Participants: Ron Halvorsen
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000048
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:16 The Truth As It Is In Jesus with Ron Halvorsen. 00:22 Hello friends and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center, 00:25 also the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:28 We do believe this is the biggest little city 00:30 in the world because 75% of the world is covered by water, 00:35 and the rest of it, I'm told, is covered by 3ABN. 00:39 Thank you so much for tuning into this exciting 00:41 Bible-centered series by Pastor Ron Halvorsen. 00:46 You may have heard about Pastor Halvorsen before. 00:49 You may be intimately acquainted with him as a preacher, 00:52 a teacher, a man of God. 00:53 But the Lord did a wonderful work in his life as He took him 00:57 from the gangs and the streets of New York City. 01:00 And matter of fact, his story is chronicled in the book called, 01:03 From Gangs To God. 01:05 He was a fighter on the streets of the city of New York. 01:07 But now he's a fighter in the army of the Lord. 01:10 Can you say amen to that? 01:12 And his life is an amazing life. 01:14 Once the question was asked about Jesus, 01:17 "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" 01:20 Well, I think Pastor Halvorsen knows that question very well. 01:24 Because people often ask, "Can any good thing 01:26 come out of Brooklyn?" 01:28 Well, if you know Pastor Halvorsen, you know that 01:31 it is true that God can transform any life, 01:35 take us from where we were to where we are going to be 01:38 and continue to grow in Jesus. 01:40 And what a life. 01:41 For example, Pastor Halvorsen has pastored many churches. 01:45 He is not only a teacher, but a preacher. 01:48 He is also a homiletician. 01:50 And if you don't know what that means; he's not only a good 01:52 preacher, but he teaches people how to preach. 01:54 And sure does preach the word from the strength and power 01:59 of God's indwelling Holy Spirit. 02:01 He also taught in many colleges Bible doctrine. 02:05 He has held more than 159 major evangelistic campaigns. 02:13 That may not sound like a lot, but if you think about if 02:16 that's just one a year, he has to be 159 years old. 02:20 So that's about an average of three a year for the 53 years 02:24 of ministry that he has conducted. 02:27 Can we say amen to that? 02:28 That's a lot of work, a lot of souls. 02:30 As a matter of fact, still to this very day he is listed as 02:32 one of the largest prayer meeting attendants ever held 02:36 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:38 1500 attendants on Wednesday night. 02:41 What a record. 02:42 But the people were there, not to just see Pastor Halvorsen, 02:45 but to hear the Word rightly divided. 02:48 53 years of ministry, learning at the feet of Jesus. 02:52 54 years as a husband, learning at the feet of his wife. 02:56 And what a blessed place to be. 02:58 54 years of successful love between a man and a woman, 03:02 who's both hearts are centered in Christ. 03:05 This series is entitled, The Truth As It Is In Jesus. 03:09 And tonight the focus is, 03:11 The Truth as it is in Jesus, About His Father. 03:16 So invite your friends and family members. 03:18 If you're busying yourself, sit down and watch a series 03:21 that I believe will transform your life and open your heart 03:24 to the truth about God the Father. 03:28 How can we be transformed to do such a 03:30 wonderful work in the Lord? 03:32 I believe tonight this song brings the truth home 03:37 very well how that can happen. 03:39 But before the song, let's bow our heads and invite the 03:41 presence of the Lord to be with us. 03:44 Our gracious Father in heaven, what a blessing it is to know 03:47 that truly when a man is in the hand of the Lord, 03:50 who he was is nothing compared to who he can be in Jesus. 03:56 We pray tonight, Father, that You'll bless and anoint 03:59 Pastor Ron Halvorsen. 04:01 Cause him to preach the Word, to be instant in season 04:06 and out of season. 04:08 And Father, when the message goes forth tonight, 04:11 may we not only learn the truth about God the Father, 04:15 but may we desire to have a relationship with Him, 04:18 to have Him abide in our hearts and to strengthen us. 04:22 And Father, in the process as we continue growing in Christ, 04:26 may that be because You are refining us by the indwelling 04:30 power of Your Holy Spirit. 04:32 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 04:49 There burns a fire with sacred heat, 04:55 white hot with Holy Flame; 05:01 and all who dare pass through its blaze 05:07 will not emerge the same. 05:13 Some as bronze and some as silver, 05:19 some as gold, yet with great skill; 05:24 all are hammered by their sufferings 05:30 on the anvil of His will. 05:38 The Refiner's fire 05:43 has now become my soul's desire; 05:51 purged and cleansed and purified, 05:56 that the Lord be glorified. 06:04 He is consuming my soul; 06:09 refining me, making me whole. 06:17 No matter what I may lose, 06:21 I choose the Refiner's fire. 06:38 I'm learning now to trust His touch, 06:44 to crave that Fire's embrace; 06:49 for though my past with sin was etched, 06:55 His mercies did erase. 07:01 Each time the purging cleanses deeper, 07:06 I'm not sure if I will survive; 07:13 yet the strength from growing weaker 07:18 keeps my hungry soul alive. 07:25 The Refiner's fire 07:30 has now become my soul's desire; 07:38 purged and cleansed and purified, 07:44 that the Lord be glorified. 07:51 He is consuming my soul; 07:56 refining me, making me whole. 08:04 So, no matter what I may lose, 08:09 I choose the Refiner's fire. 08:21 Choose the Refiner's fire. 08:45 Can you say amen? 08:46 Amen. 08:47 Thank you, John. 08:50 I want to welcome you here and those who are watching 08:55 to The Truth As It Is In Jesus series. 08:59 Last night, we got a glimpse of the truth as it is in Jesus 09:03 concerning His unique nature, His unique person. 09:07 Jesus Christ, of all who ever lived, was unique; 09:10 unique in His origin and in His promise. 09:14 And we looked at that carefully. 09:16 We also, the night before, looked at His birth; 09:19 the birth of Jesus Christ, Christ coming down 09:22 to this earth, the incarnation, Immanuel, God with us, 09:25 so that He might touch us with that unconditional love. 09:31 This evening, I want to take another truth 09:33 from the Word of God. 09:35 We want to discover another truth; 09:36 the truth about His Father. 09:38 And what is our concept of God the Father? 09:43 To some, God the Father is like an eternal Santa Clause. 09:50 You know? 09:51 I mean, we ask things and we hope we've been good enough 09:58 to get them. 10:00 And when He doesn't give us the things we ask for, 10:04 we get upset with the eternal Santa Clause. 10:07 To others, God is kind of an eternal bellhop 10:11 carrying our luggage, lifting our burdens. 10:17 Generally, He's a servant. 10:18 And sometimes, He's our eternal banker. 10:22 And when we need help financially, we come to Him 10:26 and we expect Him to give to us, and right then answer. 10:29 And when He doesn't, we change bankers. 10:36 To others, He's harsh and vengeful. 10:40 I mean, He's unbending. He's the judge. 10:43 I mean, He kindles fires against us and seeks to destroy us. 10:47 Don't laugh or have a good time. 10:52 Don't look like your happy. 10:53 I mean, this stern God. 10:57 And many have learned to fear Him. 11:00 Others have learned to avoid Him. 11:02 Since they have such a concept of God the Father, 11:05 such a concept of this Almighty One, I mean, 11:07 they fear Him in such a way they run away from Him, 11:11 they try to hide. 11:14 And then others have even learned to hate Him, 11:19 because their concept of God had been brought to them 11:24 in a brutal way, a hateful way. 11:29 And so, what's your concept of God the Father? 11:34 Some have the idea that God the Father seeks to destroy us. 11:37 And there's God the Father on this side, 11:39 and there's Jesus on the other side. 11:41 And Jesus says, "No, don't do that, Father." 11:42 And He's trying to plead because God wants this vengeance. 11:45 But that's not the God I found in the Bible. 11:47 That's not the Father that I was introduced to by Jesus Christ. 11:51 I mean, Jesus shatters that hard idea, 11:54 the hard hearts and the hard of heads. 11:57 He destroys that bad theology, the theology of the dark ages, 12:02 and shines a new light on the nature and the 12:04 character of the Father. 12:06 Who would know the Father better than the Son? 12:09 And who would know the Son better than the Father? 12:17 On many occasions as pastor, I use to have to 12:19 visit the hospital. 12:20 And I have to admit, I didn't like hospital visits so much. 12:24 I kind of had so much empathy. 12:26 You know, I felt bad because they were feeling bad. 12:30 But every now and then, I would make my way through the nursery 12:35 as I left the hospital or just before I made the visit. 12:37 I'd go by the nursery. 12:40 And one time I was coming by the nursery window. 12:43 And the curtains were drawn and there was a family gathered 12:46 around the window looking in. 12:49 They were looking in. 12:50 They were excited. 12:52 Their faces were full of joy. 12:55 I mean, the nurse held up this wrinkled little baby. 12:59 By the way, I've never seen really a beautiful baby. 13:05 But to the parents, to the loved ones... 13:09 And he held up this little wrinkled baby 13:11 and they were gooing and pointing and laughing 13:14 and crying. 13:17 And one said, "Look, he looks just like his father." 13:25 Perhaps we need to look again through the 13:27 nursery window of God's Word. 13:30 Perhaps we need to see this gentle, loving, caring Father. 13:35 Perhaps that will not only change our view of the Father, 13:39 but that will change our view of our religion 13:42 and there will be more love and grace. 13:47 You know, it's interesting, when I studied into the Father, 13:52 I thought it was like that nursery window. 13:55 The Son looks and acts like the Father 13:57 and the Father looks and acts like His Son. 13:59 And all the gentle attributes you apply to Jesus 14:01 should be applied to the Father. 14:04 But before we get into it, let's bow our heads 14:06 in a word of prayer. 14:09 Gracious Father, we approach You tonight knowing and recognizing 14:13 Your great love. 14:16 Speak to us, caress us, and may we feel your presence 14:21 and understand Your love. 14:23 And by understanding Your love, may we be a 14:25 reflection of that love, that they might know 14:28 the loving caring Father. 14:33 In Jesus' name, amen. 14:37 It's interesting to me that when Jesus wants to make us know 14:43 who the Father is and make us aware of the Father, 14:49 He uses the occasion of prayer. 14:52 In fact, in Matthew 6 verse 8, He cares about our needs. 14:59 In Matthew 6, in the prayer, verse 9, 15:02 He reveals the holy character of God the Father. 15:08 And then again, in chapter 6 verses 12 through 13, 15:13 He rewards us, the Father rewards us and gives 15:20 His fulfilling love to us. 15:22 Now to amplify this truth, to show us really how the Father 15:27 acts and is, Jesus told a story. 15:30 And that's why I love Jesus. 15:32 When He wants to get to something deep and 15:34 get to something that hardly we can comprehend, 15:38 He tells a simple story. 15:41 And in that simple story, He reveals the truth 15:44 as it is in Jesus about the Father. 15:47 And that story is found in the 15th chapter of 15:49 the gospel of Luke. 15:51 I mean, there's actually four stories here 15:54 in the 15th chapter. 15:55 If you'll just turn with me. 15:58 I'm going to concentrate on verses 20 through 24. 16:00 But I want to read the whole story here. 16:04 There are actually four stories of lostness in the 15th chapter. 16:09 I remember, my son, he was a seminary student; 16:11 we were visiting one day and driving along 16:14 and I was taking him on a visit. 16:15 And we had just been studying chapter 15 together in worship. 16:20 My son said, "There's a lot in that 15th chapter, dad." 16:23 I said, "Yea, I think I could write 15 sermons on that." 16:27 You know how you kind of brag to your son, you know. 16:30 I mean, he's in seminary and I'm going to show him up. 16:33 And he said, "No, dad, I don't think you can do that." 16:36 And so many, many months later, I called him up. 16:38 I said, "I just finished the 15th." 16:41 But we don't have 15 sermons tonight, I'll assure you that. 16:44 But anyway, it's a tremendous text that's 16:47 pregnant with God's truth. 16:49 And He amplifies it in a simple story. 16:52 He says, the lost sheep. 16:55 Now, the lost sheep wonders away. 16:59 He talks about the lost coin which is carelessly dropped. 17:04 And how many have lost their way because they've 17:06 been carelessly dropped, in the church and outside the church? 17:11 And then He speaks about the lost boy we call, the prodigal. 17:18 And then finally He gets to the real truth, 17:21 because He's speaking to the Pharisees. 17:23 He's speaking to the Sadducees. 17:25 And so He wants to show them that the brother who stays at 17:28 home is as lost as the brother who wonders to the pigpen. 17:33 And He speaks about the lost brother who's at home. 17:38 But always in this story, what I love about it, 17:40 always in this story is the face of the shadow of God. 17:45 God is there in every story. 17:47 The Father is there waiting in every story. 17:52 You'll notice that. 17:53 And so if you have your Bibles, turn with me 17:56 to the 15th chapter. 17:59 And I'm starting here at verse 11. 18:06 Who said? Jesus. 19:17 I think this is the most beautiful text in all the Bible. 19:35 Wow. 20:03 It was one of those rare moments 20:04 in the life of a preacher. 20:06 I happened to be home. 20:08 And my little boy was seated on my lap 20:12 on one of those space age recliners. 20:14 You know the kind you push back and lean back. 20:16 And you push a button and it kind of shakes you up. 20:18 And you push another button and it heats you up. 20:24 And I was telling him bedtime stories; 20:26 stories from the Bible. 20:28 And he was just 4 years old or so. 20:30 And he interrupted every sentence 20:32 with a childish question. 20:33 You know how they are. 20:36 "Daddy, why is the sky blue?" 20:38 And you know, I gave him one of those 20:40 intelligent father answers. 20:43 "Because it's blue." 20:45 "Daddy, why is water wet?" 20:47 You know the questions. 20:50 But there was one question that startled me. 20:54 There was one question that arrested my mind. 20:56 There was one question that was profound. 20:58 He looked into my face with those baby blue eyes 21:01 and he said, "Daddy, what is God like?" 21:07 "Daddy, what is God like?" 21:10 "Well Son, He's like... Uh, I mean..." 21:13 I stammered. 21:15 I'd been asked all kinds of questions. 21:17 I mean, questions, steep theological questions. 21:21 I mean, very deep questions. 21:23 And yet this question, "Daddy, what is God like?" 21:30 It's the only important question ever asked me. 21:34 What is God like? 21:36 One cannot think far into the tangled human situation 21:39 we see today in the world and not ask questions about God. 21:42 "God, what are you like?" 21:43 Or closer still, "How does God feel?" 21:47 I mean, how does God feel when He hears in the world 21:49 the thunder of guns as men hunt each other down on land and sea? 21:54 Terrorists blowing up buildings? 21:56 I mean, how does God feel when He sees the lovely planet 21:59 defaced by strife and lust and human woe? 22:02 How does God feel? 22:05 How does God feel not alone on the battlefield? 22:07 How does God feel in the hospital room? 22:09 How does God feel with that family, little family, huddled 22:12 around that casket and the one they love the most 22:15 is soon to be put beneath the earth? 22:18 And some without hope. 22:21 How does God feel? 22:23 How does God feel always and how does God feel everywhere? 22:27 And this is the question that answers all questions. 22:29 Sometimes it's asked anxiously. 22:31 Sometimes it's asked in bewilderment. 22:33 I mean, we don't know. 22:35 And sometimes it's asked in bitterness. 22:38 God. 22:39 Derision. 22:40 What is the nature, what is the character of God? 22:44 The great word on the lips of Jesus was "Father." 22:50 He is like a father. 22:53 He's like a father who knows how to give good gifts 22:56 to his children. 22:59 Now in the Old Testament, there are other words for this Father. 23:01 There are other words for this God. 23:03 I mean, philosophical and theological words. 23:06 He was the Almighty God. 23:07 I mean, He was the Creator God. 23:09 He was the God far distant, the great Judge of the universe. 23:12 Some even dared in that day to touch and suggest 23:15 that the power behind it all was like a father. 23:18 Like a father pitieth, so the Lord pitieth. 23:22 Six times only could I find it in the Old Testament. 23:26 Six times only that expression, that vague halting expression 23:32 that God, the God of the universe, the God who 23:34 created us, the God who loved us, was a God like a father. 23:41 And He took that great word, "father," rich in tenderness, 23:46 He took that great word rich and familiar to everyone, 23:51 and He made it the rallying watchword of His gospel message. 23:54 Jesus taught us the truth, anchored in the truth. 23:57 Jesus taught us, His children, that God is like a father. 24:04 And this concept which we frame our thoughts about God. 24:08 There is no prayer in which it is missed. 24:11 The first record of His speaking is this, 24:13 "No ye not that I must be about My Father's business?" 24:21 To the last word, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit." 24:29 And when Jesus wanted to tell us what God was like, 24:33 when men suffer and hurt themselves, He took the 24:37 word "Father" and He wove it into a beautiful story, 24:41 an incomprehensible story, an unforgettable story. 24:45 This story is a gem of the unsearchable riches of Christ. 24:48 This story is the pearl of great price. 24:51 A certain man had two sons. 24:53 This story is not ancient in an ancient book 24:56 to be put on a shelf to gather dust. 24:58 This happens every day in every city in most every home. 25:03 This is the story of how parents feel when children wonder. 25:06 This is the story of how children feel when they 25:09 come to themselves and they are afraid to go home. 25:12 This is the story of those who are hurting and 25:14 those who need help. 25:16 This is the story of children everywhere around the world. 25:21 It's relevant to us all. 25:28 It's not about a boy who squanders his inheritance, 25:32 this 15th chapter. 25:35 It's about a father who won't let him go, 25:41 who is waiting with tender patience, 25:46 with great love and great devotion. 25:48 A father who understands what God is like 25:51 in this age of a tidal wave of commandment breaking, 25:54 God defying, soul destroying, iniquity sweeps the 25:57 ocean of human affairs. 25:58 How does God feel? 26:00 He feels like a father who has lost someone that he loves. 26:07 But you know, to some even the word "father" is repugnant. 26:14 There may be some of you here, there may be some of you 26:16 watching this program right now that the word "father" 26:19 is repugnant. 26:22 But to understand what God is like we must, of necessity, 26:28 understand His feelings. 26:31 I was working in Brooklyn, New York. 26:34 And I was preaching there in Brooklyn, New York 26:36 and I had the name of a girl. 26:39 And I read the information, this little bit of 26:41 information I had. 26:42 And she was in a very bad neighborhood, 26:44 and she was a preachers daughter. 26:47 And I thought, "Wow, a preachers daughter 26:49 in a place like this. 26:50 How could that be?" 26:53 And I thought to myself, "Oh, I'm a preacher 26:56 and I have a daughter." 26:57 And I knew the place, I knew the neighborhood. 27:01 I grew up in the shadow of it. 27:04 And so I got in my ghetto car and drove into the inner city. 27:08 Why I call it a ghetto car; it wasn't worth stealing. 27:13 And I drove up and parked my car. 27:16 And I got out of my car and left the windows open 27:18 hoping someone would steal it. 27:23 And I ran through the neighborhood. 27:24 And I always ran, when I worked in the inner city, 27:27 I always took my Bible and I would hold it here. 27:29 Because if they shoot me, they got to go through 27:31 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. 27:36 And so I ran up the stairs and down the hall, 27:38 and I came to the door. 27:39 And you could hear the music. 27:41 Boom, boom, boom; the music. 27:47 And so I knocked on the door. 27:50 And I still heard boom, boom. 27:53 She didn't hear me. 27:54 So I got back and I rushed at the door; boom, boom, boom. 27:59 She heard me. 28:02 And she opened, and there were those locks. 28:05 We feel so sorry for the criminal. 28:07 What about the poor people who are locked in their tenements 28:10 afraid to go out at night? 28:13 And the final lock, by the way, is a crowbar in the floor 28:16 and in the door. 28:17 And she got that out and then there was the chain lock. 28:20 And she looked and she said, "Who are you?" 28:21 I said, "Pastor Ron Halvorsen. 28:24 I'm a Seventh-day Adventist minister." 28:25 She said, "I'm not interested." 28:26 I said, "I know, that's why I'm here." 28:32 And she let me in. 28:34 I sat there for a while and she didn't need a sermon. 28:38 She needed someone to listen to her. 28:41 I said, "Tell me your story." And she told me. 28:42 And it was a story of a little girl who was born in a 28:45 preacher's home and had all the benefits of 28:48 being in a preacher's home. 28:49 And grew up in a Christian home and went to a Christian school 28:53 from kindergarten right on through high school. 28:56 And she went off to high school. 28:57 And when she was in high school, she got with the wrong kids. 29:00 And that happens. It can happen to any parent. 29:05 She found out she was pregnant. 29:08 She went home to tell her daddy. 29:11 Her daddy was angry. 29:13 I mean, every father would be upset, but this was angry. 29:18 He said, "You're no longer my daughter." 29:20 And so with that, she left home and she hitch hiked 29:23 across from the west and came to Brooklyn. 29:27 And they were waiting for her when she arrived; those leeches. 29:30 They were waiting for her. 29:32 They set her up to lay her down. 29:35 And that's where I found her. 29:37 And I said, "Well honey, have you ever thought 29:39 about going home?" 29:40 She said, "I can't, my father wouldn't want me home." 29:44 And I could see in her eye that there was a 29:45 little glint of hope. 29:50 And so I had prayer. 29:54 I went home. 29:55 I got in my ghetto car and drove home and I got there. 29:57 And by the way, you can run from evangelists, 30:00 but you can't hide. 30:03 And so I got the General Conference book and I looked up 30:06 the name, the preacher, and found him 30:08 somewhere there in California. 30:11 I got on the phone and I dialed the number and 30:14 a professional preacher answered, "May I help you?" 30:17 You know, I could picture him; 30:18 black suit, black shoes, black socks, black underwear, 30:23 you know, Bible, black Bible case. 30:26 Holy. 30:29 Dressed right, talked right. 30:32 Most of you would have loved him as your pastor. 30:37 But God looks right through it. 30:40 It's not what you have on the outside, 30:42 it's what you have on the inside. 30:45 And so I said, "Hi, I'm Ron Halvorsen." 30:48 He said, "Who's Ron Halvorsen?" 30:49 Now I knew he needed a lesson. 30:53 And so I said, "Well, I'm a pastor evangelist in Brooklyn. 30:57 And I just was visiting with your daughter." 30:58 He said, "I have no daughter." I said, "You're a liar." 31:03 "You have a beautiful daughter. 31:04 And by the way, you have a beautiful granddaughter. 31:08 You seem so hard." 31:09 He said, "You don't understand." 31:10 I said, "No, I do understand. I do understand. 31:16 Do you realize where I found her? 31:20 She needs you." 31:23 And there was a pause. 31:24 And soon he began to cry. 31:26 And I thought, "Wow, even preachers can repent." 31:31 I said, "Do you want her home?" 31:33 He said, "I want her home. 31:36 I want her home." 31:37 So I had prayer with him. 31:39 And then I got in my ghetto car and I drove. 31:42 But before I got to the girl's place, I stopped at 31:44 LaGuardia Airport and I bought a one-way ticket to California. 31:47 And put it in my pocket and drove there, ran up the stairs, 31:50 and down the hall; boom, boom, boom. 31:53 Don't wait until they're ready. 31:55 Don't wait until they have straightened out their life. 31:58 Give them hope. 32:01 And I... boom, boom. 32:03 "Who is it?" "Ron Halvorsen." 32:04 She knew who Ron Halvorsen was now. 32:08 And she opened the door. 32:11 And there, all the bitterness towards the father. 32:18 I said, "Your father wants you home." 32:20 She said, "I can't believe that." 32:21 I said, "Well, here's the ticket." 32:23 I took her to LaGuardia. 32:26 The little baby, I remember it. 32:27 Close my eyes and I see her. 32:31 I held that baby in my arms and when it was time, 32:33 I hugged that baby and hugged that little girl. 32:35 And I sent her to California. 32:38 Years later, I was preaching in Anaheim, California. 32:40 35,000 people at that meeting. 32:43 And I was preaching. 32:44 And after I got done preaching, I stood at the front and this 32:47 beautiful woman came down with a beautiful little girl 32:50 and a handsome young man. 32:51 And she said, "Remember me? 32:53 You know what I told you?" 32:54 "I don't remember. I'm sorry." 32:56 I look in the mirror twice every morning to see who I am. 33:00 I said, "Well, I can't." 33:01 She said, "Brooklyn. Boom, boom." 33:04 And I found this girl again. 33:07 She had gone back to her father. Her father repented. 33:10 They were in each other's arms. 33:12 And after that, he sent her to school. 33:14 She became a teacher and is teaching. 33:17 And now she's going with, was going then with a young man, 33:21 Christian young man for the kingdom. 33:23 But even the word "father" can be repugnant. 33:25 "Daddy, what is God like?" 33:27 He's like a father that loves. 33:31 And I discovered three things about this Father 33:33 here in the Word of God. 33:35 How does God feel? 33:36 Well, He feels like a father. 33:38 How does a father feel? 33:39 He sorrows like a father over our estrangement, 33:42 our separation. 33:44 You don't go far in the Bible without finding it. 33:46 I mean, you find it right away. 33:47 Face to face with the loneliness of God. 33:49 It's the kind of loneliness which all parents feel 33:52 to some degree, to some measure, 33:54 when their children go away and set their affections 33:57 on something outside the home. 33:59 I mean, it's like the poem, "I had a nest full once. 34:01 Happy, happy I. 34:02 Right dearly I loved them. 34:04 But when they were grown, they spread their wings to fly." 34:07 We all know that as parents. 34:09 But added to this willful estrangement, 34:12 there's no sorrow like unto it. 34:15 When they walk away, grow course and cheap, 34:17 and fling away their birthright like a fool. 34:20 When you crave love and you get nothing but indifference. 34:22 When you look for affection and you get nothing 34:24 from them but ingratitude. 34:26 I mean, that hurts. 34:27 How does God feel? 34:28 Don't you ever think of the feelings of God? 34:32 He feels like a father that sorrows 34:39 over our estrangement. 34:42 A preacher had a son and he wanted his son to be a preacher. 34:44 I guess every preacher does. 34:45 I'm fortunate, I have two kids; they're both preachers. 34:50 But he had a son and that son grew up. 34:52 And the son, you know, use to go up behind the pulpit and 34:54 preach when his daddy was doing something around the church. 34:58 And the boy sang in the choir. 35:00 But as he got older, he got with the wrong company. 35:02 And this can happen. 35:08 And soon the boy was drinking and carousing. 35:12 The father's heart was broken. 35:16 Every time the father came home late at night, 35:17 he would go to his boy's room and look in to see if his 35:20 boy was home safe. 35:21 And you could smell the fumes of alcohol and the vomit. 35:25 They don't show you that on Budweiser commercials. 35:30 They don't show you broken homes and broken hearts. 35:35 "Grab all the gusto. You only go around once." 35:37 That's right. I'm going around twice. 35:40 You'll get that by next Thursday, some of you. 35:46 And one night he came home and the door was open a little. 35:48 He looked in and his boy was laying there in bed, out. 35:51 And there his wife was kneeling beside the bed and 35:54 she was stroking his hair and she was crying. 35:57 And she heard her husband at the door and she turned. 36:00 And she said, "He won't let me love him when he's awake." 36:07 And this is the dominant theme in Scripture. 36:12 From the very first book, "Adam, where are you?" 36:17 To the last book where God says, "Behold, I knock at the door." 36:25 Willful estrangement. 36:27 "What is God like, daddy?" 36:29 He's like a father who sorrows deeply over our separation. 36:34 He hurts because we seek life's satisfaction outside of 36:38 His grace and outside of His love. 36:40 But secondly, "Daddy, what is God like?" 36:42 He's like a father who sorrows over our impoverishment. 36:46 In the story, the prodigal leaves with the inheritance. 36:48 He comes back broke. 36:52 He is shabby and disillusioned and broke. 36:55 This is the real story of a life without God. 37:02 Look at this story. 37:05 Jesus is trying to tell us in simple terms 37:08 what the Father is really like. 37:12 The prodigal leaves young and vibrant; 37:15 comes home old and worn out and captive. 37:21 The Bible pictures endlessly the disappointment in God's heart 37:25 that so little should come from His expectations 37:27 and from His investments. 37:29 One is poor outside the Father's house. 37:31 Don't you understand that? 37:32 One is poor outside the Father's love. 37:35 On dark dingy streets of New York, I found them; 37:38 tired, hungry, sick prodigals. 37:40 Wherever I go preaching the Word of God in the great cities, 37:43 I find them; tire and hungry and sick prodigals. 37:46 I saw them in the dingy tenements. 37:48 I held them in my arms helping them through their 37:51 drug addiction, impoverished by sin. 37:53 Sin always robs you. 37:59 And the Father always sorrows over you. 38:03 But I can't look at the Word of God and not only see 38:08 the third thing in this story. 38:12 He's like a father who sorrows over our defilement. 38:16 When he was a great off, the father saw him and ran. 38:20 I had an uncle once. 38:23 He was my favorite uncle, I have to admit it. 38:25 Uncle Henry. 38:27 And Uncle Henry was a periodic alcoholic. 38:30 In other words, he would be sober for long periods of time. 38:35 Sometimes years. 38:37 And then one drop, one bottle, 38:42 and he would drink himself into the gutter. 38:46 One day I was riding on the subway with friends of mine 38:49 and we were doing things that, you know, 38:51 young teenagers did there. 38:53 I won't tell you all of them. But anyway, we were in trouble. 38:56 And we looked over and there was a drunk lying sick in his vomit. 39:01 And we made fun, threw little things at the drunk. 39:04 And then the drunk turned over and I looked. 39:05 And oh, it was my Uncle Henry. 39:08 Now right away, I didn't want my friends to know that. 39:11 I didn't want anybody to know. I wanted to get away from that. 39:13 I said, "Let's go away from this 39:15 and let's go in the other compartment." 39:16 But my father was different. 39:19 My dad was a hard working man. 39:21 I never knew a harder working man in all my life. 39:25 We never had much money, but my father worked hard. 39:30 And he would come home sometimes late at night in the winter. 39:32 We lived in a cold water flat. 39:35 We had hot water in the summer and cold water in the winter. 39:41 And daddy would come home and he'd be sitting at the 39:44 kitchen table, and someone would knock at the door 39:46 and say, "We saw your brother in an alleyway," 39:48 "We saw your brother down in the gutter." 39:52 My dad, no matter how cold it was, no matter how tired he was, 39:55 long hard day, he'd put on his pea coat and I'd see him 39:59 go out into the night. 40:02 And then I'd see him come home with his brother 40:03 thrown over his shoulder. 40:04 I'll never forget that. 40:08 You see, we loved Henry because when Henry was sober, 40:10 he'd take us down to Coney Island and put us on the rides 40:13 and, you know, buy a knish and a Nathan's hotdog. 40:16 All those things that are not good for you. 40:18 That, you know, we enjoy. 40:19 But anyway. 40:21 And so we loved him putting us on the roller coaster 40:24 and on the Ferris wheel. 40:26 But drunk? 40:29 But not my father. 40:32 That was his brother. 40:34 And he'd put him on his bed and heat up the water in the tub. 40:39 You know, you had to heat it. 40:40 You know, you get it heating. You know how it was. 40:42 You'd get it warm and then by the time you got it ready, 40:44 it was getting cold. 40:47 My dad would clean him up and put him in pajamas and 40:52 put him to bed. 40:57 You see, I loved him for what I could get out of him. 41:01 My father loved him because he was his brother. 41:06 I learned something from my father. 41:09 I learned that when he was a great way off, 41:11 the father saw him and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 41:14 Was it an accident that he was looking down the road? 41:19 Was it an accident the old man was on the porch 41:22 looking down the road? 41:23 Was it an accident that he sees the boy at a distance and he 41:26 recognizes his son, shabby and dirty and filthy? 41:29 We would not have recognized him. 41:31 But a father always recognizes him. 41:38 And the thing I learned the most about it, 41:42 the greatest joy I saw in it, 41:48 was that while he was a great way off, the father saw him. 41:51 He knew who he was. 41:54 Knew who he was. 41:55 Some time ago, I was visiting in a tenement. 41:58 Wasn't much furniture there. 42:01 But there was a picture on the wall and it was thumb tacked 42:05 to the wall. 42:07 And I was trying to make the visit but I kept 42:09 looking at that picture. 42:10 It was very graphic. 42:11 It was a picture of a boy playing chess with Satan. 42:17 And what made the picture meaningful 42:20 was not that the boy was in deep trouble. 42:23 I mean, anyone who knows anything about chess 42:25 knew it was the boys last move; checkmate. 42:30 Sweat was standing on his forehead and there was 42:33 Satan with that cynical look. 42:34 You know, there's the boy struggling, "Whoa, what am I... 42:37 You know, "How am I going to..." 42:40 But what made the picture meaningful was, 42:43 there in the background was a shadow of the face of God. 42:48 And what made the picture so meaningful 42:53 was there was the hand of God on his shoulder. 42:59 And what it said to me is, "Preacher," 43:04 it said, "We're not alone in this game of life." 43:07 There is someone who seeks us and pursues us and 43:11 follows after us and suffers with us and 43:14 living in our living, and striving in our striving, 43:18 and identified us with our defilement. 43:21 "Daddy, what is God like?" 43:23 And here's the truth. Listen to me. 43:27 You who seek life outside of His life, 43:32 love outside of His love... 43:35 When he was a great off, his father saw him 43:41 and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 43:47 Call that emotionalism. 43:49 I call it love. 43:52 And love is what makes the world go round. 43:57 And here's the heart of the gospel. 44:00 Here is what you and I need to know more than anything else. 44:04 He who could crush us... 44:09 ...stoops to redeem us. 44:21 God loves us in our defilement. 44:27 While he was a great way off, the father saw him 44:30 and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 44:34 Jim Cymbala, a wonderful pastor in Brooklyn, 44:39 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Tabernacle. 44:43 Now the reason I identify with that is, 44:46 I was converted near there. 44:48 I was baptized in a little church just in the shadow 44:50 of Atlantic Avenue, Washington and Gates, 44:54 when I was a young man. 44:56 And that always is remembered in my heart. 44:59 But anyway, Jim Cymbala went down to this very bad 45:02 neighborhood in Brooklyn and wanted to start a 45:05 great church for God, for Jesus. 45:07 And he had a few women and they were prayers, 45:10 and he was a prayer. 45:11 And so they got together and prayed and he ministered. 45:14 That church started to grow and they prayed. 45:17 And they used their energy in praying and 45:19 asking God for sinners. 45:21 And they went out and visited the people of the streets. 45:23 And soon they started to come. 45:28 The prodigals of Brooklyn. 45:31 The prostitutes and the pimps. 45:33 And they started to come to church. 45:38 And they started to get converted. 45:41 Because you can't sit in the presence of this Father 45:45 and not be touched by His love. 45:49 The only way you can stay is run away from Him. 45:52 You're afraid to look at Him. 45:54 And there are some of you here on the television right now, 45:56 you're afraid to look at Him. 45:57 So you've been running. 46:00 But you can't run fast enough or far enough. 46:04 And anyway, Jim Cymbala built that church. 46:06 It became a great church. 46:08 And all over, they have churches now. 46:09 All over Brooklyn and Manhattan. 46:12 But one Easter Sunday, he was preaching in his church. 46:14 He had to preach four times for the crowd. 46:19 Isn't that marvelous? 46:21 By their fruits... 46:22 And he was preaching. 46:24 He got tired after that fourth sermon, that 46:26 evening sermon, he was tired. 46:27 But during the evening service, he had one of the prostitutes 46:30 who had been converted, became a Christian, 46:32 get up and give her testimony. 46:35 She shared how Jesus Christ had come into her heart, 46:40 how Jesus had come into her life. 46:43 And now she was changed. 46:45 And everyone could see it. 46:47 And they, you know, they were excited. 46:50 And they get excited about things. 46:53 I always tell people it's very hard to grow up in a 46:55 left brain church and be a right brain Christian. 47:01 Because I'm sorry, however you feel about it, 47:03 I like to praise the Lord. 47:06 And that doesn't make me less holy than you, by the way. 47:13 And so the crowd was euphoric. 47:17 This woman gave that testimony. 47:21 And after the service, he was tired. 47:23 By the way, he's bone tired. 47:24 When I taught homiletics, or preaching, to the young people, 47:27 I use to tell them, "Young man, young woman, 47:29 when you get done preaching, if you're not tired, 47:31 preach it over again." 47:35 And so he's tired, he's wiping his brow. 47:36 He sat down on the platform and dangled his feet down. 47:40 And the people were visiting like we do in our church. 47:42 And they were excited about the service and about the testimony. 47:47 And he was feeling tired, wanting to go home, 47:50 hoping they'd go out and he could get back to home. 47:53 Just then, down the aisle came a homeless man. 47:58 A homeless man. 48:01 And Jim works with homeless people. 48:04 But he said, "The smell..." 48:07 He said, "Oh, I've never smelled anything like it." 48:12 And the man stopped about the third pew. 48:15 And Jim just thought, "Oh no." 48:18 He couldn't hide it in his expression. 48:21 "Oh no." 48:23 And so he started to reach for his wallet. 48:24 He figured he'd give him a few bucks and send him on his way. 48:33 And Jim said, "How long you been on the street?" 48:35 He said, "Six years." 48:37 "Where did you sleep last night?" 48:38 "I slept in an old car on Atlantic Avenue." 48:45 So he took out his wallet. 48:47 And the man said, "I don't want your money. 48:52 I want what that little girl has. 48:56 I want what that prostitute girl has." 49:02 And then Jim heard the voice of Christ. 49:06 And He said, "Jim, it was for that smell that I died." 49:17 The radiance came to his face and the man saw it, 49:22 and ran and fell on him and put his head on his shoulders. 49:26 And they wept together. 49:27 And there, Jim led him to Christ. 49:30 And everybody, oblivious, going home. 49:32 But there they were with God the Father 49:34 looking down upon that scene. 49:36 Can you imagine how He must have felt? 49:38 He loves us in our defilement. 49:43 That man, God cleaned him up. God got him a job at the church. 49:48 He became a custodian at the church. 49:49 And he goes everywhere in New York giving his testimony 49:52 to the glory of God. 49:55 God works that way. 49:57 I was holding a crusade in San Bernardino, California. 50:00 It's a rough place, a rough neighborhood. 50:03 But I had prayer warriors, I had 700 prayer warriors 50:05 walking the streets in prayer. 50:08 And one woman, she said, "I'm going to take the street 50:10 around the Orange Show. 50:11 Now that's a long, long, long, long street, by the way. 50:16 And it's a very bad neighborhood. 50:18 They told me there in the churches, 50:19 "Oh, no one will come out. It's a bad neighborhood." 50:22 Opening night, 3500 people showed up. 50:24 The last night, we had almost 3000. 50:29 You see, God can only do what you can visualize. 50:33 And she's walking along praying, as we do when prayer walking. 50:37 And she's thinking about the Lord and thinking about 50:40 prayer and about the meetings. 50:41 And she sees a homeless man digging in a garbage can. 50:45 So she goes over and introduces herself, 50:47 "Hi, I'm a prayer warrior." 50:49 Isn't that nice? 50:51 He looked up, "What's that?" 50:55 "Oh, we're praying for everybody in this neighborhood. 50:58 We're praying for you." 51:01 "That's nice." 51:02 He said, "That's nice." 51:04 And she said, "Oh, Ron Halvorsen is going to start a meeting 51:06 on Friday night here in the Orange Show. 51:09 Would you go as my guest?" 51:13 "Yeah." 51:16 Well, where do you go to meet him? 51:17 He doesn't have an address. 51:19 She said, "Oh that's no problem. 51:21 I'll meet you here at this garbage can." 51:25 And so that Friday night, she picked him up. 51:28 They walked in together. 51:30 This sophisticated professional woman and her homeless friend. 51:36 Sat down. 51:39 On the way back to the garbage can, she said, 51:41 "We hope you liked it. 51:42 Would you like for me to pick you up tomorrow night?" 51:43 He said, "yes." 51:44 And he came every night. 51:48 During that series of meetings, he stood up and he came forward. 51:53 And that woman came and walked with him. 52:00 He loves them. 52:03 "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 52:09 It's amazing to me. 52:10 The church can hardly love the church, 52:13 no less the sinner, 52:16 no less the sinner. 52:18 You see, love overcomes lust. 52:20 It's the only thing. 52:21 Love overcomes our failure. It's the only thing. 52:25 Love overcomes our cheapness. 52:28 Love overcomes our thoughtlessness. 52:30 Love overcomes our thoughtlessness and our hatred. 52:34 Love overcomes our sin. 52:39 "Daddy, what is God like?" 52:42 Jesus said, He's like a father 52:47 who watches, who waits, who looks. 52:52 Waiting that He might run to them and hug them 52:57 and put His head upon their shoulder and kiss their cheek. 53:04 What is your concept of God? 53:07 What kind of God have you projected to your children? 53:11 The stern God? 53:16 A hard hearted God? 53:21 The God that Jesus showed us. 53:24 The Father who loves while we were yet sinners. 53:30 Christ died for us. 53:38 Christina, a Brazilian girl in a Brazilian neighborhood 53:43 in the inner city in the worst area, wanted to see the world. 53:51 Discontented with home. 53:52 Having only one pallet on the floor, a wash basin, 53:56 a wood burning stove. 53:58 She dreamed of a better life in the city. 54:01 One morning, Christina slipped away from her home, 54:07 breaking her mother's heart. 54:11 Now the mother, knowing what life is like in the big city, 54:14 Rio de Janeiro, she knew and understood what 54:16 that was like in Brazil. 54:22 She wondered just what would happen to her young 54:26 beautiful little girl. 54:30 And so, Maria the mother, hurriedly packed her suitcase 54:34 to go find her. 54:36 On her way to the bus stop, she stopped and she entered 54:40 the drug store to get one last thing; pictures. 54:45 She sat in the photograph booth, closed the curtains, 54:50 spent all she could on pictures of herself. 54:55 And with her purse full of pictures, 54:58 black and white photos, 55:01 she boarded the next bus for Rio de Janeiro. 55:06 Maria knew Christina had no way of earning money. 55:09 She also knew that her daughter was too stubborn to give up. 55:12 And when pride meets hunger, things can happen. 55:23 A human will do almost anything. 55:28 Even the unthinkable. 55:29 Knowing this, Maria began her search in the bars, 55:35 the hotels, the night clubs. 55:41 Everywhere they could meet. 55:42 And she would tape a picture on the bathroom mirrors, 55:49 or tacked on a hotel bulletin board, 55:51 fastened on a corner phone; her picture. 55:55 It wasn't long before her money ran out 55:56 and her pictures ran out. 55:58 And so she knew she had to go home. 56:01 The weary mother wept as she boarded the bus 56:03 and began her journey back to her small village. 56:07 It was a few weeks later that young Christina 56:09 descended the hotel stairs. 56:11 Her young face was now tired. 56:15 Her beautiful brown eyes no longer danced with youth, 56:19 but spoke with pain and fear. 56:21 Her laughter was broken, her dreams. 56:23 Everything she dreamed about, it was gone. 56:25 It was a nightmare. 56:26 A thousand time over, she wished she could go home. 56:30 And there she looked in the mirror and 56:32 she found the picture of her mother. 56:35 She pulled it off the mirror and turned it over, 56:39 "Whatever you've done, please come home. 56:46 Come home." 56:50 And she did. 56:54 And she did. 56:57 "Daddy, what is God like?" 57:00 "Well son, He's like a father that hurts. 57:07 He's like a father that sorrows. 57:11 He's like a father that wants his children home. 57:19 Just like I, as a father, want you home." 57:27 God so loved the world. 57:30 "Daddy, what is God like?" 57:32 He's like a father. |
Revised 2014-12-17