Hello, and
welcome to A Sharper Focus
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here on Wednesday night
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at the Thompsonville
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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located on Route 149.
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Just before you get to Route 34,
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you will see us on
the left hand side.
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So I invite you, if
you are in the local area,
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to join us on
Wednesday nights at 7:00pm.
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Also we're here
on Saturday morning,
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beginning at 9:00am.
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You are welcomed
to worship with us
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and study the Bible.
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And Pastor John Lomacang
will be here most of the time,
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and we will be glad to have you
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as part of the family
here at Thompsonville.
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Amen? Amen.
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Amen.
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We are going to study
the Bible together today.
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It's gonna be a little different
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than normally
on Wednesday night,
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when Pastor
Lomacang is taking you
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through a series of study,
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how to live a victorious life.
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And so today,
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we're gonna do
something different.
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You will not see
graphics on the screen today.
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So we invite you to
write your text down
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and also to follow
along in the Bible.
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And so we're gonna do
the old-fashioned way,
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as they say.
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We're gonna look
up the scriptures.
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I have a little advantage
because I printed some of them.
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So I will be able to find them
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a little quicker than you today.
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So we're gonna study
God's Word for the next hour.
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And we welcome your comments
to the Sharper Focus program,
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and any suggestions you may have
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for further studies
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during this time
that we have together.
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Before we continue,
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we would like to go
to the Lord in prayer
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and ask for His blessing
because without His blessing,
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we might as well
just turn off the lights
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and go home.
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So we need the Lord,
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and we will ask
for His presence,
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and we invite you to
join us in your homes.
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Let us pray together.
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Our loving Heavenly Father,
we come to You in Jesus name.
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And we want to thank
You and praise You Lord
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because of Your
goodness and mercy to us.
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And, Father, we are
going to approach this topic
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knowing that You
are infinite in wisdom,
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and You are
infinite in love for us.
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We pray that as
we study this topic,
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we will
understand a little better
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of Your great love for us
and Your plan of salvation.
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We pray for a blessing
upon all that are present
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here at Thompsonville
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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and all those
that join us on radio,
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on the internet, television,
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and in any form
they may be viewing
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or listening to this program.
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We ask, Father, for Your name
to be glorified in all things.
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We pray Father
in Jesus name, amen.
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Amen.
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Well, we like to
invite you to open your Bibles
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or turn on your
device that you may have
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because nowadays we have a time
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when people have the
Bible in many different forms,
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printed form, electronic form,
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and they listen to
it, and they read it.
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And it's really a
tremendous opportunity
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that we have these days to
be able to read God's Word,
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study God's Word,
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and we want you to
join us in this study.
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Today, we're gonna study a topic
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that normally takes
several days to complete.
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We'll try to get
as far as we can.
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One of the first
sermons that the Lord blessed me
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with was a sermon in John 3:16.
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And it's amazing,
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the blessings I
have discovered there,
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as I study this topic
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and amazed to find out that
there was more than one sermon.
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You can preach from John 3:16.
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Actually, the
Lord has blessed me
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to preach entire week of prayer
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or evangelistic week with
this scripture, John 3:16.
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And surely most of you
can quote it from memory.
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One of the most
popular versions, of course,
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is the King James Version,
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that is people
have memorized it in.
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So I would like
to invite you now
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to join me in quoting John 3:16.
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How about we start
together, on three?
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One, two, three.
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"For God so loved the world,
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that He gave His
only begotten Son,
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that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish,
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but have everlasting life."
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And so this passage has
been the source of inspiration
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for millions of
people throughout history.
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And so I invite you
to open your Bibles,
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and we're going to
take a look at John 3:16,
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section by section,
divided into little sections,
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little bite-sized sections
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so that we can
study God's Word together.
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So you may wanna
keep your finger there.
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Of course, if you
know it by memory,
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you will have to
keep your finger there.
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But we will be
looking at section by section.
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The first part of the
scripture is "For God..."
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That's the first
section we're gonna take,
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"For God."
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And so this scripture
right away is telling us
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that it is a great importance
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because God has
mentioned at the very beginning,
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"For God."
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And so as you look at
the scenario of this world,
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as you look at
history of this world,
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you know that people have
tried to create their own gods,
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and there are other
people that claim to be God
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or that they can
reach the goal to be God.
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And so we're
gonna look at the Bible
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to see what it says.
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In fact, today,
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as we are
worshiping God today here,
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there are people that
are worshiping another God
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to what they understand
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and some are unfortunately
worshipping a statue
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of some kind made out of
wood, made out of plaster,
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made out of metal, or some kind,
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and on and on.
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But are these real God?
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You see the Bible
declares in the very beginning,
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Genesis 1:1, what does it say?
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"In the beginning,
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God created the
heavens and the Earth."
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"In the beginning,
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God created the
heavens and the Earth."
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So at the very
beginning of the Bible,
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God separates
Himself from any would be God
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or whoever wants to
consider himself God
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because it says,
"In the beginning,
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God created."
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No one can claim
this power to create.
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"In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the Earth."
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And so, to be able to
say, "In the beginning,
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God created the
heavens and the Earth"
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is to be able to
say, He can do it.
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He has done it.
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Anyone that says,
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"Well, I can create
the heaven and Earth."
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And so then you will
say, "Well, sure, show me."
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And they would be
incapable of doing so.
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So in the beginning,
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God created the
heavens and the Earth.
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This separates Him
from any other would be
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or whoever would
make someone a God.
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And so therefore,
God is the Creator.
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So this is the God
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that it is talking
about in John 3:16.
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Now I invite you to turning
your Bibles to Isaiah 43,
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Isaiah 43.
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And we're gonna take a
look at a couple of verses there
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in Isaiah.
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So I will be
looking at them myself here.
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So in Isaiah 43:10 and 11,
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God makes a
powerful declaration.
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Notice the words of verse 10.
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Isaiah 43:10.
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"Ye are my witnesses,
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saith the Lord,
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and my servant
whom I have chosen,
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and that ye may
know and believe me,
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and understand that I am he,
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before me there
was no God formed,
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neither shall
there be after me."
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So here is a
powerful declaration.
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What does God say?
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Before Me, what,
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there was no God formed.
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And He continues to say
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that neither
shall there be after Me.
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And God is covering both grounds
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or both scenarios
if you want to call it,
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there's no God before
me, there's no God after me.
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And so the next verse says,
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"I, even I, am the Lord,
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and beside me
there is no savior."
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So God declares very clearly,
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before Me there
was no God formed,
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and after Me,
there is no god formed.
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If you continue
reading in Isaiah 43,
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you will find another verse
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that says
practically the same thing
00:09:08.54\00:09:10.95
that He is the one,
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He is God, and
there is no other God.
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Of course, if you
have one of those Bibles
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that has the word Lord,
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in L- O-R-D,
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that is trying to tell you that
in the original manuscripts,
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this was the word
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that is known as
the Tetragrammaton,
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which is the word Jehovah
or Yahweh as some people say.
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So the King James
translator put in the word,
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the word Lord as a substitute
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because some of
them carry the same fear
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of pronouncing God's
name as the Jews did.
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So here we have a declaration,
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before Me there
was no God formed,
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after me, no God will be formed.
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So anyone that claims that
they can eventually advance
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to be a God is saying something
00:10:01.96\00:10:05.63
that is not
according to the Bible.
00:10:05.67\00:10:08.40
So this is the God
that we're talking about,
00:10:08.44\00:10:10.41
the Creator of the
universe, and He is God.
00:10:10.44\00:10:14.88
Now in Psalms 33:6-9,
00:10:14.91\00:10:19.15
we are going to look
at some other scriptures
00:10:19.18\00:10:21.52
that help us understand
a little more about the God
00:10:21.55\00:10:24.85
that we are talking
about, the only true God.
00:10:24.89\00:10:28.46
And besides Him,
there is no other God.
00:10:28.49\00:10:31.29
In Psalms 33:6,
if I was in a church,
00:10:31.33\00:10:34.93
where we would not be live,
00:10:34.96\00:10:36.43
I will normally ask somebody
00:10:36.46\00:10:37.80
to help me read
some of the scriptures.
00:10:37.83\00:10:39.43
But for the sake of those
00:10:39.47\00:10:41.07
that are listening at this time,
00:10:41.10\00:10:42.60
we don't have a
roving microphone
00:10:42.64\00:10:43.97
so I will be reading then.
00:10:44.01\00:10:45.71
So Psalms 33:6,
00:10:45.74\00:10:48.88
"By the word of the
Lord were the heavens made,
00:10:48.91\00:10:54.48
and all the host of them
by the breath of his mouth."
00:10:54.52\00:10:59.19
Verse 7,
00:10:59.22\00:11:00.56
"He gathereth the
waters of the sea together
00:11:00.59\00:11:02.49
as an heap, he
layeth up the depth
00:11:02.52\00:11:05.06
in storehouses."
00:11:05.09\00:11:06.70
Verse 8,
00:11:06.73\00:11:08.06
"Let all the
earth fear the Lord,
00:11:08.10\00:11:09.43
let all the
inhabitants of the world
00:11:09.46\00:11:11.93
stand in awe of Him.
00:11:11.97\00:11:16.24
For he spake, and it was done,
00:11:16.27\00:11:19.44
he commanded,
and it stood fast."
00:11:19.47\00:11:22.91
And so this is the God
that we're talking about.
00:11:22.94\00:11:26.82
He created a
world out of nothing.
00:11:26.85\00:11:31.22
He created a world
where there was no world.
00:11:31.25\00:11:34.16
He is the Creator.
00:11:34.19\00:11:36.19
And so if you continue
reading in the Book of Genesis,
00:11:36.22\00:11:39.16
if you have not done so,
00:11:39.19\00:11:40.53
those who have
may be joining us,
00:11:40.56\00:11:42.63
God created us as well.
00:11:42.66\00:11:44.60
We do not come from monkeys.
00:11:44.63\00:11:46.77
We come from
the Creator's hands.
00:11:46.80\00:11:49.04
And so I praise
the Lord for that.
00:11:49.07\00:11:50.54
And that means, we
have a glorious beginning,
00:11:50.57\00:11:53.71
and we're gonna
have a glorious future.
00:11:53.74\00:11:55.98
Amen. Praise the Lord.
00:11:56.01\00:11:57.78
And so from the
minutest little creature,
00:11:57.81\00:12:00.38
the smallest little atom
00:12:00.42\00:12:02.68
to the mightiest
of the creatures,
00:12:02.72\00:12:05.02
God created them.
00:12:05.05\00:12:07.46
And from the
most beautiful flower
00:12:07.49\00:12:10.63
to the grandeur
of the mountains,
00:12:10.66\00:12:13.06
God created all things.
00:12:13.09\00:12:15.50
And there are things
even that, some people say,
00:12:15.53\00:12:19.00
are unaided, I cannot see
00:12:19.03\00:12:22.74
that you need microscopes,
00:12:22.77\00:12:24.64
and you need telescopes to
be able to see these things.
00:12:24.67\00:12:27.48
And when you are able
to look into a microscope
00:12:27.51\00:12:30.78
and see those
minute, tiny creatures
00:12:30.81\00:12:34.95
that your eyes cannot see,
00:12:34.98\00:12:36.45
it is a marvel of creation
00:12:36.48\00:12:39.82
because God is
infinite and wisdom.
00:12:39.85\00:12:42.36
And so it is amazing
the things that I see...
00:12:42.39\00:12:44.63
I remember that we
went with the school here,
00:12:44.66\00:12:47.63
the
Thompsonville Christian School
00:12:47.66\00:12:49.36
to one of these
creation museums.
00:12:49.40\00:12:52.07
And there they had a microscope
and they put on the screen,
00:12:52.10\00:12:56.60
what they were able to see
00:12:56.64\00:12:58.44
and they put
just a drop of water
00:12:58.47\00:13:01.81
on a little plastic thing.
00:13:01.84\00:13:04.98
And there, I forget
the name of the thing.
00:13:05.01\00:13:09.52
Okay, we'll call it a slide.
00:13:09.55\00:13:11.02
And they put it under microscope
00:13:11.05\00:13:12.39
and now enlarged.
00:13:12.42\00:13:14.19
I forgot how many
times, hundreds of times,
00:13:14.22\00:13:16.73
you can see all
kinds of little creatures
00:13:16.76\00:13:19.29
swimming in that
little drop of water.
00:13:19.33\00:13:21.63
And they said, "We just
went to the pond and dipped,
00:13:21.66\00:13:25.00
and this is what we got."
00:13:25.03\00:13:26.57
And there were many
little creatures there,
00:13:26.60\00:13:28.27
moving in different directions,
00:13:28.30\00:13:30.91
and it was amazing what we saw.
00:13:30.94\00:13:34.14
And so God
created all these things.
00:13:34.18\00:13:36.95
And for those of us
that are looking around
00:13:36.98\00:13:40.25
and see some beautiful
things, God created them all.
00:13:40.28\00:13:44.12
Unfortunately,
00:13:44.15\00:13:45.49
because of
saying there are things
00:13:45.52\00:13:46.86
that we look at that
00:13:46.89\00:13:50.23
caused us to
wonder, what happened?
00:13:50.26\00:13:52.59
It is because sin
entered into the world.
00:13:52.63\00:13:54.73
Roses now have thorns
00:13:54.76\00:13:56.30
because sin
entered into the world.
00:13:56.33\00:13:58.57
Now in the past
when Adam and Eve,
00:13:58.60\00:14:00.64
before sin came,
00:14:00.67\00:14:02.24
they were able to
walk through the forest,
00:14:02.27\00:14:04.04
the creatures
would come to them,
00:14:04.07\00:14:05.81
they were able to go
to any of the creatures
00:14:05.84\00:14:08.58
that God made, and
they would come to them.
00:14:08.61\00:14:10.65
Now there's the fear
of man in the creatures
00:14:10.68\00:14:14.58
because of sin.
00:14:14.62\00:14:15.95
And not only that,
00:14:15.98\00:14:17.59
there are creatures
that look at you and say,
00:14:17.62\00:14:20.52
"That looks like
something very good to eat."
00:14:20.56\00:14:25.19
And so sin has
come into the world
00:14:25.23\00:14:27.90
and changed things.
00:14:27.93\00:14:30.17
And we are
looking for new heavens
00:14:30.20\00:14:31.90
and a new earth,
00:14:31.93\00:14:33.27
and the former things
will not be remembered.
00:14:33.30\00:14:35.84
And then it will be
returned to the original state.
00:14:35.87\00:14:39.47
Animals will
not be afraid of us,
00:14:39.51\00:14:40.94
we will be able to pet the lions
00:14:40.98\00:14:43.88
and put your hand
00:14:43.91\00:14:45.38
or your head inside a
crocodile and have no fear.
00:14:45.41\00:14:49.58
At this time, don't do it.
00:14:49.62\00:14:52.99
Now this is the guy
that we're talking about.
00:14:53.02\00:14:54.89
If we go back to John 3:16,
00:14:54.92\00:14:58.76
we've taken a look at
"For God" and we established
00:14:58.79\00:15:01.66
that we're talking
about the Creator God
00:15:01.70\00:15:03.50
that is being
discussed in this verse.
00:15:03.53\00:15:05.40
So now let's look
at the next two words,
00:15:05.43\00:15:07.30
"For God so loved."
00:15:07.34\00:15:10.21
And this is the God
that we are talking about.
00:15:10.24\00:15:11.97
We're not talking about a God
00:15:12.01\00:15:13.74
that created all things and say,
00:15:13.78\00:15:15.21
"Well, I'm done with that.
00:15:15.24\00:15:16.91
I'm going to another direction"
00:15:16.95\00:15:18.38
and completely
forgets about His creation.
00:15:18.41\00:15:21.68
God is constantly
aware what is going on.
00:15:21.72\00:15:26.39
And He is
greatly concerned for us.
00:15:26.42\00:15:30.56
And He hears the faintest cry.
00:15:30.59\00:15:34.93
He even hears those
tears inside your mind.
00:15:34.96\00:15:41.17
Your suffering inside your
mind that no one else sees,
00:15:41.20\00:15:44.07
God sees them, God understands
00:15:44.11\00:15:46.21
and God is nearby.
00:15:46.24\00:15:48.11
Because of sin,
00:15:48.14\00:15:50.75
it has placed
certain limitations,
00:15:50.78\00:15:53.65
if I would say,
God can do all things,
00:15:53.68\00:15:55.62
but He has to keep
Himself from intervening
00:15:55.65\00:15:59.15
so that people can
realize how terrible sin is,
00:15:59.19\00:16:03.63
that it is not something
that you would want to keep.
00:16:03.66\00:16:07.73
And so He has to stand back
00:16:07.76\00:16:10.27
and step back and allow
things to take their course.
00:16:10.30\00:16:14.50
There are times
when He does intervene,
00:16:14.54\00:16:16.40
there are times
when He does heal people,
00:16:16.44\00:16:18.94
there are times
He does stop cars,
00:16:18.97\00:16:20.61
there are times He
stops things from happening,
00:16:20.64\00:16:23.24
people from getting hurt.
00:16:23.28\00:16:25.05
And there are
reason for all these things
00:16:25.08\00:16:26.55
that only God knows.
00:16:26.58\00:16:28.05
But know this
00:16:28.08\00:16:29.78
that God loves you
00:16:29.82\00:16:31.15
and wants the very best for you.
00:16:31.19\00:16:33.49
And so as we look
at this next part,
00:16:33.52\00:16:35.79
we say God is love,
00:16:35.82\00:16:37.29
but we have to ask
ourselves the question
00:16:37.33\00:16:39.96
"What is love?"
00:16:40.00\00:16:43.26
What do you understand is love?
00:16:43.30\00:16:45.07
I am reminded of a story that
my father told me many times,
00:16:45.10\00:16:48.70
I don't know if it is that,
00:16:48.74\00:16:50.34
he forgot, he told me the story.
00:16:50.37\00:16:53.31
But to him,
00:16:53.34\00:16:55.04
it was an
experience that he remembered.
00:16:55.08\00:16:58.45
And so it was that
he grew to a certain age
00:16:58.48\00:17:00.88
where he began to
look at girls and say,
00:17:00.92\00:17:03.32
"Hmm, I think I
would be interested
00:17:03.35\00:17:05.19
in knowing that person."
00:17:05.22\00:17:06.55
And it came to
my grandfather's ear
00:17:06.59\00:17:09.72
that my father was
talking to a young lady.
00:17:09.76\00:17:14.76
And he heard about it.
00:17:14.80\00:17:16.26
First time it happened,
00:17:16.30\00:17:17.63
first time it
came to his awareness.
00:17:17.67\00:17:20.50
So he said, "Son, come here!"
00:17:20.54\00:17:22.54
My grandfather was very
stern and serious individually,
00:17:22.57\00:17:25.44
I'm told.
00:17:25.47\00:17:26.81
I met him once, and I saw that.
00:17:26.84\00:17:29.64
And so he said, "Son,
00:17:29.68\00:17:31.08
I hear that you've been
talking to a young lady."
00:17:31.11\00:17:34.48
"Yes, sir."
00:17:34.52\00:17:36.52
And he asked this question,
"Do you know what love is?"
00:17:36.55\00:17:41.62
My father was not
ready for the question,
00:17:41.66\00:17:44.23
but he gave a wise answer.
00:17:44.26\00:17:46.39
He said, "I don't know."
00:17:46.43\00:17:50.77
My grandfather
looked at him and said,
00:17:50.80\00:17:53.00
"You have answered wisely.
00:17:53.03\00:17:55.87
Because you don't know,
00:17:55.90\00:17:57.24
and you may never
know your whole life.
00:17:57.27\00:17:59.31
But do this, make sure
that you can support yourself
00:17:59.34\00:18:04.15
and someone else before
00:18:04.18\00:18:05.55
you continue in any
type of relationship.
00:18:05.58\00:18:08.85
Because if you're
going to get involved
00:18:08.88\00:18:10.52
in a relationship
with a young lady,
00:18:10.55\00:18:11.95
you should be
getting ready for marriage,
00:18:11.99\00:18:14.69
not for anything else."
00:18:14.72\00:18:17.33
And so the
question is what is love?
00:18:17.36\00:18:19.23
I have an interesting quote
that I found on the internet
00:18:19.26\00:18:21.33
that I would
like to read to you.
00:18:21.36\00:18:23.33
And this is the quote,
00:18:23.37\00:18:25.13
"How on earth are
you ever going to explain
00:18:25.17\00:18:28.67
in terms of
chemistry and physics
00:18:28.70\00:18:31.47
so important of a
biological phenomenon
00:18:31.51\00:18:34.71
as first love?"
00:18:34.74\00:18:38.55
You may be surprised to find out
00:18:38.58\00:18:39.91
that it was Albert
Einstein that said that.
00:18:39.95\00:18:43.59
How are you gonna
explain first love?
00:18:43.62\00:18:47.82
And so
philosophers, romanticist,
00:18:47.86\00:18:49.79
songwriters, composers
00:18:49.82\00:18:51.46
of all kinds have tried
to explain what love is.
00:18:51.49\00:18:54.63
I remember in my
teenage years in a newspaper,
00:18:54.66\00:18:58.30
at least in Chicago area,
00:18:58.33\00:18:59.87
there was a little
cartoon that would come out.
00:18:59.90\00:19:02.94
Showing these two
cartoon creatures,
00:19:02.97\00:19:06.04
and they would say love is...
00:19:06.07\00:19:08.64
And I don't know
if it was every day
00:19:08.68\00:19:10.01
or every week,
00:19:10.05\00:19:11.38
but they had a different
thing as to what love is.
00:19:11.41\00:19:14.85
And so, man has not come
to the perfect understanding
00:19:14.88\00:19:21.02
as to what love is.
00:19:21.06\00:19:23.59
But I tell you this,
00:19:23.63\00:19:24.96
the Bible helps us
understand some things.
00:19:24.99\00:19:28.16
Here's one of the definitions
you may find in the dictionary.
00:19:28.20\00:19:31.53
Most dictionaries have some
definition very close to this.
00:19:31.57\00:19:34.97
Strong affection for
another arising out of kinship
00:19:35.00\00:19:39.04
or personal ties,
00:19:39.07\00:19:41.64
maternal love for a child,
00:19:41.68\00:19:44.31
attraction based
on sexual desire,
00:19:44.35\00:19:47.42
which is not really love,
00:19:47.45\00:19:49.52
affection and
tenderness felt by lovers,
00:19:49.55\00:19:52.75
on other, it says,
affection based on admiration,
00:19:52.79\00:19:56.66
benevolence or common interest.
00:19:56.69\00:20:00.66
And so do we really
understand what love is?
00:20:00.70\00:20:04.30
The Bible makes it
simple, and simply says,
00:20:04.33\00:20:06.33
"God is love."
00:20:06.37\00:20:09.14
We're gonna look at that text.
00:20:09.17\00:20:10.71
But I would like to invite
you to consider this story.
00:20:10.74\00:20:15.54
You may have heard about it.
00:20:15.58\00:20:18.01
There was a man that
took the part of the phrase
00:20:18.05\00:20:21.08
that was found in an insane
asylum written on the wall.
00:20:21.12\00:20:25.79
And they say, they don't know
00:20:25.82\00:20:27.72
what crime the person committed
00:20:27.76\00:20:30.03
or how that person wound up
00:20:30.06\00:20:31.73
in the insane
asylum or the prison.
00:20:31.76\00:20:35.30
But the words of a
very famous Christian song
00:20:35.33\00:20:39.27
were written there,
or part of the words.
00:20:39.30\00:20:42.44
Later these words
were adopted by a person
00:20:42.47\00:20:45.74
by the name of Frederick M.
00:20:45.77\00:20:48.98
Lehman or Lehman,
00:20:49.01\00:20:51.01
L-E-H-M-A-N.
00:20:51.05\00:20:52.71
And he wrote in 1917,
00:20:52.75\00:20:54.98
the words of the
song "The Love of God."
00:20:55.02\00:20:59.85
And so I'm gonna read
some of the words to you.
00:20:59.89\00:21:02.09
It says, "The love
of God is greater far,
00:21:02.12\00:21:04.53
than tongue or
pen can ever tell.
00:21:04.56\00:21:06.86
It goes beyond the highest star,
00:21:06.90\00:21:09.23
and reaches to the lowest hell.
00:21:09.26\00:21:11.57
The guilty pair,
bowed down with care,
00:21:11.60\00:21:14.10
God gave His Son to win.
00:21:14.14\00:21:16.27
His erring child He reconciled,
and pardoned from his sin."
00:21:16.30\00:21:20.98
And then the
chorus goes like this.
00:21:21.01\00:21:23.28
"O love of God,
how rich and pure!
00:21:23.31\00:21:25.81
How measureless and strong!
00:21:25.85\00:21:28.62
It shall forevermore endure,
the saints' and angels' song.
00:21:28.65\00:21:34.09
When years of
time shall pass away
00:21:34.12\00:21:36.12
and earthly
thrones and kingdoms fall,
00:21:36.16\00:21:38.09
when men who
here refuse to pray,
00:21:38.13\00:21:41.06
or on rocks and
hills and mountains call,
00:21:41.10\00:21:43.57
God's love so sure
shall still endure.
00:21:43.60\00:21:48.00
God's love so sure
shall still endure.
00:21:48.04\00:21:51.24
All measureless and strong,
redeeming grace to Adam's race,
00:21:51.27\00:21:54.51
the saints' and angels' song."
00:21:54.54\00:21:56.78
And this what was
found on the wall.
00:21:56.81\00:22:00.48
"Could we with
ink the ocean fill,
00:22:00.52\00:22:04.89
and were the
skies of parchment made,
00:22:04.92\00:22:08.22
were every stalk
on earth a quill,
00:22:08.26\00:22:10.33
and every man a scribe by trade,
00:22:10.36\00:22:12.53
to write the love of God above,
00:22:12.56\00:22:15.56
would drain the ocean dry.
00:22:15.60\00:22:18.93
Nor could the
scroll contain the whole,
00:22:18.97\00:22:22.34
though stretched
from sky to sky."
00:22:22.37\00:22:25.87
And this was on the wall
00:22:25.91\00:22:28.88
inspired the
song written in 1917.
00:22:28.91\00:22:32.61
And it is a
very, very good song,
00:22:32.65\00:22:36.62
and it's a beautiful song.
00:22:36.65\00:22:38.29
And so what does the
Bible say that love is?
00:22:38.32\00:22:41.56
For that I invite you to
turn to 1 Corinthians 13.
00:22:41.59\00:22:44.99
Now I said to you
that we're gonna try to get
00:22:45.03\00:22:46.90
as far as we can in John 3:16.
00:22:46.93\00:22:49.26
This is part of several studies.
00:22:49.30\00:22:51.17
And so we're
gonna kind of compact
00:22:51.20\00:22:52.90
and maybe leave some things out.
00:22:52.93\00:22:55.14
So 1 Corinthians 13,
describing what love is
00:22:55.17\00:22:58.27
because we read in John
3:16, that God so loved.
00:22:58.31\00:23:02.51
So we have to try to get
some type of understanding
00:23:02.54\00:23:05.18
of what love is so we can
try to understand God's love.
00:23:05.21\00:23:09.52
In 1 Corinthians 13,
you have these words,
00:23:09.55\00:23:12.65
"Though I speak
with the tongues of men
00:23:12.69\00:23:14.69
and of angels,
and have not charity,"
00:23:14.72\00:23:17.13
the King James
Version uses the word charity,
00:23:17.16\00:23:19.09
but it is the word love there,
00:23:19.13\00:23:21.10
"I am become as sounding brass,
00:23:21.13\00:23:23.30
or a tinkling cymbal.
00:23:23.33\00:23:24.67
And though I have
the gift of prophecy,
00:23:24.70\00:23:26.97
and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge,
00:23:27.00\00:23:29.30
and though I have all faith,
00:23:29.34\00:23:30.74
so that I could
remove mountains,
00:23:30.77\00:23:32.21
and have not love,
00:23:32.24\00:23:34.18
I am nothing.
00:23:34.21\00:23:36.71
And though I bestow all my goods
00:23:36.75\00:23:38.95
to feed the poor,
00:23:38.98\00:23:40.32
and though I give
my body to be burned,
00:23:40.35\00:23:42.32
and have not loved,
it profits me nothing.
00:23:42.35\00:23:46.42
Love suffers long, and is kind.
00:23:46.45\00:23:50.23
Love envieth not,
00:23:50.26\00:23:54.03
love vaunteth not
itself, is not puffed up.
00:23:54.06\00:23:57.43
Does not behave itself unseemly,
00:23:57.47\00:23:59.37
seeketh not her own,
00:23:59.40\00:24:00.87
is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil.
00:24:00.90\00:24:05.14
Rejoices not in
iniquity, but rejoices in truth.
00:24:05.17\00:24:09.84
Bears all things,
believes all things,
00:24:09.88\00:24:11.61
hopes all things,
endures all things.
00:24:11.65\00:24:13.68
Love never fails.
00:24:13.72\00:24:15.85
But whether there be
prophecies they shall fail,
00:24:15.88\00:24:18.92
whether there be
tongues, they shall cease,
00:24:18.95\00:24:21.66
whether there be
knowledge, it shall vanish away.
00:24:21.69\00:24:25.36
For we know in part,
and we prophesy in part.
00:24:25.39\00:24:28.16
But when that
which is perfect is come,
00:24:28.20\00:24:29.93
then that which is in
part shall be done away.
00:24:29.96\00:24:33.64
When I was a
child, I spake as a child,
00:24:33.67\00:24:35.60
I understood as a
child, I thought as a child,
00:24:35.64\00:24:38.17
but when I became a man,
I put away childish things."
00:24:38.21\00:24:41.88
And here is a powerful verse.
00:24:41.91\00:24:45.55
"For now we see
through a glass, darkly,
00:24:45.58\00:24:47.92
but then face to face.
00:24:47.95\00:24:49.58
Now I know in part,
but then I shall know
00:24:49.62\00:24:51.59
even as also I am known.
00:24:51.62\00:24:53.62
And now abideth faith,
00:24:53.66\00:24:56.83
hope, and love, these three,
00:24:56.86\00:25:01.10
but the greatest
of these is love."
00:25:01.13\00:25:07.00
You see, hope.
00:25:07.04\00:25:11.67
People carry
hope in their heart,
00:25:11.71\00:25:13.21
and it's an
unexplainable things.
00:25:13.24\00:25:16.31
Do unexplainable things.
00:25:16.34\00:25:18.71
Wait, they wait,
00:25:18.75\00:25:20.75
they endure, they
travel long distances
00:25:20.78\00:25:23.52
because they hope in something.
00:25:23.55\00:25:27.89
And so it says
there's faith, there's hope,
00:25:27.92\00:25:30.19
but the greatest
of these is love.
00:25:30.23\00:25:33.60
And so do you
understand what love is?
00:25:33.63\00:25:37.60
Do we really?
00:25:37.63\00:25:40.34
The greatest revelation
of love is God's love.
00:25:40.37\00:25:45.11
It's pure
00:25:45.14\00:25:47.08
and without any
strings attached.
00:25:47.11\00:25:52.11
And that's what really love is.
00:25:52.15\00:25:55.92
And so, you may
turn in your bibles
00:25:55.95\00:26:00.06
to 1 John 4:8.
00:26:00.09\00:26:02.49
In 1 John 4:8, we have the words
00:26:02.52\00:26:07.60
that summarize what love is,
00:26:07.63\00:26:09.66
and I already quoted, it says,
00:26:09.70\00:26:12.93
"He that loveth
not knoweth not God,
00:26:12.97\00:26:15.84
for God is love."
00:26:15.87\00:26:19.77
So God's love is
beyond our understanding.
00:26:19.81\00:26:22.91
That's why the
Apostle John invites us
00:26:22.94\00:26:25.58
to behold that love.
00:26:25.61\00:26:28.15
So in 1 John 3, 1 John 3,
00:26:28.18\00:26:33.19
I invite you to turn there.
00:26:33.22\00:26:34.56
Also a passage very well known
00:26:34.59\00:26:36.42
by some and may
have memorized it.
00:26:36.46\00:26:39.13
The Apostle John
that walked with Jesus
00:26:39.16\00:26:41.46
for three and a half years
00:26:41.50\00:26:43.00
and continued to walk with
Him after Jesus passed away
00:26:43.03\00:26:46.23
because he
continued to pray and study
00:26:46.27\00:26:48.94
and have communion with
Jesus such as we can today.
00:26:48.97\00:26:52.04
He said, "Behold,
00:26:52.07\00:26:54.08
what manner of love
00:26:54.11\00:26:55.81
the Father has bestowed upon us,
00:26:55.84\00:26:58.25
that we should be
called the Sons of God.
00:26:58.28\00:27:02.32
Therefore the world knows us
not because it knew him not."
00:27:02.35\00:27:06.99
And so behold God's love
00:27:07.02\00:27:08.72
and consider His
great love for you.
00:27:08.76\00:27:12.86
So we're reading,
00:27:12.89\00:27:14.23
"For God so loved,"
00:27:14.26\00:27:16.93
let's go to the next part.
00:27:16.97\00:27:18.33
For God so loved, what or whom?
00:27:18.37\00:27:21.77
The scripture
continues to say "The world."
00:27:21.80\00:27:24.44
"For God so loved the world."
00:27:24.47\00:27:28.41
And so what does that
mean "God so loved the world"?
00:27:28.44\00:27:30.31
He created the world.
00:27:30.35\00:27:32.65
So He created the
world, He loves the world.
00:27:32.68\00:27:35.95
And yes, there are some things
00:27:35.98\00:27:37.65
that you may make
and have no interest in.
00:27:37.69\00:27:39.75
I made it but you can have it.
00:27:39.79\00:27:42.99
But God, it says here,
00:27:43.02\00:27:46.13
loves the world,
00:27:46.16\00:27:48.13
and those who live in it.
00:27:48.16\00:27:50.40
And so, in John 31:3,
00:27:50.43\00:27:53.80
I'm sorry, Jeremiah.
00:27:53.84\00:27:55.17
It's Jeremiah
that we're looking at.
00:27:55.20\00:27:56.74
We have to turn
to the Old Testament.
00:27:56.77\00:27:59.27
We have a powerful
message there for us as well.
00:27:59.31\00:28:02.91
In Jeremiah 31:3,
00:28:02.94\00:28:05.75
we have this declaration,
00:28:05.78\00:28:07.48
"The Lord has
appeared of old unto me,
00:28:07.52\00:28:10.85
saying, Yea,
00:28:10.89\00:28:12.75
I have loved thee
with an everlasting love.
00:28:12.79\00:28:16.69
Therefore with loving
kindness have I drawn thee."
00:28:16.73\00:28:20.30
And this is the
way that God works.
00:28:20.33\00:28:24.63
I have loved thee you.
00:28:24.67\00:28:28.30
So who is it that He loves?
00:28:28.34\00:28:29.67
Yes, God is
talking about the world.
00:28:29.70\00:28:31.51
God so loved the world,
00:28:31.54\00:28:33.01
but He's
talking about you and I.
00:28:33.04\00:28:35.28
So really, I like to invite you
00:28:35.31\00:28:37.38
to consider
putting your name there.
00:28:37.41\00:28:40.22
Yes, it does say the
world in the scripture.
00:28:40.25\00:28:42.88
But you can
supply your name there
00:28:42.92\00:28:44.95
and say, for God, so loved Mary,
00:28:44.99\00:28:47.56
Rose, Steve, Margaret,
00:28:47.59\00:28:51.49
whatever your name
is, for God so loved you.
00:28:51.53\00:28:55.73
And so the rest of the verse,
we'll look at in a moment.
00:28:55.76\00:28:58.23
But consider this to
help us understand this.
00:28:58.27\00:29:02.24
In Isaiah 49...
00:29:02.27\00:29:04.24
We're very close to Isaiah.
00:29:04.27\00:29:05.81
So I like to
invite you to turn there.
00:29:05.84\00:29:07.68
Just turn over a
few pages to the left,
00:29:07.71\00:29:11.45
or click in your
electronic device
00:29:11.48\00:29:14.45
to find the scripture.
00:29:14.48\00:29:15.82
We're looking at Isaiah 49,
00:29:15.85\00:29:18.32
we're gonna start
reading in verse 15.
00:29:18.35\00:29:20.62
Notice these words.
00:29:20.66\00:29:21.99
We're talking about
God so loved the world,
00:29:22.02\00:29:23.86
God so loved you.
00:29:23.89\00:29:27.16
Verse 15, "Can a woman
forget her sucking child,
00:29:27.20\00:29:32.83
that she should
not have compassion
00:29:32.87\00:29:35.10
on the son of her womb?"
00:29:35.14\00:29:38.01
And so it says here,
00:29:38.04\00:29:39.97
"Yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget."
00:29:40.01\00:29:43.88
Here, God takes a comparison
00:29:43.91\00:29:47.45
so that we may have...
00:29:47.48\00:29:49.35
The closest
thing as you may say,
00:29:49.38\00:29:51.32
that may approach for us
to understand a little bit.
00:29:51.35\00:29:54.56
God's love is a
mother's love towards her baby.
00:29:54.59\00:30:00.10
Can a woman
forget her sucking child,
00:30:00.13\00:30:04.47
that she will
not have compassion
00:30:04.50\00:30:06.17
on the son of her womb?
00:30:06.20\00:30:07.57
And then He continues to say,
00:30:07.60\00:30:09.04
they may forget,
but I will not forget.
00:30:09.07\00:30:13.51
Notice the next verse, verse 16.
00:30:13.54\00:30:16.01
"Behold, I have graven
thee upon the palms of my hands,
00:30:16.04\00:30:20.58
thy walls are
continually before me."
00:30:20.62\00:30:22.92
So you can consider your name
00:30:22.95\00:30:25.62
is written in God's palm.
00:30:25.65\00:30:30.63
I have loved thee
with an everlasting love,
00:30:30.66\00:30:32.49
God says, therefore
with loving kindness
00:30:32.53\00:30:34.40
have I drawn thee.
00:30:34.43\00:30:35.76
You know, sometimes people
may try to use something else
00:30:35.80\00:30:39.43
to draw people to the Gospel,
00:30:39.47\00:30:40.80
but what really
God uses is His love,
00:30:40.84\00:30:44.31
His mercy, His kindness,
00:30:44.34\00:30:47.04
with loving
kindness have I drawn thee.
00:30:47.08\00:30:49.41
And so that's why you see
the parable of the lost sheep
00:30:49.44\00:30:54.12
that the shepherd goes out
to seek for that lost sheep.
00:30:54.15\00:30:57.09
And so Jesus is
that good shepherd.
00:30:57.12\00:31:00.66
In another
scripture that we can look at,
00:31:00.69\00:31:03.73
to help us
understand God's interest in us,
00:31:03.76\00:31:06.23
God's love for us,
00:31:06.26\00:31:07.60
is found in the
Book of Psalms 147.
00:31:07.63\00:31:11.03
Psalms 147.
00:31:11.07\00:31:14.14
Psalms 147.
00:31:14.17\00:31:16.77
There in Psalms 147,
00:31:16.81\00:31:18.84
we're just gonna
look at two verses,
00:31:18.87\00:31:20.38
Psalms 147:4 and 5.
00:31:20.41\00:31:24.35
And so here in verse 4,
00:31:24.38\00:31:26.28
we have the following
words, talking about God.
00:31:26.31\00:31:29.52
"He telleth the
number of the stars.
00:31:29.55\00:31:33.49
He calleth them
all by their names."
00:31:33.52\00:31:37.93
Isn't that marvelous,
to think that God knows...
00:31:37.96\00:31:40.90
How many stars
are there, by the way?
00:31:40.93\00:31:42.26
Millions.
00:31:42.30\00:31:43.63
Millions upon millions of stars.
00:31:43.67\00:31:45.50
And the scripture says,
00:31:45.53\00:31:47.47
He telleth the
number of the stars
00:31:47.50\00:31:49.27
and He calls them all by name.
00:31:49.30\00:31:52.11
Question,
00:31:52.14\00:31:53.48
if God would take
time to count stars
00:31:53.51\00:31:57.51
and give them names,
00:31:57.55\00:31:59.41
would He not know your name?
00:31:59.45\00:32:01.12
Surely, He does.
00:32:01.15\00:32:02.98
Surely, He does
because He's very breath
00:32:03.02\00:32:05.09
is in you.
00:32:05.12\00:32:07.22
And so the next verse says,
00:32:07.26\00:32:08.79
"Great is our God
and of great power,
00:32:08.82\00:32:10.99
His understanding is infinite."
00:32:11.03\00:32:15.26
So God so loved the world,
00:32:15.30\00:32:17.23
but yes,
00:32:17.27\00:32:18.60
you can put your
name there, God loves you.
00:32:18.63\00:32:20.84
Now we turn to the New Testament
00:32:20.87\00:32:22.57
for in the Book of Luke 12.
00:32:22.60\00:32:26.11
The Book of Luke 12,
00:32:26.14\00:32:27.91
and we're going
to look at verse 6,
00:32:27.94\00:32:30.25
Luke 12:6.
00:32:30.28\00:32:33.25
Let us begin in verse 6.
00:32:33.28\00:32:35.88
And the question
that Jesus asked those
00:32:35.92\00:32:39.39
that were listening, He said,
00:32:39.42\00:32:40.76
"Are not five sparrows
sold for two farthings,
00:32:40.79\00:32:44.43
and not one of them
is forgotten before God?
00:32:44.46\00:32:49.46
But even the very
hairs of your head
00:32:49.50\00:32:52.43
are all numbered.
00:32:52.47\00:32:55.27
Fear not therefore,
00:32:55.30\00:32:56.81
you are of more
value than many sparrows."
00:32:56.84\00:33:02.54
And so He says,
00:33:02.58\00:33:03.91
not one of them is
forgotten before God.
00:33:03.95\00:33:05.58
And then He says,
00:33:05.61\00:33:06.95
you are more value
than many sparrows.
00:33:06.98\00:33:09.52
He says, even the very
hairs of your head are numbered.
00:33:09.55\00:33:12.05
So if God can know
the names of the stars
00:33:12.09\00:33:15.26
and how many
hairs are on your head,
00:33:15.29\00:33:18.19
would He not know
your name in particular?
00:33:18.23\00:33:20.60
Sure, He will.
00:33:20.63\00:33:22.33
That's why when you read
for God so loved the world,
00:33:22.36\00:33:25.87
you can say God so loved me.
00:33:25.90\00:33:28.80
God so loved me.
00:33:28.84\00:33:30.77
So I invite you
now to go to John 3:16.
00:33:30.81\00:33:33.11
Let's go to the
next couple of words.
00:33:33.14\00:33:35.71
God so loved the world...
00:33:35.74\00:33:39.45
That He gave.
00:33:43.28\00:33:44.89
But wait, there's a
story I must tell you
00:33:44.92\00:33:47.66
before we continue that part.
00:33:47.69\00:33:51.49
It is something
that is very interesting.
00:33:51.53\00:33:54.70
You see, in a
cave in Bracken, Texas,
00:33:54.73\00:33:59.13
there's a cave where there are
00:33:59.17\00:34:01.70
about 20 million bats.
00:34:01.74\00:34:06.57
Not baseball
bats, those that fly.
00:34:06.61\00:34:10.28
Twenty million bats
zoom in and out of the cave,
00:34:10.31\00:34:14.52
and they look for insects.
00:34:14.55\00:34:17.02
And it is said that
every March or April
00:34:17.05\00:34:19.42
the Mexican free-tailed bats
00:34:19.45\00:34:21.82
migrate about 1,000 miles
00:34:21.86\00:34:25.33
from their winter home
in Mexico to this cave,
00:34:25.36\00:34:28.40
where they raise their young.
00:34:28.43\00:34:31.27
And soon after they arrived,
00:34:31.30\00:34:32.70
each mother
gives birth to one pup.
00:34:32.73\00:34:36.74
They call them pup.
00:34:36.77\00:34:38.41
So each mother has
a son or a daughter.
00:34:38.44\00:34:41.64
And as many they say,
00:34:41.68\00:34:44.08
as 500 baby bats live crammed
00:34:44.11\00:34:47.58
into one square foot.
00:34:47.62\00:34:51.79
As many as 500 bats, baby bats.
00:34:51.82\00:34:54.82
So now
considering all those things,
00:34:54.86\00:34:57.96
the scientists were wondering,
00:34:57.99\00:35:00.10
"There are about 20
million bats in here.
00:35:00.13\00:35:03.77
All these mothers
with their babies?"
00:35:03.80\00:35:07.34
I wonder they start
00:35:07.37\00:35:09.60
if they're
feeding their own babies
00:35:09.64\00:35:13.01
because they're
going out to get food
00:35:13.04\00:35:14.68
and they're coming back
with food for their babies.
00:35:14.71\00:35:17.98
So they put on boots
and they put on gear,
00:35:18.01\00:35:20.48
and they went in there.
00:35:20.52\00:35:21.98
And they started
catching baby bats
00:35:22.02\00:35:24.52
and the mother
bats and tagging them.
00:35:24.55\00:35:26.42
So they can
identify, this is the mother,
00:35:26.45\00:35:28.66
this is the baby.
00:35:28.69\00:35:30.03
This is the
mother, this is the baby.
00:35:30.06\00:35:31.53
And they tagged them,
00:35:31.56\00:35:32.89
and were they're
waiting for the results.
00:35:32.93\00:35:35.76
And they were amazed to find out
00:35:35.80\00:35:39.30
that the mothers
looked for her own baby.
00:35:39.33\00:35:43.74
They didn't just randomly
say, "Well, here's the baby.
00:35:43.77\00:35:45.77
I'll feed this one.
00:35:45.81\00:35:47.28
Oh, here's the
baby, I'll feed this one."
00:35:47.31\00:35:48.68
No, the mothers came
avoided other baby bats
00:35:48.71\00:35:53.05
and say, "No, this
is mine, this is mine"
00:35:53.08\00:35:55.58
and fed that baby bat.
00:35:55.62\00:35:57.25
It was a rare occurrence
and they didn't know why,
00:35:57.29\00:36:00.69
but that was a rare occurrence
00:36:00.72\00:36:02.36
that a mother fed a
baby that was not hers.
00:36:02.39\00:36:05.76
But they came
with the conclusion,
00:36:05.79\00:36:07.83
the mothers are
feeding their own baby pups.
00:36:07.86\00:36:11.70
Now isn't that
interesting to you?
00:36:11.73\00:36:13.54
To me it is.
00:36:13.57\00:36:14.97
That if a baby bat,
00:36:15.00\00:36:18.27
the mother has so much
interest in her own baby back
00:36:18.31\00:36:20.98
that would bypass
millions of other babies
00:36:21.01\00:36:25.15
to find her own,
00:36:25.18\00:36:26.82
wouldn't God be as
concerned about you and me?
00:36:26.85\00:36:30.12
Surely He would.
00:36:30.15\00:36:31.85
Because these baby bats
have limited mental capacity.
00:36:31.89\00:36:35.22
God, His intelligence is
beyond our understanding.
00:36:35.26\00:36:39.69
So all these baby bats,
00:36:39.73\00:36:41.76
their own mother
was feeding them.
00:36:41.80\00:36:43.43
Isn't that wonderful?
00:36:43.47\00:36:45.23
So God counts the
hairs on your head,
00:36:45.27\00:36:48.10
knows you by name,
00:36:48.14\00:36:49.47
and is concerned about
every aspect of your life.
00:36:49.50\00:36:53.78
So God so loved the world,
but yes, God so loved you.
00:36:53.81\00:36:56.98
And so I invite you to
consider His great love for You.
00:36:57.01\00:37:00.55
And so I began to
understand this a little better,
00:37:00.58\00:37:06.02
when...
00:37:06.05\00:37:07.39
By the way, they
came to the conclusion
00:37:07.42\00:37:11.33
that the mothers were
able to identify their babies,
00:37:11.36\00:37:15.23
not only by sight,
00:37:15.26\00:37:16.63
because apparently
they may look all alike
00:37:16.67\00:37:19.03
from their babies,
00:37:19.07\00:37:20.40
but most of it was by smell.
00:37:20.44\00:37:24.21
So God knows us in so many ways,
00:37:24.24\00:37:27.78
the color of your
eyes, your facial features,
00:37:27.81\00:37:30.88
and your hair,
00:37:30.91\00:37:32.28
every aspect of you He knows.
00:37:32.31\00:37:34.95
He knows your very thoughts.
00:37:34.98\00:37:36.89
And so God is a
marvelous loving God
00:37:36.92\00:37:40.36
that loves us all.
00:37:40.39\00:37:42.76
And so I
remember as I was saying,
00:37:42.79\00:37:46.29
when our
children were still small,
00:37:46.33\00:37:50.97
that we're talking to somebody
00:37:51.00\00:37:52.60
and our children
are playing over there
00:37:52.63\00:37:54.27
and suddenly you
will hear a sound,
00:37:54.30\00:37:55.77
boom!
00:37:55.80\00:37:57.41
And they're crying.
00:37:57.44\00:37:58.77
And you will know if
that's your child or not
00:37:58.81\00:38:01.04
because you
recognize your child's cry.
00:38:01.08\00:38:03.61
And in the same manner,
00:38:03.65\00:38:05.48
there's a
particular cry that you gave
00:38:05.51\00:38:07.58
that God hears and knows.
00:38:07.62\00:38:10.92
He knows everything
there is to know about you,
00:38:10.95\00:38:13.46
and He loves you greatly.
00:38:13.49\00:38:14.82
So God so loved the world
00:38:14.86\00:38:16.19
that He gave His
only begotten Son.
00:38:16.22\00:38:19.26
And so let's
look at the next part,
00:38:19.29\00:38:21.53
"For God so loved
the world that He gave."
00:38:21.56\00:38:27.10
That He gave.
00:38:27.14\00:38:28.64
So when you consider
this next part of the passage,
00:38:28.67\00:38:31.14
you have to ask yourself,
what is it that He gave?
00:38:31.17\00:38:33.34
We know what the verse says,
00:38:33.38\00:38:34.71
but let's
consider it for a moment.
00:38:34.74\00:38:36.54
What has God given you?
00:38:36.58\00:38:40.25
God has given you
much to be thankful for.
00:38:40.28\00:38:45.39
Right here,
there are many of you
00:38:45.42\00:38:46.76
as I look around,
00:38:46.79\00:38:48.26
you can be grateful
that you have eyes to see,
00:38:48.29\00:38:51.46
ears to hear.
00:38:51.49\00:38:53.40
You can smell
things. You can hear things.
00:38:53.43\00:38:55.96
You can walk.
00:38:56.00\00:38:57.90
You can use your arms.
00:38:57.93\00:38:59.77
Many things that
God has given you
00:38:59.80\00:39:01.27
that you can be grateful for.
00:39:01.30\00:39:02.64
As a matter of fact,
00:39:02.67\00:39:04.01
God just gave you something
that we take for granted
00:39:04.04\00:39:05.91
and that is the
capacity to breathe, fresh air.
00:39:05.94\00:39:10.71
Even your
heartbeat is a gift from God.
00:39:10.75\00:39:13.62
Because as
intelligent as you may be,
00:39:13.65\00:39:17.59
and as organized as you may be,
00:39:17.62\00:39:19.69
if God didn't make your
heartbeat automatically,
00:39:19.72\00:39:23.12
you may forget.
00:39:23.16\00:39:26.06
But God does some things for
us that we're not even aware of.
00:39:26.09\00:39:30.90
And so, God has
given us many things.
00:39:30.93\00:39:33.50
Well, there is the
sunshine, there's fresh air.
00:39:33.54\00:39:37.34
We mentioned water, it
rains and the plants grow.
00:39:37.37\00:39:40.38
And we have food in our homes
00:39:40.41\00:39:42.58
because God is constantly
taking care of His children.
00:39:42.61\00:39:45.98
Constantly.
00:39:46.01\00:39:47.35
The Bible says that
it rains upon the just
00:39:47.38\00:39:49.68
and the unjust.
00:39:49.72\00:39:51.35
So God loves the
world, God loves you.
00:39:51.39\00:39:53.99
And so you have to consider
00:39:54.02\00:39:56.09
that God has given
you so many things.
00:39:56.12\00:40:00.66
And in Matthew 6, Matthew 6.
00:40:00.70\00:40:04.10
I invite you to
go there, Matthew 6.
00:40:04.13\00:40:07.64
We are quickly
running out of time,
00:40:07.67\00:40:09.87
and we're not halfway
through that verse here,
00:40:09.90\00:40:12.71
but we'll try to
get as far as we can.
00:40:12.74\00:40:14.08
Matthew 6,
beginning in verse 26,
00:40:14.11\00:40:16.75
notice the words found there,
00:40:16.78\00:40:19.51
up to verse 30.
00:40:19.55\00:40:21.45
"Behold the fowls of
the air, for they sow not,
00:40:21.48\00:40:25.39
neither do they reap,
00:40:25.42\00:40:26.82
nor gather into barns, yet,"
00:40:26.86\00:40:30.03
who feeds them?
00:40:30.06\00:40:31.39
"your heavenly
Father feedeth them.
00:40:31.43\00:40:34.83
Are ye not much
better than they?"
00:40:34.86\00:40:37.27
Why? Of course, you are.
00:40:37.30\00:40:38.93
Verse 27, "Which of
you by taking thought
00:40:38.97\00:40:41.10
can add one cubit
unto his stature?"
00:40:41.14\00:40:44.57
Now I know that
some ladies and some men,
00:40:44.61\00:40:46.98
put on these
elevated shoes or high heels
00:40:47.01\00:40:49.34
and they grow a little bit,
00:40:49.38\00:40:51.15
but it's not a permanent growth,
00:40:51.18\00:40:53.45
it's a temporary growth.
00:40:53.48\00:40:55.28
Now verse 28,
00:40:55.32\00:40:56.65
"And why take ye
thought for raiment?
00:40:56.69\00:40:58.19
Consider the
lilies of the field,
00:40:58.22\00:41:00.52
how they grow, they toil not,
00:41:00.56\00:41:02.06
neither do they spin.
00:41:02.09\00:41:03.69
And yet I say unto you,
00:41:03.73\00:41:05.96
that even
Solomon in all his glory
00:41:05.99\00:41:09.66
was not arrayed
like one of these.
00:41:09.70\00:41:12.67
Wherefore, if God so
clothe the grass of the field,
00:41:12.70\00:41:15.80
which to day is,
00:41:15.84\00:41:17.17
and tomorrow is
cast into the oven,
00:41:17.21\00:41:18.54
shall he not
much more clothe you,
00:41:18.57\00:41:21.61
O ye of little faith?"
00:41:21.64\00:41:24.61
We lose much by not
having faith in God.
00:41:24.65\00:41:29.05
So Jesus, he's
trying to tell us something.
00:41:29.08\00:41:32.69
Don't worry about tomorrow.
00:41:32.72\00:41:37.53
He knows what's
happening tomorrow,
00:41:37.56\00:41:39.66
He will take care of you.
00:41:39.69\00:41:41.23
In Psalms 34, and
another beautiful Psalm,
00:41:41.26\00:41:44.70
one of my favorite Psalms.
00:41:44.73\00:41:46.10
Psalms 34.
00:41:46.13\00:41:49.80
In Psalms 34, you will have...
00:41:49.84\00:41:53.54
I believe there have
been some songs written
00:41:53.58\00:41:55.24
about some of these words.
00:41:55.28\00:41:56.61
Psalms 34, we will
begin reading in verse 7.
00:41:56.64\00:41:59.48
Psalms 34:7, notice these words,
00:41:59.51\00:42:02.32
"The angel of the Lord encampeth
00:42:02.35\00:42:06.52
round about them that fear him,
00:42:06.55\00:42:08.72
and delivereth them.
00:42:08.76\00:42:10.96
O taste and see
that the Lord is good,
00:42:10.99\00:42:15.26
blessed is the man
00:42:15.30\00:42:17.17
that trusteth in him.
00:42:17.20\00:42:18.73
O fear the Lord, ye his saints,
00:42:18.77\00:42:21.14
for there is no want
to them that fear him.
00:42:21.17\00:42:25.74
The young lions do
lack, and suffer hunger,
00:42:25.77\00:42:28.64
but they that seek the Lord
00:42:28.68\00:42:30.55
shall not want any good thing."
00:42:30.58\00:42:35.45
Praise the Lord.
00:42:35.48\00:42:36.95
God takes care of His children.
00:42:36.99\00:42:39.39
He tells us that He is
the one that feeds the birds.
00:42:39.42\00:42:43.16
And even though
some people may think,
00:42:43.19\00:42:45.03
"Well I went to
work this morning.
00:42:45.06\00:42:47.16
I worked hard,
00:42:47.20\00:42:48.53
and I earned my daily bread."
00:42:48.56\00:42:51.97
But it is God
that gave you strength.
00:42:52.00\00:42:54.84
It is God that
kept your heart beating,
00:42:54.87\00:42:56.84
so that you would be
alive to be able to work.
00:42:56.87\00:42:59.47
It is God that sustained you
00:42:59.51\00:43:01.64
and strengthened
you to have energy.
00:43:01.68\00:43:04.91
It is God involved in each
and every aspect of your life,
00:43:04.95\00:43:09.62
so that you can be who you are.
00:43:09.65\00:43:13.29
And so we should be
ever grateful for Him.
00:43:13.32\00:43:15.36
For God so loved
the world that He gave,
00:43:15.39\00:43:17.06
He is constantly
giving, giving, giving to us.
00:43:17.09\00:43:23.26
The young lions do
lack and suffer hunger,
00:43:23.30\00:43:25.20
but they that seek the Lord
shall not want any good thing.
00:43:25.23\00:43:29.10
God will make sure that you have
00:43:29.14\00:43:31.27
the basic necessities of life.
00:43:31.31\00:43:35.34
And if you make bad choices
00:43:35.38\00:43:38.15
and you walk out of God's will
00:43:38.18\00:43:39.85
and you want to do
things your own way,
00:43:39.88\00:43:42.45
you will lack and suffer hunger.
00:43:42.48\00:43:45.29
But if you follow the
Lord, He will take care of you.
00:43:45.32\00:43:48.12
You know, it's a very
interesting thing to me
00:43:48.16\00:43:50.16
that, even the people,
00:43:50.19\00:43:53.66
and I am saying this not to be
00:43:53.70\00:43:57.93
little what goes on in Cuba.
00:43:57.97\00:43:59.33
But the people of Cuba,
the believers in Christ...
00:43:59.37\00:44:03.17
I was there,
00:44:03.20\00:44:04.64
and I heard this
in the year 2001.
00:44:04.67\00:44:08.21
They have gone through
some difficult situations.
00:44:08.24\00:44:10.85
And there are difficult
situations in many countries,
00:44:10.88\00:44:13.55
so it's not just Cuba.
00:44:13.58\00:44:15.58
But God takes
care of His children.
00:44:15.62\00:44:17.59
One of the pastor said,
00:44:17.62\00:44:20.12
"If you believe in the Lord,
the Lord will take care of you.
00:44:20.16\00:44:23.63
He will not allow
you to suffer hunger."
00:44:23.66\00:44:26.16
And some of the people
were a little upset with him,
00:44:26.19\00:44:28.73
but the people
that I was listening to,
00:44:28.76\00:44:30.60
"You know, it's true.
00:44:30.63\00:44:33.03
We have seen it
happen in our lives.
00:44:33.07\00:44:35.27
There were times
when we ran out of beans,
00:44:35.30\00:44:38.31
but somebody had beans.
00:44:38.34\00:44:39.91
And we say, 'Hey, we have rice,
00:44:39.94\00:44:41.38
more than we need,
00:44:41.41\00:44:42.74
you want to
trade rice for beans?'"
00:44:42.78\00:44:45.41
And they were
able to have the things
00:44:45.45\00:44:47.08
they needed in their home.
00:44:47.12\00:44:48.45
God in some way
will take care of you.
00:44:48.48\00:44:50.09
And you can read in the Bible
00:44:50.12\00:44:51.62
that even though
00:44:51.65\00:44:52.99
there was a drought in the land
00:44:53.02\00:44:56.59
and the prophet was out there
00:44:56.62\00:44:58.09
in the middle of nowhere,
00:44:58.13\00:45:00.06
God sent birds to feed them.
00:45:00.10\00:45:04.10
Why?
00:45:04.13\00:45:05.47
I wish I had time
to tell one more story
00:45:05.50\00:45:06.84
about the way God
takes care of His children,
00:45:06.87\00:45:09.24
but time is escaping us.
00:45:09.27\00:45:10.81
Boy, it's almost
too good to pass up.
00:45:10.84\00:45:13.27
I heard this story.
00:45:13.31\00:45:14.64
I think it was Jim
Zachary that told it.
00:45:14.68\00:45:17.85
I would dare to tell
it. I try to tell it to you.
00:45:17.88\00:45:22.15
This is the way I remember it.
00:45:22.18\00:45:24.59
There was a
Christian living in Romania,
00:45:24.62\00:45:26.35
and this
Christian was put in jail
00:45:26.39\00:45:28.32
because he believes in God.
00:45:28.36\00:45:31.03
And as he believes in God,
00:45:31.06\00:45:33.09
the authorities captured
him and put him in prison.
00:45:33.13\00:45:36.77
And so there
was a captain there,
00:45:36.80\00:45:38.47
very upset, he was an atheist
00:45:38.50\00:45:40.27
and he said "Oh,
you believe in God?
00:45:40.30\00:45:43.17
We're not gonna feed you.
00:45:43.20\00:45:44.54
Let your God feed you."
00:45:44.57\00:45:46.07
And so this man
was put in prison.
00:45:46.11\00:45:47.74
And according to the
story, way I remember it,
00:45:47.78\00:45:50.08
this man, He said,
"We're not gonna feed you.
00:45:50.11\00:45:54.32
I'll be back in five days."
00:45:54.35\00:45:56.95
And so he thought the man
in five days was gonna be,
00:45:56.99\00:46:00.06
"Please, feed me."
00:46:00.09\00:46:01.42
He says, "In five
days you are gonna give up
00:46:01.46\00:46:03.32
this God you believe in.
00:46:03.36\00:46:04.69
We're not gonna
give you any food."
00:46:04.73\00:46:06.70
And so it is said
00:46:06.73\00:46:08.63
that the man
knelt down and prayed,
00:46:08.66\00:46:11.63
and said "Lord,
I'm in this prison.
00:46:11.67\00:46:15.04
I'm surrounded by unbelievers,
00:46:15.07\00:46:19.11
and I don't know how, but, Lord,
00:46:19.14\00:46:20.98
give me this
day my daily bread."
00:46:21.01\00:46:24.71
According to the story,
00:46:24.75\00:46:26.18
when he was done
praying shortly thereafter
00:46:26.21\00:46:28.52
through a hole in the wall,
00:46:28.55\00:46:30.79
a cat started to
make its way through
00:46:30.82\00:46:33.69
and squeezed in.
00:46:33.72\00:46:35.06
They have this capacity,
00:46:35.09\00:46:36.76
and he had a piece
of bread in his mouth.
00:46:36.79\00:46:39.49
And he came into the cave,
00:46:39.53\00:46:41.30
came by the man,
00:46:41.33\00:46:43.53
and the man saw the
bread and took the bread
00:46:43.57\00:46:46.40
and cut off the piece
00:46:46.43\00:46:47.77
that was in the cat's
mouth and ate the other part.
00:46:47.80\00:46:51.17
And he said, "Thank you,
Lord, for my daily bread."
00:46:51.21\00:46:53.91
The next day,
the man prayed again,
00:46:53.94\00:46:55.78
"Lord, I'm hungry again.
00:46:55.81\00:46:57.25
Please, give me
this day my daily bread."
00:46:57.28\00:47:00.58
And according to the
story, again shortly thereafter
00:47:00.62\00:47:03.25
that cat made his
way through, the same cat
00:47:03.28\00:47:06.12
and had another piece
of bread in his mouth.
00:47:06.15\00:47:08.39
And again, he took the
bread from the cat's mouth
00:47:08.42\00:47:11.79
and cut off the piece of
bread that was in his mouth,
00:47:11.83\00:47:13.93
put it aside and ate the bread
00:47:13.96\00:47:16.13
and then played with
the cat for a little while,
00:47:16.16\00:47:18.13
and eventually the
cat went out again.
00:47:18.17\00:47:21.20
It went like this
four days in a row.
00:47:21.24\00:47:23.71
The fifth day comes the captain,
00:47:23.74\00:47:25.81
ready to say, "Okay,
00:47:25.84\00:47:27.78
I've got this
man under my control.
00:47:27.81\00:47:29.98
He's gonna be
begging me for food.
00:47:30.01\00:47:32.31
He's gonna give up
this belief in God."
00:47:32.35\00:47:35.12
And so he walks in.
00:47:35.15\00:47:36.48
"So are you ready to give
up your belief in this God
00:47:36.52\00:47:39.32
that does not exist?"
00:47:39.35\00:47:42.96
He said "No, I
still believe in God."
00:47:42.99\00:47:45.16
"How can that be? You
haven't eaten in four days!
00:47:45.19\00:47:48.00
This is the fifth day."
00:47:48.03\00:47:50.67
He says, "Oh
no, God has fed me."
00:47:50.70\00:47:52.80
"Impossible!
00:47:52.83\00:47:54.17
You're locked up in here.
00:47:54.20\00:47:55.54
Have any of the
guards given you food?"
00:47:55.57\00:47:57.34
"No."
00:47:57.37\00:47:58.84
"Then how is it
that you have eaten?"
00:47:58.87\00:48:01.41
He said, "Well, I prayed to God,
00:48:01.44\00:48:03.88
and He provided food."
00:48:03.91\00:48:05.48
"Impossible!"
00:48:05.51\00:48:06.85
He said, "Yes, look,
here's the piece of bread
00:48:06.88\00:48:08.68
from the first day
that is left over."
00:48:08.72\00:48:10.49
'Cause he cut off the
piece that was in the cats mouth
00:48:10.52\00:48:13.32
and he didn't eat that part.
00:48:13.36\00:48:14.69
"And here's the piece of
bread from the second day,
00:48:14.72\00:48:16.12
the third day, the fourth day."
00:48:16.16\00:48:18.06
"Where did you
get that bread from?"
00:48:18.09\00:48:20.43
And just then the story is told,
00:48:20.46\00:48:22.83
the cat was making his
way through the hole again.
00:48:22.86\00:48:25.87
And he says, "What is this?
00:48:25.90\00:48:27.57
Hey, that's my cat!
00:48:27.60\00:48:31.77
And that's my bread."
00:48:31.81\00:48:34.38
Amen.
00:48:34.41\00:48:35.74
And that captain was amazed
that God did this for this man.
00:48:35.78\00:48:41.25
And it is said that this captain
00:48:41.28\00:48:43.28
had a change of heart.
00:48:43.32\00:48:44.65
Praise the Lord.
00:48:44.69\00:48:46.02
You see,
00:48:46.05\00:48:47.39
O taste and see
that the Lord is good.
00:48:47.42\00:48:49.12
No good thing
will He keep from them
00:48:49.16\00:48:52.83
that serve Him.
00:48:52.86\00:48:54.20
So praise the Lord.
00:48:54.23\00:48:55.56
So the verse says,
00:48:55.60\00:48:56.93
"For God so loved
the world that He gave,"
00:48:56.97\00:48:59.63
what is it that He gave in
this scripture of John 3:16?
00:48:59.67\00:49:03.10
The Bible says,
"His only begotten Son."
00:49:03.14\00:49:08.28
Now we may not have time
to finish the whole John 3:16,
00:49:08.31\00:49:10.85
but we'll try to
get this part done.
00:49:10.88\00:49:13.92
God gave His only begotten Son,
00:49:13.95\00:49:17.25
Jesus Christ.
00:49:17.29\00:49:19.35
So I invite you to
first turn to Hebrews 1,
00:49:19.39\00:49:22.82
Hebrews 1.
00:49:22.86\00:49:26.49
In Hebrews 1,
00:49:26.53\00:49:29.06
we're gonna begin
reading the verse 1,
00:49:29.10\00:49:30.77
and these are the words
that you will find there.
00:49:30.80\00:49:35.67
"God, who at sundry times
00:49:35.70\00:49:38.24
and in divers
manners spake in time
00:49:38.27\00:49:40.88
past unto the
fathers by the prophets,
00:49:40.91\00:49:43.95
hath in these last
days spoken unto us
00:49:43.98\00:49:46.82
by his Son,
00:49:46.85\00:49:48.62
whom he hath
appointed heir of all things,
00:49:48.65\00:49:51.09
by whom also he made the worlds.
00:49:51.12\00:49:54.86
Who being the
brightness of his glory,
00:49:54.89\00:49:57.23
and the express
image of his person,
00:49:57.26\00:49:59.43
and upholding all things
by the word of his power,
00:49:59.46\00:50:02.10
when he had by
himself purged our sins,
00:50:02.13\00:50:05.20
sat down on the right
hand of the Majesty on high."
00:50:05.23\00:50:09.74
So I read this
scripture to tell you
00:50:09.77\00:50:11.71
that the Bible
says that God is love
00:50:11.74\00:50:15.34
and that Jesus is the
express image of the Father.
00:50:15.38\00:50:19.95
And so in Jesus,
00:50:19.98\00:50:21.45
you could see the manifestation
of the Father's love for us.
00:50:21.48\00:50:27.06
And it says here
that not only that,
00:50:27.09\00:50:31.26
He says He
spoke through His Son,
00:50:31.29\00:50:33.53
by whom also He made the worlds.
00:50:33.56\00:50:36.20
So when we read Genesis 1:1
00:50:36.23\00:50:38.60
and it says
that in the beginning
00:50:38.63\00:50:39.97
God created the
Heaven and the Earth,
00:50:40.00\00:50:41.34
Jesus Christ
the Son was involved
00:50:41.37\00:50:43.20
in the creation process.
00:50:43.24\00:50:44.94
If you read John
1:1, it says that...
00:50:44.97\00:50:48.04
I'm gonna have to look it up,
00:50:48.08\00:50:51.15
let's see if
memory will remember it.
00:50:51.18\00:50:55.22
"In the beginning was the Word,"
00:50:55.25\00:50:58.42
what else does it say?
00:50:58.45\00:50:59.79
"And the Word was with God,
00:50:59.82\00:51:02.09
and the Word was God.
00:51:02.12\00:51:04.99
All things were made by Him
00:51:05.03\00:51:07.00
and without Him
was not anything made
00:51:07.03\00:51:09.80
that was made."
00:51:09.83\00:51:11.70
Amen? Amen.
00:51:11.73\00:51:13.07
Amen.
00:51:13.10\00:51:14.44
So this is the
Jesus, the only begotten Son
00:51:14.47\00:51:16.57
that we are talking about.
00:51:16.60\00:51:18.47
So in Matthew 1, Matthew 1.
00:51:18.51\00:51:22.04
We'll try to
hurry it a little bit.
00:51:22.08\00:51:24.35
In Matthew 1,
00:51:24.38\00:51:26.61
yeah, let us look at verse 21.
00:51:26.65\00:51:30.55
Matthew 1:21.
00:51:30.59\00:51:34.79
"And she" talking about
Mary "shall bring forth a son,
00:51:34.82\00:51:39.33
and thou shalt
call his name Jesus,
00:51:39.36\00:51:43.26
for he shall save his people
00:51:43.30\00:51:46.13
from their sins."
00:51:46.17\00:51:49.40
Verse 22, "Now
all this was done,
00:51:49.44\00:51:51.04
that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken,
00:51:51.07\00:51:53.48
by the prophet, saying, behold,
00:51:53.51\00:51:56.85
a virgin shall be with child,
00:51:56.88\00:51:59.28
and shall bring forth a son,
00:51:59.31\00:52:00.65
and they shall
call his name Emmanuel,
00:52:00.68\00:52:03.08
which being
interpreted is, God with us."
00:52:03.12\00:52:06.89
For God...
00:52:06.92\00:52:08.26
I'm sorry, I was going to
my next verse in the list.
00:52:08.29\00:52:10.96
So it says here that a
virgin shall be with child.
00:52:10.99\00:52:14.36
Now I'm compacting
several messages here
00:52:14.40\00:52:19.43
because we will spend
more time on giving the time
00:52:19.47\00:52:23.41
when the promise was given
00:52:23.44\00:52:25.17
and all these other
important scriptures.
00:52:25.21\00:52:27.68
But God promised that
He would bring the answer
00:52:27.71\00:52:31.48
to the sin
problem in Genesis 3:15.
00:52:31.51\00:52:35.65
"And when the
fulness of time came,
00:52:35.68\00:52:38.42
God sent forth His Son."
00:52:38.45\00:52:40.72
That's Galatians 4:4.
00:52:40.76\00:52:42.49
In the likeness of sinful flesh,
00:52:42.52\00:52:44.39
to condemn sin in the flesh.
00:52:44.43\00:52:46.66
So Jesus Christ came at the time
00:52:46.70\00:52:49.10
specified by the prophecy.
00:52:49.13\00:52:52.67
And He came, as it says here,
00:52:52.70\00:52:55.50
to be God with us,
00:52:55.54\00:52:57.41
and also it says, to do, what?
00:52:57.44\00:53:01.18
To deliver us from sin.
00:53:01.21\00:53:04.81
Praise the Lord.
00:53:04.85\00:53:07.18
Now I invite you to
go to the next verse,
00:53:07.22\00:53:09.62
there's John 3:16,
00:53:09.65\00:53:10.99
there's a verse 17 that follows.
00:53:11.02\00:53:13.36
John 3:17 says,
00:53:13.39\00:53:18.36
"For God sent not
his Son into the world
00:53:18.39\00:53:22.43
to condemn the world,"
00:53:22.46\00:53:25.87
why did He send Him?
00:53:25.90\00:53:27.37
"But that the world
through him might be saved."
00:53:27.40\00:53:31.71
Praise the lord.
00:53:31.74\00:53:33.07
Jesus didn't come to this world
00:53:33.11\00:53:35.84
to be looking for the people
00:53:35.88\00:53:38.51
that would be condemned,
00:53:38.55\00:53:41.28
to be looking for
people to put on His list.
00:53:41.32\00:53:44.55
"Okay, you, you're gonna
be suffering for your sins.
00:53:44.59\00:53:48.99
You are gonna be suffering."
00:53:49.02\00:53:50.36
No, He came, the Bible
says, we're gonna look at that,
00:53:50.39\00:53:52.99
to seek and to save
that which was lost.
00:53:53.03\00:53:56.36
He came to bring
salvation to the world.
00:53:56.40\00:54:00.14
He came to work
out our salvation.
00:54:00.17\00:54:02.67
So verse 17 says,
00:54:02.70\00:54:04.14
"For God sent not
his Son into the world
00:54:04.17\00:54:06.07
to condemn the world,
00:54:06.11\00:54:08.34
but that the world
through him might be saved."
00:54:08.38\00:54:10.08
Is that good news? Yes.
00:54:10.11\00:54:12.01
So even today Jesus
is looking for people,
00:54:12.05\00:54:16.62
not to condemn
them, but to save them.
00:54:16.65\00:54:20.16
And we as His
children should participate
00:54:20.19\00:54:23.89
and help others learn
the message of salvation.
00:54:23.93\00:54:29.43
So if Jesus did
not come into the world
00:54:29.46\00:54:33.07
to condemn the world,
00:54:33.10\00:54:34.44
neither should we be
condemning the world,
00:54:34.47\00:54:37.24
but should be doing
something to bring them
00:54:37.27\00:54:40.38
salvation through Jesus Christ.
00:54:40.41\00:54:41.78
Amen? Amen.
00:54:41.81\00:54:43.14
Amen.
00:54:43.18\00:54:44.51
So as we consider this,
00:54:44.55\00:54:46.82
we also invite you
to turn to Romans 3,
00:54:46.85\00:54:50.82
Romans 3.
00:54:50.85\00:54:53.36
Jesus came to seek and
to save that which is lost,
00:54:53.39\00:54:56.59
He came to save His
people from His sins.
00:54:56.62\00:54:59.36
And in Romans 3:23,
00:54:59.39\00:55:02.96
the bible declares,
"For all have sinned,
00:55:03.00\00:55:07.64
and come short of
the glory of God."
00:55:07.67\00:55:11.94
All have sinned,
00:55:11.97\00:55:13.74
and come short of
the glory of the God.
00:55:13.78\00:55:15.51
And being in
this condition of sin,
00:55:15.54\00:55:19.25
we need a Savior,
00:55:19.28\00:55:20.65
and the only
Savior is Jesus Christ.
00:55:20.68\00:55:24.29
I'm having to
leave some scripture out
00:55:24.32\00:55:26.39
because of lack of time,
00:55:26.42\00:55:28.59
but let's look at 1 John 4:10,
00:55:28.62\00:55:34.76
1 John 4:10.
00:55:34.80\00:55:37.87
There's a big word
there in 1 John 4:10.
00:55:37.90\00:55:43.74
It says the
following, "Herein is love,
00:55:43.77\00:55:48.14
not that we loved
God, but that he loved us,
00:55:48.18\00:55:52.15
and sent his Son
to be the propitiation
00:55:52.18\00:55:56.45
for our sins."
00:55:56.48\00:55:58.35
In other words,
to describe this,
00:55:58.39\00:56:01.32
He came to offer
Himself as a sacrifice for us,
00:56:01.36\00:56:04.73
to atone for our sins,
00:56:04.76\00:56:07.66
to make
reconciliation for our sins,
00:56:07.70\00:56:10.90
by offering Himself for us
00:56:10.93\00:56:13.84
because without Him,
00:56:13.87\00:56:18.84
we would experience the
other part of John 3:16,
00:56:18.87\00:56:23.11
that we won't have time
to go into in this message.
00:56:23.14\00:56:26.31
"For God so loved the world,
00:56:26.35\00:56:27.68
that he gave his
only begotten Son,
00:56:27.72\00:56:29.62
that whosoever believeth in him
00:56:29.65\00:56:32.39
should not," what?
00:56:32.42\00:56:33.96
"Perish,
00:56:33.99\00:56:35.32
but have everlasting life."
00:56:35.36\00:56:36.79
So considering this,
perhaps the last scripture,
00:56:36.83\00:56:40.26
let's look at it in
Romans 5:8, Romans 5:8.
00:56:40.30\00:56:46.33
In Romans 5:8,
00:56:46.37\00:56:48.40
we have the following words,
00:56:48.44\00:56:51.64
"But God
commendeth his love toward us,
00:56:51.67\00:56:55.54
in that, while
we were yet sinners,
00:56:55.58\00:56:58.61
Christ died for us."
00:56:58.65\00:57:02.58
While we were yet sinners,
00:57:02.62\00:57:04.25
Christ died for us.
00:57:04.29\00:57:06.92
The scripture says
that God so loved the world,
00:57:06.96\00:57:09.32
that He gave His
only begotten Son,
00:57:09.36\00:57:11.83
that who so
ever believeth in Him
00:57:11.86\00:57:14.23
should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
00:57:14.26\00:57:16.53
We won't have time to
look at the other part,
00:57:16.56\00:57:18.30
but understanding
this, no one is excluded.
00:57:18.33\00:57:21.84
It says whosoever.
00:57:21.87\00:57:23.41
So no one is
excluded in the world,
00:57:23.44\00:57:25.34
all can come to Jesus
00:57:25.37\00:57:26.84
and find salvation through Him.
00:57:26.88\00:57:30.18
And I praise the Lord for that.
00:57:30.21\00:57:32.05
So if anyone here
00:57:32.08\00:57:33.52
or if anyone that's
listening or watching
00:57:33.55\00:57:35.65
wherever you may be,
00:57:35.68\00:57:37.49
Jesus says, if you come to Him,
00:57:37.52\00:57:39.09
He will not cast you out.
00:57:39.12\00:57:41.26
Come to Jesus,
He will accept you.
00:57:41.29\00:57:43.69
His love for you is
greater than you can imagine.
00:57:43.73\00:57:46.80
And you will find in
Him acceptance, forgiveness,
00:57:46.83\00:57:51.13
cleansing
00:57:51.17\00:57:52.50
and what it says in John 3:16.
00:57:52.53\00:57:55.34
If you believe in
Him, you will not perish,
00:57:55.37\00:57:57.57
but have everlasting life.
00:57:57.61\00:58:00.04
May God bless you.
00:58:00.08\00:58:01.41