Andrew Bramhill - Life-Changing Sayings of the Lord Jesus - Class 1 - The Vision Invigorated

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:04

   Thank you very much. Good evening everybody. So we’re talking we’re talking about the, the vision of the Kingdom, not quite the vision of the Kingdom that you might be envisaging actually, but but when you start to think about the, the coming Kingdom, I wonder what you think of it. If if I was to share with you my personal anticipations of what the Kingdom will be like, it might be very different to yours. You will have your own ideas and your own views there. There are two or three things that that that that I I look forward to which which you may be able to relate to what 1 is that when Christ reigns and his government is in Jerusalem. I rather think that unarguable evidence of God at work in the world will make it easier to speak to people about salvation in Christ.

2. 1:00

   And I rather think our preaching will be more effective and more powerful that that’s an idea I’ve got. Whether it’s right or not, I don’t know. Maybe men and women will still be in denial even though Christ is back. I, I, I also have a view, having been privileged to see the, the, the desolate Judean desert.

3. 1:24

   We’ve stayed in a kibbutz in the Judean Desert, and it’s a pocket of green and lush vegetation in the middle of a desert. And you think if there’s only some water flowing through here, this would be a wonderful place. And what do you know, in the Kingdom, living waters are going to flow out of Jerusalem and water that desert and it will be transformed.

4. 1:45

   So that that’s a vision. I’ve got one last little thing, which might be a small little thing. Wherever we go today, we see decay, we see pollution, we see man having touched the landscape and scarred it and polluted it and damaged it. Well, in the Kingdom, that’s all going to be cleaned up. I’d quite like to be part of the cleaning up process. That’s one of my little wishes, as it were. I’d love to see a clean ocean again and a clean environment. Maybe you’ve got your own view of what the Kingdom will be like, but we’re not just trying to visualize the Kingdom. I want you to examine for a moment or two what you think about the return of the Lord Jesus. We need Jesus to return before we can start on our Kingdom experience.

5. 2:42

   And and I wonder what you what you think about the return of the Lord Jesus. And just as we were thinking yesterday about our breaking of bread, some of you will turn up at the breaking of bread with very little preparation. You’ll turn up and suddenly it’s bread and wine and you haven’t really focused. Well, I wonder what you think about the Kingdom, the return of the Lord Jesus that that the reality is some of you will will just be too busy.

6. 3:10

   You know, you, you get up in the morning and it’s hectic and you’ve got a schedule to keep and you’ve got places to get to when you need to be there by a certain time when you’re in a mad rush and you’re busy all day long and you come back home and you’re exhausted. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s school or work or whatever it is.

7. 3:25

   And finding time to think about the return of the Lord Jesus is difficult sometimes. And, and there is a probability that a good portion in this room don’t think about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ very much. There’s a good probability that’s the case. Now, if that’s you, maybe we can do something about that. Maybe this week will help you and encourage you to think more about the coming of our King.

8. 3:54

   But maybe some of you are anxious about it. Sometimes you hear brothers and sisters talk about what if Jesus comes and I’m not ready? What what, what if Christ returns and and I miss it. You know, you sometimes get this message about missing the call. Come back with me to Matthew chapter 24. Would you please?

9. 4:19

   You know the kind of verses that indicate this, Matthew 24, for example, We’re talking about Noah and the sudden flood coming and people not knowing until the flood came. Verse 39 took them all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man B And then we read verses about two in the field, 1 taken, the other left, two women grinding at the mill, one taken, the other left. Watch therefore, for you know, not on what hour your Lord does come.

10. 4:56

    Kind of fills us with dread a little bit. What what if I’m left behind? What if I’m one of those who misses out here and Jesus comes and and everyone else goes in and I’m left behind? I don’t think it’s like that. I, I don’t think it’s like that at all. Brothers, sisters, young people, you, you do not need to worry for one moment about missing the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

11. 5:21

    I promise you that. I promise you that. I, I, I think this kind of thing has an AD 70 application actually. And there might be a need to prepare and be ready, but the idea of, oh, oh, it’s Christ’s return. I didn’t know Fancy. Is he here? And did I miss it? It’s not going to be like that. How do I know that?

12. 5:43

    Well, I know that because of earlier verses. Look at verse 29. Immediately after tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened. The moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven, the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.

13. 6:01

    Verse 31. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other. You will not miss this. You will be gathered. Even if you’re sleeping, even if you’re one of those virgins who are fast asleep and have no extra oil in your lamp, you will be taken.

14. 6:28

    You will be gathered because we are called of Christ, and we will go to meet with Him. So, so you will not miss the call, I promise you that. So don’t worry about that. But that might, that might lead to something else, brothers and sisters, which is I’m very excited about the Kingdom.

15. 6:49

    I can’t wait for the Kingdom to come, but there’s a judgement I need to get through 1st that worries me. You know, the idea of having to stand before Christ, having to explain myself to him, having to account for my actions, my behaviours, the things I’ve done and the things I should have done but haven’t. Sometimes these weigh heavy honours and therefore the Kingdom.

16. 7:14

    Oh yes, please give me the Kingdom. But this bit in between this judgement that looms large and it’s a difficulty. So, so I, I, I suggest, brothers and sisters, that there are some concerns among us. I’d like to show you this evening that we can reinvigorate the vision of the Kingdom by a swaging some of those fears, putting to one side those concerns that you may have because the Lord Jesus died and rose so that we might go into the Kingdom. So that’s going to lead us to three more of our life changing sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ this evening. Our reading was in Mark chapter 10, and I wonder if you’d come there.

17. 8:06

    Any ideas in Mark chapter 10, which verse was read there which might form one of our sayings this evening? Where’s a nice verse in Mark 10 from 17 to 31? Who can find a nice phrase in there? 2727, Thank you very much. Who said that extra point? Well done. Verse 27. There it is. Look at that.

18. 8:36

    What, what? What an uplifting verse there. With men it is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible. OK, with God all things are possible. That’s, that’s our starting point. Then this evening and, and on it’s own, OK, I’ve extracted the words, I’ve put it on the screen there.

19. 8:58

    You read that and you reflect that and you say, hey, this, this is powerful stuff. Actually, all of a sudden with God everything is possible. There is nothing which is impossible. And you can start to think for a moment about the wonders that God has done and performed for his people. He can flood the earth with water if if he chooses to do that, He could divide the waters of the sea. If he wanted to do that, He could bring living waters out of a rock.

20. 9:31

    If he wanted to do that, He could create wine from water. If he wanted, He could calm stormy waters. He could allow men to walk on water. God can do anything. He can create an abundance of plagues. He can create an abundance of manner. He can create an abundance of food from just a handful of loaves and fish.

21. 9:52

    He can defeat a multitude of armies with just a handful of faithful men, if that’s what he chooses to do. And when you start putting those phrases together, you think, yeah, God can do the impossible. It’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it, That power, young people, is still evidence today. We might not see God’s acts in quite that particular way, but he’s still at work. We see him working in his creation. We see his angels working among the nations that you might have experienced or at least witnessed some great act of God in your life because he works among the lives of those who would be the heirs of salvation.

22. 10:35

    So so just putting it on the screen like that, it’s a really heartening thing and it’s a really encouraging thing. But but we shouldn’t do that with Scripture verses. We should not just cut them out and paste them and stick them as post it notes on the bedroom wall. We, we should read the, the section and read the scripture and see what’s being said here. And I just want to do that for a moment or two here, because when you understand the context, I, I, I think the verse is even better than it sounds in isolation. So, so we’ve got the story in, in, in Mark 10 from verse 17 about this rich young ruler.

23. 11:15

    We know he’s rich, we know he’s young and we know he’s a ruler, but we have to piece together all the three records of the Gospels to prove that to us. But but but just in being introduced to him with all those things, what what, what, what great advantage he’s got who who wouldn’t love to be rich and young and in some position of authority.

24. 11:43

    You have got everything going for you there, haven’t you? Everything is on your side. Life is is treating you well here and he comes to the Lord Jesus and his question is what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life on there in verse 17, which is which is a good question, I suppose, because he’s interested in salvation and you and I sitting here, we all ought to be interested in the salvation of God.

25. 12:16

    So he’s coming to ask what must I do? And of course, that’s a bit of an issue, isn’t it? You know, it puts the focus on me. What do I have to do to be saved? And and I was talking a little bit yesterday about the correct focus. Admittedly, I was talking and concentrating for the breaking of bread.

26. 12:39

    But. But notice again, here’s another episode in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ where someone wants to do something. What must I do to be saved? Yeah, this is about me. And I’ve been trying to tell you in, in my two studies so far that this is not about us. We might like it to be, but but it isn’t.

27. 13:02

    So he comes and he’s coming with the slightly wrong motive, or at least misguided motive. And the Lord Jesus Christ is going to first of all, say, why do you call me good? There is none good but one. That’s God. And then he lists the commandments. Now. Now it’s enlightening, I think, to see the commandments that he lists, because he skips 1 to 4 and commandments one to four are all about our relationship with God. And that seems to suggest to me that this man coming with the right question, maybe, but he doesn’t have much of a relationship with God.

28. 13:38

    Christ isn’t going to explore that with him. This, this man doesn’t have a relationship with God. What’s the point of me asking you if you’ve kept those commands because your relationship is not yet with God. And then Jesus lists the next 6 which are all about behaviour and treatment of fellows and relationships with one another. Except he doesn’t quite you.

29. 14:00

    You will know this. He doesn’t quite list all six correctly, does he? The Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t get by Bible reading wrong, but he he says in verse 19 defraud not and he slips that one in and he doesn’t say you shall not covet. He misses that one out. So the Lord Jesus Christ has adjusted the commandments a little to suit this particular man because those that are listed by the Lord Jesus Christ, he can say, Oh yeah, I’ve done that, yes, I have done that. I, I, I, I have kept that commandment. I don’t commit adultery, I don’t kill, I haven’t stolen anything. I don’t bear false witness.

30. 14:49

    I’ve certainly not defrauded. Now, yes, I do honour my father’s, my tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Is that what I need to do for salvation? It’s a, it’s a doing thing. Does that mean I’ll now be saved? Interestingly, if you read in Matthew, he asks the question the young man asked the question, he says I’ve done all these, but do I like something?

31. 15:09

    Now that’s a powerful question actually, and that that’s where we should all be. Do I like something? And the Lord Jesus is going to say, yes, you do. But at this point in the discussion, Mark tells us verse 21, looking upon him, beholding him, Jesus loved him. But now intriguingly, you might say, well, Jesus loves everybody. Actually, in the Gospel records, the named individuals that Jesus loves are very few indeed.

32. 15:41

    I found six, including this rich young ruler, only six people named in the Gospels who Christ loves. And he loves this young man. And I think he loves them because this young man is willing to say, do I lack something? What do I lack? And the Lord Jesus Christ is going to say to him that you need to sell what you have, and you will have treasure in heaven and come take up your cross and follow me.

33. 16:12

    Verse 22 But he was very sad at that saying, and he went away grieved, for he had great possessions. As far as I can see, this is the only person who goes away from the Lord Jesus Christ, sad at heart, and he went away because he was caught up. Now he had to do something which was too big for him. So, so this rich young ruler walks away. Ironically, Jesus is saying come follow me. And this man walks away.

34. 16:45

    He can’t follow with that particular, that particular instruction. So that that’s where we get to with this rich young man. You might just observe that Mark. Chapter 10 finishes with just the opposite example, because the chapter finishes with blind Bartimaeus. This is a man, a poor man sitting at the side of the road. This man has got absolutely nothing, not even his eyesight, and he’s desperate to be healed and he calls out to Jesus. And I’m in verse 50 now of this particular chapter and Bartimaeus castaway his garment and rose and came to Jesus. As soon as Jesus calls him, he casts away his garment. This man’s got nothing apart from a garment, and he chucks it on one side and goes to find Jesus. I don’t think blind men would do that. I think if you’re blind, you would not cast something away or leave it in case you can’t find it again. You’d take it with you, or you put it in a very safe place where it would be and you’d find it again. But this man, he’s got nothing.

35. 17:53

    And even what he’s got he’s not caring about, because he’s going to the Lord Jesus. And Jesus says, What wilt thou that thou should do unto thee? And the blind man said unto him, Lord, the time I receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith has made thee whole. He Jesus gives him the opposite instruction. He said to the rich and ruler, come and follow me. You know he was a man who needed to be with Jesus because his faith needed building up.

36. 18:18

    Bartimaeus is full of faith and Jesus says, well you can go, your faith has made you whole. And immediately received his sight and followed Jesus in the way Bartimaeus was was not leaving at all. Even though Jesus said you can go now your faith has sorted you out. He was sticking close to the Lord Jesus and unfortunately it’s it’s just a complete contrast to the rich young ruler who went away sad at heart because he could not comply with the request of the Lord Jesus. So as as this young ruler goes away. The disciples were absolutely perplexed as far as they could see God blessed those who were good. So here now is a rich young ruler boy has he been blessed? So he must be very good That that’s how the disciples, that mind worked.

37. 19:11

    That’s how our minds work. We look at people and say, wow, they’ve got a lot there, that that they possess a lot, they do a lot. They must be blessed by God. Look at all I’ve got. Maybe he doesn’t love me as much. And we make comparisons and it doesn’t work well, but they’re looking and they’re puzzled now how come this individual is is going away?

38. 19:35

    Who then can be saved if this individual cannot be saved? And the Lord Jesus is going to talk to the disciples and he’s going to explain how hard it is for those that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God. Verse 24, It’s easier for a a camel to go through the eye of a needle. And they were astonished because they said, well if he can’t be saved, what hope for the rest of us? And the Lord Jesus answer is with men it is impossible, but not with God.

39. 20:12

    For with God all things are possible. And you see, it’s a very specific thing. That the Lord Jesus Christ, he’s not just talking about a a bunch of miracles here, He’s talking about salvation. You see, that’s the impossible thing. It doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re a blind Bartimaeus with next to nothing, even without your eyesight, or whether you’re a rich young ruler with everything going for you, you cannot save yourself. That’s the reality of it.

40. 20:43

    It doesn’t matter standing there saying, what must I do? You can’t do anything. You cannot save yourself. It’s an impossibility, but not with God. He he wants to save. And I’d like to suggest young people that this is this is a theme that runs throughout our scriptures. Let’s just go back to to Genesis, Can we? We were here yesterday, Genesis chapter 18. If you would.

41. 21:13

    I, I, I always encourage you, if you come across a saying or a word or a phrase or an incident, try and find the first occurrence of it in your Bible because that often sets the scene for how the Bible is going to use this phrase or word or incident. Did I say Genesis 14?

42. 21:36

    I was meaning to say Genesis 18. Sorry, I might have said that. Genesis chapter 18. We were there yesterday, weren’t we? Sarah, the barren wife, too old now to give birth. Romans 4 tells us that Abraham also was dead, at least in terms of raising children. And the angels speak, and they say, tomorrow, this time next year, your wife will bear a child.

43. 22:10

    Then of course Sarah laughed. Verse 12 of Genesis 18. Therefore Sarah laughed with herself, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord, being old also? And the angels challenge Abraham, saying, Why did Sarah laugh from verse 14? Here it is. Is anything too hard for the Lord? See, here’s the impossible thing. Here is the impossible thing.

44. 22:39

    Well, it’s not impossible for God. And the thing that’s happening here, of course, is the provision of the promised seed, the one through whom salvation would ultimately come, would come from this particular line. And the impossible thing then is the provision of this great child of promise. So, so the first occurrence of the hard thing, the impossible thing is there and it speaks of the promised child. Coming me to Luke chapter 1, would you please? Because the same kind of idea appears in the beginning of our New Testaments.

45. 23:22

    Here we have, we have two impossible things happening, don’t we? We have a virgin who is about to conceive without the intervention of a man. Gabriel’s coming and speaking to Mary and explaining all this to her. And Mary asks in in Luke one, verse 34, how will this be seeing? I know not a man. If you don’t let me know a man, how am I going to become pregnant?

46. 23:51

    Seems to be the very logical thing. And it’s a very reasonable question, isn’t it? And the explanation comes from Gabriel, and there’s proof that it’s going to work for Mary. Gabriel explains that Elizabeth verse 36, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the 6th month with her, who was called Baron.

47. 24:13

    For with God nothing shall be impossible. Here it is again the same idea, and it’s the promise of the seed who would bring salvation. So the impossible thing that’s talked about in Scripture isn’t just moving mountains or creating great miracles for men to wonder at. It’s about man’s salvation. And if I can just take you back a couple of pages to mark chapter 14, just observe this moment of weakness in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, would you? Because here he is praying in the garden, and the pressure is on, and he prays earnestly that he might not have to go through with the cross.

48. 25:09

    And verse 34 of Mark 14 Look, look at this, He saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death. Tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little and fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, ABBA, Father, all things are possible unto thee. Take away this cup from me.

49. 25:31

    And here is the Lord Jesus Christ asking for the possible. And the answer is we’re not here to do the possible. We need God and his Son at this moment to do the impossible, the thing that you and I can’t do. So little turn around there isn’t it in the, in the Garden of Gethsemane?

50. 25:54

    Jesus is asking about the possible. Well, no, we’re here to do the impossible. We’re here to do the saving of mankind. They can’t do it for themselves. I, I need you, Son, to go through this because they can’t do it.

51. 26:12

    And the, the, the picture of the Almighty doing the impossible thing with his son is a beautiful theme right through our scriptures. So I I’m just trying to trying to show you that God is at work for us, for you and for me. It is not possible. There is nothing we can do.

52. 26:34

    You can’t sit there and make a commitment to God which is going to secure your salvation by doing things doesn’t work that way. It’s impossible. But with God and the Lord Jesus Christ, it’s been secured. Now how reassuring is that? If, if God and Christ are willing to secure that way of salvation for you and me, then we’re on to a winner here, aren’t we?

53. 27:02

    And, and the route to salvation is, is, is dead easy. Actually, you know, entrance into the Kingdom is not difficult. It talks about repentance, it talks about belief, it talks about baptism and it talks about some kind of effort to walk in the light, you know, not to be a wayward individual. God and his, his Son know we will fail. But, but those are the things they’re looking for from us. The kingdom’s yours if we can do those things, which leads me to my next saying, which is the view of God Almighty in this particular relationship.

54. 27:43

    And it’s in Luke chapter 12 and a very heartening 1 to underline, isn’t it? It is your father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Let’s just read the read the verse in context, shall we? It’s in Luke chapter 12 and verse 32. Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. And and I I just, I just take from that a desire of God for us to be there.

55. 28:21

    He, he, he wants us in the Kingdom. You might think that that God or Christ or the judgement seat of God and his son are the obstacles to get over. You know, that’s the, that’s the big step. If I can just get to the other side of that, then immortality and life eternal in the Kingdom is going to be ours.

56. 28:45

    But I’ve got to get over this judgement. Well, he is God saying through his son, it’s my pleasure, my pleasure to give you the Kingdom. And we see that. We see that in our Scriptures. I often comment and observe the the root of Israel. We’re just with Moses, aren’t we? And the plagues and bringing out the people.

57. 29:08

    Well, you just you just play that forward a little bit. God does all those plagues. Israel come out of Egypt, they’re baptized unto Moses in the Red Sea. They’re taken down to Sinai. A covenant is made. They’re marched up to the promised land. They stand on the border and God says in you go, where’s the promised land? It’s all yours.

58. 29:30

    He, he did everything for them. Even though they make a golden calf at Sinai, He doesn’t say, you’re not going in. I’ve changed my mind. He doesn’t do that. He he’s not a God who looks at performance. He’s a God who wants faith. And he marches them to the promised land and he says, in you go, it’s yours.

59. 29:47

    And all of a sudden they say, oh, not sure, Lord, didn’t we ought to send some spies in just to make sure it’s OK. And then when the spies come back and the message is full of giants, well, we’d rather die in the wilderness. That’s the very words of Numbers 14. We’d rather die in the wilderness.

60. 30:05

    OK. If that’s what you want, the only thing God won’t do for you is make salvation compulsory. Ironic, isn’t it? It’s it’s not compulsory. You have to choose it. It’s there, but you have to choose it. He’s not going to force it on anyone who doesn’t want it. And they didn’t force it on the children of Israel. They chose a different way.

61. 30:28

    It’s our Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. This phrase, good pleasure, I suggest, is usually about salvation. Do you remember when the shepherds came? Angel sang, Didn’t they? Outside Bethlehem? Peace on earth, goodwill toward men. This wasn’t just there’s going to be a nice feeling in the earth. Men are going to be kind to one another, goodwill toward men.

62. 30:55

    It’s God’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom and the sun has just been born. Who’s going to secure it? That’s what the angels were singing about. Not nice happy time at Christmas That that that wasn’t the message of the angels at all. When we read of it. You don’t need to look at these verses, but in Romans 10, Paul talks about God’s good pleasure to save Israel.

63. 31:21

    When he talks about it in Ephesians one, it’s for you and me. It’s His good pleasure to appoint us unto salvation. So, so, so the judgement seat, The judgement seat which you might look on as a big obstacle, isn’t that at all. God is on our side. He wants nothing more than us to be in the Kingdom.

64. 31:49

    Isn’t that wonderful? He’s not putting barriers in our way. But you might. But he is not because he wants us to be there. This isn’t one of my sayings, but this is a well known phrase.

65. 32:06

    How does that conclude? Where there is no vision, the people perish. Very good. How does that conclude? Oh, no idea, Andrew. Is there more to it than that? No idea. Yes, there is more to it. Where there is no vision, the people perish. He that keepeth the law happy is he. If you’ve not come across that verse, it’s in Proverbs and and well worth making a note of it.

66. 32:40

    And I, and I put that up there, brothers, sisters, young people, because the vision of the Kingdom is going to help you keep strong, OK? It’s going to help you move forward in your discipleship. Now, if you haven’t got Proverbs 2918 underlined in your Bible, you will need to do that. You’ll need to do that at some point, but I want to, I want to just take you back to One Samuel, chapter 3, please.

67. 33:10

    I’ve got a couple of references I want to share with you. Where there is no vision, the people perish. So the vision is important to keep us sustained, keep our stamina up, help us endure. The idea of perish means that there’s no hope. OK, so where there is no vision, there’s no hope. We might as well give up.

68. 33:43

    But the revised version talks about where there is no restraint. So where there is no vision, there’s no restraint, which is an odd idea actually, when you think about it. But the Kingdom, the vision of the Kingdom will help control you. That’s what the verse is saying. So you won’t just behave in any old way. You will try and be a restrained individual who will walk in the ways of God.

69. 34:10

    And he that keepeth the law, happy is he. You see, if you’ve got a vision, you’ve got an obligation to keep the law. I’ll take you to One Samuel chapter 3 because here, look what’s happened to the vision, verse one of one Samuel 3. The child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was precious in those days. There was no open vision.

70. 34:39

    They’ve lost the vision. And what is it they’ve lost? Actually, they’ve lost the Word of God. So to reinvigorate your vision of the Kingdom, can I suggest you open your Bibles? Start to read of it. Start to read of the signs that precede it. Start to read of the prophecies which explain those signs.

71. 35:05

    Start to read those chapters which talk about what the Kingdom will be like. Start to read about the men and women in all the pages of Scripture who will be in that Kingdom. Reinvigorate your vision of the Kingdom. Psalm 74 just take you here, just just in passing, if I may. Psalm 74, just to show you what was happening to people without a vision.

72. 35:33

    Psalm 74 takes place at the time of Jeremiah. Babylonians are coming. They’re invading the land, they’re encamped against Jerusalem, they break into Jerusalem, they they burn the temple and the sanctuary is destroyed. And we can pick that up from the earlier verses of Psalm 74. For example, verse 4 talks about the enemy’s roar in the midst of the congregations.

73. 36:09

    They have set up their end signs for signs. Here they are. They’ve infiltrated the Holy Mount. Verse 7, they have cast fire into the sanctuary. They have defiled it by casting down the dwelling place of the name to the ground. These invaders have destroyed Jerusalem and burnt the temple. And verse 9, this is what the people say we see, not our signs. There is no more profit.

74. 36:35

    Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long you see. They’ve lost the vision here because they’ve stopped reading about the signs, and they’ve stopped listening to the prophets who might explain them. And there’s no one who knows how long it will be. And we’re not to be like that. So to, to reinvigorate or perhaps even just to invigorate your vision of the Kingdom, you need to open your Bible and you need to read and you need to reflect.

75. 37:15

    So those are my those are my thoughts about keeping the vision strong. It’s one last thing I want to show you, if I may, which is from John chapter 8. I’ve got a final saying that I want to share with you, please, in John chapter 8. John chapter 8 is a a long chapter, but it begins with the woman taken in adultery.

76. 37:47

    And we sometimes puzzle a little bit over this, don’t we? I don’t quite know why we do. There’s no need to. It’s a very straightforward account. You’ll notice actually, depending on how your Bible is set out, that the text actually links the last verse of Chapter 7 with the beginning of chapter 8.

77. 38:09

    If some of your Bibles got that, you connected words there, so the chapter break is in the wrong place. That’s not unusual. Actually, that happens quite a bit. But if it begins with every man went on to his own house, last verse of Chapter 7, every man went to his own house. You just have a little look in the Old Testament. Second Chronicles chapter 10.

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    I might have these on the slide, I’m not sure. Second Chronicles chapter 10, verse 16 and First Samuel 8 verse 22. I’ll share those with you if you need afterwards. These are examples of people going to their own tents when they reject their king. Israel said we don’t want David to reign over us, we don’t want the king of Judah to reign over us.

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    So every man to his own tent and they all return to their own homes. At first, Samuel 8 has Israel saying we don’t want you, Samuel, to reign over us, we want our own king. We’re rejecting God as our king and every man goes to his own house. The phrase only occurs when they are rejecting their king.

80. 39:21

    OK, so here they are. This is a little marker in our gospels that every man who was surrounding the Lord Jesus and wanting his downfall has gone to his own house because they’ve rejected the Lord Jesus. And I, I, I find with with a smile that with the Lord Jesus Christ is in the temple in verse 2. He’s gone to his home house, hasn’t he? He’s gone to his Father’s house.

81. 39:45

    We see Jesus in the temple. They’ve all gone to their own homes. He’s in the right place, isn’t he? He’s in the temple and they bring this woman to him, don’t they? Caught in adultery and the Jews have brought and of course it’s a it’s a set up. You know, we, we puzzle we puzzle over why just the woman? Where was the man?

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    And and, and ladies, perhaps you feel a little bit like this. You feel a little bit hard done by. Why just the woman? Why wasn’t the man brought? Surely there were two who were guilty here. Why just pick on the woman? Well, well, they’re picking on the woman because it’s a set up. What they’re trying to do here is they’re trying to prove that Mary was a fornicator.

83. 40:25

    That’s what they’re trying to do. Joseph doesn’t seem to be around when the Gospels, when the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ starts. So we don’t quite know what’s happened to Joseph. But even if Joseph was around and they asked him the direct question, are you the father of this child, He’d have to say no.

84. 40:46

    As far as they were concerned, Mary is a fornicator. And you can see that if you just look at this particular chapter, the way the conversation is going to go. Look at chapter 8 in John and at verse 13. OK, they, they, the Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of themselves, Your record is not true.

85. 41:11

    OK, Jesus, you are a liar. That’s what they’re saying. You are a liar. Verse 19, Where is your father? OK, it’s a set up. That’s what they’re after. Verse 25. It’s right throughout the chapter here. Verse 25. Who are you? Who are your parents? Prove to us your lineage if you can. Verse 39. We have Abraham as our father.

86. 41:41

    In other words, we know who our father is. You don’t know who your father is. Verse 41 we are not born of fornication like you, like Mary was a fornicator. Verse 48 they they say unto him, say we say we not well, that thou art a Samaritan, half Jew, half Gentile, and all the way through they’re accusing the Lord Jesus Christ here of unfaithful parents or an unfaithful mother. They brought the woman because their accusation against Christ was that he got an unfaithful mother who had slept around. I guess that’s the way to put it, isn’t it? And the whole incident in John chapter 8, then those opening verses, just an embarrassment to the Lord, isn’t it? You know, So he’s, he’s there and the woman is brought and, and cast down at his feet.

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    And that must have been embarrassing for her and it must have been embarrassing for him. Is she half dressed? She’s just this dishevelled person who’s brought to him. And in his embarrassment, he Stoops down. I’m in verse 6 now and then writes on the ground with his finger. I find that quite interesting.

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    It tells us he does that again in verse 8. You, you look at the occasions where the finger of God writes and it’s only, it’s only the law which writes where the finger of God writes on those 2 stones. And it’s only at Belshazzar’s feast where the finger writes on the wall and judgement is coming. And that’s what the Lord Jesus Christ is indicating. And you might want to have a a look at some point at Jeremiah 17, verse 13, which talks about the names of those being written in the earth who are against God. And here is Christ writing in the earth. But of course he’s got this wonderful response to them, hasn’t he?

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    When they continued asking him verse 7, he lifted up himself and said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him cast the cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And as a consequence of that one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last, they all melted away, didn’t they? So we’ve now got the Lord left with this embarrassed woman caught in the very act of adultery. And here’s our here’s our heartening saying, number six, woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?

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    And she said, No man, Lord, And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Now isn’t that a lovely saying? Now you’re worried about thee, the judgment. You’re worried about a catalog of failure, shortcoming, disaster. Oh, do you remember the day when I did that and I’ve not been able to wipe it out of my mind? Well, God does.

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    He removes, He blocks out, He extinguishes your sins. It doesn’t just say he. He writes them in the book and closes it. So you can open the book and read them out at some point, blocks them out. Cast them behind him as far as the east is from the West. He throws them away. God isn’t remembering.

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    He does not condemn. Isn’t that a lovely thing? Just come with me to Romans 7, would you please? I have nearly finished, I promise. Romans Chapter 7. Cast your eyes down. Romans Chapter 7 and from about verse 13 onwards you have Paul explaining this great conflict within him and you and I can relate to that Paul saying I know the teachings of Christ, I know that he wants me to do this and I want to do this, but when I’m going to do this, I suddenly find out I’m doing that.

93. 46:10

    And I didn’t mean to and I didn’t want to, but I did that and Christ wants me to do this and I’m doing that. And it doesn’t matter how hard I try, I end up doing that and I’m so annoyed with one. And this, this conflict which the apostle Paul had you can relate to because we’re all like that. This internal battle against sin just overwhelms us. We know the right thing, we know what we should be doing, but we always find ourselves somehow doing this. Just reflect for a moment on the Lord Jesus Christ, who had that same conflict, and he knew that he was supposed to do this and knew that that was the right way and never found himself doing that.

94. 46:50

    You know, he managed somehow to keep doing this because that was the right thing. And Romans Chapter 7 can be quite a depressing thing because you think, yeah, I can relate to that, Paul, I know just what you’re saying. That’s me. That’s how I am. I’m just like that. How do we overcome?

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    Well, Paul finishes Chapter 7 in verse 25, doesn’t he? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. OK, so there’s a hint there. Sorry, I should have read verse 24. Shouldn’t IO, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me out of this body of death? Who’s who’s going to help me escape from this?

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    I thank Jesus Christ our Lord. So. So he’s hinting at the solution to the problem being Jesus Christ. And again, forget your chapter break because the very best thing about Romans Chapter 7 is that it’s followed by Romans chapter 8, because Romans chapter 8 begins with these very words. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Neither do I condemn thee.

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    You think Christ is not on your side? Well He is and He’s not condemning. And you might be hard on yourself and you might be judge mental on yourself and you might be saying this is really difficult. I can’t do this Lord, because I always end up failing. He doesn’t care. Isn’t that remarkable? He knows you’re a failure.

98. 48:15

    He knows you’re full of sin. That’s why He died for you. Those of you who were sitting there perhaps thinking I’m not yet good enough to be baptized, forget that frame of mind. Course you’re not good enough. None of us are. If you were good enough, then you wouldn’t need to be baptized. You would not need God and his Son to be doing the impossible thing for you.

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    But He is and He has, and he will return to welcome you into the Kingdom. So. So those are powerful things, brothers, sisters, young people. And I’m trying to convey to you that the vision of the Kingdom should burn brightly, open your Bibles and be refreshed and invigorated. Talk about it, think about it, prepare yourselves for it, but do not fear the judgement because the Lord Jesus Christ is on your side and he wants us to be there, for it’s our Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. Thank you very much.