Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200015S
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:12 We are so excited that 01:13 you are joining us this evening. 01:15 We wanna say Happy Sabbath right off the bat. 01:17 A Happy Sabbath, it's a blessing to be 01:19 with God's people communing together, 01:21 joined together in harmony studying the Word of God, 01:24 lifting up praises, 01:26 and that's what we're going to be doing this evening. 01:29 We have a heavy topic, and I'm using the words 01:31 of my sister next to me 01:33 because as I was preparing this topic, you know... 01:37 Praise the Lord, you know, 01:39 they gave me the opportunity to host this 01:40 and I thought, "Lord, what do You want us to study? 01:43 What is it that You want us to talk about?" 01:44 And He has been placing this topic 01:46 on my heart for a long-time. 01:48 The title of this could be a little, 01:51 I don't know some people may kind of 01:53 frown at it like, "What?" 01:54 Okay, and here's the title, "A Call to Anguish." 01:58 A Call to Anguish, doesn't sound very hopeful, 02:00 but there is hope in this message 02:02 just hang with this, 02:04 but it is a very heavy message indeed, A Call to Anguish. 02:08 We're gonna be reading a rather lengthy quote 02:12 in just a few moments from the Spirit of Prophecy, 02:15 but I reassure you the bulk of this study 02:18 is gonna come directly from the Bible. 02:19 We're going to reinstate, 02:21 we're going to bring much more support 02:23 and communication 02:25 from God's Word on this subject, 02:27 but before we go any further, 02:28 I wanna introduce this wonderful group 02:31 that I have with me today to my direct left here. 02:34 It's a blessing to always 02:36 have my little brother Dakota Day with. 02:37 He's an Amazing Facts Evangelist. 02:39 Dakota, it's a blessing to have you here today with us. 02:42 Thank you for the invitation. It's a blessing to be here. 02:43 Amen. 02:44 It's always good to hear your insight, Brother. 02:46 Appreciate you being here with us. 02:47 Thank you so much. 02:49 And, of course, 02:50 down at the other end of the table 02:51 we're trying to practice that social distancing. 02:55 We have Brother Kenny and Miss Chris Shelton. 02:58 It's always good to have you wonderful people with us. 03:00 It's good to be here. 03:01 I love how you introduce him 03:03 as your little brother 'cause I always introduce 03:05 my brothers as my little brother. 03:07 He's about 6' 8", I'm barely 5' 2". 03:11 Wow, okay. 03:13 But he is two years younger than me. 03:14 So I always say, "This is my little brother." 03:16 Little big brother. 03:17 Well, you all of you said if it had been reversed, 03:19 I'd been in trouble. 03:21 Wow. He should have been the 6' 8". 03:23 Okay. Yeah. Praise the Lord. 03:26 Well, it's always great to have you guys on. 03:28 Some of my favorite people 03:29 and it's always good to hear your wisdom. 03:31 And I know that the Lord's gonna use all of us 03:33 to bring this topic out today because it's one that 03:36 I believe is a very, very, very, 03:38 I can't emphasize that enough 03:41 very, very present truth message. 03:44 While this does not crowd out 03:46 or become more important than any other message 03:49 that we might hear in these last days, 03:50 we certainly wanna emphasize 03:52 the fact that Jesus is coming soon. 03:54 And we know that He's coming back for a people 03:56 that are prepared and ready for Him. 03:59 And this quote we're gonna read in just a few moments, 04:01 after we pray is something 04:04 that we all need to pay attention to 04:06 and be prepared for in these last days, 04:08 so I'm going to ask Brother Kenny Shelton, 04:10 if you would open us in prayer, 04:11 ask the Holy Spirit to be with us, 04:13 and then we're gonna dive into this topic. 04:14 Amen. 04:15 We invites you to home, be sure and pray along 04:17 with us, we need it. 04:18 Most Gracious loving Heavenly Father, 04:20 it is a privilege that we can come before Thee. 04:22 I call Thee our Father, how wonderful to know that 04:24 You are there for Your children. 04:26 Lord, we stand in need, 04:28 we sense as we've been reading and studying. 04:31 We're falling short. 04:32 We need Your Holy Spirit. We need guidance from above. 04:35 And so we invite Thy Holy Spirit 04:37 take possession, every thought, every action, every word, 04:41 that we may become more and more like 04:42 Thee end of the perfect day. 04:44 We pray that You'll be with us 04:45 in a special way each one around this table, 04:47 each one of us around the camera, 04:49 each one doing a part to put this all together. 04:51 We pray that will bring honor and glory to You 04:53 and You alone 04:54 and may some of these beautiful, beautiful truths 04:58 that we've learned over the years 04:59 are just now learning may they become 05:02 paramount in our heart, in our life. 05:04 May the dust and dirt be shaken off 05:06 and we may see the truth. 05:08 As there's in Jesus a very, very interesting topic 05:12 in the hour that we're living in. 05:13 Thank you for the privilege. Thank you for the opportunity. 05:15 Bless now with Thy spirit in Jesus' name 05:17 we pray and for His sake. 05:19 Amen. Amen. Amen. 05:21 Praise the Lord, A Call to Anguish. 05:24 I think you're going to see 05:26 why I haven't chosen to entitle this 05:28 A Call to Anguish as I read through this 05:31 rather lengthy quote from the Spirit of Prophecy. 05:34 Now I just wanna kind of give a disclaimer, 05:35 there's gonna be two different places 05:38 that you can find this particular vision. 05:40 It's referring to the shaking. Mrs. White saw a shaking. 05:44 I wanna also say up front that we believe here at 05:47 3ABN as Seventh-day Adventist Christians 05:50 in the inspirational writings of Ellen G. White. 05:53 But we also wanna be very clear that we do not uphold 05:56 her writings to be equal or above Scripture. 05:59 We believe that God used her to deliver present truth, 06:03 a powerful last day message and great, 06:05 great counsels in harmony with the Bible 06:08 to His people in the last days. 06:10 And so the purpose of reading this quote 06:11 is to reveal what God showed her 06:14 as a servant of God for God's people here 06:16 in the last days, and then we're gonna take 06:18 some themes and some elements through this from this quote, 06:21 and we're going to pick it apart. 06:23 We're going to dive deep in the Word of God 06:25 and we're gonna show how this is definitely 06:27 in harmony with God's Word. 06:29 And I suspect that this is probably gonna turn 06:31 into a multiple part series. 06:33 That's why I entitled it, "A Call to Anguish: Part 1." 06:37 And there's nothing wrong with that. 06:39 So we're gonna be visiting this again, 06:41 but I'm gonna read through this quote at this moment. 06:43 And, of course, the disclaimer that 06:45 I wanted to give upfront is that you're gonna find 06:46 this in two different areas or works of Ellen White. 06:52 She wrote this first in her Early Writings, 06:54 I think in the late 1840s, early 1850s, 06:58 and then later she would write it again, 07:00 but just with a little bit different detail 07:02 in the first volume of the Testimonies, 07:04 page 179 to 181. 07:07 So today we're gonna be reading the version 07:08 from the first volume of the Testimonies. 07:10 If you wanna compare 07:12 and you wanna see the differences, 07:13 which again, the message is still basically the same, 07:15 you can go read both of those references. 07:18 And so I'm gonna start reading this through, 07:19 it's gonna be a rather lengthy quote, 07:20 but then we're gonna dive deep into this and pick it apart. 07:23 So here we go. This comes from... 07:25 This is the first volume 07:26 of the Testimonies, page 179 to 181. 07:29 Ellen White's vision 07:31 on a shaking that she saw coming, 07:33 that she saw that God's people would endure 07:35 in the last days prior to the Second Coming of Jesus, 07:37 and this is coming from November 20, 1857. 07:41 And this is what she says. 07:43 Oh, by the way, grab your family members, 07:45 grab your friends and enemies, everyone, gather them around, 07:48 they need to hear this message. 07:49 So here it is. 07:50 She says, "I was shown the people of God, 07:53 and I saw them mightily shaken. 07:56 Some with strong faith and agonizing cries, 07:59 were pleading with God. 08:01 Their countenances were pale, and marked with deep anxiety, 08:06 expressive of their internal struggle." 08:09 Some deep language there. 08:11 "Firmness and great earnestness 08:13 were expressed in their countenances, 08:16 while large drops of perspiration 08:19 fell from their foreheads. 08:21 Now and then their faces would light up 08:23 with the marks of God's approbation, 08:25 and again the same solemn, 08:27 earnest, anxious look would settle upon them. 08:32 Evil angels crowded around them, 08:34 pressing their darkness upon them, 08:36 to shut out Jesus from their view, 08:40 that their cries might be drawn to the darkness 08:43 that surrounded them," 08:44 excuse me, "their eyes might be drawn to the darkness 08:47 that surrounded them, 08:48 and they distrust God and next murmur against Him. 08:52 Their only safety was in keeping their eyes 08:56 directed upward. 08:58 Angels of God had charge over His people, 09:01 and as the poisonous atmosphere 09:03 from the evil angels was pressed around 09:06 these anxious ones, 09:08 the heavenly angels were continually 09:10 wafting their wings over them, to scatter the thick darkness. 09:15 Some, I saw, 09:17 did not participate in this work 09:20 of agonizing and pleading." 09:23 So notice the agonizing and pleading, 09:25 A Call to Anguish. 09:26 God's people should be agonizing 09:27 and pleading spiritually in the Spirit of God. 09:30 She goes on to say, 09:32 "They seemed indifferent and careless. 09:35 They were not resisting the darkness around them, 09:37 and it shut them in like a thick cloud. 09:41 The angels of God left these, and I saw them hastening 09:45 to the assistance of those who were struggling 09:48 with all their energies to resist the evil angels, 09:51 and trying to help themselves 09:52 by calling upon God with perseverance. 09:56 But the angels left those 09:57 who made no effort to help themselves, 10:01 and I lost sight of them. 10:03 As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, 10:06 a ray of light from Jesus would at times come to them, 10:10 to encourage their hearts, 10:12 and light up their countenances." 10:15 Here comes the part 10:16 that we're gonna focus on today, okay? 10:18 This ties it all together. 10:20 She says, "I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, 10:24 and was shown that it would be 10:26 caused by the straight testimony 10:29 called forth by the counsel 10:31 of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. 10:34 This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, 10:38 and will lead him to exalt the standard 10:40 and pour forth the straight truth. 10:43 Some will not bear this straight testimony. 10:46 They will rise up against it, 10:48 and this will cause a shaking among God's people." 10:54 Yes, someone saying Great Controversy. 10:58 What we have just read, it's very deep. 11:02 It's very deep. And it's very heavy. 11:04 And some people might read this and say, 11:06 "Ah, it's very negative. 11:07 I don't wanna have anything to do with that." 11:09 But nonetheless, sometimes we have to face 11:11 the reality that God sends us warning in ways to awaken us, 11:16 to stir us, to bring us back to Him. 11:18 And in this case, what we just read through 11:20 a rather lengthy quote, 11:22 we see the Great Controversy on display here. 11:25 And so what I wanna bring 11:26 our attention to for this study, 11:28 is we're gonna dive deep now into the Bible. 11:30 I want you to notice that 11:32 this message is to the Laodiceans. 11:34 Notice how she says the shaking is brought about 11:38 by the straight testimony. 11:39 What kind of testimony, Brother Kenny? 11:41 Straight. 11:42 "Straight testimony called forth by the counsel 11:45 of the True Witness to the Laodiceans." 11:48 Are we living in Laodicea? Yes. 11:50 Absolutely. We are living in Laodicea. 11:52 So what I wanna do is, I wanna dive deep, 11:54 she says there's the counsel 11:56 of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. 11:58 Now, is there a message that's given to Laodicea 12:01 that we can find in the Bible? 12:02 It's found in the Book of Revelation. 12:04 We're gonna go to Revelation Chapter 3 right now 12:06 and I'm gonna toss it 12:07 to my good friends now at this point. 12:09 We're gonna start reading in Revelation Chapter 3. 12:13 And you know what? 12:15 I just want us to be able to unpack this message 12:18 because she says that the shaking she saw, 12:22 this Great Controversy display where the evil angels 12:24 and the angels of the Lord 12:26 seem to be at war over God's people. 12:29 We see here very clearly this is brought about 12:31 by a counsel that was given to Laodicea by none other than, 12:36 of course, the True Witness, Jesus Christ Himself. 12:38 So, Brother Kenny, why don't you kick us off? 12:41 Well, let's read Revelation Chapter 3. 12:44 Let's read verses 14 through... 12:49 Let's read verses 14-17. 12:52 And let's unpack that because 12:53 then what's gonna lead us up to the counsel. 12:55 Okay, starting with verse 14, Revelation Chapter 3, it says, 13:00 "And unto the angel of the church 13:02 of the Laodiceans write. 13:03 These things saith the Amen, 13:06 and the faithful and true witness, 13:08 and the beginning of the creation of God." 13:11 Verse 15, "I know thy works, 13:13 and thou art, neither cold nor hot. 13:16 I would thou wert cold or hot. 13:19 So then because thou art lukewarm, 13:22 neither cold nor hot, 13:24 I will spew thee out of my mouth." 13:25 Verse 17, "Because thou saith, 13:27 I am rich, increased with goods, 13:29 and have need of nothing, 13:30 and knowest not that thou art wretched, 13:33 and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." 13:38 That's kind of rough shape. So it's interesting. 13:40 Jesus seems to be giving almost a diagnosis. 13:42 Yes. 13:44 He's saying Laodicea has a problem. 13:45 You're sick. Yes. 13:47 You're sick and you make me sick. 13:49 Are those strong words? 13:50 No, that to me that's just so strong, 13:52 but yet there's hope. 13:54 It's kind of like, go to a doctor, 13:57 you know, you're sick. 13:58 You go to the doctor and that hopefully the doctor 14:00 will be able to help you 14:02 and give you something and I see this as a sickness. 14:04 I see this as the disease, sin. 14:07 And in this message if you look at it probably, 14:09 boys just hit over the head. 14:10 It's not that. 14:12 It's Jesus trying to get our attention 14:13 that you mentioned. 14:14 And give us a wonderful message 14:16 to bring us out of this sleepiness. 14:19 You know, that has surrounded us, 14:20 this lukewarmness is talking about here 14:22 in this hour that we're living in. 14:24 That to me it's just a message of hope, 14:26 a message of encouragement. 14:27 When I first read it, and as a young person 14:29 these passages of scripture, 14:31 I kind of got spiritually depressed. 14:33 Can we say that? Yeah, I got you. 14:35 You know, just like, "Oh, there's no hope. 14:37 There's no hope for Laodicea. 14:38 There's no hope for the last church." 14:40 There is. That's right. 14:41 This is wonderful 'cause there is hope 14:43 even though we are asleep. 14:45 God says, "I'm going to send a message straight. 14:47 It's gonna wake you up. 14:48 You're gonna get in or get out." 14:50 That's right. That is true. 14:52 You know, it's interesting here 14:54 that He says, "I know your works." 14:55 Yes, He does. Oh, boy. 14:56 I know your works. Why not? 14:59 I know your faith. Right? 15:02 Because again, it seems like the Christian anthem 15:05 that we hear often is, Dakota, you can chime in on this one. 15:09 It seems like we hear often, 15:10 you know, we're saved by grace through faith, right? 15:12 And the Bible teaches that. We don't wanna deny that. 15:14 The Bible teaches that you are saved 15:16 by grace through faith, not of works, right? 15:19 We know Ephesians Chapter 2 teaches us that, 15:22 but yet it's interesting, 15:23 why didn't Jesus say I know your faith? 15:25 But yet He says, "I know your works." 15:29 Why is that? Why do you think that is? 15:32 I'm gonna help you, Dakota, 15:34 because faith without works is dead. 15:37 And, you know, going back to that one little paragraph, 15:39 he said, we're gonna focus on mainly here, it says, 15:42 "Some will not bear this straight testimony." 15:44 I'm telling you as I went through this, 15:48 I began to see this is the sanctifying walk. 15:52 This is the sanctifying message for each and every one. 15:55 If I see myself in this, 15:57 I sadly see those I love and care about in this message, 16:03 but there was a time, 16:04 some will not bear this straight testimony. 16:06 And you, I love that 16:07 you brought out about the Spirit of Prophecy. 16:09 And we're gonna bring that out more 16:11 because it's talking about the true witnesses. 16:13 It's talking about the testimony of Jesus, 16:16 which Revelation 19:10 tells us is the Spirit of Prophecy. 16:20 So we're gonna cover all of that, 16:22 but to go back, I remember there was a time 16:25 I'd read the Bible, and then I'd pick up 16:26 the Spirit of Prophecy and that Spirit of Prophecy 16:29 just cut me so deep. 16:30 I put it down, 16:32 and I wouldn't read it for a long-time. 16:33 I didn't leave the Lord, but I wouldn't read it. 16:36 And now, I'm so thankful 16:39 and so grateful because this helps me. 16:43 I don't think I've always understood about Laodicea, 16:47 I've always understood about being lukewarm, 16:50 but I don't think I saw it as deeply as I did 16:53 while I was preparing for this message. 16:55 That's good. Praise God. 16:56 This is good. It is a powerful message. 16:59 It's a message that to not bring despair or worry, 17:04 but it's a message that God uses to wake us up, 17:06 to say, "Look, I'm coming soon." 17:08 It's time for the church to awaken 17:11 from your slumber to trim their lamps. 17:14 So you got the oil in your lamp, right? 17:16 And so, and that's where I'm reminded by 17:18 as I'm reading through this, these two groups here, 17:20 one that's being protected by the angels of Lord 17:23 because they are pleading and agonizing, 17:25 they're anguishing for the Spirit of God 17:27 to transform them, but then there's another group 17:29 that seemed that she said, "Indifferent." 17:31 And I could just see those two groups that, 17:33 you know, both of these groups are professed Christians. 17:36 You know, just as we see 17:38 the ten virgins in Matthew Chapter 25, 17:40 you have the two groups there, right? 17:41 One has a plenty of oil, but the other one doesn't, 17:44 but yet they've got their lamps, right? 17:46 They're going out to meet the bridegroom, 17:47 but they're not prepared. 17:48 And so we need to make sure, I need to make sure. 17:50 Ryan needs to make sure that 17:52 there's oil in that lamp, right? 17:53 And that we are receiving the straight testimony 17:55 and the counsel given by Jesus. 17:58 He says, "I know your works." Right? I know your works. 18:00 And then He says, 18:01 "That you are neither cold nor hot." 18:04 You're neither cold nor hot. 18:06 I wish that you were cold or hot. 18:08 So then because you are lukewarm, 18:10 and neither cold or hot, I will, 18:12 and then the King James Version says, "I will spew." 18:15 New King James Version actually, 18:17 and I've checked this translation actually 18:19 fits more closely to the original language 18:22 that John would have written here. 18:24 And that is, Jesus would have actually said, 18:26 "Vomit you out of my mouth." 18:27 He got sick from the lukewarmness 18:30 and he wanted to spew or vomit, the situation 18:33 this condition out of his mouth. 18:35 So let's talk about that for a second. 18:36 What does it mean to be cold or hot? 18:38 What is Jesus saying here? I wish you were cold. 18:40 I wish you were hot, but you're neither. 18:43 Well, I'm gonna go back just a little bit. 18:45 You said it's nothing to worry about, 18:47 but when you read 18:48 what we just read, it is concerning. 18:50 It is something we need. 18:52 And we're also told that 18:53 this testimony of the true witness 18:55 is not a smooth message. 18:57 It's not smooth, but the world is full of smooth messages. 19:00 You just went on to say that Jesus says, 19:02 "I know your works." And it fits so well. 19:04 I mean, He is describing 19:08 the religious dogma of this nation 19:12 and world right now because people believe, 19:15 in fact, it says there's no greater deception 19:18 can come upon human minds then a confidence 19:20 that they are right when they're all wrong. 19:23 They're professing to be Christians, 19:25 all ten virgins profess to be Christians, 19:27 but five were just there in principle, 19:30 as it were, they just looked good. 19:32 They look like they fit in, they talk the talk, 19:35 but did they walk the walk? 19:36 See, there's a difference. 19:38 When this message comes in, 19:39 and it begins to do a work inside of us 19:43 and we begin to have that deep connection 19:46 in that mind of Christ, then things begin to change. 19:51 You see, we're living in the atmosphere 19:52 and she makes this very clear too. 19:54 We're living in an atmosphere 19:56 to be a Christian is kind of a thing 19:58 that people look up to right now, 20:00 but is that what happened when Christ walked this earth? 20:04 Is that the message He taught? 20:06 It's actually just the opposite. 20:08 He says the world is enmity. 20:10 I remember thinking, "Wow, it may be you do too." 20:14 There was a time in my life, I thought, "Oh, wow, 20:16 this is wonderful being a Christian, 20:18 but I was doing the things of the world too." 20:20 And it all just seemed to gel together and no worries. 20:23 You know, you're just at peace. 20:25 You're one of these 20:26 that just think that they're good. 20:28 They think that they're in, but they don't realize that 20:30 they're blind, they're wretched, 20:32 they're poor. 20:33 And we're in need of that gold. 20:36 Oh, have mercy. How do you refine gold? 20:38 Oh, that is so true. Cold or hot? 20:42 I know you got something to say. 20:44 What were you saying? 20:45 I think a lot of people 20:46 when they see the terms of cold and hot, 20:48 I've heard so many ministers not that this is necessarily 20:50 the wrong way to view it, but I kind of just view it 20:53 a little bit different of a way. 20:54 I've heard so many ministers say, 20:55 you know, we wanna be hot for Jesus 20:57 and not be cold in our faith. 20:58 And that is true. 21:00 We wanna be on fire, you know, 21:01 so to speak, but I think that what Jesus is saying here 21:03 about the condition of Laodicea 21:04 is that they're neither cold, nor are they hot. 21:07 When I think of that is that I think of 21:08 when I'm really cold, I wanna be hot. 21:11 And when I'm really hot, I wanna be cold. 21:13 In other words, the people that are lukewarm, 21:15 they're so comfortable. 21:17 They feel no need of God, 21:18 they feel no need of change in their life. 21:21 And I think this is the real issue 21:22 with Laodicea is that, you know, 21:24 me and Ryan and everyone, when we went to AFCO, 21:27 we did a lot of door knocking, and we would 21:29 just knock on people's doors to tell them about Jesus 21:31 and wanting to do Bible studies with them. 21:32 You know, you go and knock on all these doors. 21:35 And hear all these people open up to you. 21:38 And, you know, you tell them what you're there for? 21:40 And they say, "No, I'm good." Exactly. 21:44 And it's just like, it's like, they don't really know that 21:47 they're not good 21:49 because none is good but one and that is God. 21:51 We all need Him that is good in our lives. 21:53 And so, it's just, you know, 21:55 you see that condition and we see it in the church. 21:57 I mean, this is the condition of the church that 21:59 we see so many people that don't want anyone 22:01 to rebuke them, 22:02 don't want anyone to correct them. 22:04 You know, they just want the preachers to condescend 22:07 to placate their, you know, issues of life. 22:11 You know, not preach the straight word, 22:12 not preach the straight testimony, 22:14 not call sin by its rightful name. 22:16 And we have a lot of ear tickling going on, 22:19 you know, and we got to get back to uplifting Jesus, 22:22 the author and finisher of our faith, 22:23 the one who is going to purge us and cleanse us 22:26 of all of this unrighteousness 22:27 and filthiness that has even crept in many churches. 22:29 I mean, let's not kid ourselves. 22:31 We've been to many churches where we need a reform, 22:34 we need a reformation. 22:35 And it's not that our church and as a whole is corrupted. 22:38 Oh, no, no, but I've been to congregations that 22:40 definitely need Jesus in their lives. 22:43 We got to get back to them. Right. 22:44 Absolutely. Absolutely. I agree with you. 22:45 You know that just one thing 22:47 when you mentioned that I read somewhere, 22:48 so I didn't wanna say take this all exactly, 22:50 but I think when you talk about hot and cold, 22:54 I think there was a some kind of a hot springs, 22:58 when these words were spoken in the area that 23:00 they were spoken and people knew exactly 23:02 what was being said. 23:03 Because of kind of a waterfall, 23:05 it was very hot when it came down, right? 23:07 And then, kind of, went about six miles from Laodicea. 23:10 It was what? 23:11 It cooled down and become lukewarm. 23:14 So you see, you know, so people knew very well 23:16 what was being said about hot, cold, lukewarm. 23:19 It's so wonderful 23:20 how the true witness Jesus used examples 23:23 and illustrations right there 23:24 where people knew exactly what was wrong. 23:27 Maybe we can learn from that too. 23:28 I think so. 23:30 I know in our meetings, when people come in 23:32 off the street and they're cold, 23:34 they don't really know much about the truth, 23:36 they don't know much about Jesus. 23:38 I have seen the Lord work absolute miracles, 23:41 miracles to bring these people to the knowledge, 23:44 the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 23:46 So I see it that way. 23:48 You know, when you're cold, 23:49 you're just kind of like that new baby coming in 23:52 and God is there to help and to comfort 23:54 and to clothe it, 23:55 but like you said we've become lukewarm. 23:58 We're become lukewarm as a nation. 24:00 And when you were talking about knocking on doors 24:02 and people say in there, "All right, 24:03 this is where my heart's breaking 24:05 'cause there's so many things happening in the world. 24:08 We've been talking about all these... 24:10 What did they call them? 24:12 Decade disasters that 24:13 used to happen maybe only 10, 20 years now 24:16 they're happening every few months. 24:18 You know, and now we're in the middle of a COVID, 24:20 but we see things changing. 24:22 And when you point people to the Word of God to say, 24:25 "Look, this is what the Lord said, 24:27 these are signs. 24:28 It's wrapping up." 24:30 And they're like, "Oh, yeah, well, we've had pandemics, 24:32 you know, what about 18 whatever it was? 24:34 I forget 14 or whatever? 24:36 What about this one? What about that one? 24:38 Well, we've had volcanoes before, 24:40 we've had storms before. 24:41 What more is it gonna take? 24:44 I mean, this world is not the same. 24:48 America is not the same. You're right. 24:49 I don't recognize her anymore. 24:52 I feel like I'm in a Nazi war movie or something. 24:55 She's speaking as a dragon. 24:57 Yes. Exactly. 24:58 She starts out this, 25:00 kind of this cute lamb like beast, 25:02 but now she's speaking as a dragon. 25:04 And it's interesting that you would say that 25:06 because I heard a minister say a few years ago 25:09 and it always stuck with me 25:10 the essence of deception is that 25:13 when a person is deceived, the very essence of deception 25:15 is that you are unaware that you are deceived. 25:18 There's unawareness. 25:19 That's what we're seeing right here in Laodicea. 25:21 Notice verse 17, "Because you say, 'I am rich, 25:25 and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.'" 25:27 That's what they believe, they're sold on it. 25:30 But notice, "And do not know that you are wretched, 25:33 miserable, poor, blind, and naked." 25:35 So Jesus delivers this very clear, 25:38 unmistakable diagnosis. 25:40 He says, this is your condition. 25:43 Now He gives the solution, here comes the counsel. 25:46 And this is where we wanna dial the sin 25:47 because when we go back to that quote 25:49 that we read earlier. 25:51 She said, "I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, 25:53 and was shown that it would be 25:54 caused by the straight testimony," 25:56 notice this, "called forth by the counsel 25:58 of the True Witness to the Laodicea." 26:01 What brings about the shaking? The counsel. 26:04 So when you go and look at this message 26:06 that we've been studying so far, 26:07 that's going to Laodicea. 26:09 There's something about this counsel. 26:12 And this gets me excited. 26:13 'Cause when you look at this counsel 26:15 and you study the counsel that Jesus gives to Laodicea. 26:17 She says, "This is what's gonna bring about the shaking." 26:19 Yes. 26:20 And I just wanna say something because this is important. 26:23 I see a lot of people share this quote online 26:25 on social media and stuff, and it's a wonderful quote. 26:27 But a lot of times, we focus so much 26:29 on the straight testimony part, where we're like, 26:32 and I've seen so many people use it in this context, 26:34 or I guess you'd say misunderstand the quote, 26:37 is where they say, "You know, 26:39 we need to preach the straight truth 26:40 and the straight testimony and that's true we do, 26:42 but that's not what causes the shaking." 26:44 It's the counsel. 26:46 You see him saying the counsel causes the shaking, 26:48 not the straight testimony 26:51 in the sense of the straight preaching. 26:53 You can tell someone, I mean, 26:54 Jesus preached very straight to the scribes 26:56 and the Pharisees in Matthew Chapter 23, 26:58 "Fools and blind and slow of heart to believe 27:00 all that the prophets have spoken." 27:01 He spoke very straight to them, but did that change them? 27:03 No. 27:05 You see, it's not just hearing the counsel, 27:09 it's living the counsel. 27:10 That's what we have to understand. 27:12 That's what we're told like the Early Writings 27:13 talks about the time is we have to take a bold 27:16 and decided stance for truth. 27:19 You know, not we can speak, and speak, and speak, 27:21 but it's time for us to take a bold, 27:23 unyielding for what is truth and quit wish-washing around 27:27 and watering things down, you know, I come to, 27:29 I hear sometime in church we got... 27:31 I'm not trying to offend anyone. 27:32 You have the liberals, this is a liberal church, 27:35 this is a conservative church. 27:36 And I just say where in the world 27:38 is that in Scripture that we are a liberal 27:40 or we are a conservative? 27:42 We've said it before, bless your heart. 27:43 Don't say anymore. 27:45 We wanna wipe that out because why? 27:47 Because the Word of God 27:48 is not conservative and liberal, 27:49 it's the Word of God. 27:51 The ultimate straight testimony that we're talking about here, 27:54 that's what we stand on. 27:56 That's right, Brother. 27:57 And we don't back down from that, 27:59 and but when you do that's when the speaker or the, 28:03 you know, just the Messenger of God gets himself 28:05 into trouble sometimes with the people 28:08 because to me, I look at this message 28:10 you're talking about, 28:11 it covers a wide variety of things, 28:13 it certainly focuses on some heavy duty 28:14 that we'll be talking about here. 28:16 But it's every aspect of truth that God has given this church, 28:20 this movement to go to all the world, 28:22 every one of them has to be hit. 28:24 And if we're not really, you know, 28:26 really dedicated to the cause of Christ, 28:28 we're not gonna like what we put on our body, 28:29 what we take into our body, 28:31 what comes out of our tongue, 28:32 we're not gonna wanna hear that. 28:34 And that causes a little stirring 28:35 and a division and separation of the church. 28:37 That's what the truth. 28:38 Now, go ahead, that's what the truth does. 28:40 I'm getting excited about right now, 28:41 but that's what's exciting to me years ago, 28:46 when I heard someone's finally begin 28:47 just talk about present truth or straight message. 28:50 That's right. 28:51 And started to knowing that the place they were in that 28:55 it wouldn't be received well, they might lose their job. 28:58 That's right. Might lose your retirement. 29:03 They didn't wanna do it, but you know what 29:04 they did it and it made 29:05 a real impression on my young mind. 29:07 That's right. That's right. 29:08 Because the message is the straight testimony, 29:12 not the watered down or the sugar-coated one. 29:15 And, you know, that's I have to just say this 29:18 and I hope we don't get in trouble for it, 29:20 but it's the truth and I feel like the Lord 29:22 is leading me to say this. 29:24 You know, in my early ministry and even up to today, you know, 29:28 as a younger man in ministry, 29:30 you are influenced by people around you. 29:33 And whether you wanna believe that or not, 29:35 you are influenced by people around you. 29:38 And I made a pact with the Lord years ago, 29:39 I said, "God, if You're calling me to ministry, 29:42 I wanna preach the truth that You have me to preach." 29:46 If that means preaching a straight testimony that 29:48 sometimes is gonna step on toes, 29:51 that sometimes it's gonna cause 29:52 a shaking even within my own heart 29:54 and mind, Lord, allow me, encourage me, 29:56 fill me with the spirit to speak that truth. 29:58 I wanna preach your truth, but yet when you get 30:01 into the church sometimes you find yourself 30:04 around certain influences. 30:05 I'm gonna use that word, but, you know 30:07 what I'm talking about certain ministers, 30:08 influential ministers within the church 30:10 that sometimes will sugar-coat or water down the message 30:13 just for the reasons you just mentioned 30:15 because we're afraid that it's gonna affect someone 30:18 or it's going to cause someone to be angry with us 30:21 or it's going to somehow, you know, divide the flock 30:23 or it's gonna somehow run someone away. 30:25 At the end of the day, God says, "Look, you know, 30:27 you preach the truth and let Me deal 30:29 with the convicting, right?" 30:31 We're not supposed to convict, we preach the truth. 30:33 And so that's why there's such a division. 30:35 That's what we see in Matthew 25, 30:37 with the ten virgins, but also if you continue reading, 30:40 he goes down to the parable of the sheep and the goats. 30:43 There's a reason why we have a split between 30:45 the wheat and the tares and the sheep and the goats, 30:47 because this straight truth message 30:49 is a message of hope. 30:51 It's a message of love. 30:53 It's from a loving God who wants to save your soul, 30:56 but in order for Him to do that, 30:57 sometimes He has to reveal your ugly condition. 31:00 And you have to be able to see that 31:02 ugly condition before you can change. 31:04 And that's Laodicea's problem ultimately. 31:06 They're like, "You know what, we know Jesus. 31:09 We don't need any more truth. 31:10 We got the truth. We're just fine. 31:12 We're good in our traditional beliefs and things." 31:14 But at the end of the day, Jesus says, 31:16 "You don't realize you're miserable, 31:17 poor, blind, wretched, and naked." 31:19 You're in a horrible condition. Let me clean you up. 31:23 And that's where the counsel comes in. 31:25 Yes. Why don't we dive into that? 31:26 That's where the remedy comes. This is where the remedy... 31:28 So the counsel now we'll slow it down to verse 18. 31:32 Dakota, why don't you read the first part of the counsel? 31:37 Because there's three parts to this counsel, 31:39 but just the first part of the counsel about the gold. 31:42 Let's read about this gold, 31:43 and then we're gonna talk about what is this gold? 31:45 What does it mean for us today? 31:46 All right, it says, 31:48 "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, 31:51 that thou mayest be rich." 31:54 So notice his first counsel. 31:56 He says so here's your condition. 31:58 Now let me tell you the solution. 32:00 "I counsel you to buy from Me gold tried in the fire, 32:04 refined in the fire, that you may be rich." 32:07 You think you're rich, but you're poor, 32:09 but I wanna make you rich, okay? 32:11 And so, Dakota, what are we talking about here? 32:13 What is this gold? What is this gold? 32:14 What does it mean for us? 32:16 Well, I think it's very clear that, you know, 32:17 these people don't have the faith 32:19 to overcome the sin in their life. 32:22 And so when we think about what it takes to overcome sin, 32:25 we have to have the faith of Jesus. 32:28 In Revelation we read that 32:30 God's last day people will have the faith of Jesus. 32:33 Right. That's Revelation 14:12. 32:35 And that's different than faith in Jesus 32:37 because the faith in Jesus 32:39 is putting your faith in what God has done, right? 32:42 But the faith of Jesus, that's a possessive faith. 32:45 Now you're possessing the faith of Jesus. 32:48 And this is what we need to have. 32:49 And then 1 Peter 1:7 makes this very clear. 32:53 It says, "That the genuineness of your faith, 32:56 being much more precious than gold that perishes, 32:59 though it tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, 33:03 and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 33:06 So if we allow the Word of God to interpret itself. 33:08 That's right. 33:09 And I love that scripture you just read, 33:10 1 Peter 1:7, tells us, 33:13 notice how it's lacking genuineness 33:15 of faith unto gold tried in the fire, 33:18 which is what we just read. 33:20 In the counsel, the first part of the counsel 33:22 that Jesus just gave, He says, 33:23 "I counsel you to buy from Me gold tried in fire." 33:26 Now we know this is symbolism, 33:27 we know this is symbolic language. 33:28 Jesus isn't telling us that 33:30 He's got precious heavenly gold bars up 33:32 there that He wants to bestow upon us 33:34 to be rich in this world and in a worldly sense. 33:36 He's talking about faith of gold. 33:39 Gold tried in the fire... 33:41 Sister, let's talk about this for a moment. 33:43 What is this faith tried in the fire? 33:45 What is gold tried in the fire? 33:46 What does it mean to be refined? 33:47 What is he talking about here? It's a testing of our faith. 33:50 Gold, buying gold 33:52 is you're actually buying faith, 33:53 you're buying love. 33:55 One quote here that I found 33:58 and this is Early Writings as well, 34:00 it says, "The church is not now the separate 34:03 and peculiar people she was 34:06 when the fires of persecution were kindled against her." 34:10 You see, we're seeing that happening 34:12 and we're seeing it on the rise in our country right now. 34:16 We won't get into that, but how are we? 34:18 Do we have that gold? 34:20 Are we in possession of that 34:21 or we will be become more refined? 34:23 It says, "How is the gold become dim! 34:26 How is the most fine gold changed!" 34:30 It's changed because we're mingling with air. 34:34 And so we got to stay true. 34:37 She goes on to say, 34:38 "That if we had held on to that faith, 34:41 held on to that pure love, that the Holy Spirit, 34:44 the five wise virgins, our lamps would be full, 34:48 we would be still be seeing those miracles 34:51 that the disciples saw in their day." 34:53 We see bits and pieces. 34:55 Praise God, we get little reflections 34:57 of heaven every now and again, but it would have been 35:01 much more powerful God's people, 35:03 His church would have been much more powerful, 35:05 but we have had it easy. 35:07 As I said earlier, you know, 35:10 religion is not what it used to be. 35:11 To be a Christian is kind of a cool thing. 35:14 And we're not being forced at this moment to bow down 35:18 to someone else's faith. 35:19 You know, during the Dark Ages if you didn't bow down, 35:22 you were considered a heretic. 35:24 So it was fine to kill you, 35:26 get rid of you 'cause you're a heretic. 35:27 It reminds me back 35:29 when abortion came on the scene, 35:30 you know, they called babies as zygote. 35:32 It's just a zygote, could be a frog, a turtle, 35:35 whatever, you know, at this stage, 35:36 go ahead and get rid of it. 35:38 It's what we term it. That's right. 35:40 And we're seeing that in our government, 35:42 as you mentioned, speaking as a dragon, 35:45 it's changing, it's lining up with scripture, 35:49 but going back to this, Jesus says, 35:51 "I know your works." 35:53 So He's identifying us and I love it because it, 35:56 she also points out, 35:58 let me see if I can find that real quick. 36:00 God leads His people on step by step. 36:04 Where would we be without His truth, 36:07 without His love, 36:09 without His imparting His faith in us, 36:12 without that robe of righteousness that 36:14 we hope for that we're praying for. 36:17 It's a war we're in. 36:19 It's a war that we can never get out of. 36:22 It's a daily war between truth and error. 36:26 I just wanna say one more thing if you don't mind, 36:28 while we're on this topic before I forget. 36:30 No, go ahead, man. This is powerful. 36:31 I just wanna say this real quick. 36:33 So in Job 22, we also see another, 36:36 I guess you could say 36:38 representation of gold in scripture. 36:39 Check this out. Job 22:24-25. 36:42 It says, "Then you will lay up your gold as in the dust." 36:47 So God saying, "You're gonna take your gold, 36:50 all the things that you find precious, 36:51 you're gonna lay it in the dust." 36:53 Check this out and notice what He says here. 36:55 He says, "Then you will lay your gold in the dust, 36:56 and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. 36:59 Yes, the Almighty will be your gold 37:03 and your precious silver." 37:04 Oh, my, I like that. 37:05 So we see is that God is saying now listen, 37:07 "I'm gonna be your gold. 37:08 I'm gonna be what's precious to you." 37:10 But how do I? How do we buy that gold? 37:12 Jesus does not abide in a temple that has sin. 37:17 That's true. There you go. 37:20 In Ezekiel Chapter 8, we see a sinful temple. 37:23 Jesus shows Ezekiel dig into the wall 37:26 and you'll see all the greater abominations 37:27 that do my temple. 37:28 In Ezekiel 11 we see Jesus leaving His temple 37:31 with abominations and a sin that happened. 37:33 So that being said, Jesus is saying, 37:35 "Listen, you want to buy of Me? 37:37 How do you get me? 37:39 You purchase Me by giving Me your sins, 37:42 giving Me your unrighteousness." 37:44 Jesus then will come in and abide. 37:46 And this is where He's knocking. 37:48 Wow. Wow. 37:49 It's a free gift. We have to invite Him in. 37:52 It's beautiful. 37:54 I love that 'cause you also said, 37:55 you know, well, you alluded to because He is the Word. 38:00 He is the true witness. He is the Spirit of Prophecy. 38:04 All these things come from Him and how does that gold, 38:07 you know, become cankered as it were, 38:09 it doesn't, it loses its sheen it's because we, 38:12 the Laodiceans do not accept the message 38:16 He's giving us and we put it aside. 38:19 Oh, that's too hard. 38:20 Oh, you know, I'm not going to this church 'cause there... 38:22 That exposes, you know, a big discussion 38:26 it could be about the message He's given to the church, 38:29 His last day church is whose 38:31 how many is gonna really accept it. 38:32 Who's gonna be rejecting it? You see, I heard fire. 38:36 Fire just, fire to me represents Holy Spirit. 38:39 Holy Spirit has to be 38:40 in this message that is given, right? 38:43 The convicts and converts and you hear the truth 38:45 and maybe never heard it before. 38:47 All of a sudden you know, 38:48 you've had something in your life. 38:49 Once you heard it, you just know what it is. 38:51 You can't really prove it. 38:52 You can't get your heads in the ground, 38:54 but you know that it is, that it is. 38:55 Here you certainly you can go to the Word of God. 38:57 But here the fire and the gold, it gets rid of the what? 39:01 Dross or sin. 39:04 And it has to be turned up seven times, right? 39:05 That's right. 39:07 Because sins got to go from our life. 39:10 And we're gonna have to be like Christ, 39:11 that's what part of this message, 39:13 and then go on other parts or whatever. 39:14 We're talking about victorious Christian life. 39:17 And, you know, I look, 39:18 and I listen to people sometimes and what? 39:21 Can I say burns me up sometimes, 39:23 burned me up, you know, righteous indignation. 39:26 My uncle always said that 39:27 when he got a little aggravated he said 39:29 there's a righteous indignation. 39:30 He said people who know what they should be doing, 39:34 that mean we've all come short of the glory of God, 39:37 but I've actually had people in leadership tell me, 39:41 I wish that I could preach the straight testimony. 39:44 They would hear the message and say I wish, 39:46 they come personally say I wish I could do that, 39:47 but I can't now because if I do, 39:51 I'm a couple of years from retirement, 39:52 different things like that so you can see, 39:54 but what's the biggest grief for us 39:57 is for someone to say I know what I should do. 40:01 You know, 'cause most of, you just mentioned, 40:02 I think you already mentioned here that 40:03 in this message Laodicea, their soul is asleep that 40:07 they just don't know what they're doing, you know. 40:10 But those who said, 40:11 I'm well in need of nothing, but they said, 40:13 "I'm well, but I can't do what you folks do 40:16 because I'm afraid it's gonna cause some repercussions." 40:19 And it will. It cost, right? 40:22 To live this life, even though the gospel is free, it costs. 40:25 It costs. 40:26 Now, someone else mentioned come and buy. 40:29 I love that come and buy. 40:31 And what is in Isaiah 51, 40:32 it says you can buy without money. 40:35 Poor man can buy this. 40:36 You don't have to have any money. 40:38 You don't have to have a penny, but it costs. 40:40 It cost you a change of life and lifestyle, 40:44 the way you talk, the way you act, what you do. 40:46 What's paramount in your life, you know, Christ. 40:49 We're not gonna be talking about all this other stuff 40:51 all the time. 40:52 If we do we say, "Hey, how you doing, Brother?" 40:53 Pretty soon, ooh, 40:55 we're talking about Jesus, right? 40:56 Pretty good way and go right back 40:57 and you talk about Jesus. 40:59 So it demands the change 41:00 and just to change your whole from inside out. 41:03 This is what this message, this is what this study does. 41:06 Absolutely. 41:07 So the fires are not necessarily a bad thing. 41:12 I wanted to make a point 41:13 because when he was talking about the fires, 41:16 we have a choice. We have a choice in everything. 41:18 God never forces us, 41:19 the devil forces us, but God doesn't. 41:21 He calls us in love, but we have a choice. 41:23 We can allow the fires of tribulation 41:26 and all of this study in this truth 41:29 to burn the dross off here in our life. 41:34 Or we can hold on to the dross and it'll be burned off 41:39 later for eternity. 41:43 If we hold on to it one way or the other, 41:45 the dross is gonna go. 41:47 God is saying here. This is my solution. 41:50 I'm gonna be with you every step of the way. 41:52 I'm gonna strengthen you, 41:54 but you need to buy this gold from Me 41:56 and it does mean you're gonna be learning, 41:57 it does mean you're gonna be 41:59 brought to trials and temptation. 42:01 It does mean you're gonna have to stand for your faith. 42:03 Do we allow the dross to go now? 42:08 Or do we hold on it and allow it to grow? 42:10 That's a beautiful point. 42:11 And the thing is many people think in their life 42:13 when they're going through fiery trials 42:15 and challenges in their life. 42:18 They think that it's a curse. 42:20 I'm cursed, but not necessarily. 42:22 You know, in order for that gold to be purified, 42:26 it has to be put into some intense heat. 42:28 What does James Chapter 1 say? 42:30 Count it all joy, when you fall 42:32 into various trials for it builds patience, 42:34 the patience of the saints, right? 42:37 What's Revelation we just referenced it earlier? 42:39 Revelation 14:12, 42:40 talking about that faith of gold. 42:42 Here is the patience of the saints. 42:45 Here are those who keep the commandments of God 42:47 and the faith of Jesus. 42:49 My friends, this is powerful stuff. 42:51 We must have, Jesus says I counsel you. 42:54 So buy from Me gold tried in the fire. 42:57 He says, "Look, I'm not gonna let you burn up. 42:59 I'm not gonna let the fiery trials 43:00 in your life destroy you. 43:02 If you will hold on to Me and hang on to My hand, 43:04 I'm gonna lead you through it." 43:05 Just as He led His servants through that fiery furnace, 43:08 Brother, in the Book of Daniel. 43:09 It's powerful stuff, we have to have that faith. 43:11 And, Ryan, you and I've talked about 43:13 this so many times how people in the church 43:15 sometimes they misunderstand the gospel to where 43:18 they misunderstand the faith of Jesus. 43:20 And what is this talking about here when it says, 43:22 they keep the commandments of God 43:24 and they have the faith of Jesus. 43:25 It's talking about victory over sin. 43:26 This is simply what it's talking about. 43:28 This is really the message of which we're about to go into. 43:31 And this is really what sets apart the chaff 43:35 from the wheat 43:36 when you really get down to the end. 43:38 Is that do you really believe 43:41 that your God is bigger than your devil? 43:43 Come on. That's right. I mean, come on. 43:46 I mean, really, it's really what it really boils down to 43:48 because these people 43:50 that are in this Laodicean mindset, 43:51 this lukewarm mindset, 43:52 they have adopted this false gospel faith, 43:55 that they cannot really overcome sin 43:57 as Jesus overcame sin, so they become lukewarm, 43:59 they become complacent in their walk with God 44:02 to where they no longer have victory 44:04 and they feel like they can never obtain the victory. 44:05 Which is why she says the other group, 44:07 they were indifferent. 44:09 That's right. They were indifferent. 44:10 That's right. The sower, right? 44:12 You've sow the seed, and the tares came up. 44:15 And what the tares do? It was choking out the wheat. 44:18 What happens is... Go ahead. 44:19 And the tares stand tall and proud 44:23 because they have no fruit that causes them to bow 44:26 in lowliness like the wheat. 44:28 Wow. Wow. That may be good thought. 44:31 Yeah, would somebody call the fire department? 44:34 This is good stuff. I'm so blessed by this message. 44:36 We have about 12 minutes left and I think we could do this. 44:40 And if not, it didn't matter 'cause there's gonna be 44:42 a part 2 either way, 44:43 but notice the second part of the counsel. 44:46 We're in verse 18, so the first part was, 44:49 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire 44:51 that you may be rich, 44:53 but then there's a second part of the counsel here, 44:54 notice, "In white garments, that you may be clothed, 44:59 that the shame of your nakedness 45:02 may not be revealed." 45:05 What is he talking about here? White garments. 45:08 We know the gold was symbolic... 45:10 It's talking about exactly 45:11 what your brother just presented, 45:13 a spotless character. 45:14 And you said one thing. 45:15 A lot of people say that they can't do it on their own. 45:18 I really can't. Nobody can do it on their own. 45:20 The good news is 45:22 we don't have to do it on our own. 45:23 By His grace, His strength, His indwelling in us. 45:27 It's Him working in us to produce that character. 45:31 Christ in us the hope of glory. 45:33 Yes, yes. This is so important. 45:35 There are four things I've jotted down, again, 45:37 we'll have time talk about even in next. 45:38 I thought so interesting because I won't say all. 45:41 This all men, this is everybody. 45:43 You see, all men may obtain. 45:46 We're talking about the robe of Christ righteousness. 45:48 I must have around. 45:50 And we know number one 45:51 I know would spend much more time on it, 45:52 it's that robe of righteousness, right? 45:55 Cannot be put on anyone with unconfessed sin. 45:58 Sins have to be confessed. 45:59 We have to be right with God, then that robe goes on with us. 46:02 All the redeemed will wear this robe. 46:06 No one will enter the portals of heaven without this robe on. 46:10 No one all men, to be able to stand before God 46:15 we must have the robe of Christ righteousness on. 46:18 So we must know the message of righteousness by faith. 46:22 We got to know our Redeemer. 46:24 We got to know this message well, 46:25 so that's why I think the timing is just perfect 46:28 and right for us to be reminded 46:29 of what's been there all these years. 46:32 And I really feel like 46:33 it's been covered up for a long-time. 46:34 Not that I'm trying to criticize 46:36 or condemn anything, anybody. 46:37 That's not the issue, 46:39 but the issue is to hit at home and say, 46:40 has it been covered or has it not been? 46:41 I believe that it has been. 46:43 And this covers the whole movement, right? 46:46 Because the devil can have the truth so easily 46:49 and clearly exposed. 46:52 Because if the truth was so easily 46:54 and clearly exposed for everyone to see, 46:56 there'd be many conversions. 46:58 There would be many people to see devil for who he is. 47:01 That's why, you know, Jesus warns us so many times, 47:04 we brought it down in the beginning 47:05 of the program, be not deceived, be not, 47:07 how many times I'd love to know 47:09 how many times He says be not deceived, 47:11 but the devil is a deceiver. 47:13 He is a liar. He's a twister of the truth. 47:16 And I mean, think about it a third of the angels. 47:19 We have no idea how many angels were a third, 47:22 but they believed him. 47:24 He was able to present himself so well to them 47:28 as a beacon of light as that archangel, 47:32 that they followed him. 47:34 And so that's what he does now, he's deceiving us, 47:37 he's taking the truth. 47:38 He doesn't care anymore. 47:40 He tried to stamp out the church. 47:42 When he couldn't stamp out the church, 47:44 what did he do? 47:45 He joined the church. 47:47 We're told, you bring up, you know, 47:48 thy way O God is through the sanctuary. 47:50 We're told that a lot of God's people 47:52 stayed in the holy place. 47:54 They didn't follow Christ into the Most Holy Place. 47:57 So where is the devil? 47:58 He's answering those prayers from the holy place. 48:01 It says light went out from him because they didn't see 48:04 Jesus transition as Mrs. White says 48:06 from the holy place to the Most Holy Place. 48:08 Why is that? Why didn't they see Jesus? 48:10 Here's where I think most people's mistakes are. 48:12 It's because we are not focused on Jesus. 48:15 We do not have a vertical view, we have a horizontal view. 48:20 We're focusing so much on what everyone else is doing. 48:22 And the sins of our brother over here, 48:24 the sins of our sister over here, 48:25 the sins of this ministry, or the problems of this, 48:28 all the situations if we would just, 48:29 but look unto Jesus, 48:31 we wouldn't be like that indifferent crowd 48:33 that is in the holy place, and not looking to Him, 48:36 and then when they look back, it's Satan and not Jesus. 48:39 If we focused on Jesus at all times, 48:42 we would never lose sight of Him 48:43 and we will follow Him whether so wherever He goes. 48:45 Wow. Wow. 48:46 And I just wanna be clear on this also 48:48 'cause that was powerful what you just said, 48:50 but we also wanna be very clear, 48:51 we're not saying that you should not have 48:53 a holy place experience. 48:54 Every Christian should have a courtyard experience, 48:57 a holy place experience 48:59 and a Most Holy Place experience. 49:00 That's the goal, right? 49:02 We're trying to advance to be with Jesus, right? 49:04 We wanna be in His very presence. 49:06 And where is the presence of Jesus found? 49:08 In the Most Holy Place. 49:10 And so we must have that courtyard experience, 49:12 we must have that holy place experience, 49:15 but here in these last days, 49:16 get this, Laodicea, do you know what it means? 49:19 Laodicea means the actual meaning 49:21 of its name Laodicea, it means a people judged. 49:24 A people judged. 49:25 Are we living in a judgment time period? 49:26 Yes, we are. 49:28 We're living in an anti-typical day of atonement. 49:30 We're living in a judgment time period. 49:32 And as Brother Kenny brought out so beautifully earlier, 49:35 you're not getting in there without a garment. 49:37 You may get an invitation to the wedding, 49:40 but don't think for one moment that you're gonna get into 49:42 that wedding without a garment, right? 49:45 And that's in Scripture. And I mean... 49:46 It is in Scripture. 49:47 Yeah, Jesus told the whole parable. 49:49 He's that garment on or what? 49:50 I mean, just people say well, you're just... 49:51 Matthew 22. Right. 49:53 In scripture, you had garment on, 49:54 you didn't get in. 49:56 That's right. The door's gonna be closed. 49:57 I love this right here. 49:58 We're talking about what are these represent? 50:00 Obviously there's some symbolism here, 50:01 but we don't have it, 50:03 God is not the author of confusion. 50:04 The Bible makes it very clear that 50:05 we can trust in what He says, right? 50:07 We let the Bible interpret itself, 50:09 we will find the answers. 50:10 So get this, Isaiah 61:10, talking about 50:13 these white garments. 50:14 What is Jesus saying when He says, 50:15 I counsel you to buy from Me gold, 50:17 we know that that's faith of gold, 50:18 true genuine Christ like faith, right? 50:21 But then the second one, I want you to buy from Me 50:23 white garments that you may be clothed, 50:25 that the shame of your nakedness 50:26 may not be revealed. 50:27 Isaiah 61:10, we can unpack this. 50:31 Isaiah 61:10 says this, 50:33 "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, 50:35 my soul shall be joyful in my God, 50:39 for He has clothed me 50:43 with the garments of salvation." 50:45 But he's gonna dial it in here. Notice, "He has covered me 50:49 with the robe of righteousness." 50:52 And whose righteousness are we talking about? 50:55 He's gonna clothed me, not my righteousness... 50:58 What does the Bible say about my righteousness? 50:59 Filthy rags. Filthy rags, right? 51:01 And, you know, lot of the problem 51:03 of Laodicea's problem 51:04 is they think they're clothed when really they're naked 51:07 because they've put their own twigs on them. 51:09 And I can't help, but go back 51:10 to the first experience of this. 51:12 Adam and Eve, right? 51:14 They sinned, we know the story, 51:15 they sinned, to make it real short 51:17 because I know we got time, a little time left. 51:19 They sinned, and then how did they try to solve 51:21 their sin problem, their nakedness problem? 51:24 They grabbed fig leaves and a lot... 51:26 We're gonna take care of this, right? 51:28 That's our works approach to salvation. 51:30 We're gonna cover our own sins, 51:32 we're gonna cover our own mistakes, 51:33 but even though we cover them, God still sees us as naked. 51:36 That's right. Right? 51:38 And so what did Jesus do? You read in Genesis 3:21. 51:40 He took their fig leaves from them 51:42 and He gave them animal skins the Bible says. 51:46 Revelation 13:8 calls Jesus the Lamb that was slain 51:49 from the foundation of the world. 51:52 So why didn't Adam and Eve died that day? 51:54 It was because a lamb died that day for them, 51:56 and the skin of the lamb was covering their nakedness. 52:00 And so this is what this message is talking about. 52:02 Oh, this is powerful stuff. 52:03 That's one thing I wanted 52:04 to point out a little bit earlier be 52:06 and it fits right here because that, 52:09 "White raiment, which is a spotless character 52:11 made pure in the blood of their dear Redeemer." 52:17 You see if sin, we're okay. 52:20 And we could just go in holding on to all this stuff 52:23 that we called dross a little bit earlier. 52:26 All of heaven would not have been emptied, 52:30 but because our God loves us so much, 52:33 He emptied all of heaven, in a Redeemer, 52:39 a Sustainer. 52:40 And it's because of His blood, you know, the sheep, the lambs, 52:44 they led up, they pointed to Christ, 52:46 the Lamb of God, but it's His blood 52:49 that we have to be washed in and will cover our sins. 52:54 He paid that price for us, so we don't have to pay. 52:58 You know what the Lord says is quickly like it, you know, 53:01 conversion is so important that we convert it in Christ 53:05 and mine just came through just in just a few seconds. 53:06 We're going through some other time. 53:08 Just quickly where mine came through a dream. 53:11 The Lord gave me a dream in my life. 53:13 And so when you talk about He sees our nakedness, 53:15 we think we're clothed, we think it's all okay, 53:19 but, you know, when He came to me 53:20 in the dream, He called my name. 53:22 He said, Kenny, He knew me personally. 53:26 All He had to do was to say, 53:27 Kenny, I knew He knew everything about me. 53:33 Everything I've ever done, everything I've ever said, 53:36 there was no trying to plea. 53:38 There was no make excuses. I stood naked before Him. 53:42 I needed to be clothed in His righteousness on my own. 53:47 So that was the first part of it 53:48 that really got my attention, Kenny, I know you. 53:52 But I didn't see it as rejection. 53:55 I see it as, I wanna help you. He did. 53:59 It changed my whole life. Yeah. 54:00 Isn't that beautiful? Praise God. 54:02 That's amazing. He says, "I wanna clothe you. 54:05 You're naked." So I wanna cloth... 54:07 We live in a world today where, 54:10 and I'm just gonna say that's very clear. 54:11 We live in a world today 54:12 they wanna see people more naked. 54:14 We live in a world today where nakedness is revered, 54:20 but in the kingdom of God, 54:23 spiritually speaking now, on a spiritual level, 54:26 we know that God wants us to be clothed, 54:29 and not just by anything. 54:31 He says, "I've got a special robe for you." 54:33 I got a special robe for you. And guess what? 54:35 You're not gonna make it. It's not your robe. 54:38 It's not your righteousness. It's My righteousness. 54:41 And it's, and Dakota said 54:42 something earlier that's beautiful. 54:44 And I just wanna reemphasize it. 54:47 How do we get that robe? 54:49 How do we get that robe? 54:53 Is it by our own works? 54:56 There are so many people in the church today 54:58 that are struggling in their walk 55:00 because they don't understand the foundation of 55:03 what it means to be saved by grace. 55:06 What it means to be truly saved by grace? 55:08 We know that we are saved by grace through faith indeed, 55:12 not of works, 55:13 but yet we go to the other end of the spectrum and say, 55:16 "Wait a second, but works are important too." 55:18 And they are. 55:19 But you have people that 55:21 they're on opposite ends of the spectrum. 55:22 You got one group down here that says, 55:23 "Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace." 55:25 As much as I Sin, Sin, Sin, Sin, Sin, 55:28 God just gonna keep pouring out 55:30 all a big old pile of grace on me. 55:32 And they take the grace of God for grant. 55:35 There's nothing, I've heard Christian said, 55:36 "There's nothing I can do 55:37 that separates me from the love of God." 55:39 And they misuse and abuse that truth 55:42 and almost provide themselves with a free ticket to sin. 55:46 Then you have on the opposite end of the spectrum, 55:48 people who are living miserable Christian lives 55:51 because they can't accept the true loving 55:53 wonderful grace of God and the salvation that 55:55 God wants to have for them. 55:57 And they think that you know what? 55:58 You know, it's grace plus something else. 56:00 You know, God, you know, He saved me by grace, 56:01 but there's got to be something I got to do, right? 56:04 There's got to be something else. 56:06 And so on the opposite end of the spectrum 56:07 we've got people that are working, working, 56:09 working, working, working. 56:11 They can never be good enough. 56:13 And they're working their way to heaven 56:15 and trying to as Dakota brought out 56:17 putting on their own fig leaves. 56:21 This has been a powerful study. 56:23 Really quick we had about a minute closing remark, 56:25 and then I'm gonna tie this up. 56:26 We got another part coming. 56:28 Oh, I'd love to remark on that, but a closing remark. 56:30 Let me give you a closing remark. 56:31 God brought these witnesses 56:33 into covenant relationship with Himself, 56:36 uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. 56:38 That's what we want, the atmosphere of heaven, 56:40 we wanna be part of that. 56:42 He sent forth His angels. 56:44 We didn't talk about those angels 56:45 that come to minister 56:46 to His church to help to save us 56:49 and the gates of hell have not been able to 56:53 prevail against His people. 56:55 The gates of hell will not prevail against His people. 56:58 We're on the winning side no matter how dark 57:01 and no matter how deep 57:03 and everybody sees we're on the winning side. 57:04 Praise the Lord. 57:06 Hey, guess what, folks, we've almost run out of time. 57:08 Thank you, Sister. Thank you, Brother. 57:10 Thank you, Brother. 57:11 It's been a blessing to have you join us during this study. 57:14 Hey, we're not through. This is part 1. 57:15 We're gonna come back for "A Call to Anguish: Part 2." 57:18 We're gonna dive probably back into this robe of righteousness 57:21 as well as this anointing our eyes 57:24 so that we may spiritually see. 57:26 We thank you so much for joining us. 57:27 God bless you all. 57:29 Join us next time right here on 3ABN Family Worship. 57:32 Have a good day. Amen. |
Revised 2020-07-06