Welcome to Anchors of Truth
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live from the
3ABN Worship Center.
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Well hello and welcome.
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We're so glad that you
could join with us tonight
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right here in West
Frankfort, Illinois
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at the 3ABN Worship
Center where we'll be presenting
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another Anchors Of Truth.
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We're so excited
about this series.
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We've got a tremendous line-up
for the rest of this year.
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Already working on
next year's line-up.
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And we are excited about it.
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If fact, you know, people are
watching from all over the world
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and all over this country.
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I was talking to an
individual today from Montana.
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And Camille and I spent
our first year of ministry
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and marriage in a little
place near Jordan, Montana.
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And Jordan is
where we went to church.
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Jordan is where I
would try to preach.
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And I'm sure that those
people had a lot of patience
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with this young
preacher, because that was
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my first real outing.
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I'd preached once or twice
before, but when I got there
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that was the first time I'd
done much regular preaching.
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And so I say "hello" to
those in Jordan who have already
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let us know that
they're watching.
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And may God bless you each one.
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I know that some of
you are not well now,
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that you're in nursing homes.
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We just pray the
Lord will be with you.
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And especially the Brusette
family, because they were
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so gracious to us.
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And my good friend
Fern Shellriff who was the
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superintendent of the
schools there, and was our boss.
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We just say "hello" to
each and every one of you.
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And thank you, we
heard from you today.
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And we heard that
you are watching 3ABN.
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There are people that write
to us, call us, we hear from you
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all the time, and
from all around the world.
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And it's always
exciting to hear these good
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reports that you have.
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And sometimes you
give me a little rough time
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about something
I've done or said.
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And that's alright too.
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I want to hear from
you in spite of even if
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it might be criticism.
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Our speaker tonight
we can never criticize;
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Ron Halvorsen.
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I've knows Ron
for many, many years.
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I first met him when
he was a seminary student,
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I was a college student.
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I had a cleaning route
and I picked up his cleaning.
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Because he and his
family were already married,
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and he was married.
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And so Camille and I
were married too, but I was
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working as a cleaning
person and picking up cleaning,
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dry cleaning, and I would stop
by every week at their place
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to see if they
had an order for me.
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But ever since then
we've been acquaintances,
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and became good
friends when we worked together
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in southern New England.
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And Ron is God's man.
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A Miraculous way that
Jim Landis was used by God
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to bring Ron Halvorsen to Jesus.
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It's a story that
most of you have heard.
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And if you haven't heard it, you
want to hear that story someday.
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Ron was a gang
leader in New York City.
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And he was
anything but a Christian.
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And then the Holy
Spirit spoke to him.
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Jesus reached down
and snatched him up.
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And ever since that, in
fact even as a young man
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he held his first
evangelistic series.
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Hundreds of thousands of
people have accepted Jesus
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and been baptized as a
result of Ron's ministry.
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This past year it was
a great pleasure for us
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to carry the series
from Carolina that he did.
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And we are still
playing it on 3ABN,
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and also on Proclaim.
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It's an
outstanding series of messages.
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I get an opportunity
every once in a while
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to view them again.
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And I enjoy them every bit.
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Ron is going to be
presenting a series on,
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Jesus, the Radical Teacher.
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He's going to talk
about the Beatitudes tonight.
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The Good
Samaritan tomorrow night.
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Friday night, The Good Shepherd.
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Sabbath morning, Horns
and Halos in Human Nature.
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And Sabbath afternoon,
The Bridegroom Cometh.
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I'm looking forward to every
single one of these messages.
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Ron's wife, Carol, is with him.
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And we're so happy
that you are here, Carol.
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And they have two
children, both are in ministry.
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Dianne is a chaplain, and their
son Ron Jr. is the president
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of the Ohio Conference
of Seventh-day Adventists.
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He too is a soul winner.
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And I had the great pleasure
of listening to him preach
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so many times when he was
pastoring in Keene, Texas.
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And you know, they say the acorn
doesn't fall far from the tree.
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And that acorn certainly
did not fall far from the tree.
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Well tonight we're going
to be able to hear the tree,
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but before we do
we're going to be blessed by
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music by Pastor C.A.
Murray, my good friend.
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And he's going to
sing, I Lay My Sins On Jesus.
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I lay my sins on Jesus,
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the spotless Lamb of God;
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He bears them all and frees us
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from the accursed load,
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from the accursed load.
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I bring my guilt to Jesus
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to wash my crimson stains
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white in His blood most precious
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till not a stain remains,
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till not a stain remains.
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I bring my wants to Jesus,
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all fullness dwells in Him;
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He healeth my diseases,
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He doth my soul redeem,
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He doth my soul redeem.
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I long to be with Jesus
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amid the heavenly throng,
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to sing with them His praises
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and learn the angels' song,
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and learn the angels' song.
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I lay my sins on Jesus.
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Thank you very much
for that beautiful song.
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Wonderful song.
It's good to be here.
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And I want to welcome
all those who are the viewing
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audience on Anchors Of Truth.
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I want to introduce you
this week to the radical Jesus.
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I mean, not the kind
of weakling type Jesus
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portrayed by some
artist during the Middle Ages.
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I mean, I want to talk
about the bronze Galilean
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who stood up against evil
and was God's Son here on earth.
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And we're going to look
at some very radical things
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that He said, and I hope you
get to know Jesus Christ better.
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That's my desire.
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See, Jesus' teaching
isn't just general statements,
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but a whole new
concept of living and dying.
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You see, Jesus didn't
just tell people to love.
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Rather, He showed them
how to love unconditionally.
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You see, Jesus didn't
just give us good thoughts,
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but a whole new way of thinking.
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You see, Jesus didn't just
give us some wise suggestions,
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but rather He gave us
the final word, the commands
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of a King to His people.
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Jesus didn't just
give us moral law,
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I mean, but He
gave us an eternal law
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written in heaven and written
in the heart of the believer.
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The radical
teachings of Jesus Christ,
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so radical men
hate them even today.
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So radical, the
teachings of Jesus,
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that they fight against them.
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I mean, they try to deny them.
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So radical that our
cultures try to eliminate Him
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from our world.
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But He lives on.
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And the message that He preached
back there upon that hill
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He still speaks
through His servants today.
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So radical that we live out
the commands of Jesus Christ.
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So let's, these few
days together, let's study
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carefully and
uncover the radical Jesus
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and the stories that He told
and the message that He gave.
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Let's bow our heads
in a word of prayer.
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Gracious God, I pray that
You'll send Your Holy Spirit
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to open our minds to
the wonderful teachings
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of Jesus Christ.
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May we be radically changed.
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I pray in Christ's
name, amen and amen.
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The Beatitudes;
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the last will and
testament of Jesus Christ.
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In the second year of our
Lord's ministry here upon earth,
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Jesus walked up a
hill on the northeast shore
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of the Sea of Galilee.
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Also called Gennesaret.
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And there He
taught His disciples.
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Now this short
journey up that mountain
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would impact the whole world
as no other journey in history,
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except that walk up
the mount called Calvary.
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You see, the story
begins here in Matthew chapter 5
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and looking at verse 1 and 2.
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And if you have your Bibles,
I want you to turn with me.
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The Bible tells us...
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In the history of
truth, Moses the patriarch
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ascended Mount
Sinai to receive the law,
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an anchor of truth.
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In the history of
truth, Jesus ascended
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the Mount of the
Beatitudes to interpret the law.
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You see, in the
history of truth, Jesus climbed
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the mount called
Calvary to satisfy the demands
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of the broken law.
00:12:48.73\00:12:50.05
And it was the
custom of Jewish rabbis
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that Jesus sat down to teach.
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I mean, the Rock
sits upon a rock.
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I mean, that's
symbolic, isn't it.
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And when He spoke, this
mountain became a sanctuary
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where divinity touched humanity.
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When Jesus Christ
spoke on that mountain,
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the sermon He preached,
it became a sacred classroom
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for the greatest
sermon ever preached
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by the only
Savior that's ever lived.
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Now as far as we
know, the mountain
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wasn't a very large mountain.
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It was kind of like a
Florida mountain, you know.
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I mean, it was s
small hill there in Galilee.
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It sloped up gently
from the northeast shore
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of the Sea of Galilee.
00:13:34.33\00:13:35.53
Now in the
history of redemption,
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there are two great
mountains, I mean symbolically
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there in the New
Testament, that rise above the
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landscape in the days of Jesus.
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One was the Mount of Beatitudes,
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and the other was
the mount called Calvary.
00:13:45.66\00:13:47.43
The Mount of the Beatitudes
introduces us to the Teacher.
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Mount Calvary
introduces us to the Savior.
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I want to try to
picture the scene.
00:13:55.27\00:13:57.58
I want to try to
paint a picture for you,
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because we need
to go back in time,
00:13:59.61\00:14:02.07
we need to feel and
sense the pastoral time
00:14:02.10\00:14:05.98
in which Jesus spoke.
00:14:06.01\00:14:07.04
It's hard for us urbanites
to realize and understand it.
00:14:07.07\00:14:10.83
I think it must have been a
beautiful and tranquil moment
00:14:10.86\00:14:14.99
when the sun first
rises in the morning
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and the coolness of night
meets the warmness of the day,
00:14:17.95\00:14:21.15
and creating a light
fog that gently rolled down
00:14:21.76\00:14:25.25
into the valley
like a jeweled scarf
00:14:25.28\00:14:27.34
thrown over a lady's shoulder.
00:14:27.37\00:14:29.38
It was there that
the dawn met the day.
00:14:30.01\00:14:34.11
The sounds of birds were
singing somewhere, I'm sure.
00:14:34.22\00:14:36.44
And the little children that
had followed with the crowd,
00:14:36.47\00:14:39.46
with mothers and
fathers, they must have been
00:14:39.49\00:14:41.66
scampering about playing
games that little children
00:14:41.69\00:14:45.38
in the first
century they played.
00:14:45.41\00:14:47.61
The gray of night sky faded
into the pale blue of dawn,
00:14:48.11\00:14:52.84
painting the sky turquoise.
00:14:53.42\00:14:56.08
The bright morning clouds
danced to the tune of a new day.
00:14:56.30\00:14:59.30
But there was another cloud
invisible to the human eye;
00:14:59.33\00:15:03.73
a cloud of heavenly
visitors there that day.
00:15:03.76\00:15:06.81
I mean, there were angels, I'm
sure, that surrounded the hill
00:15:06.84\00:15:10.35
when Jesus Christ
spoke the Beatitudes.
00:15:10.48\00:15:12.99
All nature that
day was tranquil.
00:15:13.87\00:15:17.40
All nature was peaceful.
00:15:17.67\00:15:20.35
But not so with human nature.
00:15:20.64\00:15:22.89
Not so with those
who crowded about.
00:15:22.92\00:15:24.97
Not so even with the
disciples, those twelve men
00:15:25.00\00:15:27.69
that argued for position.
00:15:27.72\00:15:29.32
Those twelve men that
had to walk with Jesus
00:15:29.35\00:15:31.93
three and a half years,
and then later they would
00:15:31.96\00:15:34.48
come to know the peace
that passeth understanding.
00:15:34.51\00:15:37.68
It was a turbulent crowd,
00:15:37.93\00:15:39.75
I mean, from the
turbulent culture.
00:15:39.95\00:15:42.41
The first century was
filled with many problems.
00:15:42.44\00:15:45.00
And I mean, they had seen the
actions of the crowd that day.
00:15:45.03\00:15:48.20
The land was occupied by a
tyrannical military government.
00:15:48.23\00:15:52.23
It was a world
of absolute rulers,
00:15:52.66\00:15:54.75
an antithesis of democracy.
00:15:54.78\00:15:56.79
It was a world of
persecution and people were
00:15:57.42\00:15:59.77
shackled to Romans.
00:15:59.80\00:16:01.52
I mean, taxes consumed a
third of their wages and income.
00:16:01.55\00:16:06.22
Racial prejudism was
prevalent to the point that men
00:16:06.62\00:16:10.07
no longer knew who
their neighbor was,
00:16:10.10\00:16:12.20
according to Luke chapter
10 when that lawyer asked
00:16:12.23\00:16:15.21
that question, "Who
is, who is my neighbor?"
00:16:15.24\00:16:20.48
Slavery was as rampant then.
00:16:21.03\00:16:23.22
I mean, there was
approximately three slaves
00:16:23.51\00:16:25.90
for every free citizen.
00:16:25.93\00:16:27.53
The three groups
of religious people
00:16:28.20\00:16:30.08
were not really religious.
00:16:30.11\00:16:31.56
I mean, they put on the
facade, they looked like it,
00:16:31.59\00:16:35.51
but they really weren't.
00:16:35.54\00:16:36.75
I mean, the three sects of
the Jews added to the problem,
00:16:36.78\00:16:40.00
the problem with the culture.
00:16:40.03\00:16:41.30
Because
righteousness exalts a nation,
00:16:41.33\00:16:43.18
but sin is a
reproach to any people.
00:16:43.21\00:16:45.17
I mean, they offer
no solution really.
00:16:45.37\00:16:47.65
There were the zealots.
00:16:47.68\00:16:48.75
I mean, they were the
terrorists of that day.
00:16:48.78\00:16:50.92
"Don't worry about your
spiritual life," they said.
00:16:51.02\00:16:53.22
"We will win
with military might."
00:16:53.25\00:16:55.52
They were the
Taliban of the first century.
00:16:55.55\00:16:57.45
They existed there.
00:16:57.48\00:16:58.83
There were the Sadducees.
00:16:59.58\00:17:00.90
They said, "We can only survive
if we compromise with Rome,
00:17:01.56\00:17:06.06
if we compromise with the
government and be cautious.
00:17:06.09\00:17:09.42
Negotiate the best
bargain that you can."
00:17:09.45\00:17:12.61
Compromise; that
was the Sadducees.
00:17:12.64\00:17:15.22
They were not much help.
00:17:15.25\00:17:16.61
Then there were the Pharisees,
I mean, with their cloaks
00:17:16.81\00:17:19.21
and their little bells on
the bottoms of their cloaks
00:17:19.24\00:17:22.05
to jingle as they
prayed, so people would say,
00:17:22.08\00:17:24.54
"Ah, look at those holy men."
00:17:24.57\00:17:26.29
They said, "Live a clean
life, ritually pure life,
00:17:26.32\00:17:29.35
defined by the rabbi.
00:17:29.38\00:17:30.50
Trust God and then
everything will work out."
00:17:30.53\00:17:33.34
They followed human
tradition and put a hedge
00:17:33.37\00:17:35.67
around the Torah.
00:17:35.70\00:17:37.04
That was the time
in which Jesus lived.
00:17:37.62\00:17:39.38
That was the time in
which He spoke these words.
00:17:39.41\00:17:41.38
It had been said of
the Sadducees that they
00:17:41.41\00:17:43.48
bargained with Rome.
00:17:43.51\00:17:45.02
It was said of the Pharisees
they bargained with God.
00:17:45.05\00:17:48.13
And that was the
climate in which Jesus Christ
00:17:49.41\00:17:51.71
gave that sermon, the
greatest sermon ever preached,
00:17:52.76\00:17:56.59
by the only Savior
who has ever, ever lived.
00:17:57.05\00:18:02.56
Now with that background, I
must take you to two mountains.
00:18:03.29\00:18:06.03
They cannot be separated.
00:18:06.06\00:18:07.41
By the way, the Mount
of the Beatitudes cannot be
00:18:07.44\00:18:09.75
separated from
the Mount of Calvary.
00:18:09.78\00:18:11.03
I'm going to show
you that this evening.
00:18:11.06\00:18:12.77
I mean, they were
brought together by this Christ.
00:18:12.80\00:18:15.06
They were brought together.
00:18:15.09\00:18:16.24
Now the Beatitudes were
delivered the second year
00:18:16.49\00:18:19.17
of Christ's ministry on earth.
00:18:19.20\00:18:20.47
It was a time when His
ministry had reached the height.
00:18:20.50\00:18:23.20
You see, He was now preaching,
but He was mostly healing.
00:18:23.23\00:18:26.77
He was the Healer.
00:18:26.80\00:18:27.86
Blind men saw, and
the crowds followed Him
00:18:27.96\00:18:30.63
for the miracles everywhere.
00:18:30.66\00:18:31.94
Lame men walked,
and they were amazed
00:18:31.97\00:18:34.35
at what Jesus Christ was
doing when He touched lamed legs
00:18:34.38\00:18:37.09
and men stood and praised God.
00:18:37.12\00:18:39.43
I mean, they were amazed.
00:18:39.46\00:18:40.49
Wherever Jesus went
the crowds followed.
00:18:40.52\00:18:42.30
Because they're
always looking for a miracle.
00:18:42.33\00:18:44.57
The crowd would
rather have the miracle
00:18:46.10\00:18:47.97
than the message.
00:18:48.39\00:18:49.66
And so Jesus begins ministry
attracting the multitudes
00:18:49.85\00:18:53.47
there with the miracles,
the miracles of that day.
00:18:53.50\00:18:57.80
I mean, Jesus was there
at the height of popularity
00:18:58.16\00:19:02.10
in His healing ministry.
00:19:02.13\00:19:03.45
The Bible says in
Matthew 4, it describes that,
00:19:03.48\00:19:05.78
before we get into
the Sermon on the Mount.
00:19:05.81\00:19:07.73
And because of that
power and popularity,
00:19:43.14\00:19:45.72
He had already had two
altercations with the Pharisees
00:19:45.75\00:19:50.10
and with the Jewish rabbi.
00:19:50.43\00:19:52.04
First of all, having rejected
the doctrine of the zealots
00:19:52.72\00:19:55.42
and the Sadducees and Pharisees,
Jesus taught about the
00:19:55.72\00:19:59.39
need of genuine repentance.
00:19:59.42\00:20:01.21
His message was to
repent of your sins
00:20:01.24\00:20:04.12
and turn back to God.
00:20:04.15\00:20:05.72
I mean, that's found
there in Matthew chapter 4
00:20:05.75\00:20:08.61
and verse 17, the
Bible tells us that.
00:20:08.64\00:20:12.26
I'm looking at repentance.
00:20:18.35\00:20:19.78
What does that
mean? A definition.
00:20:19.81\00:20:21.49
Have a change of heart;
00:20:21.52\00:20:23.00
and from one's
sins change one's ways.
00:20:23.71\00:20:26.75
To change, not just to conform.
00:20:26.78\00:20:29.60
You see, in the sermon
Jesus challenges people
00:20:30.32\00:20:32.68
to a standard of living
that is radically different
00:20:32.71\00:20:35.76
from anything the
world ever heard before.
00:20:35.79\00:20:38.95
This sermon does
not say, "Live like this
00:20:39.05\00:20:41.64
and you will be a Christian."
00:20:41.67\00:20:42.89
But rather,
"Because you're a Christian,
00:20:42.92\00:20:45.10
you will live like this."
00:20:45.13\00:20:46.88
This sermon shows how
Christians are meant to live.
00:20:49.09\00:20:51.91
Jesus is not just
asking men to change a few
00:20:52.41\00:20:55.22
of their behaviors.
00:20:55.25\00:20:56.39
I mean, what they
eat or some bling.
00:20:56.42\00:20:59.07
He was talking
about deeper things
00:20:59.10\00:21:00.93
and more important things.
00:21:00.96\00:21:02.08
He was talking
about, He was talking about
00:21:02.11\00:21:03.92
things of his soul
within the inner man.
00:21:04.12\00:21:06.67
The spiritual law.
00:21:06.70\00:21:08.18
That spiritual law.
00:21:08.38\00:21:09.83
You see, our problem
is we spend more time
00:21:09.86\00:21:11.93
getting people
out of the pigpen,
00:21:12.34\00:21:14.19
but Jesus spent His time getting
the pigpen out of people.
00:21:14.30\00:21:18.02
Out of people.
00:21:18.67\00:21:19.77
And that was the change,
and that was the difference
00:21:20.33\00:21:21.93
in the preaching of Jesus.
00:21:21.96\00:21:23.38
Maybe this is
what our problem is
00:21:24.03\00:21:25.85
when the brethren mistakenly
call personal evangelism,
00:21:26.65\00:21:29.26
according to Romans 12 verse
1, that personal evangelism
00:21:29.29\00:21:32.89
where they talk about
this personal evangelism,
00:21:32.92\00:21:37.72
where is says...
00:21:37.75\00:21:38.78
When non-Christians
visit Christians churches
00:21:52.99\00:21:55.23
at times, they see a
group of people with long faces,
00:21:55.26\00:21:58.66
who are about as
cheerful as a coroner's inquest.
00:21:59.44\00:22:02.45
And no one wants a religion
that makes people miserable.
00:22:03.57\00:22:07.07
I mean, however
absolute the call to repentance,
00:22:07.46\00:22:10.05
it was a message of joy.
00:22:10.08\00:22:11.57
It was a message of
fulfillment and happiness.
00:22:11.60\00:22:13.72
And that's why when He
talks about the Beatitudes,
00:22:13.75\00:22:16.18
and the sermon, He
says, "Happy is the man."
00:22:16.21\00:22:18.51
When one comes in
contact with Christ,
00:22:18.54\00:22:20.50
there should be joy, happiness.
00:22:20.53\00:22:23.12
I mean, chill out.
00:22:23.55\00:22:25.62
He saved you.
00:22:26.26\00:22:27.75
That should bring you joy.
00:22:28.27\00:22:30.18
He saved you.
00:22:30.50\00:22:31.85
That should bring you joy.
00:22:32.05\00:22:33.63
And so Christ
talks about repentance,
00:22:33.73\00:22:35.89
He talks about forgiveness,
He talks about our sin.
00:22:35.92\00:22:39.26
And the Pharisees
didn't like to do that.
00:22:39.29\00:22:41.52
They had prosperity messages.
00:22:41.55\00:22:44.03
Happy messages
with bubbling brooks.
00:22:44.06\00:22:46.67
And our society today,
culture today, they like
00:22:46.70\00:22:49.22
little sermons
with bubbling brooks.
00:22:49.25\00:22:51.47
But not with Jesus
when He climbs that hill.
00:22:52.51\00:22:54.71
Conversion, repentance,
are accompanied by joy
00:22:55.77\00:22:59.36
and happiness.
00:22:59.67\00:23:00.80
You see, the parable in Luke
15 bears testimony to that joy.
00:23:00.87\00:23:04.04
When the prodigal son came home,
00:23:04.07\00:23:05.79
the father was
there to greet him.
00:23:05.82\00:23:07.27
And the father threw a
party, and they were joyful.
00:23:07.34\00:23:10.54
Rejoicing, for
the boy had come home.
00:23:10.74\00:23:14.16
I think that's trying
to tell us, the church,
00:23:14.76\00:23:17.53
that when a
sinner comes to Christ
00:23:17.56\00:23:19.65
we should be full of joy.
00:23:19.68\00:23:21.37
Full of joy.
00:23:21.79\00:23:22.95
I've met people in a
church who were almost angry
00:23:22.98\00:23:26.22
because a new person
was coming to Christ.
00:23:26.25\00:23:28.31
Almost angry.
00:23:28.75\00:23:29.90
In the parable, the prodigal
pictures that conversion.
00:23:30.41\00:23:33.21
I mean, "This my son was
dead, and is alive again."
00:23:33.28\00:23:37.94
I mean, from that
moment on he was alive again.
00:23:38.14\00:23:41.76
Luke 15 and verse 24.
00:23:41.79\00:23:45.71
Now the sermon shows Christians
how they're meant to live.
00:23:46.06\00:23:50.47
Jesus Christ
climbed the first mountain
00:23:50.69\00:23:52.45
to preach the Beatitudes.
00:23:52.48\00:23:53.93
Because of what He
preached He had to climb
00:23:54.21\00:23:56.11
the second mountain,
I mean, called Calvary,
00:23:56.14\00:23:59.31
to practice what He preached.
00:23:59.34\00:24:01.39
Mount Beatitudes
is where He spoke.
00:24:03.66\00:24:05.68
Mount Calvary is
where He suffers and dies
00:24:05.78\00:24:08.25
for what He said.
00:24:08.28\00:24:09.76
Word travels fast
among the people of Palestine
00:24:11.39\00:24:13.87
when they hear that blind
see and deaf hear and lame walk.
00:24:13.90\00:24:16.55
And so they're
following close at hand.
00:24:16.65\00:24:18.24
Now there's been a
theological discussion whether
00:24:18.27\00:24:20.76
He was speaking just to His
disciples or the multitudes.
00:24:20.79\00:24:23.78
I think there were
multitudes close enough
00:24:23.81\00:24:26.19
that they could
hear what He was saying.
00:24:26.22\00:24:27.79
Even though His
purpose was for His disciples.
00:24:28.81\00:24:31.39
For His disciples.
00:24:32.52\00:24:33.60
Most people are interested
in miracles and not the message.
00:24:34.25\00:24:38.77
They turn from Him, forgetting
His ministry is to teach them.
00:24:40.02\00:24:44.22
And by teaching
them, He heals them.
00:24:44.84\00:24:48.13
I mean, in Matthew 5
Jesus suddenly interrupts
00:24:48.60\00:24:50.92
that successful ministry.
00:24:50.95\00:24:52.44
And He does not negate miracles,
He doesn't negate His healing.
00:24:52.47\00:24:56.84
But rather He says,
"I've come to teach."
00:24:56.87\00:24:59.01
And make no mistake,
the miracles that Jesus did
00:24:59.04\00:25:01.10
were important
signs, as we shall see.
00:25:01.13\00:25:03.93
But listen, over and
over again Jesus makes clear
00:25:04.03\00:25:07.22
that the main event
of ministry is teaching.
00:25:07.25\00:25:09.47
Why? Because if He heals the
body and does not heal the soul,
00:25:09.50\00:25:12.50
what profit is it?
00:25:12.53\00:25:13.64
Why? If He takes
away pain and suffering
00:25:14.73\00:25:17.17
but does not teach us to
maintain faith in spite of it,
00:25:17.20\00:25:20.29
what good is it?
00:25:20.32\00:25:21.37
Why? If He heals the
heart and leaves a scar tissue
00:25:21.81\00:25:25.52
that hardens
it, what good is it?
00:25:25.90\00:25:28.04
Why? To get people chasing
for a miracle but not serve Him,
00:25:28.07\00:25:31.76
what good is it?
00:25:31.79\00:25:32.93
It is the mind of
healing that comes.
00:25:35.83\00:25:37.87
And Calvary teaches
that Jesus was wounded,
00:25:38.44\00:25:40.51
first of all, in the mind.
00:25:40.54\00:25:42.13
They placed a crown
of thorns on His head,
00:25:42.57\00:25:44.65
because all sin
begins at the mind.
00:25:45.48\00:25:47.37
Symbol of fact
that sin dwells there.
00:25:48.16\00:25:52.02
Therefore in
Matthew 5 verse 1, we begin.
00:25:52.70\00:25:55.09
"And now when He
saw the crowds..."
00:25:55.29\00:25:57.22
Keep in mind, the Beatitudes
cannot be taken alone.
00:26:04.45\00:26:08.14
The Beatitudes are not ideals.
00:26:08.35\00:26:10.29
I mean, they are hard facts.
00:26:10.32\00:26:13.09
They're realities, inseparable
from the cross of Calvary.
00:26:13.12\00:26:16.68
You see, what He taught
on the Mountain of Beatitudes
00:26:16.71\00:26:18.86
was self-crucifixion,
to love those who hate us,
00:26:18.89\00:26:22.61
I mean, to pluck
out eyes, cut off arms,
00:26:22.64\00:26:24.58
listen, in order to prevent
sinning, to clean the inside
00:26:24.61\00:26:28.84
of our passions and clamor
for satisfaction on the outside,
00:26:28.87\00:26:32.60
to forgive those who
would put us to death,
00:26:32.63\00:26:35.06
to overcome evil with good,
to bless those who curse us.
00:26:35.09\00:26:38.47
He attacks that hypocrisy.
00:26:38.50\00:26:40.70
He says, in a fact,
"Stop mouthing freedom
00:26:43.78\00:26:48.47
until we have justice
and truth and the love of God
00:26:49.22\00:26:53.90
in our hearts as the
condition of our freedom."
00:26:54.31\00:27:00.01
To live in the world and
still keep one's self unpolluted
00:27:00.04\00:27:02.69
from it, that's the question.
00:27:02.72\00:27:04.65
You see, to deny ourselves
sometimes legitimate pleasure
00:27:04.75\00:27:08.51
in order to better
crucify our egotism,
00:27:08.54\00:27:11.57
all this is to sentence
the old man of us to death.
00:27:11.60\00:27:14.94
To adhere to such revolutionary
teachings is to die,
00:27:14.97\00:27:18.15
to be crucified.
00:27:18.18\00:27:19.35
Stand up in a crowd in the
culture and speak that message,
00:27:19.38\00:27:23.24
and you too will
some day come under the
00:27:23.27\00:27:26.06
death penalty and threat.
00:27:26.09\00:27:27.78
The moment our Lord
blessed, spoke of such things,
00:27:29.32\00:27:33.86
that moment He sentenced
Himself to death on Calvary.
00:27:34.50\00:27:37.60
"Blessed are..."
00:27:39.29\00:27:40.87
This has been called,
the Sermon on the Mount.
00:27:41.88\00:27:45.79
It's amazing how much truth
and controversy are wrapped up
00:27:46.33\00:27:49.43
in those simple sayings.
00:27:49.46\00:27:50.84
There are two expressions
heard over and over again,
00:27:50.87\00:27:53.38
these are the radical
teachings; "Ye have heard..."
00:27:53.41\00:27:55.98
"Ye have
heard..." "Ye have heard..."
00:27:56.38\00:27:58.32
"...but I say into you..."
00:27:58.35\00:28:02.02
In these words that
He said, "Ye have heard,"
00:28:03.58\00:28:06.03
you have heard the
Mosaic law of Moses,
00:28:06.13\00:28:08.82
the eightfold way of Buddha.
00:28:08.92\00:28:10.68
I mean, the rules of
being a gentleman of Confucius.
00:28:11.05\00:28:14.23
Natural happiness of Aristotle.
00:28:14.63\00:28:16.41
You've heard
broadness of the Hindus,
00:28:16.44\00:28:18.15
and humanism is
taught by many today.
00:28:18.18\00:28:20.50
Those who translate some of the
old codes in their own language
00:28:20.95\00:28:24.10
and call them, new way of life.
00:28:24.13\00:28:26.00
Of all the compromises,
it says, "You have heard..."
00:28:26.30\00:28:28.66
"...but I say unto you..."
00:28:28.69\00:28:30.84
"I say unto you, Christians..."
00:28:33.35\00:28:35.26
This Sermon on the
Mount contradicts all that our
00:28:36.60\00:28:39.06
culture promotes.
00:28:39.09\00:28:41.69
It's at variance with the
world and the things that seem
00:28:42.79\00:28:48.55
important to this world.
00:28:48.58\00:28:50.26
The sermon is at so much
variance with all that our
00:28:51.31\00:28:54.19
world holds dear that
the world will crucify anyone
00:28:54.22\00:28:57.76
who holds dear the
values of that sermon;
00:28:57.79\00:29:01.98
by the word, and
eventually by deed, crucify him.
00:29:02.01\00:29:06.24
Everybody wants happiness.
00:29:07.23\00:29:08.87
And so Jesus begins
His sermon; "Happy..."
00:29:09.43\00:29:12.25
And Jesus turns the
world upside down by that
00:29:12.90\00:29:15.10
teaching that
day; the Beatitudes.
00:29:15.13\00:29:16.90
Someone has rightly
said, "In the Beatitudes,
00:29:16.93\00:29:18.82
our Lord takes those eight
flimsy catch words of the world;
00:29:18.85\00:29:22.81
security, revenge, laughter,
popularity, getting even,
00:29:22.84\00:29:27.42
I mean, sex, arm
might, and comfort,
00:29:27.45\00:29:30.33
and He turns them upside down.
00:29:30.36\00:29:32.51
To those who say, "You cannot
be happy unless you're rich,"
00:29:34.16\00:29:37.45
He says, "Blessed are the poor."
00:29:37.48\00:29:39.82
To those who say, "Don't
let him get away with it,"
00:29:41.05\00:29:43.97
He says,
"Blessed be the patient."
00:29:44.00\00:29:46.52
To those who say, "Laugh and the
whole world laughs with you,"
00:29:47.44\00:29:50.24
He says, "Blessed
are those who mourn."
00:29:50.44\00:29:54.10
To those who say, "If
nature gave you sex instincts,
00:29:55.08\00:29:58.84
you ought to give
them free expression,
00:29:58.94\00:30:00.90
otherwise you will
become frustrated,"
00:30:00.93\00:30:03.68
He says, "Blessed
are the pure in heart."
00:30:03.71\00:30:06.50
So at variance with the
culture and with our world.
00:30:07.87\00:30:11.81
To those who say, "Seek to
be popular and well known,"
00:30:12.53\00:30:15.78
He says, "Blessed are
you when men revile you
00:30:15.81\00:30:19.03
and persecute you and speak
all manner of evil against you
00:30:19.06\00:30:22.38
for My name's sake falsely."
00:30:22.41\00:30:24.07
To those who say, "In times of
peace, blessed are the mighty,
00:30:24.10\00:30:26.98
the warmonger," He says,
"Blessed are the peacemakers."
00:30:27.01\00:30:31.56
And this is why
Mount of Blessing
00:30:32.82\00:30:34.82
is connected to Mount Calvary.
00:30:35.02\00:30:37.24
For those who live in contrary
to the popular, the secular,
00:30:37.41\00:30:41.00
the government, the
human way, must die.
00:30:41.27\00:30:44.65
Christ does not call
Christians to a rose garden.
00:30:46.68\00:30:50.32
He called us to a
battle and to a war.
00:30:51.51\00:30:53.83
You see, the
sermon is revolutionary.
00:30:55.73\00:30:57.98
It's radical.
00:30:58.60\00:30:59.95
It disturbs
anti-religion and the religious.
00:31:00.67\00:31:04.23
This sermon is
not like that of today
00:31:04.26\00:31:06.23
which comes from
pale plastic preachers
00:31:06.26\00:31:08.46
preaching
behind plastic pulpits.
00:31:08.49\00:31:11.34
I better be careful.
00:31:11.37\00:31:12.55
This sermon is not
some little happy homily
00:31:17.15\00:31:19.45
that strikes no
conviction, only contentment;
00:31:19.48\00:31:22.50
the prosperity gospel.
00:31:22.53\00:31:24.08
It's a sermon that leads
the preacher to his death.
00:31:24.11\00:31:26.76
It is, I mean, it's
against everything that
00:31:26.86\00:31:29.57
culture peaks about.
00:31:29.60\00:31:30.83
And the culture cries out to
those who follow its commands.
00:31:31.03\00:31:34.00
They say, "Intolerance."
00:31:34.03\00:31:36.30
Atheism, and
agnosticism, and secularism;
00:31:37.48\00:31:40.40
it teaches
Christian and eternal truth
00:31:40.43\00:31:42.45
about our culture that
only mediocrity survives.
00:31:42.48\00:31:47.53
And those who call black,
"black," and white, "white,"
00:31:48.20\00:31:50.34
are sentenced for intolerance.
00:31:52.34\00:31:57.15
Intolerance.
00:31:58.31\00:31:59.64
Why?
00:32:00.25\00:32:01.34
Only the grays
live in our culture.
00:32:02.42\00:32:07.31
Only the grays are
appreciated in our culture.
00:32:08.45\00:32:15.24
The world has always
considered Jesus Christ
00:32:16.50\00:32:18.81
and Christianity as intolerant.
00:32:19.73\00:32:21.88
And that's true
then, it's true today.
00:32:22.46\00:32:24.26
Speak out for Christ
on university campuses
00:32:24.97\00:32:29.12
and see what
kind of love you get.
00:32:30.49\00:32:32.55
Speak out for a
principle of the Beatitudes
00:32:33.51\00:32:35.64
which Christ taught you and
see what kind of love you get.
00:32:35.67\00:32:39.83
You see, intolerant. Why?
00:32:40.87\00:32:43.35
Why do they use that word?
00:32:43.38\00:32:44.45
Because it destroys
everything that they believe in.
00:32:44.48\00:32:47.18
You see, Christianity;
it's not modern teaching.
00:32:47.21\00:32:50.18
His words clash with hypocrisy
of that day and this age.
00:32:50.21\00:32:53.96
Intolerance; why?
00:32:53.99\00:32:55.12
Because He not only
spoke them, He lived them.
00:32:55.15\00:32:58.18
He radically
changed people by them.
00:33:01.85\00:33:04.35
I was working in
Greenwich Village.
00:33:05.49\00:33:07.32
When I was a young preacher
they sent me to hard places.
00:33:07.62\00:33:10.27
The brethren went
off to the Philippines,
00:33:10.44\00:33:12.38
they sent me to the Village,
to Harlem, to south or east L.A.
00:33:12.58\00:33:18.82
But anyway, I was
sent to Greenwich Village
00:33:19.56\00:33:21.00
to have a meeting in a
small church in the Village.
00:33:21.03\00:33:23.68
And the Village
is very interesting.
00:33:23.78\00:33:25.05
On the east side we
had the heroin addicts,
00:33:25.08\00:33:27.66
on the west side we
had the homosexuals.
00:33:27.69\00:33:29.65
And I kind of was in the middle.
00:33:29.85\00:33:31.21
And I was giving out
literature and trying to
00:33:31.61\00:33:33.25
invite people to my meetings.
00:33:33.28\00:33:34.39
In those days, they
didn't give you much money
00:33:34.42\00:33:37.19
to do evangelism, you know.
00:33:37.22\00:33:38.74
And we had to give
out handbills; my wife
00:33:39.00\00:33:41.35
and my two children,
and the pastor and his wife.
00:33:41.38\00:33:43.52
They showed up, at least.
00:33:43.75\00:33:45.39
And I was there
passing it out the Village,
00:33:46.97\00:33:49.11
and it started to rain.
00:33:49.14\00:33:50.17
I was feeling sorry for
myself and I said to the Lord,
00:33:50.20\00:33:52.95
I said, "Lord, Billy
Graham doesn't have to do this."
00:33:52.98\00:33:55.58
And the Lord said,
"You're not Billy Graham."
00:33:56.37\00:33:58.15
And so I went on
giving out my literature.
00:33:58.18\00:34:01.32
They came by and
said, "Are you gay?"
00:34:02.13\00:34:03.57
I said, "Oh, I'm happy."
And they went on their way.
00:34:03.60\00:34:05.73
And finally, it
was teaming rain,
00:34:07.18\00:34:10.85
and I got rid of
all my handbills.
00:34:10.88\00:34:12.66
The people would
take it and walk a little,
00:34:12.69\00:34:14.18
throw it in the
gutter and keep going.
00:34:14.21\00:34:16.29
But that evening when I
opened up my series of meetings
00:34:19.19\00:34:21.76
in the Village,
there weren't many people.
00:34:21.79\00:34:23.31
Maybe a hundred.
00:34:23.92\00:34:25.10
But walking in the back was two
very nice looking young people.
00:34:26.22\00:34:31.63
And later I got
to meet them there.
00:34:33.22\00:34:35.22
Rick and Gwen Shorter.
00:34:35.25\00:34:36.93
At the time they weren't married
but they were living together.
00:34:36.96\00:34:39.17
She was a soap opera star
and he was a music director
00:34:39.81\00:34:44.19
for off Broadway play.
00:34:44.39\00:34:46.03
And he said he was coming home
from a party at Janice Joplin's,
00:34:46.87\00:34:53.13
who was a rock and roll singer.
00:34:53.44\00:34:56.02
He was high on coke.
00:34:56.29\00:34:57.89
Not Coca-Cola, but coke.
00:34:57.92\00:35:00.04
He was making his way along
and the Lord spoke to his heart
00:35:00.46\00:35:03.60
and said, "Pick
up that pamphlet."
00:35:03.63\00:35:09.06
It's floating in the water.
00:35:10.01\00:35:11.33
He picks it up.
Doesn't know what for.
00:35:11.36\00:35:13.96
He takes it home, puts
it on the heat register.
00:35:14.23\00:35:16.40
There on the heat register.
00:35:16.43\00:35:17.63
They go on to sleep, you know,
and twelve hours later wake up
00:35:17.66\00:35:21.96
and look at this and there's a
handbill on that heat register.
00:35:21.99\00:35:25.77
And he picked it up and
he looked at it and said,
00:35:26.97\00:35:30.59
"Oh, this seems interesting.
00:35:30.62\00:35:32.43
Let's go.
00:35:33.07\00:35:34.18
Let's go."
00:35:35.05\00:35:36.17
And they showed up.
00:35:37.03\00:35:38.33
And I mean, listen to
me, whew, they showed up.
00:35:39.00\00:35:43.87
And the grace of God
touched them and the Holy Spirit
00:35:44.40\00:35:47.52
touched their lives, and they
too gave their hearts to Christ.
00:35:47.55\00:35:50.77
And we married
them and baptized them.
00:35:50.97\00:35:53.20
And they became
great witnesses for God.
00:35:53.72\00:35:55.96
And they're still
witnessing for Christ.
00:35:55.99\00:35:57.82
She has a wonderful
prayer chain across America,
00:35:57.85\00:36:00.95
Gwen and Rick, and they're
still ministering for Christ
00:36:00.98\00:36:04.91
now in California.
00:36:04.94\00:36:06.34
Listen to me, the Word
radically changed their life.
00:36:06.64\00:36:10.38
You see, no one wants...
00:36:10.41\00:36:11.49
People in this
world don't want that.
00:36:11.52\00:36:13.93
We run from it,
turn our backs to it.
00:36:15.56\00:36:18.99
You see, the world
believes in the world of money,
00:36:19.89\00:36:25.65
the world of stocks and bonds.
00:36:26.29\00:36:28.49
the world that believes in
the primacy of the economic.
00:36:28.52\00:36:31.27
And let him stand in
the marketplace where some
00:36:31.49\00:36:33.73
men live by
collective profit and bargain,
00:36:33.76\00:36:36.18
and listen, what
happens especially if he lives
00:36:36.21\00:36:39.25
what he preaches, to teach
and practice the Beatitudes,
00:36:39.28\00:36:42.71
will lead to object poverty.
00:36:42.74\00:36:44.78
He speaks and lives
with such self-sacrifice,
00:36:47.12\00:36:50.03
that He will be so
poor that during His life
00:36:50.06\00:36:52.98
He will have
nowhere to lay His head.
00:36:53.18\00:36:54.90
He has not a place
or roof over His head.
00:36:54.93\00:36:57.20
A day will come when He
will die without anything
00:36:58.03\00:37:00.30
of economic worth; Christ.
00:37:00.33\00:37:02.00
In His last hour He will be
impoverished, that they will
00:37:02.03\00:37:05.02
strip Him of His garments,
and even give Him a stranger's
00:37:05.05\00:37:08.26
grave for His burial.
00:37:08.29\00:37:09.70
A strangers crib
when He enters the world,
00:37:09.73\00:37:12.45
and a strangers crypt
when He leaves the world.
00:37:12.48\00:37:15.59
Nothing. Object poverty.
00:37:15.62\00:37:18.45
And that's why I say this sermon
is His last will and testament.
00:37:20.84\00:37:26.80
And by the way, it's ours.
00:37:27.71\00:37:29.70
For let Him come into this
world that proclaims the gospel
00:37:31.42\00:37:35.03
of the strong, which
advocates hating your enemies,
00:37:35.06\00:37:38.65
and which condemns Christian
virtues, it's what they call
00:37:38.96\00:37:41.28
soft virtue, and say
to the world that teaches,
00:37:41.31\00:37:44.40
"Blessed are the powerful,
for they shall control nations,"
00:37:44.43\00:37:47.18
let Jesus say to them,
"Blessed are the patient,"
00:37:47.21\00:37:50.13
and He will one day feel
the scourge of the warmonger
00:37:50.96\00:37:54.43
and they will lay a
whip across His back,
00:37:54.46\00:37:56.51
and they will strike Him on
the cheek by mockery, and fists.
00:37:56.71\00:38:00.26
And one of His trials, He
will see men take a sickle
00:38:00.29\00:38:03.17
and cut the grass from
the hill called Calvary.
00:38:03.20\00:38:05.48
And He will experience the
pain as they take a hammer and
00:38:05.51\00:38:08.31
pin Him to a cross
to test His patience.
00:38:08.34\00:38:13.55
Patience in the One
whom endures the worst
00:38:16.85\00:38:18.99
that evil has to offer.
00:38:19.67\00:38:21.33
So He was the only One
that really could say that,
00:38:24.59\00:38:27.22
"Blessed are the patient."
00:38:28.75\00:38:30.29
"Blessed are the patient."
00:38:32.28\00:38:33.74
So He might love the
evil doers and not their evil.
00:38:35.06\00:38:40.54
And that is why I say
the Beatitudes are His last
00:38:41.67\00:38:44.33
will and testament, because
He knew the moment He spoke them
00:38:44.36\00:38:46.93
on that hill there
by the Sea of Galilee
00:38:46.96\00:38:49.83
that He would have to
crawl and climb up that hill
00:38:49.86\00:38:52.55
called Calvary.
00:38:52.65\00:38:53.83
He knew at the moment He
talked about this message
00:38:53.86\00:38:57.02
of hope, He talked
about self-crucifixion.
00:38:57.05\00:39:00.58
And that's why I love Him.
00:39:04.48\00:39:05.89
Even more now than I ever did.
00:39:08.08\00:39:10.17
This is His final will.
00:39:13.30\00:39:14.92
This is His legacy.
00:39:15.92\00:39:17.62
This is His testament.
00:39:17.98\00:39:19.62
And everyone after who
adheres to His Beatitudes
00:39:19.99\00:39:22.46
will one day feel the
pain and the suffering of a
00:39:22.49\00:39:25.38
crucified life
in a secular world.
00:39:25.41\00:39:27.99
You think you have problems now,
00:39:29.64\00:39:31.96
let him come into a world
which ridicules the idea of
00:39:33.03\00:39:36.08
sin is morbidity,
consider reparation for past
00:39:36.11\00:39:39.10
guilter's guilt complex,
and preach to that world
00:39:39.13\00:39:42.17
"Blessed are they who
mourn for their sins,"
00:39:42.20\00:39:45.56
and he will be blindfolded
and mocked as a fool.
00:39:45.59\00:39:48.81
They will take His
body, Christ, and scourge it
00:39:49.01\00:39:51.91
until His bones can be numbered.
00:39:51.94\00:39:54.24
And they will crown
His head with thorns
00:39:54.27\00:39:56.03
until He begins to
weep with soft tears,
00:39:56.06\00:39:59.23
but crimson beads of blood.
00:39:59.63\00:40:01.88
And they laugh at
the weakness of Him
00:40:01.91\00:40:04.10
who will not come
down from the cross.
00:40:04.13\00:40:07.27
You can never separate
the sermon, the Beatitudes,
00:40:10.22\00:40:16.65
on that mountain from
the mountain where our Lord
00:40:16.97\00:40:20.58
preached seven
words in His death.
00:40:20.61\00:40:26.36
In His death.
00:40:27.10\00:40:28.54
To adhere to these Beatitudes
will lead us to crucifixion.
00:40:29.83\00:40:38.46
"Blessed are they who hunger
and who thirst after truth.
00:40:40.40\00:40:45.60
Which I am."
00:40:45.63\00:40:46.84
And they will,
there broad mindedness,
00:40:46.87\00:40:48.53
give the mob the choice
between Christ or Barabbas.
00:40:48.56\00:40:51.18
And they'll give you the choice.
00:40:51.21\00:40:53.24
And they'll
crucify Him with thieves
00:40:56.75\00:40:58.81
to make the world think
that God is no different
00:40:59.89\00:41:02.62
from a batch of robbers who
are His bed fellows in death.
00:41:02.65\00:41:07.17
And in turn, all who
adhere to His spoken word
00:41:08.41\00:41:14.75
will feel the
scourge of secular barbarism.
00:41:14.78\00:41:17.79
To all who adhere to
the Beatitudes and seek for
00:41:18.98\00:41:21.23
holiness, they too
will be called down from
00:41:21.26\00:41:23.08
the cross of self-denial.
00:41:23.11\00:41:24.72
Join the crowd;
compromise your faith.
00:41:24.75\00:41:27.90
This happens today.
00:41:29.22\00:41:31.09
You've read it in the newspaper.
00:41:31.50\00:41:33.07
In Iraq, a Christian woman.
00:41:33.10\00:41:36.09
"Renounce your Christianity,
join the Muslim faith, or die."
00:41:39.12\00:41:43.88
To all those someday
who do adhere to them,
00:41:51.55\00:41:54.26
they will feel the scourge and
die, according to Revelation.
00:41:54.94\00:41:59.98
They will hunt us down.
00:42:00.01\00:42:01.49
They'll hunt us down to kill us.
00:42:03.07\00:42:05.15
Better be strong now...
00:42:07.09\00:42:08.77
...for the day is coming.
00:42:09.71\00:42:11.43
That is why Mount of
Beatitudes and Mount Calvary
00:42:16.49\00:42:18.79
are brought together
by the hands of Jesus.
00:42:18.82\00:42:21.34
That is why I say it's
His last will and testament.
00:42:22.35\00:42:24.65
For all our Lord
suffered, we will suffer.
00:42:26.33\00:42:30.30
Let him come into
the world which says,
00:42:31.26\00:42:33.05
"Thy neighbor is hell,"
that, "All which is opposite
00:42:33.08\00:42:35.94
me is nothing," that,
"The ego alone matters,"
00:42:35.97\00:42:39.27
that, "My will is supreme
law and what I decide is good,"
00:42:39.30\00:42:42.74
that, "I must forget others
and think only of myself,"
00:42:42.77\00:42:45.52
come into a world like that...
00:42:45.55\00:42:47.21
Sounds like the
political leaders today.
00:42:47.85\00:42:50.03
...and say to them,
"Blessed are the merciful,"
00:42:51.17\00:42:54.86
and you'll find, as
Christ did, no mercy.
00:42:57.29\00:43:01.80
And that day He
fulfilled the Beatitudes,
00:43:02.34\00:43:04.18
His life, then death, were
opened five streams of blood
00:43:04.21\00:43:07.88
out of His body.
00:43:07.91\00:43:08.97
And they will pour
vinegar and gall into His mouth.
00:43:09.00\00:43:11.52
And even after His death, so
merciless they'll plunge a spear
00:43:11.73\00:43:15.22
into His side.
00:43:15.25\00:43:16.63
The Sermon on the Mount is
His last will to the world,
00:43:18.61\00:43:21.60
and testament.
00:43:21.63\00:43:22.76
And it's ours.
00:43:23.17\00:43:24.73
All that Christ
suffered in a pagan world,
00:43:26.31\00:43:30.55
we suffer in a secular world.
00:43:30.85\00:43:34.09
And it's our duty to
stand anchored in His truth.
00:43:36.51\00:43:45.30
Anchored in His truth.
00:43:48.48\00:43:52.50
It reminds me of a story.
00:43:52.53\00:43:54.14
It said about Henry Ward
Beecher, that he was a boy,
00:43:55.33\00:43:59.62
and he had a teacher at
school who asked one of the boys
00:44:00.62\00:44:03.43
in class a question,
which the boy answered.
00:44:03.46\00:44:07.31
Now the teacher
became angry and told the boy
00:44:08.59\00:44:11.44
he was wrong, and
commanded him to sit down.
00:44:11.47\00:44:14.40
The boy was
obviously confused because
00:44:15.61\00:44:17.67
he thought he had
answered correctly,
00:44:17.70\00:44:19.71
it was the right answer.
00:44:19.74\00:44:21.36
But he sat down abruptly.
00:44:21.39\00:44:23.15
Several boys were
asked the same question
00:44:24.43\00:44:26.52
and they gave the same answer,
promptly rebuked by the teacher.
00:44:26.55\00:44:29.68
Finally Beecher stood up.
00:44:29.71\00:44:31.30
And the teacher
said, "What's the answer?"
00:44:32.90\00:44:34.84
And he gave the same answer.
00:44:34.87\00:44:36.37
And he was
commanded to sit down.
00:44:37.41\00:44:39.16
But Beecher held his ground.
00:44:39.70\00:44:41.43
The teacher got angry
and rushed to him angry.
00:44:41.67\00:44:44.58
And Beecher stood his ground.
00:44:44.68\00:44:46.31
And the teacher stopped
and said, "Beecher is right.
00:44:46.34\00:44:49.80
You all had the right answer.
00:44:51.28\00:44:53.28
But Beecher was
willing to stand for it."
00:44:53.31\00:44:56.35
Beecher was willing.
00:45:02.51\00:45:03.90
Are you willing to stand for it?
00:45:05.68\00:45:09.86
Many people in these last
days have lost faith in Christ
00:45:10.83\00:45:13.72
because they
simply lack the courage
00:45:13.75\00:45:16.06
to stand for what they believe.
00:45:16.09\00:45:18.38
They've grown so use to
apologizing for their faith
00:45:19.78\00:45:23.10
that when someone mounted a
serious challenge to that faith,
00:45:23.13\00:45:26.86
they just surrendered.
00:45:26.89\00:45:28.58
They sat down.
00:45:28.81\00:45:30.55
Standing up for the beatitudes,
the Sermon on the Mount.
00:45:33.21\00:45:37.03
Let him come into the
world which tries to interpret
00:45:37.06\00:45:39.44
man in the terms of sex, which
regards purity as coldness,
00:45:39.47\00:45:43.25
and chastity as frustrated
sex, and self-containment
00:45:43.28\00:45:47.30
as abnormality, and the
union of husband and wife
00:45:47.33\00:45:50.32
unto death as boredom,
which says that marriage
00:45:50.35\00:45:53.09
endures only as
long as glands endure,
00:45:53.12\00:45:55.80
that one may
unbind what God has bound
00:45:55.83\00:45:58.41
and unseal what God seals.
00:45:58.44\00:46:00.20
Say to them,
"Blessed are the pure."
00:46:00.23\00:46:03.13
My granddaughter,
a college student,
00:46:07.19\00:46:08.72
they were discussing
the sex life, or whatever.
00:46:10.69\00:46:15.56
And they all admitted that
there wasn't a virgin around.
00:46:16.92\00:46:20.43
And all the girls admitted.
00:46:21.32\00:46:22.66
But my granddaughter,
she stood up and she said,
00:46:23.08\00:46:25.00
"I'm a virgin."
00:46:25.03\00:46:26.17
And they ridiculed,
they laughed at her.
00:46:26.78\00:46:28.70
But she stood her ground.
00:46:29.40\00:46:31.07
I was so proud.
00:46:31.69\00:46:33.22
I was so proud.
00:46:34.40\00:46:35.94
She stood her ground.
00:46:36.94\00:46:38.66
A Beatitude written in her
heart, "Blessed are the pure."
00:46:39.45\00:46:42.99
And those words strike a
chord in the heart of Christ,
00:46:47.97\00:46:51.85
who would find Himself
hanging naked from the cross.
00:46:52.70\00:46:55.44
Made a spectacle to the world.
00:46:58.99\00:47:00.82
And they'll cry out,
the multitude and crowd,
00:47:06.77\00:47:08.83
"Crazy, affirmation
of purity is abnormal."
00:47:08.86\00:47:12.97
That virgins are neurotics
and that carnality is right.
00:47:13.00\00:47:16.39
Speak of marriage in
terms of man and woman
00:47:16.42\00:47:18.67
and see what hatred
comes from the world.
00:47:18.70\00:47:21.37
Let him who stands and
adheres to the Beatitude
00:47:23.83\00:47:28.24
of purity know that
he or she too will suffer
00:47:28.65\00:47:33.15
and find themselves
naked before the crowd,
00:47:33.69\00:47:36.26
and mocked and ridiculed.
00:47:36.99\00:47:38.20
The Beatitude is the
last will and testament.
00:47:38.23\00:47:40.57
If we adhere to the
sacred teachings, we will be
00:47:40.60\00:47:43.03
crucified by the crowd in
word, and finally in deed.
00:47:43.06\00:47:47.15
"Ye have heard," it
says, "the method of war."
00:47:47.18\00:47:49.78
Let him come to the
world that believes that one
00:47:49.88\00:47:51.84
may resort to
bullets and bombs and power
00:47:51.87\00:47:54.35
in order to conquer the
world, carrying doves of peace
00:47:54.38\00:47:57.42
with stomachs full
of bombs and bullets.
00:47:57.45\00:47:59.89
Say to them,
"Blessed are the peacemakers."
00:47:59.92\00:48:03.16
The Beatitude is His
last will and testament.
00:48:05.10\00:48:07.28
If we adhere to
those sacred teachings,
00:48:08.33\00:48:10.40
we too will be
crucified by the crowd,
00:48:11.66\00:48:13.40
by word and by deed.
00:48:13.43\00:48:15.01
Jesus says, "Ye have
heard the method of war."
00:48:15.83\00:48:22.03
Let him come into a world
which believes that one must
00:48:22.49\00:48:24.77
resort to bullets and
bombs and power in order to
00:48:24.80\00:48:26.82
conquer the world, carry
doves of peace with stomachs
00:48:26.85\00:48:29.88
full of arms, say to us,
"Blessed are the peacemakers,"
00:48:29.91\00:48:32.37
"Blessed are they who eradicate
sin that there may be peace,"
00:48:32.40\00:48:36.22
and he will find
himself surrounded by men
00:48:36.25\00:48:38.24
engaged in the silliest of wars,
of wars against the Son of God.
00:48:38.27\00:48:42.29
Making violence with steel
and wooden pins in His hands,
00:48:44.93\00:48:49.85
and gall in His mouth.
00:48:50.49\00:48:52.27
And setting a watch over
His grave, that He who lost
00:48:53.10\00:48:55.63
the battle
would not win the day.
00:48:55.66\00:48:58.82
Standing up and speaking out,
00:49:01.13\00:49:03.01
while knowing that
every act and word would
00:49:03.94\00:49:05.62
infuriate the godless.
00:49:05.65\00:49:07.61
Knowing that every act and word
would infuriate the humanist.
00:49:07.96\00:49:11.56
Standing up and speaking
out knowing that every act
00:49:11.88\00:49:14.23
and every word
would infuriate the rich.
00:49:14.26\00:49:16.91
Knowing that every act
and word would infuriate.
00:49:16.94\00:49:19.20
That is why the four woes come;
"Woe unto you who are rich.
00:49:19.40\00:49:23.72
You have your comfort already.
00:49:23.82\00:49:25.74
Woe upon you
who are filled full.
00:49:28.63\00:49:31.02
You shall be hungry.
00:49:32.16\00:49:33.79
Woe upon you who laugh
now, but you shall mourn
00:49:35.48\00:49:41.77
and you shall weep.
00:49:43.08\00:49:44.54
Woe upon you when all
men speak well of you.
00:49:45.96\00:49:50.67
You shall be
hated and despised."
00:49:52.09\00:49:54.75
By the way, that's
found in Luke's gospel,
00:49:55.44\00:49:57.65
chapter 6 verses 24 through 26.
00:49:58.12\00:50:02.09
Crucifixion cannot be far
away from when the Teacher says,
00:50:03.38\00:50:06.89
"Woe to the rich,
the happy, the popular."
00:50:06.92\00:50:10.40
Why was the sermon His
last will and testament?
00:50:10.95\00:50:13.58
Why? He died the
opposite of the four woes.
00:50:13.72\00:50:16.56
He died poor, died abandoned,
died sorrowful, and despised.
00:50:16.59\00:50:20.89
Let him come into the world
that believes our whole life
00:50:20.92\00:50:23.10
should be geared in flattery,
and influencing people,
00:50:23.13\00:50:26.71
I mean, in the sake of
utility and popularity,
00:50:26.81\00:50:29.69
and say, "Blessed are
you when men hate you and
00:50:29.72\00:50:31.81
persecute and revile
you," and he will find himself
00:50:31.84\00:50:34.77
without a friend in the world.
00:50:34.80\00:50:36.78
An outcast on a hill.
00:50:39.45\00:50:41.19
The mob shouting His
death and His flesh hanging
00:50:42.91\00:50:47.00
like purple rags.
00:50:47.66\00:50:49.65
Like purple rags.
00:50:51.13\00:50:53.06
Few men of this
century have understood better
00:50:54.73\00:50:56.80
the inevitability of suffering
than Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
00:50:56.83\00:51:01.13
He seems to have never
wavered in his Christian faith.
00:51:02.48\00:51:05.72
Antagonism to a Nazi regime...
00:51:07.21\00:51:09.89
...although it meant
for him imprisonment,
00:51:10.42\00:51:12.51
it meant torture, and
danger to his own family,
00:51:12.54\00:51:15.64
and finally death.
00:51:15.67\00:51:16.70
He was executed by a
direct order of Heinrich Himmler
00:51:16.73\00:51:20.22
in April 1945 in
Flossenburg concentration camp
00:51:20.25\00:51:25.51
only a few days
before it was liberated.
00:51:25.87\00:51:29.48
It was a fulfillment of what he
had already believed and taught.
00:51:30.15\00:51:33.38
"Suffering, then, is the badge
of true discipleship," he wrote.
00:51:33.41\00:51:37.05
"The disciple is
not above his master.
00:51:37.93\00:51:40.91
Following Christ
means passio passiva,
00:51:42.40\00:51:46.63
suffering because
we have to suffer.
00:51:46.66\00:51:49.73
And that is why Luther reckoned
suffering among the marks
00:51:49.76\00:51:52.78
of a true Church,
and one of the memoranda
00:51:52.81\00:51:55.46
drawn up in preparation
for the Augsburg Confession.
00:51:55.77\00:51:58.87
It defines the Church community
of those who are persecuted
00:51:59.41\00:52:02.25
and martyred for their faith.
00:52:02.28\00:52:03.98
Discipleship means allegiance
to the suffering Christ,
00:52:04.91\00:52:07.87
and it is therefore not at
all surprising that Christians
00:52:08.71\00:52:10.82
should be called upon to suffer.
00:52:10.85\00:52:12.80
In fact it is a joy and
it is a token of grace."
00:52:13.51\00:52:21.06
This man who ministered, he
ministered with these people
00:52:21.87\00:52:26.95
till he died.
00:52:29.05\00:52:30.30
Never selfish.
00:52:31.80\00:52:33.42
Always unselfish.
00:52:34.13\00:52:35.99
Because he
considered the Beatitudes,
00:52:36.27\00:52:39.63
the sermon on the
Mount, a message from his God,
00:52:39.97\00:52:44.54
and to love even his enemies.
00:52:46.33\00:52:51.48
The Beatitudes
cannot be taken alone.
00:52:53.23\00:52:56.28
They are not
ideals, but hard facts
00:52:56.98\00:53:00.63
and realities inseparable
from the cross of Jesus.
00:53:01.54\00:53:04.77
The Beatitudes are
indictment against our culture.
00:53:05.66\00:53:08.65
We have no control at all
of what is good and peaceful.
00:53:09.56\00:53:12.92
The apocalyptic
end is inevitable.
00:53:12.95\00:53:14.97
Listen to what Omar
Bradley said about the future.
00:53:15.00\00:53:18.98
It was 1948,
Armistice celebration.
00:53:19.23\00:53:22.32
Omar Bradley, one of the
generals of World War II.
00:53:22.35\00:53:25.04
And he also went to World War I.
00:53:26.18\00:53:28.11
He remembered as a young
man he served in the Army
00:53:28.88\00:53:31.69
in the U.S. and
became a General.
00:53:31.72\00:53:33.51
He actually led one
of the largest armies
00:53:33.76\00:53:36.06
in history during World War II.
00:53:36.09\00:53:37.77
He spoke at Armistice Day
in Boston, Massachusetts, 1948.
00:53:37.80\00:53:41.89
Listen to what he says.
00:53:41.92\00:53:43.17
"With the monstrous
weapons men already have,
00:53:45.04\00:53:48.12
humanity is in danger of
being trapped in this world
00:53:48.95\00:53:51.84
by its moral adolescents.
00:53:51.87\00:53:54.00
Our knowledge of
science has clearly outstripped
00:53:55.07\00:53:58.39
our capacity to control it.
00:53:58.42\00:54:00.34
We have many men of
science, but too few men of God.
00:54:01.30\00:54:04.56
We have grasped the
mystery of the atom and rejected
00:54:05.59\00:54:08.27
the Sermon On The Mount.
00:54:08.30\00:54:09.89
Man is stumbling blindly
through a spiritual darkness
00:54:09.92\00:54:13.03
while toying with the precarious
secrets of life and death.
00:54:13.23\00:54:16.64
The world has achieved
brilliance without wisdom,
00:54:16.67\00:54:19.60
power without conscience.
00:54:19.82\00:54:22.10
Ours is a world of nuclear
giants and ethical infants.
00:54:22.13\00:54:26.38
We know more about war
than we know about peace,
00:54:27.41\00:54:31.95
more about killing
than we know about living.
00:54:32.35\00:54:38.75
This is our twentieth century,"
and twenty-first century,
00:54:39.41\00:54:44.01
"claim to
distinction and to progress."
00:54:44.04\00:54:46.37
Jesus, in the
Sermon on the Mount,
00:54:46.95\00:54:49.01
tried desperately to
teach us the way to peace,
00:54:50.09\00:54:53.34
the way to contentment,
the way to happiness,
00:54:54.35\00:54:58.69
On the Mount,
Jesus embraced the cross,
00:54:59.45\00:55:02.48
and bid all His
followers to do the same.
00:55:03.17\00:55:05.95
On the Mount of Beatitudes,
Jesus, He called all His
00:55:06.78\00:55:10.31
followers to hurl themselves
on the cross of self-denial
00:55:10.34\00:55:16.43
on the Mount of Calvary.
00:55:17.87\00:55:19.55
And that is why
the world hates Christ.
00:55:20.64\00:55:22.93
Because He not only
spoke them, but He lived them.
00:55:23.54\00:55:28.31
And that is why the
world will hate you.
00:55:29.11\00:55:31.25
And that is why the
bright glorious afternoon,
00:55:32.45\00:55:34.51
when our blessed Lord
gathered His disciples
00:55:34.54\00:55:36.53
apart from the crowd, was
overshadowed by the cross.
00:55:36.56\00:55:40.88
And it was that day He taught
us how to be completely happy.
00:55:41.43\00:55:47.05
Blessed and happy
are they who follow those
00:55:47.15\00:55:52.40
commands of Jesus Christ.
00:55:52.43\00:55:54.39
In my 60 years
preaching for God,
00:55:54.88\00:55:57.41
I have found people
who are saddened by life,
00:55:58.86\00:56:02.26
hurt by life,
discouraged by life.
00:56:03.17\00:56:08.16
And then the joy of
Christ filled their heart.
00:56:08.62\00:56:11.82
The hope of the gospel
of God that saves sinners
00:56:12.15\00:56:15.97
came to them as a bright light.
00:56:16.38\00:56:19.18
And from that
sorrow and that desperation
00:56:19.39\00:56:22.48
and that despair, a
smile played upon their face,
00:56:22.51\00:56:26.20
and joy in their heart.
00:56:26.23\00:56:27.94
And they could say, "Happy,
joyful is he that comes to God."
00:56:27.97\00:56:34.84
When I was visiting a family
once, this woman lost her child.
00:56:36.17\00:56:41.23
And I invited
her to the meetings
00:56:41.68\00:56:43.07
there in
Morgantown, North Carolina.
00:56:43.10\00:56:44.47
And she came out.
00:56:44.50\00:56:45.74
She was there at the
meeting, and she was so sad.
00:56:45.87\00:56:48.86
Her face looked so sad.
00:56:48.89\00:56:50.21
You could understand
why. She lost her baby.
00:56:50.31\00:56:52.68
But I had assured her
that someday Jesus would
00:56:52.71\00:56:55.01
put her baby in her arms again.
00:56:55.04\00:56:56.47
Because Christ assured it.
00:56:56.50\00:56:57.97
And then I remember
when she gave her life
00:56:58.77\00:57:00.16
to Christ that night.
00:57:00.19\00:57:01.50
And that dear lady came forward.
00:57:02.49\00:57:05.41
And that moment,
that sadness dissolved
00:57:06.56\00:57:11.37
and she found that
joy and that peace.
00:57:11.57\00:57:15.33
Listen to me, you who
are watching this program,
00:57:15.36\00:57:18.31
you too can find
that joy and that peace
00:57:18.34\00:57:22.39
and that happiness.
00:57:22.42\00:57:23.84
Have you found happiness today?
00:57:24.23\00:57:30.08