Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001239
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00:07 It has stood the test of time.
00:12 God's book, the Bible. 00:16 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe. 00:36 Thanks for joining me today on It is Written. 00:38 I'm John Bradshaw. 00:39 Today, a very important subject from the Bible. 00:43 The Bible tells us that Jesus came into this world 00:45 to save us. 00:48 You would think, therefore, that anybody who encountered 00:51 the Bible or knew Jesus on any level at all, would 00:54 understand that and would be able to say "I am confident 00:57 that I have in my hands, in my heart, in my life the gift 01:00 of everlasting life. 01:01 RO6:23 - The wages of sin is, death, but the gift of God is 01:06 eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 01:09 I would think that if we together took a journey into 01:13 a ...oh let4s say ...a desert where people were starving 01:16 for food or dying of thirst and we went together 01:19 distributing bottles of water or food packages, that people 01:23 would say "There's life. 01:24 I will take the water. 01:25 There's the food I need, I will grab it." If we came so 01:29 that people could have life, you'd expect that people would 01:31 come to us and receive life. 01:33 The Bible says the gift of God is eternal life. 01:37 If Jesus came to this world with a gift to give out to 01:40 anybody who wants it, why is it that not more people have 01:45 the gift or believe, and/or know they have the gift? 01:50 I have a special guest with me today, Ron Halverson, 01:54 author, speaker, international preacher of the 01:57 Word of God and someone that God has .. to use 02:00 a biblical phrase, called out of darkness and into 02:03 his marvelous light. 02:04 God has spoken through Ron Halverson many times to point 02:07 many, thousands, literally, thousands of men and women 02:11 to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. 02:13 JB: Ron Halverson, thanks for joining me today. 02:15 RH: Glad to be here. 02:16 JB: I'm glad you're here. 02:17 Salvation. 02:19 Let's talk about how people can receive the gift of salvation 02:23 and how they can know they have the gift of 02:25 salvation, but before we do that, 02:27 tell me what salvation is. 02:29 RH: Well, that's the most important point. 02:31 If you have a gift that's wrapped, until you unwrap it, 02:34 you don't know what it is. 02:37 And the thing with salvation is you gotta open your eyes 02:42 to see who Jesus is. 02:45 You have got to understand who he is before you ever 02:48 discover who you are. 02:50 The Bible says in Matthew when he introduces Jesus 02:53 Christ before his birth, his incarnation, before the seed 02:55 becomes the child, he says in the 21st verse, and she shall 03:00 bring forth a son. 03:01 They shall call his name Jesus for he shall save 03:04 his people from their sins. 03:06 JB: So salvation, whatever it is, has got to have something 03:09 to do with being saved from our sins, from sin. 03:12 RH: Right. 03:12 JB: The Bible says the wages of sin is death. 03:14 Back in the garden of eden, two perfect people 03:16 in a perfect world. 03:18 Sin came and caused separation between God. 03:20 So this act of salvation, what is that? 03:23 Removing the separation so we could be one with God again. 03:25 RH: It's kind of being in prison set free. 03:28 That's salvation. 03:30 Being in the storm in the water alone and a helicopter 03:34 comes down and lifts you out. 03:36 Going into a surgery, almost dead, and coming out alive 03:40 and well. 03:42 Well, in the spiritual sense, that's the same thing, 03:46 because the Bible talks about two types of dying. 03:49 He says, don't worry about him that kills the body but 03:52 kills the soul and body. 03:53 And what he means is be more concerned about your eternal 03:57 destiny then your earthly destiny and a person has to 03:59 come to a place where they need to feel that they have 04:03 to be taken out or to escape the prison house, what Paul 04:06 calls the prison house of self. 04:08 Salvation is the only thing that can save us from sin. 04:12 Nothing else can save us from sin. 04:13 JB: The person has got to know that they need 04:15 to be taken out. 04:16 So a person has got to realize that they are lost. 04:18 RH: That's the first step. 04:19 JB: Someone is doing a little self-examination and they 04:21 were to say to themselves: "How can I know I'm lost." 04:25 RH: First of all, a lot of people don't think they're 04:28 lost. 04:29 But that's why a lot of people are not receiving 04:31 Jesus into their life. 04:33 The first principle of salvation is you've got to 04:37 believe you have to be saved from something. 04:40 It may be your ego, yourself, your depression, even 04:44 emotional, but you have to be saved from yourself. 04:48 See, by nature, the Bible says, we're all sinners. 04:51 It runs through our veins. 04:53 It is in our core. 04:55 I mean, that's your job description, John. 04:57 I know I hate to say that but you're a sinner. 05:00 He is a Savior. 05:02 Well what does that mean? 05:03 Well he came to save the world. 05:06 Why? 05:06 Because the world needs saving. 05:07 Now the world maybe at the time didn't know it needed 05:09 saving, but it needed saving. 05:10 So Christ came to save the world. 05:14 Now the worlds needs to recognize it needs 05:18 to be saved. 05:19 Once they recognize that, once I recognize that I was a 05:22 sinner, I needed to be saved, that was the beginning of the 05:24 process of God's Holy Spirit in my life. 05:28 JB: You know in Matthew they come to Jesus and they say 05:30 Lord, Lord, haven't we prophesied in your name. 05:31 We've done wonderful works. 05:32 We cast out demons. 05:33 Jesus said I never knew you. 05:34 Depart from me. 05:35 They thought they were okay, but they weren't. 05:38 RH: Yeah, it's not how high you jump, it's how straight 05:40 you walk. 05:41 I mean, that's the gospel. 05:42 The gospel said that Jesus Christ should, when 05:44 he touches you, change you. 05:45 I mean, you're going in one direction and then you turn 05:48 in another direction, that's what conversion means. 05:51 Conversion means a change of direction and repentance is a 05:54 change of direction. 05:55 You see, these are theological terms but the 05:57 reality is I'm going this way, determined to go to the 06:02 dead-end wall or to my death, but he turns me around 06:07 and heads me towards life so that's what he is trying to 06:11 teach us in salvation, that I'm going in one direction 06:15 and he comes and touches my life. 06:17 He saves me from that direction first. 06:20 He turns me in another direction. 06:22 Then he saves me from myself. 06:24 The biggest problem is for us to be saved from ourselves 06:30 and Jesus is the only who can do that. 06:32 JB: Somebody says, OK, I don't go to church. 06:35 I don't read the Bible. 06:36 I don't have faith in God. 06:37 I've got all this stuff in my life. 06:39 Chances are I'm not going in the right direction. 06:41 I'm a lost person. 06:43 I have no faith in Jesus Christ. 06:45 I have not received the gift and it shows in my life. 06:47 OK. 06:48 So that person comes to that realization. 06:50 How do we help that person be the person God wants him to 06:54 be and accept the gift God wants him to receive. 06:56 How can we help that person to receive everlasting life? 06:59 What does that person do? 07:01 RH: First of all, that person is in a very good position 07:03 right now. 07:04 JB: Good position? 07:05 RH: Very good position. 07:06 JB: How is that good? 07:08 RH: Well it's good because he realizes he is lost. 07:10 Once you realize you are lost, then you are in 07:12 a good position. 07:13 So once he gets to that place, "Whew, I'm lost" then 07:17 I say to him "Would you like to be saved? 07:21 Would you like to have a new life?" "Well, yeah." 07:25 I remember I was sharing faith with a person at home and he 07:27 said "I don't believe in heaven." I said, "If you were 07:31 to die tonight would you go to heaven? 07:33 Do you have that assurance?" 07:35 And he said, "well I don't believe in heaven." I said 07:38 "What if there was a beautiful place, you didn't 07:40 have to pay rent. 07:41 You ate the fruit. 07:42 Everything. 07:43 I mean, you'd live forever. 07:44 Would you like to go to a place like that?" He said 07:45 "Sure. 07:46 You'd have to be crazy." 07:47 I said "that's right. 07:48 Now let's get on with it." 07:50 And then I showed him how eternal life was the only 07:53 sane thing that you could do. 07:54 So a person has to come and cry out "Lord, I'm a sinner." 07:57 That's the first. 07:58 Recognize you're a sinner and that's hard for most people 08:01 but to the person that does, like this man, that's the 08:05 beginning of his turns. 08:06 Then you have to say "How". 08:08 Well you have to first of all now, secondly, you have to 08:11 believe. 08:12 Believe what? 08:13 Okay, believe that Jesus Christ can save you. 08:16 JB: So that person believes, now that person can do what? 08:20 RH: Once the person believes, the Bible tells us Ephesians 08:23 2:8, 9, Acts 16. 08:25 I think they need to hear that and they said "Believe 08:27 on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved 08:31 and thy house." Belief is the next step. 08:34 He has to go from the believing he is a sinner to 08:36 believe that God is the Savior and he has to come to 08:40 that positive step to say "He can save me because He's the 08:43 Savior." The only reason he can save me is because he's 08:46 the Savior. 08:47 JB: Is there someone who can come to the place and 08:48 believing "I'm a sinner and I'm headed in the wrong 08:50 direction." 08:51 That's point number 1. 08:52 I've got to do something about this. 08:54 Now I can believe that the medicine on offer 08:55 an make me well. 08:56 RH: That's right. 08:57 JB: Is that fair enough to put it that way? 08:59 RH: Right. 08:59 And when I found out I had colon cancer, I went right 09:01 away to take care of it. 09:02 Well, that's the same thing here. 09:04 You see, because all have sinned and become short 09:06 of the glory of God, we're all sinners. 09:09 JB: All of us. 09:09 RH: So you have got to now believe in Jesus Christ. 09:11 What does belief do? 09:12 You have to trust him. 09:15 And trust is the hardest thing. 09:16 That's the hardest part of coming to this salvation. 09:21 JB: How can a person have the assurance of ever-lasting life? 09:24 How can you have the assurance? 09:28 How does it work and then how can you know it's working for 09:30 you so that you can rest your head on your pillow saying 09:32 "I'm okay. 09:34 If I open my eyes or not, I have Jesus." 09:37 How can you know that? 09:37 How can you have that assurance? 09:39 We'll find out in just a moment. 09:43 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man 09:47 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds 09:51 out of the mouth of God'." 09:53 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily 09:55 devotional presented by Pastor John Bradshaw 09:58 and designed especially for busy people like you. 10:01 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it 10:04 on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com. 10:08 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 10:10 Watch Every Word. 10:12 You'll be glad you did. 10:17 This is It Is Written. 10:18 I'm John Bradshaw. 10:19 Thanks for joining me today. 10:20 My very special guest, Ron Halverson, who for many years 10:23 has helped people understand the love of God and what it 10:26 means and what it takes to experience the love of God 10:29 and the salvation of God in their life. 10:31 Today, we're talking about salvation, what it is and how 10:34 you can know that it is yours. 10:35 How you can have assurance through Jesus Christ. 10:38 JB: Ron, just a moment ago we were talking about, firstly, 10:41 a person needs to realize that he or she is a sinner. 10:43 Then recognize that Jesus is a great savior. 10:46 RH: Savior. 10:47 Believe. 10:48 JB: And then, now, you talked about belief and the challenge 10:50 to that is trust. 10:51 Why is trust such a hard thing? 10:52 RH: Because we want to drive. 10:56 We want to control the car. 10:57 We want to control our destiny. 11:00 To trust is this. 11:02 If I had a chair overthere and I am sitting on this 11:04 chair and I say to you: John, you think that chair would 11:05 hold me? 11:06 You'd say to me, Well, Ron, you'd have to go over and try. 11:09 So I go over and sit on the chair. 11:11 You see, most of our life we trust ourselves. 11:13 We sit on ourselves, our good works. 11:15 You know, most answers they give me when I ask them, they 11:18 say Oh, I don't kick the dog. 11:19 I work hard. 11:20 I pay my bills. 11:22 That has nothing to do with getting you into heaven. 11:25 It's nice to do that because you should, as a believer, 11:27 but that doesn't get you into heaven. 11:30 Because he says here, Ephesians: "For by grace are 11:33 you saved through faith, not of yourselves as a gift of 11:37 God." Grace is called unmerited favor. 11:41 I don't deserve it. 11:41 Once he recognizes he's a sinner, second he recognizes 11:43 Jesus is a Savior. 11:44 He doens't deserve it. 11:45 The gift is free. 11:46 You see, the value of any gift is in the love 11:48 of the giver. 11:49 Right? 11:51 The value of the gift is in the love of the giver. 11:53 Once I can show that sinner that the Savior is a loving, 11:57 caring God, that he loves him with such love that he gave 12:01 his life for him, that's the gift. 12:03 And the gift is free. 12:04 We always want to pay for it. 12:06 If I say something to you, How's your spiritual life 12:08 going? 12:09 OR me? 12:10 You say to me, Ron how's your spiritual life? 12:12 I think well, I said my prayers, I went to prayer 12:14 meeting.. 12:15 No! 12:17 How's your spiritual life? 12:18 I'm putting my trust in Christ. 12:20 I received the gift. 12:21 That moment you receive the gift of eternal life. 12:23 Jesus gave you the gift. 12:25 Enjoy it and that'st he next step, the trust. 12:29 Once I trust him, I repent. 12:32 JB: I'm going to come back to repentance in a moment. 12:34 There's a lot of tension in salvation, there shouldn't be 12:36 but there's a little bit of tension and understanding 12:38 it right. 12:39 You see, God has given us the gift, let's enjoy it but that 12:41 gift is not a license is it? 12:42 That gift doesn't mean, well hey, I can live how I please. 12:45 John Wesley, years ago, this is the struggle he had, 12:49 because the prevailing belief was, in many circles, 12:52 I can do what I want it's okay. 12:54 I've been saved and so I can live how I please. 12:56 Wesley came along and said well....not quite right. 12:59 You've received the gift of salvation so there is going 13:00 to work a change in your life. 13:03 RH: I'm not doing good things to please God. 13:05 I'm doing good things because God pleased me. 13:09 JB; Yeah, right, right. 13:10 The good things are not the root of your salvation 13:12 but the fruits. 13:13 RH: That's right, the fruit. 13:14 That's going to be natural fruit. 13:16 It's a natural fruit. 13:17 It's natural for me now to walk into a store and not 13:19 want to steal. 13:21 JB: Right. 13:21 RH: You see, that's the difference. 13:23 But to say that God saved me and now I have to do these 13:26 good works so that I will be saved, that's wrong. 13:29 That's not the gospel. 13:30 The gospel is I want to do it. 13:31 I need to do it. 13:33 I mean, I get my greatest pleasure doing it. 13:35 I get my greatest pleasure out of purity. 13:37 I get my greatest pleasure out of honesty. 13:40 JB: Which means, Ron, salvation cannot just be 13:42 a theory. 13:43 If all was theology or a theory, your heart is not 13:48 involved and so you are never going to want to live like a 13:51 saved person out of love for God if all it is is a theory 13:54 so salvation has got to involve more than our mind. 13:57 It's got to involve more than our mind. 13:58 It must be our heart and our life. 14:00 Whole life, right? 14:01 RH: Yeah. 14:01 JB: Okay, okay. 14:03 RH: You see, I've never met a person who was converted that 14:06 didn't want to serve God. 14:07 I've never met a converted person. 14:09 I've met religious people but never a converted person that 14:13 didn't want to live for God. 14:14 And that's why Aquinas said "Love God. 14:17 Do as you please for what you do will please God." And what 14:22 I do everyday is to please God. 14:24 The good works that come from me are the works of Christ. 14:27 They are not my works. 14:28 I mean, there is no good in any of us. 14:31 I mean, the scripture makes it clear. 14:32 Who is righteous? 14:33 No, not one. 14:34 JB: That's right. 14:34 RH: I mean, all have sinned and come short of 14:36 the glory of God. 14:37 That's not a good picture of us. 14:38 JB: It is God who works in you both to will and to do 14:40 his good pleasure. 14:41 RH: Yeah, that's right. 14:42 Get acquainted with Christ everyday. 14:44 Read the Word. 14:44 Love Christ. 14:46 And what you do will please God and so he comes to this 14:48 place where he repents. 14:50 He says I'm sorry to God. 14:52 He turns in that new direction and now he 14:54 confesses that he is a sinner. 14:57 I mean, here's the process. 14:58 It's all happening. 14:59 And I don't mean this happens this day, next day. 15:01 No, it happens sometimes almost instantaneous. 15:04 I mean, I get amazed sometimes what we put people 15:07 through to get them saved when God in a few moments can 15:10 save them. 15:11 I can't explain this except to say that moment, at that 15:14 week of prayer, I knew nothing about Matthew, 15:16 Mark, Luke. 15:17 I didn't know they were the synoptic Gospels. 15:19 I couldn't even say "Zacariah". 15:22 But that moment, God did something in my life and from 15:25 then on, I wanted to please God, and that doesn't mean 15:28 I have always pleased him. 15:29 I'm never sorry I'm a Christian. 15:30 I've been a sorry Christian sometimes, but I'm never 15:32 sorry I'm a Christian. 15:33 Why? 15:34 Because I experienced the gift of eternal life. 15:36 First time I saw grace, can I tell you? 15:39 JB: Yeah, please. 15:40 RH: I threw a rock through a window at the public school 15:42 and I ran. 15:43 I was laughing. 15:44 I was having a ball and I ran right into the arms of the 15:46 Irish cop in my neighborhood, 60th Precinct. 15:50 He lifted me up. 15:50 My feet were still going and he said, "Young man, you just 15:54 threw a rock through that window." So, right away 15:56 I lie. 15:57 "No I didn't." 15:58 "I saw you throw a rock through that window. 16:00 You're going down to the precinct." He said "I'm gonna 16:04 put you in jail." "Jail?" 16:07 And now my mind is going. 16:09 My feet are still going. 16:10 He's holding me up off the ground. 16:12 He is carrying me toward the 60th Precinct. 16:14 There's the big doors and I'm thinking boy, my father will 16:17 come down to get me. 16:20 But then I think, "Oh no, my mother!" We feared 16:23 my mother more. 16:24 And I said "I'll be in black and white stripes." 16:27 I had all these things going across my mind. 16:29 JB: Sure. 16:30 RH: He gets to the door and he says this. 16:31 He puts me down and he says: "Young man, you won't do that 16:36 again, will you? 16:37 "No, officer." He said, "alright, go and be a good 16:41 boy." I ran as fast as I could to home. 16:43 Hey, that was grace. 16:45 That didn't mean I never threw a rock through 16:46 the window again. 16:48 That was where I first saw grace. 16:49 I deserved to be punished but the cop let me go. 16:55 The law let me go and I was free. 16:58 WOW. 16:59 That was the first time I ran into grace and I run into it 17:02 when I wake up in the morning. 17:04 JB: A moment ago we started talking about repentance. 17:06 I cut you off to talk about something else. 17:07 RH: Right. 17:08 JB: We've come back to that. 17:09 We need to talk about repentance, what that is, how 17:11 it works and how we can have the assurance, how we can 17:13 know that we have the gift of everlasting life. 17:17 More in just a moment. 17:20 It Is Written is dedicated to sharing the gospel 17:22 around the world. 17:23 Our dream is to impact the world for God. 17:26 Our television program is only one aspect of how we try 17:29 to accomplish that. 17:31 To discover more about It is Written, I invite you 17:33 to visit our website itiswritten.com 17:36 and browse the dozens of pages that describe what we do 17:39 and how we do it. 17:41 You will also find an archive of past programs in script 17:43 form, and as a streaming video and audio files, along 17:46 with many other helpful inspirational resources. 17:51 Let's get to know each other a little better. 17:54 Visit our website itiswritten.com today. 18:00 This is It Is Written. 18:01 I'm John Bradshaw. 18:02 Thanks for joining me today. 18:03 Today, how can you know that you have the gift of 18:06 salvation? 18:07 How can you go from being lost to knowing that you can 18:10 look forward to eternity with God. 18:14 My special guest today is Ron Halverson. 18:16 JB: Ron, a moment ago we talked about how a person 18:19 comes to the place that they realize they're a sinner, 18:21 then they realize that Jesus is a great Savior and 18:23 so they believe. 18:25 Then you said the next thing is repentance. 18:27 Tell me abou repentance, what that is and how we 18:30 lay hold of it. 18:32 RH: Theologically, we would say that repentance is the 18:34 heart sorrow for sin. 18:36 The heart feels bad that it hurt God. 18:39 Before that, it didn't matter, but now it matters. 18:42 Why is that important? 18:44 Because you see, your life is going to be lived for God and 18:45 if you hurt because you hurt God, then it's less apt to 18:50 want to hurt God and so it puts you in a power of 18:55 positive living and even your life if shown in your 19:00 repentance. 19:01 You turn in a new direction now and you are going 19:03 to live for God. 19:07 Jb: The Bible says God has called us out of darkness and 19:09 into his marvelous life and that's nice to be reflected 19:10 in our life. 19:11 I guess if we couldn't give two hoots about the darkness 19:12 then we'd still be living like we're in the dark but 19:14 we're no longer children of the dark we come to God and 19:16 we're children of the light. 19:17 Repentance you say heart sorrow for sin, recognizing 19:20 that wrong is wrong and right is right and wanting that God 19:25 lead us in that direction, sorry for our bads. 19:28 RH: And that comes because of your belief in Christ. 19:31 You couldn't have a sorry for sin unless the Savior came 19:34 down in the Spirit and convicted you of that. 19:42 You're coming to this place where God is filling you, 19:45 your life, and now you say "Wow! 19:47 I don't want to hurt him anymore. 19:49 I mean, I love Him." 19:50 And you turn around in a direction now, you're walking 19:51 in the direction of God. 19:51 JB: You were once a child of the dark and now you're a 19:53 child of the light. 19:54 RH: You are walking in the light and that's why he says 19:55 even when you stumble, you're still in the light. 19:57 So fall forward if you're going to fall, John. 20:00 And that's what he says. 20:01 JB: Remember that verse in the Psalms, Though he fall he 20:03 shall not be utterly cast down because the Lord upholds 20:05 him with his Hand. 20:07 Someone is watching and they're hard, hard, hard. 20:09 Can they have that experience? 20:14 They say I'm lost, Ron Halverson, I'm lost. 20:16 And I don't care. 20:17 RH: It doesn't matter how hard they are because the light 20:19 of God melts the heart. 20:21 Let them open themselves to the melting power of God 20:25 and then he won't be so hard. 20:26 They can't in the spirit of hardness but they can if 20:29 the live the life of hardness because now they turned around. 20:34 They are going in a new direction. 20:35 JB: There's hope for anybody. 20:36 RH: Oh there's hope for everybody. 20:37 The Bible says that God so loved the world 20:40 that he gave his Son. 20:41 That's the broadness. 20:42 God loves the world of mankind of womankind 20:45 of childkind. 20:46 He loves the world, my world, your world, the ghetto world. 20:49 He loves the world. 20:53 We can't even fathom that kind of love. 20:57 JB: Briefly because there is something else I want to ask 20:59 you about in the few moments we have left. 21:00 Where does confession come into this? 21:02 RH: I think confession comes soon after belief, somewhere 21:08 in the repentance area. 21:08 JB: It's important. 21:09 RH: It's very important. 21:10 JB: I'm not that interested in making sure you're 21:11 this step right, your'e that step right. 21:13 But confession is important. 21:14 RH: Confession is important. 21:15 JB: Why is it important? 21:16 God knew what we did wrong. 21:17 RH: Because it is important to me more than it is to God. 21:20 JB: Yeah. 21:21 RH: Because God has already accepted it. 21:23 Because it says "Hey, I'm serious about this thing. 21:24 I am sorry that I hurt you." 21:26 You know, even in a relationship, a marriage 21:28 relationship, it can't last unless you're willing to say 21:31 "Hey, I'm sorry." 21:32 I'm married 54 years. 21:33 The reason I am is not because I am the best husband 21:36 in the world, not because she's the best wife in the 21:38 world but I know to say I"m sorry. 21:42 I know to say I'm sorry even when I didn't do it wrong. 21:44 But hey, we're happy. 21:47 What I'm saying is my sorrow. 21:48 I'm sorry, God, I hurt you. 21:50 And that is bringing it all together. 21:55 JB: So someone comes to the Lord and they say 21:57 "I've been lost. 21:58 I believe that I was a sinner. 21:59 Not hard to see, I'm a sinner. 22:02 And so I believe. 22:03 I believe and Lord, I repent. 22:04 I turn away. 22:06 I've confessed my sins. 22:07 I'm in this attitude of repentance. 22:12 So tonight, I'm getting ready to go to bed and the Devil 22:14 says ..."You know you want a shot of whiskey. 22:18 You know you want to watch the late movie. 22:22 You know whatever, whatever, and you 22:25 call yourself a Christian. 22:26 Who wants to go through life wondering? 22:27 Does God want us to wonder or does God want us to know we 22:29 have eternal life? 22:29 RH: I think John, the Apostle clarified it for me in 22:32 1 John 5. 22:35 He says this in verse 13: "These things have I written 22:42 unto you that believe - see, there it is - on the name of 22:43 the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal 22:46 life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of 22:48 God." Know. 22:50 Some Christians get mad at me when I say that such a day 22:55 I gave my life to Christ, 1953, I got saved. 22:59 I gave my heart to God and listen to me, 23:02 I have that assurance. 23:04 That doesn't mean I'm perfect. 23:06 Hey, if I'm perfect, I wouldn't need a perfect God. 23:08 JB: You wouldn't need Christ's perfection. 23:10 RH: That's right. 23:11 I wouldn't need his perfection. 23:12 I'm not righteous. 23:14 If I was I wouldn't need his righteousness. 23:17 JB: The Bible says our righteousness is like filthy 23:18 rags. 23:19 RH: And so my assurance is the fact that he that begun 23:24 the good work will finish it. 23:25 But God didn't call me to darkness. 23:26 He called me to light. 23:27 God didn't call me to live and then to die without hope. 23:32 Everyday is full of hope. 23:33 I've been adopted into the family of God. 23:34 Hey, everytime my boy got in trouble, I didn't cast him 23:37 out of the family. 23:38 And yet there are some people who go through paranoia 23:40 through their life... 23:41 "Oh, I did that. 23:42 I gotta get back ..." No, no, no. 23:46 Just get up where you are and get going again. 23:51 JB: And maintain that faith and trust and believe in God. 23:53 RH: That's the faith, trust and belief in God. 23:54 JB: Yeah. 23:55 So you're saying if someone came to the Lord, they've 23:57 accepted him, their life is turned around, they're living 24:01 their lives towards God now, in an attitude of repentance 24:03 and that person should just stop worrying 24:04 and keep believing. 24:05 RH: Here's what happens. 24:05 That doesn't mean you just surrender and you just sit 24:07 there. 24:07 That means "Hey, the Bible. 24:09 I want to know more about Jesus." So I begin to read 24:10 the Bible and I begin to read it more and more. 24:13 I begin to pray like I never prayed before. 24:16 I begin attend church. 24:21 I begin to do spiritual things. 24:21 Not because doing those things are going to get me to 24:23 heaven but because heaven has gotten me to these things. 24:25 And once that happens, that's the horse in the right place. 24:30 Before the cart. 24:32 Some people put the cart before the horse and we're 24:35 all sinners and didn't the Apostles say "the things 24:39 I want to do I don't and the things I don't want to do 24:40 I do. 24:41 Sin is ever constant" What he said is sin is always 24:43 in the track. 24:44 It's always trying to disrupt me. 24:46 I study the Word because it helps me to see Jesus more. 24:49 I want to see him better. 24:50 I want to have a clearer view of Him because the clearer 24:52 my view of Christ, the clearer view of mankind. 24:56 Because this is the people he died for. 24:59 How can I have a passion for the lost if I don't see 25:02 Christ who is the one who seeks and saves the lost? 25:06 And so by looking at Jesus, the Author and the Finisher 25:09 of my faith, not looking at everybody around me trying to 25:13 live up to them, trying to live up to those people, 25:15 their rules and their laws, hey, I know that all of you 25:19 are way ahead of me in your spiritual life and your 25:21 disciplined life. 25:23 I'm not a very disciplined person, except for reading 25:25 the Word and praying I mean that's kind of spiritual 25:27 disciipline but not these other little disciplines. 25:30 That's not what is going to get us into heaven. 25:32 My trust that Jesus Christ paid the price and when he 25:36 paid the price he gave it to me. 25:39 God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son. 25:42 JB: Powerful truth. 25:44 What did the Bible say? 25:46 "These things I've written unto you that believe on the 25:48 name of the son of God that you may know you have eternal 25:51 life and that you may believe on the name of the Son of 25:54 God." My prayer for you is that you will know through 25:58 having accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, 26:00 no doubt, no fear, no worry. 26:02 My wish, my prayer is that you will know that you have 26:06 everlasting life. 26:07 Ron Halverson, thank you for joining me today. 26:09 RH: Thank you. 26:10 JB: It's been a blessing. 26:11 I've been encouraged. 26:12 Let's pray together. 26:13 Our Father and our God, thank you for the simple sights 26:16 of salvation. 26:17 Thank you that we can reach out in our lost condition and 26:21 take hold of the hand of the one who died to save us and 26:24 thank you that those of us who walk with you can say 26:26 "Lord we're keeping on. 26:27 We're continuing to trust. 26:28 We look to you." Lord, forgive us for our sins. 26:32 There are many people today that are saying I've got to 26:34 have this assurance, this certainty, this security. 26:37 We claim it now, Father. 26:38 We pray for it thankfully in Jesus' name, Amen. 26:49 Today, our free book offer is for one of my very favorite 26:52 books. 26:53 Steps to Christ. 26:55 Just what you need in your daily walk with Jesus. 26:59 Just call or write and Steps to Christ will be on its way. 27:02 There's no cost or obligation. 27:04 It's our free gift to you. 27:06 Just call 1.800.253.3000 and as for Steps to Christ. 27:12 Lines are open 24 hours. 27:14 If it's busy when you call, just try again. 27:17 You can also request this free book by writing to It is 27:19 Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, California 91359 and 27:25 we'll mail a copy to your address in North America. 27:28 Please note, this free book is limited to the supply 27:33 on hand, so call soon. 27:34 For immediate access, you can download a free, electronic 27:36 version of the book Steps to Christ from our website 27:38 itiswritten.com. 27:40 It Is Written is a faith-based ministry made 27:43 possible by viewers like you. 27:44 Thank you for your letters and for your continued 27:47 support. 27:48 Again, Ron Halverson, thank you. 27:50 Thanks for joining me. 27:51 And thank you for joining me today. 27:52 I look forward to seeing you again next time. 27:55 Until then, remember It Is Written, man shall not live 27:58 by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the 28:02 mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-02-06