Hello, good evening, and
we welcome you to hour #3.
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And time really goes
fast when you're having fun!
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And time goes fast
when you are among friends
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and when you're
worshiping the Lord.
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And we are truly doing
all of that this evening.
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We've had music;
we've had a message;
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we will more music
and another message.
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And then we get to do
this again on tomorrow evening
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and all day on Sabbath.
What could be better than that?
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Amen. Amen. We've got our
friends from across the world.
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I see the gang from Huntsville,
Alabama is in the house
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and people from all
across the United States
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and our audience from beyond the
bounds of these United States
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through the miracle of
television and the Internet.
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So we welcome you
once again to hour #3.
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It's going to be a good
hour as they all will be
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because we're talking
about the things of God
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and we are
listening to the Word of God
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and we are listening to
the preaching of that Word.
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And so we are
excited to have you here
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and we welcome you once again
to this particular sitting.
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We are going to call
Allison Durham-Speer back
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to sort of set the stage
for the preaching of the Word
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then we'll come back
and do a formal introduction
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of our speaker. But I
think she's going to be singing
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He Hideth My Soul, and
she does that so beautifully.
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God has given this
woman quite a gift.
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And you know what?
This is a nice lady.
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I like ability with
humility and she has both.
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Ability and humility, and that
all comes from Jesus Christ.
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So Allison, God
bless you. Thank you.
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Well you're so very kind
and the feeling is very mutual.
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Thank you so much.
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A wonderful Savior
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is Jesus my Lord,
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A wonderful Savior
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to me;
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He hideth my soul
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in the cleft of the rock,
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where rivers of pleasure
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I see.
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He hideth my soul
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in the cleft of the rock
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That shadows this dry,
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thirsty land;
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He hideth my life
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in the depths of His love,
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And covers me there
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with His hand,
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And covers me there
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with His hand.
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When clothed in His brightness
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transported I rise
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To meet Him
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in clouds of the sky,
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His perfect salvation,
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His wonderful love,
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I'll shout with the millions
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on high.
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He hideth my soul
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in the cleft of the rock
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That shadows
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this dry, thirsty land;
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He hideth my life
00:05:03.85\00:05:07.83
in the depths
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of His love,
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And covers me there
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with His hand,
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He covers me
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there
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with His
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hand.
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Amen.
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Thank you, C.A. Amen.
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Several years ago I was in
the worship auditorium at the
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Southern University.
And there were two people
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sitting behind me. And
they were trying to encourage me
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to get their pastor on 3ABN.
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And they just went on
and on about this man.
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And you know, even during
the service they were telling me
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about their pastor.
Just wo-wo-wo-wo-wo-wo.
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Wo-wo-wo-wo-wo-wo wo-wo-wo-wo.
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And I said to myself:
"Is he paying these people? "
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You know, just on and
on. Nobody can be as good
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as these people are made...
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They said: "You've
got to hear our pastor.
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You've got to get our pastor
on 3ABN. The world is going to
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love our pastor and you
need to get him on 3ABN. "
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And I actually began to develop
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a little something against
the pastor. You know, I just...
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I'm thinking:
"Nobody can be this good. "
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And I said: "I've
got to meet this guy. "
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And just a few years
later I had a chance to meet him
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and to interview him, and
every- thing they said about him
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was true. First of
all, he is a man of God.
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He is a humble man.
And my wife, Irma, says:
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"He's real. " He is real.
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John Bradshaw is now the Speaker
Director for It Is Written.
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He follows in the steps
of some mighty men of God:
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Vandeman, Finley, Boonstra.
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But you know, God is
no respecter of persons.
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Comes the man; comes the hour.
Comes the hour; comes the man.
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And God called him, and
he is doing a marvelous job.
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And he had stepped
in and taken that mantle
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and God is using him in
a marked and mighty way.
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And we are so very, very
pleased to have John Bradshaw
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come and be with us. He
had made a name for himself.
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And I use that terminology...
He had made a name for himself
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as a preacher of
righteousness, as a man of God,
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as a straight shooter.
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Again, great God-given ability
00:08:02.56\00:08:05.84
coupled with God-given humility.
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That makes you a mighty
weapon in the hand of God.
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And he is proving
that the Lord is using him
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in a mighty way to win
souls around the world.
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We are pleased to
present to you at this time
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the Director of It Is
Written but our friend
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and our preacher for
the hour John Bradshaw.
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Thank you, sir. Thank
you, thank you, thank you.
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Wrecked it for
me... secret's out.
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I actually did pay those people.
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Thanks.
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Preachers want
to hide some stuff.
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Can't hide
anything with C.A. around.
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Good evening
everyone. Good evening.
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I am glad you are here or
here, wherever here is for you.
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Thank you for joining us.
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I tell you what: I
just love 3ABN Camp Meeting.
00:09:02.75\00:09:05.15
Can you say
"Amen" to that? Amen.
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This is great. You can
run here but you cannot escape
00:09:06.89\00:09:09.93
the Holy Spirit
at 3ABN Camp Meeting.
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Even if you try to you cannot.
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So the Lord is here, and I'm
glad that the Lord led you here.
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And I'm not glad, I'm...
Well I am glad, I'm privileged,
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privileged that the Lord
has given me the opportunity
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to be back here. I was
here not too terribly long ago
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for a Pillars
weekend and that was fun.
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And it's always a real blessing
to come here and see old friends
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and make new friends and to
be in a place where the Spirit
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of God habitually
works... habitually works.
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So I'm glad that you have
been brought here this evening.
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Now I could show you
postcards and tell you stories
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and show you pictures
of my kids and all that...
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Actually, that's
probably a good idea!
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But I've got to
respect the clock.
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You know I used
to... Someone's laughing
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when I talked about
respecting the clock.
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You must know those same church
members C.A. was talking about.
00:10:01.26\00:10:04.28
I always tell my congregations
00:10:04.48\00:10:06.56
"Now if you need to
leave just go right ahead,
00:10:06.76\00:10:10.41
but we're not finishing
until the Holy Spirit is done. "
00:10:10.61\00:10:13.88
That's what I would tell them.
00:10:14.08\00:10:15.58
And some of them would
leave but most people wouldn't.
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The Holy Spirit's not on
the clock. I tell people -
00:10:21.17\00:10:23.08
especially on Sabbath. You
know, they start looking at
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their watch about noon.
"What are you in a hurry for?
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You've got all day! Do
you have a better offer?
00:10:28.60\00:10:31.14
You have an
appointment? It's the Sabbath! "
00:10:31.34\00:10:32.92
Yeah. So I come to 3ABN.
00:10:35.18\00:10:38.66
I was going to stand up and say:
"I'm going to preach till the
00:10:38.86\00:10:41.29
Holy Spirit tells me to stop. "
00:10:41.39\00:10:42.54
And they said: "You can
keep on going but when it's time
00:10:42.64\00:10:45.20
to stop the cameras
get turned off and... "
00:10:45.40\00:10:48.02
So you have to stop at
quitting time around here...
00:10:49.76\00:10:52.24
which might be just
as well. I am delighted.
00:10:52.54\00:10:55.79
We have a blessing
tonight. I have the privilege,
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the opportunity of talking about
a subject dear to my heart:
00:10:58.91\00:11:01.03
the Bible. And our subject
tonight is The Sure Word of God.
00:11:01.33\00:11:07.29
And if that's not a pillar,
if that's not a foundation,
00:11:07.59\00:11:13.51
then nothing is. Can
you say "Amen? " Amen!
00:11:13.71\00:11:16.87
The Word of God...
we want to stand on it.
00:11:16.97\00:11:19.05
And let's stand on it tonight.
00:11:19.25\00:11:20.85
Let us pray and
expect the blessing of God.
00:11:20.95\00:11:22.88
Please if you would bow
your head with me as we pray.
00:11:23.08\00:11:25.60
Our Father and our
God, we come to You tonight
00:11:27.03\00:11:29.18
in the name of Jesus grateful.
00:11:29.28\00:11:32.83
In the Psalms
David asks a question:
00:11:33.03\00:11:35.23
"What is man that
Thou art mindful of him? "
00:11:35.43\00:11:37.69
What a question.
00:11:37.89\00:11:40.07
What are we, Lord,
that You would even bother?
00:11:40.27\00:11:43.51
That you would even think of us?
00:11:43.71\00:11:47.07
And yet we
thank you that You do.
00:11:47.27\00:11:49.13
You so loved the world that You
gave Your only begotten Son...
00:11:49.33\00:11:52.50
the science of which will
be our study for all eternity.
00:11:52.70\00:11:56.25
Tonight bless us
as we open the Bible.
00:11:56.55\00:11:58.90
We ask You, Lord,
to be preciously close.
00:11:59.50\00:12:02.51
I pray that our
life... that Your life
00:12:02.61\00:12:06.98
would collide tonight
00:12:07.18\00:12:09.10
and that when we go
from here we will go in the
00:12:09.30\00:12:13.48
solemn assurance... no,
no, wait, the joyous assurance
00:12:13.68\00:12:17.48
that we are
Yours and You are ours.
00:12:17.68\00:12:20.66
We sense these are
great days for the world,
00:12:20.76\00:12:23.27
for Your church, for us.
00:12:23.47\00:12:25.05
We sense that
Jesus is soon to come.
00:12:25.45\00:12:28.89
And it's not just a sense but
it is our studied observation.
00:12:29.09\00:12:31.91
And so let tonight be something
that will prepare us even more
00:12:32.11\00:12:36.30
for that time. Grow our faith.
00:12:36.40\00:12:37.95
Own our hearts; keep our minds;
00:12:38.35\00:12:42.05
draw us and make us Yours.
00:12:42.25\00:12:45.25
We ask for Your blessing
now... not selfishly but
00:12:45.55\00:12:48.11
that You would be
glorified. And we pray
00:12:48.31\00:12:51.08
in Jesus' name... please
join me in saying "Amen. "
00:12:51.28\00:12:56.30
I grew up very much interested
00:13:00.50\00:13:05.83
in sure things.
00:13:06.13\00:13:08.23
As a gambler, I
was not very interested
00:13:09.86\00:13:14.30
if a horse had a
chance of winning
00:13:14.50\00:13:17.04
or might win or
could do well this week.
00:13:17.24\00:13:20.55
I started gambling
at a very young age.
00:13:20.75\00:13:22.95
My earliest recollection
of taking my own money
00:13:23.15\00:13:25.35
and betting it on a horse
was when I was 6 years old.
00:13:25.45\00:13:28.48
I can't remember
too much before then
00:13:28.58\00:13:30.64
so I might have started gambling
before then, I don't know.
00:13:30.74\00:13:34.10
But when you're betting
on horses, you want to bet on
00:13:34.13\00:13:36.41
something that you
know is going to win.
00:13:36.51\00:13:39.01
Now of course it's
not very easy to know
00:13:39.21\00:13:42.00
that something is going to win.
00:13:42.20\00:13:43.89
I could never get into
some of this casino gambling
00:13:44.09\00:13:46.78
that people do
today. You take a ball;
00:13:46.98\00:13:48.41
you flick it
around a roulette wheel.
00:13:48.61\00:13:49.98
There's about 800 holes for
the thing to stop, and to me
00:13:50.08\00:13:53.50
the odds are just
too great. But a horse!
00:13:53.60\00:13:55.63
You can look at that
thing and you can size it up.
00:13:55.83\00:13:58.07
And you can check its form and
you know how it did last week.
00:13:58.27\00:14:00.94
And you know how
good that jockey rides,
00:14:01.14\00:14:02.77
and you know whether it
likes to run on a soft track
00:14:02.97\00:14:04.84
or a hard track. Oh, it's
all coming back to me now!
00:14:04.94\00:14:07.28
You want a sure thing.
00:14:12.40\00:14:14.27
Not always easy to come
by. If only there was a way
00:14:14.47\00:14:17.40
to know for sure. You know it's
actually... speaking of gambling
00:14:17.50\00:14:21.14
I remember asking my
wi... It wasn't my wife
00:14:21.44\00:14:25.00
but asking my fiancee
or whatever it was she was
00:14:25.20\00:14:28.68
I remember
asking her to marry me.
00:14:28.98\00:14:31.22
Speaking of sure things.
00:14:31.52\00:14:33.61
I was certain this was the
surest thing in all of history.
00:14:33.81\00:14:39.81
I got ready to ask
her and I felt like
00:14:40.96\00:14:43.36
Michael Jordan taking the
last- second game-winning shot.
00:14:43.56\00:14:47.26
You know it wasn't for several
years until I discovered that
00:14:48.74\00:14:51.81
Michael Jordan actually missed
the last-second game-winning
00:14:52.01\00:14:55.60
shot twenty-six times.
00:14:55.70\00:14:57.36
I probably should
have known that beforehand.
00:14:59.67\00:15:02.07
What I thought was going
to be Reagan beating Mondale
00:15:02.37\00:15:05.57
turned out to be
Dewey defeating Truman.
00:15:05.67\00:15:08.06
Remember the headlines?
00:15:08.26\00:15:09.71
Yeah. I just had the
silly idea. I thought that
00:15:10.83\00:15:13.95
when you asked a woman
to marry you she would know
00:15:14.05\00:15:15.68
what she wanted to
say. I thought you said:
00:15:15.78\00:15:17.22
"Will you marry me? " and she
would either say "yes" or "no. "
00:15:17.32\00:15:19.22
And if there's even a
slight chance of it being a no
00:15:19.42\00:15:21.56
then you
wouldn't ask, would you?
00:15:21.66\00:15:23.16
So I...
00:15:23.36\00:15:25.54
I asked. I did
something I'd never done before.
00:15:25.74\00:15:28.42
I had never asked a woman to
marry me, and so I asked Melissa
00:15:28.52\00:15:31.14
to marry me believing this
was the surest... this was the
00:15:31.24\00:15:34.41
slam dunk. Have you ever seen
these guys go for a slam dunk
00:15:34.51\00:15:36.89
and it bounces off the rim?
00:15:36.99\00:15:38.68
I thought this was a slam dunk:
00:15:38.98\00:15:40.86
"Will you marry me? "
00:15:41.06\00:15:42.86
And she paused.
00:15:43.16\00:15:45.24
In a moment my whole
life flashed before my eyes.
00:15:48.94\00:15:52.51
Right then while she was
pausing was I trying to...
00:15:54.26\00:15:56.63
I was coming up with
reasons how I can explain this
00:15:56.73\00:15:59.16
to my friends. Well
maybe I just won't tell them...
00:15:59.33\00:16:01.02
but she'll tell everybody.
00:16:01.15\00:16:03.47
What am I going to say to
my family? My mother knew.
00:16:04.03\00:16:06.60
She was going to call me
that day probably and say:
00:16:06.70\00:16:08.35
"Well how'd it go?
" "Well... ha, ha...
00:16:08.45\00:16:11.28
didn't go to plan, Mom. "
00:16:11.48\00:16:14.01
What was I going to do?
00:16:14.21\00:16:16.51
I stood there... You
know, later on she said:
00:16:16.62\00:16:19.13
"I was just so surprised. "
00:16:19.33\00:16:21.32
Which surprised me because I
had... I had... on my forehead
00:16:21.42\00:16:25.35
were written the
words I'm going to ask you
00:16:25.45\00:16:27.28
if you will marry me,
and I'm going to do it today.
00:16:27.38\00:16:29.20
It was written right here
and she couldn't not see it.
00:16:29.30\00:16:32.71
It seemed suddenly
as though my sure thing
00:16:34.29\00:16:38.16
was turning into the Titanic.
00:16:38.26\00:16:40.42
Actually a few moments
on the bottom of the ocean
00:16:41.41\00:16:43.58
would have gone down
really well for me about then.
00:16:43.78\00:16:46.14
She did say "yes" eventually.
00:16:48.09\00:16:50.96
Thinking back I'm thinking
she paused for about 14 minutes.
00:16:51.26\00:16:56.80
It was probably
only seconds you know.
00:16:57.00\00:17:00.09
Probably only
fractions of seconds actually.
00:17:00.29\00:17:02.76
But that... You know
what? Thinking back that pause
00:17:02.96\00:17:06.01
still bothers me today.
00:17:06.11\00:17:07.83
I wonder about
that pause sometimes.
00:17:09.54\00:17:12.78
Probably
shouldn't think about it.
00:17:14.34\00:17:15.63
We like sure things.
00:17:15.83\00:17:17.57
August 2, 2007,
00:17:17.97\00:17:21.44
a British gambler...
his name was Mark Bell...
00:17:21.64\00:17:23.93
was sitting in his office.
00:17:24.04\00:17:25.83
He has an office where he works.
00:17:26.23\00:17:28.40
He works as a gambler. He
earns actually 2 million pounds
00:17:28.50\00:17:31.42
a year gambling.
That's his income.
00:17:31.52\00:17:33.41
And in Britain they
don't tax winnings on gambling.
00:17:33.51\00:17:35.97
So 2 million quid is 2
million quid, and he was...
00:17:36.17\00:17:38.64
he liked his job very much.
00:17:38.75\00:17:40.80
And he was watching
his computer that day
00:17:41.00\00:17:42.61
looking for sports
events on which he could bet...
00:17:42.81\00:17:47.18
where he could gamble.
00:17:47.28\00:17:48.37
And a tennis
match caught his eye.
00:17:48.67\00:17:51.23
I was very surprised to
learn that tennis is the
00:17:51.33\00:17:53.11
#3 rated sport for
gambling in the United Kingdom
00:17:53.21\00:17:56.64
behind horse racing and soccer.
00:17:56.77\00:17:58.49
After that it's tennis, and
there's a lot of gambling on
00:17:58.69\00:18:00.58
tennis evidently. He
was watching his screen
00:18:00.68\00:18:02.99
and something caught his eye.
He's always looking for a sure
00:18:03.09\00:18:05.16
thing. He would
gamble on one sports event
00:18:05.26\00:18:08.41
more than most people
earn in an entire year.
00:18:08.61\00:18:11.99
Typically... so he's
looking for a sure thing.
00:18:12.19\00:18:15.04
And he's watching the computer
and something flashes up.
00:18:15.24\00:18:18.85
I don't know whether someone
alerted him or if he just
00:18:19.05\00:18:21.55
saw it... I don't know.
00:18:21.65\00:18:23.39
But there was a tennis match
being played I think in Madrid.
00:18:23.59\00:18:26.95
Would that be right?
00:18:27.15\00:18:28.22
That would be a clay court.
00:18:28.42\00:18:30.00
The clay season's
probably over by then.
00:18:30.20\00:18:32.78
I don't know where it was...
it was somewhere in Europe.
00:18:32.88\00:18:34.23
And the #4 player in the world
at the time, a Russian/Ukrainian
00:18:34.43\00:18:39.05
fellow named Nicolay Davydenko,
00:18:39.15\00:18:41.08
was playing against an Argentine
00:18:41.28\00:18:45.11
#87 in the
world: Martin Arguello.
00:18:45.31\00:18:49.00
Now #4 vs. #87.
00:18:50.40\00:18:52.32
The result is a
foregone conclusion.
00:18:52.52\00:18:54.05
Upsets can happen, but
that would be the mother of all
00:18:54.25\00:18:56.27
upsets. But what he noticed
00:18:56.37\00:18:58.72
as he was just looking
down at this game taking place
00:18:58.92\00:19:01.73
between #4 and #87
00:19:01.93\00:19:03.66
was that people were starting
to bet massive amounts of money
00:19:03.67\00:19:07.62
on #87.
00:19:07.82\00:19:09.02
That's the 87th
ranked player in the world
00:19:09.22\00:19:11.54
against the #4
ranked player in the world.
00:19:11.65\00:19:13.41
Lots of money... big money.
00:19:13.61\00:19:15.55
The game started, and in
England evidently - this is
00:19:15.75\00:19:19.06
Internet gambling - you can bet
on an event after it has begun.
00:19:19.16\00:19:22.97
Which strikes me as
odd, but evidently you can.
00:19:23.17\00:19:25.04
And after the game began
00:19:25.34\00:19:28.16
Mr. Davydenko was
holding serve and leading
00:19:28.36\00:19:31.25
in the first set, and big money
was being bet on the other guy.
00:19:31.35\00:19:35.16
Davydenko won the first set.
00:19:36.43\00:19:39.17
More big money is
being bet on the other guy.
00:19:39.37\00:19:42.64
Big money! I mean hundreds
and hundreds and hundreds of
00:19:42.85\00:19:46.52
thousands of dollars.
Maybe even millions of dollars.
00:19:46.62\00:19:49.05
Mr. Bell said: "Clearly somebody
knows something I don't know.
00:19:49.55\00:19:55.54
This is a sure
thing. " And he took $60,000
00:19:55.74\00:19:59.98
and bet on the #87 ranked
tennis player in the world
00:20:00.18\00:20:04.96
to beat the #4
tennis player in the world.
00:20:05.06\00:20:07.31
Didn't make any sense,
but he was watching something
00:20:07.61\00:20:09.73
that suggested to him the
result is a foregone conclusion.
00:20:09.83\00:20:14.22
Now funnily enough, Mr.
Davydenko lost the 2nd set.
00:20:14.32\00:20:17.80
But it's still #4 against #87.
00:20:18.10\00:20:20.91
Then he's down 2
games to 1 in the third set
00:20:21.11\00:20:25.11
and he sits down in his chair
and he says: "My foot hurts. "
00:20:25.31\00:20:27.62
And he started to lift
and he called the trainer
00:20:28.02\00:20:30.97
or the doctor and
they massaged his foot.
00:20:31.07\00:20:32.49
And he winced with pain
and he announced he could not
00:20:32.59\00:20:35.29
play on and he lost the game.
00:20:35.39\00:20:39.11
Betfair, a big betting
agency in Great Britain, said:
00:20:39.32\00:20:42.27
"We don't believe the betting
on that match was fair. "
00:20:42.37\00:20:45.89
The Association of Tennis
Professionals investigated
00:20:46.09\00:20:48.68
the game for a year. They
couldn't prove anything fishy,
00:20:48.78\00:20:54.17
but some people were convinced
00:20:54.47\00:20:56.65
that something
fishy had gone on.
00:20:56.75\00:20:59.43
Funny, you know. He
said he was in terrible pain.
00:20:59.63\00:21:01.30
He had a stress fracture.
00:21:01.40\00:21:02.92
Uh, the next week he beat the
30th ranked player in the world
00:21:03.12\00:21:07.67
and two weeks after that
he made it to the semi-finals
00:21:07.77\00:21:10.33
at the U.S. Open.
Seems pretty fishy to me.
00:21:10.43\00:21:13.48
But Mr. Bell saw a certainty.
00:21:14.49\00:21:18.54
When you're gambling you
don't want to leave anything to
00:21:18.74\00:21:20.67
chance... you want a
sure thing, not guesswork.
00:21:20.77\00:21:25.29
Now I'm not going to encourage
you in the area of gambling.
00:21:25.49\00:21:27.98
You wouldn't be
surprised to hear that.
00:21:28.18\00:21:30.19
But there's something
that I want to encourage you in
00:21:30.40\00:21:32.39
tonight. If you are
looking for a sure thing,
00:21:32.49\00:21:36.52
then I cannot recommend
to you the stock market.
00:21:36.72\00:21:40.81
I mean people thought Facebook
shares were a sure thing.
00:21:41.01\00:21:44.27
Not so sure.
00:21:47.55\00:21:49.21
Price of oil? Up and down.
00:21:49.41\00:21:51.85
Futures markets? They are dicey.
00:21:52.05\00:21:54.76
Money in the bank? Banks
have been closing like you would
00:21:54.96\00:21:58.67
hardly believe. Thankfully that
has slowed down a little bit.
00:21:58.77\00:22:01.71
But there is
something that you can relate to
00:22:01.91\00:22:07.77
and lean on with
confidence and certainty.
00:22:07.97\00:22:12.36
And I am going to
tell you tonight that that
00:22:12.56\00:22:14.79
is the Word of God.
Can you say "Amen? " Amen!
00:22:14.99\00:22:18.51
If you disagree with me,
that would be your right.
00:22:18.71\00:22:21.68
But if you disagree with
me that the Bible is sure,
00:22:21.88\00:22:24.60
if you say it is not sure,
00:22:24.80\00:22:26.06
I would hope that at
least you would investigate.
00:22:26.26\00:22:28.73
I mean people get their hopes
up over all kinds of things.
00:22:28.93\00:22:31.07
I was at a church... I
must not tell you which church
00:22:31.27\00:22:34.94
because people
would be embarrassed.
00:22:35.14\00:22:36.47
It was Sabbath
morning. I arrived
00:22:36.67\00:22:38.51
and people were excited. I
was a visitor at this church.
00:22:38.72\00:22:41.84
I was a visiting preacher.
00:22:42.04\00:22:43.61
And folks were excited.
There was a hub-bub of activity
00:22:43.81\00:22:47.09
among the administrative staff.
00:22:47.29\00:22:49.57
"What's going on? " I said.
00:22:49.77\00:22:51.19
"Well, you wouldn't believe
it. We just go this e-mail. "
00:22:51.20\00:22:54.05
"You did? " "Right
here at the church. "
00:22:54.25\00:22:55.96
"Tell me more. "
00:22:56.16\00:22:57.61
"Well evidently somebody in
Nigeria has got a whole lot of
00:22:57.81\00:23:01.39
money and they are looking to
give some of that money to us. "
00:23:01.49\00:23:06.32
I said: "You don't look
like you just came down in the
00:23:12.89\00:23:15.48
last shower of rain...
but somebody thinks you did. "
00:23:15.58\00:23:18.58
"No, no. They contacted
us. They said: "Because
00:23:18.68\00:23:21.15
you are a
faith-based organization
00:23:21.25\00:23:23.42
and you do good work,
we've got to get rid of this
00:23:23.52\00:23:26.15
money somehow. "
And they were thinking:
00:23:26.25\00:23:28.13
"Well what do we do now?
They want our e-mail add... "
00:23:28.33\00:23:30.85
No, they had the e-mail.
"They want some bank account
00:23:31.05\00:23:32.83
numbers... "
And aye-yi-yi yi-yi.
00:23:32.93\00:23:34.67
People will put their confidence
in the strangest things.
00:23:36.90\00:23:42.49
And some of those people -
thankfully not those people -
00:23:43.66\00:23:45.81
some of those very same people
who will put their confidence
00:23:46.01\00:23:48.66
in the dumbest things
will reject the Word of God
00:23:48.76\00:23:52.21
as being unbelievable.
00:23:52.32\00:23:54.35
Well tonight we are
discussing The Sure Word of God.
00:23:54.65\00:23:57.76
A skeptic might say: "A preacher
discussing the sure Word of God
00:23:57.86\00:24:02.50
is a put up job. "
00:24:02.70\00:24:05.54
It's like when
the wine companies
00:24:05.74\00:24:08.29
pay somebody to investigate
00:24:08.32\00:24:10.19
whether or not red
wine is good for you.
00:24:10.29\00:24:11.97
How reliable can
that research be?
00:24:13.99\00:24:15.53
It was bought and paid
for by the wine company...
00:24:15.63\00:24:17.73
you know what it's going to say.
00:24:17.94\00:24:19.58
But hold on a minute.
Before you think we're a
00:24:19.79\00:24:22.02
wine company researcher
in disguise, we're not...
00:24:22.12\00:24:25.04
Remember they used to say
that tobacco was good for you
00:24:25.17\00:24:27.36
as well. An ad in
1966 for L and M cigarettes
00:24:27.46\00:24:31.80
described them as being
"just what the doctor ordered. "
00:24:32.00\00:24:35.73
A certain amount of irony
in that statement, isn't there?
00:24:37.30\00:24:39.18
Just what the undertaker
ordered is more like it.
00:24:39.48\00:24:42.15
The point is,
friends, when we make claims
00:24:42.55\00:24:44.71
they can be analyzed,
verified, checked out.
00:24:44.81\00:24:47.75
And we can do
that with the Bible.
00:24:47.95\00:24:50.38
We ought to be able to look
at the Bible dispassionately
00:24:50.58\00:24:52.89
and deduce whether or
not the Bible is believable
00:24:52.99\00:24:56.42
and the Word of God.
00:24:56.52\00:24:58.08
I believe we can.
00:24:58.28\00:24:59.31
You know, I did
a little research.
00:24:59.51\00:25:01.22
I go: "What are the arguments
that people have against
00:25:01.52\00:25:04.47
the Bible? Folks who say
the Bible cannot be trusted? "
00:25:04.57\00:25:08.37
I mean I need to be
able to look this in the eye
00:25:08.57\00:25:11.34
like a man and deal
with whatever they dish out.
00:25:11.55\00:25:14.82
And so I looked at
some of these arguments.
00:25:15.02\00:25:16.97
I was expecting
good ones. Instead
00:25:17.17\00:25:19.02
I just found ticky-tacky stuff.
00:25:19.22\00:25:21.33
"In the Bible it says His
name will be called Emmanuel
00:25:21.53\00:25:24.54
but they called Him Jesus. "
00:25:24.74\00:25:26.45
All right. Is there another
good argument against believing
00:25:31.36\00:25:33.87
the Bible? "Well
in one place it says
00:25:33.97\00:25:36.50
'this is My beloved Son'
and in another place it says
00:25:36.60\00:25:39.07
'You are My beloved Son. ' "
00:25:39.27\00:25:40.73
Wow... I'm underwhelmed.
00:25:42.12\00:25:44.93
The point is: two different
writers from two different
00:25:45.13\00:25:47.74
perspectives wrote about
the same event and one said
00:25:47.85\00:25:50.12
"You" and one said "He.
" I don't see any reason to
00:25:50.33\00:25:53.06
toss the Bible out.
00:25:53.16\00:25:54.60
And the Bible... One - I
can't call him a scholar -
00:25:54.80\00:25:59.14
one person said:
"God is a man of war"
00:25:59.24\00:26:01.75
and then "God is a
God of love and peace. "
00:26:01.95\00:26:05.29
Come on, man.
00:26:05.59\00:26:07.41
You wouldn't quibble with a
historian writing something like
00:26:07.44\00:26:10.65
that about Nero or
Caesar or King George.
00:26:10.75\00:26:16.33
You'd say: "Different
folks; different contexts. "
00:26:16.53\00:26:20.03
Right? Sure. You
can understand that.
00:26:20.23\00:26:23.30
One person bellyached about
the Bible saying the rooster
00:26:23.60\00:26:26.83
crowed once AND the
rooster crowed twice.
00:26:26.94\00:26:29.96
Ladies and gentlemen, the
point is the rooster crowed!
00:26:30.16\00:26:33.87
Now I would be interested
if it says in one place
00:26:36.67\00:26:39.05
"the rooster crowed" and
over here "the cow mooed. "
00:26:39.26\00:26:42.92
I'd be thinking: "Hey, how
can you get that so messed up? "
00:26:43.12\00:26:46.61
But both writers
talked about a rooster.
00:26:46.81\00:26:49.09
I don't know how many
times the thing crowed.
00:26:49.29\00:26:51.10
I don't even care!
00:26:51.21\00:26:52.55
That's an important detail
but it doesn't break the deal.
00:26:53.75\00:26:56.58
"Love your neighbor
as much as yourself? "
00:26:56.78\00:27:00.43
And in another place: "Put
the Bible ahead of yourself. "
00:27:00.63\00:27:03.36
And I read this
stuff and I said: "Come on.
00:27:03.57\00:27:06.17
You've got to be able to
do better than that surely. "
00:27:06.37\00:27:09.17
I want a problem
with the virgin birth.
00:27:09.37\00:27:11.31
That's what I'm looking for.
00:27:11.51\00:27:12.60
I'm looking for someone telling
me the resurrection never
00:27:12.80\00:27:14.80
happened or that Jesus didn't
exist or there's no afterlife.
00:27:14.90\00:27:17.96
Come on. You've got to
do better than a word here
00:27:18.16\00:27:21.07
or a word there.
That's minor league stuff.
00:27:21.17\00:27:24.61
I'm looking for
something heavy-weight champion
00:27:24.81\00:27:28.70
of the world. I want to
take you with me in the Bible
00:27:28.80\00:27:30.67
to II Peter
chapter 1 and find out
00:27:30.77\00:27:34.06
what the Bible writers thought
00:27:34.26\00:27:36.48
and why they
thought what they thought.
00:27:36.68\00:27:40.05
You know you can listen to
the critics about anything,
00:27:40.35\00:27:43.67
but the best thing to
do is go to the source.
00:27:43.90\00:27:46.21
So enough of the critics;
let's take a look at the source.
00:27:46.41\00:27:49.18
II Peter chapter 1 and
we'll begin in verse 16.
00:27:49.38\00:27:52.58
And I love what Peter
wrote. He wrote this...
00:27:52.78\00:27:55.60
II Peter 1 verse 16:
00:27:55.80\00:27:57.80
"We have not followed
cunningly-devised... " What?
00:27:58.00\00:28:03.14
I always remember a
friend of mine in high school
00:28:03.44\00:28:06.02
telling me he thought the Bible
was just like the tooth fairy.
00:28:06.22\00:28:10.52
Now it's funny...
he'd never read the Bible.
00:28:10.72\00:28:12.45
You ever heard that old
line: "People are down on
00:28:12.85\00:28:15.94
what they're not up on? "
And that's true about the Bible.
00:28:16.04\00:28:18.69
Some of the Bible's harshest
critics are people who wouldn't
00:28:18.89\00:28:20.84
know Genesis from Revelation.
00:28:20.95\00:28:22.20
They've never even held
the thing in their hand.
00:28:22.30\00:28:23.86
Peter said: "We have not
followed cunningly-devised
00:28:24.16\00:28:26.82
fables when we made known
to you the power and coming of
00:28:26.92\00:28:31.34
our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:28:31.44\00:28:32.94
But we were
eyewitnesses of His majesty. "
00:28:33.14\00:28:37.59
Can you imagine that?
00:28:37.79\00:28:39.75
They walked with
Jesus; they talked with Jesus.
00:28:39.95\00:28:42.62
They saw Him do what He
did; they saw Him raise people
00:28:42.82\00:28:46.48
from the dead; they
saw Him heal the blind
00:28:46.51\00:28:50.01
and heal the lame. They
saw Him counseling with sinners
00:28:50.11\00:28:54.77
and spending
time with publicans.
00:28:54.97\00:28:57.44
They were eyewitnesses.
Why in the world would they
00:28:57.64\00:29:01.83
fabricate this? Writing this
stuff was akin to signing their
00:29:02.03\00:29:04.93
own death warrants. Men
setting themselves apart
00:29:05.03\00:29:07.85
as being followers of Jesus...
00:29:07.95\00:29:09.23
this was hardly
a recommendation.
00:29:09.33\00:29:11.80
I want you to think
about what Jesus did.
00:29:12.00\00:29:14.14
Jesus was there in Israel.
00:29:14.34\00:29:17.00
He was in a nation that
was really a warring nation.
00:29:17.20\00:29:20.68
Now they weren't warring right
then... they were an occupied
00:29:20.88\00:29:22.99
nation... but they
had blood in their past.
00:29:23.09\00:29:25.59
A nation of warriors.
00:29:25.89\00:29:27.77
And Jesus commissioned twelve
fellows - down to eleven -
00:29:27.97\00:29:32.34
to go to a nation
of religious fanatics
00:29:32.64\00:29:36.31
and establish a new religion.
00:29:36.51\00:29:39.80
Why would you even do that
00:29:40.00\00:29:42.77
if you weren't
convinced to the nth degree
00:29:42.97\00:29:48.51
that what you
were saying was true?
00:29:48.61\00:29:50.07
These people were committed.
00:29:50.27\00:29:51.71
They had to be committed
for a reason, and they were!
00:29:51.91\00:29:53.53
Because they had seen
Jesus and they knew Jesus
00:29:53.74\00:29:57.53
and they had been
eyewitnesses of His majesty
00:29:57.73\00:30:00.66
as the Bible says. Verse 17:
00:30:00.76\00:30:02.44
"For He received from God
the Father honor and glory... "
00:30:02.65\00:30:04.84
listen to this: "when
there came such a voice to Him
00:30:05.04\00:30:07.52
from the excellent
glory: 'This is My beloved Son
00:30:07.62\00:30:10.93
in whom I am well pleased. '
00:30:11.03\00:30:14.02
And this voice which
came from heaven we heard
00:30:14.22\00:30:18.39
when we were with
Him in the holy mount. "
00:30:18.59\00:30:21.28
That's the Mount
of Transfiguration.
00:30:21.48\00:30:23.12
I want to say something to you.
00:30:23.32\00:30:24.58
I have never
heard the voice of God.
00:30:24.78\00:30:26.97
I have sensed Jesus
speaking to me. I will tell you
00:30:27.17\00:30:29.39
"I heard God say" but I
don't mean I heard a voice.
00:30:29.59\00:30:32.79
Some of you all have
probably heard a voice.
00:30:32.99\00:30:34.90
That's OK. I'd get a little
worried about people hearing
00:30:35.10\00:30:37.74
voices all the time
but people do hear a voice.
00:30:37.84\00:30:40.24
It's all right.
I've never heard a voice.
00:30:41.68\00:30:44.22
But let me tell you something:
if we were standing around here
00:30:44.42\00:30:47.93
and a voice
thundered from heaven saying:
00:30:48.13\00:30:49.64
"This is My beloved
Son" or something like that
00:30:49.84\00:30:52.98
I would never forget
that. I would be moved;
00:30:53.18\00:30:55.28
I would be... Wow...
that would be just...
00:30:55.38\00:30:57.80
that would be the
most incredible thing.
00:30:58.00\00:30:59.36
Can you imagine
anything more incredible?
00:30:59.56\00:31:01.51
I don't want to see something
because you know my eyes
00:31:01.71\00:31:03.65
might deceive me. But
you can hardly mistake it
00:31:03.75\00:31:05.99
when you hear it.
00:31:06.09\00:31:07.25
And Peter said: "We heard it! "
00:31:07.55\00:31:10.96
But then he said there's
some- thing even more convincing
00:31:11.26\00:31:14.42
than that. What
could be more convincing
00:31:14.52\00:31:19.09
than hearing the voice of God?
00:31:19.29\00:31:21.93
Peter tells us. "We
have also a more sure
00:31:22.13\00:31:26.90
word of prophecy
00:31:27.10\00:31:29.18
whereunto you do
well that you take heed
00:31:29.38\00:31:31.54
as unto a light that
shines in a dark place
00:31:31.74\00:31:33.44
until the day dawns and the
Daystar arise in your hearts. "
00:31:33.64\00:31:37.69
Can you
imagine? They knew Jesus.
00:31:37.89\00:31:40.57
They saw Him; they
heard Yahweh's voice.
00:31:40.77\00:31:43.87
And they said there's something
even more convincing than that.
00:31:44.17\00:31:49.28
And what is that? The
more sure Word of God.
00:31:49.48\00:31:53.25
Listen friends, you
don't have to see an angel.
00:31:53.45\00:31:55.97
You don't have to hear
the voice of God audibly
00:31:56.17\00:31:59.00
because you've got the
voice of God right here
00:31:59.03\00:32:01.57
in the Holy Bible. This
is the sure Word of God.
00:32:01.67\00:32:06.06
Can you say "Amen? " Amen.
00:32:06.26\00:32:07.85
"Knowing this first: that
no prophecy of the scripture
00:32:07.95\00:32:10.24
is of any
private interpretation. "
00:32:10.27\00:32:11.79
Folks didn't make this
up; God breathed upon them.
00:32:11.99\00:32:14.99
"The prophecy came not in
old times by the will of man
00:32:15.19\00:32:17.82
but holy men of God
spoke as they were moved
00:32:18.02\00:32:21.72
by the Holy Ghost. "
00:32:21.82\00:32:23.81
God spoke... just think of that!
00:32:24.01\00:32:26.21
He spoke! The Sovereign
of the Universe condescending
00:32:26.41\00:32:29.96
even to communicate
with sinful human beings.
00:32:30.06\00:32:31.80
That's radical.
00:32:32.00\00:32:33.50
The very concept of divine
revelation itself is awesome!
00:32:33.70\00:32:37.41
That the Deity, the One
who hung the stars in space,
00:32:37.62\00:32:41.08
the One who put that red
spot on the side of Jupiter,
00:32:41.28\00:32:43.59
wrapped the rings around Saturn.
00:32:43.79\00:32:45.75
The One who made bumblebees
fly when some people say
00:32:45.95\00:32:48.27
they shouldn't
even be able to fly.
00:32:48.37\00:32:49.67
The Lord who feeds the
baby ravens and put that bow
00:32:49.87\00:32:53.11
in the sky. That
One even speaking to us
00:32:53.21\00:32:56.95
as if He owes us anything.
00:32:57.15\00:33:00.33
He doesn't, and yet
He speaks to us anyway.
00:33:00.53\00:33:03.63
You know, if you want to know
that the Word of God is sure
00:33:03.83\00:33:06.17
I'm going to do this briefly
because over this weekend
00:33:06.27\00:33:08.56
somebody else is going to deal
with Daniel chapter 2 in depth.
00:33:08.76\00:33:11.11
But we tell people
everywhere: "If you want to know
00:33:11.32\00:33:13.91
if the Word of God is
sure go to Daniel chapter 2. "
00:33:14.01\00:33:16.57
So let's just talk
about it for a minute.
00:33:16.71\00:33:18.02
In Daniel chapter 2 the
king Nebuchadnezzar has a dream.
00:33:18.22\00:33:21.45
He was a
Babylonian... a pagan king.
00:33:21.65\00:33:24.06
Has a dream. Dreams
of... what was it now?
00:33:24.26\00:33:27.06
He doesn't remember.
00:33:27.26\00:33:28.39
In the morning he
says to his counselors:
00:33:28.59\00:33:30.32
"Had a dream.
Man, it was a dream!
00:33:30.52\00:33:32.51
I believe the gods
were speaking to me. "
00:33:33.11\00:33:35.41
That's... they
believed that back then.
00:33:35.61\00:33:37.77
"So counselors, wise
men: tell me what I dreamed
00:33:37.97\00:33:41.66
and then tell
me what it means. "
00:33:41.87\00:33:43.51
That was a tall
order, wasn't it?
00:33:43.71\00:33:45.46
They said:
"Whoa, hang on a minute.
00:33:45.66\00:33:47.39
How about you tell us what the
dream was and then we'll just
00:33:47.79\00:33:50.94
make something up. "
00:33:51.14\00:33:53.90
"Uh-uh, I know
you're just buying time.
00:33:54.20\00:33:57.38
You tell me what that dream
was and tell me what it means. "
00:33:57.59\00:34:00.98
Well they couldn't do it.
He said: "Kill them all. "
00:34:01.18\00:34:04.02
I don't know if you have stopped
to realize that in the story
00:34:04.22\00:34:07.25
in Daniel 2 the executioner
is actually on the way
00:34:07.45\00:34:12.21
for the wise men. He was
on his way to Daniel's house
00:34:12.41\00:34:15.98
to pick up Daniel,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
00:34:16.08\00:34:17.95
because they were part
of the cadre of wise men.
00:34:18.15\00:34:20.91
And they were... they
were on their way out.
00:34:21.21\00:34:23.91
While the footsteps of
the executioner could be heard
00:34:24.11\00:34:28.20
Daniel said: "Hold on. Would
you mind giving us some time? "
00:34:28.40\00:34:31.20
He was given
permission. They talked to God;
00:34:31.41\00:34:33.35
they prayed.
God answered prayer.
00:34:33.55\00:34:34.95
God answers
prayer, doesn't He? Amen.
00:34:35.15\00:34:37.95
God answers prayer.
He answered their prayer.
00:34:38.08\00:34:40.29
Went to the king: "King,
here's what you dreamed. "
00:34:40.49\00:34:42.92
"What did I dream young man?
" "Well you dreamed of a big
00:34:43.12\00:34:45.39
statue. " "Well that makes
sense... I worship statues. "
00:34:45.49\00:34:48.45
"You dreamed of
a great big statue.
00:34:48.75\00:34:50.47
Head is made out of
gold; chest and arms of silver;
00:34:50.68\00:34:52.81
belly and thighs of
brass; legs made out of iron;
00:34:52.91\00:34:55.17
feet made out
of iron and clay. "
00:34:55.27\00:34:56.48
"Wow! That's right!
That's what I dreamed. "
00:34:56.68\00:34:59.78
"Well now let me
tell you what it means. "
00:35:00.09\00:35:01.65
"Yes, do. " "You are the head
of gold... Babylon. " "Cool! "
00:35:01.75\00:35:05.36
"Not so much because
there's coming another kingdom.
00:35:05.56\00:35:09.12
Your days are
numbered. " "Whoa, wait...
00:35:09.32\00:35:10.98
that's not so cool. "
00:35:11.19\00:35:12.88
"But let me tell
you more: after that
00:35:13.08\00:35:15.41
there's another
kingdom. " "There is? "
00:35:15.61\00:35:17.07
"Yes, and then a fourth
one. " "What happens next? "
00:35:17.27\00:35:19.31
"The fourth one divides. "
00:35:19.71\00:35:21.44
This dream was
given in around 600 BC.
00:35:21.64\00:35:24.01
Daniel's talking about stuff
that doesn't happen for another
00:35:24.21\00:35:26.89
1,500 years.
Wait... 2,000 years.
00:35:27.09\00:35:31.24
Long time! And you go to
the Bible now looking back
00:35:31.44\00:35:35.57
and you go to history,
and everything God said
00:35:35.77\00:35:40.06
would happen what? Happened.
00:35:40.26\00:35:43.29
Because when God
speaks stuff happens.
00:35:43.49\00:35:46.38
When God utters, what
God says comes to pass.
00:35:46.59\00:35:52.49
You've got to love that.
00:35:52.69\00:35:53.76
And this prophecy in Daniel
chapter 2 has made believers
00:35:53.79\00:35:57.38
out of skeptics. The fourth
kingdom is going to divide.
00:35:57.58\00:36:01.08
You add more information
together from Daniel 7 and so on
00:36:01.28\00:36:03.60
you discover ten
nations come out of Rome.
00:36:03.80\00:36:06.26
Fascinating... fascinating.
00:36:06.46\00:36:08.88
And then Daniel said: "They will
mingle themselves with the seed
00:36:09.08\00:36:14.37
of men but they will
not cleave one to another. "
00:36:14.51\00:36:18.20
There were repeated attempts
to bring Europe back into
00:36:18.40\00:36:21.04
a revived Roman Empire. That's
what Hitler was trying to do.
00:36:21.14\00:36:23.66
Failed! Kaiser
Wilhelm; Louis XIV
00:36:23.86\00:36:26.48
to a lesser extent. Failed.
00:36:26.68\00:36:28.19
Napoleon. Man, you've
heard preachers say this stuff
00:36:29.42\00:36:33.10
but until you go
to France and see...
00:36:33.30\00:36:35.25
At a place called Les Invalides
there's Napoleon's tomb.
00:36:36.65\00:36:39.85
The pictures
don't do it justice.
00:36:39.95\00:36:41.58
Wow. I mean what do you have
to do to get buried in something
00:36:41.79\00:36:44.54
like that? Be an
emperor, I suppose.
00:36:44.65\00:36:47.95
Magnificent. And when
you go to where he is buried
00:36:48.15\00:36:51.88
all around there are
sculptures and art work.
00:36:52.08\00:36:54.70
This man looked at
himself as a new Caesar.
00:36:54.90\00:36:59.33
There's no
question. He was on a crusade
00:36:59.53\00:37:02.75
to revive the Roman Empire.
00:37:02.96\00:37:04.43
He was going to be the
Caesar of the Roman Empire.
00:37:04.63\00:37:06.82
Napoleon couldn't do it because
he was fighting against God.
00:37:07.02\00:37:10.10
They still can't reunite Europe.
00:37:10.20\00:37:11.86
Look at Europe now.
00:37:12.06\00:37:13.29
The Eurozone is a mess.
00:37:13.49\00:37:15.01
The Euro itself
is in some jeopardy.
00:37:15.21\00:37:17.30
Now I'm not predicting
what's going to happen tomorrow.
00:37:17.50\00:37:19.60
I'm simply telling you
that today what God said then
00:37:19.80\00:37:22.97
is still
believable and reliable.
00:37:23.11\00:37:25.98
He said: "They will not
cleave one to another. "
00:37:26.18\00:37:28.97
As a matter of fact,
Daniel 2:45 has Daniel saying
00:37:29.17\00:37:32.25
"The dream is certain and
the interpretation is... " What?
00:37:32.45\00:37:36.48
"sure. " That's where
Peter got his idea from:
00:37:36.68\00:37:39.51
the more sure word of prophecy.
00:37:39.71\00:37:41.98
Then you have Isaiah prophesying
that a man named Cyrus
00:37:42.19\00:37:45.76
would conquer
Babylon. He predicted that
00:37:45.86\00:37:48.15
in Isaiah 45... 150
years before Cyrus was born;
00:37:48.35\00:37:53.91
180 years before
these things happened;
00:37:54.11\00:37:56.25
80 years before the
Jews were taken into exile.
00:37:56.55\00:37:59.69
Isaiah was
either incredibly lucky
00:37:59.99\00:38:03.37
OR you can trust the Word
of God. What do you think?
00:38:04.92\00:38:08.63
Trust the Word of God.
00:38:08.93\00:38:10.65
I want you to turn
with me in your Bible
00:38:10.85\00:38:12.26
to I Kings chapter 16.
00:38:12.36\00:38:14.50
I Kings chapter 16.
00:38:14.71\00:38:17.59
Just one
verse... one little verse.
00:38:17.79\00:38:20.54
Hang on a minute.
I Kings chapter 16.
00:38:20.74\00:38:23.17
Last verse of the chapter.
00:38:23.37\00:38:25.42
"In his days... " Actually
before I tell you... read you
00:38:25.63\00:38:28.66
this... remember the story
back in the book of Joshua?
00:38:28.69\00:38:31.69
The people of God marched
around the city of Jericho.
00:38:31.79\00:38:36.74
I've often wondered about that.
00:38:36.94\00:38:38.78
It's one thing
for Joshua to say:
00:38:38.98\00:38:40.49
"Here's what we're going to do:
00:38:40.59\00:38:41.61
we're going to go up
there and march around the city
00:38:41.81\00:38:43.49
once a day and then on
the seventh day seven times. "
00:38:43.59\00:38:45.72
"All right, well
that's... that's unorthodox.
00:38:45.92\00:38:49.07
How long are we going
to do this walking for? "
00:38:49.98\00:38:52.28
"Just keep doing it
man because Joshua said. "
00:38:52.48\00:38:55.28
"Where's he getting
this? I mean, we never...
00:38:55.48\00:38:57.38
who ever won a
battle by doing this? "
00:38:57.48\00:38:58.99
"No, God told
him. " "Are you sure? "
00:38:59.19\00:39:01.87
"I wonder if that guy's
just not hearing things. "
00:39:02.08\00:39:04.48
"God told him to do this?
" "Yes, just keep walking. "
00:39:04.68\00:39:06.94
"Oh man, my feet are
hurting. I'd rather be at home.
00:39:07.14\00:39:11.25
I mean I haven't
seen my kids in a week.
00:39:11.45\00:39:13.62
He's got me
walking around a city. "
00:39:13.82\00:39:15.86
Have you ever thought how much
faith it took for those fellows
00:39:16.06\00:39:18.84
just to... I know they were
just doing what they were told.
00:39:18.94\00:39:21.43
But how much faith did it
take them to walk around that...
00:39:21.57\00:39:23.77
And he goes: "OK, shout! "
00:39:23.97\00:39:25.99
"Hang on. What you're saying
is we're just going to shout
00:39:30.51\00:39:34.39
and those walls
are going to come down?
00:39:34.69\00:39:36.68
Is that what
you're saying? " "Yeah. "
00:39:36.88\00:39:38.91
"No, no... wait a
minute. You did say 'shout?'
00:39:41.42\00:39:45.64
We're just going to
shout? I mean weaponry?
00:39:45.84\00:39:49.89
Do we have? Do we
fire any? What do we do? "
00:39:50.03\00:39:51.91
"No, no, no. Just
shout. Everything will be OK. "
00:39:52.01\00:39:53.62
You can imagine, all
right? One, two, three...
00:39:57.41\00:40:00.46
"Naw, naw, naw...
00:40:00.76\00:40:02.72
you shout; I'm not shouting.
00:40:03.74\00:40:05.44
I don't want to look stupid.
00:40:05.64\00:40:06.76
What are they going to say?
'Stupid Israelites shouting. ' "
00:40:06.96\00:40:10.30
Took some faith,
didn't it? Don't you think?
00:40:11.69\00:40:14.45
I think it took some faith.
00:40:14.95\00:40:16.58
You see they had
faith in the Word of God.
00:40:16.78\00:40:20.45
I don't know if
there's anybody out there
00:40:20.75\00:40:23.22
kicking against
the pricks or not.
00:40:23.42\00:40:25.08
I don't imagine so... I'm
sure they had great faith.
00:40:25.18\00:40:27.69
When Joshua said
"Shout! " they shouted.
00:40:27.89\00:40:30.96
Walls came down.
What happened next?
00:40:31.56\00:40:33.85
They saved Rahab and her family.
00:40:33.95\00:40:36.08
They gathered up all the
valuables - all the precious
00:40:36.28\00:40:38.98
metals - and then
they burned the place.
00:40:39.08\00:40:40.60
And Joshua said: "If
anybody builds this place
00:40:42.00\00:40:44.26
or attempts to build the
place they'll pay for it.
00:40:44.46\00:40:46.07
They will die and their
children will die too. "
00:40:46.27\00:40:48.00
Years later... 500 years later
00:40:48.20\00:40:51.49
I Kings chapter 16: "In
his days did Hiel the Bethelite
00:40:51.69\00:40:56.22
build Jericho. "
Now look at this:
00:40:56.33\00:41:00.21
"He laid the foundation
thereof at the cost of Abiram,
00:41:00.24\00:41:02.19
his firstborn, and set up
the gates thereof at the cost of
00:41:02.29\00:41:04.70
his youngest son Segub,
00:41:04.80\00:41:05.94
according to the word of the
Lord which He spoke by Joshua
00:41:06.05\00:41:10.03
the son of Nun. "
00:41:10.13\00:41:12.28
See friend, the
Word of God is sure.
00:41:12.58\00:41:15.22
It's certain.
00:41:15.42\00:41:17.10
And if the Word of God is
that sure, if it is demonstrated
00:41:18.41\00:41:21.73
again and again and again
and again, it's believable.
00:41:21.83\00:41:24.01
That helps us
with the big questions.
00:41:24.21\00:41:26.57
The Bible starts with
probably the most famous words
00:41:26.77\00:41:29.36
in literature: "In
the beginning God... "
00:41:29.56\00:41:32.57
"In the beginning God...
" What? Next word please...
00:41:32.88\00:41:35.32
"created. "
Created.. that's what He did.
00:41:35.52\00:41:37.20
"In the
beginning God created... "
00:41:37.40\00:41:39.38
Now I wasn't raised to
read the Bible but I was
00:41:39.58\00:41:43.62
raised to go to church.
00:41:43.72\00:41:45.61
And so for me to read
those words I can believe them.
00:41:45.81\00:41:48.73
And if you're
anything like me...
00:41:48.93\00:41:50.48
Maybe you're a "lifer. "
00:41:50.68\00:41:51.84
You might have been in
the church all your life
00:41:51.94\00:41:53.29
or been a Christian for...
But think about people who
00:41:53.49\00:41:56.43
are not. You know, there
are many educated, talented,
00:41:56.63\00:42:01.05
intelligent-thinking people
who don't believe there's a God.
00:42:01.25\00:42:04.50
They certainly don't
believe that God created
00:42:04.61\00:42:06.39
in the beginning.
00:42:06.49\00:42:07.71
They don't believe
in intelligent design.
00:42:07.91\00:42:10.73
They don't
believe in a young earth.
00:42:10.89\00:42:12.00
They don't believe
that there was a flood.
00:42:12.20\00:42:13.85
However, there are plenty
of people who do believe those
00:42:14.25\00:42:17.96
things... and with good reason.
00:42:18.06\00:42:21.20
Not blind faith but
studied certain faith.
00:42:21.40\00:42:25.59
I have seen God speak and then
work in harmony with what He
00:42:25.79\00:42:28.71
says. When God has done
all of these other things
00:42:28.81\00:42:31.05
why would I doubt
that? It's like Abraham.
00:42:31.15\00:42:33.67
"Abraham, get out of there.
" So he let Ur of the Chaldes.
00:42:33.77\00:42:36.47
"Abraham, turn to
the left. " And he did.
00:42:36.77\00:42:38.76
"Turn to the right. "
And he did. So when God said
00:42:38.96\00:42:40.94
"Take your son... "
Abraham swallowed hard and said:
00:42:41.14\00:42:44.63
"OK, I'll do that
because that's God speaking. "
00:42:44.83\00:42:46.77
We can believe something big
like creation because we've seen
00:42:46.97\00:42:51.21
God work in so many other ways.
00:42:51.31\00:42:54.07
We got here somehow...
this earth wasn't always here.
00:42:54.27\00:42:58.78
The Bible suggests
that God made us purposely,
00:42:58.98\00:43:03.03
intentionally, so He
could lavish His love upon us
00:43:03.14\00:43:05.32
and prepare the human family for
an eternity of meaningfulness
00:43:05.52\00:43:09.38
and blessing and joy.
00:43:09.51\00:43:11.66
Just the other day I
spoke to a physicist.
00:43:11.86\00:43:14.42
Bright fellow; he
teaches at a European university
00:43:14.63\00:43:17.24
and lectures all over the world.
00:43:17.44\00:43:19.42
I said: "Tell me... how does
physics explain the question of
00:43:19.62\00:43:23.00
origins? How does it do that? "
00:43:23.10\00:43:26.41
He said: "You know,
to be honest with you,
00:43:26.61\00:43:28.81
science has not adequately
reconciled in his opinion
00:43:29.01\00:43:33.87
the question of the Big Bang. "
00:43:34.07\00:43:35.84
I said: "Because you know
the scientists say that there
00:43:37.27\00:43:39.31
was nothing and
now there's everything.
00:43:39.41\00:43:40.73
And everything came out
of nothing which I mean to me
00:43:40.83\00:43:42.99
that just seems a stretch
that you could have nothing... "
00:43:43.09\00:43:46.75
And I don't know if we
can actually imagine nothing.
00:43:47.05\00:43:50.54
But when they say
"nothing" they mean nothing.
00:43:50.74\00:43:52.86
And out of
nothing comes everything.
00:43:53.06\00:43:57.06
All right. I'm not
much of a scientist
00:43:57.36\00:44:00.94
so maybe that's my
problem but I said:
00:44:01.15\00:44:02.40
"That's a stretch to me. "
00:44:02.60\00:44:04.12
And he said... not a
question, not a Bible apologist,
00:44:04.32\00:44:07.45
not a creationist... he said
that there are real struggles
00:44:07.65\00:44:10.30
in his mind and in
the scientific community
00:44:10.51\00:44:12.79
over how we got here.
00:44:12.99\00:44:14.80
I said: "No
struggle. Genesis 1 verse 1...
00:44:15.00\00:44:17.57
let me help you with this. "
00:44:17.67\00:44:18.68
You know, one Harvard professor
said: "Materialism is absolute.
00:44:22.04\00:44:26.06
We cannot allow a
divine foot in the door. "
00:44:26.26\00:44:29.78
I wonder if there's a little
bit of that going on today.
00:44:29.81\00:44:32.96
We might believe it but we
are hell-bent on keeping God
00:44:33.16\00:44:36.28
out of the question.
00:44:36.39\00:44:37.46
You can look at a house and
say: "Wow, who designed that? "
00:44:37.66\00:44:40.10
You can look at a padlock
and say: "That's clever. "
00:44:40.31\00:44:42.22
Look at a rug or a children's
toy. You say: "Man, that
00:44:42.42\00:44:46.39
was designed.
Who designed that? "
00:44:46.49\00:44:48.30
You look at anything
that Apple makes. You say:
00:44:48.50\00:44:50.81
"Wow! The designers
thought about that. "
00:44:51.01\00:44:53.61
Everything is designed
except evidently from nature.
00:44:53.81\00:44:56.81
I don't know about that.
00:44:57.11\00:44:59.06
I understand why people kick.
00:44:59.26\00:45:00.73
If there was a
designer, then there's a God.
00:45:00.93\00:45:02.48
If there's a God, then
we're answerable to that God
00:45:02.58\00:45:04.74
and maybe we have to
think like the funny Christians.
00:45:04.95\00:45:07.90
So an elaborate idea is
concocted to explain away
00:45:08.10\00:45:12.29
really a very simple thought
00:45:12.49\00:45:14.75
found in
history's best-selling book:
00:45:14.95\00:45:17.02
"In the beginning God created. "
00:45:17.15\00:45:19.54
I want to read to
you something I read
00:45:19.75\00:45:21.25
yesterday I
think... two days ago...
00:45:21.55\00:45:24.70
on Twitter. A Twitter
post... some guy posted this.
00:45:24.91\00:45:27.74
It was a photograph. This
is longer than 140 characters.
00:45:28.04\00:45:32.60
"When NASA first
started sending up astronauts
00:45:32.80\00:45:35.46
they quickly discovered
the ballpoint pens would not
00:45:35.66\00:45:38.19
work in zero gravity.
00:45:38.30\00:45:39.42
To combat the problem
NASA scientists spent a decade
00:45:39.62\00:45:42.64
and $12 billion to develop a
pen that writes in zero gravity,
00:45:42.74\00:45:46.75
upside down, under
water, on almost any surface
00:45:46.85\00:45:48.94
including glass and at
temperatures ranging from
00:45:49.04\00:45:51.32
below freezing to
300 degrees Celsius. "
00:45:51.42\00:45:53.42
And then it says: "The
Russians used a pencil. "
00:45:53.62\00:45:56.62
Now that's a great story.
00:46:02.62\00:46:03.68
There's a little
problem with it, though.
00:46:03.78\00:46:04.89
It's not actually true.
00:46:04.99\00:46:06.63
That's one of
these urban legends.
00:46:06.93\00:46:08.82
I hope somebody watching
the tape didn't just turn it off
00:46:09.12\00:46:12.44
right then and
said: "That flake!
00:46:12.54\00:46:14.18
Doesn't he know that's not true?
00:46:14.28\00:46:15.70
I'll never bother with
those Christians again. "
00:46:15.80\00:46:17.60
But I share the
story to make a point.
00:46:18.85\00:46:20.57
Big problem and sometimes
the solution is right under
00:46:20.77\00:46:23.45
your nose. They did develop
a pen, actually - not NASA.
00:46:23.55\00:46:26.45
A fellow named Paul Fisher
who said he spent thousands
00:46:26.55\00:46:29.45
of hours and millions of dollars
developing that very pen.
00:46:29.55\00:46:32.36
The pen is still
used by astronauts today.
00:46:32.56\00:46:34.44
You can buy one
from the company for $50
00:46:34.64\00:46:36.76
so there you go.
00:46:36.86\00:46:38.18
There's a simple answer
to life's biggest question:
00:46:38.38\00:46:40.63
"In the beginning God. "
00:46:40.83\00:46:42.58
God made it; we messed it up.
00:46:42.78\00:46:44.54
Then God cleaned
it up with a flood.
00:46:44.74\00:46:46.53
I tell you what. Last
time I flew on a plane I looked
00:46:46.63\00:46:48.57
out the window and I
said: "How else did that stuff
00:46:48.67\00:46:51.71
get there
without... than with a flood?
00:46:51.82\00:46:53.43
How else did those
formations get there? "
00:46:53.64\00:46:56.99
Now there was some stuff
that was obviously pushed up
00:46:57.09\00:46:59.07
out of the ground.
That was clear... clear.
00:46:59.17\00:47:02.35
Well maybe there are some other
explanations that don't connote
00:47:02.55\00:47:05.35
a world-wide flood. But
I look out there and say:
00:47:05.45\00:47:07.60
"The evidence suggests that
what the Bible says is true. "
00:47:07.90\00:47:12.93
Ladies and gentlemen: there
is plenty that you and I don't
00:47:13.13\00:47:15.65
understand about what
we see out there. Plenty.
00:47:15.75\00:47:18.14
Scientists who don't
believe creation aren't dummies.
00:47:18.28\00:47:21.10
People who believe evolution...
we don't have to paint them out
00:47:21.50\00:47:25.04
as morons... paint
them up to be morons.
00:47:25.14\00:47:27.19
They're not. Many of them are
bright, bright, bright, sincere
00:47:27.39\00:47:29.74
people. But I look at
the evidence and I see that
00:47:29.85\00:47:32.43
what the Bible says is true.
00:47:32.53\00:47:34.64
I can trust the
sure Word of God.
00:47:34.84\00:47:37.14
And something to remember
about the sure Word of God
00:47:37.34\00:47:39.73
is that it is an
expression of God! Amen!
00:47:39.93\00:47:44.10
It's not a high
school newspaper, man.
00:47:44.24\00:47:47.13
Here's what R.A. Torrey
wrote. R.A. Torrey was a
00:47:47.34\00:47:50.38
preacher of the late
1900's early, early... No, no...
00:47:50.48\00:47:55.39
Late 1800's early 1900's.
00:47:55.49\00:47:57.30
Died and buried in
Ashville, North Carolina.
00:47:57.60\00:48:00.22
He said this. He said: "It
is clear that there must be
00:48:00.42\00:48:03.50
difficulty for us in a
revelation such as the Bible.
00:48:03.70\00:48:06.40
If someone were to hand me a
book that was as simple to me
00:48:07.86\00:48:10.62
as the multiplication table and
say "this is the Word of God.
00:48:10.72\00:48:13.13
In it He has revealed
His whole will and wisdom, "
00:48:13.33\00:48:16.03
I would shake my
head and I would say:
00:48:16.23\00:48:17.91
"I cannot believe it.
00:48:18.02\00:48:19.44
That is too easy to be a perfect
revelation of infinite wisdom. "
00:48:19.64\00:48:23.05
And I thought the
same thing when I read
00:48:23.25\00:48:25.10
The Late Great Planet Earth.
00:48:25.20\00:48:26.66
I was searching but I
said: "Ah, too simple.
00:48:26.86\00:48:29.28
Too neat and
tidy. I don't buy it. "
00:48:29.48\00:48:31.71
There must be in any complete
revelation of God's mind
00:48:31.91\00:48:35.75
and will and character and being
things hard for the beginner
00:48:35.85\00:48:38.51
to understand. And
the wisest and best of us
00:48:38.61\00:48:41.89
are but beginners. "
And I say "Amen" to that.
00:48:41.99\00:48:44.38
I'm not bothered by
difficulties in the Bible.
00:48:45.94\00:48:48.97
Now I don't say
that as a cop-out.
00:48:49.17\00:48:51.38
But this represents
the mind of God, and if God
00:48:51.58\00:48:54.23
isn't just at least
a little bit mysterious
00:48:54.44\00:48:56.18
then He fails to be God.
00:48:56.31\00:48:59.00
If I can explain God too
neatly then He's too small a God
00:48:59.03\00:49:03.33
to be able to do me much good.
00:49:03.43\00:49:04.79
There are some
things we can't understand.
00:49:05.19\00:49:07.47
There are all kinds of things.
00:49:07.67\00:49:08.88
I've got a
cellphone I don't understand.
00:49:08.98\00:49:10.95
How does that work? Huh?
00:49:11.05\00:49:14.43
Maybe it's the
cellphone company I really don't
00:49:14.73\00:49:16.99
understand, but I don't know...
00:49:17.09\00:49:18.63
I've got a microwave...
Do I have a microwave?
00:49:18.84\00:49:21.05
I don't know if
I... I had one once.
00:49:21.35\00:49:24.55
I don't understand them things.
00:49:24.85\00:49:27.22
I don't know... it's just me.
I don't know how my car works.
00:49:28.96\00:49:31.73
But it works. I turn
the key I expect it to go.
00:49:31.93\00:49:34.62
I don't have to understand
everything about the Bible.
00:49:34.92\00:49:37.04
I'm not saying that we
can wander through this
00:49:37.24\00:49:38.68
in ignorance. Don't
stretch what I'm saying too far.
00:49:38.78\00:49:40.80
But if there's something
mysterious in the Word of God
00:49:41.00\00:49:43.32
I'm not bothered by that.
00:49:43.42\00:49:44.61
You know, man, there's plenty
in the Word of God you can
00:49:44.82\00:49:46.83
understand. If all you had was
00:49:46.93\00:49:49.29
"Love God... heart,
soul, mind, and strength
00:49:49.39\00:49:52.05
and your
neighbor as yourself... "
00:49:52.15\00:49:53.25
that would probably
be enough right there.
00:49:53.45\00:49:55.30
"Here is the patience of
the saints. They keep the
00:49:55.61\00:49:57.95
commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus. "
00:49:58.06\00:49:59.84
In all honesty, you
don't need much more than that.
00:50:00.04\00:50:02.25
"God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son
00:50:02.45\00:50:05.00
that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish
00:50:05.20\00:50:07.41
but have everlasting
life. " Come on now...
00:50:07.61\00:50:09.40
How much more do you need? Amen.
00:50:09.60\00:50:12.81
If all you had
was the simple stuff,
00:50:13.01\00:50:16.57
you would have enough to
keep you going for eternity.
00:50:16.77\00:50:20.44
And you'd be studying that and
studying that and studying that.
00:50:20.64\00:50:25.62
And now friends,
something I wanted to say.
00:50:25.76\00:50:27.08
I don't have much time to say
this so I'll... listen quickly.
00:50:27.18\00:50:29.78
If it's true that the
Bible is the Word of God,
00:50:30.08\00:50:33.50
if it is the sure Word of God,
00:50:33.80\00:50:36.20
what is that going to do to you?
00:50:36.40\00:50:39.38
Uh, if there's really a God,
00:50:39.58\00:50:43.69
if He really loves you,
00:50:43.99\00:50:46.98
if He really sent
Jesus to die for you,
00:50:47.28\00:50:50.80
think of the
ramifications of that.
00:50:51.20\00:50:53.55
I was in a church in Nashville
00:50:53.75\00:50:56.09
and during the song service
we were singing that song
00:50:56.29\00:50:58.56
I Am So Glad
That Jesus Loves Me.
00:50:58.76\00:51:00.94
Do you know that song? For
some reason I turned around.
00:51:01.04\00:51:03.32
I don't know why I turned
around, and I'll never forget
00:51:03.42\00:51:05.24
the name or the face of
this man singing the song.
00:51:05.34\00:51:07.95
A wonderful man, a kind
man... and he was beaming.
00:51:08.15\00:51:11.68
I knew when I sang
that song I probably sang
00:51:11.92\00:51:14.14
I am so glad
that Jesus loves me.
00:51:14.81\00:51:19.07
He was beaming.
00:51:21.00\00:51:22.35
I am so glad
that... he was beaming.
00:51:22.55\00:51:26.80
Man, I looked at
him. I'll never forget it.
00:51:27.01\00:51:28.21
I said: "He's
glad... he's really glad! "
00:51:28.31\00:51:31.05
Why shouldn't he be?
00:51:32.24\00:51:33.65
Shouldn't you be glad
if the Bible's really true?
00:51:33.85\00:51:36.63
This man was rejoicing.
00:51:36.83\00:51:38.32
Couple of Friday
nights ago I was so fortunate.
00:51:38.52\00:51:40.92
I was at the
Western Wall in Jerusalem
00:51:41.12\00:51:42.95
and it was magnificent.
00:51:43.57\00:51:45.43
And you know what? I
didn't know what to expect.
00:51:45.63\00:51:47.85
I was there earlier in the week.
We were doing some little...
00:51:48.05\00:51:50.00
filming some little vignettes
for some upcoming It Is Written
00:51:50.30\00:51:53.19
television programs. And so
man, we had to be down there.
00:51:53.29\00:51:56.14
And the crowd was enormous.
00:51:56.44\00:52:00.74
And then I hear
the singing. Uuph!
00:52:00.95\00:52:02.81
The only thing
I can relate it to
00:52:02.91\00:52:05.30
was like singing I had
heard in a previous life
00:52:05.50\00:52:08.33
at soccer games when I
lived in England briefly.
00:52:08.53\00:52:12.49
I went to two professional
soccer games, and the singing...
00:52:12.69\00:52:15.27
boomh... it was boomh.
00:52:15.37\00:52:17.81
And I heard this singing.
I looked and here came these
00:52:18.01\00:52:20.11
guys walking down a ramp.
00:52:20.21\00:52:21.78
And they're being led by a
man with a long gray beard.
00:52:21.98\00:52:24.16
And he stops every now
and then and he's smiling.
00:52:24.36\00:52:26.07
And boomh...
and they sing again.
00:52:26.27\00:52:28.62
And they make their
way down to the wall,
00:52:28.65\00:52:30.76
and I just tagged
right along with them.
00:52:30.97\00:52:32.61
I'm enjoying this!
00:52:32.81\00:52:35.79
And they're singing.
00:52:35.99\00:52:37.51
And over there this
other group's singing.
00:52:37.61\00:52:39.72
There's all these groups of
rabbinical students singing.
00:52:39.82\00:52:42.89
And then they start some
of this and they start this
00:52:43.09\00:52:47.24
and... and then they
grab me. "Whoa... wait. "
00:52:47.38\00:52:49.68
I was never much of
a dancer, man, but...
00:52:52.36\00:52:54.44
there's no way out.
00:52:54.74\00:52:57.00
And I'm standing with
these guys and we're doing this.
00:52:57.20\00:52:59.80
Hey, da-da-da-da-da-da;
hey; da-da-da-da-da-da.
00:53:00.00\00:53:02.84
You can tell them the It
Is Written guy was dancing
00:53:02.94\00:53:06.93
last Friday night.
Ba-ba-ba-ba, yeah, yeah.
00:53:07.03\00:53:10.22
They went bump and
then they're doing this
00:53:10.42\00:53:12.68
and they're making circles.
00:53:12.79\00:53:13.87
And they don't care who
they push out of the way!
00:53:13.97\00:53:15.42
And they're dancing and
I said... I got talking to
00:53:15.62\00:53:18.65
a kid from New
York City. He goes:
00:53:18.75\00:53:20.62
"We are
celebrating the Sabbath. "
00:53:20.92\00:53:24.08
Amen.
00:53:24.28\00:53:25.88
I said: "Oh, you probably don't
want to be a Christian then
00:53:26.90\00:53:31.52
'cause all we do
is KEEP the Sabbath. "
00:53:31.62\00:53:34.32
They all celebrate
and they are dancing. Man!
00:53:35.70\00:53:41.03
And they are
singing and they've got...
00:53:41.23\00:53:44.06
And he's telling me -
he's translating for me.
00:53:44.26\00:53:46.56
"Here's what we're singing. "
"Wait, that's the 96th Psalm. "
00:53:46.76\00:53:48.79
"Yeah, we're singing
it. It's a song you know. "
00:53:48.99\00:53:50.57
And then they're singing
Isaiah 60 and they're singing...
00:53:50.78\00:53:53.02
they're singing! Amen!
00:53:53.22\00:53:55.16
I tell you what: I
don't mean any disrespect.
00:53:55.26\00:53:56.93
We've got more to sing
about than Jewish folks do.
00:53:57.03\00:53:59.36
I don't mean any disrespect.
00:53:59.56\00:54:01.00
We've got more to dance about
than Jewish folk. Now, now.
00:54:01.20\00:54:03.48
Hang on. I'm not advocating
we go back to our churches
00:54:03.68\00:54:06.36
and get a little
bit of this going.
00:54:06.46\00:54:07.81
I'm not advocating that.
00:54:11.92\00:54:13.42
At one time... At one time,
man, they all turned around.
00:54:15.76\00:54:21.14
The sun was setting, and
they had their backs to the sun.
00:54:21.34\00:54:23.67
They turned around. He said:
00:54:23.77\00:54:25.38
"We are
welcoming queen Sabbath. "
00:54:25.58\00:54:28.32
Wow; wow.
00:54:29.48\00:54:32.44
They were jubilant.
00:54:32.64\00:54:34.64
I'm just making a point.
00:54:34.84\00:54:36.16
Friend, if this book is true...
00:54:36.36\00:54:39.33
if this book is true
you can afford to smile.
00:54:39.53\00:54:42.80
Amen. You can
afford to be happy.
00:54:43.00\00:54:44.77
You can afford to be confident.
00:54:44.97\00:54:46.22
You can afford to celebrate.
That's not a bad word...
00:54:46.42\00:54:48.29
I mean it in a
good way. You can be...
00:54:48.39\00:54:50.18
you can be exuberant.
00:54:50.28\00:54:51.80
There's a God in
heaven. The Bible tells me so.
00:54:52.00\00:54:55.74
I'm not the result
of a cosmic accident.
00:54:55.94\00:54:58.30
I am not here to
languish forever.
00:54:58.50\00:55:00.62
My body's not going
to molder in a grave
00:55:00.82\00:55:03.19
forever and ever
and ever and ever.
00:55:03.39\00:55:05.33
Jesus is coming back soon.
00:55:05.53\00:55:07.43
I believe it because I
have the more sure Word of God.
00:55:07.63\00:55:10.44
We can believe it.
And if this is true
00:55:10.64\00:55:13.19
what about the
rest of the Bible?
00:55:13.22\00:55:14.75
"My God shall
supply all your need. "
00:55:14.95\00:55:16.77
Is it true or not? Yes!
00:55:16.97\00:55:18.50
It's the truth.
00:55:18.51\00:55:19.83
"If we confess our
sins He is faithful and just
00:55:20.03\00:55:23.84
to forgive... " Hallelujah!
00:55:23.94\00:55:26.75
I don't have to
carry guilt around with me.
00:55:26.96\00:55:28.94
I am so glad about that.
00:55:29.14\00:55:30.83
"I will never leave
you nor forsake you. "
00:55:31.04\00:55:34.69
"He is with me" the Bible says
00:55:34.89\00:55:38.19
and my experience
has borne that out. Amen.
00:55:38.39\00:55:41.52
"I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me. "
00:55:41.65\00:55:43.94
"Let us come boldly
to the throne of grace. "
00:55:44.34\00:55:46.83
We're going to find us
some mercy and grace to help
00:55:47.03\00:55:49.20
in time of need. Oh wow!
00:55:49.30\00:55:51.53
Can you imagine?
There's power in this Book.
00:55:51.73\00:55:53.49
Amen. I'll tell you
the greatest thing about
00:55:53.69\00:55:55.89
this Book is it changes lives.
00:55:55.99\00:55:57.29
I'll tell you about a man
whose name is Joshua Blahyi.
00:55:57.39\00:56:02.08
He's from
Liberia in West Africa.
00:56:02.38\00:56:05.23
In 1982 Joshua
Blahyi was a high priest.
00:56:06.50\00:56:10.98
Hate to say this to
you... we've got kids here.
00:56:11.28\00:56:14.11
OK, I'll sanitize this.
00:56:14.31\00:56:16.09
When he was 11 years old he was
involved in a ritual of human
00:56:20.55\00:56:23.16
sacrifice...
doing the sacrificing.
00:56:23.26\00:56:26.39
Eleven years old.
00:56:26.59\00:56:27.85
He became one of West
Africa's most feared war lords.
00:56:28.15\00:56:31.06
Killed - he
says - 20,000 people.
00:56:31.27\00:56:32.86
Some agree; some disagree.
00:56:32.96\00:56:34.15
He traded diamonds
for cocaine and guns.
00:56:34.45\00:56:37.07
He fed cocaine to his soldiers,
some of them as young as
00:56:37.27\00:56:39.70
9 years old. He described
the way he killed people.
00:56:39.80\00:56:43.26
I mean I'm not even
going to tell you about that.
00:56:43.46\00:56:46.66
Joshua Blahyi. True
story... absolutely true.
00:56:46.86\00:56:50.56
Preacher went to him one
day and said: "What you're doing
00:56:52.10\00:56:54.27
is wrong. What
you're doing is sin. "
00:56:54.37\00:56:57.07
He stopped. Over the next
few days they studied the Bible.
00:56:57.37\00:57:01.27
I've read where he said
that he got a divine revelation.
00:57:01.47\00:57:03.43
Want to tell you something
about Joshua Blahyi today.
00:57:04.72\00:57:07.51
Today he is a pastor. Amen!
00:57:07.91\00:57:11.30
Married with three children.
Traveling around West Africa
00:57:11.51\00:57:14.83
apologizing to
people for what he has done.
00:57:14.94\00:57:17.06
More sure Word of
God. We've got the prophecy
00:57:18.78\00:57:20.61
but friends, we know what
it can do in a person's life.
00:57:20.71\00:57:23.02
You can afford
to embrace the Bible
00:57:23.52\00:57:26.87
and let it do in your
life what God wants it to do
00:57:27.07\00:57:30.00
in your life.
00:57:30.10\00:57:31.24