Participants: Geoff Youlden
Series Code: FGW
Program Code: FGW000008
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00:26 Well tonight I want to talk to you on the subject
00:29 Can a man or a woman 00:32 go so far into sin 00:35 that God cannot save them? In other words, 00:38 can the go so far away from God 00:41 that it's impossible to come back to Him? 00:44 You know, tonight if God was here 00:48 in a physical sense so that we could actually see Him 00:51 and He talked to us, I would suggest 00:55 that if He actually talked to us we would never forget 00:58 that experience 00:59 and we would hang on every word, isn't that right? 01:04 I think we would. 01:06 I know I would... I'm sure you would, too. 01:10 Because if God was able to talk to us and we could actually 01:14 hear Him... what a wonderful experience! 01:17 You know I've had people say to me: 01:18 "If I could literally hear God I'd believe in Him. " 01:23 Well actually, God HAS spoken to us 01:27 and He literally wants to speak to us every day. 01:32 Now it may not be in the way that you and I are used to 01:36 people talking to us... with a voice. 01:39 But God has communicated to us in the Book. 01:43 Because this is God's letter to us. 01:48 And you and I know that if we want to grow 01:51 into a relationship, what must you do if you want to develop 01:57 that relationship? Those of you who are in love: 02:00 And I hope that's all... all husbands and wives 02:05 and friends. If you're in love with somebody, 02:09 what have you got to do? 02:16 All right. Get to know their family. 02:18 Spend time with that person. 02:21 Tell me, if your partner - 02:26 if your husband or wife or whoever it might be - 02:30 is very precious to you, 02:33 is it hard to spend time talking to them? 02:39 Is it? No! 02:42 In fact, it's very exciting to spend time with them, 02:47 isn't that right? 02:48 Yes. Now that's the way God wants us to be. 02:54 He wants us to develop a relationship with Him. 02:56 Now the way that He talks to us is through His Word. 03:00 That's why the study of the Bible is so very, very 03:05 important. And when I'm reading the Bible 03:08 I've got to remember that I'm not just reading words 03:12 but I'm actually thinking about the fact that this is God 03:16 speaking to me. 03:19 And so I'm not just reading about a historical event 03:23 way in the past, I am reading it so that it talks to me... 03:27 talks to my heart. So that's why the Bible becomes very 03:31 precious. And then when I want to talk to God, 03:33 that's what we call prayer. 03:35 That's my response to God. 03:39 And we develop a relationship with someone 03:42 by spending time by talking to them. 03:44 You know, when marriages break down 03:46 usually it is because communication breaks down. 03:51 That's usually the bottom-line cause of all marriage 03:55 breakdowns. Somewhere back in the past 04:00 communication began to break down, 04:02 and gradually gradually gradually until it collapses. 04:09 And God wants us not to break our relationship with Him. 04:13 That's why He has given to us the Word. 04:16 And tonight I want to study with you what I think is 04:20 probably the worst case in all the Bible. 04:23 But before we turn that story up let's come over to the book 04:26 of Romans at the back of the Bible, Romans chapter 15. 04:30 And Paul is talking here in Romans chapter 15 04:35 and verse 4. And this is what he says. 04:39 Romans the 15th chapter and verse 4: 05:01 You see, one of the major reasons that the Bible 05:05 has been written is to give us hope! 05:11 And when it says here that "for whatever things were 05:15 written before... " what's that talking about? 05:20 What's... what has been written before? 05:22 What was Paul primarily talking about 05:24 when he says: "what things were written before? " 05:27 What's that? Yeah, that's the Old Testament. 05:31 Because it didn't include as yet the New Testament 05:34 because the New Testament was still being written, wasn't it? 05:38 Now, of course, NOW it includes the New Testament 05:41 but when Paul was writing it primarily included 05:46 or it meant the Old Testament. 05:48 And that's why we must be very, very careful - 05:51 very suspicious about anybody that would ever suggest to you 05:55 that some parts of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, 05:58 has been done away with or is not necessary for us to study. 06:01 Because the things that have been written in the 06:04 Old Testament and now included in the New Testament too for us. 06:09 But when Paul was writing the things that were written 06:12 in the Old Testament were written to give us hope. 06:18 And it says here: 06:23 So the best thing about the Bible to understand 06:26 is the fact that the Bible has been written to give us comfort 06:30 and to give us hope. 06:34 And this evening I want to talk to you about what I think 06:38 will be the most hopeless case in all the Bible. 06:43 And if there's hope for a creature like we're going to 06:46 talk about, then there's hope for us all. 06:50 You know, in the world today there's not too much 06:53 that gives you a lot of hope. 06:54 When we look at the environment, that doesn't give us a lot 06:57 of hope today, does it? 06:59 We listen to the scientists and the political leaders... 07:03 that doesn't give us much hope. 07:06 But the Bible says it's been written to give us hope 07:11 and as we study the scriptures that we'll learn patience 07:15 and comfort. 07:16 You know, I went through a hospital recently. 07:19 And as I walked through the ward I saw ward after ward 07:23 of children who were disfigured and handicapped. 07:28 And any parent's heart would just... just cry out 07:32 when you see children because you understand that 07:34 some parent is hurting because of their child was in 07:39 this situation. Terrible... ward after ward. 07:43 Then I went through ward after ward of accident cases. 07:49 Mainly car accidents. 07:53 I saw one girl that had a great cut right across her face. 08:00 Terribly disfigured. 08:02 The nurse was saying she was lucky to be alive. 08:05 Looked to me as if she was, too. 08:08 And when we look within our own hearts 08:10 there's not too much to give us hope. 08:14 Pretty hopeless world. 08:16 And yet the Bible says it's been written to give us hope. 08:22 And as we study it tonight I think we're going to see 08:25 how much hope we can have. 08:26 And I know many of us have a strong hope. 08:30 But sometimes I meet people who talk about heaven 08:32 that they hope that they're going to have 08:34 and salvation that they hope that they're going to have 08:37 one day. Well the Bible says we ought to be confident 08:41 about our salvation. 08:43 We ought to be confident about what we believe. 08:47 And when we look within our own hearts, there's not too much 08:50 to give us confidence. For example, let me illustrate. 08:53 If I had a camera here and I took a picture of you 08:58 and then I put it up on the screen 09:00 for you all to have a look, 09:03 tell me this: whose picture would you look for first? 09:07 Ah? 09:10 I guarantee it wouldn't be mine. 09:12 You would be looking for your own picture, isn't that right? 09:16 And let me suggest that if you were looking good 09:21 and bright eyed and bushy tailed 09:23 you'd say: "What a wonderful picture that is! " 09:26 Doesn't matter about others who may have been blinking 09:28 at the wrong time or, you know, things weren't quite straight. 09:32 If you took a good picture: "what a wonderful picture 09:35 that is! " 09:36 That's how much self is dead in each of our hearts. 09:40 And we all know that. 09:42 For example, when you hear the fire siren go and 09:45 the fire engine coming down and you're near your house, 09:48 whose house do you think of first? 09:50 Um-hmm. 09:53 That's how much self is dead in each of us. 09:56 And that's why when we look within our own hearts 09:59 there is not a lot to give us hope. 10:01 But the Bible says that the things that have been written 10:06 aforetime... the things that have been written in the past... 10:09 have been written to give us hope. 10:12 That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures 10:16 might have hope. 10:17 Now as I said, I want to talk about the most hopeless case 10:20 in all the Bible. I think by the time we're through 10:23 you will agree with me that it is the most hopeless case. 10:26 And if there's hope for a creature like we're going to 10:29 study about, then I think there's hope for each of us. 10:32 Come back to II Kings, toward the beginning of the Bible. 10:35 II Kings chapter 21. 10:38 II Kings chapter 21 and verse 9. 10:44 II Kings 21, and we'll pick up here the story in verse 9. 10:51 It says: 11:06 Now honestly friends, how Manasseh 11:10 did that I don't know. 11:14 I wouldn't believe it except the Bible said it. 11:18 How he seduced God's people to do worse than the Amorites 11:23 did and the Moabites I just can't understand 11:28 because they fell to about as low as it's possible to be 11:34 degraded as a human being. 11:37 You might remember that the Amorites inhabited a place 11:39 called Jericho. 11:42 And you remember the story of Jericho? How God's people 11:47 were to march around the city walls 11:50 seven times 11:53 then the walls eventually came tumbling down. 11:56 And God said to His people 11:58 when they went into the city: "Don't touch anything 12:03 in the city. " 12:06 Things had become so degraded, so filthy, 12:10 that God said: "Don't touch anything! " 12:12 Now one man disobeyed. 12:15 Do you remember his name? 12:17 Yes, it was a man by the name of Achan. 12:21 And he stole what he said was a 12:26 "goodly Babylonish garment. " 12:28 In other words, it must have been a pretty good looking coat. 12:32 And it must have fitted him 12:34 and he got it from one of the inhabitants of Jericho. 12:39 And he must have looked pretty good in it. 12:42 And then he hid it in his tent. 12:46 And the Bible says that he brought a curse upon the whole 12:50 camp of Israel 12:52 because he took that garment 12:56 because God said: "Don't touch anything. " 13:00 You know, I meet people from time to time... 13:03 In meetings like this they come to me and they say: 13:06 "Geoff, I can never understand 13:09 why if God is a God of love 13:12 why He commanded the destruction of the women and the children 13:17 of the Old Testament. " 13:19 I often am asked that question: 13:22 "If God is a God of love, why did He do that? " 13:28 You may have wondered it too. 13:32 You know it always reminds me of the chief of police of London. 13:36 He said as a young Christian he could never reconcile 13:40 the God of love with the destruction. In fact, 13:44 some people are so distressed over this question that 13:47 they believe that the God of the Old Testament 13:50 is different to the Jesus of the New Testament. 13:55 Now there's no difference. 13:57 Folk just don't understand when they make statements 14:00 like that. But this chief of police of London 14:04 he said: "I could never understand why God ordered 14:08 the destruction of the women and the children of the... 14:10 of the Old Testament... " he said, "until I became chief 14:14 of police of London. " 14:16 "Then, " he said, "my biggest problem was why God 14:20 didn't destroy London. " 14:22 And it's not just London, it's any of our big cities, 14:25 isn't that right? 14:28 Because when you get to know what's going on 14:30 you wonder at the forbearance and the love of God. 14:36 You know, when Billy Graham wrote his book many years ago 14:40 called World Aflame, his wife read the manuscript 14:43 before it was published. 14:46 And she said: "You know, Billy, 14:49 if Jesus doesn't come back soon 14:53 He'll have to apologize for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. " 14:59 Because our world is about as filthy as they were. 15:06 And as I said, he could never understand, he could never 15:10 reconcile this 15:11 until he saw the filth and the degradation 15:15 of our big cities. 15:17 And you see, if God hadn't destroyed those people 15:21 and allowed them to continue to live on, 15:24 they had become so filthy and degraded in their practices 15:28 that if God had allowed them to live on they would have 15:31 infected the whole of humanity. 15:34 It's a bit like a case of oranges. 15:36 You know very well if you have a case of oranges 15:39 one thing you have to be very careful about is 15:42 to go through those oranges pretty regularly, 15:44 isn't that right? Because all you need 15:47 almost overnight is one of those oranges to go a bit furry 15:52 and what will happen to the whole case 15:54 almost while you watch it? 15:56 It'll affect the whole case. 15:58 And God knew that. That's why 16:02 He allowed the destruction of those who were living 16:06 such filthy degraded lives. 16:08 Otherwise they would have infected the whole of humanity 16:13 and we all would have been wiped out. 16:15 So in love and mercy God destroyed those 16:20 who had fallen and become so degraded. 16:22 Notice verse 11 of II Kings chapter 21. 16:27 In verse 11 it says: 16:44 Now once again, verse 11 is emphasizing this very point. 16:48 "He has done more wickedly than the Amorites. " 16:52 And remember: Manasseh was one of God's leaders 16:56 and he led God's people to do worse above all. 17:02 Now there's not much an excuse for Manasseh because 17:05 you may remember Manasseh had a wonderful father. 17:08 If you go back to chapter 20 and verse 21 17:13 it tells you who his father was. 17:15 And if ever there was a good man that lived, 17:18 like the Bible says, he was one of the best if not the best. 17:22 Chapter 20 and verse 21 it says: 17:33 Now Hezekiah was a wonderful, wonderful man. 17:37 The best king probably that Israel ever had. 17:42 And so Manasseh had no excuses because he was brought up 17:47 to understand the truth. 17:50 He was brought up in a good home. 17:53 He had good parents who loved God 17:57 and who served God. 17:59 And you may remember that God came to Hezekiah 18:03 on one occasion and He said: "Hezekiah, 18:05 I want you to get your house in order 18:07 because you're going to die. " 18:09 Remember the story? 18:12 And Hezekiah didn't want to die. He was 39 years of age. 18:16 Now when you're 39, you're just at the best years of your life 18:19 because up until the age of 39 you've learned a few things 18:22 in life. Through your 40's, somebody wrote a book some years 18:26 ago: "Life begins at 40. " 18:29 I don't know whether that's true but that's what he said. 18:32 "Life begins at 40. " And the philosophy of the book was 18:35 up until your 40's you've had experience in life. 18:39 You've learned lots of good things 18:41 and in your 40's you still have the energy to be able to 18:45 put it into practice. 18:47 After the 40's... 18:52 it's only one direction. 18:55 Well you don't have to agree with him 18:57 but that's... that's the philosophy of the book 19:00 "Life begins at 40. " Well, Hezekiah 19:02 was just about to enter the very best years of his life. 19:08 God said: "Get your house in order, Hezekiah, 19:11 because you're going to die. " 19:14 And Hezekiah didn't want to die and so he prayed to God 19:17 and twisted God's arm so to speak. 19:20 And God answered his prayer 19:22 as Hezekiah wanted it to be answered. 19:25 And He extended his life. Do you know by how many years? 19:29 Fifteen years. 19:34 Now Hezekiah wanted a sign. He wasn't satisfied 19:37 that God had said to him: "Look, I'll extend your life 19:40 by 15 years. " He said: Lord, You give me a sign. " 19:45 So finally the Lord relinquished on that, too, and gave him 19:48 a sign. And you remember He put the sun back 10 degrees? 19:52 In other words, made the day longer. 19:55 Now that had a tremendous impact upon the Babylonians 19:59 because they worshiped the sun. 20:03 And they sent their best scientists, 20:06 their best ambassadors, 20:08 their best mathematicians over to Hezekiah 20:11 because they heard that it was the God of Hezekiah 20:14 that was actually able to make their god, shift their god 20:17 in the sky. 20:20 And the tragic thing is in the life of Hezekiah 20:24 who lived a very, very wonderful life 20:26 up until those extra 15 years, 20:29 he made two tragic mistakes in those 15 years. 20:35 The first was when the ambassadors came over 20:42 he never told them about God at all... 20:44 he told them all about Hezekiah. 20:48 And by the way, these mathematicians were the 20:52 forerunners. They have given to us much of our mathematics 20:56 today. For example, you may have wondered 20:58 where you get 360 degrees from for our circle. 21:02 You see, the Babylonians 21:06 based all their mathematics on the 60 system. 21:12 And we have changed over to the decimal system... 21:15 at least most countries in the world now 21:17 have changed over to the decimal system. 21:20 And we find it much easier because 10 is divisible by 5 21:25 and by 2. But 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. 21:33 And the Babylonians worked all this out. 21:35 That's where the idea of 60 seconds to the minute 21:38 comes from and 60 minutes to the hour 21:40 and 360 degrees in a circle... 21:43 all comes to us from the Babylonians. 21:46 They worked all that out. The #6 runs all through their system. 21:51 It's interesting when you get over to the Bible and you study 21:53 the Bible the #7 is God's number isn't it? 21:58 You know we have what? In the book of Revelation 22:02 seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven plagues, 22:05 seven overcomes. You've got seven colors in the rainbow. 22:10 Seven notes in music. 22:13 Seven seas. 22:16 Seven days in the week. 22:20 Interesting, isn't it? 22:22 Seven. And I'll tell you some- thing else that's interesting: 22:26 if you add 7 and 6 together, what do you get? 22:31 Thirteen. And what's thirteen considered to be? 22:33 Unlucky. Now most people don't know why 13 is unlucky, 22:37 but it comes to us from the Bible. 22:39 Because the Biblical people understood 22:42 when you mix the things of God and the things of the world 22:45 together you always have problems. 22:48 And they understood that. 22:49 That's why 13 is considered to be unlucky 22:53 even by people who don't go to church, have no idea about God. 22:55 They still are superstitious about 13. 22:58 Comes to us from the Bible. 23:00 I wish I had more time to talk to you on some of these 23:02 things because it's interesting. 23:04 And so the ambassadors, the mathematicians, 23:09 all came over to sit at Hezekiah's feet to learn about 23:13 his God. And the tragedy is when you read the story 23:16 he never even told them about God. 23:19 He told them all about Hezekiah. 23:21 Showed them all his beautiful palaces, 23:24 all the gold and all the silver, all that he had. 23:29 And God said to Hezekiah: "Hezekiah, they're going to 23:32 come down... " When they went back He said: 23:34 "They're going to come down and they're going to take the lot. " 23:36 You know the rest of the story. 23:38 That's exactly what the Babylonians did. 23:40 That was the first tragic mistake of Hezekiah. 23:42 The second tragic mistake of Hezekiah was 23:45 that he had a son born 23:48 because he was born in these added years. 23:54 How do I know that? Well if you have a look at 23:55 chapter 21 and verse 1 it says there 23:58 that Manasseh was 12 years old when his father died 24:02 which means that he was born in those added 15 years. 24:07 Isn't that right? 24:08 And I want to tell you something: the world would have 24:11 been a better place if Manasseh had never drawn a breath. 24:16 A much better place. 24:19 You could hardly believe that such a terrible man like 24:23 Manasseh could come from such a godly mother and father 24:26 as Hezekiah and his wife... but he did. 24:30 Just to give you some idea if you think I'm exaggerating 24:34 when I am pointing out here that Manasseh was such a 24:36 terrible man, you just have a look at chapter 21 verse 2 24:41 and we'll read a little bit about his actions. 24:44 Listen... verse 2: 25:14 In other words, he brought Baal worship - which was nothing 25:18 more or less than sun worship, 25:20 the worship of the Babylonians and the Assyrians 25:24 and all the heathen nations - 25:26 moon worship and sun worship - he brought it right into the 25:30 very church of God, into the very temple of God. 25:33 Right into the sanctuary. 25:36 And what his father had broken down 25:40 he raised up again. 25:42 Taught the people all this Baal worship. 25:46 This is where the idea of the zodiac, 25:49 astrology, and he taught the people to follow their luck 25:54 in the stars. 25:55 Because that all comes to us from ancient Babylon. 25:59 That's where that originated. 26:01 And I'm surprised at the number of people today 26:04 who would never start out the day without looking at 26:07 the stars... reading their luck in the stars. 26:10 People decorate their homes by the stars. 26:13 They wouldn't do business without checking on the stars. 26:16 I want to tell you: that comes to us from ancient Babylon. 26:19 That doesn't come to us from God at all. 26:24 Verse 4: 26:35 Verse 5: 26:44 Not satisfied to bring sun worship and moon worship 26:49 and the worship of the stars into Israel 26:53 he actually brought it into the very sanctuary... 26:57 into the two courts of the house of the Lord. 27:00 Verse 6: 27:17 And as I said, this man knew the truth. 27:22 There's no excuse for Manasseh because he was brought up 27:26 by these godly parents to under- stand the difference between 27:30 right and wrong. But in view of that 27:33 he cast it all aside and rebelled against his good 27:37 upbringing and began to follow all the practices of 27:40 the nations and the people that surrounded him. 27:42 In other words, he copied those who were living around him. 27:48 And then as we read on here in verse 7: 28:06 Verse 8: 28:35 Now honestly, I don't know how he did that, 28:38 but the Bible says he did and so he did it. 28:41 But understand it? I can't. 28:43 In fact, we believe 28:46 that Manasseh put the prophet Isaiah 28:50 into a hollow log. 28:54 And when he had pushed him up in this hollow log 28:57 that they'd hollowed out of this big trunk 28:59 pushed Isaiah up then got a saw and cut it in half. 29:04 And of course the New Testament tells us 29:07 in Hebrews the 11th chapter that many of the prophets 29:10 were sawn asunder. And we believe 29:12 that that's when Isaiah met his end: 29:14 in the reign of Manasseh. 29:17 Because... The reason we are pretty certain about this 29:20 is because you'll read about Isaiah up until the beginning 29:24 of the reign of Manasseh then you hear nothing more about him. 29:27 And so we believe that he was cut in two by this wretch 29:33 Manasseh. 29:34 And the Bible says he was a murderer. 29:36 Just have a look at verse 16: 29:54 So the Bible says he was a murderer. 29:56 He filled the whole of Jerusalem from one end to the other 29:59 with the blood of God's people. 30:01 Anyone who stood against him and tried to stand for reformation 30:06 was killed. 30:09 Just like dictators do today... that's what Manasseh did 30:13 until he had filled the whole of Jerusalem with innocent blood. 30:17 Verse 17: 30:29 I thought: "Surely not... there can't be any more! " 30:32 But the Bible says if you want to read the rest of the acts 30:36 of Manasseh, go over to II Chronicles 30:39 and it will tell you more. 30:41 So let's go over to II Chronicles 30:43 which is the next book over. 30:45 I Chronicles then we want to go to II Chronicles 30:49 and we'll pick up at chapter 33 and down here in verse 9. 30:55 II Chronicles 33 and verse 9. 31:00 It says: 31:15 So there the Bible is emphasizing it again, isn't it? 31:17 Says it again. 31:20 They must have been a wretch for the Bible to keep harping 31:23 on this very point. 31:25 Notice verse 10, 31:27 the first part of it. It says: 31:35 You know, I've got to admit 31:37 that if I'd been the Good Lord back in those days - 31:41 and I guess it's one of the reasons why I'm not - 31:44 but if I'd been the Good Lord back in the days of Manasseh 31:47 I don't think I would have been just speaking to him. 31:50 Do you think you might have just been speaking to him? 31:52 I think we may have used some more positive 31:55 actions, don't you think? 31:57 Yes. 32:00 But the wonderful thing is the Bible says the Lord 32:05 spoke to Manasseh. 32:08 Didn't hit him with some big judgment. 32:11 Tried to reason with him and spoke to him. 32:16 And when I read that first I gasped because 32:21 it's almost unbelievable after all that Manasseh had done - 32:26 all that he had said, all his rebellion, 32:29 all his murders and all, 32:32 bringing sun worship and all the pagan practices 32:35 right into the temple of God - 32:37 after all of that the Bible says that God spoke to Manasseh. 32:42 And I tell you, friend: you and I ought to be 32:45 very grateful for a God like that, don't you think so? 32:49 You know, I'm very grateful for a God like that. 32:52 That is so merciful and so longsuffering 32:57 that He would still speak to Manasseh after all 33:01 that he had done. A life of rebellion. 33:05 And not just a mistake here and there. 33:07 That's not what we're talking about. 33:08 We're talking about a deliberate planned rebellion 33:13 over many years. 33:16 No excuse for him. 33:18 But the Lord, the Bible says, spoke to Manasseh. 33:23 Therefore... notice what happened in verse 11. 33:26 First of all it says in verse 10: 33:32 See that? Wouldn't listen. 33:34 Then verse 11 goes on to say: 33:49 Just what he deserved, don't you think? 33:52 Good! 33:54 He's got what he deserved. 33:56 That's how we react, isn't it? 34:00 Because the Assyrians or the Babylonians came down 34:03 and they took him with hooks. 34:05 Now you see, back in those days 34:09 they didn't have any trouble with prisoners escaping 34:12 because what they would do is they would put a ring 34:15 through the noses of all the prisoners. 34:18 Just like we do with a bull. 34:20 And then they would have a chain which went to the next prisoner 34:25 through his nose to the next one to the next one. 34:31 So do you think any of them pulled back? 34:33 No. They all ran to keep up to keep the chain loose. 34:37 Because you can just imagine what would happen. 34:43 So they had no trouble with the prisoners 34:48 jogging back to Babylon... or back to Assyria. 34:52 None whatsoever. Bound him with hooks. 34:56 And that's how Manasseh was carried off to Babylon. 34:59 And it says he was put into prison. 35:04 You know, one of the great teachings of the Bible is this: 35:08 "Whatever a person sows 35:12 that shall they also... " What? 35:15 "reap. " 35:17 You know, I notice that people like to do the sowing 35:22 but nobody likes to do the reaping. 35:25 Because sin always appears good before it's committed 35:31 and while it's being committed 35:34 but when it IS committed it bites like a snake. 35:39 And as I said, people like to... to get involved with sin but 35:44 they don't like the results of sin. 35:47 They cry out then! 35:49 When their life of rebellion starts to catch up with them 35:53 then they cry out to God: "Why, God, are You allowing 35:55 this to happen to me? " 35:56 And they blame God for it. 36:01 And a person who lives a life of not caring for their health, 36:06 smoking and so forth and they're living a life like this, 36:09 and suddenly they finish up with lung cancer 36:11 and they say to God: "God? Where is God in this? " 36:17 Well I want to tell you something, friend: 36:19 God doesn't come down and blow the match out 36:22 when we begin to light our cigarette. Is that right? 36:25 God's not going to pull your chair away from the table 36:28 when you're overeating. 36:31 God doesn't work like that. 36:33 He's given us freedom of choice. 36:37 The people don't like the reaping. 36:41 They may like the sowing but not the reaping. 36:45 And yet the Bible says whatever we sow we will reap. 36:51 It's a very important principle for us always to remember. 36:54 Sow good things and you will reap good things. 36:56 Sow bad things and eventually it catches up with you. 37:02 Reminds me of a man who was going through a prison once 37:05 and he saw a prisoner sitting down there 37:08 sewing a... making a basket, you know, of cane. 37:12 Make a basket. 37:13 And he wanted to say something pleasant as he went past. 37:17 He said: "Oh, I see you're doing a bit of sewing. " 37:20 "Oh, no, " said the man. He said: "I'm reaping. " 37:25 And reaping is a tragedy. 37:27 And now Manasseh begins to reap. 37:32 You know, I've seen the life story. 37:33 I've had people tell me their life story. 37:36 Come to meetings and I visit them in their home 37:39 and so forth and they tell me their story. 37:40 And you can often see the story in the lines on their faces 37:44 because you cannot get away with sin. 37:48 It catches up with us. 37:51 It may appear for a little while 37:55 that God is not on His throne. 37:57 That God doesn't care. 38:00 But I want to tell you this: eventually it catches... 38:04 God gives every person opportunity after opportunity 38:08 after opportunity, but finally the time comes 38:12 when the sowing begins and then the reaping follows 38:16 like a whirlwind. 38:18 And people don't like that. 38:19 And this is what now was happening to Manasseh. 38:22 He was taken with hooks. 38:26 Bound him with bronze fetters and carried him off to Babylon. 38:29 Then it say in verse 12... notice what it says here: 38:47 Can you imagine the audacity of this guy now 38:51 down there in captivity 38:55 in this terrible prison? And believe me, 38:58 back in those days prisons were not like they are today. 39:01 No nice bed and television and... 39:05 and nice toilet and so forth in the corner. 39:09 Wash basin and so forth. 39:11 Nothing like that. 39:13 No, the toilet facilities were very crude 39:17 as you can just imagine. 39:19 And so they were dirty, dark, and smelly places. 39:25 And here is Manasseh... he's been thrown down there 39:29 without any windows, down... dark, underneath the bowels 39:32 of the earth. And he's thrown there into prison. 39:37 And while he's in prison he's got nothing else to do 39:40 but he begins to pray to God. 39:43 Now you imagine... after all that he had done 39:46 the audacity of a guy like that to start to pray now. 39:52 Why didn't he think about that a long time before? 39:55 But he begins to pray. 39:57 Do you think God would be interested in listening 39:59 to a prayer of a man like that? 40:01 After all that he had done and the rebellious life 40:03 that he'd lived? Do you think He would? 40:05 You just read the rest of the story here in verse... 40:09 verse 13... and prayed to Him: 40:27 You know, I am amazed every time I read that story 40:31 of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 40:35 to listen, first of all, and then to answer the prayer 40:41 of a man like that. 40:44 You know, reminds me of that great hymn writer John Newton 40:48 who was a slave trader. 40:52 Trading in the souls of black men and women from Africa. 40:56 One of the darkest stories of English history. 41:00 Terrible. 41:02 Disgraceful. 41:05 And he was a leader in it. 41:10 And the ship that he was on board 41:14 got into a big storm 41:18 and it looked as if it was going down 41:22 and he thought he was going to die. 41:24 And he'd had a good mother who'd taught him 41:27 right principles, and he prayed. He made a bargain with God 41:30 on that ship that if he was saved he would serve God. 41:34 And the ship was saved, and he served God. 41:37 A wonderful transformation. And he wrote that hymn 41:40 that everybody knows so well: 41:43 Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, 41:48 that saved a wretch like me. 41:51 I once was blind but now can see. 41:57 Wonderful! 41:59 And every time I read this verse I think of John Newton. 42:05 You know, it's not to a man's credit to pray in a crisis. 42:09 Everybody prays in a crisis, isn't that right? 42:13 I don't care who a person is. 42:15 The grandest and the most militant atheist that you've 42:20 ever met, you put him out in the middle of the ocean 42:24 in a little boat all on his own and a storm breaks up 42:27 and that boat is being tossed to and fro like a cork 42:32 I'll guarantee no matter who he is or she 42:36 they will pray. Isn't that right? 42:40 You notice on television when there's a crisis on. 42:44 These parents that lost their child over in England... 42:50 they have no hesitation in asking people to pray. 42:55 Now I don't know anything about them, but I can almost guarantee 42:58 that they probably never think about God 43:00 from one day to the next ordinarily. 43:03 Plenty of people are like that. 43:07 And it's not to a person's credit to pray in a crisis. 43:11 Anybody will do that. 43:15 And here he is praying down there in prison. 43:18 He can't get out. 43:21 And the Bible says that while he was there 43:24 God heard his prayer and his supplication 43:29 and put him back on the throne in Israel. 43:33 And then the Bible says Manasseh knew 43:37 that the Lord was God. 43:41 You know, I've had plenty of people say to me that 43:44 they have committed the unpardonable sin. 43:47 They've gone just too far. 43:50 When people come to meetings like this, I tell you, 43:53 one of the biggest problems that many folk struggle with 43:56 in their heart is that they feel that they've just done so many 43:59 bad things in their life that God could never, ever 44:03 forgive them. Well I want to tell you something today: 44:08 the reason why this story has been recorded in the Bible 44:13 is to give us all hope. 44:15 That's why it's been written there. 44:17 It's not just to take up space. 44:20 But nobody - absolutely nobody listening to me 44:27 either here or on television - nobody has sinned anything like 44:33 Manasseh sinned. 44:36 Impossible! 44:39 And yet the Bible says that God heard Manasseh's prayer. 44:45 Not only did He hear his prayer 44:47 but He answered it and put him back on the throne in Jerusalem. 44:52 Now my point is this: that if God would listen 44:56 to the prayer of a creature like that 44:58 there's hope for us all, isn't that right? 45:00 Because nobody has sinned like that. 45:04 Like Manasseh has. 45:06 Some of us may have lived a pretty colorful life... 45:08 that may be very true... 45:10 but it's nothing compared to Manasseh. 45:13 And yet God was patient with Manasseh. 45:17 God heard his prayer 45:20 and restored him back to the throne in Jerusalem. 45:25 You know, there's a text in... in the New Testament 45:28 which says this: that God can save to the uttermost 45:33 them that come unto God 45:36 by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them. 45:41 In other words, someone has quaintly paraphrased that verse 45:45 by saying "God can save from the guttermost 45:48 to the uttermost. " 45:51 That's true! 45:53 God can lift us from the very, very bottom 45:56 and lift us back to glory. 46:02 All we have to do is to pray to God 46:04 even if we pray like Manasseh prayed... 46:07 because he had no alternative. 46:10 With his back to the wall God still heard his prayer. 46:15 And listen: if you and I will do the coming, 46:20 Christ will do the saving. 46:24 Because it's God's responsibility to save us. 46:27 It's not our responsibility. 46:29 We cannot save ourselves... that's God's responsibility. 46:33 And He has promised: "If you come unto Me 46:37 I will in no wise cast you out. " 46:41 No matter who we are; no matter what we've done. 46:44 And that puts us all on the same level together. 46:47 That's why we can be confident today. 46:49 That's why we can have the assurance of salvation. 46:52 Not because of anything that we have done or ever will do 46:56 that will merit God's goodness toward us because 47:00 we haven't got anything that can merit God's goodness. 47:04 But God accepts us as we are. 47:09 And when He accepts us as we are 47:12 he then begins to work upon us to change us 47:16 so that we don't remain as we are. 47:19 But God wants then to change our life and to 47:21 make us as He is. 47:22 But that doesn't happen in a moment. 47:26 That's a process. But the very first thing that we need to do 47:32 is to come to Him. And when we come to Him 47:35 and we present our life as a testimony to Him 47:40 then He will change us. 47:45 And that's why in the book of Revelation if you were to 47:48 pick up the book of Revelation as we begin to study it more 47:52 you will find that nowhere in the book of Revelation does 47:57 it say people get to heaven and say 48:00 "Well thank God I made it! " 48:04 You'll never read that in the Bible I can assure you 48:07 because the praise is to God 48:12 who has made it possible... through Jesus' blood 48:16 that's made it possible. Because salvation is a gift 48:20 that's given to us. It's not something we earn. 48:23 That's why we are all standing level. 48:28 Whether we are the most educated or the highest position 48:32 in the land or the lowest it makes no difference. 48:36 Because we all stand together because salvation is 48:40 given to us all as a gift. 48:43 And when something is given to us as a gift 48:46 if I'm going to get the gift what do I have to do? 48:50 See I can have a beautiful gift that I'm going to give you. 48:56 I might have $1,000 that I'm going to give you. 49:00 But what have you got to do in order to get the $1,000? 49:06 I might tell you I've got it here 49:09 and I'm willing to give it to you, but what's your part? 49:14 Yeah, you must accept it. 49:17 I must accept it. 49:20 And that's our part in the story of salvation: 49:23 we must accept it. And some people are going to be 49:26 lost because they refused to accept it. 49:31 Not because of their life. 49:33 Not because of what they have done. 49:36 That's not the reason they're going to be lost. 49:38 It's because they choose not to accept it. 49:41 And I don't know what more God can do for us. 49:44 He offers us that, 49:46 and all we have to do is to accept that gift. 49:51 And if we will, then we receive salvation. 49:55 And that's why we can have the absolute assurance. 49:58 That's why we can be confident... not in ourselves 50:02 but confident in the gift that God has given. 50:08 Let me tell you about a man in the Old Testament 50:12 that you have heard about... the story of Cain. 50:14 Come back to the book of Genesis chapter 4. 50:18 I'm sure you know the story of Cain and Abel. 50:23 Cain, you remember, murdered his brother. 50:28 Now the Bible says that Cain will not be found in heaven. 50:35 Now why won't Cain be found in heaven? 50:37 Is it because of the fact that he murdered Abel? 50:42 Is that the reason? 50:46 Well if it is, there's going to be an awful lot of people 50:49 in the Bible who won't get there. 50:51 Moses was a murderer. 50:53 And plenty of people throughout the Bible were murderers. 50:56 If murder is the unpardonable sin, 51:02 then there'll be a lot of people who will never make heaven. 51:04 But murder isn't the unpardonable sin. 51:06 Even though it's a terrible thing to do, it's not the 51:09 unpardonable sin. 51:11 And that's not the reason why Cain won't be saved. 51:14 You have a look at verse 13. 51:17 This is chapter 4 verse 13. It says: 51:27 Now it's interesting that the old version 51:30 says in the margin... You know, one of those old 51:32 Bibles that has the margin down the middle? 51:34 It has a little number in the verse 51:38 which says "my punishment is greater than I can bear. " 51:40 When you look over in the margin it says 51:42 "mine iniquity is greater than it may be forgiven. " 51:49 What was Cain's problem then? 51:55 You see, Cain felt that he had sinned so badly 52:01 that God wouldn't forgive him or couldn't forgive him. 52:04 He felt that he was a greater sinner than God was a Savior. 52:08 Get the thought? 52:10 That's why Cain won't be saved... 52:12 not because of what he did. 52:14 And let me assure you, any of us here 52:16 that will be lost will not be lost because of what we've done. 52:21 It'll be because we don't believe that God 52:24 will forgive us if we confess our sins to Him. 52:29 And that was Cain's tragic mistake. 52:33 He never believed that God would forgive him. 52:37 "Mine iniquity is greater than it may be forgiven. " 52:41 Now in the New Testament we have the story of two men. 52:45 Once again, you know these men very, very well. 52:49 The two men I'm thinking about: Judas Iscariot 52:54 and Saint Peter. 52:57 Very familiar men in the New Testament. 53:00 Now let me ask you a question: 53:02 which of those two men sinned the greater? 53:05 Peter or Judas? You think about that for a moment. 53:09 Which of those two men sinned the greater? 53:12 Peter or Judas? 53:18 You know, I'm hearing both. 53:23 Yes, it is true that first of all Judas 53:28 betrayed Jesus, didn't he? 53:30 And then he went out the Bible says 53:33 and hung himself. 53:35 On the other hand, Peter denied Jesus how many times? 53:41 Three times. 53:43 And furthermore, Jesus had warned Peter 53:47 before it happened that he would do it. 53:51 So he was given time to think about it. 53:55 And then even after the cock had crowed once 53:58 he still had two more times. 54:02 Which of those two men sinned the greater? 54:05 Well I'm not sure that you could actually measure 54:08 on a scale because I think 54:12 they both sinned about the same. 54:17 But the difference between Judas and Peter 54:21 is that when Judas was convicted that he'd done the wrong thing 54:30 he didn't feel that Christ would forgive him. 54:32 He went out and took the responsibility and hung himself. 54:35 Whereas when Peter... conviction came to his heart 54:39 what did he do? 54:41 He went out to the Garden of Gethsemane where he had 54:43 slept the night before where Jesus had sweat 54:46 great drops of blood, and he fell down there 54:50 on the ground and cried because he realized that 54:53 he'd betrayed his best friend. 54:55 And repentance took place, 54:58 and that's when Peter was converted. 55:00 He was a changed man. 55:02 Spent all that time with Jesus 55:04 and still really wasn't converted. 55:07 Not until that experience. 55:09 And so you see it's not so much a matter of what we do 55:13 that is the essence of whether we are saved or not. 55:17 What is the issue is whether we believe that God 55:21 can forgive us. 55:23 And the good news that the story of Manasseh reminds us about 55:27 is that Jesus is a greater Savior 55:32 than we are sinners. 55:34 Isn't that good news? 55:36 And no matter what we have done, 55:38 no matter what we have said, 55:40 no matter what we have been involved with, 55:42 if we come to Jesus and make a clean confession of our 55:47 mistakes to Him, the Bible says He will forgive us. 55:51 Cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 55:55 Not one of us is worthy of that, but thank God 55:58 the story of Manasseh has been recorded to give us hope. 56:02 You know, the story of Manasseh is really the Prodigal Son 56:06 of the Old Testament. 56:07 You know, we're all very familiar with the Prodigal Son 56:10 of the New Testament. 56:12 But God's people for hundreds and hundreds of years 56:16 didn't know anything about the story Jesus was going to tell 56:20 one day. They knew the story of Manasseh. 56:25 And that would have been quoted to them 56:27 as a means of hope to give them confidence 56:31 in the Old Testament 56:33 the same as the Prodigal Son in the New Testament 56:36 gives us hope in the New Testament. 56:39 And so tonight I want to assure you 56:44 that no matter who we are, no matter what we have done, 56:48 God will accept us. 56:51 And as we begin to learn truth 56:54 and as we begin to put into practice what we are learning 56:58 let's never ever be tempted to think that I'm not good 57:01 enough. So many people say to me: "Geoff, I'm just not 57:04 good enough yet. " 57:06 That's not the basis! 57:08 We'll never be good enough. 57:11 Because the closer you get to Jesus the more you will 57:14 recognize that you're not good enough. 57:16 That's a good sign when a person says: "I'm not good enough. " 57:21 But the closer we get to Jesus the more we realize 57:24 that God takes people who are not good enough in themselves 57:28 and makes them perfect. 57:31 Tonight God promises to give us that gift of salvation. 57:36 Who would like to join me and say: "God, I want to accept 57:38 that gift tonight... that gift of salvation 57:40 because I desperately need it? " God bless you. 57:42 Let's just bow our heads together in prayer. 57:45 Our wonderful Father, I just want to thank you 57:47 for Your grace tonight... the grace that is so wonderful. 57:51 So much higher than the highest mountain; 57:53 deeper than the deepest sea. 57:55 Lord, we are just so grateful tonight for the story 57:57 of Manasseh... the story that's been recorded to give us all 58:00 hope. I pray that as we go home that You will 58:03 put a song in our hearts as we realize there is hope 58:05 for us all. And as You teach us step by step 58:09 that You will lead us into a greater and more wonderful 58:12 knowledge of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 58:15 Bless us to this end I pray for Jesus' sake, Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17