Sins of Laodicea - Part 4

God let him do everything except one thing, leave it alone, I'll shut the door, and when God shuts the door no man can open it. Again what about the virgins that were left outside, they knocked on the door saying knock none to us, and he said I never knew you. In the seventh chapter you have all those men doing miracles and signs and wonders, and when they get to the judgment seat God puts the torch to all their life, and it's a pile of ash. They've got nothing for it. It's wood and hay and stubble. Your life can be wood, hay, stubble, or silver, gold, and precious stone. Wood and hay and stubble are above the ground, it's ministry everybody sees, you flash it on TV to show how big and famous you are. Poor old Oral, you know what he's going to do now? I got this just after one person had said it from one of his greatest men up there. I told a friend of mine this week Oral is launching into a two hundred million dollar complex. It's got three rings, I'm tempted to say it's a three ring circus. You know what the first one is? It's an entertainment center for the poor weary Christians that got tired of laughing at night, Johnny Carson. It's going to have an entertainment section you know. I think they're going to call it the upper room. No, the supper room. Can you think of a man putting two hundred million dollars of God's money in a thing like that? But the second circle is Bible lands. With the, what is it, six stations of the cross? How many is it? Ten or twelve? Twelve. The twelve stations of the cross animated. The third is Oral Robert Land. Showing him as a boy. And who do you think is going to animate all the things? Now don't laugh, it's true. Disney. After all, they animated Mickey Mouse and Minnie. So why not do it for Oral? I'm angry. You send your tithes to that stupid thing. You're agreeing with the condemnation. You'll be condemned with it. You're agreeing with the worldliness of it. Behold I stand at the door and knock. You know what? He's still outside the door. Go to town, you see a church with a family center next to it. You've got a hundred people crushing in there every night, a hundred and fifteen, twenty in the prayer meeting, if that. Do you think Jesus is standing in the midst of a show? There's only one place for Jesus Christ. And what did he say? Where two or three are gathered together, there am I where? In the midst. Read the 21st of Revelation. There are thrones. There are four and twenty elders, and he's in the midst. And there's a lamb upon the throne, and he's in the midst. That's the only place where Jesus is comfortable, where he's the center, where he's the master of ceremonies. I stand at the door and knock. If any man will hear my voice. Yeah, this people sold clothing through the world. The historic record is they had a breed of sheep that were never known anywhere else, and they produced black silky wool that made the most precious garments that people could buy. Kings used to buy. But the other great export was eyesalve. Look at the irony. I counsel thee to buy of me eyesalve. That stuff you have is no good. They had a little block, they bought a little block, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it, and they sold it a bunch of unlettered, unnamed almost, unusual men met in the upper room, and what happened? God turned them inside out, then what happened? They went and turned the world upside down. He said, if any man hear my voice, when the whole of Europe was as black as night, one man heard God, of course you know his name Martin Luther, what happened? He shook the whole of Europe. He didn't invent justification by faith, he came to a cemetery, the church was a cemetery full of dead men's bones, and he was made alive. He said, it came one moment when I was browsing over my sins, and Satan came in with an inkwell and a pen, and he wrote on the wall of my cell, the sins of my youth, the sins of my manhood, the sins of the flesh, the sins of the spirit, the sins I remember, the sins I've forgotten, and then he laughed in my face and said, there you are, all your sins that you ever committed. Martin Luther said, write one more, there isn't one to write. Well then, if there's not one to write, write across the mall, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses me from all sin. I'm a free man, I don't need the priest, I don't need the sacraments. The doctrine of justification was restored through Martin Luther. At about a quarter to nine on the 24th of May 1738, John Wesley says in his diary, I went somewhat unwillingly to a place in Aldersgate Street, and a man was reading the preface to the epistle to the Romans. Listen, the preface, not the epistle. He was reading the preface to the epistle to the Romans by Martin Luther, and it was just about quarter to nine on the clock, and I did feel my heart strangely warm, and I said, I believe that Jesus died for my sins.