Participants:
Series Code: PTL
Program Code: PTL000006A
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00:50 Hello friends, and welcome to, Pathways To Life.
00:54 Pathways To Life is a fifteen meeting, fifteen presentation 00:59 series of meetings that can truly transform your life. 01:04 I hope and pray that each one receive a blessing. 01:06 We're on meeting number six now. 01:09 I welcome you to the Paradise Valley 01:12 Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:15 where this event is taking place. 01:18 And we want to make a special welcome to those of you 01:21 that are watching on Three Angels Broadcasting Network. 01:26 We want to give a special welcome to those who might be 01:28 watching on YouTube, or whether you're watching on 01:31 Three Angels Broadcast Facebook live streaming, 01:35 or with our sister channel, Good News TV. 01:39 Each and every one of you, I hope you receive a blessing 01:41 from being here in the Paradise Valley 01:44 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:45 My name is Jim Hakes. 01:47 I have the privilege of pastoring this church 01:48 and being the host for this series of events and 01:52 meetings that are taking place. 01:54 Our speaker for the fifteen meetings 01:59 is Pastor John Lomacang. 02:01 He has different friends that come with him 02:03 to the different meetings. 02:05 Tonight he has the group, Dawn of Hope, which is 02:08 Stephanie Dawn and Dan Thornton. 02:10 They will be leading us in music in just a moment, 02:13 and then Pastor Lomacang. 02:15 Stephanie's song is called, Psalm 1. 02:20 And Pastor Lomacang will be speaking to us tonight 02:24 on the subject called, God's Perfect Law. 02:30 And we're looking forward to each and every part 02:34 of what's going to be taking place tonight. 02:37 But before Stephanie sings, 02:39 how about if we begin with a word of prayer. 02:41 Shall we? 02:42 Gracious heavenly Father, 02:45 we pray that You would come into this place, 02:49 that You would bless each and every one of us 02:51 that are either here in studio or watching on the different 02:56 opportunities and the different places. 03:00 We pray that each of us would receive a blessing 03:03 from the music and from opening Your Word together. 03:07 And we thank You, for we've asked it in Jesus' name. 03:11 Amen. 03:27 How blessed, how happy is the man 03:31 who will not walk in the way of the ungodly. 03:39 How blessed, how happy is the man 03:44 who will not stand in the path of the sinful. 03:51 How blessed, how happy is the man 03:56 who will not sit in the seat of the scornful. 04:04 And it's not hard to understand 04:10 why God would bless that man. 04:16 He delights in the law of the Lord. 04:23 He delights in the law of the Lord. 04:28 Night and day, day and night, 04:33 he meditates on all that's right. 04:39 And he desires nothing more. 04:45 His delight is in the law of the Lord. 05:00 How blessed, how happy are the ones 05:05 who have their hope in a living Redeemer. 05:12 How blessed, how happy are the ones 05:16 who will one day see the face of their Savior. 05:23 But how distressed shall be the ones 05:27 who turn away from the love of the Father, 05:35 unless they come to understand 05:41 God's kingdom is at hand. 05:48 And they delight in the law of the Lord. 05:54 They delight in the law of the Lord. 06:00 Night and day, day and night, 06:04 they meditate on all that's right. 06:10 And they desire nothing more. 06:16 Their delight is in the law of the Lord. 06:22 Oh, to be like a tree by the rivers of water, 06:29 bearing its fruit in season. 06:33 Should my leaf never wither, should I flourish and prosper, 06:39 there's a reason. 06:45 I delight in the law of the Lord. 06:51 I delight in the law of the Lord. 06:56 Night and day, day and night, 07:01 I meditate on all that's right. 07:08 And I desire nothing more. 07:14 My delight is in the law. 07:17 Oh, our delight is in Your law. 07:24 We delight in the law of the Lord. 07:30 We delight in the law of the Lord. 07:35 Night and day, day and night, 07:40 we meditate on all that's right. 07:47 And we desire nothing more. 07:53 Our delight is in the law of the Lord. 07:59 And we desire nothing more. 08:07 Our delight is in the law of the Lord. 08:27 Amen. 08:29 - Amen? ~ Amen. 08:31 Thank you so much, Stephanie. 08:35 And thank you, Dan. 08:38 Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of his Lord. 08:47 Let's go to the Lord in prayer tonight. 08:48 I want to welcome you, and those of you who may be 08:50 watching and listening. 08:52 We want to as for the Lord's presence and power 08:54 to be here this evening. 08:57 Loving Father in heaven, it is only by Your grace 09:00 and Your power that anything can be accomplished 09:05 to the glory of Your holy name. 09:08 We invite Your Holy Spirit, Lord, tonight to speak to our 09:11 hearts again as we open Your Word. 09:14 In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 09:20 Tonight we want to begin with a particular text in the Bible 09:22 that has been a quandary to many. 09:26 And this text has caused so many to be uncomfortable. 09:31 And tonight we're not just going to reveal the text, 09:34 but we are going to also walk through the Word of God 09:37 to discover that the perfect law of God 09:41 can be kept when Jesus is abiding in our lives. 09:47 But tonight, as we lay the foundation, let's read this 09:49 opening passage together. 09:51 The words of Jesus, John 14:15. 09:55 Together. 10:02 If you want to wonder what the world will be like 10:04 if the commandments of God were completely obliterated, 10:07 just look at the world around us. 10:10 Look at the world around us. 10:12 The decline, the continual decline of our society 10:15 is an indication, over and over, of the kind of world 10:19 that the devil would run if he had complete control. 10:24 Before I go any further, I want to thank the Lord 10:26 that He has not given the devil complete control. 10:28 What do you say? 10:30 He is still holding the world by the restraining power 10:34 of His Holy Spirit. 10:36 But when you think of the continual indicators 10:39 in our society, the rampant incarceration, 10:43 terrorism, violence, war, 10:46 continual treat of nuclear exchange, 10:48 immorality that is becoming more and more prominent 10:52 and popular, the Bible gives us an indication 10:56 as to why the world is the way it is. 10:58 Notice Isaiah the prophet. 10:59 He describes it very carefully. 11:02 And he points to the transgression of 11:04 God's law as a result. 11:07 Isaiah 24:5, the Bible says... 11:26 So the point is, if the law of God was never broken, 11:30 our world would not be in the condition that it's in. 11:33 But because God's law has been violated, 11:36 the world is in the continual declining 11:38 condition that it's in. 11:40 And the sad reality is, when sin becomes more popular 11:43 than the name of Jesus, we know we are in trouble. 11:47 In the world today if you want to be odd, 11:49 all you've got to do is talk about Jesus. 11:52 If you want to fit into our world today, all you've got to 11:54 do is fall in line, in harmony, with the 11:57 dark things of our world. 11:59 But God has called us in the midst of all of this darkness 12:02 to continue by His grace to be a light in a dark world, 12:08 to show that, yes, it is possible, by the 12:11 indwelling Christ, to live in harmony with a perfect law. 12:17 When you think about the world today, 12:19 let's go back a little ways to the antediluvian world 12:22 that will give you just a glimpse of how bad 12:25 it's going to get before it gets better. 12:28 Genesis 6:5 tells us in these words. 12:32 Speaking of the antediluvian world in Noah's day. 12:41 Is it getting like that today? 12:56 When I read that, I did a series not too long ago 12:58 called, Unclean Spirits, on the occult 13:01 and the entertainment industry. 13:02 And I'm convinced that one of the reasons why the world is 13:05 proliferated with digital devices is, the devil 13:09 doesn't want to give us a chance to think. 13:12 He wants the world and its media to be in our face 13:15 all day long. 13:17 I mean, when you drive around the world, 13:18 when you walk through the malls... 13:20 I've seen some crazy videos on YouTube of people walking and 13:23 falling into waterfalls. 13:27 We were in a country, I forgot what country it was, 13:29 but then they said the highest incidences of people 13:32 getting killed in traffic accidents were people 13:35 walking into the traffic while looking down 13:37 at their cell phones. 13:40 I was talking to two young ladies in Orlando, Florida 13:43 not too long ago, and they asked me after a sermon I preached, 13:46 "How can I get my life back on track with Jesus?" 13:49 I said, "All you've got to do is not listen to the music 13:52 and watch the things you do. 13:53 Just do it for one week. 13:55 Just put down your cell phone for one week." 13:57 And they give me a look like I told them to take their lives. 14:02 But the Lord, if the Lord cannot communicate with our minds... 14:07 I believe one of the reasons why digital devices... 14:10 And we're going from 4G to 5G. 14:12 Now let me make a point. 14:14 If you use it for the right reason, God can be glorified. 14:17 Because we're using it, 3ABN is using it 14:19 to communicate the gospel. 14:20 Can we get an amen? 14:22 But if you are using it to have your mind continually filled, 14:25 we're getting to the place like it was in those days 14:28 where every intent of the thoughts of his heart 14:32 was only evil continually. 14:38 And to show that our world is getting like that, 14:39 we read the words of Dr. Luke in Luke 17:26. 14:51 And we're getting ready for the coming of Jesus. 14:54 So we know that the world has to get like it was in Noah's day 14:59 as an indicator that the coming of the Lord is drawing near. 15:03 Now I'm not happy for the sin, but I'm glad that the coming 15:07 of the Lord is drawing near. 15:08 Amen? 15:10 I'm so glad that the coming of Jesus is drawing near. 15:13 But you know what? There could be no sin 15:15 unless there is a law. 15:18 And let me make a very good point here. 15:20 A very important point. 15:22 What saddens me is that preachers around the 15:24 world today have told many of their congregations 15:27 that the law of God is no longer impacting, 15:29 the law of God no longer exists, 15:32 or the law of God was done away with. 15:34 And I said a few nights ago, if you meet any preacher, 15:37 all you've got to do to determine you're either 15:40 in the right place or the wrong place is to read the 15:43 Ten Commandments and ask the preacher, 15:45 "Are there any of those commandments 15:47 you have a problem with?" 15:53 If they have a problem with any of God's Ten Commandments, 15:55 you are in the wrong place. 15:58 Because the Bible says in Romans 5:13... 16:04 In other words, you can't get a speeding ticket 16:06 on the Autobahn in Germany. 16:09 Does anybody know about the Autobahn? 16:11 No speed limit. 16:13 But you will get a ticket in Phoenix. 16:17 Why? Because there is a law against going 16:20 beyond a certain speed. 16:22 In other words, where there is no prevention of that act, 16:26 then you will never be guilty of that act. 16:28 Where there is no law, where there are no laws, 16:31 where there are no speed limits posted, 16:33 you'll never be guilty of violating the speed limit. 16:37 So if it's not imputed, you're not guilty of it. 16:40 But the Bible takes us even further back 16:42 than the days of Noah. 16:43 It takes us all the way back to the very beginning. 16:45 And we see tonight that the issues in the world today 16:48 are because of what happened in the very beginning. 16:51 Notice John 8:44. 16:53 The Bible tells us about the Grim Reaper, Satan himself. 17:01 "...and the desires..." 17:02 Meaning, the thoughts that exist in our minds 17:05 that carry on to produce a particularly sinful act. 17:31 I was talking to someone not too long ago. 17:33 And you know, my times just all run together 17:36 like melted chocolate. 17:38 So when I say, "Not too long ago," 17:39 it could have been a week ago or a month ago. 17:41 But it was not too long ago because I still remember. 17:46 But I was talking to someone who was speaking about going to a 17:50 particular church, and I asked some very key questions about 17:53 the church and what they taught. 17:55 And when I touched on some very significant parts, 17:58 I mean, "Do they keep the commandments of God?" 17:59 "Well yeah, but not all of them." 18:02 I said, "Well, why would you want to go there?" 18:03 "Well, you know, it's not really that necessary to be saved." 18:06 And I thought to myself, "So the commandments of God are 18:08 really not necessary to be saved?" 18:10 "No. As long as you love Jesus." 18:13 One of the things that we often walk into darkness 18:16 by saying is, "As long as you love Jesus." 18:19 If we really love Jesus, we will also love His commandments. 18:24 You can't love somebody and violate the very thing 18:27 that they ask you to honor. 18:30 And the Bible makes it very, very clear. 18:32 Where there is no law, there can never be a transgression. 18:35 And even deeper than that, Romans 6:23 says... 18:43 "The wages of sin is death." 18:46 So if there is death, there has to be sin. 18:50 And if there is sin, let's look at the next text. 18:53 1 John 3:4 18:58 So let's take that back. Is there death? 19:00 Then there has to be sin. 19:02 If there is sin, there has to be a, what? 19:04 There has to be... 19:06 Where there is no law, there is no sin. 19:08 Where there is no sin, there is no death. 19:09 Because sin is the transgression of the law. 19:13 And the wages of that transgression 19:15 is always death. 19:18 Always death. 19:20 When you think about it, until we are born again... 19:23 And for the last couple of nights I've been talking about 19:26 the seed, remember that? 19:28 About the old nature and the new nature. 19:30 Adam's nature and Christ's nature. 19:32 Remember that? 19:34 I talked about how important it is to be born again. 19:36 Because if you just look at the commandments of God 19:39 and you say, "Ok, I am going to keep the commandments of God." 19:43 Do you know that it is impossible to keep the 19:45 commandments of God, it is impossible to keep a holy law 19:49 with an unholy nature? 19:53 Because the commandments of God are not just 19:55 a list of dos and don'ts. 19:57 It's not just a list of things 19:58 that we should be in harmony with. 20:00 But it is not possible to keep the law of God 20:03 unless our natures are regenerated, 20:07 unless the nature of Adam is put to death 20:10 and the power of Christ reigns in our lives. 20:13 It's not possible. 20:16 Here's what the Bible says. Here's the reason. 20:18 Romans 3:23, here's the reason why it's not possible 20:21 until we are born again. 20:30 It is not possible to keep that which is holy 20:34 until we are made holy ourselves. 20:37 Now the question may be, 20:38 is there a problem with the law of God? 20:42 No, the problem is not the law of God. 20:44 Notice the words of the apostle Paul. 20:46 The apostle Paul says in Romans 7:14... 21:01 Is there anything wrong with God's law? 21:03 What is it? 21:04 It's spiritual. 21:06 So when I hear a preacher... 21:07 And believe me, Pastor Doug and I through the years, 21:12 you know, we've called into radio programs. 21:14 I remember this guy, he's deceased now, Harold Camping. 21:16 You remember Harold Camping? 21:18 He was the one that predicted... 21:19 Well he's very famous in New York City. 21:21 But he was the one that predicted a few years ago 21:23 that the world was ending on May 22nd. 21:29 I think it was either May 22nd or May 23rd. 21:31 And my wife and I were in California, 21:34 and we drove over to his ministry the day before 21:37 the world was supposed to end. 21:39 And we went to his ministry, and you know, all the 21:43 parking places empty, no more traffic in the streets, 21:47 all the builder's tools were silent. 21:50 And we looked, and all we heard was the radio program going 21:53 over and over and over. 21:55 And I looked at the door, and they said, they gave, you know, 21:58 "Out of business. World is ending tomorrow." 22:02 And the world was suppose to end on May 23rd, 22:04 and my wife and I's anniversary is May 22nd. 22:07 And I said to my wife, if Harold Camping would have only 22:10 asked me, I would have told him that the world is not ending 22:13 the day after our anniversary. 22:16 Not to be light about that. 22:17 But there are particular prophecies in the Bible. 22:21 And the fact of the matter is, no man knows the day 22:25 nor the hour. 22:28 But whenever we called Harold Camping, 22:30 one of the things that he was very heavy on was 22:32 he always talked about how the commandments of God 22:34 were done away with, they were nailed to the cross, 22:36 they were just for the Jews, they cannot be kept. 22:39 And every time Doug and I would get a chance, 22:41 Pastor Doug and I would get a chance, we'd call him. 22:43 And you have to talk really, really fast, because 22:45 if you breathed, he'll hang up on you 22:48 and try to twist your question in a 22:50 completely different direction. 22:52 "Well, according to..." "Well, I understand..." 22:54 And I'm thinking, "Oh please." 22:56 So we would just kind of take a deep breath and 22:58 say everything we had to say. 22:59 And then when we exhaled, or inhaled, 23:02 we knew the phone was going down. 23:04 But we prayed that somebody would hear. 23:06 You see, there's nothing wrong with God's law. 23:09 But the sinful nature cannot live in harmony 23:11 with God's perfect law. 23:12 Notice how the apostle Paul makes this very, very clear. 23:14 Romans 8:6-8 23:19 Can there be death without sin? 23:23 Not a trick. Can there be death without sin? 23:25 Can there be sin without a law? 23:27 No. So to be carnally minded is death. 23:38 "...enmity..." 23:39 That means, is at odds against God. 23:43 So when somebody says that you can't keep the commandments, 23:46 it's not God's law. 23:47 It's their mind that's where the problem is. 23:51 It's their nature that's against God. 23:52 Not the commandments of God. 24:08 So the issue is not the law of God. 24:11 The issue is the condition of the mind. 24:16 A carnal life cannot live in harmony with a holy law. 24:20 The carnal life has to be made holy in order to live in 24:23 harmony with the holy law. 24:25 And even further than that, the power does not come from 24:28 us to live in harmony with God's law; 24:31 the power comes from Jesus. 24:35 "Christ in you, the hope of glory." 24:38 But let's look at the beauty of this law. 24:40 The beauty of the law is very clear. 24:42 Paul, in his converted experience, when he was 24:46 struggling with doing what he shouldn't do, 24:48 and not doing what he should do, he pointed out very clearly 24:52 in the battle of his walk, he said... 25:03 So when Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments," 25:07 He was not trying to trick us. 25:12 He was not trying to.. 25:13 It was no spiritual hoax. 25:15 He was not saying, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. 25:17 But you can't do it." 25:21 What He was saying is, "You need to be born again 25:23 to live in harmony with My commandments." 25:26 You need a new walk. 25:28 You cannot live in a new life, in a new walk, 25:32 in harmony with a holy law as long as your life is old 25:36 and corrupt, and controlled by the nature of Adam. 25:40 Very clear. 25:41 That's why this corrupt nature... 25:43 And this is why my presentations have had so much about 25:47 the righteous nature of Christ. 25:49 This corrupt nature cannot live in harmony with anything 25:53 that is incorrupt. 25:56 Notice how Peter makes it very clear. 25:59 In order for us to be in harmony with God's law, 26:01 something has to take place. 26:03 1 Peter 2:3, look at this. 26:10 "...corruptible seed..." That is Adam's nature. 26:21 When the Lord plants the seed of His Word in your life, 26:25 lives and abides forever. 26:27 When the seed of righteousness is planted in that heart, 26:31 it begins to produce in us what Adam's nature 26:34 could never produce. 26:36 And what's wonderful about that, it says, 26:37 "having been born again." 26:40 And when you're born again, there's a power that 26:42 comes into your life. 26:43 And I want you to get this clearly. 26:45 Because, let me ask you a question. 26:47 If you plant apple seeds, what's going to grow? 26:52 I mean, that's a fact. 26:54 The seed produces a harvest after its kind. 26:57 Am I right? 26:58 Look at the beauty of that seed of righteousness. 27:01 Look at the beauty of the seed of righteousness. 27:02 1 John 3:9 27:18 Now you might think, "Huh? 27:22 How is that possible?" 27:24 When you read carefully... 27:25 Let me put this together. 27:27 There is something that we have... 27:29 And let me talk about salvation. 27:30 I want you to put on your ears very carefully. 27:32 Tune them up. 27:34 When we are saved, when we are justified, 27:38 we are justified. 27:40 That means we are forgiven. 27:43 And justification means we are now standing in the presence 27:46 of God just as if we had not sinned. 27:51 Doesn't the Bible say, "If we confess our sins 27:54 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 27:56 and to cleanse us from..." How much? 27:58 So if all has been cleansed, how much is remaining? 28:02 Nothing. 28:04 That's justification. 28:05 That's salvation from the penalty of sin. 28:09 Meaning, death no longer reigns over us. 28:12 Praise the Lord. 28:13 But there's something else that we need. 28:15 Because in the Christian world they generally teach 28:17 justification and they teach glorification, 28:20 but they don't teach sanctification. 28:22 Sanctification is the most important part because 28:25 that's the journey of the Christian life. 28:27 Let's follow this carefully. 28:28 Sanctification is salvation on a day by day, 28:32 moment by moment basis. 28:35 Salvation from the power of sin. 28:42 Don't need a hand to be raise, but there may be somebody 28:45 here tonight that use to be an alcoholic 28:46 that's no longer an alcoholic. 28:49 Or maybe use to be a drug addict that's no longer a drug addict. 28:51 Or may have been held bondage by cigarettes, 28:55 or a foul tongue, or pornography, 28:59 or anger, or hatred, and you are no longer held by those things. 29:03 Why? 29:04 Because when the seed of Christ comes into your life, 29:08 when the Bible says, "does not sin," 29:11 the Greek means, does not practice sin. 29:18 My mother, she was an alcoholic. 29:20 She smoked two to three packs of cigarettes a day. 29:22 One day I'll tell you the whole story. 29:25 But I said, "Mom..." 29:26 I wasn't raised with her. 29:27 She abandoned me at three months old. 29:29 I met her many, many years later. 29:31 But I said, "Mom, give your life to Jesus. 29:32 Have somebody pray for you to be delivered." 29:35 And when I met my mother, she called me one day 29:36 and she told me she was coming to live with my wife and I. 29:39 And I was nervous, because when I met her she said 29:41 she had seven demons in her life, 29:43 she was an alcoholic, she smoked two to three 29:46 packs of cigarettes a day. 29:47 And I thought, "I'm a pastor. 29:49 How am I going to handle seven demons, an alcoholic, 29:51 and a person blowing smoke in my face?" 29:56 And I said, "Where are you?" She said, "I'm on my way." 29:58 "When will you be here?" "In a week." 29:59 I said, "Alright, alright." 30:02 But she said one more thing. 30:04 She said, "Remember you told me to have somebody 30:05 pray for me to be delivered?" 30:07 She said, "Six months ago I had a pastor 30:10 pray for me to be delivered." 30:11 And she said, "For the last six months, I've not only 30:13 not had a drop of alcohol, not only have not had a 30:17 single cigarette, but I have no desire for alcohol, 30:20 no desire for cigarettes." 30:22 And she said, "And I've gained weight. 30:24 I'm no longer a size one, I'm a size ten now. 30:26 Is that okay?" 30:28 I said, "Mom, don't worry. You'll fit in my house. 30:30 Come on." 30:32 And to the day she died, she never had the desire. 30:36 Only the seed of Christ in our lives can break the desire. 30:40 Can I get a hallelujah? 30:42 Only when Christ comes in can we be delivered. 30:46 I was a gambler, a pool hustler, a disc jockey. 30:49 That's the only sin I'm going to tell you about. 30:52 But I'm going to tell you tonight, I have no desire 30:53 for the world that's behind me. 30:56 Why? Because the seed is in there. 30:58 And when we live by the power of Christ, 31:00 we don't even desire the things that we once desired. 31:08 And so when you're born of God, and the seed is there, 31:12 all of a sudden a new behavior comes into being. 31:16 And then the Lord is able to point in the world 31:19 that His people are everywhere. 31:22 And what are they doing? 31:23 How can they be identified in a world where the law of God 31:27 has been violated, in a world where preachers 31:30 preach it cannot be kept. 31:31 Notice what God says. 31:33 Notice what He says. Revelation 14:12. 31:45 You cannot keep the commandments of God 31:47 without the indwelling Christ. 31:48 You can't do it. 31:52 We are saved from the penalty of sin when we accept Jesus. 31:55 When we invite Him every day, as Paul says, when we 31:58 die daily to self and He comes in, 32:00 we are saved every day from the power of sin. 32:03 Last night I said sin shall not have dominion over you. 32:07 Wouldn't control you. 32:09 But I'm looking forward to the last part of salvation. 32:11 One day we will all be saved from the presence of sin. 32:16 Until then, we need the power of Christ in our lives every day. 32:21 And what's so wonderful about this condition is, 32:24 when Adam and Eve fell, Jesus forecasted that they will 32:29 one day, by His grace, be victorious over every attempt 32:34 the devil makes to keep them bound to their failure. 32:39 Notice the prediction of Christ in the book of Genesis 3:15. 32:43 And by the way, this is on the heels of a man who just 32:45 fell into sin, a wife who was deceived into sin. 32:48 This is at the very beginning. 32:49 Look at what Jesus said. 32:55 He talking to the serpent. 33:00 The word, enmity, means discomfort. 33:02 Let me make it very clear. 33:03 Whenever you're about to do something wrong, 33:05 you ever feel uncomfortable? 33:07 That's a good thing. 33:09 That's enmity. 33:10 That's the comfort of discomfort. 33:12 When you lose the sense that what you're about to do 33:17 is wrong, then you have passed the borders of God's grace. 33:22 When wrong no longer even bothers you, 33:26 you are walking on a dangerous line. 33:28 The Lord put in us this discomfort. 33:46 When Jesus was victorious over death, 33:48 when Jesus rose from the grave, 33:50 He did that by stamping the devil on his head. 33:54 Amen? 33:56 In the process, He was bruised. 33:58 He was wounded for our transgressions. 34:00 By His stripes we were healed. 34:02 But He had the upper hand. 34:04 You see, if you want to kill somebody, 34:06 or if you want to kill a serpent, you step on its head. 34:09 The devil just bruised His body, but Christ is intact 34:13 because He's the head of the church. 34:14 What do you say tonight? 34:16 The Lord predicted that this power would come, 34:19 that this power would come, and He would give us 34:22 this great and precious promise now. 34:25 When you have the power of Christ in your life, 34:28 all of a sudden there is a new power inside of you. 34:34 And this power does not allow you to fall back 34:37 into the old habits. 34:38 Notice how the apostle Peter talks about this. 34:40 And by the way, if anybody should know, he would know. 34:44 2 Peter 1:4 35:12 Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 35:17 Only when Christ comes in. 35:20 So when people say... 35:22 This is the part I try to undo this a moment at a time. 35:24 When a Christian says, "I'm only human," 35:27 pause and say this, "I'm not just human anymore. 35:31 I have become a partaker of a divine nature. 35:35 Christ is abiding in my life." 35:37 And do you know, in the very same way when evolutionists 35:40 say that you're monkeys, you act like it. 35:44 But when you believe and understand that by partaking 35:47 of Christ's righteousness you are royalty, you act like it. 35:52 When you know that you are saved by the blood of the Lamb, 35:55 transformed, and now are covered by the righteousness 35:59 of Christ, you act like it. 36:03 When you know that you are a royal nation, a holy priesthood, 36:07 when you know that you are a son or daughter of God, 36:09 you act like it. 36:11 And I think too many times we say to people, 36:13 "Well you know, just try harder." 36:15 It's not about trying, it's about triumph. 36:23 We're not trying to be righteous, 36:25 we're trying triumphant because of His righteousness. 36:27 Amen, somebody. 36:28 That's why this text is here. 36:31 You know the text very well. Come on, let's say it together. 36:33 "I can do..." How many things? 36:39 Now, if it were not possible to do all things through Christ, 36:44 the devil would not be upset. 36:48 But the reason why he's upset with those who keep 36:50 the commandments of God is because he himself 36:53 knows that through Christ we can do all things. 36:56 That's why this passage is here, Revelation 12:17. 37:02 "...with the woman..." That is the church. 37:06 "...remnant of her seed..." 37:07 That means the last day aspect of the family of God. 37:11 Who is he upset with? 37:19 It would not be possible, he would have no reason 37:22 to be upset if the commandments of God couldn't be kept. 37:25 But the reason why he is upset is because there's a church 37:28 on earth where the commandments of God 37:30 will be perfectly reproduced in the lives of His children. 37:35 They won't make excuses about it. 37:36 They may have fallen into sin in the past, 37:38 but when Christ comes in He delivers us not only from 37:41 that sin, He forgives us of the sin, 37:43 He takes away that corrupt nature, 37:46 He puts His seed in us, and all of a sudden 37:49 the world can see a representation 37:51 of a son and daughter of God. 37:54 Amen? 37:55 But some people say that, I've heard pastors say, 37:57 "Well, Jesus got rid of the commandments." 37:59 No He didn't. No He didn't. 38:01 His own words, Matthew 5:17-19. 38:11 Now the word, fulfill, means, as Isaiah 42:21 says, 38:15 He came to magnify the law and make it honorable. 38:18 He didn't come to make it narrow, 38:20 He came to say, murder is not the only thing 38:24 that you can be guilty of, but if you hate your brother, 38:26 you are a murderer already. 38:28 He didn't come to say that only when you commit adultery 38:30 are you guilty of the act, but He says that if you look at a 38:33 woman to lust... 38:35 He magnified it. He didn't shrink it. 38:37 Amen, somebody? 38:58 Lord, have mercy to the pastors that teach you that 39:00 the commandments don't have to be kept. 39:15 He shall be called great. 39:17 But somebody said, "Well what about those passages 39:19 in the Bible where something was done away with? 39:21 What is, what is... But something was done... 39:23 Something was nailed to the cross. 39:25 I read the passages myself." 39:28 Another problem or another confusion 39:30 in the Christian world is this: 39:32 People get the ceremonial law, which are about 640 laws, 39:39 mixed up with the Ten Commandments of God, 39:42 which are only ten. 39:45 The 640 laws had to do with sacrifices, burnt offerings, 39:49 sin offerings, trespass offerings, 39:52 the shedding of the blood of the lamb, the goat, or the heifer, 39:54 the shedding of the blood of the doves. 39:56 But the commandments of God have nothing to do with that. 39:59 That is the law that Jesus nailed to the cross 40:02 when He gave His life. 40:04 You see, when John said, "Behold, the Lamb of God 40:06 that taketh away the sin of the world," 40:07 the reason why he used the word, "Lamb," 40:10 is because those who were a part of the ceremonial system 40:13 for more than a thousand years, the Jewish nation, 40:15 knew that they had been sacrificing 40:18 lambs for a long time. 40:20 So when John says, "Lamb," they should have known exactly 40:24 who he meant. 40:26 But notice what Jesus did away with. 40:27 Notice what He did away with. Ephesians 2:14-15 40:40 When Jesus died, the curtain of the temple 40:43 was torn in two. 40:44 The sacrificial system came to an end. 40:47 That's why the next verse is there. 41:07 I had a study many years ago with the Jehovah Witnesses. 41:10 And I read one of their publications where they tried to 41:12 prove that Jesus had done away with the commandments. 41:14 And you know what they did? 41:16 They stopped on this passage, "...the law of commandments..." 41:20 They excluded the words, "contained in ordinances," 41:22 at the bottom right of the screen. 41:25 And I read their material and I said, "Wait a minute. 41:28 What about the other three words that's missing?" 41:30 They said, "What three words?" 41:32 I said, "Contained in ordinances." 41:34 That's what men do. 41:37 That's what men do. 41:38 They leave out certain passages to communicate their points. 41:41 What are these ordinances? 41:42 The Bible makes it very, very clear what these ordinances are. 41:45 Hebrews 9:9-10 41:47 Speaking about the ordinances. 42:01 In other words, the more lambs you kill... 42:03 And I'll have verse ten coming. 42:05 The more animals you killed, 42:07 can you imagine the flow of blood? 42:11 Can you imagine how many animals were slaughtered? 42:15 And every time the sinner would take that animal 42:18 to the temple, they would have to slit the throat, 42:21 watch that lamb... 42:23 The priest would put the bowl under the throat of the lamb 42:26 and the blood would be pouring into that bowl. 42:28 And they would watch the lamb as his eyes continued 42:30 fluttering and fluttering until there was no more 42:32 life blood left, and the lamb would just drop 42:34 to the ground and die. 42:36 Over and over and over and over. 42:38 And you know what? It's amazing. 42:40 Today not even the Jews sacrifice lambs. 42:46 But let's go on further to see what this is all about. 42:49 Speaking about these ordinances. 43:05 Until the time of reformation. 43:07 What reformation? 43:09 Let me make it very clear. 43:11 The ceremonial law was a continual object lesson 43:15 of the work that Jesus would perform when He comes. 43:18 So whenever a lamb was killed, it prefigured the Lamb of God. 43:22 It was a type; Jesus was the antitype. 43:25 The high priest on earth was a representation of 43:28 Jesus who is our High Priest, who lives and abides 43:31 and intercedes for us forever. 43:34 Everything about the earthly service was a prefiguring 43:37 of the work that Jesus would do. 43:39 So, why would there need be an earthly tabernacle 43:43 if Jesus had already come? 43:45 Look at this. 43:47 So this earthly tabernacle: the alter of burnt offerings, 43:51 the lamb being slaughtered outside of the temple, 43:55 and then the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, 43:58 the laver, the table of showbread, 43:59 the altar of incense, the ark of the covenant; 44:01 all these were symbols of an earthly tabernacle 44:04 as long as the earthly priesthood was in place. 44:10 But when Jesus came, He became our 44:12 High Priest of better things. 44:14 Amen, somebody. 44:15 So this only was in place until He came. 44:18 Notice how the apostle Paul makes this point very clear. 44:21 Galatians 3:19 44:32 Now let's not run past that. 44:33 The law was added, the law was added because 44:37 another law was being violated. 44:40 A law was added because one was being violated. 44:46 But how long was it suppose to be around? 44:48 "...till the Seed should come..." 44:50 The seed is Christ. 44:59 It was only suppose to last until Jesus came. 45:03 So let's look very carefully. 45:05 That's why the Bible says today to us... 45:07 And this is so vitally important. 45:08 People said you had to be a Jew to keep the ceremonial laws, 45:11 and that's exactly correct, but look at the words of the 45:13 apostle Paul as it relates to the commandments of God. 45:17 1 Corinthians 7:19 45:20 The number one, I missed that. 45:21 1 Corinthians 7:19, the Bible says... 45:34 That's what matters. 45:36 Whether you're a Jew or not, keeping the commandments 45:38 of God is what matters. 45:39 They last much longer than the commandments of God. 45:42 Let's go quickly tonight. 45:43 The Ten Commandments in summary. 45:45 Very carefully. 45:47 The first one, "You shall have no other Gods before Me." 45:48 These are just summary. 45:50 The second, "You shall not make for yourselves 45:51 a carved image, or graven images." 45:53 The third, "You shall not take the name of the 45:55 Lord your God in vain." 45:57 The fourth, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 45:58 The seventh-day is the Sabbath." 46:01 The fifth, "Honor your father and your mother." 46:03 The sixth, "You shall not murder." 46:05 The seventh, "You shall not commit adultery." 46:07 The eight, "You shall not steal." 46:09 The ninth, "You shall not bear false witness." 46:11 And the tenth, "You shall not covet." 46:26 The law of the Lord is what? 46:29 Is what? It's perfect. 46:31 Nothing wrong with the Ten Commandments. 46:33 The only way that you can find that there's something 46:35 wrong with the Ten commandments is if there's something in them 46:38 that you don't want to live in harmony with. 46:42 But God's law is perfect. 46:44 Now I like the words of Jesus when He said this 46:46 in 1 John 5:3. 46:49 This comes from the heart of Christ. 47:00 When somebody says to you, 47:01 "Oh, you believe in keeping those laws. 47:04 You're still linked to the burdens." 47:06 No. The law of God is kept because we love Him. 47:11 It's not a burden. 47:13 When somebody is saying to do right, 47:14 the only way that doing right is a burden 47:17 is if you don't love that individual. 47:19 It's a burden. 47:21 But the commandments are not a burden. 47:22 Not any of the commandments is a burden. 47:25 The Bible goes on to say further in John 15:10... 47:37 It's a love relationship. 47:39 It's a what relationship? 47:41 And you cannot violate any of them. 47:43 We cannot violate any of them. 47:45 Going very quickly to James 2. 47:49 Keep this in mind. 47:50 The Ten Commandments are not multiple choice. 48:00 James 2:10-12 48:20 But notice this. 48:21 In other words, verse 12 means, 48:22 put your life where your mouth is. 48:32 Why is it called, the law of liberty? 48:34 Because when you live in harmony with the 48:36 commandments of God, you are free. 48:38 Amen? 48:39 If you're driving down the street and you pass 48:41 five highway patrolmen, and you're in the speed limit, 48:43 are you afraid? 48:45 No. Because you're within the confines of the law. 48:49 But if you're going 70 miles an hour 48:51 in a 30 miles an hour zone and you pass a highway patrol, 48:54 I guarantee you'll start sweating. 49:03 The commandments of God is the standard by which 49:05 will be we judge. 49:06 We are not going to be judged by race, class, creed, 49:09 educational status, financial ability, 49:12 possessions, where we live, where we don't live. 49:14 We will be judged. 49:16 The law of God is the standard by which 49:18 every one of us will be judged. 49:20 That's why the devil doesn't want us 49:22 to live in harmony with it. 49:24 Because if we violate it, we are guilty and we are 49:26 deserving of eternal death. 49:30 But he knows that if we keep it, by the indwelling Christ, 49:33 we, by His grace, will receive eternal life. 49:39 A wise man made it very clear. 49:41 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 49:45 As we wind up the topic tonight, notice the words. 50:04 Can it be any clearer? 50:07 So somebody says, "What's my whole responsibility?" 50:10 Keep the commandments of God. 50:13 For this is the whole duty of man. 50:17 Why? 50:35 That should cause you to kind of say, "You know what? 50:40 Since I can't hide it, I might as well call on the 50:43 grace of Jesus to deliver me from it." 50:48 There's nothing wrong with God's law. 50:50 What would the world be like if all of a sudden 50:53 all the air traffic controllers turned off their radar? 50:59 What would the world be like if they said to pilots, 51:01 "Fly wherever you want to." 51:04 What would the city be like if they got rid of the 51:07 stop signs, the street lights, the yellow lines? 51:12 It's kind of like being in India. 51:15 Didn't mean to say that, but. 51:17 I was in India. 51:18 You get to an intersection, it's like first come, first serve. 51:22 But in reality, what would the world be like? 51:24 If you think the stop lights are a hindrance, 51:27 let them stop working. 51:28 They're really go lights. 51:29 Because when they stop working, nobody can go. 51:32 When the commandments of God are no longer impacting 51:35 your life in a positive way, you're not going anywhere. 51:38 You're abiding in death. You're living in death. 51:41 You see, God wants us... 51:43 And why is the commandments so vitally important? 51:45 You know, one day we are going to live in a sinless society. 51:50 One day we're going to live where there's no more death, 51:52 no more pain, no more suffering, 51:54 no more heartache, no more funerals. 51:55 Come on, somebody say amen. 51:57 No more need for eye glasses, and contact lenses, 52:00 and hearing aids. 52:02 I'll be able to see Steph and she'll be able to see me. 52:06 Amen? 52:07 No more need for anything connected to this sinful world. 52:10 The reason why the world is filled with sin 52:13 is because from the very beginning 52:16 the devil who sinned in heaven brought his wares to the earth, 52:21 led Adam and Eve into sin, they passed on the worst seed 52:25 they could to us, we were born with a sinful nature. 52:28 But then came Jesus. 52:32 And He said, "You don't have to live like this. 52:36 This doesn't have to be the way your story ends." 52:39 He said it to me when I was in the clubs, 52:42 "This is not the way your story needs to end." 52:43 He said it to you. 52:46 He brought to you light in the midst of your darkness. 52:49 He said, "This is not the way your story needs to end." 52:52 Your story can have a beautiful ending. 52:55 And that's why I love this next passage so wonderfully. 52:58 Revelation 22:14. Let's say it together. 53:11 When we get into the New Jerusalem, 53:13 we don't have to worry about crime and violence. 53:15 Come on, somebody. 53:17 Don't have to worry about drug dealers to our right 53:19 or thieves to our left. 53:20 It's going to be a sinless, perfect, 53:23 law abiding environment. 53:29 So when you are in a place where the pastor says, 53:32 or leaders say you don't have to keep 53:33 the commandments of God, you need to say to them, 53:35 "I don't want to live in your neighborhood." 53:40 Like Pastor Doug talks about he talked with a pastor, 53:42 he said, "The commandments cannot be kept." 53:44 And he said to the pastor, "So which one are you breaking?" 53:51 Stephanie, come and sing to us tonight. 53:53 One day we're going to be in that eternal city. 53:55 Are you looking forward to that? 53:57 The only way we're going to get there 54:01 is if we love the Lord. 54:03 Come on, let's end with the passage we began. 54:05 He says, "If you..." What? 54:07 "...love Me, keep My commandments." 54:11 I cannot express to you how much... 54:13 Go ahead Dan. 54:15 I cannot express to you how much I love the Lord tonight. 54:19 How I was sinking in sin, and He found me. 54:24 And He called me out, gave me a new name, 54:27 and gave me the joy of proclaiming 54:29 that liberty to you tonight. 54:31 Stephanie, let's talk about that. 54:32 Sing about that liberty we find in Jesus. 54:37 All to Jesus I surrender, 54:44 all to Him I freely give. 54:51 I will ever love and trust Him, 54:58 in His presence daily live. 55:06 All to Jesus I surrender, 55:12 humbly at His feet I bow. 55:20 Worldly pleasures all forsaken; 55:26 take me, Jesus, take me now. 55:34 I surrender all. 55:41 I surrender all. 55:48 All to Thee my blessed Savior, 55:56 I surrender all. 56:02 Heavenly Father, we've come tonight to commit our lives 56:06 to You in a beautiful way, 56:08 to embrace the cross, 56:11 to know that we no longer have to live in guilt and shame, 56:16 and worry whether or not we will be ready 56:18 for Jesus when He comes. 56:20 So Lord Jesus, tonight we've come forward to say, 56:24 "Yes, Lord, I want to be in that glorious kingdom of grace." 56:31 And we stood tonight to recommit ourselves 56:33 to following as You lead us. 56:37 And so, Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your sacrifice, 56:41 for Your deliverance. 56:43 May we say, "All to Jesus I surrender." 56:50 May we hold nothing back, 56:53 for you held nothing back when You gave Your life for us. 56:57 So we thank You, we praise You, 57:00 and we give You the glory. 57:03 In Jesus' name we pray. 57:07 And all of God's people said, "Amen." |
Revised 2018-08-01