Participants: John Bradshaw (Host), Scott Christiansen
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001309
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00:00 ♪(Dramatic Music Score)♪
00:06 It has stood the test of time, God's book, the Bible. 00:16 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe. 00:36 Thanks for joining me today. 00:37 This is It Is Written. 00:39 I am John Bradshaw. 00:40 We look around society and we see something as clear as day. 00:45 The environment seems to be falling apart. 00:49 The news is full of such reports. 00:52 Scientists are making claims whether it's about global 00:55 warming or a person's carbon footprint or the Ozone layer 00:59 or air pollution or just regular old pollution. 01:02 It certainly seems that today's world is not the same 01:06 as yesterday's world. 01:08 It seems that we are sinking. 01:10 Today, on It Is Written, we are going to look at that 01:12 through the lens of Scripture. 01:14 Does the Bible support this view? 01:16 Is there anything we can do about it? 01:18 And what does the decay of our environment suggest about the 01:23 fulfillment of Bible prophecy. 01:25 My guest today is Scott Christiansen, 01:28 a Christian minister and author, a seminar presenter and someone 01:32 who has worked in various locations around the world in 01:34 positions that have enabled him to see environmental 01:38 change up close. 01:40 Scott Christiansen, thanks for joining me. 01:41 Welcome to It Is Written. 01:42 SC My please. 01:43 Thank you. 01:44 JB What does the Bible have to say about the decay of the 01:47 environment? Anything? 01:48 Nothing? Something? 01:49 Much? What? 01:50 SC Well, the Bible says that there will be 01:52 tremendous decay in society as a result of sin. 01:55 Let's go to Isaiah 51:6 where the Bible says the earth will 02:00 wax old as a garment and basically be falling apart and 02:05 let's go to Romans 8:22 where the Bible says that 02:09 all of creation groans. 02:12 I look at this verse and it is clear that it is because of sin. 02:14 Why else would a world that was created in perfection be 02:17 groaning. 02:18 JB In fact, Paul wrote that creation wants to escape 02:20 the bondage that it is now experiencing. 02:22 SC Absolutely. 02:23 JB Let me up the ante a little bit because there is a verse 02:26 that comes to my mind in the Book of Revelation, 02:28 Chapter 11, the nations were angry, 02:31 your wrath has come and so on. 02:34 The end of that verse, Revelation 11:18 says 02:37 that God will destroy "those who destroy 02:41 the earth." 02:41 Revelation 11:18. 02:44 Does that mean what it sounds like it means? 02:46 SC That God is an environmentalist 02:48 or that he is angry over the destruction of his planet? 02:50 JB That God cares about the environment and that destroying 02:52 the earth is not good. 02:53 Is that what it means? 02:54 SC If we look in Job, we are told that the morning 02:57 star sang at the creation of the earth and we know that God was 03:03 excited about his creation. 03:04 He looked at it and he said it was very good. 03:07 What we have not really appreciated previous to this, 03:11 as Christians, is that sin affects man 03:14 profoundly and it affects the earth itself, profoundly. 03:19 I mean, there is a reason God hates sin 03:21 and there is a reason that it needs to be eradicated 03:23 completely and the earth needs to be re-created because 03:27 sin only subtracts. 03:29 It only takes away. 03:29 It only decays. 03:31 It only causes death. 03:32 It adds to nothing. 03:34 Let's discuss some of what we see specifically because the 03:40 Bible says the earth is falling apart and it connected to sin 03:44 something that your average environmentalist is not going to 03:47 connect the dots like that. 03:49 Let's be specific. 03:51 What do we see in the world today that suggests the 03:54 environment actually is falling apart. 03:57 Well, if we take a look at the systems that God created, 04:00 let's talk about systems instead of just minor specifics 04:03 around the globe and when I talk about systems 04:06 I mean, our atmospheric system, our climate system, 04:08 our oceanic system, our fresh water system and 04:10 our food production system, which actually, you know, 04:14 soil was created and the Garden of Eden, 04:16 food production and human society were created as part 04:20 of the creation week. 04:21 Let's take a look at the system that is falling apart 04:24 the most rapidly, our oceanic system. 04:26 JB Ok SC Good studies out, 04:27 validated studies out, published studies out that 04:30 project that fisheries on a global basis 04:33 will be essentially depleted, will be collapsed within 25 04:36 years and we are on a steep downward slope 04:39 when it comes to fisheries and that is a big deal. 04:41 There is a billion people who rely upon those fisheries for 04:45 almost all of their food. 04:47 JB And billions of others who rely on the fisheries for some 04:49 of their food. 04:50 SC When you have a growing population, 04:52 beyond seven billion, and we are at a razor-thin 04:55 margin between what we produce and consume every year and you 04:58 take the food for a billion people out of that equation, 05:02 that is a very big deal. 05:03 Our soils are being systematically degraded. 05:05 We have very poor practices across the globe. 05:07 More than 20 million acres a year consistently are taken out 05:12 of food production because they are totally degraded. 05:14 JB Wait a minute. 05:16 How much is 20 million acres? 05:17 SC Well I come from the state of Maine and that would not quite 05:20 be the entire state of Maine but it would be a lot of the State 05:22 of Maine. 05:23 That is a lot of area. 05:25 JB So it is almost the size of Maine. 05:26 SC Yeah, almost the size of Maine. 05:27 We have to remember that some of that is slash and burn in the 05:30 tropics but there is also farmland that has been farmed 05:33 for a very long time that has just become so degraded, 05:36 it comes out of production. 05:38 JB But essentially that much land is taken out every year 05:41 because it is worthless now. 05:43 SC It is, yes. 05:44 JB In terms of food production. 05:44 SC That's correct. 05:45 JB Well that's dramatic. Okay, keep talking to me about food 05:47 production issues. 05:49 I can see that this is directly related to population issues. 05:54 More people to feed now. 05:55 SC There is an organization out of Boson in the US called NECSI 06:00 and they are easy to find and their published studies 06:03 are easy to find. 06:04 They have taken a look at the 20 year or beyond 06:07 price chart that is published by the United Nations that shows 06:12 significant price spikes in food. 06:15 We had a long period of price stability followed by 06:18 significant price spikes over the last five or six years. 06:22 And then they issued a graph showing that at the peak of 06:26 those price spikes were rebellions and uprisings and 06:31 conflicts within nations and between nations and basically 06:35 what they are saying is "look, there is a perfect correlation 06:37 between price spikes and the increasing instability 06:42 in society. 06:43 So if you go back and you say okay, 06:45 we are really on the razor's edge on a global basis 06:49 on food and our ability to produce is declining 06:51 and our oceans are crashing, we get from there directly into 06:56 societal instability and we get there directly into conflict and 07:00 you can reference from there Matthew 24, 07:02 wars and rumors of war. 07:04 We see the iron links between the environment and its 07:09 accelerating degradation and the fulfillment of prophecy. 07:14 JB I am very interested in the idea about food production and 07:17 the environmental issues that are squeezing food production 07:21 and therefore, squeezing populations. 07:23 Let's talk more about that in just a moment. 07:25 This is It Is Written. 07:27 Don't go away, we'll be right back. 07:29 ♪(Calming Reflective Music)♪ In Matthew 4:4, 07:32 the Word of God says, "It is written, 07:35 'man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that 07:38 proceeds from the mouth of God. 07:40 Every Word is a one-minute Bible-based daily devotional 07:44 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially 07:47 for busy people like you. 07:49 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it on-line 07:53 everyday on our website, itiswritten.com. 07:56 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 07:58 Watch Every Word. 08:00 You'll be glad you did. 08:01 Here's a sample. 08:04 ♪(Catchy rythmn and groove)♪ 08:11 Thanks for joining me. 08:12 Every now and then my daughter will show me a feature on my 08:15 phone that I knew nothing about and I'll say, "well, 08:18 that's really helpful, I did not know that." 08:21 It can be like that with God's blessings. 08:23 There might be things we are missing out on because we simply 08:26 don't know about them. 08:27 You know, the Bible says in Exodus 20:8, 08:30 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 08:32 God carved a day out of the rock of time and set it aside for us 08:36 to spend time especially with him. 08:39 If you are missing it, you are missing a real blessing. 08:43 I wonder how many people are losing a blessing because 08:44 they are not remembering the Sabbath day. 08:46 Just letting the hours pass by without taking them 08:49 to spend with God. 08:50 Don't make that mistake. 08:52 Let the Sabbath be the blessing that God wants it to be 08:55 in your life. 08:57 I am John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 08:59 Let's live today by Every Word. 09:04 This is It Is Written. 09:05 Thanks for joining me today. 09:06 We are talking about the environment and its relationship 09:09 to the Word of God in particular to Bible prophecy and my guest 09:13 today is Scott Christiansen. 09:16 Scott, let's talk about where we were just a moment ago, 09:19 food production. 09:21 Now, you know, where I live, 09:23 I can eat what I want, when I want, 09:26 it doesn't seem like there are many food production issues 09:31 to me. 09:31 Let's discuss this on a global basis and talk about how the 09:36 collapsing environment is actually affecting food 09:39 production. 09:40 First of all, let's to go to ... 09:42 whether or not you notice it ... 09:43 many of the people watching this program are going to be from 09:46 North America or Western Europe. 09:48 These are the areas on the globe where there is an abundance of 09:51 resources, not necessarily an abundance of 09:53 good but an abundance of resources they can afford food. 09:56 Well, let's take as an example Corn Flakes. 09:59 Let's say you are having Corn Flakes for breakfast and let's 10:00 say the price of corn doubles, as it did last year. 10:03 Let's say that your Corn Flakes are not going to double in price 10:07 because of packaging, because of marketing, 10:09 because of all the things that go into those Corn Flakes, 10:11 the actual corn in your Corn Flakes is probably only 10:13 20 cents or so. 10:15 So when the part of your Corn Flakes, 10:18 you pay $4 for that box and when the price of corn doubles 10:20 and it goes up to $4.20 you don't even notice. 10:23 Or if you do notice, maybe you notice just a little 10:25 tiny bit, but remember ... 10:27 there's 3.5 billion people on the face of the earth that are 10:31 making $2.50 a day or less and they are s pending from 50 to 10:35 90% of their income on food alone. 10:39 That much of their budget goes to food and so when they are 10:43 buying literally a handful of corn or a handful of wheat or a 10:46 handful of rice and prices significantly increase, 10:49 where is that money going to come from so that they can keep 10:51 getting the minimum amount of food that they need. 10:53 These price spikes profoundly affect billions of people on the 10:58 face of the earth and we don't even notice in North America. 11:02 JB Okay, what are some other systems. 11:04 You talk about God-created systems. 11:06 These systems are being affected by sin causing decay 11:11 environmentally. 11:12 What is another one? 11:13 SC Well, we talked about oceanic systems. 11:15 Our fresh water system. 11:16 Around the world aquifers are being pumped out and this is a 11:20 huge deal because they are being pumped out to keep 11:23 irrigating crops. 11:25 These aquifers fill up very, very slow. 11:27 They fill up, if you will, 11:28 on geological time. 11:30 So when these aquifers are pumped out either to give a 11:32 major city water or to irrigate crops. 11:36 There is no replacing them. 11:37 This is happening all over the world. 11:39 We are not living in any or that is nearly sustainable. 11:41 And let me take as an example the Ogalala Aquifer underlying 11:44 eight states in Central and Midwest US and this underlies a 11:50 significant area of grain production and in fact, 11:54 it provides the water for everything above it. 11:56 The industry, cities and agriculture. 11:59 It is shrinking at the edges and it is expected to be completely 12:03 depleted as a resource within 25 years. 12:05 JB What happens if this thing disappears? 12:06 SC Well we just can't produce the grain and we can't have the 12:09 cities that are there, and the industries there. 12:11 There is nothing to replace it as a resource. 12:14 JB But can't we just build a desalination plant and pump 12:16 water in? 12:17 SC Well if there is an endless supply of energy, 12:18 yes. 12:20 And that is a very expensive thing that is being proposed. 12:22 Especially if we do it with oil. 12:23 But if there is an endless supply of energy, 12:25 then theoretically we could do many things. 12:28 You're talking a river flowing in reverse to make this thing go 12:32 and maybe if this was our only problem in the globe, 12:34 we could fix this one thing. 12:37 People say "what's going on?" 12:39 and there is no real answer to that until you start talking 12:41 about the effect of sin. 12:43 From a Christian perspective, sin is the problem. 12:46 Christ is the solution. 12:49 JB I think what we are going to do in just a moment is talk 12:51 about the big picture. 12:53 The environment's collapsing. 12:56 We see markers everywhere, signs everywhere telling us that 12:58 this is a planet in distress, a planet in decay. 13:02 Is there a way out? 13:04 What does it mean? 13:05 What is the ultimate solution? 13:07 Let's cover that next. 13:07 SC Very good JB We'll be back with more 13:09 in just a moment. 13:10 I'm John Bradshaw. 13:11 This is It Is Written. 13:14 It Is Written is dedicated to sharing the gospel 13:17 around the world. 13:18 To discover more about It Is Written, 13:19 I invite you to visit our website, 13:21 itiswritten.com and browse the dozens of pages that describe 13:25 what we do and how we do it. 13:27 Let's get to know each other better. 13:29 Visit our website ItIsWritten.com, today 13:33 JB Our discussion today is centering on the relationship 13:36 between the decay we see in the environment around us and 13:40 the signs we read about in the Bible, 13:42 the spiritual implications of an environment that seems to be 13:47 collapsing. 13:49 Scott, let's talk a little bit more about some specifics, 13:51 where we see, maybe some alarm bells ringing 13:55 in the environment. 13:57 A moment ago we talked about the global food supply and we 14:00 discussed a couple of things that would concern anybody. 14:03 Looking at it biblically, the Bible does say that the 14:06 earth is going to deteriorate, wax old like a garment, 14:09 in fact, it would be destroyed according 14:12 to what we read in Scripture. 14:13 What are some other areas where we see signs that really ought 14:16 to alarm people and point them to what the Bible has said about 14:20 the environment. 14:21 SC It's an interesting question, really, 14:24 because we only live so long. 14:26 For us to go back and say well here's the amount of damage over 14:31 the last 400 years and here is the extent to which it is 14:33 accelerating at our current age. 14:35 That's a tough thing. 14:36 There is a book called The End of the Line 14:39 that looks at the oceans as they exist in written records 14:44 400 years ago and 300 years ago and these were 14:47 incredibly productive oceans. 14:49 I mean, these are oceans that just 14:50 filled with life. 14:52 I mean, you could just harvest and 14:53 harvest and harvest. 14:54 As late as 1940 and 1950, the oceans were thought to be 14:58 limitless in the amount of resources that they were able 15:01 to give. 15:02 Now, scientists are calling this the Miocene era, 15:06 the age of slime, when most life forms in the 15:10 ocean are either declining or dying and our oceans are 15:13 transitioning to an environment where they are really hospitable 15:17 for algae, fungus and bacteria. 15:21 JB Are we really seeing an increase in recent years or are 15:23 we just better at observing? 15:26 SC No. We are seeing an absolute decrease, 15:29 if you will, in the amount of resource. 15:30 JB An increase and a decrease. 15:32 SC Yes. 15:33 If things happen slowly enough and they happened over a 15:37 multitude of lifetimes that prior to say, 1960, 15:42 we weren't really noticing degradation in the environment 15:45 and in addition to that the population burden on the planet 15:48 was half of what it is now. 15:50 Now we have got more people, we've got more pressure and we 15:52 are seeing a greater and greater acceleration in the decay of the 15:55 actual planet itself and we are beginning to see impacts on 15:58 society and we are sitting up and taking notice. 16:01 It is a big deal. 16:03 JB What is the end game? 16:04 What is the way out? 16:05 Can it be fixed? 16:05 SC No. 16:06 My response to this is what is your proposal for reversing the 16:10 effect of sin? 16:11 Well, let's put it like this. 16:13 What is going on in the world is very serious, 16:15 very serious and for Christians who study their Bible and who 16:19 look at the signs as Christ laid them out in Matthew 24 16:22 and who connect the dots, is our sense of urgency 16:27 commensurate with what we see around us? 16:29 Are we rising to the crisis that is at hand and to the end of 16:33 time? 16:34 These are very big questions. 16:36 JB Should I be worried about whether or not 16:38 I am going to eat? 16:38 What can I do or should I buy a house 16:41 with a great big basement and stock it with beans and rice 16:45 and wheat? 16:45 Is that what I should do? 16:46 SC Well, the Bible tells us that we 16:49 should not worry. 16:50 In fact, it tells us in Matthew 24 16:54 not to worry because these things must happen. 16:56 And the Bible also tells us that our bread will be sure and our 16:59 water will be sure. 17:01 The question is: Are we working for our Master? 17:06 Are fulfilling the great commission? 17:08 If we are not close to Christ, if we don't know him 17:12 as a friend, if we are fully of the world and 17:16 not of Christ then there is a lot to worry about. 17:18 There's a tremendous amount to worry about because the world is 17:20 ending and we have no hope. 17:22 If Christ is our Savior and we are fully committed to him and 17:27 looking away from the world and toward his coming, 17:29 then we don't need to worry but we do need to work. 17:32 JB So there is a Savior who has pledged to take care of those 17:34 who trust in him. 17:35 SC Yes JB Even though that the world might be falling apart 17:38 around us. 17:39 There is a hope, is there? 17:41 SC There's great hope. 17:42 There's tremendous hope. 17:43 JB Prophetically, where do you think this leads us in the 17:46 overall flow of Bible prophecy? 17:50 SC Well let's go to Scripture. 17:51 I focus on Matthew 24:6-8. 17:54 There will be wars and rumors of wars, etc... 17:57 In Matthew 24, Christ walked his disciples 18:00 through what would happen in history, 18:04 relatively near term history, but also what would happen 18:07 at the end of time. 18:08 As with all great prophecy, it had a dual application and so 18:12 we know the waymarks. 18:14 Christ himself articulated the waymarks for us 18:16 that we were to watch for. 18:18 And I look at this and we are early on in the final waymarks. 18:24 But these events happen very rapidly at the close and so we 18:28 are headed towards what some call a time of Jacob's trouble, 18:32 a time of little trouble, a time of great disruption 18:34 on the earth, but before the time of 18:37 tribulation and Christ's coming. 18:39 The point is, because we don't know exactly 18:42 when those things happen and because we don't know exactly 18:45 the way between here and there, the point is we are living in 18:49 the End Times. 18:50 We are living in prophetic times. 18:52 We are living in historic times. 18:54 JB So is it fair to say that if we didn't have some of these 18:56 environmental pressures in the world then we might not see last 19:02 day Bible prophecy being fulfilled with the rapidity that 19:05 it is being fulfilled. 19:06 Is that what you are saying? 19:07 SC That is what I am saying. 19:08 If we open our eyes we can see things that are pointing to 19:12 Scripture and that are pointing to prophecy and the fulfillment 19:14 of that prophecy. 19:15 In Mark 13:32-37 we are told repeatedly to watch and to pray. 19:23 We are told to watch. 19:24 And we are not told to watch and then given nothing to watch for. 19:28 So in this time we are seeing the culmination of the effects 19:32 of sin and we are seeing that bleed into or actually 19:37 be a causative of prophetic fulfillment. 19:41 That's a big deal. 19:42 JB Yes it is. 19:43 I wonder if we can talk about the direct link, 19:45 how we get from cause to effect. 19:47 There we were in the Garden of Eden, 19:48 everything was very perfect. 19:50 Eve and then Adam ate the fruit that was offered them by the 19:53 serpent. 19:55 Things went on pretty well, it seems. 19:57 Now God said things are going to change. 20:00 For instance, thorns were going to grow. 20:02 SC That's right. 20:03 JB So thorns, the direct result of sin. 20:05 SC Thorns are the direct result of sin but this is also under 20:09 debate because God placed three successive curses 20:14 upon the earth. 20:15 There is the curse of Adam. 20:17 We have to till, sweat of your brow, 20:18 and thorns and thistles. 20:22 So would this curse have come without sin? 20:24 No. 20:25 Would thorns have come without this curse? 20:28 Well, there's room for debate there 20:29 and I will leave that to the theologians. 20:31 But the two, it's definitely one piece. 20:34 But then there is also the curse of Cain where again the 20:37 productivity of the earth is cursed. 20:39 And then there is the final curse if you will, 20:40 which is not an explicit curse, but what else could the flood be 20:43 called that turned a beautiful and perfect world into a world 20:48 that is not productive the way it used to be. 20:52 JB One thing I am interested in is that you say, 20:55 very appropriately, I believe, 20:58 that it is hard for us to really gauge this as we might 21:01 because we only see a very thin slice of the pie 21:04 owing to the fact that we live on this earth such a 21:06 short time relative to its longevity. 21:09 What do you think we would think if we saw the world before the 21:13 flood? 21:15 SC I think we would be heartbroken that we can't live 21:17 there now. 21:18 I think we would be so stunned by the beauty and the 21:21 peacefulness and the security. 21:24 You know, the earth that was created to 21:26 delight us daily and astound us daily 21:29 and yet we have to live here. 21:32 Those who have hope would be excited and those without hope 21:37 might gain hope through Christ. 21:39 But really, if we knew what we were missing 21:41 out on, and we're talking earth, 21:43 not heaven, you know, we are just talking the earth 21:45 and heaven is so much more glorious. 21:46 If we knew what we were missing out on, 21:48 I think we would have a very difficult time just enduring 21:51 our lives here. 21:53 JB The signs around us tell us Jesus is coming back soon. 21:56 SC Absolutely. 21:57 JB The environment says we are headed in a certain direction. 22:00 It isn't good. 22:02 Scientists are trying. 22:03 Governments have treaties and protocols and proposals 22:06 and so forth. 22:07 Nothing is working, is it? 22:08 SC No. 22:09 The consequences of sin must be fully known so that rebellion 22:13 does not happen again. 22:14 We are told in Revelation that Satan was in rebellion and took 22:18 his angels with him so this can't happen again 22:21 and Christ says, you know, 22:23 these things must happen. 22:24 These things must take place. 22:26 So there is no fix. 22:28 But look. 22:28 Here is the thing, you know, 22:31 and I have said it before. 22:31 Does our sense of urgency match the current situation? 22:36 Are we fully awake? 22:37 Are we on our "A" game for Christ?" 22:40 Are we working in a way that the current situation calls for? 22:46 And no, we are pretty much asleep as in Matthew 25. 22:49 JB There are certain things environmental issues that we 22:51 might see in the world that perhaps there are ... I don't 22:55 want to say solutions for ... 22:56 but other ways of doing things. 22:59 But there is something that appears to get in the way very 23:02 often and that is human greed which is sin. 23:06 SC Right. 23:07 JB So if we could only take sin out of the picture we might have 23:11 ways to deal with certain environmental issues, 23:13 certain environmental problems, certain pollution issues. 23:17 But whenever somebody has a dollar in the game, 23:21 a bottom line to protect, that old greed instinct kicks in. 23:26 Self gets involved rather than selflessness. 23:29 It seems as long as there are people who are not committed to 23:34 Jesus and who are living for their own self rather than 23:37 for Christ, there is just no way out. 23:41 SC Well I think this is an argument for why the earth has 23:44 to be recreated and why humans are changed in the twinkling of 23:49 an eye. 23:51 Nothing that is tainted by sin will make it into the new earth 23:55 and will make it into heaven. 23:57 I mean you talk of basically the power of sin, 24:00 the power of sin to decay, the power of sin to destroy. 24:03 We see it in the world around us. 24:05 We are coming to the point, even with our short term 24:07 observation, that we can see it in the 24:08 natural world. 24:10 It has to be obliterated for us to be able to return to an earth 24:16 that is not in decay. 24:18 JB The message is the earth is going in one direction but 24:22 the good news about that is that it is telling us Jesus is 24:25 coming back soon. 24:26 SC Absolutely. 24:27 JB Surely there is no more important work we can do now 24:29 than to be ready for the Lord's return. 24:32 SC And this is the big question. 24:34 Are we ready? 24:35 Really, this is where the rubber meets the road. 24:40 We see the signs. 24:41 The earth is decaying. 24:43 We see prophecy being fulfilled. 24:45 We see the fullness of sin, both in man and the earth. 24:49 Are we ready? 24:49 Do we know Jesus Christ as a friend? 24:51 Are we ready to lean on him in the days ahead? 24:54 Are we ready to embrace Him when he returns? 24:57 This is the actual question. 25:00 JB Scott Christiansen, it has been wonderful. 25:01 Thanks for taking the time. 25:02 SC My pleasure. 25:03 JB God bless you. 25:08 Let me ask you. 25:09 Why do you believe what you believe and is there really good 25:12 evidence for having faith in God and the Bible? 25:16 I want you to have solid evidence for your faith which is 25:19 why I am offering you this free book, 25:22 When Faith Crumbles . 25:24 Reading this book will grow your faith in God and give you reason 25:27 after reason that you can believe the Bible. 25:30 To get your free copy of When Faith Crumbles , 25:33 call right now, 1.800.253.3000, 25:37 that's 1.800.253.3000. 25:42 Now supplies of this book are limited so call right away. 25:45 If the line is busy, do call again and let us know 25:48 you want to receive When Faith Crumbles . 25:51 Now as I said, supplies are limited so call 25:54 right away. 25:55 800.253.3000 and please keep in mind 25:59 that It Is Written is a donor-supported ministry. 26:01 If it was not for the support of people like you, 26:04 I would not be able to share the good news of the Bible with 26:07 people all over the world and people all over the world 26:10 must hear the great truths of the Bible. 26:13 Please, share the blessing you receive. 26:15 Help us change lives for eternity. 26:18 To support It Is Written call 1.800.253.3000 or visit us 26:22 on-line at itiswritten.com 26:27 As we look around the world it seems that there is no doubt 26:30 there are signs that ought to alert us 26:32 that Jesus is coming back soon. 26:34 The question is: Are you ready? 26:37 When Jesus comes back, will that be good news for you? 26:40 I hope so and he hopes so too. 26:42 Let's pray together than when Jesus returns it will be for us 26:46 the best thing that has ever happened. 26:49 Our Father in heaven, thank you that we have a hope, 26:50 hope through all of the signs, hope through the distress 26:52 and decay, hope through an environment 26:55 which is creaking and waxing old, 26:57 that Jesus is coming back soon and I pray that when he does 27:01 He'll gather us together and take us with him. 27:04 Lord, there is just one thing and that is if Jesus 27:07 owns our heart. 27:08 Friend, as we pray, would you yield your heart to 27:11 Jesus? 27:11 Would you invite Him now to be your Lord and your Savior? 27:15 Would you let him live His life in you? 27:17 Father, please do those things and we will look beyond 27:20 the decay of this world to the hope we have in Jesus, 27:23 to that wonderful day when he comes back. 27:25 Keep us until then, I pray, 27:28 in Jesus' name, Amen. 27:47 I am very thankful you joined us today. 27:49 I look forward to seeing you again next time. 27:51 Until then, remember It is written, 27:54 man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that 27:59 proceeds from the mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-02-06