20210403 | The Gate | Pastor John Lomacang (tvsdac)

the lord has put a lot on my heart this morning this week this is before i i pray this week my wife has been reading the desire of ages she started last week and i praise god for her dedication to the lord as i've said on many occasions that much of what comes to my mind in many instances is a seed that she's planted through her own personal devotional life and you'll find out where this title came from i don't want to go ahead of myself but when you contemplate the themes of the cross it becomes more than just a weekend it becomes the focus of a lifetime and last night in her family worship which really is family a lot of tears were being wiped away a lot of joy she's a friday night evangelist and i and she has a platform and as the family members have said we miss it when you don't do it and so she said don't worry about it we'll be on vacation but we're going to still have friday night worship and so but this idea about the gate jumped out at me as my wife was reading to me about the life of jesus and so today as god as the saying goes it only takes a spark to get a fire going the lord lit that spark and when i opened the word of god all of a sudden i began to see the gates now let's go to the lord in prayer and ask for his wisdom in the sermon today gracious father in heaven we're looking forward to the day when we will be beyond the blue when we will break through and see colors so vivid that our immortal eyes will still be challenged as we behold the beauty and excellence of your creative power our minds are so overshadowed by the cures of life and the things of this world lord sometimes gravitationally pulls us into its into its grip and we forget that there is something beyond the blue a kingdom a great and glorious kingdom awaiting the saints so father today speak to our hearts open our minds expand our horizon that we can look up and determine that one day by your grace and by your righteousness we will walk through the gate in jesus name i pray amen revelation 22 14 jd read it so wonderfully as he always does but i want to read it one more time just to lay the foundation for the unfolding of the message today blessed are those who do his commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city as they photographed the steel monolith stretching from the northern tip of san francisco's peninsula to the bustling community of marin county millions of tourists have asked why is it called the golden gate bridge while being covered with orange paint there you can see a bridge that my wife and i have crossed many times going from one side of the coast to the other side a majestic bridge a bridge that demands your attention the orange golden gate bridge the golden gate bridge has been declared one of the wonders of the modern world by the american society of civil engineers they say its main span is 4200 feet long and its roadway is 700 746 feet above the pacific ocean and on sadly many occasions people have taken their lives knowing that below them the waters are so treacherous that it's very difficult for anyone to survive if they jump into the golden gate straits when it was opened in 1937 it was the tallest and longest suspension bridge in the world its total length is 1.7 miles but beneath the golden gate bridge lurks as one writer says the most turbulent 300 foot depth of salt water introducing the san francisco bay to the pacific ocean we've stood there on times seeing cruise ships and and battleships have to have to lower their mass in order to just skirt under the golden gate bridge on one occasion on one occasion people gathered when they heard by the news that uh the nimitz aircraft carrier was on its way into the bay and reporters said that it's seven feet too tall to go into the golden gate bridge and people gathered on the eastern shore and the western shore to see if that ship was going to make it and i want to tell you by inches by civil engineers were on the bridge they were monitoring tugboats for monitoring the scene and by inches when that battleship cleared the golden gate bridge you can just hear the people applaud whatever attempts were made to make that entry the golden gate bridge so the question is why is it called the golden gate bridge in 1846 when soldier explorer and future presidential candidate john c fremont saw the watery trench that breached the range of coastal hills on the western edge of the landlocked san francisco bay i quote him he says it reminded me of another beautiful landlocked harbor the golden horns of bosporus in constantinople now called istanbul fremont who was an explorer of the west in his time a man that's not very well known but he became known because of his naming of the golden gate bridge fremont used a greek term to name it in the greek term was christopher which translated in english means simply golden gate one year after he named the golden gate bridge in 1848 in his geographical memoir fremont added another layer to the meeting he said a golden gate speaking of the bridge it is a golden gate to the trade with the orient and with the gold rush just being one year away the watery streets of san francisco bay maintained its golden identity thereby laying the groundwork for the name of the golden gate bridge and friends if you live in marin county northern california and you hope for the shortest route to san francisco the only way is through the golden gate bridge it brings back memories to me when i thought about the topic the gate you all i always like good stories but when i opened my bible and began to study i discovered that from one account to the other the bible is filled with references to gates more than 350 references to gates in the bible some of those you may remember when joseph was running from his brother esau and he had a dream of the latter going from earth to heaven when he woke up he called that place the gate of heaven you may remember when samson was dealing with his adversaries he tore off the gate of the city and carried it out of the city you also remember thank you honey esau and jacob about the place called the gate of heaven you also remember that when israel was in a downfall and discouraged state the bible says the gates of the city were burned they were in disrepair and you find that these references to the gates some of the references are obvious others are illusions not illusions but illusions simply alluding to the idea that this story has something to do with the gate one of those first illusions is found in the book of genesis and you remember very well when adam and eve were evicted from the edenic home god established as i like to refer to it a gate of angels a gate of angels to bar the tree of life he was determined that in man's fallen state he could not have access anymore to the tree of life genesis chapter 3 and verse 24 we read the following words and the bible says so he drove out the man and he placed what did he plays cherubim at the east of the garden and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life angelic gates guarding the tree of life a flaming sword when i studied that and began to look further into the account of the angels guarding the gate i discovered by reading that long after adam and eve were driven out of eden the garden remained on the earth for centuries matter of fact we find that adam took future generations after the fall he would take them to the spot and point them to the garden and there the angels still stood with the flaming sword guarding the right to the tree of life adam showed future generations where he forfeited the right to the tree of life and we find in the book patriarchs and prophets these startling words page 62 and paragraph one the servant of the lord said the garden of eden remained upon the earth long after man had become an outcast from its pleasant paths the fallen race were long permitted to gaze upon the home of innocents their entrance barred only by what the watching angels at the cherubim guarded gate of paradise the divine glory was revealed hither came adam and his sons to worship god here they renewed their vows of obedience to that law the transgression of which had banished them from eden when the tide of iniquity overspread the world and the wickedness of man determined their destruction by a flood of waters the hand that had planted eden with jewett from the earth so when you look at the story going back into the picture can you imagine what it was like to me it was unimaginable unimaginable that for 930 years think about it for 930 years adam day after day looked back with regret on the decision that he had made 930 years earlier recognizing that he had plunged the world into the condition that it had been in he had seen multiple deaths he had seen murder he had seen the world turning from this stainless beauty from the hand of a perfect creator to a planet now where flowers and trees died animals became ravenous and vicious people became irritated with one another funeral after funeral died and adam thought to himself if it had not been for my decision this place would have been a different place but when you consider the lifespan of adam somehow i believe that that event had been used by the holy spirit to inspire the apostle peter with the following words in second peter chapter three and verse eight we read these words now remember adam lived how long did i say 930 years but follow me carefully second peter chapter three and verse eight under inspiration peter says but beloved do not forget this one thing that with the lord one day is as a what thousand years and a thousand years as one day now follow me carefully i'm unwrapping something that you may have missed when you go back and you remember the injunction of god remember what god said to adam genesis chapter 2 and verse 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the what for in the day that you eat of it you shall what surely die now now now now follow me for a moment if god if to god a thousand years is as short as a day then adam died before god's day ever ended think about it a lot of people say why didn't adam drop dead that day because god's day is like a thousand years adam didn't even make it to the end of his life adam never made it to the end of the day that's why the bible says in genesis 5 5 so all the days that adam lived were 930 years and he died we serve an amazing god a god that has been around so long that to him a thousand years is like a day come on say amen a thousand years is like a day i mean how do you count time how do you count time when you have no beginning and you have no end i believe that the davis psalm the psalmist david predates peter's statement when he joins in the bandwagon in his words in psalms 90 and verse 4 he said of the lord for a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it has passed and like a watch in the night somebody ought to say have mercy can you imagine being around for a thousand years and you say this well that's just like overnight we can't imagine that but when you have the exclusive unchallenged luxury of having no beginning and no end and when you can say according to revelation 22 13 i am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end i could then understand how to you a thousand years would seem like just another day i know i know you're shocked that's why it's hard to say man i know i understand that pastor's talking about a thousand years and i'm only 32 years old i'm only 71. he's talking about a thousand years how do you how do you calculate that a god who has no beginning and knowing i am the alpha i am the omega the beginning and the end the first and the last we serve an amazing god what do you say but when you think that seems incomprehensible i want to say something that to me is profound when you think that a thousand years is incomprehensible and unimaginable we are told in god's word that when we serve jesus even if we die the day is coming that we will understand the experience of a thousand years revelation 20 and verse 4 the bible says and i saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was committed to them then i saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to jesus and for the word of god who had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands come on here we go now this is where we come into the picture and they lived and reigned with christ how long friends a thousand years brethren my day is coming what about your day one day we're going to understand what david meant one day we're going to understand what peter meant when he said lord a thousand years to you is like a day in a day is like a thousand years if we are faithful one day we will understand the thousand-year concept one day we will walk through the gates but there's another unforgettable gate that is introduced in the bible found there in the beginning of the written word of god in the book of genesis chapter 19. this is not a good gate as a matter of fact depending on how you look at it it can be a pretty dark gate because when god was about to visit the recalcitrant wicked city of sodom and gomorrah with his judgments he sent angels to the home of lot to deliver him and we read in genesis chapter 19 and verse 1 these words that bring the second gate into view now the two angels came to sodom in the evening and lot was sitting in the what in the gate of sodom when lot saw them he rose to meet them and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground why would lot do that he knew that these were holy beings he knew that these were not just inhabitants of sodom nor gomorrah returning from a day's work there was something about the angels that made it clear to him that this was a divine visitation but the question is why was lot sitting at the gate of sodom because a lot knew that if anyone passed through sodom's gates they were about to be exposed to a dark sinful corruption that would be almost irreversible now think about it we have a world today the bible says as it was in the days of sodom so shall it be in the days of the coming of the son of man sodom was the blueprint of our world today everything corrupt was in sodom sodom and gomorrah was so corrupt and beyond sinful imagination that abraham appealed to god hoping that there was a way that those cities could be spared because abraham's heart was touched by the reality that his nephew lot was living in the city and god had said he was going to destroy the city for their sinful nature and even if sodom was as small as thompsonville under 600 consider consider the gravity of the last question that abraham asked god genesis 18 and verse 32 then he said speaking to god and i want you to know that this is the last of the many questions that abraham asked god in genesis chapter 18 abraham started saying lord if there are a hundred in sodom would you spare the city the lord said sure i will and he kept lowering the number what about 50 what about 40 what about 30 god said for 30 for 20 i'll spear the city and the last question that abraham asked god the bible says then he said lord let let not the lord be angry and i will speak but once more suppose 10 should be found there and he said i will not destroy it for the sake of 10. now i want that to sink in i'm not talking about new york city i'm not talking about los angeles i don't know the size of that city but even if even if there were only 10 righteous people in thompsonville we would say there's something wrong am i right but this is not a thompsonville size city sodom and gomorrah the sister cities these corrupt cities were metropolis cities and all of the metropolis interactions and all of the commerce and all of the day-to-day relationships the lord was saying to abraham i cannot even find 10 in that city if i could find 10 i would maybe spare the city that's not an amen text that's something to think about but since you insist that i tell you how dark sodom and gomorrah were let me go ahead and tell it to you when the angels passed sodom's gate lot immediately ushered the angels to his house not for a meal not for an afternoon conversation he ushered the angels to his house to save their lives and i know this is not a popular topic but i have to talk about because it's in the bible sodom and gomorrah had become so dark that they had given themselves over to strange flesh men were burned in their lust toward men and women burned in their lusts toward women and they had been so dark and so corrupt that any sign of a new visitor that person immediately became the focus of their desire to know those men carnally so a lot in his desire to save the angels from the corruption in the mindset of men who had lost their calibration of common decency lot ushered them to his house to save their lives and when you read the story it's a dark and dismal story because the bible says in genesis chapter 19 and verse 4 these words as they're in the home genesis 19 and verse 4 it says now before they laid down before they laid down the men of the city the men of sodom both old and young all the people from every quarter grabbed that not a few they surrounded the house not a few men not five men but both old and young men all the people from every quarter of the city surrounded the house and my mind was so taken back by what i read i said verse four is enough verse four is enough they wanted to break down the doors of the house to gain access to the strange visitors that came to lot's house they wanted as the bible said they wanted to know these men carnally and lot sought a way to secure them can you imagine let's go back let's make this can you imagine everybody in thompsonville surrounding your house but i said to you this is not a thompsonville size city if you look at the historical footprint of sodom and gomorrah it was by no means as small as our town but can you imagine all the men old and young from every quarter of the city surrounding your house and what are they doing let us in let us in open the door open the door god forbid lot had been so affected by the city that he offered his daughters instead he said take my daughters they don't even know a man and the men said no we don't want your daughters we want the men well to show you how dark our world has become the bible says as it was then that's how it's going to be before the lord comes and i say it i said with no joy at all on my lips that's the kind of world we live in today which is another indication of how near the coming of jesus is can you say amen about the nearness of jesus's return so these signs are there and lot did everything he possibly could he went outside to try to convince the men don't bother me any further look at verses 9 and 10. let me go back to that genesis chapter 19 verse 9 and 10 the bible says so they pressed hard against the man lot he was standing outside of his house guarding the door and the bible says and came near to break down the door but the men reached out their hands and pulled a lot into the house with them and shut the door that means the angels the angels in the house for fear of lot being torn apart reached out their hand and grabbed them and pulled them in the house if it had not been for the interposition of angels lot would have succumbed to the violence of the carnal men of the city and the angels went a step further they blinded the men and even in their blindness the men still tried to find the door to enter lot's house that night sodom and gomorrah received god's fiery judgments but getting back to the gate the gate that became the entrance into that sinful city was the very same gate that lot had to pass through to exit the city and run for his life we find genesis 19 verse 17 brings this into view the bible says so it came to pass when they had brought them outside that he said read that with me escape for your life what else did he say do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plains escape to the mountains lest you be destroyed brethren the same gate that the angels walked through to come into the city the angels ushered lot and his two daughters and you know the rest of the story there's so much to unpack here you know that because of lot's hesitation his wife turned around and we know historically became a pillar of salt she froze there in the plain between being saved and being lost and only lot and his daughters his sons did not respond only lot and his daughters made it safely out of the city but i want to say again if we are faithful one day we will exit the gates of this sinful world permanently and as lot was instructed we too will not want to look back can you say amen to that look back on what on what well as you soak that scene in allow me to raise the curtain on the two most significant gates in scripture you got your seatbelts on if you have them there you tighten them right now looking back on the closing scenes of the cross we read these inspiring words in the book of hebrews chapter 13 verses 11 to 14. and i'll break it down after we go through it and the bible tells us equating the life of christ to something we understand as a sacrificial system the bible says for the body of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned where outside the camp verse 12. therefore jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered where outside the gate therefore and this is a part that some of us may miss and i'll break it down in a moment therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp bearing his reproach for we have no continuing city but we seek the one to come let me let that text sink in for a second such symbolic language yet rich with meaning rich with understanding let's begin to understand what it means you see when we follow jesus according to hebrews chapter 13 verse 11 to 14 one of the reasons why one of the reasons why it says jesus suffered outside the gate is when we follow jesus we have to leave the cities of this world behind us and the reason why it says therefore we go forth to him therefore we go forth to him outside the camp for here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come when we leave the cities of this world behind us our only focus is the city to come the heavenly city but until we abandon the world and its cities we can never declare that we have no continuing city but we seek the one to come everything about this passage shows us how we unite with christ in leaving the world behind jesus left the cities of this world more specifically he left the earthly jerusalem why because he's getting us ready for the heavenly jerusalem and when he left that city he had no intentions of going back and when you follow these verses you find a couple of very important points these verses take us back to the road to calvary these passages foreshadow the suffering of jesus this is the dividing line between where jesus came from and where he is headed but it gets even deeper than that they speak not only of where jesus came from and where he is headed but brethren the good news is it also speaks of the way that jesus is making for every one of us and there's often a misunderstanding why jesus had to suffer outside the gate and i'll lead to the next passage by asking the question why do we have to follow jesus outside the gate that's what hebrews says we follow him outside the gate we follow him outside the gate and when we when we follow him outside the gate we say like he says i have no continuing city here the way i say it i'm from new york and i'm on my way to new jerusalem every now and every now and then we go back to new york city and people say would you want to move back here this is no slam to new york and i say for what when i can open my backyard door and listen to the squirrels and the birds argue why would i want to go back to a major city when i can go to bed at night and have a peace of mind not worrying about the things that surround me why would i want to go back to new york or l.a or san francisco or any major city when you have your mind focused on serving the lord brethren we've got to come to the place where we can say i have no continuing city here but i'm looking forward to the one that is to come no pain no suffering no heartache no death there at all but why do we have to follow jesus outside the city you see outside the city of jerusalem for christ and this is something that you've got to grab outside of the old jerusalem for christ was the way of death first and then the way of life next so how do we follow jesus outside the city here we go romans chapter six verse three to seven follow me carefully how do we follow jesus outside the gate god has given me a new understanding of these passages i saw them just as a singular act but as i began to study deeply and began to unpack the scriptures i began to see that there's some more significant content to these four verses than just the singular act of baptism there's something that happened outside the city that could not happen in the city romans chapter 6 verse 3 and we are told by the apostle paul or do you not know that as many of us as were together baptized into christ jesus were baptized into his death pause to be baptized into christ jesus you got to make a decision somewhere along the way to get out of the city i'm not talking about new york or any major city i am talking about we have to sever our ties from those things that are behind us and begin to follow jesus first in the way of his death let me make it very clear before you experience the joy of the new life you've got to follow jesus on the road to death because the road to life begins on the road to death the world thinks that the other way around they say they think that the road to death ends the road to life but for the christian the road to death is a beginning of the road to life you got to die before you live and i'm not talking about dying and spirits floating off anywhere but you've got to die to this life in order to be a benefactor of abundant life that is available only in christ jesus and that's why he says continuing in verse 4 therefore following jesus outside of the city therefore we were buried with him through baptism into what death that justice christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father even so we also should walk in the what friends newness of life so it begins with death and it continues with what life for jesus there was so much more ahead of him but brethren he had to go to eternal life through the way of death and you heard what i just said in order for jesus the man christ jesus to be able to impart to us the gift of eternal life he had to go through the way of death now why is that the case are you ready for it when christ took on the form of humanity he took also on the form of mortality the mystery of it is how can you be mortal and be very much man and god at the same time but had jesus been defeated on the way to calvary there would have been no empty tomb there would have been no resurrection and all the sacrifices of the old testament would have amounted to nothing because it is only by the death of christ and the efficacy of his righteousness and the purity of his blood that we can one day have eternal life but it all begins let me say it again because somehow i think that young folks say i want to live it up before i die to christ what i'm saying is until you die to christ you can't live it up i've learned how to live it up after i decided to die to self some people say well when i turn 50 or when i turn 60 i'll get baptized because you know the best of my years behind me that's a lie when you accept jesus the best of your life is ahead of you but it's the way of death that's why he says we could walk in the newness of life and here's the furthering of the passage here's the furthering of the passage the newness of life for if we have been united romans chapter 6 and verse 5 for if we have been united what's the next word together that uh us in christ he lead we follow together in the likeness of his death certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his what resurrection and here's what we know verse 6 knowing this that our old man was what crucified with him praise god for that why that the body of sin might be done away with that we you and me should no longer be slaves to sin can i get a hallelujah somewhere only by the death of christ for he who has died has been freed from sin let me break that down not just free from what you did but free from the very bondage free from the very gate that held us into the nature of adam the lord came and opened that gate and let us out by his worthiness to pass through the gate of old jerusalem and into the hill called golgotha enter the gate of the tomb and come out victorious on the other side you see brethren it is the efficacy the beauty the righteousness the purity of christ alone that can free us from the bondage of any earthly gate and get us ready to one day walk through the gates into the city the apostle paul the apostle paul brought out to us to those that like the prosperity jesus you see many people like the jesus that gives them stuff we boast about well you know jesus sent me money to pay my bill or jesus bless me with a new car or jesus bless me with a wonderful spouse or my kids are now behaving because jesus got a hold of them we like to talk about the blessings of jesus but let me make it very very clear very few of us are willing to embrace christ in his suffering but it's through the suffering of the cross that the abundant life was released and every one of us now because jesus passed outside the gate one day we can go through the gate the apostle paul makes it very very clear that before we can enjoy the benefits got to experience the suffering but so many people want to avoid the suffering but listen once again to the inspired words romans chapter 8 verse 16 and 17. the bible says the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are what friends children of god that's right now we are children of god and if children then ears here's how ears of god and joint ears with christ how if indeed we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together so i would rather let me say this right lord i would rather go through 85 90 years of hard life and have endless ceaseless ages of eternal bliss than go through 80 years of what i call life and miss out on the endless ceaseless unimaginable indescribable i need another word unthinkable gift that waits for every one of us help me out somebody because paul the apostle embraced by what he saw he said i had not seen ear had not heard but one of the reasons this doesn't sink into our minds is because sometimes we could be so earthly minded that we are no heavenly good that's why every now and then every now and then when i get sick and tired of looking at clouds i look through the telescope of my ipad through the constellations that lie beyond this tiny little piece of dust called earth one day i'll share that with you during the sermon i looked at an animation that was done by the aeronautical air and space museum along with astrophysicists they decided to compile a six-minute video of what they referred to as time travel 186 000 miles to 186 200 miles per second and they began in in in the mountains of of asia and they began to move at that speed pulling further and further away from earth at the light of speed at the speed of light and then they began to go beyond the planet where earth disappeared then our nine planets disappeared then the milky way disappeared then the dust and the dot that represents the milky way our galaxy disappeared and the other galaxies the billions around that disappeared and then the constellations that hold them together disappeared and and the astrophysicists and astronomers said what you see is an actual digital representation of the planets that we have mapped so far and they concluded with the words we still don't know most of what's out there but jesus said i've gone to prepare a place for you and i'm going to tell you as much as my wife and i have traveled i'll say like we would say to new york growing up they ain't no place down here worth trading for everything up there i don't care how good it looks i don't care how nice it sounds i don't care who manufactured it whether the car is a hundred thousand or a million dollars whether the mansion has 35 rooms or 400 rooms there's no place on this planet that i want to hold on to to lose out on the blessings that christ has made available to every one of us amen somebody but what paul means when it says if we suffer with him we shall also be glorified with him you see jesus became what we are that we can become what he is but if he did not die he could not have put our nature to death and make it possible for us to become like him the apostle paul says it this way in second corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21 notice these powerful words why did jesus have to go outside of the gate because all criminals were were abandoned and crucified outside the gate any male factor anybody convicted of a crime could not die within the precincts of the holy city of jerusalem they were outside the gate so how do you make the perfect christ the one with no beginning and no end how do you qualify him to be unqualified to die within the city and label him as a male factor worthy of death because he's a sinner how do you do that brethren this passage shows the love of christ the bible says for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of god in him now shelley i know shelley and i are probably five highways away from you if we were in germany we'd be on the autobahn and you guys are still driving in thompsonville that passage is so replete with meaning that passage it is so eternal in its scope yet so beyond human comprehension is saying that the jesus that is now our savior our high priest our mediator once occupied the realm of illimitable glory this same jesus who never lost a battle this same jesus who faced down satan and his angels and won the battle for the supremacy of god's throne this same jesus who angels the door 24 hours a day seven days a week saying holy holy holy lord god almighty this same perfect lamb decided to step into human frailty to step into the sinful the sinful flesh of humanity he decided to become a capsule of sin all of his flesh all of the flesh that jesus had was not the glorious flesh before the fall of man but it was the flesh that adam had imparted to all humanity that's why jesus came through a woman to take on the very cloak and the very clothing of humanity the frail flesh that is so susceptible but here's the question how do you go through a life like he did without even one thought of vengeance how do you survive as a young man being accused of being an illegitimate child as we had told his brothers had questions about his legitimacy where are you from who is your father your mother does he does not even know who your father is servant of the lord said that through one look jesus could have commanded his brothers to kneel down and worship him as the almighty god but he not even and thought or look would use his divinity how do you do that because i'd be honest with you if somebody's getting on my nerve and i had the power to look at them and they could you know what i'm saying like get out of my way now and they are gone like that come on tracy help me out i'm done and i go like this and when i move my hands they're gone and where are they they're hanging off of the empire state building upside down i'm serious that's some serious power that you can call stars into existence and and you can stand firm and on the insults on the question of your legitimacy not say a word in your defense and then those who to whom he had given the light of the gospel for thousands of years he came to his own and they did not receive him he could have easily said hold on a moment let me show you the movie of my pre-existence and jesus could have had a panoramic 3d 4k 8k 10k model right behind him showing them how he began the world and he said there's your grandmother's grandmother's grandmother and i was before all of them now do you recognize i am the messiah that's some serious power but he didn't do it he became humble he became obedient even to the death of the cross so when paul the apostle says he made him god made jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us brethren i praise god today that jesus was willing to take my place so that one day i could stand where he alone is worthy to stand and as many times as i say that if you live to be 125 years old it's still not going to make sense because we cannot grasp the illimitable we cannot grasp waking up in the morning and say this is the first day of the rest of eternity for me how old are you joe well i think i've been here like about 17 million years but i'm just getting started if jesus did not become sin for us we could not become the righteousness of god in him we could not be seen as even being worthy of being called righteous had it not been for jesus amen lights there are three reasons why jesus had to die outside of the city there are three reasons why jesus chose to die outside the city there are three reasons why there was no other way but to die outside the city the first reason is jesus no longer considered earthly jerusalem his city luke luke chapter 13 luke chapter 13 he no longer considered earthly jerusalem his city luke chapter 13 verse 34 o jerusalem jerusalem the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her listen to his words of pleading how often i wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings but you were not willing that's a sad passage but how many people today are on that same category how many people today jesus has appealed and reached out how many people today have been prompted by the spirit of god to say give jesus your life these words apply to them also how often and sadly in the resurrection sadly in the day of judgment there are many who are going to look back on this passage and say yes he did yes he was willing but i just would not come brethren it makes no sense to lose out when all you've got to do to be saved is be willing somebody ought to say amen willing you were not willing he didn't say you were not perfect he didn't say you were sinless he said you were just not willing god through christ jesus can do anything through anybody if we are only willing after they rejected jesus as the messiah he told the scribes and pharisees in matthew chapter 23 and verse 38 see your house is left to you desolate jesus disconnected himself from the earthly jerusalem that's why i got to make a point here this is something that's powerful are you ready for it so many people got excited and this is not politics but it has to fit somehow in this category so many people got excited when the when the one when jerusalem under the prior administration became the the main seat for the for the embassy or for the for the jews when they moved the what did they move there the the whatever they moved there the embassy when they moved the embassy to jerusalem so many people said ah bible prophecy fulfilled bunk jesus is not coming back to establish his kingdom in earthly jerusalem somebody. that meant absolutely nothing a smokescreen because he said to them your house is left to you desolate to go further jesus says in matthew chapter 24 and verse 2 notice what he says again he continued to foreshadow jerusalem's end he said verse 2 and matthew 24 and jesus said to them do you not see all these things assuredly i say to you not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down let me say something brethren jesus brought that city down so he can bring the new jerusalem up that project was temporary it could have been a city of blessing so today when we go to the middle east we say oh we go to the we go to the holy city no no that's not the holy city that's the bible city that's a historical place many things took place there but jesus is not coming back to establish a thousand-year reign on earth there's going to be a holy city there's going to be a new jerusalem coming down from god out of heaven and by god's grace every one of us can be a part of that city what do you say reason number two why jesus had to experience death outside the city because everyone that died outside the city was cursed jesus had to experience the curse to save us from the curse i'll say that again in order for jesus to save us from the curse of sin jesus had to experience the curse of sin galatians 3 and verse 13. the bible tells us christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree now let me tell you what this verse is not saying this verse is not saying that the ten commandments is a curse it's not even saying that the ceremonial laws occurs it is saying that the ceremonial law was necessary because of the curse of sin it is saying that the commandments point out what sin does sin brings a curse in your life so whether it's the ceremonial law or the ten commandments whenever we violate the precepts of god's law there's no other result than a curse in your life and desire of ages page 741 paragraph two for transgression of the law of god adam and eve were banished from eden christ our substitute was to suffer without the boundaries of jerusalem outside the city he died outside the gate where felons and murderers were executed full of significance are the words christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us galatians 3 and verse 13. and here's the last reason why jesus had to die outside the city and this thrills my heart when jesus was being led outside the city he was not being let out by himself he was not going to die outside the city by himself there was one more seemingly impossible miracle that jesus was going to perform and why did he perform this miracle to remind us that no matter how long it takes what i just say no matter how long it takes he can still save anyone in the closing hour of their lives two thieves were on the cross one was unrepentant the way he lived was the way he was going to die let's go to the scene very quickly luke chapter 23 verse 39 brings this thief into view then one of the criminals who are hanged blasphemed him saying what if you are the christ save yourself if you are the christ save yourself that's why i said not too long ago for those who focus on being on the left or on the right politically it doesn't really matter because whatever side you're on you're a criminal anyway one of the criminals determined that he was going to die the way he lived and he jeered and he taunted jesus if you are the christ why don't you save yourself in us and there jesus humbly without any without any protest hanging on the cross to fulfill the purpose of god's plan of salvation listen to the jeering of the crowd and the jeering of this criminal but something happened during that time something happened to the other thief the other thief saw what the jeering thief missed what the unrepentant thief missed the other thief saw something you see while this thief was hanging there he had a chance to listen to the people that were surrounding the cross he heard many of them speak of the miracles of christ he heard testimony about the countless lives rescued and transformed by the touch of jesus he heard about the sins being forgiven he heard about the fact that jesus had raised people from the dead and he had heard about the ministry of christ but he was one of barabbas's close friends and the company of his life being raised had led him into a position where he felt too embarrassed to break ranks with his earthly company his hood boys to declare his allegiance to christ it was an unpopular thing but in the closing moments of his life when jesus looked over at this thief he saw something that the other thief did not see look at verse 40 and 41 of luke chapter 23 the bible says but the other answer and rebuked him that is rebuke the jeering thief saying do you not even fear god he declared jesus to be god seeing you are under the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man come on somebody this man has done nothing wrong those three words are the reason why we are redeemed he has done nothing wrong and while he was standing there while he was standing there he had an encounter ian with the unstoppable evangelist he had an encounter with the one who did not have his business shut down even on the cross the saving business of jesus could not be shut down come on somebody say amen for me today above his head there was no sign above his head that said out of business there was no i can't save above his head above his head jesus was still in the saving business he remembered his mission clearly luke 19 10 for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost and when this thief turned in melodious tones to jesus when his heart began to be subdued by the righteousness of the sinless lamb when he began to be transformed he said to himself and i could imagine the priest saying it is time to transition from condemnation to redemption and i want to say like the kids in the city i'm not going out like that come on help me out i'm not going out like that i'm tired of being remembered for who i was i need me a new name and he turned to jesus and he said in verse 42 of luke chapter 23 then he said to jesus lord remember me when you come in your kingdom praise god all i want is jesus to remember me when he comes into his kingdom and jesus said to him surely i say to you today you will be with me in paradise jesus made the promise to him that day you will be with me in paradise and in a split moment there was a new name written down for that thief and brethren i believe that when we get to heaven when we get to heaven we're not going to say where is the thief on the cross and they're going to say he's not here but there's a guy that used to be a thief on the cross he's here amen where is that guy that used to lie he's not here but the guy that took his place that youth lie is here brethren we're not going to be who we were we are going to be who jesus has made us today you will be with me in paradise the thief said i'm not going out like that you see the thief was outside the city like jesus he was outside the city like jesus he died on the same hill with christ he was outside the old jerusalem with christ but look what happened to the thief that day he was able to embrace the final promise of christ revelation chapter 3 and verse 12. look at this my brethren look at this beautiful promise that is now imparted to the thief the bible says he who overcomes i will make him a pillar in the temple of my god brethren by the grace of jesus a former thief can be a pillar in the temple of god oh you guys need some caffeine i don't even believe in it but if that doesn't grab you that one day you can be a pillar in the temple of god something's wrong one day a former liar a former thief a former adulterer a former sinner a former drug abuser whatever you were you can be something different in the temple of god and watch this because i know you didn't get this and he shall go out no more why because when you went out of the city with jesus by faith and you finally make it into the new jerusalem you're not going to go out anymore go out to where the bible says i will write on him the name of my god and the name of the city of my god and i will write on him my new name i will write on him my what new name and then the bible says bob revelation 21 25 its gates shall not be shut at all by day and there shall be no night there no night there the gates will not be shut why because there's no reason to shut the gates when there are no sinners to keep out and nobody in there want to go out i've been waiting all my life to get in why would i want to go out i'm going to resist taking the turn right here because sometimes people are at events they just say well this event has taken too long or so they decide to leave i remember watching a commercial years ago okay lord i'm sorry i did take the turn i got to do this i watched the commercial years ago on television somebody was sitting in a baseball game that won extra innings extra innings extra innings extra innings and the guy said he was saying we got to leave and the moment he walked outside in this parking lot the stadium erupted that his team finally hit a home run and he missed the game-winning hit brethren i'm going to hold on until we see jesus victoriously i'm not walking out because when the day comes that i can go in i'm not going out i've spent all my life trying to get in and by the grace of god i am going to go in praise god somebody you see there the promise of christ is going to be fulfilled because there are no mansions on earth that jesus is longing to give to us he said in john 14 verse 2 and 3 in my father's house where friends in my father's house so many mansions if it were not so i would have told you i go i left i went outside the gates to prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you say it with me my friends i will come again and receive you to myself that where i am there you may be also you see i suppose that what we call mansions fall far short of jesus jesus's ability to build every mansion ever built will come down but not the one that jesus builds friends you know why because it's not built on wood and stone and brick and glass is built on the rock luke 6 48 jesus speaks of those who build on him is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock and when the flood arose the stream beat vehemently against that house and it could not shake it for it was founded on the rock praise god if you're founded on the rock your life will not come down can you say amen but as i close listen to this i'm looking forward to the day this is the last gate by the way i'm looking forward to the day when the declaration of jesus will be sweet music in the ears of the redeemed as we are winging our way cometh me to the final flight come with me to flight 101 the ascended saints on the way to the city and the words of isaiah the prophet shall come to pass in isaiah chapter 16 26 and verse 2 jesus is going to declare these words to the angels guarding the gate let's say it together open the gates that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may what enter in that declaration is just ahead of us can you say amen that's the gate i'm looking forward to jesus left the gate of earthly jerusalem no qualities there but he's looking forward to the gate to the new jerusalem and in another sermon i'll tell you why there are 12 gates why are there 12 gates why are there not just one jesus went through one but there are twelve why are there twelve i'll tell you in a prize in another sermon coming up but i'm looking forward to the day when i can walk through the gate what about you so don't ever let any deceiver tell you that obedience to the commandments of god don't matter don't let anybody ever tell you that obedience to the law of god does not matter because revelation chapter 22 the script reading for the day says these words and let's read this together as i close are you ready let's put some oomph into that together blessed are those who do his commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter what through the gates into the city amen somebody if you are willing to follow jesus to the cross he will get us ready for the crown if we exit the gates of earthly jerusalem with christ one day we will enter the gates of new jerusalem because of christ if we are willing to come out of the earthly cities one day he will prepare us for our heavenly city and if you live on earth and you hope for the shortest route through the golden gates the only route is through jesus is there somebody here today that wants to go the way of christ that they can make it through the gates into the city he says someone here today that says pastor john i'm going to stay on that path challenging as it may be difficult as it may be i'm going to stay on that path because the christ that i follow walk that same road and i know where he is now and i'm hoping one day to be in that very same place this is somebody here today that say i'm going to stay on that path if you're going to stay on that path why don't you stand with me i want to stay on that path i want to make it through that gate i want to be in that city i want to be in the new jerusalem i don't care about all the other gates there's only one gate that's going to make a difference in my future and that is the gate into the new jerusalem but there may be somebody here today this is i want to join that i want to join that criminal that receive a touch from christ i want to experience what i know he's going to experience i want that new beginning as he got a new beginning i want that looking forward to that day when i can step through the gate into paradise i want to be in that number if there's such a one here today i want you to raise your hand where you may be you're praying for that you're praying for that you want to be in that kingdom and you were not ashamed to lay down who you were to be identified with the christ of the cross and of the empty grave today my brethren there's a city being prepared for us and one day we're going to walk through the gates into that grand and glorious city and by god's grace alone we will be their father in heaven today is the day that says to us don't get off the road it may be a road of suffering right now a road of denial a road where the cross of life may be heavy a road where your friends may be few and your support may be very lean a road may this road may look foreboding and filled with disappointment and sorrow and death but father this is the way of suffering that leads to the way of eternal life help us to not avoid the suffering that one day we will appreciate the glory may we follow christ in all aspects of his life that when the gates are opened and the declaration is made we can find joy to be in that redeemed host and as people pause to celebrate the season of the resurrected christ may we celebrate every day the power of the resurrected life and may that christ be seen in and through us and may his glory radiate in such a way that others will come to know you and that we too may be ambassadors that our lives may present to those who do not know you a gate of salvation a gate of redemption a gate of new beginnings and so lord we thank you today for enduring the cross but we thank you even more for opening the gate that we might be saved in jesus name i pray and all of god's people said amen amen

Channel: Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church

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Id: gz5sPgKeBSI

Length: 77min 54sec (4674 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 04 2021