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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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Every four years our
planet conducts an extravaganza,
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a festival in
which are celebrated
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both sporting excellence
and pharmacological ingenuity.
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Every Olympic Games in the
last few decades has been roiled
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by scandals involving
performance-enhancing drugs.
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Weightlifters and
cyclists and boxers and runners
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and swimmers, and on and
on, are frequently found to have
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violated the Games' very
strict anti-doping regulations.
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This kind of cheating
first reared its ugly head
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during the Olympic
Games in the mid-1970s.
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In 1976, a swimmer
on the U.S. Olympic team
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in Montreal, Canada,
was expected to bring home
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a collection of gold medals.
It was her second Olympics.
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She'd been at Munich in 1972,
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where she'd won a
silver in a relay.
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However, she wasn't
as successful in Montreal
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as people expected.
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She didn't go home to a slot
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on the lucrative
celebrity speakers' tour.
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She didn't get her face on
the side of a Wheaties box.
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And she didn't get a contract
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with a sports
clothing manufacturer.
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She should have, and she would
have, except for one thing.
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Shirley Babashoff came
up against the buzz saw
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that was the East
German Olympic swim team.
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In Munich, in 1972, the East
German women won five medals
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in the pool, two relay medals
and three individual medals--
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no golds.
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The United States and Australia
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dominated the women's
swimming events in Munich.
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Australia's Shane Gould
won five medals herself.
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Shirley Babashoff was
15 at the Munich Olympics.
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To rule the pool in
Montreal, she'd have to get past
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the East Germans, who,
over the previous four years,
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had improved immensely--
unbelievably, really--
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and promised to be a
major factor--and they were.
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In 1976 the East German women
won 11 of the 13 gold medals
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up for grabs, setting
world records in seven events
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and setting two Olympic records.
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It was thought
that Kornelia Ender,
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who went home to East
Germany with four gold medals,
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had achieved what she
achieved by hard work,
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through rigorous training,
and by maintaining a good diet.
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Even she believed that.
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But the East German women
became a force like none before
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and none since
because of something
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called State Plan 14.25.
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State Plan 14.25 was
part of a desperate attempt
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on the part of the
communist East German government
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to demonstrate to the world
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the superiority of
East German communism.
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One expert on East German
doping called State Plan 14.25
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"the Manhattan
Project of Sports."
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Athletes were force-fed
performance-enhancing drugs.
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It made them potent in the pool
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but did a tremendous amount of
physical and emotional damage.
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Gerd Bonk, the
world-record-holding
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weightlifter, who
won silver in Montreal
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behind the Soviet
colossus Vasily Alekseyev,
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spent the last three decades
of his life in a wheelchair
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owing to kidney failure,
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brought on by anabolic
steroid use, many believe.
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In fact, Bonk's
consumption of anabolic steroids
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in just one year is the greatest
consumption ever documented.
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One West German journalist
joked that a West German farmer
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could fatten up a
whole stable of cattle
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with the drugs Bonk consumed.
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The drugs were
distributed far and wide.
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Even teenage
figure skaters were plied
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with performance-enhancing
but often body-destroying drugs.
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Females who took the drugs often
developed male characteristics.
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A man who used to swim for
an elite American college team
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told me personally
that he had friends
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on the 1976 Olympic swim
team who told him this story.
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He said several U.S. women
in the changing room in Montreal
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were alarmed to
hear a deep voice.
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Going to investigate,
they discovered the deep voice
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belonged to an East
German female swimmer.
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"What a deep voice you have,"
one of the American women said.
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The East German woman
looked at her and said,
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"We didn't come here to sing."
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Shirley Babashoff and
every other non-East German
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female swimmer was
ripped off by East Germany.
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She and others were deprived
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not only of their
chance of a lifetime,
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of the just rewards of the years
of discipline and training,
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but also of the money
they would have earned
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by being Olympic champions.
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And the media didn't
understand what was going on,
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branding Shirley
Babashoff "Surly Shirley"
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because of her
demeanor at the pool.
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She knew it was
cheating that kept her
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from winning gold medals.
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It would be awhile
before this scandal
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became general knowledge.
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She did win four silver
medals and a gold in the relay,
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but, strangely, that's
not considered real success
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when the world is
expecting you to win gold.
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She returned home
from the Olympic Games
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and eventually took
up a job delivering mail
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for the U.S. Postal Service.
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She essentially
wasn't heard from in public
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for another 40 years.
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And it wasn't just East Germany
that was cheating in 1976.
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Although he denied it,
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it's believed the great
Finnish athlete Lasse Virén,
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who won the 5,000
meters and 10,000 meters double
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on the track in 1972 and 1976,
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was almost certainly
blood doping at the time.
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The thing is, it
wasn't illegal then.
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In blood doping, red blood cells
are injected into an athlete
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before competition, increasing
the amount of red blood cells
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in the athlete's system,
thereby increasing endurance.
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They are the
athlete's own red blood cells,
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extracted previously.
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Now, Virén's story
comes close to home for me.
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The runner who finished second
to Virén in the 5,000 meters
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in Montreal was a
New Zealander, Dick Quax.
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Stories like this
are everywhere in sport--
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Barry Bonds, Mark
McGwire, Sammy Sosa in baseball;
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Marion Jones on the track.
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Sprinter Florence
Griffith Joyner still holds
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the world record for both
the 100 meters and 200 meters.
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She won three
gold medals in Seoul.
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But Flo-Jo died young
at the age of just 38,
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and while there's never
been any proof presented,
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many people believe
she was using or had used
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performance-enhancing drugs.
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The big story of the
Seoul Olympics was Ben Johnson,
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the Canadian
sprinter who was disqualified
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after winning the 100 meters
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for his use of
stanozolol, an anabolic steroid.
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Of the eight men in that
race, six tested positive
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for performance-enhancing
drugs during their careers.
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A book by the late Richard Moore
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called the men's 100
meters final in Seoul
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"the dirtiest race in history."
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Carl Lewis, who
was promoted to gold
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after Johnson's
disqualification,
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tested positive for
performance-enhancing drugs
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at the U.S. Olympic trials.
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We could talk about the Russian
team being largely disinvited
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from the Rio Olympics in 2018
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or the Russian Paralympic
team being completely excluded
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from the Rio Paralympics.
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And why was that? Cheating.
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A state-sponsored
drugs cheating program.
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So, why do people do it?
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And what can be
learned from this
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from a biblical point of view?
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I'll tell you how this
relates to you in just a moment.
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¤[upbeat music
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>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on "It Is Written."
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Cheating in athletics
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through the use of
performance-enhancing drugs
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has become part of
the sporting landscape.
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In the early 2020s, more
than 60 athletes from Kenya,
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including a
Boston Marathon winner,
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had been suspended from
competition due to doping.
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So, why do people do it?
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In the early days of using
EPO, which Lance Armstrong used,
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20 young Belgian
and Dutch cyclists died,
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according to "The Guardian."
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Lance Armstrong rode his
first Tour de France clean.
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He turned to cheating because
he knew that if he didn't cheat,
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he'd never win the famous race,
which was awash in cheating.
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He wasn't inherently dishonest;
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he simply realized
that if he wanted to win,
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he needed to play
by the same rules--
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or break the same
rules-- as his opponents.
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In other words, Lance Armstrong,
Marion Jones, Kornelia Ender,
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Ben Johnson, and so many
more had one thing in common:
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Their best wasn't good enough.
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Now, the reason I bring this up
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is because there's a profoundly
important spiritual parallel.
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When the apostle Paul
wrote his first letter
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to the church in Corinth,
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he used this
interesting descriptor.
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This is 1
Corinthians 9, verse 24:
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"Know ye not that they
which run in a race run all,
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but one receiveth the prize?
So run, that ye may obtain."
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He's alluding to the
ancient games, and he says,
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although many run,
there's only one winner.
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So, if you're going to
run in the Christian race,
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run to win, he says.
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It's like legendary football
coach Vince Lombardi once said,
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"Winning isn't everything.
It's the only thing."
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Now, substitute the word
"salvation" for "winning,"
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and you're making
a pretty good point.
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Let Paul's words sink in.
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In Christianity, if
you're going to run, run to win.
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Ben Johnson ran, and
he was afraid his best
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wouldn't be good
enough to beat Carl Lewis.
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And truth be told,
it probably wasn't.
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Lance Armstrong wouldn't
have won a Tour de France
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against the
drug-fueled European cyclists
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because his best
wasn't good enough.
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He'd have been cycling uphill.
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So, if you are
running in the Christian race,
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is your best good enough?
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Now, let me answer that for you.
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The answer is, no. No, it isn't.
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There are some
profound statements in the Bible
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that help us see the
depths of our brokenness.
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"All have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God."
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And exactly
three chapters later,
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Paul writes that "the
wages of sin is death."
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We've all sinned, and
therefore we all deserve death.
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Our best? Not so good.
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Back in Romans 3, verse
10, quoting from Psalm 14,
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Paul says, "As it is written,
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'There is none
righteous, no, not one.'"
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Every last human being
on earth is a broken sinner.
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And no matter what you think
of yourself, that includes you.
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We want to go to heaven, but
heaven isn't for sinful people.
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Who's it for?
00:12:09.69\00:12:10.99
It's for holy people.
It's for righteous people.
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You can't get to
heaven without righteousness.
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And yet the Bible
tells us very directly that
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"all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags."
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That's Isaiah 64:6.
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So what hope do we have?
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We're not good
enough to go to heaven.
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Most of us realize that we're
not all that we ought to be.
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We see rough
spots in our character.
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And what's the common
response to seeing things
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in your life, in your
heart that shouldn't be there?
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What's a very common
response when you realize
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that your best isn't
good enough for heaven?
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It's really common for
people to say, "I'll try harder.
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"I'll do better. I'll
take it more seriously.
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I'll do my absolute best."
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And that's an absolute
disaster. And why is that?
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It's because we
don't have a thing
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that's worth giving to God.
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Our
righteousnesses? Filthy rags.
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That's not to say we shouldn't
do right. Of course, we should.
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But our own righteousness
is not worth anything.
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In fact, Paul said that
his righteousness was no better
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than manure, "dung" in
the King James Version.
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That, he said, is all that his
self-righteousness was worth:
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manure.
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So what's the solution to this,
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for people who are not
good enough for heaven?
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Here's what I
want you to remember.
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Jesus never
asked you to be good.
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He did tell us,
however, to be holy,
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but mentioning that makes it
frightening for many Christians,
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because who in the world would
stand up and say, "I am holy"?
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Well, don't worry
because Jesus made a promise
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that has got you covered.
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You'll find it in Luke 11, and
I'll start in Luke 11, verse 11.
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Jesus said, "If a son
shall ask bread of any of you
00:14:05.51\00:14:08.51
"that is a father,
will he give him a stone?
00:14:08.54\00:14:11.21
Or if he ask a fish, will he
for a fish give him a serpent?"
00:14:11.25\00:14:17.02
That's easy to relate to.
00:14:17.05\00:14:18.85
It isn't hard for
parents to spoil their kids
00:14:18.89\00:14:21.36
because parents want to give
good things to their children.
00:14:21.39\00:14:24.99
They want to
provide for their children.
00:14:25.03\00:14:28.20
Watch where Jesus
goes with this now.
00:14:28.23\00:14:30.93
Verse 12: "Or if
he shall ask an egg,
00:14:30.97\00:14:34.60
will he offer him a scorpion?"
00:14:34.64\00:14:37.34
That's almost funny, isn't it?
00:14:37.37\00:14:38.74
Jesus was dealing in the absurd
00:14:38.77\00:14:40.88
to make a very,
very, very important point,
00:14:40.91\00:14:44.75
one He does not want you
to miss, because, remember,
00:14:44.78\00:14:48.72
according to the Bible,
your best is not good enough.
00:14:48.75\00:14:52.85
Here's verse 13:
00:14:52.89\00:14:54.52
"If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts
00:14:54.56\00:14:57.73
"unto your children: how much
more shall your heavenly Father
00:14:57.76\00:15:02.20
give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask Him?"
00:15:02.23\00:15:06.94
And there it is. God
promises you the Holy Spirit.
00:15:06.97\00:15:13.58
He promises the Holy
Spirit to anyone who asks.
00:15:13.61\00:15:18.05
It's that simple.
00:15:18.08\00:15:19.38
"How much more
shall your heavenly Father
00:15:19.41\00:15:22.68
give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask Him?"
00:15:22.72\00:15:28.96
And what is this gift?
00:15:28.99\00:15:30.86
The Holy Spirit is the
third Person of the Godhead
00:15:30.89\00:15:34.86
and brings the personal presence
of Jesus into your life.
00:15:34.93\00:15:39.30
First John 3, verse 24 says,
00:15:39.33\00:15:41.27
"And by this we know
that He abides in us,
00:15:41.30\00:15:44.04
by the [Holy] Spirit
whom He has given us."
00:15:44.07\00:15:48.21
Our best can
never be good enough.
00:15:48.24\00:15:51.18
Humans are broken,
fallen, unrighteous.
00:15:51.21\00:15:54.78
But when you accept Jesus,
00:15:54.82\00:15:57.25
something powerful
happens in your life.
00:15:57.29\00:16:00.46
Jesus comes into your
life through the Holy Spirit.
00:16:00.49\00:16:04.33
And rather than you
possessing the Holy Spirit,
00:16:04.36\00:16:06.63
it's really
more accurate to say,
00:16:06.66\00:16:08.86
the Holy Spirit possesses you.
00:16:08.90\00:16:11.30
When Jesus enters your life,
00:16:11.33\00:16:13.07
when the Holy
Spirit comes into your life
00:16:13.10\00:16:14.74
and brings the personal presence
of Jesus into your life,
00:16:14.77\00:16:18.11
Jesus comes in with--well, what?
00:16:18.14\00:16:21.44
When Jesus enters your
life, He brings His holiness.
00:16:21.48\00:16:25.41
He brings His obedience.
00:16:25.45\00:16:27.32
He brings His
life-changing power.
00:16:27.35\00:16:30.25
He brings His righteousness.
00:16:30.29\00:16:32.39
And what kind of
righteousness is that?
00:16:32.42\00:16:35.09
It is perfect righteousness.
00:16:35.12\00:16:37.89
When you request the
gift of the Holy Spirit,
00:16:37.93\00:16:40.20
when you surrender to God,
00:16:40.23\00:16:41.83
God gives you the
life-altering gift
00:16:41.86\00:16:45.13
that is the only thing
that can prepare you for heaven.
00:16:45.17\00:16:48.97
God gives you
Jesus' own righteousness,
00:16:49.00\00:16:52.71
and with that, you
are qualified for heaven.
00:16:52.74\00:16:57.61
So, how can you experience
the power of the Holy Spirit?
00:16:57.65\00:17:01.65
I'll tell you
that in just a moment.
00:17:01.68\00:17:04.49
¤[upbeat music
swells and ends]¤¤
00:17:04.52\00:17:11.53
>>John: Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:17:13.36\00:17:15.20
exists because of the kindness
of people just like you.
00:17:15.23\00:17:18.63
To support this international
life-changing ministry,
00:17:18.67\00:17:21.87
please call us
now at 800-253-3000.
00:17:21.90\00:17:26.11
You can send your
tax-deductible gift
00:17:26.14\00:17:27.61
to the address on your screen,
00:17:27.64\00:17:29.08
or you can visit
online at itiswritten.com.
00:17:29.11\00:17:32.98
Thank you for your prayers
and for your financial support.
00:17:33.01\00:17:35.75
Our number
again is 800-253-3000,
00:17:35.78\00:17:39.82
or you can visit us
online at itiswritten.com.
00:17:39.85\00:17:42.86
>>John: I meet
people who are worried
00:17:43.86\00:17:45.36
they'll never be good
enough to go to heaven.
00:17:45.39\00:17:47.96
And they're right.
00:17:48.00\00:17:49.20
You'll never be good
enough to go to heaven.
00:17:49.23\00:17:51.40
But when Jesus comes into your
heart, that changes everything.
00:17:51.43\00:17:56.64
And He doesn't come into your
heart as a performance-enhancer.
00:17:56.67\00:18:00.51
Jesus doesn't take your
best and then add to it.
00:18:00.54\00:18:03.55
He comes into your
life to make you new
00:18:03.58\00:18:06.72
so that He can
live His life in you.
00:18:06.75\00:18:08.95
So that He can work in
you "both to will and to do
00:18:08.98\00:18:12.99
for His good pleasure,"
as Philippians 2:13 says.
00:18:13.02\00:18:16.36
"He which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it
00:18:16.39\00:18:19.56
until the day of Jesus Christ."
00:18:19.59\00:18:21.43
That's
Philippians 1 and verse 6.
00:18:21.46\00:18:23.37
He comes into your
life; He starts the work;
00:18:23.40\00:18:26.94
you surrender to Him and
allow Him to do His will.
00:18:26.97\00:18:30.81
He continues that
work; He finishes that work.
00:18:30.84\00:18:34.38
You cooperate. You
surrender. He does the work.
00:18:34.41\00:18:37.98
You are not
modified; you are re-created.
00:18:38.01\00:18:42.02
When you come to faith
in Christ, the old you dies.
00:18:42.05\00:18:46.02
Paul wrote to three churches--
the Romans, the Ephesians,
00:18:46.05\00:18:49.19
and the Colossians--about the
"old man" or the "old person."
00:18:49.22\00:18:54.23
That's who you were before
Jesus came into your life.
00:18:54.30\00:18:57.80
What happens
when you accept Jesus
00:18:57.83\00:18:59.57
is that the old you
dies and you are born again.
00:18:59.60\00:19:03.57
It's one of the reasons so many
people struggle in their faith
00:19:03.61\00:19:06.84
because they never allow
the old them to be put to death.
00:19:06.88\00:19:11.21
They don't experience
a death to the old life.
00:19:11.25\00:19:15.05
Faith in God wasn't given
to make you a good person.
00:19:15.08\00:19:18.52
Both the world and the
church are full of moralists,
00:19:18.55\00:19:23.22
people who will
talk about Christianity
00:19:23.26\00:19:25.29
without ever
being remade by Christ.
00:19:25.33\00:19:27.96
They'll quote the Bible
without ever understanding
00:19:28.00\00:19:30.27
Matthew 4 in verse 4:
00:19:30.30\00:19:31.93
"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:19:31.97\00:19:36.20
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:19:36.24\00:19:40.01
Discussing people who "walk
in the vanity [or futility]
00:19:40.04\00:19:44.08
of their mind," Paul wrote,
00:19:44.11\00:19:46.21
"that you put off,
concerning your former conduct,
00:19:46.25\00:19:49.08
"the old man which grows corrupt
00:19:49.12\00:19:51.09
"according to
the deceitful lusts,
00:19:51.12\00:19:53.09
"and be renewed in
the spirit of your mind,
00:19:53.12\00:19:56.16
"and that you put on the
new man which was created
00:19:56.19\00:19:59.46
according to God, in true
righteousness and holiness."
00:19:59.49\00:20:04.13
This is what that power of
the Holy Spirit accomplishes.
00:20:04.17\00:20:07.17
He makes you new.
00:20:07.20\00:20:09.17
This is what Jesus was referring
to when He spoke to Nicodemus
00:20:09.20\00:20:11.97
about "being
born of the Spirit."
00:20:12.01\00:20:14.38
It's that heavenly power that,
like the wind, you can't see,
00:20:14.41\00:20:18.65
but you can see its effects.
00:20:18.68\00:20:20.68
No one alive can be
good enough for heaven.
00:20:20.72\00:20:23.82
That's why Jesus
died on the cross.
00:20:23.85\00:20:26.39
He bore your sins, and
dying as a perfect sacrifice,
00:20:26.42\00:20:30.79
He gives you His
righteousness, His goodness.
00:20:30.83\00:20:35.00
At the cross, Jesus said,
"I'll take care of your sin.
00:20:35.03\00:20:38.57
I'll give you a new
heart. I'll make you pure."
00:20:38.60\00:20:41.44
That sin you're carrying
around? Jesus died for that.
00:20:41.47\00:20:45.04
Why would you carry it
with you everywhere you go?
00:20:45.07\00:20:48.01
That guilt you've been feeling
about mistakes made in the past?
00:20:48.04\00:20:51.91
Why carry that guilt?
00:20:51.95\00:20:53.45
At Calvary,
Jesus died for your sin
00:20:53.48\00:20:56.75
so that you could
be free from that.
00:20:56.79\00:20:59.25
You accept Jesus,
and there's no guilt.
00:20:59.29\00:21:01.76
He took care of
that at the cross.
00:21:01.79\00:21:04.69
Your best can't ever
be good enough for heaven.
00:21:04.73\00:21:08.13
So trust in
Jesus, who died for you.
00:21:08.16\00:21:11.50
Look away from yourself
and trust in His goodness.
00:21:11.53\00:21:15.97
Trust in the sacrifice
He made for you at Calvary.
00:21:16.00\00:21:20.21
When you do that, He
gives you His righteousness.
00:21:20.24\00:21:24.21
The Holy Spirit
will come into your life.
00:21:24.25\00:21:26.65
This is not a
performance-enhancing drug;
00:21:26.68\00:21:29.15
it's the third Person of
the Godhead living in your life.
00:21:29.18\00:21:32.82
The presence of the Holy Spirit
brings salvation into your life
00:21:32.85\00:21:37.39
and remakes you.
00:21:37.43\00:21:39.29
You can't ever be the
same again after allowing Jesus
00:21:39.33\00:21:44.83
to live His life in you.
00:21:44.87\00:21:47.30
Let's finish with
another track-and-field story.
00:21:47.34\00:21:50.17
One of the greatest athletes
of all time was Emil Zátopek,
00:21:50.21\00:21:54.51
the Czechoslovakian who
won gold in the 10,000 meters
00:21:54.54\00:21:58.45
and silver in the 5,000 meters
at the London Olympics in 1948.
00:21:58.48\00:22:03.55
Four years later
in Helsinki, Finland,
00:22:03.59\00:22:06.42
Zátopek won the gold
medal in the 5,000 meters,
00:22:06.45\00:22:09.92
the 10,000
meters, and the marathon--
00:22:09.96\00:22:12.73
the first marathon he ever ran.
00:22:12.76\00:22:15.33
It's inconceivable that
anyone could ever do that again.
00:22:15.36\00:22:20.20
Now, Zátopek was a character.
00:22:20.24\00:22:21.80
Before they were
married, he found out
00:22:21.84\00:22:23.34
that he and his bride-to-be
had been born on the same day.
00:22:23.37\00:22:26.78
He said to her, "Maybe we could
get married on the same day?"
00:22:26.81\00:22:31.11
His running style
was, was not exactly art.
00:22:31.15\00:22:34.42
One journalist
described his running as looking
00:22:34.45\00:22:36.62
like "someone wrestling with
an octopus on a conveyor belt."
00:22:36.65\00:22:40.02
Another said that "it
always looked like his next step
00:22:40.06\00:22:42.82
would be his last."
00:22:42.86\00:22:44.36
He wasn't
bothered by the critiquing.
00:22:44.39\00:22:45.89
He'd say, "I always thought
the objective was to go fast."
00:22:45.93\00:22:49.60
And Zátopek did.
00:22:49.63\00:22:51.40
He trained as though
his life depended on it.
00:22:51.43\00:22:54.10
And he had a personality
00:22:54.14\00:22:55.57
that won him
friends wherever he went.
00:22:55.60\00:22:58.97
In 1966, Zátopek's
life intersected with that
00:22:59.01\00:23:02.98
of another great athlete,
Ron Clarke of Australia,
00:23:03.01\00:23:06.41
who set 17 world records.
00:23:06.45\00:23:09.55
In 1965 Clarke set 12
world records in 44 days,
00:23:09.58\00:23:16.09
but he never won the big one.
00:23:16.12\00:23:17.83
He might be the greatest
athlete to have never won
00:23:17.86\00:23:21.20
an Olympic gold medal.
00:23:21.23\00:23:23.16
In 1966, at the
invitation of Zátopek,
00:23:23.20\00:23:27.24
Ron Clarke ran in a
track meet in Prague.
00:23:27.27\00:23:30.94
Zátopek drove to the
airport after the event
00:23:30.97\00:23:33.84
and accompanied him all the
way to the steps of the plane.
00:23:33.88\00:23:36.48
Remember, this was 1966.
00:23:36.51\00:23:38.58
When he gave the
Australian a small package
00:23:38.61\00:23:41.72
wrapped in brown paper, he said,
00:23:41.75\00:23:44.42
"This is for you
because you deserve it."
00:23:44.45\00:23:48.82
Clarke wondered if it was a
message for the outside world
00:23:48.86\00:23:51.53
or something his
Czech friend wanted smuggled
00:23:51.56\00:23:53.90
out of Czechoslovakia,
00:23:53.93\00:23:55.66
which was behind the
Iron Curtain back then.
00:23:55.70\00:23:58.13
When his plane landed at
London's Heathrow Airport,
00:23:58.17\00:24:00.90
Clarke's curiosity won
out, and he opened the package.
00:24:00.94\00:24:06.31
Inside was one of
Zátopek's own gold medals,
00:24:06.34\00:24:11.45
one of the three he won
in Helsinki 14 years earlier.
00:24:11.48\00:24:16.28
He gave away one
of his gold medals
00:24:16.32\00:24:18.15
to a man he had only met once.
00:24:18.19\00:24:21.72
And why? Because
"you deserve it."
00:24:21.76\00:24:26.53
One day, Jesus is
going to come back.
00:24:26.56\00:24:29.83
We're going to heaven.
00:24:29.86\00:24:31.40
And when we get there, according
to what Paul wrote to Timothy,
00:24:31.43\00:24:35.14
He'll give us, not a gold
medal, but a golden crown.
00:24:35.17\00:24:39.64
And why would Jesus do
that? Because we deserve it?
00:24:39.67\00:24:43.65
No, we don't deserve
it, and we never will.
00:24:43.68\00:24:48.15
Jesus said in John 16,
00:24:48.18\00:24:49.58
"It is expedient for you that
I go away: for if I go not away,
00:24:49.62\00:24:53.76
"the Comforter
will not come unto you;
00:24:53.79\00:24:56.39
but if I depart, I
will send Him unto you."
00:24:56.42\00:25:00.86
He said the Holy Spirit
"would reprove"--or convict--
00:25:00.90\00:25:03.77
"the world of sin and of
righteousness and of judgment."
00:25:03.80\00:25:09.20
How do you receive
the Holy Spirit? Remember?
00:25:09.24\00:25:11.81
"If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts
00:25:11.84\00:25:14.08
"unto your children: how much
more shall your heavenly Father
00:25:14.11\00:25:17.31
give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask Him?"
00:25:17.35\00:25:21.82
God wants you to have
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
00:25:21.85\00:25:24.49
Ask for it now. Don't wait.
Renew that prayer every day.
00:25:24.52\00:25:28.96
Remind God you're
willing to have Jesus move in
00:25:28.99\00:25:32.23
and sin and
self-righteousness move out.
00:25:32.26\00:25:36.10
Tell Him you're
willing for God to work in you
00:25:36.13\00:25:39.87
"both to will and to
do of His good pleasure."
00:25:39.90\00:25:45.41
Jesus will give us the
crown that He deserves.
00:25:45.44\00:25:50.15
Not because we're
good, but because He,
00:25:50.18\00:25:52.85
through the Holy
Spirit, has come into our lives
00:25:52.88\00:25:55.82
and transformed us by
His power, through His grace,
00:25:55.85\00:26:01.89
and given us His righteousness.
00:26:01.92\00:26:05.73
And that will be good enough.
00:26:05.76\00:26:09.06
>>Announcer:
Today's free offer is
00:26:10.33\00:26:11.97
"Victorious: Living
a New Life in Jesus."
00:26:12.00\00:26:14.50
You'll learn how to move
beyond the mistakes of yesterday
00:26:14.54\00:26:16.84
to experience victory today.
00:26:16.87\00:26:18.57
To receive "Victorious:
Living a New Life in Jesus,"
00:26:18.61\00:26:21.28
call 800-253-3000 right now.
00:26:21.31\00:26:24.45
That's 800-253-3000,
00:26:24.48\00:26:27.05
or visit us
online at iiwoffer.com.
00:26:27.08\00:26:30.22
Get this free resource now
00:26:30.25\00:26:32.09
and enter into the life
of victory God wants for you:
00:26:32.12\00:26:34.82
800-253-3000 or iiwoffer.com.
00:26:34.86\00:26:39.26
>>John: Let's pray together now.
00:26:41.90\00:26:43.90
Our Father in heaven, in
Jesus' name we come to You,
00:26:43.93\00:26:48.07
thanking You that You
have goodness to give,
00:26:48.10\00:26:51.61
righteousness to share,
00:26:51.64\00:26:53.88
a Holy Spirit who
would live His life in us.
00:26:53.91\00:26:58.95
Friend, have you been
trying to be good enough?
00:26:58.98\00:27:02.62
Have you been
experiencing the frustration,
00:27:02.65\00:27:04.75
the futility of doing your best,
00:27:04.79\00:27:06.89
thinking that will
change your sinful heart?
00:27:06.92\00:27:08.82
¤[soft reflective music]¤
00:27:08.86\00:27:09.89
Well, Lord, we know
right now that what we need
00:27:09.92\00:27:12.06
is a new heart given to us
00:27:12.09\00:27:14.86
when Jesus brings
His life into our own.
00:27:14.93\00:27:18.67
Friend, do you want
that? Do you want that life,
00:27:18.70\00:27:20.37
the life of Jesus
living in your life?
00:27:20.40\00:27:22.94
Would you open up
your heart to Jesus now?
00:27:22.97\00:27:24.94
Pray with me. Our Father
in heaven, give me Jesus.
00:27:24.97\00:27:29.81
Create in me a clean
heart. Take away my sin.
00:27:29.84\00:27:34.22
I accept from
You everlasting life.
00:27:34.25\00:27:38.45
We thank You, dear
Father, for hearing our prayer,
00:27:38.49\00:27:40.52
and we pray in
Jesus' name. Amen.
00:27:40.56\00:27:45.39
Thanks so much for joining me.
00:27:45.43\00:27:46.46
I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:27:46.49\00:27:48.40
Until then, remember:
00:27:48.43\00:27:50.43
"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:27:50.47\00:27:54.67
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:27:54.70\00:27:59.01
¤[dramatic,
triumphant theme music]¤
00:27:59.04\00:28:04.05
¤[music ends]¤¤
00:28:25.83\00:28:27.84