Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: 14SCM
Program Code: 14SCM000002S
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00:39 It's a wild stormy night in southern Illinois tonight
00:42 and we've been knocked off the air. 00:44 Some of you have been watching from time to time, 00:48 but as you know and we found out 00:50 we were no longer reaching out around the world. 00:53 But now - praise God! - we're back on 00:56 and we are thankful for that. 00:58 Our speaker for this second program 01:02 which is our first preaching program 01:05 is the It Is Written Speaker/ Director Pastor John Bradshaw. 01:11 And he has... for 12 years he was an evangelist with 01:16 Amazing Facts. Pastored for many years - 15 years - 01:20 in the Kentucky-Tennessee conference and also 01:24 at the Village Church near Walla Walla, Washington. 01:27 And this is a man who loves the Lord Jesus. 01:32 To get to know John Bradshaw is to really know him. 01:36 I first met him when my brother-in-law Jim Thurmond 01:39 was the ministerial director in the Kentucky-Tennessee 01:43 conference. He called John Bradshaw to come and do some 01:46 evangelism. And I was president at Arkansas-Louisiana 01:50 and he said: "Jim, you need to look at this young man. 01:53 God has called him in a special way to minister. " 01:58 And so it was at that time that I met John and his wife 02:01 Melissa. They didn't have any children then. 02:04 They have a son Jacob now and they have a daughter Shannon. 02:07 But we got well acquainted with John Bradshaw 02:11 and we were able to have him come to the Arkansas-Louisiana 02:14 conference and do some evangelism as well when he was 02:19 with Amazing Facts. 02:21 So now the next voice that you hear will be the voice 02:27 of the Speaker/Director for It Is Written 02:30 Pastor John Bradshaw. 02:36 Thank you, sir... thank you very much. 02:39 Well... good evening everyone. 02:42 Good evening. All right. 02:45 Glad you brought your umbrella with you. 02:48 If you can't be with us here in Illinois, then you can't 02:51 appreciate the... You know what I tell people? 02:57 Right now I live in southern California. 02:58 I'll be living there just a couple of months longer. 03:02 Excuse me. I tell people that in southern California 03:05 the weather is either good or perfect. 03:10 It's one or the other. 03:15 They don't say that here in southern Illinois. 03:20 They don't say that... that wouldn't be truthful. 03:24 But irrespective of what the weather's doing out there 03:29 I'm happy to be in here with you all. What do you say? 03:33 Amen. The Lord is good... He is very, very good. 03:36 I'm not going to say I hope He's been good to you 03:38 'cause I know He's been good to you. 03:40 I hope you know that He has been good to you. 03:44 God is only good - Amen! 03:48 And I trust that you are here expecting to be richly blessed 03:52 over the next few days. 03:54 I'm thankful to be here at 3ABN 03:56 and I thank God for 3ABN and what He continues to do 03:59 through this terrific Christian organization. 04:01 And as a matter of fact I'll tell you a funny story. 04:05 I got on a plane to fly out here... 04:07 And I walked onto the plane 04:11 and you know... you walk on a plane, there's 04:13 flight attendants waiting there to greet you as you get on 04:17 the plane. And I stepped on the plane 04:19 and a very lovely lady who may well be watching me... 04:22 Dawn, if you're watching then good evening... 04:25 she... I'm about to embarrass her... 04:28 she... and myself... she greeted me and she said: 04:31 "Are you James Bradshaw? " 04:41 Oh yeah... she was close and that was good enough. 04:45 Part of me wanted to say: "No, that's my nephew" 04:48 'cause I have a nephew named James. 04:50 And instead I looked at her as though I was guilty. 04:52 I said: "Ma'am, I did not take that money, honestly. 04:54 It was not me. " 04:56 And then she said: "I watch you on television. " 04:59 And I was glad to know that somebody's watching 05:00 you know. And she told me later on: 05:02 "Oh, I'm so blessed watching you on 3ABN. " 05:05 So anyhow... thank the Lord for that. 05:07 And there's a wonderful story about how... anyway, I'll... 05:11 Dawn, I'll leave you to tell your own story. 05:13 That's enough for now. 05:15 But that was kind of fun and lovely to meet her 05:18 and wonderful to hear how God continues to work 05:20 through ministries that He has raised up. 05:23 Anyhow... tonight I'm to talk with you about the promise 05:27 of His coming. 05:28 I believe Jesus is coming back soon, what about you? Amen! 05:32 I'm convinced... I'm profoundly convinced 05:34 and I'm glad Jesus is coming back soon. 05:39 If you don't mind or as a matter of fact 05:41 even if you do mind we're going to pray now 05:43 and not ask God for His presence. 05:46 That would be an insult. 05:47 We shall thank Him for His presence with us tonight. 05:50 Let's pray. Our Father and our God, 05:52 we come to You tonight in the name of Jesus Your Son. 05:56 I think of the words of that old hymn: In my hands 06:00 no price I bring. 06:03 Simply to the cross I cling. 06:07 That's where we are. 06:08 We can't turn up tonight feeling good about our accomplishments 06:12 and proud of our good works for we know that Jesus said 06:17 "Without Me ye can do nothing. " 06:20 That's who we are, 06:22 but tonight we come to You in faith 06:24 to be found in Him not having our own righteousness's 06:29 which are of the law but the righteousness of God 06:33 which is by faith in Jesus Christ. 06:37 We don't deserve... we are not worthy... 06:39 we shall never deserve and never be worthy. 06:41 But in Christ 06:43 we have and are everything that we need. 06:49 So now I pray that You would speak. 06:52 I pray that we would hear Your voice. 06:55 I pray I would hear Your voice. 06:57 I pray that in spite of the limitations of fallen humanity 07:02 we would be blessed tonight 07:05 through Your Spirit's presence, through the power of Your Word, 07:09 and through the touch of divine grace. 07:13 And so, Lord, bless now we ask 07:17 and we pray in Jesus' name - please say with me - 07:25 Amen. 07:28 It was World War II. 07:31 The American-occupied Philippines were under attack 07:36 from Japan. 07:38 In fact, the attack seemed so relentless - so strong - 07:41 that defending the Philippines seemed futile. 07:44 MacArthur was told to get out, 07:46 to leave the Philippines... and so he did. 07:48 He boarded a ship bound for Australia, and on his way to 07:51 Melbourne, Australia, he uttered some words that history has 07:55 recorded and that we have remembered. 07:57 MacArthur made a wonderful promise, a tremendous promise... 08:00 a promise that is relevant to what we are talking about 08:03 tonight. General MacArthur said: "I shall return. " 08:09 Now imagine: you are a citizen of the Philippines. 08:14 There you are, and you are now living in an occupied country... 08:17 a country not occupied by liberators 08:21 but by an occupying force bent on removing your freedom 08:24 and establishing a system not your own. 08:28 Ringing in their ears was the promise MacArthur made 08:31 "I shall return... " behind bar- bed wire or high stone fences. 08:35 Behind lines of men holding machine guns. 08:38 Behind whatever they were behind! 08:40 Here were people who remembered that MacArthur had said 08:43 "I shall return. " 08:47 And what did MacArthur do? 08:49 Well, the fabulous news for the people in the Philippines was 08:52 that on October the 20th in the year 1944 08:56 now as the commander of the southwestern Pacific area 09:00 General Douglas MacArthur made good on his previous promise 09:03 and waded ashore at a place called Leyte 09:06 and then the people of the Philippines experienced 09:11 freedom... freedom from tyranny. 09:14 Freedom from occupation. 09:16 Freedom from captivity. 09:18 And they experienced the promise of hope for the future. 09:22 This has a parallel for 2,000 years ago Jesus left this earth 09:27 and just before He did He made the same promise. 09:32 He made the promise to a people who were likewise bound, 09:36 captive, held in an occupied territory. 09:39 Open your Bible please to John chapter 14. 09:42 John chapter 14. 09:45 And tonight while you are turning there 09:47 I shall tell you this: 09:49 I aim to tell ya nothing new. 09:52 But if I tell you something you already knew when you arrived 09:55 and you leave this place tonight or that place tonight 09:58 encouraged and strengthened in your faith 10:02 I will consider that the Holy Spirit has done His job tonight. 10:05 John chapter 14 verse 1. I used to tell my congregations 10:08 "If I ever tell you anything that you've never heard before, 10:11 there's something wrong either with you or me... one of us. " 10:15 John 14 verse 1 Jesus said: "Let not your heart be... " What? 10:20 "troubled. " 10:21 He said: "You believe in God believe also in... " What? 10:25 "Me. " 10:27 "In My Father's house are many mansions; 10:29 if it were not so, I would have told you. 10:31 I go to prepare a place for you. " Do you like that? 10:36 "And if I go and prepare a place for you... " 10:39 Say it with me: 10:40 "I will come again to receive you unto Myself 10:45 so that where I am there... " What? "you may be also. " 10:48 What a promise! Jesus said: "I'm leaving. 10:51 I am going to heaven and I'm coming back. 10:54 And when I come back I'm getting you 10:57 and I'm taking you to be with Me in that place 11:01 forever. " Praise the Lord! 11:05 You know, something I enjoy doing... and I don't think this 11:07 is very different than most people: I enjoy driving around 11:10 and seeing nice homes. 11:11 I don't mean every day I'm saying to my wife: "Let's go 11:14 driving, " but you know what I mean. It's always nice 11:16 to look at... "Well that is beautiful. " 11:18 "Look at that beautiful structure. " 11:19 Do you know something? You have not even imagined 11:23 in your wildest dreams what Jesus is preparing in heaven 11:26 for you now. And bear with me for a moment. 11:30 We know that in heaven we shall walk on streets of gold. 11:32 We'll enter the place through gates of pearl. 11:34 But you know what? I could care less. 11:36 I don't mind if there is a pup tent up there waiting for me 11:39 next to a lane that's covered in mud 11:42 and rocks and stones because for me heaven is 11:45 less about the mansion, less about the pavement, 11:48 less about what the pearls are made out of 11:50 and all about the fact that God and His Son, our Savior, 11:55 elder brother Jesus will be there. 11:57 That's enough for me. 11:58 Eternity's going to be beautiful. 12:00 The promise of the return of Jesus is the central theme of 12:04 the New Testament and you could say the theme of the Bible. 12:07 From the day when Adam and Eve turned their steps slowly away 12:11 from the gates of Eden people of faith have been 12:15 waiting for their Redeemer to bring them again to the 12:18 lost paradise. First book of the Bible written 12:21 was the book of Job and in that book Job said 12:25 "I know that my Redeemer liveth 12:29 and that He shall stand upon the earth in the latter day. " 12:32 He said: "And though worms destroy this body 12:35 yet in my flesh I shall see God. " 12:40 Job was looking forward to the return of Jesus 12:42 and Job lived thousands of years ago. 12:45 Saint Paul wrote in II Timothy chapter 4: "I am now ready 12:49 to be offered. The time of my departure is at hand. 12:52 I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; 12:55 I have kept the faith. 12:57 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness 13:01 which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 13:04 shall give me... " When? "at that day. 13:08 And not to me only but unto all them also 13:11 who love His appearing. " 13:14 Paul said: "I'm going to die and fall asleep 13:16 but I am looking forward to that day. " 13:18 "I will receive a crown of righteousness on that day. " 13:22 "All those who love His appear- ing will be blessed supremely 13:25 by God on that day. " 13:28 That great day when Jesus comes to take us home! 13:32 The long-promised Messiah will one day really appear. 13:38 It is said that one verse in every 25 13:41 in the New Testament refers to Jesus' second coming. 13:44 The Bible talks about "the Blessed Hope. " 13:49 And I don't want you thinking it's the blessed hope as in 13:51 "Well I... I hope He comes back. " 13:54 You know, ladies and gentlemen, there are some things that 13:58 you should not hope for. You should not hope 14:01 to be saved when Jesus comes back. 14:05 There I was standing in church where I was pastoring 14:08 and after early service in the chapel people were filing out 14:11 and I was shaking hands as I love to do. 14:14 And there was a dear saint who came by. And I said... 14:17 I don't know... what did I say? Oh I'll make it up... 14:19 You weren't there... you'll never know. 14:24 I don't know what was said but it was something like: 14:27 "Well sister, the good news is Jesus is coming back soon. " 14:30 Ah, that was it exactly word for word: 14:33 "Jesus is coming back soon. " 14:35 And she looked up at me and with I don't know quite what 14:38 in her eyes she said: "Pastor, I just hope I'm ready. " 14:43 I said to the next person in line: "Would you mind waiting 14:46 here a moment? Excuse us. " 14:47 And I ushered here over here a little bit 14:49 and I said: "Sister, we need to talk. " 14:51 And she looked at me like she was being taken to the 14:53 principal's office. But the fact was.. she was! 14:59 And I said: "What did you say? 15:00 Did you say you hope to be ready when Jesus comes back? " 15:03 And she said: "Yes... did I say something wrong? " 15:05 And I said: "Yes. " 15:08 "Well, shouldn't I hope to be ready? " 15:11 "No. " Why here's the pastor telling her not to hope to be 15:14 ready to meet Jesus when He comes back. 15:16 I said: "Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior? " 15:20 "Yes. " I said: "Are you living in any kind of wild, crazy 15:24 lifestyle that I should know about? " "No pastor! " 15:27 Well I knew that. I said: "Then you don't need to hope 15:31 to be ready when Jesus comes back. 15:33 You can live your days knowing, believing that you are ready 15:37 to meet Jesus when He comes back. " 15:38 Amen! If we are confused about that, man, 15:41 we are seriously confused. 15:44 John wrote in I John: "I have written these things 15:47 to you so that you may KNOW. " You don't need to doubt 15:52 and you don't need to hope. Instead, you can believe! 15:56 Don't be telling anybody "I hope so. " 15:58 Hope implies doubt; it implies uncertainty. 16:02 If you tell me you hope to be ready, then you're telling me 16:04 there's a good chance you might not be. 16:06 Come on now, the day you accepted Jesus Christ 16:09 you received Him, you received His righteousness... 16:12 what more do you need? 16:14 Live a life of hope; live a life connected to God; 16:18 and you are living a life of confident assurance. 16:22 And I'm not talking about you saying: "Well now that I'm saved 16:24 I can't be lost. " You know I'm not saying that. 16:27 But when you have Christ... Come on now, 16:29 when I travel back to the United States I don't travel on 16:33 a U.S. passport. But it's OK... really. 16:37 I still travel on a New Zealand passport. 16:40 When I come back with my passport and I hand over 16:42 my green card and I know they can't keep me out. 16:46 Legally I mean... unless I break the law... 16:49 they can't not let me in! 16:51 I belong! When I travel home to my home country of New Zealand 16:55 I flash that New Zealand passport at them. In fact, 16:58 I don't even have to talk to a person. I just 17:00 look in a machine and it reads my mind or 17:03 looks at my retinas or something and I put my passport in a slot 17:08 and I pull it out and the doors open and I'm in. 17:11 And they can't keep me out! 17:13 I'm a citizen, man... I have my passport! 17:17 If you have Christ in your heart by faith, 17:22 you've got your passport. 17:24 You have punched your ticket for heaven! 17:28 God can't keep you out. 17:31 Why would He? He doesn't want to. 17:33 Because if you are connected to Jesus by faith 17:36 the Blessed Hope has become the blessed reality. 17:39 Praise the Lord! Amen! 17:42 Don't leave this place... If there's any doubt in your 17:44 mind about your connection with Jesus and whether or not you're 17:46 ready for the second coming don't go. Just stay. 17:49 Tell security: "I'm not leaving until I get this figured out 17:52 with God. " It's that important. 17:55 The Blessed Hope... not hope as in "Hmmm, I hope so. " 17:58 But it is a certainty... it's a promise. 18:03 We're talking about the promise of Christ's coming. 18:07 Jesus has made a promise: "I'm coming back 18:12 for you. " And this is a promise that He will keep. 18:16 Jesus has kept every single solitary promise 18:20 that He ever made, 18:22 and He's not about to let us down on this one. 18:24 And do we know when Jesus is going to come back? 18:26 Do we know? 18:27 You said no? You're wrong. Of course we know. 18:30 That's right... He's coming back soon. 18:32 We know that. 18:37 Now Jesus said: "No man knows the day or the hour. " 18:39 I understand that. Boy, you've got to love these preachers. 18:43 "Well no one knows the day or the hour, but if you take the 18:45 1,260-day prophecy... " 18:47 Oh-oh, there's trouble brewing right there. 18:51 "I'm not setting dates... but if you take the 1,260 days 18:56 and then you add another 30 and if a day is a year... " 19:00 Oh come on man, no one knows the day or the hour. 19:03 Don't try to be more clever than the Holy Spirit. 19:06 No one knows the day or the hour. 19:09 Having said that, Jesus said we can know that His coming 19:12 is near... even at the door. And I believe that! 19:16 And I know you've heard this before 19:18 but I'm not trying to impress you with anything new. 19:20 I'm trying to encourage you that what you know 19:23 and believe is rock solid 19:26 and you can be confident in that and in Christ. 19:29 Jesus said: "When these things begin to come to pass... " 19:32 And He had said in Matthew chapter 24: 19:35 "Wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, 19:39 pestilences, false Christs. " 19:42 Now I tell you what: every time there's an earthquake or a flash 19:45 of lightning you don't have to think: "Man! Maybe Jesus is 19:48 coming right now. " Because in verse 8 in Matthew 24 19:52 He said: "All these things are the beginnings of sorrows. " 19:55 Like birth pains... you've heard this. 19:58 And as they increase in frequency and intensity 20:01 it's a sign to us that Jesus is coming back. 20:04 Now when you were a kid you remember somebody going nuts 20:07 with a gun and shooting some- body on the other side of town. 20:10 And you said: "Oh man, Jesus is coming back. " 20:13 And then there was Columbine 20:14 and you said: "Jesus is coming back tomorrow. " 20:16 And then there was Virginia Tech and you said: "No one can be... 20:19 this is just crazy. " And then there was Sandy Hook 20:22 and you said: "God, how much longer can this go on? " 20:25 Increasing in frequency and intensity. 20:28 It's getting mad out there! 20:30 Natural disasters like you've never seen before. 20:34 Hurricane Katrina... Wait a minute. That was a few years ago 20:36 right? And we kind of... " Oh well, 20:40 that's over... " until the next one. 20:44 And sure as anything the next one will come. 20:48 We live in California and the ground shakes... 20:50 I uh... oh man! 20:53 Now not just in California. Not far from here in western 20:55 Tennessee. Well I'll tell you a story. 20:58 It was nighttime. We were childless at the time 21:03 and my wife was sitting on the end of the bed. 21:05 And so I sat down next to her. 21:06 I did something I hardly ever do: I leaned over 21:09 and I kissed her. I mean I don't know what I was thinking. 21:16 She had the shock of her life: "What are you doing? " 21:24 But right as I kissed her - this is fantastic - 21:27 right as I kissed her the ground shook. Huh? 21:32 How 'bout that? 21:35 Wow! Yeah, I got it. 21:40 The ground shook; the house shook. 21:44 Thank the Lord it wasn't too bad but it was... the earthquake 21:46 was big enough that it moved glasses and, you know, 21:49 you could see where they'd been and they'd moved and stuff 21:52 and things on the wall. And wow! 21:55 She looked at me with her eyes big. I said: "You want me to 21:57 do that again? " 22:03 "Yeah. " 22:08 I live in California and we had an earthquake recently. 22:11 It was right about the time we were getting out of bed 22:13 and I'm laying in bed and the room started to shake. 22:18 And the construction of the place we're living in is such 22:21 that our room is... Well anyway, I think it's precariously 22:25 positioned. And you lay there, right? And the thing shakes 22:28 and you say to yourself: "Oh, this is California. 22:30 It happens all the time. " And you can think an awful lot 22:33 in about the space of about 3 seconds. 22:35 And after it's been shaking for about a second and a half 22:38 you say to yourself: "I hope this isn't going to get 22:40 any worse. " Because they've been telling us 22:43 for so long that one day the big one is going to come. 22:46 People in Nevada will have beach-front property. 22:48 They've been saying that for a long time. 22:50 And I imagine that one day it will. 22:53 But the signs that we see... 22:55 You don't have to go nuts and say: "Well it means Jesus 22:57 is coming back now. " 22:59 They're like... The signs that we see are like... 23:03 They're not like the mile markers. 23:06 You know, you're driving towards St. Louis. 23:07 St. Louis 100 miles. 23:09 St. Louis 75 miles. St. Louis 32 miles. 23:12 It's not that. But if you're driving towards St. Louis from 23:15 here eventually you're going to be on Interstate 64. 23:18 And the signs of the times say to us 64. 23:21 You're still heading on the right road. 23:23 64... you're going that way... west. You drive a little further 23:27 64 west. 23:30 What we see is this: we see signs of the times 23:33 that tell us: "Yes, we are on the right road. " 23:36 "Yes, we are heading in the direction of the second coming 23:39 of Jesus. " "Yes, what God said is still true. " 23:43 "Yes! Jesus is coming back for us one day soon. " 23:48 And we say "Praise the Lord. " 23:50 The only sign that hasn't been fulfilled is the one spoken of 23:53 in Matthew 24:14. 23:55 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the 23:58 world for a witness to all nations; 24:00 then shall the end come. " 24:03 We are not waiting for the beast power to bare its fangs 24:08 any more than it already has. 24:10 That's not what we're waiting on. 24:11 We're not waiting for the governments of nations to do 24:14 their thing or for another earthquake or a new disease. 24:17 The only sign awaiting the fulfillment or awaiting 24:21 fulfillment in preparation for Christ's return 24:23 is that one about the gospel going to the entire world. 24:27 Imagine where we are in the stream of time. 24:31 Friends, we are close. 24:33 The head of gold... I've got one of them. 24:35 The head of gold; the chest of silver. 24:37 I have one of them, too. 24:38 The belly and thighs of brass; the legs of iron. 24:41 The feet and toes: part of clay and part of iron. 24:44 That's where we are... we are way down there. 24:47 No more great kingdoms to come. 24:50 We are this close to the return of Jesus Christ. 24:54 I say "Thank the Lord" and I don't care of you are cynical. 24:58 I don't... Well I care for you but I don't care for me. 25:00 "Well, these preachers have been saying that for years. " 25:03 "Well these preachers... " Do you know how close we are 25:04 to the second coming of Christ? You're a heartbeat away, man. 25:09 Just like the vice president is a heartbeat away from being 25:11 the president. We are this close. 25:14 If you close your eyes tonight and they don't open again, 25:17 Jesus has essentially come for you. 25:20 You know what I'm saying. 25:21 It's over then. 25:24 And I don't mind. Every day that passes 25:26 is a day closer to the second coming of Christ. 25:29 And I know preachers have been talking about this for years 25:32 and years and years but one day they won't be 25:36 talking about it anymore be- cause Jesus will have come back. 25:41 Gravity will have lost power over the soles of our feet. 25:45 Up we will have gone, and we'll be on our way to glory. 25:49 What a day of rejoicing that will be! 25:54 I tell you, you don't have to look too far to see that Jesus 25:57 is coming back. Waukesha, Wisconsin. 26:01 You have hardly ever heard of that place. 26:03 You've probably... "Well I've heard of Wisconsin. " 26:10 "Isn't that near South Carolina? " 26:14 "No... it's near Wyoming. " 26:20 I'm sorry. 26:23 Waukesha, Wisconsin. 26:28 An unremarkable place, although a couple of years ago 26:30 it was rated one of the 100 most livable cities 26:33 in the United States. 70,000 people. 26:36 That's the population. South- eastern corner of Wisconsin. 26:38 It's just like Main Street USA. 26:41 It's a nice enough town... got nothing against it. 26:43 Lovely place. Just where people do their thing 26:46 and get about living their lives. 26:48 Until a couple of days ago. 26:49 It is alleged and it seems like the allegations 26:54 can be substantiated 26:57 that is alleged that a couple of 12-year-old girls 27:00 lured their 12-year-old friend into the woods 27:03 and took out a great big knife with a long blade 27:05 and stabbed her 19 times 27:10 in order to please a character - 27:16 a fictional character - on an Internet website. 27:21 They came within a millimeter, and we don't have millimeters 27:25 in this country, but where I'm from we have them 27:27 and I can tell you that a millimeter is small. 27:30 It's little. They came within a millimeter 27:33 of killing the girl... a millimeter. 27:37 And she survived. She crawled out of the woods 27:39 and got near a path. And a cyclist saw this girl 27:42 and stopped and said: "What in the world? " 27:44 And thank God she's alive. 27:46 You know what? Two middle school girls 27:50 tried to knife to death their middle school friend - 27:56 FRIEND - if the allegations are correct. 28:00 Are we living in a sick world? 28:03 We look around and we say: "Come on... how long 28:06 can this go on? Lord... how long? " 28:10 Habakkuk asked that question, didn't he? 28:12 "How long? " And what is God's answer? 28:16 No, God is not in heaven sitting on His hands. 28:19 He promised us: "I will come again. " 28:25 In the book of Revelation twice it says that Jesus will 28:27 say "It is done! " And one day soon 28:31 it will be done. Hallelujah! 28:35 Jesus is coming back soon. 28:39 Humans have been trying their best for hundreds of years 28:41 to improve society. 28:44 We have not succeeded. 28:45 We are sinking deeper into the quagmire of sin 28:48 and immorality, but we know 28:51 one day it's going to come to an end. 28:53 Jesus is coming back... He promised! 28:58 There's another promise God made back in Genesis chapter 3. 29:01 You know what had happened. God made a perfect world, 29:04 put our perfect parents - Adam and Eve - in that perfect world 29:07 and said "You can have the run of the place, just don't eat 29:10 that fruit. " And they had the run of the place 29:13 and couldn't help themselves. 29:15 And in spite of what God had said 29:18 they ate the fruit. And what happened? 29:21 What happened? The world was plunged into sin. 29:24 Suddenly their perfect human natures were now corrupted 29:28 and their offspring would be born with fallen natures 29:31 rather than perfect natures. 29:33 Now things were going to go haywire. 29:37 Not only would the leaves turn brown on the trees 29:40 and fall to the ground. The animal kingdom would be 29:42 all messed up and the world would be polluted. 29:45 And ultimately the economies of the world would be scrambled 29:48 and there would be wars and there would... 29:49 Look around... this is what was the result. 29:53 And what did God do 29:56 in response to Adam and Eve signing Jesus' death warrant? 30:02 'Cause that's what he did. 30:04 Remember who God is: He is the God of the universe. 30:07 The universe is very, very big. 30:09 Bigger than we can even imagine. 30:11 He made it all... billions of galaxies we are told. 30:14 That's the ones the scientists know about. 30:16 I imagine there must be many more. 30:20 God is that big... we are so small 30:23 and yet we caused the death of the divine Son of God. 30:28 Uh-uh. If I'm God, I'm saying: "No, forget it. It's over for 30:31 you. I shall start again. " 30:33 But when Adam and Eve subjected the Godhead to that 30:37 God responded with a promise. 30:42 "I will put enmity between you and the woman 30:46 and between your seed and her Seed. " 30:50 Isn't that something? 30:51 God comes down to Adam and Eve: "Hey, what's going on? " 30:54 "Oh man. The woman... her fault. " 30:57 They're passing the buck... they're lying. 30:59 "No, no, no... the woman that You gave me. 31:01 It's not her fault... it's YOUR fault. " 31:03 And God instead of saying: "Oh why should I even bother 31:07 with you? " God said: "I'll do something for you. " 31:10 "I will put enmity between you and the woman. " 31:13 Eve was no better than Adam. "Oh man, the serpent... 31:17 the serpent that You created... 31:19 he beguiled me. God, it's Your fault. " 31:22 "We're in a mess... but it's Your fault. " 31:24 And God says: "I will put enmity between you 31:27 and the woman... " He's speaking to Satan. 31:30 "and between your seed and her Seed. 31:32 It shall bruise your head; you shall bruise His heel. " 31:35 God makes a promise. 31:38 When the human family messes up royally God says: 31:42 "I promise you I will get you out of the mess. " 31:44 Isn't that remarkable? 31:47 Now your kid throws a baseball through the kitchen window 31:50 and you say: "I promise you. " 31:52 You make a different promise. 31:55 But when God's kids caused the death of God's Son 32:01 God says: "I promise that I will give you the gift 32:05 of repentance. Make it possible for you to 32:08 experience re-creation, a new heart, 32:12 righteousness... through faith in the Son of God. " 32:15 God said: "You have made such a mess! 32:18 The only thing that can take care of it is grace. 32:22 I will save you. " 32:24 God makes a promise... an expensive promise. 32:27 Some promises are very expensive. 32:30 I remember one that worked out in my favor. 32:32 I was working for a radio station. In a prior life 32:34 I was a radio broadcaster. 32:36 And we were coming down to ratings time, and the other 32:38 radio station, they were... they were... they were... I mean 32:42 they looked like they could beat us up in the ratings. 32:44 And so when I was negotiating my contract 32:46 right around that time with the manager of the radio station 32:49 who was desperate. We did this little thing where 32:52 every point in the ratings that I finished ahead of the other 32:55 guy they'd give me a small pile of money. 32:57 Well actually, a reasonably large pile of money. 32:59 So if I finished a whole lot of points ahead 33:02 happy days! But the manager had no faith that I would. 33:06 But he knew if he incentivized me like that 33:08 I would work hard and it would give us our best chance. 33:11 So man, he gave me the keys to the kingdom. 33:16 And what do you know? 33:18 We won the ratings by a country mile 33:21 and I was contemplating early retirement. 33:23 Well it wasn't like that. 33:25 Wasn't like that... but it was sure good! 33:27 Promises can be expensive. That promise cost my manager 33:31 a lot of money. And I never did find out 33:33 what his boss said to him. I'm sure it wasn't pretty. 33:36 You recall there was a foolish man who promised a young lady 33:41 as much as half of his kingdom. 33:43 She said: "No that's fine but do bring me the head 33:45 of John the Baptist. " 33:48 But God made an extravagant promise. 33:52 "Adam and Eve: you've done such a terrible thing. 33:55 You know what I'm going to do? I promise you 33:57 that I'll make it possible for you to be saved. " 34:01 That's wonderful, isn't it? 34:04 I believe it; I accept it; I have no problem with it 34:07 but if you try to get to the bottom of it 34:09 it might bend your brain. 34:11 That's an enormous thing that God did. 34:13 What a promise: "I will save you. " 34:19 And God gave the gift of repentance to us so that 34:22 there is a war that rages inside of us. 34:24 Thank God for that. We're born bent, but God comes to us. 34:27 Christ works on us, in us. 34:31 The Spirit of God refuses to let us go. 34:33 He gives us enlightenment and show us the pathway 34:36 to a better life. It's similar to what 34:39 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in 1968 in Atlanta, GA. 34:43 He said this: "In every one of us 34:45 there's a civil war going on. 34:48 Every time you set out to be good there's something pulling 34:51 on you. Every time you set out to love 34:54 something keeps pulling on you trying to get you to hate. 34:57 Every time you set out to be kind and say nice things 35:00 something is pulling on you to be jealous and envious 35:03 and spread evil gossip. We end up crying out with 35:06 with St. Augustine: "Lord, make me pure... 35:10 but not yet. " 35:15 There's a war that goes on inside you. 35:17 It's made possible because of the grace of God. 35:19 If God had not made that promise to Adam and Eve, 35:21 we would have been done with long ago. 35:23 We'd have all been fully given over to do evil. 35:26 But there's enmity today because God made a promise: 35:30 "I will do this for you: 35:33 Jesus will come into the world. " And He did. 35:36 And when Jesus was in the world He made another promise 35:39 to a sinful world. You know, this was John 14. 35:43 "I will come again and receive you unto Myself. " 35:45 Not long after that Peter was denying Him. 35:49 They all forsook Him and fled. 35:52 Jesus promised a wicked, rebellious, hard-headed, 35:58 hard-heart... and these were His friends. 36:01 And they abandoned Him and yet He promised them 36:05 "I will come again. " 36:07 There's no doubt He will come back 36:09 and He'll come back to take us home. 36:12 The promise of His coming suggests some things to me. 36:15 I'll share some points with you. 36:16 I have six to share, and I don't know if I'll get through 36:18 all six of them or not... but let's see. 36:21 Number one point: the promise of His coming tells us that 36:25 Jesus is the Messiah, the divine Son of God. 36:29 Do you know what the Bible says? I John 5 verse 12 36:32 "He that hath the Son hath life. " 36:36 Don't you like that? 36:38 Now let me tell you something. 36:40 Now man, I've got to be careful that this doesn't become 36:43 the burden of every discourse I share. 36:45 But some of you know that over the last year or so 36:49 I had a rather interesting tangle with ill health... 36:56 one of those tangles that causes you to think about the big 36:59 picture. If anyone ever says to you "It's cancer, " 37:06 one of the first things you think of is "I could die" 37:10 because it's a killer. 37:12 And I thought that, too: "Man, I could die. " 37:15 And I wondered about that. 37:17 Tell you what... tell you why... I tell you what... 37:19 I don't have time for this but I'll tell you anyway. 37:21 I said to myself: "If I die, where will I spend eternity? " 37:24 Well I said: "I have to answer the right way and say 37:28 I will be with God for eternity. " 37:30 And then there was a question that came to me, and the 37:32 question was: "Upon what do you base that? " 37:38 And I thought to myself: "Well, I know the right answer 37:42 but let me think this through. 37:44 I can't base my hope of eternal life upon my goodness 37:47 because I know what I'm really like. 37:51 Thank God you don't. 37:57 I know what I'm really like. 37:59 I know my weaknesses, I know my corruption, 38:01 I know my... you know... I know my track record. 38:04 I know the stuff I don't want other people to know. 38:06 If it's up to my goodness, I'm doomed! 38:10 I mean, even if I live like Enoch from here on out 38:14 I've got my past to contend with. 38:16 I'm doomed. What then? " 38:21 And then I realized the wonderful promise of the Bible: 38:24 "He that hath the Son hath life. " 38:29 And there it is. I mean, your good deeds... that's all good. 38:33 Don't make the mistake of thinking they're going to 38:35 get you into heaven. The only thing that will 38:38 is Jesus. Possessing Him by faith. 38:42 If you have Christ, you have enough. 38:46 We have reason to love Jesus supremely 38:48 because through Him and through His merits and by His 38:51 goodness, and because of what He has done for us 38:54 and what He will do in us THERE is the basis 38:58 of our hope of everlasting life. 39:00 Thank the Lord Jesus IS the Messiah. 39:04 He said to us: "Be ye therefore ready. " 39:08 And that might mean getting your house in order. 39:10 But you don't start with your house, you start with Christ. 39:13 Get Christ in your heart. 39:15 When you have Jesus, when you have fallen on the rock 39:18 and been broken, when you have told God 39:21 "I accept Christ. " When you have wrestled in prayer 39:24 like Jacob and said: "I will not let You go 39:27 until You bless me. " 39:29 "Lord I believe... and Jesus is mine. " 39:32 Then you don't have to worry any more. 39:34 If you've accepted Christ, you have the Son and therefore 39:38 you have life. Jesus came into this world 39:41 to give you and me hope and a future. 39:44 And we say "thank God" for that. 39:46 Jesus is the Messiah. That's what the second coming says. 39:50 A second point tells us that the second coming 39:54 spells the absolute end of hope for the lost. 39:59 Revelation chapter 6: "The heavens depart as 40:02 a scroll. " The lost hide themselves in the mountains 40:05 and in the dens of the rocks and they say: 40:08 "fall on us. " Matthew 24, this is in verse 30: 40:12 "All the tribes of the earth shall mourn. " 40:16 The fact that Jesus is coming back is a wake-up call for us. 40:20 I will talk with you more about that tomorrow. 40:22 It is a wake-up call for us. 40:24 He's coming back, and you might be able to tomorrow 40:28 deal with what you did last week but one day there's coming 40:31 a time it will just be too late. 40:33 If you've not accepted Christ, yielded your life to Him, 40:37 made a full surrender and said "God, be God in my life, " 40:41 after that it will be too late. 40:47 Too late. 40:49 Too late. You don't need to be neurotic about this 40:52 but you ought to be urgent about this. 40:55 There ought to be some urgency about this 40:57 because when Jesus comes back it's going to be like hide and 41:00 go seek. You remember that? 41:02 You counted to 200 by fives... that's what we used to do. 41:06 And then you say... what do you say next? 41:08 "Ready or not, here I come. " That's what Jesus says. 41:12 "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. " 41:16 But thank God: "he that is righteous... " and she... 41:19 "let that one be righteous still. " 41:22 When Jesus comes back, the lost have no more hope. 41:24 Let me appeal to you: if you're dillydallying around, 41:26 if you're playing, if it's not right with you and God, 41:32 get it right, would you? 41:33 Get it right... get it right. 41:36 Go to God and say: "God, make it right. " 41:37 More about tomorrow... but make it right. 41:40 "Lord, take my heart. Make it Yours. " 41:42 "Come into my life... make me Yours. " 41:45 "God, take possession of me. " 41:48 And then it's right. 41:50 A third point I want to share with you: the second coming 41:53 of Jesus offers us hope. Isaiah said: "It will be said 41:57 in that day: 'Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him 42:00 and He will save us. ' " 42:04 We have a Father who cares. 42:07 He has not forgotten you. 42:12 Man, it's easy for us because we live in comfortable homes 42:15 and we drive in comfortable vehicles 42:17 and we've got enough money to get fed and even help others. 42:22 There are a lot of people living in this world today 42:24 who are living bereft of hope. 42:27 They are struggling and battling and they're dealing with 42:29 illnesses and diseases and they are living in marriages 42:32 that have gone down the toilet and they're living in homes... 42:34 families... that have been torn apart. 42:36 And they're going to work for the last day because they're 42:38 losing their job and they don't know how they're going to 42:41 make money to eat, and their kids have gone off the rails. 42:44 And it seems as though God has abandoned them. 42:49 Except... God will never forget us 42:53 and He has said: "I'm coming back for you. " 42:59 He knows your name. 43:01 He knows your address. 43:02 He knows everything there is to know about you. 43:04 He knows when your next breath will be taken. 43:07 God is sending His Son Jesus back. 43:10 It tells us He loves us. He has not forgotten us 43:15 and will never forget us. 43:17 Jesus is coming back soon; God won't forget ya. 43:22 I believe, too, the return of Jesus offers us comfort. 43:26 Don't you believe that? 43:29 "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout 43:32 with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God. " 43:35 What's going to happen? The dead in Christ shall what? 43:38 Oh... come on, now. 43:40 "The dead in Christ shall rise first. " Thank the Lord! 43:45 Paul said: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. " 43:48 And I have to think about that, too. 43:50 The worst thing that can happen... 43:54 I had a conversation with a young man the other day 43:56 and we were talking about the death of his mother. 43:57 She died too young, 44:00 and there were some circumstances that took place 44:03 about this whole business of the death of his mother. 44:06 And I said to him... I said: 44:09 "Was death really the worst thing that could have happened 44:13 to your mother? " I mean, stop and think about it, 44:16 ladies and gentlemen. The worst thing that can... 44:19 If the worst thing that can happen is that you die, 44:22 well the best news is the next thing you're going to be 44:25 aware of is that Jesus has come back 44:27 and He's raised you from your dusty grave. 44:29 Man... death is not the end! 44:32 Isn't that good news? 44:33 That is supremely good news. 44:35 We have hope tonight that beyond this world 44:38 there is a world to come. 44:40 Beyond this life there is a life which measures with the life 44:44 of God. The return of Jesus offers us hope, immense hope. 44:50 Thank the Lord. Say "Amen" tonight. 44:53 Amen! Jesus is coming back soon. 44:55 "We shall not all sleep but we shall be changed 44:59 all, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye 45:02 at the last trumpet. " This is when Jesus calls out 45:05 "Awake, you that sleep in the dust. " 45:10 When Jesus comes back it's the end of sin. 45:13 It's the end of death. You won't fear for your children's safety. 45:18 You won't have to say: "Oh my goodness... 45:20 did I take my medication this morning? " 45:23 There won't be nursing homes and long stays in the hospital. 45:26 No chemotherapy; no dialysis. 45:29 No strokes; no heart attacks. 45:31 There won't be chemical dependencies or addictions. 45:34 There won't be crimes and criminals. 45:36 The funeral parlors will exist no more, and the undertakers 45:39 will be out of business. So will the doctors. 45:41 Thank the Lord... no more bills to pay. 45:44 No more tax returns to fill out. 45:46 No injustice; no discrimination. 45:49 Jesus is coming back to take us home 45:52 to a land where the flowers never fade 45:55 and the inhabitants thereof will not say "I am sick. " 45:57 I'm about ready to go! What about you? 45:59 Amen! Man, this is good news! 46:01 Another point right there: when Jesus returns 46:04 we get to go home. 46:08 "Well tell me what it's like, preacher, if it's so good. " 46:10 Well I can't 'cause I've never been. 46:13 I can tell you what it's like in my home. 46:16 I can tell you what it's like in New Zealand. That's good. 46:19 I can tell you about the places I've been to 46:21 but I can't tell you about what heaven's like... 46:24 and I'm glad. The Bible says: "Eye has not seen, 46:27 ear has not heard, it has not entered into the heart 46:29 of man the things that God has prepared 46:31 for them that love Him. " 46:33 It's better than you can imagine! 46:35 Amen! How about that? 46:37 We get to go home... hallelujah! 46:41 Home... home forever. 46:43 The home we're meant to be in. 46:46 Oh man! Another point... this might even be the 6th point. 46:50 The return of Jesus... It might not. Were you counting? 46:57 "Yeah, honey, it went well. They were right with me tonight 47:01 every step of the way... making notes. " 47:06 The sixth point: why don't you turn in your Bible to 47:09 Titus chapter 2. The return of Jesus 47:12 is an enormous celebration of the grace of God. 47:16 That's what it is. 47:18 It's a celebration of the grace of God. 47:20 It says in Titus 2 and verse 11: 47:24 "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation 47:27 has appeared to all men. " You like that. 47:29 To all. Grace brings salvation 47:32 and that grace has appeared to all. 47:34 "Teaching us that denying ungodliness 47:37 and worldly lusts 47:39 we should live soberly, righteously, and godly 47:42 in this present world looking for that... " What? 47:51 You know, when I wore a younger man's clothes 47:55 I used to frequent Pentecostal churches from time to time. 47:59 And I was very excited 48:01 because when the preacher said "Looking for that what? " 48:04 everybody spoke up. 48:06 But then I found the truth and the Lord led me to a place 48:10 where some speak and most don't. 48:15 I said: "Lord, how come is it that people without the truth 48:18 get so excited and the people with the truth 48:20 it's like they've been injected with propofol? " 48:24 I mean, what is it? 48:31 Looking for that reasonably- good hope... looking for that 48:36 so-so hope. Come on now, help me out. "Looking for 48:38 that... " What? Blessed Hope. "the Blessed Hope... " 48:41 Thank the Lord. "And the glorious appearing of... " 48:44 "the glorious appearing. " 48:45 You can't just brush right over that. 48:48 "the glorious appearing of the great God 48:51 and our Savior Jesus Christ. " 48:54 Grace! Paul starts this thing off telling us salvation has 48:58 come to all by the grace of God. 49:02 That same grace teaches us we ought to live a certain way 49:05 and it is that grace that enables that to happen 49:08 as the God of grace allows His Son Jesus to come and live 49:11 His life in you. 49:14 Something else about the return of Jesus: 49:16 evil will be gone! 49:18 Oh, there's a wonderful prophecy that Satan hates... 49:21 Satan hates in Isaiah 14. 49:24 "You shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 49:27 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee 49:29 and consider thee saying: 'Is this the man that made 49:33 the earth to tremble? That did shake kingdoms? 49:35 That made the world as a wilderness and destroyed 49:38 the cities thereof, that opened not the house of his prison? " 49:42 You know what? One day you're going to look at the devil 49:44 and you're going to say: "Is that it? " 49:48 "We let him mess us up? " 49:51 "What... what were we thinking? " 49:54 Really... that's what the prophecy says. 49:57 We will look on him and say: "Huh? Is that it? 50:01 This is the one who caused misery for the world? " 50:04 When Jesus comes back it's going to be over. 50:10 Well, I took the whole time to tell you the first half 50:12 of my sermon, and now I'll give you the second half 50:15 in about two minutes and 47 seconds. 50:17 And the second half is this: ladies and gentlemen, 50:20 the Blessed Hope ought to do something in ya. 50:23 It ought to fire you up and fill you with confidence. 50:26 We ought to be believing Jesus is coming back. 50:29 And if we know that Jesus is coming back, 50:30 we hang on to Him. We cling to Him like a barnacle 50:34 clings to the hull of a ship. 50:36 We hold on and we don't let go! 50:38 We love Him because He would save us. 50:40 We trust Him because He's coming to get us back. 50:43 We thank Him because He would forgive us... 50:46 We yield to Him because He has died to set us free. 50:50 But not only should the Blessed Hope do something in us 50:54 it's got to do something through us. 50:57 Now come on... do you believe Jesus is coming back? 51:00 Yes. Do you know Jesus is coming back? 51:03 Yes. Does your neighbor know Jesus is coming back? 51:10 Who's the only person who can do anything about that? 51:14 Hmmm? 51:16 We've got people living next door who don't know Jesus 51:19 from anybody else. Ron Watts who is our manager 51:21 right now at It Is Written work- ed in India for many many years. 51:25 He went into a remote... a village in India 51:29 and he said to somebody: "Hey, have you ever heard of 51:32 a Man named Jesus Christ? " 51:35 And the Indian man looked. He said: "Hmmm, hmmm. " 51:38 More like this... India, you know. 51:40 "Hmmm, hmmm. " He turned to his friend. 51:43 They spoke in I'm not sure which language. 51:45 They turned back and they said: "No, no, as far as we know 51:48 there's no one here living here by that name. " 51:53 Never heard of Jesus. 51:56 Did you hear what I said? Never heard of Jesus. 52:02 Now that's India. What about where we are? 52:04 The United States are a first-world country. 52:06 People have heard of Jesus. 52:08 But to many people He's a cartoon character 52:11 or a swear word or some irrelevant thing. 52:18 We know Jesus is coming back. It's up to us to tell others 52:21 that Jesus is coming back. 52:23 We've got to be set on fire by this hope with an evangelistic 52:27 fervor to see to it that we commit our lives, 52:30 our talents, our resources, 52:34 our creativity to letting the world know 52:38 Jesus is coming back soon. 52:42 All around us there are people going to hell, 52:44 going down to Christless graves. 52:47 They will not come up in the first resurrection. 52:49 Masses of people... multitudes of people. 52:53 Yet we've got what they need. 52:56 When Jesus called them He said: "You fishermen: 52:58 I will make you fishers of men. " 53:01 A demoniac came to Jesus; Jesus cast the demon out. 53:04 He said: "I want to follow You. " 53:06 Jesus said: "No, no, no. You don't want to follow Me. 53:08 Go home and share with others what I have done for you. " 53:11 And that was so powerful that when Jesus came back there 53:13 the whole city - the people who kicked Him out last time - 53:17 were ready to welcome Him back. 53:19 Isn't that something? 53:21 Ladies and gentlemen, it's one thing for us to proudly 53:24 puff out our chests and say: "I know what I believe 53:27 and Jesus is coming back. 53:29 Check that one off... I believe it. " 53:31 That's fine, but come on now. 53:33 We don't possess this belief just for the sake of our 53:36 intellect or the sake of merely our souls... 53:39 but for the sake of others. 53:41 God has given us the truth. You know when there were these 53:43 people who believed Jesus was coming back in the 1840's 53:45 led by a Baptist named William Miller. 53:48 And they believed Jesus was coming back. 53:49 The Bible talks about that in Revelation chapter 10. 53:53 "Take this little book... " Book of Daniel... 53:55 "put it in your mouth. It will be sweet. 53:57 Swallow it... it'll be bitter. " 53:59 And they did that and then the angel said: 54:01 "Prophesy again before kings and these people and that 54:04 people. Prophesy again. " 54:06 In other words, you believe Jesus is coming back. 54:09 I am commissioning you. You've got a message, 54:12 a responsibility, a privilege to tell others. 54:18 And I would close by telling you that knowing that Jesus is 54:21 coming back gives us hope. What does hope do? 54:24 Hope will change your life. 54:27 Hope will change your life. 54:29 I wanted to tell you about my friend Ron. 54:31 I don't have time but instead I'll tell you a story 54:34 that was first shared by a fellow you might have heard of. 54:36 His name was George Vandeman. 54:38 He worked for a ministry you might have heard of 54:40 called It Is Written 54:42 and he hosted a television program by the same name. 54:45 Vandeman talked about a little boy in Massachusetts 54:47 named Shawn Butler. The doctor said: "Shawn is going to die. 54:52 He is full of cancer. " 54:53 Well, somebody arranged for a first baseman from the Red Sox, 54:57 Dave Stapleton, to come and visit Shawn. 54:59 And when Shawn heard Dave's voice 55:02 he opened his eyes. 55:04 Dave said: "Shawn, tomorrow I will hit a homerun for you. " 55:09 Well, little Shawn had to watch the game. 55:11 And sure enough, Dave stepped up to the plate 55:14 and smacked the ball over the fence. 55:17 Something remarkable happened. 55:19 It wasn't long after that that the doctor said: 55:22 "There's something we can't figure out. 55:24 This boy is well now. 55:27 He was saved by hope. " |
Revised 2021-08-02