The story of the three prodigals
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tells us that God's grace
is greater than all our sins.
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You may feel
that God doesn't care,
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and you are a
long way from home.
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But the Father is
looking down the road
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waiting for you.
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Today's topic,
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"Grace abounding,
and the three prodigals"
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will warm your heart and
put a smile on your face.
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Welcome back.
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Today we're talking
about the three prodigals.
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Who on earth are
the three prodigals.
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Well, before we start
with the three prodigals,
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we're going to
have a little preamble.
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We're going to talk
about the lost coin,
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which is found in Luke 15:8-10.
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This is a continuation
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of the last part of the program.
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Luke 15:8-10.
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We talked about the lost sheep,
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now we're talking
about the lost coin,
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"Or what woman,
having ten silver coins,
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if she loses one
coin, does not light a lamp,
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sweep the house,
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and search carefully,
diligently, until she finds it?
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And when she has found it,
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she calls her friends and
neighbors together, saying,
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'Rejoice with me,
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I have found the
piece which I lost!'
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Likewise, I say to you..."
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Just get it, would you?
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"There is joy in the
presence of the angels of God
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over one sinner who repents."
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This is quite astounding.
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God even gets happy,
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and there's a
party going on in heaven
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when the lost coin is found.
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Now the lost sheep,
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it was lost
through its own fault.
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When it was lost,
it knew it was lost.
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Ah, this is different.
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How can the lost
coin know anything?
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The lost coin
doesn't know a thing.
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The lost coin is lost,
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but doesn't know it.
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It's lost,
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but it's not its own fault,
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it's through the
fault of somebody else.
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And it's lost,
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I would like you to
notice, in the house of God.
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A lot of people
lost in the house of God.
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Want to tell
you, folk, something,
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I was lost in the house of God.
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When I was a boy
growing up in Australia,
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I was taken to
church for one main reason,
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my mother was a
lot bigger than I was.
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She took me by the ear.
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I went to church.
Did I like church?
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I hated church.
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I was lost in the church.
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And then a young man, a
little bit older than I was,
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took care of me.
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His name is Tom Ludovisi.
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He said, "John
Carter is a lost coin.
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He's lost, he
doesn't know he's lost,
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and he's lost in the church,
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and he came seeking for me."
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The Bible tells us
in this wonderful story
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that they've got a little woman
that represents the church,
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she lights a candle,
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turns on the Word of
God, that's the candle.
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And she searches,
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and at last is a
happy thing that happens,
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the coin is found.
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And the Bible says,
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"The God and the
angels are rejoicing,"
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verse 10 says that,
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"It's joy in the
presence of the angels of God
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over one sinner who repents."
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So apparently when you
talk about religious people,
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God is not a Pharisee.
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Now, God is not religious
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as we think of
the term religious.
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Now we come, here it is.
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You've been
waiting for half an hour.
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Here we come to
the three prodigals.
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Remember,
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prodigal means wastefully
or recklessly extravagant.
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Remember Mary with the nard,
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a pound of it worth at
least $50,000, $100,000
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and she pours it out.
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All the disciples
say, "Why this waste?"
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Look at Luke 15:11, 12,
please in the scriptures.
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I'm going to turn over here
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to Luke 15:11, 12.
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Now we come to
the three prodigals,
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you've got it now.
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"Then He said,
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'A certain manner had two sons.
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And the younger of
them said to his father,
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'Father, give
me, give me, give me,
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give me the portion of
goods that falls to me.'
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So he divided to
them his livelihood.'"
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I don't have a lot of
sympathy for this young guy.
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He sort of a bit of a waster.
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He's young, that
doesn't make it bad,
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but he's selfish and ungrateful.
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He represents the human
heart without the grace of God.
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Jesus said, "It's more blessed
to give than to receive."
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But he believes
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it's more blessed to
receive than to give.
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Any soul, he says,
"Give me, give me, give me, "
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is a very selfish,
obnoxious young man.
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He wants his
share of the inheritance
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before the old man is dead.
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And at this stage in my life
that makes me really annoyed.
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Now I want you to notice
this, this young man is lost.
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People say, "No,
no, nobody is lost,
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everybody is saved
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because Jesus
died for everybody,
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everybody is saved
until they reject salvation."
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I think that's a
lot of phony baloney.
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Pardon my French.
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And now he's lost.
And listen to this.
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I'm going to put it
up here on the screen.
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We're not naturally saved,
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we're not born in
a saved condition.
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If we were, Jesus
will not have said,
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you've got to be born again.
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So Jesus said, you
got to be born again.
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Okay, look at this. It's
not saved until we reject.
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People think this,
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especially here in
Southern California.
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We're all saved
because Jesus died for all,
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we're all saved until we reject.
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That's not what
the Bible teaches.
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Here it is, but
we're lost until we accept.
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Can you see the difference?
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We're not saved until we reject.
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We're lost, my
friend, until we accept.
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So here is a young man
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who hasn't accepted
the marvelous grace of God.
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And when people
don't get this truth right,
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they don't do any
evangelism in the church.
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And that's why the church
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in many parts of
the world is dying
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because they believe
you're saved until you reject.
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If that is so,
don't tell anybody.
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Don't give them the opportunity
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of turning down
the wonderful gospel.
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But the Bible teaches
we're saved when we accept.
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And look at verse 13
here, my friends, Luke 15:13,
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"Not many days
after the younger son
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gathered all together..."
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Let me read it again.
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"And not many days after
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the youngest son
gathered all together,
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journeyed to a far country,
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and there wasted his possessions
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with prodigal living."
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So he's the prodigal son,
there's no doubt about this.
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He goes to a far country.
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I want you to think about this.
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He's a bit like
Cain in the Bible.
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Cain went to the land of Nod.
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You know what Nod means?
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It means
wanderer, exile, fugitive,
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it's not a good
place to live in.
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This young man goes
away from the father's house.
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And when you go
away, my friends,
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from the father's
house, it's not real good.
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Like Cain, he goes
to the land of Nod.
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There's no peace,
says, my God for the wicked.
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It's a land of violence,
loneliness, drug taking,
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suicides,
murders, and hopelessness.
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That's why Billy Graham,
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when I heard
him preach in Sydney
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so many years ago, said,
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"You are empty
inside," said Billy.
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He said, "You're empty inside.
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God loves you, and
you're empty inside."
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I don't care who you are,
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you can be the
president of the church,
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but if you don't know Christ,
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you're in the land of
Nod, and you're empty inside.
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And that's why
you're messing up so much.
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I don't care who you are,
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we need Christ.
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In fact, the Bible
says in Ephesians 2:12.
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I want you to notice this
text because this is a text
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that most folks that I've met
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in this part of the
world have never read.
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And those who read
it don't believe it.
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It says, "That at that time..."
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This is the greatest
evangelist in the history
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of the world talking, Paul.
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"That at that time
you were without Christ,
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being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel
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and strangers from the covenants
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of the promise..."
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Now please, have a look
at this if you don't mind,
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it says, "Having no hope
and without God in the world."
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Now people say,
00:09:52.15\00:09:55.49
"If you don't know,
you're safe, and you're saved.
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You're saved until you reject.
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That's one of the biggest
lies that ever came out of hell.
00:10:04.27\00:10:09.24
The Bible talks about
people who are not in Christ,
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and it says, "Without hope
and without God in the world."
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Why do you think we
believe in evangelism?
00:10:18.48\00:10:21.28
Because of texts
like this without God,
00:10:21.32\00:10:24.35
if you're without God,
00:10:24.39\00:10:26.96
and if you're
in the land of Nod,
00:10:26.99\00:10:29.02
it's not too good.
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And after a while,
00:10:32.26\00:10:33.60
this young guy
in the land of Nod
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has a great longing
for the father's house
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because he starts to think,
00:10:40.87\00:10:42.50
and the father
doesn't seem too bad.
00:10:42.54\00:10:45.71
He doesn't seem to be a scrooge,
00:10:45.74\00:10:47.64
he doesn't seem to be too hard.
00:10:47.68\00:10:50.28
Luke 15:13, 14, Luke 15:13, 14,
00:10:50.31\00:10:57.05
"Not many days
after the younger son
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gathered all together,
00:10:59.02\00:11:00.39
journeyed to a far country,
00:11:00.42\00:11:01.89
there wasted his possessions
with prodigal living.
00:11:01.92\00:11:04.43
But when he had spent all,
00:11:04.46\00:11:06.43
there arose a
severe famine in that land,
00:11:06.46\00:11:09.50
and he began to be in want."
00:11:09.53\00:11:13.27
I want to tell you,
00:11:13.30\00:11:15.40
listen to me.
00:11:15.44\00:11:17.24
You need a
revelation from God to get this.
00:11:17.27\00:11:20.18
Many people in the church...
I've been a pastor for years.
00:11:20.21\00:11:23.85
I know what I'm talking about.
00:11:23.88\00:11:25.21
I've pastored
the smallest church,
00:11:25.25\00:11:26.72
and I've pastored
the biggest churches.
00:11:26.75\00:11:30.19
And I know this, religion
doesn't save, Jesus saves.
00:11:30.22\00:11:35.66
And I want you to know this
00:11:35.69\00:11:38.66
that when you're
in the land of Nod,
00:11:38.69\00:11:41.93
and you're
bitter, and you critical,
00:11:41.96\00:11:44.73
and you're fault
finding, and you're just sour,
00:11:44.77\00:11:48.24
and you're a pain to everybody
and a pain to yourself,
00:11:48.27\00:11:54.24
it's not very nice.
00:11:54.28\00:11:57.71
And so he's
wastefully extravagant.
00:11:57.75\00:12:02.22
While the money
lasted, so did the friends.
00:12:02.25\00:12:05.85
Can you believe it?
00:12:05.89\00:12:08.86
We call him the prodigal
son, big, big, big spender.
00:12:08.89\00:12:13.40
The older brother said, he
wasted his money on harlots.
00:12:13.43\00:12:18.60
But the older
brother was a Pharisee.
00:12:18.63\00:12:21.50
And the Pharisees
were notorious for lying.
00:12:21.54\00:12:25.21
Oops.
00:12:25.24\00:12:27.14
Often the self righteous
are also the biggest liars.
00:12:27.18\00:12:33.38
There'll be no liars in heaven
because liars are bad people.
00:12:33.42\00:12:37.39
It says that in Revelation.
00:12:37.42\00:12:39.25
Liars can be saved if
they repent of their sins,
00:12:39.29\00:12:44.63
but an unrepentant
liar is not going to heaven,
00:12:44.66\00:12:49.03
and I don't care who he is.
00:12:49.06\00:12:53.60
Now this Jewish boy
is in for a bad time.
00:12:53.64\00:12:55.77
Luke 15:14-16, Luke 15:14-16,
00:12:55.80\00:13:00.91
"When he spent all,
there arose a severe famine..."
00:13:00.94\00:13:04.35
That always
happens, people run out.
00:13:04.38\00:13:07.08
"A famine in that
land, he began to be in want.
00:13:07.12\00:13:10.22
Then he went and joined himself
to a citizen of that country,
00:13:10.25\00:13:13.36
and he sent him into
the field to feed pigs."
00:13:13.39\00:13:17.29
He's a Jewish boy with the pigs.
00:13:17.33\00:13:21.33
"And he would gladly
fill his stomach with the pods
00:13:21.36\00:13:24.73
that the swine ate, but
no one gave him a thing."
00:13:24.77\00:13:30.67
How alone can a Jewish boy get?
00:13:30.71\00:13:34.98
They considered
pigs to be the worst,
00:13:35.01\00:13:37.95
but now this boy has
runway from the father's house,
00:13:37.98\00:13:41.05
who is in a state of lostness.
00:13:41.08\00:13:45.75
He's not saved, he's lost,
00:13:45.79\00:13:49.96
and he's hungry,
00:13:49.99\00:13:53.33
he's starving,
lonely, and wretched.
00:13:53.36\00:13:55.26
This is the state of
the sinner without Christ.
00:13:55.30\00:13:58.33
Why is there so
much disillusionment?
00:13:58.37\00:14:02.10
Why do so many
people commit suicide?
00:14:02.14\00:14:04.77
Why do millions and
millions take drugs?
00:14:04.81\00:14:07.51
I'm not talking
about just painkillers,
00:14:07.54\00:14:09.41
I mean, pain,
the pain of the soul,
00:14:09.44\00:14:13.18
to counter up the terrible pain.
00:14:13.21\00:14:16.95
So I suggest to you,
00:14:16.99\00:14:18.79
it's not real good
in the land of Nod.
00:14:18.82\00:14:22.56
But then verse 15 and
verse 17 is a great text,
00:14:22.59\00:14:27.03
15:17,
00:14:27.06\00:14:29.46
"But when he came to himself..."
00:14:29.50\00:14:31.13
Now, just leave
this text on the screen.
00:14:31.17\00:14:34.44
He didn't come to
himself by himself.
00:14:34.47\00:14:38.24
John Wesley call
this prevenient grace.
00:14:38.27\00:14:42.94
You cannot come to
Christ just when you want to.
00:14:42.98\00:14:47.25
"Oh no, I can
come whenever I like."
00:14:47.28\00:14:49.18
No, you don't know
what you're talking about.
00:14:49.22\00:14:53.79
It says when it came to himself,
00:14:53.82\00:14:55.69
this is the grace of God.
00:14:55.72\00:14:58.53
"He said, 'How many of
my father's hired servants
00:14:58.56\00:15:00.90
have bread enough and to spare,
and I perish with hunger!"
00:15:00.93\00:15:04.93
He came to himself
00:15:04.97\00:15:07.04
because of abounding grace,
00:15:07.07\00:15:12.44
the Spirit of God.
00:15:12.47\00:15:14.74
You can't come to yourself
without the grace of God.
00:15:14.78\00:15:20.08
Here's a person who
got hard, hard heart,
00:15:20.12\00:15:24.65
and he says, "I will come to God
00:15:24.69\00:15:27.16
when it suits me."
00:15:27.19\00:15:28.52
Don't be so foolish.
00:15:28.56\00:15:30.63
We come to God
00:15:33.60\00:15:35.80
when God draws us.
00:15:35.83\00:15:38.37
The grace of God had
been working in his heart.
00:15:38.40\00:15:41.50
He was not forgotten.
00:15:41.54\00:15:43.57
God loved him still
00:15:43.61\00:15:45.37
because this
man receive sinners,
00:15:45.41\00:15:48.51
that's the thing.
00:15:48.54\00:15:49.88
You can never
outrun the love of God.
00:15:49.91\00:15:52.05
And then verses...
00:15:52.08\00:15:53.78
I think verses 18-20,
00:15:53.82\00:15:55.45
I think they're the next verses.
00:15:55.48\00:15:57.05
He says
00:15:57.09\00:15:58.82
after he's been
down with the pigs.
00:15:58.85\00:16:01.12
Sometimes you got to
get down with the pigs
00:16:01.16\00:16:03.53
before you want
to go home to glory.
00:16:03.56\00:16:05.96
Some of us haven't been
00:16:05.99\00:16:07.33
with the pigs long enough.
00:16:07.36\00:16:10.43
"I will arise
and go to my father,
00:16:10.47\00:16:11.97
and will say to him, 'Father,
I've sinned against heaven
00:16:12.00\00:16:14.97
and before you,
00:16:15.00\00:16:16.34
I'm no longer worthy
to be called your son.
00:16:16.37\00:16:18.67
Make me like one of
your hired servants.'
00:16:18.71\00:16:21.28
And he arose and
came to his father.
00:16:21.31\00:16:24.05
But when he was
still a great way off,
00:16:24.08\00:16:27.42
his father saw
him, had compassion,
00:16:27.45\00:16:30.59
and ran and fell on
his neck and kissed him."
00:16:30.62\00:16:35.36
He's a pretty
good old man, isn't he?
00:16:39.49\00:16:43.77
That's grace.
00:16:43.80\00:16:47.34
You can never
outrun the love of God.
00:16:47.37\00:16:50.47
You see, the old father
had been looking down the road,
00:16:50.51\00:16:53.84
he'd been missing his
boy, he was lonely without him.
00:16:53.88\00:16:56.48
God's lonely without you.
00:16:56.51\00:16:59.45
He ran, old men in those days
had too much dignity to run,
00:16:59.48\00:17:04.95
but the old man
runs, the old man runs
00:17:04.99\00:17:11.16
because he's the
biggest prodigal of them all.
00:17:11.19\00:17:13.50
He's not a prodigal.
00:17:16.63\00:17:17.97
Yes, he is,
extravagant, abundant,
00:17:18.00\00:17:22.70
over and beyond
00:17:22.74\00:17:25.04
like Mary, too
much, too much perfume.
00:17:25.07\00:17:29.11
Why this waste?
00:17:29.14\00:17:30.48
Quite amazing.
00:17:33.48\00:17:36.72
He's the greatest
of all the prodigals.
00:17:36.75\00:17:40.36
You can never outrun
00:17:40.39\00:17:42.09
or outshine the
love of the Father,
00:17:42.12\00:17:44.33
who in character
is the very opposite
00:17:44.36\00:17:46.39
of the self
righteous, obnoxious Pharisee.
00:17:46.43\00:17:50.63
The Pharisee, I
want you to know this,
00:17:50.67\00:17:52.73
unlike the Father,
is totally obnoxious.
00:17:52.77\00:17:58.11
When you see him,
you say, "Oh, not again."
00:17:58.14\00:18:02.14
When he comes
walking your direction,
00:18:02.18\00:18:03.61
you say, "Oh, Lord, please.
00:18:03.65\00:18:04.98
What have I done today?
00:18:05.01\00:18:06.35
The old father is
grace personified.
00:18:09.05\00:18:14.12
In verses 21-24,
00:18:14.16\00:18:17.13
you think it shouldn't be
in the Bible, it's so good,
00:18:17.16\00:18:19.09
21-24,
00:18:19.13\00:18:20.56
"The son said to him, 'Father,
00:18:20.60\00:18:21.93
I've sinned against
heaven and in your sight,
00:18:21.96\00:18:23.97
I'm no longer worthy
to be called your son.
00:18:24.00\00:18:27.24
But the father
said to his servant,
00:18:27.27\00:18:28.90
'Bring out the best
robe, put it on him,
00:18:28.94\00:18:32.57
put a ring on his hand,
00:18:32.61\00:18:34.14
oops,
00:18:34.18\00:18:35.54
and sandals on his feet.
00:18:35.58\00:18:36.98
And bring the
fatted calf, goodness.
00:18:37.01\00:18:41.28
Bring the fatted calf
here, kill it, and let us eat
00:18:41.32\00:18:44.42
and be merry, for this son,
00:18:44.45\00:18:46.52
this my son was
dead, and is alive again,
00:18:46.55\00:18:49.29
he was lost and is found.'
00:18:49.32\00:18:50.83
They began to be merry.'"
00:18:50.86\00:18:53.40
Here's a party.
00:18:53.43\00:18:56.20
The gospel is the party,
00:18:56.23\00:19:00.14
the best robe,
00:19:00.17\00:19:03.47
the best ring, the best sandals.
00:19:03.51\00:19:07.34
He stinks from the pig
pen, make no doubt about it,
00:19:07.38\00:19:11.45
but grace is greater than sin.
00:19:11.48\00:19:14.52
His sin is covered by
grace, the gift of God.
00:19:14.55\00:19:18.52
The party represents the gospel.
00:19:18.55\00:19:21.09
The gospel is liken to a party,
00:19:21.12\00:19:23.09
something the
Pharisees never understood.
00:19:23.12\00:19:27.86
They never got it.
00:19:27.90\00:19:29.23
They never, never, never got
it because they were so blind.
00:19:29.26\00:19:35.40
It has been said
there are two great truths
00:19:35.44\00:19:37.51
that are very
hard to comprehend.
00:19:37.54\00:19:41.41
Look at it,
00:19:41.44\00:19:43.04
"Man is far worse than
he ever feared to think."
00:19:43.08\00:19:47.32
That's talking about you,
00:19:47.35\00:19:50.22
that's talking about me.
00:19:50.25\00:19:53.12
You know, "I'm a good person."
00:19:53.15\00:19:56.32
The Bible says,
00:19:56.36\00:19:58.06
"All our righteousness
is as filthy rags."
00:19:58.09\00:20:02.36
Man is far worse than
he ever feared to think,
00:20:02.40\00:20:04.67
but God is far better
than he ever dared to hope.
00:20:04.70\00:20:10.81
God is far better,
00:20:10.84\00:20:16.48
and where sin did abound,
00:20:16.51\00:20:19.61
grace did much more abound.
00:20:19.65\00:20:22.82
So the first
prodigal is this young waster,
00:20:22.85\00:20:25.69
who comes to
himself, and who was redeemed.
00:20:25.72\00:20:28.72
The second prodigal
00:20:28.76\00:20:30.09
is the prodigal
of the prodigals,
00:20:30.13\00:20:31.46
that's the father,
00:20:31.49\00:20:33.19
and the third
prodigal is the elder brother,
00:20:33.23\00:20:35.86
Luke 15:25-28.
00:20:35.90\00:20:39.43
"Now his older
son was in the field.
00:20:39.47\00:20:41.57
And as he came and
drew near the house,
00:20:41.60\00:20:43.91
he heard music and dancing.
00:20:43.94\00:20:45.94
So he called one of the servants
00:20:45.97\00:20:47.38
and asked what
these things meant.
00:20:47.41\00:20:49.68
And he said to him,
'Your brother has come,
00:20:49.71\00:20:51.51
because he has
received him safe and sound,
00:20:51.55\00:20:53.92
your father has
killed the fatted calf.'
00:20:53.95\00:20:56.18
But he was angry,"
00:20:56.22\00:20:57.55
'cause he was a
Pharisee, "and would not go in.
00:20:57.59\00:20:59.92
Therefore his father came
out and pleaded with him."
00:20:59.95\00:21:03.06
Now this boy,
00:21:03.09\00:21:04.89
we shall discover is
extravagant in his meanness.
00:21:04.93\00:21:11.23
Every church has
an older brother.
00:21:11.27\00:21:15.07
Look at verse 28,
00:21:15.10\00:21:16.74
and then we're going
to read a little further,
00:21:16.77\00:21:18.87
verse 28,
00:21:18.91\00:21:20.31
"But he was angry,
00:21:20.34\00:21:21.68
the Pharisees
were angry with Jesus
00:21:21.71\00:21:24.51
because He was with the sinners.
00:21:24.55\00:21:26.78
"And would not go in,
therefore his father came out
00:21:26.82\00:21:29.48
and pleaded with him."
00:21:29.52\00:21:31.02
He represents the Pharisees,
00:21:31.05\00:21:34.06
verses 28, 29 of this chapter.
00:21:34.09\00:21:39.23
"But he was angry
and would not go in.
00:21:39.26\00:21:40.93
Therefore his father
came out and pleaded with him.
00:21:40.96\00:21:43.63
So he answered and
said that his father,"
00:21:43.67\00:21:45.50
listen,
00:21:45.53\00:21:46.87
"Lo, these many years
I've been serving you,
00:21:46.90\00:21:53.51
I never
transgressed your commandment
00:21:53.54\00:21:55.54
at any time.'"
00:21:55.58\00:21:57.08
Who is he fooling?
00:21:57.11\00:21:59.45
I'm sinless.
00:21:59.48\00:22:00.82
"And yet you never
gave me a young goat
00:22:00.85\00:22:02.75
that I make
merry with my friends."
00:22:02.78\00:22:08.62
Who's this guy?
00:22:08.66\00:22:10.23
He's the legalist,
00:22:10.26\00:22:11.76
the professional religionists,
00:22:11.79\00:22:13.76
the sinless
perfectionist, the legalist,
00:22:13.80\00:22:16.83
no sense of his need,
00:22:16.87\00:22:18.80
no sense of his sin,
00:22:18.83\00:22:20.94
he's concerned about
the sins of everybody
00:22:20.97\00:22:24.74
but his own.
00:22:24.77\00:22:27.28
No need for grace,
00:22:27.31\00:22:29.41
the greatest of all delusions.
00:22:29.44\00:22:31.98
This young
fellow had been living
00:22:32.01\00:22:35.08
in a different kind of Big Ben.
00:22:35.12\00:22:39.39
Fumigated, but still a Big Ben.
00:22:39.42\00:22:43.56
And verse 30, notice verse 30,
00:22:43.59\00:22:47.93
"But as soon as this,"
00:22:47.96\00:22:49.36
my brother, "No
this son of yours comes,
00:22:49.40\00:22:52.20
who has devoured your
livelihood with harlots,
00:22:52.23\00:22:55.37
you killed the
fattened calf for him."
00:22:55.40\00:22:57.61
He's a prodigal.
00:22:57.64\00:22:59.67
He's a prodigal in his meanness,
00:22:59.71\00:23:04.05
in his self righteousness,
00:23:04.08\00:23:07.02
and we're told in Revelation,
00:23:07.05\00:23:08.45
we don't have time for the text.
00:23:08.48\00:23:10.25
This is the sin
of the last church,
00:23:10.29\00:23:13.09
the sin of the elder brother.
00:23:13.12\00:23:16.19
And then verse
31, and 32 please,
00:23:16.22\00:23:20.23
31 and 32,
00:23:20.26\00:23:21.60
"And he said to him, 'Son..."
00:23:21.63\00:23:23.57
Now, Jesus is
talking to the Pharisees.
00:23:23.60\00:23:27.30
"You're always with me,
all that I have is yours.
00:23:27.34\00:23:30.07
It was right that
we should make merry
00:23:30.11\00:23:32.04
and be glad,
00:23:32.07\00:23:33.41
for your brother was
dead and is alive again,
00:23:33.44\00:23:36.61
he was lost and is found."
00:23:36.64\00:23:41.82
There's no record that
this boy ever repented.
00:23:41.85\00:23:48.32
I've had many great experiences,
00:23:48.36\00:23:50.43
none perhaps greater
than going to the hermitage
00:23:50.46\00:23:53.09
or the hermitage
in St. Petersburg.
00:23:53.13\00:23:59.03
When I've gone there,
00:23:59.07\00:24:00.40
I've seen the great
painting by the great Rembrandt.
00:24:00.44\00:24:05.91
You notice the
hands of the old man.
00:24:05.94\00:24:09.21
One as a man, one as a female.
00:24:09.24\00:24:12.78
It takes a man and
a woman to represent
00:24:12.81\00:24:14.72
the heart of the father,
00:24:14.75\00:24:16.38
and here is the
boy who comes back,
00:24:16.42\00:24:19.42
he got no shoes on,
00:24:19.45\00:24:22.76
and they're
standing in the background.
00:24:22.79\00:24:24.83
You can see him,
there he is, there he is.
00:24:24.86\00:24:27.96
When this son of yours comes,
00:24:32.73\00:24:37.17
so here you have in Rembrandt,
00:24:37.21\00:24:40.04
the three prodigals,
00:24:40.08\00:24:42.08
the old Father,
00:24:42.11\00:24:45.18
that's God,
00:24:45.21\00:24:47.45
prodigious in His love,
00:24:47.48\00:24:49.62
the young guy redeemed by grace,
00:24:49.65\00:24:52.85
prodigious in his sin,
00:24:52.89\00:24:54.79
but the elder
brother, cold, legalistic,
00:24:54.82\00:24:59.69
full of religion,
00:24:59.73\00:25:02.56
who later put
Christ on the cross.
00:25:02.60\00:25:05.73
Now I've got a message
for everybody here today.
00:25:11.34\00:25:14.51
Here it is.
00:25:14.54\00:25:16.51
You may feel a
long, long way from God,
00:25:16.54\00:25:20.68
but remember this,
00:25:20.72\00:25:23.15
there is an old Father,
00:25:23.18\00:25:27.56
there is a young Christ,
00:25:27.59\00:25:33.19
who is looking down the road,
00:25:33.23\00:25:38.60
and He knows your name,
00:25:38.63\00:25:42.80
and He loves you,
and He died for you.
00:25:42.84\00:25:47.71
And if you come
home with all your stink,
00:25:47.74\00:25:51.55
He'll put a ring on your finger,
00:25:51.58\00:25:56.25
sandals on your feet
00:25:56.28\00:25:59.89
and a robe that
covers up the filth
00:25:59.92\00:26:04.16
because the Bible says
00:26:04.19\00:26:07.06
where sin did abound,
00:26:07.10\00:26:10.27
grace did much more abound.
00:26:10.30\00:26:15.10
Amen.
00:26:15.14\00:26:16.47
In the series, This I Believe,
00:26:20.98\00:26:23.28
Pastor Carter reveals the heart
and soul of the Carter Report.
00:26:23.31\00:26:27.68
I believe in Jesus Christ.
00:26:27.72\00:26:31.89
I believe in The
Ten Commandments.
00:26:31.92\00:26:37.36
I believe in the true gospel.
00:26:37.39\00:26:42.80
I believe in the last days.
00:26:42.83\00:26:48.04
I believe in the
America that believes in God.
00:26:48.07\00:26:54.74
I believe in heaven.
00:26:54.78\00:26:58.38
I believe in evangelism.
00:26:58.41\00:27:04.32
This I Believe.
00:27:04.35\00:27:07.82
The seven DVD series,
00:27:07.86\00:27:09.39
This I Believe can
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00:27:09.42\00:27:11.66
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00:27:11.69\00:27:15.30
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00:27:15.33\00:27:17.60
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00:27:17.63\00:27:22.47
Time, it takes only a
minute to have eternal life.
00:27:22.50\00:27:26.44
How can you get
saved in a minute?
00:27:26.47\00:27:28.21
It's simple.
00:27:28.24\00:27:29.58
First, believe that
Jesus was the Son of God.
00:27:29.61\00:27:32.21
Second, accept His
free gift of eternal life
00:27:32.25\00:27:35.15
and then you're saved.
00:27:35.18\00:27:37.19
It's not hard. It
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00:27:37.22\00:27:39.92
You can be saved
in a minute right now.
00:27:39.95\00:27:42.92
Pray with me,
00:27:42.96\00:27:44.29
"Lord God, I
realize that I am a sinner.
00:27:44.33\00:27:47.10
My sin has
separated me from You.
00:27:47.13\00:27:49.50
I accept that Your Son
Jesus Christ died for me.
00:27:49.53\00:27:52.50
I ask Jesus into my heart."
00:27:52.53\00:27:54.54
If you prayed this
prayer, you are saved.
00:27:54.57\00:27:57.41
The next thing to
do is, tell someone.
00:27:57.44\00:28:00.11
Fellowship with
other followers of Jesus,
00:28:00.14\00:28:02.88
get baptized, read
your Bible, and pray.
00:28:02.91\00:28:06.55
Choices,
00:28:06.58\00:28:07.92
we make them every day, all day.
00:28:07.95\00:28:10.09
The most important
choice you'll make in your life
00:28:10.12\00:28:12.92
is whether to
choose eternal life
00:28:12.95\00:28:15.06
or let it pass you by.
00:28:15.09\00:28:16.79
If you would
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00:28:16.83\00:28:18.16
about your new life,
00:28:18.19\00:28:19.53
call the number
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00:28:19.56\00:28:21.36
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00:28:25.40\00:28:27.50
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00:28:27.54\00:28:30.94
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00:28:30.97\00:28:35.14
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00:28:35.18\00:28:36.85
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00:28:36.88\00:28:41.05
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00:28:49.29\00:28:52.33
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00:28:52.36\00:28:54.30