Tabernacles And Ruling: A Sermon by Dr Robert B Thompson

Описание: This sermon is part of a series of sermons by Dr. Thompson on the topic of the Letters to the Churches in Revelation. [Sermon Notes Below]

Sermon #2657 Recorded January 22, 1989

-----------------------------

Partial Sermon Summary:

Opening Passage: Revelations 3:18-22

Among other topics, Dr. Thompson talks about...

The Feast of Tabernacles and The Kingdom of God are connected because God will rule His Kingdom through Jesus, and Jesus is in us. They will make their abode (tabernacle) in us.

The Bible is a book of war. It portrays a contest of wills. Heaven and earth, every drama that plays out is traced to a contest of wills. "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done..."

To Jesus, God said... "Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity (lawlessness), therefore God has exalted you above your fellows."

You can say "not my will, but Thine be done" all you want (and we should), but God has ways of finding out how deep that goes in you. You'll find your way into your own Gethsemane. Your Gethsemane won't come often or early in your walk - it is a dark place that you'll only face when you've been on The Path a long time. He doesn't do it randomly, or for everyone.

Doubt: Doubt is part of the game. It is par for the course. The purpose of doubt is to make you pray. You'll need to stand on the Word of God, when you don't understand what is going on. And these times of doubt increase as you continue on in the Lord. He always digs deeper - He wants to see how far you're able to delve into obedience.

Opting Out: In most cases, you always retain your right to opt out if things get too rich for your blood. It's a risk God takes. How hard can He push you? He has called you to rule. The more qualified we are to rule, the less we'll want to do it.

"Even as I overcame..." Jesus overcame. Now God is looking for others who will do the same. The key to the search is "not my will, but thine be done," which is the Central Issue of salvation, and the key to preventing any rebellion in the future Kingdom. Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered. We are no different.

If you agonize over what you may or may not lose if you try and serve God, then you are still part of the rebellion.

The Brotherhood of Jesus: "To sit with Me in My throne." The Throne is set up in our hearts. This is the Feast of Tabernacles.

Pastor talks of when Caleb came to Joshua to ask for his inheritance. Joshua had a terrific inheritance, since he overcame and was now exalted. Caleb went to Joshua and received the blessing and instruction, but Caleb now had to go fight and take it. Caleb had to overcome also - it wasn't handed to him with the promise, he had to go take it. Once Caleb overcame and was exalted, Caleb was able to give his daughter an inheritance as well.

The New Jerusalem: "The throne of God and of the Lamb are in it."

Jesus had to overcome, now He is exalted. Now He looks for us to overcome, and will sit with Him. And thus will we have blessings to give to others.

The Adversary's most trying temptations come to us in a very plausible, attractive way, and they will hit right on what we want the most, what God has promised us. To discern his voice will be extremely difficult, and to turn your back on your deepest desire when untimely offered to you will seem like the death of your heart and soul. This is what you'll need to overcome to qualify to sit with Jesus in His Throne.

Rest assured, the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness were legitimate temptations, not blithely brushed off as we assume.

During the closing prayer, Pastor talks about his prayer walk where he was asking of the Lord to speak the gospel to every person on earth.

--------------------------------

For more information on Dr. Thompson and his ministry, or to explore his writings and audio sermon archives, visit www.WOR.org