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Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM180003A
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00:41 Welcome to the 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting:
00:44 The Three Angels' Messages. 00:50 And we do welcome you all back to the second sermon 00:54 in these three angels' messages. 00:57 In just a few minutes Pastor Bradshaw is going to 01:01 come back. Did you enjoy that first message? 01:03 That was amazing! 01:06 And I thought... There's like electricity in the air. 01:11 But you know what that is? That's God's holy presence. 01:15 That is the anointing of Almighty God in this place. 01:18 And Pastor Bradshaw is going to bring us the next message 01:22 which is The Everlasting Gospel. 01:24 So let's prepare ourselves to be blessed again. 01:28 But before he comes Yvonne Lewis-Shelton 01:32 is going to come and minister a beautiful song to us. 01:35 You know, she and Tim Parton wrote this song together. 01:38 And I'm going to ask that she tell you all about it. 01:42 Sr. Yvonne and Tim. Thank you Mollie. 01:46 So about three months ago Danny and Tim and I 01:50 were coming back from a ministry event 01:52 and Danny said to Tim and me 01:56 that we should write a song together. 01:58 And so... bless his heart, Tim - he's a great writer 02:02 and I'm really not... And so the next morning 02:06 I was in my worship room and I asked the Lord for a song. 02:10 I said: "Lord, would you just give me a song? " 02:13 And He gave me these lyrics 02:16 and so... and they just came... it was amazing! 02:20 And so I sent them to Tim 02:23 and in about two hours 02:26 this is the song that Tim sent back to me. 02:30 And so we're sharing it with you. 02:32 Your Love Will Lift Me Up. 02:39 Lord, I come to You with a heavy heart 02:44 'cause I know I've let You down. 02:48 All that sparkle and amusement 02:53 caused me to lose my ground. 02:58 I've lost my moral compass 03:02 and all sense of direction. 03:08 Please lead me to the path 03:11 of Your perfection. 03:16 Love will lift me up; 03:21 Your love will fill my cup. 03:26 No more emptiness or vain regrets... 03:31 no shame or guilt or secrets. 03:35 Your love will 03:38 lift me up! 03:45 All the clouds that now obscure my heart 03:50 will start to disappear. 03:54 All the anger, hurt, and pain will leave 03:59 along with doubt and fear. 04:04 I trust that You will guide me, Lord, 04:08 through all life's twists and turns. 04:13 Please take my hand 04:15 and hold me close 04:18 for You my spirit yearns. 04:23 Oh, love will lift me up; 04:28 Your love will fill my cup. 04:33 No more emptiness or vain regrets... 04:38 no shame or guilt or secrets. 04:43 Your love will 04:45 lift me up! 04:50 Oh, love will lift me up; 04:56 Your love will fill my cup. 05:00 No more emptiness or vain regrets... 05:05 no shame or guilt or secrets. 05:10 Your love will 05:13 lift me up! 05:20 Your love will 05:23 lift 05:26 me up! 05:37 Amen! 05:46 Good evening everyone. Good evening! 05:53 I mean this... I mean this with all my heart: 05:56 Yvonne Lewis-Shelton is one of my favorite singers 05:59 in the world. Amen! She just is. 06:02 In fact, if you compiled a list of my favorite people, 06:06 she'd be somewhere right up near the top. 06:07 She's wonderful! Hope she didn't hear me say that. 06:11 Wonderful! Welcome to Camp Meeting. 06:16 I'm glad you're here... I'm really glad you're here. 06:18 Hope you got here without any issues and that 06:22 you are planning on... Someone laughed when I said that. 06:25 All right... I take that to mean you probably did. 06:29 I expect that you've come expecting to be blessed. 06:33 Amen! 06:35 You know, when you open up the Bible you ought to expect 06:40 to be blessed. Amen! 06:43 And the blessings aren't always super evident at the time. 06:48 You know. Sometimes you open up the Bible 06:52 and you read the Bible and you close the Bible 06:53 and you can go away kind of feeling much the same as you did 06:56 before you opened up the Bible. 06:58 But it's important to remember we are saved by faith 07:01 and not feeling. 07:03 And the Bible isn't given to us for the purpose of ecstasy. 07:06 It's given to us for the purpose of intimacy with God 07:11 so that we can know the mind of God 07:13 and know Jesus 07:15 so He can possess us more and more and more. 07:18 So we'll open the Bible this evening. 07:22 We are going to talk about the three angels' messages. 07:26 Now as you get through Camp Meeting 07:30 what you're going to discover is that you're going to start 07:32 drilling down kind of deep 07:35 into various aspects of the three angels' messages. 07:39 My privilege tonight is to look at the three angels' messages 07:41 in an overview form... an overview form. 07:45 And after this this is where you start to do the real digging. 07:49 You're going to start to focus in on various aspects 07:53 of the three angels' messages: the messages of three angels 07:56 in Revelation chapter 14. 07:59 Particularly important. 08:02 So let's begin by praying 08:04 and anticipating that God would come very close 08:08 to us as we study His Word tonight. 08:10 Let's pray. 08:13 Our dear heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of 08:16 Jesus. 08:20 We believe that it is Your desire to bless us. 08:28 As we open Your Word we know it is Your desire 08:32 to speak to us. 08:33 You have said - Your spokesperson said - that 08:37 Your Word would not return to You void 08:41 but it would accomplish what You sent it to accomplish. 08:44 It would prosper in the purpose for which You sent it. 08:50 We believe that. 08:51 Now we don't trust ourselves to be able to squeeze the Bible 08:56 and make the good stuff come out. 08:58 But we trust You to be able to feed us 09:01 with the bread of heaven. We don't want this to be 09:04 and intellectual or a human endeavor tonight. 09:09 We pray that something supernatural would happen. 09:12 We pray that we would see Jesus. 09:14 We pray that Your Word would be alive and powerful. 09:19 So speak to us, dear Lord, we pray 09:23 in Jesus' name - please, would you say with me - 09:28 Amen! Amen... Amen. 09:35 It was 1940... World War I was a year old. 09:39 America had not yet joined... 09:42 Did I say World War I? 09:44 If World War I was a year old in 1940, 09:46 then we all have trouble... we really do. 09:51 Everything we believed has just gone out the window! 09:58 In 1940 World War II was a year old. 10:04 United States had not joined World War II 10:06 until a little later. 10:10 But in 1940 it was progressing furiously. 10:17 In France British troops found themselves 10:23 surrounded. Wasn't good. 10:27 Germany was gaining the upper hand, 10:29 and so you had thousands of British and Belgian 10:32 and French troops that had been pressed back up against 10:35 the English Channel. 10:38 Germany had 'em on three sides... 10:40 the ocean had 'em on the fourth. 10:44 British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill 10:46 said this was a "colossal military disaster. " 10:51 The commander of the British expeditionary force 10:54 realized there was only one option: that was to evacuate. 10:57 How do you get almost 350,000 men 11:01 out of France when your only way out is the water? 11:06 When the enemy is pressing in on you 11:10 in a desperate fashion, how do you do that? 11:14 It was 390,000 men. 11:18 It was hoped that they'd get 50,000 out. 11:24 That was the hope. 11:26 What would become of the other 340,000? 11:30 Maybe you wouldn't want to think about that. 11:33 But for reasons that to this day are still unclear 11:36 Hitler took his foot off the Allied throat. 11:42 No one's really sure why. 11:45 It has been said that he was confident 11:48 that the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, 11:50 could do the job all on its own. 11:52 So there was a reprieve. 11:55 I don't know if Hitler anticipated what Churchill 11:57 was going to do, but Churchill issued a call 12:01 for anyone in England with a boat 12:05 to send it across... well, to pilot it across the channel 12:10 and get the Allies out of there 12:14 back to England and safety. 12:16 It's a very interesting thing: in the 1940's 12:20 England was still a very class-aware country. 12:24 Great Britain is the country. 12:26 Great Britain was a very class-aware country. 12:30 Not the caste system that you find in a place like India 12:34 but very much the upper class 12:38 and the lower class. And frankly never the twain shall meet. 12:43 Very much like that. 12:45 And yet in response to the call 12:50 issued by Britain's Prime Minister 12:55 people responded. 12:57 They crossed the channel - not a wide body of water - 13:00 in ferries and fishing boats and pleasure craft 13:05 and sloops and yachts and everything you could imagine. 13:11 Bankers and longshoremen 13:15 and taxi drivers and fishermen 13:18 and accountants and teachers, men and boys. 13:24 It was easy for the people in the boats to find out where 13:26 they were going. At night they could see the glow of the flames 13:30 and by day they could see the rising smoke. 13:31 They knew where to go. 13:33 Dunkirk was obviously just over there. 13:38 Many of the boats were tiny, and so the tiny boats 13:41 would go into shore, get the men, take them out 13:42 to the bigger boats. They'd go backwards and forwards 13:44 like taxis... water taxis if you like. 13:49 With the beach at Dunkirk under attack 13:52 from German artillery, bombers, and fighting planes 13:58 or fighter planes this rag-tag rescue force 14:03 managed to rescue 340,000 14:08 Britain's, French, and Belgians. 14:12 It was an incredible rescue mission. 14:17 You might say it was a miracle! 14:20 Few people would dare to say 14:23 that God had nothing to do with that. 14:26 You can't get that lucky. 14:29 Just isn't important. Nine days! 14:34 Historians look back at that time with utter amazement. 14:41 But when the chance to be rescued from calamity 14:45 from certain death comes along 14:49 analysis is probably best left for another day. 14:54 You accept the lifeline that's thrown to you. 14:58 Graciously... gratefully 15:01 you grab hold of it. How it came about 15:05 doesn't really matter. 15:08 But when somebody shows up to rescue you 15:13 you avail yourself of the rescue 15:16 and you get out of there alive. 15:21 You go back to the beginning of this earth's history 15:25 God created a beautiful world. 15:28 He started off by saying on day one - 15:31 on 24-hour period number one - 15:34 "Let there be light. " 15:37 And as He progressed through the six days of creation 15:41 He got to the place where He had made a beautiful 15:44 and a perfect world and placed in it 15:47 beautiful and perfect creatures, beautiful and perfect vegetation 15:51 and beautiful and perfect people. 15:54 And then on that first seventh day you can imagine God 15:57 fellowshipping with Adam and Eve and thinking 16:00 "This is great! " 16:02 And Adam and Eve must have thought the same thing. 16:04 And God in His wisdom realized He had to warn 16:07 Adam and Eve because He was aware 16:09 that there was a great controversy raging. 16:12 He knew that a high-ranking angel named Lucifer had 16:15 been evicted from heaven. He knew that Adam and Eve 16:17 were not out of danger. And so He said to them: "Listen, 16:20 when you get in that garden you can eat anything you want. 16:22 Take it; enjoy it... it's for you. EXCEPT... 16:25 EXCEPT for the fruit that grows on one tree. 16:30 Don't eat that... just don't. " 16:34 And so wandering through the garden they went, and Eve 16:37 got close to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 16:39 and there was a s-s-s-s-nake 16:43 who s-s-s-s-aid to her 16:47 "Doesn't thi-s-s-s-s look s-s-s-s-uper? " 16:56 And Eve, God bless her, answered by saying: 17:00 Yessssss. 17:04 And before long the human family 17:07 was hedged in on three sides by an advancing enemy. 17:11 Behind them was the water. 17:13 There was no way out 17:15 and there was no point trying to swim. 17:19 They - we - were stuck. 17:23 There was no hope... there was no way out. 17:27 We needed rescue. 17:32 Friend, today we still need rescue. 17:37 We just do. 17:39 The Bible says all have sinned and come short of 17:42 the glory of God. But what do you do 17:47 to rescue a sinner? 17:50 What do you do for somebody with a broken... 17:53 yea, verily... with a defiled heart? 17:57 What do you do for somebody who is out of sync 18:01 with the God of heaven and therefore out of sync 18:05 with life itself? For in God is life. 18:09 What do you do? 18:12 Well, let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation chapter 14 18:17 and let's see. 18:19 Revelation chapter 14 18:22 and we're going to begin in verse 6 as we look tonight 18:26 at the everlasting gospel. 18:29 Revelation chapter 14 and verse 6 18:35 where John writes: "Then I saw another angel 18:40 fly in the midst of heaven hav- ing the everlasting... " What? 18:45 Gospel! "having the everlasting gospel 18:49 to preach to them that dwell on the earth. " 18:52 There's a word that's not there but I think 18:54 we can put it there - I hope you won't mind me doing this - 18:57 "having the everlasting gospel to preach to ALL them... " 19:02 Right? "to them - all of them - who dwell on the earth 19:09 and to every nation, kindred, 19:13 tongue, and people 19:17 saying with a loud voice 19:20 'Fear God and give glory to Him 19:24 for the hour of His judgment is come. 19:27 And worship Him that made heaven and earth 19:30 and the sea and the fountains of waters. ' " 19:34 There's plenty of time throughout Camp Meeting 19:37 for thorough analysis of these words, phrases, 19:40 and verses. For now... an overview. 19:44 But here humanity is alerted to the fact 19:47 that there is an everlasting gospel. 19:50 An eternal gospel. 19:52 A final gospel message to go to the world. 19:57 And the angel starts by sayin: "Fear God. " 20:00 Fall down before God; kneel before God; 20:04 love God; reverence God; fear God. 20:08 Give Him glory! Judgment time is come. 20:12 Wouldn't it sober you up if you knew that judgment 20:17 time was taking place? Wouldn't that be a sobering thought? 20:20 We ought to be sober tonight, what do you say? 20:23 Amen! We ought to be sober. 20:25 And then there's this call to worship Him who made, 20:29 to worship the Creator. 20:32 We all worship something. 20:34 We all worship someone. 20:37 You might worship the Yankees or the Red Sox. 20:41 Now me, I would recommend the Red Sox over the Yankees 20:44 but it doesn't matter any. 20:47 Because I believe if Solomon was writing Ecclesiastes 20:50 today he'd say: "MLB, NBA... the whole thing 20:52 is vanity. " I'm sure he would... I'm sure he would. 20:56 But you might worship a sports team 20:58 or a sports person, a celebrity or a family member 21:04 or spouse, a thing, a job, a possession... 21:07 money. You might worship these things. 21:13 The Bible calls us in earth's last days to worship God. 21:17 Yeah, that's an easy thing for believers. 21:18 But not just to worship God... to worship the Creator God. 21:22 The Creator God: the One who made. 21:25 We're going to learn more about this as we go through 21:27 this Camp Meeting. That's so important 21:28 I feel like stopping and diving into it now. 21:30 But it will be done more thoroughly at a later time. 21:33 "Another angel followed saying: 'Babylon is fallen, 21:37 is fallen...that great city 21:38 because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath 21:41 of her fornication. ' " You know when John wrote 21:43 Revelation he was like a magpie. He went through 21:46 the Old Testament gathering bits and pieces 21:48 from here and there. 21:50 And he was gathering imagery and symbolism 21:53 and words and phrases from the Old Testament so that 21:56 when his New Testament readers read the book of Revelation 21:59 with that frame of reference they would say: "Ah, we know 22:01 what he's talking about... we know what he's talking about. " 22:04 You know that Babylon fell once before back in the time... 22:06 after Nebuchadnezzar's grandson Belshazzar, 22:11 you understand a man whose knees started having fellowship 22:13 with each other when the writing appeared on the wall. 22:15 Babylon fell! 22:17 Gave way to the Medes and the Persians. 22:20 And we understand that Babylon was thoroughly wicked 22:23 and completely pagan and involved in false worship. 22:27 The word Babylon comes from that root word meaning 22:30 confusion. And so God is speak- ing about religious confusion 22:33 in earth's last days. 22:35 And He wants us to know there is no hope 22:39 in religious confusion... only in religious fidelity. 22:43 Only in spiritual clarity; only in true worship of the true God. 22:49 True worship. 22:50 And what a privilege to be able to worship God in spirit 22:53 and in truth. This was what Jesus recommended. 22:56 And then in verse 9: "A third angel followed them 22:59 saying with a loud voice: 'If anyone worships the beast 23:01 and his image and receives his mark in his forehead 23:03 or in his hand the same shall drink also 23:05 of the wine of the wrath... ' Ooh, this is serious, isn't it? 23:08 'The same will drink also of the wine of the wrath 23:11 of God which is poured out without mixture 23:14 into the cup of His indignation. 23:16 He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 23:19 in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence 23:21 of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment 23:23 ascends up forever and ever. ' " 23:25 Oh my goodness! 23:26 "They have no rest day nor night who worship the beast 23:29 and his image, whosoever receiveth the mark 23:31 of his name. " And then we get into verse 12 23:33 and God wraps this thing up with hope and promise. 23:35 He says: "Here is the patience of the saints; 23:38 here are that that... " Do what? Tell me: there are two things 23:40 at least. Keep the commandments of God. 23:43 How many are there? Ten! Amen... that's right. 23:44 And the? Faith! Faith of Jesus. 23:47 They keep the commandments of God 23:49 and the faith of Jesus. 23:52 Now we are going to take the time 23:55 over the next few presen- tations in this Camp Meeting 23:58 to really get into "the hour of His judgment is come. " 24:01 What's that all about? 24:03 To get into worshiping Him "who made heaven and earth 24:06 the sea and the fountains of water. " 24:07 We'll identify and explore the idea of Babylon 24:11 and the fall of Babylon. 24:13 We'll discuss the wine of the wrath of her fornication 24:16 and the mark of the beast and keeping the commandments of God 24:19 and the faith of Jesus. 24:21 But as we embark on this journey 24:25 we're going to look at something so basic 24:29 there is a danger we might look right over the top of it. 24:33 We are here in this moment 24:36 to talk about the everlasting gospel. 24:41 And I fear 24:44 that if some of God's people were asked to explain 24:48 the everlasting gospel they would say: "Oh, oh, wait 24:51 a moment now... wait, wait. 24:53 That's fear God; give glory to Him. 24:55 The hour of His judgment is come. " 24:57 "Worship Him who made... " 25:00 "Babylon is fallen. 25:01 Let me tell you about the mark of the beast. " 25:03 "That was the everlasting gospel. " 25:06 I understand it; I get it... 25:09 but I don't entirely agree. 25:12 If that's our definition of the everlasting gospel, 25:16 we're overlooking something. 25:18 We're overlooking the gospel. 25:22 The everlasting gospel is the everlasting gospel. 25:27 And when God had John write out 25:30 Revelation chapter 14 verses 6 through 12 25:34 and speak of the everlasting gospel 25:36 He was not asking John to sidestep 25:39 the gospel part of the everlasting gospel. 25:44 He was hoping that we would read this and understand that 25:48 oddly enough the gospel 25:51 is the key component in the everlasting gospel... 25:57 not an afterthought. 25:59 Not an addendum; not optional 26:03 but it is the crux, the heart 26:09 of the matter: the everlasting gospel. 26:13 Yes, we ought to be familiar with the idiosyncrasies 26:17 of those verses. We ought to be familiar 26:19 with all of the details. We must... we ought to be. 26:21 They're there for a reason... we ought to study them, 26:23 know them, claim them, proclaim them! 26:25 There's no question about that. 26:28 But we are living too close to the return of Jesus 26:32 to be minoring in the gospel itself 26:36 and majoring in the details about earth's last days. 26:41 We would be tremendously unbalanced as believers 26:45 in Jesus if our first love wasn't Jesus. 26:50 Amen! If we couldn't give a gospel presentation. 26:54 I tell you what: there is a very real temptation 26:58 so much so that in many experiences it's a reality. 27:01 People don't feel like they have witnessed 27:03 until they've gone deep into Revelation chapter 14. 27:07 Sometimes that's necessary; sometimes that's appropriate. 27:11 But if you were to start on a journey someplace 27:14 you would start at the beginning. 27:15 And the beginning of the journey to heaven is Jesus. 27:18 Amen! And we must acquaint ourselves 27:21 with the gospel... with the eternal gospel. 27:25 What's it all about? Jesus came to this earth 27:30 and preached the gospel. 27:32 Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Matthew 11:5, 27:36 Matthew 26:13. 27:38 Jesus came and preached the gospel. 27:41 The gospel simply put is the good news or the good tidings. 27:46 It's the story of what God has done through Jesus 27:49 to reconcile the lost to Himself... 27:52 what God has done to save undeserving, 27:57 sinful, alienated human beings 28:00 who didn't even know they needed or wanted to be saved. 28:04 It's what God has done to take our sins 28:08 and give us His righteousness. 28:11 And don't ever make the mistake of saying: 28:14 "Oh the pastor at our church, all he ever does 28:16 all he ever does is preach about the gospel. 28:18 He never gets into the 'real' stuff. " 28:20 I hear people say that. 28:23 The gospel IS the real stuff. 28:25 Amen! Now I understand what you mean. 28:27 You don't want to hear every time you go to church 28:30 "God loves you; repent of your sins. " 28:31 "God loves you. " You want to hear more than that. 28:33 I understand that 'cause so do I. 28:35 I understand that. You want to be reminded 28:37 about the times in which we live. 28:39 You want to be reminded; you want to be challenged. 28:41 You want somebody to present the present truth. 28:44 Understood. You want to hear the pillars. 28:46 Amen! You ought to want to hear that! 28:49 But my brother, my sister: don't ever grow tired of 28:53 hearing the old old story 28:55 'cause it's the greatest story ever told. 28:57 It's the story of God's love for sinners. 29:00 It's the story of a God who so loved the world 29:03 He gave His only begotten Son 29:06 for a world that didn't care. 29:10 "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us" 29:14 and commended or demonstrated His love to us. 29:18 Amen! Jesus said: "This gospel of the kingdom 29:21 shall be preached in all the world for a witness 29:23 to all nations. " Now I'm not trying to set up 29:25 opposing sides here. I'm not trying to tell you 29:28 it's the story of Jesus and the cross 29:30 OR the story of Babylon and the beast 29:33 and the judgment and worshiping the Creator God. 29:35 Oh, no, no, no, no. 29:37 It's both and. 29:38 It's one AND the other. 29:40 It's put them together. 29:42 But for goodness' sake... put them together! 29:45 Amen! Because if you've got a gospel 29:48 that just talks about beasts and antichrist 29:51 and horns and days that mean years 29:54 man, oh, man... you are going to just upset people. 29:59 Because the message that's going to get people to heaven 30:02 is the message of Jesus. 30:04 It's the message of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 30:07 And don't be thinking: "Oh, everybody in my town 30:11 knows Jesus and knows the gospel. " 30:12 No they don't! 30:14 And even if they do they need to hear it again! 30:18 Amen! And unless they know that you are a Christian 30:21 who is sold out to Jesus 30:23 why in the world would they want to hear about 30:24 your prophetic scenario? 30:26 Why would they even want it? 30:27 They shouldn't want it if they can't be certain 30:30 you are a Christian who lives and breathes 30:33 and loves Jesus who died on that old rugged cross. 30:38 Gospel... euangelion or evangelion. 30:42 It's derived from the word angelos 30:43 which means messenger. 30:45 The word gospel - the Greek word for gospel - 30:48 is where we get the word evangelist from. 30:52 Strictly speaking, if you want to look at a definition, 30:55 an evangelist is a bringer of good news. 31:00 In classical Greek an evangelist was one who 31:04 brought a message of victory or other political or personal 31:07 news that caused joy. 31:08 Let me slow that down. 31:10 An evangelist was a message who... 31:12 An evangelist was a messenger 31:15 who brought a message of victory 31:19 or of other political or personal news 31:21 that caused joy. Come on, now... 31:24 when you share your faith are you causing joy or angst? 31:29 Better be joy. 31:31 You don't want to go to your neighbor and say: 31:33 "Ah... you've got the wrong day, man! " 31:35 "You've got the wrong church leader. " 31:37 "Oh, you don't understand the way to interpret prophecy. " 31:39 No, no, no! You're going to be like smoke getting in somebody's 31:42 eyes. It ought to be like honey to their taste. 31:45 And if it isn't, try to make it as sweet as you can. 31:51 There will be a time to come along with the big guns. 31:55 There will be a time! 31:56 And there are odd times when that might be the right 31:59 first-off approach. Most of the time it ain't 32:03 because you've gotta convince someone if you are a Christian 32:06 you've gotta tell them what's MOST important. 32:08 And that most important is God is love. 32:13 Jesus died for you. 32:15 It is good news. 32:19 So that now became a technical term for the message of victory. 32:24 So if you are bringing the gospel message, 32:27 you are bringing a message of victory 32:31 and a message that causes joy. 32:33 And there's nothing that brings as much joy 32:36 as knowing that Jesus died for your sin. 32:39 I am promising you there are people here tonight 32:44 who desperately need to hear more than anything else 32:48 Jesus died for your sins. 32:50 God loves you. 32:52 You can confess your sins tonight 32:54 and know that God will give you a new heart 32:57 and you have hope in this world. 32:58 You can leave this place tonight... 33:00 In fact, right now you can reach out to God, 33:04 accept what He is offering you, 33:06 and have the assurance of salvation NOW! 33:10 NOW! Amen! Assurance! 33:13 And that's not license; that's not going easy on somebody. 33:17 That's lighting somebody up with the hope that Jesus gives to us. 33:22 That's setting somebody's feet on the pathway that leads 33:25 that person to heaven. 33:26 Victory... good news. How good is the good news? 33:30 We had friends contact us: "Pray for our son. He's 15. " 33:32 "Oh, he's a good boy; I know that boy. 33:34 He's been with us on It Is Written mission trips. " 33:37 "Pray for him. " "Why? " "He has cancer. " 33:41 You don't want to hear that your 15-year-old kid has cancer. 33:45 You don't want to hear anybody has cancer. 33:47 Fifteen years old... these are healthy people. 33:50 I mean, how could this even happen? 33:52 They had the tests done: cancer. 33:54 "Whoa, what do we do now? " 33:55 "We've got to go to the doctor and talk about treatment. " 33:57 "Well... we've got to pray first. " 33:59 And they sent the message out: "Pray... pray for our... " 34:02 We prayed! Man, we prayed all right. 34:03 People prayed. I'm sure there were people all around the world 34:05 praying for this boy. 34:07 And so they take him to the doctor. 34:09 "Doc, what are we going to do? " 34:10 "Help us to understand what you recommend would be 34:12 the best course of treatment. We need to start 34:14 weighing up our options. " 34:15 And the doctor said: "Allow me to do some tests. " 34:17 And when the doctor got back to the family he said: "Listen, 34:19 we need to do some more tests. " 34:21 "Oh, man, we had tests, tests, and more tests 34:23 and now it's time for even more tests. " 34:24 He said: "No, no... you're going to like these tests. " 34:26 And he did some more tests and the doctor said: 34:28 "I have looked and I've looked again. 34:30 When we first looked your son had cancer. 34:33 We've looked again: we cannot find cancer! " 34:36 "It's GONE! " Amen! 34:38 Now I know what you're thinking. I know what you're thinking. 34:41 You are thinking the boy never had cancer in the first place. 34:43 Even if that's true I'm saying "Praise the Lord! " 34:46 Amen! But they were convinced he had it 34:48 and then they were convinced he didn't have it. 34:51 He didn't have it 'cause God took it away! 34:55 Amen! It's what God does in answer to prayer at times. 34:59 Is that good news? Amen! 35:02 The gospel is better news. 35:04 The gospel is BETTER news. 35:06 We celebrate better news. 35:10 It's profoundly good news. 35:13 It's great news! 35:15 It ought to cause us to worship God 35:17 and have a lifestyle of worshiping God. 35:18 By the way this is a hobby horse now. 35:20 This is a little hobby horse. 35:21 You know it's very interesting. You go to some church services 35:24 and you have prayer and maybe you have an offering 35:26 and maybe a children's story... 35:28 And then they say: "Hey, let's bring out the musicians 35:30 because now we're going to worship God. " 35:37 Yes, the man with less red hair than he used to have: 35:40 go ahead... go ahead. Me? Yes, you. 35:43 "Are we about to worship God now? " "Yes, it's time 35:45 for praise and worship. " What have we been doing 35:48 up until now? 35:49 Have we not been worshiping God? 35:52 Uh... isn't that interesting? 35:55 When worship begins... If worship begins 35:58 when the band comes out, then you're doin' it wrong. 36:01 That's right! 36:03 You're doin' it wrong! 36:04 You could say worship begins when your eyes open 36:08 in the morning, but when it comes to church 36:10 worship begins when you walk in the door. 36:11 Yeah. No matter if the band is playing or not. 36:14 No matter who's at the piano. 36:15 Worship begins when you walk in the door! 36:17 And when you know that Jesus has died for you, 36:20 set you free, worship comes easy. 36:23 It's good news. 36:24 The Bible is built on the idea of good news. 36:28 The word gospel appears in the Bible about 100 times. 36:31 Why is it such good news? 36:33 Paul wrote about the gospel in every book... 36:36 explicitly about the gospel... 36:37 in every book that he wrote with the exception of Titus. 36:40 But if you read the book of Titus you find the message 36:43 of the gospel all the way through the book of Titus. 36:45 The New Testament is founded on the idea 36:48 of actual good news. The Old Testament is founded 36:52 on the idea of the promise of Jesus 36:55 who was going to come and make that good news a reality. 36:58 The Bible is all about good news. 37:00 I would like to take a moment with you 37:02 because you're going to hear all about the everlasting gospel 37:04 over the next "x" presentations. 37:07 So let's look at a passage that spells out for us 37:11 exactly what the gospel is. 37:14 We are going to I Corinthians chapter 15. 37:16 We're going to pick it up in about verse 1. 37:19 I Corinthians chapter 15 37:22 and we'll start in verse 1. 37:25 I Corinthians 15 verse 1: "Moreover brethren, 37:30 I declare unto you the gospel which I preached 37:34 unto you which also ye have received 37:37 and wherein ye stand. " 37:38 So here it is: the gospel. 37:41 He says in verse 2: "By which also ye are saved 37:45 if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you 37:48 unless you have believed in vain. " 37:50 One of the problems we have 37:52 that we don't get up for the gospel when we should 37:55 one it might be that the person sharing the gospel 37:59 message shares it like it's bad news. 38:01 It might be that. 38:03 But the other thing is maybe we've forgotten what it's like 38:06 to be lost. If you've ever been lost, 38:10 then you can be really happy that you're saved. Amen! 38:14 I did not become a Bible-believing Christian 38:16 until I was 23 years old. 38:18 I knew what it was to be lost! 38:22 I knew what it was to be searching desperately 38:26 for the Bible. I knew what it was like 38:28 to be marinating in sin. 38:31 I understood that. 38:32 And so when my eyes were opened and I came in out of the dark 38:36 and into God's marvelous light 38:38 I was thrilled. I still am! Amen! 38:43 I was going to hell... 38:46 now I'm going to heaven. Amen! 38:49 By the way, I've been to hell. 38:51 I've been to hell and back. Some of you all have, too. 38:54 This past weekend my wife and I 38:56 we went to hell together. 38:59 It's quite the experience. 39:01 You know what I'm about to say, don't you? 39:04 You know on the island of Grand Cayman... I was down 39:06 in the Cayman Islands for some evangelism 39:07 and evangelism training. And on Grand Cayman 39:10 there's a little part of Grand Cayman called Hell. 39:13 Someone looked at the landscape. It's all rocky and awful 39:16 and said: "This is what hell would be like. " 39:17 And so they named it Hell, and you can go to the 39:19 Hell Post Office on Cayman Island. 39:22 I was there on Sunday. 39:24 I've been to Hell and back! 39:29 Yeah, I mean literally if you like. I think literally. 39:33 I know what it's like to be looking into the future 39:37 and seeing flames. 39:40 I know what that's like. 39:42 And now I know what it's like to turn away from that 39:45 and look into the future and see Jesus. 39:47 Amen! I'm excited by that. 39:50 And when I dig deep into the book of Revelation 39:53 you know what it helps me to see? 39:54 It helps me to see Jesus more clearly. 39:56 If you want to dig into Revelation chapter 13 39:59 and talk about the beast that rises up out of the sea 40:01 I'm saying: "I see Jesus more clearly 40:02 because I've seen that. " 40:04 And if you want to talk about Revelation chapter 13 40:06 and the second beast that comes up I'm saying: "Hallelujah! 40:08 I'm seeing Jesus more clearly because I'm reading 40:12 here in the book of Revelation. " 40:14 So let's not lose focus. 40:16 Let's not lose a clear view of the beauty of the gospel. 40:22 We are saved by this Paul says. 40:25 This is vital. We are looking in verse 3 now. 40:28 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also 40:32 received: how that Christ died for our sins 40:37 according to the scriptures. " 40:38 Your sin will drag you with it into the lake of fire. 40:42 But Jesus says: "No, no... I will save you from that. " 40:46 I told this story before. There was a young man. 40:48 He was in the military in the United States 40:50 during the second world war and he was flying in an aircraft. 40:53 And they were flying over I believe it was Idaho. 40:56 I've spoken to this man. He was a wonderful man. 40:59 Died just a few years ago. 41:01 And suddenly the plane in which he was flying 41:04 hit a bump - turbulence of some kind - 41:08 and it was so severe it threw him... thump, 41:10 against the door of the plane. 41:12 He was sitting right up next to the door. 41:14 The door flew open and he went out. 41:17 Out. Swooh... 41:20 Except umm... got stuck... because the lace on his boots 41:24 somehow got anchored on something inside the cockpit. 41:28 This is not a joke... it's a true story. 41:30 I said to him one day... I called him about something 41:33 and the I said: "Listen, I hope you don't mind me 41:35 asking this but is that story true? " 41:38 And he just chuckled. He said: "Yep, it is. " 41:41 "Would you tell me that story? " 41:42 And there he was... 20,000 feet above 41:45 I believe it was Idaho looking down at the earth 41:48 hanging by a shoelace... a bootlace. 41:53 And he said to God: "God, 41:56 if You get me out of this alive, 41:59 if You get me down to the earth in one piece, 42:02 I will serve You for the rest of my life. " 42:06 He prayed that prayer and then somehow 42:09 "thoomp... " he went up into the plane 42:11 back in the seat. The door slammed shut behind him! 42:18 Absolutely true! 42:21 And he got down to the ground 42:23 and he decided he was going to study for the ministry. 42:26 And he did! And he served God as a faithful 42:29 soul-winning minister for the rest of his life. 42:32 He's one of these pastors - and they're everywhere - 42:34 after retirement he just worked harder. 42:36 Twice as much work; not even half the pay. 42:41 You know, when God does something like that for you 42:43 don't you think it would affect you? 42:47 But He HAS done something like that for you. 42:49 Just like that. 42:50 You may not have been dangling at 20,000 feet 42:52 looking down at Idaho 42:54 but you were dangling between life and death 42:57 looking down at the lake of fire! 42:59 And when Jesus stepped into your life 43:01 He saved you and you didn't deserve it. 43:04 And you can't deserve it. 43:05 And you can't earn it. 43:07 And you can't warrant it and you can't bargain with God. 43:10 And you can't, you know, do a deal with God. 43:13 All you can do is accept it from God 43:16 by the grace of God 43:18 salvation to the glory of God. 43:23 And so we pick it up in verse 4: 43:25 "And that He was buried, that He rose again the third day 43:28 according to the scriptures. 43:29 After that He was seen of Cephas then the Twelve. 43:31 After that 500 at once of them the greater part remain 43:34 some are dead. After that He was seen of James 43:36 then the apostles and last of all He was seen of me also 43:41 as one born out of due time. 43:43 For I am the least of the apostles 43:44 and am not meet to be called an apostle because 43:46 I persecuted the church of God. " 43:48 That's true, you are not worthy of being called an apostle. 43:51 "But by the grace of God I am what I am. 43:56 And this grace which was be- stowed upon me was not in vain. 43:59 But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I 44:02 but the grace of God which was in me. 44:03 Therefore whether I or they so we preached 44:07 and so ye believe. " And you are not going to find 44:10 a more succinct, clear definition of the gospel 44:15 in all of the Bible I don't think. 44:17 You see, it's phenomenal. Listen! 44:19 Jesus died for our sins. 44:23 Why is it? Ask a... meet a Baptist. 44:27 Baptist is going to say what? 44:30 "Are you? " Saved. 44:35 Someone bumps into you on the street... 44:36 what are you going to say? "Hey, you know what the mark 44:38 of the beast is? " 44:41 "You worship on the right day, bro? " 44:44 "Let me tell you about that Pope. " 44:47 Why is it that the people with the most light 44:52 are most unlikely to start with the good news? 44:58 How about we start a revolution? 45:00 Amen! Turn that around. 45:02 I know I speak generally... I know that. 45:06 But you know that generally what I say is accurate. 45:12 Why is it that our first contact 45:16 our first impression is to find the sharpest, 45:19 hardest-hitting tract and give it to everybody. 45:23 I remember walking down the main street of the capital city 45:25 of New Zealand. I was walking minding my own business. 45:28 Walking on Lambton Quay in Wellington. 45:30 And there was a man standing out there 45:31 and he was standing with his arm out with tracts. 45:34 Just standing like that. 45:37 As people went by he would just hold it out 45:39 and they'd take it or they wouldn't. 45:40 And so I walked by and I said: "I've got nothing 45:42 to lose. I'll look at it. " 45:44 I took it. "Thank you, man, thank you for that. " 45:46 I walked on. What is this? I didn't even understand it. 45:49 It's not English. Vicarius Filii Dei. 45:54 All right. Ahh, it's Roman numerals. 45:58 And so you do the math and the little tract 46:02 did the math for you... 46:03 you got Vicarius and then Filii 46:08 and then Dei which adds up to 501 46:10 and you put it all together and guess what it comes to? 46:12 Six hundred and sixty-six. 46:14 And the brother who handed it out 46:16 was gracious enough to put right on the tract 46:18 who that was talking about. 46:22 Sunday before I'd been to mass and received holy communion. 46:27 I'm minding my own business walking down the street 46:29 and this guy "Boom! " punches me right in the 46:34 spiritual face. Said nothing about Jesus. 46:38 Just handed me a tract designed to enlighten me. 46:43 I stood on the street; I stopped. 46:47 What am I going to do about this? 46:49 I considered my options. 46:52 I said: "I should go back and punch him right in the face. 46:56 That's what I think I'll do. " And then I thought: 47:00 "It's the main street of the capital city. 47:02 I could get arrested! " So I didn't punch him 47:07 just so I wouldn't get arrested. 47:09 That's the only reason. I thought: "OK... 47:12 that's what a ruffian would do. 47:14 I wouldn't want to be seen to be a ruffian. 47:16 I wouldn't mind being one... I just don't want to be seen 47:19 to be one. So I shall go back... 47:22 I shall go back and I shall castigate him. 47:25 I shall excoriate him. " 47:27 I'll say: "Who do you think you are, man, 47:30 handing this stuff out? What in the? " That's what I would do. 47:34 So I said: "Really? I have to go back; I have to walk 47:39 25, 30 meters to go back and really? " 47:43 I looked over and there was a rubbish bin, 47:48 trash can, right... right there. 47:51 And so I said: "I know what to do. Drop it. " 47:56 Now, now... years later 48:00 God would use that experience to cause me to say: 48:03 "I've seen that before. " 48:05 So it wasn't all negative. 48:08 But I will say this: this brother from a certain 48:12 denomination that you may or may not recognize - 48:14 not one that you are connected with - 48:17 he was doing his missionary work and telling me about Jesus. 48:23 No, no, no... he wasn't doing his missionary work 48:25 and telling me about Jesus. He was doing his missionary work 48:28 and telling me how wrong I was 48:30 and how my spiritual leader was the devil and not a good guy. 48:35 It didn't matter how much of that was true. 48:37 What mattered was that wasn't the gospel. 48:40 Now... is there a time for sharing that? 48:43 Yes there is. 48:45 Might God ever impress you to share that with somebody 48:48 at a time that others of us might thing: "Oh, that's an odd 48:51 time! " Yes, because the Spirit moves in ways that we don't. 48:54 I don't mean to give you that as a great escape hatch. 48:57 I've had people tell me: "We did this very offensive 49:01 outreach in our community against the wishes of our church 49:04 because God told us to. " 49:08 I said: "Man that was not God. " "Oh! It was God! " 49:11 What are you going to tell a person like that? 49:14 The gospel is really good news. 49:18 And you can't go wrong when you introduce somebody 49:21 to Jesus and take it from there. 49:24 Take it all the way, perhaps, to Vicarius Filii Dei. 49:28 But when you taught your kid the alphabet you didn't start 49:30 with Q. Q... G... 49:36 Zed... Z... Zed... Z. 49:40 B... H... What in the world? 49:43 Poor child is going to be confused. 49:45 You started at the beginning. 49:47 In the alphabet Zed - pardon me - 49:50 Zed is as important as A. Is that not right? 49:55 Sure! It's just as important. 49:57 But you start with A and then you work down to Zed... 50:03 not the other way around. 50:05 The gospel... we can celebrate the gospel. 50:10 Jesus died for our sins. 50:12 He was placed in a tomb a dead man. 50:15 Buried... but I want to tell you something: 50:17 the grave couldn't hold Him. 50:18 How's that possible? 50:20 It's possible because He was pure, perfect, sinless. 50:24 He was the divine Son of God 50:26 and He came up from that grave, out of that tomb, 50:30 so that He could confer on any who have faith in Him 50:34 everlasting life. Man, it's good news! 50:37 Man, it's good news! We were stuck; we were lost. 50:40 We were heading to hell. Jesus: "Unh-uh... 50:42 I'll go. You stay here; You be safe. 50:45 I'll take the hit. " "Why would You do that? " 50:47 "Because I love you. " 50:48 "Oh, I thought I understood a lot 50:50 but I guess I don't. " "That's all right, you'll learn. 50:51 I love you... just accept it. " 50:54 And we accept the gospel. It is good news. 50:57 God said: "Don't eat the fruit... 50:59 don't eat the fruit. " They at the fruit. 51:01 If you were God, you would have said: "That's it! 51:03 I'm done with this world. I'll go create me another one. 51:06 I'll keep creating Me worlds until these folks get it 51:09 straight. " God wouldn't do that. 51:10 He understood the great controversy obviously 51:13 and that's a very important aspect of this. 51:15 But God would demonstrate to the human family 51:17 that He is love - LOVE - and love acts a certain way. 51:22 Love gives; love sacrifices. 51:24 God is love, and we are to look at God 51:26 and say: "I want Him to be my God. " 51:28 "I want Him to be my God 51:29 not simply because He helps me understand the ins 51:34 and outs of the prophecies of the book of Revelation 51:36 but because He saved me from my sins 51:40 and He set my feet upon a Rock. 51:42 And irrespective of what happens to me tonight 51:46 I am going to heaven. I have everlasting life. 51:50 I have joy in my heart because I have faith in Jesus. 51:54 I'm holding onto His hand. I looked at His hand. 51:56 "Whoa, a nail scar there... that was for me. " 51:59 Our names are engraved on the palms of His hands. 52:02 This is good news, man! The gospel! Amen! 52:05 And if you can get excited about the antichrist 52:07 more than you can get excited about Jesus Christ 52:10 then you've got some work to do. 52:13 You just do! 52:15 In fact, God has work to do. 52:17 And it's time you quit preventing Him from doing it 52:20 and you let Him do it and you let Him turn you into 52:23 a Christian with a beating Christian heart. 52:27 You know something, friend? We don't see it, 52:29 but we are broken 52:31 and God makes us whole. 52:34 I've left myself no time 52:36 to cover the most important part of this message 52:39 so let's go like there's no tomorrow. 52:41 I Peter chapter 2... there is more! 52:45 And we'll start in verse... I believe it's verse 22. 52:48 "Jesus committed no sin nor was deceit found in His mouth. 52:52 Jesus was holy, perfect, undefiled. 52:55 Who when He was reviled reviled not again. 52:58 When He suffered He threatened not 52:59 but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. " 53:03 Jesus lived an entirely perfect life 53:05 like Adam and Eve should have and could have lived 53:07 but they did not. 53:08 "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body 53:10 on the tree that we... " Ooh, here we go... 53:12 Now this is the gospel as well. 53:17 "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree 53:22 that we - having died to sin - 53:26 might live for righteousness 53:29 by whose stripes you were healed. " 53:33 Now follow this through... follow it through: 53:36 Jesus bore our sins on the cross. 53:38 Is that the gospel? Yes or no? 53:40 That's right. And then he said: 53:43 "by whose stripes you are healed. " 53:45 Is that the gospel? Yes or no? 53:47 Yes that's the gospel! 53:49 "that we - having died to sin - might live for righteousness. " 53:54 Is that the gospel? Yes! 53:56 Come on, now... let's have a complete picture here. 53:57 Jesus died for you. Hallelujah! 54:00 So that you might live for Him. Amen! 54:05 The gospel is not a gospel experience 54:07 if all you're doing is standing on the sidelines 54:09 cheering Jesus on: "Yea! Go Jesus! " 54:12 You're going to go to Facebook and like Jesus. 54:14 You're following Jesus on Twitter. 54:17 Is that all you're doing? Are you just a fan? 54:19 Or are you a disciple? 54:20 The gospel is what Jesus did for you 54:22 and - I don't believe you can separate it - 54:25 what Jesus does in you. 54:27 And so, friend, if we celebrate the gospel 54:29 we are not just celebrating this objective fact 54:32 Christ saved us but the objective fact... 54:35 the objective fact that Jesus LIVES in us. 54:39 He completes the work. He died on the cross 54:41 and then He lives His life in us to make us living 54:44 breathing Christians who are leaving this world one day. 54:48 We are not just filling pews. 54:51 We are not just filling churches... 54:53 we one day are gonna fill heaven 54:56 because Jesus died for us, rose for us, 55:00 ascended to heaven, and now through the Holy Spirit 55:04 lives His life in us. Amen! 55:08 Verse 25: "For you were like sheep going astray. " 55:11 This is Isaiah 53 again. 55:13 "But now you have returned to the Shepherd and the overseer 55:15 of your soul. " Man, it's good news! 55:18 It's good news! I was driving in here tonight. 55:20 I saw gasoline at $3.03 a gallon. 55:24 I'm like really really empty on gas. 55:27 I'm not even sure I can make it to a gas station. 55:29 I'll give it a shot... it's all right. 55:31 But if you were to tell me: "Oh, man, just drive that way 55:33 it's $2.85 or $2.90 I would say: "That is good news! " 55:37 And you would tell me and I'd tell somebody else. 55:40 This is better news... let's tell somebody! 55:42 Let's tell somebody! You find peanut butter on special 55:44 you're calling your neighbor. "Hey, you ought to go to Buy-Low 55:46 because it's on special. " 55:49 You ought to be telling... You ought to go to heaven... 55:51 "You ought to go to church 'cause heaven's on special 55:54 this week... they've got a great deal. " 56:01 We've been rescued! Everlasting gospel. 56:05 Sometimes we look at that and we can't see the forest 56:07 for the trees. We don't see Jesus 'cause 56:10 we're too busy looking at at days and dates and times 56:12 and years. I love them all! As an evangelist I preach it. 56:16 I believe it! 56:18 But the everlasting gospel is the everlasting gospel. 56:21 You remember Baby Jessica? Do you remember her? 56:24 Midland, Texas. She went down a well. 56:25 It was about this wide. 56:27 A baby... She went what? 23 feet, stuck. 56:29 "How in the world are we going to get her out? " 56:31 The whole world was spurred to action. 56:33 It was wall-to-wall news coverage. 56:35 Baby Jessica... got to get her out, got to get her out! 56:38 'Cause you've got to get a baby out. Babies die every day 56:41 and you don't know you don't care. You don't know. 56:43 But we knew about Baby Jessica. We knew her name. 56:45 We knew what happened. "You've gotta get her out! 56:46 She's in the well. Get her out! Get her out! " 56:50 Got her out. 56:51 You know today Baby Jessica - 56:54 Jessica Morales I think her name is - 56:56 lives about two miles away from that well. 57:00 They amputated a toe and she's got a little scar 57:03 on her forehead. That's all. 57:05 Every time she looks in the mirror and sees that scar 57:08 what does it tell her? 57:09 "Jessica, you were saved. " 57:11 "Jessica, you were lost and help came to you from above. " 57:16 Friend, the scars on Jesus' hands say the same thing 57:20 to you and tonight you can know 57:22 you've been saved... you are heading to heaven. 57:26 That's really good news. 57:28 That's the everlasting gospel. |
Revised 2018-06-28