Anchors of Truth

Anchored In The Truth About His Person

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Ron Halvorsen

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000047


00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:16 The Truth As It Is In Jesus with Ron Halvorsen.
00:23 Hello friends and welcome to Thompsonville,
00:25 the biggest little city in the world.
00:27 At least I believe that.
00:28 If you are a member of the 3ABN family, you know that
00:31 to be somewhat true, as we cover most of the planet.
00:34 As one of my favorite preachers said, Pastor C.A. says,
00:37 75% of the world is covered by water
00:40 and the rest of it is covered by 3ABN.
00:43 Thank you so much for tuning into Anchors Of Truth.
00:46 One of my favorite speakers for a number of reasons.
00:50 One most importantly is, he is a man of God.
00:52 Pastor Ron Halvorsen has graced us last night as we've
00:57 begun the series, The Truth As It Is In Jesus.
01:01 And tonight's topic is particularly,
01:04 The Truth About His Person.
01:06 And as you know, the Lord always has a message in store for
01:09 one who's heart is turned to the Lord.
01:12 A man who's been on the battlefield for more than
01:14 40 to 50 years preaching the gospel of the good news.
01:18 The other thing I like about him; he's also a native
01:20 New Yorker, something we share in common.
01:22 Born in Brooklyn, New York.
01:24 Which is, in fact, a city all by itself.
01:27 A man who understands the streets, the tough streets.
01:30 The Lord found him in a gang, turned his life over,
01:35 and made him a warrior for the Lord.
01:38 And what a warrior his has been for many years
01:41 of winning souls to Christ.
01:42 You may have heard his story in a book entitled,
01:45 From Gangs To God.
01:47 It tells how God pulled him out of the streets
01:49 of the city of New York.
01:51 He was also a boxer, one not just boxing spiritually,
01:55 but boxing physically as a light heavyweight.
01:58 And what a life, an amazing life.
02:00 He has blessed us as he divides the Word of truth.
02:04 I'd like to also tell you he has a wonderful book he has written
02:06 entitled, Prayer Warriors.
02:08 Now I do believe that a person who preaches like he does
02:11 and teaches as he does has to have a connection with God.
02:15 And that vital connection is, in fact, through
02:18 the power of prayer.
02:21 If you've never had a copy of this book, it's not just a book,
02:24 it's also a workbook walking you through.
02:27 And as I looked at the titles in the book, I said to
02:29 Pastor Halvorsen, "It looks like some of those titles have been
02:31 born from your experiences on the streets of New York City."
02:35 For example, the first chapter is entitled, War Zone.
02:38 Very true about some of the places in New York.
02:40 Also, Knowing the Enemy.
02:43 You've got to know the enemy when you are praying
02:45 and working for the Lord.
02:47 You've got to understand the way the enemy works.
02:49 Another chapter entitled, Arming for the Battle.
02:53 Prayer is, in fact, one of the strongest weapons
02:56 in the spiritual battle.
02:58 Then another chapter entitled, Battle Skills.
03:01 What do you do after you get these weapons of warfare?
03:03 What do you do after God arms you with these
03:05 spiritual weapons?
03:07 How do you use them?
03:08 Very important, he talks about those battle skills.
03:11 Then, Battleground.
03:13 How to recognize where the battle is,
03:16 and where the battle is not.
03:18 And finally, The Secret of Prayer.
03:21 In order to be able to walk with the Lord daily,
03:24 you have to have a one to one relationship.
03:26 You know, there are prayer warriors, there are
03:28 prayer websites.
03:29 So much is said about prayer.
03:31 But I want to say this.
03:32 We don't believe also in prayer, or just in prayer.
03:35 But we specifically believe in the One to whom we pray.
03:38 And Pastor Halvorsen has a wonderful connection
03:41 with the Lord.
03:42 So tonight, as we prepare our hearts for the message,
03:45 I'd like to invite you to bow your heads with me
03:47 as we go to the Lord and invite the Spirit of God to
03:50 come into this place.
03:51 Let's pray together.
03:54 Our gracious Father in heaven, what a blessing it is to
03:56 be able to stand before this desk knowing that from
04:01 this place You've chosen Your manservant to be, not only an
04:05 instrument, but to be the conduit through which heaven
04:09 comes down and glory fills out soul.
04:11 Tonight I pray a special anointing on
04:13 Pastor Ron Halvorsen as he brings the message,
04:17 the truth about His person, the person of Jesus.
04:21 Thank You so much, Father, for revealing Yourself to us
04:24 So anoint, not only what he's written down,
04:27 but anoint his mind that he'll speak in such a way
04:30 that we will know that he is connected continually to Christ.
04:34 And may those who are watching and listening to this program
04:37 feel the call from Christ upon their lives.
04:40 If they don't know Him as their personal Savior,
04:43 may they make that decision to follow Him.
04:45 So we thank You, Father, for what we shall receive.
04:47 In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
04:51 Before we have our speaker come this evening,
04:54 I'd like to introduce someone who's a personal friend of mine.
04:57 Someone who God has blessed to begin this ministry
04:59 more than 27 years ago.
05:01 And he's going to bless our hearts tonight.
05:03 Brother Danny Shelton is going to sing that song,
05:06 Heaven Means Home To Me.
05:31 I'm longing for a place I've never been,
05:39 but it's a place that I call my home.
05:49 Where the sun is the light in the midst of the night,
05:58 heaven means home to me.
06:07 Heaven means home to me.
06:17 Where Jesus is, I want to be.
06:25 There's no dying up there, this old earth can't compare.
06:34 That's why heaven means home to me.
06:53 Well I've heard of a beautiful city above,
07:02 with streets that are paved with pure gold.
07:12 But my eyes are fixed on Jesus my King.
07:21 That's why heaven means home to me.
07:30 Heaven means home to me.
07:40 Where Jesus is, I want to be.
07:48 There's no dying up there, this old earth can't compare.
07:57 That's why heaven means home to me.
08:07 What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see.
08:16 And I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace.
08:25 When He takes me by the hand
08:29 and leads me through that Promised Land.
08:34 What a day, glorious day, that will be.
08:43 There's no dying up there, this old earth can't compare.
08:52 That's why heaven means home to me.
09:22 Thank you very much, Danny.
09:24 A beautiful song.
09:26 And he told me just before he came out
09:29 that he wrote that song.
09:30 And that makes it even more meaningful.
09:33 Heaven is our home.
09:35 We haven't been there yet, but it's our home.
09:38 It's our home.
09:39 I want to welcome you who are watching the program.
09:42 This is a second in a series on Anchored in the Truth
09:47 As It Is In Jesus.
09:50 Last night, we talked about the birth of Christ,
09:52 the incarnation, God coming down with a baby in His arms,
09:55 and that salvation began in a crib.
10:00 Tonight, I want to talk to you about the personality of Christ,
10:02 the person of Christ.
10:04 I mean, I want to talk to you about the unique Jesus;
10:07 how unique He is, how different.
10:10 Now tonight, we find a culture in a crisis.
10:15 Tonight we find a culture searching for meaning,
10:18 a culture tottering on the brink of collapse.
10:23 It's like a great ship adrift in a stormy sea without a rudder.
10:27 I mean, postmodern man has all kinds of questions,
10:33 but very few answers.
10:35 Postmodern man has all kinds of problems,
10:39 but no solution.
10:42 The world tottering, the society tottering,
10:46 on the brink of disaster.
10:48 Perhaps you heard about the policeman driving across
10:50 the Brooklyn Bridge.
10:52 And as he was driving across the bridge, he notice someone on the
10:55 super structure ready to take a back dive into the East River.
10:59 And so he pulled the patrol car over and he jumped out.
11:02 He climbed up and got close.
11:04 The man said, "Stop, I'm going to jump."
11:05 He said, "No, you don't want to jump.
11:09 Life is too wonderful, you don't want to jump."
11:11 He said, "No, life is terrible. I can't take any more of it.
11:15 I'm going to jump."
11:16 He said, "Oh no, please."
11:17 He said, "Look, give me ten minutes to tell you why
11:23 life is worth living.
11:25 And then I'll give you ten minutes to tell me why
11:27 life isn't worth living.
11:30 And then you decide."
11:32 So the man shook his head.
11:33 And the patrolman, he waxed eloquent about life and about
11:38 the birds and the flowers, which you don't see
11:41 very much in Brooklyn.
11:42 But anyway, he talked about life and happiness and
11:45 joy and family and friends and jobs.
11:48 I mean, he was going on eloquently for ten minutes.
11:53 And when he finished, he said, "Now it's your turn."
11:55 And the man went on, he said, "I lost my job,
11:57 I lost my family.
11:58 I'm about to be evicted from my home."
12:01 And he went on and on.
12:02 Ten minutes later, they shook hands and both jumped.
12:07 I mean, that's kind of the situation we
12:09 find ourselves in, isn't it.
12:11 A culture about to jump.
12:16 Politically, economically, morally;
12:21 it's about to collapse.
12:23 In fact, I read a poem so time ago about this culture
12:26 in which we live, about postmodern man.
12:28 His search for meaning. His search for God, actually.
12:34 This is the age of the half read page,
12:37 the quick hash and the mad dash,
12:39 the bright knight with nerves tight,
12:41 the plane hop and a brief stop, the lamp tan in a brief span.
12:45 I mean, the big shot in the right spot,
12:47 and a brain strain and a heart pain,
12:50 and the cat naps till the spring snaps,
12:52 and the fun is done.
12:55 Now that may not be good poetry.
12:59 But I believe it describes the age in which you and I live.
13:01 I mean, this is the age of dry eyes, hard noses, cold feet.
13:07 It follows the wind, it loves a vacuum.
13:09 It's beatitude is, "Blessed are the mighty,
13:11 for they shall make money."
13:13 It's beatitude is, "Blessed are the smooth,
13:16 for they shall never get wrinkled."
13:18 I mean, it's beatitude is, "Blessed are the cool,
13:21 for they shall never sweat,"
13:23 I mean, this is the age that sits around bragging about
13:25 its accomplishments, "Look, see what we have done."
13:28 Split atoms, split nations,
13:31 split homes, split personalities.
13:33 That's our age, that's the culture in which you and I live.
13:36 I mean, we send tons of tin into outer space
13:38 and we don't know what to do with the space we already have.
13:44 We walk in space and we cannot walk in some neighborhoods.
13:49 I mean, that's our dilemma.
13:50 I mean, what an age.
13:51 We talk about brotherhood, but we're suspecting
13:53 there are more hoods than there are brothers.
13:57 And down deep in the heart,
14:01 they're crying out.
14:03 What's the problem?
14:05 While you're trying to decide what kind of TV dinner to
14:08 pop into the microwave, 20 new corpses show up
14:11 on the streets in America.
14:13 I mean, for no better reason than someone took the
14:15 wrong turn in the wrong neighborhood and got in the
14:18 wrong place at the wrong time, and a bunch of unemployed kids
14:20 were going at it over another block, a little piece of turf.
14:25 Or some innocent married man jogging along the track.
14:29 And because one man wants to know what it is
14:32 to fulfill a fantasy, takes his life.
14:35 The films we watch at night bring us to
14:38 what we see in the day.
14:40 There are more hoods than there are brothers.
14:41 The culture in crisis.
14:42 It over eats, it over drinks, it over plays, it over spends.
14:46 What a culture.
14:47 We think delicately, we think slovenly, and we think dully.
14:51 I mean, we take a pill to go to bed at night to sleep
14:53 and we take a pill to wake up.
14:55 And we talk about overpasses and underpasses,
14:57 and we talk about bypasses.
14:59 That's our age.
15:02 He knows more about the bomb than he does the Bible.
15:06 We have smart bombs and we have dumb leaders.
15:10 And what a culture we live.
15:12 I mean, this is postmodern.
15:13 These are the people that are suppose to solve the
15:15 problems of the world.
15:16 Grown men wrapped in the swaddling clothes
15:18 of intellectualism.
15:20 Long sentences, long words; short on meaning.
15:24 It's above all, an age, a gadget filled age of paradise
15:28 suspended in the hell of insecurity.
15:30 Above all, it's an age of unexamined concepts and
15:34 limp images and limber lips.
15:36 It knows everything about sex, but nothing about love.
15:38 That's our age.
15:41 And this is the age of the fast buck,
15:43 the goof off, the fixed price, the half done job.
15:48 It above all, a culture on the brink of disaster.
15:51 It's world painted gray.
15:53 They tell us there is no truth, there is no authority,
15:57 and there is no God.
15:58 The interim ethic, the smooth cliché,
16:00 the bottomless relativism.
16:02 I mean, the new morality.
16:03 An age that has limited vision of poverty,
16:07 but an unlimited poverty of vision.
16:09 It's like in the old days in the book of 1 Samuel.
16:12 The Bible tells us in chapter 3 of 1 Samuel
16:15 and verse 1 these words:
16:25 There's no vision.
16:27 And added to all this, it's an age where men wonder
16:30 around in a stupor wondering what's wrong with them.
16:34 He knows so much and yet cares so little.
16:39 He knows so much and understands so little.
16:42 He's fearful, he's frustrated, he's empty.
16:45 There's an emptiness in his heart.
16:46 I mean, asking a thousand questions that have not
16:48 substance nor purpose, fulfilling the prophetic words
16:51 found in the book of Romans when Paul wrote
16:54 to the Roman Christians.
16:55 He wrote these words in the first chapter of Romans
16:58 and in verses 21 and 22.
17:11 What a text of scripture to our age.
17:15 Knowing God, and yet not glorifying this God.
17:23 Modern man trying desperately to avoid,
17:25 trying desperately to avoid an encounter with Jesus Christ,
17:29 the Jesus Christ of history.
17:31 He runs from the only One who can save him.
17:36 Modern man runs from the only One that can bring him peace,
17:39 the only One that can lift his burden,
17:41 the only One that can give him a great future.
17:44 He runs from the only One that can give him
17:45 purpose in his life.
17:47 But you can't run from Jesus Christ.
17:51 It's amazing isn't it?
17:52 People are still talking about Jesus in this secular age.
17:55 I mean, in spite of postmodernism, secularism,
17:58 humanism, determinism, atheism, and other -ism's.
18:02 I mean, we're still talking about Jesus.
18:04 His life still impacts ours.
18:06 You try to avoid Him, but you run into Him every day.
18:10 I mean, amazing isn't it, that after 2000 years,
18:13 people meet Him in every conceivable spot on the earth,
18:17 and to honor and to respect Him.
18:20 I've traveled around the world.
18:21 I've been to the darkest places of Africa.
18:24 I've been in Europe.
18:25 I've been in some of the great cities of culture.
18:27 But everywhere I turn, there is the face of Jesus.
18:30 If I go into the museums, there it is, the art work
18:33 of Jesus of history, the Christ who impacted the world.
18:36 I mean, everywhere you look, Jesus is still the
18:39 center of the universe.
18:42 Books at our library, you can't avoid Him.
18:44 Don't even go to the library.
18:45 I mean, the art adorns our cathedrals and our art galleries
18:49 and reams of music are written about Him.
18:52 Whole radio and television stations, this station,
18:55 are dedicated, committed, to uphold Jesus Christ.
19:00 Twenty-four hours a day they sing about Him.
19:02 I mean, twenty-four hours a day they honor Him.
19:05 Seven days a week.
19:07 At this very moment somewhere in the world
19:09 He is being honored, He's being worshiped,
19:12 He's being loved.
19:13 And what figure in history is so honored than Jesus Christ.
19:18 And yet, you say He doesn't exist?
19:21 Give me a break.
19:24 No other figure in history is so revered.
19:28 I mean, philosophies, political schemes,
19:31 religious movements, have been arrayed against Him.
19:34 Enemies have tried to defeat Him, destroy Him,
19:37 to push Him out of their minds, but He still turns up.
19:39 He remains unvanquished; Jesus. He remains undefeated; Jesus.
19:44 He remains unconquerable; Jesus.
19:48 And there's no one anywhere foolish enough
19:53 to deny the impact He's made upon our civilization,
19:57 upon our world, friends.
19:59 You can't get away from Jesus Christ.
20:01 He is Messiah.
20:03 The Messiah of God.
20:04 In spite of all this, there is still misconception
20:07 about Jesus Christ.
20:09 I mean, there are still myths surrounding Him.
20:11 He's still being attacked.
20:12 I mean, some say He was just an iconoclastic Jew,
20:15 just a man in history.
20:17 Others say, well He was a revolutionary.
20:19 Just one revolutionary in all the history of the world.
20:22 Some say He was just a human being.
20:24 An attack on His person.
20:26 Hollywood paints Him in the dark shades of wickedness,
20:30 their own wickedness.
20:32 And so they try to put flaws in Him.
20:34 They try to make weaknesses, sexual perversions.
20:38 They try to connect Him to their own life and their own living.
20:44 But everything Jesus was suppose to do, He did.
20:47 Why did they hate Him?
20:49 Because He contradicts the scientific view.
20:52 He contradicts and says, there is the supernatural,
20:55 there is a power in the universe.
20:57 And that power is the power that changes lives.
20:59 That when they're impacted by this God of history,
21:02 this Christ of history, He changes lives.
21:05 And He can change yours, who are watching this
21:07 program right now.
21:09 He can change your life right here in this place,
21:11 right at this moment.
21:13 Jesus impacts us.
21:16 I want to look at this historical Jesus.
21:19 I call Him the unique Son of God; Jesus.
21:23 If ever a culture needed Christ, it's now.
21:26 I think of art, I think of the sculpture.
21:29 Perhaps you're familiar with that great statue
21:31 there at Rio de Janeiro on that mountain.
21:34 It's called, the Redeemer.
21:36 The statue of the Redeemer.
21:40 Over the sprawling city of Rio de Janeiro,
21:42 there on that mountain, there is the "Christ the Redeemer"
21:45 with his arms out stretched.
21:47 And anyone who ever goes to Rio de Janeiro
21:49 will make their way up the mountain and stand before
21:51 that great statue, the Redeemer, the statue of Jesus Christ.
21:56 But there are two ironies about the statue.
21:58 Have you ever noticed there are two ironies about this statue?
22:01 First of all, he has blind eyes.
22:03 And secondly, he has a stony heart.
22:06 But you say, "Ron Halvorsen, all statues have blind eyes."
22:10 But you see, the artist intended them to be blind.
22:14 He didn't even put pupils to suggest sight.
22:18 A blind redeemer looking out with no sight
22:23 over the sprawling city of 7 million people sinning and
22:27 hurting and dying; human beings.
22:30 A blind eyed savior, redeemer.
22:35 The second is the stony heart.
22:37 It's a stone heart, a valentine's heart,
22:40 on the outside of the cloak.
22:42 A heart not made of love, a heart not filled with love.
22:45 But a heart filled with cement.
22:49 A heart made of stone.
22:51 Held together, not with passion and love, but held together...
22:56 Listen to me.
22:57 ...held together with concrete and mortar.
22:59 What kind of redeemer is this with blind eyes?
23:02 And what kind of redeemer is this with a stony heart?
23:05 That's not the Christ of the Scripture.
23:07 That's not the Christ of the Bible.
23:09 That's not the Christ that you and I have encountered,
23:11 who has changed our life.
23:13 This bronze Galilean who was authenticated by eye witnesses.
23:19 Peter, the fisherman, saw Him and preached about Him
23:21 and died for Him.
23:23 Matthew, the tax collector. There was Luke, the doctor.
23:26 I mean, there was Mark, the teenager.
23:28 In fact, they write with pens dipped in
23:30 the ink of inspiration.
23:32 And those words stand to us as the infallible Word of God,
23:35 even to this hour.
23:39 Biographies about Jesus written a few years
23:42 after the resurrection.
23:44 Some place it in 40 AD.
23:46 Later, 70 AD.
23:48 But none the less, it's substantiated by the events.
23:51 Three synoptic gospels speak of this Jesus.
23:53 I mean, Paul's writings and letters proceed the gospel
23:57 as eye witnesses through the Damascus road encounter.
24:00 He encountered Jesus.
24:01 He saw Him with his eyes, he felt Him with his heart.
24:04 At least seven secular sources in history.
24:07 Early historians have written about this Jesus.
24:10 He is a historical figure.
24:12 He did live.
24:14 And He did love.
24:15 And He was crucified outside Jerusalem walls.
24:18 And the tomb is empty now, for He is resurrected Lord in glory.
24:23 Listen to me.
24:24 Prophecy confirms it.
24:27 Push away man's petty arguments and let us meet Him personally.
24:31 Jesus, the unique Son of God.
24:33 The Bible says in 2 Corinthians,
24:35 notice here in 2 Corinthians the 4th chapter.
24:50 The god of this world blinded, blinded.
24:55 Later, Paul writes to the Philippians.
24:57 He writes it in Philippians 2 verse 9 and verse 10.
25:01 Listen to the words.
25:05 Jesus highly exalted.
25:18 Wow.
25:20 God is exalted.
25:23 This preacher tonight wants to exalt Him.
25:27 I mean, the Bible tells us He is unique.
25:29 By the way, Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God.
25:33 More than just a good man.
25:34 More than just a historical figure like Washington or
25:38 Abraham Lincoln or Kennedy.
25:40 I mean, He was more than just a historical person.
25:42 He is the Son of God.
25:43 And He is unique.
25:44 He is unique in His origin.
25:46 By the way, He is unique in His name.
25:48 He is unique in His salvation.
25:49 And He is unique in His promise.
25:51 Let's look at that together for these few moments.
25:55 First of all let me tell you, Jesus is unique in His origin.
25:58 There never was another
26:01 who was a human Child and also a divine Son.
26:05 Never.
26:06 There never was another who was wounded by Satan,
26:09 yet at the same time crushed him under His feet.
26:12 Never.
26:13 There never was another who walked the earth
26:15 before He was born.
26:16 Never.
26:17 There never was another who wrote the law, and 2000 years
26:20 later would come under the dictates of that same law.
26:23 Never.
26:24 There never was another who saved others,
26:26 Himself He could not save.
26:31 There never was another who was King of glory,
26:36 but wore no earthly crown but a crown of thorns.
26:39 Never.
26:40 Jesus Christ is unique in His origin.
26:42 I mean, there never was another who was Lord of the Sabbath,
26:45 yet was accused of breaking the Sabbath.
26:47 I mean never.
26:48 There never was one who was called truth,
26:50 yet at the same time called a liar, a hypocrite, an imposter.
26:57 Who was as old as His heavenly Father;
27:01 ages older than His earthly mother.
27:04 There never was, there never was.
27:07 But the Scripture says He is the Creator,
27:09 He is the Creature, He is the Servant.
27:12 I mean the Bible says He is the Savior.
27:14 He is unique in His origin; Jesus.
27:20 And that's why Paul writes in Colossians,
27:23 he writes to the Colossian church in chapter 1 verse 16
27:27 these words.
27:30 By who? By Jesus Christ.
27:43 The Bible says in Ephesians, Paul picks up that theme.
27:46 And in the book of Ephesians, he says:
27:56 Jesus Christ is unique.
27:59 It is He, Jesus, who poured all the seas and the lakes
28:05 and the rivers and the crystal chalice of eternity.
28:08 It was He on the cross who cried, "I thirst."
28:14 Uniquely the living water...
28:17 ...who thirsts, who thirsts.
28:21 It was He who spoke and the green grass sprouted.
28:24 He spoke and the little flowers blossomed, and the pine tree
28:26 pointed its finger to the sky, and the oak spread out its arms,
28:29 and lakes curled down in the huddles of the glen,
28:31 and rivers ran down to the sea.
28:40 He is inclusive...
28:44 ...in His origin.
28:46 There has been no one like Him.
28:49 Because of His unique origin, He is the end of all mystery.
28:54 Because of His unique origin, He is the reason,
28:56 the explanation, for all enigmas.
29:00 He is the only One from eternity who is incarnated.
29:04 Born of a virgin.
29:06 Birthplace dictated by the imperial senses.
29:10 And He is truly unique in His origin.
29:15 But secondly, not only is He unique in His origin,
29:19 but the Bible tells us He's unique in His name.
29:22 I mean, Jesus' name holds forever beauty.
29:24 Jesus' name forever holds variety and
29:26 proportion and perfection.
29:28 He is the Immanuel, He is God with us.
29:31 He is with us in our sorrows, He is with us in our joy.
29:34 He's with us in lonely nights and He's with us at the party.
29:37 He's with us everywhere and every time.
29:42 God with us.
29:44 He's unique in His name.
29:52 Why?
29:53 Because He is God's eternal purpose consummated; Jesus.
29:58 He is love's eternal dream dramatized.
30:01 We see love dramatized in the life of Jesus.
30:05 Why? Because He is justice married to mercy.
30:10 And He is...
30:11 The Creator went into His creation.
30:13 I mean, Jesus; there is none.
30:14 He is always the unlike; Jesus Christ.
30:17 Even the name Immanuel describes His unlikeness.
30:19 I went to the alphabet to find His name; Jesus.
30:21 He was everywhere.
30:22 He is the Alpha and the Adam and the Advocator and the Anointed
30:26 and the Author of faith.
30:27 He is the Amen of salvation.
30:29 I went to the alphabet to find His name and His office; Jesus.
30:32 He is everywhere.
30:33 He is the Beginning and the Begotten and the Beloved
30:36 and the Branch and the Bread and the bright and morning Star.
30:40 I went to the alphabet and I found His name.
30:42 He is everywhere.
30:43 He is the Creator and the Counselor and the Comforter
30:46 and the Child and the Cornerstone.
30:48 I went to the alphabet to find His name; Jesus.
30:51 He is everywhere.
30:52 He is the Deliverer and the Daystar and the
30:55 Desire of Nations and the divine Son of God.
30:57 You can say amen, can't you?
31:01 I went to the alphabet and I found His unique name.
31:07 He is the Eternal One, He is the Emmanuel,
31:11 He is the Elect, He is the Eternal,
31:12 He's the Everlasting One.
31:13 He is the Faithful and the Father and the Friend
31:16 and the Faithful Witness.
31:17 He is the Good Shepherd and the Governor and the Guide.
31:20 And He is glorious Lord.
31:24 I went to the alphabet to find His unique name.
31:30 And He is everywhere.
31:32 He is Husbandman and Help and Holy One
31:36 and Horn of Salvation and the Heir of all things.
31:38 He is the Heavenly Priest.
31:39 I went to the alphabet.
31:40 He is the Immortal One, the Invincible One,
31:42 the Invisible One.
31:43 He is the Judge and the Just and the Jesus and the Jehovah.
31:49 He is King of Glory, King of Israel,
31:54 and King of kings.
31:57 I went to the alphabet and I found His name.
31:59 He was everywhere.
32:00 He is the Light and the Life.
32:02 He is the Love and the Lion and the Lamb and the Lawgiver.
32:05 He is the Mediator and the Master.
32:07 And He is the Mighty God, this Jesus.
32:10 I went to the alphabet to find His name.
32:12 He is everywhere.
32:13 He is the Omega, the only Begotten,
32:15 the Offering, the Offerer.
32:17 He is the Passover and the Potentate and the Prophet
32:19 and the Propitiation and the Priest and the Physician.
32:23 I went to the alphabet to find His name.
32:27 And He was everywhere.
32:30 For He is the Righteousness, the Rabbi, the Ransom,
32:38 the Rest, the Root of Jesse.
32:40 He is the Rose of Sharon.
32:42 And He is the Resurrection and the Life.
32:44 I went to the alphabet to find His name.
32:46 He's everywhere.
32:47 He's the Ruler and Redeemer and Rock of Ages.
32:49 He is the Stone and the Shepherd and the Son of God
32:52 and the Savior.
32:53 He is the Truth and the Tabernacle and the Testator.
32:56 He is the Witness and the Word and the Way
32:58 and the Wisdom of God, and He is the wonderful Jesus.
33:01 He is Yahweh forever.
33:05 The name above every name.
33:09 He was the perfect Son of God.
33:13 We have failed Him.
33:16 History past has proved our failure.
33:19 Even our holiest of heroes.
33:22 Those people we study, those people that we admire.
33:25 I mean, the prophets and the priests and the
33:27 patriarchs and the apostles.
33:29 I mean, they failed us.
33:31 Some of the stories from the Holy Bible
33:33 are more like adventures from Sinbad the Sailor.
33:35 You know that.
33:37 That's why I love this Book.
33:38 It's authentic realism and doesn't pull punches.
33:44 Everything in these pages are not bubbling brooks
33:47 and happy days.
33:49 He tells us about raw living.
33:52 He talks about life and He talks about being hounded by Satan.
33:56 He talks to us about standing and then falling,
33:58 and getting up and stumbling and falling and falling.
34:01 More falling than standing.
34:03 He talks about these holy men of God.
34:05 Take a look at them and see them as God sees them.
34:06 Adam...
34:09 Adorned with fig leaves.
34:12 Stains of forbidden fruit on his lips.
34:15 Hiding behind a tree.
34:18 Not so perfect.
34:21 Not so perfect.
34:23 Then what makes you think you are going to be?
34:27 Noah...
34:29 Master boat builder.
34:31 But not master of his habits.
34:34 He lies drunken and naked before his children.
34:36 Come on now.
34:38 And the Bible says, "As it was in the days of Noah, it will
34:40 be like that in the days of the coming of the Son of Man."
34:45 Imperfect.
34:47 But thank God for perfect grace.
34:50 Which, by the way, I'll talk about tomorrow.
34:53 That's a sermon if you're going to stay away,
34:54 stay away tomorrow.
34:57 Because you may be uncomfortable with it.
35:00 There's Moses throwing down his staff in a temper tantrum.
35:04 Receiver of the law...
35:07 ...and breaker of the law.
35:09 He saw God's back and he did a few things behind God's back.
35:13 Come on now.
35:15 Aaron, right hand man of Moses.
35:17 I mean, witnessed the place.
35:19 He was on the Red Sea expedition.
35:21 I mean, he was the holy priest of God.
35:23 But if he's so holy, what is he doing aerobics
35:26 before a golden calf?
35:31 That's our heroes.
35:35 There was David.
35:37 A man after God's own heart.
35:39 Giant slayer, song writer, poet.
35:41 A man after God's own heart.
35:43 And after a few other things.
35:46 Samson swooning on Delilah's couch.
35:50 Come on.
35:51 Judge in Israel.
35:54 Drunk with wine.
35:55 Perfume, soft lights.
35:57 I mean, it looked like a soap opera.
36:02 She leaves the room and he's thinking to himself,
36:04 "Ah, she's getting into something more comfortable."
36:06 She's saying, "Where did I leave those scissors?"
36:11 Not so perfect.
36:13 Not so perfect.
36:16 The Old Testament ends in failure.
36:19 The prophets can't save the people.
36:22 The patriarchs can't save the people.
36:25 The priests can minister the sacrifice,
36:28 but they cannot save the people.
36:29 I mean, they cannot save.
36:31 They can get out of physical bondage, but they could not
36:34 get them out of bondage to sin.
36:36 And then He enters; Jesus.
36:40 Unique in His origin, unique in His name.
36:42 unique in His salvation.
36:44 He enters as a baby.
36:47 No fanfare, no trumpet sounding, no great crowds.
36:51 He comes as a baby to a manger.
36:58 The only way He could ever save us,
37:01 cleanse us,
37:04 is to touch us.
37:06 As we talked about last night.
37:10 He could not save us from the far reaches of heaven.
37:14 He had to come down to earth.
37:17 He had to come down to show us how we should have lived,
37:22 how we ought to live.
37:24 But how we can't live; so that we might have
37:28 Him live within us, the hope of glory.
37:37 He had to be tempted like we.
37:40 But even greater, let's face it.
37:41 Come on now.
37:43 I'm tempted to eat too much bread, not to turn
37:45 stones into bread.
37:49 Come on now.
37:53 He had to feel pain as we feel pain.
37:57 He had to suffer and be killed for the son's of Adam.
38:02 And we, the son's of Adam, have killed everything we've touched.
38:10 He comes, not that we're worthy of that love,
38:12 not that we're worthy of that care,
38:14 not that we're worthy of that forgiveness,
38:16 but because we need it.
38:20 He comes to this planet living in rebellion.
38:26 He comes to wicked hearts.
38:30 He comes to cruel minds,
38:33 to sinners.
38:34 And by the way, we don't all sin alike, but alike we all sin.
38:42 He enters, even after this planet in rebellion,
38:44 even after generations have stripped Him naked.
38:47 And He enters to save us, to die for us.
38:49 And He enters. And what to do.
38:51 We strip Him naked.
38:56 We lacerate His incarnated flesh.
39:02 We place a crown of thorns on His brow.
39:07 Blood in His eyes.
39:12 We lift the cross and drop it with a thud into the earth
39:15 and it tears the flesh of the Son of God.
39:17 Listen, what did we do to Him?
39:22 And when He dies, we say,
39:24 "Well, we weren't there to do it."
39:29 It was your sin that put Him there.
39:32 It was my sin that put Him there.
39:35 You see, your sin and my sin placed Him there.
39:42 Your sin and mine pounded the nails in His hands.
39:45 I mean, it was your sin and mine that lifted the cross and
39:47 dropped it with a thud into the earth.
39:49 It was your sin and mine. I mean, with a thud.
39:52 It is the sins of the whole world and the sins of
39:54 our culture and postmodern man, it fell upon Jesus.
39:58 Like Samson, He pulled it down upon Him.
40:05 Then why does He die?
40:09 Not because we have power over Him.
40:13 But He wants to give us power
40:16 to become son's and daughter's of God.
40:21 Then why does He die?
40:25 Because He loved us.
40:28 "For God so loved the world
40:35 that He gave His only begotten Son."
40:40 Love.
40:42 They say love is what makes the world go around.
40:45 Love.
40:46 I remember when I met her.
40:49 My first real love.
40:50 Everything else was infatuation.
40:54 But my first love.
40:56 It was in health class at AUC, Atlantic Union College.
41:00 I was just out of New York and just a recent convert to Christ.
41:05 And I was rough on the edges.
41:07 Not only on the edges.
41:11 And I looked across the room and there she was,
41:13 sitting across the room, beautiful.
41:14 I could have written a song about her,
41:16 "Across the Dusty Room," or whatever.
41:22 So I told my friend, I turned to my friend and I said,
41:25 "I'm going to ask her out."
41:26 He said, "Oh no, she's engaged."
41:28 I said, "Well, she's not married."
41:33 So the bell rang, I got to the door of the classroom
41:37 and she came out, and I said, "Hi, I'm Ron Halvorsen."
41:39 And I reached out and she looked at me.
41:41 I said, "You doing anything Saturday night?
41:43 Would you like to go out with me?"
41:44 She said, "I'm engaged." I said, "You're not married."
41:53 And she went out.
41:56 Lucky girl, she married me and not him.
42:00 I mean, love; you know it the first time.
42:06 Come on, your heart beats.
42:09 I feel sorry for the kids today.
42:12 They don't go through the stages.
42:15 Now it's, "Oh, you have a red car.
42:17 I have a red car.
42:18 We have something in common. Let's live together."
42:20 You know, I feel sorry for them.
42:22 They don't go through the touch and the hug.
42:24 You know what I'm saying?
42:30 Remember that love.
42:33 When Jesus, the first time He saw you, He loved you.
42:37 He loved you as a little embryo
42:40 in the womb of your mother.
42:44 That's the tragedy of abortion.
42:46 God was beginning to love you as a tiny little embryo.
42:51 He loved you through the passage into earth.
42:54 He loved you the moment you cried the first cry.
42:57 He loved you.
42:58 He loved you to the last breath.
42:59 He loved you.
43:00 God so loved the world and mankind and
43:03 womankind and childkind.
43:11 And He further proves it.
43:14 Because He laid down His life for you and for me.
43:22 You see, God would give up His only Son
43:26 before He would give up on you.
43:30 Amazing grace.
43:34 In the book, or magazine, Christian Leader,
43:38 Don Ratzlaff retells a story Vernon Grounds came across
43:44 in Ernest Gordon's, Miracle On The River Kwai.
43:47 I don't know if you've ever read it.
43:48 I just finished it for the second time.
43:50 It's a marvelous book.
43:53 It's about Scottish soldiers who were forced by their Japanese
43:57 captors to labor on a jungle railroad going nowhere.
44:04 And those soldiers, in time of depredation and time of hunger,
44:12 they turned on each other.
44:16 They were suspicious of each other.
44:19 They stole from each other.
44:22 But one afternoon, something happened.
44:27 One afternoon, a shovel was missing.
44:30 A shovel.
44:34 And the officer in charge, when he counted,
44:38 that shovel was gone.
44:40 He became enraged.
44:44 "Who took the shovel?
44:48 Who stole the shovel?"
44:52 He pulled out his gun and he said,
44:53 "I'll kill every one of you."
44:55 "Who stole the shovel?"
45:03 It was obvious that the officer meant it.
45:07 And then finally, one man...
45:11 brave Scottish soldier...
45:15 stepped out.
45:20 The officer so enraged took a shovel
45:25 and beat him to death.
45:32 The Scottish prisoners lifted him up to carry him
45:35 to the next station where they counted the shovels.
45:39 And they discovered that the officer had
45:43 miscounted the shovels.
45:46 They were all there.
45:49 But the Scottish prisoners realized, the man who
45:53 stepped out didn't steal the shovel.
45:56 He stepped out so that he might give life,
46:00 he might lay down his life,
46:03 so that all the others could live.
46:14 After that, there was a change that came over the whole camp.
46:24 Survivors took the bloody body and they buried it.
46:31 This has profound effect.
46:33 I mean, the men began to treat each other like brothers.
46:38 And when the victorious allies swept in,
46:41 the survivors, human skeletons by then,
46:43 lined up in front of their captors.
46:45 And instead of attacking their captors, they insisted,
46:48 "No more hatred.
46:52 No more killing.
46:55 Now, what we need...
46:59 ...is forgiveness."
47:02 The Bridge Over The River Kwai.
47:10 Christ, at Calvary...
47:13 ...built a bridge.
47:19 There will be no more hatred.
47:22 No more killing.
47:26 And there would be transforming power.
47:31 He is unique...
47:34 ...in His promise.
47:38 The Bible says He made a promise to Adam.
47:41 He said, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman."
47:45 What is He saying?
47:46 He said, "I'll take your place, Adam.
47:48 Come to Me."
47:53 He made a promise to Noah.
47:55 And He wrote it in the sky.
47:57 The rainbow coalition.
48:03 He made a promise.
48:06 And when we break our promises,
48:11 God doesn't break His.
48:18 When we forget, He doesn't forget.
48:22 Except the things we wish He would forget.
48:26 When we give up on ourselves,
48:29 or on those who we know because they have feet of clay,
48:37 He doesn't give up.
48:40 Because He's unique in His promise.
48:43 When Moses said, "Here I am, send Aaron,"
48:49 when Samson whispered to Delilah,
48:52 and Saul wrought against David,
48:56 and David schemed against Uriah,
48:59 God didn't give up.
49:02 When Peter denied Him, and John and James fought over position,
49:06 and when Judas kissed the kiss of death,
49:08 and Pilate washed his hands of Jesus,
49:11 God did not give up.
49:19 Jesus made it possible...
49:22 when He came to a poor man's crib...
49:28 and left in a rich man's crypt.
49:32 He came into the world with swaddling clothes
49:34 and left the world with death clothes.
49:39 A Joseph stood beside Him at the manger,
49:42 and a Joseph stood beside Him at the grave.
49:47 When He enters, the Son of Man, the Son of God,
49:49 He enters the world through the backdoor
49:51 amidst strife and terror; amazing.
49:53 Eternity's embryo in the womb of a woman.
49:59 And God stoops as low as a stable.
50:03 Eternity's Savior hangs on a cross.
50:08 Think of it; the majesty and the mystery of it.
50:12 The first Adam wounded in his side,
50:16 and there comes forth the woman Eve.
50:19 The second Adam wounded in His side,
50:24 and there comes forth the new Eve,
50:26 the church of Jesus Christ.
50:29 The birth is consummated.
50:32 God in woman.
50:35 From that moment on, the world could never blame God.
50:40 From that moment on, we have no excuses.
50:45 From that moment on, life was worth living.
50:53 The test is complete.
50:56 Perfect life lived...
50:59 ...a perfect death.
51:02 A perfect glorious resurrection.
51:08 He without blemish.
51:11 And Hollywood, put all the blemish you want in Him,
51:13 but He still comes out with translucent character.
51:19 An atoning death.
51:22 And a resolute resurrection.
51:26 The womb of Mary, and the incarnation.
51:31 The woman of the earth,
51:35 and redemption.
51:38 And He made a promise to you and to me.
51:42 For those of you who are looking right now at your
51:45 television screen, wherever you are in this world,
51:49 He makes a promise, "I am with you always."
51:58 When times get hard, look to Jesus.
52:03 He made a promise.
52:04 When people don't listen or care, look to Jesus.
52:07 He made a promise.
52:08 When tears come and will not stop, look to Jesus.
52:10 He made a promise.
52:12 When you falter and fail, look to Jesus.
52:14 He made a promise.
52:15 When you do all you can and it's not enough, look to Jesus.
52:22 He made a promise.
52:26 For years I've been holding evangelistic meetings
52:28 around the world.
52:29 Mostly in inner cities of North America.
52:32 The brethren go off to the Philippines.
52:34 They send me to Harlem.
52:37 I stand up somewhat against the brethren,
52:38 but God will forgive me.
52:40 But anyway, I prayed that I would go to an
52:43 exotic place sometime.
52:46 And one of my friends became president in Hawaii.
52:49 And he called me up one day and he said,
52:50 "Ron, would you like to come and hold an evangelistic series
52:53 of meetings in Oahu, in Honolulu?"
52:59 I said, "Let me pray about it."
53:00 "Thank You, Jesus."
53:01 That was one of those instant prayer requests.
53:05 I told my wife, "Pack our suitcase and our bathing suit.
53:09 We're going to Hawaii."
53:11 When I got to Hawaii, my wife wanted to go shopping.
53:18 She always shops for the grandkids, not for herself.
53:20 You know how it is.
53:21 She's from Venus, I'm from Mars, you know.
53:23 So I kind of send her.
53:25 But when I go to these cities, I prayer walk.
53:28 I follow the Joshua model with prayer walking the perimeters.
53:31 In fact, I'm going to Las Vegas.
53:34 And there, I'm going to be with Brother Bradford.
53:39 Bradshaw. Get me right here.
53:42 It Is Written.
53:44 And I'm going to do the prayer walking.
53:48 And I'm organizing the prayer walk as we're praying for
53:51 hundreds of prayer walkers to begin to walk the city and pray
53:54 for the Holy Spirit of God to fall on that wicked city.
53:57 I'm going to ask you to pray for It Is Written.
53:59 They're taking a great challenge.
54:02 It's a great challenge.
54:04 That wicked city, it's like going up against Gomorrah.
54:10 But I was praying.
54:11 And I always pray for tough people, you know.
54:14 I always pray for the worst because they become the best,
54:16 by the way.
54:18 And one night, a family had been coming to the meetings,
54:20 and he was a marine, a sharp shooter.
54:23 The first Iraq war, he was shooting people off the hills.
54:29 An expert at long distance.
54:32 And he was at a bar with his wife.
54:36 And his wife got a handbill and so she said,
54:38 "I'd really like to go to these meetings."
54:39 So he said, "Well, I'll take you to those meetings."
54:41 Because he noticed that we give out a free Bible.
54:43 He said, "Maybe it would be good I have a Bible."
54:46 So they came to the meetings.
54:48 And night after night, they came to the meetings.
54:50 Night after night.
54:51 And it was the night he was suppose to get his Bible,
54:54 he was in a long line because many people came.
54:57 In fact, more people came than we had Bibles.
54:59 Lack of faith.
55:02 And he came.
55:03 When he got up to the desk, they said, "Oh, we're out of Bibles."
55:05 He said, "What's this?"
55:07 They said, "No, we've ordered more.
55:09 They will be here in a few days."
55:10 That happened twice.
55:13 And when I met him, this drunk Marine,
55:16 tough Marine, sharp shooter Marine.
55:20 And the Lord Jesus spoke to his heart.
55:23 I mean, Jesus came down and became real.
55:25 And he gave his life to Christ.
55:30 The second Iraq war, he's not a sharp shooter.
55:34 The second Iraq war, he's a Chaplain.
55:41 Our God can change your life.
55:48 He can bring you peace.
55:52 But you say, "More convenient time, Ron.
55:54 I just need more time."
55:58 When will that time be?
56:01 When you have more money?
56:04 More free time?
56:06 More energy?
56:09 When your husband or wife can come?
56:10 I mean, when you get older and retire?
56:13 "It's not a convenient time."
56:15 It wasn't a convenient time for Jesus to enter through
56:18 the womb of a virgin.
56:19 It wasn't a convenient time for Jesus to lay in a crib.
56:22 It wasn't a convenient time to hang on a cross.
56:27 Today, Christ wants to grant you eternal life.
56:33 Right now, Christ wants to come to you like He came to Mary.
56:37 To be incarnated in your heart, to His divine love.
56:43 Right now, Jesus Christ, the real Christ,
56:47 wants to reach down and touch your heart
56:51 and give you eternal life.
56:56 Tonight, He wants to lift your burden.
56:59 Don't wait until tomorrow night.
57:02 He wants to lift your burden tonight.
57:07 Will you not say to Jesus, "Take my heart."
57:14 Will you not say to Jesus now, "Change my life."
57:22 Will you not say to Jesus, "I'm Yours forever."
57:29 And He will fulfill that promise.


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Revised 2014-12-17