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>>John Bradshaw:
This is It Is Written.
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I'm john Bradshaw,
thanks for joining me.
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Life was hard
for 5 year old Saroo.
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He lived in a small village,
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in poverty,
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in India.
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One of four children
being raised by a single mother.
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Dad had abandoned the family
a couple of years earlier.
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Saroo's older brother
was the man of the family
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at nine years of age,
and he'd search trains
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for money that passengers
had dropped while traveling.
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One day the older
brother took Saroo
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along looking for
money on the trains.
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The two boys became separated,
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and the little boy
fell asleep on a train,
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he ended up a
thousand miles from home
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totally and
utterly lost in Calcutta,
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where ultimately he was adopted
by a family from Australia.
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They took him to start a
new life in Hobart, Tasmania.
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Have you ever been
really, really lost?
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A friend and I
couldn't find a out way out
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of the old city of Jerusalem.
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So I said, "Follow me."
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“Easy.”
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And it was.
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We went this way, we
turned left, walked some more,
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we turned left or
maybe it was right
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and we walked and we
walked and we walked,
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and eventually things
started to look familiar.
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Very familiar.
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We ended up
exactly where we'd started.
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Still lost, with no
idea how to get unlost!
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The Bible tells us
in Luke 19 and verse 10
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that “the Son of man is
come to seek and to save
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that which was lost.”
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Which is just as well.
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Because when sin
entered the world,
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human beings were absolutely
and totally and completely lost,
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with nothing they could do
get themselves found again.
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Much like the little
Indian boy who found himself
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in a strange city, among people
who didn't speak his language,
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living in an orphanage,
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wondering if he'd
ever see his family again.
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The Bible tells a
story about a lost boy.
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The story is known as
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“The Prodigal Son”
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and we'll look at the
story as part of our series,
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“Lessons for All Time”.
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We find the story in Luke
chapter 15, starting in verse 11
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Then He said: “A
certain man had two sons.
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And the younger of
them said to his father,
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‘Father, give me the portion
of goods that falls to me.'
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So he divided to
them his livelihood.
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And not many days after,
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the younger son
gathered all together,
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journeyed to a far country,
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and there wasted his possessions
with prodigal living.
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And when he had spent all,
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there arose a
severe famine in that land,
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and he began to be in want.
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Then he went and joined himself
to a citizen of that country,
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and he sent him into
his fields to feed swine.
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And he would gladly
have filled his stomach
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with the pods
that the swine ate,
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and no one gave him anything.
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Now let's try to get
inside this story a bit.
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A young man
approaches his father, he says,
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“I want my portion
of the inheritance.”
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Now usually a
son wouldn't get that
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until after his father was dead,
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so in effect the son is saying,
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“I wish you were dead.
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And I can't wait
until you're gone
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so I can get my hands on
my share of your estate.”
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Man, that's disrespectful.
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So what did the father do?
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He gave the son
what he was asking for.
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And it wasn't long
before the boy was gone,
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sounds a whole lot like
he didn't even look back.
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Not completely surprising.
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Young people will want to
leave home because they think
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it's going to be more
fun ‘out there' in the world.
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This young man wasn't
the first to think that way.
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There've been a
lot of young men,
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young women too, for that matter
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who've left home
only to find out later
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that life at home
was really pretty good.
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But home can seem
so... restricting.
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Parents have rules
and they sometimes insist
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that those rules be obeyed,
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while there's so much
out there in the world.
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So much “fun” to have.
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It doesn't always work out how
you think its gonna work out.
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It was a good life for
a while for the young man.
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And it was fun
while the money lasted.
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You can imagine can't you;
lots of friends, fast cars,
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fast chariots? I don't know.
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An apartment in a
fashionable part of town,
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shopping for the,
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for the hipster look,
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nights spent out clubbing...
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But his lifestyle
caught up with the young man
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and before long
he was flat broke,
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and so desperate for money
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he has to take a
job feeding pigs;
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a tremendous fall for a
boy from a Jewish family.
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He had to eat pig food,
because there wasn't a soul
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who would give
him anything to eat.
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Now that's how it
often is, spiritually.
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You have someone who
feels restricted in his
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or her Heavenly Father's house,
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and comes to the point where
they say, “I am outta here.”
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And off they go,
leaving church behind,
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leaving the Bible behind and
trying to leave their conscience
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behind in the
pursuit of pleasure.
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But that fun can
wear off pretty quickly.
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When the money runs out
and the friends aren't anywhere
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to be found and you get
evicted from your apartment and
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that nice car is repoed,
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what then?
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You can start to think
about how good you had it,
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back in your Father's
house where you were accepted
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and loved, at the
very least by God.
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What then?
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The Bible tells
us what happens next.
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We start reading in verse 17.
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“But when he came
to himself, he said,
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‘How many of my
father's hired servants
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have bread enough and to
spare, and I perish with hunger!
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I will arise and go to my
father, and will say to him,
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“Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before you,
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and I am no longer
worthy to be called your son.
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Make me like one of
your hired servants.”'
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You can imagine him
sitting, sitting in the pig pen
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thinking this through.
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“Look at me,”
he said to himself.
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“I had everything,
and now I have nothing.
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I'm miles from home
without a friend in the world,
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I've got nothing to
eat and this stinks.”
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But how can he
go back to his Dad?
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He's insulted
his father terribly.
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Word has got back to the family
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about the boy's
terrible lifestyle.
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He's disgraced his home.
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What would you do?
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Would the Father accept
you after all you've done?
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We'll find out in just a moment.
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¤[Music]¤
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>>John: Today,
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Or visit ItIsWritten.com
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¤[Music]¤
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I'm John Bradshaw.
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Thanks for joining
me on It Is Written.
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We continue our series on
the parables of the Bible;
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Lessons for all time.
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looking at the
parable of the Prodigal Son
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a young man who asked his
father for his inheritance,
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left home with a
pocketful of money
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and then plunged
into a life of debauchery.
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And things turned sour for him.
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He burned through his money,
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he lost his friends,
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and when a famine
came he was so desperate
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he took a job feeding
pigs in order to survive.
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Life hit rock bottom.
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What would you be
thinking if you were that boy?
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Would you go home to Dad?
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Well, what else could you do?
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And that's what he figured.
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“What else can I do?”
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I can imagine him
practicing his speech.
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Can't you?
00:10:18.55\00:10:19.35
“Father, I've
sinned against you.
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No, no, no thats not it.
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Father, I've sinned
against heaven, and against you.
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Yes, yes, that's better.
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Against heaven, and against you.
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Yup.
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I'm no longer to
be called your son.
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Right, right, that's
it that's what I'll say.
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That's the right tone.
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That's how I feel too.
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I'll tell the old man to treat
me like one of his servants.
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That's it.
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I'll be a hired servant.
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No inheritance, no authority,
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no say in anything, no nothing.
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After all I've done,
that's all I deserve.
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No longer even
part of the family.”
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So let's read on.
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He starts the walk of
shame, that long journey home.
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He looks different now.
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People saw him heading out of
town with a spring in his step.
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He was off to conquer the world.
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But now he's coming home
with his tail between his legs,
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a picture of despair.
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He's lost money,
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he's lost weight,
00:11:06.56\00:11:07.56
he's lost all respect
anyone ever had for him.
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And he was taking a big risk.
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What if Dad
didn't want him around?
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Verse 20:
00:11:16.20\00:11:17.94
“And he arose and
came to his father.
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But when he was
still a great way off,
00:11:20.68\00:11:22.84
his father saw him
and had compassion,
00:11:22.88\00:11:26.48
and ran and fell on
his neck and kissed him.
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And the son said to him,
00:11:30.32\00:11:31.82
‘Father, I have sinned against
heaven and in your sight,
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and am no longer
worthy to be called your son.'
00:11:35.49\00:11:38.09
“But the father
said to his servants,
00:11:38.13\00:11:40.20
‘Bring out the best
robe and put it on him,
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and put a ring on his
hand and sandals on his feet.
00:11:42.66\00:11:46.00
And bring the fatted
calf here and kill it,
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and let us eat and be merry;
00:11:49.17\00:11:51.84
for this my son was
dead and is alive again;
00:11:51.87\00:11:55.74
he was lost and is found.'
00:11:55.78\00:11:58.65
And they began to be merry.
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There's a lot here, isn't there?
00:12:01.48\00:12:03.15
He's walking home
when his father sees him
00:12:03.18\00:12:05.72
‘a great way off'.
00:12:05.75\00:12:06.82
Which tells us that
somewhere inside the dad
00:12:06.86\00:12:09.56
there was a
longing to see his son.
00:12:09.59\00:12:11.89
He'd look up
the road in the hope
00:12:11.93\00:12:13.09
that he'd see his son again.
00:12:13.13\00:12:14.86
And when he did?
00:12:14.93\00:12:16.56
Now put yourself in
the shoes of the boy.
00:12:16.60\00:12:18.97
You're walking home.
00:12:19.00\00:12:20.04
It has taken every
ounce of self-will you have to
00:12:20.07\00:12:22.44
drag yourself home to dad.
00:12:22.47\00:12:24.74
You know there's a good chance
dad is going to reject you.
00:12:24.77\00:12:29.94
And what does the boy see?
00:12:29.98\00:12:30.88
He sees his father,
running towards him!
00:12:30.91\00:12:34.55
Now I don't know for
sure, but I'm wondering
00:12:34.58\00:12:35.78
if that boy is thinking,
00:12:35.82\00:12:36.72
“Oh no, dad's gonna run me off!”
00:12:36.75\00:12:40.42
But that's not what happens.
00:12:40.46\00:12:41.99
The father embraces the boy.
00:12:42.02\00:12:43.76
He kisses him.
00:12:43.79\00:12:45.03
He puts the signet
ring on his son's finger,
00:12:45.06\00:12:47.40
showing that the
boy has authority.
00:12:47.40\00:12:49.93
Dad ignores what his son
says about being a hired hand.
00:12:49.96\00:12:53.77
After all the wickedness
he's been involved in,
00:12:53.80\00:12:55.67
the father is restoring the boy,
00:12:55.70\00:12:58.41
giving him back his
place in the family.
00:12:58.44\00:13:00.68
No one could have expected this.
00:13:00.71\00:13:02.31
“Slaughter the animal
we've been fattening up
00:13:02.34\00:13:04.05
for a special occasion.
00:13:04.08\00:13:05.35
This is the special
occasion we've been waiting for!
00:13:05.38\00:13:07.55
My son is back from the dead!
00:13:07.58\00:13:09.92
He was lost,
00:13:09.95\00:13:11.39
but now he's found!”
00:13:11.42\00:13:13.86
So the question is,
how does God treat sinners?
00:13:13.89\00:13:17.06
How does God feel
when people who have
00:13:17.09\00:13:18.66
completely failed God
and disgraced themselves
00:13:18.69\00:13:23.13
turn around and
come back to God?
00:13:23.16\00:13:25.33
This story tells us.
00:13:25.37\00:13:27.10
You know, that father in
the story represents God,
00:13:27.14\00:13:29.97
our heavenly Father.
00:13:30.01\00:13:31.81
The Father runs toward his son.
00:13:31.84\00:13:34.64
Now this is the only
time in the entire Bible
00:13:34.68\00:13:36.75
that God is
portrayed as running.
00:13:36.78\00:13:39.01
And what is it
that causes God to run?
00:13:39.05\00:13:41.08
He runs toward a
repentant sinner!
00:13:41.12\00:13:44.52
That's how excited God is
about welcoming a sinner home.
00:13:44.55\00:13:48.26
A Middle Eastern friend of
mine told me once, that when
00:13:48.29\00:13:50.49
he was a boy being raised
in Iraq, men very rarely ran.
00:13:50.53\00:13:55.80
He said it was considered
to be beneath their dignity.
00:13:55.83\00:13:59.00
So for something
to make a man run,
00:13:59.03\00:14:01.84
that's got to be
extremely important.
00:14:01.87\00:14:03.87
Life and death, almost.
00:14:03.91\00:14:05.31
And this is life and death.
00:14:05.34\00:14:06.88
Spiritual life, in the
place of spiritual death.
00:14:06.91\00:14:11.65
And think about this with me.
00:14:11.68\00:14:13.05
The father didn't even
know why the son was back.
00:14:13.08\00:14:15.92
There was no e-mail telling
him his son was coming home
00:14:15.95\00:14:17.95
with a changed heart.
00:14:17.99\00:14:19.49
For all the dad knew, the
boy could have been coming back
00:14:19.52\00:14:21.62
looking for more money,
or just passing through town
00:14:21.66\00:14:24.49
on his way to a party someplace.
00:14:24.53\00:14:26.96
The Father doesn't
interrogate the boy.
00:14:27.00\00:14:28.63
He doesn't say,
00:14:28.66\00:14:29.83
“Are you going to
smarten up your act?”
00:14:29.86\00:14:31.77
He doesn't ask for a
good behavior pledge.
00:14:31.80\00:14:35.00
He's just glad
to see the boy back,
00:14:35.04\00:14:37.77
and he restores him,
00:14:37.81\00:14:38.81
and he welcomes him,
00:14:38.84\00:14:40.84
and let's him know that
he's accepted and loved.
00:14:40.88\00:14:44.55
And that's God!
00:14:44.58\00:14:46.48
You don't want to
waste your time thinking God
00:14:46.51\00:14:48.48
has a score to settle with you.
00:14:48.52\00:14:51.02
You don't want to be
thinking God isn't good,
00:14:51.05\00:14:53.02
or God won't accept you!
00:14:53.05\00:14:55.22
Think of the
disasters God has welcomed back
00:14:55.26\00:14:59.43
after they fell from grace.
00:14:59.46\00:15:01.70
David; an
adulterer and a murderer.
00:15:01.73\00:15:03.57
Moses, a murderer.
00:15:03.60\00:15:05.53
Manasseh.
00:15:05.57\00:15:06.23
Nebuchadnezzar.
00:15:06.27\00:15:06.90
King Solomon.
00:15:06.94\00:15:07.74
These guys had
Ph.Ds in wickedness.
00:15:07.77\00:15:11.17
They had turned
sin into an art form.
00:15:11.21\00:15:14.24
And yet when they turned to God,
00:15:14.28\00:15:16.58
God accepted them.
00:15:16.61\00:15:18.21
God's grace is amazing!
00:15:18.25\00:15:20.32
What He did for
the prodigal son,
00:15:20.35\00:15:21.65
and for David and
Moses and Solomon and Peter
00:15:21.68\00:15:24.02
and Saul; who became Paul,
00:15:24.05\00:15:25.95
and the woman taken in adultery
and the woman at the well
00:15:25.99\00:15:28.32
and so many others,
00:15:28.36\00:15:30.46
He'll do for you, and for
those you love and care about.
00:15:30.49\00:15:34.23
It's that simple.
00:15:34.30\00:15:36.23
Now you know what I've
heard people say so many times?
00:15:36.26\00:15:37.97
They say, “Look at
the Father in that story.
00:15:38.00\00:15:41.20
He waits!
00:15:41.24\00:15:42.57
He waits by the road
hoping to see His boy return.”
00:15:42.60\00:15:47.51
Well, yes, I suppose.
00:15:47.54\00:15:49.61
But that's not the whole story.
00:15:49.64\00:15:51.51
Where was God while
the boy was stewing in sin?
00:15:51.55\00:15:55.72
Its really an
important question.
00:15:55.75\00:15:58.62
We'll find out in just a moment.
00:15:58.65\00:16:00.06
¤[Music]¤
00:16:00.09\00:16:11.50
>>Announcer: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says
00:16:11.53\00:16:13.97
"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:16:14.00\00:16:16.91
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:16:16.94\00:16:21.04
“Every Word” is a one-minute,
00:16:21.08\00:16:22.68
Bible-based daily
devotional presented by
00:16:22.71\00:16:24.88
Pastor John Bradshaw,
00:16:24.91\00:16:25.95
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:16:25.98\00:16:29.15
Look for Every Word
on selected networks,
00:16:29.18\00:16:31.85
or watch it online
every day on our website,
00:16:31.89\00:16:34.09
ItIsWritten.com
00:16:34.12\00:16:36.69
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:16:36.73\00:16:38.83
Watch “Every Word.”
00:16:38.86\00:16:40.26
You'll be glad you did.
00:16:40.30\00:16:41.23
Here's a sample.
00:16:41.26\00:16:44.03
¤[Music]¤
00:16:45.10\00:16:51.07
>>John: Parents want to
make sure their children
00:16:51.11\00:16:52.67
do well in this world.
00:16:52.71\00:16:54.14
Get a good education,
00:16:54.18\00:16:55.11
enjoy good health,
00:16:55.14\00:16:56.24
learn life skills.
00:16:56.28\00:16:58.21
But the best thing a
parent could do for a child
00:16:58.25\00:17:00.28
is to instruct that
child in the ways of God.
00:17:00.32\00:17:03.08
God says in Deuteronomy 11:19:
00:17:03.12\00:17:05.62
“You shall teach
them to your children,
00:17:05.65\00:17:07.29
speaking of them when
you sit in your house,
00:17:07.32\00:17:09.62
when you walk by the way,
00:17:09.66\00:17:10.76
when you lie down,
00:17:10.79\00:17:11.83
and when you rise up.”
00:17:11.86\00:17:13.36
Children don't just catch faith
in God like they catch a cold,
00:17:13.40\00:17:16.40
and you can't leave this
to the bible class teacher
00:17:16.43\00:17:18.77
at church or school.
00:17:18.80\00:17:20.77
Parents have a responsibility
to bring faith into the home
00:17:20.80\00:17:25.04
to make God's
word real and relevant.
00:17:25.07\00:17:28.28
The greatest gift you
can give your children
00:17:28.31\00:17:29.98
is an understanding and an
appreciation of the word of God.
00:17:30.01\00:17:33.55
It's something that will
benefit your children forever.
00:17:33.58\00:17:37.99
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written,
00:17:38.02\00:17:40.52
lets live today by every word.
00:17:40.56\00:17:42.29
¤[Music]¤
00:17:42.32\00:17:51.30
Thanks for joining me
today on It Is Wrtitten.
00:17:51.33\00:17:53.50
In the parable
of the prodigal son,
00:17:53.54\00:17:55.10
a young man's
life hits rock bottom
00:17:55.14\00:17:57.07
after he left home and dived
headfirst into a life of sin.
00:17:57.11\00:18:01.91
The story has the
son returning home,
00:18:01.94\00:18:03.41
with the father
waiting to meet him.
00:18:03.45\00:18:04.91
This story represents a
sinner leaving the arms of God
00:18:04.95\00:18:07.48
and then and then returning to a
very patient and loving Father.
00:18:07.52\00:18:11.05
The Father is
pictured as waiting at home
00:18:11.09\00:18:13.66
when sinners wander away.
00:18:13.69\00:18:16.66
Is that what God does?
00:18:16.69\00:18:18.39
Does God simply wait at
home for sinners to return?
00:18:18.43\00:18:21.73
Waiting at the gate hoping,
hoping to see a wanderer return?
00:18:21.76\00:18:26.74
Well, yes, and
really, really no.
00:18:26.77\00:18:33.58
Notice what the
passage said in verse 17.
00:18:33.61\00:18:37.85
“But when he came
to himself, he said,
00:18:37.88\00:18:40.18
‘How many of my
father's hired servants
00:18:40.22\00:18:42.28
have bread enough and to spare,
and I perish with hunger!”
00:18:42.32\00:18:47.26
Now, there isn't a person on
Earth who “comes to themselves”
00:18:47.29\00:18:50.69
when they're lost in sin.
00:18:50.73\00:18:52.19
We simply respond to the
drawing of the Holy Spirit.
00:18:52.23\00:18:55.73
God pursues us.
00:18:55.76\00:18:57.57
The Spirit of God woos us.
00:18:57.60\00:19:00.14
God said in Hosea 2:14,
00:19:00.17\00:19:02.17
“I will allure her, and
bring her into the wilderness,
00:19:02.20\00:19:05.74
and speak comfortably unto her.”
00:19:05.77\00:19:08.11
God draws sinners.
00:19:08.14\00:19:10.31
He pleads with sinners.
00:19:10.35\00:19:12.28
Which means,
00:19:12.31\00:19:13.48
God wasn't only in the
front yard looking up the road.
00:19:13.52\00:19:18.12
He went after that boy.
00:19:18.15\00:19:19.95
He followed Him
to a far country.
00:19:19.99\00:19:22.26
He followed him to
the bars and the casinos.
00:19:22.29\00:19:24.43
He followed the
boy to the pig pen.
00:19:24.46\00:19:26.36
The Bible is talking about
the son's work with the pigs
00:19:26.39\00:19:28.30
when it says it was then
that the boy came to Himself.
00:19:28.33\00:19:31.63
He was sitting in a pig sty,
when God sat down beside him
00:19:31.67\00:19:36.30
in a pig sty,
00:19:37.14\00:19:38.84
and spoke to his heart.
00:19:38.87\00:19:41.28
God in the front yard?
00:19:41.31\00:19:43.65
That's sanitized, isn't it?
00:19:43.68\00:19:45.71
The God who pursues sinners
00:19:45.75\00:19:48.02
doesn't just wait in the front
yard hoping they'll come home.
00:19:48.05\00:19:52.52
God pursues sinners.
00:19:52.55\00:19:54.26
Here, God is in a pig
sty, with mud between his toes,
00:19:54.29\00:19:57.59
because God will go
where ever He needs to go
00:19:57.63\00:20:00.10
and do whatever He needs to do
00:20:00.13\00:20:01.50
in order to draw a
sinner to come home.
00:20:01.53\00:20:04.40
Paul wrote that
where sin abounds,
00:20:04.43\00:20:05.70
grace does much more abound.
00:20:05.73\00:20:07.94
And even in that
hopeless place so far from home,
00:20:07.97\00:20:11.84
that boy wasn't out of
the reach of a loving God
00:20:11.87\00:20:14.14
who wanted Him back in the
safety of His father's home.
00:20:14.18\00:20:18.48
God will pursue your children.
00:20:18.51\00:20:21.28
God is going after your
unbelieving spouse right now.
00:20:21.32\00:20:24.65
God is tracking the steps
of your parent who thought that
00:20:24.69\00:20:28.49
he or she could outrun
God like Jonah tried to do.
00:20:28.52\00:20:31.69
God is speaking to the
heart of your loved ones
00:20:31.73\00:20:33.76
and your friends,
00:20:33.80\00:20:34.93
and friend, if you're not
where God wants you to be,
00:20:34.93\00:20:37.87
you can be sure he's
pursuing you right now too,
00:20:37.90\00:20:39.77
speaking to your heart now,
00:20:39.80\00:20:42.27
pleading with you to
surrender your life to Him.
00:20:42.30\00:20:45.37
It's better at home,
00:20:45.41\00:20:47.31
it's better at home
in your Father's house.
00:20:47.34\00:20:49.94
The glitter of the
world looks so good,
00:20:49.98\00:20:52.45
but it doesn't last.
00:20:52.48\00:20:54.32
When a Roman conqueror
came back victorious from war,
00:20:54.35\00:20:57.09
there'd be parades and music and
the spoils of war and prisoners,
00:20:57.12\00:21:01.66
while the conquerors
rode in a beautiful chariot.
00:21:01.69\00:21:04.59
But a slave would
stand behind the victor,
00:21:04.63\00:21:06.80
and hold a golden
crown above the victor's head
00:21:06.83\00:21:10.70
and whisper in his ear,
00:21:10.73\00:21:12.80
“All glory is fleeting.”
00:21:12.83\00:21:16.14
And it is!
00:21:16.17\00:21:17.47
But salvation, that's eternal.
00:21:17.51\00:21:20.08
People will let you down.
00:21:20.11\00:21:21.94
But God won't - ever.
00:21:21.98\00:21:23.58
He's there for you,
drawing you back to Himself,
00:21:23.61\00:21:27.22
and always ready
to welcome you home.
00:21:27.25\00:21:30.12
But the story doesn't end
with the return of the son.
00:21:30.15\00:21:33.09
This is the
story of two brothers.
00:21:33.12\00:21:36.99
And the other
brother was not amused.
00:21:37.03\00:21:40.26
Verse 29.
00:21:40.30\00:21:42.96
So he answered and
said to his father,
00:21:43.00\00:21:45.53
"Lo, these many years
I have been serving you;
00:21:45.57\00:21:49.40
I never transgressed
your commandment at any time;
00:21:49.44\00:21:52.11
and yet you never
gave me a young goat,
00:21:52.14\00:21:54.51
that I might make
merry with my friends.
00:21:54.54\00:21:57.08
But as soon as
this son of yours came,
00:21:57.11\00:21:59.61
who has devoured your
livelihood with harlots,
00:21:59.65\00:22:02.95
you killed the
fatted calf for him."
00:22:02.98\00:22:06.45
One son was gone
from home, and was lost.
00:22:06.49\00:22:09.32
This son with the bad
attitude, his hard heart,
00:22:09.36\00:22:12.99
he was still at
home, he was lost too.
00:22:13.03\00:22:17.53
What ultimately became of him
isn't addressed in the parable,
00:22:17.57\00:22:20.04
because that part of the story
00:22:20.07\00:22:21.47
is the story that's
still waiting to be written,
00:22:21.50\00:22:25.14
in your experience.
00:22:25.17\00:22:27.38
How is it with you?
00:22:27.41\00:22:28.81
How is it with your heart?
00:22:28.84\00:22:30.31
If you're out there
lost, God wants you back home.
00:22:30.35\00:22:33.11
He'll persue
you to get you back.
00:22:33.15\00:22:35.75
But if you're home,
are you really at home?
00:22:35.78\00:22:40.19
How is it with your heart?
00:22:40.22\00:22:42.59
This is how God
deals with lost people.
00:22:42.62\00:22:45.36
1 John 1 verse 9. It says:
00:22:45.39\00:22:46.83
“If we confess our sins,
00:22:46.86\00:22:48.03
He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins,
00:22:48.06\00:22:51.27
and to cleanse us of
all unrighteousness.”
00:22:51.30\00:22:55.04
“God is not willing
that any should perish,
00:22:55.07\00:22:57.24
but that all should
come to repentance.”
00:22:57.27\00:22:58.97
That's 2 Peter 3 verse 9.
00:22:59.01\00:23:02.71
God wants His children home.
00:23:02.74\00:23:05.41
God wants you home.
00:23:05.45\00:23:08.95
Imagine how you'd feel
if you were Saroo's mother.
00:23:08.98\00:23:11.82
Remember?
00:23:11.85\00:23:12.69
Saroo was the
boy who went missing,
00:23:12.72\00:23:14.16
he got lost,
00:23:14.19\00:23:15.42
he wound up on a train that took
him 1000 miles away from home
00:23:15.46\00:23:19.33
and then he was adopted and
taken from India, to Australia.
00:23:19.36\00:23:24.37
Do you think his
mother ever forgot him?
00:23:24.40\00:23:26.57
He never forgot
about his home, his family.
00:23:26.60\00:23:29.80
And 20 or so years later,
00:23:29.84\00:23:31.57
he made a discovery, he
discovered Google Earth,
00:23:31.61\00:23:36.11
and realized he could
look at maps and pictures,
00:23:36.14\00:23:38.98
even satellite maps of India.
00:23:39.01\00:23:41.88
So he started
looking online for landmarks
00:23:41.92\00:23:43.79
he recognized
from his childhood.
00:23:43.82\00:23:45.09
He started in Calcutta,
followed the train tracks,
00:23:45.12\00:23:47.16
and worked backwards.
00:23:47.19\00:23:49.42
He looked for hours and hours,
00:23:49.46\00:23:50.66
often staying up
late into the night.
00:23:50.69\00:23:52.16
And this went on for months.
00:23:52.19\00:23:55.63
While searching late
one night Saroo saw a bridge
00:23:55.66\00:23:58.77
next to a big industrial
tank beside a train station.
00:23:58.80\00:24:02.37
He found the name of
the town; “Burhanpur”,
00:24:02.40\00:24:05.97
the town where he got
separated from his brother.
00:24:06.01\00:24:08.84
From there he followed
the tracks to his hometown.
00:24:08.88\00:24:12.85
He found his home.
00:24:12.88\00:24:15.02
Not long after, following
a 20-hour trip from Hobart,
00:24:15.05\00:24:18.49
Saroo was back on the platform
of the train station in Khandwa,
00:24:18.52\00:24:23.73
the very place his odyssey had
begun all those years before.
00:24:23.76\00:24:28.96
The boy who was
lost 20 years earlier,
00:24:29.00\00:24:30.77
was now home.
00:24:30.80\00:24:32.87
Found.
00:24:32.90\00:24:34.14
Reunited with his family.
00:24:34.17\00:24:36.60
Back in the embrace of a
mother who never gave up hope
00:24:36.64\00:24:41.61
that her boy would return.
00:24:41.64\00:24:45.01
If you're far from God,
00:24:45.05\00:24:47.62
God hasn't given up
hope that you'll come back.
00:24:47.65\00:24:52.35
God wants you back to stay.
00:24:52.39\00:24:56.29
¤[Music]¤
00:24:56.32\00:25:06.47
¤[Music]¤
00:25:06.47\00:25:19.21
>>John: Here's
today's bible question.
00:25:19.25\00:25:21.05
“I've often wondered how
come there are four gospels?”
00:25:21.08\00:25:24.49
That's right.
00:25:24.52\00:25:25.69
The Word gospel means good news,
00:25:25.72\00:25:27.82
but when we're
talking about the gospels,
00:25:27.86\00:25:29.72
we're talking about the books of
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
00:25:29.76\00:25:32.43
They're accounts
of the life of Christ,
00:25:32.46\00:25:34.36
almost like a
biography if you'd like.
00:25:34.40\00:25:36.67
If there was only one gospel,
00:25:36.70\00:25:38.33
just one account of
Jesus' life and ministry,
00:25:38.37\00:25:40.60
that would probably
be a pretty narrow look
00:25:40.64\00:25:43.44
at the life of the Son of God.
00:25:43.47\00:25:45.14
But four gospels
gives us a more complete,
00:25:45.17\00:25:47.98
a more rounded
view of who Jesus was
00:25:48.01\00:25:50.95
and what His life and
ministry were all about.
00:25:50.98\00:25:53.45
And if Jesus really
did come to the Earth
00:25:53.48\00:25:55.05
to show us the
Father as He said He did,
00:25:55.08\00:25:57.75
then four gospels instead
of just one two or three,
00:25:57.79\00:26:00.76
gives us a more
complete picture of the Father.
00:26:00.79\00:26:04.13
The different
gospels are written
00:26:04.16\00:26:05.49
to different audiences too.
00:26:05.53\00:26:06.29
Appealing more
to Jews in one case
00:26:06.33\00:26:08.40
and more to gentiles in another.
00:26:08.43\00:26:10.70
You know God could have just
created tulips and not roses,
00:26:10.73\00:26:14.30
but He knew I'm sure that not
everybody would be too fired up
00:26:14.34\00:26:17.37
by simply
tulips; hence, variety.
00:26:17.41\00:26:20.24
And a greater chance that
more people would be blessed;
00:26:20.28\00:26:22.78
a similar
principle with the gospels.
00:26:22.81\00:26:24.98
Four different
historical perspectives
00:26:25.01\00:26:27.32
offer us a fuller
understanding of Jesus.
00:26:27.35\00:26:30.45
Now, are there other
gospels that we should
00:26:30.49\00:26:32.65
consider to be
important for us today?
00:26:32.69\00:26:35.52
You know, I've Heard
of the gospel of Judas
00:26:35.56\00:26:37.26
and the gospel of
Thomas and every now and then
00:26:37.29\00:26:39.26
someone will make some noise
00:26:39.29\00:26:40.50
about how
important these writings are.
00:26:40.53\00:26:43.00
But neither of
them are trustworthy,
00:26:43.03\00:26:44.73
and they don't offer us
really anything of value,
00:26:44.77\00:26:47.00
except evidence that
they are not to be trusted.
00:26:47.04\00:26:50.57
We are blessed to have four
slightly different perspectives
00:26:50.61\00:26:53.48
on the life and
ministry of Jesus,
00:26:53.51\00:26:55.11
one from Matthew,
00:26:55.14\00:26:55.88
one from Mark,
00:26:55.91\00:26:56.98
one from Dr. Luke,
00:26:57.01\00:26:57.98
and one from the
beloved disciple: John.
00:26:58.01\00:27:00.22
If you read them,
and read them carefully,
00:27:00.25\00:27:02.98
you'll be hugely blessed.
00:27:03.02\00:27:04.65
>>John: Today,
our free book offer
00:27:05.69\00:27:07.42
is for one of my
very favorite books,
00:27:07.46\00:27:09.39
“Steps to Christ”
00:27:09.42\00:27:11.43
Please call or write
us, and “Steps to Christ”
00:27:11.46\00:27:14.36
will be on its way to you.
00:27:14.36\00:27:16.03
There's no cost
and no obligation.
00:27:16.06\00:27:18.67
Just call 1-800-253-3000
00:27:18.70\00:27:22.14
and ask for the
book “Steps to Christ”
00:27:22.17\00:27:25.37
You may also request
this free book by writing to
00:27:25.41\00:27:27.94
It Is Written, P O Box
6, Chattanooga, TN 37401.
00:27:27.98\00:27:33.95
And we'll mail a copy to
your address in North America.
00:27:33.98\00:27:37.45
For immediate access,
00:27:37.49\00:27:38.59
you can download a free
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00:27:38.62\00:27:41.12
“Steps to Christ”
00:27:41.16\00:27:42.02
from our
website, ItIsWritten.com
00:27:42.06\00:27:46.19
It Is Written is a
faith-based ministry
00:27:46.23\00:27:48.86
and your support makes
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God's good news with the world.
00:27:51.10\00:27:53.84
your tax-deductible gift
00:27:53.87\00:27:55.07
can be sent to the
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00:27:55.10\00:27:57.27
Or through our
website at ItIsWritten.com.
00:27:57.31\00:28:00.38
Thank you for your
continued prayful support.
00:28:00.41\00:28:03.38
Again our toll free
number is 800-253-3000
00:28:03.41\00:28:07.78
And our web
address is ItIsWritten.com
00:28:07.82\00:28:11.62
¤[Music]¤
00:28:11.85\00:28:18.03
So how is it with you today?
00:28:18.06\00:28:20.40
Have you wandered from God?
00:28:20.43\00:28:22.73
If you have, I
want to pray for you.
00:28:22.76\00:28:25.23
If you haven't, then
you know someone who has,
00:28:25.27\00:28:27.44
we'll pray for that person too.
00:28:27.47\00:28:29.34
Come on now, let's pray.
00:28:29.37\00:28:31.47
Our Father in heaven,
00:28:31.51\00:28:33.41
we see in the
parable of the Prodigal Son
00:28:33.44\00:28:35.14
that you love sinners,
that you're doing all you can
00:28:35.18\00:28:38.21
to draw them back to yourself,
00:28:38.25\00:28:40.02
and that you're always ready
to welcome back into your arms
00:28:40.05\00:28:42.68
one who has wandered away.
00:28:42.72\00:28:45.39
I want to pray right now for
that person who has left home,
00:28:45.42\00:28:47.89
left your heart,
00:28:47.92\00:28:49.52
now realizes that he
or she should return.
00:28:49.56\00:28:53.06
Draw that person Lord,
00:28:53.09\00:28:54.93
and let that one know
there is a place for him or her
00:28:54.96\00:28:57.13
in the arms of a loving God.
00:28:57.17\00:28:58.50
And then there are those we know
00:28:58.53\00:29:00.77
who have wandered
away from your love.
00:29:00.80\00:29:02.74
Children.
00:29:02.77\00:29:03.61
Grandchildren.
00:29:03.64\00:29:04.77
Friends.
00:29:04.81\00:29:06.07
Parents.
00:29:06.11\00:29:06.74
Brothers and sisters.
00:29:06.78\00:29:07.58
People we once worshiped with
00:29:07.61\00:29:10.28
who've given up on faith in you.
00:29:10.31\00:29:12.78
Thank you for not
giving up on them.
00:29:12.81\00:29:15.75
We pray they'd respond to
the drawing of your Holy Spirit,
00:29:15.78\00:29:18.19
and return home to
the Father's house.
00:29:18.22\00:29:22.39
And we pray in Jesus' name.
00:29:22.42\00:29:25.53
Amen.
00:29:25.56\00:29:27.30
Thanks so much for joining me.
00:29:27.30\00:29:28.36
I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:29:28.40\00:29:30.43
Until then, remember:
00:29:30.47\00:29:32.43
It Is Written.
00:29:32.47\00:29:33.77
Man shall not
live by bread alone,
00:29:33.80\00:29:36.17
but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.
00:29:36.20\00:29:41.34
¤[Music]¤
00:29:41.38\00:29:56.39