1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,520 If you don't know where that is, just go to the second floor and go all as far as you 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,900 can until you get to the playground. 3 00:00:06,900 --> 00:00:08,680 And then you know you've gone too far. 4 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:13,160 You turn around and come back and it's the first room right beside the playground, okay? 5 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:20,600 A couple of weeks ago I was ill on Thanksgiving weekend and so what I've done is to take that 6 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:22,760 text and repackage it for today. 7 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:24,400 It sort of works like this. 8 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:29,000 How many of you husbands have ever bought a Christmas present, for example, for your 9 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:35,120 wife and you had to wrap nicely and then you put it away somewhere. 10 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:38,320 And when Christmas came you couldn't find it. 11 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,360 And so in the middle of January, sure enough, here it shows up. 12 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:43,880 You discover it. 13 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,600 And so what do you do? 14 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:51,960 Well, you perhaps unwrap it and you put Valentine's paper around it and you give it to her for 15 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,180 Valentine's Day, right? 16 00:00:54,180 --> 00:00:57,480 So what I've done is to take this text and I've taken off the Thanksgiving wrapping 17 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:01,040 and I've put Christmas wrapping on it and presented it to you this morning so that we 18 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:07,160 have covered all of that that I wanted to cover in this series on the last days. 19 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:11,720 Advent is one of my favorite seasons of the year and I love the music of Christmas. 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:15,840 I know that some of you men are already thinking about what you're going to buy your wives 21 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,880 and probably most of you have already shopped and done all of it, right? 22 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:20,880 Right. 23 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:26,400 So if you haven't done that yet, I have some hints for you men who are shopping for your 24 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,040 wives. 25 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,480 Just some things to keep in mind as you go out. 26 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:35,360 Number one, never give your wife any kind of household appliance or something that's 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:40,720 going to make household work easier for her, such as one of those brooms that you see on 28 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,880 television or one of the mops that you see or those dust claws. 29 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,000 Avoid anything that you see in an infomercial. 30 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,200 That's hint number one. 31 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,160 That number two, don't give her any bulk cleaning supplies. 32 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:55,160 Okay? 33 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:57,320 Now, Costco has some great deals. 34 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:01,960 I understand that, but don't present a big box of tide to her and say, here, honey, I 35 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,400 know you always wanted this. 36 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:14,760 Number three, avoid giving her any sharp objects made by Ronco, which slice and dice and none 37 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:16,920 of the Jensu knives. 38 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:18,560 Stay away from those. 39 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:23,920 Number four, do not buy gifts for yourself and then pretend that they're for her. 40 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:24,920 Okay? 41 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:28,960 Don't say, here, honey, here's that drill I know you've always wanted. 42 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:35,960 Finally, let me say that if you're going to buy her lingerie, do not buy flannel, especially 43 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:37,680 the kind with feet in them. 44 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:38,680 Okay? 45 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,440 So just some hints for your Christmas shopping this year. 46 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,040 Some of you guys sort of need it, right? 47 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:50,960 Well, Advent season reminds us of the greatest gift ever given, and that is God's gift of 48 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:51,960 His Son. 49 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,680 It's the most remarkable period in human history, at least to date. 50 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:04,560 It is when God Himself became man and He lived among us for a little while. 51 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:10,400 That was the fulfillment of God's promise made hundreds and hundreds of years before, 52 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:16,480 created many times and in many different ways, and that was the promise to provide a final 53 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:18,800 deliverer. 54 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:25,360 That is someone who could deal with humanity's greatest problem, and that is our slavery 55 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,560 to selfishness and sinfulness. 56 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:37,040 And God promised that this deliverer would be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 57 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,120 and then one who would bless all of the nations. 58 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,640 I remind you of this verse, and by the way, I think it's in your notes. 59 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,840 If not, it'll be on the screen, but I encourage you to pull out your notes. 60 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,080 We'll be looking at a number of texts this morning. 61 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:55,360 In Genesis chapter 12 and verse 3, God said this, among other things, to Abraham, all 62 00:03:55,360 --> 00:04:02,080 people's unearth will be blessed through you. 63 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:08,440 Now the apostle Paul takes that phrase, and he brings it into his writing of the book 64 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,880 of Galatians, chapter 3 and verse 8. 65 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,680 I want you to take a look at what he does with that verse from Genesis. 66 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:23,960 And the scriptures foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the 67 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:33,680 gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, all the nations shall be blessed in you. 68 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,680 Isn't that interesting? 69 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,480 And then in Galatians in the fourth chapter, the apostle said, and when the fullness of 70 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:45,200 time was come, God sent forth what? 71 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:49,480 His Son made of a woman. 72 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:53,080 There's the first advent, the Christmas story. 73 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:58,320 God sent forth His Son being birthed by a woman. 74 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:04,480 You see, advent is about God coming down here to the earth. 75 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:10,320 But advent also reminds us of a larger story, that although God was here on the earth in 76 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:18,080 the person of Jesus 2,000 years ago, that was only the first phase of His plan to redeem 77 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:23,400 the lost race of Adam. 78 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:28,960 Eventually God's plan is to bring about a totally new creation. 79 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:35,640 He's already started that really in us, because the Bible says that anyone be in Christ, that 80 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:40,280 is a follower of Christ by faith, he is a what? 81 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:42,880 A new creation, a new creature. 82 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:51,360 So God has already begun that work, but someday it's going to involve a whole new universe. 83 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:56,160 God will send His Son the second time to accomplish that. 84 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:01,600 And that's what we've been talking about in this series on the last days. 85 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:07,640 God is going to send His Son and fully effect the salvation that He secured the first time 86 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:09,120 that He came. 87 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:18,000 Hebrews 9.28 says, Christ was once offered to take away the sins of many people, and 88 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:25,320 He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are 89 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,200 waiting for Him. 90 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,120 That's the outcome of the last days. 91 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:36,280 Now we've studied this theme for several weeks, and we have seen that the last days is a very 92 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:49,040 broad biblical theme predicting a period of time that will bring about horror and suffering 93 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,480 and the pouring out of God's wrath in the world. 94 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:58,400 And all of that will precede the culmination of it, which is blessing and salvation through 95 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:02,680 Christ's return to the earth. 96 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:08,440 Now if I'm correct, the last days, which is a period of time, biblically speaking, from 97 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:16,240 the first coming until the second coming, at least 2,000 years long now, the last days 98 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:22,480 have toward the end of them another period that we might call also the last days, the 99 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:26,840 last days of the last days. 100 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:33,040 And that's when this time yet to be fulfilled is going to happen on the earth. 101 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,680 And having learned a little bit more about that last week in particular, you may say 102 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,640 to yourself, how am I going to make it through? 103 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:48,520 What am I going to hang on to if we are in fact entering into this period of time called 104 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:52,240 the last days of the last days? 105 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:57,240 What I want to say to you this morning from the book of Hebrews, the first chapter, is 106 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:58,240 this. 107 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:08,160 Now you can face whatever lies ahead with joy and confidence if you lay hold of your last 108 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,920 day spiritual benefits. 109 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:21,640 You see, people in previous generations envy you because of the benefits that come to you, 110 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,360 because of the period of time in which you live. 111 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:29,760 That's explained to us here in the first three verses of the book of Hebrews. 112 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:38,440 In the past, that is before this age, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets 113 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:42,960 at many times and in various ways. 114 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:51,840 But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all 115 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,560 things and through whom He made the universe. 116 00:08:55,560 --> 00:09:04,560 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining 117 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:08,280 all things by His powerful word. 118 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:15,920 After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty 119 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:17,000 in heaven. 120 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:25,240 Now friends, in those three verses, God lays out for us some benefits that we have in these 121 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:35,720 last days so that we can make some bold statements that will see us through the last days. 122 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:41,320 We can enter into this period of time with joy and confidence because, number one, we 123 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:48,780 can boldly say, I know God's final word. 124 00:09:48,780 --> 00:09:57,080 We can say this, people before this age could not say it, but we know God's final word. 125 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:03,160 It says here, God has spoken to us by His Son. 126 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,240 People in previous generations heard God's voice. 127 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:15,360 God spoke to them through the prophets many times, various ways, in bits and pieces. 128 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,320 Just bits and pieces. 129 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:19,580 That's how they saw things. 130 00:10:19,580 --> 00:10:20,580 Something like a puzzle. 131 00:10:20,580 --> 00:10:26,540 They had the pieces to the puzzle, but they didn't have the frame for the puzzle. 132 00:10:26,540 --> 00:10:31,220 And so they didn't know how all of these things fit together. 133 00:10:31,220 --> 00:10:39,320 So they had God's truth in bits and pieces, but they didn't understand how they fit. 134 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:47,960 But in these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son, and in doing that, God has 135 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:52,500 given us the framework for the puzzle. 136 00:10:52,500 --> 00:11:00,640 God has spoken fully, definitively, conclusively in Christ. 137 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:08,780 We should expect that there will be no prophet superior to Christ who will come after Him. 138 00:11:08,780 --> 00:11:15,860 There is no place in God's plan for another prophet by the name of Muhammad. 139 00:11:15,860 --> 00:11:18,660 He is a false prophet. 140 00:11:18,660 --> 00:11:24,600 There is no room for a prophet by the name of Joseph Smith. 141 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:26,800 He is a false prophet. 142 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:32,060 Or any other person who claims to speak with some later revelation. 143 00:11:32,060 --> 00:11:36,500 For Jesus Christ is God's final word. 144 00:11:36,500 --> 00:11:40,340 You all remember the old E.F. Hutton commercial, right? 145 00:11:40,340 --> 00:11:42,940 When they speak, what? 146 00:11:42,940 --> 00:11:43,940 That's right. 147 00:11:43,940 --> 00:11:45,480 And I want to tell you something. 148 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:51,820 When God speaks, there's nothing more to be said. 149 00:11:51,820 --> 00:11:56,420 When God speaks, that's it. 150 00:11:56,420 --> 00:11:57,420 It's full. 151 00:11:57,420 --> 00:11:58,420 It's complete. 152 00:11:58,420 --> 00:12:01,860 And He has spoken in His Son. 153 00:12:01,860 --> 00:12:05,860 You say, well, there are lots of voices in our world today. 154 00:12:05,860 --> 00:12:09,820 And some of them disagree with God. 155 00:12:09,820 --> 00:12:14,220 When I lived in Kentucky 10 years, there was a phrase that I learned. 156 00:12:14,220 --> 00:12:18,500 I've never heard it spoken outside of Kentucky, probably with good reason. 157 00:12:18,500 --> 00:12:21,020 But it kind of gets to the point of this. 158 00:12:21,020 --> 00:12:26,620 It says, it don't make no never mind. 159 00:12:26,620 --> 00:12:28,700 It don't make no never mind. 160 00:12:28,700 --> 00:12:35,060 In other words, it doesn't make any difference if you hear other voices because God has spoken. 161 00:12:35,060 --> 00:12:36,540 That's it. 162 00:12:36,540 --> 00:12:37,540 That's it. 163 00:12:37,540 --> 00:12:44,500 What God will do in the last days is to exalt His Son through whom He's spoken. 164 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:50,580 You see, the last days are really all about Jesus. 165 00:12:50,580 --> 00:12:58,300 The last days are about God vindicating Jesus, acclaiming Jesus, revealing Jesus, who He 166 00:12:58,300 --> 00:13:05,780 is, to everyone so that someday every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He 167 00:13:05,780 --> 00:13:07,500 is Lord. 168 00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:15,780 Eventually, everything will come under His absolute and direct rule. 169 00:13:15,780 --> 00:13:23,860 That's what the last days are all about, God's Son and what He has said through Him. 170 00:13:23,860 --> 00:13:25,740 Some of you enjoy reading the book of the Revelation. 171 00:13:25,740 --> 00:13:29,020 A few of you are right now reading through the book. 172 00:13:29,020 --> 00:13:31,860 I commend you for that. 173 00:13:31,860 --> 00:13:37,260 You may not understand everything that you read, to say the least, but it is the only 174 00:13:37,260 --> 00:13:43,540 book in the Bible that promises a special blessing to anyone who reads it. 175 00:13:43,540 --> 00:13:45,380 So read it. 176 00:13:45,380 --> 00:13:52,340 The book is introduced by these words, the revelation of things that are going to come 177 00:13:52,340 --> 00:13:53,340 about in the future. 178 00:13:53,340 --> 00:13:55,340 Is that what it says? 179 00:13:55,340 --> 00:13:58,380 You know, the revelation of who? 180 00:13:58,380 --> 00:14:01,620 Jesus Christ. 181 00:14:01,620 --> 00:14:07,420 The book of Revelation does deal with some future things, but that's not its purpose. 182 00:14:07,420 --> 00:14:16,140 Its purpose is to show us the glory that is uniquely Jesus Christ. 183 00:14:16,140 --> 00:14:19,700 It is the book of Revelation about Him. 184 00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:31,860 You see, this word that God has spoken through Jesus is the key that unites all of history. 185 00:14:31,860 --> 00:14:37,420 All of it comes together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ eventually. 186 00:14:37,420 --> 00:14:43,100 Therefore, I can say this, I don't have to worry. 187 00:14:43,100 --> 00:14:50,100 I don't have to worry about the future because Jesus ties it all together. 188 00:14:50,100 --> 00:14:54,780 I don't have to be alarmed and frustrated about what's going to happen tomorrow or what's 189 00:14:54,780 --> 00:14:57,060 going to happen next on God's calendar. 190 00:14:57,060 --> 00:15:03,980 I think I know, but I don't have to worry about those things because Jesus Christ holds 191 00:15:03,980 --> 00:15:08,740 it all together and I am Jesus Christ. 192 00:15:08,740 --> 00:15:10,500 Therefore I am free from worry. 193 00:15:10,500 --> 00:15:12,300 I don't have to try to figure it out. 194 00:15:12,300 --> 00:15:16,060 All I have to do is keep my eyes on Him. 195 00:15:16,060 --> 00:15:21,060 So how will you make it through the last days? 196 00:15:21,060 --> 00:15:26,980 You will make it through because you keep your eyes on Jesus because He is God's final 197 00:15:26,980 --> 00:15:29,780 word and that's all you need. 198 00:15:29,780 --> 00:15:31,180 That's all you need. 199 00:15:31,180 --> 00:15:37,900 There's a second benefit that we see here and that is I can boldly say because I live 200 00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:45,540 in the last days, I understand history's big picture. 201 00:15:45,540 --> 00:15:52,460 You and I know all that is necessary for us to know. 202 00:15:52,460 --> 00:15:57,940 If you have a story before you and you know the beginning of the story and you know the 203 00:15:57,940 --> 00:16:05,740 ending of the story and you know the events in the middle and how they all fall out, why 204 00:16:05,740 --> 00:16:08,180 read the book, right? 205 00:16:08,180 --> 00:16:10,420 Why go to the movie? 206 00:16:10,420 --> 00:16:13,620 Because you already know it all. 207 00:16:13,620 --> 00:16:19,580 Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end. 208 00:16:19,580 --> 00:16:22,620 He's the Alpha and He's the what? 209 00:16:22,620 --> 00:16:23,980 The Omega. 210 00:16:23,980 --> 00:16:29,220 You and I know the beginning, we know the ending and we have everything in between in 211 00:16:29,220 --> 00:16:33,460 Him and that's essentially what the writer says here. 212 00:16:33,460 --> 00:16:34,820 Notice what he says. 213 00:16:34,820 --> 00:16:39,220 Through the Son, God made the universe. 214 00:16:39,220 --> 00:16:41,380 That's the beginning. 215 00:16:41,380 --> 00:16:43,820 That's the start of it all. 216 00:16:43,820 --> 00:16:48,900 He says God appointed the Son heir of all things. 217 00:16:48,900 --> 00:16:51,420 That's the future. 218 00:16:51,420 --> 00:16:58,820 Everything eventually belongs to Him and is under His rule, the beginning and the ending. 219 00:16:58,820 --> 00:17:05,700 And then He says the Son sustains all things by His powerful Word. 220 00:17:05,700 --> 00:17:08,460 That's everything in between. 221 00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:12,020 The beginning, the ending. 222 00:17:12,020 --> 00:17:16,020 Everything in between is all about Jesus Christ. 223 00:17:16,020 --> 00:17:20,020 Now the universe is not eternal. 224 00:17:20,020 --> 00:17:25,340 Scientists are discovering this now after having followed a stray idea brought about, 225 00:17:25,340 --> 00:17:32,260 frankly, through evolution, that the universe must surely be eternal. 226 00:17:32,260 --> 00:17:36,700 All that has ever been, all that will ever be is the cosmos. 227 00:17:36,700 --> 00:17:38,260 Says Carl Sagan. 228 00:17:38,260 --> 00:17:40,540 He knows better now. 229 00:17:40,540 --> 00:17:45,940 The universe has the beginning and scientists understand that through the Big Bang Theory. 230 00:17:45,940 --> 00:17:52,140 Now they may not know all about it but they know that it had a beginning. 231 00:17:52,140 --> 00:17:56,420 And they've also discovered that the universe is going to one day contract. 232 00:17:56,420 --> 00:18:01,260 Again, they don't have the details of revelation from God's Word on it but they know from their 233 00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:07,500 theories of science that the universe eventually is going to contract and be no more. 234 00:18:07,500 --> 00:18:11,460 They know now that it has an ending. 235 00:18:11,460 --> 00:18:17,260 And we know that as it's laid out right now, the whole cosmos is like a poem that God has 236 00:18:17,260 --> 00:18:19,620 written. 237 00:18:19,620 --> 00:18:21,820 And Jesus is the origin. 238 00:18:21,820 --> 00:18:25,100 Jesus is the air of it all in the end. 239 00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:30,100 And all of history and all of its eras in between are planned out. 240 00:18:30,100 --> 00:18:36,700 And all of those successive periods of time, however many there be, were all planned out 241 00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:39,060 through Jesus Christ. 242 00:18:39,060 --> 00:18:46,140 As it says in Hebrews 11.3, by faith we understand that the world, the word there literally is 243 00:18:46,140 --> 00:18:55,180 the ages, the eons of time, the successive periods of time were prepared by the Word 244 00:18:55,180 --> 00:18:56,580 of God. 245 00:18:56,580 --> 00:18:59,340 Who is the Word of God? 246 00:18:59,340 --> 00:19:02,100 Jesus Christ, the Son. 247 00:19:02,100 --> 00:19:07,900 So the wise scene was made out of things which are, what is seen was not made rather out 248 00:19:07,900 --> 00:19:11,540 of things which are visible. 249 00:19:11,540 --> 00:19:17,100 So my friends, you and I understand history's big picture. 250 00:19:17,100 --> 00:19:18,600 We understand that now. 251 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,420 People in the past did not grasp this. 252 00:19:21,420 --> 00:19:24,220 But in these last days we know this to be true. 253 00:19:24,220 --> 00:19:30,340 God tells us the beginning, the end, it all is about Jesus. 254 00:19:30,340 --> 00:19:33,700 God has the big picture all planned out. 255 00:19:33,700 --> 00:19:40,940 And if God has the big picture planned out, let me assure you, He has your life, your 256 00:19:40,940 --> 00:19:44,660 peace of that planned out too. 257 00:19:44,660 --> 00:19:53,020 The words of David in Psalm 139, for you created my inmost being, you Lord knit me together 258 00:19:53,020 --> 00:19:55,220 in my mother's womb. 259 00:19:55,220 --> 00:20:02,860 And then down in verse 16 it says, all the days ordained for me were written in your 260 00:20:02,860 --> 00:20:06,100 book before one of them came to be. 261 00:20:06,100 --> 00:20:08,220 What is David saying here? 262 00:20:08,220 --> 00:20:16,980 He's saying, Lord, before I was even conceived, you had all of my days planned out. 263 00:20:16,980 --> 00:20:19,020 How are you going to make it through the last days? 264 00:20:19,020 --> 00:20:23,300 Well, I want to tell you how you're going to do that. 265 00:20:23,300 --> 00:20:28,420 By understanding that you don't have to question your life's purpose. 266 00:20:28,420 --> 00:20:31,700 Because God has a plan for you. 267 00:20:31,700 --> 00:20:32,700 God does. 268 00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:35,220 Now, you may not understand this plan. 269 00:20:35,220 --> 00:20:40,620 But in fact, you can only see it a day, even a moment at a time. 270 00:20:40,620 --> 00:20:47,020 Whatever lies ahead, whatever events there be, however long we're going to be here on 271 00:20:47,020 --> 00:20:52,980 the earth, all of those things are planned out by God and you and I don't have to question 272 00:20:52,980 --> 00:20:55,180 what God is doing. 273 00:20:55,180 --> 00:20:59,940 The universe did not originate with an unplanned big bang. 274 00:20:59,940 --> 00:21:05,540 And you did not originate with an unplanned accident. 275 00:21:05,540 --> 00:21:11,380 God has planned for you to be alive right now in this period of time, in this generation, 276 00:21:11,380 --> 00:21:12,900 and he has a purpose for your life. 277 00:21:12,900 --> 00:21:17,700 And one of the greatest discoveries you can make is God's purpose for you and to live 278 00:21:17,700 --> 00:21:20,380 that out. 279 00:21:20,380 --> 00:21:22,660 What a benefit you've got. 280 00:21:22,660 --> 00:21:27,260 People in past ages are jealous of what you've got, that they didn't have the privilege of 281 00:21:27,260 --> 00:21:30,260 possessing. 282 00:21:30,260 --> 00:21:34,060 Third, my last day benefits include these. 283 00:21:34,060 --> 00:21:39,340 This, I have confidence in God's nature. 284 00:21:39,340 --> 00:21:41,620 I have confidence in God's nature. 285 00:21:41,620 --> 00:21:48,780 The text says the sun is the radiance of God's glory and the what? 286 00:21:48,780 --> 00:21:52,260 The exact representation of his being. 287 00:21:52,260 --> 00:21:59,380 Now, people have lots of ideas about God and most of them are pretty screwy. 288 00:21:59,380 --> 00:22:03,980 As you read in our world today and even some of the most popular books that are being sold 289 00:22:03,980 --> 00:22:11,100 in the bookstores, remind you of the old proverb of the blind man feeling an elfin, trying 290 00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:13,420 to figure out what it is. 291 00:22:13,420 --> 00:22:22,700 They're so lost, so groping in their spiritual darkness that they cannot understand God, 292 00:22:22,700 --> 00:22:25,660 although God has revealed himself. 293 00:22:25,660 --> 00:22:30,620 But they're trying to figure God out and what inevitably happens is that they make God in 294 00:22:30,620 --> 00:22:34,380 their own image. 295 00:22:34,380 --> 00:22:40,100 Is God a good God or is he bad? 296 00:22:40,100 --> 00:22:44,420 Is God angry? 297 00:22:44,420 --> 00:22:49,060 Does God care about us personally? 298 00:22:49,060 --> 00:22:53,020 Is God evolving and changing with time? 299 00:22:53,020 --> 00:22:55,900 That's one of the latest theories of liberal theologians. 300 00:22:55,900 --> 00:23:01,220 Obviously, you see where they get it from, evolution, the whole philosophy of it. 301 00:23:01,220 --> 00:23:05,940 They apply to theology and God's changing too over time. 302 00:23:05,940 --> 00:23:11,540 Or is God the same yesterday, today, and forever? 303 00:23:11,540 --> 00:23:19,020 Is God personal or is he the force who's with you? 304 00:23:19,020 --> 00:23:24,180 Is God real or is God imaginary? 305 00:23:24,180 --> 00:23:33,740 Is God kind and loving or is God capricious and potentially mean as the Muslim sphere 306 00:23:33,740 --> 00:23:36,780 that he is? 307 00:23:36,780 --> 00:23:39,420 These things matter. 308 00:23:39,420 --> 00:23:43,940 How can I make it through the last days if I don't know what God is really like? 309 00:23:43,940 --> 00:23:50,100 You see, I have confidence in God's nature and that's because of the Son. 310 00:23:50,100 --> 00:23:53,540 Notice the two phrases used to describe the Son. 311 00:23:53,540 --> 00:23:58,420 First one is he is the radiance of God's glorious being. 312 00:23:58,420 --> 00:24:03,820 He is the shining out of who God really is. 313 00:24:03,820 --> 00:24:10,020 In the Old Testament, there was this appearance of God's glory that was called, as you might 314 00:24:10,020 --> 00:24:17,180 know, Shikaina, is the Hebrew word, the glorious appearance of God. 315 00:24:17,180 --> 00:24:22,580 The glorious appearance of God was incarnated in the person of Christ so that we can actually 316 00:24:22,580 --> 00:24:29,460 look at that glory and see exactly what it's like. 317 00:24:29,460 --> 00:24:36,140 He goes on to say it's the exact representation of God's very nature. 318 00:24:36,140 --> 00:24:39,260 The word there is where we get our English word, character. 319 00:24:39,260 --> 00:24:44,420 Do any of you remember the name Underwood? 320 00:24:44,420 --> 00:24:47,980 Well, let me ask it this way. 321 00:24:47,980 --> 00:24:53,980 Do any of you remember a mechanical machine called a typewriter? 322 00:24:53,980 --> 00:24:57,020 Underwood was a type of typewriter. 323 00:24:57,020 --> 00:25:03,620 What happened with those, and I know for some of you this is like going into a museum, but 324 00:25:03,620 --> 00:25:09,500 there were keys on the keyboard and you would push the key that actually went down. 325 00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:16,500 That caused a reaction, a mechanical reaction, and there was a lever inside that went up. 326 00:25:16,500 --> 00:25:23,860 On the end of that was a little character, and it would hit an actual ribbon of ink. 327 00:25:23,860 --> 00:25:27,500 Can you believe that? 328 00:25:27,500 --> 00:25:34,500 It would impress the character on the paper leaving a mark there. 329 00:25:34,500 --> 00:25:39,500 That's exactly what this word means, the exact representation. 330 00:25:39,500 --> 00:25:48,820 Jesus Christ is the impression of deity on human flesh, human nature, so that when we 331 00:25:48,820 --> 00:25:55,980 look at Jesus, we are seeing exactly what God is like. 332 00:25:55,980 --> 00:26:02,900 Therefore, I know God is loving and caring. 333 00:26:02,900 --> 00:26:08,540 I know that God is merciful and gracious, because that's what Jesus is like. 334 00:26:08,540 --> 00:26:16,980 You see, I don't have to question God's care, because Jesus shows it to me. 335 00:26:16,980 --> 00:26:21,860 I don't have to worry about whether God's going to take care of me in the last days, 336 00:26:21,860 --> 00:26:29,900 or whatever tough thing I'm passing through, because Jesus shows me how much God cares 337 00:26:29,900 --> 00:26:35,100 about me, about you. 338 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:40,980 The whole phrase here indicates that the Son is distinct from and yet equal to the one 339 00:26:40,980 --> 00:26:48,060 whose essence is imprinted upon Him. 340 00:26:48,060 --> 00:26:54,100 You and I have the wonderful benefit, the confidence of who God is by His nature, because 341 00:26:54,100 --> 00:26:56,700 we live in the last days. 342 00:26:56,700 --> 00:26:59,500 Jesus has come and showed us God. 343 00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:05,020 There's a fourth benefit that I want to talk about briefly, and that is, my last 344 00:27:05,020 --> 00:27:10,420 day benefits include I enjoy amnesty from God's wrath. 345 00:27:10,420 --> 00:27:11,660 You believe in amnesty? 346 00:27:11,660 --> 00:27:15,940 Well, we ought to believe in this guide. 347 00:27:15,940 --> 00:27:19,100 Amnesty means release. 348 00:27:19,100 --> 00:27:30,060 He provided purification for sins, the big problem, the big problem, my sins. 349 00:27:30,060 --> 00:27:31,820 My sins separate me from God. 350 00:27:31,820 --> 00:27:35,500 My sins keep me out of God's holy presence. 351 00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:41,980 My selfishness, my self-centeredness separate me from God. 352 00:27:41,980 --> 00:27:45,740 But Jesus has provided purification for sins. 353 00:27:45,740 --> 00:27:49,820 The word purification here is catharsis. 354 00:27:49,820 --> 00:27:57,180 We use that word in our English language in drama, medicine, in psychotherapy. 355 00:27:57,180 --> 00:28:00,500 It's also used in religious expressions like here. 356 00:28:00,500 --> 00:28:06,540 What it means is to release from one condition or one experience and to be restored to another. 357 00:28:06,540 --> 00:28:12,180 So people can go through a psychological catharsis by some experience they have, and they're 358 00:28:12,180 --> 00:28:14,620 changed by it. 359 00:28:14,620 --> 00:28:16,140 They're released from what they were before. 360 00:28:16,140 --> 00:28:18,340 They become something else. 361 00:28:18,340 --> 00:28:20,660 What it's saying here is that we are released. 362 00:28:20,660 --> 00:28:21,660 We are changed. 363 00:28:21,660 --> 00:28:31,340 We are restored to something we were not before by Jesus' purification of our sins. 364 00:28:31,340 --> 00:28:36,620 The writer talks about this more in chapter 10 when he says, we have confidence to enter 365 00:28:36,620 --> 00:28:40,140 the most holy place. 366 00:28:40,140 --> 00:28:48,460 Question, what was it that kept people out of the most holy place in the Old Testament? 367 00:28:48,460 --> 00:28:49,460 Sins. 368 00:28:49,460 --> 00:28:50,460 Sins. 369 00:28:50,460 --> 00:28:57,380 Even the high priest could not go behind the veil into the most holy presence of God without 370 00:28:57,380 --> 00:29:08,060 blood that had to be sprinkled for his sins and the sins of the people. 371 00:29:08,060 --> 00:29:13,900 The writer says here, we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of 372 00:29:13,900 --> 00:29:22,660 Jesus by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain that is his body. 373 00:29:22,660 --> 00:29:28,700 So what was it that physically separated the most holy place from the rest of the temple? 374 00:29:28,700 --> 00:29:32,020 It was a curtain, right? 375 00:29:32,020 --> 00:29:38,700 What happened to that curtain at the very moment that Jesus said, it is finished. 376 00:29:38,700 --> 00:29:44,060 It was torn in two from the top to the bottom. 377 00:29:44,060 --> 00:29:50,860 That curtain was a symbol of his body in which he suffered and died. 378 00:29:50,860 --> 00:29:58,100 And as he died, that curtain was torn in two and the way into God's holy presence was now 379 00:29:58,100 --> 00:30:08,100 opened, it says, because Jesus has provided the cleansing for our sins. 380 00:30:08,100 --> 00:30:11,860 The Old Testament, this was illustrated in the day of Atonement by the scapegoats. 381 00:30:11,860 --> 00:30:14,780 You familiar with that concept? 382 00:30:14,780 --> 00:30:19,940 Two goats were brought to the high priest. 383 00:30:19,940 --> 00:30:25,740 One of them, the high priest would place his hands on the heads of the goats and confess 384 00:30:25,740 --> 00:30:27,420 the sins of Israel. 385 00:30:27,420 --> 00:30:34,420 One of the goats was then taken and sacrificed and the blood was sprinkled in a certain way 386 00:30:34,420 --> 00:30:36,660 in the Tabernacle or the temple. 387 00:30:36,660 --> 00:30:42,900 The other goat was then led out into the wilderness and released. 388 00:30:42,900 --> 00:30:51,140 Symbolically, that goat was carrying away the sins of the people. 389 00:30:51,140 --> 00:30:58,580 What this idea of catharsis is to embrace both of these, Jesus died to pay the penalty 390 00:30:58,580 --> 00:31:01,580 and he carried away our sins. 391 00:31:01,580 --> 00:31:06,860 In the Old Testament, it was all by atonement, which means a what? 392 00:31:06,860 --> 00:31:07,860 A covering over. 393 00:31:07,860 --> 00:31:12,740 God just covered over the sins, but they were not carried away, taken away. 394 00:31:12,740 --> 00:31:21,740 But when Jesus died, all of those sins and all of our sins were carried away. 395 00:31:21,740 --> 00:31:31,460 The record was cleansed because of the worth of his sacrifice blood for us. 396 00:31:31,460 --> 00:31:35,060 I enjoy amnesty from God's wrath. 397 00:31:35,060 --> 00:31:37,020 What's that got to do with the last days? 398 00:31:37,020 --> 00:31:44,220 Remember last week, I told you that there's coming on the earth this time called the tribulation. 399 00:31:44,220 --> 00:31:51,460 It is a time when God's wrath is going to be poured out upon the earth because of its 400 00:31:51,460 --> 00:31:56,180 rejection of his son. 401 00:31:56,180 --> 00:32:00,460 It will be a horrible time of suffering. 402 00:32:00,460 --> 00:32:06,580 The encouragement that I have from this is that because you and I have amnesty from God's 403 00:32:06,580 --> 00:32:09,220 wrath, we're not going to be there for that. 404 00:32:09,220 --> 00:32:16,140 Now, not everybody agrees with me on this, but I believe that because we have already 405 00:32:16,140 --> 00:32:22,980 received amnesty and cleansing from God's sin and therefore amnesty from God's wrath, 406 00:32:22,980 --> 00:32:26,780 that it would be entirely inappropriate for us to be in the world when God's wrath is 407 00:32:26,780 --> 00:32:27,780 poured out. 408 00:32:27,780 --> 00:32:32,180 We have not been appointed to wrath, but to what? 409 00:32:32,180 --> 00:32:38,420 Salvation, Paul writes to the Thessalonians. 410 00:32:38,420 --> 00:32:42,780 I don't have to fear God's judgment because Jesus cleanses me. 411 00:32:42,780 --> 00:32:44,780 Jesus cleanses me. 412 00:32:44,780 --> 00:32:52,940 Finally, I want to say my last day benefit that I can enjoy is that I have a high priest 413 00:32:52,940 --> 00:32:55,220 who intercedes. 414 00:32:55,220 --> 00:33:02,380 A high priest who intercedes, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. 415 00:33:02,380 --> 00:33:08,180 Now, this relates to the high priest of the Old Testament who represented Israel before 416 00:33:08,180 --> 00:33:09,940 God. 417 00:33:09,940 --> 00:33:15,220 On that day of Atonement, for example, he would enter into the holiest place in the temple. 418 00:33:15,220 --> 00:33:21,660 As he did, he would have on his chest the breastplate. 419 00:33:21,660 --> 00:33:28,700 This was a piece of solid gold about that large and embedded in it were 12 precious 420 00:33:28,700 --> 00:33:30,820 stones. 421 00:33:30,820 --> 00:33:37,700 On each one of those stones engraved the name of one of the 12 tribes of Israel so that 422 00:33:37,700 --> 00:33:44,340 when he went into the presence of God, he represented the whole nation. 423 00:33:44,340 --> 00:33:50,620 You and I have a high priest, as the writer of Hebrews says, who has passed through the 424 00:33:50,620 --> 00:33:51,620 heavens. 425 00:33:51,620 --> 00:33:52,940 Who is it? 426 00:33:52,940 --> 00:33:56,980 Jesus, the son of God. 427 00:33:56,980 --> 00:34:05,020 You and I have a high priest who enters into the very holy place, and he remains there 428 00:34:05,020 --> 00:34:16,860 in the presence of God, among other things, praying for us as a group and for us individually. 429 00:34:16,860 --> 00:34:24,020 So we are invited, it says in verse 16 of chapter 4, to approach the throne of grace, 430 00:34:24,020 --> 00:34:33,180 the mercy seat, with confidence that we may receive mercy and grace to help us in our 431 00:34:33,180 --> 00:34:36,180 time of need. 432 00:34:36,180 --> 00:34:40,100 Are you in a time of need today? 433 00:34:40,100 --> 00:34:45,740 You have one to praise for you at the throne of grace. 434 00:34:45,740 --> 00:34:52,940 Simply approach the throne of grace and you have the mercy, the grace that you need today. 435 00:34:52,940 --> 00:34:54,620 Will you need it tomorrow? 436 00:34:54,620 --> 00:34:58,740 Will you need it in the last days and those events coming on the earth? 437 00:34:58,740 --> 00:35:04,860 The high priest is there, my friend, and your name is engraved upon his breastplate, even 438 00:35:04,860 --> 00:35:09,380 upon his hands by the nails across. 439 00:35:09,380 --> 00:35:11,580 He represents you before God. 440 00:35:11,580 --> 00:35:16,540 It was a great old hymn that left the hymnals years ago. 441 00:35:16,540 --> 00:35:19,060 Remember hymnals? 442 00:35:19,060 --> 00:35:22,140 They were books that you collected hymns in. 443 00:35:22,140 --> 00:35:28,860 And it was a great old hymn that you won't find even in more recent hymnals, written 444 00:35:28,860 --> 00:35:36,580 back in the middle of the 1800s, that says, every stormy wind that blows from every swelling 445 00:35:36,580 --> 00:35:45,220 tide of woes, there is a calm, assured retreat to his found beneath the mercy seat. 446 00:35:45,220 --> 00:35:52,140 Ah, whither could we flee for aid when tempted desolate dismayed? 447 00:35:52,140 --> 00:35:59,500 Or how the hosts of hell defeat had suffering saints, no mercy seat? 448 00:35:59,500 --> 00:36:06,940 Thank God we have a mercy seat and we have a great high priest who stands there praying 449 00:36:06,940 --> 00:36:08,900 for us. 450 00:36:08,900 --> 00:36:15,740 So I don't have to feel alone because Jesus knows and prays for me. 451 00:36:15,740 --> 00:36:17,500 He knows you. 452 00:36:17,500 --> 00:36:26,900 And even when you are too discouraged, too low, too much in pain, to even pray for yourself, 453 00:36:26,900 --> 00:36:31,260 He prays for you. 454 00:36:31,260 --> 00:36:36,220 That's why you can make it through the tough times. 455 00:36:36,220 --> 00:36:40,540 What to do with the last day benefits, just four very quick thoughts. 456 00:36:40,540 --> 00:36:44,500 And for these I go to Hebrews chapter 10. 457 00:36:44,500 --> 00:36:52,060 Here's what we need to do now to take advantage of our benefits that we enjoy in this age. 458 00:36:52,060 --> 00:36:58,820 Since we have a great priest over the house of God, he says, chapter 10, since we live 459 00:36:58,820 --> 00:37:04,340 in this privileged time that we do, let us draw near to God. 460 00:37:04,340 --> 00:37:08,860 In other words, live near to God. 461 00:37:08,860 --> 00:37:15,580 This is no time, my friends, for us to be playing out in the pig pen of sin. 462 00:37:15,580 --> 00:37:20,620 This is no time for us to put up with backsliding in our lives. 463 00:37:20,620 --> 00:37:24,700 This is no time for us to be asleep at the switch. 464 00:37:24,700 --> 00:37:31,460 Let us draw near to God and live in consistent fellowship with Him. 465 00:37:31,460 --> 00:37:38,340 Secondly, He says, let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. 466 00:37:38,340 --> 00:37:42,860 In other words, hold on to your hope. 467 00:37:42,860 --> 00:37:44,660 Do not throw away your confidence. 468 00:37:44,660 --> 00:37:47,340 It will be richly rewarded. 469 00:37:47,340 --> 00:37:52,140 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what 470 00:37:52,140 --> 00:37:55,660 He's promised for in just a very little while. 471 00:37:55,660 --> 00:38:00,180 He who is coming will come and will not delay. 472 00:38:00,180 --> 00:38:03,100 That's our hope, my friends. 473 00:38:03,100 --> 00:38:07,500 It is that hope that gives us perspective on everything else. 474 00:38:07,500 --> 00:38:11,620 Hold on to your hope. 475 00:38:11,620 --> 00:38:16,580 Number three, He says, let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good 476 00:38:16,580 --> 00:38:17,580 deeds. 477 00:38:17,580 --> 00:38:21,100 In other words, exist to encourage. 478 00:38:21,100 --> 00:38:23,580 Don't get focused on yourself in the last days. 479 00:38:23,580 --> 00:38:25,540 What's going to happen to me? 480 00:38:25,540 --> 00:38:27,340 How am I going to make it? 481 00:38:27,340 --> 00:38:29,420 Be looking around at others. 482 00:38:29,420 --> 00:38:31,740 Be a blessing to them. 483 00:38:31,740 --> 00:38:34,700 Encourage them to walk on with God. 484 00:38:34,700 --> 00:38:37,700 We need each other in this regard, and that brings me to the final point. 485 00:38:37,700 --> 00:38:40,140 That is, He says, let us not give up. 486 00:38:40,140 --> 00:38:45,740 That is, let us not abandon meeting together like some do. 487 00:38:45,740 --> 00:38:47,940 But let us encourage one another. 488 00:38:47,940 --> 00:38:53,100 In other words, stay connected with others in God's family. 489 00:38:53,100 --> 00:38:56,900 Don't be casual about being in church. 490 00:38:56,900 --> 00:39:02,340 Don't be haphazard about being with others in a small group where you really get to know 491 00:39:02,340 --> 00:39:03,860 each other and connect. 492 00:39:03,860 --> 00:39:07,580 He says, hey, stay connected. 493 00:39:07,580 --> 00:39:14,260 And all the more as you see the day approaching, He says, the last days. 494 00:39:14,260 --> 00:39:18,860 Now, we have a choice. 495 00:39:18,860 --> 00:39:21,980 We can choose to live in fear. 496 00:39:21,980 --> 00:39:26,100 We can look at the last days and say, oh my goodness, what's going to happen? 497 00:39:26,100 --> 00:39:27,420 I am so frustrated. 498 00:39:27,420 --> 00:39:30,140 I can't figure all of this out. 499 00:39:30,140 --> 00:39:31,300 This person says that. 500 00:39:31,300 --> 00:39:32,860 That person says something else. 501 00:39:32,860 --> 00:39:33,860 Who's right? 502 00:39:33,860 --> 00:39:34,980 What's going to happen? 503 00:39:34,980 --> 00:39:38,300 We can go down that road. 504 00:39:38,300 --> 00:39:39,460 Why? 505 00:39:39,460 --> 00:39:40,760 Why? 506 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,380 We have the wonderful benefits we have living in these last days. 507 00:39:44,380 --> 00:39:50,220 And if we will simply do what He tells us to do, the result will be we will be fixed. 508 00:39:50,220 --> 00:39:51,300 We will be firm. 509 00:39:51,300 --> 00:39:56,180 We'll have a foundation that will take us all the way through the last days. 510 00:39:56,180 --> 00:40:04,540 And instead of having agitated hearts, our hearts can be still and know that He is God. 511 00:40:04,540 --> 00:40:07,060 Is that what your heart is today? 512 00:40:07,060 --> 00:40:11,980 At the end of the service, we're going to have some people who will be up here to pray 513 00:40:11,980 --> 00:40:12,980 with you. 514 00:40:12,980 --> 00:40:18,780 And if you'd like to come and pray with some folks for something in your life, something 515 00:40:18,780 --> 00:40:24,020 that's troubling you and agitating your heart, please come. 516 00:40:24,020 --> 00:40:28,700 If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I beg you to come and just say, would you 517 00:40:28,700 --> 00:40:29,700 pray for me? 518 00:40:29,700 --> 00:40:30,700 I need to take a step of faith. 519 00:40:30,700 --> 00:40:35,140 I need to become a follower of Christ. 520 00:40:35,140 --> 00:40:38,140 Right now though, we're going to sing together after I've prayed. 521 00:40:38,140 --> 00:40:43,460 Father, thank you for what you say to us about the last days. 522 00:40:43,460 --> 00:40:53,060 But I pray that we will be so in touch with you, so walking with you, so near to you, 523 00:40:53,060 --> 00:41:02,260 that we will be so connected with others, so focused on encouraging others, that we'll 524 00:41:02,260 --> 00:41:12,020 be so tight with hanging on to our hope that our hearts will be still and quiet, trusting 525 00:41:12,020 --> 00:41:16,300 as we live through this time that we're privileged to be a part of. 526 00:41:16,300 --> 00:41:23,060 Lord, help us to know what we're about, what our role is, and then to do it, and all the 527 00:41:23,060 --> 00:41:26,140 more so as the day approaches. 528 00:41:26,140 --> 00:41:27,140 Jesus' name. 529 00:41:27,140 --> 00:41:43,140 Amen.