Participants: Ron Halvorsen
Series Code: 13RVT
Program Code: 13RVT000009
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00:05 In today's troubled world,
00:08 people are wondering where are we headed? 00:13 Revelation Today presents the answers. 00:17 Bible prophecy reveals what the future holds in store. 00:22 Revelation Today. 00:37 Good evening everyone. 00:39 I am John Bradshaw, the director of It Is Written. 00:41 And I want to thank you sincerely 00:43 for being here tonight. 00:45 What a great night we've got. 00:46 Now, imagine, imagine having a chance to start again, 00:51 to wipe the slate clean and begin all over. 00:56 Now lot of us would welcome that, 00:58 a lot of people with bad track records, 01:00 people with the bad reputation. 01:02 What a good thing to be able to start again. 01:05 My children recently had some caterpillars 01:07 and they watched them change into chrysalises. 01:11 The caterpillars weren't caterpillars anymore. 01:13 And then they were thrilled to watch the chrysalises 01:15 open up and out of them emerged beautiful blue butterflies. 01:20 The butterflies were no longer closed up 01:22 in those chrysalises 01:23 and they certainly weren't caterpillars. 01:26 They had started over again. 01:29 How does God have a plan like that for people, 01:31 for sinful human beings? 01:34 Tonight subject is, 01:35 "You Can Live Your Life Over Again." 01:38 Please welcome the presenter of Revelation Today, Ron. 01:48 Let's bow our heads in the word of prayer as we begin. 01:51 Gracious Father, I thank You for Christ our Savior 01:53 and we thank You we can come here 01:55 to this auditorium here in America 01:57 we can worship You and serve You in freedom. 02:01 We pray now God that Your Holy Spirit will come 02:03 and You'll open to us a new life for everyone of us 02:08 that we might die daily and live again new to Christ. 02:12 And now, Father, speak through Your word 02:14 may it be lamp unto our feet and light unto our path 02:17 until we walk into the kingdom 02:19 which is lit with the glory of God. 02:21 In Christ name, amen and amen. 02:26 Our subject tonight is, 02:28 "You Can Live Your Life Over Again." 02:34 Many years ago when I was a little boy 02:36 and that is many, many, many years ago my momma had a gift. 02:43 She didn't go very far in school 02:44 but she had a gift, she love to read. 02:47 And my mother used to read many books 02:49 and poetry and she used to love to tell us stories 02:52 when we were little children. 02:54 And she would tell some of those exciting fairytales, 02:58 those stories that gripped the heart of little kids. 03:00 And I remember one that was my favorite, 03:03 it was about a little boy 03:04 who was walking along the beach 03:07 and as he's walking along the beach 03:10 having a great time, the seagulls were flying 03:13 and the pelicans floating across the water 03:17 and the fish are jumping 03:19 and little boy is looking around, 03:21 it's so exciting at the beach. 03:23 And then he looks down 03:24 and he notices there's a beautiful, 03:27 a beautiful silver lamp and so he picks it up 03:32 and wow, this beautiful lamp. 03:35 And he starts dusting the sand off the lamp 03:39 and all the sudden boom, a big genie... 03:47 comes leaping out of this lamp 03:51 and said, "You have three wishes." 03:54 Wow, three wishes. 03:56 That was one of my favorite story, 03:58 and little boys gonna make these wishes. 04:00 What would you wish for if you have just one wish 04:04 or if you had three wishes? 04:05 Perhaps you'd wish for good health, you know. 04:07 I mean, especially older you get, you know. 04:10 It's interesting how your conversation changes 04:12 as you get older. 04:14 Now it's always about your health. 04:17 When you are young you don't even think about your health. 04:20 You just take it for granted. 04:22 But when you get old what do you talk about? 04:25 Two old men sitting on the porch. 04:28 My lumbago. 04:30 Talking about your health. 04:33 Wouldn't it be nice to be able to... 04:37 just be able to wish for good health 04:38 and good health or perhaps you wish for money. 04:42 There's a lot of people who think 04:43 that money can bring them happiness 04:44 and to some degrees it might but maybe you need help 04:50 and it would be nice to win money. 04:52 Millions of people every week want to win money 04:56 and they've been on the lottery 04:58 and you know, every now and then 05:00 someone wins $300 million, you just say, woo, 05:03 I should have win that so you keep hoping. 05:06 Perhaps you'd wish for money 05:10 or maybe you'd wish for a long life, 05:14 maybe you'd wish that you'd just be able 05:16 to live a long, long, long, long, long life. 05:24 But have you ever wished 05:26 you could start your life over again? 05:29 I mean, have you ever wished that you could, 05:33 I mean, you could get a clean slate? 05:37 Perhaps you got that feeling when you were discouraged 05:40 and seem life had turned against you 05:42 and you know, like I talked about Chippie the other night. 05:45 I mean, you have one little Chippie days 05:46 and you are kind of discouraged and desponded 05:50 and perhaps you got those feelings 05:53 when you were down and out, feeling sorry for yourself. 05:56 Perhaps you wish you could just start your life 05:59 right there all over again. 06:02 Perhaps when you think life has given you a raw deal 06:05 and knowing what you know now, 06:07 wouldn't you like to live it over again? 06:10 I mean, not like the beer commercial, 06:12 you know, you grabble the gusto 06:14 won't show you going around once. 06:16 I love to stand up and tell them, 06:17 no, I go around twice. 06:22 Perhaps it's sad, going around twice. 06:28 How much heartache, how much sorrow, 06:30 how much pain would we avoid if we could just start over, 06:34 live over, knowing what we know now? 06:37 There are choices you would make 06:38 that you made as a teenager, or young adult you made, 06:42 you wouldn't make now because you've grown up. 06:46 You've learned through life, 06:48 you've learned through some of your failures, 06:50 you've learned through some of your mistakes 06:52 but wouldn't it be good, 06:53 you can just turn it off and turn it on 06:58 and start it over again? 07:01 I was talking to a convicted murderer 07:03 at the Nebraska State Penitentiary 07:05 and I used to have a program, 07:07 a TV program called "Jesus Behind Bars" 07:09 and I was at the maximum security 07:12 in death row and a young man, 07:14 he was a third year 07:16 university student in psychology. 07:20 He was on drugs and he was high or low-- 07:23 it was low but he thought it was high 07:25 because his world was upside down. 07:27 You see, it always seems high when your world's upside down, 07:30 when your world's right side up its low, 07:31 it's on the other side. 07:33 But anyway, he was in a stupor and his mom came down, 07:37 he was playing his music you know, loud, loud, loud. 07:41 You see the louder you play your music 07:44 it's because you don't want to hear the still small voice. 07:51 And his momma came down, said, turn that down. 07:53 With that he went into rage, beat his mother to death, 07:56 cut her in pieces and put her in a freezer. 08:00 How can a boy do that? 08:03 But as I listened to his story 08:05 and I shocked as I was by such a cruel terrible thing. 08:10 I thought to myself and then I said to him, 08:13 well, what would your wish be? 08:15 He said, I wish I had that 15 minutes back of my life. 08:20 I wish I had those 15 minutes back. 08:23 I was talking to a drug addict 08:26 and sometime ago in St. Bernardino 08:28 and he was mainlining in his life, 08:31 he looked 50 and he was only 28 years old. 08:36 He was pimping the streets 08:40 and I was sitting with him on the porch 08:42 and talking to him and trying to tell him 08:45 about another life that God could have for him. 08:49 And I remember he said, 08:50 "If I wish I could do it over again." 08:54 I was talking to a man who was going through a divorce. 08:58 He lost his children, 08:59 lost a beautiful wife because of lust 09:01 and how he wish he could live those weeks 09:03 and those months and those few years over again. 09:09 I was talking to a man down in the Wall Street 09:11 when I was working in New York, 09:12 he was a corporate thief 09:13 and he was spending 12 years in prison 09:17 and he said, man, I made a dumb mistake, 09:19 and he said, I am paying for it. 09:22 I wish I could start over again. 09:25 Good news, you can. 09:27 You can start it over again. 09:30 I mean, with a clean slate. 09:33 Exciting news for you tonight, you can begin a new life, 09:37 you can have a slate white clean 09:39 and that's right, a new life, a new life. 09:45 A friend of mine I had taught in ministry, 09:49 prayer walking, I teach people how to prayer walk 09:51 and take neighborhoods back through prayer. 09:54 And so she went out in St. Bernardino, 09:57 I was going to hold a series like this 09:58 and 2,000-3,000 people were coming to that meeting 10:02 and it was--God was pouring out the spirit in a special way 10:05 and this woman said, 10:07 I am gonna walk around the Orange show 10:09 in St. Bernardino and pray. 10:13 And while she was walking around, 10:14 she noticed a homeless man digging in the garbage 10:18 and she walked up to him and said, hi. 10:19 And He looked up and that was a surprise, 10:21 someone's talking to him, someone recognizes him. 10:25 And she says, hi, I am a prayer warrior. 10:30 That's nice. 10:33 And I am prayer walking 10:34 and Ron Halvorsen is starting a series on Revelation 10:38 in the Orange show, would you go as my guest? 10:43 This woman was a head nurse 10:45 at one of the beautiful hospitals there, 10:47 Loma Linda University Hospital and here she is prayer walking 10:50 and she sees this and there's this homeless man. 10:53 He has no future, he lost his job. 10:55 When he finally told his story it was sad, 10:58 you would cry just listening. 11:00 But she picked-- 11:02 Where will you pick up a homeless man? 11:03 You pick him up at the garbage can. 11:05 So every night she would pick up the man, 11:07 bring him to the meetings 11:09 and they would sit together every night, every night. 11:14 And then the night came 11:15 and he gave his life to the Lord. 11:18 Hey, listen to me, he's cleaned up now. 11:23 You wouldn't recognize him. 11:25 I mean, he's cleaned up now. 11:27 He's a deacon in his church 11:29 and he's serving God to the glory of God. 11:33 He began his life over again. 11:36 He found a new life and it's exciting. 11:38 It is an exciting life. 11:39 There's no more exciting life in the world 11:42 than the life serving God, serving God. 11:46 I've good news for you. 11:48 There is one who can offer you a new life. 11:52 And He offers it freely 11:54 and He offers it to every one of us, the new life. 11:58 Let me tell you this evening with confidence 11:59 that God has made a provision. 12:02 God has made a provision for each one of you 12:04 and that provision is that you might begin a new life. 12:08 When life seems hard to bear, 12:09 when evil seems to triumph over good, 12:11 when bad things happen to you, 12:13 when all hell breaks loose in your life, 12:16 when the one you love tells you, 12:17 he or she doesn't' anymore, 12:19 when you have everything a person needs 12:22 and it's not enough. 12:23 Listen, when you've succeeded in life 12:25 but still feel empty and purposeless, 12:28 there is one splendid shining hope 12:31 and that hope is Jesus Christ. 12:35 And He offers you 12:36 a beautiful new life from darkness to light. 12:40 Isn't that beautiful? 12:42 From the dark life to the life of hope, 12:45 that's the promise of God here in this book. 12:47 And that's what I want to talk about, 12:48 what Jesus, how Jesus provided a new way of life for you, 12:51 a beginning for you, this another chance. 12:56 You say, no, no, I am too bad. 12:57 Too bad. 13:00 I mean, come on, this book is full of hope of too bad people. 13:07 I mean, the book is filled. 13:08 Is there any hope? 13:10 Listen to me, there is hope everywhere. 13:12 Is there any hope? 13:13 Ask Noah, the drunken father. 13:17 Ask this disgraceful father 13:19 if there could ever be any hope and there's hope. 13:22 Listen to me, is there any hope? 13:23 Ask Moses, the murderer. 13:25 He buried the Egyptian in the sand, 13:27 thought he could get away with it, 13:28 it haunted him for 40 years. 13:30 But ask Moses, now he's on the mountain, 13:32 looking out over, over the river, 13:34 looking out towards the Promised Land 13:36 with the hope that God had given him 13:38 that, Moses, you'll be a part of great resurrection. 13:42 Ask David. 13:43 I mean, David was despicable. 13:46 Had the woman's husband go to the battlefield 13:50 to get killed so he could have his wife. 13:51 What a-- 13:53 And he's a man after God's own-- 13:55 What happened? 13:56 He has a clean slate, he began new again, 13:59 God touched his heart, 14:00 God came down into his heart and changed him 14:05 and he became the Psalmist. 14:08 You say, that can't happen to me. 14:09 Why not? 14:11 God is same today, isn't He? 14:13 Come on, He's still God and you still have need. Amen. 14:17 He's still God and you still have need. 14:20 What about Samson? 14:21 I mean, Samson was the adulterer. 14:23 I mean, listen to this man, I mean, what a life. 14:27 And even Samson, he committed suicide. 14:29 You remember the story, he said, 14:30 let me die with my enemies in there. 14:33 And there's even hope for men and women like that. 14:37 So before you judge anyone think of the hope. 14:42 It's there in the scripture from Genesis to Revelation 14:45 and that's the hope that God wants to offer this generation, 14:48 that's the hope that God wants to offer you, 14:50 wherever you are, if you are sitting in your home 14:52 somewhere in this world, 14:54 God wants to offer you a clean slate. 14:56 God wants to offer you a new life 14:58 and God wants to offer those of you here in this place 15:01 this new life, this new life. 15:04 What about Peter? 15:05 Ask Peter, the denying, cursing fisherman. 15:08 I mean, he who is following Jesus 15:10 for three and a half years, 15:11 you say, how could he go wrong? 15:13 Listen, hey, I don't know the man 15:17 and then, I don't know Him. 15:22 And then, the curses tumble from his lips. 15:25 And perhaps at that time he didn't know Him. 15:29 It wasn't until he went to his cross 15:32 and he knew Him 15:34 and he said, turn the cross upside down 15:36 that my world might be right side up again. 15:38 I mean, Paul the persecutor. 15:41 I mean, he's on his way to take the people of God, 15:44 Christians to be killed, to be crucified, to die. 15:47 I mean, he is a zealot of his faith. 15:53 He falls to the ground 15:54 and Saul, Saul why persecute me 15:57 and his life was drastically and dramatically changed. 16:00 You read it everywhere in scripture, 16:02 from Genesis to Revelation, 16:04 the power of that God to change your life 16:06 to start life over again. 16:08 And if God could promise that to others, 16:10 He can promise that to you tonight. 16:11 Amen. Amen. 16:13 I stand with confidence as this divine human encounter, 16:17 God reaching down to us, we reaching up to God 16:21 and God takes us and gives us that divine grace. 16:24 Happiness for the unhappy. 16:26 Listen to me, health for the unhealthy, 16:28 abundant life for the dying. 16:29 When Jesus came in our heart, 16:31 He changed my body as well as my mind. 16:33 Listen to me, He gave me health. 16:35 I'm 76 almost, two months, 16:39 76 years old, I am still preaching. 16:42 Amen. Amen. 16:44 I am not done yet. 16:45 Amen. 16:51 I told my wife the other day, 16:52 I said, if I die before the Lord comes, 16:54 I want you to put a pulpit in the casket 16:56 so when I come up, I'll come up preaching. 16:58 Amen. 17:00 I am not done yet. 17:03 He promises abundant life for the dying. 17:07 Wouldn't it be nice sight if you could 17:09 lay your head down on your pillow 17:10 with no regrets, no worries? 17:13 Come on, now who doesn't want that? 17:16 To be able to face your enemies with courage. 17:20 Wouldn't it be nice to go home and be example to your kids? 17:25 Come on now, who doesn't want that? 17:28 What parent doesn't want that? 17:30 Wouldn't it be nice, starting this week, 17:33 making a success of your life? 17:35 Now who doesn't want that? 17:37 Being able to face death with hope 17:39 with no fear and say, if my heart stops, 17:44 I am ready, I am ready. 17:47 My cardiologist, he shakes his head 17:50 when I come in his office. 17:53 I remember, I said to him, I could die? 17:56 He said, yes, you could die. 17:58 I said, I could live? 17:59 You could live or I could live or die. 18:03 I said, "You see, it's wonderful, 18:06 you see, if I live I serve God, 18:09 if I die I will be with God. 18:13 What about you, doc?" 18:14 Can't get it out of his mind. 18:17 He thinks the pill is the answer. 18:19 I know that Jesus Christ is the answer. 18:21 Come on now, Jesus Christ is the answer 18:26 and Jesus Christ wants to give you all the gusto you need. 18:29 He want you to go to the mountain top. 18:32 He wants you to have the real thing 18:36 and He offers that real thing to you. 18:38 And all that you want that's good for your family, 18:40 God wants for you and your family. 18:42 All that's good for your life 18:44 God wants that for you and your family. 18:46 You see, all He makes it available. 18:48 How, you ask. How does He make it available? 18:50 Through a new creation, a new life. 18:55 In fact, Jesus Christ, when He talks about this new life, 18:58 He calls it rebirth. 19:00 You have to be born again. 19:02 You have to come to a rebirth experience. Why? 19:05 Because this life isn't what it should be, 19:07 so you got to begin over again. 19:09 But I am 55 years old, I am 40 years old, 19:12 I am 28 year, how can I begin over? 19:15 You can begin over through rebirth, 19:17 this is the beginning of your life. 19:19 Amen. Amen. 19:24 Ask Charles Colson of Watergate, 19:25 if it is impossible. 19:28 Ask Goldy I talked to you the other night about, 19:32 if it is impossible. 19:35 Ask Ron Halvorsen, 19:38 wandering the streets of Brooklyn 19:42 hating, fighting, if it is impossible. 19:46 New beginnings it's possible. 19:47 Ask professor at Harvard University, 19:49 a new disciple of Christ that I led to Jesus 19:52 if it is impossible. 19:53 I mean, to tens of thousands 19:54 that give their testimonies of new beginnings 19:56 to positive that it's possible why do we need rebirth? 20:00 Why do we need a new chance? 20:02 Why do we need a new start? 20:04 The same reason Moses did. 20:08 The same reason Samson did. 20:12 The same reason Peter did. 20:15 How many people I ever met with-- 20:18 I'm not so bad syndrome. 20:21 I don't kick the dog. 20:24 I provide for my family. 20:28 I'm not so bad. 20:31 That isn't degrees of badness? 20:33 You want to be happy and good. 20:36 Come on don't you, come on. 20:38 Don't you? 20:39 Well, if you come to rebirth you'll wake in the morning. 20:42 When I was young I'd wake up in the morning, 20:44 say, how can I get in the trouble? 20:48 My mother used to say, 20:49 your mouth will get you in trouble. 20:51 That's true. 20:53 That's true. 20:58 How many people feel comfortable with their lives? 21:03 How many people I've met with, 21:05 I'm not so bad, good life, 21:06 he has abundant life, not really. 21:08 I was at this university, 21:09 one of these Ivy League Universities, 21:11 I met a lawyer who was studying law 21:12 and I said, how's it going? 21:13 He says, good. 21:14 I said, what year? I'm a junior. 21:16 I said, that's nice, tell me a little about. 21:18 I'm gonna be a lawyer, I want to be Ivy League lawyer. 21:23 I said, well, an Ivy League lawyer, 21:24 now I'm really impressed. 21:26 I said, what are you gonna do? 21:28 Oh, I'm gonna graduate. 21:29 I said, that's nice and then what are you gonna do? 21:31 He said, well, I'm gonna get with a prestigious law firm 21:38 may be in Manhattan. 21:41 I said, what then? 21:42 He says, well, work my way up and become a partner. 21:46 And what then, he says, well, I'll probably get married. 21:50 And I'll build a house out in the suburbs 21:52 and he went on and on and what then? 21:55 And he kept going and going and going he says, well. 21:58 And what then? I guess I'll retire. 22:00 And what then? 22:02 He says, I guess I'll die. 22:04 I said, what then? 22:10 What then? 22:13 That's a question you need to ask. 22:17 What then? 22:19 What then? 22:21 You see life is all about dying. 22:25 Life is all about future. 22:28 You see a school can prepare you for a job, 22:30 school can prepare you for a life here earning, 22:34 building and buying and getting ahead, 22:37 but it can't prepare you for heaven. 22:40 It takes rebirth 22:42 and I want to look at that with you 22:43 for a few minutes tonight. 22:45 Now it happened long time ago, 22:47 intelligent man, his name Nicodemus. 22:50 He came to Jesus by night. 22:52 Listen to me now. Listen carefully. 22:54 Because there are lot of night Christians. 22:56 They don't want anybody to know they are here. 23:01 Now, people think you are strange, come on. 23:04 Don't want to let them know you are here. 23:05 Well, he didn't want anybody to know 23:07 so he met Jesus Christ at night. 23:09 One of thing about it didn't bothered Jesus, 23:11 He can meet you at night, in the mid day, 23:13 early in the morning, before you get out of bed 23:15 or while you're still in bed. 23:18 But He meets Nicodemus and this is where it begins. 23:23 It began with an affluent Jewish man centuries ago 23:26 and this man was rich, he was intelligent, 23:28 he was influential, he was like my student friend, 23:31 educate in the best Ivy League School of his day. 23:34 Dressed for success, shopped at the best places, 23:37 perfumed with the best cologne. 23:39 I mean, wore the latest clothes, 23:41 he was somebody who was nobody. 23:45 And after testing life, 23:46 after spending best years getting he was still unhappy. 23:51 Sounds like most Americans today. 23:55 After spending these years 23:57 move back to this rich, he's like that. 24:02 He's just first century yuppie not or whatever. 24:07 And notice he comes to Jesus by night 24:09 and Jesus says, "There was a man of the Pharisees, 24:11 named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews..." 24:14 Not just an ordinary man, he is a ruler. 24:17 "The same came to Jesus by night, 24:18 and said to him, Rabbi, we know thou art a man 24:20 or a teacher come from God." 24:22 Then he goes on, he says, 24:23 "For no man can do these miracles that thou doest, 24:25 except God be with him. 24:27 And Jesus answered and said unto him, 24:29 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 24:31 except a man be born again, 24:33 he cannot see the kingdom of God." 24:36 He is telling us and everyone in every generation, 24:39 it's not enough to go to church, 24:40 it's not enough to sing in the choir, 24:43 it's not enough to quote, 24:45 it's not enough to read the books, 24:47 it's not enough, you need to be born again. 24:51 And some people go through a whole life experience 24:55 claiming to be Christian, claiming to serve God 24:58 and yet they've never experienced, 24:59 fully experienced born again. 25:02 They never truly exp-- 25:03 Well, they got wet sometime but never truly experience 25:07 the experience of Jesus Christ is talking here. 25:10 He says, Nicodemus, you need, you need to be born, 25:14 you need to be born of the water and of the spirit. 25:19 Come on now, you hear me here. 25:21 What is rebirth? 25:22 It's beginning of your life over again. 25:25 That moment you're baptized into Christ, 25:27 that moment the sins are washed away, 25:29 that moment your life begins over again 25:32 and listen to me, 25:33 you don't prepare it, God prepares it. 25:37 Now, I got to get ready. 25:39 What ready for what? 25:41 It's a natural thing, 25:43 when you're lost to be found it's natural, 25:45 when you're down you need to be lifted up it's natural. 25:50 To want to be born, to be born again. 25:54 And so he talks about this beautiful spiritual barrier, 25:58 the spiritual resurrection to a new life, 26:01 a totally awesome experience of baptism, 26:03 baptism by Jesus Christ. 26:07 In fact, baptism is mentioned over 80 times in the Bible. 26:12 Do you hear me? 26:13 Baptism is mentioned 80 times 26:16 in your Bible and in scripture. 26:19 It's always been associated with a new life, 26:21 a changed life, a new joy, 26:23 a new peace, a new way of living. 26:26 Keep in mind the last words of a person 26:27 is usually the most important 26:29 and in the last testament of Jesus Christ to His disciples 26:33 you will notice what He talks about. 26:34 He doesn't talk about some philosophical idea. 26:37 He doesn't talk about some theological big-- 26:40 He doesn't talk about some intricate prophecy 26:43 that only a few know about. 26:45 He talks about a rebirth. 26:47 And notice what He says here. 26:48 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 26:51 baptizing them in the name of the Father, 26:53 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 26:57 He said go, that's the work of the ministry. 26:59 That's the work of God in the last day 27:01 to bring you to a place that you'll be reborn. 27:04 Born to the spirit and born of the water. 27:06 And it's both that you are born off. 27:08 Some are born to the water never of the spirit. 27:11 You will not see the kingdom of God. 27:14 Some say they are born of the spirit 27:16 but never been born of the water. 27:18 You will never see the kingdom of God. 27:21 Because He said to Nicodemus, 27:23 unless you are born of the water 27:25 and the spirit you'll not see the kingdom. 27:29 Not, it's not my words, I couldn't say that, 27:31 I mean, I had no courage to say that. 27:34 His final word to the believer is to teach them 27:36 and to baptize them. Why? 27:38 Because lost mankind needs it. Why? 27:41 Because unhappy people need it. Why? 27:43 Because sinning people need it. 27:45 He needs forgiveness. 27:46 They need a new life. They need a new hope. 27:48 They need new character 27:49 and that comes through the power of Jesus Christ. 27:52 He goes on to say, 27:53 "Teaching them to observe all things 27:55 whatsoever I have commanded you, 27:56 lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." 27:59 He says you teach them, baptize them 28:02 and then go on teaching them. 28:04 I know some people that think 28:07 they have to have a PhD in theology 28:09 before they're baptized. 28:11 I know some preachers that think 28:12 that people need to have a PhD in Bible to be baptized. 28:17 Some of them wouldn't baptize their own mother. 28:19 God forgive them for that. 28:21 Jesus said, what hinders you from being baptized. 28:24 Jesus says right away come and be baptized, 28:27 be baptized, be baptized 28:30 and yet we make it as if it's a course of study 28:33 and if you get enough right 28:34 and you get A's on your test then you will be ready. 28:37 You do not know who is ready. 28:40 You don't know who is ready. 28:41 You cannot read the human heart. 28:44 You, when I came in, if I came to my church, 28:46 your churches I came to God, black leather jacket skull, 28:49 blood ripping over the skull, switch plate in my pock-- 28:52 hey listen, I'm gonna tell the story of my conversion 28:54 but walking into your church 28:56 you think he's a last candidate. 29:00 I could hardly read then take a PhD, 29:06 it took a broken heart. 29:08 Amen. Amen. 29:09 It took a willingness to humble myself before God. 29:17 "He that believeth and is" what? 29:19 "Baptized shall be" what? 29:22 Come on, saved. 29:24 The church can't save you, preacher can't save you, 29:26 your priest can't save you, no one can save you. 29:29 Jesus Christ alone and He says if you believe 29:33 and are baptized you shall be saved, 29:36 "But he that believeth not shall be damned." 29:39 Pay day some day. 29:43 I know you're like pretty little sermons 29:45 with bubbling brooks, come on now. 29:47 You know big TV, you know you are wonderful. 29:52 Oh, yes. 29:53 So nice that you gave God one hour this week 29:57 and came to church. 29:59 That's tourist, 30:00 God is looking for pilgrims, pilgrims. 30:05 Listen to me what baptism is. 30:07 There are two prerequisites. 30:09 First of all, inner faith, inner belief in God. 30:11 Faith is trusting God. 30:14 Faith is putting your trust in God. 30:16 All your life you put your trust in yourself, 30:18 I can do it, this religious people 30:20 if I try hard enough I'll do it. 30:23 When I talked to him, how's your spiritual life? 30:24 I'm trying, I'm trying hard. 30:28 Stop trying hard and start trusting. 30:31 Amen. Soft. 30:34 Start trusting. 30:35 He says there has to be inner faith. 30:37 You have to have faith. 30:38 Faith is a substance of things not seen. 30:40 I haven't seen God, I have sensed Him, 30:43 I feel Him, I hear Him 30:45 but I haven't met Him physically. 30:50 But I don't need to, because I have an inner faith. 30:55 You see, an inner faith, an outward obedience, 30:59 an outward demonstration of that faith. 31:02 And so when Jesus talked about it, 31:04 He talked about this inner peace 31:07 that comes through the water 31:08 by becoming identified to Jesus. 31:11 Jesus when He talked about rebirth, 31:13 the new life, He talked about the water. 31:16 And He talked about the abundant life. 31:18 For instance there was a jailer at Philippi. 31:22 The apostles taught him overnight. 31:25 Well, I think I'll have 31:26 a 32 week Bible study set with you. 31:31 I started with 21 but now I'm getting so good at this 31:34 I think it would be worth 32. 31:36 If they make it through 32 lessons, 31:39 I might be able to baptize but what is that about, go read it. 31:47 Don't say you believe in a Bible 31:49 then come up with your own rules. 31:50 Amen. 31:53 Amen, come on now. 31:55 Don't read your Bible and come up with some rule 31:57 that you come along, somewhere along the way. 31:59 Listen, "See, here is the water," 32:01 that's the eunuch 32:03 "what doth hinder me from being baptized? 32:05 Philip said, if thou believest 32:06 with all thine heart, you mayest. 32:08 And he answered and said, I believe 32:09 that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 32:13 And boy they had a great baptismal service there. 32:16 I wish I had been there. 32:19 And He commanded the chariot to stand still, 32:21 they went down into the water, 32:22 both Philip and eunuch, and he baptized him." 32:26 They heard, they saw, they believed. 32:28 They demonstrated their faith in Christ, 32:31 there's a satanic conspiracy going on in the church. 32:35 Listen to me, it's not outside the church, 32:38 it's inside the church and one is it doesn't matter. 32:43 It doesn't matter. 32:45 Secondly, it's not important, 32:46 and thirdly any kind of baptism is all right. 32:50 That's the three deceptions of the antichrist. 32:53 And by the way that did not come into the church 32:55 until hundreds of years after the New Testament. 32:59 It doesn't matter, it's not important 33:02 and any kind of baptism is all right. 33:05 Well, let's go to the scripture, 33:06 don't take my word for it. 33:07 "Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, 33:10 for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. 33:13 And then he suffered him." He suffered him. 33:15 "And Jesus, when He was baptized 33:17 went up straightway out of the water, 33:19 and, lo, the heavens and the earth opened unto him, 33:21 and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove," 33:24 like a dove "and lightening upon him, 33:26 And lo a voice from heaven, 33:27 saying, This is my beloved Son, 33:30 in whom I am well pleased." 33:34 If my Lord showed the example of baptism, 33:37 surely I'm not too good for it. 33:39 Amen. Amen. 33:41 He went down in the water-- 33:42 By the way he was not baptizes onto repentance 33:44 like you and me. 33:45 He was without sin, Jesus. 33:48 But He was baptized to fulfill righteousness. 33:52 Well, that's what the person we couldn't ever be baptized. 33:55 Well, because the circumstances 33:56 could never go to the water to be baptized. 34:00 And He was baptized for them and for all those who followed. 34:04 That's what the Bible says, it's clear, 34:06 there's no question here. 34:07 In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was baptized, 34:10 He came up out of the water. 34:12 And the dove came down upon Him that was the Spirit. 34:16 The dove was the Spirit that came down upon Him. 34:18 There is one Lord, who's that? 34:20 Jesus Christ. 34:21 There is one faith, and there is one what? 34:23 Baptism. 34:25 That's what the Bible says according to Paul 34:26 there is only one type of baptism, 34:28 just as there's one faith Bible religion. 34:30 Just as there's one Lord, Jesus Christ, 34:32 who died for our sins on the cross rose again 34:35 so that we might have eternal life. 34:37 I mean, it's right there in the Word of God. 34:39 Let's now turn to the Bible, Mark 1:9-11, 34:42 "And it came to pass in those days, 34:43 Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, 34:45 to be baptized of John in the Jordan." 34:48 He goes on to say, 34:49 "And straightway coming up out of the water, 34:51 he saw the heavens opened, 34:52 and the Spirit like a dove descend, 34:55 and there came a voice from heaven, 34:56 saying, Thou art my beloved Son, 34:58 in whom I am well" what? 35:00 "Pleased." 35:01 And there he said, 35:03 "And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, 35:05 because there was" what? 35:06 "Much water there." 35:08 When the apostles went forth to baptize 35:11 there was much water there 35:12 because they did the only baptism which is in the Bible, 35:15 the only kind of baptism in the Bible which was immersion. 35:19 So there had to be much water 35:21 because you see baptism was a symbol of death, burial. 35:24 You don't put the body on the ground 35:26 sprinkle it with some sand and walk away. 35:29 You bury it under the ground. 35:31 Amen. Amen. 35:33 You bury it under the ground. 35:38 Some pour, some sprinkle, 35:42 some immerse and yet there's one baptism. 35:46 I read some the other day, it was kind of comical. 35:48 Two preachers got together 35:50 and they were sitting around having coffee 35:51 and you know, trying to let each other know 35:54 their church is better than the other ones 35:56 you know, and the old Baptist had said, 36:00 my congregation gave me waders, 36:04 new waders so I could baptize and not get wet. 36:08 A Methodist preacher across from said, 36:10 well, my congregation gave me rubber gloves. 36:15 They don't get it. 36:17 What a group rubber gloves. 36:19 Sprinkle, rubber gloves. 36:21 Oh, I thought that was good may be it's my mind is twisted. 36:26 I have a twisted mind, I finally found out. 36:29 I got a twisted mind, there's no hope for me. 36:33 Ah, mercy. 36:34 So, some pour, some sprinkle, some immerse baptize. 36:39 One minister laid his dry hands on a baby's head and say 36:41 I'll now baptize you in the name of the Father, 36:43 Son and Holy Spirit that's the dry cleaning method. 36:48 You got that one, okay. 36:50 You're waking up. 36:55 So friend, we want to know what scripture says, 36:56 amen, come on now. 36:58 We wanted to do what scripture says, 37:00 I mean, what the Bible says. 37:02 Don't call yourself a Bible believer 37:03 and then the Bible says one thing and you do the other. 37:06 Be a Bible believer 37:07 and a Bible believer follows what the Bible says 37:09 even though it's a hardship, even though it may not be easy 37:13 and God never called you to easy, never called it easy. 37:19 In fact, we find that Baptize is a transliteration 37:23 of the Greek word "Baptizo." 37:25 And by the way its used, listen, 37:27 you can't get anything else out of it. 37:30 Is used to refer to a piece of cloth 37:33 completely immersed in dye, a vessel submerged 37:38 under the water to fill it. 37:40 That's what it means to Baptizo to put it down under. 37:43 You women don't stand back from a cloth 37:46 if you're gonna dye it and sprinkle it, 37:51 you don't even pour it. 37:53 You immerse it. 37:56 And by the way we sin from head to toe, 37:59 come on, our toes lead us to places we shouldn't go. 38:02 Our head thinks of things we shouldn't think. 38:04 You see, so we needed from head to toe. 38:08 Doesn't take a rocket scientist, 38:11 from head to toe. 38:13 And this term is used again and again to submerge, 38:17 to bury and there is great significance here my friend, 38:20 if you desire a new life in Jesus Christ, 38:22 set forth the way of a new life. 38:24 If we love Jesus and want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, 38:26 He will lead us to that place so that we might be baptized 38:30 as Jesus was for He is our example 38:32 and there is no reason why we can't be 38:35 because He is our example. 38:37 In the Bible we find it again and again "Know ye not, 38:40 that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ 38:43 were baptized into his" what? 38:45 "His death? 38:46 Therefore we are buried with Him in baptism unto death," 38:52 and then he goes on to say, 38:54 "And that like as Christ was raised up 38:55 from the dead by the glory of the God 38:58 or the Father, even so we also should" what? 39:01 "Walk in newness of life." 39:04 I like that picture. 39:06 Look at that man's face. 39:08 Come on, look at that smile. 39:10 Look at that preacher he's even happy. 39:12 Isn't that beautiful? 39:14 I've seen some of the most beautiful baptisms 39:16 in the world, 39:17 but the most beautiful is when a teenage kid from Brooklyn, 39:22 went to a church down two mile, 39:24 two hours on the subway from his home 39:28 because it was a Bible teaching church 39:30 and there he went, he was baptized. 39:34 That was the only family that was there at that time 39:38 and I had the privilege to see my family baptized all along 39:42 and there is someone praying for 39:44 that they might experience this smile and this joy. 39:48 Baptized, he came up in joy. He came up in joy. 39:52 But what about rebaptism? 39:53 Some say well, may be I've been baptized, 39:56 may be you've been sprinkled, may be you've been poured. 39:58 They did it honestly, there's nothing-- 40:00 I'm not saying anything against them, 40:01 I'm just saying this is the Bible way. 40:03 Now, you may say well, 40:06 is there anything about rebaptism? 40:07 Maybe I was baptized as a child but I really wasn't born again, 40:10 I really never experienced the spirit, 40:12 I never really came to that experience. 40:14 And what does the Bible teach about 40:15 doesn't matter what I say, okay. 40:17 What it matters what the Bible says. 40:19 "And he said unto them, 40:20 unto what then were you baptized? 40:22 And they said, John's baptism." 40:23 That was immersion. 40:25 That was the baptism of Jesus. 40:27 "And then he said Paul, 40:28 John baptized with the baptism of repentance, 40:30 saying unto the people," he goes on, 40:33 "that they should believe on Him 40:35 which should come after Him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 40:38 And when they heard this, 40:39 they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." 40:42 They're re-baptized. 40:44 So if that question comes to your heart there it is 40:47 but you know that even the early church baptized. 40:50 There was a large church built at Ephesus 40:52 and there we see a baptistery, 40:54 that was in the early church 40:55 they baptized by immersion, the early church. 40:58 There's a large church, it was a church laid it. 41:01 There was a baptistery in that church. 41:03 It was 4 feet deep and 12 feet across. 41:06 Steps entering one side 41:08 and steps leaving the other side. 41:09 The great church of Pisa, that was a baptistery. 41:13 And the Council of Ravenna, 41:15 sprinkling did not officially enter the church until when? 41:19 1311. 41:22 In vein do they worship me 41:23 teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. 41:27 And so they thought, well, this would be easier. 41:31 But friend, it's not whether it's easy or not. 41:35 It's whether it's right, come on now. 41:37 It's whether if it is right and then late as 300 A.D. 41:42 Roman Catholic people were baptized by immersion. 41:45 I don't know if you know that. 41:46 But that was until 300 A.D. that they were baptized. 41:51 And more than 1,200 years after the death of Jesus, 41:54 Christians practiced immersion baptism. 41:58 But they changed. 42:00 No man has right to change what God speaks 42:02 and what God says. 42:04 It's forever. 42:06 My words are forever. 42:08 And but there's three important steps we need to take. 42:11 First of all, belief. 42:13 You have to believe 42:14 that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. 42:16 You have to believe what the Bible says. 42:19 You see that's why it's so important that we learn 42:21 and then we make a clear decision. 42:24 My mamma had me sprinkled. 42:26 That didn't take when I was 12 years old, 42:28 I've so much trouble, she had me sprinkled again. 42:32 I think of it, she would've kept sprinkling me 42:35 but I finally got saved 42:37 and I finally went to the water, 42:38 I finally found redemption 42:40 and I was born again by the grace of God 42:42 and I experience baptism. 42:43 What a beautiful day and moment. 42:45 Belief, and if you believe, "And Philip said, 42:47 if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. 42:50 And he answered and said, I believe 42:51 that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 42:53 That's what he says, there are three important. 42:54 Second repent, you have to feel sorry for your sin. 42:57 You got to say I'm sorry Jesus, but more than that 43:00 you've got to repent to that sin. 43:01 You're gonna lay that sin at the foot of the cross 43:03 "And Peter said unto them, 43:04 Repent and be baptized every one of you 43:07 in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, 43:09 and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." 43:12 You're gonna receive the gift of the Holy Ghost 43:14 through your baptism. 43:15 Thirdly, Knowledge and Obedience. 43:17 You knowledge God, you have knowledge, 43:19 "Go ye therefore, 43:20 and teach them baptizing them in the name of the Father, 43:22 Son and Holy Spirit." 43:24 So there you learn of Jesus, 43:26 you learn about Him 43:27 you're baptized in the kingdom of heaven. 43:29 And there in the preaching He called men and women 43:32 always for the Lord Jesus Christ. 43:35 "And then they that gladly received His word were" what? 43:37 "Baptized, the same day there were added to them" how? 43:40 "Three thousand souls." 43:41 It was the day of Pentecost. 43:43 The day of Pentecost at the end of that day 43:45 they baptized the people. 43:47 So baptism was as important, 43:49 don't talk about the Holy Spirit, 43:50 now talk about baptism. 43:52 And don't talk about the baptism or Holy Spirit 43:53 until you talk about the baptism of the repentance 43:56 because Jesus said, 43:58 the baptism of repentance leads to the baptism of Holy Spirit, 44:01 the Holy Spirit. 44:04 Notice this, "And they continued steadfastly 44:08 in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, 44:10 and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." 44:13 In prayers. 44:14 I heard Miller, he tells the story that introduces 44:17 what I'm about to say in closing. 44:20 While visiting Leningrad, Russia 44:21 a woman heard of a shocking story 44:23 900,000 people were perished. 44:27 This was long siege of Leningrad, 44:29 you read about it I'm sure in your history. 44:31 Now, the families wanted to save their children 44:34 so great trucks came and they put the little, 44:36 but children on to these trucks. 44:39 Mothers lay their children on the truck 44:43 and then the truck started pulling out, 44:45 I mean, they knew 44:46 that they would never see their children again. 44:48 Can you imagine mother? 44:52 Nine hundred thousand. 44:55 And as the children were being driven 44:57 across the cold frozen lake they cried out. 45:00 Remember your name. 45:03 Remember your name. 45:05 Remember who you are? 45:10 We ought to remember our name. 45:13 Christian. 45:17 Christian. 45:19 To remember-- 45:20 that at Antioch was the first time 45:22 they called them Christian. 45:24 Listen, you could follow Jesus, 45:26 you could follow the apostles and listen to their preaching 45:29 but until you were baptized they left you alone. 45:32 The Romans wouldn't persecute you. 45:34 You could go and listen 45:36 but the moment you decide it for Jesus, 45:38 the moment you decided for the truth, 45:39 the moment you are baptized all hell broke loose. 45:45 And they were persecuted because why, 45:48 you see their baptism identify themselves with Jesus Christ. 45:51 You see, your baptism is not only repentance, 45:53 your baptism identifies yourself 45:56 with none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. 45:58 You identify yourself. 46:00 Someone said, oh, do I, can I be baptized 46:02 but not join the church? 46:03 That's like saying can I get married 46:05 and not go on a honeymoon. 46:07 It's there that you learn discipleship. 46:09 It's there you learn how to serve God. 46:12 It's there you're disciple so you might go out 46:14 and become like one of the apostle sharing your faith. 46:17 Listen friend, 46:18 a Christian can't wait to tell others about Christ. 46:21 Amen. 46:25 Can't wait. 46:26 There's an urgency in baptism. 46:29 "And now why tarriest thou? 46:31 Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy" what? 46:34 "He says wash away thy sins, 46:36 "I mean, that's urgent. 46:38 Well, I think great grandpa's coming in five months 46:41 maybe I should be baptized, what is that? 46:44 That's a balmiest, that's not a baptism. 46:48 Now, baptism is who, put the water I'm going. 46:53 Now baptism, I can't wait. 46:56 I mean, I can't-- 46:57 the IRT subway ran too slow that week. 47:02 That Sabbath when I went to be baptized 47:06 in the name of the Father and of the Son 47:11 and of the Holy Spirit to that baptism. 47:15 I was working in New York for many years 47:18 and I love working there as an evangelist 47:20 and the teacher and preacher 47:23 and I work for the street people 47:24 back then in the 60s and 70s and 80s, 47:26 you know, the Hippies and the Yippies and Wagumps 47:29 and Freebie Gypsies and I went through all of that 47:31 and you know that Jesus people and you know hey, you know. 47:35 I was good at, hey, you know. 47:39 I had a coffee house off a Broadway 47:40 you know, they would come in the street people 47:42 and we give them, you know, hot drink 47:46 and would share faith and would sing and play guitar, 47:49 everybody played the guitar you know, 47:50 in those days and happy music and happy poetry, 47:54 there was something nice about it. 47:56 I've led many and many have commune to Christ into Jesus. 47:59 It was beautiful, it was a beautiful experience. 48:01 But anyway I was working there in Bedford, 48:04 no, no I was working in Greenwich Village. 48:07 It's not an easy place on the west side 48:11 with the homosexuals on the east side 48:14 with the heroin addicts and there I was in the middle 48:18 and I would be handing out literature to my meetings 48:21 inviting people my wife and my two children 48:26 and a pastor and his wife and two children. 48:29 I don't know where the deacons were, 48:31 I better get off that because-- 48:35 and it started to rain I was feeling sorry for myself. 48:38 I said Billy Graham doesn't have to do this Lord, 48:40 and he said you are not Billy Graham. 48:41 So I went on giving out my literature. 48:45 But anyway I was sharing my faith in, 48:48 and I stood up that night in that little church 48:51 and open the Word of God and in walked Rick and Gwen. 48:55 They just come from a party 48:57 the night before at Janis Joplin. 49:01 They went to the party crack 49:02 I mean, coke and they were all high 49:05 and they came walking down the street, 49:06 they saw a handbill laying in the water 49:08 picked it up, brought it home. 49:10 Next afternoon they woke up from their stupor 49:12 and they found this handbill. 49:14 They said, what's this about? 49:15 Revelation. 49:17 So they came. 49:19 He was the music director for the off Broadway play "Hair," 49:21 she was a soap opera star and also a solo singer, 49:26 beautiful, beautiful girl. 49:28 And I remember when I led them to Christ, 49:32 when they came down I baptized in the name of Father, 49:34 Son and Holy Spirit. 49:36 God so filled that place, 49:37 God so filled those young people's lives 49:41 that God got them off coke, got them off 49:44 I mean, He cleaned them up, God always does that, 49:46 don't think your habit is too heavy for God. 49:48 Nothing is too heavy for God. 49:50 We'll anoint to get that, that's nothing, 49:51 see me, see one of the preaches but anyway I baptized them 49:56 and they went out to serve God 49:58 and they are serving God to this very day 50:00 and I met them recently in California 50:02 and they are still full of the spirit of God, 50:04 they are still so-- and they said, 50:05 remember that little church 50:06 that night just a few people were there 50:09 and brother Ron, you baptized us 50:11 and we're faithful to Jesus, 50:12 40 some years later they are faithful to Jesus 50:15 and they are out and they have now a place 50:17 where they're ministering and bringing people in 50:20 and helping them to a new life and to a new lifestyle and to-- 50:24 Hey, listen to me, God is able and He can do the same. 50:27 Do you need a new life? 50:29 Do you need a cleanse slate? 50:31 Hey, then listen to God when He speaks to you. 50:34 Listen to God when He says, come follow me, 50:36 experience what I want you to experience 50:39 and you'll know the joy, that passeth, 50:42 all understanding the joy, that passeth all understanding. 50:49 God bless you. 51:26 Another Bible question, here it's a good one, 51:28 let me read it to you. 51:30 Didn't the disciples observe Sunday 51:32 as the holy day after Jesus died 51:35 and went to heaven? 51:36 I could answer that in one word, 51:38 the answer is, no. 51:40 The disciples did not. 51:42 Well, wait a minute I was told, yeah, you were told 51:46 but you weren't told by the Bible. 51:47 You didn't read it in the Word of God. 51:49 In fact if you look into the Bible 51:52 you will find that the disciples continued 51:55 to worship on the seventh day Sabbath. 51:57 Let me read here in verse 42, 52:00 "When the Jews were gone out of the synagogue," 52:03 Acts 13:42, "The Gentiles besought 52:08 that these words might be preached 52:10 to them the next Sabbath." 52:12 Now in case you think that 52:14 the Sabbath had something to do with Jews 52:16 and nobody else here are Gentiles 52:19 and they next Sabbath you ought to teach us about this. 52:22 If the Gentiles weren't fussy 52:24 about what day the holy day was 52:25 they would have said next Friday, next Tuesday, 52:27 next Sunday but they knew, 52:30 they knew that the day of the worship 52:33 was the seventh day Sabbath day. 52:36 Now you know that Paul said in one place 52:41 I became all things to all people 52:44 that I might win some. 52:46 If that included the Sabbath day changing 52:50 well, Paul and Barnabas here might have been able to say, 52:54 oh, right, don't wait a week. 52:57 Let's meet tomorrow, Sunday but he didn't do that. 53:00 They hadn't been a change made. 53:01 Verse 44 says, "And the next Sabbath day 53:06 came almost the whole city together 53:09 to hear the word of God." 53:13 Well, what is this saying? 53:16 It says that long after Jesus died 53:19 the Sabbath day hadn't been changed. 53:22 As a matter of fact Jesus made it clear 53:26 that the Sabbath day wouldn't be changed 53:29 even long after He died. 53:32 Let me read another Bible verse to you, 53:33 it comes from Matthew Chapter 24. 53:35 In Matthew Chapter 24 Jesus said in verse 19, 53:38 "And woe unto them who are with child, 53:41 and to them that give suck" 53:43 or to those who are nursing children 53:45 "in those days!" What days? 53:46 He is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem 53:49 that would take place in the year A.D 70. 53:51 Jesus is looking forward 40 years 53:54 and He said woe to them in certain situations 53:58 in the year A.D. 70 54:00 four decades more or less after I die. 54:03 Why? 54:05 He said, pray that your flight be not in the winter 54:10 neither on the Sabbath day. 54:14 The Sabbath would be important 40 years after Jesus died. 54:19 Now, let me say this no, Jesus is not saying 54:23 Sabbath keeping is what gets you to heaven. 54:26 Jesus is not saying that to get that day right 54:30 or changed that somehow gives you the gift of salvation. 54:34 No. 54:35 Salvation comes one way by grace through faith 54:37 in Jesus Christ. 54:39 The question is though, 54:41 how does God want saved people to live? 54:43 What's the base witness? 54:44 What is the consistent practice? 54:47 What does obedience to God look like? It's clear. 54:52 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, God said. 54:54 Well, if we choose not to do that 54:57 does that look like obedience or disobedience? 54:59 Does it look like love for God 55:01 or does it look like He is just a little bit missing there? 55:04 No, the disciples didn't choose Sunday 55:07 as the holy day after Jesus died. 55:09 There's just nothing, 55:12 nothing in the Bible that suggests that. 55:16 So when we are thinking about what God would have us do 55:19 out of love for Him, it becomes clear, 55:23 God wants us to honor Him, 55:25 worship Him, keep His commandments. 55:27 Why? 55:28 Because we love Him. 55:30 And why do we love Him? 55:31 Because He first loved us. 55:35 Thanks for your questions, great questions. 55:37 We'll do it again next time. 55:39 Thank you for your Bible questions, 55:40 we'll try to give you a Bible answer. 55:51 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written, 55:55 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 55:57 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 56:01 Every Word is a one minute Bible based 56:03 daily devotional presented by Pastor John Bradshaw 56:06 and designed especially for busy people like you. 56:09 Look for Every Word on selective networks 56:12 or watch it online every day on our website itiswritten.com. 56:17 Receive a daily spiritual boost, 56:19 watch Every Word, you will be glad you did. 56:26 Perhaps our program today has touched your heart 56:28 and impressed you with the personal need 56:30 for deeper Bible study. 56:32 If you desire to listen to God and follow where He leads, 56:35 we got a wonderful resource that can help you 56:37 do that in a systemic way, the Discover Bible Guides. 56:41 These study guides will take you 56:42 through the essential truths taught in scripture. 56:45 They give you the big picture 56:47 showing how it all fits together. 56:49 The Discover Bible Guides are a wonderful way 56:51 for you to become grounded in the Word of God 56:54 and to see how Jesus Christ 56:55 relates to all the areas of our lives. 56:58 Please call or write us and the Discover Bible Guides 57:01 will be on their way to you. 57:03 If you live in North America we will mail these Bible Guides 57:06 free of charge or for easy 57:08 and immediate access from anywhere around the world, 57:11 you can get these wonderful Bible lessons 57:13 on our website itiswritten.com. 57:17 Request the Discover Bible Guides 57:19 by calling our toll free number 1800-253-3000. 57:24 Call right now and tell us the name of today's free offer, 57:28 the Discover Bible Guides. 57:30 You can also request today's offer 57:31 by writing to It Is Written, 57:34 Box O, Thousand Oaks, California, 91359. |
Revised 2015-01-08