Prophecy and Mystery Contrasted - Prophecy 22

[0:00] Okay, let's have a word of prayer together. Gracious Father, we pause now to thank you for this gathering, for the presence of each one, for the truth that you've made available to us, and we just trust that we will be able to see with some clarity, perhaps some issues that have been foggy and misunderstood earlier.

[0:18] So we give this time to you with great thanksgiving, and thanksgiving for the season of the year, and for the time we enjoy together in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. We are talking about the kingdom in connection with this particular segment.

[0:34] This is the nine o'clock segment, and the main feature is on the subject of prophecy, and that has to do primarily with the kingdom, with Israel, and with the Jew.

[0:45] And we have with us this morning a young man by the name of Chiron, and he is nine years old, and I am going to explain in as simple of terms as I can as possible what this kingdom involves.

[0:58] Chiron, we live in a world that is less than ideal, less than good, and there's a lot of bad and evil in it.

[1:10] But when the kingdom comes, which is what Jesus is going to establish when he returns and comes again, he's going to fix this world.

[1:20] He's going to make it what it ought to be. He's going to eliminate murder and robbery and stealing and lying and all of those things are going to be in the past.

[1:34] It will be a whole new age, a whole new time. People will be different. Jesus will be here in person, and the world, the whole world, no wars, no fighting, it's going to be the way it ought to be.

[1:52] And it's going to last for a thousand years. And it's called the millennium. Now that's a big word for a nine-year-old. It's a big word for a 39-year-old.

[2:04] A millennium. But it means a thousand. And in this case, it's a thousand years. So, what we are dealing with primarily is the promise of that coming and the promise that was made by Jesus to the people that he came to 2,000 years ago.

[2:26] And he told them about this kingdom. And you know what they said? We don't want it. We don't want you to be our king.

[2:37] And we don't want this kingdom that you're talking about. Even though they had been looking for it for thousands of years. And now, when the time came that Jesus came to the Jewish people and announced to them the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[2:56] It is right around the corner. What do you say, Israel? And Israel said, thanks but no thanks. And they turned down the kingdom and they actually conspired.

[3:09] That means they got together secretly and decided to do away with Jesus. And they had the Romans crucify him. And he has since been raised from the dead.

[3:22] He's gone back to heaven. And the time is coming when he's going to return to this earth. And that's called the second coming. Because when he was here the first time, he died on the cross.

[3:33] But when he comes a second time, he's going to collect what he paid for when he died. And that's this kingdom. And he's going to establish it.

[3:44] And we have a complexity involving this kingdom because and this meager illustration here is designed to give you a little bit of a visual picture of what's involved.

[3:59] This represents a period of time of 30 years. This is the extent chronologically of the book of Acts. 30 years from the time the book opens, which records the ascension of Jesus in chapter 1.

[4:18] And it concludes with the Apostle Paul 30 years later having a meeting with the Jewish people who lived in Rome and they had a day-long Bible conference whereby he was trying to explain to them Jesus was the King, Israel crucified Him, but the opportunity for Israel to repent and that God will still provide that kingdom that He's promised.

[4:49] It's not too late. Well, that's debatable because as we look at the end of the book of Acts, maybe that was the cutoff period. And here's where we have a real difficulty. And I wish I had a better handle on this and I know some of my grace brethren feel that they've got a very firm handle on it.

[5:07] But for these 30 years we've got for the first 10 years everything and I mean everything is Jewish, Jewish, Jewish.

[5:18] All the people who believed in Jesus being the Messiah were Jews. No non-Jews were involved at all. And the reason is because this kingdom concept that God is going to bring to earth is going to be done through the instrumentality of Israel.

[5:42] They are the catalyst. They are the key nation. They are the linchpin for this whole thing. And when Israel is in a positive mood for the kingdom and for the king that's when this kingdom will be set up.

[5:57] I've told you before and let me just repeat this there are two things. Two things that must be accomplished before the kingdom of heaven can come to earth. Two things that have to be accomplished before what is referred to as the Lord's prayer can be fulfilled.

[6:13] And part of that is thy kingdom come so that thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Two things have to happen before that prayer can be answered.

[6:26] One is the Messiah has to pay the penalty for the sin for the sin that balances the books of heaven.

[6:40] And that will be done by God being in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. That Jesus did. That's accomplished.

[6:51] And the second thing that has to be realized before the kingdom can come is that Israel must get in line and embrace Jesus as the Messiah and they will when he returns we are told that every eye will see him and they Israel they will look on him whom their forefathers pierced and they will mourn.

[7:24] That will be genuine repentance and that kingdom then will come to pass. So here what makes this complex and difficult to grasp is that during this 30 year period of time when it begins everything starts out and it is about kingdom kingdom kingdom remember in Acts 1 chapter 1 look if you want at verse 1 or verse 6 and 8 something like that right before Jesus ascended to heaven the disciples ask him Lord is it at this time that you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel now understand when the kingdom is restored to Israel that will engulf the entire world not just Israel the nations this is why Israel is so important because Israel is the catalyst Israel is the means through which all the rest of the world is going to be brought into the kingdom but if it doesn't happen in Israel it isn't going to happen to the world that's why they are so key and the interesting thing about most

[8:40] Jews today don't even realize that don't understand that even even though even though their prophets all of their prophets in the Old Testament scream about it all the time they still virtually ignore it and miss it so here's what we've got when the book of Acts opens here with chapter 1 the emphasis is on and the most vital thing that substantiated the kingdom and the claims of Christ is the miracles don't ever lose sight of that miracles and kingdom go together the Jew has a thing about miracles this is what you can see with your eyes and this is very very important because God conditioned the nation of Israel to expect from him miraculous things supernatural things demonstrating who he was and that he was worthy of being trusted and that

[9:53] Israel could put their complete confidence in him and he performed all kinds of miracles beginning with the hard sell to Moses who had all the excuses for why he couldn't be the man that God wanted him to be and finally God graciously condescended to him and said what have you got in your hand Moses and he said stick he says throw it on the ground and he threw it on the ground and the stick became a serpent a writhing serpent and Moses whoa what is this and then he told him to pick it up and when he picked it up it turned back into a stick again now all that was was a little bit of proof positive a little demonstration to Moses that the one who was calling him to do what he was calling him to do was capable of anything and everything that needed to be done and God went on to demonstrate his power and his presence to the nation of Israel with all kinds of miracles beginning with the ten plagues when he brought them out of

[11:00] Egypt and the land and all the rest and do you know what the remarkable thing about it is the remarkable thing about it is Israel as a nation despite all of this ongoing evidence proof positive they still lapsed into periods of unbelief and God chastened them and corrected them for that and they were just a bunch of hard heads and if you want to get a real picture of that read the book of Hebrews in the New Testament and it will reveal to you how the Jews responded to God's gracious acts in the Old Testament so when Jesus came on the scene and John the Baptist before him the message they were preaching was the kingdom of heaven is at hand that doesn't mean and John is not saying folks this is a kingdom it's arrived no no he's not saying that important distinction understand this he said it is at hand that means it's near it's close by it isn't far away and what would be dependent on it being realized the

[12:10] Messiah would pay the price as the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world John said and Israel embracing him then that kingdom would come so far this is not the kingdom some try to make this where we are now living some try to make this present day the kingdom and when we ask them where are all the miracles and manifestations where is the world being made right oh no no no you see it's just a spiritual kingdom not literal not real well I'll tell you one thing the Jews most definitely absolutely positively believed it was going to be a real literal kingdom because you cannot bring in some kind of a spiritual kingdom and make it to be a counterpart of what we've got now it's going to be a literal physical kingdom that's going to be made right and that's what everybody in

[13:13] Israel was expecting that's what Jesus was preaching the kingdom of heaven is the hand he sent the apostles out to preach that message and it is kingdom kingdom kingdom and it starts here this is the majority part and as the book of Acts opens and as the four gospels open all of the emphasis is on this kingdom and it is a mighty big concept however what complicates the issue is when the apostle Paul comes on the scene he is immediately labeled as the apostle to whom oh boy Gentiles well now wait a minute what are you talking about we thought everything was about the Jew well it is kind of but there's now another player in the game and this player is going to introduce a brand new concept that is called good news it's called the gospel of the grace of

[14:28] God which means God is doing a brand new thing completely different from what he did with the nation of Israel and the law of Moses and the animal sacrifices and all the rest of it God is going to make connecting with him becoming acceptable to him being forgiven by him he's going to make that conditioned only upon your belief trust in confidence in Jesus Christ paying the penalty for your sins that's called the gospel the good news of the grace of God it's got nothing to do with the law of Moses got nothing to do with animal sacrifices got nothing to do with keeping the Sabbath got nothing to do with the diet you eat got nothing to do with the things that the Jews considered so important it's a whole new thing whole new thing how do you think this is going to be accepted well it's going to be accepted quite well by many of the

[15:37] Gentiles because the Gentiles are described by Paul in Acts 2 he says remember before you came to faith in Christ what your true state was remember you were without God and without hope in this present world you were really bad off but now but now God has it's not just for the Jew it's for everybody it's for the Jew and the Gentile that's why it's called good news and it's the best good news the world has ever heard and it's called the gospel and it is going to be something that will revolutionize the entire world and you today right here right now are all beneficiaries of that gospel that came into being 2000 years ago death burial and resurrection of Christ because Paul took that gospel on three missionary trips and he got into Europe and the message spread and grew in

[16:40] Europe and thousands were believing and some of them in time moved to the new world and they became your ancestors and we are recipients of that gospel of the grace of God that started 2000 years ago now here's where the problem comes in this is where the wicked gets sticky this is all about the kingdom and you can see the larger part here and this is all about the church and mystery this is the kingdom and prophecy so we've got as the book of acts opened this 30 year period virtually all of the emphasis is on the kingdom here the church and mystery hasn't even been thought of

[17:49] Saul of Tarsus will not have his conversion until years after the death burial and resurrection of Christ we don't know exactly how long because the chronologists differ on that and I can't pinpoint a date but suffice it to say there's no reason to believe that the apostle Paul or that Saul of Tarsus ever met or knew or heard Jesus in person there's no reason to believe that he ever on the road to Damascus and that's what really counts so here at the beginning of the book of Acts you can see how much space is taken up by the kingdom it's all kingdom nothing to do with the church at all and what we've got here in a very small beginning and this is not accurate as far as the chronology is concerned because it didn't really happen right here at the beginning but I just wanted to show you that by the time you get to the end here by the time you get to the end of the 30 year period the kingdom concept and this message has pretty well petered out no pun intended but

[19:05] Peter Peter is going to be the principal guy with this kingdom thing not Paul Peter it is Peter to whom Christ says he gives the keys of the kingdom remember Paul never had the keys of the kingdom Paul has got an entirely different ministry an entirely different thing so all of this is about the kingdom and when Paul comes on the scene and begins preaching his gospel about the mystery he tells us in Ephesians chapter 3 that this concept that he has been called upon of Christ to deliver was this and I just I don't I'm embarrassed to tell you this I don't know how many times I read this thing in Ephesians 3 from the time I was a student Cedarville back in the 1950s and

[20:08] I preached through it here preached through Ephesians here at least a couple of times verse by verse where was I how did I miss that I still don't know have you ever read something in the Bible and you scratch your head and say I don't remember reading that before where did the debt come from well the book is inexhaustible no doubt about that but when Paul says in Ephesians 3 that this mystery of Jews and Gentiles together in one body which Paul says was not made known to the sons of men ever before that means it isn't in the Old Testament the church the body of Christ isn't in the Old Testament at all it is not a subject of prophecy it is not predicted it is not promised it is just not there and all we can say is as you go into the book of

[21:10] Acts and with Paul the apostle being given this commission as a result of his conversion on the road to Damascus lo and behold whoop right out of seemingly nowhere springs this new thing nobody knew suspected thought of and it's called the church which is the body of Christ and it isn't just Jewish it is Jewish and Gentile put together on the same plane for for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Jew or Gentile bond or free male or female you are all children of God by faith in Jesus Christ that was a whole new thing now when Paul is preaching this gospel the gospel of the grace of God where you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ plus nothing what's happening with the gospel of the kingdom it's going right on it's continuing it just doesn't stop who's preaching it turn to

[22:22] Galatians chapter two if you would please Galatians chapter two it'd be a good idea if I got there too I'm sure most of you are familiar with this but without apology I appeal to it for clarity sake Galatians chapter two and verse six Paul says but from those who were of high reputation and what he's talking about is the twelve they are the ones who were there from Jerusalem and what they were makes no difference to me God shows no partiality those who were of reputation contributed nothing what that means is what he's saying here is this is that even though Paul is meeting with the twelve who constituted the recognized authority at that time because after all they were chosen by

[23:24] Jesus from the very beginning before Paul ever came on the scene these men these twelve were established they were recognized they were respected and Paul is saying you know what they added nothing to me what does he mean by that he means they had nothing to tell me that was new they had nothing to tell me to bring me up to speed actually I had something to tell them to bring them up to speed and he related what God had done with the Gentiles and these people are amazed because when Jesus gave them the gospel of the kingdom to preach they weren't supposed to go to the Gentiles they were supposed to go just to the Jews and I want to emphasize that the reason had nothing to do with Jesus not caring about Gentiles that's nonsense you know Jesus cared about everybody but he was sent to

[24:27] Israel to the Jew because the Jew was the key you get the Jew on board and the rest of the world comes but if the Jew isn't on board and Israel isn't on board the rest of the country the rest of the other countries they won't be there either so you start with Israel and they started in Jerusalem and they started on the feast of so everything is Israel Israel Israel the Jew and now Paul comes on the scene and look in Galatians chapter 2 those were of reputation contributed nothing to me but on the contrary seeing agreeing understanding that I Paul had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised that's just another word for Gentile just as Peter with the gospel to the circumcised that's just another name for the

[25:33] Jew for he who effectually worked in Peter for his apostleship and you know what Paul could add here what Paul could say here if I was to write a little something and fill in the white spaces for he who effectually worked for Peter for the past 20 years that's the time frame that's involved when Paul makes this statement he acknowledges that God had been working in and through Peter and the 11 apostles for the last 20 years and where were they still they were still in Jerusalem what are they doing there they were supposed to go into all the world weren't they but where were they to start Jerusalem then Judea then Samaria then the uttermost parts of but you start with

[26:33] Jerusalem well that's what they did they started with Jerusalem but Jerusalem was not cooperative they never brought Jerusalem along when you read in the book of Acts after Pentecost after Peter's second message in Acts chapter 3 stunning that man that was healed been lame from his mother's womb and we are told that instead of all these people were enthralled by these miracles and Peter did this miracle he reached down and he said silver and gold have I none such as I have in the name of Jesus of the wall and Peter reached down and took the guy by the hand and he put his hand up and I imagine his eyes were like this and Peter yanked on him and the guy came up and stood on his two feet and he had never stood on his two feet in his life he was over 40 years old and he was born lame from his mother's womb this guy was a permanent fixture there in the temple he was a beggar he had dibs on that spot and he had a choice place for begging because you catch people when they're going into worship you get them in a nice frame of mood and generous and he looked up to

[28:03] Peter expecting to receive something from him put something in the pot you know and Peter says silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I unto thee in the name of Jesus of now and this guy is standing there stomping his feet jumping up and down and he grabs Peter and he hugs him and he grabs John and he hugs him and people are starting to gather and say what is this what's going on hey isn't that oh so and so yeah yeah that's well they carried this family members carried this guy there every day carried him and now he's jumping around and drawing a big crown and Peter uses that occasion to explain what's happened and he says made this man walk no no you missed the whole point this is through the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you crucified God has made this man whole before you wow and instead of everybody jumping up and down with him and being excited and worshipping the plot thickens and the bad guys show up and it says that they were grieved that

[29:28] Peter and John was preaching through Jesus the resurrection of the dead and they looked at this guy who's bouncing around and still stomping looking at his legs and the text says that a notable miracle has been done we cannot cannot deny what a statement what a statement instead of saying a notable miracle has been done isn't it incredible what does this mean hey we've got to pursue this we've got to find out what's going on here no no they laid hands on them and the persecution begins and it is Jew persecuting Jew and that's going to go on as the numbers grow for faith in

[30:31] Jesus as Messiah and Paul comes on the scene preaching this new gospel and he is proclaiming this in verse 9 here in Galatians 2 they agree they give to James and Cephas another name for Peter and John who were reputed to be pillars they gave to me Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship they shook their hands and said we support you we encourage you we are with you and the text goes on to say that we Paul and Barnabas might go to the Gentiles that's the uncircumcised and they to the circumcised to the Jew now the roles haven't changed they're still focusing on the Jew and Israel and who is Paul focusing on well actually he's dealing with both

[31:31] Jew and Gentile but his primary audience is the Gentile and here is where things get dicey because we've got two different gospels being preached at the same time now I ask you every time Paul blew into a new town what was the first place he always headed for the synagogue the synagogue and I have a theory that the text doesn't say this in so many words and I don't want to be guilty of reading into the white spaces too much but I cannot help but draw some conclusions from the fact that as he said in Romans 9 and then again in chapter 10 of Romans brethren my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved for they have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge Paul was so desperate to win his own countrymen to the

[32:38] Lord he said I could wish that I myself were a curse from Christ if I could win them I'd change places with them if I could win them that's a great burden that he had for his own people and one reason he did of course was because he could speak from personal experience he understands their unbelief he was there he understands their rejection of Jesus being the Messiah so did he he was there he can identify he knows how blinded he was and he knows how blinded they are and that gives him a compassion and a sympathy to reach these people and each time he goes to the synagogue do you think do you think while you're turning to Acts chapter 13 do you think that Paul dismissed the law of

[33:40] Moses now this is going to be difficult it's difficult for me it's going to be difficult for you but I'll tell you what it was more difficult for Paul than it was for any of us because he is in a climate that is incredible and as you read this is this first major encounter here in Acts 13 and in beginning in verse 14 we read that going on from Perga they arrived at Pisidian Antioch now this Antioch is not to be confused with Antioch and Syria that's where they were that's where they left from Antioch same different town with the same name Antioch and Pisidia and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down and after the reading of the law and the prophets which they did as customary the synagogue officials sent to them and the reason they did was because these were two new guys in town and it was just a tradition in the synagogue that you welcome fellow

[34:49] Jews from afar and that you give them an opportunity to address the people it was just a friendship gesture and it was a tradition and they said brethren if you have any word of exhortation for the people say it and Paul stood up and motioning with his hand he said men of Israel men of Israel and he obviously recognized that there were some Gentiles there because and he says and you who fear God a Jew was one who was a direct descendant of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and of course he had been circumcised but a God fear was not a Jew he was a Gentile but he had come to understand and believe that the God of Israel was the only true God there was and they accepted the God of Israel and rejected all of the pagan deities that the Greeks and the Romans had and all the rest of it and they believed that there was just this one

[35:53] God so they became proselytes they were welcome in the synagogue they could learn from the law of Moses they could fellowship with the Jews but they couldn't do Jewish things only to an extent and they were available to come to the synagogue now if you were really serious if you were really serious as a Gentile and a God fearer and you wanted to become fully accepted by the Jews and be considered a bona fide Jew as much as one who was born a Jew you become a proselyte and you get circumcised and that was a significant thing in the minds of any adult man I can promise you that so most of them didn't do that some did but most did not and they remained God fearers Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 was a Roman officer in the army and he was a God fearer so when

[36:53] Paul preaches this gospel men of Israel and you who fear God he goes through the whole history of Israel and he comes down to verse 39 and he's making his conclusion and he says through him that is through this Jesus let it be known to you brethren verse 38 that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you and through him everyone who believes is freed from all things from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses question do you think this is what the twelve were preaching absolutely not what were the twelve preaching the twelve are still hammering away at the kingdom at the kingdom Paul Paul's not preaching the kingdom here he is elevating the person of the king do you see a conflict starting to arise how was a

[38:02] Jew made acceptable to God well you've got to jump through the hoops you've got to keep the law of Moses you've got to have a kosher diet you've got to keep the sabbath you've got to give alms you've got to all these things required in the law you have to do as a Jew and then you know you're going to blow it sometimes and you're not going to be perfect in your obedience etc that's why you've got to have animal sacrifices to pay for your sins or atone they covered them just temporarily until the full payment could be made and that would not be made until Christ made that payment but do you see the enormous difference here what Paul is saying take heed therefore verse 40 that the things spoken of in the prophets may not come upon you and now he's talking about and to the

[39:04] Jew behold you scoffers and marvel and perish for I am accomplishing a work in your days a work which you will never believe though someone should describe it to you are you going to fulfill that passage is this going to be speaking of you and as Paul and Barnabas were going out the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath why why why why were they asking him to come back they never heard anything like that in their life what is this what is this guy saying from which you could not be free by the law of Moses is he saying something else transcends the law of Moses yes that's what he's saying what could that be it's that of which

[40:05] Moses and the prophet spoke it's the Messiah who is going to pay for the sins of the world and give you a righteousness that you could not obtain through the law of Moses what a breath of fresh air could that possibly be true can you come back next week can you come to the Sabbath can you can you the meeting of the synagogue had broken up many of the Jews and of the God fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas who speaking to them were urging them to continue in the grace of God you guys I know you're just passing through but you don't have to leave right away do you can't you come back we need to and the next Sabbath verse 44 says nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of

[41:06] God but when the Jews saw the crowds they were filled with jealousy why well they never drew crowds like that people didn't hang on every word they were saying they just went through their usual Sabbath ritual and they were lucky if the place was half full and now throngs of people come in to hear this new stuff from this new guy and he's saying that the law of Moses is inadequate to do what this person did through him can you begin to see why the major charge that's going to be leveled against Paul is he teaches against the law of

[42:07] Moses you and I have no idea none how sacred the law of Moses was to these people you think that your equivalent is your reverence for the Bible unless you are a really extraordinary person your reverence for the Bible doesn't even come close not even close to the fear and reverence and respect that the Jew had for the law of Moses we have no concept of that and now Paul is saying there's something better there's something more there is available the fulfillment of which Moses was speaking and it's going to require eventually setting aside of the law of Moses unthinkable unthinkable but listen isn't that what's the new covenant all about the days are coming said the

[43:15] Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah not like the covenant which I made with their fathers which they broke but this new covenant will enable them to do what they couldn't do under the old covenant and when Jesus took that cup that night before he was betrayed and said this cup is the new covenant in my blood not a one there understood what he meant or what he was talking about even his own twelve they just looked at each other and said what's this what's this what's what's he talking about they had no idea even as of then they had no idea that he was going to that cross and be crucified but that's what this was all about so here we've got this book of Acts Jew and Gentile gospel of the kingdom gospel of the church church of the grace of

[44:16] God the mystery and they are both being proclaimed side by side at the same time now I ask you the question can you understand how and why so many are confused by the book of Acts doesn't it become I trust clear as to what the problem is and if you zero in on a part of the book of Acts that was kingdom that was kingdom oriented and you establish your methodology and your base of operation based on the kingdom truth and the kingdom concept you're going to look for miracles supernatural you're going to look for speaking in tongues languages that you have not learned you're going to look for all kinds and any kind of miraculous manifestations and you're going to justify it on the basis that well it's in the

[45:20] Bible it's in the book of Acts and we take our practice from the book of Acts and on Pentecost you get our dear brethren whom we all love in the Lord but they base their whole denomination the Pentecostal denomination on kingdom concept on the book of Acts chapter 2 and those who insist that if you do not speak in tongues or speak if you are not able to speak in a language that you've never learned you are not really filled with the Holy Spirit because if you are you will be able to do that now it seems contradictory that even they still send their missionaries to language school to learn languages but you see the thing breaks down because all of the miracles and we went through this in Matthew last time the miracles are characteristic of the kingdom and the miracles the supernatural miracles were designed for just one thing that was to put proof and evidence behind what they were preaching in the kingdom and it did heal the sick raise the dead sight to the blind cause the lame to walk deaf to hear all of these things that's all kingdom content kingdom content don't try to make it church content that's where there's so much confusion today especially with the healers and the prosperity gospel they're back here not here it's the

[47:03] Jew that seeks a sign that we are to walk by faith all that means is this we are not supposed to demand signs from God alright you're God you're supposed to show us you're supposed to give us some pizzazz some miracles do your stuff impress us convince us no no we walk by faith that means we conduct our daily life our living on the basis of simply believing what God says without demanding requiring or expecting any miracles or any supernatural demonstration we just walk by faith not by sight and if you're if you're operating on the basis of miracles you're walking by sight that means what you see seeing is believing but how can people be convinced if they don't see we just preach the gospel and the evidence of Christianity that is presented is not conclusive not conclusive and by that I mean if if the evidence of

[48:17] Christianity were conclusive for for starters there wouldn't be any atheists if it were conclusive there wouldn't be any deniers if it were conclusive everyone would believe well let me put it this way when Christianity and the reality of God will be conclusive when there will be no deniers or even the possibility of one denying when Jesus Christ returns and the text says and every eye shall see him there will not be any atheists or any unbelievers or any doubters then because seeing is believing but we do not see now yet we still believe why that's because faith believing without seeing faith is God's coin of the realm for the church age the church dispensation the grace of God it is simply on the basis of believing and that's called operation of faith and this is why

[49:34] Paul is talking about when he writes to the Corinthians chapter 13 there abides these three faith hope faith and love and the only one that will survive will be love because the time is coming when Jesus returns nobody is going to need hope anymore and nobody is going to need faith anymore because the reality is realized but there will always be commodity of love and the greatest of these he says is love so all we've seen is that what I trust is the amalgamation of these two and the confusion that is produced by them because they are both operating simultaneously and as it starts out the kingdom is everything and the church is just next to nothing the body of Christ but as time goes on the kingdom opportunity to Israel grows less and less and less with their repeated rejections and every crisis they came to they failed beginning with

[50:40] Acts 4 and then again with Stephen in Acts 7 and with Paul in Acts 9 how they tried to do away with him and on through so the kingdom is lessening and the church and the mystery is increasing and this is where we are here at the end and the kingdom is set aside it is not here at all will be will be the kingdom will be fulfilled just as much as the church is a reality but not now because Israel is now set aside in unbelief and I'm sorry I took all the time again but I would appreciate it and it would be very helpful to me if you would write down any questions that you may have and be prepared to ask them next week because we'll start out with your questions and that way I know you'll get them in so thank you for your kind attention we covered a lot of material unfortunately I didn't get to much of the material that I had in mind for this morning but anyway I just hope you can see it a little more clearly than what you were before thank you you are dismissed