Did you see CBS's television's
00:00:32.33\00:00:34.94
Andy Rooney on 60
Minutes not too long ago?
00:00:34.97\00:00:38.82
When ever I get a chance
I like to watch Andy Rooney.
00:00:38.85\00:00:42.69
He did a piece on lawsuits.
00:00:42.72\00:00:45.25
He said, "You know, Americans
are suing everybody these days.
00:00:45.28\00:00:49.93
It's a big business.
00:00:49.96\00:00:51.00
Sue McDonalds if
your coffee is too hot.
00:00:51.03\00:00:54.23
Sue the tobacco companies
because you never had a clue
00:00:54.26\00:00:57.44
that cigarettes
might cause cancer.
00:00:57.47\00:00:59.44
Sue. Sue. Sue."
00:00:59.47\00:01:02.06
Well, a man sued
his insurance company
00:01:02.09\00:01:05.21
when he was shocked by
high-power electrical lines.
00:01:05.24\00:01:09.61
The insurance
company refused to pay
00:01:09.64\00:01:11.38
for the injuries on the grounds
00:01:11.41\00:01:13.50
that the accident
was, in legal terms, what?
00:01:13.53\00:01:18.75
An Act of God.
00:01:18.78\00:01:21.99
Well, the man
decided, if it's an Act of God,
00:01:22.02\00:01:24.50
I'll file suit
against God and company.
00:01:24.53\00:01:28.26
And he went on to name 55
Christian churches in his city.
00:01:28.29\00:01:32.97
Believe it or not, it
actually went to trial.
00:01:33.00\00:01:35.51
Until finally on
the witness stand,
00:01:35.54\00:01:37.39
one minister
testified, Your Honor, listen.
00:01:37.42\00:01:40.66
I believe that the expression,
an Act of God is a misnomer.
00:01:40.69\00:01:44.82
It's wrongly used.
00:01:44.85\00:01:46.90
He said, Sir, God wasn't
responsible for that accident.
00:01:46.93\00:01:51.21
It should be called
an Act of the Devil.
00:01:51.24\00:01:54.18
He's responsible for
the accidents and problems
00:01:54.21\00:01:56.66
that confront mankind.
00:01:56.69\00:01:58.76
You know, I believe that that
00:01:58.79\00:01:59.82
clergyman was
correct, don't you?
00:01:59.85\00:02:02.26
This was not an Act of God.
But God still gets the blame.
00:02:02.29\00:02:07.29
Tornadoes,
hurricanes, floods, fires,
00:02:07.32\00:02:11.01
terrorist
attacks, earthquakes today
00:02:11.04\00:02:13.94
right near Atlanta,
Georgia, are called Acts of God.
00:02:13.97\00:02:17.93
And it doesn't take a
rocket scientist to conclude
00:02:17.96\00:02:21.19
that there is an evil
force out there in our world.
00:02:21.22\00:02:24.99
Because everywhere you look,
you see evidences of terrible
00:02:25.02\00:02:28.75
tragedies
taking place every day.
00:02:28.78\00:02:32.08
But who's responsible
for the sniper attacks?
00:02:32.11\00:02:35.68
Who brings sorrow?
Who brings suffering?
00:02:35.71\00:02:38.45
Many people complain,
why did God do this to me?
00:02:38.48\00:02:44.69
Where was God on
September 11th in New York City?
00:02:44.72\00:02:48.13
Where's God in
this whole Iraqi crisis?
00:02:48.16\00:02:52.53
Tonight we're going to uncover
a big cover up in the Bible.
00:02:52.56\00:02:58.17
An expose of the most
puzzling mystery of all time.
00:02:58.20\00:03:02.47
Where did evil originate?
00:03:02.50\00:03:06.96
Why the great controversy
battle headlines everyday
00:03:06.99\00:03:10.41
between the forces of
good and the forces of evil,
00:03:10.44\00:03:13.09
between right and wrong?
00:03:13.12\00:03:15.24
Who is responsible?
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As we begin, I want to tell you
00:03:19.43\00:03:21.68
that the Bible pulls no punches.
00:03:21.71\00:03:24.52
It puts the finger
on the guilty party.
00:03:24.55\00:03:28.04
One day, Jesus told a story,
00:03:28.07\00:03:31.10
Jesus liked to tell stories
and I like to read His stories.
00:03:31.13\00:03:33.78
He told a story about a farmer
00:03:33.81\00:03:35.04
who planted good
seed in his garden like
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we're doing
everywhere in the spring
00:03:37.71\00:03:38.91
at least up here in
the Northern Hemisphere.
00:03:38.94\00:03:41.04
Down in Australia of
course it's autumn for you.
00:03:41.07\00:03:44.16
But when those plants
in that garden sprang up,
00:03:44.19\00:03:48.21
there are whole
bunch of noxious weeds
00:03:48.24\00:03:49.98
out there in the field.
00:03:50.01\00:03:51.81
And growing up in
the farm of my native
00:03:51.84\00:03:54.45
Saskatchewan, Canada,
I know the frustration.
00:03:54.48\00:03:57.57
Hey, I didn't plant weeds.
00:03:57.60\00:04:00.55
So the disciples asked,
00:04:00.58\00:04:02.19
"Lord, if the
farmer planted good seed,
00:04:02.22\00:04:06.42
where did the weeds come from?"
00:04:06.45\00:04:08.58
Matthew 13:37-39
00:04:08.61\00:04:11.01
"Jesus answered
and said to them,
00:04:11.04\00:04:13.38
'He who sows the good
seed is the Son of Man.
00:04:13.41\00:04:18.11
The field is the world,
00:04:18.14\00:04:20.14
the good seeds are
the sons of the kingdom,
00:04:20.17\00:04:23.56
but the tares are the
sons of the wicked one.
00:04:23.59\00:04:27.20
The enemy who sowed them is--'"
00:04:27.23\00:04:28.66
Who? "The devil."
00:04:28.69\00:04:31.41
You see God is loving,
God is good to everyone.
00:04:31.44\00:04:34.98
But the Bible tells us
00:04:35.01\00:04:36.34
that there's an enemy
out there in the camp,
00:04:36.37\00:04:38.89
another power bringing disaster,
00:04:38.92\00:04:41.42
bringing
tragedy, bringing death.
00:04:41.45\00:04:44.54
The very last
book of Bible Prophecy,
00:04:44.57\00:04:48.00
Revelation Chapter 12,
unveils how it all started.
00:04:48.03\00:04:52.75
The mystery of iniquity.
00:04:52.78\00:04:54.62
Fasten your seatbelt,
because a cosmic watergate
00:04:54.65\00:04:57.24
with subversive
supernatural forces
00:04:57.27\00:04:59.94
duking it out actually
began, hold on, in heaven.
00:04:59.97\00:05:06.44
And then it spread
like cancer to this earth.
00:05:06.47\00:05:09.44
And this is
precisely what's causing
00:05:09.47\00:05:11.80
so much trouble on
planet earth tonight.
00:05:11.83\00:05:14.59
Tonight, we're gonna pull
back the curtain of prophecy
00:05:14.62\00:05:17.32
and look behind-the-scenes
00:05:17.35\00:05:19.27
to this original
"Star Wars" in heaven.
00:05:19.30\00:05:22.94
Notice verses 7-9, "And
war broke out in heaven:
00:05:22.97\00:05:27.94
Michael and his angels
fought with the dragon,
00:05:27.97\00:05:31.18
and the dragon
and his angels fought,
00:05:31.21\00:05:32.87
but they did not prevail,
00:05:32.90\00:05:34.22
nor was a place found for
them in heaven any longer.
00:05:34.25\00:05:37.31
So the great
dragon, that serpent of old,
00:05:37.34\00:05:40.97
called the Devil, and Satan,
who deceives the whole world,
00:05:41.00\00:05:44.39
he was cast to the earth,
00:05:44.42\00:05:46.24
and his angels
were cast out with him."
00:05:46.27\00:05:48.89
Now, notice please,
how this dragon-devil
00:05:48.92\00:05:51.90
is introduced in
Revelation 12:3, 4.
00:05:51.93\00:05:56.00
It says "And I saw another
sign that appeared in heaven:
00:05:56.03\00:06:00.04
behold, a great fiery red dragon
00:06:00.07\00:06:03.42
having seven
heads and ten horns,
00:06:03.45\00:06:05.74
and seven diadems on his heads.
00:06:05.77\00:06:07.99
His tail drew a third
of the stars of heaven
00:06:08.02\00:06:11.85
and threw them to the earth."
00:06:11.88\00:06:14.45
Now can you imagine
00:06:14.48\00:06:15.53
that one-third of
the angels of heaven
00:06:15.56\00:06:20.26
followed this deceiver in
his rebellion against God,
00:06:20.29\00:06:22.82
but there's more.
00:06:22.85\00:06:24.88
This fallen
angel called Lucifer,
00:06:24.91\00:06:28.11
back in the Old Testament.
00:06:28.14\00:06:29.94
He is described metaphorically
as the King of Tyre.
00:06:29.97\00:06:34.41
Now, Tyre is a city up there
00:06:34.44\00:06:35.69
in the northwest
coast of Palestine,
00:06:35.72\00:06:37.24
but it says this about
him in Ezekiel 28:12-14.
00:06:37.27\00:06:43.30
"Thus says the Lord God:
00:06:43.33\00:06:46.48
You were the seal of perfection,
00:06:46.51\00:06:49.11
full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty.
00:06:49.14\00:06:51.42
You were in Eden,
the garden of God,
00:06:51.45\00:06:53.89
every precious
stone was your covering.
00:06:53.92\00:06:56.51
You were the
anointed cherub who covers.
00:06:56.54\00:06:59.39
You were on the
holy mountain of God;
00:06:59.42\00:07:01.59
you walked back and forth
in the midst of fiery stones."
00:07:01.62\00:07:06.15
Lucifer, originally a
perfect angel in heaven,
00:07:06.18\00:07:10.53
beautiful in every
way, the angel who stood
00:07:10.56\00:07:13.26
right next to God's
throne as covering cherub.
00:07:13.29\00:07:17.17
He held the top
position in heaven.
00:07:17.20\00:07:20.39
As I understand the Bible,
on either side of God's throne,
00:07:20.42\00:07:23.82
two angels, one on the
right, one on the left.
00:07:23.85\00:07:27.61
One of these was Lucifer.
00:07:27.64\00:07:30.34
But something happened
to this beautiful being
00:07:30.37\00:07:34.58
so richly blessed by God.
00:07:34.61\00:07:37.36
He began to harbor some rather
strange feelings about himself.
00:07:37.39\00:07:44.12
I'm good, in
fact I am invincible.
00:07:44.15\00:07:49.76
Maybe, maybe I
am as good as God.
00:07:49.79\00:07:53.96
And he allowed these
questions to grow in his mind
00:07:53.99\00:07:56.89
until they began to
affect his relationship with God
00:07:56.92\00:08:00.03
as it's said in
Ezekiel 28:15, 17,
00:08:00.06\00:08:04.47
"You were perfect in your ways
from the day you were created,
00:08:04.50\00:08:09.32
till iniquity was found in you."
00:08:09.35\00:08:11.86
Notice.
00:08:11.89\00:08:12.92
"Your heart was lifted
up because of your beauty;
00:08:12.95\00:08:16.68
you corrupted your wisdom
for the sake of your splendor."
00:08:16.71\00:08:22.33
Somehow, incredibly,
this glorious, exalted angel
00:08:22.36\00:08:27.50
became lost on an ego trip.
00:08:27.53\00:08:30.54
He coveted the
splendor and the majesty
00:08:30.57\00:08:32.55
and the prestige and
the honor due God alone.
00:08:32.58\00:08:36.53
We would say today,
he became power hungry
00:08:36.56\00:08:40.52
to the point that
this created angelic being
00:08:40.55\00:08:43.59
had the audacity to
challenge his Creator
00:08:43.62\00:08:46.88
for the
rulership of the universe.
00:08:46.91\00:08:48.82
Listen carefully.
00:08:48.85\00:08:49.99
In Isaiah 14:12, 14,
00:08:50.02\00:08:55.30
"How you are fallen from heaven,
00:08:55.33\00:08:58.48
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
00:08:58.51\00:09:00.69
How you are cut
down to the ground,
00:09:00.72\00:09:03.03
for you have said in your heart,
00:09:03.06\00:09:05.75
'I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne
00:09:05.78\00:09:09.86
above the stars of God, I
will be like the most High.'"
00:09:09.89\00:09:14.36
Arrogant thoughts,
00:09:14.39\00:09:17.56
until one day those
thoughts began to spill
00:09:17.59\00:09:20.73
from Lucifer's lips very
quietly, very innocently.
00:09:20.76\00:09:25.39
At first just kind
sharing with other angels,
00:09:25.42\00:09:27.86
kind of a little
chitchat, you know, on break.
00:09:27.89\00:09:32.13
Want to talk?
00:09:32.16\00:09:33.74
You ever had any
doubts, any questions about God?
00:09:33.77\00:09:38.86
Now He wasn't open about this.
00:09:38.89\00:09:40.37
He was very
innocuously, very subtle.
00:09:40.40\00:09:43.50
Kind of like a
rotten apple in a box,
00:09:43.53\00:09:47.26
but his
rebellion began to spread
00:09:47.29\00:09:49.78
to more angels
shattering the perfect love
00:09:49.81\00:09:52.59
and harmony of heaven
into a million selfish pieces.
00:09:52.62\00:09:56.85
So that discontent kind of
like cancer began infecting
00:09:56.88\00:10:02.42
the other angels undermining
God's love and God's justice.
00:10:02.45\00:10:07.94
Now if you like me and
you like to ask questions
00:10:07.97\00:10:10.69
and raise some issues
and talk about theology
00:10:10.72\00:10:12.90
sometime perhaps you
are saying, you know,
00:10:12.93\00:10:15.77
Pastor Lonnie, it is so
hard to comprehend or believe
00:10:15.80\00:10:19.78
that anyone created so
perfect with the power of choice
00:10:19.81\00:10:24.89
would deliberately choose evil.
00:10:24.92\00:10:29.92
I mean, how could
sin have possibly begun?
00:10:29.95\00:10:33.11
Difficult to get our
minds around the origin of evil
00:10:33.14\00:10:36.24
because all sin is
really selfishness.
00:10:36.27\00:10:41.04
It's abnormally
self-directed love.
00:10:41.07\00:10:46.31
So that the origin
of sin is, we make it,
00:10:46.34\00:10:52.03
Satan made it, not God.
00:10:52.06\00:10:57.98
I want you to be
like a big class tonight
00:10:58.01\00:10:59.84
and whether you are
watching in Sydney, Australia,
00:10:59.87\00:11:01.76
or you are in
Canada, or the South America,
00:11:01.79\00:11:03.99
or the Islands
of the Pacific Rim.
00:11:04.02\00:11:06.47
But here in
Carolina particularly
00:11:06.50\00:11:08.32
I want you to respond
out loud so they hear you.
00:11:08.35\00:11:11.58
Speak right out loud,
00:11:11.61\00:11:12.99
is this match good
or evil, which is it?
00:11:13.02\00:11:16.54
Come on. Evil.
00:11:16.57\00:11:19.14
How many of you think it's good?
00:11:19.17\00:11:20.38
Just put your hand up.
00:11:20.41\00:11:21.91
How many of you think it's evil?
00:11:21.94\00:11:24.03
How many of you don't think.
00:11:24.06\00:11:27.26
Well, I heard some of you say
00:11:27.29\00:11:28.70
and you're right,
it isn't either, is it?
00:11:28.73\00:11:31.12
It's just a match.
It isn't good or evil.
00:11:31.15\00:11:34.92
Now the man who
invented this match
00:11:34.95\00:11:38.95
made it for what we
call, a good purpose.
00:11:38.98\00:11:41.93
Is that all right?
00:11:41.96\00:11:43.26
Well, what do we mean
by good, who defines good?
00:11:43.29\00:11:45.44
Well, we would I
think all agree that good is
00:11:45.47\00:11:48.24
that which God is
and God supports life,
00:11:48.27\00:11:52.82
God supports health,
He supports happiness.
00:11:52.85\00:11:55.48
So this match
isn't supporting life,
00:11:55.51\00:11:57.57
it isn't supporting health,
it isn't supporting happiness.
00:11:57.60\00:12:00.19
It's just a
match, unless you use it.
00:12:00.22\00:12:07.01
Now if I take this
match and I light it
00:12:07.05\00:12:11.06
and I light a
fire in our fire place
00:12:11.09\00:12:14.42
and I light the gas stoves
00:12:14.45\00:12:15.76
so the genie
can do some cooking.
00:12:15.79\00:12:17.41
Invite my family home
for Christmas or Thanksgiving
00:12:17.44\00:12:20.02
or some other
holiday, and we heat our house,
00:12:20.05\00:12:23.20
we're all
together, we have life,
00:12:23.23\00:12:25.05
we have health,
we have happiness,
00:12:25.08\00:12:27.14
we're living,
that's good, isn't it?
00:12:27.17\00:12:30.03
That match has
become a blessing.
00:12:30.06\00:12:32.36
But if I take that same match
00:12:32.39\00:12:36.06
and I choose to light
the curtains in my house
00:12:36.09\00:12:40.18
and burn the house down
with my wife and children
00:12:40.21\00:12:43.28
and cats and
dogs and pets in it.
00:12:43.31\00:12:45.07
Now is that bad
or good? Come on.
00:12:45.10\00:12:47.11
Bad. That's terrible.
00:12:47.14\00:12:49.39
Because I love my
wife, I love my family.
00:12:49.42\00:12:51.70
Now why has it become evil?
00:12:51.73\00:12:54.71
Because it's destroyed
life, it's destroyed health,
00:12:54.74\00:12:57.77
it's destroyed happiness,
this match has become a curse.
00:12:57.80\00:13:01.29
But let's get one thing
very important crystal clear.
00:13:01.32\00:13:04.71
Where does the use or the
abuse of the match originate?
00:13:04.74\00:13:08.65
In the match? No.
00:13:08.68\00:13:10.47
No, where? Up here.
00:13:10.50\00:13:14.72
In the mind.
00:13:14.75\00:13:17.25
The match can't
abuse or misuse itself.
00:13:17.28\00:13:20.91
But mankind, a woman, a man,
00:13:20.94\00:13:23.31
a rational thinking
being can take that match
00:13:23.34\00:13:28.90
and they can choose
to use it or abuse it.
00:13:28.93\00:13:32.99
Evil begins here, in the
mind, in the power of choice.
00:13:33.02\00:13:39.51
Way back there, that
is evidently what Lucifer,
00:13:39.54\00:13:43.11
this absolutely
perfect sinless angel did
00:13:43.14\00:13:46.84
with God's perfect
love and perfect freedom.
00:13:46.87\00:13:51.02
He chose to challenge
it, he chose to abuse it,
00:13:51.05\00:13:54.39
he chose to misuse it.
00:13:54.42\00:13:56.14
He chose evil.
00:13:56.17\00:13:58.18
He chose sin, He was
not created this way.
00:13:58.21\00:14:03.90
Well, perhaps you
are wondering though,
00:14:03.93\00:14:05.84
you know, why
didn't God just destroy
00:14:05.87\00:14:08.67
Satan at that
time, just zap him out.
00:14:08.70\00:14:13.26
God could have eliminated
Lucifer and all of those angels
00:14:13.29\00:14:15.71
who joined in the
"Star Wars" revolution
00:14:15.74\00:14:17.72
in one blinding
flash from Luke Skywalker
00:14:17.75\00:14:21.01
as the young people would say.
00:14:21.04\00:14:23.06
But, you know,
had God done that,
00:14:23.09\00:14:26.10
don't you think that perhaps
all of God's intelligent beings
00:14:26.13\00:14:30.80
would have
served Him out of fear?
00:14:30.83\00:14:34.59
Oh, yeah, right.
00:14:34.62\00:14:36.06
Hey did you hear what
happened when you challenge God?
00:14:36.09\00:14:39.64
Zap.
00:14:39.67\00:14:41.96
They would obey
Him and follow Him
00:14:41.99\00:14:43.79
for perhaps the same
reasons that all of the Germans
00:14:43.82\00:14:46.98
followed Hitler
during World War II.
00:14:47.01\00:14:49.37
Is that good?
00:14:49.40\00:14:50.46
Or the Iraqis and the Ba'ath
Parties that we've just seen.
00:14:50.49\00:14:54.35
You see, our God is
not only a God of love.
00:14:54.38\00:14:59.36
He's a God of freedom.
00:14:59.39\00:15:02.11
And He can only be
happy in a love relationship
00:15:02.14\00:15:05.24
with His created
creatures where they worship Him
00:15:05.27\00:15:08.42
because they choose to
love Him and trust Him.
00:15:08.45\00:15:12.31
Now Satan had challenged this,
he had challenged God's laws,
00:15:12.34\00:15:17.11
challenged His justice,
00:15:17.14\00:15:18.81
challenged
God's idea of freedom.
00:15:18.84\00:15:22.75
You know what,
00:15:22.78\00:15:24.87
freedom ought to mean
license to do as you please.
00:15:24.90\00:15:31.47
But folks, God
didn't put His laws
00:15:31.50\00:15:33.96
in force to show who is boss.
00:15:33.99\00:15:37.38
He made His universal
laws to protect His creatures,
00:15:37.41\00:15:41.84
to ensure their peace and
provide for their happiness
00:15:41.87\00:15:45.46
and guarantee their freedom.
00:15:45.49\00:15:48.62
We would say I suppose
here in western world at least
00:15:48.65\00:15:51.81
that His laws are
something like stop lights.
00:15:51.84\00:15:55.61
I wouldn't always like them
there, but speed limit signs,
00:15:55.64\00:16:00.20
we know very well
that they are planned
00:16:00.23\00:16:02.16
for our safety and
everyone's well-being.
00:16:02.19\00:16:05.77
Our country's laws
are designed to protect
00:16:05.80\00:16:08.82
and preserve
rights and our liberties
00:16:08.85\00:16:12.37
and our
freedoms, not restrict us.
00:16:12.40\00:16:14.85
But this most honored angel
in all of God's heaven thought,
00:16:14.88\00:16:20.92
you know what, I think I can
run a universe better than God.
00:16:20.95\00:16:26.63
And I will, even if
it means all-out war
00:16:26.66\00:16:30.22
and that's when
Revelation Chapter 12 says,
00:16:30.25\00:16:32.97
"War broke out in heaven."
00:16:33.00\00:16:34.79
And that's when Satan
became as the Bible calls it,
00:16:34.82\00:16:37.75
the adversary of God, he
made a devil out of himself,
00:16:37.78\00:16:43.59
twisting freedom into slavery,
00:16:43.62\00:16:46.81
liberty into license,
there you have it, evil.
00:16:46.84\00:16:54.24
Now God
evidently out of fairness
00:16:54.27\00:16:56.99
and love
continued to allow Satan
00:16:57.02\00:16:59.80
to demonstrate to the
rest of the universe the way
00:16:59.83\00:17:02.79
he was choosing to run a world.
00:17:02.82\00:17:04.84
Now I must confess
I cannot get my mind
00:17:04.87\00:17:07.44
around this completely
to understand and grasp
00:17:07.47\00:17:09.92
how this could have
all possibly happened.
00:17:09.95\00:17:11.81
In fact, the Bible calls
it the mystery of iniquity.
00:17:11.84\00:17:17.21
Only a God in
eternity will fully ever be
00:17:17.24\00:17:19.88
able to explain it to us someday
00:17:19.91\00:17:22.34
because that battle
begun in heaven isn't over.
00:17:22.37\00:17:27.12
It's just changed places.
00:17:27.15\00:17:30.43
The Bible says, planet earth
has now become the center stage
00:17:30.46\00:17:34.27
of this Great Controversy
between Christ and Satan.
00:17:34.30\00:17:37.95
But you say, why our earth?
00:17:37.98\00:17:41.15
Why didn't he leave us alone,
00:17:41.18\00:17:42.33
why did Satan get
into the Garden of Eden
00:17:42.36\00:17:45.02
to act out in wicked technicolor
00:17:45.05\00:17:47.01
his kind of government,
how he'd run a world?
00:17:47.04\00:17:49.33
Why did he have to
come to our planet,
00:17:49.36\00:17:51.46
how come as Paul
says in 1 Corinthians 4:9,
00:17:51.49\00:17:54.35
"We have become a
spectacle to the world,
00:17:54.38\00:17:57.53
both to angels and to men?"
00:17:57.56\00:18:02.30
Genesis Chapter 1 says that
way back in the Garden of Eden
00:18:02.33\00:18:07.39
when human life first began,
00:18:07.42\00:18:10.48
fresh from the
hand of the Creator,
00:18:10.51\00:18:12.19
it was absolutely
beautiful beyond description.
00:18:12.22\00:18:15.82
Satan thought so, too, got
an idea, say, look at this.
00:18:15.85\00:18:23.73
This is a prize worth capturing.
00:18:23.76\00:18:28.02
Satan, the original
Taliban terrorist decided
00:18:28.05\00:18:31.64
to hijack this
world and seize control
00:18:31.67\00:18:35.50
because it was just
a brand newborn planet
00:18:35.53\00:18:37.78
of such fragile
and delicate beauty.
00:18:37.81\00:18:40.47
And Satan announced, hey,
God, look these beings here
00:18:40.50\00:18:44.74
are absolutely totally innocent,
00:18:44.77\00:18:46.75
may be even little
naive, let's have a contest.
00:18:46.78\00:18:50.04
Adam and Eve will
be our experiment,
00:18:50.07\00:18:52.13
they are the new father
00:18:52.16\00:18:53.22
and the mother
of the human race,
00:18:53.25\00:18:54.91
created absolutely
perfect, they are unbiased,
00:18:54.94\00:18:57.33
they are
unprejudiced, let's put them
00:18:57.36\00:18:59.59
in an
experimental laboratory, Eden.
00:18:59.62\00:19:04.05
Total freedom,
total freedom, God,
00:19:04.08\00:19:06.98
except you can't place them
00:19:07.01\00:19:09.12
beyond the
possibility of wrong doing.
00:19:09.15\00:19:11.43
They must be
absolutely free to choose,
00:19:11.46\00:19:14.82
either to follow love
00:19:14.85\00:19:16.57
and to follow You
God and Your rules.
00:19:16.60\00:19:19.84
Or they ought to be able to
be free to ignore your rules
00:19:19.87\00:19:22.59
and choose my
way, no rules, license.
00:19:22.62\00:19:26.62
But let's test their loyalty.
00:19:26.65\00:19:30.08
And this survivor's contest
00:19:30.11\00:19:32.76
will focus on
just one single tree.
00:19:32.79\00:19:38.46
And so God warned the newlyweds,
00:19:38.49\00:19:40.04
as you find it over
there in Genesis 2:16 and 17.
00:19:40.07\00:19:43.61
God said, "Adam and Eve,
00:19:43.64\00:19:45.82
listen of every
tree of the garden
00:19:45.85\00:19:49.88
you may eat freely ever."
00:19:49.91\00:19:51.16
The California
grapes, Chiquita bananas,
00:19:51.19\00:19:54.36
the Santa Rosa
plums, you know, whatever.
00:19:54.39\00:19:59.30
You can eat of every fruit,
00:19:59.33\00:20:00.72
"But of the
tree of the knowledge
00:20:00.75\00:20:04.00
of good and evil
you shall not eat,
00:20:04.03\00:20:06.52
for in the day you eat
of it you shall surely die."
00:20:06.55\00:20:11.01
Well, that seemed
like a reasonable request.
00:20:11.04\00:20:13.91
They had everything they wanted,
00:20:13.94\00:20:14.97
more than they needed.
00:20:15.00\00:20:16.47
And Adam and Eve
really felt quite secure.
00:20:16.50\00:20:19.62
But we humans
are most vulnerable
00:20:19.65\00:20:23.27
when we're caught
completely off guard.
00:20:23.30\00:20:27.28
One day I would
imagine something like this
00:20:27.31\00:20:28.88
could have taken place.
00:20:28.91\00:20:29.94
Eve was so caught up
in the beauty of the place
00:20:29.97\00:20:33.19
she went for a walk
alone through the garden.
00:20:33.22\00:20:37.58
And as she was walking
00:20:37.61\00:20:38.64
she was startled to
hear her name called.
00:20:38.67\00:20:41.40
Eve.
00:20:41.43\00:20:44.38
She look set by, I
thought I heard my name.
00:20:44.41\00:20:47.40
Eve.
00:20:47.43\00:20:49.98
She looks up into the tree
00:20:50.01\00:20:51.04
and she sees a serpent
munching on some fruit.
00:20:51.07\00:20:55.71
And the serpent opens
his mouth and says, hi, Eve.
00:20:55.74\00:21:01.62
And she stops dead, I mean,
00:21:01.65\00:21:03.52
she's never
suspected a talking snake.
00:21:03.55\00:21:07.14
But the words of
course come from the enemy.
00:21:07.17\00:21:09.20
He knows he
can't get her attention
00:21:09.23\00:21:11.44
unless he provides
curiosity, and that he did.
00:21:11.47\00:21:15.16
I want you to notice though,
Satan used his supernatural,
00:21:15.19\00:21:18.62
psychic power to
deceive her, trick her.
00:21:18.65\00:21:24.69
I didn't know you could talk.
I couldn't always talk, Eve.
00:21:24.72\00:21:30.97
All right, how
come you're talking now?
00:21:31.00\00:21:34.59
Munch, munch, munch.
00:21:34.62\00:21:38.63
Well, Eve, one day I
happened to be eating fruit
00:21:38.66\00:21:41.55
and I happened to this
tree, munch, munch, munch,
00:21:41.58\00:21:47.46
and lo-and-behold
00:21:47.49\00:21:48.52
when I started eating
the fruit of this tree,
00:21:48.55\00:21:50.31
munch, munch, munch,
Eve, I can talk, I can talk.
00:21:50.34\00:21:57.73
By the way, Eve,
oh, no, forget it.
00:21:57.76\00:22:01.42
No, no, what, what, what?
00:22:01.45\00:22:02.54
Now he's got her
asking the questions.
00:22:02.57\00:22:04.61
Genesis 3:1-4, he says,
well, Eve, munch, munch, munch.
00:22:04.64\00:22:11.55
"Eve, has God said,
00:22:11.58\00:22:13.38
'You should not eat of
every tree in the garden?'"
00:22:13.41\00:22:17.45
"We may eat the fruit
of the trees of the garden
00:22:17.48\00:22:21.75
except of the fruit of the tree
00:22:21.78\00:22:24.13
which is in the
midst of the garden,
00:22:24.16\00:22:25.45
God has said,
You shall not eat it,
00:22:25.48\00:22:26.99
nor shall you
touch it, lest you die."
00:22:27.02\00:22:31.02
Munch, munch, munch, die?
00:22:31.05\00:22:36.33
Munch, munch, that's a lie.
00:22:36.36\00:22:42.70
I'm not dead. Genesis 3:5.
00:22:42.73\00:22:46.01
He says "For God knows Eve
that in the day you eat of it
00:22:46.04\00:22:52.00
your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God,
00:22:52.03\00:22:55.82
knowing good from evil."
00:22:55.85\00:22:58.99
Now Satan's trying to get
Eve to commit the very same sin
00:22:59.02\00:23:02.67
he committed in
heaven, to want to be like God.
00:23:02.70\00:23:08.00
Eve, listen, maybe
God's holding something good
00:23:08.03\00:23:15.08
back from you, maybe
He's begin a little unfair.
00:23:15.11\00:23:17.78
I mean, think of it, Eve.
00:23:17.81\00:23:19.77
As he plucks a piece of fruit,
reaches it out toward her,
00:23:19.80\00:23:25.04
if this fruit, Eve,
will make a serpent like me
00:23:25.07\00:23:29.85
start talking like a person,
00:23:29.88\00:23:32.57
oh, just think what
it would do for you.
00:23:32.60\00:23:36.00
You will be like God.
Here, Eve, try a piece.
00:23:36.03\00:23:43.92
Eve listened.
It sounded so good.
00:23:46.77\00:23:50.59
Now it must have crossed
her mind that he was saying
00:23:50.62\00:23:54.09
something different
than what God told them.
00:23:54.12\00:23:56.31
But the Bible
says she was convinced
00:23:56.34\00:23:58.14
and verse 6 of Genesis 3,
00:23:58.17\00:23:59.94
"So when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food,
00:23:59.97\00:24:03.58
that it was
pleasant to the eyes,
00:24:03.61\00:24:06.32
and a tree
desirable to make one wise,
00:24:06.35\00:24:09.74
she took of the
fruit and she ate."
00:24:09.77\00:24:15.06
She gave some to her
husband and he ate it, too.
00:24:15.09\00:24:18.14
And suddenly there you
have it, a great big mess.
00:24:18.17\00:24:22.11
And they failed God's
test of love and loyalty.
00:24:22.14\00:24:25.24
Humans were now sinners.
00:24:25.27\00:24:27.41
And Satan, the
original Al-Qaeda terrorist,
00:24:27.44\00:24:30.69
hijacked a brand new world
00:24:30.72\00:24:32.86
and he had a whole
planet in rebellion.
00:24:32.89\00:24:36.90
From that moment
though, Satan claimed the title,
00:24:36.93\00:24:40.26
I'm now the
Prince of this World.
00:24:40.29\00:24:42.54
Can you imagine what that
first day must have been like,
00:24:42.57\00:24:48.80
how tragic it was as
that first day when that,
00:24:48.83\00:24:52.14
particularly the
fruit drew to a close.
00:24:52.17\00:24:55.07
The Bible indicates
that God was evidently
00:24:55.10\00:24:57.35
coming each evening, in
the cool of the evening,
00:24:57.38\00:24:59.32
and he'd come for an evening
stroll with Adam and Eve.
00:24:59.35\00:25:01.22
And He'd call out,
Adam, where are you?
00:25:01.25\00:25:03.39
Eve, time for our little
special time together now
00:25:03.42\00:25:06.39
and up until now this has been
the happiest time of the day.
00:25:06.42\00:25:10.22
Wow, a chance to walk and
talk directly with the God
00:25:10.25\00:25:13.09
who had created them.
00:25:13.12\00:25:15.06
But now they hear him coming
through the garden, Adam, Eve,
00:25:15.09\00:25:18.12
and they ran, they hid,
diving into the brushes.
00:25:18.15\00:25:22.26
And finally, Adam,
he slips out slowly
00:25:22.29\00:25:24.88
from behind
someshrubs in the garden
00:25:24.91\00:25:26.89
wherever he and
Eve were and they were
00:25:26.92\00:25:28.47
down there covering
themselves with fig leaves
00:25:28.50\00:25:31.43
and Adam confesses in
verse 10, Lord, here we are.
00:25:31.46\00:25:37.07
"I heard Your
voice in the garden,
00:25:37.10\00:25:39.21
I was afraid because I'm
naked, and I hid myself."
00:25:39.24\00:25:46.49
Adam had never
been afraid before.
00:25:46.52\00:25:49.01
But, folks,
that's what sin does.
00:25:49.04\00:25:52.09
It makes us afraid.
00:25:52.12\00:25:54.38
God replies in Genesis 3:11,
00:25:54.41\00:25:56.81
"Adam, have you
eaten from the tree
00:25:56.84\00:26:00.90
which I commanded you
that you should not eat?"
00:26:00.93\00:26:04.22
I want you to notice the
old pass-the-buck routine here,
00:26:04.25\00:26:07.39
the blame game.
00:26:07.42\00:26:08.60
Verse 12.
00:26:08.63\00:26:11.06
"The woman whom you gave to me,
00:26:11.09\00:26:14.99
she gave me to eat,
and I ate from the tree."
00:26:15.02\00:26:19.02
You know, just a
few hours before,
00:26:19.05\00:26:20.57
Adam would have been
willing to die for Eve.
00:26:20.60\00:26:23.79
But now he turns and he
blames her for his problems
00:26:23.82\00:26:27.21
and incidentally
God for creating her.
00:26:27.24\00:26:31.50
You see that's how
sin shatters perfect love.
00:26:31.53\00:26:35.01
And Eve by the way
was no less accusing.
00:26:35.04\00:26:37.52
Genesis 3:13.
00:26:37.55\00:26:40.84
"Oh, God, it's the
serpent that You created.
00:26:40.87\00:26:44.59
He deceived me,
and I ate of it."
00:26:44.62\00:26:46.33
So Eve is blaming God, too.
00:26:46.36\00:26:49.03
And as a result of
sin, Adam and Eve sold out
00:26:49.06\00:26:53.46
to another master,
not God, but Satan.
00:26:53.49\00:26:57.00
They didn't have to.
00:26:57.03\00:26:58.43
But that very day by
their own free choice
00:26:58.46\00:27:01.67
they threw away everything.
00:27:01.70\00:27:04.01
They lost their
face-to-face communion with God,
00:27:04.04\00:27:06.76
they lost their purity,
they lost their robes of glory,
00:27:06.79\00:27:09.99
they lost family happiness,
00:27:10.02\00:27:11.79
they lost
equality with each other,
00:27:11.82\00:27:13.51
they lost
dominion over the animals,
00:27:13.54\00:27:15.15
they lost their perfect home,
00:27:15.18\00:27:16.94
and they lost
access to the tree of life.
00:27:16.97\00:27:19.62
They threw it all away.
00:27:19.65\00:27:21.49
Besides, now they
were doomed to die.
00:27:21.52\00:27:24.18
The devil had
said, Eve, you won't die.
00:27:24.21\00:27:29.72
But the Bible says a couple of
chapters later in Genesis 5:5,
00:27:29.75\00:27:33.46
"So all the days
of Adam that he lived
00:27:33.49\00:27:35.92
were nine hundred and
thirty years, and he died."
00:27:35.95\00:27:40.73
Too late, they discovered
00:27:40.76\00:27:42.29
that the devil was a
liar and the father of it.
00:27:42.32\00:27:46.94
Now, ladies and
gentleman, here's the point,
00:27:46.98\00:27:49.73
you see, it's so
easy for us to blame God
00:27:49.76\00:27:54.81
for today's
heartaches and devastation.
00:27:54.84\00:27:57.43
But Satan is really responsible.
00:27:57.46\00:27:59.78
He's the one who
brought trouble to this planet
00:27:59.81\00:28:02.29
and who causes sin and suffering
00:28:02.32\00:28:04.03
and AIDS and cancer.
00:28:04.06\00:28:06.58
By the way, that's why Jesus
00:28:06.61\00:28:07.95
when He came to this
earth 2000 years ago,
00:28:07.98\00:28:10.53
He made a point
to personally unmask
00:28:10.56\00:28:13.09
the devil as the
culprit who afflicts people.
00:28:13.12\00:28:16.74
One day Jesus was
teaching in the synagogue
00:28:16.77\00:28:20.54
and He noticed
over in the corner
00:28:20.57\00:28:22.47
a dear little shriveled up woman
00:28:22.50\00:28:24.23
all bent over with
a crippling deformity,
00:28:24.26\00:28:26.96
horrific to look at.
00:28:26.99\00:28:29.54
And Jesus paused, touched
by her pathetic circumstances.
00:28:29.57\00:28:34.77
The Bible says He healed her.
00:28:34.80\00:28:37.27
Well, the
rulers of the synagogue
00:28:37.30\00:28:39.49
began to criticize Him
because this healing happened
00:28:39.52\00:28:41.77
to take place on the Sabbath,
God's holy day of worship,
00:28:41.80\00:28:44.38
but notice how Jesus defended
His actions in Luke 13:16.
00:28:44.41\00:28:48.66
He said, "So
ought not this woman,
00:28:48.69\00:28:52.35
being a daughter of Abraham,
00:28:52.38\00:28:55.22
whom Satan has
bound for eighteen years,
00:28:55.25\00:28:58.88
be loosed from this
bond on the Sabbath?"
00:28:58.91\00:29:02.02
Who did Jesus say
had harassed that woman?
00:29:02.05\00:29:05.35
Satan bound this
woman for eighteen years.
00:29:05.38\00:29:07.88
Satan's the guilty one.
00:29:07.91\00:29:11.31
Now please listen carefully.
I want to be very bold tonight.
00:29:11.34\00:29:15.54
Most denominations do
not teach you what I have
00:29:15.57\00:29:18.18
just expressed from the
Bible, they don't teach this.
00:29:18.21\00:29:22.11
The many evangelical
friends that I have out there,
00:29:22.14\00:29:24.91
they teach a doctrine
called the "Sovereignty of God."
00:29:24.94\00:29:29.79
They say and I
could quote to you people,
00:29:29.82\00:29:31.74
you've heard him on
national television.
00:29:31.77\00:29:33.62
They say that what happened
for example on September 11th
00:29:33.65\00:29:36.54
is part of the
Sovereignty of God.
00:29:36.57\00:29:39.49
God brings these events to
teach us lessons, of course.
00:29:39.52\00:29:43.80
But He decreed the
events of September 11th.
00:29:43.83\00:29:47.20
In fact, I can
quote you denominations
00:29:47.23\00:29:49.18
in this community in every
city in this country and Canada.
00:29:49.21\00:29:53.22
They say, well, it's because
00:29:53.25\00:29:56.04
God can thereby work
out His mysterious will.
00:29:56.07\00:30:00.73
And other denominations
00:30:00.76\00:30:01.86
I could name
them for you tonight.
00:30:01.89\00:30:03.68
They say, God permitted.
00:30:03.71\00:30:05.54
He allowed those snipers
in Washington for His glory.
00:30:05.57\00:30:09.75
To serve a particular divine
purpose we don't understand.
00:30:09.78\00:30:13.38
But, friends, I
would like to submit that
00:30:13.41\00:30:15.08
that is contrary to scripture.
00:30:15.11\00:30:17.19
Now intend to prove it.
00:30:17.22\00:30:18.28
Listen very carefully,
00:30:18.31\00:30:19.87
as the Voice of Prophecy speaks.
00:30:19.90\00:30:24.89
Nowhere in all of the
Bible do we see Satan's strategy
00:30:24.92\00:30:28.70
more clearly exposed
than in the oldest book
00:30:28.73\00:30:31.38
in all of the Bible,
anybody know what that is?
00:30:31.41\00:30:33.93
Book of Job, thank you.
00:30:33.96\00:30:35.50
Book of Job, Chapter 1,
00:30:35.53\00:30:37.35
we find right there in Chapter 1
00:30:37.38\00:30:38.82
a conversation
between the devil and God.
00:30:38.85\00:30:41.98
Evidently, this was some
time after the fall of Satan
00:30:42.01\00:30:45.91
and maybe even into
the new world sometime
00:30:45.94\00:30:49.11
that all the
sons of God, it says,
00:30:49.14\00:30:51.35
presented themselves before Him.
00:30:51.38\00:30:53.36
I don't understand
what that all means
00:30:53.39\00:30:54.72
but perhaps there
was representatives
00:30:54.75\00:30:56.71
and ambassadors
from other worlds
00:30:56.74\00:30:59.03
and in some great
big summit conference.
00:30:59.06\00:31:01.02
And it says, Satan came, too.
00:31:01.05\00:31:05.33
Uninvited, notice Job 1:7.
00:31:05.36\00:31:09.21
"And the Lord said to
Satan, 'From where do you come?'
00:31:09.24\00:31:13.24
'' Satan, who invited you?
00:31:13.27\00:31:14.84
What right do
you have to be here?
00:31:14.87\00:31:16.57
And Satan answered,
00:31:16.60\00:31:17.99
"Oh, from going to
and fro on the earth
00:31:18.02\00:31:20.44
and walking back
and forth on it."
00:31:20.47\00:31:23.34
Satan was saying,
00:31:23.37\00:31:24.67
I claim to represent
planet earth, thank you.
00:31:24.70\00:31:28.30
I've taken over Adam's
dominion as the Son of God.
00:31:28.33\00:31:31.04
Luke 3:38.
00:31:31.07\00:31:32.66
"And his
position as representative
00:31:32.69\00:31:34.37
of the human race."
00:31:34.40\00:31:35.86
Well, God didn't let
that claim go unchallenged.
00:31:35.89\00:31:39.01
The Lord said to
Satan, in Job 1:8, 9, 11,
00:31:39.04\00:31:42.34
"Well, Satan, have you
considered my servant Job,
00:31:42.37\00:31:46.94
that there is none
like him on the earth,
00:31:46.97\00:31:49.00
a blameless and upright man,
00:31:49.03\00:31:51.57
one who fears
God and shuns evil?"
00:31:51.60\00:31:54.94
And it says, so Satan
answered the Lord and said,
00:31:54.97\00:32:00.58
"Does Job fear God for nothing?
00:32:00.61\00:32:05.61
Stretch forth your hand
and touch all that he has.
00:32:05.64\00:32:09.99
He will surely
curse You to Your face."
00:32:10.02\00:32:12.51
I challenge You,
God, to another duel!
00:32:12.54\00:32:15.44
The only reason Job is
loyal to You is for the goodies.
00:32:15.47\00:32:18.66
You're Santa Claus to him.
00:32:18.69\00:32:20.79
He's not loyal because
he loves and trusts You.
00:32:20.82\00:32:23.04
So the Lord said to Satan, okay.
00:32:23.07\00:32:27.19
How about it,
test him, Job 1:12.
00:32:27.22\00:32:30.41
And the Lord said to Satan,
00:32:30.44\00:32:31.47
''Behold all that he
has is in your power;
00:32:31.50\00:32:35.31
only do not lay a
hand on his person.''
00:32:35.34\00:32:39.03
So Satan went out from
the presence of the Lord.
00:32:39.07\00:32:41.59
I mean, he couldn't wait to get
his hands on Job's possessions.
00:32:41.62\00:32:45.96
Blow after blow
they began to fall.
00:32:45.99\00:32:48.11
First, the stock
market collapsed.
00:32:48.14\00:32:51.36
The Sabeans, the Bible says,
00:32:51.39\00:32:52.89
stole Job's cattle,
murdered his workers.
00:32:52.92\00:32:56.12
But second,
lightning struck the pentagon,
00:32:56.15\00:32:58.89
killing Job's
sheep and his shepherds.
00:32:58.92\00:33:00.94
Third, the Chaldeans
plundered Job's camels.
00:33:00.97\00:33:03.99
And fourth, the most
heartbreaking news of all,
00:33:04.02\00:33:06.28
a tornado demolished the
home of Job's oldest son.
00:33:06.31\00:33:09.94
A party was going on,
00:33:09.97\00:33:11.36
and all ten of Job's
children were killed.
00:33:11.39\00:33:15.01
I remember, God wasn't
causing this, but whom?
00:33:15.04\00:33:18.38
Satan. But poor Job.
00:33:18.41\00:33:21.17
He didn't understand
what we're learning tonight
00:33:21.20\00:33:23.32
yet evidently, and
he thought you know,
00:33:23.35\00:33:27.55
maybe, maybe God is upset,
00:33:27.58\00:33:30.36
maybe he's caused
all this heartache.
00:33:30.39\00:33:33.72
He didn't understand that
the devil had done all this.
00:33:33.75\00:33:37.13
And you see we still don't
understand it today either.
00:33:37.16\00:33:40.45
What goes on behind the scenes.
00:33:40.48\00:33:43.39
But notice, although he was
completely overcome with grief,
00:33:43.42\00:33:47.27
Job's loyalty to
God was unchanged.
00:33:47.30\00:33:49.70
And He says, in Job
1:21, "The Lord gave,
00:33:49.73\00:33:55.10
and the Lord has taken away,
00:33:55.13\00:33:57.68
blessed be the
name of the Lord."
00:33:57.71\00:33:59.20
Amen. Amen.
00:33:59.23\00:34:01.02
He couldn't
understand the tragedy.
00:34:01.05\00:34:03.26
Yet he trusted in
God's goodness just the same.
00:34:03.29\00:34:06.19
But Satan wasn't through.
00:34:06.22\00:34:08.21
He challenged God
again in Job 2:4-6,
00:34:08.24\00:34:11.83
"Yes, yes, you know what,
00:34:11.86\00:34:17.41
all that a man has he will
give in exchange for his life.
00:34:17.44\00:34:23.27
You stretch out Your hand now,
00:34:23.30\00:34:25.07
and you touch his
bone and his flesh,
00:34:25.10\00:34:27.73
and he shall surely
curse You to Your face."
00:34:27.76\00:34:33.93
Pretty big dare.
00:34:33.96\00:34:36.52
And the Lord said
to Satan, okay, behold,
00:34:36.55\00:34:42.17
he is in your hand, but
you got to spare his life.
00:34:42.20\00:34:46.59
Now the real
survivor's test was on.
00:34:46.62\00:34:49.84
Would Job remain loyal to God
00:34:49.87\00:34:51.91
or would he
turn his back on God?
00:34:51.94\00:34:54.29
Job 2:7, "So Satan went out
from the presence of the Lord
00:34:54.32\00:34:58.11
and struck Job
with painful boils
00:34:58.14\00:35:00.24
from the sole of his foot
to the crown of his head."
00:35:00.27\00:35:02.37
Have you ever had a boil?
00:35:02.40\00:35:05.01
Not very much fun,
are they? I've had one.
00:35:05.04\00:35:08.35
You know how
painful they can be.
00:35:08.38\00:35:09.72
But imagine being
covered from head to toe.
00:35:09.75\00:35:13.85
Job was saying, you
know, if I can't get him
00:35:13.88\00:35:15.61
through his
possessions and his kids,
00:35:15.64\00:35:17.81
I'm gonna attack his health.
00:35:17.84\00:35:20.61
You got to be listening to
what to talk or not us talk
00:35:20.64\00:35:23.22
from night to
night, it's good stuff.
00:35:23.25\00:35:25.67
Yet Job remained loyal to
God, an incredible man of faith,
00:35:25.70\00:35:30.14
the Bible says, in Job 1:22,
00:35:30.17\00:35:32.72
"In all this Job did not
sin nor charge God with wrong."
00:35:32.75\00:35:38.45
Now I want you
to answer out loud.
00:35:38.48\00:35:40.24
Who hurt Job? Satan.
00:35:40.27\00:35:43.42
Who was it that
plagued Job? Satan.
00:35:43.45\00:35:45.93
Who stole his livestock
and killed his servants?
00:35:45.96\00:35:49.16
Satan. Satan.
00:35:49.19\00:35:50.22
Who brought that tornado
00:35:50.25\00:35:51.38
and destroyed his
sons and daughters?
00:35:51.41\00:35:53.56
Now listen, friend, the
Lord may permit difficulties
00:35:53.59\00:35:59.10
to come and test our
loyalty and our love,
00:35:59.13\00:36:01.12
but who is responsible for
all of the evil on planet earth?
00:36:01.15\00:36:04.64
Satan. Satan is the guilty one.
00:36:04.67\00:36:07.34
But you and I are
caught in the center
00:36:07.37\00:36:10.50
of a bewildering cosmic drama.
00:36:10.53\00:36:14.07
A conflict
between good and evil,
00:36:14.10\00:36:17.19
between
authority and lawlessness,
00:36:17.22\00:36:19.20
between the Creator and
Satan, the original rebel.
00:36:19.23\00:36:23.70
And we're not spectators.
00:36:23.73\00:36:26.37
When you drive
into the supermarket,
00:36:26.40\00:36:28.65
when you go to
the grocery store,
00:36:28.68\00:36:29.99
when you go to the
post office wherever it is,
00:36:30.02\00:36:32.61
we are involved,
whether we want to be or not.
00:36:32.64\00:36:36.45
In fact, the Apostle
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:9
00:36:36.48\00:36:40.27
that earth is the
theater of the universe.
00:36:40.30\00:36:43.60
We're on stage set
forth as a spectacle.
00:36:43.63\00:36:48.38
I don't know how many of
you studied William Shakespeare
00:36:48.41\00:36:50.22
but I went to a British
school when I was growing up
00:36:50.25\00:36:51.99
and I remember reading this.
00:36:52.02\00:36:54.37
Shakespeare said it perfectly,
"All the world's a stage.
00:36:54.40\00:36:58.71
And all the men and
women merely players.
00:36:58.74\00:37:00.68
We each have our
entrances and our exits.
00:37:00.71\00:37:03.10
And one man in his
time plays many parts."
00:37:03.13\00:37:07.27
You and I, ladies and gentlemen
00:37:07.30\00:37:08.98
have leading roles
in this cosmic drama.
00:37:09.01\00:37:12.60
We're on stage.
Our life isn't an act.
00:37:12.63\00:37:16.72
This isn't TV.
This is the real thing.
00:37:16.75\00:37:20.99
I'm reminded of an illustration,
00:37:21.02\00:37:22.82
a little cartoon once,
00:37:22.85\00:37:25.24
it showed a
family going on vacation
00:37:25.27\00:37:27.44
like Americans will
be in just a few weeks.
00:37:27.47\00:37:30.30
This little kid is
sitting in the backseat
00:37:30.33\00:37:31.82
of the station
wagon, the family car
00:37:31.85\00:37:33.54
and they'd had a flat
tire and dad is outside there
00:37:33.57\00:37:35.63
and it shows him
changing the tire.
00:37:35.66\00:37:37.83
And the little boy is so
bored and he is so fussing.
00:37:37.86\00:37:42.21
And dad says this,
"Son, this isn't TV.
00:37:42.24\00:37:46.75
We can't change
channels. This is life."
00:37:46.78\00:37:52.76
Now the popular idea
that Satan is only a myth
00:37:52.79\00:37:57.20
or an influence,
ladies and gentlemen,
00:37:57.23\00:37:59.96
that leaves us
totally unprepared
00:37:59.99\00:38:02.09
to confront the
intelligent being
00:38:02.12\00:38:04.43
he actually is,
working through the Taliban,
00:38:04.46\00:38:07.32
working through
the Osama Bin Ladens
00:38:07.35\00:38:09.09
and the Saddam Husseins.
00:38:09.12\00:38:10.38
And we could name some over
here in this country and more,
00:38:10.41\00:38:13.32
but much more
that we'll discover
00:38:13.35\00:38:14.90
as the Voice of Prophecy Speaks.
00:38:14.93\00:38:17.73
Amen.
00:38:17.76\00:38:18.79
But the Book of Revelation says
in Revelation 12:12, it says,
00:38:18.82\00:38:24.41
"Woe to the inhabitants
of the earth and the sea!
00:38:24.44\00:38:27.83
For the devil has come
down to you, having great wrath,
00:38:27.86\00:38:31.64
because he knows
that he has a short time."
00:38:31.67\00:38:35.91
The Apostle Peter
warned us in 1 Peter 5:8,
00:38:35.94\00:38:39.59
"Be sober, be vigilant,
00:38:39.62\00:38:41.40
because your
adversary the devil walks
00:38:41.43\00:38:44.29
about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour."
00:38:44.32\00:38:50.70
Well, that's kind of depressing.
00:38:50.73\00:38:53.51
But I'm happy tonight that
the story does not end there.
00:38:53.54\00:38:57.47
Amen.
00:38:57.50\00:38:58.53
Or our future would be
pretty gloomy and pretty dark.
00:38:58.56\00:39:01.73
The Bible tells us,
ladies and gentlemen,
00:39:01.76\00:39:03.75
that's why God sent
Jesus down here to this earth.
00:39:03.78\00:39:09.52
Why did He come?
00:39:09.55\00:39:11.02
Why did He go to
such great lengths
00:39:11.05\00:39:12.67
to save men and women?
00:39:12.70\00:39:16.47
Because God had a plan.
00:39:16.50\00:39:19.90
You see even though
Satan did his very worst
00:39:19.93\00:39:22.71
and ruined this world,
00:39:22.74\00:39:25.88
God had a plan
to destroy the devil
00:39:25.91\00:39:28.80
and in the process save us, too.
00:39:28.83\00:39:31.62
That wasn't easy.
00:39:31.65\00:39:33.37
The Bible says that
Satan comes as a roaring lion.
00:39:33.40\00:39:36.93
When Jesus was born in
Bethlehem, Satan was there,
00:39:36.96\00:39:40.23
he worked through King Herod
to destroy the Christ child,
00:39:40.26\00:39:42.86
He was defeated.
00:39:42.89\00:39:44.52
Satan came to Jesus in Matthew 4
00:39:44.55\00:39:46.65
in the temptations of Christ
out there in the wilderness,
00:39:46.68\00:39:48.95
Satan came masquerading
as a friendly helpful angel
00:39:48.98\00:39:52.98
with three
temptations, remember?
00:39:53.01\00:39:54.46
Why don't you just turn
these stones into bread?
00:39:54.49\00:39:56.77
Why don't you
jump off this cliff
00:39:56.80\00:39:58.01
and the angels
will take care of you?
00:39:58.04\00:39:59.31
Why don't you just
bow down and worship me?
00:39:59.34\00:40:01.49
Satan was defeated there, too.
00:40:01.52\00:40:03.70
Satan then worked in the crowd
to destroy Jesus at Calvary,
00:40:03.73\00:40:07.63
crucify Him, crucify.
00:40:07.66\00:40:09.32
And he thought
he finally had Him
00:40:09.35\00:40:11.40
when he hung Him on a cross.
00:40:11.43\00:40:13.09
But he was defeated
forever on resurrection morning.
00:40:13.12\00:40:15.54
Can you say amen? Amen.
00:40:15.57\00:40:16.79
Praise the Lord.
00:40:16.82\00:40:17.85
And friend, right here
is the incredible answer
00:40:17.88\00:40:20.06
to the problem of why
there is so much suffering.
00:40:20.09\00:40:23.77
God in Heaven, our loving
Heavenly parent who created us.
00:40:23.80\00:40:28.82
When we sinned and we blew it,
00:40:28.85\00:40:31.61
that God was
lonely when we sinned.
00:40:31.64\00:40:36.94
We had cut ourselves
off from Him by rebellion.
00:40:36.97\00:40:39.57
But He missed us,
00:40:39.60\00:40:40.89
He couldn't bear
to be without us.
00:40:40.92\00:40:43.85
With a loneliness
that could never be healed
00:40:43.88\00:40:45.93
except by the
restoration of humankind.
00:40:45.96\00:40:48.57
He loved us so much
He gave His Son Jesus
00:40:48.60\00:40:52.51
and the Son gave Himself, too,
to reverse your fate and mine.
00:40:52.54\00:40:57.36
Calvary was the hour of victory,
00:40:57.39\00:40:59.46
the day to free all the devil's
prisoners on planet earth
00:40:59.49\00:41:04.27
and on
prisoner's row right here.
00:41:04.30\00:41:06.81
Thanks to Calvary, Satan
tonight is a defeated foe.
00:41:06.84\00:41:11.35
Christ by His
death earned the right
00:41:11.38\00:41:13.95
to destroy all death
and evil and suffering.
00:41:13.98\00:41:17.05
And He will because
Paul wrote in Hebrews 2:14.
00:41:17.08\00:41:21.09
"Inasmuch then as the children
00:41:21.12\00:41:23.84
have partaken
of flesh and blood,
00:41:23.87\00:41:26.39
He Himself
likewise shared in the same,
00:41:26.42\00:41:29.66
that through death
He might destroy him
00:41:29.69\00:41:32.68
who had the power of
death, that is, the devil."
00:41:32.71\00:41:36.67
You see for 6,000 years,
00:41:36.70\00:41:38.98
Satan has been
demonstrating in technicolor
00:41:39.01\00:41:41.49
before all of the
intelligence of the universe
00:41:41.52\00:41:44.60
what kind of a being he is,
that he hasn't changed today.
00:41:44.63\00:41:49.45
Tornadoes, earthquakes,
floods, crime, disease,
00:41:49.48\00:41:52.21
heartache, pain,
snipers standing behind all evil
00:41:52.24\00:41:57.00
is the
supernatural working of Satan.
00:41:57.03\00:41:59.60
Tragedies, tragedies
and carnage and Hitlers
00:41:59.63\00:42:01.87
and Talibans and terrorists,
they're not acts of God.
00:42:01.90\00:42:06.49
Satan whispers,
yeah, God did it.
00:42:06.52\00:42:10.97
No, they are acts of the
devil. Satan is the destroyer.
00:42:11.00\00:42:14.90
God is the restorer. Amen.
00:42:14.93\00:42:18.13
You begin to see how
cleverly though Satan's angels
00:42:18.16\00:42:22.50
use the supernatural
to deceive and destroy.
00:42:22.53\00:42:27.21
Now hang on, I'm
about to say something
00:42:27.24\00:42:28.93
that might shake
you up a little bit,
00:42:28.96\00:42:30.89
'cause this is
just the beginning.
00:42:30.92\00:42:32.58
The Voice of Prophecy
is about to speak again.
00:42:32.61\00:42:36.60
2 Corinthians 11:14 says,
00:42:36.63\00:42:39.44
Lonn, you watch in
the 2003 and 2004."
00:42:39.47\00:42:43.41
No wonder, Satan himself
00:42:43.44\00:42:46.52
transforms himself
into an angel of light."
00:42:46.55\00:42:52.00
Maybe it never occurred
to you, ladies and gentlemen,
00:42:52.03\00:42:54.03
when you watch
some faith healers,
00:42:54.06\00:42:56.84
some of them I
say, on television.
00:42:56.87\00:42:59.74
Maybe it never
occurred to you that devils,
00:42:59.77\00:43:01.98
demons can work miracles, too.
00:43:02.01\00:43:06.24
Miracles in the church,
accompanied by hymn-singing.
00:43:06.27\00:43:10.31
Revelation 16:14 says,
00:43:10.34\00:43:13.27
"For they are the spirits
of demons, performing signs..."
00:43:13.30\00:43:19.90
Satan works miracles,
00:43:19.93\00:43:21.92
and his angels
can work miracles.
00:43:21.95\00:43:23.80
The devil actually
gives some human beings
00:43:23.83\00:43:26.47
power to work
miracles whenever he chooses
00:43:26.50\00:43:28.85
and Jesus said, Lonn, watch out.
00:43:28.88\00:43:30.57
Matthew 24:24,
00:43:30.60\00:43:32.47
"For false christs and
false prophets will rise
00:43:32.50\00:43:35.43
and showing great signs
and wonders on television
00:43:35.46\00:43:39.14
to deceive, if
possible, even the elect.''
00:43:39.17\00:43:42.62
You say, well, no wait a minute,
00:43:42.65\00:43:43.81
Pastor Lonn, how in the world
then can we an average person
00:43:43.84\00:43:46.60
know the difference
between the true and the false?"
00:43:46.63\00:43:48.67
That's why this
prophetic seminar series.
00:43:48.70\00:43:51.85
Because the Voice
of Prophecy Speaks.
00:43:51.88\00:43:55.02
Don't come up to me and ask me
00:43:55.05\00:43:56.21
well is this faith
evil or good or is this not?
00:43:56.24\00:43:58.46
By the time this
seminar series is over,
00:43:58.49\00:44:00.52
you will have the
tools in your own hand
00:44:00.55\00:44:02.42
to be able to
discriminate it, no.
00:44:02.45\00:44:05.36
But this Voice of Prophecy
warns us that the time has come
00:44:05.39\00:44:08.76
when we can't go
to our television
00:44:08.79\00:44:10.22
and trust our senses anymore.
00:44:10.25\00:44:12.46
When we can't trust what do
we see out there in the world?
00:44:12.49\00:44:16.07
At time when counterfeit
miracles in the church
00:44:16.10\00:44:19.69
where we are close, so
closely resemble the genuine
00:44:19.72\00:44:22.41
that it's extremely difficult
to distinguish between them
00:44:22.44\00:44:25.17
except by God's prophetic word.
00:44:25.20\00:44:29.83
But the good news tonight is
00:44:29.86\00:44:32.12
that our planet
hijacked by Satan
00:44:32.15\00:44:35.36
is soon to be rescued
from spiritual terrorism.
00:44:35.39\00:44:39.37
Prophecy gives us inside
info that Jesus is going to win.
00:44:39.40\00:44:43.42
He's in control.
00:44:43.45\00:44:44.80
No need to fear,
no need to be nervous,
00:44:44.83\00:44:47.63
no need to be anxious passengers
00:44:47.66\00:44:49.33
on a planet gone wrong.
00:44:49.36\00:44:50.75
God has a plan to destroy
old split foot, the devil.
00:44:50.78\00:44:53.73
And we'll uncover more precisely
00:44:53.76\00:44:55.21
what that plan is
in future meetings.
00:44:55.24\00:44:57.15
It's shocking,
some of the things
00:44:57.18\00:44:58.96
that Satan has spawned
off in our Christian world
00:44:58.99\00:45:00.95
but let's take a
quick sneak peek to see
00:45:00.98\00:45:03.60
what the Bible predicts God
will one day say about Satan.
00:45:03.63\00:45:06.64
In Ezekiel 28:16-18,
00:45:06.67\00:45:11.50
"I destroyed you,
O covering cherub.
00:45:11.53\00:45:14.80
Therefore I brought
fire from your midst;
00:45:14.83\00:45:16.91
it devoured you, and turned
you to ashes upon the earth."
00:45:16.94\00:45:20.97
Gone forever, no more
sin, no more suffering, friend,
00:45:21.00\00:45:24.90
that's why Jesus
is coming again soon.
00:45:24.93\00:45:27.24
Only this time he's not
coming as the lonely Galileo.
00:45:27.27\00:45:30.63
Not as one ridiculed
or spat upon and denied.
00:45:30.66\00:45:33.37
Not as one hanging on a cross,
kicked around by the devil,
00:45:33.40\00:45:36.39
but He will
come as King of Kings
00:45:36.42\00:45:37.88
and Lord of Lords
with the right to reign
00:45:37.91\00:45:40.07
and the right to
finally put an end to suffering.
00:45:40.10\00:45:42.45
Can you say amen? Amen.
00:45:42.48\00:45:43.88
And we must be
ready to meet Him,
00:45:43.91\00:45:45.41
for if we miss that,
friend, we miss everything.
00:45:45.44\00:45:49.51
The issue today is,
who will we believe?
00:45:49.54\00:45:52.12
Who will we follow? A
loving God or a fallen angel?
00:45:52.15\00:45:56.10
The lines have been
drawn, tonight the whole world
00:45:56.13\00:45:59.18
is being divided into two sides.
00:45:59.21\00:46:01.34
Where is your loyalty?
00:46:01.37\00:46:02.98
Whose side do
you choose to be on?
00:46:03.01\00:46:05.67
Because its
decision time, friend,
00:46:05.70\00:46:08.25
and not to decide is to decide.
00:46:08.28\00:46:12.65
Tonight Jesus
extends a personal invitation
00:46:12.68\00:46:14.91
to every restless, lonely heart,
00:46:14.94\00:46:17.24
to every aching, guilty soul,
00:46:17.27\00:46:19.23
to all His children on this
planet in rebellion banged up,
00:46:19.26\00:46:22.52
bleeding, burned out,
bruised, battered, and broken.
00:46:22.55\00:46:25.78
Jesus gives the
loving invitation.
00:46:25.81\00:46:27.47
Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me,
all of you who are struggling
00:46:27.50\00:46:31.83
and labor and are
weary and heavy laden,
00:46:31.86\00:46:33.62
and I will give you rest."
00:46:33.65\00:46:36.64
The one who comes to Me I
will in no means cast out."
00:46:36.67\00:46:41.22
Isn't that wonderful news?
00:46:41.25\00:46:42.66
Amen. Anyone can come.
00:46:42.69\00:46:45.77
You may wonder about tragedies
that have struck your life.
00:46:45.80\00:46:48.37
Where's God today?
00:46:48.40\00:46:49.43
In the midst of life's
sorrows, in heartbreak,
00:46:49.46\00:46:51.42
in cancer and disappointment,
where is God today, friend?
00:46:51.45\00:46:54.76
Jesus is there, He understands.
00:46:54.79\00:46:57.10
He cares about my melanoma.
00:46:57.13\00:46:59.40
He cares about the
100 GIs who died in Iraq.
00:46:59.43\00:47:02.24
He knows pain, He's
experienced loneliness.
00:47:02.27\00:47:04.92
God lost His only
Son in battle, too.
00:47:04.95\00:47:07.27
But one of these days,
Jesus promises to come back.
00:47:07.30\00:47:11.02
Settle the account, put
an end to life's sufferings.
00:47:11.05\00:47:13.49
Satan will finally and fully
and completely be defeated.
00:47:13.52\00:47:16.76
Tonight Jesus
reaches out with good news.
00:47:16.79\00:47:19.15
And He says, "Friend,
00:47:19.18\00:47:20.32
I long to restore
you to the family of God.
00:47:20.35\00:47:22.86
To give you eternal
life on a planet made new."
00:47:22.89\00:47:26.47
But the decision is up to you,
00:47:26.50\00:47:29.46
who will be
your Lord and Master?
00:47:29.49\00:47:31.50
It's a matter of choice.
Eternal life, eternal death.
00:47:31.53\00:47:36.95
Tonight let's choose
Jesus as Joey and Benith sing.
00:47:36.98\00:47:44.05
Choose ye this
day whom ye will serve
00:47:44.08\00:47:50.61
And let it be the Lord
00:47:50.64\00:47:58.37
Choose ye this
day whom ye will love
00:47:58.40\00:48:04.68
And make it rise all us above
00:48:04.71\00:48:12.68
God loves ye
sinner He chose ye of all
00:48:12.71\00:48:20.68
His great love
story on Calvary was told
00:48:20.71\00:48:28.68
So choose ye this day
00:48:28.71\00:48:33.07
Whom ye will serve
00:48:33.10\00:48:37.46
And let it be the Lord
00:48:37.49\00:48:44.46
Right now I'm gonna
invite the row captains
00:48:47.67\00:48:49.63
to pass those containers
to the end of the rows,
00:48:49.66\00:48:52.06
please take a response card.
00:48:52.09\00:48:55.20
And I want you to just
fill in something tonight
00:48:55.23\00:48:57.12
as you've
listened to this message.
00:48:57.15\00:49:00.31
Take a pen or pencil there
and notice these four options
00:49:00.34\00:49:04.63
and please fill in your
name and address right now.
00:49:04.66\00:49:09.62
Pass that right along
to the others in your row
00:49:09.65\00:49:11.80
and wherever you're
on the downlink sites
00:49:11.83\00:49:13.61
if you make sure that
everyone has one right now.
00:49:13.64\00:49:15.92
The first one is, and I
hope everyone will fill this in,
00:49:15.95\00:49:18.54
you know, I want to
accept God's plan for my life
00:49:18.57\00:49:21.00
and look better
forward to a better tomorrow.
00:49:21.03\00:49:23.21
You check number one.
Check number one right now.
00:49:23.24\00:49:27.25
And then number 2, maybe you'd
like to check this and say,
00:49:27.28\00:49:29.93
I want to accept Christ
and His plan of salvation.
00:49:29.96\00:49:33.61
I want to accept
Christ, His plan of salvation.
00:49:33.64\00:49:37.13
Number three, I want
to study my Bible daily
00:49:37.16\00:49:40.79
and will pray for the guidance
of the Holy Spirit in my life.
00:49:40.82\00:49:44.03
Maybe you want to go over
to the Discover Bible tables
00:49:44.06\00:49:45.91
and pickup the lessons
that match tonight's topic.
00:49:45.94\00:49:49.26
And number four, I hope
you put down a prayer request
00:49:49.29\00:49:51.55
'cause our staff
will pray for you
00:49:51.58\00:49:53.38
tomorrow morning at 10:30.
00:49:53.41\00:49:56.09
Prayerfully,
consider your responses,
00:49:56.12\00:49:57.98
pass these down
to the end of isle.
00:49:58.01\00:49:59.79
Let's pray
together, Heavenly Father,
00:49:59.82\00:50:01.41
I want to thank you tonight
for the wonderful plan that
00:50:01.44\00:50:03.64
You have to personally save us
from sin and self destruction.
00:50:03.67\00:50:07.82
Tonight we've
seen the larger picture
00:50:07.85\00:50:09.49
and we realize that
we're part of the problem
00:50:09.52\00:50:11.59
but we thank you
for providing a solution
00:50:11.62\00:50:13.74
through your free
gift of salvation.
00:50:13.77\00:50:17.28
As we close our prayer tonight,
00:50:17.31\00:50:18.65
how many would like to
just raise their hands to heaven
00:50:18.68\00:50:20.70
and say, Lord,
remember me in this prayer
00:50:20.73\00:50:22.31
and I want
thank Jesus for coming
00:50:22.34\00:50:24.09
and promising me
a better tomorrow.
00:50:24.12\00:50:26.37
Help me to accept
Your plan for my life,
00:50:26.40\00:50:28.72
prepare for a better
future in Jesus' name, amen.
00:50:28.75\00:50:35.77
Thank you for
being with us tonight.
00:50:35.80\00:50:37.30
Remember tomorrow night,
one life changed the world.
00:50:37.33\00:50:42.54
Amen. Good night, everyone.
00:50:42.57\00:50:44.57
Thanks for
coming, God bless you.
00:50:44.60\00:50:46.22