Prepared to Judge-CHARLES LAWSON BIBLE SERMON-SEPT4 2024
Unlike Angels, Man: (1) Is Made in the Image of God, (2) Has the Capacity to Love, (3) the Ability to Talk Back and Forth with God Through Prayer, and (4) Fellowship with the Father and the Son. Those Who Are Born-Again Will Come Again with Jesus at the Second Advent at the End of the Tribulation, and We Will Reign with Christ For 1,000 Years.
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00:00It's good, good to be here.
00:02Looks like we've got some folks visiting with us over here.
00:05We're glad to have you.
00:07Make yourself right at home with us tonight.
00:09Alright, if you have your Bible, turn 1 Corinthians chapter 6 with me, please.
00:131 Corinthians chapter 6.
00:20And verse number 2.
00:241 Corinthians 6.2
00:30The divine text says,
00:31Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?
00:36And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
00:42Know you not that we shall judge angels?
00:46How much more things that pertain to this life.
00:50Father, bless this word in thy name I pray. Amen.
00:55Now here's what Daniel chapter number 7 and verse 22 says.
00:59Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.
01:06And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
01:11Judgment given to the saints.
01:14The Apostle Paul says, we shall judge angels.
01:17And the Apostle says that we shall judge the world.
01:22Now what qualified our Lord Jesus Christ to judge the sinner?
01:26As his relationship to God and salvation is the fact that he became a man, lived amongst us.
01:31And lived a sinless perfect life.
01:33When he did that, he bought the right to come into the presence of God.
01:38Because he becomes the representative man, because he's the last Adam.
01:42The second man.
01:43Unique in that sense.
01:45And what we have here tonight, it says in the book of 1 John.
01:49It doth not yet appear what we shall be.
01:51But we know when he appears, or when he comes, we shall be like him.
01:55For we shall see him as he is.
01:59Now that's quite a thing, when you think about that tonight.
02:02I was sitting this morning, looking out into the woods.
02:07And I like to sit early in the morning and think.
02:10And I've noticed the last few days, I don't know what's going on around here.
02:14But the birds aren't singing.
02:15Are they singing? Where do you live?
02:17They're not singing where I am.
02:19What's happening?
02:20Birds aren't singing.
02:21I'm getting mad about this.
02:22Something's going on here.
02:25But in any event, I listen to those birds.
02:28And I listen for the first one.
02:30Sometimes that first one gets eager and he'll start singing before it gets light.
02:36You can hear them in the dark.
02:37So the birds naturally are singers.
02:40Think about that.
02:41They sing.
02:42Here in Tennessee we have what's called a mockingbird.
02:45How many of you know that's a state bird here in Tennessee?
02:48They did a thing on the Heartland series about this mockingbird.
02:52To see if it was really mocking the sounds of other birds or simply giving out, you know, word salad.
03:02You ever heard that word before?
03:04But in any event, they did a survey and found out, yes, this mockingbird is mocking the sounds of the birds around.
03:14So the mockingbird, yeah, the mockingbird here in Tennessee.
03:20So the scripture says that we're going to judge.
03:22Now the Bible talks about the judgment seat of Christ.
03:25It's called the bema.
03:26It's where we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
03:29Only the saved, this is what he says in the book of Corinthians, and we'll receive the things done in the body whether they be good or bad.
03:36That ought to be something to motivate us to live right because we will appear at the judgment seat of Christ.
03:43You have the judgment of the nations that takes place at the end of the millennium to determine whether they go into the, whether at the beginning of the millennium, whether they go into the millennium or not, the judgment of the nations.
03:55And what's the criteria for how God's going to judge the nations?
03:58Well, it's the end of the times of the Gentiles.
04:01It started at 606 B.C.
04:03And it finishes when God smites that image on its feet and destroys the Gentile kingdoms, and they come tumbling down.
04:10And, of course, the United States of America is part of the Gentile kingdoms.
04:15He did not say upon this rock I'll build my kingdom.
04:19He said upon this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
04:24I'm not here building kingdoms.
04:26I'm here watching him build his church as we preach the gospel.
04:30I want to disassociate myself as much as I possibly can from that image of 606 B.C. in the plains of Dura when Nebuchadnezzar had that vision about the Gentile kingdoms.
04:41I want to disassociate myself.
04:43I belong to the church of God.
04:45That's who I am.
04:47I'm a bishop in the church of God, and I'm happy with that and will be as long as I'm in this world.
04:52Then there's the final judgment called the great white throne judgment.
04:55We read about it in the book of Revelation.
04:57The books were opened.
04:58Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and they were judged according to the things in those books.
05:03And if the name was not found written, then they were cast into a lake of fire.
05:07This is the judgment of the great white throne judgment.
05:10We do judgments every day of our life.
05:12We make decisions.
05:13That's a constant thing.
05:14That's part of life.
05:15You have to make judgments, and as you mature and get older, you realize that the choices you made yesterday or the day before or a year ago, you may just now be paying the price for them
05:26because you will.
05:27God's no respecter of persons.
05:29For whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap.
05:33But I want you to notice something that's important about us.
05:36In the book of Hebrews chapter number four and verse number 15, here's what it says.
05:41Hebrews 4.15.
05:43Hebrews chapter four and verse number 15.
05:48For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
05:58Now, the Bible said God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
06:05That's what the book says.
06:07The Lord Jesus Christ was not a sinner.
06:09He never sinned.
06:11Never ever sinned.
06:13The Lord Jesus was righteous.
06:15And the Lord Jesus established a righteousness when he lived in this world that never existed until he showed up.
06:22And it's the righteousness of the God-man.
06:24And that's the righteousness that you have been given once you belong to the Lord God.
06:30Because we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
06:34The righteousness of the God-man.
06:36We have a very close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ tonight that the world does not have.
06:41I've told you how before that man was made in the image of God.
06:44He sinned.
06:45He lost a good bit of that image.
06:47When Christ came, he restored the image that Adam lost.
06:51I want to give you four big points.
06:53There's many more, but here are four of the important things about that image.
06:58Number one, we are created in the image of God.
07:02That image has been restored at the moment of the new birth.
07:05When you were born of the spirit of God, the image is restored.
07:10Thanks be unto God.
07:12Number two is the fact that you have the capacity to love.
07:15You can love.
07:16You can love God back the way he loves you.
07:20And that's a big deal, folks.
07:22There's not a word in that Bible from Genesis to Revelation that says an angel or a cherubim or a seraphim loves God.
07:31And you can come to the conclusion that they are incapable of it.
07:35But whatever you decide to do with the matter, you can't find it in the Bible where it says they love God.
07:41The second thing, or third thing rather, is prayer.
07:44God Almighty never prayed until he became a man.
07:48And when the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, showed up on this earth, I don't think anybody ever prayed more than him.
07:56And I don't think anybody ever prayed like him.
07:59He would spend whole nights in prayer.
08:02Why?
08:03Because he was the God-man.
08:04What is prayer?
08:05Someone says, well, it's simply talking to God.
08:07No, my dear friend.
08:08It is far more than talking to God.
08:11Prayer involves God talking to you.
08:14That's what he talks about in 1 John 1.
08:17Prayer is a reciprocal communication with the Almighty.
08:22He has one he can speak to.
08:25When you pray, God has reserved within your essence an area that he can communicate to like no other creature on this earth.
08:34Now, I'm not saying unsaved men don't pray.
08:36That's not what I said.
08:37I didn't say it.
08:38You never heard me say that.
08:39But what I'm talking about tonight is the prayer of the saint.
08:42The prayer of the saved that he's talking about in 1 John 1.
08:46That if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us.
08:50And we have that fellowship.
08:52That is the fourth biggie.
08:53And that is fellowship.
08:55The fellowship we have with the Father and with the Son.
08:58There's nothing in the Bible that says an angel, cherubim, seraphim, or certainly an unsaved man has fellowship with God.
09:05They do not.
09:06But if you're born again, you must have.
09:09Because if you don't have fellowship with the Lord, there's no way you're going to be able to live for the Lord.
09:14What you get from fellowship is the strength.
09:17You get understanding.
09:18You get direction.
09:19You get light.
09:20You get that spiritual, I don't know if I want a better word, a spiritual charge from God.
09:28The power of the Holy Ghost.
09:29To be able to live a Christian life and live it in fellowship with the Lord.
09:34So to love, to love like God loves, that raises you up above every creature there is.
09:41Amen.
09:42To have prayer like God put within you.
09:48The God-man.
09:49Satan talks to God.
09:51He's talked to God.
09:52He talked to God in the book of Job.
09:54Hast thou considered my servant Job?
09:56Satan said, you've got a hedge built around him.
09:59He communicated with him.
10:00But that's not prayer.
10:01But you can.
10:02And I hope you are.
10:04And so fellowship is a wonderful thing.
10:07Now here's what's going on with this though.
10:10The Lord Jesus Christ was never redeemed from being a sinner.
10:15How many of you agree with that?
10:17But we have been.
10:19So the Bible talks about the fact that we will judge people one day.
10:24Now think about that.
10:26And the indication is from the book of Daniel, chapter number 7, the judgment takes place as they enter into the millennium.
10:33You have the judgment of nations in a collective body as they enter the millennium.
10:38But you also have judgment of individuals as they enter into the millennium.
10:43The millennial reign of Christ.
10:46It might be quite a thought to think that God is preparing us, Christians tonight, preparing believers.
10:54I mean, after all, I did come out of darkness.
10:57I came from the dark world.
10:59I was unsaved.
11:00I was lost without God.
11:02The Lord Jesus was never that.
11:04But I was.
11:06But then I've crossed over.
11:08Now here I am, a son of God by the new birth.
11:13Angels are sons of God by creation.
11:15They're called that in the Old Testament.
11:17The sons of God, the book of Job, shouted when God created in the creation.
11:21But I'm a son of God by birth.
11:24And this is why the apostle John in 1 John says,
11:26It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we shall be like him.
11:31We're sons of God.
11:33And not only that, but we are a member of the church of the firstborn.
11:37The firstborn.
11:38The first ones born of the Holy Spirit.
11:41The first ones born of the Spirit of God.
11:43That's who we are.
11:44That's what we are.
11:45We're a church of the firstborn.
11:47And that's quite a thing to put upon it because it makes you think,
11:51Maybe this explains a lot of the things that I've had to go through in my lifetime.
11:58Do you know, I firmly believe that the best minister to a drug addict is a former drug addict.
12:04I do.
12:05I believe that.
12:06I do believe that.
12:07I believe that's the best minister to a drug addict.
12:10It's not that you can't preach the truth to anybody.
12:12You can.
12:13Many preachers do.
12:14But the truth is, a former drug addict can relate to the drug addict.
12:20And a former drug addict, a lot of times, can tell if they're being played with.
12:25Don't you think?
12:27That you're able to read a drug addict like I'm not able to do that.
12:32By the grace of God, that's one demon I didn't have to deal with.
12:35I've had plenty of them, believe me.
12:37I'm not saying I'm any better than anything.
12:39But that's one I didn't have to deal with.
12:41But if you have been a drug addict, you know the world that a drug addict lives in.
12:48You know the temptation.
12:49You know the weakness.
12:50You know the pain, the sorrow, the crying, the broken homes, the promises, the broken promises.
12:57All that a drug addict will go through.
13:00Now, I pastored a long time, folks.
13:02And I've pastored a lot of people hooked on drugs.
13:06As a matter of fact, I've buried a few of them.
13:09Their bodies, anyway, of course, you know I don't bury anybody.
13:11But I've buried the bodies of a number of people that were drug addicts.
13:16And I have never, and I do not intend tonight, to start up a ministry of condemnation.
13:23It's not my job to condemn.
13:25My job is to preach the gospel.
13:27The Bible said in Romans 8,
13:28There's therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
13:32My job is to get the Word of God out.
13:34God is the ultimate judge in this life in a way that I could never judge.
13:40But when he uses people in the ministry, he will use them.
13:44For example, a broken home.
13:45That's a hard thing to deal with.
13:47And this is why if you'll see me sometimes warm up to little children,
13:51you'll see me warm up to them because I was five years old
13:55when I knocked on the door of my grandfather's house with my two-year-old brother,
14:00and he gave us a home.
14:02I know what that's like.
14:04I understand.
14:05I know what that's like.
14:06I didn't get that from a book.
14:07I got that from a life.
14:08So I can feel.
14:11Little children want stability.
14:13They want somebody to love them.
14:15Amen.
14:17I can't stand the thought of treachery when it comes to little children.
14:22This is why I support some charitable organizations outside the church
14:26because they deal with little children, and they're trying to help them.
14:30And I'm the first one to get in line when it comes to that because it's my life.
14:35That's the way I grew up.
14:36Now, a lot of people didn't grow up like that.
14:38You grew up with a good mother and a good father and a good home.
14:41God bless you.
14:42That's good.
14:43I did not.
14:44I had no mother, and I had no father, but I had a grandfather.
14:48And I know now I knew what it was to have one love me.
14:52When you have Mother's Day and you rejoice about your mother, good for you.
14:55God bless you.
14:56But, man, if I told you some of the things that my mother did
14:59and some of the things she said to me, you'd die.
15:02You'd die.
15:04You probably wouldn't even believe it.
15:06But God knows.
15:07But he brought me out of it.
15:09You understand?
15:11This is what ministry is about.
15:13It's about a minister being able to relate to certain people more than he can to others.
15:19And some of you in this house tonight, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
15:23You know what I'm talking about.
15:25And you should be seeking the face of the Lord to find out if he's called you into some of these ministries
15:30to minister to people.
15:32The Bible says that you minister to the ministry that's been given to you,
15:35the gifts that have been given to you, the light that's given to you,
15:38the grace of God that's given to you.
15:40So this is an important thing because what you're doing,
15:44you are being prepared for a time when you are going to judge people.
15:49Now, a lot of translators, when you get into a word like judge,
15:52they like to say, well, that's a euphemism for ruling over people, reigning over people, this, that, this, that.
15:58But if you'll notice the context, look at 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 2.
16:03Let the Bible define itself.
16:05Look at the context of 1 Corinthians 6.
16:13Okay?
16:151 Corinthians 6.
16:20Let me find it here.
16:22It's quite a remarkable thing when you look at it.
16:27All right, here we go.
16:291 Corinthians 6 and verse number 5.
16:38I speak to your shame.
16:42It is so that there is not a wise man among you.
16:45Is it so that there's not a wise one?
16:47No, not one that shall be able to judge between his brother.
16:51Now, look at verse 6.
16:52Brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
16:59In other words, into a court of law, suing his brother.
17:03See?
17:04Have you ever seen that happen?
17:06Well, of course.
17:07We had one drag us into a court of law one time here, and he was the perpetrator.
17:12Yeah, he was.
17:14He was the perpetrator.
17:15But he turned around and sued us and sued this church and tried to extort X number of dollars from it.
17:22Now, there's nobody in here tonight.
17:23You probably don't know him.
17:24We're not jumping on anybody.
17:25It's been a while since it's happened, so everybody can rest easy.
17:28But the truth is, that happened, and I couldn't believe it because it was the very perpetrator, the one that did the deed, that turned around and sued the church.
17:40See what you get into in church?
17:43Amen.
17:44Every kind of a person there is in this world.
17:48Well, how you doing, brother?
17:49Have a seat.
17:50Yeah, glory to God.
17:52But you better watch him.
17:55Some of you better not turn your back on him.
17:58Amen.
17:59I speak from experience.
18:01But in any event, he said, don't go to court with each other.
18:03Don't drag each other into a court of law and suing each other.
18:07And that is a general, a good general principle to abide by and live by.
18:13And don't try to hurt each other, and don't try to destroy each other, and don't try to take everything one of your brothers or your sisters has.
18:20Leave that to God.
18:22He'll take care of that stuff.
18:24You don't need to try to tear each other up.
18:26You need to pray for one another and bear one another's burdens.
18:30So, we're being prepared.
18:33And a thought came to my mind.
18:35It's quite remarkable.
18:36This came to me this morning as I was sitting out there meditating, talking to God.
18:40It came to my mind, my goodness, Lord.
18:43You have, in a unique way, qualified us to do something our Lord Jesus Christ could not do.
18:52Because he does not know what it feels like to sin.
18:55How many agree with that tonight?
18:58This is why he said, you're sons of God.
19:00This is why you go into the millennium.
19:02This is why you better be careful tonight about how you deal with stuff like this.
19:07Look at Romans chapter 8 and verse number 19.
19:10Now, you folks know me.
19:12You ought to know that I, in no way, am trying to belittle the Lord Jesus Christ.
19:17Good night, man.
19:18He's our life, our faith, our hope, everything.
19:21He's all there is.
19:22We're nothing without him.
19:24But in Romans chapter number 8 and verse number 19, but don't let somebody call me up and say, well, now, preacher.
19:29Maybe he did overcome sin.
19:31No, he didn't overcome sin.
19:32He was no sinner.
19:33He never sinned.
19:34He was perfect.
19:35Perfect.
19:36Amen.
19:37And then you get into this big argument.
19:39I might as well put it out while I'm at it.
19:41Well, he could have sinned.
19:43One group says that.
19:44Another group says, no, he could not have sinned.
19:46I'm that group.
19:48I do not believe he could have sinned.
19:51But I do know people who think he could have.
19:54Romans chapter number 8 and verse number 19.
19:56Now, look at this.
19:57For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of what?
20:03The sons of God.
20:04That's us.
20:05You see, we're going to leave here.
20:07And during the tribulation period, time of Jacob's trouble, we'll have the judgment seat of Christ, the marriage of the Lamb.
20:13And there'll be a lot of things taking place during that period of time.
20:16And then at the second advent, the second advent, which is at the end of the millennium, when he comes out of heaven and there heaven opens, my friend, he's going to bring us with him.
20:31Yes, he is.
20:32He's going to bring us with him.
20:34And we will be prepared.
20:36I want you to look at the book of Obadiah, verse 21.
20:40Obadiah.
20:42Let's see.
20:43Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah.
20:45Between Amos, Obadiah, Jonah.
20:47Between Amos and Jonah is Obadiah.
20:50He's a real small, short book.
20:54He's what they'll teach you in Bible college as a minor prophet.
20:58I never did like terminology of major prophets and minor prophets.
21:01Never did like that.
21:03I mean, what do you mean minor?
21:05He's a prophet, isn't he?
21:07A prophet's a prophet.
21:09But look at verse number 21.
21:12This is, look at verse 17.
21:16Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance.
21:18Well, if you go to Romans 11, you'll see that that's the second advent.
21:21Now, look what it says in verse 21.
21:23And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
21:30See how the kingdom's given to him?
21:31Now, who are these saviors?
21:33Well, let me tell you something.
21:34An angel never has nor ever will it save you.
21:39Now, an angel may save you in the sense he, like a guardian angel, watch over you, keep you safe in something that happens in this world.
21:45But he cannot redeem your soul.
21:48He cannot save you like our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Savior.
21:53You see, all you have to do is touch Christ, take him into your heart, and you're saved.
21:58He doesn't have to say you're saved.
22:00He that hath the Son hath life.
22:03You follow me?
22:04Just to have him is to have eternal life.
22:07And to have him is a simple thing.
22:09See, have you noticed now why they're called saviors?
22:12Well, I told you in 1 John that we'll be like him.
22:15Look at Revelation 19, verse 14.
22:18Revelation 19, verse 14.
22:31The armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
22:40Obviously, he's not coming for a peace powwow.
22:44He's coming as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
22:48But what follows him?
22:49Armies.
22:51See this?
22:52Armed, armed believers.
22:56In chapter number 20, in verse number 4, look at this.
23:00I saw thrones, and they sat upon them.
23:02Judgment was given to them, and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God,
23:08which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands.
23:14And look at this.
23:15And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
23:21See the reigning?
23:23What does a king do?
23:25He reigns.
23:27You see?
23:28He reigns.
23:29A king does.
23:30Depending on what kind of king you've got, if it's Nebuchadnezzar, he's an absolute monarch.
23:34What's that mean?
23:35If he says, you die, you die.
23:38No extenuating circumstances, you know, no pleas, nothing.
23:42No.
23:43No appellate court.
23:44You're dead.
23:45That's an absolute monarch.
23:48And in some cases, it's been like that.
23:51When he comes, he brings the armies.
23:54Now, in chapter number 20 and verse number 4, it says they reigned a thousand years with Christ.
24:00Now, a lot of people say, well, no, that's symbolic.
24:03He's really reigning right now.
24:06Well, there's so many things, you know, it'd be nice if he was, but he's not.
24:10Because there's too many things happening right now.
24:12The righteous reign of Christ is an entirely different time.
24:16Look at Zechariah chapter number 8 and verse number 23.
24:21It's the last book in the Old Testament before the last book in the Old Testament.
24:25The book of Zechariah chapter number 8 and verse number 23.
24:41Now, this is remarkable.
24:43Zechariah 8, 23.
24:49All right, here we go.
24:51Thus saith the Lord of hosts, in those days it shall come to pass that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations,
25:04even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying,
25:10We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.
25:16Yeah.
25:17Well, right now, you see, they're enemies of the gospel.
25:21And right now they're blinded.
25:23But the day is going to come when they are elevated to the head of all the nations again,
25:27and salvation will come out of Zion.
25:30Yes, Israel.
25:32Yes, yes.
25:34Now, look at the context.
25:36Look at Hebrews chapter 8 and verse number 11.
25:41Hebrews 8, 11.
25:48Now, if you start reading in verse number 10 to get the context,
25:51this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord.
25:56I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts,
26:01and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people.
26:03This is a quotation from Jeremiah.
26:05Now, look at verse 11.
26:07Now, watch this closely.
26:09And they shall not teach every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying,
26:14Know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest.
26:21In the book of Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 9,
26:24it says, A knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
26:29There's coming a time when no one, no one can say that I haven't heard the gospel,
26:35or I don't have any light, or no truth.
26:39The time is going to come when we will reign with Christ for a thousand years and judge.
26:47That's right. Judge.
26:49And elevated as sons of God.
26:51Now, don't ever listen to a charismatic or a Pentecostal or somebody tell you,
26:55we become God. You cannot become God.
26:59That's an impossibility.
27:01You cannot become God. God could become a man.
27:04But the Lord Jesus never gave up his deity.
27:07He was still the second person of the Trinity.
27:11You see, they fell down before him and worshipped him, and rightfully so,
27:17because he's God.
27:19But you cannot become God.
27:21That's an absolute impossibility.
27:23But if you notice, the knowledge of the Lord is going to cover the earth
27:27as the waters cover the sea.
27:29Is this the tribulation period? No.
27:32This is the millennium.
27:34It's the preparation for that final judgment.
27:37Now, I want you to look at Matthew chapter number 12 and verse number 14.
27:43And I'll bring you down to a close by using this.
27:46Matthew chapter number 12 and verse number 14.
27:50You've been through it with me before, but maybe tonight it'll begin to take hold for you, help you.
27:56In Matthew chapter number 12 and verse number 14,
27:59remember now, the gospel of Matthew is the offering of the kingdom
28:03right here on this earth, right here, a kingdom, right here.
28:08Now look at verse 14, Matthew 12.
28:11Then the Pharisees went out and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
28:17Now remember what you just read.
28:19The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
28:22In plainer words, during the earthly kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ,
28:26everybody is going to know him.
28:28See, they're going to know him.
28:30Now look what happens.
28:31When they reject him, the kingdom has been offered.
28:35The kingdom has been offered.
28:37But now they're rejecting him.
28:39They held a council to destroy him.
28:41Look what immediately follows.
28:43Chapter 13.
28:55And then in verse number 1,
28:56the same day when Jesus out of the house sat by the seaside,
28:59great multitudes gathered together to him,
29:01so that he went into a ship and sat in the whole multitude,
29:04stood on the shore and he spoke to them many things in parables.
29:09See that?
29:10That's immediately what follows.
29:12Now here's the Bible defining what that means.
29:14And this is what's so important about it.
29:16Some folks say, well, a parable is an earthly message with a heavenly meaning.
29:20That's all fine.
29:21But put it in context.
29:22What's it mean?
29:23What's this about?
29:24Why the parable?
29:26It tells you.
29:27Look at verse number 3.
29:28A sower went forth to sow.
29:30What follows is the parable.
29:32Now look at verse number 11.
29:36Here's the question is asked in verse 10.
29:38The disciples came and said to him,
29:40Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
29:42That's a good logical question.
29:44I mean, if you want the knowledge of the Lord covering the earth,
29:47as the waters cover the sea and you're bringing the kingdom,
29:49why are you speaking in parables and in hidden phrases?
29:53Why?
29:54He quotes Isaiah 6.
29:56Then he answered and said unto them,
29:59Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,
30:03but to them it is not given.
30:07And then what follows in verse number 14, same chapter,
30:11is a judicial declaration.
30:14And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah,
30:21which saith,
30:22By hearing you shall hear,
30:24shall not understand,
30:25seeing you shall see,
30:28shall not perceive.
30:29This people's heart is waxed gross,
30:31their eyes are dull of hearing,
30:33their eyes have they closed,
30:35lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
30:37hear with their ears,
30:39and should understand with their hearts,
30:42and should be converted,
30:43and I should heal them.
30:44But blessed are your eyes,
30:46for they see your ears,
30:48for they hear.
30:50And he has shut their eyes and their ears.
30:55Now watch what happens
30:57when we come down to the final
31:00declaration of God's relationship to the Jew
31:04and how it turns to the Gentile.
31:06Look at the last chapter of the book of Acts.
31:09Acts chapter 28.
31:13He quotes that scripture again.
31:18Acts chapter 28
31:23and verse 23.
31:25When they had appointed him a day,
31:27there came many to him to his lodging,
31:30to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God,
31:33persuading them concerning Jesus,
31:35both out of the law of Moses,
31:37out of the prophets.
31:38That's two of the three divisions of the Old Testament,
31:41the Torah, the Navim, and the Ketuvim.
31:44And out of the prophets from morning till evening,
31:47some believed the things which were spoken,
31:51some believed not.
31:52When they agreed not among themselves,
31:54now look carefully, we're talking to Jews.
31:57They departed after that Paul had spoken one word.
32:01Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet
32:04to our fathers, saying,
32:06Go unto this people,
32:07say, Hearing ye shall hear, shall not understand,
32:10seeing ye shall see and not perceive.
32:13For the heart of this people is waxed gross,
32:15their ears are dull of hearing,
32:17their eyes have they closed,
32:19lest they should see with their eyes
32:23and hear with their ears
32:25and understand with their heart
32:27and should be converted,
32:28and I should heal them.
32:30Be it known therefore unto you.
32:36He did not say that salvation is only for the Gentiles.
32:39That's not what he said.
32:41But here's what he said.
32:42This is the main direction of it.
32:44In verse number 28,
32:47Be it known therefore unto you
32:49that salvation, the salvation of God
32:52is sent unto the Gentiles
32:54and they will hear it.
32:58Are you following that?
33:00That's pretty good.
33:02And I mean, that's a general type survey
33:05of what we're talking about.
33:06There's a lot of specifics involved in it.
33:09So, preacher, the knowledge of the Lord
33:11does not cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
33:13No, it doesn't.
33:14That's one of the reasons that I'm a pre-millennialist
33:16and I'm a dispensationalist.
33:18Because that scripture is not fulfilled.
33:21It never has been fulfilled.
33:23There are people by the millions,
33:25yea, billions tonight
33:27that have never heard the gospel.
33:29They're living in total darkness.
33:31And if you want to see the conversion of the world,
33:35you ought to start praying,
33:36Even so, come Lord Jesus, come.
33:40Because that's when the world will be converted
33:43at the second advent of Christ.
33:45Amen.
33:46Amen.
33:47And a lot of that tonight helps put things in context
33:51to understand it.
33:52Parables and all the rest of that.
33:54Yes.
33:55Amen.
33:561.4 billion in India.
34:01And I was listening today to a missionary
34:03talking about how they persecute Christians.
34:05They're killing Christians.
34:07The Hindus of India are.
34:10Not Muslims.
34:11Now, Muslims do their part, don't worry about that.
34:14But it's the Hindu in India
34:16that is killing Christians right now.
34:19And India, of course, is a huge nation.
34:21Swallow up America five times, nearly.
34:24It's a huge nation.
34:26And so they're rejecting the gospel.
34:28They refuse it.
34:29They want no part of it.
34:30Want it?
34:31They don't want it.
34:32And when they come in and try to preach the gospel to them,
34:34they turn their back on it.
34:36And you try to witness to a Jew today?
34:38To a Jew?
34:40He doesn't use the authority of the Bible.
34:43He runs to his Talmud.
34:45You remember?
34:46The Mishnah, which is the foundation of the Talmud.
34:49The Gemara, which is the interpretation of it.
34:51And then the Midrash,
34:53which is the part that goes into it and begins to pull out
34:55certain laws and texts and so forth
34:57and makes practical application of them today.
35:00And that's called Halakha.
35:02And every Jew that's a Jew that's serving Judaism,
35:05he knows what his list of Halakhas are
35:08because he knows what the law tells him he must do
35:11from the law, from the Talmud.
35:15I'm glad I've got a book.
35:18I'm glad, thank God,
35:20that it cannot be taken from me.
35:22For me to lose my salvation may not have to be unborn.
35:26I've been born of the Spirit of God.
35:29My flesh was born September the 17th, 1946,
35:33but I was born of the Spirit in 1973.
35:36Amen.
35:37Father, thank you for your word.
35:39Time in your house.
35:40Bless these dear folk.
35:42Let the sweet Holy Ghost come in our house.
35:45Let him do, Father, what he desired to do tonight
35:48with your blessed word.
35:50In Jesus' name, amen.
35:52God bless every one of you.
35:54I'd like to mention some...