Participants:
Series Code: NOW
Program Code: NOW018036A
|
00:21 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Now.
00:23 I'm sure you're going to enjoy this program today. 00:26 It's something that's very near to my heart 00:28 in actual fact. Our subject is: What is in your heart? 00:31 And most of you will say: "Well there's blood and there's 00:34 valves and all of those sorts of things. " 00:36 But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about 00:38 emotions and particularly desires. From the heart 00:42 emanates our desires and our actions. 00:45 And with us today on the program we've got Dr. Eddie Ramirez. 00:48 I always enjoy having you on the program, Eddie, because 00:51 you're a wealth of knowledge. And your research, 00:54 being a research doctor at the Weimar Institute 00:57 and the Nedley Clinic that you are getting all the latest 01:02 information available and then presenting it and using that 01:06 to help... I would say to help people understand 01:09 better how they should live and what they should do. 01:11 But you know there's a text in the Bible that's found in 01:15 Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 and it says something like this: 01:19 "The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things 01:22 and desperately wicked. Who can know it? " 01:26 Who can know it? I know there's someone: that's God. 01:29 So let's go, Eddie. Well, I recently read 01:33 a story that came out a few years ago 01:36 about this Hungarian soldier 01:41 that was captured by the Russians. Um-hmm. 01:44 And when they first got him... 01:48 that was back in 1945... 01:51 they determined this man probably got damaged 01:55 because of the war and all these things. 01:57 "We think that he is crazy. " 02:00 Um-hmm. They couldn't understand what he was saying 02:02 or anything. So they put him in the psychiatric ward 02:08 in Russia in 1945. 02:11 And in the year 2000 as they were checking all cases 02:16 and trying to empty the ward and so forth 02:19 one of the psychiatrists assigned to deal with this case 02:26 as he was examining this particular prisoner 02:30 he said: "Wait a minute! This man... his cognition is fine. 02:37 Everything is fine with him. 02:39 What happened is that he speaks a very rare 02:44 dialect of Hungarian 02:47 and you thought that he was crazy. 02:51 He is fine! " Imagine spending from 1945 02:56 to the year 2000 in a place - that's a lot of years - 03:00 that you cannot even communicate or anything. 03:04 They are just treating you as a sick person 03:07 because they didn't understand you. 03:09 So this is the interesting thing: 03:12 In the article - you can read about it - 03:14 he... you know what was his request? 03:18 Now that he was able to communicate with the people 03:23 he said: "You know what I want? I want a mirror. " 03:28 He had not seen himself for 55 years. 03:35 And when they brought that mirror to him 03:38 he couldn't believe what was before his eyes 03:44 how old he looked. Imagine not looking at yourself 03:48 in a mirror for 55 years. 03:51 And he put his hands in his face 03:56 and just cried and cried 04:00 to see what had become of him. 04:04 It was tragic, really, wasn't it? 04:05 It was tragic. Yeah. So what you just read 04:09 is that there is a need 04:14 for a mirror for our soul. Um-hmm. 04:18 And that mirror is going to show us 04:23 who we really are. 04:27 Many times we self-deceive ourselves. 04:31 We're good at doing that. 04:33 We're good at it, you know. 04:35 And that's why in our depression program 04:38 it's required reading. 04:41 Every single one of our patients 04:45 needs to read a book by the name of 04:48 Telling Yourself The Truth. 04:51 Telling Yourself The Truth? Telling Yourself the Truth 04:54 in which we need to understand that our thoughts 05:00 and our actions should be directed 05:03 according to truth. Um-hmm. 05:07 Because our feelings change, come and go, 05:10 or wrong ideas... inflation of pride and so forth... 05:16 can give us the wrong direction. 05:19 And there's a verse there that we would like to share 05:23 with the audience. And that's in Deuteronomy chapter 8 05:27 and verse 2 and it reads like this: 05:29 "And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God 05:33 led thee these forty years in the wilderness 05:36 to humble thee and to prove thee 05:39 to know what was in thine heart 05:42 whether thou wouldst keep His commandments or no. " 05:45 It's very interesting. If you analyze 05:48 the geography of Israel... I was just there 05:52 lecturing in Israel and Egypt 05:57 just a few months ago. 05:59 And if you go to the map 06:02 and you see the distance between Egypt and Israel 06:09 if they were to allow you to walk it... I don't think 06:11 they allow you to walk it, but if you were to be allowed 06:13 to walk it you will see 06:18 that it doesn't take 40 years. 06:20 No. But see: the Bible verse tells us 06:25 a very important clue. 06:27 Even though it was something that could have been 06:30 accomplished in 3 weeks or so 06:33 it took them 40 years. 06:36 And why did it take them so long? 06:40 Because of two things: 06:42 Number one: God wanted to humble them; 06:48 um-hmm... and Number two: God wanted to show them 06:53 what was in their heart. 06:55 And you know, time is the best revealer of that fact, 06:59 isn't it? If you are left to your devices 07:01 for any period of time, it will reveal itself. 07:06 And so it's good to wait. And on God's timing 07:10 that's the best timing. Um-hmm. 07:13 Now, as they went through those trials and so forth 07:19 then the true thing started to come up. 07:23 You know... the idolatry, the disrespect for leadership. 07:28 A big problem that we have today, by the way. 07:32 The revelry... the "I want to do it my way not God's way. " 07:38 And you can see as you continue reading the Torah - 07:42 the first 5 books of the Bible - 07:45 you will see that that story starts to get very clear 07:49 how God needed to cleanse and remove some of those 07:55 elements... and that's what happened. 07:59 Now, that same mirror 08:02 that was used on the Israelites... 08:06 See, it was a mirror. If you don't have a mirror, 08:08 you don't know what's happening. If you have a spot here 08:12 or what needs to be fixed in the hair and so forth. 08:15 Every morning we go through that routine. 08:17 We want to fix things up and so forth 08:22 and we use the mirror as a help for that. 08:26 In the same way God uses a mirror to show them 08:31 what was in their heart. 08:33 And it's very interesting regarding pride. 08:36 Either you humble yourself 08:40 or God will have to humble you. 08:45 And then the latter sometimes is not very nice. 08:48 That's right... it's not very nice. 08:50 So I think, personal opinion, 08:54 it is better to humble before God 08:59 because either way you will be humbled. 09:03 OK. Either way you will be humbled. 09:05 It's best to follow God's direction. 09:08 That's really what it requires. 09:10 Yes. So we need first the redemption - 09:13 um-hmm - then we can get the righteousness 09:18 and then we can truly give our lives to God 09:22 and worship Him. It's an order that needs to happen. 09:27 But many times pride works as a barrier 09:33 between Him and us. 09:36 For example: a mother that cooks some 09:41 good wholesome cookies and puts them in a jar 09:45 and tells the son: "Look, I'm going to go out 09:49 and don't eat those cookies. " 09:52 And as she is out, temptation comes in the heart of this kid 09:58 and he goes ahead and starts to open the jar. 10:01 And at that time 10:04 he hears that she is coming. 10:08 Where does he would like her to be? 10:13 Not coming. As far as possible, isn't it? Yes! 10:17 And that's what sin does in our lives. 10:21 It separates us from God. 10:25 It creates that separation. 10:28 And many times we need to find 10:34 not the fruit but the root. Where did it come from? 10:39 And in many instances is the root of pride. 10:45 It continually... You know, I was thinking 10:48 of that child. The right thing would have been 10:51 to have done... OK, we might have that desire in our heart 10:54 but when we get to that point where we open the jar 10:57 and we take it, that's the time 11:00 to remember what was said and close the lid. 11:04 But that's a challenge, isn't it, Dr. Eddie? 11:05 That's correct. So the Bible is full 11:09 of stories in which they communicate to us 11:14 characters... good characters or bad characters... 11:18 so we can learn and avoid this type of things. Um-hmm. 11:22 If you continue reading after you finish Deuteronomy, 11:26 you will start to read about the kings of Israel 11:30 and you have the example of Solomon. 11:35 Supposed to be the wisest man. 11:37 That's right. That ever lived! 11:39 Showing us what happens with untamed passions. 11:45 And how can the most intelligent person on planet earth 11:51 end up bowing down before idols and so forth. 11:55 I mean, incredible, you know? 11:58 He was able to turn his life later on 12:01 but his influence was already done. 12:06 And the influence that he had in his children and the children 12:10 in Israel as they saw the leader of their country 12:14 not following those godly principles. 12:19 Idolatry and revelry and all these seeds were planted 12:25 that later on gave the negative result 12:29 that ended up as a result of this in Babylon and so forth. 12:33 You know, I get excited, Eddie, because when you read the Bible 12:37 you will find these stories 12:39 but they tell both sides of the story. 12:41 It's not tainted in one direction. Yes! 12:44 Because Solomon should have had wise children. 12:48 Should have learned from their father 12:51 what was right and what was wrong. 12:53 But soon as his son Rehoboam began to reign 12:56 after 40 years that Solomon reigned 12:58 his son did something that I find quite interesting. 13:01 He did. He asked the the counsel of his father's 13:06 advisers if you could say like that. Yes. 13:09 But then he thought: "Well now I've grown up with 13:12 these young ones. I'm going to ask what they think. " 13:15 And what he did? He took the counsel of the young ones. 13:17 You see, we are always apt to be learning from our parents. 13:23 And it's a parent's role to be teaching our children 13:25 the right way. And the best way that I see when you read the 13:28 Word of God God is showing both sides. 13:30 He actually wants you to choose the right thing. 13:33 He wants you to be humble and respect Him because 13:36 He has the ABSOLUTE knowledge, the absolute truth. 13:41 And so the Word of God is very very encouraging 13:45 to help you live the life you want to. 13:47 Yes! Rehoboam shows us what somebody that wants 13:53 power yet is weak causes. 13:58 That's exactly his example. 14:02 And regarding Solomon it also gives us 14:06 a little picture of what we are facing here 14:11 especially in the Western world. 14:13 You know, his parents had lots of struggles. 14:17 David had lots of persecution. 14:20 Had to hide himself and run away 14:23 even to the enemy and to hide himself there. 14:26 Many times his life was in danger. 14:30 Yet when Solomon comes everything is peaceful. 14:34 Everything is nice. Wealth was readily available. 14:40 And he started to forget about the God 14:45 that gave him those things. Now that's the point, isn't it? 14:48 That's the point. Which is something we're seeing even in 14:51 countries like this: Australia and New Zealand. 14:54 Protestant-built countries built on true Christianity 15:00 and so forth. And as people get abundance of bread... 15:05 generation comes up... and idleness 15:07 that's right. They start to forget who it is who gave them 15:12 this progress, stability and so forth 15:16 to these wonderful nations of today. 15:20 Yet as happened in the time of Solomon 15:24 it continues to happen even today. Um-hmm. 15:29 And then we get to Jeroboam. Um-hmm. 15:32 In Jeroboam we get an example of an unteachable 15:38 man yet that was in a privileged position. 15:43 What happens if you have 15:46 an unteachable spirit? 15:50 And may God save us from that. You know? 15:52 Sometimes our pride says: 15:54 "No, I shouldn't say that I was wrong. " 15:58 Yet if you don't have a teachable spirit 16:03 you will end up doing some really bad things, 16:07 big mistakes. And you're prone to repeat them 16:12 because if you don't learn from those mistakes 16:15 they will come back over and over again. 16:19 That's true... very true! 16:21 So that's why the Scripture is a wonderful book - 16:26 Just like God, too, isn't it? - 16:28 to learn about all these stories 16:32 that teach us how to avoid those holes 16:37 where these people fell. Um-hmm. 16:41 So... But history doesn't really show that, does it? 16:44 That's what we think should happen, but history shows 16:47 that we are very stubborn and stiff-necked people. 16:49 That's right. And that's what happened also with the people 16:53 of Israel. And see here is a good description 16:57 of what pride is. 17:00 This is from 17:06 a psychologist and theologian. 17:11 Dr. Bacchus is his name. 17:13 He put together this description of pride. 17:17 So let me read to you that description: 18:01 Well, you know, that would be a good way to find out 18:04 whether you actually have pride by ticking/checking each of the 18:08 those little boxes and seeing how many of them apply to you. 18:11 Because I think somewhere along the line 18:14 that may be a case for each one of us. 18:15 That's correct! See, it's in our DNA. 18:19 Once our forefathers introduced sin in our system 18:24 it's something that we have inherited. 18:29 I mean, even when our children were small 18:33 we witnessed this. 18:34 It's not like they were like: 18:37 "Oh, you're giving things too much. " No, you know... 18:40 the children it's "me, me, me. " "It's my toy. " 18:45 It's "me, me, me. " 18:47 They have this 18:50 from the early age. 18:53 The reason why you wake up in the middle of the night 18:56 the baby crying "Come! I need attention! " 18:59 is "me, me, me. " 19:04 I don't know any parent who does not then get up 19:06 and go to the child. So what do we do if 19:10 we identify some of these issues in our lives? 19:15 Hmm. As I mentioned, there's two routes. 19:19 You can do it the hard way: 19:22 Don't humble yourself... keep doing what you're doing 19:25 and believe me sooner or later 19:29 you will be humbled. Hmm. 19:32 OR... we can do it God's way 19:36 in which we make the focus of our study 19:42 the life of Jesus Christ. Um-hmm. 19:46 The humbleness that He had: 19:49 the putting His kingly power to come and become 19:54 one of us. His life of passion 20:00 of saving souls. 20:02 His tremendous miracles 20:07 that He did. We can be humble 20:12 as we observe Him. 20:15 There's a principle in the Bible that says 20:17 that what we behold we become changed. 20:23 And you know this very well: 20:24 for example, if the circle of people that you hang around 20:30 speaks wrongly, bad words and bad actions, 20:36 there's two things that's going to happen 20:38 if you become part of that group. 20:40 Either you're going to compromise 20:42 and you will start becoming like them - 20:45 that's right - OR they're going to kick you out. 20:48 You know, you're not going to fit in that group. 20:52 So things... we are impressionable. 20:57 And so that's why you can see in the life of 2 elderly persons 21:03 that have been married for a long time 21:06 what happens to them? They start to look like each other. 21:10 They start to act like each other. 21:13 They start to talk like each other 21:16 because they have influence to one another. 21:20 And that's what we need to be so careful 21:24 what kinds of things we feed "up here. " 21:28 Feeding the wrong type of thing 21:31 may be actually feeding things like your pride 21:35 and you're making things worse as a result of that. 21:39 I want to read this quotation about the life 21:44 of Jesus. How He was a true example 21:50 for us to follow. 23:29 Beautiful words! 23:31 You know, I think of that: Jesus was not self-focused. 23:35 He was "other-focused. " 23:37 And we as human beings we will have the soundest 23:40 and the best life when that is applicable because 23:42 pride can't dwell there when we are focused on others. 23:45 So, you know, all these words are very pertinent 23:50 when we look at what's going on in our heart. 23:52 And the thing of it is is that 23:55 we have a special ability in our brains 23:59 to be connected with God throughout the day. 24:03 Um-hmm. You can be doing your work 24:06 whether it be construction or computers or selling 24:09 and have a communion with God. 24:14 Conversing... asking for advice 24:19 as you're facing the decisions of the day. 24:22 This is something that it can be developed. 24:26 Um-hmm. And in that way we can start to show 24:31 a little bit of the example of Jesus. 24:34 Jesus was constantly connected to His heavenly Father. 24:41 And every action and word that He would say 24:45 would be to glorify God. That's right. 24:48 And that's the goal that He has for each one of our lives: 24:53 that we can be a reflection of Him. 24:57 We can see an example of Peter. 25:00 When Peter went to follow Him from afar off 25:04 when He was being judged before the crucifixion 25:08 the people around Peter noticed 25:13 that he looked like Jesus. Um-hmm. 25:17 Even though he didn't say anything about Him. 25:19 "You were with Him... you were with Him! " 25:21 "You were with Him. Look, you're talking like Him" 25:23 you know, and all these things. 25:26 And that's when he ended up denying his Master - 25:29 that's right - and so forth. 25:31 But see, that time that Jesus had spent with him 25:36 had an influence molding him into His image. 25:41 Um-hmm. In the same way 25:43 it is His desire as we contemplate that life 25:48 of humbleness... And there's many tools you can use. 25:51 If you need some ideas, 25:53 there is a wonderful book by the name of Steps to Christ. 25:57 And if you want something more thorough and more 26:01 profound there's another book by the name of Desire of Ages. 26:08 You can find those tools readily available. 26:12 And to read the life of Jesus 26:16 has an impact in us. 26:19 As we are contemplating we become changed 26:24 according to His Word. Hmm. 26:27 Good thoughts there, and I hope you're taking note of these 26:30 because we want - and God wants - us to be humble. 26:35 That in humbleness we show kindness, love, and affection 26:39 to other people. And particularly in our home 26:42 we need to display that humbleness that Jesus showed. 26:45 So that's the good way. That's the way 26:49 that God can humble us as we every day 26:54 come to the cross. Recognize that we need His help. 26:58 Recognize that pride is in our heart. 27:02 That we are in need of Him. 27:04 See, how much you desire Him, 27:08 how much you want Him 27:11 has to do with how big you see your own problem. 27:16 Um-hmm. If you think that your problem 27:19 is this size you're going to look for help this size. 27:24 Um-hmm. But if you understand 27:27 the enormity of your issue inside your heart 27:32 you will realize that you need major help. 27:37 And that's what this mirror to the soul does. 27:42 As we read Scripture, as the Lord impresses our heart 27:48 of how wicked and corrupted is our nature 27:53 and how urgently we need 27:56 that forgiveness and regeneration 28:00 then we can go and seek Him 28:02 and He can transform our lives. That's right. 28:06 So this is a good way, but what about the bad way? 28:09 What about that person that doesn't want to humble 28:14 themselves? There's a theologian by the name of Thomas 28:18 in the Middle Ages. 28:21 He wrote the following description of what can happen 28:28 when somebody is not willing to humble themselves. 28:32 And we can see that on the screen. 29:30 So God sometimes in His mercy 29:35 is doing this. 29:37 He's not doing that because He's a "vengative" God 29:41 that: "OK, you did that. I'm going to 29:44 do something even worse to you. " 29:46 Rather in His providence 29:50 as we go through difficult times 29:55 and so forth that's the way that God sometimes 30:00 reaches the heart. The person says: "You know, 30:03 game over. God help me! " 30:05 THEN God can come and act in their lives. 30:09 I have an interesting story from my own grandfather. 30:13 My family - some of them - 30:18 they're actually... It's very interesting: some of them 30:21 actually came as Jews that moved to Mexico 30:26 running from the persecution that was happening in Spain 30:30 against them. And some of them 30:35 as they came to an area in Mexico that was 30:40 very Catholic most of them, if not all of them, 30:45 became Catholic. 30:46 And then there was a time in the history of Mexico 30:50 back in the early 1900's 30:56 in which there was a war in which 31:01 they had passed some laws towards religious freedom. 31:06 Um-hmm. Catholics didn't like this loss 31:08 of religious freedom and there was a whole revolution 31:12 that took place as a result of that. 31:15 And the father of my grandfather 31:20 he was very good friends with the Catholic priest 31:24 in the town there. 31:26 And one day that good friend 31:29 came with another group of people 31:32 and robbed him literally. 31:35 He took many of his cows and guns 31:38 and things that he had 31:40 in order to send those things for this war that was happening 31:44 and so forth. So the father of my grandfather 31:49 became very negative against religious things. 31:55 Um-hmm. He thought that, "you know, this is the way that 31:58 everybody is and, yeah, I don't want to do anything 32:01 with religion and so forth. " 32:04 But one day a man that was selling books 32:07 came to visit him, 32:10 and he was very interested about the books. 32:14 He was actually an Adventist canvasser. 32:17 And he left some books with them. 32:21 They started reading the books. 32:22 There was an interest to learn more 32:24 so the canvasser started coming on a regular basis 32:28 to have Bible studies with them. 32:30 And very soon the father of my grandfather 32:34 wanted to give his life to the Lord 32:36 and he was baptized. 32:39 He had seventeen children. 32:41 Whoo! And sixteen of them decided to get baptized. 32:47 The only one that didn't want to get baptized 32:51 was my grandfather... the father of my mom. 32:55 And it was a pride issue basically. 32:59 But notice the interesting way that God used. 33:04 So when the father... 33:10 my grandfather didn't want any- thing to do with these things. 33:15 So one day the canvasser came to visit him. 33:20 And my grandfather he had a big ranch 33:24 with lots of cows and so forth. 33:27 So he thought in his heart 33:30 "I'm going to teach a lesson to this canvasser 33:34 so he never comes back again to bother me. " 33:39 So he had a horse that nobody could ride. 33:43 It was a lost case. You know, you couldn't tame this horse. 33:49 So he thought: "I'm going to put this horse 33:52 next to this huge cactus patch" 33:56 yes... "because I want him to fall there, 33:59 learn his lesson, and never come back again to see me. " 34:04 And when he came he said: "Look, I have this horse 34:08 and I need your help. Could you help me fetch 34:11 these cows there? " And the canvasser, even though 34:13 he wasn't even a country person, he was more of a 34:16 city person, he said: "Well sure... " just to be nice. 34:20 "I'll be happy to help you. " 34:22 So he gets on the horse. The horse as calm as anything 34:28 goes for a good distance. 34:32 Fetches the cows, and when he comes back 34:36 my grandfather realizes 34:41 there's something divine here. 34:44 It's impossible to ride this horse. 34:47 His best horse riders couldn't ride that horse. 34:50 Eddie, I've got to stop you. I thought he was going to say 34:51 "Get off the horse... let me get off... " 34:53 and HE lands on the cactus. 34:56 So that's when he decided to give his life to the Lord. 35:02 And his life and influence was tremendous! 35:05 He actually built the first Adventist church 35:10 in town there. They used to say... call it 35:13 the church of my grandfather because he was the very first 35:17 one. And tremendous influence that he gave. 35:22 Once he humbled before the Lord 35:26 the Lord could work in his heart 35:29 and kindness and other good qualities were the result 35:35 of that transformation. 35:36 So what you're saying is really when the heart 35:39 is in a position to be open, to be taught, 35:42 this is what takes place in the life: 35:44 God changes it. That's correct! 35:47 So we need to understand that there are two ways. 35:52 Either we humble ourselves 35:55 or God will humble us. 35:59 Another very good example of this 36:03 was a very famous evangelical preacher. 36:08 Um-hmm. He actually set up one of the first 36:14 networks of television worldwide 36:18 by the name of PTL. 36:22 And Richard Dorst... that's his name... 36:27 if you lived a few years ago you're going to be very familiar 36:33 with him because his name was all over the news. 36:37 And it became a mess - his life - 36:42 even though he was "working for the Lord. " 36:49 Pride still was very dominant in his heart 36:55 and the Lord had to work in his heart 37:00 one way or another. And unfortunately 37:04 his story teaches us what happens 37:09 when we don't humble before the Lord. 37:12 It was so bad that he told his own son 37:18 "Please change your last name 37:22 so that they don't identify you as my son. " 37:27 That's how bad he ended up... 37:33 what position he ended up. 37:36 "I was so good... you are not. " 37:38 So let me share with you a little bit 37:43 of his story in his own words. 37:46 This is from the book that he wrote. 37:50 And I'm going to be reading these lines. 37:54 He says: "Sometimes I think the church 37:58 doesn't know about true success. 38:02 It is all tied to how many situations 38:05 we have in our network. 38:07 How big our building is. 38:10 How easy it is to lose control 38:13 to compromise without recognizing it. 38:16 At PTL - the television network - 38:19 there was no time to take prayer or our families any more 38:24 because the show just had to go on. 38:28 We were so caught up in God's work 38:32 that we forgot about God Himself. 38:36 It took this awful tragedy, 38:40 this kick in my teeth, 38:43 to bring me to my senses. 38:45 A television camera can change a preacher 38:49 quicker than anything else can. 38:52 Those who sit on the sidelines can notice the changes 38:56 in people once they get in front of the camera. 39:01 It turns ordinary men into petty potentiates. 39:06 It is so easy - isn't it? - to be swept away 39:10 by popularity. Everybody loves you! 39:13 Cars are waiting for you. You are at the head of the line. 39:19 It was the devastation of the camera for me. 39:23 It made me less 39:26 than what God intended me to become. " 39:30 Hmm. So he ended up 39:35 embellishing himself, robbing some of those funds. 39:40 And it became a mess - this thing - 39:44 and his life came to a stop. 39:48 He ended up from being in the studio 39:52 to the prison cell as a result of this. 39:55 Even giving a bad name to the gospel and so forth, 39:59 you know, for acting like this. 40:02 But it came to a stop. 40:06 See, the wrong behavior, the pride... God 40:11 had to deal with those things 40:14 and this story didn't end up very well. 40:18 God had to act and had to humble him. 40:23 Instead of him humbling himself unfortunately 40:28 the hard way happened on his life. 40:30 Hmm. It's a sad story really, isn't it? When you think 40:33 about it. I was thinking of the fact that he asked his son 40:35 to change his name. Maybe it was good because 40:38 his son now could not be associated with him. 40:40 After the whole fiasco - after that - yes, he said 40:45 "You know, it's better if you change your last name 40:49 so people don't associate me with you. " Imagine 40:55 You as a parent coming to that point - 40:58 you know? of having to tell your children 41:01 "You know, it's better if you change your last name. " 41:04 I mean, very very sad story as a result of that. 41:08 You know, I'm thinking about the Bible. The Bible says 41:12 to know God. How important it is to know God 41:16 because then when you look in a mirror 41:18 you really truly see yourself as you really are. 41:23 And so this man, he didn't... Even though he was 41:28 a great televangelist or a great speaker, 41:31 if he had known God he would not have been able 41:33 to go down that road because he would have known 41:36 what he was doing. But see: that's what pride does. 41:39 It blinds us to know about God 41:42 to know God and so our heart... Like I said 41:45 "is deceitfully wicked. " 41:47 And this is something I appreciate here 41:50 of 3ABN in parenthesis. I have come here many times 41:53 to record. And I can tell you today the day starts 41:59 with prayer. The day starts with a devotional reading. 42:04 The day starts with the whole group humbling 42:09 before the Lord asking for His guidance, 42:12 asking to provide and so forth. 42:17 And as long as we have that humble spirit 42:21 God then can bless us. 42:24 That's the crucial thing, and I say that because 42:27 it's not what we do... it's what God does 42:30 in relation to our response to Him. 42:32 That's the important part. 42:34 Pride diminishes when we get to know God 42:39 and realize what He's wanting to do for us, Eddie. 42:42 God does not want any of us to have difficulties 42:45 and traumas in our life. 42:48 In actual fact He wants us to be with Him 42:50 not only now but throughout eternity. 42:53 That's the good news of the gospel! 42:55 And see, many times we have so many things 43:00 that are competing for our attention and so forth. 43:04 That's right. And we need to put things in perspective. 43:09 What is important should be the most important. 43:14 And many times electronic devices and this type of things 43:19 they want us the whole day. 43:22 There was an interesting article that came out 43:27 that was written by David Gallanter. 43:31 He writes just after Deep Blue 43:37 which was the most powerful computer at that time 43:43 played a chess game against the best chess player 43:49 in the world. Um-hmm. 43:52 And this computer actually won! 43:56 And he - this person - 44:02 writes this essay putting things into perspective. 44:06 And let me read a little bit of it. It says: 45:44 So many times in our 45:48 materialistic pursuits and so forth 45:54 we are so focused at trying to get things 46:00 that don't satisfy us. Um-hmm. 46:04 God is the only thing that can truly satisfy 46:10 the human heart. And the... 46:15 those devices and all these other things 46:18 they can never fill the void 46:23 that only Jesus Christ can fill in inside of our heart. 46:29 Now many times some of those desires that we have 46:33 are because we want to fill in that void 46:38 with something that doesn't satisfy. 46:42 The only source of true happiness 46:47 is found in connecting with the Lord. 46:51 So science is never going to find 46:56 that substitute for God. 46:59 It doesn't matter where we turn or try to find 47:03 what God really wants is a relationship with us. 47:10 As we are a parent and child relationship 47:16 God wants that type of intimate connection with us 47:20 not because He's selfish but because He loves us. 47:24 I like to spend time with my children because I love them. 47:29 And in the same way God enjoys when we 47:35 are connecting with Him in an intimate fashion. 47:39 You know even I think of the fact that God 47:42 formed man out of the dust of the earth. 47:44 Formed him and then He breathed into him. 47:47 He has a personal touch. He's the one who put the heart there 47:51 and He knows how we would function the best. 47:56 But there was a lie told, and the thing is that I want to say 48:01 with Christ in your heart that's when your desires are 48:05 filled to the brim where we can be able to enjoy life 48:10 to the fullest. That's right! 48:12 And many times that idea that if we break God's law 48:17 it's going to be more fun... 48:20 I can tell you: it just leaves scars 48:24 and it just leaves unhappiness 48:27 and it just leaves broken relationships 48:32 and it doesn't fulfill 48:36 what it looks like it's going to fulfill. 48:39 It's like an oasis on a desert. 48:43 It may look beautiful and watery... 48:46 It is a moment of pleasure and excitement. 48:49 But once you get there it's empty and you will realize 48:55 that you need the Creator to fill that void 49:00 that we have in our hearts. 49:02 We have a Bible verse if you want to help me read it. 49:07 Psalm 119 verse 9. 49:13 Psalm 119 verse 9. That's right: 49:16 Psalm 119 and verse 9. 49:21 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his ways? 49:24 By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word. " 49:29 Well, this is the Word. 49:31 This is the Word of God. 49:33 So where does he find it? In the Word of God. 49:37 There we have the secret! 49:40 There are places today in this planet earth 49:45 where the Word of God is not allowed. 49:46 Religious liberty is not there and so forth. 49:51 We have liberty with God. 49:55 We have all these blessings. We need to spend time 50:00 reading His Word, being transformed by His love. 50:05 And I can tell you: the happiness and pleasure 50:10 that God is going to give you... that's the type of happiness 50:15 that will last. Umm. There's another interesting story 50:19 by somebody by the name of Adoniram Judson. 50:24 And he had such a gifted mind. 50:31 He was able to learn Hebrew and Greek 50:37 when he was just 13 years old. 50:42 And he was always the top of his class. 50:49 And he went to one of the first... 50:54 one of the first Christian universities in America. 50:56 This happened in the very beginning stages of the history 50:59 of America. And he went to a university by the name of 51:03 Brown University. I was actually visiting that place 51:05 a few months ago. And in that university - 51:10 it was a Christian institution - 51:13 the talent that he displayed was amazing. 51:17 Yet he started creeping doubts in his heart 51:23 as a result of pride unchecked. 51:28 See, this can happen to every single one of us. 51:31 And those doubts started to give fruit. 51:35 And as he started doubting who God is and so forth 51:41 because he had such a tremendous mind 51:46 when he was debating others 51:49 the others felt that he couldn't do... 51:54 that's right... do against his argument 51:57 because of the tremendous brilliant mind that he had. 52:02 And one of his roommates 52:05 who wanted to actually give his life to the Lord 52:09 and serve Him, when Adoniram Judson started talking 52:13 to him he literally destroyed his faith in God... 52:18 this roommate of him. 52:21 And he also became an agnostic as a result of the negative 52:26 influence of Adoniram Judson. 52:29 He graduates from the university 52:33 and most of his professors were very interested 52:36 to know what was going to happen to this very bright mind 52:42 that they had the privilege of being the teachers and so forth. 52:47 So one day he had an offer for a job in New York, 52:52 so he took the train from Boston to New York. 52:56 There was bad weather so the train couldn't continue. 53:00 He had to go to find a hotel to spend the night. 53:04 And he comes to a hotel 53:06 and in the hotel the person tells him: "Look, 53:11 we are sold out. We don't have a single room. " 53:14 And this man was: "Look, I beg you: I need a room. 53:17 Anything... I can take anything. " 53:19 "OK, I have a room that is next to somebody 53:24 that is about to die. He is just shouting and cursing. 53:29 Would you be willing to stay there? " 53:33 And he said: "Yeah, I'd be happy. 53:37 I'm so desperate; put me there. " 53:39 And sure enough... he went there and he would just hear 53:42 curses and so forth the whole night. 53:46 Suddenly at some point everything became silent. 53:50 Next morning he said: "What happened to that man 53:53 that became silent? " "Oh, he passed away. " 53:55 "What happens when somebody dies in a hotel? " 53:57 "Oh, that's a very interesting question. 53:59 See, his documents... We have to find a close relative 54:03 or a friend or something. " 54:05 And he saw the name. It was the roommate 54:08 that he had destroyed his faith. 54:12 And he continues on his pathway now on a horse. 54:16 And he could hear in his head: 54:19 "Sin... hell... sin... hell... " 54:25 at every step of that horse. 54:27 He knew that his influence had destroyed his life. 54:32 And that brilliant man at that point 54:36 went and humbled before the Lord 54:39 in the field asking for forgiveness. 54:43 And the Lord forgave him. 54:45 And he became the first missionary to Cambodia. 54:49 His bright mind continued to be a blessing. 54:53 He did the first translation of the Bible 54:58 in the Burmese language. 55:01 There was no religious liberty there. 55:03 He got in trouble for preaching. 55:05 It took him 16 years for the first baptism to take place. 55:11 And as a result of that 55:14 he ended up being imprisoned 55:17 and he died on the way to America. 55:20 That's an incredible story! 55:22 We're going to have just a few moments to put up your address 55:24 roll. So if you need to contact Eddie 55:26 and you'd like to talk to him about some of the subjects 55:28 we've been talking about you can do so at this address: 56:28 Contact him today. He'd like to hear from you. 56:33 I know you got those details. You know, Dr. Eddie, it just 56:36 shows that God can still humble us 56:39 right at the end of our life 56:41 and we can be turned around and still be used by Him. 56:44 That's important. Do you have a closing thought for us? 56:47 Yeah, we can walk 1,000 steps 56:51 away from the Lord - 56:53 um-hmm - but it just takes one step back 56:58 to get back to Him. 57:00 To change the whole life! He is waiting for you. 57:02 He is willing to forgive, 57:05 to repair our relationship with Him 57:09 and have those fruits of the Spirit 57:13 that He has promised to us. 57:16 So even if you have done very wrong 57:19 God can regenerate. 57:22 As long as we have life we have hope. 57:25 I think that's a wonderful thought to close with. 57:28 Thank you, Dr. Eddie, for coming on the program. 57:30 I enjoyed the thoughts that you expressed. 57:33 And in particular, you know, what's in our heart? 57:37 If we have Christ in our heart, then we have an opportunity 57:40 to think of others... not of ourselves. 57:42 May God bless you until next time. |
Revised 2020-09-22