Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
from the 3ABN Worship Center.
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The Truth As It Is In
Jesus with Ron Halvorsen.
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Hello friends and welcome
to the 3ABN Worship Center,
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also the Thompsonville
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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We do believe this is
the biggest little city
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in the world because 75% of
the world is covered by water,
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and the rest of it, I'm
told, is covered by 3ABN.
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Thank you so much for
tuning into this exciting
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Bible-centered series
by Pastor Ron Halvorsen.
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You may have heard
about Pastor Halvorsen before.
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You may be intimately acquainted
with him as a preacher,
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a teacher, a man of God.
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But the Lord did a wonderful
work in his life as He took him
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from the gangs and the
streets of New York City.
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And matter of fact, his story is
chronicled in the book called,
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From Gangs To God.
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He was a fighter on the
streets of the city of New York.
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But now he's a fighter
in the army of the Lord.
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Can you say amen to that?
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And his life is an amazing life.
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Once the question
was asked about Jesus,
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"Can any good thing
come out of Nazareth?"
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Well, I think Pastor Halvorsen
knows that question very well.
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Because people often
ask, "Can any good thing
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come out of Brooklyn?"
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Well, if you know
Pastor Halvorsen, you know that
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it is true that God
can transform any life,
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take us from where we were
to where we are going to be
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and continue to grow in Jesus.
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And what a life.
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For example, Pastor Halvorsen
has pastored many churches.
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He is not only a
teacher, but a preacher.
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He is also a homiletician.
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And if you don't know what
that means; he's not only a good
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preacher, but he
teaches people how to preach.
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And sure does preach the
word from the strength and power
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of God's indwelling Holy Spirit.
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He also taught in many
colleges Bible doctrine.
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He has held more than 159
major evangelistic campaigns.
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That may not sound like a
lot, but if you think about if
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that's just one a year,
he has to be 159 years old.
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So that's about an average
of three a year for the 53 years
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of ministry that
he has conducted.
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Can we say amen to that?
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That's a lot of
work, a lot of souls.
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As a matter of fact, still
to this very day he is listed as
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one of the largest prayer
meeting attendants ever held
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in the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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1500 attendants
on Wednesday night.
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What a record.
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But the people were there, not
to just see Pastor Halvorsen,
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but to hear the
Word rightly divided.
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53 years of ministry,
learning at the feet of Jesus.
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54 years as a husband, learning
at the feet of his wife.
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And what a blessed place to be.
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54 years of successful
love between a man and a woman,
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who's both hearts
are centered in Christ.
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This series is entitled,
The Truth As It Is In Jesus.
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And tonight the focus is,
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The Truth as it is in
Jesus, About His Father.
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So invite your
friends and family members.
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If you're busying yourself,
sit down and watch a series
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that I believe will transform
your life and open your heart
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to the truth
about God the Father.
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How can we be
transformed to do such a
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wonderful work in the Lord?
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I believe tonight this
song brings the truth home
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very well how that can happen.
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But before the song, let's
bow our heads and invite the
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presence of the
Lord to be with us.
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Our gracious Father in heaven,
what a blessing it is to know
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that truly when a man
is in the hand of the Lord,
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who he was is nothing compared
to who he can be in Jesus.
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We pray tonight, Father,
that You'll bless and anoint
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Pastor Ron Halvorsen.
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Cause him to preach the
Word, to be instant in season
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and out of season.
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And Father, when the
message goes forth tonight,
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may we not only learn the
truth about God the Father,
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but may we desire to
have a relationship with Him,
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to have Him abide in our
hearts and to strengthen us.
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And Father, in the process as
we continue growing in Christ,
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may that be because You are
refining us by the indwelling
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power of Your Holy Spirit.
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In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
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There burns a
fire with sacred heat,
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white hot with Holy Flame;
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and all who dare
pass through its blaze
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will not emerge the same.
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Some as bronze
and some as silver,
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some as gold,
yet with great skill;
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all are hammered
by their sufferings
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on the anvil of His will.
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The Refiner's fire
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has now become my soul's desire;
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purged and
cleansed and purified,
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that the Lord be glorified.
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He is consuming my soul;
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refining me, making me whole.
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No matter what I may lose,
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I choose the Refiner's fire.
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I'm learning now
to trust His touch,
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to crave that Fire's embrace;
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for though my past
with sin was etched,
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His mercies did erase.
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Each time the
purging cleanses deeper,
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I'm not sure if I will survive;
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yet the strength
from growing weaker
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keeps my hungry soul alive.
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The Refiner's fire
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has now become my soul's desire;
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purged and
cleansed and purified,
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that the Lord be glorified.
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He is consuming my soul;
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refining me, making me whole.
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So, no matter what I may lose,
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I choose the Refiner's fire.
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Choose the Refiner's fire.
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Can you say amen?
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Amen.
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Thank you, John.
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I want to welcome you
here and those who are watching
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to The Truth As It
Is In Jesus series.
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Last night, we got a glimpse
of the truth as it is in Jesus
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concerning His unique
nature, His unique person.
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Jesus Christ, of all
who ever lived, was unique;
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unique in His
origin and in His promise.
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And we looked at that carefully.
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We also, the night
before, looked at His birth;
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the birth of Jesus
Christ, Christ coming down
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to this earth, the incarnation,
Immanuel, God with us,
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so that He might touch us
with that unconditional love.
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This evening, I want
to take another truth
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from the Word of God.
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We want to
discover another truth;
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the truth about His Father.
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And what is our
concept of God the Father?
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To some, God the Father is
like an eternal Santa Clause.
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You know?
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I mean, we ask things and
we hope we've been good enough
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to get them.
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And when He doesn't give
us the things we ask for,
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we get upset with
the eternal Santa Clause.
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To others, God is
kind of an eternal bellhop
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carrying our
luggage, lifting our burdens.
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Generally, He's a servant.
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And sometimes,
He's our eternal banker.
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And when we need help
financially, we come to Him
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and we expect Him to give
to us, and right then answer.
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And when He
doesn't, we change bankers.
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To others, He's
harsh and vengeful.
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I mean, He's
unbending. He's the judge.
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I mean, He kindles fires against
us and seeks to destroy us.
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Don't laugh or have a good time.
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Don't look like your happy.
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I mean, this stern God.
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And many have
learned to fear Him.
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Others have
learned to avoid Him.
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Since they have such a
concept of God the Father,
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such a concept of
this Almighty One, I mean,
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they fear Him in such a
way they run away from Him,
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they try to hide.
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And then others have
even learned to hate Him,
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because their concept of
God had been brought to them
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in a brutal way, a hateful way.
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And so, what's your
concept of God the Father?
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Some have the idea that God
the Father seeks to destroy us.
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And there's God the
Father on this side,
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and there's Jesus
on the other side.
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And Jesus says, "No,
don't do that, Father."
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And He's trying to plead because
God wants this vengeance.
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But that's not the
God I found in the Bible.
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That's not the Father that I was
introduced to by Jesus Christ.
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I mean, Jesus
shatters that hard idea,
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the hard hearts
and the hard of heads.
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He destroys that bad theology,
the theology of the dark ages,
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and shines a new
light on the nature and the
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character of the Father.
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Who would know the
Father better than the Son?
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And who would know the
Son better than the Father?
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On many occasions as
pastor, I use to have to
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visit the hospital.
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And I have to admit, I didn't
like hospital visits so much.
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I kind of had so much empathy.
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You know, I felt bad
because they were feeling bad.
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But every now and then, I would
make my way through the nursery
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as I left the hospital or
just before I made the visit.
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I'd go by the nursery.
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And one time I was
coming by the nursery window.
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And the curtains were drawn
and there was a family gathered
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around the window looking in.
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They were looking in.
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They were excited.
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Their faces were full of joy.
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I mean, the nurse held up
this wrinkled little baby.
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By the way, I've never
seen really a beautiful baby.
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But to the parents,
to the loved ones...
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And he held up this
little wrinkled baby
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and they were gooing
and pointing and laughing
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and crying.
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And one said, "Look, he
looks just like his father."
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Perhaps we need to
look again through the
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nursery window of God's Word.
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Perhaps we need to see this
gentle, loving, caring Father.
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Perhaps that will not only
change our view of the Father,
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but that will change
our view of our religion
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and there will be
more love and grace.
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You know, it's interesting,
when I studied into the Father,
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I thought it was
like that nursery window.
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The Son looks and
acts like the Father
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and the Father looks
and acts like His Son.
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And all the gentle
attributes you apply to Jesus
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should be applied to the Father.
00:14:01.88\00:14:03.48
But before we get into
it, let's bow our heads
00:14:04.08\00:14:06.36
in a word of prayer.
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Gracious Father, we approach You
tonight knowing and recognizing
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Your great love.
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Speak to us, caress us,
and may we feel your presence
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and understand Your love.
00:14:21.56\00:14:23.13
And by understanding
Your love, may we be a
00:14:23.16\00:14:25.61
reflection of that
love, that they might know
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the loving caring Father.
00:14:28.09\00:14:32.66
In Jesus' name, amen.
00:14:33.06\00:14:36.75
It's interesting to me that
when Jesus wants to make us know
00:14:37.76\00:14:43.22
who the Father is and
make us aware of the Father,
00:14:43.72\00:14:48.04
He uses the occasion of prayer.
00:14:49.26\00:14:51.46
In fact, in Matthew 6 verse
8, He cares about our needs.
00:14:52.55\00:14:58.52
In Matthew 6, in
the prayer, verse 9,
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He reveals the holy
character of God the Father.
00:15:02.71\00:15:07.93
And then again, in
chapter 6 verses 12 through 13,
00:15:08.51\00:15:12.67
He rewards us, the
Father rewards us and gives
00:15:13.78\00:15:20.06
His fulfilling love to us.
00:15:20.09\00:15:22.00
Now to amplify this truth,
to show us really how the Father
00:15:22.42\00:15:27.18
acts and is, Jesus told a story.
00:15:27.21\00:15:30.48
And that's why I love Jesus.
00:15:30.92\00:15:32.27
When He wants to get
to something deep and
00:15:32.30\00:15:34.45
get to something that
hardly we can comprehend,
00:15:34.48\00:15:38.06
He tells a simple story.
00:15:38.07\00:15:40.05
And in that simple
story, He reveals the truth
00:15:41.12\00:15:44.81
as it is in
Jesus about the Father.
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And that story is
found in the 15th chapter of
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the gospel of Luke.
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I mean, there's
actually four stories here
00:15:51.57\00:15:54.08
in the 15th chapter.
00:15:54.11\00:15:55.45
If you'll just turn with me.
00:15:55.48\00:15:56.83
I'm going to concentrate
on verses 20 through 24.
00:15:58.09\00:16:00.69
But I want to read
the whole story here.
00:16:00.72\00:16:03.76
There are actually four stories
of lostness in the 15th chapter.
00:16:04.54\00:16:08.72
I remember, my son, he
was a seminary student;
00:16:09.14\00:16:11.66
we were visiting one
day and driving along
00:16:11.69\00:16:14.08
and I was taking him on a visit.
00:16:14.11\00:16:15.31
And we had just been studying
chapter 15 together in worship.
00:16:15.70\00:16:19.76
My son said, "There's a
lot in that 15th chapter, dad."
00:16:20.34\00:16:23.56
I said, "Yea, I think I
could write 15 sermons on that."
00:16:23.59\00:16:27.26
You know how you kind of
brag to your son, you know.
00:16:27.29\00:16:30.36
I mean, he's in seminary
and I'm going to show him up.
00:16:30.37\00:16:32.82
And he said, "No, dad, I
don't think you can do that."
00:16:33.75\00:16:36.20
And so many, many
months later, I called him up.
00:16:36.21\00:16:38.66
I said, "I just
finished the 15th."
00:16:38.67\00:16:40.70
But we don't have 15 sermons
tonight, I'll assure you that.
00:16:41.38\00:16:44.80
But anyway, it's a
tremendous text that's
00:16:44.83\00:16:47.54
pregnant with God's truth.
00:16:47.57\00:16:49.25
And He amplifies
it in a simple story.
00:16:49.28\00:16:51.60
He says, the lost sheep.
00:16:52.52\00:16:54.86
Now, the lost
sheep wonders away.
00:16:55.71\00:16:58.21
He talks about the lost coin
which is carelessly dropped.
00:16:59.92\00:17:04.17
And how many have lost
their way because they've
00:17:04.54\00:17:06.48
been carelessly dropped, in the
church and outside the church?
00:17:06.49\00:17:10.68
And then He speaks about the
lost boy we call, the prodigal.
00:17:11.83\00:17:17.31
And then finally He
gets to the real truth,
00:17:18.10\00:17:20.82
because He's
speaking to the Pharisees.
00:17:21.19\00:17:23.52
He's speaking to the Sadducees.
00:17:23.82\00:17:25.85
And so He wants to show them
that the brother who stays at
00:17:25.88\00:17:28.60
home is as lost as the brother
who wonders to the pigpen.
00:17:28.61\00:17:32.58
And He speaks about the
lost brother who's at home.
00:17:33.64\00:17:38.62
But always in this
story, what I love about it,
00:17:38.63\00:17:40.77
always in this story is
the face of the shadow of God.
00:17:40.80\00:17:44.23
God is there in every story.
00:17:45.11\00:17:47.64
The Father is there
waiting in every story.
00:17:47.88\00:17:51.76
You'll notice that.
00:17:52.11\00:17:53.38
And so if you have
your Bibles, turn with me
00:17:53.85\00:17:56.57
to the 15th chapter.
00:17:56.60\00:17:57.82
And I'm starting
here at verse 11.
00:17:59.86\00:18:01.67
Who said? Jesus.
00:18:06.07\00:18:07.79
I think this is the most
beautiful text in all the Bible.
00:19:17.79\00:19:20.68
Wow.
00:19:35.59\00:19:36.72
It was one of those rare moments
00:20:03.66\00:20:04.84
in the life of a preacher.
00:20:04.85\00:20:06.34
I happened to be home.
00:20:06.65\00:20:07.90
And my little boy
was seated on my lap
00:20:08.76\00:20:11.73
on one of those
space age recliners.
00:20:12.39\00:20:14.06
You know the kind you
push back and lean back.
00:20:14.09\00:20:16.10
And you push a button
and it kind of shakes you up.
00:20:16.13\00:20:18.22
And you push another
button and it heats you up.
00:20:18.23\00:20:20.58
And I was telling
him bedtime stories;
00:20:24.06\00:20:26.29
stories from the Bible.
00:20:26.32\00:20:27.88
And he was just
4 years old or so.
00:20:28.55\00:20:30.35
And he
interrupted every sentence
00:20:30.38\00:20:32.24
with a childish question.
00:20:32.27\00:20:33.36
You know how they are.
00:20:33.39\00:20:34.60
"Daddy, why is the sky blue?"
00:20:36.17\00:20:38.44
And you know, I
gave him one of those
00:20:38.95\00:20:39.95
intelligent father answers.
00:20:39.98\00:20:41.59
"Because it's blue."
00:20:43.07\00:20:44.79
"Daddy, why is water wet?"
00:20:45.98\00:20:47.36
You know the questions.
00:20:47.39\00:20:48.85
But there was one
question that startled me.
00:20:50.34\00:20:53.97
There was one
question that arrested my mind.
00:20:54.88\00:20:56.82
There was one
question that was profound.
00:20:56.85\00:20:58.75
He looked into my face
with those baby blue eyes
00:20:58.78\00:21:01.26
and he said,
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:21:01.27\00:21:04.86
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:21:07.23\00:21:10.82
"Well Son, He's
like... Uh, I mean..."
00:21:10.85\00:21:13.41
I stammered.
00:21:13.44\00:21:14.48
I'd been asked all
kinds of questions.
00:21:15.70\00:21:17.42
I mean, questions,
steep theological questions.
00:21:17.45\00:21:21.54
I mean, very deep questions.
00:21:21.57\00:21:23.73
And yet this question,
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:21:23.76\00:21:27.50
It's the only important
question ever asked me.
00:21:30.43\00:21:32.99
What is God like?
00:21:34.21\00:21:35.59
One cannot think far into
the tangled human situation
00:21:36.86\00:21:39.60
we see today in the world
and not ask questions about God.
00:21:39.63\00:21:42.62
"God, what are you like?"
00:21:42.64\00:21:43.64
Or closer still,
"How does God feel?"
00:21:43.65\00:21:45.33
I mean, how does God feel
when He hears in the world
00:21:47.67\00:21:49.67
the thunder of guns as men hunt
each other down on land and sea?
00:21:49.70\00:21:52.83
Terrorists blowing up buildings?
00:21:54.10\00:21:56.18
I mean, how does God feel
when He sees the lovely planet
00:21:56.88\00:21:59.37
defaced by strife
and lust and human woe?
00:21:59.40\00:22:02.31
How does God feel?
00:22:02.80\00:22:04.31
How does God feel not
alone on the battlefield?
00:22:05.01\00:22:07.44
How does God feel
in the hospital room?
00:22:07.47\00:22:09.72
How does God feel with that
family, little family, huddled
00:22:09.75\00:22:12.90
around that casket and
the one they love the most
00:22:12.91\00:22:15.82
is soon to be put
beneath the earth?
00:22:15.85\00:22:17.85
And some without hope.
00:22:18.15\00:22:19.65
How does God feel?
00:22:21.05\00:22:22.57
How does God feel always and
how does God feel everywhere?
00:22:23.52\00:22:27.18
And this is the question
that answers all questions.
00:22:27.21\00:22:29.76
Sometimes it's asked anxiously.
00:22:29.79\00:22:31.62
Sometimes it's
asked in bewilderment.
00:22:31.65\00:22:33.87
I mean, we don't know.
00:22:33.90\00:22:35.41
And sometimes it's
asked in bitterness.
00:22:35.44\00:22:37.91
God.
00:22:38.30\00:22:39.53
Derision.
00:22:39.74\00:22:40.74
What is the nature,
what is the character of God?
00:22:40.84\00:22:43.13
The great word on the
lips of Jesus was "Father."
00:22:44.48\00:22:48.69
He is like a father.
00:22:50.32\00:22:52.68
He's like a father who
knows how to give good gifts
00:22:53.59\00:22:56.60
to his children.
00:22:56.63\00:22:59.06
Now in the Old Testament, there
are other words for this Father.
00:22:59.39\00:23:01.80
There are other
words for this God.
00:23:01.83\00:23:03.37
I mean, philosophical
and theological words.
00:23:03.38\00:23:06.06
He was the Almighty God.
00:23:06.09\00:23:07.53
I mean, He was the Creator God.
00:23:07.56\00:23:09.35
He was the God far distant,
the great Judge of the universe.
00:23:09.38\00:23:12.80
Some even dared in that
day to touch and suggest
00:23:12.83\00:23:15.79
that the power behind
it all was like a father.
00:23:15.82\00:23:18.65
Like a father
pitieth, so the Lord pitieth.
00:23:18.66\00:23:22.03
Six times only could I
find it in the Old Testament.
00:23:22.06\00:23:25.10
Six times only that expression,
that vague halting expression
00:23:26.14\00:23:32.00
that God, the God of
the universe, the God who
00:23:32.03\00:23:34.76
created us, the God who loved
us, was a God like a father.
00:23:34.79\00:23:40.23
And He took that great word,
"father," rich in tenderness,
00:23:41.22\00:23:46.95
He took that great word
rich and familiar to everyone,
00:23:46.96\00:23:51.06
and He made it the rallying
watchword of His gospel message.
00:23:51.09\00:23:54.45
Jesus taught us the
truth, anchored in the truth.
00:23:54.48\00:23:57.84
Jesus taught us, His children,
that God is like a father.
00:23:57.87\00:24:02.82
And this concept which we
frame our thoughts about God.
00:24:04.04\00:24:08.51
There is no prayer
in which it is missed.
00:24:08.81\00:24:11.49
The first record of
His speaking is this,
00:24:11.50\00:24:13.57
"No ye not that I must be
about My Father's business?"
00:24:13.58\00:24:17.41
To the last word, "Father, into
Thy hands I commend My spirit."
00:24:21.14\00:24:28.20
And when Jesus wanted to
tell us what God was like,
00:24:29.82\00:24:32.48
when men suffer and
hurt themselves, He took the
00:24:33.23\00:24:37.73
word "Father" and He wove
it into a beautiful story,
00:24:37.76\00:24:41.32
an incomprehensible
story, an unforgettable story.
00:24:41.35\00:24:45.22
This story is a gem of the
unsearchable riches of Christ.
00:24:45.25\00:24:48.83
This story is the
pearl of great price.
00:24:48.86\00:24:51.45
A certain man had two sons.
00:24:51.48\00:24:53.63
This story is not
ancient in an ancient book
00:24:53.66\00:24:56.01
to be put on a
shelf to gather dust.
00:24:56.04\00:24:58.16
This happens every day in
every city in most every home.
00:24:58.19\00:25:02.12
This is the story of how parents
feel when children wonder.
00:25:03.33\00:25:06.58
This is the story of
how children feel when they
00:25:06.61\00:25:09.63
come to themselves and
they are afraid to go home.
00:25:09.66\00:25:12.46
This is the story of
those who are hurting and
00:25:12.49\00:25:14.75
those who need help.
00:25:14.78\00:25:16.28
This is the story of children
everywhere around the world.
00:25:16.31\00:25:20.04
It's relevant to us all.
00:25:21.86\00:25:23.61
It's not about a boy who
squanders his inheritance,
00:25:28.68\00:25:32.85
this 15th chapter.
00:25:32.88\00:25:34.41
It's about a father
who won't let him go,
00:25:35.42\00:25:39.39
who is waiting
with tender patience,
00:25:41.83\00:25:46.46
with great love
and great devotion.
00:25:46.49\00:25:48.92
A father who
understands what God is like
00:25:48.95\00:25:51.42
in this age of a tidal
wave of commandment breaking,
00:25:51.45\00:25:54.11
God defying, soul
destroying, iniquity sweeps the
00:25:54.14\00:25:57.34
ocean of human affairs.
00:25:57.35\00:25:58.68
How does God feel?
00:25:58.71\00:26:00.20
He feels like a father who
has lost someone that he loves.
00:26:00.23\00:26:04.81
But you know, to some even
the word "father" is repugnant.
00:26:07.20\00:26:12.35
There may be some of you
here, there may be some of you
00:26:14.14\00:26:16.36
watching this program
right now that the word "father"
00:26:16.39\00:26:18.97
is repugnant.
00:26:19.00\00:26:20.40
But to understand what God
is like we must, of necessity,
00:26:22.27\00:26:28.17
understand His feelings.
00:26:28.20\00:26:30.20
I was working in
Brooklyn, New York.
00:26:31.42\00:26:33.22
And I was preaching
there in Brooklyn, New York
00:26:34.57\00:26:36.43
and I had the name of a girl.
00:26:36.46\00:26:38.26
And I read the
information, this little bit of
00:26:39.35\00:26:41.80
information I had.
00:26:41.83\00:26:42.83
And she was in a
very bad neighborhood,
00:26:42.86\00:26:44.85
and she was a
preachers daughter.
00:26:44.88\00:26:47.04
And I thought,
"Wow, a preachers daughter
00:26:47.05\00:26:49.40
in a place like this.
00:26:49.41\00:26:50.68
How could that be?"
00:26:50.71\00:26:52.35
And I thought to
myself, "Oh, I'm a preacher
00:26:53.76\00:26:56.59
and I have a daughter."
00:26:56.62\00:26:57.62
And I knew the place,
I knew the neighborhood.
00:26:57.97\00:27:00.52
I grew up in the shadow of it.
00:27:01.39\00:27:03.06
And so I got in my ghetto car
and drove into the inner city.
00:27:04.08\00:27:07.80
Why I call it a ghetto
car; it wasn't worth stealing.
00:27:08.46\00:27:10.70
And I drove up
and parked my car.
00:27:13.67\00:27:15.65
And I got out of my car
and left the windows open
00:27:16.67\00:27:18.92
hoping someone would steal it.
00:27:18.95\00:27:20.39
And I ran
through the neighborhood.
00:27:23.30\00:27:24.75
And I always ran, when I
worked in the inner city,
00:27:24.78\00:27:27.11
I always took my Bible
and I would hold it here.
00:27:27.12\00:27:29.50
Because if they shoot
me, they got to go through
00:27:29.52\00:27:31.04
Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
00:27:31.07\00:27:33.80
And so I ran up the
stairs and down the hall,
00:27:36.05\00:27:38.05
and I came to the door.
00:27:38.08\00:27:39.70
And you could hear the music.
00:27:39.73\00:27:41.07
Boom, boom, boom; the music.
00:27:41.10\00:27:45.99
And so I knocked on the door.
00:27:47.71\00:27:49.28
And I still heard boom, boom.
00:27:50.46\00:27:52.97
She didn't hear me.
00:27:53.00\00:27:54.15
So I got back and I rushed
at the door; boom, boom, boom.
00:27:54.18\00:27:59.59
She heard me.
00:27:59.62\00:28:00.78
And she opened, and
there were those locks.
00:28:02.41\00:28:05.27
We feel so sorry
for the criminal.
00:28:05.67\00:28:07.80
What about the poor people who
are locked in their tenements
00:28:07.83\00:28:10.62
afraid to go out at night?
00:28:10.65\00:28:12.34
And the final lock, by the
way, is a crowbar in the floor
00:28:13.37\00:28:16.69
and in the door.
00:28:16.70\00:28:17.77
And she got that out and
then there was the chain lock.
00:28:17.88\00:28:20.01
And she looked and
she said, "Who are you?"
00:28:20.02\00:28:21.74
I said, "Pastor Ron Halvorsen.
00:28:21.75\00:28:23.61
I'm a Seventh-day
Adventist minister."
00:28:24.15\00:28:25.57
She said, "I'm not interested."
00:28:25.58\00:28:26.72
I said, "I know,
that's why I'm here."
00:28:26.73\00:28:29.01
And she let me in.
00:28:32.11\00:28:33.55
I sat there for a while
and she didn't need a sermon.
00:28:34.69\00:28:37.21
She needed
someone to listen to her.
00:28:38.76\00:28:40.61
I said, "Tell me your
story." And she told me.
00:28:41.17\00:28:42.74
And it was a story of a
little girl who was born in a
00:28:42.77\00:28:45.74
preacher's home and
had all the benefits of
00:28:45.77\00:28:48.61
being in a preacher's home.
00:28:48.64\00:28:49.76
And grew up in a Christian home
and went to a Christian school
00:28:49.77\00:28:53.27
from kindergarten
right on through high school.
00:28:53.28\00:28:56.38
And she went off to high school.
00:28:56.41\00:28:57.86
And when she was in high school,
she got with the wrong kids.
00:28:57.89\00:29:00.27
And that happens. It
can happen to any parent.
00:29:00.28\00:29:03.68
She found out she was pregnant.
00:29:05.63\00:29:07.26
She went home to tell her daddy.
00:29:08.41\00:29:09.97
Her daddy was angry.
00:29:11.55\00:29:12.97
I mean, every father would
be upset, but this was angry.
00:29:12.98\00:29:17.75
He said, "You're no
longer my daughter."
00:29:18.82\00:29:20.38
And so with that, she
left home and she hitch hiked
00:29:20.39\00:29:23.50
across from the west
and came to Brooklyn.
00:29:23.53\00:29:27.14
And they were waiting for her
when she arrived; those leeches.
00:29:27.45\00:29:30.87
They were waiting for her.
00:29:30.90\00:29:32.09
They set her up to lay her down.
00:29:32.10\00:29:34.37
And that's where I found her.
00:29:35.16\00:29:36.56
And I said, "Well
honey, have you ever thought
00:29:37.64\00:29:39.06
about going home?"
00:29:39.09\00:29:40.10
She said, "I can't, my
father wouldn't want me home."
00:29:40.50\00:29:43.87
And I could see in
her eye that there was a
00:29:44.12\00:29:45.47
little glint of hope.
00:29:45.50\00:29:48.43
And so I had prayer.
00:29:50.81\00:29:52.92
I went home.
00:29:54.18\00:29:55.16
I got in my ghetto car and
drove home and I got there.
00:29:55.20\00:29:57.91
And by the way, you
can run from evangelists,
00:29:57.94\00:30:00.47
but you can't hide.
00:30:00.50\00:30:01.70
And so I got the General
Conference book and I looked up
00:30:03.86\00:30:06.45
the name, the
preacher, and found him
00:30:06.48\00:30:08.94
somewhere there in California.
00:30:08.97\00:30:10.68
I got on the phone and
I dialed the number and
00:30:11.16\00:30:13.83
a professional preacher
answered, "May I help you?"
00:30:14.83\00:30:17.63
You know, I could picture him;
00:30:17.66\00:30:18.81
black suit, black shoes,
black socks, black underwear,
00:30:18.84\00:30:23.12
you know, Bible,
black Bible case.
00:30:23.15\00:30:25.15
Holy.
00:30:26.60\00:30:27.71
Dressed right, talked right.
00:30:29.85\00:30:31.56
Most of you would have
loved him as your pastor.
00:30:32.77\00:30:35.46
But God looks right through it.
00:30:37.40\00:30:39.19
It's not what you
have on the outside,
00:30:40.66\00:30:42.21
it's what you
have on the inside.
00:30:42.22\00:30:43.84
And so I said,
"Hi, I'm Ron Halvorsen."
00:30:45.53\00:30:48.23
He said, "Who's Ron Halvorsen?"
00:30:48.24\00:30:49.34
Now I knew he needed a lesson.
00:30:49.35\00:30:50.94
And so I said, "Well, I'm a
pastor evangelist in Brooklyn.
00:30:53.12\00:30:57.04
And I just was
visiting with your daughter."
00:30:57.07\00:30:58.93
He said, "I have no daughter."
I said, "You're a liar."
00:30:58.96\00:31:01.19
"You have a beautiful daughter.
00:31:03.37\00:31:04.41
And by the way, you have
a beautiful granddaughter.
00:31:04.44\00:31:06.63
You seem so hard."
00:31:08.57\00:31:09.58
He said, "You don't understand."
00:31:09.59\00:31:10.59
I said, "No, I do
understand. I do understand.
00:31:10.60\00:31:15.53
Do you realize
where I found her?
00:31:16.37\00:31:18.33
She needs you."
00:31:20.72\00:31:22.12
And there was a pause.
00:31:23.23\00:31:24.48
And soon he began to cry.
00:31:24.49\00:31:26.34
And I thought, "Wow,
even preachers can repent."
00:31:26.35\00:31:30.40
I said, "Do you want her home?"
00:31:31.72\00:31:33.40
He said, "I want her home.
00:31:33.96\00:31:35.48
I want her home."
00:31:36.28\00:31:37.52
So I had prayer with him.
00:31:37.73\00:31:39.36
And then I got in my
ghetto car and I drove.
00:31:39.95\00:31:42.28
But before I got to the
girl's place, I stopped at
00:31:42.29\00:31:44.58
LaGuardia Airport and I bought
a one-way ticket to California.
00:31:44.59\00:31:47.43
And put it in my pocket and
drove there, ran up the stairs,
00:31:47.44\00:31:50.82
and down the
hall; boom, boom, boom.
00:31:50.83\00:31:53.59
Don't wait until they're ready.
00:31:53.62\00:31:54.99
Don't wait until they have
straightened out their life.
00:31:55.59\00:31:57.63
Give them hope.
00:31:58.25\00:31:59.74
And I... boom, boom.
00:32:01.23\00:32:03.31
"Who is it?" "Ron Halvorsen."
00:32:03.34\00:32:04.78
She knew who Ron
Halvorsen was now.
00:32:04.79\00:32:06.58
And she opened the door.
00:32:08.75\00:32:10.09
And there, all the
bitterness towards the father.
00:32:11.62\00:32:16.60
I said, "Your
father wants you home."
00:32:18.06\00:32:19.97
She said, "I
can't believe that."
00:32:20.00\00:32:21.04
I said, "Well,
here's the ticket."
00:32:21.07\00:32:22.61
I took her to LaGuardia.
00:32:23.55\00:32:24.69
The little baby, I remember it.
00:32:26.36\00:32:27.92
Close my eyes and I see her.
00:32:27.95\00:32:29.46
I held that baby in my
arms and when it was time,
00:32:31.11\00:32:33.19
I hugged that baby and
hugged that little girl.
00:32:33.22\00:32:35.51
And I sent her to California.
00:32:35.96\00:32:37.81
Years later, I was preaching
in Anaheim, California.
00:32:38.29\00:32:40.78
35,000 people at that meeting.
00:32:40.81\00:32:43.00
And I was preaching.
00:32:43.03\00:32:44.31
And after I got done preaching,
I stood at the front and this
00:32:44.34\00:32:47.48
beautiful woman came down
with a beautiful little girl
00:32:47.68\00:32:49.99
and a handsome young man.
00:32:50.29\00:32:51.50
And she said, "Remember me?
00:32:51.53\00:32:53.21
You know what I told you?"
00:32:53.24\00:32:54.39
"I don't remember. I'm sorry."
00:32:54.42\00:32:56.32
I look in the mirror twice
every morning to see who I am.
00:32:56.35\00:32:59.21
I said, "Well, I can't."
00:33:00.30\00:33:01.30
She said,
"Brooklyn. Boom, boom."
00:33:01.33\00:33:04.29
And I found this girl again.
00:33:04.32\00:33:07.31
She had gone back to her
father. Her father repented.
00:33:07.71\00:33:10.74
They were in each other's arms.
00:33:10.77\00:33:12.59
And after that, he
sent her to school.
00:33:12.62\00:33:14.84
She became a
teacher and is teaching.
00:33:14.87\00:33:17.03
And now she's going with,
was going then with a young man,
00:33:17.38\00:33:21.26
Christian young
man for the kingdom.
00:33:21.27\00:33:23.35
But even the word
"father" can be repugnant.
00:33:23.38\00:33:25.52
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:33:25.85\00:33:27.49
He's like a father that loves.
00:33:27.52\00:33:31.22
And I discovered three
things about this Father
00:33:31.58\00:33:33.78
here in the Word of God.
00:33:33.81\00:33:34.94
How does God feel?
00:33:35.50\00:33:36.74
Well, He feels like a father.
00:33:36.75\00:33:38.37
How does a father feel?
00:33:38.38\00:33:39.38
He sorrows like a
father over our estrangement,
00:33:39.39\00:33:42.21
our separation.
00:33:42.23\00:33:43.81
You don't go far in the
Bible without finding it.
00:33:44.48\00:33:46.44
I mean, you find it right away.
00:33:46.47\00:33:47.74
Face to face with
the loneliness of God.
00:33:47.77\00:33:49.95
It's the kind of loneliness
which all parents feel
00:33:49.98\00:33:52.77
to some degree, to some measure,
00:33:52.80\00:33:54.56
when their children go
away and set their affections
00:33:54.57\00:33:57.50
on something outside the home.
00:33:57.53\00:33:59.20
I mean, it's like the
poem, "I had a nest full once.
00:33:59.23\00:34:01.55
Happy, happy I.
00:34:01.58\00:34:02.70
Right dearly I loved them.
00:34:02.73\00:34:04.06
But when they were grown,
they spread their wings to fly."
00:34:04.09\00:34:07.54
We all know that as parents.
00:34:07.57\00:34:09.31
But added to this
willful estrangement,
00:34:09.91\00:34:12.46
there's no sorrow like unto it.
00:34:12.81\00:34:15.07
When they walk away,
grow course and cheap,
00:34:15.10\00:34:17.54
and fling away their
birthright like a fool.
00:34:17.57\00:34:20.24
When you crave love and you
get nothing but indifference.
00:34:20.27\00:34:22.78
When you look for
affection and you get nothing
00:34:22.79\00:34:24.94
from them but ingratitude.
00:34:24.97\00:34:26.47
I mean, that hurts.
00:34:26.48\00:34:27.48
How does God feel?
00:34:27.51\00:34:28.86
Don't you ever think
of the feelings of God?
00:34:28.89\00:34:31.60
He feels like a
father that sorrows
00:34:32.62\00:34:37.77
over our estrangement.
00:34:39.09\00:34:40.80
A preacher had a son and he
wanted his son to be a preacher.
00:34:42.11\00:34:44.59
I guess every preacher does.
00:34:44.62\00:34:45.93
I'm fortunate, I have two
kids; they're both preachers.
00:34:45.96\00:34:49.08
But he had a son
and that son grew up.
00:34:50.27\00:34:52.01
And the son, you know, use
to go up behind the pulpit and
00:34:52.04\00:34:54.76
preach when his daddy was doing
something around the church.
00:34:54.79\00:34:57.99
And the boy sang in the choir.
00:34:58.02\00:35:00.31
But as he got older, he
got with the wrong company.
00:35:00.60\00:35:02.87
And this can happen.
00:35:02.90\00:35:04.20
And soon the boy was
drinking and carousing.
00:35:08.15\00:35:11.08
The father's heart was broken.
00:35:12.10\00:35:14.00
Every time the father
came home late at night,
00:35:16.13\00:35:17.79
he would go to his boy's
room and look in to see if his
00:35:17.82\00:35:20.18
boy was home safe.
00:35:20.21\00:35:21.35
And you could smell the
fumes of alcohol and the vomit.
00:35:21.75\00:35:25.18
They don't show you that
on Budweiser commercials.
00:35:25.62\00:35:29.77
They don't show you
broken homes and broken hearts.
00:35:30.97\00:35:33.90
"Grab all the gusto.
You only go around once."
00:35:35.03\00:35:37.33
That's right. I'm
going around twice.
00:35:37.36\00:35:39.62
You'll get that by
next Thursday, some of you.
00:35:40.59\00:35:42.82
And one night he came home
and the door was open a little.
00:35:46.56\00:35:48.94
He looked in and his boy
was laying there in bed, out.
00:35:48.95\00:35:51.31
And there his wife was
kneeling beside the bed and
00:35:51.34\00:35:54.21
she was stroking his
hair and she was crying.
00:35:54.24\00:35:57.40
And she heard her husband
at the door and she turned.
00:35:57.43\00:36:00.16
And she said, "He won't let
me love him when he's awake."
00:36:00.19\00:36:03.79
And this is the
dominant theme in Scripture.
00:36:07.69\00:36:12.07
From the very first
book, "Adam, where are you?"
00:36:12.58\00:36:16.10
To the last book where God says,
"Behold, I knock at the door."
00:36:17.48\00:36:21.12
Willful estrangement.
00:36:25.05\00:36:26.53
"What is God like, daddy?"
00:36:27.42\00:36:28.59
He's like a father who sorrows
deeply over our separation.
00:36:29.84\00:36:33.40
He hurts because we seek
life's satisfaction outside of
00:36:34.53\00:36:38.14
His grace and
outside of His love.
00:36:38.17\00:36:39.74
But secondly,
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:36:40.41\00:36:42.60
He's like a father who
sorrows over our impoverishment.
00:36:42.63\00:36:45.00
In the story, the prodigal
leaves with the inheritance.
00:36:46.42\00:36:48.76
He comes back broke.
00:36:48.79\00:36:50.33
He is shabby and
disillusioned and broke.
00:36:52.46\00:36:55.08
This is the real
story of a life without God.
00:36:55.11\00:36:58.34
Look at this story.
00:37:02.97\00:37:04.24
Jesus is trying to
tell us in simple terms
00:37:05.41\00:37:07.77
what the Father is really like.
00:37:08.97\00:37:10.72
The prodigal
leaves young and vibrant;
00:37:12.36\00:37:15.67
comes home old and
worn out and captive.
00:37:15.70\00:37:20.85
The Bible pictures endlessly the
disappointment in God's heart
00:37:21.23\00:37:25.26
that so little should
come from His expectations
00:37:25.29\00:37:27.65
and from His investments.
00:37:27.68\00:37:29.19
One is poor
outside the Father's house.
00:37:29.22\00:37:31.59
Don't you understand that?
00:37:31.62\00:37:32.86
One is poor
outside the Father's love.
00:37:32.89\00:37:35.54
On dark dingy streets
of New York, I found them;
00:37:35.55\00:37:38.27
tired, hungry, sick prodigals.
00:37:38.30\00:37:40.40
Wherever I go preaching the
Word of God in the great cities,
00:37:40.43\00:37:43.28
I find them; tire and
hungry and sick prodigals.
00:37:43.31\00:37:46.80
I saw them in
the dingy tenements.
00:37:46.83\00:37:48.60
I held them in my arms
helping them through their
00:37:48.63\00:37:51.45
drug addiction,
impoverished by sin.
00:37:51.48\00:37:53.64
Sin always robs you.
00:37:53.67\00:37:56.47
And the Father
always sorrows over you.
00:37:59.32\00:38:01.78
But I can't look at the
Word of God and not only see
00:38:03.77\00:38:08.07
the third thing in this story.
00:38:08.10\00:38:11.43
He's like a father who
sorrows over our defilement.
00:38:12.56\00:38:15.53
When he was a great off,
the father saw him and ran.
00:38:16.33\00:38:19.72
I had an uncle once.
00:38:20.97\00:38:22.58
He was my favorite
uncle, I have to admit it.
00:38:23.21\00:38:25.34
Uncle Henry.
00:38:25.37\00:38:26.49
And Uncle Henry was
a periodic alcoholic.
00:38:27.43\00:38:29.88
In other words, he would be
sober for long periods of time.
00:38:30.99\00:38:35.03
Sometimes years.
00:38:35.06\00:38:36.70
And then one drop, one bottle,
00:38:37.82\00:38:42.06
and he would drink
himself into the gutter.
00:38:42.87\00:38:45.00
One day I was riding on
the subway with friends of mine
00:38:46.55\00:38:49.24
and we were doing
things that, you know,
00:38:49.25\00:38:51.71
young teenagers did there.
00:38:51.74\00:38:53.01
I won't tell you all of them.
But anyway, we were in trouble.
00:38:53.04\00:38:56.08
And we looked over and there was
a drunk lying sick in his vomit.
00:38:56.79\00:39:00.15
And we made fun, threw
little things at the drunk.
00:39:01.99\00:39:04.49
And then the drunk
turned over and I looked.
00:39:04.50\00:39:05.96
And oh, it was my Uncle Henry.
00:39:05.97\00:39:07.43
Now right away, I didn't
want my friends to know that.
00:39:08.21\00:39:10.83
I didn't want anybody to know.
I wanted to get away from that.
00:39:11.00\00:39:13.14
I said, "Let's go away from this
00:39:13.17\00:39:15.26
and let's go in
the other compartment."
00:39:15.29\00:39:16.37
But my father was different.
00:39:16.40\00:39:17.94
My dad was a hard working man.
00:39:19.02\00:39:21.11
I never knew a harder
working man in all my life.
00:39:21.61\00:39:25.27
We never had much money,
but my father worked hard.
00:39:25.30\00:39:28.36
And he would come home sometimes
late at night in the winter.
00:39:30.40\00:39:32.96
We lived in a cold water flat.
00:39:32.99\00:39:35.18
We had hot water in the summer
and cold water in the winter.
00:39:35.19\00:39:39.54
And daddy would come home
and he'd be sitting at the
00:39:41.06\00:39:44.18
kitchen table, and
someone would knock at the door
00:39:44.21\00:39:46.14
and say, "We saw your
brother in an alleyway,"
00:39:46.17\00:39:48.88
"We saw your
brother down in the gutter."
00:39:48.91\00:39:51.72
My dad, no matter how cold it
was, no matter how tired he was,
00:39:52.17\00:39:55.44
long hard day, he'd put on
his pea coat and I'd see him
00:39:55.46\00:39:59.09
go out into the night.
00:39:59.12\00:40:00.57
And then I'd see him
come home with his brother
00:40:02.09\00:40:03.78
thrown over his shoulder.
00:40:03.79\00:40:04.79
I'll never forget that.
00:40:04.80\00:40:06.29
You see, we loved Henry
because when Henry was sober,
00:40:08.15\00:40:10.56
he'd take us down to Coney
Island and put us on the rides
00:40:10.59\00:40:13.16
and, you know, buy a
knish and a Nathan's hotdog.
00:40:13.19\00:40:16.88
All those things
that are not good for you.
00:40:16.91\00:40:18.15
That, you know, we enjoy.
00:40:18.16\00:40:19.63
But anyway.
00:40:19.66\00:40:20.68
And so we loved him
putting us on the roller coaster
00:40:21.52\00:40:23.99
and on the Ferris wheel.
00:40:24.02\00:40:25.43
But drunk?
00:40:26.79\00:40:28.32
But not my father.
00:40:29.88\00:40:31.13
That was his brother.
00:40:32.45\00:40:34.05
And he'd put him on his bed and
heat up the water in the tub.
00:40:34.92\00:40:39.00
You know, you had to heat it.
00:40:39.01\00:40:40.03
You know, you get it
heating. You know how it was.
00:40:40.04\00:40:42.08
You'd get it warm and then
by the time you got it ready,
00:40:42.11\00:40:44.84
it was getting cold.
00:40:44.87\00:40:46.15
My dad would clean him up
and put him in pajamas and
00:40:47.13\00:40:50.82
put him to bed.
00:40:52.77\00:40:53.87
You see, I loved him for
what I could get out of him.
00:40:57.42\00:41:00.02
My father loved him
because he was his brother.
00:41:01.22\00:41:05.10
I learned
something from my father.
00:41:06.08\00:41:08.37
I learned that when
he was a great way off,
00:41:09.24\00:41:11.04
the father saw him and ran and
fell on his neck and kissed him.
00:41:11.07\00:41:14.47
Was it an accident that
he was looking down the road?
00:41:14.48\00:41:17.03
Was it an accident the
old man was on the porch
00:41:19.86\00:41:22.48
looking down the road?
00:41:22.51\00:41:23.53
Was it an accident that he sees
the boy at a distance and he
00:41:23.56\00:41:26.47
recognizes his son,
shabby and dirty and filthy?
00:41:26.50\00:41:29.96
We would not
have recognized him.
00:41:29.99\00:41:31.83
But a father
always recognizes him.
00:41:31.86\00:41:34.74
And the thing I
learned the most about it,
00:41:38.38\00:41:40.45
the greatest joy I saw in it,
00:41:42.16\00:41:46.47
was that while he was a great
way off, the father saw him.
00:41:48.23\00:41:51.25
He knew who he was.
00:41:51.28\00:41:53.08
Knew who he was.
00:41:54.21\00:41:55.23
Some time ago, I was
visiting in a tenement.
00:41:55.24\00:41:57.31
Wasn't much furniture there.
00:41:58.04\00:41:59.55
But there was a picture on
the wall and it was thumb tacked
00:42:01.48\00:42:04.83
to the wall.
00:42:05.32\00:42:06.76
And I was trying to
make the visit but I kept
00:42:07.28\00:42:09.02
looking at that picture.
00:42:09.05\00:42:10.10
It was very graphic.
00:42:10.13\00:42:11.46
It was a picture of a
boy playing chess with Satan.
00:42:11.49\00:42:14.65
And what made the
picture meaningful
00:42:17.46\00:42:19.29
was not that the
boy was in deep trouble.
00:42:20.79\00:42:23.31
I mean, anyone who
knows anything about chess
00:42:23.34\00:42:25.91
knew it was the boys
last move; checkmate.
00:42:25.94\00:42:29.53
Sweat was standing on
his forehead and there was
00:42:30.84\00:42:33.26
Satan with that cynical look.
00:42:33.29\00:42:34.96
You know, there's the boy
struggling, "Whoa, what am I...
00:42:34.97\00:42:37.42
You know, "How am I going to..."
00:42:37.45\00:42:38.79
But what made the
picture meaningful was,
00:42:40.81\00:42:43.05
there in the background was
a shadow of the face of God.
00:42:43.06\00:42:46.09
And what made the
picture so meaningful
00:42:48.12\00:42:50.28
was there was the hand
of God on his shoulder.
00:42:53.04\00:42:55.25
And what it said
to me is, "Preacher,"
00:42:59.20\00:43:03.34
it said, "We're not
alone in this game of life."
00:43:04.45\00:43:07.39
There is someone who
seeks us and pursues us and
00:43:07.73\00:43:11.28
follows after us
and suffers with us and
00:43:11.78\00:43:14.82
living in our living,
and striving in our striving,
00:43:14.85\00:43:18.39
and identified us
with our defilement.
00:43:18.42\00:43:21.39
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:43:21.42\00:43:23.44
And here's the
truth. Listen to me.
00:43:23.79\00:43:25.55
You who seek life
outside of His life,
00:43:27.79\00:43:30.65
love outside of His love...
00:43:32.69\00:43:34.78
When he was a great
off, his father saw him
00:43:35.79\00:43:41.10
and ran and fell on
his neck and kissed him.
00:43:41.88\00:43:47.38
Call that emotionalism.
00:43:47.41\00:43:49.07
I call it love.
00:43:49.46\00:43:51.24
And love is what
makes the world go round.
00:43:52.35\00:43:56.98
And here's the
heart of the gospel.
00:43:57.85\00:43:59.40
Here is what you and I need
to know more than anything else.
00:44:00.77\00:44:03.63
He who could crush us...
00:44:04.43\00:44:07.40
...stoops to redeem us.
00:44:09.82\00:44:14.77
God loves us in our defilement.
00:44:21.70\00:44:25.99
While he was a great
way off, the father saw him
00:44:27.11\00:44:30.13
and ran and fell on
his neck and kissed him.
00:44:30.16\00:44:33.68
Jim Cymbala, a
wonderful pastor in Brooklyn,
00:44:34.96\00:44:39.06
Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn,
The Brooklyn Tabernacle.
00:44:39.09\00:44:43.35
Now the reason I
identify with that is,
00:44:43.91\00:44:46.06
I was converted near there.
00:44:46.07\00:44:48.34
I was baptized in a
little church just in the shadow
00:44:48.35\00:44:50.84
of Atlantic Avenue,
Washington and Gates,
00:44:50.87\00:44:54.10
when I was a young man.
00:44:54.13\00:44:55.89
And that always is
remembered in my heart.
00:44:56.48\00:44:59.58
But anyway, Jim Cymbala
went down to this very bad
00:44:59.59\00:45:02.75
neighborhood in
Brooklyn and wanted to start a
00:45:02.78\00:45:05.12
great church for God, for Jesus.
00:45:05.15\00:45:07.10
And he had a few
women and they were prayers,
00:45:07.30\00:45:10.37
and he was a prayer.
00:45:10.40\00:45:11.45
And so they got together
and prayed and he ministered.
00:45:11.65\00:45:14.66
That church started
to grow and they prayed.
00:45:14.69\00:45:17.11
And they used their
energy in praying and
00:45:17.14\00:45:19.37
asking God for sinners.
00:45:19.40\00:45:21.37
And they went out and visited
the people of the streets.
00:45:21.38\00:45:23.88
And soon they started to come.
00:45:23.91\00:45:25.70
The prodigals of Brooklyn.
00:45:28.93\00:45:30.77
The prostitutes and the pimps.
00:45:31.44\00:45:33.64
And they started
to come to church.
00:45:33.67\00:45:36.33
And they started
to get converted.
00:45:38.19\00:45:40.03
Because you can't sit in
the presence of this Father
00:45:41.57\00:45:44.40
and not be touched by His love.
00:45:45.73\00:45:47.26
The only way you can
stay is run away from Him.
00:45:49.20\00:45:51.50
You're afraid to look at Him.
00:45:52.62\00:45:54.07
And there are some of you here
on the television right now,
00:45:54.47\00:45:56.75
you're afraid to look at Him.
00:45:56.76\00:45:57.76
So you've been running.
00:45:57.79\00:45:59.58
But you can't run
fast enough or far enough.
00:46:00.19\00:46:02.90
And anyway, Jim
Cymbala built that church.
00:46:04.29\00:46:06.78
It became a great church.
00:46:06.81\00:46:08.04
And all over,
they have churches now.
00:46:08.07\00:46:09.69
All over Brooklyn and Manhattan.
00:46:09.72\00:46:11.29
But one Easter Sunday, he
was preaching in his church.
00:46:12.38\00:46:14.41
He had to preach
four times for the crowd.
00:46:14.44\00:46:18.47
Isn't that marvelous?
00:46:19.32\00:46:20.70
By their fruits...
00:46:21.00\00:46:22.43
And he was preaching.
00:46:22.90\00:46:24.23
He got tired after
that fourth sermon, that
00:46:24.49\00:46:26.25
evening sermon, he was tired.
00:46:26.28\00:46:27.61
But during the evening service,
he had one of the prostitutes
00:46:27.64\00:46:30.64
who had been
converted, became a Christian,
00:46:30.65\00:46:32.80
get up and give her testimony.
00:46:32.83\00:46:34.76
She shared how Jesus
Christ had come into her heart,
00:46:35.85\00:46:39.23
how Jesus had
come into her life.
00:46:40.21\00:46:42.26
And now she was changed.
00:46:43.19\00:46:45.14
And everyone could see it.
00:46:45.17\00:46:46.97
And they, you
know, they were excited.
00:46:47.64\00:46:50.18
And they get
excited about things.
00:46:50.21\00:46:52.83
I always tell people
it's very hard to grow up in a
00:46:53.40\00:46:55.47
left brain church and
be a right brain Christian.
00:46:55.48\00:46:58.41
Because I'm sorry,
however you feel about it,
00:47:01.44\00:47:03.29
I like to praise the Lord.
00:47:03.99\00:47:05.77
And that doesn't make me
less holy than you, by the way.
00:47:06.79\00:47:10.88
And so the crowd was euphoric.
00:47:13.02\00:47:16.76
This woman gave that testimony.
00:47:17.29\00:47:19.80
And after the
service, he was tired.
00:47:21.81\00:47:23.22
By the way, he's bone tired.
00:47:23.32\00:47:24.84
When I taught homiletics, or
preaching, to the young people,
00:47:24.87\00:47:27.07
I use to tell them,
"Young man, young woman,
00:47:27.10\00:47:29.36
when you get done
preaching, if you're not tired,
00:47:29.39\00:47:31.49
preach it over again."
00:47:31.52\00:47:32.94
And so he's tired,
he's wiping his brow.
00:47:35.03\00:47:36.80
He sat down on the platform
and dangled his feet down.
00:47:36.83\00:47:39.70
And the people were visiting
like we do in our church.
00:47:40.24\00:47:42.77
And they were excited about the
service and about the testimony.
00:47:42.80\00:47:46.83
And he was feeling
tired, wanting to go home,
00:47:47.80\00:47:50.06
hoping they'd go out and
he could get back to home.
00:47:50.09\00:47:53.49
Just then, down the
aisle came a homeless man.
00:47:53.85\00:47:58.10
A homeless man.
00:47:58.80\00:48:00.05
And Jim works
with homeless people.
00:48:01.09\00:48:04.24
But he said, "The smell..."
00:48:04.73\00:48:06.38
He said, "Oh, I've never
smelled anything like it."
00:48:07.39\00:48:11.79
And the man stopped
about the third pew.
00:48:12.97\00:48:15.07
And Jim just thought, "Oh no."
00:48:15.10\00:48:17.73
He couldn't hide
it in his expression.
00:48:18.50\00:48:20.63
"Oh no."
00:48:21.21\00:48:22.58
And so he started to
reach for his wallet.
00:48:23.16\00:48:24.91
He figured he'd give him a few
bucks and send him on his way.
00:48:24.94\00:48:28.09
And Jim said, "How long
you been on the street?"
00:48:33.21\00:48:35.17
He said, "Six years."
00:48:35.20\00:48:36.66
"Where did you
sleep last night?"
00:48:37.41\00:48:38.54
"I slept in an old
car on Atlantic Avenue."
00:48:38.55\00:48:43.39
So he took out his wallet.
00:48:45.99\00:48:47.10
And the man said, "I
don't want your money.
00:48:47.40\00:48:49.40
I want what
that little girl has.
00:48:52.28\00:48:54.91
I want what that
prostitute girl has."
00:48:56.95\00:49:00.24
And then Jim heard
the voice of Christ.
00:49:02.90\00:49:05.03
And He said, "Jim, it was
for that smell that I died."
00:49:06.10\00:49:12.73
The radiance came to
his face and the man saw it,
00:49:17.82\00:49:22.23
and ran and fell on him and
put his head on his shoulders.
00:49:22.26\00:49:26.25
And they wept together.
00:49:26.28\00:49:27.83
And there, Jim
led him to Christ.
00:49:27.86\00:49:30.26
And everybody,
oblivious, going home.
00:49:30.29\00:49:32.29
But there they
were with God the Father
00:49:32.32\00:49:34.63
looking down upon that scene.
00:49:34.66\00:49:36.11
Can you imagine
how He must have felt?
00:49:36.14\00:49:38.19
He loves us in our defilement.
00:49:38.22\00:49:40.50
That man, God cleaned him up.
God got him a job at the church.
00:49:43.91\00:49:48.05
He became a
custodian at the church.
00:49:48.08\00:49:49.70
And he goes everywhere in
New York giving his testimony
00:49:49.71\00:49:52.30
to the glory of God.
00:49:52.33\00:49:53.70
God works that way.
00:49:55.29\00:49:56.59
I was holding a crusade in
San Bernardino, California.
00:49:57.25\00:50:00.69
It's a rough place,
a rough neighborhood.
00:50:00.99\00:50:03.07
But I had prayer warriors,
I had 700 prayer warriors
00:50:03.10\00:50:05.92
walking the streets in prayer.
00:50:05.95\00:50:07.50
And one woman, she said,
"I'm going to take the street
00:50:08.30\00:50:10.62
around the Orange Show.
00:50:10.65\00:50:11.85
Now that's a long, long,
long, long street, by the way.
00:50:11.88\00:50:15.39
And it's a very
bad neighborhood.
00:50:16.51\00:50:18.09
They told me
there in the churches,
00:50:18.49\00:50:19.92
"Oh, no one will come
out. It's a bad neighborhood."
00:50:19.95\00:50:22.10
Opening night,
3500 people showed up.
00:50:22.13\00:50:24.96
The last night,
we had almost 3000.
00:50:24.99\00:50:27.10
You see, God can only
do what you can visualize.
00:50:29.99\00:50:33.01
And she's walking along praying,
as we do when prayer walking.
00:50:33.72\00:50:37.23
And she's thinking about
the Lord and thinking about
00:50:37.26\00:50:40.27
prayer and about the meetings.
00:50:40.28\00:50:41.32
And she sees a homeless
man digging in a garbage can.
00:50:41.39\00:50:44.02
So she goes over
and introduces herself,
00:50:45.03\00:50:47.46
"Hi, I'm a prayer warrior."
00:50:47.76\00:50:49.56
Isn't that nice?
00:50:49.59\00:50:51.33
He looked up, "What's that?"
00:50:51.79\00:50:55.95
"Oh, we're praying for
everybody in this neighborhood.
00:50:55.98\00:50:58.83
We're praying for you."
00:50:58.86\00:51:00.09
"That's nice."
00:51:01.03\00:51:02.25
He said, "That's nice."
00:51:02.82\00:51:04.14
And she said, "Oh, Ron Halvorsen
is going to start a meeting
00:51:04.17\00:51:06.84
on Friday night
here in the Orange Show.
00:51:06.87\00:51:09.42
Would you go as my guest?"
00:51:09.45\00:51:11.48
"Yeah."
00:51:13.81\00:51:15.05
Well, where do
you go to meet him?
00:51:16.50\00:51:17.75
He doesn't have an address.
00:51:17.78\00:51:19.43
She said, "Oh that's no problem.
00:51:19.97\00:51:21.29
I'll meet you here
at this garbage can."
00:51:21.32\00:51:23.39
And so that Friday
night, she picked him up.
00:51:25.26\00:51:27.61
They walked in together.
00:51:28.29\00:51:29.91
This sophisticated professional
woman and her homeless friend.
00:51:30.46\00:51:35.87
Sat down.
00:51:36.62\00:51:37.96
On the way back to
the garbage can, she said,
00:51:39.11\00:51:41.13
"We hope you liked it.
00:51:41.16\00:51:42.22
Would you like for me to
pick you up tomorrow night?"
00:51:42.25\00:51:43.79
He said, "yes."
00:51:43.80\00:51:44.80
And he came every night.
00:51:44.81\00:51:46.87
During that series of meetings,
he stood up and he came forward.
00:51:48.22\00:51:53.96
And that woman came
and walked with him.
00:51:53.99\00:51:56.54
He loves them.
00:52:00.84\00:52:02.13
"While we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us."
00:52:03.94\00:52:09.72
It's amazing to me.
00:52:09.73\00:52:10.73
The church can
hardly love the church,
00:52:10.74\00:52:13.13
no less the sinner,
00:52:13.89\00:52:15.35
no less the sinner.
00:52:16.73\00:52:18.02
You see, love overcomes lust.
00:52:18.27\00:52:20.31
It's the only thing.
00:52:20.34\00:52:21.52
Love overcomes our
failure. It's the only thing.
00:52:21.99\00:52:24.93
Love overcomes our cheapness.
00:52:25.96\00:52:28.15
Love overcomes
our thoughtlessness.
00:52:28.18\00:52:30.21
Love overcomes our
thoughtlessness and our hatred.
00:52:30.24\00:52:34.02
Love overcomes our sin.
00:52:34.78\00:52:38.91
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:52:39.71\00:52:41.47
Jesus said, He's like a father
00:52:42.65\00:52:46.61
who watches, who
waits, who looks.
00:52:47.97\00:52:51.62
Waiting that He might
run to them and hug them
00:52:52.12\00:52:57.10
and put His head upon their
shoulder and kiss their cheek.
00:52:57.13\00:53:01.90
What is your concept of God?
00:53:04.37\00:53:06.16
What kind of God have you
projected to your children?
00:53:07.34\00:53:10.73
The stern God?
00:53:11.44\00:53:14.64
A hard hearted God?
00:53:16.12\00:53:19.12
The God that Jesus showed us.
00:53:21.09\00:53:23.24
The Father who loves
while we were yet sinners.
00:53:24.23\00:53:28.70
Christ died for us.
00:53:30.48\00:53:34.44
Christina, a Brazilian
girl in a Brazilian neighborhood
00:53:38.50\00:53:43.96
in the inner city in the worst
area, wanted to see the world.
00:53:43.99\00:53:50.06
Discontented with home.
00:53:51.66\00:53:52.91
Having only one pallet
on the floor, a wash basin,
00:53:52.94\00:53:56.50
a wood burning stove.
00:53:56.53\00:53:58.13
She dreamed of a
better life in the city.
00:53:58.16\00:54:00.42
One morning, Christina
slipped away from her home,
00:54:01.78\00:54:05.63
breaking her mother's heart.
00:54:07.98\00:54:09.75
Now the mother, knowing what
life is like in the big city,
00:54:11.41\00:54:14.12
Rio de Janeiro, she
knew and understood what
00:54:14.15\00:54:16.96
that was like in Brazil.
00:54:16.99\00:54:20.18
She wondered just what
would happen to her young
00:54:22.80\00:54:26.01
beautiful little girl.
00:54:26.04\00:54:28.93
And so, Maria the mother,
hurriedly packed her suitcase
00:54:30.19\00:54:33.90
to go find her.
00:54:34.65\00:54:36.08
On her way to the bus stop,
she stopped and she entered
00:54:36.81\00:54:40.21
the drug store to get
one last thing; pictures.
00:54:40.50\00:54:44.31
She sat in the photograph
booth, closed the curtains,
00:54:45.47\00:54:49.97
spent all she could
on pictures of herself.
00:54:50.00\00:54:53.83
And with her
purse full of pictures,
00:54:55.19\00:54:57.43
black and white photos,
00:54:58.13\00:55:00.02
she boarded the next
bus for Rio de Janeiro.
00:55:01.09\00:55:05.47
Maria knew Christina
had no way of earning money.
00:55:06.57\00:55:09.87
She also knew that her daughter
was too stubborn to give up.
00:55:09.90\00:55:12.85
And when pride meets
hunger, things can happen.
00:55:12.88\00:55:16.60
A human will do almost anything.
00:55:23.04\00:55:24.85
Even the unthinkable.
00:55:28.05\00:55:29.29
Knowing this, Maria
began her search in the bars,
00:55:29.99\00:55:33.56
the hotels, the night clubs.
00:55:35.17\00:55:40.99
Everywhere they could meet.
00:55:41.00\00:55:42.20
And she would tape a
picture on the bathroom mirrors,
00:55:42.21\00:55:47.30
or tacked on a
hotel bulletin board,
00:55:49.25\00:55:51.91
fastened on a
corner phone; her picture.
00:55:51.94\00:55:55.22
It wasn't long
before her money ran out
00:55:55.25\00:55:56.92
and her pictures ran out.
00:55:56.95\00:55:58.16
And so she knew
she had to go home.
00:55:58.19\00:56:00.49
The weary mother wept
as she boarded the bus
00:56:01.00\00:56:03.37
and began her journey
back to her small village.
00:56:03.40\00:56:06.51
It was a few weeks
later that young Christina
00:56:07.00\00:56:09.36
descended the hotel stairs.
00:56:09.39\00:56:11.21
Her young face was now tired.
00:56:11.94\00:56:13.81
Her beautiful brown eyes
no longer danced with youth,
00:56:15.12\00:56:17.85
but spoke with pain and fear.
00:56:19.09\00:56:20.81
Her laughter was
broken, her dreams.
00:56:21.62\00:56:23.12
Everything she
dreamed about, it was gone.
00:56:23.15\00:56:25.20
It was a nightmare.
00:56:25.21\00:56:26.21
A thousand time over,
she wished she could go home.
00:56:26.22\00:56:28.95
And there she
looked in the mirror and
00:56:30.34\00:56:32.78
she found the
picture of her mother.
00:56:32.79\00:56:35.54
She pulled it off the
mirror and turned it over,
00:56:35.94\00:56:38.42
"Whatever you've
done, please come home.
00:56:39.36\00:56:45.53
Come home."
00:56:46.87\00:56:48.01
And she did.
00:56:50.36\00:56:51.40
And she did.
00:56:54.05\00:56:55.37
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:56:57.41\00:56:58.98
"Well son, He's
like a father that hurts.
00:57:00.50\00:57:06.20
He's like a father that sorrows.
00:57:07.34\00:57:09.90
He's like a father that
wants his children home.
00:57:11.78\00:57:17.10
Just like I, as a
father, want you home."
00:57:19.39\00:57:25.87
God so loved the world.
00:57:27.06\00:57:30.87
"Daddy, what is God like?"
00:57:30.88\00:57:32.04
He's like a father.
00:57:32.07\00:57:33.40