Participants: Jac Colon
Series Code: RNN
Program Code: RNN000022
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00:18 In Mathew 12 chapter there is almost unbelievable story
00:24 about the unbelief of the scribes and Pharisees 00:27 the religious leaders of the day. 00:31 In Matthew 12:22, 00:33 "They brought him a demon-possessed man 00:37 who was blind and mute, 00:43 but Jesus healed him, 00:45 so that he could both talk and see." 00:49 Now I have often thought when ever I read this verse 00:53 what would it have been like to be there 00:57 and to watch Jesus open the eyes of the blind man? 01:01 So the very first thing he saw in his entire life 01:05 was the face of the Savior. 01:07 Wouldn't you loved to have been there 01:09 to see that happen? Amen. 01:11 You would think the people were 01:12 just be rejoicing and shouting hallelujah. 01:15 Praise the Lord. 01:17 Worship the Messiah, He is here. 01:23 But they didn't. 01:25 Verse 23 says "All the people were astonished and they said, 01:31 is he the Son of David?" 01:36 Is he the messiah? 01:41 Instead of rejoicing in what God had done 01:46 they went running to the pastors 01:49 and they said what about that. 01:51 You tell us, is he the Messiah? 01:57 Verse 24, "When the Pharisees heard this, they said, 02:00 No that's only by Beelzebul, 02:04 the prince of demons, 02:06 that this fellow drives out demons." 02:08 He is not the Messiah he a demon. 02:11 He is not the Messiah, he is a devil. 02:20 Reminds me of the old saying, 02:24 if you can't fault the message 02:30 then shoot the messenger. 02:34 That's nothing new. 02:37 That's what they did back then. 02:39 They couldn't fault anything Jesus said 02:43 or anything that He did 02:45 and so what alter they gonna do? 02:48 They didn't want to believe Him 02:50 so they have to shoot the messenger. 02:52 Oh, no He is not the Messiah, He is the devil. 02:58 The devil uses that same tactic all the time. 03:03 Even now today some of you have been warned, you told me. 03:07 Some of you have been warned not to go to Revelation Now 03:11 that's a cult over there. 03:15 If you can't fault the message then call him a name. 03:20 Shoot the messenger. 03:22 Oh, don't go listen oh, Colon, he is a cult, 03:25 He is a demon, He will lead you to pathways of hell 03:29 without one single text to back it up. 03:33 The devils always work that way. 03:35 So if anybody tells you, 03:36 oh, don't go there it's a cult just rejoice 03:39 and know you are in good company 03:40 because that's what they did to Jesus. 03:49 So Jesus said in Verse 31, 03:53 "I tell you every sin and blasphemy 03:58 will be forgiven men, 04:01 but blasphemy against the Spirit 04:05 that will not be forgiven." 04:10 There is a sin that God is not gonna forgive. 04:17 What is it? 04:19 Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. 04:24 He will forgive every other sin 04:25 but He won't forgive blasphemy against the Spirit. 04:28 Well, what's that? We have just seen it. 04:32 Jesus performed the miracle. 04:35 He opened the eyes of that blind man, 04:38 He opened his mouth of the dumb 04:40 so that he could talk. 04:41 And they all said, no, that was not God that was the devil. 04:46 It wasn't the Holy Spirit it was the devil. 04:49 So to attribute the obvious work of the Holy Spirit of God 04:54 and say that, that was not the Holy Spirit 04:58 that was the devil is blasphemy the Holy Spirit 05:02 and it's a sin that can't be forgiven. 05:07 A lot of people say boy, am I glad to hear that. 05:10 I will make sure I'll never do that. 05:14 Well, fine I hope you don't. 05:18 But there are two problems. 05:23 First of all it doesn't take the unpardonable sin to be lost. 05:31 People are gonna be lost for plain old unpardoned sin. 05:38 You don't have to blasphemy the Holy Spirit to be lost. 05:41 You don't have to commit the unpardonable sin. 05:44 That's the first problem. 05:45 Second problem is that those Pharisees 05:48 those religious leaders, 05:49 those popular pastors and teachers 05:51 at first they never dreamed 05:54 that they would ever commit the unpardonable sin. 05:58 They never thought for a moment 06:00 that they would ever say 06:01 the work of the Holy Spirit was just the devil. 06:08 Well, then how did they get there? 06:11 How did they arrive at the place 06:14 where they were willing to say 06:16 that was not the Holy Spirit 06:18 that was the devil knowing it was Spirit all along? 06:21 How did they get there? 06:22 That's what we want to talk about. 06:24 That's the unpardonable sin. 06:26 That's the mysterious way of sin. 06:29 How did they get there? 06:31 Jesus shows us in Verse 30 06:35 just before he made that statement 06:38 "He who is not with Me is against Me, 06:43 and he who does not gather with Me scatters." 06:51 So Jesus is stripping away 06:57 any possibility of being neutral about God. 07:04 You can't be neutral about God. 07:07 It was the attempt to be neutral 07:09 that paved the way to the unpardonable sin. 07:12 He who is not with Me is against Me, 07:14 he that doesn't gather with Me scatters. 07:16 So I tell you every sin 07:17 and blasphemy will be forgiven men 07:19 but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." 07:23 They were trying to be neutral 07:25 and it was the attempt to be neutral 07:27 that paved the way unpardonable sin. 07:29 You can't be neutral about God. 07:34 You can be neutral about a lot of things. 07:36 Its fun around election times 07:38 when there comes around 07:39 and watching all the politician trying to neutral. 07:44 They go to one group 07:45 and what do you think about this? 07:46 You know, and they know what their group wants to hear 07:48 and so they try to be neutral. 07:50 Then they go to another group 07:51 and they might say just the opposite to that group. 07:53 You can be neutral about our politics, 07:55 you can be neutral about a lot of things 07:57 but you can't be neutral about God. 08:00 You cannot come to the Bible discover the truth in God's word 08:04 and then walk away the same person you were 08:08 when you first came. 08:10 Either we are with Him or against Him? 08:12 You can't be neutral. 08:13 Either you are gathering with Him 08:15 or you are scattering that's what Jesus himself said, 08:19 there is no straddling offence 08:21 and any one who try's to straddle the fence 08:24 is soon or later gonna have to make an excuse 08:27 to explain why they haven't made a decision to follow God. 08:31 And that excuse makes them the enemy to God. 08:35 That's how the mysterious way of sin works. 08:37 You can't straddle defense. 08:39 If the truth is the truth 08:41 then either you are with it or against it. 08:45 Either we are gathering with Him or scattering. 08:53 As I study through this in the Bible 08:56 I discovered there are five basic excuses 09:03 that Jesus heard when He was here on this earth. 09:07 And I found out after-- 09:10 it didn't take me 35 years of doing this to find out 09:14 learn pretty quickly. 09:16 Same devil it worked in time of Jesus 09:18 is still at work right now 09:21 because I hear those same five excuses even yet today. 09:26 In fact one time we were on the east coast 09:29 and got down towards the end of it. 09:33 In fact we are just about this night, 09:35 it was this night I was visiting a fellow 09:38 before the meeting at his home 09:41 and he hadn't even accepted Jesus as a Savior. 09:44 I said, hey, you have been coming to these meetings now 09:45 for four weeks nearly and you haven't accepted Jesus 09:49 what's standing in your way? 09:50 And he went down the list one, two, three, four, five 09:53 all five of them he gave me excuse. 09:58 Later on that night he came to the meeting 10:01 it happened to be this topic. 10:04 Wow, he got mad at me and afterwards he said, 10:08 you told them everything I said to you today. 10:14 I said, let me see your printout. 10:19 So he hands me his printout 10:20 and then I said look, they are all right here. 10:24 I didn't print this up between the time 10:26 I left your house and got here tonight. 10:30 The same devil that was at work in Jesus day 10:33 is the devil it works right now 10:35 except this couple of thousands years better at it now. 10:40 So would you like to know what those five excuses are? 10:46 Unanswered questions prevent people from following the Lamb. 10:53 That was one excuse. 10:54 Unanswered ques-- 10:55 I don't understand everything about the Bible. 10:57 I hear that all the time. 10:59 Oh, there is just so much I have learned of Revelation Now 11:01 I don't understand at all. 11:03 As soon as I understand everything 11:05 that I have been studying here 11:06 then I will be ready to follow Jesus. 11:09 Folks, there are something's in the Bible 11:11 you are not gonna understand 11:13 until we are at the other side, 11:15 until we are on the other side 11:16 you are not gonna understand it. 11:19 We are trying to understand an infinite God 11:22 with a peanut brain and it just doesn't wrap around. 11:25 An infinite God there are something's in the bible 11:28 I don't understand I have been studying this for a long time. 11:31 There are things in here I don't understand. 11:35 When I get to heaven I got a little note book 11:38 I hope the Lord lets me take with me. 11:44 Because I want to-- visit with some people. 11:47 Paul, I want to sit down with Paul 11:51 and I am gonna say Paul, 11:54 you see that verse why did you write that? 11:56 You know how much trouble you cause me? 12:02 Sure there are things in here that are hard to understand. 12:07 Peter didn't even understand at all. 12:10 He admitted that. 12:12 He said Paul wrote stuff that are hard for us to understand. 12:16 So if its hard for Peter don't be surprised 12:19 if there are things that we can't understand, 12:21 that we can't answer. 12:22 But I can tell you this I may not be answer-- 12:25 able to answer every question about every thing in the Bible 12:28 but God has made it 12:29 plain enough for me to know 12:31 that I can trust Him 12:32 and that if I can't answer every question, 12:35 the once I can answer enough to give me confidence 12:37 that I can trust Him with the ones I can't. Amen. 12:41 There are enough answers in this book 12:43 so that no one has any excuse to not accept Jesus Christ. 12:49 We don't want to be like the fool 12:51 caught on top of 14 storied building 12:54 that's on fire and the stairways are burning 12:57 and the elevator are burning, 12:58 there is no way to him to get down 13:00 and he hollows out the window help me, help me. 13:03 And he looks down and there are the firemen 13:05 and they got this big net down there spread out 13:07 and they said jump, jump and we will catch you. 13:10 And he says, well, wait a minute 13:11 I got questions first. 13:18 And they said, well, don't worry about the questions jump in 13:20 and we will catch and answer your questions after. 13:22 Well, I don't know about that. 13:24 How this fire gets started in the first place? 13:31 How do I know the net is strong enough? 13:32 How do I know you won't drop it 13:34 and let me go down and die? 13:39 Sure there are questions, unanswered questions. 13:44 The Bible shows us here in John Chapter 9 in John 9:28 13:49 "They hurled insults at him and at disciples they said 13:51 'You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 13:56 Now we know that God spoke to Moses, 13:59 but this fellow 14:00 we don't even know where he comes from.'" 14:02 Who's his father anyway? Unanswered questions. 14:09 That's one of the excuses Jesus heard. 14:11 We got to understand at all, 14:12 we have to know all about the incarnation 14:14 how could He be the Son of God, 14:16 we have to understand all of that. 14:18 You will never fully understand 14:20 how God could become men 14:21 but there is enough in here for me to know 14:23 I can trust Him. 14:26 And then in Chapter-- in chapter 7:41 14:30 "Some we saying, who is this man? 14:32 Surely he is a prophet. 14:33 Others said, 'no He is the Christ.' 14:35 Still others said, 'How can the Christ come from Galilee?'" 14:38 Verse 42 "'Does not the Scripture say 14:40 that the Christ will come from David's family Bethlehem, 14:43 the town where David lived?'" 14:44 Thus verse 43 "The people were divided because of Jesus." 14:51 I hear that sometimes too. 14:54 Oh, Colon, He is divisive. I will go that church. 14:58 They divide Christianity, they divide Christianity 15:01 over those who want to keep Sunday 15:03 and those who keep the Sabbath. 15:04 They divide us. No they don't. 15:07 Truth always divides, truth always divides 15:11 because those who don't want to accept truth 15:13 are going to reject it and hate the ones who teach it. 15:18 Truth always divides. 15:20 But it's not the truth so much that divides 15:23 it's those who don't want to accept the truth 15:25 and reject the truth. 15:26 They don't want to bring it into their hearts, 15:28 they don't want to make change 15:30 and so they attack the truth. 15:31 Yeah that's a demon or a devil with out one Bible verse. 15:35 If they do give you a Bible verse they just take it 15:37 and twist it so much out of context 15:39 that anybody can see that is not making sense. 15:44 That's the mysterious way of sin. 15:50 And then the second excuse. 15:52 Probably the one I hear the most. 15:56 Usually sounds like that-- oh, here it is in the Bible. 15:58 Let me read that first. 16:00 In verse 32 John 7, 16:03 "Pharisees heard the crowd whispering things about Jesus. 16:06 And so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent 16:08 temple guards to go and arrest him." 16:12 Go get Him, arrest Him and bring Him back here. 16:14 So the guards went and they went to arrest Jesus 16:18 and when they came back, no Jesus. 16:22 Why didn't you bring them here? 16:26 Verse 46, I love this answer. 16:30 "Because no one ever spoke the way this man does." 16:37 Won't you like that? 16:39 They went to arrest Jesus didn't come back with Him. 16:42 Where is He? Why didn't you bring Him back? 16:45 Well, man nobody ever spoke like He did. 16:47 I never heard the word of God so clearly. 16:49 I've never seen the Bible so clearly He explained 16:52 and it makes so much sense to me. 16:53 No one spoke like He does. Their hearts burned inside. 17:00 Now watch what the religious leaders said. 17:03 These were the most powerful preachers in the land 17:06 and here is what they said verse 47. 17:09 "You mean He has deceived you also? 17:14 The Pharisees retorted. 17:16 'Have any of the rulers 17:18 or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! 17:21 Just this mob they know nothing about the law-- 17:23 the Bible there is a curse on them.'" 17:27 Let me tell you what it sounds like today. 17:31 If those Adventists were teaching the truth 17:35 if, Saturday is really the Sabbath day 17:38 and not Sunday why doesn't everybody else see it? 17:42 Why is it they are the only church that teaches, 17:45 are you trying to say everybody else is wrong? 17:50 You see and then they try to make it look like 17:52 the one teaching the truth is the one at fault 17:54 the saying that everybody else is wrong. 18:01 If any of the Pharisees believed it? No. 18:05 Truth is not popular 18:09 and that's one of the big excuses I hear. 18:11 Well, I don't understand 18:12 how can Saturday be the Sabbath? 18:14 Look at all the other churches go on Sunday. 18:18 The question isn't what all the other churches do, 18:20 the question is what did God say. 18:24 You know, I want to tell you something. 18:26 Anybody who ask the question 18:30 why does everybody else do Sunday 18:34 when the Bible says Saturday, 18:36 anybody that asks that question 18:41 is beginning to understand 18:43 the power of the antichrist. 18:49 Because the whole world is going to worship the beast 18:54 except of the few who's a name are written 18:56 in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb. 18:58 Jesus himself said, broad is the way, 19:00 that leads to destruction, 19:02 and many are going to go there 19:03 but straight and narrow the way, 19:05 that leads to life, only a few are gonna find it. 19:08 That tells me that if everybody believes one thing 19:14 then watch out 19:17 because it's probably not correct. 19:20 Only a few are gonna embrace the truth about Jesus. 19:26 He said that himself. 19:29 So don't go looking for the most popular teaching 19:33 look for the most biblical teaching 19:35 and then you'll know 19:37 that you are standing on solid ground. 19:39 The truth has never been popular. 19:42 It wasn't even popular in the Garden of Eden. 19:46 There was a woman 19:47 and there was a snake and the man. 19:50 And the snake said, you think you are gonna die. 19:52 You are not gonna die eat it. And so they ate it. 19:55 All three of them believed the lie, 20:00 the truth wasn't even popular then. 20:03 We learn last time the truth wasn't popular 20:06 in the days of Noah. 20:08 Only one man on the entire planet earth got it right. 20:14 One preacher, everybody else was wrong. 20:22 Truth isn't popular, never was popular, never will be. 20:29 Elijah one man of God on Mount Carmel, 20:34 850 false prophets, the king and all the other people 20:38 and that one man of God dressed in his funny looking 20:41 camel haired robe was the only one that got it right. 20:46 Look around taking the surveys to find the truth, 20:50 you'll find the truth by standing in the word of God. 20:53 Keep your nose in this book, folks. 20:55 Follow the Lamb. Amen. 20:58 And that's the only way to find the truth. 21:00 Don't follow me, don't follow my church, 21:02 follow Jesus Christ. 21:14 A man was walking to the city of Jerusalem 21:19 one day 2,000 years ago, 21:24 and he sees this man hanging on a cross 21:27 between two other men and he looks up there 21:31 and the one in the middle had a sin on his cross 21:33 and it said this is Jesus of Nazareth 21:36 the king of the Jews. 21:37 And he asked the Roman soldiers 21:39 standing at the foot of the cross, 21:42 is that true? Is that really the Messiah? 21:44 Is that Jesus the king of the Jews 21:46 and Roman solider laughs and says does he look like it. 21:49 Look at Him. 21:53 But he is not convinced so he goes into the city 21:56 and he looks for the biggest temple he can find 22:00 and there the high priest 22:01 is getting ready to offer the Lamb for a sacrifice 22:04 while the Lamb of God is hanging on the cross. 22:08 And he says, excuse me a minute, sir. 22:10 Can I ask you something? Certainly, what is it? 22:13 That man out there on the cross is He the Messiah? 22:16 It says He is. 22:17 Is He really the Son of God, is He Jesus the Son of God? 22:21 And the priest smiles and says no. 22:24 He is not the Son of God. 22:27 And while our friend is walking across 22:29 the courtyard of the city he sees-- 22:33 someone sees him and says you, 22:38 I saw you talking to him out there. 22:40 I saw you, you are one of His disciples. 22:43 And Peter says, I never knew that cursive man. 22:51 How do you find truth by asking people, 22:55 by taking a survey, by believing what God said? 23:03 Third excuse, cost too much. 23:10 Rich young man came up to Jesus one time, 23:12 what should I do to be saved? 23:13 Oh, keep the commandments. 23:14 Oh, I have done that ever since I was a little boy. 23:17 No problem. 23:18 But Jesus said, you lack one thing. 23:22 Sell everything that you own and give it to the poor. 23:27 Take up your cross and follow Me. 23:31 And the rich young man turned his back and walked away 23:36 because it cost too much he thought to follow Jesus. 23:42 He priced his earthly possessions more than God. 23:50 Sometimes people 23:52 with that same excuse today cost too much, 23:56 can't afford to pay tithe or offerings. 24:01 Folks, it doesn't cost too much. 24:04 God gives us everything we have, 24:06 He just wants a tenth back. 24:11 God is a God who will be taking couple of fish 24:13 and five loaves of bread and feed a multitude. 24:15 He can take your 90 percent mixture 24:16 and make sure that you are gonna be 24:17 able to survive with it. 24:20 In fact He can make sure you do more with the 90 24:22 then you could if you kept it all to yourself. 24:24 You can't afford not to follow God. 24:27 Some people say, oh pastor, 24:29 I - I can't I can't do that, I can't follow Jesus 24:32 because I have to work on Saturday 24:34 and I have to feed my family. 24:36 God knows that. He knows that. 24:41 Jesus said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, 24:46 and His righteousness, 24:47 and He will supply what you need." 24:49 He knows, you need cloths, 24:50 look at the birds how pretty they are. 24:52 The grass, and it's-- He knows you need all this. 24:55 He knows you need a room. 24:56 Seek ye first his kingdom. 24:58 He is going to take care of what you need 25:00 and He will never let you down. 25:02 Now it doesn't mean that you are gonna get 25:03 whatever you want. 25:06 He says, I will give you whatever you need 25:11 to keep Him first. 25:13 And you can claim that promise 25:15 and I have seen it happened over and over again. 25:19 I remember we were in Kentucky 25:21 and doing a Revelation Now. 25:23 A young man came to the meetings, 25:25 it was back in the 70s 25:27 and he was a real genuine hippy. 25:31 Didn't have any money, 25:32 he had long hair 25:34 and he had a necklace on with the big peace sign. 25:38 Walked around peace, peace-- I mean real hippy. 25:41 He had been hitchhiking across the country. 25:44 Didn't have any money stop there 25:46 just about the time we were doing Revelation Now 25:48 because he need to get a little job to get some money 25:50 so he go on a little bit. 25:52 Came to Revelation Now 25:54 and heard about Jesus, he gave his heart to Jesus, 26:00 came to Jesus hippy. It's the best kind. 26:06 Then he learned about the Sabbath 26:09 and he made a decision to start keeping the Sabbath. 26:14 He had been there for a while, 26:16 he was such a hard worker that they kept promoting him. 26:19 At first he was just unloading trucks 26:21 by the time we got there 26:22 he had worked up to be the manager 26:25 of the electronics department, 26:26 radios, TV's, stereos all that stuff. 26:32 And he said, I want to keep the Sabbath. 26:33 But, well, that's our biggest day 26:36 and I am the department manger 26:37 we all have to be there on Saturday. 26:41 He says, what can I do? 26:43 I said, well, its easy just follow the Lamb. 26:48 Do what Jesus wants you to do. 26:50 What does He want you to do? 26:51 He wants me to keep the Sabbath. 26:52 I said, well, do that. He says okay. 26:56 So I gave him some tips on how to talk to his supervisor. 27:00 And he went in to talk to his supervisor 27:04 and the supervisor gave him Sabbath's off. 27:10 Came to the meeting that night just happy as he could be. 27:12 Hey, pastor, pastor, it worked, it worked. 27:14 The Lord did it for me. 27:15 I don't have to work on Saturdays. 27:16 All I need to do now is to go in and work late on Friday nights 27:19 and I don't have to go in on Saturdays anymore. 27:24 I almost through up. 27:27 I forgot to tell him about that. 27:31 I didn't have the heart 27:33 but it was the truth I had to tell him. 27:36 And I said, well, you know I forgot something. 27:39 I explained it to him and his face just dropped. 27:43 I can't go back in there again. 27:44 Oh yeah, yeah God did it once 27:46 He can do it again, come on now. 27:47 Boy, every thing inside in me was just turning. 27:51 He said okay, I am gonna do it. 27:52 He goes in, come backs the next night. 27:53 I did it, I did it. 27:54 Now all I need to do is go in Saturday night after sun down 27:57 and work late at night 27:58 and I don't have to work on Sabbaths anymore. 28:00 Praise the Lord. 28:01 You can't afford not to follow God. 28:03 Take your stand, He can help you, 28:05 He will provide what you need. Amen. 28:08 It's not a good excuse. 28:11 I am not going to promise you that 28:13 if you keep the Sabbath 28:14 you will never lose your job 28:15 and you always get a better one. 28:16 I am not going to promise you that 28:18 because time is coming when we are gonna die. 28:20 We need to be willing to die because of our faith in God. 28:24 But I can promise you God will take care of you. 28:29 That's what He promised us. 28:33 And then there is another excuse 28:34 this is the toughest of all. 28:36 The devil doesn't play by the rules. 28:39 He is not afraid to kick when you are down. 28:42 Matthew 10:34, 28:44 one of the hardest things that I think Jesus said. 28:46 It took me a long time 28:47 even begin to try to understand this one. 28:50 He said "Do not suppose 28:51 that I have come to bring peace to the earth. 28:55 I have not come to bring peace, 28:57 but a sword. 28:59 I have come to turn 'a man against his father, 29:01 a daughter against her mother, 29:02 daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 29:03 a man's enemies will be the members 29:04 of his own household. 29:06 Anyone who loves his father or mother 29:07 more than me is not worthy of me, 29:09 anyone who loves his son or daughter 29:11 more than me is not worthy of me, 29:13 and anyone who does not take his cross 29:14 and follow me is not worthy of me.'" 29:16 Wow, how could Jesus ever say that? 29:19 I didn't come to bring peace, but a sword. 29:21 He is the prince of peace. 29:23 What did He mean? 29:24 I didn't come to bring peace, but a sword? 29:26 I came to turn a man against his father, 29:29 and a father against his? 29:30 What did Jesus mean by all of this? 29:34 Well, I thought about it 29:35 and prayed about that for a long time. 29:36 Said, Lord, please help me to understand this. 29:40 And finally came to a conclusion 29:41 that true love is a triangular relationship. 29:46 That's what I told my wife when we got married. 29:49 I said, you need to know something. 29:51 You are number two in my life, is that okay? 29:54 She said, that's okay as long as God is number one. 29:58 Because you see when we put 29:59 God number one that's best for us. 30:01 He is at the top of the triangle 30:02 we are at the bottom of each corner. 30:04 The closer you get to God, 30:05 the closer you get to each other. Amen. Amen. 30:10 It's a triangular relationship 30:12 and that's what this is all about. 30:16 You see the moment you accept Jesus 30:18 as your Savior at that moment 30:20 you have peace with God and you know that. 30:25 A lot of you experience that. You have peace with God. 30:28 Some of you the first time in the last couple of weeks 30:32 but that very same incident 30:34 you become an enemy to the world. 30:38 There is no such thing as peace with God 30:40 and peace at the world. 30:41 The world hates God and if you are right with God 30:45 you become an enemy to the world. 30:46 Then they're gonna hate you. 30:49 He didn't come to make peace with the world 30:52 He came to make peace 30:53 with those who have fed up to hear with the world 30:56 and want something better. 31:02 You see when a man 31:05 puts his wife desires over God 31:10 then he is really saying 31:16 that you are more important to me than God is. 31:20 And folks-- I mean if we are really honest 31:23 the thing we want more than any thing else is 31:25 her husbands and wives and families to be 31:27 together in Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. 31:30 We want all be together. 31:36 But if we say, well, if you don't want me 31:37 to get baptized I won't. 31:39 I love you so much, honey. 31:40 Oh, dear I just won't do it. 31:41 Then you're saying God is more important 31:44 and you are tying God's hands. 31:45 He can't use you to win 31:46 the ones you want more than anything else. 31:51 It's only when we take our stand for God 31:55 and put him first then He can use you 31:57 to reach the ones you love the most. 32:00 Now I am not saying it will always work that way, 32:03 but at least you are giving God a chance. 32:07 We were in Lowell, Kentucky. 32:09 Big Revelation Now meeting, 32:11 a big auditorium, Downtown, Lowell 32:14 and there is a young couple coming the first night, 32:18 couple of nights sitting right in the front row 32:20 and then the third night 32:21 I noticed that he wasn't there anymore, 32:24 she was all by herself. So afterwards-- 32:26 I've got acquainted with them a little bit. 32:27 And afterwards I went down I said, 32:29 hey, where is George? 32:31 Oh, he is not gonna come anymore. 32:33 Oh, why not. 32:35 Well, he is just says he is not really that interested. 32:38 But you are going to keep coming. 32:39 Oh, yeah, I am gonna come every night, and she did. 32:42 She came every night all by herself-- 32:44 she and a friend, but not with George. 32:48 Well, after we got down towards the end 32:51 the Spirit convicted her heart 32:53 and she came down forward in an alter call 32:56 and said pastor I want to get baptized. 32:58 I want to follow the Lamb. 33:01 I want to get baptized. 33:04 So she went home and told George 33:06 you need to come to the meeting 33:07 and like few more nights 33:08 because I am gonna get baptized 33:09 and I want you to see me. 33:10 He says, you are going to get baptized? 33:11 She says yeah, I am gonna get baptized. 33:13 I am gonna follow the Lamb 33:15 and he said, over my dead body. 33:19 No wife of mine is gonna be 33:21 some goody, goody Christian. 33:24 I don't need that around here. 33:26 You want to get baptized 33:27 then you go find some other place to live. 33:31 What would you do? 33:33 Now I know what you think you would do. 33:36 But when you come right down to the reality of it, 33:40 it's not that easy. 33:43 And she had a huge decision to make. 33:47 She came back to the meeting and she said pastor, 33:51 George said I can't get baptized. 33:56 And I said, what you gonna do. 34:02 She said, I don't know. 34:04 I don't know what to do. Pastor what should I do? 34:09 I said well, what does Jesus want you to do? 34:14 Jesus wants me to get baptized. 34:18 I said, won't you just follow the Lamb 34:23 leave it up to Him. 34:25 You trust Him? She said I do. 34:30 So I want to be baptized tomorrow night. 34:35 So tomorrow night comes her friend went to pick her up 34:40 and George got so mad he locked her up in the bedroom. 34:44 She couldn't get out. 34:46 Her friend is out there honking the horn. 34:49 So she opens the window and hollers out there, 34:53 George locked me in the bedroom 34:55 I can't get out. 34:57 Well, He is so embraced 34:59 and angry at her that he opens the door, 35:02 he says go ahead, go ahead 35:03 and go, do what ever you want to do 35:04 but if you get baptized don't comeback and I mean it. 35:10 What would you do if that was you? 35:14 She came to the meeting that night 35:15 and she had a little plastic bag with her cloths in it 35:21 and she was baptized. 35:24 You know, I want to tell you something 35:26 brought tears to my eyes 35:27 when she came up out of that water, 35:30 with the most peaceful expression on her face 35:34 knowing what she faced ahead 35:38 as the peace that passes understanding 35:41 the Bible talks about 35:43 the world can't understand that. 35:50 She went home 35:53 and the next night Gorge was sitting 35:56 in the front row right next to her. 36:01 Seek ye first My kingdom and My righteousness. 36:07 I am not gonna promise you 36:08 if you take your stand that those who oppose 36:10 you are gonna all of a sudden change their minds. 36:12 It doesn't happen. 36:13 Everybody has to make their own choice. 36:15 But what I am telling you is that 36:17 when you stand for God you are doing the one thing 36:20 that enables God to use you to reach out to the once 36:23 that you love the most 36:24 and you are giving them the best opportunity. 36:28 Family, oh what an excuse. What an excuse. 36:34 And then the last one, 36:39 James wrote "He who knows what is right 36:44 and does it not for him it is sin". 36:51 Lot of times people ask me 36:52 what about my grandma and grandpa. 36:53 They never heard about all this, 36:54 but they were such good Christians. 36:56 He who knows what is right 36:58 and does it not for him it is sin. 37:01 God doesn't hold us accountable 37:03 for what we don't know 37:04 but He is certainly holds us accountable 37:06 for what we know. 37:09 Now notice, he who knows what is right 37:11 and does it not. 37:13 It doesn't say he who feels that it's right 37:17 and does it not 37:21 but he who knows the truth. 37:25 And I hear it so many times 37:28 people tell me what do you thing, 37:30 for what you have been learning here. 37:31 Oh, pastor I have never learned so much in my life 37:35 as I have in the last four weeks 37:36 what we have been studying together. 37:37 Sabbath too? Oh, yeah. 37:39 I understand that. 37:40 That was so clear to me I never see. 37:42 You thought about keeping it? 37:43 Yeah, well I'm praying on that one, pastor, 37:46 and when the Spirit moves me 37:49 and I feel convicted I am gonna do it. 37:52 Now, some of you have said that. 37:53 I am not picking on you. 37:54 I have been preaching this for 35 years, 37:56 saying the same thing. 38:00 There is nothing in the verse. 38:01 It says wait till you feel moved 38:03 by the Spirit to do right. 38:07 Jesus didn't feel right when He hung on the cross 38:14 and said my God why have you forsaken Me. 38:21 Feelings are tricky, feelings make us want to put off 38:26 and delay acting and what we know is right 38:31 and that's a dangerous thing to do. 38:35 It's dangerous because made us in such way 38:41 that we can tune out things that bother us 38:47 and get on with life. 38:52 You get a new job. 38:58 Requires to get up an hour earlier 38:59 in the morning to get to work on time. 39:03 So you set your alarm an hour earlier. 39:06 The morning alarm goes off 39:08 and you are not ready to get out of bed yet. 39:12 And so you reach over there 39:14 trying to find that snooze button. 39:17 Oh man, its too early I just need five more minutes. 39:21 You know, the five minutes of sleep 39:22 you get after you turned that snooze button 39:25 that's the best all night isn't it. 39:30 And so you hit the snooze button five minutes that's all 39:35 and then you get up 39:36 and then the next morning the alarm goes off, 39:39 snooze button again. 39:40 Oh man, I am not ready. 39:42 Well, this goes on about three or four times 39:44 and then one morning you wake up 39:47 and angle of the sun is a lot higher than it has been. 39:51 And you are hearing sounds that you weren't hearing before. 39:54 And you are saying pastor, 39:55 sounds like you are talking from experience. 39:58 I am afraid I am. 40:01 I missed a flight when I was in the Air Force. 40:03 I missed one of missions I slept through it. 40:06 So I know what its like to sleep through the clock. 40:12 So you look at that clock and you pick it up 40:14 and you are already late for work. 40:16 You shake it. Why didn't you ring? 40:22 When you look at it you realize it did ring. 40:25 It rang all the way down you dint even hear it. 40:29 So you rush out of bed, you dress real quick, 40:32 rush down to work 40:33 and then that day on the way home 40:36 you stop at hardware store 40:38 and he buy one of these old fashioned 40:39 double clanging alarm clocks. 40:41 You know, double bell on top. 40:45 May be a washtub then invert put it on top of that, 40:48 just to make sure 40:50 and the morning that thing goes off, 40:53 you know what happened. 40:55 Well, getting a little ahead of myself 40:56 because you see God made us 41:01 so that we can tune out 41:02 those distracting alarm clocks 41:06 and anything that distracts us. 41:09 I remember when I was single pastor, 41:15 been a bachelor for 32 years 41:19 and I took pretty good care of myself 41:21 so I could go to the store every weekend 41:24 buying my weekly bag of beans and rice. 41:26 That was the only thing I knew how to make. 41:30 And then I see the Mothers Day 41:31 with the cards all full of stuff flowing over 41:34 and kids tugging it their skirts 41:35 and jeans and knocking things off the shells 41:39 and thinking how do they keep their sanity. 41:41 Got married had to now I know. 41:45 God made us so that we can tune out distracting thing. 41:49 I was studying a Bible with a lady one time. 41:52 A little boy about that big, 41:54 I don't know if you ever visited people 41:55 that have little boys about that big 41:56 but I promise you every time you go 41:59 they are going to go get every toy out of their toy box 42:01 one at a time and bring them out there to you to play with. 42:04 So I am sitting there trying to study the Bible 42:06 and here he comes with a police car, 42:08 woo woo, woo, woo. 42:09 And then he comes with a train 42:11 you know, choo, choo, choo 42:12 up my leg down the other leg 42:13 airplane dive bombing 42:18 about to tear my Bible apart. 42:21 And she says, oh don't pay any attention to him, 42:23 I don't even hear him. And she didn't. 42:30 You see God made us 42:31 so we can tune out distracting things. 42:36 I remember the first week 42:38 I was on alert to sign to the 62 Bomb Squadron 42:42 in Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, B-52 Crew 42:46 and we have to live in a little building 42:48 right outside on the end of runway 42:50 just beside all the bombers loaded with-- 42:54 with fuel and nuclear weapons ready to go to war. 42:56 This is way back in the cold war times, 42:58 and we had to live right there, 43:00 sleep there waiting for that alarm to blow off 43:04 and send us off the war. 43:07 All day long, the first day we are in target studies, 43:09 simulator practice, going over the mission 43:11 over and over and over again. 43:13 I was so tired. 43:15 Got home, not home got to my bed 43:17 that night seeing out there. 43:18 I don't know if you ever tried to sleep 43:20 on the end of the run way 43:21 with eight engines of the B-52 jet 43:23 roaring over your head all night. 43:26 It was just about to go off 43:28 and roar there goes the first jet, 43:31 oh shook me up out of my-- 43:33 what's that and then I am back to sleep again. 43:36 Roar there goes another one all night long. 43:40 And I am thinking a whole week of this? 43:44 I am not gonna be fit to fly a mission 43:46 if we have to go to war. 43:49 But you know, after a few days went by 43:51 I was able to get a little bit of sleep every night 43:54 and by the end of the week 43:56 I could sleep through the night 43:58 with out hearing one jet take off 44:02 because God made us to be able to tune out 44:05 things that distract us. 44:06 The Bible tells us that. 44:09 First Timothy, in 1 Timothy 4:2, 44:14 he speaks of those who are hypocritical liars. 44:18 "Consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." 44:22 Our consciences can be seared the Bible says. 44:25 So it doesn't work on us anymore. 44:29 You see, He made us so we can tune out things 44:31 that bother us not only in the physical world 44:33 but in spiritual world too. You know that. 44:36 You know that when you discover 44:37 something is true and you reject it 44:41 and you live the wrong way 44:43 and you do the wrong things 44:44 your conscience bothers you. Doesn't it? 44:46 We have all experienced that. 44:48 But what happens if you ignore 44:49 your conscience and you do it again. 44:51 It makes it easier the next time, right. 44:54 And if you do it again and it makes it easier the next time 44:57 until pretty soon you can do these things 45:00 and your conscience won't even bother you at all. 45:05 I know that's true. I have been there. 45:09 You see God made us that way. 45:11 He made us, so we can tune out spiritual things. 45:14 He made us so that we can live our lives 45:17 in rebellion against God. 45:19 You see, if it had been any differently 45:23 God would be acting by force instead of love. 45:28 He made us so that we can reject His truth 45:33 and live with that choice. 45:34 Suppose He made us so that 45:36 our conscience bothered us when we sin, 45:38 and then the next time we do that it bothers you worse 45:42 and then the next time even worse and worse and worse. 45:47 Pretty soon you will get to the place 45:49 to where either you better obey God 45:51 or you go insane and there would be no choice. 45:56 So He made us so that we can tune out 46:00 even spiritually things that bother us and get on with life. 46:03 It's not a real peace, 46:04 its white flag surround kind of peace. 46:08 Real peace only comes 46:09 when we surrender to God not to sin. 46:13 But we can get on with life that way. 46:15 Some people say when you do that 46:17 you have committed the unpardonable sin. 46:19 If you sin and your conscience bothers you 46:21 and you keep sinning and doesn't bother you anymore 46:23 you committed the unpardonable sin 46:24 that's not true. 46:25 The unpardonable sin 46:27 is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. 46:29 It's close to being the unpardonable sin. 46:32 It's the next step to the unpardonable sin. 46:34 I have been there I have sat in church 46:37 just because whenever I went home I went 46:39 because my mom wanted me to go, and I'd go with her 46:42 and I would hear a sermon 46:43 and every body sitting there wiping in tears. 46:45 And I look at my mother 46:46 and she is there with tears streaming down her cheek 46:49 and I know that those tears are for me. 46:52 I know that and yet I am sitting there 46:54 laughing at her on the inside 46:55 how can anybody so foolish to believe this nonsense. 47:00 It never touched me one bit. 47:03 I have been there 47:05 but thank God that's not the unpardonable sin. 47:10 On the way home you do stop 47:12 and you buy a old fashioned alarm clock 47:15 with that double clanging bell. 47:19 In the morning when that goes off your heart is raising 47:23 and when it settles down little bit 47:24 you will get out of bed and get dressed 47:25 and you are off to work. 47:28 And few mornings after that you don't need that 47:30 old hardware stored double clanging bell anymore, 47:35 the clock radio works fine. 47:37 If you keep responding to that 47:39 did you know that you can wake up 47:40 before the music even comes on? 47:42 See, I've had those experiences too. 47:45 We can become resensitized 47:47 if we don't fell the Spirit any more 47:48 it's a dangerous thing. 47:49 You are right next to committing the unpardonable sin 47:52 but we can become resensitized 47:56 because if we just respond to the little bit of light 47:58 that we have then the Bible says 48:00 that light shines brighter 48:02 and brighter and brighter and brighter. 48:04 And some of you may be worried. 48:05 I had people tell me I think I did 48:07 the unpardonable sin, pastor. 48:09 You wouldn't be worrying about it if you did. 48:12 You wouldn't be here if you did. 48:15 But I don't feel anything, I don't want to respond to any-- 48:18 I don't feel like respond to anything. 48:20 It doesn't matter if you are concerned about it just respond 48:24 and that little lights going to shine brighter. 48:27 And if you respond to the new light 48:28 it gets brighter and brighter and brighter 48:30 until that perfect day. 48:32 The Bible says we can become resensitized. 48:38 But there is another way that people try to delay 48:41 and put off following Jesus and it's to rationalize. 48:49 Rationalizing is just making an excuses for what you did, 48:51 explaining it away trying to find the loop hole. 48:55 Remember the first time I went to prison as a visitor, 49:04 Nebraska State Penitentiary. 49:07 Our flag football team was gonna go play 49:11 the flag football team on the inside wall of the prison. 49:18 We didn't know what that was. 49:19 We just knew that's where the worst guys were. 49:22 And we had pictures in our minds of the meanest, 49:26 wildest looking men 49:28 so guilt ridden 49:30 that they were just wanting to devour us and tear us apart. 49:35 We were little nervous about this. 49:39 But you know when we got in there 49:41 I didn't see one guilty looking man, 49:45 not one because of rationalizing. 49:51 I didn't really murder the guy. 49:55 He would have had a heart attack 49:56 the next day any way or it was just self defense. 50:01 I didn't do anything that anyone of you wouldn't had done, 50:03 if you had been in a situation I was in. 50:05 That's rationalizing 50:07 and the reason rationalizing is so dangerous 50:11 is because the Bible says 50:13 that we can come to believe a lie 50:18 just as sincerely 50:20 as people believe the truth. 50:27 That's scary. 50:29 In fact Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, 50:33 "The coming of the lawless one" that's the antichrist 50:37 "will be in accordance with the work of Satan 50:39 displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, 50:42 signs and wonders, in every sort of evil 50:44 that deceives those who are perishing. 50:46 They perish because they refused to love the truth 50:49 and to be saved. 50:50 And for this reason God sends them a powerful delusion 50:54 so that they will believe the lie." 50:57 I hope you caught that? God sends the delusion. 51:03 God sends the antichrist 51:07 so that those who reject Him can believe the lie. 51:14 And they perish not because they didn't believe the truth 51:18 but that they didn't love the truth. 51:21 You can believe the truth without loving the truth. 51:23 The devil believes it. 51:24 He knows Jesus died on the cross he was there, 51:27 but he doesn't love it. 51:28 They perish because they don't love the truth. 51:31 Loving the truth is understanding the truth 51:33 and bring it into your heart. 51:35 Loving the truth is not saying 51:36 well, I am gonna think about it, 51:38 I am going to pray on it, 51:39 I am gonna see what leads me to do. 51:41 God leads us through this not through this. Amen. 51:47 It's dangerous to delay and put it off. 51:49 I have people doing this all the time. 51:51 Pastor, I am gonna get my little red notebook. 51:53 I am gonna go through every one of those lessons 51:54 in Revelation Now as all with. 51:56 When I finish every one of these lessons, 51:57 with that every text than I am gonna be 51:58 ready to get baptize and follow the Lamb. 52:02 Thirty five years we have been doing this 52:03 I am still waiting for the first person 52:05 to tell me they did it. 52:08 If we don't respond when Jesus calls us 52:10 how can we think we are going to respond after? 52:14 Because the longer we wait the harder it gets. 52:17 Today is the day now. 52:22 A young boy was born into a poor family 52:25 lived in a Swiss Alps. 52:27 They didn't even have enough money 52:28 to keep food on the table, 52:30 so this young fellow's job was to go out into the woods 52:33 and to spot big eagle nests. 52:37 And he knew how to tell when the time was just right, 52:39 he could climb that tree 52:41 and take the eggs out of the eagle's nest 52:43 and he would use those eggs 52:45 to contribute to help feed the family. 52:48 There is one particular time, 52:49 he found an eagle's nest high upon a ledge 52:55 and he kept watching it and watching it 52:56 and finally decided this is the right time 52:59 I am going to climb way up there and get it. 53:01 No problem he has done this kind of things all along 53:03 so he goes up to the wall 53:07 and its just a sheer straight up wall 53:08 there is no way he is going to climb that. 53:11 Ah, no problem 53:12 he knew those mountains like the back of his hands 53:14 so I will go around the backside 53:15 and then I will go up over the top 53:17 and come down and I can get the eggs. 53:19 Well he went to the backside 53:21 but he discovered that that ledge 53:23 was down beneath and below. 53:25 It was an actual over hang 53:27 and there was no way he could climb down 53:29 that way to get the eggs. 53:31 Still no problem because he had a rope with him. 53:34 So all he needed to do is just tie this rope with tree. 53:36 So he tied his rope to a tree 53:39 and then he put few knots in the end 53:41 let it down over the side of the cliff and then it start-- 53:45 was there he would lower himself down on the rope 53:47 until his feet would level with that ledge 53:49 then he could swing and swing wide enough 53:52 that he could just jump off the ledge 53:54 and grab those eggs and then climb back up the rope. 53:58 So he did that. 54:00 He climbed down on the rope 54:01 he hadn't knots there to keep his hands from slipping. 54:03 There he is hanging hundreds of feet up in the air. 54:06 He is not afraid he had done that many, many times. 54:08 So he starts to swing wider and wider and wider 54:12 until finally all he did was just step off on that ledge 54:16 when he bent down to pick up those eggs 54:18 he frozen a moment of panic 54:20 because he realize he had led go with the rope. 54:25 And watched its swinging away, 54:27 you know when times like that 54:29 thoughts go through our mind rapidly 54:32 and he thought about a lot of things. 54:34 He said oh, I am going to climb up but he couldn't 54:35 because that was just an over hang 54:37 no way to climb up. 54:39 I will climb down too straight, couldn't go down. 54:42 I'll call for help. 54:44 He knew he was so far away nobody would ever hear him. 54:47 He also knew that in a few days he gets so weak 54:50 it could be easy pray for that mother eagle 54:51 and she would tear him to shreds. 54:57 And he realize the only hope 54:58 he had was that rope and he knew that 55:03 the first time that rope came back 55:06 it would be as close as it would ever get. 55:11 If he waited for the second time 55:13 it would be a little further out there 55:15 and another time even further out 55:18 and if he waited too long, 55:19 that rope would be hanging motionless far out of his reach. 55:25 The rope was coming he had to make a decision 55:28 and he needed to decided right then. 55:32 So the young fellow stood on the edge of that cliff, 55:35 toes hanging over the end 55:38 the rope is moving towards him 55:41 he bends his knees, flexes his muscles 55:46 and adjust the split second instant 55:50 when that rope held still 55:52 before it began to go back the other way 55:55 with all of the strength and energy he could muster 55:59 he leaped out into space 56:03 grab the rope and climbed to safety. 56:14 To some of you that rope is still swinging 56:18 and it will be never be any closer than it is right now. 56:22 The longer we wait to follow the Lamb. 56:25 The more difficult it's gonna be 56:27 until it's far out of our reach. 56:31 Today is the day if you hear His voice 56:36 don't harden your heart 56:38 respond to Him, follow the Lamb. |
Revised 2014-12-17