1 00:00:02,300 --> 00:00:07,200 Sometimes change is needful, sometimes change is desirable 2 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,600 but there is also something to be said for stability and 3 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:13,800 dependability and predictability. 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,400 I like those things and I suppose at least to some extent 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,500 in your life you appreciate those things as well I want to 6 00:00:22,500 --> 00:00:26,100 talk about some things that never and I do mean never 7 00:00:26,100 --> 00:00:29,700 change. There's not much about our lives 8 00:00:29,700 --> 00:00:33,400 about our culture, our society, T-that doesn't change from time 9 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,500 to time, but James says that, with our father in Heaven, There 10 00:00:37,500 --> 00:00:41,700 is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 11 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,900 The old song says, time is filled with swift transition and 12 00:00:45,900 --> 00:00:50,000 not of Earth, unmoved can stand build your hopes on things 13 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000 Eternal, and hold to God's unchanging hand. 14 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,200 I like that. Build your hopes on things 15 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:59,500 Eternal. And that's so very true. 16 00:00:59,500 --> 00:01:02,100 Because if you're placing your home, Option. 17 00:01:02,100 --> 00:01:07,900 Your Ambitions, your aspirations on the modern culture or on what 18 00:01:07,900 --> 00:01:10,900 the world today promises? You're going to be left. 19 00:01:10,900 --> 00:01:14,500 Very disappointed because nothing Remains the Same for 20 00:01:14,500 --> 00:01:19,000 very long, but God's hand is unchanging and I want to tell 21 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,200 you about some things on heaven and on Earth, beneath that will 22 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,000 never change From Here to Eternity. 23 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,300 Change is sometimes very frustrating to me, my wife and I 24 00:01:30,300 --> 00:01:34,800 sometimes find the Restaurant that we like or some particular 25 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,200 venue of some kind that we enjoy, or like, but it always 26 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,200 seems to be our lot that it's not long before it changes. 27 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,100 We find a restaurant that we enjoy and after a few months or 28 00:01:47,300 --> 00:01:51,400 a few years at best, something comes along and changes it, they 29 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:56,000 change the menu or they get some new management and the quality 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,300 of the food of the service goes down, maybe the prices shoot up 31 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,100 or the establishment goes The business altogether things just 32 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:06,300 don't seem stay the same very long. 33 00:02:06,300 --> 00:02:10,100 You buy a new car today and a year or two from now. 34 00:02:10,100 --> 00:02:13,200 It's going to seem a little bit out of date. 35 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,200 That's just the way our transient Society is. 36 00:02:16,900 --> 00:02:19,200 My wife told me something interesting here. 37 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,100 Some months back. We usually wake up on Sunday, 38 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:25,000 mornings and turn on the television as we get ready. 39 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,300 And we enjoy, particularly the show, CBS, Sunday Morning, we 40 00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:31,500 enjoy the feature in human interest stories. 41 00:02:31,700 --> 00:02:33,900 That are on that long-running program. 42 00:02:34,500 --> 00:02:36,500 This particular morning. I wasn't really paying much 43 00:02:36,500 --> 00:02:40,000 attention or watching it all but my wife told me about a very 44 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,400 interesting story that they had that morning about how there are 45 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,000 experts that predict our tastes in things. 46 00:02:48,300 --> 00:02:52,100 They predict our tastes and colors for example and how that 47 00:02:52,100 --> 00:02:55,500 the public taste changes from year to year. 48 00:02:55,700 --> 00:02:59,400 Well, we know that's the case, but the fact that they predict 49 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:03,100 what colors are going to be popular, By the next season, or 50 00:03:03,100 --> 00:03:05,700 the next year is what interested me. 51 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,000 There's actually a group of researchers who spend the year, 52 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:13,000 studying Trends, studying the culture, studying Society, 53 00:03:13,100 --> 00:03:16,900 that's their job, they get paid for that and they anticipate 54 00:03:16,900 --> 00:03:21,000 what colors will be involved by the following year and there are 55 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,200 several environmental and societal factors that they tell 56 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,000 us will point to what next year's favorite colors will be 57 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,500 and sure enough as new products emerge the following year. 58 00:03:31,700 --> 00:03:33,500 R. The color wheel seems to spin 59 00:03:33,500 --> 00:03:36,800 around and everything takes on a little different look. 60 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:39,700 Well, he gets very discouraging to me when you go out and you 61 00:03:39,700 --> 00:03:42,800 spend a lot of money on remodeling your house or 62 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,800 something like that. Only to know that in a couple of 63 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,600 years, those paint colors and those countertops are going to 64 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,700 seem like those old green and Harvest Gold, appliances, that 65 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:57,500 were popular when I was a kid. Well, that just seems to be how 66 00:03:57,500 --> 00:04:01,100 things go in our world and on a much more serious plane. 67 00:04:01,100 --> 00:04:05,400 That's the Our cultural values tend to go to one thing about 68 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,600 Mankind that hasn't really changed over the years is that 69 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:13,300 some people are always looking to be on The Cutting Edge of 70 00:04:13,300 --> 00:04:18,200 thought and philosophy 2,000 years ago, Paul, preached to the 71 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,100 people of the city of Athens. The Bible says in Acts 17 and 72 00:04:22,100 --> 00:04:26,700 verse 21 that they spent their time and nothing else but to 73 00:04:26,700 --> 00:04:32,900 tell or to hear some new thing and So, this isn't a Modern 74 00:04:32,900 --> 00:04:35,600 Trend. The constant Quest For Change is 75 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:39,500 about as old as man is, but despite all of that there are 76 00:04:39,500 --> 00:04:43,300 some principles and values that remain the same and to, which 77 00:04:43,300 --> 00:04:46,200 you can tether your faith. And I want to talk about some of 78 00:04:46,207 --> 00:04:49,800 those things today, and I want to begin by saying that God and 79 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,200 His Divine character will never change. 80 00:04:53,300 --> 00:04:57,900 Now, sometimes we reduce God to our own likeness, it's very hard 81 00:04:57,900 --> 00:05:01,500 for us to conceive of a being that transcends time. 82 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:06,800 No less one who is eternal but the Bible tells us that God is 83 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:11,100 exactly that that God is according to Hebrews 11 and 84 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:13,700 verse 6. Not that he was not that he will 85 00:05:13,700 --> 00:05:16,500 be. God, is that very statement 86 00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:18,800 points to the unchangeableness of God? 87 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,400 Some today claim that God used to be? 88 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,800 They tell us that the god of ancient times, is different from 89 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:29,000 the one that we serve today and that the god, that's pictured in 90 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,800 the scriptures is really out of date and irrelevant. 91 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,300 Avant and perhaps, even unrealistic. 92 00:05:34,300 --> 00:05:37,700 And as a result, they have created a new God. 93 00:05:37,700 --> 00:05:40,600 That is more agreeable with the modern philosophy. 94 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,600 It's easier for some people to believe in a God. 95 00:05:43,608 --> 00:05:47,800 For example, who use the unproven process of evolution to 96 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:52,000 create the world over billions upon billions of years than it 97 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,000 is to believe in an omnipotent God who spoke the world into 98 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,400 being in six literal days. But I believe that God did just 99 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:03,200 that I believe in the god that is For trade, and pictured for 100 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:07,700 us and his Revelation within his scriptures that he possesses all 101 00:06:07,700 --> 00:06:10,200 power. He's the one who said to Abraham 102 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:15,000 in Genesis 17 and one, I am the almighty God, he is the god of 103 00:06:15,008 --> 00:06:18,600 whom Jesus spake in Matthew, 19, and 26 saying, with him, all 104 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,300 things are possible, I believe in a not in an omnipresent, God 105 00:06:22,300 --> 00:06:25,500 of whom Paul said in Acts 17 and 28 that in him. 106 00:06:25,500 --> 00:06:29,600 We live and move and have our being I believe in a God today, 107 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,000 that's just his omniscient. Just As the Bible says of him 108 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,500 and John 21 and 17, that he knows all things. 109 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:39,700 In other words, I believe in the god of the Bible. 110 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,000 Now, the force that we're dealing with today, is humanism 111 00:06:43,300 --> 00:06:46,800 and humanism seeks to exalt the creature to the level of or 112 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,900 above the Creator. It is basically the worship of 113 00:06:49,900 --> 00:06:52,100 self. The worship of the human being 114 00:06:52,100 --> 00:06:55,600 as opposed to the worship of God, and humanism is a very 115 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,500 subtle Force. Humanism is something that just 116 00:06:58,500 --> 00:07:02,200 sort of pervades our culture and creeps into our Key. 117 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:05,100 And if you'll notice, if you look deserve, even the religious 118 00:07:05,100 --> 00:07:08,700 World about us today, there's a lot of lip service that's paid 119 00:07:08,700 --> 00:07:13,500 to honoring God and glorifying God and directing our worship 120 00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:17,000 and our service to God. But at the same time, men are 121 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,700 working awfully hard to tailor their worship and tailor their 122 00:07:20,700 --> 00:07:26,200 religion to please them in such a way that makes them feel good 123 00:07:26,300 --> 00:07:30,900 in a way that makes them feel build up in a way that they find 124 00:07:30,900 --> 00:07:33,800 palatable. Oh, and pleasing until at some 125 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,500 point, God is just left out of the equation and he's just 126 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:39,700 offered whatever man chooses to offer him. 127 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,500 And people have basically portrayed God as a God who just 128 00:07:43,500 --> 00:07:46,700 smiles and goes along with everything and accepts 129 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:49,500 everything, but that's not the god of the Bible. 130 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,000 Now to believe in the god of the Bible to buy, that is to say to 131 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:57,000 believe in God just exactly. As the Bible tells us of him 132 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,300 tells us of his power tells us of his history. 133 00:08:00,500 --> 00:08:04,100 Well that's really out of Step. The thinking of our day, we've 134 00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:07,800 recreated God to be something he is not nor has ever been people 135 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,100 have made God today, out to be some Heavenly grandfather type 136 00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:14,500 who dotes on his children. And who never says, no, they've 137 00:08:14,500 --> 00:08:17,500 taken away his Holiness and his righteousness, and they have 138 00:08:17,500 --> 00:08:21,400 turned him into a pushover who just goes with the flow people 139 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,800 today, want a God who doesn't make any demands of God, who 140 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,200 accepts anything and everything? And a God who doesn't have the 141 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,300 capacity to punish Sinners? Well, that's not the god that 142 00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:34,600 scary Terrorized in your Bible the Bible certainly tells us 143 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,900 that God is love according to 1st, John chapter 4 and verse 144 00:08:37,900 --> 00:08:41,100 16. And that love is far beyond our 145 00:08:41,100 --> 00:08:45,600 ability to grasp to comprehend. God, deeply loves his creation 146 00:08:45,700 --> 00:08:49,400 without exception and his compassion and his benevolence 147 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,800 toward mankind, it is unfailing. But now the Bible tells us that 148 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:56,900 there's much more to the character and the nature of God, 149 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,500 he is also absolutely perfect. God is absolutely righteous. 150 00:09:01,700 --> 00:09:05,900 God is Holy and God cannot and God does not count. 151 00:09:05,900 --> 00:09:09,600 And it's Ian and the slightest Speck of evil, or 152 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:14,000 unrighteousness ruins man's relationship to him. 153 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,200 Now, thankfully his mercy and his love provided us with the 154 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:22,200 vicarious sacrifice of his own son, so that we might be made 155 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:26,600 righteous through him and have access to God, but that doesn't 156 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,000 change. The fact that God did tests in 157 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,400 and that God refuses to talk. Tolerate sin, and the Bible 158 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,300 tells us the Old Testament was written for our learning 159 00:09:36,300 --> 00:09:40,900 according to Romans chapter 15 and verse 4, we understand that 160 00:09:40,900 --> 00:09:44,700 we're not accountable to the Old Testament law to the Mosaic 161 00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:46,800 system. We're not accountable to keep 162 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,400 the Ten Commandments and the ceremonial law of Moses, upended 163 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,200 do it. But nonetheless, Paul did tell 164 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,700 us that the Old Testament was given to teach us some things 165 00:09:56,900 --> 00:10:00,400 and namely the Old Testament gives us a very clear picture of 166 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:04,900 God and his To George seein, as opposed to righteousness. 167 00:10:05,100 --> 00:10:08,200 Some people charge that God was a harsh and he was a 168 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,800 disciplinarian, God back in the Old Testament, but that all of 169 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,400 those stories. But I want to say that all of 170 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,800 those stories are written to impress upon you and to impress 171 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,600 upon me just how God looks at evil. 172 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,400 You know, the very death of his own song took place in part to 173 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:28,100 show to mankind, the awful penalty that's in exact now. 174 00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:30,500 Did you know? God hasn't changed in that. 175 00:10:30,700 --> 00:10:32,200 Now, we live under a different Different law. 176 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,400 Today, we live under a law. That is thankfully made the 177 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:40,700 provision of Grace for our souls and mercy for our helpless State 178 00:10:40,700 --> 00:10:43,300 and we're thankful, and we praise God for that. 179 00:10:43,300 --> 00:10:45,800 And we could not be saved aside from that today. 180 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,200 No man can be saved of his own strength and of his own accord. 181 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,400 It took something that man could not do for himself in order to 182 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,200 lift him from the mire of sin. And therefore, as Paul said in 183 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,800 Ephesians 2 and verse 8 by grace are we saved through faith but I 184 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,900 want you to also Slam that the character and the nature of God 185 00:11:04,900 --> 00:11:07,800 and the disposition of God toward sin and anything that 186 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:12,100 violates as well has not changed the God who was angered by the 187 00:11:12,100 --> 00:11:14,500 Disobedience and rebellion of his people. 188 00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:18,500 Thousands of years ago, still gets angry when men trample his 189 00:11:18,500 --> 00:11:21,800 law under foot and they go splashing through the blood of 190 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:25,300 his son, God has a change. The only thing that has changed 191 00:11:25,300 --> 00:11:28,600 is that God has provided us with a solution to sin, but God's 192 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,500 character is still the same. The Bible tells us in Romans, 193 00:11:31,700 --> 00:11:37,200 11:22 behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God of 194 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,500 them, which fell severity but toward thee goodness, if Al 195 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:44,200 continue in his goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut 196 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,100 off. Nepal here is warning. 197 00:11:46,100 --> 00:11:50,800 The Gentiles who had just come to no salvation in Christ. 198 00:11:51,300 --> 00:11:55,800 Not to do as the Israelites had odd in their rejection of God's 199 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:57,900 word. Now, it would have been a 200 00:11:57,900 --> 00:12:01,600 Temptation these people. These Gentiles were grafted 201 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:06,100 Afternoon to Jesus Christ, and this Vine of redemption, if you 202 00:12:06,100 --> 00:12:10,000 please, if I can use that expression, they were grafted in 203 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:15,500 simply by God's grace because God loved Fallen man. 204 00:12:15,700 --> 00:12:19,100 And they were given the same opportunity of Salvation as the 205 00:12:19,100 --> 00:12:22,200 Jews, that came by Grace. But now one thing, that the 206 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,200 Apostle Paul continually had to counter particularly in the 207 00:12:25,208 --> 00:12:29,500 Roman letter was that there were some who would say, Well, since 208 00:12:29,500 --> 00:12:34,800 God worked his grace, Despite the problem of sin, then why 209 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:39,100 can't we just continue in sin so that we get more Grace from God? 210 00:12:39,300 --> 00:12:41,700 Well, you know, that's really no different than the thinking of 211 00:12:41,700 --> 00:12:44,600 many people in the religious world today even though they 212 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,600 don't phrase it exactly. That way. 213 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:50,200 They just think that it's all Grace and that The Obedience of 214 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:54,200 man is inconsequential. Oh now it's of course, 215 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,400 important. They tell us that we try our 216 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,300 best to obey, God and so forth. But rods, it's all just about 217 00:13:00,300 --> 00:13:03,700 Grace. And It's ready is not germane 218 00:13:03,700 --> 00:13:07,900 demands actual salvation. So that tell us what we hear 219 00:13:07,900 --> 00:13:11,100 that often today and Paul heard that back then. 220 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,600 And Paul says Beyond, yes, the goodness of God and there's 221 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,100 nothing greater. We can behold than the goodness 222 00:13:18,100 --> 00:13:20,600 of God. But Paul also says, you also be 223 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:25,600 holy severity and he goes on to say that these Jews who 224 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:30,700 disobeyed him, they were cut off and the very same consequence 225 00:13:30,700 --> 00:13:34,700 could befall the Gentiles if they behaved in the same way 226 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,200 toward God, friends don't buy into this modern packaging of 227 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:41,400 God. That says that God is some 228 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,500 benign being who has to loving to punish sin. 229 00:13:44,700 --> 00:13:48,800 He's the same God you read about in Genesis 1 and 1 all the way 230 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,500 to Revelation chapter 22. And frankly that's a comforting 231 00:13:52,500 --> 00:13:55,300 thing to me. I'm glad to know that I can 232 00:13:55,300 --> 00:13:58,800 depend on the god, I read about in the Bible, instead of my 233 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,600 concept of him changing from one. 234 00:14:01,700 --> 00:14:06,600 Super max or being dependent on what how modern man is a whole 235 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:11,500 perceives him man-made, change his behavior, his attitude, his 236 00:14:11,500 --> 00:14:14,100 character all may change, but God does not. 237 00:14:14,100 --> 00:14:18,800 Remember James said that in him, there is no variableness or 238 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,600 shadow of turning. Now, James simply tells us that 239 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,700 he is the ruler and he is the god even of the Sun and the 240 00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:27,000 Moon. And though the sun may rise and 241 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,500 set and the moon, they hide in the shadows of the earth, God 242 00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:35,600 never changes. Has, he is always exactly the 243 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:39,300 same. A second of all, the word of God 244 00:14:39,500 --> 00:14:42,500 will never change. Now, one of the wonderful things 245 00:14:42,500 --> 00:14:46,700 about the Bible is the fact that it is old and new at the same 246 00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:48,500 time. In other words, it may have been 247 00:14:48,500 --> 00:14:52,500 written down by inspiration of the Holy Spirit thousands of 248 00:14:52,500 --> 00:14:55,300 years ago. It may have been written. 249 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,200 First of all, and contextually to people of a completely 250 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,000 different era, a completely different And a completely 251 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,900 different culture. But the fact of the matter is, 252 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,800 every word of your Bible is just as timely as this morning's 253 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:11,600 newspaper. And, you know, if men would give 254 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:15,200 the Bible half a chance and a semblance of a fair hearing, 255 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,700 they might come to see just how relevant the Bible is today. 256 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,400 I believe that the word of God has the ability to answer every 257 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:26,100 moral and spiritual question that any man can ask today. 258 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,000 Now, some people claim that we've outgrown the Bible and it 259 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,200 all of our learning and All of our sophistication at some point 260 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,400 along. The way we just sort of left the 261 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,800 Bible Behind these days. It's not what the scriptures 262 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:43,100 teach that we're interested in, it's what the latest Gallup poll 263 00:15:43,100 --> 00:15:47,300 says or it's what society as a whole has decided about a 264 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:50,600 particular matter. We no longer allow the Bible to 265 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,300 be the Arbiter between right and wrong. 266 00:15:53,500 --> 00:15:57,500 And I know that because today very few, kinds of behavior are 267 00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:00,900 looked upon by not only the world, but many of our 268 00:16:00,900 --> 00:16:04,500 religious. First as being wrong or sinful, 269 00:16:04,700 --> 00:16:08,400 we today have Justified about every kind of behavior and 270 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,600 practice from adultery to pornography to abortion by 271 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,900 throwing the Bible aside and doing what is right in our own 272 00:16:14,900 --> 00:16:18,200 eyes till we reach. The point that today few people 273 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:22,400 will call Sin Sin. They tell us the Bible is 274 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,800 outdated and incapable of providing a standard for modern 275 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:30,800 man to live by some, even try to twist and bend the scriptures to 276 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,200 allow thing. Things that anyone listen, now, 277 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,400 just about anyone would have agreed were condemned in the 278 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,100 Bible as little as 50 years ago today. 279 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,100 It's hard to find anyone that will stand where the Bible 280 00:16:43,100 --> 00:16:46,200 stands and condemn. Those things, the Bible teaches 281 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:50,500 that practices like drunkenness and I know that's popular. 282 00:16:51,100 --> 00:16:53,200 I know all of the kids at school, do it. 283 00:16:53,700 --> 00:16:56,600 I know that you see many people that go to church somewhere, 284 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,800 some denomination, every Sunday, they say it's alright to drink a 285 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:03,100 little here and there or it's All right, to recreationally. 286 00:17:03,100 --> 00:17:06,400 Use some kind of a drug. I will tell you the Bible 287 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,500 condemns drunkenness and it's just as wrong today. 288 00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:12,300 As it was when the Apostle Paul condemned and among the heathens 289 00:17:12,300 --> 00:17:16,099 that have come into the church in the first century, the Bible 290 00:17:16,099 --> 00:17:19,400 condemns the practice of fornication, the world, and they 291 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:21,900 may say it's alright, for two people to move in together and 292 00:17:21,900 --> 00:17:24,300 lived with one another outside of marriage. 293 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,800 They might say that marriage is becoming on outdated and 294 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,000 unnecessary institution and that it's okay for two people to 295 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:32,800 sleep together. Either outside of marriage as 296 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:34,800 long as they love each other, but I'm going to tell you, it's 297 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:37,800 not okay? And any type of sexual behavior 298 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,900 outside of the bonds of marriage, a marriage that is 299 00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:44,700 Sanctified, by the way, by the will of God it's wrong. 300 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,300 It's sinful in the sight of God. It's immorality. 301 00:17:47,300 --> 00:17:49,900 It's evil. Adultery is wrong. 302 00:17:49,900 --> 00:17:53,400 In the sight of God, homosexuality is an abomination 303 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,700 in the eyes of God and if those things were wrong, when the word 304 00:17:56,700 --> 00:17:59,100 of God was written, they're still wrong today. 305 00:17:59,100 --> 00:18:02,600 Regardless of what the latest popular, Indian Postal Service, 306 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,500 regardless of what the President says, regardless of what the 307 00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:08,900 Pentagon May repeal, or what, they might say, it's wrong. 308 00:18:08,900 --> 00:18:11,900 In the eyes of God, Peter declared and First Finger, 1 309 00:18:11,900 --> 00:18:14,900 verses 24 and 25 at the grass withereth, and the flower 310 00:18:14,900 --> 00:18:17,600 thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth 311 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:21,000 forever, and Jesus said that heaven and Earth would pass 312 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,100 away. But his word will never pass 313 00:18:23,100 --> 00:18:25,700 away. Matthew, 24, and verse 35. 314 00:18:25,700 --> 00:18:27,900 The Bible is still is true and relevant. 315 00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:31,400 As it ever was, the problem is men have rejected it. 316 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,600 It now you stop and think about what that does to us as a 317 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:38,700 society. It makes everything subjective. 318 00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:43,700 It says that there is no such thing as absolute truth. 319 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,700 And when men reject the absolute and Universal standard of Truth 320 00:18:48,700 --> 00:18:51,400 known as the Bible, or any standard of Truth for that 321 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:56,200 matter, it creates as much, chaos, spiritually, and morally 322 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:00,100 as it would in society if we had no standards of weights and 323 00:19:00,100 --> 00:19:02,500 measurements. For example, People, you imagine 324 00:19:02,500 --> 00:19:06,300 trying to function as a society. If we had no set standard the 325 00:19:06,300 --> 00:19:11,000 way things by, or to measure things by, what if we had no 326 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,600 official rules for language or mathematics? 327 00:19:15,100 --> 00:19:18,600 What if everything were left up to every individual just to 328 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:23,700 determine for his or herself, well, you know, as a society we 329 00:19:23,700 --> 00:19:28,900 understand that and though because of the poor state of our 330 00:19:28,900 --> 00:19:32,900 education system and the influences that are coming to 331 00:19:32,900 --> 00:19:38,200 Bear upon Him, despite the fact that there is a movement and 332 00:19:38,208 --> 00:19:41,800 there are those who do try to make everything subjective, and 333 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:44,900 they're all about rewarding effort instead of performance. 334 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,200 They're all about rewarding, just the effort as opposed to 335 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,700 whether person knows anything or not. 336 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:54,300 The fact of the matter is, as a society, we still understand 337 00:19:54,300 --> 00:19:58,600 that somewhere there has has to be a boundary somewhere. 338 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,500 There has to be a set of Standards somewhere. 339 00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:05,600 There has to be a set of rules by which society operates and 340 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,200 governs itself. And we understand that without 341 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,000 that society would spin out of control but then we turn around 342 00:20:12,100 --> 00:20:14,900 when it comes to the greatest thing of all and that is faith 343 00:20:14,900 --> 00:20:17,200 in God when it comes to the church. 344 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,500 When it comes to religion and we say well it's just every man for 345 00:20:20,500 --> 00:20:22,300 himself. It's what every man thinks. 346 00:20:22,300 --> 00:20:26,900 It's every man's opinion is just as valid as the next man's And 347 00:20:26,900 --> 00:20:29,700 as long as I'm sincere, it really doesn't matter what I 348 00:20:29,700 --> 00:20:34,000 believe or what I engage in. What I practice, religiously. 349 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,400 Well, surely we can see the confusion and the chaos that 350 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,800 resulted from that. Well, why is it that? 351 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,000 When that we refuse to accept an absolute and unchanging 352 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,200 standard? When it comes to right and wrong 353 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,700 or when it comes to ethical moral and religious issues 354 00:20:49,700 --> 00:20:51,200 friends? That's why the worlds in the 355 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,000 shape that it's in. And furthermore, why religions 356 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,100 in the mess that it is in today, it has become Become a 357 00:20:57,100 --> 00:21:01,200 free-for-all simply because we have rejected the Bible as the 358 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:06,400 one source of absolute truth. And I've hit on this and one way 359 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,100 or another already during this meeting but I'm going to take 360 00:21:09,100 --> 00:21:12,200 one more swipe at it. I'm going to tell you that is 361 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,800 the Battle of our times in the Church of the Lord today. 362 00:21:16,700 --> 00:21:20,300 And we've got some folks that claim to be out there seeking 363 00:21:20,300 --> 00:21:23,900 for truth and looking for truth. And let me tell you they're 364 00:21:23,900 --> 00:21:27,000 asking a lot more questions than they are finding answers. 365 00:21:27,700 --> 00:21:31,900 Now I'm all for asking honest and sincere questions and I am 366 00:21:31,900 --> 00:21:36,300 certainly not proposing that anybody Anything at face value 367 00:21:36,300 --> 00:21:38,200 and just simply because Grandma and Grandpa. 368 00:21:38,300 --> 00:21:41,900 Grandpa said it was that way. We should all have a sincere 369 00:21:41,900 --> 00:21:44,400 desire to know the truth. Let me tell you what we're 370 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,500 seeing amongst certain circles. Today we are seeing people whose 371 00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:52,000 objective is not to find answers, their objective is to 372 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,700 ask questions. So as to muddy the waters and 373 00:21:54,700 --> 00:21:59,000 what they're after is ultimately about a system of open 374 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,800 Fellowship where anything and everything goes and everything 375 00:22:02,900 --> 00:22:06,800 and everyone and every Practice. And every belief is tolerated. 376 00:22:07,100 --> 00:22:10,000 That's where it's headed. That's the objective. 377 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,400 And that's what happens when you minimize the word of God as 378 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,900 being a standard of authority and a pattern for the work in 379 00:22:17,900 --> 00:22:21,300 the worship of the church. It becomes a free-for-all. 380 00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:25,300 Now, the word of God is unchanging and it remains today 381 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:27,900 despite the thousands of years that have passed since it was 382 00:22:27,900 --> 00:22:29,900 written. And it warns us that one day, 383 00:22:29,900 --> 00:22:33,000 our lives are going to be judged by what appears on its sacred 384 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,400 pages and that standard is unchanging. 385 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,100 Now I again for one am, glad I have a Bible to turn to today 386 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,100 and I'm glad that my spiritual and moral Reviews. 387 00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:45,600 Don't have to be constantly reshaped because of the fact the 388 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:50,600 world changes from one day and one year to the next The word of 389 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,700 God is an unchanging thing that you can tether your soul to in 390 00:22:54,700 --> 00:22:59,700 these changing confusing and perilous times, thirdly, let me 391 00:22:59,700 --> 00:23:03,400 say the Lord's Church. He's an unchanging institution, 392 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,900 it's an ancient institution. We read of its beginning in Acts 393 00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:09,800 the second chapter and the events of that chapter took 394 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:14,100 place on a Sunday morning in Jerusalem about 1980 years ago. 395 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,100 And did you know that? What, that in the eyes of God 396 00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:19,800 that institution that started way? 397 00:23:19,900 --> 00:23:23,200 Back there. So long ago has not changed. 398 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,100 And now the Bible tells us that we have received a kingdom that 399 00:23:27,100 --> 00:23:31,000 cannot be moved according to Hebrews 12 and verse 28. 400 00:23:31,500 --> 00:23:35,000 Jesus taught us that the unchanging word of God is the 401 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:39,100 seed of that Kingdom. In other words, it is constantly 402 00:23:39,100 --> 00:23:41,600 being reproduced in its original form. 403 00:23:41,700 --> 00:23:45,200 Every time the gospel of the New Testament is preached and 404 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,100 obeyed, and there is something that is thrilling to me about 405 00:23:48,100 --> 00:23:50,400 that. There is something that is 406 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,700 absolutely thrilling to me about that. 407 00:23:52,700 --> 00:23:56,500 Wonderful fact it is An awesome thing for me to turn over to the 408 00:23:56,500 --> 00:24:00,400 book of Acts and read about the church that Jesus established to 409 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,200 Millennium ago. And to know that I'm a member 410 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:10,500 today of that same Institution. I remind myself and a numbers me 411 00:24:10,500 --> 00:24:14,600 each time I do when I come together with other Christians 412 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,100 on the large day to break bread. Like we did just a little while 413 00:24:18,100 --> 00:24:24,400 ago to know that I am keeping a god-ordained tradition that was 414 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:29,200 established two Millennia ago and that has taken place every 415 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:33,600 Sunday somewhere someplace in that way. 416 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:39,600 Since that time. Do you know a lot of people they 417 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,400 just get a Big Thrill out of observing, some kind of a 418 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:47,300 worldly tradition. They like to recreate history. 419 00:24:48,300 --> 00:24:50,500 There are people that their favorite thing to do in the 420 00:24:50,500 --> 00:24:53,400 world that wouldn't give you a nickel for football or anything 421 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,000 they see on television their entertainment. 422 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,100 And their Recreation is not traveling and seeing the sights 423 00:25:00,100 --> 00:25:01,900 of the country. You know what they do and what 424 00:25:01,900 --> 00:25:05,400 they spend their spare time on? They like to go in for example 425 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,900 reenact the Revolutionary War or they reenact the Civil War and 426 00:25:10,900 --> 00:25:14,400 that's a thrill for them to get all dressed up in costume and to 427 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,900 try to recreate the scene of what it must have been a hundred 428 00:25:16,900 --> 00:25:22,200 and fifty Some years ago and go back in time and recreate what, 429 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:24,900 it must have been to be in the battle as the nation fought for 430 00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:27,700 its independence or is the nation fought one side against 431 00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:30,200 the other? They like to step back in time 432 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,200 and there's something about us that we all like to step back in 433 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,800 time once in a while and just sort of feel like we've been 434 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,100 transported back in time where they're what was it like back 435 00:25:39,100 --> 00:25:40,500 then? Well let me tell you, every 436 00:25:40,500 --> 00:25:43,300 large, they every Christian can step back in time. 437 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,000 Because when you gather around this table and You observe it, 438 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,800 and the way we observed it today, you can tell you don't 439 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,600 take my word for take out your Bible. 440 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,400 Read the accounts that the whole of the four accounts, the Holy 441 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:59,100 Spirit gave us of the very night that Jesus established it with 442 00:25:59,100 --> 00:26:02,900 his disciples in the upper room. We are doing exactly what was 443 00:26:02,900 --> 00:26:07,000 done then and what has been done somewhere someplace in the same 444 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:12,100 way every seventh day, every first day of the week, every 445 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:18,200 Sunday, Since that time. That's thrilling to me. 446 00:26:19,700 --> 00:26:23,000 And you know, today you could be a member of the same church that 447 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:27,000 you read about within the Bible. The Bible says that the word of 448 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:31,600 God is the seed of a kingdom. And I believe that by using the 449 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:35,300 Bible and using the scriptures as our guide, we can know 450 00:26:35,300 --> 00:26:39,200 exactly what the church that Jesus established was who they 451 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,600 were what they preached, how they live, how they worship. 452 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,900 And I can every Point follow that example, the problem today 453 00:26:45,900 --> 00:26:49,700 is too many people are ignoring the pattern and they tell us 454 00:26:49,700 --> 00:26:53,600 that the church needs to evolve and stay up with the times. 455 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,400 And as a result, we have more churches and denominations than 456 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,600 you can count and ones is different. 457 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,600 Is as the next as daylight, a different from the next I should 458 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,900 say, as daylight from dark and that's because people aren't 459 00:27:06,900 --> 00:27:10,900 looking to the early church as a paradigm, they view the church 460 00:27:10,900 --> 00:27:14,400 has an entity that changes along with man. 461 00:27:15,100 --> 00:27:19,000 Here's the thing about change. when you go tampering with 462 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,100 things divide or just changing things, merely for the sake of 463 00:27:23,100 --> 00:27:27,300 changing, and keeping up with the times when that simply your 464 00:27:27,300 --> 00:27:31,000 motive, I'm going to tell you, it's not very long times won't 465 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:35,100 change me. And whatever you've changed to 466 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:39,800 what that's going to be old hat. There's a little debate going on 467 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,900 on the internet, a little group that I was invited into sometime 468 00:27:42,900 --> 00:27:47,000 back that I'm actually not too fond of but I've been just with 469 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,400 interest following it and lately these are some disgruntled 470 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,200 church members. I might say they've been arguing 471 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:58,500 and debating about the changing the name that the church, 472 00:27:58,500 --> 00:28:02,200 where's the description that is given of the Lord's Church. 473 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:04,400 Well that's a study within and of it son. 474 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:09,700 And I do understand that the as we Refer to ourselves and is the 475 00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:13,300 Bible refers to God's people as Churches of Christ, that that's 476 00:28:13,300 --> 00:28:16,300 more of a description that it is a proper name. 477 00:28:16,300 --> 00:28:19,600 I understand that. But I also understand that God 478 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,200 promised that he would give his people the new Israel in this 479 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,100 day. A new name and that name would 480 00:28:24,100 --> 00:28:27,300 be that of his son. And I believe the name that we 481 00:28:27,300 --> 00:28:31,300 wear is a name that we ought to be proud of because it is the 482 00:28:31,300 --> 00:28:36,400 name that reflects, who our leader is, who our King is Who 483 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:40,100 the head of the church is Who shed his blood for the church 484 00:28:40,900 --> 00:28:43,900 and it's a scriptural designation to refer to the 485 00:28:43,900 --> 00:28:47,500 church as the Church of Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ, the 486 00:28:47,500 --> 00:28:50,700 Church of God, if God is referring to God, the son God, 487 00:28:50,700 --> 00:28:56,200 Jesus Christ. Well, now their idea is that in 488 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,600 order to evangelize the world. We've got to lead behind the 489 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:03,300 trappings of the past and embrace something that's new and 490 00:29:03,300 --> 00:29:05,700 Cutting Edge as they think by doing that. 491 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:09,200 They're going to further disassociate the church with any 492 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:13,900 type of a denominational congress-led know Now, you can 493 00:29:13,908 --> 00:29:16,900 just go out and be as creative as you want to and you just come 494 00:29:16,900 --> 00:29:20,000 up with you some catchy Doolittle name and you stick it 495 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:21,400 on the sign up in front of your church. 496 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,000 Building a stick it on your website and whatever it might 497 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:25,200 be. You know what? 498 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,300 You just come up with a new name and people in the course of 499 00:29:28,300 --> 00:29:29,300 time. We're going to look at that 500 00:29:29,300 --> 00:29:31,300 name. Just like unfortunately some 501 00:29:31,300 --> 00:29:33,700 people who are unlearned of the Bible are going to look at the 502 00:29:33,708 --> 00:29:35,800 main Church of Christ or any other name of the church. 503 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:39,500 Weather's changing the name doesn't change anything changing 504 00:29:39,500 --> 00:29:42,100 the name, doesn't change people's perception. 505 00:29:42,900 --> 00:29:44,800 They're changing to keep up with the times. 506 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:47,500 And the thing about change is when it comes to the Lord's 507 00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:51,500 Church change begets change, no one's ever satisfied. 508 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,400 Well, that's what happens when you ignore the idea that there's 509 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:56,900 a pattern given to us within the Bible. 510 00:29:57,100 --> 00:30:00,300 And too many people are ignoring the pattern that is given to us 511 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,600 the church, that Jesus established, his unchanging, 512 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:07,200 governments change, nations, rise and fall societies crumble. 513 00:30:07,300 --> 00:30:09,700 There's one institution in the world, you can count on to be 514 00:30:09,700 --> 00:30:12,100 the same. And that's the church, and I 515 00:30:12,100 --> 00:30:13,600 asked her. Remember the church that you 516 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,900 read about in the Bible or are you part of a religious 517 00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:18,200 organization that gets his Doctrine from whatever the 518 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:19,900 thinking of the day happens to be? 519 00:30:23,100 --> 00:30:26,600 Now, finally, I want to say that the Lord's promises are 520 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:30,400 unchanging in an unstable and uncertain world. 521 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:33,600 The large promises are unchanging. 522 00:30:35,100 --> 00:30:39,700 The Lord keeps his word. The Lord keeps his vows. 523 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,200 And you can Bank on that. God is never failing when it 524 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:46,700 comes to keeping his word. God. 525 00:30:46,700 --> 00:30:50,700 Never forgets a promise, God never reneges, on a promise. 526 00:30:51,700 --> 00:30:54,600 2000 years ago. Our Lord left this old world. 527 00:30:55,900 --> 00:30:58,900 And he gathered with his small band of disciples on all his 528 00:30:58,900 --> 00:31:03,200 brow and with the clouds, his Chariot in the winds as his 529 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,900 steeds, he went writing off to Glory. 530 00:31:07,100 --> 00:31:08,800 But he left with a precious promise. 531 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:14,300 He told his confused bewildered and heartbroken disciples, he 532 00:31:14,300 --> 00:31:19,000 left behind in John 14 and one, let not your hearts be troubled, 533 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,600 you believe in God believe. Also in me in my father's house 534 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:27,900 are many mansions and if it were not so I would have told you I 535 00:31:27,900 --> 00:31:31,800 go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place 536 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,900 for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that 537 00:31:35,900 --> 00:31:39,600 where I am. There, ye may be also. 538 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:45,200 Now, friends, I believe that, I believe that one of these days, 539 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:49,000 the Lord is coming again. I know that there are plenty of 540 00:31:49,008 --> 00:31:53,000 folks who make fun of that. They're proving the Bible to be 541 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:56,300 true right now by scoffing at and mocking, the promise of our 542 00:31:56,300 --> 00:31:58,600 Lord. Peter said in second Peter 3 543 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,300 that in the last days, there would be those who would scoff 544 00:32:01,300 --> 00:32:04,700 and say, where is the promise of his coming for since the 545 00:32:04,700 --> 00:32:07,400 father's fell asleep? All things continue as they were 546 00:32:07,500 --> 00:32:09,000 from the beginning of the creation. 547 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,700 In other words, you know, if he were really coming again, he 548 00:32:11,700 --> 00:32:15,400 would have been here by now. Look, Peter goes on to say a 549 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:19,100 thousand years is like one day with the Lord and his promise 550 00:32:19,100 --> 00:32:23,000 remains and like a thief in the night, he will come back one 551 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,000 day. Folks, I don't know what the 552 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:31,000 future holds in this old world. I do know that we're living in 553 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:35,600 some very, very uncertain. And in many ways, some very 554 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:40,200 frightening times. The world has been through a lot 555 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,500 of changes down through the centuries, through the 556 00:32:42,508 --> 00:32:46,800 millennium. And I don't necessarily believe 557 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:49,000 the world is more sinful than it ever was. 558 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,500 I just believe sin is a little more publicized today than it 559 00:32:51,500 --> 00:32:53,900 ever was. We hear about it? 560 00:32:53,908 --> 00:32:57,200 A lot more. The world has become so small 561 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:01,200 because of technology and we're bombarded through technology 562 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:03,400 with everything that goes on in every corner of the world and 563 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,200 we're bombarded with it instantly. 564 00:33:06,100 --> 00:33:08,800 And so it's easy to have the perception that the world is 565 00:33:08,900 --> 00:33:12,900 becoming a very sinful place. When really sin is always been a 566 00:33:12,900 --> 00:33:15,300 problem with man, and there really isn't a new sin under the 567 00:33:15,300 --> 00:33:19,300 sun. But I will say that we're living 568 00:33:19,900 --> 00:33:23,800 in a very unstable day. We're living in a time. 569 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:25,800 When it seems the world is very fragile. 570 00:33:27,300 --> 00:33:29,700 And we're living in an age where it's very frightening, for 571 00:33:29,700 --> 00:33:33,400 example, to bring children and grandchildren in the world. 572 00:33:34,300 --> 00:33:36,700 And the wonder what kind of country they're going to grow up 573 00:33:36,700 --> 00:33:39,900 in. What kind of society and culture 574 00:33:39,900 --> 00:33:44,000 they're going to face and their children are going to face. we 575 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,200 turn on the news and it seems like we're not even hardly 576 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,000 shocked anymore at the latest headline because everyday our 577 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:54,200 world changes and something even more outrageous captivates the 578 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:59,500 headlines and what another day holds is anyone's guess. 579 00:34:00,300 --> 00:34:04,200 Now, if you let yourself think about that, if you let yourself 580 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,700 dwell on that, you can get yourself off Lee worked up and 581 00:34:07,700 --> 00:34:11,800 you can do it real quick. You can just delve deep into the 582 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:14,100 depths of depression. You think about it enough. 583 00:34:15,699 --> 00:34:18,699 You can keep yourself up at night and worry yourself. 584 00:34:18,699 --> 00:34:23,000 Sick over what's going to happen tomorrow or next year or next 585 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:27,600 decade or in the Next Generation. let me tell you one 586 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:33,900 thing, I know, one thing I do know, and I'm banking on it. 587 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,600 Is that one of these days? Our Lord's going to come back 588 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:42,699 and he's going to end it all one of these H. 589 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,100 The Eastern sky is going to split wide open. 590 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,300 And just as he promised an angel is going to place one foot upon 591 00:34:51,300 --> 00:34:53,000 the land and one foot upon the sea. 592 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:54,900 And declare there will be no more time. 593 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:59,300 I'm certain about that. And I also certain that if 594 00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:01,900 you're not making ready for it, you're making a very foolish 595 00:35:01,900 --> 00:35:04,900 mistake. The Lord's promises stand. 596 00:35:04,900 --> 00:35:10,600 Sure build your hopes, the song says on things Eternal and hold 597 00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:15,100 to God's unchanging hand. His immutable promise is an 598 00:35:15,100 --> 00:35:18,500 unchanging thing. In an ever-changing world. 599 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:22,100 Will you trust God today with your life and with your future? 600 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:25,800 Will you have enough faith and trust in his promises in his 601 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:29,300 word that you would come and Obey him today and live for him? 602 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:33,800 I can promise you he'll keep his word. 603 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:39,700 He'll keep his word. What he promised in the dawning 604 00:35:39,700 --> 00:35:42,400 of time. That he would one day, send the 605 00:35:42,408 --> 00:35:44,800 Messiah to take away the sins of the world. 606 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:47,800 He kept that promise thousands of years later. 607 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,900 He sent the Lamb of God into this world to take away the sin 608 00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:55,800 of man. We thank you for listening to 609 00:35:55,800 --> 00:36:00,600 our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. 610 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:04,200 Road in Bakersfield, if you would like any additional 611 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:07,400 information, or you would like to receive a free Bible 612 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:12,900 correspondence, course by mail. Please email us at info at her 613 00:36:12,900 --> 00:36:15,300 Church of Christ Bakersfield.com. 614 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:21,200 Our service times are on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 615 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:25,700 Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Please make plans to join us. 616 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,400 We would love for you to be our honored guest.