Welcome to 3ABN
Spring Camp Meeting, 2017,
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Exposing the Counterfeit.
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Hello, and welcome to
3ABN 2017 Spring Camp Meeting
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where we are
exposing the counterfeit.
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You know, I had
somebody once tell me
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that the way that
they train bank tellers
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to recognize counterfeit money
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is they show them the genuine.
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They get them so
familiar with the genuine
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that anything outside
of that genuine dollar bill
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is the counterfeit
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and the same is
true for the truth.
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Anything that is not
100% truth is counterfeit.
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And one of the great things
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that's going on
here at camp meeting is,
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we are taking a
look at the truth,
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we are studying the truth,
we are focusing on the truth,
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and so you will be able
to recognize the counterfeit
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from a mile away.
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Amen. Amen.
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We are so glad that
you are here with us,
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and if this is your first time,
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make sure you go on
our website, www.3abn.tv
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to find out how you can get
any of the DVDs of the sermons
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that you have missed.
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We have a
wonderful speaker today
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who is Pastor James Rafferty.
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Pastor Rafferty became
a follower of Jesus Christ
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at 21
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and sensed early on
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God's call to
preach the good news
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of a crucified and risen savior.
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Since that initial urging,
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the Holy Spirit has
opened doors for him
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to share God's incomparable love
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in Africa, Asia,
Europe, the Middle East,
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Australia, and all over America.
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In addition to his
preaching ministry,
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he also conducts
seminars on the Books of Daniel
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and Revelation for
pastors and laity alike.
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And he is the host of
Salvation in Symbols and Signs.
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How many of you have seen
Salvation in Symbols and Signs?
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Oh, amen.
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Praise the Lord.
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He's also featured as one
of the pastors on table talk
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along with the other pastors
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from his Light Bearers ministry.
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Pastor Rafferty is married
to his wife of 27 years, Rise,
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and has two
children, Jeiel and Kierra.
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They enjoy gardening
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and love to spend
hot days on the lake.
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After special
music by Celestine Barry,
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the next voice you will hear
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will be that of Pastor Rafferty.
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Amen. Amen.
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It's not Your fault
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I won't blame You
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Even though
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You didn't make
the mountain move
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You must've known
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That in time
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I'd get so much closer to You
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As I climb
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Because You gave me strength
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When I was weak
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Because You never lost
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Your faith in me
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I love You more
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Than I did before
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'Cause when I needed You
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You were there
to pull me through
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I love You still
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Though I don't
understand Your will
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Because You've been
so faithful to me, Lord
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I love You more
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Without some rain
nothing would grow
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Without some pain
how would we ever know
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That our tears break Your heart
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And that's when
You hurt the most
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I'm finding every
time You hold me close
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I love You more
than I did before
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'Cause when I needed You
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You were there
to pull me through
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I love You still
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Though I don't
understand Your will
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Because You've been
so faithful to me, Lord
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I love You more
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I love You more
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Than I did before
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'Cause when I needed You
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You were there
to pull me through
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I love You still
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Though I don't
understand Your will
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Because You've been
so faithful to me, Lord
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Because You've
been so faithful to me
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Lord
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I love You more
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Amen. Amen.
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Good day, mates.
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That's Australian.
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It means hi.
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Let's open our
Bibles this morning.
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I have two Bibles
with me this morning.
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I have my phone Bible,
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you know, the
newest technology, right?
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And then I have this Bible,
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I don't know if you
guys remember these Bibles.
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Yeah.
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Now the phone Bibles
are really, really cool
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because I have a
strong concordance built in,
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and I can just
press on the words
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and I get all of the, you
know, the Greek or the Hebrew
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and I can do a lot of research.
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But there are some
benefits to my older Bible too.
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It has removable pages.
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Now in order to
have removal pages
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in an older Bible,
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you have to really use it a lot,
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you have to use it well.
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And the page that's
removable in my old Bible
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just happens to be the verse
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that we're going
to be looking at,
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it's in Revelation 13.
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Revelation 13 is
where we're going to go.
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Now the reason why
I'm speaking Australian
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because I just
returned from the Gold Coast
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where we have our three month
Arise Discipleship program.
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And it was really a blessing.
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I was there for two weeks.
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And in one of those two weeks,
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I covered the
Book of Revelation.
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And that's where we're going
to start our study right now
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on this subject
of predestination
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or predestined in Christ
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in the Book of Revelation.
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I was there for two weeks.
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And by the way, it
was really amazing.
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There were two
people in the class
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for the last two weeks.
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They weren't there
for the whole school,
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for the last two weeks.
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One was a heroin addict,
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and one was a physics professor,
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an atheist physics professor
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and both of them
accepted Jesus Christ
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and their lives
were transformed.
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It was amazing.
It was amazing grace.
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It was amazing grace.
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So by the way,
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our next Arise School
is beginning in August,
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August 22 right here
in the United States.
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It's not the Australia Arise,
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it's the US Arise
in Eugene, Oregon.
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So August 22,
it's a 13 week program
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and your lives will
never be the same again
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if you attend that program
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or you know someone who
needs to attend that program,
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it's a great
discipleship program.
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So here it is, Revelation 13:8.
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It's just a short
line of scripture.
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Let's read it
here, Revelation 13:8.
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It says, "And all
that dwell upon the earth
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shall worship him
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whose names are not
written in the book of life
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of the Lamb slain
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from the
foundation of the world."
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Did you catch the thought?
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It's not the one about the
earth worshiping the beast.
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It's not the one about
the Lamb's book of life.
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The thought that I'm
referring to here is the phrase,
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"The Lamb that was slain
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from the
foundation of the world."
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That's the phrase.
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Have you ever stopped to
ponder just what that means?
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I mean, have you ever considered
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all that it implies.
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Now we know that it doesn't mean
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that Jesus was literally slain
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at the foundation of the world.
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The Bible is very clear
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that Jesus came into
this world 2000 years ago.
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And it was at that
time that He was slain
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or He died for our sins.
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We find that in 1 Peter 1:18-20,
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let's just look
at those verses also,
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1 Peter 1:18-20 because
this is going to really help us
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to lay the foundation
for our topic this morning.
00:11:08.00\00:11:11.37
And by the way, if you
haven't figured it out yet,
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I am not Steve Wohlberg,
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and we are not talking
about Peter and the Rock.
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Now Steve and I have
been friends for 25 years.
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We were both trained together
00:11:19.64\00:11:21.24
in the WestPoint
School Evangelism.
00:11:21.28\00:11:24.11
And Mark Finley, and Don
Gray, and George Vandeman,
00:11:24.15\00:11:26.55
and Ken Cox, and
many others in 1992,
00:11:26.58\00:11:30.99
and we've been
friends ever since.
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And Steve like myself, we
have a lot of things in common.
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He has one
wife, I have one wife.
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He has two
kids, I have two kids.
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He has a boy, I have a boy.
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He has a girl, I have a girl.
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And we both love the
Lord very, very, much.
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And he will be here,
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he arrived last night
at three in the morning,
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asked if I could fill in for him
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because he needed a little sleep
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and I said,
"Absolutely, 100% you bet."
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So he will be here, praise God.
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1 Timothy
1:18-20, "For as much..."
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Excuse me, 1 Peter 1:18-20,
just making sure you're awake,
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I heard a few
mumblings there, right.
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I'm going to run you
around on the Bible too much,
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"For as much as you know
that you were not redeemed
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with corruptible things,
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as silver and gold,
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from your vain conversation
00:12:17.73\00:12:19.07
received by
tradition from your fathers.
00:12:19.10\00:12:20.90
But with the
precious blood of Christ,
00:12:20.94\00:12:23.67
as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot
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who verily was foreordained
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before the
foundation of the world,
00:12:30.75\00:12:32.48
but was manifest in
these last times for you."
00:12:32.51\00:12:37.15
So here we see that
Christ was foreordained
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or ordained ahead of
time to be our sacrifice,
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the sacrifice for sins.
00:12:45.06\00:12:47.13
This means that as
soon as there was sin,
00:12:47.20\00:12:49.66
there was a savior.
00:12:49.70\00:12:52.10
Amen.
00:12:52.13\00:12:53.97
Jesus was set apart
to be our substitute,
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and surety from
the very beginning
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of earth's creation.
00:13:00.61\00:13:02.51
In that sense, He
was the Lamb slain
00:13:02.54\00:13:05.58
from the
foundation of the world.
00:13:05.61\00:13:08.08
Titus 1:2 and 3 also says that,
write that down in your notes.
00:13:08.12\00:13:11.92
We're going to be looking
at a lot of Bible verses,
00:13:11.95\00:13:13.46
a lot of scripture
00:13:13.49\00:13:14.82
because we want our foundation
to be in the Word of God, amen.
00:13:14.86\00:13:17.03
Amen.
00:13:17.06\00:13:18.39
So Christ was
promised to us by God
00:13:18.43\00:13:22.13
before the world began
00:13:22.16\00:13:24.13
and manifest it in due time,
00:13:24.17\00:13:28.10
that is at the set
time or the ordained time.
00:13:28.14\00:13:31.07
God foresaw the fall
00:13:31.11\00:13:33.84
and He saw sin
entering our planet.
00:13:33.88\00:13:36.64
He did not want us to sin.
00:13:36.71\00:13:39.25
He didn't want mankind to
fall under the power of evil
00:13:39.28\00:13:42.72
but He knew that we could.
00:13:42.75\00:13:44.65
And in love, He made
provision for the possibility.
00:13:44.69\00:13:49.02
So Jesus, God's
only begotten Son,
00:13:49.06\00:13:52.23
volunteered to step down
from the throne of heaven
00:13:52.26\00:13:54.73
and to come to our rescue.
00:13:54.73\00:13:56.90
Praise God.
00:13:56.93\00:13:59.27
So in this way,
00:13:59.30\00:14:00.74
Christ was
predestined to be our savior,
00:14:00.77\00:14:04.97
predestined.
00:14:05.01\00:14:06.78
Predestination is a
pretty big word, isn't it?
00:14:06.81\00:14:09.64
Predestination,
what does it mean?
00:14:09.68\00:14:11.75
Well, it simply means
to decide ahead of time.
00:14:11.78\00:14:14.82
Predestination, to predetermine,
00:14:14.85\00:14:16.79
to decide ahead of time.
00:14:16.82\00:14:18.15
The Bible is quite clear
00:14:18.19\00:14:19.52
on the subject
of predestination.
00:14:19.55\00:14:21.66
First, it teaches,
00:14:21.69\00:14:25.39
as it applies to
our savior Jesus Christ,
00:14:25.43\00:14:27.66
that He was predestined
to come to our rescue,
00:14:27.73\00:14:32.43
foreordained as the Lamb of God
00:14:32.47\00:14:34.77
slain from the
foundation of the world.
00:14:34.80\00:14:38.21
This we have clearly seen
in the verses we've looked at.
00:14:38.24\00:14:41.91
Second, God's word
teaches predestination
00:14:41.94\00:14:45.88
as it applies to the
subjects of this great love.
00:14:45.91\00:14:50.25
In other words,
God has predestined us
00:14:50.29\00:14:54.76
to eternal salvation.
00:14:54.79\00:14:57.09
But who you may
wonder, is the us.
00:14:57.13\00:15:01.70
And this will be
the consideration
00:15:01.73\00:15:04.70
of the rest of our study.
00:15:04.73\00:15:06.47
So I heard my first
sermon on predestination
00:15:06.50\00:15:09.07
while I was
scanning my car radio
00:15:09.10\00:15:11.81
in a place known
as the Bible Belt.
00:15:11.84\00:15:16.75
I was actually on my
way to 3ABN camp meeting,
00:15:16.78\00:15:20.35
not this one.
00:15:20.42\00:15:22.45
I was in Southern Illinois.
00:15:22.48\00:15:24.82
And, you know, it's not
hard to find a Christian station
00:15:24.85\00:15:26.76
in Southern Illinois,
00:15:26.79\00:15:28.22
not when you're
in the Bible Belt.
00:15:28.26\00:15:29.76
So the issue that I had
00:15:29.79\00:15:31.39
was not finding a
Christian station issue,
00:15:31.43\00:15:33.16
I had was, "Well, which
one do I want to listen to?"
00:15:33.19\00:15:35.83
And as I was cruising
through the different stations,
00:15:35.86\00:15:39.50
I came upon one
that caught my interest.
00:15:39.53\00:15:42.84
Two men were speaking about
the subject of predestination.
00:15:42.87\00:15:48.51
Now I had heard the ideas
that they were proclaiming
00:15:48.54\00:15:53.01
with lots of enthusiasm.
00:15:53.05\00:15:55.18
I had heard about
these ideas before,
00:15:55.22\00:15:57.69
but I had never actually
heard someone preaching them.
00:15:57.72\00:16:02.12
The ideas that
they were preaching was
00:16:02.16\00:16:03.96
that God has predetermined
certain people to be saved
00:16:03.99\00:16:08.03
and God has predetermined
certain people to be lost,
00:16:08.06\00:16:11.60
and there is nothing
that can be done about that.
00:16:11.63\00:16:14.87
People are going to be
saved, they gonna be saved,
00:16:14.90\00:16:16.30
people are going to be
lost, they gonna be lost.
00:16:16.34\00:16:17.67
If you're
predetermined to be saved,
00:16:17.71\00:16:19.17
you're not going to be lost.
00:16:19.21\00:16:20.58
And if you're
predetermined to be lost,
00:16:20.61\00:16:21.94
you're not going to be saved.
00:16:21.98\00:16:23.31
And there's nothing that
God, or Christ, or angels,
00:16:23.35\00:16:26.08
or preachers can
do to change that,
00:16:26.11\00:16:28.42
it's predetermined.
00:16:28.45\00:16:31.92
I couldn't believe
what I was hearing.
00:16:31.95\00:16:34.52
And I started
thinking about the idea
00:16:34.56\00:16:36.73
that these men along
with many other people
00:16:36.76\00:16:41.70
also believe the idea
00:16:41.73\00:16:44.80
that when you die, lost,
00:16:44.83\00:16:49.97
you go to a place
00:16:50.01\00:16:51.51
where you are going
to burn for all eternity.
00:16:51.54\00:16:55.68
You're going to suffer
in the flames of torment
00:16:55.71\00:16:59.58
for eternity.
00:16:59.61\00:17:01.28
And I thought in my
mind, "Now wait a minute,
00:17:01.32\00:17:02.88
this is overwhelming!"
00:17:02.92\00:17:04.79
In fact, tears
began, my eyes began to leak
00:17:04.82\00:17:09.46
as I thought about
these two doctrines
00:17:09.49\00:17:12.19
and the ideas that
they were presenting
00:17:12.23\00:17:13.63
because think
about it if you will.
00:17:13.66\00:17:16.30
The idea is that
God has predetermined
00:17:16.33\00:17:21.47
certain individuals
to burn in eternity,
00:17:21.50\00:17:26.98
to burn in hell for all eternity
00:17:27.01\00:17:28.91
and there's nothing
anyone can do about that,
00:17:28.94\00:17:31.38
that's just the way it is.
00:17:31.41\00:17:34.32
In my mind, I don't think
it is possible to misrepresent
00:17:34.35\00:17:39.39
the character of
God any more than that.
00:17:39.42\00:17:43.73
It is no wonder
00:17:43.76\00:17:45.99
that with ideas like this
00:17:46.03\00:17:47.40
floating around
the Christian church,
00:17:47.50\00:17:49.10
atheists, and Buddhists,
and Muslims, and Hindus,
00:17:49.13\00:17:52.87
and deists, and agnostics,
00:17:52.90\00:17:55.07
and any person with any sense
00:17:55.10\00:17:57.91
would not want anything
to do with God in the Bible.
00:17:57.94\00:18:04.08
It's no surprise to me
00:18:04.11\00:18:06.11
that people
don't want Christianity
00:18:06.15\00:18:09.08
when Christianity is
formulating and proclaiming
00:18:09.12\00:18:12.02
those kinds of ideas.
00:18:12.05\00:18:14.22
And so I think it is important.
00:18:14.29\00:18:15.62
I think it's vital, you
might think this morning,
00:18:15.66\00:18:17.36
"Well, you know,
counterfeiting the counterfeit.
00:18:17.39\00:18:21.60
Is that what it is,
counterfeiting the counterfeit,
00:18:21.63\00:18:23.16
what is it?"
00:18:23.20\00:18:24.60
Exposing the counterfeit,
exposing the counterfeit.
00:18:24.63\00:18:27.14
You might think, "Well, yeah.
00:18:27.17\00:18:29.14
The Sabbath,
that's really important.
00:18:29.17\00:18:30.91
We really need...
00:18:30.94\00:18:32.27
Oh, the sanctuary,
00:18:32.31\00:18:33.64
we really need to
talk about that, you know."
00:18:33.68\00:18:35.01
And by the way, I got a
list of all the topics early
00:18:35.04\00:18:37.15
and they said, "Choose
whatever ones you want."
00:18:37.18\00:18:38.91
And I said, "I'll
take predestination."
00:18:38.95\00:18:41.38
Well, why didn't
you take the Sabbath.
00:18:41.42\00:18:42.78
I mean, you've got a whole study
00:18:42.82\00:18:44.29
you've done on Revelation 1:10.
00:18:44.32\00:18:47.99
Revelation is my
favorite book in the Bible,
00:18:48.02\00:18:50.13
you know that, right?
00:18:50.16\00:18:51.49
Revelation 1:10, I've
got six Bible versions,
00:18:51.53\00:18:54.83
new Bible versions,
post 2000 Bible versions
00:18:54.83\00:18:57.17
that do not say,
00:18:57.23\00:18:58.57
"I was in the
spirit on the Lord's day."
00:18:58.60\00:18:59.93
They say, "I was in
the spirit on Sunday.
00:19:00.04\00:19:02.77
I was in the spirit on
the first day of the week."
00:19:02.80\00:19:05.57
And if you don't think
00:19:05.61\00:19:06.94
Bible
translations are important,
00:19:07.01\00:19:08.34
it's time to wake up.
00:19:08.38\00:19:10.18
There is a counterfeit
that is developing right now
00:19:10.21\00:19:13.95
and it's coming in
big time into our church.
00:19:13.98\00:19:16.95
We need to be aware of it.
00:19:17.02\00:19:18.35
So why didn't you choose that?
00:19:18.39\00:19:19.99
Why didn't you
choose the sanctuary?
00:19:20.02\00:19:21.36
You love the sanctuary,
00:19:21.39\00:19:22.72
you love the
symbolism of the sanctuary.
00:19:22.76\00:19:24.09
If you've been watching
Salvation in Symbols and Signs
00:19:24.16\00:19:26.36
with Jason, and
Yvonne, and Ivor, and myself,
00:19:26.39\00:19:29.66
you know that we
were using the sanctuary
00:19:29.70\00:19:32.00
to move through
the Book of Revelation,
00:19:32.03\00:19:33.37
showing how those symbols
00:19:33.44\00:19:34.77
bring us
through the time frames,
00:19:34.80\00:19:37.51
a prophetic history,
00:19:37.54\00:19:38.97
why didn't' you choose that?
00:19:39.01\00:19:40.38
Because this
subject, predestination,
00:19:40.41\00:19:43.65
is one that is dear
to my heart in the sense
00:19:43.68\00:19:47.75
that it is so
important for us to understand
00:19:47.78\00:19:52.32
how it misrepresents
the character of God
00:19:52.35\00:19:54.36
if we don't get it right.
00:19:54.39\00:19:55.96
If we don't understand
00:19:55.99\00:19:57.33
what the Bible is actually
teaching about the subject,
00:19:57.36\00:19:58.93
we are going to completely
miss the truth of the gospel,
00:19:58.96\00:20:03.53
and completely misrepresent
the character of God.
00:20:03.57\00:20:06.37
So let's look
00:20:06.40\00:20:07.80
at what the Bible has to
say about predestination.
00:20:07.84\00:20:09.60
There are a couple of
key verses, key areas,
00:20:09.64\00:20:12.67
Bible verses that people
use to teach this doctrine
00:20:12.71\00:20:16.41
and these verses
need to be understood.
00:20:16.44\00:20:18.35
The first one that
we're going to look at,
00:20:18.38\00:20:19.71
the first series of
verses we're going to look at
00:20:19.75\00:20:21.15
is in Ephesians 1:3-5.
00:20:21.18\00:20:25.35
So if you want to
open your Bibles there,
00:20:25.39\00:20:27.92
whatever version,
00:20:27.96\00:20:29.29
whatever kind of Bible you have,
00:20:29.32\00:20:30.69
I shouldn't say
whatever version you have,
00:20:30.73\00:20:32.06
whatever kind of Bible you have,
00:20:32.09\00:20:33.43
and by the way, I'm just going
to put a plug in right here
00:20:33.46\00:20:34.76
for the good old
King James Version
00:20:34.83\00:20:36.13
or the good old
New King James Version.
00:20:36.16\00:20:38.40
Please, no matter
what version you have,
00:20:38.43\00:20:40.87
I have tons of
versions of the Bible,
00:20:40.90\00:20:42.50
I have every
version I get my hands on
00:20:42.54\00:20:44.64
for study purposes.
00:20:44.67\00:20:46.01
But no matter
what version you have,
00:20:46.04\00:20:47.41
please make sure
you have a King James
00:20:47.44\00:20:48.91
or a New King James.
00:20:48.94\00:20:50.58
Please make sure
you have a King James,
00:20:50.61\00:20:51.95
New King James is okay too.
00:20:51.98\00:20:54.78
We need to have this
translation of the Bible
00:20:54.82\00:21:00.76
in our library
for study purposes,
00:21:00.79\00:21:03.96
it's vital, it's
going to be more vital
00:21:04.03\00:21:05.89
as we get closer
to the end of time.
00:21:05.93\00:21:08.03
"Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:21:08.06\00:21:10.63
who has blessed us
with all spiritual blessings
00:21:10.67\00:21:13.90
in heavenly places in Christ.
00:21:13.94\00:21:15.40
According as He
hath chosen us in Him
00:21:15.44\00:21:17.27
before the
foundation of the world,
00:21:17.31\00:21:19.91
that we should be holy
00:21:19.94\00:21:21.28
and without blame
before Him in love
00:21:21.31\00:21:22.64
having predestinated us
00:21:22.68\00:21:27.18
unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself,
00:21:27.22\00:21:31.85
according to the good
pleasure of His will."
00:21:31.89\00:21:36.16
Now here again, here again,
00:21:36.19\00:21:38.86
we have the main
point of Revelation 13:8.
00:21:38.89\00:21:43.06
But this time, the
focus is not on Christ,
00:21:43.10\00:21:46.43
it's on us.
00:21:46.47\00:21:47.80
Notice the phrase,
00:21:50.64\00:21:52.04
"Before the
foundation of the world."
00:21:52.07\00:21:55.81
It's again repeated here,
00:21:55.84\00:21:57.41
"Before the
foundation of the world."
00:21:57.48\00:21:59.38
But this time,
00:21:59.41\00:22:00.82
the subject of what
happened is somewhat different.
00:22:00.85\00:22:03.15
"It is not that Christ was slain
00:22:03.18\00:22:06.79
before the
foundation of the world
00:22:06.86\00:22:08.19
but rather that we
were chosen to be holy.
00:22:08.22\00:22:11.26
And without blame
before him in love,
00:22:11.29\00:22:12.99
we were
predestined to be adopted
00:22:13.03\00:22:15.56
from the family of sin, Satan,
00:22:15.60\00:22:17.07
into the family of God
by the sacrifice of Christ."
00:22:17.13\00:22:19.77
This is according to
the pleasure of His will,
00:22:19.80\00:22:25.34
the good pleasure of His will.
00:22:25.37\00:22:26.94
Praise God. Praise God.
00:22:26.98\00:22:30.31
Now let me ask you the
billion dollar question,
00:22:30.35\00:22:34.45
we used to say, "Let me ask you
the million dollar question,"
00:22:34.48\00:22:36.52
but that's
insignificant anymore, isn't it?
00:22:36.55\00:22:38.89
Let me ask you the
billion dollar question,
00:22:38.92\00:22:41.86
that's almost insignificant too.
00:22:41.89\00:22:43.89
Who was chosen
according to these verses?
00:22:43.93\00:22:47.93
Who was chosen to be
holy and without blame?
00:22:47.96\00:22:50.63
Who is chosen before
the foundation of the world
00:22:50.70\00:22:52.33
to be redeemed from sin?
00:22:52.37\00:22:53.70
Who is predestined to be adopted
00:22:53.77\00:22:55.10
from the family of Satan
00:22:55.14\00:22:56.47
once we have fallen
into the family of God?
00:22:56.50\00:22:58.61
Who did Jesus Christ die for?
00:22:58.64\00:23:01.04
Who should be eternally saved
00:23:01.08\00:23:02.71
according to His good will?
00:23:02.74\00:23:08.48
Who is the 'us'?
00:23:08.52\00:23:12.12
Now you're on track
00:23:12.15\00:23:15.82
but I want you to
consider the Bible,
00:23:15.86\00:23:18.83
what the Bible
says, Bible verses
00:23:18.86\00:23:21.16
because your opinion is good.
00:23:21.20\00:23:23.53
Your opinion is
valid, it's significant
00:23:23.57\00:23:25.63
if it's based
on the Word of God.
00:23:25.67\00:23:29.70
So consider these verses with me
00:23:29.74\00:23:31.11
that really nail down the answer
00:23:31.14\00:23:32.47
to this important question.
00:23:32.51\00:23:33.84
The first one is
found in 2 Peter 3:9,
00:23:33.88\00:23:36.01
you know this verse.
00:23:36.04\00:23:37.41
This is the
verse, this was my verse
00:23:37.45\00:23:38.78
when I became a
Christian in 1984
00:23:38.81\00:23:40.52
when I gave my
heart to the Lord.
00:23:40.58\00:23:42.12
And Jesus Christ
transformed my life
00:23:42.15\00:23:45.12
and took me out
of drugs and alcohol
00:23:45.15\00:23:47.22
and all of the
things that I was in
00:23:47.26\00:23:48.86
including misunderstanding Him
00:23:48.89\00:23:51.16
in my form of
Christianity till I came out of.
00:23:51.19\00:23:54.86
At that point,
it was Catholicism.
00:23:54.93\00:23:57.60
This was my verse.
00:23:57.63\00:24:01.14
"The Lord is not slack
concerning His promises."
00:24:01.17\00:24:05.57
Some men count slackness
00:24:05.61\00:24:07.18
but He is
longsuffering toward us.
00:24:07.21\00:24:09.71
That's why I felt
like He had been with me
00:24:09.74\00:24:11.28
long suffering towards us,
00:24:11.31\00:24:12.98
not willing that
any should perish.
00:24:13.01\00:24:15.68
What is God's will?
00:24:15.72\00:24:17.72
Not that any should perish.
00:24:17.75\00:24:19.89
Remember, He's predestined
us according to His Will.
00:24:19.92\00:24:22.39
What is His will?
00:24:22.42\00:24:23.76
He's not willing
that any should perish
00:24:23.83\00:24:26.36
but that all would
come to repentance.
00:24:26.39\00:24:30.73
The second verse I want you
to look at is 1 Timothy 2:4.
00:24:30.77\00:24:33.70
It says that
God and Jesus Christ
00:24:33.74\00:24:39.01
will have all men to be saved
00:24:39.04\00:24:42.18
and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.
00:24:42.21\00:24:44.45
That's their will.
00:24:44.48\00:24:45.81
That's the word
00:24:45.85\00:24:47.18
that is used in
these two verses.
00:24:47.22\00:24:48.55
God's will is
that none to perish,
00:24:48.58\00:24:49.92
God will have
all men to be saved.
00:24:49.95\00:24:51.62
Will all men be saved?
00:24:51.65\00:24:53.52
No, they will not
00:24:53.56\00:24:55.76
because even
though that's God's will,
00:24:55.79\00:24:58.09
God has formed us
to have our own will.
00:24:58.13\00:25:00.83
And God is not
going to violate our will
00:25:00.86\00:25:03.40
with His will,
00:25:03.47\00:25:05.13
but He's gonna do everything
He can to try to convince us,
00:25:05.17\00:25:07.97
to surrender
our will to His will
00:25:08.00\00:25:09.37
and to be in
harmony with His will.
00:25:09.40\00:25:10.74
He's going to ask us to
give our wills into His hands
00:25:10.81\00:25:14.18
so He can purify
them and cleanse them
00:25:14.21\00:25:15.81
and then He's going
to give them back to us
00:25:15.84\00:25:17.71
so that when we are
carrying out our will,
00:25:17.75\00:25:19.71
we're going to be in
perfect harmony with His will.
00:25:19.75\00:25:21.85
That's the way we were created
in His image, originally.
00:25:21.88\00:25:24.52
He wants to restore us
00:25:24.55\00:25:25.89
to that beautiful
relationship with Him.
00:25:25.92\00:25:29.46
You see, friends, Jesus
Christ died for all mankind,
00:25:29.49\00:25:34.46
not just a few
pre-selected ones.
00:25:34.46\00:25:36.83
The Bible is so
clear on this point
00:25:36.87\00:25:40.50
that none need to be
confused or remain in darkness
00:25:40.54\00:25:44.67
concerning God's love for them.
00:25:44.71\00:25:48.48
Let's look at
another Bible verse.
00:25:48.51\00:25:50.31
This one is
very familiar to you,
00:25:50.35\00:25:51.91
I'm sure it is.
00:25:51.95\00:25:53.38
It's found in the Book of John 3
00:25:53.42\00:25:57.19
and verse..
00:25:57.25\00:25:58.69
It is the most
precious verse of the Bible.
00:25:58.72\00:26:01.92
You don't even have to go there,
00:26:01.96\00:26:04.06
you know it by heart.
00:26:04.09\00:26:06.23
Let me read you
this version that I have.
00:26:06.26\00:26:08.93
I'll give you the reference
here to it in a second.
00:26:08.96\00:26:11.93
I'll just say for now
that it is the AV version.
00:26:11.97\00:26:17.64
You know what the AV version is?
00:26:17.67\00:26:19.94
Yeah, you think it is but
let me just read it to you
00:26:19.97\00:26:21.91
and then you tell me what it is.
00:26:21.94\00:26:23.45
For God so loved Adventists
00:26:23.48\00:26:25.81
that He gave His
only begotten Son.
00:26:25.85\00:26:28.85
Now you know
what version that is?
00:26:28.88\00:26:30.69
That's the Adventist's version.
00:26:30.72\00:26:34.16
Let me read you another version.
00:26:34.19\00:26:37.46
This is the BV.
00:26:37.53\00:26:40.10
For God so loved Baptists
00:26:40.13\00:26:42.76
that He gave His
only begotten Son.
00:26:42.80\00:26:45.63
Let me read you another version,
00:26:45.67\00:26:47.44
this is the GCV.
00:26:47.50\00:26:52.81
For God so loved Christians
00:26:52.84\00:26:54.91
that He gave His
only begotten Son,
00:26:54.94\00:26:56.28
that's the general
Christian version of the Bible.
00:26:56.31\00:26:58.81
And though these
versions do not exist in print,
00:26:58.85\00:27:03.35
they definitely
exist in the thinking,
00:27:03.42\00:27:05.45
in the minds and in the words
00:27:05.49\00:27:07.72
of many Christians
and many Adventists.
00:27:07.76\00:27:10.56
We think that God loves us
00:27:10.59\00:27:14.40
who have responded to Him.
00:27:14.46\00:27:16.77
But the rest of the world,
well, they're under His shadow.
00:27:16.80\00:27:20.74
They're under His frown.
00:27:20.77\00:27:24.01
But that's not what
then Bible actually says.
00:27:24.04\00:27:27.28
None of these are true versions
but you get the point, right?
00:27:27.31\00:27:31.11
You get the point.
00:27:31.15\00:27:32.88
While these paraphrased versions
00:27:32.91\00:27:35.72
will call them, speak
loads about how much God loves
00:27:35.75\00:27:39.39
those who profess to love Him.
00:27:39.42\00:27:43.63
They do not give
full credit to the text
00:27:43.66\00:27:47.10
as it is recorded in the Bible.
00:27:47.13\00:27:48.66
Now I want to read it,
00:27:48.70\00:27:50.03
King James,
beginning at verse 14.
00:27:50.07\00:27:54.74
"And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness,
00:27:54.77\00:27:57.97
even so must the
Son of man be lifted up,
00:27:58.01\00:28:00.81
that whosoever..."
00:28:00.84\00:28:02.64
Did you catch that word?
00:28:02.68\00:28:04.01
"That whosoever believes
in Him should not perish,
00:28:04.08\00:28:07.15
but have eternal life.
00:28:07.18\00:28:10.42
For God so loved the world
00:28:10.45\00:28:13.59
that He gave His
only begotten Son
00:28:13.62\00:28:14.96
that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish,
00:28:14.99\00:28:17.16
but have
everlasting life," sorry.
00:28:17.19\00:28:18.56
"Whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish,
00:28:18.59\00:28:19.93
but have eternal life."
00:28:19.96\00:28:21.26
Okay, John 3:14-16,
now isn't that better?
00:28:21.30\00:28:26.94
Doesn't that sound better?
00:28:26.97\00:28:28.30
For God so loved
the world, and you say,
00:28:28.34\00:28:29.77
"Well, wait a
minute, that sounds better."
00:28:29.80\00:28:32.84
See God's love is not
restricted to believers,
00:28:32.87\00:28:36.61
it can't be
00:28:36.64\00:28:37.98
because a love that's
restricted to believers
00:28:38.01\00:28:40.62
does not produce believers.
00:28:40.65\00:28:42.75
And see, His love
has to produce believers.
00:28:42.78\00:28:45.02
"God so loved the world
that whosoever believes..."
00:28:45.05\00:28:47.92
God's love has to
be of such a nature
00:28:47.96\00:28:50.66
that it produces believers
00:28:50.73\00:28:52.33
and a love that's
just for believers
00:28:52.36\00:28:53.70
doesn't produce believers
00:28:53.73\00:28:55.03
because they're
already believers.
00:28:55.06\00:28:57.60
So His love has to go out
beyond the borders of the 99
00:28:57.63\00:29:03.47
that are in the fold, right?
00:29:03.54\00:29:05.17
Yes.
00:29:05.21\00:29:06.54
It has to look
for the lost coin.
00:29:06.57\00:29:08.64
It has to yearn for the prodigal
00:29:08.68\00:29:12.65
and the stay at home son.
00:29:12.68\00:29:17.22
For whom that
parable was really spoken.
00:29:17.25\00:29:21.66
That's us. That's us.
00:29:21.69\00:29:25.46
God gave His Son
for sinners, not saints.
00:29:25.49\00:29:29.63
Yes, Christ blood is
only eternally advantageous.
00:29:29.66\00:29:35.84
For those who believe
but it's for whosoever,
00:29:35.87\00:29:38.37
that's what the text says
for whosoever who believe.
00:29:38.41\00:29:41.08
God does not buy into
the translations of John 3:16
00:29:41.11\00:29:44.58
that restrict or limit
00:29:44.61\00:29:46.31
His saving
grace to a chosen few.
00:29:46.35\00:29:49.25
The most precious
verse does not read,
00:29:49.28\00:29:53.36
"For God so loved Adventists,
or Baptists, or Christians."
00:29:53.39\00:29:57.36
It says, "God so
loved the world."
00:29:57.43\00:29:59.86
Now you may hear the argument.
00:29:59.89\00:30:01.90
Well, God in His foreknowledge,
00:30:01.93\00:30:04.57
God in His
foreknowledge, He knew.
00:30:04.60\00:30:07.14
He knew who would be saved
and He knew who would be lost,
00:30:07.20\00:30:10.17
and that's why His
blood only applies to those
00:30:10.21\00:30:12.81
He has decided to save.
00:30:12.84\00:30:15.08
Well, Christ knew
that Judas would betray Him
00:30:15.11\00:30:19.85
but He still washed his feet.
00:30:19.88\00:30:22.42
Christ knew that only
one leper would come back
00:30:22.45\00:30:27.46
and give Him glory
00:30:27.52\00:30:28.92
but He still cleansed ten.
00:30:28.96\00:30:32.86
Christ knew that most
of the Jews in the Romans
00:30:32.89\00:30:35.66
who were crucifying
Him would never accept Him
00:30:35.70\00:30:38.53
but He still said,
"Father, forgive them
00:30:38.57\00:30:42.10
for they know not what they do."
00:30:42.14\00:30:43.47
Amen.
00:30:43.54\00:30:44.87
And that revelation of
love is what wins us to Him.
00:30:44.91\00:30:50.68
If His love is
restricted to a select few,
00:30:50.71\00:30:55.02
the creme de la creme,
then who of us could be saved.
00:30:55.05\00:31:01.69
Only those who measure up.
00:31:01.72\00:31:04.69
But God's love beckons
us in the dark corners,
00:31:04.73\00:31:10.67
in the recesses
of our fallenness
00:31:10.73\00:31:12.67
and our brokenness to have hope,
00:31:12.70\00:31:16.24
to believe all
things and hope all things,
00:31:16.27\00:31:18.51
and endure all things.
00:31:18.54\00:31:19.87
He calls us.
00:31:19.91\00:31:21.24
Even now, He's calling us
00:31:21.28\00:31:23.61
out of our mindlessness,
00:31:23.65\00:31:27.65
out of our abandonment,
00:31:27.68\00:31:30.95
out of the
darkness and the gloom.
00:31:30.99\00:31:32.95
Even now, right
now, He's calling us,
00:31:32.99\00:31:35.49
calling us home to His heart,
00:31:35.52\00:31:38.43
His heart of unrelenting love.
00:31:38.46\00:31:42.13
The Bible says
that Jesus Christ died
00:31:42.16\00:31:43.73
for all mankind.
00:31:43.80\00:31:45.43
Hebrews 2:9
says, "But we see Jesus
00:31:45.47\00:31:49.14
who was made a
little lower than the angels
00:31:49.17\00:31:51.27
for the suffering of death,
00:31:51.31\00:31:52.64
crowned with glory and honor
that He by the grace of God,
00:31:52.67\00:31:55.84
might taste death
for everyone, for all."
00:31:55.88\00:32:01.88
So Jesus was
predestined to die for the sins
00:32:01.92\00:32:04.22
of every man,
every woman, every child
00:32:04.29\00:32:07.06
that has ever
lived or ever shall live.
00:32:07.09\00:32:10.43
The Bible says in Isaiah 53,
00:32:10.46\00:32:11.99
"The Lord laid on Him
the iniquity of us all."
00:32:12.03\00:32:17.57
God gave His son for us all,
00:32:17.60\00:32:19.67
for the world,
00:32:19.70\00:32:21.40
for whosoever would believe.
00:32:21.44\00:32:24.87
It's a powerful thought really.
00:32:24.91\00:32:27.54
And what an appropriate
place to put this thought,
00:32:27.58\00:32:30.95
right in the
middle of Revelation 13.
00:32:30.98\00:32:35.35
Come on, right in the middle
00:32:35.38\00:32:37.39
of the mark of
the beast chapter,
00:32:37.45\00:32:39.69
right in the middle
of the final showdown,
00:32:39.72\00:32:41.56
you know,
between the two powers.
00:32:41.59\00:32:44.19
And the reason why it's there
00:32:44.23\00:32:45.93
is because the principles
of righteousness by faith,
00:32:45.96\00:32:52.10
of grace,
00:32:52.13\00:32:53.47
of the everlasting
gospel are the only thing
00:32:53.50\00:32:56.20
that can bring down the
stronghold of this beast,
00:32:56.24\00:32:59.61
of this power,
00:32:59.64\00:33:01.04
of this end time power
that forces the world to worship
00:33:01.08\00:33:04.15
in a way that is out of harmony
00:33:04.18\00:33:05.55
with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:33:05.58\00:33:07.12
You're going to be
put on a guilt trip
00:33:10.49\00:33:11.82
in the end of time,
00:33:11.85\00:33:13.19
pressure is
going to come on you.
00:33:13.22\00:33:16.96
The world is going to
say, "You need to conform.
00:33:17.03\00:33:19.19
Look at what's happening.
00:33:19.23\00:33:20.60
Look at the
judgments that are coming.
00:33:20.63\00:33:21.93
You're
responsible, you're guilty,
00:33:21.96\00:33:23.30
you're out of
harmony, you're not complying."
00:33:23.33\00:33:26.03
And we're going to have
to say, "No, no, no, no."
00:33:26.07\00:33:28.67
It has nothing to do
with us or our works.
00:33:28.70\00:33:31.91
God does not
relate to the human race
00:33:31.94\00:33:34.38
according to works,
00:33:34.41\00:33:35.74
He relates to the human
race according to grace.
00:33:35.78\00:33:37.88
And His grace is
sufficient for us
00:33:37.91\00:33:40.22
and because of His grace,
00:33:40.28\00:33:41.72
I can follow the
Lamb wherever He goes
00:33:41.75\00:33:43.39
and He has led me
00:33:43.45\00:33:44.85
into the obedience
of commandment keeping.
00:33:44.89\00:33:48.39
My faith, the
faith of Jesus tells me
00:33:48.42\00:33:53.19
that I follow the
Lamb, not the beast.
00:33:53.23\00:33:57.87
All right, let's summarize this
biblical outline in Romans 8.
00:33:57.90\00:34:01.94
This is where we find a brief
00:34:01.97\00:34:07.28
but comprehensive
understanding of predestination
00:34:07.31\00:34:10.68
and I think these
verses are the most difficult.
00:34:10.75\00:34:14.02
Romans 8:29-32,
they're the most difficult.
00:34:14.05\00:34:17.09
And the reason why
they're so difficult
00:34:17.12\00:34:18.89
is because we do not read them
00:34:18.92\00:34:21.72
with gospel glasses.
00:34:21.76\00:34:27.73
We need to read them
with our gospel glasses,
00:34:27.76\00:34:29.36
we really do.
00:34:29.40\00:34:30.73
I have these with me
00:34:30.77\00:34:32.10
just in case my eyes
fail sooner than later.
00:34:32.13\00:34:35.80
What I mean by that is,
00:34:35.84\00:34:37.94
as the day wears
on, my eyes get weaker.
00:34:37.97\00:34:41.84
It must be my age.
00:34:41.88\00:34:44.21
I'm all of 54.11.
00:34:44.25\00:34:49.48
So, as the day wears
on, my eyes get weaker,
00:34:53.32\00:34:57.23
it's harder for me to read,
they start getting more tired,
00:34:57.29\00:34:59.83
and so I have to have my
glasses with me just in case.
00:34:59.86\00:35:02.33
So far so good, I
could read without them.
00:35:02.36\00:35:05.00
But we need to put
on the gospel glasses
00:35:05.03\00:35:07.07
when we read these verses,
00:35:07.14\00:35:08.94
lest we misunderstand
what they're actually teaching.
00:35:08.97\00:35:11.64
Let's look at them together
00:35:11.67\00:35:13.01
and then let's
just do a quick overview
00:35:13.04\00:35:15.31
of what they're
teaching for whom, Romans 8:29,
00:35:15.34\00:35:21.38
"For whom he did foreknow,
00:35:21.42\00:35:23.25
he also did predestinate
00:35:23.28\00:35:24.92
to be conformed to
the image of His son,
00:35:24.95\00:35:26.62
that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren.
00:35:26.65\00:35:28.66
Moreover, whom
He did predestinate,
00:35:28.69\00:35:30.83
them, He also called.
00:35:30.86\00:35:32.56
And whom He called,
them, He also justified.
00:35:32.59\00:35:35.80
And whom He justified,
them, He also glorified."
00:35:35.83\00:35:40.50
What shall we
say to these things?
00:35:40.54\00:35:42.77
If God be for us,
who can be against us?
00:35:42.80\00:35:46.84
Amen.
00:35:46.88\00:35:48.68
"He that spared not His own son,
00:35:48.71\00:35:50.11
but delivered
Him up for us all..."
00:35:50.15\00:35:52.71
Key point there.
00:35:52.75\00:35:54.52
"How shall He not with Him
00:35:54.55\00:35:56.38
also freely give us all things?"
00:35:56.42\00:35:58.12
These verses should be preached
00:35:58.15\00:36:00.39
to every human
being on planet earth,
00:36:00.42\00:36:03.29
every human
being on planet earth
00:36:03.32\00:36:04.66
needs to hear this.
00:36:04.69\00:36:06.03
"He spared not His own Son,
00:36:08.36\00:36:09.70
but delivered
Him up for us all."
00:36:09.73\00:36:11.13
Who is God talking to here?
00:36:11.17\00:36:13.03
Just a certain select people?
00:36:13.07\00:36:15.84
Who did He give His son for?
00:36:15.87\00:36:17.21
Everyone.
00:36:17.24\00:36:18.57
Everyone needs
to hear this, why?
00:36:18.61\00:36:19.94
Because everyone
has been predestined,
00:36:19.97\00:36:21.31
everyone has been called,
everyone has been justified,
00:36:21.34\00:36:23.45
everyone has been
glorified in Christ, in Christ.
00:36:23.48\00:36:27.62
Christ has
accomplished for every single...
00:36:27.65\00:36:29.38
Let's look at
it. Let's look at it.
00:36:29.42\00:36:31.52
'Cause these got to be some
of the most beautiful verses
00:36:31.55\00:36:33.36
in the Bible.
00:36:33.39\00:36:36.19
And we can see in these verses,
00:36:36.22\00:36:37.76
the progression of
the plan of redemption,
00:36:37.79\00:36:40.80
so let's start first of
all with whom He did foreknow.
00:36:40.83\00:36:44.83
Who has God foreknown?
00:36:44.87\00:36:46.90
Everyone.
00:36:46.94\00:36:48.27
There's nobody
that's ever been born,
00:36:48.30\00:36:50.01
ever could have been born
that God hasn't foreknown.
00:36:50.07\00:36:53.38
And so the people He
foreknew, He predestined.
00:36:53.44\00:36:55.94
Well, if God has
foreknown everyone,
00:36:55.98\00:36:57.78
then He's predestined everyone.
00:36:57.81\00:36:59.15
That's the logical
conclusion of the sequence here.
00:36:59.18\00:37:03.15
Whom he did foreknow,
them, He also predestined.
00:37:03.18\00:37:06.15
Now some would say,
"Well, it's talking about
00:37:06.19\00:37:07.92
whom He
foreknew would be saved."
00:37:07.96\00:37:09.49
It doesn't say that.
00:37:09.52\00:37:11.03
Doesn't say that in the verse,
00:37:11.06\00:37:12.69
that's Isa Jesus, not Exa Jesus.
00:37:12.73\00:37:17.07
Exa Jesus, whom He foreknown,
then He predestinated.
00:37:17.10\00:37:20.34
God had foreknowledge of all
00:37:20.37\00:37:24.37
and likewise, He
predestined to all
00:37:24.41\00:37:31.28
the fantastic
wonderful privilege
00:37:31.31\00:37:33.18
to be returned to His image,
00:37:33.21\00:37:35.15
to the image of God,
the image of the Father.
00:37:35.18\00:37:37.19
So God and Christ had
made a commitment to us
00:37:37.22\00:37:40.09
before the foundation the world
00:37:40.16\00:37:42.49
that if mankind
sinned, Christ would die,
00:37:42.52\00:37:45.43
not just for a few, but for all.
00:37:45.46\00:37:48.46
All right, second,
them, those He foreknew
00:37:48.50\00:37:52.27
and predestined
them, He also called.
00:37:52.30\00:37:55.04
Called, all right.
00:37:55.07\00:37:56.77
Now due to the fact
00:37:56.81\00:37:58.14
that Christ is
the savior of all men,
00:37:58.17\00:37:59.77
we read that
verse in 1 Timothy 4:10.
00:37:59.81\00:38:02.74
God calls all men
everywhere to repent.
00:38:02.78\00:38:06.01
Now that's another
verse, write it down.
00:38:06.05\00:38:07.98
That one is Acts 17:30.
00:38:08.02\00:38:09.68
God calls all men
everywhere to repent.
00:38:09.72\00:38:12.19
That's what Paul is saying.
00:38:12.22\00:38:13.59
And when he says
that, he's preaching
00:38:13.62\00:38:14.96
not to Christians, not to Jews,
00:38:14.99\00:38:17.06
he's preaching to the Greeks,
00:38:17.09\00:38:20.13
to the philosophers,
00:38:20.16\00:38:21.73
to the wise men,
to the epicureans.
00:38:21.76\00:38:23.80
He's preaching to the world.
00:38:23.87\00:38:26.57
He says, "God calls all
men everywhere to repent."
00:38:26.60\00:38:29.40
Now God simply could not call
all men everywhere to repent
00:38:29.44\00:38:34.84
if all men
everywhere were not predestined
00:38:34.88\00:38:38.11
to be saved through Christ.
00:38:38.15\00:38:41.22
He would simply call some
men somewhere to repent, right.
00:38:41.25\00:38:45.72
Make sense, I
hope it makes sense.
00:38:45.75\00:38:49.69
You know, the Bible we're told
00:38:49.72\00:38:51.06
was not written
for the scholar alone,
00:38:51.09\00:38:52.93
you're not to be a
scholar to figure this out.
00:38:52.96\00:38:54.96
In fact,
contrariwise it was written
00:38:55.00\00:38:57.67
for the common person.
00:38:57.70\00:39:00.07
And the
interpretation of the scriptures
00:39:00.10\00:39:02.50
when aided by the Holy Spirit,
00:39:02.54\00:39:04.34
the
interpretation of the scripture
00:39:04.37\00:39:05.71
by the common person
00:39:05.74\00:39:07.11
accords best with the
truth as it is in Jesus.
00:39:07.14\00:39:09.31
We're told that, look it up.
00:39:09.34\00:39:11.01
Because that statement
has really encouraged me
00:39:14.48\00:39:18.32
to be a student of the
Bible, first and foremost.
00:39:18.35\00:39:22.52
Not a student of a person,
not following an opinion,
00:39:22.56\00:39:25.39
not following a book,
00:39:25.43\00:39:27.03
or learning, or
teaching a doctrine,
00:39:27.03\00:39:28.36
but following what the
Word of God actually teaches.
00:39:28.40\00:39:31.67
And the Word of God teaches
00:39:31.70\00:39:33.03
that God has called all
men everywhere to repent.
00:39:33.07\00:39:34.77
That is why Christ could say,
00:39:34.80\00:39:36.47
"If I be lifted
up, will draw all."
00:39:36.50\00:39:40.68
I mean just think about that.
00:39:40.71\00:39:43.28
John 12:32, doesn't
that bring hope and joy,
00:39:43.35\00:39:48.22
and does not soothe your heart?
00:39:48.25\00:39:50.09
Just the Word of God
is so powerful, isn't it?
00:39:50.12\00:39:53.36
Doesn't it just bring power?
00:39:53.39\00:39:55.09
I, if I be lifted
up, will draw all.
00:39:55.12\00:39:57.46
Nobody's left out.
00:39:57.53\00:40:00.30
And therefore, you don't
have to leave anyone out.
00:40:00.33\00:40:02.26
Amen.
00:40:02.30\00:40:03.63
And you're not left out.
00:40:03.67\00:40:06.23
And see, the problem is
00:40:06.27\00:40:07.60
when we start leaving
other people out, guess what?
00:40:07.64\00:40:09.57
We're subconsciously
leaving ourself out
00:40:09.60\00:40:11.11
because we're going to do,
00:40:11.14\00:40:12.91
we're going to be just
as bad, just as fallen,
00:40:12.94\00:40:14.54
just as sinful as those
people that we're judging.
00:40:14.58\00:40:17.01
We're going to end up there.
00:40:17.05\00:40:18.91
When we judge others,
00:40:18.95\00:40:20.28
we're going to end
up doing the same thing.
00:40:20.32\00:40:21.65
That's what
Romans 2 tells us, right?
00:40:21.68\00:40:23.02
Who are you are to judge another
00:40:23.05\00:40:24.39
and does the same thing.
00:40:24.42\00:40:26.32
So the drawing
spoken off in John 12:32
00:40:26.35\00:40:30.89
and the call in
spoken of here in Romans 8:30
00:40:30.93\00:40:34.50
are the same thing.
00:40:34.56\00:40:35.90
They're the same thing.
00:40:35.93\00:40:37.30
Okay, you with me so far?
00:40:37.33\00:40:38.67
Whom He
foreknew, He predestined.
00:40:38.70\00:40:40.67
Whom He predestined, He called,
applies to everyone, right?
00:40:40.70\00:40:43.97
You with me?
00:40:44.04\00:40:45.37
All right, let's
go to the third point,
00:40:45.41\00:40:47.51
then he also justified.
00:40:47.54\00:40:50.48
Okay, while we're all
predestined to be saved
00:40:50.51\00:40:54.38
and we're all
called to be saved,
00:40:54.42\00:40:56.28
not everyone will
actually be saved.
00:40:56.32\00:40:58.42
I have to say
that first before I...
00:40:58.45\00:41:00.16
Unpack. Thank you.
00:41:05.69\00:41:07.76
Should know that word,
00:41:07.76\00:41:09.10
I'm always packing
and unpacking, right.
00:41:09.13\00:41:11.33
Before we unpack this,
00:41:11.37\00:41:13.10
I had to say not
everyone will be saved.
00:41:13.13\00:41:16.20
It is true though
00:41:16.24\00:41:17.57
that Christ has paid
the penalty for our sins,
00:41:17.61\00:41:22.08
the sins of the entire world.
00:41:22.11\00:41:23.61
He has
purchased our forgiveness.
00:41:23.65\00:41:25.78
He has signed the
emancipation proclamation,
00:41:25.81\00:41:29.42
the emancipation
papers of the entire race.
00:41:29.45\00:41:33.32
The fact that
we're alive today, right,
00:41:33.36\00:41:36.49
shows how we have
already been impacted
00:41:36.52\00:41:43.10
by Christ's forgiveness.
00:41:43.13\00:41:45.87
Take a breath.
00:41:45.90\00:41:47.27
Where did that breath come from?
00:41:51.64\00:41:54.98
From God and it comes
to every single human being
00:41:55.01\00:41:57.81
and it is stamped
with the cross of Calvary.
00:41:57.85\00:42:00.85
Not one human being
takes a breath of air
00:42:00.92\00:42:03.39
but that that comes through
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
00:42:03.42\00:42:05.95
Jesus Christ has already done
something for the entire race.
00:42:05.99\00:42:10.33
He's already saved them
00:42:10.36\00:42:11.69
from the immediate
consequence of sin.
00:42:11.73\00:42:13.83
In that sense, people have
already been justified to life.
00:42:13.90\00:42:17.57
Not eternal life, temporal life.
00:42:17.60\00:42:21.17
If everyone on this
planet who has temporal life
00:42:21.20\00:42:24.77
could understand this truth
00:42:24.81\00:42:26.31
that it was Calvary
that gave you this life,
00:42:26.34\00:42:28.71
you didn't just get it.
00:42:28.74\00:42:30.55
God didn't just say,
"Oh, you can have it."
00:42:30.61\00:42:32.21
No, a price was paid
for you to have this life.
00:42:32.25\00:42:35.02
And guess what?
00:42:35.05\00:42:36.38
And here's our message,
here's the gospel, guess what?
00:42:36.42\00:42:39.09
God purposes that this life
00:42:39.12\00:42:42.39
that you now
have would never end.
00:42:42.42\00:42:46.53
It would just get
better, and better, and better.
00:42:46.56\00:42:50.90
That's what He purposes.
00:42:50.93\00:42:52.27
That's why Jesus said to Martha,
00:42:52.30\00:42:54.10
"Whoever believes
on Me will never die."
00:42:54.17\00:42:58.51
And they asked her the question,
00:42:58.54\00:43:00.58
"Do you believe that?"
00:43:00.61\00:43:03.48
And that's the
question I would ask you today,
00:43:03.55\00:43:05.08
do you believe that?
00:43:05.11\00:43:07.65
Whoever believes on
Jesus will never die.
00:43:07.68\00:43:10.19
They may sleep for a
season but they will never die.
00:43:10.22\00:43:15.32
They will never die.
00:43:15.36\00:43:16.73
This temporal life
purchased by Calvary
00:43:16.76\00:43:19.29
is a gift to every
human being on planet earth.
00:43:19.33\00:43:21.73
And God purposes
that this temporal life
00:43:21.76\00:43:24.27
that has been gifted
through Calvary would never end.
00:43:24.30\00:43:27.00
Unfortunately, some
people are not going to choose
00:43:27.04\00:43:31.81
to allow God to
extend this temporal life
00:43:31.84\00:43:34.91
throughout all eternity,
00:43:34.94\00:43:36.71
and that's the problem.
00:43:36.75\00:43:39.98
If God had extended
to us no forgiveness,
00:43:40.02\00:43:45.25
we would not
even exist right now.
00:43:45.29\00:43:49.06
However, not all choose to keep
that which God has given to us.
00:43:49.09\00:43:55.63
He has, in fact, given us
00:43:55.66\00:43:57.70
the gift of
salvation in Jesus Christ.
00:43:57.73\00:44:02.94
The amazing problem that
all heaven weeps to behold
00:44:02.97\00:44:05.41
is the fact that
many people don't want it,
00:44:05.44\00:44:07.64
they turn away from Him.
00:44:07.68\00:44:10.45
Fourth, so in that
sense, God has justified all.
00:44:10.48\00:44:14.38
Fourth, then He also glorified.
00:44:14.42\00:44:20.09
Now let's follow this carefully.
00:44:20.16\00:44:22.26
Even those who are lost
00:44:22.29\00:44:25.06
will finally see
that Christ purchased
00:44:25.09\00:44:29.33
not only forgiveness
but also glorification,
00:44:29.36\00:44:32.87
that is the
redemption of their bodies,
00:44:32.90\00:44:37.84
and even the
works of sanctification.
00:44:37.87\00:44:42.08
Do you know bad
people do good things?
00:44:42.11\00:44:43.81
Amen.
00:44:43.85\00:44:45.68
It happens all the time.
00:44:45.71\00:44:49.48
A guy riding a Harley
00:44:49.52\00:44:51.95
with Hell's
Angels jacket on his back
00:44:51.99\00:44:55.36
and mother tattooed on his arm
00:44:55.39\00:44:58.03
will stop at a cross walk
00:44:58.06\00:45:00.13
because a little
girl and her grandma
00:45:00.16\00:45:02.90
is waiting to cross.
00:45:02.93\00:45:06.30
People we consider
bad do good things.
00:45:06.33\00:45:08.97
But let me just clarify.
00:45:09.00\00:45:12.14
Nothing good
that anyone ever does
00:45:12.17\00:45:16.28
comes from themselves,
00:45:16.31\00:45:18.28
all of it finds its
source in God, all of it does.
00:45:18.31\00:45:22.28
So these good things that
you see every single person do
00:45:22.32\00:45:25.02
every once in a
while, even if they only do
00:45:25.05\00:45:26.39
one thing good in
their entire life,
00:45:26.42\00:45:28.62
is an evidence
that God has glorified,
00:45:28.66\00:45:30.76
that God has sanctified,
00:45:30.83\00:45:32.46
that God has
worked through that person
00:45:32.49\00:45:35.66
and gifted them
with an opportunity
00:45:35.70\00:45:39.33
to see how good it is
to be like God once again.
00:45:39.37\00:45:44.94
It's so good to be
like God, isn't it,
00:45:44.97\00:45:46.74
to be kind, to be honest,
00:45:46.78\00:45:50.71
to love unconditionally.
00:45:50.75\00:45:53.08
Not only has God given
us forgiveness in Christ
00:45:56.38\00:45:58.32
but glorification.
00:45:58.35\00:45:59.69
That is the
redemption of our bodies
00:45:59.72\00:46:01.16
from the curse of sin.
00:46:01.19\00:46:04.06
Romans 5:8-10 and
Romans 8:23 tell us this,
00:46:04.09\00:46:08.56
Paul actually
addresses this in his epistle
00:46:08.60\00:46:11.93
specifically to the
Corinthians when he states.
00:46:11.97\00:46:13.77
Now notice this, 1
Corinthians 15:20-22,
00:46:13.84\00:46:17.31
1 Corinthians 15:20-22,
00:46:17.34\00:46:19.97
"But now is Christ
risen from the dead,
00:46:20.01\00:46:22.71
and become the first
fruits of them that slept.
00:46:22.74\00:46:24.68
For since by man came death,
00:46:24.71\00:46:28.28
by man also came the
resurrection of the dead.
00:46:28.32\00:46:31.75
For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall..."
00:46:31.79\00:46:36.52
What's the next word?
00:46:36.56\00:46:37.93
"All be made alive."
00:46:37.96\00:46:41.10
Now you know that's true, right?
00:46:41.13\00:46:43.47
We know that the righteous,
00:46:43.53\00:46:47.00
the saved will be
made alive in Christ,
00:46:47.04\00:46:49.24
and will be resurrected
00:46:49.27\00:46:50.61
but there's also a
second resurrection, right?
00:46:50.67\00:46:53.54
There's a second resurrection.
00:46:53.58\00:46:55.28
And in that second resurrection,
00:46:55.31\00:46:57.45
we're going to see
the lost raised to life.
00:46:57.51\00:47:02.95
By the way,
Satan is going to tell
00:47:02.98\00:47:04.32
the lost to raise to life
00:47:04.35\00:47:05.69
that he resurrected
them, did you know that?
00:47:05.72\00:47:07.49
That's what it
says in Revelation 20.
00:47:07.52\00:47:09.16
He's going to go out
to deceive the world,
00:47:09.19\00:47:10.56
and that's what he
is going to tell them,
00:47:10.59\00:47:11.93
"I resurrected you."
00:47:11.96\00:47:13.29
But the only way that
the bodies of the lost
00:47:13.33\00:47:15.33
can be raised to life,
according to 1 Corinthians 15,
00:47:15.36\00:47:18.50
the only way they
can be raised to life
00:47:18.53\00:47:20.54
from sin sting of death
00:47:20.57\00:47:22.27
is through the
redemption of Jesus Christ,
00:47:22.30\00:47:25.57
that's the only way.
00:47:25.61\00:47:27.74
They're raised
because of plan of redemption.
00:47:27.78\00:47:29.21
Yep, because the
lost have fully rejected
00:47:29.24\00:47:32.71
the gift of salvation,
00:47:32.75\00:47:34.12
both their justification of life
00:47:34.15\00:47:37.59
and the redemption of
their bodies are cut short.
00:47:37.62\00:47:42.56
Cut short, it's not
eternal, it doesn't continue on.
00:47:42.59\00:47:45.96
They're
resurrected and you think,
00:47:45.99\00:47:47.30
"Oh, we're going
to be resurrected
00:47:47.40\00:47:48.70
to eternal glory, immortality.
00:47:48.73\00:47:50.43
They're going
to be resurrected,"
00:47:50.47\00:47:51.80
and what's going to happen?
00:47:51.83\00:47:53.17
They're going to
face the second death.
00:47:53.20\00:47:55.60
They're going to die.
00:47:55.64\00:47:59.07
They're going to taste the death
00:47:59.11\00:48:00.54
that Christ tasted for them
00:48:00.61\00:48:02.18
because they refused to accept
00:48:02.21\00:48:04.11
His
substitution in their behalf,
00:48:04.18\00:48:06.38
His gift of salvation.
00:48:06.41\00:48:08.48
So the
justifying power of Christ
00:48:08.52\00:48:12.69
only allow them a short
time, a probationary life.
00:48:12.72\00:48:15.62
The benefits of the
plan of salvation put them,
00:48:15.66\00:48:19.23
here it is, in Him.
00:48:19.26\00:48:22.33
That's Act 17, in Him,
00:48:22.36\00:48:24.47
in Him, you live and move
and have your being, in Him.
00:48:24.50\00:48:27.57
A lot of us think that 'in
Him' only applies to believers,
00:48:27.64\00:48:30.84
it does in an eternal sense
00:48:30.91\00:48:32.61
but it also
applies to unbelievers.
00:48:32.64\00:48:34.41
Otherwise, we'd be dead.
00:48:34.44\00:48:36.48
So God put us in Him
00:48:36.51\00:48:38.48
so that we can
have life, and breath,
00:48:38.51\00:48:39.88
and all things, Act 17.
00:48:39.91\00:48:41.32
So that we can
have probationary life.
00:48:41.35\00:48:43.02
And that 'in
him', that temporal life
00:48:43.05\00:48:46.12
is what gives us an opportunity
to respond to the gift
00:48:46.15\00:48:49.29
and say yes.
00:48:49.32\00:48:52.69
But it only put them in him
for that short temporal time.
00:48:52.73\00:48:58.93
Likewise...
00:48:58.97\00:49:00.77
And by the way, the reference
for that is Act 17:24-28.
00:49:00.80\00:49:04.47
Likewise, glorification
which brings immortality,
00:49:04.51\00:49:08.01
redemption of the
body to the righteous
00:49:08.04\00:49:10.71
brings the lost a resurrection
from the first death
00:49:10.78\00:49:14.45
only to meet the second death.
00:49:14.48\00:49:17.79
According to
Revelation 20:5, 6, and 14
00:49:17.82\00:49:21.59
and I think that
is utterly tragic.
00:49:21.62\00:49:25.19
All the gifts of salvation,
00:49:25.23\00:49:26.73
all the gifts of redemption
00:49:26.76\00:49:28.06
have been
freely extended to them
00:49:28.10\00:49:29.66
and they're lost.
00:49:29.70\00:49:33.44
We need to do
something about that.
00:49:33.47\00:49:35.64
We need to do
something about that.
00:49:35.67\00:49:38.11
We need to stop sitting around.
00:49:38.14\00:49:40.18
We need to do something
because when that time comes,
00:49:40.21\00:49:44.88
we're going to
wish we had done more.
00:49:44.91\00:49:47.12
"Oh, I can't go out and
talk to people about Jesus,
00:49:47.15\00:49:51.19
I can't knock on
doors, I can't..."
00:49:51.22\00:49:53.76
"Yes, you can."
00:49:53.79\00:49:55.46
All of our
students that come to Arise,
00:49:55.49\00:49:57.23
they all say that.
00:49:57.26\00:49:58.59
The toughest thing
when they fill out the form,
00:49:58.63\00:50:00.00
the toughest thing they say is,
00:50:00.03\00:50:01.50
because it's a
door-to-door program,
00:50:01.53\00:50:02.86
our school is a training
and a door-to-door program.
00:50:02.90\00:50:04.97
They say, "I'm not sure
I can do the door-to-door."
00:50:05.00\00:50:06.80
"You're going to
do the door-to-door."
00:50:06.84\00:50:08.34
And when they do
the door-to-door,
00:50:08.37\00:50:09.74
oh, let me tell you.
00:50:09.77\00:50:11.31
They outshine
those Jehovah Witnesses.
00:50:11.34\00:50:14.14
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:50:14.18\00:50:15.81
And you know why?
00:50:15.84\00:50:17.21
You know why?
00:50:17.25\00:50:18.58
Because they have
something to witness about.
00:50:18.61\00:50:21.02
They're not going door-to-door
00:50:21.05\00:50:22.68
to put people in
some kind of trap
00:50:22.72\00:50:24.49
to tell people about God
00:50:24.52\00:50:26.15
that's mean and
honoree and mess.
00:50:26.19\00:50:28.82
They're going to share with
people the gospel, good news.
00:50:28.86\00:50:32.33
"I've got some good news
for you, folks, open the door."
00:50:32.36\00:50:35.33
I told you about that
atheist ethics speaker.
00:50:35.36\00:50:42.20
He was from the Netherlands.
00:50:42.24\00:50:44.31
He came to Australia
00:50:44.34\00:50:46.04
to get away from a
broken relationship.
00:50:46.07\00:50:49.18
He was going to tour
Australia for a year.
00:50:49.21\00:50:51.91
So there he is in Australia,
just going from place to place.
00:50:51.95\00:50:54.32
Wherever the door
opens, that's where he goes.
00:50:54.35\00:50:56.28
So the Arise
students, for the first year,
00:50:56.32\00:50:58.22
we've had five years of
Arise school in Australia.
00:50:58.25\00:51:01.16
This year, we have 46 students,
that's a huge class for us.
00:51:01.19\00:51:05.83
So the Arise
students, they go to Big Camp,
00:51:05.86\00:51:07.73
that's the camp
meeting in Australia.
00:51:07.76\00:51:09.06
For the first year,
00:51:09.10\00:51:10.43
this is the first time
we're going to Big Camp.
00:51:10.47\00:51:11.80
So we go to Big Camp.
00:51:11.83\00:51:13.17
And at Big Camp, they're just,
00:51:13.20\00:51:15.30
you know, out there
just talking and sharing.
00:51:15.34\00:51:17.17
And they're doing
their classes too.
00:51:17.21\00:51:18.71
Well, there's an Adventist guy
00:51:18.74\00:51:21.28
that's hanging out and
doing stuff in Australia
00:51:21.31\00:51:23.95
and this atheist
physics lecturer, okay.
00:51:24.01\00:51:30.85
He somehow comes in
contact with this ex-Adventist.
00:51:30.89\00:51:34.89
And the
ex-Adventist guy invites him,
00:51:34.92\00:51:36.99
"Hey, yeah, I'm
going over, come...
00:51:37.03\00:51:38.39
I'm going over to
propose to my girlfriend.
00:51:38.43\00:51:40.56
You can come
with me if you want."
00:51:40.60\00:51:41.90
"Yeah, okay, you know,
I'm just doing whatever,
00:51:41.93\00:51:43.63
however the Lord,
that's what I'm doing."
00:51:43.70\00:51:45.03
So he goes with him.
00:51:45.07\00:51:46.40
And as they're
driving, the ex-Adventist says,
00:51:46.43\00:51:48.40
"Oh, there's the Big
Camp, they're in Big Camp.
00:51:48.44\00:51:50.67
I got some friends in there.
00:51:50.74\00:51:52.07
Let's pop in and say, "Hi."
He says, "What's a Big camp?"
00:51:52.11\00:51:53.61
"Oh, I'll tell
you all about it."
00:51:53.64\00:51:54.98
So they go in to Big Camp.
00:51:55.01\00:51:57.65
So while the atheist
is there at Big Camp,
00:51:57.68\00:52:03.62
some Arise students
start talking to him.
00:52:03.69\00:52:06.52
What do you know?
00:52:06.55\00:52:08.86
They start talking.
00:52:08.89\00:52:10.23
They're not too
embarrassed or too shy.
00:52:10.26\00:52:12.29
They start talking to this guy.
00:52:12.33\00:52:14.10
And before you know it,
00:52:14.10\00:52:15.80
this guy accepts
Christ as his Savior.
00:52:15.83\00:52:19.73
And then, they invite him
00:52:19.77\00:52:22.07
without the
permission of the administrator
00:52:22.10\00:52:24.27
to attend the last two
weeks of the Arise school
00:52:24.31\00:52:27.58
which I'm going
to be preaching at.
00:52:27.61\00:52:29.08
The first week of which
00:52:29.11\00:52:30.45
we're going to be
doing the Book of Revelation.
00:52:30.51\00:52:32.18
I get there and I
find out the whole story.
00:52:32.21\00:52:34.75
The Arise ministry
said it was okay after all.
00:52:34.78\00:52:37.15
Here is this
atheist sitting in my class
00:52:37.19\00:52:39.39
who just accepted
Christ the week before.
00:52:39.42\00:52:41.82
He's sitting in my class.
00:52:41.86\00:52:43.29
He's come to Australia
00:52:43.32\00:52:44.66
to get away from a
broken relationship.
00:52:44.69\00:52:46.16
He doesn't believe in God.
00:52:46.19\00:52:47.66
He's still struggling
with creation, evolution,
00:52:47.66\00:52:49.83
he tells me that along
with a lot of other things.
00:52:49.86\00:52:53.13
He's sitting in
my Revelation class
00:52:53.17\00:52:55.30
and he's just...
00:52:55.34\00:52:57.54
So he's going out door-to-door
with these students.
00:52:57.57\00:53:00.08
This is my point, this is
why I'm telling you the story.
00:53:00.11\00:53:01.91
He's going out
door-to-door with the students.
00:53:01.94\00:53:03.45
He's doing the
preaching practice.
00:53:03.48\00:53:04.81
He preached one of the
best sermons I've ever heard.
00:53:04.85\00:53:07.22
It was powerful.
00:53:07.25\00:53:08.58
I wish I give you
the sermon right now
00:53:08.62\00:53:09.95
but it is 10 minutes
00:53:09.98\00:53:11.32
and I've only got
4:19 seconds left.
00:53:11.35\00:53:13.39
But here's the deal,
00:53:13.46\00:53:15.56
maybe I will
give you that sermon,
00:53:15.59\00:53:16.93
I'm going to give you a
synopsis of that sermon.
00:53:16.96\00:53:20.93
He goes out door-to-door
00:53:20.96\00:53:22.26
and one of the students
that goes out with him tells me.
00:53:22.30\00:53:23.87
He said, "I was embarrassed
00:53:23.93\00:53:27.10
about my own Christian witness."
00:53:27.14\00:53:30.17
We went to a door,
the guy was in the house.
00:53:30.21\00:53:32.84
We knocked on the door,
00:53:32.87\00:53:34.24
the guy
wouldn't answer the door.
00:53:34.28\00:53:36.91
We saw the guy in there,
but he wouldn't answer door.
00:53:36.95\00:53:38.58
So we left and then this atheist
00:53:38.61\00:53:42.02
who just
accepted Christ went back
00:53:42.05\00:53:43.89
and he said, "I can't
leave without trying again."
00:53:43.95\00:53:49.16
He needs to know.
00:53:49.19\00:53:51.03
He knocks on that door
00:53:51.06\00:53:53.13
as if he's going to
break it down, you know.
00:53:53.16\00:53:56.30
And the guy still didn't answer.
00:53:56.33\00:53:59.30
He still didn't answer
00:53:59.33\00:54:01.30
but you get the
point, don't you?
00:54:01.34\00:54:03.51
He wasn't going to give up.
00:54:03.54\00:54:05.81
He was going to
let that guy know
00:54:05.84\00:54:07.38
that we came for you
and we knocked on this door,
00:54:07.41\00:54:10.55
that was the atheist
who just accepted Christ.
00:54:10.58\00:54:14.05
And the sermon
that he gave was this.
00:54:14.12\00:54:16.05
And it's my appeal in a sense.
00:54:16.08\00:54:19.42
He said...
00:54:19.45\00:54:20.86
He was talking about the
story of Abraham and Isaac,
00:54:20.89\00:54:24.06
the story of Abraham and Isaac.
00:54:24.13\00:54:26.56
And he went through the
story where God came to Abraham
00:54:26.59\00:54:30.53
and God said,
"Abraham, Abraham."
00:54:30.57\00:54:32.77
And Abraham said, "Here I am."
00:54:32.80\00:54:36.81
And he said, "Isn't that a
strange response, here I am?"
00:54:36.87\00:54:41.28
When someone says,
"Hey, How you doing?"
00:54:41.31\00:54:42.91
You say, "Here I am."
00:54:42.94\00:54:44.75
Some one say,
"Hey, Joe." "Here I am."
00:54:44.78\00:54:46.68
Well, yeah, of
course, you're there.
00:54:46.72\00:54:48.05
I know you're there."
00:54:48.08\00:54:49.42
"Here I am."
00:54:49.45\00:54:50.95
And then he goes on
through the story and he says,
00:54:50.99\00:54:52.99
"Now Abraham is
traveling with his son, Isaac.
00:54:53.02\00:54:55.59
And Isaac starts
to ask some questions.
00:54:55.62\00:54:58.43
So Isaac says, "Father."
00:54:58.46\00:55:00.33
And Abraham says to
his son, "Here I am."
00:55:00.36\00:55:04.80
What do you mean here I am?
00:55:04.83\00:55:06.17
Of course, you're
there. I know you're there.
00:55:06.20\00:55:07.54
That's why I said father.
00:55:07.57\00:55:09.20
And then he gets to
the end of the story
00:55:09.24\00:55:11.14
when Abraham has the
knife raised in the air
00:55:11.17\00:55:13.48
and he's about to follow
through with God's command
00:55:13.51\00:55:17.05
to sacrifice his son,
00:55:17.08\00:55:18.41
one of the most
beautiful pictures
00:55:18.45\00:55:20.32
and probably the only
picture of the father's heart
00:55:20.35\00:55:22.55
in all of scripture
00:55:22.58\00:55:23.92
and the sacrifice that He
made to give His son for us.
00:55:23.99\00:55:28.52
And the voice arrests him.
00:55:28.56\00:55:29.89
You know what, the voice
says, "Abraham, Abraham."
00:55:29.92\00:55:31.99
And Abraham says "What?"
00:55:32.03\00:55:34.00
"Here I am."
00:55:34.10\00:55:35.40
And he ties it back to Genesis.
00:55:35.43\00:55:38.53
He says, in Genesis
after Adam and Eve fell
00:55:38.57\00:55:42.50
and God came looking for
them, they were hiding from God.
00:55:42.54\00:55:47.14
They were afraid of God.
00:55:47.18\00:55:48.78
And when God said, "Adam, Adam."
00:55:48.81\00:55:50.21
Adam didn't say, "Here I am."
00:55:50.25\00:55:53.25
Because he was afraid.
00:55:53.28\00:55:55.08
And he said, "So God started
something new with Abraham.
00:55:55.12\00:55:57.79
It was a new covenant,
it was a new experience,
00:55:57.82\00:55:59.59
it was a new people.
00:55:59.62\00:56:01.69
It was a people
that when God would call
00:56:01.72\00:56:03.99
he would say, "Here I am."
00:56:04.06\00:56:07.76
When people would call,
he would say, "Here I am."
00:56:07.83\00:56:13.64
No matter what
duty we're called to,
00:56:13.67\00:56:16.91
we would respond, "Here I am."
00:56:16.94\00:56:20.48
And then he
closed with this appeal.
00:56:20.51\00:56:22.14
He said, "I don't want to
ask you to stand up right now,"
00:56:22.18\00:56:23.78
because all the students
when they do preaching practice
00:56:23.85\00:56:25.78
have to close with an appeal."
00:56:25.81\00:56:27.15
He said, "I don't want to
have you stand up right now.
00:56:27.22\00:56:29.02
I'm not going to give
you an appeal right now.
00:56:29.05\00:56:30.39
Here is my appeal."
00:56:30.42\00:56:32.29
And here's my
appeal to you this morning.
00:56:32.32\00:56:37.53
The next time
that God calls you,
00:56:37.56\00:56:43.10
the next time that
you hear His voice,
00:56:43.13\00:56:46.33
the next time the
Holy Spirit speaks to you,
00:56:46.37\00:56:51.94
say, "Lord, here I am."
00:56:51.97\00:56:55.94
Let's pray together.
00:56:55.98\00:56:57.31
Father in heaven,
thank You again so much
00:56:57.35\00:56:59.91
for guiding our
minds and our hearts,
00:57:00.05\00:57:02.22
for doing for us what
we cannot do for ourselves
00:57:02.25\00:57:04.22
for answering before we call.
00:57:04.25\00:57:06.49
That's what You
said will come to pass
00:57:09.49\00:57:10.86
that before we
call, you will answer.
00:57:10.89\00:57:12.23
And while we are yet
speaking, You will hear.
00:57:12.26\00:57:14.40
And that You, as
we call on to You,
00:57:14.46\00:57:16.20
You will show us
great and mighty things
00:57:16.23\00:57:18.20
which we know not.
00:57:18.23\00:57:20.37
And, Father, Your word is alive
00:57:20.44\00:57:21.80
with those great
and mighty things.
00:57:21.84\00:57:23.64
And part of those
great and mighty things
00:57:23.71\00:57:25.74
today are the miracles
that You work in hearts,
00:57:25.77\00:57:29.68
in the hearts of heroin addicts,
00:57:29.71\00:57:31.15
in the hearts of atheists.
00:57:31.18\00:57:32.51