Dwelling Place

Al Pittman: In other words, it moves you from being liable under the dominion of sin to freedom in Christ. Amen? I'm no longer under mortal liability. I'm now under liberation through faith in Christ. Amen? You're not under the penalty of sin. Why? Because sin condemns. I'm no longer condemned.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to the Dwelling Place, a radio ministry for Pastor Al Pittman of Al Pittman Ministries. The purpose of this radio program is to encourage you, strengthen your walk with the Lord, and grow.

To support this program financially or learn more about the ministry, visit us online at alpittmanministries.com. That's alpittmanministries.com. Thank you for partnering with us. Now, here is Pastor Al.

Al Pittman: Truth of God's word declares you a child of God. The truth of God's word declares that you have been set free. The truth of God's word liberates us from, listen to this, mortal liability. Did you catch that? The truth of God's word liberates you from mortal liability.

In other words, it moves you from being liable under the dominion of sin to freedom in Christ. Amen! I'm no longer under mortal liability, I'm now under liberation through faith in Christ. Amen? You're not under the penalty of sin, why? Because sin condemns; I'm no longer condemned.

The Bible says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen? Romans 6:23. And then Paul says in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." When? Now. For those who are in Christ Jesus.

And then he goes on to say, and Jesus says in John chapter 8, verse 36, "Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." What does that mean? I'm no longer under moral liability. I'm now in Christ, and I've been set free from the condemnation of sin. Amen!

Oh, isn't that glorious? Oh, give Him praise and glory. Amen! This, my friend, is the truth which could not be contained on that first Palm Sunday. This is the truth which could not be denied on that first Palm Sunday. This is the truth the Pharisees did not want the crowd shouting about. Amen!

And that truth cannot be denied today. Those who put their faith in Christ have been set free, are free indeed. Do you want to be set free today? Christ entered the city on Palm Sunday, that first Palm Sunday, that you may know the truth, and that the truth might set you free, make you free in Him.

I love what Paul says therefore because of all of this in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 2. He says, "Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation." You can know the truth of God. You can know liberty in Christ today. Put your faith in Jesus Christ.

You can be set free, declared liberated by the truth of God. It's not based on how I feel; it's not based on what I've done. It's based upon what God has said. Amen! That is truth.

And lastly, Christ entered the city to bring us joy, to bring us peace, to bring us truth, but also His entrance represented judgment. This is one we don't think about when we think of Palm Sunday. Nobody's thinking about judgment, but His entrance represents judgment.

Jesus even pronounced judgment on Jerusalem on that day for their blindness. We've just read it earlier, but in verses 43 and 44, He said that the day would come that their enemies would build an embankment around them and would surround them, close them in on every side, that their children would be destroyed, and the city would be destroyed. Not one stone, Jesus said, would be left upon another.

Now, if you go to Israel with us, you'll see evidence that this prophecy Jesus made actually came true. And many of you Bible students know that Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple by the Roman army in 70 AD. 70 AD. And if you go to Israel, Jesus said not one stone will remain upon another.

The Romans went in, burned the temple, and knocked over every stone of the temple. And when you go to Israel around the Temple Mount, you'll see some of those same stones where they landed, still there. A striking prophecy that has indeed come true. And by the way, just a little commercial: we're hoping to go to Israel in 2023. Amen! So, get ready for that. All right!

In John chapter 12, however, speaking more about His entrance representing judgment, after His entrance, according to John's gospel, John chapter 12, you don't have to turn there, but after His entrance into the city, Jesus, knowing that He would soon face the cross in just a few days, He began to pray. He prayed this prayer, part of His prayer was this to the Father, Father God.

He said, "Father, glorify Your name." To which the Father responded to Him and said this, according to John chapter 12, "I have glorified it and will glorify it again." He was speaking, the Father was speaking about the resurrection. "I have glorified it; I'm going to glorify it again." He was talking about the resurrection. Amen! We'll be celebrating that in another week.

The people around Jesus heard the voice, and some thought it was thunder. Others thought an angel had spoken. And Jesus reminded them that the voice that you've heard, He says, it is not for My sake but it's for your sake that you might know indeed. He was referring to the fact they may know that He is indeed the Son of God.

Then Jesus said this, and again, speaking about His entrance representing judgment, He said in John chapter 12, verses 31 and 33, He says, "Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men, all peoples, to Myself." This He said, signifying by which death He would die.

If I be lifted up on the cross, I will draw all men to Myself. The judgment that Jesus spoke about there in John chapter 12 is twofold. It's number one, judgment of the world. The Bible says the time has come now that Jesus has been manifested, has come to the earth, that men are without excuse.

We can no longer use excuses of why we didn't come to Jesus. If we've heard the gospel, we need to respond to the gospel. Amen! And so, we are without excuse, and so there are those who have rejected Christ, who have rejected the love of God, and they will be judged.

The second judgment has to do with the world's ruler, the ruler of whom? Who's the ruler of the world? The devil. Amen! In fact, the Bible says the whole world is under the sway of the devil. They're never going to see things your way. They're never going to see things according to scripture. They're under the sway of the devil.

Now both have been judged, but the sentence will be carried out in Revelation chapter 20. Amen! The devil will be cast into hell at that time, and those who are not found written, Revelation chapter 20, in the book of life will be cast into hell.

Now it gets into a discussion about hell and different things that I don't have time to go into, but let me just say this, it may blow your mind, but nobody's in hell right now. But they will be. The Jews believed in two places of death before Christ. One still exists.

One was called the place of the righteous dead, the other was called the place of the wicked dead. Jesus told a parable, and I don't think He was just telling stories, I think He was giving some revelation, about the rich man who belittled and mistreated the poor man.

And that the poor man went to Abraham's bosom and the rich man went into a place of torment, the wicked dead. He was in a flame; he was being tormented. He saw the poor man across the way, and he said, "Hey, Lazarus, could you dip your finger in a cup of cool water and touch my lip, my tongue? I'm tormented in this flame." And the Bible says Jesus said it's a great, He couldn't, He said because there's a great gulf between us.

Stay with me. In Ephesians chapter 4, Jesus, the Bible says He descended that He might lead captivity captive into glory. People say He descended into hell; He did not. He went to Abraham's bosom for the righteous, for those listed in Hebrews chapter 11 in the great Hall of Fame, who were waiting for the day of atonement.

And those, they were captivated, they were being held, contained in paradise, in Abraham's bosom. Jesus would go and descend there, giving them the good news, and He would lead them out of that place into the very presence of God.

Now you say, I don't know about that. Well, what did Jesus say to the thief on the cross? "Today you will be with me in heaven." He didn't say that, did He? "Today you will be with me" where? "In paradise." Where's paradise? Abraham's bosom. I mean, they were living large in paradise. Amen!

But they were waiting for the day, the righteous dead, when they would ascend, led by Christ's atoning work into the very presence of God. Why do I say that? Well, there is no purgatory. There is no waiting room for the dead, other than the wicked dead. They're not in purgatory; they're in a place of torment. That's where Jesus said that rich man was, being tormented in the flame, the place of the wicked dead.

Paul said when we die now, because atonement has been made and paradise is closed down, he said to be absent from the body is to be where? In the presence of the Lord. Are you with me? Amen!

So here's my point. At the end in Revelation chapter 20, the devil will be cast into hell at that time, and those not found in the book, the Lamb's Book of Life, will be cast into hell at that time. You say, well, where are those people now that will be cast into hell?

They're in the place of the wicked dead, who have rejected God's love, who have lived wicked lives, who have abused people, whatever, who are unrepentant. They're waiting for the great white throne judgment which will happen in Revelation chapter 20. And while they're waiting, they're not waiting in a lounge chair; they're being tormented. Remember the rich man.

Hell is a real place, but nobody's there yet. And I always wonder, I want to rightly divide the word of truth: God, why would You bring people up to just announce that they're condemned and send them into hell? The Bible says the books are opened.

In other words, God judges us, I think it's Psalm 51 where David said, "So that when You judge, no one will be able to refute God's judgment. You will be justified in Your judgment." God's going to open the books for everybody to see, so whoever goes to hell and is cast into hell in Revelation chapter 20, no one will be able to say God's unfair, because God will say, "Now I've got the books right here."

You see that? And why does He do that? Because God is just. And He wants the whole of all creation to know that that person, when they're condemned to hell, that God was just in His condemnation. It's a scary thing. Amen!

That's why Paul says, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men to come to Christ. Hell is no joke. Now, having said that, next time somebody tells you to go there, you can just say, "I would, but it's not open yet." Amen!

All right! That's a lot of doctrinal teaching; I don't have time to go into depths of it, just to give you a thumbnail sketch of that. Now you'll see the word hell, let me just say this, in the Old Testament and hell translated the Hebrew is Sheol, which means grave. Okay?

So people go, "Oh, it says hell." Well, every time we see the word hell, we always relate it to that, but go back to the original language, you'll see that many times it's speaking of the grave. Amen! All right, let me move on. All right, hope I didn't lose anybody on that.

There are two judgments, divine judgments, that are coming, which have come, because Jesus said judgment has come, but the sentencing will be carried out in Revelation chapter 20. Thus, Christ entered that city. His entrance was a reminder to the world that the day of divine reckoning and sentencing is approaching.

And yet with every generation, we think that somehow we can outsmart God. Amen! Every new generation. Remember when you were 18 and you had all the answers? You're so much smarter than your parents; you had all the answers. Every generation thinks they're smarter and we can somehow outsmart God.

But Proverbs chapter 30 has a lot to say about the generation which we are now in. It says there is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet it is not washed from its filthiness. The only way we can be washed from our filthiness is through faith in Jesus Christ, through the blood that He shed for our sins on the cross.

And because mankind has ignored God's warning, because mankind has rejected the love of God, God has given them over, given the world over to something called strong delusion, the placebo of strong delusion.

In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, the scripture says because mankind had rejected the love of God, the Bible says, "And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So Palm Sunday is an announcement of judgment has come to this world.

But now that you're all thoroughly bummed out, the good news is this: God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Amen!

That the judgment against us is completely eradicated and destroyed by putting our faith in Jesus Christ and the work that He has performed, rather than anything that we can perform. Judgment against us is totally removed.

By way of conclusion, and many of you are aware of this, that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan. You say, big deal. Well, 10th of Nisan was the day that Moses said, according to Exodus 12, it was the first month in the ancient Hebrew calendar year.

10th of Nisan was the day that the children of Israel, in celebration of Passover, was to select the lamb that was to be slain for Passover. The 10th of Nisan was Lamb Selection Day. And while people were selecting their lambs for to be sacrificed for Passover, here comes the Lamb of God and everybody misses it.

Riding on the back, on the foal of a donkey just as Zechariah had prophesied over 500 years before. Lamb Selection Day, Shabbat HaGadol, and it means Great Sabbath, and indeed it was a great day that Jesus entered the city.

And according to the law of Moses, the innocent lamb was to be slain, selected on the 10th, slain on the 14th of Nisan. The same day in which we now call Good Friday. I hope you come back for Good Friday. We're going to talk more about that, Christ's sacrifice on the cross for us.

He was indeed the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Jesus entered Jerusalem as our atoning sacrifice that we might have eternal joy and peace, truth and freedom from judgment.

His visitation was God's divine invitation that whosoever will come will be saved. Have you received or answered the invitation of God? Palm Sunday is His invitation for you. If you have not, today is your day. You're watching online, you're in this congregation, today you can give your life to Christ. Today you can receive God's invitation because of the visitation of His Son.

Father, we thank You for Your word today. I pray, Father, that if there's anyone here today who does not know You, that You would speak to their hearts and open their mind, open their heart. That the triumphal entry might not just be some historical event, but they may experience right now the triumphal entry of Christ into their heart to give them victory, to deliver them from shame and from the guilt of sin. That they might be reconciled to the living God.

You say, Pastor Al, that's me. I want to know that. I want to experience that. I want to know that if I was to die today, that I'd go to heaven, that I'm with the Lord. My friend, we never know. Many of you heard the story of the 24-year-old promising quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers that was hit by a truck walking along the interstate. I don't think that was in his plan that day.

We don't know when death will come. You think, I don't need Christ right now, I've got so much going on. Well, he did too. And I don't know his state with the Lord or whatever; I'm not here to debate that. I'm just here to say we never know.

Do you know for certain if you were to die today that you'd go to heaven? You say, Pastor Al, I want to know. If that's your heart's desire, here's what I want you to do. I want you to stand to your feet right now. I'm not going to embarrass you; I just want you to stand.

I want to lead you in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you're online, there's a button for you to click and I will lead you in that same prayer. Is there anybody here today? We'll wait just a few moments. You stand right now, that you might come to understand and to know God's great love for you. We'll wait just a few moments. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Jesus.

You're watching online, you've clicked the button, I would like to lead you in a prayer. Just open your heart to Jesus, repeat this prayer after me. Simply say, Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You died for my sins, and I believe that You are risen from the dead. Forgive me for my sins. Come into my life. I receive You today as my Lord and my Savior. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Guest (Male): Learn more about Pastor Al and his ministry by visiting alpittmanministries.com. Also consider supporting us financially. You can send a check to Al Pittman Ministries at PO Box 50584, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80949. Or visit us online.

Thank you for your prayers and your support. Your generosity keeps this radio ministry going. Lastly, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing info@alpittmanministries.com. That's info@alpittmanministries.com. And we look forward to hearing from you. Again, thank you for joining us, and we'll see you next time on the Dwelling Place. God bless.