Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM210018S
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00:09 Who was Jesus?
00:12 He had compassion for the weak and the hurting. 00:15 He loved every person He met 00:18 and taught them how to love, 00:20 His great heart helped all those who came near Him. 00:24 But most of all, He was a friend. 00:27 That was who He was. 00:29 Now find out who He is. 00:38 Hello, and welcome once again to 3ABN Summer Camp Meeting. 00:43 Who is Jesus? 00:45 I hope you've been enjoying this as much as we have. 00:49 For this hour, 00:50 our speaker will be Pastor Steve Wohlberg. 00:54 Steve is the Speaker/Director for White Horse Media. 00:58 He's a wonderful father to Seth and Abby 01:01 and a great husband to Kristin. 01:04 But most of all, he's a dear friend 01:06 and a student of the Bible. 01:10 He is going to speak today on Christ messages 01:15 to the church. 01:17 But first, another dear friend is going to sing for us 01:20 and play on the piano. 01:22 And that is our dear brother Tim Parton 01:25 who will sing, Renew My Love. 01:40 Oh, where is now that glowing love 01:45 That marked our union with the Lord! 01:50 Our hearts were fixed on things above 01:54 Nor could the world a joy afford 01:59 Where is the zeal that led us then 02:03 To make our Savior's glory known 02:08 That freed us from the fear of men 02:13 And kept our eye 02:15 on him alone? 02:20 Oh, Lord, 02:22 Renew my love for You 02:27 Oh, Lord, 02:28 Renew my love 02:34 Where are the happy seasons spent 02:37 In fellowship with him adored 02:42 The sacred joy, such sweet content 02:46 The blessed nearness 02:48 Of our Lord 03:01 Behold, again I turn to you 03:06 Oh, cast me not away, though vile 03:10 No peace I have, no joy I view 03:15 Oh Lord, my God, 03:17 But in your smile 03:23 Oh, Lord, renew my love for You 03:29 Oh, Lord, renew my love 03:35 Oh, Lord, renew my love for You 03:41 Oh, Lord, renew my love 04:06 Thank you, Brother. 04:07 Appreciate that good music. 04:10 Hello, everybody. Good to be here at 3ABN. 04:13 God is so good, in thousand ways 04:17 He's blessed me and we hope 04:19 that He blesses you through this special event. 04:23 My topic is Christ's Messages to the Seven Churches. 04:29 And I was amazed when 3ABN, 04:32 just a few weeks ago, 04:33 asked me to speak on this topic. 04:36 The reason why I was amazed was because I had just been 04:38 studying the seven churches 04:40 in the Book of Revelation Chapter 2 and 3. 04:43 And I had just been so deeply impressed with the ability 04:48 of Jesus to see the future, 04:50 which is what we're going to talk about. 04:52 And it just, it was on my mind, 04:54 it was on my heart, 04:57 and I was thinking I've got to talk about this 04:59 at some point and then sure enough 05:02 I got an email from 3BN saying, 05:04 "This is your subject, 05:06 would you come to camp meeting?" 05:07 So I said, "Okay." 05:08 So here I am, God is good. 05:12 I'd like to start out with little story 05:15 about my daughter. 05:16 My daughter, she's 13 years old, 05:19 her name is Abby, Abigail. 05:20 Kids certainly grow up fast these days, 05:23 every day, I guess. 05:25 Any parent knows that. 05:27 And it was just a month or two ago, 05:30 when my wife and Abby went outside in our backyard. 05:34 We live up in the mountains in Priest River, 05:36 Idaho way out in the woods. 05:38 We have grass around us in the backyard. 05:40 And they took the dog out, 05:43 one of our dogs 05:44 to do what dogs do before the family heads to bed. 05:50 And so they went outside and my wife had a flashlight 05:53 and it was probably around 9 o'clock or 8:30, 05:56 and it was dark. 05:58 And our little dog either was running around 06:00 and Kristin noticed something 06:02 that she hadn't seen before. 06:04 We've lived in our house, 06:06 this particular property for about 12 years 06:09 and as she was shining the light on the grass, 06:12 she noticed that there were lots and lots of worms, 06:17 of night crawlers that had come out 06:19 of the ground for some reason that particular night, 06:23 and they were just scattered on the grass. 06:25 And so Abby ran and she said, 06:27 "Dad, you got to come out and see what we see out there." 06:30 So I came out. 06:32 And as she was shining the flashlight on the grass, 06:35 I could see just night crawlers about this big 06:38 and my first thought was, "Boy, 06:40 these would be great inside my garden. 06:42 Worms are great in the garden." 06:44 So I went, I got a little bucket 06:45 and Abby and I walked around. 06:48 And I could hardly catch them 06:50 because as we got closer to them, 06:53 and as the flashlight shone on these worms, 06:57 then they would quickly go back under the ground. 07:00 And sometimes they'd be half out 07:02 and I'd grab one and try to pull it out, 07:03 but they were, you know, too deep in the ground, 07:06 couldn't get them out, didn't want to break a worm. 07:08 My daughter said, "Dad, don't break the worms." 07:10 So I got a couple of them, 07:12 put them in the bucket for my garden. 07:14 But anyway, I was thinking about that. 07:16 And I thought, you know those worms are a lot like 07:20 what's happening in this world right now. 07:21 We live in the final days before Jesus comes. 07:24 We live in the last days 07:26 and just like the worms had come out, 07:29 it just seems like the devils and the demons 07:31 have just come out of their holes, 07:33 and they are just all around the world. 07:35 All the evil things that are happening around us, 07:38 we can just see it on every side. 07:40 And, you know, people are overwhelmed 07:44 with all of the wickedness that's coming out 07:47 and coming out into the open. 07:49 And yet, a lesson that I learned 07:52 from that night was that 07:54 when the flashlight shone directly on those worms, 08:00 they went down into the ground quickly. 08:04 And it just reminds me a simple lesson from nature. 08:10 It reminds me of Jesus Christ. 08:12 This whole theme of this camp meeting is called, 08:15 "Who is Jesus?" 08:17 And Jesus is the light of the world. 08:19 And when His light shines in the world 08:22 and shines on the darkness 08:24 and shines on the devils, 08:25 the devils just poof, they can't handle the light. 08:30 And that's what we need. 08:32 We all need the light of Jesus, 08:33 we need His power, 08:35 His love and His goodness to shine on us. 08:40 So my focus is the Book of Revelation, 08:43 Christ messages to the seven churches. 08:45 So let's start out with Revelation Chapter 1 08:49 and just read, we're going to get a little context here, 08:51 the very first verse in Revelation 1:1 says 08:56 this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. 09:00 And that's fundamental. 09:03 It's just, it's a pillar. 09:05 It's a foundation 09:06 that the Book of Revelation reveals Jesus 09:08 and this whole event is about revealing Jesus. 09:11 And I tell you, the more you read this book, 09:13 it's the last book of the Bible, 09:14 it's my favorite book of all the Bible books, 09:17 you just get a bigger and bigger and bigger view 09:21 of Jesus Christ Himself. 09:24 Who is Jesus? 09:27 As you go down to verse 9, 09:30 here's the context of the seven churches. 09:32 Revelation 1:9, 09:33 John said, "I, John, who also am your brother 09:36 and your companion in tribulation, 09:38 and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. 09:41 I was in the island that is called Patmos, 09:43 for the Word of God 09:45 and for the testimony of Jesus." 09:46 At this time, John was an old man. 09:48 He was a fisherman by trade, 09:50 and he was in his 90s, 09:52 he was the last surviving apostle of Jesus, 09:55 all the others were dead. 09:57 This is somewhere around 96 AD. 09:59 He was prisoner on the Island of Patmos 10:03 because of the Word of God. 10:04 Patmos was like a Roman Alcatraz, 10:07 it was a prison island, 10:08 John had been banished there. 10:10 And he was there praying in verse 10. 10:12 He says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, 10:14 and I heard behind me a great voice like a trumpet. 10:17 And the voice said, 'I am Alpha and Omega, 10:19 the first and the last, 10:20 what you see write in the book, 10:22 and send it to the seven churches 10:24 which are in Asia, 10:26 Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, 10:27 Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia 10:30 and Laodicea." 10:32 These were seven literal churches that were in Asia. 10:35 By this time, Jerusalem had been destroyed 10:38 by the Romans in 70 AD, 10:40 and now the center of God's work had actually shifted 10:44 from Jerusalem over to Asia. 10:46 And this is where God's churches were based, 10:49 at least the seven that Jesus is referring to here. 10:55 And then in verse 12, 10:58 "John turned around to see the voice that spoke to him. 11:01 And being turned, he saw seven golden candlesticks. 11:06 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, 11:07 one like the Son of Man, 11:09 he saw Jesus, 11:10 clothed with the garment down to His feet, 11:12 girt about the breast with the golden girdle." 11:17 God's word is gold. 11:18 Jesus Christ is more valuable 11:20 than all the gold of this world. 11:21 A golden girdle. 11:23 "His head and His hairs were white like wool, 11:24 as white as snow. 11:26 His eyes were like a flame of fire. 11:28 His feet was as it were fine brass 11:30 as if they burned in furnace, 11:32 and His voice was as the sound of many waters. 11:35 He had in His right hand seven stars 11:37 and out of His mouth went a sharp two edged sword, 11:40 and His face was as the sun 11:42 shining in His strength." 11:46 Wow, you can imagine when John saw Jesus, 11:50 he was just, he was overwhelmed. 11:52 Jesus was glorious and bright, 11:56 and His face was just like the sun shining. 12:00 And verse 17, says, John says, "When I saw Him, 12:03 I fell at His feet as a dead man. 12:05 And He laid His right hand upon me. 12:07 And He said to me, 12:08 'Fear not, I am the First and the Last.'" 12:11 Jesus wants to be first in our life. 12:13 He's the first above all, 12:14 He also has the last word in human history. 12:18 His word is the last word. 12:20 "I am He that lives, I was dead, 12:22 that's when He died on the cross, 12:23 and behold, I'm alive forevermore. 12:25 He was resurrected on the third day 12:27 and ascended to heaven. 12:28 And now He lives up above us, 12:31 and someday He's coming back. 12:34 Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death." 12:36 He can unlock the grave. 12:38 And then He said, in verse 19, 12:39 "Write the things which you have seen, 12:42 and the things which are, 12:44 and the things which shall be hereafter." 12:46 The things that John saw was the revelation of Christ, 12:51 and the things that are, 12:52 are the things that were going on in His day, 12:54 and the things that shall be here after 12:57 have to do with the future. 12:59 And one thing that's really impressed me 13:01 as I've read these verses, 13:03 and studied Revelation 2 and 3, 13:06 is Jesus' amazing ability to look ahead, 13:12 and to see exactly 13:14 what was going to happen in the history of His church 13:17 from that day, 13:19 all the way down to the end of time. 13:23 And that's what He's referring to here, 13:25 when He said, 13:27 "The things which shall be hereafter. 13:30 The mystery of the seven stars, 13:32 which you saw on my right hand, 13:33 and the seven golden candlesticks. 13:35 The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, 13:38 are the leaders of the seven churches. 13:40 And the seven candlesticks, 13:41 which you saw are the seven churches." 13:46 And what's happening in this chapter, 13:48 as you read Chapter 2 and 3, 13:50 Jesus gives messages to these different churches one by one, 13:55 about what's coming in the future. 13:57 And as I've pondered this, 14:00 I've learned that the seven churches 14:04 were literal churches, Ephesus and Smyrna. 14:06 They were real churches back then, 14:08 but they also each one symbolized to Jesus' 14:13 phases in the history of Christianity, 14:16 from the time of John, all the way to the end. 14:19 And Revelation 2 and 3 is a little bit like 14:22 Daniel Chapter 2. 14:23 In Daniel 2, the Book of Daniel, 14:25 the counterpart to the Book of Revelation, 14:27 it starts out in Chapter 2 14:29 with this big metal man, 14:31 which was a vision that the king of Babylon saw 14:35 and then Daniel came and interpreted 14:37 that dream he had, and he talked about 14:41 the head of gold and the arms of silver, etc. 14:43 And those different metals, starting with Babylon, 14:47 take us all the way down to the coming of the rock, 14:50 which is Jesus Christ. 14:51 That's what Daniel 2 is about, 14:53 from Babylon down through history to the end. 14:56 And Daniel 2 pretty much forms the basis 15:00 of the rest of the prophecies in the Book of Daniel. 15:02 It's like the template, the foundation. 15:06 And it's the same in the Book of Revelation. 15:11 Revelation 2 and 3 follows that same pattern 15:14 and it gives us the base. 15:17 It's Jesus' prediction 15:19 of what would happen from John's day 15:21 all the way to the end. 15:23 And the rest of the Book of Revelation 15:25 builds on that base. 15:28 So that's what we're looking at here. 15:32 And it just tells us, 15:34 as we read it that Jesus Christ knows the future. 15:38 He's an incredible being, His face shines like the sun, 15:43 He conquered death, His eyes are like fire, 15:47 His word is a two-edged sword, 15:50 in His hand are the leaders of His church, 15:52 and He walks in the midst 15:54 of the seven golden candlesticks, 15:57 which represent the churches. 15:58 It tells us that the seven candlesticks 16:00 which you saw are the seven churches. 16:03 And it also impresses us that the purpose of the church 16:08 is to be a light in this world in the midst of the darkness 16:11 that the light of God, 16:13 the light of Jesus shines through His people 16:16 and shines a light on the devils 16:19 and the worms and the darkness of this world, 16:22 and makes them go back into their holes, 16:25 and nothing can stand before the light of Jesus Christ. 16:28 Now, let me just give you a quick overview, 16:29 and then we'll look at some of the details. 16:31 There are seven churches, were seven churches in Asia, 16:34 again, they were real churches, 16:36 but they symbolize phases in the history of the church. 16:41 Ephesus was the early church, symbolize the early church, 16:46 and it was a church 16:48 that eventually lost its love for Jesus. 16:49 And we'll look at that verse in a few moments. 16:52 And then there was Smyrna, 16:53 Smyrna represents a period of persecution. 16:57 When the early church spread out 16:58 into the Roman world in the early centuries, 17:01 it was originally on fire for God. 17:03 Jesus was working through the church in a powerful way. 17:08 But the fires of the Roman Empire 17:09 finally were kindled against the Church of Jesus, 17:14 and Smyrna represents a period of incredible 17:17 and terrible persecution from the Roman Empire 17:19 in the second and third centuries. 17:21 And then we move into Pergamos, 17:23 which takes us into the time 17:25 when persecution ended in the time of Constantine, 17:28 but compromises took place, 17:30 terrible compromises where the church came out 17:32 of the catacombs, wasn't persecuted, 17:35 but yielded to the temptations of the flesh 17:38 and the devil and the world, and began to compromise, 17:44 seeking the garments of royalty. 17:47 And then there was Thyatira, which takes us farther down 17:50 into the fifth century, six centuries, 17:52 and then moving into the darkness 17:54 of the Dark Ages, which was a time of death. 17:57 Terrible things happened during the Dark Ages. 17:59 And then the church began to come out of the Dark Ages 18:02 in the time of Sardis, 18:03 which was the time of the Reformation. 18:05 It was a time of revival and also stagnation, 18:09 which we will see. 18:11 And then farther down into the 1800s and early 1900s, 18:15 we have the time of Philadelphia, which was a... 18:18 Philadelphia means brotherly love, 18:20 a time of deep revival, focusing 18:22 on the return of Jesus. 18:24 And this was the time of the great 18:26 historic Advent movement that rose in history 18:30 to focus on getting ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. 18:34 And finally, we go down to the last time, 18:36 which is the time of Laodicea. 18:38 Laodicea is the final period in the history of Christianity, 18:42 it's the last church 18:43 and it's a time when the church is plagued 18:47 and people are plagued, Christians are plagued 18:49 with the virus, not the Corona virus, 18:54 but a deeper, more deadly spiritual virus, 18:58 which is the virus of pride and self-sufficiency. 19:01 So Ephesus, church loses its love, 19:04 Smyrna, persecution, Pergamos, 19:07 time of Constantine compromises, Thyatira, 19:11 going down into the Dark Ages, 19:12 the time of death, Sardis, revival and reformation 19:16 and stagnation, Philadelphia, more revival, 19:20 focusing on the coming of Jesus, 19:23 a time of love in the hearts of people 19:25 as they were so excited that Jesus was coming. 19:28 And then the time of pride and self-sufficiency, 19:31 where Jesus is standing on the door and He knocks. 19:37 He's knocking on the door of all of our hearts today 19:40 right now, 19:41 whatever time zone you're in, 19:43 wherever you're watching this. 19:44 So let's go into the book and let's take a look. 19:47 We're just going to look at the highlights. 19:48 Obviously we don't have time to go into every detail 19:52 of these chapters and these messages. 19:54 But each message to a different church, 19:57 Jesus introduces Himself in in a certain way 20:01 that ties in with the message. 20:03 In Revelation 2:1, 20:04 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, 20:07 'These things says 20:08 He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, 20:11 and who walks in the midst 20:12 of the seven golden candlesticks. 20:14 I know your works, your labor, your patience, 20:16 and how you cannot bear them who are evil. 20:19 You have tried them 20:20 who say they are apostles and are not, 20:22 and have found them liars." 20:24 There was a lot of good in the church of Ephesus. 20:25 This was the period of Christian expansion 20:27 when Christianity was on fire 20:30 and spreading throughout the Roman world. 20:32 Jesus said, "You're born, 20:33 you have had patience for My name's sake, 20:35 you have labored and you have not fainted." 20:39 But in verse 4, here's the rebuke. 20:42 Jesus said, "Nevertheless, 20:43 I have something against you 20:45 because you have left your first love. 20:49 Remember, therefore from where you have fallen and repent." 20:53 So one of the main points of Jesus' 20:56 message to Ephesus is that the early Christians 21:01 had begun to lose their love for Jesus, 21:05 their first love. 21:07 And as I read this, and look at this, 21:08 it just impresses me that in all the things 21:11 that are happening in this world, 21:12 all the problems in this world 21:14 that we've got to make sure 21:15 that the love of Jesus is still dominant in our life. 21:19 Matthew 24, in Jesus' description 21:22 of the signs of the times, He says that, 21:25 "Because lawlessness will increase," 21:27 He said, "the love of many will grow cold." 21:31 And that's what's happening right now. 21:32 Love is growing cold, love is dying, 21:34 we've seen, you know, riots and civil unrest, 21:37 and all kinds of problems in this world. 21:40 And even in the church, 21:41 there's, you know, people are divided 21:43 on their political views and different views, 21:46 and in the midst of all of this, 21:48 we've got to make sure 21:49 that we don't lose our love for Jesus and for people. 21:55 This is just... 21:57 This is the base of Christianity, 21:59 the love of Jesus. 22:01 And if you look at the history of Christianity, 22:03 history of the church, 22:05 the trend which eventually led to the Dark Ages, 22:10 started with 22:13 a loss of love on the part 22:16 of the followers of Christ. 22:19 "I have something against you, you have left your first love. 22:23 Remember therefore from where you have fallen 22:26 and repent." 22:27 So a loss of love leads to a fall. 22:29 And as we keep reading Revelation, 22:31 in the messages of the seven churches, 22:33 and then finally we get to the fall 22:35 of Babylon in Revelation 14 and Revelation 17, 22:39 this fall started in Ephesus 22:43 when Christians lost their first love. 22:46 So if we want to avoid Babylon, 22:49 and come out of Babylon, we've got to make sure 22:51 that Babylon is out of us. 22:53 And one of the best ways to have Babylon out of us 22:57 is to have the pure love of Jesus Christ, 22:59 and to be followers of His Word. 23:01 So that's a big lesson for us 23:04 as we look at the seven churches. 23:08 Don't miss this point, 23:09 the beginning of the Great Apostasy 23:13 that happened in Christian history 23:15 started with a falling away 23:19 from the love of Jesus Christ. 23:23 Big lesson for us in that. 23:25 We've got to avoid repeating that history. 23:28 So second message, verse 8, 23:32 "To the angel in the church of Smyrna write, 23:36 'These things says the first and the last, 23:38 which was dead and is alive again.'" 23:41 Jesus introduces Himself 23:42 as the one who died and who rose 23:45 because that's what was going on 23:48 in that early period of Smyrna, a lot of Christians were dying, 23:52 a lot of them were being persecuted by Romans, 23:56 Roman emperors like Nero, and Decius, and Diocletian, 24:00 the history books are filled with the blood of the saints, 24:05 and a lot of that blood was shed at the hands 24:07 and at the instigation of Roman Caesars. 24:12 And so Jesus talks to Smyrna during that period. 24:15 Verse 10, He says, "Fear none of those things 24:17 which you shall suffer. 24:19 Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, 24:22 that you may be tried 24:23 and you will have tribulation for 10 days, 24:26 but be faithful till death, 24:28 and I will give you the crown of life." 24:36 I will give you the crown of life. 24:38 Be faithful till death, Jesus told the early church, 24:41 and a lot of those Christians 24:42 had a much harder time than we have. 24:44 You know, we think that life in this time 24:48 is difficult, and it is in many ways, 24:51 but it was much more difficult for the early Christians. 24:55 It was very dangerous to be a Christian, 24:58 and many of them were slaughtered, 25:00 they were martyred, 25:02 they were torn apart by lions 25:05 and dogs in the Coliseum. 25:08 And Jesus told them to be faithful, to hold on. 25:11 And so the lesson for us is, no matter what we go through, 25:15 we need to hold on to Jesus, 25:17 be faithful even to the point of death. 25:20 And Jesus says that if we are faithful 25:23 in the midst of trial and struggles 25:25 and tribulation, we will have the crown of life. 25:31 Praise the Lord. 25:32 So this is a call of God to you and to me to be faithful 25:38 to Bible truth, faithful to Jesus, 25:41 in a time of apostasy and difficulty and trial. 25:46 So that is just a quick overview 25:50 of the message to Smyrna. 25:53 A lot more in there, 25:54 don't have time to read everything. 25:55 Verse 11, Jesus said, 25:57 "He that has an ear, let him hear 25:58 what the Spirit says to the churches. 26:00 He who overcomes shall not be heard of the second death." 26:03 That's the real death we need to worry about. 26:05 It's not the death that we go through in this life. 26:08 You know, people die of COVID-19, 26:10 people that have heart disease, people that have cancer, 26:13 people die in car accidents, people die all the time. 26:15 But that's just the first step. 26:17 The main death we want to make sure 26:19 we avoid is the second death 26:22 for people that are lost, 26:24 who have rejected Jesus. 26:26 So that's Smyrna. 26:28 Next one is Pergamos in verse 12. 26:33 Revelation 2:12, 26:38 "To the angel of the church in Pergamos write, 26:41 'These things says he who has the sharp sword 26:44 with two edges. 26:47 I know your works, 26:48 where you dwell and where Satan seat is, 26:52 and you hold fast my name 26:53 and you have not denied my faith, 26:55 even in those days whereas, 26:57 Antipas was my faithful martyr 27:00 who was slain among you where Satan dwells." 27:02 I've done a little research on Antipas. 27:06 Jesus said he was my faithful martyr. 27:08 And from what I've been able to find, 27:11 there really is no record of a literal person 27:14 named Antipas, who was martyred. 27:17 As I look at this verse, it seems to me that this is, 27:20 Jesus is using the word Antipas like He used the word Jezebel, 27:24 a little bit later, as the symbol. 27:27 And it refers to those that were Antipas or Papa, 27:33 which ultimately led to the popes, 27:35 the papas, the popes, 27:37 the Roman church rose up during this period, 27:40 and appointed one individual, the pope, 27:45 that claim to have all spiritual 27:48 and temporal power on earth. 27:51 That was what eventually they claimed. 27:54 And in those early days, 27:55 in the time of Constantine, 27:57 when Constantine ended persecution, 28:00 issued an edict that Christians will not be persecuted anymore. 28:04 And then what happened was the church came out 28:05 of the catacombs, 28:08 and began to unite with the state. 28:11 We have the church uniting with Constantine, 28:13 church and state, 28:15 and this laid the foundation 28:16 for the papal system during the Dark Ages. 28:21 Now, I'm sure there were a lot of people that were, 28:23 you know, part of that church 28:24 that did their best based on the light 28:28 that they had and the knowledge that they had, 28:30 but there were many that looked at this development, 28:33 and they realized, you know, we can't go along with this. 28:36 And so they opposed the church state union, 28:40 which eventually resulted in the papacy 28:43 and in persecution against Christians, 28:46 Christians that didn't go along with it. 28:48 And I think Jesus is giving us a little parable here. 28:54 He talks about those days 28:56 where in Antipas or Anti papa was my faithful martyr. 29:01 Christians were persecuted under the Roman Empire 29:05 through the Caesars. 29:06 And then as the popes grew in power, 29:09 Christians were persecuted by the popes, 29:11 and by the Roman church. 29:13 And many of them said, 29:14 we can't go along with this, 29:16 we're standing up against this, 29:17 and they lost their lives as well. 29:20 And Jesus calls them His faithful martyr. 29:24 Now notice verse 14, 29:26 "I have a few things against you, 29:28 because some of them were compromising 29:30 during this period, because you have there them 29:33 that hold the doctrine of Balaam, 29:35 who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block 29:38 before the children of Israel 29:40 and to eat things sacrificed to idols, 29:42 and to commit fornication." 29:43 Now, what's happening here, 29:45 and this is just a masterpiece of parabolic instruction. 29:50 What Jesus is doing here 29:51 is He's identifying the church of Pergamos 29:55 with the problem of Balaam. 30:02 If you study the history of Balaam, 30:04 Balaam was a prophet of God who went bad. 30:08 He started out good, but he went into apostasy. 30:12 And he yielded to the temptation for money. 30:16 Balak was the king of Moab, 30:18 and he offered him money if he would come to Moab 30:22 and curse Israel. 30:24 And so Balaam eventually did that. 30:26 And so you have a prophet of God 30:28 who has gone bad, 30:30 connecting with a king, Balak, 30:34 and Jesus uses that story as a parable 30:39 of what was happening to the Christian church 30:42 during the time of Constantine. 30:44 The church was going bad, 30:46 the church was moving in the direction of apostasy, 30:49 just like Balaam. 30:50 And the church was connecting with the kings of the earth, 30:55 like Balak, 30:56 now it was connecting to Constantine. 30:58 And Jesus said that this was happening. 31:01 And that going back to the children of Israel, 31:04 that they were being taught to eat things sacrificed 31:06 to idols in the days of Balaam, 31:08 and also to commit fornication. 31:11 And if you look at the history of the church, 31:12 that's what started happening, 31:13 that the leaders of the church, especially in Rome, 31:17 started committing fornication with Constantine, 31:21 by uniting with him 31:24 and relying on his civil authority 31:27 to help advance their cause. 31:29 So Balaam, Balak, fornication, 31:32 offering things sacrificed to idols, all of these words, 31:38 this is a masterpiece of Jesus Christ 31:41 instruction given to John, an old fisherman, 31:43 on an island of Patmos, 31:45 hundreds of years before the time of Constantine, 31:49 where He pinpointed exactly, 31:51 and I mean exactly what was going to happen, 31:54 and He used the parable of Balaam 31:57 to illustrate his point. 31:59 And when I first read that and pondered that, 32:01 it just impressed me, "Wow, Lord, 32:03 You are an incredible being. 32:06 You saw this in advance, 32:08 You predicted it step by step from Ephesus, 32:11 the early church to Smyrna, the time of persecution, 32:15 to the time of Pergamos, which the time of, 32:18 a time of compromise in the time of Constantine, 32:21 I tell you, it's just perfect." 32:24 And this is exactly what happened in history. 32:28 And let's go down to the fourth church, 32:30 which was Thyatira. 32:33 Revelation 3:18, 32:34 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write, 32:37 these things says, 'The Son of God, 32:40 who has eyes like a flame of fire 32:42 and His feet like fine brass." 32:45 I tell you, only the Son of God 32:47 can reveal such a masterpiece 32:49 of human history in advance. 32:52 We should have no doubt of who Jesus is. 32:55 He is the Son of God. 32:57 His eyes are like a flame of fire. 32:59 He sees the future. 33:00 He knows all things. He is God in human flesh. 33:04 He is, 33:05 I would rather have one word from Jesus 33:08 than a hundred thousand words of men. 33:12 Jesus is the Son of God. 33:14 Now and then He goes on, and He talks to the church. 33:16 He says some good things about the church. 33:18 And then in verse 18, notice what He says, 33:20 "Notwithstanding, 33:22 I have a few things against you, 33:24 because you permit that woman Jezebel, 33:27 which calls herself a prophetess, 33:29 to teach and to seduce my servants 33:32 to commit fornication and eat things sacrificed to idols." 33:36 Now here looking at the time of Thyatira, 33:38 which takes us into the Dark Ages, 33:40 Jesus uses not the word Antipas which is, 33:44 which was a symbol, and not the word Balaam, 33:47 which was a symbol, 33:48 but now He uses the word Jezebel. 33:51 And this doesn't mean that there was a, 33:52 that the literal Jezebel had been reincarnated 33:55 or resurrected, and then she was walking 33:56 into the church. 33:58 Not at all. 33:59 Jesus uses this woman, Jezebel, 34:01 to symbolize at that point in Christian history, 34:05 an apostate church 34:07 that had now risen up was organized 34:10 and was leading people astray just like Jezebel did. 34:15 Jezebel united with Ahab in the Old Testament, 34:18 and that's what happened. 34:19 You have a church united with the state, 34:22 and that takes us right through the Dark Ages, 34:24 and Jesus is warning His church, 34:27 "Don't go along with Jezebel. 34:29 Don't go along with this false woman, 34:31 this false church. 34:34 Verse 21, "I gave her space to repent of her fornication 34:38 and she repented not." 34:39 That's exactly what happened during the Reformation, 34:41 during the time of Luther, and Melanchthon, and Wycliffe, 34:46 and Hus, and Jerome, and the other reformers 34:49 that God raised up in the time 34:52 of the 1500s and 1600s. 34:55 God was giving Jezebel time to repent, 34:59 but she repented not. 35:01 And so the whole history of the time 35:03 of the Protestant Reformation is right here in this verse, 35:07 Jesus predicted it in advance. 35:10 Verse 22, says, "Behold, I will cast her into a bed, 35:13 and then they committed adultery with her 35:15 into great tribulation." 35:17 This takes us all the way down to the time of trouble 35:19 when the harlot woman of Revelation 17 35:23 finally goes down, 35:25 except they repent of their deeds. 35:26 Verse 23 says, "I will kill her children 35:29 with death, and all the churches shall know 35:32 that I am He who searches the reins and the hearts, 35:35 and I will give every one of you according 35:38 to your works." 35:40 Now here it's talking about the children of Jezebel, 35:45 and it applies this to all the churches. 35:48 And this takes us down paralleling Revelation 17, 35:51 when we have a woman named Babylon, 35:53 she's the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. 35:57 And so we have a woman who has daughters, 35:59 and the daughters came out of the mother, 36:01 but eventually they start doing what the mother does. 36:05 And they go back to the mother, 36:07 which qualifies them as the daughters of Babylon. 36:10 And that's further unfolded in the Book of Revelation 36:15 that Jesus is describing this right here. 36:18 The daughters of Jezebel are the daughters of Babylon. 36:21 And He's given them time to repent, 36:24 but they chose not to repent. 36:27 And then He says judgment is going to come. 36:29 I'm the one who searches the heart, 36:31 I search the mind, I know everything about you, 36:33 I see the future in advance. 36:36 And not only that, but Jesus sees you. 36:38 He sees me, He sees our hearts, 36:40 He sees our mind, 36:41 He knows everything about us. 36:44 And there's big lessons for us here in the message 36:47 to Thyatira. 36:50 There's more in here, we don't have time to look at. 36:52 But now let's go to the next message, 36:54 which is in Revelation Chapter 3, 36:57 the message of Sardis. 36:59 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write, 37:01 'These things says 37:02 He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, 37:05 I know your works, 37:07 that you have a name that you live and you are dead. 37:10 Be watchful, and strengthen 37:12 the things which remain that are ready to die, 37:14 for I have not found your works perfect before God. 37:17 Remember, therefore how you ever received and heard, 37:20 and hold fast and repent." 37:22 Jesus now takes us down farther from the Reformation, 37:26 after the Protestant churches had come out of Babylon, 37:29 had risen up, they'd come out of Jezebel, 37:32 but they, step by step began going back to the mother, 37:37 and at the time of the 1800s, 37:40 when the Advent movement was growing 37:43 to bring people back to the Bible, 37:45 and to focus on the second coming of Jesus, 37:48 many of the churches 37:50 at that time stagnated, 37:55 and they actually opposed 37:57 the preaching of the early Adventists, 38:01 who were calling people back to the Bible 38:03 and to get ready for the second coming, 38:05 and to come out of Babylon. 38:07 And many of them chose to stay in Babylon 38:10 and they had a name that they were alive. 38:12 They, you know, they called themselves 38:15 by different denominations 38:17 and they had a name that they were alive, 38:19 that they were true followers of Jesus, 38:21 but when they were tested by the Word of God, 38:24 it showed that many of them were actually dead. 38:28 Spiritually, they were not following the messages 38:32 of Jesus Christ that were advancing in Christian history, 38:36 as revealed in the seven churches, 38:39 and in Revelation 14, and other chapters. 38:44 So a lot there. 38:45 Now, let's go to the next message. 38:47 This is so powerful. 38:49 Now we go down to Philadelphia. 38:52 Revelation 3:7, 38:54 Jesus says, "To the angel in the church 38:56 of Philadelphia write, 38:57 'These things says He who is holy, 39:00 He who is true, He that has the key of David, 39:02 He that opens and no man shuts and shuts and no man opens, 39:07 I know your works. 39:09 Behold, I have set before you and open door 39:13 and no man can shut it. 39:15 And you have a little strength and you've kept My word 39:18 and you have not denied My name." 39:24 When you look at the history of Christianity 39:26 going down into the 1800s, 39:28 there was a big disappointment in 1843. 39:30 In 1844, there was a whole group 39:33 of Christians that had come out of churches 39:36 that weren't really interested in the advancing light, 39:40 they didn't want to focus on the Second Coming, 39:42 they didn't want to get ready for the Advent of Christ, 39:46 and these Christians, the strong Christians 39:49 were expecting Jesus to come, but He didn't come. 39:53 And they went through a huge disappointment 39:54 just like the disciples went through a disappointment 39:56 when Jesus died. 39:58 They were expecting Him to sit on the throne, 40:00 but it wasn't time for Him to sit on the throne, 40:02 it was time for Him to die as a lamb upon the cross, 40:06 and they were devastated. 40:07 But then Jesus rose from the dead 40:09 and their hope came back, 40:11 and they began to restudy the Bible, 40:13 and they realized that prophecy had been perfectly fulfilled. 40:17 The same thing happened during the time 40:19 of the Advent movement 40:20 and what were called the Millerites, 40:22 the people that were focusing on the Second Coming of Jesus, 40:25 they went through a terrible disappointment. 40:27 But on the other side of that disappointment, 40:29 they restudied their Bible. 40:31 And they discovered 40:32 that there was a sanctuary up in heaven, 40:35 and that one door of Jesus ministry had closed, 40:39 there was a shut door, 40:41 and another door into His ministry had opened. 40:44 And there's a parallel text 40:46 that I'll just leave Revelation 3 40:49 for a quick moment. 40:51 But Revelation 11:19, says, 40:54 "The temple of God was opened in heaven, 40:57 and there was seen in His temple, 40:59 the ark of His testament, 41:01 and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, 41:03 and an earthquake, and a great hail." 41:05 And this verse takes us to the temple in heaven. 41:07 And the Bible says that the temple of God 41:09 was opened in heaven, 41:11 there was a door opened in heaven, 41:13 and there was seen by a group of people, 41:16 the Ark of God's covenant, 41:18 which is in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. 41:22 And this, so this points to a time 41:24 when God's people see the ark. 41:26 And what happened was, the people went 41:27 through the disappointment then they realized 41:29 the sanctuary wasn't on the earth, 41:31 the sanctuary was in heaven. 41:32 That's where Jesus is our Great High Priest. 41:34 And they realized that God had opened a new door, 41:40 into the heavenly temple. 41:41 And they discovered the ark, 41:43 they discovered the law, 41:45 they looked at the Ten Commandments. 41:46 And as they looked at the Ten Commandments, 41:48 they went down one, two, three, four, 41:51 and then they saw the fourth commandment, 41:53 and they became Sabbath keepers. 41:56 And historically, 41:57 that's how the Seventh-day Adventist Church arose, 42:02 was in the wake of the disappointment 42:05 in the 1843, in 1844. 42:09 And then, as they studied this prophecy, 42:11 as they went also to Revelation Chapter 3, 42:15 they realized that they were in the time of Philadelphia, 42:19 they had a lot of love, they love Jesus, 42:21 they longed for His coming, they couldn't wait, 42:23 they were hoping he would come, 42:25 but they were disappointed. 42:27 And then they kept studying, 42:28 just like the disciples were disappointed 42:30 when Jesus died. 42:32 And then when He rose, 42:33 they saw Him and He led them back into a study 42:36 of the prophecies 42:38 that had been fulfilled in His life, death, 42:41 burial and resurrection. 42:42 So they restudied, and they discovered 42:44 that in this time period in Philadelphia, 42:47 Jesus talks and says, "I am the one 42:50 who has the key of David, 42:53 I am the one that opens and no man shuts and shuts, 42:57 and no man opens, I know your works. 42:59 Behold, I have set before you an open door, 43:02 and no man can shut it." 43:05 Jesus showed the church at this phase in history, 43:10 that He had shut a door to the Holy Place 43:13 in the sanctuary where He had been ministering 43:16 for 1800 years as our high priest, 43:18 and now He had opened 43:20 a new door into the Most Holy Place. 43:24 He says, "I've opened a door, 43:25 you can't shut it." 43:27 Revelation 11:19 says, 43:28 "The temple of God was opened in heaven, 43:31 and the ark was seen, 43:32 and inside the ark is the law, 43:34 and inside the law is the Sabbath." 43:37 And God was shining light 43:38 upon those believers showing them 43:41 that the door had now been open into the Most Holy Place 43:45 of the heavenly sanctuary. 43:46 And up there, the ark is seen, 43:50 and the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath, 43:53 and that opened the door to the Advent movement, 43:57 which became the Seventh-day Adventist movement 44:00 in this world. 44:02 And no matter how many worms or devils 44:06 or demons come out of their holes 44:09 and try to close that door, 44:11 it can't happen. 44:13 That door is open. 44:15 And Jesus said, "No man can shut that door. 44:20 It's impossible." 44:21 Praise the Lord. 44:23 And to me again, it's so amazing 44:25 that Jesus predicted this in to, 44:28 and He gave this message to an old fisherman in 96 AD. 44:33 And He pinpointed this exactly in the history of the church. 44:39 You have a little strength, 44:40 you've kept my word 44:41 and you have not denied My name. 44:44 Verse 11, He says, "Behold, I'm coming quickly." 44:47 I'm getting ready to come. 44:49 I haven't forgotten My promise. 44:51 Even though you were disappointed, 44:54 I am going to come. 44:56 "Behold, I come quickly, 44:58 hold fast what you have that no man take your crown." 45:02 Here Jesus is telling us He's coming. 45:04 The Advent movement focused on His Second Coming is true, 45:08 it's right, it's biblical, 45:10 it's based on Scripture. 45:12 "Behold, I'm coming," Jesus says, "Hold fast, 45:15 hold on, stick with the open door." 45:19 Look up 45:20 and see the way Jesus is leading His church. 45:26 Okay, now we go down to the last church. 45:29 Revelation 3:14, 45:31 takes us to the final period. 45:32 And the final period is the period of Laodicea. 45:36 It's interesting that the word Laodicea means 45:39 the judging of the people. 45:41 Laos means people and Laodicea is translated 45:45 the time of the judging or the judgment of the people, 45:49 which takes us down to Revelation 14:7, 45:52 where the Adventist said, 45:54 "Fear God and give glory to Him 45:57 because we're in the hour of God's judgment." 46:00 It fits perfectly. 46:01 The sequence of the churches fits perfectly 46:04 with Christian history, 46:05 and how God has been leading His people step by step 46:08 all the way to this moment, all the way to today. 46:13 So let's look at the last church. 46:18 "To the angel, the church of Laodicea," 46:20 verse 14, "Jesus said to John, 46:23 'Write this down, 46:25 these things says the Amen, 46:28 the faithful and true witness." 46:30 This is all true history in these chapters, 46:33 from Ephesus losing the first love, 46:36 to the time of Smyrna, persecution, 46:40 to the time of Constantine, 46:42 symbolized by Balaam and Balak, 46:45 down to the time of the Dark Ages, 46:47 symbolized by Jezebel 46:48 and the false church that had risen up, 46:51 down to the time of the Reformation, 46:54 the mighty Reformation which eventually stagnated 46:58 as the churches refused to advance in advancing light, 47:02 and became like people that had a name 47:04 that they were alive, but they were dead. 47:06 And then down farther into the time of the 1800s, 47:08 the Millerite movement, 47:10 when the door was opened into the heavenly sanctuary, 47:14 they saw more light, 47:16 and learned about the Ten Commandments 47:17 and the Sabbath and ultimately the cross 47:21 and the blood of Jesus to wash away all of our sins. 47:24 And now we get down to the time of Laodicea, 47:30 the time of the judging of the people. 47:33 Verse 15, Jesus says, 47:36 "I know your works, 47:37 you are neither cold nor hot, 47:39 I wish that you were cold or hot. 47:40 So then because you are lukewarm, 47:42 and neither cold nor hot, 47:44 I will spit you out of my mouth, 47:45 because you say, I am rich, 47:48 and increased with goods and have need of nothing, 47:52 and you do not know that you are wretched 47:54 and miserable, and poor and blind and naked." 47:57 When you really look at it, 47:58 the ultimate problem with Laodicea is a problem 48:03 of self-sufficiency and pride. 48:05 Laodicea boasts and says, 48:08 "I'm rich, I'm increased with goods, 48:10 I have need of nothing." 48:12 Laodiceans have all this knowledge. 48:16 We have all this history, we know 48:18 where we are in prophetic history, 48:19 we know where we are in the stream of time, 48:22 but we have a problem. 48:24 And the problem is pride, 48:27 which ultimately goes all the way back to the devil. 48:30 And if you think about it, 48:32 if you look at Babylon in Revelation 18, 48:35 Babylon says, "I sit as a queen 48:37 and I will see no sorrow." 48:39 That's the spirit of pride. 48:41 And even though Laodicea doesn't share 48:42 the doctrines of Babylon, 48:44 she shares the spirit of Babylon. 48:47 It's the same spirit. 48:49 I'm rich, and increased with good just like Babylon. 48:53 I sit a queen and we'll and we'll see no sorrow, 48:57 there's different doctrines, 48:58 but it's the same spirit. 48:59 And Jesus warns us 49:01 that we've got to have God take that pride 49:05 and self-sufficiency out of us. 49:07 I read recently that there's three great lessons 49:10 for us to learn in life. 49:11 Number one is our own, 49:13 the realization of our own weakness. 49:15 Number two is the realization of our need 49:17 to depend on God's power. 49:19 And the third is the realization 49:21 that we're here in this world to be a blessing to others, 49:24 to develop unselfishness and to help people, 49:29 whoever they are, 49:30 whatever church they're part of, 49:31 these are the messages that Jesus has for us, 49:34 but Laodicea become self-satisfied. 49:37 Laodicea says, "I have need of nothing." 49:41 And that's really the part of the heart of Jesus's message 49:45 is a lack of need. 49:47 And the good news 49:48 is that if you know you're a sinner, 49:50 if you know you have problems, 49:51 if you know that you're all messed up, 49:54 and if you that you need God in your life, 49:57 you need Jesus, 49:58 you need His light to shine on you, 50:00 you need His grace, His goodness, His love, 50:01 His mercy and His compassion, 50:03 the good news is that Jesus' grace is sufficient for you. 50:07 He's got everything for you. 50:08 He loves you, and He wants to help you 50:11 that the biggest problem we have is that 50:13 we don't feel our need. 50:20 If we would just realize how faulty we are, 50:24 how sinful we are, how helpless we are, 50:27 then Jesus could help us. 50:28 He could do everything for us, 50:30 but we've got to humble our hearts 50:32 and give our lives to Him. 50:34 Then Jesus makes an appeal in Revelation 3:19, 50:39 "As many as I love, I rebuke, and I chasten. 50:42 Be zealous therefore and repent. 50:45 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 50:47 If any man hears My voice, 50:51 and His voice is heard in His Word." 50:55 Revelation 2 and 3 is a masterpiece of information 50:59 and predictions from the one who never lies, 51:03 whose voice is powerful. 51:06 I'd rather have one word 51:08 from Jesus than 10,000 words of men. 51:12 If any man hears My voice, and opens the door, 51:16 and we're not talking about the door 51:17 into the heavenly sanctuary now, now we're talking about 51:20 the door into our hearts. 51:23 "Any man opens the door, 51:25 I will come in to him and sup with him, 51:28 and he with Me." 51:30 Jesus is knocking and appealing to Laodiceans, 51:36 to you and to me, 51:37 to open our hearts and to let Him come in. 51:40 And when He comes in, 51:41 then He'll bring love into our hearts, 51:44 and He'll renew love, 51:46 which is what the early church lost, what Ephesus lost, 51:50 which began the Great Apostasy 51:52 was the loss of their first love. 51:55 Jesus wants to renew that love in the hearts 51:59 of His final people down at the very end of the stream 52:02 of time to get them ready for His Second Coming. 52:07 Love for God, love for others, 52:09 no matter what their political views, 52:11 no matter what the color of their skin, 52:14 you know, this whole issue of racism 52:16 is a huge issue today, Jesus loves everybody, 52:19 no matter what the color of our skin, 52:21 and we've got to have that love inside of us, too. 52:25 Verse 21, "He says to him that overcomes, 52:29 I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, 52:32 even as I also overcame, 52:35 and have sat down with My Father 52:37 in His throne." 52:42 I tell you, this is so powerful. 52:44 If you look at history, 52:46 you can see Jesus' words fulfilled exactly. 52:48 And now we're in the final days. 52:50 And Jesus says, in the midst of all the things 52:51 that are happening in this world 52:53 where Hollywood is tempting us, 52:55 our cell phones are tempting us, 52:56 technology is tempting us, 52:59 the lust of the flesh are tempting us, 53:01 we're being tempted on all sides, Jesus says, 53:03 "I've got something much better for you in this world 53:06 than you can possibly imagine. 53:08 And if you humble yourself, feel your need, 53:11 open your heart, let Me come in," 53:13 Jesus says, "Ultimately, 53:15 My goal for you is to sit on My throne, 53:19 to share the throne of the King of the universe, 53:21 the one whose face shines like the sun, 53:25 the one who sees history in advance, 53:28 the one whose word is true, 53:30 the one who never lies, 53:31 who never makes a mistake." 53:33 He's offering us something that we can't imagine. 53:36 He's offering us a place on the throne of God. 53:41 So what do you want? 53:43 Is there more attraction on your phone 53:46 than sitting with Jesus on His throne, 53:49 sharing the throne forever? 53:51 Are the lights of Hollywood 53:54 of more interest to you than the light of Jesus Christ 53:58 that scatters the devils? 54:01 Tell you, this is where we're at. 54:03 This is His appeal to the final generation, 54:06 "I will have you, 54:08 you will sit with Me on My throne 54:10 even as I also overcame." 54:12 Jesus overcame by humbling Himself. 54:14 He lived a humble life. 54:16 He went down, down, down, down, down, 54:18 all the way to the cross, 54:19 Lucifer exalts himself up, up, up, 54:21 and Jesus went down, down, down. 54:23 And at the bottom, He says, 54:25 "Come to Me and I will give you rest. 54:27 Humble yourself." 54:29 That's how you overcome is by under coming, 54:31 by humbling yourself feeling your need for God, 54:35 for Jesus Christ, for His word and for the truth. 54:39 I have now set down with my Father in His throne. 54:42 Verse 22. 54:44 He says, "He that has an ear," 54:48 do you have an ear? Do you hear? 54:52 "Let him hear 54:53 what the Spirit says to the churches." 54:56 What the Holy Spirit says 54:58 to the churches from Ephesus, to Smyrna, 55:02 to Pergamos, to Thyatira, 55:05 to Sardis, to Philadelphia, 55:07 and all the way to Laodicea. 55:10 I tell you, Jesus Christ, who is Jesus? 55:12 He's the Son of God. 55:14 He's the one who sees history in advance. 55:16 He's the one that appeared to John on the island of Patmos. 55:20 He's the one who lives. 55:21 He was dead, 55:23 and now He's alive forevermore. 55:25 He's up on the throne of God, 55:27 and He's appealing to you and appealing to me, 55:31 to give up the foolish, small, 55:35 slimy ways of this world, 55:38 and to grab a hold of eternal riches, 55:42 to hear what the Holy Spirit says to the church, 55:45 to make a decision, to humble our hearts, 55:49 to give ourselves to Jesus and say, 55:50 "Lord, forgive me, come into my life, 55:53 change me, give me love, 55:55 help me not to lose my love, 55:57 help me to have love, 55:58 renew my love for You and for others, for people, 56:01 that Your light may shine through me on them." 56:07 He that has an ear, 56:08 let him hear 56:10 what the Spirit says to the churches. 56:13 I tell you, you know when I walked around 56:15 with my little girl, my daughter, 56:17 13 year old and my wife, 56:19 and we saw all those worms 56:22 in our backyard, 56:26 and then the flashlight shone on them, 56:31 and they went back into their hole 56:32 so I could hardly grab them and get them in my garden, 56:35 I learned a lesson. 56:37 And the lesson is that light scatters the darkness. 56:42 And we want you to know, 56:44 everybody at 3ABN wants you to know 56:46 that Jesus Christ is the light. 56:48 He's the Son of God. 56:49 He is the Savior of the world. 56:52 He has a glorious future for you and for me, 56:55 so let's give our lives to Him. 56:57 And in these last days, 56:58 let the light shine to scatter the darkness. 57:02 By God's grace, may it happen. 57:08 His body was broken, 57:11 so that we could live, 57:13 giving us the gift of eternal life. 57:17 He pursues us relentlessly 57:19 with an everlasting love 57:22 regardless of our failures and mistakes, 57:26 the One who loves us like no other. 57:30 This is who Jesus is. |
Revised 2022-01-13