Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht
Series Code: RIN
Program Code: RIN000007
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01:00 Are you ready to travel?
01:01 Fasten your seatbelts then. 01:02 We shall go to Bethlehem, you and I. 01:06 Only about 8 miles from the city of Jerusalem, 01:09 is the little village of Bethlehem. 01:12 And for your interest sake, for your political interest sake, 01:15 this is a town that's ruled over by communists. 01:19 And I mean that, not so much in the dogmatic sense, 01:25 as in sort of the political way in which it's 01:28 organized and governed. 01:30 Our Lord Jesus said that a city set upon a hill 01:33 cannot be hidden. 01:34 It was the custom in Bible times during the time of Christ and 01:39 for a long while prior to that, to build the village or the city 01:44 atop a hill. 01:45 You find the same thing at Jerusalem, for instance. 01:48 The reason for that was, the travelers during the night time 01:53 would watch for the flickering lanterns and candles. 01:57 And they would make their way home that way, 01:59 long before flashlights, of course. 02:02 And when a torch, perhaps, would only burn 02:06 for just a few minutes, our Lord Jesus then you remember said, 02:10 a city that is set upon a hill cannot be hidden. 02:14 So it is here in the city of Bethlehem. 02:19 Now, they call this field from which we're taking 02:22 our first view, the Shepherds Field. 02:25 And the Bible says the shepherds watch 02:28 their flocks by night. 02:30 And an angel choir began to sing over and above a manger. 02:34 And a brilliant light began to shine. 02:37 And we still today, sing don't we, 02:40 "O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. " 02:46 Now there is a miracle, ladies and gentlemen, 02:49 in the birth of our Lord Jesus having happened in Bethlehem. 02:55 Back in the Old Testament times, it said from the prophecy 03:00 given 700 years before the birth of Jesus, Micah 5:2, 03:05 "But thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the 03:09 thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth to Me 03:12 who is to be Ruler in Israel, 03:14 Whose going forth have been from old, from everlasting. " 03:19 Now let's suppose you and I are tourists 03:22 and it's 2000 years back to the future. 03:25 And we're walking up and down the streets of Nazareth 03:29 50 miles, yes nearly 70 miles from here. 03:33 And we see a beautiful young lady and she's in the 03:36 final trimester of pregnancy. 03:38 And I might say to you, "Where do you think 03:41 this baby's going to be born? 03:43 What is your best guess?" 03:44 And you would say to me, "I'll lay odds the baby's 03:47 going to be born right here. 03:49 This girl isn't going anywhere of distance, 03:51 not in her advanced condition. 03:52 Not with the modes of travel that they have here. " 03:56 You know what happened. 03:59 It was the Roman governor, Pilate, who following the orders 04:03 from the city of Rome made the decree that required 04:06 every head of house to back to the place of his birth 04:10 so that the census, the head count, could be taken 04:13 and the taxes collected. 04:15 And Jesus, through His earthly father Joseph, 04:18 was related to King David. 04:21 Joseph was a relative of King David. 04:25 And the city of Bethlehem is called still today, 04:28 the city of David. 04:30 We're going to turn around now, just 180 degrees, 04:33 and look at a housing development. 04:37 This is a new neighborhood, a subdivision. 04:39 That's the best way to say it. 04:40 This is a new subdivision just on the outskirts 04:44 of the city of Bethlehem. 04:45 You can see the houses are built in what we might call 04:49 the Santa Fe style. 04:50 Like down in the Southwest deserts of the United States. 04:53 The roofs are flat and they have patios up on the roof 04:57 where they'll sometimes take their meals in the evening, 05:00 in the cool of the day particularly. 05:02 And they need not worry about the rain because there's 05:05 very, very little rain here. 05:07 The Bible does speak about the early and the latter rain 05:11 in both Old and New Testaments. 05:13 So there does come a bit of rain in the spring. 05:15 And they take advantage of that in order to sprout 05:18 the seeds and the crops. 05:19 And then the latter rain, or the fall rain, that brings the crops 05:24 to fruition, and brings them ready to harvest. 05:26 We're ready then to go into the village itself. 05:31 We have moved together, you and I, down to the end of 05:34 King David street to Manger Square, in the center of which 05:38 is the Church of the Nativity. 05:41 For hundreds and hundreds of years, it's been said that 05:44 this is where Jesus was born. 05:47 Can we prove that? No. 05:49 On the other hand, the historical tradition 05:53 is very early. 05:54 In other words, from just a few years after 05:58 the ascension of Jesus, folks were saying 06:01 that this is the spot where Jesus was born. 06:06 While we can't be sure of that, we can be sure that it was 06:10 the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, 06:12 the first of the emperors to claim to be a Christian, 06:15 who came here and built the church over the presumed site 06:19 of the birthplace of Jesus. 06:21 And we're going to go inside and see that site 06:24 in just a little bit. 06:27 Helena built other churches throughout the near east and 06:30 throughout Europe, for that matter. 06:32 But this church, ladies and gentlemen, 06:34 is the only Christian church in the middle east 06:38 that was not destroyed by invading Persians 06:41 in and around 614, there abouts. 06:45 They determined to be rid of Christianity by 06:49 destroying the Christian churches. 06:50 And so they would go to them and go inside with their animals; 06:54 camels, horses, have a rodeo, at the end of which 06:58 they pulled down the altar and smashed it. 07:01 And then they would either knock the building down 07:04 with force of hammers and animals, or if it was burnable 07:09 they would set it afire. 07:10 But this one was saved, and in a little while 07:13 where going to see why and talk about the miracle 07:17 that saved the place. 07:20 Before you can go inside here, ladies and gentlemen, 07:23 you must go, now, through one of those metal detectors 07:26 just like the one that's at the airport and, tragically now, 07:30 in many of the high schools and other public buildings. 07:33 This part of the world gave birth to three great 07:37 major world religions. 07:38 The first, of course, was Judaism. 07:41 And the second was Christianity. 07:43 And the third was the faith of Islam. 07:46 And that is why this area is called the Holy Land. 07:50 Not just for Christians and Jews, but also for 07:52 followers of Islam. 07:54 And that's a part of the struggle out in this part of 07:56 the world still to this very day. 07:58 And so folk come here from all over the world. 08:01 They come from the United States with a Christian background. 08:04 They come from the areas of Europe where there are 08:07 lots and lots of Jews or Jewish ghettos. 08:09 And they come from the world of Islam, which is now 08:13 not only in the middle east and the far east, 08:15 but down in South and Central America and out in the 08:17 Philippines and a host of other places as well. 08:20 And you never know who's coming and so this is a place 08:24 where there could very well be some tragedies, 08:27 some terrorism and that sort of thing. 08:29 And so they're very, very careful whom they let in. 08:32 And you must go through the metal detectors 08:34 as we have just mentioned a bit ago. 08:36 Alright. 08:38 We see the guards here with their automatic weapons 08:41 slung over their shoulders. 08:42 And what you can't see, I'll tell you. 08:43 Also at the sides of these Israeli soldiers 08:47 is the most reliable, they claim, automatic weapon 08:53 and can be made fully automatic, the Uzi. 08:56 That ppprrrrr gun, you know. And the gang people love those. 09:00 And so they're guarded highly by police force when they can. 09:04 Now we've moved up to the entrance and I want you folks to 09:07 look up at the very top of the screen and there you'll see 09:09 a big lintel beam. 09:12 That big stone slab was the top of the original door. 09:17 Everything beneath that was the original door of entry 09:21 to this church, the Church of the Nativity. 09:25 And then they closed it off. 09:26 Down toward the bottom of the screen, you'll see an arch. 09:30 This then was the second entry. 09:33 And I think in our next picture we have 09:35 even a better view of it. 09:37 There it is, you can see the arch about mid-screen there. 09:40 That was the second doorway. 09:42 But today the doorway is very low. 09:45 You see it down toward the very bottom of the screen. 09:47 Now, my buddy Ben is standing there. 09:49 And Ben is not a particularly large man. 09:51 He stands at about 5 feet and 10.5 inches, I suppose. 09:55 And you can see that the entry door is way below his shoulder. 09:59 Now, if you were to ask the folks here, "Why has the door 10:03 been made so very low?" the likelihood is that your 10:06 tour guide will give you this answer, this reasoning. 10:10 "This is such a holy place, this is such a special place, 10:15 that we want the folk who go inside to go 10:18 in an attitude of reverence. 10:19 We want them to go inside with a bowed head. " 10:23 So even a child, in order to get inside without banging the head 10:28 has to bend over. 10:31 And while they'll tell you that, I think that's not 10:33 the real reason for the lowering of the door 10:36 again and again and again. 10:39 We mentioned a bit ago that when the invading Persians 10:42 would come to these holy places, they would go inside 10:45 with their camels and have a rodeo. 10:47 And so they made the door so small you couldn't 10:51 ride a camel inside. 10:53 And then they began to go inside with horses. 10:55 So they made the door so low you couldn't ride a goat inside. 11:00 Couldn't have a goat rodeo in here. 11:02 And that, I think, is the real reason for the making of 11:06 the doorway smaller and smaller, and smaller still. 11:09 We step inside now and we see the contrast, the beauty. 11:13 The outside is rather plain, in fact, a little austere. 11:16 But the inside is really very, very lovely 11:20 in its restorative condition. 11:22 And for your interest sake, the architecture style is Byzantine. 11:27 And I think on another evening we mentioned that Turkey today 11:31 is ancient Byzantium. 11:33 And that's where the east meets the west, 11:34 and when the "when and where" of the influence of various styles 11:38 of architecture came together. 11:40 But this one is largely Byzantine. 11:42 And up near the front is the altar, beneath which 11:45 they say Jesus was born. 11:47 But before we go to pay attention to that, 11:49 I want you to look up at the top and you will see on either side 11:54 a row of windows. 11:55 There they are. 11:56 Opposite side is the same. 11:58 Beneath those windows, there once were frescos. 12:03 A fresco, ladies and gentlemen, you probably know, 12:07 is a painting upon a plastered wall. 12:14 The paintings upon the wall here told the story 12:19 of the birth of Jesus. 12:23 And in the first frame, you saw a family, 12:27 a man leading a little donkey. 12:29 And on the back of that, a pregnant wife. 12:32 And then in the next frame, you saw a manger. 12:36 And the cattle and the sheep gathered around. 12:39 And then in the final frame, a little baby 12:43 who's been placed in the manger. 12:45 The story of the nativity, hence the name of the church, 12:48 the Church of the Nativity. 12:50 Now we mentioned that most of the other churches were 12:53 destroyed by the invaders in and around 614-617, 12:57 right in through there. 12:58 But this one was saved, it was not destroyed. 13:01 And I'm going to tell you why and how. 13:03 When the invading Persians... 13:06 And by the way, what do we today call Persia? 13:08 What do we call it today? 13:09 Iraq, exactly. 13:11 A portion of Iran maybe as well, but largely it's Iraq. 13:14 Or Iraq, either way you say it, I guess is correct. 13:19 But when they came in here, ready to have a rodeo and 13:22 smashed the place down, they looked up beneath the windows 13:25 and they saw the paintings. 13:27 And in one of the scenes, there were three kings. 13:32 Now the Bible doesn't say that there were three. 13:36 It does say there were three gifts, do you remember. 13:38 One, a gift of gold. One a gift of frankincense. 13:42 And yet another, the gift of myrrh. 13:45 But when we sign about it today, we sing, 13:48 "We three kings of Orient are. Bearing gifts we travel afar. " 13:53 And so, in the early painting here, there were three kings 13:57 from Persia who are bringing gifts to this baby. 14:00 And the invaders then in 614, around in there, said, 14:05 "Look, our forebearers came here and they worshiped here. 14:09 There was something special, something sacred here 14:11 that they recognized. 14:12 Therefore then, we're going to save it. " 14:14 And the paintings saved the church. 14:17 Now, what happened to the paintings? 14:20 That's the next question. 14:22 Because they've been gone for a long, long while. 14:25 The original tiles of the roof were made of lead. 14:30 Now that's not so unusual. 14:32 Many places in Europe, you'll find buildings with lead tiles. 14:37 Up until more recently, we've discovered that lead 14:40 can make you unwell if you drink the water and the runoff 14:43 and all that sort of thing. 14:44 Tragically, that has polluted some of our most lovely 14:47 and most pristine lakes here in the Pacific Northwest. 14:50 But at any event, the original tiles or shingles 14:53 were made of lead. 14:55 Lead makes a wonderful shingle, it'll turn the water forever. 14:59 But it has another value. 15:01 That being the making of bullets. 15:04 And every time a war would break out here, 15:06 someone would get a ladder and get up on the roof and 15:08 pull off a few shingles and throw them down and 15:10 melt them and make bullets. 15:11 And tragically, they didn't replace the shingles. 15:14 And over the years, the water came in 15:16 and destroyed the paintings. 15:20 But the story is still being told to everyone 15:24 who comes to visit here. 15:25 Well, we're going to move up now to the altar 15:29 and then go down a little staircase into, what I suppose 15:33 we would call the basement. 15:35 And as we do this, I'm going to just share a thought with you. 15:40 We, because of the things we've seen in church or 15:44 in our early training or perhaps in school, 15:47 the nativity scene leaves in our mind, a picture 15:51 of a batten board building, doesn't it. 15:53 Maybe 1x12's with, you know, batten on the seams. 15:58 2x4 shack or some such thing as that. 16:01 Well that's not necessarily the way it was. 16:04 Still today in this part of the world, when bad weather comes 16:08 they will put the sheep and the cows and the oxen and the mules 16:14 and the burrows inside natural caves or grottos 16:18 to get the out of the weather. 16:19 And maybe on another evening, we will see the evidence of that. 16:22 But they're still doing it. 16:23 We'll see the animals back inside. 16:26 And so it is very likely that instead of our Lord 16:29 having been born in what we traditionally think of as a 16:33 manger or little barn, He was born inside a natural cave 16:37 into which they would put the animals during bad weather. 16:42 Now, while we can't be 100% sure that this is where 16:45 Jesus was born, we can be absolutely certain 16:49 that it was here in this grotto, before it was made lovely 16:52 and decorated as you see it now, it was in this grotto 16:56 that a Christian man came to do a work 17:00 of great Biblical importance. 17:06 This guy knew the original languages of the Bible as if 17:10 they'd been his mother tongue. 17:13 His name was Jerome. 17:15 And often today, he's referred to as Saint Jerome. 17:20 At the time of Jerome in the mid-fourth century, 17:25 the language of the world was, of course, the Latin 17:29 where Rome ruled the world for hundreds of years. 17:34 The language of Rome was the Latin language. 17:37 But there was no Latin Bible. 17:39 The Bible still was in its original languages. 17:43 The Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek, 17:46 a bit of Sanscript perhaps, in the New Testament. 17:49 But there was no Bible for the common man. 17:53 The priest, the church leaders, were schooled in the Latin. 17:56 And they then read the Bible, and sometimes they misquoted it. 18:01 And we can expect that, I suppose, to some degree. 18:05 But at any event, Jerome had this great burden 18:09 to give the people the Bible in their own language. 18:12 And so he decided there was no better place to find inspiration 18:16 than here in the grotto where they say Jesus was born. 18:20 And so he sequestered himself. 18:21 Literally had himself locked inside. 18:25 Came out only for reasons of emergency. 18:28 His meals were brought here to him. 18:30 And for months and months and months, he laboriously 18:33 translated the Bible, word for word for word, 18:37 from the Old Testament Hebrew, the New Testament Greek, 18:40 into the Latin language. 18:43 Now, because he was such a scholar, because he did his work 18:47 so early and so meticulously, still today when any new 18:52 translation of the Bible is made, the folks go back 18:55 and check themselves out word by word by word 18:59 with Saint Jerome's Latin Vulgate. 19:03 That's the way it's know today, if you look it up 19:05 in the encyclopedia or on your internet. 19:07 Jerome's Latin Vulgate. 19:10 And that word "Vulgate" by the way, originates from 19:13 the word "vulgar". 19:14 Which doesn't, at its base, mean nasty or naughty, 19:17 but rather that which is common. 19:20 That which is for the common man, the blue collar guy. 19:24 That's the idea. 19:25 And so, the Bible was made available to the common man 19:32 right here in this place that I consider special and holy, 19:36 if for no other reason than that. 19:38 We owe to Jerome, a great debt of gratitude 19:41 whether the background is Catholic or some 19:44 branch of Protestantism. 19:45 He was a great man of God, he did a great missionary work. 19:48 Now we have left the village of Bethlehem, 19:53 headed back toward Jerusalem. 19:55 But before we get into the town of Jerusalem, 19:58 we see a side road. 20:00 And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the Jericho Road. 20:05 You remember the story that Jesus told? 20:09 "A certain man," He said, "went down from Jerusalem to Jericho 20:14 and he fell among thieves. " 20:18 Now the context of the telling of the story was this of course. 20:21 There was a scribe, and in our parlance today, 20:25 we would probably call him an attorney. 20:30 A man of letters. 20:32 And he thought that he would trap Jesus. 20:35 But Jesus had been preaching the gospel based on grace and love. 20:40 And so he thought he would stand up and ask Jesus a question 20:44 that would find Him in a trap, catch Him 20:47 in a catch 22, if you please. 20:49 He was sure that if Jesus gave an answer to his question based 20:53 on love and grace, he would say, "Well, but what about the law?" 20:56 And upon the other hand Jesus answered with an answer 20:59 that was based law, the attorney would have said, 21:02 "But what about your teaching of love and grace?" 21:04 And so, instead of being trapped in either trap, 21:08 Jesus told the story, "A certain man went down 21:13 from Jerusalem to Jericho. " 21:15 What was the attorney's question? 21:17 What was the trap that he fixed? 21:19 He stood up in the midst of the crowd and said, 21:22 "Lord, I want you to tell me who is my neighbor?" 21:28 That question is still being asked today, isn't it. 21:32 Whom do I have any responsibility? 21:34 What do I owe him or anyone in humanity? 21:38 Who is my neighbor? 21:40 Jesus said, "A certain man. " 21:43 Now listen my dears, in the first sentence 21:47 of the answer of Jesus, He forever settled the issue. 21:52 Jesus said, if he's a part of the human race. 21:56 And by the way, Jesus purposely in answer, 21:59 used the word anthropos. 22:01 That's the translation from "a certain anthropos". 22:04 And it's from that word that we have our word anthropology. 22:07 The origins of all men and all races. 22:11 And so Jesus said, if he's a man, if he stands up right, 22:15 if he stands on two feet, regardless of the origin 22:18 of his birth, regardless of the color of his skin, 22:21 if he's a part of the human race, he is your neighbor. 22:25 And then He went on to tell the story. 22:29 This man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho 22:33 and he fell among thieves. 22:35 And it was no idle phrase that Jesus used, 22:38 "A certain man went down. " 22:41 Because Jerusalem sits atop Mount Zion nearly 22:44 3000 feet in elevation. 22:45 While Jericho, only 12 miles distant as the crow flies, 22:51 is the lowest place on earth not covered with water. 22:54 It's about 800 feet below sea level. 22:57 And so, to go from Jerusalem to Jericho 22:59 you're going to drop in elevation nearly 4000 feet. 23:03 In order to make the drop in that short distance, 23:07 the old highway had many twists and turns. 23:11 And we today would refer to them as switchbacks, wouldn't we. 23:14 Yea, those kind of places where they make the kids car sick. 23:18 Any of you folks have a problem with getting car sick? 23:21 Yea, have you ever known of folks that had to sit in the 23:25 front seat, couldn't sit in the back seat? 23:27 Well Lyle has to drive. 23:31 And sometimes I make myself sick. 23:36 Maybe someday I'll learn how to drive. 23:38 But at any event, there were these hairpin curves, 23:41 these switchbacks. 23:42 And in the rocks and bushes on the uphill side of the 23:46 switchback, the robbers and the briggins and the bad guys 23:49 would hide out. 23:50 And when they found a fellow coming along, 23:52 maybe an elderly couple, or maybe someone alone, 23:56 they would come out from the brush and jump upon them 24:00 and beat them up, and often take their lives, and 24:02 take their possessions at the same time. 24:06 In the story that Jesus tells, the certain man is a Samaritan. 24:12 Now while they were distant cousins, the Jew and the 24:16 Samaritan were bitter, bitter enemies. 24:19 In fact, when the Jew referred to the Samaritan, he would 24:22 often refer to him as a dog. 24:24 And he wasn't talking about that sweet little lap animal, 24:27 but rather those mangy curs that eat out of the garbage dump 24:31 and run wild through the back alleys. 24:36 A certain man fell among thieves and he was beaten up. 24:41 And the man who was robbed and beaten was a Jew. 24:43 And everyone knew that. 24:45 And then Jesus has, coming down this road going from Jerusalem 24:49 to Jericho, a scribe. 24:51 A church officer, a church attorney. 24:54 And he obviously sees the man wounded and dying. 24:57 And he goes right on down the road. 25:00 And then the next passerby is a temple priest. 25:04 And he certainly sees the man because makes an effort 25:06 to go around him. 25:08 And it may well have been his thought, "What should I do?" 25:11 He may have paused and pondered, "What ought I do? 25:15 Here's this guy that needs help, he's bleeding and all. 25:19 But on the other hand, down at the temple in Jericho, 25:22 there are 300 folks waiting for my blessing 25:24 and my sermon, my prayers. 25:26 Should I help the one guy or should I go help the 300? 25:28 Well, I better go help the 300." 25:31 And so he purposely walked by the wounded man. 25:35 And the third traveler was the Samaritan. 25:42 He stops, gets off his little donkey, and binds the 25:47 mans wounds, staunches the bleeding. 25:50 Perhaps pours oil upon his sores. 25:53 And then he has to load the man on his little animal 25:57 and lead him to the Good Samaritan Inn. 26:01 For hundreds and hundreds of years, they've been saying 26:03 that this is that inn. 26:06 Can we be sure? No. 26:07 But again, the tradition is early. 26:09 And many good scholars, careful scholars, believe 26:12 that this is the place. 26:14 And when he comes to the inn keeper, 26:16 he turns the man over to his care. 26:19 And he says to him, "Here is money. 26:21 If this isn't sufficient, in a few days I'll be 26:24 coming by here again. 26:26 And I will pay you then, the balance. " 26:28 What he's saying is, don't worry about the money 26:31 but worry about the man. 26:38 The good Samaritan. 26:40 Well, as we go towards the city, we want to notice 26:46 one or two other things. 26:47 Here is the tomb, ladies and gentlemen, of Rebecca. 26:53 Do you remember how Isaac was 26:56 granted his wife, beautiful girl? 26:58 And Abraham's hired man went off into the far country. 27:01 And the test was, if she brings water. 27:04 Do you remember the story? 27:05 And oh how Isaac loved her. 27:07 And when she died, he buried her between Jerusalem and Jericho. 27:12 And Jewish folks and Christian folks and people just 27:16 interest in history stop here and pay their respects 27:20 at the tomb of Rebecca. 27:22 And as we go again further toward the city of Jerusalem, 27:26 we see some Palestinians working out in their grain fields. 27:30 Now we talked together our second night here 27:33 about the conflict between the Palestinians and the Iranians 27:40 and the Iraqi's and the Jews. 27:42 And about the potential of Armageddon, 27:44 and all of that sort of thing. 27:45 So, in picture tonight, I'm going to share with you 27:48 a bit of the reality of that conflict. 27:50 Here is a Palestinian lady. 27:52 That means that she and her husband are Arabs 27:57 who were born in the holy land. 27:59 And their fathers and forefathers before them 28:01 were born here in the holy land. 28:05 And this lady is out in the afternoon heat cutting the grain 28:10 with a hand scythe in the same way that their forebearers 28:14 have harvested, back to the times of Isaiah and Jeremiah 28:18 and probably before that. 28:20 And then after the harvesting is done, after the grain 28:23 has been cut, they will carry it to the place of winnowing. 28:27 And here is the husband. 28:29 He's had a little donkey to walk upon the grain that's fallen 28:33 upon the hard stone floor. 28:35 And the footprints, the hoof prints of the little animal 28:40 have shredded off the hulls and when the afternoon breeze blows, 28:46 and they have to do the worse part of the work 28:48 in the afternoon, in the afternoon heat, you understand. 28:50 Because that's when the breeze comes up. 28:52 Then he throws the wheat, the chaff, rather the straw, 28:56 up into the air and the kernels of the grain fall back down 29:00 to the threshing floor and the wind blows the chaff away. 29:03 Nowadays, they set up some pretty big fans 29:07 to do the same thing and they can do it in 29:08 the cool of the evening. 29:09 But often they're doing it still in this style, in the same way 29:12 that they have done for hundreds, 29:14 yes, thousands of years. 29:16 And then they carry tremendous burdens into the market place. 29:21 Now, while the Palestinian is farming like this, 29:27 with hand implements, by the sweat of the brow 29:30 and the aching back, their Jewish neighbor 29:34 in the adjoining field or in the field across the road 29:38 is harvesting his crop as he drives an air conditioned 29:42 John Deer tractor and has stereo headphones upon his ears. 29:47 I want to thank you for traveling with me tonight. 29:53 Ladies and gentlemen, would you please open your Bibles 29:55 to Revelation chapter 1. 29:57 We've read a number of verses from the last book 30:00 for those who live in the last days. 30:01 But we've not read this one as yet. 30:06 So we're going to begin at the very first verse, 30:08 the first chapter. 30:10 The book for those who live in the last days, 30:12 the book of Revelation. 30:15 The prophet without honor. 30:16 And let's read about him, shall we? 30:18 Revelation 1:1 30:21 Here it says, "This is the Revelation 30:24 of John the disciple which God gave... " 30:27 What? 30:29 I have to check you out from time to time. 30:30 It's a revelation of whom then? 30:33 Of Jesus Christ. 30:34 I need to pause here for just a minute. 30:36 I remember not so terribly long ago talking to a pastor 30:40 who said, "In my church, I never allow a scripture 30:44 to be read from the Revelation. 30:45 I won't permit it. " 30:47 He said, "It's a book that's just filled with hocus pocus. 30:50 It's a book with strange symbols and all kinds of weirdness. " 30:54 And he said, "I just won't allow it read in my church. " 30:58 And I didn't say it, but I was thinking, what a tragedy. 31:01 What a real tragedy. 31:03 Because this is not only the book for those who 31:06 live in the last days. 31:07 This is the only one of the 66 books that make up our Bible 31:11 in which you find a promise given to those who will read it 31:14 and take advantage of it. 31:16 The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 31:19 Some of my preacher friends love to preach from 31:21 the gospel of John. 31:22 And some others love the book of Romans 31:25 because it's so clear on righteousness by faith. 31:28 Still others like the book of Galatians, and our scholars 31:31 after the pattern of the apostle Paul. 31:33 But I'm here to tell you folks tonight that after 40+ years 31:37 of study, I am absolutely convinced 31:39 that righteousness by faith is as clearly taught in this book 31:43 as it is in any other. 31:44 The Pauline writings, or those of Peter or John, 31:47 or any other gospel. 31:49 The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 31:51 Where do we find Him in the first three chapters? 31:54 We find our Lord Jesus walking among the golden candlesticks. 31:58 Those lights that represent His people, His churches. 32:02 And so that's why we sing, "This little light of mine. " 32:05 He's the senior Pastor with a shepherd's heart. 32:09 And so He gives those special messages 32:12 to the various churches. 32:13 The church at Philadelphia. 32:15 "You thought that you were alone often times. 32:17 But in the darkest hour, I was right there with you. " 32:20 And to the church of Thyatira. 32:22 And to this church where Satan's seat is, "I know the struggles 32:25 that you've been through. 32:26 I know the difficulties you've had to face. 32:28 I know that there were dark days when you thought 32:30 that you were all alone in the world. 32:33 But I was right there with you. " 32:35 And then he comes to the last church, the church of Laodicea. 32:38 And these churches, I believe by the way, 32:40 have to do with time periods. 32:42 And the last one is Laodicea. 32:44 And I believe the message is for you and for me. 32:46 And it talks about luke warmness. 32:48 And we're going to be relating that idea 32:50 as we go further as well. 32:51 But what Jesus is saying to us is, "During those last days, 32:55 during those really difficult times, when the weather is foul 32:59 and there are diseases and there are tornadoes 33:01 and there are plagues and there are earthquakes 33:03 in all of these different places, please know 33:06 just as surely as I was with the folks at Thyatira, 33:10 just as surely as I was with the people in Philadelphia, 33:13 I'm going to be right beside you. " 33:16 That's Jesus in the first three chapters of Revelation. 33:20 We come over to chapters 5, 6, and 7, and 8 the first verses, 33:25 and we find a crisis now. 33:28 There's a book that holds evidence, that holds information 33:32 for the very last days. 33:34 It's a book that if read and understood 33:37 could help the folks prepare. 33:40 Spiritual preparation, largely. 33:43 But there's no one that knows how to read the book. 33:46 And more than that, if one found could read the book, 33:49 he'd be unable to open it because the thing is sealed up 33:52 with seven seals. 33:53 And we could today, liken it to seven combination locks. 33:58 And when this thing passed before John in vision, 34:00 it was so real to him, it was so terrifying 34:03 before him that he cried. 34:06 "I wept a lot," he said, 34:08 "because there was found no man. " 34:11 And then there came a cry, "Stop, stop your weeping. 34:15 Hush it up, now wipe your tears John, for we have found one. 34:19 Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. " 34:22 Revelation chapter 5 and the 5th verse. 34:24 He not only knows the combinations, 34:27 He knows how to read the book. 34:29 And Jesus then, unfolds the future. 34:31 Jesus comes to the rescue riding upon the white horse. 34:35 Jesus is our Lord and Savior. 34:38 You find Him then, again, as the dragon slayer in 34:42 chapters 11, 12, and 13. 34:44 And a bit further, you find Him in chapters 19 and 20 34:48 as the Bridegroom riding down the corridor of space, 34:52 coming with a crown on His head and the scepter in his hand, 34:55 coming to marry His bride and to take her to be eternally 35:00 in the Father's house. 35:02 It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 35:05 Shall we read on chapter 1 and the 1st verse? 35:07 Verse 1 of Revelation 1. 35:10 The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him 35:13 to show His servants the things that would shortly come to pass. 35:15 He sent and signified it by His angel unto the servant John. 35:20 And John bare record of the word of God and of the testimony 35:23 of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw. 35:26 Blessed then... " 35:27 And by the way, that word that is "blessed" 35:30 has a more basic meaning. 35:32 And we today could translate it by saying "happy". 35:36 Happy, contented. 35:39 "Blessed, happy and contented then, is the one that reads, 35:43 and they that hear the words of this prophecy, 35:45 and keep the words that are written therein. " 35:47 I've had on many occasions, folks come to me and say, 35:49 "You know Lyle, I don't know why you like the book of Revelation 35:53 because it's so scary. 35:55 I mean, it has all those weird things and beasts and horns 35:57 and all of those strange symbols. 36:00 It's just frightening to me. " 36:02 And I say to them, "Oh no. No it's not frightening. " 36:06 "Happy are they, peaceful are they, blessed are they 36:12 who read and understand; for the time is at hand. " 36:18 I want to talk to you a little bit about the whole idea of 36:21 rejecting the Jesus of Revelation. 36:25 We're going to talk about the result of it all 36:27 and the reasoning behind a lot of it. 36:29 And it's not necessarily good news. 36:31 You know, it often comes to my mind that as we 36:35 near the last days, as there come more troubles and trials 36:38 and temptations and difficulties and diseases and pestilences 36:42 and all of the rest, folks would become more serious. 36:45 That we'd see the churches overflowing on worship morning. 36:49 But the reverse, here in the United States at least, 36:51 seems to be the case. 36:53 But you go to the average place of worship on worship morning 36:56 and you'll find lots and lots and lots of empty pews. 37:00 And our Lord Himself said that folks would become more secular 37:04 and more humanistic and less interested in spiritual things 37:08 as you get down near the end of time. 37:11 We somehow seem to want to defend our sins. 37:16 Because our Lord Jesus, and the word that is His, 37:19 condemns our lifestyle. 37:21 We've rejected His honesty. 37:24 Whether it comes to filling out our taxes or 37:26 doing something else. 37:27 You've seen, by the way, the tests haven't you, 37:30 where they will drop a $5 bill in the parking lot 37:32 or maybe in the aisle of the grocery store 37:34 just to see how many folks are willing to turn it in? 37:37 Well there are not so very many anymore. 37:39 We've rejected His honesty. 37:40 We've rejected His sexual purity. 37:44 And we have turned away from the truths of His word. 37:47 Many have described our day and age as hedonistic. 37:52 And I decided this morning as I studied a bit 37:55 that I would look that up again for my own sake. 37:57 And so I went to Mr. Webster and I looked up hedonism. 38:00 And this is what I found. 38:01 It's a devotion to pleasure. 38:04 A total self-gratification attitude. 38:09 Well it seems to me that pretty much identifies our society. 38:13 Doesn't it seem that way to you? 38:15 Now, God said it would be like this in the end time. 38:20 I want you please, to open your Bibles with me to a passage 38:23 that we've read before. 38:24 It's just before the Revelation, just before the 38:26 three little letters of John. 38:28 2 Peter chapter 3. 38:30 We alluded to this passage on another occasion, 38:32 but we must of necessity do it again tonight. 38:34 2 Peter chapter 3, and we're going to notice 38:38 beginning at the 3rd verse. 38:40 2 Peter 3:3-4 38:43 "Know this, that there will come in the last days scoffers 38:47 who are walking after their own lusts saying, 38:49 'Where is the promise of His coming? 38:52 For since our fathers fell asleep, all things continue 38:55 just as they were from the very beginning. '" 39:01 You go back to the first chapter and you see there, 39:05 2 Peter chapter 1, the first chapter, and verses 19 and 20, 39:09 just the reverse from that. 39:10 "We have also a more sure word of prophecy where unto we 39:15 do well to take heed, like the light that shines 39:18 in the dark place. " 39:23 Ladies and gentlemen, I want to go on record 39:25 to say to you tonight that Lyle has a purpose driven life. 39:29 I've been asked again and again if I've read this book 39:31 or that book about having Christian purpose in your life. 39:34 And my answer has always been the same. 39:36 No I haven't because since the day Jesus called me and 39:39 gave me my ministry, my life has been purpose driven. 39:44 And it's going to continue to be. 39:46 And one of the things that has impressed me as I've come 39:49 nearer and nearer to Jesus, is His fulfilled prophecy. 39:52 I think that this is my greatest reason really 39:55 for being a Christian. 39:57 The certainty of the prophecy. 39:58 "This sure word of prophecy where unto we 40:01 do well to take heed. " 40:02 The atheism and the disbelief is not only to be found out in 40:08 Hollywood, as we've mentioned, but it's tragically somehow 40:11 moved inside the church. 40:12 And sometimes it's referred to as the New Theology 40:16 and it's almost always a watering down of that 40:18 which was there before. 40:19 The easy gospel, "Come to the altar and get saved and just 40:22 go do whatever you want to do. 40:24 If you want to divorce that girl and take that one, 40:26 why go ahead and do it. 40:27 If you want to keep on drinking and beating up on the neighbors, 40:30 go ahead and do it, it's alright. " 40:34 And if you say anything contrary to that these days, 40:37 someone is bound to be offended. 40:38 You make almost any statement from God's word and the folks 40:42 will say to you, "Well now look. 40:43 I'm going to go check it out with my preacher. 40:46 I'm going to go ask my preacher what it says about it all. " 40:49 You know what I think we ought to do? 40:51 We ought not to check the Bible out with the preacher, 40:55 we ought to check the preacher out with the Bible. 41:02 And that includes certainly this one. 41:10 Not so terribly long ago, I climbed the cliffs 41:15 on the west side of the Dead Sea. 41:17 to go inside the caves of Qumran. 41:23 Khirbet Qumran, if you look it up in your dictionary. 41:27 In 1947, a Bedouin boy, a little goat herder boy 41:32 was tending the herd along the base of the cliffs 41:36 when he began, to just entertain himself, to throw rocks 41:40 up inside those caves. 41:42 And when he threw one, it went right inside, bull's-eye. 41:46 And he heard the smashing like the breaking of glass. 41:49 And so he climbed up there and went inside. 41:50 And he found earthen jugs with wax stoppers, 41:54 inside which there were ancient scrolls. 41:57 And tragically, he and his family sold the whole thing 42:00 for just a pittance. 42:01 I think at the time, it amounted to what today would 42:04 be about 40 dollars. 42:05 The Dead Sea Scrolls. 42:07 And the news was flashed around the world. 42:09 We now have copies of the books of the Bible that date back 42:13 to the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah. 42:15 And then some research was done to discover that the scrolls 42:18 most likely were placed there at the time that Titus Vespasian 42:22 moved in on Jerusalem in 70 AD and tore the place apart. 42:26 And the folks took the sacred word, took those holy scrolls 42:29 and hid them in the caves and made them to be in water tight 42:34 and air tight vessels for their preservation. 42:37 They took some of these scrolls and carefully, carefully 42:41 put them in humidity controlled rooms just exactly the 42:45 right temperature to soften them up and make them more pliable. 42:49 And then they unrolled the first one. 42:53 And as they unrolled the first scroll, 42:55 it opened to Isaiah 40:8. 42:58 Let's turn there together shall we? 43:00 It's really important that we do it. 43:02 Isaiah 40:8 43:06 Just before Jeremiah and Ezekiel. 43:11 Chapter 40 of Isaiah and the 8th verse. 43:14 Here's what they found when they unrolled the scroll. 43:18 Chapter 40 and verse 8. 43:24 "The grass withers and the flowers will fade, 43:27 but the word of God lasts forever. " 43:33 Hidden in the scrolls buried for hundreds and hundreds 43:37 and hundreds of years. 43:38 "The word of God stands forever. " 43:40 And so my belief in my Bible leads me simultaneously 43:45 to my belief in my Lord Jesus Christ. 43:48 He's my Lord and He's my Savior. 43:50 Man has made so many vain efforts to try to 43:53 destroy the word of God. 43:54 Tradition has dug a grave for it and attempted to bury it, 43:57 but it lives on. 43:58 It's been burned in great piles and great pyres and fires. 44:02 It lives on. 44:03 There have been Judas' who have tried to destroy it 44:06 with a kiss, but the word of God lives on. 44:08 There have been Peter's who've denied it 44:09 with curses, with oaths, and it lives on. 44:11 For truth never dies. 44:13 And so God would say through the psalmist, Psalm 119:89, 44:18 "Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in the heavens. " 44:21 That's it. 44:23 I remember not to very long ago, there was a man who was involved 44:27 in a little bit of a theological debate with someone else. 44:29 And he said, "Well, I can see your point. 44:32 But I don't know how to impress it upon my neighbor. " 44:34 And it had to do with healthful living, for your interest sake. 44:37 "I don't know how to make him see the importance of it all. " 44:40 And the other fellow said, "Why don't you just tell him 44:43 God said don't do it. " 44:47 And so we sing together, "God says it and I believe it. 44:51 And that settles it. " 44:53 "An old time religion, it's good enough for me. " 44:57 There's a man who wrote a book. 44:59 He entitled his book, "The Last Words of Saints and Sinners. " 45:04 And what he had done was travel to folks who were 45:07 on their death beds. 45:08 Folks who knew they were dying and were, perhaps, able to put 45:11 the distilled wisdom of a lifetime into their last words. 45:14 And he wrote a fascinating book. 45:16 And then he decided to go beyond that and to look at the lives, 45:19 and then the deaths, of some other important men. 45:21 One of those that he wrote a bit of biographical information 45:25 about was a man by the name of Francois Voltaire. 45:29 Not too long ago, Peggy and I stood beside his grave 45:32 over in Paris. 45:33 He was a philosopher. 45:34 He lived from 1694 to 1778. 45:38 And he said this about 1750, "In 50 years, the Bible 45:44 is going to be extinct. " 45:46 But you know what? 45:47 Today, after nearly everyone has forgotten Voltaire, 45:50 the Bible is still the best seller in all the world. 45:53 And his biographer says that when Voltaire died, 45:56 he died screaming, "I'm going to the realm of the damned. " 46:02 And then there was Thomas Paine. 46:04 He was an American patriot and we own him that. 46:06 He lived in a little cabin there out of New Rochelle, New York. 46:10 From 1737 to 1809 was his life. 46:14 He wrote a book that he entitled, "The Age of Reason. " 46:17 And he laughed at God and at Religion, and Christ certainly. 46:20 His biographer says he died screaming the name of Jesus. 46:24 And his last sentence was, "I'd give the world if I'd never 46:27 written 'The Age of Reason'. 46:28 Lord, have mercy. Oh God, have mercy. " 46:32 One of my indoor sports has been to read of 46:34 the English literate, Samuel Johnson. 46:38 Perhaps the best known writer over in Great Britain. 46:43 He had a buddy who sat at his feet, who would drink in 46:46 his words, and then write them down. 46:48 His name was Boswell. 46:49 Boswell writes of his death, and I read it years and years ago. 46:53 He said Samuel Johnson, who denied God, 46:55 died screaming with fear. 46:59 And just across town at the same time, only blocks away, 47:04 there was dying, the Christian by the name of John Wesley. 47:09 And his last words, said his wife, were these. 47:12 "Best of all, God is with us. " 47:19 I've told you before, I have two kids that are nurses. 47:22 And my son Troy would tell you how he hates 47:26 to attend the death of one who's dying without faith. 47:30 He said it's terrible, it's frightening. 47:32 You can see the fear in their eyes and you can see the 47:36 tension, you can see on the monitors the heart rate go up. 47:39 And that they're dreading the unknown. 47:42 And then I contrast that with the death of my own father. 47:46 I was holding a meeting down in Medford. 47:50 And I knew my dad was getting more and more sick. 47:53 And so I called him up. 47:55 And I said, "Daddy, I'd like to come home. " 47:59 "I'd like to be with you. " 48:05 My daughter, Tammy, was at his bedside just 48:09 nearly around the clock. 48:13 And my dad said, "No, you stay. " 48:16 "Stay and preach. " 48:17 I was talking to him as he died. 48:26 Perfect peace have they 48:29 who love thy word, and nothing shall offend them. 48:34 The apostle Paul, in contrast to the others who died in fear, 48:38 would write a letter to a young preacher by the name of Timothy. 48:40 And in the first chapter and the twelfth verse, he said, 48:43 "I know the One in whom I believe. 48:46 And I know that He's able to keep that which I've 48:49 committed to Him against that Day. " 48:53 "I have confidence in my future with Jesus Christ. " 48:56 That's the apostle Paul. 48:58 Fulfilled prophecy. 49:00 The atheist, the agnostic, the infidel. 49:03 They won't believe the Bible because it 49:04 condemns their lifestyle. 49:06 But on the other hand, the agnostics down in Hollywood 49:09 and in New York City, and everywhere, and in this town, 49:12 are willing to place their faith in cloverleaf, 49:15 four leaf clovers, in crystal balls, in rabbits feet. 49:18 And by the way, it wasn't so lucky for the rabbit, was it. 49:23 Fortune tellers, mediums, necromancers, channelers, 49:26 tarot cards, and fortune cookies. 49:28 All very scientific, huh? 49:30 Nah. The proof is in the prophecy. 49:32 Some say the proof is in the pudding. 49:34 I like to say the proof is in the prophecy. 49:37 And so I'm going to have to hurry now. 49:38 We're not going to be able to read it all, but I'm going to 49:41 reference, and you go home and study it for yourself. 49:43 Ezekiel chapter 26 verses 3 and 4. 49:47 And then put also, will you please, verses 14 and 19. 49:52 And I'll give you the background of the story. 49:55 There was a place called Tyre over along 49:57 the Mediterranean coast. 49:59 And it was a sailor town. 50:01 It was a New York City of its day. 50:02 It was a port town and it was desperately wicked. 50:05 And God said, "I'm going to destroy you. 50:07 One of these days I'm going to knock the place down 50:10 and it's never, never going to be rebuilt. " 50:13 That was God's warning. 50:15 In 575, a guy by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, young man, 50:20 set out to rule the whole world, moved in against the place 50:23 because he was upset with the folk there. 50:25 And he destroyed the city and the rubble was strewn 50:28 over square acres. 50:32 The folk who lived there decided they'd get the last laugh and 50:36 they got in boats and moved what was left out onto an island. 50:40 But you remember now, God had said, 50:42 "I'm going to leave the place desolate and completely empty. 50:46 And then it's going to be as flat as the top of a rock. 50:50 They're going to scrape the dust from it and the fishermen will 50:53 lay there their nets. " 50:55 225 before Christ, 250 years after Nebuchadnezzar's attack, 51:01 there came a guy by the name of Alexander the Great. 51:04 And he got really upset with the folks who were laughing 51:06 at him out on the island. 51:07 And guess what he did. 51:08 He gathered up all of the stones and all of the columns 51:13 and all of the broken rocks and rubble. 51:16 And he had his soldiers begin to build a causeway. 51:20 They built it out to the island a half mile away. 51:24 And when they'd gotten the rubble in place, 51:26 they needed some fill dirt and so they scraped the tops 51:30 of the rocks with dust pans and filled in the potholes. 51:34 And the word of God was fulfilled in exact 51:37 and careful detail. 51:38 You can count on what God says. 51:41 Now let me tell you a little bit about my Lord Jesus 51:43 so you can have some faith and some trust in Him. 51:45 The prophet without honor. 51:47 In John's gospel chapter 4, at verses 43 and 44, 51:51 He referred to Himself in that way, "I am without honor 51:54 in My own country. " 51:55 And He's without honor in a lot of countries still yet today. 52:00 Jesus was up at Capernaum. 52:01 We visited there up on the screen a few evenings ago. 52:04 And He worked wonderful miracles. 52:07 He healed a lady, Peter's mother-in-law. 52:10 He healed another lady who'd had a bleeding problem 52:13 for many, many years. 52:14 He had healed a paralytic who was let down through the roof. 52:17 He had raised back to life Jairus' daughter. 52:20 And in spite of all of that, the folks rejected Him. 52:22 They would not accept Him. 52:24 And so Jesus said, "Capernaum, you're going to 52:26 be brought low. " 52:29 Today out in Capernaum, there are only snakes and 52:33 spiders and scorpions. 52:35 The place is desolate, it's empty. 52:36 No one has lived there since the time of Christ. 52:40 And then go with me please, and find Jesus 52:43 with His disciples on a hillside. 52:45 It's called the Mount of Olives. 52:47 They were headed to Bethany and they sat down to rest. 52:50 And as they looked back toward Jerusalem, they saw the temple. 52:52 And the disciples said, "Lord, isn't it beautiful. " 52:55 He said, "Yes it is, but one day the place is going to be 52:58 ransacked till not one stone is left upon another. " 53:01 About 40 years later, Titus Vespasian, who at the time was 53:06 the most able general of all of Romans legions, 53:09 came to the city and took it apart. 53:11 And the peoples of Jerusalem hid inside the temple. 53:14 They were sure that they'd be safe inside God's house. 53:17 So en masse, they went inside the temple. 53:19 And there was a man among them who became a very trusted and 53:23 trustworthy historian. 53:25 His name was Flavius Josephus. 53:27 Josephus said, "I pled with them to give up. 53:30 I pled with them to come out but they stayed inside. " 53:33 And so Titus Vespasian put the torch to the place 53:37 and burned it down. 53:38 And the folks on the inside died in the fire crying, 53:42 "Ichabod, ichabod, the glory of God has departed. " 53:46 And when the stones cooled and the ashes were nothing but 53:51 embers now, the Romans dug up the stones, removed everyone, 53:58 shoveled the dirt into strainers to recapture the gold that 54:02 had fallen between the cracks. 54:03 Jesus said not one stone would be left upon another. 54:07 You can trust His word. 54:08 Our Lord said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, 54:11 but My word will last forever. " 54:15 And now, ladies and gentlemen, I must make to you an appeal. 54:19 That same Jesus said, "He that hath the Son hath life. 54:23 But he that hath not the Son hath not eternal life. " 54:26 I beg you tonight, if you haven't already done it, 54:29 make Him the Lord of your life. 54:31 Not only One who separated BC from AD. 54:34 Not only One who's important in history. 54:37 But invite Him to come and sit on your heart's throne. 54:40 Make Him your Savior, and at the same time 54:43 He'll be your very best friend. 54:46 I read recently about the little boy who came from poverty 54:50 and wanted so for a little red wheel barrel for Christmas. 54:54 And at the family circle, he would pray night after night, 54:57 "Oh Jesus, just bring me a wheel barrel, 54:59 a little red wheel barrel. " 55:00 And his parents scraped and saved and scraped, 55:02 and went without things. 55:04 And they bought a little red wheel barrel. 55:06 And on Christmas morning, the little boy saw under the tree, 55:09 his heart's desire. 55:11 And he took it outside and, without his coat, he went 55:14 running up and down the streets. 55:15 Not far away, there in front of the church was a nativity scene. 55:19 And sometime midmorning someone came in to the pastor 55:22 with a report, "Someone has stolen the doll 55:25 from the nativity scene. " 55:27 And a bit later, a neighbor said, "I saw a little boy 55:30 with a little red wheel barrel with a doll and going 55:32 up and down the streets. " 55:33 And they went up and down the streets, found the little guy, 55:35 and surely enough, there was the nativity doll. 55:38 And they said, "Son, why did you steal the little doll?" 55:43 "Oh no," he said, "I didn't steal it. " 55:45 He said, "I promised Jesus if he'd bring me a wheel barrel, 55:52 I'd give Him the first ride. " 55:57 And what about you, huh? 56:01 What about us? 56:04 We give Him the first ride when we make Him 56:06 the supremacy of our lives. 56:08 Will we? 56:14 He'll fill all of our needs. 56:16 Every one. 56:18 Romans 5:1, there God said Jesus will bring you peace. 56:24 You want peace? 56:25 He'll bring it. 56:26 1 Corinthians 15:57 says He'll bring us victory. 56:30 You have a problem with temper or drugs or alcohol or tobacco? 56:33 He'll bring you victory. 56:35 In Matthew 1:21 says He'll bring us salvation. 56:38 He came to save His people from their sins. 56:41 John 15:11 says He'll bring to us happiness and joy. 56:45 Could you use some joy in your life? 56:48 Best of all and most of all, He'll give us life eternal. 56:54 I don't know, 57:00 I can't understand, 57:05 how folks can go to the cemetery 57:12 and bury there their hearts, 57:16 their dreams, 57:19 their spouse or their kids, 57:24 and face life 57:27 without Jesus. 57:30 Thank You, Lord, for Your word, 57:35 for Your promise, 57:38 for Your presence. 57:42 When we found You, we have found not only a friend 57:45 and a comforter, 57:48 but one who brings peace and victory and salvation, 57:51 and happiness in the interim. 57:55 If there's one here tonight that hasn't accept You 57:57 as their best friend and their Savior, 57:59 don't let them rest. 58:00 Don't give them peace or contentment until they 58:04 settle it with You. 58:06 Then let us bask eternally 58:11 in Your sunlight, in Your kingdom. 58:15 In Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17