Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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Philosophy's Achilles heel -
The handwriting on the wall -
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>>Announcer: It has
stood the test of time.
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God's book, The Bible
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Still relevant in
today's complex world
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It Is Written
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Sharing messages of
hope around the world!
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Dear friend, presentation after
presentation in this series,
Philosophy's Achilles
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Heel, demonstrates how God has
opened Himself up to be tested
on whether He truly exists.
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Last week demonstrated that not
only does God exist, but He is
relentlessly pursuing us
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that we might respond to His
love. Nebuchadnezzare responded
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to God's revealing by making a
decision to serve Him forever.
As we now move to Daniel chapter
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5, we will once again see God
revealed in astounding ways.
Let's begin in Daniel 5:1-9
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which takes 23 years
after Nebuchadnezzar's death.
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Can you imagine the scene?
Partying and feasting all
interrupted by the handwriting
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on the wall. And once again, the
question of "who is the true
God?" continues to be
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agitated. This question has been
settled over and over again in
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the book of
Daniel.Nebuchadnezzar stated in
Dan 2:47 that Daniel's God was a
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God of gods and a Lord of kings.
In Daniel 3 after the God of
heaven rescued the Hebrew young
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men from the fiery furnace, the
king stated "There is no other
god that can deliver like this;"
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and yet again in Dan 4 the king
not only intellectually
acknowledged the God of
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heaven, but he fully submitted
to him as well. Yet, the
decision of Nebuchadnezzar is
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not passed along by genetics to
Belshazzar, who is his grandson.
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Once again, God's love is seen
to not force or coerce. And now
with this new leader in Babylon
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who was in a position of power,
God is giving opportunity to
either accept or reject the
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overwhelming conviction of His
existence and plan for His life.
Dear friend, He does the
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same with us. It doesn't matter
what your parents believed. What
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personal decision will you
make based on the evidence?
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It is evident from this story
that Daniel has had no
communication with the new
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king. In addition, it appears
that Daniel is no longer
president of the wise men.We
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cannot know for sure, but it
would appear that because
Belshazzar is completely
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opposed to every religious and
political principle that Daniel
stands for, he has been
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marginalized in the kingdom. But
the queen mother tells
Belshazzar about Daniel and
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that he should be brought to
interpret these things. Daniel
does come to the palace. And
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Daniel reminds Belshazzar of
his grandfather's journey verses
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18-23 state: As Daniel recounted
God's dealings with
Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon,
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Daniel mentions the main reason
for why the issue of"who is the
true God?" continues to be
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agitated, even though it has
been settled. Very simply put,
the reason is pride. That pride
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then leads to
self-glorification. It was pride
that led Belshazzar to praise
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the gods of silver, gold,
bronze, iron, wood, and stone;
it was pride that led him to get
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rid of Daniel as the president
of the wise men; it was pride
that led him to continue to rely
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on the wisdom of his wise men
even thoughhe should have known
better; it was pride that led
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him to desecrate the vessels of
God's house and showing that
nothing was too sacred for him
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to handle, and it was pride that
led him to choose to forget all
of the history of what had
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happened to his grandfather.
Although pride may attempt to
ignore the facts of history,
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in the end, it cannot deny them;
nor can it deny the living God
to whom they point.
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I wonder, how many of us today
are doing the same thing as
Belshazzar and his lords.
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Instead of allowing the facts of
history to confirm the prophetic
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statements of t he Bible, many
choose instead to escape the
lessons from history by further
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drowning their convictions in
alcohol, sex, sports and the
gods of this world. But the
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revelation of God is powerful
and convincing. God reveals
himself here to Belshazzar and
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the court of Babylon through his
prophet Daniel interpreting the
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handwriting on the
wall. Listen to Dan 5:25-28:
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The fall of Babylon was a highly
improbable eventWith
Nebuchadnezzar as king,
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Babylon reached the pinnacle of
its power. Even though the
rulers that followed
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Nebuchadnezzar were weaker and
inefficient, and although the
Medes and Persians earlier did
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cross the "Media Line" in the
battle of Opisby defeating
Babylon, the truth is that
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Babylon was still the ruling
power in the world. Furthermore,
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the city of Babylon itself was
considered to be impregnable.
The inner city alone had a size
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of about 1 square mile. In the
northwest corner lay the royal
palace, and south of that the
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sacred precinct of Esagila, in
which stood Etemenanki, the
temple tower. This tower was
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about 300 ft. square at its base
and more than 300 ft. high, and
that it was built in
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7 stages, having on top as its
7th stage a shrine dedicated to
the god Marduk. Etemenanki
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means "the foundation stone of
heaven and earth."
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt and
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extended the palace, adding
among other things a vaulted
structure with a roof garden
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on it called the Hanging Gardens
of Babylon, known in the ancient
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world as one of the Seven
Wonders of the World. He added a
new city to the inner city and
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connected it with a permanent
bridge. He surrounded the New
City with a double wall and a
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moat that met the wall and a
moat that protected the inner
city. It's estimated that the
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height of the walls was between
200 to 300 ft. high and 87 ft.
thick. Furthermore the gates of
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the city were made of solid
brass. With a total
circumference of about 10 miles,
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Babylon was probably the largest
city of antiquity. It is
estimated that the city had
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provisions that could last up
to 20 years. The land within the
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limits of the city
weresufficient to furnish food
for the inhabitants and garrison
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for an indefinite period. Also,
since Babylon sat upon the great
Euphrates river it had an
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endless water supply. Babylon
was impregnable and undefeatable
The Media-Persian empire was
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growing strong, but certainly
nothing to fear. And even
thought Belshazzar knew of
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Cyrus' plans to take the city,
he had every confidence in those
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strongly fortified walls, in his
armies and his supplies. He well
knew that the city could never
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be taken with any of the
conventional means of warfare
known at the time. Therefore, he
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threw a grand party for 1000 of
his lords. For Daniel to predict
the fall of Babylon back in
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Dan 2 when everything looked
like it would last forever was
highly improbable. Again, to
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interpret the handwriting, for
God to know the city would fall
is improbable as well.
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For Cyrus, general of the
Medo-Persian armies, the only
way to get into the city was
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to find where the river
Euphrates entered under the
walls and gain access. Cyrus'
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favorite horse had been killed
in battles with the Babylonians
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and he was so angered that he
resolved that he would take the
city. To accomplish this, he
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would utilize a strategy that
was not your typical "take it by
force" method. He learned of
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an annual festival in which the
whole city would be given up to
mirth and revelry, and
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he determined that it would be
the day to carry out his
purpose. Then through a
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marvelous feet of engineering,
Cyrus developed a plan in which
he would divert the
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waters of the Euphrates from its
channel. On the evening of
Belshazzar's party he
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detailed one body of soldiers to
turn the river at a given hour
into a large artificial
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lake a short distance above the
city; another to take their
station at the point
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where the river entered the
city; and a third to take a
position fifteen miles below,
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where the river emerged from the
city. The two later bodies were
instructed to enter the
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channel as soon as they found
the river fordable, and then in
the night to explore their
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way beneath the walls and press
on to the palace of the king
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where they were to surprise the
guards and kill the king. And
this is exactly what happened.
00:17:19.10\00:17:28.98
In direct fulfillment of the
handwriting on the wall. On the
very night of Belshazzar's party
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Daniel informed the king his
kingdom would end. And in fact,
the Medo-Persians would enter
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the city and that night the king
was slain. This happened in
October of 539 BC, when Cyrus
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entered the gates and took the
city without a real battle and
Babylon fell. The fall of
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Babylon was a highly improbable
event, almost impossible.
00:18:07.15\00:18:13.82
Belshazzar's partying,
carelessness and presumption,
let to Cyrus' men being able to
00:18:13.92\00:18:21.26
reach the gates in the river,
which had been left open. No one
saw that the level of the river
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had suddenly gone down signaling
their impending doom. However,
even more amazing is this. The
00:18:27.94\00:18:34.51
prophet Isaiah, almost 150 years
before the event took place,
predicted with stunning
00:18:34.61\00:18:45.65
accuracy not only the fall of
Babylon, but also the manner in
which the city would fall.
00:18:45.75\00:18:52.56
Let's take a closer
look at Isaiah 44:26-45:4
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In addition, we find these words
about the fall of Babylon
written by Isaiah in
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chapter 21:2
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This is a description of the
work of Babylon. Then later in
verse 2, Isaiah hears the
00:20:51.85\00:20:58.12
words
00:20:58.22\00:20:59.39
In v.4, the prophet Isaiah's
fright regarding the destruction
00:21:07.86\00:21:12.37
of Babylon reflects
that of Belshazzar, it states
00:21:12.47\00:21:16.50
In v.5 he sees the feasting
Babylonians. The passage
00:21:23.35\00:21:28.25
declares, Then in v.
9 the prophet declares
00:21:38.09\00:21:40.80
More than 150 years before it
happened, the prophet Isaiah,
one, names Media as one of the
00:21:51.41\00:21:59.21
two nations that would come
against Babylon; two and even
more astonishing, Yet, even
00:21:59.31\00:22:06.05
more astonishing is that Cyrus
is called by name. Think about
this friend, identifying
00:22:06.15\00:22:11.73
the nation that take over
Babylon 150 years in advance is
quite a feat, but naming
00:22:11.83\00:22:18.23
the very general who would
lead the army adds a significant
00:22:18.33\00:22:25.81
layer of complexity to this
prophecy. Isaiah even predicted
that the Euphrates river would
00:22:25.91\00:22:32.18
dry up. This fact alone would
almost be impossible to
predict.Isaiah foresaw that
00:22:32.28\00:22:40.82
the gates of the city would be
opened. He saw the drunken night
of pleasure and heard
00:22:40.92\00:22:46.36
the declaration that Babylon is
fallen Finally, he foresaw that
00:22:46.46\00:22:55.20
Cyrus would grant permission to
the Jews to go back to their
homeland and to rebuild the
00:22:55.30\00:23:01.68
temple. Dear friends, this is
truly remarkable. You know, some
respond to these remarkable
00:23:01.78\00:23:08.62
things in several ways: first,
some will say that the book of
Daniel was written in the 2nd
00:23:08.72\00:23:13.99
century. Part of the reason for
this is that the only place
where Belshazzar's name
00:23:14.09\00:23:20.13
was mentioned was in Daniel 5.
Therefore, they say, the story
is fictitious. Furthermore,
00:23:20.23\00:23:28.27
critics have undermined the
credibility of the book of
Isaiah by believing that the
00:23:28.37\00:23:32.64
book that bears his name was
written by at two or three
persons. Both of these
00:23:32.74\00:23:41.28
criticisms have been
convincingly answered by
archaeological and historical
00:23:41.38\00:23:47.09
discoveries. Cuneiform tablets
have been discovered that make
crystal clear the fact that
00:23:47.19\00:23:53.70
Belshazzar was the son of
Nabonidus, son of
Nebuchadnezzar, and that he
00:23:53.80\00:23:59.80
was indeed king of Babylon as
Daniel asserted. Also, the
discovery of the Dead Sea
00:23:59.90\00:24:06.84
Scrolls has unearthed the entire
book of Isaiah laying to rest
00:24:06.94\00:24:15.38
the assertion that this book was
written by other redactors. The
real reason for why critics of
00:24:15.48\00:24:22.79
the 19th century Enlightenment
period rejected the 6th century
00:24:22.89\00:24:29.90
philosophical, date for Daniel
is it was the result of Immanuel
Kant's criticism of reason, and
00:24:30.00\00:24:37.31
many critics and liberal
theologians believed that it was
impossible for God to
00:24:37.41\00:24:43.31
communicate with the prophets.
They believed that this means
that predictive prophecy would
00:24:43.41\00:24:50.59
also be impossible. Yet, Daniel
is real, Belshazzar is real, and
the fall of Babylon is real; all
00:24:50.69\00:25:01.43
of which occurred in the 6th
century BC. Others say that all
of this was simply pure
00:25:01.53\00:25:12.34
coincidence. Yet, to take this
position is not any different
than believing in miracles. At
00:25:12.44\00:25:23.69
this point, we need to remind
ourselves that this ancient
story is another amazing example
00:25:23.79\00:25:29.72
that sets the Bible apart from
all other forms of literature or
communication. As we have
00:25:29.82\00:25:35.93
elaborated on in past programs,
the reason is really quite
00:25:36.03\00:25:41.60
simple: The highly improbable
nature of this prophecy, which
includes at least 7 specific
00:25:41.70\00:25:48.58
predictions, not only points to
the existence of God, it also
points to the Bible being the
00:25:48.68\00:25:54.62
Word of God. Only the Bible
gives evidence of the test that
only God can pass. Dear
00:25:54.72\00:26:08.83
friends, Belshazzar felt safe
within the walls of Babylon, and
scoffed at the idea that
00:26:08.93\00:26:14.10
Cyrus had any chance of invading
the city.This general feeling of
00:26:14.20\00:26:20.58
peace and safety also
characterizes many today who
feel secure within their own
00:26:20.68\00:26:29.22
religious, political or
philosophical walls, but they
are no more prepared for the end
00:26:29.32\00:26:35.82
of things than was Belshazzar.
Perhaps the apostle Paul was
thinking about Belshazzar when
00:26:35.92\00:26:42.53
he wrote these words
found in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3:
00:26:42.63\00:26:46.80
One again, God has demonstrated
beyond measure two very
00:27:14.30\00:27:21.57
important things. One, He is
real, he does exist. Two, He
cares for you and wants to be in
00:27:21.67\00:27:30.55
relationship with you. That same
hand that wrote that handwriting
00:27:30.65\00:27:38.22
on the wall, it is the same hand
that bore the nails of the cross
for you What stops you today
00:27:38.32\00:27:45.73
from entering into relationship
with Him? The evidence is clear.
The day is today. The
00:27:45.83\00:27:54.74
time is now.
00:27:54.84\00:27:58.37
Dear Lord, help us to believe
and help us to follow You, we
pray in Jesus name, amen.
00:28:06.38\00:28:15.36
Dear friend, time after time God
is revealing Himself. He's
revealing Himself to us today.
00:28:22.23\00:28:27.80
I want to offer you the book
"The Thought Makers" that you
might study more about God and
00:28:27.90\00:28:32.91
understand how He is revealing
Himself today. Here's the
information you need for
00:28:33.01\00:28:37.75
today's offer.
00:28:37.85\00:28:39.91
>>Chris: My dear friend the
Bible says that God is patiently
waiting for us. With
00:29:29.23\00:29:33.97
open arms He's inviting us. Time
after time He reveals Himself to
00:29:34.07\00:29:41.81
us. He longs to have an
experience with you and for you
to have an experience with Him.
00:29:41.91\00:29:46.78
Thank you so much for watching
this week - I invite you to join
us again next week. Until then,
00:29:46.88\00:29:51.69
remember, it is written, man
shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that
00:29:51.79\00:29:59.26
proceeds from the mouth of God.
00:29:59.36\00:30:02.20
$$$$$$$$$$
00:30:03.90\00:30:07.07