August 27, 2023 • 26 mins
Do you ever wonder what messages Jesus would pen down in his letters to us today? Prepare to embark on a spiritual expedition, as we decode the profound teachings embedded in the seven letters written by John to the seven churches in Asia. This episode is no ordinary discourse, it's a peek into the divine essence of faith, with intriguing interpretations of Jesus as the one who is, who was, and who is to come, and the Holy Spirit as the seven spirits. We delve into how accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior reveals the Holy Spirit within us.
Our journey doesn't stop there; we move to the thought-provoking parable of Lazarus and the rich man. This episode provokes deep reflection on our relationship with God and the significance of seeking Jesus before it's too late. We'll also guide you on how to invite Jesus into your life, underscore the importance of repentance and humility, and help you settle your eternal address. This isn't just a podcast episode, it's a spiritual awakening and an invitation to explore the depths of your faith. So, are you ready to embark on this sacred journey?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I give youthanks for today.
I give you thanks for thepeople within the sound of my
voice, near and far.
Wherever their life may findthem, lord, may you be there
with them.
Your word says that wherevertwo or more gathered there, you
are in the midst of them andthrough this miracle of
(00:24):
technology, that's possible.
No matter what, no matter where, because I'm one, whoever's
listening to me is the other andtherefore, lord, we ask you to
come, and we know that you'refaithful to come.
I give you thanks for that.
Father God, I pray for allpeople today who have a heavy
(00:47):
heart.
I pray for all people who havea heavy heart today due to a
loved one, due to a loved oneexperiencing medical
difficulties or any otherdifficulties.
Pressure on families, lord, intoday's world is astronomical.
The amount of pressure that ison a family today, lord, I ask
(01:13):
that you would be with them,that you would keep them focused
on you, that they would keepthe number one thing, the number
one thing.
Father God, I give you thanksfor all things that you've
provided and all things that youcan continue to provide.
Help us to stay focused.
Help us, as a friend of mineused to always say, to be
(01:38):
focused on you and know that youare in charge, that you.
None of this causes youconsternation and none of this
caught you by surprise, father.
God, I often wonder for myselfwhether or not or when things
(02:01):
are going to happen, and I knowthat you said that no one is to
know the day or the hour, butyour father and I know that the
next thing on the propheticcalendar is the rapture of the
church, as my pastor told me,lord, and it's wise counsel.
It's bittersweet, lord.
(02:23):
God, touch hearts today.
Reach out, touch hearts, bringpeople to a life-saving
knowledge of yourself.
I asked these things in Jesus,holy and precious name.
Amen, let's go ahead and jumpin.
I hope everyone had a fantasticholiday and a wonderful
(02:44):
Christmas.
It was a Wonderful time for me.
I got to go home and spend timewith my family, which was a
gift, and I ask Without givingdetails because the Lord knows I
asked that anyone who hearsthis would keep my family in
(03:06):
their prayers this week andespecially today.
There are some things upcomingand they're in the Lord's hands.
We trust him.
We want some resolution, wewant to know so that we can move
forward, and I asked, lord,that you would keep my family in
prayer.
I ask, I ask for all of you Toentreat the Lord and keep my
(03:29):
family in prayer and I wouldthank you and be blessed by that
.
Okay, let's go ahead and getstarted.
We are Continuing our studyafter the new year in the book
of Revelation.
We are Plotting along.
We are in chapter 1, verse 4.
The good news is we are gonnago through verse 8 today.
(03:52):
So that is that is good news,in that that's where the Lord
led us.
We've got a lot to cover.
So let's go ahead and getstarted.
Let's pick up.
We pick up in Revelation,chapter 1, verse 4, new King
James version.
It says John to the sevenchurches which are in Asia grace
(04:14):
to you and peace For him who isand who was, and who is to come
, and for the seven spirits whoare before the throne.
Revelation 1 4.
So, first things first, let'sremember our rules.
Okay, our rules quite simplyare that when it's literal, it's
(04:36):
literal.
So in the beginning of thissection, we know that this is
the beginning of seven lettersWritten to seven actual churches
in Asia near the end of thefirst century.
The seven churches are in orderof appearance Ephesus, smyrna,
(04:56):
pergamus, thyatira, sardis,philadelphia and Laodicea.
In the verses and chapters thatwill follow in the coming weeks,
each of these churches willreceive a letter from Jesus
Christ.
What a thing to receive aletter from Jesus.
(05:17):
What a thing.
I Challenge you to ponder that,as I have through the next
three chapters.
What would your letter say?
I Been wondering and thinkingabout and praying through what
mine would say Remember we, we,those that believe in Jesus, are
(05:40):
the church.
So each letter would be writtento us individually.
We are the church.
It's not a church building withplaster and carpet paint.
For when that meeting place,which is all it truly is, is a
meeting place for believers.
(06:02):
When, when that meeting placeis empty, it's just that it's an
empty building by virtue of thefact that we have been saved.
We have been saved, have theHoly Spirit living inside of us.
We are the church of JesusChrist.
Each individual person is thechurch of Jesus Christ.
(06:25):
The church, as it's defined, isSimply a meeting place.
That's how it's defined by theworld.
But we know we have the Spiritliving inside of us and we are
the church.
So ponder this week what yourletter would say.
So a couple of things to noticein this first verse here John is
(06:47):
the writer, I John Okay, and hebrings the reader peace from
the one who was, who is and whois to come, and from the seven
spirits who surround the throne.
The first is a reference toJesus.
The one who is, who was and whois to come was, who is and who
is to come.
So the first is a reference toJesus himself and the seven
(07:11):
spirits are the Holy Spirit.
Now there are some who point tothe seven spirits as a
contradiction.
They say, if the Holy Spirit isreferred to in the masculine
singular, the Holy Spirit is ahe.
We know that he's part of theTrinity Father, son and Holy
Spirit.
If that is true and he'sreferenced in the masculine
(07:34):
singular, a singular he, how isit that the Holy Spirit can be
seven spirits?
Well, to be quite honest withyou, it's not something I ever
really considered, but I look atit this way If you have
accepted Jesus as your Lord andSavior, then the Holy Spirit
(07:56):
lives inside of you.
That's what we discussed at thetop.
He's taken up resonance in yourheart and he has, as he has, in
the hearts of all believers.
All believers who have acceptedJesus Christ have the Holy
Spirit living inside of them.
If this is true and it is thenit is also true that the Spirit
(08:23):
lives in the can lived withinthe seven churches.
Jesus told his disciples thatthe Spirit would come to each of
them in Jerusalem.
Flip over with me to Acts 1 sothat you can see this.
This is right before theAscension.
Okay, this is Acts 1, verse 8.
(08:44):
Jesus speaking, he says but youshall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon youand you shall be witness to me
in Jerusalem and in all Judeaand Samaria and to the ends of
the earth.
So that's that, and I don'twant to spend a whole lot of
time on it.
It was just something that wasrather interesting in my study
(09:08):
getting ready for this message.
Back to Revelation.
Now pick up in verse 5 andwe'll go through verse 8.
I'm gonna read the whole, thewhole shot.
Here we go Again.
New King James Version.
And from Jesus Christ, thefaithful witness, the firstborn
from the dead and the ruler overthe kings of the earth, to him
(09:28):
who loved us and washed us fromour sins in his own blood and
has made us kings and priests tohis God and father.
To him be glory and dominionforever and ever.
Amen.
Behold, he is coming with theclouds and every eye will see
him, even those who pierced him,and all the tribes of the earth
(09:51):
will mourn because of him.
Even so, amen.
And this is Jesus speaking inverse 8.
We've covered this in previousstudies.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end saysthe Lord, who is, who was and
who is to come the Almighty.
That's Revelation 1, verses 5through 8.
(10:12):
Now let's break it down.
Verses 1 through 8 are thepreamble of the book, the
beginning, the announcement ofwhat is to come.
Verses 5 and 6 are thestatement, are a statement
rather, of who and what Jesus is, and it also and it is also
(10:35):
what we believe is Christians,if you think about it.
So he was our sacrifice for alltime, the lamb who was slain to
take away the sins of the world.
The old him says and from JesusChrist, the faithful witness,
the first born from the deadthis is verse 5, and the ruler
(10:57):
over the kings of the earth.
To him, who loved us and washedus from our sins in his own
blood.
Revelation 1.5.
Okay, this is what we believeis Christians.
Now verses 6 and 7, tee up whatis coming, okay.
And he made us kings andpriests to his God and Father.
(11:20):
To him be glory and dominionforever and ever.
Amen.
Behold, he is coming with theclouds and every eye will see
him, even those who pierced him,and all the tribes of the earth
will mourn because of him.
Even so, amen.
The short answer is gang, wewin.
Oh, larry, how can you say thatwe win?
(11:43):
I mean, that's kind of morbid,right?
He's going to come andeverybody's going to mourn and
it's going to be a bad thing andall of these things.
Couple of things, we, asbelievers, have been invited
into a priesthood.
It says in Hebrews.
We are in a priesthood withJesus by virtue of the fact that
(12:09):
we were saved, and that's a bigdeal.
That's a big deal.
And so we're going to circleback to that in just a second.
And this is what's coming.
Judgment is coming.
You know it's interesting, thegospel.
So many places preach a watereddown gospel.
(12:29):
Okay, and I'm not going to namenames.
Anybody who knows me knows howI feel about these people and
how they're ripping off hundredsof thousands of people who
believe that they are in theright spot and they're just
getting ripped off, and I'm notgoing to name names, I'm not
going to come that far becausewe've got other, more important
(12:52):
things to talk about, but thereality of it is that people are
getting ripped off every daybecause the gospel is being
taught without judgment attachedto it.
The reality of it is that Jesusis coming to set things right,
in the process of setting thingsright, he's going to judge the
(13:16):
world and it says every I willsee him.
And even those who pierced him,even those who pierced him,
those who pierced him, those who, who, who rejected him Every
time he's rejected, those whorejected him, those who said no,
those who were exposed to JesusChrist and said no, and you
(13:41):
know what, at this point in time, that's very, very sad, and
that's what John is saying, andall the tribes of the earth were
warned because of him, becausethere will be a winnowing, a
separation.
Even so, amen, we win, we whofollow him, who have counted the
(14:05):
cost and picked up our crossand followed him Luke 923,.
We win.
We will be delivered, one wayor the other.
Our deliverance will come indeath, when we take our first
breath, in glory or at therapture.
One way or another, we win andit'll be glorious.
(14:28):
Beware, as I said, there willbe judgment as well.
It says he is coming with theclouds.
Every I will see him.
Even they who pierced him andall the tribes of the earth will
mourn because of him.
Even so, amen, every I will seehim.
It says Even those who piercedhim and all the tribes of the
(14:51):
earth will mourn because of him.
Even so, amen.
Those who deny him, those whoare unrepentant, those who do
evil, they will be judged andcast out.
John says amen, let it be so orwe agree.
Judgment's coming, and I knowthat's unpopular and it's a
(15:11):
topic as I touched on earlier inchurches today.
It's very unpopular.
No one wants to speak ofjudgment or repentance.
After all.
It makes people uncomfortable,it forces them to squirm in
their seats, and it should.
It should.
Very early on in my faith, myfamily lost a member that had
(15:32):
been dear to me, and in themidst of his final days I
suddenly realized that I didn'tknow what would happen to him
when he died.
The reason I didn't know wasbecause it wasn't taught in the
church I was attending.
They didn't talk about it.
They didn't talk about it.
Now, that's not their fault.
The Bible is there for me toread and to understand and you
(15:56):
know what Part of that's on me.
But it wasn't taught.
But it dawned on me that Ididn't know what was going to
happen to him when he died.
I understood heaven and hellfor certain, but what was not
clear was what would happen tohim.
The saddest part is, as I thinkback on it, my soul knew.
(16:19):
My soul knew, but I wasunwilling to accept the truth of
it.
I went to my church that nightand asked the question of my
pastor and I broke down when hegave me the answer Gang, the
truth is, if you do not acceptJesus Christ as your Lord and
(16:39):
Savior, when you die you will goto hell.
That was a very real place.
Jesus talked about it a lot.
You'll spend an eternityseparated from God.
Jesus spoke at length aboutthis many, many times in
Scripture.
Turn over to Luke's Gospel,chapter 16, verses 19 through 31
(17:01):
.
And we're going to read throughthis.
This is the parable of Lazarusand the rich man.
It says there was a certainrich man who was clothed in
purple and fine linen and faredsumptuously every day, but there
was a certain beggar namedLazarus, full of sores who laid
(17:23):
at his gate desiring to be fedwith the crumbs which fell from
the rich man's table.
Moreover, the dogs came andlicked his sores.
So it was that the beggar diedand was carried by the angels to
Abraham's bosom.
The rich man also died and wasburied and being in torments in
(17:46):
Hades.
He lifted his eyes and sawAbraham afar off and Lazarus in
his bosom.
Then he cried and said FatherAbraham, have mercy on me and
send Lazarus that he may dip thetip of his finger in water and
cool my tongue, for I amtormented in this flame.
(18:08):
But Abraham said son, rememberthat you had your lifetime.
In your lifetime you receivedyour good things and, likewise
Lazarus, evil things.
But now he is comforted and youare tormented.
And besides all this, betweenus and you there is a great golf
(18:32):
fixed so that those who want topass from here to you cannot,
nor can those from there pass tous.
Then he said I beg youtherefore, father, that if you
would send him to my father'shouse, for I have five brothers
(18:55):
and he may testify to them least, lest they also come to this
place of torment.
And Abraham said to him theyhave Moses and the prophets.
Let them, hear from them.
And he said no, father Abraham,but if, but if one goes to them
(19:15):
from the dead, they will repent.
But he said to him, if they donot hear Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuadedthrough one rising from the dead
.
There is so much here, butlet's focus on just a few things
(19:36):
as we close up.
Ignorance of Jesus is nodefense, not in this age or any
other.
I'm going to be real honest.
Abraham tells the rich man inverse 29,.
They have Moses and theprophets.
Let them hear them.
Remember the Bible says it isnot God's heart that anyone
should suffer.
He will, in his mercy, give youevery opportunity to come to a
(20:01):
relationship with him.
The question is will you obeyand accept the free gift of
salvation before it's too late?
Finally, look at verse 30 and31.
The rich man asks FatherAbraham to send one from the
dead to his family that theymight be spared his fate.
(20:22):
Verse 31 is chilling.
But he said to him if they donot hear Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuadedthrough one rising from the dead
.
The prayer from the parable hasbeen answered.
We do have one who is raisedfrom the dead, and yet, and yet.
(20:47):
Let's go back.
He is coming with the clouds,every eye will see him, even
they who pierced him, and allthe tribes of the earth will
mourn because of him.
Even so, amen.
There will be those, even atthe end and we're gonna get into
this as we get deeper into thebook of Revelation who will
(21:11):
refuse to believe, those whowill shake their fist at heaven
even as the sky comes down.
Even so, john says amen, and youknow what?
Amen.
It's gonna happen and thereforeI agree.
But you know what?
This is the crux of our faith.
(21:32):
I say it every single week.
There's not one person I don'twant to see in heaven and
therefore, and therefore, I sithere in front of a microphone
and I talk about Jesus and Italk about the things of the
Lord, and I share the gospel asbest as I can, with the talents
(21:53):
that God has given me.
The time is coming gang.
Time is short, and I know that.
If you look back throughhistory, you know people have
said that forever but you knowwhat the reality is.
If you look at Scripture andread it literally with a literal
lens, you will see what I'msaying is true.
(22:15):
So the question becomes.
What are you going to do aboutJesus?
Jesus is the only one whodemands an answer, and I'm
speaking to those who might belistening to me now, who do not
have a relationship with Jesusor are curious about whether or
(22:37):
not they actually have arelationship with Jesus.
I'm speaking directly to you.
What are you gonna do?
You know, if you want to settlethis and you should, because
tomorrow's not guaranteed andit's not just a fear line, it's
a fact.
We know that All you have to dois turn on the news and find
(22:59):
out that tomorrow's notguaranteed we you have to make a
choice, one way or the other.
And if you want to settle youreternal address and you want to
bring Jesus into your life, toradically change you from the
(23:20):
inside out, all you have to dois humble yourself and talk to
him.
You can say dear Jesus, I knowthat I'm a sinner in need of a
Savior and I am tired.
I'm so tired of compromise, I'mso tired of where I am in this
(23:40):
world.
And you know, I don't know whattomorrow brings, but I want to
know that, no matter what itbrings, you're with me.
I want to repent from my sinsright now.
I want to turn from them and Iwant to follow you the rest of
the days of my life.
(24:01):
I believe that you came to thisearth, that you lived for me,
that you died for me and on thethird day, god raised you again
from the dead.
I dedicate my life to you.
I want you to be my Lord, myGod, my Savior and my friend.
Thank you, jesus, amen.
And if you prayed that prayertoday, welcome to the family of
(24:23):
God, welcome, and I'd sure liketo know about it.
I really would and I thank you.
I would thank you very much todrop me an email at the thoughts
I have towards you atthethoughtsihavtowardyoucom, or
you can hit me on social media,at Instagram the thoughts I have
towards you, or Facebook at thethoughts I have towards you.
That's the time we have forthis week, gang.
(24:47):
Thank you for being here.
Make it count and be blessed.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I give youthanks for today.
I give you thanks for thepeople within the sound of my
voice, near and far.
Wherever their life may findthem, lord, may you be there
with them.
Your word says that wherevertwo or more gathered there, you
are in the midst of them andthrough this miracle of
(00:24):
technology, that's possible.
No matter what, no matter where, because I'm one, whoever's
listening to me is the other andtherefore, lord, we ask you to
come, and we know that you'refaithful to come.
I give you thanks for that.
Father God, I pray for allpeople today who have a heavy
(00:47):
heart.
I pray for all people who havea heavy heart today due to a
loved one, due to a loved oneexperiencing medical
difficulties or any otherdifficulties.
Pressure on families, lord, intoday's world is astronomical.
The amount of pressure that ison a family today, lord, I ask
(01:13):
that you would be with them,that you would keep them focused
on you, that they would keepthe number one thing, the number
one thing.
Father God, I give you thanksfor all things that you've
provided and all things that youcan continue to provide.
Help us to stay focused.
Help us, as a friend of mineused to always say, to be
(01:38):
focused on you and know that youare in charge, that you.
None of this causes youconsternation and none of this
caught you by surprise, father.
God, I often wonder for myselfwhether or not or when things
(02:01):
are going to happen, and I knowthat you said that no one is to
know the day or the hour, butyour father and I know that the
next thing on the propheticcalendar is the rapture of the
church, as my pastor told me,lord, and it's wise counsel.
It's bittersweet, lord.
(02:23):
God, touch hearts today.
Reach out, touch hearts, bringpeople to a life-saving
knowledge of yourself.
I asked these things in Jesus,holy and precious name.
Amen, let's go ahead and jumpin.
I hope everyone had a fantasticholiday and a wonderful
(02:44):
Christmas.
It was a Wonderful time for me.
I got to go home and spend timewith my family, which was a
gift, and I ask Without givingdetails because the Lord knows I
asked that anyone who hearsthis would keep my family in
(03:06):
their prayers this week andespecially today.
There are some things upcomingand they're in the Lord's hands.
We trust him.
We want some resolution, wewant to know so that we can move
forward, and I asked, lord,that you would keep my family in
prayer.
I ask, I ask for all of you Toentreat the Lord and keep my
(03:29):
family in prayer and I wouldthank you and be blessed by that
.
Okay, let's go ahead and getstarted.
We are Continuing our studyafter the new year in the book
of Revelation.
We are Plotting along.
We are in chapter 1, verse 4.
The good news is we are gonnago through verse 8 today.
(03:52):
So that is that is good news,in that that's where the Lord
led us.
We've got a lot to cover.
So let's go ahead and getstarted.
Let's pick up.
We pick up in Revelation,chapter 1, verse 4, new King
James version.
It says John to the sevenchurches which are in Asia grace
(04:14):
to you and peace For him who isand who was, and who is to come
, and for the seven spirits whoare before the throne.
Revelation 1 4.
So, first things first, let'sremember our rules.
Okay, our rules quite simplyare that when it's literal, it's
(04:36):
literal.
So in the beginning of thissection, we know that this is
the beginning of seven lettersWritten to seven actual churches
in Asia near the end of thefirst century.
The seven churches are in orderof appearance Ephesus, smyrna,
(04:56):
pergamus, thyatira, sardis,philadelphia and Laodicea.
In the verses and chapters thatwill follow in the coming weeks,
each of these churches willreceive a letter from Jesus
Christ.
What a thing to receive aletter from Jesus.
(05:17):
What a thing.
I Challenge you to ponder that,as I have through the next
three chapters.
What would your letter say?
I Been wondering and thinkingabout and praying through what
mine would say Remember we, we,those that believe in Jesus, are
(05:40):
the church.
So each letter would be writtento us individually.
We are the church.
It's not a church building withplaster and carpet paint.
For when that meeting place,which is all it truly is, is a
meeting place for believers.
(06:02):
When, when that meeting placeis empty, it's just that it's an
empty building by virtue of thefact that we have been saved.
We have been saved, have theHoly Spirit living inside of us.
We are the church of JesusChrist.
Each individual person is thechurch of Jesus Christ.
(06:25):
The church, as it's defined, isSimply a meeting place.
That's how it's defined by theworld.
But we know we have the Spiritliving inside of us and we are
the church.
So ponder this week what yourletter would say.
So a couple of things to noticein this first verse here John is
(06:47):
the writer, I John Okay, and hebrings the reader peace from
the one who was, who is and whois to come, and from the seven
spirits who surround the throne.
The first is a reference toJesus.
The one who is, who was and whois to come was, who is and who
is to come.
So the first is a reference toJesus himself and the seven
(07:11):
spirits are the Holy Spirit.
Now there are some who point tothe seven spirits as a
contradiction.
They say, if the Holy Spirit isreferred to in the masculine
singular, the Holy Spirit is ahe.
We know that he's part of theTrinity Father, son and Holy
Spirit.
If that is true and he'sreferenced in the masculine
(07:34):
singular, a singular he, how isit that the Holy Spirit can be
seven spirits?
Well, to be quite honest withyou, it's not something I ever
really considered, but I look atit this way If you have
accepted Jesus as your Lord andSavior, then the Holy Spirit
(07:56):
lives inside of you.
That's what we discussed at thetop.
He's taken up resonance in yourheart and he has, as he has, in
the hearts of all believers.
All believers who have acceptedJesus Christ have the Holy
Spirit living inside of them.
If this is true and it is thenit is also true that the Spirit
(08:23):
lives in the can lived withinthe seven churches.
Jesus told his disciples thatthe Spirit would come to each of
them in Jerusalem.
Flip over with me to Acts 1 sothat you can see this.
This is right before theAscension.
Okay, this is Acts 1, verse 8.
(08:44):
Jesus speaking, he says but youshall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon youand you shall be witness to me
in Jerusalem and in all Judeaand Samaria and to the ends of
the earth.
So that's that, and I don'twant to spend a whole lot of
time on it.
It was just something that wasrather interesting in my study
(09:08):
getting ready for this message.
Back to Revelation.
Now pick up in verse 5 andwe'll go through verse 8.
I'm gonna read the whole, thewhole shot.
Here we go Again.
New King James Version.
And from Jesus Christ, thefaithful witness, the firstborn
from the dead and the ruler overthe kings of the earth, to him
(09:28):
who loved us and washed us fromour sins in his own blood and
has made us kings and priests tohis God and father.
To him be glory and dominionforever and ever.
Amen.
Behold, he is coming with theclouds and every eye will see
him, even those who pierced him,and all the tribes of the earth
(09:51):
will mourn because of him.
Even so, amen.
And this is Jesus speaking inverse 8.
We've covered this in previousstudies.
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end saysthe Lord, who is, who was and
who is to come the Almighty.
That's Revelation 1, verses 5through 8.
(10:12):
Now let's break it down.
Verses 1 through 8 are thepreamble of the book, the
beginning, the announcement ofwhat is to come.
Verses 5 and 6 are thestatement, are a statement
rather, of who and what Jesus is, and it also and it is also
(10:35):
what we believe is Christians,if you think about it.
So he was our sacrifice for alltime, the lamb who was slain to
take away the sins of the world.
The old him says and from JesusChrist, the faithful witness,
the first born from the deadthis is verse 5, and the ruler
(10:57):
over the kings of the earth.
To him, who loved us and washedus from our sins in his own
blood.
Revelation 1.5.
Okay, this is what we believeis Christians.
Now verses 6 and 7, tee up whatis coming, okay.
And he made us kings andpriests to his God and Father.
(11:20):
To him be glory and dominionforever and ever.
Amen.
Behold, he is coming with theclouds and every eye will see
him, even those who pierced him,and all the tribes of the earth
will mourn because of him.
Even so, amen.
The short answer is gang, wewin.
Oh, larry, how can you say thatwe win?
(11:43):
I mean, that's kind of morbid,right?
He's going to come andeverybody's going to mourn and
it's going to be a bad thing andall of these things.
Couple of things, we, asbelievers, have been invited
into a priesthood.
It says in Hebrews.
We are in a priesthood withJesus by virtue of the fact that
(12:09):
we were saved, and that's a bigdeal.
That's a big deal.
And so we're going to circleback to that in just a second.
And this is what's coming.
Judgment is coming.
You know it's interesting, thegospel.
So many places preach a watereddown gospel.
(12:29):
Okay, and I'm not going to namenames.
Anybody who knows me knows howI feel about these people and
how they're ripping off hundredsof thousands of people who
believe that they are in theright spot and they're just
getting ripped off, and I'm notgoing to name names, I'm not
going to come that far becausewe've got other, more important
(12:52):
things to talk about, but thereality of it is that people are
getting ripped off every daybecause the gospel is being
taught without judgment attachedto it.
The reality of it is that Jesusis coming to set things right,
in the process of setting thingsright, he's going to judge the
(13:16):
world and it says every I willsee him.
And even those who pierced him,even those who pierced him,
those who pierced him, those who, who, who rejected him Every
time he's rejected, those whorejected him, those who said no,
those who were exposed to JesusChrist and said no, and you
(13:41):
know what, at this point in time, that's very, very sad, and
that's what John is saying, andall the tribes of the earth were
warned because of him, becausethere will be a winnowing, a
separation.
Even so, amen, we win, we whofollow him, who have counted the
(14:05):
cost and picked up our crossand followed him Luke 923,.
We win.
We will be delivered, one wayor the other.
Our deliverance will come indeath, when we take our first
breath, in glory or at therapture.
One way or another, we win andit'll be glorious.
(14:28):
Beware, as I said, there willbe judgment as well.
It says he is coming with theclouds.
Every I will see him.
Even they who pierced him andall the tribes of the earth will
mourn because of him.
Even so, amen, every I will seehim.
It says Even those who piercedhim and all the tribes of the
(14:51):
earth will mourn because of him.
Even so, amen.
Those who deny him, those whoare unrepentant, those who do
evil, they will be judged andcast out.
John says amen, let it be so orwe agree.
Judgment's coming, and I knowthat's unpopular and it's a
(15:11):
topic as I touched on earlier inchurches today.
It's very unpopular.
No one wants to speak ofjudgment or repentance.
After all.
It makes people uncomfortable,it forces them to squirm in
their seats, and it should.
It should.
Very early on in my faith, myfamily lost a member that had
(15:32):
been dear to me, and in themidst of his final days I
suddenly realized that I didn'tknow what would happen to him
when he died.
The reason I didn't know wasbecause it wasn't taught in the
church I was attending.
They didn't talk about it.
They didn't talk about it.
Now, that's not their fault.
The Bible is there for me toread and to understand and you
(15:56):
know what Part of that's on me.
But it wasn't taught.
But it dawned on me that Ididn't know what was going to
happen to him when he died.
I understood heaven and hellfor certain, but what was not
clear was what would happen tohim.
The saddest part is, as I thinkback on it, my soul knew.
(16:19):
My soul knew, but I wasunwilling to accept the truth of
it.
I went to my church that nightand asked the question of my
pastor and I broke down when hegave me the answer Gang, the
truth is, if you do not acceptJesus Christ as your Lord and
(16:39):
Savior, when you die you will goto hell.
That was a very real place.
Jesus talked about it a lot.
You'll spend an eternityseparated from God.
Jesus spoke at length aboutthis many, many times in
Scripture.
Turn over to Luke's Gospel,chapter 16, verses 19 through 31
(17:01):
.
And we're going to read throughthis.
This is the parable of Lazarusand the rich man.
It says there was a certainrich man who was clothed in
purple and fine linen and faredsumptuously every day, but there
was a certain beggar namedLazarus, full of sores who laid
(17:23):
at his gate desiring to be fedwith the crumbs which fell from
the rich man's table.
Moreover, the dogs came andlicked his sores.
So it was that the beggar diedand was carried by the angels to
Abraham's bosom.
The rich man also died and wasburied and being in torments in
(17:46):
Hades.
He lifted his eyes and sawAbraham afar off and Lazarus in
his bosom.
Then he cried and said FatherAbraham, have mercy on me and
send Lazarus that he may dip thetip of his finger in water and
cool my tongue, for I amtormented in this flame.
(18:08):
But Abraham said son, rememberthat you had your lifetime.
In your lifetime you receivedyour good things and, likewise
Lazarus, evil things.
But now he is comforted and youare tormented.
And besides all this, betweenus and you there is a great golf
(18:32):
fixed so that those who want topass from here to you cannot,
nor can those from there pass tous.
Then he said I beg youtherefore, father, that if you
would send him to my father'shouse, for I have five brothers
(18:55):
and he may testify to them least, lest they also come to this
place of torment.
And Abraham said to him theyhave Moses and the prophets.
Let them, hear from them.
And he said no, father Abraham,but if, but if one goes to them
(19:15):
from the dead, they will repent.
But he said to him, if they donot hear Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuadedthrough one rising from the dead
.
There is so much here, butlet's focus on just a few things
(19:36):
as we close up.
Ignorance of Jesus is nodefense, not in this age or any
other.
I'm going to be real honest.
Abraham tells the rich man inverse 29,.
They have Moses and theprophets.
Let them hear them.
Remember the Bible says it isnot God's heart that anyone
should suffer.
He will, in his mercy, give youevery opportunity to come to a
(20:01):
relationship with him.
The question is will you obeyand accept the free gift of
salvation before it's too late?
Finally, look at verse 30 and31.
The rich man asks FatherAbraham to send one from the
dead to his family that theymight be spared his fate.
(20:22):
Verse 31 is chilling.
But he said to him if they donot hear Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuadedthrough one rising from the dead
.
The prayer from the parable hasbeen answered.
We do have one who is raisedfrom the dead, and yet, and yet.
(20:47):
Let's go back.
He is coming with the clouds,every eye will see him, even
they who pierced him, and allthe tribes of the earth will
mourn because of him.
Even so, amen.
There will be those, even atthe end and we're gonna get into
this as we get deeper into thebook of Revelation who will
(21:11):
refuse to believe, those whowill shake their fist at heaven
even as the sky comes down.
Even so, john says amen, and youknow what?
Amen.
It's gonna happen and thereforeI agree.
But you know what?
This is the crux of our faith.
(21:32):
I say it every single week.
There's not one person I don'twant to see in heaven and
therefore, and therefore, I sithere in front of a microphone
and I talk about Jesus and Italk about the things of the
Lord, and I share the gospel asbest as I can, with the talents
(21:53):
that God has given me.
The time is coming gang.
Time is short, and I know that.
If you look back throughhistory, you know people have
said that forever but you knowwhat the reality is.
If you look at Scripture andread it literally with a literal
lens, you will see what I'msaying is true.
(22:15):
So the question becomes.
What are you going to do aboutJesus?
Jesus is the only one whodemands an answer, and I'm
speaking to those who might belistening to me now, who do not
have a relationship with Jesusor are curious about whether or
(22:37):
not they actually have arelationship with Jesus.
I'm speaking directly to you.
What are you gonna do?
You know, if you want to settlethis and you should, because
tomorrow's not guaranteed andit's not just a fear line, it's
a fact.
We know that All you have to dois turn on the news and find
(22:59):
out that tomorrow's notguaranteed we you have to make a
choice, one way or the other.
And if you want to settle youreternal address and you want to
bring Jesus into your life, toradically change you from the
(23:20):
inside out, all you have to dois humble yourself and talk to
him.
You can say dear Jesus, I knowthat I'm a sinner in need of a
Savior and I am tired.
I'm so tired of compromise, I'mso tired of where I am in this
(23:40):
world.
And you know, I don't know whattomorrow brings, but I want to
know that, no matter what itbrings, you're with me.
I want to repent from my sinsright now.
I want to turn from them and Iwant to follow you the rest of
the days of my life.
(24:01):
I believe that you came to thisearth, that you lived for me,
that you died for me and on thethird day, god raised you again
from the dead.
I dedicate my life to you.
I want you to be my Lord, myGod, my Savior and my friend.
Thank you, jesus, amen.
And if you prayed that prayertoday, welcome to the family of
(24:23):
God, welcome, and I'd sure liketo know about it.
I really would and I thank you.
I would thank you very much todrop me an email at the thoughts
I have towards you atthethoughtsihavtowardyoucom, or
you can hit me on social media,at Instagram the thoughts I have
towards you, or Facebook at thethoughts I have towards you.
That's the time we have forthis week, gang.
(24:47):
Thank you for being here.
Make it count and be blessed.
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