The Decision that Decides Your Destiny | Mark Finley (Revelation 14)

I'm delighted that you've joined us for this series titled three cosmic messages Earth's final conflict in this series we're focusing on the book of Revelation but specifically on three messages in Revelation Revelation chapter 14 verse 6 to 12 when many people think of Revelation they think of mystic symbols they think of strange beasts they think of weird images but yet Revelation chapter 1 verse 1 says the revelation of Jesus Christ so the book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus to grant to us insight into the last days verse history and prepare us for the coming of Jesus in fact revelation chapter 1 verse 3 says blessed are they that read and hear and do the things that are therein so as we study the book of Revelation but particularly this very heart of Revelation revelation 14:6 to 12 we are studying the very messages of Christ to prepare people for Jesus soon return I want you to bow your heads with me just now as we pray and ask God to come in a very special way to minister to our hearts to speak to our hearts to impress us with his last day message let's pray father in heaven as we open your word as we study the book of Revelation I pray that the words would leap right off the page that the Holy Spirit would guide direct and strengthen us guide us as we go into this presentation today a moment of destiny I pray thee in Christ's name Amen now let me review just for a moment our last presentation for you in this series three cosmic messages or Earth's final conflict in our last presentation we talked about the fact that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord of all we pointed out that Jesus is the one who had victory over Satan in the heavenly realms we pointed out that dragon fought against Christ but yet the dragon Satan was cast out of heaven in heaven in that first episode Jesus won and Satan lost Satan was so vicious against Christ that he then tried to destroy Christ on earth when Jesus was born as the male child that would rule with the rod of iron we pointed out that this expression rod of iron is a symbol of invincible everlasting dominion principle or rulership that Jesus again would reign defeat Satan and Christ defeated Satan at his birth Satan tried to destroy him but Jesus was led with Mary and Joseph into Egypt directed by an angel and protected there Satan's talked Jesus all of his life and tried to destroy Jesus there but yet Jesus was victorious in the wilderness with his temptations over Satan at the cross Jesus was victorious in his resurrection Jesus was victorious and in his intercession in heaven Jesus is victorious Jesus wins Satan loses in that second episode Revelation chapter 12 gives us the panorama of history down through the ages Revelation chapter 12 reveals the plans of God and it shows us that Christ has never lost a battle with Satan yet during the great Dark Ages remember revelation 12 talks about this 1260 years this period of the Middle Ages against Jesus wins Satan loses in the last days of verse history revelation 12 comes to an end with Revelation 12 verse 17 and in Revelation 12:17 it says the dragon Satan is angry with the woman goes to make war with the last part of her seed who keep the commandments of God the issue in the last days is that Jesus a win Satan will lose and Christ will come on a rescue mission the Star Wars controversy will be over this intergalactic struggle will be over and Earth's final conflict God's people will win and Satan will lose in our program today I've titled this program a moment of destiny you feel it in your heart you sensed it in your mind you know that something is going on in this world and we're at a moment of destiny things have changed in our world dramatically in the last few years there's been a moral decay there has been a loss of confidence in governmental institutions and institutions in general Western society is at a moment of destiny Western society is at a crossroads things that we counted on in the past have seemed to fade away there seems to be no compass to guide us no morals no Northstar to direct us Western society is in a crossroads one writer said this Christian morality is being ushered out of American social structures and off the cultural mainstage leaving a vacuum in its place and the broader culture is attempting to fill the void in other words this nation that has been built on Christian principles Christian ethics has seen those ethics eroding things that would have been determined unconscionable decades ago are accepted as moral norms in our society today as we look at our society new research reveals a growing concern about the moral condition of the nation even as many American adults admit that they're uncertain about how to determine right from wrong now that is a striking statement Pew Research one of the more renowned research organizations in the United States when it's surveyed Americans discovered that many were uncertain how do I determine right from wrong in other words there's no moral guide there's nothing that guides our ethical behavior many people feel if I think it's right in my own mind it must be right if I believe that something is acceptable to do I can do it so there is no guide no standard higher than the human mind many people are uncertain how to determine right from wrong 80% of Americans according to the Barna research group regardless of their ethnicity gender socioeconomic status or political ideology expressed concern about the nation's moral condition now that is absolutely staggering it's absolutely astounding 80% of Americans really have serious doubts concerns they're troubled they're perplexed about the moral condition of America today and the world in 1960 approximately 72% of the United States population said they trusted the government almost always to make the right decisions there's almost 3/4 of Americans look at how that's changed today only 19% of the population say they trust the government to almost or always do the right thing that is 81 percent do not trust the government to do the right thing 81% when you look at that that is a whopping large number so what do we see happening a loss of confidence in government institutions a loss of confidence in political institutions loss of confidence many in the medical care that can be provided in the United States the United States spends more on medical care than any other nation yet our outcomes are not in the top 25 there's longevity is much longer in many other nations than in America today so people are losing confidence in in society in general there's this new spirit of rugged individualism that's coming back where people begin to feel I have to care for myself but yet they're incapable of doing that lives tend to be more stressful more harassed and people's lives seem to be falling apart our society is a society in trouble when popularity is more important than purity a nation is in trouble when money is more important than morality a nation is in trouble when entertainment is more important than ethics a nation is in trouble when pleasure indeed again is more important than purity a nation is in trouble when there's confusion of sexual roles in sexual orientation and God's original plan of one man married to one woman for a lifetime is flagrantly violated a nation is in trouble and when children even of kindergarten age first grade age are given a choice of various genders some choices of 5-10-15 Jets a you choose which one you are a nation is in deep trouble when the roles are confused in sexual lines when crime is rampant in our streets and Christ is mocked in our schools a nation is in trouble when we look at these signs in our society we sense that we are living in the days of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy those great prophecies that Christ gave in Matthew chapter 24 the signs of his coming those great prophecies that Christ gave in Luke 21 of the signs of his coming and second Timothy and particularly the book of Revelation the book of Revelation was made for this generation the three messages that God gives to us in Revelation are messages for this time at this hour of Earth's history the ancient prophets speak to this generation in trumpet tones and their messages come echoing and re-echoing down the chorus of time they speak to us in thunderous tones in this age in this moment of Earth's history proverbs chapter 16 verse 24 says righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people now underline that carefully righteousness exalts a nation nations are great because nations are good and when a nation ceases to be good it will soon cease to be great now that may take a period of time babylon ruled the world but yet its moral foundation crumbled and nation and babylon was conquered by me to persia me to persia ruled the world and then it crumbled greece ruled the world and then it crumbled and you come to the roman empire and you look at rome how it ruled for many years 168 BC to about 351 ad but yet it too crumbled proverbs chapter 26 verse 2 says like a flitting sparrow like a flying swallow so a curse without a cause shall not alight now that language is a little bit old in its reading but we still get the point but let me show you a little more modern translation it says as the bird by wandering as the swallow by flying so the curse causeless shall not come the curse causeless shall not come so when a nation experiences this moral decay there is a cause-and-effect relationship there are parallels in Western society with Rome's collapse some of you will recall the monumental volumes written about the history and collapse of Rome by Edward Gibbon he finished twenty years of research in 1787 and one of the great set lessons of that book are his summary of the reasons Rome fell and in the book he talks about the waning morality of Rome he talks about the moral degradation of Rome the sexual immorality he talks about the heavy taxation upon the people the class structure in Rome in the first century the Roman population was just over a million as clear as we can tell it was about a million two hundred thousand at times but yet a third to forty percent of that population were slaves so you have this great class structure in ancient Rome and the division of class structure the very rich and the very poor so Gibbon talks about the fact in the decline for the Roman Empire of this moral decline heavy taxation wealthy getting wealthier because of the poverty of the people he talks about the slavery the dehumanization of human beings but then he gives three major reasons here they are number one he says that Rome had this mad craze for pleasure that sports became every year more exciting and more brutal well you you know we have a movie called the gladiators but the Romans had the real thing and they had what the gladiator game said people jammed the Colosseum and as the gladiators fought thumbs up was spare their life thumbs down was cut off their throat can you imagine that having pleasure from the bloodshed from brutality of seeing lives taken yet today you look at the video games that kids are playing violent video games what's this doing to the human mind you look at TV and movies and DVDs with the glorification of bloodshed the glorification of violence and so Gibbon says when a society has this mad craze for pleasure in fact one Roman writer wrote that all of Rome wept when its favorite team lost the chariot races in the circum asuma's people would get up early in the morning lineup when pleasure dominates your life when the skin ulis scintillating desire for pleasure fills your life and that becomes the Summum bonum of existence and when good hard honest work does not there comes a time when society is on the verge of moral collapse secondly he says that Rome built gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within the decadence of the people was the real problem they wanted to protect from the enemy without but the real problem was moral decay nations are changed not by ledge slating morality but by transforming the hearts of people Rome overextended its military money was lavishly spent to build their army and their infrastructure crumbled thirdly in Rome there was a decay of religion faith faded into a mere form it was not that there was no religion but it lost touch with life it became impotent to warn guide people when you look at the fall of Rome in the collapse of Rome you see those modern indicators in our society today you see in our society this love for pleasure this erosion of morality this craze for things and the getting of more things if those external things can satisfy our inner needs America needs a moral revolution the Western society needs a religious revival that would bring transformation the book of Revelation describes two great movements that will take place in the last days of verse history the first movement is an attempt to change society by legislation church in state unites there's a form of religion there's attempt to coerce religious behavior but there's a second religious revival that the Bible speaks about a genuine in the first there's legislative morality in the first there is the working of demons and spiritualism in the second there is a genuine heartfelt commitment to Christ lives are changed and society has changed not by legislation but because people are transformed by the grace of Christ the revival in Revelation is a revival that comes because three angels flying in Midheaven have an eternal everlasting message three cosmic messages in this final conflict and men and women accepting those messages are transformed by the grace of Christ their lives can never be the same again and they live for Jesus and the light of this of his love lightens the earth with his glory if nations are ever to be changed it's because there is a radical moral transfer Meishan in the hearts and minds of its people and that is precisely that is precisely what the book of Revelation is about that's precisely what the messages of the three angels these three cosmic messages are about the change of society by the change of people people transformed by God's grace people that understand the age that we're living in and people who understanding these three messages have their lives changed picture to spit angels flying in the midst of heaven three eternal messages three universal messages three messages that go to the ends of the earth to prepare a people for the coming of Jesus Christ I love what James Russell Lowell wrote once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide in the strife of truth and falsehood for the good and evil side that's what revelation is all about it's about truth it's about falsehood it's about the preparation of a people for the coming of Jesus Christ in the clouds of heaven this book of Revelation leads every human being to make eternal choices it is now time now time in this generation to make eternal decisions it's now time on our knees to plead with God and say God show me your truth you may be viewing though this program in this series of programs on three cosmic messages and you may be a truth seeker all around the world God has truth seekers people that are crying out people that want to know God people that long to know his last a message for this world and God has not led you to this series of programs by accident you have not watched this DVD watch this YouTube presentation watch this television production you've not done it by accident the Spirit of God has been working in your heart and God's gonna unfold truth to you God's gonna reveal truth from his word to you and as he does he invites you to take a eternal step to walk in that way of truth they'll come a day when every human being on planet earth will have made their final irrevocable decision just like Noah who entered the ark with his family preached 420 years that rain was going to come people felt he was foolish but he entered that ark the door was closed when the door was shut it was shut just like in the days of sodom and gomorrah where god hastened lot and his family out of the city but then the fire fell so there will come a time when god will say it's enough they'll come a time when the message of christ has gone to the ends of the earth the Bible says in Matthew 24 verse 14 this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations then the end will come when every human being has had that opportunity to make their final irrevocable choice when they've had that opportunity to make a choice for Jesus then indeed the end will come then indeed Christ will return the book of Revelation describes those two classes revelations last a message leads us not merely to have information in our head but it leads us to make divine eternal irrevocable choices for the kingdom of God or for the kingdom of the Evil One the book of Revelation is a book of contrasts now Revelation chapter 14 is the heart of our study in this particular series and Revelation 14 is divided into three parts the first part is verses 1 to 5 revelation 14 describes a group called 144,000 this group called 144,000 stand on the sea of glass that is they are living there in eternity with Christ they have been redeemed from the earth this term 144,000 is a character term it describes the character of a group of people who are totally sold out for Christ not necessarily a literal number but a to describe those people who are redeemed when Jesus comes then revelation 14:6 to 12 describes the message that prepares this group of people it's God's last-day message with a final judgment announced and that is the message that we are going to be looking at in this series three cosmic messages but to understand the message you have to understand the entire chapter then verses 6 to 20 describe 6 angels the first three angels announced the final judgment these six angels totally describe the judgment in the first three they announced the final judgment and the last three talk about the execution of this judgment now let's pause on that a little while to make it plain for you so you understand in the first angel that flies in the middle of heaven the revelation 14 verse 6 says I saw another angel flying in the middle of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to those that dwell on the earth to every nation kindred tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear God give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come so this first angel announces the judgment the second angel that flies the second cosmic message in Earth's final conflict announces the fall of Babylon which is a series a system of religious confusion a system that is contrary to God in his word a system in which falsehoods are substituted for truth and we're going to study this in this series very carefully the third angel is judgment upon the Beast so there's first the announcement of judgment then judgment on all fallen religious systems that pretend and that exhibit themselves as righteous and then thirdly judgment upon the Beast then the last three angels execute that judgment and that's what we're gonna look at now this final execution of this judgment I looked and behold revelation 14 verse 14 a white cloud and on the cloud one sat like the Son of man having on his head a golden crown and in hand a sharp sickle who do we see on that cloud we see the son of man will study that expression and what does he have on his head a golden crown so three things in the text first a white cloud Jesus is descending on the white cloud second the expression the Son of Man and third a golden crown on his head now you will remember that in Acts chapter 1 verse 9 the Bible says while they watched he Jesus was taken up in a cloud received him out of their sight so the disciples gazing up into heaven see Jesus ascends into heaven on the clouds he will return on the clouds so revelation 14 verse 14 and onward are the description of Christ returning in the clouds just as he ascended in the clouds man steps off a mountain and goes down Jesus stepped off a mountain and went up as he ascended because the laws of gravity cannot keep the creator of gravity down but here he now is not ascending in the clouds because what did the angel say this same Jesus that you've seen ascend into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go he will come so the prediction in Acts chapter 1 is that the Christ that ascended in the clouds will return in the clouds that's what the Angels say Menna Galilee that is the disciples why you standing gazing here into heaven this same Jesus the Jesus that walked the streets of Galilee that trod the cobblestone of Jerusalem that touch the eyes of the blind and they were opened in the ears of the Deaf and they were unstuff this Christ is gonna come again and that's what revelation is all about this same Jesus that was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you have seen him go up in Devon he ascended in the clouds he will descend in the clouds that is the message of the book of Revelation in Revelation chapter 14 we go on to the second phrase what is that second phrase I looked and behold a white cloud he went up in the clouds he's coming in the once at like the son of man now notice the expression the son of man he has a golden crown on his head in his hand a sharp sickle sickle represents reaping crown represents victory but it's this expression the Son of Man the Son of Man is used throughout the Gospels it's used in fact 82 times in the gospels and it's especially used in the Gospel of Matthew the Son of Man expression is a very common expression to describe the Christ that identifies with us everything you go through Christ has already gone through everything you experience in life Christ has already experienced the sorrow the disappointment the heartache the temptations Christ is victorious for you he has overcome in your behalf as we trust him we can overcome now when you see the expression the Son of Man particularly in the Gospel of Matthew it is often linked to the second coming of Christ very often now for example Matthew 16 verse 27 for the son of man did we read about the Son of Man in Revelation we did for the Son of Man will come in the glory of his father with his holy angels then he will reward each one according to his works when we have the expression the Son of man in the Bible it often is in harmony with Christ coming in glory in harmony it with judgment because you see here it says he'll reward everyone according to his works so when we read about the Son of Man throughout Matthew here's another example in Matthew Matthew 24 verse 27 and 34 as lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west so also will the coming of the Son of Man be then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven then all the tribes of the earth will what mourn they will see the Son of man coming on clouds of heaven with power and great glory so in Revelation when we read about the Son of Man we read about Jesus Christ coming in the clouds we are reading about a time of final judgment where every human being will make their eternal everlasting decision for or against Christ Matthew 25:31 another good example when the Son of Man come in his glory do you notice all these texts and Matthew talked about the Son of Man coming how in his glory with judgment that's the theme of Revelation and all the holy angels with him he will sit on the throne of his glory throne in pies rulership there's been a battle for the throne in the universe ever since Satan rebelled in heaven against God and was cast out of heaven Satan has desired to usurp God's throne in this intergalactic struggle in this star wars Conover see between good and evil there's a battle for the throne is God the rightful ruler of the throne is Jesus the legitimate son of God to rule with his father on the throne is Jesus the rightful one that can wear the crown upon his head the crown of glory upon his head is he worthy of our worship and our loyalty is he a truly a God of love or is he a vindictive god of wrathful tyrant so three things are this idea the son of man indicates one that Jesus will come again second that he'll execute judgment when he comes third that the destiny of all nations in the destiny of all humanity will be decided for eternity when Christ comes now the son of man is not a unique phrase to the book of Revelation or to the book of Matthew the book of Daniel is also a prophetic book and here in the Book of Daniel chapter 7 we also read about the Son of Man Daniel chapter 7 nations rise and fall Babylon rises and falls me to persia rises and falls Greece rises and falls Rome rises and falls there is a religion political power that usurps the authority of God and the people of God are persecuted and then the eyes of the Prophet are taken from Earth and they're focused on heaven and this one it says I beheld till Thrones were put in place you see it's the battle for the throne the cosmic struggle the Ancient of Days was seated his garment was white as snow the hair of his head was like pure wool his throne was like fiery flame a thousandth ow Minister damn ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him the judgment was set the court was seated the books were open I watched and one like the Son of Man came before him so here is this cosmic judgement in heaven here is this judgement that settles the destinies of all human beings we're gonna study more about it in a future study but when we read about the Son of Man we're reading about the coming of Christ we're reading about judgment we're reading about something significant we're reading about a last day message it calls all humanity to commit their lives to Christ in the light of God's last-day judgment we're reading about a heavenly court that has been seated a son of man in the Ancient of Days that come forth to settle the destinies of every human being now the question in the judgement it's not necessarily well if I've committed more good deeds than bad deeds I'll be saved my good deeds are not weighed against the bad days but the question of the judgment is what have you done with Christ are you totally sold out for Christ are you totally committed to Christ have you given your life to Christ it's the longing of your heart to live in the glory of his love in the atmosphere of His grace what have you done with Jesus you see on the cross of Christ his sacrifice was enough his death was enough his atonement on the cross was enough his forgiveness is enough his mercy is enough his grace is enough and what the judgment shows this final judgment that takes place shows is that Christ has done everything necessary to save you and me now remember when we read there in Revelation the 14th chapter you remember we read I looked and behold a white cloud Christ coming upon that cloud and on the concent one like the Son of Man that's refers to the second coming of Jesus the one who lived on earth with us the one who walked and talked with us this Christ who healed the same who opened the blind eyes who one stopped the deaf ears this Christ this Jesus who forgave the woman caught in adultery who assured the thief on the cross of salvation he is the son of man he identified with us he's coming again he is not a God that's far off he's a God that's near but he has on his head a golden crown a golden crown once he wore the crown of thorns but now he comes and he's gonna wear the crown of glory once he wore the crown of suffering now he's gonna wear the diadem of righteousness hear the word their crown he comes with the golden crown is stefanos and that means the victors crown genius's is coming again in brightness he's coming again in glory he's coming again my friend to take you home he's coming again with the victors crown as the triumphal Lord revelation 14 verse 15 tells us I saw another angel come out of the temple crying with a loud voice to sit to him who sat on the cloud thrust in your sickle notice this angel comes out of the temple he comes iridescent with the glory of God he comes from the presence of God and he says thrust in your sickle for the time has come for you to reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe he comes he descends and he comes to the reaping angel and he comes from the presence of God and this angel comes to the next angel and he says the time is here go get my children bring them home God has given the divine pronouncement it's time my people are charmed by my love my people are transformed by my power my people are filled by my grace my people have gone out to witness to this world the world has been lit with the glory of God it is time sin in suffering will be over disease and disaster and death will be over confusion and chaos and calamity will be over pestilence and poverty will and pollution will be over it is time Jesus tells the angel the angel tells another angel did you see what it says here another angel came out of the temple from the presence of God he cries with a loud voice to him was sits on cloud thrust in your sickle and reap that time has come for you to reap the harvest of the earth is ripe now Revelation chapter 14 speaks about two harvests the harvest of gold and grain in the harvest of Gouri grapes there is another harvest the first harvest is the harvest of golden grain the second harvest is the harvest of Gouri grapes you see every seed goes to harvest every seat there is no middle ground there is no neutrality in the last days of Earth's history we will either see the fullest manifestation of the righteousness of God in the history of the universe or the fullest manifestation of the wicked evil of Satan in the history of the universe when the last days of our series come we will see this earth lift with the goo lightened with the glory of God and we will see the powers of God work in ways we've never seen before and we see the powers of hell work the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from above in fullness of power we'll call forth the spirits of demons from beneath every human being will make their final irrevocable decision to harvest golden green or glory grapes another angel came out of the altar who had power over fire see the power over fire what is that it's the destructive fires that come from the divine presence of Christ when he descends from heaven on the cloud his righteous character destroys the wicked his his restraint has been withdrawn his protection has been withdrawn and in a sense by their very choices they destroy themselves in the presence of God revelation 14 17 to 20 says thrust in your sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe so the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and he gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God you see the book of Revelation is a book of contrasts there is the Lamb of God Christ in the dragon Satan there is the seal of God God's special sign and there's the mark of the beast there is New Jerusalem from above and Babylon from beneath there are the spirits of Jesus in the Holy Spirit in the spirits of demons in the book of Revelation it's a book of contrasts and here in Revelation 14 we have the two harvests golden grain men and women sold out for God you remember what Dwight L moody said the world is yet to see that man that woman who is totally committed to Christ I will be that man I will be that woman you say the world is yet to see a manifestation in a corporate whole of a group of people in the last days of Earth's history who want nothing else but Jesus they want nothing else but his love there have been individuals who've made that choice down through the generations but in the last days of Earth's history Jesus will say here are they that keep the commandments of God and of the faith of Jesus here is a group of people whose have Jesus quality of faith in their lives and his faith shines out from them and it leads them to live godly obedient lives but here's another group of people who are possessed with the Spirit of demons here's another group of people who are not possessed with the Holy Spirit every seed goes to harvest and the Bible says blood came out of the winepress up to the horse bridles for six hundred furlongs what's that six hundred furlongs what's that all about often when we talk about Bible prophecy God gives it in relation to to the nation of Israel in the New Testament spiritual Israel is God's church and what's this talking about six hundred furlongs in the Bible a furlong is about an eighth of a mile six hundred furlongs 183 miles of there about that's from the north of Israel to the south of Israel so what is God saying he is saying simply this wickedness will be totally destroyed if you take Israel as a symbol of God's people you can then say that the wickedness of this world will be totally absolutely destroyed and God's people will ultimately eventually totally triumph this scene is that every seed goes to harvest and God's people triumph and the seeds of wickedness or evil are totally destroyed the book of Revelation describes once again the victory the glorious victory of Jesus Christ and the victory of his people the Christ that created the world with everlasting power will lead his people to try them the Jesus that triumphed over Satan on the cross the Jesus that triumphed over Satan in his death will lead his people to everlasting triumph the Christ that ascended to heaven this Jesus this same Jesus you saw go up into heaven we read it in Acts chapter 1 this same Jesus is coming on the cloud he is the son of man he's coming with the cloud with the crown of glory upon his head wickedness will be destroyed righteousness will triumph the fruit we produce in our lives is the result of the seed that we sow in our lives the harvest does not take place in a moment the harvest of Earth takes place as the result of the sowing of seeds that men and women are doing in their lives right now you cannot sow seeds of evil and reap righteousness you cannot sow seeds of immorality and reap purity you cannot sow seeds of dishonesty and reap honesty can I be very open with you if you are filling your mind with the garbage that comes over man Meteor if you're filling your mind with videogames of violence that is not going to produce a character that stands in the last days if you're filling your mind with the smut and the immorality in video games if you're filling your mind with the pornography on the internet if that is dominating your mind you will not be part of the harvest of golden grain you'll be part of the harvest of gory grapes if you're if you are not honest but - you take advantage of your boss and are dishonest in your work in cheating and lying that will not produce the harvest of righteousness you cannot sow the seeds of worldliness and reap evidently mindedness you can't do it you can't sow the seeds of in temperance and reach health if you're abusing your body with alcohol with tobacco if you're eating whatever you want if your body has become a fun house rather than temple of the Living God you see these messages are calling men and women to decision they're calling men and women to to fix their minds on the things of eternity they're calling men and women to be committed to the everlasting Christ notice there's a wonderful statement in a book that I love called great controversy page 555 the mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it can dwell the mind is gradually adapting itself slowly imperceptibly the mind is adapting itself Jesus says Philippians 2:5 let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus our Lord in every harvest there are distinct and somewhat certain laws of sowing and reaping and in this final harvest there are certain laws of sowing and reaping the Bible says in Galatians 6 verse 7 do not be deceived I don't want to be deceived to you do not be deceived God is not mocked for whatever a man sews that will he also reap now notice the expression particular God is not mocked that's an interesting word you remember the New Testaments written in the Greek language and this God is not mocked it means McAra is the Greek word it says to turn up your nose at to treat with contempt ridicule or or disrespect so in other words you can't treat God with disrespect you treat God with disrespect if you think you're going to so impurity and reap yura t you so you treat God with disrespect if you think you're gonna reap dishonesty so dishonesty and reap honesty you so you treat God with disrespect if you think you're gonna reap so worldliness and reap a heart of of righteousness it's it's just not gonna happen friend do not be deceived God is not mocked whatever a man sews what's gonna happen whatever he says he's gonna he's gonna reap if you're so good seed you're gonna have positive results and it's never too late to begin sewing good seed you sow good seed in your life you begin to read the Bible and fill your mind with the things of the Word of God you get on your knees and seek God and pray you fill your mind with that which is Noble pure holy just true righteous and you build a righteous character but if you sow seeds of worldliness you don't produce righteousness when he is so evil seed you're gonna have the negative results in your life in character that come from that negative seed everything reproduces after its kind you don't plant carrots and expect a tomato to pop up out of the ground you don't sow a seed of corn and expect a potato to come up out of the ground you sow corn seed you're gonna eat corn we reap what we sow but you know what we reap a lot more than we sow no farmer in the world is going to sew one kernel of corn and expect to get one kernel back you're not gonna so one little tomato seed and expect to get one tomato back not we reap what we sow in kind but not in quantity young person goes out in parties gets half drunk gets in the car drives home hits a telephone pole and ends up a quadriplegic you see you reap a lot more than your so you go out some night and and you commit immorality thinking it's fun the girl gets pregnant and your whole life has changed your whole life is dramatically changed God invites you to sow good seed the decisions we make now are preparing us for eternity they're not casual decisions they're not light-hearted decisions they're not decisions that have no consequence the decisions we make have have consequence we cannot sow discord in the family and produce unity we cannot sew lies and produce truth we cannot sew sin and produce holiness if we sow indifference to God and spiritual values and priorities we reap the fruit of indifference of apathy and spiritual complacency and frustration in our lives this is the time to make an eternal decision for Christ this is no time for playing around this is no time for for playing games with religion this is the time to sow good seed somebody said so a thought and your Reaper what act your so an act and your Reaper what habit you saw a habit and your reap character and you sow character and according to the book of Revelation you reap a destiny the book of Revelation is about a lot more than mystic symbols it's about a lot more than strange beasts we're gonna study those but it's about character it's about a final harvest and God's appeal to your heart God's appeal to your heart wherever you are to make an eternal decision for him the promise and warning of Scripture in the book of Revelation is that we reap what we sow what are you sowing in your life right now what are you sowing in your life now there are two fatal mistakes that Christians make first they look at their past and say I've sown so much evil seed my life is ruined the next mistake they make as they look at the future and say I don't think I could ever possibly even if I make a choice today I don't think I could live in harmony with God's will I failed so many times in the past yesterday is a memory tomorrow is a dream this moment is yours you have it now today you can't do anything about yesterday very little about it tomorrow has not yet come but today is yours would you like to say Jesus do a new thing in my life today do a new thing in my life today God is willing it to do a new thing in our lives right now it's harvest time and Jesus says to you this moment choose you this day whom you will serve and let it be the Lord in times like these we need a Savior times like these times of moral confusion we need the certainty of God's Word in times like these God is leading us to make eternal choices listen as Charles comes to sing in times like these and wherever you are why not bow your head now and say Jesus I am yours in times like these you need us very your anchor rips the son rock this rock is Jesus yes he is a 1 this rock is Jesus the only one be very sure be very sure your anchor holds and grips the Sally in times like these you need your body in times like these in our title be very sure be very sure your anchor holes and rips the solid times like me I have a savior in time lag means my have incurred I'm very sure very sure I ain't care lows and grips the solid this ruckus jeez he's over this rock is Jesus I'm very sure I'm my ink a hose and a grips this Sade I'm very sure are you very sure your anchor holes and grips the solid solid rock [Music] when everything beneath our feet is crumbling there is something that's solid that we can stand on do you remember the story that Jesus told the story of two houses one built on sand had one built on rock both houses appeared to do quite well when the Sun was shining sky was blue and fair but when the storm came when the storm came when the winds blew fiercely when the rains beat down the house built on the sand collapsed and the house built on the rock stood firm anybody that builds their life on the sand of human opinion on the sand of human strength on the sand of human ability when the storm comes will be swept away but anybody who builds on that solid rock of Christ with endure the last days of Earth's history in Christ by Christ because of Christ and through Christ Jesus love is strong enough to hold you secure Jesus love is strong enough to keep you in the greatest test of this Earth's history Jesus love is great enough to surround you and to protect you would you like to open your heart right now and surrender your life to that love Father in heaven we are so thankful that in the harvest of this world you have given us the freedom to choose that Satan cannot manipulate our choice Satan cannot coerce our choice Satan cannot force our choice right now we feel the prompting of your Holy Spirit we open our heart to your love your salvation your strength and your power keep us in the center of your will we choose just now to make eternal decisions to sow good seeds of character so that we can one day live with you in heaven forever in Christ's name Amen thank you for joining us in this series three cosmic messages Earth's final conflict don't miss one of the series next presentation I will look very deeply into Revelation 14 verse 6 and 7 god bless you as we go [Music]

Channel: HopeLives365

Views: 297,292

Rating: 4.7514372 out of 5

Keywords: Revelation, Three Angels' Messages, Bible, Jesus, God, Mark Finley, the great controversy, three cosmic messages, earth's final conflict, hopelives365, salvation, revelation 14

Id: POxTfaMdnd4

Length: 56min 28sec (3388 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 19 2020