Richard Ellis Talks

Richard Ellis: At some point when you know God's voice, you say, "Well, God told me to go out to the Grand Canyon and jump and he'd protect me." You know what? God didn't tell you that. I'm not talking about doing crazy stuff. I'm talking about listening for his voice when he tells you after a long relationship where you know his voice, you hear his voice, you know you have enough relationship to know it's God speaking to you.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. Richard's going to take the next few minutes to share some great words of hope and insight for you. And in today's broken world, that is something everyone is desperate to hear. Richard shares unapologetically the truth of the Bible in a way that's clear, relational, and uplifting.

So thank you for taking this time to listen. We know it will bless you. And when you have a moment, you might want to check out our website so we can stay connected with you: richardellis.com. But right now, let's go ahead and get things off and running with today's talk. Here's Richard Ellis.

Richard Ellis: The title today's message is RAM. Believe it or not, RAM is in the Bible. You know, having random access memory in a computer can be a great thing. It's defined as a memory device in which information can be accessed in any order. It's just random. You can go in and grab something out, not sequentially. It just grabs the information, brings it out, and you use it.

Now, that kind of ability in the right hands is great, especially when it comes not to a hard drive but to your actual memory. And one of the great challenges of being a human being, frankly, is that we have memory. And if you don't have memory, you're either old or you have Alzheimer's or some kind of mental problem. But if you have your mental faculties and you do have your memory, then for some people the great challenge of memory is the past.

And the enemy will come in and trigger something. There are places you can drive through a town, you can drive by a hotel, maybe just all any number of places because it brings back memories. Or a sound or a sight or a smell. There are certain things that just trigger things from your past and it's almost too much. And you say, "God, you got to help me get rid of this." You almost want to hit delete.

But the Holy Spirit can also use that kind of memory to say, "Okay, you know what? We're not going back to the bad stuff. We're going back to the good stuff." And even the bad stuff, God can make into the good stuff. And here's my suggestion to you: when the enemy brings up these random memories that you stop a minute and you say, "Okay, you know what? It's here, and I can't get rid of it. Obviously, it's been allowed to come back into my mind. So here's what I'm going to do."

God, I know—and this applies to you if you're a Christian specifically—you say, "God, I know that when I gave my life to you, when I understood that Jesus died on that cross, shed his blood to pay for my sin, was buried and raised from the dead, and I confess my sin to you, you are faithful and just to forgive me of my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. And on that thing that I'm remembering, that's gone. I spiritually hit delete the day I confessed it. That's gone."

So, I know you're not bringing this to my mind probably. The enemy's bringing it to mine. So I tell you what: every time he brings this stuff to my mind, I'm going to use it as an opportunity to worship you and to praise you. And if the devil wants to keep trying to trigger these memories, bring it on, because every time he does, I'm going to say, "Well, thank you, Satan, for reminding me of this because I'll tell you about that. I've been forgiven of that. And that's been washed in the blood."

I am clean. I am holy. I am perfect. You may be accurate that I actually did that, but the fact of the matter is I've gone to court on that. I've been accused of being guilty. The judge whacked the gavel and said, "Not guilty," because I got the best attorney on the planet. And Jesus pleaded my case with his own life and I'm forgiven. So, you want to remind me of my past? Whether it's memory or someone else bringing up a memory to you, you say, "You know what? Well, thanks so much for reminding me of that because I once was lost but now I'm found. And I'll tell you about that."

They're not going to bring that up anymore. And if you will use those memories, that random access to memory, to allow God to trigger it maybe—maybe he allows the enemy to do it. And I don't understand how this brain works. I'm going to tell you something: your body doesn't operate without your brain. Nothing happens without your brain. And you say, "Well, how's the devil get in my brain?" I don't know what he does or how he uses it, but if he does and you're walking with God, God allows it.

And there's a reason for it so you can thank him and praise him anyway. Random access memory. Now go to Genesis 22:1. If you go back in the history of this passage and look even before it, God picks Abraham and says, "You know what? You're it. I'm taking you from this place you've been to a new place. I'm going to make in your seed and your family for generations to come. I'm going to bless you."

And Abraham believed, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. It wasn't because he was a good guy. God picked him, he believed, and the deal was on. So Abraham follows God, trusts God, but God kept talking about blessing him through his seed. That means you got to have a son. And he's 80, 90, he's getting older and older and there's no son. And finally, long story short, God comes through with a kid named Isaac, whose name means laughter because they laughed when his wife's 90-something years old saying, "You're going to get pregnant." So they named the kid laughter after that.

So Isaac is born, and not too many years into the process, God says to Abraham here in Genesis 22, look at what it says. "Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, 'Abraham.' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then he said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love.'" You know, it's bad enough God's going to do this, but he kind of sets him up.

"Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you." Abraham, I've told you from the beginning I've chosen you, told you what to do, and I'm telling you now: take your son and burn him. Trust me. And what does Abraham do?

"So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey." Now let me tell you something, I am not here. I don't know what it takes to get here. But if you've prayed and waited your whole life for something to happen and then God gives you that, and then God comes after that, you're going, "What are you thinking, God?" He's not asking. He may be inside but we got no record of this, and he's not deliberating much if the next day you saddle your donkey.

At some point, guys, in your life, this is what happens. And hopefully, we're all headed this place. At some point, when you know God's voice, you say, "Well, God told me to go out to the Grand Canyon and jump and he'd protect me." You know what? God didn't tell you that. I'm not talking about doing crazy stuff. I'm talking about listening for his voice when he tells you after a long relationship where you know his voice, you hear his voice, you can recognize his voice. It's backed up by scripture.

You know you have enough relationship to know it's God speaking to you. At some point, though, you got to stop arguing with God. You got to stop complaining. You got to begin to obey. We've got to go on first command, whatever he says, "Yes, sir." And see, we understand this in regard to children, the importance of first-time obedience.

And you say, "Well, they're children, you're in a person of authority, they should and they ought to come in and do it." Then why do we argue with God? God says, "Here's the deal. No." And we say, "Well, God, but you don't understand. You know, I can handle this. Look, I'm older now. I'm out here on the street by myself and I can take care of myself." He says, "Look, I don't want to hear your arguments. No."

These rational lies when we convince ourselves, "You know what? It's no." And Abraham got to the place with God. He had seen God bring a baby out of a 90-something-year-old woman. Now let me tell you something, you see that go down, you're believing stuff. And I think Abraham finally says, "You know what? If God can bring this kid from a dead body, a dead womb, then sacrifice the kid. He can raise him from the dead. It's not my problem."

See, at some point you realize this is not your problem. If God tells you to do something and it doesn't work out, you know what? It's a reflection on him, not me. I did what I was told. I obeyed. What are you going to do now, God? Knock yourself out. This ain't going to work without you anyway.

Verse three: "Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son. And he split the wood for the burnt offering." I mean, we can go off on this, man. He is packing the wood for the offering. He is not going thinking this ain't going to work out. All right, you want my son? I'm going to pack everything we need to burn him. You want to burn him? We'll burn him.

"And rose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey. The lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.'" Now let me tell you something, that is faith right there. He has been told to sacrifice his son on an altar, burn him.

Takes two guys with him, finds a place, says, "Okay, you guys stay here. We're going to worship and we will be back." Now, how's he going to do that? How you going to burn a kid on an altar and then come back with that kid? He is sure God is going to take care of business. Either God's going to intervene or this kid is going to die and he's going to raise him from the dead. But either way, I don't care how you do it, God, it's going to be okay because I got to trust you.

"So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son." Somewhere, whatever this looked like, puts Isaac down in the spot and takes the wood and starts piling it on his son. "And he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and the two of them went together." You know what? Now let me read this one more time to you.

"Abraham took the wood of the offering and laid it on Isaac his son." He made Isaac carry the wood that he would be placed on to be sacrificed. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father." Now, I'm not sure the inflection. Is this just one of these movies when you get to heaven here how that came out? "My father." And he said, "Here am I, my son."

And interesting how God started talking to Abraham, said, "Abraham." And Abraham said what? "Here am I." And now his son is saying, "My father." And again Abraham says, "Here am I, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire, the wood, but where's the lamb for a burnt offering? We're missing something, Dad."

"I came with you, and I don't think Isaac at this point knows what God has told Abraham to do." But he trusts his daddy, and he's looking for a lamb. "And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering.'" Now, if you look in the King James Version, you know what's the word you got there on the King James? "God will provide the ram for the burnt offering."

"So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him, and Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order. And he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham.' At the last minute, 'Abraham, Abraham.'"

So he said, "Here I am." And he said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me." Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

And Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah Jireh, which translated means the Lord will provide. And as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided." Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, blessing, I will bless you and multiplying, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice."

He obeyed simple, pure obedience. Even if it means sacrificing the thing you hold most dear, you are willing to lay it down knowing that God is going to take care of it one way or another. Now jump over to John chapter 1. In the story we just read, God required the sacrifice of Abraham's son Isaac, but provided a ram substitute.

And when you go and look at a similar situation, it didn't turn out quite the same way. John chapter 1, verse 29. This is John out baptizing, people are coming to him to be baptized, and he looks up, says, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'"

And as I said, God required the sacrifice of Abraham's son Isaac, but provided a ram substitute. God required the sacrifice of his own son, but there was no substitute. Instead of a ram, he was the lamb. And the picture in the Old Testament of Abraham and Isaac, God testing Abraham, seeing if he would lay it down, when God tested himself, the lamb could have delivered himself. God could have delivered the lamb.

But because God did deliver the lamb into the hands of those that betrayed him and would eventually crucify him, because of that, the fact that he is and was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world, you and I are sitting here. Somebody's listening beyond here, people get it every day all around the planet, understand maybe for the first time who Jesus is, what he did, what he made possible.

Look at verse three out of 1 Peter chapter 1, just to give you the background here. He says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory in the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

And then look what he says in verse 10 about people in the past. "Of this salvation—in other words, the salvation that we know that they looked forward to but we have now and experience now, still waiting for the body to be changed obviously, but we have are being saved, have been saved—verse 10, of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or of what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow."

Imagine being a prophet in the Old Testament and you read the prophecies, you know Messiah's coming, and you wait and you wait and you live and you pray and you think maybe it's coming, looking for the signs. See, now today we look for the signs of his second coming. And you live your whole life and think maybe he'll come before I die and then he doesn't show up.

And it gets passed—the mantle gets passed to another generation and they wait and they long and they search the scriptures thinking is something going on now that he'll show up. And then there's hundreds of years of darkness spiritually and he doesn't show up. And then out of nowhere, he promises some guy in a temple that you won't die till you see Messiah born. And one day a mama and a dad walk in the temple to have a baby dedicated and he says, "I can die."

Think of the feeling everybody waiting. And he holds the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world in his own hands, knowing that one day that little boy will have to die, will have to sacrifice his life and his life's blood to get us back. Verse 12: "To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things which angels desire to look into."

Never take this for granted. We sit here and we sing some songs and we open the Bible and maybe you leave sometimes going, "Well, that wasn't very good." Maybe he had a bad week. Maybe he's tired. Maybe things aren't going so well. We ought to approach this book and this story with so much reverence. Let me tell you something: it doesn't matter whether the sermon's good or not. God is good all the time.

1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18 and 19, listen to the statement. "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." And the scripture says that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.

It is gory. It is kind of bizarre, admittedly. I tell you, you read the Old Testament, go back—I was reading in Leviticus this week. It is unbelievable. Thank God you're just reading about it. If you go back in the Old Testament and imagine what the priest—these guys were butchers. You had to be a trained almost butcher to run the sacrificial system. There was blood everywhere. They had to clean entrails and parts of the body and do certain ceremonial things.

You know what? We got it so stinking easy, we don't have a clue. They'd take a cow in there, a heifer or whatever it was, put their hands on the head of that cow and say, "Father, I have sinned. I deserve what this animal's going to get. I am transferring my sin. This animal's going to be sacrificed to pay my way." And it was never enough.

Those animals were slaughtered, paid the price for whose sin? Animals don't sin, we sin. And it goes on for decades and generations and hundreds of years and animals die, their blood shed and sprinkled inside the temple, on the altar. We think of this nice, pure, clean, spotless altar. It was a mess with the blood of animals who had died to pay for the sin of the people who showed up and admitted that.

And even then, the Day of Atonement, the priests would go in and say, "God, if all this sacrifice and if all this sin has not been covered, I'm coming in to appeal to you to have mercy. Don't wipe us out. Have mercy. We deserve whatever you give us, but we're coming and we're offering as you asked these animals. And if we can't afford a cow, we'll bring a bird. If we can't afford a bird, we'll bring grain. But we'll bring something to show that we are not worthy of your love and we need your mercy."

And then God comes along and says, "Watch this. You've read about it, you've waited for it, it's finally here. I'm going to send my own kid and once and for all he will die." Let me tell you something: Jesus was not just a blood donor. I'm not crazy about giving blood, but there's a big difference in giving blood and giving yourself. They didn't draw some blood and say, "Well, let's sprinkle that on the altar." Everyone's happy. Let's go home. They killed him. They sacrificed him.

It's not just his blood. It is his body. He suffered in the flesh for us, and it is our privilege to somehow in all of your sin and in all of my sin, if I could walk up to Jesus in your mind somehow think of doing this. And you walk up to Jesus understanding that he is going to die for sin, and you put your hands on his head and you say, "Father, once and for all be done with it. But I am transferring all of my sin onto your Son. And I understand that he does not deserve. He is like an innocent lamb. He does not deserve what he's about to get."

But I got nowhere else to go and there aren't enough animals to cover my sin. So I'm putting my hands on Jesus' head and all this is getting transferred. And Jesus, thank you. And when you die, I understand that your blood, your body, your life is going to pay the price finally for my sin. Thank you. How do you not worship for God's sake after that?

1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul writes to this church in Corinth, and I'm telling you as screwed up as things get, I always love going back to Corinth because they were a bunch of idiots. Now look at what they're doing. 1 Corinthians 11 in the context of remembering this thing that Jesus has done. Verse 20, he says, "Therefore, when you come together in one place, is it not to eat the Lord's Supper?"

He's saying, "Okay, now isn't this the deal? You come together and the purpose is to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry and another is drunk." It used to be they'd show up with the wine and with food. And the purpose supposedly for their gathering was to remember his death until he come.

But they'd show up and then they'd start hoarding their food. Now, where does all this come from? Go back to verse 17 of chapter 11. Now listen to what's really going on. "Now in giving these instructions, I do not praise you since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all," he says, "when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it."

So there's divisions among them. And he says, "And I believe it." Verse 19: "For there must also be factions among you that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore, when you come together in one place, it's not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others."

"I'm going to eat mine first. Not sharing with anybody. And one is hungry and another is drunk." They're showing up. The wine's supposed to symbolize this blood that was shed and have this great gathering together, and somebody's sloshed at the Lord's Supper. That's a Greek word, sloshed. You'll have to look it up.

And then look at this in verse 22: "What?" I mean, it's like this "What?" exclamation point in my translation. "What? Do you not have households to eat and drink in? If this is just about eating and beating somebody to the table and drinking so much you get drunk, do it at home. Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?"

And he's like, "What's going on? Share. This is a family. Don't live this way. Don't be this way. Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?" Let me tell you something: churches—this is a whole other sermon—churches have a way of shaming people who have nothing. "What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you."

He says, "Enough. I'm going to go at you." Then he goes in, "This is the way you're supposed to do it. For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you. This is what I got from him, and this is what I told you. That the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'"

"In the same manner he also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he come." Let me tell you something: this was not casual dining. That night, that moment, they had done Passover together a couple of times at least before this.

They're back, they're in Jerusalem, they're doing the same dinner, and all of a sudden Jesus takes the bread and takes the cup, the cup, and says, "Guys, this isn't just any old bread. This isn't just any old cup. This is me I'm talking about. I'm going to die." And he knew he'd be betrayed that night. It was a serious gathering.

Guest (Male): Before Richard comes back to wrap things for us today, I'd like to share a couple important things with you. Let me encourage you to take a minute and check out our website, richardellis.com. You'll find today's talk right there in the talks page, along with all of Richard's audio and video messages. You can even forward them to a friend so they can hear them, too.

You'll also find the prayer wall to add your prayer requests, a link so you can connect with us, the contribute page for you to be able to give to this ministry, all of our social media links, and much more. So check it out, richardellis.com. And Richard's back now to wrap up today's talk.

Richard Ellis: Now it'd be nice if he shut down in 26. Look at 27 and following. He warns them, "Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

Now, does this mean if you do this thing and mess it up the way they did that you'll die and go to heaven? The only way to end up in heaven is to reject Christ. This ain't about dying and going to hell. But keep reading verse 30: "For this reason many are weak and sick among you and many sleep." The word "sleep" here means they're dead. You die early.

Now, I am trying as hard as I can to give you some kind of picture of how serious God is about his Son and about this his body and about his blood and about the sacrifice that was made. This is no small thing. And the reason that Jesus asked us to remember and put something like this in place, do you know why you have to remember? Because we forget. He wants your whole life all the time.

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