Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW019190S
|
00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:21 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:24 ♪[music]♪ 00:24 People are fascinated by the future. 00:27 What will tomorrow be like? 00:29 Or next year? Or next century? 00:32 We've long looked forward to flying cars 00:34 and cities on the moon. 00:36 Children a generation ago watched "The Jetsons" 00:38 and "Lost in Space" and "Star Trek." 00:41 A Swiss physician in the 1950s predicted that surgery 00:44 would one day no longer be needed as every illness 00:48 could be treated with a pill. 00:50 We're still making predictions. 00:51 Engineers at Google have, probably self-servingly, 00:54 predicted that it won't be long 00:56 and people will be able to live forever. 00:59 But who'd have thought 50 years ago that you'd be able to carry 01:01 a device in your pocket that would let you communicate 01:03 with anyone and access information about anything 01:07 at any time from anywhere? 01:10 There are still people who read horoscopes, 01:12 believing that an astrologer is able to predict circumstances 01:15 for your life based on the position of the sun 01:19 when you were born. 01:20 Any validity to that? 01:22 No. 01:23 Even a little bit? 01:25 No. 01:26 Nothing scientific, nothing reliable, 01:28 nothing credible about that at all. 01:31 So why do people give it the time of day? 01:34 Because the future intrigues us, 01:36 and an answer today about tomorrow is irresistible 01:40 for some people. 01:41 There are spiritist mediums who claim to be able to tell you 01:44 what has happened or what will happen, 01:45 what your future holds, 01:47 or that they can bring you messages from the other side. 01:51 Can they? 01:53 No. 01:54 At least, not with the cooperation of God, 01:57 not with God's blessing. 01:59 If you recall the story in the Bible about King Saul 02:02 consulting the witch of En Dor, you'll remember that God 02:05 was completely opposed to that practice. 02:08 She's referred to as the witch of En Dor for a reason. 02:12 In her professional life she was getting information 02:15 from somewhere. 02:17 If she was getting it from anywhere, 02:19 it was the dark side, from the devil. 02:22 There's nothing about psychics 02:23 and mediums and séances and so on that Christians 02:26 ought to have anything at all to do with. 02:31 Today we continue our ongoing series, 02:33 "Great Chapters of the Bible." 02:35 There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible. 02:38 Of course, it's a little subjective to be singling out 02:41 some chapters of the Bible and not others as great. 02:44 But there are undoubtedly memorable chapters, 02:47 some mountaintop chapters. 02:49 Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter. 02:51 Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible 02:54 and deals almost entirely with the subject of God's Word. 02:57 Matthew chapter 5 contains the Beatitudes. 03:00 In Exodus 20, God wrote the Ten Commandments 03:03 on two tables of stone. 03:04 In Daniel chapter 2, Babylonian king has an epic dream, 03:08 which turns out to be an incredible prophecy 03:10 about the rise and fall of nations, 03:13 from the time of King Nebuchadnezzar 03:15 until the return of Jesus to this earth. 03:19 Today, a look into the future, 03:22 at least from the perspective of when these words were spoken. 03:26 In Matthew chapter 23, 03:27 Jesus is speaking to a group of scribes and Pharisees, 03:31 religious leaders who prided themselves 03:34 in their strict adherence to the law of God. 03:35 He calls them "a brood of vipers." 03:38 He tells them their fathers killed the prophets, 03:40 that they are no better. 03:42 He says in verse 37: 03:43 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets 03:47 and stones those who are sent to her! 03:50 How often I wanted to gather your children together, 03:53 as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 03:56 but you were not willing." 03:58 And then this: 04:00 "Your house is left to you desolate." 04:04 [inhales sharply] Chilling words. 04:07 The chosen ones, this people God had rescued from Egypt, 04:11 had sustained in the wilderness for 40 years, 04:13 and then brought into the land that flowed with milk and honey, 04:16 and He says, essentially, "I'm done with you." 04:19 The disciples of Jesus listened to this, and they wondered. 04:23 And Matthew chapter 24 begins like this: 04:29 "Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, 04:33 and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings 04:35 of the temple." 04:37 Just what they were expecting Jesus to say is not recorded 04:40 in the passage, but those buildings were magnificent. 04:43 You'd anticipate that a person would have admired them. 04:46 This was the second temple, refurbished by King Herod, 04:50 who had a [in French accent] penchant, 04:52 or a penchant, for massive building projects. 04:54 The Temple Mount was his masterpiece. 04:57 But Jesus' response was not what anyone was expecting: 05:02 "Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here 05:06 upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 05:10 Now, you can visit Jerusalem today and see some of those 05:12 very stones that were pushed off the Temple Mount. 05:15 They are huge. 05:17 It's no wonder the disciples expected the temple 05:19 to stand forever. 05:21 And so they asked Jesus a question. 05:24 This is Matthew 24 and verse 3: 05:28 "Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, 05:30 the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 05:34 'Tell us, when will these things be? 05:37 And what will be the sign of Your coming, 05:40 and of the end of the age?'" 05:43 Jesus' answer was interesting. 05:46 They asked Him two questions, but He blended the answer. 05:49 Tell us about Your return to the earth 05:52 and the end of the age. 05:53 And, tell us about this phenomenal time 05:56 when Jerusalem will be destroyed. 05:59 But you'll notice something, Jesus' initial response. 06:02 He, in fact, didn't immediately answer the question. 06:05 But He gave His friends a warning. 06:07 This is verse 4 and verse 5: 06:10 "And Jesus answered and said to them: 06:13 'Take heed that no one deceives you. 06:16 For many will come in my name, saying, 06:18 "I am the Christ," and will deceive many.'" 06:23 In more modern times, there have been spiritual leaders 06:25 who have led people away from faith in God. 06:30 Jim Jones led a large group of followers to Guyana 06:33 in the 1970s. 06:35 You wonder how 900 people could die, 06:37 more than 300 of them children. 06:41 But Jones was a charismatic individual. 06:43 He came in the name of Jesus. 06:45 He undoubtedly did a lot of good. 06:47 In a turbulent time, he ran a church that was a model 06:50 of racial harmony. 06:51 He'd been endorsed by people in high places. 06:53 But again, remember, he did what he did in the name of Jesus. 06:57 David Koresh, the leader of the group that perished 07:00 at Waco, Texas, was another who quoted the Bible and used, 07:03 or, or misused, Scripture, 07:06 and succeeded in convincing a group of people to follow him 07:10 into what turned out to be a tragedy. 07:13 There are many religious leaders today leading cults 07:15 that exert control over the minds of others and lead people 07:19 into dark spiritual places. 07:22 The solution to that, of course, is that a person prayerfully 07:25 reads the Bible for themselves and follows God's leading, 07:28 according to the Bible 07:30 and not according to the word of another person. 07:33 Once someone gets caught up with a false spiritual leader, 07:38 it's not always easy to get out of that mess. 07:40 Let's bring that closer to home. 07:42 It might be that your relationship with God 07:44 is being dictated to, 07:45 that someone doesn't want you to think for yourself. 07:48 Maybe a domineering spiritual leader is wielding 07:50 outsized authority in your life. 07:53 Let me encourage you to think for yourself, 07:55 to get as spiritually healthy as you can, 07:57 and to refuse to be led away from the teachings of Jesus. 08:03 For the Christian, the final authority is the Word of God, 08:06 not the word of a pastor, or the word of a priest, 08:08 or the word of a politician. 08:10 Make the Bible your guide and let the teachings of God, 08:14 let the sayings of Jesus give direction to your life. 08:19 I'll be back with more from Matthew 24 in just a moment. 08:23 ♪[music]♪ 08:31 >>Announcer: The signs of Jesus' return are all around us. 08:34 But what does the Bible say we should look for? 08:37 Find out by getting today's free offer, 08:39 "Seeing the Signs." 08:41 To receive this free DVD, 08:43 call 800-253-3000 08:45 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 08:49 Find out for yourself what the Bible says 08:51 about the signs of Jesus' soon return. 08:53 Call 800-253-3000 08:56 or visit iiwoffer.com. 08:58 ♪[music]♪ 09:02 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 09:05 We're looking at another great chapter of the Bible, 09:07 this time, Matthew 24. 09:10 Jesus' disciples asked Him to tell them about two things: 09:14 the signs of His coming and of the end of the world. 09:18 And after warning them against being deceived by false christs, 09:22 people who would come in His name and deceive many, 09:25 He said this in verses 6 and 7: 09:28 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. 09:32 See that you are not troubled; 09:33 for all these things must come to pass, 09:36 but the end is not yet. 09:39 For nation will rise against nation, 09:41 and kingdom against kingdom." 09:43 So how are we doing for wars? 09:45 Yes, there were wars in Bible times, 09:47 but we both know that in recent times the incidence of war 09:51 and the extreme effects of war have become greater and greater. 09:55 Whatever Planet Earth might have witnessed in ancient times, 09:59 more recent centuries have been truly shocking. 10:03 You know, it's estimated that when Spain conquered the Aztecs, 10:06 more than 24 million people perished. 10:10 Millions died in the Thirty Years' War 10:12 in Europe in the 1600s. 10:15 In World War I, there were around 20 million deaths, 10:18 and then World War II cost around 70 million lives. 10:24 Add to that the Korean War, the Vietnam War, 10:26 the wars in Nigeria and Yemen and Bangladesh and Mexico 10:29 and Bosnia and Angola and Sudan and the Middle East and... 10:34 [exhales sharply] 10:35 And it's a wonder there's anyone left on the planet. 10:37 Jesus said that the time of His return 10:40 would be characterized by warfare. 10:43 The day in which we live undoubtedly sounds 10:45 like that time: 10:47 nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 10:52 And Jesus went on to say, 10:53 "And there will be famines, pestilences, 10:55 and earthquakes in various places." 10:58 What do we know about famines? 11:00 In the 1800s, a famine in Ireland killed a million people 11:04 and saw another million leave the country. 11:06 There have been devastating famines in China. 11:09 Two million or more died in the Persian famine 11:12 of about 100 years ago. 11:14 The Soviet famine of the 1930s resulted in the deaths 11:17 of between 5 and 8 million people. 11:21 Just think about that number. 11:24 The Great Chinese Famine in the middle of the last century 11:27 caused tens of millions of deaths. 11:30 But then there's the Biafra famine and Ethiopia 11:33 and so many more. 11:35 So notice what Jesus said: 11:37 Famine would be a sign of His return. 11:39 That being the case, then our day could easily be the day 11:43 that Jesus was talking about. 11:45 Now, today we're doing better globally with famine, 11:48 and that's owing to improved agriculture techniques 11:50 and the ability to get food to people who need it. 11:53 But with food deserts becoming more and more common these days, 11:58 it doesn't take much imagination to realize that things could get 12:01 much worse very quickly. 12:03 Desperate water shortages have plagued major cities 12:06 in various parts of the world in recent years. 12:09 Jesus spoke about pestilences-- disease epidemics. 12:14 You can think about some of the colossal disease outbreaks 12:16 of centuries ago. 12:17 Or, we could start a little closer to our time. 12:21 In 1918 and 1919, between 30 and 50 million people died worldwide 12:29 from influenza, the flu. 12:33 More than 25 million people have died from AIDs, 12:36 while more than 35 million people currently live with HIV. 12:41 In recent years we've tried to get our heads around 12:43 some disturbing new diseases, like H1N1--swine flu-- 12:47 and SARS and Ebola. 12:49 We're probably forgetting that tuberculosis is killing 12:52 more than a million people a year right now. 12:57 And what about the pestilences 12:58 that we just become comfortable with? 13:00 It's estimated that in 2018 there were 17 million new cases 13:05 of cancer worldwide and 9 1/2 million cancer deaths. 13:10 Almost 450 million people live with diabetes, 13:15 and just under 2 million people a year die as a result. 13:19 The World Health Organization says that 18 million people 13:21 a year die from heart disease, which is, 13:24 which is almost 1 in every 3 deaths. 13:26 Fifteen million people a year have a stroke. 13:28 More than a third of them die as a result. 13:31 Keep in mind we live with these diseases. 13:33 We sort of expect that we'll get them 13:35 or that someone we know will. 13:37 These are the killers we become comfortable with. 13:40 Jesus said that pestilences-- disease epidemics-- 13:44 would be a sign of His return. 13:47 And He mentioned earthquakes as a sign of His return. 13:50 Iran, 2003: 31, 000 or more people dead. 13:54 Pakistan, 2005: around 100,000 dead. 13:57 China, 2008: 88,000 dead. 14:01 Two hundred and twenty-eight thousand people dead as a result 14:04 of a tsunami in Asia that was triggered by an earthquake. 14:08 Haiti, in 2010, as many as 300,000 people died. 14:16 And we remember earthquakes in many other parts of the world. 14:20 Now, notice something that Jesus said about this, 14:23 because it would be understandable if someone said, 14:25 "Oh, oh, John, we've had these things forever. 14:27 Wars in Bible times, famines in Bible times, 14:30 pestilences, too." 14:31 Well, of course, that's true. 14:33 But what Jesus said is really worth noting. 14:36 He said this in Matthew 24, verse 8. 14:38 He said, "All these are the beginning of sorrows." 14:43 Now, that word He used there, "sorrows," 14:46 that's a word that signifies "birth pains." 14:49 Now, you can tell by looking at me that I'm no expert 14:51 in birth pains, but here's what we know. 14:54 When a baby gets close to entering into the world, 14:57 contractions begin. 14:59 The closer to delivery, the more frequent and the more intense 15:03 the birth pains become. 15:06 Jesus said that the signs of His return would be like 15:09 birth pains. 15:10 Now, another earthquake doesn't mean too much on its own. 15:13 Neither does another disease outbreak. 15:16 But take them together, 15:17 and recognizing that they're becoming more and more frequent 15:20 and more intense, 15:23 you can't fail to recognize that what Jesus said, 15:26 that these are a sign of the end of the age, 15:29 is of special relevance. 15:32 If these signs indicate that the return of Jesus is near, 15:36 what are you doing to prepare for that? 15:39 How are you living your life? 15:41 Have you invited Jesus to live His life in you? 15:44 Have you accepted His offer 15:45 of a new heart and a new start in life? 15:48 He'll give you new direction. 15:50 He'll give you a new hope. 15:52 All the talk about the end of the world 15:53 and eternity in heaven, it's all true. 15:57 God wants you to know today that He wants you to be ready 16:00 for eternity through having faith in Jesus 16:04 as your sin-bearer. 16:05 More from Matthew 24, another great chapter of the Bible, 16:09 in just a moment. 16:10 ♪[music]♪ 16:19 >>Announcer: The signs of Jesus' return are all around us. 16:22 But what does the Bible say we should look for? 16:25 Find out by getting today's free offer, 16:27 "Seeing the Signs." 16:28 To receive this free DVD, 16:30 call 800-253-3000 16:33 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 16:36 Find out for yourself what the Bible says 16:38 about the signs of Jesus' soon return. 16:41 Call 800-253-3000 16:43 or visit iiwoffer.com. 16:46 ♪[music]♪ 16:49 [wind howling] 16:50 >>John Bradshaw: December 21, 2012, 16:52 was when the Maya calendar was set to expire. 16:55 Many said with the expiration of this calendar 16:58 would come the end of the world. 17:01 [birds twittering] 17:03 The Maya were remarkable builders, 17:05 but they did not predict the end of the world. 17:07 So where can we find predictions that we can trust? 17:11 Recent reports state that more and more people 17:14 are embracing witchcraft, tarot card reading, and astrology. 17:19 People are grabbing on to this, 17:21 even though there's absolutely no evidence that it's valid, 17:25 and they're rejecting the Bible. 17:27 Now, the Bible isn't simply a book of predictions. 17:30 It's the story of God's love for the human family. 17:33 But it's true that the Bible does contain predictions. 17:37 In fact, God stakes His reputation on His ability 17:41 to forecast the future. 17:43 "Predictions You Can Trust." 17:45 Watch now on It Is Written TV. 17:49 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 17:53 Matthew chapter 24 is one of the landmark chapters of the Bible. 17:57 It's a chapter like no other. 17:59 Well, almost. 18:01 Luke 21 is an alternate account of this message given by Jesus 18:05 to His disciples, 18:06 very similar information there. 18:09 In Matthew 24, Jesus said this in verse 12: 18:13 "And because iniquity shall abound, 18:16 the love of many shall wax cold." 18:19 Doesn't that sound like the world in which we live? 18:22 I don't want to be an alarmist, 18:23 but consider a couple of things that are incontrovertible. 18:27 In recent times there's been an unmistakable rise of incivility 18:31 in the United States. 18:33 It would be okay if that's as bad as it got, 18:35 but it gets a whole lot worse. 18:37 There's currently a terrible plague of mass killings, 18:41 in schools and in nightclubs and concerts and places of worship 18:46 and places of employment. 18:49 Yes, of course, there's been violence in the world 18:51 since Cain killed Abel, but while the rate of violent crime 18:54 is actually down in many parts of the United States, 18:57 at least since the early 1990s, 18:59 what we're seeing today is truly unprecedented. 19:02 Back to that idea of birth pains in verse 8, 19:04 it's not just that these things happen, 19:07 but that these terrible events are more frequent 19:10 and, it seems, more intense. 19:13 But notice what Jesus says in verse 13: 19:16 "But he that shall endure unto the end, 19:18 the same shall be saved." 19:21 In a discourse where He's talking about some real hardship 19:24 coming to the world, 19:25 He goes on to speak about the "abomination of desolation," 19:28 about "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning 19:32 of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." 19:36 He encourages people to, to "[endure] to the end." 19:40 Now, that's significant. 19:42 You know, there are many reasons people fall away from faith 19:45 in God, and so often those reasons are small. 19:51 Here's what I mean. 19:52 A man falls into sin, 19:53 and, and then he feels as though God won't accept him back. 19:56 Someone gets tangled up in something they regret, 19:58 and then they feel so much shame they don't want to face people 20:01 at church, and so they stay away. 20:04 Then it becomes easier to stay away. 20:05 They say, "It'll be okay because I'll stay close to God." 20:08 But, of course, that just doesn't happen. 20:11 Discouragement drags a lot of people away from God. 20:14 Failure does. 20:17 When what we know is that God is patient, 20:21 kind, loving, and forgiving, these things ought not so to be. 20:28 We shouldn't let any of that keep us out of the arms 20:32 of a loving God. 20:34 In Luke 21, it speaks of persecution, 20:36 but Jesus says that will turn for you to a testimony. 20:40 God's able to bring something wonderful out of something 20:44 truly difficult. 20:46 It's what God does. 20:48 If you're facing difficulty in your life right now, 20:50 I want to encourage you to endure. 20:53 Hang in there with God. Things will turn around. 20:56 And God will bring you through. 20:57 It's what He does. 20:58 You don't need to be able to see the end from the beginning. 21:01 You just need to believe that God does. 21:03 I hear people talk about the need for a person 21:05 to be able to forgive themselves. 21:08 I've never read that in the Bible. 21:10 We're not told to forgive ourselves, 21:12 but to trust that God forgives. 21:15 He does. 21:16 And He always will. 21:18 There's a need to endure, 21:20 and if you feel like you don't have the strength to do that, 21:22 remember what Paul told the church at Ephesus: 21:25 "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." 21:28 God is your strength. 21:29 You lean on Him, and He will sustain you. 21:32 Now, there's more in Matthew chapter 24. 21:34 Jesus speaks about signs in the sun and the moon. 21:38 A few years ago, the BBC ran a story entitled 21:41 "What Caused the Dark Day?" 21:44 Through the years, people have postulated that maybe 21:46 it was an eclipse, or smoke from a fire, or a thick cloud. 21:50 But it was none of that. 21:52 It was May 19; the year was 1780. 21:56 While it was still morning, darkness descended 21:59 across New England in the United States. 22:02 Night fell by lunchtime. 22:05 People lit candles. 22:07 Many people began to pray, 22:08 wondering if this was the end of the world. 22:11 It wasn't. 22:13 But it was a fulfillment of a prediction 22:15 in Matthew 24, verse 29: 22:18 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days 22:21 shall the sun be darkened, 22:22 and the moon shall not give her light, 22:25 and the stars shall fall from heaven, 22:27 and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." 22:30 It's calculated that on November the 12th in 1833, 22:32 about 30 meteors were seen a second. 22:36 About 150,000 of them, in all, 22:38 seen across much of the United States. 22:40 Now, at that time, the Second Great Awakening was underway, 22:44 a major religious revival, 22:46 so you can see what God was doing. 22:48 The Pittsburgh Gazette wrote, 22:49 "Some say it looked as if the heavens were pouring down 22:52 showers of fire-- 22:54 others, that it resembled the falling of brilliant 22:56 and burning snow-- 22:58 not an occasional spit here and there, 23:01 but as it would look in a storm--save only, 23:04 that the flakes flew in an opposite direction to the wind." 23:08 God was trying to get people's attention. 23:11 The signs of Matthew 24 were being fulfilled. 23:15 It was time that people made sure they were right with God 23:19 because, broadly speaking, 23:20 humanity was entering its final days. 23:25 Jesus said in verse 33: 23:27 "When you see all these things, 23:28 know that it is near-- at the doors!" 23:33 Later in the chapter, He said that the day of His return 23:35 will be like it was in the days of Noah. 23:37 In Noah's day, the whole world was invited to get on the ark 23:41 and be saved, but in that time of amazing wickedness, 23:46 only eight people accepted the invitation. 23:49 Jesus spoke of a time when two women would be at the mill, 23:52 two men in a field, and He said that 23:54 one would be saved while the other would be lost. 23:57 You know that message is clear. 23:58 People with similar opportunities, 24:01 and yet one is saved, and one is lost. 24:06 Matthew chapter 24 touches on a lot, 24:08 but the entire chapter is given to encourage us to be ready 24:12 to meet Jesus, to be ready for His return, 24:14 to be ready for eternity. 24:17 So let me ask you: 24:20 Are you ready? 24:21 If you are, that's wonderful news. 24:25 If you're not, I have some wonderful news for you. 24:29 You're watching this right now 24:32 because that has been ordained by God. 24:36 And I'm going to invite you to be ready now. 24:38 "Ready" means you've handed your heart over to God. 24:42 It doesn't mean that you've fixed all your problems. 24:44 It means that you've invited Jesus into your heart, 24:46 that you've accepted Him as Savior, 24:49 that you believe He accepts you, because He does. 24:52 And now you live with confidence that He's with you, 24:54 and He's growing you, and that He's coming back to this world 24:57 for you one day soon to take you to be with Him forever. 25:02 In verse 42, Jesus says: 25:06 "Watch therefore, 25:08 for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming." 25:12 We can't know exactly when it is, 25:14 but we can know His coming is near. 25:15 So Jesus says, "Watch. Be ready. Watch. Don't delay." 25:20 This whole chapter is given 25:21 so we should not be casual about faith. 25:24 We ought to take it seriously enough to accept Jesus 25:27 into our lives right now. 25:29 ♪[soft music]♪ 25:30 Friend, how's that working out for you? 25:31 An entire chapter letting you know that sign after sign 25:35 after sign after sign has been fulfilled, 25:40 and that Jesus is coming back for you soon. 25:45 I have one more verse for you, Matthew 24:14. 25:48 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached 25:51 in all the world as a witness to all...nations, 25:55 and then the end will come." 25:58 The gospel hasn't yet gone to everyone everywhere, 26:02 but we're getting close. 26:04 We're close. Matthew 24 says we're getting close. 26:08 So watch, pray, invite Jesus into your heart, 26:13 believe that He is your Lord and your Savior, 26:16 and when you do, 26:17 you can know for sure that eternal life is yours. 26:26 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 26:28 exists because of the kindness of people just like you. 26:31 To support this international life-changing ministry, 26:35 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 26:39 You can send your tax-deductible gift 26:40 to the address on your screen, 26:42 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 26:46 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 26:49 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 26:53 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 26:57 >>John Bradshaw: Let's pray together now. 26:58 Our Father in heaven, thank You for showing us 27:00 in Matthew 24 that Jesus' return is not far off. 27:04 Thank You for the signs, 27:05 so many of which we can see have been fulfilled. 27:09 We know that He is near, even at the doors, 27:11 and so, Lord, take our hearts; make them Yours. 27:15 Friend, will you surrender your heart to Jesus now? 27:17 If you wouldn't, why wouldn't you? 27:19 What are you waiting for? 27:21 Jesus offers you everlasting life, and if you would say, 27:24 "Yes, I accept that now. 27:26 Lord, come into my heart, into my life; change me; 27:28 make me Yours; forgive me; 27:29 I believe I'm forgiven, and now I have confidence in You," 27:33 this will change your life... 27:36 and bring into your life everlasting life. 27:39 Lord, we believe that time is short. 27:43 So take our hearts; make them Yours. 27:46 We believe it, in Jesus' name. 27:50 Amen. 27:51 Thanks so much for joining me. 27:52 Looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:54 Until then, remember: 27:56 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:59 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 28:04 ♪[theme music]♪ |
Revised 2020-03-24