TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD AND REALLY LIVE
November 18, 2001 am
MF Blame
Deuteronomy 4:1-9 Now therefore
hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach
you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which
the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word
which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may
keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Your eyes
have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed
Baalpeor, the LORD they God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye
that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this
day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the
LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go
to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom
and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all
these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto
them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so
righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only
take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest the forget the
things which thin eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all
the days of they life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
Similarly, I must teach some truths to you as a man of God.
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And I pray you teach them to your families.
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What I am about to preach is of utmost importance in your Christianity.
Revelation 22:13-19 I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that
do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and
may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and
sorcerers, and whore mongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever
loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you
these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David,
and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto
every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man
shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are
written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of
the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book
of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written
in this book.
The Words of Moses to Israel in Deut. 4 referred to what it would take
in order to enter into the promised land and enjoy all Gods blessings.
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Those requirements were to hearken to Gods law.
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And obey that law.
God said they would thereby LIVE.
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And they would possess the land.
And these laws were so vital to their living and possessing this land of
milk and honey, that God ensured they understand something.
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Do not add to those laws and do not subtract from them.
Those truths were so important that it was incumbent upon the people to
adhere strictly to them, and to leave them alone and not think to add nor
take away from them.
At the other end of the Bible, in fact some of the very last verses
of the entire Bible, we have similar words.
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We pointed this out last week somewhat briefly.
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They're found in the Book of Revelation.
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And this is a Revelation of Jesus Christ.
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Moses laws formed what we call the OLD COVENANT or the OLD TESTAMENT.
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Jesus Christ came into the world and was revealed to the world.
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And He brought a NEW COVENANT or a NEW TESTAMENT.
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And His New Covenant contains truths that the covenant of Moses only foreshadowed.
And Moses' promised Land is nothing compared to the land of milk and honey
known as the Holy Ghost Kingdom of God!
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God may have brought Israel out of a bondage of chains and whips in Egypt
by a lamb's blood around a doorway, but we've been brought out of a bondage
of sin by the Real Lamb's blood on the real DOORWAY – Jesus Christ!
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Jesus said He was the door!
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And His death on the cross opened up a doorway to salvation for the whole
world, as His blood ran down that great doorway He was!
Everything about the Old Testament and the nation of Israel was only a
foreshadow in the physical realm of the true spiritual realities of the
church, the Israel of God!
And that is the reason we read of obeying JESUS' commandments.
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And instead of saying "That ye may live", we read "That they may have right
to the tree of life."
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Eating the fruit of the tree of life would not simply make us live!
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It would make us live forever!
Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said,
Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now,
lest he put forth his hand, and take also
of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
So, we'll certainly LIVE if we keep Jesus' commandments.
And instead of going in and possessing the land, we read in Revelation,
"may enter in through the gates into the city."
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Entering into the city is the New Testament counterpart to entering the
promised land in the Old Testament.
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And the wonderful thing is that the Book of Hebrews tells us we actually
have already come to the city!
Hebrews 12:22-23 But ye
are come unto mount Son, and unto
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church
of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of
all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Jesus actually called the people of God "the City!"
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of
the world. A city
that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
This wonderful Holy Ghost Kingdom of God is full of God's blessings!
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But...
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You have to keep the words of Jesus Christ.
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You have to keep His truths.
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And these truths are so vital to your blessings that if you as much as
add to them or subtract from them, you will not enjoy this eternal Life
and enter His kingdom!
I want to talk about the truths of the New Testament that you must not
add to nor remove from.
Listen to the words that the New Testament teaches.
Hebrews 10:9-10 Then said he, Lo,
I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish
the second. By the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:14 For by
one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Hebrews 10:17-18 And their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. Now where remission
of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Did you catch that?
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When your sins are remitted, there is no more need of any further sacrifice
for sin!
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One single sacrifice of Jesus Christ totally saves you from your sins you
committed from all the years of your sinful life!
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That is the word of God!
How do we have sins remitted?
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto
them, Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise,
and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Sins are remitted.
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And look what sins did to us.
Isaac 59:2 But your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face
from you, that he will not hear.
When these sins are removed, you're perfected!
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That doesn't mean you won't make mistakes, but it means that you have a
completed work done in your life as far as saving you from sin is
concerned.
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You're completed.
Now a problem arises in many people's lives after they experience salvation.
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And this is why this sermon is so important.
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And many people hesitate from even getting saved because of the same problem.
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THEY THINK THAT THE TRUTHS OF GOD ABOUT MAKING US COMPLETE ARE TOO GOOD
TO BE TRUE.
There is a liar in this world that every single one of you will deal with
in your life.
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The devil.
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And he is going to assault you with lies about salvation of the New Testament.
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And you are going to have to stand so solidly on what the Bible teaches
about your situation after you're saved that no lie can make you inadvertently
add to nor subtract from the what the word says.
Let me explain.
When you are saved, the Bible says you are perfect in the eyes of God.
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You may only be BORN AGAIN, as infants are born, but even a baby who cannot
walk and run and work is still a perfect baby if its healthy.
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God doesn't have unhealthy newborns.
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Ill health comes into our lives due to a sinful world.
But although our sins are totally washed away, and we are brand new creatures,
YOU CAN BE TEMPTED TO THINK YOU'RE STILL THE SAME AND YOU'RE STILL NO
GOOD IN GODS EYES.
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And this temptation is hard to resist because if you look in the mirror,
you still look the same and you still seem the same to everyone else.
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But its a real change and an actual new birth that you experience.
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And you are really a new creature in the eyes of God.
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And you have to know that and stand upon it when temptation comes.
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Because if you don't, YOU WILL FEEL LIKE ADDING TO THE WORD.
The word says you do not have to earn God's favor nor pay for your ticket
to heaven.
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Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He
washed it white as snow.
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You cannot save yourself.
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Jesus saved you.
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And good people as well as evil people need Jesus, because good deeds do
not get you to Heaven.
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Jesus alone gets you to Heaven.
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Its not a matter of good or evil deeds. Its a matter of life or death.
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And even GOOD PEOPLE will stil be lost if they do not get Jesus' life!
When His blood washes you when your sins are remitted, the work was DONE!
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Oh, you still need to grow and learn, BUT AS FAR AS SAVING YOU FROM YOUR
SINS IS CONCERNED, THE WORK IS ALL DONE.
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And if you feel like its not, you're going to want
to ADD to what God already did.
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And in effect you're adding to the word of God.
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You're putting deeds and activities in there, that aren't required there
to take away your sins.
The dangerous thing about this is that God does not take your adding to
His work very lightly.
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Its like saying He did not do a good enough job in saving you.
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You need to do something more in your own power to help Him out because
His job was not good enough.
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And He will not allow anyone to be able to boast and brag about their own
good works.
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People, ONLY JESUS CAN SAVE YOU.
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Not your good works, nor your help.
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any
man should boast.
Romans 4:2 For if Abraham were justified
by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Gods word says that His single sacrifice, all by itself, perfects forever
them that are sanctified.
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Don't dare to add to it by insulting God in thinking His work did not do
the trick in making you right in His eyes, and trying to do something ADDITIONAL
in order to fill the gap.
Not only that, but we cannot SUBTRACT from His word.
When He says that we are perfected forever, and we are complete in Him,
then DON'T SUBTRACT FROM THAT and say that you aren't that good.
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Don't take away from that complete state.
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You are complete in Jesus and lack nothing if you have Jesus.
Colossians 2:9-16 For in him dwelleth
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye
are complete in him, which is the head of
all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision
of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the
dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
hath he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us,
which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let
no man therefore judge you ...
Don't ever take away from this truth!
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Don't run your self down and say you're no good in some pity party.
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You are complete and have everything you need in Jesus Christ!
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Everything to do with God is found right there in Jesus Christ into whom
you've been baptized.
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DON'T SUBTRACT ANY OF THESE TRUTHS FROM THIS WORD!
Don't even say you can't take life any more!
You can!
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath
no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it.
Don't subtract from this word.
Jesus said you will have eternal life from eating the fruit of life
if you live by these words.
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You'll enter into the city and enjoy the blessings!
Not only did Jesus say you will eat fruit of life, but you will drink of
the rivers of living water, too!
Reve 22:17 And the Spirit and the
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And
let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water
of life freely.
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FOOD AND DRINK... BOTH!
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Ever hear Jesus talk about eating and drinking in order to have eternal
life?
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The Bible says that communion supper comprised of eating bread and drinking
wine, food and drink, (just like fruit and water of life), is REMEMBERING
HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS UNTIL HE COMES.
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The bread speaks of His Body.
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The wine is His blood.
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On the cross His body was broken and His blood was shed in death.
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Jesus said that eating His flesh and drinking His blood gives eternal life.
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THE TRUTHS of His death on the cross, in other words, are CONSUMED AND
BELIEVED.
All of that is a very spiritual way of simply saying this:
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FEED OFF THE FACTS OF THE TRUTHS THAT HIS WORK ON THE CROSS IS WHAT COMPLETELY
SAVES YOUR SOUL.
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Don't add to it nor take away from it.
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His bread needs no butter, and His wine needs no watering down.
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TAKE IT AS IT IS.
You will find truths all through the Bible that teach you about how His
strength to save you is perfect.
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His blood can make the vilest sinner clean.
Your faith in just what His word says will cause showers of blessings to
fall upon you if you will only stand upon the word just as it is!
If Jesus said believing His words will give you right to the tree
of life and entrance into the city, doesn't that sound a lot like getting
into the Garden of Eden where the tree of life originally was?
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Satan added something to what was in the fruit of life.
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All the trees of the Garden, including the tree of life, were good for
food and pleasant to the eyes (Gen. 2:9).
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But the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil ADDED something to that.
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It added the compenent of a desire to make one wise (Gen. 3:6),
in a proud independent-of-God
wisdom, too.
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AND THAT ADDITIONAL element caused Adam to HAVE CURSES ADDED TO HIS LIFE.
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Jesus said.
Revelation 22:18 For I testify
unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If
any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues
that are written in this book:
And Satan TOOK AWAY from the words of God.
Genesis 3:3-4 But of the fruit
of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall
not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent
said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
And ADAM AND EVE ACCEPTED that and LOST THEIR PART TO THE TREE OF LIFE
AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
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He was cast out!
Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall
take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away
his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the
things which are written in this book.
A marginal reference to this verse says the Greek language for "Take away
his part out of the book of life" can also be translated as "take away
his part FROM THE TREE OF LIFE." And
that seems to fit, because of the words of verse 14.
The very two things verse 14 says we gain are lost if we subtract from
what the word says.
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Right to the tree of life.
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Right to the City of God.
If you've obeyed Acts 2:38, speak to God from the bottom of your heart
today, and tell Him, "Your word is true. If you say that I am washed
from my sin when I ask forgiveness, then I really am washed of all my sin.
I will not add to that by thinking I have to do some works to complete
your work of the cross, nor will I subtract from it by saying my sins are
not washed away."
TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD AND LIVE..... ETERNALLY!
If you've not been washed by Jesus' blood yet, then you need to obey
Acts 2:38, and really live!