I'm John Carter in Moscow.
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In Havana, Cuba.
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Now in Kiev, the
capital of Ukraine.
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I'm John Carter in Petra.
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Right here in Communist China.
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Reporting from India.
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Hi, I'm John Carter
in the Solomon Islands.
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I'm John Carter in Soweto.
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From El Salvador.
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I'm John Carter
in Sydney, Australia.
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Join us with
questions and answers
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with Pastor John Carter.
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Welcome today to
the Carter Report.
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We're dealing with
questions and answers today.
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I'm John Carter.
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Thank you for
sending me your questions.
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And by the grace of God,
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I hope I can give
you a good answer.
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Please write to me.
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The addresses are on the
screen in the United States,
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P.O. Box 1900, Thousand
Oaks, that's where I live,
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Thousand Oaks, California 91358.
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In Australia,
it's at a beautiful,
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beautiful place
next to the ocean
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called
Terrigal, New South Wales.
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Write to me there.
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Okay, we're going to go through
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with the questions,
questions and answers continued
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because I've already
had a couple of sessions.
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Okay, here's the
first one what we've done,
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we've taken the questions
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off the cards and off the emails
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and stuff that
have been sent to us,
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and we put them
into the computer
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so we can put
them up on the screen.
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The person starts by quoting
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Mark 7:15, 18, and 19
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and it's talking about
eating anything and everything.
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Come over here to
this text, Matthew...
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Mark Chapter 7,
this is the question
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that my friend has sent to me.
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Mark 7:15,
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Jesus said,
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"There is nothing that
enters a man from outside
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which can defile him,
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but the things
which come out of him,
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these are the
things that defile a man."
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Now look at verse 18
and 19, "So He said to them,
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'Are you thus
without understanding also?
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Do you not
perceive and understand
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that whatever enters a man
from outside cannot defile him,
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because it does
not enter his heart,
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but his stomach,
and is eliminated,"
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notice these words,
"thus purifying all foods?'"
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And many people say,
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"Therefore, eat,
drink, and be merry."
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And it is true
because tomorrow you will die.
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Let me read on.
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So there's the
text that's quoted.
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It says that Jesus
purified all foods.
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It says, the questioner.
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Therefore, we
can eat as we wish.
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Why did you recently
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do a series with
Dr. John Westerdahl
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about following a
certain lifestyle and diet,
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because under the
Christian dispensation,
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you can eat what you will.
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And God will bless
you because Jesus said so.
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Did He?
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I want you to
notice Mark 7:22, 23.
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Mark 7:22, 23,
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"And He said,
'What comes out of a man,
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that defiles a man.
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For from within,
out of the heart of men,
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proceed evil thoughts,
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adulteries,
fornications, murders, thefts,
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covetousness,
wickedness, deceit, lewdness,
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and evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness.
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All these evil things come
from within and defile a man.'"
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Listen carefully.
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Jesus is not talking
about healthful living.
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Jesus is talking
about moral defilement.
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And Jesus said,
"From the heart of man
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comes all the sins of the world,
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and they defile a man."
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But He's not talking
about eating and drinking
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because if you look at Mark 7:5,
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this is in the context of
the Jewish ceremonial law.
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Mark 7:5.
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"Then the Pharisees
and scribes asked Him,
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'Why do Your
disciples not walk according
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to the tradition of the elders,
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but eat bread
with unwashed hands?'"
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Does anybody here
do the same thing?
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Do you wash your
hands before you eat?
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Well, I do.
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I eat.
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And I wash my
hands before I eat.
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But the Pharisees had
made this a moral issue
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and a matter of life and death.
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And Jesus said,
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"These ceremonial
laws don't matter at all.
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What really
matters is what comes
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from within the heart of man."
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That's what defiles a man.
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But other parts of the
scriptures tell me that
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the body is the temple of God.
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And if you defile
the temple of God,
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God is going to destroy you.
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Paul said that in
the Book of Corinthians.
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Just very recently,
I was taken by my wife
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to the emergency room.
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Oh! Boy.
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When you go there,
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that's an
inducement to be very careful
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what you eat and what you drink,
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because there you
see so much sickness,
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so much awful disease.
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Do you know what
SAD stands for, SAD?
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It stands for the
Standard American Diet.
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And because the
Standard American Diet
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consists of so much poison,
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the great health care system
in the United States of America
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is breaking down
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so that it has become
one of the worst systems
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in the world.
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That is because Christians
do not understand this text.
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This text is talking not
about what you should eat
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or what you should drink,
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but it's talking
about moral development
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and moral
development doesn't come from
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what you put in your mouth.
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It comes from what
comes out of the heart.
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Next question.
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I hope that
answers that question.
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I was brought up to believe that
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I must be perfect to be
ready when Jesus returns?
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I sometimes feel
hopeless and depressed,
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sometimes very
angry. Please help me.
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I empathize, I sympathize.
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I was brought up in
a home in Australia,
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where I was taught that
unless I became perfect,
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I would go to hell.
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Unless I became
absolutely sinless
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as Jesus was sinless,
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I could not be saved.
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And I know people in Australia
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who have committed
suicide because of this idea.
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This idea has arisen
because quite frankly,
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my beloved friends,
people do not understand
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the teachings of
Christ and the teachings
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of the blessed Gospel of Christ.
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Would you come over
here to Romans 3:20 and 23,
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dear hearts and gentle people,
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Romans Chapter 3,
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let me give you a
little summary of the gospel.
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Romans 3:20, "Therefore
by the deeds of the law,
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no flesh will be declared
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righteous
justified in His sight,
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for by the law is
the knowledge of sin."
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You'll never be saved by
trying to keep the commandments.
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The law of God was not
given so that we might be saved.
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The law of God was given
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so that we might see ourselves
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as sinners and go to the Savior,
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the Lord Jesus Christ.
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We are saved by Christ.
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Verse 23, look at this text.
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Lot of folks have no
idea what this text means.
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I want you to get it.
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Romans 3:23,
"For all have sinned,"
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that's every one of us.
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This is past tense.
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"All have
sinned," but the text says
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"and fall short
of the glory of God."
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This is perfect,
present continuous.
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The Bible says "We've
all sinned in the past,
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but every one of us continue
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to fall short of
the glory of God."
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There are no sinless
people. No sinless people.
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I haven't met
any sinless people.
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I've met some people
who think they're sinless.
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But the Bible says,
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"We fall short
of the glory of God.
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Why don't we believe the Bible?
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Look at Romans 3:23 and 24.
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23, 24 "For all have sinned
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and fall short of
the glory of God,"
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we're all imperfect,
"being justified freely
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by His grace
through the redemption
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that is in Christ Jesus."
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Listen to me, I
don't have enough time.
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The Bible says
that we are justified
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by the grace of God
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because of what Christ
did for us on the cross.
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The word justify does not
mean to make us righteous.
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It declares that
by the grace of God
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because of Christ, we
are declared righteous.
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This is what justification
by faith is all about.
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If I come in
penitence to Christ,
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and if I fall at His cross,
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and if I believe in
Christ as my Savior,
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I am declared righteous
and I am ready for heaven.
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I'm ready for the second coming,
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I am ready for the judgment.
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You know what it's called?
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It's called the gospel.
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You know what the gospel means?
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It means good news.
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This is the best news
you're ever going to hear
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that it doesn't
depend upon my works.
00:10:06.57\00:10:08.90
It depends upon His works.
00:10:08.94\00:10:11.87
Look at Romans Chapter 4,
I just want you to get this.
00:10:11.91\00:10:14.91
People who teach this
idea of sinless perfectionism
00:10:14.94\00:10:18.15
and hold it over
people's heads do it,
00:10:18.18\00:10:20.68
because they do not understand
00:10:20.72\00:10:22.28
the teachings of the Bible.
00:10:22.32\00:10:23.92
Romans 4:5 and 6, "But to him
00:10:23.95\00:10:26.35
who does not work for salvation,
00:10:26.39\00:10:29.72
but believes on
Him who justifies who,"
00:10:29.76\00:10:32.89
come on, come on.
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He justifies...
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Who's ungodly here?
00:10:36.40\00:10:38.80
We all are ungodly,
none of us are like God.
00:10:38.83\00:10:42.40
"Justifies the
ungodly, his faith is accounted
00:10:42.44\00:10:46.11
for righteousness,
00:10:46.14\00:10:48.11
just as David also
describes the blessedness
00:10:48.14\00:10:50.45
of the man to whom
God imputes righteousness
00:10:50.48\00:10:53.31
apart from works."
00:10:53.35\00:10:55.15
And therefore, the
truth is that justify
00:10:55.18\00:10:58.32
means to declare righteous.
00:10:58.35\00:11:02.56
When I discovered this truth,
00:11:02.59\00:11:04.06
I felt so invigorated, so free,
00:11:04.09\00:11:06.59
so wonderfully happy, I
could jump over the moon.
00:11:06.63\00:11:11.43
Because God says,
00:11:11.47\00:11:13.70
"It is My
perfection that counts."
00:11:13.74\00:11:16.77
I went to Avondale College
00:11:16.81\00:11:18.44
as a boy to
study for the ministry.
00:11:18.47\00:11:20.94
I was only 16 when I went there,
00:11:20.98\00:11:22.54
but I went there
as a complete legalist
00:11:22.58\00:11:24.58
because I'd been
brought up in a legalistic home.
00:11:24.61\00:11:27.28
And I had, I was
filled with despair,
00:11:27.32\00:11:29.98
but I discovered this truth
that God does something else.
00:11:30.02\00:11:33.89
Look at Romans
6:14, this tells you
00:11:33.92\00:11:38.93
what follows on
00:11:38.96\00:11:41.26
when you understand
the truth of the gospel.
00:11:41.30\00:11:44.57
"For sin shall not
have dominion over you,
00:11:44.60\00:11:47.20
for you are not
under law but under grace."
00:11:47.24\00:11:50.71
God's going to put a
new power in your life.
00:11:50.74\00:11:54.28
We're never going
to get home to glory
00:11:54.31\00:11:56.51
by climbing up the quaking sides
00:11:56.54\00:11:59.55
of Mount Sinai, my friends.
00:11:59.58\00:12:02.45
We get home to glory
through the cross of Christ,
00:12:02.48\00:12:05.62
Mount Calvary.
00:12:05.65\00:12:08.09
And so to say I say to my friend
00:12:08.12\00:12:10.33
who sent in this that, you know,
00:12:10.36\00:12:12.16
you're just so depressed
00:12:12.19\00:12:13.86
and you feel so discouraged that
00:12:13.90\00:12:15.73
you're never going to make it.
00:12:15.76\00:12:17.80
I want you to know this.
00:12:17.83\00:12:19.40
By the grace of God,
Jesus made it for you.
00:12:19.43\00:12:23.30
Now, I've written a
little book on this,
00:12:23.34\00:12:24.91
just a little booklet.
00:12:24.94\00:12:26.64
It's called "The Big
Issues of the Gospel."
00:12:26.68\00:12:30.45
I also have a series of
talks on the Book of Romans.
00:12:30.48\00:12:35.68
If you write to me,
we want you to have it.
00:12:35.72\00:12:38.85
This little
book is an exposition
00:12:38.89\00:12:41.82
of the great
teachings of the Bible.
00:12:41.86\00:12:45.26
I preached these
sermons many years ago
00:12:45.29\00:12:47.33
in the great Wahroonga
Church in Sydney, Australia.
00:12:47.36\00:12:49.86
Because there are
hundreds of young people there
00:12:49.90\00:12:52.13
who were getting poisoned
by the doctrine of legalism
00:12:52.17\00:12:56.37
and salvation by
works, good works.
00:12:56.40\00:12:59.41
And so I felt called by
God to preach these sermons
00:12:59.44\00:13:02.91
that save the lives of
hundreds of young Australians.
00:13:02.94\00:13:06.98
And I wrote down those sermons.
00:13:07.02\00:13:09.18
It's called The Big
issues of the Gospel.
00:13:09.22\00:13:12.95
It is not like reading.
00:13:12.99\00:13:15.39
It is Bible study.
00:13:15.42\00:13:17.69
But if you are
serious, you'll wade through it
00:13:17.73\00:13:21.26
because you're going to find
00:13:21.30\00:13:24.07
that your eyes
are going to be open.
00:13:24.10\00:13:26.90
Here's the next question.
00:13:26.94\00:13:29.10
You've been a
pastor for many years.
00:13:29.14\00:13:30.84
Amen to that.
00:13:30.87\00:13:32.61
Only beaten by Methuselah.
00:13:32.64\00:13:34.31
You've been a
pastor for many years.
00:13:34.34\00:13:36.58
Here is something that
00:13:36.61\00:13:37.95
troubles me as a parent, me too.
00:13:37.98\00:13:40.78
Why do so many young
people leave the church?
00:13:40.82\00:13:44.52
This is a subject we don't like
to talk about but we need to.
00:13:44.55\00:13:49.46
Ninety five percent
00:13:49.49\00:13:51.29
of young people
from Christian homes
00:13:51.33\00:13:53.73
who go to secular universities,
00:13:53.76\00:13:56.67
give up on Christ
and they leave the church
00:13:56.70\00:14:00.64
because Christianity
is mocked and ridiculed
00:14:00.67\00:14:05.07
through the vigorous teaching
of atheism and Neo-Darwinism.
00:14:05.11\00:14:11.65
These places are the
breeding fields of atheism,
00:14:11.68\00:14:14.68
communism,
lawlessness, and despair.
00:14:14.72\00:14:18.52
And unless young
people have been prepared,
00:14:18.55\00:14:21.79
they're going to be
shaken to their foundations.
00:14:21.82\00:14:25.36
They need to know the truth.
00:14:25.39\00:14:27.76
That's one reason.
00:14:27.80\00:14:29.13
Another reason why
so many young people
00:14:29.16\00:14:30.50
leave the church,
00:14:30.53\00:14:31.87
we don't like
to talk about this.
00:14:31.90\00:14:33.23
It's because of
legalism in the church.
00:14:33.27\00:14:35.87
I can think of a fine
young man in Sydney, Australia,
00:14:35.90\00:14:39.34
who was accosted by a
person who was super religious.
00:14:39.37\00:14:43.01
He said, "You got to be perfect.
00:14:43.04\00:14:45.08
You got to be this
00:14:45.11\00:14:46.45
or else you're gonna go to hell.
00:14:46.48\00:14:47.82
You got to be perfect
before you can go to heaven."
00:14:47.85\00:14:51.12
The young man said,
"If everybody is in heaven,
00:14:51.15\00:14:54.39
who is in heaven is like
you, I don't want to go there."
00:14:54.42\00:14:59.56
We can freeze people out of
the church through coldness.
00:14:59.59\00:15:04.20
What is needed,
00:15:04.23\00:15:05.57
listen to me the
word of an old pastor,
00:15:05.60\00:15:07.90
what is needed my friend
in the church is more love,
00:15:07.94\00:15:14.18
and more grace,
and more forgiveness.
00:15:14.21\00:15:18.91
Jesus said,
00:15:18.95\00:15:20.28
"The Son of Man has come to seek
00:15:20.32\00:15:22.48
and to save
that which was lost."
00:15:22.52\00:15:26.22
Here's the next question.
00:15:26.25\00:15:27.69
I've always wondered
what is the Mark of the Beast?
00:15:27.72\00:15:30.63
The chapter on
the Mark of the Beast
00:15:30.66\00:15:32.13
is Revelation 13:16
and 17 and turn over here.
00:15:32.16\00:15:36.70
This is going to surprise
you what I'm going to say
00:15:36.73\00:15:39.20
because this may
even shock some of you.
00:15:39.23\00:15:42.27
Revelation 13:16 and 17.
00:15:42.30\00:15:45.57
"He causes all,
everybody, both small and great,
00:15:45.61\00:15:50.78
rich and poor, free and slave",
00:15:50.81\00:15:53.85
Republicans and Democrats,
00:15:53.88\00:15:55.62
independents, everybody,
00:15:55.65\00:16:00.32
"to receive a mark
on their right hand
00:16:00.36\00:16:02.36
or on their foreheads,"
00:16:02.39\00:16:03.73
the hand symbolizes work
00:16:03.76\00:16:06.26
and the forehead
symbolizes the mind
00:16:06.29\00:16:08.33
where you make decisions,
00:16:08.36\00:16:10.10
"and that no one may buy or sell
00:16:10.13\00:16:12.03
except one who has the
mark or the name of the beast,
00:16:12.07\00:16:17.01
or the number of his name."
00:16:17.04\00:16:19.01
In the last days,
00:16:19.04\00:16:20.48
people are going to be
forced into conformity.
00:16:20.51\00:16:26.45
We live today in
the age of conformity.
00:16:26.48\00:16:31.55
Americans have been famous
00:16:31.59\00:16:34.26
for their independence of spirit
00:16:34.29\00:16:38.19
that we will do what
we think we are to do
00:16:38.23\00:16:42.36
and we're not going
to be a slave to any man.
00:16:42.40\00:16:46.10
Hey, that's changing.
00:16:46.13\00:16:48.00
Hey, that's changed.
00:16:48.04\00:16:50.61
We now live in an age
00:16:50.64\00:16:51.97
where people are
polarized into camps,
00:16:52.01\00:16:54.34
and they have all
become conformists.
00:16:54.38\00:16:58.05
And so it's not what
is right, what is wrong.
00:16:58.08\00:17:00.98
It is what, what...
00:17:01.02\00:17:03.12
What my church
says, what my party says.
00:17:03.15\00:17:06.29
That's Mark of
the Beast thinking.
00:17:06.32\00:17:08.82
I've had some folks say to me,
00:17:08.86\00:17:10.19
"Don't you know
that's offensive?"
00:17:10.23\00:17:11.99
I've said to them, "Well,
00:17:12.03\00:17:13.36
I really want to see
you in the kingdom of God.
00:17:13.40\00:17:18.33
I don't want to see you
getting the Mark of the Beast.
00:17:18.37\00:17:22.20
And if you continue on
in that present course,
00:17:22.24\00:17:25.07
I'm afraid you will
get the Mark of the Beast,
00:17:25.11\00:17:27.24
whatever your religion."
00:17:27.28\00:17:29.24
I'll tell you what
the Mark of the Beast is.
00:17:29.28\00:17:31.91
It is an act of
conscious conformity
00:17:31.95\00:17:36.35
to a corrupt church
and a corrupt state.
00:17:36.38\00:17:42.26
That is the Mark of the Beast.
00:17:42.29\00:17:44.83
I preached a
sermon sometime back
00:17:44.86\00:17:46.86
and I quoted the
great Russian author,
00:17:46.90\00:17:50.47
one of my favorite
authors, Dostoevsky.
00:17:50.50\00:17:54.60
He's got a wonderful section
00:17:54.64\00:17:57.21
and one of his books
on the Grand Inquisitor.
00:17:57.24\00:18:01.54
Christ comes back to Spain
00:18:01.58\00:18:04.61
when the Inquisition is running,
00:18:04.65\00:18:07.65
and the old...
00:18:07.68\00:18:09.02
And Jesus does healings
and people are falling down
00:18:09.05\00:18:12.55
and they're kissing
His feet, you think of it.
00:18:12.59\00:18:14.76
Christ comes to
Spain, kissing His feet.
00:18:14.79\00:18:19.43
But then the Grand
Inquisitor turns up
00:18:19.46\00:18:22.20
and they turn from Christ
and they fall down before him.
00:18:22.23\00:18:24.87
"Whatever you
say, it's the judge."
00:18:24.90\00:18:26.97
And the Grand
Inquisitor has Jesus locked up.
00:18:31.44\00:18:37.11
And that night he
comes to Christ in prison,
00:18:37.15\00:18:40.62
awaiting to be burned
at the stake the next day.
00:18:40.65\00:18:44.02
He says this.
00:18:44.05\00:18:46.29
Christ, "The people
who today kissed Your feet
00:18:46.32\00:18:52.19
will tomorrow heap up
00:18:52.23\00:18:54.60
the embers of Your fire."
00:18:54.63\00:18:58.63
People today falling down
kissing the feet of Christ,
00:18:58.67\00:19:04.37
and the next day,
they're burning Him.
00:19:04.41\00:19:07.61
And the Grand
Inquisitor said something else.
00:19:11.48\00:19:13.35
He said, "The people
who today kiss Your feet."
00:19:13.38\00:19:18.29
This is the expression
I left out the first time.
00:19:18.32\00:19:21.46
He says, "The people
who today kissed Your feet
00:19:21.49\00:19:23.86
will have the
slightest sign for me."
00:19:23.89\00:19:27.76
Hey, I represent the church.
00:19:27.80\00:19:32.03
The slightest sign for me,.
00:19:32.07\00:19:33.54
they're all going to
00:19:33.57\00:19:36.47
not kiss the feet
of Christ any longer
00:19:36.50\00:19:38.71
You know what they're gonna do?
00:19:38.74\00:19:40.08
They're gonna burn Him.
00:19:40.11\00:19:43.04
So the Grand
Inquisitor in Seville,
00:19:43.08\00:19:45.28
Spain says to Christ,
00:19:45.31\00:19:47.55
"Why did You come back
and cause us so much trouble?
00:19:47.58\00:19:50.85
We were doing
very well without You.
00:19:50.89\00:19:53.52
We've been
correcting Your errors.
00:19:53.56\00:19:56.52
You gave to the
people freedom of choice.
00:19:56.56\00:19:59.56
They don't want
freedom of choice.
00:19:59.59\00:20:01.60
They can't handle it.
00:20:01.63\00:20:03.47
They want to be
told what to do."
00:20:03.50\00:20:07.80
That is true today in Russia.
00:20:07.84\00:20:13.51
It's true today in Europe,
00:20:13.54\00:20:16.54
it's true today
in Latin America.
00:20:16.58\00:20:19.25
It is true today
00:20:19.28\00:20:20.98
in the United States of America,
00:20:21.02\00:20:26.92
where people on the
whole stopped thinking
00:20:26.96\00:20:29.52
and studying scripture,
00:20:29.56\00:20:30.89
and are conforming.
00:20:35.20\00:20:37.17
Listen to this.
00:20:37.20\00:20:38.67
Conformity to the
state or the church,
00:20:38.70\00:20:43.24
instead of conformity to God
00:20:43.27\00:20:46.54
is the Mark of the Beast.
00:20:46.57\00:20:51.81
And my friend Danny
Shelton of 3ABN has written
00:20:51.85\00:20:54.65
a very excellent
book, Spiritual Vigilantes.
00:20:54.68\00:20:57.99
He talks about
some of these things
00:20:58.02\00:21:00.39
where the law of
God has been set aside
00:21:00.42\00:21:04.69
and everybody has
fallen on his face to worship,
00:21:04.73\00:21:10.30
because the
Supreme Court said so.
00:21:10.33\00:21:12.77
So active conformity
00:21:15.87\00:21:18.31
to the church out of the state
00:21:18.34\00:21:22.71
instead of active
conformity to the Word of God,
00:21:22.74\00:21:27.25
that is the Mark of the Beast.
00:21:27.28\00:21:31.09
Therefore, you and I ought
to ask ourselves the question,
00:21:31.12\00:21:37.33
"Do I follow scripture
00:21:37.36\00:21:39.46
or am I a conformist?"
00:21:39.49\00:21:45.30
What we need today desperately,
00:21:45.33\00:21:47.47
and I don't see
too many of them.
00:21:47.50\00:21:50.11
What we need today are
a few more Martin Luthers.
00:21:50.14\00:21:55.81
Now I mean, lots and lots
00:21:55.84\00:21:58.61
and lots of people
who are big talkers.
00:21:58.65\00:22:03.08
Ah, goodness,
00:22:03.12\00:22:04.62
after all you think to yourself,
00:22:04.65\00:22:06.15
"Oh, don't have to
listen to this stuff anymore."
00:22:06.19\00:22:08.86
We're gonna do
the talk, talk, talk.
00:22:08.89\00:22:11.39
As my mother says,
00:22:11.43\00:22:12.76
"They could talk
the leg off an iron pot.
00:22:12.79\00:22:15.76
In a talk, you
use that expression,
00:22:15.80\00:22:18.70
talking the leg off an iron pot,
00:22:18.73\00:22:21.17
that takes a bit of talking.
00:22:21.20\00:22:23.20
And the religious talkers
are the worst of the lot.
00:22:23.24\00:22:26.91
Talk, talk, oh,
save me from the talkers.
00:22:26.94\00:22:29.71
We need people who
are not just talkers,
00:22:29.74\00:22:33.05
but doers like Martin Luther,
00:22:33.08\00:22:35.68
who can look to pope in the eye,
00:22:35.72\00:22:38.49
and the holy Roman Emperor,
00:22:38.52\00:22:40.36
and all the
cardinals, and all the bishops,
00:22:40.39\00:22:43.46
and all the priests and say,
00:22:43.49\00:22:45.59
"Unless I'm
convinced and convicted
00:22:45.63\00:22:50.10
by the plain words of the Bible,
00:22:50.13\00:22:53.97
and reason, I cannot
00:22:54.00\00:22:56.84
and I will not
recant here I stand."
00:22:56.87\00:23:01.98
And God's going to have people
00:23:02.01\00:23:03.35
in the last days
like Martin Luther,
00:23:03.38\00:23:06.25
who will be
non-conformists, not crackpots,
00:23:06.28\00:23:11.72
not wackos, not fanatics,
00:23:11.75\00:23:14.89
but people with
fire in their bellies
00:23:14.92\00:23:18.29
and who've got conviction.
00:23:18.33\00:23:21.53
And there are some, but
not, doesn't seem to me that...
00:23:21.56\00:23:24.90
Doesn't seem to
be a huge number.
00:23:24.93\00:23:28.37
So the Mark of the
Beast is willful conformity.
00:23:28.40\00:23:32.31
Why do you strongly...
00:23:32.34\00:23:33.68
Here's the next
question, question five.
00:23:33.71\00:23:35.04
Why do you strongly
believe in the Bible?
00:23:35.08\00:23:38.95
Well, I wasn't brought up
in the United States of America
00:23:38.98\00:23:41.38
and I love America.
00:23:41.42\00:23:43.18
I was brought up in Australia,
and Australia and America
00:23:43.22\00:23:46.92
are very similar in some ways.
00:23:46.96\00:23:48.49
They're both very
wealthy countries.
00:23:48.52\00:23:51.89
But Australians are
not too much into religion.
00:23:51.93\00:23:57.07
They think that most people
00:23:57.10\00:23:58.63
who seem to be into religion
00:23:58.67\00:24:00.34
are not really
sincere, and they say,
00:24:00.37\00:24:03.27
"It doesn't seem
to make any difference
00:24:03.30\00:24:04.67
in their lives."
00:24:04.71\00:24:07.34
And because I was
brought up in a secular country,
00:24:07.38\00:24:09.84
I was forced to search
for reasons to believe.
00:24:12.85\00:24:16.52
And so I studied archaeology.
00:24:20.59\00:24:25.66
And I saw that
tremendous evidence
00:24:25.69\00:24:27.53
why a thinking
person can believe.
00:24:27.56\00:24:29.90
I don't believe
because I just want to believe.
00:24:29.93\00:24:33.17
I believe that faith
must rest on evidence.
00:24:33.20\00:24:36.10
If it doesn't rest on evidence,
it's fantasy and silliness.
00:24:36.14\00:24:41.28
So I studied archaeology.
00:24:41.31\00:24:43.48
And then in more recent
times, I've studied astronomy.
00:24:43.51\00:24:47.22
And I've
discovered that the universe
00:24:47.25\00:24:49.22
is marvelously
fine tuned for life.
00:24:49.25\00:24:53.59
Amazing ever.
00:24:53.62\00:24:54.96
I'm going to present
this in the Philippines.
00:24:54.99\00:24:57.79
It's called the
anthropic principle,
00:24:57.83\00:24:59.26
they would never
have heard it before.
00:24:59.29\00:25:01.66
Most Christians in
this part of the world
00:25:01.70\00:25:03.43
have never heard it either.
00:25:03.47\00:25:05.93
But any great
scientist will tell you this,
00:25:05.97\00:25:08.27
even if he
doesn't believe in God.
00:25:08.30\00:25:09.80
There is marvelous evidence
00:25:09.84\00:25:12.17
to believe in
God from astronomy.
00:25:12.21\00:25:15.08
Then from prophecy,
00:25:15.11\00:25:16.44
I believe that the
Bible is a book of prophecy.
00:25:16.48\00:25:20.22
It has been my privilege
to preach the prophecies
00:25:20.25\00:25:23.49
before even millions of atheists
00:25:23.52\00:25:27.16
and unbelievers and
see them come to Christ.
00:25:27.19\00:25:29.96
Prophecy shows
that the Bible is true.
00:25:29.99\00:25:34.66
The greatest evidence
00:25:34.70\00:25:36.03
for the Bible is Christ Himself.
00:25:36.06\00:25:40.90
He's so great, and He's so good
00:25:40.94\00:25:43.20
that nobody could
have sought Him out.
00:25:43.24\00:25:46.07
The greatest evidence
00:25:46.11\00:25:47.44
for Christianity is not prophecy
00:25:47.48\00:25:48.98
or archeology or astronomy,
it's the person of Christ.
00:25:49.01\00:25:53.01
He's so good.
00:25:53.05\00:25:54.88
And then, there is, of
course, and this is somewhat
00:25:54.92\00:25:56.99
subjective, so
we put it in last.
00:25:57.02\00:25:59.09
It is personal experience.
00:25:59.12\00:26:03.06
When you come to know God,
00:26:03.09\00:26:05.43
you can have a
personal experience with God.
00:26:05.46\00:26:08.40
Somebody said to
Billy Graham, Dr. Graham,
00:26:08.43\00:26:10.57
don't you know that God is dead?
00:26:10.60\00:26:12.67
And Dr. Graham
said, "He can't be
00:26:12.70\00:26:14.47
because I spoke
to Him this morning."
00:26:14.50\00:26:17.51
Now we're not talking.
00:26:17.54\00:26:18.87
He's not talking
about a loud voice
00:26:18.91\00:26:20.24
hitting him in the air.
00:26:20.28\00:26:22.34
But those who are believers
know what I'm talking about,
00:26:22.38\00:26:25.31
personal experience.
00:26:25.35\00:26:27.62
If you want to know
what an apple tastes like,
00:26:27.65\00:26:30.59
don't go and read a
book about the apple,
00:26:30.62\00:26:32.95
bite the apple.
00:26:32.99\00:26:34.42
You see. Now,
here's the next question.
00:26:34.46\00:26:36.83
Question six.
00:26:36.86\00:26:39.59
What does it mean
that the Bible is inspired?
00:26:39.63\00:26:44.20
This is a
question of controversy
00:26:44.23\00:26:45.77
in many circles
00:26:45.80\00:26:47.14
in the evangelical
movement in America.
00:26:47.17\00:26:52.21
I believe this.
00:26:52.24\00:26:53.68
God moved upon the hearts
and the minds of the prophets.
00:26:53.71\00:26:58.61
He did not tell
them the words to say,
00:26:58.65\00:27:01.98
He wrote down the
revelation of God,
00:27:02.02\00:27:05.25
in their own words.
00:27:05.29\00:27:08.12
Therefore,
inspiration is the Word of God,
00:27:08.16\00:27:14.43
in the words of men.
00:27:14.46\00:27:17.93
And I am
absolutely convinced that
00:27:17.97\00:27:20.67
this is the
truthful Word of God.
00:27:20.70\00:27:24.31
People say word translation.
00:27:24.34\00:27:25.94
I say to them, "I don't
care, just start reading."
00:27:25.97\00:27:30.71
Read it.
00:27:30.75\00:27:32.08
Read the Bible
for 30 minutes a day,
00:27:32.11\00:27:34.68
and preferably,
read it out loud.
00:27:34.72\00:27:37.89
And if you will do this,
00:27:37.92\00:27:42.59
a wonderful miracle is going to
00:27:42.62\00:27:44.49
happen in your life,
00:27:44.53\00:27:46.80
the miracle of
regeneration and rebirth,
00:27:46.83\00:27:50.27
where you will
become a brand new person,
00:27:50.30\00:27:54.24
going home to
the kingdom of God.
00:27:54.27\00:27:56.94
Now, we'll be back very soon
00:27:56.97\00:27:58.97
and we will pick
up where we left off,
00:27:59.01\00:28:01.34
and we will
answer your questions
00:28:01.38\00:28:03.98
from the Word of God.
00:28:04.01\00:28:05.35
Thank you for
tuning our way today.
00:28:05.38\00:28:07.18
And may God bless you.
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