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In this episode of Through the Bible, we delve into the powerful teachings of the book of Hosea as Dr. J. Vernon McGee guides us through the trials of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Ignoring God's word not only led to spiritual adultery but also brought about God's judgment in a dramatic and prophetic transition. As we reflect on the message shared by the evangelist D.L. Moody and stories from Dr. McGee's own ministry, we're prompted to consider the essential role of scripture in our everyday lives. Throughout Hosea chapter 4, we witness the consequences that befell Israel when they neglected their sacred texts. Dr. McGee draws parallels to modern times, illustrating how turning our backs on divine guidance can lead to moral decay and personal dissatisfaction. Whether through personal anecdotes or deep scriptural insights, this episode calls listeners to introspection and a return to God’s word. Join us as we uncover the inhibitors to spiritual fulfillment and the inevitable consequences of idolatry and sin. Whether you are a long-time believer, a part of our World Prayer Team, or someone in search of spiritual clarity, this study provides profound insights. Prepare to embark on this enlightening journey through Scripture with renewed understanding.
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The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
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The evangelist D.L. Moody was right when he said, The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible. Listening to and obeying God's Word is a protection over our lives. And that's one reason that I'm so glad that you're here at Through the Bible, ready to get into God's Word with Dr. J. Verna McGee. And as you know, we're in the book of Hosea on our five-year journey through the whole word. And in this study, we're going to learn how the northern kingdom of Israel turned away from God because they forgot his word. Well, not only did they forget it, they wanted nothing to do with it. They completely turned their backs on God's ways. And you know, that's when God's man Hosea stepped up and said, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge of God's word. And then he relayed God's chilling consequence. Because you forgot the law of your God, I will also forget your children. I will change your glory into shame. Wow. I don't know about you, but that sobering pronouncement makes me sit up and listen. We're in Hosea chapter four. So as you open your Bible, let's listen to Dr. McGee's introduction on why God will judge his people.
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Now God says that he must judge the nation. And he says that he will change their glory into shame. Now the glory of Israel was actually the temple with the Shekinah glory upon it and his visible presence with the nation and his definite leading of them. And they're witness to the world of that day of monotheism. In a world of polytheism, they worship the living and the true God. That was their glory. It brought the Queen of Sheba from the ends of the earth. Now what is happening is this. God says, I will remove my glory from you. I'll remove my blessing from you. And I will judge you. I'll let the enemy come in upon you and take you away. And of course, the enemy is going to be able to say, look, they said they were God's chosen people. And look what's happening to them. And apparently their God's not a very strong God. Friends, we're seeing today in this land of ours something very similar to that. God is judging many churches and he's closing many doors today. You can look about you in this land of ours and see that God is still judging. And we are inclined to say, isn't it a shame to see a decline in a certain church? Well, maybe God closed the door. We need to recognize that only God today can afford to judge his own people, and he does that.
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Before jumping into our study, I invite you to join our World Prayer Team. Together we pray for listeners like Nora in the Philippines who writes this. I heard your message and want to know if you will really be forgiven. I have sinned in the past and I have thought that I am unforgivable. I got involved with another man and our entire village knows. I'm hurting and crying right now, but your words in my language of Locano comfort me and give me hope. For the first time, I feel as if God might accept me as I am. Please tell me what to do next. Please tell me more about Jesus and how I can be redeemed. Are you ready to join us for the journey? Well, hop aboard as we pray for millions of listeners like this one all over the world by signing up at ttb.org forward slash pray. And let's do that now. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you for the privilege of hearing your word. Help us to turn what distracts us and do what pleases you. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of sharing your word with the world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're off to Hosea 4 on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
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Now, we got down last time through the sixth verse of the fourth chapter of Hosea. And again, I'd like to say that this sixth verse here of this fourth chapter is considered one of the most familiar verses that we have. It's one that is quoted a great deal. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And that's the way it opens. I went through it last time, and I'll not go any farther than that. But it was a lack of the knowledge of the Word of God that was the background of the sin of these people. The minute that Christian friend, you get away from the Word of God, you could not live a triumphant Christian life by any means. You could not live well-pleasing to the Lord. And I do not care how many of these method conferences you go to that have all these little gimmicks that if you do this and do that and do the other thing, that things are going to work all right for you in your home and in your place of business and in your social life, and everything will work out right. My friend, the Word of God makes it very clear that That's not by these little gimmicks, these little methods. It's by a knowledge of the Word of God. Now, that is as clear as the noonday sun in this book and certainly in other places. Now, will you notice as God continues to bring against the northern kingdom his judgment upon them, that is, he hands down a decision. He's going to judge them. And he has now proven that To them, his case, they broken the Ten Commandments. He went down the list and they had broken them. Now he says, as they were, verse 7, as they were increased, so they sinned against me. In other words, as the nation increased, God had promised to bless them by multiplying them. He told Abraham that. But all it did was just bring another sinner into the world. And after all, that's what happened when I came into the world. Just another sinner came into the world. But thank God, the grace of God reached down and somebody gave me the Word of God. And I was able to trust Christ as my Savior. But these people, they have an ignorance. They have no knowledge of the word of God. As they were increased, so they sinned against me. Therefore, will I change their glory into shame. God says, I'm going to turn your glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people. They set their heart on their iniquity. They not only sin, but they like to brag about it. As a young fellow, ran with a pretty fast crowd in the bank I worked in. And we always like, especially on Monday morning, to brag about our weekend, what we did. And you know what it was, either to get drunk or... some adultery or something like that. That's what you brag about. And they not only sinned, they bragged about it. And there, verse 9 now, chapter 4 of Hosea, and there shall be like people, like priests. The unfortunate thing is that the priesthood had sunk down to the level of the congregation. Now, I have always believed, and as you've heard me say, that I started out in the ministry. I wore a Prince Albert coat and a wing collar. I look like a mule looking over a whitewash fence. But I soon gave that up. I dress just like the man sitting out in the pew. And I'm no different than that man in the pew. But I want to say this, that I want in the pulpit to give out the word of God so that I don't sink down to the level of that which is the man of the world. And today there are many ministers. They're the good guys. one man boasted to me he says you know he says my preacher says you know he says he comes out to our golf club he plays golf and i'm for that i do that i think it's great to mix with folk like that says after the game says he goes in the bar room with us has a drink with us says you know said he's just one of the fellas says i sure do like him well I wonder what God thinks about him. Like people, like priests. And I'll punish them for their ways and reward them for their doings, for they shall eat and not have enough. In other words, famine is coming to the land. And who would ever have believed that this great land of ours, just last year, a few years ago, that there would be no scarcity. Whoever heard of it, that you couldn't buy meat at the meat market, you couldn't buy bread, that there would be a scarcity of anything. May I say to you, I'm not sure. I think God judged us in the dust bowl many years ago. That's when I entered the ministry. And nobody listened to God then. Then we had to fight World War II. God judged us. And we didn't come back to God even World War II. So we've been fighting somewhere ever since. Just can't give it up. They shall eat, not have enough. They shall commit harlotry and shall not increase. You know, there's one thing, friends, about adultery. And I know today that I'm talking to a great many people that have had this in their mind and their heart because we're living in this day. And you can take it from a fellow that one time in his life before he's saved, you can never, never enjoy in a way in which God really wants you to until you can enjoy it in marriage. And when you can put your arms around the woman that you have been loving and you can say to her, I love you. above everything else in the world. Now, I say when you can say that, my friend, then there'll be an increase. And it'll be wonderful. Oh, they were committing adultery then, and they're doing it today. But actually, there's really no satisfaction in it. It's just a sort of a temporary release. And you hate yourself after that. And I know that. And some of you know that, my friend. And God knows that because that's what he's saying here. God's spelling it out for you. They shall eat and not have enough. They shall commit harlotry, adultery, and they shall not increase because they have ceased to take heed to the Lord. Harlotry and wine and new wine take away the heart. Last time we gave you all these statistics about liquor in this country today. And nobody, and I mean nobody today, is lifting a voice against this. And I don't think I've said very much about it. But I sure have said a whole lot the past couple of days. And from time to time, we do mention it. Arlatrin wine and new wine take away the heart, my friends. And part of our problem in Washington today are these two sins, harlotry, adultery, and liquor. They're the two problems in our government today. That's the reason that men lie. That's the reason that men will do crooked things. And that is not confined to one party or just one group. The whole crowd is guilty today. One writer said that in Washington, you don't know who to trust. May I say to you, what a sad commentary on our nation today. Don't tell me the new morality is working. It didn't work for Israel. They got away from the word of God and they said, we try something new. And they went in for it. The northern kingdom, you see, they had sin galore. They put up two golden calves. And with that worship of Baal, I was connected with it, the grossest forms of idolatry and the Verse 12, my people ask counsel of their idols, and their staff declareth unto them, for the spirit of harlotry hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot departing from under their God. Now he's speaking here of the harlotry, spiritual adultery, which is turning from God. They went to inquire of idols. And today, we find people running after the gurus of India. Well, they haven't done much for India, by the way. But yet, we've had a crowd running after them. And someone has said that one of them that came over here, he said that very candidly, he came for the money. And that it was nothing in the world but a religious racket as far as he was concerned. Yet people went after him. People are going off into this type of thing today. And there's actually the worship of Satan today. I have here a clipping that comes from Daytona Beach, Florida. A group of Satan cultists tortured and beat a 17-year-old youth to death, believing he was an undercover narcotics agent, police said Wednesday. May I say to you that worship of Satan today is certainly not helping morality by any means. And these people going into idolatry, idolatry was leading them into gross immorality. Now, let me keep reading here. And They sacrifice, this is verse 13 now, chapter 4. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains and burn incense upon the hills under oaks and poplars and elms because the shadow of them is good. That's where they put their idols, was on top of a hill under a grove. And you hear a great deal in scripture. And they found out today, archaeologists, that the center of worship of idolatry was in these groves. It was cool there, nice place to go. Therefore, your daughters shall commit harlotry and your spouses shall commit adultery. You see, the worship of idols, and we today have turned to idolatry, covetousness, All of this today, the greed of this country today has caused many a family to try to get on in the world. They want to move to a better neighborhood. They want a swimming pool. They want a boat to take down. And they say we're doing this for their children. And then all of a sudden their children take off and there are thousands. Thousands of young people today that are wandering up and down this country and all over the world. I saw them in Hawaiian Islands. I talked to three young people in Constitution Square in Athens, Greece. Two young men and a young lady. And I'm sure that none of them were beyond their teens. One of them could have been 20. And there they sat, and they were then under the influence of drugs. I tried to talk with them, and I tried to find out who they were. And they said, we're nobody. We don't count. We've dropped out. What's happened today, friends? What's taking place today? Why, the problem is back there in the home. We're idolaters. We're worshiping the almighty dollar. We've forgotten God. We've turned away from the living and true God, and we no longer worship him. And we've not turned to a savior that can redeem us and help us. Now, verse 14. He says, I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your spouses when they commit adultery, for they themselves are separated with harlots, and they sacrifice with harlots. Therefore, the people that doth not understand shall fall. God says ignorance, so the law excuses no one. And because these people have gone on, I'm not going to judge them for the sin they're committing right now. I'm going to judge them because they've turned from the living and true God and from his way. My friend, as I said to a man, and I met him on a golf course, by the way, and he said, joined our foursome he soon left us when he found out we were three preachers and this man made a statement well he said that he guessed that he was a sinner he'd done this that and the other said yes I guess I'll go to hell and I said brother you know you're not going to hell because you commit these sins he says what do you mean I'm not going to hell because I thought that's what you preachers said I said this preacher never said that I said you're going to hell because you've rejected Jesus Christ These people were being judged not because they had become harlots. They were judged because they've turned from the living and true God. Now, will you notice he says here, though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-Avon or swear the Lord liveth. God says, I'm going to hold Judah back. I'll not judge Judah yet. And Judah, don't come up and worship these calves that they put up here. Now we come to something that's quite interesting. Verse 16. For Israel slideth back like a backsliding heifer. Now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place. Now, friends, let's look at what really backsliding is. A great many people think backsliding means that you have become a Christian, joined the church, and then you drop back into sin, and that's backsliding. Now, may I say to you, that's not backsliding the way it's used here. And God illustrates it so you can't miss it. For Israel slideth back like a backsliding heifer. Now, I'm very happy the fact that as a boy, I had the privilege of living in the country and in a little town. And I think I've mentioned this before. There's a live next door to us in southern Oklahoma in a little town. We lived in a rancher. He had a big ranch and he had two boys and they were both about my age. And we three played together. We used to ride these heifers out in the lot and they would, you know, tie a rope around. As we said in that day, a belly band we'd put on them. We'd hold on to that. And then they'd buck us off. Now, every now and then, this rancher would load up. This was in the days before the automobile. In a wagon, he would load up these heifers to take them to market or take them out to the ranch. And he had a great big board. That is, it was a thing constructed out of boards that he put up at the back end of the wagon. It was a runway that you just try to run the heifer up back. Well, what they'd do, you'd put a rope around the heifer, and then you'd push her from the back. And as you'd get the heifer up, she'd go a part of the way, then she'd stiffen those front feet. She'd just put them out stiff. And you know what would happen? You couldn't pull her. She'd start sliding backwards. That's what backsliding is. Backsliding heifer. They were stiffening their front feet. And instead of being led of God, they were slipping backward all the time. And backsliding means when you turn your back on God and you step on that little neck of yours and that little mind of yours and you say, I'll have nothing to do with God. You're backsliding when you do that. You see, when you refuse to go the way God wants to lead you. Now he calls Israel here a backsliding heifer. There are a lot of backsliding heifers today and bulls also, by the way. Now, let me read the next verse. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. Now, we come to another word here. The word backsliding is mentioned three times in this book, and you'll recall it's only Jeremiah and Hosea, and they spoke to a nation ready to go into captivity, accused them of doing this, refusing to be led of God, refusing to come to God. Now, Ephraim, that name occurs 36 times. He picks out one of the tribes of the 10 tribes in the north and applies it to all 10 of the tribes. And I frankly have never been able to figure out just how God uses that term. Is he using it in a way that is the term of endearment or is it a term of ridicule? Now, this time through Hosea, I've come to the conclusion that it's a term of endearment. It's a pet name. You see, Israel in the north had really no name as a nation. Judah in the south was really the nation. And these 10 tribes had revolted, you see. And now God gives them, I think, a pet name. And you'll find all the way through, it'll occur 36 times, Ephraim. And he says this in, I would say, a longing sort of way, but with a note of finality. He says here, Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. God says there comes a day in a man's life that if he keeps on being in a backslidden condition, refusing to listen to God, there'll come a day when God no longer can speak to that man. Now he says to them, your drink is sour. You'll become an alcoholic if you keep at it, brother. And it's not a disease. It's a sin. Their drink is sour. They have committed harlotry continually. Her rulers love shame more than glory. And the sad thing today is that we have men in government in high places instead of using a language that is clean. And chase. They love to cuss. And they love to drink. They love the shame more than glory. The wind hath bound her up in its wing. They're carried away by every wind of doctrine. And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. God says, I'm going to make them ashamed before it's over with. Well, that brings us to the conclusion of chapter 4. Begin chapter 5 next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
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Well, Dr. McGee convinced me of the joy and peace found in living a quiet, righteous life before the Lord. How about you? We're midway through our study in Hosea now, so if you'd like to share these studies with a family member or friend, they're available on our app or at ttb.org. Or to purchase our Bible bus flash drive that conveniently holds all of Dr. McGee's five-year messages and also includes all of his notes and outlines for our studies and more than 100 of his booklets, you Shop our online store at ttb.org or call us at 1-865-BIBLE. And while you're at ttb.org, check out our new softcover Bible companions for the New Testament. Again, that's ttb.org or 1-865-BIBLE. And when you call us, please tell us how you listen. Is it by app or online? Is it YouTube, your local Christian radio station? There are so many different options. And you know, by sharing this little bit of information, you help us to be good stewards of the resources that God has so graciously provided through faithful listeners like you. Now, as we break for the weekend, join me for Dr. McGee's Sunday sermon. You can listen by app, online, or look at our radio station listing at ttb.org. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'll meet you right back here next time as we continue to make our way through the Bible.
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We're grateful for the faithful and generous support of Through the Bible's partners, whom God uses to take the whole word to the whole world.
Explore the liberating notion of spiritual freedom as we examine the apostle Paul's message to choose righteousness over the dominion of sin. As we analyze Romans, discover how being alive in Christ offers a transformative perspective, granting believers strength to resist temptations. We delve into the ongoing battle within, how faith influences our choices, and the hope of peace found in Christ's victorious kingdom. Embark on this journey of faith and uplift your spirit with eternal truths that redefine our earthly existence.
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So then we're beginning to see the wide range of thought that Paul is floating in, thinking in, when he tells us, Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We don't look inside and say, are we dead indeed to sin? We look outside to the kingdom of God and say, whose kingdom is victorious? Is it Christ's or is it Satan's? Well, obviously, Satan has been defeated. He was defeated in heaven before Christ, before he was ever sent to the earth, if you're in doubt about that, read Revelation 12, and he was defeated at the cross. And this is all beautiful to us as Christians because we have to keep our faith alive by reckoning ourselves in the right kingdom. Likewise, you also then reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin. That is, you are no longer alive to the sin kingdom of Adam. Now I grant you. that we're very much embroiled in the sin kingdom of Adam. We live in it. We experience its weakness, its brokenness, the death that it brings, the sorrow, the suffering, and so on. But as Christians, by faith, we recognize that Christ has beaten that kingdom, has defeated it, and we now live in the victorious kingdom of Christ. So our faith is telling us one thing, even though our bodies may be telling us another. So then Paul, to drive this home, brings verse 12, which is really interesting, and I'll tell you what the interest is in a minute. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lusts. Now, as far as I can recall, as far as I understand the book of Romans, this is the first time Paul is talking now about what goes on inside of us. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts. But notice how he teaches what goes on inside of us. He's not saying what's going on inside psychologically, but he's saying what is going on outside of us which affects us psychologically. Why do I say that and how do I know that? Because he says do not let sin reign inside You see, this truth about reigning again is so very, very important and vital. Paul is talking about kingdoms. He never uses the word kingdom, but he uses phraseology that only belongs to the kingdom, reigning and dominion. Sin shall not reign, or the law doesn't reign, or wrath doesn't reign, all of these statements. Why is he doing that? because he's recognizing that Jesus Christ is the second Adam who has brought a new kingdom into the reality of our experience by faith alone. That kingdom will, of course, reign ultimately in the world. But he says, do not let it reign. Well, now that says something, doesn't it? Do not let it, that is, do not allow it. In other words, the kingdom of Adam still exists, but we have the liberty of faith to determine whether it shall command or demand our minds. No, we're not going to let it. Well, we do let it often, don't we? We just get fed up and we want to sin or we fall or we're sick and tired of the situation of this world and we go into the kingdom of Adam because we're just lackadaisical or we're just fed up with the situation. But then our faith kicks in and we say, now, wait a minute. I am allowing right now the kingdom of Adam to reign. Well, I am now a new kingdom, rather a prince of a new kingdom. I belong to the kingdom of Christ, and I have power to shut this kingdom down. That is the kingdom of Adam. What a thought that is. You see, Paul has introduced the idea that we are in bondage to sin. Sin isn't, as I have said many times, simply something we do. It's something that does us. King Sin reigns. Sin is a power, a dominion, a force over us. Now then, here we are being told, don't let it be over us. Well, that's saying something, isn't it? It's implying that the you, the you who says don't let it, is the person who is in dominion of the kingdom of Adam's dominion. That is in charge, somebody who is over the kingdom of Adam. Well, Christ is over the kingdom of Adam, but we live and operate in Christ. And so we are free to say, I will not allow you to have dominion. Now this, again, let's go to the issue of addiction. Let's take the alcoholic who feels utterly overthrown by alcoholism, defeated by it, and each day he has to face whether he'll have another drink. But instead of facing it on the basis of, shall I do this or not, an action, he's now asking, shall I live in this kingdom or not, because I am free as a prince in Jesus Christ to say no to the kingdom. So while he's tempted to drink, and even has the wine or the beer in the mug, he's free to say, I am not going to let this kingdom reign. Now that doesn't guarantee that he will not take the drink. But it guarantees that he will not come under the identity and judgment of the kingdom of Adam. You say, well, what's the difference, Colin, if he drinks anyway? The difference is the reaction that follows. Because when you have the earthly perception of things without a knowledge of the kingdom of Christ, then a drink will bring you to judgment, depression, grief. fear that you will ruin your life. But if you, by faith, know that that kingdom is broken, your reaction is less traumatic. Oh yes, I failed, but I praise God that the kingdom is finished. I don't belong in it, I don't belong to it, and I assert my relationship with the kingdom of Christ in which I am a prince or princess. This is how we think in a different way. This is how faith operates. People have belittled faith because they have never understood its real power in the mind of a Christian. But we do, because we have heard of what Christ has done. We have seen him break the power of death. We have seen him rise from the dead. Before that, we saw him on the cross, never believing that his father had left him, even though he said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Remember the thing that he said before he died, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Jesus knew. that his life with the Father, innocent, pure, not having come under the power of sin, had defeated the power of Satan. We live in him. We cannot defeat the power of Satan, but we live in him, and our faith is training itself and growing every day, seeking to operate in this way. Yes, defeats will follow, but victories will too, and calmness of soul. and freedom from this endless depression after a failure, so that we know how to bounce back, because the kingdom that we live in is not the kingdom of Adam where there is judgment, but the kingdom of Christ where there is freedom from judgment. So this is, you see, all part of this chapter on dead to sin. It's a totally different way of looking at things and thinking of it all if you are not a man or woman of faith. So Paul having said, therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust, then says, and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. What he's saying here is, do not present your body and all its parts as a member of Adam's kingdom. So when you're facing a temptation, It's really nice and good to be able to say, sorry, I don't belong to your kingdom. I'm not presenting my members to your kingdom. I'm not presenting myself at the door of the kingdom of Adam and saying, at your service, sir. No, I'm not. I'm presenting my body in the service of Jesus Christ. Now, look, don't think of this in terms of you do it. perfectly forever afterwards, or you are defeated perfectly forever afterwards. You're doing it right one time, and you're doing it wrong the next time. But each time you do it, that is, each time you express your faith in the right way, you strengthen that ability. You know, I'm rereading a little book that I ordered from Amazon the other day called Power in Praise. Some of you may know it. Is it Merlin Carruthers? I don't think it's Merlin, but anyway, it's Carruthers by Carruthers. You can find it on Amazon for $9. And it's reminding me all over again what the implications of the Book of Romans are. He doesn't talk about the Book of Romans all that much, but I knew the Book of Romans before I knew this Power and Praise book, and when I got a hold of this book 30 or 40 years ago, I said to myself, oh yes, this is the natural consequence, that is praise, giving thanks to God for the truth and the reality that the book of Romans teaches. You see, in Romans 5 and 6 that we've studied so far, freedom from wrath and freedom from the power of sin, We are talking about what God has done for us, not what we try to do for ourselves, not how we practice. trying to overcome this or that. But what God has done, he's taken away his wrath, taken away his judgment from us so that we have peace of heart and we are reconciled to the heart of the Father and we can enter his throne room without any judgment. And he has broken the power of sin, taken away the sin kingdom of Adam by giving and introducing us to the kingdom of Christ where there is righteousness and life and peace. Well, doesn't that lead your heart to be thankful? Isn't that the first response that we give to God? Oh, thank you, dear God. Well, that's what we need to be practicing, you see, every day. To be able to thank God in the midst of all the foibles and brokenness of this world, in the midst of the disappointments and the depressions, to be able to say, now look, all I'm going through, dear God, all that you take me through that seems to be in the kingdom of Adam is actually in the kingdom of Christ, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death thou art with me. That verse in Psalm 23, the first part, the valley of the shadow of death is Adam's kingdom, and the second part, thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me, is the kingdom of Christ. And so, you see, I am walking in the kingdom of darkness in my natural body, but in my spirit, in my faith in Christ, I am walking with God, whose staff and rod comfort me. They guide me on the road. Though I can't see the path, Jesus can, and he holds up a lantern for me. This is how it is, you see. This is what faith is. Take it. Believe it. Grow with it. It's more powerful than the atom. Thank you for joining me today. Colin Cook here, and you've been listening to my program, How It Happens. This is listener-supported radio, which means that the listener who appreciates the program pays for it, makes a donation. You don't have to, of course. Don't feel guilty if you don't do it. But if you'd like to, and if it cheers your heart to do so, please send your donation to FaithQuest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160, or make your donation online at faithquestradio.com. Thanks so much. I'll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
This episode of 'Discovering the Jewish Jesus' provides an eye-opening exploration of God's double-edged nature, showcasing both His mercy and justice through the lens of Revelation's plagues. Rabbi Schneider helps listeners comprehend the escalating severity of the judgments from seals to bowls, emphasizing the necessity of returning to Christ before it's too late. Dive into a study of deep theological significance and understand your place in the prophetic timeline.
SPEAKER 01 :
Hello and welcome to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. I'm Dustin Roberts, your host today as Rabbi Schneider shed some light on the 21 judgments of Revelation, helping us understand our future today. The seals, the trumpets, the bowls, these are the judgments that will be released upon the world in the last days. But instead of letting these judgments instill fear in us, Jesus wants us to rest in his peace. So today, Rabbi Schneider is going to look at these judgments and explain why it's important for us to keep our hearts and our minds focused on the Lord. He'll also encourage us to help people around us repent, to be prepared for what's to come. There's lots to discuss, and if you've got your Bible handy, our primary text can be found in Revelation chapter 8. Rabbi?
SPEAKER 03 :
Jesus told us in both the first and last chapter of the book of Revelation, blessed is he who heeds and studies the words of this book. A very important word that Jesus needs to deposit in all his children's life. If it wasn't important for us to receive the book of Revelation, Yeshua, beloved ones, would not have given it to us. We need to eat this word. We are right now in the midst of a series of God's judgments that will fall upon the earth during the Great Tribulation. I don't have time to go back and review today. We are in the midst of a scene that began in Revelation chapter five, where Jesus opened up a scroll. And when he opened the scroll, the final plagues of the Lord began to fall upon the earth. As I've been saying, as we're reading about these plagues, it sometimes confuses us because we're so used to hearing about the loving Jesus, the Jesus that blessed the children. We're so used to hearing about the meek Jesus that it's difficult for us to embrace this side of Jesus where we see all these really hard judgments coming upon mankind, sores coming upon mankind. Mankind hiding in caves to escape the judgments. People in agony. I mean, tremendous judgment falling upon the world. In fact, the last time that we saw anything even close to this was when the Lord destroyed the world with the flood during the time of Noah. This will be even worse. Men will be being tormented. What we need to understand is this, beloved ones. is that the nature of the Lord is double-sided. I'm gonna show you this later in today's message, but I want you to hear me. God is, first of all, merciful. but He is also just. When these plagues begin to fall, it's because of the fact that those that are remaining on planet Earth have not responded to His mercy. And because they've rejected His mercy, God has no other alternatives but to bring forth His justice and to rid the world of sin. I'm gonna talk more about that at the end of the broadcast. Right now, what I want to do is I want to bring you right back into the midst of the plagues. And then once again, when we get to the end of this discussion, I'm going to put it all together by helping you to understand these plagues as a result to the nature of God, his purpose and his person. I left off last time with the six of the plagues in Revelation chapter six, verse 12 through 17. It is when the sixth seal is broken and the result of that is that there'll be cosmic and ecological disaster. The natural forces that are holding the world and our planet in harmony will break down. In other words, the sun and the moon and the stars will begin to not give their light. The moon will be turned to blood. Things are gonna begin to happen in the universe that are gonna bring plagues and hardship upon the planet. This is talked about in the book of Joel, where he said in the last days, the sun will refuse to give its light. The moon will be turned to blood. Forces like gravity and other, again, natural forces that keep shalom, harmony in the universe will break down, resulting in great destruction. ecological disturbances. I'm going to be moving quickly today because in my previous broadcast on the subject, you began to get the feel. There'll be wars and rumors of wars. There'll be plagues. There'll be disease. There'll be earthquakes. All these things are going to be escalating as we move through the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bulls. Why did I say seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls? Because in the book of Revelation, there are 21 judgments that fall upon the world during the tribulation. And these 21 judgments, as I've been teaching, are broken down into the three categories of seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. The seals escalate into trumpets and the trumpets escalate into seven bowls. In other words, as these plagues begin to fall upon the planet, they intensify, they get worse. The trumpets are worse than the seals and the bowls of wrath are worse than the trumpets. It gets increasingly worse. I believe that perhaps the reason that the plagues get worse is because God is actually hoping that when these plagues begin to fall, it will cause mankind to repent. But by the time we get to the last of these seven plagues, the last seven of the 21, which are called the bowls of wrath, by the time we get to the final seven plagues, the seven bowls of wrath, it's too late. Mankind is being judged and God's final wrath is being poured out upon the earth in the same way, beloved ones, that he drowned the Egyptians in the sea. He caused the plagues to fall upon ancient Egypt, right? And he told Pharaoh that you need to let my people go. When Pharaoh didn't let the people go, God would pour out a worse plague. And finally, when Pharaoh hardened his heart for the last time, God drowned them all in the sea. In the same way, these plagues will come. People will have an opportunity to return to the Lord. But by the time the seven final plagues come, the seven bowls of wrath, man will be so far gone There'll be no other alternative but for God to destroy sin and eradicate sinners from the earth. We're moving now into these deeper plagues. We've already gone through now the first six seals. At the seventh seal, the seven trumpets are released. Let's read now Revelation chapter 8. I'll be reading verses 1 and 6. When the lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. So what's happening? At the seventh seal, we are getting ready now to release the next phase of judgments that will begin with, listen now, the seven trumpets beginning to sound. As we move into the next verse, we're going to see the first of these trumpets sound and the plagues will escalate. So we've escalated from the seals to into a more powerful demonstration of God's judgment falling upon the earth as we enter in now to the seven trumpets. Let's look now, beloved ones, at the first trumpet as it sounds. Verse number seven. The first sounded, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And so as the first trumpet sounds, we have hail and fire and blood hitting the earth. You know, I'm thinking about a fire that took place in 1871 in Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And listen to this. It burned up this fire that hit the earth, burned up a staggering 3.8 percent. million acres of land on the earth. There is going to be natural disaster, beloved, hitting the world like we've never heard before. We hear about raging fires that hit California, wiping out thousands and thousands of acres of land. Beloved, during the Great Tribulation, this type of epidemic is going to be all over the world. It's going to be terrible. The judgment of God The one that holds the earth in his hands is going to reveal, beloved, his judgment against sin and sinners upon the world. Listen, think about it. Does it make any logical sense that God is going to allow mankind to rebel against him forever? Does it make any sense that God is going to allow forever mankind to put his foot up in God's face, rebelling against him, saying that there is no God? No, beloved. Eventually, the judgment of God is going to fall and all mankind will bow to him. Every knee will bow. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. God's power is going to be revealed. He's been patient for all these years. Eventually, beloved, his patience will stop and his glory will be revealed through these judgments.
SPEAKER 01 :
You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Rabbi will be right back. But first, did you know that you can receive real-time encouragement straight from Rabbi through text message? Visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com and click on the link that says Rabbi Text Me. Or you can text the keyword Rabbi to the number 88777. Rabbi sends these special text messages as the Holy Spirit leads, and he looks forward to connecting with you real soon. Did you know that this ministry is all about preparing the way for the inevitable return of King Jesus? Well, it's true. And we'd love for you to partner with us in this life changing mission today. Together, we will change lives, not just locally, but all over the world. To support this team, call 800-777-7835. That's 800-777-7835. Or you can visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here's Rabbi Schneider.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let's look at the next trumpet. The next trumpet sounds in the book of Revelation, and we read here that in chapter 8, verse 8 and 9, there'll be oceanic disaster. You know, almost two-thirds of the world is covered by the ocean. When you and I think of the world, we oftentimes don't see the world as being mostly water. Because we live on the land. It just goes to show us how our perception of reality is often not reality at all. Because again, when we think of the world, we think about it as landmass. But two-thirds of the world is actually the ocean. God is going to cause great oceanic disaster to take place. It's going to be unlike anything we've ever seen before. In fact, over and over in the book of Revelation, I'm going to show you John in describing these judgments and what is happening on the earth uses the word something like or like. In other words, there's nothing in the world that he's ever seen before that can be exactly compared to it. All he can say it was, it's something like this. He can't say it's exactly this because he never saw anything like it before. So he says it's gonna be something like this, oceanic disaster, tremendous problem, marine life dying. Can you imagine oceans? filled with dead fish so that the stench of it, it just completely covers the world with the foul, polluted smell of rotten, dead fish. That's what's going to be happening, beloved ones, during the Great Tribulation. As we continue to read, we read in Revelation 8, verse 10 and 11, about toxic water. that the world's water supply is gonna become toxic. So many ways it could happen. We don't know how it's gonna happen, whether it's gonna be through some type of bacteria, whether it's gonna be through oil spills. All we know, beloved, is that the world's water supply is gonna become toxic. It's not that hard to imagine something like this. There are so many ways it could happen. And I wanna tell you, beloved, as a representative of the Lord, it's gonna happen. The good news is as a child of God, God is going to be your sustenance. Even as he fed Elijah during the famine, he's going to take care of his people. Even as he caused water to come out of the rock for the ancient Israelites, he'll be sufficient for his people. He's Yahweh your wrath. He's the Lord, our sufficiency, the Lord, our provider. But these things are going to be happening on the world. Listen, the sun is not going to come out upon the world and shine every day since it has been since the creation of the world. God is calling mankind to repent. He's calling mankind to himself. He's calling mankind to Jesus. And eventually he's going to stop calling and his judgment is going to fall. I'm going to get to that as we continue. We see that there's going to be a darkening of the planetary lights. In other words, we read in Joel and other portions of scripture that the sun will stop giving us light. Things are going to be happening in the planets. God holds the solar system together. He holds the entire universe together. Eventually, he's going to let go. Everything's going to begin to go haywire. Darkness will cover the earth. We see, by the way, these same types of things happen in ancient Egypt where it became dark. I want to go on here to the next one. In the fifth trumpet, we see demonic locusts, chapter 9 of Revelation, verse 1 through 11. John said he saw something like. He kept on saying here, it was something like this. It was something like the head of a man. It was something like he said this. So a couple examples were. He said in verse number five, their torment was like the torment of a scorpion, describing these demonic locusts biting people. In verse number eight of Revelation 9, he says, and they had hair, he said, like, there's that word like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. He couldn't say they were lion's teeth because they weren't lion's teeth. They were something like what he had never seen before. So we could only use the word like to describe them. I want you to understand, beloved ones, that These phenomenon that John is describing, they seem hard to imagine, but let me ask you this. If God created you, you and me, and there's no question that he created you, right? You know you're alive. You have consciousness. You can walk over to your mirror right now and see your reflection. If God created humanity, should we limit him in thinking he can create other orders of created beings, including these demonic locusts to torment men? No, he can just as easily create anything else as he created mankind. Don't limit God. Don't let yourself say, well, that's not possible just because you've never seen it before. If you exist, then it should be hard for you to believe in any other miracle because you're the greatest miracle of all. The fact that you exist and have consciousness. Then the sixth trumpet sounds and a deadly army is released. This other worldly type of army. And then the seventh trumpet sounds. And beloved, when the seventh trumpet sounds, something incredible happens. God is going to deliver his people from the next storm. set of plagues that are about to be unleashed upon the earth. This final set of plagues are called, listen now, the seven bowls of wrath. Listen, seven seals have taken place. Seven trumpets have sounded. The plagues have got increasingly worse. Now at the seven trumpet, listen, God's people are taken out of the world safely. Then what happens is God's final wrath is poured out upon the earth. And these final seven judgments are known as the seven bowls of wrath. It's too late for man to repent. It's all over. The judgment of God has come. But beloved. I'm preaching today and you're listening because the wrath of God has not come yet. There won't be evangelists like me preaching on television when the seven bowls of wrath are poured out. The scripture says, if today. today you hear His voice, do not harden your heart." You know, the Scripture says that the Lord's Spirit will not strive with man forever. If today you hear His voice, I want you to know that what happens is the Holy Spirit will come to you. He'll come to me. He'll give us an opportunity to respond. But if we don't respond when he comes, beloved, he backs off. See, the scripture says that when God's final wrath is poured out upon the earth, he that restrains, speaking of the Holy Spirit, will no longer be restraining, meaning that when the seven bowls of wrath are being poured out upon the earth at the end of the tribulation, the Holy Spirit's gonna be removed from the world. I want you to hear me. If you're just feeling even subtly right now, the voice of the Lord calling you to himself, maybe you're living in a lifestyle right now and you know that the lifestyle that you're leading is absolutely not God's will for your life. And you hear the truth that's coming, you believe it's true, but you're not sure if you're ready to give your life to Jesus. I'm here to tell you right now, my friend, that if you don't obey him now while you sense him speaking to you, you may not have the grace to obey him later. Meaning this, that we can't just choose to give our life to Jesus whenever we want to. but rather we have to have the grace to give our life to Him. So if God is dealing with you right now, He's giving you grace to turn to Him. You can't say, you know what, I want to lead my life another two years this way, and then I'm going to give my life to Him. Because in two years, your heart may be so hard, you're not going to have it within you to give your heart to Him. So I want to say to you right now, if you're sensing Jesus calling you to Himself, If you're not fully living for them, I want you to know you can't wait. If you're not doing it yet, you may not have an opportunity to do it later. I want to pray for you right now. Father God, I believe that you're speaking to people that are listening to the sound of my voice that have not yet come into a salvation experience with you. They've heard about the book of Revelation. Some of them were raised in church. It puts the fear of God in them. And yet, Father God, they're on the fence right now. They're on the one hand feeling like they need to yield to you. Yet on the other hand, they're feeling, I don't know if I'm ready. Father, right now, in Jesus' name, I call them in. As an ambassador of Christ, Father God, right now, I call in the harvest. Holy Spirit, I ask that you'll knock louder right now on the hearts of those that are listening. Right now, my friends, some of you just felt it. I'm asking you to get on your knees with me. Get on your knee and just say, Jesus, forgive me. I surrender to you. I give you my life. I pledge my life to you right now. I ask you, King Jesus, to come into my heart. Forgive me for my sins. And Jesus, help me find the resolve to follow you. Jesus, I repent. I turn to you. Jesus, forgive me. I ask you to help me right now to lay my life down to obey you. Beloved, I love you. This is the most important decision that you'll ever make in your entire life. In 1 Samuel 2, verse 30, we read this. The Lord says, those that honor me, I will honor. You see, beloved, we receive from that which is on a person when we honor who that person is. The Lord says, those that honor me, I will honor. This is true of the Jewish people as well. The Lord said to Abraham, I will bless those that bless thee. Beloved, I believe there's a supernatural call upon my life and upon this ministry. And by you sowing financially into this ministry, I truly believe that you're going to receive so much more from it. Your financial contribution to this ministry will bring you into a relationship with the anointing that's on this ministry. And beloved, you're going to be blessed. I want to ask you, make a financial contribution today. I'm very confident it will come back to you pressed down and good measure.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. Thank you, Rabbi Schneider. And you know, Rabbi's passion is to explain how the Old and New Testaments are connected, to share that knowledge with the entire world. And so if God is calling you to stand with Him this year, to help Him keep doing that, I want to encourage you, support Discovering the Jewish Jesus with the gift of any amount. Call us at 800-777-7835, or you can visit our website at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And you can also send your donation in the mail. Our address is Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan, 49228. Once again, that's P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan, 49228. And you know, many find the book of Revelation intimidating and sometimes confusing, but it doesn't have to be that way. So Rabbi has recently revised his book, The Book of Revelation Decoded, and it's a clear and accessible guide where he helps you understand what Scripture says about the end times and how it applies to our world today. Not just reading the mysteries of Revelation, but explaining them. And this revised edition addresses the recent world-shaking events like the October 7th attack on Israel. He and I were in Israel when this event happened. He's got some exciting insights to share. And he'll also use the Hebrew prophets from the Old Testament to help explain how they provide a roadmap for understanding these challenging times ahead for the body of Christ and the world. And if you'd like to get a copy of the book of Revelation Decoded, then just go to our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. That's discoveringthejewishjesus.com. You can also call to purchase a copy, 800-777-7835. And friends, now here's Rabbi again to send us off with God's sacred and special blessing.
SPEAKER 03 :
In the Old Testament book of Numbers, we find a blessing God speaks over his children through Moses and Aaron. It carries the idea of favor and expression. Open your heart to the Spirit and the Word today, and receive Father's goodness into your life with confidence.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yevarechei Yahweh vayishmarei Ya'er Yahweh, P'navei Lecha, Vichu Ne'echa Yissa Yahweh, P'navei Lecha, Ve'asem Lecha
SPEAKER 03 :
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
I'm your host, Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Join us again next time when Rabbi Schneider discusses the seven bowls of wrath and how this is going to impact your faith. Find out Tuesday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
In this compelling episode, we delve deep into the struggle between maintaining spiritual freedom and succumbing to fleshly desires. Our speaker passionately articulates the insidious nature of backsliding, emphasizing that it doesn't happen overnight but rather through gradual neglect of spiritual disciplines. Listeners are urged to steadfastly hold onto their faith, as yielding to temptations can set off a destructive chain reaction, much like an avalanche. With insights drawn from biblical teachings, we explore the importance of perseverance and fighting to stay aligned with God’s will.
SPEAKER 01 :
If you've ever wondered why you can't seem to maintain a level of liberty in your spiritual or sometimes have difficulty overcoming your fleshly desires. And if you want more than just a breakthrough, but you want to stay through, this message is for you. One more time.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know the old devil, he tries to make you discouraged. One of the things he's been trying to discourage me on is people letting up and not coming to church. I'm really concerned Even tonight's congregation. People are backsliding. Can't stay. And can't stand to be blessed. Man ain't no time to let up now. Ain't no time to backslide now. Now when I talk about backslide. There are degrees of backslide. Till you can go all the way in the world. Say, what do you mean, Brother Hardy? Backslide means you fail to do the things you used to do. Because you won't backslide overnight into the world. You do a little bit gradual. You break that pattern. You let up. See, some people, they start letting up Wednesday night. Then pretty soon it's Friday night. Pretty soon, only time they come in Sunday. Then it's not very hard for the devil to knock them out Sunday morning. Then a couple weeks they're gone. Man, you got to fight. This is a fight. You don't let nobody take your crown. What did Jesus say? One of the last things to the church. He said, hold thou fast what thou hast. Let no one take your crown. And that's a warning. There's a warning out there. That someone is trying to take your crown of victory. Take your overcoming crown. And take your crown of life. If you let him, the devil will walk all over you. And once you start retreating, once you start yielding to him, then you just set it in motion like a snowball or an avalanche. Brother, you got to fight this thing. You're not going to make the heaven unless you fight. Somebody said, you mean to tell me I got to fight to get saved? No, you got to fight to stay saved. Getting saved is the easiest part. You know, having evangelistic ministry and getting people saved, that's the easiest thing. You get a crowd out there, God sets the conviction. You preach a convicting message, God gets them saved. Brother, that's the easy thing. But keeping them saved and making them a productive Christian, that's the hard part. How many say amen? How many hears me? Brother, I'm going to make it. Amen. If you could bet that you need to lay odds on that heart is going to make it. Because I got my mind made up. David said my mind is made up. My heart is fixed. Trusting in the Lord. I'm going to make it. If it's a rosy way to fly away, amen. But I know it's not going to be. Amen. Say amen. But whatever it takes, if I have to fight the devil every centimeter, every inch of the way, I'm going to make it. And I'm not going to let the devil take my grab. And I'm not going to fight the same fight for the same grab. I'm going to go on a deeper depth and higher heights. Amen. Say amen. Ain't no time to let up now. Brother, everywhere you look, it's saying Jesus is coming. I said you can look at the weather, it's Jesus coming. You can look at the world, it's saying Jesus is coming. You look at the church, it's saying Jesus is coming. Brother, I'm not going to let up. I'm going to press my way in. He said press. Press toward the mark. That word mark in the Greek is the goal line. It don't make any difference if you enter every race in the world. If you don't finish the line, if you don't get across the goal line, it don't matter. In football, you can run 99 yards, but if you don't go that other one yard, it don't matter. Amen and say amen. You can hit the ball and run around all the bases, but if he tags you out at the plate, it don't matter. Amen. I'm going to run. Paul said, I'm going to run. I'm going to fight. Amen. Say amen. I'm going to fight the good fight of faith. I'm going to lay hold on eternal life. I'm going to not let the devil take it. I'm not going to move back. I'm going up higher. Now, you don't stand still in the Lord. You're either progressing or regressing. Amen. You're either going into higher heights and deeper depths or you're going back. You're backsliding. You're not doing the things that you're used to. Then you stay in that little place a while and then you backslide a little bit more. And that is saying then and gradually you'll get all the way over here. You're nothing like you were when you were on fire. Jesus invited one church and said in Revelations, said, I tell you to repent and do your first works over. You know how you felt when you first got saved? You wanted to get in the church. You wanted to hear the word of God. You couldn't wait until it was prayer time. Everybody say amen. You couldn't wait to get in the word. You couldn't wait to tell somebody about Jesus. Oh, what's the matter, brother? He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. You should love him more. I want to know more. I want to know more. I want to know more. I don't want to get in the world. I don't want to be around that motley crowd. I don't want to be around those carnal people full of all their unrighteousness, ungodliness, filthy talk. I want to walk in the spirit. I want to walk with Jesus. I want to be like Enoch. And the day that we're living in was the night, the day of Enoch. Right before God sent the flood. Amen. And say amen. I want to walk with God. And one of these days, they're going to look for me. But I'm going to be gone. Because I'm going to walk right on into God's house. Hey, shake yourself. Sometime you got to shake yourself. Not let the devil put you over. He's not going to rob my prayer time. He's not going to rob my Bible study. He's not going to keep me out of church. Oh, you're so tired before church. But then at 15 minutes after church. And after the church bus goes. Then you're full of life, huh? Then the devil's got carnal things for you. You ain't liking me tonight. But I got a feeling. I'm going to preach, brother. You know you're miserable. Carnal and miserable. And like I say it, it's the truth. Some people got just enough salvation to be miserable. They know that they should do more than not doing it. They're scared to death to go all the way into the world. And they won't go all the way for God. Amen. And they're in between. And they got the Holy Ghost pulling this way. And they got the devil pulling this way. And they're tore apart. You got to let go of one of them. To get momentarily peace, you got to let go. You can let go of God and throw him down. Get momentarily peace until the devil got that trap. Until he gets you empty. And the classic example in the Bible is Samson.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
You'd have thought Samson would have appreciated the anointing on him. He was the only one in Israel. The only one on the face of the earth that the spirit of God would follow him mightily. He was invincible by the power of God. Satan couldn't do anything with him. They surrounded the city. Said we got him and at daybreak we're going to get him. God woke him up. The city was surrounded. They were kind of napping. The gigantic gates were closed. We got our enemy. Supposed to be the servant of Jehovah, mighty and strong. And old Samson went and grabbed them two gates. Now I'm talking about gates maybe 40 feet high. I'm talking about gates that are tons and tons of weight. He grabbed one in one hand and grabbed the other in the other hand and said, Oh God! I'm going to say amen. And God heard his prayer. And the power of God came on him and he picked them gates up. And not only did he walk, he walked up a hill. He walked up the mountain in front of that city. And planted those gates as a mighty memorial to the mighty delivering power of God. By God's spirit. He was invincible. For it's not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit. Say of the Lord, it's only the Spirit of God that makes you strong and invincible. When the enemy comes in like the flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift them astandard. But if you have leaked out, there is no one to lift us standard up. No one to lift the standard up. Samson called. God heard him. But he was backsliding. He was backsliding a little by little. You see, you don't leak out of the spirit all at once. Little by little. And that's the danger. You don't know you're emptying out. Baptize in the Holy Ghost. What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Ghost? It means to be full inside and completely enveloped and covered outside. You know, kind of like now, if you get born again, then you get one measure of the Spirit. There are measures of the Spirit. Under the Old Testament, They couldn't have what we had. They could get full and like David, the cup would run over, but they couldn't be baptized. See, the difference between the baptizing and the filling is when you're filled, you're filled up. Then you're like David, it keeps coming and you run over. You fill up that glass of water, put a stopper in the sink, put it in the sink, keep the tap on. It's not only full. One measure, two measure, three measure full running over. One measure covering a full vessel. Half full, three quarters covered. Fully covered till it's absolutely covered with water and all you see is water. That's baptized. That all they see is the Holy Ghost. You're under the complete control of the Holy Ghost. Remember when you got the Holy Ghost? I remember when I got it. I remember when I came out of it. I found myself in the middle of the church, hollering. I didn't know how I got there. I was under the anointing of God. I was completely controlled by the Holy Ghost. And there I was. How many say amen? When I came to cognizance, here I was in the middle of the church. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Hallelujah. I was full. And that's the dangerous time. It's when you're full. The Spirit's on you. Here you're full. I'd like to illustrate it this way. By a seesaw. How many of you know what a kid's seesaw is? And we're going to call this the line of demarcation. And on this side, it's in the spirit. And on this side, it's in the flesh. When we talk about in the flesh, in control of the flesh. And when we talk about flesh, Paul uses means the old nature. For they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But if the Spirit of God dwell in you, you're not in the flesh, you're in the Spirit. That means you're in the new nature. You're controlled by the Holy Spirit in the new nature. When you're in the flesh, you're controlled by the old nature and Satan. How can you tell after being all the way full, you're getting close to being totally leaked out? You know how you can tell? You're in the middle of the seesaw. And the flesh is calling and the spirit's calling and you're in a battle. And you just can't do what you want. Remember when you were full of the spirit? Oh, you could pray anytime. My God, you couldn't stop praying. You went to bed praying, and your body had to pass out because your spirit was still praying and singing. And when your body finally woke up in the morning, your spirit's still singing and praying, and you got a song in the night season. And all the day long, everybody say amen. And there wasn't nothing to read the Bible, and revelation was coming. Joy came. And when the battle came, well, you rolled with the punches. You didn't even realize you were in the test. Amen. Because the spirit anesthetizes you. Is that what it is? Okay, I didn't know if I had that right. In other words, it numbs you to the flesh. The flesh was killed. Reckon yourself to be dead indeed. Under the flesh, under sin. But alive under God. You were alive under God. Nobody had to tell you he lives. He was alive in you. You could feel the vibrating and the moving and the reverberating of the Holy Ghost power. You were alive. You breathed the spirit. You walked in the spirit. You slept in the spirit. You were in the spirit. Your flesh was totally dead. Now here's being baptized in the Holy Ghost. You're all the way on the other end of that seesaw. Broke through to your out in heavenly places. Broke through to you singing and speaking in tongues. Amen. It was like before the service. Brother Murph got to praying, but then he broke through and he got all the way out in the spirit. He began to speak in tongues. He was all the way out. There was no flesh around. There was no flesh in it. There was no worldly thoughts in it. There was no body thoughts in it. You were out in the spirit. You were under complete control of the Holy Ghost. And see, I know what it takes to get full of the spirit and stay full of the spirit. You got to kill that man. You got to die daily. You got to crucify the flesh. You know what crucify means? The most agonizing death known to man. Sometimes it took him a couple days to die. Each breath you died a little bit and you fought against it. You know when you finally died up? Your bodily was totally exhausted and it could not fight anymore and it fell forward and you asphyxiated yourself. You smothered to death. Because on that cross, they had that little pad, you know where his foot was? It was there so that you could breathe. You pushed on that and pushed yourself out and breathed. And all the pain was wracking your body. And then you'd go down again. And the nails would tear at your body. How many say amen? And you kept doing it because you didn't want to die. Especially when you're not saved. You're fighting death. Jesus didn't fight death. He made sure every scripture was fulfilled. He quoted chapter after chapter to make sure that he was given a witness to Israel. How many say amen when they were fighting it? Until you were dying inch by inch, ounce of strength by ounce of strength until finally, you see that's why Pilate was so amazed that he was dead so early. All of a sudden, all your natural strength is gone. You're totally, totally void of any energy. All your muscles collapse. So like Jesus, he said, I am out of joint. All my bones are out of joint. Did you ever get a thumb out of a joint? A finger out of a joint? And the pain? Oh, think of every bone out of joint. And the pain, the flesh is fighting it, don't want to die, but you're killing it. Finally, you got it killed. And the anointing's on you. And here you come with all of the spirit that God could put on you. How many say amen? And you're flying. You're flying. The devil's fighting you, but you ain't paying any attention. You're living above all that stuff. All that carnality. All that flesh. All that worldliness. You're seated in heavenly places. And in his presence is fullness of joy. And at his right hand are eternal pleasures evermore. Amen. The devil can't test you with flesh. You're too far in the spirit. You can get to the place you can't be tempted with the flesh. You're too far in the spirit. But the danger comes. Samson had all the anointings somebody could have. And you see, God only anoints you to do the thing he calls you to do. Come on now. You stop doing the thing. You don't have to sin. Just stop doing the thing God calls you to do. I can leak out this quick. All I got to do is stop praying. Stop reading the Bible. Stop studying and stop preaching. And I can stay in the church and never go out and backslide to the bottom. How many say amen? You got to fight to keep this anointing. You can't let yourself leak out. You can't let yourself get empty. That's what the devil's waiting on. He's betting on it to sidetrack you, get you in self-will, get you to let up. You're too tired to pray. Brother, I'm too tired not to pray. I'm going to pray if I don't do nothing else. If I don't do anything else, I am going to pray. Samson, let up. And the devil told him, go ahead in that city. He was with a holiday in that city. How many say amen? Somebody said, how could he be that way and have the anointing? Because you see, under the law, there was no law in the Old Testament. They were against it. And where there was no law, there was no sin imputed. How many knew that? Even though it's wrong, there was nothing that forbid it. Only it's sin imputed when it's a law and you break it. Where there is no transgression, there's no sin, Paul says. It's sin, but it's not imputed to you because there's nothing that says thou shall not. How many say amen? But he wasn't on the job of delivering Israel. And then the devil had him set up because he knew women was his weakness. So he's got, first of all, the first Philistine woman. And it's against the word of God. Because the word of God said that Israel, God's people, was not to mix with the Gentiles. Right. Tell me a lot of people didn't come to the service Sunday morning because they didn't want to hear the truth. Well, ignorance of the word don't excuse you. It's going to get you. You know what they say? Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The judge gives you 20 years. You better know because you're never dying so. They don't like me, Jesus. They don't like me, Lord. Amen. But I love them. I'm trying to save them from the trap. I'm trying to save them from the pitfall. I'm trying to save them from heartaches and griefs and sorrows and misery and woe. I'm trying. Lord, help me. Open up their eyes. Open up their hearts. I am concerned, Shirley. Shirley. I can't see the church that God may be a pastor over. I can't see the people leaking out and falling in the devil's track and getting places where he can destroy them. For he is a thief and he came up not to steal and to kill and to destroy. But Jesus said, I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. We cannot fall in the trap of the devil. The Bible said, be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. No Christian is supposed to marry a sinner. As soon as you marry, you backslid. You hear me? I'm going to say it again. As soon as you marry a sinner, you backslid. What? Know you not that your body is the temple of God? Shall I take the temple of God and join it to an idol? Or Christ from Belial? Know you not that he that joins himself with a whore is a whore? And when you join yourself to an unbeliever, you are an unbeliever. And you never win them. They win you. I've watched it 45 years in my church with young people. I told them, I warned them, oh, I'll get them saved. Brother, if you can't get them saved before you marry them, then you're not going to get them saved. After you marry, you're the one to compromise. They don't like me, Jesus. But I hear something say preach. I even heard it in the congregation. And I'm going to preach it. Because the preachers are on me. The anointing's on me. Because God cares about you. God cares about you. And I care about you. Hey, I'm not here to play church. How to win friends and influence people. And have an easy good living. I'm here to make heaven my home. And help you to make heaven your home. And I want to tell you. The finishing line is just ahead. Press towards the mark. For the prize of the calling upon high. The calling up. God wants to call us up.
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Join Barbara Carmack and Darren as they explore the transformation of Peter from an impulsive follower to a steadfast disciple of Christ. Delve into the wisdom of 1 and 2 Peter, uncovering themes of humility, perseverance, and godly character amidst persecution. Learn how to cast your cares on Jesus, resist the enemy, and grow in faith through God’s Word. Discover practical steps to align your heart and mind with the divine power that equips believers for life and godliness.
[Music] Welcome to Call to Freedom with Barber Carmac. This is Jimmy Lakey and I'm delighted that you are joining us for this half hour. You can reach Call to Freedom at box 370367 Denver, Colorado 80237 or by going to the website at www.freedomstreet.org. If you want to leave a message or order a word-powered daily reading Bible Guide or a Freedom Street Express newsletter, you can call us toll-free at 1-877-917-7256 and leave your name and address including your zip code. If you want to talk to Barbara right now, she is expecting your call. You may call that same toll-free number 1-877-917-7256 to speak to her. And now, let's join Barbara in the studio. On this encore program, Darren and I study more in the life of Peter and his rapid growth from being a wishy washy on again, off again coward, to a dynamic disciple of Jesus Christ. Second Peter 1-3 tells you to be ever learning about God's divine power that he has granted to you and everything else pertaining to life and godliness. This second book gives the believer an incentive to grow up to maturity in Christ. May this message give you motivation to become a student of the word and learn more about our Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's join the program. Well, Barbara, I've enjoyed this study on Peter so very, very much and I have to be honest, I've never taken the time to really dig into Peter like we have this time. And when I think about the scriptures have been written, the least the copies that we have here written over about the period of 1500 years by 34 writers. And it's just awesome to me how God brought all of us together. When we look at Peter in the time that he was writing this, the church was really under persecution from the Romans because they were really pagans and they were in absolute conflict with the way Christians were living and preaching. And then they were also under persecution by really the known church, religious persecution by well, we would say probably Pharisee types. And Christians were being killed and persecuted and massacred and during this period of time and Peter writes from that point of view and is warning of a future persecution is to come. Well, the first book of Peter is so very much more loving in context, Darren, and there are scriptures like for a year, chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. And when it goes on to talk, we talked about 1 Peter 2, 24 and he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness for by his wounds you were healed. And he went on to discuss personal relationships, the relationship of husband and wife and how they should love one another, hold their tongue, not return evil for evil. Now we're getting into the fifth chapter. I'm so glad whoever put this Bible together and it isn't chronologically but Peter is kind of riding between the wonderful book of James and first, second and third John. And I believe it's in a perfect place because Peter grew so much and we can learn so much from this mighty man of God. Here in the fifth chapter of 1 Peter, he says, "I exhort the elders among you as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ and our partaker of the glory that is to be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but voluntarily according to the will of God and not for sorted gain but for eagerness. And not yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge but proving to be examples to the flock. And you younger men likewise be subject to your elders and all of you clothe yourself with humility toward one another. For God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble." Now he knows this from personal experience, Darren, that there were times that he was very proud and he realizes that humility comes before honor. It really does and it says that in Proverbs, before honor comes humility. And he says here that we need to oppose the proud or being proud ourselves because God gives grace to the humble. And would you read verse 6? That is so good. Well, I was going to say, "Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you. Be sober of spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. And I think that's putting the two worlds there on one stage, so to speak. Here you've got the world of the godly, humble yourself under the hand of God. And then He's giving us a warning about the devil who prowls about like a roaring lion." And he says, "Resist Him in verse 9. So one of your favorite verses as you're listening to this is probably 1 Peter 5, 7, casting all your care on Him for He cares for you. And I have to do that on a daily basis. And I know probably you have to do that on a daily basis because sometimes when we get involved with situations, we don't look at casting it. We keep it at holding it in. And here he is saying casting all your anxiety upon Jesus because He cares for you. And then be sober and spirit vigilant towards the attacks of the enemy. Be wise. Don't let the enemy just side swipe you. Be wise about what his tactics are. And Darren, as we grow in the Lord, we've got to realize the enemy is going to come to you in a different way than he comes to me. And we've got to start being on guard with that. Well, one of the things I'm thinking about right now is that people that take so much responsibility, they say, "Well, I've got myself into this mess. I've got to get myself into it." Oh, I've heard that, yes. Well, I've even said that at times, certain things. Maybe some of you are fighting a battle of the credit cards. You say, "Oh, man, I've got myself into this." Or maybe I shot my mouth off at work. And I just made a fool of myself and ended up hurting people and hurting my witness and so on. I'll tell you, we need to give those complex and they are complex issues to the Lord. We need to put it over in His lap and say, "You know, I'm sorry I did this or I'm sorry I did that or presented myself in this way." And I need your help getting through this thing. And it goes on to say, "Resist the devil, stand firm in your faith knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren and who are in the world." And then he goes on to say, "After you've suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory and Christ will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." Now, I believe that God allows these persecutions to come against us in these hard times. I do too. Because that's when we're pumping iron spiritually and that's when we will be perfected, we'll be confirmed and strengthened and established according to His image and likeness. And He wants us to be like Him. We're called His children, we're to be like Him. And then it goes on to say to Him, be dominion forever and ever, amen. Amen. I'd like to talk about verse 10 about God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory and Christ will Himself perfect. Now that word perfect therein is 2675 and it means to adjust to fit in, to equip with great wisdom and propriety. And therein I believe is children of the most high God, we need to adjust ourselves to His pattern for us. We need to fit in to His working for us. He is making us and establishing us and we need to humble ourselves and adjust ourselves to His plan. We really do. But now here's what a lot of people say and I've said it. What do I have to do to change? Now a more appropriate way to approach that is what changes would you like to make in me Lord? Oh yes. Because we really can't change ourselves and become compliant and fully acceptable to the Lord. It's beyond us. So we need to allow Him to be our teacher, our changeer, our change agent. And so that we're conformed and then we're strengthened and established according to His plan for us. Yes. And when you say something like what do I have to do to change that puts so much stress and again anxiety and He's saying casting all your anxiety or care on Him because He cares for you. And so that's making us putting us really in the throne on the throne of our lives. And we're saying what do I have to do to change Lord? You're so right Darren. It's Lord, what do you want to do in me? See I believe Carl Gertis when we interviewed him on the air gave us a great key. Now he was in jail and all of his options have been taken away from him and he says he lost his family and he lost his vehicle. He just lost everything. He was there in jail and he finally said to God when he hit the wall, fix me or kill me. He didn't say tell me how to fix myself. He knew he was out of resources. He was out of options. And really if we stop and think about it in a human sense, we are out of options already. We may still think we have some way to get out of certain things or way to work it out. But you know, it's really wisdom when we come to the end of ourselves and say, God, I can't even fix myself. I can't fix the situation. I mean, here I need your help. And I believe Peter was talking about that in a way. He was saying, come on. Let's do it this way. So besides the word perfect in this 10th verse, we see the word confirm. And that's number 4741 in the Strong's Concordance. And if you have a Dr. Zodiatis Bible, you can look in the back and it's 4741 in the New Testament. Steadfastly set strong to set fast, to turn resolutely in a certain direction. So you're allowing your creator and father to turn you in the direction he wants you to go. And that's so good. You're humbling yourself and you're allowing him to change you. And then the next word is... Before you go on, I want to say some people do not have a moral compass and you're struggling with issues of immorality. And Peter talks about that quite a bit. You need to ask the Lord to help you fix the compass of your life in a moral way so that you do have a moral compass, a moral basis for making your decisions. And you're going to be pressed in that area. If that was an old area of weakness and sin, the devil is not going to give up. He's going to still try to come through those doorways and try to drag you back down. And he'll argue with you like, well, it's just too hard. You just can't live the way that some people think you ought to live. In fact, probably in their private lives, they don't live that way. I mean, the devil is going to commit you with all kinds of arguments. But I'll tell you, if you ask God to help you and for him to set your moral compass, you'll be weighed down the road. Yes. Now this third word, strengthened, is 45.99 in the Strong's Concordance. And it's the only time this word is used as a verb. It means strengthened in body. You're being strengthened in your body by doing the will of God, by humbling yourself to what God wants you to be. And establish you. God is going to establish you as you humble yourself before him and cast all your care on him. Darren, this is such a wonderful book. And we're going to go into this second book of Peter. And it's a second Peter. And in this book, I'll tell you, he gets right down and dirty with the false teachers and the false prophets. But this first part in chapter one is absolutely wonderful. Well, I'd like to begin by reading that it says here in verse one of second Peter, Simon Peter, a bond servant and a apostle Jesus Christ of those who ever see faith of the same kind as ours. By the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God. And that's what we've just been talking about. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. And hear this verse, I love you. See that his divine power has granted to us everything pertained to life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellent. For by these he has granted us his precious magnificent promises in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in world by lust. Well, what he's saying is that Darren, he's provided everything for us to be strengthened and confirmed and to grow in him. Now, you know this makes me say, okay, now what inventory do I have that I've not recognized? And that is such an interesting study. That's where I am right now. My personal walk with the Lord. I'm saying, okay, in the name of Jesus, if I could take a tabletop here and I could say on top of this table is all inclusive. Everything is there that is in the name of Jesus that belongs to me. And here I am an underachiever. I am under recognizer. Let me see if I don't know if that's probably the wrong word, but I've only recognized a piece of the pie, not the whole pie, not the whole tabletop here. And Jesus, you have granted to me all of these magnificent promises, what in the world are they? There are some of these areas I've never probed into. I've never tried to find out what they're all about. But they're there when you do open the door. That's right. You know, it's like when you have hamburgers and you've got the bun, but you need all these other little extras to make that hamburger taste so good. And you need the pickle and the lettuce and tomato and the mustard and the ketchup and all these extras. And God has all these extras for us as we open the door and call on him. Well, you know, some people say in getting another person, they say, you know, you're really deficient. You're a pickler too shy of a happy meal. Well, it's kind of the way I feel using your illustration there. Sometimes I say, do I have the passion I need to follow the pursuit that I need to have to find you Jesus? So sometimes I just throw everything down in a way and I say, all right, listen, I don't have our roles mixed up. I'm the student, you're the teacher. You know exactly what lesson I ought to be in right now. Now there's some things I think I ought to know about, but you have the perfect plan for me. Now when I was a teacher in the public schools, in fact, when I went out and did my, as they called it, practice teaching, we had to make lesson plans. We said, what is your goal here and how do you, how do you plan to get there? You know, you want to teach children certain things. Now how are you going to get there? And we had to write it down in detail. And it was, it was really quite a, quite a hard exercise. Sometimes a disgusting exercise because they checked our lesson plans. All right, what is our plan here for learning? Well, it talks about this in verse five and six and it is a lesson plan, a spiritual lesson plan for all of us. And because he has just told us now by God's divine power, we're going to obtain all this. And here it's, here's a step by step. Now for this very reason, also applying all diligence in your faith, supply moral excellence. Now you can, you can actually circle that moral excellence. Your, your goal here is to get into moral excellence. And that's virtue. That's being a truthful person. That's, that's striving to be an honest person. That's striving to lay down lies, lay down exaggerations, lay down things that you may have had in your life and seek for moral excellence in your life. And in your moral excellence, knowledge. Now Darren, when we begin to ask God to make us a truthful person, an honest person with those around us in that we're going to gain knowledge. He's going to give us knowledge of how to be truthful and moral and honest. And verse six, in your knowledge, self control. Well, here we go. One of the fruit of Holy Spirit is self control. And do you need self control when you're trying to get rid of old habits? Absolutely. That's step number three in this, in this goal. You know, if you're talking about old habits, one of the best ways to do that is with confession. And if you confess the word of God and you put it in your heart, you will, the word of God is stronger than your old habits. That's one of the things that you need to do to renew your mind is to get into confession. So God's word, which is stronger than your attempts at self control, your attempts at perseverance. I mean, folks and human beings, we just don't have it in our own selves. That's right. But perseverance in its own right, Darren, is confessing scripture. And when we persevere in confession of scripture day after day, it's going to come that breakthrough that we've wanted that godly character that we've wanted of ourselves. It is going to come because we're persevering with our confession. I'm so glad you introduced the confession of the word because that's so important here. And that's what's going to give us perseverance, that confession of the word. But let's take a look at Peter's life when he first finding was a fisherman. And then of course, when he was we're going to talk about that in a little bit, but when he was up on the mountain of transfiguration with Jesus. Okay, he still had unrenued flesh. He still had some characteristics that were absolutely stink go. But you know, he met Holy Spirit and he was changed. And you can look at Peter before the Pentecost experience. And you can look at him afterwards, a totally different man. I mean, not even the same guy, we'd say it that way. What happened? How was he so transformed? He was transformed by the baptism of the Spirit. And I know I'm speaking to some of you today as we teach this lesson. You're having a hard time assimilating and understanding. And I would take you to first Corinthians 2 that says, natural man does not understand the spiritual man. Well, Peter was a natural man running around with Jesus even even though a great close contact with Jesus, he was a natural man until Holy Spirit came on him. Then he became a spiritual man. And the difference in his life is absolutely nothing shorter profound. Now in this walk that we're taking through the different goals and self control and perseverance into godliness, Darren, I see a metamorphosis of a certain kind saying, now I'm going to take the focus off of myself. And as we grow in the Lord, the focus does go off of our self. Before that, it's usually a self focus. Me, I, you know, people who are growing in the Lord, it's always I'm sick. I have a pain. I have an ache. And they can't get over that hump to get into others because that's what the Christian walk is. It's becoming other focused instead of self focused. But here when we get into perseverance and into godliness, then we're going to step right into brotherly kindness. And that's going to get us over that hump of always looking and concentrating on our own little piddly needs and getting into the body and saying, what does my brother need? So brotherly kindness is the next step. And then eventually we're going to I believe we can really step into an unconditional love here, Darren, that Jesus knew that Peter knew I believe each and every one of us can get into unconditional agape love. But it has to be given to us by the Lord. Absolutely. It's not something we figure out, not something we earn, not something we always suddenly start doing. Folks, I want to tell you one of the deceptive things about our life here on earth is this flesh that's hanging on us because it reasons against you. It reasons against the word. And when I think about I think it's Romans 10 to says you have a zeal for God, but not in relationship with knowledge in accordance with knowledge. We need to develop biblical knowledge so we know where we're going. We cannot make the decisions and do it on our own. And here in verse 8, Peter agrees with you, Darren, he says for if these qualities say the other way I agree with Peter for if these qualities are yours and are increasing they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. What are these qualities? They're moral excellence. That means you are striving to become an honest person, a truthful person, no more exaggerations. You are increasing in knowledge, in self control, in perseverance, in godliness, in brotherly kindness and in love. Circle all those in your Bible in the first chapter of second Peter. Then he goes on, Darren, in verse 9 to say for he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Now I don't know what goes on in your mind, what you say about yourself, what you say about the Lord, what you say about other people. But here is something that would just challenge us to say okay outwardly I'm a moral Christian man or Christian woman. But what am I in my private thought life? Am I pornographic in my thoughts? Am I devious in my thoughts? Am I lusting after someone else's money or occupation or their position in life? See I think when we say okay how can I grow it am I really? If everybody around me could just really read my mail as we would say in other words know what's the inner man of the hearts really thinking and doing how would I measure up? Would they say will you phony balloon to get out of here? Would they say that and they might if you're living a double life? And I think we have to bring our secret life into congruence with the word. I think we have to say okay I choose to have a moral standard both privately and my most I would know not even my wife or my husband would know this but I know it. How congruent am I really and am I really living the word? And in verse 10 it says you practice you practice and you practice and you practice and I want you to I want you to circle that way it's really good Darren because we've got to get straight with God both inner man and outer man and here in verse 10 it says therefore brethren be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you for as long as you practice these qualities you will never stumble and it's exactly what we've been talking about. Let's say for example you're tempted in the very moral part of your secret life you're tempted to get into pornography or you're tempted to lust. I'm going to recommend what you really need to do here is a scripture Matthew 5/8 that says blessed are the pure and heart for they shall see God. So when that pornographic temptation comes to you or that lustful temptation comes to you you need to fire scripture at it. And that means the inner man of the heart in time is going to be conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ and his purity. Yes. And let me tell you folks you can't straighten that out you can't change that by willpower will power is not as strong as say the power of lust and the power of temptation or pornographic or perversion or thoughts in that way. You have to take the word of God and go after that and then it's going to take some time it'll take some discipline. You have to say okay now when I'm tempted there now let me tell you a little secret when you put that word blessed are the pure and heart for they shall see God down in your heart. Holy spirit knows when you're being tempted he's going to recall that to your remembrance and then you can agree with it and speak it out of your mouth, you're going to be a winner and you're going to become becoming morally congruent with the word of God inside and outside and in your most private thought life. Well and this confirms this here in verse 20 I'm going to skip over to verse 20 and 21 what you were just talking about Darren know this first of all that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. That means we don't just glibly and generally say a scripture God wants us to be very specific in saying the scripture and confessing his word to become who we are to become in Christ Jesus for no prophecy was ever made by an active human will but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. And this speaking from God is when we speak the word when we speak the pure unadulterated word of God that's when he begins to move and that's what we're going to see great changes. You know I believe that people that really want to see God really want to see Jesus can go to the 16th and 17th 18th verse of this chapter. It says we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Now what he's talking about is when he was standing on the amount of transfiguration with Jesus verse 17. But when he received honoring glory from God the Father such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory I've never in scripture remember the Father God referred to as a majestic glory. This is my beloved son now this is what the Father said about Jesus in the presence of the disciples when Jesus was being transfigured there and he was also there with Moses and Elijah standing on the mountain. This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. So there's no doubt about this book was written by Peter. Here's what I'm going to suggest we can have a majestic experience with the Father of glory the majestic glory it says here if we ask for it if we press in and say Jesus I want you to make yourself so real to me I don't care if you come and stand in my bedroom you wake me up you sit out on the edge of my bed and I know it's you say I believe if you press in you're going to have that kind of intimacy with with Jesus he obviously had that that's how he could write these marvelous scriptures. That's right. Thank you for listening to the broadcast may you ever be mindful that it is entrusting in Jesus that you will advance in the kingdom for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit speaking from God I hope that you've gained new insight into God's word and may he bless you and keep you until the next time. Thank you for listening to call to freedom with Barbara Carmack you may get in touch with Barbara at call to freedom box 370 367 Denver Colorado 80237 or you may leave your message at 1 877 917 725 6 call to freedom is a listener supported radio ministry Barbara and her power partners invite you to come on board with us and become a network of hands holding up call to freedom ministry power partner support call to freedom with prayer and monthly financial support you will be blessed supernaturally we invite you to visit call to freedom's website www.freedomstreet.org where you can hear Barbara's daily radio broadcast 24 hours a day or order materials you may share your phrase reports and heart prize by mailing them to call to freedom box 370 367 Denver Colorado 80237 or you may email us at barbra carmac at freedom street 4 until next time remember Jesus loves you Barbara loves you and take joy you you you you
