20201010 | The Sword | Pastor John Lomacang (tvsdac)

i'd like to invite you to bow your heads with me as we go to the lord this morning we'll read the scripture i'll read the scripture in just a moment but i want to begin with prayer first loving father in heaven we thank you for the blessing of just knowing that this is the moment that heaven is connected to earth and earth is connected to heaven and father each one of us is in a journey somewhere between the place of freedom and the place of our eternal deliverance each one of us is a tapestry that's under construction and you are weaving the threads of your character in our lives and father we know that it is only as we participate in that that you are able to re-form and develop and create within us a character that will bring you honor and glory today a part of that christian armor is the sword and we pray now as we focus our minds on this singular instrument that we can find out its relevance in this christian journey send your spirit now to speak to us we ask in jesus name i pray amen the sword when i was growing up i had a fictional character that i really really really liked his name was zorro come on old people say amen zorro i liked to watch zorro i didn't like his mask i didn't like his hat too much i just like the fact that you always know when zarro left because he left a z on the clothing or the chest of the person that went ahead of him or that tried to challenge him zaro knew how to use his sword great guy i found out that the word zorro on spanish means fox am i right it means fox he was a sly as a fox you didn't see where he was coming from you didn't know where he was headed but when he left you knew that he was there zarro left his impression on the heart the chest or the clothing of whoever challenged him he was the fictional character of a an american writer named johnston mccully and it's amazing that i want to let you know i wasn't alive in 1919 but zaro appeared on the scene in 1919 but i saw him on television in the 70s and late 60s early 70s more like late 60s honey don't take him too far back and but i always watched him but the thing that impressed me the most was you know you hear that you hear that sound and you know where he went but he always left his indelible mark on the heart of the person the signature was his black costume that black mask and people always wondered who was behind that mask but that was not the most important thing what was important about it is how he used his sword and you know as i was thinking about this message earlier in the week because every week i asked for the lord to give me an idea what do you want me to talk about and i got a phone call from someone in our church and we had an amazing conversation and in that conversation with the bible study that i have been going on during the week my wife and i read our bibles together every day we're still in the book of proverbs you know proverbs is so concentrated you can't do but one chapter at a time because it's like it's like undiluted every statement is a contrast to something good or something evil but as i was speaking on the phone the person relayed a a very challenging encounter they had in their home with someone challenging them on the word of god and they said pastor for the first time i've seen how relevant it is for us to really know our bible because had i not known at least these texts in the bible i would never have been able to defend myself from this person who was coming at me and they would not relent they were just determined to tell me that this is what they believe and this is what the bible says but i knew that was not the case and i had to fight them and have to do it based on the word of god and then when i met this gentleman in the story yesterday god reiterated again because he was determined to tell me that in the bible it supports the idea that the kingdom of god is going to be built on a mountain somewhere and it's an indian mountain somewhere and god is going to reign on earth and i thought to myself what has happened to the validity of the word of god what has happened to it we are living in an age where the bible is becoming less and less relevant even in christian circles we are living in an atmosphere where if you say the word of god says people don't really like that because they prefer either their opinions what the pastor said what their denomination teaches but when you go to the plain word of god even if you read the scripture people say well that's what you interpret it to me that's what you believe that's what your church says and even though we say well what do you think about it they find evasive ways so in this descending hour where darkness is more prevalent than light in this day and age where everything is taking the place of word of god of the word of god you can say doctrinal inaccuracies tradition social media people developing their beliefs based on what they see in a movie it is time to get back to the sword of the spirit which is the word of god and if if ever there is a way that the people of god are going to be sustained in the last days all you've got to do is follow the traditions in the bible when i say the traditions follow specifically the trajectory in the bible the very first approach that lucifer took the fallen angel satan was he got eve to question the word of god when jesus was in the garden of temptation satan attacked him even quoting in partiality the word of god and jesus's defense was not this is what my church says or this is what the jewish traditions teach he simply said it without any quivering lips it is written and the servant of the lord said only those that are fortified by truth let me say that again because right now most of us have not been brought to the place where we have to we have to defend what we believe but let me tell you something that's coming and god is going to allow you to receive short little tests along the way to let you know that you are are not ready yet if you can't open your bible and defend your faith then you're not ready yet and if every if ever there is a people that need to be proficient with the word of god it is a seventh-day adventist christian we ought not be people that say well i think it's in the bible somewhere i heard you'll be amazed what people say is in the word of god some of the phrases that sound so eloquent and so uh ecclesiastical are sometimes just great sayings but we repeat them so much that we think god's word says it you know huh you know like one the family that prays together stays together you know that's not in the book of haggai no it's not and hezekiah didn't write it either but we we have these phrases that we quote and we coined them you know god's word says well helen white says and we are not having any foundation so since we know the devil led eve a perfect individual down a path by getting her to question god's word we've got to get back to knowing how to use god's word we've got to be like zorro whenever we face an adversary we've got to be able to use our sword so well that we leave an impression on their chest on their heart amen somebody that's what the word of god is intended to do not to cut them up but to remind them don't mess with a child of god who knows how to use his sword i've had those encounters that's why nowadays and i would say if you're working with the word of god if you're studying and um ryan is a young man that i believe is way ahead of his time because he loves to study god's word he reminds me a lot about me young and enthusiastic and ready for theological fight and um but i've learned through the years that there's a way to use a sword and there's a way not to use the sword and that comes only with the use of the sword but the reason why the sword is so vitally important look at how god describes the sword in scripture and i believe somebody once said the pen is mightier than the sword not according to god's word the sword is mightier than the pen here's what god's word says in hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12 for the word of god is living some translations say quick for the word of god is living and powerful just i mean i want you to pause for a moment if you don't have a bible i want you to hold this book i want you to think about it because god's word is saying that about this book i want you to you've heard the scripture before but i want you if you're at home and you have a bible i want you to pick it up and just while you're listening to the scripture just think is that what this is for the word of god is living and what else powerful sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart what computer program do you have that can do that none the closest thing we have today is the lie detector test the word of god is the best lie detector test and when you look at the scriptures you find some amazing things in the scripture no other weapon compares to the sword in the bible the sword is the only weapon connected to divinity the only weapon there's no other weapon there's no other weapon compared to divinity you'll find shield but a shield is not a weapon it's a defensive instrument the sword is an offensive instrument in the armor of god the sword is the only thing that you have to fight you can have the most beautiful uniform but without a sword you are a dead soldier the sword is god's weapon of choice the sword is the first weapon ever introduced in the bible you find there after sin the sword was used to bar access to the tree of life in the garden of eden we read these words in genesis 3 the introduction of the sword after adam and eve fell the bible says so he that is god drove out the man verse 24 genesis chapter 3 verse 24. so he drove out the man and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of eden and a flaming together sword which he turned every way to guard the way of the tree of life what is the bible saying whenever god's word is instituted you're not going to get by it god will use that sword every way which says to me they were trying possibly to get back into the garden but god was turning the sword every way to keep him out the sword is a powerful instrument you find in the bible whenever an adversarial nation was defeated by the israelites the bible also once again brought the sword into the picture you read in numbers 21 verse 24 the bible speaking about the victory of israel it says then israel defeated him with the edge of the sword i looked at that phrase edge of the sword i began to study why the bible uses the phrase edge of the sword now we often think tip of the sword but it's broader than that because when the phrase edge of the sword is used it is descriptive of how swords were designed a swordsmith back in the day that's an understatement would often design the handle of the sword to resemble an animal's head that is the way that the sword was identified with whatever army owned it it might have a boar's head off the top of the sword a lion's head the head of a bear it was it was somewhat of an icon somewhat of an emblem they carved out whatever head of whatever animal they didn't use an actual heaven a head of an animal from the wood or from the metal they would use that in an emblematic way to describe whose army that sword belonged to so if in battle that sword was found on the ground they say that's a babylonian sword that's an egyptian sword they always knew by the animal's head on the top of the sword so when you look at the picture of this sword the animal's head naturally if the animal's head is the top of the sword the blade is seen coming out of the mouth of the animal and following it all the way to the edge is called the edge of the sword this is the reason why john as a prisoner of rome uses that descriptive language in revelation chapter 1 and verse 16 when he talks about jesus he understood better than we why he used this language revelation 1 and verse 16 john describes jesus this way he ah he had in his right hand seven stars out of his mouth and look at the terminology out of his mouth when a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength without a doubt friends the sword coming out of the mouth of god was emblematic of the way swords were designed in times of old and every nation was descriptive of the sword in the last days the people of god should be identified as the sword coming out of our mouths we ought to be a people when we speak we say the word of god says and i've learned as i've as i grew up in different contentions and different situations whether on television or in a bible study with someone i've learned that the sword of god's word even among christians is not always welcome i was having a debate on a channel in california it was called the round table and there was a pastor that was debating me on the trinity and the ten commandments and i would always say when i led my answer the word of god says the word of god says the word of god says the bible says and he paused and he said to me in the middle of the program being televised all throughout california he says would you stop saying the word of god says and just tell me what you believe i said pastor what i believe it has no relevance my opinion has no bearing on what this topic is all about the word of god says and this man was much older than i am and i thought to myself he's a pastor his church must be in a fog i've heard the phrase if there is a mist in the pulpit there's a fog in the pew and there are a lot of people that are in the fog because their ministers have put aside the word of god which is the only weapon that can cut through the darkness of the age that surrounds us without a doubt the sword is embraced as the weapon of offense and defense it is used for striking and blocking the sword in god's word is the most powerful weapon when you study the bible you find that it is more powerful than armies in great number let me emphasize that friends you might be fearful if you saw a lot of people coming towards you and said i want to challenge you in a bible study my wife and i in orlando florida we were invited to have a bible study with a group of jehovah's witnesses about 24 of them i was young i wasn't a pastor i just barely got out of new york city after we got married but they invited us to have a bible study with them and they said here are the ground rules we're only going to use the bible no other books they said no other books they did their homework they thought well you're going to use alan white i said that's fine when we went to their house it was in a large living room the leader of the group had a large easy chair we knew exactly who that was his name was tracy came back to me just now that's what happens sometimes you know old people get a spark and uh it happens amen bob and um and so i could see tracy in his easy chair and he said no more other books no other books i said that's fine and they sat us in the circle if there's anything intimidating here we are in a large room of people and they put us in the middle of the circle and there are people all around us in other words we don't know where the hit's going to come from and they started hammering us they started with the nature of christ how he was the lesser god and his father's the greater god he's only mighty god and almighty god well when they lost steam on that one they went to uh another topic and another topic and the sabbath and the commandments and just started running out of steam because every every subject they brought up i took out my sword said next subject next subject and i have seen i was young i mean i was like i was not as nice as i am now but i wasn't arrogant i was just like next i had that attitude like you don't want to go there i mean if i had a czar if i had if i had a zorro sword there'd be a z on everybody's chest but um i remember very well they got so exhausted because they couldn't use their bible to defend themselves and everybody started looking toward tracy like tracy what's going on here because this young inexperienced man 30 man we just got married 36 years ago the little i knew then was enough to cut up everything that they were trying to come up with so in the middle of the bible study he said to one of his friends would you go get such and such a book i said ah no no no other books no other books and you know what so the young the reason why this bible study came about is angie was working with a young girl who was looking for her walk with christ and the jehovah's witness was having bible studies with her and angie said you should invite us to that bible study well when the bible study was done i said to this young lady i guarantee you they would not have another study with me and they never had another study and i've had a lot of those encounters in new york and brooklyn new york on a sunday morning i was going to play in the park with my shorts on in my basketball and my arm and i had on my basketball shirt and shorts i didn't look like i knew anything but way back then my doorbell rang and once again it was a three jehovah's witnesses a young man and two young ladies he was training and he was going to make an example out of me wrong house so i didn't have my bible in my hand and he attacked me on the commandments i took his bible i said now what bible his new world translation i said well that's close enough look what is deuteronomy 5 and verse 22 say about the commandments he tried to link all the commandments ryan together i said what is deuteronomy 5 verse 22 says and his bible says and he added nothing else he wrote them on two tables of stone speaking about god and he added nothing else i said what does the bible say how much more did he add nothing else and the two young ladies walked away and left him standing there like to say you're training us and you can't even defend yourself and i can go on and on and on and on and on and on with jobless witnesses and mormons and i was having a bible study with two mormons up in the mountains of northern california they made a mistake and ring my doorbell and i said come on in and we had bible studies on the book of daniel and they had a little short mormon elder they were not allowed to have cars they came up on a bicycle he had a short bicycle because he was a little god and his name was elder love a little love well he got interested i started going in the book of daniel i'm encouraging ryan keep going ryan whatever you do keep going i got him in the book of daniel he was he started eating it up he wanted more well the reason they sent him out two by two is they got to watch out for each other so when he got excited too excited about a month later another elder came and elder love wasn't there i said what happened they said well he got reassigned he got moved to placerville that was like 11 hours away a long way away i thought oh okay and i found out that the elder in town that was in charge of him i was going from door to door in my town giving bible studies and i knock on the door of a that mormon elder his wife was vacuuming and she said no who i said no we don't want i said what if i could i ask you a few questions and i have my survey sheet about questions in revelation and asked about what do you think is the market what do you think is do you she said i said i said just a few minutes five minutes of your time oh come on in she opened the door i was in well it went to an hour and she put her vacuum cleaned down we spent an hour together she said oh i would love for my husband to hear this i went back it was like she was brainwashed you remember the stepford wives it's like and who are you and where are you from i don't think i met you before it was like somebody took out one of the parts of her brain she didn't even know who i was and i thought what happened well they got to her and i've learned through the years that when you stand on god's word let me say that again when you become proficient and know what you believe in god's word no amount of army can stand against a child of god who knows his or her word nobody nobody doesn't need large numbers that's the example we find in scripture when god narrowed down gideon's army from 32 000 to 300 notice how the bible describes their victory judges chapter 7 and verse 20 the bible described the victory of of gideon's army in a very beautiful way judges chapter 7 and verse 20. notice the secret of their victory the bible says then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pictures that blew the trumpet synonymous the preaching breaking the pictures letting your light shine they held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing now what i want you to notice they didn't have a sword in their hands at all we often assume they did where was the sword and they cried the sword of the lord and of gideon gideon's army did not have to raise a physical sword where was the sword it was coming out of their mouths they didn't have a sword they had a they had a pitcher and they had a torch and a trumpet they didn't have a sword they yelled they shouted the sword of the lord and the gideon and they shouted it with such thunderous tones that the enemies were confused god surrounded the enemies on three sides the the last side was the back of a mountain and the enemies ran for their lives and all they had at their defense was the word of god coming out of their mouths brethren let me say this if you want to be ready for the last days you have to know how the word of god works the word of god has to be so hidden in your heart the reason why the word of god came out of their mouths or the sword of the lord came out of their mouths the sword of the lord was first in their hearts because the bible says out of the abundance of the heart what happens the mouth speaks they didn't raise the physical sword the sword of the lord was in their mouths gideon's army understood where the power of the victory lies if you want to get ready for the last day's battle and what is coming you better become proficient with the sword of god's word that's the reason why the devil spent so much time trying to distract us from studying god's word you know it takes time to study god's word does it not it takes time you can't hit a button like you can on instagram and get an answer real quickly you can't hit a button you can't google you can't google righteousness you got to understand it the word of god is like a 12 course meal you got to go from one course to the next you got to get out the fork in the morning sit down at the best meal of the day eat it slowly chew it around they they use a masticate that means chew chew on the word of god it's the bread of life and the apostle paul says in ephesians it effectively works in those of us who believe when you believe god's word it works but if you doubt it you're going to pick up a meal that you don't like i don't think so you got to study god's word it has to be your daily diet because the day is coming as the bible says in amos there's going to be a famine in the land what's it going to be a famine not for bread and water but for hearing the word of god and people are going to search from east to west north to south and they're not going to find it so knowing that what should the people of god be doing the people of god should be getting ready for what they know is just on the horizon and if you don't have encounters with people that don't believe like you you'll never know it if you live a sequestered life and only have adventists that you talk to you'll never know it that's why many years ago in testimony volume 9 ellen white in the very introduction of the testimonies volume 9 she wrote she wrote a caution to seventh day venice she said the danger for seventh day adventist is to live in a ghetto where everybody around them is their same faith they have no reason to minister it encourages deeper sin and encourages no spirit of missionary work you want to be in a place where you have to minister live next to somebody who doesn't believe like you go into the community to people that don't believe like you talk to people in the walmart that don't believe like you you'll begin to discover then you'll begin to understand how important it is to understand the word of god you find also in the book of isaiah when isaiah the prophet was talking about the coming of jesus talking about the appearing of the messiah he described him in a way that once again associated him with the sword of god's word look at isaiah 49 and verse 2. the bible makes it clear this was a prophecy and isaiah the prophet used the same language to describe the work of jesus when he came he says in isaiah 49 verse 2 and he has made my mouth jesus is saying my father has made my mouth like a what sharp sword in the shadow of his hand he has hidden me and made me a polished shaft that's talking about a long sword in his quiver he has hidden me that means you know what a quiver is a quiver is where arrows are hidden god is saying i'm ready you come after me i'm going to send my son god unleashed his son on the world and the world hasn't been the same since even atheists know that he's around why would atheism exist if they did not exist for the cause of denying the very existence of jesus why spend millions on somebody trying to deny his existence if you don't believe he does exist doesn't even make any sense but when you study god's word you'll find out that those who are trained by reading and studying god's word is a practice i love the phrase a sharp sword when you study god's word and you read god's word you discover that this is a joy that never becomes dull sharp sword god's word never loses its efficacy it's efficiency it's a sharp sword and god's word when studied properly doesn't need another book to qualify it i'm cautioning those of you that go to ellen white more than you go to the bible when you meet when you meet people in the community you better know your bible they don't know who ellen white is god has blessed us with insight but even ellen wife says our creed is the bible and the bible only she said if god's word had been studied as it should we would not even need her writings but god sent prophets to israel of all for the same reason they wouldn't listen to god's word so we sent a prophet to say to them listen to god's word and they still didn't listen thank you bob for that documentary for that insert why should we study god's word once again hebrews 4 12 how do we know god's word is powerful for the word of god as living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword the bible also has another application for god's word the sword is not only an offensive weapon because when you study the whole armor of god you have the shield of faith the helmet of salvation the breastplate of righteousness your feet shot by the gospel of peace you have all these aspects of the weaponry but these are defensive aspects of the armor of god but the weapon that we all need is the sword of god's word the sword of god's word is not only offensive but it is also indiscriminative what do i mean by that go to samuel ii samuel 11 verse 25. i'm just going to use a portion of this verse because i want to bring out something that's very interesting about god's word the word of god is also indiscriminative meaning you better be sure you're on the right side of god's word because the word of god has no respect of persons the word of god doesn't say well you are a member of this club or that club or you're a member of this church or that church therefore i'm going to give you a break oh no if you're on the wrong side of god's word you're in trouble ii samuel chapter 11 verse 25 this is when david was plotting the death of uriah terrible terrible but look at the portion of the of the verse then david said to the messenger thus you shall say to joab do not let this thing displease you watch this for the sword devours one as well as another what does it say the sword devours one as well as another what is he saying about god's word anyone on the wrong side of the sword will be cut let me make it even clearer if somebody's debating you which we shouldn't throw ourselves into debates needlessly because you don't know the spirit of the devil is powerful when you when you think that you're ready to fight against the devil you better have on the whole armor of god because you don't just debate people for the sake of winning an argument because the devil is clever but i don't ever shy away from them because praise god i never get into a debate to win i get into those debates to open people's eyes not to beat them up anyone on the wrong side of the sword will be cut if you run into somebody from another walk of life from another denomination from another faith uh group and they really know their bible they can twist you into a pretzel if you stop if you step up to them and say well i know it's in the bible somewhere i've watched some debates i watched some debates between adventist pastors and others that i was ashamed of that outcome because i am first of all thank you lord i'm a born-again child of god but i still have a little bit of brooklyn left in me and um i still have a little bit of new york left in me okay since you don't understand that donald trump is from new york he doesn't back down from anything anybody i don't know what to say i'm talking doesn't back we don't back down new yorkers just don't back down it's just a part of them they just like they stand up to the challenge but i've seen people that when you get into the battle when you are on the front line and you are there to defend a thus saith the lord you've got to be willing to wield that sword what did i just say you got to be willing to wield that sword i heard a statement years ago they said don't ever take out a weapon unless you plan on using it and the word of god is a weapon don't pull it out unless you know how to use it and the only way you'll know how to use it is if you've been trained am i right jason you got to be trained you got to practice because if you know if you don't practice you're on the wrong side and not only that if you're on the wrong side of it and you don't know how to use it it'll cut you you'll end up being cut by somebody else's proficiency of incorrect doctrine not only that if your life is out of harmony with it the word of god will surgically dissect your life let me make that even clearer if you want your life to straighten up read god's word am i telling the truth i discovered that when people are in sin they don't want to read the bible because sin will keep you from the bible or the bible will keep you from sin because it doesn't it's like a surgeon he'll say to you you know we got to cut off your right leg excuse me your right leg don't work any longer got to cut it off that's how the bible is we've got to cut that sin out of your life excuse me yeah because it don't work anymore you ain't going to heaven with that and the bible is the kind of book that will surgically dissect the sin in our lives can i get an amen somewhere you want to find out how sinful you are read the bible that's why i don't like this term you know i have people you know people have good hearts i don't know anybody with a good heart except if you're converted by the blood of the lamb we ought to have good hearts then we create a new heart a clean heart but generally human nature is horrible deceitful desperately wicked anyone or anything that seeks also thirdly anyone that or anything that seeks to hide its activity or is life from the word of god it is going to be revealed god's word will reveal it first to you and if you don't put it away reveal it next to somebody else look at hebrews chapter 4 verse 13 the word of god is a powerful instrument don't pick it up unless you plan on allowing it to surgically guide and and help you understand where your life is headed hebrews 4 verse 13 this is the continuation of hebrews 4 12. speaking about god's word and there is no creature hidden from his sight but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him to whom we must give account god's word you open god's word i was growing up i remember growing up and i had this periodically in my life and if you don't know if you don't identify with this you're not being honest but in my walk even as a pastor there were times when god had to get me back on track and the only way i knew that is i opened the bible and i thought wow lord speak to me today we didn't have to be that have to be that direct yes you want to know where you are as a christian read the bible the bible will say to you you're going to hell this is a good time to get off the next exit the sword of god's word is an instrument of redemption as well as an instrument of retribution if you ignore it it'll come after you if you live in harmony with it it'll change your life this instrument of redemption was that which brought people from darkness into this marvelous light but this instrument god's word was used during the dark ages in a way that led people from darkness to even more darkness when you study the dark ages you find that during the dark ages during the dark ages the church of rome used god's bible to justify their cruelty their enslavement and their persecution of millions of christians they quoted scripture they used the bible when you study slavery in early america during the rise of slavery in america the bible was twisted and maliciously applied to hold blacks into subjective bondage by saying the the the the the slave is subject to its master rather than applying the master to christ they applied it to themselves the bible was used to hold men into subjective bondage to another race today the bible is being reinterpreted to accomplish a new brand of deception a new kind of enslavement the bible is being used if you don't believe that just tomorrow morning just thumb through some of these channels on channel 300 go through some of the local channels you'll find all kinds of false doctrines being promulgated from from from pulpits around the world and is all being tied to the word of god there's a new kind of enslavement a brand new kind of enslavement men are using the sword but ignoring its truths the sword is redemptive when it is used to cut out the sin but leave the sinner whole however the sword is retributive when it is used to keep sinners in darkness the bible will bless those that use it for good and the bible will repay those that use it for evil it's redemptive and retributive at the same time that's why you find in revelation 13 verse 10 these words the retributive side of god's word this is specifically pointed out to that very power described in revelation chapter 13 the power of rome it used god's word to take many lives and notice the retributive aspects of the word of god here it is in revelation chapter 13 verse 10. the bible says he who leads into captivity shall what go into captivity get this now he who kills with the what sword must be killed with a what sword and the lord is saying at the end hold on saints here is the patience of the saints god's going to pay back those leaders that took millions of christians lives during the dark ages that's why there's a judgment people do evil things and they think they get away with it i was so troubled when i heard about you know right now in a very volatile political environment i heard about a lawyer that didn't like the fact that there was a latino judge a latina judge in his community he didn't like the fact that in this community this latina young lady rose to a high office and he didn't like the fact that she was a judge so what he did he posed as a he posed as a letter carrier ring the doorbell of her house dressed up like a guy from ups or fedex shot her son and killed him shot the husband three times and injured him all because he was angry that she had risen to the office of judge and he thought it should have been his then he took his life they found him dead in a car a couple of days later he think he got away with it but he'll have to face that in the judgment there's a judgment do not perpetrate evil and think that by taking your life you're gonna no there's a process we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ he killed therefore he must face the same judgment that's why god's word is clear in a world that ignores god's word there's a day of reckoning coming look at revelation 19 verse 15. there's a day of reckoning coming people that are ignoring god's word today that think the word of god is just for kooks or people that can't do better there's a day of reckoning coming revelation 19 15 talks about this day of reckoning when the heavens depart and jesus with the army on white horses are coming to the earth the bible describes our lord in this way now out of his mouth goes what a sharp sword that with it he should notice not guide but strike the nations because they didn't want to hear it now he's coming back in a retributive way and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron he himself treads the wine press of the fierceness and the wrath of almighty god what a terrible thing to face there are people today that listen to god's word and their husbands that say to their wife that's for you their wives to say to their husbands that's for you their appearance they say to their children and children to their parents that religion works for you but keep it away from me brothers and sisters there's a day coming if you're watching if you're listening there's a day coming that if we don't align ourselves with god's word today on the redemptive side we will face it on the retributive side there's no getting away from the word of god the word of god call the world into existence and the word of god will usher this terrible world off the scene the word of god is permanent when john the revelator wrote this verse he was a prisoner in the camp of rome he was on the island of patmos and he understood that iron represented that roman kingdom that's why he said he himself will rule with a rod of iron now something that i learned when i look at the verse the rod of vine was not only synonymous to the edge of the shepherd's staff but it was also the very instrument or the very metal that the romans used to make their swords the roman sword was the strongest sword because there are other nations that made their swords out of bronze it's softer the romans made their swords out of iron and when that sword was made out of iron you don't try to fight a roman sword that's iron with steel or bronze or copper or any other metal it was sharp and it never lost its dullness that's why john used that iron in this description of jesus to talk about what is going to happen when he comes to rule but there's another amazing application in the bible about the sword the sword it's a powerful instrument when you begin to study god's word as the lord put this in my mind earlier this week my wife said to me what could you say about a sword i said honey what can i say about a sword i can't say anything what can the bible say about it a whole lot let's look at another interesting lesson about the sword found through the words of jesus we're going to go now to matthew chapter 26. very amazing application of the sword in god's word this was when jesus was being arrested he was facing betrayal he was about to be taken to the judgment hall to be to be interrogated and eventually persecuted but let's now pick it up at verse 47 and matthew chapter 26 we read now these words and while he was still speaking behold judas one of the twelve with a great multitude what do they have with swords and clubs this is you gotta watch this is very amazing they came after jesus with swords and clubs came from the chief priests and elders of the people now his betrayer had given them a sign saying whomever i kiss he is the one sees him verse 49 immediately he went up to jesus and said greetings rabbi and did what kissed him but jesus said to him friend why have you come then they came and laid hands on jesus and took him that's a whole nother sermon right there in verse 51 and suddenly one of those who were with jesus one of those who were with jesus stretch out his hand and drew what his sword struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear but jesus said to him put away what your sword in its place for all who take the sword will perish by the sword now we found the word sword used four times in this narrative i had to pause i literally had to pull out my bible commentaries ryan and start searching what and i had to get the inside i said well i've never found a story where the sword is talked about four times i learned these very valuable lessons one how are you going to trap with a sword the one who is the sword how are you going to use a sword to trap jesus when all he had to do then is open his mouth and say a word and those soldiers would have gone up in a in an ash cloud so they didn't trap him it was the moment of his arrest he came to the earth for that moment you cannot trap with a sword the one who has a sharp two-edged sword that's the first lesson i learned there may be more you might find but the next one i learned was you can't use a sword to defend jesus jesus does not need us to defend him because he came to defend us amen he took out his sword and cut off the soldier's ear jesus said look at verse 53 this blew me away look at verse 53 peter with his measly little dagger it was a dagger by the way took out and cut off the well what you going to do peter is that going to stop the mob look what jesus said in verse 53 or do you think that i cannot now pray to my father and he will provide me with more than 12 legions of angels do you know how many angels that is jesus is saying all i got to do is say dad and he will send 80 000 angels come on somebody the angel of the lord encamped with a round about those who fear him and deliver them god could send 80 000 angels to your side when you say daddy abba father that's why the apostle says abba father from which we cry abba father when you're in trouble say dead he knows exactly who you mean he'll send angels to your side can you say amen jesus said peter you can't you you think i need your help i got 80 000 angels you don't see them but they're waiting for god's commands i'm having to whisper to them hold off this is not your moment i need you in the resurrection i don't need you now you wait wait a while i came down for this angels ellen white says in desire of ages angels angels were wanting to intervene when they saw how jesus was being persecuted but he said this is my hour i've come into the world for this reason brethren he did that for you and me can you say amen he was willing to face the edge of the sword because he loved you and i so much but there's something else there's something else jesus said to peter jesus said to peter put your sword in its place put your sword in its place what did jesus mean by that what was jesus saying to peter peter there's a place for your sword the sword is god's word where did david put the sword look where david the psalmist put the sword this is where the sword needs to be don't use your sword to be cutting people's ears off this is what you need to do with your sword david psalm 119 verse 11 your word can i say sword your sword have i hidden in my heart that i might not sin against you use your sword on yourself some people like to beat up other people with the sword that's not the right thing to do we should not use god's sword to injure people that's what jesus was saying peter put your sword in its place don't take out your sword and hurt people with it let me let me say something to those of you that know the truth don't ever use your understanding of doctrine to beat up other christians they love the lord like you love the lord they just don't have the knowledge you have the jews left us enough examples to not to follow their examples they talk down to people they treated them like they were less than the word of god should be used on us we should use the word of god on us hide god's word in your heart we should not use the word of god as an instrument of cruelty it's an instrument of enlightenment and healing use the word of god that's why he says let your light so shine he never said barbara let your light so burn don't burn up folk i learned that the hard way when i was a young man i was always ready for a biblical fight matter of fact max mace the head of heritage singers told me years ago he said john you've mellowed out through the years because i used to be on the bus in the heritage singers at the time when i was traveling on the road we had a young lady that was not an adventist we just had only one non-adventist and eventually had two then when i left they had five and then i tell you it really kind of went downhill from there but there was this one one young lady who loved to tackle me on doctrinal topics and she'll call her pastor or call her father and they'd always send me notes or mail me stuff and i'd go when everybody else is sleeping i'm in my room like on sabbath afternoon writing all these defense texts down so that when i get back on the bus before the concert i could beat her up with my 35 verses i just found in the crudence concordance i was a i was a vicious young man okay while everybody's sleeping i'm in my crudence concordance we didn't have no computers back then you had to turn the pages in an actual book right and we didn't have any computer to write it down you have to write it by hand i still have those papers in my file to remind me how far we've come and i get on the bus and said now before we went to sleep this is what you said but i got 35 texts to prove you're wrong and i would say she survived me and we saw her many many years later in st louis our good friend becky chuba we love her all by her she said john low mccain i just love you we saw in a restaurant we survived we saw we survived each other and you know i'm still i still love god's word but i don't use it the way i used to use it i love people and i want everybody to make the kingdom but one thing i'm not going to do is compromise god's word when i compromise it in my own life i let god's word get me back on track but never use god's word as an instrument of cruelty follow the example of jesus notice what he said in isaiah 42 3. look at this isaiah 42 3 the words of christ when you meet people that are not where you are notice these very valuable words the lord says to us in isaiah 42 3 a bruised reed he will not break there are some people barely hanging on don't use god's word to break them and a smoking flax he will not quench there's some people who are barely holding on the fire of their hope is just almost going out don't take out your christian water and just pour it on it and douse it some people are that way i've heard christians say some horrible things to other people you know i heard that song and soul is in the hospital they're sick good for them they should have known better i said that's horrible they're holding up for dear life last time i saw them they were come on now really is that how you feel you better go and pray for them don't quench them don't break them the bible said if you are that way he will bring forth justice for truth god will hold you accountable he'll call you to that he'll make sure that you are justly approached let us never break a person who's about to be broken or use our knowledge to pour on somebody's flame that is about to die because jesus said this is what he does isaiah 40 isaiah 9 and verse 2. this is what jesus his mission is all about when it comes to the light the people who walked in darkness the bible says have seen a great light they need to see that light in your life if you allow the word of god to permeate the way you live those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death upon them what happened a light has shined a light has shined when the word of god is in your life a light is shining angie and i were down in southern california once we're trying to find a friend's house during thanksgiving we were living in california at the time we didn't know where we were going so we stopped at a marine calendars back then you don't if you lived in california you might know marie callenders anybody great the best thing they have is cornbread marie counters cornbread yeah the pies too that too banana cream pie don't get me started bob but uh we walked into marie calendars to ask for directions there were no gps's back then so we said i know it's around here somewhere so we're walking out of the out of the marine calendars and there's a guy walking in and he's on we don't know him he don't know us and he says to us y'all are christians aren't you excuse me sid i can tell you're a christian are you christian i said yes he said how do you know he said i could just see it all over you have a good day we didn't do anything we didn't we didn't have a bible it was just on our way to a thanksgiving dinner what am i saying when the lord is in your life people will see it just recently let me see i could talk about this barbara's here we went to see colleen houser and colleen houser has a cat what's the cat's name yeah what's it again a denny is the cat's name then he doesn't like men at all then he don't like men then he walked right up to me howd his head and let me touch him on the head and rubbed his head on my leg and they said what then he does not like men i said elder brooks said to me even an animal can tell who a christian is and i thought wow he said if you walk in the house and your dog runs from you you're not a christian as elder brooks would say if your animal run to hide when you walk in the house you're not a christian even an animal can tell who a christian is and they thought it was a flukes so i said it's not a fluke so i put my hand out and then he came again and licked my fingertips and all three ladies said wow he just doesn't like men at all what happened he said it's not a fluke so i was leaving and i said you got to do it a certain way so i dialed down and went like this put my hand out to denny and he licked my hand again before i left she yes well that's why she didn't like men and says she i i knew that i just don't bet but you know my point is if the if the word of god is dwelling in you richly and it's transforming your life somebody ought to be able to tell right you could often tell who people are just by me to them somebody ought to be able to tell because the reason why we don't have to hurt people with god's word is because god will settle the issue himself he will settle the issue when every appeal has been made he'll settle the issue himself don't try to settle issues that are god's responsibility to settle look at john 12 and verse 48 jesus talked about how he's going to settle this issue he says in john 12 48 he who rejects me and does not receive my words has that which judges him and the word that i have spoken will judge him in the last day don't have to worry about me don't have to worry about that i'll go ahead and deal with that in the last days you don't have to do that leave that up to me i'll handle that that's why paul the apostle makes it very clear he makes it clear that the word of god is what's going to hold us all into accountability i'm going to read a scripture that i didn't put on the screen but paul talked about one of the best descriptions of the word of god is in ephesians 6 he talked about that the sword of the spirit which is the word of god the sword of the spirit which is the word of god but you might ask yourself the question why is something so remedial in elementary being emphasized and re-emphasized here this morning why would adherence to the word of god be so imperative in the last days thought about it why why make following god's word so critical in the closing hours of earth's history you know when you look back on where we came from and where we're headed i must say this this morning we are living in the last chapters of the great controversy we're living on the last three chapters of the dvd called end times but from eden to the present it has been satan's determined purpose to create a cavern between the name christian and belief in god's word i want to say that again because i didn't make a mistake he wants to create a cavern between the name christian and belief and practice of god's word he wants to say all you need is the name as isaiah 4 1 says only give us your name only let us have your name to take away our approach so today if you hear the word christian it doesn't mean they follow the bible why is that the case the same thing satan did in the garden of eden he did to the jewish nation god had committed to them oracles that you couldn't deny he gave them more truth than you can buy in jc penney's and what do they do with it they rejected it they turned away from it they denied it they would not share with the nations around them that's the reason why they were always in battle because they wouldn't live out the creeds that god had given to them but they kept the sabbath they ate the right foods they had the right day but they didn't have the right heart is it possible that the devil could be trying to do that again look at how paul the apostle summarized what eventually happened to the children of israel romans nine verse six he says this but it is not that the word of god has taken no effect don't blame it on god's word here's the problem for they are not all israel who are israel are you ready i'ma say something you could duck are you ready to duck they are not all seventh-day adventists who are seventh-day adventists i can tell you right now i know people that are walking away from this church pastors who are following false doctrines ending up on the outside now calling us deceived and they're in deeper darkness than they ever have been i can tell you the greatest enemy against a bible-believing christian in the last days is a person who used to believe the bible because they know it so well they're going to use it against us the bible said that they will come out from you they'll draw disciples after a way after themselves they'll pull them out they'll deceive them with sims words that are clever they'll deceive the hearts of the simple and when they walk away from the church i know of teacher i know of a teacher in the adventist church that was teaching in california he's one of the greatest haters of sabbath keepers he used to be a seventh-day adventist he's written book after book after book after book trying to prove the sabbath is wrong and i asked that man why don't you have a debate with me he wouldn't do it because it doesn't take it doesn't take 15 minutes to prove the sabbath is correct but you know what happened for those who didn't want to keep the sabbath who used to be seventh-day adventists they're now following him calling themselves we're free now we're liberated i just somebody just the other day on the internet said to me on facebook you ought to walk away from the church and follow us and do what we're doing now and as i said last sabbath i'm gonna leave the ship and get into your little rubber dinky honestly not as the young people will say but we often apply the scriptures in the bible to those that don't know truth we read certain verses and we say that's for those who are rejecting the sabbath the commandments the state of the dead the the teaching of the second coming of christ no when you read the passage you can't turn away from truth unless you had truth look at the apostle paul he makes it clear ii timothy 4 verse 3 and 4 this is a warning when paul issued this warning he was talking about those who had sound doctrine he said for the time will come second timothy four verse three and four the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires can i pause here the shepherd's rods the brims mede the fordites the davidians those who follow david koresh those adventists who died in the camp of jim jones and the list goes on and on when your roots are not deep enough you're here for the wrong reason if you don't have a connection with christ that's more than something external more than something emotional if your connection to this church is not substantive if you have no functioning capacity to ca to carry this message forward you are just taking up space and it's a matter of time before your roots will be revealed as having no connection to the ground you know how i know that and not until the flood came not until the flood come can you know what's really buckled down if it ain't buckled down the flood is going to take it away there's a flood coming and there are some people swept away by the threat of compromise and emotion and whatever reason but according to their own desires they had other plans other than the truth because they have itching ears they will keep for themselves teachers keep up for themselves teachers they'll find somebody who say what they want to hear and what the end result will be they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables and when they when they fall in love with this fable they'll say that you are in dark when they are more in dark than they have ever been it's amazing how darkness makes you think you see what you really can't see and that's what the devil said you'll be like god if you want to if you accept darkness you'll be just like god no no greater lie that's what happened to israel israel's downfall was gradual look at acts chapter 13 verse 46 and 47 israel's downfall was gradual but consistent the very nation that jesus came into the world to make a light to the rest of the world rejected god's word repeatedly and rejected jesus eventually the apostle paul and barnabas said these words to a nation that rejected christ then paul and barnabas grew bold and said it was necessary that the word of god should be spoken to you when first but since you do what reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life behold we do what we turn to the gentiles what happened to the jewish leaders can be described in the modern sense as craig gauschel describes in his book christian atheism i ran into this i began going through it earlier in the week and thankfully he made available the entire outline of his book on the internet i thought wow amazing the christian atheist i thought what an oxymoron but when i read his when i read his thesis and i read the content of what i went through so far i thought wow he's got something here listen to what he said as he describes the reason why he wrote this book the chris christian atheist he said the more i look the more i found christian atheists everywhere craig groschel knows his subject all too well after over a decade of successful ministry he had to make a painful self-admission although he believed in god he was leading his church like god didn't exist grocerial's personal journey toward a more authentic god-honoring life is more relevant than ever and christian atheists everywhere will be nodding their heads as they are challenged to take their own honest moment and ask the question am i putting my whole faith in god but still living as if everything was up to me there's some things he brings out in the book i'm gonna give you just i'm just gonna give you four as i close today i'm gonna if you wanna if you want to rest you gotta tune in tonight to vespers it's gonna be profound and eye-opening and this is a book that i thought could cross the denominational lines because the points he brings out is relevant to christians in general christians in general he said one of the greatest dangers we face is believing in jesus and living as though he does not exist he cited titus 1 and verse 6 as evidence he said they profess to know god but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and disqualified for every good work they they say yeah they sing the songs they live the life i mean they look like they live the life but if you examine who they are there's no evidence that if they even know god they don't look like it they don't sound like him they don't want to do what he wants them to do he said to the disciples once he said to the jewish leaders why call me lord lord and do not do the things which i say that's the category but they say i believe in god and he responds this way james 2 and verse 19. you believe that there is one god you do well even the demons believe and tremble so if all you do is believe in god you're just i had a sermon many years ago about 12 years ago i preached a sermon at the northern california camp meeting called the faith of demons and that was my main text if all you have is belief in god you have nothing more than the faith of demons because james said the second danger that he pointed out the first one is saying we believe in jesus but living as though he doesn't exist and the other one is saying we live by the sword but don't know how to use it who did you get that he said we live we say we live by the word but we don't know how to use it and he cites james chapter 1 verse 22 to 25 look what he says but be doers of the word be what friends does of the word not hearers only you could hear this sermon and go on and live like a devil not hearers only deceiving yourselves for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror and he leaves us here just like the mirror said it looks for he observes himself goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was but he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this one will be what blessed in what he does that's a blessing in what he does so here's the first point he said we are living in an age of christian atheism christian atheism and i want to tell you brethren with the with the impact of politics on the adventist church we have a lot of christian atheists in adventism they're those who live for money they're those who live for visibility they're those who live because this is a tradition that my family kept up if you fall in any of those categories so far there are those who are more concerned about what presidential candidates are saying than what god's word is saying there are those who will defend with cursing and anger what a presidential candidate is saying and will argue with their brother or sister because they don't believe in god the way they should politics is ripping this part this church apart not just here but adventism general that's why some people more than ever before people are getting off of facebook because they're saying i've seen seventh adventism at the most vicious stage i've seen christianity at the most vicious stage in this political environment people cussing at each other and on the other side there's some people that i know in the christian world very very famous and very visible they out there singing they're out there performing they out there ministering but when you listen to their rhetoric on the facebook you say do they even believe in god here's what he said this is the reason reason number one i'm just gonna give you four today but tonight if you tune in you get the rest he said christian atheists believe in god but don't know him personally and he and he cited as evidence matthew 7 verse 21-23 not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name and on many wonders in your name then here's the word then i will declare to them i never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness he said and this is what amazing point he said in during the week when you're by yourself do you live as though god is in the house with you when you go on the internet when you're on your phone or your devices when you're living in in the city when you're driving when you go to the store when you interact with other people that may not be christians does their non-christianity make you more comfortable than a person who is a christian amazing i know there are some christians that are more comfortable around non-christians because they like the way they live they don't want too much jesus he talked about that christians that don't to don't want too much jesus just enough but they don't want to go overboard but he said don't forget knowing jesus is the apex of eternal life john 17 verse 3 and this is eternal life that they may know you the only true god in jesus christ whom you sent you got to know christ personally and intimately you got to know him in your life you got to see the hand of god working in your life and in your heart if you don't see it working there's a disconnect second of the last four he said christian atheists believe in god but they don't fear him that one caught my attention and then he cited proverbs 16 verse 6. he said if you really fear god this is what you would do proverbs 16 6 in mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity and by the fear of the lord one departs from evil he said there are people that practice evil and by practicing evil they are proving they don't fear god i'm not afraid of you god i'm going to do what i want live how i want watch what i want say what i want dress how i want who are you that i should obey your voice pharisee pharaoh egyptian christianity who are you that i should obey your voice but when you are not a christian atheist you walk as though there was no one else but god and you on the planet that's real christianity god is getting me there every day somebody ought to say amen to that is god getting you there i pray he is he he points out the third or the fourth the third of four he said christian atheists believe in god but are content to remain lukewarm i thought man he hit that nail on the head that was a jackhammer right there and he cited revelation 3 verse 15 and 16 he said i know your works jesus is looking at us and says i know your works that you are neither cold nor hot i wish i wish you were cold or hot i could wish that so then because you are neither lukewarm because then you are lukewarm neither cold nor hot what am i going to do i'm gonna vomit you out of my mouth i just cannot stand warm lukewarm christians they do nothing for me when you are not a lukewarm christian you are not afraid to go all out and show your allegiance for jesus you're not ashamed to be called a christian you're not ashamed for people to identify who you are that's why my wife and i have learned and we have traveled so much and we have been in places we've been in the most crowded airports in different parts of the world and we say we are always being viewed by somebody somebody is always watching and even if nobody's in the airport god is watching i'll tell you the stories but it's not relevant right here we got to understand where we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses when you are a christian that's not an atheist you are not afraid to show your allegiance of faith in christ not only that you live a life of commitment to the success of heaven's mission i must ask the question what are you doing to to for the success of heaven's mission what actively are you doing in your life to cause the gospel to succeed if you're just sitting in the terminal waiting for the plane to arrive your christianity has no value if all you got to do is sit in the terminal waiting for jesus to come jesus said he that is not with me is against me he that's not gathering with me is scattering abroad don't be content to be a lukewarm christian and the last one he cited was this he said christian atheists believe in god but they don't trust him fully that was powerful i know a lot of people like that when the bills come due you see them moving and boohooing and crying oh no i'm going to pay my bill i already told you my stories i'm past that i'm going to give god what belongs to him come on somebody and i've learned in many many many many many ways that when you give god what belongs to him he will take care of you david said i am i was young now i am old i've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread that's a promise when you do what god asks you he's going to take care of you i told you about when i was a young man i don't have these issues any longer but when i was a young pastor one sabbath morning i decided lord i got my insurance is due on monday and my tithe and offerings are due today if i don't pay my insurance on monday my insurance will be canceled i can't drive so lord let i i'll give you a rain check because my insurance is due on monday well i was in the northern california mountains living just close to the church the church was closer to me than that baptismal pool over there like half the distance i walked out of my door right into the back of the church i was in the parsonage as i walked across there i got my sermon all typed out i typed on the typewriter then it's already ready to be preached ryan it's got my little notes the print was real small like like ryan's print now ryan has a little print bibles you know i couldn't see that nowadays but i was ready to preach and i walked through the fellowship hall to the pulpit and the the organists we had a church we had two ages very old very young we filled in the middle as we continued but i walked up to that pulpit behind my 89 year old head elder dr kaziah who was still flying planes i thought my god he's still flying planes at that age and when he did the opening prayer a voice from heaven said to me you can't preach for me if you don't trust me and i had a blank check in my top pocket and i pulled it out and in my humble arrogance if there's such a thing have you ever written out a check kind of like say god i hope you're watching because if my bill don't get paid i wrote out that 75 check i'm just over emphasizing my heart was at a fragile place i wrote that check out for 75 knowing that's that's what i had to pay my insurance on monday and i put it in that offering envelope put it in that plate and i watched it go away i forgot about it that night i went to the post office kind of like here there's a post office down in town was like how we live but they didn't periodically did home delivery but we had a post office box went to the post office box to get my mail saturday night opening the letters and we opened one letter from somebody we never met before and there was a check for 238 dollars you do the math that's three times 75 and then 13 extra dollars just because god can do it and i pause in the middle of that two-lane street just like this and all you saw was my brake lights come on immediately never thinking about the fact that i might get run into by somebody and pulled over and just thank god father thank you thank you thank you and in that mountain home where i only made where i only made 500 a month god sustained us for two years and never once did we have to beg it was sunday mornings when our door would ring while i'm in the living room on my couch praying father we don't have any food in the refrigerator we have family coming and the doorbell is ringing somebody's knocking and they said this morning when i woke up god told me my pastor had a need and they drove 37 miles over the mountain just to give me a hundred dollars i'm telling you friends you faithful god will take care of you don't don't say you believe in god but act like but don't fully trust him trust him trust him when there seems to be no logical reason to put everything on the line he brought this out i love the way he said this and this is my ministry i've learned this now he said until you put everything on his god scale he'll never put anything on your skill you got to get to that place where it's like who's going to bail me out if i put all that money in the offering plate god said no that's all the money you have that's not all the money i have amen somebody and he cited proverbs three verse five and six very well known but i'm a close on these these two last texts he said this come on let's say together proverbs 3 verse 5 and 6 are you ready are you ready christians here we go together trust in the lord with how much all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he what shall direct your path do you believe that only until i if you don't if you believe it you put everything on god's scale and god will open you the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you say lord my scale is not big enough god just broke my scale that's what i want to say what about you i want god to break my scale thank you for that little break my scale anytime heaven you'll never know when you believe god you live as though you believe every promise that god has made and you are willing to follow his word ignorant of the outcome who cares about the outcome god says i have a future and a hope for you if he says that you're going to distrust him who do you know that consider you i know exactly what's going to happen the next five years nobody and when you fully trust god you no longer live on the fence of fear you live fearlessly and i end with this quotation in one final text the lord gave me this yesterday don't trust god because you know the destination trust him in the journey trust him in the journey he told me where i'm headed but i'm not going to wait till i get there to trust him and say oh that was close i'ma say lord i don't know this role but since you're driving i'll just be the passenger amen be the passenger don't put that bumper sticker that god is your co-pilot make him the pilot because you can't see through clouds so i ask you these questions why should we live as though god's word is true why should we trust the bible why should we read it and take it to heart why why should the bible be the most pertinent book in our lives why should the bible be the number one book that we live by i tell you why so clear zorro left a mark on people's clothing the sword of god's word will leave a mark on your life and the life of everybody that comes in contact with you if you live by the sword today i'm going to say there's a reason i live by the sword there's a reason why my wife and i live by the sword here it is it's so simple for the word of god is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the division of soul and spirit he knows what's going on way down inside and of joints and marrow and only god's word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart i want to be a spiritual zorro i'm going to resurrect my favorite character when i meet people but i'm going to use a w leave a word i want to live my life that'll be clear on whose team i'm living anybody today want to just get that sword out the sword isn't amazing how the cross looks like a sword sword that's right i want you to go home this weekend and start a new relationship with your bible get it out if you can't find it call a church remember they'll help you find it get your bible learn how to use that sword stop saying i don't know where it is it's in there but you'll never know what's in your closet until you start looking and the same way you'll never know what's in god's word until but that becomes the focal point turn off the devices turn on god's word slow down your brain as one person said we saw a documentary he said the mind was never created by god to assimilate so many things so fast the christian life is not a flight it's not a train ride it's not a rocket ride it's a walk why walk because it takes time study god's word this week friends why why that's the only thing the devil is afraid of the sword of the spirit how many of you want to get that sword sharpened this week would you stand with me now god's writing it down he's going to come to your house this week and say hey i'm here to i'm here for a sword study he's going to wait at your dinner table by the side of your bed wherever you decide in your house is going to be the place that you sit down he's going to be waiting there if you can't find your bible locate it this week put it closer to your bed than your phone put it closer to your bed than your remote put it closer to your heart than anything else you have and when the day comes that you face the adversary all you need is three words it is written if it worked for jesus it will work for us loving father in heaven a simple yet beautiful way to say that we must have the word of god hidden in our hearts in this age of multiple distractions everything calling for our attention and getting our attention we pray that we can take out that sword run our hand down that blade and see whether it's dull or whether it's sharp and then we can sit down with that spiritual heavenly file and begin to sharpen those dull edges we can find those texts again that once thrilled our souls we can back go back and look at the beginning of our bibles where that were given to us on our baptismal day we can look at that date and pause and remember that was a special date that we said father i'm going to follow you for the rest of my life but something somewhere along the way interrupted that if you're a young person you're going to find a bible you're going to begin a relationship as a teenager with jesus you're going to say i don't want to be 20 or 30 years from now as ignorant as i am now i could be well ahead of the curve if i start searching god's word now help us to develop a new appetite for living things not dead things created by men but a living book that is created by god help us to dive into this swimming pool that is so deep and recognize that we could float on the promises of god help us to walk into this forest that is filled with trees that have every leaf is a promise from god's word and we can pick a promise a day and never exhaust your words help us father to stand on the seashore and look down at the grains of sand and remember every grain of sand is a promise that you have made to us and we can never exhaust your promises [Music] and help us to look at the endless sky and recognize that one day on the horizon we will see the word of god coming to take us home we will give way to the living word as the written word has prepared us for that great day give us the sword may it be with us and may it shape us for your eternal kingdom we ask in jesus name and all of god's people said amen and amen

Channel: Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church

Views: 21,697

Rating: 4.7578473 out of 5

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Id: fqkwbR_2f7Q

Length: 92min 28sec (5548 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 10 2020