You Shall Not Go Very Far Away - Part Ten Mar 21, 2021 by: John Herbert | Series: You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T044_20210321.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ex 8:28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away……… Today we will look at how our enemy has prevented the Church at large from going very far away. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday March 21st 2021 You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Part 10 1). Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away……… We have seen from these verses in Exodus Chapter 8, that Israel was required to make a journey into the wilderness, separating themselves from Egypt, in order to sacrifice to the Lord their God. And this journey is seen in relation to 3 days. A journey then, that would be brought to its conclusion in the 3rd Day. Symbolically, this journey is also necessary for the Christian who must seek separation from the world and the things in the world with a view to the coming 3rd Day, the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. And as we have seen, the Christian journey also requires sacrifice and separation and this whole process is succinctly put in – Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The living sacrifice talks of having taken up our cross, of continually denying ourselves, of putting off the old man because of his connection to the kingdom of Satan through our first birth. And in the choice to stop being conformed to this world and to be transformed instead by the renewing of the mind in ‘epignosis’ knowledge, we find the wilderness journey and the separation from ‘Egypt’. And if we are to receive a position as joint heir with Christ in the Kingdom, then we must make our own 3 days’ journey, with our focus set resolutely on the 3rd Day. a). We might remember this verse – 1 Jn 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. It is because ‘the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one’ that the Christian must not cozy up to the world or the things in it. For those who have understood and embraced the heavenly calling, their mind is to be set on the coming Kingdom of Christ which will bring about the complete overthrow and destruction of Satan’s kingdom with all its systems and mechanisms. And in conjunction with this will be the complete overthrow of Gentile world power through which Satan operates; and all in anticipation of the installation of a new order of rulers who will rule the Gentile nations with Christ, with a rod of iron for a 1000 years – 1 Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. To do anything other than what we see in these verses, is to accept, validate and be compliant with, the rule of the fallen angel and his cohort. And uniting with our enemy in this way is described in Scripture as entering into an illicit or sexually immoral relationship with the very one who is the antithesis of the Lord who purchased us with His own blood – Jas 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 2 Co 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. This same imagery of sexual immorality has been used in the Scriptures to describe unfaithful, disobedient Israel throughout her history as the nation assimilated itself into the world, so as to be just like all the Gentile nations under Satan’s control. And Israel’s actions, using the same imagery, is seen at its zenith within the Book of the Revelation – Re 17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. We can see then that sexual immorality in the form of adultery and fornication are used in Scripture as a metaphor for the eternally saved person’s embrace of the world thereby entering into an illicit relationship with Satan, a relationship which betrays God, to whom Israel was married, and Christ, to whom the Church is betrothed. A relationship which will be severely judged because of Who and what has been rejected through it, should it continue unabated. b). Then in conjunction with this, sexual immorality in the form of homosexuality appears to be used as a marker to the imminence of God’s judgment upon that illicit relationship, just as we see in the sexual depravity in days of Noah and the days of Lot, and as we had seen last time with respect to Christians and their imminent appearance at Christ’s Judgment Seat, pictured through the Christians described in the second half of Romans Chapter 1 - Ro 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. There are 3 places marked in the Scripture we have just read where we see that ‘God gave them up’, allowed these Christians to continue to follow their own unclean path that would lead to their destruction from the presence of His glory at the Judgment Seat. c). But beyond the outcome for the individual Christian, we must also see, because of the reference to the number 3, the 3 occasions when ‘God gave them over’, that this also pictures the terminal point for the Church, here at the end of the 2 days of this dispensation. d). This terminal point for the Church parallels the 3 occasions in Acts where God gave the Jews over to the consequences of their unbelief, with the 3rd and final occasion in Acts Chapter 28, also being the 3rd of 3 terminal points that the nation of Israel came to in their rejection of God’s purpose for the 7th Day e). Suffice it to say, that for Israel, the Christians in Romans and the Church at the end of this dispensation, there was not and will not be a 4th occasion – Job 33:29 “Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, 30 To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life. Once the terminal point is reached however, judgment must come next and condemnation is all that remains for the unfaithful – Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 2). Now, as we have seen, the Christians found in the second half of Romans Chapter 1 form a picture of the Church at the end of this dispensation, the picture of the time when the Church is wallowing in and swallowed up by an illicit relationship with the world and its god, with the focus on homosexuality at this end point indicating the depths of the depravity to which it has sunk in this relationship. This then is the time immediately prior to every Christian’s appearance at Christ’s Judgment Seat – Jude 1:5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 2 Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. And with this in mind we will also realize that we have not just woken up to this, this morning. Rather, we must see that pictured through the Christians in Romans as the final manifestation of the outworking of Satan’s unrelenting attack on the Word of the Kingdom – the message that proclaims his end on the one hand and prepares those who will replace him on the other. a). And what we see pictured in Romans had already been foretold in the Scriptures for anyone who has eyes to see – Mt 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom……. On the same day that the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens was in effect taken from national Israel because of their rejection of the sign of the Sabbath and the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, recorded in Matthew Chapter 12, Jesus left the house, symbolically the house of Israel, and sat by the sea, symbolizing the Gentile nations. And once there, by the sea, He gave 7 parables concerning the Word of the Kingdom. Parables that in terms of time take us from the beginning of the Church to the Millennial Kingdom. b). The first 4 of these parables, given outside the house, provide a dispensational overview of the Church, before the Church had come into existence. Now, let’s remember that this is the dispensational overview that God gave, not that man has devised. c). Let’s not forget of course that at the beginning of the dispensation, the only message heard within the newly formed Church was the Word of the Kingdom. A message that was and is, only for the eternally saved. Of necessity, when unsaved Gentiles began to be brought into the Church, they first had to hear the gospel of grace. But once they had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, when the ‘church’ met together, it was the Word of the Kingdom that was the universal message – a message giving both the reason and purpose for the eternal salvation they had received – 1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time………. 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. And at the beginning of this dispensation, this message, the Word of the Kingdom, was producing fruit among those eternally saved Christians who heard it – Mt 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word [of the Kingdom] and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Mt 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. There were then, those who had heard the Word of the Kingdom, who were as a result, producing fruit and in doing so were laying their claim to the kingdom that has been occupied by Satan and his angels since the time when God had created the heavens and the earth and had appointed Satan as the ruling angel. d). But it was less than 50 years from the beginning of the Church that things began to change with the ‘tares’ being introduced in response to the fruit production– Mt 13:37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 2 Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. And this satanic work was to one end, to stop fruit being produced among the eternally saved by introducing teachers with a false, Scripture based, message to corrupt and pervert the Word of the Kingdom – 1 Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. This is a power play by Satan to retain control that continues to this day. e). As a result of this satanic work the ‘Church’ then grew in a way, that was unthinkable at the beginning of the dispensation, witnessed in the parable of the mustard seed that became a tree, became a national power; an event realized in history in the days of Theodosius I, when between the years AD 380-395, Christianity became the official and only religion of the Roman Empire; the Gentile world power, of its day under the control of Satan – Mt 13:31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” And what was the reason that the unthinkable happened? The Word of the Kingdom through the work of the ‘tares’ was sufficiently corrupted so as to allow the world and the Church to become one. The barrier between them having been removed. f). The Word of the Kingdom is entirely antagonistic and antithetical to the world system under Satan and can never be compatible with it. Satan cannot tolerate the Word of the Kingdom because of what it proclaims about his end and the end of his kingdom. And those proclaiming and following the Word of the Kingdom must not compromise their high calling for the passing pleasures of Egypt. There is no common ground to be found, between the two. g). And the end result of Satan’s activity in this direction is found in the 4th of the 4 parables given outside the house – Mt 13:33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” Remember, it is the proclamation and offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens, the Word of the Kingdom, that is the subject of these parables. The destructive work of the leaven over the course of the last 2000 years has so corrupted the Word of the Kingdom that by the close of this dispensation this Word will be completely leavened – Lk 18:8b Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find the faith on the earth?” [the construction of the Greek language here only allows for a negative response] 3). And the dispensational overview of the Church with regards to the proclamation and offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens, the Word of the Kingdom, seen in the first 4 parables in Matthew Chapter 13, has been repeated in an identical fashion following the Lord’s ascension and was given to the Apostle John concerning the 7 churches appearing at Christ’s Judgment Seat in Chapters 2-3 of the Revelation – Re 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Ephesus, being the first of the 7churches, takes us to the beginning of the dispensation, where we can see that from the outset the work of the ‘Tares’ sown among the wheat was taking root. a). Now Paul had prophesied of this very thing in his final meeting with the elders of Ephesus at Miletus, recorded in Acts Chapter 20 – Acts 20:25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. 32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Paul had taught the Ephesian Church for 3 years about ‘the Kingdom of God’, their ‘inheritance among all those who are sanctified’, ‘the whole counsel of God.’ And this would constitute their ‘first love’; the good news given through the Word of the Kingdom and the One who is the embodiment of that Word, succinctly summarized for us in Paul’s letter to Timothy, written at the end of Paul’s life – 2 Ti 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. And as the leaven placed in the 3 measures of meal completes its destructive work, so we come to the Church at the end of this dispensation, where we are now, described in the Lord’s condemnation of the 7th of the 7 churches, that of Laodicea – Re 3:7 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— Again, let’s pause here to note, as we did with the 4 parables given outside the house from Matthew Chapter 13, that this is God’s determination of the present condition of Christendom, which is entirely contrary to what Christendom might say of itself. b). And remember, we are still dealing with the proclamation and offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens, the Word of the Kingdom here, and it is with respect to the teaching of the Word of the Kingdom that the Church at large is now lukewarm and seen by God to be ‘wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.’ c). So effective has the work of the leaven been with respect to this, that we could go to virtually any church in the land and listen to what is being taught, but the one thing we won’t hear is the Word of the Kingdom. And it cannot be any other way than this because this is how the Lord has shown it would be, recorded in the Scripture, both before and following His ascension. d). And the place where Christendom finds itself now, as the Lord is about to return, finds its parallel with the place the nation of Israel found itself prior to Moses’ return from the mountain – Ex 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” We will have to pick this up again next time though – If the Lord is willing. You Shall Not Go Very Far Away - Part Ten Mar 21, 2021 Speaker: John Herbert Series: You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T044_20210321.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ex 8:28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away……… Today we will look at how our enemy has prevented the Church at large from going very far away. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday March 21st 2021 You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Part 10 1). Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away……… We have seen from these verses in Exodus Chapter 8, that Israel was required to make a journey into the wilderness, separating themselves from Egypt, in order to sacrifice to the Lord their God. And this journey is seen in relation to 3 days. A journey then, that would be brought to its conclusion in the 3rd Day. Symbolically, this journey is also necessary for the Christian who must seek separation from the world and the things in the world with a view to the coming 3rd Day, the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. And as we have seen, the Christian journey also requires sacrifice and separation and this whole process is succinctly put in – Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The living sacrifice talks of having taken up our cross, of continually denying ourselves, of putting off the old man because of his connection to the kingdom of Satan through our first birth. And in the choice to stop being conformed to this world and to be transformed instead by the renewing of the mind in ‘epignosis’ knowledge, we find the wilderness journey and the separation from ‘Egypt’. And if we are to receive a position as joint heir with Christ in the Kingdom, then we must make our own 3 days’ journey, with our focus set resolutely on the 3rd Day. a). We might remember this verse – 1 Jn 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. It is because ‘the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one’ that the Christian must not cozy up to the world or the things in it. For those who have understood and embraced the heavenly calling, their mind is to be set on the coming Kingdom of Christ which will bring about the complete overthrow and destruction of Satan’s kingdom with all its systems and mechanisms. And in conjunction with this will be the complete overthrow of Gentile world power through which Satan operates; and all in anticipation of the installation of a new order of rulers who will rule the Gentile nations with Christ, with a rod of iron for a 1000 years – 1 Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. To do anything other than what we see in these verses, is to accept, validate and be compliant with, the rule of the fallen angel and his cohort. And uniting with our enemy in this way is described in Scripture as entering into an illicit or sexually immoral relationship with the very one who is the antithesis of the Lord who purchased us with His own blood – Jas 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 2 Co 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. This same imagery of sexual immorality has been used in the Scriptures to describe unfaithful, disobedient Israel throughout her history as the nation assimilated itself into the world, so as to be just like all the Gentile nations under Satan’s control. And Israel’s actions, using the same imagery, is seen at its zenith within the Book of the Revelation – Re 17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. We can see then that sexual immorality in the form of adultery and fornication are used in Scripture as a metaphor for the eternally saved person’s embrace of the world thereby entering into an illicit relationship with Satan, a relationship which betrays God, to whom Israel was married, and Christ, to whom the Church is betrothed. A relationship which will be severely judged because of Who and what has been rejected through it, should it continue unabated. b). Then in conjunction with this, sexual immorality in the form of homosexuality appears to be used as a marker to the imminence of God’s judgment upon that illicit relationship, just as we see in the sexual depravity in days of Noah and the days of Lot, and as we had seen last time with respect to Christians and their imminent appearance at Christ’s Judgment Seat, pictured through the Christians described in the second half of Romans Chapter 1 - Ro 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. There are 3 places marked in the Scripture we have just read where we see that ‘God gave them up’, allowed these Christians to continue to follow their own unclean path that would lead to their destruction from the presence of His glory at the Judgment Seat. c). But beyond the outcome for the individual Christian, we must also see, because of the reference to the number 3, the 3 occasions when ‘God gave them over’, that this also pictures the terminal point for the Church, here at the end of the 2 days of this dispensation. d). This terminal point for the Church parallels the 3 occasions in Acts where God gave the Jews over to the consequences of their unbelief, with the 3rd and final occasion in Acts Chapter 28, also being the 3rd of 3 terminal points that the nation of Israel came to in their rejection of God’s purpose for the 7th Day e). Suffice it to say, that for Israel, the Christians in Romans and the Church at the end of this dispensation, there was not and will not be a 4th occasion – Job 33:29 “Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, 30 To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life. Once the terminal point is reached however, judgment must come next and condemnation is all that remains for the unfaithful – Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 2). Now, as we have seen, the Christians found in the second half of Romans Chapter 1 form a picture of the Church at the end of this dispensation, the picture of the time when the Church is wallowing in and swallowed up by an illicit relationship with the world and its god, with the focus on homosexuality at this end point indicating the depths of the depravity to which it has sunk in this relationship. This then is the time immediately prior to every Christian’s appearance at Christ’s Judgment Seat – Jude 1:5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 2 Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. And with this in mind we will also realize that we have not just woken up to this, this morning. Rather, we must see that pictured through the Christians in Romans as the final manifestation of the outworking of Satan’s unrelenting attack on the Word of the Kingdom – the message that proclaims his end on the one hand and prepares those who will replace him on the other. a). And what we see pictured in Romans had already been foretold in the Scriptures for anyone who has eyes to see – Mt 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom……. On the same day that the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens was in effect taken from national Israel because of their rejection of the sign of the Sabbath and the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, recorded in Matthew Chapter 12, Jesus left the house, symbolically the house of Israel, and sat by the sea, symbolizing the Gentile nations. And once there, by the sea, He gave 7 parables concerning the Word of the Kingdom. Parables that in terms of time take us from the beginning of the Church to the Millennial Kingdom. b). The first 4 of these parables, given outside the house, provide a dispensational overview of the Church, before the Church had come into existence. Now, let’s remember that this is the dispensational overview that God gave, not that man has devised. c). Let’s not forget of course that at the beginning of the dispensation, the only message heard within the newly formed Church was the Word of the Kingdom. A message that was and is, only for the eternally saved. Of necessity, when unsaved Gentiles began to be brought into the Church, they first had to hear the gospel of grace. But once they had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, when the ‘church’ met together, it was the Word of the Kingdom that was the universal message – a message giving both the reason and purpose for the eternal salvation they had received – 1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time………. 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. And at the beginning of this dispensation, this message, the Word of the Kingdom, was producing fruit among those eternally saved Christians who heard it – Mt 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word [of the Kingdom] and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Mt 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. There were then, those who had heard the Word of the Kingdom, who were as a result, producing fruit and in doing so were laying their claim to the kingdom that has been occupied by Satan and his angels since the time when God had created the heavens and the earth and had appointed Satan as the ruling angel. d). But it was less than 50 years from the beginning of the Church that things began to change with the ‘tares’ being introduced in response to the fruit production– Mt 13:37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 2 Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. And this satanic work was to one end, to stop fruit being produced among the eternally saved by introducing teachers with a false, Scripture based, message to corrupt and pervert the Word of the Kingdom – 1 Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. This is a power play by Satan to retain control that continues to this day. e). As a result of this satanic work the ‘Church’ then grew in a way, that was unthinkable at the beginning of the dispensation, witnessed in the parable of the mustard seed that became a tree, became a national power; an event realized in history in the days of Theodosius I, when between the years AD 380-395, Christianity became the official and only religion of the Roman Empire; the Gentile world power, of its day under the control of Satan – Mt 13:31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” And what was the reason that the unthinkable happened? The Word of the Kingdom through the work of the ‘tares’ was sufficiently corrupted so as to allow the world and the Church to become one. The barrier between them having been removed. f). The Word of the Kingdom is entirely antagonistic and antithetical to the world system under Satan and can never be compatible with it. Satan cannot tolerate the Word of the Kingdom because of what it proclaims about his end and the end of his kingdom. And those proclaiming and following the Word of the Kingdom must not compromise their high calling for the passing pleasures of Egypt. There is no common ground to be found, between the two. g). And the end result of Satan’s activity in this direction is found in the 4th of the 4 parables given outside the house – Mt 13:33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” Remember, it is the proclamation and offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens, the Word of the Kingdom, that is the subject of these parables. The destructive work of the leaven over the course of the last 2000 years has so corrupted the Word of the Kingdom that by the close of this dispensation this Word will be completely leavened – Lk 18:8b Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find the faith on the earth?” [the construction of the Greek language here only allows for a negative response] 3). And the dispensational overview of the Church with regards to the proclamation and offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens, the Word of the Kingdom, seen in the first 4 parables in Matthew Chapter 13, has been repeated in an identical fashion following the Lord’s ascension and was given to the Apostle John concerning the 7 churches appearing at Christ’s Judgment Seat in Chapters 2-3 of the Revelation – Re 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Ephesus, being the first of the 7churches, takes us to the beginning of the dispensation, where we can see that from the outset the work of the ‘Tares’ sown among the wheat was taking root. a). Now Paul had prophesied of this very thing in his final meeting with the elders of Ephesus at Miletus, recorded in Acts Chapter 20 – Acts 20:25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. 32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Paul had taught the Ephesian Church for 3 years about ‘the Kingdom of God’, their ‘inheritance among all those who are sanctified’, ‘the whole counsel of God.’ And this would constitute their ‘first love’; the good news given through the Word of the Kingdom and the One who is the embodiment of that Word, succinctly summarized for us in Paul’s letter to Timothy, written at the end of Paul’s life – 2 Ti 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. And as the leaven placed in the 3 measures of meal completes its destructive work, so we come to the Church at the end of this dispensation, where we are now, described in the Lord’s condemnation of the 7th of the 7 churches, that of Laodicea – Re 3:7 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— Again, let’s pause here to note, as we did with the 4 parables given outside the house from Matthew Chapter 13, that this is God’s determination of the present condition of Christendom, which is entirely contrary to what Christendom might say of itself. b). And remember, we are still dealing with the proclamation and offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens, the Word of the Kingdom here, and it is with respect to the teaching of the Word of the Kingdom that the Church at large is now lukewarm and seen by God to be ‘wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.’ c). So effective has the work of the leaven been with respect to this, that we could go to virtually any church in the land and listen to what is being taught, but the one thing we won’t hear is the Word of the Kingdom. And it cannot be any other way than this because this is how the Lord has shown it would be, recorded in the Scripture, both before and following His ascension. d). And the place where Christendom finds itself now, as the Lord is about to return, finds its parallel with the place the nation of Israel found itself prior to Moses’ return from the mountain – Ex 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” We will have to pick this up again next time though – If the Lord is willing.