Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: GMTB
Program Code: GMTB000003
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00:18 Welcome to Give Me The Bible.
00:20 This is an in-depth series with 00:22 Pastor Kenneth Cox. 00:24 And we are in our third meeting 00:27 with this, and it is such a tremendous time of studying 00:32 God's Word. We are just all excited about it. 00:35 Somebody mentioned that this was... this first weekend 00:39 is sort of Salvation 101 00:42 where we look at the basics of salvation. 00:44 Our subject today is going to be confession. 00:48 And that's a subject that perhaps all of us need 00:53 to review if we haven't heard it before. 00:57 Pastor Cox has preached all over the world. 01:00 It was his dream as a young pastor 01:03 to fulfill the gospel commission which says: 01:07 "Go ye into all the world. " 01:09 And now through the miracle of television 01:12 he's actually able at one time... 01:16 Right now people are able to see this entire program 01:21 on every continent of the world. 01:25 And we believe that millions are actually watching 01:29 and getting to know Jesus Christ. 01:32 We're so happy that you are here. 01:34 We're so happy that those of you that are joining us 01:36 by television are joining us. And right now, 01:40 we're going to be blessed 01:42 as Dona Klein and Jim Rhodes 01:46 play an organ and piano duet 01:50 entitled "His Hand in Mine. " 04:00 Thank you. Thank you very much. 04:02 Dona Klein and Jimmy Rhodes we appreciate that! 04:06 "His Hand in Mine. " You enjoy that? 04:08 Amen. That's a great, great song. Enjoyed that. 04:12 Well, we are very happy to 04:13 welcome all of you again 04:15 to this presentation of 04:17 Give Me The Bible 04:18 in which we are talking about confession. 04:21 What does the Bible have to say about it? 04:23 What says the Bible? 04:26 The blessed Bible? 04:27 This my only question be. 04:31 The teachings of men so often mislead us, 04:35 what says the Bible to me? 04:38 That's what we want to find out is what does God's Word say 04:41 about confession. 04:43 How does it fit in to the plan of salvation? 04:46 If you pick up the Word of God, start going through it, 04:50 it talks about confession all the way through it. 04:53 So it is very, very much part of the Christian life... 04:57 is confession. And that's what we're looking at here. 05:01 As we study this subject, we hope it will help you 05:04 in a special way. Our next presentation we are going to be 05:07 looking at is entitled: 05:11 Faith and acceptance. We are looking at salvation. 05:14 What do I need to do? 05:17 How does salvation come about? 05:19 What's involved in it? 05:20 So our next subject is faith and acceptance. 05:24 How does that fit in to the question of salvation? 05:28 That'll be the next one, and we hope that you will 05:31 be here as we continue to study and take a look 05:34 at God's Word. 05:36 But this morning we're taking a look at confession. 05:40 What is confession? 05:43 What's the difference between repentance and confession? 05:48 What... what is involved in confessing? 05:53 What should I confess? What shouldn't I confess? 05:56 What does the scripture tell us about it? 05:59 These are things that you need to watch for. 06:01 As we look at the subject of confession, 06:05 we hope that we'll help you understand what takes place 06:10 in our lives. Why God refers to it so many, many times 06:15 in His Word. Over the years, I've had the privilege 06:18 of knowing Pam and Jimmy Rhodes. 06:22 I've been blessed in a special way by their music... 06:25 what they've offered. One of the songs that Pam does 06:29 always touches my heart in a special way. 06:32 It's a song entitled: "It's Just Me, Lord, " 06:36 and I think you'll be blessed in a special way this morning. 06:55 It's only me, Lord. 07:02 It's only me. 07:07 Seems like I call You every day 07:13 and You always know what I will say. 07:21 But You take the time to help me see 07:24 the kind of person I should be. 07:27 You always listen. 07:34 Here I stand so small and frail. 07:40 So afraid I might fail. 07:46 But You fill my heart with happiness, 07:49 You care for me with tenderness. 07:52 It's only me, Lord. 07:57 It's only me. 08:04 Lord I love You, 08:07 take my heart. 08:11 Help me live right from the start. 08:16 Thanks for bearing all my pain 08:22 and making bright my day again. 08:28 It's only me, Lord. 08:33 It's only me. 08:39 It's only me, Lord. 08:45 It's only me. 08:58 God bless you. 09:16 Our Heavenly Father, 09:18 we come to You today first Lord to thank you... 09:24 Thank you for being so wonderful, 09:31 so loving, so kind. 09:35 And Lord thank you also 09:37 You are willing to change us... 09:42 to make us into what You want us to be. 09:47 Lord help us. Help us that we will be submissive. 09:52 That we will surrender everything into Your hands. 09:58 Let You do Your work in our lives. 10:01 Give us the Holy Spirit. May it fill our lives. 10:06 Give us understanding of Your Word 10:09 that we might become more like You. 10:13 We pray in Christ's name, Amen. 10:22 What's the difference between repentance and confession? 10:28 Our last presentation we talked 10:31 about repentance. 10:32 What's the need of confession if I am repentant? 10:38 Well, there's a text in the book of Isaiah that I think 10:40 helps us understand that and helps put it together 10:45 a little better. It says here in Isaiah the first chapter 10:49 and it tells us: 11:12 None of that has taken place. 11:14 You see repentance is my understanding my condition... 11:20 understanding the condition I'm in and a desire not to 11:24 stay in that condition. 11:26 That's repentance. 11:28 I understand my condition. 11:30 "From the top of my head to the sole of my foot 11:33 there's no soundness in me. 11:35 But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores: " 11:39 That's my condition. 11:41 I don't want to stay in that condition. 11:43 That's repentance. 11:45 Confession, folks, is lancing the boil. 11:53 OK? That's confession. 11:55 Confession is lancing the boil. 11:58 Letting out, if you please, all the infection, all the sins, 12:04 all that has to come out in order for healing to take place. 12:09 And that's what confession does. 12:12 That's why it talks about it here as being covered 12:15 with sores or boils, if you please. 12:17 And I lance the boil and that lets all the... sorry... 12:23 the pus and all that kind of stuff come out 12:25 so that the healing can take place. 12:28 I have to be very, very straight with the Lord. 12:33 I have to confess ALL my sins. 12:38 I can't hide and not confess them. 12:41 I've got to come open with the Lord 12:43 and honest with Him and confess all my sins to Him. 12:49 It says: 12:56 An individual that covers his sins will not prosper. 13:04 That is necessary. So I need to come to the Lord 13:08 just as I am, confess all my sins, 13:12 lay them all there before the Lord, 13:14 and ask for forgiveness. 13:17 Now, I think it's necessary that we clarify something 13:22 because sometimes people don't understand. 13:26 Temptation, folks, is not sin. 13:33 Temptation is not sin. 13:36 Some people feel that if they have just been tempted 13:39 they've sinned. That's not the case. 13:41 In fact, the scripture has this to say: 13:49 OK, that's temptation. 13:52 When the desire is there, if I go ahead with that desire 13:56 and it conceives, all right? 13:59 Then when desire has conceived it gives birth to? Sin. 14:05 It's what I do with it, see? 14:08 The devil's going to tempt you. 14:10 The devil's going to put things in your way. 14:13 The devil's going to say things and put things there before you 14:17 that will tempt you. 14:18 It's what you do with that temptation, that desire. 14:22 If it gives birth, and that brings about sin... 14:27 no question about it... 14:28 and when sin is full grown it brings forth? Death. 14:33 So I need to be clear when I'm confessing, 14:36 I need to understand I'm confessing my sins 14:41 before the Lord. 14:42 That's necessary. 14:44 What? What should I confess? 14:47 What am I to confess? 14:49 What am I to talk to the Lord about? 14:51 Well, let's take a look at sin. 14:55 Let's go clear back to the beginning 14:58 with Adam and Eve when sin first came in 15:02 and take a look. Because there's four steps... 15:05 there's four steps to sin. 15:08 And that always happens, always takes place: 15:11 those four steps. 15:12 The first step in sin is unthankfulness. 15:16 Now you think about it. 15:19 You cannot sin without being unthankful. 15:25 The first step to sin. 15:27 The second step in sin is to appropriate your own merits. 15:32 In other words, just say: "I can do this. 15:35 I'm capable. 15:37 I'm able to handle this. " 15:38 You have to appropriate your own merits. 15:41 That's the second step. 15:43 And the third step is you turn against your fellow man. 15:49 That's the third step of sin, 15:51 and the fourth step is you turn against God. 15:54 Those are the four steps that always take place in sin. 15:59 So let's take a look. See what happened. 16:01 Let's take a look at Eve. 16:03 See what the scripture tells us about it. It says here: 16:11 Now God had told her "Yeah, you're going to die 16:14 if you do this. " But he said: "No... " 16:36 The very first thing he said: "Listen, 16:39 you're not going to die. 16:41 In fact, if you eat of it 16:44 you'll be like God. " 16:46 And Eve became unthankful. 16:51 Became unthankful for the situation she was in. 16:55 What's God trying to keep from me? 16:59 That's a natural step, folks, in sin. 17:02 In fact, there is a text over here in Ephesians, 17:06 Ephesians the fifth chapter and verse 20, 17:10 that says this. 17:13 Ephesians the fifth chapter verse 20, and it says 17:19 that you and I... get the right one here... 17:24 It says: "Giving thanks, " this is Ephesians 5:20, 17:28 "Giving thanks always for all things to God 17:33 the Father in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. " 17:37 It says giving thanks how often? 17:40 Always. Why should I always give thanks? 17:44 Well, because if you don't you're going to become 17:48 unthankful. 17:50 And if you become unthankful, you're going to sin. 17:54 It's going to happen. 17:56 So I must always give thanks. 17:59 In all... it says: "In all things give thanks. " 18:02 So that's what I need to do. 18:04 So Eve was unthankful. 18:06 Watch as she continues: 18:19 She saw the tree. 18:22 It was there; the fruit looked good. 18:24 The devil had told her that she would become like God 18:28 knowing good and evil. 18:30 And she said: "I'm able. 18:33 Nothing... nothing can keep me from doing this. 18:39 I am able to eat of the fruit. " 18:41 And so she reached up, took the fruit, and ate of it. 18:46 She appropriated her own merits 18:49 said "I can do this. " 18:52 Have you ever said 18:56 "Oh, I can do that better than that person? " 19:01 Have you ever done that? 19:02 Be careful... 'cause you're right at the point 19:08 of sinning 19:09 when you appropriate your own merits and say: 19:12 "Oh, I can do that better than they can. " 19:16 I have to be extremely careful because that brings about sin. 19:21 And when I appropriate my own merits 19:24 and say "I am able to do this, 19:26 I can take care of this, " 19:29 well then the next thing happens 19:31 is you turn against your fellow man. 19:34 "I can do it better than you. " 19:37 I have turned against my fellow man. 19:40 And look... look what happened. Eve said: 19:42 "I can do this. " 19:44 Reached up and took the fruit 19:46 and ate of it, and what did she do? 19:54 She turned against her husband. 19:56 She knew what God had said. 19:58 She knew the Lord told them "If you eat of this, 20:00 you're going to surely die. " 20:01 And she went there and gave it to him regardless 20:05 of what God had said. 20:07 Turned on her husband. That's the way it happens. 20:11 You and I, if we take those steps, 20:14 will turn against our fellow man. 20:16 And then when you do that, 20:18 the next step in sin is simply that you turn against God. 20:23 Because when God came down to talk to her, 20:27 she turned against her fellow man. 20:29 And then it said: "God came down in the cool of the evening" 20:32 and was talking to them: 20:42 She turned on God and she said: 20:44 "Listen... this serpent that You made... 20:47 tempted me. " 20:49 Turned against the Lord. 20:51 Those are the steps in sin. 20:54 And I need to be very, very clear what happens. 21:00 I need to guard myself and make sure that I am not 21:04 in a situation where I am doing those things. 21:08 OK. What am I to confess? 21:14 Well in James it tells us kind of what we are to confess. 21:17 It says here in James 5... It says: 21:32 I am to confess my faults. 21:38 I wished, I wished we were in a position, folks, 21:43 and oh how wonderful it would be within the church, 21:48 we could go to a brother or a sister 21:52 and say: "Listen, I'm having a rough time. 21:56 The devil is really tempting me. I need you to pray with me. " 22:03 You know, we need to be able to go to one another and 22:06 talk to one another about our faults. 22:08 About our weaknesses. 22:10 Please notice, I did not say sins. 22:14 OK? I need to talk about my faults. 22:18 My weaknesses. Things where I need you to pray 22:24 and to help me 22:25 and hold me up before the Lord. 22:28 That I need. 22:29 And you need that. 22:30 And we need to be able to confess our faults 22:33 and our weaknesses to one another that we can grow by. 22:38 Those are things that we need to do. 22:40 Oh, yes, there are sins 22:45 that I need to confess. 22:47 If I have offended a brother or a sister, 22:52 I need to go to them and confess it 22:55 and say: "I'm sorry. " 22:59 Folks, it doesn't always even need to be 23:05 the person that did it. 23:06 There are times when the person who was offended ought to do it. 23:13 That's strange, isn't it? 23:15 But that's true. 23:17 It will not hurt you. 23:19 It won't set you back; it won't do you permanent damage 23:24 for you to go to somebody and say: "Listen, I'm so sorry. " 23:27 But we need to go to that person and say: 23:31 "Listen, I did this, and I'm sorry that I did it. 23:36 Forgive me. " 23:37 Oh, dear friend, that... 23:39 I'm sorry this is in the vernacular, but... 23:42 that lances the boil. 23:43 That gets out the sin; that gets out the infection; 23:47 that does marvelous things. Healing can take place. 23:51 And in many, many congregations across this world 23:56 it would bring about a tremendous revival 24:00 if people would just learn to say "I'm sorry. 24:03 I'm sorry that I did this. Forgive me. " 24:06 Open it up; confess it. 24:08 And then there are: 24:14 Sins that I've done openly in front of people. 24:19 People that are in the public eye time after time 24:25 are faced with this type of thing. 24:27 They do something in public, 24:29 they need to confess it in public. 24:32 They need to say: "I did that; it was wrong. I'm sorry. " 24:36 So there are times, yes, when I need to make a public 24:39 confession and say: "I did this. I'm sorry that I did it. " 24:44 And let me tell you something. 24:48 Don't get too worried or too concerned 24:53 about if somebody 24:57 maligns your reputation. 25:01 Says something to you... something about you, you know... 25:03 your reputation. 25:05 Dear friend, don't get too concerned about that. 25:08 Just... the Lord will handle that. 25:11 Time will answer that. 25:14 You know, you don't have to stand up and defend yourself 25:18 and fight for that. It's not necessary. 25:21 Much better that if I have done something... 25:25 done something publicly, yes, I need to go 25:29 and ask for forgiveness. 25:31 And then there are sins of a private nature. 25:35 Sins that are known only between me and God. 25:42 Oh, dear friend, keep them there. 25:47 Don't go confessing them to somebody else. 25:52 I'm sorry. I may get in trouble here this morning. 25:55 But don't go and confess them to your wife. 26:00 Or don't go confess them to your husband. 26:05 Talk to the Lord about them, 26:07 and confess them to Him and leave them there. 26:13 Let them die right there. 26:15 Come to an end right there. 26:18 You don't need to be bringing that kind of thing up 26:21 to somebody that doesn't even know that it's going on. 26:24 Just leave it. 26:26 Let it die right there. 26:28 Those are things that I need to confess. 26:31 Fortunately, you and I have a Savior, 26:36 we have a Mediator, 26:39 we have One who is our elder brother 26:43 that we can go to and talk to 26:46 about those sins and receive forgiveness. 26:50 Because it says this: 27:05 You see, that is the cleansing process. 27:08 That's the boil being lanced. 27:11 That's all the sin coming out. 27:13 Cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 27:16 And I have said something in the last couple of meetings 27:19 about this but I want to say it again: 27:22 You have committed no sin 27:25 that can't be forgiven. 27:28 Please. I run onto people who 27:30 say: "Oh, Brother Cox, 27:31 I've committed 27:32 the unpardonable sin. " 27:34 Let me tell you something: 27:36 If you are under conviction that you've committed the 27:39 unpardonable sin, then you haven't... 27:42 because there would be no conviction there. 27:45 It just isn't the way that it happens. 27:48 Dear friend, it says this: 27:58 It did not say some sins. 28:01 It says it cleanses us from ALL sin. 28:05 The only unforgivable sin is one that hasn't been 28:09 confessed. 28:13 If you confess it, God will forgive it. 28:17 There are just not any there that are so dark that He 28:19 can't forgive. 28:21 The Bible's full of about every example there is of sin. 28:25 And therefore God forgave them, and He will forgive yours 28:30 if you and I will just come to Him and ask to be forgiven. 28:34 In fact, the Lord says this about it: 28:36 It says: 28:42 if the people will confess their iniquity 28:50 in other words, coming to the Lord and saying: 28:52 "This is what I've done. 28:53 I've been unfaithful; I haven't done what I should. " 29:03 If they get before the Lord and they will confess it 29:06 and they will tell the Lord this, 29:08 then it says: 29:20 Here's where the problem is: 29:21 too many people aren't willing to accept the guilt. 29:26 You see, this is what made David so special 29:32 is that he accepted the guilt. 29:35 He said: "I'm the one that did this. 29:38 Lord, nobody else... just me. 29:41 I did it. " 29:43 He accepted the guilt. 29:49 So He promises that if we will come to Him, 29:53 confess our sins, 29:55 that He will forgive us of our sins. 29:59 That He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 30:04 I want to show you the difference between two men. 30:07 King Saul... 30:12 a tremendous man. 30:15 I mean, when you take a look at Saul 30:18 there's no question this man was outstanding. 30:22 But he could not accept the guilt. 30:27 He just couldn't do it. 30:29 You find three times here, speaking to Samuel, 30:32 he talked to him here. It says: 30:40 "I have sinned. " He had! 30:42 You remember he came back from fighting the Amalekites 30:48 and they all came back and the Lord had told them 30:51 "Don't bring anything back. " 30:53 And here they come with the sheep and the goats 30:56 and all, you know. And Samuel faced him with it 31:01 and said: "Why have you done this 31:03 when the Lord said not to? " He said: 31:04 "Oh, we're bringing it as an offering. " 31:07 Always making an excuse for what he had done. 31:13 I run onto people that are always doing that. 31:16 They do something they know is wrong. 31:19 They know they shouldn't have done it, and if you say 31:21 something to them, they'll make an excuse. 31:23 They'll say: "Oh well, so and so did this or this. " 31:28 They always making excuse for it. 31:30 That isn't what needs to be done, folks. 31:33 We need to learn to accept the guilt. 31:40 Wasn't until... you remember, there he was before Samuel 31:44 and Samuel said: "Why have you done this? " 31:49 And he gave an excuse, and you remember 31:52 when Samuel turned to say "the kingdom's been taken from you. " 31:57 He reached out and grabbed hold of Samuel 32:00 and tore his clothes. 32:02 Just unwilling to say: "Sorry, Lord. 32:07 I did this. " 32:12 Just wouldn't accept it. 32:13 You find the very same scenario 32:16 as far as saying "I have sinned" with David, 32:21 because this is what David said: 32:27 These men weren't without sin, folks. 32:31 They were human beings just like you and I. 32:34 But they sinned, and here David said: 32:38 "I've sinned before the Lord. " 32:52 BUT, David did not excuse himself. 32:57 He did not do that. 33:00 He said: "This is what I have done, " 33:04 and he confessed his sins. 33:22 He came to the Lord and he said: 33:23 "This I have done. I am guilty. " 33:26 In fact, when he had done this sin 33:30 and God said: "OK, you've got three choices. 33:35 What do you want to happen? " 33:37 And two of those choices, you know, 33:40 included the children of Israel. 33:42 And he said: "No, Lord, let it fall on me. 33:46 Let it fall on me. They're not the ones. 33:50 I'm the one. Let it fall on me. " 33:53 He was a man after God's own heart. 33:58 Humbled himself before the Lord. 34:01 Makes a great, great difference. 34:04 Let me tell you something. 34:09 If your confession is forced, 34:13 it won't do any good. 34:16 If you're going to wait until 34:18 you're forced to confess, 34:19 it won't do any... you've got 34:21 an example of that in the life 34:23 of Achan. 34:25 The children of Israel had been told that when they 34:30 were going to overthrow Jericho 34:33 that they were NOT to take any of the gold, 34:37 any of the silver, any of the garments. 34:39 They were not to take any of that. 34:42 And as they overthrow the city, 34:44 Achan took some of the gold... 34:49 a garment or two. 34:51 Took it and hid it in the floor of his tent. 34:54 Dug a hole, put it in there. 34:57 Covered it up, put a rug over it. 34:58 Went on. And then you remember the incident when they 35:03 needed the Lord's care and they needed the Lord's protection; 35:08 they needed the Lord's help in fighting Ai. 35:11 It wasn't there. 35:15 And when they sought the Lord and asked what the problem was, 35:18 He told them there was sin in the camp. 35:21 Now folks, watch what happens here 35:27 because they call everybody together 35:31 and here Joshua takes them through 35:34 tribe by tribe. 35:38 They called the tribe of Judah. They cast lots. 35:42 Everybody in the tribe of, excuse me, of Benjamin... 35:45 of Reuben was fine. 35:49 They went tribe after tribe. 35:51 What I'm trying to tell you is all this time 35:54 Achan had the opportunity just to step up and say 35:58 "I'm the one. " 35:59 I mean, this isn't a matter of God arbitrarily saying 36:05 "You've had it. " God has given him lots of time 36:08 to confess. He could have said: 36:11 "Lord, I did this. I'm sorry that I did it. " 36:14 But he didn't. 36:17 And they through tribe after tribe, family by family, 36:22 until finally they got to the tribe of Judah. 36:25 And when they got to the tribe of Judah, it says: 36:29 This is what happened; this is what took place. 36:36 I mean we're talking about a long process. 37:02 That is a forced confession. 37:05 Forced. He said: "This is what I have done. " 37:08 Didn't do him any good. 37:10 Cost him his life. 37:11 You and I must come from a willing heart... 37:16 come to the Lord and confess our sins out of a willing heart. 37:22 Well, it tells us that if we confess 37:28 God will forgive us. 37:41 Oh how important it is 37:44 that you and I stay humble. 37:50 Dear friend, there's no place for haughtiness. 37:57 There's no place for better than you. 38:03 We must face every individual and treat them 38:09 better than we are. 38:10 That's what we need to do. 38:12 And God says: "If you will do that, 38:15 I will honor you. I'll be with you. " 38:19 "He who is of a humble and contrite heart. " 38:22 This is what God is looking for. 38:25 This is what He's after. 38:28 As I said in the last presentation, 38:32 probably Paul had a better glimpse 38:38 of what was involved here than about anybody else. 38:41 You see, Paul was of a cleric nature. 38:46 And probably there are no people 38:50 as hard to save as the cleric. 38:56 And I'm talking out of experience, see. 39:01 Because that's their nature to... 39:05 you know, if you want... If you want something done, 39:08 you give it to somebody of a cleric nature. 39:11 They'll get it done, 39:13 and I mean, they'll get the job done. 39:14 Of course, they'll kill 15 people in doing it, 39:17 but they'll get the job done. 39:18 See? That's the cleric. 39:21 And Paul was cleric. 39:23 I mean he talks about it here; 39:25 just listen to what he says: 39:42 I mean, no question about it. 39:44 He is rough. 39:59 This is what he did. 40:03 Paul did not hide his sins, folks. 40:09 He did not hide his sins; he confessed them. 40:17 You and I must not let pride come between us and the Lord. 40:24 I must be willing to humbly 40:28 confess my sins to God. 40:32 And He in turn says: "I'll forgive you, change you. " 40:37 One of the most wonderful stories 40:40 in the Bible as far as I'm concerned 40:43 is the Prodigal Son. 40:44 Marvelous story. 40:48 Son, younger son, had gone to his father and said: 40:53 "I don't like it here anymore. 40:56 I want to go; I want to make it on my own. 40:59 I want to go out, make it on my own. 41:02 I'd like to have my inheritance. 41:05 Give me my inheritance and let me go. " 41:07 And he took his inheritance and went off to a foreign city. 41:12 And the foolishness of youth took hold, 41:18 because he blew all the inheritance. 41:21 Didn't take him long to do that, you know. 41:24 Spent it all 41:26 and all of a sudden found himself without friends, 41:32 without money, 41:35 without food, 41:37 and for the first time found himself in a position 41:41 where he had to work. 41:47 The work that he could get 41:50 certainly wasn't anything to his liking 41:54 because he received a job to feed the pigs. 41:58 Now folks, you don't have any idea how offensive that is 42:05 to a Jew. 42:07 I mean, I can remember talking to a Jewish lady once, 42:13 and we were talking about this. 42:14 And I asked her about eating pork. 42:18 How she felt about eating pork, and she said: 42:19 "I'd rather eat human. " 42:22 That gives you a little... a little idea of how offensive 42:26 it is. And here he is out here feeding... feeding the pigs! 42:30 Hungry... nothing to eat. 42:34 And I mean to the place that he decided he'd eat 42:37 what the pigs were eating. 42:40 And finally in that state, it says, that he came to himself. 42:43 I want you to listen to the story 42:46 because this is what it says: 42:58 He said: "All the servants in my father's household eat well, 43:04 and here I am out here dying from hunger! " 43:19 Said: "I'm going to go back to my father. " 43:23 Wisest decision he ever made! 43:27 If you are away from the Father, 43:34 dear friend, won't you arise today and go to the Father? 43:39 He said: "I'll arise. I'll go to my father 43:43 and I'll say I've sinned against you. " 43:46 So, you and I have sinned against Him. 43:53 Come to Him. 43:54 Say: "I've sinned against you, Lord. " 44:06 Said: "I've sinned against you. 44:09 I'm just... I'm just not worthy to be called your son any more. 44:13 Just make me one of your hired servants 44:17 because they have food to eat. They have a place to sleep. 44:22 They have all this. Just let me be one of your hired servants. " 44:28 And so the Prodigal Son gets out of the pig pen. 44:33 Heads back to his father. 44:36 Heads back to his father. 44:39 It says his father sees him coming a long way off. 44:46 Let me tell you something. 44:49 God's been watching you for a long, long time. 44:55 And you may be a long way off, 44:59 but let me tell you something: He's watching your every move. 45:05 Watching your every move, and He just says "Come. " 45:07 "Come to Me. " 45:10 And it says that his father rose and went to meet his son. 45:26 He said: "Father, I have sinned before you. 45:28 I'm not worthy to be called your son. " 45:31 What was he supposed to say next? 45:33 Do you know? 45:37 Oh, he had rehearsed that. He had it all lined up. 45:40 He was going to say: "Make me one of your servants. " 45:44 That was the next words that were to come out. 45:46 Never got to say them. 45:50 And the father... father interrupted him right there. 45:55 Said: "I'm not worthy to be called your son anymore. " 45:57 The father interrupted him and said: 45:59 "THIS IS MY SON! " 46:16 Said... never was able to even say that to him. 46:32 Oh, dear friend, how wonderful 46:37 that God stands there with open arms inviting you 46:42 and inviting me to come. 46:45 Don't come haughty. 46:49 Don't come self-righteous. 46:54 Just come to Him humbly, 46:58 pleading His mercy. 47:02 And He will forgive you and cleanse you of your sins. 47:28 He will make you a child of God. 47:33 That He will do. 47:34 One of the great preachers of the past, 47:40 Charles Spurgeon, told this parable... 47:44 no, excuse me... told this fable. 47:47 This is a fable, folks. It's not true. 47:51 OK? It's a fable. 47:53 It's an old, old fable about Jesus Christ. 47:57 OK? And in the fable it says 48:01 that Christ was going through 48:05 a region outside of Jerusalem. 48:10 And as He traveled, he decided he would spend the night 48:14 in a hermit's cave outside a city there. 48:21 An old monk lived in the cave. 48:27 In the city beside this cave 48:30 was a young man that was absolutely so vile, 48:34 so horrible, that the people in the city said the devil 48:40 wouldn't associate with him 48:41 because the devil didn't want to become worse. 48:45 But this young man heard that Christ would forgive sins. 48:51 And so he went to Christ in the cave 48:54 and he said: "Would You please, 48:59 out of Your mercy and Your love, 49:02 I don't deserve it, 49:04 but would You forgive me of my sins 49:08 and give me a new heart? 49:10 Make me a new person? " 49:12 And the old hermit, the old monk that was 49:17 in the cave, turned to the young man and said: 49:19 "Get out of here. You don't belong in this holy place. " 49:22 And then he turned to Christ and he said: 49:25 "In the next world, will You give me a place as far away 49:29 from this wretch as possible? " 49:33 And Jesus turned to him and He said: 49:38 "Yes, I will honor your prayer. " 49:40 He said: "Because you are self-righteous, 49:44 I'll give you a place in hell. 49:47 And because this man is penitent and seeking My mercy, 49:53 I will give him a place in heaven. " 49:55 So Christ does for you and for me. 50:00 That we just come to Him simply... 50:05 simply with our sins just as we are. 50:09 Seeking Him. 50:11 Asking Him to come into our hearts that He will be with us. 50:16 Listen as Pam sings. 50:22 Out of my bondage, 50:26 sorrow and night, 50:30 Jesus, I come, 50:35 Jesus, I come; 50:40 Into Thy freedom, 50:46 gladness and light, 50:50 Jesus, 50:53 I come 50:56 to Thee. 51:03 Today, do you have something that's standing between 51:09 you and the Lord? 51:12 Is there a sin that's 51:18 holding you back? 51:21 Is there a father out here 51:25 that has never reached out and accepted Jesus Christ 51:29 as his personal Savior 51:30 because he thought his sins could not be forgiven? 51:37 Is there a mother, a wife out here 51:40 that has gone about her daily activities 51:45 but has never surrendered her heart to Jesus Christ? 51:49 Maybe there's some sin, 51:53 some hard feeling, something standing in your way 51:58 between you and the Lord. 51:59 Won't you come to Him today? 52:03 Young person, won't you give your heart to Him? 52:09 Let me just tell you, nothing can change your life 52:15 as remarkably and make it so absolutely different 52:21 and bring the joy and the peace 52:24 that Christ can bring 52:27 if you just come to Him. 52:29 Confess our sins. 52:31 Lay them before the Lord. 52:33 Accept Him as your personal Savior. 52:37 He loves you. 52:39 He wants to give you eternal life. 52:43 Now's the time to get rid of all the sin, 52:48 all the infection, that those hurts that might be 52:53 in your life can be healed and made different. 52:57 Won't you, today, reach out, 53:01 confess your sins, 53:04 open your heart to Jesus Christ? 53:07 Let us pray. 53:09 Heavenly Father, 53:11 we come to You today 53:14 thanking You that You are willing to forgive us. 53:20 Lord help us... help us not to let anything 53:26 stand between us and You. 53:30 Nothing between the Lord and our Savior. 53:35 Nothing between us and You 53:39 that we might open our hearts and give You 53:43 all those things that we have done wrong, 53:48 all those hurt feelings, 53:50 all those sins. 53:52 That we would confess them, lay them at Your feet, 53:56 and receive from You forgiveness. 54:00 Bless each one that's watching here today, Lord. 54:05 May they find peace. May they find relief. 54:11 May they find a peace that will come over their souls 54:17 like they have never known as they confess their sins 54:22 to You. 54:24 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 54:32 We're going to continue to talk about salvation... 54:36 what the Lord does for you and for me. 54:40 Our next presentation is on faith and acceptance. 54:45 You see, repentance and 54:48 conversion, folks, I'm sorry, 54:50 takes you to the very gates of hell. 54:54 But faith takes you to heaven itself. 54:59 See? And that's what we're going to look at. 55:01 We're going to see what the Lord does for us 55:04 in a very special way, so we hope that you'll be 55:07 sure to be with us as we talk about faith and acceptance. 55:11 I think you'll find it'll bless your soul in a special way 55:15 as you see all that the Lord is doing for you and for me 55:20 that we might receive the wonderful gift 55:24 of eternal life that He has for each one of you 55:28 this day, this time. 55:30 For indeed, we are living in serious time. 55:34 The kingdom of God IS at hand. 55:37 God bless you. Stay close to the Lord 55:40 as you follow Him day by day. 55:49 Jesus said in John the sixth chapter 55:51 "I am the living bread that cometh down from heaven 55:54 that a man may eat thereof and not die. 55:57 He who comes to Me will never hunger or never thirst. " 56:02 He went on to say 56:03 "The words that I speak unto you: they are spirit 56:07 and they are life. 56:08 Just as the Father sent Me and I live because of the Father 56:12 so he who eats of this bread will live because of Me. " 56:19 So many people in this world are literally starving and weak 56:24 because they do not feed on the Word of God. 56:27 Their minds are filled with matters of minor importance. 56:30 Instead of eating the bread which came down from heaven, 56:33 if they would only eat the Bread of Life 56:36 they would be regenerated and renewed. 56:39 The bread sent down from heaven would give them new life. 56:42 The Holy Spirit would show them things of God. 56:45 As we feed upon the Word, 56:48 we would become new creatures in Christ. 56:52 Our whole ministry exists for one purpose only: 56:55 to bring the Bread of Life to those who are hungering 56:58 and thirsting for truth. 57:00 I wish you could see the eagerness with which 57:03 they take hold of the spiritual food that we offer them. 57:05 I wish you could see the light that comes on in their eyes 57:09 as they accept Him as their Savior. 57:11 Christ is able, Christ is willing, 57:14 Christ is longing to save all who will come unto Him. 57:19 Please pray for these souls. 57:21 And I hope you will consider supporting our ministry 57:25 as we continue to offer Jesus, the Bread of Life, 57:29 to all who are hungry and thirsty for new life. 57:33 We thank you for your support. 57:36 If the Holy Spirit impresses you to support this ministry, 57:40 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 57:55 Thank you for helping us to bring the gift of salvation 57:58 to millions all over the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17