Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

Receiving and Sharing Forgiveness

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: AFNB

Program Code: AFNB002015S


00:02 male announcer: This presentation is brought to you
00:03 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.
00:07 ♪♪♪
00:14 Doug Batchelor: "For to whom much is forgiven,
00:16 the same loves much."
00:18 I've got a theory.
00:20 The reason that a lot of Christians do not appreciate the
00:23 forgiveness of Jesus is because they don't know how much they
00:26 have been forgiven.
00:31 Doug: Everybody knows that Jesus died for our sins to provide
00:35 forgiveness that we might have hope of everlasting life and
00:40 share in eternity.
00:42 But part of that forgiveness not only means that we receive it,
00:47 it means that we share it with others.
00:49 I want to read--most of us know the Lord's Prayer, but I'm going
00:52 to read the last section of this in Matthew chapter 6 starting
00:55 with verse 12.
00:56 "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
01:00 In Luke it says, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those
01:04 who trespass against us.
01:06 For if you, verse 14, "If you forgive men their trespasses,
01:10 your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
01:13 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, then neither
01:17 will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."
01:20 So, we've learned about seeing the Lord, seeing him in his
01:24 goodness, his holiness, we then, through the goodness of God, we
01:28 see ourselves by contrast and we repent, we confess, we receive
01:34 the forgiveness he offers.
01:36 Pastor Doug, are you saying that the Bible teaches that before
01:39 God can forgive us, we must first forgive everybody else?
01:43 I'm not gonna answer that right away, I'm gonna let Jesus answer
01:45 by going to a parable.
01:47 Most of you know this, you find it in Matthew chapter 18.
01:50 It's only in Matthew 18, you don't find this exact parable in
01:53 Luke, or John, or Mark.
01:55 And I'm gonna start with verse 21.
01:59 Now, Jesus is speaking with Peter.
02:00 A lot of the chapter talks about relationships
02:03 with your fellow man.
02:04 "And Peter came to him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my
02:08 brother sin against me and I forgive him?
02:10 Up to seven times?'"
02:13 Now, Peter thought he was being unusually generous when he said
02:15 that, because some of the religious leaders at that time,
02:19 they had a belief that you forgive a person maybe three
02:22 times, kinda like baseball, you know, sin were these
02:25 big calamities.
02:27 But after you get to three, then there's no more forgiveness.
02:31 And so, Peter thought, "Well, Jesus is so merciful, I'm going
02:34 to double it and add one for good measure and say seven,
02:36 nice Bible number."
02:38 "Lord, how often shall I forgive my brother?"
02:40 Not even an enemy, your brother.
02:42 And he said, "Seven times?"
02:44 He thought maybe Jesus would say, "Peter, you finally get
02:47 the message."
02:48 But instead, Christ said to him, "I do not say unto you seven
02:51 times, but seventy times seven."
02:54 Make a note of that number.
02:57 And then Jesus goes on and he shares a parable.
03:00 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king
03:03 who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
03:06 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him
03:09 who owed him 10,000 talents.
03:13 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he
03:16 should be sold with his wife and his children and all that he had
03:21 and payment be made.
03:23 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master,
03:27 have patience with me and I will pay you all.'
03:30 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, and
03:33 he released him and forgave him the debt.
03:36 But that servant went out and he found one of his fellow servants
03:40 who owed him 100 denarii And he laid hands on him, and took him
03:44 by the throat, and said, 'Pay me what you owe.'
03:47 So, his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him,
03:50 saying, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you all,' and he
03:54 would not.
03:55 But he went and he threw him into prison until he should pay
03:57 the debt.
03:59 So, when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were
04:01 very grieved.
04:03 And they came and they told their master all that had
04:05 been done.
04:06 Then his master, after he had called him, he said to him,
04:09 'You wicked servant.
04:10 I forgave you all that debt because you begged me,
04:12 because you asked me.
04:14 Should you not have had compassion on your fellow
04:16 servant, just as I had pity on you?'
04:20 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors
04:24 until he should pay all that was due him.
04:27 So, my Heavenly father also will do to each of you if you from
04:32 his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
04:37 Well, the Lord wants us clearly to forgive others, but who does
04:40 the first forgiving in this story?
04:42 The king does.
04:43 Now, let's back up, and I'm gonna use some alliterations and
04:46 try and teach six main points from this very important lesson
04:49 on receiving and passing on forgiveness, and how much the
04:53 two of them go together, and it is connected with our receiving
04:57 the Holy Spirit.
04:59 Alright, first of all, the magnitude of the debt.
05:02 It says that he's brought in and he's somehow been squandering
05:06 the king's money.
05:07 He was in some position where he had the king's combination two
05:11 his safe or the bank book, or the king's credit card, and he
05:15 was on a spending spree.
05:17 Maybe he had a gambling problem.
05:18 We don't know what the issue was, but somehow he racked up an
05:22 unbelievable debt.
05:23 Now, just to give you an idea how big a number this is, he
05:27 says 10,000 talents.
05:29 So, let's just assume they're talents of silver.
05:31 If you go back to the time of Christ, the annual tribute of
05:36 Judea, Samaria, Idumea around this time was only 600 talents,
05:41 the tribute they paid to Rome.
05:43 Here this man owes 10,000 talents of the king's money.
05:47 The only other time you find that number, 10,000 talents, and
05:50 by the way, that's where we get the word "myriad."
05:52 It was the highest number there in Greek.
05:55 It's interesting that was the amount that Haman offered
05:58 to pay.
06:00 You read in the book of Esther chapter 3 verse 9, Haman said,
06:03 "I will give 10,000 talents of silver into the king's treasury
06:07 if you will exterminate these enemies," the Jews.
06:10 And so, that debt, Jesus draws from these Bible stories to
06:14 remind us this represents the burden of sin that is crushing
06:19 us out.
06:20 It's like a bounty on our heads that's being paid for
06:22 our destruction.
06:24 And so, 10,000 talents, and compared to the denarii, the
06:29 denarii, you know, that was a reasonable debt,
06:31 it's only 100 denarii.
06:33 Ten-thousand talents is 600,000 times as large as what this
06:39 fellow servant owed the king's servant.
06:43 And so, you notice the magnitude of the debt this man has.
06:48 He has squandered a fabulous amount, and I don't know, you
06:51 know, the price of silver and gold goes up, a talent is a
06:54 weight, a weight of around 56 pounds.
06:58 That's the small side of what a talent is, all the way up to
07:01 75 pounds.
07:03 And if you've got 10,000 times 75 pounds of silver, you can
07:09 realize this is an astronomical number, let alone if it
07:11 was gold.
07:12 So, the number is, like, just a far out number.
07:15 That is the number that represents our sins against God.
07:21 So, this man comes to the king and he says, "I can't pay."
07:25 And the king is moved.
07:28 You can read it.
07:30 Now we're gonna talk about the mercy of the king.
07:31 You look in Matthew chapter 18 verse 27, "Then the master of
07:35 that servant was moved with compassion, and he released him
07:40 and he forgave him the debt."
07:43 Now, there's a difference between pity and compassion.
07:45 They're both something that represents pathos and feeling
07:49 for another, but compassion is really, it means with pathos,
07:54 and typically in our dictionary, it means that you not only
07:57 behold a person's suffering, it's not only that you empathize
08:01 with them, you do something about it.
08:04 If I see a person get a flat tire in rush hour and they pull
08:07 off, I might say, "Oh, Lord, help," them that's pity.
08:10 But if I pull over and help them change the tire,
08:13 that's compassion.
08:14 So, did Jesus have pity on us, or did he have compassion?
08:19 Did he just looked down and say the human race is in a lot of
08:21 trouble down there, it's so sad, or did he come down and do
08:24 something about it?
08:26 The king was moved with compassion.
08:28 He forgave the debt.
08:30 So, who ends up suffering for this man's irresponsibility?
08:35 The king does.
08:37 He shows him mercy.
08:38 He freely forgives the debt.
08:40 "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
08:43 remember no more."
08:45 What a wonderful promise.
08:47 Psalm 103:17, "The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to
08:51 everlasting on those who fear him, his righteousness to the
08:55 children's children."
08:57 God's mercy is everlasting.
08:59 He's a merciful king.
09:01 He's willing to forgive whatever your sins might be.
09:04 So, we see the mercy, and the love, and the pity of the king,
09:07 how much he is willing to forgive us, but now I want you
09:11 to notice it's not pleasant, the meanness of the servant.
09:15 This character is just, he is harsh, he is hardhearted.
09:21 Now, if I had owed the king 10,000 talents, obviously he
09:25 knew he owed that money, and and if you owe the king that much
09:27 money, you know a judgment day is coming.
09:29 You're probably a little apprehensive about that.
09:32 And so, he kept thinking about this burden.
09:35 He kept thinking that judgment day was coming.
09:36 There's gonna be an accounting, and if nothing else, this story
09:39 reminds us there is a judgment day.
09:42 There's an accounting that happens.
09:44 I would be so relieved when I came in before the king, I mean,
09:48 the man, he had to be feeling terrible.
09:52 The Bible tells us that the king was going to sell his family,
09:56 his wife, his children, all of his property, and, you know, the
10:00 wife is crying as she's being taken off to be sold, maybe part
10:03 of someone's household or harem, and the children are being taken
10:06 off to be sold as slaves, and his stuff that he bought with
10:09 the king's credit card is being pulled out of his home to be
10:12 sold at a royal garage sale.
10:14 And the man falls down crying, pleading the king,
10:17 "Please forgive me, I will pay it all back."
10:19 He's never gonna pay it all back, the king knows that,
10:21 but the king is moved with compassion, he forgives him.
10:24 If that happened to me, I would have gone, I would've kissed the
10:27 king's feet, I would have gone out of there, I would've been so
10:30 happy I would've been skipping and rejoicing, and I would've
10:33 been smiling and loving everybody.
10:35 But all this guy can think of is someone that owes him
10:38 100 denarii.
10:39 He's just been forgiven millions, and millions, billions
10:42 of dollars, and he goes and he takes a friend by the throat.
10:47 Now, let's read it again.
10:48 Matthew 18:28, "But that same servant went out, he found his
10:53 fellow servant, and he laid hands on him, and he took him by
10:57 the throat."
10:58 That's pretty serious, saying, "Pay me what you owe."
11:02 "So, his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and he begged
11:05 him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you all.'"
11:08 Now, when he said to the king, "Have patience with me and I'm
11:11 gonna pay you your 10,000 talents," no way that's ever
11:14 going to happen, he can't do it.
11:16 But if someone owes him 100 denarii, you know, in 24 hours,
11:21 you could probably find a creative way to get that money,
11:24 an honest way, and pay it back.
11:26 But he takes him by the throat.
11:28 That's pretty heavy handed, "Pay me what you owe."
11:31 His fellow servant says, "Have patience with me."
11:34 Same thing he says to the king, and he would not have mercy, not
11:39 even for that petty amount.
11:40 But he went and he threw him in prison that he should be
11:43 tortured for 100 denarii.
11:47 See, in Bible times, if you owed money, you couldn't pay, they
11:50 put you in prison, and they had a debtor's prison where you
11:52 could actually be tortured, they were called tormenters.
11:55 That somehow had a price list and on the wall, and if you
11:58 owed, you know, ten denarii, then it was one lash, and if it
12:02 was 100 denarii, it was ten lashes, or, you know, six hours
12:06 on the rack.
12:08 I'm not sure how they measured out all their punishment.
12:09 I sure wouldn't want to go to a debtor's prison owing
12:11 10,000 talents.
12:13 This man had just been forgiven this incredible punishment, and
12:17 he now punishes his brother for this petty amount.
12:21 What is this dealing with?
12:24 The sun is about 93 million miles from the earth.
12:29 That represents how much God is willing to forgive us.
12:32 I hear it takes about--light travels at 186,000 miles
12:36 a second.
12:37 It takes about eight minutes for the light of the sun to reach
12:40 the earth.
12:42 That's how far away it is.
12:44 But our forgiveness to each other is like one foot.
12:50 God is willing to forgive us the distance between the earth and
12:54 the sun, and we sometimes will not forgive each other one foot.
12:57 This is what the moral of the story is.
13:01 Christ is saying look how much I'm willing to forgive you.
13:03 What right do you have to be bitter and unforgiving with your
13:07 fellow servants, when I have so freely forgiven you?
13:10 And we need to have a change of heart.
13:12 When we see how much God is willing to forgive us,
13:16 shouldn't we be willing to forgive each other?
13:18 And I know there's people out there that are thinking right
13:20 now, "Well Pastor Doug though, if you only knew what they did
13:24 to me you'd understand that this is an exception.
13:28 Most things you can forgive, you know, the little offenses, but
13:30 this person, what they did was just plain old wicked, and how
13:33 can I ever forgive that?"
13:35 You need to.
13:37 And I have a theory that if people really spend time at the
13:40 foot of the cross looking at Jesus dying and suffering for
13:43 their sins, it makes it a lot easier for us to forgive the
13:47 other sins.
13:48 When you see, you know, this part of the cross is longer than
13:51 this part of the cross.
13:52 Our sins are much bigger than our sins against God and our
13:56 sins against each other.
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14:29 and most important, to share it with others.
14:33 Doug: I remember hearing a story years ago before Louis Pasteur
14:36 discovered the cure for rabies.
14:38 A man in France had been bitten by a rabid dog, and when the
14:43 doctor finally told him I've got bad news, we tested the dog, and
14:46 it's behaving like it has rabies, which means that you're
14:50 going to probably die in a few days, the man asked the doctor
14:53 for a pen and a piece of paper, and he began to
14:55 vigorously write.
14:57 And the doctor said, look, you've got a few days, take
15:00 your time.
15:01 If you're gonna write out your will, you want to think,
15:02 make good decisions.
15:04 He said I'm not writing out my will, he said I'm making a list
15:06 of everybody I'm gonna bite before I die.
15:09 And this is the way some people are.
15:12 It's like the devil, he's come down with great wrath, because
15:15 he knows his time is short, he wants to take as many people
15:19 with him as he can.
15:20 And believe it or not, there are some Christians that are
15:22 vengeful, and that is not the spirit of Christ.
15:26 So, now we're gonna talk about the malice of vengeance.
15:30 You know, the Bible makes one thing clear, that if we don't
15:33 forgive others, we cannot be forgiven.
15:36 That vengeance tends to backfire.
15:39 You get what you give.
15:40 Proverbs 24 verse 17, "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls
15:45 and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the
15:48 Lord see it and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath
15:52 from him."
15:53 Proverbs 26:27, "Whoever digs a pit will fall in it."
15:58 Now, what does that mean?
15:59 Sometimes they used to try to trap a person or herd a person.
16:01 They'd dig a pit and they put spikes in it, so that they could
16:04 wound their enemy.
16:05 And it says, "If you dig a pit, you will fall in it, and whoever
16:08 rolls a stone will have it roll back on them."
16:12 Trying to roll a stone down a cliff on your enemy, you might
16:14 find that it rocks the wrong direction and it rolls back
16:17 on you.
16:18 If you know your Bible, you know the story of Esther.
16:20 And the scoundrel and that story is a man named Haman.
16:24 And he builds a gallows 50 cubits high to hang.
16:27 Now, Haman is the one who wanted to give 10,000 talents to kill
16:30 all the Jews.
16:32 He built a gallows 50 cubits high to hang Mordecai,
16:36 the hero of the story.
16:38 In the end of the story, Mordecai gets Haman's position,
16:41 and Haman gets the gallows that he built for Mordecai.
16:45 In your talking about your neighbor, speaking badly about
16:49 your neighbor, being bitter and unforgiving towards your
16:53 neighbor, you're really condemning yourself.
16:55 The Bible is so clear with what judgment you judge you will
16:59 be judged.
17:00 So, part of our embracing God's forgiveness is we then need to
17:04 be willing to pass it on.
17:06 If we are not willing to pass on his forgiveness, it evaporates
17:10 in our own lives.
17:12 We really need to appreciate what the Lord has paid, the
17:16 amount of the debt that we might be forgiven.
17:19 Let me give you another story in the Bible that helps illustrate
17:21 this, and it's not in my notes, the Lord reminded me.
17:26 When Mary Magdalene washes Jesus's feet, she's called Mary
17:28 of Bethany in this story, Simon the leper, he begins
17:32 to complain.
17:33 And he thinks within himself, "If this man, Jesus, was a
17:36 prophet, he'd know who and what manner of woman this
17:39 is that's touching him, because she's a sinner."
17:42 Jesus tells a parable to Simon.
17:44 He says, Simon, I've got something to say.
17:46 He says say on, master.
17:48 So, there's a certain man that had two debtors, one owed 50
17:51 pence, one owed 500.
17:53 Neither of them could pay, so he freely forgave them both.
17:57 Which of them do you think will love him more?
17:59 Simon said, well, I suppose the one who is forgiven more.
18:03 He said you've rightly judged.
18:04 He said I want you to look at this woman.
18:06 When I came into your house, you did not greet me with a kiss,
18:09 but she's kissing my feet.
18:11 You did not wash my feet, but she's washing my feet with her
18:14 tears and drying them with her hair.
18:17 And he said her sins, which are many, are forgiven.
18:21 "For to whom much is forgiven, the same loves much."
18:26 I've got a theory.
18:27 The reason that a lot of Christians do not appreciate the
18:30 forgiveness of Jesus is because they don't know how much they
18:33 have been forgiven.
18:35 "He who is forgiven much loves much."
18:37 Jesus is not saying you've got to go out there and be an
18:40 exceptionally bad sinner, and then repent, and then you're
18:43 going to love your neighbor.
18:44 He's saying you need to know what a big sinner you
18:46 already are.
18:48 No matter if there was anyone else in the world who had ever
18:50 sinned, Jesus would have to go through what he went through on
18:53 the cross for you, your sins are that big.
18:57 Sometimes we say, "Well, Jesus died for the sins of the whole
18:59 world," and we figure we'll mitigate the guilt by doing
19:03 that, spread it around a little bit.
19:05 And no, Jesus died for your sins, yes, the sins of the whole
19:09 world, but you've got to take it and make it personal.
19:12 He went through everything he went through just for you.
19:15 If we understand the magnitude of that 10,000 talents, then we
19:19 appreciate how much he's forgiven us and we're willing to
19:22 forgive others instead of trying to extract vengeance on them.
19:28 So, we've talked about vengeance, the malice of
19:31 vengeance, now we're gonna talk about the model of Christ.
19:35 What is the challenge?
19:36 What is the command of Jesus about our enemies when it comes
19:39 to forgiveness?
19:41 Matthew, he says, "So when his fellow servants," these other
19:44 servants, the angels see how we treat each other, "They came
19:47 and they told the master what was done.
19:50 They were so grieved.
19:51 His master, after he had called him, he said to him,
19:55 'You wicked servant.
19:56 I forgave you all of that debt because you begged me, you asked
20:00 me,'" and you know, this is what we're saying during the seminar.
20:04 Ask and you'll receive.
20:05 Pray, repent of your sins, confess your sins.
20:08 You ask him, he will forgive you 10,000 talents, it doesn't
20:11 matter how much you've sinned.
20:13 If God can forgive Mary Magdalene and cast out seven
20:15 devils, and if he can forgive Manasseh, and if he can forgive
20:18 Moses after murder, it's more alliterations, he can forgive
20:22 you, you just need to ask.
20:24 "I forgave you that debt because you asked me," and then he says,
20:28 "Should you not have had compassion on your fellow
20:31 servant as I had pity on you?"
20:34 How are we supposed to treat our fellow servants?
20:37 As God has treated us.
20:39 What does the Bible say about that?
20:41 Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
20:47 forgiving one another," how?
20:49 "Just as God in Christ forgave you."
20:53 That's a pretty tall order.
20:55 We're to forgive others.
20:57 Well, what kind of church would we have if people really loved
20:59 and forgive others the way that Jesus has loved and forgiven us?
21:03 Colossians 3:12, "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and
21:07 beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,
21:12 longsuffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another.
21:17 If anyone has a complaint against another," notice this,
21:20 "Even as Christ forgave you, so also you must do."
21:25 It's not a recommendation, God commands us to love
21:29 and to forgive others as we have been forgiven.
21:31 And when we do that, even though we may not feel like it,
21:35 then all of a sudden, something happens in our hearts.
21:38 We began to experience the real peace and joy of Jesus.
21:42 There's a lot of people out there in the church that they've
21:44 never had the joy of the Lord because they've accepted God's
21:47 forgiveness, but they've never passed it on.
21:49 And they're still bitter, they're still angry.
21:51 I meet people, they're angry at parents and grandparents who may
21:54 have mistreated or even abused them that are dead, and they're
21:58 never going to get an apology from them.
22:00 You've got to let it go.
22:02 You've got to forgive them.
22:03 You know, some people are unhealthy because of what
22:06 they eat.
22:07 Some people are unhealthy because of what's eating them.
22:10 And a lot of people are being eaten up with bitterness
22:14 and unforgiveness.
22:16 And what's amazing is that sometimes it's even people in
22:19 the church.
22:21 First Thessalonians 5:15, "See that nobody renders evil for
22:25 evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good, both for
22:29 yourself and for all.
22:31 You have heard it said love your neighbor and hate your enemies,
22:34 but I say love your enemies.
22:36 Bless those who curse you.
22:38 Do good to those who hate you.
22:40 Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that
22:44 you might be the sons of your Father in heaven."
22:47 You know, there's an interesting story from history.
22:49 Many people know about the famous mural that Leonardo da
22:52 Vinci painted there in the chapel in Italy of the
22:55 Last Supper.
22:57 And he uses live models when he was painting.
22:59 Took him quite a while.
23:01 During the time when he was painting that, he had another
23:04 very public argument with a famous artist and sculptor by
23:08 the name of Michelangelo.
23:10 And, you know, they would write these open letters
23:13 insulting each other.
23:14 They were very competitive, I guess, and you know,
23:16 both architects, and both artists, and sculptors,
23:19 and they were criticizing each other's work,
23:21 and it became very personal, very angry, very heated,
23:24 and a lot of bitterness.
23:26 And it was the tabloids of the day, the letters they were
23:28 writing to and about each other being posted and made public.
23:33 And so, Leonardo got an idea.
23:36 When it came time to paint Judas, you know, he used live
23:41 models normally.
23:43 He skillfully painted in the face of Michelangelo there to
23:48 the left of Jesus.
23:49 You realize the Bible says John was on his right, Judas was on
23:51 his left, it's very clear.
23:53 And people came by watching him work, they went,
23:55 "Oh, look at that."
23:58 Well, he felt like he had vented his spleen, he was happy now.
24:01 I'm getting even.
24:02 I'm going to show everybody what a scoundrel he is.
24:06 But then he came to paint the face of Jesus, and the more
24:09 and more he tried to paint the face of Jesus,
24:11 he just couldn't do it.
24:12 He'd paint something and it wouldn't be right, and he'd
24:15 erase it and he'd try it again, and erase it, and he just could
24:17 not get that wonderful, beautiful face of love,
24:21 and mercy, and compassion that he wanted.
24:24 And after weeks of trying, he knelt by his bed, and he prayed,
24:27 and cried out and said, "Lord, please show me the face of
24:29 your Son."
24:31 And God spoke to his heart, and he said, "You'll never see the
24:33 face of Jesus until you change the face of Judas."
24:38 And being convicted, he went and he erased the face of Judas, and
24:43 painted in the portrait of the stranger that you see there now.
24:47 A lot of people cannot see the face of Jesus because they
24:51 cannot forgive others.
24:53 They're looking at ways of getting even.
24:55 They're bitter, and I'm not denying that there are not mean
25:00 or unkind things that people do to each other, but you know, I
25:04 think it makes it easier to realize the reason that sometime
25:06 sinners do such cruel, unkind things is because
25:10 they're sinners.
25:11 If people don't know the Lord, if they don't love the Lord,
25:14 they're gonna ask selfishly.
25:15 They're gonna do mean things.
25:16 And when people have treated me that way, I say, "Lord, I want
25:19 them to be converted, and then I can love them easier because
25:23 they'll be like you."
25:24 But if they could only be converted, it is possible for
25:27 someone like Paul, who's killing Christians to be a Christian.
25:31 For Manasseh, who is sacrificing his children, and he's
25:35 worshiping devils, for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit and
25:38 be converted.
25:40 And you think, "Well, if I had only known."
25:42 A lot of folks out there, you think, "You know, if I could
25:44 just get even with my enemy, I think God hates them," but, you
25:47 know, God loves them.
25:49 Jesus died for them just like he died for you.
25:51 We need to receive and share the forgiveness of Jesus, and then
25:55 I think we're preparing our hearts for the outpouring
25:58 of the Spirit.
26:03 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing
26:05 free resource.
26:07 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can
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26:13 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text
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26:24 download option on the request page.
26:26 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with
26:29 "Amazing Facts" wherever and whenever you want,
26:32 and most important, to share it with others.
26:37 ♪♪♪
26:49 announcer: What if you could know the future?
26:53 What would you do?
26:55 What would you change?
26:58 To see the future, you must understand the past.
27:02 male: Alexander the Great becomes king when he's only 18,
27:05 but he's a military prodigy.
27:08 male: A hundred and fifty years in advance,
27:10 Cyrus had been named.
27:13 male: Rome was violent, they were ruthless,
27:16 they were determined.
27:18 announcer: This intriguing documentary hosted by Pastor Doug Batchelor,
27:22 explores the most striking Bible prophecies
27:25 that have been dramatically fulfilled throughout history,
27:28 "Kingdoms in Time."
27:31 Are you ready?
27:37 announcer: Would you like to know God's plan for our troubled
27:39 world and solutions for your life's challenges?
27:41 Beautifully redesigned and updated, Amazing Facts 27 Bible
27:45 study guides provide straightforward Bible-based
27:48 answers that are enlightening, encouraging, and easy
27:50 to understand.
27:51 How can I have healthier relationships, when will Jesus
27:54 come, and much more.
27:55 Order yours today by visiting AFBookstore.com or by
27:59 calling...
28:06 ♪♪♪
28:08 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's free offer.
28:10 It's sure to be a blessing and thank you for your continued
28:13 support as we take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
28:17 We hope you'll join us next week
28:19 as we delve deep into the Word of God.
28:25 This presentation was brought to you by
28:26 the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.


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Revised 2023-05-02