It was just three weeks before
our 27th wedding anniversary
00:00:19.91\00:00:25.22
that was eight years ago
00:00:25.25\00:00:28.19
and in six days we will be
celebrating Dena's birthday
00:00:28.22\00:00:33.66
five days my birthday and
four days we were scheduled
00:00:33.69\00:00:38.49
to leave for a
deluxe luxury vacation
00:00:38.52\00:00:42.56
in Cozumel, Mexico
to celebrate it all.
00:00:42.59\00:00:46.50
I had two
frequent flyer tickets,
00:00:46.53\00:00:49.08
that's about the only way we
can afford to travel like that
00:00:49.11\00:00:52.21
and my
father-in-law had a time share
00:00:52.24\00:00:55.11
which he didn't use that year.
00:00:55.14\00:00:56.94
He gave it to us and we booked
one week in a luxury resort
00:00:56.97\00:01:01.53
on the southern tip
of Cozumel just minutes
00:01:01.56\00:01:04.83
from some of the finest
scuba diving in the world.
00:01:04.86\00:01:07.58
It's like going to
Mecca, it doesn't get any better
00:01:07.61\00:01:10.33
than that beside a heaven.
00:01:10.36\00:01:14.80
It was Wednesday four days
before we are going to leave,
00:01:14.83\00:01:17.80
and then to top it all off just
shortly after we got back home
00:01:17.83\00:01:21.11
we are off to Bozeman, Montana
to do a Revelation Now meeting.
00:01:21.14\00:01:24.53
Montana one of our
favorite places to go.
00:01:24.56\00:01:27.13
Bozeman is at
the top of the list.
00:01:27.16\00:01:29.22
So, I mean it doesn't
get any better than this.
00:01:29.25\00:01:31.72
We were riding on the crust of
the waves, celebrating it all.
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We stopped at the dive
shop to pick up our equipment,
00:01:35.08\00:01:38.31
we had taken in, they
get cleaned and checked out.
00:01:38.34\00:01:41.03
And on the way back
home we had a quick stop
00:01:41.06\00:01:43.65
to make at the doctors office
00:01:43.68\00:01:45.38
because Dena had a little simple
procedure done on her neck
00:01:45.41\00:01:49.48
and she need to
get some stitches out,
00:01:49.51\00:01:51.50
but the doctor said
don't worry those stitches
00:01:51.53\00:01:53.84
aren't going to stop
her from being able to dive.
00:01:53.87\00:01:56.48
So we are sitting there in
the doctor's office waiting,
00:01:56.51\00:01:59.04
he comes in with the
clipboard in his hand.
00:01:59.07\00:02:02.84
Looking down at the floor,
00:02:02.87\00:02:04.45
not even looking
at us in the eye,
00:02:04.48\00:02:06.49
shaking his head
saying I'm sorry,
00:02:06.52\00:02:14.28
I was wrong but Dena has cancer.
00:02:14.31\00:02:19.47
It's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
00:02:22.26\00:02:25.03
and he said the good news is
00:02:28.22\00:02:29.70
that if you are
going to get a cancer,
00:02:29.73\00:02:31.94
this is the one
that you want to get.
00:02:31.97\00:02:35.26
We caught it early stage one and
we can cure it, it's curable.
00:02:35.29\00:02:41.67
I said, well, we are going
to Cozumel, Mexico four days.
00:02:45.80\00:02:51.07
He said, well you
really need to stay home
00:02:54.16\00:02:56.22
and get started with the
testing, you shouldn't go.
00:02:56.25\00:03:03.31
But in a couple of weeks we
are going to Bozeman, Montana
00:03:03.34\00:03:07.27
to do a Revelation Now meeting
00:03:07.30\00:03:09.43
and she is going to be
gone for four weeks, five weeks.
00:03:09.46\00:03:14.60
She is not going
to be able to go.
00:03:14.63\00:03:18.12
She needs to stay
and start her treatment.
00:03:18.15\00:03:20.86
We caught it early but we
need to start the treatment.
00:03:20.89\00:03:23.48
And instantly our whole
world was totally changed.
00:03:27.18\00:03:31.70
Cancelled the vacation,
booked a couple of nights
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in a little
motel, just outside of
00:03:39.27\00:03:41.19
Mount Rainier in
Packwood, Washington.
00:03:41.22\00:03:44.66
Dena loves that mountain
and we just needed some time
00:03:44.69\00:03:49.67
to talk about it, process,
what are we going to do now?
00:03:49.70\00:03:57.02
And one of the things I
have to deal with was why.
00:03:57.05\00:04:02.97
Why did God
lead Dena get cancer?
00:04:05.92\00:04:12.69
She spent her
whole life serving Him.
00:04:14.30\00:04:18.04
We have spent 27 years
on the road living in RVs
00:04:18.07\00:04:23.46
and sometimes
dismal motels, jungle huts,
00:04:23.49\00:04:26.91
unbearable heat, humidity,
mosquitoes fighting amoebas
00:04:26.94\00:04:31.43
and all other kinds of diseases
00:04:31.46\00:04:33.39
nearly dying in
the jungles, why Dena?
00:04:33.42\00:04:38.08
Why does God let bad
things happen to good people?
00:04:38.11\00:04:41.33
It's not that we are so
good but at least we are trying,
00:04:41.36\00:04:44.30
a lot of people
aren't even trying.
00:04:44.33\00:04:47.73
And they seem
to get a free ride.
00:04:47.76\00:04:51.95
But I didn't give up my faith.
00:04:51.98\00:04:53.78
I read that text in
James over and over again.
00:04:53.81\00:04:56.36
If anyone is sick,
let him call the elders
00:04:56.39\00:04:58.38
anoint him with oil
and pray and God will heal
00:04:58.41\00:05:01.47
and I believe that,
I clung to that promise
00:05:01.50\00:05:04.21
and so we got home.
00:05:04.24\00:05:05.27
I called all my pastor
friends, and I said, look,
00:05:05.30\00:05:07.91
you guys need to
come over to our house
00:05:07.94\00:05:09.64
and we need to do it now.
00:05:09.67\00:05:10.70
Because they are
going to start the testing
00:05:10.73\00:05:12.58
and I wanted to
have that prayer first
00:05:12.61\00:05:14.64
because I knew that God
would answer that prayer
00:05:14.67\00:05:17.47
and when the
doctors did their testing
00:05:17.50\00:05:19.32
the results would come
back and it would be clean,
00:05:19.35\00:05:21.72
there would be no problems.
00:05:21.75\00:05:23.08
So we came together,
they anointed her with oil,
00:05:23.11\00:05:25.92
we prayed and went
to begin the testing
00:05:25.95\00:05:29.16
and the results
came back we were wrong.
00:05:29.19\00:05:31.69
I knew it, it's not stage one,
00:05:31.72\00:05:37.48
it's stage four
and there is no cure
00:05:37.51\00:05:44.20
and there is no treatment.
00:05:44.23\00:05:46.92
Radiation won't work
because it's widespread,
00:05:46.95\00:05:49.12
it's in her bones now.
00:05:49.15\00:05:51.06
There is no chemo
that will cover it,
00:05:51.09\00:05:52.79
so there is a new
drug it's called Rituxan,
00:05:52.82\00:05:57.01
you may want to try
it but we don't have
00:05:57.04\00:05:58.55
a lot of
information on it yet. Why?
00:05:58.58\00:06:05.14
Why does God let bad
things happen to good people?
00:06:07.34\00:06:14.08
So open your
Bibles, Revelation 12:17.
00:06:16.77\00:06:21.18
"The dragon was angry at
the woman and he went off
00:06:21.21\00:06:25.19
to make war against
the rest of her offspring,
00:06:25.22\00:06:29.14
those who obey
God's commandments
00:06:29.17\00:06:31.83
and hold to the
testimony of Jesus."
00:06:31.86\00:06:34.83
The dragon is at war against
those who want to be obedient
00:06:34.86\00:06:41.06
to the commandments of God
00:06:41.09\00:06:43.30
and cling to the
cross of Jesus Christ.
00:06:43.33\00:06:46.96
The reason that bad
things happen to good people
00:06:46.99\00:06:51.77
is because the
dragon is attacking
00:06:51.80\00:06:54.55
those who want
to be good people.
00:06:54.58\00:06:59.66
Don't miss the connection here.
00:06:59.69\00:07:03.19
The dragon is at war
00:07:03.22\00:07:04.78
with the last of
God's people on this earth.
00:07:04.81\00:07:08.45
This is the final chapter,
00:07:08.48\00:07:10.64
the final unfolding of this
battle between good and evil.
00:07:10.67\00:07:15.52
And notice
again, don't miss this.
00:07:15.55\00:07:17.80
He is at war with those who
want to obey God's commandments
00:07:17.83\00:07:23.60
and cling to the
testimony of Jesus.
00:07:23.63\00:07:26.28
There is something
about the commandments of God
00:07:26.31\00:07:29.84
that arouses the
wrath of the dragon
00:07:29.87\00:07:33.52
that he turns against them
and those who want to obey them.
00:07:33.55\00:07:41.45
That's the reason that bad
things happen to good people,
00:07:41.48\00:07:46.25
it's because
the dragon is at war
00:07:46.28\00:07:48.64
with those who
want to be good people.
00:07:48.67\00:07:52.07
But that doesn't
answer the question
00:07:52.10\00:07:54.36
as to why does God allow it.
00:07:54.39\00:07:57.38
He could prevent the dragon from
attacking the people of God.
00:07:57.41\00:08:02.52
He could put a hedge around
everyone who wants to be good
00:08:02.55\00:08:06.18
and do right and say dragon,
you can't get through the hedge.
00:08:06.21\00:08:11.94
So why does God allow it and
in order to answer that question
00:08:11.97\00:08:16.07
we are going to have to go
a lot deeper into the Bible,
00:08:16.10\00:08:18.12
I hope you did your homework
and you read the Revelation 12
00:08:18.15\00:08:21.97
because we are going to
go deep into the word of God.
00:08:22.00\00:08:24.27
Fasten your seatbelts,
hold down for dear life.
00:08:24.30\00:08:26.84
Start with Chapter 12:1
00:08:26.87\00:08:29.39
"A great and wonderful
sign appeared in heaven,
00:08:29.42\00:08:34.65
a woman clothed with the sun,
and the moon under her feet,
00:08:34.68\00:08:37.78
a crown of twelve
stars on her head,
00:08:37.81\00:08:39.96
she was
pregnant, cried out in pain
00:08:39.99\00:08:42.45
as she was about to give birth.
00:08:42.48\00:08:44.10
And then another
sign appeared in heaven,
00:08:44.13\00:08:46.99
an enormous red
dragon with seven heads,
00:08:47.02\00:08:50.69
ten horns, seven
crowns on his heads.
00:08:50.72\00:08:53.17
His tail swept a third
of the stars out of the sky
00:08:53.20\00:08:57.08
and flung them
down to the earth.
00:08:57.11\00:09:02.63
The dragon stood
in front of the woman
00:09:02.66\00:09:04.12
who was about to give birth,
00:09:04.15\00:09:05.70
so that he might devour her
child the moment it was born.
00:09:05.73\00:09:10.72
She gave birth to
a son, a male child,
00:09:10.75\00:09:14.05
who would rule all the
nations with an iron scepter.
00:09:14.08\00:09:18.74
And her child was snatched
up to God and to his throne."
00:09:18.77\00:09:22.89
Three characters
in this prophecy,
00:09:22.92\00:09:25.66
a dragon, a woman
and a male child her son.
00:09:25.69\00:09:31.31
And we need to identify
all three of those characters
00:09:31.34\00:09:35.76
if we're ever going
to understand Revelation
00:09:35.79\00:09:38.30
because they are central
to the Book of Revelation.
00:09:38.33\00:09:42.14
Now, I could tell you
right now who they are,
00:09:42.17\00:09:45.14
but remember our
principles of interpretation.
00:09:45.17\00:09:48.23
So let's review our three keys.
00:09:48.26\00:09:50.84
Number one, the
Book of Revelation begins
00:09:50.87\00:09:53.62
with the words the Revelation
of whom? Jesus Christ.
00:09:53.65\00:09:57.96
So all the
prophecies must centre in
00:09:57.99\00:10:00.89
and focus on Jesus
Christ, that's number one.
00:10:00.92\00:10:04.45
Number two the Book or
Revelation quotes or alludes
00:10:04.48\00:10:07.84
to the Old Testament in
the Bible over how many times?
00:10:07.87\00:10:12.55
You got it, 600 times.
00:10:12.58\00:10:14.90
So that means we have to have a
foundation in the Old Testament
00:10:14.93\00:10:18.77
before we can ever
understand Revelation.
00:10:18.80\00:10:21.31
You are going to see
that one just loud and clear.
00:10:21.34\00:10:24.33
And then number three.
00:10:24.36\00:10:27.09
No private
interpretation will do.
00:10:27.12\00:10:29.63
But we know, we want
to know the interpretation
00:10:29.66\00:10:32.33
that God
intended for us to have.
00:10:32.36\00:10:34.67
And the only way we can do that
00:10:34.70\00:10:36.49
is to let
scripture interpret itself.
00:10:36.52\00:10:41.38
So how do you let the scripture
interpret itself, tell me?
00:10:41.41\00:10:47.58
Compare
scripture with scripture,
00:10:47.61\00:10:50.08
find places in the Bible that
talk about those same things
00:10:50.11\00:10:54.24
and line them all up
00:10:54.27\00:10:55.68
and they will all
point to the solution
00:10:55.71\00:10:58.25
that is Jesus Christ.
00:10:58.28\00:11:01.09
Now, the fourth key and we will
find that again in Revelation 1
00:11:01.12\00:11:08.22
the first few
verses look at it with me.
00:11:08.25\00:11:10.68
Verse 1, "The
Revelation of Jesus Christ,
00:11:10.71\00:11:12.68
which God gave him
to show his servants
00:11:12.71\00:11:15.45
what must soon take place.
00:11:15.48\00:11:17.32
He made it known by sending
his angel to his servant John,
00:11:17.35\00:11:21.98
who testified to
everything that he saw."
00:11:22.01\00:11:24.80
Now the words he made it
known in Greek actually mean
00:11:24.83\00:11:29.40
that he signified it,
00:11:29.43\00:11:31.71
that's the way the
King James translates it,
00:11:31.74\00:11:33.82
but actual Greek
means he symbolized it.
00:11:33.85\00:11:37.37
So the Book of Revelation
is the Revelation of Jesus
00:11:37.40\00:11:40.98
which is to show us what
must soon take place to signify
00:11:41.01\00:11:45.98
or to symbolize
what may soon take place.
00:11:46.01\00:11:49.29
So the Book of
Revelation predicts the future
00:11:49.32\00:11:52.54
but it does it by using symbols,
00:11:52.57\00:11:55.12
that means number four
00:11:55.15\00:11:57.36
that in order to
understand Revelation,
00:11:57.39\00:11:59.89
you have to
recognize, it is a symbolic book
00:11:59.92\00:12:04.14
and you have to
interpret the symbols
00:12:04.17\00:12:08.73
and not try to
understand it literally.
00:12:08.76\00:12:12.15
What do I mean by that?
00:12:12.18\00:12:13.84
Well for example in the chapter
we are studying right now
00:12:13.87\00:12:16.49
in Revelation 12, we discover a
great red dragon in the heavens.
00:12:16.52\00:12:21.86
Well, literally that would
mean that one day you would walk
00:12:21.89\00:12:25.12
outside of your
house, look up into the sky
00:12:25.15\00:12:27.60
and see a big red
dragon floating around
00:12:27.63\00:12:30.29
with seven heads and ten horns.
00:12:30.32\00:12:32.84
But, you are never
going to look up into the sky
00:12:32.87\00:12:35.23
and see a big red
dragon because it is a symbol,
00:12:35.26\00:12:38.88
not a literal description
of what's going to happen.
00:12:38.91\00:12:40.94
Are you following me on that?
00:12:40.97\00:12:42.64
All right, so it's symbolic.
00:12:42.67\00:12:44.63
Now how do you
interpret the symbols
00:12:44.66\00:12:46.86
because in order
to get Revelation
00:12:46.89\00:12:48.66
you have to break the
code and interpret the symbols,
00:12:48.69\00:12:51.19
how do you do it and
know you are doing it right.
00:12:51.22\00:12:53.63
Number three, no
private interpretation,
00:12:53.66\00:12:56.22
compare
scripture with scripture.
00:12:56.25\00:12:59.16
Now, let's put
those four keys to work
00:12:59.19\00:13:01.38
and you are going to
see how powerful it is
00:13:01.41\00:13:04.02
a tool to help you understand
the Book of Revelation.
00:13:04.05\00:13:07.18
I'm going to start with
the easiest of the three,
00:13:07.21\00:13:09.41
the easiest one is the dragon.
00:13:09.44\00:13:12.54
Now, I could tell you the
dragon symbolizes the devil
00:13:12.57\00:13:17.43
and you could believe that
00:13:17.46\00:13:19.66
or you could choose
not to believe that.
00:13:19.69\00:13:23.18
Because that's just me talking
00:13:23.21\00:13:25.34
and you don't have
to believe every man,
00:13:25.37\00:13:27.56
it's dangerous to follow a man.
00:13:27.59\00:13:31.18
So instead of just
believing what I say,
00:13:31.21\00:13:32.94
let's compare
scripture with scripture.
00:13:32.97\00:13:34.44
Easy to do, you
are not to go very far,
00:13:34.47\00:13:36.09
just turn to verse 9.
00:13:36.12\00:13:38.27
"The great dragon was
hurled down that ancient serpent
00:13:38.30\00:13:41.64
called the devil, or Satan."
00:13:41.67\00:13:44.11
Now The Bible says the
dragon is a symbol for Satan,
00:13:44.14\00:13:47.84
therefore you
have to believe that
00:13:47.87\00:13:50.19
if you want to believe
the Bible, see how easy it is.
00:13:50.22\00:13:55.23
Let scripture
interpret scripture.
00:13:55.26\00:13:57.26
Now that was an easy one,
00:13:57.29\00:13:58.32
you probably knew that
already before we did it.
00:13:58.35\00:14:01.15
Let's turn to one
that's a little more difficult
00:14:01.18\00:14:04.25
and that's the
child, the male child.
00:14:04.28\00:14:08.80
I see four identifying marks,
first of all it's a male, a son.
00:14:08.83\00:14:14.38
The second one, the dragon
trying to devour this child
00:14:14.41\00:14:17.90
the moment he was
born and on the third one
00:14:17.93\00:14:20.77
he was snatched up
to God and to his throne
00:14:20.80\00:14:23.20
and the fourth one is that
he would rule all the nations
00:14:23.23\00:14:28.26
with an iron rod
like the King James says
00:14:28.29\00:14:30.90
or a iron scepter in the NIV.
00:14:30.93\00:14:33.67
Four identifying marks.
00:14:33.70\00:14:35.59
Now I believe that that
male child is Jesus Christ.
00:14:35.62\00:14:41.46
Jesus is the center
of all the prophecies.
00:14:41.49\00:14:45.14
But you see you
don't have to believe that
00:14:45.17\00:14:46.72
because that just me
telling you my interpretation.
00:14:46.75\00:14:50.96
A lot of people teach
that it cannot be Jesus Christ
00:14:50.99\00:14:54.25
because the Bible says
he rules with an iron rod
00:14:54.28\00:14:57.82
and Jesus wouldn't
rule with an iron rod,
00:14:57.85\00:15:00.32
He rules with love.
00:15:00.35\00:15:02.46
Well that makes sense?
00:15:02.49\00:15:05.56
But does it square
up with the scripture.
00:15:05.59\00:15:08.64
That's the question, does it
square up with the scripture.
00:15:08.67\00:15:11.12
So let's identify
who is this child.
00:15:11.15\00:15:14.88
This male child,
it says he was male,
00:15:14.91\00:15:17.67
Jesus was a male, that one fits.
00:15:17.70\00:15:20.79
Says the dragon try to devour
him the moment he was born.
00:15:20.82\00:15:24.14
The dragon is the devil, we have
already identified that Satan,
00:15:24.17\00:15:28.26
he try to devour this child.
00:15:28.29\00:15:30.15
Now, remember
the dragon is Satan,
00:15:30.18\00:15:32.46
but Satan never works as Satan.
00:15:32.49\00:15:36.75
He never works as the devil.
00:15:36.78\00:15:39.37
He doesn't go running around
in those little red jumpsuits,
00:15:39.40\00:15:42.12
two horns on his head
long tail arrow on end,
00:15:42.15\00:15:44.24
pitchfork in his hand.
00:15:44.27\00:15:47.37
He appears masqueraded
as an angel of light.
00:15:47.40\00:15:53.04
He works through
human instruments.
00:15:53.07\00:15:56.86
This time the
Pagan Roman King Herod,
00:15:56.89\00:16:03.21
the Roman King Herod.
00:16:03.24\00:16:05.05
Remember when he discovered
that the child was born
00:16:05.08\00:16:08.74
issued a decree in
the Book of Matthew 2
00:16:08.77\00:16:11.70
that all baby boys under the
age of two would be put to death
00:16:11.73\00:16:14.81
trying to devour that
child the moment it was born.
00:16:14.84\00:16:18.27
So the male
child fits the dragon
00:16:18.30\00:16:20.49
trying to devour him fits.
00:16:20.52\00:16:24.12
He was snatched up to God
and to his throne that one fits
00:16:24.15\00:16:27.65
because Jesus was caught up
to God and to his throne, amen.
00:16:27.68\00:16:32.63
But what about that iron rod,
00:16:32.66\00:16:35.11
it says he will rule the
nations with an iron rod.
00:16:35.14\00:16:38.13
Hold your place,
turn to Revelation 19:11.
00:16:38.16\00:16:45.69
"I saw heaven standing open
00:16:45.72\00:16:47.23
and there before
me was a white horse,
00:16:47.26\00:16:48.97
whose rider is
called Faithful and True.
00:16:49.00\00:16:52.15
With justice he
judges and makes war.
00:16:52.18\00:16:54.84
His eyes are like blazing fire,
00:16:54.87\00:16:56.77
and on his head are many crowns.
00:16:56.80\00:16:58.54
He has a name written on him
00:16:58.57\00:16:59.84
that no one but
he himself knows.
00:16:59.87\00:17:01.69
He is dressed in a
robe dipped in blood,
00:17:01.72\00:17:03.84
and his name is
the Word of God."
00:17:03.87\00:17:05.88
Who is that? Jesus Christ.
00:17:05.91\00:17:08.62
And just in case you are
not sure, look at verse 16.
00:17:08.65\00:17:11.73
"On his robe and on his
thigh he has this name written:
00:17:11.76\00:17:15.24
King of kings
and Lord of lords."
00:17:15.27\00:17:18.19
That's Jesus Christ, amen.
00:17:18.22\00:17:20.79
The rider on the
white horse is Jesus Christ
00:17:20.82\00:17:23.52
but watch I skipped
verse 15, verse 15 says,
00:17:23.55\00:17:26.89
"Out of his mouth
comes a sharp sword
00:17:26.92\00:17:29.52
with which to
strike down the nations
00:17:29.55\00:17:31.87
and He will rule them
with an iron scepter."
00:17:31.90\00:17:37.36
So Jesus does rule
with an iron scepter.
00:17:37.39\00:17:40.95
What does that mean?
00:17:40.98\00:17:42.18
The only way to really
understand that is to go back
00:17:42.21\00:17:44.62
because it's
quoting the Old Testament,
00:17:44.65\00:17:46.84
that's right,
quoting Old Testament,
00:17:46.87\00:17:48.86
Psalm 2 in the 2 Psalm
which is a song that was written
00:17:48.89\00:17:56.31
anticipating that the
Messiah was going to come
00:17:56.34\00:18:00.39
and they would sing
this song looking forward
00:18:00.42\00:18:03.28
to the
appearance of the Messiah.
00:18:03.31\00:18:06.02
And listen to what it says
in Psalm 2:7 He said to me,
00:18:06.05\00:18:12.21
"You are my Son today I
have become your Father.
00:18:12.24\00:18:15.39
Ask with me, and I will make
the nations your inheritance,
00:18:15.42\00:18:18.16
the ends of the
earth your possession.
00:18:18.19\00:18:19.80
"Now watch, you will
rule them with an iron scepter
00:18:19.83\00:18:23.71
and you will dash them
to pieces like pottery.
00:18:23.74\00:18:28.32
So Jesus does rule
with an iron scepter,
00:18:28.35\00:18:31.23
He smashes the
nations to pieces like pottery
00:18:31.26\00:18:34.34
and furthermore
we saw that remember
00:18:34.37\00:18:36.65
Nebuchadnezzar's
image representing
00:18:36.68\00:18:38.81
the nations of the
world was smashed to pieces
00:18:38.84\00:18:41.90
by the stone
symbolizing Jesus Christ
00:18:41.93\00:18:45.04
when He comes to establish
God's kingdom for ever.
00:18:45.07\00:18:48.70
So all of the
identifying marks match up
00:18:48.73\00:18:51.56
when you compare
scripture with scripture,
00:18:51.59\00:18:53.76
you cannot escape the conclusion
that that male child that son,
00:18:53.79\00:18:58.59
that the woman bore
is Jesus Christ, amen.
00:18:58.62\00:19:02.67
And he takes his place in
the center of the prophecy
00:19:02.70\00:19:07.67
just like we saw in our
principles of Revelation.
00:19:07.70\00:19:10.48
Now, we have come to the
third one, that's the woman.
00:19:10.51\00:19:14.36
I saved it till
last because the woman
00:19:14.39\00:19:17.25
is the most
difficult to understand.
00:19:17.28\00:19:22.11
Woman usually difficult to
understand at least for us men,
00:19:22.14\00:19:27.42
I mean you may
understand each other but--
00:19:27.45\00:19:31.33
My wife keeps telling
me I shouldn't say that
00:19:31.36\00:19:33.52
it's not
politically correct any more,
00:19:33.55\00:19:36.85
may not be, it's still true.
00:19:36.88\00:19:42.83
Who is the woman?
00:19:42.86\00:19:43.89
There is a clue right
here in this chapter, verse 9.
00:19:43.92\00:19:49.53
"The great dragon was
hurled down that ancient serpent
00:19:49.56\00:19:54.71
called the devil, or Satan,
00:19:54.74\00:19:58.16
who leads the
whole world astray.
00:19:58.19\00:20:00.12
He was hurled to the
earth, and his angels with him."
00:20:00.15\00:20:02.87
So, the dragon was
hurled down, who is the dragon?
00:20:02.90\00:20:05.66
That ancient serpent
called the devil of Satan.
00:20:05.69\00:20:09.71
So you tell me now, where in
the Bible can you find a story
00:20:09.74\00:20:14.71
about a ancient
serpent and the woman.
00:20:14.74\00:20:19.65
Right, Genesis 3, so
let's go there, Genesis 3.
00:20:19.68\00:20:26.33
You see the last
Bible book point us
00:20:26.36\00:20:28.59
all the way back to
the first Bible book.
00:20:28.62\00:20:30.93
You can't understand Revelation
without the Old Testament,
00:20:30.96\00:20:34.44
Genesis 3, here is
the setting. Genesis 3.
00:20:34.47\00:20:40.91
God have just created the world,
00:20:40.94\00:20:43.91
garden,
beautiful Garden of Eden,
00:20:43.94\00:20:46.23
put the man and woman in
the garden and he told them
00:20:46.26\00:20:49.75
I have given
you all these trees,
00:20:49.78\00:20:52.10
all these trees and
you can eat all of them
00:20:52.13\00:20:55.01
except for that one tree right
in the middle of the garden.
00:20:55.04\00:20:58.93
If you eat from that
one you are going to die.
00:20:58.96\00:21:05.85
Now is there anything
complicated about that.
00:21:05.88\00:21:10.07
Is that hard to understand?
00:21:10.10\00:21:13.03
You can eat from any
tree except that one.
00:21:13.06\00:21:15.46
If you eat from that one,
00:21:15.49\00:21:16.52
you are going to
die, crystal clear.
00:21:16.55\00:21:18.18
God is always crystal clear.
00:21:18.21\00:21:20.51
People ask me, why does
God make things so confusing?
00:21:20.54\00:21:23.57
He doesn't. He made it clear.
00:21:23.60\00:21:28.38
Now, the serpent
comes along and he says
00:21:28.41\00:21:31.68
to the woman in Chapter 3:1.
00:21:31.71\00:21:34.77
"Did God really say,
00:21:34.80\00:21:36.90
'You must not eat from
any tree in the garden'?"
00:21:36.93\00:21:40.42
And the woman said,
verse 3, "God did say,
00:21:40.45\00:21:44.06
'You must not eat
fruit from the tree
00:21:44.09\00:21:46.65
that is in the
middle of the garden,
00:21:46.68\00:21:48.99
and if you do you will die.''
00:21:49.02\00:21:54.42
And the serpent
said, you won't die.
00:21:54.45\00:22:01.27
But your eyes will be opened
00:22:01.30\00:22:04.06
and you will be like
God knowing good from evil.
00:22:04.09\00:22:11.16
Now, I want to
stop here for a second,
00:22:11.19\00:22:13.47
because these verses are loaded
00:22:13.50\00:22:16.17
and packed with
profound thoughts
00:22:16.20\00:22:21.25
that we need to understand.
00:22:21.28\00:22:25.12
How did Adam and Eve know
00:22:25.15\00:22:28.32
that if they would eat
from that tree, they would die?
00:22:28.35\00:22:34.43
Did they do a
scientific analysis of the fruit
00:22:34.46\00:22:38.11
and discover it was poisonous?
00:22:38.14\00:22:41.12
No, how did they
know because God said,
00:22:41.15\00:22:46.12
if you eat it
you are going to die.
00:22:46.15\00:22:49.41
You see the way they knew
00:22:49.44\00:22:51.57
good from evil was
to trust what God said.
00:22:51.60\00:22:57.68
It's simple but
you have to trust God.
00:22:57.71\00:23:04.55
In other words please get this,
00:23:04.58\00:23:07.36
in other words there
was an external standard
00:23:07.39\00:23:13.58
of absolute right and wrong.
00:23:13.61\00:23:18.03
It was not within
them but it was within God.
00:23:18.06\00:23:23.46
God was the one
who defined and decided
00:23:23.49\00:23:27.60
what is right and what is wrong.
00:23:27.63\00:23:29.86
It is an
absolute standard of truth
00:23:29.89\00:23:33.06
and that truth is
outside of us, it's in God.
00:23:33.09\00:23:37.89
And the only way we can
know what's right or wrong
00:23:37.92\00:23:40.72
or good or best is
to trust God's work.
00:23:40.75\00:23:44.39
That's all that
Adam and Eve had to do,
00:23:44.42\00:23:46.57
but watch what happened.
00:23:46.60\00:23:49.31
She got up to the tree.
00:23:49.34\00:23:51.47
Have you ever wondered?
00:23:51.50\00:23:52.80
Why did God put that tree there?
00:23:52.83\00:23:56.20
You ever wondered that?
00:23:56.23\00:23:57.87
Wouldn't it been better
00:23:57.90\00:23:58.93
if he just said
eat any tree you want.
00:23:58.96\00:24:01.24
Why did He put that tree there?
00:24:01.27\00:24:02.70
So she went up to the tree
and that was her first mistake.
00:24:02.73\00:24:07.68
If God says that
something isn't good,
00:24:07.71\00:24:10.45
we should get as far
away from it as we can,
00:24:10.48\00:24:12.94
not try to get as
close as we can to it.
00:24:12.97\00:24:16.59
What was she
doing under the tree?
00:24:16.62\00:24:18.35
If she would have stayed away,
00:24:18.38\00:24:19.46
we wouldn't be in
this mess we are in today.
00:24:19.49\00:24:21.98
But she is under the tree
00:24:22.01\00:24:23.23
so that gave the
dragon an opportunity.
00:24:23.26\00:24:25.52
He appears as a
serpent, a beautiful serpent.
00:24:25.55\00:24:29.00
He was beautiful then,
and he said to the woman.
00:24:29.03\00:24:31.52
Did God say, if you eat
the fruit you are going to die?
00:24:31.55\00:24:33.56
You won't die, you won't,
you eat it you'd be like God,
00:24:33.59\00:24:38.24
you know good
from evil yourself.
00:24:38.27\00:24:41.02
You see you won't need God to
tell you what is right or wrong,
00:24:41.05\00:24:43.91
you can decide
just like He does.
00:24:43.94\00:24:46.81
You will be like God.
00:24:46.84\00:24:50.85
Now watch this, verse 6.
00:24:50.88\00:24:54.52
"When the woman saw
that the fruit of the tree
00:24:54.55\00:24:56.90
was good for food
and pleasing to the eye,
00:24:56.93\00:24:59.10
and desirable
for gaining wisdom,
00:24:59.13\00:25:01.23
she took some and ate it.
00:25:01.26\00:25:04.47
How did she decide
that it was okay to eat?
00:25:04.50\00:25:10.22
She listened to the
serpent, she looked at it,
00:25:12.60\00:25:16.76
it looked
desirable, it seemed good.
00:25:16.79\00:25:22.50
So instead of
relying on what God said
00:25:22.53\00:25:25.55
to know right and wrong,
00:25:25.58\00:25:26.89
she relied on her
own human perceptions
00:25:26.92\00:25:30.92
to do what seemed like
the right thing to her.
00:25:30.95\00:25:37.05
This was a huge, what
we call paradigm shift
00:25:37.08\00:25:42.23
from the paradigm of an
external absolute truth in God
00:25:42.26\00:25:47.29
to an internal deciding for
yourself what seems to be right
00:25:47.32\00:25:52.82
and good and best to you.
00:25:52.85\00:25:56.54
Can you see what
we are doing here,
00:25:56.57\00:25:58.24
can you see what she did here.
00:25:58.27\00:26:01.23
And if you
understand that shift,
00:26:01.26\00:26:03.05
then you can begin to understand
00:26:03.08\00:26:04.98
what's happening in
this whole world today.
00:26:05.01\00:26:09.76
I couldn't help
it, jot this down
00:26:09.79\00:26:13.83
I was watching
O'Reilly factor one time
00:26:13.86\00:26:17.34
and he was
interviewing Dan Rather,
00:26:17.37\00:26:19.56
a noted news man.
00:26:19.59\00:26:21.25
Dan Rather said I think
you can be an honest person
00:26:21.28\00:26:24.68
and lie about
any number of things.
00:26:24.71\00:26:29.28
See that's exactly
what we are talking about.
00:26:29.31\00:26:32.27
The question isn't
what is right and wrong.
00:26:32.30\00:26:35.22
The question is what seems
right or wrong to you is okay,
00:26:35.25\00:26:39.10
if it seems right do it.
00:26:39.13\00:26:40.50
If it seems wrong don't
do it, not what is right
00:26:40.53\00:26:43.36
because what is
right is what God says.
00:26:43.39\00:26:46.28
I remember one time when a
president of the United States
00:26:46.31\00:26:49.66
found himself in difficulty
and he was being challenged
00:26:49.69\00:26:52.96
that he had done something wrong
00:26:52.99\00:26:54.61
and another person
said he had done it.
00:26:54.64\00:26:56.91
He said he didn't and he
was about to be impeach for it
00:26:56.94\00:27:00.01
and they were had
him on Sam and Cokie,
00:27:00.04\00:27:02.27
Sam Donaldson and Cokie
Roberts in news interviews.
00:27:02.30\00:27:05.71
Some of you may remember them
00:27:05.74\00:27:07.67
and they were interviewing
him and Cokie Roberts asked
00:27:07.70\00:27:11.87
not the president but
his chief council was there
00:27:11.90\00:27:14.69
and asked it now.
00:27:14.72\00:27:15.75
Now she said he did
and he said he didn't,
00:27:15.78\00:27:18.50
one of them has
to be lying, right?
00:27:18.53\00:27:22.04
And the chief
attorney to the president
00:27:22.07\00:27:23.69
of the Untied States said no.
00:27:23.72\00:27:26.44
And Cokie Roberts said ha.
00:27:26.47\00:27:30.62
I mean she said he did,
00:27:30.65\00:27:31.68
he said he didn't and
one of them is not lying.
00:27:31.71\00:27:36.86
Even now school children know
00:27:36.89\00:27:38.66
that somebody
has to be lying here,
00:27:38.69\00:27:41.25
what are we teaching
our children, good question.
00:27:41.28\00:27:46.83
But, finally Susan Page
who is the editor of USA Today
00:27:46.86\00:27:51.80
after they had been
debating back and forth,
00:27:51.83\00:27:53.64
you know what the
president should do.
00:27:53.67\00:27:55.26
Susan Page said, well in the
end he is going to have to do
00:27:55.29\00:27:59.80
what seems right to him.
00:27:59.83\00:28:05.90
Wrong what she should
have said was in the end,
00:28:05.93\00:28:11.06
he is going to have
to do what is right.
00:28:11.09\00:28:16.24
Its not what seems right
that's right is what is right,
00:28:19.24\00:28:22.66
that's right and what is right
00:28:22.69\00:28:24.51
is what comes
from the word of God.
00:28:24.54\00:28:29.19
And that's what
happened in the Garden of Eden
00:28:29.22\00:28:31.96
and that's the battle it
unfolds in the last days.
00:28:31.99\00:28:36.18
It's over the
difference between what is right
00:28:36.21\00:28:38.23
and what seems right
00:28:38.26\00:28:39.85
and that's why he
attacks those who want to be
00:28:39.88\00:28:41.88
obedient to God's commands.
00:28:41.91\00:28:43.63
Are you beginning
to put it all together?
00:28:43.66\00:28:46.77
So now what is God going to do.
00:28:46.80\00:28:48.17
He's got a problem, He
said if you eat the fruit,
00:28:48.20\00:28:50.36
you are going to die.
00:28:50.39\00:28:53.47
And they ate the fruit but
He doesn't want them to die,
00:28:53.50\00:28:55.81
He loves them but how
can He be telling the truth
00:28:55.84\00:28:59.48
when He says if
you eat the fruit,
00:28:59.51\00:29:00.85
you're gonna die
and allow them to live.
00:29:00.88\00:29:03.84
You see that was God's dilemma.
00:29:03.87\00:29:06.19
Well, He had a solution
and we find it in verse 15.
00:29:06.22\00:29:10.47
He tells the serpent,
00:29:10.50\00:29:14.21
I will put enmity
that means conflict, war.
00:29:14.24\00:29:17.54
"I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
00:29:17.57\00:29:21.62
and between your
offspring and hers
00:29:21.65\00:29:24.20
and he will crush your head,
but you will strike his heel."
00:29:24.23\00:29:31.39
Now what is he
talking about here,
00:29:31.42\00:29:32.61
he is talking to a serpent
00:29:32.64\00:29:33.67
and offspring of the serpent
00:29:33.70\00:29:35.23
that they would bite the heel
of the offspring of the woman
00:29:35.26\00:29:38.29
but that wouldn't be the end
00:29:38.32\00:29:39.41
because the
offspring of the woman
00:29:39.44\00:29:40.66
is going to crush his head.
00:29:40.69\00:29:43.98
And he is not talking
about little baby snakes
00:29:44.01\00:29:46.17
running around on the ground
00:29:46.20\00:29:47.45
when he says
offspring of the serpent.
00:29:47.48\00:29:50.24
The serpent is the
devil offspring of the serpent
00:29:50.27\00:29:53.03
is those who choose
to follow the devil.
00:29:53.06\00:29:56.55
Who is the
offspring of the woman?
00:29:56.58\00:29:58.70
Who is the woman?
00:29:58.73\00:30:00.58
The woman's offspring
is the one who delivers
00:30:00.61\00:30:03.59
the deathblow to
the head of the serpent
00:30:03.62\00:30:06.72
and therefore this
prophecy is telling us
00:30:06.75\00:30:12.33
that there will
be a conflict between
00:30:12.36\00:30:14.33
those who follow Satan
and those to who choose
00:30:14.36\00:30:16.23
to follow God or Jesus Christ
00:30:16.26\00:30:19.47
and Jesus is going to
get a bite on the heel,
00:30:19.50\00:30:21.87
He died on the
cross but praise the Lord.
00:30:21.90\00:30:23.87
Three days later
he was raised up again
00:30:23.90\00:30:25.82
and caught up to
the throne of God.
00:30:25.85\00:30:27.59
One of these days,
He is going to comeback
00:30:27.62\00:30:29.69
and deliver the deathblow to
crush the head of the serpent.
00:30:29.72\00:30:35.65
Now, listen to me
all the rest of the Bible
00:30:35.68\00:30:38.48
from Genesis to Revelation
is unpacking this one prophecy,
00:30:38.51\00:30:45.14
this is the first
prophecy in the Bible
00:30:45.17\00:30:48.03
and all the rest of the Bible
is unpacking this one prophecy,
00:30:48.06\00:30:51.25
how is the seed of
the woman going to deliver
00:30:51.28\00:30:55.51
the death blow to
the head of the serpent.
00:30:55.54\00:30:58.75
And we find it bringing
it to its exciting climax
00:30:58.78\00:31:03.03
in Revelation 12:17.
00:31:03.06\00:31:06.56
"The dragon was angry at
the woman and he went off
00:31:06.59\00:31:10.51
to make war against the remnant
00:31:10.54\00:31:12.49
are the last of her
offspring on this earth,
00:31:12.52\00:31:15.52
those who obey God's commandment
00:31:15.55\00:31:17.52
and hold to the
testimony of Jesus.
00:31:17.55\00:31:21.96
All the rest of the Bible
is unpacking that prophecy
00:31:21.99\00:31:25.30
that began in Genesis 3:15.
00:31:25.33\00:31:30.00
In order to fully
understand this prophecy,
00:31:30.03\00:31:33.11
we have to know a little more.
00:31:33.14\00:31:36.27
We have to know the
issues that were involved.
00:31:36.30\00:31:38.73
The Bible tells us verse 7.
00:31:38.76\00:31:40.25
"There was war in heaven,
00:31:40.28\00:31:41.57
Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon,
00:31:41.60\00:31:43.68
the dragon fought back
he was not strong enough,
00:31:43.71\00:31:45.92
they lost their place in haven.
00:31:45.95\00:31:47.34
The great dragon was
hurled down that ancient serpent
00:31:47.37\00:31:49.96
called the devil, or Satan,
he leads the whole world astray.
00:31:49.99\00:31:52.49
He was hurled to the
earth, and his angels with him."
00:31:52.52\00:31:54.94
Don't be afraid
of the bad spirits
00:31:54.97\00:31:56.52
because for every demon spirit,
00:31:56.55\00:31:57.97
God has two good ones.
00:31:58.00\00:31:59.47
His tail only swept the third
of the stars down from the sky,
00:31:59.50\00:32:02.97
there are two thirds left.
00:32:03.00\00:32:06.68
But, why, what was
this war about in heaven?
00:32:06.71\00:32:10.48
What were they fighting over?
00:32:10.51\00:32:11.93
What was the issue?
00:32:11.96\00:32:13.28
The Revelation
doesn't clearly tell us here
00:32:13.31\00:32:16.21
but the Old Testament does.
00:32:16.24\00:32:19.41
Isaiah 14, open your
Bibles now to Isaiah 14
00:32:19.44\00:32:26.65
and we will discover, verse 12.
00:32:26.68\00:32:29.75
"How you have
fallen from heaven,
00:32:29.78\00:32:31.96
O morning star,
Lucifer son of the dawn.
00:32:31.99\00:32:36.87
You have been
cast down to the earth,
00:32:36.90\00:32:38.97
you who once
laid low the nations."
00:32:39.00\00:32:40.65
Doesn't that sound
like Revelation, see.
00:32:40.68\00:32:43.19
He was hurled down to the earth,
00:32:43.22\00:32:44.87
he was in heaven
hurled down to the earth.
00:32:44.90\00:32:47.66
Why? Here it is verse 13.
00:32:47.69\00:32:50.77
"Because You said in your
heart, I will ascend to heaven.
00:32:50.80\00:32:54.69
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God.
00:32:54.72\00:32:58.18
I will sit enthroned
on the mount of assembly,
00:32:58.21\00:33:00.46
on the utmost heights
of the sacred mountain.
00:33:00.49\00:33:02.45
I will ascend above
the tops of the clouds,
00:33:02.48\00:33:04.80
I will make myself
like the Most High."
00:33:04.83\00:33:08.33
Somebody said
the only thing wrong
00:33:08.36\00:33:09.68
with that Lucifer
was he had eye problems.
00:33:09.71\00:33:13.57
See God created
this perfect angel,
00:33:13.60\00:33:17.10
he spent a little too much time
one day looking in the mirror
00:33:17.13\00:33:20.35
and then going to take
credit for all the beauty
00:33:20.38\00:33:21.98
and all the wisdom
that he had to himself
00:33:22.01\00:33:24.09
and rebelled against God.
00:33:24.12\00:33:27.06
Now, what was the
issue? What was going on here?
00:33:27.09\00:33:29.68
I'll raise my throne
above the stars of God.
00:33:29.71\00:33:34.25
I will sit in throne.
00:33:34.28\00:33:36.30
Now, the throne is
the seat of government
00:33:36.33\00:33:41.86
and the heart of
every government is its law.
00:33:41.89\00:33:48.52
So, Lucifer was
challenging God's government,
00:33:48.55\00:33:52.58
he was challenging God's law.
00:33:52.61\00:33:55.72
That's why he is angry at
those who want to be obedient
00:33:55.75\00:33:58.83
to the commandments of God.
00:33:58.86\00:34:02.10
He would say and look,
God's the one who makes
00:34:02.13\00:34:04.65
all the rules around
here, He doesn't include us,
00:34:04.68\00:34:07.13
He has never had a
meeting with me or you
00:34:07.16\00:34:08.93
or any of the
others to try to tell us
00:34:08.96\00:34:11.05
why or what He just
tells us what to do,
00:34:11.08\00:34:13.34
we have to do it.
00:34:13.37\00:34:14.84
Put me on the
throne, I'll show you,
00:34:14.87\00:34:17.39
we can have some
fun around this place.
00:34:17.42\00:34:21.52
He was challenging God's rule.
00:34:21.55\00:34:23.62
He was challenging
God's law, God's government.
00:34:23.65\00:34:26.75
He didn't realize that
God's laws are laws of love.
00:34:26.78\00:34:31.63
And when we
understand what the laws are,
00:34:31.66\00:34:34.25
then we can understand
love and the beauty of love
00:34:34.28\00:34:37.90
is never revealed
until we understand
00:34:37.93\00:34:40.06
the beauty of God's law.
00:34:40.09\00:34:42.58
God has lots of
different kinds of laws,
00:34:42.61\00:34:44.56
Lucifer just forgot about this.
00:34:44.59\00:34:47.91
God has physical laws,
00:34:47.94\00:34:49.35
the whole universe
is governed by laws.
00:34:49.38\00:34:51.99
The law of gravity, the
law of centrifugal force.
00:34:52.02\00:34:54.84
the law of centripetal force,
the law of thermal dynamics.
00:34:54.87\00:34:58.20
All kinds of laws and
if any one of those laws
00:34:58.23\00:35:02.05
that holds the
whole universe together,
00:35:02.08\00:35:03.81
if any one of
those laws is broken,
00:35:03.84\00:35:05.28
the whole thing
is going to crash.
00:35:05.31\00:35:07.10
God's laws are laws of love,
00:35:10.37\00:35:15.32
and He created
the man and the woman,
00:35:15.35\00:35:17.78
He created us and put
within us certain laws
00:35:17.81\00:35:23.23
by which we would
operate and function.
00:35:23.26\00:35:27.22
And when we lived our lives
within the circle of the laws
00:35:27.25\00:35:31.73
that God gave for
us, we would be happy,
00:35:31.76\00:35:35.57
we would have
peace, we would have joy.
00:35:35.60\00:35:38.10
Everything would be perfect,
00:35:38.13\00:35:39.72
but if we step
outside of those laws
00:35:39.75\00:35:42.59
that God made for us to live by,
00:35:42.62\00:35:45.36
then bad things are
going to happen to us.
00:35:45.39\00:35:47.81
We are going to break
and other people are going
00:35:47.84\00:35:49.91
to get hurt in the process.
00:35:49.94\00:35:52.61
It's not like God
said, here are my laws,
00:35:52.64\00:35:55.40
do them or I'm going to zap you.
00:35:55.43\00:35:58.42
No, He said here
is the way I made you
00:35:58.45\00:36:03.28
and if you live like this,
you are going to experience life
00:36:03.31\00:36:07.40
far beyond anything
you can ever imagine.
00:36:07.43\00:36:11.79
But if you don't
trust me and you try to step
00:36:11.82\00:36:14.65
outside of the circle,
you are going to suffer
00:36:14.68\00:36:19.37
and other people
are going to get hurt.
00:36:19.40\00:36:22.81
That's what it's all about.
00:36:22.84\00:36:25.70
It's like God's owner's manual,
00:36:25.73\00:36:27.51
He is telling us,
here is how I made you.
00:36:27.54\00:36:30.90
Now, you can buy a new car
and look in the owner's manual
00:36:30.93\00:36:33.43
and say you got to put oil
in the crankcase and you say,
00:36:33.46\00:36:35.74
wow that's what it says,
but I think I'll do it my way.
00:36:35.77\00:36:39.52
Seems better to me
and it seems a lot cheaper
00:36:39.55\00:36:41.45
to put water in
there instead of oil,
00:36:41.48\00:36:43.20
it will save the planet.
00:36:43.23\00:36:45.58
So you put water
in the crankcase,
00:36:45.61\00:36:47.17
now you can do that, but
your car is going to break.
00:36:47.20\00:36:52.78
God says here,
this is how I made you,
00:36:52.81\00:36:55.05
here is the way
you are going to work.
00:36:55.08\00:36:58.07
Here is the grease that
keeps things smooth for you.
00:36:58.10\00:37:04.56
Physical laws, this is the way
I made your body to function.
00:37:04.59\00:37:08.33
There are certain
things hat you put into it
00:37:08.36\00:37:09.91
that are not going to help you.
00:37:09.94\00:37:11.11
You need a lot of
water, you need some good food,
00:37:11.14\00:37:13.96
the right kinds of food.
00:37:13.99\00:37:15.67
And if you put the
wrong things in it,
00:37:15.70\00:37:16.97
it's like putting
water in the crankcase.
00:37:17.00\00:37:18.61
You are going to break
and you are going to hurt
00:37:18.64\00:37:21.33
and you are going to suffer.
00:37:21.36\00:37:23.28
You see that's
the way God made us.
00:37:23.31\00:37:26.54
There are social laws.
00:37:26.57\00:37:30.82
God teaches us how
to relate to each other,
00:37:30.85\00:37:32.65
how to love each other.
00:37:32.68\00:37:34.35
The Bible says we
should honor our parent.
00:37:34.38\00:37:36.10
Wouldn't you love
to live in a place
00:37:36.13\00:37:37.41
where everybody did that?
00:37:37.44\00:37:40.12
Not to lie, not to
steal, not to kill.
00:37:40.15\00:37:43.96
Wouldn't you like to
live in a world like that?
00:37:43.99\00:37:47.50
Not to commit adultery.
00:37:47.53\00:37:49.13
He said, I made you.
00:37:49.16\00:37:50.19
So the man would
leave his father and mother,
00:37:50.22\00:37:51.89
cleave in to his life
and the two would become one.
00:37:51.92\00:37:55.75
And if you stay like
that, you are going to be happy,
00:37:55.78\00:37:57.72
but if you try to get
outside of that circle,
00:37:57.75\00:37:59.60
you are going to
hurt and other people
00:37:59.63\00:38:01.22
are going to get
hurt in the process.
00:38:01.25\00:38:04.26
See that's what God's
laws is about, it's about love.
00:38:04.29\00:38:07.32
How to love each other.
00:38:07.35\00:38:08.53
Do I love my neighbor?
00:38:08.56\00:38:10.00
Let's say, hallelujah neighbor,
00:38:10.03\00:38:11.17
praise the Lord my
brother I love you,
00:38:11.20\00:38:12.71
I'm slipping his
wallet out of his pocket.
00:38:12.74\00:38:15.97
Is that love?
00:38:16.00\00:38:17.34
Does a man love his neighbor
if he is having an affair
00:38:17.37\00:38:19.83
with his neighbor's wife?
00:38:19.86\00:38:21.83
You see that isn't love.
00:38:21.86\00:38:23.06
I was on plane one day
00:38:26.38\00:38:30.70
going to Chicago for a meeting,
00:38:30.73\00:38:35.97
when I get on a plan
I always like to pray,
00:38:36.00\00:38:37.77
Lord please put me next to
somebody that I can witness too.
00:38:37.80\00:38:41.26
So don't ever sit next
to me on a plane unless
00:38:41.29\00:38:43.19
you want to talk about the Lord.
00:38:43.22\00:38:46.55
So I prayed and got on
the plane sitting there
00:38:46.58\00:38:49.38
and sure enough this lady comes,
00:38:49.41\00:38:51.46
attractive looking like,
00:38:51.49\00:38:53.56
I mean she look like she
had a presence about her,
00:38:53.59\00:38:55.82
she was somebody,
not an ordinary person.
00:38:55.85\00:38:59.56
When I was talking
to her, I could tell,
00:38:59.59\00:39:01.20
this is an
educated lady, you know.
00:39:01.23\00:39:02.94
And I asked her what do you do?
00:39:02.97\00:39:04.11
She said, well, I'm a
social worker in New York City
00:39:04.14\00:39:06.96
and I'm the director of
this large children's program,
00:39:06.99\00:39:09.37
she had a PhD in sociology and
she read it all together there.
00:39:09.40\00:39:14.74
And then I asked her
what does your husband do?
00:39:14.77\00:39:17.43
Phil my husband
is in archeology,
00:39:17.46\00:39:18.83
he has his two
PhDs in archeology.
00:39:18.86\00:39:21.43
Well this is quite a
couple and I kept asking her
00:39:21.46\00:39:25.38
what you do and what he does
00:39:25.41\00:39:26.64
and then
finally she got the hint
00:39:26.67\00:39:29.64
and she said what do you do?
00:39:29.67\00:39:33.60
I said, oh, I'm an evangelist.
00:39:33.63\00:39:36.44
She says
evangelist, what's that?
00:39:36.47\00:39:38.97
Phd? What's evangelist?
00:39:39.00\00:39:42.75
I said I travel
around to different churches
00:39:42.78\00:39:44.96
and I do seminars on Revelation,
kind of like heaven revivals.
00:39:44.99\00:39:48.87
Oh, nice. And I said
you know, you're believer?
00:39:48.90\00:39:54.97
She said, no actually
we're both are atheist.
00:39:55.00\00:39:57.05
And I said, "Oh, okay,
can I ask you something?"
00:39:59.67\00:40:03.10
She said, "Sure."
00:40:03.13\00:40:05.14
Then I can tell that
you are social worker
00:40:05.17\00:40:06.66
you are in charge of this
00:40:06.69\00:40:07.72
big children's
program in New York City
00:40:07.75\00:40:09.62
and you love
children, am I right?
00:40:09.65\00:40:11.56
Oh, yeah, I love those children.
00:40:11.59\00:40:14.40
I said, "Suppose
you have two little boys
00:40:14.43\00:40:15.79
there in the group and they come
00:40:15.82\00:40:17.55
and one of them has
two five dollars bill
00:40:17.58\00:40:19.45
he shows everybody
and sticks in his pocket
00:40:19.48\00:40:21.43
and the other little boy
sees, he says, "You know,
00:40:21.46\00:40:23.50
I haven't eaten
anything in three days.
00:40:23.53\00:40:26.27
We are so poor and we
don't have any food, I'm hungry.
00:40:26.30\00:40:29.02
If I had one of
those five dollar bills
00:40:29.05\00:40:30.83
I would like to buy some bread
and some food for my family
00:40:30.86\00:40:33.45
could I have one?"
00:40:33.48\00:40:34.90
And the little boy
says, "No, that's my money."
00:40:34.93\00:40:37.28
And puts it in his pocket.
00:40:37.31\00:40:39.54
But while they are
resting taking a nap,
00:40:39.57\00:40:41.40
the little
fellow sleep over there
00:40:41.43\00:40:42.96
and slips one of those five
dollar bills out of his pocket.
00:40:42.99\00:40:45.86
I said you see that,
would that be okay with you?
00:40:45.89\00:40:49.45
She said, "No."
I said, "Why not?"
00:40:49.48\00:40:53.73
She said,
"Because that's wrong."
00:40:53.76\00:40:56.06
And I said, "I know
but why would it be wrong?
00:40:56.09\00:41:00.74
She said,
"Because that's stealing."
00:41:00.77\00:41:03.27
I said, "Well I know that,
but why is stealing wrong?"
00:41:03.30\00:41:08.62
And she said, "You know,
its going to help his family
00:41:14.26\00:41:18.12
and his friends,
why is stealing wrong?"
00:41:18.15\00:41:21.66
She said, "I don't
think I can answer that."
00:41:21.69\00:41:30.73
I said, "Can I ask
you another question?"
00:41:30.76\00:41:35.26
She goes, "I guess."
00:41:35.29\00:41:40.94
I can tell you really
love your husband, right?"
00:41:40.97\00:41:42.72
Oh, yeah, I love my--
00:41:42.75\00:41:43.79
Well suppose he has a sectary
and her husband is an abuser,
00:41:43.82\00:41:46.79
alcoholic, beats
her up, beats the kids
00:41:46.82\00:41:49.25
she is at the end of her road.
00:41:49.28\00:41:51.37
She tells you, because you know,
00:41:51.40\00:41:52.90
I don't know
what I'm going to do,
00:41:52.93\00:41:53.97
I'm just ready to just
take some pills and die.
00:41:54.00\00:41:56.62
I can't face life anymore.
00:41:56.65\00:41:59.88
Man, you are so lucky
00:41:59.91\00:42:00.94
if I had a husband
like yours, I could make it.
00:42:00.97\00:42:03.71
In fact if I could just
have him one night a week,
00:42:03.74\00:42:06.37
I think I could get by
the rest of the six others.
00:42:06.40\00:42:09.45
Could I have your
husband just one night a week,
00:42:09.48\00:42:13.16
I said,"Well, what
would you tell her?"
00:42:13.19\00:42:15.22
She said, "No."
00:42:15.25\00:42:17.05
I said, "Why not, if
it would help her out."
00:42:17.08\00:42:19.29
Because it is my husband.
00:42:19.32\00:42:20.90
I said, "Well, I
know he is your husband
00:42:20.93\00:42:22.35
but you are getting six
nights, she only wants one.
00:42:22.38\00:42:28.54
Why wouldn't you?"
00:42:28.57\00:42:29.60
She says, "That's wrong."
00:42:29.63\00:42:31.12
I said, "I know,
I know it's wrong.
00:42:31.15\00:42:35.08
But tell me, why is it wrong?"
00:42:35.11\00:42:39.00
She said, "You keep asking me
question that I can't answer."
00:42:41.20\00:42:46.71
You see, there is no answer
00:42:46.74\00:42:49.66
unless you believe
in the word of God.
00:42:49.69\00:42:53.72
I said, "I can
tell you why its wrong.
00:42:53.75\00:42:55.37
Do you want to
know?" She says, "Why?"
00:42:55.40\00:42:57.38
Because God made
the man and the woman
00:42:57.41\00:42:59.87
and He said man will
leave his father and mother
00:42:59.90\00:43:02.20
and cleave in to his wife
and the two become one flesh
00:43:02.23\00:43:05.05
and that's the way that
you are going to be happy.
00:43:05.08\00:43:08.86
And that's the only way that
you can say that it's wrong.
00:43:08.89\00:43:13.28
If you don't believe that,
00:43:13.31\00:43:14.34
you have no
standard of right and wrong
00:43:14.37\00:43:18.50
and that's why we have such
a problem in this world today.
00:43:18.53\00:43:22.84
God's laws are laws of
love and when we break them,
00:43:22.87\00:43:26.68
we break and things
happen and people get hurt.
00:43:26.71\00:43:30.72
God has other kinds of laws,
00:43:33.55\00:43:34.84
spiritual laws that
teaches how to love Him.
00:43:34.87\00:43:37.43
He says, "Thou shall have
no others gods before Me."
00:43:37.46\00:43:40.22
He says that, "We shouldn't
take His name in vain."
00:43:40.25\00:43:42.74
He says, "We shouldn't
bow down and worship idols."
00:43:42.77\00:43:44.55
You see the last six
of the Ten Commandments
00:43:44.58\00:43:46.17
teaches how to love each other.
00:43:46.20\00:43:47.48
First four
teaches how to love God.
00:43:47.51\00:43:50.89
You love God if you
have idols and pray to idol.
00:43:50.92\00:43:53.27
Well, nobody does that today.
00:43:53.30\00:43:56.70
Or may be we don't
carve Him out of wood,
00:43:56.73\00:43:58.31
and gold, and stone and
bow down and pray to Him
00:43:58.34\00:44:00.48
but a lot of people who have
00:44:00.51\00:44:01.54
one eyed idols in
their living rooms
00:44:01.57\00:44:04.01
watching 22 men move a
little piece of leather picks
00:44:04.04\00:44:06.89
came up and down a
hundred yard piece of grass.
00:44:06.92\00:44:11.62
No, I am not saying
that, that its wrong,
00:44:11.65\00:44:16.33
my VCR gets all that
00:44:16.36\00:44:17.93
and I can watch
it after the meeting.
00:44:17.96\00:44:21.77
So, don't tell me the scores.
00:44:21.80\00:44:25.44
But the point is anything
that comes in between us and God
00:44:25.47\00:44:28.44
can become an idol, a
big new house, a big car,
00:44:28.47\00:44:31.47
fancy clothes, anything can be,
00:44:31.50\00:44:34.33
our money can be an idol but
it can also be put to good use,
00:44:34.36\00:44:36.94
so can a TV set, Revelation
Now is going to be on TV.
00:44:36.97\00:44:43.34
So whatever stands between
us and God become an idol.
00:44:43.37\00:44:46.17
There is another kind of idol,
00:44:46.20\00:44:47.45
the
sophisticated form of idolatry,
00:44:47.48\00:44:50.55
a God of our own creation,
00:44:50.58\00:44:52.04
a God of our own imagination,
00:44:52.07\00:44:53.68
a God who approves of
the things that we like
00:44:53.71\00:44:56.01
and condemns the
things we don't like.
00:44:56.04\00:44:58.30
They call it
relativism, existentialism,
00:45:02.33\00:45:07.85
doing your own
thing, finding yourself,
00:45:07.88\00:45:12.76
post-modernism,
all kinds of names
00:45:12.79\00:45:17.64
but the Bible calls it sin.
00:45:17.67\00:45:21.59
You are like sheep that have
gone astray each to his own way.
00:45:21.62\00:45:26.29
Each doing what
seems right to you.
00:45:26.32\00:45:30.20
The problem is what seems right
00:45:30.23\00:45:31.82
is not always the
same as what is right
00:45:31.85\00:45:34.61
and the only way to know
what is right is to trust God.
00:45:34.64\00:45:38.70
Bible tells us, Proverbs 14:12.
00:45:42.67\00:45:47.35
"There is a way that
seems right to a man,
00:45:47.38\00:45:49.98
but in the end
it leads to death."
00:45:50.01\00:45:52.56
Some people in the end,
they are going to be lost
00:45:52.59\00:45:54.87
doing what seems right to them.
00:45:54.90\00:45:57.75
Wherever fool seems
right in his own eyes,
00:46:01.72\00:46:06.28
we can't always trust reason.
00:46:06.31\00:46:08.47
In Isaiah 55, Isaiah 55:8,
00:46:08.50\00:46:13.02
"My thoughts are
not your thoughts,
00:46:13.05\00:46:14.89
neither are your ways my
ways," declares the Lord.
00:46:14.92\00:46:17.67
"As the heavens are
higher than the earth,
00:46:17.70\00:46:19.48
so are my ways higher than your
and my thoughts than yours."
00:46:19.51\00:46:22.11
We can't always figure
out what's right and wrong
00:46:22.14\00:46:24.89
because God
sees and knows things
00:46:24.92\00:46:26.84
that we haven't even
began to understand yet.
00:46:26.87\00:46:30.78
And we need to trust him.
00:46:30.81\00:46:31.84
I'm not saying that there
is no room for us to think.
00:46:31.87\00:46:34.41
God said, "Come let
us reason together."
00:46:34.44\00:46:36.80
We think, we decide,
we plan, we do things,
00:46:36.83\00:46:40.05
but in the end we have to come
00:46:40.08\00:46:41.93
to the bottom-line
conclusion that God made us,
00:46:41.96\00:46:44.79
He knows what's best
for us and we trust Him,
00:46:44.82\00:46:47.50
even if it
doesn't seem right to us.
00:46:47.53\00:46:50.12
When Lucifer first sinned in
heaven, God had some options.
00:46:52.85\00:46:56.56
One of the options was that
He could have just zapped him.
00:46:56.59\00:47:00.71
He could have
rubbed him out right then,
00:47:00.74\00:47:02.55
but think about it, if He did,
00:47:02.58\00:47:04.72
here was Lucifer
trying to win all these angels
00:47:04.75\00:47:07.25
to following him
saying that God isn't fair,
00:47:07.28\00:47:10.02
that God never allows
you to voice your opinions
00:47:10.05\00:47:12.80
as to how things should be run
00:47:12.83\00:47:14.87
and then while he is
talking to the angels,
00:47:14.90\00:47:17.27
telling them God isn't fair,
00:47:17.30\00:47:18.66
God walks in and
zapped, there goes Lucifer.
00:47:18.69\00:47:22.41
Now how would
you feel about God?
00:47:22.44\00:47:26.18
You begun, wow,
00:47:26.21\00:47:29.04
we better walk the line
around here, who is next?
00:47:29.07\00:47:32.55
And everybody
would be worshiping God
00:47:32.58\00:47:35.38
out of fear instead of love.
00:47:35.41\00:47:40.21
But God is a God of
love, He couldn't allow that.
00:47:40.24\00:47:44.67
So He had another option
and that was to let Lucifer go,
00:47:44.70\00:47:53.93
leave him alone,
give him some time
00:47:53.96\00:47:56.72
to demonstrate what
it would really be like
00:47:56.75\00:48:00.91
if he was in
charge, if he got his way.
00:48:00.94\00:48:05.29
And after he had enough time
00:48:05.32\00:48:07.52
to demonstrate
what sin is really like,
00:48:07.55\00:48:11.76
then God would be able
to destroy Lucifer and sin
00:48:11.79\00:48:17.56
and those who choose to sin
00:48:17.59\00:48:19.36
and everyone would know that
he was doing the right thing.
00:48:19.39\00:48:23.50
So that was the
choice that God made.
00:48:23.53\00:48:26.64
He had to give Lucifer time
00:48:26.67\00:48:29.27
to demonstrate
what would life be like
00:48:29.30\00:48:33.20
on this planet,
if he had his way.
00:48:33.23\00:48:36.89
In the mean time we suffer
00:48:40.84\00:48:47.54
because God has to allow Lucifer
00:48:47.57\00:48:50.68
to remember we
are in this circle
00:48:50.71\00:48:53.37
and he has to allow Lucifer
to step outside that circle.
00:48:53.40\00:48:56.12
As long as we
are inside the circle
00:48:56.15\00:48:58.29
and live according
to the way God made us,
00:48:58.32\00:49:00.26
we are not going to
hurt, we are going to be happy,
00:49:00.29\00:49:02.26
we are going to be joyful.
00:49:02.29\00:49:03.48
But if we step outside the
circle, we are going to hurt
00:49:03.51\00:49:06.09
and other people are
going to be hurt too.
00:49:06.12\00:49:08.21
So God had to give him time
to demonstrate what its like
00:49:10.01\00:49:13.07
and that means that some
of us are going to suffer.
00:49:13.10\00:49:17.11
Remember the story of Job,
read it in the first chapter
00:49:17.14\00:49:20.06
and second
chapter of Job, read that.
00:49:20.09\00:49:22.91
The devil appeared before God
00:49:22.94\00:49:24.56
and God said, "What
about my servant Job?
00:49:24.59\00:49:26.20
See how faithful he
is." And the devil says,
00:49:26.23\00:49:28.25
"Well, sure he is
because every time
00:49:28.28\00:49:29.86
I try to do
something to him you stop me."
00:49:29.89\00:49:32.20
You built a hedge
around him, you protect him.
00:49:32.23\00:49:34.32
Let me have at him and
you watch he will curse you.
00:49:34.35\00:49:38.24
And so God said,
"Okay, have at him."
00:49:38.27\00:49:41.48
And he did, he
suffered boils he lost his home,
00:49:41.51\00:49:44.73
he lost his family,
his wife turned against him
00:49:44.76\00:49:47.42
challenging to
turn away from God.
00:49:47.45\00:49:49.81
He lost everything that he had,
00:49:49.84\00:49:51.73
yet he stayed faithful to God.
00:49:51.76\00:49:54.85
God allowed Lucifer,
the devil to attack Job
00:49:54.88\00:50:00.35
and Job demonstrated that
God is just and God is fair.
00:50:00.38\00:50:05.40
And then in the
end God gave him,
00:50:05.43\00:50:08.18
God gave Job back even
more than he had before.
00:50:08.21\00:50:13.19
One of my favorite verses
00:50:13.22\00:50:15.46
that explains this
is in 1 Corinthians 10.
00:50:15.49\00:50:21.24
In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul
writes that, "God is faithful."
00:50:21.27\00:50:27.20
Verse 13, "God is faithful,
He will not let you be tempted
00:50:27.23\00:50:31.50
beyond what you can bear
But when you are tempted,
00:50:31.53\00:50:34.34
he will also provide a way out
00:50:34.37\00:50:36.05
so that you can
stand up under it."
00:50:36.08\00:50:37.77
You see, God does
allow the devil to attack us.
00:50:37.80\00:50:41.02
He allows him to
do things that hurt us
00:50:41.05\00:50:43.29
but he will never
allow him to do anything
00:50:43.32\00:50:46.82
beyond what we can't handle.
00:50:46.85\00:50:49.93
When we first started I
told you that my wife got cancer
00:50:49.96\00:50:53.42
and I really
struggled with that trying to--
00:50:53.45\00:50:55.16
Why did God
allow that to happen?
00:50:55.19\00:50:57.44
The reason He
allowed it to happen
00:50:57.47\00:50:59.26
was because He
knew we could handle it.
00:50:59.29\00:51:02.18
He would never let it happen.
00:51:02.21\00:51:04.34
He would never let us be tempted
00:51:04.37\00:51:06.13
beyond what we can bear
00:51:06.16\00:51:07.42
and we need to
trust God with that.
00:51:07.45\00:51:09.44
No matter how much
the devil comes after us,
00:51:09.47\00:51:12.18
we need to trust Him and know
00:51:12.21\00:51:13.91
that He is not
going to let him do
00:51:13.94\00:51:15.39
anything that we can't handle.
00:51:15.42\00:51:17.95
God knew we could handle it
and so He allowed it to happen.
00:51:17.98\00:51:22.52
You see, He is
walking a fine line.
00:51:22.55\00:51:24.87
He is walking a tightrope.
00:51:24.90\00:51:26.82
Every--if every
time a Christian prayed,
00:51:26.85\00:51:29.42
God delivered me, God helped
me God saved me from this,
00:51:29.45\00:51:32.69
if God answered every prayer
00:51:32.72\00:51:34.56
the way we wanted to be
answered then think about it.
00:51:34.59\00:51:37.79
Every time He answered
a prayer for a Christian,
00:51:37.82\00:51:40.84
it puts off and delays
the time that Jesus can come.
00:51:40.87\00:51:44.75
And so He lets the
devil have just enough rope
00:51:47.16\00:51:50.27
to demonstrate how wicked he is
00:51:50.30\00:51:52.69
and at the same time He
will never let you be tempted
00:51:52.72\00:51:55.39
beyond what you can bear.
00:51:55.42\00:51:57.36
And just like Job,
00:51:57.39\00:51:58.72
God promised
him something better
00:51:58.75\00:52:00.59
and He gave him something
better the same way for us.
00:52:00.62\00:52:03.53
One year later after we found
out that my wife had cancer,
00:52:03.56\00:52:07.14
one year later we went
back in for some more testing
00:52:07.17\00:52:10.43
and after her
treatments for one year,
00:52:10.47\00:52:12.53
we found that
it was in remission
00:52:12.56\00:52:14.27
and there was no
trace of the cancer anymore.
00:52:14.30\00:52:16.72
He gave us a little ray of hope,
00:52:16.75\00:52:18.64
He gave us some
sunshine and not only that,
00:52:18.67\00:52:21.31
He threw a bonus on top.
00:52:21.34\00:52:22.63
He helped us to find
that little retirement home
00:52:22.66\00:52:24.61
that we were looking for
00:52:24.64\00:52:25.93
with a beautiful
view of Mount Rainier
00:52:25.96\00:52:28.06
just a little taste
of something better.
00:52:28.09\00:52:30.23
Sin isn't fair, it
wasn't fair that she got cancer.
00:52:30.26\00:52:33.03
It isn't fair that
the devil attacked you.
00:52:33.06\00:52:35.56
Sin is not fair but God
more than makes up for it.
00:52:35.59\00:52:39.62
You can trust Him,
00:52:39.65\00:52:40.92
that's why bad things
happen to good people.
00:52:40.95\00:52:43.54
The Bible says, "God
made man in his own image."
00:52:47.45\00:52:51.85
I'm not going to
get into a discussion
00:52:51.88\00:52:53.83
of what all that
means theologically
00:52:53.86\00:52:55.68
but I think its
enough for us to recognize
00:52:55.71\00:52:58.00
that there's something about
having someone in your own image
00:52:58.03\00:53:00.86
it makes you
love him all the more
00:53:00.89\00:53:04.02
and He made us in His image.
00:53:04.05\00:53:06.25
That why God created people,
00:53:06.28\00:53:09.16
so you could
have someone to love.
00:53:09.19\00:53:11.20
And to love him back,
love involves other people
00:53:11.23\00:53:14.11
but love also involves choice.
00:53:14.14\00:53:17.66
Our youngest son, he was
only 3 years old at the time
00:53:17.69\00:53:23.13
and I'll never
forget, we lived in a RV
00:53:23.16\00:53:25.84
and I had a big
mayflower moving van
00:53:25.87\00:53:28.64
fixed up and painted
and had an office in there,
00:53:28.67\00:53:30.89
a place to store our stuff
00:53:30.92\00:53:31.98
and place for me
to get away and study.
00:53:32.01\00:53:33.68
You don't study with
two little boys in RV.
00:53:33.71\00:53:37.08
So I'm sitting in my
office studying one day
00:53:37.11\00:53:38.93
I had the big van door kind of
cracked open just a little bit
00:53:38.96\00:53:43.12
and I heard it creak
00:53:43.15\00:53:44.32
and then I heard a,
hmm, a little grunt.
00:53:44.35\00:53:47.56
And I turned around to
look and there was my boy
00:53:47.59\00:53:50.99
big round face, big
brown eyes just sparkling
00:53:51.02\00:53:57.22
and he said,
"Daddy, I love you."
00:53:57.25\00:53:59.31
Turn around and ran away.
00:53:59.34\00:54:03.44
Not to get emotional
just telling you that
00:54:03.47\00:54:09.90
because you see the thing
that made his love so precious
00:54:09.93\00:54:13.73
is that he
didn't have to say that.
00:54:13.76\00:54:16.61
He didn't have to say it.
He didn't have to love me.
00:54:18.51\00:54:23.58
Lot of children
don't love their parents.
00:54:23.61\00:54:27.20
In fact the time came
when he didn't love us,
00:54:27.23\00:54:32.60
changed his name, left,
00:54:32.63\00:54:33.87
didn't want
anything to do with us.
00:54:33.90\00:54:38.51
There is nothing more painful
in the rejection of the love
00:54:38.54\00:54:44.63
for your own children.
00:54:44.66\00:54:48.91
And it helped me to understand
may be just a little bit
00:54:48.94\00:54:54.57
about how God feels
when we don't love Him.
00:54:54.60\00:54:58.61
Things started
getting a little better.
00:55:03.91\00:55:07.69
And one day he flew back,
00:55:07.72\00:55:09.12
he lives in
England, he flew back home
00:55:09.15\00:55:12.38
and it was Father's
Day and he gave me a card
00:55:15.80\00:55:21.80
and he says in
the card, "Dear dad,
00:55:23.13\00:55:26.25
I don't think that
this card was manufactured
00:55:26.28\00:55:28.82
with the intention for sons
00:55:28.85\00:55:30.39
to give it to their
fathers on Father's Day
00:55:30.42\00:55:34.76
but the cover picture
even though it's irrelevant,
00:55:34.79\00:55:38.16
I like the words because
that's where we are, I hope."
00:55:38.19\00:55:44.39
And the words on the
cover, "To my friend."
00:55:44.42\00:55:50.84
Best wishes for your whole year,
not just this one single day.
00:55:57.94\00:56:04.86
I don't say enough
00:56:04.89\00:56:07.65
how much I
appreciate you in my childhood.
00:56:07.68\00:56:12.05
Thank you for giving me
a happy and healthy home.
00:56:12.08\00:56:16.45
(Transient, your son).
00:56:16.48\00:56:24.45
Inside, "Wishing you one
of the best Father's Days
00:56:28.90\00:56:31.83
you have ever had." and
it was because of this card.
00:56:31.86\00:56:39.13
He didn't have to
give me that card.
00:56:39.16\00:56:42.74
The fact that he didn't have to
00:56:42.77\00:56:44.65
makes it all the
more precious to me.
00:56:44.68\00:56:48.86
And that's why God put
the tree in the garden.
00:56:48.89\00:56:54.10
He had to give us a choice
00:56:54.13\00:56:57.07
even though He knew
that we would reject Him,
00:56:57.10\00:57:01.74
He had to put the
tree there because of love.
00:57:01.77\00:57:04.81
God could have
done other things.
00:57:07.33\00:57:09.46
He could have
said, "Planet earth,
00:57:09.49\00:57:10.52
you made your
bed now sleep in it."
00:57:10.55\00:57:12.27
He couldn't do that,
00:57:15.31\00:57:17.35
so God did the
unthinkable to that old devil.
00:57:17.38\00:57:21.17
God came in man and
died on the cross to save us
00:57:21.20\00:57:28.94
and all we need
to do is reach out
00:57:32.48\00:57:37.20
and take the hand of Jesus.
00:57:37.23\00:57:40.39
Trust Him, follow Him.
00:57:40.42\00:57:44.26