Participants: Ron Halvorsen
Series Code: 13RVT
Program Code: 13RVT000004
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00:05 In today's troubled world people are wondering
00:10 where we are headed? 00:13 Revelation Today presents the answers. 00:17 Bible prophecy reveals what the future holds in store. 00:23 Revelation Today. 00:37 Good evening again, everyone. 00:39 Tonight, we look at a subject that affects all of us. 00:42 Life can be tough sometimes 00:44 and even believers in Jesus get caught up 00:47 in the gritty difficulties of being in this world. 00:50 But why is it that a person can pray to God and still get sick? 00:54 Why is it that a person can be a faithful believer 00:57 and still go through terrible times? 00:59 A lot of non-Christians will say to Christians 01:01 after disaster where was your God then? 01:05 People think that if God was truly good, 01:06 He wouldn't allow bad things to happen. 01:09 Our subject tonight "Good God Bad World, Why?" 01:14 The present a Revelation Today is Ron Halvorsen. 01:23 Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. 01:24 Let's seek the presence of God as we open His word together. 01:28 Gracious Father, I thank You so much for Your great love 01:32 and now we pray God as we come to this very important subject 01:35 we might come to grips with it, a good God in a bad world, why? 01:41 In the name of Christ, amen. 01:45 Good god bad world, why? 01:49 Was a quiet night in a theater in Colorado. 01:53 Mothers and children and teenagers 01:55 and middle-aged couples excited, 01:58 the cult followers of Batman they were there 02:00 and some dressed in the outfit 02:02 and they'd come for a good night 02:04 and that became the dark night. 02:09 It ended in chaos. It ended in screams. 02:14 And it end in crying and then death. 02:17 A mother of a girl six killed in a movie theater that night. 02:21 A senseless massacre 58 were injured, 02:26 shot down and 12 dead. 02:30 That wasn't the end. 02:32 Then there came the Boston Marathon 02:33 and senseless killings there at that place. 02:38 Why is life so hard? 02:40 Have you ever had one of those, 02:41 I don't want to get out of bed kind of days? 02:43 Have any of you had that, come on, 02:45 you just didn't want to get out of bed. 02:47 I mean, why is have you ever had those kind of days, 02:50 you can't face the future kind of days? 02:55 I think of Chippie, 02:57 you probably heard of Chippie the parakeet, 02:58 I mean poor Chippie never saw it coming. 03:02 One second peacefully sitting perched in a cage 03:07 doing what parakeets do. 03:10 Singing, I don't know what parakeets do 03:13 but she was doing it. 03:17 And the next second she was sucked in, 03:19 she was washed up and she was blown away. 03:22 I mean, the problem began 03:24 when her owner decided to clean the birdcage 03:29 but she thought we we've got to do it in a way-- 03:32 we've got to do it in such a way 03:34 that it would take little time 03:37 and so she took the vacuum cleaner. 03:44 And so she stuck the vacuum cleaner in there 03:46 and she was going at it 03:48 and all of the sudden the phone rang 03:49 and she reach for the phone and... 03:55 turned around and poor Chippie was gone. 03:59 She did what any owner would do, 04:01 she ran over the vacuum cleaner and open the vacuum cleaner 04:04 and there was little Chippie standing in the dust and dirt 04:08 and so she grabbed her bird 04:12 and she ran to the faucet 04:17 turned on the water, 04:21 cold water on poor Chippie's head 04:24 and then she took the hairdryer. 04:32 Few days later the reporter that reported 04:36 the event called up to find out how Chippie was. 04:41 The owner said this, 04:43 well, he just sits there staring. 04:49 He doesn't seem much anymore, 04:53 but it's hard, it's hard to not to see why. 04:57 I mean, sucked in, washed up, blown away. 05:00 I mean can you relate to Chippie, any of you? 05:05 I mean you had a day like that, come on now? 05:10 Does life seem hard? Does life seem unfulfilled? 05:14 Every time, everything seems 05:16 to go wrong in your life experience. 05:18 Come on that happens, doesn't it? 05:19 Weeks, months, try to lose a little weight, 05:26 but it never happens. 05:29 You think you're making a shift of in your career, 05:33 maybe even serving God 05:34 but you can never actually get to it. 05:38 Come on, take time for your kids 05:44 but the phone rings 05:47 and you have to get something done for the boss. 05:51 Try to recover something in your marriage 05:55 and your spouse looks at you with that look, 05:57 you know, I mean nice try. 06:02 Is it little late for that? 06:06 Life seems never to turn outright in the right way 06:12 or the way you think it should. 06:15 About 90 percent of the time 06:17 we're faced with a crisis, 90 percent of the time 06:20 life doesn't turn the way it should. 06:21 The pink slip comes, the bad news from the doctor, 06:24 divorce papers come, I mean check bounces, 06:26 policemen knock at the door, the kids are out, 06:29 you don't know where they are. 06:30 Come on, if God is so big, why does He control things. 06:36 Why does He act more powerfully in your life? 06:41 I'm a pretty good person, 06:44 why did He allow bad things to happen to me? 06:47 Now this question puts God on trial. 06:51 And by the way until this question is answered, 06:53 all the other questions in a Bible are irrelevant. 06:56 Until you understand the nature and the character of God, 06:59 the God of the Bible and the God of Revelation, 07:01 all this about any crisis and all this about tribulation, 07:04 and all this about all those things 07:06 that are gonna happen on the earth, 07:07 it means little or nothing 07:10 until we get it straight in our mind. 07:13 A good God in a bad world. 07:18 Sometimes I share faith on university campuses 07:22 and they always have that question, the agnostic sin. 07:24 You know, those who have more brains than they have heart 07:27 you know well, where is God when this happened? 07:29 And where is God when this-- 07:31 like God is some kind of celestial Santa Claus. 07:34 I didn't get when I should have got 07:36 or like a celestial policeman, 07:38 He didn't put up his hand and stop the traffic. 07:40 Come on, I mean where is God? 07:47 Where is God? 07:48 Now that question puts Him on trial. 07:51 Is there any hope for my family? 07:53 Is there any hope for my nation? 07:55 And God answers with a resounding yes. 07:58 When stars fall from the heavens. 08:01 When mountains collapse into the sea. 08:04 I mean when evil triumphs over good 08:06 and when pain and sickness prevails, 08:09 is there any hope for our world? 08:11 Is there any hope for you and me? 08:14 Now there are no easy answers. 08:17 In fact after tonight you'll probably go home 08:19 and say well, I still have questions. 08:22 And by the way, I have questions. 08:24 John the Revelator catches a vision. 08:26 Now he sees a God in the midst of prison. 08:29 He sees a God in the midst of persecution. 08:32 He had been put in oil to be boiled 08:34 because the emperor that day want to get rid of him 08:37 but he couldn't make a French fry of John, 08:39 so now he send them off to a penal colony, 08:41 the Alcatraz of Asia Minor. 08:43 Sends him out to the island of Patmos. 08:46 Now here he is almost a hundred years old 08:48 doing hard labor on the Island of Patmos. 08:51 God gives him a vision. 08:52 He comes to him and in Revelation 12 08:55 He describes "There was war in heaven, 08:57 and Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, 09:00 and the dragon fought and his angels, 09:02 and prevail not neither was their place 09:03 found any more in heaven." 09:05 " And notice he goes on to say, 09:07 "And the great dragon was cast out, 09:09 the old serpent, called the Devil, 09:11 who deceiveth the whole world, he was cast out to the earth, 09:14 and his angels were cast out with him." 09:17 Bible goes on to say, 09:18 "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 09:21 now is come salvation, and strength, 09:23 and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ, 09:26 for the accuser of our bretheren is cast down, 09:29 which accused them before God day and night." 09:33 Our troubles began in heaven, amazing. 09:38 A war between God, good and evil. 09:42 A war between Satan, Lucifer and Jesus Christ. 09:47 A war in heaven. 09:48 In fact, Isaiah told us about this war, 09:51 this conflict between good and evil. 09:53 "For thou hast said in thine heart, 09:54 I will ascend into heaven, 09:56 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, 09:59 I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation...'" 10:02 And he goes on to say, "in the side to the north 10:05 and I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, 10:07 I will be like the most High." 10:10 You say Ron Halverson, 10:11 how could there be war in heaven? 10:13 Heaven is a place of peace, tranquility. 10:16 But you see God when He created angels, 10:19 He created free will, 10:21 He created choices and there in heaven itself, 10:24 God gave a choice, there in heaven itself 10:27 God explains Satan goes to war, he wants to be like God 10:33 and he is cast out of heaven and a new battle begins. 10:36 It's amazing to me as he is cast out of heaven, 10:38 he finds a place on earth. 10:40 It's all there in your Bible in the Book of Isaiah, 10:42 it's all there in the Book of Revelation. 10:45 You see God creates a garden, Satan comes to the garden, 10:49 he turns it into a wilderness. 10:50 Christ comes to a wilderness 10:52 and He turns it back into a garden. 10:54 Amen. Amen. 10:56 That's the struggle of good and evil. 10:58 That's the struggle between God and Satan. 11:01 That's the struggle that you and I 11:03 can see God in His purpose, 11:05 God in the way He's moving and God in the way He's acting. 11:08 Did God create a devil? 11:10 No, He created an angel who became a devil 11:16 and there is a big danger in creating angels 11:19 and there is a big danger in creating human beings. 11:24 Why? 11:25 You see that brings us to the problem. 11:28 It's a danger because it's a problem. 11:31 Did God fly into the Twin Towers, 11:35 that's the question? 11:37 I mean, was His hands on the controls, 11:39 yet millions tell us He was to blame. 11:43 Don't you see? 11:46 God could not create humans with freedom 11:49 and still control them. 11:52 God could not make human beings in love 11:57 and control them. 11:59 Because love demands choices, love and God is love 12:06 and that's the very foundation 12:08 of our concept about this Jesus, 12:10 the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 12:13 that He is love, full of love and because He is full of love, 12:16 He creates and when He creates 12:18 He gives them freedom, freedom to choose. 12:21 He did not put them in bond? 12:22 He didn't put them in a zoo with bars. 12:24 He put them in the garden. 12:28 The Bible tells us 12:30 that God created humans with freedom 12:33 and He would not control them. 12:38 God stands accused tonight. 12:40 Listen to me, hunger accuses God. 12:42 Why is the world hungry tonight? 12:44 Thirst accuses God. 12:46 Listen to me, war accuses God and not only that 12:50 but death accuses God, pointing fingers at God 12:53 but let's hear His side of the story for a change. 12:55 Let's see what God says 12:57 about this thing called free will. 12:59 Let's see what God says about this thing, 13:02 a good God in a bad universe in a bad world. 13:05 Let's look at the Bible and we go back to Genesis 13:08 where it all began. 13:09 We go back to Genesis and the Bible says, 13:11 "And God saw every thing he had made, 13:14 and, behold, it was very good." 13:18 You'll notice as you read Genesis, 13:19 the first chapter, at the end of each creation 13:22 He says it's good, it's good. 13:24 When He comes to man, He says it's very good. 13:29 It's above His creation 13:30 because man is to rule over His creation 13:33 and so He says it is very good. 13:36 Now that was the intention of God, 13:38 the intention of God that man was to be very good. 13:41 The intention of God was 13:42 that man would be there in that garden, 13:45 that they would live happily ever after. 13:48 I mean that was before Hollywood. 13:54 God's intention for the first, for our first parents 13:56 was that they would raise their children, 13:59 happily raise their children to know God, 14:02 to experience God, 14:03 and to experience the joy of a perfect garden 14:06 in a perfect world. 14:07 That was what God had intended 14:10 and that's what they thought there when the big test came 14:13 and that big test was found in Romans 5:12. 14:16 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world 14:18 and death by sin, so death passed upon all men," 14:22 because what? 14:24 Come on because what? "All have sinned." 14:29 Every parent knows that to a degree. 14:31 Come on, a child born is innocent. 14:36 When I looked into the face 14:37 of my little boy that first born, 14:40 I knew right away he had a good future. 14:43 He looked like his pop 14:49 and I expected the best of him. 14:52 I desired the best of Him. 14:54 I wanted to do everything I could do for the best of him 14:58 and my life was dedicated to the best of him. 15:02 And then when my Diane came along, 15:05 wow, when she came along, 15:10 I mean a parent expects the best 15:16 but sometimes it doesn't turn out that way. 15:19 Come on now. Amen. 15:22 But you see a child is born not a murderer, 15:25 a murderer he becomes. 15:27 A child is born, a thief is not born. 15:29 An innocent child is born, he becomes a thief. 15:34 And why? 15:36 Because of choices, 15:39 because of the way God works, giving you power to choose. 15:43 You can have power to stay home tonight 15:44 but you decided to come, thank you. 15:50 You could walk away and say, well, 15:51 I don't have time for religion, 15:53 I don't have time for prophecy, 15:55 I don't have time for the Bible. 15:57 You can make that choice or you can make a choice 15:59 that could mean something to you 16:01 and your family for all eternity. 16:05 You can make that choice. 16:07 You see that was the big test, 16:09 innocence becomes guilty, that's the test. 16:13 God did not create robots. 16:15 Listen to me, God doesn't create robots. 16:17 No, not at all, He created a perfect garden. 16:20 He created a perfect person Eve. 16:23 And notice what the Bible says, 16:24 "And now the serpent was more subtle 16:26 than the beast of the field 16:28 which the Lord God had made. 16:30 And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, 16:32 Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" 16:34 And notice what it says, 16:36 "And the woman said unto the serpent, 16:39 We may eat of the fruit of trees of the garden, 16:41 but the fruit of the tree 16:42 which is in the midst of the garden, 16:44 God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, 16:49 neither shall you touch it, lest ye die. 16:51 And the serpent said to the woman, 16:53 Ye shall not surely did, 16:55 for God knows that in that day you eat thereof, you..." What? 17:00 Yours eyes will be opened, 17:02 you should be as gods, knowing good and evil. 17:06 And when the woman saw the tree was good for food, 17:09 and that it was pleasant to the eyes," 17:11 notice "it was pleasant to the eyes 17:15 and the tree to be desired to make one wise, 17:17 she took the fruit thereof, did eat, 17:19 and gave also unto her husband with her, 17:21 and he did eat." 17:22 When God created Adam, Adam was lonely. 17:25 Love, God is love. 17:26 God creates in the heart of every human being to love. 17:29 And so God because God loved 17:31 and God wanted Adam to love He creates woman. 17:34 He puts him to sleep and takes from the rib, 17:36 prime rib woman. 17:42 Didn't you like that women, didn't you like that one. 17:47 I won't tell you what she did next. 17:54 Eve, one choice you say why? Because love. 17:59 You see, I'm married 56 years, isn't wonderful? 18:05 Come on now, 56 years, 18:07 I know and I look only 57 so this is, you know, 18:10 I mean there's a conflict in you right now, 18:12 but I met her at college 18:17 and I looked across this crowded room 18:18 and there she was. 18:20 I could have wrote a song across the crowded room 18:22 but I didn't I mean, I just saw her. 18:24 And I said to my friend, I said, wow, that's nice chick. 18:28 By the way translation for you Christians, 18:30 a chick means she's pretty good. 18:35 And I said to my friend, I said man, 18:36 look at that good-looking chick. 18:38 I said I think I'll ask her out. 18:40 He said, oh, no, she's engaged. 18:42 I said she's not married. 18:45 And so after class, you know, I made the moves. 18:49 You teenagers want to know the moves 18:50 see me after, I'm an expert. 18:55 And I said to her, I said, hi, I'm Ron. 18:57 She says I'm Carrol. 18:59 I said that's nice, I said, 19:00 doing anything Saturday night, would you like to go out? 19:04 Nowadays they text about 15 hours 19:06 to try to just find out their name. 19:09 Me, move right in. She, says no. 19:13 She says, I'm engaged. 19:14 I said well, you're not married. 19:17 And what happened? 19:19 She had a choice between John and Ron. 19:26 I think she made the best choice. 19:35 You see, how love works. You see how God works. 19:38 He can't-- if she held a gun to my head 19:40 and said, will you marry me? 19:44 That wouldn't be fun. It's a expression of love. 19:49 You see, if God is love, 19:51 God has to create the one to be loved 19:54 with a choice to love back or not to love back. 20:00 I mean, that's sensible, isn't it. 20:02 Don't you think that's sensible? 20:05 I mean there it is and he talks about this tree 20:08 and "took the fruit thereof, and did eat, 20:10 and gave also unto a husband with her, and he did eat." 20:13 Now they're both in the same mess 20:15 and you say Adam and Eve, 20:16 well, why they do such a thing? 20:18 You would have done it if you were there too 20:20 because you're the Adam and Eve's of this generation 20:22 and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 20:24 The great problem with us is we eat 20:26 of the tree of knowledge of good and evil 20:27 before we eat of the tree of life. 20:31 We eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil 20:35 before we eat of the tree of life. 20:41 Wow, listen to this. 20:43 I mean he goes on, 20:44 "And they heard the voice of the Lord 20:45 God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, 20:48 and Adam and his wife hid themselves 20:50 from the presence of God." 20:51 Why? 20:52 Did God come to strike him down? 20:54 No. 20:55 Was God at fault? No. 20:57 They run and hide. 20:58 Now they hide from the presence of the Lord. 21:01 You always run and hide from God 21:03 when you're doing what you shouldn't be doing. 21:06 But you can't run and hide. 21:10 You can run but you can't hide. 21:13 Listen, listen to this. 21:17 She's behind the tree, he is behind a tree naked. 21:20 And God says, where are you, Adam? 21:23 Behind this tree naked, Father. 21:26 Hey, listen to me, 21:27 the first call of God in the garden showed love. 21:30 He said where are you to the very last words. 21:32 I knock at the door that's Revelation. 21:34 I knock at the door where are you? 21:36 You're in your house, I'm coming to your house. 21:38 You're in your garden, I'm coming to your garden. 21:40 You are on the-- on the thoroughfares of life. 21:44 I'll find you, I'm your God 21:49 and I choose to love you. 21:52 I choose. Crazy thing about it. 21:59 For thousands of years 22:00 we've tried to help fix this problem, 22:04 but keeps getting worse. 22:07 We master the Adam 22:08 and nearly obliterate ourselves with an atom bomb. 22:12 We try to fix it. 22:14 We learn the secrets of life 22:15 and only to develop techniques to destroy the unborn. 22:21 We have knocked the genetic code 22:23 and open a Pandora's box of ethics. 22:26 We tamed the great plains with agriculture 22:29 and cause a dust bowl. 22:30 We try to fix it with our technology 22:33 to fix the environment 22:34 and harvest the rainforest and create floods. 22:37 We harness internal combustion and melt the ice cap. 22:40 I mean, we link the world 22:41 with the engineered only to find out 22:43 most downloading items of pornography. 22:46 I mean every advance introduces us to failure. 22:49 Every time we try to clean the birdcage 22:51 we get deeper into trouble and the poor bird suffers. 23:00 We want to control them for there's any eternal truth. 23:07 Listen to me, there is an eternal truth 23:11 and that truth is, 23:12 there's big risk in creating man. 23:15 Every parent knows that. 23:17 That Mrs. Hikeman did not create 23:19 A.F. Hikeman the murderer. 23:23 It's called free will. 23:24 Now this thing free will 23:26 is often misunderstood by Christians. 23:29 Let me try to define it for you. 23:31 It's the ability to act at one's own discretion. 23:34 It's self-determination, freedom of choice, 23:37 autonomy, liberty, independence, 23:40 definition for free will. 23:43 Christians often misunderstand free will 23:45 in the context of being saved. 23:47 Some say you've free will until you get saved 23:52 and then you have no choice of free will 23:55 after you've been saved. 23:56 Interesting, isn't? I mean, it's very interesting. 24:00 God gives me the choice to choose Him 24:02 but not a choice to reject Him. 24:05 Now after I've chosen Him, I can't reject Him. 24:10 I'm-- I must admit it's a difficult 24:12 problem this thing free will. 24:14 John wrestled with it and we're gonna see that 24:16 as we get deeper into Revelation. 24:17 I mean, it's difficult to be lost after one is saved. 24:21 No question. 24:23 You can't beat me away from Jesus Christ. 24:26 I mean, I love Him so much but we all agree 24:30 that God cannot force us into faith. 24:35 And so it follows that if God can't force us into faith, 24:39 He can't force us from falling from faith. 24:43 Example, Judas was chosen by God. 24:45 In fact, the Bible says, 24:46 "Have not I chosen you the twelve, 24:48 and one of you is a devil?" 24:49 But he was chosen by Christ. 24:52 Look what happened to Judas. 24:54 I mean, there are examples in the Bible 24:56 and I'll just let you read them 24:57 and think about them for a moment 25:00 or for a day or a week or a month whatever. 25:02 Demas, a disciple of Jesus Christ. 25:04 Demas was a disciple of the apostles. 25:07 He was a soul winning disciple, then it almost says Demas, 25:11 then it says Demas have forsaken us 25:16 for love of the world. 25:18 Example, free will, 25:19 He can choose to serve or not to serve. 25:23 He can choose to say his prayers and not to pray. 25:26 He can choose to be silent 25:28 or he can choose to witness for the glory of God. 25:30 You see Demas and then 25:32 there's the example of how Hymcncus. 25:35 I have bit of Brooklyn accent. 25:36 Somebody's you know words 25:38 it's difficult with the Brooklyn accent. 25:41 Hymcncus and Alexandria. 25:48 The Bible says made a shipwreck of their faith, 25:52 1 Timothy1:19, 20. 25:54 Free will is nothing to be played with. 25:56 Free will love always requires free will 25:58 and if God is love, 25:59 He must always and everywhere allow 26:02 for two choices right or wrong. 26:08 I'm sure you've known someone who came to know the Lord 26:12 and I mean they were on fire for God. 26:16 I mean they were sharing their faith 26:19 and they are making choices, 26:22 making choices completely on fire. 26:25 Making choices but then... 26:30 you make the wrong choices. 26:33 And before you know it you're away from God. 26:38 Another thought but the devil seek to tempt you 26:42 if you could not fall 26:45 go with the devil even think up tempting you 26:52 if you could not fall, 26:57 could not fall. 27:00 I call it free faith 27:03 just as I talk about free grace. 27:05 I talk about free faith but it's not, 27:09 it's not something you fall into a mistake, 27:12 it's deliberate, sustain, 27:14 determined rejection of Jesus Christ. 27:18 I've a friend, he fell in love with God 27:21 and he was enthusiastic about faith. 27:23 He was sharing faith everywhere he went. 27:25 He went to the college, he went to a seminary, 27:28 wanted to be a minister, got a beautiful church 27:29 and was a minister of the gospel 27:31 preaching and teaching 27:33 and then he started making choices and... 27:41 he made wrong choices until one day he decided 27:45 he wouldn't even believe in God. 27:49 And now he is an in avid atheist. 27:52 Hope we can rationalize and say, 27:53 oh, that man wasn't converted or-- How do we know? 27:58 How do we know that his heart was not touched by God 28:01 but God had given him choices. 28:03 God had given him free will as he did a perfect. 28:06 If He gave Adam and Eve perfect beings free will, 28:09 don't you think He should give 28:11 sinner saved by grace free will? 28:13 Amen. 28:15 That's why we find ours elf in a predicament. 28:20 There's a big risk in creating, in creating humans. 28:25 Let me just back up here a minute. 28:28 My boy growing up we lived in a, in Connecticut. 28:32 We lived on the cul-de-sac and my little Ronnie 28:35 I got a I, I got a sandbox for him in the front yard 28:40 and Carrol said to me one day, 28:43 I've got to go shopping, I'm gonna take the little one. 28:45 That's my girl. 28:46 Gonna take my little one shopping with me, 28:48 you watch Ronnie. 28:50 So I said, hons, don't worry about it. 28:53 You know me. 28:54 Then she said it again. You watch Ronnie. 28:59 And so I put Ronnie in the sandbox 29:02 and I piled it with toys. 29:03 I mean bulldozer, do you know you get-- 29:06 you get all the toys you wanted as a kid 29:07 you couldn't get you give it to the kids. 29:09 Come on, right? Right. 29:13 All right. 29:15 Anyway I said now Ronnie, 29:17 you play here daddy got to go down and study. 29:21 But remember play right there, 29:23 I don't want you out of the sandbox. 29:26 No, daddy. 29:28 I went down I was studying for a while 29:30 and I was thinking about my boy. 29:31 Chip off the old block. 29:33 I was getting nervous so I ran up, 29:35 open the door my little boy 29:37 was standing at the road with one foot in. 29:42 I said pulled the door, Ronnie, that's the judgment, 29:46 that's the trumpet of the last days. 29:50 Ronnie, 29:53 and he came running back towards I didn't have to 29:56 go into a theological discussion with him. 29:59 I didn't have to talk to him about free will. 30:02 He dove into the sandbox. 30:05 I said now Ronnie, you stay in that sandbox, 30:07 I don't want none of this. 30:08 I don't want you near that road, 30:09 you don't go a foot near that road. 30:11 You stay in that sandbox. You hear me? 30:14 That's when you put on your real tough 30:16 you know, I even threw him a little Brooklyn accent. 30:19 You hear me, kid. 30:25 And I went downstairs and I'm thinking about this kid 30:30 and I said oh, no chip off the block. 30:33 So I rang upstairs and sure enough 30:35 the kid had both feet up. 30:39 I open the door and said, Ronnie, 30:43 now judgment hours there, 30:45 by the way you know nowadays you say time out. 30:50 Give me a break, I want time out. 30:52 What's this about? I said, Ronnie, come here. 30:55 And he went like this all the way to the sandbox. 31:01 Now I could solve the problem can I? 31:03 I mean, I could solve the problem, 31:05 I could take Ronnie lock him in a closet. 31:12 Throw away the key oh, no, I be a kind enough. 31:16 I cut a little slack in the door 31:18 and feed him every now and then you know, 31:21 but I solved the problem wouldn't I? 31:26 Or I could take him in my arms 31:29 and I can say, Ronnie, I love you honey. 31:32 Daddy don't want you to go by the road 31:34 because big car may come by and hit you and if I lost you. 31:39 And then I could teach him by example. 31:43 Don't you see how God works in this universe? 31:47 Don't you see how God works I mean lock them up. 31:52 No, God couldn't lock you up but no God gave you freedom. 31:57 I mean He gave you freedom 31:59 and that's where we find ourselves 32:01 when we talk about free will. 32:03 By the way there's actually three of God's will. 32:06 You say I wish I was in a context of God's will. 32:09 Well, God has three wills, I want you to understand them. 32:11 I want you to understand them tonight. 32:13 This first of all what I call Intentional Will. 32:16 Intentional Will. 32:18 Notice this intentional will, 32:22 that means what God intended for you. 32:24 In the beginning God intended you have joy. 32:26 In the beginning God intended you to be a happy family. 32:29 In the beginning God wanted the best for you 32:31 even in this life God has wanted the best for you. 32:33 Every one of you here God has a plan for you, 32:36 it was intentional. 32:37 God said Adam, you'll live forever. 32:43 It was His intention. 32:47 Circumstantial Will and finally there is Ultimate Will. 32:52 Let's look at it, Intentional Will. 32:54 Let's look here and see what the Bible says. 32:56 Notice what this Intentional Will is. 32:58 "And God sort every thing that he had made, 32:59 and, behold, it was very good. 33:00 The evening and the morning with the sixth day." 33:03 That's what God says here. 33:04 Now He made a perfect garden 33:06 for perfect people that was intention. 33:07 He want them to be happy 33:08 He gave them children, the children family. 33:11 By the way there's something beautiful about family. 33:14 We've made a mess of it 33:16 but there's something beautiful about it. 33:19 When we get together Thanksgiving 33:20 and Christmas my boys come, 33:23 my boy comes, my girl comes, and their children come 33:26 and my great grand kids they come 33:30 and now my great-great no great-great-great 33:34 I keep giving extra great 33:35 I hope I meet my great-great 33:37 but anyway great when they come 33:40 there's nothing like family. 33:43 We have wonderful time together that was the intention of God, 33:47 but sin entered the world. 33:49 Because of sin, 33:52 because of sin something happened to us 33:54 and that let us beyond pain, 33:59 that let us beyond pain 34:02 and it led to death and it's not pretty. 34:07 World we know now it's not pretty. 34:11 You see there was circumstantial-- 34:13 we go by different rules now. 34:15 You see, God has to work now in the circumstances. 34:18 You made choices, put yourself in a mess. 34:20 Now God is trying to clean up the mess, 34:21 you see that's the problem. 34:24 You see the things that God wants for you, 34:26 you don't choose and the things that 34:29 He chooses for you, you don't want. 34:32 And then we get into mess, we say God, 34:34 why don't You do something. 34:37 God, how can you don't help me out of this mess? 34:39 Why? God, I'm in debt card. 34:43 God didn't take your plastic card down to the-- come on 34:49 but God has to work in circumstance. 34:52 God has to help you in your circumstance. 34:53 And by the way many times He does, amen. 34:56 He does but then is the ultimate will of God. 34:59 Listen the ultimate will of God and that's found in the Bible. 35:06 "For God so loved the world, 35:09 that he gave His only begotten Son, 35:12 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 35:14 but have everlasting life." 35:17 The Bible says, "Thy will be done on" what? 35:20 "Earth." That's the ultimate will. 35:21 God is going to give us back the kingdom. 35:23 God is gonna give us back the new Eden. 35:25 God is gonna give us back that which we lost 35:29 and that's His ultimate will for you. 35:30 God's ultimate will for you 35:32 is that you have eternity before you. 35:34 God's ultimate will for you 35:35 is that you spend eternity with Him. 35:38 God's ultimate will for you is to love Him 35:40 and to be loved by Him. 35:41 God's ultimate will for you is that you find the joy, 35:44 a peace that passeth all understanding, 35:47 that's the ultimate joy of God just for you. 35:51 That's ultimate will. He's gonna change it. 35:56 I mean, He is gonna change, 35:57 buildings collapse, tectonic plate shift 36:00 and accidents happen, evil people resort to violence, 36:03 none of these evil things reflect His intentional will 36:06 forth or forth His ultimate will. 36:09 Thy will be done on earth. 36:11 Now there are four reasonable explanations 36:14 for suffering in pain today. 36:16 First of all, Satan is the instigator. 36:19 He is in direct rebellion against God. 36:21 Much of the problem we see in the world today 36:23 is the actions of Satan working from people. 36:25 It's Satan that puts a gun in the person to take a life. 36:30 You don't believe in it? 36:32 Hey, you don't believe-- 36:33 A person told me that recently, 36:34 I don't believe in a devil. 36:36 I said, well, go home look in the mirror. 36:41 Satan is the instigator of evil. 36:43 I mean he's in direct rebellion of God. 36:45 He causes many tragedies 36:46 and he instigate rebellion against God 36:49 and he plays a significant role in temptation. 36:54 And so there's an evil one seeking to devour. 36:57 Listen to me friend, 36:59 beware that he's a deceiver, he's a liar. 37:03 I mean everything he says is a lie. 37:04 He'll tell you're beautiful when you are ugly 37:06 and tell you're ugly when you are beautiful. 37:09 Come on, he'll tell you're happy 37:10 when you're unhappy. 37:12 He'll tell you really have a high 37:13 when you really have a low. 37:16 He'll tell you solution for your life is 37:18 eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow you die. 37:20 No, that's the devil and he is real 37:23 and he is real and he's the instigator, 37:26 he's the instigator. 37:27 Secondly, innocent people suffer 37:28 for the violation of others against the law of God. 37:32 Just think of what happened to the Russian people 37:34 because of Stalin. 37:37 Come on, think of what happened 37:38 to the Jewish people because of Hitler. 37:42 Hey, think of what's happened 37:44 in family after family after family, 37:48 the heartache and the suffering 37:49 and the sadness. 37:50 Come on, every one of you have a story, don't you? 37:54 Every one of you have a story. 37:59 Millions suffer for the violation of law. 38:01 A man is drunk and driving down the road, 38:03 poor family coming home from prayer meeting at night, 38:06 he runs into them 38:07 and kills them four dead on the road 38:09 and he walks away staggering. 38:16 We suffer, innocent people 38:19 because of the violation of others 38:21 against the law of God. 38:24 Thirdly, God sometimes uses suffering to soften 38:28 and perfect our characters. 38:30 Amen, come on now. Amen. 38:32 You see He maketh me to lie down, 38:34 that's when I'm looking up. 38:38 Twelve years ago, 38:40 twelve years ago I had a dream 38:43 and in that dream I heard a voice 38:46 and the voices said get a colonoscopy. 38:48 I thought it was a nightmare. 38:53 I turned over and looked around the room 38:56 and went back to sleep. 38:57 Next two nights later the voice again, 39:00 get a colonoscopy. 39:02 So I called my doctor up I said, doctor, 39:04 I need a colonoscopy. 39:05 He says, colonoscopy and he gave me 39:07 all the symptoms I'm supposed to have. 39:09 I had none of them. I'm jumping fences. 39:11 I still jump fences, they are smaller now 39:14 but I jump them. 39:17 And I said I need a colonoscopy. 39:18 He said, why? 39:19 I said, well, Lord told me, I should get a colonoscopy. 39:21 He said do you have another reason? 39:24 I said, not a better reason. 39:27 They did the colonoscopy, 39:28 found a terrible aggressive cancer 39:30 way up on the right hand side of my colon above the appendix. 39:34 And doctor said 99 percent people 39:36 that get colon cancer they have died 39:37 because by the time they get the symptoms, 39:40 it's broken through the-- broken through 39:42 and gone to the other organs. 39:45 And they did a surgery, then I went to the oncologist. 39:48 He come out shaking his head. 39:49 He said, Mr. Halvorsen, I can't believe this. 39:52 I said do you believe in miracles? 39:53 He said, yeah. I said, well, that's one. 39:56 He said it is. 39:57 99 percent of the people that get the cancer 40:00 where you had it usually need 40:02 heavy doses of chemo and radiation 40:05 but you don't even need that. 40:07 And that was 12 years ago and I'm cancer free. 40:09 Praise God. 40:13 People suffer for the violation of the law. 40:16 You can't break the law or not be broken. 40:19 I mean, a man smokes like-- even reads it, 40:24 then he gets lung cancer. 40:26 God why did you do this to me? 40:28 God had nothing to do with lighting up. 40:32 Why do we blame God for the things 40:34 that God doesn't do. 40:37 God didn't put a gun on your head say smoke. 40:40 Some kid probably passed the tea 40:42 on the street car, no I did. 40:43 I use this. 40:47 Hey, a man drinks, 40:51 excessive drinking all the time and get cirrhosis of liver, 40:56 turns to God why do you put me here? 40:58 Why did you do this to me? Where is God? 41:00 God was there, 41:01 God was trying to tell you, sober up. 41:06 You see people suffer for the violations of law. 41:11 Men and women uses drugs. 41:13 Hey, listen to me, I worked, 41:15 I worked in the streets for years in New York 41:17 for the drug addicts, 41:18 the heroin addicts and different addicts. 41:19 Let me tell you, don't tell me about that, 41:21 I know I've been on that side. 41:24 It's not pleasant, but I want to share with you. 41:28 I've seen hundreds, literally thousands of them 41:32 for the grace of God anointing to be set free from drugs. 41:37 Let me tell you, there's nothing, 41:38 there's nothing that can overcome you 41:40 through the power of Jesus Christ. 41:42 But anyway man but promiscuous 41:45 and we wonder what happens. 41:47 We burnt-- a man burns a candle at both ends, 41:49 you know, his business, everything is business 41:51 running to and fro burning the candle at both ends 41:54 and then he has a heart attack 41:55 and he is laying there says God, why did you do this to me? 41:57 No, you did this to you 42:01 and they are the four reasonable explanations. 42:04 Pointing fingers at God doesn't solve our problem, 42:08 and that's why the Bible says "Be not deceived, 42:12 God is not mocked for whatever a man soweth, 42:15 that shall he also" what? 42:18 "Reap." 42:21 In Romans it tells us about that, 42:25 "And we know that all things work together 42:26 for good to them that love God." 42:27 Hey that doesn't mean cancer is good. 42:29 That doesn't mean a man with leukemia is good. 42:31 That doesn't mean-- no, that's not good 42:33 but he says all things work together for good. 42:35 You see, out of my sickness, 42:37 out of my cancer some good came from it 42:39 because I had a stronger faith in God. 42:41 I walk from that hospital knowing that my God 42:45 will be with me even to the end. 42:49 Even to the end. 42:51 He says, "We know all things work together 42:54 for good to them that love God, 42:55 called according to His purpose." 42:58 Not that cancer is good, leukemia is not good, 43:00 death is not good 43:02 but out of it God can use good. 43:04 Out of it can come, can come good. 43:07 The Bible teaches us that 43:09 and "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 43:11 Shall tribulation, distress..." 43:13 Now here's the pilgrim. 43:14 I'm talking about you 43:15 who are serious about the kingdom of God. 43:17 He says, "Who shall separate us from the love God? 43:20 Shall tribulation, or distress, 43:23 or persecution, or famine, or nakedness." 43:27 Who is that? Is that the believer? 43:28 Come on, "Shall nakedness, or peril, or sword? 43:32 It is written, For thy sake we are killed all day long, 43:35 we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 43:37 Nay, in all these things 43:39 we are more than conquerors through him. 43:41 For I am persuaded, neither death, 43:42 nor life, nor angels, 43:43 nor principalities, nor powers, " 43:45 nor things present, nor things to come, 43:47 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, 43:51 shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 43:55 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 43:56 Can you say amen in this place? Amen. 43:59 Can you say amen in this place? Amen. 44:02 There's a final showdown between Christ and Satan. 44:06 There's a great controversy between good and evil. 44:08 It's right on going on right now. 44:10 Don't be looking down for the antichrist, 44:12 he is already here. 44:14 Listen to me, he's already here. 44:19 He's already here and death is the final enemy. 44:25 The final showdown. 44:28 Brother Lawson was a wonderful man. 44:30 I used to go visit him 44:31 when I was a pastor at university church 44:33 and I would go over him, 44:34 he had crippling arthritis 38 years 44:37 was in the bed, 38 years. 44:41 He was inspiration to me. 44:44 In my family I have an inspiration 44:46 her name is Ann. 44:49 She has MS and she lost her boy 44:53 who was murdered but whenever I call, 44:56 I hope she answers and not my brother 44:58 because I hear her beautiful voice always, 45:02 always positive. 45:04 She inspires when I had cancer, she inspires me. 45:08 Brother Lawson I would go visit 45:10 and he inspire me and Brother Lawson 38 years 45:12 finally I said to him Brother Lawson, 45:15 I mean 38 years you've been sick in your bed, 45:17 38 years how come you have such a beautiful attitude. 45:21 He says, well this isn't gonna last forever. 45:25 Thirty eight years. 45:30 This isn't gonna last forever. 45:32 I want to tell you 45:33 it's not gonna last like this forever 45:37 because the God that created human beings, 45:38 the God that created those beings in His own image. 45:42 The God that fashioned them gives them away to be restored, 45:48 and that restoration will take place, 45:51 and the restoration it's right around the corner. 45:54 I mean redemption. There's new beginnings. 45:57 He's talking about new beginnings. 46:00 He's talking about fulfillment, joy. 46:04 In my devotions this morning 46:05 I was reading the Psalms it said laugh, and have joy. 46:11 I like that. 46:13 I don't like these sour push Christians. 46:21 Have joy. 46:22 Jesus Christ has an ultimate will for you, have joy. 46:26 Jesus is creating garden for you again have joy. 46:29 Jesus is gonna take away your sorrow, have joy, 46:33 fulfillment in Jesus Christ. 46:35 All things are possible through Him who believes 46:42 and I've seen wretched lives made joyful. 46:47 I've seen the downtrodden, 46:50 I've worked in India on the streets of India 46:55 and I've seen the downtrodden to lift them up 46:58 and see them come to themselves and come to joy. 47:03 I followed that woman a beautiful nun, Sister Teresa. 47:10 I've seen her working for the lowest of the low, 47:13 the poorest of the poor. 47:16 And I saw them in the house of dying 47:18 and they would bring them in 47:19 and they would bathe their wounds 47:20 and the maggots already eating away the back. 47:24 You have no idea of the smell, 47:27 and there they are working 47:32 to fulfill joy, to bring joy. 47:37 Listen to me brother and sister, 47:40 God is working out His plan and His plan is for you. 47:46 Wherever you are in this auditorium 47:49 whether you are on the other side of the world listening in, 47:53 God has a plan of fulfillment for you. 47:56 God has come to rescue you, to lift you out. 48:00 He says how can you escape 48:01 if you neglect so greater salvation. 48:04 When I was young boy 48:06 I used the swim in the East River, 48:08 not a pleasant place to swim with the big water rats. 48:12 Well they looked like that 48:13 when you come up face to face with them. 48:17 And I used to dive up of the a pilings up upriver 48:22 and we used to hang a rope down 48:24 and we would swim as fast-- soon as we hit the water 48:27 we swam as fast we could to catch the rope. 48:29 If we missed the rope we wound up at the Bowery. 48:34 Listen to me, God laid down a rope, 48:39 you're caught in a swirling river. 48:42 You say, Brother Ron, 48:43 I don't know if I ever get out of this. 48:44 You can. 48:47 You say, Brother Ron, I don't know if I can make it. 48:49 You can, because this God 48:54 that came to rescue you 1,900 years ago 48:58 comes to this place right now to rescue you, to save you 49:06 and to give you the hope, the hope of glory. 49:46 Bible question, we are looking at right now is this. 49:49 Where did God come from? 49:52 Normally, some of our younger participants, 49:55 so viewers or attendees ask that question. 49:59 Where did God come from? 50:01 I'm gonna be honest with you and tell you the answer. 50:04 I don't know and nobody knows 50:07 except for the fact that God is eternal. 50:11 Well, everything has to have a beginning, right? 50:14 Yeah, except for God. 50:16 If God had a beginning then He wouldn't be truly God 50:21 and whatever brought about 50:22 the beginning of God would be God. 50:26 It's a mystery 50:27 and we don't need to pretend otherwise. 50:29 It's something that a Christian 50:31 or anybody for that matter can accept by faith. 50:34 The Bible says in Genesis 1:1. " 50:39 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 50:43 That's creation, 50:45 but we like to say in the beginning God. 50:47 Now does that mean that God had a beginning? 50:51 No, you can go back as far as you like in time 50:53 and none of us can go back very far 50:56 and we cannot say that God began at all. 51:00 In God is life original un-borrowed, un-derived. 51:07 God is the self existent one. 51:10 Remember Moses asked God about himself 51:13 and God said I am that I am. 51:18 I am the self existent one. 51:21 The God of heaven is not depended upon anything. 51:23 Nature, any kind of force, any kind of power supply, 51:27 any individual or entity for His being? 51:31 God simply is. 51:33 John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, 51:35 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 51:38 Same idea as Genesis 1 really except here 51:40 speaking specifically of Jesus. 51:42 The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit 51:44 all of them are eternal and I'm glad. 51:47 I am just glad that I cannot explain 51:49 where God came from. 51:50 If I could this would make God small and God is big, 51:53 God is immense, you understand. 51:57 Too big for me, 51:58 too big for my mind to be able to say, 52:00 okay, I've got God in a box, 52:02 I've got everything about God explain. 52:04 There are some things about God we struggle to explain. 52:06 The decisions He make sometimes, 52:08 the providence that He engages in. 52:10 Why He answers a prayer one way today 52:12 and maybe answers what seems to be 52:15 the same prayer another way tomorrow? 52:18 Here's a thing. 52:20 Can you trust this God? The answer is yes, you can. 52:24 Can you believe in this God? The answer is yes, you can. 52:28 Has this God ever done anything 52:30 to give you any reason to distrust Him, 52:34 be displeased with Him, to doubt Him, 52:37 to turn your back on Him, to give up on Him, 52:38 to walk away from Him? 52:40 No, no, no and no. 52:44 In the beginning God, 52:45 thank God He has always been 52:48 and above and beyond all of that 52:50 or in addition to that you can trust Him 52:53 and you can believe in Him, 52:55 He will always do the right thing God is good. 52:59 It Is Written, is dedicated 53:00 to sharing the gospel around the world. 53:02 To discover more about It Is Written, 53:04 I invite you to visit our website, 53:06 itiswritten.com 53:08 and browse the dozens of pages 53:10 that describe what we do and how we do it. 53:12 Let's get to know each other better. 53:14 Visit our website, itiswritten.com today. 53:20 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says 53:22 "It is written, 53:23 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 53:25 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 53:29 Every Word is a one minute Bible based daily devotional 53:32 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw 53:35 and designed especially for busy people like you. 53:38 Look for Every Word on selected networks 53:40 or watch it online every day on our website itiswritten.com. 53:45 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 53:47 Watch Every Word, you will be glad you did. 53:50 Here's a sample. 54:00 In 2 Thessalonians 2:10 the Apostle Paul wrote about 54:04 a certain group of people who he said, 54:06 "Received not the love of the truth 54:08 that they might be saved." 54:10 Based on what Paul is saying 54:12 only those who love the truth will receive eternal life. 54:16 He didn't say salvation is for those 54:17 who know the truth only, 54:19 but those who love the truth. 54:22 I'm sure church is crowed with people 54:23 who know the truth 54:25 but it's only when Jesus touches your heart 54:27 that truth starts to make any real difference. 54:30 While you study the Bible 54:31 and do whatever else you do for spiritual growth, 54:33 keep in mind salvation isn't only about theory. 54:36 You can be right and still be wrong. 54:40 It's when you love the Savior, 54:41 who you find in the midst of the truths of God's word 54:44 that things really come alive. 54:47 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 54:49 Let's live today by every word. 55:00 Eyes for India is giving sight to the blind 55:03 and you can be a part of this amazing work 55:05 that God is doing. 55:07 15 million blind people live in India, 55:10 more than any other country in the world. 55:12 And many of the blind in India could see again, 55:15 if only they could have simple cataract surgery. 55:18 It Is Written is making that happen. 55:21 Would you support Eyes for India? 55:24 For just $75 you'll be giving the gift of sight to someone 55:28 who desperately wants to see. 55:31 Here's all you need to do. Call 1-800-253-3000. 55:36 That's 1-800-253-3000 to donate 55:40 and support Eyes for India 55:43 or you can write to It Is Written, Box O, 55:46 Thousand Oaks, California, 91359. 55:50 You'll also find Eyes for India online at itiswritten.com. 55:55 Every $75 you give gives someone 55:58 the precious gift of sight. 56:00 Eyes for India, doing the work of Jesus 56:02 in opening the eyes of the blind 56:05 and opening hearts to the love of God. 56:07 Call 1-800-253-3000 or write to Box O, 56:12 Thousand Oaks, California, 91359 56:15 or visit itiswritten.com. |
Revised 2014-12-17