Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM180002A
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00:41 Welcome to the 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting:
00:44 The Three Angels' Messages. 00:48 Hello and welcome to Spring Camp Meeting 2018! 00:52 Are you happy to be here? Yes! 00:55 Praise the Lord! We have a good crowd. 00:57 Just want to welcome you at home but we have a full crowd 01:00 here. We actually have some of these little "air walls" 01:02 that we call them and we kept one of them up. 01:04 I think we may have... should have taken that down 01:06 'cause there are people still filing in. 01:08 But we're so glad that you have joined us via the air waves, 01:11 the Internet, satellite, maybe even radio hopefully. 01:15 We're having a blessed time here at Spring Camp Meeting 01:18 already. I talked to... Well I didn't talk to 01:20 I heard this second hand. I was in the control room... 01:22 You've heard about the volcanoes happening in Hawaii, right? 01:26 I believe there is a couple here that was actually airlifted 01:29 out by a helicopter - is that right? from Hawaii. 01:32 And they're here at Camp Meeting I understand. 01:34 Are they here? Somewhere... I don't know. 01:37 Anyway I heard that they were here. But we have been 01:38 at 3ABN praying for you. 01:41 We've been praying for your safety, for good health, 01:43 for traveling mercies as you're making it to 3ABN Camp Meeting. 01:47 Because we know - because of the topic - 01:49 that Satan is upset, right? Amen! 01:52 And so we've been just praying for your protection 01:54 and we just want to say thank you for your prayers 01:56 for 3ABN. We've had a lot of technical things 01:58 that just seem to kind of go on, but we know what's going on: 02:00 Satan's trying to cause a little disruption. 02:02 But we know who's stronger. Who's that? 02:04 God! God... Amen. Jesus Christ. And we thank you for 02:07 your prayers, though, and thank you for your support 02:09 of the ministry of 3ABN. 02:10 We're definitely a team. 02:12 You know, we have the staff that's at 3ABN 02:14 but then we have all of you. And you're just a small sampling 02:16 of course of the world-wide audience of 3ABN. 02:19 So thank you for your support in coming here to Camp Meeting. 02:22 This evening we're going to be blessed with a sermon 02:24 by Pastor John Bradshaw. 02:26 He's a great speaker, isn't he? 02:28 The Lord has given him tremendous talents, 02:30 and we appreciate him taking the time to come here. 02:32 And he is, of course, the speaker/director 02:34 for It Is Written and of course has traveled around the world. 02:37 And I am so blessed by his messages. And just 02:40 this whole line-up this weekend is just phenomenal, 02:43 isn't it? Boy, what a blessing! 02:45 Before he speaks we have a special music by 02:47 Pastor John Lomacang. And he's my pastor, 02:50 Jill and my pastor here at the Thompsonville SDA church. 02:54 And he's going to be ministering a song to us this evening 02:57 entitled Don't You See My Jesus Coming? 03:17 Don't you see my Jesus coming? 03:23 Don't you see Him in yonder clouds? 03:30 With 10,000 angels round Him 03:36 see how they my Jesus crowd. 03:43 I am bound for the kingdom. 03:48 Will you go to glory with me? 03:55 Hallelujah! Oh praise ye the Lord! 04:04 Don't you see the saints ascending? 04:10 Hear them shouting through the air. 04:16 Jesus smiling; trumpets sounding 04:21 now His glory they will share. 04:27 For I am bound for the kingdom... 04:32 will you go to glory with me? 04:38 Hallelujah! Oh praise ye the Lord! 04:45 Hallelujah! 04:47 Hallelujah! 04:49 Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 04:52 Hallelujah! 04:58 Don't you see the heavens open 05:04 and the saints 05:06 in glory there? 05:11 Shouts of triumph 05:13 bursting round them! 05:16 Glory, glory 05:19 everywhere! 05:26 I am bound for the kingdom. 05:31 Will you go to glory with me? 05:37 Hallelujah! Oh praise ye the Lord! 05:43 Hallelujah! 05:46 Oh praise ye 05:49 the Lord! 06:01 Amen! 06:07 Wonderful! 06:10 Good evening everyone! Good evening. 06:12 I've gotta tell you something: 06:13 it's already been a great Camp Meeting! Amen! 06:17 If John Lomacang opens up with the opening song 06:19 for Camp Meeting, you know it's BEEN great 06:22 not that it's going to be great. 06:25 How're we all doing tonight? 06:27 Great! Are we all right? 06:28 Have we come to Camp Meeting to be blessed? 06:30 Amen! Me, too! 06:32 So I'm hoping you'll be a blessing to me tonight. 06:34 I'm hoping you'll be a blessing. 06:36 We are going to be discussing 06:38 the three angels' messages 06:40 throughout this Camp Meeting time. 06:43 You know what? I don't know if we could be talking about 06:45 anything more important than the three angels' messages. 06:48 I just don't. 06:49 And so we'll go over that a little bit tonight. 06:51 I just think that this is the subject 06:55 for such a time as this. 06:56 Amen! I really do. 06:58 I'm convinced Jesus is coming back soon. 07:01 Amen! Now you don't have to be. 07:03 There's probably somebody here tonight who's at least 07:05 stroking their chin saying: "I'm not so sure. " 07:08 But the majority of us are sure. 07:10 I don't mean to apply any peer pressure here 07:12 but the most of us are sure. 07:14 I'm certain Jesus is coming back soon. 07:17 And before you say 07:19 "Didn't some Baptist preacher 07:23 make a prediction like that back in the middle of the 1840's? " 07:27 BEFORE you say that 07:29 and before you say: "Haven't some of you all been saying 07:33 Jesus is coming back soon for years and for decades 07:37 and decades and years? " 07:39 The answer to that is: "Yes we have! " 07:42 Which means we're a whole lot closer to the second coming 07:46 of Jesus now than we've ever been before! 07:50 Amen! And let's think about it like this: 07:53 the truth of the matter is 07:55 there are not many of us in this room 07:58 who could say: "Barring the coming of Jesus 08:02 we have a long time left on this planet. " 08:06 Now I don't mean to frighten ya. 08:08 But the moment you breathe your last 08:11 in essence the second coming has taken place for you 08:15 or is about to take place for you. 08:16 You understand what I mean. 08:18 So no matter how you cut this 08:20 we are close to the return of Jesus. 08:23 And therefore, we want to have our Bible open. 08:26 We want to be on our knees. 08:28 We want to be close to Jesus. 08:30 We want to be praying prayers we ought to be praying 08:32 and believing like we ought to be believing. 08:36 So this is a good place to be I am confident. 08:39 Thank you for being here, 08:41 and I am certain that throughout this Camp Meeting 08:44 you are going to be blessed. 08:45 There are some... I was going to say there are some wonderful 08:49 speakers. And while that's true I was going to try to 08:52 find a more fitting word. 08:54 God has spoken through this line-up of speakers 08:58 many many times. 08:59 I believe He's going to do it again 09:01 and that each individual is here presenting because 09:04 God wants that individual to share a timely message 09:07 with you and with whoever is watching Camp Meeting 09:11 from wherever they're watching. And of course we're grateful 09:14 that you're joining us wherever you might be. 09:16 Well... we're going to pray 09:17 and expect that God will speak to us. 09:19 Will you bow your head with me as we pray together? 09:23 Our Father in heaven, 09:26 we come to You in the name of Jesus. 09:30 We are thankful that we can. 09:34 Long ago David wrote in the Psalms: 09:39 Psalm 8: "What is man that Thou art mindful 09:44 of him? " In other words, he prayed and he said: 09:48 "Why do You bother with us? " 09:53 'Tis a fair question. 09:55 David understood much 09:58 about the sinfulness of a sinful heart. 10:01 And yet he knew that You in Your wisdom 10:04 and mercy love us with an everlasting love. 10:08 And so we come to You tonight in the confidence of that love. 10:12 In the certainty that You want the very best for us. 10:15 In the assurance that You have a future planned for us 10:18 that stretches beyond our time on this mortal coil 10:21 and stretches right on into the annals of future history. 10:25 And so we pray: "Speak to us tonight. " 10:28 Lord, do not... Please, we beseech You... 10:32 rely on the frailty, on the brokenness of sinful humanity 10:36 to share Your Word tonight. 10:39 We pray knowing Your Spirit is here. 10:41 This is Your house; we know You're here. 10:43 Lord, speak as though You're here. 10:46 Arrest us as though You're here. 10:48 Get our attention and focus us 10:51 on what we need to be focusing on. 10:53 Bless tonight, we ask You. 10:56 We pray knowing You are a God who wishes to bless. 10:58 And so speak, we pray, and give us ears to hear. 11:02 We know that You are here. 11:04 Lord, let it be that we are here. 11:09 We thank you tonight and we pray 11:11 in Jesus' name... please say with me... Amen 11:16 and Amen. 11:21 You know, my mother's father 11:29 owned racehorses. 11:33 My mother's brother owned and trained 11:39 racehorses. 11:42 My father... he was just a "wannabe. " 11:44 He wanted to own racehorses. 11:47 He never had the money for that. 11:49 Somehow he seemed to have money to take to the racetrack! 11:54 Not a lot... not a lot. 11:57 Dad was one of these gamblers who only gambled 12:00 what he figured he could afford to lose. 12:02 I don't know how my dad could afford to lose anything 12:04 but you understand it was his form of entertainment. 12:07 So we had sort of racing 12:10 and racehorses in our DNA growing up. 12:15 My earliest memories... Or should I say I have 12:21 little or maybe even no memories that stretch back 12:24 further than my memories of racehorses and racetracks. 12:28 And you know, if you were to visit a racetrack... 12:30 by the way, I'm not here to recommend that... 12:32 but if you were and if you were just to observe 12:34 you would understand why gambling becomes 12:37 intoxicating to people. 12:39 There's the thrill of the win 12:41 or maybe even just the thrill of the chase. 12:44 And then there's the pageantry. 12:45 And horses are beautiful, and if we have any horse owners here 12:49 I'm sure we do... Somebody here owns... You must... 12:51 Now we're not going to assume those are racehorses. 12:54 I'm going to assume those are not. But you do, 12:56 you own horses. And you own them because they're beautiful. 12:58 You've gotta love a horse... just got to. 13:02 And then you know there's just all the pageantry 13:05 of the whole thing. So I used to go the racetrack 13:06 when I was very small and gambling when I was very young. 13:09 I would have a job working in the gas station on Sunday 13:14 and then the next Saturday I would take all of my earnings 13:18 from the gas station to the racetrack 13:20 and lose it all. 13:22 I was a bad gambler. 13:24 I was the gambling agency's dream gambler. 13:30 I very infrequently won anything. 13:32 I knew lots about horses. 13:36 Not enough to be a successful gambler, mind you. 13:39 Just enough... And not enough to be an accidental lucky gambler. 13:45 I knew enough so I didn't make boneheaded decisions. 13:48 I didn't say: "Well I want to choose that horse 13:50 because I like the jockey's colors. " 13:52 Don't do that. 13:54 "I'm going to bet on that horse 'cause he has a nice name. " 13:57 Oh for goodness sake, you have to apply a little more science 13:59 like I did... enough science so that you lose everything! 14:02 That's what I did. 14:06 And I will tell you that quitting gambling 14:09 was very difficult for me... it was very difficult. 14:12 Well, I mean I had plenty of motivation 14:14 because I didn't have plenty of money. 14:16 I was sick of pouring my money down a hole 14:18 but I realized one day I shouldn't go on like this. 14:20 And to go off of gambling was like what I imagine 14:23 going off of drugs would be like. 14:25 Really... it was really difficult. 14:27 So we had gambling in our family. 14:30 And when you go to the racetrack, I mean, well, 14:34 betting on the horses... it's a gamble. 14:36 I mean it literally is. 14:38 But what you want is a sure thing. 14:41 You want to get as close as you possibly can 14:44 to a sure thing. 14:46 You know I had a friend. He was a guy who knew a lot 14:48 about horses. And he would lean on me and he would go: 14:50 "That horse there... gonna win today. 14:52 He's gonna win. 14:53 I've heard... my father was talking to the trainer. 14:56 My grandfather knows the owner. 14:59 That's a sure thing. " 15:01 Except for when I bet on that horse... somehow it didn't win. 15:07 God was doing me a favor. 15:11 My uncle trained a number of average horses 15:16 and some very good horses. 15:18 And one day he had a horse that was... it was average. 15:22 It had done OK, but he said: "I want to turn this horse 15:25 into a jumper. " 15:27 So the horse would end up being a steeplechaser... 15:29 that's where they jump over the brush fences 15:31 or a hurdler where they jump... long distance races 15:34 and they jump the wooden fences. 15:35 Are you familiar with that? I'm not suggesting you should be. 15:37 Probably better if you're not. 15:39 If you're not, then I would say: "God bless you. " 15:40 Some of us we are. We've spent some time in the rough. 15:44 And so my uncle trained this horse. 15:46 I don't recall its name but I sure remember the story 15:49 because my mother told me the story. 15:50 It was her brother, you understand. 15:52 And he had a horse that he turned into a hurdler. 15:55 He said: "This horse could really win some races 15:59 if we turn it into a jumper. " 16:02 And so the race began and the horse ran well 16:05 and it became obvious this horse was a class act. 16:10 So much so that when it got into the home straight 16:13 it was - figuratively speaking - miles in front. 16:17 There were two or so hurdles in the home stretch 16:20 up near the top of the straight. He bounded over the first one 16:23 just as clear as day. There was a long distance 16:28 between the leading horse and the horse coming second. 16:32 And as the horse approached the last fence 16:36 my Aunt Gladys sitting next to my Uncle Dudley 16:42 turned to him and said: 16:45 "The only way this horse isn't going to win 16:50 is if it falls at that fence and breaks its neck. " 17:02 After that mishap 17:05 Aunt Gladys declared that she and her husband 17:09 my uncle would never own another jumps horse again 17:13 as long as they lived. And she kept her promise. 17:19 You want certainty in this world... 17:23 at least in some things. 17:25 When the weather forecast says this weekend it's going to 17:28 be fine... I used to live in a town where there was an amateur 17:32 weather forecaster. He kept meticulous records - 17:35 weather records - in his homespun weather station 17:38 for decades... literally decades. 17:40 And when people were getting married they would call Walter. 17:42 Walter Dubonte, a Dutch immigrant into New Zealand. 17:44 They would call Walter and they would say: "Walter, 17:46 we are looking at getting married in March. 17:49 What's the best weekend in March to get married? " 17:52 He would look at his decades of weather reports 17:54 and he would say: "Well, I can only tell you 17:56 that the third weekend in March there's only ever been rain 18:00 twice in the last 45 years. That's the one. " 18:03 You want a sure thing. 18:05 You'd like to believe the weather forecast can be 18:08 believed. You remember once upon a time the weather forecast 18:10 said: "Wednesday: fine but with a chance of rain. " 18:14 Now they say: "Sixty percent chance of rain. " 18:17 See I don't even know what that means. 18:19 I think they're just hedging their bets. 18:21 They're saying: "Maybe... maybe not. " 18:22 But they can't say that in the weather forecast 18:24 so they say: "60%, 70% chance of rain. " 18:27 You want sure things. 18:29 There's a lot of uncertainty today. 18:31 I think you've notice that we live in an uncertain world. 18:33 You can't be sure of getting out of this world... 18:35 you can't be sure of getting out of this world alive. 18:38 That's an obvious statement. 18:39 You can't be certain... There are so many health challenges, 18:43 there are so many social problems, 18:45 there are so many economic challenges in the world today 18:48 we just don't know. 18:49 But we like certainty. As a person of faith 18:55 there are probably times that you wrestle with the Bible. 18:59 And there might have been times, maybe there still are times, 19:02 that you wrestle with the very basics of faith. 19:05 I spoke to a young lady just recently 19:08 and she said: "I am not even sure that there is a God. " 19:13 Wouldn't you love to be just absolutely sure? 19:15 Well you say: "I AM absolutely sure! " 19:17 But you're sure based on what? You didn't meet God ever. 19:19 You never shook His hand. 19:21 You never received a text message from God. 19:23 Christianity is something that's based on faith 19:26 and God never removes all the avenues for doubt. 19:31 He just doesn't. 19:32 If He did, essentially he would be forcing you into belief. 19:36 And He doesn't because He knows that this thing 19:38 called faith is based on faith. 19:43 When you think about God you want to know 19:45 that what you believe in is believable. 19:49 And I think that's fair enough. 19:51 Yea, verily, I think that's wise. 19:53 I'd like to open tonight by looking with you 19:55 in II Peter - looking with you - 19:58 in II Peter chapter 1. Let's turn there, shall we? 20:02 II Peter chapter 1. 20:06 And we're going to begin in verse 14. 20:09 We are looking as believers, or... not wanting to presume 20:14 as prospective believers, 20:16 we are looking to see where we can find certainty. 20:20 IF we can find certainty. 20:22 What the Bible gives us to hang our hats on. 20:26 II Peter chapter 1 and we'll pick it up starting in verse 14. 20:31 Notice what he says. 20:32 "Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle... " 20:37 That's similar language to what Paul uses 20:39 when he writes in II Corinthians chapter 5. 20:42 You know, when he says: "Absent from the body... " 20:44 "I would rather be absent from the body 20:45 and be present with the Lord. " 20:47 He's talking about the tabernacle that he's in: Paul. 20:49 Peter here now is speaking about the tabernacle 20:52 which is his what? It's his body... that's absolutely right. 20:56 "Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle 20:59 even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. " 21:02 It's getting towards the end of Peter's life. 21:05 Peter is writing about what matters most. 21:09 It's towards the end of his life. 21:11 Peter realizes he does not have a long writing career 21:15 stretching ahead of him. 21:16 "I don't have many more opportunities to write" 21:20 is what Peter is essentially saying. 21:23 "So being as I'm at the end of my life 21:25 I'm going to write what counts. 21:28 I'm going to make it matter. " 21:30 He goes on to say: "Even as our Lord Jesus Christ 21:33 hath showed me. " So... we'll get back to this in a moment. 21:37 Peter is writing about what matters most. 21:40 Let's understand this. 21:42 He's writing about what he believes matters most. 21:46 So where does he go? 21:48 Verse 15: "Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able 21:52 after my decease... " after I'm gone; after I have died... 21:55 "to have these things always in remembrance. " 21:59 What he says is so important 22:01 he says: "After I am dead 22:05 I want you to remember this. " 22:09 "For we, " he says, "have not followed 22:12 cunningly devised fables 22:14 when we made known unto you the power and coming 22:17 of our Lord Jesus Christ. " 22:19 He wrote or writes: "We were eyewitnesses 22:23 of His majesty. " This was not up for grabs. 22:27 Peter was not about to equivocate. 22:30 He is saying: "I'm convinced, not mistaken. 22:34 What we have talked to you about is not simply some 22:37 elaborate ruse. " You know, one day 22:39 there was a lady and her husband 22:40 driving to Inverness in Scotland. 22:42 She looked out to the lake that they were driving beside 22:45 and she says: "Aah... the monster! " 22:47 And so was born the legend of the Loch Ness monster. 22:51 Now you do know that the lady who cried out 22:55 "Aah, the monster! " was the manageress of a local hotel. 23:00 That's true. 23:01 And many of the sightings - the so-called sightings 23:04 of the Loch Ness monster - 23:06 have been made by hotel owners in the Loch Ness area. 23:10 It's good for business. 23:13 Do you think the Loch Ness monster exists? 23:15 I do not... I absolutely do not. 23:22 You know, I've been living in Tennessee for far too long. 23:27 I've been living in Tennessee for too long, ya'll. 23:34 Lord help me. 23:36 Wasn't the Loch Ness monster. 23:38 This was not a matter of UFO: 23:40 somebody claiming to have seen something blinking in the sky. 23:45 The illusionist, the magician. They call him a magician. 23:48 He's not a magician... he's an illusionist. 23:49 He cuts his lovely assistant in half 23:52 and then separates the two halves, and the toes are still 23:54 wiggling over here. And you said: "Oh my goodness! 23:58 How did he do that? " It's not magic; it's an illusion 24:02 you understand. He never cut anybody in half. 24:04 Nobody ever did... at least not and survived again. 24:06 This was just an illusion. 24:08 What Peter is saying is that "I have studied and I've learned 24:12 in what I'm sharing with you my readers. " 24:14 "I'm not a snake oil salesman" he says. 24:17 "I'm not selling anything. " 24:18 "What I'm talking to you about is certain... 24:20 not a cunningly devised fable. " 24:23 You know there are people who believe that the earth is flat. 24:26 You know that? 24:27 I met a man just a few weeks ago 24:31 when we were holding evangelis- tic meetings in Rome in Italy. 24:34 Met a man... no wait a minute. 24:36 I didn't meet him; he was pointed out to me. 24:38 I didn't have the good fortu... I rubbed shoulders with him 24:41 literally speaking and he believed that the earth 24:44 is flat... flat... flatter than a pancake. 24:47 He believes it. He's evangelistic about it. 24:49 He wants people to know. Me? I want people to know Jesus 24:52 is coming back to the earth. He wants people to know 24:55 the earth Jesus is coming back to is flat. 24:59 How do you explain that? 25:02 Astronauts take photos. 25:05 Satellites get pictures. 25:07 Oh, no... he has an answer for that. 25:11 By the way, I don't mean to embarrass you 25:14 if you believe the earth is flat. 25:16 I do, however, want to tell you there's a very good chance 25:18 that you are out of your mind! 25:23 I recommend you get some help! 25:25 The earth's round, brother, sister... it's round! 25:28 Some people believe it's flat. 25:30 If you met the man, you wouldn't think he was crazy. 25:32 You'd think that he was ordinary, and that would 25:34 probably bother you even more than if he was obviously crazy. 25:37 Peter's not teaching anything like a flat earth theory. 25:41 He says: "What I'm talking to you about is the real deal. " 25:43 "We have not followed cunningly devised fables. " 25:46 How do we know that? "Because... " 25:48 No, no... do better than that, Peter. 25:49 "Well, because we are eyewitnesses. 25:52 We have seen... we KNOW this Jesus! " 25:56 Peter: eyewitnesses of what? 25:59 Verse 17: "For He received from God the Father 26:03 honor and glory when there came such a voice 26:05 to Him from the excellent glory 26:07 'This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. ' " 26:11 Can you imagine what it must have been like 26:13 to be on the mountain of transfiguration? 26:15 And there is Jesus suddenly... boom! 26:18 Transfigured before you. 26:20 And on one side is Moses; on the other side Elijah. 26:24 And they are there the Bible says to discuss 26:26 Jesus' decease which He would accomplish in Jerusalem. 26:29 They're there encouraging Jesus. Perhaps Moses is saying 26:32 "You die on that cross and there'll be others like me 26:34 who died and were raised. " Perhaps Elijah is saying 26:37 "You die on that cross and there'll be so many more 26:40 like me who are taken to heaven without seeing death. " 26:43 And they were encouraging Jesus. 26:44 And they heard the voice of God who said: "This is My 26:48 beloved Son. " Man! Can you imagine what that was like? 26:51 And there Peter was along with James and John. 26:54 It was impetuous Peter who said: "This is so much fun! 26:56 Let's build tabernacles so that we all can camp out here 26:59 for a while. " It was a crazy suggestion 27:01 but that was Peter. 27:05 He saw it! He heard it! 27:08 Imagine that! Wouldn't that make a believer out of ya? 27:14 But Peter said: "We've got something better! " 27:19 Because - and I think this is why he said that - 27:21 only three people saw Jesus transfigured 27:25 with the exception of Moses and Elijah. 27:28 Just three: Peter, James, and John. 27:31 What good was that 27:34 to people who didn't see Jesus transfigured? 27:37 Well, you could take his word for it. 27:38 That wouldn't be a bad thing. 27:40 You could believe them. If you were their friends, 27:42 you probably WOULD believe them. 27:44 But what happens to later generations? 27:45 What happens to people who've never met Peter, James and John? 27:48 What then? They want something they can really believe in 27:53 and trust and be certain. And Peter says "You've got it! " 27:57 Verse 18: "And this voice which came from heaven 28:00 we heard when we were with Him in the holy mount. " 28:02 Fantastic! And then verse 19 Peter says: 28:05 "We've got something that is even better! " 28:09 Can you believe it? 28:11 "We went up onto the mountain; 28:13 we saw the transfiguration happen; 28:15 we heard the voice of God; 28:16 we saw Jesus lifted up; 28:19 we saw Moses there... Elijah there 28:21 but there is something better than that" Peter says. 28:27 What could that possibly be? 28:28 He tells us in verse 19. 28:30 He said: "We have also a more sure 28:35 word of prophecy. " 28:39 You didn't see Him but you've got the Book. 28:42 You weren't there up on the mountain of transfiguration. 28:45 But that's all right because you've got the prophecies 28:47 written down. You've got the Word. It is sure! 28:51 In fact, Peter wrote: "It is MORE sure. " 28:55 You don't need to go up on the mountain. 28:57 You don't need to be there to see Jesus turn water into wine. 29:01 You don't need to be there when the little boy gave his lunch 29:03 and Jesus divided it out among thousands of people. 29:07 You did not need to see somebody walk on water 29:11 like it was concrete. If you weren't there, it is OK. 29:14 God has given you something to build your faith, 29:18 remove your doubt, something you can believe in. 29:22 What is it, Peter? 29:24 Peter says: "We have a more sure word of prophecy. " 29:29 Would you say amen tonight? Amen! 29:31 We have a more sure word of prophecy. 29:33 Now... "whereunto you do well that you... " What? 29:37 "take heed. " 29:39 Listen ladies and gentlemen, 29:40 if we've got it and if it's sure 29:42 we ought to be listening to it. 29:43 If we've got it and if it is sure, 29:45 we ought to be recognizing it, listening to it, 29:48 taking heed... reading... studying... digging. 29:53 "Whereunto you do well that you take heed 29:54 as unto a light that shines in a dark place 29:57 until the day dawn and the Daystar" - 30:00 that is Jesus - "arise in your hearts. " 30:03 Other versions of the Bible say something along the lines 30:06 of: "We have the prophetic word made more sure. " 30:10 Another one talks about the prophetic word being 30:13 totally reliable. The inference is 30:16 the prophetic word is certain. You can be confident 30:20 about the prophetic Word of God. 30:22 And what I love about the prophetic Word of God 30:23 it is validatable. "Validatable? " 30:28 It can be validated. 30:30 Come to Camp Meeting; learn new words. 30:36 You know, I just should have said: "Hey, back in New Zealand 30:38 validatable is an everyday word. " 30:39 You would have said: "Oh... how about that! " 30:42 You might have gone back to church and said: 30:44 "Well that's validatable. " "What are you talking about? " 30:46 "They say it in New Zealand... it's OK. " 30:53 It's verifiable. 30:55 You can look that one up... that's for real. 30:59 Verse 20: "Knowing this first: that no prophecy 31:02 of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 31:04 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man 31:06 but holy men of God spake as they were moved by 31:09 the Holy Ghost. " Let's talk about this just a little bit. 31:12 I think it's important that we do. 31:14 God's Spirit moved on "penmen. " 31:16 The prophets weren't his pen they were his "penmen. " 31:18 And they wrote using the best human language 31:21 they could access to describe these divine thoughts 31:23 that God had impressed upon their hearts. 31:26 As we look at the three angels' messages 31:28 across this Camp Meeting we are looking at prophecy, 31:31 at end-time prophecy, 31:32 a call from God to the entire world 31:35 to repentance, to faith in Jesus, 31:37 to understand the issues that are about to pour forth, 31:40 burst forth on a largely unsuspecting world. 31:44 Now I would like to suggest to you that this is no time 31:46 for uncertainty. Listen, if what the Bible says is halfway true 31:50 we are this close to what the Bible says is 31:52 "a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. " 31:56 Listen: when earthly support is removed, 31:58 when trouble comes, 32:00 when winds of strife blow, you want to know that you have 32:03 built your house on a Solid Rock. 32:06 If you've built on shifting sand, 32:07 man, you know what's going to happen. 32:09 The rain will come down, the wind will blow, 32:11 the storm will beat against your structure 32:12 and it will be swept away. 32:14 If you build on something solid, 32:17 and the Word of God is solid, 32:19 then you will be able to stand. Come on and say "Amen. " 32:21 Amen! It's the truth. 32:23 Do we see the signs of the times being fulfilled? 32:25 Yes we do! Let me tell you something: 32:27 this is no time for doubting the Word of God 32:30 and this is no time for calling the Word of God into question. 32:35 Of course this is a time for study, 32:37 for inquiry, for certainty, for digging into the Word of God. 32:41 For praying and fasting and taking the Bible 32:44 and looking at it this way and stretching it here and there 32:47 in an attempt to get to the truth. 32:50 But you and I both know that people are being drawn away 32:53 from faith in God at an alarming rate. 32:56 Somebody once said long ago that God would permit heresies 33:00 to come in so they would drive us to our knees 33:03 and cause us to study the Word of God. 33:05 Unfortunately the heresies come and folks aren't studying, 33:08 they're not on their knees. 33:09 They're eating any old thing like sheep and goats. 33:12 Sheep, man... they're at least discerning eaters. 33:14 Goats will eat anything! 33:16 Goats will eat the label off a tin can 33:18 and then try and eat the tin. 33:20 And unfortunately, there are too many goats in the church 33:23 who are ready to eat anything. 33:25 And there are too many predators who are looking for the weak 33:29 to share with them false teachings to draw away 33:32 disciples unto themselves. 33:34 This is no time for re- inventing the Word of God. 33:36 No time for re-imagining the prophecies. 33:39 No time for taking a stand against the faith once delivered 33:43 to the saints. I want to say this graciously. 33:45 There's room in any church for different ways of looking 33:49 at things if you know what I mean. 33:51 We can't expect everybody to be in the same place. 33:54 We shouldn't be. Folks are in different stages 33:56 in their growth, in their understanding, 33:58 in their capacity to understand. 34:00 But you can understand basics, you can understand principles, 34:03 you can understand pillars. 34:06 The dead can only be doing so much. 34:12 Hell can only be so many things. 34:15 ONE as a matter of fact. 34:17 The Sabbath is what the Sabbath is! Amen! 34:21 There is no time for taking the prophecies that we have built on 34:25 for decades... Now and don't you like it 34:27 how over the last 150 years our collective interpretation 34:31 of Bible prophecy has essentially not changed. 34:35 I like that... I like that! 34:38 There are other faith communities 34:40 that the moment something gets up in the Middle East 34:42 they say: "Oh, let's go back to the drawing board 34:44 and re-write everything that we wrote. " 34:46 We are not dependent upon the news for what we believe. 34:50 Amen! We are not dependent upon the latest wind 34:53 blowing through town to grab hold of that and say: 34:56 "Ah, this is fashionable now. " 34:57 We believe what we believe because the Bible says it! 35:00 Because it always has! We believe what we believe 35:02 knowing that we can always fine-tune our belief system. 35:06 What I'm saying is: "Listen, if you are one of those people 35:09 who want to start drawing people away 35:12 listen... and I say this kindly... 35:13 you can just go away. " 35:18 No... What I mean is... I don't mean, look: 35:21 "Hey, John, I see this obscure verse in Ezekiel 35:23 a little bit different than you. " Oh, well, 35:25 it may even be a good thing that you do. 35:27 But when we are starting to "dicker" about the pillars 35:30 and the fundamentals and you want to start dragging 35:33 people away... hey, this is America that we're in. 35:35 In fact, wherever you're watching from it's probably 35:37 a reasonably free country. 35:39 You could just start your own church! 35:41 Call it the "You Church" and carry right on... 35:44 have the time of your life. 35:45 The problem is misery loves company. 35:48 And folks aren't happy until they've swooped in like vultures 35:52 trying to pick away at the weak inside God's church. 35:55 And it keeps happening and I keep hearing about 35:57 people. Some of them I'd have though they were solid as solid 36:00 who are getting drawn away now 36:03 by people wanting to re-imagine and re-work 36:06 and re-write and re-interpret positions that until this point 36:10 we had never questioned. 36:12 Study... but you don't need to doubt. 36:15 Study... but you can be confident in the Word of God. 36:19 Don't let the devil drag you away from the body! 36:24 Amen! 36:26 When something is separated from the body 36:28 we typically term that an amputation 36:31 and we're not fond of them! 36:34 I would encourage you not to allow yourself to be amputated 36:37 from God's church. 36:40 I would encourage you along that line. 36:43 If you were to look at the certainty of the Word of God 36:45 and the prophetic Word of God, where would you start? 36:48 Oh, there's so many places that you could start. 36:50 Why don't you turn with me in your Bible. 36:51 We're going to come back to II Peter, and I'll tell you why 36:53 soon. But we're going to go now to Daniel chapter 2. 36:57 You're familiar with Daniel chapter 2. 36:59 And I don't mind that. 37:00 I'm not about to tell you any- thing new in Daniel chapter 2 37:03 unless of course you're new to Daniel chapter 2. 37:05 I have no burden to be new and unique 37:10 and "Oh my goodness! I've never heard that before! " 37:12 You know what I like to do? 37:14 I like to tell people the old, old story. 37:15 Amen! It's as good today as it ever was. 37:18 And the minute you start getting tired of the old, old story 37:20 you need to go to God and say: "Lord help me, please. " 37:23 Daniel chapter 2 starts with King Nebuchadnezzar 37:26 having a dream. 37:27 He explains... Well, he can't explain the dream 37:30 but he explains the situation to his wise men. 37:32 They say: "Hey, tell us the dream 37:34 and we'll tell you what you dreamed about. " 37:36 And of course that was a ruse. 37:38 That was a cunningly devised fable right there. 37:42 There was a death decree. "If you don't tell me what this 37:45 was, you're all dead! " 37:46 Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - 37:49 who evidently were not there - 37:51 when the executioner came for them 37:53 they said: "Hey, wait on! " 37:55 "Would you please give us the opportunity 37:57 to knock this out. " And they were given that opportunity 38:01 and the Bible says in Daniel 2:17 38:05 "Daniel went to his house, made the thing known to 38:07 Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah his companions 38:10 that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven 38:13 concerning this secret. " That's what they did. 38:15 In other words, they did what? 38:17 They had a prayer meeting, that's right. 38:19 And then the Bible says in verse 19 that 38:21 God revealed the secret to them in a night vision. 38:24 Wonderful! And you get down to verse 31 38:27 and Daniel starts to tell King Nebuchadnezzar 38:30 what the dream was. Daniel didn't hear it. 38:32 Daniel didn't experience it. 38:33 Daniel didn't dream it. 38:35 Daniel went to God, and he said to Nebuchadnezzar 38:37 "Here's what you dreamed about. " 38:39 "You saw a great big statue made of different kinds of metals. 38:42 The head was made out of gold. " He said to him: 38:44 "YOU are the head of gold! That's you, man! " 38:48 And Nebuchadnezzar... the lights are coming on. 38:50 He's seeing what he dreamed because Daniel the prophet is 38:53 explaining to him what he dreamed about. 38:55 "Oh man, you're right! " And then he said: 38:57 "The next part of the statue is made out of... " What? 39:00 Silver... that's right. And the next part was made out of? 39:03 Brass or bronze. And the legs were made out of? 39:05 Iron. The feet were made out of? 39:07 Iron and clay. So Nebuchadnezzar - 39:10 Babylon... the kingdom of Babylon - 39:12 represented the head or the head represented Babylon. 39:15 After that came the Medes and the Persians. 39:18 And after Medo-Persia came Greece. 39:21 And after Greece came? Rome... that's right! 39:23 And then Rome did what? 39:25 It divided into how many nations? 39:28 Ten. That's right... of course. 39:29 Daniel 2 doesn't say how many nations... 39:32 it just says "divided. " 39:33 It talks about feet and toes. I had a fella 39:36 who was a church member 39:39 and I was a young... I mean, I'm still young... 39:42 but I was a younger... 39:49 Some of you all could have said "Amen. " 39:55 I was a younger man 39:57 and new in the church, and this man of experience 40:00 who worked for a church institution, he pulls me aside. 40:02 He said: "You know, doesn't say nothin' about 10 toes. " 40:05 "In fact, " he said, "back then those statues 40:08 were probably built with only 3 toes on each foot. " 40:11 I'm: "What in the world? " 40:12 "Really? " "Oh, yeah! " So you know, 40:15 this is that troublemaking I'm talking about. 40:18 Whispering doubt; trying to sub- vert the faith of some people. 40:22 Not cool! It was a statue of a man. 40:26 Typical man has five toes on each foot. 40:29 It's reasonable to assume that there's 10, but we don't 40:31 need to be bound by Daniel chapter 2. 40:33 Because over there in Daniel chapter 7 Daniel employs 40:37 a principle of prophetic interpretation 40:39 that we would call? Repeat and enlarge. 40:42 That's right. Now, what you've got is Daniel saying 40:45 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. Rome divides 40:47 and then the second coming takes place. 40:51 The stone cut out without hands comes swooshing down 40:55 through the great corridor of space, 40:57 lands on the feet, smashes up that whole image. 41:00 It turns into whatever it turns into 41:02 and the wind blows it away. The kingdoms of the earth 41:04 are swept away when Jesus comes back. 41:06 That's a very quick overview of the prophecy 41:08 of Daniel chapter 2. 41:09 And I like what Daniel said. 41:12 In Daniel 2 verse 45 41:15 he said - and I'm picking up in the middle of the verse - 41:17 "The great God has made known to the king 41:19 what will come to pass hereafter. " 41:21 And then he said in Daniel 2:45 41:23 "The dream is CERTAIN and the interpretation is SURE! " 41:29 Certain and sure. And so you get over to Daniel 7... 41:34 Daniel chapter 7 and here Daniel has a dream. 41:39 And he says that in his dream he saw... 41:41 I shall read it for you right at the beginning of the 41:44 7th chapter of Daniel he saw "four great beasts 41:48 come up from the sea. " "Diverse, " verse 3, 41:51 "one from another. " 41:52 The first one was like a lion; had eagle's wings. 41:56 Man, this is so common a description of Babylon 41:59 that if you were to go to Babylon, New York, 42:02 there's a suburb out on Long Island called Babylon 42:05 that's right there on the water. 42:06 There's a marina there. Go to the marina 42:09 in Babylon, New York, and you will find a great big concrete 42:12 pillar. On top of it a lion with eagle's wings. 42:16 It's a symbol of Babylon. 42:17 And so here in Daniel chapter 7 the lion with eagle's wings 42:21 represents Babylon. And so the bear? 42:23 That would represent? Medo-Persia. 42:26 And then the leopard beast. That would represent? Greece. 42:30 And then the dreadful terrible strong exceedingly beast 42:35 that would represent? Rome! That's right. 42:37 And instead of the feet and toes representing the divided nations 42:41 you've got horns on the head 42:42 representing the divided nations. 42:44 Repeat and enlarge. And what you love 42:47 is this is validatable. 42:50 Remember that word from a moment ago? 42:51 Remember that? Remember that, children? 42:53 Vaid... valid... whatever it was. 42:55 Verifiable! 42:56 We look into history and we see 42:59 that just as Daniel prophesied. 43:02 Listen: you don't have to go up on the mountaintop 43:05 and see Jesus transfigured 43:07 and see Moses and Elijah appear. 43:09 You can be certain in the prophetic word 43:13 because you look at it, you compare it to history. 43:16 you study it up one side and down the other 43:18 and you have to conclude "This is solid! " 43:21 Amen! Had someone the other day claim: 43:24 "I'm an atheist. " I said: "All right; I respect that. 43:26 You have a right to believe that. Let me just challenge 43:28 that a moment: what do you do with the 43:30 prophecies of the Bible? What do you do? " 43:33 This was an atheist who was familiar with Daniel chapter 2 43:36 and Daniel chapter 7. 43:37 "What are you going to do about that? 43:39 No one could have concocted that or made that up 43:42 or invented that. " This was breathed by God. 43:45 There's no question about it! 43:48 And surely it was. 43:51 And so when you see the prophecies of the Bible: 43:55 Micah writing that Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem 43:58 Ephrathah. Bethlehem Ephrathah. And He was! 44:01 Isaiah saying that Messiah would be born of a virgin. 44:05 And He was! Isaiah writing that Messiah 44:07 would be despised and rejected. 44:12 For goodness sake... who would say that about the Messiah? 44:15 Isaiah did because he was inspired by God. 44:22 And you can read so many prophecies. 44:25 Now I'm not going to tell you that Psalm 22 44:28 is a prophecy, but it certainly is a Messianic Psalm. 44:32 And it starts with the words: "My God! My God! 44:35 Why hast Thou forsaken Me? " 44:36 And it tells, hundreds of years before the death of Jesus, 44:40 the story of the crucifixion of Christ. 44:43 You've got all of these people writing all of these prophecies 44:45 on different continents, different centuries, 44:48 different cultures, and they all coalesce to paint 44:51 a beautiful picture of the Word of God 44:54 made sure. Daniel says "The dream is certain; 44:58 the interpretation is sure. " 45:00 My brother, my sister: you can be SURE! 45:04 Amen! The Bible hasn't let you down 45:07 and it won't let you down. 45:09 Let me just editorialize or digress for a moment. 45:12 If you're struggling in your faith, 45:14 it's not because of the Bible. 45:17 It's not because of God. 45:19 It might be because life has delivered you a rough hand. 45:24 That happens sometimes. 45:26 That's why we have the book of Job 45:29 to help us to understand there is a great controversy 45:31 going on behind the scenes 45:33 and that God encourages us even in the midst of desperate 45:36 difficulty. "Just trust Me" God says. 45:39 "Just trust Me! And if you trust Me, 45:42 one day you are going to leave this earth. 45:44 Gravity is going to lose its hold on the soles of your feet. 45:48 You are going to go up. " And I will promise you 45:50 my brother, I will promise you my sister, 45:52 as you are going up you are not going to start 45:56 worrying about how you were foreclosed on 45:58 by your bank. 46:03 You are not going to ascend towards heaven 46:07 angry at the way your spouse treated you. 46:10 You know, that's over! 46:12 There won't be any resentment in your heart 46:13 towards your employer when you're going up. 46:16 Your eyes will be on Jesus and you will say: 46:20 "Heaven is cheap enough! " 46:22 Amen! 46:25 Those bad days are over. Come on, man, 46:27 if it's bad days that's shaking you now, let it be over now! 46:32 Of course, you're going to wake up... "Oh, John, you don't 46:35 appreciate the trouble I've seen. " I'm sure I don't. 46:38 And maybe the reverse is true. 46:40 But I appreciate the trouble that Jesus has seen. 46:43 And He saw it for you so that when life gets dark 46:46 you can say: "There is a Savior! " 46:48 When life gets tough you can say: "There is hope 46:51 because Jesus is coming back soon! " 46:53 How do you know Jesus is coming back soon? 46:56 I will tell you tonight: we have a more sure word of prophecy. 47:00 Amen! 47:02 I want to tell you this, too, 47:03 When Peter said: "We have a more sure word of prophecy" 47:07 he was not saying: "Because predictions have come true 47:11 you can now be a prognosti- cator about the future. " 47:14 Prophecy was not given to us so we could be prideful about 47:17 our knowledge of prophecy. 47:19 And let me burst your bubble just a little bit 47:21 if it needs a little bit of bursting. 47:23 You know, there's not one of us here tonight 47:26 wherever here might be 47:31 who is as good at unfulfilled prophecy 47:35 as we might be at fulfilled prophecy. 47:39 You look at Daniel chapter 2, Daniel chapter 7. 47:41 Hey... man... we got an A+ on that. 47:44 And then you get to some of the more obscure parts 47:47 of the book of Revelation. Ah... You know I would approach 47:50 with a modicum of humility is what I would do. 47:54 So the idea of having a more sure word of prophecy 47:56 isn't to allow us to go to our neighbor and say: 47:59 "Hey, man, I can tell you everything about the last days 48:02 of this earth's history. " 48:03 God has given that to us in broad strokes. 48:05 We know an awful lot, but let's not ever make the 48:07 mistake of thinking we know every last detail. 48:09 Amen. You know what I'm saying. 48:11 So prophecy isn't given to us so we can... we can feel good 48:15 about our knowledge of the end time. 48:17 If prophecy is only giving you knowledge, 48:20 then it's not giving you enough. 48:23 Prophecy isn't given to us so we can go and straighten out 48:27 those folks who don't believe right like I do. 48:30 Hmm? 48:31 Because I would say this and please... please... 48:34 be careful how you hear this. OK? 48:37 I don't even really like what I'm about to say. 48:40 So I'll say it anyway and wonder later why I said it. 48:42 But you can have the right theology 48:47 and the right understanding of prophecy: past, present, 48:51 or future and be a long way from Jesus. 48:54 You can have the wrong understanding of prophecy 48:58 simply because you never have been blessed with the light. 49:02 You were raised a certain way; the lights haven't gone on 49:04 in your mind. You can have an inaccurate view of the 49:07 prophecies of the Bible and have an accurate picture of Jesus 49:11 and be right in the center of His heart. 49:13 Amen! You'd better believe that. 49:14 You'd better believe that there are people who don't have 49:16 all their theological ducks in a row 49:18 but they are with Jesus and they are in a saving 49:21 relationship with Him. Oh sure. 49:23 So prophecy wasn't given to us so we can brag 49:27 about who we are, what we know, and how smart we are 49:31 in the things of heaven. 49:33 Why was it given? 49:34 Let's go back to II Peter. 49:39 I'll start in verse 1. I'm going to breeze through 49:41 some of the verses because they're only introductory. 49:43 They set the scene. "Simon Peter, a servant 49:45 and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them who have obtained like 49:48 precious faith with us through the righteousness of God 49:52 and our Savior Jesus Christ. " 49:54 Notice where he started. 49:57 He starts with faith and the righteousness of God. 50:01 That, my sister, my brother, is really important. 50:07 And so we go to verse 2: "Grace and peace be multiplied 50:10 unto you through the knowledge of God and our Lord 50:11 Jesus Christ. " You know, there's a sermon there, 50:14 but we'll go on. "According as His divine power 50:17 has given unto us all things that pertain unto 50:19 life and godliness through the knowledge of Him 50:22 that hath called us to glory and virtue. " 50:24 All right... we are now in the 4th verse. 50:26 Peter was writing "because these are the things that really 50:29 matter to me. I'm going to die soon 50:32 so this is my last hurrah. " 50:34 It was II Peter. He didn't say that in I Peter. 50:38 Maybe he'd had a visit to the doctor, and the doctor said 50:40 "Pete, it ain't looking good. " 50:42 Whatever it was, I don't want to call this his last will 50:46 and testament for I don't know if it was. 50:48 But he's writing in the context of "I'm about to go 50:52 so I'm making this count. " 50:54 "So... whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious 50:59 promises... " Why? "that by these 51:02 ye might be partakers of the divine nature 51:06 having escaped the corruption that is in the world 51:10 through lust. " Ooh... THIS is what Peter's on about. 51:14 He says: "My readers, I want you 51:18 to be a partaker of the divine nature. " 51:21 "I want it to be so that God lives in you 51:25 and you live in God. " 51:27 "I want you to live a life of increasing victory over sin 51:33 having escaped the corruption 51:35 that is in the world through lust. " 51:37 This is victory he is talking about. 51:40 And so we read on. This is his emphasis. 51:43 He says: "And besides this giving all diligence 51:46 add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 51:48 to knowledge temperance. " Sorry for racing through this. 51:50 "Temperance patience, patience godliness, 51:53 godliness brotherly kindness, 51:54 brotherly kindness charity. " Charity is the big word 51:57 that simply means love. At the end of the line: love! 52:03 "For if these things be in you and abound, 52:05 they make you that you shall neither be barren 52:08 or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior 52:11 Jesus Christ. " THIS is where he's aiming! 52:16 "I want you to be like Jesus. " 52:19 "I want you, " Peter is saying, "to possess the righteousness 52:24 of Christ. " Come on, man... too many of us have got 52:27 our Ph.D. in whacking other people over the head 52:30 with our strict interpretation of prophecy 52:32 and we're getting an "F" in the righteousness of Christ. 52:36 That cannot be! 52:40 It mustn't be so. It mustn't be. 52:44 "Wherefore the rather brethren give diligent to make your 52:47 calling and your election... " Oh, no, no, no, no, no. 52:50 I skipped over one. 52:51 Verse 9: "But he that lacks these things is... " What? 52:55 "Blind, cannot see far off and has forgotten 52:57 that he was purged from his old sins. " 52:59 Peter is writing about a pure heart! 53:02 Victory over sin, forgiveness, cleansing. 53:04 "You've been washed in the blood of the Lamb. " 53:06 This is his burden. 53:09 "Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your 53:11 calling and election sure. For if you do these things 53:14 you shall never... " What? "never fall. " 53:17 That's what he says, or stumble I think somebody has 53:19 in your Bible. "For so an entrance shall be 53:21 ministered unto you abundantly in the everlasting kingdom. " 53:25 You know what he's saying? 53:26 "Because if you follow this route 53:28 you'll go to heaven. " That's what he says. 53:31 "If you follow this route, you will be saved. " 53:33 This is where Peter is driving. 53:36 Salvation... that's what he's after. 53:39 "You'll be saved. " "Wherefore I will not be 53:42 negligent to put you always in remembrance 53:44 of these things though you know them 53:46 and be established in the present... in the present truth. 53:52 Yea, I think it meat as long as I am in this tabernacle 53:54 to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. " 54:00 And shortly afterwards he went on to say 54:05 "I want you to remember all of this. 54:07 This is real. " How do you know it's real? 54:10 "We haven't followed cunningly devised fables. " 54:12 How do you know? "We heard the voice! " 54:14 "We were with Him in the mount. " 54:16 "We were there... we KNOW! " 54:20 "Yeah, but we weren't... so how do we know? 54:25 Know what you're talking about is true? " 54:27 You want to know how? "We have also a more sure word 54:30 of prophecy. " Amen! That's why. 54:33 This is why Peter's talking about the more sure word 54:35 of prophecy. Not just so you can say: 54:38 "Well I understand the mark of the beast and the United States 54:40 in prophecy and something about the seven last plagues. 54:42 I understand the time of trouble. " 54:44 Listen: that's good. We need to understand that. 54:47 But if all we understand is that 54:49 and we have not come within a bull's roar 54:54 of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, 54:56 that great knowledge is going to be like a millstone 54:59 around your neck! 55:01 It will rise up to condemn you in the judgment. 55:03 Peter is saying: "I am wanting you to be victorious. " 55:07 "I am wanting you to escape the corruption that is in the 55:10 world through lust. I am wanting you to be like Christ! " 55:13 "I'm wanting Christ to possess you. " 55:15 "I want you to go to heaven. You can believe all of this. " 55:19 How can we believe it? 55:20 "Well, I've been up on the mountain. " 55:22 "Yeah, but I haven't. " 55:23 "Yeah, but you have a more sure word of prophecy. " 55:26 Listen, friends: you read Daniel. Daniel's not just about 55:29 prognostication. Daniel is about salvation. " 55:32 That's what it is. 55:34 Revelation... The book of Revelation is the revelation 55:37 of Jesus Christ. That's what it is! 55:40 Sometimes we think it's the revelation of antichrist. 55:43 It isn't. That's a very important feature of the book 55:46 but the most important feature of the book is Jesus. 55:49 How're we doing with that tonight? 55:52 If you get away from Camp Meeting this year 55:54 and you say: "Ah, I feel like I know so much more. " 55:57 That's good... that's good. 56:00 But if you can leave Camp Meeting this year and say: 56:03 "Ah, I know Jesus so much better" 56:04 ah, now we're talking... now we're talking. 56:08 I can go back to church with my head filled with knowledge. 56:10 "I've heard these learned folks speaking and I can 56:12 straighten some people out. " Ooh, be careful as you go. 56:16 But if you're determined to go back as the salt of the earth, 56:19 as the light of the world and say: "Jesus has my heart; 56:22 Jesus has my life. 56:25 I'm representing Christ. 56:27 The Daystar is rising in my heart. " Amen! 56:32 Then God will say: "YES! 56:35 Camp Meeting was a success in that life. " 56:39 Let's make it a success. We've gotta have Jesus... 56:41 that's what we've gotta have. 56:43 This more sure word of prophecy convinces us 56:45 that God's Word is true 56:46 and that God's Son is truly the Son of God. 56:49 And truly He is coming back soon. 56:53 That's where prophecy leads. 56:55 That's where prophecy must lead us. 56:57 It must lead us to being ready for the return of Jesus. 57:00 Come on, let's pray while we can. 57:02 Our Father in heaven, we are thankful tonight 57:04 for the more sure word of prophecy. 57:06 Oh Lord, we want knowledge - and we need it - 57:08 but we want a knowledge of Jesus, an experiential knowledge 57:12 of Your Son Jesus. We need it and we must have it! 57:15 Make it so, and let Your Word burn in our hearts 57:19 now and always. Make us Yours. 57:20 Give us the righteousness of Jesus Christ we pray and plead. 57:24 In Jesus' name... come on and say: Amen and Amen. |
Revised 2018-06-26