Welcome to Anchors of Truth,
00:00:12.61\00:00:15.05
from the Community
Adventist Fellowship Church.
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Present Truth with John Carter.
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Well, we are live and
we're coming to you from
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Arcadia California,
which is right in the heart of
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Los Angeles County and a part
of the greater Los Angeles area.
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It's great to be here, isn't it.
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It is indeed, the
Lord has treated us well.
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The weather has been
great, it's been fine.
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Not like what we left at home
at 3ABN, much cooler and dryer.
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And it's been great.
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It really has been and everyone
has been so friendly to us.
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We've just really enjoyed
the few hours now that we've
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spent here in beautiful
sunny southern California.
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And so some of you are watching
us, it's later where you are;
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Central time 9 pm,
Eastern time 10 pm.
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We appreciate
your staying up late.
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I was just talking to some
folks in Dyersburg Tennessee
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and they're waiting up for us
to watch this program tonight.
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So we are excited
about coming to you and being
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with Pastor John Carter.
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This is a very
special Anchors series.
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This is, I think, the first
one we've done away from 3ABN.
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This is sort of an
Anchors Away, as it were,
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and coming from California.
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And we're really
excited about the subject matter
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that Elder Carter is
going to preach on tonight.
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Well, that is true.
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Anchors Away. That's great.
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We have several of those
that we have planned here
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before the end of the year.
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And you'll hear
about them later on.
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But this is the first.
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And boy I tell you something,
we are just looking forward.
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The response we've had so
far to the Anchors series,
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all the different series,
have just been tremendous.
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And we're just praying.
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We're already lining up
our series for next year.
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We've got January, February,
March already filled with
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some very exciting speakers.
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And so you're going to be
wanting to stay tuned for that.
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But you know, right
now before we begin,
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I wonder, Pastor, if you would
lead us in a word of prayer.
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I'd be glad to do
so. Shall we pray.
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Gracious Father, we thank You
so very much for the occasion
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that calls us to the house
of prayer and praise this night.
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We thank You Father, for
the great advent message and the
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great advent movement.
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We thank You that You
are preparing a people
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for the second coming of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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And we plan, even this
night, to be in that number
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that will greet You on
that great and glorious day.
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But now this night, Lord,
we commit ourselves to You.
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We submit and humble ourselves
before You and ask that
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You might be the honored guest
in this place on this night.
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We ask that You will bless
this speaker, Elder Carter,
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in a very special way.
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Anoint his lips and give
him words that will be meat
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in due season for us.
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Bless the music
that shall be sung.
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May it transport our
hearts and minds to heaven.
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We submit and
commit ourselves to You.
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Bless the technical equipment
and those who hear and see
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the message this night.
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May we be drawn
closer to Jesus Christ.
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And we thank You for Your
promise to hear and answer
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the prayer of faith.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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Well Pastor Murray, would
you tell us about the music
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that we're going to hear at
this time, and the one that's
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going to bring it to us.
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Our music tonight comes
from someone that I had the
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privilege of baptizing quite
a few years ago, plus twenty.
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We were both
children at the time.
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She was a member of my church
and God has blessed her with
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a beautiful voice and to be
a beautiful Christian person.
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She is Yvonne Lewis.
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She is now the General Manager
of our Dare To Dream network.
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But a wonderful
singer in her own right.
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And she's going to
be singing, I'm Amazed.
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I'm amazed each time I think
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that You would love me.
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And You made Yourself a willing,
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such a willing sacrifice, yes,
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when all I've ever done
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is cause You pain
and so much sorrow.
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When I think of
what You've done,
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well, I'm amazed.
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I'm amazed to know that soon
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my Jesus is coming back for me
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with a robe of light
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and the life that never ends.
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Oh Lord, it never ends.
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Because all I've ever done
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is go astray
when You said follow.
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When I think of what's to come,
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yes, I'm amazed.
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Now I've often asked
what kind of love is this.
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Because I just don't understand
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why my Savior left His glory
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to die for sin upon man.
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When all I've
ever done is go astray,
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oh, when You said follow.
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When I think of
what You've done,
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well, I'm amazed.
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When I think of what's to come,
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yes, I'm amazed.
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I'm so amazed.
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How could You show such love.
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Well, I'm amazed.
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I'm so amazed.
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I'm so amazed.
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Thank you so much,
Yvonne. We appreciate that.
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Our speaker tonight
is no stranger to 3ABN.
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He has been one of those
that has been a speaker on 3ABN
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since early in its existence.
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And his partnership with
our founder, Danny Shelton,
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has been one that has
benefitted the work of God
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all over the world.
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And this is a man who has
held evangelistic campaigns
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in all parts of the
world, nearly every continent.
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And in such places as India
and in Russia, and in others
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where the Lord
has called him to go.
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I appreciate his ministry.
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Tonight he is going to, through
this series, the Anchors series,
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he's going to be
talking about present truth.
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And specifically tonight,
he is going to be speaking
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about The Blessed Hope.
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And so Pastor John
Carter, we invite you to come
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to your own pulpit.
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And we welcome you.
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Thank you, sir.
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Nice to see you, Jim.
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Good to see you.
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I just want to
say to everybody...
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And this is a
worldwide telecast.
00:10:06.15\00:10:08.20
It makes you
excited, doesn't it.
00:10:08.78\00:10:09.88
1.65 billion people can turn in.
00:10:09.89\00:10:14.82
I hope that most of them will.
00:10:15.35\00:10:16.86
Millions are watching,
there is no question about it.
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You don't get nervous
about this anymore, do you.
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I'm always nervous.
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Are you nervous?
Yea, I'm nervous.
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I'm going to ask
you some questions.
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Now I'm getting really nervous.
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I just want to say to the
folks watching on television,
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I appreciate and respect
3ABN more than I can say,
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because they have the
courage, as Danny Shelton said
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many years ago, 25 years
ago, the courage to preach the
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undiluted truths of
the three angels messages.
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Praise the Lord.
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And so we are privileged
to be partners with 3ABN;
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with you, Dr. Gilley, with our
dearly beloved Danny Shelton,
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and all the rest of the
staff who've come out here.
00:11:03.82\00:11:06.49
And I just want
you to know something.
00:11:06.52\00:11:08.73
They're nice people.
00:11:09.82\00:11:11.63
Yes, I know that.
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They're nice people.
00:11:13.25\00:11:14.63
I've very aware of that.
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My team has said
they're nice people.
00:11:15.72\00:11:17.76
They are. Yea, they are.
00:11:17.79\00:11:19.53
And I'm going to tell the
folks, you're a nice person too.
00:11:19.56\00:11:23.52
Well thanks.
00:11:23.55\00:11:25.78
Now, you've been a conference
president and you've been
00:11:25.81\00:11:30.03
an evangelist at one
stage in your work with Camille.
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You would run 8 or
9 campaigns a year?
00:11:34.33\00:11:37.77
Was it 8 or 9 or 10?
00:11:37.80\00:11:39.33
I've held 10, as
many as 10 in one year.
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They were 4 week crusades.
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You're going to go
straight home to glory.
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Yea, well...
00:11:46.39\00:11:47.38
That's 40 weeks in a year.
00:11:47.41\00:11:48.92
Yea, and it was
tough. It was tough.
00:11:48.95\00:11:51.45
That should be written
somewhere in the Bible.
00:11:51.48\00:11:54.05
It is in the book of Acts.
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It's not in the
Bible, but it's written.
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It's written, I know.
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It's written in
the very nervous system
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and everything like that,
and the aches and the pains.
00:12:02.82\00:12:05.21
Exactly.
00:12:05.24\00:12:06.31
And we've been around
longer than some of these folks
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have been around, Dr Gilley.
00:12:08.56\00:12:09.97
Well, not all of them.
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Not all of them, I know.
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In fact, some of them look
to me as though they've been
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around even longer than us.
00:12:16.56\00:12:17.93
Well I think, you know...
00:12:17.96\00:12:19.81
Yea, I know. We'll
just leave it there.
00:12:19.84\00:12:22.25
Let me ask you this.
00:12:22.28\00:12:23.49
You became the Vice President
of the North American Division
00:12:23.52\00:12:28.18
of the church.
00:12:28.21\00:12:29.36
Yes.
00:12:29.39\00:12:30.37
That must have
seemed like translation.
00:12:30.40\00:12:32.36
Well to tell you the
truth, they called me there
00:12:32.90\00:12:37.82
and told me that I'd be
in charge of evangelism.
00:12:37.83\00:12:40.41
And when I got there, they
gave me all these different
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committees to chair.
00:12:44.27\00:12:45.75
And I said, "Wait a minute.
00:12:45.76\00:12:47.33
I thought I was supposed to
be involved with evangelism."
00:12:47.36\00:12:49.29
They said,
"Well, that's a title.
00:12:49.32\00:12:52.72
But you are to be
involved with all these things."
00:12:52.75\00:12:56.11
So I chaired 65
boards and committees.
00:12:56.14\00:12:59.33
Now some of those
met several times a year.
00:12:59.36\00:13:02.02
So you spend a lot
of time being bored.
00:13:02.05\00:13:04.32
If you were a Roman
Catholic, they would
00:13:04.35\00:13:08.60
canonize you straight away.
00:13:08.61\00:13:10.01
You wouldn't have to go
through all the process.
00:13:10.51\00:13:12.61
They'd just make you Saint Jim.
00:13:12.64\00:13:14.45
Now after you retired from
the North American Division...
00:13:14.48\00:13:19.22
My people here like to laugh.
00:13:19.52\00:13:20.83
Is it alright to laugh on 3ABN?
00:13:20.86\00:13:24.04
I just want to clear this up.
00:13:24.07\00:13:25.56
As long as you do it
within certain limitations, yea.
00:13:25.59\00:13:29.63
Not too much laughing is okay.
00:13:29.66\00:13:30.81
Exactly, right.
00:13:30.84\00:13:32.31
Now you retired from
the North American Division.
00:13:32.34\00:13:35.13
You could have
gone into real estate.
00:13:35.97\00:13:40.07
Yea.
00:13:40.10\00:13:41.08
You could have gone
to the beach in Florida.
00:13:41.11\00:13:43.87
You could have just sat
back and watched the grass grow.
00:13:44.28\00:13:48.60
Why on earth did you
assume, when invited,
00:13:48.63\00:13:53.63
the presidency of 3ABN?
00:13:53.66\00:13:57.65
Well you know,
Danny was having some
00:13:57.68\00:14:00.01
health challenges at
the time and I felt like
00:14:00.04\00:14:02.93
he needed a younger man
to come and to be with him.
00:14:02.96\00:14:06.63
It has been hot out
here in Los Angeles today.
00:14:09.11\00:14:11.27
You've been
standing out in the sun.
00:14:11.30\00:14:13.01
You know, we just had so
many indications from the Lord.
00:14:14.69\00:14:19.28
You believe in 3ABN.
00:14:19.29\00:14:20.76
Oh, totally.
00:14:20.79\00:14:22.03
You believe in
the Bible. Absolutely.
00:14:22.06\00:14:24.07
And in the
Spirit of Prophecy. Yes.
00:14:24.10\00:14:26.65
And in the great
message that we believe in,
00:14:26.68\00:14:29.07
the three angels messages.
00:14:29.10\00:14:30.53
Yes, absolutely.
00:14:30.56\00:14:31.66
So that's why
you're not retired.
00:14:31.69\00:14:33.05
Well because, you know,
Elder Richards, HMS Richards,
00:14:33.08\00:14:37.32
use to say, "There are two
things that aren't in the Bible.
00:14:37.35\00:14:40.22
One is Sunday keeping
and the other is retirement."
00:14:40.25\00:14:43.50
Elder Richards
was absolutely right.
00:14:43.53\00:14:46.01
He preached right up
until he could preach no longer.
00:14:46.04\00:14:48.65
I know.
00:14:48.68\00:14:49.69
So I've come to the conclusion;
I'd rather work than not work.
00:14:49.72\00:14:52.63
I'd rather
preach than not preach.
00:14:52.66\00:14:54.74
And I'd much rather be at
3ABN than any place I can.
00:14:54.77\00:14:58.46
And you'd rather
wear out than rust out.
00:14:58.49\00:15:00.35
Well, yea.
00:15:00.38\00:15:01.76
Absolutely.
00:15:01.77\00:15:03.33
Well it's a privilege to
have you here in our church.
00:15:03.36\00:15:06.65
And I want to thank you
for the long association
00:15:06.68\00:15:10.27
we've had with 3ABN.
00:15:10.30\00:15:11.54
We love the folks at 3ABN.
00:15:11.55\00:15:13.28
We believe in them and
we support the mission.
00:15:13.31\00:15:16.14
And the feeling
is absolutely mutual.
00:15:16.17\00:15:18.99
The people love you.
00:15:19.02\00:15:20.32
God bless you, dear
old friend. God bless you.
00:15:20.36\00:15:22.04
You can just see when Pastor
Gilley and I get together,
00:15:29.21\00:15:32.11
we get all tensed up.
00:15:32.14\00:15:33.79
The topic tonight
is, The Blessed Hope.
00:15:36.16\00:15:39.49
Last week I was talking to
an old friend whose been with us
00:15:40.82\00:15:46.63
on many occasions overseas.
00:15:46.66\00:15:49.51
I noticed he was
missing at church.
00:15:50.38\00:15:52.27
And I called him up
and I said, "Are you okay?"
00:15:52.30\00:15:54.75
He said, "No, it's tough."
00:15:54.76\00:15:56.23
He said, "I'm hurting all over."
00:15:57.18\00:15:59.48
He said, "The days
come when I wish the Lord
00:16:00.69\00:16:05.38
would put me to sleep."
00:16:05.41\00:16:07.18
We then talked
about the blessed hope
00:16:08.78\00:16:12.20
when God is going
to give us new bodies,
00:16:12.21\00:16:14.82
when we're going to be young
again and live for eternity.
00:16:14.85\00:16:19.67
I ask you my friend, where would
we be without the blessed hope.
00:16:19.87\00:16:26.75
Would you take your
Bibles please, and turn with me
00:16:26.78\00:16:28.98
to our theme text.
00:16:29.01\00:16:30.41
It is Titus
chapter 2 and verse 13.
00:16:30.44\00:16:33.14
I want to welcome
the worldwide audience,
00:16:33.17\00:16:35.88
my friends up
there in Tennessee,
00:16:35.91\00:16:39.52
you know who you are,
00:16:39.55\00:16:40.72
and the rest of my
friends across this great land
00:16:40.75\00:16:44.36
of the United States of America.
00:16:44.37\00:16:46.27
Not forgetting our friends
here in southern California.
00:16:46.30\00:16:50.17
Also my friends down
under in the land of Australia.
00:16:50.20\00:16:56.43
We've got friends
right around the world,
00:16:56.44\00:16:58.85
people whom we
love around the world.
00:16:58.88\00:17:01.69
We ran a big series of meetings
over there in Johannesburg
00:17:01.72\00:17:05.56
and we want to
send you greetings also.
00:17:05.59\00:17:07.62
The text we're going to
start with is Titus chapter 2
00:17:07.65\00:17:11.31
and verse 13.
00:17:11.34\00:17:12.79
If you folks have got your
Bibles, hold up your Bibles
00:17:12.82\00:17:15.61
so everybody can see
that you've got a Bible.
00:17:15.64\00:17:18.42
We believe that
this is the word of God.
00:17:19.55\00:17:24.06
And so we bring
our Bibles to church
00:17:24.70\00:17:27.15
and we read them every day.
00:17:27.18\00:17:29.00
Titus 2 verse 13,
"While we wait for..."
00:17:29.03\00:17:32.95
What does it say, folks?
00:17:32.98\00:17:34.35
"...the blessed hope,
the glorious appearing of our
00:17:34.75\00:17:38.41
great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ."
00:17:38.44\00:17:42.71
My friend, we
have a blessed hope.
00:17:42.74\00:17:45.05
Recently, I got some
bad news from Australia
00:17:46.06\00:17:50.56
of an old friend.
00:17:50.59\00:17:52.14
We have gone back a few
years, as Elder Gilley says.
00:17:53.05\00:17:56.48
Not as far as some
of you folks go back,
00:17:57.45\00:17:59.55
but still going
back a fair while.
00:17:59.58\00:18:01.38
And this man and I
have been buddies, mates,
00:18:01.86\00:18:06.45
friends for 50 years.
00:18:06.48\00:18:10.19
Then I discovered that he
had developed an awful sickness.
00:18:11.46\00:18:15.40
He has a marvelous wife.
00:18:15.43\00:18:18.44
The last time in Australia,
we spent time together
00:18:19.17\00:18:23.41
because I just, I
really love those folks.
00:18:23.42\00:18:26.39
Because this
person led me to Christ.
00:18:26.42\00:18:31.43
When I was a wayward
boy at Avondale College
00:18:32.46\00:18:35.04
about to get
expelled, he led me to Christ.
00:18:35.05\00:18:38.15
I wrote to him and I said
to him, I said to his wife,
00:18:39.77\00:18:43.55
"I want you to know that
the day is coming when you're
00:18:44.48\00:18:46.94
going to be new again.
00:18:46.95\00:18:48.56
You're going to have a
new body and you're going to
00:18:48.59\00:18:50.86
have a new mind.
00:18:50.89\00:18:53.00
And the pain is going
to be a thing of the past."
00:18:53.03\00:18:59.08
I say to you tonight,
folks, how utterly tragic to be
00:18:59.11\00:19:04.16
without faith, to
believe there is no meaning
00:19:04.19\00:19:07.06
to human existence.
00:19:07.07\00:19:09.19
On occasions in my lectures,
I refer to the famous scholar,
00:19:10.15\00:19:15.81
the scientist,
Professor Richard Dawkins.
00:19:15.84\00:19:20.84
He says that man
is a cosmic accident.
00:19:21.82\00:19:26.45
That man is the blind product
of time plus matter plus chance.
00:19:26.75\00:19:33.16
He says there is no
hope at all, and when we die,
00:19:34.42\00:19:39.31
we simply finish the
evolutionary process.
00:19:39.32\00:19:43.09
He believes in blind chance,
no creator, man is nothing more
00:19:43.12\00:19:50.77
than animated mud
on the way to dust.
00:19:50.80\00:19:55.66
Look at this magazine.
00:19:56.80\00:19:58.24
And maybe we can get a camera
come in close on this one,
00:19:58.27\00:20:01.98
The New Yorker.
00:20:02.01\00:20:04.61
It shows the ascent
of man from a monkey.
00:20:04.64\00:20:10.69
And as the millions of
years roll by, he becomes
00:20:11.94\00:20:17.76
even a Pharaoh.
00:20:17.79\00:20:20.33
And he gets better
and better and better.
00:20:20.36\00:20:24.16
So he continues to rise
up the evolutionary scale
00:20:24.19\00:20:29.37
until the very end as he
stands at the summit of success.
00:20:29.40\00:20:35.04
You notice what happens?
00:20:35.07\00:20:36.36
Well look.
00:20:37.38\00:20:38.45
He falls off the
escalator into oblivion.
00:20:39.55\00:20:43.79
So much for Professor Dawkins.
00:20:45.70\00:20:49.26
So I will present to
you tonight, the truth,
00:20:49.29\00:20:52.13
that it is not oblivion.
00:20:52.16\00:20:55.10
It is the coming of Christ.
00:20:55.60\00:20:57.41
As most of you know,
well some of you know,
00:20:58.38\00:21:01.32
I have been to Russia
and Ukraine forty times.
00:21:01.35\00:21:04.57
I plan to go back
again next year in January
00:21:04.60\00:21:08.74
when the weather
is nice in Russia.
00:21:08.77\00:21:10.73
I like it when it's
cold in Russia, I really do.
00:21:11.43\00:21:13.96
I get dressed up and
I feel like an Eskimo.
00:21:13.99\00:21:17.12
It's no hardship
for me to go to Russia.
00:21:17.15\00:21:20.03
I enjoy it so much.
00:21:20.06\00:21:21.84
I have my own Russian
hat and I'm never cold
00:21:21.87\00:21:25.33
because I have
so much clothing on.
00:21:25.36\00:21:27.32
I look as though
I weigh 500 pounds.
00:21:27.35\00:21:29.79
Let me tell you a story
that some of you will know.
00:21:33.08\00:21:38.17
I've told it before.
00:21:38.57\00:21:40.37
There was Olga, a woman who was
born in the land of the Ukraine.
00:21:40.97\00:21:47.51
When the Nazi's invaded
the Ukraine, as they called it
00:21:48.41\00:21:51.99
in those days, it was a
part of the Soviet Union,
00:21:52.00\00:21:54.73
her whole village had
protested about the Nazi's.
00:21:54.76\00:21:58.80
They were marched out into the
forest in the dead of winter.
00:21:58.83\00:22:03.54
They were forced to
dig a huge, huge hole.
00:22:03.55\00:22:07.61
They were marched into
the hole and after they were
00:22:07.64\00:22:10.97
stripped naked,
standing there in the snow,
00:22:11.00\00:22:13.73
the Nazi's opened up
with the machine guns.
00:22:13.76\00:22:17.70
Everybody fell
except Olga and a young man.
00:22:17.71\00:22:22.12
They fled naked from the scene.
00:22:22.15\00:22:24.46
She found refuge
with some farmers.
00:22:24.49\00:22:27.07
They clothed her
and they fed her.
00:22:27.10\00:22:29.08
They put her on a train
that went north to Moscow
00:22:29.11\00:22:33.47
and then on to Nizhny Novgorod,
00:22:33.50\00:22:35.61
where 3ABN, glory be to
God, has a center today.
00:22:35.64\00:22:38.75
She came to our
meetings back in 1992.
00:22:39.51\00:22:42.28
She said, "I came as a
Communist and as an atheist."
00:22:43.19\00:22:47.67
Her husband had
been murdered by the KGB
00:22:47.68\00:22:50.81
when they were
just newly married.
00:22:50.84\00:22:52.81
She said, "I came
with no hope at all."
00:22:53.65\00:22:57.84
But she discovered
there was a God who loved her.
00:22:58.24\00:23:02.73
And she found hope.
00:23:04.95\00:23:06.77
I want to tell
you folks something.
00:23:08.01\00:23:09.63
If you find
hope, hope in Christ,
00:23:10.36\00:23:14.73
you can face anything.
00:23:14.76\00:23:17.13
Our authority is the Bible.
00:23:17.16\00:23:19.64
Would you please come with me to
Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1.
00:23:19.67\00:23:22.84
And you may wonder why I
would go to Genesis chapter 1
00:23:22.87\00:23:25.94
when I'm talking
about the coming of Christ.
00:23:25.97\00:23:28.34
Genesis 1 and verse 1.
00:23:28.37\00:23:30.05
The Bible is our authority.
00:23:30.08\00:23:33.17
And as you're turning to
the text, I'm going to walk over
00:23:33.20\00:23:35.69
here to my old blackboards.
00:23:35.72\00:23:37.84
I like them because they're old.
00:23:37.87\00:23:39.94
I've come to the stage in
life where I like old things.
00:23:39.97\00:23:43.00
Our authority, our authority.
00:23:43.03\00:23:48.81
It is not the
teaching of any church.
00:23:50.03\00:23:52.48
It is not the
teaching of the church fathers.
00:23:53.45\00:23:56.45
Our authority is the Bible.
00:23:56.48\00:24:00.53
As Martin Luther said;
sola Christus, only Christ.
00:24:01.23\00:24:05.10
And then he said; sola
scriptura, only scripture.
00:24:05.13\00:24:08.65
Sola gratia. What does it mean?
00:24:08.68\00:24:10.59
Only grace.
00:24:10.62\00:24:11.59
Sola fide, only faith.
00:24:11.62\00:24:13.42
Our authority is the Bible.
00:24:13.45\00:24:16.13
And it says, "In the beginning
God created the heavens
00:24:16.16\00:24:20.45
and the earth."
00:24:20.48\00:24:21.49
Let me tell you something
which is quite incredible.
00:24:21.52\00:24:23.92
Scientists once believed in the
steady state of the universe,
00:24:25.20\00:24:29.60
that the universe
had always been there.
00:24:29.63\00:24:32.47
Even Einstein as a young
man believed in the steady
00:24:33.00\00:24:36.67
state theory of the
universe until he spoke to
00:24:36.70\00:24:40.47
Professor Hubble who showed him
that the universe was exploding
00:24:40.57\00:24:44.58
out like a cracker,
moving out at a tremendous speed
00:24:44.61\00:24:49.39
and forming space as it went.
00:24:49.42\00:24:52.48
Thus they said, if it is
going out, there must have been
00:24:53.23\00:24:57.34
a time, there must
have been a time...
00:24:57.37\00:24:59.76
If it is exploding out,
then it is logical to believe
00:24:59.77\00:25:06.61
that there was a
point of creation.
00:25:06.62\00:25:09.77
And therefore today,
virtually every astronomer
00:25:10.51\00:25:13.78
believes in this verse.
00:25:13.81\00:25:15.75
That there was a time
when there was nothing,
00:25:16.62\00:25:19.27
and all of a sudden,
there was everything.
00:25:19.30\00:25:22.38
Every scientist today believes
in what he calls, the big bang.
00:25:23.71\00:25:27.76
We would call it creation.
00:25:27.79\00:25:30.10
Every scientist is aware of
this fact I'm going to tell you,
00:25:30.97\00:25:34.33
but not every church member.
00:25:34.95\00:25:36.70
One milli millisecond after the
moment when there was nothing,
00:25:38.12\00:25:44.12
and then all of a sudden there
was this tremendous explosion
00:25:44.15\00:25:47.61
that the call the big bang,
there were four great forces
00:25:47.64\00:25:51.25
created in the universe.
00:25:51.26\00:25:52.80
And those four great forces
hold the universe together.
00:25:52.83\00:25:56.68
Without these four
forces, we could not exist.
00:25:56.71\00:26:00.12
There would be no universe.
00:26:00.15\00:26:01.70
And those four forces
are these, try to remember.
00:26:03.12\00:26:06.55
You all know about gravity.
00:26:07.62\00:26:10.18
There would be no
universe, we would not be here,
00:26:23.28\00:26:26.65
there would be no
planet, except for these forces
00:26:26.68\00:26:29.52
that were created within a
millisecond of the big bang.
00:26:29.55\00:26:33.53
All astronomers tell me this.
00:26:33.56\00:26:35.24
And they tell me
this, that if those forces
00:26:35.27\00:26:38.80
had been out of
sync, listen to this,
00:26:38.83\00:26:41.79
if they had been out of
sync by one quadrillionth,
00:26:42.80\00:26:48.05
more than the Federal
debt, one quadrillionth,
00:26:48.06\00:26:52.73
we cannot have any idea of
the greatness of that figure,
00:26:52.76\00:26:56.44
one quadrillionth
of one quadrillionth
00:26:57.24\00:27:00.88
of one quadrillionth
of one quadrillionth
00:27:00.91\00:27:04.15
of one
quadrillionth of one percent...
00:27:04.18\00:27:07.26
All those
quadrillionths are more than the
00:27:08.07\00:27:11.43
atoms in the universe.
00:27:11.44\00:27:13.24
And if those forces
had been out of sync
00:27:14.54\00:27:17.62
by that amount which
is too small to conceive,
00:27:18.32\00:27:24.18
there would be no universe.
00:27:24.21\00:27:27.24
How can one accept
this scientific truth and
00:27:29.32\00:27:33.64
not believe in "in
the beginning, God."
00:27:33.67\00:27:37.16
We live in an age today
where God is giving to the world
00:27:40.60\00:27:45.44
its last opportunity,
last chance to believe.
00:27:45.47\00:27:51.05
I believe in the Bible
because of some of these
00:27:51.08\00:27:53.60
scientific discoveries.
00:27:53.63\00:27:55.35
I believe in the Bible
because of the prophecies.
00:27:55.38\00:28:01.41
I do not believe in the
naive assumption of having
00:28:02.01\00:28:06.74
faith in faith.
00:28:06.75\00:28:08.76
There is no virtue in faith.
00:28:09.16\00:28:11.86
Bin Laden had faith,
more than most of you and me,
00:28:13.46\00:28:17.05
but faith in the wrong thing.
00:28:17.77\00:28:19.85
So faith in faith is crazy.
00:28:20.47\00:28:22.99
I have faith in the
Bible for many reasons.
00:28:27.96\00:28:32.54
But one reason is
because of Bible prophecy.
00:28:32.55\00:28:35.32
I've spoken to vast crowds
of people around the world,
00:28:36.64\00:28:39.82
not like you sitting
here in our church tonight,
00:28:40.64\00:28:43.68
but I'm talking about
atheists and Communists
00:28:43.71\00:28:47.07
and rank unbelievers.
00:28:47.10\00:28:48.90
I've spoken to millions of them.
00:28:49.79\00:28:51.72
And when I presented
the prophecies of Daniel 2,
00:28:53.39\00:28:56.73
the great metal
man, and Daniel 7 and the
00:28:56.76\00:28:59.90
great beasts of
Daniel 7; the lion, the bear,
00:28:59.93\00:29:02.65
the leopard, the monster, the
little horn power that comes up
00:29:02.68\00:29:06.76
that describes
the history of Europe.
00:29:06.79\00:29:08.81
When I've gone
through those prophecies,
00:29:08.84\00:29:11.57
I've seen hundreds of thousands,
maybe millions, of atheists
00:29:11.58\00:29:17.13
believe in God.
00:29:17.14\00:29:18.43
Because it's true.
00:29:18.70\00:29:20.10
I have over on my desk, and
I'd planned to bring it tonight
00:29:20.70\00:29:23.92
but not everything
functions as well as it use to,
00:29:23.93\00:29:27.05
and I didn't bring it.
00:29:27.08\00:29:29.01
But it is a silver crucifix that
was given to me, Elder Gilley,
00:29:29.32\00:29:34.32
by the General who was
in charge of indoctrinating
00:29:35.85\00:29:41.25
atheism with the
Ukrainian soldiers.
00:29:41.28\00:29:45.67
He was a professor
of Marxist atheism.
00:29:46.07\00:29:50.47
His job was to teach atheism.
00:29:50.50\00:29:52.32
And after he saw the
prophecies, he came to me
00:29:52.35\00:29:56.15
and gave me a
cross made of silver
00:29:56.18\00:29:58.86
because he had
become a believer.
00:29:59.55\00:30:01.56
We do not believe because
it is convenient to believe.
00:30:02.70\00:30:06.01
We believe because of
the overwhelming evidence.
00:30:06.04\00:30:11.72
But the greatest reason
that I can give you tonight
00:30:13.65\00:30:16.59
why I should
believe the Bible...
00:30:16.62\00:30:18.84
You see, if Genesis is
wrong then the end of the
00:30:19.44\00:30:23.39
Bible is wrong too.
00:30:23.42\00:30:25.46
But the greatest
reason to believe in the Bible
00:30:28.38\00:30:32.72
is not Bible prophecy.
00:30:32.75\00:30:34.91
And it is not the theories
of the four great forces
00:30:34.94\00:30:39.22
of the universe.
00:30:39.25\00:30:40.73
The greatest evidence
to believe in the Bible
00:30:42.59\00:30:45.14
is the person of Christ.
00:30:45.17\00:30:47.07
Now, Richard Dawkins
hates Him and criticizes Him
00:30:50.04\00:30:52.96
and scoffs at Him.
00:30:52.97\00:30:54.50
But when Richard Dawkins
dies, nobody will remember
00:30:55.36\00:30:59.85
after a year.
00:30:59.88\00:31:01.17
Jesus is the person with
the greatest influence for good
00:31:01.87\00:31:06.23
in the history of the world.
00:31:06.26\00:31:08.33
Let me read to you
this old statement.
00:31:09.82\00:31:12.71
"He was born in
an obscure village,
00:31:13.12\00:31:15.82
the child of a peasant woman.
00:31:15.85\00:31:18.86
Until He was 30, He
worked in a carpenter's shop.
00:31:18.87\00:31:23.02
And then for three years,
He was an itinerant preacher.
00:31:23.05\00:31:27.53
He wrote no
books, He held no office.
00:31:27.93\00:31:31.14
He never had a
family or owned a home.
00:31:31.17\00:31:33.76
He didn't go to college.
00:31:34.41\00:31:36.71
He never traveled 200 miles from
the place where He was born.
00:31:36.74\00:31:41.13
He had no
credentials but Himself.
00:31:41.16\00:31:44.87
He never did any of
the things that usually
00:31:48.07\00:31:50.48
accompany greatness.
00:31:50.51\00:31:52.60
The authorities
condemned His teachings.
00:31:53.18\00:31:55.83
His friends
deserted Him, one denied Him,
00:31:55.86\00:31:59.70
one betrayed Him to His
enemies for a paltry sum;
00:31:59.73\00:32:03.52
the price of a slave.
00:32:03.55\00:32:05.07
He went through
the mockery of a trial.
00:32:05.10\00:32:07.79
He was nailed upon a
cross between two thieves.
00:32:09.02\00:32:11.62
While He was dying,
His executioners gambled
00:32:11.63\00:32:15.50
for His only piece of property
He owned on earth; His coat.
00:32:15.53\00:32:20.43
When He was dead, He
was taken down and laid
00:32:21.49\00:32:24.83
in a borrowed grave.
00:32:24.86\00:32:27.13
Nineteen centuries," see
this is an old statement,
00:32:27.16\00:32:30.42
"have come and gone, yet
today He is the crowning glory
00:32:30.92\00:32:34.48
of the human race, the adored
leader of hundreds of millions
00:32:34.51\00:32:38.74
of the earth's inhabitants.
00:32:38.77\00:32:40.21
All the armies that ever
marched, and all the navies
00:32:41.55\00:32:48.76
that ever sailed, and all
the parliaments that ever sat,
00:32:48.79\00:32:55.60
and all the kings that
ever reigned, put together
00:32:55.63\00:33:01.55
have not affected the
life of man upon this earth
00:33:01.58\00:33:05.06
as much as that
one solitary life."
00:33:05.09\00:33:10.35
Hallelujah
00:33:10.38\00:33:11.95
Therefore, I must believe
on the basis of the evidence.
00:33:13.31\00:33:18.54
I do not...
00:33:18.55\00:33:19.60
And I wish to say this to
the people here in the church.
00:33:19.63\00:33:22.88
And what a great crowd.
00:33:23.21\00:33:24.31
Seven o'clock in Los Angeles.
00:33:24.34\00:33:26.76
Everybody in Los
Angeles is on the 405 freeway.
00:33:27.46\00:33:31.25
Or the 101, or the 210.
00:33:31.28\00:33:35.00
We're a strange mob
here in Los Angeles.
00:33:35.86\00:33:38.79
But here you are in a church.
00:33:38.82\00:33:41.29
I had a great point to give
you and now I have forgotten it.
00:33:43.94\00:33:46.28
I got on the 405 freeway
and then the 101 and the 210.
00:33:47.48\00:33:52.29
Listen, here it
is. It's come back.
00:33:54.29\00:33:57.40
It's back.
00:33:58.58\00:33:59.87
I don't want to be
a superficial person.
00:34:00.82\00:34:02.93
The world is full of shakes
and flakes; superficial people.
00:34:04.12\00:34:08.83
Some Christians
have got a name for being
00:34:08.86\00:34:11.22
very superficial people.
00:34:11.23\00:34:14.16
Many Christians think that
Sodom and Gomorrah were lovers.
00:34:14.66\00:34:18.22
I'm tell you,
you know, it's true.
00:34:18.97\00:34:20.88
I want a faith that
will stand the test.
00:34:21.88\00:34:25.31
And I believe in Christ
and I believe in the Bible.
00:34:26.15\00:34:30.80
Not because religion is a
crutch for my faltering faith.
00:34:30.83\00:34:36.23
I believe
because, as an honest man,
00:34:36.26\00:34:40.96
I am forced to believe.
00:34:40.99\00:34:43.50
Can you say, amen?
00:34:43.53\00:34:44.87
Say it again.
00:34:45.20\00:34:46.62
Yea, let them know that in
America, folks in this church
00:34:46.63\00:34:49.83
still know how to say amen.
00:34:50.03\00:34:52.69
Say it again.
00:34:52.72\00:34:54.22
That's good.
00:34:54.25\00:34:55.38
That's good.
00:34:59.59\00:35:00.68
I asked Elder Gilley if
it was okay to laugh on 3ABN.
00:35:00.69\00:35:03.18
He said, yea but not a lot.
00:35:03.21\00:35:06.59
Let me talk to you
about the parousia.
00:35:07.41\00:35:09.71
Now Elder Gilley has
got a great sense of humor.
00:35:09.74\00:35:11.53
Do you know why?
00:35:11.54\00:35:12.61
He laughs at
things that aren't funny.
00:35:13.04\00:35:15.21
You know why he laughs
at things that aren't funny?
00:35:16.90\00:35:19.55
Because he said if he
only laughed at things that are
00:35:19.58\00:35:21.05
funny, he wouldn't laugh at all.
00:35:21.25\00:35:23.47
Since he's been working there
at 3ABN in southern Illinois,
00:35:25.24\00:35:28.53
in Thompsonville,
he's been laughing lots.
00:35:28.54\00:35:31.32
And we're just glad that
he's here tonight and his
00:35:34.07\00:35:36.76
beautiful wife,
Camille, who looks better
00:35:36.79\00:35:39.49
as the years roll by
and who likes Coach purses.
00:35:39.52\00:35:43.90
The Parousia.
00:35:44.30\00:35:45.83
Well, every minister
should talk a little Greek
00:35:47.40\00:35:50.05
even if he
doesn't know much else.
00:35:50.08\00:35:51.92
It means, the actual presence.
00:35:52.32\00:35:54.64
Parousia of Christ,
the actual presence.
00:35:55.15\00:35:58.55
He will return because
He has already come, died,
00:35:59.33\00:36:03.46
and been raised from the dead.
00:36:03.49\00:36:05.74
And they are historical truths.
00:36:06.57\00:36:09.78
That is why I am
certain He will return.
00:36:09.81\00:36:13.88
You folks doing alright tonight?
00:36:14.71\00:36:16.37
Are you happy tonight?
00:36:16.83\00:36:18.33
Put up your hands if
you're happy tonight.
00:36:18.48\00:36:20.30
Put up your hands if
you're glad you're here
00:36:20.92\00:36:23.24
listening to me preach.
00:36:23.27\00:36:24.65
God bless you
folks. I love you to death.
00:36:24.95\00:36:27.47
We won't even take
up an offering tonight.
00:36:28.12\00:36:29.97
We'll let you off.
00:36:30.00\00:36:31.18
1 Corinthians 15
verses 1 down to 8.
00:36:31.21\00:36:33.95
Guarantee you folks
haven't even eaten yet.
00:36:34.35\00:36:36.87
I did.
00:36:37.68\00:36:38.97
But I'm the one doing
the working here tonight, so.
00:36:40.19\00:36:42.44
"Now, brothers..."
00:36:46.25\00:36:47.65
Whatever happened to
the sisters back there?
00:36:48.97\00:36:51.29
It's a bit strange back there,
couldn't have had any sisters.
00:36:52.07\00:36:55.04
"Now, brothers..."
It's just a custom.
00:36:55.07\00:36:57.60
But the sisters have
gotten over that one now.
00:36:58.82\00:37:01.32
"...I want to remind you of
the gospel I preached to you,
00:37:02.04\00:37:05.27
which you received and on
which you have taken your stand.
00:37:05.30\00:37:08.91
By this gospel you are
saved, if you hold firmly
00:37:08.94\00:37:12.42
to the word I preached to you.
00:37:12.45\00:37:14.18
Otherwise, you
have believed in vain.
00:37:14.21\00:37:16.80
For what I received I passed on
to you as of first importance."
00:37:17.84\00:37:21.61
Remember this, all look at me.
00:37:21.64\00:37:23.90
There are some things
that don't matter a great deal.
00:37:24.38\00:37:29.53
Sometimes we get bent
out of shape and we cause
00:37:30.21\00:37:35.66
a lot of distress for the saints
by messing around with stuff
00:37:35.69\00:37:40.84
that's not that important.
00:37:40.87\00:37:42.15
There are some things
that are not very important,
00:37:43.18\00:37:47.57
some things that are important,
00:37:47.60\00:37:49.26
and some things
tremendously important.
00:37:49.29\00:37:53.16
Here it is; it's the
gospel, the good news.
00:37:53.19\00:37:55.96
And say amen to that.
00:37:56.70\00:37:58.05
You know, when people
in Australia hear this,
00:37:59.83\00:38:02.01
it's going to turn them upside
down hearing all these amen's.
00:38:02.04\00:38:05.00
"For what I received I passed on
to you as of first importance:
00:38:06.19\00:38:10.19
that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures."
00:38:10.49\00:38:15.95
That's of first importance.
00:38:16.83\00:38:18.18
"That He was buried, that
He was raised on the third day
00:38:18.21\00:38:22.47
according to the Scriptures,
and that He appeared to Peter,
00:38:22.50\00:38:28.17
and then to the Twelve.
00:38:28.20\00:38:29.35
After that, He appeared to
more than five hundred of the
00:38:29.38\00:38:32.31
brothers at the same time,
most of whom are still living,
00:38:32.34\00:38:36.27
though some have fallen asleep."
00:38:36.30\00:38:39.09
We're not talking about people
sleeping in church either.
00:38:39.12\00:38:41.57
We're talking dying.
00:38:41.60\00:38:43.48
"Then He appeared to
James, then to all the apostles,
00:38:44.29\00:38:48.28
and last of all He
appeared to me also,
00:38:48.31\00:38:50.83
as to one 'born out of
time.'" It says in the KJV.
00:38:50.86\00:38:54.78
He was seen.
00:38:54.81\00:38:56.45
Remember this.
00:38:57.23\00:38:58.26
These folks were not crooks.
00:38:58.29\00:39:00.02
They were not
religious charlatans.
00:39:00.05\00:39:01.87
He was seen.
00:39:01.90\00:39:03.31
He was seen after He was dead.
00:39:04.24\00:39:07.04
A spear was put in His side.
00:39:07.54\00:39:09.55
It was not a fake
death. He was dead.
00:39:09.58\00:39:13.10
And a wise man
asked the question,
00:39:15.24\00:39:17.25
what happened to the
body if it wasn't raised?
00:39:17.28\00:39:19.69
Did the Romans take the body?
00:39:20.25\00:39:21.78
I don't think so.
00:39:21.81\00:39:23.01
They would have said,
"Ah ha, here's the body."
00:39:23.04\00:39:25.97
The Jews?
00:39:27.13\00:39:28.32
Could you imagine
the Jews taking the body?
00:39:28.35\00:39:30.57
They could have
squelched the Christian church
00:39:30.91\00:39:34.02
in one glimpse by displaying
the body, the dead body.
00:39:34.05\00:39:37.85
No, the Romans
didn't take the body.
00:39:39.25\00:39:42.56
The Jews didn't take the body.
00:39:42.97\00:39:45.14
The body was
raised from the dead.
00:39:45.73\00:39:49.33
Say, hallelujah.
00:39:49.64\00:39:50.88
Hallelujah, praise God.
00:39:51.21\00:39:52.75
The body was raised.
00:39:52.78\00:39:54.62
And the disciples,
these simple earnest good men,
00:39:54.65\00:39:59.67
were so convinced
that Jesus had been raised
00:39:59.70\00:40:04.59
that they were prepared
to die for their convictions.
00:40:04.62\00:40:08.37
I'm not dying for something
that I don't believe in.
00:40:08.92\00:40:11.28
So He was born, lived,
and died, and He was raised.
00:40:16.83\00:40:22.55
And He's coming back.
00:40:23.27\00:40:25.00
I notice today that people
everywhere are in expectation.
00:40:25.30\00:40:31.07
They believe some mighty
event is about to happen.
00:40:31.10\00:40:35.40
I'm not talking
about church people.
00:40:35.50\00:40:37.63
They say, "What's
happening to the planet?"
00:40:37.66\00:40:41.62
The tsunami's, and the
earthquakes, and the tornadoes.
00:40:41.65\00:40:47.76
Something seems to be
going on in the world.
00:40:47.77\00:40:52.15
And there's a restlessness
in the hearts of men and women.
00:40:52.18\00:40:56.72
And they say, "What
is going to happen?"
00:40:56.75\00:40:59.99
Listen to me.
00:41:04.32\00:41:05.54
The most certain event...
00:41:07.12\00:41:09.39
Are you folks listening?
00:41:09.42\00:41:10.63
The most certain event...
00:41:12.15\00:41:13.90
Are you listening strong?
00:41:13.93\00:41:16.31
You know how to
listen strong, don't you?
00:41:17.14\00:41:18.96
Okay.
00:41:19.26\00:41:20.33
The most certain event, one
that will change the history
00:41:20.96\00:41:27.14
of the world and the
universe and our lives forever,
00:41:27.17\00:41:33.02
is the soon return of
Christ in power and great glory.
00:41:33.52\00:41:39.83
Because I believe
in Genesis chapter 1,
00:41:41.47\00:41:45.62
I believe that
He will come again.
00:41:45.65\00:41:50.38
It's the hope of the church.
00:41:51.11\00:41:53.31
Would you please come to
the words of our blessed Lord,
00:41:53.34\00:41:57.68
John chapter 14
verses 1 down to 3.
00:41:57.71\00:42:01.72
And while you're looking
for the text, I've got a CD
00:42:12.81\00:42:18.17
for you tonight after the
meeting, from The Carter Report.
00:42:18.20\00:42:22.51
You want to know
about the miracle?
00:42:22.54\00:42:25.01
It's free.
00:42:25.04\00:42:26.84
We're going to
give it to you free.
00:42:26.87\00:42:29.83
Yea, it's a great CD
on the signs of the times.
00:42:29.86\00:42:34.74
Oh no, I think it could be
on, I'm not sure but I think
00:42:35.20\00:42:38.78
it may be on...
00:42:38.81\00:42:39.89
Now I don't want anyone
to hear this so I'm going to
00:42:39.92\00:42:41.92
whisper it to you folks.
00:42:41.95\00:42:43.47
I don't want anybody
watching outside this church,
00:42:44.33\00:42:47.31
just don't listen.
00:42:47.34\00:42:49.20
I think the CD is
on the Antichrist.
00:42:49.61\00:42:54.04
ssshhhhh
00:42:54.07\00:42:55.42
So after the meeting tonight,
you're going to get it free.
00:42:56.25\00:43:00.45
Okay?
00:43:00.48\00:43:01.71
John 14 verses 1 down to 3.
00:43:02.25\00:43:04.07
"Let not your
hearts be troubled."
00:43:04.10\00:43:05.35
Don't worry.
00:43:05.38\00:43:06.47
Don't worry about what's
going on in Congress, folks.
00:43:06.95\00:43:09.31
Don't worry about
any of that stuff.
00:43:09.34\00:43:11.18
"Trust in God; trust also in Me.
00:43:11.81\00:43:14.46
In My Father's
house are many rooms."
00:43:14.49\00:43:17.39
The Kings James
version, "many mansions."
00:43:17.79\00:43:19.95
I'd rather have a
mansion than a room.
00:43:19.98\00:43:21.90
I'd be staying in a hotel room,
I don't want that in glory.
00:43:23.35\00:43:26.31
Or a motor home,
I don't want that.
00:43:27.38\00:43:29.23
I want a mansion, Lord.
00:43:29.26\00:43:30.97
With hot and cold water, too.
00:43:33.65\00:43:36.03
"In My Father's
house are many mansions.
00:43:36.35\00:43:40.01
If it were not so,
I would have told you.
00:43:40.04\00:43:42.27
I am going there to
prepare a place for you.
00:43:42.30\00:43:44.63
And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come back
00:43:44.66\00:43:51.28
and take you to be with Me that
you also may be where I am."
00:43:51.31\00:43:57.02
It says in the beautiful
wonderful King James version,
00:43:57.05\00:44:02.45
which is the Bible
of my old mother church.
00:44:02.75\00:44:08.08
Did you know that?
00:44:08.09\00:44:09.09
Published in 1611.
00:44:11.25\00:44:14.64
The wonderful
King James version.
00:44:15.49\00:44:17.89
It says, "I will
come... I will come...
00:44:17.92\00:44:25.63
I will come again."
00:44:25.64\00:44:30.00
Dead, buried, resurrected,
and coming back to this planet.
00:44:30.87\00:44:39.02
"I will come again."
00:44:39.05\00:44:41.03
And that is the parousia.
00:44:41.25\00:44:43.27
That, my friend, is
the hope of the church,
00:44:43.30\00:44:47.61
and the hope of the world.
00:44:48.15\00:44:51.31
That is going to be, dear
friends and gentle people,
00:44:52.38\00:44:56.68
a day of incomprehensible
joy and glory for God's people.
00:44:56.71\00:45:06.00
Come with me over here to
1 Thessalonians chapter 4,
00:45:06.23\00:45:10.61
to the words of the great saint
Paul, an itinerant preacher,
00:45:10.64\00:45:18.21
the prince of
preachers, a great theologian,
00:45:18.22\00:45:23.14
a sinner saved by grace.
00:45:23.80\00:45:25.84
May the Lord write these words
down upon your hearts tonight,
00:45:31.80\00:45:37.01
everybody
watching on television.
00:45:37.04\00:45:39.07
This is what 3ABN exists for.
00:45:39.10\00:45:42.48
This is why God raised them up.
00:45:43.02\00:45:45.33
That is why God used
Danny Shelton to do this.
00:45:45.36\00:45:48.42
That is why Pastor
Gilley is involved with
00:45:48.45\00:45:51.52
this great ministry.
00:45:51.55\00:45:53.37
Here it is, "For
the Lord Himself..."
00:45:54.55\00:45:56.68
Not some pseudo-Christ,
not a counterfeit.
00:45:56.71\00:46:01.30
"For the Lord Himself
will come down from heaven,
00:46:01.33\00:46:04.69
with a loud command, with
the voice of the archangel
00:46:04.72\00:46:09.63
and with the
trumpet call of God,
00:46:09.66\00:46:12.42
and the dead in
Christ will rise first."
00:46:12.45\00:46:15.80
Christ is going to come back.
00:46:16.72\00:46:19.35
And Christ is
going to raise the dead
00:46:19.38\00:46:23.41
and translate the living saints.
00:46:23.44\00:46:26.43
Verse 17, "After that, we
who are still alive and are left
00:46:26.44\00:46:31.49
will be caught up
together with them in the clouds
00:46:31.52\00:46:34.62
to meet the Lord in the air.
00:46:34.65\00:46:36.95
And so we will be
with the Lord forever."
00:46:36.98\00:46:40.16
Say hallelujah.
00:46:40.19\00:46:41.83
Hallelujah, praise God.
00:46:42.13\00:46:44.00
Come over here
to 1 Corinthians 15.
00:46:44.20\00:46:46.77
And every night after
the program, we're going to
00:46:47.82\00:46:50.21
give you a new powerful CD.
00:46:50.24\00:46:53.56
One of them is on spiritism.
00:46:54.05\00:46:56.06
Demonism.
00:46:57.58\00:46:58.80
1 Corinthians 15
verse 51 and onwards.
00:46:59.24\00:47:02.08
Have you got it?
00:47:02.11\00:47:03.13
"Listen, I tell you a
mystery: We will not all sleep,
00:47:03.43\00:47:07.49
but we will all be
changed, in a flash,
00:47:07.52\00:47:10.52
in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trumpet.
00:47:10.53\00:47:14.04
For the trumpet will
sound, the dead will be
00:47:14.07\00:47:17.64
raised imperishable..."
00:47:17.65\00:47:18.82
Do you believe that?
00:47:18.85\00:47:19.91
I believe it.
00:47:19.94\00:47:21.04
"...and we will be changed."
00:47:21.07\00:47:23.50
I'll get rid of my white hair.
00:47:24.85\00:47:26.81
I'll get nice blonde hair back.
00:47:27.32\00:47:31.79
It won't come
from a bottle either.
00:47:32.95\00:47:34.85
"For the perishable must clothe
itself with the imperishable,
00:47:34.86\00:47:39.03
and the mortal with immortality.
00:47:39.06\00:47:41.61
When the perishable has been
clothed with the imperishable,
00:47:41.64\00:47:46.05
and the mortal with immortality,
then the saying that is written
00:47:46.08\00:47:50.94
will come true: 'Death has
been swallowed up in victory.'
00:47:50.97\00:47:54.43
'Where, O
death, is your victory?
00:47:54.44\00:47:56.78
Where, O death, is your sting?'"
00:47:56.81\00:48:00.12
So I say to my old
friend who came with us to
00:48:00.87\00:48:05.10
Russia and
Ukraine so many times,
00:48:05.11\00:48:07.24
"Hold on, old friend."
00:48:07.27\00:48:09.33
I say to my friend
back in Australia, "Hold on.
00:48:10.57\00:48:14.30
You're going to get a new body.
00:48:15.13\00:48:17.14
God is going to take
away the aches and the pains.
00:48:18.08\00:48:20.80
You're going to be
made completely new again.
00:48:20.83\00:48:24.27
You're going to go running down
the streets of the New Jerusalem
00:48:24.30\00:48:28.09
and you're going to know this
is just the beginning of glory."
00:48:28.12\00:48:32.05
The blessed hope.
00:48:34.01\00:48:35.01
No wonder it is
called the blessed hope.
00:48:35.04\00:48:38.60
I pity people
like Richard Dawkins,
00:48:38.63\00:48:41.55
where he thinks that a
man is simply animated mud
00:48:42.76\00:48:46.48
on the way to dust.
00:48:46.49\00:48:48.23
We want him to know
that Jesus is coming
00:48:48.26\00:48:51.54
and Jesus loves him too.
00:48:51.57\00:48:53.79
And He loves you.
00:48:53.82\00:48:55.43
You know the
greatest truth in the Bible?
00:48:55.94\00:48:58.03
The greatest truth in the
Bible is that God loves you.
00:48:58.06\00:49:01.56
Not because you're good,
not because you're good enough.
00:49:02.64\00:49:05.73
Because there's only one person,
my friend, who is good enough.
00:49:05.76\00:49:08.94
And that is Christ.
00:49:08.97\00:49:10.03
And He loves us.
00:49:10.43\00:49:11.70
And He loved us so much
that He went to the cross
00:49:11.73\00:49:15.16
and went through
hell to save our souls.
00:49:15.19\00:49:19.59
Hallelujah, what a Savior.
00:49:20.47\00:49:22.25
I remember the
coldest winter in Russia.
00:49:23.79\00:49:30.22
We had run this great
campaign in Nizhny Novgorod.
00:49:31.47\00:49:34.69
We'd seen 2530 souls initially,
more were baptized later,
00:49:34.72\00:49:41.96
baptized in the cold
waters of the Volga River.
00:49:41.99\00:49:46.61
And in that great campaign,
where we saw the latter rain.
00:49:47.46\00:49:52.43
Don't tell me
there's not a Spirit.
00:49:52.46\00:49:55.49
Don't tell me God is not alive.
00:49:55.52\00:49:57.52
I am here to
testify to the power of God.
00:49:57.55\00:50:00.51
I've seen it.
00:50:01.14\00:50:02.62
And there was a young lady who
conducted the great mass choir
00:50:05.83\00:50:08.83
that we had up front.
00:50:08.86\00:50:09.98
Her name was Anna.
00:50:10.74\00:50:12.08
She was a beautiful girl.
00:50:12.96\00:50:14.38
Like these Russian
girls, some of them are
00:50:14.41\00:50:16.21
absolutely beautiful.
00:50:16.24\00:50:17.54
Had long glorious black hair.
00:50:17.55\00:50:20.58
I went back there...
00:50:20.98\00:50:22.45
That was in summer, I went back
in the winter six months later.
00:50:22.48\00:50:26.85
It was Friday afternoon,
it was snowing like crazy.
00:50:27.15\00:50:30.02
It was rather cold.
00:50:30.05\00:50:31.79
We were staying
in this awful hotel.
00:50:31.82\00:50:35.54
It was cold in the hotel.
00:50:35.57\00:50:37.94
Had to go to bed to get warm,
00:50:37.97\00:50:39.69
with all your clothes on.
00:50:40.21\00:50:41.63
And there was a
pounding on the door.
00:50:44.47\00:50:46.29
And one of the pastors
with me went to the door,
00:50:46.71\00:50:49.23
one of the Russian pastors.
00:50:49.26\00:50:50.62
He said, "There's a
man here whose wife is
00:50:50.65\00:50:52.59
dying in the hospital.
00:50:52.62\00:50:53.78
Would you pray for her?
00:50:53.81\00:50:55.64
Will you come and
anoint her with oil,
00:50:55.67\00:50:57.74
in the name of the Lord?"
00:50:57.75\00:50:58.94
So we brought in this young
man who was bereaved with grief,
00:50:59.14\00:51:02.88
to a young Russian doctor.
00:51:02.91\00:51:04.85
They said, "Come now."
00:51:04.88\00:51:06.32
They took us to what we could
only describe as, bleak house.
00:51:06.72\00:51:10.95
A dreadful hospital.
00:51:11.56\00:51:13.45
There was no shortage of
care in that Russian hospital.
00:51:14.72\00:51:17.40
The Russian
doctors were magnificent.
00:51:17.43\00:51:19.30
They gave us those
blue gowns and things to put
00:51:19.60\00:51:22.52
over our shoes, and masks.
00:51:22.55\00:51:25.56
We went into this room and
there was Anna lying on the bed.
00:51:25.59\00:51:30.21
She had two little babies.
00:51:31.04\00:51:33.14
One baby had
died in child birth.
00:51:34.63\00:51:37.08
One baby was still alive.
00:51:38.11\00:51:39.60
Anna was unconscious.
00:51:39.63\00:51:42.31
I still remember
her hair flowing out.
00:51:44.26\00:51:49.13
And I can still
remember the whiteness of the
00:51:50.12\00:51:53.36
tops of her shoulders.
00:51:53.39\00:51:54.71
She was covered
with a hospital sheet.
00:51:54.74\00:51:57.14
And she was hemorrhaging.
00:51:57.17\00:51:59.10
I said, "Anna, Anna."
She could not hear me.
00:52:01.38\00:52:03.88
This was our Anna,
our Anna, our Anna,
00:52:04.80\00:52:08.23
who conducted the choir.
00:52:08.97\00:52:10.63
I anointed her with oil
in the name of the Lord,
00:52:13.52\00:52:16.21
and committed her
into the hands of Christ,
00:52:16.24\00:52:19.00
with the hope of
the blessed hope.
00:52:19.01\00:52:21.31
I want to tell you, unless
you've got your hope then,
00:52:21.70\00:52:24.63
you've got nothing.
00:52:24.66\00:52:26.47
If you've got Christ,
you've got everything.
00:52:27.13\00:52:29.58
But if you don't have
Christ and if you don't have the
00:52:29.59\00:52:31.88
blessed hope, I want to
tell you, you've got nothing.
00:52:31.91\00:52:34.30
As the sun went
down that Sabbath,
00:52:36.15\00:52:38.26
she fell asleep and died.
00:52:38.86\00:52:41.09
I was asked to
perform the service,
00:52:41.54\00:52:43.91
the funeral service.
00:52:45.77\00:52:47.35
She was buried in a cardboard
box because they were so poor.
00:52:48.14\00:52:52.84
And her family had drawn
flowers on the cardboard box.
00:52:53.33\00:52:57.79
We'd purchased a little bus
and we gave the bus as a hearse.
00:52:58.42\00:53:03.64
And I traveled on
behind in a Volga car.
00:53:03.67\00:53:06.83
We got out to the cemetery
where the wind was howling
00:53:08.32\00:53:11.61
through the
trees that were naked.
00:53:11.64\00:53:15.15
So cold.
00:53:15.18\00:53:16.58
They blasted the ground
open, it was frozen solid.
00:53:16.61\00:53:20.59
She held in her
hands a little tiny baby.
00:53:26.43\00:53:31.77
The church members who
had been decimated by the
00:53:34.79\00:53:37.37
ravages of the
atheists and the Communists
00:53:37.40\00:53:40.18
who'd killed 50
million people...
00:53:40.21\00:53:42.13
Never defend atheism.
00:53:42.16\00:53:44.61
They killed 50
million people in Russia.
00:53:44.64\00:53:47.30
The church members stood
around and stroked her hair
00:53:51.11\00:53:54.09
and sang hymns.
00:53:55.28\00:53:56.65
I thought, after a
reign of terror, you cannot
00:53:56.97\00:54:01.12
kill the church.
00:54:01.15\00:54:02.58
You cannot kill the faith
in the hearts of the people.
00:54:03.23\00:54:06.73
And after I
preached, I remember our feet.
00:54:08.69\00:54:14.07
Beverly told me, "It's
so cold, I'm freezing."
00:54:14.10\00:54:17.74
The ground was solid ice.
00:54:17.77\00:54:19.49
We put her down into the
ground with her little baby.
00:54:19.50\00:54:22.90
They put a cardboard
covering over her body.
00:54:22.93\00:54:26.64
But I said to the folks there,
I want you to know something.
00:54:29.11\00:54:32.07
This is not the end.
00:54:33.50\00:54:35.73
I want the devil to
know, this is not the end.
00:54:36.93\00:54:41.19
I want the world to
know, this is not the end.
00:54:41.22\00:54:44.83
I said to her husband
and the grieving church,
00:54:44.86\00:54:47.92
"This is not the end.
Anna will live again."
00:54:47.95\00:54:51.87
She's going to come out of
the tomb with that gorgeous
00:54:52.31\00:54:55.49
black hair and that
beautiful little baby.
00:54:55.52\00:54:59.64
And she will live for eternity.
00:55:00.58\00:55:02.42
We have this hope.
00:55:02.85\00:55:04.25
You can believe it.
00:55:08.68\00:55:09.90
Not because it is a story.
00:55:11.78\00:55:15.38
You can believe it because
the word of God vouches for it.
00:55:16.33\00:55:22.06
You can believe it
because the Man who inspired
00:55:22.78\00:55:27.98
the book came down.
00:55:28.01\00:55:30.50
He was the Man
who made the universe.
00:55:31.09\00:55:33.62
He came down and He
went down, but He came up.
00:55:34.07\00:55:41.07
And He's coming again.
00:55:42.06\00:55:43.67
"Let not your
hearts be troubled.
00:55:46.56\00:55:48.79
I will come again."
00:55:49.75\00:55:52.67
This is our blessed hope.
00:55:53.31\00:55:56.29
I want you to pray with me.
00:55:56.80\00:55:58.74
I want you to bow
your heads, please.
00:55:58.77\00:56:00.81
Our Father in
heaven, here in Los Angeles
00:56:02.25\00:56:05.89
in this vast teaming
city, in this beautiful church
00:56:05.92\00:56:10.42
that You gave to us as a gift,
00:56:10.45\00:56:12.63
we lift our hearts to You.
00:56:14.93\00:56:16.68
We thank You for the Bible.
00:56:17.50\00:56:19.25
We thank You
for Jesus, our Lord.
00:56:19.54\00:56:21.92
We thank You that our
Savior came down to us
00:56:22.76\00:56:26.92
when we couldn't go up to Him.
00:56:26.95\00:56:28.48
We thank You that
with His own blood,
00:56:29.56\00:56:31.60
He made a perfect
atoning sacrifice for our sins,
00:56:31.61\00:56:35.45
and that He came
up out of the grave.
00:56:36.45\00:56:38.78
And that there is nothing
more certain in the history
00:56:39.89\00:56:42.61
of the universe than His return.
00:56:42.62\00:56:45.71
Who would raise
their hand tonight and say,
00:56:47.30\00:56:49.33
"Oh God, I thank You for Jesus."
00:56:49.36\00:56:52.50
Can you raise your hand
and say, "Thank You, Jesus."
00:56:52.93\00:56:55.31
Can you say tonight, you say
it out loud, "Thank You, Jesus."
00:56:55.95\00:56:59.30
Thank You, Jesus.
00:57:00.09\00:57:01.31
And burn this blessed
hope into my heart tonight.
00:57:02.48\00:57:07.48
Say it; Lord, put this
hope into my heart tonight.
00:57:07.51\00:57:11.22
Take away my fears,
fill me with Your love,
00:57:12.89\00:57:17.53
and everlasting life.
00:57:18.23\00:57:19.99
We worship You.
00:57:20.73\00:57:22.12
In Jesus' name, amen.
00:57:22.13\00:57:26.80
And to all those watching
on television, goodnight.
00:57:27.90\00:57:30.72