The Everlasting Gospel

Doug Batchelor: It's the most-read book in the world, selling close to 4 billion copies over the past 50 years. The Bible is an amazing book unlike any other. Although it was written over a period of around 1500 years by 40 different people on 3 continents, the Bible maintains incredible harmony throughout its 66 books. A long list of Bible predictions have come to pass that confirm the scriptures are divinely inspired, but none are more dramatically fulfilled than 125 prophecies about the Messiah that were fulfilled to perfection in the life of Jesus. Various Old Testament books predict with great precision, the place of His birth, His trial, the manner of His crucifixion, the timing of His resurrection, and many other aspects of His life. One thing is for certain: that dozens of prophecies and predictions about His life could never have happened by chance alone. Jesus is the Bible's central figure, but who is He and how is your life affected by His? Join me now, as we take a closer look at this hero of revelation.

Doug: Little amazing fact, you know that in 70 BC with the slave revolt of Spartacus, you've probably heard that name, was once played by Kirk Douglas, there were--when it was put down, 6000 insurgents were crucified by the Romans. If you can imagine that. They lined the roads around Rome for miles. But then 70 AD with the 2000-- there were 2000 Jews executed by the Romans, and that was to discourage the rebellion of the Jews. The Romans used to crucify thousands of people, and crucifixion was the most frightening thing that could happen because it sometimes took days for a person to die. That's why Pilate was amazed when Jesus seemed to die in 6 hours. You know, Christ was--Jesus was on the cross 6 hours alive, 1 hour dead resting. I'm sorry, friends. You know, I think about that and I look at what the Lord's done for me and in my life and it just touches my heart, and the story of the cross that was once meant by the Romans to strike fear into people's hearts, it brings joy now. It was a symbol of fear and agony, and now it brings peace, and people see the cross and they find--they find comfort. And I just hope that you will understand the importance of what we're studying tonight. Okay, shake it off, Doug.

It's based on Revelation 14. In Revelation 14, you'll see that it says there in chapter 14, verse 6: "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every tribe, nation, tongue, and people." God wants people everywhere to know this message. So we're going to get into the questions.

Question number one: What is the central theme in Revelation chapter 14? Answer? "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the," what? "Everlasting gospel." Thanks, you did a great job. Why is it called the everlasting gospel? That phrase is only found here in Revelation. You know why? Because the results of the gospel are everlasting, and the gospel has not changed from the very beginning. Revelation talks about the gospel, the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. It goes all the way back. We are all saved by grace.

The second part of this is Revelation 13, verse 8: "All who dwell on the earth will worship Him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." This is the Lamb that was slain all the way back at the foundation of the world. What's that talking about? So, Adam and Eve were told, "Do not eat from the forbidden fruit." And when they ate from the forbidden fruit, what happened to them?

All of a sudden, they felt a cool breeze. Because up to that point, you know, all the artists paint Adam and Eve as though they're streaking around the garden of Eden and they're naked and all the artists, you know, they always have to put the leaves of the tree strategically, at least if it's the G-rated versions of Adam and Eve, and the rest of them, you can tell they have nothing on. That's really not the way it was. When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, He was glorified and His garments began to shine. Moses came off Mount Sinai, he was shining. Adam and Eve holy, living in the presence of God, they shined. After they sinned, the light went out and they felt the breeze and they knew something was wrong. So what did they do? They ran from God.

Don't ever forget, God did not run from us. God then told Adam and Eve, your fig leaves that you had sewn together, and the Bible says they made skirts, aprons, of leaf. Not only was it the wrong material, it wasn't nearly enough. They were basically mini skirts. And God, then it says, "He gave them tunics of skin robes." Of what? Skin. Do you think God said, "Let there be skin," or did something have to die? The sacrificial system was established there in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve saw the first death. It was a lamb that died to cover their sin and their nakedness. God explained to them the plan of salvation about Jesus, there at the very beginning. And He wanted them to know that He had a plan where they could be forgiven, even though what was a penalty for disobeying? "And the day you eat thereof, you will surely die." That lamb is a symbol of Jesus. They all knew that. That's why when John the Baptist finally points to Jesus and he says, "This is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world," it was the fulfillment of everything they had looked for and longed for.

Question number two: Why do we need the everlasting gospel? "The wages or the penalty for sin is," what? It's death. How come you're not dead? How many have sinned? The Bible says all have sinned. So if you've sinned and the penalty for sin is death, why aren't you dead? Why are the people out there that don't believe in God walking the streets? Jesus's death not only provided a way for us to be forgiven and have everlasting life, He is the one who bought time for people to make a decision. Everyone is living under this probationary time. It's one life, and the devil is trying to destroy and distract people so that they don't think about what really matters in life is the one that lasts forever. Does that make sense?

Question number three: Why did Jesus die? Well, the answer is pretty clear in the Bible. Hebrews 9:22: "According to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is," what? "No remission of sin." You can read in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3: "For I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received, that Christ did," what? "He died for our sins." He did not die for His sins. He died for our sins. And how many of us have sinned? So make it personal. He died for you. God sent His Son to suffer, not just die. He suffered for all the sins you have ever committed or will commit and He died for you. Why? Because He loves us more than we'll ever know. Loves us desperately, wants to save us. He doesn't want you to be lost any more than any human wants to lose their child. He loves you infinitely more because any affection you have for your children, you ultimately get from your Creator.

God loves you, and the only way He can talk about His love for us, it says, "God the Father so loved the world, He gave His Son that we might not perish." He died for us. Why did God make such a fantastic sacrifice for us? I just gave you this verse. Say it with me. "For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God so loves us. He's pouring out His heart in that word, that He gave His Son.

Now, what's the most valuable thing that God could give? What's the most valuable thing you have? Your life? Or would you say the life of your child? What if your child's the Creator? Think about that. Everything that you see, all things that were made, were made by Him. For the Creator to die for the creation, how much bigger can you get than that of a sacrifice? And He does that to save you and you're going to say, "Well, I'm busy, don't bother me"? God loves you desperately. What do I do to benefit from this incredible sacrifice that Jesus has made? How does--how do I apply that? What does it say? You read in Acts 16:31, what's the first word? "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." Believe on the Lord. What does that mean, to believe? The word "believe" is kind of self-evident. It means "be live." Whoever "be lives" in Him will not perish. It's not the kind of faith where a person says, "Yeah, I believe Jesus really lived. I read about it in the encyclopedia. Since I believe that Jesus really lived, I guess I'm going to heaven." No, that's the kind of faith the devil has.

Does the devil know Jesus lived? Is that going to save him? James says, "Even the devils believe and tremble." It's not that kind of faith. And yet a lot of churches are preaching this watered-down, shallow grace. To be live in Him. If Jesus tells you something and you believe Him, do you act upon it? If Jesus tells you something, you say, "I believe, Lord," but you don't do it. He wants you to follow Him, study His Word, amen?

Number six: What happens to me when I choose to believe in the name of Jesus? The Bible says, "If we," what? "If we CONFESS our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from," how much? "All unrighteousness." Now, who do we confess to? Well, if I offend you, I confess to you, and they say confession is good for the soul, but it can be bad for the reputation. You've got to be careful about making a public confession. Of course, if there's a public sin, it might require a public confession, but most sins should be confessed personally to God. Now, what else goes along with that? Acts chapter 3, verse 19. What's that word? "REPENT therefore, and be converted, that your sins might be blotted out."

Now, what does repentance mean? Very simply, in the Hebrew mind, repentance means you're walking this way and then you change directions. I used to be able to do that in military school, and then you go this way, and so repentance is a change of direction. It's not just telling God you're sorry, it means being sorry and willing to turn away from your sins. Some of you, right now, you're thinking, "You know, I am sorry but, Doug, I'm addicted. I repent but I don't know if I can change." Don't worry, right now, about how you will be different tomorrow. The devil will scare you from making a commitment to the Lord. You come just the way you are. You make a complete commitment. Say, "Lord, I'm sorry. Forgive me. I repent of my sins. Please change my heart. Give me victory," and He can, friends.

Now, you can't think of a sin that God cannot save you from. Just briefly, I used to drink, used to smoke, use drugs, curse, I was a burglar. I'll stop there. Living immorally. I said, I'd stop, I'll stop there. And God helped me change. So when people say, "I don't think I can change," don't tell me that. Yes, you can. Unless you think your devil's bigger than your Jesus. The Bible says, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." Yes, you can. Don't underestimate God and it doesn't mean you're going to be perfect or you may not make mistakes, but you need to keep following on to trust the Lord.

What is this wonderful conversion experience called? Answer? It says: "Do not marvel that I say to you, 'You must be,'" what? "BORN AGAIN." The everlasting gospel is about a new life. How does a baby grow? They receive the nourishment, and the love and the regular cleansing and the protection from their parents. Do they worry? But they naturally grow. And as you feed on the sincere milk of God's Word, as the Bible says, as you read the Bible, as you pray, that's like the breath of the soul. When a baby stops breathing, you get crib death, you got to spend time in prayer. And as you wiggle and start practicing and sharing your faith, you're going to make a lot of mistakes and you're going to learn to walk and you may stumble and fall, but you keep getting up, amen? You will grow.

Children usually don't worry about growing. If they do the basics. Got to exercise, you've got to eat, you've got to breathe. You need to pray, you need to read the Word, and to share your faith, and try and live it out, and you'll grow. You'll have a new life. You know what it says in Isaiah? Learn to do good. If you spend your whole life doing bad, learning to do good, it's a process, amen? You can read, it says, and this is in John 14:17: "The SPIRIT of TRUTH, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, and He dwells with you and will be," what? The Holy Spirit comes into your heart and your life.

See, when you come to the Lord and you repent of your sins, you're giving God permission to activate His power in your life, and you're going to see and feel miracles. You're going to go, "Wow, God is real." It's amazing. Says: "We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the," what? "The SPIRIT of the LORD." What is--what's happening? You're being transformed, by what? By beholding.

Now, I'm going to say something. I'd like you to repeat it after me. By beholding, we are changed. It's a law of life. Your soul is something like a photographic plate. When you aim the camera at something, you press the button, it captures an image. You become like what you look at. The reason that you speak or understand English or those listening in Spanish, Spanish, is because that's what you've heard. The reason you're dressing the way you dress today, you look around at what the fashions are, and you dress accordingly, right? We are all influenced by what we take into our eyes. Do you want to be like Christ? Fix your eyes on Jesus, amen, friends?

Number nine: Can the gospel really save me from all of my sins? What does the Bible say? God, who has promised. He's what? "God, who cannot lie, has PROMISED." Can you believe the promise, "before time began." You can read in Titus 2:14: "Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself, His own special people, zealous of good works." He'll be zealous. He purifies us. As we look at Him, He transforms us. He's promised.

Number 10: Can I be confident that my new-birth experience will be successful and lasting? How do we know? Has God promised that He'll finish what He started? You read in Philippians 1:6: "Being confident," you can have confidence, friends, "of this very thing, that He that has begun a good work in you will," do what? You can write that in your lesson. "COMPLETE it until the day of Jesus Christ." You can read in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2: "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." If you keep your eyes on Jesus, He will finish what He started in your life. Can you trust Him? You know you can, friends. He won't let you down. Now, when you look at yourself, you might get disappointed. When I look at my life, I realize I'm not what I ought to be, but I praise God I'm not what I used to be. And when I look at Jesus, I realize I've got a long way to go. But I believe that He will finish what He started in my life. You keep Him before you as your goal.

Number 11: Why do some people fail in their Christian experience? Answer? It says: "All we like sheep," what does Isaiah 53:6 say? "All we like sheep have turned, every one, to his OWN WAY." We really only have two choices: His will or our will. The Bible says that Jesus even struggled in the garden and said, "Not my will, Lord. Your will be done." And we all have that battle between our will and His will. But as you surrender to the Lord, so, "Lord, help me be willing to do Your will," He will transform you and give you that desire. You know how a cow is always looking for grass on the other side of the fence? The devil always wants to embed us with this dissatisfaction. We're always thinking it's got to be somewhere else. And I asked a rancher one time, "How is it that a cow gets lost?" Says: "He nibbles his way into being lost. He just goes from one tuft of grass to another and stops paying attention to where he's at. Always looking at what's directly in front of him, going his own way." And that's how we do it. We kind of nibble our way into being lost. People backslide. You've got to keep fixing your eyes on Jesus.

Number 12: If I sin after I've been born again, am I lost? That'd be kind of hopeless, wouldn't it? The Bible tells us in Proverbs 24:16: "For a righteous man may fall," what? "Seven times and," do what? "Rise again." You can read in the Bible about Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus cast seven devils. And there are people like Peter who followed the Lord and he fell, and David fell and Solomon fell, and they were all redeemed in the end. Do not be discouraged. So many people get discouraged, they fall. Keep getting back up. You need to make constant course corrections.

You know, I--I'm a pilot and I don't have a plane anymore, but I used to fly. Think I--was it this year? I flew once this year. That was kind of cool. And I also go out in the woods, and I hike and so I've got a GPS. Now, this is different from the GPS you have in your car. GPS in your car will say, "Turn here, turn there," and you're going down the road, you know? Unless you're doing a lot of off-roading with your rabbit. These are telling you where you want to get to and it's got a fixed point and it'll show you a straight line, but the terrain does not always accommodate a straight line. Or you might do a little sightseeing along the way and you kind of get off. But what you've got to do is just keep saying, "I'm off the line."

So, when I'm flying, you can't see this here. But when I'm flying it says you got point A, point B. Well, you want to go in a straight line, save fuel, save time, but I'm what you call a wandering willie pilot. If you don't have an autopilot, then you're looking out the window and as you look out the window, you start turning a little bit, and I look back at the GPS, straighten out and then turn a little bit. And so sometimes you're doing this, but you keep--I keep fixing back and I keep doing course correction. In the Christian life, there's 1000 million distractions. Every day, you keep your eyes on Jesus and His Word. As you continue to read His Word, as you fix your eyes on Jesus, you keep making course corrections. You know, as long as I did that, I always found my destination. If you keep making the course corrections, He will get you to your destination, amen? "If anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone TURNS him back," you know what that tells us? There are sometimes people that wander from the truth. Do not be discouraged. Not only should you turn back, but you should be used by God to turn other back. "Let him know that he that TURNS a sinner from the error of his ways will save a soul from," what?

There's only two choices, friends. The Bible says: Believe, everlasting life; do not believe, perish. Moses said, "I set before you this day, life and good, death and cursing." Only two choices. Hebrews 10:26: "If we continue to sin willfully after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there NO LONGER remains a sacrifice for sin."

Now, don't be discouraged. It's not saying if after you know the truth, you willfully sin, you're lost. It means if you continue to live a life of sin. What else can God do? He needs to save you from your sin. The angel told Mary they'll call his name Jesus for He will save His people not in their sin; from their sin. Now, would God say He's going to do something and not be able to do it? He can do it for you. What other wonderful promises come with receiving the gift of the everlasting gospel? I can do how many things through Jesus? Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ Jesus." You and God are a majority, friends. It goes on to say, Philippians 4:19, "And my God will," do what? "He will SUPPLY all of your needs." Everything you need to be saved.

Don't think that God's going to leave you out or forget about you. You may have challenges, you'll have temptations, you might have periods of discouragement, but God will never ask you to do something without giving you the ability to do it, amen? He will supply your needs. "These things I've spoken to you, that your joy might remain in you and that your," what? "Your JOY might be full." The Lord wants you to have a fullness of joy in your life. It's one of Karen's favorite scriptures. Psalm 16:11: "In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Jesus said, "The thief does not come," John 10:10, "except to steal, and kill, and destroy. I've come that they might have life." What kind of life? "An abundant life."

Friends, you know, after I decided to follow Jesus, at first I thought, "Well, Lord, I'm committed to follow You, but I guess Christians don't have any fun." Oh, was I ever wrong? I have so much fun being a Christian, and we've been traveling the world. Just this year, we've been to Egypt and Europe and seen so many incredible things. Been able to share the gospel and being a Christian is really an abundant life. Don't believe the lie of the devil, that sin is the abundant life. It's the miserable life. You'll find no peace or happiness. "For He Himself has said, 'I will never LEAVE you nor,'" what? "'I'll never FORSAKE you.'" You'll always have a friend with you. He says, "I'm with you to the end of the world. So we might boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will NOT FEAR.'" You've got a wonderful friend that will never forget you. Peace, He said, He gives us. "My peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

You know, friends, God makes all these wonderful promises for us, but the big question is, will you decide now to accept Jesus and that everlasting gospel?

Doug: What if you had an extraordinary friend, always dependable, consistently, inspiring you to noble actions, bringing out your best character traits, and loving you no matter what? Someone who would be with you throughout your entire life? Well, according to the Bible, you can find that friend in Jesus. We have a beautiful, full-color resource we'd like to give you that will help you get to know Jesus like never before. Thousands have become acquainted with Him through this powerful life-changing book, and have found in Him a best friend forever. To get your free copy, call the phone number on your screen and ask for offer number 800 or visit the web address on the screen. And after you read this incredible resource, make sure and share it with a friend.

Doug: Do you long to experience the peace that can only come from our loving heavenly Father? Do you desire your heart to be clean and at rest? Jesus stands before you right now with His arms open wide to receive you. Why not ask Him into your life right now? Why not receive Him now as your personal Savior? Take that first step and say, "Yes, Lord, I choose You." He is ready and waiting to receive you.

Doug: Is there any way you can turn these days to find hope for a brighter future? Yes, please join me, Doug Batchelor, on September 20 for the start of Amazing Facts' "Prophecy Odyssey," a Bible study extravaganza. These dynamic multimedia presentations will transform what we know about the world and your purpose in it. Bible prophecy is fast fulfilling. Are you ready?

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