:13 How are those intertwined? 16:15 >>You know, Eric, there's sometimes people 16:18 don't think very much 16:19 about the interrelationship between the two. 16:22 So let's explore that a little bit. 16:25 How does gospel and the judgment relate to creation? 16:29 First, the important thing is understanding 16:32 who the Creator is. 16:33 So if you go to Ephesians, chapter three, verse nine. 16:36 Now, remember in Revelation 14, verse seven, 16:40 there is a call to fear God, give glory to Him. 16:44 The reason, because the hour of His judgment has come, 16:46 a unique time in earth's history, 16:48 and to worship the Creator. 16:50 Who is the Creator? 16:52 Ephesians 3, verse nine. 16:54 And do you wanna read that one? 16:56 >>Sure, it says, 16:57 "And to make all see 16:58 "what is the fellowship of the mystery, 17:01 "which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God 17:04 who created all things through Jesus Christ." 17:08 >>So God is the master designer of the universe, 17:12 but Christ becomes the active agent in creation. 17:16 This is also mentioned in Colossians, chapter one. 17:20 So we can go to Colossians, chapter one, verse 13 to 17, 17:26 and let me pick those up and read them. 17:28 Colossians 1, verse 13 to 17. 17:33 "He is the image of the invisible God," that's Jesus Christ, 17:37 "the firstborn over all creation." 17:39 "Firstborn" there is an interesting word. 17:42 You know, David was considered the firstborn of Jesse, 17:44 but he was actually the seventh born son of Jesse. 17:47 So the firstborn is the one who has preeminence. 17:51 Christ is preeminent over all of creation. 17:54 It's an interesting Greek word, 17:56 "firstborn" not in the sense of lineage, 17:58 not in the sense of the first who was born in the world, 18:03 but firstborn had the title, 18:05 had the privileges of the father, received the inheritance. 18:09 So Jesus is the preeminent One, 18:12 He has the title deed, 18:13 He is the One who has the inheritance over all creation. 18:17 "For by Him," that is Christ, 18:19 "all things were created that are in heaven 18:21 "and that are on earth, visible and invisible, 18:25 "whether thrones or dominions 18:26 "or principalities or powers. 18:28 All things were created through Him and for Him." 18:32 So since Jesus was the active agent in creation, 18:39 since He was the One who created the world, 18:42 He has the right to redeem the world, 18:45 since Christ is eternal. 18:46 If Christ was not the Creator, 18:50 if He was not eternal, 18:52 then He could not offer eternal life. 18:58 Why is it that no angel could have, in any way, died? 19:02 Because they did not create life in the first place, 19:05 and secondly, they're not eternal. 19:08 They're not eternal. 19:09 Now, some people have the idea 19:10 that Christ came forth from the Father, 19:13 you know, that He came, 19:14 He was like only begotten of the Father. 19:17 The word "only begotten" is a Greek phrase, "monogenes," 19:20 it means "one of a kind," 19:22 Christ is the unique One. 19:24 It's not that there was a time He was not, 19:27 but if you say that there was a time that Christ was not, 19:31 and He came forth from the Father, 19:33 that means that Christ is limited in time 19:37 because there was a point that He was not, if you say that. 19:39 That means He didn't exist longer than He existed, 19:42 because eternity in the past is infinite. 19:45 So that means that He could not offer eternal life for us 19:49 because He doesn't have eternal life, He was not eternal. 19:51 So the gospel and creation are very much linked. 19:55 Christ created us, 19:57 therefore, as the eternal Christ 20:00 who brought life into existence, 20:02 He is the only One in the universe 20:04 who has the right to redeem us. 20:05 Do away with creation, you really impact the gospel. 20:09 Another aspect of this, 20:11 I think we bring out here in the lesson, 20:13 and you may wanna read this for us. 20:15 It's on page 60 in the lesson. 20:18 It's the first paragraph under that section of questions 20:20 that begins with, "Look at how closely." 20:22 >>It says, "Look at how closely tied Jesus as Creator 20:26 "is to Jesus as Redeemer. 20:28 "The moment that His role as Creator is diminished, 20:31 "...as evolution inevitably does, 20:33 "His role as our Redeemer comes into question, as well. 20:37 "Jesus comes to redeem us from sin, 20:39 "from death, from suffering, and from violence-- 20:42 "when sin, death, suffering, and violence are, 20:44 "as evolution teaches, the very means of creation itself? 20:49 "God redeems us from the very process 20:51 "He used to create us to begin with? 20:54 It's a dangerous lie." 20:55 >>It is, sure. 20:56 That's where that goes. 20:58 So creation and also the gospel and redemption are linked, 21:02 but also judgment, 21:03 because if we simply evolved, 21:06 it means we are products of our heredity 21:09 and products of our environment; 21:12 that human beings don't have much choice. 21:16 There is a school of psychology called "determinism," 21:20 taught by one of the Midwestern universities for years, 21:23 and "determinism" says 21:25 that you are placed here beyond your choice, 21:28 that you are shaped by your environment, 21:31 shaped by your heredity. 21:34 But the gospel teaches we have the power of choice. 21:37 Take away the power of choice, 21:39 there's no basis for judgment, 21:41 because if I am simply a biological creature, 21:45 product of my heredity and environment, 21:47 and if I don't have choice, 21:48 then judgment would be terribly unfair. 21:51 But the judgment-- 21:53 creation, gospel, and the judgment are linked together. 21:56 >>There are a great many people today 21:57 who would just as soon not be judged; 22:00 they would prefer that they had no one to answer to, 22:02 and that they could simply blame their actions 22:05 or inactions, as it were, 22:06 on heredity, on my genes, on my parents, 22:10 on my environment, on my upbringing, 22:13 and therefore, I'm not responsible 22:15 for what I do or don't do. 22:17 While that may seem like 22:19 a wonderful fantasy world to live in, 22:22 it's not reality, and there is actually a judgment. 22:25 So it would seem that the wisest thing to do 22:28 would be to accept the fact that there is a judgment, 22:31 but the good news is you've got someone in the judgment 22:33 who's on your side as well. 22:34 >>Exactly. 22:36 You know, we don't deny as Christians and as Bible believers 22:39 that our heredity plays an influence, 22:41 it does. 22:43 We don't deny that environment plays an influence, 22:45 it does. >>Yes. 22:47 >>But there's a power stronger than heredity, 22:49 stronger than environment, 22:51 and that's the power of the living Christ. 22:53 We believe that when a person makes a positive choice 22:56 to serve God, 22:57 that there's a Power that enters their life 22:59 stronger than heredity and environment. 23:01 And you may be watching this program today, 23:03 and you might be saying, "You know what? 23:04 "I come from an absolutely terrible environment, 23:07 "I got terrible genetic heredity, 23:09 "I've been around a home, family life that is non-Christian, 23:13 "and I'm really torn apart, 23:15 "because I just don't seem to be able to control 23:18 my actions and behavior." 23:20 Your heredity does play an influence, 23:22 your environment does play an influence, 23:23 but there's a greater than that. 23:26 You know, the Bible says in John 1, verse 12, 23:28 "As many [as believed] Him, 23:30 "to them gave He [the authority or the] power 23:32 to become the sons of God." 23:34 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, 23:36 it says that, "If any man or woman is in Christ, 23:39 they are a new creation." 23:41 So the God who created us in Christ in the first place 23:45 wants to re-create us in His image, 23:48 if we let Him, if we come to Him with all of our weakness. 23:51 You don't have to worry about getting cleaned up 23:54 before coming to Christ, 23:55 or you don't have to worry about having victory. 23:57 It's like the person who says, 23:58 "Hey, I can't go to the hospital 24:00 until I get cleared of this sickness." 24:02 No, not at all. 24:03 We come to Jesus just as we are, 24:05 just like we go to a hospital sick. 24:07 But Christ Himself takes us, changes us, 24:12 and the Creator re-creates us 24:14 because He is our Redeemer as well as our Creator. 24:17 >>So there's good news of hope that God-- 24:20 where we may not be able to change ourselves, 24:22 Christ can change us if we let Him in 24:25 and give Him the reins, as it were. 24:28 I've often seen bumper stickers that say, 24:30 "God is my co-pilot." 24:32 I often think that's a little mistaken, 24:34 if God's your co-pilot, you probably need to change seats, 24:37 He needs to be your pilot 24:38 and not the one who plays second fiddle. 24:42 You mentioned a little bit about the idea of creation 24:45 and how that relates to Christ's death on the cross. 24:48 You wanna expand on that just a little bit more 24:50 in a little bit 24:51 of time we have left? >>Sure. 24:52 The Creator, the One that created life, 24:56 the One who existed from eternity, 24:58 Jesus Christ, tabernacled in human flesh. 25:02 He came, lived the life we should have lived, 25:05 died the death we should have died. 25:07 And you know, on the cross, in John, chapter 19, 25:14 it talks about Christ's last hours on the cross. 25:16 Judas betrayed Him, 25:18 Peter denied Him, 25:20 the disciples forsook Him and fled, 25:23 but there in those last moments 25:26 of Christ's life on the cross, He speaks. 25:32 A thief is saved or redeemed, 25:36 as Jesus says, "You'll be with me in paradise." 25:38 But in John the 19th chapter, 25:42 notice, Christ cries out, 25:45 and maybe you could 25:47 read verses 28 to 30 there, Pastor Eric. 25:51 >>Verse 28 says, "After this, Jesus, 25:53 "knowing that all things were now accomplished, 25:56 "that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, 'I thirst!' 26:00 "Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; 26:02 "and they filled a sponge with sour wine, 26:05 "put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 26:07 "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, 26:10 "He said, 'It is finished!' 26:11 And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." 26:14 >>There are three places in the Bible 26:16 that says, "It is finished." 26:17 After creation, God finished His work, 26:21 "It is finished." 26:22 The Creator rested on Sabbath 26:27 in memory of that perfect creation. 26:29 On the cross, when the plan of salvation was finished, 26:34 the atonement was complete, 26:36 the Creator of the universe who tabernacled in human flesh 26:39 dies and says, "It is finished." 26:41 And at the end of time, in Revelation 15, 26:45 the announcement goes out, "It is finished, it is finished." 26:49 So the good news is this, 26:53 this world will not go on in an endless cycle, 26:57 the One that finished creation, 26:59 the One that finished the plan of salvation on the cross, 27:04 is gonna finish His work at the end of the judgment hour, 27:08 and Jesus is gonna come. 27:11 >>Those are encouraging words, 27:12 and I hope that they are encouraging to you. 27:15 This week we've looked at how we can and should and ought to 27:18 and have no reason not to worship the Creator. 27:22 He's our Creator, He's our Redeemer, 27:24 and He's the One who's preparing a place in glory for us, 27:27 a place that He wants you to inhabit, 27:31 a neighborhood He wants you to live in, 27:32 a house that He wants you to live in with Him. 27:36 We're gonna be back again next week 27:37 as we continue our journey 27:39 through our study of the three angels' messages. 27:43 Pastor Mark, thank you 27:44 once again for joining us. >>Thank you. 27:46 >>And thank you for joining us. 27:47 We look forward to seeing you again next week. 27:51 (bright music) 28:27 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-05-04