Revelation of Hope (Pacleb)

Revelation's Answer for Global Peace

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Taj Pacleb

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Series Code: ROHB

Program Code: ROHB000007


00:40 Our message tonight is entitled,
00:42 "Revelation's Answer for Global Peace."
00:47 All around us we see, friends,
00:48 that there is a disturbing absence of peace in our world
00:54 and I can only imagine how the heart of God must break
00:57 as He sees His children
01:00 were longing in desperate for peace.
01:03 And they do not realize that He is the only one
01:05 that can give them the peace that they need.
01:08 Every human heart friends, we earnestly desire for peace.
01:12 This is a-- this is something that we long for,
01:14 we want safety and security and rest and peace but--
01:18 but consistently we end up with chaos, confusion,
01:21 conflict and danger and destruction all around us.
01:25 Terroristic attacks strike fear into our hearts
01:28 causing us to surrender our freedoms
01:31 for a sense of safety.
01:33 We find natural disasters
01:34 claming the lives of thousands in an instant,
01:37 make us wonder if there's any place on earth
01:40 that is really a safe place.
01:42 You see friends, our fragile world
01:45 is being torn apart in many different ways
01:49 and the question that comes to my mind is,
01:51 why is it that our world is so fragile
01:54 and our plans for peace so futile?
01:56 Man, brother and sisters,
01:58 longs for peace and he can't obtain it
02:00 no matter how hard he tries.
02:03 And the answer to this question in short is this,
02:06 mankind is trying to live in peace
02:09 without the prince of peace.
02:12 But this can never be done.
02:14 I want us to notice what happened to Israel
02:15 when they tried to live without God.
02:17 In the Book 2 Chronicles 15:3-6, the Bible says,
02:21 "For a long time Israel has been without the" what?
02:25 "The true God, without a teaching priest
02:28 and without law.
02:30 And in those times there was" what?
02:32 "No peace but great turmoil
02:35 was on all the inhabitants of the lands.
02:37 So nation was destroyed by nations, and city by city,
02:41 for God troubled them with every adversity."
02:43 The Bible says that
02:44 when man tries to live without God,
02:47 without the teachings of God,
02:48 without the law of God there is no peace,
02:51 only turmoil, destruction and adversity.
02:54 And this is exactly what our world is like today.
02:58 The Bible tells us in Isaiah 57:20, 21,
03:03 it says, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
03:06 when it cannot rest,
03:08 whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
03:10 There is no" what?
03:13 "Peace, says my God, for the wicked."
03:15 The Bible tells us
03:16 that when man tries to live without God
03:18 and do his own way, his way is the wicked way
03:21 and that man cannot find any rest
03:23 because there's no such thing as peace
03:26 without the prince of peace.
03:29 Restlessness, friends, comes from wickedness.
03:33 And this is the condition of our world
03:34 and it's the condition of the natural human heart.
03:37 We look and search for peace
03:39 in all the places where it is not found.
03:42 And many people are saying
03:43 if you want to find peace find it within.
03:46 They say, "Look within your heart
03:48 from the Christ consciousness within
03:50 and then you can have peace from within."
03:52 But friends, I want you to notice
03:53 what the Bible tells us
03:54 concerning those who have the worldview
03:56 of trying to find peace within their own human hearts.
04:00 The Bible says in Proverbs 28:26,
04:03 "He who trust in his own heart is a" what?
04:07 The Bible says that
04:08 when we trust in our hearts it is a foolish thing.
04:10 But his is exactly what the human race has done.
04:13 Thinking that we're wise,
04:15 we've become fools in trusting in our own hearts,
04:18 our own standard of right and wrong
04:20 is as if we want to determine
04:22 what is good and what is true
04:24 and what is right or what is wrong.
04:26 But friends, our standard of right and wrong is twisted.
04:29 And, but this is the law that governs the natural heart.
04:33 The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9,
04:36 "That the heart is deceitful." The heart is what?
04:40 You see, our hearts can lead us astray,
04:42 they will lead us astray that's why we never want to follow it.
04:45 It says, "The heart is deceitful above all things,
04:48 and desperately wicked, who can know it?"
04:51 You see that word, wicked that describes the human heart.
04:54 Another word for wicked it lawless.
04:56 What's the word?
04:58 You see, our natural, carnal hearts
05:01 wants to live without any law at all.
05:04 We are very-- our hearts are wicked
05:06 and desperately wicked
05:07 and so we don't want to follow that.
05:08 You see, friends,
05:09 our own standard of right and wrong is twisted.
05:12 The Bible says in Proverb 14:12,
05:14 that "There is a way which seems right a man,
05:19 but the end its the ways of death."
05:21 We cannot do that which seems right to us
05:24 because our standard is twisted,
05:26 it's the wrong way.
05:27 You see, the carnal human heart
05:29 is naturally bent towards sin.
05:32 And sin is wickedness and sin is living without any law.
05:36 You see, the natural, the thing
05:37 that seems right to the carnal heart,
05:39 the way that seems to be the right way is the broad way.
05:42 That's what Jesus said,
05:43 that many are going down the broad way,
05:45 the way of the majority doing what everyone else is doing.
05:49 Look into society to define what is right versus wrong.
05:53 And friends, do you know why rivers are so crooked?
05:55 For the same reason why society in our world is so crooked.
05:59 Notice this picture of the Amazon River,
06:00 how it winds around like a snake
06:02 and it's so crooked, you know why?
06:04 Because water follows the path of what?
06:08 Least resistance.
06:11 And that's' the same reason
06:12 why our hearts and our world is so crooked
06:15 because we like to go the easy way,
06:17 the broad way, the way of the majority,
06:20 the way that seems right, and feels right,
06:23 and sounds right to our own sinful carnal heart.
06:27 You see friends, peace is not found from within,
06:30 peace is only found from above.
06:32 Can you say, amen?
06:34 But the natural heart flows the easy way,
06:36 the pleasing way.
06:37 You see, our own carnal hearts
06:39 we desire love without any law.
06:42 We want pleasure without payment,
06:44 satisfaction without sacrifice.
06:47 And that's why in our world today
06:48 there are fewer and fewer marriages taking place
06:51 and more and more people
06:52 just shaking up and living together
06:54 because people want the benefits of marriage
06:56 without the commitment of marriage.
06:58 And the Bible says that, that is the sin,
07:00 it is breaking the law of God.
07:03 And friends, this is even found
07:05 in the Christian world and its sin, friends.
07:07 That's what robs us of the sweet peace
07:10 and it leaves us in destruction.
07:12 Help is not found from within, help is found from above.
07:16 You see, the only way we can have peace
07:18 is if we have the prince of peace living in our hearts.
07:21 The Bible tells us in the Book of Isaiah 9:6, 7,
07:25 this is a messianic prophesy concerning Jesus.
07:27 And the Bible says in Isaiah 9:6, 7,
07:30 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given
07:34 and the government shall be upon his shoulder
07:36 and his name shall be called" what is His name?
07:38 "Wonderful" and what? "Councilor."
07:41 What else? "The mighty God,
07:43 The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
07:47 Of the increase of his government and peace
07:51 there shall be no" what?
07:53 You see, the Bible tells us
07:55 concerning Jesus that He is the prince of peace
07:58 and the government is going to be on His shoulder.
08:01 He is the one that rules and reigns
08:03 over the heavenly government.
08:04 Friends, a government,
08:06 every single government has laws
08:09 by which that specific government is run by.
08:12 And when you look at the kingdoms
08:14 and nations of the world
08:15 if there are unjust laws
08:18 that will produce anarchy, seduction and rebellion.
08:21 However just laws or fare laws bring order,
08:25 harmony and peace in that specific kingdom,
08:29 government or society.
08:30 And the Bible tells us
08:32 that God's government is a government of peace.
08:35 Do you know why?
08:36 Because the foundation of His government
08:37 is His just and righteous and holy laws.
08:42 You see friends, just laws brings order, harmony and peace.
08:45 Unjust laws bring rebellion, seduction and anarchy.
08:49 But friends, I am thankful for that
08:51 those who decide to be citizens of God's kingdom
08:54 the Bible tells us that their peace,
08:56 there will be no end to that peace.
08:58 Can you say, amen?
08:59 Because there will be no end
09:00 to the just and fare and righteous laws
09:03 of the king and prince of that government.
09:05 You see, as we study Bible prophesy
09:08 we notice that Satan who is against the true king
09:12 and kingdom of heaven.
09:14 He desires war and not peace.
09:17 And thus he's working overtime to rob us
09:20 of the peace that only Jesus can offer.
09:23 And friends, one of the main ways
09:24 that he removes peace from our eyes
09:27 is to destroy the law of God
09:29 and to calls man to disregard the law of God.
09:32 In other words, to destroy peace
09:35 Satan attacks the law of God that brings the sense of peace.
09:40 And this is exactly what the issue is
09:43 when you study Bible Prophesy.
09:45 The Bible tells us
09:46 concerning the antichrist little horn kingdom
09:48 that we're going to study in detail
09:50 this Saturday evening.
09:51 It says in Daniel 7:25, write it down,
09:54 it says that this false, antichrist kingdom,
09:57 it says that, "They would think to change" what?
10:00 "Times and laws."
10:02 Satan does not want peace, he wants war.
10:04 So to remove peace he attacks the law of God
10:08 that would bring us sense of peace
10:09 amongst the government of God.
10:11 And so we find that one of Satan's strategies,
10:13 one of his main goals in this last days is try to,
10:16 is to try to destroy the law of God.
10:19 His first plan is to replace God's law
10:22 with the law of humanism,
10:24 telling people, you can decide what you want,
10:26 what is right for you and what is wrong for you.
10:29 Do you see the importance of searching our hearts
10:31 like what we've studied the other night,
10:33 in light of the judgment that we examine our lives
10:35 because our hearts can lead us astray
10:38 and the greatest deception is self-deception,
10:40 thinking that we're saved by our profession
10:43 and then when the Lord comes
10:44 we realize that we're lost
10:45 and Jesus will say, "I never knew."
10:48 Oh friends, I don't want to hear those words.
10:50 I want to hear the words that--
10:51 of Jesus that says, "Well" not said,
10:56 "Well done thou good and faithful servant."
11:00 How many of you want to hear those words tonight?
11:02 Oh friends, in order to hear those words
11:04 we have to be more than professors,
11:07 we have to posses Jesus, amen.
11:09 And Jesus must posses us,
11:11 "I in you and you in me," is that Jesus said.
11:15 This is much more than head knowledge,
11:17 much more than a surfaced experience,
11:20 it is a heart experience with the person, Jesus Christ.
11:25 And friends, I am gonna be a Christian,
11:27 if I want to serve the Lord I want the real deal.
11:30 Can you say, amen?
11:31 I want to have a genuine, not a surface experience
11:33 but a genuine heart felt experience.
11:37 You see the reason why these individuals are lost
11:41 is because Jesus said, "Depart from me,
11:44 ye that practice" what? "Lawlessness."
11:47 They were preaching His word perhaps
11:50 but they were not keeping the law of God in their hearts.
11:54 They were not doing the will of God.
11:56 And so Jesus says, makes it clear
11:58 that we have to do God's will in order to be saved.
12:01 And friends, how many of you want to be saved?
12:03 You want to enter into the kingdom?
12:05 Well if so, we need to do God's will.
12:07 And so tell me, do you think it's important
12:08 to know exactly what the will of God is?
12:12 How important is it to know what God's will is?
12:14 A matter of eternity.
12:17 And if it's that important
12:19 wouldn't it let the Bible give us a clear definition,
12:21 what exactly is the will of God?
12:25 And the Bible gives us a textbook answer
12:27 in a Book of Psalms 40:8.
12:29 Please write it down and notice with me on the screen.
12:32 Psalms 40:8 defines to us what the will of God is.
12:37 The Bible says, "I delight to do thy will,
12:40 O my God: yea, thy law is" where?
12:45 "Within my heart."
12:46 My friends, the first part of this verse
12:49 explains or is the same thing as the second part of the verse?
12:52 You see, in the Book of Psalms,
12:54 this is Hebrew poetry.
12:56 And in Hebrew poetry we find parallelism.
13:00 You see, in English poetry, we like to rhyme words.
13:03 Isn't that right?
13:05 Roses are red, violets are blue and what not,
13:06 we rhyme words in English poetry
13:08 but in Hebrew poetry instead of rhyming words
13:12 they rhyme ideas. They rhyme what?
13:14 This is called Hebrew parallelism.
13:17 And so the first part of the verse
13:18 is the same idea as the second part of the verse.
13:21 Oh, what did it say?
13:22 "I delight to do thy will, O my God."
13:25 And what exactly is that?
13:27 To have God's law within our hearts.
13:31 So we find that the will of God
13:33 is supposed to allow the Lord to write His holy law
13:36 in our hearts and in our minds.
13:38 And by the way, friends,
13:39 this is the reality of the new covenant experience.
13:42 Do you remember how the new covenant says
13:43 that God wants to write His law in our hearts and minds?
13:46 And that make sense, doesn't it?
13:47 Because what did Jesus say to those
13:49 that said, "Lord, lord?"
13:50 He said, "Depart from me you who practice lawlessness."
13:56 They were not doing God's will
13:58 because God's will is to have God's law written in our hearts.
14:02 And if that's clear, if that make sense
14:04 would you please say, amen?
14:05 But friends, if you notice in the Christian world today
14:08 it is so sad and shocking
14:09 that some of the very ones
14:11 that are claming Jesus as their Lord
14:13 are watering down the law of God
14:15 and its importance or worse, there are even some preachers
14:19 who are preaching that the law of God has been done away with.
14:22 That God's grace gives us license
14:25 to sin and break the law of God.
14:28 You see, even Christians have this antinomianism,
14:31 humanistic spirit within the church.
14:33 Antichrist is creeping within the temple, folks.
14:37 Christians are condemning the very law
14:39 that would bring peace in our world
14:41 and this is the spirit of the antichrist.
14:44 And for this reason God in infinite mercy
14:46 in these last days, in the Book of Revelation
14:49 is sending a worldwide message of love
14:53 and a worldwide message of peace,
14:55 teaching us and pointing us
14:58 back to the importance of the holy law of God.
15:01 I want you to notice what the Bible says
15:03 in Revelation 14:6, 7,
15:06 we read this before let's read it again.
15:08 This is the final message
15:09 that's given throughout the whole world
15:11 just before the coming of Jesus.
15:13 Revelation 14:6, 7, please write it down,
15:16 the Bible says, "And I saw another angel
15:19 fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting"
15:22 what is that next word? "Gospel."
15:24 And friends, remind me, what is the word gospel mean?
15:26 It doesn't mean bad news, amen?
15:29 It means good news.
15:30 In other words, this message is not a bondage message,
15:34 it's the message of freedom.
15:35 It's a good news.
15:37 Get happy and get excited message.
15:39 Can you say, amen?
15:40 And so friends, it's time to start getting excited tonight
15:43 as we discover what exactly is this good news message,
15:46 this gospel message of peace?
15:48 It says, "Having the everlasting gospel
15:50 to preach unto them that dwell on the earth,
15:51 and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people."
15:55 It's a global gospel message.
15:56 Well, what is this message?
15:58 Verse 7, "Saying with a loud voice, Fear" who?
16:02 "God, and give glory to him,
16:05 for the hour of his judgment is come."
16:07 So we find something interesting here in Revelation
16:09 that in the last days
16:11 God is gonna send a worldwide global gospel message
16:15 and apart of this good news message
16:17 is a worldwide call to fear God.
16:21 Now friends, tonight those two words, fear God,
16:24 is Revelation's answer for global peace.
16:27 We want to find out what exactly does the Bible mean
16:31 when it calls us to fear God.
16:34 Well, friends, let me tell you first what it does not mean.
16:36 It does not mean that God wants us to be afraid of Him.
16:39 Can you say, amen?
16:40 God does not want us to be afraid of Him, friends.
16:43 Just like any father or any parent
16:44 does not want their children to be afraid of them.
16:46 God, when it says, fear God,
16:48 it doesn't mean to be afraid of God
16:50 but to fear God, it means to reverence God,
16:53 it means to respect God
16:54 just like children ought to reverence
16:56 and respect their parents.
16:58 And friends, notice what happens
16:59 as result of reverencing or fearing God,
17:02 the Bible tells us
17:03 that we're going to keep His commandments.
17:05 Notice what it says in Ecclesiastes 12:13.
17:09 Please write it down.
17:10 Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us,
17:13 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
17:15 Fear God, and keep his" what?
17:18 "Commandments for this is the whole duty" of Jews.
17:21 Is that what it says?
17:23 The whole duty of? Man.
17:25 So friends, to keep the law of God,
17:27 to fear Him which results in keeping His commandments,
17:30 this is something that God is calling
17:32 just one race to do or all races?
17:35 The entire human race, friends.
17:37 and so when you read in Revelation 14:7,
17:40 when the angel says, "Fear go to the whole world,"
17:43 it's a call back to the holy law of God,
17:46 to respect God, to reverence God, to love God
17:50 which result in obeying the word and the law of God.
17:55 And friends, is that's clear would you please say, amen?
17:57 Amen.
17:58 This is Revelation's answer for global peace.
17:59 You know why? Because friends,
18:00 when we keep the law of God
18:02 or when we allow the Lord
18:03 to keep His law in us and through us
18:06 and when He writes it in our hearts
18:07 it results in peace with God and peace with man.
18:12 Notice what the Bible says in the Book of Isaiah 48:18.
18:15 Please write it down,
18:16 "O that you had heeded my commandments!
18:19 Then your peace would have been like a river,
18:23 and your righteousness as the waves of the sea."
18:26 God says if we listen and heed His commandments
18:28 we would have peace.
18:29 You see, brothers and sisters,
18:30 God's law is a blue print as how to live in peace with Him
18:35 and peace with one another.
18:37 And friends, it's interesting, did you realize
18:39 that man has tried to pass
18:42 so many laws to bring about peace,
18:44 order and harmony in society today.
18:48 In fact it's been estimated that man has passed
18:50 over 35 million laws to try to bring about peace
18:54 and to try to control human behavior.
18:57 But God, instead of 35 million has given to us
19:00 just ten simple commandments.
19:03 Can you say, amen?
19:04 And unlike the unwise
19:06 and sometimes unjust laws that man makes
19:09 the Bible says that the law of God is perfect,
19:12 converting the souls that Psalms 19:7, write it down.
19:16 Not only that but God's law is holy
19:19 and just and good according to Romans 7:12.
19:23 And James 2:12 says
19:25 that we will be judged by the law of not bondage
19:29 but the law of liberty.
19:31 And another word for liberty is freedom.
19:33 And so we see over and over again
19:34 the law of God is a good law, it's a perfect law, its holy,
19:39 it's just which means it's fair
19:41 and it's a law of liberty, it's not a law of bondage.
19:44 God want's to make us free and He wants to give us peace.
19:48 Gods always has our best interest in mind.
19:51 Can you say, amen?
19:52 And unlike the 35 million laws of man
19:55 these Ten Commandments controls all human behavior
19:59 at the heart level which what matters,
20:02 which is where it matters the most.
20:04 Can you say, amen?
20:05 This is Revelation's plan for global peace, folks.
20:08 And so now the next question is this
20:09 that we've laid that foundation.
20:11 What exactly is this law and why is this so perfect
20:15 and important for the welfare and the harmony of society?
20:20 Notice what it says in Exodus 31:18.
20:23 Write it down.
20:24 The Bible says, "And when He had made an end
20:26 of speaking with him on Mount Sinai,
20:27 He gave Moses two tables of the Testimony,
20:30 tables of stone, written with" what?
20:33 "The finger of God."
20:34 You see, friends,
20:36 every other part of the Bible
20:37 God use the prophets to write it down
20:38 but when it came to law of God,
20:40 the Ten Commandments God said, "No,
20:41 I am going to write this one myself."
20:43 And friends, that makes it so very important.
20:45 Can you say, amen?
20:46 He wrote it with His own finger on tablets of stone.
20:50 And by the way, you know when people say,
20:52 it's written in stone, what do they mean by that?
20:55 That means, it can not be changed.
20:58 That means it's permanent and friends,
21:00 this is the case with the law of God,
21:02 He wrote it in tables of stone with His own finger,
21:06 the only part of the Bible that God wrote himself.
21:09 And friends, listen, though this is the first time
21:11 God gave the law in written form
21:14 the principals of the Ten Commandments
21:16 is existed for all eternity. Why?
21:19 Because when you study it carefully
21:21 you'll find that the God's law,
21:22 the Ten Commandments are simply a reflection
21:26 of His eternal character of love.
21:29 And so the next question you might be wondering is this.
21:32 Well, how do we know
21:33 that the Ten Commandments existed for all eternity?
21:36 How do we know that it existed
21:38 before God wrote it down on tables of stone
21:41 at Mount Sinai?
21:42 Well, friends, here is the very easy way.
21:45 We know that God's law existed before
21:47 He wrote it down and gave it to Moses.
21:50 According to the New Testament
21:51 in Romans 4:15 the Bible says,
21:55 "Where there is no law there is no" what?
21:59 "Transgression."
22:00 So, no law then there is no such thing as transgression.
22:05 Are you with me, yes or no?
22:07 But what is transgression?
22:09 What is the definition of transgression
22:13 or the definition of sin?
22:14 Here is the clearest textbook definition of sin
22:15 you'll find in the Bible.
22:17 1 John 3:4, write it down.
22:20 The Bible says, "Whosoever commits sin
22:24 transgresses also the law,
22:27 For sin is the transgression of the law."
22:31 You will not find a clear definition of sin in the Bible.
22:34 When I ask you what is sin?
22:35 You answer, the Bible answer is,
22:37 the transgression or the breaking of the law.
22:41 Bu the Bible says where there is no law there is no sin.
22:46 That makes sense, doesn't it?
22:48 If there's no law the there's nothing to break.
22:50 Are you with me, yes or no?
22:52 And so now the next question is this,
22:54 did God's law exist before Mount Sinai?
22:58 Would answer that, just ask the question,
23:00 did sin exist before Mount Sinai, yes or no? Yes.
23:04 And so if sin existed before it
23:06 there had to been a law that existed before it as well.
23:09 Because what is sin?
23:10 It is the breaking of the law.
23:13 In fact, remember when God spoke to Adam and Eve,
23:16 He said, "You can eat of every tree of the garden
23:18 except for this one.
23:20 For in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die."
23:23 And why were they gonna die if they partaken of that fruit?
23:26 It's not because it was poisonous,
23:28 it's because God said it in His words,
23:30 he gave them commandments, don't eat of this fruit.
23:32 And the Bible says that the wages of sin is death.
23:37 Now friends, in partaken of that fruit Adam and Eve
23:40 broke the law of God, friends.
23:42 They broke at least the eighth commandment
23:43 that says, "Thou shall not steal"
23:45 because they took something that did not belong to them.
23:48 They also broke the tenth commandment
23:50 that says, "Thou shall not covet."
23:51 Because they covet they desire something that was not theirs.
23:55 The God said, don't eat of it.
23:57 And so we find that if sin came in the Garden of Eden
24:01 then there had to been first a law in the Garden of Eden
24:05 that they were able to sin against and break.
24:08 Does that make sense, yes or no?
24:10 And they pass this sinful tendency down to the children,
24:13 Cain and Abel.
24:14 And you'll find in Genies 4 the first sibling rivalry,
24:17 Cane killed his brother Abel.
24:19 Now tell me friends, did Cane sin, yes or no?
24:22 Well, that show that there had to been a law to sin against.
24:26 He broke the law that said, "Thou shall not kill."
24:29 Sin was there therefore the law was there as well.
24:32 And friends, listen, the reason why I am emphasizing this
24:35 is because many sincere Christians are confused,
24:37 they think that the Ten Commandments
24:39 began at Mount Sinai
24:40 when God gave it to Moses but at all,
24:42 it existed far before that. How do we know?
24:45 Because sin existed far before that.
24:49 And so we see in the Old Testament,
24:50 God's law was the standard for the right and wrong
24:54 for all people back in those times.
24:57 But here's the real question
24:58 we want to find the answer to tonight,
25:00 what about in the New Testament?
25:02 Is the law of God still relevant and important for us
25:06 living after the time of the cross
25:08 and the resurrection of Christ?
25:10 What does the Bible say, are we in a new dispensation
25:13 and does this new dispensation
25:16 give us the license to break the law of God?
25:18 Well, let's go to the words of Jesus to find out.
25:20 Notice with me in Matthew 5:17, 18.
25:23 Please write it down, one of the clearest verses
25:25 about the law of God from the mouth of Jesus.
25:28 Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, 18,
25:30 "Think not that I am come
25:33 to destroy the law, or the prophets.
25:35 I am not come to destroy, but to" "Fulfill."
25:38 So Jesus said, don't even think about it.
25:42 Don't even entertain the notion
25:43 that I am come to destroy the law.
25:45 I am not come to do this.
25:48 But what I am come to do, Jesus said,
25:49 "I am come to--" And some people thinks that,
25:52 that word fulfill means to destroy.
25:53 But friends, if that's what it means
25:55 it wouldn't make sense.
25:56 "I am not come to destroy but to destroy,"
25:57 it wouldn't make sense, right?
25:59 What is that word fulfill mean? It means to fill to the full.
26:04 It means to fill up the full measure of.
26:07 In the original language in the Greek
26:08 the word fulfill means to establish more fully.
26:13 What is it mean?
26:15 And so Jesus did not come to destroy the law
26:17 but He came to fulfill it, to establish it more fully,
26:20 to fill to the full or to live it out in His own life
26:26 thus giving to us an example to follow.
26:29 And then he said in verse 18,
26:31 "For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass,
26:33 one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law,
26:38 till all be" what? "Fulfilled."
26:40 The jot and title, that's like the dotting of and eye
26:43 and the crossing of the teeth.
26:44 In other words, the Lord Jesus says,
26:46 nothing is gonna pass from the law until all be fulfilled.
26:48 In other words, He came to live out the requirements of law,
26:51 not to destroy it but to live it out,
26:53 to give us an example of what it means
26:56 to keep the law out of motivation of love
26:59 and faithfulness to God.
27:01 In fact, notice another one in Isaiah 42:21,
27:06 we find a messianic prophecy concerning Jesus.
27:09 Isaiah 42:21 says,
27:11 "That the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake
27:14 and He will" what is that word right there?
27:17 "Magnify the law, and make it" what?
27:19 "Honorable."
27:20 Now friends, how can you destroy
27:22 something and honor it at the same time?
27:24 Can you do that? Not at all.
27:27 So when the Bible says
27:28 He came to honor it this doesn't mean
27:29 He came to destroy or do away with it.
27:31 He came to honor it and that word honor means
27:34 to hold it up in high esteem and He came to magnify the law.
27:38 And friends, if you have a magnifying glass
27:41 and you put it over the Bible or the law of God,
27:44 does the magnifying glass destroy the law, yes or no?
27:48 What does the magnifying glass do?
27:49 It enlarges it and makes it clear.
27:52 Isn't that right? And that's what Jesus did
27:54 when He came the first time.
27:55 He enlarge the requirements of the law
27:58 and he made it clearer, telling us
28:00 if look upon a woman to lust after her,
28:02 you've already broken the law.
28:03 He made it larger and clearer by fulfilling it,
28:06 living it out in His own life giving us an example to follow.
28:11 And friends, if that's clear would you please say, amen?
28:14 But some people say, after Christ kept the law in His life
28:18 He then destroyed it in His death.
28:20 Well, friends, is this true?
28:22 Did the cross destroy the law of God?
28:25 Why did Jesus die on the cross?
28:28 Did He die to save us from the law
28:32 or did He die to save us from sin?
28:35 Well, let's find out.
28:36 Matthew 1:21, please write it down.
28:39 The Bible says, "You shall call his name Jesus."
28:43 And by the way, that's a beautiful name, amen.
28:46 You know what the name Jesus means?
28:48 It means Savior.
28:50 Name of all names,
28:52 you shall call his name Jesus, Savior
28:55 but what is He going to save us from.
28:57 For he shall save his people from their law.
29:01 Is that what it says? Let's try again,
29:03 "He shall save his people in their sins."
29:07 Is Jesus gonna save us in our sins?
29:10 He's gonna save us what? From our sins.
29:13 And friends, remind me what is the definition of sin?
29:15 It's the breaking of the--
29:18 so Jesus did not come to save us
29:19 in the breaking of the law
29:22 but He came to save us from breaking the law.
29:25 This is why He came and died on the cross friends,
29:28 to save us not only for the penalty of sin
29:31 which is death but to save us from the power of sin
29:36 which is breaking the law.
29:38 If that makes sense would you please say, amen?
29:41 But friends, when Jesus died there was a law
29:43 that came to an end at the cross.
29:44 There was a law that did-- that was abolished.
29:47 But it wasn't the Ten Commandments.
29:49 Well, which law was it?
29:50 Ephesians 2:15 has the answer.
29:53 The bible says, "Having abolished
29:54 in his flesh the enmity,
29:56 even the law of commandments
29:57 contained in" what? "Ordinances."
29:59 And friends, the word ordinance is another word for ceremonies.
30:03 It was the ceremonial laws that came to an end at the cross.
30:06 And what were these ceremonial laws?
30:07 Everything that was tied to an earthly sanctuary.
30:10 Hebrews 9:1, write it down, it says,
30:12 "Then indeed even the first covenant
30:14 had ordinances of divine service,
30:17 and the earthy" what? "Sanctuary."
30:19 And so these were the laws and the commandments
30:22 that came to an end at the cross,
30:23 it was the sacrificial ceremonial laws.
30:26 And these were the laws that are described
30:27 in Colossians 2:14, write it down.
30:31 The Bible says, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
30:36 that was against us, which was contrary to us,
30:38 took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."
30:42 Friends, which law was nailed to the cross?
30:44 It was the commandments that were contained in ordinances,
30:47 the handwriting of ordinances.
30:50 These were the sacrificial services.
30:52 And the reason why these came to an end at the cross
30:54 is because remember,
30:55 what was the purpose of the sanctuary
30:56 and the services and the sacrifices?
30:59 It was to teach us about Jesus.
31:01 Can you say, amen?
31:02 These were shadows that pointed forward to a substance,
31:06 types that would point forward to and anti-type
31:09 and so when Jesus came in the flesh
31:11 all of these things were no longer necessary
31:14 because the purpose of these things
31:15 was simply to teach us and to make us ready
31:18 for when Jesus would actually come
31:20 and die on the cross in the flesh.
31:23 Are you with me, yes or no?
31:24 Now friends, there are many people in the Christ--
31:26 and the reason why I am emphasizing
31:28 this is because there are many people
31:29 that are mixing the ceremonial laws
31:32 that were abolished at the cross with the Ten Commandments.
31:36 They think that the ceremonial laws
31:37 and the Ten Commandments are one and the same.
31:39 But friends, they were two different
31:42 and distinctive laws.
31:43 I want you to-- I want to show it to you tonight
31:45 and on your way out you'll receive a handout
31:47 that has this chart.
31:48 The Ten Commandments versus the ceremonial laws
31:51 notice the difference.
31:52 The Ten Commands were called God's law
31:54 according to Romans 8:7.
31:55 Ceremonial law was called Moses law
31:57 according to Hebrews 10:28.
31:59 Ten Commandments were written by God's finger
32:01 where as the ceremonial law was handwritten by Moses,
32:04 2 Chronicles 35:12.
32:06 The Ten Commandments written in stone.
32:08 The ceremonial law written in a book.
32:11 The Ten Commandments was placed
32:12 in the Ark of the Covenant.
32:14 Where as the ceremonial law was placed on the side
32:16 of the Ark of the Covenant.
32:18 The Ten Commandments is called a spiritual law,
32:20 Romans 7:14.
32:21 The ceremonial law was called a carnal law,
32:23 Hebrews 9:10.
32:24 The Ten Commandments revels sin,
32:26 Romans 3:20, 7:7.
32:28 The ceremonial law was given because of sin,
32:30 Galatians 3:19.
32:31 The Ten Commandments are called eternal abiding principles,
32:36 where as the ceremonial law,
32:37 ceremonial law were temporal prophecies.
32:40 The Ten Commandments are gonna stand forever,
32:42 where as the ceremonial law was nailed to the cross.
32:46 And those were the laws that came to an end.
32:49 When Jesus died on the cross the Bible says--
32:52 the Bible said that He said, "It is finished."
32:55 Then the veil of the temple was torn
32:57 from top to bottom showing an end,
33:00 an abolishing, doing away with
33:04 those sacrificial ceremonial laws.
33:06 And because of the death of Christ
33:07 now we can come boldly to the throne of grace
33:11 to obtain mercy and find help to save in our time of need.
33:14 Can you say, amen?
33:15 So we see according to Psalms 111:7, 8
33:18 that "All his commandments are sure.
33:21 They stand fast" how long? "For ever and ever."
33:27 now some people say,
33:28 but you know, we don't have to worry
33:30 about the Ten Commandments?
33:31 Because Jesus said, all you have to do is love.
33:34 Just love God and love each other,
33:36 don't worry about the Ten Commandments.
33:37 Well, friends, it's true that Jesus taught us
33:39 that all we need to do is love.
33:41 But here's the real question.
33:42 Did Jesus teach that love does away with His law?
33:46 Let's find out. Shall we?
33:48 Please write down Matthew 22:37-40
33:52 and by the way if you notice,
33:54 we're having a lots of scriptures tonight.
33:55 And friends, I hope you don't mind that. Amen.
33:57 You don't mind me giving lot of scriptures, right?
33:59 And the reason why we do this is
34:00 because it really doesn't matter what I say,
34:02 all that matters what the Bible says. Amen.
34:04 So we want to have a clear foundational
34:06 understanding of this topic
34:08 so that we can understand Satan's strategy,
34:11 his plans in the last days
34:14 to sit in the New Testament church, the temple of God.
34:17 And we're gonna study that on Saturday.
34:19 So notice, some people say, all you have to do is love,
34:21 don't worry about the law, just love, love, love, love.
34:23 And people, all they talk about is love
34:25 to the point that they say law is not important.
34:30 But let's find out what Jesus says,
34:31 "Jesus said unto him,
34:33 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
34:36 and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
34:38 This is the first and great" what?
34:40 "Commandment."
34:41 But friends, do you realize that when Jesus said this,
34:43 this was nothing new.
34:45 Jesus was actually quoting from the Old Testament
34:47 from Deuteronomy 6:4, it wasn't a new commandment.
34:51 It was new to them because they forget
34:52 the importance of loving God.
34:55 But none the less Jesus said
34:56 the first commandment is love God
34:57 with everything you have and everything you are.
34:59 And then the second commandment,
35:01 "The second is like unto it,"
35:03 Jesus said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'"
35:07 And friends, when Jesus said that,
35:08 that wasn't anything new.
35:09 He was quoting from Leviticus 19:18.
35:12 It was new to them because they forgot
35:14 the importance of loving their neighbor.
35:17 Now say-- friends, people read this surfacely
35:19 and they say, there you have it,
35:21 you don't have to worry about the Ten Commandments
35:22 just love God and love each other.
35:24 But friends, it will be well for us
35:25 to read the rest of the verse.
35:26 Can you say, amen?
35:27 Because notice what the rest of the verse says,
35:29 "On these two commandments
35:32 hang all the law and the prophets."
35:37 Friends, on these two commandments,
35:39 these two great principles of love,
35:41 loving God and loving your neighbor
35:43 hold up the rest of the Ten Commandments.
35:45 Friends, how many hands do you have?
35:47 Two hands, right?
35:48 And the same way these two hands love God
35:51 and love your neighbor,
35:53 on these two hands hold up how many fingers?
35:57 Ten fingers.
35:58 In the same way, friends,
35:59 every time you look at your hands
36:00 you see the law and the love of God,
36:03 His law of love.
36:04 Go ahead and look at your hands right now by the way.
36:06 You see them?
36:07 That's the law of love right there, friends.
36:10 God created it in your own hands.
36:13 In other words, when Jesus said,
36:14 "All you have to do is love God and love each other,"
36:16 He was telling us that the only way you can keep
36:18 the Ten Commandments is if you love God
36:20 and love each other.
36:21 Because, friends, think about it,
36:22 if you really love God with all your heart, mind and soul
36:25 then you'll keep the first part of the commandment that says,
36:27 "Thou shall have no other gods before me."
36:29 You don't bow down and worship idols,
36:30 you don't take the name of Lord in vain,
36:32 you'll remember the Sabbath.
36:33 If you truly love God,
36:34 you'll keep the first part of the commandment.
36:36 Are you with me?
36:37 And if you truly love your neighbor as yourself
36:39 you'll keep the second part of the commandment,
36:41 you'll start by honoring your first neighbor,
36:44 you will honor your father and mother.
36:46 If you truly love your neighbor as yourself
36:47 you will not kill your neighbor, you will not commit adultery,
36:50 you will not steal and lie and cover
36:51 your neighbor's possession.
36:52 On these two commandments, love God and love your neighbor
36:57 hold up the rest of the claims of the law of God.
36:59 And friends, if that make sense would you please say, amen?
37:02 In no way does love go against the law of God
37:06 but rather like what the apostle Paul said
37:08 in Romans 13:10,
37:10 "Love is the fulfilling of the law."
37:12 And that word, fulfilling means to establish more fully.
37:18 In other words, the only way we can keep God's law is love.
37:22 If we try to do the right thing without love for God,
37:24 its legalism and it will not work, friends.
37:27 It's bondage.
37:28 But when we have love for God and love for one another
37:31 the natural result is the fulfilling of the law of God
37:36 in our hearts and in our lives.
37:38 In other words friends, the power of love
37:39 will establish the law of love
37:41 more fully in the believer's life.
37:43 This is what Jesus said in John 14:15.
37:46 Christ puts our love to the test.
37:48 Friends, tell me, if you love Jesus
37:50 let me hear you say amen. Amen.
37:52 Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."
37:58 In other words, love is demonstrating
38:04 by obedience to the Ten Commandments.
38:05 Can you say, amen?
38:07 Now friends, this is what Jesus says explicitly,
38:10 what He is saying implicitly
38:12 is, "If you don't love Me, don't even try it."
38:15 Because if you keep God's commandment without love
38:17 it's legalistic and it's not gonna-- you will not be saved.
38:20 We can't save ourselves brother and sisters,
38:22 by doing anything at all.
38:24 We're saved only by the grace of God.
38:26 Can you say, amen?
38:27 But Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep"
38:28 Now friends, in the Greek it's even more emphatic.
38:31 In original language it's like this,
38:33 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
38:37 Because love, friends, is the motivating power
38:40 that enables us to do the things that pleases the Lord.
38:44 Can you say, amen?
38:45 Love for Jesus always leads to obedience
38:48 to the law of God.
38:49 Friends, do you remember that woman
38:51 that was caught in adultery?
38:52 She had broken the seventh commandment.
38:54 She was gonna be stoned to death because the wages of sin is--
38:58 she deserved to die, she had broken the law of God.
39:01 And friends, she was bowed to the feet of Jesus
39:03 and even though she had made a mess of her life,
39:06 at the feet of Jesus she found herself
39:07 at the very best place she can ever be
39:09 in the whole universe.
39:10 Can you say, amen?
39:11 And at Jesus feet Jesus did not excuse her sin,
39:15 Jesus did not ignore her sin, He forgave her sin and He said,
39:21 "Neither do I condemn you."
39:22 Then he said, go and sin some more.
39:27 Is that what Jesus said?
39:29 Did Jesus said, You can go
39:30 and keep sinning, it doesn't matter.
39:32 You are under My grace and you gonna be saved
39:34 even though you continue to sin and break My laws,
39:35 is that what He says?
39:37 He said, "Go and sin no more."
39:39 You see, friends, this is the true gospel.
39:41 When Jesus said, go, that was pardon for her past.
39:45 But when He said, sin no more,
39:47 that was power for her present to live a brand new life.
39:53 Can you say, amen?
39:54 And so the next question is this,
39:56 some people say, oh, but the laws,
39:58 that's just--
40:00 that's just a bunch of legalistic requirements.
40:01 There are many Christians
40:02 who are accusing the law being legalistic.
40:05 But friends, I want you to notice,
40:06 when God spoke His law to Moses
40:08 He gave it in the context of freedom.
40:10 In Exodus 20:2, the Bible tells us,
40:13 God said before He spoke His Ten Commandments
40:15 He said to Moses, "I am the Lord, thy God,
40:18 which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
40:20 out of the house of"
40:22 In other words, God was saying,
40:23 I am the one that gave you freedom.
40:25 I want you to be a free people.
40:27 You see, He gives the law
40:28 in context of liberty and freedom,
40:31 freedom from the bondage of sin.
40:33 And so as God brings His children out of Egypt,
40:35 out of slavery He now gives to them
40:37 the Ten Commandments that teaches them
40:40 how to remain free. Amen.
40:43 How to remain in peace with each other
40:46 and peace with God.
40:48 And so, brother and sisters, the law of God
40:50 is not a law of bondage, it's a law of freedom.
40:53 Let me say it like this, tell me, friends,
40:55 what is the purpose of stop signs and speed limits?
40:57 Are those things there to restrict us
41:01 or are they there to protect us?
41:03 In the same way friends, the law of God,
41:04 I mean, we can be driving on the road
41:06 and trying to get some place
41:07 and the light turns red and we are angry at the light.
41:10 Man, this light is restricting me.
41:12 I am trying to get somewhere. So restrictive.
41:15 But friends, if that light wasn't there
41:16 you could kill yourself, isn't that right?
41:18 So what is the purpose of it? Is to protect you friends,
41:22 not to restrict you.
41:24 And it's the same with the law of God.
41:25 God said, "Thou shall not commit adultery,"
41:26 He's trying to protect your marriage
41:28 and your home and your family and your children.
41:30 When He says, "Thou shall not kill."
41:31 He's trying to protect your life.
41:33 It's a law of freedom.
41:34 Now here' another question,
41:36 my wife and I, we've been married almost eight years now
41:39 and tell me is it a reasonable expectation
41:43 for her to expect me to be faithful to her and only her?
41:46 Is that reasonable or is that legalistic?
41:49 That's reasonable, right?
41:51 And it's reasonable for me to expect her to be faithful.
41:54 Why, because we've entered into covenant relationship
41:57 with each other and more than just a covenant relationship
42:01 it's because we love each other.
42:02 Can you say, amen?
42:04 You see, when you say yes to a person
42:06 you are also saying no to everyone else.
42:08 And when you think about that, wow, that's kind of--
42:10 that sounds kind of restrictive.
42:12 So you are committing yourself to one person
42:14 and only that one for the rest of your life.
42:18 You cannot have other lovers on the side,
42:19 wow, that's sound so restrictive.
42:23 But is it really?
42:25 No, if you love that person.
42:26 Can you say, amen?
42:28 Because you don't care, you don't want anyone else,
42:29 you want just that person.
42:32 Tell me friends, is marriage bondage?
42:36 Well, that kind of depends who you are married to.
42:41 But if you love your spouse,
42:43 if you love your spouse is it bondage?
42:46 Absolutely not, it's freedom
42:49 to express the love that is pure and undefiled.
42:51 Can you say, amen?
42:52 And that's the same thing with the law of God.
42:55 It's not bondage friends, its freedom if you love Him.
42:59 If you don't love Him it is bondage.
43:01 It has to do with love that motivates you to obey.
43:04 In fact, notice in 1 John 5:3,
43:06 the Bible says, "For this is the love of God,
43:08 that we keep His commandments
43:10 and His commandments are not grievous."
43:12 In other words, its not burdensome,
43:14 it's not hard if we truly love the Lord.
43:16 Now friends, if we don't love Him its grievous,
43:18 it's burdensome, its bondage, it's difficult
43:21 because we're trying to do it our own strength.
43:23 And friends, we have no strength.
43:27 But friends, the love of God is the power
43:29 that fulfils the requirements of His law in our hearts.
43:32 Are you with me, yes or no?
43:33 And so now here's the next question,
43:34 we want to have a good through understanding,
43:36 we're hitting it from every single angle
43:37 that you might have in your mind.
43:38 Here's the next question, can the law of God save us?
43:42 The answer is absolutely not.
43:45 We can never be saved by anything we do.
43:47 Bible says, "All are righteousness
43:49 are like filthy rags."
43:51 The only way they we're going to be saved
43:52 is by the grace of God.
43:53 Can you say, amen?
43:54 Ephesians 2:8, 9, write it down, it says,
43:57 "For by grace are ye saved through faith
44:00 and that not of yourselves it is the" what?
44:03 "Gift of God Not of works, lest any man should boast."
44:06 Bible is clear that the only way we're gonna be saved is by grace
44:09 and we accept that grace through faith.
44:12 It's a gift, not something we work for,
44:14 try to earn with our own efforts
44:15 but something we receive as a gift of faith.
44:18 It doesn't come by works, grace and grace alone.
44:22 Can you say, amen?
44:24 Now friends, listen,
44:25 when we make God's grace a license to break God's law,
44:29 when we take the grace of God
44:31 and use it as a sorry excuse to do
44:33 what we want to do and to live our own lives
44:36 that grace becomes disgrace.
44:39 We are spitting on the sacrifice of Christ
44:42 when we do that, friends.
44:43 We are treating so cheaply
44:46 that which causes God everything to give to us.
44:52 Friends, let us uphold it and value it as we should.
44:55 Can you say, amen?
44:56 Oh, how many of you are thankful
44:57 for the grace of God?
44:59 But then there are some people who say,
45:01 all you have to do is believe,
45:02 don't worry about keeping the law
45:04 and what not Ten Commandments just believe.
45:06 Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart
45:08 and the Bible does say that.
45:09 But friends, even the apostle Paul knew that
45:11 some people would sheep in what true faith really is.
45:14 And because of that he wrote in Romans 3:31,
45:16 "Do we then make void the law through faith?"
45:19 In other words, just because we have faith,
45:20 does that mean we can break God's law?
45:22 What's the answer?
45:23 "God forbid: yea, we" what? "Establish the law."
45:27 In other words, if we truly have faith the law of God
45:30 will be established in our lives.
45:33 In other words, faith will result
45:34 in the fruit of the spirit, obedience
45:37 because James 2:26 says that
45:40 "Faith without works is" "Dead."
45:42 So we need a faith that works, and all genuine faith works.
45:47 But how does it work?
45:48 Galatians 5:6, "Faith that works by love."
45:54 In other words, love is the power
45:56 that enables our faith
45:57 to result in the works of obedience
45:59 to the law of God.
46:01 You see friends, whenever you read the New Testament
46:03 the apostle Paul and Jesus,
46:04 they were never against the law of God, never.
46:06 You will not find that in a New Testament.
46:08 They were only against the legalistic way
46:10 that people were keeping the law.
46:11 That's what they were against.
46:13 All the apostles
46:14 whenever its dealing with the law of God
46:16 and they seems to save--
46:17 seems to us that-- that there's--
46:19 that get away the law.
46:20 No, the rebuking the legalism that people were practicing
46:24 in their keeping of the law
46:25 and what many Christians have done,
46:27 they have thrown the baby out with the bath water.
46:30 They think that because Christ--
46:31 because Paul and Jesus was against legalism
46:33 they think that they were against law but not at all.
46:36 They were showing as that the only way to keep the law
46:38 was by faith that works by love.
46:42 And so let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.
46:44 Can you say, amen?
46:46 There is no contradiction, no disagreement
46:48 between God's grace and God's faith and God's law.
46:52 So now is the next question,
46:54 what is the role and purpose of the law of God?
46:56 According to Romans 3:20,
46:59 the purpose of the law is to show us
47:01 what the sin is.
47:02 The Bible says, "Therefore by the deeds of the law
47:04 there shall no flesh be justified in his sight
47:07 for by the law is the knowledge of" what?
47:10 In other words, you will not know
47:11 what sin is without the law
47:14 because the law reveals what sin is.
47:18 In James 1:22-24, write it down.
47:21 It tells us that God's law is like a mirror.
47:25 Now what is a purpose of a mirror?
47:28 Every morning you wake up morning
47:29 before you leave the house you look into that mirror, why?
47:33 Because the mirror is to do one thing and one thing only.
47:37 And what is that? It is to tell you the truth.
47:42 You may not like the truth
47:45 but it tells the truth, isn't that right?
47:47 And that's the purpose of the mirror,
47:48 is it reveal what reality really is
47:53 so that we are not deceived. It tells us the truth.
47:56 The law of God is like into mirror.
47:58 It helps us to know what sin is and to illustrate this
48:01 I need you to excuse me just for a moment.
48:02 Please don't leave.
48:03 I need you to pray for me right now
48:05 because I am back here
48:06 and where no one else can see me.
48:08 I am back here breaking the law of God.
48:12 And so are you praying for me?
48:15 That's a beautiful picture. What's wrong?
48:21 Why are you laughing at me? Is there something wrong?
48:26 Do I have something on my face?
48:29 Am I presentable? Yes or no?
48:32 Well, you don't look so good yourself.
48:35 Who are you to judge me? I am all right.
48:40 You see, I don't realize my condition.
48:42 I think I am okay.
48:43 I think I am saved because I have a nice suit on.
48:48 But friends, do I have something on my face?
48:50 Yes. Well, how will I know it?
48:52 I can't trust you. How can I trust you?
48:54 I don't know you.
48:56 What do I need in order to see what reality is?
48:58 What I need? I need a-- Mirror.
49:00 And the law of God is like a-- Mirror.
49:02 And so would somebody please get me a mirror.
49:05 Oh, thank you. Wow.
49:13 What you are saying is true according to the law.
49:16 I look into this law
49:17 and it confirms that I am not presentable.
49:21 I have sin in my life. The law reveals sin.
49:26 Now what do I do with the law of God.
49:28 Am I going to destroy the law, give away the law
49:29 because I didn't like what it told me?
49:31 Is that-- If I get rid of this law,
49:32 is that going to change my condition, yes or no?
49:35 So getting rid of it is not going to change anything
49:38 because I am still a dirty sinner
49:41 no matter what happens what I do with the law.
49:43 So what I do then?
49:44 Do I take the law and try to clean myself.
49:47 Is the law, can the law clean me?
49:50 The law is not meant to cleanse anyone.
49:54 The law cannot clean.
49:56 The purpose of the law is just to show me
49:59 my need of cleansing.
50:02 And so what I do with the law now?
50:04 I put the law down for a moment,
50:06 nicely and reverently.
50:08 And then I go to the blood of Jesus
50:13 and I say, Lord, forgive me, God.
50:17 I have sin in my life.
50:20 Have mercy upon me, oh, God.
50:23 I made mistakes, made a fool of myself.
50:28 Done some things that I am shameful of, oh, God.
50:32 What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
50:39 And friends, what the law of God could not do,
50:43 the blood is able to do.
50:48 There is a fountain filled with blood,
50:50 drawn from Emanuel's veins.
50:53 Sinners plunge beneath the flood,
50:55 lose all their guilty stains.
50:57 Oh friends, how do I look now? How do I look?
51:03 I look good, don't I? Oh, how do I know?
51:08 I don't know if I am all right or not.
51:09 What I need to do now? I need to go back to that law.
51:13 And the law that once told me I am dirty,
51:15 now I examine myself into that law
51:18 and I see that, well, I am a lot better
51:19 but still I got a long way to go.
51:24 And so then I say, Lord, not just the big sins
51:28 but the small ones too, all that pride,
51:31 that spiritual pride, that selfishness,
51:35 oh, that creeps in, that compromise that comes,
51:39 Lord, please wash me thoroughly, the big as well as the small.
51:42 Please, oh, God, apply your cleansing blood.
51:46 And friends, how about now, is it okay?
51:49 I have to go back to the law and see.
51:50 And friends, the law that once told me that I am dirty--
51:58 Man, sin is-- Well, praise the Lord.
52:02 The law that once told me that I am dirty now tells me
52:05 that my life is back in harmony with the law of God.
52:08 Friends, the blood of Jesus is the best detergent
52:12 to cleanse every stain of sin upon the garment of our lives.
52:16 And friends, we would not know our need of His blood
52:19 if it was not for the law of God.
52:22 That's the purpose of the law,
52:24 is to show what our need of Jesus.
52:28 Bible warns us in the last days as we get ready to close.
52:31 In 1 John 2:4 it talks about ministers
52:33 and people who profess Jesus as the lord
52:36 but they don't keep His commandments.
52:38 Bible says concerning them in 1 John 2:4,
52:41 "He that says, I know him,
52:43 and keeps not his commandments, is a" what?
52:46 "Liar, and the truth is not in him."
52:48 But friends, in contrast of our lives
52:51 God is gonna have a group of people
52:52 that are going to tell the truth,
52:53 the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
52:56 And notice how that described in Revelation 14:12, it says,
53:00 "Here is the patience of the saints,
53:02 here are they that keep the commandments of God,
53:05 and the faith of Jesus."
53:07 Here is God's final group of people.
53:09 Those who have experienced the reality,
53:11 of the New covenant promise
53:12 they delight to do the will of God
53:13 because God flows in their heart
53:15 and they realize more than anyone else
53:17 that God's law of love is the law of liberty,
53:21 a law of peace and the law of freedom.
53:24 And friends, how many of you want God's law
53:27 to be written in your heart?
53:29 Do you want to experience the new covenant promise?
53:32 Well, friends, all we have to do is
53:33 give God permission to do it for us. Amen.
53:37 It's not legalism friends, it's all about love.
53:41 Love that results in obedience to the law.
53:45 Now friends, I want to close with a story.
53:47 This is a story about a slave who is being sold at an auction.
53:53 The auctioneer got up and began to take bids
53:55 for the slave
53:57 and as people looked upon him they saw good investment.
54:00 I mean, he was big and strong
54:02 and he looked very young.
54:04 Many more years ahead, a good investment.
54:07 But the only problem was, as people looked upon the slave,
54:11 the slave kept shouting at the people
54:14 and he said, I will not work,
54:17 I will not work, I will not work.
54:20 And by the way, he looked very intimidating.
54:23 It didn't look like you can force him to work
54:25 because he was big and strong
54:26 but none the less people wanted him.
54:29 So the price kept getting higher and higher
54:31 and higher and higher and finally
54:33 he was sold at a high price.
54:34 The owner comes to claim the slave.
54:36 The slave says to his new owner,
54:38 I am flatter that you paid such a high price for me
54:40 but like I said, I will not work.
54:43 I will be no man's slave.
54:45 The owner says, just come, come with me.
54:48 They get into little horse and buggy
54:50 and they start down the road.
54:52 Now at the end of the road suddenly
54:53 the carriage stops at this beautiful house
54:56 on the side of the road with a nice picket fence
54:59 and the owner looks up, says to the slave,
55:02 "Look at that house, this is now your house.
55:05 This is the place where you will be staying."
55:07 Now as the slave looked at the house
55:08 he saw that this was not a slave's quarters.
55:11 This was the quarters of one that was a family member.
55:15 And the slave said to the owner, "I am flatter that you do
55:17 such a thing for me but like I said before,
55:19 I will not work no matter what you give me,
55:22 I will be no man's slave."
55:25 That owner looked at the slave and he said,
55:30 "I bought you, I paid a high expensive price.
55:36 I bought you not so that you can become my slave.
55:41 I bought you to set you free.
55:45 You are free. I bought you to free you."
55:50 With that the man got out of the carriage.
55:53 The owner took off
55:55 and now the slave is standing there in all.
55:59 He's shocked, he had just been freed
56:03 and he received a beautiful home on top of that
56:06 and as this slave is contemplating
56:08 the kindness and the mercy
56:10 and the grace that have been bestowed upon him.
56:14 He snaps out of it
56:15 and he chases that carriage down
56:17 and he stops the man that had just set him free
56:19 and he said to him, "Sir,
56:21 if you bought me to set me free
56:25 then I will serve you for the rest of my life."
56:30 Around 2,000 years ago there was another slave
56:36 and another master and another auction.
56:40 The human race were in bondage to sin,
56:42 not to the law, to sin
56:45 but there was someone that came to purchase us
56:49 and he paid a high price.
56:51 We were bought friends, by the blood of Jesus
56:54 not with corruptible things like silver and gold
56:57 but we were purchased with the gold of Jesus' blood
57:00 and the silver Jesus' tears.
57:03 This is the price that was paid four our redemption
57:07 and He bought us not so that we can become his slave
57:09 and do whatever He want's us to do.
57:11 No friends, He bought us to free us.
57:14 Free from what?
57:15 Free from sin, free from worry,
57:19 free from bad habits, lustful thoughts,
57:22 cursing, lying and swearing,
57:25 living lives free from anything that bind us
57:28 free from worrying and from fear and doubts.
57:32 Whatever slaves us tonight, the blood of Christ frees us.
57:38 And because of what He has done for me,
57:41 I don't know about you
57:42 but I want to say like that slave said,
57:45 Lord, if You bought me to set me free
57:51 then I will serve You for the rest of my life.


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Revised 2014-12-17