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  TESTING OBEDIENCE
  by Robert B. Thompson
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Summary: The sermon emphasizes the critical importance of obedience to
God's commandments amidst the dangers of deception and moral decline in
the Church.

Duration: 1:10:41 Topics: "Spiritual Growth", "Overcoming Sin"
Scripture References: Hebrews 9:27-28

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DESCRIPTION
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In this sermon, the speaker uses a metaphor of wading into the ocean to
illustrate the Christian life. He explains that just as one can
gradually go deeper into the water, believers can also progress in their
spiritual journey. The speaker references Ezekiel 47 and describes
different levels of spiritual growth, from ankle-deep waters to knee-
deep waters. He then highlights Romans 8:13, emphasizing the importance
of not giving in to the desires of the flesh but instead living
according to the Spirit. The sermon concludes by discussing God's
threefold approach to dealing with sin: forgiveness through the cross,
the command to put sin to death, and the completion of obedience for
ultimate victory.

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CONTENT
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Okay, I know you can read, but I say them so the people in Tape Land
know what we're doing here. What aspect of Antichrist presents the
greatest danger to the Christian Church? One, the external manifestation
of persecution, terror, and totalitarian rule, or the internal presence
of rebellion within God's people? Two, the internal presence of
rebellion within God's people. And that's worthy of noting because you
don't hear that all the time.

But that's... What does persecution, terror, and totalitarian rule tend
to do to the Church? Makes it stronger. Purifies it. Purifies it.

But this internal thing, sin and rebellion, get into God's people like
it has in America. Then we've got trouble. You're welcome to move over
to the other side.

It might be easier for you to see the... I know that poor lady in the
green there, I'm sure she can't see it at all. Oh. Yeah, well that's
true, it is a big screen.

Now, I don't think there's any problem with that, but you need to think
about that. You know, you need to just be like, wow, you know, we may
suffer and all. But all it does is make you a stronger Christian.

That's all it's going to do. That's all it's done through the centuries
is make stronger Christians. But it's when you get deceived within you,
and you begin to get into sin or rebel against authority and things,
that's the danger.

Satan knows that. We don't have to fear the Great Tribulation. What we
have to fear is the Hour of Temptation.

It's called in Revelation 3.10, the Hour of Temptation. That's the
problem. Lord, lead us not into temptation.

That's the problem. That's the same word in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew
6 that's used in Revelation 3.10. Same word, the Hour of Temptation.
People say the Great Tribulation.

That's no problem. We enter the kingdom through much tribulation. That's
what the Bible says.

Lord, there's nothing like suffering to tune up your act. But easy
living, availability of sin, lawlessness, faith. Alright, question two.

Choose two answers. Which of the following will be critical issues in
the coming days of moral horror? Power, truth, ecumenism, or obedience?
That's a little more difficult. Two and four are the issues.

Power is not an issue. We have power or we don't. You know, we go on
serving the Lord.

But truth. Truth. Remember in Daniel, he'll cast truth down to the
ground.

And prosper. And our nation is one big lie. Lied to by the politicians.

Lied to by everybody. It's the lie that's the problem. Not power.

Would you? That's truth. That's truth. If you serve the truth, you'll
have the power.

We don't have to pray for power. All you have to pray for is truth.
Lord, don't let me be deceived.

Because when you're walking in righteousness and truth. But there's
nothing wrong with your answer, whatever. John? Is it true that in the
hours that we're coming through, the power will be demonstrated? Yes, by
both Christ and Antichrist.

Both of them. Miracles are reserved for the end times. So the issue is
truth.

Because a false prophet, according to Revelation, is going to work great
miracles. And that's also in Daniel. He's going to do... And see, God's
people today are very gullible.

If someone says the name of Jesus and works a miracle. He's got
charismatic people licking out of his hand. I've seen that.

I've read books that were written by charismatic people. And sold in
charismatic circles. They tell a lot of miracles.

But you can tell when you begin to read them. They're not right. For
example.

One man had this big testimony. God did this and God did that. Then he
said, God and Jesus appeared to him.

And put his head in his lap. Jesus' head in the man's lap. And says,
tell me how I may serve you.

Well, when I read that. Whoa. You have no vision of Christ.

He's not laying his head in anybody's lap. He's the king. And we serve
him.

He doesn't serve us. We serve him. With all of our might.

And uh. Just a lie. Look at the lie.

But you see. Today. And there's been other liars.

And they've been on the 700 Club. And I don't know what all. I've read
their books.

And they don't ring. There's just no ring of Christ about them. But
they're filled with miracles.

And they're done in Jesus' name. If you saw a miracle done in Jesus'
name. Would you accept it uncritically? That's what's going to happen in
the end time.

Listen. When the Lord says deception. He doesn't mean it's going to be
obvious.

And God's people are very gullible when it comes to miracles. Very
gullible. And the Bible tells us clearly.

That dark powers will be calling down fire from heaven. That's in
Revelation. The false prophet will call down fire from heaven.

Surely that's God. If it's against the word. And that's not obvious.

But people. I tell you. Especially Pentecostal people.

We tend to be experience oriented. The Baptists have a leg up on us. In
that they are word oriented.

But Pentecostal people are experience oriented. And not word oriented.
And that creates a problem.

Because they get sucked off into this prosperity message. When the New
Testament tells us plainly. That if you're rich you'll be pierced with
many sorrows.

Don't go after money. The Lord told us that. Gehazi tells us that.

Ananias and Sapphira. Judas. And yet.

When the preachers come. And they say the name of Jesus. I heard one
preacher say.

I'll pray over anybody. If anybody in the house. I'll prophesy over
anyone in the house.

If you give me a thousand dollars. And this was a congregation of
ministers. Just Pentecostal ministers.

And I was ill at ease there. Because I was a guest. And I didn't say
anything.

But now. Guests are not. I would have stood up.

And said something. And I would have been bucking some big names. In the
charismatic move.

But of course at my age. You don't care. I'm lame duck.

So. You can't hurt me. I'm an old man on my way to the bottom.

So. Doesn't matter. But isn't that awful.

But you see they don't read their Bible. They don't read their Bible.
That's not right.

You don't associate prophecy. With money. Godliness is game.

That's Philemism. That's Philemism. That's mentioned in June.

And in Revelation. Philemism. Is mixing the things of God with money.

No way. But Pentecostal people get caught into these things. Because
they're experience oriented people.

Rather than word oriented. Rather than being oriented toward the Bible.
And so they get fooled easily.

Somebody comes and says the name of Jesus. They figure out how could he
say the name of Jesus. If he wasn't of God.

Easy. Easy. Easily.

You prefer an adverb. Easily. Easily.

That isn't what does it say in the name of Jesus. Anybody can say the
name of Jesus. But you watch.

And what they're telling you is not according to the word. No way. Now I
don't care how good it feels.

And I don't care how great the miracles were. Audre and I often talked
about Joan of Arc. Because there was great power with Joan of Arc.

Joan of Arc kept England from being defeated. By France. Joan of Arc was
French.

She was devout. Voices spoke to her. It was kind of hard to figure out
how can this be God and not be of God.

But when you read the things she said and everything. You compare it
against the Bible. So it doesn't.

And I'm not going to speak against Joan of Arc. I have nothing to say
against Joan of Arc. But I'm telling you.

If you want to test things. Don't test it by experience. How good you
feel.

What miracles were done. Or if they said the name of Jesus or anything
else. If it goes contrary to the scriptures in any way.

God does not work against the scriptures. And you can ask God about
something 50 times. Like if God gives you a word or a prophecy.

Or something. You can ask him as many times as you want. Is this you
Lord? Is this you Lord? I do that all the time.

I have to think maybe God is distressed over me. I question him every
time I feel the spirit of prophecy. Coming on me.

And I can feel it coming. Whoa. Lord.

Don't let me hear anything that's not of you. Don't let me hear anything
in Jesus name. Don't let me hear anything that's not.

I have to think maybe God would be insulted at that. God finally spoke
to him. And he said the Bible says test the spirits.

So God will never be insulted. You can ask God about what he's doing.
Anytime and as long as you want to.

God will never be insulted. Remember that. Because we're coming into
days when there's going to be a lot of manifestations.

And people will say the Lord told me this. And the Lord. We did.

Yeah. The Lord told me this. And there will be Christians.

And there may be Christian leaders. Just keep your cool. Just keep your
cool.

Watch. Watch their moral behavior. And check what they're saying against
the word.

And if it doesn't agree. Put it on the back burner. Just hold it.

Say well Lord it's a Jew. Show me. And it's not.

It may save you real grief someday if you do that. Okay. So the big
issue of the last days will be truth.

Ecumenism is the gathering together of Christian people. And it sounds
so nice. But more often than not.

It ends up in the flesh. Because there isn't time yet. To bring together
the body.

But it's time to bring together the body of the Messiah. They'll come
out of every denomination. They'll be joined together by the Spirit.

It won't be a new organization. Because a new organization is just
another bad one. There isn't time yet for God's people to come streaming
out of the churches.

Okay. So ecumenism. I don't have anything to say against it.

Except. That's not a big issue. The big issue is truth.

And what else? Peace. Peace to God. The Lord is stressing that today.

More than about anything. Why? People you should know. I've yelled at
you enough.

What have we been talking? Paula? Because obedience. Yes it is Paula.
And if you had been here for the last three weeks.

You would have known the answer I'm sure. I've been talking about
antinomianism. And that may be a new term to you.

But it originated in the Reformation. And it was a reaction against
Catholicism. Martin Luther reacted against Catholicism.

And he went too far. And he said. And the teaching was.

We're saved by faith alone. Antinomianism means you're saved by faith
through grace. And you don't have to keep God's commandments.

That's what it means. It means literally against law. And that teaching
has been filtered.

The evangelical churches. And so the teaching is we're saved by grace.
Not by works.

So. We don't keep God's commandments. So.

The Lord is displeased about it. We're not being obedient to the word.
We're saying we're saved by grace.

But the Bible says to keep God's commandments. First John. The whole
book says.

Keep God's commandments. So. We've got a big error going.

A big error in doctrine going on. In the evangelical churches. And it
started back in the Protestant Reformation.

And God wants that thing stopped. He wants that doctrine exposed.
Because it's a lie.

Well of course. It's being taught. I said.

Well so. If you say that I'm saved by grace. And I say.

If you know God. But that's music to the evangelical ear. And.

Where was that statement first made? Genesis. What did the serpent say?
He will not surely die. See.

No. If he'd have said that. It wouldn't have been such a problem.

Because he didn't get a hold of that. If he'd said. You won't die.

There'd be no problem. It's clear. He's a liar.

If he said. You will die. Then he'd be agreeing with God.

But by saying. You will not surely die. It clogs your thinking.

You can't say. Well will I die or won't I die. So that word surely is
key.

And where it's placed is key. You will not surely die. And see that's
what they said to you.

They. Well God knows. That.

You know. You should. And we should be nice.

But he understands. And that's why he died for you. That's the
prevailing doctrine.

You'll find it everywhere. And God. Is telling us today.

That is. Not. Right.

It's a lie. It's a lie. I don't know how many times the apostle Paul
said.

If you. Commit sin. You're not going to inherit the kingdom.

Many places. And it's so clear. But you see.

That's the problem with deception. It does something to your mind up
here. And you read.

You can't see what you're reading. I can point out ten scriptures with
no problem. That say that if you sin.

You're going to. You will lose out with God. Period.

Book of Hebrews. Jews. First John.

Galatians. Ephesians. And all these are addressed to Christians.

But. See there's other stuff that's in your mind. You can't see it.

I mean. This is a major issue. This issue.

This issue of obedience to God. You know. You say to any Christian.

Should you obey God? Well of course. Do you have to be saved? No. We're
saved by grace.

And. With the pressures of today. For violence.

I mean. How many. Murderers are shooting each other.

I mean. They get. You know.

With some stupid little thing. They get into a rage. And one kills the
other.

Dissatis. And lust. Self seeking.

Lying. Fraud. Oh.

Why? Because of this lie. That's in the evangelical teaching. In.

Among the blood body. You should be good. But if you're not.

You're saved by grace. And that's not what grace means. Oy.

That's not what grace means. The truth is. If you want to continue to be
saved.

You have to walk in the light. As long as you walk in the light. The
blood of Jesus Christ will cover you.

But according to. First Corinthians. The eleventh chapter.

Where the communion passage. It says. If we would judge ourselves.

We would not be judged. But when we are judged. We are chastened of the
Lord.

So we won't be condemned with the world. And it says. For this reason.

Many among you are sick. And some sleep. Meaning.

That they took the communion. When there was sin in their life. That's a
serious sin.

I remember the man that committed incest. With his stepmother. Paul
said.

Turn him over to the devil. I mean the New Testament. Is one long
record.

Of the commandments of God. That you have to keep. And if you don't keep
them.

It says in Hebrews for example. The branch that bears. Thorns and
thistles.

Is near to the burning. Jesus in John 15 said. The branch in me that
does not bear fruit.

What? What will happen to the branch. That doesn't bear the fruit of
righteousness. In Jesus Christ.

According to John chapter 15. It's cut out of Christ. The problem is to
stay in Christ.

And to stay in Christ. You've got to bear the fruit. Of righteousness.

Because God comes looking for fruit. He says. We're the fruit in this
person.

They're still lying. They're still stealing. They're still committing
adultery.

They're still doing this. There's no fruit here. There's no fruit.

They've come in here. And they're not dressed in a wedding garment.
Throw them out.

God is telling us today. There's an age of moral horrors. That's coming.

And the people who will survive. Are the people who are keeping. God's
commandments.

I can't do that. Yes you can. That's why you have prayer.

That's why you can go beyond the veil. And pray in the Holy of Holies.
To get strength.

To help you. No I can't. I've just got a sin launcher.

Well what sin do you have to do? Which one? Well I have to commit
adultery. You do? You mean. You want to sit there.

With your face hanging out. And tell me. That no matter.

The power of God. That you have got to commit adultery. Well no.

Maybe I don't have to do that. But I do have to steal. You do? You have
to steal? You better come and get prayed for.

Or you're going to be reading your Bible. During George S. Billings.
Well maybe I don't have to commit adultery.

Maybe I don't have to steal. But I. I have to get drunk. You do? You
have to get drunk.

Well come and be prayed for. The saints buying something. They'll be
buying it.

If they lose it. If they lose it. There's power in Jesus Christ.

To make the drunk sober. And there's many a. Reformed drunk. That will
testify to that.

And the same thing is true. Of homosexuality. The same thing is true.

Of drugs. Kids come and get prayed for. Drugs.

And out comes that thing. Well if that's the case. And it most assuredly
is.

Then what sin is it. That we have to do? When it's all boiled down.
We've been snickered.

We've been had. It's a big lie of the devil. No matter what.

You've got to serve. And we don't. Because.

The Bible says in Romans 6. You do not have to sin. Because you're not
under the law. You're under grace.

Not meaning grace is an alternative. But there's power in Jesus Christ.
So that when we call on him.

We get the victory over sin. Do you believe that? What sin is there.
That's too much for Christ to deal with.

We stop to think about it. So see we've been had. We've been had.

And the devil said. Well God gave you commandments. But he doesn't
expect them to be kept.

So he gave you a savior. Because you can't keep him. See that's a big
lie.

That's wholly against the. Purpose of the new covenant. Purpose of the
new covenant.

Is to put the law of God in your heart and mind. So that you'll serve
God. Yes.

Isn't that the hope of dying yourself? You have to die. Free. The first
one is death to the world.

You've got to. When you get baptized in the water. And accept Christ.

You've got to make up your mind. You're no longer part of the world. And
some people find this very difficult.

But if you are baptized in the water correctly. It was explained to you.
You're coming out of the world.

You've got to die to the world. Paul says I'm crucified to the world.
The world is made.

The second death that you have to die. Is death to sin. That's the lust
and passion.

That dwell in our flesh. And we get the victory over sin. By what? Do
you know? Do you know how? If you find yourself lying.

Do you know how to do it? Huh? You confess it. You confess it. It's got
to come out.

I lied. I told the big one. I lied.

And what does the Bible say God will do? Yeah. He does that. We use 1
John 1.9. If we confess our sins.

He is faithful. Just. Righteous.

To. Forgive us. Our sins.

That's the first goat. And to. Cleanse us.

That's the second goat. The scapegoat. And to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.

The third death we die is by far the most difficult. And really as our
sister pointed out. The third death which is death to self.

Which is not sin in the world. It's the third issue. Sin.

The world is the world. We know it's rotten. Belongs to Satan.

Sin. Is. Unlawful.

We know that. But self is not unlawful. It's not against God's law to be
yourself.

That's why it's so difficult. You say. Well.

If I said. You want to sin. Well.

No. Do you want to be yourself? Oh yeah. That's why it's so difficult.

It isn't obvious. But. Complete release from the world.

And from the sins of the flesh. Come. With this third death.

That's why it says in Romans 6. That. God puts to death the whole first
man. So that the body of sin might be destroyed.

And as long as that Adamic will is active in you. You're going to have
trouble with worldliness. And you're going to have trouble with the sins
of your flesh.

Because your self is saying. Well. God doesn't want me to get rid of all
my sins.

I mean. Let's be practical. That's self talk.

And not the Bible. So. As our sister pointed out.

God. Water baptism represents. That we're entering into the crucifixion
of Jesus Christ.

That's what it represents. Which means that the first man is. History.

Now it isn't going to happen when you get baptized in water. But you're
saying. This is the posture I'm going to take.

Life is over for me. I'm a dead chicken. So if you pluck feathers out of
me.

You're not going to hear any squawking. Because I'm a dead chicken. And
so God can do with me as he pleases.

And you know. Until you make that decision. You're going to have.

A terrible time with the Christian life. Because you keep running into
areas of rebellion. Where you draw back.

And say. I don't want to do this. It's just like going swimming.

I was raised. The first five years of my life. In Portland, Maine.

Well. There's nice beaches in Portland, Maine. There's Willard Beach.

There's Old Orchard. And so on. But I'll tell you something.

The kids want to go swimming. At the end of June. Naturally.

But I mean. The ice is chipping off the water. And when you go in.

Because it does. It gets colder than San Diego up in Maine. And.

The water. Is like. Ice.

Whoa. But the kids want to swim. You know.

So. You go down to the beach. And boy.

You put your foot in that. Water. Oh man.

And then you can take another couple of steps. And wait 15 minutes.
Another couple of steps.

And wait 15 minutes. That's called the slow death. The best way.

Is to get way back up on the beach. Take off at full speed. You know.

Shut your eyes. And grit your teeth. And.

Until you're. Fully aversed. And I mean.

The shock. That goes through your. There's really something.

You know. My kids could last in those things. You know.

I don't know if an old guy would. But kids do. And.

You know. After. Oh 20 seconds.

You're fine. But you can drag that out. Two hours.

Go ahead. And then back up on the beach. Where it's warm.

I'm talking about June. In South Portland Maine. The end of June.

Even. Already. So.

So that's the way it is. With the Christian life. Exactly.

You can take a couple of steps in. You know. Like I said.

Ezekiel 47. Waters to the ankle. Oh.

Yeah. Okay. Okay.

But you still run back up onto the beach. You know. It's familiar.

Then you go a little bit further. Waters to the knees. In Pentecost.

Oh. You know. I don't know about this.

Life in the spirit. I don't know about that. That's a little rich for my
blood.

And then. You know. Through some disaster or something else.

You get desperate. And you go further. And the water to your hips.

And you know. By now. You're beginning to lose control of your emotion.

You know. You got water to your hips. Pretty.

You're getting. Approaching weightlessness. You know.

With the displacement of water. And so. You know.

That's where the power. That's. That's death to self.

That's not. Death to self. And there's.

And then you figure. Oh. Well.

I might as well be hung for a. Gooses for a gander. So. You take that.

Fourth step. And get in waters to swim in. Where you just lose control
of your life.

And that is. Life lived in the spirit. And.

God is always inviting us. Here. A little.

And there. A little. Commandment upon commandment.

That they might go. And fall backward. And be broken.

And snared. And taken. Now.

As Jesse Fenn Lewis pointed out. They're all ranks of Christians. The
highest rank.

She called Torrance. Because. She said their life was.

And I was there. With Madame Gayle of France. She said their life is.

Is like a torrent. That's rushing down to the ocean. And there are
Christians like that.

Jesus calls them hundredfold. And they got something in them. That.

That word is growing. That seed is growing in them. And as it's growing.

God is pruning it. And. People get tired of the pruning.

And once you get tired of pruning. You get off the bus. I mean.

That's as far as you go. Because. You have to be pruned.

And then you bring forth. And you're pruned again. You bring forth.

And you're pruned again. And God wants to see how far you go. There's
not too many people.

And. There's not too many people. That end up in waters and swimming.

But there are some. And Madame Gayle called them torrents. And you've
got to have a heart for God.

To want to. Just live in the spirit of God. Everything you think.

Everything you say. Everything you do. So.

You really do end up. Like Paul said. Praying without ceasing.

And everything you're doing. You're praying. The moment you quit.

Trouble starts. So it's just. Rather than suffer the trouble.

You just keep praying. And praying. And praying.

And. Come in the water. It's fine.

I mean. You might as well. Go all the way.

As to fiddle around on the beach. Just get in there. Get it over with.

Then my life is finished. Finished. Now.

That isn't the end of all your trouble. You're still going to be
tempted. But it's so much easier.

Because when something comes up. Instead of. Oh no.

I've got to sit down. And count the cost again. And then something comes
up.

And I've got to sit down. And count the cost again. You figure.

Look. I'm not interested in. In this cost counting business.

I'm in for the direction. Cost is nothing. I've made up my mind.

I don't care. Because. The cost.

Of not going that far. I mean. Because you're going to have all
eternity.

To look back and say. What I could have had. What I could have been.

And you don't have a long time to think about it. So. As far as I'm
concerned.

I'm more worried about the cost. Of not going all the way with God. Than
I am about what it's going to cost me.

If I go all the way with God. You have to imagine. A guy.

Who's in the military. And. Someone comes in and says.

You're free. Which is. A pretty good.

Metaphor. You know. A pretty good.

Analogy there. Oh. I'm free.

Wonderful. Okay. I walk out.

Thank God. I'm my own man again. Well.

That isn't exactly. What I had in mind. I want to give you a change of
clothing.

Oh. I'm used to these denims. And I've got nice letters on the back.

Tell us who I belong to. It identifies me. You know.

You can't. You can't. Have both.

You've either got to. Give up your. Prison clothes.

So you can be clothed. The way I want you to be clothed. Because I've
got work for you.

I didn't set you free. So you could. Run out.

And shoot somebody again. I've got a job for you. Well.

I want those clothes. Well. Give me your old clothes.

And that's where the cost comes in. We say. But if I lose.

If I lose what I am. You know. If I lose my right.

If I. If I. If I. If I. And in the meanwhile. The king was saying. I
don't want to take anything from you.

I'm trying to give you something else. And in order to get it. You've
got to.

Give up the other. So you can think about the cost to you. Or you can
think about the cost of refusing the Lord.

And I prefer to think about the cost of refusing the Lord. To me. That's
a bigger cost.

Weightier. More significant. Than my miserable garments.

With nowhere like that. To hang on to. My self will.

My right to do what I want to do. Without asking the Lord. Have you any
idea.

How much trouble you can get into. And pain. And misery.

And frustration. Doing what you think. You thought you wanted to do.

How long does it take. To trust God. That what he's going to tell you to
do.

Is the best. The very best. You could ever do.

But since you don't know your own heart. You don't know the future. You
don't know how things are going to go.

Why not go to someone. Who loves you. Is trying to bring you happiness.

And knows the future. And knows what will make you happy. Not many
people.

Christians. Insist on having their own way. It's got to be this way.

Oh God. They beat on the door. Make it happen.

Well these people are hindering me. They're all against me. The devil's
against me.

I'm not getting what I want. Well. Brother Dowd used to say.

If you. Can't get God to go your way. Why don't you try going God's way.

You know. Oh. You ever notice one thing about life.

That. It's so simple. But we make it hard.

It's so simple. But we make it hard. There's a right.

Easy. Correct. Way.

And we manage somehow. To find. The wrong.

Difficult. Complicated. Frustrating.

Way. And if everybody did God's perfect will. Can you imagine what kind
of a world this would be.

Yes. Well. It'll get that way.

But first of all. He has to. Work around with something.

Do you know what I mean. A rod of iron. He's got to smash everything to
pieces.

Because they won't do his will voluntarily. And you know what Paul.
After a thousand years.

In the reign of Jesus Christ. At the end. The devil will be let out.

And they'll rebel against him again. They don't get the message.
Rebellion is very deep.

In the hearts of people. It's in our hearts. We.

If you don't. You know. You go along.

Wonderful. You know. From cloud to cloud.

And then all of a sudden. Comes up. And it tests your willingness.

To give your life to God. You begin to take matters into your own hands.
You begin to grasp something.

And boy. When you begin to grasp something. That's when trouble starts
happening.

Because. God doesn't want you grasping anything. You know.

It says about Christ. He was just led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as
the sheep before her shearers is dumb.

So he opened not his mouth. You know what that's talking about. That's
talking about people.

That were accusing the Lord of things. See. They were accusing him.

Of being filled with the devil. And God knows what else. They were
accusing him of.

They finally accused his disciples. Of stealing his body. Pretending he
was resurrected.

They were accusing him. What do you do when people accuse you? Yeah.
What do you do when people fight against you? Yeah.

By that. See. And that's not.

The image of Christ. Because the image of Christ is. He opened not his
mouth.

before her shearers is dumb. That came to me the other morning.
Thompson.

Let go. Let go. Let go.

Be dumb. Just. Shut your mouth.

And come before God. And let him have his way. So he opened not his
mouth.

The scripture teaches that. The righteousness is of me. Christ never
defended himself.

Oh. You know. Call me this.

Okay. Okay. Maybe you're right.

Maybe you're wrong. But I commit myself. Unto the Lord.

And you know. That's one of the deepest secrets. Of the Christian life.

Is that. Committal to God. Especially.

When people speak evil of you. And when. Especially when they.

In. Out of perversity. Misunderstand.

The good that you're doing. And accuse you of doing evil. You know.

It's bad enough. When you do evil. And get balled out for it.

But when you do good. And people. Attribute that to evil.

You can do. One of two things. You can go around.

And say. You're not. That's not right.

You shouldn't do that. And you're mean. And so on.

And I didn't mean that. And I didn't say that. And waste your time.

Or. You can. Come as a lamb.

Before her shearers. And open not your mouth. But boy.

I'm talking about maturity. I'm talking about maturity. I'm not talking
about kids stuff.

That's. But you see what it's getting at. Rebellion.

It's getting at rebellion. We go so far with God. And then something
comes up.

And we say. Enough already. Enough already.

Nobody's going to push me around like that. When you hear yourself
saying that. Oh man.

The lamb's before her shearers. But she is not dumb. She's yapping away.

But that's maturity. But that's where it is. See that obedience to God.

That trust in God. That hope in God. That's Christian maturity.

You don't get there overnight. There's constant prayer. Walking in
prayer.

But it's so much easier. If from the onset. You say.

I'm history. I'm on the cross with Christ. It's so much easier.

Because then as things come up. You figure. Well I'm dead anyway.

And you know. We can reckon ourselves dead. But then God has to make us
dead.

Through experience. You have to have both. You have to have the
testimony.

I am crucified Christ. But then. It becomes actuality.

As things happen. That scare you. That go contrary to the way.

You think they should. That seem unfair. And kid.

Life is not fair. And you're never going to make it fair. You're never
going to make it fair.

There's going to be people. After this fire. That is over.

Two or three days. After it calms down. Are going to get angry.

And say. How come me. And not my neighbor.

See. You can't live your life like that. Life is not fair.

And the only way. You can thread your way. Through these kinds of
things.

And fires. And everything else. Is by trust in God.

If it happens to me. And my house burns down. Then God has a purpose in
it.

All things work together for good. He's not going to forget me. It's
just another opportunity.

To press me. Into Jesus Christ. That's all.

See. I'm talking maturity now. Obedience.

Truth. And obedience. It's heavy.

Okay. You all look. Either stunned.

Or. Something. Yes.

That's the image of Christ. Who he foreknew. He did predestined.

To be conformed. To the image of his son. And again.

That I may know him. And the power of his resurrection. And the
fellowship of his suffering.

That's being made like Jesus. And that's one of the two big goals. That
God has for us.

To be made like Jesus. And what's the other one? People. And brought
into union with God.

We're in union. We're made in his image. And then we're brought in.

So we live in his presence. Those two things. Are the supreme goals of
God.

For his people. And then. Out from that.

Flows all ministry. All roles in the kingdom. They're not.

One's not complete without the other. Well. They kind of work together.

As you. Like Paul said. I am crucified with Christ.

Nevertheless I live. Yet not I. But Christ lives in me. Well.

As Christ lives in us. Then we come more into his image. Then as we come
more into his image.

Then it becomes easier to be in union with him. The problem is. Where
you get into today.

Is people. Are seeking power. And seeking to be like Jesus.

But not part of Jesus. And see. That's what the devil said.

I will be like the most high. So it isn't sufficient to be in God's
image. It isn't sufficient.

God doesn't want a lot of little Christ's running around. Super
Christians. This one Christ.

And we are branches from that one Christ. And so you can imitate Christ.
But if you do that.

Apart from union with Christ. Then you're another Christ running around.
So.

They're both. They're both absolutely important. And they feed into each
other.

The union. And the. Union makes image possible.

And image makes union possible. And those are the two goals of God. And
out from that.

Image and union. Image and union. God.

Man was in the beginning. Was called to be in the image of God. But.

God left it up to him. Whether he wanted to be married to God. Which is
another issue.

And that's where the issue is today. In Pentecost. Do we want to be like
God.

And get gifts and everything. And go out and heal a quote. Lost and
dying world.

Which sounds so right. Or. Which really is humanism.

Or. Do we want to take all that we are. And all the gifts we have.

And bring them back. And give them to God. So he can use them as he
will.

And that's what Christ is. And that's the way Jesus Christ was. He was
in total union with God.

And he wants you to be. Married to him. Married to Jesus.

And in total union with Jesus. It's not enough to be like the Lord. We
must be.

Married to him. And that's wonderful. There's lots of things that God.

Can and marriage. And we. I don't know if I want this.

You know what I mean. It's so upside down. It's so upside down.

We should be the ones that. Oh God. Please marry me.

Please marry me. Oh Lord. Please marry me.

But instead. The Lord says. You know.

Here I am. I'm the bridegroom. You're the bridegroom.

I'm not so sure. I've got to be me. You've got to lose.

Your. Individuality. Never your uniqueness.

Your uniqueness is enhanced. But you see. In true marriage.

The two become one. And that's impossible. If you maintain.

Your right to be you. And so. That death to self thing.

That's where we are today. That's the move after Pentecost. This
tabernacle's a union.

And that means that you give up your right. To charge around the
universe. With your gifts.

In favor of. Becoming one with God. And he wants it worse than you do.

So don't. Spend too much time delaying. He might change his mind.

You're somebody else. You only jilt the Lord so much. You know.

And then you lose something. And you lose it forever. Alright.

So we're on the next one now. Dave. Sir Dave.

Charge is up. Okay. True or false.

The lives of Jesus. Paul. Paul and Job.

Revealed to us. That God. At any time.

Can suspend his promises. In order to perfect. An individual.

Or bear. An eternal witness. True or false.

Hmm. Can God suspend his promises. No he doesn't.

We're not talking about breaking. We're talking about suspending.
Holding back.

Holding back. Holding back for a season. That's one thing to get your
license suspended.

Another thing to get it revoked. Well. He did in the case of the Apostle
Paul.

Didn't he. Because Paul. By all the laws.

Of God. Had every right. To be.

Free. Citizen. Wealthy.

Happy. Married. Everything else.

And he spent his time in jail. And yet he was a righteous man. A
righteous Jew.

See. And the same way with Jesus Christ. Jesus had every right.

To walk in the high places. Of Jacob his father. That's the promise.

To those that dwell. In the Shabbat of God. I'll have you walk.

In the high places. Of Jacob your father. Again.

In Psalms 91. That's the psalm. That Satan quoted.

To Jesus. It says. I will set him on.

Because he has known me. How does that go? It's the last two verses. In
Psalm 91.

Because he has set his love upon me. I will deliver him. I will set him
on high.

Because he has known my name. But see. Jesus wasn't delivered.

He was brought to the cross. That which he feared. Came upon him.

Same thing happened to Job. Job was a righteous man. And eschewed evil.

According to the Bible. He should have never lost. His sons and
daughters.

He never should have lost. His health. He never should have lost.

His wealth. Because he was righteous. He was a righteous man.

And he eschewed evil. That means he turned away from evil. He rejected
evil.

But you see. God. As it says.

He was perfecting Job. He was bringing Job. From being a righteous man.

To a man who knew God. And there's a difference. There's a difference.

The knowledge of God. Righteousness is one thing. The knowledge of God.

Is something else again. And at the end of the book of Job. Job knew the
Lord.

In a way he didn't. At the beginning. But he was still a righteous man.

And at the end of the book of Job. But in order to get that knowledge of
God. What did God have to do? He had to suspend his promise.

The promise to the righteous. That no good thing will God withhold. From
him who walks uprightly.

But he did for a season. Withhold good things from Job. But.

With a good end in mind. Did the same thing for Paul. Did the same thing
for Jesus.

He says God will suspend his promises. If he's got something wonderful
in mind for you. And so Christians.

That insist on being happy now. You're wiping yourself out. Because that
isn't the way God is.

We are not in the pursuit of happiness. We are in the pursuit of
righteousness. And in the pursuit of God.

And sometimes when the gospel comes to people. Are you listening?
Sometimes when the gospel comes to people. It doesn't make them happy.

Or better off. Sometimes they end up in jail. Or burned at the stake.

Or oiled in oil. Or they lose their family. What kind of gospel is this?
Is this the gospel of good news? Yes.

Because you have to have a higher vision. You have to have an eternal
vision. The Scottish covenanters that I like to think about.

Those young men that refused to acknowledge the king of England. As the
head of the church. That's the fire of Presbyterianism.

With the Scottish covenanters. Many a young man. Was hung.

Hung. And the gospel didn't come to them as good news at all. But as
they died.

They died joyously in Christ. On the gallows. Scottish covenanters.

And Scotland has been free from war from that day to this. And probably
because of those covenanters. God remembers those kinds of things.

And it put its mark on Scotland. It put its mark on Scotland. Alright.

Alright. True or false. What is being tested in the shaking.

Is our obedience and trust in God. And whether or not we are living by
our Adamic nature. Or by the new creation in Christ.

True or false? True. And what does it mean by shaking? Are you
surviving? She's a student. What does it mean by shaking? Was anybody
shaken this week? Well if they come in then I mean they rattle your
mowers.

Whoa. Am I a Christian or am I not? What am I doing? But what is
testing. Is your obedience.

Now God won't test you too much if he sees he's going to lose you. But
if he thinks that there's a chance. That you become one of his mighty
men.

Oh wow. He'll go after you. And he gambled.

See God takes a gamble. He took a gamble with Abraham. What if Abraham
after walking in perfection before God.

God said to him. I am your shield and your great reward. Walk before me
and be thou perfect.

And Abraham's going along serving God. Believing God and everything. And
it came up to Isaac.

And he said. I can't. I can't.

Sarah would never understand this. How am I going to tell Sarah. That
I'm supposed to take this boy off.

And kill him or numb him up. How am I going to. But God you didn't tell
that to Sarah.

No Sarah had her problems there. Abraham laughed. No problem.

Sarah laughed. Nay but you laughed Sarah. Oh I mean it's kind of
chauvinistic there.

So Sarah was not a happy camper on a lot of occasions. Because God was
choosing to speak to Abraham. But it didn't seem necessary to tell Sarah
at the same time.

So he didn't say Sarah take up your son now and offering for an
offering. Or Sarah I'm going to tell your husband to do this or
anything. That was left for Abraham to say.

No and Abraham knew that. You're dealing with a Jewish mother. And my
son's going to be a doctor and you're going to take him up.

How's he going to be a doctor if you. No Abraham did the right thing. He
got up early in the morning and took off.

You know one step at a time here. And that was one. The original sin was
disobedience.

Under very simple conditions. All you had to say look there's 15 other
trees you know. Get out of here.

We don't need trouble. We've got a beautiful place. We've got trees all
over the place.

More food than we can eat. And all we have to do is enjoy them. We've
got the whole planet to ourselves.

Will you please get out of here. Simple temptation. No luck.

But Abraham had a terrible temptation. Almost unbelievable. This man
wasn't born again.

He wasn't filled with God's spirit. He didn't have a bible. He had no
example before him to follow.

I mean it's ridiculous. But. But.

He became the father. Of everyone who believes in Jesus. That's right.

And Galatians tells us that that seed that God promised him. Is Christ.
And everyone who is part of Christ.

The point is this. Big temptations. Big rewards.

How would you like to have the promise to you. That your seed would be
as the stars. That may not mean much to you at this time.

But God will give you something that you really want. Big temptations
are for people that God has in mind. To grant big things.

You can't call that on yourself. It doesn't come from ambition. It's God
who picked Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans.

It didn't say that the people of Ur were wicked. And Abraham was
righteous. Like the case of Noah.

God just out of a clear blue sky. Abraham. His father.

They worshipped the gods of Syria. They worshipped the Syrian gods. And
he called these idol worshippers out.

And they knew nothing. What did they know about God? They didn't know
anything about God. And God says come out and go to the land that I'll
show you.

So he went out. But there's no evidence that there weren't other good
people in Ur of the Chaldeans. Which was a very advanced civilization at
that time.

Very advanced. And God. You know they weren't wicked.

God just did what he did. And he got that man. And after 25 years he
gave him a son.

And 12 years later. I guess some say he was 12. When this incident
happened.

He said I want you to offer him up. I want you to kill him. Offer him up
on a bird offering.

On the mountain. It took him three days to get there. You know if he
could have got there by the afternoon.

But can you imagine thinking about that for three days. And here's this
little guy walking next to you. Whoa.

Where's the wood dad? Where's the sacrifice dad? You know. Man. But
somehow.

Somehow that old patriarch. Made it. And you see that.

Adam's disobedience. Abraham's obedience. And then finally Jesus Christ.

Was tested far worse than Abraham. Because the issue in Christ's mind
was. What if God put the sins of the world on him and then forgot? You
say well God would never forget.

Well how about your temptations? God won't even forget you. But what
good does that do when you're sweating it? Yeah I know he'll deliver me.
But will he really deliver me? Well Christ was tempted in all points
like is we.

So the reason he was sweating great great drops of blood. Was because he
was feeling the way to sin. And he thought what if God forgets me? My
God why have you forsaken me? That was worse than Abraham.

By a hundred times. Because Christ came from the ivory palaces. You know
there was no impurity where he came from.

And here he's got it all covered with demonic vomit. And they're hurling
obscenities at him. And God knows what was going through his mind.

Graphic. Demonic pictures. And he's there.

And this was a pure undefiled soul. You know what you made it so
intense. And then the fear.

You know Satan coming. Ha. God has forgotten you.

God has forgotten you. But see he had agreed in the beginning to bear
the sins of man. It was written.

The Bible is written mostly to Jesus. And we get in on it because we're
part of him. But he knew.

He'd read the 53rd Psalm. He knew it was going to be an offering for
sin. And he agreed.

You know he also knew that God had said he set him at his right hand.
Make his enemies his footstool. That his throne was forever.

He knew. He read the Bible. He knew it was to him.

Just like we know it's to us when we read it. Because we're part of him.
And he knew.

And he agreed. Yes Father I will. But when the moment came.

Whoa. Whoa. God if it's possible.

Let this thing pass from me. Well he was feeling the pangs of hell. Like
you read about in the 18th Psalm.

The pangs of hell surround him. And God in his goodness sent down an
angel who put his arm around Christ. And comforted him.

Prayed with him. Because the disciples were all sleeping. But what was
being tested? See that's what it says.

He learned obedience. By the things that he suffered. And that's the
issue.

Of this end time. We're saved. We're filled with God's Spirit.

Okay. God gambled with Abraham. There was a chance.

That Abraham would have said no. How do we know that? How do we know?
Because God after Abraham. And when God spoke to him out of heaven.

He said put the knife down. The man was like this. He was a living dead
man.

You talk about Joel's army being living dead men. He was a living dead
man. There's this boy.

And the boy looking up at him. Audrey likes to say that's why in the
Bible it says. I am the God of Abraham.

And the fear of Isaac. And Audrey's thesis is that. Because of that
experience.

Isaac always feared God. Because he looked up at his father. And he
trusted implicitly.

His father tied him up with a rope. Put him on the stone altar. He was
lifting up a flint knife.

He put it in his heart. This is my dad. The old man was obedient.

God said it. I'll do it. I'll kill my son.

Well. God spoke out of heaven. And he said.

Don't touch the boy. Now I know. That you fear God.

Now that tells us. That God gambled. On losing his servant.

And God does that with us too. If he thinks there's a chance. That we
can go past.

The salvation experience in the Pentecost. Or past Pentecost into
Tabernacle. If God thinks there's a chance.

He can bring us up. To the very throne. With obedience.

He'll gamble. He'll gamble. Because he knows.

If you fail. Then there's a problem. Of restoring your relationship with
God.

Because you're going around guilty. You know. That hide you from God.

Like Adam and Eve. Hiding and trying to cover yourself. With fig leaves.

You know. I failed God. And I love God.

And I've disobeyed God. So there's a gamble there. In God's mind.

You either. You crack the diamond. You know.

And you either get a handful of glass. Or you get a priceless jewel.
And.

He got out of Abraham. A priceless jewel. But if that were not the case.

He wouldn't have said. Now I know. That you fear God.

Because that's all you can get out of that. Is I didn't know it before.
But I know it now.

Now. I know. And that's good for us to understand.

That God doesn't judge us by our intentions. He judges us by what we do.
2 Corinthians 5.10. That everyone may receive the things done in his
body.

As religious people. We have to watch that. Because we figure.

Well in my heart. I'm a good person. Or I may lie.

And cheat. You know. And do a few things.

But everybody does it. But in my heart. I'm a good person.

But what God doesn't look at that. God says. But you're lying.

And you're cheating. And you're stealing. That everyone may receive the
things done in his body.

And we've got to watch that. Because we play games with ourselves that
way. We say.

I'm really. It may be true. That I go out and fornicate.

But God knows. I'm really a good person. But God doesn't look down and
say.

You're really a good person. He says. You're fornicating.

God is very practical that way. And that's a game we play with
ourselves. You go and find people in jail.

Who have done some terrible thing. And say. I'm really a good person.

I'm really a good person. Well why are you here? Well. I'm really a good
person.

That's the psychology that works in inmates. I don't guess there's an
inmate in jail. Who feels he deserves to be there.

Well there probably is not. You see. We play games with ourselves.

I'm really a good person. But God says. But what are you doing? What are
you saying? That's what God judges.

So God looked at Abraham's heart. Just like he did at David. God judges
the heart.

Not the outward appearance. As he told. When the sons of Jesse passed
before him.

The Lord looks on the heart. He can look on Abraham's heart. But you
see.

The way human beings are put together. God could not validate. His
opinion on Abraham.

Until he had Abraham do something. And it was in the doing of it. That
it validated the fact.

That Abraham was the friend of God. And it's the same way with you. And
see this antinomianism.

That's in the evangelical theory. That we're saved by grace. Really
promotes that kind of thing.

I'm really a good person. And we don't even see ourselves. Shades of
Gnosticism and Antinomianism.

We have to watch out for that. God is very practical. And he goes by.

What we do. There's a verse. I wonder if we can find it in a hurry.

Some of you that are. Sharp with your Bible concordance. I think it's
in.

Second Corinthians. The 10th chapter. I think that's where it is.

Check out 2nd Corinthians 10. And it says. Having in a. Readiness.

To. Avenge. That's it.

What's the verse? Six. We are ready to punish. All disobedience.

Whenever. Your obedience. Is complete.

God is not going to punish. The evil. The evil spirits in the
heavenlies.

The evil of the world. Christ's enemies are not going to be made his
footstool. Until.

The obedience of the church. Of first roots of the church. Is complete.

That's a principle that works. You won't get complete victory in your
life. Until your obedience has been complete.

God wants. Obedience. That was the original sin.

To disobey the commandment of God. Any question about that Paula? Well.
As long as those evil spirits.

Chained or. Whatever. Sin in the universe in three ways.

Three ways. The first thing that God does. And he deals with us.

As an individual. In the same three ways. The first thing that God does
is forgive our sins.

If he hadn't of. If he hadn't of done that. We wouldn't even get
started.

So the first thing God does. When we come to God. Is he forgives our
sins.

Through the blood of the cross. Okay. The second thing that God does.

With the sin. In our. And this is true on a universal scale too.

The second thing God does. With sin in our life. Is he commands us.

Through the spirit. To put it to death. That is to take the life out of
it.

Where is that from? Romans. Romans 8. Well that's good. But in Romans.

There's a verse. Romans chapter 8. We got that far. What's the verse?
13.

Does anyone want to read that? Now this is very key. In the second
thing. God does.

We deal with sin. What's the first thing he does? Forgives it. Now we're
coming to the second thing.

If you. If you live after the flesh. You die spiritually.

You kill your spiritual life. If after having received Christ. You
continue to obey the appetites of your body.

Instead of getting the victory over them through Jesus. You continue to
yield to them. Whether it's.

Anger. Whether it's lying. Whether it's gossiping.

Whether it's stealing. Whether it's some lustful thing. Whatever.

You put your spiritual nature to death. Remember it says. Where is it?
Titus.

That she that lives in pleasure. Is dead while she lives. She's still
living.

But she's dead. You put. But if you through the spirit.

Now. It has to be done by the Holy Spirit. You can't reform yourself.

If you through the spirit. You put to death. The deeds of your body.

What will happen? You shall live. See. That's the second way.

In which God deals with sin. So at this place. In the creation.

At this time. God is commanding his body. To put the things.

In your flesh to death. And as I say. If you reckon yourself dead.

It's a lot easier. As if you're trying to hold on to your life. And
then.

There's some juicy sin. You're committing. That is.

Feels so good. You're going to have a hard time. But if you put yourself
to death.

I am dead. It's over. And I want it out of me.

You know. You got to get tough with sin. You say nice doggy.

Nice doggy. The dog will continue to sleep on the bed. Get out of here.

You mutt. Outside you fleabag. You're supposed to be on guard duty.

Why aren't you out guarding the house? This is how you earn your dog
food. A sleeping on the bed. Huh? We have to do that with Satan.

I tell you. Demons don't understand you. Until you convince them.

I'm not going to do that sin anymore. You're dead. And the Holy Spirit
will help you.

He will lead you. Because you're not going to get this done all at once.
But he'll lead you.

Which sin? He'll lead you. Right? City by city by city. OK? Remember
Romans 8.13. It's a very important verse.

It says the same thing it said in many other places. But that one is so
clear. If you live out of the flesh.

Obviously talking to Christians. You shall die. Seriously.

Not you shall not surely die. You shall die. You shall surely die.

Not even if you're washing the blood and fill it with the Spirit. You
continue to live in the flesh. You're going to kill your spiritual...
What you're killing is your resurrection.

See what you're doing is you're killing the oil that's going to make it
possible for you to go into the marriage. Right? Because two verses
prior to that it says The Spirit of Christ raised up Jesus from the dead
to dwell in you. He that raised up Christ from the dead shall make alive
your mortal body.

Talking about the redemption of the body. So then two verses later it
says If you live out of the flesh you'll die. You kill your
resurrection.

Yes. Exactly. See they have the Lamb.

They have the Bible. But they don't have the oil. They're virgins.

But they have the Bible. But you see you can't do it with just having
the Bible. You've got to have the Bible and the Spirit to interpret and
make the Bible alive.

So that's how you get left when the Lord comes. When all you've got is
your Bible in your arm but you don't have the oil of God in your life.
And you kill that oil by walking in the flesh.

Because every day the Spirit is warring against the sin in your body and
the sin in your body is warring against the Spirit. And so it says in
Galatians 5 If you walk in the Spirit you will not fulfill the lusts of
your flesh. So how do you walk in the Spirit? Praying.

It's important how you start the day when you get up in the morning. The
first thing you do is turn on the news. You say, Lord I'm your servant.

My life is over. Lord what have you done for today? This is great. This
is tremendous.

I'll obey you. Just tell me what to do and I'll say how far and how
fast. You establish yourself in the morning.

I am your servant Lord. I belong to you. If I die today I'll be with
Jesus.

And that's how you live in the Spirit. And you've got to keep up your
prayers all day. Just standing there looking at your face in the mirror
while you're brushing your teeth.

Pray. Why should you just stand there and waste time? Pray. You don't
have to strain it.

I've got to pray. It's easy. It's like breathing you know.

I love you Lord. This is tremendous. Thank you.

I've still got teeth in my mouth. To keep yourself you practice the
presence of God. And then when sin comes up it's a lot easier to deal
with.

Instead of you've been living in the flesh all day. Then you're tempted.
Then it's very difficult.

But if you're living in the Spirit. The minute it impacts on your spirit
you recognize it. The alarm bells go off.

Hey, this doesn't belong to me. And you're ready to pray. Jesus help me.

Take this thing out of me. That's the second way God deals with it. The
first way is what? He forgives.

He wipes it. Alright, let's forget about it. I die on the cross.

That's over. The issue is not the sin that's in you. Put it to death.

Put it to death. The third way we haven't come to yet. And that's the
second goat.

I just finished a booklet called The Second Goat. God's plan is to
remove sin. Remove this dead thing from us.

And that has to do with when our body is redeemed. And the scripture
talks of it in several places. One real good place is the last two
verses in the ninth chapter of Hebrews.

Where it says appointed unto man once to die. And after this the
judgment. For Christ died to sin once.

But he's coming a second time without sin. On to salvation. And the
salvation that's coming with the coming of the Lord.

Is the removal of sin from the creation. Beginning with the heavens.
Beginning with the heavens.

See it's still up there. The Lord can still accuse us before God. And
we're wrestling against that thing.

And that's what makes it so tough. We wrestle against principalities in
the heavens. And the first thing that he's got.

He's got to call forth in this time an overcoming group. And they will
overcome through the blood of the Lamb. By letting not their lives to
the death.

And by the word of their testimony. Then when God sees that. He will
empower Michael to drive Satan out of the heavens.

And cast him to the earth. That's the beginning of the removal of sin
from the creation. Then Satan will be here.

And won't be under the people. God will carry up his soldiers to
himself. His army.

Because he's poised in the air. Ready to invade the earth. So he carries
up his soldiers to himself.

And they've got to be mounted on white horses. Because they're going to
come on white horses. They're going to come on white horses.

That's the revelation he clears out plainly. Then now here. Satan's in
the earth.

Antichrist's in the earth. False prophets in the earth. The nations are
all deluded.

And following the armies of Antichrist. They go over there to Jerusalem.
They attack Jerusalem.

And successfully invade it. Put a lot of people to death. And Antichrist
sits in the Holy of Holies.

And Christ comes out of the heavens. Now there's no more sin in the
heavens. That's why Revelation 12 says rejoice ye heavens.

Now has come salvation in the kingdom of our God. Okay so sin has been
removed from the heavens. Not put to death.

Not forgiven. Removed. Okay.

Now here they come down. And that's the leader right there. Faithful and
true with a garment dipped in blood.

Down he comes and the armies of heaven are behind him. And you know it's
a smashing thing. It's hard to picture the speed and the fury and the
strength when these supernatural saints.

The Lord comes with 10,000 of his saints. Prepared in the furnace of
earth's affliction. Totally obedient to the master.

Led by officers that have followed Christ through the fire itself. No
compromise. These are God's untouchables.

They face Satan. Satan is cut off on the south on his right flank by
that valley that's been opened up and Christ and his officers going
through there. And on the east and on the north because they're in the
bed of the Euphrates that's been dried up making way for the kings of
the east.

And then on the west behind on his back the Mediterranean Sea has been
turned to blood. He's finished. He's finished.

He's cut off on the right, cut off on the north, cut off on the east
with a sea of blood at his back. And he is done. And that's when the
army that comes with Christ comes up to the height of a horse's bridle
for 300 miles.

And then God puts out his call to the vultures and to the ravens and to
the seagulls and other birds of carrion that eat carrion. Come, come,
birds, come, come, come and gorge yourself on the flesh of kings and
rich men and poor men and all the army of Antichrist. A great feast,
birds.

Feast yourselves on us. And then one angel. It doesn't say Michael.

It says one angel will come. Bind Satan. Put him in the bottomless pit.

The false prophet and Antichrist are cast alive that means in their
bodies into the lake of fire. That's the convergence of the natural and
spiritual realm. And now Christ will go through that valley I told you
about that's opened up by the great earthquake as the Mount of Olives
splits and part goes to the north and part to the south opens up a
highway running east and west and the people will be fleeing out of
Jerusalem but Christ and his highest officers are going to be there
because Christ is going to go up on the Temple Mount and be crowned
king.

Oh boy, what we're looking forward to. Can you imagine that as all of
his mighty men are surrounding him and he's looking down because he
knows everyone personally when he looks at you you're not lost in the
mob. He knows you.

He knows your name. And they're all cheering the millions in Jerusalem
of God's highest saints, his torrents and he sits upon the throne of
David. And there's rulers out and as they go they'll lift the curse.

The creation will be set free by the revealing of the Son of God. And as
they go they'll lift the curse go out into all the continents and all
the cities because it's appointed to them to rule but the nations that
are saved that are left will come, as it says in Isaiah 50 they'll come
to the light that's in the saints to be blessed of God and to keep the
Feast of Tabernacles that is, they will come up and acknowledge that God
is in Christ who is in his saints and they'll put their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and then it will be your
job to rule them for a thousand years knowing that at the end of that
time they're going to rebel against you. That'll keep you from getting
too sentimental over the people you're ruling.

And that's important if you're going to rule objectively. And that's the
removal of sin but if you allow it up once more because God always tests
everything he does one last testing and then everything the great white
throne of Christ and you because it's been appointed to you to judge the
world before you will pass all nations in the lake of fire and then when
God brings in his new heaven and earth the diameter will probably be a
million times what it is now to support a city that is 1,500 miles and
not throw it out of its equilibrium the earth will have to have a
diameter probably, because this city is heavy it's gold a million times
it's not on your computer see how large the planet earth will have to be
to support a cube of gold 1,500 miles on a side without destroying
equilibrium that would be a good challenge for an engineer and then God
will take all of his holy bride and put a wall around it so that nothing
can ever come near the glory of God again that's the removal of sin and
out from there will go his kings his royalty see Jesus is king of kings
and out from there will go his kings and his lords to govern the earth
and when people don't behave they just take them on a little field trip
to the pit where they can look down on those whose worms never die just
look down on them did you get the message, honey? obey God that's where
you end up when you don't that's what it says they shall come and look
upon the carcassness of the men that have transgressed against me first
he's going to forgive us then he commands us to put it to death take the
life out of it so it's still there but there's no life in it it can't
drive you anymore and then when the Lord comes the day of redemption it
all goes out and we get a body think of it, that wants to be righteous
but only if we have been willing faithful in putting to death the person
that's lukewarm that's careless, that doesn't do this is in for lashes
if he's saved at all he may be talking about a thousand years in a box
getting instruction to be saved by fire that's nothing to look at that's
to go into eternity a naked spirit with no inheritance, no memory just
starting over again as a child but we have the opportunity now to be a
king and a ruler and a priest of God and God's attitude is, go for it go
for it, my sons and daughters go for it thank you Jesus thank you Lord
thank you Lord

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Audio: https://sermonindex1.b-cdn.net/11/SID11099.mp3
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/robert-b-thompson/testing-obedience/
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