Participants: Jac Colon
Series Code: RNN
Program Code: RNN000019
|
00:18 In 1998 we had the privilege to do
00:21 a Revelation Now meeting in Cuba, 00:27 in the little church in Santiago de Las Vegas 00:31 on the outskirts of the Havana near the airport. 00:38 And they were 180 people packed in to this tiny little church 00:46 wanting to hear the word of God, 00:48 some for the very first time in their life. 00:53 A week earlier, Pope John Paul II held a mass 01:00 in the Revolution Plaza downtown Havana, 01:04 over one million people packed into the plaza. 01:12 Now that raises a question in the minds of lots of people. 01:17 One million people packed into the plaza in a 180 01:25 in this little tiny church on the outskirts of the city. 01:33 Hearing something entirely different from the masses 01:38 and what they were hearing in the plaza from the Pope. 01:43 So the question is, who was hearing the truth? 01:50 The tiny little church or the massive gathering 01:55 in the massive plaza of the Revolution 01:58 with the single most recognized religious leader in the world. 02:04 Who was hearing the truth? 02:09 I think if there's one question that burns its way 02:12 into our consciousness that question is what is the truth? 02:18 We want to be sure that the bridge 02:22 which claims to take us into eternity 02:25 is gonna get us there, amen. 02:29 We want to know the truth. 02:34 Well, God has provided a means 02:36 for safeguarding the truth in the world 02:39 and that means for safeguarding the truth 02:42 is the church of Jesus Christ. 02:47 The problem is there are lot of churches 02:50 and they all claim to have the truth 02:54 even though they are all teaching something different 02:57 and contradictory from the others 02:59 or they would have no reason to exist separately. 03:04 They cannot all be teaching the truth, 03:06 they cannot all have the truth 03:07 but they all claim to have the truth, 03:09 at least I have never seen a church post a sign out front, 03:13 that says, we don't have the truth here, 03:20 so which one has the truth? 03:22 How can we know? How can we find the truth? 03:26 Maybe we ought to start even more basically than that 03:30 and question we ought to start with is 03:33 what is the truth or what is the church? 03:40 Why they are so many different churches? 03:44 What is the church? 03:47 Paul tells us in his letter in 1 Colossians1:18. 03:55 He tells us and He that's Jesus, 03:59 He is the head of the body, which is the church. 04:08 So the church is the body of Christ 04:14 and it's not found in any one single location, 04:18 it's not found in any one particular denomination. 04:25 Christ is the head, His body is the church, 04:28 the moment someone accepts Jesus Christ as their savior 04:32 at that moment they are a part of the body of Christ, 04:36 they are a part of His church. 04:39 It's not located in any one place, 04:42 its' located at every place, 04:44 where there's someone who believes in Jesus Christ. 04:49 Luther called this the invisible church, 04:54 the invisible body of Christ, 04:57 because it's not confined 04:59 to a particular location or organization. 05:03 But the question for us today is. 05:07 Does the invisible body of Christ 05:11 ever become a visible organization 05:16 or denomination even in the world? 05:20 What does the Bible have to say about it? 05:23 In the Book of Acts, if you look there with me in Acts 13. 05:31 Luke mentions in verse 1. In the church at Antioch. 05:36 So now he is writing about a particular church, 05:40 a local congregation in a city called Antioch and there verse 2 05:46 "While they were fasting and praying, the Holy Spirit said, 05:49 "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul 05:54 for the work to which I call them to do." 05:56 So they had fasted, they prayed, 05:59 placed their hands on them and sent them off. 06:03 So here we see the church at Antioch 06:08 has a local congregation, 06:10 a local group of people that met together 06:13 and the Bible says they were the church. 06:16 Furthermore the Holy Spirit chose to use the church 06:21 to send off the Apostle Paul and Barnabas 06:25 to go out and preach the gospel. 06:29 The spirit could have set them aside 06:31 on his own and saying Paul go, 06:34 but no the Holy Spirit chose to work through the church. 06:41 The church is God's idea, not man's idea, 06:46 it's God's idea. 06:49 Then in the Acts 9, in Acts 9 we discover, verse 31. 06:57 "Then that church throughout Judea, Galilee, Samaria 07:00 enjoyed a time of peace and it was strengthened 07:03 and encourage by the Holy Spirit and it grew in numbers." 07:09 So somebody was there counting numbers of the church 07:12 as far back as the Bible time. 07:15 The church was becoming more and more organized. 07:19 The invisible body of Christ is becoming a visible organization, 07:25 a structure in the world 07:27 and they were even counting the members of the church. 07:32 And it began to grow 07:34 but there was trouble in the camp. 07:36 Acts 6, the Greek widows, 07:39 that's the Gentile widows were being discriminated against 07:43 because the Jewish widows were being favored in the church 07:47 this brought a dispute in the church. 07:50 Racial discrimination already in the church 07:53 during the time of the apostles, so the church met 07:57 and they appointed seven men to serve as deacons 08:01 to be administrative leaders of the church 08:04 setting the pastors free to be able to preach the word, 08:08 while the deacons took over 08:10 the administrative chores of the church 08:12 putting out the fires and the debates that kept coming up. 08:17 But as they appointed leaders and organizing the church, 08:22 it becomes more and more 08:24 a visible organization in the world. 08:27 Then more trouble in the camp, Acts 15. 08:32 Now it's really getting bad, not just racial discrimination 08:36 but in Chapter 15:1. 08:38 "So men came down from Judea to Antioch 08:41 and they were teaching the brothers 08:43 "Unless you are circumcised, 08:46 according to the custom taught by Moses, you can't be saved." 08:51 They got Paul's back up. And Paul said, no way. 08:56 This brought such a dispute that Paul and Barnabas 08:59 entered into a debate with them. 09:01 So Paul and Barnabas were appointed 09:03 along with some other believers to go up to Jerusalem 09:06 and see the apostle and the elders about this question. 09:09 So they brought in representatives of the church 09:12 from all around the area to have a council meeting 09:16 or a conference to decide what we're gonna do? 09:19 We have people saying 09:20 you have to be circumcised in order to be saved. 09:23 Paul saying no that's upfront to the very gospel of Jesus Christ 09:27 so there is a political 09:29 theological debate in the church. 09:32 They are arguing over doctrines, 09:34 they come together to try to resolve the issue. 09:37 Peter gave his testimony 09:39 of how Gods poured His Spirit out on Cornelius. 09:41 We've already learned that, the Gentile. 09:44 And then there was Paul giving his testimony 09:47 on how God has been blessing the Gentiles in his ministry. 09:51 So James got up and made a speech 09:56 referring to how the Holy Spirit had been working 09:59 in the ministry of Paul and Peter with the Gentiles. 10:04 But then he said in verse 15 10:07 the words of the prophets are in agreement with this 10:13 and he quoted an Old Testament prophet Amus. 10:18 So James using the evidence of the Holy Spirit 10:23 along with the word of God said, verse 19, 10:29 "It is my judgment then that we should not make it difficult 10:35 for the Gentiles who were turning to God 10:37 and they would not be circumcised." 10:41 So notice what's happening here? 10:43 God could have sent a prophet with a vision 10:47 saying I do not want you to circumcise the Gentiles, 10:52 but he didn't choose to do that. 10:56 God chose to use His church 11:01 and the church met with the tools of the Holy Spirit 11:05 and the word of God and came to the conclusion 11:10 as to what should be taught in the church, 11:15 that's a lesson for us today. 11:18 God chose to use the church as the safeguard for the truth. 11:23 Now of course the Bible contains the truth. 11:26 But even already we see "two versions of the truth". 11:32 Those claiming you have to be circumcised 11:34 thought they were teaching the truth. 11:36 Those saying no, no circumcision. 11:39 Circumcision is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 11:42 They believed they had the truth 11:44 and so it was resolved by debate concerning the scripture 11:50 and the demonstration of the power of the spirit. 11:55 Now watch what happens. 11:57 Verse 22, Then the apostles and the elders 12:01 with the whole church decided, 12:05 so the church decided what to do 12:08 and they chose some of their own men and send them to Antioch. 12:13 In verse 24, this is the letter they sent. 12:15 We heard that some went out from us 12:18 without our authorization and disturbed you. 12:23 So the leaders of the church in Jerusalem 12:26 considered themselves as authorized to commission 12:32 and send out gospel ministers and preachers 12:36 and decide what was and what was not to be taught in the church. 12:42 So God is using the church as a safeguard 12:46 for understanding the Bible. 12:50 Again, a lesson for us today. 12:55 They went out without our authorization. 12:59 Chapter 16:4, as they traveled from town to town, 13:04 they delivered the decisions 13:05 reached by the apostles and the elders. 13:08 The leaders of the church at Jerusalem 13:10 for the people to obey." 13:13 They expected the people to conform to the decisions 13:17 that the leaders of the church made 13:19 in conjunction with the word of God 13:21 and the leading of the Holy Spirit. 13:24 Well, what if people didn't want to obey? 13:27 I'm sure there was some who didn't. 13:31 But they couldn't be a part of that church 13:34 that God was developing and grooming 13:37 to be His kingdom on earth. 13:42 What was the result? 13:43 Verse 5, "So the churches were strengthened in their faith 13:46 and they grew daily in numbers." 13:49 Again somebody was there counting members of the church. 13:54 And it becomes more and more of an organization 13:57 or dare I say even a denomination 14:02 with leadership in Jerusalem guiding the teachings 14:07 and the work of the church of Jesus Christ on earth. 14:13 The church is becoming more and more visible and organized. 14:17 Now Jesus knew that there would be problems in the church 14:21 when He first set it up, Mathew 18:15. 14:24 "If your brother sins against you, 14:26 go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. 14:30 If he listens you have won him over." 14:32 Notice he says go to him and show him his fault. 14:37 He didn't say go to the telephone 14:39 and tell the whole church, that's easy to do, 14:44 go to him and show him his fault, 14:47 that's not so easy to do. 14:50 I wonder how much better off we would be as a church 14:52 if we follow that rule that Jesus gave. 14:55 Go to him, if he listens you won him over, 14:58 if he won't listen then what do you do? 15:00 Well, take one or two others along, 15:02 so that every matter is established by the testimony 15:04 of two or three witnesses. 15:06 What if he doesn't listen to them? Watch this. 15:08 If he refuses to listen to them then tell it to the church. 15:13 How do you do that? 15:14 I don't know how to do that 15:15 except to have some kind of a church meeting 15:18 where the members are all gathered together 15:21 deciding what to do about this brother 15:23 who is bringing disrepute on the name of the church. 15:28 Folks, this isn't me, this isn't a denomination speaking, 15:31 this is Jesus speaking to His leaders, 15:34 His disciples, His church. 15:38 Tell it to the church-- 15:39 what if he doesn't listen to the church? 15:40 Treat him as you were to a pagan or the tax collector. 15:42 Uh? What does that mean? 15:46 Number one, pagans and tax collectors 15:49 were not a part of the church. 15:52 And so Jesus is saying, if they don't want 15:55 to uphold the teachings that I have given to the church 15:58 then they're gonna have to be separated from the church. 16:02 That's not a very pleasant thing to think about, 16:06 but you see the church is not a club. 16:09 It's the kingdom of God on earth. 16:13 The church represents God. 16:15 And if someone insists on taking positions 16:18 that defame and go against the church 16:20 and go against the name of God, 16:22 then the time come when the church has to say, 16:25 look, we love you, we're sorry 16:27 but if you want to persist in this kind of thing, 16:30 we--you can't be a part of us, 16:33 because you no longer represent what we are. 16:36 That's not me saying that, 16:38 that's not the denomination saying that, 16:40 that's Jesus Christ Himself saying that. 16:43 Watch this, it gets even better. 16:47 I tell you whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, 16:50 whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 16:53 So Jesus is saying we will listen to you 16:56 and respect your decisions. 16:59 He's giving the church the authority to decide 17:01 who is and who is not to be in fellowship in their congregation 17:07 and He says we'll honor that. 17:09 Now you can't take this as far as some churches 17:12 who say that if you're not a member of our church you're lost 17:16 and if you're disfellowship from our church you're doomed 17:18 and condemned forever, that's not what Jesus is saying. 17:22 He's simply saying the church has the authority 17:24 to decide who is to be a part of that church, 17:27 so that congregation and heaven will recognize that. 17:30 The church has no voice in who is saved and who is lost, 17:34 that's between Jesus Christ and the individual. 17:38 But it shows you how important 17:40 the integrity of the church is to Jesus Christ. 17:45 Now why does He say treat him like a pagan or a tax collector 17:50 or they're not a part of the church? 17:52 How do we treat people that are not a part of the church? 17:55 Are we rude to them, are we mean to them, 17:58 or we say, get away from us you unclean thing 18:00 or do we reach out with out stretched arms embrace him 18:03 and say, we want you to be 18:04 a part of our family and try to win them back. 18:07 You see when a person insist on activity 18:11 that defiles the name of the God 18:13 and blackens the name of the church and the community, 18:16 it destroys the witness of the church. 18:18 The church has to separate themselves from that person. 18:21 If they don't then when that person comes in, 18:24 nobody knows what to do. 18:26 If you hug them and say we're glad you're here 18:28 then they will interpret that to me 18:30 you're approving of their behavior. 18:33 And so nobody knows what to do and they ignore the people 18:37 and don't say anything, but if we take a stance, 18:39 and say, hey, we love you, 18:40 we want you to be part of our fellowship 18:42 but looks like you're choosing to do something else. 18:44 Now we are free to love them 18:47 and move them and bring them back 18:49 without them thinking that we're approving of their behavior. 18:53 Jesus' way makes sense, doesn't it? 18:55 It's not easy, but it makes sense. 19:01 The church is God's idea, it's Jesus' idea. 19:05 It's not a social club, it's the kingdom of God. 19:08 And if it comes through a bunch of people 19:10 all with different conflicting ideas 19:13 that are different from the scripture, 19:14 then the church is meaningless 19:16 and has lost its mission in the world. 19:22 The invisible church is becoming more and more visible 19:25 organized and structured in the world 19:29 until the final revelation of the church. 19:34 I don't know if you ever thought about it this way before. 19:37 The Book of Revelation begins with the words 19:39 the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 19:45 Christ is the head of his body which is the church. 19:52 And the more you know about Jesus 19:54 and the more you see Jesus 19:56 the more you're gonna see His church. 20:01 The Book of Revelation is the final Revelation of Jesus 20:06 and those who choose to follow the Lamb. 20:11 Wow, what a thought. 20:15 The church is the safeguard for the truth. 20:20 Why are there so many different churches today? 20:25 Well, we can see the answer to that question 20:28 in the Book of Revelation. 20:31 When Jesus was here there was just one church, 20:34 that was Jesus and His disciples those who followed Him. 20:39 But after He died we discovered the church split. 20:44 There were two groups. 20:45 Those who said have to be circumcised to be saved 20:48 and those who said, no, we're saved by grace through faith. 20:51 Church split quickly, almost immediately after Jesus died. 20:59 The history of the church is found in the Revelation 2 and 3. 21:04 The first church is Ephesus 21:06 revealing what the church was like at the very beginning. 21:09 Jesus says to His church, I know, in Revelation 2:2, 21:13 "I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, 21:16 and you have tested those who claim to be apostles 21:18 but are not, and have found them false." 21:21 Jesus--get this, Jesus' commends the church 21:25 for being intolerant of false teachers. 21:33 When I see a lot of churches today 21:35 boasting about being tolerant. 21:37 It doesn't matter what you believe, 21:38 come here, we love every body. 21:40 Well, that's good love everybody but you can't believe everything 21:46 I just read an article somebody gave me a couple of days ago 21:49 about the church right here in Portland, Oregon or in this area 21:53 boasting that we are the most unchurch and unchristian area 21:57 in practically, the whole United States. 22:00 And there was one particular church 22:02 where the pastor was saying 22:03 well, I don't believe in the resurrection, 22:05 I don't believe in the sacrifice 22:06 of Jesus on the cross, but I'm Christian. 22:10 Doesn't matter what you believe, 22:12 but is that the church? 22:16 The church is intolerant of false doctrine. 22:22 Jesus commends the church for that 22:24 and then we discover the second church 22:26 in Smyrna suffering persecution, 22:28 the devil is trying to squelch out the church 22:31 because it is protecting and safeguarding the truth, 22:34 intolerant of error 22:36 trying to squelch the church and squash it out. 22:40 But when persecution didn't work he tried something else. 22:44 He goes to the church in Pergamum and he says, 22:47 "You have people there who hold on to the teaching of Balaam. 22:50 Verse 15, "Likewise you have those 22:52 who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 22:56 Repent or I will come fight against you 22:58 with the sword coming out of my mouth. 23:01 Repent he said or I am gonna come and fight against you." 23:05 So now we discover that Jesus commends one church 23:09 for being intolerant of false doctrines and condemns other 23:13 for tolerating false doctrine in the church. 23:17 Because the church is supposed to safeguard the truth. 23:20 And then it gets even worse the church in Pergamum 23:22 in Chapter 2:20, the church in Thyatira. 23:27 Verse 20, "I have this against you: 23:29 You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. 23:32 By teaching she misleads my servants 23:36 into immorality and other things." 23:38 So now they not only tolerate 23:40 people believing different things 23:42 but they tolerate false teachers in the church 23:45 teaching false doctrine and leading God's people astray 23:48 and He condemns the church for that. 23:50 We have just seen a short history of the church 23:53 being plunged into the depths of the Dark Ages 23:56 that we saw from 538 until 1798. 24:00 The darkness, the tradition, 24:02 the false doctrines coming into the church. 24:05 Is there any hope for God's church, 24:07 her light is beginning to flicker. 24:09 It looks like it's about to go out, 24:11 it looks like there is no witness in the world. 24:13 But God has always had true believers 24:16 even when that light look like it was about to flicker, 24:18 there were always those who truly followed God 24:21 in the scripture and His word. 24:23 And then we see one of them in Chapter 3:4. 24:27 "You have a few people in Sardis 24:29 who have not soiled their clothes. 24:30 They walk with me, dressed in white." 24:32 The first doctrine to go in the church 24:36 was the doctrine of righteousness 24:38 by faith in Jesus Christ alone, 24:40 that's the white robe of Christ righteousness. 24:43 It got soiled, it got dark. 24:46 The church plunged into darkness. 24:48 But now the first doctrine to be restored 24:51 is the white robe of Christ righteousness, 24:53 the gospel of Jesus Christ lead by men 24:56 like John Huss and Martin Luther. 24:58 Luther of course starting off the great Protestant reformation 25:03 and as Luther began to gain a foothold in the church, 25:08 thousands of people were embracing two main points, 25:12 the scripture and the scripture alone 25:15 plus righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ. 25:22 Luther died and the church was afraid 25:26 that the false doctrines would come back, 25:29 so they met and they decided to establish a creed. 25:34 The creed was a list of the things they believed 25:39 and the intent was to be a fence 25:41 to keep false doctrine out. 25:44 The problem was that Luther had not seen all of the light. 25:49 He was doing good just to see the gospel 25:53 and the fact that were-- 25:55 to stand on the scripture and the scripture alone. 25:58 So they locked themselves in with their creed. 26:03 Other scholars like John Calvin recognized 26:06 that Luther was right about the gospel and the scripture 26:09 but he wasn't right about the real presence in the mass 26:14 and so the reformed churches started 26:16 and they wrote their creeds. 26:20 And then the Wesley's came along 26:22 and they said, yeah, Calvin was right, 26:23 Luther was right but they didn't emphasize holy living. 26:27 They just emphasize the gospel 26:29 without the emphases on what happens after the gospel, 26:32 we need to live holy Christian life. 26:34 And so the Wesley brothers started a Methodist church 26:38 and they had their creed and then the Baptist saying, 26:42 well they got it right but they're not baptizing right, 26:45 and so the Baptist started baptizing 26:48 the Bible way by immersion 26:49 and each one was contributing one by one 26:53 to the pieces that had been lost in the Dark Ages. 26:57 Pentecostal has come alone 26:58 and say, well, you're not doing enough with the Holy Spirit 27:01 and so they start emphasizing the Holy Spirit. 27:04 Until finally we come down to the last church, 27:08 the church of Laodicea. 27:11 I know your deeds, Chapter 3:14, 27:14 "You're neither cold nor hot. 27:15 I wish you were either one or the other. 27:17 So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, 27:20 I am about to spit you out of my mouth." 27:24 And here we see three groups of people. 27:26 Those who are cold, they are not a part of the church, 27:28 those who are hot, they are in the church 27:31 and then there are those who are lukewarm, 27:32 they are in the church 27:33 because their picture is being in Jesus' mouth. 27:35 But He is about to spew them out of His mouth 27:37 because they're not hot, they're not on fire for God, 27:40 that's what we call the judgment. 27:42 So the seventh church Laodicea is the church of the judgment 27:46 that will restore the judgment message. 27:48 If there's a judgment, the standard of the judgment 27:50 according to Bible is the Law of God 27:53 and the Sabbath was brought back into the picture. 27:55 So the seventh church represented by Laodicea 27:59 restores the judgment and the Sabbath 28:01 and now the picture is full and complete 28:04 just like the teachings of the church 28:07 during the time of Christ. 28:09 Now if you happen to be a part of the church 28:12 that proclaims the judgment hour 28:15 and lifts up the Sabbath in honor of the Creator God. 28:19 There's no room to get puffed up, 28:21 stick with chest out and get proud 28:23 because you are the last church. 28:25 And the last church is lukewarm 28:27 and there are lot of people in your church 28:29 that are gonna be spewed out of the mouth of Jesus Christ. 28:34 So there's no room for pride here. 28:36 There's no room for saying, we're better than other churches 28:39 No, we're not any better than other churches. 28:42 We've simply embraced the message that God has created 28:45 for the last days that no one else picked up. 28:48 Jesus said, finally, hey, we're in the last days, 28:51 it's the judgment hour. 28:52 I've got the message for the world. 28:54 It's called the Three Angels' Messages, 28:56 the everlasting gospel calling the world 28:59 to worship the Creator of the heavens and the earth 29:02 and the Sabbath is the sign 29:04 restoring the sign of God's authority as the Creator. 29:07 Here it is, it's the hour of God's judgment, 29:10 it has begun, the hour has come. 29:12 Here are the Three Angels' Messages, 29:14 who wants to preach it? 29:15 No one would touch it, 29:17 except by the little group of Adventist 29:20 that became Seventh-day Adventist. 29:23 You would think that would be the purist church of them all, 29:26 but the Bible says that many of them are lukewarm 29:29 and will be spewed out of the mouth of Jesus. 29:36 But what about all the others. 29:37 How can we recognize God's church 29:41 that is safeguarding the truth? 29:43 Well, there are number of ways to do it. 29:44 One church says the true church of God can trace its roots 29:49 all the way back to the original disciples in Jesus. 29:54 Well that doesn't help because very church can do that. 30:00 When Jesus was here there was only one church. 30:02 We've already seen shortly after He died there were two groups, 30:05 one teaching you're saved by work, circumcision 30:07 and the other saying, no, by faith. 30:09 Now we have two churches, 30:10 both of them can trace their origins back to Jesus. 30:15 That doesn't help. 30:17 Every leaf on a tree can go back to the same trunk. 30:21 Then there are those who say, 30:22 well, the true church has to be biggest church 30:24 but Jesus said, broad is the way that leads to destruction. 30:28 Many are gonna go there, 30:29 straight and narrow the way that leads to life 30:31 and only a few are gonna find it, 30:33 so that's not gonna help. 30:34 Some say, well, the true church has to have a certain name, 30:37 church of God, church of Christ, 30:39 church of the first born, church of this or church of that 30:41 but if that was the case 30:43 every church would have that name on their door. 30:47 The Bible doesn't say the true church has that name. 30:50 The Bible says God's church is gonna teach the truth, 30:54 it's gonna be a safeguard for the truth 30:56 and God gave us two identify marks. 30:59 I want you to watch this, 31:00 this is an exciting prophecy in Revelation 12, 31:05 in Revelation 12:7, "There was war in heaven. 31:07 Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, 31:09 the dragon and his angels fought back. 31:11 But he was not strong enough, praise the Lord, 31:13 they lost their place in heaven. 31:14 The great dragon was hurled down, 31:16 that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, 31:18 who leads the whole world astray. 31:19 He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." 31:21 Oh, oh, bad news for planet earth. 31:24 Verse 13, "When the dragon saw 31:26 that he had been hurled to the earth, 31:27 he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 31:30 Who is the woman? 31:31 We have already learned that in the fourth lesson. 31:33 Remember Israel in prophecy, the woman symbolize God's people 31:38 the pure woman in the Old Testament, 31:41 the nation of Israel was the people of God 31:44 symbolized by the woman. 31:46 But in the New Testament the true people of God 31:49 are the church of Jesus Christ. 31:52 So now we see the devil pursuing after the woman, 31:57 so is this Israel or is she the church? 32:02 We have to look. 32:04 Let the Bible decide for us, apply our principles. 32:07 "When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, 32:09 he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child." 32:12 Is that before or after Jesus came? 32:17 She had already given birth to the male child. 32:20 So it must be after Jesus came 32:22 and so it must be the church of Jesus Christ. 32:24 There is the church 32:25 right in the middle of the tribulation time 32:28 where the dragon pursuing the remnant, 32:30 the last of God's people on this earth. 32:34 Verse 15, "Then from his mouth the serpent 32:37 spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman." 32:40 And we learned about that over in Europe, 32:42 the massive attempt by the church 32:44 to put to death and destroy the people of God, 32:48 those who have true faith in Jesus Christ alone. 32:51 Verse 16, "But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth, 32:55 swallowing the river, the earth." 32:57 Remember the two horn beast that look like a lamb 33:01 that came up out of the earth, 33:03 a quiet not a populated part of the world, 33:06 but relatively quite part of the world, a Christian nation 33:09 that would be arising in the late 1700s. 33:12 We already identified her as the United States of America 33:15 when the pilgrims came to this country 33:18 escaping the persecution of the dragon, the water, 33:21 the multitudes trying to wipe out God's church. 33:24 They came to this country to establish a country 33:26 where they are free to worship God as they choose, 33:30 but it wasn't long until she began to speak like the dragon. 33:37 And then Chapter 12:17, 33:40 "The dragon was angry at the woman 33:42 and went to make war against the remnant of her offspring, 33:46 those who obey God's commandments 33:48 and hold to the testimony of Jesus." 33:51 The last of God's people on this earth, this is it. 33:55 This is Genesis 3:15 when the seed of the woman 33:59 would receive a bite on the heal that was the cross, 34:03 but He ascended to heaven remember and he would comeback 34:06 and crush the head of the serpent. 34:08 This is the final fulfillment of that prophecy 34:11 showing us how the seed of the woman 34:14 Jesus is gonna crush the head of the serpent. 34:16 He's after the woman, 34:18 the last of God's people before the end time. 34:21 He's after the woman just before Jesus comes, who are they? 34:25 They obey the commandments of God 34:27 and have the testimony of Jesus. 34:29 Now I am gonna tell you something 34:31 and I'm gonna say it as plainly as I know how, 34:33 but please don't put words in my mouth 34:35 and don't twist and distort what I am saying. 34:39 The Bible gives us two identifying marks. 34:43 They obey God's commandments and hold the testimony of Jesus. 34:50 Any church that does not obey God's commandments 34:55 cannot be this church of Revelation 12:17, can't be. 35:02 Is this talking about all the God's commandments 35:04 or just nine of them. 35:08 If you break one, you're guilty of breaking them all. 35:11 Any church that does not teach that we should obey all ten 35:15 of the Ten Commandments cannot be this church. 35:19 Now that narrows the feel down pretty rapidly. 35:26 Of course, you know, 35:27 we teach we should obey God's commandments. 35:30 We are not saved by obeying the commandments 35:32 we're saved in order to obey God's commandments. 35:40 But what about this second identifying mark? 35:42 They hold to the testimony of Jesus, what is that? 35:46 In Revelation 19 John had just seen the vision 35:51 and afterwards he saw the angel who gave Him the vision. 35:56 Verse 10, "John fell at his feet to worship the Angel. 36:00 He says, "Don't do that! 36:02 I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers 36:04 who hold to the testimony of Jesus." 36:06 And there it is again. 36:08 We'll fine, but what's the testimony of Jesus? 36:11 "He said Worship God, 36:13 because the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy." 36:18 So the testimony of Jesus is Spirit of Prophecy. 36:21 The church would teach obedience to the commandments of God 36:23 and it would have the Spirit of Prophecy 36:25 or the gift of prophecy manifest in the church. 36:29 The testimony of Jesus is actually another way of saying 36:32 it would be the self revelation of Jesus 36:36 that moved the prophets to testify about Him. 36:42 It was the spirit that inspired the prophets to testify of Jesus 36:46 they have such a close connection with Jesus 36:49 that He trusted them with a message to tell about Him. 36:54 And so we should see the testimony of Jesus 36:58 being exhibited in God's church 37:01 as its becoming visible again for the last time. 37:05 It had been invisible during the Dark Ages 37:08 because the visible church had fallen. 37:12 But now she's becoming visible again, how? 37:17 Teaching obedience to all of God's commandments 37:19 and it would have the gift of prophecy manifesting it. 37:24 Someone close enough to Jesus that he could entrust them 37:27 with special messages revealing Himself 37:29 has a special aid or special help 37:32 as we move into the final conflict. 37:35 God always used prophets to help people, 37:38 to help His church to move it along in difficult times. 37:42 Sure we have the Bible 37:44 and the Bible is the only source of truth for any Christian, 37:48 but God has always used prophets 37:51 that didn't write the Bible its an extra help, 37:54 it's an extra boost in special times of need 37:58 and the Bible says that God would use 38:00 the Spirit of Prophecy in the last days. 38:04 We shouldn't be surprise, 38:05 Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 and 22. 38:09 He said don't despise prophecy. 38:11 Test everything and hold fast to the good, avoid the evil. 38:15 So don't despise prophecy just because the Bible says 38:19 God is gonna use the gift of prophecy, 38:20 don't turn against it, no, test it. 38:23 See if it measures up with the scripture. 38:25 If it does hold fast, if it doesn't then avoid it. 38:28 In Joel 2, he said "In the last days, 38:31 I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh and many will prophesy." 38:34 We should be looking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit 38:37 and prophecy in the last days. 38:39 We should be looking for it. 38:41 Jesus said, there would be many false prophets in the last days. 38:44 You don't have false prophets 38:45 to counterfeit something that doesn't exist. 38:49 So there must be true ones. 38:52 In the Book of Revelation he says, 38:53 yes, I am gonna use the gift of prophecy 38:55 to help my little church grow, 38:57 teaching obedience through the commandments of God 38:59 and clinging to the testimony of Jesus Christ. 39:02 And we do believe that God did used 39:06 in the early history of our church 39:08 helping that little group of disappointed Adventists to grow 39:12 and became a major force in the world 39:14 to proclaim the Three Angels' Messages 39:16 and He used a little lady named Ellen G. White 39:22 which we believe had the gift of prophecy. 39:26 Now right away, a lot of people would jump on that 39:31 and say, Adventists have two Bibles, 39:32 Ellen White and the Bible, that's not true. 39:35 Nothing is further from the truth. 39:38 We have one Bible and that's Genesis to Revelation 39:41 the scripture and the scripture alone. 39:43 In fact Ellen White herself said this 39:46 and I thought it was important enough 39:47 to write it down on the back page of my Bible. 39:49 She said the writings of Ellen White 39:52 should not be carried to the front. 39:55 God's word is the unerring standard. 39:59 Ellen White is not to take a place of the word. 40:01 Let everyone prove their point from scripture, 40:04 never do we want anyone to put Ellen White ahead of the Bible. 40:09 And that's the way I believe it's supposed to be used. 40:12 Now you may find some Adventists here and there 40:16 that disregard what she says 40:18 and list Ellen White above the Bible, 40:20 when they do they're going against everything she said. 40:23 You know the devil knows 40:24 the best way to undo a good thing is to overdo it. 40:28 He doesn't care if you overdo it or under do it just don't do it. 40:35 I would expect a prophet to say things like that. 40:38 Test me with the scripture and I will do that. 40:42 At one time I was at home minding my own business 40:45 and two young men came knocking on my door 40:48 and they were dressed in black pants, white shirt, 40:50 a black tie and they had a name tag, 40:52 and they're riding bicycles. 40:56 They knocked on my door, I went to the door and they said 40:59 "Hi there, we have good news for you, can we come in?" 41:04 I said, "Well, you come right in, 41:06 I have good news for you too." 41:12 Well, they came in and we started talking. 41:14 I said, "I want to ask you something 41:16 before you start talking. 41:18 Do you believe in the gift of prophecy? 41:20 And that God has prophets in the last days?" 41:22 Their eyes got big and they said, 41:25 "Oh, yeah, we believe in prophecy." 41:28 I said, "Good, I do too." 41:30 "You do?" "Yes. 41:32 But I want to ask you something else. 41:34 If your prophet ever wrote anything 41:35 that contradicted the scripture, 41:36 which one would you believe, your prophet or the scripture?" 41:40 "Oh, well, we would believe the prophet." 41:43 I said, "But why?" 41:44 "Because the scripture says 41:45 that there will be a prophet in the last days." 41:48 I said, "But I know that, I believe that. 41:51 But if your prophet says something 41:52 that contradicts the scripture, how you know he's a prophet?" 41:56 "Because he's a prophet." "Well, how you know that?" 41:59 "Because the scripture says 42:00 there will be a prophet in the last days." 42:03 There was no way to prove anything. 42:06 The Bible says, "To the law and to the testimony, 42:09 if they speak not according to this, 42:10 there is no light in them." 42:12 We should not be afraid to put the gift of prophecy 42:14 to the acid test to the word of God. 42:17 In fact you should be afraid not to. 42:21 Ellen White can stand on her own 42:23 if God used her with the gift of prophecy, 42:26 then she should measure up to the test, test it. 42:29 We don't require that everybody testify, 42:32 "I believe that Ellen White was a prophet." 42:34 We don't require that. 42:35 But we ask that you're open to all the gifts of the spirit 42:38 and you test it with the scripture, 42:40 if it measures up to the test, then hang onto it. 42:43 If God's trying to tell me something 42:45 to help me understand the word, 42:46 to help me understand my mission in the world through a prophet, 42:50 then I want to know what it is. 42:51 But if it's not God speaking, 42:52 I don't want anything to do with it. 42:54 The only way you're gonna know 42:55 is to test it with the scripture, test it. 42:57 I can say for myself, it's been an incredible blessing for me. 43:02 It's been a tremendous blessing in my ministry. 43:04 And I just got an e-mail 43:06 that someone sent me a couple of days ago. 43:08 I've never seen before. 43:10 There's a freelance writer, his name is Christopher Nigh, 43:13 who went to visit the seventh-- 43:14 he goes and visit different places and writes about them. 43:17 He visited a Seventh-day Adventist church. 43:20 And one of the things he came away with was this, 43:22 He said, "Seventh-day Adventist hold in high regard, 43:25 Ellen White, a Christian writer 43:26 of the 19th century and early 1900s. 43:29 Describe by Randall Balmer as one of the most important, 43:31 one of the more important and colorful figures 43:33 in the history of American religion." 43:36 He said, "I feel obliged to address something here, 43:39 and this is coming strictly from one 43:41 who is not a Seventh-day Adventist." 43:44 And he's trying to be as objective as I possibly can be. 43:48 Adventist do not worship Ellen White. 43:52 That's interesting, huh? 43:54 I could have told him that. 43:57 He said, "I found a lot of material 43:59 floating around on the inter tubes, 44:01 that was kind of interesting, 44:03 all kind of tubes out there on the internet. 44:05 "A lot of material floating around on the inter tubes 44:08 insisting that Adventists hold Ellen White 44:10 on the par with Jesus himself. 44:13 And that Adventists are baptized into Ellen White." 44:16 He said, "During one of my visits 44:18 in one particular Adventist church congregation 44:20 included a lot of times studying Adventist writings 44:23 and the doctrines in their library. 44:25 And I couldn't find anything 44:27 remotely suggesting such a notion." 44:31 He said, "I did however studied 44:32 much of Ellen White's own writings 44:34 than maybe I'm missing something 44:36 but from what I've seen she was a remarkably humble woman 44:39 who did nothing to exalt herself. 44:42 I was looking for such a thing, trust me, I was. 44:45 And instead I did everything-- 44:47 and instead did everything to ponder-- 44:50 Instead she did everything to ponder 44:52 and meditate upon the glory of God. 44:55 According to Adventist history 44:56 she only had a third grade education, 44:58 yet I found her articulation to be on a par 45:00 with that of Martin Luther and John Wesley." 45:03 Interesting, isn't it? 45:05 Well, a lot of people out there think 45:07 if they can just prove that one thing she said is wrong 45:10 then all of the stuff that we've been studying will topple. 45:14 But all of the stuff that we've been studying 45:16 is straight from the scripture alone. Amen. 45:23 She had a third grade education, 45:25 yet wrote more pages and manuscript 45:27 than any other woman who ever lived. 45:30 In fact, one book that she wrote, 45:32 Education was used as a textbook for a time 45:35 at the University of Southern California. 45:38 Maybe we should listen more to what she had to say. 45:41 But let me just share with you a little bit 45:43 about how God used the gift of prophecy in the early church. 45:47 The church as I mentioned was very small, disappointed. 45:50 They had first come out of the experience 45:52 of thinking Jesus was coming 45:54 and then went back into the scripture 45:55 and discovered the truth about the judgment. 45:57 Now they needed to tell the world 45:59 but they were not very many of them, 46:01 they believed they need to proclaim the gospel to the world 46:04 and so God showed Ellen White in vision 46:08 a printing press with lights coming out from it 46:12 that went around the globe. 46:15 And she understood that mean, we need to press, 46:18 we need to publish the Three Angels' Messages 46:22 and send it out around the world. 46:24 They didn't have any money, they saved everything they could 46:27 and they bought a little printing press 46:28 and today Review and Herald publishing company 46:31 is one of the largest Protestant publishing houses in the world, 46:35 publishing those messages of the three angels 46:37 and sending it around the globe. 46:39 That's an example of how God used the gift of prophecy 46:42 to help build up the church. 46:45 Another example was that God had shown Ellen White 46:52 that it was time to use the medical work, 46:55 because doctors and nurses have access to people 46:59 that are in a crisis in their lives 47:01 when they're most susceptible 47:03 to listening about God and Jesus Christ. 47:06 And she envisioned the team of medical missionaries 47:09 going out around the world helping people. 47:13 So the church said, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. 47:15 They were looking at land 47:17 and they called Ellen White one day from California and said 47:21 "You need to come and take a look at some property." 47:25 We think this is where we should build 47:26 our medical training college? 47:30 God had already shown her a piece of property in vision. 47:34 She went down to California looked at the property 47:37 and it was exactly what God had shown her earlier in the vision. 47:43 The place, Loma Linda, California, 47:47 the school, Loma Linda University, 47:50 one of the top rated medical schools in the world today. 47:56 God used that to train doctors to be able to go and minister 48:00 not only to the body 48:02 but to the hearts and souls of their patients. 48:05 And then the third way that God used the Spirit of Prophecy, 48:08 during that great disappointment Ellen White was caught up in it. 48:12 But don't believe what you see out there 48:14 that God showed her in vision 48:16 that He was coming in 1844, nonsense. 48:19 She was just a little girl, went to church 48:21 with her mother and her parents just like other children, 48:24 got caught up in the Miller movement 48:27 believing Jesus was coming, 48:28 not because of the gift, she had not had a vision. 48:32 It wasn't until after the disappointment 48:35 that God gave her, her first vision 48:37 after they had studied from the Bible 48:40 and came to the conclusion that the judgment began in 1844. 48:44 After all of that came from scripture. 48:47 After they discovered the standard of the judgment 48:49 versus Sabbath, then God gave her a vision. 48:54 She saw Jesus standing 48:55 in the most holy place of the sanctuary in heaven. 48:57 She saw the Ark of the Covenant, 48:59 the Ten Commandments with the ring of light 49:01 around the fourth commandment. 49:03 They had already gotten it from the scripture, 49:05 they didn't get it from the vision. 49:07 God used the vision to encourage 49:09 and confirm what they had learned from the scripture. 49:13 After all, they had just been ridicule 49:15 and made fun of a teaching that Jesus was coming. 49:18 And now they had to teach that Saturday is the Sabbath day 49:21 and they were intimidated by the task 49:24 but encouraged by the gift of prophecy 49:27 urging them and spurring them on. 49:29 Until today the Seventh-day Adventist church 49:31 has become one of the fastest growing 49:33 Protestant churches around the globe. 49:38 I believe largely due to the influence 49:41 that God gave to this church 49:43 through using the gift of prophecy. 49:45 Well, then the next question comes up. 49:46 Do I have to join the church? 49:49 Do I have to join any church to be saved? 49:54 You do have to join the church to be saved, 49:57 but the church you need to join is the invisible body of Christ. 50:03 Salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ alone. 50:07 You are not saved by joining a visible organized church 50:12 that's I want to make clear. 50:16 But God and Jesus established the church for a purpose. 50:24 Why wouldn't we want to be a part of God's church? 50:28 Why wouldn't we want to join? 50:31 Well, people give me a lot of reasons 50:33 why they shouldn't join a church. 50:36 One of them is because they are not good enough. 50:39 They say, well, I'm not joining the church, 50:41 I'm just not good enough to join the church. 50:43 In Luke 5:31, "Jesus said, 50:45 its not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. 50:48 I haven't come to call the righteous, 50:49 but sinners to repentance." 50:52 Did you know that the church 50:54 is the only organization on this planet 50:57 with a requirement for you to join 51:00 is that you not be good enough, that's right. 51:06 If you're good enough to join the church 51:07 you wouldn't need the church. 51:09 I haven't come to call the healthy 51:11 but the sick, Jesus said. 51:14 And so that's not a good enough excuse. 51:17 Then there are those who take the opposite excuse. 51:20 They say, I'm not joining the church, 51:21 I am too good to join. 51:23 You know, I never heard anybody say that, you have. 51:27 I promise you, you have. 51:29 Maybe not those word but it usually comes out like this, 51:34 I would join the church 51:36 but there are hypocrites in the church. 51:38 Did you ever heard that? Sure you have. 51:42 There are hypocrites in the church, I'm not joining. 51:44 What's a hypocrite? 51:45 A hypocrite is somebody who knows 51:47 what they ought to do but they don't do it. 51:50 So the person who know that they ought to join the church 51:52 but don't join it is a bigger hypocrite 51:54 than the hypocrites in the church. 51:58 Furthermore Jesus knew and told us 52:02 that there would be hypocrites in the church 52:04 all the way through until the end. 52:07 That's a fact, Matthew 13:24, "Jesus told a parable: 52:10 He said 'The kingdom of heaven is like a man 52:12 who sowed good seed in his field. 52:14 But while everybody was at asleep, 52:15 the enemy came and sowed 52:17 weeds among the wheat, and went away. 52:21 And then when the wheat sprouted and formed heads, 52:23 the weeds appeared also." 52:26 So the servant said, hey, where did the weeds come from? 52:29 An enemy must have done this. 52:30 You want us to go and root them out, 52:31 isn't that like a church, 52:32 always want to weed it out to make it perfect. 52:35 "And Jesus said, no, don't do that 52:37 because if you pull out the weeds 52:38 you might get some of the wheat with them. 52:42 "Let them grow together until the harvest, 52:45 At that time I will tell the harvesters, 52:47 First collect the weeds, tie them in bundles to be burned 52:50 and then gather the wheat to bring it into my barn. 52:52 Let me do the deciding not you, 52:54 you make mistakes, I don't. 52:57 But can you see what it means? 52:59 It means that there are gonna be hypocrites in the church 53:02 all the way through until the very end. 53:05 The church is not perfect, it never was. 53:12 The moment Jesus got His first disciple 53:14 then the church wasn't perfect anymore. 53:18 People think if I would have been there in the time of Christ 53:21 then the church would have been perfect 53:22 at the time of the apostles, no, it wouldn't have. 53:26 Judas was one of the original 12 and Jesus picked him Himself 53:32 so we shouldn't be surprised if we pick some 53:35 that he tears and weed, the weeds instead of wheat. 53:40 But Jesus said let them grow together until the harvest. 53:44 In the early church we saw where there was 53:45 racial discrimination against the Gentile widows. 53:49 It wasn't perfect. 53:51 Ananias and Sapphira withheld money 53:53 that they had pledge to the church 53:54 and the Holy Sprit struck them dead. 53:58 Church wasn't perfect, there was financial scandal in the church, 54:02 there was racial discrimination in the church 54:05 and then speaking of racial discrimination 54:08 Peter went to Galatia and he was so intimated 54:14 by the group they came down from Jerusalem 54:16 that he refused to sit down and eat with the Gentiles. 54:20 Peter, wouldn't eat with Gentiles. 54:23 Paul came along at the same time 54:26 and saw Peter there wouldn't eat with the Gentiles. 54:29 And Paul called Peter down to his face 54:32 right in front of the congregation. 54:33 Imagine two pastors going out like that 54:35 in front of their church. What would you do? 54:40 Church wasn't perfect back then, it isn't perfect now 54:46 and it's not going to be perfect until Jesus comes. 54:49 The message is perfect, the people are not 54:54 as along as the church consists of people 54:56 who are growing in the grace of Jesus Christ, 54:59 then it's gonna be consisting of people 55:01 who were still making mistakes because they still have growing 55:04 and they will even be hypocrites 55:05 in the church all the way through. 55:07 So that's not a very good answer. 55:10 Jesus knew that, He knew 55:12 there would be hypocrites in the church 55:13 all the way through to the end. 55:14 Yet, in spite of that He said in Ephesians 5:25, 55:17 "Husbands, love your wives, 55:19 just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her." 55:23 Jesus was willing to die for the church 55:25 so the fact there are hypocrites in the church 55:27 that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be a part of it, 55:30 there'll be hypocrites all the way. 55:31 Don't let a hypocrite or any person 55:36 keep you from where God wants you to be. 55:40 Be bigger than that. Amen. 55:43 The church needs you and you need the church. 55:52 One time there was a poor man, didn't have much at all 55:58 but he wanted some thing far better for his son. 56:02 And ever since his boy was born he said, 56:05 I'm gonna save everything I can, 56:07 so I can send my son to medical school 56:10 and he can be a doctor and he did. 56:13 He saved every penny, put it all away 56:17 finally his son went to medical school. 56:20 And time came for him to graduate 56:23 the poor old man didn't even have enough 56:25 to go buy a ticket to watch his son graduate 56:27 but he didn't care, his boy was a doctor now. 56:32 Son came home from medical school 56:36 and after a few days he said, 56:39 dad, I need to tell you something. 56:45 What is it, son? 56:54 I'm not going to be going to church with you anymore. 57:00 The old man's heart was broken 57:05 but he knew he couldn't argue with his son, he was no match. 57:10 He just put his arm around him gave him a hug 57:13 and walked him over towards the fire. 57:18 There's a hot fire going. 57:22 And he picked up the little shovel 57:24 and scooped out hot glowing coal, 57:28 it's beautiful, bright red, warm 57:33 and then he set it down on the brick hearth. 57:36 Wasn't long until that beautiful white hot glowing coal 57:42 was cold and grey and ugly. 57:47 Then he picked it back up with the shovel 57:50 and he put it in the fire again 57:54 it wasn't long until it was white hot, 57:57 beautiful and glowing. |
Revised 2014-12-17