Regaining Lost Ground

Pastor Shane Idleman: The authors of the Bible were also writing to their contemporaries. It was writing to Christians right then. Absolutely. But then it also is applicable to Christians throughout all of the ages. Jesus is speaking to all the churches and all Christians or could it be back to seven, the number of completion. It's interesting seven seven churches there. You have, you know, two of those churches were were were good on the right path. Five were not. Now I'll be talking about that in the future, but I do want to talk about this. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day.

Charismatics are like, oh, praise God, here we go. And conservatives are like, oh, I hope he doesn't cross the line.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at West Side Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, 1 hour north of Los Angeles. Today on Regaining Lost Ground, we hear the second part of a profound message from Pastor Shane titled, I Fell at His Feet as Dead. A. W. Tozer once said, if the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. Get ready for this soul-shaking, chain-breaking message as Pastor Shane projects the truth of God's living word and clearly spells out what the church must do from keeping Luke warm and instead be filled mightily with the Holy Spirit today.

You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today. For more information, visit us online at westsidechristianfellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with the Idle Man Unplugged weekly podcast. And now from West Side Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here's Pastor Shane Idle Man.

Pastor Shane Idleman: Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. There's no removal of sin. So that sin that is not dealt with but is then dealt with on the cross. If we are cleansed from it and then we can stand before God with our sins washed away. Again, back to the song, what can wash away our sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And he also says here Jesus is king, meaning he he has all authority and he they they name him as priest as well. That means he is an intercessor. And Jesus fulfilled he was a prophet, he was a priest, he was a king.

He he fulfilled all of those roles. Behold, he is coming with clouds. He is coming with clouds. And this is one of the important things and I haven't mastered this, so don't please don't misunderstand, but a lot of times if we if we read and I I read the Bible literally. I think anytime like I remember Bill Riley a long time ago, he get people on, you don't take the Bible literally, do you? You know, of course. But in taking it literally, you have to allow the Bible to also use allegory or imagery or typology.

And all you have to do is look at other like the book of Revelation quotes and uses the Old Testament about 500 sometimes because they understood, is Jesus coming back actually riding a cloud like a horse? Clouds were used as God's judgment upon a nation, upon a people. Now maybe he will. Okay, hey, that'd be pretty cool. But that's what I believe he's talking about. He's coming again with clouds, dark clouds, judgment clouds, and every eye will see him. Even they who pierced him. Even those, can you imagine the Roman soldier who pierced him now?

Where he's at now? Those who mocked him. Do you realize Jesus bled over 1,000% on that day. Every knee will bow. Everyone that mocked, everyone that discarded him, everyone that came against him, everyone that said Barabbas, Barabbas, Barabbas, now they know the truth. And in many cases, it was too late. That 's why there's always an urgency. All the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, amen. Consider it so is what he's saying. I am the alpha. I am the omega. I am the beginning and I am the end, says the Lord Jesus Christ, who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.

Again, talking about clouds of judgment, Joel 2, blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on the holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. The Old Testament will present this type of of how else do you explain something so vivid? Cuz they could just say it's a day of judgment and okay, our mind could kind of go somewhere. But when you think of especially back then, they didn't understand the thunder and lightning like we do or that can you imagine back then just seeing what is that coming this way and the thunder I mean, you would think the gods were thundering as they would say in Rome.

No, it's one God. Or out on the out on the sea and it's nice and calm and then the tempest and so all of these things were were imagery for God's judgment even though those who pierced him. Every eye and every knee will bow and every eye will see him. The alpha and the omega always everything always starts and ends with him. So I don't know what you're going through this morning or challenges, but it must start with him. It must start with that relationship with him and obviously finish there as well. When he's the front and the back, when he's the book uh what they call this book ends, book supports, he keeps your life together.

But so many people run to him at the end. They he's not the beginning. They all get to Jesus sometime. And I I talked to friends in high school sometimes and people and they all often say that, oh yeah, I know Shane, you got religious and maybe I will someday. Maybe I will someday. Oh my goodness. Unbelievable. One of my friends, best friend from high school, texted me. He's like, oh man, you got to come out here this summer to have a sue. I'm like, I don't think so. I don't think I 'm going on your $50,000 boat and do what you want to do.

That's not fun. You come out here and see how that that they they don't they don't want that right now and they'll say maybe someday, maybe someday. Guys, the sad part is maybe someday doesn't come. If you're taken like this and no time to react and also I I I want to if I talk about this, want to do a little bit more research, but they've and I remember reading and looking at things, they've studied a lot of those who had near-death experiences. Or and they they like Joe Joe has conversions they call and they like I need to come to God, but then years later they find out they're not walking with the Lord.

So that would be another concern at the end of your life. Is your heart really right? Are you really doing it for the right reason? You can't just wait till until the end of your life and say a little prayer and hope that works. Because actually that's why the sinner's prayer, I I don't mind the sinner's prayer. I think it's fine, but there are you'll see YouTube videos and things that people are like, ah this these you know, they're against the sinner's prayer. Based and strong Christians are basically both sides are right because we have people, you know, that you have people just hey, just say this prayer after me and they they quote this prayer, but nothing has changed in their heart.

And the Bible, you don't have they don't they're not saying a sinner's prayer in the Bible when they come to salvation. What are they doing? They're repenting and believing within. But now somebody wants to say a sinner's prayer and they really mean it and they they're saved. But you have to be you you have to be careful that you're not just doing certain things because of you want to get out of jail free card or because this person's forcing you or they're making you or I guess this is what I need to do now. It has to be within the depths of your heart, brokenness and repentance and belief.

I really need Jesus. That that's what it comes I really need Jesus is what it comes down to. I I I'm not going to make it. I I can't stand before God the way I am and I repent. And then continuing on to Revelation, it's the vision of the son of man. I John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation. So at this point, there was a lot of tribulation going on in the church. Well, how do I know that? Well, number 1 11 by this time probably 11 or 12 disciples had been killed already and it wasn't pleasant.

And John is exiled onto the island of Patmos. Tradition holds, I mean, you know, that he was boiled in oil, hot oil and and didn't die and exiled onto the island of Patmos. And so I would call that tribulation. If you live in third-world countries do you know how hard it is to be a Christian in North Korea? Man, I don't know if any of you saw the the any of the videos of the of that young North Korean woman that's been on a lot of podcasts who got out of there and just like like that's a literal nightmare hell living there.

The the stuff I I mean, I couldn't believe half of it how how they they treat people. And so there's real tribulation. Ask the Christians if the ones that are still alive, what happened in Afghanistan when we pulled out the wrong way by the way leaving a lot of people to be murdered going through their homes. A Christian in Iraq right now or Syria even China there's tribulation going on. And so John said, I'm a I'm a fellow brother and companion in the tribulation. And you know, that's really Christians who you can trust, those who have been through hell with you.

So he says here, I was on that island of Patmos and the reason I was there was for the word of God and for the testimony, hello, of Jesus Christ. I was there because of the testimony of Jesus Christ. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a secret sensitive message. I I'm pretty sure I guarantee you the disciples didn't go into this and think, okay, I don't want to offend anybody. I don't want to say that. I don't want to say that. Let me just let me let them just see Jesus by my love. They would they would say they would say the truth of God's word.

And it was a difficult time. The terror of Rome, you had Nero in 68 AD, you had Domitian in 80 95. Look these gentlemen up if you would like. They were ruthless to Christians. They killed them often. And it's interesting John wrote this book on the island of Patmos. He was he was isolated. Do you know where Paul wrote a lot of his letters? In jail. Could it be that when God wants to use you in profound ways, he might isolate you? He might take something away that's really important, give you more time to focus on him.

Isolation sometimes is not the time to get depressed. It's a it's a time to press in. If God is isolating you, do not rush or complain. We've seen it so many times here. Maybe a marriage is temporarily breaking up and now the spouse is in isolation. Oh, don't run to plan B. Don't run to plan B. Run to God. What's plan B, Shane? Oh, I'm glad you asked. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen this and it's just it literally blows my mind. As soon as something challenging is is going on, hey, let's let's separate, let's do this.

Oh, I wonder who I can date now. Hold on. Going clubbing, going places they shouldn't go. Plan B. Hey, I'm free now. Hey, this is cool. No, it's not cool. It's destructive and you're going to be more miserable than you are now if you go down that road. We get ourselves into more pickles. Patmos was isolation. Again, if God is isolating you, don't rush it or complain. Thank God for alone time. Thank God for alone time. I mean, I can take you to anybody heard of the Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan? Did he did he write that in his home with his wife and the kids in a fireplace all day?

Where did he write that book? In prison for years, wrongly accused. Where did a lot of of of things come from and God moving in a person's life in the times of aloneness and isolation and God getting you sometimes by yourself so you can hear him more clearly. Oh, me and my wife joke about it often, but it's true. And we don't want to be single again, but if we could get that single time back how much how much more we would utilize that time with the Lord. He who is married must care for the things of the world, how they might please their spouse, but he who is single can care for the things of the Lord, how they might please the Lord.

And so many people with this extra time on their hands get in get into trouble. This is the time to pursue God, not get into trouble. Oh, I'm I'm I'm lonely. Follow God and you won't be. There's seasons sometimes, of course, but he will give you the pieces or passes all your your your understanding. And then now we're going to get a little bit controversial. You ready? This is so funny. When John when when the people in the Bible say it, nobody has a problem with it. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, John says.

Can you what would you do if I said that? I was in the spirit last Sunday taking up to the third heaven like Paul. Oh my goodness, here we go, Shane. Or why is it okay we read the book of Acts? They spoke in tongues. Read Corinthians. Paul spoke in tongues. Paul said he spoke in tongues. But today, I don't know about that. I don't know about that. Well, things in the Bible are comfortable 2,000 years ago, but when they're today, oh, it's not very comfortable. And I will tell you I will tell you as God is my witness, the reason many people are not comfortable with these kind of things if they've never experienced them.

Of course of course they're uncomfortable about that. Absolutely. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and I heard behind me a loud voice. Can you imagine if I said that? Hey guys, this morning I was in the spirit and I heard something behind me. I don't know how many of you be back next week. And they and it was like a trumpet. So it wasn't quiet. It wasn't violin. It wasn't Matthias back here. Should I try this out? No no no. It was something behind me, a trumpet saying I am the alpha. I am the omega.

I'm the first and then the last. And what you see John, what you see right in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia. So what we get into in the next few weeks is so important. This is Jesus Christ speaking to the churches. Oh my goodness. We love the Gospels and so do I, but what is he saying to the churches? And the message title I think is going to be five blind spots. Five of the seven churches did not have a good response. So Jesus is saying write these letters to the churches and I believe that it's for us today.

Now there are those who believe. I remember hearing David Jeremiah teach on this years ago that there's seven dispensations. Some that's why dispensationalism, that term comes from a portion of this. Also dispensation mean God has a plan for Israel, God has a plan for the church. I'm going to get in different views as we keep going and I could see that. You could see how that you know, the first church the first church history there resembled like Ephesus. A lot of persecution, different things and then Smyrna and then different things and now we're in the Laodicean age, which woo, if you know Laodicean, you lukewarm, I'm going to spear you out.

And so what I would say to that is that's interesting. Hmm, the Bible doesn't teach it, but that that's very interesting. If you break down church history you can see these seven different dispensations of church history. There's a time of great persecution, then there was a time of apostasy and there was a time of of um where they would um the church uh that you you have love, you have works, you have all these things, but you've left your first love. But to me, these things apply in all areas, but I want to show you a map real quick.

The irony is you can't even see Israel. It's down down here somewhere in the woods. And so John is just off an island out this way, Patmos. And Jesus saying write to the seven churches in Asia. And so one of the beliefs out there that I'll get into, a lot of people believe that the book of Revelation was written prior to AD 70. In AD 70 a man by the name of Titus conquered the city of Jerusalem and killed over about a million Jews. And Josephus talks about the blood was going down the streets and the price of wheat and things and things you could kind of see you know, you could see where they're kind of making that connection.

Um also in the book of Revelation, it talks about every mountain will be low be made low and every valley will be filled in. Well, they record that while before Rome would go into Jerusalem, they would knock down these hills and different things and fill in the valleys of the streets so the chariots and the armies could get there. So you can see, okay, these I understand what they're saying. You know, I I don't necessarily agree with it because we don't know when AD of the Revelation was written. Um and so they would say Revelation has to do with AD 70 and a lot of these bold judgments, trumpet judgment, the seal being broken doesn't apply to us today.

And so you know, and I might get into that in the future, but my my thought would be then if he's riding to the seven churches, you know, going to warn them about this coming wrath, well, Titus is going to be down here in the woods. He Jerusalem's way down here. That's not really going to affect these churches way up here, 700 miles away. So that's one and one of the reasons I don't embrace that view. I I like a lot of what you know, they have some good points. All millennial has good points, post-millennial has good points, uh pre-millennialism has good points.

That basically means Jesus coming before the millennial reign. Is he coming after the millennial or all millennial? We're currently in the all millennial. You can listen to my podcast with Sam Storm to find out what people believe about that. And I heard somebody say it's very true. Christians love to argue and debate about 1,000 years of peace. The millennium is 1,000 years of peace that we love to argue about. The reason is it's it's kind of interesting. Revelation 20 and again, I'll get to that uh as we go through here, but I want to want you to see where the churches are at that he's writing to.

And of course, I've often thought why isn't he read riding to the churches in Jerusalem or in the surround there was a lot of churches in that area by then. Of course, we don't know the answer, but I would say this Jesus is speaking to all churches and all Christians. That's how many interpreters have interpreted and commentators and just a normal reading would would make sense because my other kind of beef sometimes is that we take all of this from 2,000 years ago and we make everything now. But the authors of the Bible were also writing to their contemporaries.

It was writing to the Christians right then. Absolutely. But then it also is applicable to Christians throughout all of the ages. Jesus is speaking to all the churches and all Christians or could it be back to seven? The number of completion, that's interesting. Seven seven churches there. You have you know, two of those churches were were were good on the right path. Five were not. I'll be talking about that in the future, but I do want to talk about this. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. Charismatics are like, oh, praise God, here we go.

And conservatives are like, oh, I hope he doesn't cross the line. Right because when you talk about the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, how the Holy Spirit works, you you you divide churches. Yeah, I mean, you you you got those who don't believe in a lot of this kind of stuff and they come and they fellowship and then you have others that that do and they get a little carried away sometimes, you know, and because what I found growing up I I went to I preached in in very conservative Baptist churches churches before I we planted this church.

I've been in in very hyper charismatic churches that would make us seem like we're asleep. But we know that activity isn't necessarily of God unless the activity is inspired by God because you can be very active and still sinning.

Guest (Female): He's calling, wake up child. It's your turn to shine. You are born for such a time as this. He's calling, wake up child. It's your turn to shine. You are born for such a time as this. Such a time as this.

Pastor Shane Idleman: Hello Regaining Lost Ground listeners. This is Pastor Shane Idle Man. Hey, I want to let you know that my new booklet titled A Calculated Assault Against Cancer is now available. You can download it for free right now at shaneidleman.com. Again, my new booklet A Calculated Assault Against Cancer is now available at shaneidleman.com. And the reason I did this is because there's so much negativity and fear that encompasses that word and especially in the medical industry, there's not a lot of hope. And so I want to release this booklet to give people hope and perspective and let them know, hey, with God all things are possible and his sovereignty can be your sanity.

So again, get this to anybody struggling with their health, especially and primarily cancer. The title of the booklet is called A Calculated Assault Against Cancer and it's available right now at shaneidleman.com.

Guest (Male): West Side Christian Fellowship is located 60 miles north of Los Angeles in Leona Valley, California. Thank you again for listening to today's message of Regaining Lost Ground where we are reminded daily times change, truth does not.

Guest (Female): I want to hear the father when he calls. Come on. He's calling, wake up child. It's your turn to shine. You are born for such a time as this. He's calling, wake up child. It's your turn to shine.