Everything in God’s mind centers upon one place, one city, one word and that is JERUSALEM. When Jesus told His disciples and us about the future he built every word of it around one spot on earth. All that He says about His second coming is tied to Jerusalem. Jesus said keep your eye on Jerusalem. I am ascending from the Mount of Olives (the center of Jerusalem then and now) and I am returning to the Mount of Olives. According to the Lord, the end of the world centers around Jerusalem. The most mentioned place in the Bible is a city called Jerusalem. The center of the world and the prophetic universe is the same city. Jerusalem should be your favorite city. After all, it’s the city that God has chosen for Himself in 1 Kings 11:13 “However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.” Ancient maps put Jerusalem In the center of the world, and I think they were right. Jerusalem is also God’s timepiece. The final events of world history will culminate there with the glorious return of Jesus Christ to the Mount of Olives. Mentioned over 800 times in God’s Word —Jerusalem is a very important place. It was in Jerusalem that God promised Christ’s coming as the Lamb of God to Abraham. It was here that David was promised a future son that would have an endless kingdom. It was here God has worked. In: Jerusalem! Three thousand years of lifetimes! Abraham and Isaac upon the altar of Moriah, a stone’s throw from here! David, the shepherd-king, watching Bathsheba from a distance. Jeremiah, mourning for the exiles. Jesus, teaching in the Temple. Peter’s betrayal. Jesus, walking the Way of Sorrows! Dying with forgiveness on his lips. Peter, shouting the good news in the streets on Pentecost! He is risen! Call on His name and live forever with Him! But this week Jerusalem showed up alongside of that four-letter-word (IRAN) I mentioned two weeks ago, continues to capture my spiritual attention in the news reports. When Iran attacking Israel and then Jerusalem is added, that is huge on the radar screen of God’s plans for the future. Remember, Israel is the barometer that indicates when storms lie ahead for this world. Israel is God’s timepiece for telling prophetic time. That is the problem that the Old Testament prophet Zechariah (12:3) calls the heavy stone or burdensome stone. Please stand with me as we listen to God’s Word: And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it (KJV). One Huge Event is On The Prophetic Horizon BYT-30 – One Huge Event In Prophecy (080914AM) Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to access weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS featuring weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie. Clips are taken at just one of the places where we are taking our virtual journey through all the Lands of the Bible & Great Museums of the Bible on the Paul’s Life & Letters Course. Plus all the assigned HOLY LAND, Paul’s Life & Letters Course STUDY RESOURCES, and John’s two most loved books–David’s Spiritual Secret & Living Hope for the End of Days at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/ DTBM Academy Courses: https://dtbma.com/Default.aspx Purchase John’s Books, Mp3 & DVD resources: E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy Here are links to our Amazon Pages– https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm Donate to the ministry: https://dtbm.org/donations/partnership/ For more of Dr. John Barnett’s Bible teaching messages, go to: https://dtbm.org/ https://youtu.be/cTwH6SMQKgU
JESUS WARNS THAT THERE ARE– 3 GROUPS GOING TO HEAVEN & 3 GROUPS GOING TO HELL.
The Good Heart (Mark 4.1-20) One day, in one verse — Jesus describes everyone who will go to Heaven. And in five other verses, He describes those who will not. Have you ever reflected on His descriptions? Jesus said the words we are about to read as a warning for some (Watch out – you are Hell bound) and as a comfort for all the rest (Rejoice – you are Heaven bound). So what does He say in this description? He said a heart that remains Trampled and Hardened Against God, Shallow With God, or Crowded Towards God will not enjoy the pleasures of God forever. Beware! Jesus goes on to describe everyone on the planet who will be enjoying Heaven forever as being — Good. Just as there are three types of lost Hellbound people types, there are also three different types of Heavenbound. There are three levels, three categories, and three degrees of fruitful life. Basic, Better, and the BEST! Among the Good, there are the 30 times over Good, the 60 times over Good, and the 100 times over Good. Now, if you just analyzed what I said and thought, “Nope, don’t have to worry. I have already DONE that,” then think again. Salvation is not something you can DO. It is something that only God can do IN YOU and me. So here is the way Jesus explains all this. One day, Jesus compared life to a field, people to soil, the Gospel to seed, and eternal life to a crop of harvested righteousness. Taken at face value, the message of the parable of the soils is clear: of four soils, only one is good. Only one produces fruit; thus, it alone is of any value to the farmer. This good soil pictures the believer. The weedy soil and the shallow soil are pretenders. The soil by the wayside is an absolute rejecter. Indeed, the fruit is the ultimate test of true salvation. Weedy soil is no better for harvesting than hard roads or shallow ground. All are worthless. The seed sown there is wasted, and the ground is fit for nothing except burning (cf. Heb. 6:8). It cannot picture salvation. There are many ways to look at how God classifies us this morning. But we know the basis from all of His other parables. The harvest from life is only because the heart was Good. No amount of effort can make a heart Good. Goodness only comes from God. Fruit always comes from a Good heart. That fruit or harvest may be 30, 60, or 100 – but a good heart brings forth goodness, for God’s sake. The most important question you will ever answer is, “Has God ever made you good?” Not — are you trying hard to be good. Not — have you done some good things – because bad people can always do good things if they want to. It is not what you do so much as what you are. Either we are good or evil as the center of our being. We were born not innocent but evil. We don’t get polluted by our world as much as we pollute our world. Are you good? Only God is good, so only God can make us good within. (WWJ-53; 040523AM) Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to access weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS featuring weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie. Clips are taken at just one of the places where we are taking our virtual journey through all the Lands of the Bible & Great Museums of the Bible on the Paul’s Life & Letters Course. Plus all the assigned HOLY LAND, Paul’s Life & Letters Course STUDY RESOURCES, and John’s two most loved books–David’s Spiritual Secret & Living Hope for the End of Days at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/ DTBM Academy Courses: https://dtbma.com/Default.aspx Purchase John’s Books, Mp3 & DVD resources: E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy Here are links to our Amazon Pages– https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm Donate to the ministry: https://dtbm.org/donations/partnership/ For more of Dr. John Barnett’s Bible teaching
messages, go to: https://dtbm.org/ https://youtu.be/OKPhXxBcqtE
