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Series Code: AFNB
Program Code: AFNB002015S
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00:02 male announcer: This presentation is brought to you
00:03 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry. 00:07 ♪♪♪ 00:14 Doug Batchelor: "For to whom much is forgiven, 00:16 the same loves much." 00:18 I've got a theory. 00:20 The reason that a lot of Christians do not appreciate the 00:23 forgiveness of Jesus is because they don't know how much they 00:26 have been forgiven. 00:31 Doug: Everybody knows that Jesus died for our sins to provide 00:35 forgiveness that we might have hope of everlasting life and 00:40 share in eternity. 00:42 But part of that forgiveness not only means that we receive it, 00:47 it means that we share it with others. 00:49 I want to read--most of us know the Lord's Prayer, but I'm going 00:52 to read the last section of this in Matthew chapter 6 starting 00:55 with verse 12. 00:56 "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." 01:00 In Luke it says, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those 01:04 who trespass against us. 01:06 For if you, verse 14, "If you forgive men their trespasses, 01:10 your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 01:13 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, then neither 01:17 will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." 01:20 So, we've learned about seeing the Lord, seeing him in his 01:24 goodness, his holiness, we then, through the goodness of God, we 01:28 see ourselves by contrast and we repent, we confess, we receive 01:34 the forgiveness he offers. 01:36 Pastor Doug, are you saying that the Bible teaches that before 01:39 God can forgive us, we must first forgive everybody else? 01:43 I'm not gonna answer that right away, I'm gonna let Jesus answer 01:45 by going to a parable. 01:47 Most of you know this, you find it in Matthew chapter 18. 01:50 It's only in Matthew 18, you don't find this exact parable in 01:53 Luke, or John, or Mark. 01:55 And I'm gonna start with verse 21. 01:59 Now, Jesus is speaking with Peter. 02:00 A lot of the chapter talks about relationships 02:03 with your fellow man. 02:04 "And Peter came to him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my 02:08 brother sin against me and I forgive him? 02:10 Up to seven times?'" 02:13 Now, Peter thought he was being unusually generous when he said 02:15 that, because some of the religious leaders at that time, 02:19 they had a belief that you forgive a person maybe three 02:22 times, kinda like baseball, you know, sin were these 02:25 big calamities. 02:27 But after you get to three, then there's no more forgiveness. 02:31 And so, Peter thought, "Well, Jesus is so merciful, I'm going 02:34 to double it and add one for good measure and say seven, 02:36 nice Bible number." 02:38 "Lord, how often shall I forgive my brother?" 02:40 Not even an enemy, your brother. 02:42 And he said, "Seven times?" 02:44 He thought maybe Jesus would say, "Peter, you finally get 02:47 the message." 02:48 But instead, Christ said to him, "I do not say unto you seven 02:51 times, but seventy times seven." 02:54 Make a note of that number. 02:57 And then Jesus goes on and he shares a parable. 03:00 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king 03:03 who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 03:06 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him 03:09 who owed him 10,000 talents. 03:13 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he 03:16 should be sold with his wife and his children and all that he had 03:21 and payment be made. 03:23 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, 03:27 have patience with me and I will pay you all.' 03:30 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, and 03:33 he released him and forgave him the debt. 03:36 But that servant went out and he found one of his fellow servants 03:40 who owed him 100 denarii And he laid hands on him, and took him 03:44 by the throat, and said, 'Pay me what you owe.' 03:47 So, his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, 03:50 saying, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you all,' and he 03:54 would not. 03:55 But he went and he threw him into prison until he should pay 03:57 the debt. 03:59 So, when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were 04:01 very grieved. 04:03 And they came and they told their master all that had 04:05 been done. 04:06 Then his master, after he had called him, he said to him, 04:09 'You wicked servant. 04:10 I forgave you all that debt because you begged me, 04:12 because you asked me. 04:14 Should you not have had compassion on your fellow 04:16 servant, just as I had pity on you?' 04:20 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors 04:24 until he should pay all that was due him. 04:27 So, my Heavenly father also will do to each of you if you from 04:32 his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses." 04:37 Well, the Lord wants us clearly to forgive others, but who does 04:40 the first forgiving in this story? 04:42 The king does. 04:43 Now, let's back up, and I'm gonna use some alliterations and 04:46 try and teach six main points from this very important lesson 04:49 on receiving and passing on forgiveness, and how much the 04:53 two of them go together, and it is connected with our receiving 04:57 the Holy Spirit. 04:59 Alright, first of all, the magnitude of the debt. 05:02 It says that he's brought in and he's somehow been squandering 05:06 the king's money. 05:07 He was in some position where he had the king's combination two 05:11 his safe or the bank book, or the king's credit card, and he 05:15 was on a spending spree. 05:17 Maybe he had a gambling problem. 05:18 We don't know what the issue was, but somehow he racked up an 05:22 unbelievable debt. 05:23 Now, just to give you an idea how big a number this is, he 05:27 says 10,000 talents. 05:29 So, let's just assume they're talents of silver. 05:31 If you go back to the time of Christ, the annual tribute of 05:36 Judea, Samaria, Idumea around this time was only 600 talents, 05:41 the tribute they paid to Rome. 05:43 Here this man owes 10,000 talents of the king's money. 05:47 The only other time you find that number, 10,000 talents, and 05:50 by the way, that's where we get the word "myriad." 05:52 It was the highest number there in Greek. 05:55 It's interesting that was the amount that Haman offered 05:58 to pay. 06:00 You read in the book of Esther chapter 3 verse 9, Haman said, 06:03 "I will give 10,000 talents of silver into the king's treasury 06:07 if you will exterminate these enemies," the Jews. 06:10 And so, that debt, Jesus draws from these Bible stories to 06:14 remind us this represents the burden of sin that is crushing 06:19 us out. 06:20 It's like a bounty on our heads that's being paid for 06:22 our destruction. 06:24 And so, 10,000 talents, and compared to the denarii, the 06:29 denarii, you know, that was a reasonable debt, 06:31 it's only 100 denarii. 06:33 Ten-thousand talents is 600,000 times as large as what this 06:39 fellow servant owed the king's servant. 06:43 And so, you notice the magnitude of the debt this man has. 06:48 He has squandered a fabulous amount, and I don't know, you 06:51 know, the price of silver and gold goes up, a talent is a 06:54 weight, a weight of around 56 pounds. 06:58 That's the small side of what a talent is, all the way up to 07:01 75 pounds. 07:03 And if you've got 10,000 times 75 pounds of silver, you can 07:09 realize this is an astronomical number, let alone if it 07:11 was gold. 07:12 So, the number is, like, just a far out number. 07:15 That is the number that represents our sins against God. 07:21 So, this man comes to the king and he says, "I can't pay." 07:25 And the king is moved. 07:28 You can read it. 07:30 Now we're gonna talk about the mercy of the king. 07:31 You look in Matthew chapter 18 verse 27, "Then the master of 07:35 that servant was moved with compassion, and he released him 07:40 and he forgave him the debt." 07:43 Now, there's a difference between pity and compassion. 07:45 They're both something that represents pathos and feeling 07:49 for another, but compassion is really, it means with pathos, 07:54 and typically in our dictionary, it means that you not only 07:57 behold a person's suffering, it's not only that you empathize 08:01 with them, you do something about it. 08:04 If I see a person get a flat tire in rush hour and they pull 08:07 off, I might say, "Oh, Lord, help," them that's pity. 08:10 But if I pull over and help them change the tire, 08:13 that's compassion. 08:14 So, did Jesus have pity on us, or did he have compassion? 08:19 Did he just looked down and say the human race is in a lot of 08:21 trouble down there, it's so sad, or did he come down and do 08:24 something about it? 08:26 The king was moved with compassion. 08:28 He forgave the debt. 08:30 So, who ends up suffering for this man's irresponsibility? 08:35 The king does. 08:37 He shows him mercy. 08:38 He freely forgives the debt. 08:40 "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will 08:43 remember no more." 08:45 What a wonderful promise. 08:47 Psalm 103:17, "The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to 08:51 everlasting on those who fear him, his righteousness to the 08:55 children's children." 08:57 God's mercy is everlasting. 08:59 He's a merciful king. 09:01 He's willing to forgive whatever your sins might be. 09:04 So, we see the mercy, and the love, and the pity of the king, 09:07 how much he is willing to forgive us, but now I want you 09:11 to notice it's not pleasant, the meanness of the servant. 09:15 This character is just, he is harsh, he is hardhearted. 09:21 Now, if I had owed the king 10,000 talents, obviously he 09:25 knew he owed that money, and and if you owe the king that much 09:27 money, you know a judgment day is coming. 09:29 You're probably a little apprehensive about that. 09:32 And so, he kept thinking about this burden. 09:35 He kept thinking that judgment day was coming. 09:36 There's gonna be an accounting, and if nothing else, this story 09:39 reminds us there is a judgment day. 09:42 There's an accounting that happens. 09:44 I would be so relieved when I came in before the king, I mean, 09:48 the man, he had to be feeling terrible. 09:52 The Bible tells us that the king was going to sell his family, 09:56 his wife, his children, all of his property, and, you know, the 10:00 wife is crying as she's being taken off to be sold, maybe part 10:03 of someone's household or harem, and the children are being taken 10:06 off to be sold as slaves, and his stuff that he bought with 10:09 the king's credit card is being pulled out of his home to be 10:12 sold at a royal garage sale. 10:14 And the man falls down crying, pleading the king, 10:17 "Please forgive me, I will pay it all back." 10:19 He's never gonna pay it all back, the king knows that, 10:21 but the king is moved with compassion, he forgives him. 10:24 If that happened to me, I would have gone, I would've kissed the 10:27 king's feet, I would have gone out of there, I would've been so 10:30 happy I would've been skipping and rejoicing, and I would've 10:33 been smiling and loving everybody. 10:35 But all this guy can think of is someone that owes him 10:38 100 denarii. 10:39 He's just been forgiven millions, and millions, billions 10:42 of dollars, and he goes and he takes a friend by the throat. 10:47 Now, let's read it again. 10:48 Matthew 18:28, "But that same servant went out, he found his 10:53 fellow servant, and he laid hands on him, and he took him by 10:57 the throat." 10:58 That's pretty serious, saying, "Pay me what you owe." 11:02 "So, his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and he begged 11:05 him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you all.'" 11:08 Now, when he said to the king, "Have patience with me and I'm 11:11 gonna pay you your 10,000 talents," no way that's ever 11:14 going to happen, he can't do it. 11:16 But if someone owes him 100 denarii, you know, in 24 hours, 11:21 you could probably find a creative way to get that money, 11:24 an honest way, and pay it back. 11:26 But he takes him by the throat. 11:28 That's pretty heavy handed, "Pay me what you owe." 11:31 His fellow servant says, "Have patience with me." 11:34 Same thing he says to the king, and he would not have mercy, not 11:39 even for that petty amount. 11:40 But he went and he threw him in prison that he should be 11:43 tortured for 100 denarii. 11:47 See, in Bible times, if you owed money, you couldn't pay, they 11:50 put you in prison, and they had a debtor's prison where you 11:52 could actually be tortured, they were called tormenters. 11:55 That somehow had a price list and on the wall, and if you 11:58 owed, you know, ten denarii, then it was one lash, and if it 12:02 was 100 denarii, it was ten lashes, or, you know, six hours 12:06 on the rack. 12:08 I'm not sure how they measured out all their punishment. 12:09 I sure wouldn't want to go to a debtor's prison owing 12:11 10,000 talents. 12:13 This man had just been forgiven this incredible punishment, and 12:17 he now punishes his brother for this petty amount. 12:21 What is this dealing with? 12:24 The sun is about 93 million miles from the earth. 12:29 That represents how much God is willing to forgive us. 12:32 I hear it takes about--light travels at 186,000 miles 12:36 a second. 12:37 It takes about eight minutes for the light of the sun to reach 12:40 the earth. 12:42 That's how far away it is. 12:44 But our forgiveness to each other is like one foot. 12:50 God is willing to forgive us the distance between the earth and 12:54 the sun, and we sometimes will not forgive each other one foot. 12:57 This is what the moral of the story is. 13:01 Christ is saying look how much I'm willing to forgive you. 13:03 What right do you have to be bitter and unforgiving with your 13:07 fellow servants, when I have so freely forgiven you? 13:10 And we need to have a change of heart. 13:12 When we see how much God is willing to forgive us, 13:16 shouldn't we be willing to forgive each other? 13:18 And I know there's people out there that are thinking right 13:20 now, "Well Pastor Doug though, if you only knew what they did 13:24 to me you'd understand that this is an exception. 13:28 Most things you can forgive, you know, the little offenses, but 13:30 this person, what they did was just plain old wicked, and how 13:33 can I ever forgive that?" 13:35 You need to. 13:37 And I have a theory that if people really spend time at the 13:40 foot of the cross looking at Jesus dying and suffering for 13:43 their sins, it makes it a lot easier for us to forgive the 13:47 other sins. 13:48 When you see, you know, this part of the cross is longer than 13:51 this part of the cross. 13:52 Our sins are much bigger than our sins against God and our 13:56 sins against each other. 13:59 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 14:02 free resource. 14:03 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 14:05 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 14:08 mobile device. 14:09 To get your copy of today's free gift, simply call us and ask for 14:13 the offer number shown on your screen, or visit the web address 14:17 and download a digital copy. 14:19 And be sure to select the digital download option on the 14:21 request page. 14:23 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 14:26 "Amazing Facts" wherever and whenever you want, 14:29 and most important, to share it with others. 14:33 Doug: I remember hearing a story years ago before Louis Pasteur 14:36 discovered the cure for rabies. 14:38 A man in France had been bitten by a rabid dog, and when the 14:43 doctor finally told him I've got bad news, we tested the dog, and 14:46 it's behaving like it has rabies, which means that you're 14:50 going to probably die in a few days, the man asked the doctor 14:53 for a pen and a piece of paper, and he began to 14:55 vigorously write. 14:57 And the doctor said, look, you've got a few days, take 15:00 your time. 15:01 If you're gonna write out your will, you want to think, 15:02 make good decisions. 15:04 He said I'm not writing out my will, he said I'm making a list 15:06 of everybody I'm gonna bite before I die. 15:09 And this is the way some people are. 15:12 It's like the devil, he's come down with great wrath, because 15:15 he knows his time is short, he wants to take as many people 15:19 with him as he can. 15:20 And believe it or not, there are some Christians that are 15:22 vengeful, and that is not the spirit of Christ. 15:26 So, now we're gonna talk about the malice of vengeance. 15:30 You know, the Bible makes one thing clear, that if we don't 15:33 forgive others, we cannot be forgiven. 15:36 That vengeance tends to backfire. 15:39 You get what you give. 15:40 Proverbs 24 verse 17, "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls 15:45 and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the 15:48 Lord see it and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath 15:52 from him." 15:53 Proverbs 26:27, "Whoever digs a pit will fall in it." 15:58 Now, what does that mean? 15:59 Sometimes they used to try to trap a person or herd a person. 16:01 They'd dig a pit and they put spikes in it, so that they could 16:04 wound their enemy. 16:05 And it says, "If you dig a pit, you will fall in it, and whoever 16:08 rolls a stone will have it roll back on them." 16:12 Trying to roll a stone down a cliff on your enemy, you might 16:14 find that it rocks the wrong direction and it rolls back 16:17 on you. 16:18 If you know your Bible, you know the story of Esther. 16:20 And the scoundrel and that story is a man named Haman. 16:24 And he builds a gallows 50 cubits high to hang. 16:27 Now, Haman is the one who wanted to give 10,000 talents to kill 16:30 all the Jews. 16:32 He built a gallows 50 cubits high to hang Mordecai, 16:36 the hero of the story. 16:38 In the end of the story, Mordecai gets Haman's position, 16:41 and Haman gets the gallows that he built for Mordecai. 16:45 In your talking about your neighbor, speaking badly about 16:49 your neighbor, being bitter and unforgiving towards your 16:53 neighbor, you're really condemning yourself. 16:55 The Bible is so clear with what judgment you judge you will 16:59 be judged. 17:00 So, part of our embracing God's forgiveness is we then need to 17:04 be willing to pass it on. 17:06 If we are not willing to pass on his forgiveness, it evaporates 17:10 in our own lives. 17:12 We really need to appreciate what the Lord has paid, the 17:16 amount of the debt that we might be forgiven. 17:19 Let me give you another story in the Bible that helps illustrate 17:21 this, and it's not in my notes, the Lord reminded me. 17:26 When Mary Magdalene washes Jesus's feet, she's called Mary 17:28 of Bethany in this story, Simon the leper, he begins 17:32 to complain. 17:33 And he thinks within himself, "If this man, Jesus, was a 17:36 prophet, he'd know who and what manner of woman this 17:39 is that's touching him, because she's a sinner." 17:42 Jesus tells a parable to Simon. 17:44 He says, Simon, I've got something to say. 17:46 He says say on, master. 17:48 So, there's a certain man that had two debtors, one owed 50 17:51 pence, one owed 500. 17:53 Neither of them could pay, so he freely forgave them both. 17:57 Which of them do you think will love him more? 17:59 Simon said, well, I suppose the one who is forgiven more. 18:03 He said you've rightly judged. 18:04 He said I want you to look at this woman. 18:06 When I came into your house, you did not greet me with a kiss, 18:09 but she's kissing my feet. 18:11 You did not wash my feet, but she's washing my feet with her 18:14 tears and drying them with her hair. 18:17 And he said her sins, which are many, are forgiven. 18:21 "For to whom much is forgiven, the same loves much." 18:26 I've got a theory. 18:27 The reason that a lot of Christians do not appreciate the 18:30 forgiveness of Jesus is because they don't know how much they 18:33 have been forgiven. 18:35 "He who is forgiven much loves much." 18:37 Jesus is not saying you've got to go out there and be an 18:40 exceptionally bad sinner, and then repent, and then you're 18:43 going to love your neighbor. 18:44 He's saying you need to know what a big sinner you 18:46 already are. 18:48 No matter if there was anyone else in the world who had ever 18:50 sinned, Jesus would have to go through what he went through on 18:53 the cross for you, your sins are that big. 18:57 Sometimes we say, "Well, Jesus died for the sins of the whole 18:59 world," and we figure we'll mitigate the guilt by doing 19:03 that, spread it around a little bit. 19:05 And no, Jesus died for your sins, yes, the sins of the whole 19:09 world, but you've got to take it and make it personal. 19:12 He went through everything he went through just for you. 19:15 If we understand the magnitude of that 10,000 talents, then we 19:19 appreciate how much he's forgiven us and we're willing to 19:22 forgive others instead of trying to extract vengeance on them. 19:28 So, we've talked about vengeance, the malice of 19:31 vengeance, now we're gonna talk about the model of Christ. 19:35 What is the challenge? 19:36 What is the command of Jesus about our enemies when it comes 19:39 to forgiveness? 19:41 Matthew, he says, "So when his fellow servants," these other 19:44 servants, the angels see how we treat each other, "They came 19:47 and they told the master what was done. 19:50 They were so grieved. 19:51 His master, after he had called him, he said to him, 19:55 'You wicked servant. 19:56 I forgave you all of that debt because you begged me, you asked 20:00 me,'" and you know, this is what we're saying during the seminar. 20:04 Ask and you'll receive. 20:05 Pray, repent of your sins, confess your sins. 20:08 You ask him, he will forgive you 10,000 talents, it doesn't 20:11 matter how much you've sinned. 20:13 If God can forgive Mary Magdalene and cast out seven 20:15 devils, and if he can forgive Manasseh, and if he can forgive 20:18 Moses after murder, it's more alliterations, he can forgive 20:22 you, you just need to ask. 20:24 "I forgave you that debt because you asked me," and then he says, 20:28 "Should you not have had compassion on your fellow 20:31 servant as I had pity on you?" 20:34 How are we supposed to treat our fellow servants? 20:37 As God has treated us. 20:39 What does the Bible say about that? 20:41 Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, 20:47 forgiving one another," how? 20:49 "Just as God in Christ forgave you." 20:53 That's a pretty tall order. 20:55 We're to forgive others. 20:57 Well, what kind of church would we have if people really loved 20:59 and forgive others the way that Jesus has loved and forgiven us? 21:03 Colossians 3:12, "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and 21:07 beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, 21:12 longsuffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another. 21:17 If anyone has a complaint against another," notice this, 21:20 "Even as Christ forgave you, so also you must do." 21:25 It's not a recommendation, God commands us to love 21:29 and to forgive others as we have been forgiven. 21:31 And when we do that, even though we may not feel like it, 21:35 then all of a sudden, something happens in our hearts. 21:38 We began to experience the real peace and joy of Jesus. 21:42 There's a lot of people out there in the church that they've 21:44 never had the joy of the Lord because they've accepted God's 21:47 forgiveness, but they've never passed it on. 21:49 And they're still bitter, they're still angry. 21:51 I meet people, they're angry at parents and grandparents who may 21:54 have mistreated or even abused them that are dead, and they're 21:58 never going to get an apology from them. 22:00 You've got to let it go. 22:02 You've got to forgive them. 22:03 You know, some people are unhealthy because of what 22:06 they eat. 22:07 Some people are unhealthy because of what's eating them. 22:10 And a lot of people are being eaten up with bitterness 22:14 and unforgiveness. 22:16 And what's amazing is that sometimes it's even people in 22:19 the church. 22:21 First Thessalonians 5:15, "See that nobody renders evil for 22:25 evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good, both for 22:29 yourself and for all. 22:31 You have heard it said love your neighbor and hate your enemies, 22:34 but I say love your enemies. 22:36 Bless those who curse you. 22:38 Do good to those who hate you. 22:40 Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that 22:44 you might be the sons of your Father in heaven." 22:47 You know, there's an interesting story from history. 22:49 Many people know about the famous mural that Leonardo da 22:52 Vinci painted there in the chapel in Italy of the 22:55 Last Supper. 22:57 And he uses live models when he was painting. 22:59 Took him quite a while. 23:01 During the time when he was painting that, he had another 23:04 very public argument with a famous artist and sculptor by 23:08 the name of Michelangelo. 23:10 And, you know, they would write these open letters 23:13 insulting each other. 23:14 They were very competitive, I guess, and you know, 23:16 both architects, and both artists, and sculptors, 23:19 and they were criticizing each other's work, 23:21 and it became very personal, very angry, very heated, 23:24 and a lot of bitterness. 23:26 And it was the tabloids of the day, the letters they were 23:28 writing to and about each other being posted and made public. 23:33 And so, Leonardo got an idea. 23:36 When it came time to paint Judas, you know, he used live 23:41 models normally. 23:43 He skillfully painted in the face of Michelangelo there to 23:48 the left of Jesus. 23:49 You realize the Bible says John was on his right, Judas was on 23:51 his left, it's very clear. 23:53 And people came by watching him work, they went, 23:55 "Oh, look at that." 23:58 Well, he felt like he had vented his spleen, he was happy now. 24:01 I'm getting even. 24:02 I'm going to show everybody what a scoundrel he is. 24:06 But then he came to paint the face of Jesus, and the more 24:09 and more he tried to paint the face of Jesus, 24:11 he just couldn't do it. 24:12 He'd paint something and it wouldn't be right, and he'd 24:15 erase it and he'd try it again, and erase it, and he just could 24:17 not get that wonderful, beautiful face of love, 24:21 and mercy, and compassion that he wanted. 24:24 And after weeks of trying, he knelt by his bed, and he prayed, 24:27 and cried out and said, "Lord, please show me the face of 24:29 your Son." 24:31 And God spoke to his heart, and he said, "You'll never see the 24:33 face of Jesus until you change the face of Judas." 24:38 And being convicted, he went and he erased the face of Judas, and 24:43 painted in the portrait of the stranger that you see there now. 24:47 A lot of people cannot see the face of Jesus because they 24:51 cannot forgive others. 24:53 They're looking at ways of getting even. 24:55 They're bitter, and I'm not denying that there are not mean 25:00 or unkind things that people do to each other, but you know, I 25:04 think it makes it easier to realize the reason that sometime 25:06 sinners do such cruel, unkind things is because 25:10 they're sinners. 25:11 If people don't know the Lord, if they don't love the Lord, 25:14 they're gonna ask selfishly. 25:15 They're gonna do mean things. 25:16 And when people have treated me that way, I say, "Lord, I want 25:19 them to be converted, and then I can love them easier because 25:23 they'll be like you." 25:24 But if they could only be converted, it is possible for 25:27 someone like Paul, who's killing Christians to be a Christian. 25:31 For Manasseh, who is sacrificing his children, and he's 25:35 worshiping devils, for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit and 25:38 be converted. 25:40 And you think, "Well, if I had only known." 25:42 A lot of folks out there, you think, "You know, if I could 25:44 just get even with my enemy, I think God hates them," but, you 25:47 know, God loves them. 25:49 Jesus died for them just like he died for you. 25:51 We need to receive and share the forgiveness of Jesus, and then 25:55 I think we're preparing our hearts for the outpouring 25:58 of the Spirit. 26:03 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 26:05 free resource. 26:07 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 26:09 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 26:12 mobile device. 26:13 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 26:16 the keyword on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 26:21 shown on your screen, and be sure to select a digital 26:24 download option on the request page. 26:26 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 26:29 "Amazing Facts" wherever and whenever you want, 26:32 and most important, to share it with others. 26:37 ♪♪♪ 26:49 announcer: What if you could know the future? 26:53 What would you do? 26:55 What would you change? 26:58 To see the future, you must understand the past. 27:02 male: Alexander the Great becomes king when he's only 18, 27:05 but he's a military prodigy. 27:08 male: A hundred and fifty years in advance, 27:10 Cyrus had been named. 27:13 male: Rome was violent, they were ruthless, 27:16 they were determined. 27:18 announcer: This intriguing documentary hosted by Pastor Doug Batchelor, 27:22 explores the most striking Bible prophecies 27:25 that have been dramatically fulfilled throughout history, 27:28 "Kingdoms in Time." 27:31 Are you ready? 27:37 announcer: Would you like to know God's plan for our troubled 27:39 world and solutions for your life's challenges? 27:41 Beautifully redesigned and updated, Amazing Facts 27 Bible 27:45 study guides provide straightforward Bible-based 27:48 answers that are enlightening, encouraging, and easy 27:50 to understand. 27:51 How can I have healthier relationships, when will Jesus 27:54 come, and much more. 27:55 Order yours today by visiting AFBookstore.com or by 27:59 calling... 28:06 ♪♪♪ 28:08 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's free offer. 28:10 It's sure to be a blessing and thank you for your continued 28:13 support as we take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. 28:17 We hope you'll join us next week 28:19 as we delve deep into the Word of God. 28:25 This presentation was brought to you by 28:26 the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry. |
Revised 2023-05-02