Hello and welcome
to Give Me The Bible
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with Pastor Kenneth Cox.
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We're so happy that you could
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join with us in
this live presentation
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coming to you from
the 3ABN Worship Center
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right here in
Thompsonville, Illinois.
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And we are just so
happy that we can be with you.
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This series on this particular
weekend is about the Bible.
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And today the
subject is going to be
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How Can I Know My Bible Is True?
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Now I learned to love the Bible,
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as many of you have
learned to love your Bible,
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from my mother.
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My mother read her Bible
and studied it every single day.
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I'm also happy to tell you
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that my children
have had that same example
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from their mother... who
has read the Bible through
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at least 15
times that I know of...
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and probably a
number of times more.
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So it's been a beautiful
relationship that I've had
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with those women that I've loved
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who love the Bible so much.
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But how can I know that
the Bible is really true?
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And in this
presentation Pastor Kenneth Cox
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is going to
answer that question.
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I remember a song: My
Mother's Old Bible Is True.
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From cover to cover... all true.
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And I accept that 100% by faith.
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But today, Pastor
Cox is going to show us
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some reasons that we
can add proof to our faith.
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It's a wonderful presentation.
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Please stay
tuned; call your friends.
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Invite them to join us on 3ABN
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as they watch this
presentation today.
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But before we
hear from Pastor Cox,
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Joe Pearles from
Nashville, Tennessee,
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a man who has sung on all kinds
of stages all over this country,
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is going to sing for
us God On The Mountain.
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Life is easy
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when you're up on a mountain.
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And things go wrong sometimes
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when life's at its best.
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It's down in the valley
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of trials and temptations
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that's when things
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are really put to the test.
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For the God on the mountain
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is still God in the valley.
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When things go wrong
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He'll make them right.
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For the God in the good times
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is still God in the bad times.
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The God in the day
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is still God in the night.
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You talk of faith
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when you're up on a mountain.
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But talk comes easy
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when life's at its best.
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It's down in the valley
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of trials and temptations
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That's when faith
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is really put to the test.
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For the God on the mountain
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is still God in the valley.
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When things go wrong
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He'll make them right.
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For the God in the good times
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is still God in the bad times.
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The God in the day
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is still God in the night.
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The God in the day
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is still God in the night.
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Thank you, Joe Pearles.
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Glad that each of
you are here today.
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Want to welcome you.
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Those of you that are joining
us by television or radio,
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for some of you
it may be morning.
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For some of you it could be
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the middle of the day.
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For some of you,
it could be evening.
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But wherever you are,
we're just glad you're here
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and joining us. Appreciate it.
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Hope that the program
will bless you in a special way
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as we look at God's Word.
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This particular
series that we're doing
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in Give Me The Bible
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is on the Bible
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entitled Your Bible and You.
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So far in the series
we've looked at two things.
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We've looked at
where your Bible came from
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and we've looked at
which translation is the best.
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Those are the things
that we've looked at so far.
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Our next
session will be entitled
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What The Bible Can Do For You.
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In other words, why read it?
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Why should I
spend any time with it?
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What can it do
for me personally?
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That's what we're
going to take a look at
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in the next presentation.
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And where you can know
that you can go to God's Word,
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find certain things
that it will do for you.
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So we hope
you'll join us for that.
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Today we're looking at...
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How can I know my Bible is true?
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What you want to look for
is I'm going to share with you
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four ways that you can
know the Bible is true.
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You want to watch
for those four ways.
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Because if you can believe
and know without question
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that it's true, then
the promises that are made
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in scripture you can place
faith in and you can follow it
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with confidence. And
so it's very important
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that you understand
and know that it's true.
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I've mentioned a couple
times that the disciples
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the thing that sparked
as the Holy Spirit led them
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and they went out and
proclaimed the Word of God
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was they understood and
they knew without question
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that He had
risen from the grave.
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They had been witnesses to that,
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and it filled their lives
and souls as they went out
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and preached all
the different places.
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So if you and I can
know without question
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the Bible is true,
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well then it gives us
the faith to move ahead
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and believe it and
walk according to it.
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So we're glad
that you're here today.
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Joe Pearles has
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been with us for a
number of years singing for us.
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Always blesses my soul.
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And today he's going
to sing probably the...
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of all the gospel songs
that have been written...
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probably the most popular
requested of any gospel song
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that's ever been
written is the song:
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In The Garden.
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I come to the garden
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alone,
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while the dew
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is still on the roses.
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And the voice I hear
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falling on my ear
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the Son of God
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discloses.
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And He walks with me
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and He talks with me.
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And He tells me I am
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His own.
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And the joy we share
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as we tarry there...
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None other
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has ever known.
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He speaks
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and the sound of His voice
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is so sweet
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the birds hush
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their singing.
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And the melody
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that He gave to me
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within my heart
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is ringing.
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And He walks with me
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and He talks with me.
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And He tells me I am
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His own.
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And the joy we share
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as we tarry there...
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None other
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has ever known.
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And the joy we share
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as we tarry there...
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None other
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has ever
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known.
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Our Heavenly Father,
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We'd like to take
this time to thank you
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for Your Word.
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We pray that as we open it today
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that we may
see... be convinced...
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that indeed it is true.
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And that as we accept
the truthfulness of Your Word
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that our faith may be increased
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and that we might
stand firmly upon it.
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Give us Your
Spirit. Enlighten our eyes.
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May our hearts be
soft and tender today.
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We pray in Your name, Amen.
00:12:06.83\00:12:10.00
One of our team
members, Diane Lohr,
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was raised in a home
where they taught or believed
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that the Bible was kind of
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fairy tales and fables.
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And she grew up pretty much
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reading them or - from time
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to time - not reading them
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very much but when they did
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they read them as a fairy tale
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or as a fable.
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And then she started
attending the meetings,
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and as she
listened night after night
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she began to sense that
the Word of God was true...
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that it wasn't just
fairy tales and fables.
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And we live in an
age of skepticism.
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We live in an age
where people have real doubts
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about the Word of God.
00:13:09.77\00:13:11.86
Higher criticism and all this.
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So can I know without
any question of a doubt
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in my heart that
the scripture is true?
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I can depend on
it. I can trust it.
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That it doesn't fail.
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And so the first thing
that I would like to tell you
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concerning the Word of God,
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as far as I'm concerned
one of the proofs of it
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is the permanency of it.
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Because this is what it says:
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In other words, God's saying:
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"It's going to be around.
It's not going to disappear.
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It's going to be here. "
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So the permanency of God's Word.
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Now there has been
great, great efforts
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down through the centuries
to do away with the scripture.
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In fact, the Roman Empire
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decided to do
away with God's Word,
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do away with the Christians,
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do away with any concept of it.
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It was fought terribly,
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and many, many
people gave their lives
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because they were
willing to trust it...
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willing to stand on it...
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and they were
brought before the Emperor.
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You see, Rome didn't care...
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Rome didn't care
what God you worshiped.
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They were polytheistic.
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They worshiped many, many gods.
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But they wanted the
allegiance of the people,
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and you had to
sacrifice to their god.
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And if you didn't sacrifice
to it - which was a sign
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of allegiance - then
you were taken to the arena
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and fed to the lions.
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In fact, Diocletian...
Diocletian made a decree
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that every scrap, every
book, every part of scripture
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was to be burned.
00:15:02.80\00:15:04.32
I mean, gotten rid of.
00:15:04.52\00:15:06.75
The people were
demanded to offer sacrifices
00:15:06.95\00:15:10.72
to pagan gods. And if they
didn't, they were to be killed.
00:15:10.92\00:15:14.42
For ten years it
was absolutely horrible
00:15:14.62\00:15:17.86
in the Roman Empire... trying
to do away with the Word of God.
00:15:18.06\00:15:22.70
Saying it would be over...
00:15:22.91\00:15:24.87
was going to end.
00:15:25.07\00:15:26.64
One of the great
historians of the past
00:15:26.84\00:15:31.64
by the name of
Voltaire, who was an atheist,
00:15:31.85\00:15:35.79
he said that the
Bible was an exploded book
00:15:35.99\00:15:39.46
and would be soon passed away.
00:15:39.66\00:15:41.98
But Voltaire is
dead... and it's still around.
00:15:42.28\00:15:47.61
Robert
Ingersoll, another atheist,
00:15:47.81\00:15:50.25
said: "in 100 years,
the Bible will be no more. "
00:15:50.45\00:15:53.59
But he's dead.
00:15:53.79\00:15:55.65
So what I'm trying
to get across to you
00:15:55.85\00:15:58.85
is there's a
permanency to God's Word
00:15:59.05\00:16:01.88
that you and I can rest assured
it's been around a long time.
00:16:02.08\00:16:06.03
Russia, Karl Marx,
decided they would set up
00:16:06.23\00:16:11.57
an atheistic government.
00:16:11.77\00:16:13.17
That God would not be there.
00:16:13.38\00:16:14.80
The scripture
would not be there,
00:16:15.00\00:16:16.31
and it would get
rid of all of it.
00:16:16.51\00:16:18.63
Well, Communism came into being.
00:16:18.83\00:16:23.12
Went 70 years,
00:16:23.32\00:16:25.51
and now it's
something of the past.
00:16:25.71\00:16:30.16
But the Word of
God is still around.
00:16:30.36\00:16:33.97
Still there. I can
remember being in Russia
00:16:34.17\00:16:36.55
and walking
through their cemetery.
00:16:36.75\00:16:39.05
And there were tombstones there
00:16:39.25\00:16:41.65
that were back before Communism.
00:16:41.85\00:16:44.62
And they had gone
in and taken a chisel
00:16:44.82\00:16:46.84
and chiseled off any
symbols of Christianity
00:16:47.04\00:16:50.06
trying to completely do
away with the Word of God.
00:16:50.26\00:16:54.26
But, no. God said:
"It will abide forever. "
00:16:54.46\00:16:59.05
That you and I can trust
it. What bothers me today
00:16:59.25\00:17:03.21
is basically our
universities are atheistic.
00:17:03.41\00:17:09.28
They teach no God.
00:17:09.48\00:17:12.17
They teach that... science
teaches that we came about
00:17:12.37\00:17:15.99
by evolution and all.
00:17:16.19\00:17:17.93
And these things are being
taught to the people today,
00:17:18.13\00:17:21.36
and yet... the
evidence is there, folks,
00:17:21.57\00:17:26.78
that those universities,
00:17:26.98\00:17:29.95
all these things are going
to pass away one of these days
00:17:30.15\00:17:32.30
but I'll assure you:
00:17:32.50\00:17:33.53
the Word of God is
going to still be here.
00:17:33.74\00:17:37.42
It hasn't failed; the
permanency of it is there.
00:17:37.62\00:17:40.28
It says:
00:17:40.48\00:17:41.65
So God's Word is permanent,
00:17:48.22\00:17:50.80
and they can say
what they want to
00:17:51.00\00:17:52.82
but it's living proof that
it's exactly what God said:
00:17:53.02\00:17:57.05
that it's true; it has
stood the test of time.
00:17:57.25\00:18:00.72
We don't have to
have any doubts about it
00:18:00.92\00:18:03.46
standing the test of time.
00:18:03.66\00:18:04.96
Another way in which you and I
can know that the Bible is true
00:18:05.16\00:18:09.63
is that of prophecy.
00:18:09.83\00:18:11.44
Prophecy helps us know
that the Word of God is true.
00:18:11.64\00:18:16.73
It says... Jesus
said this... He said:
00:18:16.93\00:18:20.07
That's prophecy, right?
00:18:23.28\00:18:25.14
You tell
something before it comes...
00:18:25.34\00:18:27.69
that's prophecy.
00:18:27.89\00:18:29.13
So if I can pick up the Bible
00:18:33.74\00:18:36.59
and read a
prophecy that was made
00:18:36.79\00:18:41.58
a thousand years ago,
00:18:41.78\00:18:44.10
and then that prophecy came true
00:18:44.30\00:18:47.71
then I know it's true.
00:18:47.91\00:18:50.16
Know that.
Established on that fact.
00:18:50.36\00:18:53.84
So you and I can know the
Word of God is true. In fact,
00:18:54.04\00:18:56.93
the thing that makes the
Bible distinctly different -
00:18:57.13\00:19:01.53
different than any
other book - are two things.
00:19:01.73\00:19:06.00
Those two things are
prophecy and miracles.
00:19:06.20\00:19:10.45
If you take prophecy and
miracles out of scripture,
00:19:10.75\00:19:16.05
then it just ceases to be any-
thing but a book of philosophy.
00:19:16.25\00:19:19.82
But that's what make
it distinctly different,
00:19:20.12\00:19:22.77
and prophecies help
us know that it's true.
00:19:22.88\00:19:25.69
And I want to share just
a few prophecies with you.
00:19:25.89\00:19:28.87
It says:
00:19:28.97\00:19:30.03
Now it says there
that you and I need to heed
00:19:43.93\00:19:48.48
the word of prophecy.
And it says it's like a light
00:19:48.68\00:19:52.65
that shines in a dark place.
00:19:52.85\00:19:55.72
You know, that's
one thing about atheism.
00:19:55.92\00:20:01.81
Have you ever thought about it?
00:20:02.11\00:20:04.09
There is
absolutely no light there.
00:20:04.29\00:20:08.99
None.
00:20:10.42\00:20:11.72
When you stop and think about
it, there is no light there.
00:20:11.82\00:20:14.55
There's nothing there
that can give you any hope
00:20:14.75\00:20:17.78
beyond the grave.
00:20:17.81\00:20:19.16
No... nothing. No light there.
00:20:20.45\00:20:23.35
But God's Word does,
and it gives us light.
00:20:23.45\00:20:26.48
And God said prophecy's
something that you need to
00:20:26.68\00:20:29.12
take heed to because it's a
light shining in a dark place.
00:20:29.22\00:20:33.10
And then the
day's going to dawn.
00:20:33.30\00:20:36.23
Morning Star
rises in your heart.
00:20:36.43\00:20:39.20
So let me just share a
couple prophecies with you
00:20:39.40\00:20:44.24
that I think are significant
00:20:44.45\00:20:47.80
concerning what God
told us would happen...
00:20:48.00\00:20:51.54
what took place.
00:20:51.74\00:20:53.14
One: Jesus.
00:20:53.34\00:20:55.19
Jesus said this to
them in Matthew 24:15:
00:20:55.39\00:20:59.15
Now listen to what
He's saying to them here.
00:21:10.29\00:21:12.79
He said: "Now
those that are in Judea
00:21:19.48\00:21:21.34
let them flee
to the mountains. "
00:21:21.54\00:21:23.59
He said: "Now when you see
00:21:33.76\00:21:36.39
the 'abomination
of desolation' set up,
00:21:36.59\00:21:39.86
then you need to
get out of there. "
00:21:40.06\00:21:42.17
Now He's
talking about Jerusalem.
00:21:42.37\00:21:44.54
Watch:
00:21:44.74\00:21:45.91
OK? Promised all that.
00:21:51.64\00:21:54.21
Well, the Roman
government sent their army in.
00:21:54.93\00:22:00.58
They surrounded
the city of Jerusalem.
00:22:00.78\00:22:03.46
Not only did they surround it,
00:22:03.67\00:22:06.52
they carried banners, folks.
00:22:06.72\00:22:09.38
And on those banners they had
pictures of their pagan gods.
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And they came and set that up
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right in the
courtyard of the sanctuary.
00:22:16.08\00:22:18.90
This is what it's talking about
there when it's talking about
00:22:19.10\00:22:21.71
the
'abomination of desolation. '
00:22:21.92\00:22:23.74
They were defiling
the sanctuary of God.
00:22:23.94\00:22:26.08
And He said: "When
they come in and do that,
00:22:26.28\00:22:28.59
then you need to
get out of here. "
00:22:28.79\00:22:30.12
He said: "Don't even
go... bother to go back home,
00:22:30.32\00:22:32.74
flee. "
00:22:32.94\00:22:33.95
Well, Titus had
surrounded the city.
00:22:34.15\00:22:37.93
All of his soldiers there.
00:22:38.13\00:22:40.30
Nobody could leave.
00:22:40.50\00:22:43.21
And then for no apparent reason
00:22:43.41\00:22:48.04
he withdrew his whole army,
00:22:48.24\00:22:50.69
and all of the Christians fled.
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And after they fled,
brought his army back...
00:22:54.61\00:22:58.25
surrounded the city.
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Just exactly as Christ
00:22:59.85\00:23:03.01
had predicted it took place.
00:23:03.21\00:23:05.07
Jesus went on about the city:
00:23:05.27\00:23:07.02
Now, folks, I don't know if
you've ever been over there,
00:23:17.38\00:23:22.63
but one thing they have
an abundance of is stone.
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Just look here at this city.
This will give you an idea.
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Stones everywhere. I mean...
and the wall and all there.
00:23:32.42\00:23:37.27
And even in the
temple they had stones.
00:23:37.48\00:23:40.99
Now they had
stones lying in the temple
00:23:41.19\00:23:43.90
that were 4' thick, 4' high,
00:23:44.10\00:23:49.82
and 20' long
00:23:49.85\00:23:52.06
laying on top of each other.
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By the way, so
perfectly laid you couldn't even
00:23:54.84\00:23:56.95
stick a knife
blade between them.
00:23:57.15\00:23:59.06
That was through the whole city.
00:23:59.36\00:24:01.83
And here Christ said: "There's
not going to be one stone left
00:24:02.03\00:24:05.35
on top of another. "
00:24:05.45\00:24:06.55
And they yelled "blasphemy! "
00:24:06.75\00:24:08.76
This couldn't be. Impossible.
00:24:08.96\00:24:11.67
But Roman army had
surrounded the city
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And finally when
they decided to take it,
00:24:17.70\00:24:21.68
one of the soldiers
had thrown a firebrand.
00:24:21.88\00:24:25.66
It went through the
window of the temple
00:24:25.86\00:24:28.44
and in no time the
whole place was on fire.
00:24:28.64\00:24:31.00
There was enough
gold in that temple
00:24:31.20\00:24:36.91
that it melted and ran down
into the rocks and the crevices
00:24:37.12\00:24:42.04
throughout that whole area
00:24:42.24\00:24:43.94
And so when it was all over,
00:24:44.14\00:24:46.32
people came in and
they turned over every stone
00:24:46.52\00:24:50.31
to gather the gold.
They even plowed the ground.
00:24:50.52\00:24:54.18
Just exactly as Christ said.
00:24:54.38\00:24:57.07
So you have a
prophecy where Christ said
00:24:57.27\00:24:59.07
this is what would happen,
00:24:59.28\00:25:00.65
and true to His word,
00:25:00.85\00:25:02.78
it took place just
exactly as He said it would.
00:25:02.98\00:25:06.46
Another fascinating
prophecy to me is one concerning
00:25:06.67\00:25:12.04
what was going to happen.
00:25:12.24\00:25:14.92
You see, the Bible made it clear
00:25:16.71\00:25:19.01
that the church was going
to go through that time of
00:25:19.21\00:25:21.55
persecution by the
Roman power and all.
00:25:21.65\00:25:24.99
And it says here:
00:25:25.19\00:25:26.28
Now watch what he says
is going to happen here:
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So it says here that she
was going to be persecuted.
00:25:51.50\00:25:54.88
And then it says that the
earth would open up and swallow
00:25:55.09\00:26:00.57
this flood of
persecution towards the church.
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That's what it's saying.
00:26:03.41\00:26:04.41
And you find as you
read through history
00:26:04.44\00:26:07.16
and you study it,
that's exactly what took place.
00:26:07.36\00:26:10.42
Because after
all the persecution
00:26:10.62\00:26:14.28
then we hit what we
talked about our last session
00:26:14.48\00:26:18.47
and so forth. We hit the time of
about 1400-1500 AD and so forth
00:26:18.67\00:26:23.84
and you have all of a sudden
the Reformation taking place.
00:26:24.04\00:26:28.48
And what was being done
away - since there was only one
00:26:28.68\00:26:33.97
type of scripture available,
and that was the Latin -
00:26:34.17\00:26:37.45
all of a sudden all the
Word of God began to come back
00:26:37.65\00:26:40.68
and men like
Luther and Knox and Calvin
00:26:40.88\00:26:43.10
and all them began
to translate the Bible
00:26:43.30\00:26:46.09
into the language of the people.
00:26:46.29\00:26:48.03
And all of a sudden they
began to be able - every man,
00:26:48.23\00:26:51.12
every woman - could
pick up the Bible and read it
00:26:51.32\00:26:54.27
for themselves.
00:26:54.47\00:26:56.48
Something they hadn't been
able to do for 1,000 years.
00:26:56.68\00:27:01.67
They could read it.
It opened up its mouth
00:27:01.87\00:27:04.84
and swallowed up that
flood that was taking place.
00:27:05.04\00:27:08.18
At the same time... have you
ever stopped to think about it?
00:27:08.21\00:27:11.29
At the same time
that this was taking place
00:27:11.49\00:27:16.19
you have the
discovery of the United States.
00:27:16.40\00:27:19.27
And you have these
people who have been persecuted
00:27:19.47\00:27:23.80
leaving and coming to
this country to get away from
00:27:24.00\00:27:27.40
persecution where they
can worship as they want to.
00:27:27.60\00:27:30.10
And thus the earth
opened up its mouth...
00:27:30.30\00:27:33.59
swallowed up the
flood of persecution.
00:27:33.79\00:27:37.17
Prophecies... the prophecies
of scripture are so, so true!
00:27:37.38\00:27:42.67
As you read through them
and read one right after another
00:27:42.87\00:27:46.69
where God says
it's going to happen,
00:27:46.89\00:27:48.50
what happens when you
pick up the Word of God
00:27:48.70\00:27:51.21
and you read about somebody
00:27:51.41\00:27:55.58
and they're named. I'm not
talking about just in general...
00:27:56.18\00:28:02.08
I'm talking about
where they name them by name
00:28:02.28\00:28:04.59
150 years before they're born.
00:28:04.79\00:28:07.73
Like in the case of Cyrus.
00:28:07.93\00:28:10.93
You know, there's
something more to that.
00:28:11.33\00:28:13.80
You can't just...
you can't just say
00:28:14.00\00:28:15.82
"well... " You know, there's
got to be more than human.
00:28:16.02\00:28:19.25
We aren't capable of
telling people's names
00:28:19.45\00:28:21.50
150 years before they're born.
00:28:21.70\00:28:24.07
But God can... and He does!
00:28:24.27\00:28:28.23
Those are
prophecies that were made.
00:28:28.43\00:28:30.79
One that has fascinated me
00:28:30.99\00:28:34.39
was one here in archaeology.
00:28:34.59\00:28:37.25
Archaeology is
another way that you and I
00:28:37.45\00:28:40.92
can tell that the Bible is true.
00:28:41.12\00:28:43.11
Because as they have
gone places and dug up things
00:28:43.31\00:28:46.71
they have found evidence
of things that took place
00:28:46.91\00:28:51.15
and know that it is true
exactly like the scripture said.
00:28:51.35\00:28:55.82
Remember, Christ had been there.
00:28:56.42\00:29:02.40
See, Christ... Folks,
you've got to understand
00:29:02.60\00:29:05.69
that when He went through the
country, now the whole country
00:29:05.89\00:29:09.43
is flocking to Him.
00:29:09.63\00:29:11.88
I mean, they came by
multitudes to see Jesus.
00:29:12.08\00:29:15.93
And this was so upsetting
to the... to the Pharisees
00:29:16.13\00:29:21.24
and the Sadducees that all these
people were flocking to Him.
00:29:21.34\00:29:25.28
And they said, you know:
00:29:25.48\00:29:27.18
"We've got to do
something about this.
00:29:27.38\00:29:29.41
We've got to stop this
00:29:29.61\00:29:30.65
or He's going to
change the whole nation. "
00:29:30.85\00:29:33.38
And so it says here:
00:29:33.58\00:29:35.09
Said: "Don't you understand that
it's better that one person die
00:29:58.34\00:30:03.19
than for the whole
nation? " Because he said:
00:30:03.39\00:30:05.49
"If this Man's going to
keep preaching like He is,
00:30:05.52\00:30:08.02
He's going to bring the
Roman government down on us.
00:30:08.22\00:30:10.27
And rather than
the whole nation perish
00:30:10.47\00:30:12.96
much better that He dies. "
00:30:13.16\00:30:14.73
He made that prophecy.
00:30:29.11\00:30:31.73
A few weeks later...
a little time later...
00:30:31.93\00:30:36.54
Jesus is being tried
00:30:36.74\00:30:40.20
and they have brought Him in
before Caiaphas the high priest.
00:30:40.40\00:30:45.00
And Caiaphas is upset
00:30:45.20\00:30:50.37
because Christ was there.
00:30:50.58\00:30:53.43
They brought
witnesses against Him,
00:30:53.63\00:30:56.05
but He didn't
answer them anything.
00:30:56.26\00:30:58.42
He didn't say anything to them.
00:30:58.62\00:31:00.16
And Caiaphas finally charged Him
00:31:00.37\00:31:03.97
under the authority
of heaven to answer.
00:31:04.17\00:31:07.52
When He did...
Christ answered him.
00:31:09.32\00:31:11.11
But Christ said
this to Caiaphas:
00:31:11.31\00:31:13.83
He asked Him point blank:
"Are You the Son of God? "
00:31:18.33\00:31:20.93
And He said: "It
is as you said. "
00:31:21.13\00:31:22.96
He said: "Caiaphas, YOU
are going to see Me come back
00:31:42.57\00:31:48.12
in the clouds of heaven. "
00:31:48.32\00:31:50.43
Oh, they were
digging here a while back
00:31:50.63\00:31:54.74
south of the old
city of Jerusalem.
00:31:54.94\00:31:57.42
And as they were digging,
they came across these boxes.
00:31:57.62\00:32:02.81
Found about twelve of them.
00:32:03.02\00:32:06.21
Twelve boxes. And in these boxes
00:32:06.42\00:32:08.90
as they opened
them, they found the bones
00:32:09.11\00:32:12.30
of people that had died and all.
00:32:12.50\00:32:15.86
But there was one box...
00:32:16.06\00:32:18.33
one box that was
especially nice...
00:32:18.53\00:32:22.65
decorated beautifully.
00:32:22.85\00:32:24.50
That's Caiaphas's coffin.
00:32:26.09\00:32:29.13
Not only did they find it there,
00:32:29.33\00:32:31.46
but it had his
full name written on it.
00:32:31.66\00:32:34.09
And they've examined the bones;
they found it fits the age.
00:32:34.29\00:32:37.86
It fits him perfectly.
00:32:38.06\00:32:39.97
In fact, this is the
only case that we have, folks,
00:32:40.17\00:32:43.83
of the remains of someone who is
actually mentioned in the Bible
00:32:44.03\00:32:48.37
is Caiaphas.
00:32:48.57\00:32:50.28
There's his tomb
there... or his coffin.
00:32:50.48\00:32:54.71
And Christ said: "You, Caiaphas,
00:32:54.91\00:32:57.65
are going to be
resurrected to see Me come. "
00:32:57.85\00:33:01.93
Prophecy of the
scripture. Archaeology.
00:33:02.13\00:33:05.99
You know, somebody would
say: "Well, who was Caiaphas? "
00:33:06.19\00:33:08.37
You can't deny it. There he is
00:33:08.57\00:33:10.35
waiting for that day to
come when Christ will come back.
00:33:10.55\00:33:14.97
So we have the Word of
God over and over proven
00:33:15.17\00:33:19.60
time and time again.
00:33:19.80\00:33:21.64
Another case in scripture
where archaeology has shown us
00:33:21.84\00:33:25.66
what has taken
place is the case of Lot.
00:33:25.86\00:33:29.76
Abraham's nephew.
00:33:29.96\00:33:33.07
Abraham had told
him... Said: "Lot,
00:33:51.19\00:33:54.31
if you want to go to the
left hand, I'll go to the right.
00:33:54.34\00:33:58.10
If you want to go to the
right, I'll go to the left. "
00:33:58.30\00:34:00.00
Because their flocks and
all had increased so much
00:34:00.21\00:34:03.43
that there was not room for
both of them to dwell together.
00:34:03.63\00:34:06.91
So they had to separate.
00:34:07.11\00:34:08.44
And Lot chose the
fertile plains of the Jordan.
00:34:08.64\00:34:14.25
This was beautiful, folks.
00:34:14.46\00:34:16.56
This is... this is not like it
00:34:16.77\00:34:18.54
is today. I mean, it was
beautiful then and everything.
00:34:18.74\00:34:22.55
So Lot went down and dwelt
there in the plains of Jordan
00:34:22.75\00:34:27.28
and went to the city of Sodom...
where he lived with his family.
00:34:27.48\00:34:32.03
OK? Well, as you
know the Bible story,
00:34:32.23\00:34:35.72
Sodom and
Gomorrah became so wicked
00:34:35.92\00:34:38.62
that finally God said:
"I'm going to destroy it. "
00:34:38.82\00:34:42.83
And He sent angels
down to get Lot and his wife
00:34:43.23\00:34:49.22
and his daughters and
get them out of the country.
00:34:49.42\00:34:52.41
Well, it says
this is what happened:
00:34:52.81\00:34:56.25
Now He had told Lot...
those angels had told Lot
00:35:01.50\00:35:04.07
"You get out of here. "
00:35:04.27\00:35:05.99
In fact, they told him
to flee up to the mountains
00:35:06.19\00:35:07.77
and he said: "Well,
can I just go to Zoar? "
00:35:07.97\00:35:09.63
And they gave him
permission to do that.
00:35:09.83\00:35:12.30
And when that happened,
then fire and brimstone
00:35:12.51\00:35:16.56
was rained down.
00:35:16.76\00:35:17.99
Now listen carefully.
00:35:24.06\00:35:25.51
Says He overthrew it.
He sent fire and brimstone.
00:35:41.51\00:35:45.30
Burned it all up.
00:35:45.50\00:35:47.52
There were five
cities there, folks.
00:35:47.72\00:35:50.75
Five cites. Now
you and I today think,
00:35:50.95\00:35:54.26
you know, five cities there...
00:35:54.29\00:35:55.54
these were just
small cities there.
00:35:55.74\00:35:59.56
I want to share
something with you.
00:35:59.76\00:36:01.53
These five cities are in
the lower end of the Dead Sea.
00:36:01.73\00:36:07.72
That's where they were.
00:36:07.82\00:36:08.89
It's probably kind of hard
for you to see here on the map,
00:36:09.20\00:36:13.75
but if you can look at it there
00:36:13.96\00:36:16.24
you can see where it says Moab.
00:36:16.44\00:36:18.28
Well below it, you have
00:36:18.39\00:36:19.76
five cities listed there.
00:36:19.96\00:36:21.55
OK. Five cities.
00:36:21.75\00:36:24.40
That first city is Sodom.
00:36:24.60\00:36:27.66
OK? The first one there.
00:36:27.86\00:36:30.99
Then the others make up Gomorrah
00:36:31.19\00:36:33.07
and three other cities.
00:36:33.27\00:36:35.03
If you look at it on a
kind of a topographical map,
00:36:35.24\00:36:39.97
it would look like
this. And this is where
00:36:40.00\00:36:42.17
Sodom would be right at the top.
00:36:42.37\00:36:44.72
Now it's interesting
that archaeologists have found
00:36:44.92\00:36:50.17
in the city that
represents Sodom...
00:36:50.37\00:36:53.46
they've gone in and as
they have now begun to excavate
00:36:53.66\00:36:57.48
they found the
cemetery for Sodom.
00:36:57.68\00:37:02.66
And in that cemetery they found
a half a million people buried.
00:37:03.06\00:37:09.02
That's not it.
00:37:10.75\00:37:13.15
They have gone, and in
two more of those cities
00:37:13.35\00:37:16.94
they found cemeteries.
00:37:17.14\00:37:19.18
And each one of those cemeteries
have over half a million people.
00:37:19.38\00:37:23.26
They found 1,500,000 graves
00:37:24.25\00:37:30.18
of people that
lived in those cities.
00:37:30.38\00:37:32.69
So when it speaks of
those cities of the plain
00:37:32.90\00:37:36.38
these weren't just
little things. These were huge
00:37:36.58\00:37:39.49
cities that were destroyed.
00:37:39.69\00:37:42.01
Burned up.
Today they're there...
00:37:42.21\00:37:45.97
nothing's there.
Strictly a desert.
00:37:46.17\00:37:49.53
Nothing there anymore.
00:37:49.73\00:37:51.35
But God said this
is what would happen.
00:37:51.55\00:37:54.27
And true to God's
Word, it took place
00:37:54.48\00:37:57.10
just exactly as
God said it would.
00:37:57.30\00:38:00.17
Well, another way that
you can know your Bible's true
00:38:00.94\00:38:04.07
is it says: "By their
fruits you shall know them. "
00:38:04.27\00:38:07.83
See? In other
words, what is the fruit?
00:38:08.03\00:38:11.76
What... what kind of
thing does this book produce?
00:38:13.89\00:38:18.32
What takes place when
people read the Word of God?
00:38:18.52\00:38:22.20
Jesus gave us an
indication of what takes place.
00:38:22.40\00:38:26.51
And it says:
00:38:26.61\00:38:27.65
I have found that wherever
00:38:55.22\00:38:59.57
the gospel has
gone in and preached
00:38:59.77\00:39:03.59
there has been a
dramatic change in the people.
00:39:03.79\00:39:08.57
I found that in
place of bondage,
00:39:08.77\00:39:12.75
they have liberty.
00:39:12.96\00:39:14.80
In place of
depression, they have joy.
00:39:15.00\00:39:19.42
All those things change. As
a person comes to the gospel,
00:39:19.62\00:39:25.25
it changes the life,
it changes the community.
00:39:25.46\00:39:28.35
I've found that where the gospel
has gone in and been preached
00:39:28.55\00:39:31.72
then the whole
community changed.
00:39:31.92\00:39:36.56
Things completely turned around.
00:39:36.76\00:39:39.08
To give you kind of an example
of what I'm talking about,
00:39:39.28\00:39:42.63
I don't know how many of
you have ever read the book
00:39:42.83\00:39:46.16
or saw the movie
Mutiny on the Bounty.
00:39:46.36\00:39:48.69
But if you remember the story,
00:39:48.89\00:39:51.42
old Captain Bligh
had been commissioned
00:39:51.62\00:39:56.82
to go to the Indies
00:39:57.02\00:40:02.21
and to get breadfruit trees
00:40:02.41\00:40:05.34
and bring them back to England.
00:40:05.54\00:40:07.35
Captain Bligh
hired himself a crew
00:40:08.55\00:40:14.48
and they set sail.
00:40:14.51\00:40:16.66
But old Captain
Bligh was ornery.
00:40:16.86\00:40:20.98
Not just ornery, he
was just downright mean.
00:40:21.18\00:40:24.89
And for any
kind of a misdemeanor
00:40:25.09\00:40:28.65
he would beat them. Treated
them horrible in every way.
00:40:28.85\00:40:33.24
And finally after
sailing for quite some time
00:40:33.44\00:40:38.84
they reached Tahiti,
and they stayed there.
00:40:39.04\00:40:43.55
And they stayed there, folks,
for... oh, I don't remember,
00:40:43.65\00:40:46.48
but... six months? Eight months?
00:40:46.68\00:40:49.36
They stayed there
quite a long time.
00:40:49.56\00:40:51.57
And they gathered breadfruit
trees and loaded up the Bounty
00:40:51.77\00:40:56.88
with these breadfruit trees.
00:40:57.08\00:40:58.55
And then they set sail
headed back to England.
00:40:58.75\00:41:04.35
The old captain, when they
were on land, wasn't too bad.
00:41:05.48\00:41:09.49
But when they started
sailing, he was horrible.
00:41:09.69\00:41:12.96
And for instance,
when they got low on water,
00:41:13.16\00:41:18.06
it was more important to
him that the breadfruit trees be
00:41:18.26\00:41:21.73
watered than to
have water for the crew.
00:41:21.93\00:41:25.10
And... and if they
did something wrong,
00:41:25.30\00:41:28.66
they were strapped
to the mast and beaten.
00:41:28.86\00:41:30.98
This went on so much
00:41:31.19\00:41:33.72
that they finally
rebelled and mutinied.
00:41:33.92\00:41:37.99
They just said: "We're not
going to put up with this. "
00:41:38.19\00:41:40.39
They took the
captain, if I remember right...
00:41:40.59\00:41:43.30
they took him and 19
other sailors that weren't...
00:41:43.50\00:41:47.04
didn't want to be
involved in the mutiny...
00:41:47.24\00:41:48.94
and put them over the
side of the ship in a long boat
00:41:49.14\00:41:52.52
and said "goodbye"
to them and sailed off.
00:41:52.73\00:41:55.15
By the way, that old captain
was such a fantastic sailor
00:41:55.35\00:41:59.76
that he sailed...
erected a sail on that long boat
00:41:59.97\00:42:03.47
and sailed it clear to shore...
00:42:03.67\00:42:05.55
which was 1,500 miles!
00:42:05.76\00:42:07.58
You know... So,
fantastic sailor.
00:42:07.78\00:42:10.48
But anyhow, they knew that
their lives were at stake now
00:42:10.68\00:42:16.03
and they knew that the penalty
for mutiny was to be hung.
00:42:16.23\00:42:20.02
And so they took the Bounty and
they began to make one island
00:42:20.22\00:42:24.12
after another
around the country.
00:42:24.23\00:42:26.63
And finally they came to
this little island that was
00:42:26.83\00:42:32.81
uninhabited,
00:42:33.01\00:42:34.57
and they decided
they would stay there.
00:42:34.77\00:42:37.00
And this little
island is called Pitcairn.
00:42:37.20\00:42:40.16
They fought... they got drunk
on all these different islands
00:42:45.41\00:42:51.18
they went to. And
they fought one another
00:42:51.28\00:42:53.35
and killed one another, and
stayed and did different things
00:42:53.56\00:42:57.14
until when they got
to the Pitcairn Island
00:42:57.34\00:42:59.37
there wasn't too
many of them left.
00:42:59.47\00:43:01.26
Anyhow, they took the
Bounty and they sailed it into
00:43:01.46\00:43:05.60
Bounty Bay, and they burned it.
00:43:05.80\00:43:08.77
And they moved onto the
island, and that was it.
00:43:08.97\00:43:12.95
Lived there. They
continued to be drunk
00:43:12.98\00:43:17.23
and continued to do
the things that they did.
00:43:17.43\00:43:20.09
And it was so bad that
they killed each other off
00:43:20.29\00:43:25.27
until finally there
wasn't anything left but two men
00:43:25.47\00:43:29.64
and five women.
00:43:29.84\00:43:31.01
And those women were
so sick and tired of them
00:43:31.22\00:43:34.21
they decided they were
going to kill those two men.
00:43:34.41\00:43:36.49
And... and they
made an effort to do that
00:43:36.69\00:43:40.63
and they got so
close to accomplishing it
00:43:40.83\00:43:44.15
that it scared those fellows.
00:43:44.35\00:43:46.08
And so happened that they had
taken the stuff off the Bounty
00:43:46.28\00:43:50.79
and in an old
trunk they found a Bible.
00:43:50.99\00:43:54.17
Captain Bligh's old Bible which
is what you see right there.
00:43:54.37\00:43:59.14
And those men read it,
and it converted both of them.
00:43:59.34\00:44:03.91
And one decided he
would become the teacher;
00:44:04.11\00:44:08.26
the other decided he would
kind of become the preacher.
00:44:08.46\00:44:10.57
And so they did
that, and time forgot them.
00:44:10.77\00:44:15.12
Time forgot them.
00:44:15.32\00:44:16.73
And years and
years and years passed.
00:44:16.93\00:44:20.43
Nobody knew what
had happened to them.
00:44:20.63\00:44:22.45
And one day an English
vessel was sailing from England
00:44:22.65\00:44:26.10
to the United States and they
were charting uncharted islands,
00:44:26.30\00:44:31.42
and they found
this little island.
00:44:31.62\00:44:33.87
The captain of the
vessel had them stop,
00:44:34.07\00:44:36.35
and he sent some
sailors to shore.
00:44:36.55\00:44:38.47
And of course they expected
to find natives on the island.
00:44:38.67\00:44:43.18
They expected to
find cannibalism...
00:44:43.38\00:44:45.60
which was prevalent in
that part of the world and all.
00:44:45.80\00:44:48.43
And they got to the
shore and walked up the sandbar
00:44:48.63\00:44:52.72
and looked over. And lo and
behold, here was a compound.
00:44:52.92\00:44:56.35
Here was people
in it... clothed.
00:44:56.55\00:45:00.67
In the middle
of it was a church.
00:45:00.87\00:45:02.98
And above everything
else, they spoke English.
00:45:03.18\00:45:06.51
And it... they couldn't
imagine what had happened.
00:45:06.71\00:45:10.96
But you see, the Word of
God had changed their lives.
00:45:11.16\00:45:15.62
Made them different.
00:45:15.82\00:45:17.54
That's what it does
over and over and over.
00:45:17.74\00:45:20.88
It changes people's
lives... makes them different.
00:45:21.08\00:45:24.41
Makes them better.
00:45:24.61\00:45:26.27
This is what the Word of
God can do for you and for me:
00:45:26.47\00:45:31.29
it changes our lives.
00:45:31.43\00:45:33.23
Makes us different than we were.
00:45:33.43\00:45:35.69
Better than we were by far.
00:45:35.89\00:45:38.88
So those are some
things that change.
00:45:39.08\00:45:42.42
Not only does it change our
lives but it makes us different.
00:45:42.62\00:45:45.99
It gives us wonderful promises.
00:45:46.19\00:45:47.99
It says this:
00:45:48.09\00:45:49.19
I don't know. Have
you ever experienced that?
00:45:57.82\00:45:59.69
You know, when you came
to Christ how things changed
00:46:01.54\00:46:05.18
so completely?
00:46:05.38\00:46:06.48
No longer the same.
00:46:06.51\00:46:08.26
Changed your life.
00:46:08.47\00:46:10.53
Certainly has
done that in my life.
00:46:10.73\00:46:13.56
Changed it. And I've had the
00:46:13.77\00:46:15.36
privilege for years now
00:46:15.46\00:46:18.61
to go different places
00:46:18.81\00:46:21.14
to proclaim the Word of God
00:46:21.34\00:46:23.57
and see the lives of
men and women changed.
00:46:23.77\00:46:28.17
Made different
by the Word of God.
00:46:28.37\00:46:31.30
What a wonderful opportunity
that is for each of us
00:46:31.50\00:46:35.22
to see the change that
takes place in people's lives.
00:46:35.42\00:46:39.43
We were holding
meetings in Costa Rica.
00:46:39.63\00:46:44.02
And there... they
couldn't find a building
00:46:45.05\00:46:50.26
that... to hold the meeting in,
00:46:50.46\00:46:52.56
so they decided they would
erect one, they'd build one.
00:46:52.77\00:46:56.21
And so they built this building
to hold the meetings in.
00:46:56.41\00:47:00.02
And I guess that it
attracted enough people there
00:47:00.23\00:47:03.78
that anyhow... the opening
night - or all the way through
00:47:03.98\00:47:07.53
the whole crusade - it
was just absolutely packed.
00:47:07.73\00:47:10.43
I mean, full of people.
00:47:10.63\00:47:12.04
So much so that
young men even crawled up
00:47:12.24\00:47:14.96
and sat in the rafters and all.
00:47:15.16\00:47:17.60
And we were
just... enjoyed being there
00:47:17.80\00:47:20.80
and watching the
reaction of the people.
00:47:21.00\00:47:24.80
In fact, that meeting we saw
00:47:25.00\00:47:30.55
more business
people - nurses, doctors,
00:47:30.75\00:47:36.66
lawyers and those type
of people - come to the Lord
00:47:36.86\00:47:39.88
than any meeting I've ever held.
00:47:40.08\00:47:42.25
In mean, they came
by the hundreds there.
00:47:42.45\00:47:46.29
We enjoyed being there.
00:47:46.43\00:47:47.97
But one night after
the close of the meeting
00:47:48.17\00:47:52.06
this old lady came
up to me, grandmother,
00:47:52.26\00:47:55.45
and... crying. And
she said: "Brother Cox,
00:47:55.65\00:48:00.04
will you pray for my
grandson? He's a drunkard. "
00:48:00.24\00:48:04.53
Said: "He's a
drunkard. " And she said:
00:48:04.73\00:48:08.29
"He's lost his home.
His wife has left him,
00:48:08.49\00:48:13.82
taken the children.
He doesn't have anything.
00:48:14.02\00:48:17.77
He's lost everything.
00:48:17.97\00:48:19.79
And if he doesn't change,
he's going to lose his job.
00:48:19.99\00:48:23.74
So would you be
willing to pray for him? "
00:48:23.94\00:48:27.63
And I assured her I
would be happy to pray for him.
00:48:27.83\00:48:30.91
A few days later I was
actually holding a meeting
00:48:31.11\00:48:36.96
with some ministers. We
were having what we called
00:48:37.16\00:48:39.40
a worker's meeting,
and I was talking to them.
00:48:39.60\00:48:41.79
And while I was talking to
them one of my team members
00:48:41.99\00:48:44.84
came up to me and said:
00:48:45.04\00:48:46.71
"There's
somebody out in the foyer
00:48:46.91\00:48:48.46
that wants to talk to you. "
00:48:48.66\00:48:50.07
So I turned the
meeting over to the team member
00:48:50.27\00:48:52.96
and I walked out to the foyer.
00:48:53.16\00:48:55.22
And there, having
trouble standing up,
00:48:55.25\00:48:59.50
was this man.
00:48:59.70\00:49:01.62
Drunk as could be.
00:49:01.82\00:49:04.66
So drunk that his
speech was slurred
00:49:04.86\00:49:08.96
and you had even a
hard time understanding him.
00:49:09.16\00:49:12.60
But between his crying and
his slurs and his drunkenness
00:49:12.80\00:49:18.12
he poured out his soul
that he had just been fired
00:49:18.32\00:49:22.89
from his job.
00:49:23.09\00:49:24.26
And of course as
he told me all this
00:49:24.46\00:49:26.72
I put together that this
was the grandmother's grandson.
00:49:26.92\00:49:31.70
And begged, you know,
saying: "Do something for me.
00:49:31.90\00:49:37.24
Help me. I've wrecked my life.
00:49:37.44\00:49:38.80
I've done all this.
I've ruined everything... "
00:49:39.00\00:49:41.49
and just cried.
00:49:41.69\00:49:42.78
What do you say to
somebody that's so drunk?
00:49:42.98\00:49:45.67
You know? What can you say?
00:49:45.87\00:49:48.11
I said: "Well...
" said to myself...
00:49:48.31\00:49:50.63
"just tell him to go home.
00:49:50.83\00:49:53.42
Go home and sober up,
00:49:53.63\00:49:55.87
and when you're sober,
come back and talk to me
00:49:56.07\00:49:58.56
and I'll be glad
to visit with you. "
00:49:58.76\00:50:00.33
I thought about
that, and I thought
00:50:00.53\00:50:03.23
"what do you have to lose?
00:50:03.43\00:50:06.40
What do you have to lose?
00:50:06.61\00:50:08.92
So you talk to him and he
doesn't remember one solitary
00:50:09.12\00:50:13.30
thing you said to
him, what have you lost? "
00:50:13.50\00:50:15.87
Thought about that
and said: "Nothing. "
00:50:18.76\00:50:20.84
So I said to him: "Sit down. "
00:50:21.04\00:50:23.38
Had him sit down,
and in his drunken state
00:50:23.58\00:50:27.51
I just very simply
went through the gospel
00:50:27.71\00:50:32.77
and explained to
him what it meant
00:50:32.97\00:50:36.36
to accept Jesus Christ.
00:50:36.57\00:50:37.72
And there in his drunkenness
00:50:37.93\00:50:41.20
he gave his heart to the Lord.
00:50:41.40\00:50:43.48
When we were
through as he staggered off
00:50:46.84\00:50:51.82
I thought "well, probably
won't remember anything I said
00:50:52.83\00:50:58.34
to him. Won't remember a thing
that I went through with him. "
00:50:58.44\00:51:01.58
This was a large meeting, folks.
00:51:01.78\00:51:06.48
We had lots of people coming
00:51:06.68\00:51:09.83
and the building was
packed every night and so forth.
00:51:10.03\00:51:13.15
I didn't see him again.
00:51:13.45\00:51:15.89
All during the
meetings I didn't see him.
00:51:16.09\00:51:18.14
We got down to the
end of the meetings
00:51:18.34\00:51:21.12
and we're... I'm
going through line
00:51:21.32\00:51:26.54
greeting all these people
that are going to be baptized.
00:51:26.74\00:51:30.09
And there's over 500 of them
lined up there that are being
00:51:30.29\00:51:34.62
baptized. And as I'm
going through the line
00:51:34.82\00:51:37.75
shaking their hand
and all, there he stood.
00:51:37.95\00:51:40.57
You know.
Bright-eyed. Clear in every way.
00:51:40.77\00:51:45.09
And I said to him:
"What are you doing here? "
00:51:45.29\00:51:48.24
And he said... "Oh, " he said,
00:51:48.27\00:51:51.10
after you told me about
Christ and I accepted Him, "
00:51:51.30\00:51:54.68
he said, "
everything has changed. "
00:51:54.88\00:51:57.41
"Everything's changed
in my life, " he said.
00:51:57.61\00:51:59.90
"I got my job back.
My wife's come back.
00:52:00.10\00:52:02.91
I've got my home
back, my children back. "
00:52:03.11\00:52:05.34
He said: "Everything
has changed in my life. "
00:52:05.54\00:52:08.16
That's what the
gospel does for people.
00:52:08.36\00:52:12.36
It changes their life.
00:52:12.57\00:52:14.07
Say what you
want to, dear friend,
00:52:14.27\00:52:16.53
but I can tell you
when the Word of God
00:52:16.74\00:52:19.27
comes to the
heart of an individual
00:52:19.47\00:52:22.35
and he accepts
Christ as his Savior,
00:52:22.55\00:52:24.74
a decided change takes place.
00:52:24.94\00:52:27.82
To me that is proof that indeed
00:52:28.02\00:52:32.86
it is true. That
you and I can trust it.
00:52:33.06\00:52:37.22
We can believe it. That
God has given us something
00:52:37.42\00:52:40.54
to guide and direct our lives.
00:52:40.64\00:52:42.49
So if you ask me, I'll tell you:
00:52:42.69\00:52:45.04
Give Me The Bible.
00:52:45.24\00:52:46.40
Give me the Bible,
00:52:49.54\00:52:53.42
lamp of life immortal.
00:52:53.62\00:52:57.54
Hold up that splendor
00:52:57.84\00:53:01.94
by the open grave.
00:53:02.24\00:53:06.53
Show me the light from
00:53:07.21\00:53:11.25
heaven's shining portal.
00:53:11.55\00:53:15.49
Show me the glory
00:53:15.79\00:53:19.97
gilding Jordan's wave.
00:53:20.27\00:53:25.07
Give me the Bible,
00:53:25.76\00:53:30.04
holy message shining.
00:53:30.34\00:53:34.44
Thy light shall guide me
00:53:34.74\00:53:39.28
in the narrow way.
00:53:39.58\00:53:43.75
Precept and promise,
00:53:44.42\00:53:48.86
law and love combining.
00:53:49.16\00:53:53.38
Till night shall vanish
00:53:53.68\00:53:58.37
in eternal day.
00:53:58.67\00:54:04.62
There may be some of you
00:54:07.03\00:54:08.62
who have questions
about the scripture.
00:54:08.82\00:54:12.65
Maybe in the past
you've wondered if it could be
00:54:12.96\00:54:16.15
trusted or if it was true.
00:54:16.35\00:54:17.73
And today you can
see that without question
00:54:17.76\00:54:22.04
you can place your
faith in the Word of God
00:54:22.24\00:54:25.32
and you would just like to
00:54:25.52\00:54:26.74
reach out and accept Jesus
00:54:26.84\00:54:29.31
Christ as your personal Savior.
00:54:29.41\00:54:31.33
There may be some of
you here in the audience
00:54:31.53\00:54:33.60
that have never done that:
never surrendered your life
00:54:33.80\00:54:37.80
to Jesus Christ and
said: "Yes, I'm going to follow
00:54:38.00\00:54:40.76
the Word of God. "
00:54:40.97\00:54:42.03
Or you may be
watching by television
00:54:42.06\00:54:44.01
and you have questions
and you've seen that the
00:54:44.21\00:54:47.91
Word of God is there and some-
thing that you can depend on.
00:54:48.01\00:54:50.95
Or if you're listening by radio,
00:54:51.15\00:54:52.98
today I'd like to
invite you just in simple faith
00:54:53.18\00:54:57.82
to reach out and say:
"Yes, Lord, I accept You
00:54:58.02\00:55:02.20
into my heart as
my personal Savior"
00:55:02.30\00:55:04.48
and give your life to Him.
00:55:04.68\00:55:06.37
I'll assure you, dear friend,
00:55:06.57\00:55:08.37
it will change
things... make it different...
00:55:08.57\00:55:11.53
and give you... give
you hope, give you faith,
00:55:11.73\00:55:16.02
give you assurance that
God cares for you and loves you
00:55:16.22\00:55:20.15
in a very
special way. Let us pray.
00:55:20.35\00:55:23.20
Heavenly Father, as we have seen
00:55:23.50\00:55:26.91
things that tell
us without question
00:55:27.11\00:55:30.82
that this book is true
00:55:31.02\00:55:33.39
and that by it we can know You,
00:55:33.59\00:55:38.45
the only true
God in Jesus Christ,
00:55:38.65\00:55:41.66
whom You sent here
to save each one of us,
00:55:41.86\00:55:45.27
may each one here
today reach out in faith
00:55:45.47\00:55:48.26
and accept You into their
heart as their personal Savior
00:55:48.47\00:55:52.13
and be willing to follow You.
00:55:52.33\00:55:54.35
For this we ask in
Christ's name, Amen.
00:55:54.55\00:55:58.64
God bless you. Have a great day.
00:55:58.94\00:56:01.44
Stay close to Jesus.
00:56:01.64\00:56:03.23
Water can be both
inspiring and awesome.
00:56:05.18\00:56:09.11
As it flows from the
hills and the mountains
00:56:09.14\00:56:11.74
water changes the
destiny of every living creature
00:56:11.94\00:56:16.23
it comes in contact with.
00:56:16.43\00:56:18.49
Not a single living thing
00:56:18.69\00:56:20.18
can survive
without water for long.
00:56:20.38\00:56:23.21
But despite its beauty
00:56:23.41\00:56:25.13
the power of water can
cut channels through rocks
00:56:25.33\00:56:28.22
and change the
landscape forever.
00:56:28.42\00:56:31.48
In John chapter 7
00:56:31.78\00:56:33.62
Jesus stood and
cried out saying:
00:56:33.82\00:56:36.03
"If anyone thirst, let
him come to Me and drink.
00:56:36.23\00:56:39.94
He who believes in Me,
as the scripture has said,
00:56:40.14\00:56:43.44
out of his heart will
flow rivers of living water. "
00:56:43.64\00:56:47.47
As He did so many times,
00:56:47.67\00:56:49.92
Jesus explained the
spiritual things of God
00:56:50.12\00:56:53.18
through nature...
like flowing water.
00:56:53.38\00:56:55.89
This living water is
a life-changing source.
00:56:56.09\00:57:00.10
It can change the
landscape of our lives
00:57:00.30\00:57:02.86
and flow through us to
change the lives of others.
00:57:03.06\00:57:07.06
Folks, we all
need water to live...
00:57:08.10\00:57:12.74
but we also need living water.
00:57:12.94\00:57:16.07
Jesus is that living water,
00:57:16.27\00:57:18.43
and through His Spirit we can
bring life to those around us.
00:57:18.63\00:57:22.52
The only goal we
have at this ministry
00:57:22.72\00:57:25.60
is to offer living
water to all mankind.
00:57:25.80\00:57:29.44
There are
thousands - no millions -
00:57:29.64\00:57:33.16
who still long for this
water: the living water of life.
00:57:33.36\00:57:37.62
Won't you help us
quench their thirst?
00:57:37.82\00:57:40.68
Please consider what you can do
00:57:40.88\00:57:42.48
for those who still
don't know about Jesus.
00:57:42.68\00:57:44.90
As the Holy Spirit impresses,
00:57:45.10\00:57:46.97
please send your
tax-deductible gifts to:
00:57:47.17\00:57:49.28
Thank you for helping us
spread the light of God's Word
00:58:01.35\00:58:03.72
through television and radio.
00:58:03.92\00:58:05.49
Your gifts help bring
the blessed hope of salvation
00:58:05.67\00:58:07.88
to millions around the world.
00:58:08.08\00:58:10.51