Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM190006A
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00:39 Previously on Law of Love & Liberty:
00:43 We are standing 00:47 in His presence 00:52 on holy ground. 00:56 He's going to write in our hearts His law of love. 00:59 That's what we see taking place here. 01:01 This is a promise that we see taking place here. 01:03 I lift it up, Lord. 01:08 Come and quench 01:10 this thirsting of my soul! 01:15 God can move in your life. 01:17 He's not only Sovereign over the wind and the waves. 01:20 He's Sovereign over what's going on your life, too. 01:22 Now let's put that in there. It doesn't make any sense. 01:25 "I did not come to destroy the law 01:27 but to do away with the law. " 01:30 The word BUT indicates a contrast. 01:33 Here He's actually saying: "Look, I did not come 01:36 to destroy the law. I came to MAGNIFY the law. " 01:39 We have people who mistakenly believe 01:43 that grace cancels our duty 01:47 to obey God. 01:49 You know what they're forgetting? 01:51 I John 2:3-4 01:54 that says: "Now by this we know we know Him... " 02:00 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting 02:04 2019, the series Law of Love & Liberty. 02:09 How many of you have been blessed thus far? 02:12 Amen! Wonderful... wonderful! 02:15 You guys had a wonderful meal this morning. 02:19 All right... all right. 02:21 Wonderful! Well, we're about to get spiritually fed. 02:25 We're going to have Pr. Murray who will be singing 02:28 Do You Love God? 02:30 But first let me introduce our speaker as well. 02:33 We have Pastor James Rafferty who will be preaching 02:38 on The Only One True God, the first commandment. 02:43 He is the co-director of Lightbearers Ministry 02:46 and pastor of the Fall Creek SDA Church 02:49 in Fall Creek, Oregon. 02:51 He has spent the last 35 years preaching the gospel 02:54 around the world in revival seminars 02:57 and evangelistic meetings. 02:59 He is an author and has hosted many 3ABN programs 03:03 over the years. He and his wife Rise 03:06 have two children, two dogs, and one cat. 03:10 He is also a wonderful friend of mine, 03:13 and he has been instrumental in my spiritual growth. 03:17 If you've seen Salvation in Symbols & Signs 03:20 you understand why 03:22 as I'm just sitting there taking notes. 03:25 And Pr. Murray has been instru- mental in my spiritual growth 03:30 as well. He actually baptized my mom 03:32 when she was pregnant with me. 03:34 What? I mean, yeah. 03:37 It doesn't get more interesting than that! 03:40 After you hear the song by Pastor Murray 03:44 the next voice you will hear 03:46 will be that of Pastor James Rafferty. 03:49 Amen. 03:58 Do you love God more 04:02 than anything? 04:05 Do you love God? 04:11 Do you love God more 04:16 than anything? Do you love God? 04:25 Love is all that He asks 04:30 in return 04:33 for all that He has given. 04:39 Love will be the endless 04:44 theme 04:45 throughout the courts of heaven. 04:52 Do you love God more 04:55 than your car or home? 04:59 Do you love God? 05:05 Do you love God more 05:09 than all you own? 05:11 Do you love my God? 05:18 Do you love God more than your family? 05:24 Really, really love Him? 05:29 If you do, just let the whole world know. 05:35 That's all He asks 05:39 of you. 05:46 Do you love God more 05:49 than your car or home? 05:52 Do you love God? 05:58 And do you love God more 06:02 than all you own? 06:05 Do you love my God? 06:10 And tell me: do you love God more 06:16 than your family? 06:17 Really, really love Him? 06:22 If you do, 06:24 just let the whole world know 06:28 that you love the Lord... 06:31 Come on, let the whole world know... 06:34 let 'em know that you love the Lord... 06:38 let the whole world know... 06:45 let the whole world know... 06:51 let the whole world know 06:58 that's all 07:02 He asks 07:06 of you. 07:20 Amen! 07:22 Amen! Thank you, C.A. 07:26 C.A. is one of those mighty men. 07:28 You remember David's mighty men? 07:31 They could throw a sling with their left hand 07:33 and with their right hand. 07:35 And I think Danny has some mighty men around here. 07:37 You know, they can sing and they can preach. 07:40 I can just preach... I can't sing. 07:43 But some of these guys like C.A. you're going to hear 07:46 him preach here in a little while. 07:47 C.A. and John Lomacang and Ryan Day... these guys 07:51 can sing and they can preach. 07:54 They can throw a sling with both hands. 07:57 Praise God! 07:58 Well, it's good to be here with you again this morning. 08:01 We are moving into the first commandment. 08:03 I'm so thankful that I have this first commandment. 08:06 Exodus chapter 20 the first commandment is... 08:09 is really vital. If we don't get this commandment right, 08:15 it's downhill from there. 08:17 This is really the foundation of all the commandments. 08:20 Some years ago I was in an Adventist church 08:24 and there was a huge replica of the Ten Commandments behind me 08:28 as I was preaching. 08:29 And I shared this with the church. I said: "You know 08:32 we've done the same thing to the Ten Commandments 08:35 that our Catholic friends have done. 08:37 We've actually omitted one of the commandments. 08:41 You know, the second commandment's been taken out 08:42 of the Catholic catechism and the 10th one's been split 08:45 in two. And they looked at me, you know, 08:48 these Adventists... they looked at me and they were 08:50 just looking at me kind of shocked. And I said: "Yeah, 08:52 here's the evidence right here. " I pointed to this 08:53 big replica and I said: "What's the first commandment? " 08:56 And you know what they said. "Thou shalt have no other gods 09:00 before Me. " But they had no choice. 09:03 That's what was up there, right? That's what was up there: 09:06 "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. " 09:08 And I said "But wait a minute. " I said: "That's not what it says 09:10 in the Bible. " 09:11 The Bible doesn't say that's the first commandment. 09:15 What's the first commandment in the Bible? How does it start? 09:17 "I am the Lord your God which brought you 09:23 out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 09:25 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. " 09:28 We need to get the first commandment right. 09:32 If we get the first commandment right, 09:34 everything else will fall into place. 09:37 Let's pray together. Father in heaven, 09:38 again we just want to pause in Your presence 09:40 right now. I want to thank you for Your Word. 09:43 It's powerful; it's our strength 09:47 and through it we find our Savior Jesus Christ 09:50 who is the Word incarnate. 09:52 And as many as receive Him to them He gives power to become 09:56 sons, the children, of God. 09:57 We need that power this morning; we need that power right now. 10:02 So we lift up our hearts and our hands to You. 10:05 We ask for Your presence, for Your Spirit, 10:07 for Your guidance, 10:09 for your transforming power and love in our lives. 10:13 As we touch on this law of love and liberty 10:18 may it transform us and set us free 10:21 to serve You for the rest of our days. 10:24 For we ask it in Jesus' name, and let everyone say: 10:27 Amen. 10:29 Amen! OK! 10:30 So Exodus chapter 20 beginning with verse 1: 10:34 "And the Lord God spoke all these words saying: 10:38 'I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee 10:41 out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 10:46 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. ' " 10:52 No other gods. So this law of love, 10:56 this law of liberty that God speaks to us 11:01 is powerful. 11:03 Jesus Christ when He spoke the law 11:07 or of the law He called it a law of love. 11:09 In Matthew chapter 22 verses 38 through 40 11:12 He said: "The entire law hangs on two commandments: 11:16 loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul 11:18 and loving your neighbor as yourself. " 11:20 And of course we know that because the first four 11:22 focus on worshiping God, loving God, following God. 11:25 And the last six focus on the way that we relate to people, 11:28 to individuals, to neighbors, to humans. 11:31 Paul talks about this in Galatians chapter 5 verse 14. 11:34 He talks about the summary of the law being love 11:39 and in the context being liberty. Freedom 11:41 from the lusts of the flesh 11:43 to walk in the fruits of the Spirit. 11:46 In Romans chapter 13 he also sums up the law 11:49 as a law of love. 11:52 God delivers us out of bondage. 11:55 God is our Deliverer; He is our Rescuer 11:59 and He delivers us by His love. 12:02 It was the love of God that delivered His people. 12:04 Liberated them from the bondage of Egypt. 12:08 And we could say that Egypt is a Biblical representation 12:11 of anything secular in our world today. 12:13 All the "stuff" that holds us in bondage, 12:16 all of our addictive behaviors. 12:19 Amen! All those things that try to keep us 12:23 penned up, imprisoned: 12:27 the law of love sets us free. 12:29 It sets us free... Amen! to follow Jesus. 12:33 Now love is a liberating power, 12:37 and the law is connected with that love. 12:41 All right! God's law written with His own finger 12:44 reveals His love and His liberating power. 12:48 And He wants to write that law in our hearts. 12:52 Now we see the same truth in the incarnation 12:54 of God as a human being. 12:57 We see the same truth in Jesus. 12:59 I want us to look at this in connection with 13:02 Exodus chapter 20. We're going to be looking at 13:04 the book of John chapter 8 verses 1 through 11. 13:09 It's a story that you're familiar with I'm sure. 13:13 It's the story of this woman that was caught in adultery 13:16 in the very act. 13:17 And this story I believe 13:21 illustrates or parallels 13:24 the truth that we find revealed in Exodus 20 verses 1, 2, and 3. 13:29 So we're going to parallel Exodus 20:1-3 13:31 with John 8:1-11. 13:35 Now let's look at these verses here. John chapter 8 13:38 verses 1 through 11. 13:40 Jesus is in the temple at this time. 13:44 He's come from the Mount of Olives. 13:45 Early in the morning, verse 2, He comes again into the temple 13:48 and all the people come to Him and they sit down 13:51 and He taught them. "And the scribes and Pharisees... " 13:54 verse 3... "brought unto Him a woman 13:57 taken in adultery... " That is, in the very act... 14:01 "and when they had set her in the midst 14:04 they said unto Him: 'Master... ' verse 4... 'this woman 14:08 was taken in adultery... in the very act. ' " 14:12 You have to ask yourself a question at this point. 14:14 Right? Where's the guy? 14:19 Where's the guy? If she was caught in the very act, 14:22 what happened to the other guy? There we go. 14:25 It always takes two, you know. That's right. 14:29 Jesus, I think, at this point knows this is a set up. 14:33 "Now... " verse 5... "Moses and the law commanded... " 14:36 Oh, we're quoting the Ten Commandments now... 14:38 we're quoting the law. "Moses and the law commanded us 14:41 that such - thou shalt not commit adultery - that such 14:44 should be stoned but what do You say? " 14:47 "This they said... " verse 6... "tempting Him that they might 14:50 have to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down 14:56 with His finger and wrote on the ground 15:01 as though He heard them not. " 15:04 So there He is in the temple. 15:06 Maybe in the courtyard... who knows where He is 15:08 among those stones of the temple 15:11 again with His finger writing in the stone writing in the ground. 15:15 Writing in the dust, in the dirt that's gathered there 15:18 on the stones He's writing with His finger. 15:20 What do you think He's writing in the sand, in the dust? 15:22 What do you think He's writing on those stones? 15:24 Probably the Ten Commandments. 15:27 "So when they continued asking Him He lifted up Himself 15:30 and He said unto them... " verse 7... "He that is without 15:33 sin among you, let him cast a stone at her. " 15:38 And then He continues to write. 15:40 He stooped down again and wrote in the ground. 15:42 "And they which heard it being convicted by their own 15:45 conscience... " See, that's what happens 15:48 when the law of God is written out. 15:51 "Being convicted of their own conscience they went out 15:53 one by one beginning at the eldest even to the last. " 15:59 You know why the eldest went first, don't you? 16:02 'Cause they're smart! 16:05 Life teaches us something. We get some wisdom 16:07 as we get older. You know that, right? 16:09 Young people are harder to convince. 16:11 Like the young people like: "I'm not goin' anywhere. " 16:13 He said: "I'm not going anywhere. " One elder goes out; 16:16 the next elder goes out; the next elder. 16:17 "I'm not out. " Then after a while 16:19 "All these guys are leaving. Well maybe I should go 16:22 after all. " It takes longer for us young people 16:25 or for those young people, right? 16:28 Us older people... we get it a little quicker now 16:31 because we've been around this corner a few times. 16:34 "And Jesus was left alone 16:38 and the woman standing in the midst. " 16:42 "And when He had lifted up Himself and He saw none 16:45 but the woman He said unto her: 16:47 'Woman, where are thine accusers? 16:52 Has no man condemned thee? ' 16:54 And she said: 'No man, Lord. ' 16:58 And Jesus said unto her: 17:01 'Neither do I condemn thee. 17:04 Go and sin no more. ' " Hallelujah! 17:08 Praise God! Amen! 17:10 Praise God! What a powerful, powerful story! 17:14 What we need to understand about the story, 17:15 just a couple of things here. 17:17 First of all, we need to recognize 17:19 that Jesus delivers her from those who are holding her 17:24 in bondage. Amen! 17:27 Jesus delivers her from her accusers. 17:31 Yes! And He does this by the convicting power of God 17:34 which speaks to the conscience of each one of those accusers. 17:38 Did you notice that? 17:39 Each of those accusers 17:42 as the Son of God is writing with His finger 17:44 in the stony ground of the temple - 17:46 a reminder of Sinai - 17:47 each one of those accusers is convicted in their conscience. 17:51 They know... There's only one woman there. 17:53 There's only one party there. They know that they've done 17:56 something wrong. And what do you think He's writing? 18:00 I think He's just writing the commandments. 18:02 I don't know exactly what He's writing. 18:03 Might be writing some details but I think He's writing out 18:05 the commandments, you know. And as He writes them out 18:07 the Holy Spirit is working... the Holy Spirit is working. 18:11 Law, or at least parts of it that they are violating, 18:15 is coming to their minds. That's right! 18:17 He may have written out the seventh commandment. 18:21 Oh that Jesus would convict some of us today 18:24 about that commandment. 18:27 It's a nasty business killing helpless babies 18:30 while claiming to be commandment keepers. 18:32 Hmm! 18:34 Are you listening to the Spirit of God today? 18:36 What the Spirit says to the churches? 18:39 So this week we're going to hear all about the law of God. 18:43 We're going to hear all about the details 18:48 of God's law. 18:51 It's pretty brave of you to be here. 18:53 Praise God! It's pretty brave of you to be listening 18:57 to these messages 18:58 because the law of God is going to lead you to a place 19:03 where you realize that you are sinners. 19:05 Amen! It's going to lead you to a place 19:09 where you're going to drop those stones 19:11 and walk away from other people that you're accusing. 19:16 But here's the point... here's the important point: 19:21 as God convicts you of your sins 19:25 do not walk away from Jesus. 19:28 See, that was the mistake the religious leaders made. 19:31 Uh-huh. They walked away from the Savior! 19:34 That's right. The woman didn't walk away from the Savior. 19:38 She stayed in His presence... she stayed right there. 19:43 As the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin 19:46 do not walk away from Jesus. 19:50 He's your only hope. 19:51 That's right. He's your only hope. 19:54 Don't make that mistake. Are you with me? 19:56 Do not make that mistake. 19:58 We need to wait on the Lord. 20:00 "Wait on the Lord and be of good courage... " 20:02 What does the Bible say? 20:04 "and He will strengthen thine heart. 20:05 Wait, I say, on the Lord. " 20:07 We need to wait on the Lord. 20:09 Don't leave Jesus just because you're a sinner. 20:12 Just because you're a sinner don't leave Jesus 20:13 because the Bible says Jesus came to save sinners. 20:16 Yes! That's what He came to do: He came to SAVE sinners. 20:19 So let the law convict you. 20:22 Every meeting, every session, let the law convict you. 20:25 Don't be afraid of being convicted by the law. 20:27 But don't make the mistake of thinking that the law can 20:30 save you. Don't make the mistake of thinking 20:34 that you, because you're such a sinner, 20:36 need to walk away from Jesus. 20:39 The work of the law is to convict us. 20:42 That's the job of the law... that's what it's all about. 20:44 Romans chapter 3 verse 19 says: 20:46 "The law comes to stop us from talking... 20:49 that every mouth may be stopped. " You know how it is. 20:52 Wife, husband, children, parents: you know how it is 20:55 when we're communicating about things that we've done wrong 20:59 and mistakes that we've made and all of a sudden we want to 21:01 start talking, we want to start excusing, we want to start 21:03 justifying. "Well God, it was the woman... 21:06 the woman You gave. It was the serpent! 21:08 It was the serpent. " We want to start justifying, 21:10 don't we? The law comes to stop the mouth. 21:13 Shh! You're guilty; you're a sinner. 21:17 "The law comes... " Romans 7 verse 7... 21:20 "to make known what sin is. " 21:21 Because sometimes we're kind of confused about what sin is. 21:23 We're like we're not really sure like... 21:25 like Paul says in Romans 7: "I thought I doing pretty good 21:28 until the law said: 'Thou shalt not covet. ' " 21:32 Coveting is something that takes place inside the heart. 21:36 Amen! Don't necessarily see it on the outside. 21:38 All the outside stuff I was doing pretty good 21:40 but that coveting thing? Man, that was happening all the time! 21:44 That car, that house, that job, that... 21:48 The law comes to show us... I Timothy 1:8... 21:51 unrighteousness. 21:53 The law is made for the unrighteous we are told... 21:55 that's what it's made for, that's what it's for. 21:56 Let the law do what the law is supposed to do. 22:00 Let the law convict you and let Jesus save you. 22:04 Amen! Let the law convict you 22:06 and let Jesus save you. All right! Hallelujah! 22:09 They work together. Yes! They're united. 22:12 The law's not against Jesus. 22:13 It just has a different part to play. 22:16 The law is our schoolmaster to lead us to Jesus 22:20 by instructing us regarding unrighteousness. 22:23 To lead us to Jesus so that we can be justified by faith. 22:29 "Thou shalt call His name Jesus... " 22:32 Matthew 1:21 says: "Thou shalt call His name Jesus 22:34 for He shall save His people from their sins. " 22:38 Hallelujah! Are there any sinners out there today? 22:41 Any sinners listening today? 22:43 This is the Bible! We can praise God for His promises. 22:47 Matthew 1:21... so don't let the law push you away from Jesus. 22:51 This woman was caught in the very act of adultery 22:56 but she didn't go anywhere. 22:58 She didn't go anywhere... she stayed right there. 23:01 Sometimes we think: "Oh, I can't be with Jesus. 23:03 I can't be in Christ's presence; I'm not worthy. " 23:06 Now this story tells us a different picture. 23:08 This story tells us that if you're a sinner that's exactly 23:13 where you need to be. The worst place you can be 23:15 is inside the house with the door closed to Jesus - 23:18 yes - and He's on the outside knocking. 23:20 That's the worst place you can be. That's right! 23:23 Amen! She stayed right there because it was her only hope. 23:27 Jesus was her only hope. 23:29 All the self-righteous religious leaders walked away. 23:32 They probably went to try harder. 23:38 But the woman stayed with Jesus and Jesus spoke to her. 23:42 He spoke to her the same words that He spoke to His people 23:45 anciently from Sinai: "I am the Lord 23:48 that have brought you out of bondage. " 23:51 Same words! Same words! 23:54 "I am the Lord that delivered you. " 23:56 And how did God deliver them from Egypt? 23:58 What was the last plague? It was the death of the firstborn. 24:01 And what were they to do to be delivered from that plague? 24:05 They were to put the blood of the lamb on the doorpost, 24:09 on the lintel. The blood of the lamb is how they were delivered. 24:11 "I am the Lord that delivered you. " 24:13 "That's what I'm here for" Jesus is telling this woman. 24:15 These are words of grace; these are words of mercy; 24:18 these are words of love: "I don't condemn you. " 24:22 This is the gospel. 24:24 This is the good news of God's grace 24:26 and the gospel is center in the law. 24:30 You cannot go to the law until you start with the gospel. 24:34 And so God doesn't say: "Well I've got the gospel 24:36 and I've got the law. " They're not divided; they're united! 24:39 The gospel is IN the law. 24:40 That's why the first commandment is so important! 24:43 It's right there in the law! 24:45 You cannot get to a "Thou shalt not" 24:47 until you go through the gospel. 24:50 The gospel is like a bodyguard. 24:52 Like: "You're not getting in here past me unless 24:55 you've got... you've got the ticket. " 24:57 "You're not getting through here... 24:59 you're not gettin' through. 25:00 You've got to have the gospel to get to the law. 25:03 I'm not lettin' you through to the law without the gospel. " 25:06 This is what Jesus is saying. Amen! 25:09 "I don't condemn you... " God's grace, God's unmerited favor. 25:15 It's powerful! 25:17 We often ruin grace, you know. We ruin grace by making it 25:19 something other than unmerited favor. 25:21 And by doing that we undermine the power of grace in our life. 25:25 We want to make grace power and so we interpret it as 25:29 power. By doing that we undermine its power. 25:32 Grace needs to be unmerited favor. 25:35 And as it stays and remains unmerited favor with nothing 25:38 added to it it's power. 25:40 Anything other than unmerited favor undermines 25:43 the power of grace. And we need all the power 25:46 of grace in our lives that we can get. 25:49 You know, some theologians have gone so far in undermining 25:54 God's grace that they've placed a question mark 25:58 on the story of the woman caught in adultery 26:00 suggesting that it's not found in the older manuscripts 26:03 of the Bible. I don't know if you've ever read that 26:05 in your marginal references in your Bible. 26:07 My wife has the NIV, and right in the marginal reference 26:09 there this whole story is put in doubt. 26:13 That's the devil at work, you know. 26:15 Amen! Undermining certain portions of the Word of God 26:18 and suggesting that it's not in the older manuscripts 26:21 and therefore undermining our confidence and faith 26:24 in that truth, but it's so powerful. 26:27 This New Testament story is a replica of Exodus chapter 20 26:31 and the first commandment. 26:33 You see that? You see that? 26:37 See, as Jesus tells the woman that He doesn't condemn her 26:40 He then goes on to tell her to "Go and sin no more. " 26:45 And sin is transgression of the law. 26:48 I John 3:4. 26:49 So you see this here? Jesus said: "I'm not condemning you. " 26:52 "I love you; I brought you out of bondage. " 26:54 "I brought you out of Egypt; I brought you out of 26:56 all of that secularism, all of that addiction. 26:58 All that. I brought you out of that by My blood. " 27:00 "I've died for you; I've paid the penalty for you. " 27:02 "I'm your Savior! 27:03 My perfect life and My penalty-substituting death 27:06 is yours as a gift. 27:08 Now knowing that, under- standing that, receiving that 27:11 go and leave your life of sin. " 27:13 Amen! "Thou shalt not have any other gods before Me, 27:17 worship idols, take My name in vain. 27:20 Not in the context of this beautiful picture of My love. " 27:26 See, when we behold the love of God we can't sin. 27:29 It's not that it's physically impossible. 27:32 That's not the point. The point is is that we don't want to! 27:36 "I can't do that. " 27:39 I don't want to do that. 27:41 So the key here is the same as it is in Exodus 27:43 chapter 20 and verse 2. 27:45 It's the same verse more or less 27:49 of the first commandment. 27:52 First Jesus says to the woman - notice this - 27:55 before she repents, 27:57 before she asks for forgiveness, 27:58 before she confesses her sin, 28:01 before ANY of that Jesus says: 28:04 "Neither do I condemn you. " 28:06 See, God initiates the salvation process. 28:11 He comes to us first. 28:13 We don't repent and love God. 28:16 We don't trust Jesus and love God. 28:17 God initiates... He comes to us first 28:21 with all the love, with all the forgiveness, 28:23 with all freedom, with all the liberty, with all the power. 28:27 The goodness of God is what leads us to repentance. 28:31 And the more goodness we have the more potential 28:36 we have for repentance. 28:39 So this is grace; this is the gospel; this is... 28:43 this is right in the law of God, right in the first commandment. 28:47 And that's where the power lies. 28:49 That is all God: non-condemning unmerited favor. 28:54 That's where we need to be first. 28:55 And this is the basic message of the Bible from Genesis 28:58 all the way through to Revelation. 29:00 This is the basic message of the Bible. 29:03 Genesis: Adam and Eve. 29:06 They sin and what are they doing? Hiding from God. 29:09 They're covering up with fig leaves. 29:10 They're blaming each other 29:11 and really they're blaming God, right? 29:13 They're blaming God. "You gave me the woman. " 29:15 "You let the serpent come in here. " 29:17 God comes looking for them. That's grace. Amen! 29:21 God comes in with animal skins. That's grace. 29:23 Amen. God promises them redemption. That's grace. 29:28 Hallelujah! 29:29 See, God initiates salvation right from the beginning. 29:33 The entire Old Testament is about moving us from works 29:36 to grace. Works is our natural "MO. " 29:41 That's where we go naturally. 29:47 Think of it... think fig leaves. Right? 29:50 Think Cain and his self-righteous fruit offering. 29:52 Right? We want to offer God the fruit of our lives 29:56 of good works in the place of the Lamb. 29:58 See, we're just like Cain. 30:00 We're just like Cain. 30:02 Instead of Christ's perfect righteousness, 30:05 His perfect life and penalty-satisfying death 30:08 we want to put our works in there somewhere. 30:11 Our fruit of works is all Cain worship. 30:14 It's all Cain worship. 30:17 Think Tower of Babel... working our way to heaven. 30:19 Building those bricks one by one. 30:22 All those good deeds that we're doing so that we can 30:24 get ourselves up there closer to God. 30:27 "I'm closer to God now. Look at all the tithe I've been 30:29 paying; look at all the good things I've been doing. 30:31 I'm much closer than that guy over there! 30:33 That guy... I'm so thankful! 30:35 I fast twice a week. I pay tithes of all that I possess! 30:39 Man... I'm not like that other guy over there. 30:42 I don't even know what he's doing in church! " 30:48 I'll tell you what he's doing in church: 30:50 he's praying, and this is his prayer: 30:52 "God be merciful to me, a sinner. " 30:55 And that's the man that goes down to his house justified. 30:57 You know, you can tell whether or not 31:00 you are established on a foun- dation of righteousness by faith 31:03 in Jesus or righteousness by works. You can tell. 31:05 Jesus tells us right there in Luke chapter 17. 31:10 And it's really interesting how He puts this because 31:12 Luke chapter 17 connects with Revelation chapter 12. 31:16 Revelation chapter 14 and verse 12 where it says: 31:19 "Here are those that keep the commandments of God 31:22 and have the testimony of Jesus. " 31:24 Excuse me, "Keep the commandments of God 31:26 and have the faith of Jesus. " 31:27 Because in Luke chapter 17, excuse me, Luke chapter 18 31:31 and verse 8 He says... or verse 7 He says... 31:36 Is it verse 7 or verse 8? 31:38 By the way, the verse that I was supposed to deliver 31:40 to you yesterday... you remember that one? 31:42 Psalm 50 verse 23. 31:44 Psalm 50:23... that's the verse. 31:47 And the NIV is pretty good on that. 31:51 Luke 18 verse 8 last part: 31:56 "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes 31:58 will He find faith on the earth? " 31:59 "Will He find faith? " You know, we talk about 32:02 keeping the commandments of God but what about the 32:03 faith of Jesus? Right. 32:06 See, the faith of Jesus is the gospel; 32:09 the commandments of God is the law, and they go hand in hand. 32:12 And the gospel is what Jesus... He's saying like: "When I come 32:15 will I find people who hold onto the gospel? 32:18 Who not only keep the commandments of God but also 32:19 hold onto the gospel? Who have this FAITH 32:23 in Jesus Christ or the faith OF Jesus Christ 32:26 which is really His faith toward us? " 32:29 And then in verse 9 He speaks this parable 32:31 of certain which trusted them- selves that they were righteous. 32:33 Now here's the point... here's the point: 32:36 how could you know if you're trusting in Jesus and His 32:40 righteousness or if you're trusting in yourselves that 32:43 you're righteous? How can you know? 32:45 It's so complicated sometimes because we have all these 32:47 theologians telling us: "Well, we're not saved by our works 32:50 but if you're saved you're going to have works. 32:52 And we're not saved by the law but we really should be 32:54 keeping the law. " And you're thinking: 32:56 "Well how does this all sort out? " 32:59 Well Jesus tells us really clearly right here 33:01 in this verse. We didn't finish the verse. 33:03 We're going to do that right now. 33:05 "And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted 33:07 in themselves that they were righteous 33:08 and they despised others. " 33:11 That's how you can know. 33:12 THAT'S how you can know. 33:15 How you feel about other people in an indication 33:19 of whether or not you're trusting in Jesus 33:21 or yourself. Amen! 33:23 That's it right there! 33:24 That's all we need. 33:26 All you need right now is just... "How do I think about 33:30 so and so and so and so and so and so? " 33:32 Hmm! That's an indicator that I'm trusting... 33:35 Will Jesus find faith on the earth when He comes? 33:38 Will He find the people who would say: "Lord, be merciful 33:41 unto me, a sinner, while they keep the commandments of God? " 33:43 Come on! 33:44 Or is He going to find that people are like keeping 33:46 the commandments of God? "I'm so thankful I'm not a Baptist. " 33:48 "I'm so thankful I'm not a Catholic. I'm so thankful 33:49 I'm not a Lutheran. " "I'm so thankful I'm at 3ABN 33:51 Camp Meeting and I've got all my ducks in a row. " 33:54 "I'm so thankful I've got the truth. " 33:55 Have mercy! 34:01 God is speaking to us this morning. 34:03 And basically He's saying: "You've got to remember 34:07 ALL of the Old Testament 34:11 AND the New Testament to get this right. " 34:14 The book of Revelation brings it all together. 34:17 You've gotta remember about Cain. 34:20 You've gotta remember about the Tower of Babel. 34:22 You've gotta remember about Abraham and Hagar. 34:24 Remember Abraham and Hagar? 34:26 Abraham, the father of the faithful... what did he do? 34:28 Old covenant... trying to help God by his works. 34:31 Trying to help God do what He alone can do. 34:34 Right? And Paul takes that whole story and puts it in 34:37 Galatians chapter 4 and say: "Hey, you want to know 34:39 the difference between the old and the new covenant? " 34:40 Boom! Here it is right here. 34:43 And we still are inclined to do that. 34:45 But in Revelation 14 we have this final picture, 34:48 this powerful picture, of those who keep the commandments 34:51 of God. And why do they keep the commandments of God? 34:54 Jesus tells us why. 34:56 In John 14 verse 15 He says: 34:58 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. " 35:01 Well why do we love Him? 35:03 Well John tells us why in John chapter 4 verse 19. 35:06 "We love Him BECAUSE He first loved us. " 35:09 Wow! There's the source right there! 35:11 You see how simple that is? 35:13 Amen! Simple Biblical truth. 35:15 He loved us first, and that love wells up in our hearts 35:19 and causes us to love Jesus. 35:21 And when we love Jesus we do what? 35:23 I mean, when I became a Christian 35:24 I wasn't an Adventist. I mean, I was trying to get my 35:26 sister out of the church. 35:27 A lot of you know my story. 35:29 And I started studying with Adventists 'cause I thought 35:32 "Man, these guys are just like... They must be a cult 35:34 or something. Going to church on Saturday? " 35:37 And as I started studying with Adventists to get my sister 35:40 out of the church I started learning what the Bible actually 35:42 teaches. I couldn't find Sunday in there anywhere. 35:45 Well not really. I mean, some of the newer translations 35:47 of the Bible - I don't know if you realize this - 35:48 have put Sunday in. 35:51 There are 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 translations 35:54 from 2000 and on that have put Sunday... 35:56 In Revelation 1:10, the Lord's day, they put Sunday 35:59 in there in the text or in the marginal references. 36:01 And the Message Bible is one of those translations. 36:03 Transliterations? 36:06 Something like that. 36:07 It's not based on the Greek or the Hebrew. 36:09 So there are Sunday texts now. Be careful as you study. 36:14 I was like: "Where's Sunday? " And it wasn't there. 36:17 Not in the Greek and the Hebrew. It's not there. 36:19 So I started to realize: "Wow! I don't really know the Bible. 36:23 I know the Our Father and the Hail Mary - 36:24 I was raised Catholic - but I don't know the Bible. " 36:27 And as I started to study this I remember 36:30 thinking in my brain... When Jesus said, when I read that 36:35 verse John 14:15: "If you love Me, keep my commandments" 36:37 "I love Jesus! I love Jesus; He saved me. 36:40 He has transformed my life. I don't drink any more. 36:43 Alcohol has no power in my life any more. 36:46 I go to church; I read the Bible. 36:48 My whole life has changed around. I love Jesus! 36:50 I should be keeping His commandments. " 36:54 It wasn't just the seventh day is the Sabbath Day 36:56 and you should go... It was "I love Jesus! " Amen! 36:59 I love Him... and that's the point. 37:03 That's always the point of commandment keeping. 37:05 In the very context of Exodus chapter 20 verses 1-3 37:09 that's it. Again and again the law of God is presented 37:13 in the context of grace, of unmerited favor. 37:16 That's the only way it can come to us 37:18 with any kind of power, with any kind of impact. 37:21 God first loves us; God first delivers us from bondage. 37:26 How does He deliver us? 37:28 He delivers us by the blood of the Lamb. 37:30 It's always been the blood of the Lamb. 37:32 It's never anything else but the blood of the Lamb. 37:34 And when He does that our hearts are transformed. Amen! 37:41 Our hearts are transformed by the love of God. 37:47 Someone might say: "Well, God can't save me. 37:50 I'm too wicked... I'm too bad. 37:53 I'm bad to the bone; I was easy taught. " 37:58 Some of you old guys will get that, right? 38:00 Some of you old, non-2nd, 3rd generation Adventists. 38:05 "I'm bad to the bone; I'm so wicked! " 38:08 Well, wait a minute. Why did God choose the Hebrews? 38:11 Like what made God choose them? 38:14 Were they more loving than other nations? 38:19 Did they have more potential than other nations? 38:21 Were they less stubborn; were they more moral 38:24 than other nations? 38:25 Take a quick gander with me in Deuteronomy 38:28 chapter 9. It's an interesting chapter. 38:30 And you can read it on your own time. 38:34 I mean, the rest of it on your own time. 38:36 But Deuteronomy chapter 9 is basically an outline 38:40 of the Jewish people. 38:46 And over and over again God talks here 38:49 about their stubbornness. 38:54 Is it Deuteronomy chapter 9? I'm in Numbers chapter 9. 38:57 Excuse me... Deuteronomy chapter 9. 39:01 I don't have one of those computer Bibles right now. 39:03 I'm using the "hard copy" so... 39:06 it's gotta be here, right? 39:10 Deuteronomy chapter 9. Let's just start here 39:15 with verse 4. "Speak not in thine heart 39:20 after the Lord thy God has cast them out before thee 39:23 saying: 'For my righteousness the Lord has brought me up 39:26 to possess this land. ' " 39:28 Don't say that... don't say that 'cause it ain't true. 39:34 "But for the wickedness of these nations the Lord did 39:37 drive them out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness 39:40 or for the righteousness of thine heart dost thou go in 39:45 to possess the land but for the wickedness of these nations 39:47 the Lord thy God did drive them out from before thee 39:49 that He may perform the word which the Lord swear unto thy 39:52 fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 39:54 Understand therefore that the Lord thy God gives 39:57 thee not this good land to pos- sess it for thy righteousness 40:01 for you are stiff-necked! " 40:05 Wow! Amen! There's a message we need to understand! 40:10 We're a bunch of stiff-necked people! Come on! 40:14 And the reason why God is dealing with all these other 40:16 issues in the world is because these guys are just... 40:19 they've gone way over. But wait a minute, 40:21 it's not 'cause you're better than them. 40:26 "Remember and forget not how you provoked the Lord your God 40:30 to wrath in the wilderness from the day that you did depart 40:33 out of the land of Egypt until you came into this place 40:36 you have been rebellious against the Lord. " 40:39 Whoo! Yeah, if God can say it to the Hebrews 40:43 I think God can say it to anybody. 40:44 Amen. Any one of us... we're all saveable. 40:47 There's no excuse. I think sometimes we get the idea 40:49 that people can be saved 40:50 because they're pretty good to start with. 40:52 Yeah, like, they're almost in heaven anyway. 40:56 Like just one more step... just almost there. 40:59 But not me. God can save them but He can't save me. 41:02 I mean there's third, fourth generation... 41:04 When I first came to the Adventist church 41:07 I mean I drove into the parking lot with my 1973 Camaro. 41:11 Chevy Camaro... all souped up. 41:13 I mean, it had the louvers on the back. It had the Cragars. 41:16 Some of you know what those are, right? 41:18 Vinyl top. Man, I miss vinyl tops, right? 41:21 Vinyl top. I mean, it was just totally... 41:25 And I came in and with my girlfriend 41:27 and my leather jacket, and I walked in the Adventist church. 41:29 I mean, I was a brand-new Christian, you know? 41:30 Brand new Christian. Wasn't drinking any more. 41:32 Wasn't doing drugs any more; I was going to church. 41:35 So I was going to church on Sunday; I was going to church 41:37 on Wednesday, I was going to church on Sabbath. 41:39 I was going to a Pentecostal church. I was going to 41:41 Calvary Chapel, and I was going to the Adventist church. 41:44 And when I came into the Adventist church 41:46 I felt something different that I didn't feel in the other 41:48 churches. I felt uncomfortable 41:53 with my girlfriend and my leather coat and my you know. 41:56 I looked at all these 3rd and 4th and 5th and 41:58 6th and 7th and 8th and 9th and 10th generation Adventists. 42:01 I was like: "I'm among the saints here. " 42:05 Yeah, it was... it was uncomfortable. 42:06 I felt uncomfortable. 42:08 And I almost got to this place where I was thinking 42:11 "You know, I don't know if I'm good enough to be saved. 42:15 All these people, like they've got their stuff together 42:18 and me... like I'm fresh out of the world. " 42:21 We need to forget that. 42:23 That's a lie from the devil. Amen! 42:25 No one is more savable than anyone else. Amen! 42:29 We are saved by grace: God's unmerited favor. 42:32 And don't you dare allow the devil to add some kind of 42:36 natural human goodness to that. Amen! It isn't happening. 42:41 Grace stands alone as our only merit through faith. 42:43 That's it, so don't let the enemy touch that Biblical 42:47 equation and mess it up. That's not happening. 42:50 That's right. "We are saved by grace 42:52 through faith, and not of yourselves. It is a gift of God 42:55 not of works lest any man should boast. " 42:57 For we are His workmanship. That's right! 43:01 Created in Christ Jesus unto good works which 43:03 God has before ordained that we should walk in them. 43:05 So those good works are HIS, they're not ours. 43:09 That's right! He'll even reward us for them. OK! 43:11 That's kind of nice, isn't it? 43:12 He gives us the works then He rewards us for them 43:14 as if they're our own... but they're not. 43:16 They're His... they're all His. 43:18 And those works never supplant, they never replace 43:23 the righteousness of Jesus. 43:24 Amen! We can never get to heaven and say: "You know, 43:27 I did all these kinds of things. Let me in. " 43:29 There's a group of people that do that, they're pictured 43:32 in Matthew chapter 7:21-23. 43:37 They said: "Lord, Lord, open unto us. " 43:39 He's like: "Who are you? " 43:41 "We're the people, we did many wonderful works in Your name. 43:44 We cast out devils in You name and we prophesied in Your name 43:46 and we did all kinds of stuff. Man, we did Daniel Seminars 43:48 and Revelation Seminars and we did Bible studies 43:50 and we paid our tithe. " And He says: 43:51 "I don't know you. Did you ever open that door 43:57 So I could sup with you? Or were you just like 44:00 rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing 44:02 for the whole time? " 44:06 See, somehow we've got to transition ourselves 44:09 back to that foundation and stay there. 44:13 Stay on the foundation of Jesus. 44:16 Paul says in I Corinthians there is no other foundation 44:20 which can be laid than Jesus Christ. Amen! 44:23 And he says: "Some build upon this foundation... " 44:25 I Corinthians 3:7. 44:27 "Some build upon this foundation - 44:29 gold and silver and precious stones - 44:31 and others build wood and hay and stubble. " 44:35 And by the way, the context of I Corinthians chapter 3 44:40 is Sinai and the law of God. 44:42 And he's talking there in the context of this 44:44 about how there are people who look to that law 44:49 as their foundation instead of looking to Jesus. 44:53 The foundation is Jesus. 44:55 Now you're going to build on that foundation. 44:56 Some of the things you're going to build are going to be 44:58 really good. They're going to be like the gold and silver 45:00 and the precious stones. I think that represents 45:02 like good theology and good understanding of truth 45:05 and the Bible, etc. And then others build with 45:07 wood and hay and stubble. I think that represents 45:08 you know like bad theology and bad experiences 45:11 and bad practices, and bad habits, whatever. 45:13 And then Paul says: "The day is going to try 45:17 every man's work and what sort it is. " 45:18 It's going to be tried by fire. 45:21 And the fire is going to consume the bad stuff. 45:26 That's why we have trials. That's why trials come 45:27 to our life... to take all that bad stuff out. 45:30 But the foundation... the foundation is sure. 45:35 And there are people who are building wood and hay 45:38 and stubble and Paul says in I Corinthians chapter 3 45:43 beginning there with verse 11 going down to verse 13 he said: 45:46 "They're going to be saved so as by fire. " 45:49 Why do you think people that build bad theology 45:51 are going to be saved? 45:52 'Cause they've got the foundation of Jesus. 45:55 You know, most of God's people aren't Adventists. 45:57 You know that, right? 45:58 Most of God's people are out there literally 46:00 in other churches and other religions. 46:02 Most of God's people, but they have this foundation 46:04 that they're establishing, and it won't take long for them. 46:07 They can learn in weeks and months what it takes others 46:09 a lifetime to learn. Very quickly they learn 46:11 those 28 fundamentals. You know what I mean? 46:13 And like me they're just going to say: "Wow! Well I love Jesus. 46:16 I probably should keep His commandments. " 46:17 "Well I love Jesus. I probably should believe that He's 46:19 the Messiah. " "Well I love Jesus. 46:20 The 70-week prophecy is probably all about Him. 46:22 I'll just go ahead and accept that. " 46:23 I mean we could probably teach them in a few hours 46:25 the 28... but character development? 46:28 That's not going to happen overnight. That's right. 46:31 That can't happen overnight. 46:32 So here we are with our 28 46:36 thinking we're as close to heaven as we can get. 46:41 Meanwhile the way we treat people 46:42 is completely out of sorts. Amen. 46:45 Wow! Amen. History being repeated. 46:50 Example: Paul there is talking about the wood and the hay 46:54 and stubble. I'd like to suggest that maybe 46:56 some of that wood and hay and stubble 46:57 is secret rapture theology. 47:02 Can I.. can you give me that liberty? 47:03 Secret rapture theology. You know, that's what most 47:06 evangelical friends believe about the 70-week prophecy. 47:08 They take that last week and they put it out at the end 47:10 of time, right? And you've got a mid, a post, 47:13 a pre-rapture tribulation. 47:16 However you want to interpret it. 47:18 And we're like: "Man, that's just not Biblical. 47:19 You can't do that. Here are the principles; here is the truth. " 47:24 And yet a lot of these people love Jesus - 47:29 Amen - and their feet are solid on the foundation of Jesus. 47:32 Their theology may be off a little bit but 47:33 their feet are solid on the foundation. 47:35 And when that secret rapture doesn't happen... 47:39 See, this is what I love about the truth that God has given us. 47:43 Sometimes we're afraid to talk about the law of God 47:47 and specifically the Sabbath. 47:50 But I want to tell you that the Sabbath truth in contrast 47:53 with mark of the beast is like our ace in the hole. 47:57 We've got to sow that seed. Amen! 48:00 Because when people remember what we told them now 48:05 about that truth then 48:07 it's going to have a power it couldn't have had! 48:09 It's going to be too late then: "Oh, I knew this was going to 48:11 happen. I knew there was going to be a Sunday law. 48:13 I could have told you all about it. " "Oh, why didn't you? " 48:16 But if we tell them now in the sweet spirit of Jesus, 48:20 if we tell them now about God's law in the context of the 48:23 gospel and the context of unmerited favor 48:26 in the context which the woman was told about God's law 48:28 in that context, if we tell them NOW about that... 48:31 If we don't divorce the law from the gospel, 48:33 if we allow the law and the gospel to be partners, 48:36 if Adventists were known for being gospel-saturated, 48:39 law preaching believers, this world would be 48:42 turned upside down. Amen! 48:47 Those seeds would be sown. 48:49 And when that secret rapture doesn't happen 48:53 we'd be there for them. 48:54 Like: "Hey! " Not like: "Huh! Told ya. 48:58 Should've listened to me. Too late for you now. " 49:02 No, no, no. It's like: "Hey! 49:05 Sorry about the disappointment. 49:08 Would you like to study this out? 49:11 'Cause I can see you love Jesus. " 49:14 Amen! "Your theology may be off a little bit 49:16 but I can see you love Jesus. " 49:18 "I mean, you've been my friend for many months, many years now. 49:21 You've been my neighbor; you've been my co-worker. 49:23 You've been rubbing shoulders with me and I can see that 49:25 you love Jesus. Would you like to study this out 49:29 because it's not too late. " 49:32 "God is still there for you 49:35 in the context of the everlasting gospel. " 49:39 It's never too late. 49:43 So the unmerited favor is the only thing that we're ever 49:45 going to actually be able to share 49:49 with people to get them to believe and accept 49:53 the law of God - Amen - the law of love and liberty. 49:57 The unmerited favor is the only thing that can really take 50:00 us the rest of the way. 50:04 The unmerited favor of God is the only thing that can make us 50:07 have no other gods before us. 50:11 For as the new covenant so beautifully puts it 50:13 in Hebrews chapter 10... here it is, 50:16 verses 16 and 17: 50:18 "This is the covenant that I will make with them 50:20 after those days says the Lord: 50:22 'I will put My law into their hearts; I will write... 50:25 and in their minds I will write them. 50:27 And their sins and their iniquities 50:29 I will remember no more. " 50:32 It's OK to let God convict us of our sins 50:36 through His law... it's OK! 50:38 Just stay in the presence of Jesus. Amen! 50:42 Don't leave your Savior. 50:44 This is for us today; this is for us right now. 50:47 Amen! Right here in the presence of Jesus - 50:50 don't leave His presence - 50:52 listen to Him. This is what He says: 50:54 "I love you. " Amen! "I didn't come to condemn you. " 51:01 The condemnation comes in walking away from Jesus. 51:04 That's what the religious leaders did. 51:06 They walked away and said: "Well, we'd better do better. 51:08 We've gotta do better; we've gotta try harder; 51:10 we've gotta do more. " 51:12 John 3:16 says: 51:13 "For God so loved the world 51:15 that He gave His only begotten Son. " 51:17 Now stop right there. 51:19 Do you see any conditions there? 51:21 Do you see anything we've gotta do for God to do that? 51:24 There's nothing. That is unconditional love right there. 51:27 Why is God giving us uncon- ditional love in John 3:16? 51:31 "So that whoever believes in Him 51:33 might not perish but have everlasting life. " 51:36 Right? That's why God gives the unconditional love. 51:41 That's the most precious verse in the Bible 51:43 but here's what it goes on to say in verse 17: 51:45 "For God sent not His Son into the world 51:47 to condemn the world... " That's right... 51:49 "but that the world through Him might be saved. " 51:54 "He that believes on Him is not condemned. " Verse 18: 51:57 "He that believes not is condemned already 51:58 because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten 52:02 Son of God. " And this is the condemnation, 52:05 here it is right here, verse 19: 52:08 "that light is come into the world 52:12 and men loved darkness rather than light 52:17 because their deeds were evil. " 52:19 See, that's what was going on with the religious leaders. 52:21 Their deeds were evil. 52:24 You know what they did? They set this woman up. 52:28 They knew that she was a prostitute 52:32 and they set her up so that they could use her as a pawn 52:38 to trap Jesus. Amen! That's why the guy wasn't there. 52:41 Can you imagine that? 52:43 Can you imagine religious people 52:46 being so wicked as to set people up for sin? 52:51 And then use that against them? 52:54 That's right. And they did that to Jesus! 52:59 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! 53:03 And Jesus saw right through it. 53:06 And He said: "Wait just a second. 53:09 I need to write some things right now. " 53:12 I imagine what He wrote there might have been part of the law 53:15 that said: "If someone is accused of adultery, 53:19 both parties should be brought before the judge. " 53:23 They're like: "Oh! " 53:25 And He says: "Whoever is without sin among you 53:28 let him cast the first stone. " 53:30 And they realized that He knew everything 53:33 that they had done previous to this. 53:34 They thought: "Oh, yeah, He's not going to know. 53:36 He's not going to understand. He's not going to realize 53:38 what we're doing right here. " Oh, no! He saw right through it. 53:41 Jesus saw right through it. 53:44 And He sees right through our own hearts, 53:46 our own experiences. 53:49 But praise God He's come to deliver us. 53:51 He's not come to condemn us; He's come to deliver us. 53:54 We have a Savior in Jesus Christ. 53:57 His perfect life and substitutionary death 54:02 has taken care of all the guilt and all the condemnation. 54:06 Now we know according to Revelation 12 verse 10 54:11 that we have an accuser that accuses us before God 54:13 day and night. And we know that Satan is using 54:17 people - human beings - to help him in that work. 54:19 Amen! That just happens to be his modus operandi. 54:22 That's what he likes to do: he likes to use people 54:24 to help him just like he did with the scribes and Pharisees. 54:27 So we need to recognize that as we feel these accusations 54:32 coming against us, and they are coming against us, 54:34 we need to recognize... as the law speaks to us 54:36 we need to recognize that our response is not to run away 54:40 from God. That's right! Don't run away from Jesus! 54:44 Don't do that 'cause you're just going to go into darkness! 54:48 STAY IN HIS PRESENCE. 54:54 Humbled, bowed, but seeking for His mercy, 54:59 for His grace, for His unmerited favor. 55:04 Let that goodness lead you 55:07 to the foot of the cross, lead you to repentance. 55:10 Let the goodness of God... Remember? 55:13 Let the love of God, let the goodness of God, 55:14 turn you around. Praise the Lord! 55:18 Praise the Lord! And then you're going to see 55:22 what Exodus chapter 20 is really all about. 55:25 The people are afraid. They're scared to death! 55:27 When Moses gets done with this whole... 55:31 when God gets done with this whole experience 55:34 they're scared to death. 55:35 Exodus 20 verse 20. 55:38 They said: "Hey! " Let's start with verse 18: 55:41 "All the people saw the thunderings and the lightning's 55:43 and the noise and the trumpet and the mountain smoking... 55:45 When they saw it they removed and they stood afar off. " 55:47 They did what the religious leaders did: 55:48 they removed and they stood afar off. 55:51 They pulled away from God. 55:54 "And they said to Moses: 'Speak... ' " Excuse me, 55:58 verse 19: "And they said unto Moses 56:00 'Speak thou with us. We will hear but let not God 56:04 speak with us lest we die. ' " 56:07 "I'm going to go to 3ABN Camp Meeting and I'll let 56:09 the speakers speak to me but I'm not letting God speak to me. " 56:15 "And Moses said: " verses 20... 56:17 Here it is... you ready? 56:21 "Moses said unto the people: 'Fear not 56:24 for God has come to prove you that His fear may be before 56:28 your faces that you sin not. ' " 56:31 Amen! See, there are 2 types of fear here. Do you see that? 56:33 There's the fear they have natu- rally that causes them to want 56:36 to run from God like Adam and Eve did, 56:38 like those religious leaders did, and then there's the fear 56:40 that God puts in our heart that causes us to sin not. 56:43 Amen! And that fear is what the everlasting gospel 56:46 calls us to have. The everlasting gospel calls us 56:47 to fear God, to revere God, to be in awe of God. Why? 56:51 Because of His unmerited favor. 56:53 And that kind of fear, that kind of awe, 56:56 that kind of reverence for God 56:58 leads us to leave our life of sin. 57:01 "That we sin not. " That's what Moses says 57:03 right here in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 20. 57:05 Exodus 20:20 is connected with Revelation 14 57:10 and the everlasting gospel, and that's what God wants for us. 57:15 How many of you this morning 57:17 want that experience as yours? 57:19 How many of you want to say "Yes? " 57:21 See, when you raise your hands up you know what that means? 57:23 I surrender! 57:25 Praise God! Father in heaven, thank you so much 57:27 this morning for each heart that is surrendering to You. |
Revised 2019-07-16