Participants: Ron Halvorsen
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000134
|
00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
00:15 live from the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:24 Good morning, and once again thank you for 00:26 joining us here at the 3ABN... 00:28 We call it the Worship Center. 00:30 And that's what we love to do, is we love to give praise 00:33 and honor and glory... 00:34 Don't we folks? All of you here today. 00:36 ...to the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:38 Without Him, we can do nothing. 00:39 Through Him, we can accomplish all things. 00:42 Thank you for joining us for Anchors Of Truth. 00:45 It's a great opportunity to get truth out 00:48 to a lost and dying world. 00:50 And I'm thankful to Jim Gilley. 00:51 Some time ago, a few years ago, he said, 00:53 "We need an evangelistic series." 00:55 We have people coming in, 00:57 we do live programs at our own Worship Center, 01:00 and we really center in on anchors, pillars, of the truth. 01:04 So thus the program, Anchors Of Truth. 01:07 I know you've been blessed so far, those of you here 01:10 and hopefully those of you at home. 01:11 But if you haven't seen the programs, you're just 01:14 tuning in today, we have Brother Ron Halvorsen. 01:17 Ron has been a longtime pastor and evangelist. 01:22 Only heaven will tell how many people... 01:25 And maybe that's why we need eternity, I tell folks. 01:27 Because when we get to heaven, it's going to take 01:29 seems like forever, right, to meet all the people that 01:32 we've never had the privilege of meeting. 01:34 But for those that will come up to Brother Ron and say, 01:36 "Thank you for your ministry. 01:38 Thank you for what you have done for the cause of God." 01:42 Because being up front and traveling and being 01:44 an evangelist and pastor, through all of these 01:47 things, it's not easy. 01:48 Sometimes folks think it is, "Oh boy, I'd like to do that. 01:51 I'd love all this travel." 01:53 But once you get delayed in the airports, 01:55 and sometimes you wonder if your plan is really going to 01:57 make it down, you'll find all that's not as easy 02:00 and not as much fun as you think it is. 02:03 But it takes a lot of sacrifice, a lot of determination, 02:07 and being close to the Holy Spirit to continue 02:11 day after day, year after year, as Brother Ron has done. 02:15 And I thank him for that. 02:17 Because, again, in heaven it will take an eternity 02:20 for people to come up and say, "Thank you, Ron, 02:23 that you cared enough, that you love Jesus enough, 02:26 and you loved me enough to sacrifice and be out 02:28 on the front lines. 02:30 And I'm here because of you." 02:33 And you know, that's my open prayer for each of us today. 02:36 As you're watching this program, I want you to think about 02:38 your own life and your own relationship 02:41 with the Lord Jesus Christ. 02:42 God has called each of us to be evangelists. 02:45 Maybe not like Brother Ron and to the scope he's doing, 02:48 but we evangelize our families, our neighbors, our friends, 02:51 those about us, those that we come in contact with. 02:54 Because once again, the Lord has said, "Go ye into all the world. 02:59 Preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, 03:01 tongue, and people." 03:02 So God has called each of you. 03:04 So as you're listening today to Brother Ron, 03:07 we want you first of all to pray for him. 03:09 I want to say a prayer right now, I'd like you to join me. 03:12 And then a prayer for yourself, "Lord, what am I doing? 03:15 What have You called me to do in closing 03:18 moments of earth's history?" 03:19 Maybe right now you're in a valley of decision. 03:22 Not sure what you can do. 03:24 Sometimes people tell us they feel like they don't even 03:27 have any self-worth. 03:28 "I don't feel like I can do anything." 03:30 But I want to tell you something. 03:31 When Jesus was on the cross, you were on His mind. 03:33 Right? 03:34 We always say He could look down the stream of time 03:36 and see a people that would be willing to give their lives 03:39 unto death if necessary for the cause of God. 03:43 And today, folks, that's you. 03:44 Each and every one of you here can be a witness 03:47 to those around you. 03:48 Because how many believe Jesus is coming soon? 03:50 Can I hear an amen? 03:51 Alright, I love it. 03:53 For those of you at home, I hope you're amening with us. 03:55 And I hope you have your Bibles together, 03:57 because in just a few moments we're going to be blessed 04:01 by Brother Ron Halvorsen. 04:03 We're going to have some music right before that 04:05 by our own Pastor C.A. Murray. 04:07 And we're thankful for C.A. for his dedication 04:10 to Jesus, and his love. 04:11 And not only is he a wonderful and incredible speaker 04:15 and a preacher, but he's also been gifted with music. 04:19 And we're glad that he will share that for us this morning. 04:22 But right now I'd like to say a prayer. 04:24 Heavenly Father, thank You for Your many wonderful blessings. 04:27 Thank You for this, another beautiful Sabbath day 04:30 that we can worship You. 04:31 And Lord, as we come into this worship center this morning, 04:34 we do feel unworthy. 04:37 We feel like as we look at our own lives, 04:39 we could be discouraged. 04:41 But Father, thank You that You died for us, 04:43 You made a plan of salvation for us. 04:46 And that now because of You, we have a chance for eternal life. 04:51 That You have given us this gift. 04:52 All we have to do is accept You as Lord and Savior of our lives, 04:56 and then go and tell others what You've done for us. 04:59 So Lord, I pray this morning a special anointing 05:01 of the Holy Spirit upon C.A. as he comes out to sing, 05:06 upon Brother Ron as he ministers to us. 05:09 That each of us will review our lives 05:13 and renew them to You, give them to You today and say, 05:17 "Lord, do with me what You would have me to do." 05:20 I know, God, You have great plans for us, 05:22 because before You come back in the clouds of glory, 05:24 You've commissioned us to tell the world. 05:27 And we want to be a part of that. 05:28 Thank You for allowing us to be a part of this great message 05:32 and proclaiming it, the three angels' messages, 05:35 to a lost and dying world. 05:37 These things we ask and pray in Jesus' name, amen. 06:01 When I think how Jesus loved me, 06:07 how He waited patiently, 06:11 even when I turned my back and walked away. 06:18 When He knew I wanted everything 06:22 this world could offer me, 06:27 well I guess He knew the price I'd have to pay. 06:32 So He watched me stumble downward, 06:37 saw each compromise I made, 06:41 heard each lie I whispered just to get my way. 06:47 Still He waited there to hear me 06:52 when I cried to Him and prayed. 06:57 Then He saved my soul, and that is why I say: 07:03 Tell me, is it any wonder 07:10 that I love Him 07:14 when you consider all He's done for me? 07:22 And is it any wonder that I long to do His will, 07:30 and let His light shine out for all to see? 07:37 And is it any wonder 07:42 that I praise him 07:46 each time I think of how He's made me free? 07:54 And is it any wonder that I've given Him my heart, 08:02 when Jesus freely gave His life for me? 08:21 When I think how Jesus loves me, 08:27 how He watches over me, 08:31 how His arms are stretched to meet me when I run. 08:38 When I'm feeling down and lonely, 08:42 how He's there to comfort me. 08:46 In the darkness He becomes my morning sun. 08:52 When I think of how He's healed me, 08:57 how He's touched me in my pain, 09:00 how His gentle hands have wiped my tears away. 09:07 Now He's taken every heartache 09:11 and brought happiness again. 09:15 Oh I want the world to hear me when I say: 09:22 Tell me, is it any wonder 09:28 that I love Him 09:32 when you consider all He's done for me? 09:39 And is it any wonder that I long to do His will, 09:48 and let His light shine out for all to see? 09:54 And is it any wonder 10:00 that I praise him 10:04 each time I think of how He's made me free? 10:11 And is it any wonder that I've given Him my heart, 10:19 when Jesus freely gave His life for me? 10:46 Amen. 10:48 Good morning. 10:51 It's a great day in southern Illinois, isn't it. 10:54 We're just happy to be here. 10:56 We spent some wonderful times here at 3ABN. 11:01 And there's such a wonderful spirit. 11:03 My wife and I have just been blessed. 11:05 Everybody has been so nice to us. 11:07 And it's like I've died and gone to heaven. 11:10 But we're happy to be here and to present the message 11:13 that I've been trying to present all week; 11:15 the radical teachings of Jesus. 11:17 We will recall that the first night we talked about the 11:20 radical Jesus in the Beatitudes. 11:23 And how we saw that in the Beatitudes there was the 11:25 mountain of the Beatitudes and there was Mount Calvary. 11:29 And those two mountains were brought together. 11:31 One was the spoken word, and then there was the 11:34 act of the deeds of those spoken words. 11:37 He lived out what He spoke. 11:40 And that's the hardest thing for Christians, isn't it? 11:42 To live out what you believe. 11:46 And then the next night we looked at the good Samaritan; 11:48 "Who is your neighbor?" 11:49 And we discovered some wonderful things about 11:52 this Samaritan and how he goes to the aid of that man. 11:58 It's a wonderful story, but it was a radical story. 12:01 Really. Who is your neighbor? 12:03 That we don't choose our neighbor. 12:04 But everyone who is in need becomes our neighbor. 12:08 And then last night if you were here or watching on television, 12:12 we talked about the good Shepherd. 12:14 And that good Shepherd... 12:15 And the radical statement was, "You don't take My life. 12:21 Roman soldiers couldn't take My life." 12:24 The religious people of that day couldn't take His life. 12:27 He laid it down voluntarily. 12:30 He says, "You cannot take it. 12:31 And I can take it back again." 12:33 Radical statement of Jesus. 12:35 Now I want to take you to the parable of the prodigal son. 12:39 Because there's a radical statement there 12:41 that I hope you'll follow with me as we look at it. 12:46 One of the great authors and storytellers is Mark Twain. 12:51 And someone asked Mark Twain once, "Who is the greatest 12:53 storyteller ever in history?" 12:56 And without a beat, Mark Twain said, "Jesus Christ." 13:01 And He was a wonderful storyteller, wasn't He. 13:04 I mean, the great truths that come from His lips are stories. 13:09 Simple stories so that everyone can grasp it. 13:11 You don't have to be a theologian to understand it. 13:14 You don't have to be a philosopher to understand it. 13:17 You don't have to have a high IQ to understand it. 13:20 You can just be a simple ordinary person 13:24 and you can understand it. 13:25 Because it's a simple story about a divine truth. 13:29 And we go to the prodigal son. 13:32 And the Bible tells us here in the 15th chapter 13:36 of the prodigal son, verse 1 to 3, it says... 13:43 Now right away you're attracted to this, 13:45 because the Bible says it's the publicans, the outcasts, 13:49 the sinners that love to hear Jesus. 13:53 And the religious people, they weren't so happy about it. 13:56 Notice the verses as we continue. 14:10 This is the most familiar story that we find in the Bible. 14:16 It's the most read about story of all parables. 14:19 I mean, this is one parable that has four scenes 14:22 or four stories about lostness. 14:25 First of all, the lost sheep. 14:28 He wonders away. 14:30 He unconscious of the fact that he's going further and further 14:32 away from the shepherd, from safety. 14:35 And he finds himself in trouble in the wilderness. 14:38 And the shepherd goes out to retrieve him. 14:42 The second is the lost coin. 14:44 And the lost coin of the dowry is lost carelessly. 14:47 And so some get lost carelessly. 14:50 Some wonder, but some carelessly lose faith. 14:54 And then there's the story of the lost boy; 14:56 the prodigal son, we call the prodigal son. 14:58 He deliberately gets lost. 15:02 He wakes up and he says, "I want to leave home. 15:04 I want to get away from my father. 15:06 I want to get away from these so-called rules. 15:08 I want to be on my own. I want freedom." 15:10 And so he started out with the inheritance. 15:14 And that's the story of deliberately becoming lost. 15:19 And then there's the lost brother. 15:22 I mean, he didn't even know he was lost. 15:26 And he's in the fathers house. 15:28 He's in church every Sabbath. 15:31 I mean, he sings the same songs. 15:33 I mean, he knows when to pray. 15:35 He goes, "Happy Sabbath, Brother." 15:37 He goes through the ritual, it's become a part of him. 15:41 But he's lost at home. 15:43 I mean, amazing how Jesus could tell those stories. 15:47 And those stories have such an impact upon all of us today. 15:50 And the lost brother or the story of the prodigal son 15:55 comes about because of an argument. 15:58 It comes about because of a religious confrontation; 16:01 the Pharisees and the scribes. 16:03 They say, "Jesus, You're not holy enough. 16:06 Jesus, You're not good enough. 16:07 Why, You go and You eat with these sinners. 16:10 You celebrate with these sinners." 16:12 And even in the story, the prodigal 16:15 comes home to a party. 16:16 I mean, the Messiah at a party? 16:20 Come on now. 16:21 And it's because of that that Jesus teaches the radical story 16:26 of the prodigal son. 16:28 He strikes at hypocrisy. 16:30 This story strikes at self-righteousness. 16:34 This story strikes at religious bigotry. 16:37 It happens then and it happens now. 16:40 It happens then and it happens now. 16:43 And so the radical teaching of Jesus concerning lostness; 16:46 horns and halos in human nature. 16:51 Human nature struggles with horns and with halos. 16:59 I mean, the boy squanders his inheritance. 17:02 The boy ends up in a pigpen. 17:06 The Jewish boy in a pigpen. Come on. 17:09 How disgusting could that be. 17:11 And that's about as low as you could go. 17:13 But this isn't an ancient story. 17:16 I've worked the great cities of America. 17:18 I've worked the inner cities for some 50 years. 17:25 And I've met them in the pigpen. 17:28 Boys and girls who have left home. 17:30 And well, it's a modern story. 17:32 It's about every home that feels somewhere the prodigal 17:37 and experiences somewhat the sorrow 17:41 of the father who waits at home. 17:43 In fact, I answer the prayer requests for It Is Written. 17:47 And the majority of the prayer requests are parents 17:50 asking me to pray for their children; 17:53 prodigals in our world. 17:54 And I always give them the encouragement to know 17:57 that God made a round world. 17:58 And why He made a round world was because the 18:01 further you go away from home, the closer you come back 18:04 to home again. 18:07 And that's the story of the prodigal. 18:12 But I just want to take six words, 18:15 six words that reveal the truth, a deep truth about sin, 18:19 about salvation, about lost and found. 18:23 The Bible says in those six words... 18:29 Just six words. 18:32 Now I know it's not good exegesis to take six words 18:35 out of context, because it might become a pretext. 18:38 But I want to take these six words because I believe it 18:40 describes human nature as no other 18:43 six words in all the Bible. 18:45 I believe sometimes you have to dissect. 18:47 In order to dissect the rose, you must pluck the petals. 18:51 When I was a little boy, I use to do that all the time. 18:54 I use to play with my toys, and when they broke, 18:57 mechanical things, I would take them apart. 19:01 Sometimes they weren't even broke, 19:02 I took them apart. 19:04 And then I would try to put them together. 19:06 And always when I finished, there were some parts left over. 19:10 Now I didn't understand how that could happen, 19:13 how these parts could be left over, but I figured, 19:16 well something's wrong with the manufacturer. 19:20 But I put these things, and they never seemed to 19:22 work right again. 19:24 I mean, I had that tendency. 19:26 But I hope to put it together this morning 19:28 about this prodigal son, and about human nature 19:31 and the reason why we act the way we act 19:33 and don't act like we should act, I mean. 19:36 The Bible says, "When he came to himself." 19:39 Now don't pass it over lightly. 19:40 I mean, volumes have been written about it. 19:43 I mean, thousands of sermons have been preached about it. 19:46 This is Christ's judgment on human nature. 19:49 This is Christ's revelation of why you act the way you act. 19:52 This is God's revelation that all have sinned and come short 19:55 of the glory of God. 19:57 No matter how beautiful you look, no matter how you sound, 20:00 there's within you horns, as well as halos. 20:06 And you see, Christ's judgment on human nature; 20:10 this is the explanation of why we act the way we act. 20:12 This little bit of how the whole cries out 20:16 and cuts through our self-deceit. 20:19 One poignant truth leaps out at us. 20:22 The prodigal was not himself. 20:25 Because the Bible says he came to himself. 20:27 He wasn't himself in a pigpen. 20:29 He wasn't himself down in the bright lights 20:32 of that city away from his father. 20:34 He wasn't himself when he turned away from his prayers. 20:37 He wasn't himself when he turned away from the 20:39 reading of the Scripture. 20:40 He wasn't himself when he went the broad road 20:43 down towards hell. 20:44 He wasn't himself. 20:49 What he was doing and what he was saying 20:53 and how he was living; not his real self. 20:57 Not in the pigpen. 20:58 He was expressing only one part of his nature. 21:04 One part of himself. 21:06 And that's the worst part. 21:09 It was not until he made up his mind to go home 21:11 and be a son that he really came to himself. 21:14 And self for which he was born. 21:16 You were born to be in the Father's house. 21:18 You who are watching this program, 21:20 you were born to be in the presence of God. 21:22 You've been born to be a child of God. 21:25 You belong home. 21:31 You need to make up your mind, 21:34 perhaps, to come back to the Father's home. 21:38 And so we find the passages, not an exercise in speech, 21:41 not a description of one man's wild fling, you know. 21:44 I mean, just a night out with the boys and girls. 21:47 I mean, one man letting his hair down. 21:49 This is a Christian view of human nature. 21:51 This is Christ's view of how we act and why we 21:54 act the way we act. 21:55 Wrapped up in that little sentence is a deep 21:57 theological truth concerning the way we act, the way we are. 22:02 It describes the totality of sin. 22:05 Sin is not only what we do or don't do. 22:09 Sin is who we are. 22:11 Sinners. 22:12 From our mother's womb, the Bible says. 22:15 And life; I mean, in life the things we want to do, 22:18 we don't do, and the things we don't want to do, we do. 22:20 Sin is ever constant with us. 22:22 It haunts our steps. Come on now. 22:28 We can run far away. 22:29 We can move out to a beautiful country and build little walls 22:32 and little farms and sit there piously, 22:35 but we cannot run away from our own selves. 22:38 Our own nature cries out. 22:43 In death, this corruption will put on incorruption. 22:47 We're all prodigals in nature. 22:49 We may not be in a pigpen, we may be in a church. 22:52 It may not be in the ghetto, but we may be in a 22:55 fluent neighborhood. 22:56 I mean, but we are sinners. 22:58 That's clear in the Word of God. 22:59 This truth is seen throughout the Old Testament. 23:02 God formed man, he became a living soul. 23:05 That's humanity. 23:06 And with a touch of divinity, humanity. 23:08 At home in a garden. 23:10 Humanity, grandeur written on him. 23:12 Humanity, now wondering east of Eden 23:15 in a planet called, rebellion. 23:17 I mean, there he is, pathetic. 23:19 There he is, Adam, hiding from God. 23:21 Hiding from His Father, naked. 23:29 This is the reason there's such restlessness in the human heart. 23:34 This is the reason there's so much emptiness 23:36 in the human soul. 23:38 This is the reason for our loneliness. 23:42 And that is why we need to feel fulfilled, happy. 23:46 We can never be happy in a far country away from the Father. 23:51 "And when he came to himself." 23:53 This is the Christian view of our condition, human condition. 23:59 Away from home, away from God. 24:01 I mean, I've met them everywhere on this planet. 24:06 I've met them in big cities, I've met them in Park Avenue, 24:11 I've met them in the inner city. 24:12 I've met men and women acting on impulse, 24:15 men acting on their feelings. 24:17 "Oh it feels good, so do it." 24:19 I mean, acting on sensation. 24:22 Was not acting himself, the prodigal, 24:24 when he acted out these things. 24:26 At least not his real self. 24:28 Not the self for which he was born, 24:30 not for the purpose. 24:32 But rather he had been created. 24:36 And there that human nature. 24:38 You can decorate it. 24:40 You can put sparkling bling on it. 24:43 Train the mouth to say the nice things. 24:47 And down deep where no one lives but you, 24:50 it's nothing but corruption. 24:54 I know you don't like... 24:55 You like pretty little sermons with bubbling brooks, 24:59 and positive attitudes. 25:01 You don't want to hear sermons that say 25:03 you're a sinner in need of Christ, 25:05 you're a sinner in need of forgiveness. 25:07 "No, I go to church. 25:09 I don't do this and I don't do that and I don't do this. 25:11 And my standards are so high." 25:13 Your standards are not high enough to heaven. 25:15 Only Christ can make you high enough for heaven. 25:21 Human nature. 25:23 Decorate it. 25:25 But down deep... Come on now. 25:28 ...when you're alone. 25:31 If I were to break all the mirrors in my house, 25:33 I would look pretty good. 25:38 And yet, we sometimes do that when we think of ourselves 25:44 in a holy way. 25:47 I mean, down deep; corrupt. 25:51 We may not squander our inheritance, 25:53 but we may use the credit card too much. 25:58 Have more shoes than we should. 26:01 Or dresses and suites, as big boys and big girls. 26:04 I remember my first suit. 26:06 I was converted, I was a Christian. 26:08 I was preaching on street corners in New York 26:11 and on the subways, everywhere I could talk. 26:13 I carried my Bible with me. 26:15 And by the way, when I was sixteen I was 26:17 functionally illiterate. 26:18 I really couldn't read. 26:21 I couldn't open the Bible and really read it. 26:23 So you don't have to have an education. 26:24 You don't have to even be able to read and get saved. 26:31 I was saved and I couldn't hardly read. 26:34 But I could know one thing; that God loved me. 26:37 And I needed someone to love me. 26:41 I needed someone, I needed someone to love me. 26:45 But I remember they decided, the Dorcas, 26:48 that I should have a new suit. 26:49 I mean, I should have a suit. 26:51 The Dorcas got together and they gave me a suit. 26:54 It was a, ugh... 26:55 I can't describe it. 26:58 It was a rust colored suit. 27:00 It was a dead man's suit. 27:02 Every time I hung it in the closet, the arms folded. 27:06 I mean, this was a suit. 27:07 And my first suit. 27:09 I mean, wow. 27:12 My first suit. 27:17 We talk about the big boy's toys. 27:21 And garages are full of them. Come on now. 27:24 And still we're not happy. 27:26 You see, this is an exposé on human nature. 27:29 This is getting down to the real nitty-gritty. 27:31 This is getting down deep into your soul. 27:33 This is trying to make you understand. 27:36 You see, one minute the smile; the next, tears. 27:38 Come on, isn't it? 27:40 Horns and halos, I mean. 27:42 One minute, calmness; and then the storm. 27:45 Come on now. 27:46 One minute you're praising God driving down the road, 27:49 and some man cuts in front of you, and you... 27:56 Horns and halos... 27:59 ...in human nature. 28:01 I mean, good or bad, fixed or flexible. 28:04 I mean, it's there. 28:05 Final or changeable, it is there. 28:08 We get all sorts of answers to the question, 28:10 "Why do we act the way we act?" 28:11 But outside the Bible, I don't know where you could find 28:14 a more honest answer or honest reading 28:17 than the fact of the human condition 28:19 described in this book and in this story. 28:21 At times we're holy and loving and thoughtful, 28:24 and other times we're mean... 28:27 ...and ugly. 28:29 I can't show you that picture. 28:30 I'm too good-looking for that. 28:31 But anyway. 28:32 Sometimes we're ugly and thoughtless. 28:37 In the Chinese language there's a character for peace. 28:40 It's a house roof with one woman under it. 28:42 In the Chinese language there's a character for strife, 28:46 with two women under the roof. 28:48 How many women under your roof? 28:52 How many men under your roof? 28:53 Come on, that's what He's saying about human nature. 28:57 Reasonable today, petulant tomorrow. 29:00 Generous today, stingy tomorrow. 29:02 Come on. 29:03 Sometimes we go through all those moods in one day. 29:08 We blame it on other things. 29:10 Midlife crisis. 29:14 One of the great philosophers said, 29:16 "Really I'm a decent, kindly, loveable soul. 29:20 But there is another horrid fellow with repulsive ways 29:23 who sometimes gets into my clothing. 29:25 He uses my name and gets mistaken for me." 29:31 Now of course, some of us would never admit this to the world. 29:33 No horns in us. All halos. 29:36 How wonderful. 29:37 And yet, there's a haunting suspicion down deep inside 29:40 that there is a conflict. 29:41 I mean, something that makes us act horrible at times. 29:45 A little poem I read once catches the truth. 29:48 "There's so much good in the worst of us 29:52 and so much bad in the best of us 29:54 that it doesn't behoove any of us 29:56 to find fault with the rest of us." 30:00 That's human nature. 30:02 We actually know it. Life teaches it. 30:05 Example; David, who made hymns for all the world to sing. 30:09 But he didn't always live according to those hymns. 30:13 I mean, there was Solomon. 30:16 He wrote proverbs of wisdom, 30:21 and often chose folly for his bedfellow. 30:23 Come on now. 30:26 I'm reading through the Bible again this year, my wife and I. 30:29 We're into those books, you know, 30:31 that describes human nature. 30:34 They were supposed to be the people of God. 30:36 Full of doubt and questions, full of sin. 30:39 I mean, you see, it's everywhere. 30:43 Flesh and spirit warring. 30:46 Good and bad warring. 30:48 And we seem to be caught in the middle of it, right? 30:51 Come on, we seem to be caught right in the middle of it. 30:55 In the Bible, the first Adam. 30:56 There's the second Adam. 30:58 The law of sin and the law of death, the law of God. 31:00 The beast and the Lamb; I mean, there it is. 31:02 Babylon and Jerusalem; there it is. 31:04 Horns and halos, Satan and Christ. 31:06 The struggle goes on. 31:10 When I was a young boy, I use to be, 31:13 I use to love to go to the movies. 31:16 I went to the movies in Coney Island, Brighton Beach actually. 31:19 It was called, the itch. 31:21 It was nine cents to go to the movie. 31:26 Now this was BC, but there I was; nine cents. 31:31 Just so you wouldn't get a heart attack and go home sick. 31:33 But anyway, I used to love to go to the itch. 31:37 Now they called it the itch because when the light went on 31:39 there were so many cockroaches running around, 31:40 you kept your feet up during the film. 31:44 Nine cents. 31:45 The other movie house was twenty-five cents. 31:47 That was way above our limit. 31:50 And so I was at the itch, and there was a movie I saw once. 31:53 It was called, Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 31:56 Why is it that good exists in one person 32:01 and evil in the other, and it's the same person? 32:05 There's the monster and the good doctor. 32:08 Horns and halos in human life. 32:12 Literature describes it. 32:13 Shakespeare put it down in two great speeches. 32:16 In Hamlet we see halos, listen. 32:18 "What a piece of work is man; how noble in reason, in action. 32:23 How like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!" 32:28 But then he wrote King Lear. 32:32 "Man is a false spirit. 32:35 Bloody of hand, a fox in stealth, 32:38 a wolf in greediness, a lion in prey." 32:42 All literature; poetry and fiction and history 32:45 and theology, is a continuing sermon on the theme, 32:48 human nature. 32:51 Human nature. 32:53 One person said, "The more I see people, the more I like my dog." 33:02 You see at the close of a book called, Blood In The Sand, 33:06 Blasco Ibanez describes a bull fight 33:11 in which the bull has been gored into madness. 33:14 Picture the scene. 33:15 And he turns and catches the matador on his horns 33:18 and flings him in the air and gores him 33:21 to a bloody mess. 33:23 When the dying matador is carried from the arena, 33:27 an unearthly roar goes up from the crowd. 33:30 And the author says, so listen, 33:32 "We listen to the roar of the only beast there is; 33:36 humanity." 33:39 Humanity. 33:42 Here are the facts about human nature. 33:46 It's found there in the story that Jesus told. 33:49 It's the story in meaning of those few words. 33:52 First, man by nature is alienated from God. 33:55 He, because of his choice, is alienated from God. 33:58 You say, "Well Adam did that. Eve did that." 34:00 If you were there, you would have done it. 34:02 But more than that, you are the Adams and you are the Eves 34:05 of our generation. 34:07 From what tree have you plucked the fruit? 34:11 Any medical doctor worth his or her salt knows that 34:14 you can't bring about a cure for disease unless you 34:17 first diagnose the problem. 34:19 I mean, you've got to diagnose the problem correctly. 34:21 Statesmen know, politicians know, 34:23 that they must be accurate in their assessment of the cause 34:26 before they write adequate legislation. 34:30 There's no shortness of diagnosis for why 34:32 we do what we do. 34:33 Whole fields of scientific study are devoted to that question. 34:37 Psychology tries to find out why individuals think 34:40 and act the way they do. 34:41 They should read the story of the prodigal son. 34:45 Arthur Koestler says, "We're suffering from 34:47 biological malfunction." 34:50 In other words, it's in our genes. 34:53 B.F. Skinner said, "Oh no, behavior is determined 34:57 completely from without." 34:58 Your environment. 34:59 Poor person who grows up in the inner city. 35:02 Poor person who grows up in the ghetto. 35:04 Poor person who grows up in poverty. 35:06 And it was Gandhi that said, "Poverty is the 35:09 worst kind of violence." 35:14 Walk with me through the streets of east L.A. 35:17 Go down into San Bernardino. 35:18 It's nice in the little hills of Illinois, 35:21 that they'll be so holy. 35:22 But come down to the reality of life as it really is. 35:25 Come with me down there and see the people. 35:28 Try to understand how they feel, how they sense, 35:31 and why they act the way the act. 35:33 They're in a pigpen not of their own creation. 35:36 And it's the church's responsibility, 35:39 it's the church's job to help them out 35:41 and to bring them to the Father's house. 35:43 That's the only reason and purpose for our church. 35:47 To seek and to save that which is lost. 35:50 Came along Karl Menninger and he said, 35:53 "No, it's none of that." 35:54 He wrote a book called, What Ever Became Of Sin. 35:59 And he connects mental illness and mental and moral health 36:03 together, and says, "The only way out of this suffering 36:06 and struggling and anxious and abnormal action, 36:08 mental illness, is recognizing sin." 36:12 The only way you can understand your need to go back home; 36:15 "He came to himself." 36:16 He discovered this was not his real self. 36:19 The things he was doing, the pleasures he was seeking, 36:22 the wanting that which was not to be wanted, 36:25 was not his true self. 36:35 He wrote this, Karl Menninger. 36:39 It came to me as he wrote that, "Our clergymen 36:42 have become shaken reeds, smoking lamps, 36:47 earthen vessels, spent arrows." 36:50 Stand up and tell the world what its problem is. 36:53 Preach it, tell it like it is. 36:55 Say it from the pulpits, cry it from the rooftops. 36:58 Dr. Menninger, not an evangelist, Halvorsen, 37:00 he said, "Tell them about sin so that they 37:04 might find the Savior." 37:09 From the third chapter of Genesis to the very last, 37:12 next to the last book of the Bible, Revelation, 37:15 there's one consistent message. 37:16 It's the theme of the prophets and the apostles 37:19 and the preachers. 37:20 Sin is our problem. 37:22 We become alienated from our Father by our sin. 37:26 Sin is what makes us so human. 37:27 And human is what makes us so sinning. 37:30 Sin is what makes us lose fellowship and friendship 37:33 and relationship, and short circuits us. 37:38 Our little boy, I got him an electric train set when he was 37:41 a little boy for Christmas. 37:43 I always wanted one, so I got him one. 37:44 You know, parents, isn't that... 37:46 You pour all these things on your kids because 37:48 you couldn't have it when you were a kid. 37:49 Come on, right? 37:50 I know, because I'm a father. 37:53 I'm a grandfather. 37:54 And I'm a great grandfather. 37:56 I know it's impossible for you to believe that. 38:01 But I got him a little train set. 38:03 Oh, he would sit for time and time watching that thing 38:07 go around in circles. 38:10 And one day something happened and the train wouldn't go. 38:14 So he quickly ran to his mechanical father. 38:19 Which I'm far from. 38:20 But anyway he ran to me and said, "Daddy, oh..." 38:24 I said, "Don't worry, son. I'll fix it." 38:28 Now my wife looked at me with that look, you know, 38:30 "Yeah, you'll fix it alright. 38:32 I wish you would that cabinet that's been hanging the 38:35 door off there for a year." 38:37 And so I went over to the train set, sat down beside my son, 38:41 and looked it over. 38:44 Tried the transformer, didn't work. 38:46 Ran quick and looked to see if it was plugged in. 38:49 It was plugged in. 38:50 I mean, all the power of Connecticut 38:53 right at my fingertips. 38:55 But the train wouldn't go. 38:58 And I was scratching my head and I'm putting the tracks, 39:01 seeing if they're all connected. 39:03 And nothing. 39:05 And I don't want to give up, I don't want to say, 39:07 "Hey, your father's a dunce." 39:09 I mean, come on now. I mean, "Your father..." 39:12 No, I'm going to find this if it kills me. 39:15 It was getting late into the night 39:16 and I'm looking and looking. 39:18 Finally I found it. 39:20 A tiny little... 39:24 The stuff you hang on trees, what is that? 39:27 Huh? Tinsel, yeah. Thank you. 39:30 Tinsel. 39:31 And the tinsel is laying across the track. 39:34 And that little tiny piece of tinsel I can hardly see 39:37 short circuited the track and the train couldn't run. 39:41 Once I picked it up, it started to go. 39:43 And my son looked at me like, "Wow daddy, you're smart. 39:49 You're smart." 39:51 Checked everything. Everything. 39:54 We've been short circuited. 39:57 I mean, we're separated from God by sin. 40:01 And our lives have been short circuited. 40:03 There's no power. 40:04 I mean, there's no power. There's no life. 40:07 I mean, sin short circuited our living connection with God. 40:10 Man is a sinner in need of reconciliation. 40:13 And he's in need of reconciliation with the Father. 40:15 Sin always promises what it can't deliver. 40:23 It's like my friend Richard. 40:26 We were at the academy playing hooky. 40:27 I won't get into the story of my conversion. 40:29 But anyway, there I was, a wild kid from Brooklyn. 40:34 I'm there playing hooky at this academy 40:36 because Jim Landis went there, and he was my friend. 40:39 And he was converted a Christian. 40:42 And we're sitting there, and every day I went back and back. 40:47 And finally, the last week the preacher made a call. 40:49 And there I was, black leather jacket, skull, 40:51 blood dripping over the skull. 40:55 I mean, cool. 40:58 And the preacher made the call, I stood up. 41:00 My friend Richard sitting next to me. 41:02 I said, "Come on, Richie." 41:03 He was touched by the Spirit, I could see it in his face. 41:06 But he said this to me, "No, it costs too much 41:10 to be a Christian. 41:12 I want to live it up. 41:13 You know, I want to enjoy my life. 41:17 Christianity?" 41:20 I went on to become a Christian. 41:21 I went on to become a minister. 41:23 I've traveled around the world. 41:25 I've been in most every continent of the world. 41:27 In places that you could only dream of. 41:31 Why? Because that day I gave my heart to Christ. 41:33 He opened a new world to me. 41:35 But Richard didn't. 41:36 And Richard spent his life, the rest of his life, 41:40 in prison for murder. 41:44 Sin has its penalty. 41:49 It costs too much. 41:53 I guess that's what this son, the prodigal, thought at home. 41:56 "Too much to live in this house. 41:57 Too strict to live in this house. 41:59 I mean, I want to get out. 42:02 I want to know about life. 42:03 I want to see what it's like over there." 42:08 Over there. 42:10 Wow. 42:13 I've been troubled by that ever since; Richard. 42:16 It costs too much. 42:18 Sin always promises more than it can give. 42:21 Do you hear me? 42:23 Sin takes you further than you want to go. 42:28 And sin leaves you worse off than you were before. 42:33 That's the story of the prodigal. 42:36 You think when he walked out that door, money in his pocket, 42:39 new suit of clothes, that he was heading for the pigpen? 42:44 Do you think he thought that? 42:46 Do you think he'd go broke, hungry? 42:50 I mean, our pride, our selfishness, self-righteousness, 42:55 our love of evil, the lure of the far country. 42:58 I mean, it's a part within all of us. 42:59 And we need to break ourselves before the cross 43:02 and before Jesus Christ. 43:05 I need to wake up every morning and say, 43:08 "God, I give You this day." 43:13 There's none righteous, the Bible says. 43:16 Romans 3:10. 43:22 He confirms it in these words where he says, 43:25 notice, "All have sinned..." 43:30 We've all been short circuited. 43:32 First fact is, we are sinners. 43:35 We are sinners by birth. 43:38 Conceived. 43:41 By choice. 43:43 I choose to leave the Father's house. 43:46 I choose to go to a far country. 43:49 Now I may use another excuse, "Well that person just didn't 43:52 treat me right in church. 43:54 So I'm going to run down to hell." 44:00 Wow. Give me a break. 44:03 "They didn't say... 44:05 They don't pay no attention to me." 44:06 Huh. 44:11 But the second fact is that we're in debt to God 44:15 because of our sin nature. 44:17 We're indebtedness to God because of our sin. 44:19 And that's why it says in Romans 5 and verse 12... 44:33 All have sinned. 44:35 In the beginning, Adam and Eve sinned. 44:36 They became indebted to sin. 44:38 They deserved death. 44:40 Jesus came to set us free from our debt. 44:42 I mean, you cannot set yourself free. 44:44 All the good works in the world cannot set you free. 44:46 I mean, how many good works do you have to do for lust? 44:52 How many good works do you have to do this week 44:54 because you got angry? 44:56 How many good works do you have to do in order to 44:59 appease your appetite? 45:01 I mean, go on and on and on. 45:03 How many? No. 45:05 You have to turn to Him, your Father, and go back and say, 45:08 "Father, I've sinned against heaven and before Thee." 45:11 You need to repent of it and come to Him. 45:13 And He takes you and cleanses you, and puts His arms 45:16 around you, and redeems you. 45:22 I was talking with a young preacher recently, he said, 45:24 "I ran out of things I can preach on from the Bible." 45:30 I almost fainted. 45:33 I needed mouth to mouth resuscitation. 45:37 What to preach about? 45:40 Listen to me, you can't preach enough about redemption. 45:43 You can't speak enough about Christ's gift of love. 45:46 You cannot run out of mercy and forgiveness. 45:50 Look in the mirror, and you'll see how much you can preach. 45:56 How much you need the only thing that's important. 46:01 I mean, you see, Jesus gives Himself up. 46:04 He pays a certificate for eternal life. 46:07 You are going to heaven under the 46:08 righteousness of Jesus Christ. 46:10 Never forget it. 46:13 A citizen in the days of Caesar, by the way, is an example. 46:18 You see, a citizen owns Caesar his total allegiance, 46:21 perfect allegiance. 46:23 If any citizen broke the law of the land, he soon found himself 46:26 standing before the court of Caesar. 46:28 Before Caesar himself sometimes. 46:31 And he would be given a certificate of debt. 46:34 And it would be nailed to the door of the dungeon. 46:37 And if he was sentenced to 20 years, it would stay 46:39 nailed to the door of the dungeon. 46:41 Now after those 20 years of serving, 46:43 he would then be set free. 46:45 And they would give him that scroll, that debt, 46:47 stamped by the stamp of Rome, of Caesar. 46:51 And he would go as a free man out into culture, 46:54 out into society. 46:55 Do you understand you were a sinner and Christ took that 46:59 certificate and He put His seal upon you? 47:02 And He says, "Now you are free to roam, 47:05 because you're going to roam in green pastures 47:07 beside still waters." 47:10 Wow. Think of that. 47:13 Jesus wrote a certificate of our debt in His blood and signed it. 47:17 And signed it, "Paid in full." 47:23 Prodigal, come home. 47:27 I've met many prodigals who returned home. 47:31 And that keeps me going. 47:33 76 years old, going on 77. 47:36 I told my wife the other day, I said, "If I die before 47:38 Jesus comes, have them put a pulpit in my casket. 47:42 Because when I come up, I'm preaching." 47:46 I told the Lord the other day, "As long as I'm vertical, 47:49 I'll be preaching." 47:51 I'm telling men and women that there's a safe place. 47:53 And that safe place is home. 47:56 Home with the Father. Good news for sinners. 47:58 I mean, good news for men and women with horns, 48:01 more horns in their nature than halos. 48:03 I mean, good news. Jesus paid the price. 48:06 And praise God. 48:10 Not by His sinless life was Jesus man's substitute. 48:14 Not by His powerful teachings was He our substitute. 48:18 Not by His miraculous touch and miracles was He our substitute. 48:22 But He became our substitute on Calvary when He said, 48:26 "It is finished." 48:29 Only by His death could He take away our debt 48:33 and set us free. 48:34 We must always remember, it's not by the code of ethics 48:37 or it's not by the code of standards, 48:40 it's not by our baptismal vows that we are saved. 48:43 When Adam and Eve sinned, they went to a far country 48:46 east of Eden. 48:47 Like the prodigal, they walked away from God, 48:49 walked away from His garden. 48:51 You see, walked away into the wilderness of sin. 48:55 They came to an altar, and there they sacrificed a lamb. 48:58 Horns and halos in human nature. 49:01 The whole human race somewhere between the pigpen and home. 49:09 And if you had a pump and a well, 49:12 and that pump had polluted water, 49:15 you don't solve it by just making a gold handle. 49:18 Come on now. 49:22 You don't solve the problem by decorating it 49:24 with pretty flowers. 49:26 You solve the problem, you repaint it? No. 49:30 The problem is at the source, at the water. 49:33 Doing good will never make the water pure. 49:39 Horns. Illustrate... 49:42 If the President of the United States declares war 49:44 against an enemy, I'm at war, right? 49:49 Why? Because I'm a citizen of that country. 49:51 My President is the federal head, and by his actions 49:54 he implicated me in his actions. 49:56 Adam sinned, he incurred a debt; 49:59 I'm a prisoner of war. 50:01 He received a death sentence; I die. 50:03 He was alienated as I have been alienated. 50:06 He was imprisoned as I have been imprisoned, 50:08 so that He might set us free. 50:10 He's been at war with sin from the very beginning. 50:16 Satan came into this world and turned a garden 50:19 into a wilderness. 50:20 Christ came into the wilderness to turn it back into a garden. 50:25 And the struggle and great controversy goes on. 50:28 The great controversy. 50:30 We continue. 50:31 I cannot end on a negative note. 50:34 Horns and halos. 50:35 The whole mission of Jesus Christ, the whole assumption 50:38 of the gospel, is that there is power that can and does 50:42 change human lives. 50:46 Jesus Christ came into the world to change our nature. 50:49 To put, as it were, halos on prodigals. 50:53 And that's why it says in Romans 5, 50:55 it tells us there in Romans 5... 51:13 That's why Paul declared such were drunkards, 51:17 idolaters, thieves, sorcerers. 51:21 And he went on to describe sin. 51:24 And then he says but we're made over. 51:26 You are a new person in Christ. 51:28 When the prodigal came home, 51:31 the father didn't give him a lecture. 51:33 We love to give them lectures. 51:36 "Why did you do that? I told you, son. 51:37 That was dumb. I tried to tell you that. 51:39 And there you are, and now you're wanting back." 51:42 He never gave a lecture. 51:44 By the way, he didn't give him a sermon. 51:48 Or didn't try to write a higher standard. 51:51 What he did was throw a party. 51:54 I know we Adventists don't like parties, alright. 51:56 But anyway, God knows how. 51:57 I can't wait to get to heaven because I'm going to 51:59 have one big party with Jesus Christ. 52:02 Yeah. 52:04 And so you can have a party. 52:05 And by the way, you too can smile and go to heaven. 52:12 Going to throw a party. 52:14 Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. 52:20 This story, the Father gives us a kiss. 52:27 In this story, the Father gives us love. 52:32 In this story, the lost boy comes to himself. 52:37 He says, "Wow, I'm dumb." 52:39 Hey, by the way, when you sin you're dumb. 52:44 Because what does it offer you? 52:45 Death. 52:49 But Christ offers you life. 52:54 Life. 52:56 Jesus places a halo. 53:00 Or the horns. 53:02 And He says, "This, My son, is made righteous 53:07 through My gift." 53:09 Wow. 53:10 One of my favorite stories comes out of a book. 53:13 Most of my stories come out of life, but 53:15 this one came out of a book years and years and years ago. 53:18 It's about a preacher in the south. 53:20 His name was J.C. Massey. 53:22 And J.C. Massey use to preach mighty sermons in big tents. 53:26 I mean, that was in the days, you know, we went to the tent. 53:28 I use to hold meetings in tents with sawdust under my feet. 53:32 I tell you, I loved the... You know, I just loved that. 53:35 And oh, J.C. Massey would preach in these tents and 53:38 it'd be full of people coming to listen to the word of God. 53:40 I mean, it was back then in those days, you know, 53:42 when people were sensitive to the word of God. 53:46 And Mrs. Massey would come and she'd be proud 53:48 sitting in the front row. 53:51 I went to hear my son preach for the first time 53:53 in Lincoln, Nebraska. 53:54 He was a student, a ministerial student. 53:56 I sat up in the balcony. 53:58 And when my son was preaching, I almost 53:59 flew out of the balcony. 54:02 I can understand that mother, how proud she must have been. 54:05 When I heard my daughter preach for the first time, 54:08 a wonderful preacher, I almost fell out of the pew. 54:13 I mean, buttons were popping everywhere. 54:15 Trying to, you know, I'm trying to be humble and 54:17 cover those buttons popping everywhere. 54:19 I mean... 54:21 And so J.C. Massey's mother, she was so proud. 54:24 She followed him everywhere, sat in the front row. 54:26 Everybody knew her, she was a fine Christian woman. 54:29 And one night he was preaching and he got carried away 54:31 in the Spirit, and he said, "My mother has a sin." 54:33 Whoa, everybody looked. 54:36 Isn't it amazing. 54:38 If the gospel was bad news, we would have finished the work 54:43 a hundred years ago. 54:45 But it's good news, and good news travels slower. 54:47 But anyway, everybody looked at Sister Massey. 54:50 And she shrunk down in the seat. 54:52 And then he says, "Yeah, my mother's sin was pride." 54:55 And with that, she slid under the seat. 54:59 J.C. Massey. 55:00 And they were all looking, "Mother Massey? 55:03 Pride?" 55:04 And then he started to laugh. 55:06 He said, "My mother was proud she had the 55:08 whitest sheets in south Georgia." 55:12 I guess if you're going to have a sin, 55:13 that's not too bad, is it? 55:15 I mean, he said, "In fact, we had a feather bed." 55:18 I only slept in a feather bed once in one of the 55:20 southern villages down south. 55:23 I wanted to roll it up and take it home. 55:25 Come on, you can't get a Simmons mattress like that. 55:29 And old J.C. said, "We had a big feather mattress 55:31 and the whitest sheets in south Georgia. 55:34 In fact, there was a rule in the house that said, 55:36 'You don't go near that bed ever until you have 55:39 a bath and clean pajamas.' 55:41 Then you crawled into that feather bed with the 55:43 whitest sheets in south Georgia. 55:45 That was the rule." 55:47 One day he was playing out at the barn. 55:50 It was raining and he was there by the eaves of the barn. 55:52 You know how little boys are. 55:53 If there's one puddle, they find it. 55:55 Come on, especially if they have new sneakers. 56:00 And J.C. is playing in the mud and mama was milking the cow. 56:04 Big brother got on the horse to ride out 56:05 to check the drainage ditches. 56:08 Little J.C. went and said, "Mama, I have to go to the 56:10 house," to do what little boys have to do 56:12 when they go to the house. 56:13 She said, "Well you go, but you come right back, J.C." 56:16 He knew what that meant. 56:19 That's both sides of the law, you know. 56:21 To Love God and the neighbor. 56:23 There it is. 56:24 So he ran across, hit every puddle on the way. 56:28 Took care of what little boys have to do 56:29 when they go to the house. 56:32 On the way out he was going by, he went 56:34 by his bedroom and looked in. 56:35 And there was the feather bed, 56:38 with the whitest sheets in south Georgia. 56:41 The feather bed, whitest sheets. 56:42 So there he is, he climbs up, dives into this feather bed. 56:46 Mother comes in with the switch, judgment in her eyes. 56:50 But big brother comes through the window, 56:52 picks him up. 56:54 And mama puts the switch aside and gives a cry. 56:57 God came into the world to save you. 57:00 God came into the world; you've dirtied the sheets. 57:02 Everyone here has dirtied the sheets. 57:04 But thank God that He's come to us to put His arms 57:07 around us, to pick us up, and to carry us 57:10 into the kingdom of heaven. 57:12 And the boy came to himself. 57:15 Have you come to yourself? 57:17 Your true self? 57:19 Your godly self? 57:21 You can right now, wherever you are. 57:24 Open your heart to the call of Jesus Christ. 57:28 And remember, God loves you. |
Revised 2014-12-17