Participants: Lonnie Melashenko
Series Code: VOPS
Program Code: VOPS000003
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00:32 Did you see CBS's television's
00:34 Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes not too long ago? 00:38 When ever I get a chance I like to watch Andy Rooney. 00:42 He did a piece on lawsuits. 00:45 He said, "You know, Americans are suing everybody these days. 00:49 It's a big business. 00:51 Sue McDonalds if your coffee is too hot. 00:54 Sue the tobacco companies because you never had a clue 00:57 that cigarettes might cause cancer. 00:59 Sue. Sue. Sue." 01:02 Well, a man sued his insurance company 01:05 when he was shocked by high-power electrical lines. 01:09 The insurance company refused to pay 01:11 for the injuries on the grounds 01:13 that the accident was, in legal terms, what? 01:18 An Act of God. 01:22 Well, the man decided, if it's an Act of God, 01:24 I'll file suit against God and company. 01:28 And he went on to name 55 Christian churches in his city. 01:33 Believe it or not, it actually went to trial. 01:35 Until finally on the witness stand, 01:37 one minister testified, Your Honor, listen. 01:40 I believe that the expression, an Act of God is a misnomer. 01:44 It's wrongly used. 01:46 He said, Sir, God wasn't responsible for that accident. 01:51 It should be called an Act of the Devil. 01:54 He's responsible for the accidents and problems 01:56 that confront mankind. 01:58 You know, I believe that that 01:59 clergyman was correct, don't you? 02:02 This was not an Act of God. But God still gets the blame. 02:07 Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, fires, 02:11 terrorist attacks, earthquakes today 02:13 right near Atlanta, Georgia, are called Acts of God. 02:17 And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude 02:21 that there is an evil force out there in our world. 02:25 Because everywhere you look, you see evidences of terrible 02:28 tragedies taking place every day. 02:32 But who's responsible for the sniper attacks? 02:35 Who brings sorrow? Who brings suffering? 02:38 Many people complain, why did God do this to me? 02:44 Where was God on September 11th in New York City? 02:48 Where's God in this whole Iraqi crisis? 02:52 Tonight we're going to uncover a big cover up in the Bible. 02:58 An expose of the most puzzling mystery of all time. 03:02 Where did evil originate? 03:06 Why the great controversy battle headlines everyday 03:10 between the forces of good and the forces of evil, 03:13 between right and wrong? 03:15 Who is responsible? 03:19 As we begin, I want to tell you 03:21 that the Bible pulls no punches. 03:24 It puts the finger on the guilty party. 03:28 One day, Jesus told a story, 03:31 Jesus liked to tell stories and I like to read His stories. 03:33 He told a story about a farmer 03:35 who planted good seed in his garden like 03:37 we're doing everywhere in the spring 03:38 at least up here in the Northern Hemisphere. 03:41 Down in Australia of course it's autumn for you. 03:44 But when those plants in that garden sprang up, 03:48 there are whole bunch of noxious weeds 03:50 out there in the field. 03:51 And growing up in the farm of my native 03:54 Saskatchewan, Canada, I know the frustration. 03:57 Hey, I didn't plant weeds. 04:00 So the disciples asked, 04:02 "Lord, if the farmer planted good seed, 04:06 where did the weeds come from?" 04:08 Matthew 13:37-39 04:11 "Jesus answered and said to them, 04:13 'He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 04:18 The field is the world, 04:20 the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, 04:23 but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 04:27 The enemy who sowed them is--'" 04:28 Who? "The devil." 04:31 You see God is loving, God is good to everyone. 04:35 But the Bible tells us 04:36 that there's an enemy out there in the camp, 04:38 another power bringing disaster, 04:41 bringing tragedy, bringing death. 04:44 The very last book of Bible Prophecy, 04:48 Revelation Chapter 12, unveils how it all started. 04:52 The mystery of iniquity. 04:54 Fasten your seatbelt, because a cosmic watergate 04:57 with subversive supernatural forces 04:59 duking it out actually began, hold on, in heaven. 05:06 And then it spread like cancer to this earth. 05:09 And this is precisely what's causing 05:11 so much trouble on planet earth tonight. 05:14 Tonight, we're gonna pull back the curtain of prophecy 05:17 and look behind-the-scenes 05:19 to this original "Star Wars" in heaven. 05:22 Notice verses 7-9, "And war broke out in heaven: 05:27 Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, 05:31 and the dragon and his angels fought, 05:32 but they did not prevail, 05:34 nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 05:37 So the great dragon, that serpent of old, 05:41 called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world, 05:44 he was cast to the earth, 05:46 and his angels were cast out with him." 05:48 Now, notice please, how this dragon-devil 05:51 is introduced in Revelation 12:3, 4. 05:56 It says "And I saw another sign that appeared in heaven: 06:00 behold, a great fiery red dragon 06:03 having seven heads and ten horns, 06:05 and seven diadems on his heads. 06:08 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven 06:11 and threw them to the earth." 06:14 Now can you imagine 06:15 that one-third of the angels of heaven 06:20 followed this deceiver in his rebellion against God, 06:22 but there's more. 06:24 This fallen angel called Lucifer, 06:28 back in the Old Testament. 06:29 He is described metaphorically as the King of Tyre. 06:34 Now, Tyre is a city up there 06:35 in the northwest coast of Palestine, 06:37 but it says this about him in Ezekiel 28:12-14. 06:43 "Thus says the Lord God: 06:46 You were the seal of perfection, 06:49 full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 06:51 You were in Eden, the garden of God, 06:53 every precious stone was your covering. 06:56 You were the anointed cherub who covers. 06:59 You were on the holy mountain of God; 07:01 you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones." 07:06 Lucifer, originally a perfect angel in heaven, 07:10 beautiful in every way, the angel who stood 07:13 right next to God's throne as covering cherub. 07:17 He held the top position in heaven. 07:20 As I understand the Bible, on either side of God's throne, 07:23 two angels, one on the right, one on the left. 07:27 One of these was Lucifer. 07:30 But something happened to this beautiful being 07:34 so richly blessed by God. 07:37 He began to harbor some rather strange feelings about himself. 07:44 I'm good, in fact I am invincible. 07:49 Maybe, maybe I am as good as God. 07:53 And he allowed these questions to grow in his mind 07:56 until they began to affect his relationship with God 08:00 as it's said in Ezekiel 28:15, 17, 08:04 "You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, 08:09 till iniquity was found in you." 08:11 Notice. 08:12 "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; 08:16 you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor." 08:22 Somehow, incredibly, this glorious, exalted angel 08:27 became lost on an ego trip. 08:30 He coveted the splendor and the majesty 08:32 and the prestige and the honor due God alone. 08:36 We would say today, he became power hungry 08:40 to the point that this created angelic being 08:43 had the audacity to challenge his Creator 08:46 for the rulership of the universe. 08:48 Listen carefully. 08:50 In Isaiah 14:12, 14, 08:55 "How you are fallen from heaven, 08:58 O Lucifer, son of the morning! 09:00 How you are cut down to the ground, 09:03 for you have said in your heart, 09:05 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne 09:09 above the stars of God, I will be like the most High.'" 09:14 Arrogant thoughts, 09:17 until one day those thoughts began to spill 09:20 from Lucifer's lips very quietly, very innocently. 09:25 At first just kind sharing with other angels, 09:27 kind of a little chitchat, you know, on break. 09:32 Want to talk? 09:33 You ever had any doubts, any questions about God? 09:38 Now He wasn't open about this. 09:40 He was very innocuously, very subtle. 09:43 Kind of like a rotten apple in a box, 09:47 but his rebellion began to spread 09:49 to more angels shattering the perfect love 09:52 and harmony of heaven into a million selfish pieces. 09:56 So that discontent kind of like cancer began infecting 10:02 the other angels undermining God's love and God's justice. 10:07 Now if you like me and you like to ask questions 10:10 and raise some issues and talk about theology 10:12 sometime perhaps you are saying, you know, 10:15 Pastor Lonnie, it is so hard to comprehend or believe 10:19 that anyone created so perfect with the power of choice 10:24 would deliberately choose evil. 10:29 I mean, how could sin have possibly begun? 10:33 Difficult to get our minds around the origin of evil 10:36 because all sin is really selfishness. 10:41 It's abnormally self-directed love. 10:46 So that the origin of sin is, we make it, 10:52 Satan made it, not God. 10:58 I want you to be like a big class tonight 10:59 and whether you are watching in Sydney, Australia, 11:01 or you are in Canada, or the South America, 11:04 or the Islands of the Pacific Rim. 11:06 But here in Carolina particularly 11:08 I want you to respond out loud so they hear you. 11:11 Speak right out loud, 11:13 is this match good or evil, which is it? 11:16 Come on. Evil. 11:19 How many of you think it's good? 11:20 Just put your hand up. 11:21 How many of you think it's evil? 11:24 How many of you don't think. 11:27 Well, I heard some of you say 11:28 and you're right, it isn't either, is it? 11:31 It's just a match. It isn't good or evil. 11:34 Now the man who invented this match 11:38 made it for what we call, a good purpose. 11:41 Is that all right? 11:43 Well, what do we mean by good, who defines good? 11:45 Well, we would I think all agree that good is 11:48 that which God is and God supports life, 11:52 God supports health, He supports happiness. 11:55 So this match isn't supporting life, 11:57 it isn't supporting health, it isn't supporting happiness. 12:00 It's just a match, unless you use it. 12:07 Now if I take this match and I light it 12:11 and I light a fire in our fire place 12:14 and I light the gas stoves 12:15 so the genie can do some cooking. 12:17 Invite my family home for Christmas or Thanksgiving 12:20 or some other holiday, and we heat our house, 12:23 we're all together, we have life, 12:25 we have health, we have happiness, 12:27 we're living, that's good, isn't it? 12:30 That match has become a blessing. 12:32 But if I take that same match 12:36 and I choose to light the curtains in my house 12:40 and burn the house down with my wife and children 12:43 and cats and dogs and pets in it. 12:45 Now is that bad or good? Come on. 12:47 Bad. That's terrible. 12:49 Because I love my wife, I love my family. 12:51 Now why has it become evil? 12:54 Because it's destroyed life, it's destroyed health, 12:57 it's destroyed happiness, this match has become a curse. 13:01 But let's get one thing very important crystal clear. 13:04 Where does the use or the abuse of the match originate? 13:08 In the match? No. 13:10 No, where? Up here. 13:14 In the mind. 13:17 The match can't abuse or misuse itself. 13:20 But mankind, a woman, a man, 13:23 a rational thinking being can take that match 13:28 and they can choose to use it or abuse it. 13:33 Evil begins here, in the mind, in the power of choice. 13:39 Way back there, that is evidently what Lucifer, 13:43 this absolutely perfect sinless angel did 13:46 with God's perfect love and perfect freedom. 13:51 He chose to challenge it, he chose to abuse it, 13:54 he chose to misuse it. 13:56 He chose evil. 13:58 He chose sin, He was not created this way. 14:03 Well, perhaps you are wondering though, 14:05 you know, why didn't God just destroy 14:08 Satan at that time, just zap him out. 14:13 God could have eliminated Lucifer and all of those angels 14:15 who joined in the "Star Wars" revolution 14:17 in one blinding flash from Luke Skywalker 14:21 as the young people would say. 14:23 But, you know, had God done that, 14:26 don't you think that perhaps all of God's intelligent beings 14:30 would have served Him out of fear? 14:34 Oh, yeah, right. 14:36 Hey did you hear what happened when you challenge God? 14:39 Zap. 14:41 They would obey Him and follow Him 14:43 for perhaps the same reasons that all of the Germans 14:47 followed Hitler during World War II. 14:49 Is that good? 14:50 Or the Iraqis and the Ba'ath Parties that we've just seen. 14:54 You see, our God is not only a God of love. 14:59 He's a God of freedom. 15:02 And He can only be happy in a love relationship 15:05 with His created creatures where they worship Him 15:08 because they choose to love Him and trust Him. 15:12 Now Satan had challenged this, he had challenged God's laws, 15:17 challenged His justice, 15:18 challenged God's idea of freedom. 15:22 You know what, 15:24 freedom ought to mean license to do as you please. 15:31 But folks, God didn't put His laws 15:33 in force to show who is boss. 15:37 He made His universal laws to protect His creatures, 15:41 to ensure their peace and provide for their happiness 15:45 and guarantee their freedom. 15:48 We would say I suppose here in western world at least 15:51 that His laws are something like stop lights. 15:55 I wouldn't always like them there, but speed limit signs, 16:00 we know very well that they are planned 16:02 for our safety and everyone's well-being. 16:05 Our country's laws are designed to protect 16:08 and preserve rights and our liberties 16:12 and our freedoms, not restrict us. 16:14 But this most honored angel in all of God's heaven thought, 16:20 you know what, I think I can run a universe better than God. 16:26 And I will, even if it means all-out war 16:30 and that's when Revelation Chapter 12 says, 16:33 "War broke out in heaven." 16:34 And that's when Satan became as the Bible calls it, 16:37 the adversary of God, he made a devil out of himself, 16:43 twisting freedom into slavery, 16:46 liberty into license, there you have it, evil. 16:54 Now God evidently out of fairness 16:57 and love continued to allow Satan 16:59 to demonstrate to the rest of the universe the way 17:02 he was choosing to run a world. 17:04 Now I must confess I cannot get my mind 17:07 around this completely to understand and grasp 17:09 how this could have all possibly happened. 17:11 In fact, the Bible calls it the mystery of iniquity. 17:17 Only a God in eternity will fully ever be 17:19 able to explain it to us someday 17:22 because that battle begun in heaven isn't over. 17:27 It's just changed places. 17:30 The Bible says, planet earth has now become the center stage 17:34 of this Great Controversy between Christ and Satan. 17:37 But you say, why our earth? 17:41 Why didn't he leave us alone, 17:42 why did Satan get into the Garden of Eden 17:45 to act out in wicked technicolor 17:47 his kind of government, how he'd run a world? 17:49 Why did he have to come to our planet, 17:51 how come as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:9, 17:54 "We have become a spectacle to the world, 17:57 both to angels and to men?" 18:02 Genesis Chapter 1 says that way back in the Garden of Eden 18:07 when human life first began, 18:10 fresh from the hand of the Creator, 18:12 it was absolutely beautiful beyond description. 18:15 Satan thought so, too, got an idea, say, look at this. 18:23 This is a prize worth capturing. 18:28 Satan, the original Taliban terrorist decided 18:31 to hijack this world and seize control 18:35 because it was just a brand newborn planet 18:37 of such fragile and delicate beauty. 18:40 And Satan announced, hey, God, look these beings here 18:44 are absolutely totally innocent, 18:46 may be even little naive, let's have a contest. 18:50 Adam and Eve will be our experiment, 18:52 they are the new father 18:53 and the mother of the human race, 18:54 created absolutely perfect, they are unbiased, 18:57 they are unprejudiced, let's put them 18:59 in an experimental laboratory, Eden. 19:04 Total freedom, total freedom, God, 19:07 except you can't place them 19:09 beyond the possibility of wrong doing. 19:11 They must be absolutely free to choose, 19:14 either to follow love 19:16 and to follow You God and Your rules. 19:19 Or they ought to be able to be free to ignore your rules 19:22 and choose my way, no rules, license. 19:26 But let's test their loyalty. 19:30 And this survivor's contest 19:32 will focus on just one single tree. 19:38 And so God warned the newlyweds, 19:40 as you find it over there in Genesis 2:16 and 17. 19:43 God said, "Adam and Eve, 19:45 listen of every tree of the garden 19:49 you may eat freely ever." 19:51 The California grapes, Chiquita bananas, 19:54 the Santa Rosa plums, you know, whatever. 19:59 You can eat of every fruit, 20:00 "But of the tree of the knowledge 20:04 of good and evil you shall not eat, 20:06 for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die." 20:11 Well, that seemed like a reasonable request. 20:13 They had everything they wanted, 20:15 more than they needed. 20:16 And Adam and Eve really felt quite secure. 20:19 But we humans are most vulnerable 20:23 when we're caught completely off guard. 20:27 One day I would imagine something like this 20:28 could have taken place. 20:29 Eve was so caught up in the beauty of the place 20:33 she went for a walk alone through the garden. 20:37 And as she was walking 20:38 she was startled to hear her name called. 20:41 Eve. 20:44 She look set by, I thought I heard my name. 20:47 Eve. 20:50 She looks up into the tree 20:51 and she sees a serpent munching on some fruit. 20:55 And the serpent opens his mouth and says, hi, Eve. 21:01 And she stops dead, I mean, 21:03 she's never suspected a talking snake. 21:07 But the words of course come from the enemy. 21:09 He knows he can't get her attention 21:11 unless he provides curiosity, and that he did. 21:15 I want you to notice though, Satan used his supernatural, 21:18 psychic power to deceive her, trick her. 21:24 I didn't know you could talk. I couldn't always talk, Eve. 21:31 All right, how come you're talking now? 21:34 Munch, munch, munch. 21:38 Well, Eve, one day I happened to be eating fruit 21:41 and I happened to this tree, munch, munch, munch, 21:47 and lo-and-behold 21:48 when I started eating the fruit of this tree, 21:50 munch, munch, munch, Eve, I can talk, I can talk. 21:57 By the way, Eve, oh, no, forget it. 22:01 No, no, what, what, what? 22:02 Now he's got her asking the questions. 22:04 Genesis 3:1-4, he says, well, Eve, munch, munch, munch. 22:11 "Eve, has God said, 22:13 'You should not eat of every tree in the garden?'" 22:17 "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden 22:21 except of the fruit of the tree 22:24 which is in the midst of the garden, 22:25 God has said, You shall not eat it, 22:27 nor shall you touch it, lest you die." 22:31 Munch, munch, munch, die? 22:36 Munch, munch, that's a lie. 22:42 I'm not dead. Genesis 3:5. 22:46 He says "For God knows Eve that in the day you eat of it 22:52 your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, 22:55 knowing good from evil." 22:59 Now Satan's trying to get Eve to commit the very same sin 23:02 he committed in heaven, to want to be like God. 23:08 Eve, listen, maybe God's holding something good 23:15 back from you, maybe He's begin a little unfair. 23:17 I mean, think of it, Eve. 23:19 As he plucks a piece of fruit, reaches it out toward her, 23:25 if this fruit, Eve, will make a serpent like me 23:29 start talking like a person, 23:32 oh, just think what it would do for you. 23:36 You will be like God. Here, Eve, try a piece. 23:46 Eve listened. It sounded so good. 23:50 Now it must have crossed her mind that he was saying 23:54 something different than what God told them. 23:56 But the Bible says she was convinced 23:58 and verse 6 of Genesis 3, 23:59 "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, 24:03 that it was pleasant to the eyes, 24:06 and a tree desirable to make one wise, 24:09 she took of the fruit and she ate." 24:15 She gave some to her husband and he ate it, too. 24:18 And suddenly there you have it, a great big mess. 24:22 And they failed God's test of love and loyalty. 24:25 Humans were now sinners. 24:27 And Satan, the original Al-Qaeda terrorist, 24:30 hijacked a brand new world 24:32 and he had a whole planet in rebellion. 24:36 From that moment though, Satan claimed the title, 24:40 I'm now the Prince of this World. 24:42 Can you imagine what that first day must have been like, 24:48 how tragic it was as that first day when that, 24:52 particularly the fruit drew to a close. 24:55 The Bible indicates that God was evidently 24:57 coming each evening, in the cool of the evening, 24:59 and he'd come for an evening stroll with Adam and Eve. 25:01 And He'd call out, Adam, where are you? 25:03 Eve, time for our little special time together now 25:06 and up until now this has been the happiest time of the day. 25:10 Wow, a chance to walk and talk directly with the God 25:13 who had created them. 25:15 But now they hear him coming through the garden, Adam, Eve, 25:18 and they ran, they hid, diving into the brushes. 25:22 And finally, Adam, he slips out slowly 25:24 from behind someshrubs in the garden 25:26 wherever he and Eve were and they were 25:28 down there covering themselves with fig leaves 25:31 and Adam confesses in verse 10, Lord, here we are. 25:37 "I heard Your voice in the garden, 25:39 I was afraid because I'm naked, and I hid myself." 25:46 Adam had never been afraid before. 25:49 But, folks, that's what sin does. 25:52 It makes us afraid. 25:54 God replies in Genesis 3:11, 25:56 "Adam, have you eaten from the tree 26:00 which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 26:04 I want you to notice the old pass-the-buck routine here, 26:07 the blame game. 26:08 Verse 12. 26:11 "The woman whom you gave to me, 26:15 she gave me to eat, and I ate from the tree." 26:19 You know, just a few hours before, 26:20 Adam would have been willing to die for Eve. 26:23 But now he turns and he blames her for his problems 26:27 and incidentally God for creating her. 26:31 You see that's how sin shatters perfect love. 26:35 And Eve by the way was no less accusing. 26:37 Genesis 3:13. 26:40 "Oh, God, it's the serpent that You created. 26:44 He deceived me, and I ate of it." 26:46 So Eve is blaming God, too. 26:49 And as a result of sin, Adam and Eve sold out 26:53 to another master, not God, but Satan. 26:57 They didn't have to. 26:58 But that very day by their own free choice 27:01 they threw away everything. 27:04 They lost their face-to-face communion with God, 27:06 they lost their purity, they lost their robes of glory, 27:10 they lost family happiness, 27:11 they lost equality with each other, 27:13 they lost dominion over the animals, 27:15 they lost their perfect home, 27:16 and they lost access to the tree of life. 27:19 They threw it all away. 27:21 Besides, now they were doomed to die. 27:24 The devil had said, Eve, you won't die. 27:29 But the Bible says a couple of chapters later in Genesis 5:5, 27:33 "So all the days of Adam that he lived 27:35 were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died." 27:40 Too late, they discovered 27:42 that the devil was a liar and the father of it. 27:46 Now, ladies and gentleman, here's the point, 27:49 you see, it's so easy for us to blame God 27:54 for today's heartaches and devastation. 27:57 But Satan is really responsible. 27:59 He's the one who brought trouble to this planet 28:02 and who causes sin and suffering 28:04 and AIDS and cancer. 28:06 By the way, that's why Jesus 28:07 when He came to this earth 2000 years ago, 28:10 He made a point to personally unmask 28:13 the devil as the culprit who afflicts people. 28:16 One day Jesus was teaching in the synagogue 28:20 and He noticed over in the corner 28:22 a dear little shriveled up woman 28:24 all bent over with a crippling deformity, 28:26 horrific to look at. 28:29 And Jesus paused, touched by her pathetic circumstances. 28:34 The Bible says He healed her. 28:37 Well, the rulers of the synagogue 28:39 began to criticize Him because this healing happened 28:41 to take place on the Sabbath, God's holy day of worship, 28:44 but notice how Jesus defended His actions in Luke 13:16. 28:48 He said, "So ought not this woman, 28:52 being a daughter of Abraham, 28:55 whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, 28:58 be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" 29:02 Who did Jesus say had harassed that woman? 29:05 Satan bound this woman for eighteen years. 29:07 Satan's the guilty one. 29:11 Now please listen carefully. I want to be very bold tonight. 29:15 Most denominations do not teach you what I have 29:18 just expressed from the Bible, they don't teach this. 29:22 The many evangelical friends that I have out there, 29:24 they teach a doctrine called the "Sovereignty of God." 29:29 They say and I could quote to you people, 29:31 you've heard him on national television. 29:33 They say that what happened for example on September 11th 29:36 is part of the Sovereignty of God. 29:39 God brings these events to teach us lessons, of course. 29:43 But He decreed the events of September 11th. 29:47 In fact, I can quote you denominations 29:49 in this community in every city in this country and Canada. 29:53 They say, well, it's because 29:56 God can thereby work out His mysterious will. 30:00 And other denominations 30:01 I could name them for you tonight. 30:03 They say, God permitted. 30:05 He allowed those snipers in Washington for His glory. 30:09 To serve a particular divine purpose we don't understand. 30:13 But, friends, I would like to submit that 30:15 that is contrary to scripture. 30:17 Now intend to prove it. 30:18 Listen very carefully, 30:19 as the Voice of Prophecy speaks. 30:24 Nowhere in all of the Bible do we see Satan's strategy 30:28 more clearly exposed than in the oldest book 30:31 in all of the Bible, anybody know what that is? 30:33 Book of Job, thank you. 30:35 Book of Job, Chapter 1, 30:37 we find right there in Chapter 1 30:38 a conversation between the devil and God. 30:42 Evidently, this was some time after the fall of Satan 30:45 and maybe even into the new world sometime 30:49 that all the sons of God, it says, 30:51 presented themselves before Him. 30:53 I don't understand what that all means 30:54 but perhaps there was representatives 30:56 and ambassadors from other worlds 30:59 and in some great big summit conference. 31:01 And it says, Satan came, too. 31:05 Uninvited, notice Job 1:7. 31:09 "And the Lord said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' 31:13 '' Satan, who invited you? 31:14 What right do you have to be here? 31:16 And Satan answered, 31:18 "Oh, from going to and fro on the earth 31:20 and walking back and forth on it." 31:23 Satan was saying, 31:24 I claim to represent planet earth, thank you. 31:28 I've taken over Adam's dominion as the Son of God. 31:31 Luke 3:38. 31:32 "And his position as representative 31:34 of the human race." 31:35 Well, God didn't let that claim go unchallenged. 31:39 The Lord said to Satan, in Job 1:8, 9, 11, 31:42 "Well, Satan, have you considered my servant Job, 31:46 that there is none like him on the earth, 31:49 a blameless and upright man, 31:51 one who fears God and shuns evil?" 31:54 And it says, so Satan answered the Lord and said, 32:00 "Does Job fear God for nothing? 32:05 Stretch forth your hand and touch all that he has. 32:10 He will surely curse You to Your face." 32:12 I challenge You, God, to another duel! 32:15 The only reason Job is loyal to You is for the goodies. 32:18 You're Santa Claus to him. 32:20 He's not loyal because he loves and trusts You. 32:23 So the Lord said to Satan, okay. 32:27 How about it, test him, Job 1:12. 32:30 And the Lord said to Satan, 32:31 ''Behold all that he has is in your power; 32:35 only do not lay a hand on his person.'' 32:39 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. 32:41 I mean, he couldn't wait to get his hands on Job's possessions. 32:45 Blow after blow they began to fall. 32:48 First, the stock market collapsed. 32:51 The Sabeans, the Bible says, 32:52 stole Job's cattle, murdered his workers. 32:56 But second, lightning struck the pentagon, 32:58 killing Job's sheep and his shepherds. 33:00 Third, the Chaldeans plundered Job's camels. 33:04 And fourth, the most heartbreaking news of all, 33:06 a tornado demolished the home of Job's oldest son. 33:09 A party was going on, 33:11 and all ten of Job's children were killed. 33:15 I remember, God wasn't causing this, but whom? 33:18 Satan. But poor Job. 33:21 He didn't understand what we're learning tonight 33:23 yet evidently, and he thought you know, 33:27 maybe, maybe God is upset, 33:30 maybe he's caused all this heartache. 33:33 He didn't understand that the devil had done all this. 33:37 And you see we still don't understand it today either. 33:40 What goes on behind the scenes. 33:43 But notice, although he was completely overcome with grief, 33:47 Job's loyalty to God was unchanged. 33:49 And He says, in Job 1:21, "The Lord gave, 33:55 and the Lord has taken away, 33:57 blessed be the name of the Lord." 33:59 Amen. Amen. 34:01 He couldn't understand the tragedy. 34:03 Yet he trusted in God's goodness just the same. 34:06 But Satan wasn't through. 34:08 He challenged God again in Job 2:4-6, 34:11 "Yes, yes, you know what, 34:17 all that a man has he will give in exchange for his life. 34:23 You stretch out Your hand now, 34:25 and you touch his bone and his flesh, 34:27 and he shall surely curse You to Your face." 34:33 Pretty big dare. 34:36 And the Lord said to Satan, okay, behold, 34:42 he is in your hand, but you got to spare his life. 34:46 Now the real survivor's test was on. 34:49 Would Job remain loyal to God 34:51 or would he turn his back on God? 34:54 Job 2:7, "So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord 34:58 and struck Job with painful boils 35:00 from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head." 35:02 Have you ever had a boil? 35:05 Not very much fun, are they? I've had one. 35:08 You know how painful they can be. 35:09 But imagine being covered from head to toe. 35:13 Job was saying, you know, if I can't get him 35:15 through his possessions and his kids, 35:17 I'm gonna attack his health. 35:20 You got to be listening to what to talk or not us talk 35:23 from night to night, it's good stuff. 35:25 Yet Job remained loyal to God, an incredible man of faith, 35:30 the Bible says, in Job 1:22, 35:32 "In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong." 35:38 Now I want you to answer out loud. 35:40 Who hurt Job? Satan. 35:43 Who was it that plagued Job? Satan. 35:45 Who stole his livestock and killed his servants? 35:49 Satan. Satan. 35:50 Who brought that tornado 35:51 and destroyed his sons and daughters? 35:53 Now listen, friend, the Lord may permit difficulties 35:59 to come and test our loyalty and our love, 36:01 but who is responsible for all of the evil on planet earth? 36:04 Satan. Satan is the guilty one. 36:07 But you and I are caught in the center 36:10 of a bewildering cosmic drama. 36:14 A conflict between good and evil, 36:17 between authority and lawlessness, 36:19 between the Creator and Satan, the original rebel. 36:23 And we're not spectators. 36:26 When you drive into the supermarket, 36:28 when you go to the grocery store, 36:30 when you go to the post office wherever it is, 36:32 we are involved, whether we want to be or not. 36:36 In fact, the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:9 36:40 that earth is the theater of the universe. 36:43 We're on stage set forth as a spectacle. 36:48 I don't know how many of you studied William Shakespeare 36:50 but I went to a British school when I was growing up 36:52 and I remember reading this. 36:54 Shakespeare said it perfectly, "All the world's a stage. 36:58 And all the men and women merely players. 37:00 We each have our entrances and our exits. 37:03 And one man in his time plays many parts." 37:07 You and I, ladies and gentlemen 37:09 have leading roles in this cosmic drama. 37:12 We're on stage. Our life isn't an act. 37:16 This isn't TV. This is the real thing. 37:21 I'm reminded of an illustration, 37:22 a little cartoon once, 37:25 it showed a family going on vacation 37:27 like Americans will be in just a few weeks. 37:30 This little kid is sitting in the backseat 37:31 of the station wagon, the family car 37:33 and they'd had a flat tire and dad is outside there 37:35 and it shows him changing the tire. 37:37 And the little boy is so bored and he is so fussing. 37:42 And dad says this, "Son, this isn't TV. 37:46 We can't change channels. This is life." 37:52 Now the popular idea that Satan is only a myth 37:57 or an influence, ladies and gentlemen, 37:59 that leaves us totally unprepared 38:02 to confront the intelligent being 38:04 he actually is, working through the Taliban, 38:07 working through the Osama Bin Ladens 38:09 and the Saddam Husseins. 38:10 And we could name some over here in this country and more, 38:13 but much more that we'll discover 38:14 as the Voice of Prophecy Speaks. 38:17 Amen. 38:18 But the Book of Revelation says in Revelation 12:12, it says, 38:24 "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! 38:27 For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, 38:31 because he knows that he has a short time." 38:35 The Apostle Peter warned us in 1 Peter 5:8, 38:39 "Be sober, be vigilant, 38:41 because your adversary the devil walks 38:44 about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 38:50 Well, that's kind of depressing. 38:53 But I'm happy tonight that the story does not end there. 38:57 Amen. 38:58 Or our future would be pretty gloomy and pretty dark. 39:01 The Bible tells us, ladies and gentlemen, 39:03 that's why God sent Jesus down here to this earth. 39:09 Why did He come? 39:11 Why did He go to such great lengths 39:12 to save men and women? 39:16 Because God had a plan. 39:19 You see even though Satan did his very worst 39:22 and ruined this world, 39:25 God had a plan to destroy the devil 39:28 and in the process save us, too. 39:31 That wasn't easy. 39:33 The Bible says that Satan comes as a roaring lion. 39:36 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Satan was there, 39:40 he worked through King Herod to destroy the Christ child, 39:42 He was defeated. 39:44 Satan came to Jesus in Matthew 4 39:46 in the temptations of Christ out there in the wilderness, 39:48 Satan came masquerading as a friendly helpful angel 39:53 with three temptations, remember? 39:54 Why don't you just turn these stones into bread? 39:56 Why don't you jump off this cliff 39:58 and the angels will take care of you? 39:59 Why don't you just bow down and worship me? 40:01 Satan was defeated there, too. 40:03 Satan then worked in the crowd to destroy Jesus at Calvary, 40:07 crucify Him, crucify. 40:09 And he thought he finally had Him 40:11 when he hung Him on a cross. 40:13 But he was defeated forever on resurrection morning. 40:15 Can you say amen? Amen. 40:16 Praise the Lord. 40:17 And friend, right here is the incredible answer 40:20 to the problem of why there is so much suffering. 40:23 God in Heaven, our loving Heavenly parent who created us. 40:28 When we sinned and we blew it, 40:31 that God was lonely when we sinned. 40:36 We had cut ourselves off from Him by rebellion. 40:39 But He missed us, 40:40 He couldn't bear to be without us. 40:43 With a loneliness that could never be healed 40:45 except by the restoration of humankind. 40:48 He loved us so much He gave His Son Jesus 40:52 and the Son gave Himself, too, to reverse your fate and mine. 40:57 Calvary was the hour of victory, 40:59 the day to free all the devil's prisoners on planet earth 41:04 and on prisoner's row right here. 41:06 Thanks to Calvary, Satan tonight is a defeated foe. 41:11 Christ by His death earned the right 41:13 to destroy all death and evil and suffering. 41:17 And He will because Paul wrote in Hebrews 2:14. 41:21 "Inasmuch then as the children 41:23 have partaken of flesh and blood, 41:26 He Himself likewise shared in the same, 41:29 that through death He might destroy him 41:32 who had the power of death, that is, the devil." 41:36 You see for 6,000 years, 41:39 Satan has been demonstrating in technicolor 41:41 before all of the intelligence of the universe 41:44 what kind of a being he is, that he hasn't changed today. 41:49 Tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, crime, disease, 41:52 heartache, pain, snipers standing behind all evil 41:57 is the supernatural working of Satan. 41:59 Tragedies, tragedies and carnage and Hitlers 42:01 and Talibans and terrorists, they're not acts of God. 42:06 Satan whispers, yeah, God did it. 42:11 No, they are acts of the devil. Satan is the destroyer. 42:14 God is the restorer. Amen. 42:18 You begin to see how cleverly though Satan's angels 42:22 use the supernatural to deceive and destroy. 42:27 Now hang on, I'm about to say something 42:28 that might shake you up a little bit, 42:30 'cause this is just the beginning. 42:32 The Voice of Prophecy is about to speak again. 42:36 2 Corinthians 11:14 says, 42:39 Lonn, you watch in the 2003 and 2004." 42:43 No wonder, Satan himself 42:46 transforms himself into an angel of light." 42:52 Maybe it never occurred to you, ladies and gentlemen, 42:54 when you watch some faith healers, 42:56 some of them I say, on television. 42:59 Maybe it never occurred to you that devils, 43:02 demons can work miracles, too. 43:06 Miracles in the church, accompanied by hymn-singing. 43:10 Revelation 16:14 says, 43:13 "For they are the spirits of demons, performing signs..." 43:19 Satan works miracles, 43:21 and his angels can work miracles. 43:23 The devil actually gives some human beings 43:26 power to work miracles whenever he chooses 43:28 and Jesus said, Lonn, watch out. 43:30 Matthew 24:24, 43:32 "For false christs and false prophets will rise 43:35 and showing great signs and wonders on television 43:39 to deceive, if possible, even the elect.'' 43:42 You say, well, no wait a minute, 43:43 Pastor Lonn, how in the world then can we an average person 43:46 know the difference between the true and the false?" 43:48 That's why this prophetic seminar series. 43:51 Because the Voice of Prophecy Speaks. 43:55 Don't come up to me and ask me 43:56 well is this faith evil or good or is this not? 43:58 By the time this seminar series is over, 44:00 you will have the tools in your own hand 44:02 to be able to discriminate it, no. 44:05 But this Voice of Prophecy warns us that the time has come 44:08 when we can't go to our television 44:10 and trust our senses anymore. 44:12 When we can't trust what do we see out there in the world? 44:16 At time when counterfeit miracles in the church 44:19 where we are close, so closely resemble the genuine 44:22 that it's extremely difficult to distinguish between them 44:25 except by God's prophetic word. 44:29 But the good news tonight is 44:32 that our planet hijacked by Satan 44:35 is soon to be rescued from spiritual terrorism. 44:39 Prophecy gives us inside info that Jesus is going to win. 44:43 He's in control. 44:44 No need to fear, no need to be nervous, 44:47 no need to be anxious passengers 44:49 on a planet gone wrong. 44:50 God has a plan to destroy old split foot, the devil. 44:53 And we'll uncover more precisely 44:55 what that plan is in future meetings. 44:57 It's shocking, some of the things 44:58 that Satan has spawned off in our Christian world 45:00 but let's take a quick sneak peek to see 45:03 what the Bible predicts God will one day say about Satan. 45:06 In Ezekiel 28:16-18, 45:11 "I destroyed you, O covering cherub. 45:14 Therefore I brought fire from your midst; 45:16 it devoured you, and turned you to ashes upon the earth." 45:21 Gone forever, no more sin, no more suffering, friend, 45:24 that's why Jesus is coming again soon. 45:27 Only this time he's not coming as the lonely Galileo. 45:30 Not as one ridiculed or spat upon and denied. 45:33 Not as one hanging on a cross, kicked around by the devil, 45:36 but He will come as King of Kings 45:37 and Lord of Lords with the right to reign 45:40 and the right to finally put an end to suffering. 45:42 Can you say amen? Amen. 45:43 And we must be ready to meet Him, 45:45 for if we miss that, friend, we miss everything. 45:49 The issue today is, who will we believe? 45:52 Who will we follow? A loving God or a fallen angel? 45:56 The lines have been drawn, tonight the whole world 45:59 is being divided into two sides. 46:01 Where is your loyalty? 46:03 Whose side do you choose to be on? 46:05 Because its decision time, friend, 46:08 and not to decide is to decide. 46:12 Tonight Jesus extends a personal invitation 46:14 to every restless, lonely heart, 46:17 to every aching, guilty soul, 46:19 to all His children on this planet in rebellion banged up, 46:22 bleeding, burned out, bruised, battered, and broken. 46:25 Jesus gives the loving invitation. 46:27 Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all of you who are struggling 46:31 and labor and are weary and heavy laden, 46:33 and I will give you rest." 46:36 The one who comes to Me I will in no means cast out." 46:41 Isn't that wonderful news? 46:42 Amen. Anyone can come. 46:45 You may wonder about tragedies that have struck your life. 46:48 Where's God today? 46:49 In the midst of life's sorrows, in heartbreak, 46:51 in cancer and disappointment, where is God today, friend? 46:54 Jesus is there, He understands. 46:57 He cares about my melanoma. 46:59 He cares about the 100 GIs who died in Iraq. 47:02 He knows pain, He's experienced loneliness. 47:04 God lost His only Son in battle, too. 47:07 But one of these days, Jesus promises to come back. 47:11 Settle the account, put an end to life's sufferings. 47:13 Satan will finally and fully and completely be defeated. 47:16 Tonight Jesus reaches out with good news. 47:19 And He says, "Friend, 47:20 I long to restore you to the family of God. 47:22 To give you eternal life on a planet made new." 47:26 But the decision is up to you, 47:29 who will be your Lord and Master? 47:31 It's a matter of choice. Eternal life, eternal death. 47:36 Tonight let's choose Jesus as Joey and Benith sing. 47:44 Choose ye this day whom ye will serve 47:50 And let it be the Lord 47:58 Choose ye this day whom ye will love 48:04 And make it rise all us above 48:12 God loves ye sinner He chose ye of all 48:20 His great love story on Calvary was told 48:28 So choose ye this day 48:33 Whom ye will serve 48:37 And let it be the Lord 48:47 Right now I'm gonna invite the row captains 48:49 to pass those containers to the end of the rows, 48:52 please take a response card. 48:55 And I want you to just fill in something tonight 48:57 as you've listened to this message. 49:00 Take a pen or pencil there and notice these four options 49:04 and please fill in your name and address right now. 49:09 Pass that right along to the others in your row 49:11 and wherever you're on the downlink sites 49:13 if you make sure that everyone has one right now. 49:15 The first one is, and I hope everyone will fill this in, 49:18 you know, I want to accept God's plan for my life 49:21 and look better forward to a better tomorrow. 49:23 You check number one. Check number one right now. 49:27 And then number 2, maybe you'd like to check this and say, 49:29 I want to accept Christ and His plan of salvation. 49:33 I want to accept Christ, His plan of salvation. 49:37 Number three, I want to study my Bible daily 49:40 and will pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life. 49:44 Maybe you want to go over to the Discover Bible tables 49:45 and pickup the lessons that match tonight's topic. 49:49 And number four, I hope you put down a prayer request 49:51 'cause our staff will pray for you 49:53 tomorrow morning at 10:30. 49:56 Prayerfully, consider your responses, 49:58 pass these down to the end of isle. 49:59 Let's pray together, Heavenly Father, 50:01 I want to thank you tonight for the wonderful plan that 50:03 You have to personally save us from sin and self destruction. 50:07 Tonight we've seen the larger picture 50:09 and we realize that we're part of the problem 50:11 but we thank you for providing a solution 50:13 through your free gift of salvation. 50:17 As we close our prayer tonight, 50:18 how many would like to just raise their hands to heaven 50:20 and say, Lord, remember me in this prayer 50:22 and I want thank Jesus for coming 50:24 and promising me a better tomorrow. 50:26 Help me to accept Your plan for my life, 50:28 prepare for a better future in Jesus' name, amen. 50:35 Thank you for being with us tonight. 50:37 Remember tomorrow night, one life changed the world. 50:42 Amen. Good night, everyone. 50:44 Thanks for coming, God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17