The light ain't burning. Is that a little better Donna? I often find out that I've tried to read a larger section of verses than I'm capable of reading simply because I can't resist the temptation to make comment here and there and sometimes it's more than just a small comment. It takes a little bit more time. So, let's back up in Mark chapter 12. It seems like to me that to cover the part that we need to cover. We need to see what is taking place between the Lord Jesus and the leaders of the Jewish religion of that time in which Christ was on this earth. So I'll tell you in just a second where we're going to start. Let us pray. Lord, thank you for these hymns and the privilege of singing them in company with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Lord, if we're not yours, make us to know it. Without you, Without your eternal purpose, without the shedding of your blood, without your sufferings and dying on the tree, we could find no help in Old or New Testament or any other book written by men. For without an atonement, without a Savior, Without someone paying our sin debt, we are helpless slaves of the devil. And we actually love it that way until you enter the picture and everything changes. Lord, we come in this passage to read of a great many people in our Lord's day that thought they They were, of all the people on the face of the earth, they understood the Old Testament Scriptures better than anybody else. And alas, in almost every case that is not the case. They abused the Old Testament and misused it, just like we have the new one. But your work, your salvation, your sacrifice, It cannot be denied. For whomever you made an atonement, they must have that atonement. And that is a comforting thought to our sinful hearts. Now Lord, as we come to this passage, give us eyes to see and ears to hear. what is really going on in this passage. We beg your blessing for Christ's sake. Amen. Starting at verse 13. Mark 12, 13. And they, that is, the Pharisees primarily, They sent unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians." Now, this group called Herodians were followers of King Herod, same one that had John the Baptist's head severed from his body. "...to catch him in his words." If these people knew, how little they knew of the person they're trying to trap and expose and, you know, make him to be embarrassed in front of the people. And yet, in religion today, it is still the same. The same. To catch him in his words. And when they were come, they said unto him, Now you have to read between the lines that these people are just blowing smoke. They don't believe nor love a thing they're saying to him in this case. They said in verse 14, Master, we know that you are true and cares, you care for no man. For you regard not the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth." Now if they believe that, they ought to be on their face at his feet. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? How quickly they leave the subject that they wanted to suggest that they believed. And there's no possibility that they believed. If you just read a few more verses, you'd find that out. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar? They're under the Roman domination, and they think if they can trap Christ, here is a case that he cannot solve. Shall we give or shall we not give? But he, the Lord Jesus, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt you me? Why do you try to put a trap in my path? Bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it, and he said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription that is stamped on this penny? Who is this? And they say unto him, Caesar's. And our Lord said, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and render to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him. But they're not through. The next group they bring before our Lord is referred to as the Sadducees. Then came unto Him the Sadducees, their pet peeve, their primary doctrine of their beliefs is that there's no such thing as resurrection. There's no resurrection. None at all. They said, Master, Moses wrote unto us, first five books in the Old Testament, if a man's brother die and leave his wife behind and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife and raise up seed unto his brother. Now this is just a made up story, but they got everything in it they want. So we learn that there are seven brothers, and before this is over, they've all been the husband of this woman, and none of them could bear children. So I'll skip that part. Down in verse 23, here's what they're trying to do. You remember from verse 18, they said, No, not 18, I'm sorry. Well, I can't find it. Oh yeah. And when they were come, they say, Master, this is verse 14, we know that you are true and care for no man, for you regard not the person of men, but teach the way of truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar? And they go on to say, Then came unto him the Sadducees, in verse 18, which say there is no resurrection. That's the point thereafter. They camouflage it quite well, but they can't outsmart the Lord Jesus. All the men that's ever lived on the face of the earth for all time, all of us put together, could not cause Him to stumble. My goodness! Wonder why people would do that? Because they don't believe He's God. But if He's God, the best thing we can do is fall on our face and beg for mercy. So these Sadducees said to the Lord Jesus, Master, Moses wrote unto us about these brothers, and all seven, in verse 22, had her as their wife, and they left no seed. Now here's the whole point. They're trying to get rid of anybody believing that there is such a thing as the resurrection. But they miserably fail. Verse 23, In the resurrection thereof, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? For the seven had her to wife, all seven brothers, You know, I can't understand that, but that's what it says, and that's what it's supposed to say. Verse 24, And Jesus answering said unto them, Do you not therefore err, because you know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead... Now listen carefully. Preachers often at funerals and at other times, they tell you people are looking down from heaven to see what you're doing. And they're so grieving that we're living such wicked lives and careless lives and all this stuff. Well, we may be doing that, but they ain't watching us. You take the events that take place on this globe every day, And you think heaven would be a peaceful place if they knew what was going on down here? Now here it is. It ain't my words. It is the statement of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 25, For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage. but are as the angels which are in heaven, and as touching the dead that they rise." Have you not read in the book of Moses how in the bush, the burning bush, God spoke unto him saying, I am the God of Abraham. I'm going to bring the subject of the sentence with me in these three cases because we have to be hit pretty hard to ever see anything anyway and if God doesn't open our eyes we never will see it. How in the bush God spoke to Moses saying, I am the God of Abraham, I am the God of Isaac, and I am the God of Jacob. Now there's three generations of men from one family. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And the kicker is that God says through the mouth of God the Son, I am, I am, I am. He's the only God there is, the triune Jehovah. But the point is that here are three generations in one family, And this God is called, not I was, but I am, three times. Therefore, for anyone to think that there's no such thing as the resurrection, you know, if they don't listen to what people have to say to them about the subject, you know, they just might leave this world believing that, but they'll find out it ain't so. Verse 27, He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You, therefore, do greatly err. You ain't even close to first base, let alone being at home base. Just not happening. And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together and perceiving that Christ had answered them well, this man asked the Lord Jesus, which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like it, namely this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There's none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, I wish I could see Christ's face when this man said this to him. And the scribe said to the Lord Jesus, well master, you have said the truth. Boy, this guy's got a lot to learn. He knows a whole lot more than those first guys we met in this chapter. He said, Master, you said the truth. There's one God and there's none other beside He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love His neighbor as Himself is more than all, whole offerings. and sacrifices through the Jewish system of religion in the Old Testament, something like 4,000 years. And they don't hold a candle to our Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of those sacrifices typified Him in one way or another. And the Old Testament worshipers who were truly God's children could see their Redeemer in those sacrifices, but the rest were blinded, just did it because Moses said do it. Verse 34, And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, these are the words of our Lord Jesus, to this scribe, this man that was one of the people that tried to maintain the presence of and the correctness of what was being written in copies made from the Old Testament Scriptures. When Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. But I remind you that an inch is just about as good as a mile. You and I can't make up ground. We can't do what we don't have in our nature to do until God saves us and then things change. But we ain't through sinning then. We sin till our dying day. You're not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that dared ask Him any question. Now let me read you quickly this next little section. And Jesus answered and said while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said unto my Lord, sit you on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. David therefore himself calls him Lord, and from where is he then his son?" How is it that Christ can be David's Lord and David's son? I can't explain it to you, but it's certainly there, and therefore it is. And if I understand it, that's not much significance as far as I'm concerned. We don't change God's purpose. We don't alter what God says about His Son. We bow to these things. David himself said in verse 36, By the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost, the Lord said to my Lord, Sit you on my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. David therefore himself calls him Lord. And how is it that he, then his son, and the common people heard him gladly? And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations or greetings in the marketplace. Oh, reverend so-and-so, how are you today? I ain't reverend. And people who wear the name are lying. That word's only found one time in our Bible, and it's talking about God. Talking about God. Seems like that's in Psalm 133, somewhere like that. What verse did I stop on? Okay. And the chief seats, verse 39, in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feast, which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense to cover up their thievery, for a pretense they make long prayers. These shall receive greater damnation." There are degrees of punishment in hell. Right there is what it says. And if the Lord Jesus said it, that settles it, whether I believe it or you believe it or not. We can all say, well, I refuse to believe that. Well, help yourself. You'll change your mind one day, but it'll be too late. Okay, let's see if we can make up some lost time. I didn't mean to read that long, but I did. I hope we got enough out of that reading that we could learn some things that we're about to discuss in regard to what God requires of us. Now be sure you understand that the doctrine that we believe and love and preach is that whatever God requires of me, He must give me or I ain't gonna have it. That's true of faith. It's true of repentance. It's true of dozens and dozens of things. God gives what He commands. Boy, I remember the first time I ever even entertained a thought like that. Just about blew me away. Now I've got some scriptures that my wife has printed for me so that we can get finished on time or at least, y'all owe me about a thousand minutes probably anyway, but I don't want to collect them all at one time. Alright, the first thing I want to, I want to read you a statement about repentance. I tell you no, but except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. I tell you no, but except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. You can find that in Luke chapter 13 verses 3 and 5. Then we come to another gospel statement in John chapter 3. Jesus answered and said to Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot so much as see the kingdom of God. Forget about entering it, he can't even see it. He doesn't believe there's any such place. Then we move to another gospel. These things are important, most important. I don't know if people who hear preaching like whatever you call what we're hearing here, when they're confronted with the fact that they must repent, They must. I don't know if they ever will. But I'm telling you, if they don't, they're headed in the wrong direction. The one we just read in John chapter 3, having to do with the new birth, with being born again. I don't know if you'll ever be born again, if you're not already. And if you are not born again, regenerated, have new life from above, which is a spiritual life in a physical body, if you don't have these things, you cannot enter heaven without them. Therefore, as in everything else, the Lord Himself must give it. Here's another reading. Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened." Make sure you know this, God ain't playing games. He's not putting something desirable in front of your face in order to do something else for you. Whatever God says, do it! And find out you have to do it with His own power and strength. Because we ain't got none of our own. None. There's only one category that we excel and that's sinning. So I don't know if you'll seek God or not, but I know if you don't seek Him, you ain't ever going to find Him. And if you do seek Him, it's only because He sought you first. I got something in my Bible here about, let's see if I can get it. Isaac Watts, the hymn writer, wrote these words. Why was I made to hear and enter while there's room? While thousands make a wretched choice and rather starve than come? Here's the answer. Why? T'was the same love that spread the feast. You remember the feast in the gospel accounts? A gospel feast. T'was the same love that spread the feast that sweetly forced me in. Brother Richardson used to say, against my will and with my full consent. You figure that one out and you'll have some understanding of it. Sweetly forced me in, else I had still refused to taste. and perished in my sin." Now these other scriptures are not in the Gospel accounts, at least not all of them. The Bible speaks of a righteousness that God provides for sinners in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the Lord our righteousness. That's His name. You can find that name twice in the book of Thank you, Craig. Jeremiah. I wanted to say Daniel. The book of Jeremiah. One is in chapter 23, I think, and the other one, like, is in chapter 33. One of them says, you shall call his name Jehovah Sid Canoe, which is a little, I think that course is in our course book. And I lost my train of thought. My gosh. Thank you Craig. In 23 it is the Lord our righteousness and in 33 it says and she shall be called the Lord our righteousness. That's his bride, his church. Marvelous, marvelous indeed. Let's see. This righteousness that is everywhere spoken of in our Bibles is nowhere better declared than in the book of Romans chapter 10. But here's just a quick statement out of several verses in Romans 10. This coming out of verse 4. For Christ is the end of the law. He's the end of the search. for righteousness to everyone that believes. This is the only righteousness there is for human beings. And when we have this, we have everything. It's wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Here's another statement on believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. He that has the Son has life. He that has not the Son of God does not have life. 1 John chapter 5 and verse 12. The next word in this list has to do with dying. Nobody knows when Christ is coming back. And the people that say they do, they do not know. They're just poor, ignorant, dumb. Oh, I don't know how you can describe them. This last character from California that got it wrong, was it three times? And all those poor people that were following Him and selling their houses and moving and all this stuff, the guy should have been shot. He doesn't know that. But all these people are carrying Bibles too. If they'd read it, they'd find out that our Lord in this book says that no man knows when this has taken place. This glorious, glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is such a thing as dying, and we're going to face that. I'll read it to you out of Hebrews. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. Now, free willers, if they were honest, would have to mark that word many out and put all. But I'm telling you, whoever Christ died for is going to glory whether they know it or not. whom our Lord did not redeem, did not save, will not know Him. And they're glad and tickled pink that they can resist Him and not be drawn into this. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Let's see, is that the end of the row? Yeah. Alright, put that to sleep. Just a couple of other statements. I want you to, I want you first of all to take notice of how little turning we did on those scriptures and now I want you to turn to one. It's real easy to find. It's about two or three pages from the end of your Bible. It's called Revelation without an S. No S on Revelation. Chapter 20. There is an expression used in our Bibles that speaks of a book that is called the Lamb's Book of Life. And in this book are written the names of all God's elect from the beginning of time to the end. Alright, let's see if I can find where I'm supposed to be. be reading from. This is as short as I can make it. Revelation 20 and verse 11 through 15. Verses 11 through 15. Revelation 20. And I heard a great white throne. I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them." Time is coming to an end on this whole planet. This great white throne. is the same one in Ephesians in John chapter 5, verses... I don't remember, but he talks about the resurrection. The resurrection of the lost and the resurrection of the saved. It's getting on toward the end of John chapter 5. Let me start at 11 again. And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, poor and rich, I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books, B-O-O-K-S, the books were opened. The books were opened. Now that's the book you don't want your name in. And another book, The way to distinguish these two books is that one of them has an S and the other one has nothing but B-O-O-K, book. This, we'll find out in a moment, is the Lamb's Book of Life. Now that's where you want to be. Beg God to show you what you need to see and know and understand and bow to and believe. And keep reminding Him that if you're to do any of these things, if you're to repent, He must give you repentance. If you're to believe, He must give you the ability to believe. And sanctification and redemption and righteousness, the whole thing is a gift of God in Christ. So another book was opened, right in the middle of verse 12, which is the book of life. Well, if this is the book of life, what is that other book? It's the book of death, eternal punishment. And the dead were judged. out of those things which were written in the books, an S. And get this, people who say when they get to heaven, God is going to reward them for what they did for Him. Dear soul, I'm telling you, you're on the other road. You're going the wrong way. Here's where you're going to be. Oh, there's a book written. Ain't no telling what all's in it either. But there's that other book that doesn't have an S. And it is the Book of Life. Another book, this is in the middle part of verse 12, and another book, which is the Book of Life, No, I got that wrong. These are the singular, yeah, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. That ain't where you want to be. and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Oh, look at 15 now. This is a sober statement. Whosoever was not found written in the book without the S, The book of life was cast into the lake of fire. There are just too many examples in the New Testament alone to tell us that the majority of people in this world are not believers. They hate the God of the Bible. They want to go where it's never mentioned or seen. But I'm telling you there's coming a day you wish you'd have learned, beg God to show you what's in that Book of Life. To have some degree of assurance that even though we're still sinners, we've been saved by God's grace in Christ. Whoever is not found written in the Book of Life, was cast into the lake of fire. Well, I guess All right. Craig.