Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
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live from the
3ABN Worship Center.
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Good morning, and
once again thank you for
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joining us here at the 3ABN...
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We call it the Worship Center.
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And that's what we love to
do, is we love to give praise
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and honor and glory...
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Don't we folks?
All of you here today.
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...to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Without Him, we can do nothing.
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Through Him, we can
accomplish all things.
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Thank you for joining
us for Anchors Of Truth.
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It's a great
opportunity to get truth out
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to a lost and dying world.
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And I'm thankful to Jim Gilley.
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Some time ago, a
few years ago, he said,
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"We need an
evangelistic series."
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We have people coming in,
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we do live programs at
our own Worship Center,
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and we really center in on
anchors, pillars, of the truth.
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So thus the
program, Anchors Of Truth.
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I know you've been blessed
so far, those of you here
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and hopefully
those of you at home.
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But if you haven't seen
the programs, you're just
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tuning in today, we
have Brother Ron Halvorsen.
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Ron has been a
longtime pastor and evangelist.
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Only heaven will
tell how many people...
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And maybe that's why we
need eternity, I tell folks.
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Because when we get to
heaven, it's going to take
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seems like forever, right,
to meet all the people that
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we've never had the
privilege of meeting.
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But for those that will
come up to Brother Ron and say,
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"Thank you for your ministry.
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Thank you for what you
have done for the cause of God."
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Because being up front
and traveling and being
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an evangelist and
pastor, through all of these
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things, it's not easy.
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Sometimes folks think it is,
"Oh boy, I'd like to do that.
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I'd love all this travel."
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But once you get
delayed in the airports,
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and sometimes you wonder if
your plan is really going to
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make it down, you'll
find all that's not as easy
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and not as much
fun as you think it is.
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But it takes a lot of sacrifice,
a lot of determination,
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and being close to the
Holy Spirit to continue
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day after day, year after
year, as Brother Ron has done.
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And I thank him for that.
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Because, again, in
heaven it will take an eternity
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for people to come up
and say, "Thank you, Ron,
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that you cared enough,
that you love Jesus enough,
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and you loved me
enough to sacrifice and be out
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on the front lines.
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And I'm here because of you."
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And you know, that's my open
prayer for each of us today.
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As you're watching this program,
I want you to think about
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your own life and
your own relationship
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with the Lord Jesus Christ.
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God has called each
of us to be evangelists.
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Maybe not like Brother Ron
and to the scope he's doing,
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but we evangelize our families,
our neighbors, our friends,
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those about us, those
that we come in contact with.
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Because once again, the Lord has
said, "Go ye into all the world.
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Preach the gospel to
every nation, kindred,
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tongue, and people."
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So God has called each of you.
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So as you're
listening today to Brother Ron,
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we want you first
of all to pray for him.
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I want to say a prayer right
now, I'd like you to join me.
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And then a prayer for yourself,
"Lord, what am I doing?
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What have You
called me to do in closing
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moments of earth's history?"
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Maybe right now you're
in a valley of decision.
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Not sure what you can do.
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Sometimes people tell us
they feel like they don't even
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have any self-worth.
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"I don't feel like
I can do anything."
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But I want to
tell you something.
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When Jesus was on the
cross, you were on His mind.
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Right?
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We always say He could
look down the stream of time
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and see a people that would
be willing to give their lives
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unto death if
necessary for the cause of God.
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And today, folks, that's you.
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Each and every one of
you here can be a witness
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to those around you.
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Because how many
believe Jesus is coming soon?
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Can I hear an amen?
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Alright, I love it.
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For those of you at home, I
hope you're amening with us.
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And I hope you have
your Bibles together,
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because in just a few moments
we're going to be blessed
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by Brother Ron Halvorsen.
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We're going to have
some music right before that
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by our own Pastor C.A. Murray.
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And we're thankful for
C.A. for his dedication
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to Jesus, and his love.
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And not only is he a
wonderful and incredible speaker
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and a preacher, but he's
also been gifted with music.
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And we're glad that he will
share that for us this morning.
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But right now I'd
like to say a prayer.
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Heavenly Father, thank You for
Your many wonderful blessings.
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Thank You for this,
another beautiful Sabbath day
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that we can worship You.
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And Lord, as we come into this
worship center this morning,
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we do feel unworthy.
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We feel like as we
look at our own lives,
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we could be discouraged.
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But Father, thank
You that You died for us,
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You made a plan
of salvation for us.
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And that now because of You, we
have a chance for eternal life.
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That You have
given us this gift.
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All we have to do is accept You
as Lord and Savior of our lives,
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and then go and tell
others what You've done for us.
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So Lord, I pray this
morning a special anointing
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of the Holy Spirit upon
C.A. as he comes out to sing,
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upon Brother Ron
as he ministers to us.
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That each of us
will review our lives
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and renew them to You,
give them to You today and say,
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"Lord, do with me what
You would have me to do."
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I know, God, You
have great plans for us,
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because before You come
back in the clouds of glory,
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You've commissioned
us to tell the world.
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And we want to
be a part of that.
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Thank You for allowing us to
be a part of this great message
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and proclaiming it,
the three angels' messages,
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to a lost and dying world.
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These things we ask and
pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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When I think how Jesus loved me,
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how He waited patiently,
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even when I turned
my back and walked away.
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When He knew I wanted everything
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this world could offer me,
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well I guess He knew
the price I'd have to pay.
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So He watched me
stumble downward,
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saw each compromise I made,
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heard each lie I
whispered just to get my way.
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Still He waited there to hear me
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when I cried to Him and prayed.
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Then He saved my
soul, and that is why I say:
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Tell me, is it any wonder
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that I love Him
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when you consider
all He's done for me?
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And is it any wonder
that I long to do His will,
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and let His light
shine out for all to see?
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And is it any wonder
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that I praise him
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each time I think of
how He's made me free?
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And is it any wonder
that I've given Him my heart,
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when Jesus freely
gave His life for me?
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When I think how Jesus loves me,
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how He watches over me,
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how His arms are
stretched to meet me when I run.
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When I'm
feeling down and lonely,
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how He's there to comfort me.
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In the darkness He
becomes my morning sun.
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When I think of
how He's healed me,
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how He's touched me in my pain,
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how His gentle hands
have wiped my tears away.
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Now He's taken every heartache
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and brought happiness again.
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Oh I want the world
to hear me when I say:
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Tell me, is it any wonder
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that I love Him
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when you consider
all He's done for me?
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And is it any wonder
that I long to do His will,
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and let His light
shine out for all to see?
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And is it any wonder
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that I praise him
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each time I think of
how He's made me free?
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And is it any wonder
that I've given Him my heart,
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when Jesus freely
gave His life for me?
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Amen.
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Good morning.
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It's a great day in
southern Illinois, isn't it.
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We're just happy to be here.
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We spent some
wonderful times here at 3ABN.
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And there's such
a wonderful spirit.
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My wife and I
have just been blessed.
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Everybody has
been so nice to us.
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And it's like I've
died and gone to heaven.
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But we're happy to be
here and to present the message
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that I've been
trying to present all week;
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the radical teachings of Jesus.
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We will recall that the
first night we talked about the
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radical Jesus in the Beatitudes.
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And how we saw that in
the Beatitudes there was the
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mountain of the Beatitudes
and there was Mount Calvary.
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And those two
mountains were brought together.
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One was the spoken
word, and then there was the
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act of the deeds
of those spoken words.
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He lived out what He spoke.
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And that's the hardest
thing for Christians, isn't it?
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To live out what you believe.
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And then the next night we
looked at the good Samaritan;
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"Who is your neighbor?"
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And we discovered
some wonderful things about
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this Samaritan and how he
goes to the aid of that man.
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It's a wonderful story,
but it was a radical story.
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Really. Who is your neighbor?
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That we don't
choose our neighbor.
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But everyone who is in
need becomes our neighbor.
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And then last night if you were
here or watching on television,
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we talked about
the good Shepherd.
00:12:12.16\00:12:14.04
And that good Shepherd...
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And the radical statement
was, "You don't take My life.
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Roman soldiers
couldn't take My life."
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The religious people of
that day couldn't take His life.
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He laid it down voluntarily.
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He says, "You cannot take it.
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And I can take it back again."
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Radical statement of Jesus.
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Now I want to take you to
the parable of the prodigal son.
00:12:35.50\00:12:39.16
Because there's a
radical statement there
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that I hope you'll
follow with me as we look at it.
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One of the great authors
and storytellers is Mark Twain.
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And someone asked Mark
Twain once, "Who is the greatest
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storyteller ever in history?"
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And without a beat, Mark
Twain said, "Jesus Christ."
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And He was a wonderful
storyteller, wasn't He.
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I mean, the great truths that
come from His lips are stories.
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Simple stories so
that everyone can grasp it.
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You don't have to be a
theologian to understand it.
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You don't have to be a
philosopher to understand it.
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You don't have to have a
high IQ to understand it.
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You can just be a
simple ordinary person
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and you can understand it.
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Because it's a simple
story about a divine truth.
00:13:25.40\00:13:29.23
And we go to the prodigal son.
00:13:29.44\00:13:31.82
And the Bible tells us
here in the 15th chapter
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of the prodigal son,
verse 1 to 3, it says...
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Now right away
you're attracted to this,
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because the Bible says it's
the publicans, the outcasts,
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the sinners that
love to hear Jesus.
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And the religious people,
they weren't so happy about it.
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Notice the
verses as we continue.
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This is the most familiar
story that we find in the Bible.
00:14:10.66\00:14:15.93
It's the most read
about story of all parables.
00:14:16.45\00:14:19.10
I mean, this is one
parable that has four scenes
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or four stories about lostness.
00:14:22.06\00:14:24.60
First of all, the lost sheep.
00:14:25.38\00:14:27.48
He wonders away.
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He unconscious of the fact that
he's going further and further
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away from the
shepherd, from safety.
00:14:32.94\00:14:35.05
And he finds himself in
trouble in the wilderness.
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And the shepherd
goes out to retrieve him.
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The second is the lost coin.
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And the lost coin of the
dowry is lost carelessly.
00:14:44.26\00:14:47.49
And so some get lost carelessly.
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Some wonder, but some
carelessly lose faith.
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And then there's the
story of the lost boy;
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the prodigal son, we
call the prodigal son.
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He deliberately gets lost.
00:14:58.85\00:15:01.13
He wakes up and he
says, "I want to leave home.
00:15:02.24\00:15:04.45
I want to get
away from my father.
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I want to get away
from these so-called rules.
00:15:06.28\00:15:08.96
I want to be on my
own. I want freedom."
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And so he started
out with the inheritance.
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And that's the story of
deliberately becoming lost.
00:15:14.77\00:15:19.53
And then there's
the lost brother.
00:15:19.95\00:15:21.51
I mean, he didn't
even know he was lost.
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And he's in the fathers house.
00:15:26.19\00:15:28.00
He's in church every Sabbath.
00:15:28.36\00:15:31.24
I mean, he sings the same songs.
00:15:31.55\00:15:33.36
I mean, he knows when to pray.
00:15:33.39\00:15:35.38
He goes, "Happy
Sabbath, Brother."
00:15:35.41\00:15:37.46
He goes through the ritual,
it's become a part of him.
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But he's lost at home.
00:15:41.28\00:15:43.25
I mean, amazing how
Jesus could tell those stories.
00:15:43.69\00:15:47.06
And those stories have such
an impact upon all of us today.
00:15:47.09\00:15:50.51
And the lost brother or
the story of the prodigal son
00:15:50.61\00:15:55.04
comes about
because of an argument.
00:15:55.14\00:15:57.75
It comes about because of
a religious confrontation;
00:15:58.00\00:16:01.21
the Pharisees and the scribes.
00:16:01.24\00:16:03.53
They say, "Jesus,
You're not holy enough.
00:16:03.56\00:16:06.05
Jesus, You're not good enough.
00:16:06.08\00:16:07.90
Why, You go and You
eat with these sinners.
00:16:07.93\00:16:10.35
You celebrate
with these sinners."
00:16:10.45\00:16:12.44
And even in the
story, the prodigal
00:16:12.47\00:16:15.02
comes home to a party.
00:16:15.05\00:16:16.59
I mean, the Messiah at a party?
00:16:16.62\00:16:20.86
Come on now.
00:16:20.89\00:16:21.92
And it's because of that that
Jesus teaches the radical story
00:16:21.95\00:16:26.49
of the prodigal son.
00:16:26.99\00:16:28.45
He strikes at hypocrisy.
00:16:28.48\00:16:30.33
This story strikes
at self-righteousness.
00:16:30.87\00:16:33.66
This story strikes
at religious bigotry.
00:16:34.03\00:16:36.89
It happens then
and it happens now.
00:16:37.04\00:16:40.13
It happens then
and it happens now.
00:16:40.71\00:16:42.55
And so the radical teaching
of Jesus concerning lostness;
00:16:43.26\00:16:46.43
horns and halos in human nature.
00:16:46.83\00:16:50.62
Human nature struggles
with horns and with halos.
00:16:51.46\00:16:57.89
I mean, the boy
squanders his inheritance.
00:16:59.18\00:17:01.72
The boy ends up in a pigpen.
00:17:02.73\00:17:05.64
The Jewish boy in
a pigpen. Come on.
00:17:06.19\00:17:09.02
How disgusting could that be.
00:17:09.12\00:17:11.18
And that's about as
low as you could go.
00:17:11.21\00:17:13.39
But this isn't an ancient story.
00:17:13.84\00:17:15.70
I've worked the
great cities of America.
00:17:16.06\00:17:18.00
I've worked the inner
cities for some 50 years.
00:17:18.03\00:17:22.89
And I've met them in the pigpen.
00:17:25.26\00:17:27.24
Boys and girls
who have left home.
00:17:28.36\00:17:30.42
And well, it's a modern story.
00:17:30.82\00:17:32.68
It's about every home that
feels somewhere the prodigal
00:17:32.71\00:17:37.07
and experiences
somewhat the sorrow
00:17:37.10\00:17:40.98
of the father who waits at home.
00:17:41.28\00:17:43.82
In fact, I answer the prayer
requests for It Is Written.
00:17:43.85\00:17:46.92
And the majority of the
prayer requests are parents
00:17:47.27\00:17:50.27
asking me to pray
for their children;
00:17:50.37\00:17:52.46
prodigals in our world.
00:17:53.00\00:17:54.78
And I always give them
the encouragement to know
00:17:54.81\00:17:57.05
that God made a round world.
00:17:57.08\00:17:58.82
And why He made a
round world was because the
00:17:58.85\00:18:01.37
further you go away from
home, the closer you come back
00:18:01.40\00:18:04.82
to home again.
00:18:04.85\00:18:06.27
And that's the
story of the prodigal.
00:18:07.37\00:18:11.48
But I just want
to take six words,
00:18:12.56\00:18:14.94
six words that reveal the
truth, a deep truth about sin,
00:18:15.62\00:18:19.79
about salvation,
about lost and found.
00:18:19.93\00:18:23.34
The Bible says in
those six words...
00:18:23.37\00:18:25.45
Just six words.
00:18:29.97\00:18:31.90
Now I know it's not good
exegesis to take six words
00:18:32.32\00:18:35.09
out of context, because
it might become a pretext.
00:18:35.12\00:18:38.30
But I want to take these
six words because I believe it
00:18:38.49\00:18:40.94
describes human
nature as no other
00:18:40.97\00:18:43.16
six words in all the Bible.
00:18:43.19\00:18:44.97
I believe sometimes
you have to dissect.
00:18:45.21\00:18:47.61
In order to dissect the
rose, you must pluck the petals.
00:18:47.81\00:18:51.16
When I was a little boy, I
use to do that all the time.
00:18:51.66\00:18:54.10
I use to play with my
toys, and when they broke,
00:18:54.13\00:18:57.59
mechanical things, I
would take them apart.
00:18:57.62\00:19:00.37
Sometimes they
weren't even broke,
00:19:01.27\00:19:02.62
I took them apart.
00:19:02.65\00:19:03.98
And then I would try
to put them together.
00:19:04.85\00:19:06.44
And always when I finished,
there were some parts left over.
00:19:06.47\00:19:09.96
Now I didn't understand
how that could happen,
00:19:10.85\00:19:13.20
how these parts could be
left over, but I figured,
00:19:13.30\00:19:16.47
well something's
wrong with the manufacturer.
00:19:16.50\00:19:19.51
But I put these things,
and they never seemed to
00:19:20.02\00:19:22.50
work right again.
00:19:22.53\00:19:23.86
I mean, I had that tendency.
00:19:24.11\00:19:25.83
But I hope to put it
together this morning
00:19:26.15\00:19:28.32
about this prodigal
son, and about human nature
00:19:28.35\00:19:31.26
and the reason why
we act the way we act
00:19:31.29\00:19:33.39
and don't act like
we should act, I mean.
00:19:33.42\00:19:35.73
The Bible says,
"When he came to himself."
00:19:36.42\00:19:38.76
Now don't pass it over lightly.
00:19:39.33\00:19:40.75
I mean, volumes have
been written about it.
00:19:40.78\00:19:43.23
I mean, thousands of sermons
have been preached about it.
00:19:43.26\00:19:46.41
This is Christ's
judgment on human nature.
00:19:46.59\00:19:49.33
This is Christ's revelation
of why you act the way you act.
00:19:49.36\00:19:52.81
This is God's revelation that
all have sinned and come short
00:19:52.98\00:19:55.89
of the glory of God.
00:19:55.92\00:19:57.29
No matter how beautiful you
look, no matter how you sound,
00:19:57.32\00:20:00.57
there's within you
horns, as well as halos.
00:20:00.60\00:20:05.95
And you see, Christ's
judgment on human nature;
00:20:06.80\00:20:10.10
this is the explanation
of why we act the way we act.
00:20:10.13\00:20:12.50
This little bit of
how the whole cries out
00:20:12.98\00:20:16.06
and cuts
through our self-deceit.
00:20:16.16\00:20:19.43
One poignant
truth leaps out at us.
00:20:19.63\00:20:22.52
The prodigal was not himself.
00:20:22.55\00:20:24.80
Because the Bible
says he came to himself.
00:20:25.79\00:20:27.78
He wasn't himself in a pigpen.
00:20:27.81\00:20:29.85
He wasn't himself
down in the bright lights
00:20:29.88\00:20:32.48
of that city
away from his father.
00:20:32.51\00:20:34.30
He wasn't himself when he
turned away from his prayers.
00:20:34.33\00:20:37.59
He wasn't himself when
he turned away from the
00:20:37.62\00:20:39.55
reading of the Scripture.
00:20:39.58\00:20:40.77
He wasn't himself
when he went the broad road
00:20:40.80\00:20:43.02
down towards hell.
00:20:43.05\00:20:44.31
He wasn't himself.
00:20:44.34\00:20:46.81
What he was doing
and what he was saying
00:20:49.08\00:20:52.80
and how he was
living; not his real self.
00:20:53.44\00:20:57.26
Not in the pigpen.
00:20:57.29\00:20:58.74
He was expressing only
one part of his nature.
00:20:58.77\00:21:02.44
One part of himself.
00:21:04.09\00:21:05.83
And that's the worst part.
00:21:06.37\00:21:08.20
It was not until he
made up his mind to go home
00:21:09.29\00:21:11.64
and be a son that he
really came to himself.
00:21:11.84\00:21:14.31
And self for which he was born.
00:21:14.34\00:21:16.23
You were born to be
in the Father's house.
00:21:16.26\00:21:18.61
You who are
watching this program,
00:21:18.64\00:21:20.36
you were born to be
in the presence of God.
00:21:20.39\00:21:22.79
You've been born
to be a child of God.
00:21:22.82\00:21:25.14
You belong home.
00:21:25.17\00:21:27.03
You need to make up your mind,
00:21:31.76\00:21:33.59
perhaps, to come
back to the Father's home.
00:21:34.81\00:21:36.99
And so we find the passages,
not an exercise in speech,
00:21:38.02\00:21:41.94
not a description of one
man's wild fling, you know.
00:21:41.97\00:21:44.60
I mean, just a night
out with the boys and girls.
00:21:44.63\00:21:47.42
I mean, one man
letting his hair down.
00:21:47.45\00:21:49.53
This is a Christian
view of human nature.
00:21:49.56\00:21:51.85
This is Christ's view
of how we act and why we
00:21:51.88\00:21:54.55
act the way we act.
00:21:54.58\00:21:55.61
Wrapped up in that
little sentence is a deep
00:21:55.64\00:21:57.85
theological truth concerning
the way we act, the way we are.
00:21:57.88\00:22:01.67
It describes
the totality of sin.
00:22:02.42\00:22:04.73
Sin is not only
what we do or don't do.
00:22:05.18\00:22:08.98
Sin is who we are.
00:22:09.12\00:22:11.08
Sinners.
00:22:11.58\00:22:12.84
From our mother's
womb, the Bible says.
00:22:12.94\00:22:15.09
And life; I mean, in
life the things we want to do,
00:22:15.12\00:22:18.23
we don't do, and the things
we don't want to do, we do.
00:22:18.26\00:22:20.70
Sin is ever constant with us.
00:22:20.73\00:22:22.42
It haunts our
steps. Come on now.
00:22:22.45\00:22:25.19
We can run far away.
00:22:28.11\00:22:29.69
We can move out to a beautiful
country and build little walls
00:22:29.72\00:22:32.72
and little farms
and sit there piously,
00:22:32.75\00:22:35.55
but we cannot run
away from our own selves.
00:22:35.58\00:22:38.44
Our own nature cries out.
00:22:38.47\00:22:40.71
In death, this corruption
will put on incorruption.
00:22:43.51\00:22:46.66
We're all prodigals in nature.
00:22:47.36\00:22:49.15
We may not be in a
pigpen, we may be in a church.
00:22:49.18\00:22:52.73
It may not be in the
ghetto, but we may be in a
00:22:52.76\00:22:55.05
fluent neighborhood.
00:22:55.08\00:22:56.37
I mean, but we are sinners.
00:22:56.40\00:22:58.00
That's clear in the Word of God.
00:22:58.03\00:22:59.85
This truth is seen
throughout the Old Testament.
00:22:59.88\00:23:02.18
God formed man, he
became a living soul.
00:23:02.21\00:23:04.97
That's humanity.
00:23:05.00\00:23:06.20
And with a touch
of divinity, humanity.
00:23:06.35\00:23:08.54
At home in a garden.
00:23:08.57\00:23:09.96
Humanity,
grandeur written on him.
00:23:10.07\00:23:12.72
Humanity, now
wondering east of Eden
00:23:12.75\00:23:15.74
in a planet called, rebellion.
00:23:15.77\00:23:17.55
I mean, there he is, pathetic.
00:23:17.58\00:23:19.18
There he is,
Adam, hiding from God.
00:23:19.21\00:23:21.13
Hiding from His Father, naked.
00:23:21.36\00:23:24.04
This is the reason there's such
restlessness in the human heart.
00:23:29.85\00:23:33.02
This is the reason
there's so much emptiness
00:23:34.00\00:23:36.06
in the human soul.
00:23:36.09\00:23:37.47
This is the reason
for our loneliness.
00:23:38.26\00:23:41.84
And that is why we need
to feel fulfilled, happy.
00:23:42.45\00:23:46.32
We can never be happy in a far
country away from the Father.
00:23:46.35\00:23:50.46
"And when he came to himself."
00:23:51.12\00:23:53.08
This is the Christian view of
our condition, human condition.
00:23:53.49\00:23:58.74
Away from home, away from God.
00:23:59.19\00:24:01.80
I mean, I've met them
everywhere on this planet.
00:24:01.98\00:24:05.86
I've met them in big cities,
I've met them in Park Avenue,
00:24:06.29\00:24:10.98
I've met them in the inner city.
00:24:11.01\00:24:12.60
I've met men and
women acting on impulse,
00:24:12.63\00:24:15.49
men acting on their feelings.
00:24:15.52\00:24:17.57
"Oh it feels good, so do it."
00:24:17.60\00:24:19.55
I mean, acting on sensation.
00:24:19.58\00:24:21.82
Was not acting
himself, the prodigal,
00:24:22.03\00:24:24.72
when he acted out these things.
00:24:24.75\00:24:26.89
At least not his real self.
00:24:26.92\00:24:28.87
Not the self for
which he was born,
00:24:28.90\00:24:30.85
not for the purpose.
00:24:30.88\00:24:32.35
But rather he had been created.
00:24:32.58\00:24:35.65
And there that human nature.
00:24:36.59\00:24:37.98
You can decorate it.
00:24:38.01\00:24:39.20
You can put
sparkling bling on it.
00:24:40.40\00:24:42.62
Train the mouth to
say the nice things.
00:24:43.95\00:24:46.41
And down deep where
no one lives but you,
00:24:47.09\00:24:50.02
it's nothing but corruption.
00:24:50.84\00:24:52.83
I know you don't like...
00:24:54.21\00:24:55.51
You like pretty little
sermons with bubbling brooks,
00:24:55.54\00:24:58.32
and positive attitudes.
00:24:59.46\00:25:01.27
You don't want to
hear sermons that say
00:25:01.77\00:25:03.69
you're a sinner
in need of Christ,
00:25:03.72\00:25:05.70
you're a sinner in
need of forgiveness.
00:25:05.73\00:25:07.41
"No, I go to church.
00:25:07.44\00:25:09.17
I don't do this and I don't
do that and I don't do this.
00:25:09.20\00:25:11.94
And my standards are so high."
00:25:11.97\00:25:13.66
Your standards are
not high enough to heaven.
00:25:13.69\00:25:15.95
Only Christ can make
you high enough for heaven.
00:25:15.99\00:25:18.86
Human nature.
00:25:21.49\00:25:22.88
Decorate it.
00:25:23.93\00:25:25.14
But down deep... Come on now.
00:25:25.87\00:25:27.74
...when you're alone.
00:25:28.87\00:25:30.31
If I were to break all
the mirrors in my house,
00:25:31.07\00:25:33.31
I would look pretty good.
00:25:33.34\00:25:34.70
And yet, we sometimes do
that when we think of ourselves
00:25:38.74\00:25:43.77
in a holy way.
00:25:44.80\00:25:46.18
I mean, down deep; corrupt.
00:25:47.55\00:25:51.22
We may not
squander our inheritance,
00:25:51.43\00:25:53.48
but we may use the
credit card too much.
00:25:53.51\00:25:56.05
Have more shoes than we should.
00:25:58.78\00:26:00.46
Or dresses and suites,
as big boys and big girls.
00:26:01.77\00:26:04.88
I remember my first suit.
00:26:04.91\00:26:06.20
I was converted,
I was a Christian.
00:26:06.58\00:26:08.30
I was preaching on
street corners in New York
00:26:08.33\00:26:11.00
and on the subways,
everywhere I could talk.
00:26:11.20\00:26:13.86
I carried my Bible with me.
00:26:13.89\00:26:15.24
And by the way,
when I was sixteen I was
00:26:15.35\00:26:17.15
functionally illiterate.
00:26:17.44\00:26:18.47
I really couldn't read.
00:26:18.50\00:26:21.22
I couldn't open the
Bible and really read it.
00:26:21.25\00:26:22.97
So you don't have
to have an education.
00:26:23.00\00:26:24.52
You don't have to even be
able to read and get saved.
00:26:24.55\00:26:27.41
I was saved and I
couldn't hardly read.
00:26:31.23\00:26:33.38
But I could know one
thing; that God loved me.
00:26:34.39\00:26:37.61
And I needed someone to love me.
00:26:37.80\00:26:40.16
I needed someone, I
needed someone to love me.
00:26:41.06\00:26:45.54
But I remember they
decided, the Dorcas,
00:26:45.57\00:26:48.38
that I should have a new suit.
00:26:48.41\00:26:49.55
I mean, I should have a suit.
00:26:49.58\00:26:50.71
The Dorcas got together
and they gave me a suit.
00:26:51.59\00:26:53.92
It was a, ugh...
00:26:54.02\00:26:55.66
I can't describe it.
00:26:55.69\00:26:56.93
It was a rust colored suit.
00:26:58.01\00:26:59.92
It was a dead man's suit.
00:27:00.96\00:27:02.24
Every time I hung it in
the closet, the arms folded.
00:27:02.27\00:27:04.78
I mean, this was a suit.
00:27:06.23\00:27:07.84
And my first suit.
00:27:07.87\00:27:09.76
I mean, wow.
00:27:09.86\00:27:12.25
My first suit.
00:27:12.28\00:27:13.60
We talk about
the big boy's toys.
00:27:17.31\00:27:20.76
And garages are full
of them. Come on now.
00:27:21.55\00:27:23.52
And still we're not happy.
00:27:24.37\00:27:25.75
You see, this is an
exposé on human nature.
00:27:26.92\00:27:29.14
This is getting down
to the real nitty-gritty.
00:27:29.17\00:27:31.37
This is getting
down deep into your soul.
00:27:31.40\00:27:33.93
This is trying to
make you understand.
00:27:33.96\00:27:36.01
You see, one minute
the smile; the next, tears.
00:27:36.04\00:27:38.78
Come on, isn't it?
00:27:38.81\00:27:40.21
Horns and halos, I mean.
00:27:40.61\00:27:41.90
One minute,
calmness; and then the storm.
00:27:42.04\00:27:45.27
Come on now.
00:27:45.30\00:27:46.33
One minute you're praising
God driving down the road,
00:27:46.36\00:27:49.30
and some man cuts in
front of you, and you...
00:27:49.33\00:27:52.37
Horns and halos...
00:27:56.48\00:27:57.98
...in human nature.
00:27:59.56\00:28:00.89
I mean, good or
bad, fixed or flexible.
00:28:01.91\00:28:04.81
I mean, it's there.
00:28:04.91\00:28:05.94
Final or
changeable, it is there.
00:28:05.99\00:28:08.42
We get all sorts of
answers to the question,
00:28:08.45\00:28:10.26
"Why do we act the way we act?"
00:28:10.29\00:28:11.65
But outside the Bible, I
don't know where you could find
00:28:11.85\00:28:14.51
a more honest
answer or honest reading
00:28:14.54\00:28:17.05
than the fact of
the human condition
00:28:17.08\00:28:19.16
described in this
book and in this story.
00:28:19.19\00:28:21.29
At times we're holy
and loving and thoughtful,
00:28:21.95\00:28:24.38
and other times we're mean...
00:28:24.41\00:28:26.31
...and ugly.
00:28:27.83\00:28:28.86
I can't show you that picture.
00:28:29.53\00:28:30.67
I'm too good-looking for that.
00:28:30.70\00:28:31.78
But anyway.
00:28:31.81\00:28:32.84
Sometimes we're
ugly and thoughtless.
00:28:32.92\00:28:36.42
In the Chinese language
there's a character for peace.
00:28:37.36\00:28:40.26
It's a house roof
with one woman under it.
00:28:40.29\00:28:42.48
In the Chinese language
there's a character for strife,
00:28:42.97\00:28:45.98
with two women under the roof.
00:28:46.01\00:28:48.00
How many women under your roof?
00:28:48.27\00:28:52.04
How many men under your roof?
00:28:52.07\00:28:53.50
Come on, that's what He's
saying about human nature.
00:28:53.53\00:28:56.00
Reasonable today,
petulant tomorrow.
00:28:57.05\00:28:59.70
Generous today, stingy tomorrow.
00:29:00.76\00:29:02.52
Come on.
00:29:02.55\00:29:03.62
Sometimes we go through
all those moods in one day.
00:29:03.65\00:29:05.99
We blame it on other things.
00:29:08.02\00:29:09.52
Midlife crisis.
00:29:10.06\00:29:11.48
One of the great
philosophers said,
00:29:14.46\00:29:16.25
"Really I'm a decent,
kindly, loveable soul.
00:29:16.58\00:29:19.61
But there is another horrid
fellow with repulsive ways
00:29:20.09\00:29:23.09
who sometimes
gets into my clothing.
00:29:23.12\00:29:25.15
He uses my name and
gets mistaken for me."
00:29:25.73\00:29:29.37
Now of course, some of us would
never admit this to the world.
00:29:31.19\00:29:33.87
No horns in us. All halos.
00:29:33.90\00:29:36.08
How wonderful.
00:29:36.11\00:29:37.14
And yet, there's a haunting
suspicion down deep inside
00:29:37.17\00:29:40.27
that there is a conflict.
00:29:40.30\00:29:41.52
I mean, something that
makes us act horrible at times.
00:29:41.55\00:29:45.13
A little poem I read
once catches the truth.
00:29:45.91\00:29:48.26
"There's so much
good in the worst of us
00:29:48.29\00:29:51.31
and so much bad
in the best of us
00:29:52.06\00:29:54.00
that it doesn't
behoove any of us
00:29:54.85\00:29:56.67
to find fault
with the rest of us."
00:29:56.96\00:29:59.08
That's human nature.
00:30:00.51\00:30:01.81
We actually know
it. Life teaches it.
00:30:02.75\00:30:04.97
Example; David, who made
hymns for all the world to sing.
00:30:05.00\00:30:09.26
But he didn't always
live according to those hymns.
00:30:09.36\00:30:12.73
I mean, there was Solomon.
00:30:13.59\00:30:15.52
He wrote proverbs of wisdom,
00:30:16.37\00:30:20.77
and often chose
folly for his bedfellow.
00:30:21.27\00:30:23.88
Come on now.
00:30:23.91\00:30:25.09
I'm reading through the Bible
again this year, my wife and I.
00:30:26.00\00:30:29.04
We're into
those books, you know,
00:30:29.49\00:30:31.37
that describes human nature.
00:30:31.70\00:30:33.87
They were supposed
to be the people of God.
00:30:34.15\00:30:36.28
Full of doubt and
questions, full of sin.
00:30:36.70\00:30:39.52
I mean, you
see, it's everywhere.
00:30:39.88\00:30:43.24
Flesh and spirit warring.
00:30:43.27\00:30:45.83
Good and bad warring.
00:30:46.21\00:30:48.16
And we seem to be caught
in the middle of it, right?
00:30:48.19\00:30:51.40
Come on, we seem to be caught
right in the middle of it.
00:30:51.43\00:30:54.99
In the Bible, the first Adam.
00:30:55.02\00:30:56.60
There's the second Adam.
00:30:56.80\00:30:57.97
The law of sin and the
law of death, the law of God.
00:30:58.00\00:31:00.32
The beast and the
Lamb; I mean, there it is.
00:31:00.53\00:31:02.37
Babylon and
Jerusalem; there it is.
00:31:02.40\00:31:04.14
Horns and halos,
Satan and Christ.
00:31:04.17\00:31:06.16
The struggle goes on.
00:31:06.19\00:31:07.71
When I was a
young boy, I use to be,
00:31:10.02\00:31:12.61
I use to love to
go to the movies.
00:31:13.66\00:31:15.64
I went to the movies in Coney
Island, Brighton Beach actually.
00:31:16.42\00:31:19.17
It was called, the itch.
00:31:19.40\00:31:21.03
It was nine cents
to go to the movie.
00:31:21.97\00:31:26.15
Now this was BC, but
there I was; nine cents.
00:31:26.82\00:31:29.57
Just so you wouldn't get a
heart attack and go home sick.
00:31:31.00\00:31:33.54
But anyway, I used to
love to go to the itch.
00:31:33.57\00:31:37.08
Now they called it the itch
because when the light went on
00:31:37.11\00:31:39.15
there were so many
cockroaches running around,
00:31:39.18\00:31:40.96
you kept your feet
up during the film.
00:31:40.99\00:31:43.32
Nine cents.
00:31:44.52\00:31:45.69
The other movie house
was twenty-five cents.
00:31:45.99\00:31:47.53
That was way above our limit.
00:31:47.56\00:31:49.59
And so I was at the itch, and
there was a movie I saw once.
00:31:50.21\00:31:52.87
It was called,
Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
00:31:53.17\00:31:55.48
Why is it that good
exists in one person
00:31:56.90\00:32:01.37
and evil in the other,
and it's the same person?
00:32:01.40\00:32:03.78
There's the monster
and the good doctor.
00:32:05.00\00:32:07.90
Horns and halos in human life.
00:32:08.61\00:32:11.75
Literature describes it.
00:32:12.15\00:32:13.77
Shakespeare put it
down in two great speeches.
00:32:13.80\00:32:16.52
In Hamlet we see halos, listen.
00:32:16.55\00:32:18.78
"What a piece of work is man;
how noble in reason, in action.
00:32:18.81\00:32:23.04
How like an angel, in
apprehension how like a god!"
00:32:23.07\00:32:27.34
But then he wrote King Lear.
00:32:28.79\00:32:31.65
"Man is a false spirit.
00:32:32.90\00:32:34.98
Bloody of hand,
a fox in stealth,
00:32:35.32\00:32:38.56
a wolf in
greediness, a lion in prey."
00:32:38.59\00:32:42.25
All literature; poetry
and fiction and history
00:32:42.35\00:32:45.51
and theology, is a
continuing sermon on the theme,
00:32:45.54\00:32:48.74
human nature.
00:32:48.77\00:32:50.01
Human nature.
00:32:51.49\00:32:52.76
One person said, "The more I see
people, the more I like my dog."
00:32:53.78\00:32:57.42
You see at the close of a
book called, Blood In The Sand,
00:33:02.17\00:33:05.28
Blasco Ibanez
describes a bull fight
00:33:06.98\00:33:10.85
in which the bull has
been gored into madness.
00:33:11.41\00:33:14.00
Picture the scene.
00:33:14.03\00:33:15.53
And he turns and
catches the matador on his horns
00:33:15.56\00:33:18.24
and flings him in
the air and gores him
00:33:18.27\00:33:21.27
to a bloody mess.
00:33:21.67\00:33:23.23
When the dying matador
is carried from the arena,
00:33:23.89\00:33:26.46
an unearthly roar
goes up from the crowd.
00:33:27.27\00:33:30.29
And the author says, so listen,
00:33:30.56\00:33:32.79
"We listen to the roar
of the only beast there is;
00:33:32.99\00:33:36.46
humanity."
00:33:36.86\00:33:38.21
Humanity.
00:33:39.03\00:33:40.31
Here are the facts
about human nature.
00:33:42.43\00:33:46.15
It's found there in
the story that Jesus told.
00:33:46.18\00:33:48.58
It's the story in
meaning of those few words.
00:33:49.22\00:33:51.70
First, man by nature
is alienated from God.
00:33:52.03\00:33:54.84
He, because of his
choice, is alienated from God.
00:33:55.76\00:33:58.65
You say, "Well Adam
did that. Eve did that."
00:33:58.80\00:34:00.85
If you were there,
you would have done it.
00:34:00.88\00:34:02.87
But more than that, you are
the Adams and you are the Eves
00:34:02.90\00:34:05.51
of our generation.
00:34:05.54\00:34:06.87
From what tree have
you plucked the fruit?
00:34:07.79\00:34:10.05
Any medical doctor worth
his or her salt knows that
00:34:11.51\00:34:14.03
you can't bring about a
cure for disease unless you
00:34:14.06\00:34:17.07
first diagnose the problem.
00:34:17.10\00:34:19.19
I mean, you've got to
diagnose the problem correctly.
00:34:19.22\00:34:21.72
Statesmen know,
politicians know,
00:34:21.75\00:34:23.60
that they must be accurate
in their assessment of the cause
00:34:23.70\00:34:26.76
before they write
adequate legislation.
00:34:26.79\00:34:28.98
There's no
shortness of diagnosis for why
00:34:30.26\00:34:32.75
we do what we do.
00:34:32.78\00:34:33.93
Whole fields of scientific study
are devoted to that question.
00:34:33.96\00:34:37.70
Psychology tries to find
out why individuals think
00:34:37.96\00:34:40.59
and act the way they do.
00:34:40.62\00:34:41.65
They should read the
story of the prodigal son.
00:34:41.68\00:34:44.01
Arthur Koestler
says, "We're suffering from
00:34:45.17\00:34:47.55
biological malfunction."
00:34:47.58\00:34:49.56
In other words,
it's in our genes.
00:34:50.27\00:34:52.47
B.F. Skinner said, "Oh
no, behavior is determined
00:34:53.65\00:34:57.00
completely from without."
00:34:57.03\00:34:58.28
Your environment.
00:34:58.31\00:34:59.89
Poor person who
grows up in the inner city.
00:34:59.92\00:35:02.53
Poor person who
grows up in the ghetto.
00:35:02.56\00:35:04.64
Poor person who
grows up in poverty.
00:35:04.67\00:35:06.94
And it was Gandhi
that said, "Poverty is the
00:35:06.97\00:35:09.42
worst kind of violence."
00:35:09.45\00:35:11.17
Walk with me through
the streets of east L.A.
00:35:14.25\00:35:17.13
Go down into San Bernardino.
00:35:17.43\00:35:18.93
It's nice in the
little hills of Illinois,
00:35:18.96\00:35:20.94
that they'll be so holy.
00:35:21.03\00:35:22.23
But come down to the
reality of life as it really is.
00:35:22.26\00:35:25.27
Come with me down
there and see the people.
00:35:25.30\00:35:28.13
Try to understand how
they feel, how they sense,
00:35:28.23\00:35:31.33
and why they
act the way the act.
00:35:31.36\00:35:33.19
They're in a pigpen
not of their own creation.
00:35:33.22\00:35:36.10
And it's the
church's responsibility,
00:35:36.96\00:35:39.09
it's the church's
job to help them out
00:35:39.12\00:35:41.95
and to bring them
to the Father's house.
00:35:41.98\00:35:43.93
That's the only reason
and purpose for our church.
00:35:43.96\00:35:47.23
To seek and to
save that which is lost.
00:35:47.85\00:35:50.48
Came along Karl
Menninger and he said,
00:35:50.68\00:35:53.48
"No, it's none of that."
00:35:53.51\00:35:54.64
He wrote a book called,
What Ever Became Of Sin.
00:35:54.98\00:35:59.32
And he connects mental illness
and mental and moral health
00:35:59.42\00:36:03.66
together, and says, "The
only way out of this suffering
00:36:03.69\00:36:06.08
and struggling and
anxious and abnormal action,
00:36:06.11\00:36:08.82
mental illness,
is recognizing sin."
00:36:08.85\00:36:11.10
The only way you can understand
your need to go back home;
00:36:12.05\00:36:15.04
"He came to himself."
00:36:15.07\00:36:16.71
He discovered this
was not his real self.
00:36:16.74\00:36:19.51
The things he was doing,
the pleasures he was seeking,
00:36:19.71\00:36:22.45
the wanting that
which was not to be wanted,
00:36:22.65\00:36:25.60
was not his true self.
00:36:25.92\00:36:28.36
He wrote this, Karl Menninger.
00:36:35.73\00:36:38.34
It came to me as he
wrote that, "Our clergymen
00:36:39.03\00:36:42.32
have become shaken
reeds, smoking lamps,
00:36:42.35\00:36:46.84
earthen vessels, spent arrows."
00:36:47.21\00:36:50.15
Stand up and tell the
world what its problem is.
00:36:50.18\00:36:53.94
Preach it, tell it like it is.
00:36:53.97\00:36:55.65
Say it from the pulpits,
cry it from the rooftops.
00:36:55.68\00:36:58.38
Dr. Menninger, not an
evangelist, Halvorsen,
00:36:58.48\00:37:00.96
he said, "Tell them
about sin so that they
00:37:00.99\00:37:04.21
might find the Savior."
00:37:04.24\00:37:05.90
From the third chapter
of Genesis to the very last,
00:37:09.54\00:37:12.51
next to the last book
of the Bible, Revelation,
00:37:12.54\00:37:15.00
there's one consistent message.
00:37:15.03\00:37:16.77
It's the theme of the
prophets and the apostles
00:37:16.80\00:37:19.33
and the preachers.
00:37:19.43\00:37:20.65
Sin is our problem.
00:37:20.68\00:37:22.28
We become alienated
from our Father by our sin.
00:37:22.31\00:37:26.00
Sin is what makes us so human.
00:37:26.03\00:37:27.94
And human is what
makes us so sinning.
00:37:27.97\00:37:30.25
Sin is what makes us
lose fellowship and friendship
00:37:30.28\00:37:33.02
and relationship,
and short circuits us.
00:37:33.05\00:37:36.15
Our little boy, I got him an
electric train set when he was
00:37:38.15\00:37:41.31
a little boy for Christmas.
00:37:41.34\00:37:42.41
I always wanted
one, so I got him one.
00:37:43.05\00:37:44.49
You know, parents, isn't that...
00:37:44.52\00:37:46.07
You pour all these
things on your kids because
00:37:46.10\00:37:48.28
you couldn't have
it when you were a kid.
00:37:48.31\00:37:49.44
Come on, right?
00:37:49.47\00:37:50.59
I know, because I'm a father.
00:37:50.62\00:37:53.24
I'm a grandfather.
00:37:53.27\00:37:54.56
And I'm a great grandfather.
00:37:54.59\00:37:56.01
I know it's impossible
for you to believe that.
00:37:56.04\00:37:58.29
But I got him a
little train set.
00:38:01.22\00:38:03.13
Oh, he would sit for time
and time watching that thing
00:38:03.32\00:38:07.40
go around in circles.
00:38:07.43\00:38:09.68
And one day something happened
and the train wouldn't go.
00:38:10.66\00:38:14.21
So he quickly ran to
his mechanical father.
00:38:14.78\00:38:17.54
Which I'm far from.
00:38:19.55\00:38:20.62
But anyway he ran to me
and said, "Daddy, oh..."
00:38:20.65\00:38:24.81
I said, "Don't
worry, son. I'll fix it."
00:38:24.84\00:38:26.49
Now my wife looked at me
with that look, you know,
00:38:28.06\00:38:30.23
"Yeah, you'll fix it alright.
00:38:30.26\00:38:31.90
I wish you would that
cabinet that's been hanging the
00:38:32.77\00:38:35.17
door off there for a year."
00:38:35.20\00:38:36.82
And so I went over to the train
set, sat down beside my son,
00:38:37.89\00:38:41.04
and looked it over.
00:38:41.51\00:38:42.81
Tried the
transformer, didn't work.
00:38:44.00\00:38:46.64
Ran quick and looked to
see if it was plugged in.
00:38:46.82\00:38:49.19
It was plugged in.
00:38:49.56\00:38:50.62
I mean, all the
power of Connecticut
00:38:50.65\00:38:52.30
right at my fingertips.
00:38:53.11\00:38:55.10
But the train wouldn't go.
00:38:55.51\00:38:57.55
And I was scratching my
head and I'm putting the tracks,
00:38:58.74\00:39:01.44
seeing if they're all connected.
00:39:01.47\00:39:03.04
And nothing.
00:39:03.77\00:39:04.88
And I don't want to
give up, I don't want to say,
00:39:05.44\00:39:07.14
"Hey, your father's a dunce."
00:39:07.17\00:39:09.02
I mean, come on now.
I mean, "Your father..."
00:39:09.05\00:39:11.51
No, I'm going to
find this if it kills me.
00:39:12.35\00:39:14.66
It was getting
late into the night
00:39:15.45\00:39:16.80
and I'm looking and looking.
00:39:16.83\00:39:17.99
Finally I found it.
00:39:18.09\00:39:19.75
A tiny little...
00:39:20.53\00:39:22.09
The stuff you hang
on trees, what is that?
00:39:24.62\00:39:27.01
Huh? Tinsel, yeah. Thank you.
00:39:27.83\00:39:29.80
Tinsel.
00:39:30.07\00:39:31.10
And the tinsel is
laying across the track.
00:39:31.13\00:39:33.56
And that little tiny
piece of tinsel I can hardly see
00:39:34.90\00:39:37.74
short circuited the track
and the train couldn't run.
00:39:37.77\00:39:41.49
Once I picked it
up, it started to go.
00:39:41.52\00:39:43.93
And my son looked at me
like, "Wow daddy, you're smart.
00:39:43.96\00:39:48.11
You're smart."
00:39:49.70\00:39:51.10
Checked everything. Everything.
00:39:51.95\00:39:54.62
We've been short circuited.
00:39:54.65\00:39:56.28
I mean, we're
separated from God by sin.
00:39:57.19\00:40:00.80
And our lives have
been short circuited.
00:40:01.71\00:40:03.06
There's no power.
00:40:03.09\00:40:04.22
I mean, there's no
power. There's no life.
00:40:04.93\00:40:07.18
I mean, sin short circuited
our living connection with God.
00:40:07.21\00:40:10.31
Man is a sinner in
need of reconciliation.
00:40:10.34\00:40:12.99
And he's in need of
reconciliation with the Father.
00:40:13.02\00:40:15.55
Sin always promises
what it can't deliver.
00:40:15.58\00:40:18.88
It's like my friend Richard.
00:40:23.92\00:40:25.21
We were at the
academy playing hooky.
00:40:26.00\00:40:27.42
I won't get into the
story of my conversion.
00:40:27.45\00:40:29.09
But anyway, there I was,
a wild kid from Brooklyn.
00:40:29.12\00:40:33.53
I'm there playing
hooky at this academy
00:40:34.33\00:40:36.76
because Jim Landis went
there, and he was my friend.
00:40:36.79\00:40:39.52
And he was
converted a Christian.
00:40:39.85\00:40:41.48
And we're sitting there, and
every day I went back and back.
00:40:42.09\00:40:47.00
And finally, the last
week the preacher made a call.
00:40:47.03\00:40:49.35
And there I was,
black leather jacket, skull,
00:40:49.38\00:40:51.33
blood dripping over the skull.
00:40:51.36\00:40:52.69
I mean, cool.
00:40:55.72\00:40:57.06
And the preacher
made the call, I stood up.
00:40:58.63\00:41:00.22
My friend Richard
sitting next to me.
00:41:00.58\00:41:02.39
I said, "Come on, Richie."
00:41:02.50\00:41:03.53
He was touched by the Spirit,
I could see it in his face.
00:41:03.56\00:41:05.97
But he said this to
me, "No, it costs too much
00:41:06.17\00:41:09.46
to be a Christian.
00:41:10.39\00:41:11.83
I want to live it up.
00:41:12.68\00:41:13.95
You know, I want
to enjoy my life.
00:41:13.98\00:41:17.52
Christianity?"
00:41:17.95\00:41:19.59
I went on to become a Christian.
00:41:20.13\00:41:21.73
I went on to become a minister.
00:41:21.76\00:41:23.53
I've traveled around the world.
00:41:23.56\00:41:25.31
I've been in most
every continent of the world.
00:41:25.34\00:41:27.70
In places that you
could only dream of.
00:41:27.73\00:41:31.42
Why? Because that day I
gave my heart to Christ.
00:41:31.45\00:41:33.87
He opened a new world to me.
00:41:33.90\00:41:35.41
But Richard didn't.
00:41:35.44\00:41:36.84
And Richard spent his
life, the rest of his life,
00:41:36.87\00:41:40.28
in prison for murder.
00:41:40.42\00:41:42.45
Sin has its penalty.
00:41:44.73\00:41:48.01
It costs too much.
00:41:49.97\00:41:51.50
I guess that's what this son,
the prodigal, thought at home.
00:41:53.06\00:41:56.18
"Too much to live in this house.
00:41:56.21\00:41:57.91
Too strict to
live in this house.
00:41:57.94\00:41:59.68
I mean, I want to get out.
00:41:59.71\00:42:02.14
I want to know about life.
00:42:02.17\00:42:03.80
I want to see what
it's like over there."
00:42:03.83\00:42:05.97
Over there.
00:42:08.60\00:42:09.63
Wow.
00:42:10.06\00:42:11.09
I've been troubled by
that ever since; Richard.
00:42:13.13\00:42:15.61
It costs too much.
00:42:16.81\00:42:18.19
Sin always promises
more than it can give.
00:42:18.50\00:42:21.22
Do you hear me?
00:42:21.25\00:42:22.28
Sin takes you
further than you want to go.
00:42:23.55\00:42:26.43
And sin leaves you worse
off than you were before.
00:42:28.43\00:42:32.78
That's the
story of the prodigal.
00:42:33.75\00:42:35.59
You think when he walked out
that door, money in his pocket,
00:42:36.15\00:42:39.02
new suit of clothes, that
he was heading for the pigpen?
00:42:39.86\00:42:43.99
Do you think he thought that?
00:42:44.45\00:42:45.74
Do you think
he'd go broke, hungry?
00:42:46.84\00:42:49.19
I mean, our pride, our
selfishness, self-righteousness,
00:42:50.16\00:42:55.52
our love of evil, the
lure of the far country.
00:42:55.55\00:42:58.03
I mean, it's a
part within all of us.
00:42:58.06\00:42:59.92
And we need to break
ourselves before the cross
00:42:59.95\00:43:02.05
and before Jesus Christ.
00:43:02.08\00:43:03.73
I need to wake up
every morning and say,
00:43:05.23\00:43:07.51
"God, I give You this day."
00:43:08.23\00:43:09.85
There's none
righteous, the Bible says.
00:43:13.53\00:43:15.91
Romans 3:10.
00:43:16.25\00:43:17.55
He confirms it in
these words where he says,
00:43:22.55\00:43:25.20
notice, "All have sinned..."
00:43:25.23\00:43:27.82
We've all been short circuited.
00:43:30.84\00:43:32.73
First fact is, we are sinners.
00:43:32.76\00:43:35.01
We are sinners by birth.
00:43:35.04\00:43:36.94
Conceived.
00:43:38.56\00:43:39.94
By choice.
00:43:41.14\00:43:42.61
I choose to leave
the Father's house.
00:43:43.18\00:43:46.64
I choose to go to a far country.
00:43:46.67\00:43:49.83
Now I may use another excuse,
"Well that person just didn't
00:43:49.86\00:43:52.77
treat me right in church.
00:43:52.80\00:43:54.16
So I'm going to
run down to hell."
00:43:54.19\00:43:55.84
Wow. Give me a break.
00:44:00.17\00:44:02.84
"They didn't say...
00:44:03.84\00:44:05.08
They don't pay
no attention to me."
00:44:05.11\00:44:06.87
Huh.
00:44:06.90\00:44:08.38
But the second fact is
that we're in debt to God
00:44:11.29\00:44:13.55
because of our sin nature.
00:44:15.06\00:44:16.55
We're indebtedness to
God because of our sin.
00:44:17.25\00:44:19.30
And that's why it says
in Romans 5 and verse 12...
00:44:19.50\00:44:22.40
All have sinned.
00:44:33.24\00:44:35.15
In the beginning,
Adam and Eve sinned.
00:44:35.18\00:44:36.87
They became indebted to sin.
00:44:36.97\00:44:38.76
They deserved death.
00:44:38.79\00:44:40.11
Jesus came to set
us free from our debt.
00:44:40.14\00:44:42.32
I mean, you
cannot set yourself free.
00:44:42.35\00:44:44.26
All the good works in the
world cannot set you free.
00:44:44.29\00:44:46.68
I mean, how many good works
do you have to do for lust?
00:44:46.71\00:44:49.42
How many good works do
you have to do this week
00:44:52.12\00:44:54.05
because you got angry?
00:44:54.08\00:44:55.57
How many good works do
you have to do in order to
00:44:56.61\00:44:59.60
appease your appetite?
00:44:59.63\00:45:01.93
I mean, go on and on and on.
00:45:01.96\00:45:03.75
How many? No.
00:45:03.78\00:45:05.04
You have to turn to Him, your
Father, and go back and say,
00:45:05.07\00:45:08.38
"Father, I've sinned
against heaven and before Thee."
00:45:08.41\00:45:11.04
You need to repent
of it and come to Him.
00:45:11.07\00:45:13.26
And He takes you and
cleanses you, and puts His arms
00:45:13.29\00:45:16.52
around you, and redeems you.
00:45:16.55\00:45:19.26
I was talking with a young
preacher recently, he said,
00:45:22.91\00:45:24.76
"I ran out of things I
can preach on from the Bible."
00:45:24.96\00:45:27.91
I almost fainted.
00:45:30.71\00:45:31.76
I needed mouth to
mouth resuscitation.
00:45:33.06\00:45:35.95
What to preach about?
00:45:37.71\00:45:39.34
Listen to me, you can't
preach enough about redemption.
00:45:40.06\00:45:43.10
You can't speak enough
about Christ's gift of love.
00:45:43.44\00:45:46.48
You cannot run out of
mercy and forgiveness.
00:45:46.51\00:45:50.32
Look in the mirror, and you'll
see how much you can preach.
00:45:50.35\00:45:54.67
How much you need the
only thing that's important.
00:45:56.21\00:46:00.64
I mean, you see,
Jesus gives Himself up.
00:46:01.69\00:46:04.64
He pays a
certificate for eternal life.
00:46:04.67\00:46:07.03
You are going
to heaven under the
00:46:07.06\00:46:08.80
righteousness of Jesus Christ.
00:46:08.83\00:46:10.32
Never forget it.
00:46:10.35\00:46:11.41
A citizen in the days of Caesar,
by the way, is an example.
00:46:13.09\00:46:16.48
You see, a citizen owns
Caesar his total allegiance,
00:46:18.01\00:46:21.57
perfect allegiance.
00:46:21.60\00:46:23.03
If any citizen broke the law of
the land, he soon found himself
00:46:23.23\00:46:26.56
standing before
the court of Caesar.
00:46:26.59\00:46:28.18
Before Caesar himself sometimes.
00:46:28.38\00:46:31.28
And he would be given
a certificate of debt.
00:46:31.88\00:46:34.75
And it would be nailed
to the door of the dungeon.
00:46:34.78\00:46:37.24
And if he was sentenced
to 20 years, it would stay
00:46:37.27\00:46:39.68
nailed to the
door of the dungeon.
00:46:39.71\00:46:41.40
Now after those
20 years of serving,
00:46:41.43\00:46:43.47
he would then be set free.
00:46:43.50\00:46:45.11
And they would give
him that scroll, that debt,
00:46:45.14\00:46:47.63
stamped by the
stamp of Rome, of Caesar.
00:46:47.66\00:46:51.35
And he would go as a
free man out into culture,
00:46:51.38\00:46:54.18
out into society.
00:46:54.21\00:46:55.44
Do you understand you were
a sinner and Christ took that
00:46:55.47\00:46:59.22
certificate and He
put His seal upon you?
00:46:59.25\00:47:02.37
And He says, "Now
you are free to roam,
00:47:02.40\00:47:05.14
because you're going
to roam in green pastures
00:47:05.17\00:47:07.67
beside still waters."
00:47:07.70\00:47:09.20
Wow. Think of that.
00:47:10.69\00:47:13.07
Jesus wrote a certificate of our
debt in His blood and signed it.
00:47:13.10\00:47:16.77
And signed it, "Paid in full."
00:47:17.32\00:47:22.09
Prodigal, come home.
00:47:23.50\00:47:26.21
I've met many
prodigals who returned home.
00:47:27.04\00:47:30.94
And that keeps me going.
00:47:31.89\00:47:33.41
76 years old, going on 77.
00:47:33.86\00:47:36.52
I told my wife the other
day, I said, "If I die before
00:47:36.55\00:47:38.75
Jesus comes, have them
put a pulpit in my casket.
00:47:38.78\00:47:42.25
Because when I
come up, I'm preaching."
00:47:42.28\00:47:44.06
I told the Lord the other
day, "As long as I'm vertical,
00:47:46.10\00:47:48.77
I'll be preaching."
00:47:49.82\00:47:50.96
I'm telling men and women
that there's a safe place.
00:47:51.96\00:47:53.87
And that safe place is home.
00:47:53.90\00:47:55.51
Home with the Father.
Good news for sinners.
00:47:56.05\00:47:58.12
I mean, good news for
men and women with horns,
00:47:58.61\00:48:01.50
more horns in
their nature than halos.
00:48:01.53\00:48:03.75
I mean, good news.
Jesus paid the price.
00:48:03.78\00:48:06.22
And praise God.
00:48:06.25\00:48:07.86
Not by His sinless life
was Jesus man's substitute.
00:48:10.05\00:48:14.47
Not by His powerful
teachings was He our substitute.
00:48:14.77\00:48:17.88
Not by His miraculous touch and
miracles was He our substitute.
00:48:18.31\00:48:22.22
But He became our substitute
on Calvary when He said,
00:48:22.38\00:48:26.22
"It is finished."
00:48:26.25\00:48:29.50
Only by His death
could He take away our debt
00:48:29.85\00:48:33.46
and set us free.
00:48:33.49\00:48:34.79
We must always remember,
it's not by the code of ethics
00:48:34.82\00:48:37.83
or it's not by
the code of standards,
00:48:37.96\00:48:40.12
it's not by our baptismal
vows that we are saved.
00:48:40.15\00:48:43.76
When Adam and Eve sinned,
they went to a far country
00:48:43.79\00:48:46.32
east of Eden.
00:48:46.35\00:48:47.38
Like the prodigal,
they walked away from God,
00:48:47.41\00:48:49.75
walked away from His garden.
00:48:49.78\00:48:51.86
You see, walked away
into the wilderness of sin.
00:48:51.89\00:48:55.44
They came to an altar, and
there they sacrificed a lamb.
00:48:55.47\00:48:58.78
Horns and halos in human nature.
00:48:58.88\00:49:01.02
The whole human race somewhere
between the pigpen and home.
00:49:01.05\00:49:04.58
And if you had
a pump and a well,
00:49:09.54\00:49:11.73
and that pump
had polluted water,
00:49:12.90\00:49:15.04
you don't solve it by
just making a gold handle.
00:49:15.78\00:49:18.52
Come on now.
00:49:18.55\00:49:19.96
You don't solve the
problem by decorating it
00:49:22.04\00:49:24.22
with pretty flowers.
00:49:24.25\00:49:26.08
You solve the
problem, you repaint it? No.
00:49:26.62\00:49:30.83
The problem is at
the source, at the water.
00:49:30.86\00:49:33.60
Doing good will
never make the water pure.
00:49:33.96\00:49:36.73
Horns. Illustrate...
00:49:39.74\00:49:41.95
If the President of the
United States declares war
00:49:42.80\00:49:44.77
against an enemy,
I'm at war, right?
00:49:44.80\00:49:48.16
Why? Because I'm a
citizen of that country.
00:49:49.03\00:49:51.46
My President is the
federal head, and by his actions
00:49:51.61\00:49:54.86
he implicated me in his actions.
00:49:54.89\00:49:56.89
Adam sinned, he incurred a debt;
00:49:56.99\00:49:59.38
I'm a prisoner of war.
00:49:59.41\00:50:00.99
He received a
death sentence; I die.
00:50:01.02\00:50:03.62
He was alienated as
I have been alienated.
00:50:03.65\00:50:06.29
He was imprisoned as
I have been imprisoned,
00:50:06.32\00:50:08.60
so that He might set us free.
00:50:08.63\00:50:10.61
He's been at war with
sin from the very beginning.
00:50:10.64\00:50:13.80
Satan came into this
world and turned a garden
00:50:16.60\00:50:19.23
into a wilderness.
00:50:19.26\00:50:20.47
Christ came into the wilderness
to turn it back into a garden.
00:50:20.57\00:50:24.77
And the struggle and
great controversy goes on.
00:50:25.41\00:50:28.08
The great controversy.
00:50:28.52\00:50:29.99
We continue.
00:50:30.42\00:50:31.45
I cannot end on a negative note.
00:50:31.48\00:50:33.39
Horns and halos.
00:50:34.22\00:50:35.65
The whole mission of Jesus
Christ, the whole assumption
00:50:35.68\00:50:38.72
of the gospel, is that
there is power that can and does
00:50:38.75\00:50:42.22
change human lives.
00:50:42.25\00:50:44.58
Jesus Christ came into the
world to change our nature.
00:50:46.15\00:50:49.77
To put, as it
were, halos on prodigals.
00:50:49.80\00:50:53.37
And that's why
it says in Romans 5,
00:50:53.40\00:50:55.18
it tells us there in Romans 5...
00:50:55.44\00:50:57.60
That's why Paul
declared such were drunkards,
00:51:13.34\00:51:16.99
idolaters, thieves, sorcerers.
00:51:17.72\00:51:21.95
And he went on to describe sin.
00:51:21.98\00:51:24.07
And then he says
but we're made over.
00:51:24.40\00:51:26.59
You are a new person in Christ.
00:51:26.62\00:51:28.80
When the prodigal came home,
00:51:28.83\00:51:30.30
the father didn't
give him a lecture.
00:51:31.46\00:51:33.38
We love to give them lectures.
00:51:33.41\00:51:35.34
"Why did you do
that? I told you, son.
00:51:36.12\00:51:37.80
That was dumb. I
tried to tell you that.
00:51:37.83\00:51:39.82
And there you are, and
now you're wanting back."
00:51:39.85\00:51:41.86
He never gave a lecture.
00:51:42.21\00:51:43.81
By the way, he
didn't give him a sermon.
00:51:44.86\00:51:47.04
Or didn't try to
write a higher standard.
00:51:48.46\00:51:50.57
What he did was throw a party.
00:51:51.40\00:51:53.00
I know we Adventists
don't like parties, alright.
00:51:54.02\00:51:56.19
But anyway, God knows how.
00:51:56.22\00:51:57.85
I can't wait to get to
heaven because I'm going to
00:51:57.88\00:51:59.29
have one big
party with Jesus Christ.
00:51:59.32\00:52:01.64
Yeah.
00:52:02.84\00:52:03.87
And so you can have a party.
00:52:04.54\00:52:05.89
And by the way, you too
can smile and go to heaven.
00:52:05.92\00:52:08.30
Going to throw a party.
00:52:12.52\00:52:13.67
Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do.
00:52:14.88\00:52:19.02
This story, the
Father gives us a kiss.
00:52:20.71\00:52:25.70
In this story, the
Father gives us love.
00:52:27.58\00:52:31.43
In this story, the
lost boy comes to himself.
00:52:32.54\00:52:36.84
He says, "Wow, I'm dumb."
00:52:37.33\00:52:39.58
Hey, by the way,
when you sin you're dumb.
00:52:39.68\00:52:43.08
Because what does it offer you?
00:52:44.01\00:52:45.42
Death.
00:52:45.99\00:52:47.18
But Christ offers you life.
00:52:49.12\00:52:53.37
Life.
00:52:54.17\00:52:55.25
Jesus places a halo.
00:52:56.80\00:52:58.94
Or the horns.
00:53:00.28\00:53:01.84
And He says, "This,
My son, is made righteous
00:53:02.54\00:53:06.89
through My gift."
00:53:07.76\00:53:09.25
Wow.
00:53:09.28\00:53:10.32
One of my favorite
stories comes out of a book.
00:53:10.42\00:53:13.03
Most of my stories
come out of life, but
00:53:13.06\00:53:15.00
this one came out of a book
years and years and years ago.
00:53:15.10\00:53:17.90
It's about a
preacher in the south.
00:53:18.70\00:53:20.26
His name was J.C. Massey.
00:53:20.29\00:53:22.18
And J.C. Massey use to preach
mighty sermons in big tents.
00:53:22.96\00:53:26.06
I mean, that was in the days,
you know, we went to the tent.
00:53:26.09\00:53:28.81
I use to hold meetings in tents
with sawdust under my feet.
00:53:28.84\00:53:32.57
I tell you, I loved the...
You know, I just loved that.
00:53:32.60\00:53:35.31
And oh, J.C. Massey
would preach in these tents and
00:53:35.84\00:53:38.35
it'd be full of people coming
to listen to the word of God.
00:53:38.38\00:53:40.80
I mean, it was back
then in those days, you know,
00:53:40.90\00:53:42.78
when people were
sensitive to the word of God.
00:53:42.81\00:53:45.27
And Mrs. Massey would
come and she'd be proud
00:53:46.37\00:53:48.71
sitting in the front row.
00:53:48.74\00:53:50.20
I went to hear my son
preach for the first time
00:53:51.20\00:53:53.46
in Lincoln, Nebraska.
00:53:53.49\00:53:54.58
He was a student, a
ministerial student.
00:53:54.61\00:53:56.54
I sat up in the balcony.
00:53:56.57\00:53:58.11
And when my son
was preaching, I almost
00:53:58.14\00:53:59.90
flew out of the balcony.
00:53:59.93\00:54:01.61
I can understand that mother,
how proud she must have been.
00:54:02.42\00:54:05.07
When I heard my daughter
preach for the first time,
00:54:05.36\00:54:08.08
a wonderful preacher, I
almost fell out of the pew.
00:54:08.65\00:54:12.84
I mean, buttons
were popping everywhere.
00:54:13.17\00:54:15.48
Trying to, you know,
I'm trying to be humble and
00:54:15.51\00:54:17.34
cover those
buttons popping everywhere.
00:54:17.83\00:54:19.90
I mean...
00:54:19.99\00:54:21.02
And so J.C. Massey's
mother, she was so proud.
00:54:21.20\00:54:24.00
She followed him everywhere,
sat in the front row.
00:54:24.03\00:54:26.01
Everybody knew her, she
was a fine Christian woman.
00:54:26.11\00:54:28.68
And one night he was preaching
and he got carried away
00:54:29.50\00:54:31.30
in the Spirit, and he
said, "My mother has a sin."
00:54:31.33\00:54:33.49
Whoa, everybody looked.
00:54:33.70\00:54:35.66
Isn't it amazing.
00:54:36.54\00:54:37.68
If the gospel was bad news,
we would have finished the work
00:54:38.42\00:54:43.02
a hundred years ago.
00:54:43.05\00:54:44.29
But it's good news, and
good news travels slower.
00:54:45.15\00:54:47.80
But anyway, everybody
looked at Sister Massey.
00:54:47.83\00:54:50.09
And she shrunk down in the seat.
00:54:50.12\00:54:51.86
And then he says, "Yeah,
my mother's sin was pride."
00:54:52.95\00:54:55.66
And with that, she
slid under the seat.
00:54:55.69\00:54:57.44
J.C. Massey.
00:54:59.10\00:55:00.70
And they were all
looking, "Mother Massey?
00:55:00.80\00:55:03.01
Pride?"
00:55:03.21\00:55:04.44
And then he started to laugh.
00:55:04.47\00:55:06.09
He said, "My mother
was proud she had the
00:55:06.48\00:55:08.72
whitest sheets
in south Georgia."
00:55:08.75\00:55:11.24
I guess if you're
going to have a sin,
00:55:12.26\00:55:13.58
that's not too bad, is it?
00:55:13.61\00:55:15.06
I mean, he said, "In
fact, we had a feather bed."
00:55:15.09\00:55:17.97
I only slept in a
feather bed once in one of the
00:55:18.23\00:55:20.20
southern villages down south.
00:55:20.23\00:55:23.31
I wanted to roll it
up and take it home.
00:55:23.63\00:55:25.34
Come on, you can't get a
Simmons mattress like that.
00:55:25.37\00:55:29.22
And old J.C. said, "We
had a big feather mattress
00:55:29.76\00:55:31.95
and the whitest
sheets in south Georgia.
00:55:31.98\00:55:34.23
In fact, there was a
rule in the house that said,
00:55:34.26\00:55:36.14
'You don't go near
that bed ever until you have
00:55:36.17\00:55:39.22
a bath and clean pajamas.'
00:55:39.25\00:55:41.42
Then you crawled into
that feather bed with the
00:55:41.52\00:55:43.75
whitest sheets in south Georgia.
00:55:43.78\00:55:45.69
That was the rule."
00:55:45.72\00:55:47.04
One day he was
playing out at the barn.
00:55:47.74\00:55:50.26
It was raining and he was
there by the eaves of the barn.
00:55:50.29\00:55:52.47
You know how little boys are.
00:55:52.50\00:55:53.64
If there's one
puddle, they find it.
00:55:53.67\00:55:55.72
Come on, especially if
they have new sneakers.
00:55:55.75\00:55:58.10
And J.C. is playing in the mud
and mama was milking the cow.
00:56:00.07\00:56:03.68
Big brother got on
the horse to ride out
00:56:04.05\00:56:05.57
to check the drainage ditches.
00:56:05.60\00:56:07.52
Little J.C. went and
said, "Mama, I have to go to the
00:56:08.12\00:56:10.47
house," to do what
little boys have to do
00:56:10.50\00:56:12.12
when they go to the house.
00:56:12.15\00:56:13.22
She said, "Well you go,
but you come right back, J.C."
00:56:13.43\00:56:16.92
He knew what that meant.
00:56:16.95\00:56:18.14
That's both sides
of the law, you know.
00:56:19.14\00:56:21.51
To Love God and the neighbor.
00:56:21.54\00:56:23.28
There it is.
00:56:23.50\00:56:24.53
So he ran across, hit
every puddle on the way.
00:56:24.83\00:56:27.10
Took care of what
little boys have to do
00:56:28.33\00:56:29.90
when they go to the house.
00:56:29.93\00:56:31.20
On the way out he
was going by, he went
00:56:32.16\00:56:34.23
by his bedroom and looked in.
00:56:34.26\00:56:35.53
And there was the feather bed,
00:56:35.56\00:56:37.35
with the whitest
sheets in south Georgia.
00:56:38.24\00:56:40.72
The feather bed, whitest sheets.
00:56:41.17\00:56:42.92
So there he is, he climbs
up, dives into this feather bed.
00:56:42.95\00:56:46.06
Mother comes in with the
switch, judgment in her eyes.
00:56:46.21\00:56:49.91
But big brother
comes through the window,
00:56:50.22\00:56:52.11
picks him up.
00:56:52.20\00:56:54.25
And mama puts the
switch aside and gives a cry.
00:56:54.62\00:56:57.58
God came into the
world to save you.
00:56:57.61\00:57:00.03
God came into the world;
you've dirtied the sheets.
00:57:00.13\00:57:02.06
Everyone here has
dirtied the sheets.
00:57:02.09\00:57:04.33
But thank God that He's
come to us to put His arms
00:57:04.36\00:57:07.92
around us, to pick
us up, and to carry us
00:57:07.95\00:57:10.75
into the kingdom of heaven.
00:57:10.78\00:57:12.17
And the boy came to himself.
00:57:12.54\00:57:14.66
Have you come to yourself?
00:57:15.24\00:57:17.18
Your true self?
00:57:17.60\00:57:19.08
Your godly self?
00:57:19.54\00:57:21.11
You can right
now, wherever you are.
00:57:21.34\00:57:23.85
Open your heart to
the call of Jesus Christ.
00:57:24.53\00:57:28.23
And remember, God loves you.
00:57:28.68\00:57:30.70