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Series Code: RAD
Program Code: RAD170005A
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00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty? 00:05 The book of Revelation provides hopeful answers for today, 00:09 tomorrow, and forever. 00:11 Join Mark Finley, author and world renowned speaker, 00:15 on a journey into the future with 00:21 Welcome again to Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. 00:24 I'm glad you've joined us. 00:26 We've been on a journey through the book of Revelation. 00:28 And this presentation focuses especially on Jesus 00:32 in the book of Revelation. 00:34 When many people think of Revelation, they think of 00:36 of cryptic symbols. 00:37 They think of strange beasts. 00:39 They think of prophetic images. 00:42 But yet Jesus is the center of the book of Revelation. 00:46 Now, of course, in this series we will discuss these various 00:50 prophetic symbols in their meaning. 00:51 They're vitally important. 00:53 But if you understand the prophetic symbols, 00:54 and you leave out Jesus, you've missed the heart of the book. 00:57 So let's pray together as we go into this presentation. 01:00 Father in Heaven, as we open the Word of God again, 01:03 as we look at the book of Revelation, come, be with us. 01:08 May this be more than an exercise to satisfy our 01:11 curiosity, but may it be a powerful life changing 01:15 presentation for each of us. 01:16 In Christ's name, Amen. 01:18 Our topic for this presentation is 01:25 You know, the world we live in is a world that is filled 01:29 with incredible stress. 01:31 People seem to be rushed, hurried, 01:34 stressed out much of the time. 01:36 And as the result of that, scores of people are 01:40 experiencing health problems. 01:42 Stress is one of the major causes of 01:44 coronary heart disease. 01:46 How much stress is too much? 01:48 The researchers at a large eastern University wanted to 01:53 find the answer to that question. 01:55 And so they took a lamb, and they put that lamb in a pen. 02:00 And in the lamb's feeding pen they put ten stations. 02:05 They hooked up an electrode to each one of these stations. 02:10 Now the researchers could observe what the lamb was doing, 02:15 and the lamb couldn't see out of the pen. 02:17 So the lamb would go over to one feeding station, 02:21 and the researchers would press a button, shock the lamb. 02:25 They wanted to find out how much stress this lamb could take. 02:29 Now what do you think happened when the lamb was shocked? 02:31 Of course, the lamb jumped and ran. 02:34 The researchers were surprised. 02:36 The lamb never went back to the feeding station 02:39 where it was shocked. 02:40 The researchers kept shocking that poor little lamb 02:45 at every feeding station. 02:47 And the lamb was shocked again and again. 02:50 Now the shocks weren't strong enough to kill the lamb, 02:53 just strong enough to stress out the lamb. 02:55 And the lamb would never go back to the feeding station 02:57 where it was shocked. 02:59 Feeding station 3, shock; feeding station 6, shock. 03:02 Pretty soon the lamb was shocked at every feeding station. 03:05 The lamb ran to the center of the pen and just began shaking, 03:09 and shaking, and shaking. 03:10 The lamb died of a heart attack, a nervous breakdown. 03:15 The amount of stress was just so great the lamb couldn't 03:20 take it any longer. 03:22 Then the researchers did something quite amazing. 03:26 They put that lamb's twin in the pen with its mother. 03:34 And as they did, the lamb went over to the feeding station, 03:39 that little lamb, and began to eat. 03:41 They shocked it. The lamb turned and looked to its mother, 03:46 ran over to its mother. 03:48 And the mother said something in the lamb's ear that they 03:52 were not sure of what that lamb language was all about. 03:57 And they wondered, What's going on here? 04:00 What's this little lamb going to do? 04:02 The lamb ran then to the next feeding station and ate. 04:07 They shocked it. Mother looked at lamb, lamb looked at mother. 04:11 The shock wasn't that bad. 04:12 The lamb went ba ba, mother lamb went ba ba, 04:16 and the lamb kept eating. 04:19 The researchers were amazed. 04:22 The presence of the mother in the pen made all the difference. 04:27 This little lamb had some place to run. 04:30 This little lamb had a place of security. 04:34 This little lamb had a place of refuge. 04:37 And the stressors did not bother the lamb any longer. 04:42 Is there a place that you can run in the 04:45 stresses of your life? 04:50 Who can carry our load? 04:53 In the book of Revelation, deeply within the heart of 04:57 Scripture, in the last book of the Bible, 05:00 Jesus Christ is the center theme. 05:03 He is the One that can bear our burdens. 05:05 He is the One that can lift the heavy load. 05:08 He is the One that can enable us to handle 05:11 the stressors of life. 05:12 Now remember, Revelation 1:1, our theme. 05:16 This book of Revelation is the Revelation of who everybody? 05:20 Who's it the revelation of? 05:21 That's right! We've mentioned it again, and again, and again. 05:24 It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 05:27 Throughout the book of Revelation, Jesus has very many 05:31 different names or titles. 05:33 Revelation 1:5, Jesus is the faithful witness. 05:37 He witnesses of the Father's love. 05:39 He witnesses of the Father's grace. 05:41 He witnesses of the Father's glory. 05:44 Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. 05:46 He was resurrected from the dead. 05:49 Christ came out of the tomb alive. 05:52 He lived, He died, He lives again. 05:55 The Bible says that Jesus is ruler over all 05:58 the kings of the earth. 06:00 This earth is not in the hands of human beings, 06:03 this earth is in the hands of God. 06:05 So titles of Christ; what are those titles? 06:07 Throughout the book of Revelation the faithful witness 06:10 of the Father's love, the firstborn from the dead, 06:14 the ruler over the kings of all the earth. 06:16 In Revelation 12:5 Jesus is the male child that's to rule 06:23 all nations with the rod of iron. 06:25 He is the One who has supreme authority. 06:29 In Revelation 12:5 He is the Child caught up to God 06:33 in the Father's throne; the resurrected Christ. 06:36 Throughout the book of Revelation Jesus 06:39 is front and center. 06:40 We see Him again and again. 06:43 In Revelation 14 Jesus is the One who comes to reap 06:47 the harvest of the earth. 06:49 In Revelation 14:14 the Bible puts it this way: 07:00 Here is Christ, the One who was here once, that walked the dusty 07:04 streets of the Galilee, the One that forgave and healed, 07:08 and delivered demoniacs. 07:10 That Jesus, He is the Son of man. 07:13 He's coming again, coming in the clouds of heaven, 07:16 coming in the imagery of Revelation to reap 07:19 the harvest of the earth. The text goes on. 07:26 What is this symbol of about Jesus? 07:29 It's about this Christ, this Christ who reigns over the 07:34 kings of the earth, this Christ who's triumphant over 07:37 the powers of hell. 07:38 What is this book of Revelation all about? 07:41 This Christ who comes one day triumphantly to reap the harvest 07:46 of the entire earth. 07:56 And you remember Revelation 19 says, He is the King of kings, 08:00 He is the Lord of lords. 08:02 You remember the great Hallelujah Chorus, Handel's 08:05 Messiah, King of kings, Lord of lords. 08:08 King of kings, Lord of lords. 08:10 That's who Jesus is in Revelation. 08:11 Throughout the book of Revelation Christ is mentioned 08:14 as the Lion, kingly authority, the Lamb, sacrifice. 08:19 There is no book in the Bible that has more symbolism of Jesus 08:23 than this book, the book of Revelation. 08:27 But the key symbol in Revelation 08:30 is the symbol of a lamb. 08:32 This symbol of a lamb is mentioned twenty-seven times. 08:37 Christ's kingly authority comes because He was the Lamb of God. 08:44 And so in this presentation, let's explore that 08:48 symbolism of a lamb. 08:50 What does this symbolism of a lamb mean to you? 08:53 What does this symbolism of a lamb mean to me? 08:56 And how does this symbolism of a lamb impact our lives today? 09:02 How does it change our lives? 09:12 John looks up into heaven and he sees this imagery of a lamb. 09:16 Revelation 5 talks about the fact that there's only One that 09:20 can provide salvation for the human race. 09:22 And the whole universe sings, Worthy, Worthy is the Lamb 09:26 that was slain to receive glory, and honor, and power. 09:38 Before sin ever began, when God gave to the human race the 09:44 capacity to choose, knowing that the human race can make 09:48 the wrong choice, God put into motion a plan that would deal 09:55 with the sin of Adam and Eve. 09:58 God's foreknowledge foresaw what would happen, yet He created the 10:03 human race with freedom of will. 10:04 And He provided a sacrifice, a One who would come, 10:09 the Lamb of God, to be sacrificed for the human race. 10:14 Revelation 12 talks about a dragon-like beast that 10:20 would attack the Lamb, and make war with the 10:22 followers of the Lamb. 10:24 But again the Lamb, Jesus Christ, is triumphant. 10:27 Again the Lamb, Jesus Christ, is conqueror. 10:30 Again the Lamb, Jesus Christ, defeats and crushes all evil. 10:36 The Bible says in Revelation 12:11, 10:48 What was it about the blood of the Lamb that enabled these 10:52 followers of Christ in the early centuries to be able 10:57 to be conquerors and triumphant? 10:59 How do we understand this expression, 11:02 the blood of the Lamb? 11:03 It's kind of foreign to modern 21st Century ears. 11:07 What does it mean? We're going to explore that, 11:11 and why this symbolism of a lamb is so significant. 11:15 Throughout the book of Revelation one thing that 11:19 kind of startles you is the Lamb and the dragon fight. 11:22 If the Lamb and dragon fight, who do you thinks' going to win? 11:25 Obviously the dragon. 11:29 Not so! The book of Revelation turns that on its head. 11:33 Revelation 17:14 says, These will make war with the Lamb. 11:38 It's talking about a great confederacy at end time. 11:41 And the Lamb will overcome them. 11:43 The Lamb overcomes all the powers of evil at the end. 11:46 There's something about the blood of the Lamb, 11:49 something about the blood of the Lamb that enables God's 11:53 plan to triumph over the principalities and powers 11:57 of hell in the Universe. Why? 12:06 So the Lamb triumph's over the dragon, and the Lamb becomes 12:10 King of Kings, and Lord of lords. 12:13 Now how can we understand, in 20th Century terms, 12:20 what this blood of the Lamb means? 12:22 We're going to go back throughout the Old Testament 12:25 and try to discover the significance of that. 12:28 Be prepared for some surprises, because tonight God's 12:31 going to speak to you. 12:32 In this presentation God's going to touch your heart. 12:35 In this presentation you're going to discover why this 12:39 imagery of the blood of the Lamb is so significant. 12:42 You will find forgiveness. 12:44 You'll find freedom from guilt. 12:46 You'll find a new power in your life. 12:49 And you will find that the greatest power in 12:51 the Universe is love. 12:53 And this whole imagery of the blood of the 12:55 Lamb speaks of love. 12:56 The love of a God that would not let you go. 12:59 The love of a God that will follow you wherever you go. 13:02 The love of God that will touch your life, and change your life, 13:06 and transform your life. 13:07 Satan has tried to dominate the Universe in the great 13:11 controversy between good and evil, by lies, 13:13 deception, and force. 13:15 Jesus dominates by one thing, and He dominates by love. 13:22 That's the significance of this symbolism. 13:25 Now you remember, God creates Adam and Eve. 13:27 He creates them perfect. 13:29 He creates them with no flaw. 13:32 He creates them in His own image, the Bible says. 13:35 And He creates Adam and Eve with the power of choice, 13:40 with the capacity to choose between good and evil. 13:45 Eve goes to the tree. 13:48 Satan says to her, Has God really said that you 13:51 can't eat of this tree? 13:53 When you eat of it you'll become as God's, knowing good and evil. 13:55 But controversy wages on earth. 13:57 That controversy that we studied about in Revelation that waged 14:00 in heaven, wages on earth. 14:02 Eve, and her husband Adam, are caught in a Titanic struggle. 14:06 They're caught with a choice: God said, You shall not eat. 14:12 Disobeying God. They partake of that fruit of the 14:16 tree of good and evil, and immediately evil, 14:20 and wickedness, and sin come into their bodies. 14:23 They're separated from God. 14:25 Does God push this planet out into space 14:29 and simply annihilate it, and let selfishness reign, 14:34 and let the entire human race be destroyed? 14:37 Does God simply swat and destroy evil, 14:40 like swatting a mosquito? 14:42 Does God simply destroy Adam and Eve and say, 14:45 Okay, you've sinned. 14:46 The wages of sin is death. 14:48 I'm going to start all over again? 14:49 God does not do that at all. 14:51 God develops a plan, a plan that would deal 14:55 with the sin problem, because sin develops a major problem. 15:01 And this is what the text says: The wages of sin... 15:03 Can you say it with me? 15:05 You may know the text. 15:11 Why is sin's wage death? 15:14 Because sin separates us from God. 15:18 God is the source of life. 15:20 So to be separated from God, is to be separated from the source 15:24 of life; therefore death ensues. 15:28 If you have an apple tree and you break a branch off 15:33 of the apple tree, the sap in the branch may cause the leaves 15:38 still to be green, and may cause the apples still to be 15:41 there on that branch. 15:42 But you come back a day later, 2 days later, 5 days later, 15:46 pretty soon you see that branch separated from the 15:48 tree, dying in decay. 15:50 Exact same thing with sin. 15:52 Sin separates us from the source of life. 15:56 Sin separates us from God, and death ensues in our bodies. 16:01 Now, how do you deal with the problem of death? 16:05 That's where the Lamb comes in. 16:13 Now the blood represents life. 16:17 When the life of Jesus is poured out on the cross, 16:21 His life atones for Adam's sin. 16:26 Down through the Old Testament the symbolism of a lamb, 16:31 and the symbolism of a dying lamb 16:34 represents the dying Christ. 16:37 Blood represents life. 16:39 The blood of the Lamb shed throughout the Old Testament, 16:43 represents the life of the sinner that must die, 16:47 not simply a physical death, but an eternal death, 16:51 because of sin, unless there's a substitute. 16:53 So throughout the Old Testament men and women who 16:58 sinned brought lambs. Why? 17:08 The dying Lamb represents the dying of Christ. 17:17 Now you say that's terrible! 17:18 That's terrible that all these sacrifices, 17:21 all this blood had to be shed. 17:23 It's terrible because the lamb didn't do anything. 17:26 It is terrible. Sin brings its consequences. 17:30 Sin brings death. But there's something more terrible 17:34 than the death of a lamb, and that's the death of 17:38 Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God. 17:41 Sin has its wages, and those wages are death. 17:46 And all of heaven was willing to pay that wage 17:50 for the human race. 17:52 So let's go to the Old Testament Sanctuary and see if we can 17:55 learn some lessons that apply to our lives 17:59 about this dying lamb. 18:01 Here's a man that gets in a big argument with his neighbor, 18:04 and the argument is over a land dispute. 18:07 And so the man begins yelling and screaming at his neighbor. 18:11 And as this man is yelling, as he's screaming at his neighbor, 18:15 he slaps his neighbor across the face. 18:18 That night, as this man goes back to his tent in ancient 18:22 Israel, he begins to think of what he's done. 18:24 He begins to think of his sin. 18:28 He kneels down before God, and he says, God, I've sinned. 18:33 My anger got the best of me! 18:35 I slapped my neighbor. 18:36 Not only must he go to his neighbor and ask for 18:39 forgiveness, but he has to bring a lamb. 18:43 And he brings a lamb here to the Sanctuary. 18:45 As he enters the Sanctuary with the lamb, 18:48 he's met by the priest. 18:50 He comes to that Sanctuary with his lamb, and he places his 18:56 hands over the head of the lamb. 18:58 Not simply over the head of the lamb, 19:01 but on the head of the lamb. 19:03 The full weight of that man's body 19:08 is on the head of that lamb. 19:09 And then this man must take the knife, 19:14 and he must come to that lamb. 19:17 As he's placing his hands on the head of the lamb, 19:21 as that lamb is against his knee, that man must take the 19:25 knife and he must slit the throat of the lamb. 19:28 As he confesses his sin over the head of the lamb, 19:32 the guilt of the sin is transferred from 19:35 the man to the lamb. 19:37 You say, The lamb didn't do anything. 19:39 The lamb didn't sin. 19:40 In fact the Bible says you bring a lamb without spot or blemish. 19:43 Now there were multiple offerings in the Sanctuary. 19:46 They could bring a bullock, they could bring a lamb, depending on 19:49 the sin, and depending on the nature of the individual. 19:53 You know, actually, very poor people at times 19:56 brought grain offerings. 19:58 There was a perpetual sacrifice, a blood offered for 20:02 them at the Sanctuary. 20:04 But the provisions of the Sanctuary for all humanity, 20:07 whoever you are you cam come. 20:09 Whoever you are you can find grace. 20:11 Whoever you are you can find mercy. 20:14 So the person has to slit the throat of the lamb 20:18 there at the altar in the court. 20:22 Once that lamb is slain in the court, part of the blood is 20:28 poured out at the basin of that altar of sacrifice. 20:33 But the priest took the blood into the Sanctuary 20:37 and sprinkled it before the veil, behind which was the 20:41 ark of the covenant, or the law of God. 20:44 Now notice how Leviticus puts it. 20:54 Now notice the last part of the text; very interesting. 21:02 So if it was a lie, he had to confess that. 21:05 If it was anger, he had to confess that. 21:08 If it was selfishness or greed, whatever that sin was. 21:12 So sin was very, very specifically confessed. 21:16 Too many times Christians get on their knees and say, 21:20 Oh Jesus, if I sinned today, please forgive me. 21:22 That kind of general confession, which is really not confession, 21:28 it's really self-justification; that general confession does not 21:33 bring the peace to the soul. 21:34 It does not bring joy to the heart. 21:37 It does not bring deliverance from guilt. 21:39 But when you and I get on our knees, and before God 21:43 barefacedly repent and say, God, today I was selfish. 21:46 God, today I was less than honest. 21:48 God today pride filled my heart. 21:51 Jesus, I know you are my Lamb. 21:54 That makes all the difference. 21:56 So the sinner must bring the Lamb. 21:59 He must take his knife... Notice what it says. 22:02 He shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord for his 22:05 sin, which he has committed. 22:06 Every lamb pointed forward to the coming of Christ, 22:11 the Divine Lamb of God. 22:13 Do you remember what John the Baptist said in John 1:29? 22:16 He saw Jesus coming and he said, Behold the Lamb of God, 22:19 which takes away the sin of the world. 22:21 Your sin can be taken away. 22:23 Your sin can be forgiven. 22:26 Provision through Christ has been made for that. 22:30 The Bible is very clear. 22:33 The Bible is very plain. 22:50 So the tabernacle of Christ in heaven was foreshadowed 22:55 with the earthly tabernacle. 22:57 You see, in the book of Hebrews you have three major themes. 23:00 1. Christ is better. 23:02 Christ is better, and His sacrifice is better than 23:05 earthly sacrifices. 23:06 2. The priesthood of Christ is better than the priesthood 23:09 of earthly priests. 23:11 3. The Sanctuary of Christ in heaven is better than 23:13 the earthly Sanctuary. 23:15 So all of Hebrews is about Christ is better. 23:17 But we see in the Old Testament clearly the outline of this plan 23:24 of salvation that would be manifest in Christ when He 23:28 came centuries later. 23:31 So the text says. And it goes on to say, 23:45 Jesus once for all, after His sacrifice on the cross, 23:51 ascended to heaven. 23:53 And He says, as we come seeking forgiveness, 23:58 as we come seeking grace, as we come seeking 24:02 freedom from guilt. 24:03 Jesus says, This man, this woman, is one of Mine. 24:06 He writes pardon after our name. 24:09 Why? Because His blood was shed. 24:11 It is not the blood of lambs, the blood of bulls, and goats 24:16 that provides forgiveness for sin. 24:18 That simply foreshadowed, that simply kept people focused, 24:23 if they knew or understand. 24:25 The Bible says in Hebrews 9:28... 24:28 Can you read it from the screen with me wherever you are? 24:30 maybe in your home, and maybe with friends. 24:32 Let's read it together. 24:37 Just like the sinner confessed their sin, the guilt is 24:42 transferred to the Lamb. 24:45 The Lamb dies, not in behalf of the sinner, but as a symbol 24:49 of Christ who would die in behalf of the sinner. 24:52 Now let me ask you this: Where was the sin before 24:58 the sinner confessed it? 24:59 Who had it? When the sinner is coming with the Lamb by his 25:03 side, to His Sanctuary, who has the sin? That's right! 25:08 The sinner has it. Is the sinner guilty? Certainly. 25:11 Is the sinner burdened with guilt? Definitely. 25:14 Now, once the sinner confesses the sin, and it's transferred 25:20 to the Lamb, who has it now? 25:22 You say, the Lamb! Right. 25:24 Isn't that why the Lamb had to die? 25:25 Because it was a transference of guilt from the man to the Lamb? 25:31 When the man walks away from the Sanctuary, 25:34 what kind of feelings do you think he has? 25:36 He's filled with joy! Why? 25:38 Because the sin is transferred to the Lamb. 25:41 The blood of the Lamb is shed. 25:43 That blood, with the record of that sin, 25:46 goes into the Sanctuary. 25:47 Who does not have the guilt now? 25:50 The man doesn't. He's, he's singing. 25:53 He's filled with praise! 25:54 He's been forgiven! 25:55 Let me ask you this question: Why are you still bearing guilt? 25:59 You confessed your sin to Jesus. 26:01 Why are you still carrying that load of guilt around? 26:04 Why do you still feel that emptiness in your soul? 26:07 If you have confessed your sin to Jesus, you no longer need 26:13 to carry that guilt. 26:14 That's what the blood of the Lamb is all about. 26:17 We confess our sin and that guilt is gone. 26:22 We don't have to bear that sin any longer. 26:25 Many people are on antidepressants, often because 26:31 they are so guilty because of what they've done. 26:34 Now I don't mean that's the only reason, 26:36 but it is one reason. 26:37 Guilty about their past, guilty about their failures, 26:40 guilty about the things they should have done. 26:42 There is a fountain filled with blood that's drawn 26:47 from Immanuel's veins. 26:49 And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all 26:54 their guilty stains. 26:56 Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. 26:58 Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 27:01 Amazing grace how sweet the sound, 27:03 that saved a wretch like me. 27:06 I once was lost, but now I'm found. 27:10 Once we come to Jesus that guilt in Christ is gone. 27:19 Once we come in our imagination with our Lamb to the Sanctuary, 27:26 and once we kneel and confess our sins at the foot of 27:31 Calvary's cross, the guilt is taken from us. 27:34 It is placed on our Savior and Lord, and our Redeemer. 27:39 We need not bear that guilt anymore. 27:42 We are free! We are free! 27:45 We are free in Jesus Christ! 27:48 That's good news for somebody tonight. 27:50 That's good news for somebody watching this program. 27:54 Tonight, this very moment that you're watching this program. 27:59 As I speak, in your mind you can say, Jesus, I'm sorry. 28:04 Jesus, I failed You. 28:06 Jesus, I let you down. 28:08 Jesus, I disappointed Your heart, but Your eternal love 28:13 would not let me go. 28:14 Your eternal love came and lived the perfect life 28:18 I should have lived, and died the death 28:21 that I should have died. 28:23 And, Lord, I come to You to receive that grace, 28:27 to receive that mercy. You see, 28:34 that One eternal sacrifice, the Lamb of God 28:39 that would die for our sins. 28:46 You know, there are many people that even when they're trying 28:49 to have reconciliation with another person, 28:52 they'll say something like this: You know, if I did anything 28:55 to hurt you, please forgive me. 28:57 Once you start with if, it's not a confession at all. 29:01 Well, if I've offended You, Oh God... 29:04 If, God, I sinned today, please forgive me. 29:07 Drop your if's. Get rid of the if's. 29:11 Simply come to God and acknowledge your guilt. 29:16 But somebody says, That would make me feel uncomfortable. 29:20 Bless your heart! Whether you feel uncomfortable 29:25 or not is not the issue. 29:26 You would feel more uncomfortable 29:28 if you don't confess. 29:29 You'd feel more guilty if you don't confess. 29:32 In barefaced repentance come to God. 29:35 Because, you know, you're never going to be 29:36 free from that guilt. 29:38 You're never going to be free from those condemning 29:40 voices in your brain unless you acknowledge that you failed, 29:44 unless you really clearly acknowledge your guilt. 29:46 And once you acknowledge that, once you acknowledge that, 29:50 then you can receive the gift of God, and eternal life in Christ. 29:53 Because, look, Romans 6:23. 29:55 Remember we read the first part of it earlier? It says: 30:06 You can never receive the gift unless you acknowledge the sin. 30:11 I was speaking in the Philippines, 30:15 way up outside of Legazpi City. 30:18 It was up in like a jungle area. 30:20 It was on an old dirt road. 30:22 And we put up a wooden table, and set up a lantern, 30:25 called the villagers, and they were sitting on the road. 30:27 And I was talking about Jesus, talking about 30:29 the gift of salvation. 30:31 And I really wanted them to understand 30:33 the gift of salvation. 30:35 And it seemed everything I was saying, they have this blank 30:38 look on their faces. 30:39 And I had something in my pocket. 30:41 I don't remember now whether it was a comb or a pen. 30:44 Let's say it was a pen, a real nice pen. 30:46 And I said, I need to offer this to them as a gift. 30:49 Maybe they'll understand the gift of salvation. 30:51 Took the pen out of my pocket. 30:53 A lot of little kids sitting there. 30:55 I said, Here's something for you. You want it? 30:57 Now they saw this big tall American coming, 30:59 and these little tiny Philippino children. 31:01 One boy got up, and I came to him and I said, 31:03 Do you want this? He was so shy he jumped up and ran 31:05 back into the jungle. 31:07 I went to another boy. 31:08 Hey, do you want this pen? 31:10 Jumped up and ran into the jungle. 31:11 Went up to another boy. 31:12 Do you want pen? He grabbed it out of my hand and ran. 31:14 And pretty soon the elders of the village said, Come back! 31:17 Come back! Come back! 31:18 So all the kids came back. 31:20 They gathered around me, and I said, Now, to the first boy. 31:21 Do you have the pen? 31:23 No, I don't have it sir. 31:24 I said to the next one, Do you have the pen? 31:26 No, I don't have it sir. 31:27 Said to the next one, Do you have the pen? 31:29 He kind of sheepishly pulls it out of his pocket 31:32 and said, I have the pen. 31:33 I said to the other two, Why does he have it and you don't? 31:36 They said, Well, because he took it. 31:39 I said, You can have it. 31:40 He can have that? It's a gift? 31:42 He can have it. Why don't you have it, boy? 31:45 I didn't take it. You can have the gift of salvation. 31:49 Reach out and take it. 31:51 Reach out and say, Jesus, I acknowledge my guilt. 31:54 Jesus' salvation is a gift. 31:56 It's not something I can earn. 31:57 Well, well, Pastor Mark, I'm going to become a Christian 32:01 and I'm going to go to church, and I'm going to pray, 32:03 and I'm going to be faithful in my offerings, and then can I 32:06 have the gift of salvation? 32:07 The Bible says, no, you can have it right now. 32:10 We do not do good works in order to be saved. 32:14 We do good works because we are saved. 32:17 We've come to Christ, and we've seen His love, and His grace, 32:21 and it has changed our lives. 32:30 The burden of guilt is gone. 32:32 We no longer are seized with that guilt that crushes out 32:36 the very joy of our life. 32:38 Look what Hebrews 9:14 says. 32:52 The Scripture is so plain. 32:56 If the blood of bulls and goats foreshadowed Christ, 33:01 when we meet the fulfillment, the One who all the shadows 33:06 of the Old Testament point forward to, we come to Him 33:10 and our life is changed. It says He can 33:18 Do you want your conscience cleaned? 33:21 There's many a man, and many a woman that would pay hundreds 33:26 of dollars to a counselor to get their conscience clean, 33:29 to get their head straight. 33:31 Jesus Christ can straighten out your head. 33:34 He can give you a clean conscience. 33:38 You can find in Christ the longing of your heart. 33:42 The guilt, the shame, the condemnation can be gone. 33:46 In this living Christ, Jesus can take away everything that 33:57 It is gone in Christ. 33:59 We no longer need to handle that. 34:02 This is the message of Scripture, and specifically the 34:04 message of the book of Revelation. 34:06 Twenty-seven times in the book of Revelation Jesus is 34:10 mentioned as the Lamb, the Lamb of God that takes away 34:13 our sin, the Lamb of God who reaches out in love to us, 34:17 the Lamb of God who forgives us, the blood of 34:20 Christ that changes us. 34:22 This Lamb that will triumph through love over the 34:25 principalities and powers of darkness. 34:27 This Lamb who will triumph through love over the 34:30 oppressive forces of evil. 34:31 This Lamb who will triumph through love over everything 34:35 that Satan throws at us. 34:37 The Lamb and the dragon fight. 34:41 There is only One who can take away our 34:42 shame, and that is Jesus. 34:46 One of the most amazing passages in all of Scripture. 34:51 For He, that is God, made Him, that was Christ, 34:55 who knew no sin... Did Jesus ever sin? Never! 35:07 Jesus became sin for us. 35:12 All of the guilt, all of the shame, all of the condemnation, 35:17 all of the horrible nature of sin was placed upon 35:21 Christ on the cross. 35:23 Now remember, the wages of sin is what everybody? 35:28 The wages of sin is death. 35:30 Is that physical death, or eternal death? 35:33 See, if the wages of sin is only physical death, 35:36 then you can live beyond eternally. 35:38 So the wages of sin must not only be physical death, 35:41 the consequence of sin is physical death, 35:44 but the ultimate wage of sin or the wages of sin, 35:47 that's eternal death. 35:49 That means you go into the grave and never, ever come out. 35:51 So when Christ hung on the cross, He bore the condemnation 35:56 of sin, and that's why when He cried out, My God, My God, 35:59 why has Thou forsaken Me? that the whole sin problem was 36:03 weighing on His back in the great controversy 36:05 between good and evil. 36:07 And although Jesus said, Destroy this body, and in three days 36:09 I'll raise it up again, when He hung on the cross He, 36:13 according to Hebrews 2:8 would taste death for every man, 36:16 He could not see Himself coming through the portals of the tomb. 36:20 That's why at the end of His life He made that statement 36:22 of faith: Father into Thy hands I commend My Spirit. 36:25 He had to trust God completely for the resurrection, 36:28 but all around Him was sin, and shame, and death. 36:31 And when Jesus hangs on that cross bearing the sins of 36:34 humanity, watch this point. 36:36 Don't miss this point. 36:37 Jesus Himself was willing, because of love to go into the 36:43 grave and never, ever, ever come out, if that was necessary 36:48 to pay the wages of sin for you and me. 36:51 It was like Jesus was saying this, I am willing to go into 36:55 the grave and be there for ever, and ever, and ever; 36:59 be separated from My Father for ever if that's what it takes 37:03 to save the human race. 37:05 There is nothing like this in any other religion in the world. 37:09 There's nothing like this in Hinduism. 37:11 There's nothing like this in Islam. 37:13 There's nothing like this in Shintuism. 37:15 There's nothing like this in Confucianism. 37:17 There is nothing like this in any religion of the 37:19 world except Christianity. 37:21 See, all religions say that human beings have failed, 37:26 and they need to get back to God. 37:28 And so most of them say you do that by good works, 37:31 you do that by performing works of charity, you do that by being 37:36 kind, but Christianity says that Christ came and He lived the 37:41 perfect life we should have lived. 37:42 He died the death on the cross, paying the 37:48 ransom price for our sin. 37:50 He died that death bearing all the guilt and shame of our sin. 37:54 He was willing to go into the grave, and be separated from 37:57 the Father forever and ever, if that's what it took to save 38:01 you and to save me. 38:02 The glory of the cross is the glory of a love that would 38:07 never, ever, ever let us go. 38:09 That's why Jesus cried out in 38:20 See, He could not see the Father's face. 38:23 He did not recognize the Father's love. 38:26 It was not that He had the feeling that His Father was 38:29 there embracing Him. 38:31 Sin was so evil, sin was so wicked, sin was so horrible 38:36 it was like Jesus' heart was ripped apart from the Father. 38:39 Why did He stay there? 38:41 It wasn't the physical pain, and the nails through His hands 38:45 that was excruciatingly agonizing. 38:48 It wasn't the crown of thorns upon His head. 38:50 It wasn't the horror, the physical crucifixion. 38:53 It wasn't the emotional sense of being betrayed. 38:56 It was the sense that His heart was ripped out from the Father. 39:00 Therefore He hung in love for you and me. 39:04 And all I can do is fall at His feet and worship Him. 39:09 All I can do is praise the Lamb that was slain from the 39:13 foundation of the world. 39:15 Because Jesus on that cross bore the corporate, consolidated 39:19 focused guilt of all humanity of every sin 39:24 that was ever committed. 39:25 He bore that shame, He bore the pain, the suffering, the death 39:29 of that sin that all humanity should have born in their own 39:34 bodies through eternal death. 39:36 Jesus bore that agony, and that's why Scripture says in 39:51 We are saved by grace through faith. 39:55 You can reach out and say, Jesus, Thank You so much! 39:58 Wouldn't it be a shame to turn our backs on that grace? 40:01 Wouldn't it be a shame to walk away from that love? 40:04 Wouldn't it be a shame to crucify Him again, and bring 40:08 pain to His heart by denying what He has done for us 40:13 on the cross of Calvary. 40:16 We can come and say, 40:29 That's the message of Revelation, 40:31 the message that you can come. The Bible says in 40:44 The life of the flesh is in the blood, and the shedding of His 40:47 blood speaks to us of love, a love that is so strong that He 40:53 would go for you into that grave, a love that reaches out 41:00 to you this very moment. 41:03 But somebody says, Pastor Mark, make it plain, make it simple. 41:08 I want to know tonight. 41:09 I want to know that I have eternal life 41:12 through Jesus Christ. 41:13 I want to know that my sins are forgiven. 41:15 I want to know that I am Christ's. 41:18 Can you make it plain? 41:19 Let me give you five simple steps to receive the gift of 41:23 salvation and eternal life. Here is the fact: 41:28 No matter what you feel about yourself, God doesn't feel 41:30 that way about you. 41:32 Jeremiah 31:3 says, I have loved you with an everlasting love. 41:35 First accept the fact that God loves you. 41:44 You've not turned on this presentation by accident. 41:47 You're not watching 3ABN by chance tonight. 41:50 God's love has drawn you here. 41:52 He loves you more than you ever know, and He loves you 41:55 more than you'll ever realize. 41:56 So, Fact 1., Step 1. of salvation, accept the fact 41:59 that God loves you. 42:05 All your good works are not going to save you, because one 42:07 sin is worthy of eternal death, and the wages of sin is death. 42:10 So all of us are sinners. 42:12 We are all on the same boat. 42:14 We all have a disease that's fatal. 42:16 But the Divine Physician has a cure. 42:19 Accept the fact that God loves you, and wants to save you. 42:32 What's the next word? 42:33 What is it everybody? 42:38 We cannot save ourself, but He can save us. 42:46 Now don't only believe Jesus can save you. 42:48 I've met a lot of people that are giving lectures all over 42:50 the world and they say, Oh, I believe Jesus can save me. 42:53 Do you believe He will save you? 42:54 There's a difference. 42:56 Grasp by faith that there's nothing more important to Christ 43:00 than your salvation. 43:01 Grasp by faith that Jesus is heaven's best gift given by the 43:07 Father to save you. 43:08 Accept by faith that God will send every angel is heaven 43:11 to beat back the powers of hell in your life if you'll let Him. 43:15 Accept by faith that God will fill your life with His 43:18 Holy Spirit, reveal to you through His Word His love. 43:21 Believe that not only Jesus can, but Jesus will save you. 43:26 For God... If you know it, wherever you 43:29 are, say it with me. 43:41 Now notice what the text says. 43:43 God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. 43:46 God gave because He wanted to redeem. 43:49 That whoever... the Bible does not say a rich man a poor man, 43:52 it says, whoever believes in Him. 43:58 Once we come to Christ, and know that He desires to save 44:03 us, come confess it. 44:05 Scripture says, If we confess our sins, 44:08 He is faithful and just... To do what? 44:14 If we do the confessing, He will do the forgiving. 44:19 So come, come with your Lamb, Jesus. 44:22 Believe that God loves you. 44:24 Accept the fact that you're a sinner, and without Him 44:27 you can't be saved. 44:29 Believe that not only does He want to save you, 44:33 but believe He will save you. 44:35 Come confessing, and as you confess, 44:44 See, once we confess our sins, the Living Christ enters our 44:48 life and, you know, once we confess our sins we then 44:52 can serve Him forever. 44:54 Let me introduce you to this Christ. 44:56 Let me introduce you to some people who've met this Christ. 45:00 Come with me on a journey, and meet a woman cast 45:03 at His feet in adultery. 45:05 Let her give the testimony to you this day. 45:09 What does she say, with a brightness in her eyes? 45:12 Now she's no longer condemned, she is forgiven. 45:16 Jesus, can You forgive sin? 45:18 Mary says, Yes, I was caught in adultery; in the very act. 45:22 But I came to Jesus. 45:24 Come, meet this Christ who touches the eyes of the blind, 45:27 that are open, and they receive new life in Christ. 45:30 Listen to the testimony of men and women 45:32 throughout the New Testament. 45:34 Look at the boys and girls that sit on His lap, and find in Him 45:37 such acceptance, such grace, such mercy, such love. 45:42 Come with me when He breaks the bread on the mountainside, 45:46 and the hillside of the Galilee, and look at 5,000 people 45:50 whose physical needs are met. 45:52 But not only that, they accept Him as the bread of life, 45:55 and they want to make Him king. 45:57 Come and meet this Jesus. 45:59 He walks through the valleys of Galilee. 46:03 He walks the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem. 46:06 He forgives, He changes, He heals, He transforms. 46:09 This is the Christ of the book of Revelation. 46:13 Come meet this Christ when the crowds gather around Him, 46:17 and sing Hosanna, Hosanna to His name! 46:20 Come meet this Christ. 46:22 He is not some mythical figure like King Arthur 46:26 and the Knights of the Round Table. 46:28 He is the living Christ. 46:30 He walked and talked, and lived and breathed, He healed 46:34 and forgave, and empowered, and delivered demoniacs. 46:37 He is the Lamb of God! 46:39 Come meet this Christ as He gives a woman back her son 46:44 again; He cares, He loves. 46:45 You say, What's God like? 46:47 Look at Jesus. Look at Jesus in the New Testament and see this 46:51 Christ walking among men and women, 46:53 and transforming their lives. 46:55 Look at this Christ. 46:57 Watch Him as a crown of thorns is jammed upon His head. 47:00 Look at the blood running down His face. 47:02 Why does He suffer the agony? 47:04 Watch with me as the Divine Son of God is beaten, 47:09 is whipped, is flagellated. 47:12 Watch the blood running down His back. 47:14 Why does He go through that? 47:16 The One worshipped by all the angels, the One at whose very 47:20 name angels sang praise, and praise, and praise, 47:24 the One that's existed with the Father from all eternity. 47:26 Why does He suffer so? 47:28 Come with me as they stretch out His hands, 47:32 and nail Him to a cross. 47:34 Watch as strong armed Roman soldiers drive those nails 47:40 through His hands and feet. 47:41 Why does He suffer so? 47:43 Come with me, come with me to that cross and see Him 47:49 hanging there baring the sins of all humanity. 47:53 Why is He doing it? 47:55 Because you are too precious, because you are too valuable, 48:01 because He does not want to live in heaven without you. 48:04 Heaven's not worth it for Him if you're not there. 48:09 And so He hangs there baring all the sin of humanity. 48:14 He hangs there on that cross. 48:17 For God so loved the world that... What did He do? 48:20 He gave. What did He give? 48:22 His only begotten Son. 48:24 That whoever... Whoever means you, whoever means me. 48:29 Whoever believes in Him should not perish, 48:33 but have everlasting life. 48:35 Come with me for a moment to the very heart of Africa. 48:40 I traveled to Rwanda shortly after the genocide. 48:47 Thousands of people were killed in a very short period time; 48:52 in about six months of time actually. 48:55 My host, Brother Amon Rutalinga, shared with me 49:02 the story that during the genocide his wife, children, 49:06 and grand children were killed. 49:08 It was a terrible battle between the Hutus and the Tutsis. 49:13 And people were slain simply because they were part of 49:17 one particular tribe. 49:20 It was a horrible time for the nation. 49:23 Bodies were stacked up in the streets. 49:25 Dogs ate them. Bodies were thrown in the river, 49:27 blood stained rivers. 49:29 As I talked to Brother Rutalinga he said to me, 49:33 I want you to meet a woman. 49:35 And when you meet that woman, it will change your life. 49:39 Her name is Mrs. Selfoo. 49:41 We got in a little pickup truck and drove out over dirt roads. 49:46 We drove out to a little African village. 49:49 Pastor Rutalinga gave me the background of her story. 49:55 She was with her husband when he was murdered. 49:58 The killers were coming, slaying Tutsis in each village. 50:03 And as they came through those villages, one person, 50:06 another person, another person, another person was slain. 50:11 The blood was flowing in the streets. 50:14 The villagers were killed, died. 50:18 Mrs. Selfoo and her husband, who happened to be a 50:21 Seventh-day Adventist pastor, fled with a number of other 50:23 people, about sixty of them, into a church. 50:27 They thought that if they were in that church 50:29 it might be a sanctuary. 50:30 It might be a place where they could hide. 50:33 They were in the church. 50:35 The killers came in. 50:37 They began to kill people left and right. 50:40 People were screaming. 50:41 Some were trying to get away. 50:43 Mrs. Selfoo was holding the hand of her husband. 50:45 And as she did the killer came over with a machete, 50:48 struck her husband in the head, split his head open. 50:52 Blood was everywhere, spilling over Mrs. Selfoo. 50:55 Her husband died instantly in her arms. 50:57 Then the killer took his machete, a young man about 51:00 twenty-one, and hit her in the head, split her head, 51:03 hit her in the arm, split her arm. 51:06 And as she fell over he thought she was dead. 51:11 Her body lay among the dead bodies for three days. 51:14 After those three days villagers came to bury 51:22 the townspeople that had died. 51:25 And as they were burying them somebody took her pulse 51:27 and said, This, this woman is still alive! 51:29 This woman is still alive! 51:31 They took her to the hospital and nursed her, 51:35 for three months, back to health. 51:38 When she was well, she began thinking, I can be a bitter, 51:45 angry old woman, or, or, I can accept the fact that Jesus 51:52 Christ has saved me, that Jesus Christ has forgiven me, 51:56 that His grace is mine. 51:58 I can reach out to others. 52:00 She began going to the prison. 52:02 She began ministering to the prisoners, the killers. 52:05 Because by now the genocide was over. 52:08 There were seventeen prisons, or thereabouts, built. 52:11 A 180,000 prisoners were placed in that prison, those prisons, 52:17 those many prisons. 52:19 They were killers, murderers. 52:21 She began ministering to them. 52:22 One day in that prison she met the man that had 52:27 killed her husband. 52:28 The man that put that terrible scar on her head. 52:30 She reached out in grace to him. 52:32 He found forgiveness. He found Christ. 52:35 Finally he was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, 52:38 and the Holy Spirit. 52:40 And then she said to me as I talked to her that day, 52:42 Do you want to meet him? 52:43 Because he was let out of prison. 52:46 And, Pastor Mark, he's accepted God's grace, 52:49 and I've adopted him as my son. 52:53 He accepted the invitation of Revelation 22:17. 52:57 The Spirit and the bride say come, and let him 53:00 who hears say come. 53:01 And whoever thirsts let him take of the water of life freely. 53:06 Whoever you are, you can receive God's grace. 53:11 Whoever you are, looking for purpose and meaning, 53:15 you can say, I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. 53:21 I'd rather have Him than riches untold. 53:26 He speaks to you of His love and grace right now. 53:29 Why not bow your head and accept Him as Celestine sings? 53:39 I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. 53:48 I'd rather be His than have riches untold. 53:57 I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. 54:06 I'd rather be led by His nail pierced hands. 54:16 Than to be the king of a vast domain, 54:25 and be held in sin's dread sway. 54:35 I'd rather have Jesus than anything this 54:45 world affords today. 54:58 I'd rather have Jesus than man's applause. 55:07 I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause. 55:15 I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame. 55:24 I'd rather be true to His Holy name, 55:33 than to be the king of a vast domain, 55:42 and be held in sin's dread sway. 55:52 I'd rather have Jesus than anything this 56:02 world affords today. 56:14 I'd rather have Jesus. 56:24 Is that your desire? 56:26 An African woman reached out to a young man that 56:35 killed her own husband. 56:36 She reached out in love, and in grace, 56:41 and in forgiveness and mercy. 56:45 And she adopted that young man as her son. 56:49 Jesus reaches out to you right now. 56:52 Whatever you have done, His love embraces you. 56:57 You can come asking Him for forgiveness. 57:00 You can come asking Him for grace. 57:03 You can come asking Him for mercy. 57:06 You can come and be a new man, or a new woman 57:08 right now as we pray. 57:10 Father in Heaven, we come opening our hearts 57:15 to the love of Christ. 57:17 We come accepting His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, 57:22 His power in the name of Jesus, Amen. 57:26 Thank you for joining us for Revelation's 57:29 Ancient Discoveries. |
Revised 2018-03-08