Peering into the Courts of Heaven

Welcome to leading the way with Dr. Michael you author of more than 50 bucks, including never give up. Recently released and impacting lives in amazing ways.

As we begin today's episode we wanted to share the brief testimony of the life impacted by the teaching of Dr. Yousef leading the way and Mia recently shared with our team. How he was only 16 years old when he first started feeling drawn to Christ even though he was raised as a living as a Muslim, he found the Bible at a bookstore and started to read it on occasion time he read was overwhelmed with peace that he felt before when he found out he could talk with someone leading the way.

He was so happy because of finally getting answers to some of those lifelong questions when you call the field team person medially shared the gospel in the near accepted Christ today. Amir is engaged in an online discipleship group and preparing for baptism is looking forward to joining a local church having knowledge with other Christ followers. Please do remember, leading the way is listener supported meeting Dr. Yousef relies on God's provision through God's people who are blessed by this ministry to pray and to give learn how to stand with Dr. Yousef when you visit LTW.org when you speak to a ministry representative quote 866-626-4356 Dr. Yousef invites you to experience the powerful words in Psalm 14 meaning to life. The truth that God have the answer for every problem you face see how God never leaves you in a place of hopelessness. How he offers hope in and through his word. Let's listen together as Dr. Michael you set weekends. Here, the soul must have been inspired by the Holy Spirit of God not only to write these words, he was given the privilege of appearing into the proceedings in the heavenly courts. This almost gets a glimpse of inner sanctum of God's courts have unfairly turns around and he gives us three things of the proceedings of the courts of heaven.

First of all, he gives us the summons tells us what the someone is verses 1 to 3 and secondly because of the court's summation verse four certainly tells us the court's sentencing versus five and six. Easy to remember someone so measure sentence. Then at the end of the message is a surprise, a big surprise. So I wanted to straighten focus with me until we get to the very end of the song and then I'm going to explain something the average reader.

When you read through it so quickly. You must first gives us the court summons the visualizers with the court. The judge is sitting on the bench there at the dock been accused as the human race. All of humanity and the accusation is there are accused of the property. The height of the private is the denial of the one and only true God, the height of the department. As a human race that wondering to create a variety of gods of approvals or to think of as God who brought on this the deepest desire on the part of those who do not know the one true God. Is this the deepest desire is that he doesn't exist and that desire so strong in them so strong that it becomes a religion you know people like that and that's all about us and says in his heart there is no one true God. Romans is a commentary on Psalm 14 puts it this way, the one who does not want to believe and worship the only one true God is a fool, the one who does not want to believe and worship only one true God is foolish.

Why, because he knows all she knows that there is only one true God really do deep down they do and yet they choose to live in denial of the true God is, or how, while Paul said the very creation itself proves that one true God. Not only that he exists, but demonstrates his power and his creation. But sadly they choose to ignore or deny I don't think you can truly understand who the fool is without understanding who God is. Because this almost deliberately here does not use the term Yahweh or translated into English Jehovah, but he uses the word LEL from which we get Emmanuel L and Bethel.

So what is that a big deal was a big deal that he uses our OL is a big deal.

Trust me when I explained it to because the main Yahweh or Jehovah communicates a different side of God's character, then the word L the name of God, lower or Jehovah communicates the covenant making God the provider God, the giver God sustained a God, the gracious and ungenerous God, but L speaks of the God who revealed himself in the word of God that speaks of the God with moral absolutes speaks of the God who has clear moral standards speaks of the God who demands something from us, and therefore, therefore, understanding why the psalmist uses L and not Yahweh makes anyone, anyone, anyone who rejects the one true God to be a fool. This includes the practical atheists. It includes the agnostic and hope there's some practical atheists and agnostics here today because you are going to move like so many of us from being fools to be wise, but it also includes those who worship a God of their own creation.

They want a God whom they want to imagine what they want for God. Beloved. This is a God of many professing Christians today are God who does not change them a God who does not challenge them. A God who does not challenge your assumptions. A God who does not demand the righteousness of God who does not demand moral absolutes are God does not judge the morality or the lifestyle a God who does not condemn the corruption. A God who does not demand exclusive allegiance.

All of these folks according to Psalm 14 foolish or foolish, and fools. You know, in all shapes and sizes are read not long ago about a young son of practical atheists. Parents are.

You observed his parents for a while and finally set the moment they had while you fight against God so much.

When you don't believe in him. Good question. Someone said it is better to remain silent and be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Effective thinking the foolishness of the story I read many many many years ago about this foolish couple who really all their goals and live their dream is to able to hobnob with the uppercrust they want to hobnob with the rich and famous. All they wanted some family when the Democrats feel dollars in my little bit of money very began to hobnob with the uppercrust party where they went. Finally thought they made it to the conversation ensued about Mozart one person there talked about how brilliant Mozart was what a genius composer Mozart wars and the wife said Mozart. I know Mozart I love Mozart just the other day I saw him on bus number five going to call the island and the husband become furious and incensed. This is difficult when leaving and so they get out in the car he was fuming and muttering to himself from his wife said you are mad at me, aren't you, who said I am so embarrassed I can never show my face in the crowd again. She is and why is everyone knows that bus number five does not go to Coney Island foolishness. The full said in his heart there is no God.

Literal interpretation on the same translation interpretation of a literal interpretation would be the fool is the one who denies the one and only true God, or the fool is the one who denies that God revealed himself fully in his word, or the fool is the one who refuses to accept God's demands or the phone is the one who rejects God's anointed Messiah as the only Savior of the fool is the one who refuses to submit to God's moral absolutes. All the fool is the one who denies the one and only father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the phone is the one who denies that Jesus and only Jesus is the way to the father to have as modern fools and well fools at once. Right. I was a fool. Trust me. I shook my first God not proud of it but to give me sympathy with those who are still in the foolish days have not come to the light of Jesus Christ, amen. We need to be very patient with we need to be thoughtful and we need to be compassionate and still being mad and wanted to be very compassionate because Paul could say we once were. Now I come to something very important which is the Hebrew word for fool that is mentioned here in this passage. In this particular song. The Hebrew word for fool here is the word Nepal Nepal which does not mean intellectual weakness does not mean that on if you think so please don't. But it means moral perversion. No one can ever accuse some of the nonbelievers, particularly as being the most stupid no no no no no no don't fall for that many of them are intellectually brilliant. Many of them are intellectually intelligent, but when it comes to the most important thing in life there foolish, but the something else here. I don't want you to miss in the song and the rest of the court. All of your lawyers notice all of you judges know this new earthly courts very judge a person on the basis of what he or she did did you do it or didn't you do that's all the evidence has to be proven. They do this they know no but in the courts of heaven. They judge on the basis of thought. Scary thought enough because of heaven. Judge our thoughts and that's was so clear here. Beloved, listen to me. God does not grade on the curve.

We would like them to. Don't you but he doesn't.

And that is why none, and no one would make it to heaven other than by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Verse 24 by make sure no one seeks after God. God looks down from heaven and he sees no one seeking after even all of us who come to believe in Jesus, we did not come to him because we were seeking after him. He first open our spiritual blind eyes and realize that we are sinners and then we came to him.

The Bible said that we were dead in our trespasses, dead people do not seek after anything that is good the debt we would dead in our trespasses until he came in Bre's life and us. We did not even know how to come to God. Thus, the accusation sticks the summons has been vindicated. The witnesses are impeccable, and the evidence is overwhelming. Those who have depraved minds have depraved minds because I want to have the pipelines in fact, Paul answers this questions aroma chapters 1 and three that the MLS of God is everywhere present in creation. But a man refuses to believe that evidence live alone obey and worship God alone. The first thing that you see here is the summons. Secondly, the summation that no Mrs. no Mrs. please the judges agreed. Here is an unmistakable. The judge's sorrow is very evident here, the judge's broken heart. Cannot be most helpful.

All the workers of iniquity have no knowledge you feel the bleeding of his heart and the word iniquity here is the same word that was used many times in the Old Testament to describe Israel and they kept running after other gods when the captain worshiping idols when they worship Yahweh on Saturday and then for the rest of the week. The worshiping bear the sword iniquity and right God's salvation against the apostate church is abundantly clear.

God has been exercised over the fact that so many professing churches use the name of his son, but also denied the claim of his son as the only way to heaven. So many professing churches have Bibles in the pews. They also have sayings of Confucius by Mohamed and Krishna in those same pews so many who named the name of Jesus. Also name other religions recently in an opening of an Episcopal school and Episcopal Bishop prayed from the Koran and he prayed from the New Testament beloved the summation of the courts of heaven is given.

Could the judgment be far behind with my friends be right. This is the prejudgment time the summons the summation. Thirdly, the sentence verse five. What is that sentence here fear and dread is going to be the lives companion, last companion, how come since no one can save themselves. Since no one has an excuse, since no one can placate themselves from God's judgment and since no one can stand in another's defense. Therefore, the verdict and the sentence is alive of restlessness, a life of fear and a life of terror. No wonder we are trying to find a pill for every disease, no Wonderware using our own efforts alone to find solution to every problem constantly looking for an escape from every challenge that we face in life, creating temporary diversion from every stress will running away from the very demands of God places on why because humanity without the centrality of Christ is sentenced to fear and restlessness. Now I come to the big surprise that in store for us here and you see it in verse seven. Beloved, you know the Bible is always clear. Bible always calls sin. Sin, we modify it doesn't matter what we do. This is really immaterial. The Bible always calls sooner sooner. The Bible speaks the truth.

The Bible always confronts us in the Bible then invites us and says there's hope once you are convicted of sin is what this cheap repentance of you know, take Jesus along the way with your journey. Without repentance, without acknowledging the fact that you have sinned, and offended a holy God as the chief gospel. This cheap grace Bible is always clear tells us the truth but never leave us in hopelessness. I have never known anywhere in the word of God where we are confronted by the reality of sin and the reality of our sin and then leave us and asked the state of hopelessness. Sorry your nobody and for yourself.

Bible immediately goes and offers help always going to give us good news always gives us a way out, always gives us an answer to the dilemma that we're facing always always always in the good news comes in the middle of this hopeless situation with God verse seven, it would've been depressing.

But the good news comes in, screaming some 14 verse seven. It's a dramatic way out. I want you to use your imagination with me after the courts of heaven have been adjourned after the sentence have been pronounced after the verdicts have been given after the accused has been escorted out of the court sudden sudden in verse seven, the court reconvenes reconvenes.

Why new evidence came to light new facts have been injected into the trial to overturn the sentence is found all that salvation would come from Zion and around when Jesus come from Zion and is our salvation without him as hopeless without it was dark, but bring him there is hope, there is life there is eternal life. So patient might come from Zion instead he offers us his hope comes from Zion what's going on here. The judge has suspended the sentence for a time to surprise God, he suspended the sentence for time. Why, because the judge wanted to see if any of the accused would avail themselves to the newfound.

The judge want to give the accused one opportunity for to please the judge for a time, ordered a stay of execution, the judge will way and see if anyone would accept his pardon. Beloved most of you know what I'm going to tell you the day of judgment will be near or far, it doesn't matter really makes no difference in the day of judgment, open-mindedness will not say tolerance will not say indifference to the truth will not say ambiguity, which is the gospel of the emerging church ambiguity toward Christ will not say denominational church membership will not set number saved by Jesus is only one who can speak for you and for me, and he offers an opportunity for everyone for pardon for only Jesus can defend us. Only Jesus can pardon us, only Jesus can pronounce us guiltless. Only Jesus can lift up the sentence and he did that on the cross. Regular price enterprise and he's got his arms wide open, to me, coming to me, to me, there is no condemnation upon those who are what Christ Jesus. No condemnation. The sentence is reversed for someone here who's never availed themselves upon this incredible opportunity contrasts and receive his pardon today can, but the something I want to say to the vast majority of you who have already received a pardon from the hand of God is no Jesus even loved Jesus I want have a challenge for you.

What are you doing with this. Are you sitting on are you doing playing with. Are you sharing with others challenge to look at what you are doing the good news, thank you for joining Dr. Michael UNICEF are leading the way. Perhaps today's words of awaken some paint questions that are deep within you. Let me encourage you to have a conversation with the leaving of a pastor you can begin by filling out a quick form@ltw.org/Jesus LTW.org/Jesus now before I need to say goodbye. I do want to take just a moment to remind you about a free resource or tool available from Dr. you set the first is my journal my journalism monthly magazine containing encouraging articles from leading the way's worldwide team that how the gospel is making a difference in the lives of people) your neighborhood and neighborhoods just like yours. All around the world and how you can get a free trial subscription started when you get in touch with leading the way. Call 866-626-4356 and online check out LTW.org and when you contact leading the way.

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