Participants: John Bradshaw (Host), Ron Halvorsen
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001334A
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00:08 It has stood the test of time.
00:13 God's book, the Bible. 00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe. 00:37 Thanks for joining me today on It is Written. 00:39 I'm John Bradshaw. 00:40 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. 00:49 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 01:01 of everlasting life. 01:02 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 01:14 a ...oh let4s say ...a desert where people were starving 01:17 for food or dying of thirst and we went together 01:20 distributing bottles of water or food packages, that people 01:23 would say "There's life. 01:25 I will take the water. 01:26 There's the food I need, I will grab it." If we came so 01:29 that people could hqve life, you'd expect that people would 01:32 come to us and receive life. 01:34 The Bible says the gift of God is eternal life. 01:38 If Jesus came to this world with a gift to give out to 01:41 anybody who wants it, why is it that not more people have 01:46 the gift or believe, and/or know they have the gift? 01:51 I have a special guest with me today, Ron Halverson, 01:54 author, speaker, international preacher of the 01:58 Word of God and someone that God has .. to use 02:01 a biblical phrase, called out of darkness and into 02:03 his marvelous light. 02:05 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. 02:14 JB: Ron Halverson, thanks for joining me today. 02:16 RH: Glad to be here. 02:17 JB: I'm glad you're here. 02:18 Salvation. 02:20 Let's talk about how people can receive the gift of salvation 02:24 and how they can know they have the gift of 02:26 salvation, but before we do that, 02:28 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, 02:35 you don't know what it is. 02:38 And the thing with salvation is you gotta open your eyes 02:42 to see who Jesus is. 02:46 You have got to understand who he is before you ever 02:49 discover who you are. 02:51 The Bible says in Matthew when he introduces Jesus 02:53 Christ before his birth, his incarnation, before the seed 02:56 becomes the child, he says in the 21st verse, and she shall 03:00 bring forth a son. 03:02 They shall call his name Jesus for he shall save 03:05 his people from their sins. 03:06 JB: So salvation, whatever it is, has got to have something 03:10 to do with being saved from our sins, from sin. 03:12 RH: Right. 03:13 JB: The Bible says the wages of sin is death. 03:15 Back in the garden of eden, two perfect people 03:17 in a perfect world. 03:18 Sin came and caused separation between God. 03:21 So this act of salvation, what is that? 03:23 Removing the separation so we could be one with God again. 03:26 RH: It's kind of being in prison set free. 03:29 That's salvation. 03:31 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 03:41 and well. 03:42 Well, in the spiritual sense, that's the same thing, 03:47 because the Bible talks about two types of dying. 03:50 He says, don't worry about him that kills the body but 03:52 kills the soul and body. 03:54 And what he means is be more concerned about your eternal 03:58 destiny then your earthly destiny and a person has to 04:00 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. 04:09 Salvation is the only thing that can save us from sin. 04:12 Nothing else can save us from sin. 04:14 JB: The person has got to know that they need 04:16 to be taken out. 04:17 So a person has got to realize that they are lost. 04:19 RH: That's the first step. 04:20 JB: Someone is doing a little self-examination and they 04:22 were to say to themselves: "How can I know I'm lost." 04:26 RH: First of all, a lot of people don't think they're 04:29 lost. 04:30 But that's why a lot of people are not receiving 04:32 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 04:45 emotional, but you have to be saved from yourself. 04:49 See, by nature, the Bible says, we're all sinners. 04:52 It runs through our veins. 04:53 It is in our core. 04:55 I mean, that's your job description, John. 04:58 I know I hate to say that but you're a sinner. 05:01 He is a Savior. 05:02 Well what does that mean? 05:03 Well he came to save the world. 05:06 Why? 05:07 Because the world needs saving. 05:08 Now the world maybe at the time didn't know it needed 05:10 saving, but it needed saving. 05:11 So Christ came to save the world. 05:15 Now the worlds needs to recognize it needs 05:18 to be saved. 05:20 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 05:25 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. 05:32 We've done wonderful works. 05:33 We cast out demons. 05:34 Jesus said I never knew you. 05:35 Depart from me. 05:36 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. 05:43 The gospel said that Jesus Christ should, when 05:45 he touches you, change you. 05:46 I mean, you're going in one direction and then you turn 05:49 in another direction, that's what conversion means. 05:52 Conversion means a change of direction and repentance is a 05:55 change of direction. 05:56 You see, these are theological terms but the 05:58 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 06:08 and heads me towards life so that's what he is trying to 06:12 teach us in salvation, that I'm going in one direction 06:15 and he comes and touches my life. 06:18 He saves me from that direction first. 06:21 He turns me in another direction. 06:23 Then he saves me from myself. 06:25 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. 06:38 I've got all this stuff in my life. 06:40 Chances are I'm not going in the right direction. 06:42 I'm a lost person. 06:43 I have no faith in Jesus Christ. 06:46 I have not received the gift and it shows in my life. 06:48 OK. 06:49 So that person comes to that realization. 06:51 How do we help that person be the person God wants him to 06:55 be and accept the gift God wants him to receive. 06:57 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. 07:05 JB: Good position? 07:06 RH: Very good position. 07:07 JB: How is that good? 07:09 RH: Well it's good because he realizes he is lost. 07:11 Once you realize you are lost, then you are in 07:13 a good position. 07:14 So once he gets to that place, "Whew, I'm lost" then 07:18 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 07:28 said "I don't believe in heaven." I said, "If you were 07:32 to die tonight would you go to heaven? 07:34 Do you have that assurance?" 07:36 And he said, "well I don't believe in heaven." I said 07:39 "What if there was a beautiful place, you didn't 07:41 have to pay rent. 07:42 You ate the fruit. 07:43 Everything. 07:43 I mean, you'd live forever. 07:44 Would you like to go to a place like that?" He said 07:46 "Sure. 07:47 You'd have to be crazy." 07:47 I said "that's right. 07:49 Now let's get on with it." 07:51 And then I showed him how eternal life was the only 07:54 sane thing that you could do. 07:55 So a person has to come and cry out "Lord, I'm a sinner." 07:57 That's the first. 07:59 Recognize you're a sinner and that's hard for most people 08:02 but to the person that does, like this man, that's the 08:05 beginning of his turns. 08:07 Then you have to say "How". 08:09 Well you have to first of all now, secondly, you have to 08:11 believe. 08:12 Believe what? 08:14 Okay, believe that Jesus Christ can save you. 08:17 JB: So that person believes, now that person can do what? 08:21 RH: Once the person believes, the Bible tells us Ephesians 08:23 2:8, 9, Acts 16. 08:26 I think they need to hear that and they said "Believe 08:28 on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved 08:32 and thy house." Belief is the next step. 08:35 He has to go from the believing he is a sinner to 08:37 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 08:44 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 08:49 believing "I'm a sinner and I'm headed in the wrong 08:51 direction." 08:52 That's point number 1. 08:53 I've got to do something about this. 08:54 Now I can believe that the medicine on offer 08:56 an make me well. 08:57 RH: That's right. 08:58 JB: Is that fair enough to put it that way? 08:59 RH: Right. 09:00 And when I found out I had colon cancer, I went right 09:02 away to take care of it. 09:03 Well, that's the same thing here. 09:05 You see, because all have sinned and become short 09:07 of the glory of God, we're all sinners. 09:09 JB: All of us. 09:10 RH: So you have got to now believe in Jesus Christ. 09:12 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? 09:25 How can you have the assurance? 09:28 How does it work and then how can you know it's working for 09:31 you so that you can rest your head on your pillow saying 09:33 "I'm okay. 09:34 If I open my eyes or not, I have Jesus." 09:37 How can you know that? 09:38 How can you have that assurance? 09:40 We'll find out in just a moment. 09:42 It Is Written is dedicated to sharing the Gospel around 09:44 the world. 09:45 To discover more about It Is Written, I invite you 09:48 to visit our website itiswritten.com and browse 09:51 the dozens of pages that describe what we do 09:54 and how we do it. 09:55 Let's get to know each other better. 09:57 Visit our website itiswritten.com today. 10:03 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man 10:06 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds 10:11 out of the mouth of God'." 10:13 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily 10:15 devotional presented by Pastor John Bradshaw 10:18 and designed especially for busy people like you. 10:20 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it 10:24 on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com. 10:27 Receive a daily spiritual Watch Every Word. 10:31 You'll be glad you did. 10:33 Here's a sample: 10:36 [Intro music] 10:43 You'll see in a football game a kick is shot just missing, 10:46 or in a baseball game, a player's swing for the fence 10:49 is caught by an outfielder on the warm up track. 10:52 Nearly, but not quite. 10:54 Now, nothing too serious when it is just a game. 10:56 But what if it is your eternal destiny? 10:59 The Apostle Paul appealed to King Agrippa knowing that 11:02 Agrippa believed what Paul had been teaching 11:05 about the Scriptures. 11:07 And Acts 26:28 records some of the saddest words 11:09 in the Bible. 11:10 Agrippa said to Paul: You almost persuade me 11:13 to become a Christian. 11:14 Almost persuaded, but totally lost. 11:17 If you are on the fence, if you are wondering, if you are 11:20 trying to decide what to do with God, with the Bible, 11:23 I pray you won't be almost persuaded, but totally 11:26 persuaded to follow Jesus and accept eternal life. 11:29 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 11:32 Let's live today by Every Word. 11:36 This is It Is Written. 11:37 I'm John Bradshaw. 11:38 Thanks for joining me today. 11:40 My very special guest, Ron Halverson, who for many years 11:43 has helped people understand the love of God and what it 11:45 means and what it takes to experience the love of God 11:48 and the salvation of God in their life. 11:50 Today, we're talking about salvation, what it is and how 11:54 you can know that it is yours. 11:55 How you can have assurance through Jesus Christ. 11:58 JB: Ron, just a moment ago we were talking about, firstly, 12:00 a person needs to realize that he or she is a sinner. 12:03 Then recognize that Jesus is a great savior. 12:06 RH: Savior. 12:07 Believe. 12:08 JB: And then, now, you talked about belief and the challenge 12:10 to that is trust. 12:11 Why is trust such a hard thing? 12:12 RH: Because we want to drive. 12:16 We want to control the car. 12:17 We want to control our destiny. 12:19 To trust is this. 12:21 If I had a chair overthere and I am sitting on this 12:23 chair and I say to you: John, you think that chair would 12:25 hold me? 12:26 You'd say to me, Well, Ron, you'd have to go over and try. 12:28 So I go over and sit on the chair. 12:31 You see, most of our life we trust ourselves. 12:33 We sit on ourselves, our good works. 12:35 You know, most answers they give me when I ask them, they 12:38 say Oh, I don't kick the dog. 12:39 I work hard. 12:40 I pay my bills. 12:41 That has nothing to do with getting you into heaven. 12:44 It's nice to do that because you should, as a believer, 12:47 but that doesn't get you into heaven. 12:50 Because he says here, Ephesians: "For by grace are 12:53 you saved through faith, not of yourselves as a gift of 12:56 God." Grace is called unmerited favor. 13:01 I don't deserve it. 13:01 Once he recognizes he's a sinner, second he recognizes 13:03 Jesus is a Savior. 13:04 He doens't deserve it. 13:05 The gift is free. 13:06 You see, the value of any gift is in the love 13:08 of the giver. 13:09 Right? 13:10 The value of the gift is in the love of the giver. 13:13 Once I can show that sinner that the Savior is a loving, 13:17 caring God, that he loves him with such love that he gave 13:20 his life for him, that's the gift. 13:23 And the gift is free. 13:24 We always want to pay for it. 13:26 If I say something to you, How's your spiritual life 13:28 going? 13:28 OR me? 13:30 You say to me, Ron how's your spiritual life? 13:32 I think well, I said my prayers, I went to prayer 13:34 meeting.. 13:35 No! 13:37 How's your spiritual life? 13:38 I'm putting my trust in Christ. 13:39 I received the gift. 13:40 That moment you receive the gift of eternal life. 13:43 Jesus gave you the gift. 13:45 Enjoy it and that'st he next step, the trust. 13:48 Once I trust him, I repent. 13:52 JB: I'm going to come back to repentance in a moment. 13:54 There's a lot of tension in salvation, there shouldn't be 13:56 but there's a little bit of tension and understanding 13:58 it right. 13:58 You see, God has given us the gift, let's enjoy it but that 14:01 gift is not a license is it? 14:02 That gift doesn't mean, well hey, I can live how I please. 14:05 John Wesley, years ago, this is the struggle he had, 14:08 because the prevailing belief was, in many circles, 14:12 I can do what I want it's okay. 14:13 I've been saved and so I can live how I please. 14:15 Wesley came along and said well....not quite right. 14:18 You've received the gift of salvation so there is going 14:20 to work a change in your life. 14:22 RH: I'm not doing good things to please God. 14:25 I'm doing good things because God pleased me. 14:28 JB; Yeah, right, right. 14:29 The good things are not the root of your salvation 14:32 but the fruits. 14:33 RH: That's right, the fruit. 14:34 That's going to be natural fruit. 14:36 It's a natural fruit. 14:37 It's natural for me now to walk into a store and not 14:39 want to steal. 14:40 JB: Right. 14:41 RH: You see, that's the difference. 14:43 But to say that God saved me and now I have to do these 14:45 good works so that I will be saved, that's wrong. 14:48 That's not the gospel. 14:49 The gospel is I want to do it. 14:51 I need to do it. 14:53 I mean, I get my greatest pleasure doing it. 14:55 I get my greatest pleasure out of purity. 14:57 I get my greatest pleasure out of honesty. 14:59 JB: Which means, Ron, salvation cannot just be 15:02 a theory. 15:03 If all was theology or a theory, your heart is not 15:08 involved and so you are never going to want to live like a 15:11 saved person out of love for God if all it is is a theory 15:14 so salvation has got to involve more than our mind. 15:16 It's got to involve more than our mind. 15:18 It must be our heart and our life. 15:19 Whole life, right? 15:20 RH: Yeah. 15:21 JB: Okay, okay. 15:22 RH: You see, I've never met a person who was converted that 15:25 didn't want to serve God. 15:27 I've never met a converted person. 15:29 I've met religious people but never a converted person that 15:33 didn't want to live for God. 15:34 And that's why Aquinas said "Love God. 15:37 Do as you please for what you do will please God." And what 15:42 I do everyday is to please God. 15:44 The good works that come from me are the works of Christ. 15:47 They are not my works. 15:48 I mean, there is no good in any of us. 15:50 I mean, the scripture makes it clear. 15:52 Who is righteous? 15:53 No, not one. 15:54 JB: That's right. 15:54 RH: I mean, all have sinned and come short of 15:56 the glory of God. 15:57 That's not a good picture of us. 15:58 JB: It is God who works in you both to will and to do 16:00 his good pleasure. 16:01 RH: Yeah, that's right. 16:02 Get acquainted with Christ everyday. 16:03 Read the Word. 16:04 Love Christ. 16:05 And what you do will please God and so he comes to this 16:08 place where he repents. 16:10 He says I'm sorry to God. 16:11 He turns in that new direction and now he 16:14 confesses that he is a sinner. 16:16 I mean, here's the process. 16:17 It's all happening. 16:18 And I don't mean this happens this day, next day. 16:21 No, it happens sometimes almost instantaneous. 16:24 I mean, I get amazed sometimes what we put people 16:27 through to get them saved when God in a few moments can 16:29 save them. 16:31 I can't explain this except to say that moment, at that 16:34 week of prayer, I knew nothing about Matthew, 16:36 Mark, Luke. 16:37 I didn't know they were the synoptic Gospels. 16:38 I couldn't even say "Zacariah". 16:41 But that moment, God did something in my life and from 16:45 then on, I wanted to please God, and that doesn't mean 16:47 I have always pleased him. 16:48 I'm never sorry I'm a Christian. 16:50 I've been a sorry Christian sometimes, but I'm never 16:52 sorry I'm a Christian. 16:53 Why? 16:54 Because I experienced the gift of eternal life. 16:56 First time I saw grace, can I tell you? 16:58 JB: Yeah, please. 16:59 RH: I threw a rock through a window at the public school 17:02 and I ran. 17:02 I was laughing. 17:04 I was having a ball and I ran right into the arms of the 17:06 Irish cop in my neighborhood, 60th Precinct. 17:09 He lifted me up. 17:10 My feet were still going and he said, "Young man, you just 17:14 threw a rock through that window." So, right away 17:16 I lie. 17:17 "No I didn't." 17:18 "I saw you throw a rock through that window. 17:20 You're going down to the precinct." He said "I'm gonna 17:24 put you in jail." "Jail?" 17:26 And now my mind is going. 17:28 My feet are still going. 17:29 He's holding me up off the ground. 17:31 He is carrying me toward the 60th Precinct. 17:33 There's the big doors and I'm thinking boy, my father will 17:37 come down to get me. 17:39 But then I think, "Oh no, my mother!" We feared 17:42 my mother more. 17:44 And I said "I'll be in black and white stripes." 17:47 I had all these things going across my mind. 17:49 JB: Sure. 17:49 RH: He gets to the door and he says this. 17:51 He puts me down and he says: "Young man, you won't do that 17:55 again, will you? 17:56 "No, officer." He said, "alright, go and be a good 18:00 boy." I ran as fast as I could to home. 18:03 Hey, that was grace. 18:04 That didn't mean I never threw a rock through 18:06 the window again. 18:07 That was where I first saw grace. 18:09 I deserved to be punished but the cop let me go. 18:14 The law let me go and I was free. 18:17 WOW. 18:18 That was the first time I ran into grace and I run into it 18:20 when I wake up in the morning. 18:22 JB: Ron, a moment ago we talked about how a person 18:24 comes to the place that they realize they're a sinner, 18:26 then they realize that Jesus is a great Savior and 18:29 so they believe. 18:30 Then you said the next thing is repentance. 18:33 Tell me abou repentance, what that is and how we 18:35 lay hold of it. 18:37 RH: Theologically, we would say that repentance is the 18:40 heart sorrow for sin. 18:41 The heart feels bad that it hurt God. 18:45 Before that, it didn't matter, but now it matters. 18:48 Why is that important? 18:49 Because you see, your life is going to be lived for God and 18:51 if you hurt because you hurt God, then it's less apt to 18:56 want to hurt God and so it puts you in a power of 19:01 positive living and even your life if shown in your 19:05 repentance. 19:06 You turn in a new direction now and you are going 19:08 to live for God. 19:13 Jb: The Bible says God has called us out of darkness and 19:14 into his marvelous life and that's nice to be reflected 19:16 in our life. 19:16 I guess if we couldn't give two hoots about the darkness 19:18 then we'd still be living like we're in the dark but 19:20 we're no longer children of the dark we come to God and 19:22 we're children of the light. 19:23 Repentance you say heart sorrow for sin, recognizing 19:26 that wrong is wrong and right is right and wanting that God 19:31 lead us in that direction, sorry for our bads. 19:34 RH: And that comes because of your belief in Christ. 19:36 You couldn't have a sorry for sin unless the Savior came 19:40 down in the Spirit and convicted you of that. 19:47 You're coming to this place where God is filling you, 19:51 your life, and now you say "Wow! 19:53 I don't want to hurt him anymore. 19:54 I mean, I love Him." 19:55 And you turn around in a direction now, you're walking 19:56 in the direction of God. 19:57 JB: You were once a child of the dark and now you're a 19:59 child of the light. 19:59 RH: You are walking in the light and that's why he says 20:01 even when you stumble, you're still in the light. 20:03 So fall forward if you're going to fall, John. 20:05 And that's what he says. 20:06 JB: Remember that verse in the Psalms, Though he fall he 20:09 shall not be utterly cast down because the Lord upholds 20:11 him with his Hand. 20:12 Someone is watching and they're hard, hard, hard. 20:15 Can they have that experience? 20:19 They say I'm lost, Ron Halverson, I'm lost. 20:22 And I don't care. 20:22 RH: It doesn't matter how hard they are because the light 20:25 of God melts the heart. 20:27 Let them open themselves to the melting power of God 20:30 and then he won't be so hard. 20:32 They can't in the spirit of hardness but they can if 20:34 the live the life of hardness because now they turned around. 20:39 They are going in a new direction. 20:41 JB: There's hope for anybody. 20:42 RH: Oh there's hope for everybody. 20:43 The Bible says that God so loved the world 20:46 that he gave his Son. 20:47 That's the broadness. 20:48 God loves the world of mankind of womankind 20:50 of childkind. 20:51 He loves the world, my world, your world, the ghetto world. 20:55 He loves the world. 20:58 We can't even fathom that kind of love. 21:03 JB: Briefly because there is something else I want to ask 21:05 you about in the few moments we have left. 21:06 Where does confession come into this? 21:08 RH: I think confession comes soon after belief, somewhere 21:13 in the repentance area. 21:14 JB: It's important. 21:14 RH: It's very important. 21:15 JB: I'm not that interested in making sure you're 21:17 this step right, your'e that step right. 21:19 But confession is important. 21:20 RH: Confession is important. 21:21 JB: Why is it important? 21:22 God knew what we did wrong. 21:23 RH: Because it is important to me more than it is to God. 21:26 JB: Yeah. 21:27 RH: Because God has already accepted it. 21:28 Because it says "Hey, I'm serious about this thing. 21:30 I am sorry that I hurt you." 21:31 You know, even in a relationship, a marriage 21:33 relationship, it can't last unless you're willing to say 21:36 "Hey, I'm sorry." 21:38 I'm married 54 years. 21:39 The reason I am is not because I am the best husband 21:42 in the world, not because she's the best wife in the 21:44 world but I know to say I"m sorry. 21:48 I know to say I'm sorry even when I didn't do it wrong. 21:50 But hey, we're happy. 21:52 What I'm saying is my sorrow. 21:54 I'm sorry, God, I hurt you. 21:56 And that is bringing it all together. 22:01 JB: So someone comes to the Lord and they say 22:02 "I've been lost. 22:04 I believe that I was a sinner. 22:05 Not hard to see, I'm a sinner. 22:08 And so I believe. 22:09 I believe and Lord, I repent. 22:10 I turn away. 22:11 I've confessed my sins. 22:13 I'm in this attitude of repentance. 22:18 So tonight, I'm getting ready to go to bed and the Devil 22:19 says ..."You know you want a shot of whiskey. 22:23 You know you want to watch the late movie. 22:28 You know whatever, whatever, and you 22:31 call yourself a Christian. 22:31 Who wants to go through life wondering? 22:33 Does God want us to wonder or does God want us to know we 22:34 have eternal life? 22:35 RH: I think John, the Apostle clarified it for me in 22:38 1 John 5. 22:41 He says this in verse 13: "These things have I written 22:47 unto you that believe - see, there it is - on the name of 22:49 the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal 22:52 life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of 22:54 God." Know. 22:56 Some Christians get mad at me when I say that such a day 23:00 I gave my life to Christ, 1953, I got saved. 23:05 I gave my heart to God and listen to me, 23:08 I have that assurance. 23:10 That doesn't mean I'm perfect. 23:12 Hey, if I'm perfect, I wouldn't need a perfect God. 23:14 JB: You wouldn't need Christ's perfection. 23:15 RH: That's right. 23:16 I wouldn't need his perfection. 23:18 I'm not righteous. 23:20 If I was I wouldn't need his righteousness. 23:22 JB: The Bible says our righteousness is like filthy 23:24 rags. 23:25 RH: And so my assurance is the fact that he that begun 23:30 the good work will finish it. 23:31 But God didn't call me to darkness. 23:32 He called me to light. 23:33 God didn't call me to live and then to die without hope. 23:37 Everyday is full of hope. 23:38 I've been adopted into the family of God. 23:40 Hey, everytime my boy got in trouble, I didn't cast him 23:43 out of the family. 23:44 And yet there are some people who go through paranoia 23:46 through their life... 23:47 "Oh, I did that. 23:48 I gotta get back ..." No, no, no. 23:52 Just get up where you are and get going again. 23:56 JB: And maintain that faith and trust and believe in God. 23:59 RH: That's the faith, trust and belief in God. 24:00 JB: Yeah. 24:01 So you're saying if someone came to the Lord, they've 24:03 accepted him, their life is turned around, they're living 24:07 their lives towards God now, in an attitude of repentance 24:09 and that person should just stop worrying 24:10 and keep believing. 24:10 RH: Here's what happens. 24:11 That doesn't mean you just surrender and you just sit 24:12 there. 24:13 That means "Hey, the Bible. 24:14 I want to know more about Jesus." So I begin to read 24:16 the Bible and I begin to read it more and more. 24:19 I begin to pray like I never prayed before. 24:21 I begin attend church. 24:26 I begin to do spiritual things. 24:27 Not because doing those things are going to get me to 24:28 heaven but because heaven has gotten me to these things. 24:31 And once that happens, that's the horse in the right place. 24:36 Before the cart. 24:37 Some people put the cart before the horse and we're 24:41 all sinners and didn't the Apostles say "the things 24:44 I want to do I don't and the things I don't want to do 24:46 I do. 24:47 Sin is ever constant" What he said is sin is always 24:49 in the track. 24:50 It's always trying to disrupt me. 24:52 I study the Word because it helps me to see Jesus more. 24:54 I want to see him better. 24:56 I want to have a clearer view of Him because the clearer 24:58 my view of Christ, the clearer view of mankind. 25:02 Because this is the people he died for. 25:04 How can I have a passion for the lost if I don't see 25:08 Christ who is the one who seeks and saves the lost? 25:12 And so by looking at Jesus, the Author and the Finisher 25:15 of my faith, not looking at everybody around me trying to 25:18 live up to them, trying to live up to those people, 25:21 their rules and their laws, hey, I know that all of you 25:25 are way ahead of me in your spiritual life and your 25:27 disciplined life. 25:28 I'm not a very disciplined person, except for reading 25:31 the Word and praying I mean that's kind of spiritual 25:33 disciipline but not these other little disciplines. 25:36 That's not what is going to get us into heaven. 25:38 My trust that Jesus Christ paid the price and when he 25:41 paid the price he gave it to me. 25:45 God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son. 25:48 JB: Powerful truth. 25:49 What did the Bible say? 25:52 "These things I've written unto you that believe on the 25:54 name of the son of God that you may know you have eternal 25:57 life and that you may believe on the name of the Son of 26:00 God." My prayer for you is that you will know through 26:03 having accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, 26:06 no doubt, no fear, no worry. 26:08 My wish, my prayer is that you will know that you have 26:11 everlasting life. 26:12 Ron Halverson, thank you for joining me today. 26:15 RH: Thank you. 26:15 JB: It's been a blessing. 26:17 I've been encouraged. 26:17 Let's pray together. 26:19 Our Father and our God, thank you for the simple sights 26:21 of salvation. 26:22 Thank you that we can reach out in our lost condition and 26:26 take hold of the hand of the one who died to save us and 26:29 thank you that those of us who walk with you can say 26:32 "Lord we're keeping on. 26:33 We're continuing to trust. 26:34 We look to you." Lord, forgive us for our sins. 26:37 There are many people today that are saying I've got to 26:39 have this assurance, this certainty, this security. 26:42 We claim it now, Father. 26:43 We pray for it thankfully in Jesus' name, Amen. 26:55 Today, our free book offer is for one of my very favorite 26:58 books. 26:59 Steps to Christ. 27:00 Just what you need in your daily walk with Jesus. 27:04 Just call or write and Steps to Christ will be on its way. 27:08 There's no cost or obligation. 27:10 It's our free gift to you. 27:11 Just call 1.800.253.3000 and as for Steps to Christ. 27:18 Lines are open 24 hours. 27:20 If it's busy when you call, just try again. 27:22 You can also request this free book by writing to It is 27:25 Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, California 91359 and 27:30 we'll mail a copy to your address in North America. 27:33 Please note, this free book is limited to the supply 27:39 on hand, so call soon. 27:40 For immediate access, you can download a free, electronic 27:42 version of the book Steps to itiswritten.cor website@ 27:45 It Is Written is a faith-based ministry made 27:48 possible by viewers like you. 27:49 Thank you for your letters and for your continued 27:53 support. 27:54 Again, Ron Halverson, thank you. 27:55 Thanks for joining me. 27:56 And thank you for joining me today. 27:58 I look forward to seeing you again next time. 28:00 Until then, remember It Is Written, man shall not live 28:03 by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the 28:07 mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-06-18