Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: RJC
Program Code: RJC000029
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00:19 Good evening and welcome to
00:22 a continued study of the book of Revelation: 00:24 The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:27 We're very happy to welcome each of you. 00:30 Those of you that are joining us by television 00:33 we welcome you. If you're listening by radio, 00:36 we welcome you and those that are tuning in or - 00:40 how should I say? - patching in on the Internet, 00:44 we welcome you also and we appreciate you being here. 00:48 Well, we have come down to the last chapter 00:52 of the book of Revelation... 00:54 and the closing chapter. 00:56 And I hope that our journey through the book of Revelation 01:00 has been helpful to you and maybe given you some 01:04 insights into the book of Revelation. 01:07 And I hope above anything else 01:09 it has created in you a desire to be in God's kingdom. 01:14 Because He's done everything that's necessary 01:17 for you to be there. 01:19 There's not anything that is required 01:23 that Christ hasn't done for you 01:25 so that you can be in His kingdom. 01:27 And we're very glad that you've been here 01:30 and have been able to go through this time with us. 01:33 Tonight our subject is The Victory is Won. 01:39 We've come to the end and 01:45 the beast, the false prophet, the dragon: 01:49 all Babylon has been done away with. 01:53 She is not more, and God has come and set up His kingdom. 01:58 And so that's what we're looking at: The Victory is Won. 02:02 Christ is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, 02:06 and He is ruling over and above it all. 02:11 And so we are thankful for the hope, 02:14 assurance - great assurance - that we have 02:17 in Jesus Christ that soon... real soon... 02:22 He's going to be coming back 02:25 and that you and I can have the privilege of being 02:28 in His kingdom. 02:30 We've been blessed having the His Voice quartet with us. 02:35 And I've enjoyed them being here very much. 02:40 One of the quartet members, Todd Spainhower, 02:44 was able to bring his wife, Tracy, along. 02:47 And we're just very happy that she's here. 02:50 Thank you for coming, Tracy. Appreciate that. 02:55 And they're going to sing for you tonight 02:59 and I'm sure you'll be blessed as they sing a 03:04 song called The Great Gettin' Up Morning. 03:07 And so I'm sure that you'll enjoy that very much. 03:11 Chuck Allgaier who has read the scripture for us 03:14 night after night is going to come and read 03:17 Revelation 22 verses 6 through 21. 03:22 And so we hope it will help you to take the admonition 03:27 God has. God bless you. 03:31 Good evening. 03:33 Again tonight if you have your Bibles 03:36 last time, please take them and turn them to the 03:39 book of Revelation chapter 22 03:41 and we want to read that together tonight. 03:43 So if you have your Bibles with you, 03:45 turn to the book of Revelation chapter 22 03:48 and let's read together: 06:29 In that great gettin' up mornin' 06:32 fare you well, fare you well. 06:36 I'm gonna tell you 'bout the coming of the Savior, 06:38 fare you well, fare you well. 06:41 I'm gonna tell you 'bout the coming of the Savior, 06:43 fare you well, fare you well. 06:46 There's a better day a-comin', 06:48 fare you well, fare you well. 06:51 Then you'll see my Jesus comin', 06:53 fare you well, fare you well. 06:56 In that great gettin' up mornin' 06:59 fare you well, fare you well. 07:01 In that great gettin' up mornin' 07:04 fare you well, fare you well. 07:06 Fare you well. 07:09 "Come and blow your trumpet, Gabriel, " 07:11 fare you well, fare you well. 07:14 "Tell the people come to judgment, " 07:17 fare you well, fare you well. 07:19 "Lord, how loud shall I blow it? " 07:22 Fare you well, fare you well. 07:25 "Loud as thunder... peals of thunder" 07:27 fare you well, fare you well. 07:30 In that great gettin' up mornin' 07:33 fare you well, fare you well. 07:36 In that great gettin' up mornin' 07:38 fare you well, fare you well. 07:41 Fare you well. 07:46 Then you see the world 07:50 on fire, 07:54 fare you well, 07:58 fare you well. 08:05 See the smoke a-risin' 08:10 higher, 08:15 fare you well, 08:19 fare you well. 08:27 See the elements a-meltin' 08:31 fare you well, fare you well. 08:34 And you hear the rumblin' thunder, 08:37 fare you well, fare you well. 08:40 In that great gettin' up mornin' 08:42 fare you well, fare you well. 08:45 In that great gettin' up mornin' 08:48 fare you well, fare you well. 08:50 Fare you well. 08:53 Now you raise your eye to heaven 08:55 fare you well, fare you well. 08:58 And you see the Christians risin' 09:01 fare you well, fare you well. 09:04 Then you see the righteous marchin' 09:06 fare you well, fare you well. 09:09 They are marchin' home to heaven, 09:12 fare you well, fare you well. 09:14 In that great gettin' up mornin' 09:17 fare you well, fare you well. 09:20 In that great gettin' up mornin' 09:22 fare you well, fare you well. 09:25 Fare you well, fare you well. 09:30 Fare you well. 09:36 Amen! 09:55 Heavenly Father, we come to You this evening 09:58 first, Lord, just opening our hearts to You. 10:04 Thanking you... thanking you for Your Word 10:08 that gives us guidance and direction for our lives. 10:13 Thank you, Lord, for the promises. 10:16 The promise that You're coming back 10:19 and that each of us can have a place in Your kingdom. 10:24 We pray for Your blessing tonight. 10:27 We ask that the Holy Spirit may come into this place. 10:33 That our hearts may be open and receptive to Your Word 10:38 and that we will purpose to follow You, to walk with You. 10:44 To prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord... 10:49 for this we look forward to anxiously. 10:52 In Christ's name, Amen. 11:00 Well the last chapter of the book of Revelation 11:04 has a lot of admonition about 11:09 the book of Revelation. 11:11 And that's... you'll find much in this chapter 11:14 is admonition that God has given to you and me 11:18 concerning how we are to relate to the book of Revelation. 11:22 That's really what's in this chapter, 11:24 and we're going to take a look at what the Lord has to say 11:28 about how we are to relate to it. 11:36 What words? 11:37 Well the words of Revelation... all that He's written here. 11:41 These words are faithful and true. 11:44 These are things that you can build your faith on 11:47 that it won't fail. 11:49 That it's there; it's solid; it's true 11:51 so we can believe it... we can follow it. 11:53 They're faithful and true. 12:05 Now he's reaching back clear to the first part 12:08 of the book of Revelation where he talked about that 12:11 and said that what he was showing were things 12:13 that were going to take place shortly. 12:16 Now he's ending the book and says "I've shown you 12:18 these things that are to take place shortly. " 12:22 So those who are seeing - 12:26 follow me - those that are seeing 12:28 these prophecies that he gave in the book of Revelation 12:33 those that are seeing those prophecies fulfilled 12:36 know that the Lord is coming shortly. 12:40 OK. The thing about it, folks, 12:42 is you're the ones that are seeing it. 12:44 Therefore the promise that the Lord will come 12:48 applies to you and to me 12:51 in a very, very strong and definite way. 12:54 OK. 13:02 Started out the book of Revelation, 13:05 and it started out by saying: 13:07 "Blessed is he that reads and he that hears 13:12 and he that keeps the words of this prophecy. " 13:16 He now ends the book by saying 13:20 "Blessed is the person that reads these prophecies. " 13:24 So dear friend, if you want to receive a blessing 13:27 study the book of Revelation 13:30 'cause there's a blessing that God pronounces upon it 13:33 to that person who reads and understands the book 13:36 of Revelation. And you and I 13:39 need to make it very, very clear in our lives 13:45 what is happening, what's taking place, 13:47 and what's going to happen. 13:49 Unfortunately, this is not the case. 13:55 Unfortunately, very, very few people 14:00 know anything about the book of Revelation. 14:05 If you were to go out here and stop the first 10 people 14:10 on the street and ask them about Revelation, 14:14 they can tell you nothing about it. 14:17 There is almost nothing said about it. 14:20 To most people the book of Revelation is a closed book. 14:25 They... I've talked to lots and lots of people. 14:27 They say: "Well I just don't understand it. " 14:30 "I just don't know what it's talking about. " 14:33 Well, I can understand that 14:37 but I will say this: "There is no reason for that 14:41 'cause God promises that He will bless you if you read it. 14:46 That He will help you understand it. " 14:49 But you find that there are many, many, many, folks, 14:54 false beliefs about the book of Revelation. 14:58 There's lots of things that are taught 15:01 that are absolutely false 15:05 concerning the book of Revelation. 15:07 And you and I cannot afford to not read it 15:12 and understand what it's saying 15:14 for our own sake to know what is truth 15:17 so that we can follow it. 15:19 Other people are told "It's simply not important. 15:23 Not important whether you understand it or whether you 15:26 don't. " Yes it is! 15:28 It's vital that you understand it 15:31 in this day and this age. 15:34 Where are we? 15:39 Those of us that have come this far in time: 15:43 where are we in the book of Revelation? 15:47 Well, to begin with we can see, 15:51 folks, we can see clearly the image to the beast 15:56 is being formed. All you've got to do is read the newspaper, 16:00 watch the television, read magazines, 16:03 and you can see that the image to the beast is in the process 16:08 of being set up... being formed. 16:10 So we know what that is and we know what is going on there. 16:15 We don't have to be in darkness. 16:17 We don't have to be in doubt. 16:19 We know exactly what's happening there. 16:21 Secondly, we can see Paganism, 16:26 apostate Protestantism, Catholicism 16:29 we can see that all coming closer and closer together. 16:34 Pick up the newspaper and read it 16:37 and we see where they're opening up and accepting 16:42 beliefs that are absolutely contrary to scripture. 16:47 And so Paganism and Protestantism 16:51 and Catholicism are coming together, joining hands. 16:55 We see that happening today. 16:59 So where are we? Well, we are living... 17:03 we are living in the time of the 17th and 18th chapters 17:09 of Revelation. If you want to know where we are, 17:12 that's where we are: the time of the scarlet beast. 17:16 We're living at the time in which this is all being set up, 17:20 where the 10 kings are being formed. 17:23 That's where we're living, folks. 17:26 That's the time that we're in. 17:28 So what I'm trying to tell you 17:30 is we're not in the first part of the book of Revelation. 17:33 We're in the latter part of the book of Revelation. 17:36 Very last part... it's running out! 17:39 In fact, after the 17th and 18th chapters 17:43 when you go to 19 and 20 you have the marriage supper 17:46 of the Lamb and the millennium. 17:49 That's what's next: 17:51 the marriage supper of the Lamb and the millennium. 17:54 So we're right there. And then after, of course, that 17:57 you come to what we're talking about tonight: 17:59 Revelation 21 and 22 18:02 which talks about the new heaven and the new earth. 18:06 So I don't know if you sense 18:11 or if you understand where you are 18:15 and the time in which you're living. 18:18 But I would say to you 18:21 that over and above anything else 18:27 you need to prepare to be in God's kingdom. 18:33 You need to get ready because I believe the time 18:38 is short; you don't have a lot of time left. 18:50 "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book. " 18:56 Don't close it up. 18:59 Well, let me tell you: 19:03 through the preaching of such men as Luther, 19:07 Knox, Zwingli, Calvin 19:13 and all these reformers 19:15 if you go back and read them, you'll find that they were 19:19 perfectly clear on the prophecies 19:23 as best as they could understand them in those days. 19:26 But they understood what was happening. 19:29 They understood much of what was being said 19:33 for their day and their age. 19:36 And they pointed their finger clearly at Catholicism 19:41 and said that it was not doing what God wanted them to do 19:45 and they needed to change their ways. 19:48 Let me tell you something: Luther, Knox, Zwingli, 19:51 Calvin... all those men... they were trying to get 19:55 Catholicism to change the way it was. 20:01 They were trying to get them to come back to 20:04 the Word of God and to build their faith on the Word of God. 20:08 This was what they were endeavoring to do. 20:11 They were not trying, folks, to move away from the church. 20:16 They were trying to bring about a revival 20:19 within the church. 20:21 They were trying to bring them back to God's Word. 20:24 But they rejected it. 20:27 They would not have anything to do with it. 20:30 They would not take their advice. 20:32 They would not look at what those men had to say 20:35 and so a schism or a breakaway took place. 20:42 And we find that Luther and Knox and Zwingli 20:47 and those men began to preach the Word of God. 20:50 They preached the prophecies in the book of Revelation. 20:57 And they pointed clearly and said: "That's the beast. " 21:03 And out of their preaching, thousands - 21:08 thousands upon thousands - left Catholicism 21:14 and came into that of the Reformation. 21:18 In fact, under Calvin alone 21:22 500,000 Frenchmen accepted the Reformation 21:28 by the preaching of God's Word and preaching the prophecies 21:33 in the book of Revelation. 21:35 It shook... it shook the Catholic church 21:41 to the very foundation. 21:44 So much so that they called... 21:49 they called what was known as the Council of Trent. 21:54 And in the Council of Trent, 21:57 that Council basically trying to establish 22:02 two things: whether they should build their belief 22:06 on the Word of God or whether they should 22:09 build their belief on the Word of God and tradition. 22:14 The pope called in two men: 22:19 one by the name of Ribera and one by the name of Alcazar - 22:24 two priests - and told them "Whatever you have to do, 22:29 do... to get the finger off of us. " 22:33 Those two priests developed two different concepts of 22:37 prophecy. One developed a concept of prophecy 22:43 called the Praeterist view which takes all the prophecies 22:47 in the book of Revelation and puts them in the past 22:51 and says: "They've all been fulfilled and they have no 22:54 reference to you and I at all. " 22:57 That never did catch on very much. 23:00 But another one developed a concept called Futurism 23:05 in which it took all the prophecies 23:09 from the 4th chapter of Revelation on 23:13 and said: "Those are all in the future. " 23:16 So you have the concept of Futurism coming in. 23:21 And follow me carefully now: 23:25 Everything from the 1st chapter 23:29 through the 3rd chapter had to do with the seven churches: 23:33 the seven churches of Asia. 23:36 And so they apply that as it is. 23:40 But when they get to the 4th chapter, they say all that 23:44 has to do with the future and takes place after 23:49 the coming of Jesus Christ. 23:51 Therefore, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ 23:56 we don't have to be concerned with it 23:58 because it doesn't take place while we're here. 24:02 This only takes place after the rapture. 24:05 And I don't know if you're understanding what I'm trying 24:08 to tell you tonight. I'm trying to tell you 24:10 they closed the book. 24:13 There's no interest in it. 24:15 Why should I read it if it has nothing to do with me? 24:19 And so you find today that churches 24:22 all across this country and around the world 24:26 don't know anything about the book of Revelation. 24:28 And they don't know anything about it because they have 24:32 been taught the Futurist concept. 24:34 They've been told that all that takes place 24:37 after the rapture. That you're not here during that time... 24:40 therefore it doesn't have anything to do with you. 24:44 And they have taken that very verse 24:47 where Christ said: "Be careful, 24:50 don't seal the words of the prophecy of this book" 24:53 and they have sealed it so that people do not understand it. 24:58 And that's what they're faced with today. 25:13 Here the angel has appeared to him. 25:16 He's showed him all these things. 25:19 Listen: there's something that takes place here 25:21 that's very vital because it says: 25:37 Now folks, if you take the book of Revelation 25:41 and you start through it, 25:44 the central theme all the way through the book of Revelation 25:50 is worship. That's the central theme 25:55 all the way through is that of worship. 25:59 And when it comes down to the very end 26:02 in which... the time you're living and I, 26:05 it's a matter of worship 26:07 and it will be that all the way through to the end. 26:11 The dragon, the false prophet, the beast... 26:18 you know what they want? 26:23 They want worship... that's what they want. 26:26 That's what the scripture says. 26:36 That is what they want is worship. 26:40 And worship belongs only to God. 26:45 Only to Jesus Christ. 26:47 Therefore I must give to Him 26:51 my allegiance. I must give to Him my adoration. 26:56 I must give to Him my praise. 26:59 I must give to Him my worship because it belongs to Him. 27:04 No one else. 27:06 But they're saying: "No, worship the dragon. 27:11 Worship the beast; do what he says. " 27:24 I should worship only Jesus Christ. 27:29 I hope... I hope that you take time 27:36 each day to worship the Lord. 27:41 Just take time 27:44 to offer to Him your praise, 27:49 your thanksgiving, your adoration. 27:54 Up to this point in the book of Revelation 27:57 John has been talking. 28:00 All of a sudden something at this point happens. 28:04 John has been writing different things but now 28:08 all of a sudden Jesus steps to the front. 28:12 And the rest of the 22nd chapter of Revelation 28:17 are Christ's words. 28:20 All before John wrote them down, recorded them, put it there. 28:24 But now as we're down to the end 28:27 Christ steps up and these are His words 28:31 to you and to me. 28:55 In other words, it's simply saying that it's over. 29:01 All come down. 29:13 Down to the end. 29:18 No change. As I said to you earlier, 29:21 you're not going to develop character 29:27 after Christ comes. 29:30 Your character will have been set and settled. 29:36 Going to be taken care of before Christ comes. 29:41 So when He says: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; 29:45 he that is holy, let him be holy still, " 29:47 every case is settled and decided. 30:00 Christ is trying to assure you and me 30:07 that He is the beginning - 30:09 and He was the beginning of the book of Revelation - 30:11 and He is the end of the book of Revelation. 30:14 He is the beginning and the end 30:18 of the book of Revelation. The Alpha and the Omega 30:23 unto the end... to the very last. 30:36 No more. There is not any more, folks... 30:41 The door of mercy... How thankful I am 30:44 the door of mercy tonight is open. 30:47 But it's not going to continue to be open. 30:51 It's going to close. 30:55 And when it closes, it's going to close for all mankind. 31:09 You cannot... you cannot add anything to it. 31:15 You can't put something there. When it comes to salvation, 31:20 salvation is something that Jesus Christ has done for you 31:25 and me. And He gives it to us totally free. 31:30 All we can do is accept it. 31:32 Clear? 31:34 OK, but... 31:43 Salvation is a free gift. I simply accept it. 31:47 But when it comes to the judgment, 31:49 you and I will be judged by our works. 31:53 And our works should simply be 31:58 the results of a relationship with Jesus Christ. 32:02 That's what our works should be. 32:05 But we will be judged by them 32:08 because that is an indication of where we are 32:13 and what we believe. 32:26 Let me tell you something: 32:27 the commandments are the dividing line. 32:31 Follow me. 32:34 The commandments are the dividing line. 32:38 When it says: "Blessed are they that do His commandments 32:42 that they may have right to the Tree of Life, " 32:44 there's a reason for that, 32:46 because it says: 32:59 All that is outside there. 33:02 So we find that this is the situation: 33:07 there are two camps. 33:09 Are you clear? Two camps. 33:12 One: those who keep God's commandments... 33:16 and those that don't. 33:19 That simple, folks. 33:21 Those that keep His commandments 33:23 and those that do not keep His commandments. 33:31 You can cut it, you can slice it any way you want to, 33:36 but when it comes down to it 33:38 it's those that keep God's commandments because worship 33:43 is shown by obedience. 33:49 I cannot say: "Well, I love You, Lord, " 33:53 but I'm not going to do what You tell me. " 33:58 See, worship is shown by obedience. 34:03 If I love the Lord, then I'm going to obey Him. 34:07 And so when it comes to it, God says: 34:10 "Here are My people; these are the people that 34:13 have served the Lord, walked with Him and followed Him. " 34:15 These are His people. 34:20 All right. 34:36 This... when He says He is 34:41 the "root and the offspring of David, " 34:45 that's rather strange, isn't it? 34:47 Huh? How can He be the root 34:50 and the offspring? Two different things. 34:54 Huh? 34:57 By the way, He asked the Pharisees that 35:00 and that messed them up terrible. 35:02 They didn't know what to say or what concerning that. 35:07 But He is the root. 35:09 He's the root because before David was 35:15 He was. 35:17 That's right. He existed before David. 35:20 He's also the offspring because of the genealogy 35:25 in which He came through. 35:27 So He's the root and the offspring. 35:29 And contained in this with David is the very covenant 35:34 that He made and He promised and He said: 35:37 "I am carrying out that covenant that I have made 35:40 with you. " Therefore, to you and to me 35:45 He must be the Bright and the Morning Star. 36:02 There's the invitation. 36:06 Whoever desires. 36:09 Do you desire tonight? 36:12 "Let him come and let him take of the water of life freely. " 36:18 Oh, dear friends, please 36:22 drink... drink of the water of life. 36:27 Drink it and drink it abundantly. 36:32 Don't be stingy with it. 36:35 Drink it until your cup runs over and overflows. 36:41 Drink in the water of life. That's what God wants you to do. 36:46 It's given freely to anybody who wants it. 36:50 So there's no question; you don't have to miss life. 36:55 It's free to anyone who drinks of it. 37:14 You see, He's protecting what He's given. 37:18 He's saying: "Here... don't be adding 37:23 anything to what He has given. " 37:25 That you and I need to read and study the Word of God 37:30 to find out what God has given. 37:45 I don't want to add to it. 37:48 I don't want to take away from it. 37:52 I want to follow exactly what the Lord says. 37:58 That's the promise to you and to me. 38:13 Now this evening I want to share something with you, 38:17 and I hope by the grace of God I can help you see this. 38:23 That you will see how marvelous God is 38:29 and how wonderful He is. I'm going to go back 38:33 and pick up a little bit of what I talked about 38:37 in the last presentation 38:39 because I want you to see it and understand it. 38:43 Revelation 1 and verse 5. It says: 38:55 "Washed us from our sins in His own blood. " 39:00 How thankful I am that it reads that way. 39:05 He washed us from our sins in His own blood. 39:09 And it says: "To Him who loved us. " 39:13 I'm glad that God loves us 39:17 just exactly like we are. 39:23 See, it doesn't say He washes us and then loves us. 39:27 It says He loves us and then washes us. 39:32 I mentioned this before. I'm glad that God does not 39:35 love us like we love babies. 39:39 You know, if the baby has been bathed and powdered 39:43 and smells good, anybody will pick it up and love it. 39:46 But you let it have a snotty nose and a dirty diaper 39:50 and see how many people go the other way. 39:52 See? Well, that's... God love us just exactly like we are. 40:00 That's the way He cares for us. 40:03 And then He washes us and cleanses us from our sins 40:08 in His own blood. 40:10 How marvelous that is! 40:12 But now watch... because He does something for you. 40:16 The next verse says: 40:28 It says: "And He has made us 40:34 priests... kings and priests to His God. " 40:38 That does not say 40:41 if you do this, this, and this 40:44 you might become a king. 40:47 Doesn't say that. 40:49 That right there, dear friends, is the very heart 40:52 of Christianity. 40:54 The very, very heart of it. 40:56 God says He has "made us kings and priests. " 41:02 Therefore because you have accepted Christ 41:07 you have become a king and a priest. 41:10 Therefore, because you are one 41:13 you ought to act like you're one. 41:18 That should motivate me; that should move me; 41:21 that should be why I'm there. 41:22 He doesn't say: "Well if you qualify I'll make you that. " 41:26 No. He says: "I'll make you that. " 41:29 And then, He will in turn do those things within you 41:33 that are necessary for you to be what He wants you to be. 41:39 But what I want you to notice tonight 41:41 is it says that He'll make you 41:46 a king or a priest. Now you need to follow. 42:03 So He said He's going to make us kings and priests 42:09 to His God and we will reign on the earth. 42:13 Over and over and over in the scripture 42:17 He continually talks about making you a priest. 42:23 Did you know that? 42:43 So here again He says all those that have accepted Him 42:47 and followed Him... that they become priests of God 42:51 and will live and reign with Him for a thousand years. 43:17 Now here it says that God is going to come 43:21 and He's going to live here on this earth with us. 43:28 That this earth will become His home. 43:32 His headquarters. That He will live here with us 43:38 and that each one of you will be a priest. 43:46 That's what it says. 43:49 That He's going to live here 43:51 and that He will be our God; 43:54 we shall be His people; 43:57 and that each one of us will be a priest. 44:17 "You are a royal priesthood. " 44:23 Oh, not after the Aaronic priesthood 44:28 but after that of Melchizedek. 44:34 You are a priest. 44:37 Now you have a very definite reason for being a priest 44:40 because a priest does what? 44:42 Well a priest ministers. That's what the priest does. 44:48 See? He ministers to the needs of people. 44:52 Cares for them. And it says that all of you 44:57 will be priests. 45:09 So here it says that you are going to be 45:14 God's own special people. 45:18 For what purpose? 45:20 Hmmm? 45:24 Yeah. To proclaim the praises of Him 45:30 who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 45:36 OK. That's what you're going to do. 45:38 You're a priest and you are going to share 45:42 with others how He called you out of darkness 45:48 into His marvelous light. 45:58 Now, you see 46:04 when Christ told the parable 46:10 of the one lost sheep, 46:15 He was talking about this earth. 46:21 Out of all the universe - God's vast universe - 46:25 this is the only one that has ever sinned. 46:30 This is the only place there is sin, 46:35 and Christ came and redeemed us. 46:40 Died for us. 46:44 And so the vast universe is full 46:49 of unfallen worlds. 46:54 Beings that have never fallen. 46:58 But God makes His home 47:04 here. 47:07 This earth will become the center of the universe. 47:15 And unfallen beings will come 47:20 from everywhere in the universe. 47:24 And they'll come to this earth 47:29 and you know what? 47:31 You are going to be a priest 47:37 because you are going to tell them the marvelous story 47:42 of how God... or how Christ called you out of darkness 47:47 into His marvelous light. 47:50 You see, because you know some- thing that none of them know... 47:57 none of them have ever experienced... 48:00 none of them have ever known 48:03 the marvelous grace of God. 48:06 They haven't known the work that He did in your heart 48:10 to change you and make you different that pulled you out 48:13 of darkness and brought you into His marvelous light. 48:17 They don't know any of that. 48:21 You're the only ones that do. 48:24 And so you will be a priest 48:29 of God and you will serve Him 48:33 because you will be there to tell others 48:36 the marvelous story of redemption: 48:40 what God has done for you and for me. 48:45 Marvelous privilege 48:47 to be a priest or a king unto God. 48:51 That's what He did that we might be saved. 48:55 And so He says to you and to me: 49:03 Oh that will be a marvelous day 49:05 when Jesus Christ comes back! 49:13 John ended up the book saying: 49:21 Dear friend tonight 49:25 if you don't know the grace of God, 49:29 I hope that you'll accept Him. 49:31 I hope that you'll open up your heart 49:34 and give Him your life. 49:37 Because He loves you and cares for you 49:41 in a very special way. 49:45 Ranko Stefanovic in his book 49:49 called The Revelation of Jesus Christ 49:52 he tells the story of a couple 49:57 who went to Africa as missionaries. 50:03 They went there... They spent their life 50:08 in Africa working with the people there 50:13 bringing them the good news of salvation 50:16 ministering to them and caring for them. 50:19 All their life they worked there. 50:21 Now they have grown old. 50:24 Time has come to come back home. 50:29 Their health is broken. 50:31 They don't have any money. 50:34 And they've come to catch the ship - this is years ago - 50:38 catch the ship back to America. 50:40 And they get there and they find that there's a lot of noise 50:46 and a lot of things going on at the ship 50:49 and they find out that the ship they're taking back to America 50:54 that Teddy Roosevelt is on that ship. 50:59 That he's just coming back from a hunting trip 51:02 in Africa. And the people are all crowded around 51:06 to see Teddy Roosevelt and to praise him for everything. 51:11 And they get on the ship and they start across the ocean. 51:15 And all the hubbub and all the things that's going on 51:20 about Teddy Roosevelt and how all the people are so anxious 51:24 to see Teddy Roosevelt 51:25 and so anxious for what's going on there. 51:28 And this bothers the missionary, 51:32 and he says to his wife: "It's not fair. " 51:36 He said: "We have spent our life working in Africa. 51:41 We don't have anything. 51:43 There was nobody to see us off. 51:45 There's nobody expecting us when the ship docks. 51:49 It's not fair. " 51:53 They got across and arrived at the port. 51:59 And sure enough, here the band is playing 52:02 and all the people are shouting. 52:05 And all is going on about Teddy Roosevelt. 52:08 And he gets off the ship, and everybody's praising him 52:11 and all this, and it disgusts the missionary. 52:16 And he said to his wife: "It's just not fair. " 52:23 They finally found them a little flat in New York. 52:26 Found work where they could make a living 52:31 to care for them in their old age. 52:33 But the missionary couldn't get over it. 52:37 Kept telling his wife: "It's not right. " 52:40 And finally one day she said to him: 52:43 "You'd better go in the bedroom and settle that with the Lord. " 52:46 And he went in the bedroom and shut the door. 52:49 After a bit he came out composed, 52:52 and she said: "Well, what happened? " 52:55 He said: "Oh, I got in there and I told the Lord 52:58 how it wasn't fair and it wasn't right and all this 53:01 and there was nobody here to welcome us and all this. " 53:04 And she said: "Oh? " 53:06 He said: "Yeah. " She said: "What did He say? " 53:09 He said: "Oh, He just told me 53:12 'you're not home yet. ' " 53:16 And so you and I: we're not home yet. 53:21 We're not there. 53:23 But it's not far off. 53:26 Jesus is coming. 53:27 That you and I need to be ready to meet Him when He comes. 53:32 Let us pray. 53:34 Father, we thank you... 53:36 thank you for Your Word. 53:39 For Your admonition. 53:41 For the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. 53:47 Lord, bless each one here. 53:50 May the Lord Jesus Christ be close to them. 53:54 May they hang on tenaciously 53:57 to the promises of Your Word. 54:00 May the Holy Spirit do its work in our hearts: 54:04 make us kind and gentle, forgiving and loving. 54:09 That we might demonstrate to those about us 54:15 the wonderful love of Jesus Christ. 54:18 That we might be ready, 54:22 prepared, to meet You at Your coming. 54:26 For these things we ask You in Christ's name, Amen. 54:32 May God bless you. Continue to be faithful... 54:37 spend time in this book. 54:41 In the heart of southern Illinois 54:43 lies a small town named after A. J. Mason 54:47 who came in 1923 with plans for a dream city 54:52 and the largest coal mine in the United States. 54:55 Surveyors laid out the streets and the sidewalk 54:59 and workers built the tallest smokestack in the country 55:02 complete with a Spanish turret 55:05 and decorative cathedral doors at the top. 55:08 Railroad tracks were laid, 55:10 and as word of this dream city spread 55:13 people flocked in by the thousands. 55:16 But as the black coal came out of those deep tunnels 55:20 miners came closer and closer to the end of the dream. 55:25 And after just three years of mining 55:27 an underground river flooded the shaft. 55:31 Suddenly the operations became very costly 55:35 and although Mr. Mason poured millions into his mine 55:39 eventually it was taken over by the bank. 55:42 People left the city in droves. 55:45 Some didn't even bother to take their furniture. 55:47 Soon the tracks lay dormant. 55:50 Weeds grew up around the beautiful train station, 55:53 and abandoned homes gave way to trees. 55:57 Today locals say that Mason is the only town in America 56:02 where you can hunt quail from the sidewalk. 56:05 Although other coal companies tried to revive it, 56:08 Mason's mine never again turned a profit 56:13 and today only a few hundred people are left. 56:16 Mr. Mason's dream went up in smoke. 56:20 All that remains is a beautiful smokestack, 56:24 an old train station, 56:26 and miles of deserted tracks. 56:30 The Bible says earthly treasures are easily stolen 56:34 by thieves and destroyed by moth and rust. 56:38 But our Heavenly Father is building a dream city 56:41 with streets of gold and mansions by a crystal sea. 56:45 He invites us to come live with Him for eternity 56:49 and never grow old. 56:51 The Bible also says that where our treasure is 56:54 there our heart will be also. 56:56 And in this day and age when stocks lose their value 57:00 in minutes and entire banking systems fail 57:04 God invites us to put our treasures in things of 57:08 eternal value. 57:09 Friends, nothing is more valuable than a human soul. 57:14 Won't you help us bring the good news of salvation 57:17 to those who are lost? 57:20 Please, ask the Holy Spirit what He would have you do. 57:26 Please consider what you can do for those who 57:29 still don't know about Jesus. 57:30 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:32 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 57:48 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 57:51 through television. Your gifts bring the blessed hope 57:53 of salvation to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17