Participants: Ivor Meyers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Jason Bradley, Yvonne Lewis
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000015A
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00:32 Part B... that's what this is... it's Part B
00:36 because last time we got through so fast, 00:39 I mean, time just got away from us 00:40 and we didn't realize that we were only half way through 00:45 so now we're on Part B or Part 2 of the Laodicean church, 00:49 in fact it went so fast that we didn't have time to do the 00:52 sss@3abn. org with your video questions... 00:57 now we made up for that, that's how we ended that one 01:01 and now we're going to do it again... on the end of this one 01:04 so, the reason why I think this message is so significant to us 01:08 is because, as we read these verses we're thinking, 01:11 "Whoa... 01:13 that's... that's me... that's us... " 01:15 this isn't like the other churches 01:16 where we can see it in history, 01:18 and we can kind of make the idealist applications 01:21 of the principles to us but really it applies there, 01:24 as soon as we started reading these verses... we were like... 01:28 gulp... "yeah, that's... " and we see it in our Society today, 01:32 so this message deserves two parts 01:35 because this message is not just about our condition 01:39 but it's also about a remedy 01:40 and we really need to spend some time on that remedy 01:43 so... so it comes home to us 01:44 so Jason, start us out with a word of prayer 01:46 and let's get right into that. 01:47 Jason: All right... "Dear Heavenly Father, 01:49 as we open your Word and study your Word, 01:51 we ask that you'll be with us 01:52 and lead, guide and direct our study, 01:54 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 01:55 All: "Amen... " 01:56 The emphasis here is that Christ is faithful, 02:01 we talked about that... the faithfulness of the bridegroom, 02:04 the faithfulness of the husband and I can't think of that 02:07 in any other terms... 02:09 that are more practical than our relationships 02:12 not just our relationship with Christ... 02:14 but our relationships with our husbands and our wives 02:17 and our family members who are the ones probably that 02:20 tell us the things that are more sensitive 02:24 and can cause us the most pain 02:27 and yet they're being the most faithful to us 02:29 because they care about us... 02:30 they want us to be more than we are, et cetera, 02:32 you know, there are some people out there... 02:34 they couldn't care what we look like... 02:36 they couldn't care because they just couldn't care about us 02:37 so when we see Christ telling us these things 02:41 it's because He cares 02:43 and because He has a remedy and one of the remedies 02:46 that He really wants us to take a hold of 02:48 is this "gold tried in the fire, gold tried in the fire... " 02:51 but what is that? I mean, is He telling us to... 02:54 to trade in all of our cash and... you know... 02:57 like some people believe 02:58 and have that gold that we need to survive at the end of times? 03:01 Is He talking about monetary gold, figuratively... 03:05 or literally... having gold? 03:07 What is the gold? 03:08 Ivor: So we take a look at 1st Peter chapter 1 and verse 7 03:12 the Bible says there, "That the trial of your faith, 03:18 being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, 03:22 though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise 03:27 and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ... " 03:32 so we read this verse, we see that 03:34 gold... is used to symbolize faith 03:37 and the question we need to ask is, "How does faith come?" 03:42 The Bible tells us faith comes by... what? 03:44 "Hearing... and hearing by the Word of God... " 03:47 now, what is the condition of Laodicea? 03:49 Jesus just said, "you are wretched and miserable, 03:53 naked, blind... in other words... you're filthy, 03:56 you... you are in need of a remedy 04:00 and so He's telling us, "buy of Him gold tried in fire" 04:03 faith... right... how does faith come? 04:06 faith comes by hearing... and hearing by the Word of God 04:10 there's a very powerful verse, 04:11 it's in Psalm 119 verse 9 and it's says, 04:14 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? 04:16 by taking heed according to thy word" 04:19 and so it is this "taking heed according to the word" 04:23 and we're going to see the gold represents other things as well 04:25 but Jesus is asking us, He's telling us, 04:29 "You need a faith that is able to withstand fiery trials," 04:33 so you think about the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 04:37 and how they were brought into a trying situation, 04:42 they were cast into a burning furnace 04:46 because they refused to bow down 04:48 and it's an amazing thing because the fire... 04:52 all that the fire did in that story... 04:54 was... it burned away the things that were binding them 04:59 James: The Babylonian things. 05:01 Ivor: The Babylonian things... 05:02 the Babylonian cords that bound them 05:05 and it's because Jesus was with them in the fire, right, 05:08 so the fire is not designed... 05:10 the persecution, trials, tribulations are not designed 05:13 to destroy us... but they are actually 05:16 like God's workmen to bring out the gold 05:20 and to get rid of the dross and... 05:22 we're heading towards the time of trouble 05:25 is what Jesus is telling us in this final church, 05:28 it's the clothing... right... so He's saying, 05:31 "Listen, I need you to be prepared for this time 05:34 and you need a faith... and that's why the Bible tells us 05:37 in Revelation 12 that these are they 05:41 that have the commandments of God and the faith... right? 05:45 "of Jesus" James: Revelation 14:12... 05:48 Ivor: Revelation 14:12... "the faith of Jesus" 05:49 it's His faith... that we need 05:52 because His faith was tried in fire 05:55 so, now, do I want my faith? 05:57 You know, my faith may... no... 05:59 to be safe, give me His faith. James: Amen. 06:03 Yvonne: Not the faith in Jesus, so much as the faith of Jesus. 06:06 Ivor: Right, exactly and where do we find the greatest picture 06:09 of the faith of Jesus? 06:11 We find it in His closing moments of His life. 06:14 James: Yes. Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 06:16 James: I love this because when I think about 06:17 those Babylonian cords, I'm thinking, 06:20 "What kind of Babylonian cords are binding us?" 06:22 And the trials comes and we're like, "Oh I hate these trials" 06:25 but God is saying, "I'm not trying to consume you, 06:28 I don't want you to be even smelling of smoke 06:31 when you come out of this, 06:33 I want to consume the cords of Babylon 06:36 that are binding you, that are restricting you, 06:39 that are causing you to be limited in your walk, 06:41 in your expression, in your connection with me, 06:44 I want to... I want to destroy those cords 06:46 so what kind of Babylonian cords 06:47 we need to ask ourselves... 06:49 are confining us and restricting us 06:51 that God wants to burn away through the fire? 06:54 And those cords are burning... now this fire... 06:57 I want to expand on this fire because the Bible indicates 06:59 that to sin... where we're found God is a consuming fire, 07:02 that His throne is set upon a lake of... 07:06 well, a sea of glass mingled with fire 07:10 and who will be able to dwell in the everlasting fire? 07:14 So you have all of these, I think, 07:16 illustrations of the fact that this gold is actually pointing 07:21 to the person of God, that it's the purest, 07:24 finest stuff to represent the purest, finest person, 07:27 and I think this is brought out in Revelation chapter 1 07:30 and also in the Book of Daniel, 07:32 Revelation chapter 1, would you read here for us 07:36 Jason, in Revelation chapter 1, would you read verse 13? 07:40 Jason: Verse 13... 07:44 "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks 07:46 one like unto the Son of man, 07:48 clothed with a garment down to the foot, 07:50 and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. " 07:53 James: Now, I'm going to have you read verse 17, 07:55 but just a second... I want to make a comment on this verse, 07:58 this is Jesus coming to John in a glorified persona, 08:02 in a glorified form and He's... He's... 08:05 He's pictured as having 08:06 "eyes like fire and feet like brass" 08:09 but He's also pictured as having this belt... 08:11 this waistband of gold around Him 08:13 and when John sees Him in this appearance 08:15 something happens to him, verse 17... 08:18 Jason: Okay, "And when I saw him, 08:20 I fell at his feet as dead. 08:22 And he laid his right hand upon me, 08:25 saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last... " 08:28 James: Okay, so, this is the remedy, 08:31 Laodicea feels "rich and increased with goods 08:34 and in need of nothing" 08:35 and Jesus is outside the door knocking... 08:38 they're not connected with Jesus, 08:39 now, the reason they feel rich 08:41 and increased with goods and in need of nothing 08:43 is because they're connected with prophecy, 08:44 they're connected with doctrine, 08:46 they're connected with experience, 08:47 they have all the trappings 08:49 "of Christianity... of religiosity," 08:51 they have all the trappings... but they don't have Jesus. 08:53 It's very similar, I think, to the first church, 08:56 the church of Ephesus, Jesus is outside 08:58 and when you don't have Jesus, you're not seeing the gold 09:01 and when you're not seeing the gold, 09:02 you're not feeling your need 09:04 and when you're not feeling your need... 09:05 John felt his need, he fell as dead... 09:07 and then what happens? 09:08 He says, "Don't fear, fear not... " 09:10 what happens with Daniel? 09:11 In Daniel chapter 10, 09:13 let's just look there in Daniel chapter 10 09:15 and I want you to look here, 09:16 we've seen these verses already once 09:18 but Yvonne, could you read 09:20 Daniel 10 and verse 5 and then verse 8? 09:26 Yvonne: Daniel 10 verse 5, 09:29 "Then I lifted up mine eyes, 09:33 and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, 09:35 whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz... " 09:39 and verse 8, "Therefore I was left alone, 09:43 and saw this great vision, 09:44 and there remained no strength in me: 09:46 for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, 09:49 and I retained no strength. " 09:51 James: Here it is again, notice now how 09:55 this man in linen which is Christ 09:56 because the appearance is the same as in Revelation, 09:59 He appears to Daniel, He's got the gold 10:02 and when Daniel sees Him, he falls like he's dead 10:06 and as soon as he falls like as if he's dead, 10:09 then the voice comes to him and says, 10:10 "Hey, Daniel, it's okay" and He touches him 10:14 and He lifts him up and He says, "Daniel, you are beloved, 10:16 you're are greatly beloved... " over and over again... 10:19 I just want to... I don't know, 10:20 I don't know if we should to go into Daniel here 10:22 because we're going to do it later so I won't, 10:23 but the point I want to make here is... 10:25 we talk about Daniel 7, we talk about Daniel 8, 10:28 we talk about Daniel 11, we talk about Daniel 12, 10:30 we talk about Daniel 2... we don't talk about Daniel 10, 10:32 this is the broccoli, these are the veggies, 10:37 this is the superfood right here, 10:39 this is the stuff that we're not interested in, 10:42 that I'll slip into my dog under the table 10:44 because I want to get to my main course, 10:46 this is the stuff where the nutrients are, 10:48 this is connection with Christ and what's happening is 10:51 the same thing that happened with me when I was a kid, 10:53 my mom would serve me my dinner and it would have the broccoli 10:57 and it would have the veggies and it would have the meat 11:00 and I'm a meat and potatoes kid, 11:02 so I'm eating my meat and I'm eating my potatoes 11:04 but I'm not wanting to eat that broccoli, 11:06 and I don't want to eat those greens 11:07 and so I'm slipping it to my dog under the table, 11:09 the problem is... my dog doesn't like the veggies either 11:13 so they're ending up on the floor and my mom's seeing that, 11:17 but... and so I had this plan and the plan was 11:21 eat down... scarf down the veggies first 11:24 and then you can get the taste out of your mouth 11:26 save the good stuff for last and that's what we do sometimes 11:31 we save the good stuff for last 11:34 and we try to get the other stuff out of the way, 11:38 we just try to go through it but we don't realize 11:39 that the stuff we're going to get out of the way 11:41 is the good stuff, 11:42 Daniel 10 is the good stuff, 11:45 this connection with Christ see... what we're doing is 11:48 we're getting ready now to go into some 11:50 very complicated prophecies, 11:52 we're going to go into the seals next, 11:54 and then we're going to go the trumpets, 11:55 then it's going to get more intense and more intense, 11:57 we need Jesus, we need Jesus... 11:59 He's the One who's going to unseal these prophecies for us 12:02 in fact, when we get into the seals... 12:04 the Lamb opens the seals, the Lamb opens... 12:05 seals are things that are mysterious, 12:07 that they can't be understood, the Lamb opens the seals... 12:09 the Lamb opens the seals... the Lamb opens the seals, 12:10 we've got to have Jesus to help us to understand 12:13 and we don't feel the need of Him, we're Laodiceans, 12:15 we feel rich... increased in goods and in need of zero, 12:18 so when we see Jesus, here's the difficult part, 12:21 we see Him and we're overwhelmed with our need 12:23 and we're overwhelmed with our comeliness 12:25 and our unrighteousness and we're like, 12:27 "Ah man, that's no way... " but that's when we feel our need 12:30 and Jesus is there to help us, over and over again, 12:33 to lift us up and to touch us 12:34 and to lift us up and to touch us 12:35 and that's what Daniel 10 is telling us 12:37 and that's what we need to see, 12:38 that's the remedy that Laodicea needs, 12:40 we need that remedy, 12:41 and I think the Jews needed that remedy too 12:43 when we go through it... 12:45 we see that history played out again and again, 12:48 we make a connection to... 12:51 because Revelation is not some item over by itself, 12:54 it's reconnecting us to the rest of the story back here 12:57 and the progression of history, how it applied to the Jews... 13:00 and the need that they have 13:02 and I really love that, 13:03 I love the way we make that connection 13:05 to... to the rest of the story. 13:06 Ivor: I think if we look at the connection 13:09 and actually build some more on that, 13:11 seeing the condition of Israel at the first coming of Christ 13:16 and comparing it with the condition of the church... 13:19 second coming of Christ, 13:20 we can still pull a lot of lessons from that... 13:23 that will help us not to make the same mistakes that they made 13:27 so if you remember in our previous discussions 13:31 we have been looking at the fact that... that the churches... 13:35 the seals... and the trumpets... all parallel 13:37 and we can check the seals as we begin to go through them, 13:41 we can go back and check with the churches 13:43 yeah, that's a match... 13:44 same with the trumpets... yeah, that's a match 13:47 but the churches come first and it would appear 13:49 that there is nothing we can match the churches with 13:52 until we realize, "Wait a minute... 13:54 the seven churches are a reflection or a parallel 13:57 of the history of the Old Testament Church 14:00 so let's run through that rapidly, 14:03 we'll start with... about the fourth church, 14:05 we'll move on down to the seven... 14:06 and then begin to make these applications 14:08 so, you'll remember the fourth church, 14:11 symbolized by that woman, Jezebel, 14:13 a representation of Babylon, we saw that that parallel... 14:18 the period of history in which 14:20 God's people were in Babylonian captivity 14:22 because of their rebellion, 14:23 we saw that the fifth church, Sardis, 14:26 represented those escaping 14:28 the Protestant Reformation which began... 14:31 they left, they were leaving out of Babylon 14:33 and going back to rebuild 14:35 but they did not complete the Reformation, 14:38 we saw this history parallels 14:40 the story of the children of Israel, 14:43 leaving Babylonian captivity 14:45 and beginning to do the work of the Lord 14:47 but the work died out... 14:51 we saw that the sixth church, Philadelphia 14:54 represented the Millerite Movement 14:57 and the completing of that Reformation 14:59 which parallel the history of Nehemiah 15:02 coming in and finishing the Reformation that... 15:05 those under Ezra's time had begun. 15:08 So, perfect parallel there... 15:10 then we see that actually Nehemiah was... 15:12 since he's waiting for the coming of the Lord now, 15:14 and when the Lord comes, 15:15 the first coming... what is the condition of Israel? 15:18 They are not hot, they are not cold, 15:21 they are lukewarm, 15:22 it is the wise that are prepared for the coming of the Messiah, 15:27 we think about the parable of the five wise 15:30 and the five foolish virgins, 15:32 we begin to see all these parallels 15:34 between what happened in Israel, they were eventually spued out 15:39 because they rejected... who? The Messiah... 15:43 in the same way that Jesus says, 15:46 "Look, I will spue you out of my mouth 15:49 because of your lukewarmness... " 15:52 and then this whole picture opens up then 15:57 of how we can actually be prepared 15:59 for the second coming of Christ by looking at 16:02 not only how Christ sought to prepare His disciples, 16:05 but even the mistakes the disciples made 16:07 because He gave them Gethsemane, 16:10 to prepare them for the time of trouble. 16:13 What can we learn from that? 16:15 First of all, Peter thought that he was hot, 16:18 he thought he was rich, 16:20 increased with goods, needed nothing, 16:23 Jesus said, "By the time the cock crows three times, 16:26 you would have denied me thrice... " so think about this, 16:29 how many times... we're going about our business and 16:31 I was born in Jamaica, raised up in New York, 16:35 when I married my wife, Atonte, she lives in California, 16:40 in the country... in California, 16:41 so I remember when I went out to California 16:43 and the first morning I woke, 16:48 there was a rooster crowing and I wake up like... 16:53 "Wait a minute... what was that? Where am I?" 16:57 And I began to think, 16:59 "Am I going to hear this, like, every morning? 17:00 like, I am really in the country what?" 17:04 The rooster was crowing and I was like, 17:07 "This is a movie... this can't be real... " 17:10 now I'm used to it, but think about it, 17:13 that rooster is like the Holy Spirit, 17:16 think about every time you know that you're supposed 17:20 to be doing something and you don't, 17:21 you know that... that you shouldn't laugh at that joke 17:25 but you do and I can just imagine the Holy Spirit, 17:29 like that rooster, crowing... ahhhhhhhh... 17:33 I can't even do it... and you hear that voice 17:36 and you're going, "Oh man, I just denied Him... 17:39 I just denied Him... I just denied Him. " 17:40 Remember the Holy Spirit like that divine rooster 17:45 always there to say, 17:47 "Listen, you're very off-track, you're very off-track... " 17:50 so as we look at this and say, "Wow! 17:52 this is Christ trying to tell us, 17:54 "You don't even know yourself, you think you're rich 17:56 and increased with goods, 17:58 I'm telling you, you're going to deny me... 18:00 and so, I'm giving you this experience... " 18:03 which brings us to John chapter... 18:05 chapter 6 where... we can actually tie in John chapter 6 18:12 with what happens at the last supper 18:15 because remember the message to the Laodicean is what? 18:18 "I want to come in... " and do what? 18:21 "Sup with you... " 18:23 so what is Christ doing 18:24 right before this time of trouble hits 18:27 for Him and His disciples? 18:29 He's eating with them, the bread and the words... 18:32 that takes us to John 6. 18:34 James: And He says, 18:35 "this bread is my body and this wine is my blood... " 18:38 and John six it's the same thing, 18:40 John six is... the whole chapter is... 18:43 well not the whole chapter 18:44 but the whole later half of the chapter, 18:46 I'm just going to summarize it, it's basically Jesus saying, 18:50 "Listen, the bread that came down from heaven is me... 18:54 I'm the bread of life, you need to eat me, 18:55 you need to eat my flesh, you need to drink my blood... " 18:58 and they try to... they try to throw it out... 19:00 "What? we're not cannibals, 19:02 what are you talking about eating flesh and drinking...?" 19:04 They know what He's talking about... 19:07 He is talking about "supping" on Him 19:09 as the bread of life... it's... it's... very simple... 19:12 it's very practical, it's this, it's the Word of God, 19:14 okay, the Word of God... it's not the media, 19:17 it's not Facebook, Fox News and CNN, 19:20 it's not sports and it's not music, 19:25 it's not all of the stuff that distracts us, 19:28 it's the Word of God and Jesus says, 19:30 "You know, you're so distracted, 19:33 even... even by your "religiosity" you're distracted, 19:36 you need to be in the Word of God 19:38 and so, when He's supping with the disciples, 19:41 He's reminding them of that truth, 19:42 and then we're... we're taken back to John chapter 6, 19:45 he reminds them of that truth 19:47 and then we go to Revelation chapter 3 19:49 He's knocking on the door, "Who is it?" 19:52 "It's me... it's Jesus... " 19:53 "Well, what do you want?" "I just want to sup with you, 19:55 I just want to come in and eat with you. " 19:58 And that knock... that rooster crowing... 20:00 that knock comes every single day, every morning, 20:03 evening, afternoon... Jesus is knocking on the door, 20:06 every time we turn on the media device, 20:09 every time we have this moment of opportunity 20:12 it's a moment for us to turn our hearts to God, 20:15 when people are texting us and e-mailing us 20:19 and sending us these little requests, 20:21 I just got one in our break, you know, 20:22 "Please pray for me... " a friend of mine... 20:24 "we're in a situation, this is the situation, 20:27 call for prayer... " "Okay, I'll pray for them... " 20:28 no... pray for them right now 20:30 because you won't pray for them... down the road, 20:32 do it right now, this is a little reminder, 20:34 right now, it's a little reminder, and... 20:37 Ivor: What happens is the voice of God... 20:39 just like the rooster... 20:40 you... first morning... "That was a rooster!" 20:43 A week later... "yeah, that was a rooster... " 20:46 a month later... you're not hearing the rooster anymore 20:49 because you've become so used to the voice, 20:52 you've learned to shut it out 20:53 and that's Laodicea's problem... 20:56 is that we've learned to shut out the knock, 20:59 it's become a "white noise" 21:00 yeah, you don't even hear that knock anymore 21:05 and Jesus is saying, 21:06 "Look, I'm trying to prepare you for what's coming, 21:10 you're not even hearing me knocking... " 21:12 you're not hearing the rooster anymore. 21:13 James: Tone deaf... Ivor: Tone deaf... 21:15 James: It's a fact that sometimes we're so tuned out 21:19 certain noises... including human voices... 21:22 that we become tone deaf to that noise, 21:25 we're just kind of tone deaf again... 21:27 Ivor: People living next to airports... 21:29 they no longer hear the roaring of the airplane, 21:32 I mean, how loud is that? 21:34 They no longer hear the roaring of that plane, 21:37 think about the issue of the disciples in Gethsemane, 21:41 Jesus said, "Look, I want you to watch with me... 21:46 pray with me... something's coming, 21:48 we need to be prepared... " so look... 21:51 if that happened for the first coming of Christ, 21:53 are we going to have a Gethsemane experience 21:56 in this time of Laodicea? Absolutely! 22:00 We can know that because the history is parallel 22:02 and Jesus is trying to show us, 22:04 "Look, don't make the same mistake 22:07 that the disciples made who said, 22:09 'We'll never forsake you, no, no, no, no, no, 22:11 we will go with you to the death, 22:13 we're ready to... we're ready to... what? Mark? 22:16 What Mark? A Mark on this forehead? 22:19 No, I'll... I'll rather die... '" 22:22 And then suddenly that trial comes and you find... 22:26 God says, "Look... " 22:28 back then... they had a second opportunity 22:30 when this hits, there is no... 22:34 you fail this... there is no second opportunity. 22:36 James: Hmmm... hmmm... so we're looking... 22:39 we're looking at the Laodicean condition 22:41 and we're seeing that it is bleak... it is intense... 22:44 it is critical... we are... 22:48 we are being admonished in the strongest way 22:51 but also... it is hopeful, 22:52 God has this deep love in His heart, 22:56 this deep desire to sup with us, to connect with us, 22:58 and the thing that's getting in the way 23:00 is all of our self-righteousness and self-dependence, 23:04 when... when all we need to do is 23:06 open that door and let Jesus in so that He can sup with us 23:09 and there's nothing like that. 23:10 Yvonne: You know that whole idea of choice, 23:14 it is our choice to open that door, 23:17 He doesn't push the door in, He doesn't barge in, 23:21 He leaves it up to us, 23:23 behold I stand at the door and knock, 23:26 if any man hears my voice and opens the door... " 23:28 so it's up to us, to open the door 23:31 but it's even God that brings us to repentance, 23:34 so, it's like, "Yeah, it's our choice 23:37 but in His mercy, 23:39 it's even Him... that makes us want to choose Him, 23:42 God is so merciful but the idea that nothing could take away 23:48 our power to choose, nothing... 23:50 so He's... He leaves it up to us, 23:53 if we open the door, He will come in and connect... 23:56 I like that word... connect with us, 24:00 He wants... when you think about somebody 24:01 coming over to eat, you're hanging out... you know. 24:04 James: Jason... Jason... Yvonne: Yeah, I know... Jason... 24:07 Just coming and connecting, that's what Jesus wants, 24:13 He just wants us to connect with Him. 24:15 James: Now, now let's look at this, 24:16 just for a second, let's just touch on this, 24:18 let's just get a little more out of this, okay, 24:20 we're talking about food right now 24:22 and could Jesus have put it in better words, 24:24 at least for some of us, 24:26 could He have put it in better words than that, 24:27 what is Jesus saying? 24:29 He's saying, "I've got some food that is out of this world," 24:33 now think about this... haven't we partaken some of that food 24:37 as we've doing this study through the Book of Revelation? 24:40 We go, "Wow! that was good... Man! that was good stuff... " 24:44 Yvonne: Yeah... 24:45 James: See, if we never would have opened the door, 24:47 if we never would have opened the door, 24:49 if we never would have opened the door... 24:51 and just opened it, and just... and what Jesus is saying is, 24:53 "You know, the more I feed you, 24:55 the more you're going to experience something 24:59 that is so tasty, so delicious, so satisfying, 25:02 so filling, but the other stuff... 25:04 phish... you just can't be satisfied... 25:05 Ivor: And see, this is the thing... 25:07 He's not asking you to prepare the food... 25:08 you know, if I say, "Hey, I want to come eat with you. " 25:11 "What? I have to cook? Maybe next week... " 25:15 Jesus says, "Look, I brought the food with me... 25:19 so, I'm not asking you to cook, I'm just... I brought the food" 25:23 and what is the food? 25:24 He says, "This is my body which is broken for you," 25:27 He's trying to bring the cross to us, 25:28 He's trying to let us see that Christ and Him crucified, 25:32 Christ and Him lifted up is the remedy, 25:35 that's what opens our eyes, 25:37 that's what clothes us with the white robe, 25:40 that's what brings us the faith of Jesus 25:43 I want that faith, as I behold Him on the cross, 25:45 by beholding... I become changed... 25:49 so think about those guys back in Israel who... 25:52 when they were being bitten by the serpents 25:55 as they looked up at the serpent on the pole, 25:57 something miraculous was happening in them 26:01 that made them impervious, if you will, 26:04 to the venom of the serpent, but if they look down... 26:07 and that's what we like to do, if you're around snakes, 26:09 man! the natural tendency is to look down. 26:12 Yvonne: Right. 26:13 Ivor: God tells Moses, "Put up a serpent on the pole 26:15 and lift it up... where they have to look up," 26:17 yeah, "but I need to look down because of... " 26:19 "No, no, no, no, no... an exercise of faith... " 26:22 I need the faith of Jesus, I'm going to be able to look up 26:25 when serpents are around me on the ground 26:28 and I naturally want to look down 26:31 look at my old wounds... 26:32 He says, "Don't look at yourself, look at me, 26:35 and by looking at me, you'll become changed. " 26:37 Yvonne: Yes... 26:38 James: Perfect illustration for the challenge that we have today 26:40 not to be self-sufficient, 26:42 not to look down and try to protect ourselves, 26:44 but to look up by faith and know 26:45 that Jesus is going to take care of us, 26:47 He's going to take care of us, we have our own little trials, 26:50 even... even in doing these programs, 26:53 we're facing some trials 26:54 and we need to know that God is opening these doors 26:56 and that God is going to continue to open the doors 26:58 and we need to look up to Him 26:59 and see where the door is being opened 27:01 and no man can shut, no man can shut that door 27:04 and how He's going to be bringing that food, 27:06 bringing that food, bringing that food... 27:08 nurturing us... nurturing us, nurturing us. 27:10 Ivor: That's around the table... food that's around the table... 27:14 Yvonne: Come on now... come on now... 27:15 okay our time is up again, we want to remind our viewers 27:19 to send in their video questions... 27:21 Yvonne: To sss... as in Salvation in Symbols and Signs, 27:26 @3abn. org 27:29 James: And we want to have our closing prayer 27:30 Yvonne, would you pray for us? 27:31 Yvonne: Sure... "Father God, how rich is your Word 27:35 thank you so much, thank you for loving us 27:37 and giving us the power to choose you 27:39 and giving us the abundant life, Lord, because in you... 27:43 there is life more abundantly... 27:45 so we thank you so much for that, 27:46 for your presence and your power, Lord, 27:49 we just praise your name and we bless you 27:52 and we thank you for loving us 27:53 when we don't even love ourselves, 27:55 loving us when we were sinners 27:58 and as we continue to make mistakes and sin, Lord, 28:01 you love us still... thank you, 28:03 in Jesus' name we pray Father God, amen. " 28:05 All: "Amen. " |
Revised 2016-08-24