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Take your Bibles and turn to the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2. And we're continuing our series on the seven churches of Revelation. And this time we're looking at the church in Smyrna, the church in Smyrna. Okay, so it's part two of the seven churches. Now let's start off by reading verse number eight, Revelation chapter 2, verse 8. The Bible says, And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write, Just to refresh our memories, the angel that's been mentioned here, the angel of this church is the messenger of the church, it's the preacher of the church, it's really the pastor of the church, the bishop of that church. And this message is being given to the pastors of each of these churches. And this is why it's important for me as a pastor to open up the book of Revelation. It is a challenge in books in some areas, okay? But what we have are clear instructions of how God looks upon a church. I mean I think it's an excellent perspective, right? Sometimes we can look at our church ourselves, we can look at other churches, but it's nice when we can see God's perspective from heaven as to see how He sees churches performing for Him. And it says here in verse number eight, These things saith the first and the last which was dead and is alive. Okay? Now interesting here, we know, I mean, we started off with Christ saying these things to John. Write these letters, send it to the seven churches, okay? And one thing you'll notice, I mean, it should be given to know that this is Jesus who's speaking these words to the churches. But He wants to remind the church in Smyrna who Christ is. He says, I am the first and the last which was dead and is alive. You see, Jesus Christ is focusing or drawing attention to the fact that He has died on the cross for our sins and that He was resurrected from the dead. All right? Now keep your finger there, we're going to go to the book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah. Because when the Lord talks about being the first and the last, this actually comes from the book of Isaiah. I mean many things, many things that Christ speaks about, many of the doctrines of the New Testament are also found in the book of Isaiah. So let's go to Isaiah 44 please. Isaiah 44 verse 6. Isaiah chapter 44 verse 6. And I just want to show you where this comes from and again just shows you the unity of the word of God. You know, how it all comes together. How Revelation is this perfect conclusion to everything else that's come before it. And we see all these things sort of being played out here. In Isaiah 44 verse 6 the Bible reads, Thus saith the Lord, the king of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts, I am the first and I am the last, and beside me there is no God. One thing when Christ says that He is the first and the last, one thing He wants to draw our attention to is that there is no other God beside He. Okay? That Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. All right? The Lord that we serve, the Lord God is Father, is Son, is Holy Spirit. You know, three distinct persons and yet one God. Not three gods. One God. One God. All right? Now go to Isaiah 48 verse 12. Isaiah 48 verse 12. Isaiah 48 verse 12. Just a few chapters over. The Bible reads in Isaiah 48 verse 12, Harken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my chord, I am He, I am the first, I also am the last. Okay? So these are words spoken by God. Now you're saying, well, is this who's speaking here exactly? Is it the Father here? Is it the Son? We saw Jesus saying these words, didn't we? We see Jesus, I don't think there's anything wrong with us saying, Jesus Christ is saying these words here in the book of Isaiah. But I do want to show you something interesting now. Go to Isaiah 41. Isaiah 41 verse 4. Isaiah 41, because now in Isaiah 41 verse 4, the same things are said but a little bit differently. Okay? In Isaiah 41 verse 4, I want you to really look at this one. So if you can turn there, Isaiah 41 verse 4. It says here, who have wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning. Look at this. Look at this. Scratching my head there. Hold on. Are you the first and the last? Isn't that what he said in the other chapters there? But now we have the Lord saying that I am the first and I'm with the last. I'm with the last. What in the world? There's one God, right? There's one God who's first and last. And yet here, now we start to see the plurality of God coming through. You know? I mean, you could see it as the Father saying I am the first and I'm with the last as well. And that might be a picture there of Jesus Christ. You could make that argument. But when I saw this passage, I was reminded immediately of John 1.1. Of course, you know, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Right? The same was in the beginning with God. All right? So an amazing truth of the God that we worship. We see that, you know, yes, it's the one God and yet he's also with him. All right? In other words, the Father is with the Son. He's with the Holy Spirit. You know? And yet one God. And so what I see in this passage is the Father and the Son he have been referred to as the first and the last. Okay? They both hold that title. They both have that position because beyond the Lord God, there's nothing else. You know, the only reason anything exists in this world, the only reason we exist, your life that we have, the earth, the universe that we live in is because God was the first. He brought it to be. There's nothing beyond the Lord and it's also going to be the last. There's nothing beyond the Lord either. I mean, thank God that our God is eternal. You know, he's eternal. That means, that gives us the confidence once again that we're going to live for eternity. There's never going to come a point where it all ends because if you ever got to the point of the end, it's just the Lord. There's the Lord once again. The Lord is there. The Lord is beyond, you know, space, time and matter. He is the first and the last. And I thought that was quite interesting there to see where Christ speaks to these things in the book of Revelation, points on it back to Isaiah and we see the plurality of God once again come into fruition. Now go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 please. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Because remember, he's driving home the fact not only that he's the first and the last, but he wants to remind the church that he was dead and is alive. Present tense. He is alive. He didn't remain dead in the grave. His soul did not stay in hell, but he was brought out of that. He came back to life in the body. A bodily resurrection. And this is important for us as a church. You'll find, I mean the Bible is full of the crucifixion of Christ. It's full of his death and his resurrection and the power of the resurrection. I mean this is the whole climax. This is the whole point of the Bible. This is the whole point of our redemption. This is the only way we can find salvation is by what Christ has done for us, his death and his resurrection. And in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 24, 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 24, we get the teaching of the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians 11, 24. It says here, He said, You see the Lord wants us to remember his broken body for us. The fact that he came in the flesh. That he came and lived a righteous, perfect life. You know he held to the law of the Old Testament. He did everything perfectly. He'd never committed a single sin. And he wants us to remember that broken body. Do this in remembrance of me, he says. This is why we as a church take time once in a while. And in a few weeks we're going to do it again. Remembering the Lord through the Lord's Supper. And then it says here in verse number 25, After the same manner also he took the cup. And when he had supped saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, Ye do show the Lord's death till he come. You see the Lord has never told us to remember his birth in the manger. I'm not against Christmas. I think it's a wonderful thing. But he's never called us to keep that in remembrance. What he wants us to remember as a church is his death and his suffering. His payment for our sins and of course his resurrection. That's something that we as a church must continue to preach. The body. The blood. These are the things that God wants us to remember. We need to remember these things. Now what I want you to do is if you guys go to Romans chapter 8 please. Romans chapter 8 verse 3. Why is it when he comes to his death he wants us to remember specifically his body and his blood? Why those two things specifically? Go to Romans chapter 8 verse 3 please. Romans chapter 8 verse 3. I just want to clarify this a little bit because I just noticed that in many churches there's a misunderstanding. Why the body and the blood? A lot of people understand the blood but not really the body. Here in Romans chapter 8 verse 3 the Bible says, For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. So sin was condemned in the flesh. Christ became sin for us on the cross here. And then it says in verse number 4, What's the reason for this? That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. You see one thing we need to remember, there's two parts of our salvation that you need to remember. We'll talk about the blood in a moment and that's the washing away of our sins. But the reason, the purpose for his body is that he would do all things in perfect righteousness. That his body would be that offering of righteousness. When we talk about Christ's righteousness imputed upon us, we're talking about the fact that he kept the law of God perfectly. And the fact that he kept it perfectly means when it's imputed upon us, when God looks at us through Christ, he sees us in righteousness. There's two parts to it. You being made righteous before God, it said that the spirit, not this old flesh, this old flesh is not righteous, but the new man, the spirit there, is righteous. But then when it comes to the blood, let's go to Matthew 26 please. Matthew 26, Matthew 26 verse 28. Matthew 26 verse 28. The Bible reads, For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. So what was the purpose of Christ's blood being shed for the remission of sins? There's a two part there of your salvation. One, your sins need to be remitted of. They need to be done away with. You need to be washed in the blood of the Lamb as it were. And that's what his blood pictures, the wash and away of our sins. And his body represents the righteousness which we're called to walk in. And the righteousness which God sees us through, that veil of Jesus Christ. And I'll just quickly read to you from Hebrews 13 verse 20. It says, Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. What beautiful words. Through the blood of the everlasting covenant. There's your eternal security right there. That his blood was shed for all eternity. The covenant God gives us, the covenant that we enter in is everlasting. Once you're in, you're in. You can't get out. Why would you want to get out? You can't get out because it's once saved, always saved. Every sin I've ever committed, past, present and future sin has always been paid for. And again, it's called the everlasting covenants. Everlasting. There's no time in the future where now there's a different gospel. There's no time in the future where someone is saved some other way. No, it's always by the shedding of blood. It's always by Jesus Christ because it's everlasting. If his covenant ended at some future time or some future dispensation, it wasn't everlasting, was it? It's everlasting because it's forever. And Jesus Christ is slain. The Bible tells us from the beginning, from the foundation of the world. So even retrospectively, it applies. To those that came before Christ, before his resurrection, hey, his blood was eternal. His blood is eternity. And that's how we can be saved. That's how we can be washed of our sins. Back to Revelation chapter 2, please. Revelation chapter 2, verse 9. So as a church, we need to remember, just never get tired of hearing about the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus says, I want you to remember that. That's the key thing that we need to remember. That's the key thing that's going to keep us from thinking, oh man, our works plays a part. No, it's the blood of Christ, our faith in his blood. Now, Revelation chapter 2, verse 9. Revelation chapter 2, verse 9. What does this say about the church in Smyrna? He says, I know thy works. So this church had some works, had some good works, and tribulation. So some of their works as a church was bringing them tribulation. Some of the works of the church was bringing them persecution. We don't see that in the previous church, but we see this happening out here in the church in Smyrna. And then he says, and poverty. Wow, this church was a poor church to the point where Christ will say, hey, there's poverty here in this church. I know your poverty. I know you guys are financially poor. This church could probably not do so much, could not really put much sort of financial assistance to the work of God. But they were chugging along as a church. And Christ says, I know your poverty. But then he says, but thou art rich. Wow, I wish God could say to the church here, New Life Baptist Church, thou art rich. Now, we're not in poverty. Look, it's impossible to be an Australian and be in poverty. It's impossible. Even if you try to be in poverty, the government will send you money. But look, this church was struggling financially, but when God looks at the church, he sees their riches. Where were their riches? If their riches were not on the earth, where was this church focused on? They were focused on the treasures in heaven. They had placed their treasures in heaven, and God was looking at their treasures in heaven and says, boy, you're a rich church. Man, you guys are doing really well. Keep it up. You're rich. You're going to enjoy everlasting life. You're going to have great status there in the future. And then he goes, and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. All right? So let's just quickly, where can I get to turn to? Before we get into the synagogue of Satan, I'll get you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6. And while you're turning there, I'll quickly read to you from Matthew 6, 19, just some familiar passages that we're aware of. But just once again, the Bible, Jesus Christ teaching, saying, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust are corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust are corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Where does God want you to lay up treasure? In heaven. Okay? God does not want you to be preoccupied with the seeking of pleasure and property and possessions and status on this earth. It's all going to burn up. He wants you focused on the treasures in heaven. And the church in Smyrna had done a good job. Okay? They'd done a good job. Now, the question that comes up is, well, is it ever wrong then? Is it wrong to have possessions? Is it wrong to be wealthy? Is it wrong to have riches? No, that's why I got you to turn to Matthew, sorry, 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 17. Because one thing you'll notice here, as Timothy was a pastor here, he had certain people in his church that were rich. He had certain people in his church that had wealth. And this is the instruction that Paul gives to Timothy to teach the wealthy people in his church. In verse 17, he says, charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded. He says, look, tell the rich, the ones that are rich in this world, okay? The ones that are in your church and they're rich. Do you remember, he's a bishop, he's a pastor. He says, look, charge them, tell them not to be high-minded. Not to think highly of themselves because of the riches. Not to be filled up with pride. He says, no trust in uncertain riches. So if you put your trust in money of this world, it's going to give you, it's going to make you uncertain. It's going to make you, you know, because here's the thing. It's nice to have money, you can do things, but there's a curse to it in a sense, okay? Because you start to become fearful of losing the things that you have. You know, when you have only a little, you're not so afraid of losing things. But when you have a lot, you know, you start, man, I've got to get insurance for this, I've got to get insurance for that. In case that burns down, in case this happens, you know, you start worrying. You say, I need to protect all these things. It just comes with being rich, right? And then it says here, so no trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God. They're commanded to trust in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. So it says to the rich people in this church, just remember the reason you're rich, the reason you have wealth is because God gave it to you, okay? God gave it to you. That's going to help you not to be high minded. God entrusted that wealth, those riches to you for a purpose. Verse number 18, what's the purpose? That they do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. You see, if you find yourself in a position of wealth, of riches, you know, you receive an inheritance and say, whoa, I got all this money. What does God want you to do with it? He wants you to distribute it, okay? He wants you to be rich in good works, meaning those that have money are able to help others do great works for God, to distribute that to the church, to the work of God. Hey, that's how they're going to get riches, not by the riches they have. Look, if you want to translate your riches from this world to riches in heaven, then you need to put it into the work of God. You need to put it into good works and have your treasures in heaven. And so there's nothing wrong with being rich, okay? But make sure that you don't become high minded and you give it to the work of God. You distribute to those. It says willing to communicate. Verse number 19, laying up in store and lay up your bank account, you know, lay up your superannuation. Wait, wait, what in store? Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation, okay, against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. It says, look, lay it up in eternal life. That's when you can claim eternal life. You want to make sure that your riches are there, that your treasures are there, okay? And use what you have. Use your resources. Use your finances. You know, we can apply it to maybe if you're not rich. Use your talents, your skills, the things that you're good at. Use it to lay up treasures that you may be able to lay hold of eternal life and go, wow, yes, thank God. You know, the work that I've done here on this earth, now I can see some of that in fruition here in eternal life. It's come through. I've been able to lay up treasures in heaven. So this church has been commended for being rich, commended for being rich, okay? Though they were poor financially as far as this world is concerned. But now I want to talk about the synagogue of Satan. So we saw here in Revelation chapter 2, so let me just find my place here. Verse number 9, verse number 9. He goes, after he says, but thou art rich, and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Now this should be easy for us to work out who God is talking about. I mean, this should be so simple, okay? Unfortunately, you know, there is a man-made Bible, you know, interpretation of the Bible. You know, a man-made theology, a lens by which many pastors today read the Bible. Instead of just taking the Bible and reading it for it is, there's a man-made lens that they put over their eyes to read the scriptures. And that man-made theology or philosophy or Bible interpretation is called dispensationalism, okay? And here's the thing, once you've got that lens and you read this passage, now you have no idea what he's talking about, okay? Because what it does clearly spell out does not line up with that theology, does not line up with that interpretation. Now the Bible tells us there are those that call themselves Jews but are not, okay? Now this is very simple. The Lord calls it the synagogue of Satan, okay? Now think about this. What religion in this world has synagogues? It's Judaism, okay? It's the religion of, you know, it's the official religion of Israel. It's the Jews, all right? The Jews, Judaism in the scripture is being called the synagogue of Satan. I mean, that should be straightforward. That should be easy to understand. We say, no, no, Pastor Kevin, you got it all wrong because it says they say they are Jews but they are not. And we know those that are in the synagogues today, they're Jews. Oh really? This is where, you know, we need to spend time now. Let's go to the book of Romans please. The book of Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2. Now I don't know what it is. I didn't intend this but I've been preaching against Judaism here. I've been preaching against Judaism down in Sydney. It's not like I chose it really but the passages that we're covering, you know, have this topic. So it sounds like the Lord really wants this church to hear about it. So let's go to Romans chapter 2 verse 25. Romans chapter 2 verse 25. And you guys are familiar with this passage but let's break it down. Romans chapter 2 verse 25. One thing the Jews are known for is circumcision, you know, circumcision. And the Lord did instruct Old Testament Israel to circumcise themselves, okay? This was an instruction that God gave under the Old Testament. So there's nothing wrong with it in of itself, okay? That's what it became to the Jews that became a problem, okay? This physical sign. It says in Romans 2.25, it says, For circumcision verily profiteth. There is profit in circumcision. In what sense? If thou keep the law, but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. You know where it profits? Is if you can keep all the laws of God perfectly. As soon as you break the law once, circumcision, physical circumcision has no profit to you whatsoever, okay? So it's just, it's a bit of irony there, right? You know, that certain people believe circumcision is so important, you know, and yet it profits nothing if you're a breaker of the law and for all have sinned it comes short of the glory of God. Okay, we're all, we're all. So in other words, circumcision is not going to profit you in anything at all, okay? I mean maybe, maybe health-wise there might be some health benefits to it. I don't really know. I've heard there is. I've never really looked into it, okay? But I'm saying just as far as our stance before God, okay, there's no profit. And then verse number 26. Therefore, if the uncircumcision, now the uncircumcision are the Gentiles, and specifically those that have believed on Christ in this passage, okay? So believers in Christ. So, and sorry, therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? You say, but do we keep the righteousness of the law? Well, as soon as you believe on Christ, we just spoke about it. Christ gives us his imputed righteousness. We keep the law perfectly. The new man, the born-again spirit keeps it perfectly, okay? And is it because Jesus Christ kept it perfectly? That's why. So guess what? If we believe on Christ, then it says here that we're counted for circumcision. As far as God is concerned, we've been circumcised, and Brother Matthew preached a great sermon a while ago on the circumcision of the heart. And that's of course what's being taught here, is not the physical circumcision, that's not what's important, but the circumcision in the heart. And of course the circumcision of the heart, that's when you believe on Christ, okay? You put away the flesh, you no longer have trust in the flesh, you just put your full faith in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament speaks of the circumcision of the heart many, many times. You know, the Old Testament saints were saved the same way, not by a physical circumcision, but by the circumcision in their heart, okay? I don't have time to go through all that. Brother Matthew preached a great sermon on that a while ago. But let's keep reading. Verse number 27. And shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision doth transgress the law? Okay, verse number 28. Look at this, verse 28. For he is not a Jew. Hey, we saw in Revelation chapter 2, there are some that call themselves Jews and are not, okay? Where do we get the answer to this? Right here. For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly. Man, is this a true statement? Is this in the Bible? Do we just believe the word of God? Of course. Your DNA, your circumcision, your religion, does not make you a Jew. Your outward show, your trust in the law of God, your trust in the flesh, does not make you a Jew. You say, man, I've never heard this before. Well, it's here in Romans chapter 2, okay? Romans chapter 2, verse number 28. For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. Hey, the outward circumcision in the flesh is not circumcision. It's not the true circumcision that you need to have to be right with God. Verse number 29. But he is a Jew. Who's the Jew? I want to know who the Jew is. He is a Jew, which is one inwardly, inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Praise God. Man, if you've believed on Christ, if you have that new spirit, if you have the imputed righteousness of Christ, what did it say here? It says, but he is a Jew. Man, you're a Jew. Can you believe it? You're a Jew, spiritually, before God, okay? You're a Jew, the Bible says. Say, no, no, no, no, no. They're in Israel. They're circumcised. He is not a Jew, the Bible says in Romans chapter 2. What are you going to believe? Are you going to believe the plain teaching of the Bible? Or are you going to believe some interpretation, some man-made interpretation? Look, the Bible has the answers. God would not give us something that we couldn't understand in Revelation chapter 2. He gives it somewhere in the Word of God explaining to us how God now sees us as the Jews. How he sees us as the Israel. We'll go into this shortly. The Israel of God. Go to Galatians chapter 6, please. Galatians chapter 6 verse 12. Galatians chapter 6 verse 12, and Nicholas, can you get me a glass of water? Galatians chapter 6 verse 12. The Bible says, As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. So what we have here, the Galatians church were being pressured by certain Jews to get circumcised, outwardly. They were circumcised inwardly. They were applying a pressure to get circumcised outwardly. Verse 13, For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised, that they make glory in your flesh. Man, they don't even keep the law. And they're trying to get the Galatians to keep the law of Moses as their ticket to heaven, as it were. And they wanted glory in the flesh of these people. They want to say, look, we've been able to convince the Gentiles to get circumcised outwardly, and they glory in that. No, we should glory when we get people circumcised inwardly, when they believe in Christ. That's when we glory, not when we get them to cut some flesh off their, you know, their area, their private area. Thanks, Nicholas. Verse 14, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. So what should we glory in? The cross, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 15, For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Hey, that's what's important, right? That's what availeth. Verse number 16, And as many as walk according to this rule. Hey, what's the rule that we just heard? What's important? That we've believed on Christ, right? His crucifixion. His crucifixion there. It says, Peace beyond them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. Upon the Israel of God. Now, anyone that should read this without any bias should know immediately that the Israel of God here, at the end of it, is those or the many that walk according to this rule. Okay? To what we just read about. That we glory in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay? That should be the natural reading. But I've heard people say, no, no, no, no, no. It says here, we walk according to the rule, peace be upon us, and mercy, but also peace and mercy upon Israel. Okay? Now, here's the weird thing about that, okay? Because he just criticized these guys for the outward showing of the flesh. He just rebuked them. And now you're telling me about peace and mercy on them also? He's obviously differentiating between, you know, those that have followed Judaism, those that have rejected Christ, and those that have believed on Christ. He's making a distinction. And notice that he also calls it the Israel of God. Hey, there's an implication there. Okay? The reason you call it the Israel of God is because there must be another Israel which is not of God. Which is that Israel then? I mean, look, it's not like you keep reading about the Israel of God in that term. This is being specific about a certain group of people. The Israel of God, meaning there is another Israel to be aware of, but it's not of God. Okay? What Israel is that? I mean, it should be straightforward. What we just read about, you know? The one that says that he's a Jew but is not because he glories in his flesh. That's not, that's an Israel. It's not the Israel, but it's not the Israel of God. Okay? Now, let me just make something very clear once again because I don't want anyone to misunderstand me. Many of the Old Testament saints, many of the Israelites were part of the physical nation, did have a physical circumcision. Okay? But it was just a picture of their internal circumcision. All the great men of God that we read in the Bible, they're all the Israel of God, but they're also part of a physical Israel nation. Okay? So I'm not saying that those guys are a waste of time. We shouldn't learn about them. Hey, they're great men of faith. And I want to be like a lot of those men in the Bible that we read about. The good parts. Okay? The good parts of those men. Sometimes they messed up. Okay? But they messed up just proves, hey, they needed Jesus Christ to save them. They were a sinner just like you and me. All right? So, look, there is an Israel that is not of God. Let me just tell you right now, that's 1948 Israel for us today. 1948 Israel. That is not of God. Okay? Where's the Israel of God? Right here. Right here. Okay? Why? Because you're a Jew inwardly. You're a Jew inwardly. You're made up of that spiritual nation of God. Turn to Matthew 21, please. Matthew 21 verse 42. I better hurry up. I get emotional about these things because there's so much false teaching out there. There's so much false teaching. I mean, everything in the Bible is worth getting emotional and getting excited about. Okay? Everything is. But there are certain things you don't hear very often. So when you do hear them, you get excited. You know, we want to know the truth that's in the word of God. Okay? And I know that I'm going to be unpopular teaching this. I know that. I know with many of my friends, I'll be very unpopular. I know that I'll cop criticism once they hear this sermon. Okay? But so be it. You know, we stand on the word of God. I want a glory in my Christ. I don't want a glory in a physical people. Man, it's not a waste of time. I ain't got other things to do than doing that. Matthew 21 verse 42. Matthew 21 verse 42. This is Jesus speaking to the Christ rejecting Pharisees, the Christ rejecting Jews. Jesus saith unto them, did you never read the scriptures? The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. This sounds like replacement theology. That's what it is. Okay? That's not my favorite term. All right? I'd rather call it inclusive theology. I don't care. I don't make a big deal about the title for certain names. But what we see here is that Christ teaches something very clear. Okay? That the kingdom of God will be taken from you, you Christ rejecting Jews, and it will be given to a nation. A nation. That means it was taken from a nation and given to another nation. Say what's that? Well there's an Israel that is not of God and there's an Israel that is of God. All right? Now let me just, Matthias and Christian, come up here please. Matthias and Christian. Come up here very quickly please. Just stand in front of the pulpit here. Okay? Over here Christian. So here's Christian. All right? Let's say this hymn book represents the kingdom of God. All right? It was always the Lord's intention that this, you know, Old Testament Jew, it was always the Lord's intention that this child of the kingdom would receive the kingdom of God and here it is right here. It was always the intention that you would receive that. When the Messiah would come, when the king of kings would come, when the king of the Jews would come, that you would receive the king of the Jews, that you would receive Jesus Christ. Okay? But those Christ rejecting Pharisees, they rejected Christ. They rejected the Messiah. Okay? So Jesus says, well the kingdom of God will be taken from you, right? And given to a nation. That's what happened. Right? From there to the one that would believe on the Messiah. The ones that would believe on Christ. I would believe on Christ. Now you've got the kingdom and you haven't got the kingdom. It was taken from one nation to another nation. Thanks guys. You can sit down. That's what happened. That's exactly what Jesus Christ said. Was it complicated? All right. Sorry for the complication there. All right. Let's make that clear. Now what I want you to do guys, you're taking from one kingdom to another kingdom. I want you to go to Exodus 19. So taking from one nation to another nation. Exodus 19 please. Exodus 19. And when you've turned there, please go to 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. And I want you to just, we're going to flick back and forth between Exodus 19 and 1 Peter chapter 2. I'll give you a minute to turn there because I really want you to see this. Exodus 19. Exodus 19 and 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. I'll give you a few more moments to turn there. Exodus 19 and 1 Peter chapter 2. Let's look at Exodus first. Exodus 19 verse 3. Now look, I love the story of Old Testament Israel. I love it. How they were, you know, basically in slavery to the Egyptian powers. And then the Lord came through and delivered his people. It's a beautiful story. It's a beautiful, you know, just seeing the power of God. How he decimated the Egyptians to bring out his people. You know, it's great pictures for us. You know, for us in the New Testament that we can look at that and be encouraged, okay. But here's what he says in Exodus 19 verse 3. And this is the Lord speaking to Moses to speak to Israel. Exodus 19 verse 3. The Bible says, And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagle's wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed. Look at this. If. There's a condition. If you will obey, right? If. If you obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. What a great honor for Old Testament Israel to be seen this way. That holy nation. That peculiar, what does it say? Peculiar treasure. Now turn to, keep your finger there, don't turn away from Exodus 19. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9. This is what the Apostle Peter says about the believers of Christ in the New Testament. He says, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation. Hey look, this is the, there's only two places in the Bible that you're going to find the phrase holy nation. What we read in Exodus 19 and what we read now in 1 Peter chapter 2. Doesn't that sound like the holy nation's been replaced? Alright, from a physical nation to a spiritual nation, right? A royal priesthood and holy nation are peculiar people that ye should show forth the praises of Him who have called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Now look at this. What did it say in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9? A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, right? Go back to Exodus 19, just turn there. Exodus 19 verse number 5, sorry verse number 6. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests. Hey, what did it say about Israel of the Old Testament? There will be a kingdom of priests. What did it say about us? A royal priesthood. Hey, the priesthood has changed as well, okay? Now, if you go, actually let's keep reading. Kingdom of priests and holy nation we saw in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9 and holy nation, now just go back to Exodus 19 verse 5. Exodus 19 verse 5, it said toward the end there, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure. Go to 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, after and holy nation are peculiar people. Hey, the same things that God said about Old Testament Israel is being said of us, the spiritual nation of Israel, of God. Israel of God, that's what we are, okay? Hey, just claim it, that's your title, okay? It's given to us from the word of God. And we can see how the change took place, okay? From a physical nation, hey, a lot of good people in that physical nation, don't get me wrong, okay? I'm not, you know, generalizing everybody, but by and large, when it came to Christ, they rejected him, okay? And those that were already part of the spiritual nation of Israel, they continued being part of the spiritual nation of Israel. Praise God. Praise God for all those early disciples. Most of them were Jews. Praise God for the Apostle Paul. Without these guys, we wouldn't have the scriptures that we have today, okay? Praise God for the Jews of the past. Praise God. Hey, about 1948, Israel is not the nation, okay? It's not the nation you need to be looking up to, all right? What else does it say about the, sorry, go back to Revelation chapter 2 now. Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2. So we know, we know who it is, right? It says, sorry, let me find my place again. Revelation chapter 2 verse, what was I up to, guys? If you guys can find it for me quickly. 29, 29. Yeah, okay. And it says, I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not but of the synagogue of Satan. Hey, Judaism is the synagogue of Satan, all right? They say they are Jews but they are not. Okay, that's very clear in the Bible. Okay, that's very clear in the New Testament, all right? But I want you to notice, what is it about them? It said there that I know the blasphemy of them. Okay, the blasphemy of them. Now think about this. Some people have said, well, the blasphemy is them saying they are Jews but are not. I don't believe that's what it's saying at all, okay? It's just that the blasphemy is coming from those that say they're Jews and are not, okay? So what's blasphemy? What's blasphemy? Well, the word blasphemy in the Bible appears over 30 times, over 30 times, okay? And every time when the Bible is defining it for us or explaining to us what it is, it's speaking against the Lord. Speaking against the Lord God. Now, other mentions of blasphemy were sort of false accusations even toward Jesus. They said he speaks blasphemies, okay? Of course, we're not going to consider that because it's coming from a false idea. But blasphemy as far as God is concerned is when you speak against the Lord, when you speak against his name, okay? Now just think about this for a minute. Think about it. Who is the one who speaks against the Lord Jesus Christ today? Who are they? Now look, I've heard it said that us who believe in replacement theology, okay, we're the ones that are saying that we're Jews and that we're not. Because I just told you we're Jews. I just told you we're Israel of God. So we're the ones that apparently then are the ones that blaspheme. Since when has this church ever blasphemed the name of Jesus Christ? Since when has this church ever blasphemed our Lord God? Never. But you know who's constantly blaspheming Jesus Christ? The Jews, okay? Who are those that are continually rejecting the Lord? The Jews, all right? So the only one this fits the category of, no matter what games you play, it's not this church. It's not churches like ours that believe in the same way. We're not blaspheming the Lord. We love the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We glory in his cross and his crucifixion, all right? It's the Jews that hate the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? It's the Jews and it fits perfectly. And I shouldn't have to spend whatever time I spent going through this if we just believe the Bible for what it says and we just read it. Instead of trying to take our biases, our man-made interpretations and go, I need to make this fit somehow. Look, just accept the word of God and do away with your false interpretations. Do away with your false, you know, what do they call them? Whatever, you guys don't want to talk about it. Dispensationalism. Just get rid of it. You don't need it. It's going to hinder your understanding of the scriptures. Am I saying that there's never truth in it? There's a lot of truth. A lot of things are true, okay? But it's going to mess up your understanding of Israel. It's going to mess up your understanding of the end times. It's going to mess up your understanding of how special you are, okay? A peculiar people. A holy nation. That's what God calls you. The Israel of God. What a title. Man, I did not know that. All right, growing up, hearing some other stuff. You know, people were taking away the great, you know, honor. God gives us as his children. What great honor to be called that, okay? I want to be, yeah, what a great honor to be numbered with King David, with Abraham. You know, Abraham wasn't really an Israelite. But you know, Samson, all the great men that we read about in the Bible of great faith. You know, I'd love to be numbered. I want to sit down with them and tell our stories together. I can't wait for that opportunity, okay? Let's, sorry, Revelation chapter 2, verse 10. Revelation chapter 2, verse 10. Actually, there's one more thing I wanted to turn, I'm going to move on. I'm going to move on. All right. If you were curious to see just blasphemy, just to prove it, you can just look at the book of Revelation. Look at other times the word blasphemy comes up. Once it comes up with the beast who blasts, or a few times about the beast blaspheming the Lord. But I just wanted to point out to you that blasphemy is always something that's directed toward God, always against the Lord, okay? You can do that in your own time. But verse number 10, verse number 10. Verse number 10 says, fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Hey, there's a promise to have a crown of life. Last, on Sunday I spoke about the crown of glory. That's super important. Last, on Sunday I spoke about the crown of glory. That's specifically for pastors that do a good job. Hey, I want that crown, okay? But I'd also like to get the crown of life, all right? And how do we, you know, this is available to everybody. How can we obtain this crown? Hey, it says when we're tried, when we go through tribulations, if we remain faithful unto death, you're going to get the crown of life, okay? And this church was being encouraged. I mean, I believe just my plain understanding of this is that some of these people were cast into prison or would be shortly cast into prison for standing up for the Lord, for standing for the faith, right? And the Lord just says, look, you're going to have tribulation ten days. He gives them encouragement. Now, does that mean in ten days they might be loosed and, you know, out of tribulation? It's possible, but it sounds like that at the end of ten days some of these guys have lost their lives, okay? It sounds like they've lost their lives. So the Lord is telling them, look, just be faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life, okay? Now, they would lose their life for the Lord, but they'd gain the crown of life, okay? That would mean the crown of life must be worth losing your life over, okay? You say, man, you know, there might come a time in your life when you might even lose your life for the Lord, okay? And I just want you to be reminded, man, if I lose my life for the Lord, if I remain faithful to death, Jesus himself is going to give me the crown of life. Man, awesome. It must be better than life itself if it's worth losing it over, right? For the cause of Christ, that is, for the cause of Christ. And please turn to James chapter 1, please. James chapter 1 verse 12. So we just see the fact that the Lord encourages us through our tribulation and the Lord sees us. The Lord knows exactly what's going on, okay? And I believe this ties in as well to the synagogue of Satan, that this church in particular were being persecuted by the Jews, okay? And the Jews were the ones that were persecuted and thrown these guys into prison. But anyway, James chapter 1 verse 12, James chapter 1 verse 12, we see another mention of the crown of life here. And in James chapter 1 verse 12, the Bible says, blessed is the man that endureth temptation. It's the same kind of idea, right? Enduring the tribulation that comes your way, the persecution. But all of us, here's the thing, all of us go through temptation. We're all tempted to sin in our lives. But we're commanded here to endure it, you know, to overcome it. We don't want to give in to temptation, otherwise we're going to commit sin, right? But then it says here, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord have promised to them that love him, okay? Now, how do we overcome temptation? We see it here. We need to love the Lord, okay? We need to love the Lord. And one great way to overcome temptation is, I want that crown of life. I want that crown of life. I'm going to endure this. I'm going to overcome this temptation. I'm not going to give in to sin today. And I want that crown. Hey, that's a great way to overcome, you know, temptation in your life. And God promises us, I don't exactly know how this is measured out, but I'm sure God is just though. Of course God is just. And God's going to make sure that those that go through, you know, tribulation, especially those that are able to overcome temptation, that battle, you know, the temptation in their life and is able to overcome sin, they're going to be ones that receive this crown of life. And let's keep going there in verse number 13. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither temper of he any man, all right? So never blame God for your temptation, okay? Well, Lord, why did you allow me to face the temptation? Now, what did Jesus teach us in his prayer? And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, okay? We need to be people that ask the Lord to help us, you know, don't lead us into temptation. You know, help us to move around that so I'm not tempted, right? Hey, but when you find yourself tempted, you need to overcome it, all right? And then it says in verse number 14, but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Listen, when you're tempted, when you sin, it comes from your own dirty heart. Don't go around blaming God. Don't blame the devil. It comes from yourself. It comes from within. Just to remind us how wicked this flesh can be, you know, but to remind that we need to walk in the Spirit, you know, the righteousness which we have been given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 15, and when lust have conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Do not err. Don't make a mistake. Don't make an error. Hey, don't blame anyone else for your sins is essentially what he's saying. It's coming from you. When you sin, it's coming from you. Don't blame anyone else. Don't blame the Lord. Don't blame the devil. Don't blame anything except for yourself. But what we see here is just some ways that we can claim this crown of life, and I would really hope that we're all striving to achieve that, you know. And next time you're tempted to sin, especially if it's something that you've been battling for a long time, you know, some sins you can overcome in your life, but there are some sins that just stay there. Just keep finding it. Keep finding it. You know, just be reminded, hey, man, if you can overcome that temptation, hey, there's a promise of the crown of life right here, okay, from the Lord God. So, of course, you know, that's a crown that would be given to those that were able to overcome tribulation and temptation. Back to Revelation chapter 2 verse 11. We're almost done now. Revelation chapter 2 verse 11. The Bible says, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Okay. This is the promise of God. We already saw who is he that overcometh. It said in 1 John 5, 5, who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. Okay. If you're a believer of Christ, you're an overcomer. We saw that on Sunday, right? And what's the promise then? If you're a saved person, he says he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Not be hurt of the second death. And, of course, the second death, go to Revelation chapter 20, please. Revelation chapter 20, and this is why I got Nicholas to read for us in Revelation 20 so we can finish up on this, but Revelation 20 verse 6, Revelation chapter 20 verse 6, the Bible says blessed and holy is he that have part in the first resurrection. Why? Why is that important? Why are we blessed if we're part of the first resurrection? On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. And remember we were called a royal priesthood when we believe on Christ? Hey, if you're part of that priesthood, if you're part of that holy nation, you're part of that first resurrection, when you receive the resurrected bodies of Christ at the rapture, he says, man, the second death has no power over us. Okay? And the promise that we saw in Revelation 2 was that we would not be hurt of the second death. Okay? We're not going to face the second death. You say, what's the second death? Go to verse 11, please. Revelation chapter 20 verse 11, Revelation chapter 20 verse 11, and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from his face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them and I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. Hey, look, the dead are going to be brought before this great white throne of God. Okay? And they're going to be judged by their works. Why? Because they believed in their works. They believed in the righteousness of their flesh. They believed in their circumcision and in the keeping of the law. And they're going to stand before God and God's going to judge them according to their works. Boy, I want to be judged according to the blood of Christ, all right, the righteousness of God. Verse number 13, verse 13, Revelation 20 verse 13, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. What's the second death, guys? The lake of fire, okay, eternal torment forever and ever, even hell is cast into the lake of fire. I mean, hell's a bad place, you know, but it fits in the lake of fire. It fits in the second death, you know, the second death would be even worse because at least hell was temporal. At least you get the chance of coming out and standing before God for a little while only then to be cast into the lake of fire. Man, what an end to those that believed in their works. Verse number 15, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, okay? So I just want to show you guys that, I mean, there's this stupid pastor in America, Tyler Doker. Tyler Doker and his, what's his little guy, his deacon, I don't know if it's his deacon, LeBlanc, LeBlanc, Justin LeBlanc. I mean, first of all, I met these guys last year, what was the last year, I can't remember, yeah, last year, I met these guys. They seemed pretty nice, they seemed pretty normal, all right? Then they got into the flat earth and again, look, I'm not going to hate you if you believe that. Hey, but you just see the downward spiral. You see the downward spiral and now they're teaching that Christians can be cast into the lake of fire, okay? That if you're not working righteously enough, if you're not doing enough for the Lord, if you're just sitting on purpose or whatever things they come up with, they claim that you will be cast into the lake of fire temporarily, okay? Like a purgatory, just like a Roman Catholic, just like Islam, this temporal burning and then you may get out at some point in time in the future, all right? So what did the Bible say in Revelation 2-11, here that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. This is a promise that God gives to the church, okay? We don't need pastors like this, you know, teaching and making God a liar. Hey, they're liars, they're false prophets. Be aware, be aware, you know, of the people you listen to. Seriously guys, be aware. You know, test me, test the spirits, any preacher that gets up here, you know, if they start messing up with eternal life, they start messing up with once saved, always saved, they start messing up the gospel, run away, all right? Run kicking and screaming the other way when you come across these people, okay, because they want to deceive you, they want to deceive you and blind you. Go to Revelation 21 verse 6, Revelation 21 verse 6. We'll end on this, Revelation 21 verse 6, and a lot of us use, I use this verse a lot when I go soil winning, but Revelation 21 verse 6, and he said unto me, it is done. This is the Lord speaking, I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, I will give unto him that is a first of the fountain of the water of life freely, freely, salvation's free, okay, free. Verse 7, he that overcometh, again that name, overcometh, the believers, shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my son. Now before we read verse number 8, because that's the one we turn to a lot, I just want to give you the context once again, Revelation 21, the new heavens and the new earth have now been created by God, okay, and these are words that have been said by the Lord to John after the fact that the new heavens and the new earth have come to be, after the fact that the great white throne judgement has cast all the unbelievers into the lake of fire, okay? So when we get to verse number 8, this makes a lot more sense. Now we apply this today in the physical, the flesh, you know, this flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God, okay, those resurrected bodies will, okay, but you'll see, you'll see now another layer to this in verse number 8, it says, but the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremuggers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death. Now when we go out door to door soul winning, we apply that verse to the person we're talking to, don't we? We also apply it to ourselves that at some point we were people that committed these sins, at some point we were people destined to the lake of fire, okay, but let's get the first context, okay, and that is this has been said at once the new heavens and the new earth have been created, okay, because we don't glory in this flesh, but you know when we get those resurrected bodies, we can glory in the flesh, okay, why? Because we have those resurrected bodies without sin and the reason we have it is through the power of the resurrection of Christ, okay, I mean those new bodies that we have will be sinless and just like the spirit which we're called to walk in is sinless, so will our resurrected bodies be sinless and that's why God can say to John that, hey, you know those that are murderers and all these things will not inherit, will they be cast into the lake of fire, they're not going to be the ones that walk into the new heavens and the earth and that's us, we're going to be perfect, we're in that new body, we're not going to be murderers or idolaters or sorcerers or liars and maybe you've done some of those things in the past, but once you have those new bodies, it's like you've never done them, okay, it's been paid for, you've been cleansed by the blood of Christ, okay, and you've been received the imputed righteousness of Christ's body and his flesh, okay, so we'll leave it there guys, I can't wait to receive our resurrected bodies, I can't wait, okay, it's going to be so awesome because then our spirit can truly rejoice with our flesh, thanks for your patience, let's pray.