1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,640 Good morning, Calvary Chapel, Good morning. 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,720 It's a blessed morning today. Please turn in your Bibles to 3 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,960 the second chapter of the Book of Revelation. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:17,400 Thank you so much, Sister, for that very warm greeting for our 5 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,200 visitors and also for those who are here and also for all of our 6 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:25,880 our announcements, which we have always have something going on 7 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,240 here at Calvary Chapel while you're flipping. 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,680 I just also want to send out a very warm welcome to those who 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,680 do listen from behind prison walls. 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,120 We never want them to think that we have forgotten them. 11 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,320 We thank you for joining us every every week or every 12 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:47,120 Tuesday or when or Wednesday, whenever it is that you are able 13 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:50,400 to tune in. We thank you and we welcome you 14 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:52,240 and we hope that you are blessed. 15 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,120 We pray that you are blessed by the word of God. 16 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,360 Please pray for our pastor Clark as he's on his way back from 17 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,240 vacation. They were suffering down there 18 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:05,080 at the beach. And yeah, I'm sure he was down 19 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:11,280 there with fear and trembling down there on the shore. 20 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,200 And he sends a picture every now and then, and it just looks very 21 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:19,480 beautiful, very, very calm. I can understand why he find so 22 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,080 much peace when he goes down to the beach. 23 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,200 It's a beautiful area where they are. 24 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:29,120 So please pray for them as they are on their way back and and 25 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,320 pray for everyone that you are aware of who are dealing with 26 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:35,480 any kind of infirmities, any kind of sicknesses, diseases or 27 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,120 whatever the case may be. Please lift them up as you know 28 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,560 who they are. Amen. 29 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,280 So let's pray and let's go into the word of Godfather. 30 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:50,600 We do thank you this morning once again as you tell us, Lord, 31 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:56,880 in your word, that those who diligently seek you, you reward. 32 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,520 And we thank you this morning, Lord, that we have come once 33 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:06,680 again to seek you. Not to seek man, not to hear 34 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:11,120 anything from me, but to seek You a Father. 35 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,680 We desire to hear your voice. We want to hear you speak to us. 36 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,960 You have the words of life, and we thank you, Father, that we 37 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,680 have life in you. I pray this morning, Lord, that 38 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,800 you have been satisfied. I've been pleased with our 39 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,640 praise and our worship. And I pray now, Lord, as we 40 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:38,400 worship you once again by the sitting under Your word, that we 41 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:40,960 are doers of the Word and not hearers only. 42 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,880 And we pray, Lord, that as we bring our weaknesses before you, 43 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,960 those areas where we need you, I pray, Father, that you will hear 44 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:52,640 us and meet us right where we are. 45 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,400 So today, Father, we just pray that everything that we do today 46 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,840 brings you glory. I pray that you manifest 47 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,120 yourself, your presence today as you promised us in your word, 48 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,720 Lord, that you are, You walk among the lamp stands which are 49 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:13,040 the churches. So, Father, we thank you for 50 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,720 your presence here with us today, and we ask that you would 51 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:20,080 be manifested. Let your power, your teaching 52 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:26,440 power, your hearing power, learning power, let it be 53 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,880 manifested today. Lord, take the scales off our 54 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,960 eyes that we may be able to see what it is that you're saying to 55 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,880 us. So Lord, may we love you more 56 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,000 dearly as a result of what we hear. 57 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:50,680 Maybe walk with you more nearly and may we see you more clearly. 58 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,760 We ask these things in the name of our Savior and our Lord. 59 00:03:55,400 --> 00:04:02,280 In Jesus name we pray, Amen. So please put your finger or a 60 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:07,160 marker or something there. In the 2nd chapter of the Book 61 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,640 of Revelation, verse 12 is where we're going to start. 62 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,040 But I'm going to ask for your patience a little bit because 63 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:20,720 before we go there, I would like to kind of set the table in 64 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,520 another way. If we could go back to the Old 65 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,200 Testament, let's do a historical perspective of what it is that 66 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,480 we're looking to do or what we're looking to hear from 67 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,600 Jesus. So let's go back to the book of 68 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:37,880 Leviticus, and I want you to go please, to the 18th chapter of 69 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:42,440 the book of Leviticus. It's in the book of Leviticus 70 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:47,240 that we get the Levitical laws that we hear, the laws of 71 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,000 cleanliness and those things that God was giving to the 72 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,800 priests of Israel for sanctification, for cleanliness 73 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,600 and for worship. And where we're going right now 74 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,360 in the book of in the 18th chapter, it talks about worship 75 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:10,280 in the way of sexual morality or what's or what is approved by 76 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:14,240 God for sexual morality and what is not approved by God where 77 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,520 sexual morality is, is concerning. 78 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:18,880 And you ask, well, why is that important? 79 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,880 And when we get to the to the Church of Pergamus, you're going 80 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,320 to see why that's important. But right now, I just want to 81 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:32,400 set the table for how God sees how we worship him versus how 82 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,600 the Pagan societies worship their gods. 83 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:41,600 And he warns us and he tells us, don't worship me the way they 84 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:47,560 worship their gods. Don't be enmeshed in their way 85 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,880 of doing things because that is not what I desire of you. 86 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:57,320 So let's go to the 18th chapter, the book of Leviticus, and this 87 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:03,080 is what we're going to find. I'm going to just read the first 88 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,640 4 verses, 5 verses rather, and this is what it says. 89 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,600 Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of 90 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:14,600 Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. 91 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:19,520 That is important. I am the Lord your God, not 92 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,480 their idols, not the gods that they serve. 93 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:28,000 I am the Lord your God. According to the doings of the 94 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,680 land of Egypt where you dwelt, you shall not do. 95 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,960 And according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am 96 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:45,240 bringing you, you shall not do, nor shall you walk in their 97 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,640 ordinances. Sounds like today, doesn't it? 98 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,080 Sounds so much like today, like he's talking to us right now. 99 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:58,680 You shall observe my judgments and keep my ordinances to walk 100 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,040 in them. I am the Lord your God. 101 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:06,720 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which 102 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:08,760 if a man does, he shall live by them. 103 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:15,760 I am the Lord. So now he tells us and he sets 104 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:24,080 this up and he says don't do the things that you saw in the place 105 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:28,240 where I am delivering you from. I'm bringing you out of Egypt. 106 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:34,120 And they saw a lot of Pagan worship in Egypt. 107 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,960 And he said, and don't do the things in the place he's warning 108 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,680 them before they get there. Don't do the things in the place 109 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,680 where I am bringing you to. Don't do what they do either. 110 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:49,920 All those things to him are an abomination. 111 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:57,560 And then from verses 6 through 20, he uses the word uncover 112 00:07:57,560 --> 00:07:59,560 nakedness. He uses that phrase. 113 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:06,480 In fact, between the verses of 6 and 20, he uses that phrase 20 * 114 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:11,120 20 times. Do not uncover the nakedness of 115 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,280 Do not uncover the nakedness of. Do not uncover the nakedness of. 116 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,880 What does it mean to uncover the nakedness? 117 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,480 Uncovering nakedness means to engage in forbidden sexual 118 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,200 relations. And like I said, he mentions 119 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:32,919 that 20 times between the verses of verse 6 and verse 20. 120 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,760 And then the the sins that are mentioned in Leviticus verses 6 121 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:44,640 to 23 include all of the things that we as his people should not 122 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:49,120 engage in. But keep in mind, these are all 123 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:55,440 the things that the that the the Egyptians participated in and 124 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,360 these are all the things that the Canaanites are doing. 125 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:02,520 So this isn't just him just throwing stuff out like his 126 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:04,720 imagination. We're talking about things that 127 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:09,600 people are doing. And he says, and This is why the 128 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,640 lamb was so sick that it vomited you out. 129 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,160 It vomited them out because of the sick things they were doing. 130 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,960 And as soon as the sins were filled up, he made a decision to 131 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,160 send the Israelites in to clean these people out. 132 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:30,600 And he's saying I don't want you to make the same choices for 133 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,400 worship that they did. Now, those sins that he 134 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:40,720 mentioned between chapter verses 6 and 23, they include 135 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:49,280 fornication, adultery, incest, homosexuality, even beastiality. 136 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,080 And for those of you who don't know what beastiality is, it is 137 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:59,560 sex with animals. Some of these people in Rome 138 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:06,720 were marrying their animals. And then of course there was 139 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:08,800 child sacrifice thrown in there as well. 140 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:13,480 These were the sins and the worship of both the Egyptians 141 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,240 and the Canaanites. And God is saying, but not so 142 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:19,720 for you. So let's finish this now with 143 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:24,040 verse 30 and I'll read that to you to, to hear his kind of the, 144 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,240 the, the the cap on this to wrap this up. 145 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,200 He says, therefore, you shall keep my ordinances so that you 146 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,640 do not commit any of these abominable customs which were 147 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,560 committed before you and that you do not defile yourself by 148 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:44,680 them. I am the Lord your God. 149 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,920 I'm the Lord your God. So now let's Fast forward and we 150 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:53,400 get now to Pergamus and it's in pretty it won't take long for us 151 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:58,720 to see exactly why that was relevant because it was already 152 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:03,720 put in place back in the Old Testament of what is appropriate 153 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,440 worship of our Lord and what is not. 154 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,520 So here in the in the 2nd chapter of the Book of 155 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:14,800 Revelation verse 12, he says this. 156 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,440 In fact, I'm going to just read it all the way down and then 157 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:23,520 I'll come back and make comment. He says into the Angel of the 158 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:27,880 Church in Pergamus rite these things, says he who has A2 edged 159 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,200 sword. I know your works and where you 160 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:36,600 dwell, where Satan's throne is, and you hold fast to my name. 161 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:40,360 And you did not deny my faith, even in the days in which 162 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:47,160 Antipus, my faithful, was my faithful martyr, who was killed 163 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:52,760 among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against 164 00:11:52,760 --> 00:12:00,240 you, because you have those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who 165 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,320 taught Bailey to put a stumbling block before the children of 166 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:07,920 Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual 167 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:12,200 immorality. Thus you also have those who 168 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:16,880 hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 169 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:20,480 Repent, or else I will come quickly. 170 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,320 I will come to you quickly, and we'll fight against them with a 171 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,320 sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear 172 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,320 what the Spirit says to the churches. 173 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,320 To him who overcomes. I will give him some of the 174 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:38,480 hidden manner to eat, and I will give him a whitestone, and on a 175 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:43,720 stone a name written which no one knows except him who 176 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,760 receives it. Lord bless this word. 177 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:56,720 So he says here in verse 12, he writes this letter to the per 178 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:02,000 the Church of Pergamus, and just as he had with the Church of 179 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:07,880 Ephesus and the Church of Smyrna, he writes it in 180 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,600 correspondence to where they are located. 181 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,760 Now I don't have a pointer or anything, but on the map here 182 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:19,040 you can see where the where the Church of Patmos is located. 183 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:24,000 OK, well where Patmos is located, but if you look, I wish 184 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:25,640 I had a pointer. But if you look here where they 185 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:30,720 start with Ephesus, you'll see that John had to travel in order 186 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:35,360 to deliver these messages. He had to take the the post 187 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:40,240 route to get to these churches and he had to go north, start N. 188 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:43,880 So he went to Ephesus and then from Ephesus to Smyrna. 189 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:46,560 OK. And then it will be the next 190 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:49,840 church is going to be Pergamon, and that's where we are now. 191 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:54,720 And then he will descend to come S to Fair Tyra and to Sardis and 192 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,520 to Philadelphia and Laodicea. So that's the route, the postal 193 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,000 route, if you will, that John had to take. 194 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:05,960 But just like the other two churches, Christ identified 195 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:09,960 himself using one of the terms that he actually used in the 196 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:16,120 vision of John in chapter 1. Now in this in this particular 197 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:22,880 chapter, he says that he is he who holds or who has the two 198 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:27,000 edged sword. OK, so there's two edged sword. 199 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:33,640 This is a it is symbolic for judgment. 200 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,560 So let's talk a little bit about what what Pegamus, you know what 201 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:39,840 this Pegamus city was? What's what are they about? 202 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:43,000 What is what is Jesus saying to this church? 203 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,040 Why is he addressing the church in this way? 204 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,720 Well, Pergamus, or now it's modern day Bergamot, Turkey. 205 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,560 It was a capital province in Asia Minor. 206 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,400 It's a very wealthy and very powerful city actually, just 207 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,600 like Ephesus and like Smyrna was. 208 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:05,840 But it was known for its development of parchment, which 209 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:07,520 is for writing. It's like paper. 210 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:12,000 And this was after papyrus was banned from Egypt. 211 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,360 They used to write with papyrus, but then after the the demand 212 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,520 for for papyrus, after it declined, the Egyptians stopped 213 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:25,440 importing it and exporting it. So that's why Pergamus came up 214 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,640 with their own method for writing utensils or writing 215 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:35,000 paper, which is with parchment. It's a Cultural Center. 216 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,760 It's a Learning Center. And one of the things that they 217 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:42,880 boasted is that they actually had a library of over 200,000 218 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,080 documents. And all those documents, by the 219 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,400 way, were handwritten. All of them were handwritten. 220 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,240 They didn't have printing presses and typewriters and 221 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,160 things like that back then. So all these documents were 222 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:57,080 handwritten and they boasted about having all of this, this, 223 00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,640 these, these volumes. I mean, it was a, it was a city 224 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:03,080 where it was universities. I mean, there was a cultural 225 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:08,480 city, very upscale kind of a city, but it was also the Center 226 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:13,120 for Pagan worship as well. So when Jesus says that I'm 227 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,960 coming with the two edged sword or, or, or, you know, he who 228 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:21,720 holds or who has A2 edged sword, he was basically saying that 229 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:25,400 although there are some things that you've done that are very 230 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:29,040 good, you have some there that I am coming to deal with. 231 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,560 There's some things in your church that I'm coming to deal 232 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:35,040 with. And, and I just wonder sometime 233 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,840 if he was writing a letter to this church, what would he say? 234 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,920 If he's writing a letter to the church today, what would he say? 235 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,800 What would he want to deal with with us? 236 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,480 And, and the way we must look at things is that we first examine 237 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,440 ourselves. When we examine ourselves then 238 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:57,080 as a body of believers, we become more, more like Jesus 239 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,520 Christ. So this sharp 2 edged sword, it 240 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,880 cuts both ways. As you know, as we know that 241 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,480 swords can cut and the things about this, this, this sword, 242 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:11,319 it's the mouth of God. It's the word of God that cuts 243 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,839 and it goes in and it cuts. It cuts below the surface. 244 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,240 It's below the surface. In other words, the things that 245 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:23,440 we see of each other on the outside, the word of God goes 246 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,280 deeper than that. I can fool with you. 247 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:30,880 There was a actually a, a worldly term that says we can 248 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:32,800 fool some of the people all the time. 249 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:34,920 You know, some of the time we can fool some people or 250 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:36,920 something like that. But see, we can't fool God at 251 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,640 any time, whatever it is. I'm sure I messed that up. 252 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,360 But we can't fool God at any time because God sees things 253 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:50,640 that we don't see. So, you know, there's two edged 254 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,920 swords that he wields and he uses the word sword here because 255 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:59,080 even the Pagan nations, Rome and you know, Rome, the Roman 256 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,920 government, they welded A swarm. They, you know, they had a sword 257 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:06,080 that they would use for justice or a sword that they would use 258 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,920 for to execute, execute, or a sword that they would use 259 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:11,880 against those who were in rebellion. 260 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:14,360 They used a sword to judge people. 261 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,240 But Jesus is saying here, don't be afraid of that sword, Be 262 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,880 afraid of my sword, because my sword not only will take your 263 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,440 physical life, but it will also could take your soul. 264 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,040 You can also take your soul. We know the scripture in Matthew 265 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,280 10 and 28. Do not fear those who kill the 266 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:38,040 body only, but all but those who can but but cannot kill the 267 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,800 soul, but rather fear him who was able to destroy both soul 268 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,240 and body in hell. So this sword is living, it's 269 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,800 powerful and it's sharper than any other sword. 270 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:56,320 The the word of God, it cuts deeper than anything else and it 271 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,120 cuts both ways. I mean, it cuts to correct us 272 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:06,360 and it also cuts to heal us. The word of God corrects us, but 273 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:10,040 it also heals us. So it cuts both ways. 274 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,960 Thank God for that, because we all you know, it, it it 275 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:15,400 performs. It's almost like that swore 276 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,320 performs surgery on our hearts when we need it most. 277 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:24,480 The thing that it goes deep into US, the IT looks at the areas 278 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,160 where we may not even be aware. You know, sometimes you can go 279 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,200 to a doctor and he can tell you got a problem that you weren't 280 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:34,120 even aware you had because it's happening so deep, may not have 281 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:36,080 even been symptoms of that problem yet. 282 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:40,080 But the Word of God is able to go in and be able to see those 283 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,320 things. And not only can He correct it, 284 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:46,640 but He can heal us. We all have things that we need 285 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,680 to be healed of in our hearts, and the Word of God is able to 286 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:51,560 do that. Thank you Jesus, for that. 287 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,040 Most of us are here now as a result of that. 288 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,760 Most of us follow Him because the result of what he's able to 289 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:02,880 do with His Word. So Jesus was warning this church 290 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,960 that, you know, judgment would be coming not only from the 291 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,600 earthly judgment. Don't just be afraid of them. 292 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:13,840 But the heavenly judgment is the is the one that would really be 293 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,880 concerning. But first he gives them a 294 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,440 condemnation. He gives a you know, he gives 295 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,200 them a compliment and he says to them, but you hold fast, even 296 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:26,600 though you are in the Satan's throne, you hold fast to my 297 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,280 name. And you did not deny my faith. 298 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:34,720 Even in the days in which Antipus was my faithful martyr, 299 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:39,280 Jesus is saying, and he's the one that walks in the midst of 300 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,760 the candles, candle stands, as we said earlier, he walks 301 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:44,960 through the churches. So he sees everything. 302 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,760 He says, I know your works. He sees everything. 303 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:52,640 He sees what we do. He hears what we say, but he 304 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,440 also knows our motives for why we're doing it or why we say it. 305 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,920 He knows our motives. And he acknowledged the fact 306 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:05,280 that even though you know, they have, you know, they live in 307 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:10,720 this difficult area of what is called Satan's throne and also 308 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,120 is called where Satan dwells. They live in this very, very 309 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,080 area was very complicated and very difficult to be a 310 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,720 Christian. But yet they held fast. 311 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,520 They held fast. They didn't deny him, nor did 312 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,680 they deny his faith. And he acknowledges that. 313 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,200 But he says, but if there is something I hold against you, 314 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,000 there's something I hold against you. 315 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,960 And he said the thing that I hold against you is that you 316 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,160 have hold to, you have held, you have some there who hold to the 317 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:49,520 doctrine of Balaam, who taught Bailet to put a stumbling block 318 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:54,840 before the children of Israel. Now, as we said before, Pergamus 319 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,640 was a very religious, but a very Pagan city. 320 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,440 So it expected, I mean, it had different gods and things of 321 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:06,200 that nature. And they wanted the Christians 322 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,880 to submit to these gods. I think we talked about back in 323 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:14,240 the the Church of Smyrna how they wanted the Christians to, 324 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:16,000 yeah, it's OK if you worship your God. 325 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:21,320 But once a year, I want you to come and write just a pinch of 326 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:25,000 incense to our gods. Just compromise. 327 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,000 Once a year write that you know that, that that pinch of incense 328 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,480 and all you got to do is just say Caesar is Lord and you're 329 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,200 done and you're done. Nobody messes with you. 330 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,960 You keep your life, we won't persecute you. 331 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,960 Well, a lot of these people that were in the church would not do 332 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,040 that. They would not submit. 333 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:50,360 They would not submit, they would not compromise even that 334 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:55,120 one time a year. Now there are many gods, many 335 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:59,120 temples and pergamus that had that, that that served God. 336 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,240 They were erected for the purpose of worshipping their 337 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,640 gods. They had Greek and Roman gods, 338 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:11,640 including Diagnosis, Athena, Demeter, and even Zeus who was 339 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:16,640 the the chief of all Greek gods. He was the chief. 340 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:21,960 In fact, he actually had a huge altar that was erected and 341 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,360 worldwide, a world known altar that was erected just for him, 342 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:28,120 for Zeus. In fact, that it's no longer 343 00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:31,520 there in Pergamos. It was torn down, but when they 344 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,040 did is that they took the remains of that and they took it 345 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:41,320 to Berlin, Berlin, Germany. And it's now in a museum there 346 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,000 in Berlin. It's called the Pergamus Museum. 347 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,080 So people can still go from all over to see. 348 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:49,600 It's massive. And it was actually called one 349 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,960 of the wonders of the ancient world, one of the seven wonders 350 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,680 of the ancient world. It was huge and most people 351 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,720 believe that. That's why they referred to 352 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:07,880 Pergamus as Satan's throne. It was like that altar was the 353 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,520 altar of Satan is where Satan dwelled. 354 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:16,680 So Pergamus built all these different temples. 355 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:21,200 Even they they even built a temple to to worship their 356 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,680 emperor Caesar at that particular time. 357 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,520 They're one of the only cities who did it, but Pergamus also 358 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:33,000 had the temple of Askapalis. I'm sorry, wait a minute. 359 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,000 Let me get it right. Askalapius. 360 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:41,080 Askalapius is a very uncommon word to say, but Askalapius is 361 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:45,720 one of the Greek gods there and he was the God of healing and 362 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,960 the God of medicine. They actually had a university. 363 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,480 They are named after him. And the weird where, I'm sorry, 364 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:56,960 the different thing about this temple of Ascalapas, people will 365 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:01,920 come from all over the world who are suffering from different 366 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,520 diseases and different sicknesses. 367 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,880 And they would come and they would be allowed to actually 368 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,920 sleep on the floor of the temple. 369 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,440 They would sleep on the floor of the temple all night long. 370 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,480 And it would be sleeping total darkness. 371 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:23,400 And then they would release non venomous snakes, non venomous 372 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,520 snakes, these what they consider to be harmless snakes. 373 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:32,360 And then the tradition was, or the belief was, is that if over 374 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:36,160 the course of the night, if a snake would crawl on you or in 375 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:40,520 some way rub up against you, they believed that that was the 376 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:45,040 God Askalapius touching you and you would be healed. 377 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:56,880 I'd rather have the disease. That's a bit much, but they 378 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:04,640 believe that in fact, even today, even today, the sign for 379 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:10,640 medic for the for medicine is a staff with a serpent wrapped 380 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:14,920 around the staff. And the reason why is because 381 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:20,400 that was the sign, that was the symbol at the University of 382 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,840 Ascalapius. And we still have it today. 383 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,160 We still have it today. So just shows you what kind of 384 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,120 influence those kind of things have even on the world or even 385 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:36,680 on the world today. We all know that Jesus is the 386 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:41,760 true healer. We all know that he's the true 387 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,040 healer. He's the great physician. 388 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,600 He can do, you know, these folks can do all those things, but 389 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:54,160 nobody heals like Jesus Christ because not only can he heal the 390 00:26:54,160 --> 00:27:00,800 body, he can heal the soul. He's a great physician, the 391 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,840 great healer. And you know, it's interesting. 392 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:07,360 They, they have all these idols that they have and they create 393 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:09,600 all these idols. They give them mouths, but they 394 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,520 can't speak. They give them ears, but they 395 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,360 can't hear. They even give them feet, but 396 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,480 they can't walk. They can't come to you if you 397 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,400 call them. There's people that have called 398 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:24,440 him all night long, cut themselves. 399 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:31,360 You know the story with the prophet who had the prophets a 400 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:34,160 bell on the mountain and he's they were calling on their gods 401 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:36,360 all night long, cutting themselves and doing all kind of 402 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:38,680 crazy that the guy couldn't come. 403 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,680 Bell couldn't come. He couldn't show up because he's 404 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:43,440 not real. He's not God at all. 405 00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:49,880 There's only one true God and that's our God, the one that we 406 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:55,200 serve, the one that we worship, call him Jesus Christ, the one 407 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:59,280 true God. Thank you, Jesus. 408 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:03,440 So anyway, they they they they have this, you know, he says I 409 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:08,800 have this against you have some there hold to the to the 410 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,800 doctrine of Balaam. So what was the doctrine of 411 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:15,040 Balaam basically? And we can go back and look at 412 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:16,200 the story. I'll just summarize that. 413 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,600 There's no way I'm going back in the book of numbers and that's 414 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:21,760 where it is. And we can take a look at this 415 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,000 story of Balaam. But basically what he was saying 416 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,240 there is in in the story is that the Israelites as they were on 417 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:34,280 their way, coming from Egypt on their way to Canaan, they came 418 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:38,120 across the came across the land of the Moabites in the Moabite. 419 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,960 The Moabite king Balik, who was the mobile king at that 420 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:47,720 particular time, he decided that he was going to curse these 421 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:48,880 people. He was afraid of them. 422 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,440 He had heard about everything that the Lord had done for them. 423 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,680 So he was going to curse them because he was afraid of them. 424 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:59,040 And and, and as they were coming closer, he went out and he hired 425 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,440 Balaam, who was a sorcerer basically, but he was called a 426 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:08,320 prophet and he wanted Balak Balaam to curse the children of 427 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:10,480 Israel. But the and he offered him a lot 428 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,840 of money in order to do it. And the word warned Balaam and 429 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,160 said don't go. But he ended up going anyway 430 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:21,120 because he was greedy. He had the the issue of greed. 431 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,840 Money was his God, so he went anyway. 432 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,680 And and of course we heard, we know about the, the story, how 433 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,800 the donkey spoke to him and tried to tell him that look man, 434 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,440 you in danger, you need not to, to do this. 435 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:38,400 But anyway, the Lord did let him go because God had a purpose. 436 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,080 He had a, he had a plan. He knew what was going on, but 437 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,480 he also knew Balaam's heart. So he let him go. 438 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,280 And of course, Balaam tried to curse the children of Israel, 439 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:49,840 but every time he would open his mouth to try to curse him, a 440 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:53,600 blessing will come out. And and, and Bailey quite often 441 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:55,840 was getting really frustrated about this. 442 00:29:55,840 --> 00:30:00,360 So wait, wait, wait a minute. I hired you and I offered you 443 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:04,280 all this money for you to curse this people and all you're doing 444 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,960 is blessing them. Why? 445 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,040 What's, what's going on? And Balak said Balaam says, 446 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:13,160 look, I'm sorry, I can't do anything to these people. 447 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,560 Now I'm giving you the short version this please go back and 448 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:17,560 read it. It is in the book of numbers, 449 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:21,600 chapters 22 through 25. And you can also see the, the, 450 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:26,040 the end of it in chapter 31. So this is just a summary that 451 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,880 I'm giving. So Balaam said to them, look, 452 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:32,320 I'm sorry, but I can't curse who the Lord blesses. 453 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:38,360 He understood the power of God and he said you never, never, 454 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:43,120 never beat them this way. You won't destroy these people. 455 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:48,040 Try to come against them in this way, but if you want to destroy 456 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,360 them, get them to destroy themselves. 457 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:56,680 So he convinced Balak basically to take the young Moabite women 458 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:01,880 and they will go and invite the young Israelite men to their 459 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:07,160 sacrifices and to their worships services. 460 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,000 And the one young women would tell them, they'd say, look, the 461 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:15,880 way we worship our gods is that we eat a bunch of foods that we 462 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:21,120 offer to them and we have sex. That's how we worship our gods. 463 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:27,400 And of course these young men gave in and they went and they 464 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:33,040 got deceived and they ended up defiling, defiling themselves 465 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:37,960 with these Moabite women. And of course it angered God and 466 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,680 you know, he ended up putting a plague there and it and it 467 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:48,600 killed thousands. But this is the interesting 468 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:53,080 thing. Satan understood that 469 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:58,040 persecution and trying to take down the church by violence 470 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:01,880 never, never worked. The church always gets stronger 471 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:06,280 in persecution. The church grows in persecution. 472 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:10,520 It doesn't get weaker. It encourages us. 473 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:15,760 When people are faithful unto death, that encourages us. 474 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:21,640 It doesn't discourage us. So Satan understood we can't 475 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,960 beat them that way. We got to join the church. 476 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,400 Let's join them. Let's join the church, and let's 477 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:33,800 bring in a seductive doctrine to convince them to defile 478 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:38,040 themselves. Think about that. 479 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:43,640 Think about that. So today we got churches that 480 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:51,040 look like the world because they've been convinced that it's 481 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:55,920 OK to sin, it's OK to do all these things as long as you 482 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,960 profess Jesus Christ and, and, and you call him your Lord, that 483 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:03,600 you agree that he is the Son of God, long as you say all those 484 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:06,680 things, you can live any way you want to. 485 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,040 And we see that happening. We see that happening. 486 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:16,160 But they understood that you can't beat them from without. 487 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:20,680 Isaiah said no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and 488 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:25,320 every tongue that rises up against you in judgment you 489 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:29,840 meaning God will condemn every tongue. 490 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:36,000 But if we allow ourselves to be deceived and to take on this 491 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:40,720 doctrine of balaam, which is what Jesus saw in the church, 492 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:42,560 there's some of you. He didn't say all of them. 493 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,720 He said there's some of you who are holding to the doctrine of 494 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:51,480 Balaam and you're calling yourself Christians. 495 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,680 You're saying you believe, but yet your life is showing 496 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:59,120 something totally different and you think it's OK, You can sin 497 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:04,800 as much as you want as long as you think that you are 498 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:09,679 professing the right things. That's why Matthew 7 to 21, 499 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,840 Jesus said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will 500 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:16,960 shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will 501 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:22,199 of my Father, he who does the will of my Father. 502 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:26,960 Luke 6 and 46 says Jesus said, why do you call me Lord, Lord, 503 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:33,800 and do not do the things I say? You don't keep my commandments. 504 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,239 If you love me, you keep my commandments. 505 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:42,760 So this doctrine of Balaam is basically, it's a it's a 506 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:47,199 doctrine of compromise and assimilation with the world. 507 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:52,360 And he says some of you have gone with this. 508 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:55,600 So some of the members were being called out for this 509 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:59,480 difference between what they professed to believe and what 510 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:04,200 they know to be true and what they actually practically lived 511 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:05,480 out. Now let me say this. 512 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:11,000 As Christians, as growing Christians in the Lord, none of 513 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,560 us are perfect. None of us have reached the 514 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,680 level of total sanctification. None of us are. 515 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,800 We are not sinless. We're not that. 516 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:26,880 We haven't reached that and we won't on this side of heaven. 517 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:32,080 We won't until Jesus come back. We're going to struggle, we're 518 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:35,040 going to fall, we are going to sin. 519 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:45,320 But that gap that we have of what we know to be true and what 520 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:50,720 we believe to be true and what we're practically living out as 521 00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:56,080 a Christian, it should not be getting wider and it should not 522 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,160 stay the same over time. It should be getting smaller. 523 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,560 That's called the process of sanctification. 524 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:07,400 It gets smaller. We should we are, we are looking 525 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:12,600 to look more like Jesus Christ, look in the more like Jesus 526 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:14,800 Christ. If we have a picture of Jesus 527 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:18,000 Christ And you know, when you get a, some kind of a product 528 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:21,040 and, and you have all the pieces of that product laid out, you 529 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:24,000 got a picture of what the end result is supposed to look like. 530 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:27,760 But you looking at them pieces and it don't look like that. 531 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:32,440 So you have to go to the directions and allow the 532 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:34,600 directions to help you to build this thing. 533 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,320 And the more you follow the directions, the more it begins 534 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:42,160 to look like the picture. And that's us. 535 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:46,360 We are a bunch of broken pieces coming to Jesus. 536 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:51,800 We're a bunch of broken pieces. And daily, as we stay in the 537 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:56,320 Word of God, as we come and sit under his word, as we pray, as 538 00:36:56,320 --> 00:37:01,200 we become disciples of Jesus Christ, eventually we should 539 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,080 look more like the picture Jesus Christ. 540 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:10,880 We should look more like Him, not less, shouldn't stay the 541 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:15,360 same, but that's the process of sanctification. 542 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:18,680 It should not get wired. That gap should not be wider. 543 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:22,160 It should be narrowing. But then he also said that you 544 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:24,520 also have the doctrine of the Nicolatans. 545 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:27,240 There in that place you got the doctrine of Nicolatans. 546 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:31,400 You now there's the deeds of the Nicolatans and there's the 547 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:35,440 doctrine of the Nicolatans Now the deeds of the Nicolaitans, he 548 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:40,160 says are are those that believe where they promote idolatrous 549 00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:46,160 behavior, sexual immorality, self indulgent lifestyle is 550 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:51,120 basically what it promotes and it blends the Christian faith 551 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:54,920 with Prague with with Pagan worship and Pagan practices. 552 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:57,800 We just talked a lot about looks a lot like the doctrine of 553 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:03,760 Balaam, but the doctrine of the Nicolatans is something a little 554 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:06,040 different. And this is the thing that Jesus 555 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,480 said He hates the doctrine of the Nicolatans. 556 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:13,800 And in the doctrine of the Nicolatans, it is believed that 557 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:18,560 the Nicolatans have come in and introduced this ideology in the 558 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:21,800 church or this doctrine in the Church of hierarchy. 559 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:27,320 It's the doctrine of hierarchy where you have all these 560 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:32,600 branches of, you know, bishops and now they got people call 561 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,080 themselves apostles and bishops and then pastors. 562 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:40,520 I mean, it's just like a, a big, you know, branch of hierarchies, 563 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:42,760 like something you can put on the war chart or something. 564 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:52,200 So you got the clergy up here and the people down here, and 565 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:55,880 Jesus never meant it to ever be that way, never meant to be that 566 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:57,280 way. This shouldn't be a split 567 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,120 between purge, between clergy and the people. 568 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:02,840 Clergy are seen as being above the people. 569 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:08,000 Now here in our church, we have pastors or elders, we have 570 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:12,360 deacons, we have ministry leaders and we have ministry 571 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:17,600 volunteers or people who work in ministries, but no one is above 572 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:21,040 anyone. No one is above anyone. 573 00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:24,280 We may have different functions, we may have different callings 574 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,280 which come with different responsibilities, but no one is 575 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:31,920 above anybody. In this church, the org chart is 576 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:34,200 Jesus Christ. And then all the rest of us. 577 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:37,520 That's the org chart in this church. 578 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:42,160 It's Jesus Christ that did this. All the rest of us, no one is 579 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:44,480 above anybody. No one is special. 580 00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:47,440 We don't, you know, the, the, the leaders here don't sit up 581 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:52,320 here and look down on you. The leaders here aren't dressed 582 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:57,120 in garb that separate us and let people know that he's somebody 583 00:39:57,120 --> 00:39:58,680 different. He's somebody special. 584 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,400 He's someone of authority. We don't have that here. 585 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:06,360 We don't have special seats. We don't look to be served. 586 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:10,840 We don't look to be served. We serve. 587 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,560 That's what that's what Jesus said. 588 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:17,400 I, you know, even the Son of Man. 589 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:22,880 Did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a 590 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,360 ransom for many. Jesus came to serve. 591 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,000 The disciples didn't wash his feet, He washed theirs. 592 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:32,680 The disciples didn't feed him, He fed them. 593 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:38,320 He came to serve. And that's what we should be 594 00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:41,960 doing as a body of believers. We look to serve each other. 595 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:44,720 We look to be a blessing to each other. 596 00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:50,520 Thank God for that. So that's the doctrine that they 597 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:53,480 hated. And he says here, you know, and 598 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:54,760 we have to be aware of something. 599 00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:57,440 And this is, and this is one of the most important things in 600 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:00,640 this whole, in this whole passage is the fact that not 601 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:08,080 only should not only should the people be concerned who are, you 602 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,960 know, taking part or compromising in the doctrine of 603 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:14,200 Balaam or the doctrine of Nicolaitans, but he's also 604 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:18,080 speaking to the leadership here and saying you have them there. 605 00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:21,480 That means you should be holding them accountable. 606 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:26,720 We can't tolerate sin. You can't tolerate sin in the 607 00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:29,000 church. You can't allow, you can't turn 608 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,160 the deaf eye to sin. If you see it, you lovingly deal 609 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:34,880 with it. We're told in the word how 610 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:36,920 that's done. We lovingly deal with it. 611 00:41:37,040 --> 00:41:39,280 We acknowledge it and lovingly deal with it. 612 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:45,000 When Paul saw sin in First Corinthians with the Corinthian 613 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:49,000 church, he told them, he said, look, you're just allowing this 614 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:52,080 thing to just happen and you're bragging about it, you're 615 00:41:52,080 --> 00:41:56,440 boasting about it, but you need to deal with this. 616 00:41:57,360 --> 00:41:59,520 This person is this person is sleeping. 617 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:03,720 This man is sleeping with his, with his stepmother, his wife's, 618 00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:08,240 his father's wife. He's sleeping with her and you 619 00:42:08,240 --> 00:42:09,920 guys aren't doing nothing about it. 620 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:15,880 He dealt with it. We have to lovingly hold each 621 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:19,480 other accountable. That's how we grow in Christ 622 00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:22,320 Jesus. You know, it's not about just us 623 00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:24,920 pointing fingers at you or you just pointing fingers at us. 624 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:29,320 We have to help each other. We don't judge people. 625 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:33,680 We judge conduct. We judge conduct. 626 00:42:34,240 --> 00:42:36,000 The Lord is the one that judges people. 627 00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:40,320 That's how we help each other. But so he says to you, repent. 628 00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:45,200 He says to them, repent, repent. He said, well, I'm going to come 629 00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:47,240 quickly and thank God for his repentance. 630 00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:50,800 That's the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God is his repent 631 00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:55,240 is when we, he offers us repentance, he gets that's his 632 00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:57,520 mercy, his grace and his forgiveness. 633 00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,280 It doesn't matter what we've been doing or how long we've 634 00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:03,080 been doing it. You know, particularly for 635 00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,880 people who have not given their hearts or their lives to Christ 636 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:07,840 Jesus. You may think, well, he don't 637 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:11,480 want me. He would never accept somebody 638 00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:13,920 like me. It doesn't matter what you've 639 00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:15,560 been doing or how long you've been doing it. 640 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,720 We can turn from it. We can repent. 641 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:23,240 And his arms are open to you just like He's open to anybody 642 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:28,520 else. He says, repent or I will come 643 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:31,720 quickly. He offers His grace and His 644 00:43:31,720 --> 00:43:35,600 mercy, but he says if they don't repent and he's coming quickly 645 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:39,280 and he will judge them. And this is not that judgment at 646 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:42,400 the last day. This is judgment like I'm coming 647 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,800 now and I'm judging this. What I'm seeing. 648 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:48,160 I'm going to judge what I see. There's going to be 649 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:54,480 consequences. And again, you look at the 650 00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:59,000 judgment of Roman, of the Roman sword versus the judgment of the 651 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:01,560 sword of Jesus Christ. But because of his love and 652 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:06,800 mercy, he gives us this word and tells us to examine ourselves 653 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:10,160 and repent. If we need to repent, repent. 654 00:44:12,560 --> 00:44:15,480 That's the loving thing about the Savior that we serve. 655 00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:18,800 And then he says here in verse 17, and we're coming in 656 00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:20,800 foreclose. Praise and worship team, come 657 00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:25,800 forward, please. We're coming in foreclose for 658 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:27,280 landing. I like to say we're coming in 659 00:44:27,280 --> 00:44:31,480 for a landing. He who has an ear, let him hear 660 00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:35,160 what the Spirit says to the churches, to him who overcomes 661 00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:38,800 to him who overcomes, to him who overcomes, to him who you know, 662 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:42,960 hears this word allows that word to work in their heart. 663 00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:46,520 They discern what it is that the Lord is saying to them, and then 664 00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:49,200 they repent and they turn from that word. 665 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,760 They overcome He's. I'll give some of the hidden 666 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:56,920 manna. The hidden manna, we know them, 667 00:44:57,080 --> 00:45:00,720 you know, as, as you know, at the time that the Israelites 668 00:45:00,720 --> 00:45:05,640 were coming from Egypt and was going to Canaan, the Lord gave 669 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:10,400 them manna to eat, but that manna didn't sustain. 670 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:11,640 They couldn't sustain their life. 671 00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:14,280 It was temporary. They ate it. 672 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:17,480 They were fine for a while, but then they had to eat again 673 00:45:17,720 --> 00:45:19,440 because that manna didn't sustain their life. 674 00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:22,640 But this manner that he's talking about, it's that 675 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:27,240 spiritual manner, this, that it's the food that comes down 676 00:45:27,240 --> 00:45:28,920 from heaven. Jesus Christ is the bread of 677 00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:34,360 heaven, and he's given to us for eternal life. 678 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:37,440 It doesn't just satisfy us for a minute. 679 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:42,080 You know, the world has nothing that satisfies us totally 680 00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:46,520 nothing. Only momentary gaps of, you 681 00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:48,800 know, satisfaction for a while, but then you're looking for it 682 00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:52,280 again. And sin is insatiable, sin is 683 00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:56,160 insatiable, lust is insatiable. All these things are insatiable. 684 00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:59,000 You can't satisfy them. Only Jesus satisfies. 685 00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:01,520 Only Jesus. I mean, think about it. 686 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:04,880 The things that we dealt with in our lives, the things that we 687 00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:08,320 did in our lives never really satisfies. 688 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:12,960 But Jesus, he filled that void that was empty, that nothing 689 00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:16,640 else could. And He still does it for us. 690 00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:19,920 He still does it for you. So I'll give you that, that 691 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:22,560 hidden manner. And then he and then he says, 692 00:46:22,560 --> 00:46:25,120 and not only will I give you the hidden manner that comes from on 693 00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:29,200 high, he said, I will also give you a white stone. 694 00:46:29,480 --> 00:46:33,440 Now in ancient times, the white stone had a couple different 695 00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:35,680 meanings. One of the meanings was is that 696 00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:40,200 in the ancient courts, they had stones, either whitestone or a 697 00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:44,040 Blackstone. And if you were, whatever it is 698 00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:48,760 you were accused of, when they went to determine your outcome 699 00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:52,440 or determine the verdict, they would either give you a 700 00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:56,080 Blackstone, which means you're guilty and you're going to be 701 00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:59,520 sentenced, or Whitestone, which means you're acquitted. 702 00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:02,920 Well, Jesus says I'm going to give you a whitestone. 703 00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:06,200 So that means in heaven we're already acquitted of all the 704 00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:10,960 sins that we've been accused of. We're not guilty of those 705 00:47:10,960 --> 00:47:15,720 things. We've been justified just as 706 00:47:15,720 --> 00:47:19,800 though we had not sinned. Those things are thrown into the 707 00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:22,280 depths of the sea, the whitestone. 708 00:47:22,400 --> 00:47:26,080 And then the other meaning of the whitestone is that it's a 709 00:47:26,080 --> 00:47:29,080 victory. The victory, for example, back 710 00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:32,800 in the ancient games, Roman and Greek ancient games, the victory 711 00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:36,320 if you were a victor of these Olympic Games, or if you were, 712 00:47:36,840 --> 00:47:39,200 you know, if you were considered a victor, they gave you a 713 00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:42,200 whitestone. And that whitestone gave you 714 00:47:42,480 --> 00:47:46,520 entrance into the victor's feast. 715 00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:50,720 You were able to use that white stone like a pass that you could 716 00:47:50,720 --> 00:47:52,520 use to get into the victor's feast. 717 00:47:52,640 --> 00:47:55,360 It identified you as being a victor. 718 00:47:56,640 --> 00:47:59,680 Well, Jesus said, I'll give you a whitestone. 719 00:47:59,680 --> 00:48:03,600 And that whitestone that he's talking about giving acquits us 720 00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:07,360 of all the sins that we have committed and we're no longer 721 00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:11,400 seen as guilty. We have been acquitted and we 722 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:16,000 can come in to the feast, you know, the heavenly feast, which 723 00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:19,200 is better than any feast that's here in the earth realm. 724 00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:25,800 And then lastly, he says, I'm going to also, there's going to 725 00:48:25,840 --> 00:48:30,760 be a name on that whitestone, a name that no one else knows but 726 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:33,920 you. This name's identify us 727 00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:39,280 identifies us with the Savior. That name called that name 728 00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:43,680 identifies us as going from earthly shame to heavenly honor. 729 00:48:44,280 --> 00:48:46,320 I remember my neighborhood where I grew up and we all had 730 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:48,720 nicknames. I ain't telling you mine, but we 731 00:48:48,720 --> 00:48:52,120 all had nicknames. And you know, nicknames were 732 00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:56,000 cool because it, it meant that you were accepted in a lot of 733 00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:58,800 the neighborhoods, you know, you know, acceptance was important 734 00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:01,680 because it meant you having a good day or a bad or a lot of 735 00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:05,240 bad days. But everybody had a nickname. 736 00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:09,120 So, so Jesus is saying, along with the new heaven and the new 737 00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:11,520 earth, you're going to have a new name. 738 00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:17,160 Isaiah 62 and two said, you shall be called by a new name, 739 00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:20,040 which the mouth of the Lord will name. 740 00:49:20,480 --> 00:49:24,600 Now back in history and history of the of the Bible, we know 741 00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:28,200 that once people had encounters with the Lord, they received a 742 00:49:28,200 --> 00:49:31,360 new name. Abram who who whose name meant 743 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:36,360 the exotic father became Abraham meaning the father of nations. 744 00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:41,280 Sarai Maine meant Princess, but it became Sarai which means 745 00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:45,040 noble woman. Jacob it meant trickster or 746 00:49:45,040 --> 00:49:48,600 supplanter, but his name became Israel, which means one who 747 00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:53,240 struggles with God, Simon. He even got a new name the Simon 748 00:49:53,240 --> 00:49:56,800 meant he who hears, but it became Peter, the rock or the 749 00:49:56,800 --> 00:49:59,280 stone. And then of course Saul, whose 750 00:49:59,280 --> 00:50:04,520 name meant asked or prayed for and it became Paul, which means 751 00:50:04,520 --> 00:50:10,200 small, little or humble. So we all get a a new name when 752 00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:15,880 we come into the Kingdom. So what would our name be? 753 00:50:17,040 --> 00:50:20,160 Because see, this name is an identification of your character 754 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:24,480 in Christ Jesus, something in Christ Jesus that you display. 755 00:50:24,720 --> 00:50:28,240 What would our name be? What would our name be? 756 00:50:29,720 --> 00:50:34,200 And how do we, if you think about even now, you know, how do 757 00:50:34,200 --> 00:50:38,240 we progress in our life in Christ? 758 00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:43,200 How big is the gap between what we believe, what we know to be 759 00:50:43,200 --> 00:50:45,440 true and what we're living practically? 760 00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:47,920 And we all have to ask that question for ourselves. 761 00:50:50,040 --> 00:50:56,040 And if we are not where we think we should be in Christ Jesus, we 762 00:50:56,040 --> 00:50:59,440 can go deeper in Him. We can go deeper in Him. 763 00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:02,960 Everybody is not going to be on the same level in Christ Jesus, 764 00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:10,680 but we can go deeper in Him. We can become more like Him as 765 00:51:10,680 --> 00:51:16,080 we seek Him more. And that's my prayer for me and 766 00:51:16,160 --> 00:51:20,360 for the the body of believers in this house is that every day we 767 00:51:20,480 --> 00:51:24,680 are seeking to go deeper in Christ Jesus to look more like 768 00:51:24,680 --> 00:51:29,920 him that our that we would have. We would be examples in conduct, 769 00:51:30,080 --> 00:51:34,600 we'd be examples and in Word, we'd be examples in faith and in 770 00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:41,840 we'd be examples in purity. As we work, as we allow the Holy 771 00:51:41,840 --> 00:51:45,360 Spirit to work in us, this can happen. 772 00:51:46,720 --> 00:51:49,280 This can happen. So I just love it when I see 773 00:51:49,280 --> 00:51:51,480 people praying with each other. I love it when I see people 774 00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:53,880 encouraging each other. I love it when I see people 775 00:51:53,880 --> 00:51:56,400 calling each other and hanging out with each other. 776 00:51:56,640 --> 00:52:00,240 And you're talking about the things of the Kingdom because 777 00:52:00,240 --> 00:52:02,600 you're sharpening iron and sharpening iron and we're 778 00:52:02,600 --> 00:52:05,000 becoming to look more and more like Jesus. 779 00:52:05,120 --> 00:52:08,040 You're helping me look more like Jesus, and I'm helping you look 780 00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:12,200 more and more like Jesus Christ. What a blessing. 781 00:52:13,040 --> 00:52:19,960 So as we prepare for our, our communion, we know that there 782 00:52:19,960 --> 00:52:23,360 are things that have tried to come into the church and we as a 783 00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:27,000 body of believers have to protect each other from 784 00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:32,240 doctrines that are dangerous from people who would try to 785 00:52:32,240 --> 00:52:37,760 come in and, and bring something ungodly into the body of Christ. 786 00:52:37,760 --> 00:52:41,960 We all have to be men who are on the gate that are on the fence. 787 00:52:41,960 --> 00:52:46,320 You know, we're looking, we're looking and, and, and watching 788 00:52:46,880 --> 00:52:49,640 and listening for what we're hearing, what people are 789 00:52:49,640 --> 00:52:52,640 speaking. And we have to be able to 790 00:52:52,840 --> 00:52:55,320 determine what's of the Lord and what's not. 791 00:52:56,800 --> 00:52:58,480 And we have to do this for ourselves. 792 00:52:58,480 --> 00:52:59,840 We have to do it for our families. 793 00:52:59,840 --> 00:53:05,520 We don't want to feed bad food because bad food makes you sick. 794 00:53:06,920 --> 00:53:11,600 It's the good food that comes from Christ that heals, that 795 00:53:11,600 --> 00:53:15,120 causes us to grow, that causes us to be more like Him. 796 00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:22,360 So we must be vigilant first of all of ourselves, and then let's 797 00:53:22,360 --> 00:53:26,600 be a blessing to other people. So, Father, we thank you for 798 00:53:26,600 --> 00:53:31,040 this word and we pray, Lord, that it has came right into the 799 00:53:31,040 --> 00:53:35,520 core of what it is that you want us to understand about it, Lord. 800 00:53:36,560 --> 00:53:42,400 Father, we don't just want to be Christians in name only, but we 801 00:53:42,400 --> 00:53:46,240 want to be Christians in the things that we do in our works, 802 00:53:46,560 --> 00:53:50,600 in the way, in our thoughts. We want to be Christians in our 803 00:53:50,600 --> 00:53:55,160 words that we speak, Lord, and we know, Father, that we have a 804 00:53:55,160 --> 00:53:59,200 long way to go to reach the level of sinlessness. 805 00:53:59,200 --> 00:54:01,240 We will never get there in this life. 806 00:54:01,560 --> 00:54:04,920 We have a long way to go, Lord. We we have a long way to go to 807 00:54:04,920 --> 00:54:08,280 look like You. We're dealing with our flesh 808 00:54:08,320 --> 00:54:12,240 every single day. But we thank you that you came 809 00:54:12,240 --> 00:54:17,080 to show us the way. You demonstrated what it is that 810 00:54:17,080 --> 00:54:21,200 we should look like. So in the night in which Jesus 811 00:54:21,200 --> 00:54:26,040 was betrayed, he took the bread, and after he gave thanks, he 812 00:54:26,040 --> 00:54:29,800 broke it. And then he said, take this and 813 00:54:29,960 --> 00:54:35,200 eat it, And as often as you eat it, eat it in remembrance of me. 814 00:54:35,400 --> 00:54:39,520 Eat it in remembrance of My word and remembrance of what you saw 815 00:54:39,600 --> 00:54:45,120 in my life, and remembrance of how I worshipped, eating in 816 00:54:45,120 --> 00:54:48,960 remembrance of Me, eating remembrance of the sacrifice 817 00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:54,400 that I made for you on Calvary. As often as you eat it, eat it 818 00:54:54,400 --> 00:55:05,700 in remembrance of Me. And then he took the cup, and 819 00:55:05,700 --> 00:55:12,060 after supper he said, this is My blood in the new covenants. 820 00:55:12,060 --> 00:55:14,580 Mine is the new covenant in my blood. 821 00:55:15,940 --> 00:55:19,860 So drink this. This blood is the blood that was 822 00:55:19,860 --> 00:55:22,700 sacrificed. This is the blood that ran down 823 00:55:23,700 --> 00:55:29,840 from Calvary, This is the blood that I shed for the sins of 824 00:55:29,840 --> 00:55:34,840 many, for each and every one of us, and for those who will be 825 00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:39,480 coming into the sheepfold. So as often as you drink this, 826 00:55:39,480 --> 00:55:46,680 drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this 827 00:55:46,680 --> 00:55:52,240 bread and drink this cup, we do show the Lord's death till he 828 00:55:52,240 --> 00:55:52,920 come. Amen. 829 00:55:53,720 --> 00:55:57,720 The author is open for anyone who would like to come up and 830 00:55:57,720 --> 00:55:59,480 pray. Lord bless you.