Discover Prophecy-6 The War Behind the Wars - Part 2 by David Asscherick

father in heaven we pause now to ask your presence to come here and be our instructor father we want to thank you you've been with us already every night and we anticipate and expect that you will be with us again this evening father as we pull back the curtain that separates the scene from the unseen as we pull back the curtain that separates this world from the eternal world as we see the war that is behind the wars we pray tonight that we would see that this is not just an intellectual truth or a concept but this is a war that we are very much involved in ourselves father may we be making decisions daily decisions that plainly align ourselves with Christ and with you please father be with us now as we open your word we're asking you to open our hearts in the marvelous name of Jesus Christ let everyone say Amen excellent now last night just as we were closing I realized that I did not get through the last two paragraphs of last night's presentation I originally thought well you know what we'll do is we'll spend the first part of tonight doing that but actually what we're going to do is just sort of spend a little time in review and my hunch is that you will be able to figure out those blanks from last evenings presentation and if you're not you can come and ask me about it personally and I'll help you to fill them in so let's go right to the introductory paragraph on tonight's study guide right to the introductory paragraph it says in the last two lessons we learned that there is a great wad everyone battle waging between the forces of light and darkness good and evil now that might sound a little bit like Star Wars to you but this was occurring long before George Lucas came on the scene Satan's undiluted fury is being poured out upon this planet we saw that last night in Revelation chapter 12 we read the whole chapter through and saw that he has already been cast out of heaven and is now confined to where everyone to this planet if we are to withstand the increasing and ongoing attacks of the devil then we must have a potent and powerful weapon to employ fortunately the book of Revelation promises just such a weapon in this lesson we will learn about this important weapon look with me at the screen here just by way of review we have learned that all of the evil in the world is traceable to a rebellion Lucifer and exalted angel made the choice to rebel against God and became Satan or sit on the Fallen floo foe last night we looked at the six stages of the great battle this great conflict that exists between the forces of light and darkness and good and evil the victory was declared who remembers where everyone in the Garden of Eden that's exactly right remember their Genesis chapter 3:15 God comes into the garden he says I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed and it will crush your head the victory then began in the earthly Ministry of Jesus remember Luke chapter 11 he said when a strong man is guarding his house then everything is fine but when a stronger than he overcomes him he could spoil his Goods and that's exactly what we find in the Gospels Jesus begins to heal and to restore and even to resurrect so that those that Satan had claimed as his own were being reclaimed by the Lord Jesus Christ in his earthly ministry can he say amen to that praise the Lord everybody who has put faith in the Lord Jesus Christ has been reclaimed from Satan and his captivity number three the victory was achieved where everyone on the cross that's exactly right we'll spend a lot of time on that this evening number four the victory was proclaimed by the resurrection very good the victory is continued in the church that's right in all of our lives the victory of Christ over Satan is being carried out in this present world and number six the victory is concluded in Revelation chapter 20 when Satan himself is dealt that final death blow the end of Satan the victory concluded when he is cast into the lake of fire can you say amen to that that is going to be a glory stay we also read Revelation chapter 12 through in its entirety and we saw the five central elements of Revelation chapter 12 number one was the woman now what does a woman represent in Bible prophecy the church are the people of God the wily dragon who is the dragon in Revelation chapter 12 that's right Satan or seat on the war remember war broke out in heaven that's right remember the war begins in heaven but where will that war be concluded on earth that's exactly right number four the weapon that's what we're going to talk about tonight the cross of Jesus Christ number five the winners Revelation chapter 12 verse 17 a powerful verse says the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her offspring those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus verse 11 also says that they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony let's open our Bibles to Revelation in the twelfth chapter Revelation chapter 12 last book of the Bible Revelation chapter 12 now last night was the war behind the wars part 1 tonight the war behind the wars part 2 let's look at Revelation chapter 12 and hone in on verse 10 verse 10 it says then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now salvation and strength and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been what everyone cast down you can actually fill that in right there that verse Revelation chapter 12 verse 10 is the blanks that should be filled in there under the subheading of the cross now who remembers how many times does that word cast occur here in Revelation chapter 12 five times three times in verse nine alone and then two other times he was cast out he was cast out he was cast out there on your study guide it says the blank of blank is revelations blank the cross of Jesus Christ is revelations weapon beloved you cannot fight the devil in your own strength you cannot fight the devil with your fists in order to overcome Satan we need a weapon far more powerful than that far more spiritual than that the only thing that we can employ to overcome Satan and his Sophos trees is the cross of Jesus Christ can you say Amen in fact look at verse 11 we just read Revelation chapter 12 verse 10 look now at verse 11 it says and they overcame him by the what everyone the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony so that's what you'd ride in there under numbers 1 and 2 they overcame him by the blood of the lamb the blood was shed where everyone on the cross and by the word of their testimony and so there at the bottom of that first page of the study guide it says that is the cross and the individuals personal experience with that cross think of it this way Jesus death on the cross is an historical events what kind of events everyone a historical event happened some 2,000 years ago but that historical event will not benefit you in an eternal sense unless you accept it as your personal salvation Jesus is the savior of the world but in order for it to benefit you in an eternal sense he has to become your personal Savior can you say Amen that's why it says there in verse 11 they needed both things they needed the historical fact of Jesus death and then they needed their own testimony with that historical fact and beloved Jesus is alive amen jesus is alive I'm on page 2 now of the study guide now we say sure Satan was cast out but why did God wait how many times I have heard the question why didn't God just destroy the devil right at the beginning how many people here have ever thought that or heard that question before I mean if God knew that the devil is going to do what he did why didn't he just destroy him right at the outset that is an excellent question notice this the top page two and the study guide it says as we discovered last lesson Satan was cast out of heaven following Jesus death on the cross I quote for you very quickly John chapter 12 and verse 31 remember what Jesus said now is the judgment of this world now the prince of this world will be cast out and then verse 32 and I if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men unto me Jesus says in the context of the cross Satan was cast out in the context of the cross Satan's insinuations and accusations were judged and he was cast to the earth that you're still there in Revelation chapter 12 notice with me verse 12 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 12 what's the first word everyone there for and when you see the word therefore in the Bible you ask yourself what's it therefore that's right therefore on the basis of the fact that Satan has been cast out therefore on the basis of the fact that the kingdom of God has come and the power of his Christ therefore rejoice who according to that verse o heavens and you who dwell in them but woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea why because the devil has come down to you having what everyone great wrath because he knows that he has just a short time fascinating isn't it what John here is saying is if you live in heaven then rejoice because Satan has been cast out if however you live on the earth woe to you the word woe means doom it means danger watch out then look at verse 13 it says when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth he persecuted the woman and who's the woman everyone the church he persecuted the church and this attack on the church reads reaches its climax its escalation in verse 17 look at that and the dragon was enraged old King James broth with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus now look at this right there at the top of the second page as we discovered last lesson Satan was cast out of heaven following Jesus death on the cross now this will be new for some of you so listen very carefully prior to this Satan still had limited access to heavenly beings you say what there was limited access absolutely open your Bible to the book of Job what book every one job that's in the Old Testament if you open right up to the middle of your Bible you'll probably be in Psalms and it's the book immediately before songs job chapter 1 job chapter 1 beginning in verse 6 job chapter 1 and verse 6 it says now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord now we're not told where this heavenly council is convened it doesn't say where it took place but we know by the context that it didn't take place on planet earth you say well how do you know that I'll explain in just a moment there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and who also came among them yeah that's right the devil comes walking in oh hey you're all here I just thought I'd come and join now watch what happens next verse 7 and the Lord said to Satan from where do you come in other words where are you coming here from now if they were on planet Earth God wouldn't have asked that question he'd say where are you from what do you mean where am i from I'm here where I've always been he asked the question where are you from and I want you to notice his response so Satan answered the Lord and said from going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it he basically says oh I've come from Earth now again we don't know exactly where this heavenly Council was convened but we know it must have been somewhere than this earth verse 8 then the Lord said to Satan have you considered my servant job that there is none like him on the earth a blameless and upright man one who fears God and shuns evil it's very interesting when God says to Satan where are you coming from and he says earth what he's basically saying oh you know just walking to and fro down on my planet you know just thought I'd show up to your little meeting here from my place and God says wait a minute you think that's your place have you thought about my servant Joe my servant job doesn't go along with your plans my servant job job doesn't go along with your principles then Satan raises an accusation against God he raises a what everyone in accusation we already saw that Revelation chapter 12 that Satan is called the accuser now notice this accusation in verse 9 so Satan answered the Lord and said does job fear God for nothing he basically says are you kidding of course he's obedient verse 10 have you not made a hedge around him around his household and around all that he has on every side you have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land but now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has and he will curse you to your face is that an accusation yes or no I mean think of basically what he's saying that would be like me saying you know I'm talking to someone and I say oh my wife loves me so much and they say yeah right you think your wife loves you she only loves you because you buy her all those flowers if my wife wasn't here I'd say a lot more but uh you love her because you're so nice to her I'm trying to come up with something here sorry sweetheart didn't mean to put you on the spot like that but you can just imagine you know if I saw my wife and now we have a wonderful relationship and someone comes in and says you don't have a good relationship with your wife in fact the only reason your wife likes you at all is that you do a bunch of good stuff for her her appreciation of you is not really for you it's just because of the goodies is that an accusation yes or no now get this whole scene in your mind I mean it's really an amazing scene God here has convened a heavenly Council and all of the sons of God these must be heavenly intelligences of some kind have presented themselves before God and and here comes the devil walking into the Assembly God says hey what are you doing here oh you know I've just been walking down to my planet just hanging out on planet earth you think that's your planet what about my servant Joe he doesn't go along with you with your governing principles and with your ways Oh Joe I mean really the only reason that job loves you the only reason that job respects you is that you take care of him and you give him good stuff is that an accusation yes or no it's a huge accusation and it is only a case in point of the very kinds of accusations that Satan raised against God beginning back in heaven now Revelation chapter 12 verse 7 Revelation chapter 12 verse 7 it says and war broke out in heaven now that word war there is a very interesting word you might want to make just a note of this the word war is the greek word polly mia polly mia pol emia would be the english transliteration now think about that there's an english word called polemics how many of you have heard that word before polemics it's basically arguing the the Bible says when war broke out in heaven the primary manifestation of that war listen very carefully was not physical it was not what everyone physical the word Polly Mia means it was a war of words it was a war of ideas it was a war of accusations and insinuations how many of you have ever heard of the Christian writer well known Christian writer CS Lewis raise your hand excellent love that brother one of my all-time favorite Christian authors he wrote a book entitled God is in the dock God is in the dock now CS Lewis was an Englishman and in the English Court the dock was the place that the person was on trial gave their defense how many of you knew that so when CS Lewis says God is in the dock what he's saying is God is on trial accusations have been raised against God incidentally many people in modern times have picked up on Satan's accusations you can read in your own insurance policies that there are certain ways that the insurance companies can get out of paying you because of acts of God have you read that and the acts of God is anything bad that happens in the world we have this idea God is the cause of bad things but we've already seen in our study when Jesus found that woman there and healed her he said whom Satan has do you remember bound and also when when he spread the good seed out and then the weeds came up the servants came and said hey where did all the weeds come from and remember he said five words and enemy has done this these so-called acts of God are not acts of God at all God is getting a very bad rap in the universe these accusations are being levelled against him go back to your study guide so according to Joe we see that sometime after the creation event Satan had limited access what kind of access limited access to heavenly intelligences but at the cross that access ceased and that's why John says in revelation rejoice who everyone oh heavens because at the cross at the cross all of the onlooking heavenly intelligences all of heaven saw that Satan was a murderer in fact let's continue on right there in your lesson the cross convinced the universe that Satan's ideas plans and accusations were groundless and false but why didn't God just destroy Satan right at the beginning after all he certainly knew what was going to happen with Satan's rebellion in order to understand this we go back to the parable of the wheat and the tares go to Matthew chapter 13 first book of the New Testament now tonight how many of you again have ever asked yourself that question if God knew what the devil is going to do why didn't he just shoot snuff him out right at the beginning raise your head you've ever wondered that okay here's the answer here's the answer it's the biblical answer and it's a powerfully logical compelling answer Matthew chapter 13 Matthew what chapter everyone 13 we're going back to that parable the parable of the man who sowed the seeds in the field Matthew chapter 13 we'll pick it up in verse 24 another parable he put forth to them saying the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed what kind of seed in his field good seed verse 25 but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way but when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop then the tares also appeared so the servants of the owner came and said sir did you not did you not sow good seed in your field how then does it have tears in other words where did all of these weeds come from he said to them five words say it with me and enemy has done this exactly right the servant said to him do you want us then to go and gather them up hey we'll do you a favor and we'll gather up all the bad stuff notice his response but he said what no why lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them then look at verse 30 this is the key let both grow what everyone together until the harvest and in the time of the harvest I will say to the Reapers first gather together the tares and bind them in bundles and burn them but gather the wheat into my barn now remember we don't have to wonder what this parable means because we can go right down to Jesus own interpretation in verse 37 look at verse 37 he who sews the good seed is who every one son of man the field is the world the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom but the tares are the sons of the wicked one the enemy who sowed them is the devil now look at this the harvest is yeah the end of the world your Bible maybe says world my Bible says the end of the age and that's actually the word it's not the word for world in in the sense of this terra firma this planet it's the end of the a the end of this era you have to wait until the harvest wait until the what everyone harvest are there any gardeners here this evening any gardens you have green thumb' anyone here okay just about two of you ha ha ha ha ok well listen then you're exactly the reason why this parable will make so much sense okay we're reading right from our study guide it can be difficult to distinguish desirable plants and non desirable weeds when they first begin to sprout is that true or false absolutely sure especially to the uninitiated which is apparently every single person in this room to the uninitiated gardener they can look almost what identical even after weeks of growth certain weeds to prove to be almost indistinguishable from certain plants yet the difference is clear to the seasoned experienced gardener remember what they said hey you want us to go and gather up the bad stuff she said no no no because if you do that you will also pull up some of the good why because when something first starts to grow it can be difficult to distinguish it the good from the bad we all clear on this yes or no see now the parable is really starting to come alive look at this only at what would what would go in there the harvest can the inexperienced see the true difference between the weeds and the weed I mean anybody can tell the difference between a thistle and a tomato when they're full-grown but when they're just beginning to poke their little heads I know I use that term up through the dirt it can be difficult but when you have the full grown tomato plant and the full grown thistle anyone can tell the difference at the harvest at the what everyone the harvest now does anyone here eat thistles does anyone here eat artichokes okay then you eat thistles haha the artichoke is a thistle many people don't know that anyway I just thought I'd play a little trick on you there now look at this this is exactly what Jesus parable is designed to teach look at the next paragraph God knew from the beginning the terrible direction that Satan was headed can you say amen to that I mean is that true sure it is think of this the parable of the wheat and the tares is a powerful parable that helps us to understand why God didn't just cut Satan off at the very beginning okay the harvest something about the harvest when the weeds and the weeds in this context when evil and good had come to full fruition then everyone would be able to see what God could see from the beginning you're getting it that's exactly right look at John chapter 8 verse 44 I'll put it up here on the screen for you this is the words of Jesus okay look at this speaking he said you are of your father the devil now look at this he was a what's that word a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him now isn't that interesting he was a murderer from the beginning but when really did he commit his greatest act of murder it's when he took Jesus and nailed him to that cross now you say well God knew that Jesus was going to come Jesus came to die of course but God certainly did not intend that he would have to die that hideous terrible ignominious humiliating death that he did it was the devil that designed the cross it was the devil who invented that thing so he could stick the Son of God on it and mock him in fact how many of you have ever heard the word excruciating you hit your you hit your Oh hit your thumb of the hammers oh that's an excruciating pain the word excruciating comes from two words X which means out of if you turn to the back there you see exit signs X means out and crew see ax which is the cross the word excruciating means out of the cross it was a word that was coined by the Romans because crucifixion was so horrific so painful so terrible people would be literally existing right on the verge of death and life sometimes for more than a week in total pain it was designed in the bowels of Hell itself to bring maximum pain and torture to an individual excruciating is out of the cross now God could look down when Satan began his rebellion there in heaven God could look down through the corridors of time and he could see that Satan would one day kill Jesus on the cross could God see that yes or no sure he could absolutely that's what Jesus says he was a murderer from the beginning now notice this quotation this is from the Epistle 1st John chapter 3 verse 8 John says whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil for the devil has been sinning from the beginning the reason that the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil now go back to your study guide there God knew from the beginning the terrible direction that Satan was headed but here is an important point the Angels didn't see it so clearly think of it this way just imagine with me that there's a terrible scandal that breaks out in the in the White House a terrible scandal and one of the closest individuals to the president begins to accuse him of all kinds of moral impurities and all kinds of money-laundering and it's a huge scandal in the White House and there's one person who's willing to ring the bell there's one person who says he did it I know it all I've got it all documented he's a bad guy in the moral area he's a bad guy in the financial area he's not what you think raising these accusations because I Wally we didn't think that oh really really give us the documentation and then son he turns up dead what do you suspect immediately if he turns up mysteriously dead what do you think about his accusations now they were probably true he was on to something now think about this in the context of all of heaven Satan begins to raise his accusations Satan begins to raise his insinuations Satan begins to basically say I could govern the universe better than God could and we'll look at that here in just a moment and if all of a sudden Satan turns up missing the other angels would have thought whoa I wonder why that is I mean what's God so afraid of I mean why get rid of Satan ins in such a quick way why get rid of Satan so unceremoniously number one and number two they would begin to serve God potentially out of fear and perfect love casts out all fear God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind the service of fear is not an acceptable service to God now fear is a motivator but it cannot be the primary motivator can someone say Amen and so God could see it God could see it as plain as the noonday Sun exactly where this rebellion was going to lead but for the benefit of the other Angels the other heavenly intelligences and frankly for the benefit of you and me God lets this thing play out until the harvest and we all can see plain as the noonday Sun that's the devil that's Christ I choose to stand with Christ if that makes sense say Amen powerful now let's go back to our study guide here here's an important point the Angels didn't see it so clearly think of this Satan's arguments ideas and insinuations must have been very persuasive indeed don't forget that he deceived a full one-third of the angels let me ask you a Bible question here what is the first adjective that is used to describe Satan in the Bible subtle that's exactly right Genesis chapter 3 we read it yesterday it says that the serpent and of course it was Satan that that inhabited the serpent at that moment it says the serpent Satan was more subtle he's subtle he's manipulative he's persuasive what word everyone persuasive you've got it a full one-third of the angels God allowed Satan to come to this planet to demonstrate his way of running things his governing principles the angels in the entire onlooking universe was then invited to watch and see open your Bibles to first Corinthians chapter four first Corinthians chapter four see if you can get there before me first Corinthian are you there okay you beat me first Corinthians chapter four I'm there first Corinthians you've got Matthew Mark Luke John then he bought acts Romans first Corinthians okay first Corinthians I stare here still here the pages rustling don't worry we'll wait for you first Corinthians chapter what everyone for now look at verse nine wow this is an amazing verse verse 9 Paul says for I think that God has displayed us the Apostles last as men condemned to death for we have been made a spectacle to the world both to angels and to men now my Bible says a spectacle does any other version here say something different yet they have another version a theater I heard someone say it in my Bible there's a little marginal reference there that's a little number one and it means I look over into the margin and the word is a theater let me read it to you with that word we it says God has displayed us the Apostles last as men condemned to death for we have been made a theater to the world both to angels and to men the Greek Theatre and the Roman Theatre was something common in the days of Paul and Paul here chooses that word theater what he basically says is we're on the stage as Shakespeare said all the world is a stage but here that's really true just as as Satan presented himself before the sons of God and he's all I've been walking back and forth on my planet and God says but what about my servant job job was on the stage of life the Apostle Paul says were on a stage it's not a game beloved it's a real-life experience a stage and people are looking in to see what we will choose whose side will we stand on whose governing principles will we follow will we believe the lies and the persuasion and the insinuations of Satan or will we stand on the side of God go to your study guide there you can fill it in he says we are made a theatre to the world both to angels and to men beloved what we're trying to do here and I hope we're succeeding by the grace of God I hope I'm succeeding is to help you see that there is a big picture of what everyone a big your salvation is not just about you your salvation is not just about you there are larger issues at stake namely the vindication of God's own character Satan has raised radical insinuations about God's character beloved when we take a stand for Jesus we're saying to the whole onlooking universe I reject Satan's lies I reject Satan's propaganda I will stand with Jesus powerful I try to paint the big picture here there are two great revelations of the cross you can fill it out there in your study guide the cross teaches us two things powerfully amazingly and unequivocally God's love for sinners and God's hatred for sin in fact if you think about it God is in a real pickle the the supreme object of God's love sinners is bound up in nexor ibly with the supreme object of his hatred sin God has to perform the most difficult operation in all of the universe a sin and dekhta me he has to take the supreme object of his love and separate that from the supreme object of his hatred because God hates sin but he loves sinners the problem that he has is that half the time we love sin the two great revelations of the Cross God's love for sinners and God's hatred of sin now go to Isaiah chapter fourteen we've actually already been to this before but let's look at this by the grace of God you are going to see this big picture here in a way that you may have never seen it before we're going to Isaiah Isaiah 14 now we've been here before and here's what I want you to do in Isaiah chapter 14 just lost my place there go to Isaiah chapter 14 and then go keep your finger there put something there like I have one of these little fancy ribbons here so I'm going to put it right there and then go to Philippians chapter 2 that's in the New Testament Philippians chapter 2 Galatians Ephesians Philippians chapter 2 okay so you've got one hand in isaiah 14 one hand in philippians 2 okay I'll give you time to get there don't worry so one is in Isaiah what everyone 14 and the other is in philippians 2 okay keep your fingers right there and you said well why do we need to do that because we're going to be flipping Church just like that okay here we go Isaiah chapter 14 beginning in verse 13 these are the thoughts of Satan himself for you have said in your heart I will ascend into heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will stood also on the Mount of the congregation on the far the sides of the north I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the most what everyone hi so take a look at your study guide there five steps very different directions this next part of our study is both stunning and easily understood in a simple comparison of two passages we will see the essence of the character of God as contrasted with the essence of the character of Satan prepare to be amazed and humbled by the infinite and illimitable love of God Satan's five steps up is what you'd ride in there five steps up notice the upward direction of all of these verses I will what every one ascend into heaven I will exalt my throne I will sit on the Mount is a mount a high thing or a low thing high think on the in the congregation of the north north is at the top you look at a map North is up number four I will ascend above the heights of the clouds and number five I will be like the Most High you've got it so if you look at this verse it's very simple Satan says I'll go up I'll go up I'll go up I'll go up I want to be higher than the position the office that God has appointed me to Satan is basically saying I could do it better than God could if I was running things it would be better and different I'll go up I'll go up I'll go up I'll go up now keep your finger right there in Isaiah and flip over to Philippians chapter 2 Philippians what chapter everyone - beginning in verse 5 Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in what everyone Christ Jesus who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God now the Greek here is a little complicated but basically what it says is he was God and so it was not something that he had to lay hold on to be God verse 7 but made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross now look at that these are Jesus Christ's five steps down he made himself of no reputation who else could make God of no reputation the only being in the universe that could humble God is God does that make sense I mean who else could do it no one if anyone's going to humble God it has to be God himself he made himself of no reputation that's a choice that God made he stepped down he took the form of a servant think of it the infinite eternal omnipotent omnipresent God of the universe not constrained by either time or space condescended to become like a slave number three became in the likeness of a what everyone a man I mean think of it let's just say for for sake of illustration he was six foot tall here you have the illimitable infinite God of the universe confining himself to a man that six feet tall as if that wasn't enough God the very fountain of life became obedient to death even the death not a noble death not a death where he looked like a hero whatever said oh no no look at how wonderful he is look at how gradients no no he died bruised and beaten and bloodied and battered and naked on a pathetic cross that was designed to torture common criminals Jesus looked down from heaven when he saw Adam and Eve fall and when he saw you fall and when he saw all of us fall the the love of God and the love of Jesus compelled them it forced them into action they said I will come down from my lofty throne I will come down from my lofty sphere down down down down just to rescue my children now keep your finger right there in Philippians and watch this this is awesome okay so look what I'm doing here okay repeat after me here's Philippians right here and here's Isaiah okay now watch what happens go to Isaiah chapter 14 Isaiah chapter 14 and then get ready to poop flip right over to Philippians okay Isaiah 14 okay verse 13 you have said in your heart I will ascend into heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will sit also on the Mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the Most High I'll go up I'll go up I'll go up I'll go up look at verse 15 yet you will be brought down isn't that interesting his desire is to go up but the end result is he will be brought down now look at Philippians 2 look at this Philippians 2 we've already read it verse 8 and being found in the appearance of a man he humbled himself of course who else could humble God but God he humbled himself and became obedient to death even the pathetic ignominiously went down down down down verse 9 therefore remember when you see the word therefore ask yourself hey what's that therefore therefore God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of all things under the earth that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father can you say Amen do you see the contrast yes or no Satan says I'll go up I'll go up I'll go up I'll go up I want to be more than the office that God has appointed me to and God says in your desire to go up you'll be brought down humble yourself in the side of the Lord and He will lift you up and then Jesus says I'll go down I'll lay my crown aside I'll go down I'll lay my throne is side I'll go down I will go down for the benefit of others down down down hanging bruised and beaten and humiliated falsely accused spat upon his beard torn out on a cross he went to the bottom to the drags to the basement to the lowest place and God says I will exalt him powerful look at the bottom of page three there at the end however Satan is cast down and Christ is exalted can someone say Amen powerful on the cross I mean think of it you're an angel you're one of the two-thirds of the loyal angels I mean think about it one third followed Satan and the two thirds remained loyal but still you must know that there there must have been at least questions in their mind of course they were loyal to God but they always wondered what Satan up to I mean a full one-third it's very much like our own civil war the mason-dixon line is drawn and people on this side and people on that side and the Angels were always kind of thinking the loyal who not I wonder what this is all about and then they saw Golgotha they saw the devil and all of his satanic fury lay the precious son of God down humiliate him pull out his beard and no no they said no Shirley Shirley Shirley he's not and they saw him do it and when they saw that when they looked down I I can't believe it he's not he's going to do it when they saw that when they saw what happened on the cross their minds were made up he say man I mean pain they were already loyal they said we don't know we don't have all the answers but we don't want to have anything to do with this devil and therefore he was cast out not even limited access anymore to heaven that's why it says rejoice o heavens but there is one planet one place where that decision has not been made that's this planet and something interesting is that this planet is not going to make that decision wholesale will make that decision as individuals God isn't going to save this whole planet someone say Amen you see here it's different with us it's different with us individuals will make the decision I will align myself with Satan and with his governing principles or I will align myself with Christ and his governing principles and if you're having difficulty making that decision look at the cross Satan says I'll go up up up up at the expense of others Christ says I'll go down down down down just to save others look there at your study guide at the bottom one embodies almost reckless condescension for the benefit of others that's Jesus condescension for the almost reckless I mean he throws away his crowd he throws away his throw and he says I'm going down got to get my children the other embodies calculated exaltation at the expense of others last page just think of it the infinite illimitable god of the universe condescended to become a man more than this he condescended to die and even more than this he condescended to be ridiculed mocked and died the ignominious death of a common criminal what love what marvelous condescension what absolute selflessness the word condescend has at its root word descend what does descend mean to go down the prefix con means together so the word condescend means that he goes down together with us is there anyone in this room who's ever been at the bottom anyone want a raise I've been at the bottom well Jesus has been there too he came down to get me and to get you that's what the word condescend means by his incomparable love you've heard it before but but it's become so quaint we've seen it on on we've seen it at football stadiums we've we've seen it all over I mean it's it's almost quaint now and it rolls off the tongue so easily so readily oh yeah I've heard that verse before half the time as a minister of the gospel and I say open up your Bibles to John 3:16 90% of the people don't even open up their Bibles and oh I know that one been there done that beloved think of it God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him wouldn't perish but live for ever can't you say Amen I mean this verse is for you beloved this verse is for you this verse is for me and jump down there to the second pair of the third paragraph the cross of Jesus Christ is the very center of it all the cross alone enables us to make sense out of this troubled in sin filled world in which we live the cross of Jesus Christ utterly demonstrates God's character as a character predominated and characterized by love but it also upholds the principles of his justice that's what you'd write there it also upholds the principles of his justice God couldn't just forgive sin willy-nilly well you know I changed my mind about the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil no sin is a hatred thing it's a violation of the very character the very eternal law of God and so God is in a real pickle here isn't he he needs to uphold his loving character but not compromise his justice well how pray tell can he do that it upholds the principles of his justice and his eternal law more on that later yes at the cross both God's love and his justice were plainly and perfectly demonstrated if that makes sense I want you to say Amen Psalm 85 and verse 10 is right there in your sheet mercy and truth have met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other on the cross God didn't have to lay aside his law and his justice and his character in order to save us but he did have to put his son on a cross Friends of God could have just changed his mind willy-nilly Jesus wouldn't have gone to the cross the fact that Jesus hung on the cross is proof that God's character is immutable it cannot change the principles of his law can not just be laid aside the fact that Jesus died on that cross is proof positive that God's justice is not up for negotiation but neither is his love and there was only one way Jesus says all go down I'll go down I'll go all the way down this verse beloved this verse is for you now at this time I'm going to invite my good friend Clint to come up and our ministry partners are going to distribute to you a card I'd like to ask my ministry partners just partners just to stand up right now distribute those cards you're going to get a card right now now as they're distributing this card I want to ask you a question tonight number one has this presentation made sense say Amen if it's made sense okay you're getting a car this is a decision card of what everyone and you'll notice on there it doesn't say decision for david asscherick it says decision for who everyone decision for what does it say Christ beloved tonight we have done our very best to present to you the big picture the big picture the big conflict between the character of Christ the character of God and the character of the enemy there is a war behind the wars and that war is being waged right here right now in your life and in this room take a look at that card there are several boxes here that could be checked number one I understood tonight's presentation first of all please fill out your name your address all of that we're going to have to have that information if you're making a decision tonight for Christ we want to follow that up we want to stand with you on the side of Jesus please as a personal favor to me fill that out put your name down put your address down put your contact information down please number one I understood tonight's presentation if you need a pen just raise your hands high to heaven Michaels here with pens number one number two I reaffirm my personal acceptance of Jesus Christ's death for me okay you want to do that you mark that down you check that you say yes maybe you've done it before but you see it tonight you say yes and yes again number three for the first time there's not a doubt in my mind there is someone in here tonight who's never made this decision someone in here tonight who's never understood it as you've understood it tonight that Jesus came down for you so that you could live forever his righteousness becomes your righteousness your unrighteousness becomes his honor there's a divine exchange that takes place he suffered the death which was yours you can live the life which is his you can check that number three you say for the first time I want to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior from sin and death number four I have wandered from God and his plan for my life and I want to return to him if that describes you you check that we want to meet with you we want to pray with you we want to minister whatever we can do to help you we're here so have wandered from God some of you have wandered from God even a long way for a long time well tonight is the night to wander back number five I would like to be baptized perhaps you've not been baptized perhaps you've not made that decision to to make a full commitment to Christ and to go through the biblical ceremony of baptism you mark that number six I would like a personal visit number seven I need special prayer for please fill that card out and here's what's going to happen my good friend Clint McCoy who's going to be doing our concert tomorrow night he's going to sing us a song entitled give me Jesus now that song is done the ministry partners are going to collect these cards please don't slide these cards into your Bible give them to the ministry partners they go to me I pray over every card beloved I love you very much and tonight I want you to see that God loves you dearly amen amen Clint in the morning when I rise in the morning in the morning when I rise give me Jesus give me Jesus give me Jesus Jesus you can have all this world give me Jesus and when I am oh and when I am alone when I am alone give me Jesus give me Jesus give me Jesus Jesus you can have all this room give me Jesus and when I come to tied own when I come to die when I come to die give me gee give me Jesus give me Jesus you can have all this you can have all this is you can have all this world just give me Jesus you

Channel: hopemedia

Views: 32,375

Rating: 4.8576512 out of 5

Keywords: David Asscherick, Prophecy, Revelation, Christianity, Discover Prophecy, Hope Media Ministry, hopevideo hopemedia, end of the world

Id: PFbHtJ8PqNI

Length: 59min 23sec (3563 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 01 2011