Sermon Transcript — July 19, 2003
Well it wasn't too long ago we all as a nation celebrated the fourth of July. That is our nation's birthday if you want to say that. It's a time to reflect for those who have been in the service and I would say probably doesn't apply to many here because many are second and third generation Christians who knew better than to get involved in the military service and those types of things. But there were some before conversion, got involved in the military; my parents, your parents. In many cases that generation has been called the generation that saved the world, that was the world war two generation. They are like my father, dying off. They're in their 80's now, maybe even 90's.
For those of you who saw the movie: "Saving Private Ryan," how many saw that movie? O.K., very good. A very dramatic movie, very moving movie. Now I have been in the military. I have served in Viet Nam. You get experience in combat or combat situations. I sat through that movie and I told my wife after it was all finished and there were many veterans at the theatre where we were watching the movie and there were just tears running down their eyes at the conclusion of the movie. For those who didn't see the movie, Private Ryan, I believe was one of four children. Three of his brothers were killed during the invasion of Normandy. His mother petitioned the Department of Army to save her remaining child to carry on the family, to get him out of combat. Well as it worked out, the Commanding General said we're going to do that, so there was a Lieutenant in a squad of men assigned to find Private Ryan somewhere in European theatre and get him out of combat and get him back to the United States. If you watched the movie through the various stages of combat and the experiences the men went through, trying to find this Private Ryan. Well eventually they did find Private Ryan and they lost men along the way. They were killed by Germans before they found Private Ryan. Once they did find Private Ryan, there was a huge battle that ensued and the last thing before the reinforcements arrived, you see a Commanding Officer there, a Lieutenant who was shot by a German and Private Ryan, whom he was there to save was cradling him in his arms and the Lieutenant whispered into Private Ryan's ears; you don't know what he said until the end of the movie. At the end of the movie Private Ryan was saved, Private Ryan was bought back to the United States. At the end of the movie you see a now old and grown Private Ryan with his entire family and there in the cemetery, Fond du Lak on the French coast where there's over 9,000 graves there. If you've ever been there, very moving piece of real estate that actually belongs to the United States. But anyway, Private Ryan is there with his family, he finds the grave of the Lieutenant and he bows his head and he's talking as if he's talking to the Lieutenant and he's crying and he said: "I did make something of my life." He looks at his family and he says: "Didn't I?" "Didn't I make something of my life?" Because what the Lieutenant whispered to Private Ryan is: " That the life, all the lives that it took to save you, I lost my men, I gave my life." He whispered in his ear: "Do something with your life that made this sacrifice worth while."
You can be a hardened individual, if you're taken into that movie, I'm normally not given to emotion that much to my daughter's chagrin because they always say: "Come on Dad, loosen up." That was very emotional, very, very emotional and I told my wife as we walked out: "That probably was the closest to the history channel footage of World War II, actually putting you there with modern movie making genius there then if you were in combat itself." It gave you a sense of feel of what it was really like for those individuals and not just them but any war has its ups and downs like that where you face harsh reality, kill or be killed with those things.
Private Ryan was told: "Make something of your life, make this sacrifice that has been sacrificed for you worth while, be honorable."
We as a nation, for those who have been in Viet Nam, we came back from Viet Nam to demonstrations. College students burning the flag, the saying: "Hell no, we won't go." I had a cousin who was ready to flee to Canada and you come back and you wonder and you look at these people and there are a lot of college students, 18, 19, 20 and here it is, you just not only sacrificed your life but put your life in danger to what you consider and I considered preserving the freedoms of this country so that they can look you in the face and scream at you and say: "You baby killer, you lousy no good individual, why were you over there?" And then we have the scene of Jane Fonda behind the enemy aircraft gun in North Viet Nam. She held up as the symbol of womanhood. But we're over there and we're seeing these pictures and we're saying: "Why am I here?" Is it worth my sacrifice for these people? They don't understand the sacrifices being made on their behalf. Well our nation has been sacrificed for, from its inception from the Revolutionary War, men gave their lives so that we could have freedoms and we don't have a monarchy here.
I would like to go through three periods in history; world history, if you want a title for the sermon, I've titled it "Never Forget the Price of Your Freedom."
The first period I'd like to look at is the time of Noah. You think, why Noah? But concerning the story of Noah which most of us know, I'm just going to paraphrase here and add Gary McConnaughey III and these types of things because Noah we realize had a wife, three sons and three daughters-in-law. God said: "You're going to build this ark (ship) and you're going to be the only ones left alive on earth." When they entered the ark, God shut the door and sealed them in. Now you've got one family unit. God opens up the foundations of the earth, rain comes down, water comes up; every human being on planet earth is killed. Not only every human being but everything that breathes air; animals (they're dead). Now what was the population of the earth during the days of Noah? How much bloodshed or how much blood was shed to save Noah and his family? A million? A billion? Look at a life span. Adam, 900 years. Methuselah, 969 years. And they had sons and daughters. You can populate an awful lot of space by living 300, 400 years and ladies, I mean they were probably fertile, when they're 200, 300 years and God created mankind. It was a lot of children being born. So whatever the earth was in population it was filled but it was also filled with absolute violence. God said their mind was evil continually. There wasn't anything there worth thinking about that didn't come out evil. How can I take advantage like we just heard? How can I kill somebody and take what they have? God got fed up and said enough is enough.
Noah was a preacher of righteousness, he witnessed to the entirety of the earth, saying God is going to judge this earth for its wickedness. He was saved and his three sons and their wives. Now how do you think they felt in the ark after all the water has subsided? God opens the door and they let the animals out, their planet earth is now dry for them to walk on. They come out realizing there is no human being left, they are it, they are population earth. All their friends, all their relatives; they are dead. They're gone, they're history. Now you've got three sons. Now it doesn't say Noah's wife had any more children. His sons were commanded as God commanded off the unit, be fruitful and multiply, replenish the earth and they did that. That's why we're here. I mean we're here because they obeyed that commandment. But you would think, being in that ark and being saved by this awesome God who brought about the destruction, worldwide destruction of planet earth of mankind, humankind, animal kind, air breathing nephesh, souls were dead. Now you would think that would make an impression upon them. I think it would be very impressive to me if you're walking out and you see all of what you can see for as far as you can see and there's nothing living. There is nothing living that walks on its feet except what comes out of the ark.
Noah, a preacher of righteousness makes an altar, sacrifices to God and you would think those sons would be very afraid to kind of cross this God that brought this about and that they would be very diligent in teaching their children the sacrifice that went in to saving them alive. How diligent were they? How long did it take before the children started forgetting? One generation! Ham's son, Noah's grandson became a total pervert in one generation totally ignoring what has gone by. This awesome God that set the standards and said this is right and this is wrong. This is a sacrifice that was made so that you could live. They just, well, I don't care. They didn't remember the sacrifice and Noah ended up cursing Canaan, Ham's son, who was his grandson. They forgot the price of their freedom. You look at that and you say how could you do that? I mean if God wiped out Cincinnati and we walked out of here and we knew it was going to happen and He protected us and said you live righteously, we would look around and couldn't see a living thing except each other, we'd be very afraid to cross the great God that said: " Live My way." You'd be very circumspect and saying, that's wrong, I'm going to be over here, I want to be on this side of God but they didn't. Grandchildren, third generation, unbelievable.
The second period of time I'd like to look at would be the time of the Exodus when Israel was grown into a nation while in Egypt. Here again I'm going to paraphrase because I don't want to get into scripture quite yet. We've gone through this in the holy days. Israel was in bond, servitude, absolute slavery and Moses and Aaron were brought to lead them out of slavery. Egypt was the most powerful nation in its day and what was the population of Egypt? I don't know, Dr. Levy hasn't told me yet. I don't know if we can extrapolate that, I'm not sure. But think of all the plagues that God brought on Egypt to free Israel, his servant. Now, before we get to the death of the first born, He also during some of the plagues killed anything that was alive out in the fields with this tremendous hail; people and cattle and things that were out there died because if they didn't obey God and Moses warning saying this is going to happen, those who took warning got inside and they saved their lives.
Well, much livestock died, then you had the plagues that ate all the grain, all the trees, everything that was green was gone, you had this livestock disease that killed much more of the horses and livestock that they had in Egypt.
Then we get down to the death of the firstborn which was the final one that said all right enough is enough, leave the land. How many were in Egypt that died with that curse, that plague? Well, you've got not only Egyptians, everyone in the land of Egypt; slave, visitor, all non-Israelite. The firstborn in every family, whether they were in prison, wherever they were, died. God killed them. He killed also all the firstborn of the animals that were left, livestock.
Israel was let go, they went out with a high hand and they were shouting and they were praising God until they got to the Red Sea. Now where Pharaoh found the remainder of his horses for his chariots, don't know, maybe they were inside. Pharaoh and the remainder of this army we know went after Israel. God again performed a tremendous miracle, opened the Red Sea, they went through. Now contrary to the 10 Commandment movie, Pharaoh went with them as a leader of the army. They pursued Israel, we know they got on the other side and God closed the water and killed the remainder of the army of Egypt; the leader, the choicest of the soldiers, cavalry if you would, they all died. Israel's on the bank and they're praising God, they have a song. Miriam is there leading the congregation and they witnessed a tremendous sacrifice to free them to worship God. How long did they remember that sacrifice? Count three days after that. They went three days away from the water and there was no water. Now here's this awesome God that has just brought them out of slavery where the first, where their children, all the male babies were going to be killed. He brought them out and they came out and they robbed the country. Well, they got back wages is what they did with interest. They were wealthy. They came out with jewels and gold and all manner of apparel and they were happy until they had a trial and they just totally blacked out.
Sometimes in today's society we say I had a senior moment. Come on. You cannot say, you cannot remember three days ago when you saw the most powerful army in the world just destroyed before your very eyes. I don't think you had a senior moment there. I think what happened is they did not count the sacrifices that were made for their freedom. They forgot already. They were so concerned about preserving number one today, they forgot how it is they got there to start with. They could have been back in Egypt, bond slaves having no rights and no freedoms. But they forgot and that was a plague and that was a heart that they had and that is why they never entered into the promised land. That promised land is what God gave them as a vision. You are going someplace. This land that your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; where they lived, where they walked, that is yours. That's a choicest piece of real estate that there is. I'm giving it to you because you're my children because I love you and I love your forefathers and I am God and I keep My promises. They totally ignored that. They forgot, they didn't pay much attention to the sacrifice that freed them, that allowed them to worship God, which allowed them to be wealthy and to be led by the Almighty God of the universe. We know that generation because of their attitude and because of their rebellion, because of their total lack of understanding, they all died. Forty years later they're all dead except two, Joshua and Caleb. They didn't remember the sacrifice that gave them their freedom.
In the third period of time I would like to zero in on is in the time of Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. Now having gone through Passover we enacted again looking at the sacrifice of God in the flesh. Now I didn't remember my father. As a young man, as a kid growing up, I really had a great childhood. My father was just a giant in my eyes, I mean nobody could beat Dad, nobody was better than Dad, Dad was just, you know if somebody was going to harm me, all I had to do was run to Dad because he was going to protect me. I mean he's just a big guy, I mean he had hands like a flab of beef, I mean he just worked hard and he's just a big guy and you didn't want to cross him because you knew there was going to be some punishment involved and you did not want to be on the wrong side of that hand, that much anyway. Of course sometimes lessons are hard to learn. But if you can picture, now I don't know what kind of a relationship you had with your parents, hopefully it was a good one.
But going through the Passover and reading what Jesus Christ went through; the punishment, the absolute humiliation, the beating, the torture if you want to say that, the ripping off of the skin, the buffeting by the so called religious leaders to start with. Those who were supposed to be teaching the law of God and praising God, they're there hitting their very creator and they're crying out for His death. Some of them did know that, they did know He was the Messiah. Then you were turned over to the gentiles and they finished the job, crucifying Him and laying Him on the stake, open ridicule and He's dying on the stake and they're wagging their heads. Well, you know if you're the Son of God, you come off there and then we'll believe you. Christ never cursed once, He never ridiculed them, He never hurled back an insult. The last words we have other than: "Father receive My spirit." He told the disciple John to care for His mother. The only other words we have of Christ is: "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing."
Now if you turn to Isaiah 6, this is the messianic promise. I look at my father, when I read through this year the scripture dealing with Christ's sacrifice, I kind of put my father and I thought about my father. If I had done something, if you were in a concentration camp or you were someplace where capital punishment was meted out without a blink of an eyelash and you did something that was against the law and warranted your death and the officials caught you and they just brought you out for public execution. As they're bringing you out, your dad races out there and said: "No, no, no, take me, save my son, I will pay his penalty for him." All right, you want to do that, fine, we'll take you and you're made to sit there and watch your father's torture. You sit there and watch them beat him senseless. You can't even recognize him because he is so beat up. There is so much blood running all over him, you can't tell which end is up and then they haul him away and you're sitting there saying: "But it's me, I should be there." Then they kill him because of what you did, they killed him and you have to live there and say: "Dad, why did you do that?" The last thing he says to you: "Son make something of your life, make it worth while." What do you do? How do you answer that? You live a life that makes that sacrifice worthwhile, that's what you do.
Isaiah 9:6 One of the titles of our savior, very familiar.
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Verse 7: Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
One of the titles of Christ is Everlasting Father. As creator of everything that is seen and unseen, God created everything through the Son, the Word, the Logos. He is the one who created all things; He is the one who sustains all things. As the originator of life, physical life, He is the Father of it. Just like we have parents here who are fathers. Why are you a father? You originated life after you. You have children. You are the father because you begot them and they came from you. Christ as a Father gave His life for His children. The trouble is many of the children didn't realize He was their Father and participated in the killing and ridicule. But we understand when we go against the will of God that is the law of God which is expounded by Christ in teaching us the spiritual intent from the beginning; how God wanted mankind to live.
We understand that the wages of contrary living, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). That is death, that is what we incur, that's what we all have incurred and God saved you and me in the form of a human flesh that came down and said: "I will take their punishment." You and I all deserve to die and our Savior intervened and He said: "Kill Me instead." Having done that and God raised Him to glory and we are waiting for our turn to be raised to glory along with the rest of the saints, our mission in life is to make that sacrifice worthwhile individually. How do we do that? By not forgetting the sacrifice that made us free.
We are the first fruits. We are the first ones that God has been working with from the time of Adam until now. Small, small group of people in human history that God has worked with in this aspect; the first fruit aspect of His plan of salvation. He said: "I'm giving you My spirit." This is an essence of God, a down payment on eternity and He said. With this spirit, after we repented, we realize we killed, we all had our aspect, we all had our part in killing God in the flesh, but He's now alive and God has given us of His spirit a promise of son ship. He said: "Make that sacrifice worthwhile in your life, don't forget the cost of your freedom., as soon as you do that, you slip right off." Just as Esau lost his whole birthright, he didn't think about it. His immediate concern was filling his stomach. Now that's down the road, no problem. I need the here and now, I need to have substance. Really! He was called profane because he didn't get his birthright back even though he wanted it.
Isaiah 55: 6 With this new mind that God has given us with a down payment that He has provided us, He had something to say to mankind in general.
Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.
Verse 7: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the righteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
Verse 8: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
Verse 9: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
The mission we have brethren and the commandment we have is to take on God's thoughts. We are the children of God, the offspring. Our little ones are princes and princesses in the making. We have been promised eternal life. Now how much we think about that and how real that is to us individually will go a long way in determining how much you think about the sacrifice that made you free because as Israel looked at the promised land, that's what God gave them. You're going to get there; it is a land flowing with milk and honey. We have a promise that is so much higher, so much better; it's you're going to live forever, you're going to be above the angelic hosts, you are going to be the literal sons of God. We will have (whatever your name is now, my last name, McConnaughey) that family name is going to be removed. Now whatever your name is I'll just use my name: Gary God, bang, there's your new name. Well, that won't be entered into the family of God but in a sense because God is going to give everyone a new name. We all get new names. But we're God's children. We're in the family of God. Now you weight that to the alternative. What is the alternative? Cease to exists forever. Live forever. New body. I mean you go at the speed of thought. You can materialize or un-materialize. It doesn't make any difference. You can see molecules. You can see our Father in His glorified state. You can see Jesus Christ in His glorified state because we will be just like Him. We will see them as they are. Let's see: Is that a promise big enough to focus our attention? Is that something that could motivate us to live the right way in obedience? Is that something of importance that we would say, hm, not like the commercial, lady is it paper or plastic? Eternal life? Death? Big choice! I think I'll take life. I think that appeals to me. But life comes with responsibility because part of what we're doing and part of the problem we have is that we sin still. This has never happened before, oh it says alarm clock, I'm done. Do I have to leave now?
The cheapest area we have in slipping up most of the time, being humans as we are and having the nature that we do have because we're not totally divine yet. We're not totally eternal, we're not spirit yet although we have the essence of God in us that we can start and we need to be cultivating, having the mind of Christ, putting on the mind of Christ so that the decisions we would make would be the same ones if God was right here standing next to us, He would make the same one. Whatever judgment you render would be the same one God makes. If you call something bad, God would say the same thing because we have the mind of Christ. We know bad and we know good.
Being humans as we are, we're not perfect, we tend (well I'll speak for myself, I have in times past tended to categorize sin, some big ones and some little ones.) If you defraud somebody and get slammed for it, and you're in prison, that's a big one. If you cut somebody off in traffic because you got angry and they crashed and died, that's a big one. That's a big one. But if told just a little lie, I mean nobody got hurt, solved the situation at the time, at least you thought so, nobody got upset and life went on. Now that's a little one. That was o.k., you know, no problem there. Well unfortunately there is a problem with that because God doesn't do that. God doesn't categorize sin; not one big, not one small. What we may consider small; still cost the life of Jesus the Christ. We still killed our Savior. There is no such thing as a small sin, not in the Kingdom of God. Do you realize that when we're resurrected to glory, we cannot sin? Wouldn't that be great? Not to sin, I mean that's just totally impossible for you to sin. It is impossible for God to lie. It is impossible for God to sin. God does not sin. Christ does not sin. His children cannot sin after the resurrection. But when we start categorizing sin, we start not counting the cost of our freedom. We're not thinking things through. We're thinking of the immediate and now. Well, I'm going to take the expedient way which is not the right way but we know it because the conscience is, you know you shouldn't do that, that's wrong, well, nobody's going to get hurt, I'll do it anyway. Well if you had a picture of your father being murdered for your sin, maybe you'd think a little differently, maybe I would think a little differently about what that action is I'm about to take. All sin is a device of Satan. We're not - well let's go to second Corinthians, chapter II. I was just going to paraphrase that again but I think we ought to read that one. This is Paul for the church of Corinth, they put out the man that had a sexual perversion and they did the righteous thing after they were puffed up and now they're not going to let him back. He's been repentant and Paul said: "Bring the man back, let him back, extend mercy, forgive him."
II Corinthians 2: 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
Verse 11: Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
All sin is the device of Satan, however you want to disguise it, however you want to slice it, when we sin we have been ignorant of the devices of Satan, we have allowed that to happen. But the key verse here is Romans, chapter 7 and this is what I really want to zero in on because this doesn't weigh if you read it with understanding this concept; little sin, big sin.
Romans 7: 5 For when we were in the flesh (in the world) the motions of sin which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death (we sinned, the wages of sin is death).
Verse 6: But now we have been delivered from the law being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit,, not in the oldness of the letter.
Verse 7: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? (God forbid, absolutely not!) Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known lust unless the law had said, "You shall not covet."
No, law defines sin, simple as that, cut and dry and Christ came to magnify the law, to control our minds, we can't hate somebody now because in God's eyes that's the same as murder. We can't wish ill will on somebody because we're the children of God and that's not the mind of God. Going on:
Verse 10: And the commandment, which is ordained to life
I found unto death.
Verse 11: For sin, taking occasion by the commandment,
deceived me, and by it killed me.
Verse 12: Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment
holy and just and good.
Verse 13: Has then what is good become death to me? God
forbid! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through
what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.
This little word exceedingly, Greek word here. I'm not even going to pronounce it although I could butcher it, I'm just going to spell it. It's hoop, I'm sorry, huperbole. That's a root and the word here is huperballo. Now what that means is to usually throw something beyond the mark, it means to be super eminent. Now I'm going to throw in some of my own adjectives here. It means huge, it means big, it means humongous. You can't get higher. Sin may be exceedingly sinful even what we call that little one needs to be huge, Mt. Everest in our minds; something that is so mammoth that we would look at it and say, no way, I'm going the other way, I'm not doing that. That's the mind we need to have when we're looking at sin. Now this same term that's used to describe what sin is, how we should be thinking of what sin is, used in another aspect. Second Corinthians, chapter 4. Both sides of the equation, sin that it may be exceedingly sinful, huge, mammoth, big, gigantic is also used to describe something else.
II Corinthians 4: 14 Knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.
Verses 15: For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Verse 16: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
Verse 17: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (huge, mammoth, big.)
This weight of glory is our changing from physical to spirit. Our life, if you lived to be a hundred, that's old, I mean in our thinking that is old but that is not even a blimp in God's eternal radar screen. He's forever been. Huge, mammoth is a promise of God for you and I. That promise, He's holding out for us; son-ship eternity, is the weight for us.
Verse 18: While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
How's your vision? How far are you looking? Where do you see? Are you taken up with the here and now or can you see into eternity what God has promised for us? I mean, no one here that I'm aware of has had a vision, can say you talked to God has seen Cherubim and Seraphim or the angelic hosts round about God's throne but prophets have, they've written them down and described in the best they can do they've explained to us what the glory of God is; how God looks like, the creatures that God has created and we think of this as a sci-fi movie. The creatures that God has created, we can't see them. We can't see air right now that we're breathing. When we're God's sons, we'll see everything. We'll see air molecules, we'll see everything because this is what God has promised for us; huge, mammoth, big, tremendous.
Let's go to second Peter, chapter 1, another off-shoot of this Greek word, this word is huperpleonazo, it means just about the same thing; super, huge, big, mammoth, gigantic. You can't make a bigger promise. If you want to make a promise, you couldn't make a bigger promise than that.
II Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Verse 2: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
Verse 3: As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
Verse 4: By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises
God cannot make a bigger promise; do you realize that? Son-ship, He didn't even do that for the angels. We're the only ones created in the image, the express image of God. Satan can't say that, the angelic realm can't say that. God has not made a bigger promise to any of His creation than to you and me; low, dirt, scum of the earth. He's given us promises, how big in our sight are those promises? If they're as huge and exceedingly big as God says they are, then we ought to have a really clear focus on the Kingdom of God and we have another clear focus because the sin that it made pure exceedingly simple. Sin is just a small word but it is huge in its consequences. There won't be any more room for us to say: "That's just a little one, this one's big, that's just," no way, they're all huge, they're mammoth, they're titanic, you know they're Mt. Everest in God's sight because they all required the same penalty.
We're told that we're to put on the mind of Christ. These are the promises God has given to us to encourage us, to allow us to see into the Kingdom of God. How real is that to us will go a long way to determine how motivated we are to seek that Kingdom and if we're seeking that Kingdom, we will not soon forget the price of our freedom. This nation has forgotten the price of it's freedom. This people is totally self-inward has forgotten the blood-shed; all the horrors of war that has allowed it to exist today. We cannot be a people who have short sightedness in the plan of salvation. We can never forget the sacrifice that has freed you and me to worship our God, to become like our God. No matter what our state in life, whether you're put in prison for your faith, whether you're tortured for your faith. Now they may prevent you from assembling together but they cannot prevent you from worshipping your God, no matter what state you're in until you're dead and then God will raise us again. But how bad would that be brethren? Mothers and fathers and children, converted here. If you put forth the effort and that trumpet sounds and your change and you see the angelic realm and you're praising God because that's all you can do because that is the greatest thing ever to occur and you're so happy. You've now got a new body, it's eternal, you can go a thought and you're looking around at all the host that were raised in that first resurrection, Dad's not there, Mom's not there, my child isn't there. What happened? Would that be a disaster? It would be a tragedy. See, we're all accountable for our life.
We have to stand or fall individually before our God.
How little is sin? It better be huge in each and every eye. It better be real big because then we'll forsake it and when we do slip up and stub our toe or run into the wall, we can go to our God and say: "Please forgive me, I want eternal life more than I want physical life, the here and now is not as important as what's to come because I have eyes to see into the Kingdom and I realize what the price of my freedom is."