Participants:
Series Code: AFDB
Program Code: AFDB000164S
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00:03 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.
00:14 Pastor Doug Batchelor: The heighth of your spiritual 00:16 experience is going to be in exact proportion to the depth of 00:21 your repentance and your confession. 00:27 Now I always like to use a story as a springboard, and I'm going 00:30 to turn to one that I think you'll find familiar, it's in 00:33 the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verse 11. 00:36 And Jesus said, "There was a certain man that had two sons. 00:41 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the 00:44 portion of goods that falls to me. 00:47 So he divided to them his livelihood, his inheritance. 00:50 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all 00:53 together, and he journeyed to a far country, and there he wasted 00:58 his possessions with prodigal living," sinful living. 01:02 "But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in 01:04 that land, and he began to be in want. 01:08 And he went and he joined himself to a citizen in that 01:10 country, and he sent him out into his fields to feed swine. 01:14 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that 01:17 the swine ate, and no one gave him anything." 01:20 Now, living a life of sin, this young man realized that he had 01:24 squandered his opportunities, he had squandered his father's 01:27 blessings, and every sinner ultimately will realize that 01:30 before they repent. 01:31 That God has given me so many opportunities and blessings and 01:34 time, and we waste all selfishly. 01:37 And then there's always a payday. 01:39 Eventually the pleasure is gone, sin stops satisfying, it leaves 01:44 you feeling empty, and he starts to think about when he was back 01:48 in the father's house. 01:49 It says, he came to himself. 01:51 It's almost like it's describing sin as a form of insanity, and 01:54 suddenly he got his sanity back. 01:57 And he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have 02:00 bread enough to spare? 02:02 My father's servants eat to the full and I perish with hunger!" 02:06 Why did Jesus come? 02:08 Whoever believes in him might not perish. 02:11 This young man realized he's perishing. 02:14 If you are not converted and saved, there's only one 02:16 other option. 02:17 You either have everlasting life through Jesus, and a new heart 02:20 being born again, or perishing. 02:23 And God does not want us to be lost, he wants to save us. 02:27 He said, I'm perishing with hunger. 02:29 You know what satisfies that hunger for bread, it's the Word 02:32 of God. 02:34 "I will arise and go to my father's house." 02:37 Notice what's happening here. 02:38 He's making a decision to go towards his father. 02:41 Now, the promise is, in James, if we draw near to God, James 02:45 chapter 4--or James chapter 2 verses 4 through 7, he will draw 02:49 near to us. 02:51 And so we want to be drawing near to God. 02:54 He said, "'I will go to my father, and I'll say to him, 02:57 Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I'm 03:01 no longer worthy to be called your son. 03:03 Make me as one of your hired servants.' 03:06 So he arose," he's got this speech of confession in his 03:09 mouth, and he arose and he comes to his father. 03:13 "His father saw him a long way off, he had compassion, and he 03:16 ran and he fell on his neck and he kissed him. 03:19 And the son said, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and 03:22 in your sight, and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.'" 03:26 As soon as he confesses, the father reacts by completely 03:31 embracing and adopting him back into the family, says, you are 03:34 my son. 03:36 Calls for his servants, and he says, "Bring out the best robe 03:39 and put it on him, put a ring on his hand," meaning that he was 03:42 now going to have the authority of the family, "and sandals on 03:45 his feet. 03:46 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and 03:49 be merry, for this my son was dead and he's alive again, he 03:53 was lost and he's found." 03:55 And they began to be merry. 03:56 And I'm not gonna even go into the part about the other son, 03:58 because the point of the story I wanted to emphasize, this young 04:01 man came to himself, he repented, but then he realized, 04:04 I will say to my father. 04:06 There was something he needed to say. 04:09 Everybody is going to confess someday. 04:13 You can read where Paul says, in the book of Romans chapter 14, 04:17 "For it is written: 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee will 04:20 bow to me, and every tongue will confess.'" 04:23 Tonight we're gonna talk very specifically about an important 04:26 part of the Christian experience, the conversion 04:29 experience, that has to do with sincere confession. 04:33 Now, don't be afraid of confessing to God, because God 04:36 knows everything. 04:38 You know, we're living in an interesting time in the world's 04:40 history where it seems like no matter where you go now, cameras 04:44 are rolling. 04:45 And, you know, people can even go to websites where they can 04:49 look through satellites and see what's happening on the earth 04:51 from space all over the world. 04:54 Sometimes Karen will come in the office, she'll see that I'm on a 04:57 program called Google Earth and I'm looking all over the world 05:00 to see if I can find deserted islands. 05:03 I just love looking at maps, I'm just intrigued, I'm a very 05:06 visual person. 05:08 But everywhere you go now, everything, it seems like, is 05:11 being recorded. 05:12 And, more than ever, you know, in the cities for security, we 05:16 just installed a video doorbell so that whenever anyone comes to 05:20 our door, I know it's old technology for most people, but 05:23 it was very interesting for me, whenever anyone comes to our 05:25 doorbell, and they ring the door, we get an alert on 05:29 our phone. 05:30 The funny thing is, every time Karen goes to get the mail, 05:32 every day, I get an alert. 05:34 Caesar, our son, goes out to jog, and I see him out the front 05:38 yard, he's stretching and I'm going, this is interesting, they 05:40 don't know I'm watching. 05:41 But it's like there's cameras everywhere. 05:44 And God has had cameras for a long time. 05:47 There are angels that record everything we say. 05:51 Jesus said, in the judgment you'll give an account for every 05:53 idle word that you speak. 05:56 God sees everything we do. 05:58 Let me give you a few verses on that. 06:00 Jesus says, in Luke chapter 12 verse 2, "For there is nothing 06:04 covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will 06:07 not be known. 06:09 Therefore whatever has been spoken in the dark will be heard 06:12 in the light, and whatever you have spoken in the ear in the 06:15 inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." 06:18 Ecclesiastes 12 verse 14, "For God will bring every work into 06:22 judgment, including every secret thing." 06:25 We think nobody knows. 06:27 Everything we'll give an answer for. 06:29 And you may have sinned and thought, well, I got away with 06:31 that, nobody will know, I don't need to say anything. 06:34 You don't get away with anything. 06:37 Everything that's done in secret will be ultimately proclaimed 06:40 from the housetops unless it is confessed, repented of, 06:44 forsaken, and you want it under the blood of Jesus. 06:48 You know, one reason I became a Christian is because I saw, 06:52 providentially, you don't ever get away with anything. 06:55 I was a thief, and I realized I never really got away 06:59 with anything. 07:00 And I just became convinced there must be a God, because it 07:04 seemed like, we started calling it karma, seemed like something 07:08 always went wrong when you try to do the wrong thing. 07:12 And you know what they say on the streets is what goes around 07:15 comes around. 07:17 It'll catch up with you. 07:18 Nobody ever really gets away with anything. 07:21 And so I'm sharing this sort of as a background, why it is 07:24 important to confess, because you'll never really get ahead by 07:29 doing wrong or by disobeying God. 07:32 Hebrews chapter 4 verse 13, Paul says, "There is no creature 07:36 hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the 07:40 eyes of him with whom we must give an account." 07:43 Now, I wonder how people would behave if they knew that God is 07:47 always recording. 07:49 You know, we had a little church up in the hills, and it had the 07:52 strangest sound system, just had an inexpensive Radio Shack sound 07:57 system, and something about the length of the wires to the 08:00 speakers, they weren't shielded, and whenever any airplane flew 08:04 over or an ambulance went by, I've never run into it before, 08:07 it seemed to pick up their frequencies, and it would 08:10 broadcast it in the church. 08:12 So while you're in there, in the church, and you're preaching, 08:15 all of a sudden you would hear the ambulance drivers talking on 08:18 the radio. 08:20 And sometimes what even ambulance drivers say to each 08:22 other is not appropriate to broadcast in a church. 08:26 And I wondered, if they only knew that what they think 08:30 they're saying just on the radio to the dispatch is being 08:33 broadcast in the local church. 08:35 How much more careful would they be? 08:38 Well, everything is naked and open to the eyes of him with 08:41 whom we have to do. 08:43 There is a judgment day coming, and everybody is going to give 08:46 an account for everything. 08:49 And that's why it's so crucial for us to not wait until we 08:52 kneel with the devil outside of the New Jerusalem. 08:55 Everybody will ultimately bow before Christ and confess that 08:58 Jesus is Lord. 08:59 But to confess while the doors of mercy are still open, that 09:03 would be now. 09:04 You can't wait, friends. 09:06 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing, 09:09 free resource. 09:10 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 09:12 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 09:15 mobile device. 09:16 To get your copy of today's free gift, simply call us and ask for 09:20 the offer number shown on your screen. 09:22 Or visit the web address and download a digital copy. 09:26 And be sure to select the digital download option on the 09:28 request page. 09:30 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 09:33 Amazing Facts, wherever and whenever you want. 09:36 And most important, to share it with others. 09:40 Pastor Doug Batchelor: So, with that little background, I'm 09:42 going to go through my ritual of having five or six points we're 09:45 gonna cover about confession. 09:47 And I'll start with, why do we confess? 09:50 Why would we confess? 09:52 Jesus said, your heavenly Father, and this is Matthew 09:54 chapter 6 verse 8, he knows what things you have need of before 09:58 you even ask. 09:59 So why tell him? 10:00 Well, confession isn't for the benefit of God. 10:03 You know, when I was a baby Christian, I heard about 10:05 confession, you know, I just, in my mind I had it like, all 10:09 right, Lord, you better sit down, there's somethin' I gotta 10:11 tell ya. 10:13 And then I realized wait a second! 10:14 God knows everything. 10:16 I'm not going to fill in the Lord. 10:17 So when you confess, it's not like you're sayin', brace 10:19 yourself, Lord, I've got some heavy things to share with you. 10:22 He knows more about you than you know about you. 10:25 So you're not confessing to fill him in. 10:28 One very important thing that happens when you're confessing 10:31 is you are recognizing in your own heart what you're doing 10:35 is wrong. 10:36 You're giving freedom, then, of the Holy Spirit to give you 10:39 victory in that area, 'cause you're admitting it's wrong and 10:41 you want change. 10:43 The other thing is, once you admit it's wrong, something 10:46 happens within you mentally. 10:47 Then you realize there's consequences and 10:49 you're accountable. 10:51 People don't like confessing, it can sometimes make them 10:54 uncomfortable, but it's actually good for you because 10:57 it's liberating. 10:58 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us 11:02 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 11:06 Now we're gonna talk about the what of confession. 11:08 What do you confess? 11:10 Confess means, this is a definition, it means to disclose 11:13 something that is damaging or inconvenient to one's self, to 11:17 admit, to acknowledge. 11:19 As someone said, confession is good for the soul but it's bad 11:22 for the reputation. 11:23 And the Bible says, Proverbs 28 verse 13, "He that covers his 11:27 sin will not prosper, but whoever confesses 11:31 and forsakes them." 11:33 You know, I remember, even years after I became a Christian, 11:35 something came to me. 11:39 I was in Miami Beach, where I used to go to school, used to 11:41 work, and I just went for a visit to the family. 11:45 And while I was in Miami Beach, I remembered I had worked for a 11:49 Baskin Robbins ice cream store. 11:51 I got to work there and they told me, you can eat all 11:53 the ice cream you want. 11:54 And it was a dream job for me, 'cause I did. 11:56 They said, you'll get tired of it. 11:57 I never did, I ate a lot of ice cream while I was there. 12:00 And he trusted me. 12:01 I was just 14, 15 years old, but I was a good worker, I'd been in 12:04 the military school, I kept everything clean and organized. 12:07 And eventually he gave me the keys, and he had me, Mr. Scott 12:11 was his name, he had me open the place and close the place and do 12:15 the accounting and put the money in the freezer, and when I got 12:19 ready to run away from home when I was like 15 years old, I had 12:22 made myself an extra key. 12:25 And I went into the Baskin Robbins late at night, and I 12:28 went into the freezer, I knew where the key freezer was, and I 12:30 stole just enough cash where he would have never known it 12:33 was missing. 12:36 Years later that came to me. 12:38 And I thought, you know, I need to make that right. 12:42 And so I went back to that Baskin Robbins, which I think 12:44 it's still there today after all those years, on Lincoln Mall. 12:48 And I went back in and I went in and I started asking for Mr. 12:51 Scott, and they said, oh, he sold the place years ago, and, 12:55 you know, I just felt this tremendous burden come off my 12:58 shoulders by going in there. 12:59 I wasn't worried about the $15 or $20, I just wanted to make 13:02 things right with the Lord and God. 13:04 The biggest struggle for me was going and telling him, 'cause he 13:07 trusted me. 13:09 I said, well, do you know how I can contact him? 13:11 They said, no, we have no way to contact him. 13:13 And God just took the burden off me 'cause he wanted to know, are 13:15 you willing? 13:17 And once I got to the place where I was willing, you know, I 13:19 just felt real peace. 13:21 And so he may reveal things to you. 13:23 Now, someone might be thinking, well, I robbed a bank, what do 13:28 I do? 13:30 If I confess, I might go to jail. 13:32 I've had a lot of people that have come to me and they said, 13:34 if I tell my boss what I've been doing, he's gonna fire me. 13:37 I said, trust the Lord. 13:39 And I'm sure there's exceptions, but almost every time I know of 13:42 when a member or somebody comes to me and says, I'm convicted, I 13:46 need to go talk to my boss, I've been cheating or doing something 13:48 dishonest, I said, you go to them, if you tell them before 13:51 you're caught, they'll know that there's a change in your heart. 13:55 "Search me, O God, and know me, try me, know my thoughts, see if 13:59 there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the 14:01 way everlasting." 14:03 And it says, in Job 13:23, "How many are my iniquities and 14:06 my sins? 14:08 Make me know my transgression and my sin." 14:10 I'd like to make a suggestion that, get by yourself, if you 14:15 want this revival to really make a difference, then do something 14:18 tangible, go off by yourself. 14:21 Might be harder if you're home sequestering right now, but find 14:24 a room, find your closet of prayer, and get on your knees. 14:28 Tell the Lord. 14:29 You may not even feel anything, but do it because you know it's 14:31 the right thing to do, and watch what happens. 14:33 Get on your knees, say, Lord, I want to repent of my sins. 14:36 I'm choosing to repent of my sins. 14:38 I know I've sinned all through my life. 14:40 I'm guilty of many things. 14:42 You can't remember everything you've ever done wrong, but get 14:46 a piece of paper. 14:47 Don't let anyone get ahold of that piece of paper. 14:49 Get a piece of paper and make a list, 14:52 and start with the Ten Commandments. 14:54 Have you ever worshiped other gods? 14:56 Or taken God's name in vain? 14:59 Have you, well, I've never committed adultery, but have you 15:01 thought impure thoughts? 15:03 Spiritual adultery. 15:04 I've never committed murder, have you been angry with your 15:07 brother without cause? 15:08 Lying? 15:10 The Bible says, "Let your yes be yes, and your no be no." 15:12 Have you ever been misleading? 15:14 And go through the Ten Commandments, and then pray that 15:17 prayer that David says, search me, Lord, try me, see if there 15:20 be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 15:23 The Holy Spirit will bring things to your mind. 15:26 There may be friends, family, could be a spouse, a loved one 15:30 that you are at odds with and you need to right those wrongs. 15:33 Make a note of that. 15:34 Confess it first to God, then go to that person next. 15:38 After you make that list, and don't rush through it, look at 15:43 it and say, Lord, if I'm forgetting something, show 15:44 me later. 15:46 He will. 15:47 Then claim the promise, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful 15:50 and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all 15:53 unrighteousness," said 1 John 1:9. 15:57 And he makes a promise. 15:59 He'll cleanse you from how much? 16:00 All unrighteousness. 16:02 Now, if he's cleansed you from all unrighteousness, when you 16:04 get off your knees, is God gonna keep his promise? 16:08 Don't say, oh but, Lord, I don't know how well I'm going to live 16:10 as a Christian today. 16:11 At that moment, he gives you eternal life. 16:13 That will then affect your behavior. 16:15 You start becoming righteous by faith when you believe 16:19 his promise. 16:20 He then can give you the spirit and you'll be surprised, moment 16:22 by moment, how you start living in a different kind of life. 16:25 So try going through those steps. 16:27 God will bring things to your mind. 16:29 Romans 10:10, "For with the heart one believes unto 16:33 righteousness, and with the mouth confession 16:35 is made unto salvation." 16:38 Then what about the when of confession? 16:40 When's the right time to confess? 16:42 You know, one of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible 16:44 is in Daniel chapter 9, where Daniel is reading the Bible. 16:49 And in reading the Bible, he reads the prophecy of Jeremiah, 16:52 and he knows that God wants to bring his people back, and 16:55 Daniel becomes convicted that he has not been praying for 16:57 his people. 16:58 And the Bible tells us, if you read in Daniel chapter 9 verse 17:01 9--verse 3 through 6, 'Then I set my face towards the Lord and 17:07 made my request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, 17:11 sackcloth, ashes. 17:13 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession." 17:16 Notice what happens. 17:17 He's reading the Word, then he feels impressed to confess. 17:22 And while he's praying and confessing, Daniel 9 verse 20, 17:26 "While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin 17:29 and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication 17:33 before the Lord my God of the holy mountain of my God, yes, 17:36 while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen 17:40 in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, 17:43 reached me about the time of the evening offering." 17:46 So while he's praying, God sends an angel. 17:49 When does Daniel confess? 17:51 As soon as he is impressed about his sin. 17:54 Go back to Psalm 32, I want you to notice something about the 17:57 best time to confess. 17:58 "I acknowledged my sin to you. 18:01 And my iniquity I have not hidden. 18:03 I said, 'I will confess my transgression to the Lord.' 18:06 And you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 18:09 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a 18:13 time when you may be found." 18:16 "Call on him," Isaiah says, chapter 55 verse 6, "seek the 18:20 Lord while he may be found. 18:22 Call upon him why he is near. 18:24 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 18:27 thoughts; let them return to the, Lord and he will have mercy 18:30 upon them, to our God, and he will abundantly pardon." 18:34 So, you don't want to wait too long. 18:36 Call upon him while he's near and he hears your prayer. 18:41 During this series, we're hoping that you go through these steps 18:43 of salvation, and repent of your sins and confess and come to 18:47 the Lord. 18:48 Who do you confess to? 18:50 Well, James 5:16, it says, "Confess your trespasses to one 18:56 another, and pray for one another, that you might 18:58 be healed." 19:00 If I've offended somebody, I'll confess that sin. 19:03 If you have a close friend you can trust, it's good to have 19:07 accountability with people. 19:08 If people are struggling with different things, it's good to 19:11 have a friend who knows how to, Proverbs says, conceal a matter, 19:14 meaning keep a confidential trust, that they can pray with 19:17 you about something you're struggling with. 19:20 But you want to be really careful about confessing private 19:22 things to people because, well, you know, sometimes they say, if 19:27 two people know a secret, it's not a secret anymore. 19:31 And so, the sin against God should be confessed to God. 19:35 Public sin should be confessed publicly. 19:38 Private sin should be confessed privately. 19:41 You probably heard the story about the three pastors, they 19:44 decided they needed to take a little vacation together, and so 19:46 they all went out fishing. 19:48 They're all off in the middle of a lake, and they're fishing, and 19:50 things are going fine. 19:51 Now one of the pastors breaks down and he starts to cry. 19:54 And it's kind of awkward for the other two, they hadn't done 19:56 anything, they don't know what's come over him. 19:58 And he said, you know, we're all alone out here, I feel like I 20:00 can finally confide in somebody. 20:02 Says, I've got a really big problem. 20:04 He said, I'm cheating on my wife. 20:07 And the other two looked at him and said, well, brother, you got 20:09 to make that right, but let's pray with you. 20:10 And while they're praying, another pastor started crying. 20:14 And they said, what's the problem? 20:16 He said, well, my brother here inspired me, I need to open up 20:19 and let you guys know of it. 20:20 I've got a problem, I'm a kleptomaniac. 20:22 I steal all the time. 20:24 Little things. 20:25 Don't need to, I just can't help myself. 20:28 And they said, well, we'll pray for you. 20:29 So they're praying, and the two of them look at the other guy 20:31 who had been strangely quiet. 20:33 They said, anything you want to share? 20:35 He says, well, yeah, but I can't, it's too awful. 20:38 They said, well what could be worse than what we described? 20:41 You can trust us. 20:42 He said, well, my sin is gossip, and I can't wait to get back 20:46 home and tell everybody. 20:48 So you want to be really careful about confessing your sins 20:51 to people. 20:53 You want the private sin to be confessed to God. 20:58 The where of confession. 21:00 Public sin should be publicly confessed. 21:03 Sometimes there's something that's very obvious and you may 21:05 want to actually share it publicly, if you're in a public 21:09 position when you commit those sins. 21:11 Peter publicly denied the Lord with swearing and cursing. 21:15 And, you know after the resurrection, then Jesus asked 21:18 him to identify that, and three times he said, Simon Peter, do 21:24 you love me? 21:26 Do you love me? Do you love me? 21:28 When you do confession, you want to do the whole confession. 21:31 Isaiah 6 verse 5. Isaiah was being specific, he said, "Woe is 21:36 me, for I am undone! 21:38 Because I am a man of unclean lips. 21:40 And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine 21:44 eyes have seen the King." 21:45 You notice what happened is, when Isaiah said, "I'm a man of 21:48 unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean 21:51 lips," the angel then takes a coal from the altar, and where 21:54 does he put it? 21:56 Puts it on his lips. 21:58 God, when you identify with the specific problems are, you're 22:02 then giving God permission and power to help you in those 22:05 specific areas. 22:06 And people are saying, well, how often? 22:09 Doesn't God get tired of hearing me confess to him over and over 22:12 about the same thing? 22:15 I think that you will get tired of confessing a lot sooner than 22:17 God gets tired of hearing. 22:19 If you ever come to the Lord and you are sincere and sorry about 22:23 your sin, then he is sincerely willing to forgive you. 22:28 Peter asked the Lord, "How often shall my brother sin against me 22:32 and I forgive him? 22:33 Seven times?" 22:35 And Jesus said, "70 times 7." 22:36 And Jesus said, "If your brother comes you seven times in one 22:39 day, and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." 22:43 Now, is God asking us to do less for each other than he's willing 22:47 to do for us? 22:48 Don't get discouraged, friends, and think that God is not 22:51 willing to forgive you. 22:53 The reason Jesus came into the world is to seek and to save 22:56 the lost. 22:57 He is very earnest about wanting to forgive us. 23:00 That's his supreme desire, that was the mission of Jesus in the 23:03 world, is to come and to save us. 23:07 So, there is a risk that some will wait and confess too late. 23:12 You know, Judas confessed. 23:14 He says, I have betrayed innocent blood. 23:17 But at that point, he had grieved away the Holy Spirit. 23:20 And the pharaoh, he confessed, and he repented, but he waited 23:24 until he had grieved away the Holy Spirit. 23:27 And there's a danger that you can wait too long. 23:30 It's so important that when you hear God call. 23:32 Today is the day of salvation. 23:34 The Bible says now is the appointed time, today, if you 23:38 hear his voice. 23:39 When Jesus calls people, whenever he called the apostles, 23:42 he said, follow me. 23:44 They dropped what they were doing and they followed him. 23:47 And if you're hearing the Holy Spirit speak to you about 23:49 something now, listen to the Spirit. 23:51 God is not wanting to take away your joy, he's wanting to give 23:55 you joy and peace. 23:56 He says, "I've come that you might have life and have it 23:58 more abundantly." 23:59 But before God can lift you up, the Bible says, we must humble 24:03 ourself before the Lord, and then he will lift us up. 24:06 Now, years ago I heard about a coal mine accident, I was in 24:11 Kentucky somewhere, and this was a long time ago, and these men 24:14 were trapped. 24:15 The regular shaft that took them up the elevator and out of the 24:18 mine was completely imploded, and they thought it 24:20 was hopeless. 24:22 Gradually they saw that their lights were growing dim, which 24:25 made them worry that they were running out of oxygen. 24:27 But there was one old miner there, and he said, you know, I 24:30 think there's hope. 24:32 They were in the dark, but he felt a light breeze. 24:35 And he said, we had an old ventilation shaft that went from 24:39 this chamber to another chamber, but you've gotta crawl for 24:42 almost a quarter mile. 24:44 It's gonna be dark, you're gonna have to just be on your belly, 24:47 you can't take any gear with you. 24:50 He said, follow me, and I think we've got a way out. 24:53 Well, they had to get down and crawl for a while, and 24:56 eventually the shaft, the air duct shaft was open and they 25:00 were all able to escape. 25:01 But they all had to unload, and they had to get down, and they 25:04 had to crawl. 25:06 You know, there's a way to freedom, there's a way to the 25:07 light, but we have to humble ourselves before the Lord. 25:11 If we will humble ourselves and pray, the Bible tells us, he 25:16 will then hear our prayers. 25:17 It's sometimes hard for people to say they're sorry, and, you 25:21 know, even in the closest relationships, sometimes I find 25:24 it's harder for couples to apologize to each other than it 25:27 is for a person to apologize to his work associates or somebody 25:32 in public. 25:34 You have to admit your humanity, admit your weakness, and that 25:37 requires that we humble ourselves. 25:40 But Jesus says, if we will humble ourselves, he will then 25:43 lift us up. 25:49 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing, 25:51 free resource. 25:52 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 25:55 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 25:57 mobile device. 25:58 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 26:02 the keyword on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 26:06 shown on your screen. 26:08 And be sure to select a digital download option on the 26:10 request page. 26:12 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 26:15 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 26:18 And most important, to share it with others. 26:22 male announcer: The statistics are grim. 26:24 Millions have been infected by coronavirus, thousands 26:27 have died. 26:29 Race riots have broken out on streets, political tensions are 26:32 at an all-time high. 26:33 Does the Bible have anything to say about the times in which we 26:37 are living? 26:38 Pastor Doug Batchelor: Hi, friends. 26:39 This is Pastor Doug Batchelor. 26:41 Many people are wondering if the world's about to implode. 26:44 Some are fearful that global events point to a coming crisis 26:48 unlike anything we've ever witnessed. 26:50 Did you know the Bible book of Revelation actually speaks about 26:54 the days in which we're living now? 26:56 And it contains a message of hope, if we would only listen. 27:00 That's why I'd like to invite you to 27:02 "Revelation Now: Decoding the Bible's Greatest Prophecies." 27:07 In this multi-part series, I'll be sharing relevant truths for 27:10 our time from the last book in the Bible. 27:13 male announcer: Coming October 23rd. 27:15 To learn more, visit revelationnow.com. 27:23 male announcer: You can become a Bible expert with the Amazing 27:25 Facts "Storacles of Prophecy Bible Study Experience," now 27:29 available in 18 languages. 27:31 These 24 easy-to-read lessons will give you confidence about 27:35 what the Bible really says about last-day prophecy, the 27:38 afterlife, and so much more. 27:40 Even better, it's absolutely free at storacles.com. 27:44 Don't miss out, get the answers you need for a happier, 27:48 healthier life today at storacles.com. 27:58 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's free offer, it's 28:00 sure to be a blessing. 28:02 And thank you for your continued support as we take the gospel of 28:05 Jesus Christ to the world. 28:07 We hope you'll join us next week as we delve deep into the Word 28:11 of God to explore more amazing facts. 28:23 male announcer: This presentation was brought to you 28:24 by the friends of the Amazing Facts ministry. |
Revised 2020-09-16