The escalation of global
terrorism, crime, immorality
00:00:09.60\00:00:12.61
and natural disasters,
seems to indicate our world
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is spiraling towards it's
ultimate hour with destiny.
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Who, if anyone, will
survive Earth's final events?
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Discover what Bible prophecy
reveals about the rapture,
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the mark of the
beast, and Armageddon.
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Though shrouded in
mystery for centuries,
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the book of Revelation
can be understood today.
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Peer into the future,
and see what wonderful things
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God has planned for His people.
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And now, Pastor Brian
McMahon presents the powerful
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Bible seminar
"Revelation Speaks Hope".
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In Revelation 17:12, and
it says: [text on screen]
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"These shall make
war with the Lamb."
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You see, the beast is
only really mentioned here
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because He's
warring against the Lamb,
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he's trying to usurp the
authority away from Jesus,
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that belongs
only to God's Christ.
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And then the verse goes on
and it says [text on screen].
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That should be encouraging
to use, shouldn't it?
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Sometimes life gets
difficult, it gets really tough,
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it seems like you're
down in the trenches,
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and it almost seems
like it's pressing in on us,
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but God gives us
these words to encourage us
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because He's telling us
here that in the last book,
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in the end of all things,
no matter how bad it may get,
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the Lamb is going to win.
The Lamb is going to win all
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of these great
battles in Revelation.
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Revelation's message is profound
and yet at the same time
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it's simple; it's
simple and it's saying the Lamb
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is going to win and
we can win with Him.
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So what is the key
to the great battle?
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To make sure
you're on the Lamb's side.
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To be sure that
we're with the Lamb.
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Have you ever asked
yourself the question
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why is it that something
seems to be missing in my life?
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Have you ever thought
that even though you might own
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a great deal of things, that
still your life is incomplete
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because there's something
that just doesn't fit right?
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Many people these days
are living for their cars,
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their stereos, their
homes, or these kinds of things,
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and they're wondering around,
searching, and even sometimes
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praying, wondering about
the greatest question of all,
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which is: how can I
have meaning, and purpose,
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and joy, and peace in my life,
and have it for all eternity?
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Today, as you sit here tonight,
literally millions of people
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are asking that
question, and they're wondering
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would someone come along
and in plain, simple language
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tell me how I can finally have
confidence amidst all the chaos
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of this world?
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Well, the Bible gives us
an answer, and it's found in
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John 3:16, we're going
to put it on the screen,
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and I would like for you
to say it out loud with me,
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this is one we're going
to read out loud together,
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so here we go, John
3:16: [text on screen]
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Some might say "Well I
know God loves good people,"
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"but you should see what a
mess I've made of my life."
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"I don't think
God could love me."
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Listen dear friends,
when someone says that to me
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I always think of when I
read in the newspaper about some
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person who's
committed a terrible crime,
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and they might be on
death row, and there, as they're
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on death row, sometimes
the parents of that individual
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are interviewed, and especially
the mother, the mother will say
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"You know, I
still love that boy."
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"I still love that man. Oh yes,
he's done some wrong things,"
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"but I still love
him." You can't take the love
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out of a mother's heart.
How much less could we take it
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out of an infinitely loving God.
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You see, human beings
could be pretty bad at times.
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All you have to do is open
up a newspaper on any given day,
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you can see that
human beings can be so bad,
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but you could never do something
so bad that God would stop
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loving you,
isn't that good news?
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You could never be so bad
that you could take the love
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out of God's heart
that He has for you.
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God has demonstrated
His love to us in many ways:
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from the birds that
sing to us in the morning,
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to the wonderful, varied
food that He gives us to eat,
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to the majestic scenery
that we have all around us
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all the time, but the greatest
demonstration of God's love
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towards us is
found in Romans 5:8.
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We're going to be in the
book of Romans a lot tonight,
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so again, if you want
to put a marker there,
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or something that
you can find it fast,
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you might want to
do that, Romans 5:8,
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and here's what is
says: [text on screen]
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"commendeth" - that
word means "demonstrated"
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[continues to read text]
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The greatest evidence of
all, the greatest evidence
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that God loves you is
the fact that Jesus Christ
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was sent into this
world. Jesus didn't have to come
00:05:18.63\00:05:20.95
from heaven, have you
ever thought of it that way?
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God the Father, didn't
force Jesus to come down,
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Jesus did it voluntarily
because He didn't count heaven
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a place to be, while
human beings were still left
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in an unsaved condition.
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In heaven, Jesus had it all.
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In heaven, Jesus had a
beautiful crown on His head,
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beyond the glory of anything
that any earthly majesty
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has ever worn.
Jesus had beautiful robes
00:05:46.78\00:05:49.29
of white, He had countless
angels around His throne
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praising His
every move, and name,
00:05:53.53\00:05:56.74
and yet He traded it,
He traded all the glories
00:05:57.51\00:06:00.37
of heaven to come down
to a dark sin-filled world,
00:06:00.41\00:06:03.24
He exchanged the
multitude of the angels
00:06:03.50\00:06:05.94
to be placed in a
crowd of criminals.
00:06:05.97\00:06:08.38
He exchanged His
beautiful robes to wear a robe
00:06:08.66\00:06:13.52
of beaten flesh.
00:06:13.55\00:06:15.23
He exchanged the
crown that He wore there,
00:06:15.27\00:06:17.64
that He would wear a
crown of thorns for us.
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And yet, how few
really think about it?
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Fewer yet, understand it,
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and yet tonight, we
want to talk about it.
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I want you to take
your Bibles and I want you
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to turn with me to Romans 3.
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Some will say: "well, why
would God do all of that?"
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If it seems like through
the years so few people have
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really accepted Jesus
as their personal saviour
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compared to all that have
lived, why would God go through
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all of that
trouble for the human race,
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if you were the only one
on the face of the earth,
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God would would have
sent Jesus into this world
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to die just for you.
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We're looking at Romans
3, and we're going to ask
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the question: why is it
that God sent His Saviour
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into the world?
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Romans 3:23, one of
the most familiar texts
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that we could look at,
it says [text on screen]
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Now, when it says: "all
have sinned", that takes in
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everybody in
this room, doesn't it?
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Everybody in this auditorium,
it takes in into that circle.
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You see, human experience
testifies too much to that
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verse.
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The Bible tells us we've
all rebelled, we've all fallen
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short of God's righteousness,
and there'll be some people
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who'll say "certainly that
couldn't be talking about me."
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"I'm well thought of
in my social circles."
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"I've got education,
I've got poise and culture,"
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"and I live in a
good neighborhood."
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"Certainly it
couldn't be talking about me."
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Well let's just look
back a little bit to verse 10.
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Romans 3:10, it
says: [text on screen]
00:07:46.93\00:07:49.74
Romans 8:7 tells
us: [text on screen]
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So what sin does is
it creates a separation
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between God and us.
00:08:11.60\00:08:12.95
The world's first
parents, Adam and Eve,
00:08:12.99\00:08:15.25
when they rebelled
against God's orders,
00:08:15.36\00:08:18.36
when they took the
fruit of the tree of knowledge
00:08:18.40\00:08:20.00
of good and evil and ate it,
00:08:20.03\00:08:21.87
they lost that special
relationship that they had had
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with God at that
time. In other words,
00:08:25.27\00:08:27.21
the spiritual power
that they had was now gone,
00:08:27.25\00:08:30.10
and they inherited
a selfish character.
00:08:30.13\00:08:32.57
That selfish character is passed
on down from father to son,
00:08:32.61\00:08:37.07
from parent to child,
all the way through hundreds,
00:08:37.10\00:08:40.09
and even thousands of
years, to this very day.
00:08:40.12\00:08:42.56
So that when a child
is born into this world,
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the child is selfish.
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That's the nature that man
has inherited because of sin,
00:08:46.70\00:08:49.28
and it's not hard to see that;
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when a child comes into
this world and begins to speak,
00:08:51.00\00:08:53.07
well you can see it even
before he begins to speak,
00:08:53.10\00:08:55.10
but when the child begins to
speak, what's one of the first
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words that a child says: "Mine."
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They learn that
real quick, "it's mine."
00:09:00.69\00:09:03.18
And they know that
because it's natural for them
00:09:03.22\00:09:05.85
to be selfish.
00:09:05.88\00:09:07.71
So the Bible teaches that we
need to do something about that.
00:09:07.75\00:09:11.33
You can cover up the outside,
you can dress in a nice suit,
00:09:11.37\00:09:14.56
you can get education, you
can get all kinds of things,
00:09:14.60\00:09:17.76
but the Bible
tells us that inside
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we're still naturally selfish.
00:09:20.22\00:09:21.97
So what does someone try to do?
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Well, a lot of people
try to make themselves better
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through the various
means that they can.
00:09:27.22\00:09:28.71
They think "I'm self
motivated, I can pull myself up"
00:09:28.75\00:09:31.76
"by my own
bootstraps. If I've a problem,"
00:09:31.79\00:09:33.93
"I'll just take
care of it myself."
00:09:33.96\00:09:35.86
"If I've got a
character trait that's no good,"
00:09:35.90\00:09:37.85
"I'll take care of it",
and they try it that way,
00:09:37.89\00:09:39.81
but let me share it
folks, what the basic difference
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between true Christianity
00:09:43.16\00:09:46.72
and false religion is:
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in false religion you
have mankind striving to make
00:09:49.18\00:09:53.76
themselves good enough that
they will appease an angry God.
00:09:53.80\00:09:57.02
In other words, in false
religion, through sacrifices,
00:09:57.05\00:09:59.80
through some kind
of bodily affliction,
00:09:59.83\00:10:01.34
through some kind of works,
they say "if I can only do
00:10:01.38\00:10:05.21
this," "this and this, God will
accept me, and I'll have His
00:10:05.24\00:10:09.04
favor." In true Christianity you
have the understanding that that
00:10:09.37\00:10:11.95
is not possible, God
already loves you, amen?
00:10:11.98\00:10:15.08
And rather than you have
man striving up to try and meet
00:10:15.12\00:10:17.90
the hand of God, God
reaches down and takes us
00:10:17.93\00:10:21.01
by the hand and says:
"I'll lift you up to Me."
00:10:21.05\00:10:24.10
That's the difference.
God, Himself, provided
00:10:24.48\00:10:27.82
the sacrifice, He didn't
ask us to provide the sacrifice,
00:10:27.86\00:10:31.16
He said: "I will make the
only sacrifice that can be made"
00:10:31.20\00:10:34.60
"for sin, and I will come
down and lift you up to Myself."
00:10:34.63\00:10:38.00
That's the basic difference,
Salvation does not come
00:10:38.03\00:10:42.13
in a "do it yourself" manner.
00:10:42.20\00:10:43.90
It's not one of those things
that you can measure the good
00:10:44.60\00:10:47.10
things versus the
bad things in your life,
00:10:47.13\00:10:48.75
because no amount of
good works is going to make
00:10:48.79\00:10:50.89
up for the fact that we
have sinned and fallen short
00:10:50.93\00:10:53.61
of the glory of God, so
no, salvation is not by chance,
00:10:53.65\00:10:56.30
it's not by accident,
it's not by falling into
00:10:56.33\00:10:58.15
the crowd of those
heading towards heaven,
00:10:58.19\00:10:59.98
it comes in a very, very
specific and Biblical way.
00:11:00.21\00:11:04.04
We're going to
study about that tonight.
00:11:04.07\00:11:05.56
In Acts 4:12 we read
these words: [text on screen]
00:11:05.60\00:11:10.49
The world can have many
religions, it can have many
00:11:19.39\00:11:22.50
kinds of faiths, so to speak,
but the scripture tells us
00:11:22.54\00:11:28.06
that heaven doesn't have a lot
of different kinds of salvation,
00:11:28.50\00:11:31.57
heaven doesn't have a lot
of different kinds of roads
00:11:31.60\00:11:33.76
that will eventually
lead there, heaven has 1 road
00:11:33.79\00:11:35.92
and that's through Jesus.
00:11:35.95\00:11:37.94
Let's take a look at a very
common passage in the Bible,
00:11:37.98\00:11:40.68
it's found in
Ephesians 2, can you turn there.
00:11:40.71\00:11:43.03
Here the Bible
says: [text on screen]
00:11:43.06\00:11:45.49
So once again, God
doesn't save us because of what
00:11:52.92\00:11:54.68
I've accomplished, God doesn't
save me because of who I am,
00:11:54.72\00:11:57.71
He doesn't save me because of
all the things I've stock piled
00:11:57.74\00:12:00.70
in my favour. No,
God's grace totally comes
00:12:00.73\00:12:05.27
by faith in Jesus
Christ, there's no other way.
00:12:05.31\00:12:09.82
If we stay in the condition
in which we were born in,
00:12:12.03\00:12:15.69
what is the result of that?
00:12:15.72\00:12:16.72
We'll go to
Romans 6 to found out.
00:12:16.76\00:12:20.16
The Bible says [text on screen]
00:12:20.86\00:12:23.44
It can't be a very good
feeling to be on death row,
00:12:30.62\00:12:33.60
I've gone into many
prisons and seen inmates there,
00:12:33.63\00:12:36.54
it's not a happy place really,
even though there are some
00:12:36.58\00:12:39.40
that have found the
Lord behind those bars,
00:12:39.43\00:12:41.44
still, it can be even a worse
feeling to be on death row,
00:12:41.54\00:12:44.40
and yet the Bible tells
us that all have sinned,
00:12:44.43\00:12:46.54
and it says: "The
wages of sin is death."
00:12:46.57\00:12:47.96
So that has put, at one
time, everybody under that
00:12:48.00\00:12:50.12
death penalty.
00:12:50.15\00:12:51.38
No matter how insignificant
we may think our sin is,
00:12:52.06\00:12:56.10
if we have committed 1
sin that sin is enough,
00:12:56.13\00:12:58.57
if unrepented of, to
keep us out of heaven friends,
00:12:58.61\00:13:01.30
because the wages of sin,
big or small, is still death.
00:13:01.33\00:13:03.99
That's why we can't save
ourself, because we can't
00:13:04.56\00:13:08.40
satisfy the penalty
for sin, which is death,
00:13:08.43\00:13:10.66
and yet still have eternal
life, so the only rescue plan
00:13:10.70\00:13:14.01
has to come from without,
it can't come from within,
00:13:14.05\00:13:17.33
it has to come from without.
00:13:17.53\00:13:18.99
That's why we need a Saviour.
00:13:19.14\00:13:20.72
That's why we turn to Jesus.
00:13:20.75\00:13:22.26
If you were a true worshiper
of God in the Old Testament
00:13:22.30\00:13:25.38
times, what would you do?
00:13:25.41\00:13:27.02
Well, God asked people to
go to a place of sacrifice,
00:13:27.06\00:13:30.26
and there, in the Old Testament
it was called The Sanctuary.
00:13:30.33\00:13:33.28
It became more permanent
in the time of Solomon,
00:13:33.31\00:13:34.97
and we'll talk
about that another night,
00:13:35.00\00:13:36.62
but in that place of sacrifice,
they were asked to bring
00:13:36.66\00:13:40.08
an animal, usually a
lamb, a pure, spotless lamb,
00:13:40.55\00:13:45.01
and there, they would have
to take a knife in their hand
00:13:45.19\00:13:47.18
and with their own
hand they would have to slay
00:13:47.21\00:13:49.44
that animal, they
would slit its throat,
00:13:49.68\00:13:51.99
showing that the
wages of sin is death,
00:13:52.02\00:13:54.26
that it was their
hand that caused the death
00:13:54.30\00:13:55.84
of that animal.
00:13:55.87\00:13:56.85
Before they did that they would
lay their hands on the head
00:13:56.89\00:13:58.72
of that animal and they would
pray, and they would confess
00:13:58.76\00:14:00.56
their sins over the
head of that animal,
00:14:00.59\00:14:02.14
transferring, in type,
the sins from the real sinner,
00:14:02.18\00:14:05.75
the individual, to the
innocent, spotless sacrifice.
00:14:05.79\00:14:09.33
God is teaching us
that sin is costly, amen?
00:14:09.62\00:14:12.61
God is teaching us that
sin is not a light thing,
00:14:12.75\00:14:16.16
that it's a very, very
serious thing in heaven's sight.
00:14:16.31\00:14:18.55
For hundreds and hundreds
of years those sacrifices
00:14:19.30\00:14:22.24
went on, until finally,
one day John the Baptist
00:14:22.27\00:14:25.26
called out those famous
words: [text on screen].
00:14:25.30\00:14:28.26
All of those
many, many sacrifices,
00:14:30.48\00:14:32.65
all of those centuries of
sacrifices pointed towards
00:14:32.69\00:14:35.54
the one true
sacrifice and that's Jesus.
00:14:35.57\00:14:37.88
When you hear the expression
"Jesus shed His blood for you"
00:14:38.08\00:14:41.23
what it's really saying
is Jesus laid down His life
00:14:41.63\00:14:44.24
for you and for me.
00:14:44.27\00:14:47.12
When Christ hung on the
cross, He was that perfect,
00:14:47.16\00:14:49.99
spotless sacrifice, wasn't He?
00:14:50.02\00:14:51.84
If Jesus had remained in heaven
00:14:51.94\00:14:53.60
the entire human race would
have been forever condemned.
00:14:53.64\00:14:56.42
Because Jesus came to
this earth and gave up His life
00:14:56.45\00:14:59.21
the entire human race has
an opportunity to be saved.
00:14:59.25\00:15:01.98
What do you say out there? Amen?
00:15:02.01\00:15:03.69
Let's go back to
Romans 6:23 if we could.
00:15:03.73\00:15:06.43
Notice, what does the
Bible call salvation: a gift.
00:15:06.89\00:15:10.23
Someone says: "Well, how do
I receive this beautiful gift'
00:15:10.66\00:15:12.62
"that God gives us?"
00:15:12.65\00:15:13.97
I want to talk to you about
the plan of salvation tonight,
00:15:14.01\00:15:16.72
and I'll tell you
why before we're through.
00:15:16.75\00:15:18.57
I want to do it in this way:
there's many sermons that could
00:15:19.05\00:15:21.90
be given, many different kinds
of studies that could be given,
00:15:21.94\00:15:24.76
but what we want to do is
take the plan of salvation
00:15:24.79\00:15:28.64
and boil it down into
the absolute simplest steps
00:15:28.67\00:15:32.49
so everyone in this auditorium,
including the youngest person
00:15:32.80\00:15:35.23
can know how to
be saved tonight.
00:15:35.26\00:15:37.49
Would you turn
with me to turn John 12.
00:15:38.08\00:15:42.57
A person may not
always go through these steps
00:15:42.75\00:15:44.92
consciously, they
can happen quite quickly,
00:15:44.96\00:15:47.06
as we see from the experience
of the thief on the cross,
00:15:47.10\00:15:49.90
but nevertheless, there are
certain steps that take place
00:15:49.93\00:15:52.52
in the plan of salvation.
We want to try to analyse them
00:15:52.55\00:15:55.11
and clearly understand it.
00:15:55.21\00:15:56.60
In John 12:32, here are the
words of Jesus [text on screen]
00:15:56.64\00:16:02.38
Here's a reference
to Jesus' death for us,
00:16:13.43\00:16:15.47
it's an appreciation
of the death of Jesus
00:16:15.61\00:16:17.58
that will draw
your heart out to God,
00:16:17.61\00:16:19.12
did you know that?
00:16:19.15\00:16:20.30
Do you feel God drawing you
even tonight as you sit there?
00:16:20.52\00:16:23.43
Do you feel the Holy Spirit
telling you that God loves you,
00:16:23.46\00:16:26.34
and wants you, and wants
you to become a better person
00:16:26.37\00:16:28.58
through coming to these
studies here at this seminar?
00:16:28.62\00:16:30.80
Do you know that is
the work of God for you?
00:16:31.15\00:16:33.26
You may be sitting
there tonight and saying:
00:16:33.29\00:16:35.33
"I'm sinful, I'm very
sinful." Friend, you may be,
00:16:35.37\00:16:39.46
but the more sinful you
are, the more God is glorified
00:16:39.60\00:16:42.20
in saving you, amen?
00:16:42.23\00:16:43.86
The more sinful you may be
as a person, the more tender
00:16:43.90\00:16:46.31
love God has towards you,
like a shepherd that looks
00:16:46.34\00:16:49.22
over His sheep, the more
God is glorified by saving you
00:16:49.25\00:16:52.10
into His kingdom.
00:16:52.13\00:16:53.10
You may feel that
you've gone beyond hope.
00:16:53.13\00:16:55.07
You may say: "Would
God even accept me?"
00:16:55.43\00:16:57.81
"I don't feel He
would." I've got good news
00:16:57.85\00:17:00.16
for you tonight: the very
fact that you're sitting here,
00:17:00.20\00:17:03.29
the very fact that
you would want to come to
00:17:03.42\00:17:05.19
the Amazing Facts
seminar tonight, rather than go
00:17:05.23\00:17:08.38
to one of many other
choices you could have,
00:17:08.41\00:17:10.77
is a sign that God
loves you and drew you here.
00:17:10.80\00:17:13.13
Isn't that good new?
00:17:13.56\00:17:14.56
Because you can't
even want to be a Christian
00:17:14.60\00:17:17.17
without God's help.
00:17:17.20\00:17:18.47
You can't even want to
study unless the Holy Spirit
00:17:18.66\00:17:21.00
puts that into your heart.
00:17:21.03\00:17:22.46
So the very fact
that you're seated here
00:17:22.50\00:17:25.09
is a statement of God's
love and mercy towards you,
00:17:25.45\00:17:28.01
and we should
thank Him for that.
00:17:28.50\00:17:30.36
We can't want to do
right, we can't have the desires
00:17:30.93\00:17:33.25
to follow Jesus unless
the Holy Spirit comes to us
00:17:33.29\00:17:36.34
and draws us to Him. The
great stories of the Bible
00:17:36.38\00:17:39.40
do not show us - man
- out in search of God,
00:17:39.43\00:17:42.51
the great stories of the Bible
show God out in search for man,
00:17:42.62\00:17:45.37
like Adam and Eve, after
they sinned they were hiding
00:17:45.40\00:17:47.71
in the garden, and who
came? God came and said:
00:17:47.74\00:17:51.24
"Adam, where art thou?
I want you, I want to be"
00:17:51.27\00:17:54.74
"with you." God
came searching for man.
00:17:54.77\00:17:57.15
It's the same for us tonight.
God is still on a search
00:17:57.25\00:17:59.80
for people, isn't He?
God is still out searching
00:17:59.83\00:18:02.15
for you and for me, if
He hasn't found us already
00:18:02.19\00:18:04.48
and we haven't
given our heart to Him.
00:18:04.51\00:18:05.91
God's love never, ever fails.
00:18:05.94\00:18:08.31
Revelation 3:19,20,
Jesus is speaking, He says:
00:18:08.35\00:18:13.58
[text on screen]
00:18:13.61\00:18:15.84
What door is that?
That's the door to your heart,
00:18:20.43\00:18:22.50
the door to your
affections, your mind,
00:18:22.53\00:18:24.76
He wants your
desires to be for Him.
00:18:24.80\00:18:27.00
[text on screen]
00:18:27.03\00:18:28.64
Do you notice
how polite Jesus is?
00:18:33.51\00:18:35.51
Do you notice how He
doesn't force Himself on us?
00:18:35.69\00:18:38.17
He wants to come in, that's
welcoming Him into our hearts,
00:18:38.21\00:18:43.02
when we say "come" to
Jesus, it's a response
00:18:43.05\00:18:45.35
to this invitation.
00:18:45.38\00:18:46.71
It's a welcoming in of Jesus
into our hearts and our minds.
00:18:46.75\00:18:50.74
When the voice
of God speaks to us,
00:18:51.03\00:18:52.61
what else is going to happen?
00:18:52.64\00:18:53.61
Let's go to another
verse, lets go to Acts 16:30,31:
00:18:53.62\00:18:58.40
Scripture says: "And
brought them out and said:"
00:18:58.43\00:19:03.23
"Sirs, what must
I do to be saved?"
00:19:03.26\00:19:05.87
Do you know that that is
the cry of, literally, millions
00:19:05.91\00:19:07.98
of people tonight?
"What must I do to be saved?"
00:19:08.01\00:19:10.50
[text on screen]
00:19:10.53\00:19:12.55
So God takes the
first step by drawing us
00:19:17.25\00:19:19.26
and then there comes
the response for what
00:19:19.30\00:19:21.28
God has done, which is "belief."
00:19:21.31\00:19:23.14
Let me share with just a little
bit about this word "belief."
00:19:23.18\00:19:26.22
The word "belief" and the word
"faith" in the original language
00:19:26.39\00:19:28.70
are the same word.
00:19:28.73\00:19:30.16
Some people think "I believe
that someone by the name"
00:19:30.20\00:19:32.90
"of Jesus died 2000
years ago on a cross"
00:19:32.93\00:19:36.12
"outside the
walls of Jerusalem."
00:19:36.38\00:19:38.66
"I acknowledge
that, I believe that."
00:19:38.69\00:19:40.94
But friends,
that's not Bible belief.
00:19:41.21\00:19:43.10
True Bible belief is
saying put your total faith,
00:19:43.22\00:19:46.48
put your total trust,
put your total commitment
00:19:46.51\00:19:49.74
in this
individual. It's not simply
00:19:49.77\00:19:52.03
an acknowledgement of
the fact that Jesus died.
00:19:52.07\00:19:54.56
When we do that,
when we have real faith
00:19:55.15\00:19:57.64
and we say "Yes, I'm
giving my entire being"
00:19:57.67\00:20:00.13
"to Jesus", now
what's going to happen?
00:20:00.33\00:20:02.54
Let's go take a look back
there in the book of Acts.
00:20:02.58\00:20:05.70
This time chapter 2.
We're going to keep going
00:20:05.90\00:20:07.80
through these verses
folks, I want you to know where
00:20:07.84\00:20:09.77
they are, to be
able to underline them,
00:20:09.80\00:20:11.63
to be able to look
them up for yourself.
00:20:11.67\00:20:13.47
Acts 2:37 [text on screen]
00:20:13.68\00:20:17.09
So Peter comes
back with 2 main things,
00:20:37.30\00:20:39.42
He says repent and be baptized.
00:20:39.45\00:20:41.41
We're not going to
talk about baptism tonight
00:20:41.45\00:20:43.34
because we have another
night when I will bring that out
00:20:43.38\00:20:45.57
in more detail, but the
first thing that Peter said
00:20:45.60\00:20:47.98
was "Repent".
00:20:48.01\00:20:49.76
What is true repentance?
00:20:49.80\00:20:52.17
True repentance, as
the Bible gives it to us,
00:20:52.51\00:20:55.62
is when we realize that
what we have done against God
00:20:56.24\00:21:01.99
was enough to cause
the death of His Son.
00:21:02.52\00:21:05.13
There are 2 types of repentance,
and I've seen them both,
00:21:05.85\00:21:09.08
I think we've all had a
little bit of one or the other
00:21:09.70\00:21:11.62
at one time, but I've
gone into many prisons
00:21:11.65\00:21:14.23
and you see a lot of inmates
there, and there are people
00:21:14.27\00:21:17.51
that are sorry.
00:21:17.54\00:21:18.87
But there's 2 kinds of sorrow:
00:21:19.57\00:21:21.47
there's trues sorrow
for what they've done,
00:21:21.51\00:21:23.95
and then there's another
kind of sorrow for some of them,
00:21:23.99\00:21:25.82
and that's they're
sorry they got caught.
00:21:25.85\00:21:28.22
But that's not true
sorrow, just being sorry for
00:21:29.26\00:21:31.44
the consequences
is not true sorrow,
00:21:31.47\00:21:33.30
being sorry for what you
did, that's another thing.
00:21:33.34\00:21:35.93
And when we have come to
the point when we realize
00:21:36.17\00:21:38.53
that what we did
was worthy of death,
00:21:38.56\00:21:42.24
and it was enough to cause
the death of God's own Son,
00:21:42.28\00:21:44.86
that will produce a sorrow
in our hearts like nothing else
00:21:44.89\00:21:47.44
ever could.
00:21:47.47\00:21:48.44
Repentance means: "I'm turning
around, I'm going a different"
00:21:48.45\00:21:50.57
"direction now." You
see, it wasn't the physical
00:21:50.60\00:21:53.42
indignities done to
Jesus that caused Him to die,
00:21:53.99\00:21:56.30
some people think because He
was crucified, nailed through
00:21:56.34\00:21:58.70
His hands and nailed
through His feet, and a crown of
00:21:58.73\00:22:00.37
thorns on His head, and because
He had a spear put in His side,
00:22:00.41\00:22:03.68
they say "maybe
that's what killed Him."
00:22:03.71\00:22:05.63
No friends, that's
not what killed Jesus.
00:22:05.67\00:22:07.56
Though He had all
of that done to Him,
00:22:07.72\00:22:09.56
it was the weight of
sin that was put on Him
00:22:09.98\00:22:12.05
that crushed out His
life, that He had the weight
00:22:12.09\00:22:14.93
of the sins of the world put
on His heart, that was enough
00:22:14.97\00:22:17.80
to crush out the
life of the son of God,
00:22:17.83\00:22:19.29
though He did suffer
those things physically as well.
00:22:19.33\00:22:22.17
When I know that that happened
to Him, and when I take time
00:22:22.60\00:22:26.20
to think about it, the Bible
says: "We love Him because He"
00:22:26.23\00:22:29.80
"first loved us."
When we see the love of God
00:22:29.91\00:22:32.06
He had towards us, it will bring
out a response and repentance
00:22:32.10\00:22:34.40
towards Him.
00:22:34.43\00:22:36.20
In addition, true, Godly sorrow,
makes us want to make right
00:22:36.51\00:22:43.60
whatever we've done
wrong, insofar as is possible.
00:22:43.63\00:22:46.39
In other words, if I
have robbed from my neighbor,
00:22:46.43\00:22:49.16
and I really have sorrow,
I would want to give back
00:22:49.33\00:22:51.71
that which I robbed
from him. If I've told a lie
00:22:51.75\00:22:54.06
and I have true repentance, I'll
want to go and make it right
00:22:54.10\00:22:56.55
and tell the truth. A
lot of messages on salvation
00:22:56.58\00:23:00.10
leave this out, as if it
wasn't important, but the Bible
00:23:00.14\00:23:04.72
tells us it is important.
Look with me at Ezekiel 33:14,15
00:23:04.75\00:23:08.30
and look and see what the
Bible has to say about this.
00:23:08.34\00:23:11.86
Ezekiel 33:14,15
says: [text on screen]
00:23:11.89\00:23:14.53
"if he turn from his
sin" - that's repentance -
00:23:17.84\00:23:20.37
[continues to read]
00:23:20.40\00:23:22.03
Is there a doing involved? Yes.
00:23:22.83\00:23:24.90
"He does that which
is lawful and right"
00:23:24.94\00:23:26.90
[reads text on screen]
00:23:26.93\00:23:28.99
"give again that he had
robbed" - meaning give it back -
00:23:29.19\00:23:31.77
"walk in the statutes of
life" - meaning he's showing now
00:23:31.80\00:23:34.35
that he's a different person.
00:23:34.38\00:23:35.97
[continues to read text]
00:23:36.00\00:23:37.67
Turn to 1 John 1, and you'll
see something very special.
00:23:39.58\00:23:44.23
1 John 1:9.
00:23:46.28\00:23:50.15
I know that many of you have
this memorized, if you haven't
00:23:50.97\00:23:53.50
then this is one
that you need to memorize,
00:23:53.53\00:23:55.56
and it's found in verse
9, it says: [text on screen].
00:23:55.78\00:23:58.60
People who are truly repentant
confess the things that
00:24:07.95\00:24:11.12
they've done wrong.
I think of repentance
00:24:11.15\00:24:13.48
and confession as 2
sides on the same coin.
00:24:13.52\00:24:15.78
In other words, repentance
is what happens on the inside
00:24:15.82\00:24:18.03
and confession is what
happens on the outside.
00:24:18.06\00:24:20.65
You feel the sorrow on the
inside, confession is an outward
00:24:20.75\00:24:23.30
expression for that
sorrow that you feel.
00:24:23.33\00:24:25.83
We want to talk
about that for a minute:
00:24:25.97\00:24:27.63
what exactly is confession?
00:24:27.66\00:24:29.89
Confession is not informing God,
because God knows all about it,
00:24:29.93\00:24:36.39
so confession is
telling God about your sins,
00:24:36.64\00:24:40.32
asking Him to forgive you,
accepting His power into your
00:24:40.65\00:24:43.95
life so you don't have to
keep committing the same thing,
00:24:43.99\00:24:47.64
we'll talk about that another
night, but Jesus came down
00:24:47.68\00:24:51.30
from heaven not to
condemn us, but to love us
00:24:51.33\00:24:55.51
and show us God's
love. I used to think of God
00:24:55.55\00:24:59.66
as a great big policeman up in
the sky, a million miles away,
00:24:59.70\00:25:04.26
who is just waiting to
catch me in something that I did
00:25:04.29\00:25:07.04
wrong, so He could
say: "Aha, there you go,"
00:25:07.07\00:25:09.41
"got you again."
That's a terrible way to think
00:25:09.44\00:25:11.59
of God, but that's
what I thought growing up,
00:25:11.63\00:25:13.75
isn't that sad?
00:25:14.26\00:25:15.54
But God isn't trying to see
how many people He can punish,
00:25:15.58\00:25:18.10
God is trying to see
how many people He can save.
00:25:18.13\00:25:20.50
The Lord isn't trying to
see how many people He can send
00:25:20.65\00:25:22.78
in the lake of fire, the Lord
is only interested in how many
00:25:22.82\00:25:24.92
people He can get into
heaven. So God is on our side.
00:25:24.95\00:25:28.99
Don't think of God as someone
that's against you, no friends.
00:25:29.03\00:25:33.60
The closer you get to
God's love, the more we read
00:25:33.90\00:25:36.93
the Bible, the more obvious
our shortcomings become to us.
00:25:36.97\00:25:40.68
Sometimes when you come
into the light of God's word
00:25:40.94\00:25:43.01
and you see things that
are not right in your life,
00:25:43.05\00:25:45.09
some people
want to flee from it.
00:25:45.12\00:25:46.83
Friends, don't flee from
it. The more we see what's wrong
00:25:47.23\00:25:51.25
with us, that's healthy
for us, that's good for us.
00:25:51.28\00:25:55.00
God does it for our
benefit, doesn't He?
00:25:55.10\00:25:57.48
I'm going to tell
you a little story,
00:25:59.62\00:26:01.28
when I was in my teenage years
and I got my driver's license,
00:26:01.32\00:26:05.37
I didn't do like a lot of
young men do, which is get a lot
00:26:05.92\00:26:09.28
of fixer uppers, and then
you graduate from one old car
00:26:09.32\00:26:12.65
to the next old car. I
didn't want to do that,
00:26:12.68\00:26:14.56
I wanted a new car, so I
saved and saved and saved,
00:26:14.60\00:26:17.25
and borrowed rides for
quite a while, until finally
00:26:17.28\00:26:19.86
I could get my first car, and
I bought a 1978 black Camaro,
00:26:19.90\00:26:26.48
and had the wide
tires, and a striker [?],
00:26:29.60\00:26:34.23
and I can see it today.
00:26:34.26\00:26:36.50
Oh, I loved this car,
00:26:36.54\00:26:38.75
but there was a
problem with the car.
00:26:39.34\00:26:41.15
When they painted it at the
factory, and they buffed it out,
00:26:41.27\00:26:45.85
there must have been some
grit in the buffing machine
00:26:46.24\00:26:49.68
and it made swirls in the
paint, on the top especially.
00:26:49.72\00:26:53.09
The interesting thing about it
was you didn't see these things
00:26:53.13\00:26:56.15
when the sunset, when it
was night and you had it washed
00:26:56.71\00:26:59.96
and waxed, and it was gleaming,
oh, it looked beautiful,
00:27:00.00\00:27:03.22
but in the day time
when the sun shone on it,
00:27:03.45\00:27:06.54
you could see the
imperfections in the paint.
00:27:06.57\00:27:09.63
I didn't like
driving it in the day.
00:27:10.11\00:27:12.14
I liked to park it in the
day and drive it at night.
00:27:12.27\00:27:15.73
Because then no one would
see the problems in the paint,
00:27:16.68\00:27:19.01
and it's kind of like that
for people: rather than come
00:27:19.19\00:27:22.81
to the light of God's
word, where we might see
00:27:22.84\00:27:26.00
any imperfections, some people
like to hide in the shadows
00:27:26.04\00:27:28.63
and say "if I just
hide, maybe God won't notice."
00:27:28.66\00:27:33.00
The Bible tells us, I'm
going to quote it to you,
00:27:38.90\00:27:43.70
it's in 1 John 3:21, it
says: "But he that does truth"
00:27:43.74\00:27:49.39
"comes to the light, that
his deeds may be manifest,"
00:27:49.50\00:27:54.01
"that they are wrought in God."
The one that wants to do truth
00:27:54.05\00:27:57.52
is not afraid of the light,
in fact, they're quite willing
00:27:57.56\00:28:01.00
to come to God's word
and come to the light,
00:28:01.03\00:28:03.07
so they, like David,
could say: "Search me, O God,"
00:28:03.11\00:28:05.45
"and try my heart, see if
there be any wicked way in me."
00:28:05.49\00:28:09.86
Friends, listen, it's
healthy to come to God.
00:28:09.89\00:28:12.84
Now, someone will say:
"but how do we do that?"
00:28:13.36\00:28:17.26
Go with me to this next
text, it's in 1 Timothy 2:5.
00:28:17.30\00:28:23.41
Keep in mind, why
should we hide from God
00:28:23.44\00:28:27.02
when God loves us anyway,
00:28:27.63\00:28:29.69
God already knows about it,
and it's His Spirit that led us
00:28:31.20\00:28:33.82
to come to Him, so there's
no reason not to come to God.
00:28:33.86\00:28:36.41
The Bible tells us that we
can come confidently to God
00:28:36.44\00:28:38.96
knowing that God is on our
side. 1 Timothy 2:5, it says:
00:28:39.06\00:28:43.56
[text on screen]
00:28:43.93\00:28:46.13
So who is this 1
mediator? The man: Jesus Christ.
00:28:49.70\00:28:54.16
I want that to really
set into your mind tonight.
00:28:55.18\00:28:57.73
Do you know that there are
literally, millions of people
00:28:58.72\00:29:00.86
that need to read that verse
and understand what that means?
00:29:01.20\00:29:03.74
1 mediator, in other
words: we don't need to confess
00:29:03.77\00:29:07.47
our sins to an earthly minister,
or to a rabbi, or to a priest,
00:29:07.51\00:29:12.19
we don't need to pray
to an idol made of wood,
00:29:13.30\00:29:16.98
or stone, or metal,
or plaster of Paris,
00:29:17.01\00:29:19.93
we can go right to Jesus alone.
00:29:20.49\00:29:22.69
There are, literally,
billions of people that lack
00:29:24.64\00:29:28.94
for that verse right there.
00:29:28.97\00:29:30.72
Someone will say: "is it
true that God sees all you do?"
00:29:30.94\00:29:34.42
Yes.
00:29:34.45\00:29:35.42
"Is it true that
God hears all you say?"
00:29:35.43\00:29:37.74
Yes. They'll say: "But if God"
00:29:37.91\00:29:39.56
"sees all you do, and God hears
all you say, then why do I"
00:29:39.60\00:29:41.74
"have to confess my
sins? He knows it already."
00:29:41.77\00:29:43.96
Friends, confession
is not informing God,
00:29:45.02\00:29:47.99
confession is like an
apology, you're getting it
00:29:48.03\00:29:50.16
off your chest, you're
clearing the air between you
00:29:50.20\00:29:53.92
and an angry God, an offended
God, so that you can feel
00:29:53.95\00:29:57.64
the relationship healed.
00:29:57.67\00:30:00.08
When you come to God
and you confess your sins,
00:30:00.99\00:30:05.42
you unburden your heart to
Him, and it's the unburdening
00:30:05.64\00:30:09.28
of the heart that lifts
the guilt from your shoulders,
00:30:09.32\00:30:12.93
the condemnation is
gone, you feel free again,
00:30:12.96\00:30:15.06
you feel happy again,
that's why we confess our sins.
00:30:15.10\00:30:19.05
If you are a liar, if you've
lied, you should say in your
00:30:19.09\00:30:23.01
prayer: "Lord, I
lied, be specific about it."
00:30:23.04\00:30:25.67
If you've committed
adultery, you should say:
00:30:25.71\00:30:28.31
"Lord, I have
committed adultery."
00:30:28.34\00:30:29.93
Don't do like some have
done, and say: "Dear God,"
00:30:29.97\00:30:32.55
"forgive me for
everything I've ever done wrong"
00:30:32.78\00:30:34.30
"in my life. Amen."
00:30:34.33\00:30:36.40
That's pretty general.
00:30:37.13\00:30:39.64
What's wrong with
that? What's wrong with it is
00:30:40.58\00:30:43.47
we have haven't identified to
ourself that which we have done
00:30:44.00\00:30:46.70
wrong, so therefore we are
more likely to do it again.
00:30:46.73\00:30:50.06
The Bible tells us in
Leviticus 5:5, it says:
00:30:50.09\00:30:53.96
[text on screen]
00:30:53.99\00:30:56.16
In other words,
confession is specific.
00:31:02.60\00:31:05.96
You should say: "Lord,
bring to my mind those things"
00:31:06.00\00:31:08.72
"that I have done wrong
that I can confess them to You."
00:31:08.76\00:31:11.45
And when God brings
up something that you've
00:31:11.48\00:31:13.19
done wrong, then do
that, confess to Him,
00:31:13.22\00:31:14.90
that's what the Bible says.
00:31:14.93\00:31:17.13
Someone says:
"Suppose I do all of that,"
00:31:17.17\00:31:19.36
"suppose I kneel down,
and I confess my sins,"
00:31:19.68\00:31:21.89
"and I name the things that
the Holy Spirit impresses me,"
00:31:21.93\00:31:24.45
"how do I know
that God has heard me?"
00:31:24.48\00:31:26.33
"I don't see Him,
so how do I know?"
00:31:27.48\00:31:28.91
Let's go to the next text:
Matthew 9 if you would please,
00:31:28.95\00:31:32.62
it says: [text on screen]
00:31:32.80\00:31:35.19
So what's the key word
there? Faith, that's right.
00:31:48.95\00:31:51.44
In other words, you're
going to be forgiven because you
00:31:51.52\00:31:55.15
believe in what Jesus
said, isn't that beautiful?
00:31:55.18\00:31:58.38
When Jesus would heal
the sick, He often would say
00:31:58.94\00:32:00.85
"your faith has made you whole."
00:32:00.88\00:32:04.72
or "according to your
faith, be it unto you",
00:32:05.30\00:32:07.09
something like that.
00:32:07.12\00:32:08.58
Some people have a very
strong emotional reaction
00:32:08.62\00:32:10.71
when they first come
to Jesus, others don't.
00:32:10.74\00:32:13.19
Others don't necessarily
feel some kind of electrical
00:32:13.23\00:32:16.06
tingling down their
spine, or some kind of emotional
00:32:16.97\00:32:19.61
response, not
everyone is the same,
00:32:19.64\00:32:22.26
but the good news is that
our salvation is not based
00:32:22.30\00:32:27.24
on our emotions because emotions
go up, emotions go down,
00:32:27.28\00:32:30.11
you feel one way one
day, you feel another way
00:32:30.14\00:32:31.68
another day, our salvation
is based in the promises of God
00:32:31.72\00:32:36.20
that are true and we
believe in them, amen?
00:32:36.23\00:32:39.01
We believe in what God
has said. Once you're forgiven
00:32:39.10\00:32:41.78
you should immediately
get up off your knees
00:32:41.81\00:32:44.32
and act upon it. In Mark
11:24 Jesus has told us this,
00:32:44.36\00:32:48.99
He says [text on screen]
00:32:49.02\00:32:51.01
We're going to be forgiven
and we should believe it,
00:32:58.57\00:33:01.12
and then we should act upon
it, just as God has told us to.
00:33:01.21\00:33:04.80
He's not going to necessarily
give you some kind of
00:33:04.83\00:33:07.29
spin tingling feeling, some
kind of electrical shock, no.
00:33:07.57\00:33:11.39
The moment you
genuinely confess your sins,
00:33:11.42\00:33:14.16
you believe in the promises
of God, you claim them for your
00:33:14.39\00:33:16.84
life, you get up and you
thank God for it, and you act
00:33:16.87\00:33:19.79
and desire to walk as
a son or daughter of God.
00:33:19.82\00:33:22.29
So actually,
forgiveness is not complicated.
00:33:22.44\00:33:25.76
Now, I know that sometimes
theologians like to make it
00:33:25.80\00:33:28.28
complicated, at least it
sure appears that way at times,
00:33:28.32\00:33:30.77
but it's not complicated.
Let's take a look at what
00:33:30.90\00:33:34.26
it says in Romans 10:9,10,
it says [text on screen].
00:33:34.29\00:33:37.62
That's not say that
emotions aren't part
00:33:52.22\00:33:54.56
of the Christian life, it
doesn't say that you can't
00:33:54.60\00:33:57.70
have emotions, but it
means you have to come
00:33:57.73\00:34:00.12
in the right order. Look
what it says in Romans 5:1
00:34:00.16\00:34:03.89
[text on screen]
00:34:04.26\00:34:06.26
Notice, not through any other
person, only through Jesus.
00:34:12.07\00:34:15.39
So notice now, first we
have faith, that means you
00:34:15.42\00:34:18.35
believe without any kind
of outward physical evidence,
00:34:18.38\00:34:21.28
and afterwards,
you're going to have peace,
00:34:21.59\00:34:24.68
so peace will come, but
faith has to come first.
00:34:24.78\00:34:26.84
Then you say: "well if
faith is what we need,"
00:34:26.88\00:34:28.91
"how do we get more faith?"
00:34:28.94\00:34:31.05
Just go up to Romans 10
and we'll find out how faith
00:34:34.90\00:34:37.20
comes to us, Romans 10:17.
00:34:37.23\00:34:42.39
The Bible here
says [text on screen]
00:34:43.82\00:34:46.40
So the more we read the
Bible, the more our faith
00:34:51.84\00:34:53.93
should increase,
shouldn't it? I've been praying
00:34:53.96\00:34:56.07
that your faith is going
to increase as the result
00:34:56.10\00:34:58.18
of you coming to the
Amazing Facts seminar.
00:34:58.21\00:35:00.29
As we come here night by
night and we open up our Bibles
00:35:00.33\00:35:02.55
and we go through these
topics, our faith should grow,
00:35:02.59\00:35:04.78
and it should prosper,
00:35:04.96\00:35:06.26
it should be a thing
that is very dear to us.
00:35:06.30\00:35:10.14
Alright, now what's true faith?
00:35:10.30\00:35:12.91
Faith is knowing that God
sits on the throne up in heaven.
00:35:12.95\00:35:16.41
Why? Because He says He does,
00:35:16.60\00:35:18.89
and I believe that.
Faith is knowing that God
00:35:19.26\00:35:21.74
hears our prayers
when we pray to Him.
00:35:21.77\00:35:23.80
Why? He says He does.
00:35:23.83\00:35:25.69
Faith is knowing that
God answers those prayers
00:35:25.73\00:35:28.50
and we claim
them because He says
00:35:28.53\00:35:30.40
He will answer those prayers.
00:35:30.43\00:35:32.23
When you believe it,
then God says: "I will do it."
00:35:32.27\00:35:35.57
I wonder if I could
have a young volunteer from
00:35:36.38\00:35:40.42
the audience to help me
out with a little illustration.
00:35:40.46\00:35:43.04
I mean young now, I know
you're all young in heart,
00:35:43.23\00:35:46.22
but I want a real young
person, here's a man, Yes'sir.
00:35:46.25\00:35:49.21
Alright, come on
up here my friend.
00:35:49.50\00:35:51.52
Can I give you a
gift, is that okay?
00:35:51.56\00:35:53.55
Hold out your hand
00:35:53.65\00:35:55.77
Thank you so much for
coming up here, you can go back
00:35:55.87\00:35:57.70
to your seat
now, I appreciate it.
00:35:57.73\00:36:00.15
Isn't it wonderful
how a young person,
00:36:03.62\00:36:06.77
when you want to
give them a gift,
00:36:07.31\00:36:09.13
reaches out their hand and
says: "Thank you very much."
00:36:09.70\00:36:12.51
You know why I didn't
call an older person up here,
00:36:13.16\00:36:15.39
it doesn't work
with an older person.
00:36:15.49\00:36:17.34
Oh you might say: "Oh
yeah, I would have took that!"
00:36:17.38\00:36:20.80
But no, it doesn't work.
I've had older people up here
00:36:20.83\00:36:24.18
and they look skeptically,
and they say "What's the trick?"
00:36:24.22\00:36:28.65
"What's the catch?"
00:36:29.40\00:36:30.81
"You're going to
pull it back, aren't you?"
00:36:32.14\00:36:33.84
"You're going to make
me look silly up here."
00:36:33.88\00:36:35.55
"You're not just
going to give me that."
00:36:35.70\00:36:37.27
"No, there's something
here, I don't like it,"
00:36:37.39\00:36:39.65
"I don't like
the looks of it, no."
00:36:39.68\00:36:41.40
I've tried it over and
over, but a younger person
00:36:41.87\00:36:44.67
who will just trust,
says: "Thank you very much."
00:36:44.70\00:36:47.47
My last seminar that I
had, I had a gentleman up here
00:36:49.58\00:36:53.09
and I tried to do
that, no it didn't work.
00:36:53.32\00:36:55.26
He didn't trust that I just
wanted to give something away.
00:36:55.30\00:36:58.15
The younger they are, they more
they believe that what you say
00:36:58.74\00:37:02.93
you're going to do,
no strings attached.
00:37:03.16\00:37:05.69
Is it any wonder why
the Lord says we must become
00:37:05.73\00:37:07.83
like little children
when it comes to trusting Him
00:37:07.87\00:37:09.94
in His promises?
00:37:09.97\00:37:12.00
Salvation is as if someone
held out a beautiful gift.
00:37:12.40\00:37:16.56
A beautiful gift, and God is
saying: "You can have this gift"
00:37:16.83\00:37:20.86
"if you want, but
you must take it."
00:37:20.89\00:37:23.80
When does a gift become yours?
00:37:23.83\00:37:25.59
When you do what? Receive it.
00:37:25.63\00:37:27.32
So God can hold out
the gift of salvation,
00:37:27.36\00:37:30.77
and hold it out, and hold
it out, but unless we trust
00:37:32.05\00:37:34.10
God and say: "Lord, I
really am going to receive it",
00:37:34.13\00:37:36.15
it never will become
ours. We have to trust.
00:37:36.18\00:37:39.10
Some people will say:
"Well I just don't believe"
00:37:39.14\00:37:41.08
"until I see it."
00:37:41.79\00:37:43.24
Well first, let me
just go through some steps.
00:37:43.28\00:37:47.27
When people were forgiven
in scripture: [text on screen]
00:37:49.00\00:37:51.76
When someone says "I
can't believe until I see it."
00:37:59.00\00:38:03.23
"Seeing is
believing is my motto",
00:38:03.26\00:38:05.05
let's challenge that tonight.
00:38:05.08\00:38:06.84
I don't agree. We are
all creatures of faith.
00:38:06.88\00:38:10.88
Why? Because we
have limitations.
00:38:10.91\00:38:13.00
If we have limitations we have
to use faith in order to get
00:38:13.04\00:38:16.13
through our day. When
you came here tonight,
00:38:16.16\00:38:18.55
you came here by faith,
you didn't know everything
00:38:18.59\00:38:21.10
was going to go on
here. You sit in these seats,
00:38:21.13\00:38:23.23
look, some of you have 8
to a seat, how do you know
00:38:23.27\00:38:25.30
that's going to be so heavy
it's not going to fall down?
00:38:25.34\00:38:27.58
That seat that you're sitting
on right now, you trust that
00:38:28.14\00:38:30.37
whoever built those pews
built them strong enough to hold
00:38:30.40\00:38:32.60
you all up, right?
00:38:32.63\00:38:34.67
Look at all that
stuff up there. Wow!
00:38:35.80\00:38:39.30
Whose to say it isn't
going to come down on us?
00:38:39.34\00:38:40.97
Well, you trust that whoever
built this, built it right
00:38:41.01\00:38:43.10
and it's not going
to fall down on us.
00:38:43.13\00:38:44.84
Every time you get into
your cars, you drive by faith,
00:38:45.45\00:38:49.43
you put your foot on a
break pedal, you're not stopping
00:38:49.50\00:38:52.34
the tires
physically, what are you doing?
00:38:52.37\00:38:54.06
You trust that that mechanism
is going to be transferred
00:38:54.10\00:38:56.42
to the tires and it's
going to slow it down.
00:38:56.45\00:38:58.97
You have to do it by faith.
00:38:59.00\00:39:00.54
Men, when you go home, and
your dear wife cooks you a meal,
00:39:00.58\00:39:03.40
you eat it by faith,
amen? [Audience laughs]
00:39:03.43\00:39:06.85
You may have had an
argument before you left home,
00:39:06.89\00:39:09.73
how do you know she
didn't put poison in the pot?
00:39:09.76\00:39:12.57
You just trust that
she loves you enough,
00:39:12.60\00:39:14.98
and she's going to
let you live another day.
00:39:15.02\00:39:17.37
You believe, you
trust her, you have faith.
00:39:19.19\00:39:21.06
Sure, we're all creatures
of faith, and some people
00:39:21.10\00:39:24.29
think that it's more
intelligent to be a sceptic:
00:39:24.32\00:39:27.48
"If I can just deny
this, and doubt this,"
00:39:27.62\00:39:30.20
"that shows that
I'm intelligent."
00:39:30.23\00:39:31.28
God is saying no, that's
not the intelligent thing,
00:39:31.32\00:39:33.50
the intelligent thing is to look
at the evidence that God gives
00:39:33.54\00:39:36.70
and believe that God
will do what He says.
00:39:36.73\00:39:40.85
God is not looking for
those who'll be critics,
00:39:41.08\00:39:43.55
sceptics, God is
looking for the believers.
00:39:43.59\00:39:46.10
No message on this
subject would be complete
00:39:46.13\00:39:48.51
unless I have this
verse, let's go to it.
00:39:48.55\00:39:51.92
John 3, scripture
says: [text on screen]
00:39:51.96\00:39:55.30
"Verily, Verily, I say unto
thee" -that means "truly, truly"
00:39:56.78\00:40:00.00
[continues to read]
00:40:00.03\00:40:02.05
Do you know that those are
some of the strongest words
00:40:06.30\00:40:07.87
that Jesus ever used?
00:40:07.90\00:40:10.03
He said that without this
experience, you can't have
00:40:10.14\00:40:12.45
entrance into
heaven, if you're not what?
00:40:12.48\00:40:15.99
If you're not born again.
00:40:16.02\00:40:17.26
God is saying: "I want you above
everything else, to be saved."
00:40:17.30\00:40:21.34
"I want you above everything
else, to live with Me"
00:40:21.37\00:40:23.97
"for all eternity, but there are
certain irreducible minimums"
00:40:24.01\00:40:28.46
"for the very
preservation of My kingdom."
00:40:28.49\00:40:30.92
What's the irreducible minimum?
00:40:31.02\00:40:33.68
You must be born again.
00:40:33.71\00:40:36.10
If we must be born
again, what exactly is that?
00:40:37.93\00:40:41.59
Well, before I
tell you what it is,
00:40:41.73\00:40:43.72
let me share with
you what it is not.
00:40:43.76\00:40:45.68
The born again experience
is not when a certain person
00:40:45.72\00:40:49.96
simply modifies their
life. It is not simply getting
00:40:50.00\00:40:54.21
a little bit more
control of your temper,
00:40:54.24\00:40:57.04
stop drinking alcohol
or smoking cigarettes,
00:40:57.07\00:40:59.84
or a certain kind of appetite,
00:40:59.87\00:41:01.81
and "I'll be a
little more patient."
00:41:01.85\00:41:03.88
They'll say "Now I'm okay." No.
00:41:03.91\00:41:06.30
The born again experience is not
simply modifying the old life,
00:41:06.42\00:41:09.76
it's such a dramatic change,
it's as if that old person dies
00:41:10.14\00:41:13.89
and a brand new
person is now in their place.
00:41:13.92\00:41:16.97
It's such a dramatic
change, it's not like grafting
00:41:17.01\00:41:19.54
new shoots into an
old tree, it's like having
00:41:19.57\00:41:21.76
a brand new tree.
00:41:21.79\00:41:23.88
How is that done?
00:41:24.86\00:41:26.26
Well, you're in John
3, go back to John 1,
00:41:26.30\00:41:28.29
just 2 chapters back.
00:41:28.32\00:41:30.15
It is such a
rearranging of our thinking,
00:41:30.35\00:41:33.00
a transformation of
our nature, it's as if
00:41:33.03\00:41:35.65
a new person was born.
00:41:35.68\00:41:38.72
John 1:12 is our
text, here the Bible says:
00:41:38.85\00:41:44.74
[text on screen]
00:41:44.77\00:41:46.78
That's the great secret,
being born again, right there.
00:41:56.92\00:41:59.50
We receive
Jesus into our hearts.
00:41:59.64\00:42:01.78
Remember that famous picture
of Jesus knocking on the door?
00:42:01.82\00:42:06.24
Well, it's opening up
the door and receiving Jesus
00:42:06.38\00:42:09.60
into our hearts.
00:42:09.63\00:42:10.64
Then He says: "I will
give you power to live"
00:42:10.68\00:42:13.32
"the Christian life."
It's not simply enough
00:42:13.35\00:42:15.96
to acknowledge the
teachings of Jesus.
00:42:15.99\00:42:18.48
They're true whether we
acknowledge them or not,
00:42:18.82\00:42:20.91
but that's not simply enough.
It's not simply enough to go
00:42:20.95\00:42:23.97
to church and recite a
creed, it is not simply enough
00:42:24.00\00:42:28.96
to put Jesus on an equal plane
as other religious teachers,
00:42:29.00\00:42:33.81
Jesus needs to be
our main emphasis.
00:42:35.40\00:42:37.81
I can't explain the
science of it to you,
00:42:38.14\00:42:42.27
I can't explain how God
rearranges the molecules
00:42:42.61\00:42:45.79
of the mind, I can't
explain how atoms go from here
00:42:45.89\00:42:49.43
over to there, and
how God does all of that,
00:42:49.46\00:42:51.69
I know nothing about that
aspect, but I do know this:
00:42:51.73\00:42:55.00
that God will take people
that are cruel, and hateful,
00:42:55.04\00:42:58.28
and gossipers, and
just miserable in nature,
00:42:58.31\00:43:02.03
and through His heavenly
power, He can so transform them
00:43:02.21\00:43:06.70
that they can
become kind, sweet, loving,
00:43:07.00\00:43:10.34
humble people,
amen? [Audience] Amen.
00:43:10.37\00:43:13.33
How He does it?
We don't really know.
00:43:13.36\00:43:15.84
But God has the
power to do that.
00:43:15.88\00:43:18.29
He has done it to countless
people, and He can do it
00:43:18.33\00:43:21.13
for you too, dear friends.
00:43:21.16\00:43:22.97
In the unrenewed heart
there is a desire to love sin
00:43:23.27\00:43:28.06
and to cherish
iniquity. In the renewed heart
00:43:28.09\00:43:32.40
there's a hatred of sin
and a determined resistance
00:43:32.63\00:43:35.68
against it, and that's
what makes a born again heart
00:43:35.71\00:43:38.73
want to reject
sin out of their life.
00:43:38.76\00:43:40.71
A person can kneel
down in front of the God's
00:43:40.75\00:43:43.22
of this world, the false Gods:
Buddha, the God's of Hinduism,
00:43:43.26\00:43:47.30
and all those things,
nothing good is going to happen.
00:43:47.33\00:43:49.88
You could kneel down in
front of those all week long,
00:43:50.16\00:43:51.99
all year long, nothing
good is going to happen,
00:43:52.02\00:43:53.97
but a person can kneel
down and in their mind's eye
00:43:54.09\00:43:56.98
picture Jesus on the cross
and what He's done for you,
00:43:57.02\00:43:59.88
and you can ask for
that transformation,
00:43:59.91\00:44:02.33
and something
wonderful is going to happen
00:44:02.36\00:44:04.75
because God has promised it so.
00:44:04.81\00:44:06.64
Let's go look at another verse.
00:44:06.67\00:44:08.43
Go to 2 Corinthians
5:17, what is going to happen
00:44:08.47\00:44:14.83
when a person
has been born again?
00:44:14.86\00:44:17.12
Let's take a look what
the scripture has to say.
00:44:17.16\00:44:19.86
Jesus says lest this
happens we can't have
00:44:20.50\00:44:22.68
the kingdom of heaven, so
what's the outward experience
00:44:22.72\00:44:25.45
going to be like?
2 Corinthians 5:17,
00:44:25.48\00:44:29.54
it says: [text on screen]
00:44:29.82\00:44:32.18
So the Bible says when we become
born again, we are transformed,
00:44:39.12\00:44:41.94
the minds are
renewed, and as a result,
00:44:41.97\00:44:43.48
you're going to live a new life.
00:44:43.51\00:44:44.68
In other words, places
you used to go, you don't want
00:44:44.72\00:44:46.19
to go there anymore.
Things you used to read,
00:44:46.22\00:44:48.50
you wouldn't read them anymore.
00:44:48.53\00:44:51.07
Things you used to listen
to, you don't want to listen to
00:44:52.45\00:44:54.09
anymore. There
was a time when I used
00:44:54.12\00:44:55.33
to turn my radio on, and
I'd be searching the channel
00:44:55.37\00:44:58.51
for rock and roll stations,
and when I'd come across
00:44:58.54\00:45:01.61
a gospel station, I'd go:
"What's that? Get by that one."
00:45:01.65\00:45:05.83
"I'm not listening
to that kind of stuff."
00:45:06.27\00:45:08.05
And then I'd find some rock
and roll station, and I'd say:
00:45:08.21\00:45:09.88
"that's what I
want, right there."
00:45:09.91\00:45:12.35
When God changed
my heart and mind,
00:45:12.68\00:45:14.98
now, if I want to listen
to some music on the radio,
00:45:15.02\00:45:16.85
I could be searching through
and I find some kind of rock
00:45:16.89\00:45:19.04
station, and voices
screeching, and guitars wailing,
00:45:19.07\00:45:22.60
and I go: "What's
that?! Get by that!"
00:45:22.63\00:45:25.65
"Turn the dial." Then
I'll find a nice gospel
00:45:25.69\00:45:28.03
station, and I'll
say: "That's what I like."
00:45:28.07\00:45:30.38
Isn't it amazing?
00:45:30.56\00:45:32.51
Again, there's a change,
there's a wonderful change.
00:45:33.78\00:45:37.06
When the born again
person receives the spirit,
00:45:37.09\00:45:41.95
let's take a look at
the scriptures and see what
00:45:42.09\00:45:44.02
the Bible has to
say, John 14:17 says:
00:45:44.05\00:45:47.38
[text on screen]
00:45:47.41\00:45:49.38
So the Spirit of God comes
into us, and when the Spirit
00:45:52.81\00:45:55.42
of God comes into us,
what's going to take place?
00:45:55.45\00:45:58.20
Well, let's keep
going through some slides
00:45:58.23\00:45:59.89
rather quickly if we
could. [text on screen]
00:45:59.93\00:46:01.56
John 14:27, Jesus
said: [text on screen]
00:46:07.20\00:46:10.77
So Jesus says you're going
to have peace, not as the world
00:46:14.64\00:46:17.19
gives peace, but
you will have peace.
00:46:17.22\00:46:19.02
[text on screen]
00:46:19.05\00:46:20.95
In other words, you don't
have to have the same kind
00:46:24.20\00:46:26.20
of troubles, you don't have
to have the same kind of fears,
00:46:26.24\00:46:28.69
not at all. You
will have a new courage
00:46:28.72\00:46:31.16
that you never
thought you had before.
00:46:31.19\00:46:33.60
[text on screen]
00:46:35.10\00:46:37.38
Not necessarily all our wants,
but He says: "I'll supply"
00:46:39.79\00:46:41.58
"all your needs",
00:46:41.61\00:46:42.58
"according to his riches
and glory by Jesus Christ."
00:46:42.59\00:46:44.90
So God says: "Don't worry,
the things that you need,"
00:46:44.93\00:46:47.33
"I know about those, and I'll
be sure to give them to you."
00:46:47.37\00:46:50.17
Hebrews 13:6 [text on screen]
00:46:50.20\00:46:52.21
Isn't it wonderful to know
that with God on your side,
00:46:56.71\00:46:58.58
what do we have to fear?
00:46:58.61\00:47:00.63
I love that verse. John 15:11
00:47:00.68\00:47:03.22
[text on screen]
00:47:03.25\00:47:05.14
You can have a joy
that you never thought
00:47:07.15\00:47:08.76
you can have before.
00:47:08.79\00:47:09.99
With Jesus in your
heart, sins forgiven,
00:47:10.03\00:47:12.46
your needs met, He says
you can have joy like the world
00:47:12.50\00:47:15.10
will never know.
Philippians 2:13:
00:47:15.13\00:47:17.87
[text on screen]
00:47:17.90\00:47:19.88
Once again God say: "I'll
be in you, you won't have"
00:47:23.11\00:47:26.08
"to do it yourself.
All the things that I ask"
00:47:26.11\00:47:28.28
"of you, don't worry
about that, I'll be in you"
00:47:28.31\00:47:30.45
"and I'll work through you."
00:47:30.48\00:47:32.02
[text on screen]
00:47:33.64\00:47:36.82
So He said you'll find a
strength to be able to do things
00:47:39.87\00:47:42.21
and go into
situations that you never
00:47:42.24\00:47:44.71
had before.
Another one, Mark 10:27:
00:47:44.75\00:47:47.19
[text on screen]
00:47:47.22\00:47:49.01
Can you see how God gives
us these promises to allow us
00:47:53.43\00:47:56.35
to be in a world filled
with chaos, and yet have peace
00:47:56.39\00:47:59.28
through it all?
These [sermons??] are meant
00:47:59.31\00:48:01.08
to increase our
faith and be able to live
00:48:01.11\00:48:02.81
in a faithless world.
John 10:10: [text on screen]
00:48:02.85\00:48:06.67
Not just in heaven, not
just in the world to come,
00:48:09.65\00:48:11.99
but even in this world
Jesus says you can have
00:48:12.03\00:48:14.61
a more abundant
life. The Bible tells us of
00:48:14.64\00:48:17.15
the prodigal son, and
the prodigal son left home
00:48:17.19\00:48:20.00
and went off into the
world and he got to such a point
00:48:20.04\00:48:22.82
that he started to live
like the pigs live, and eat what
00:48:22.85\00:48:25.60
the pigs eat.
Sometimes God lets us get into
00:48:25.63\00:48:27.87
a certain predicament so we
realize how awful the world is,
00:48:27.91\00:48:31.55
but then when he realized what
he had left, and what he could
00:48:31.89\00:48:34.30
come back to, the prodigal
son came back and God was
00:48:34.33\00:48:37.52
open armed with forgiveness.
And if God was open armed
00:48:37.55\00:48:40.32
with forgiveness, if the
Father showed by the open arms
00:48:40.35\00:48:43.09
that He was willing
to receive the son back,
00:48:43.12\00:48:45.06
if He did it for the prodigal
son, He will do it for you.
00:48:45.10\00:48:48.48
The past is the past,
you can't change the past,
00:48:51.25\00:48:54.38
but God is concerned about the
future, and what you're going
00:48:54.85\00:48:56.76
to do in the present,
that's what really matters.
00:48:56.79\00:48:58.85
Let's make it clear, we're all
sinners here tonight, aren't we?
00:48:58.98\00:49:02.45
Not one of us is any
better than anyone else.
00:49:02.48\00:49:04.53
The Bible says it's
foolishness to compare ourselves
00:49:04.57\00:49:06.45
among ourselves
and by ourselves,
00:49:06.48\00:49:07.79
all that's foolishness.
If I had to speak to you
00:49:07.83\00:49:11.69
up here, simply based on my
own merits and things I've done
00:49:11.86\00:49:15.20
in my life, I
couldn't look you in the eye
00:49:15.23\00:49:17.21
because I've done some
bad things, but I can look you
00:49:17.31\00:49:19.80
in the eye tonight, not
because I'm anything good,
00:49:19.84\00:49:22.47
but because Jesus is
good. Not because I'm anything
00:49:22.50\00:49:25.10
special, but I sure
have a special Saviour.
00:49:25.13\00:49:28.04
He took my sins away, put
my feet on the rock to stay
00:49:28.08\00:49:31.44
and what He's done for
me, He will do for everyone
00:49:31.47\00:49:34.80
in this room,
everyone in this room!
00:49:34.83\00:49:37.66
Jesus said: "I am the
way, the truth and the life."
00:49:38.48\00:49:42.26
There are not many
ways to heaven folks,
00:49:42.29\00:49:44.18
there's one way: through Jesus.
00:49:44.21\00:49:45.86
There's not many
truths, there's one truth:
00:49:45.90\00:49:48.76
as it is in Jesus.
There's not many religions
00:49:48.79\00:49:51.58
that will get us there,
there's only 1 true religion:
00:49:51.62\00:49:54.61
the one with the empty tomb.
00:49:54.64\00:49:56.41
Do you know you can
travel the world tonight,
00:49:56.45\00:49:58.67
you can go to where
the tomb of the Buddha is,
00:49:58.70\00:50:00.89
and guess what: it's occupied.
00:50:00.92\00:50:02.73
You can go to the tomb of
Mohammed, and it's occupied,
00:50:02.89\00:50:05.58
and the tomb of
Confucius, and it's occupied,
00:50:05.61\00:50:07.43
and the tomb of these other
leaders of world religions,
00:50:07.47\00:50:10.62
they're all occupied,
but the tomb of Jesus Christ
00:50:10.65\00:50:13.85
is empty, isn't
it? And why is that?
00:50:13.88\00:50:16.01
Because there's not one tomb
in the world that could hold
00:50:16.05\00:50:18.81
a bone of the
body of the Son of God.
00:50:18.84\00:50:21.50
I have 2 girls,
one's 9 and one's 6,
00:50:24.78\00:50:28.66
and I know what
having a little girl is like.
00:50:28.93\00:50:31.42
I want to tell you a
story of a father that brought
00:50:32.36\00:50:34.77
his little 6 girl to an
art museum, because he wanted
00:50:34.80\00:50:37.14
to give her education, he wanted
to give her culture and poise,
00:50:37.18\00:50:40.54
so he wanted to
impress her about the great
00:50:40.57\00:50:43.03
artwork that these
people had produced.
00:50:43.07\00:50:44.91
As he took her
into these big museums,
00:50:44.94\00:50:46.71
and I don't know if
you've ever gone in one,
00:50:46.75\00:50:48.33
but they're kind of
overpowering in their size,
00:50:48.36\00:50:50.30
and he was putting these
pictures before his young
00:50:50.34\00:50:52.25
daughter, and he was saying:
00:50:52.28\00:50:54.14
"Look at this Rembrandt
painting, can you see what the
00:50:54.18\00:50:57.73
artist" "was trying to portray?"
And the little girl would look
00:50:57.76\00:51:00.49
at it, bored as can
be, couldn't care less.
00:51:00.52\00:51:04.39
So he'd say: "Honey, come
over here and look at this one."
00:51:04.43\00:51:06.32
"This one is the
French Impressionist, Monet."
00:51:06.35\00:51:08.64
"Can you see how he was
painting this illustration"
00:51:08.68\00:51:11.43
"picture? Oh,
the brush strokes,"
00:51:11.46\00:51:13.74
"the talent..." She
would look at it, nothing.
00:51:13.78\00:51:17.07
Every time he was trying
to point to another painting,
00:51:17.15\00:51:20.44
she just looked up:
"Daddy, can we leave now?"
00:51:20.57\00:51:22.89
"Daddy, this is
boring." "Daddy, I don't care."
00:51:22.93\00:51:25.22
Well then, as he
was leading along,
00:51:27.37\00:51:30.96
he came to a picture of
Jesus knocking on the door.
00:51:31.00\00:51:34.47
You know the one?
It has no doorknob
00:51:35.40\00:51:37.80
on the outside because Jesus
isn't going to open the way,
00:51:37.84\00:51:41.35
we've got to let Him
in on the from the inside.
00:51:42.94\00:51:44.99
And as he got to this painting,
she stopped and she said
00:51:45.20\00:51:50.34
"Daddy, what's this one?"
00:51:50.37\00:51:51.88
He said: "Oh, honey, that's
Jesus, knocking on the door"
00:51:52.12\00:51:54.45
"come over here and
have a look over here."
00:51:54.48\00:51:57.85
"Oh", she says, "no,
I'm staying here daddy."
00:51:57.88\00:52:01.21
So he came back and he
said: "Honey, what is it?"
00:52:01.24\00:52:05.01
And the little girl
said: "Daddy, what's He doing?"
00:52:05.04\00:52:08.78
"He's knocking
on the door honey,"
00:52:08.81\00:52:09.96
"would you please come
over here and have a look"
00:52:10.00\00:52:11.11
"at this one?" Well
you can't just shake off
00:52:11.14\00:52:13.00
a little girl that
easily. So she says:
00:52:13.03\00:52:17.06
"Daddy, why won't
people let Him in."
00:52:17.09\00:52:21.09
And now he has to
sit and think about this
00:52:21.60\00:52:23.60
because Jesus knocked on
the door of his heart earlier
00:52:23.63\00:52:25.96
in life, and he shook
off that knock, so he says:
00:52:25.99\00:52:30.70
"Well, I don't know
honey, sometimes it's"
00:52:30.73\00:52:34.04
"the cares of this world
and sometimes it's jobs."
00:52:34.28\00:52:38.57
"Sometimes it's friends,
finances...I don't know honey."
00:52:38.81\00:52:40.97
"It's a lot of things, can you
come over here and have a look"
00:52:41.01\00:52:42.95
"at this painting
I want to show you."
00:52:42.98\00:52:45.95
And he looks back and he
sees his little girl there,
00:52:46.43\00:52:49.56
now with a tear in her
eye, and he comes back,
00:52:49.59\00:52:52.45
ever so earnestly he
says: "Oh dear, what's wrong?"
00:52:52.49\00:52:57.29
The little girl looks
up into her daddy's face,
00:52:57.73\00:52:59.92
like only a little
girl can, and she says:
00:52:59.95\00:53:03.48
"Daddy, have you let
Jesus into your heart?"
00:53:03.51\00:53:07.01
That's the question we
all ultimately have to answer:
00:53:08.30\00:53:11.42
have we let
Jesus into our heart?
00:53:11.56\00:53:14.04
Do you know, if
Jesus is in your life,
00:53:14.68\00:53:16.94
you have something more valuable
than all the lottery winnings
00:53:17.49\00:53:21.35
that this world could offer you.
00:53:21.38\00:53:23.85
If Jesus is in your life,
you have something more valuable
00:53:24.26\00:53:27.90
than all the treasures of
this world could ever offer you.
00:53:27.93\00:53:31.54
Would you like to know
that you have eternal life,
00:53:33.17\00:53:36.75
it's not "pie in
the sky, by and by",
00:53:36.78\00:53:38.94
but it's just as real
as the fact that we're
00:53:38.98\00:53:40.62
sitting here tonight.
00:53:40.65\00:53:42.59
Do you know that the
loss of even 1 person
00:53:43.87\00:53:47.24
from heaven, is a tragedy that
outweighs this entire universe
00:53:47.94\00:53:53.64
and all it contains?
00:53:53.67\00:53:56.09
And do you know that if
you did not accept God's
00:53:56.74\00:53:58.41
gracious invitation, that
God would be lonely for you
00:53:58.45\00:54:01.96
for all eternity
because He loves you that much.
00:54:01.99\00:54:05.55
You may have a guilty
conscience tonight, you may feel
00:54:06.38\00:54:09.78
there's sins in your life.
You may feel there's things
00:54:09.81\00:54:12.85
you've done wrong that
you couldn't be forgiven for,
00:54:12.88\00:54:15.89
but the good news is that Jesus
came that you could be forgiven
00:54:16.15\00:54:18.70
for that, amen?
00:54:18.73\00:54:20.99
There's only one hope:
look away from yourself,
00:54:21.55\00:54:24.90
and say: "I want to
come to Jesus tonight."
00:54:24.93\00:54:28.25
"I want to give my
heart and mind to Him."
00:54:28.48\00:54:30.10
Maybe for the first time,
or maybe for a recommitment,
00:54:30.14\00:54:33.06
but that's why we're
here. Do you know why I've
00:54:33.09\00:54:35.91
purposely held this
meeting on the 3rd night
00:54:35.94\00:54:38.69
of a prophecy seminar?
I've done it for this reason:
00:54:38.73\00:54:42.15
even though I knew that there
are many Christians here tonight
00:54:42.19\00:54:45.25
and many people that have
already given their hearts
00:54:45.40\00:54:47.05
to Jesus, I knew that,
but I've done it tonight
00:54:47.08\00:54:50.87
because without Jesus
in our hearts and minds,
00:54:50.90\00:54:54.66
all the Bible study that we're
going to do is really of no
00:54:54.88\00:54:58.38
consequence, and all
the knowledge of God's word,
00:54:58.41\00:55:01.27
if we don't act upon it
and believe in the Saviour,
00:55:01.30\00:55:04.13
is of no value to
us, very very little.
00:55:04.16\00:55:07.73
You could read the
Bible every single day,
00:55:08.43\00:55:11.05
you could read it until
your eyes about fell out,
00:55:11.09\00:55:13.51
and it wouldn't do you any
good unless you give your life
00:55:13.55\00:55:16.43
to Jesus, and are born again.
00:55:16.46\00:55:18.90
Every one of you
tonight, can leave here
00:55:19.05\00:55:22.47
knowing that you have
the hope of eternal life,
00:55:22.57\00:55:24.77
and joy, and faith in Jesus.
Here's what I'd like to do:
00:55:24.81\00:55:27.97
I want to have a
prayer as we close tonight.
00:55:28.77\00:55:31.54
While you sit there in
the comfort of your seats,
00:55:31.58\00:55:34.43
you can bow your heads
with me, and you can ask
00:55:34.54\00:55:37.65
Jesus into your heart
and mind for the first time,
00:55:37.68\00:55:40.76
or a recommitment because
we all need to continually
00:55:41.02\00:55:46.20
dedicate our hearts to Jesus.
00:55:46.23\00:55:49.32
I want to pray for you, as I'm
praying, you could be hearing
00:55:49.36\00:55:53.10
the words and you can be saying
them in your own heart and mind,
00:55:53.13\00:55:56.84
and when we're
finished, we're going to sing
00:55:57.26\00:55:59.78
that great
song, "Amazing Grace",
00:55:59.81\00:56:01.94
and when we're finished singing
that great song, "Amazing Grace"
00:56:02.20\00:56:04.99
then I'm going to dismiss
you, and I'm going to have
00:56:05.32\00:56:08.07
the Amazing Facts prayer
team down here at the front,
00:56:08.11\00:56:11.14
people that know how to
pray, and if you have a burden
00:56:11.18\00:56:14.14
on your heart, if you have
something that's really weighing
00:56:14.18\00:56:17.26
you down, or you want
to have a personal prayer
00:56:17.29\00:56:19.23
of commitment, whatever it
is, then you can just filter
00:56:19.27\00:56:22.06
on down here after the service
is over, and we'll pray with you
00:56:22.10\00:56:25.41
and I don't care
what it is either;
00:56:25.60\00:56:27.50
if there's something in
your life that's troubling your
00:56:27.54\00:56:29.82
spirit, troubling your heart,
and you want special prayer
00:56:29.86\00:56:32.45
for it, we'll be happy to
have people right down here
00:56:32.49\00:56:35.31
dedicated to the understanding
of what prayer can do,
00:56:35.34\00:56:38.13
to life you up.
Maybe it's a family member,
00:56:38.16\00:56:40.81
maybe it's a relative or
a friend, whatever it is,
00:56:41.08\00:56:43.69
you just come
forward after the service.
00:56:43.83\00:56:45.73
We'll be happy to
meet with you and pray.
00:56:45.77\00:56:47.60
So right as you sit here
now, bow your heads with me,
00:56:47.64\00:56:50.19
won't you. Bow your
heads and let me pray,
00:56:50.22\00:56:52.80
and just pray this in your
heart as well as we go into
00:56:53.42\00:56:55.70
this final moment.
00:56:55.73\00:56:57.90
Dear Father in
heaven, we come to You
00:56:57.93\00:57:00.66
with all our hearts and minds
tonight, and we acknowledge
00:57:00.70\00:57:04.12
that we are sinners
before heaven, and we believe
00:57:04.15\00:57:08.78
that Jesus Christ
was sent into this world
00:57:08.81\00:57:10.50
to save sinners just like us.
00:57:10.53\00:57:13.24
So right this moment,
dear Father, we commit our life
00:57:13.44\00:57:16.62
to Him, we believe that Jesus
died on Calvary that we can
00:57:16.66\00:57:19.81
be forgiven, and we
ask for that forgiveness,
00:57:19.84\00:57:22.14
we confess that we
have done wrong before You,
00:57:22.17\00:57:24.44
and we're sorry that
we've done it Father.
00:57:24.47\00:57:26.71
Now, give us the power
to live right before heaven.
00:57:27.02\00:57:30.62
We need help, we
need the Holy Spirit,
00:57:30.65\00:57:33.93
so as You have
promised give us the Holy Spirit
00:57:33.97\00:57:37.75
that we can feel a walk
with You, Your presence with us
00:57:37.79\00:57:41.47
that we can do right, as
heaven asks us to do right,
00:57:41.50\00:57:45.15
and we thank You, we
trust in Your promises.
00:57:45.39\00:57:47.44
We thank You for what
You're doing in our hearts
00:57:47.48\00:57:49.50
and minds right
now through faith,
00:57:49.53\00:57:53.79
in Jesus' name, Amen.
00:57:54.57\00:57:56.62
[Music for Credits]
00:57:56.65\00:57:58.67