What We Believe and Why We Believe It, Part 6

Welcome to the Word of the Lord, the weekly television

broadcast of Living Word Christian Church, proclaiming

the good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus

Christ. Pastor Mark Clements, in -depth, relevant

biblical teachings will help you in life and

living in today's world. Now, let's join Pastor

Clements in the service already in progress.

a list of the scriptures we looked at last week

during our Sunday morning time together, and

they were all in regard to the fact that there

is one way to heaven. There's only one. There's

only one Savior. There's only one Redeemer. And

I believe, if I'm not mistaken, we have that

two -point, there it is, right there on the screen.

And so if you'd like to take a screenshot of

that with your camera, I think we can probably

even make copies of that available so that you

could take advantage of it that way as well.

But that's just in review. We won't look back.

at it or go through it or to it again, just suffice

it to say, there's one way. There's one way and

there's no more. And we must be born again. That's

what our Bible says. We must be born again. Now

today, we're going to spend a little time on

a Bible doctrine. Comes from the scriptures,

from the pages of the Bible, something that we

embrace and we believe. All right, it's going

to be up there for, okay, there, gone. All right.

All right. If you didn't get that, we'll have

some copies on Wednesday night. And you can get

those copies of those verses and scriptures.

It's one I would keep. It's one I would keep

if I were you. Keep it tucked right into my Bible.

Look back and go through those references again

and again. This morning, I'm just going to share

a special assignment, special prompting and urging

by the Lord to teach on this this morning. And

so I'm going to do that. I'm going to go ahead

and fulfill my assignment to teach you something

that you don't see on those two plaques on the

wall as you come in. It's not one of our guiding

principles, and yet it's one of our guiding principles.

It's not in our statement of faith, to my knowledge.

But it is the foundation of our faith. And that

is simply what the Bible teaches in regard to

the eternal fact that God is good. That God is

good. Very simply, that God is good. Now, some

people don't, for some reason, I don't know why,

but I heard a well -known minister of personality

on a television broadcast that he was doing just

recently. And he goes back farther than I do.

He's 20, 25 years older than I am. And he said

that back when, how many of you remember the

name Oral Roberts? See, most people in here probably,

some of the younger ones may not. He's older.

He's been to heaven now probably 30, 35 years

ago. And he was really a pioneer in the modern

Pentecostal move in the United States of America.

And he had one of the very first, maybe the very

first television program. And some of us remember

watching him on black and white TV. Some of you

don't even know what that is, don't you? Not

even color, just a little 13 -inch screen. Paul

and I, when we got married, we had a TV, and

our living room was well -stocked. We had a TV

and a beanbag chair. And some of you don't know

what a black and white TV is, and you never heard

of a beanbag chair. Don't worry about it. That

was all we had. We had this little 13 -inch black

and white TV, and that's what Oral Roberts was

on. And he didn't make the statement because

the statement's in the Bible, but he popularized

the statement, God is a good God. Remember him

saying that? God is a good God. And then he'd

say, something good is going to happen to you

today. Again, because God is a good God. And

he'd have people complain. Preachers. Preachers,

pastors, ministers complained to him. Say, I

wish you wouldn't say that. It gives the wrong

connotation of God. Now, see, there's been a

lot of teaching, and there's a lot of water under

the bridge between then and now. And so, you

know, you've had a lot of teaching. But there

may still be just a little bit hanging on to

you that comes from the religious world that

doesn't like it when someone says, God is good.

God is good. And people will say, all the time.

Well, God is only good. There's no bad in God.

God is only good. There can be nothing but good

come from God because God is good. God is good.

Now, if you don't like the fact that we believe

and embrace at this church and you want to send

me an email or a note, help yourself, go ahead.

I don't mind receiving them. But if God isn't

good, then what is he? Is he bad? If God isn't

good, is he mean? Is he evil? If he wouldn't

be good, no. No, the Bible declares God to be

good. So we're going to look at a few verses

this morning, and if you have a Bible or an electric

device, and you can go back and look at these

scriptures with me, let's take a look at these.

Let's take a look at these, and we'll start back

in the Psalms. Just because it just emphatically

makes the statement, the Lord is good. Now, if

you're going to argue with me, it's not very

difficult. And you can do it and you can get

away with it. But if you believe God's word,

you're going to have a really hard time not believing

that God is good. God is eternally good. All

right, Psalm 106. Psalm 106 and all we could

spend all morning in the Psalms. But there's

so many other good verses, so much other good,

great scripture that we're going to take up in

the next few minutes. And so we'll just start

in Psalm 106 and notice verse one. We're going

to read it together. We're going to read it together.

Psalm 106, verse one. Praise ye the Lord. For

he's good. For His mercy endures forever. So,

praise the Lord. Oh, give thanks to the Lord.

For He is good. For He is good. It doesn't say

sometimes. It doesn't say most of the time. If

you know anything about the eternal nature of

God, you know that He doesn't change. It says

in Malachi 3 .6, I am the Lord. I change not.

Why would perfection ever have to change? God

never has a bad day. God never gets up on the

wrong side of the bed. He never gets out of bed

because he never goes into bed. He doesn't sleep

or slumber. But you might get out of bed, and

you tend to start thinking about God in human

terms. You have bad days and good days, and when

you have a tummy ache, you're not so nice to

be around, and people wouldn't maybe quantify

you, define you as good all the time. But God's

not a man, and God is the same all the time.

It says in, again, James 1, 17, there's not even

a shadow of turning in God. There's no variableness.

There's no up and down. There's no in and out

and back and forth and happy and sad. Oh, that

made the Lord smile. That means He was frowning

before. He's always the same. He's identically

the same. Hebrews chapter 1, everything else

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

will be changed, folded up like a garment set

up on a shelf, but you are the same. Hebrews

13, 8, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today,

and forever. Yesterday, today, and forever. And

a great way to see what the nature of God is

like is just look at Jesus. He said in John 14,

9, if you've seen me, you have already seen the

Father. They come up and said, show us what God

is like. He said, have you seen me? Have you

been blind? Have you been watching? Where have

you been? He said, if you've seen me, you've

seen the Father. And don't you remember all the

times Jesus did bad? Remember all the times,

remember how many people he killed? Remember

how many times he caused houses to burn down

just to teach them something? That's a lie, that

the church world has taken hook, line, and sinker

and swallowed all the way down to their gullet,

that some terrible tragedy, some disaster happens

to people, and, well, that was the Lord trying

to teach us. That wasn't the Lord at all. It

wasn't the Lord at all. I don't want to get ahead

of myself, so let's stay in the Psalms. Psalm

107, the next Psalm. Psalm 107, verse 1. Oh,

Psalms 107:1

give thanks to the Lord. Sometimes He's good.

The rest of the time He's mean, or He's bad,

or He's evil. No, no, He's good. There's not

a shadow of turning in God. There's no variableness.

He's always the same. He doesn't change. Oh,

give thanks to the Lord for He is good. And his

mercy endures forever. Now, we're not done there,

so hold your place. Turn to the left until you

find 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles, and in the early

chapters of 2 Chronicles here, particularly chapter

5, but it goes into chapters 5 and 6 and 7, the

glory of God. Now, we talked a few minutes ago

about the anointing. This is one of those places

in the Bible where we see the glory of God, the

presence of God, might say the anointing of God,

manifested. Manifested. See, the Lord's everywhere,

filling all places at all times with his presence.

He just isn't in manifestation all the time.

And here we see at the end of Solomon's prayer

in 2 Chronicles 6, we see something happen in

7. What happens? The glory of the Lord manifests.

Manifests there. And then, before Solomon ever

prays, at the end of chapter 5, the glory of

the Lord manifests there. Manifests. What's it

look like then if it manifests? What's it feel

like if it manifests? Well, it gives us a little

bit of some clues here. And it talks, and it

says, verse 11, it came to pass that when the

priests came out of the holy place, for all the

priests were present, they were sanctified, and

they waited in order or according to their particular

duties. Also the Levites, the singers. all of

them, and it names a few, with their sons and

their brethren being arrayed in white linen,

having cymbals and psalteries and harps. They

stood at the east end of the altar and with them

120 priests sounding the trumpets. And it came

to pass as the trumpeters and singers were all

doing their own thing. What was that? Oh, they

were all as one. They were unified. There was

unity among them to make one sound to be heard

in praising and thanking the Lord. And when they

lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals

and instruments of music and they praised the

Lord saying, what was it they praised the Lord

saying? See, we don't know what key this was

in. We don't know the beat. We don't know the

timing. We don't know, what are some other musical

terms? We don't know the rhythm. We don't know

the octave. We don't know any of that. We don't

know the tune. We don't know the melody. We don't

know the harmony. We don't know anything about

this except for the words. Read the whole book

of Psalms and you'll find that exact same statement

true. I'll go right out on a limb, and it's not

a very fine one. I'm in no danger whatsoever.

The most important aspect of any musical number,

praise, blessing, worship, exhortation, are the

words. Not the catchy tune that makes me snap

my foot. When they were all in unity, apparently

the Lord liked the song because he showed up.

And when the Lord shows up and shows out, which

is about what you're going to read, and what

was it that they were singing? I said, what was

it they were singing? For he is good. They praise

the Lord saying, for he is good and his mercy

endures forever. That don't even rhyme. For he

is good. And his mercy endures forever. That

when that happened, when they did that, that

then the house was filled with a cloud. Even

the house of the Lord. That's the manifestation.

That's the Lord showing up. That's the Lord showing

up. He did that in the book of Acts when they

prayed, when they all raised their voices with

one accord and said, Lord, behold their threatenings

and grant unto us that by stretching forth your

hand to heal, grant unto us boldness to speak

your word. And the whole house started shaking.

The whole house started shaking. On the day of

Pentecost, on the day of Pentecost, there was

a... sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind

came in and filled. And they saw fire sitting

on everybody's head. Those are out showings and

manifestations of the presence of God. Doesn't

mean he's not there before that. That's an out

showing and an appearance and a manifestation.

And that happened here. The house was filled

with the cloud, even the house of the Lord. Look

at the next verse. The last verse here of this

chapter. So that the priests could not stand.

They couldn't stand on their feet. Means they

fell over. Sometimes you get nervous because

somebody falls under the power. They get prayed

for and the Lord manifests in the power of God.

It's kind of like electricity. Sometimes you

just can't stand all that. You can take a little

buzz once in a while, but you get a big enough

jolt, they'll knock you down. They couldn't even

stand. Couldn't even stay on their feet because

the whole house was filled with a cloud with

the glory of the Lord. And they couldn't stand

by reason of the cloud for the glory of the Lord

had filled the house of God. Now again, again,

I want you to notice, what is it that they were

saying? What is it that they were expressing?

What is it that they were lifting up their voice

and shouting with one accord? The goodness of

God. The goodness of God. He's not a bad God.

He's not a mean God. He's not an evil God. He's

not a selfish God. He withholds no good thing

to them that walk uprightly. He's a caring God

and a loving God and a providing God and a God

who leads you and orders your steps. And he is

a good, good God. For the Lord is good. Help

me preach. For the Lord is good. That was almost

good enough to get my attention. For the Lord

is good and is merciful. The Lord is good and

his mercy endures forever. Now, here, this is

just one of those John 10, 10. You might have

it underlined. Go back and read it again anyway.

Turn and open your Bible. John 10, 10. This is

one of those verses in the Bible that if there's

ever any question about the nature of God and

the character of God and the attributes of God

and what God is like. Pastor, what is God really

like? Again, John 14, 9, Jesus said, if you've

seen me, maybe we should look at that verse first.

John 14, 9. And Jesus said, how long have I been

with you? And how long have you known me, Philip?

See, Philip had asked a question. And the question

was, when are you going to show us the Father?

When are you going to reveal the Father to us?

He said, how long have I been with you? How long

have you known me? Philip, he that has seen me

has what? Has seen the Father. So how say you

show us the Father? So Jesus said, if you've

seen me, you've seen the Father. Well, when you

look at Jesus, how many people, Matthew, Mark,

Luke, John, we include the book of Acts if you'd

like. How many people did Jesus see walking through

life, completely healthy, strong, whole, just

got done with their annual physical, got a clean

bill of health, and Jesus walked over and he

laid hands on them and suddenly they got epilepsy,

AIDS, hypertension, heart arteries, heart trouble,

liver failure. Anybody? Not even one single time.

And yet in the church world, you hear God made

him sick to teach him something. God put that

on you. See, how many people? How many people

the Lord was involved with some disaster with

their automobile, during their travel, with their

home, with their house? How many people lost

everything because the Lord came? See, when the

presence of the Lord, one of my favorite stories

in the Bible is Obed -Edom. When they brought

that Ark of the Covenant in, where the presence

of God actually rested right on top of that box

between the angels, just like it is in heaven.

a presence of God between the cherubim, and they

were bringing the ark back into Israel, and they

were doing it wrong. God is a God of process

and a God of decency and an order, and he tells

us how things ought to function and how to operate,

and will be unto us when we try to change it

and put our hand on the ark and push it back

up on the ox cart. He gave us the pattern for

a family. He gave us a pattern for the home and

the marriage. He gave us a pattern for the church.

He gave us a pattern for work and service. He

gave us a pattern of forgiveness. And every time

we violate that pattern, we stick our hand on

the ark just like they did and try to push it

back up on the cart. It wasn't ever, ever, ever,

not one instruction when you want to bring it

from point B to point A, throw it on a cart.

Never. Oh, I know, they're supposed to put poles

through. No, they're not supposed to put poles

through. They're supposed to put a certain type

of pole, certain diameter pole, certain length

of pole, certain construction of pole on the

priest's shoulders. They're supposed to go before

them and proclaim verses and sing and worship

God. They're supposed to go through with great

reverence, and they didn't do that. They put

on an ox cart. We get it there quicker. God's

not interested in your quicker. And then David

got mad at him. Like most Christians at some

point in their life, when something doesn't go

wrong, they blame God. And they get mad at him

because he didn't bless the works of their hands.

Have you got to Isaiah yet? Have you gotten into

Isaiah where they're building the idols and God

is mocking them? That's one of my favorite chapters.

I mean, chapter 53 has got to be every Christian's

favorite Isaiah chapter. But this is like 42,

43, somewhere in there. Have you gotten to that

yet? In your Bible reading? You will. It is hilarious

the way God points it out. And he says, look

at these people who make these idols. I say,

why are you off on this? Because I want to be.

Look at these people that make these idols. He

says, how intelligent can a person be that makes

an idol? They take a piece of wood. They cut

down a cedar tree or an ash tree. And then they

build a fire to warm themselves with the ash

tree because they're cold. And then they take

another section of the ash tree and they make

a fire and they bake bread on it. And then they

take another section of the ash tree and they

make another fire and they roast meat on it.

Do this. Come on. It's a spit. So they take part

of the tree and they're cold because it's wintertime

and they didn't cut in the spring like a smart

person would do and have it stacked up. So they're

out there and so they build half of it and he

repeats himself. So they've used part of the

wood and they build a fire to warm themselves

by. And then they use part to bake their bread

by. And then they use part to roast their meat

by. And then they take a part and they carve

into an idol and bow down before it and pray

to it and expect it to deliver them. You just

burned three -fourths of it, and now the rest

of it is a God. And you're going to trust it

for your deliverance and for your salvation.

And all he's doing is pointing out the fallacy

of people trusting in the works of their own

hands for anything. Now, when you get to that

chapter, you're going to say, ah, that's a pastor.

Just one of my favorites. No. They substituted

what they wanted to do with the ark. And it was

a drop dead. And then David got mad at God, wouldn't

talk to him, wouldn't go to his house, went back

to his own house, threw a little... juvenile

fit, through a little tantrum, said, I don't

want that ark in here anymore. I don't want the

presence of God. And so they just look around.

They didn't ask anybody. They just said, you,

you, this is going to go in your house. Didn't

give them a choice. And so they shoved it in

Obed -Edom's house. And a month went by and everything

he did was blessed. And two months went by and

everything he and his kids did was blessed. And

another month went by and then anybody that stopped

by his house. I mean, they were getting financial

blessing and they were getting physical ailments

healed. And God's presence was showing up and

things were restoring. And David said, I think

we should bring that back here. But he'd been

reading his Bible. And he said, folks, we did

it wrong. We just did it wrong. The Bible clearly

lays out for us, in his case, the law, how the

presence of God should be handled and taken care

of. Let's do it according to his word. And they

did it. And they did it. And the blessing of

God returned to the kingdom. I love that story.

I love that account. I love that account. Where

God's presence is, there is good, because God

is good. Where God's presence is, and remember,

his word is right inside the box. And it promises

his provision, and there's leadership, and he

doesn't leave you alone, and he lets you know

what's right in his sight, and the right path

to take, and the right track to be on. David

says, I think we need the presence of God back

again. Where the presence of God is, there's

good. God is good. God isn't bad. Now, are we

still in John 10? All right, John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

And I might not get done with this today. There's

just so much in the Bible about God being good.

John 10, verse 10. The thief. Now, he's talking

John 10:10

here about himself, about being the good shepherd.

And he starts at verse 9, he says, I am the door.

One of the verses we looked at about him being

the only way. I am the door. By me, if any man

enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and

out and find pasture. In verse 11, he says, I'm

the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his

life for the sheep. He that's a hireling, that's

somebody who is hired to do this, a hireling,

not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not,

sees a wolf coming and leaves and flees, and

the wolf catches them and scatters the sheep.

Hireling flees because he's not a hireling. He

doesn't care for the sheep. I'm the good shepherd

and know my sheep and am known of mine. So he's

speaking about himself in these verses. And right

smack dab in the middle of that, Right there

in the middle of that, it says, the thief. Verse

10. The thief cometh not but for to steal and

kill and destroy. I am come that they might have

life and that they might have it more abundantly.

This is just one of those. Key verses, pivotal

verses that the whole Bible just kind of rocks

back and forth on. That all your theology and

all your doctrine, all your understanding of

God can come right down to this one single verse.

God is good. The devil is bad. God is good. Jesus,

if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Jesus,

I am come that you might have life. The thief

comes that you might have death. See, death is

not of God. There was no death before there was

sin. There was no death before there was sin.

Sin is a result. Sin results in death. Death

is a result of sin. For the wages of sin, the

result of sin is what? Death. Death is not something

that God designed for the human race. It came

as a result of sin. And you hear people, I hear

people, I hear them regularly. Well, God killed

that person. I've even heard church people. I've

even had church people. Pastor, and they find

some verse in the Old Covenant, especially, and

they'll say, Pastor, I mean, those people have

been giving me trouble, and they got me demoted

at work, and even family members, you know, they

continue to persecute me, and I've been praying

that God would just kill them. The thief comes

to kill. Not God. You got this wrong. The thief

comes to kill and steal and destroy. I have come

that you might have life and have it more abundantly.

Death's not of God. Pray to God that he'll kill

somebody or God, snuff my life out, please. I

have come that you might have life and have it

more abundantly. Just touch me. And in this miserable

existence that I'm in, he touches you, you're

going to get healed. Because everybody Jesus

touched was healed. Everybody that was demon

possessed that Jesus got around, he kicked the

devil out and they were free. He's the deliverer.

He's not the one that brings bondage. He went

about doing good healing all who were oppressed

of the devil. The thief comes to steal, to kill,

to oppress, to destroy. Jesus didn't come for

any of those reasons. Jesus came to seek and

save those who were lost. Jesus, it says right

here in John, in the first chapter, John chapter

John 1 · chapter mention

1, 1 through 4, in the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Now, just in case you're wondering who we're

talking about here, verse 14 right there says,

and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. See,

Jesus wasn't created the day He came out in the

manger in Bethlehem. He preexisted with the Father.

In the beginning was the Word. The Word was made

flesh and dwelt among us. And the Word was with

God. And the Word was God. The same was in the

beginning with God. All things were made by Him.

And without Him was not anything made that was

made. In Him was life. In him was life. There's

no death in him. In him was life, and that life

is the light of men. And that life is the light

of men. Once again, Acts 10 .38, how God anointed

Jesus of Nazareth, who went about doing good,

and healing all who were oppressed of the devil,

for God was with him. Now, here's a great verse,

John 6 .38. John 6, 38. You know this verse.

It says, for I came down from heaven. This is

Jesus speaking. For I came down from heaven not

to do my own will. I don't know, Lord, why does

it get so quiet every time we read that verse?

Because we're not supposed to do our own will.

Do what we want. Do our own thing. We're supposed

to be Christians. That's Christ -like ones. And

Christ said, I'm not here to do my own will.

I'm here to do the will of him that sent me.

He came from heaven. He was sent from heaven,

and he said, I'm not here to do my own will.

So if he came to do the will of God, and he went

about doing good and healing all who were oppressed

of the devil, for God was with him, and that's

a result of him being anointed by the Holy Spirit

and power, that must be the will of God. It is

the will of God. It is the will of God. He said,

the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.

I've come to do good. I've come to heal all who

are oppressed of the devil. I've come that you

might have life and that you might have it more

abundantly. All right, here's a couple of great

verses. 1 John chapter 5 and verse 12. 1 John

1 John 5 · chapter mention

5 and verse 12. And, of course, there's a couple

of verses right here together. Let's look at

11 first. 1 John 5 and verse 11. For this is

the record that God has given unto us. What has

God given unto us? Eternal life. Yeah, this is

the record God has given unto us, eternal life.

And this life is in His Son. He that hath the

Son has life. He that hath not the Son hath not

life. Hath not life. He that has the Son hath

life. There's only life in Him. Alright? Back

a chapter. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 9. In this

1 John 4 · chapter mention

was manifested the love of God toward us because

God sent His only begotten Son into the world

that what? That we might suffer through Him.

Because God is mean sometimes. Because God is

harsh sometimes. Because God is bad sometimes.

So he sent his son into the world so we could

have a variety of good and bad. No? No, he sent

his son into the world so that through him we

might have life. So that we might live through

him. You know these verses pretty well. John

3, 16 and 17. John 3, 16, for God so loved the

world, he gave his, for God so loved. God is

love. God is love. God is love. For God so loved

the world, he gave his only begotten son, whosoever

believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting

life. Verse 17, verse 17, God did not send his

son into the world to condemn the world, but

that the world through him should be saved. God's

not the one bringing condemnation. God's the

one bringing salvation. Amen. Praise God. All

right. 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. Hope

you're not bored this morning. 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15. And let's read verses 23 through

26. 23 through 26. 1 Corinthians 15, 23 through

24. But every man in his own order. This is talking

about our outward body and about it being changed

and about resurrection. For every man in his

own order, Christ to first fruits. After that,

they who are Christ's at his coming. We're going

to read four verses here. Then cometh the end.

See, his coming. It's talking about the second

coming of Christ. Then it says, then cometh the

end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom.

To God, even the Father, when he shall have put

down all rule and all authority and all power.

That day is going to come. That day is going

to come. Every knee will bow and every tongue

will confess. Next verse. Then it says, for he

must reign until he has put all enemies under

his feet. Want me to take a little rabbit trail?

You do realize that the heart of the earth is

the lake of fire. And so when he comes and stands

on the earth in that last day, no matter where

he stands, anywhere on this planet earth, they

will be under his feet. Anywhere. He's under

my feet. He will reign until he puts every enemy

he has. Now, this is an interesting topic, interesting

to converse about, interesting to ponder and

think about. There are a lot of people who've

asked over the years, how could a loving God

banish a person that he loves to the lake of

fire for all of eternity? I just don't believe

God would do that. And then, of course, you get

into that. conversation about freedom of choice

and freedom of will and things like that. But

there's another conversation that's never held.

Never. And that is that a person's eternal, I'm

sorry, a person's nature, once their decision

is made, is eternal and they'll never change.

If they lived to be a billion, they would never

change. If they reject God in this 20 or 30 or

40 or 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 or 90 or 100 years

here, they'd reject him for the rest of eternity.

It's not just God who never changes. You look

at Lucifer. Lucifer rebelled against God and

desired the place of God. And we don't have any

idea after he was banished and ejected from heaven

how long it took for him. for God to create humanity

on this earth. In the human race, after 4 ,000

years of existence, Jesus was tempted by the

devil, and the devil's nature hasn't changed

one iota. And at the end, during the worst, most

horrible time of suffering in all of the existence

of the human race on earth, It'll prove that

the devil's nature has never changed. And then

the devil at the end of Revelation chapter 20,

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

beginning of Revelation chapter 20, will be thrown

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

into the bottomless pit for how long? A thousand

years. We'll just put him on the timeout chair

for a while. He'll change. He's going into the

bottomless pit for a thousand years into the

abyss. And after a thousand years, he'll be let

out for a short time. And what will he do? The

exact same thing he's always done. He will turn

people against the Christ and lead a war and

assault the new Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem.

His nature doesn't change. Never will. Never.

Never. Everywhere the devil goes, there's death

and destruction and heartache and misery and

oppression. Everywhere. There's nothing else

that it could be. And that will never change.

We think in our human reasoning and human way

of thinking, well, if God would just leave them

in there for 10 days, then they would surely

come out and change. Nope. No. The eternal part

of your nature makes a choice, and that choice

will stay with you eternally. Eternally. How

many of you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ? He's

your Savior, Lord of your life. You're not ashamed

of it. Don't have any hesitation in holding up

a hand in a church and saying, Jesus Christ is

my Lord. That's never going to change. That won't

change. That won't change. All right, let's get

back to our verses. Don't want to bore you. 1

Corinthians 15, he must reign. Verse 25, he must

reign till he has put all enemies under his feet.

And look at verse 26. Help me. And the last enemy

that shall be destroyed is death. Death is an

enemy. Death is an ally. Turn back to Revelation

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21. This is after

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

After the devil and all of his followers are

pitched into punishment. This is after the thousand

-year reign of the Lord Jesus on planet Earth.

And the last verse of chapter 20, Revelation

20, 15 says, Whoever is not found written in

the book of life is cast into the lake of fire.

Chapter 21, verse 1. And I saw a new heaven.

And in New Earth, for the first heaven and the

first earth were passed away, and there was no

more sea. And John saw the holy city, the new

Jerusalem, coming down from God, out of heaven,

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And he heard a great voice out of heaven saying,

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and

he will dwell with them, and they will be his

people, and God himself will be with them and

be their God. And God, see this is a picture

of God. This is a picture of his nature. This

is what God is like. And God shall wipe away

all tears from their eyes and there will be no

more death. See, this is the will of God. This

is the plan of God. This is what God is like

and what God wants. There'll be no more death,

no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain.

All those former things are passed away. All

the former things are passed away. Let's look

back at Psalm 23, the 23rd Psalm. One of my favorites.

How about you? I said one of my favorites. How

about you? Come on. The Lord is my shepherd.

Therefore, I have all sorts of wants. Yeah, yeah.

I became a Christian. I lost everything. I mean,

maybe he meant to do well, but... This was a

number of years ago. It was in a national periodical

that a very well -known corporation's founder

and CEO took out a full -page ad. You imagine,

what's a full -page ad in USA Today cost? The

Washington Post. I mean, back when we didn't

even have Internet. You had to read the newspaper.

Full -page ad. Took it out. Talked about coming

to know the Lord. Talked about becoming a Christian.

And how after he became a Christian, he lost

his health, he lost his family, he lost his business,

he lost everything and went bankrupt, lost his

home, lost every possession he had. But he got

down to the bottom, but he said, but I know it'll

all be worth it because that was the Lord taking

those things out of my life because they must

have been a burden to me and they must have had

too much importance in my life. And whatever

his will is, I'm good with it. Would you like

to become a Christian? That's what it was. I'm

not exaggerating or making it up. He just told

about all the tragedy and all the loss in his

life. And again, he may meant to have been good,

but I can't imagine reading that article and

then saying, yeah, I want to. God's going to

take away my house and my car and my health.

I'm going to get sick. I'm going to lose my eyesight,

lose my hearing, and I'm going to lose my ability

to have any mobility. And sure, I'll take that

offer. My Bible says something completely different.

My Bible says it is the goodness of God that

bringeth thee to repentance. It's the goodness

of God. Consider both the goodness and the severity

of God. And it is the goodness of God that brings

you to repentance. The goodness of God. No, your

Bible says this is a picture of the Lord right

here, and it says the Lord is my shepherd. Therefore,

I have no wants. I'm lacking nothing. The Lord

is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me

to lie down in pastures that are burnt over,

crackly, victim of drought. There's where the

creek used to be, and it's all dried up now,

and it's just rocks and sand. That's not the

picture of my God. See? Because the Lord is my

shepherd, I have everything I need. He lets me

rest in meadows green and puts me beside the

still waters. He leads me in the paths of righteousness

for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through

the valley of the shadow of death, he says, stay

right there. I put you there. Huh? No, though

I walk through the valley of the shadow. You

and I walk through the valley of the shadow of

death every day of our existence here. The death

all around us. There's death on the left. There's

death on the right. There's death awaiting us.

And our Bible says in Hebrews 2 that it's fear

of death. That's been a bondage to people their

whole lifetime long. You can be delivered of

that. You can be delivered of that. You can be

of confidence. Paul said, I'm confident, rather

willing. To depart and be with Christ, which

is by far the best. To be absent from this body

and to be in the Lord's presence. Confidence,

not fear. No, though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

For you're with me. Listen, this is a God who'll

never leave you, who'll never forsake you, who'll

never abandon you, who'll never divorce himself

from you, who'll never take off and you wake

up one day, then he's just not around anymore.

This is a God who said, you're my temple, I dwell

in you, and I'm with you always, even to the

end of the age. I fear no evil, for thou art

with me. Yea, though I walk through the shadow,

through, not into and stay there. I walk through

the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear

no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy

staff, they oppress me. Thy rod and thy staff,

they comfort me. God is the God of all comfort.

We'll look at that verse in just a moment. Thy

rod and thy staff, they comfort me. In the presence

of mine enemies, who I don't know, I don't know

anything about God, so I think he's probably

one of them. No, we know God from the Bible.

He's not one of our enemies. He's not one of

our enemies. He stands with us against our enemies.

If God's my enemy, who's going to rescue me?

If God is against me, who is going to help me?

Who's going to stand before the Almighty and

turn him away? This is El Elyon that we're talking

about that is undefeatable, cannot be triumphed

over, and cannot even be successfully resisted

or contended with. Who is it that will contend

against God? There is none. No, not one. I know

not of any. No, no. In the presence of my enemies,

he makes a picnic. I mean, sets a feast before

me. We have a celebration. We get the ice carving

out there and we get the sculpture and we get

the buffet going, carve that roast beast and

we're going to have a big time. In the presence

of my enemies. He prepares a table before me.

Sets the table, bless God, right in the very

presence of my enemies. That means they have

to sit around and watch. They have to stand around

and watch. Devil, hold up a second. Get out of

the way. Move aside. Something's about to happen

here. My papa is coming in to set the table and

then furnish it. And you'll just have to stand

there and watch me enjoy the goodness of God.

In the presence of mine enemies, you anoint my

head with oil. There's that anointing word again.

I mean, you manifest your power to assist and

help me. You anoint my head with oil. This is

not brill cream. This isn't butch grease. This

isn't just keep your Dennis the Menace hairs

waxed down. He anoints your head with oil. My

cup overflows, like runneth over, like Shaddai

just showed up. More than enough. This is our

God. Not bad, not mean, not vile, not evil. This

is our God. Our God is a good God. Surely, not

maybe. Surely, not possibly. Surely, not it could

be this way. Surely, it's certain, and it will

be no other way. Surely, goodness, because God

is good, and mercy, because His mercy endures

forever. Goodness and mercy shall follow me.

Whoa! Does that include Mondays? Fridays? Wednesdays?

Saturdays? Sundays? Thursdays? Tuesdays? Leap

days? Holidays? Work days? Snow days. All the

days. All the days. All the days. All the days.

Look over your shoulder. That's not that person

sitting behind you in the next row. That's goodness

and mercy. It follows you all the days of your

life. Goodness and mercy follow me all the days

of my life. Get up every day and say, goodness,

mercy, let's go. Let's go. You're following me.

They follow me. Everywhere I go, every day of

my life. Every day of my life. Surely, not maybe,

not possibly, not could be, not there's a chance,

not there's a 15 % chance, not there's a 10 %

chance, not that there's a 70 % chance, not there's

a 99 % chance. God said it, and it's got to be

that way. Don't ignore what's following you around.

Walk through life. Just slow down every now and

then. The blessings of God. Come upon me and

overtake me. Goodness. God is good and His mercy

endures forever. And goodness and mercy follow

you all the days of your life. And I will dwell

in the house of the Lord forever. Forever. For

absolute, ever and ever, forever and ever. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Amen. I'm just... I'm just... determining

whether to keep going or just stop for right

now. Do it? Okay. Matthew 11. Matthew 11. Matthew

11. I mean, this is our God. This is our God.

Matthew 11, 28. Matthew 11, 28, 29, 30. This

is what the Lord is like. People afraid to just

submit their life to God. Subject their whole

life to God. Just kneel before God. Say, have

thine own way, Lord. Have thine own way. You're

the potter. I'm the clay. Let your will be done.

I'm surrendered to your will. I'll go where you

want me to go. I'll move anywhere you want me

to go. I'll do anything you want me to do. I'll

stay where you want me to stay. You just name

it, Lord. I'm clay in your hand, and I belong

to you. I'm bought with a price. What do you

want for my life? Even though it's not my life,

what do you want out of me, Lord? And I'm willing.

I'm not about my own will. I'm about the will

of Him who sent me. Regardless of what I want.

Let your will be done, not mine. They're afraid

to do that. They're afraid because of what He

might ask of them. Just read your Bible and find

out that God is good. God is kind. God is love.

God is merciful. God is providing. God, you stick

around God, your pastures are going to be green.

Your streams are going to be quiet. Goodness

and mercy be running around chasing you all the

days of your life? See, here's the Lord. Come

unto me, all ye. Now listen. Come unto me. This

is Jesus speaking. This is words in red. Come

unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,

and I'll make it worse for you. I'll put more

on you to carry. There'll be burdens that you

can't even imagine now. You'll look like that

Grinch's dog going down the hill with that great

big sled on your back and that harsh taskmaster

whipping your behind to get you back up that

mountainside. That's not the Lord. That's the

Grinch before he got saved. Because when he got

saved, his heart went boom and he became a new

creature and he put it all back. Selfish thug

turned into a... Generous giver. Come unto me,

all ye that labor and are heavy laden. I don't

know if I can be a Christian. It's so much work.

Now you're working right now. The way of the

transgressor is hard. He said, come unto me,

all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll

give you rest. There's your God right there.

And I'll give you rest. Next verse. Next verse.

Take my yoke upon you. Take my yoke upon you.

That means submit your life to him. The yoke

is that big wooden instrument that the oxen puts

its neck into and walks into it. Walks into it.

Walks right into it, puts its neck in there,

lets the master lock it in, and then goes about

to do the master's business. Got to be about

my father's business. Take my yoke upon you.

He's not going to chase you down and throw it

over you. You take my yoke upon you and learn

of me. You don't pray a sinner's prayer. You

don't get saved in Sunday school. You don't read

a tract and pray the prayer at the end and all

of a sudden know everything about Jesus. Learn

of me. Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in

heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls.

Four, last verse. Four, my yoke is difficult

and my burden is immensely heavy. Not our Jesus,

not our Savior, not our God. My yoke is easy

and my burden is light. Put the word of God in

your mouth. Lord, I'm going to serve you today

and thank you for anointing me to do so. Your

yoke is easy and your burden is light. Your yoke

is easy. People talk to me about how difficult

the Christian life is. Difficult is breaking

all of God's laws. Difficult is breaking all

of man's laws. Difficult is having no assurance

of life. Difficult is wandering through life

in the dark, stumbling and bumping your head

on everything. Difficult is having no hope and

no assurance of your future. Difficulty is having

no God and having to be your own. Christianity

is not difficult. It has some challenges because

it has some enemies. But look forward to a brighter

day. One of these days, all of our enemies are

going to be pitched into the pit. And it's all

going to be under his feet. And we will not be

in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone,

gnawing on our tongue, screaming in inexplicable

pain. We'll be in the flower gardens of heaven,

running up and down the golden streets of glory,

along the banks of the river of life, singing

worthy is the lamb who was slain. Forever and

ever. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. Huh? All right.

How about Psalm 127? How about Psalm 127? Come

unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,

and I'll give you rest. And I will give you rest.

127 verse 2. 127 verse 2. It is vain for you

to rise up early and sit up late and eat the

bread of sorrows. God gives his beloved sleep.

Jesus said, just say, are you coming to me? God

gives you rest. God gives you refreshing and

rejuvenating sweet sleep. God does that. God

doesn't keep you awake all night tormenting you.

God's been keeping me awake dreaming. No, no,

no, no, no. God gives his beloved sleep. Your

experience and God's word. God's word is what

describes our God. Thank you. How about this

one? This is a favorite. Glory to God. Psalm

3 and verse 5. Psalm 3 and verse 5. I laid me

down and I slept. I await for the Lord sustain

me. We serve a sustaining God. He blesses us

and keeps us. protects us, preserves us, defends

us, sustains us. Praise God. That's our God.

I said that's our God. That's our God. That's

our God. Psalm 34, verse 7. He puts angels around

Psalms 34:7

us to deliver us. Puts angels around us to deliver

us. Maybe we'll look at it next week because

I'm wrapping up now. Psalm, it says here, the

angel of the Lord. disobeys God by protecting

his people. No, the angels of God do his bidding.

If you're protected, and we are, and the angel

of the Lord encamps around about those who fear

him to deliver them, and they do, it's because

that's the will of God. He's a delivering God.

He's a delivering God. And we'll look at Psalm

91 next week as we start right here. Psalm, oh

man, there's just no place to quit here. There's

really just no place to quit here. Get on the

piano, sister. Help me. Help me. Help me, Jesus.

Praise God. Okay, let's go to Psalm 91. Come

on. Psalm 34, verse 7 says, The angel of the

Psalms 34:7

Lord encamps round about those who fear him to

deliver them. We serve a delivering God. Praise

God. We serve a delivering God. Is that okay

if we just take up part two next week? Praise

God. Was this boring? No, we serve a good God,

a delivering God, a sustaining God. He heals

all those who are oppressed of the devil. Jesus

went about doing good. God is good. The thief

comes to steal and kill and to destroy. But I

have come that you might have life and have it

more abundantly. All right, you in Psalm 91?

He that dwells in the secret place of the Most

High shall abide under the shadow. That's the

protective shadow of the Almighty. Verse 2, I

will say. That ought to be highlighted in every

Bible that's ever given out and printed. That

ought to be underlined. I will say. Have to say

something. Of the Lord. He's my refuge and my

fortress. He's my God. In Him will I trust. Surely

He will deliver us. And then it goes on and talks

about what he'll deliver you for, terror by night

and pestilence that walks in destruction. And

a thousand may fall at your side and 10 ,000

at your right hand. It'll not come nigh you because

you've made the Lord your refuge, the most high,

your habitation. No evil shall befall you. Listen,

you stick tight to God. And the Bible says right

here, no evil shall. He can't be evil. Not like

many people say, he can't be evil because if

you sit close to God, there'll be no evil. Says

it right there, that no evil will befall you.

When he's your shepherd, goodness and mercy follow

you. Neither shall any plague come near your

dwelling, for he shall give his angels charge

over you to keep you. God is a keeping God, protecting

God, preserving God. They'll bear you up in their

hands, lest you dash your foot on a stone. You'll

tread on the lion and adder and young lion and

dragon. You'll trample under feet because, and

here's the verses right here, because you have

set your love upon him. Therefore, I will deliver

him, set him on high because he's known my name.

He'll call upon me and I will. answer him. I'll

be with him in trouble. I will deliver him. I

will honor him. And with long life, I will satisfy

him and show him my salvation and show him my

salvation. Ladies and gentlemen, I have no hesitation.

Absolutely. No reluctance whatsoever to stand

right here in this pulpit and tell you that God

is good. Our God is a good God. And the Lord

Jesus Christ came that you might have life and

have it more abundantly. And he who has the Son

hath this life. And he who hath not the Son hath

no life. There's no life beside him. And there's

no life outside of him. And he didn't come to

kill. The thief comes to kill and to destroy

and to oppress and to depress and to make people

crazy and to steal. To steal. God isn't stealing

from you. Why would God have to steal and take

anything from you? The earth is his and everything

in it, the fullness thereof. No, God doesn't

have to take anything away from you. He's putting

things into you. He's putting things into you.

Well, I've got a number of other verses, including

a fairly detailed study on the temptation that

Jesus went through. Three particular areas of

temptation that Jesus, and it was a temptation.

It says so. Recorded in Matthew 4 and Luke chapter

Luke 4 · chapter mention

4. And we'll have to look at that next week.

We'll just have to look at that next week because

if that's taking place in your life, it's not

God. The tempter came to Jesus. The tempter came

to Jesus and said, and he tempted him three different

ways. So we'll look at that next week, and then

we'll just reinforce even more and more and more

that our God's a good God. Our God's a good God.

Let's stand together, and we'll be dismissed.

Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Thank you for watching

The Word of the Lord, a weekly television broadcast

of Living Word Christian Church. Living Word

Christian Church welcomes you to join us at 2015

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