0:00 Book of Exodus chapter 20 verse 13. You shall not murder. One simple verse tonight.
0:10 Let's pray together. Father, you deserve reference through your word even if it's one word, and we stand in reverence of your word tonight. And, lord, help us realize that these are not just commands given for our good, but these are the reflections of your character. They speak of who you are. And, lord, we just pray that as we sit under your word, may we be attentive as we just sang about.
0:35 May we may may we worship you with our minds and our hearts and our whole being. May we give you our attention as an act of worship. But, lord, we pray also that we would live it, that we would live these things that we hear of. That is what true worship is. Father, you know who here loves you and knows you and has put their faith and trust in Jesus.
0:54 Amen. And you know those that need to. Yes. And we pray that for the saved and the unsaved, we're gonna all leave here transformed. Father, we trust in you because your promises are true, and you're not a man that should lie.
1:06 And so, lord, we come in dependency as we pray. We say we need you tonight, lord Jesus. This nation needs you, lord. And you don't have a plan b. You have a plan a.
1:15 That's your church. Yes. And so we just pray that your church in this place would be edified, equipped, whatever need that we have, lord, that it would be met so that we can serve you to a greater degree. Yes. Yes.
1:26 Lord, I'm weak. I need you tonight. Yes. Lord, we need you tonight. Clothe us with your presence.
1:33 Lead us by your holy spirit. Lord, let every word be given with precision of speech and clarity. May there be no confusion. Lord, may your word cut hard. May it bind up wounds, lord.
1:45 We need you. We need you. Hallelujah. We can say that for another half an hour. We need you.
1:49 Yes, ma'am. So, lord, guide us tonight. We pray in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Yes, ma'am. Amen.
1:53 You may be seated in the presence of the lord. Commandment number six. We've dedicated a week for each commandment, and here we are. You shall not murder. Seems straightforward.
2:09 We can probably touch on that for fifteen minutes and walk out of your butt. Remember, these commands are not just instructions for our well-being or how we should navigate through life. They speak concerning who god is, his nature, his character, his attributes. And if we want our minds to be renewed, we must understand God's mind. If we want our thoughts to be transformed, if we want our worldview to be aligned with God's, we have to understand who he is.
2:39 We have to understand how he thinks. We have to understand how he sees the world. We have to understand how he values human life. And so tonight, as we explore this commandment, may we understand who god is. You shall not murder.
2:57 I'm just gonna open up for a question right now. What does that even mean? When you hear murder, what does that command imply? The physical act of taking someone's life. Sure.
3:19 Unjustified killing. Unjustified killing. That's important. Well, thank God that the Bible deserves the Bible, and all it takes is a little effort to see and to point to different references in order to have greater life. Turn your Bibles to numbers 35.
3:38 Numbers 35. I'm gonna give you a heads up. This Bible study is gonna be scripture heavy because the point of Bible study is less preaching and more, hey. Look at these verses. See what these scriptures have to say for themselves, and that you would be equipped with the truths through these scriptures.
3:55 Numbers 35 beginning in verse 16. This is the law concerning the cities of refuge that would be established in the nation of Israel concerning actually those that would commit murder and how they were to respond to that. And this is just a portion, but it helps us understand what god has in mind when he means murder. Verse 16. But if he struck him down with an iron object so that he died, he is a murderer.
4:26 The murderer shall be put to death. And if you struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. Or if you struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
4:43 Now scroll down to verse 20. And if he pushed them out of hatred or hurled something at him lying in ways so that he died, or an entity struck him down with his hand so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall be shall meets him. Okay.
5:04 So based on those verses, we understand that murder in God's mind is a premeditated intentional act of violence intended to unauthorized manner unauthorized manner. Now murder is not subject only to a immediate act of violence. It can manifest through what? Carelessness, negligence. Murder can manifest in someone hiring somebody else to do the act.
5:43 Can you think of someone in the bible who did that? David. David? David did not kill Uriah with a sword. He killed him with a pen.
5:54 Just one reference letter. Put him in the front lines. That's murder. When Nathan came, he accused them of murder. Now I say in an unauthorized manner.
6:05 Why? Because there is killing in the scriptures that is justified. Can you think of ways that killing, especially in the Old Testament, is jumping in the New Testament, is justified? Turn to a couple of chapters, Exodus 22 verse two. If a man steals an ox, verse one, or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he shall prepare five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
6:36 If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no blood filled for him. But if the sun has risen on him, there shall be blood filled for him. So we see murder or killing rather is justified in what? Self defense. How else is it justified?
6:58 In just wars. First Samuel 15. Hey, Saul. Destroy the Amalekites. Destroy them completely.
7:09 Man, woman, child, animals, all of it destroyed. Now was God in a bad mood that day? Was God just feeling like, you know, I think I wanna just I just wanna have a genocide day today. Well, we're gonna learn something about God at home concerning how he does these things. What other ways is killing justified in the scriptures?
7:32 Punishment. Sorry? Punishment. Punishment. Can we say specifically capital punishment?
7:38 Yes. And that's all the way back in Genesis. We're gonna talk about that as well. And so we understand that there is a authorized way of taking somebody's life. But what God has in mind with this command is that there is an unauthorized way, that there is an unjust way, that there is an unholy way of doing it, and this is what he's speaking of.
7:57 Why is God hate murder? I mean, he commanded not to do it. Why does God hate it? What comes to mind when you think of the lord concerning his attributes that he would say, do not commit murder? Doesn't say here, but it does say elsewhere.
8:19 This is a beautiful reason why god hates murder. Go back to Genesis. Go back to chapter nine verse six. After the flood scene, God hates murder. God hates the act of one man taking the life of another.
8:38 Why? When somebody goes to verse six, can you just read it really loud for us to hear Genesis nine six? Whoever sheds man's blood by man, his blood shall be shed. For in the image of God, he So there's that cap capital punishment verse right there. That if a man sheds the blood of another man, then his blood shall be shed.
8:59 This is this is a new law that got instituted after the flood, which says something about what the pre flood days are like. When he saw all the wickedness and he he he was grieved that he made man, this law, concerning the violence, this law sheds light on the fact that there must have been bloodshed that reached the heavens. And so god says, okay. Fresh start. The flood and all those things and the recruitment of Adam, it's like a creation of the world part two.
9:28 The world started with a flood, so to speak. It was covered by the waters and chaos, and here it is again. The flood covers the waters again. And so we're starting over again. We had Adam in the beginning, now he has Noah.
9:39 Unfortunately, Noah fell into the same time as sin Adam did. He was naked and he sinned with a fruit, which shows that even a flood cannot cleanse our blood. Only the blood can. Only the blood of Jesus in the heart of man can cleanse him. But he says something.
9:54 I'm gonna do something in this world again, and I'm gonna say this. If you shed the blood of another, it's gonna cost you your life. Why? What's my reason? Because man is created in god's image.
10:05 That's why. And theologians are still debating today. What does that really mean? Man is created in god's image. Well, for the sake of discussion, let's open it up.
10:16 When you think of because this is important. Listen. The doctrine of the image of god concerning man is vitally important. Vitally important. Because if we do not understand that, we will not understand the value of humanity.
10:28 And if we don't understand the value of humanity, we can make statements like many people do today that you are no more valuable than your dog. And I I I remember listening to an interview with those who hold to an atheistic worldview, and they were challenged with the question, if your dog and your neighbor were drowning in a river, who would you say? And then he said my dog. Why? We're just all product of evolution.
10:59 We're just we're just a different species. So this doctrine is important. What is the image of god? What does it mean to be created in the image of god? Yes?
11:15 And have, like, the attributes, the the the qualities of discern you know, right from wrong to be able to, you know, hold yourself in something higher than an animal. Okay. So we have moral reasoning. Right? Yes.
11:30 Brother, you have something in your hand up? Yeah. We had the same characteristics. The same characteristics of god. Yes.
11:37 Go ahead. Rational? Sorry? Rational. Rational.
11:42 Rational means. Yes. We had reason. Anything else? Compassionate and loving.
11:49 Compassionate, loving. Yes. What else? Self aware. Self aware?
11:58 It's gonna say a purpose. There's an ultimate purpose that we carry? What other things come to mind when you think of a new god? I'm created in the image of god. What does that mean?
12:12 It's a reflection. It's like it's like part of god. You know, there's there's an there's aspects of it. It's not the whole picture, but you're getting a, you know, some aspects of it. So when I look at man, I see something of god.
12:22 Yes. We we see that through our attributes. We see that through our capacity of loving and showing compassion. We see that in the fact that we carry a purpose. I think one important aspect of it is that we are relational beings, that god himself is relationship.
12:39 He was not in need of humanity when he created me. He was not lonely in heaven. He was communing in perfect love with the trinity. And so when he created us in his image, what that did to us is we now have this innate desire for relationship. We wanna be with other people.
12:54 We wanna be with a mate. Not only that, but we have the capacity to relate to God and to have communion with God and to enjoy God. I believe free will has a part of it. I believe, again, reason has a part. I believe the fact that we are intelligent beings, that we have a capacity to reflect his his moral attributes, all those things.
13:17 Essentially, we can just generalize it. It's this, that we have we are even mirrors of God. Here's the thing, when the fall happened, did it destroy the fact that man is created in God's image? No. What did it do then?
13:33 It deformed it. It distorted it. It damaged it. How do we know that? Well, Genesis nine is after the fall.
13:40 And God says he gives the same reason. The reason why I don't want you to murder is because man is still though it's deformed, though there's mud on the mirror, he's still created in my image. There's still something that he carries that is that is very, very different from any other form of creation. And so and we end up saying this. When we come in Christ, we begin a process of being restored to the fullness of the image of god.
14:03 That's the beauty. That's the beauty of the gospel, that we enter into now a process in which God refines us and changes us and restores what he intended from the beginning. So in light of that, when the act of murder is committed against another, what does it say? I believe it it is an assault to the pinnacle expression of God's creation, which is humanity. It is a vicious statement, a vicious violation against what god intended to be precious and to be beautifully distinct from all the rest of his creation.
14:50 God put so much value in us. He elevated us above all creation, and when man violates that, it violates what God considers to be precious and holy and separate from everything else. It's like something or that you hold or someone that you know that is more precious than anything, somebody coming and violating, that there there's a nerve that is struck concerning that object that you place so much value in, and that's what happens with the lord. But I would say this too, that murder is an assault or an attack upon god himself upon god himself, not just when he treasures us, but who he is. Why?
15:29 Because we are created in his image, meaning we represent God. And so whether one knows it or not, when he comes to attack or destroy a man in a sense, he's making a declaration of attempting to destroy god. He's saying, what? What do you mean? I mean that the same way a person from a different country maybe hates our present or hated presence in the past, and they know that they can't access him.
16:02 But to make a statement, they'll take a picture of him and they'll burn it. Or they'll take a frame of him and stomp on him and spit on him. Knowing that they can't access him, it's a statement of I wish you would die. I wish you would come to the ground. I wish you would be buried alive.
16:19 That's why Satan loves murder. He loves murder. Because he knows he himself, as powerful as he is, cannot touch the fringe of his garment. He cannot even come into his presence without God breathing on him and killing him. But he'll do the next closest thing, destroy his image.
16:41 Destroy anything that represents him. That's why he loves getting violence. That's why he loves unjust wars. That's why he loves suicide. Oh, you thought murder was just attacking somebody else.
16:55 No. Murder is taking your own life because God gave it to you as a gift that doesn't belong to you. That's why he loves abortion. Because he has a perfect hatred towards God and even the image of God entices him to satisfy the itch of wanting to destroy and dethrone God, and so I want to destroy his image wherever I can find it. So murder, number one, is totally wrong in the eyes of God because we're creating this image.
17:38 And number two, murder is wrong to the next one because it advances the agenda of Satan. We know the famous verse in John eight forty four. Right? What is John eight forty four? I'll read it here.
17:52 You, speaking to the Pharisees Jesus, are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning. Now this is in light of Johnny thirty seven when he said, you wanna kill me. I know what you're thinking. You want to kill me.
18:14 And then he calls about, and he says, you're just like your father, and probably thinking, oh, Abraham. Right? No. The devil. Because you wanna murder, and he's been murdered from the beginning.
18:25 You know who the first murderer is? It's not Cain. It's Satan. How did he murder from the beginning? How did Satan murder?
18:40 He said it from the beginning, so we need to go back to the beginning to see what he did. Adam and Eve, the day that you eat of the tree of an odds of good and evil, the day you do it, you shall surely die. And so Satan comes in. God didn't say you'll die. Because he knows that if you eat of it, you will be like god, and you'll have knowledge of good and evil.
19:10 We're talking about this upstairs in prayer. You know, in temptation isn't this true of temptation? Whenever you are feeling temptation, you are always offered what you will get, but you are never reminded of what you'll be robbed of. Satan does that with him. Oh, it's gonna feel so good.
19:26 Oh, your fantasies are gonna be satisfied. Oh, you're gonna have that much more money. Oh, you're gonna have your reputation enhanced. And he'll never tell you what he's gonna take from you. He didn't tell Adam and Eve you the moment you eat in this tree.
19:37 You're not yeah. You'll be like god. You'll be like God. He didn't say that you're gonna be shameful. He didn't say you don't wanna cover yourselves with leaves.
19:43 He didn't say that you're gonna actually distort and destroy your experience of the presence of God. He didn't say that. He didn't say for generations to come that there's gonna be consequences with your name on it. He doesn't say never says that. Here's some sound wisdom and some sound advice.
20:02 I hope that will help you against your fight of sin. I don't care what the sin is. Whenever you're faced with the immediate pleasure or the immediate somewhat result that would produce some kind of joy in your life, stop, halt, and think of the consequence that might come after that. And since Satan voice his his voice is so loud and so deceiving, the only way that you can counter attack his voice is by filling yourself with God's voice. So when he says it's gonna feel good, you'll know through the promises and the consequences and the warnings of scripture, oh, I feel good, but that pleasure is fleeting.
20:39 But in his presence is the fullness of joy. No. Thank you, Satan. I'm gonna stick with god's presence. But unless you get your heart and your mind aligned with this word, his voice will all the more get louder.
20:53 Side note. And we come back here. Satan was a murderer from the beginning because Satan murdered the entire human race. Though Adam was held responsible, Satan was the one that tempted him and ushered him towards that direction. So although Adam, yes, and we do receive the imputed and inherited sin from Adam, In some sense, he did curse the serpent as well.
21:20 He's a murderer from the beginning. He's a murderer from the beginning. He's saying, you're like your father. And this is important for us to understand because murder in whatever form it's manifested in, If it's unjust, if it's unholy, if it's unrighteous, it's satanic in nature. These shootings in Chicago, this isn't about anything other than the fact that it's satanic.
21:57 Satanic. It's demonic. He loves it. He stirs it up. And I'm gonna stick on a little point here.
22:10 I'm gonna talk about abortion for a little bit. I remember watching a documentary of this, ministry that dedicated themselves to preach in front of abortion, specifically in the Florida region in Orlando. And they do it so compassionately, and they've seen fruit from it where people have turned their backs on that abortion mill, and they gave birth to their beautiful babies and gave god the glory, yes, but credit those ministers for saving them. But I remember in this I I was trying to find it. I could not find it.
22:41 This is a few years back. Where in Orlando, there was one specific abortion clinic that had free abortion day. So you wanna have a free abortion, you could come. And, apparently, on that day, there was a 100 abortions in that one location alone. Now think about this.
22:58 This is what these ministers testified of, that as they were there preaching and pleading with women to turn their backs on this sin, on this act of murder, they said by a certain time in the late afternoon, a woman came out of that clinic. And she was not a woman that came in for abortion. She was a woman that performed abortion. She was one of the nurses. And she had walked out frankly.
23:25 She had walked out looking distraught. She had walked out saying, I'm going home. And one of these ministers stopped her and said, why are you leaving? What's going on? And this is what she said.
23:33 Not a believer. This is not a believer. This is what she said herself. We reached number 87 with these babies or with these fetuses, whatever you wanna call it. And I could tell you that in that room, I felt Satan standing there himself.
23:52 There was such an evil presence in that room that I had to ask to leave because it was so overwhelming. Now fit that into your theology how you will, but this is not coming from somebody who's not a believer. What does god say in his word? In Proverbs six sixteen, he says there's seven things that I hate. You can turn that if you want, but I'm just gonna read the first three.
24:21 There are six things that the lord hates. Six things that the lord hates. Seven that are abomination. Meaning, there's seven things that are there are things that god hates, but there are things that he's absolutely disgusted by. There are things that are so beyond him, and he says that in Jeremiah in a moment.
24:38 I'm not sure where. Look what he says. You're the first three. Haughty eyes. And notice the first thing is pride.
24:46 Haughty eyes. A person that elevates self and looks at others with a degrading look and are more superior than you. It's in the eyes. It manifests in the eyes. A lying tongue.
24:57 In fact, if you read through these seven, you'll notice that lying or false witness comes up more than once. Hates it. And hands that shed innocent blood. In the same book, the book of Proverbs, chapter 31 verse eight, it tells us, open your mouth for the mute. Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
25:23 We as believers have a command. We have been given instruction to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, to speak for the rights of those who cannot defend their own rights. Open your mouth for the mute, and that's what we're gonna do in the next few moments. There is a staggering verse found in Jeremiah nineteen five. God's commentary on a people that were living in a consistent lifestyle of false worship that involve human child sacrifice.
26:04 This is what he says in Jeremiah nineteen five. And I've built the high places of Baal to burn their sons and daughters in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, look what he says here, which I did not command or decree nor did it come to my mind. Like, it didn't even it didn't even occur to me that you vile sons of Adam would come up with such an act that you would take these babes, the babes that I took the time to beautifully form and put together in their mother's womb and sacrificed them. It didn't come to my mind. It's so you know, in Revelation, it talks about concerning one of the churches that they have tapped into the deep things of Satan.
27:12 There are some things that are satanic, and there are some things that are deeply satanic. And he says, this isn't I can't even register. I can't even really process what you're doing right now. He hates the hands who have shed innocent blood. I encourage you to do just a simple research on reasons why women have abortions, and you're gonna find something staggering.
27:46 What you will find, whether on a nationwide level or a state level, is that a majority of the reasons why abortions are performed. Here are the reasons. Ready? I just don't feel like I'm ready to be a mom. I feel like this child will interfere with my school or work.
28:07 I'm afraid to raise this child alone. I'm afraid that this child coming into the world will affect my relationship whether it with with that partner or with others. And here are the less frequent reasons. I mean, very minimal. I'm talking about statistics here.
28:23 I'm not talking about just saying. I'm talking about stats, like numbers. The least the number one least rape or incest. Isn't that funny? Because that's one of the main arguments for abortion.
28:39 Fetal issues or the mother being sick of some sort that would affect the baby. Those are the least reasons why abortions are performed. So the number one reasons why abortions are performed is because of inconvenience. Inconvenience. And we look at a verse like Jeremiah 19, and we look at that context, and we go, that's insane.
29:01 That's insane. That parents would take their children and sacrifice them to an idol called Baal? Let me tell you something, it's no different today that people are still giving up their children, but to a different type of idol. It's called themselves. It's about my convenience.
29:25 It's about my life. If this child will interfere with what I want to do, I'm willing to kill it. Well, it's a fetus. Call it what you want. Is it different when it comes out of the womb?
29:38 Yes. So the whole matter of it being a human is a matter of location then. Oh, no. No. No.
29:42 No. You wanna go further and to see how vile this is? I encourage you I encourage you if you have the stomach to hold it. Look up how a first trimester abortion is performed. And if you really wanna be able to quote Jeremiah nineteen five for yourself, look up a second trimester abortion.
30:06 Let me just give you a a few descriptions because you're probably hearing something else on your campus. You're probably hearing different arguments, but I believe one of the strongest arguments is just to know how the act has performed itself. You will be convinced otherwise, I'm sure, unless you've gone to a place like these Israelites have. And we'll talk about the consequence of a nation who sheds innocent blood. It is not pretty.
30:32 First trimester, baby is small enough for a woman to take a certain type of pill that will essentially let's just generalize it, allow that that baby on her next well, not next, but one of her bathroom trips for that baby to be flushed down the toilet. And if that is not successful, they'll find a way to put a vacuum suction machine to suck out that baby. And if you really stare close enough, you'll still be able to see that baby's fingers and toes. But perhaps we're delaying on your decision to have such a abortion at an early stage, so you wait until the second trimester. So what do they do?
31:09 That baby is now too big for that little back, you just suck it up. And so what they do is they suck out the amniotic fluid, and then they'll go in with a clamp, and they can't do this visibly. They can't do this with with the knowledge of sight, so they do it blindly, and they begin to just chop away at the baby. And they begin to pull out different body parts. But see, the head is too big even for that to be pulled out.
31:35 So what they'll do is they'll crush the baby's skull in the mother's womb and then take out pieces at a time. In order to ensure that every piece has been taken out, what the doctor will do is reassemble that baby to make sure that there's no body parts missing, and then they'll go go in and clean out the rest of the mess. As Christians, we have to understand that the Lord the Lord sees the womb differently than the world does. Jeremiah one five. God says, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
32:22 Jeremiah, do you think that's that's just through Jeremiah? No. Before I formed you so who forms? God forms. Where?
32:31 In the womb. Before that, even though I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you for what? I appointed you a prophet to the nations. See, when when one commits an abortion, the reason why Satan loves this act of murder is because not only does he kill a person, he kills a destiny.
32:56 He doesn't kill a little body, he also kills a calling. Ephesians two ten tells us that we've been created in Christ Jesus for good works which he prepares beforehand. And when one comes in Christ, not only does he give you salvation, he gives you service. He gives you a purpose in this world. And so Satan says in light of Jeremiah one five, because I know that he forms you and because I know that in the womb he consecrates you, I'm going to kill you in the womb before you even have a chance out of breath of fresh air.
33:36 Because murder, especially at that level of life and the enemy's mind, is hindering any opportunity or possibility of God's program on the earth advancing. Think about the two mass killings, though they were not necessarily abortions. Think of the two mass killings concerning babies in the scriptures. Moses, Jesus, two deliverers, and Jesus being ultimately the one. Right?
34:13 And I wonder what the enemy has in mind with the fact that we are, I think, reaching 60,000,000 since 1973 babies in America alone. What is he thinking it is? Now what's going on? What insight does he have? Who's gonna be the next revivalist?
34:31 I don't know, but I'm not willing to take the chance to find out. Who's gonna be the next Jonathan Edwards? I don't know, but I'm gonna kill that chance even from the womb. Who knows what's going on in his mind? I wanna say this boldly, and I pray that you would stick by the end of this bible study to hear the full thing.
34:56 If you have committed an abortion, if you have convinced somebody to commit an abortion, if you have paid for an abortion, you are a murderer. There's innocent blood on your hands. But, of course, of course, people don't take heed to the warnings found in scripture. Of course, people don't wanna hear what god has to say. So there are consequences when blood is shed.
35:35 Back in numbers 35, if you can turn there. Numbers 35 verse 33. This is at the end of the chapter concerning god's laws and his commands regarding murder. Look what he says about murder. You shall not pollute the land in which you live.
36:01 For blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in except by the blood of the one who shed it. Now can somebody read the next verse? You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I, the lord, dwell in the midst of the people of Israel. Don't defy the land in which I dwell and not just where you dwell. Blessed is the nation whose god is the lord, Psalms thirty three twelve.
36:38 Powerful verse, isn't it? Blessed is the nation, not just Israel. Blessed is the nation whose god is the lord. There's blessing involved when a nation acknowledges god as their god. But in light of this verse, there's a danger because just like a single individual that professes Jesus to be Lord but lives contrary to it, we can write on our money and God we trust.
37:04 We can have all the right speeches in our politics. We can have all of those things, but if our confession does not match our practice, we're in trouble, whether on an individual level or a national level. And what blood does is it pollutes the land, and god says, I dwell in land. You want me to dwell in land? You want my protection?
37:22 You want my presence? You want my blessing? Don't pollute the land because I can't stand bloodshed. I I can't reside in a place that celebrates this. I can't stay here because I'm holy, and you be holy as I am holy.
37:37 And you don't wanna be holy, then here's the first consequence. I withdraw my presence from your nation. I withdraw my protection from your schools. I withdraw my protection from your government and from everything that you can think of. I'm moving out because the land is polluted.
38:03 It pollutes the land. It makes it filthy. There's a stench to it and God is holy and he will not stay very long in a place that defiles his character. Psalms 106. Psalms 106 verse 37 to 38.
38:18 You don't have to turn that. I'll just read it. This is a commentary on the people of Israel. Look what it says. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.
38:30 Demons. Not wooden statues or bronze sculptures. Demons. They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. So we talked about initially in Numbers 35 that when a land is polluted with blood, God warns them, hey.
38:58 Listen. I want to dwell here. I want to be in the midst. I want my protective presence for you. But if you're gonna defile the land, I'm moving out.
39:08 My hand is withdrawn. And chaos will reign. And Satan's domain and activity will enhance as a natural result of the absence of God's protection and presence, whether in a home, whether in your life, whether in a nation, whether wherever. But a second thing happens according to Psalms one zero six verse thirty seven and thirty eight, but you have to go to 40 to find out. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people and he abhorred his heritage.
39:45 Now look what happens in verse 41. To the nation that has polluted their land with blood. He gave them into the hand of the nations so that those who hated them ruled over them. So, yes, the lord withdraws his presence, but somebody else comes in. They open themselves up to judgment.
40:13 And if you really study the bible carefully, what you will realize is that many ways God judges a nation is through another nation. Many ways God judges a nation is by using another nation as an instrument of that judgment. Can you think of instances in the scripture where that's happened? Israel and listen. It's not like after one murder, after one case, after one act of worship to Baal.
40:45 It was hundreds of years before Babylon came in and took over Judah. Hundreds of years. Remember Genesis 15? When God made that covenant with Abraham and he he gave him an insight. Hey, listen.
41:03 Your people are gonna be enslaved for four hundred years. Until something happens. What happens? The sin of the Amalekites are are complete. The sins of another a very close of the Amorites is not yet complete.
41:23 So we think about Israelites invading Canaan and we go, that's kind of weird. I mean, that's kind of unjust. There is a people group already there, Lord. Why would you have the Israelites move in and just kick him out? Not only kick him out but kill him.
41:33 That's but in light of this verse, that's not what God did. In light of this verse, it's a twofold purpose. Yes. Israel needed a land, but God could have created a land. The the second purpose was to bring judgment upon the Canaanites.
41:50 And he says, Israel, you're not moving in just yet. Why? Because the iniquity of the Amorites has not reached its limit yet. Wouldn't you and I want to know what that limit is? He doesn't give us a limit.
42:05 You know why? Because humanity is so wicked, we will find that limit and we will go just to the place before we cross it and we might retract. In fact, we're so wicked, we might just cross it anyway. So he doesn't give us a limit. The we don't know.
42:20 It's not like four hundred years of it and then I'm gonna come or two hundred years of it and then I'm gonna come. He did it with Canaan. He did it with the nation of Israel. He did it with Babylon. In one moment, Daniel comes, reads the writing on the wall, and he goes, bad news, man.
42:37 The Medes and the Persians are coming in and they're taking over. And so here we are in 2018. And you know how you and I might think? Or you know how this nation might think? If they have any spiritual insight at all, that won't happen to us.
42:57 Look at what look how young this nation is. Look how powerful we are. Look at all the world. We're the world police. Everybody looks for our word.
43:06 Everybody looks for our instruction. Everybody wants our involvement. You know who talk like that? Nebuchadnezzar. Look what I've done.
43:16 Look what I've created. Look at the nations we've invaded. Look at all the gods that we've taken over. Look at Rome. You know what Rome is right now?
43:25 A museum. Rome, this unthinkable to even imagine in their day that it would be what it is today. Paid $20 for a little tour. You know what? That can happen to America.
43:46 This command murder is not a light thing. It's very prophetic. Murder has prophetic implications. God is clear. If you did it with Israel, if you did it with Babylon, if you did it with the Canaanites, disagree with me if you like.
44:10 You can do it with America. Why? Because the voices of the spilled blood of individuals can only cry out for so long. The first murderer was Satan. Who was the first human murderer?
44:36 Cain. Genesis four. And there's this one verse that should terrify us in verse 10 of Genesis four. The Lord said, what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
45:02 Blood has a voice. Spilled blood has a voice. And he's saying, hey, Cain. Your brother's talking to me. In fact, he's crying out to me.
45:19 And that's not just true of Abel. Wouldn't you like to know what it sounded like? Or what it does sound like for spilled blood to be crying out to God? We don't have to guess. There's a host of people that cry out to God and that will cry out to God in Revelation six ten.
45:40 Look what they say. These are the martyrs. They cried out with a loud voice, oh sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? That's what it sounds like. You're holy.
46:01 You're just. My blood has been spilled in an unjust manner. God, how long will you withhold your judgment upon those who dwell on the earth who have performed this vicious act against the image of God? And I want you for a moment to just imagine in America alone, never mind the murders that happen through shootings and homicides and all these different things. I want you to just zone in on the 58, I believe, million babies and what it sounds like in the ears of God as they all cry out holy and just one, when will you avenge our blood against America?
46:46 I'm sure that God can only bear it for so long. And the only reason why he hasn't done something already is because of his mercy. It's because he desires all to reach repentance even in the midst of the bloodshed and the pools of blood that are reaching the heavens. Because there's an important verse concerning blood. It's Hebrews twelve twenty four.
47:10 That Jesus' blood oh, this is powerful. Jesus's blood speaks a better word than Abel. That's what it says. The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than Abel. Meaning what?
47:29 The blood of Abel says vengeance, but the blood of Jesus screams mercy. The blood of Abel shouts for wrath. The blood of Jesus pleas for salvation. The blood of Abel says judge. The blood of Jesus says save.
47:51 It's a better word than Abel. And the only way that the voices that are coming from the pools of blood that have been shed in America is if America cries out for the blood of Jesus to speak on their behalf. The only way these voices that are crying out for judgment to be muted in a sense and for God to turn his ear away from that is if the blood of Jesus covers this nation from coast to coast in a mighty sweeping Holy Spirit revival. The only way that bloodshed, whether on an individual level, whether somebody has performed this act of abortion themselves or have contributed to any way, guess what? That act is not outside of the blood of Jesus to cleanse.
48:54 And the only way that you and I can have bloodshed and the stain of that blood removed from us is if we apply the blood of the lamb. There's no other way. The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than Abel's. The blood of Jesus is America's only hope. The blood of Jesus must be preached in light of the fact that sin is filthy and vile.
49:21 Because if people don't understand the filthiness of of sin, why would they want the blood to wash them? I don't need the blood. I'm clean. No, you're not. You have guilt on your hands.
49:33 Seek his blood. Only it can wash. But in the new covenant, Jesus categorizes murder in a different way. Not that he removes murder, the violent act, from the understanding of what it is, but he adds to it. And I'm sure our minds are going somewhere.
49:56 Does anybody know where he speaks of this? Sermon on the mount. Matthew five twenty one to 23. What does he say? You've heard that it was said to those of old.
50:10 That's what we just covered, to those of old. You shall not murder. And whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you oh, here we're in grace. Right?
50:24 We're we're in the covenant of grace. Right? Grace is two miles ahead of law. What does he say? But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.
50:37 Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool, raka, will be liable to the hell of fire. So Jesus identifies anger, insults, and later in the book of first John, hatred as a manifestation of murder. And this anger is not a reactionary anger to something that has been done unjustly. Jesus manifested that anger in the temple. We got to see everything in light of the whole counsel of God.
51:17 Nor is it a righteous indignation that is sensed when something like what we just spoke of, abortion, is performed on a daily basis like those who have dinner. It's a anger that is created from an unjust cause. And it's an anger that swirls in our hearts that produces these thoughts that would defame or seeking the unfortunate of another. It's an unrighteous anger. It's an anger that lingers long enough and if you just feed it long enough will turn into hatred.
51:57 Why is he saying this? Because God, even in the old covenant, and he's making it very clear in the new covenant, the Lord is concerned with our inner man. The Lord is concerned about our heart. He's concerned about our thought life. See, you will know somebody who really fears God.
52:14 A person who doesn't fear God is not concerned about their inner man. They're not. They can be eaten up by lust and envy and pride, and all they're concerned about is how people see them. Oh, praise God. Hallelujah.
52:27 Oh, yeah. And they quote the verses, but inside they're vile and filthy. And I know we fight temptation. I'm not talking about sinless perfection here. But a person who does fear God is a person that in their prayer doesn't just say, Lord, make me look holy outside.
52:39 I pray that you clean me on the inside. Because though nobody else can see what's in the inside, you can see my thought life. And God, I want Jesus to be the theme of my thought life. God, though nobody else sees my motive when I preach, when I sing, when I serve, you see my motive. Lord, cleanse me.
52:55 So Jesus is saying, listen. In this covenant, I really want you to understand this is about relationship, and though nobody else can see what's inside, I can. And when you're angry unjustly and when you have hatred, it's murder in my sight. You think I'm exaggerating? First John three fifteen makes it very clear.
53:13 You can highlight that. You can put it right beside Matthew five twenty one. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. I love how the Bible is so direct. He's a murderer.
53:25 This is the same epistle the top tells us God is love, by the way. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. So again, he's talking about hatred being on the same level as somebody killing somebody. You know what the Sermon on the Mount is producing in us? Jesus, I need you.
53:45 That's what it's producing in us. I need grace. I need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I wonder how how many murders we have here today. I never killed anybody.
53:56 Do you hate the person that you're sitting beside or the person that's in the other side of the room? Do you meditate on thoughts of misfortune and somebody being destroyed or somebody something happening in somebody else's life that would even kill them? Is that the the how you ease the the pain that you have in your heart? The Bible tells us you're a murderer. Hatred, insults, anger in Jesus' eyes are manifestations of murder.
54:34 Can you think of another one in the new covenant? It's in the old too, but it's really clear in the new covenant that this is the same level as murder. You might be shocked. Who's familiar with John ten ten? The thief comes to what?
54:57 Steal, kill, and destroy. Who's the thief? Satan? Who says Satan? Any other thoughts?
55:15 In the context, it's not Satan. Turn to John chapter 10. Though those qualities can be attributed to Satan, Jesus is speaking in a different context here, and he says something about the thief. And before we go to that verse, we have to go to verse one of John chapter 10. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
55:51 Stop there. So Jesus is talking about how he is the door. He's talking about how he's the good shepherd. He's talking about how salvation is only through him. And what he's saying here is if anybody comes in by another door, climbs in another way, that man is a thief.
56:09 K? Go to verse eight. What does verse eight tell us? All who came before me are thieves and robbers, But the sheep did not listen to him. So based on these two verses, that thief in John chapter 10 verse 10 is not speaking about Satan.
56:31 It's speaking about false teachers. And that thief kills first steals, kills, then destroys. So anybody, according to verse one, that tells you that salvation is outside of Jesus Christ is that thief. Anybody that mixes the gospel with good works, grace and good works, not just grace, is a thief. And Jesus says anybody who came before me, he wasn't talking about the prophets that spoke on his behalf.
57:01 He was talking about the false messiahs. Those who came before me, they are thieves. Why? Because they steal salvation from you, which is eternal life. They rob you.
57:14 And when they rob you of that, that leads to not just death, but destruction. So all those verses that Paul speaks about, like in acts twenty twenty six and twenty seven, what does he tell the elders? Because therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of what? The blood of all. I'm innocent of the blood of all.
57:38 Why? For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. In other words, I'm not guilty of your blood. Why? Because I did not hold back from telling you that there is only one way.
57:51 I did not hold back from telling you the whole counsel of God. I did not hold back from the things that are controversial and the things that make you feel uncomfortable or the things that are confrontational. No. Why? Because I don't wanna be labeled as a murderer.
58:08 I wonder how many murderers are behind pulpits because they do shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God. Remember Ezekiel, Ezekiel, if you do not warn a sinner about his sin, his blood and he dies, his blood shall be on your hands. The same language. But if you do warn him and he dies in a sin, you are free from his blood. So week by week.
58:34 Right? Week by week, a person, whoever it is, that comes here, it's a matter of life and death. It's a matter of life and death. So false teaching isn't a matter of, their doctrine is a little bit off. It's a matter of, he's a murderer.
58:55 I'm not talking about secondary issues. I'm not talking about things that are non essentials. I'm talking about clear, distinct, foundational truths that are opposed and preached against because a thief steals for his own gain. I don't want blood on my hands. You may not like me.
59:21 That's fine. There's a judge waiting. I have to talk to him at the end. False teaching. Oh, there's so much to say about this commandment.
59:35 I'll end on one note. Deuteronomy 13. Remember how there is authorized murder. There is authorized murder. In the Old Testament, look what the Lord says in Deuteronomy 13.
1:00:00 Verse one, if a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass. That's scary. If somebody comes and performs a miracle, and if it comes to pass, and if he says no. This is the important part. Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them.
1:00:21 You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. That's a really good principle in life. That even if somebody is a miracle worker, even if somebody is impressive in their spiritual gifting, whatever it may be, but their message does not line up with this message, what are you gonna do in that moment? Because so many people are so drawn to the supernatural these days. So much so that they're willing to compromise the message for the manifestation.
1:00:52 You know what God says to that kind of thinking? For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Even if it's impressive, even if it's powerful, even if it's something that moves you, though the message is not the same, are you willing to reject it? Remember in the end times, there's gonna be a false teacher and he's gonna woo a lot of people. But he has a different message.
1:01:20 You shall walk after the Lord your God verse four. And fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But it doesn't stop there. Look at verse six. Not just a false prophet.
1:01:32 If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your friend, who is as your soul, entices you secretly, let us go and serve other gods, which neither you or your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield him or listen to him, nor shall you eye pity him, nor shall you spear him, nor shall you conceal him, but you shall kill him. So there was ways in the Old Testament. We're not in the old covenant. But I wanna spiritualize this for a moment because the spiritual implication is true. The types of relationships you have in this life, do you have people in your life that are obviously enticing you away from devotion to God, away from his commandments, away from his word.
1:02:38 Those enticements, whether you believe it or not, are intended to kill you. I'm not talking about physical death. I'm talking about your walk with the Lord. And I wanna spiritualize this. Kill that relationship before it kills you.
1:02:56 Kill that relationship. Yes. God is against murder, but there is authorized killing. And here's one of them, I believe. That if there are people in your life that are surrounding you and that you are surrounded with that are enticing you away from this word and a holy lifestyle.
1:03:14 You have every right to kill that relationship and to frame it rightly so that they don't entice you. Because the Lord is testing you to see whether you love him more. And we need wisdom. And we need insight to know how to relate with people that have different viewpoints. I'm not talking about that.
1:03:35 I'm talking about those that you know. You feel the pull to go into a certain lifestyle. You feel the pull of people taking you away from a wholehearted devotion to the Lord. Those people Cut off. So many things were said tonight concerning this commitment.
1:03:58 I want us to recap. Listen. God hates murder in the physical sense because it defames. It destroys his image, his representation, his being. Secondly, it advances the kingdom, it advances the agenda of the enemy.
1:04:13 That is not isolated to those who are outside of the womb. That is very much real for those that are in the womb. There are consequences on the individual level, and there are also consequences on a national level. And on that note of a national level, listen, it has gone beyond reason. When you really look into it, when you really study this understanding of abortion, it goes beyond reason.
1:04:38 I mean, it just it's now we've entered into a place professing to be wise, they became fools. How can you tell me that in some states, it is considered double homicide if a woman is murdered with a baby in her womb, yet at the same time if that same woman gets into her car, goes to an abortion clinic, and murders that baby, it's called rights. But there is a blood that cleanses us even from murder. The blood of Jesus Christ. His blood cleanses us from all blood guilt.
1:05:14 Doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter the amount you've done it in. One drop, one drop of the blood of Jesus, this is the scandal of grace, can cover the blood of 58,000,000 babies. That's how powerful his blood is. You're saying, I don't like this.
1:05:32 Now that sounds just welcome to the realm of grace. The cross is an offense in that sense, but that's the power of the blood of Jesus. And if we don't have that hope, if that is not how powerful his blood is, we are hopeless. Because though we did not shed blood, we did so in our hearts. We've hated.
1:05:52 We've become angry in an unjust manner. You explode with anger to situations that do not deserve for you to explode in anger. You've committed murder. This is what Jesus is saying. Do you hate your brother?
1:06:06 John says you're a murderer and a murderer has no everlasting life. False stitching is murder. There's no escape. There's no escape except one place at the foot of the cross. That's our escape.
1:06:22 That's our hope. That's why we can sing. That's why we need to preach it. And that's why, even for the next few moments, we have to pray for America. We have to pray for this nation.
1:06:36 This this conversation about abortion and this topic can become so frequent that we become so numb to it. And I have no idea whether in this generation or the next, God will do something drastic. But may we be like Daniel in Daniel chapter nine. Remember, Daniel had no recorded fault in that book. There is nothing that you can pin on Daniel as you read those verses.
1:07:07 But you know what Daniel did in chapter nine? Forgive us of our sin. Forgive Israel, forgive our fathers, forgive us. He included himself. He humbled himself.
1:07:22 What's amazing about Daniel is he was recognized as the beloved. And I believe one of the reasons why is because he took it upon himself to pray for his nation. I believe that's one of the characteristics. That Daniel was so outside, he was so aware that that he involved himself in intercessory prayer and it got the attention of heaven. It got the attention of heaven.
1:07:48 So just even being transparent, just even studying this one command today and last night, I was thinking to myself, God, this means so much to you. May it mean so much to me. Don't let me take this lightly, Lord. Please don't let this just be a study where I connect and we connect verses and say, oh, I never saw that verse that way. That's not the point of Bible study.
1:08:12 To say, Lord, if this is so grievous to your heart, if this is something that that you even say, I can't even think of the things that you're doing, Lord, I want that same righteous indignation. Not to condemn, not to judge, not to do these things, but to be like Daniel who prayed for his nation that was undergoing judgment. I wonder if we're undergoing judgment today. I wonder if all this chaos politically, in our schools, I wonder if this is God. I wonder if this is just the first step where he just withdrew himself.
1:08:46 And I I wanna be very careful with making statements here. But I don't want to wait long enough to discover what more can happen. But may we be a people really, really, really, I'm not trying to be inspirational here, really be a people that can partner with the heart of God and say, Lord, may my prayers somehow reverse this judgment and may we see revival instead. And may people realize that there's only hope in the blood of Jesus Christ to clean our record from all the bloodshed that we see today. Let's pray together.
1:09:24 I wanna make this call, very simple call as we've just gone through this bible study. If there's murder in your heart at any level, I'm talking about abortion from abortion to hatred, whatever it may be, I want you to know tonight that there is grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. I want you to know tonight that Jesus knew that, he understands what happened, he saw it, he recorded it. In fact, there's blood crying out. But there is a voice that can outcry the guilt in your life and that's the blood of Jesus.
1:09:55 So what does it look like? It looks like you saying, Jesus, I understand that only your blood can make me clean. My own righteousness, my own efforts cannot outdo what I've done concerning my record of sin. I'm calling out to you and I'm asking, wash me in your blood. Wash me in your blood.
1:10:14 Cleanse my record. I bring it to you. I need mercy. I need mercy. And if you could find it in your heart even now before we worship to say, Lord touch America.
1:10:39 Touch our nation, touch our laws. Lord you say in Proverbs 30 one:eight that I am called to open up my mouth for those that are mute. And Lord if I can't open up my mouth in a place that can be influenced to change their laws, I will open up my mouth in intercession. And I will intercede for those that cannot intercede for themselves. And I say, Lord have mercy.
1:11:02 Have mercy. Have mercy. Let's pray together. Father, we come before you tonight in light of this one command that carries so much weight, Lord. Perhaps we did not realize how much we are guilty of it.
1:11:19 Lord, if there's anybody here that does not know you, they stumbled into this place and they realize that they don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ and they are guilty of the sin of murder. By the power of your Holy Spirit, would you reveal to them the hope and the salvation that is found in union with Jesus Christ and that if they call upon your name, they shall be saved. Lord, may they find it within themselves to realize that there is no other door that they can enter into. There's only one door. There's only one way.
1:11:50 There's only one good shepherd that can recruit and save and shelter us. But father, together we pray for America. We pray for this nation. And Lord we just ask somehow, someway may we with our own eyes see a revival. May we with our own eyes see a change in our laws, Lord.
1:12:10 For the sake of these lives, God. For the sake of these destinies, Lord, that could have come about, the good that could have come, the righteousness that could have spread. Who knows, Lord? Father, for those who may have committed that act of abortion, whether they're here or we don't know who they are, Lord, and they feel that guilt and that shame, would you send laborers their way to hear the gospel and to know the hope that is found in Christ, and the forgiveness that is available to them. And Lord, we just read how this means so much to you.
1:12:54 Would it mean so much to us? Would you take these truths by the Holy Spirit and brand them on our hearts? May they be something that bring us to our knees. May you give people here a prophetic voice that in wisdom and in righteousness defend the cause of those who cannot do it themselves. Birth ministries out of this place that would rescue souls, that would rescue people from making these wrong decisions.
1:13:25 God, if there's anything in our hearts, though we've never shed blood, if we've cursed, if we meditate on the misfortune or the destruction of any other person, especially our brothers or sisters in Christ. Lord take that heart of murder out of us and replace it with a heart of love, mercy, and compassion. Lord, we thank you for your blood. And tonight, we sing in light of its power. And we ask God that we would be reminded of the power that it contains.
1:14:10 And Lord maybe there's guilt from this week alone that we need cleansing from. We bring our guilt before you in light of one John one:nine. That if we confess our sin, that you are faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all, all, all, not some. Not some except murder, but all unrighteousness. And this is what we call upon you for tonight.
1:14:46 In the name of Jesus we pray.
