What does the future hold?
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Where can we find certainty
in a world of uncertainty?
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The book of Revelation provides
hopeful answers for today,
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tomorrow, and forever.
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Join Mark Finley, author,
and world renowned speaker on a
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journey into the future with
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We're back again for another
study on the book of Revelation.
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Revelation unmasks the plans
of Satan, and reveals the plans
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of God in these last
days of earth's history.
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Understanding Revelation
is crucial for every believer,
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every Christian, in fact
for everybody in the world.
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So as we enter into
this important topic today,
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let's bow our heads to pray.
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Father in Heaven, reveal
to us the truths of Your Word.
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Help us to see clearly
the majesty, the beauty of
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Christ as we study.
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And as we look tonight at the
great power of Jesus to change
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lives in Revelation,
give us hope and confidence.
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We pray in Christ's name, Amen.
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Our topic for this
presentation is titled,
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And let's begin by
going on a journey.
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We're traveling to
the island of Patmos.
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Patmos is in the Aegean Sea.
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There are really two
ways to get to Patmos.
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You can travel from Greece.
and if you travel from Greece,
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And if you travel from
Greece, it will take you
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overnight on a boat.
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The journey might be a
little rough on the sea,
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so I much prefer
going from Turkey.
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From Turkey you
travel from a little
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port city called Kusadasi.
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I've made that trip
many a time, and it's about
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a two hour journey.
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Traveling from Kusadasi
you often will see the beauties
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of nature, because the sea
is very tranquil, very peaceful.
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It's just an
absolute magnificent journey.
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We're traveling to the island
of Patmos to discover why early
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Christians had such
death defying faith.
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We're traveling there because
we want to explore what was the
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depth of their commitment to
Christ, and why they could face
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such persecution, why
they could face death,
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and yet not yield their faith.
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Let me give you a
little background of Patmos.
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Patmos is about nine miles long.
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As you come into the port
it becomes quite obvious that
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the island is rocky.
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It was a barren
outcrop in the days of John,
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when he was exiled there.
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It's the end of the 1st Century
and John is tried by the Pagan
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Romanian Emperor Domitian.
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Domitian claimed
himself to be a god.
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And because John refused to
give him allegiance, obeisance,
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because John refused to
burn incense to the Caesars,
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John was exiled on
the island of Patmos.
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It was there, during that exile,
during that period of time after
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being persecuted, after being
threatened, after being beaten,
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that John was sent
there to the island of Patmos.
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And what we're
exploring in this program is,
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what is it that gave
these Christians that
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living faith within?
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Why didn't they compromise
in the face of such oppression?
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What enabled them to hold on?
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While John was on the island
of Patmos God revealed to him
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the message from
the book of Revelation.
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While he was there the
island was illuminated,
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at least John's mind was, with
the glory of God as he received
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those visions in
the book of Revelation.
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John saw Jesus anew.
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He saw Jesus afresh.
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He was reminded again on that
island of the Christ that he
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walked with, the Christ that
he talked with, the Christ that
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worked so many miracles that
John personally witnessed as
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Jesus touched the eyes of
the blind, and they were opened,
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as Jesus ministered to
the sick and the dying,
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and John saw them healed.
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He was reminded by that
angel visitor who gave him the
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vision of Revelation.
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He was reminded of
the majesty, the power,
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the greatness of Christ.
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John, on that island,
began to carefully write down,
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carefully chronicle this
power of the Living Christ.
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Because of what John saw in
Christ's life when he walked
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and talked with Him,
because of what John experienced
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in Christ's life, and because
of the visions that God gave to
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him in the book of Revelation,
John's faith just soared.
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The old man with the weather
beaten face, with deeply etched
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lines in his face, with graying
hair, and trembling hand wrote
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down that vision in the
book of Revelation. John writes
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John says, Are
you facing trials?
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Are you facing difficulties?
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Are you facing
challenges in your life?
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I am your
companion in tribulation.
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And Christ has lit
up my life, and He will
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light up your life, too.
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John isolated, John persecuted,
John oppressed, John separated
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from family and friends.
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You would think the man
would have been discouraged.
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You'd think he would
have been downhearted.
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You'd think that he
would have given up his faith.
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You'd think he would have said,
God, I've served You all my
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life and where are You now?
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But John knew
something about Jesus.
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He knew the promise of Christ
in Matthew 28:20, where Jesus
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said, Lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the world.
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So when John writes, he writes,
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John was there not
because he was an unbeliever,
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but because he was a believer.
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But what gave him
such death defying faith?
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What was it that moved
John to be so faithful to Christ
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in the face of
these circumstances?
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John writes words of
hope to to you and to me.
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This is the message that
John records about Jesus.
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Jesus is speaking to John,
and Jesus is speaking to you,
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He's speaking to
me in this passage.
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And for John that
made the difference.
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For John that made
all the difference.
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Jesus was more than a good man.
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Jesus was more than
an ethical philosopher.
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Jesus was more than a
good religious teacher.
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Jesus was more than
simply a moral figure
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in this earth's history.
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Jesus never had a beginning.
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He was the first and the
last; alpha, the first letter
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of the Greek alphabet,
omega, the last letter.
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Jesus says, I'm
the First and the Last;
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no beginning, no ending.
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I've existed with
the Father from eternity.
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And He says, I was dead,
but I'm alive forevermore.
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See, that made
all the difference.
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If Christ is divine, if Christ
is eternal then although our
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earthly lives can be
threatened, and taken from us,
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Jesus indeed can
give us life eternal.
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And when John listened to
the living Christ say to him,
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That made all of the difference,
because John knew that even if
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his life were taken,
even if he died, that eternal
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life awaited for him.
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John knew definitely that
there was something beyond.
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You see, if Jesus is resurrected
from the dead, He is more than
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human, He's divine.
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If Jesus went into the grave
and came out, if the resurrected
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Christ came forth from
the grave with new life,
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He has power over the grave.
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So therefore John and the
believers down through the
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century were willing to
face death because they knew
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that beyond death there was
a new world waiting for them.
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They knew that one day Christ
would come, one day the dead
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would be resurrected.
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They knew that Jesus was divine.
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If Jesus is really divine,
if He's not simply a good man,
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if He's not simply an ethical
philosopher, if He's not simply
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a good moral teacher, if Christ
is everything that He claimed
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to be, then His
promise of eternal life is what
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really matters in life.
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You know, our
lives come and they go.
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I think about it in
relation to my own life.
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I've been preaching the gospel,
standing on the great platforms
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of the world now for more than
fifty years; standing preaching
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to tens of thousands
of people, and I think how
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quickly your life goes on.
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You know, I was thinking
about aging the other day,
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and somebody said this to
me: they said, You know you're
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getting old if you bend over
to tie your shoe and you say,
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What else can I do
when I'm down here?
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You know you're getting old.
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You know, I remember
so often when I was young,
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I used to speak really fast.
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I've slowed down some bit.
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And I would
walk on the platform.
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I mean really pace back
and forth, and back and forth.
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And in those years we didn't
have microphones like this;
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no accouterments at all.
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When I started preaching
we just had a microphone,
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and it had one of
these long cords on the back.
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So I'd always
take the microphone,
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tie it around my neck... It was
one of these large microphones.
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...stick the cord
someplace back out of my suit,
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and try to have the cord behind
me so I didn't get my legs
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all wrapped up in it.
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And as I was walking along this
cord is coming out of me like a
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tail coming out of my backside.
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And one night I was
preaching, I was really excited.
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I was young, and I
was speaking really fast.
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And this cord's
coming out of my backside.
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And a little kid on the
front row turned to his mother.
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He didn't know I heard him.
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And he said, Hey, Mom, is
that where they plug that guy in
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to give him all the energy?
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You know, sometimes now I
wish I had one of those cords.
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Aging is something
that we all experience.
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We live, and we die.
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And unless Jesus
comes every one of us are
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headed to the grave.
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We're headed to the
grave where our bodies decay,
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where bones are just left.
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Is that all there is?
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If Christ is not divine there
is little hope over the grave;
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there's little hope after death.
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If Christ was not really
resurrected from the dead,
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if this living Christ who John
believed in, who John gave his
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life for, if He's just a good
man, then the grave is a dark
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hole in the
ground, and death is a long
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night without a morning.
00:12:12.96\00:12:14.90
But scripture is true.
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If Jesus is divine, more than
simply offering us eternal life,
00:12:23.07\00:12:27.74
as important and
valuable as that is,
00:12:27.78\00:12:29.98
but if He's really divine,
He can change our lives today.
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He can make us
new men and new women.
00:12:34.12\00:12:36.85
We can live
again with this Christ.
00:12:36.89\00:12:39.72
Because Christ had changed
his life, and he knew that the
00:12:45.89\00:12:49.43
promise of
eternal life was real.
00:12:49.46\00:12:51.73
He knew that Christ
could offer him eternal life.
00:12:51.77\00:12:55.90
Down through the ages,
through Roman persecution,
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through the persecutions of
the past, Christians have faced
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the stake, they have
faced martyrdom, they've faced
00:13:05.48\00:13:10.79
the lions in the
Coliseum, because they believed
00:13:10.82\00:13:16.09
that Christ was divine.
00:13:16.12\00:13:18.46
They knew that
death was a little matter
00:13:18.49\00:13:21.36
because of the living Christ.
00:13:21.40\00:13:24.60
And in modern times many a
Christian has been imprisoned.
00:13:24.63\00:13:29.20
Totalitarian states,
authoritarian regimes have
00:13:29.24\00:13:34.11
imprisoned Christians, and
they've experienced horrible,
00:13:34.18\00:13:38.48
unspeakable torture.
00:13:38.51\00:13:40.52
Why? Because they
believed that Jesus was
00:13:40.55\00:13:44.65
more than a good man.
00:13:44.72\00:13:46.05
They believed that
Jesus was more than an
00:13:46.09\00:13:48.46
ethical philosopher.
00:13:48.49\00:13:49.82
They believed that Jesus
was more than a moral teacher.
00:13:49.86\00:13:53.09
They believed that
Jesus Christ was divine.
00:13:53.13\00:13:56.97
You look at the Middle
Ages, and you look at the
00:13:57.00\00:14:00.07
Waldensians who
faithfully studied the Bible,
00:14:00.10\00:14:03.14
and when they were
attacked by the armies of Rome,
00:14:03.17\00:14:05.91
many of their children were
thrown over mountain cliffs;
00:14:05.94\00:14:09.44
dashed on the rocks below.
00:14:09.48\00:14:11.35
Hundreds,
thousands, of these people were
00:14:11.41\00:14:13.82
destroyed mercilessly.
00:14:13.85\00:14:15.75
Why? Why would they hang on?
00:14:15.78\00:14:18.25
Why would they not
give up their faith?
00:14:18.29\00:14:20.62
Because they believed in
the reality of eternal life
00:14:20.66\00:14:25.03
that Jesus
Christ could give them.
00:14:25.09\00:14:27.93
We see that down
through the ages.
00:14:27.96\00:14:30.77
We see it through the
scriptures, we see it in the
00:14:30.80\00:14:32.63
early centuries, we
see it in the Middle Ages,
00:14:32.67\00:14:34.74
we see it now in our generation.
00:14:34.77\00:14:37.77
But what evidence did they
have that Christ was divine?
00:14:37.81\00:14:41.88
Was their faith built merely
on an emotional feeling within?
00:14:41.91\00:14:45.91
Was it based on some kind of an
electrical impulse that goes up
00:14:45.95\00:14:50.15
and down the spine?
00:14:50.19\00:14:51.52
Their faith was
based on something much
00:14:51.55\00:14:54.89
more solid than that.
00:14:54.92\00:14:56.26
Their faith was based on
something that would last
00:14:56.29\00:15:00.16
and endure; not a warm, fuzzy
feeling in their hearts. You see
00:15:00.20\00:15:05.77
And as the result of
that, when you study scripture,
00:15:09.20\00:15:12.74
when you go from Genesis to
Revelation, you find why John
00:15:12.77\00:15:18.48
and the other believers had such
death defying faith. This book,
00:15:18.51\00:15:25.62
It sums up all the
evidence down through scriptures
00:15:30.86\00:15:35.46
that Christ was who He claimed
to be, and that His offer of
00:15:35.53\00:15:40.90
eternal life was real.
00:15:40.94\00:15:43.34
Let's go back and see
some things that Jesus
00:15:43.37\00:15:45.97
said about
Himself. We turn now to
00:15:46.01\00:15:49.04
Now notice what
Jesus said about Himself.
00:15:58.95\00:16:01.79
He said, I lived
with the Father in heaven.
00:16:01.82\00:16:04.63
I've come down from heaven.
00:16:04.66\00:16:06.73
Jesus claimed to be the
Eternal Christ. Jesus said in
00:16:06.76\00:16:12.53
So all of Scripture
testifies of who Jesus is.
00:16:21.71\00:16:26.11
They testify of His divinity.
00:16:26.18\00:16:28.58
They testify that He
was more than a good man.
00:16:28.65\00:16:31.99
All of Scripture
testifies that Christ was
00:16:32.05\00:16:35.36
the Divine Son of God.
00:16:35.39\00:16:36.89
Jesus claimed to
be the great I Am.
00:16:36.93\00:16:40.06
He claimed to live with
the Father in heaven forever.
00:16:40.10\00:16:43.20
Now let's look at this idea.
00:16:43.26\00:16:45.67
Let's probe this a little more.
00:16:45.70\00:16:48.04
Let's suppose, for
our purpose of discussion,
00:16:48.07\00:16:51.37
that Christ was not divine.
00:16:52.21\00:16:53.91
For purpose of our discussion,
let's suppose that Christ
00:16:53.94\00:16:56.85
was simply a good man.
00:16:56.88\00:16:58.21
Let's suppose, for our purpose
of discussion, that Christ
00:16:58.25\00:17:00.98
was a moral teacher.
00:17:01.02\00:17:02.35
If that is true, and He claimed
to be divine, He claimed to be
00:17:02.38\00:17:07.99
eternal, He claimed to
be the Divine Son of God,
00:17:08.02\00:17:10.69
then you have one of
only a couple of alternatives.
00:17:10.73\00:17:13.40
1. That Jesus
could have been lying.
00:17:13.43\00:17:16.10
He said that He was
the Divine Son of God.
00:17:16.13\00:17:19.07
If He was not, was
He consciously lying?
00:17:19.13\00:17:22.00
How could you claim that
and read Matthew 5, 6, and 7,
00:17:22.04\00:17:27.04
the Sermon on the Mount?
00:17:27.08\00:17:28.41
How could you claim that Jesus
was lying and look at the moral,
00:17:28.44\00:17:32.11
ethical claims of Christ?
00:17:32.15\00:17:33.62
Even those people who deny His
divinity say that His ethical
00:17:33.65\00:17:39.75
claims are some of
the highest in the world.
00:17:39.82\00:17:42.46
I mean if your enemy slapped you
on one cheek, turn the other.
00:17:42.49\00:17:45.96
Do not be overcome with evil,
but overcome evil with good.
00:17:45.99\00:17:49.46
If you look at the claims of
Christ, and even atheists say
00:17:49.50\00:17:52.97
this is the highest
moral ethic in the world.
00:17:53.00\00:17:55.24
But you can't have it both ways.
00:17:55.27\00:17:57.01
You can't say, Well,
Jesus is a liar, and He has
00:17:57.07\00:17:58.97
this high moral ethic.
00:17:59.01\00:18:00.34
But then you could say,
Well, maybe He wasn't telling
00:18:00.38\00:18:04.48
the truth, but He didn't know
He wasn't telling the truth.
00:18:04.51\00:18:06.68
What do you call that? a person
who's not telling the truth,
00:18:06.72\00:18:08.85
and they don't know it?
00:18:08.88\00:18:10.22
You'd call them a crazy person.
00:18:10.25\00:18:11.59
How could you ever say
Christ is a crazy person?
00:18:11.62\00:18:13.59
I mean you look at the miracles
that He wrought that are
00:18:13.62\00:18:16.42
recorded in scripture, you look
at the statements that He made,
00:18:16.46\00:18:19.49
some of the most profound.
00:18:19.53\00:18:20.86
So if He's not lying, and He's
not a crazy person, and He says
00:18:20.90\00:18:24.43
He comes down
from heaven repeatedly,
00:18:24.50\00:18:26.30
and He says He's eternal,
the only alternative is to study
00:18:26.33\00:18:29.54
the evidence, and see
what the evidence says.
00:18:29.57\00:18:31.97
The only logical alternative
is that Christ is all
00:18:32.01\00:18:35.74
that He claimed to be.
00:18:35.78\00:18:37.51
So let's explore that evidence,
that evidence about Jesus,
00:18:37.55\00:18:41.88
that evidence in
the Old Testament.
00:18:41.92\00:18:44.12
Remember what Jesus has said?
00:18:44.15\00:18:45.89
He said, Search the Scriptures
for they are they that do what?
00:18:45.95\00:18:49.72
What do they do everybody?
00:18:49.79\00:18:51.13
They testify, Jesus said, of Me.
00:18:51.16\00:18:53.66
So let's look through the
Old Testament and see how the
00:18:53.70\00:18:57.60
Scriptures of the Old
Testament do testify of Jesus.
00:18:57.63\00:19:01.50
The prophecies of the
Old Testament point out that
00:19:01.54\00:19:05.64
Jesus Christ was divine.
00:19:05.67\00:19:07.71
Many of these
prophecies are very specific,
00:19:07.74\00:19:11.31
and they take you down
through the ages of time.
00:19:11.35\00:19:15.68
These prophecies were
given by the prophets of the
00:19:15.72\00:19:19.55
Old Testament
hundreds, some of them thousands
00:19:19.59\00:19:23.39
of years in advance.
00:19:23.43\00:19:25.06
The first prophecy deals with
00:19:25.09\00:19:27.50
In fact Jesus' biography
was written beforehand.
00:19:29.10\00:19:32.70
Most people's biography
was written after they die,
00:19:32.73\00:19:36.24
or some write autobiographies
while they're still alive.
00:19:36.27\00:19:39.11
But Jesus' biography,
surprisingly enough, was not
00:19:39.14\00:19:42.58
written after He died, neither
was His biography necessarily
00:19:42.61\00:19:47.02
written while He was still
alive, but His biography was
00:19:47.05\00:19:51.09
written well in advance.
00:19:51.12\00:19:53.82
We see in the prophecies
of the Old Testament the
00:19:53.86\00:19:57.49
of Christ and the events that
surrounded it revealed ahead
00:20:03.40\00:20:07.30
of time, and we see the
00:20:07.34\00:20:08.67
revealed in advance.
00:20:09.84\00:20:11.41
All of these things
were revealed hundreds, yes,
00:20:11.44\00:20:15.51
that's right, hundreds,
and some of them thousands
00:20:15.54\00:20:19.55
of years in advance.
00:20:19.58\00:20:21.58
Let's begin with the
birth place of Christ.
00:20:21.65\00:20:23.99
Micah 5:2. Micah
makes this prediction
00:20:24.02\00:20:28.42
seven hundred years in advance.
00:20:28.46\00:20:31.63
And Micah says,
00:20:31.66\00:20:39.37
How did Micah know seven
hundred years in advance that
00:20:39.40\00:20:44.84
Christ would be
born in Bethlehem?
00:20:44.87\00:20:47.94
There's so many places
that Jesus could have been born.
00:20:47.98\00:20:51.65
You remember the hometown of
Jesus was not Bethlehem at all.
00:20:51.71\00:20:56.02
His hometown was Nazareth,
and Nazareth is in the North
00:20:56.05\00:21:00.79
part of Israel in Galilee.
00:21:00.82\00:21:03.26
Bethlehem is more South
in, or Central in Judea.
00:21:03.29\00:21:07.83
The journey from Nazareth
to Jerusalem, and then on to
00:21:07.86\00:21:11.87
Bethlehem was 90
miles, or 150 kilometers.
00:21:11.90\00:21:15.47
Now let me ask you a question.
00:21:15.50\00:21:16.84
I want you to imagine
Mary is nine months pregnant.
00:21:16.87\00:21:21.64
A decree goes out by Caesar
Augustus that all the world
00:21:21.68\00:21:26.41
is going to be taxed.
00:21:26.45\00:21:27.78
Mary and Joseph
travel on a donkey.
00:21:27.82\00:21:31.39
Now I'm not sure if the viewers
of this telecast are going to
00:21:31.42\00:21:36.89
travel on a
donkey if you're a woman,
00:21:36.93\00:21:38.99
and you're pregnant nine months.
00:21:39.03\00:21:41.03
Most American women, and
most women around the world,
00:21:41.06\00:21:44.50
don't take donkey rides at 9
months pregnant for 90 miles.
00:21:44.53\00:21:50.31
But Mary and Joseph go on that
journey, that arduous journey,
00:21:50.34\00:21:56.04
and they travel these 90 miles.
00:21:56.08\00:21:58.81
Why wasn't the
baby born along the way?
00:21:58.88\00:22:03.75
Why wasn't the
baby born in Jerusalem?
00:22:03.79\00:22:08.59
700 years before, Micah the
prophet predicted of all the
00:22:08.62\00:22:14.83
thousands of cities in Judah,
that Christ would be born in
00:22:14.86\00:22:21.04
one city, Bethlehem.
00:22:21.10\00:22:22.57
How could he pick
out that one city?
00:22:22.60\00:22:25.67
The Bible is not a common book.
00:22:25.71\00:22:28.04
The prophets of the Bible
write with divine insight.
00:22:28.08\00:22:31.75
And Jesus Christ
is not a common man.
00:22:31.78\00:22:34.38
Mary and Joseph come to
Bethlehem the exact night
00:22:34.42\00:22:38.92
of Jesus Christ's birth.
00:22:38.95\00:22:42.69
Miraculously, Christ
is born exactly where the
00:22:42.72\00:22:46.86
Bible says He would be.
00:22:46.90\00:22:48.23
In the book of Isaiah 7:14,
Isaiah the prophet makes another
00:22:48.26\00:22:54.87
prediction over 600
years before the birth of
00:22:54.90\00:22:57.41
Christ when he says:
00:22:57.44\00:22:58.77
Again, a virgin would conceive,
and Immanuel means God with us.
00:23:08.22\00:23:14.22
How did Isaiah the
prophet know that Jesus would
00:23:14.26\00:23:19.36
be born of a virgin?
00:23:19.39\00:23:21.56
Do you remember the experience
in Matthew's gospel where it
00:23:21.60\00:23:27.97
discusses the
angel coming to Mary?
00:23:28.00\00:23:31.47
Mary finds that she's pregnant.
00:23:31.51\00:23:34.31
Mary finds that
she is with child.
00:23:34.34\00:23:37.08
She's troubled by that.
00:23:37.11\00:23:38.85
She's never been with man,
and as a result of that she is
00:23:38.91\00:23:43.32
embarrassed, confused.
00:23:43.35\00:23:44.95
She doesn't
know what's going on.
00:23:44.99\00:23:46.32
And the angel comes to
her, explains to her that her
00:23:46.72\00:23:50.73
pregnancy is the
result of a divine conception;
00:23:50.76\00:23:55.50
that the Holy Spirit conceives
Christ in the womb of Mary.
00:23:55.56\00:24:00.47
And Jesus' birth
was supernatural.
00:24:00.50\00:24:04.57
He, the Divine Son of
God, unlike any human being,
00:24:04.61\00:24:10.15
born not
naturally, but supernaturally.
00:24:10.18\00:24:14.75
Christ is more than a
good man, more than an ethical
00:24:14.78\00:24:18.25
philosopher, but the
Divine Son of God predicted.
00:24:18.29\00:24:21.72
You see, Christianity
is not based on a whim.
00:24:21.76\00:24:25.19
Christianity is
not based on a fancy.
00:24:25.23\00:24:27.80
Christianity is not
based on some warm feeling.
00:24:27.86\00:24:30.93
Christianity is
based on substance.
00:24:30.97\00:24:33.60
The prophecies of the Old
Testament reveal very clearly
00:24:33.64\00:24:38.34
who Christ is: the
Divine Son of the living God.
00:24:38.37\00:24:43.11
The angel comes to Mary, and
the gospel of Luke records it
00:24:43.14\00:24:46.82
as well as Matthew.
00:24:46.85\00:24:48.18
Exactly in fulfillment to
the prophecy of Isaiah made 700
00:24:57.76\00:25:03.67
years, or 600 and some odd
years, almost 680 years before
00:25:03.70\00:25:09.60
we see the prophecies fulfilled
with precision, with accuracy.
00:25:09.64\00:25:14.84
Now do you
remember when Jesus is born
00:25:14.88\00:25:18.48
in Bethlehem, the angels sing
00:25:18.51\00:25:21.78
The angels salute
His birth with song.
00:25:24.89\00:25:28.59
The angels sing praise and
glory to the Divine Son of God,
00:25:28.62\00:25:33.23
coming forth from the
womb of Mary in that humble
00:25:33.29\00:25:37.20
circumstance in Bethlehem.
00:25:37.23\00:25:40.67
Jesus, the Divine Son of God.
00:25:40.70\00:25:44.11
Now one of the oldest prophecies
regarding the birth of Christ
00:25:44.14\00:25:47.68
comes from Numbers 24:17.
00:25:47.74\00:25:52.11
And Numbers says this:
00:25:52.18\00:25:56.55
Do you remember the
story of the wise men
00:26:01.02\00:26:05.83
coming from the East?
00:26:05.86\00:26:07.36
One of their prophets had
predicted that a star would be
00:26:07.40\00:26:13.84
in the sky leading
them to the Messiah.
00:26:13.87\00:26:17.77
And as they read this prophecy,
the star shall come out of
00:26:17.81\00:26:22.31
Jacob, the wise men
sensed something unusual,
00:26:22.34\00:26:26.45
something supernatural.
00:26:26.48\00:26:27.88
They sensed that, indeed,
the Messiah was to be born.
00:26:27.92\00:26:32.82
They followed that star
until the bright luminous body
00:26:32.85\00:26:37.69
stayed in the
heavens over Bethlehem.
00:26:37.73\00:26:41.06
And the wise men
came to Bethlehem.
00:26:41.13\00:26:44.40
How did the Bible know hundreds
of years in advance that a star
00:26:44.43\00:26:49.37
would guide the wise men?
00:26:49.40\00:26:50.74
How did the Bible know hundreds
of years in advance that Jesus
00:26:50.77\00:26:53.88
would be born of a virgin?
00:26:53.91\00:26:55.24
How did the Bible know that
hundreds of years in advance
00:26:55.28\00:26:58.21
that Jesus would
be born in Bethlehem?
00:26:58.28\00:27:00.28
See, it's not one prophecy.
00:27:00.32\00:27:01.72
Prophecy after prophecy,
prophecies that are really
00:27:01.75\00:27:05.82
precise, prophecies that are
really accurate, prophecies that
00:27:05.85\00:27:12.69
are too specific to be given
by guess work, or by accident.
00:27:12.73\00:27:19.53
These prophecies
reveal who Jesus is.
00:27:19.57\00:27:23.41
Are you beginning to see,
are you beginning to understand
00:27:23.44\00:27:27.84
why John, on the
island of Patmos,
00:27:27.88\00:27:31.01
had such death defying faith?
00:27:31.05\00:27:33.75
Are you beginning to
sense why he believed that Jesus
00:27:33.78\00:27:38.12
Christ was the Messiah?
00:27:38.15\00:27:39.52
He saw the fulfillment of these
prophecies of the Old Testament.
00:27:39.55\00:27:43.79
He understood
clearly who Jesus Christ was.
00:27:43.83\00:27:48.56
When we come to that
understanding, that Christ is
00:27:48.60\00:27:52.40
divine, that He stands
head and shoulders above
00:27:52.43\00:27:55.77
any earthly leader.
00:27:55.80\00:27:57.31
When we come to that
understanding we fall at our
00:27:57.34\00:28:00.54
feet and worship Him
like the wise men did.
00:28:00.58\00:28:03.91
We fall at our feet like these
wise men did, who followed the
00:28:03.95\00:28:07.95
star, because wise men
and wise women still come to
00:28:07.98\00:28:12.55
the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:28:12.59\00:28:13.92
They still kneel before
Him and give Him their gifts,
00:28:13.96\00:28:17.33
the gifts of their worship,
the gifts of their praise,
00:28:17.36\00:28:20.76
the gifts of their talents,
the gifts of their lives,
00:28:20.80\00:28:24.17
because this Divine
Christ invites us to come.
00:28:24.20\00:28:27.97
He says, Come unto Me all
you that are burdened and heavy
00:28:28.00\00:28:31.74
laden and I will give you rest.
00:28:31.77\00:28:34.14
Now the prophecies of Isaiah
not only predict that Jesus
00:28:34.18\00:28:37.95
would be born of a virgin, but
the prophecies of Isaiah predict
00:28:37.98\00:28:41.85
the very ministry of Christ.
00:28:41.88\00:28:44.82
Just pause and think of
that prophecy for one moment.
00:28:55.13\00:28:59.13
The prophecy which says,
00:28:59.20\00:29:01.04
Men and women poor in spirit,
men and women discouraged
00:29:05.07\00:29:09.74
with the guilt and shame of
their sin, men and women who
00:29:09.78\00:29:14.42
are poverty stricken,
and longing for eternal life,
00:29:14.45\00:29:18.32
Jesus came and He preached
good tidings, the good news that
00:29:18.35\00:29:22.26
through His
grace, and by His power,
00:29:22.29\00:29:24.49
they could be
saved in His kingdom.
00:29:24.53\00:29:26.66
The Bible says He came to
preach good tidings to the poor.
00:29:26.70\00:29:29.56
He sent me to heal
the broken hearted.
00:29:29.60\00:29:31.50
Think about that woman at
the well, that Samaritan woman
00:29:31.53\00:29:35.10
in John the 4th Chapter.
00:29:35.14\00:29:37.01
She's broken, she's
bruised, she's crushed.
00:29:37.04\00:29:40.71
Men have used her body as a
play thing; but she has little
00:29:40.74\00:29:45.15
value and little worth.
00:29:45.18\00:29:46.51
And she meets Christ, and
He satisfies the longing of her
00:29:46.55\00:29:51.72
soul, satisfies that inner
thirst that she has for purpose
00:29:51.75\00:29:56.93
and meaning in life.
00:29:56.96\00:29:58.29
Jesus came and He preached
good tidings to the poor.
00:29:58.33\00:30:01.93
Jesus came and He
healed the broken hearted.
00:30:01.96\00:30:04.83
Our text goes on. He came
00:30:04.87\00:30:06.77
Think about it. Those
captive by sin, those shackled
00:30:12.11\00:30:17.65
by the habits of sin.
00:30:17.68\00:30:19.48
Think of it! He opens the
prison to those that are bound,
00:30:19.51\00:30:22.95
those that are possessed
with demons, and demoniacs.
00:30:22.98\00:30:26.22
He delivers them. I
have seen God do that.
00:30:26.25\00:30:29.22
The living Christ
touched men and women then,
00:30:29.26\00:30:32.23
and He can touch
men and women today.
00:30:32.26\00:30:34.13
I remember on one occasion
I was preaching in Mexico.
00:30:34.20\00:30:37.70
It was in a large
stadium in Mexico City.
00:30:37.73\00:30:40.64
There were probably
12,000 people in the stadium.
00:30:40.67\00:30:45.31
And I was making an appeal,
an appeal for men and women
00:30:45.34\00:30:49.24
to come to Jesus, an appeal
for men and women to experience
00:30:49.28\00:30:53.11
the power of
Christ in their life.
00:30:53.15\00:30:54.85
I was preaching this very
message that you're hearing
00:30:54.88\00:30:58.39
tonight, showing from
prophecy that Jesus is
00:30:58.42\00:31:02.02
the Divine Son of God, showing
that He could break the shackles
00:31:02.06\00:31:05.49
of sin, and that men
and women could go free.
00:31:05.53\00:31:08.46
As I made the appeal, and
people began to come forward,
00:31:08.50\00:31:11.83
there were many at the altar.
00:31:11.87\00:31:13.20
But then I looked through
the crowd and I saw two men
00:31:13.23\00:31:18.07
carrying a woman down the aisle.
00:31:18.14\00:31:20.14
One man, who I
learned later was her husband,
00:31:20.18\00:31:23.01
had her underneath her arms,
carrying her, and the other man
00:31:23.04\00:31:27.42
had her by her feet.
00:31:27.45\00:31:28.78
What I didn't know at
the time was this woman was
00:31:28.82\00:31:32.25
sitting in the meeting.
00:31:32.29\00:31:33.62
She had been
dabbling in demon worship.
00:31:33.66\00:31:35.92
And when I began to make the
appeal for Christ she ran out
00:31:35.96\00:31:39.49
of the auditorium, and
was lying in the parking lot
00:31:39.53\00:31:41.66
screaming, and writhing.
00:31:41.70\00:31:43.16
Her husband and this man
carried her down the aisle.
00:31:43.20\00:31:48.67
Now they dropped
her there at my feet.
00:31:48.70\00:31:51.77
I looked at the woman.
00:31:51.84\00:31:53.17
It didn't appear
she was breathing.
00:31:53.21\00:31:54.54
And I looked down at
her, and I knelt before her.
00:31:54.58\00:31:56.38
All of these other
people are standing there.
00:31:56.41\00:31:58.55
It was hot and oppressive.
00:31:58.61\00:31:59.95
And as I began to
pray over her she screamed,
00:31:59.98\00:32:02.38
and she began to kick,
and kick, and kicked me,
00:32:02.42\00:32:05.09
and screaming, and wailing.
00:32:05.12\00:32:06.96
I'd just talked
about the power of God.
00:32:06.99\00:32:10.09
12,000 people
were in the auditorium.
00:32:10.13\00:32:13.16
Is the power of God real?
00:32:13.19\00:32:15.73
And as I prayed over this woman,
and continued to pray that
00:32:15.76\00:32:19.90
Jesus would
deliver her, she fell limp.
00:32:19.93\00:32:22.67
Now don't misunderstand me,
not every case that claims to be
00:32:22.70\00:32:26.98
demon possessed is.
00:32:27.01\00:32:28.38
There are certain psychological
problems that people may have
00:32:28.41\00:32:31.15
that may manifest
themselves in symptoms.
00:32:31.18\00:32:34.18
There are three
levels of demonic oppression.
00:32:34.22\00:32:37.22
First every one of us
can be tempted by the Devil.
00:32:37.25\00:32:40.66
That's one level
of demonic activity.
00:32:40.69\00:32:43.53
We can be tempted by the Devil.
00:32:43.56\00:32:45.09
Jesus was tempted by the Devil.
00:32:45.13\00:32:46.46
He never yielded.
That's demonic activity.
00:32:46.49\00:32:48.56
There also can be another
level of demonic activity,
00:32:48.60\00:32:51.80
and that's oppression.
00:32:51.83\00:32:53.17
The more you yield to the
temptations of Satan the more
00:32:53.20\00:32:56.04
oppressed you can be.
00:32:56.07\00:32:57.64
And then there also, if a person
chooses to worship at the altar
00:32:57.67\00:33:02.11
of Satan, they can
become possessed by demons.
00:33:02.14\00:33:05.61
Now the Devil can't just
come in and take over your mind.
00:33:05.65\00:33:08.62
That's totally impossible,
unless we have a choice,
00:33:08.65\00:33:13.05
a volitional choice of the will.
00:33:13.09\00:33:15.29
Because if the Devil can just
come in and take over our mind
00:33:15.32\00:33:18.13
without any choice of
our will, he could come
00:33:18.16\00:33:20.36
and take over anybody.
00:33:20.40\00:33:21.73
God respects human freedom.
00:33:21.76\00:33:24.33
But if we choose to walk
in the way of the evil one,
00:33:24.40\00:33:27.64
choose to worship at the shrine
of the occult, we open our mind
00:33:27.67\00:33:31.14
to those demonic activities.
00:33:31.17\00:33:32.87
As I prayed over
this woman, she fell limp.
00:33:32.91\00:33:35.98
We sat her on a
chair, finished the appeal,
00:33:36.01\00:33:39.01
and we took her off to the side.
00:33:39.05\00:33:41.18
There was a little sparkle
in her eyes, and she said,
00:33:41.22\00:33:43.72
I'm delivered! I'm delivered!
00:33:43.75\00:33:45.65
She was! We got her
now reading the Bible.
00:33:45.69\00:33:49.19
I shared with her that
wonderful book, Steps To Christ.
00:33:49.22\00:33:51.89
And week after week
this woman followed Jesus.
00:33:51.93\00:33:55.50
This woman was delivered
by the grace of Christ.
00:33:55.56\00:33:59.10
What does scripture say?
00:33:59.13\00:34:00.47
He did that then and
he still does it now.
00:34:03.34\00:34:05.54
He came to open the prison
for those that were bound.
00:34:05.57\00:34:09.24
He did it then, and
He still does it now.
00:34:09.28\00:34:13.01
The scripture is very,
very clear when it talks about
00:34:13.05\00:34:16.22
the power of Christ.
00:34:16.25\00:34:17.59
He delivered. He, Jesus, healed.
00:34:17.62\00:34:21.49
Jesus forgave. Throughout
scripture we see this Christ
00:34:21.52\00:34:27.73
who's powerful,
this Christ who heals,
00:34:27.76\00:34:30.43
this Christ who
forgives, this Christ who walks
00:34:30.47\00:34:34.07
into people's lives, this
Christ that raised men and
00:34:34.10\00:34:37.27
women from the dead.
00:34:37.31\00:34:38.64
We see this Jesus
throughout scripture.
00:34:38.67\00:34:41.34
More than divine, more
than a good man, more than an
00:34:41.38\00:34:45.21
ethical philosopher,
but the Divine Almighty
00:34:45.25\00:34:48.32
Son of the Living God.
00:34:48.35\00:34:50.22
Now the prophecies at
the end of Christ's life,
00:34:50.25\00:34:54.32
those prophecies
came to very sharp focus.
00:34:54.36\00:34:57.93
Those prophecies came to
very specific fulfillment.
00:34:57.96\00:35:01.63
Some of the most
amazing prophecies ever given
00:35:01.66\00:35:04.77
were given at the
end of Christ's life.
00:35:04.80\00:35:07.90
Let's look at them.
00:35:07.94\00:35:09.27
We'll go to the
city of Jerusalem.
00:35:09.30\00:35:11.04
Jesus spent the last hours
of His life here in Jerusalem.
00:35:11.07\00:35:14.98
And there in that city
we find one of the most
00:35:15.04\00:35:19.11
amazing prophecies.
00:35:19.15\00:35:20.48
Jesus is
celebrating the Last Supper.
00:35:20.52\00:35:22.88
His disciples are
gathered around him.
00:35:22.92\00:35:25.32
And Jesus says to him,
One here, one of My disciples,
00:35:25.35\00:35:30.13
will indeed betray Me.
00:35:30.19\00:35:32.36
The disciples are shocked.
00:35:32.39\00:35:34.50
But soon Judas leaves the Last
Supper, and he goes out on his
00:35:34.53\00:35:38.77
fateful mission
to betray Christ.
00:35:38.80\00:35:42.17
But did you realize that the
betrayal of Jesus was predicted
00:35:42.20\00:35:49.04
over a thousand
years in advance?
00:35:49.08\00:35:51.91
Listen how it's put
in the book of Psalms.
00:35:51.95\00:35:54.22
A familiar friend, one who
would be eating that communion
00:36:07.36\00:36:11.83
supper with Christ;
that one would betray Christ.
00:36:11.87\00:36:15.77
Did you notice
what the text said?
00:36:15.80\00:36:17.27
The one whom I trusted,
the one who ate bread with Me,
00:36:17.31\00:36:20.18
My familiar friend.
00:36:20.21\00:36:21.54
Psalm 41, a thousand years
before Christ, predicted the
00:36:21.58\00:36:28.42
betrayal of Jesus by Judas.
00:36:28.45\00:36:30.89
But yet the prophecy
becomes even more exact.
00:36:30.92\00:36:35.42
It becomes even more precise.
00:36:35.46\00:36:37.53
Do you remember how
much Jesus was betrayed for?
00:36:37.59\00:36:42.53
Do you remember it?
00:36:42.56\00:36:43.90
What was it? You're right!
00:36:43.93\00:36:45.27
It was thirty pieces of silver.
00:36:45.30\00:36:47.84
Did you know
that that prediction
00:36:47.87\00:36:50.41
was in the Bible, too?
00:36:50.44\00:36:52.61
Zachariah the prophet predicts,
Chapter 11, verse 12 and 13:
00:36:52.67\00:36:57.05
Why was it not
thirty-five pieces of silver?
00:37:01.68\00:37:04.85
Why when Jesus was
betrayed, why wasn't it
00:37:04.89\00:37:08.02
forty-two pieces of silver?
00:37:08.09\00:37:09.56
Why was it precisely
thirty pieces of silver?
00:37:09.59\00:37:13.19
Thirty pieces of silver
was the price of a slave
00:37:13.23\00:37:16.77
in the days of Christ.
00:37:16.80\00:37:19.90
You know, prices fluctuate.
00:37:19.93\00:37:22.74
The price of a loaf of bread
today is different than the
00:37:22.77\00:37:26.21
price of a loaf of
bread fifty years ago.
00:37:26.24\00:37:28.38
The price of gasoline for
your car is different today
00:37:28.44\00:37:31.91
than it was thirty years ago.
00:37:31.98\00:37:34.12
How did Zachariah know hundreds
of years in advance that the
00:37:34.15\00:37:39.32
exact price of a slave would
be thirty pieces of silver?
00:37:39.35\00:37:44.49
How did he know that Jesus
would be betrayed for exactly
00:37:44.53\00:37:49.53
thirty pieces of silver?
00:37:49.56\00:37:51.57
When you look at
the precision of these
00:37:51.60\00:37:53.74
prophecies, they are amazing.
00:37:53.77\00:37:56.87
Now this
particular prophecy goes on.
00:37:56.91\00:37:59.71
It tells us the amount that
Jesus would be betrayed for:
00:37:59.74\00:38:04.15
thirty pieces of silver.
00:38:04.21\00:38:05.88
But not only does it tell us
the amount that Christ would be
00:38:05.91\00:38:09.52
betrayed for, but
it tells us the result.
00:38:09.55\00:38:12.25
In other words, what
would happen with the money.
00:38:12.29\00:38:16.32
Now you recall exactly
what the Bible teaches,
00:38:16.36\00:38:20.36
and what the Bible says.
00:38:20.40\00:38:21.73
After Judas betrayed Christ for
that thirty pieces of silver,
00:38:21.76\00:38:27.00
he began to feel so discouraged,
so disappointed, so shamed
00:38:27.04\00:38:32.21
for what he did that he
came back to the priests.
00:38:32.27\00:38:35.18
He threw that blood
money down on the floor.
00:38:35.21\00:38:38.95
What did they do
with the blood money?
00:38:39.01\00:38:41.18
They took it and bought a
field to bury strangers in.
00:38:41.22\00:38:46.96
They took that money
and purchased that field
00:38:46.99\00:38:51.29
as a burial ground.
00:38:51.33\00:38:53.53
What does the Bible say about
what would happen to that money?
00:38:53.56\00:38:56.70
What does it say, not only about
the result of Judas throwing
00:38:56.77\00:38:59.87
the money on the floor in
the temple, but the place that
00:38:59.90\00:39:02.40
would be purchased?
00:39:02.44\00:39:03.77
The Bible is incredibly precise.
00:39:03.81\00:39:06.41
Exactly what the
Bible said would happen.
00:39:12.35\00:39:15.45
But then scripture goes on.
00:39:15.48\00:39:17.39
That's what Zachariah's
prophecy said would happen.
00:39:22.69\00:39:25.29
Hundreds of years in advance
it's predicted by Zachariah
00:39:25.33\00:39:29.03
and then Matthew
describes the historical
00:39:29.06\00:39:32.33
events of what happened.
00:39:32.37\00:39:33.70
And it happened
exactly as the Bible predicted.
00:39:33.74\00:39:37.51
predicted exact details
that would take place right
00:39:45.15\00:39:49.45
around the cross of Calvary.
00:39:49.48\00:39:51.49
Look at Isaiah 50:6 says this:
00:39:51.52\00:39:53.49
You remember the story well.
00:40:01.66\00:40:04.80
Christ is lashed to a column.
00:40:04.83\00:40:07.90
He's stripped to the waist.
00:40:07.94\00:40:10.71
The executioner approaches
Jesus, and the Bible says in
00:40:10.74\00:40:15.34
They come and
they spit in His face.
00:40:21.22\00:40:23.69
They take that
leather whip, and as they do,
00:40:23.72\00:40:27.29
the leather whip is embedded
with jagged metal, and bone.
00:40:27.32\00:40:30.99
And they whip Him
again, and again, and again.
00:40:31.03\00:40:34.30
The whip is wrapped around Him.
00:40:34.33\00:40:36.30
The executioner pulls
it back, and it rips out
00:40:36.33\00:40:39.60
the flesh of Christ.
00:40:39.63\00:40:41.44
Many people going through
that beating, many people going
00:40:41.50\00:40:44.97
through that whipping
died from the loss of blood.
00:40:45.01\00:40:48.54
There they took
a crown of thorns,
00:40:48.58\00:40:50.88
and they jammed
it upon His head.
00:40:50.95\00:40:53.21
Blood ran down His face.
00:40:53.25\00:40:55.08
They whipped Him, and beat
Him again, and again, and again
00:40:55.15\00:40:58.62
in that flagellation.
00:40:58.65\00:41:00.66
But yet this was predicted
hundreds of years in advance.
00:41:00.72\00:41:08.23
Jesus' biography, not
written after He died,
00:41:08.26\00:41:14.27
written before He died, and
confirmed in the New Testament
00:41:14.30\00:41:18.71
in the writings of
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
00:41:18.74\00:41:22.68
Jesus, of course, tried there
before Pilot, and Pilot says,
00:41:22.71\00:41:28.55
Who shall I release to you?
00:41:28.58\00:41:31.39
Shall it be Christ or Barabbas?
00:41:31.42\00:41:34.16
And the crowd cries out,
Release unto us Barabbas.
00:41:34.19\00:41:37.99
What shall I do with Christ?
00:41:38.03\00:41:39.76
Crucify Him!
Crucify Him! Crucify Him!
00:41:39.79\00:41:43.67
Come with me to Calvary's cross.
00:41:43.70\00:41:46.70
Come with me and watch the
nails driven through His hands.
00:41:46.74\00:41:50.74
Come with me and watch
the spear wound in His side.
00:41:50.77\00:41:54.01
Who is this that hangs
between heaven and earth?
00:41:54.04\00:41:57.21
Who is this who hangs on this
cross with blood running down
00:41:57.25\00:42:02.55
His face, with
sorrow in His eyes?
00:42:02.58\00:42:05.82
Who is this who hangs there?
00:42:05.85\00:42:08.12
He is Jesus, the One worshipped
by 10,000 times 10,000 angels.
00:42:08.19\00:42:14.43
The One who at His very
word angels winged their
00:42:14.46\00:42:20.37
way to worlds afar.
00:42:20.44\00:42:22.34
The One who cast
this world into space.
00:42:22.37\00:42:26.61
The One at whose very word
He created sun, moon, and stars.
00:42:26.64\00:42:31.11
Who is this that hangs
there but the Divine Christ,
00:42:31.15\00:42:34.02
the Creator of the Universe.
00:42:34.05\00:42:35.98
Who is this with
the blood tinged face?
00:42:36.02\00:42:39.55
Who is this crying out
on that cross of Calvary,
00:42:39.59\00:42:42.96
Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do.
00:42:42.99\00:42:46.33
Who is this?
More than a good man.
00:42:46.36\00:42:48.80
More than an
ethical philosopher.
00:42:48.83\00:42:51.27
More than a moral teacher.
00:42:51.30\00:42:53.47
He is the Divine Son of God
tabernacling in human flesh.
00:42:53.54\00:42:58.07
If Christ is not divine, He
cannot offer you eternal life.
00:42:58.11\00:43:02.58
If He didn't live from eternity
with no beginning and no ending,
00:43:02.61\00:43:06.35
He can't give you a
life with no ending.
00:43:06.38\00:43:09.58
He is Jesus, the
Divine Son of God.
00:43:09.62\00:43:13.79
And all the demons in hell could
not destroy the faith of Jesus.
00:43:13.86\00:43:23.53
On that cross He triumphed
over the principalities
00:43:23.57\00:43:28.14
and powers of hell.
00:43:28.17\00:43:30.04
And there hanging on
that cross, two thieves,
00:43:30.07\00:43:33.34
one on either side of him,
and one thief looks and says,
00:43:33.38\00:43:37.48
If you're the Son of God
come down from the cross.
00:43:37.51\00:43:39.65
He could have come down.
00:43:39.68\00:43:41.02
He could have
called 10,000 angels.
00:43:41.05\00:43:42.98
But the other thief
says, Remember me when You
00:43:44.45\00:43:47.46
come into Your kingdom.
00:43:47.49\00:43:48.82
And Jesus looks at that thief,
and says, I say to you today,
00:43:48.86\00:43:52.09
this day that it looks
like I can't save anybody,
00:43:52.16\00:43:54.93
this day with nails through my
hands, this day with a crown of
00:43:54.96\00:43:58.63
thorns upon my head, this day
of darkness, I say to you today,
00:43:58.67\00:44:02.27
You will be with Me in heaven.
00:44:03.04\00:44:05.21
There's never been a man,
never been a woman who sincerely
00:44:05.24\00:44:11.81
and honestly
asked for God's grace,
00:44:11.85\00:44:13.38
and forgiveness,
and not found it.
00:44:13.42\00:44:14.92
He is the Divine Son of God.
00:44:14.95\00:44:17.32
He can offer you forgiveness.
00:44:17.35\00:44:19.65
He can offer you grace.
00:44:19.69\00:44:21.49
He can offer you mercy.
00:44:21.52\00:44:23.22
This very day,
wherever you are, the death of
00:44:23.26\00:44:27.73
Christ was for you.
00:44:27.76\00:44:29.10
Will you turn your
back on that death?
00:44:29.13\00:44:31.83
Will you walk
away from that grace?
00:44:31.87\00:44:35.37
Will you turn your
back on that mercy?
00:44:35.40\00:44:38.84
You know, the Bible predicts
that Christ would be crucified.
00:44:38.87\00:44:43.41
It's quite fascinating.
00:44:43.45\00:44:44.91
You look at Psalm
22:16 a thousand years
00:44:44.95\00:44:47.18
in advance David says:
00:44:47.22\00:44:48.55
Now here's the
question: How did David know?
00:44:50.99\00:44:54.72
How did he know that
Christ would be crucified?
00:44:55.36\00:44:58.99
Stoning was the
method of capital punishment
00:44:59.03\00:45:02.60
in the Old Testament.
00:45:02.63\00:45:03.97
Either stoning, or some people
were hung by a rope on a tree.
00:45:04.00\00:45:07.20
Crucifixion did not yet
exist in the days of David.
00:45:07.24\00:45:12.91
How did they know?
00:45:12.94\00:45:15.84
You see, remember when Mary
was cast at the feet of Christ?
00:45:15.88\00:45:20.68
What was the Jewish
method of trying to destroy her?
00:45:20.72\00:45:23.39
The Jewish
Pharisees wanted to do what?
00:45:23.42\00:45:25.69
They wanted to stone her.
00:45:25.72\00:45:27.06
But yet how was it possible
that David would know that
00:45:27.09\00:45:33.19
Christ would be crucified?
00:45:33.23\00:45:34.63
You see, crucifixion
was practiced from about
00:45:34.66\00:45:38.20
150 B.C. with the Romans...
00:45:38.23\00:45:40.20
It was very common.
00:45:40.24\00:45:41.74
...to about A.D. 320
00:45:41.77\00:45:43.24
One of the good things that
Constantine, the Roman Emperor,
00:45:43.27\00:45:46.17
actually did was do
away with crucifixion.
00:45:46.21\00:45:49.04
But it was practiced for
about that 450-470 year period.
00:45:49.08\00:45:53.82
It wasn't practiced
in the days of David.
00:45:53.85\00:45:56.92
The Jews method was
to simply stone people.
00:45:56.95\00:45:59.99
They didn't crucify them.
00:46:00.02\00:46:01.56
But yet, David knew, through
divine prophetic insight,
00:46:01.59\00:46:06.09
that Christ's
hands would be pierced.
00:46:06.13\00:46:09.40
David knew that only
because God revealed it to him.
00:46:09.46\00:46:13.94
And why did God reveal
these prophecies so clearly and
00:46:13.97\00:46:18.44
precisely down
through the centuries?
00:46:18.47\00:46:21.34
To show to you and to me,
without a shadow of a doubt,
00:46:21.41\00:46:24.58
that faith is not based on
some warm fuzzy feeling inside.
00:46:24.61\00:46:27.75
Faith is not based on
some emotional response.
00:46:27.78\00:46:32.19
You don't have to check
your brains at the door when you
00:46:32.22\00:46:35.89
become a Christian.
00:46:35.92\00:46:37.26
When you become a Christian
you accept the evidence,
00:46:37.29\00:46:39.79
the evidence that is
irrefutable, the evidence that
00:46:39.83\00:46:42.76
is undeniable, the evidence that
is so precise, and accurate,
00:46:42.80\00:46:46.43
and clear from scripture.
00:46:46.47\00:46:47.84
That's why John had
such death defying faith
00:46:47.87\00:46:50.54
on the Island of Patmos.
00:46:50.57\00:46:51.91
That's why he could write
the book of Revelation at a time
00:46:51.94\00:46:55.21
of persecution and oppression,
with such hope and confidence.
00:46:55.24\00:46:58.45
That's why we can have such
hope and confidence at the end,
00:46:58.48\00:47:01.65
because Jesus,
indeed is the Divine Christ.
00:47:01.68\00:47:04.89
He was indeed the
Divine Son of God.
00:47:10.23\00:47:13.90
And this living Christ,
who is the Divine Son of God,
00:47:13.96\00:47:17.10
has changed the lives
of thousands of people
00:47:17.13\00:47:19.80
down through the
centuries, and He can
00:47:19.83\00:47:21.94
reach out and touch you.
00:47:21.97\00:47:23.30
He can reach out and change
your life this very night.
00:47:23.34\00:47:27.58
This living Christ
can forgive your sins.
00:47:27.61\00:47:31.31
This living Christ
can take away your guilt.
00:47:31.35\00:47:34.45
This living Christ
can take away your shame.
00:47:34.48\00:47:37.59
This living Christ
can give you peace.
00:47:37.62\00:47:39.99
This living Christ
can give you purpose.
00:47:40.02\00:47:42.56
This living Christ
can give you forgiveness.
00:47:42.59\00:47:45.06
This living Christ can
give you a reason to live today,
00:47:45.09\00:47:49.40
tomorrow, and forever.
00:47:49.43\00:47:51.80
A hardened Roman soldier came
to the cross, and this Roman
00:47:51.83\00:47:57.94
soldier was no
namby-pamby spineless jellyfish.
00:47:57.97\00:48:03.91
He had seen death before.
00:48:03.95\00:48:06.18
He had seen men and women
hung up on the trees before.
00:48:06.21\00:48:10.72
He had killed many a man.
00:48:10.79\00:48:12.45
He had killed many a child.
00:48:12.49\00:48:14.09
You know, the Romans at times
would take a baby and throw
00:48:14.12\00:48:16.26
it up in their arms in
the viciousness of battle,
00:48:16.29\00:48:19.79
and pierce that
child with a sword.
00:48:19.83\00:48:23.50
These people knew bloodshed,
they knew battle, they knew war.
00:48:23.53\00:48:27.80
The Roman Centurion came to
that cross, and he listened to
00:48:27.84\00:48:32.07
Christ's words, Forgive
them, for they don't know
00:48:32.11\00:48:35.34
what they're doing.
00:48:35.38\00:48:36.71
He listened to Christ as He
spoke to the thief and said,
00:48:36.75\00:48:39.81
I'll remember you when
you come into paradise.
00:48:39.85\00:48:43.02
I will be there when I
am ascended to the Father.
00:48:43.05\00:48:46.15
And I will guarantee you eternal
life based on your faith in Me.
00:48:46.19\00:48:52.26
The Roman Centurion heard that.
00:48:52.29\00:48:54.03
And this hard-hearted, calloused
Roman Centurion knelt at the
00:48:54.06\00:49:00.84
foot of the
cross and found Christ.
00:49:00.87\00:49:04.31
I don't know how
hard your heart is.
00:49:04.34\00:49:07.74
I don't know how many times
you turned away from Christ.
00:49:08.58\00:49:11.48
But I know this, this
living Christ is alive.
00:49:11.51\00:49:16.58
Jesus is alive! The
tomb did not hold Him!
00:49:27.60\00:49:33.57
Jesus isn't lying in His tomb.
00:49:38.37\00:49:43.45
The Christ who lived, the
Christ in whose life all these
00:49:55.82\00:50:02.86
prophecies were fulfilled, the
Christ who hung on that cross
00:50:02.90\00:50:09.90
for you, the Christ who lives
for you, the Christ whose tomb
00:50:09.94\00:50:17.08
is empty is reaching
out to you right now.
00:50:17.11\00:50:22.18
One night I was preaching in
Mexico and a family sat in about
00:50:22.22\00:50:29.42
the third or fourth
row just smiling, beaming,
00:50:29.46\00:50:33.90
eyes sparkling;
husband and wife, and son.
00:50:33.93\00:50:37.47
And I met Hosea after
the meeting and I said,
00:50:37.50\00:50:40.97
Your family looks to me
like the model Christian family.
00:50:41.00\00:50:44.07
Hosea dropped his
head, he looked up.
00:50:44.11\00:50:47.24
He said, We have not
always been this way.
00:50:47.28\00:50:52.21
I said, Hosea,
tell me your story.
00:50:52.25\00:50:54.38
He said, I was a
drinking, angry man.
00:50:55.45\00:50:59.79
Often I came home
and slapped my wife.
00:50:59.82\00:51:04.23
Very often I began
to yell, and scream.
00:51:04.26\00:51:08.63
I created havoc in the family.
00:51:08.66\00:51:10.50
He said, You see
my son; ten years old?
00:51:10.57\00:51:13.07
One day my son took a knife,
and I had come home angry,
00:51:13.10\00:51:17.44
and I was about ready to
beat my wife, and my son jumped
00:51:17.47\00:51:21.74
on me with this
knife to stab me.
00:51:21.81\00:51:24.88
And he said, I flipped
him over, gave him some slaps,
00:51:24.91\00:51:29.12
and took the knife.
00:51:29.15\00:51:30.49
But I began to recognize
that something was wrong.
00:51:31.05\00:51:34.72
I began to recognize that
I needed a change in my life.
00:51:34.76\00:51:38.86
A Christian neighbor,
a Seventh-day Adventist,
00:51:38.89\00:51:41.90
began to visit us. And
that Adventist opened the Bible,
00:51:41.93\00:51:46.50
and I began to
understand about Christ.
00:51:46.53\00:51:51.74
First this believer, this
Christian woman, studied the
00:51:51.77\00:51:56.24
Bible with my wife and son.
00:51:56.28\00:51:57.61
They had new hope, and new
joy, and they began to pray
00:51:57.65\00:51:59.95
with me, then I
joined the Bible studies.
00:51:59.98\00:52:01.52
And, Pastor, my life is changed,
because I said to Jesus,
00:52:01.55\00:52:06.69
Have Thine own way,
Lord, have Thine own way.
00:52:06.72\00:52:10.93
I'm the potter, you're the clay.
00:52:10.96\00:52:12.66
Jesus, if you're
divine, take me in your hands,
00:52:12.69\00:52:20.07
and make me over again.
00:52:20.10\00:52:22.84
Christ did that for Hosea.
00:52:22.87\00:52:25.57
And, Christ, my friend, can do
that for you as you come to Him
00:52:25.61\00:52:30.41
just now as Tim sings.
00:52:30.45\00:52:33.31
And as you kneel and
say, Have Thine Own Way, Lord,
00:52:33.35\00:52:37.12
Have Thine Own Way.
00:52:37.19\00:52:39.35
Have Thine own way,
Lord, have Thine own way.
00:52:39.39\00:52:51.30
Thou art the
potter, I am the clay.
00:52:51.33\00:53:02.48
Mold me and make
me, after thy will,
00:53:02.51\00:53:14.22
while I am
waiting, yielded and still.
00:53:14.26\00:53:25.87
Have Thine own way,
Lord, have Thine own way.
00:53:25.90\00:53:37.11
Search me and
try me, Savior today.
00:53:37.15\00:53:47.92
Wash me just now,
Lord, Oh wash me just now,
00:53:47.96\00:53:58.67
as in Thy
presence, humbly I bow.
00:53:58.70\00:54:11.41
Have Thine own way,
Lord, have Thine own way.
00:54:11.45\00:54:21.39
Wounded and
weary, Lord now I pray.
00:54:21.42\00:54:31.33
Power, all
power surely is Thine.
00:54:31.37\00:54:41.24
Touch me and heal
me, Oh Savior Divine.
00:54:41.28\00:54:53.49
Have Thine own way,
Lord, have Thine own way.
00:54:53.52\00:55:04.20
Hold o'er my
being absolute sway.
00:55:04.23\00:55:14.01
Fill with Thy
Spirit, till all shall see,
00:55:14.08\00:55:25.02
Christ only,
always, living in me.
00:55:25.05\00:55:42.37
Is the Spirit of
God touching your heart?
00:55:42.40\00:55:48.61
There is somebody watching
this broadcast that needs Jesus.
00:55:48.64\00:55:55.68
There's somebody watching this
broadcast that right now wants
00:55:55.75\00:56:02.76
to say, Lord, have
Thine own way in my life.
00:56:02.79\00:56:05.19
Lord, I need You desperately.
00:56:05.23\00:56:08.10
I sense tonight that
You are the Divine Christ,
00:56:08.16\00:56:12.70
and I sense that
without You I'm lost.
00:56:12.73\00:56:17.07
I'm powerless. Jesus, I need
You, and I need You right now.
00:56:18.17\00:56:23.45
The thief needed
Him, and he found Him.
00:56:23.48\00:56:27.48
The Roman Centurion
needed Him, and he found Him.
00:56:27.52\00:56:31.69
Christ is reaching
out to you right now.
00:56:31.72\00:56:34.72
As I pray would
you like to say, Lord,
00:56:34.76\00:56:37.73
have Your own way in my life?
00:56:37.76\00:56:40.00
Lord, I'm giving
you my life right now.
00:56:40.03\00:56:43.43
Let's pray together.
00:56:43.47\00:56:44.80
Father in Heaven,
thank You for Jesus.
00:56:44.83\00:56:47.17
Thank You that He is
more than a good man,
00:56:47.20\00:56:50.21
and an ethical philosopher.
00:56:50.24\00:56:52.41
Thank you that His
offer of eternal life is real,
00:56:52.44\00:56:54.88
that we can reach out
and have it right now.
00:56:54.91\00:56:56.85
Thank you for the power of
Christ that's available to us
00:56:56.88\00:56:59.88
to change us, to
make us over again,
00:56:59.91\00:57:01.98
men and women, boys and girls.
00:57:02.02\00:57:04.12
And, Lord, we open our
hearts and we say to You,
00:57:04.15\00:57:06.79
Have Thine own way, Lord.
00:57:06.82\00:57:09.19
In the name of Christ, Amen.
00:57:09.22\00:57:11.56
Thank you for
joining us for another of
00:57:12.79\00:57:15.96
Revelation's
Ancient Discoveries.
00:57:16.00\00:57:17.87
Don't miss one of this series.
00:57:17.90\00:57:19.73
We are setting a background,
but we're going to go deeply
00:57:19.77\00:57:22.94
into the prophecies of
the book of Revelation.
00:57:22.97\00:57:24.84
God bless you, and may your
week be filled with His grace.
00:57:24.87\00:57:29.61