Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht
Series Code: RIN
Program Code: RIN000002
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00:59 We're going tonight to Galilee.
01:01 And we want to begin with a little bit of a geographical 01:05 lesson, if you'll allow me please. 01:07 Over on the extreme right, you see... 01:10 Or the extreme left rather, of course, 01:12 that's the Mediterranean Sea. 01:14 In your Bible map, it'll say the Great Sea. 01:17 And then, if we come across the bottom third of the map, 01:21 we see the north shore of the Dead Sea, right there it is. 01:26 And if we happen to go about 18 miles straight west, 01:30 we have the city of Jerusalem. 01:32 There it is. 01:34 Now we go back to the north end of the Dead Sea 01:37 and we follow the Jordan river North. 01:41 By the way, it's only 60 miles, but because the Jordan winds 01:46 and wonders so, it's a distance, if you were going to float it 01:49 on an inner tube, it's 200 miles. 01:51 That's more than a day's journey. 01:53 And then we see the kidney shaped waters of the beautiful 01:57 Sea of Galilee. 01:59 So let's get there, shall we. 02:00 It is beautiful beyond description. 02:03 This is Mount Hermon, they call this mountain 02:06 in all of the Middle East. 02:09 It has upon its peaks, eternal snows. 02:11 And this is the south side of the mountain 02:14 that we're looking it. 02:16 The snow melts and runs down the south side 02:20 into two large creeks, which confluence, 02:23 come together at the south end and form the waters 02:27 of the Jordan river. 02:29 It's 12 miles, then, from the confluence down to the 02:33 north shore of Galilee. 02:35 And that's where we're going to go after we 02:37 have a view from the top. 02:39 This, ladies and gentlemen, is the ski area 02:42 for the Middle East. 02:43 And folks from all over Palestine come here. 02:47 And some folks are allowed to cross the border 02:49 if they have the right papers and the right relationships. 02:52 In the summer time, folks come here to just ride 02:55 the chair lifts up to the top. 02:57 Because from the top of this mountain, 02:59 you have a wonderful view into the Beqaa Valley of Syria. 03:03 And looking on to the north and the west into Beirut Lebanon 03:08 and the beautiful waters that front it. 03:10 And then, if you look to the south, you can see the Dead Sea. 03:14 And beyond that to the south and the east, over into Jordan. 03:19 Now, we're going to look at the beautiful waters. 03:23 The waters of the Jordan river are pure because they're 03:26 the result of snow melt and ice melt. 03:29 And they're filled with trout. 03:32 And not too very far from here, by the way, is the place where 03:35 Jesus was baptized. 03:37 Here it is where this river makes a big bend. 03:40 And in late fall, when most all of the snow has melted 03:44 off the slopes of Mount Hermon, there is sufficient water 03:47 here in this bend in order to immerse. 03:50 And that's why we believe the Bible says that 03:53 John was baptizing in a place called Anon. 03:56 And Jesus, the record of Matthew 3 and John 3 tells us, 04:00 came here and was baptized by John the Baptist. 04:03 And do you remember, John the Baptist was very reluctant. 04:06 He said, "No, you need to baptize me. " 04:09 And Jesus said, "No, this needs to be done 04:11 to fulfill righteousness. " 04:14 Now we have gone to the south end of the Sea of Galilee. 04:20 And we've stopped at the only village around the lake shore. 04:25 And that's a surprise in many ways. 04:27 You would think that because of such a beautiful body of water 04:31 that there would be little villages or subdivisions 04:34 all around it. 04:35 And that's not the case at all. 04:36 This is the only village, and this is Tiberius. 04:40 It was named, originated and named by Herod the Great 04:44 twenty years before the birth of Jesus. 04:47 In honor, of course, of Tiberius Caesar. 04:51 Now, our Lord Jesus preached in all of the other villages 04:54 around here except Tiberius. 04:57 He didn't preach here. 04:58 All of the other villages rejected Jesus. 05:01 And in some places, they tried to take His life. 05:04 And we're going to mention it when soon 05:06 we get up to Capernaum, Jesus said to the other villages, 05:09 "You're going to be brought low. " 05:11 And they're all gone. 05:12 All gone with this one exception. 05:15 And perhaps it's simply because Jesus didn't preach here. 05:19 Now, this village that we're looking at is the ancient part 05:22 that dates back hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. 05:25 And this fronts the Sea of Galilee. 05:27 The new Tiberius where the condominiums are and 05:31 the townhouses are, well that's back a little bit to the west. 05:35 I like to refer to the Galilee sea area as the Disney Land 05:41 of the Middle East, of Palestine for sure, 05:44 because this is the center of their recreation. 05:47 Not only do they come here to fish and to water ski 05:50 and do other kinds of water sports, but they also come 05:54 here to enjoy games and rides. 05:56 And there are lots of beautiful, beautiful motels with 06:00 luscious rooms and swimming pools. 06:03 And all of that sort of thing here. 06:04 So this, in my mind at least, is the Disney Land, 06:09 the Disney World really, of the Holy Land. 06:13 Now you'll see some boats out on the water. 06:16 And they're tugging at anchors. 06:20 Those are the same kinds of boats, they say, the same style 06:24 that were here when Jesus began to choose 06:27 from this area, His disciples. 06:30 Peter, James, John, Andrew, and most of the other of the twelve, 06:35 with a couple of exceptions, were in the 06:37 fishing business here. 06:38 And they fished from little boats just like these. 06:42 The difference now, of course, is that these boats 06:44 have Honda outboard motors. 06:47 They know what's good out here, don't they, huh? 06:50 Nothing quite like that little Honda engine, I guess. 06:53 Well, we're going to get aboard this boat and make a journey 06:56 some 9 miles north, up to the ruins of Capernaum. 07:02 Now let me tell you a little bit about the configuration 07:04 of the Sea of Galilee because you may find it interesting. 07:08 It is 12 miles long and it is about 4 miles wide 07:13 at the widest point. 07:14 And it is kidney shaped. 07:16 So we're going to get on some 4 miles north from the extreme 07:22 southern portion of the sea. 07:25 And we're going to make an 8 to 8.5 mile journey 07:28 up to the area of Capernaum. 07:30 And as we do that, we're going to see folks enjoying the water. 07:34 We're going to see some folks that are water skiing 07:37 and others on out there are fishing. 07:40 And it might even remind you of some folks here 07:42 on your own beautiful lake. 07:44 Now so very different really, from this area. 07:49 Now we have moved up to the north and east shore. 07:52 And every time I look at this picture, I'm reminded of the 07:55 time that a guy who'd stolen something from his brother 07:59 snuck off from right over in there. 08:01 Do you remember who that was? 08:02 He stole his brother's birthright. 08:05 Yea, his name was Jacob. 08:08 And that means, the deceiver, the supplanter, says the Bible. 08:12 And then later, after he'd repented and given his heart 08:16 completely to God, God renamed him and called him Israel. 08:19 Well, they say that it's not too very far over to the east which, 08:23 of course, is to our right, that Jacob wrestled with the Angel. 08:27 And said, "I won't let You go until You bless me. " 08:30 And then when he came back, after being those 08:34 many, many years working for his father-in-law 08:36 off in the far country, he entered the Holy Land, 08:39 they believe, right about in this same area. 08:42 We're going to begin to move across to the north and the west 08:46 and see some of the ruins. 08:47 Among them is a beautiful little Catholic chapel. 08:51 But that's really all that remains here except for ruins. 08:55 We go on now, over toward the west and we come to 08:59 the place called Saint Peter's house. 09:03 Can we be positive that this is where Peter lived? 09:05 No. Is there a good possibility? 09:08 Yes there is. 09:09 For the historical tradition goes way, way back 09:13 that these remains, these ruins, 09:15 that this is the spot of Peter's home. 09:18 Now, I want to remind you about the experience 09:22 between Jesus and Peter when Jesus called him. 09:26 Do you remember? 09:27 He said to Peter, "Come, and I'll make you a fisher of men. " 09:31 And Peter was likely scraping the barnacle's from the boat or, 09:34 perhaps, he was repairing the nets. 09:37 Peter might well have said, "You know, Lord, I'll tell You what. 09:40 If I scrape the barnacle's clean and repair the nets 09:43 and do a really good job, and give her a fresh coat of paint, 09:46 and trip the sails, I'll sell her for a few extra dollars and 09:49 I'll have those dollars to put in the offering. 09:52 And so I'll come and join You in a week or so. " 09:54 But do you know what the Bible says about Peter and Matthew? 09:57 It says "straightway". That's the King James. 10:00 That means, right now. 10:02 Right now, he turned and walked away and began to follow Jesus. 10:05 And I'd like to say to my heart and all of yours tonight, 10:09 that really, is the only way to do it. 10:11 When we hear the voice of Jesus calling us, 10:13 we need to do it right now. 10:15 That's the best and the safe way. 10:18 Well I want to tell you something else 10:20 that happened here then. 10:22 Peter's mother-in-law had not been well for a good while. 10:27 And so Peter says, "Lord, I know You can do it. 10:30 Would You heal my mother-in-law?" 10:32 And Jesus did that. 10:34 Right here. 10:35 Now we're going to begin to move on across toward the west. 10:38 And we're going to come to the ruins of an ancient temple. 10:43 Jesus preached in the temple here. 10:45 Was this temple the one? 10:47 No, but it's built on the exact same spot. 10:51 This one dates about 200 years after the time of Jesus. 10:55 But in the courtyard, there are some tiles, some flooring 11:00 of the original temple that was there when Jesus preached and 11:03 taught inside this temple. 11:05 And we'll go over and see them and I'll allow you to 11:09 reach out and touch one of them if you'd like. 11:12 But before we go there, I want you to notice the lintel beam. 11:15 This was the main entry. 11:18 And into that beam, there are carved some palm trees. 11:23 And I want to just point something out to you. 11:25 The one over on your left hand side, you'll see, 11:27 is in a natural state. 11:29 It's limbs, or fronds, are out in a natural sort of a way. 11:34 But the one on the opposite side is very different from that. 11:37 The palm fronds and limbs are tucked hard against 11:41 the main branch, the stump part of the tree. 11:45 And that was to give a warning and tell a story. 11:47 It was to suggest to everyone that went inside 11:51 that while inside the house of God, they offer a prayer 11:55 for the fishermen upon the Sea of Galilee. 11:58 For down south and on the west side, 12:01 there is what is called the pigeons gulf. 12:03 Others refer to it as the knife cut, or the pie cut. 12:08 And it is pie shaped. 12:10 Or perhaps a better illustration would be, taking a big slice 12:13 out of a layered cake. 12:16 A German chocolate layered cake, yeah. 12:20 Yea stop, huh? 12:22 I see some of you begin to salivate and 12:24 I'm feeling the same way. 12:25 But in any event, that cut goes clear over to the 12:28 Mediterranean Sea, and without warning the gusts of wind 12:32 would come off of the big sea, the great Mediterranean, 12:34 and right through here, and hit this lake without 12:37 any warning whatsoever. 12:39 And many a sailor lost his life because he was out in 12:42 the deep part, or out a good ways from shore 12:45 when his little boat was hit by the wind and knocked over. 12:49 And so this then, a reminder to be sure to pray for good weather 12:53 and for good luck for the fishermen. 12:56 We're going to then, begin to move on inside. 12:59 There are some of those tiles that they say 13:02 date back to the time of Jesus. 13:04 And they'll allow you to go right over and touch them. 13:07 And then you can go home and say, "I touched where the feet 13:11 of Jesus may have walked. " 13:14 If any of you ever get a chance to go to the Holy Land, 13:18 and right now it's not the safest place to go, 13:20 I feel a necessity to say that to you. 13:23 But many things will get better again in a few months. 13:26 I was asked not very long ago, "Are you going to take 13:29 another group out soon?" 13:30 And I said, "No I'm not, because of the safety precautions 13:36 that I feel I'm not comfortable with right now. " 13:40 But if ever you get a chance, when things are more peaceable, 13:43 go to the Holy Land. 13:44 I mean, if you have to put off buying another car for a while, 13:49 or whatever you have to do, do it. 13:51 Because your Bible will never be the same. 13:55 I mean, every time you read something from either 13:58 Old or New Testament, you're going to have a picture of it 14:01 when you read the passage, you see. 14:03 Whether it's from Isaiah and where he lived and worked, 14:06 or where Jesus walked or from where He called the disciples, 14:10 or the temple in Jerusalem. 14:11 And that will come out then as you share with your kids 14:15 or with your class, your Bible class, or wherever. 14:19 You'll never be the same after your trip to the Holy Land. 14:22 And so I encourage everyone, certainly Bible workers 14:25 and pastors and that sort of thing, to do the journey. 14:28 Make the trip, do the journey. 14:32 We believe that it was about here that Jesus sat down. 14:38 And any time Jesus sat, it's seems the little children came. 14:41 Have you known people like that? 14:44 Peggy's daddy was like that. 14:46 I mean, as soon as he would come home 14:48 and drive up in front of the house, get out of his old 14:51 loggers pickup, the neighbor kids would come. 14:54 And they'd bring their little dogs and their kitties, 14:57 and he'd tease and play with them. 14:58 And they loved him. 15:00 And Jesus was like that. 15:02 He had that same kind of an attraction for little children. 15:05 And so He sat down and children came to Him. 15:09 And the record is that some of the disciples tried to 15:12 put them away. 15:13 "No, don't let these kids bother Jesus. " 15:16 And Jesus said, "No, allow them to come to Me. " 15:19 "Don't prevent them, for they are the essence 15:23 of the kingdom of God. 15:25 Except you all become as little children. " 15:28 And so, I can see Jesus taking a child on His knee. 15:34 And in that context, and from right here, Jesus said, 15:40 "If anyone harms a child, if anyone abuses a child, 15:44 it'd be better for that person to have a millstone 15:48 hanged around his/her neck and be cast overboard 15:52 into the depths of the sea. 15:54 Now the illustrations of Jesus really plugged in. 15:57 Because the Galilee sea at the time of Jesus 16:00 was called bottomless. 16:02 That simply meant that no one had enough string 16:05 on which to tie a rock and and touch the bottom 16:08 out in the middle. 16:09 We know how deep today with sonar and radar, 16:12 and all of that sort of thing. 16:13 But it's very, very deep. 16:15 And so Jesus said, "You'd be better, if you abuse a child, 16:19 to be thrown overboard with a millstone around your neck. " 16:22 Now, about 15 yards from where Jesus is sitting 16:28 with a child on His knee, there are some millstones. 16:32 Do you see that? Look with me. 16:35 Here's the main grind stone right here. 16:38 And there is the center pin, and then there is the grind wheel 16:42 with a hole in the center of it. 16:44 And they would attach a little donkey, by the way, 16:47 with a pole to this wheel. 16:48 And they would pour their grain through the hole, 16:50 it'd fall down in there. 16:51 And then the little donkey would go round and round and round, 16:54 chasing that corn cob, you know. 16:57 I've known some... 17:02 I've known... 17:04 I'm from Idaho. 17:08 I've known some Idahoans who'd go a long ways 17:11 for a good ear of corn. 17:13 This old boy's one of them, I'll tell you that. 17:16 But at any event, can you imagine. 17:18 Jesus says, you know, we'll put that stone, 17:21 put your head through that hole, and then put you overboard. 17:24 You're going to go down, as they say in Idaho, in a quick hurry. 17:28 And so, these illustrations of Jesus really plugged in. 17:31 They locked in and they made a great deal of sense. 17:35 Around the millstone, there are the colanders 17:38 for making grape juice. 17:39 And this is a very fruitful and productive area 17:42 with all of the water and the fertile soil here. 17:44 And so you can see those colanders into which 17:47 the grapes would be placed. 17:48 And then those pointed affairs, that would fit down inside and 17:53 be pressed, and then the juice would come out through the hole 17:57 into the container. 18:00 Well let's move on, shall we. 18:01 We've moved down south on the west shore. 18:05 And we come again to a little chapel. 18:08 It seems that just about any time something happened 18:13 in the narrative of Jesus, His life and times, 18:16 that they would build a little church around it. 18:18 And that's what they've done here. 18:20 I found myself, and this I don't mean to be prejudicial at all, 18:23 I found myself wishing that they might have just left it plain. 18:27 Like it was when Jesus was there. 18:30 Instead of building the little churches and that sort of thing. 18:32 But this is a beautiful little chapel. 18:34 We're not going to go inside, but rather, 18:37 we're going to go around behind so that I can give you folks 18:41 a real good look at the blue waters of the Galilee sea 18:45 looking over some evergreen here. 18:48 Now, it's from this vantage point, it's from right in here 18:52 that Jesus preached the sermon on the mount. 18:55 You read that in Matthew chapters 5, 6, & 7. 18:58 And the beatitudes and all, were spoken by our 19:01 Lord Jesus from here. 19:02 But I want to take your minds to another event or two. 19:09 Jesus got in a boat with His disciples to go to the 19:12 other side because it was quieter over there. 19:15 There were fewer people on the other side. 19:18 And it was lush and green and park like. 19:21 And a good place to go and maybe have a lunch 19:23 or just take a quiet nap. 19:26 Evidently, Jesus was very tired because soon after He'd gotten 19:31 in the boat, and with the waves gently rocking, 19:33 Jesus went to sleep. 19:36 And they got out in the middle. 19:37 And you know what happened, don't you? 19:39 There came one of those violent storms, 19:41 probably through the pigeons gulf that we just 19:44 eluded to a bit ago. 19:45 And the whitecaps came, and then the rollers, 19:49 and then the ship was being tossed on its beams ends 19:52 And the disciples cried out, "Lord, save us. 19:55 Wake up and do something. " 19:58 And Jesus stood up and simply said, "Peace, be still. " 20:09 And the waters went flat. 20:15 You know, my dears, if you're having problems 20:18 in your life, in your relationships, 20:21 at the work place, if you're worried and stressed, 20:26 Jesus can say to your heart and to your worries, 20:31 "Be still. " 20:34 "Rest a while. " 20:38 We're living in a troubled time. 20:40 We'll talk more about it tonight as we study from our Bible 20:44 and from the prophecies of Jesus and The Revelation. 20:47 We're living in difficult times and we have 20:49 some more difficult days ahead. 20:51 But I want you folks to be certain that the same Jesus 20:55 who calmed the storms and said to the seas, 20:59 "Peace, be still and the waves. Hush up. " 21:02 That same Jesus still has His hand on the wheel. 21:05 He's still in charge. He's in control. 21:08 And that brings us peace. 21:11 But we're at the work place of putting our heads to the pillow 21:14 at the end of the day. 21:16 Now let me tell you of a couple of things 21:18 that have happened here. 21:19 One at the time of Jesus. 21:23 Jesus, with His disciples, went across on a peaceful day. 21:27 And they got over to the other side, and there is a cemetery. 21:31 I'm going to point to it for you. 21:33 There's a little bit of a canyon right in there, 21:35 and some flat ground, and there's a cemetery. 21:39 And as they were pulling the boat up onto the shore, 21:42 a couple of guys came out from amongst the graves, 21:45 and they were demon possessed. 21:47 And they were intent on doing violence to Jesus. 21:50 You remember the story, don't you know. 21:53 They were going to just rip the disciples apart. 21:55 I mean, these guys were crazed. 21:58 And Jesus said to the demons, "Who are you?" 22:02 And do you remember the answer? 22:04 "We are... " Exactly so, "We are Legion. " 22:09 That means the old devil has around us, 22:13 not one or two evil angels, but a host 22:16 to trouble our lives and torment us. 22:19 And Jesus said then, "Leave this man alone. " 22:24 And the demons vacated the men. 22:27 And do you remember where they went? 22:29 Sure you do. 22:30 They went into a herd of pigs. 22:33 And the pigs ran up on the, crazy as the men had been, 22:37 the pigs went up on the cliff above and they jumped off 22:40 over the cliff into the sea and they drowned. 22:44 And then the farmers blamed Jesus, you know. 22:46 They wanted Him to pay insurance money, I suppose. Don't you? 22:50 Yea, it's kind of like blaming the weather man 22:52 for the weather really. Isn't it? 22:54 Alright, so that happened right over there. 22:57 Now, I want to tell you about something else, though, 23:00 that has happened in more recent times. 23:05 Those cliffs that we're looking at, and I think we have another 23:08 picture, there is a better picture, perhaps. 23:10 Those hills over there, ladies and gentlemen, 23:13 are the Golan Heights. 23:16 For years and years and years, they were called 23:18 the Golan Heights of Syria. 23:21 The Beqaa Valley we referred to, Syria. 23:25 And Syria has not been a friendly neighbor to Palestine, 23:29 to the Israeli, to the Jew. 23:31 In fact, there is terrible, terrible hatred. 23:36 And Syria has been behind a great amount of the terrorism 23:40 that we believe has resulted, with Hezbollah 23:44 and other related groups. 23:45 Probably to include Al Qaeda. 23:47 But at any event, up atop those hills and those bluffs, 23:54 the Syrians had some big guns. 23:57 Some big anti-aircraft guns. 23:59 And they would get in war with the Israeli's 24:02 just about every other week. 24:04 And when the Israeli jets would fly over, 24:07 they would try to shoot them down. 24:09 But those jets had been made in the United States. 24:13 And those Israeli jet fighter pilots had been trained, 24:17 if not in the United States, by the United States. 24:20 And they were among the very finest in all the world. 24:23 And so, the folks over there with the big guns, 24:26 they couldn't hit the jets. 24:28 So you know what they did? 24:30 They aimed those big guns at the schools 24:33 of the Jewish people over on this side. 24:37 The preschool, and the first, and second, and third graders. 24:41 And when classes took up and the kids were all there, 24:44 they would blow the schools apart. 24:46 And it happened again and again and again. 24:48 And the leadership of the peoples of Israel 24:52 complained bitterly at the United Nations 24:54 and other organizations. 24:55 And they said, "Stop this, do something. " 24:58 And nothing was done. Nothing was done. 25:01 And so finally, after this had gone on for years, 25:06 the Marines, and that's the best way I know how to relate it 25:10 in your mind, the Marines of the Nation of Israel said, 25:14 "We're going to do something about it. " 25:16 Would you remember a leader that they had for many years 25:20 who had an eye patch. 25:21 He'd lost an eye in battle and he wore an eye patch. 25:24 Do you remember his name? 25:25 Moshe Dayan, of course. 25:27 Moshe Dayan took a group of men, not unlike the Navy Seals. 25:33 Maybe that's even a better sort of an illustration. 25:35 He put them in rubber boats. 25:38 And they started across the water right here. 25:40 And by the time they were just off shore here, 25:43 they were under a withering fire. 25:45 And it reminded me a little bit of the 25:47 beachhead at Normandy in World War II. 25:49 But they continued through the fire and 25:52 the majority of them made it. 25:53 And they scaled the cliffs over on the other side 25:57 and through dynamite in the bunkers and took out those guns 26:01 and held the ground. 26:03 And they have continued to hold it. 26:05 And the Syrians say, "It's not fair and there will never be 26:08 peace in the Middle East until you give back 26:10 the Golan Heights. " 26:11 And the Israeli say, "As surely as we give them back, 26:14 you're going to blow our schools up. 26:15 And we're not going to do it. " 26:17 So this is just again, a part of the problem 26:19 out in the Middle East that I think will not find solution 26:22 until Jesus comes again. 26:24 And He is going to come. 26:25 Because we're going to have solution, we must have it. 26:29 Shall we move on just a little bit. 26:32 There's a sign that says to us, "ice cream". 26:36 Alaskan ice cream. 26:38 Now the temperatures I eluded to you yesterday 26:40 are about 120-125 degrees. 26:43 And they also advertise ice cold coca-cola. 26:46 Say, that's good advertising. 26:48 That would really bring the dollars out of your pocket. 26:51 Look at the rest of the menu up there. 26:53 Bible foods; Mount of Olives oil, 26:55 Canaan of Galilee wine, Canaan of Galilee grape juice, 26:57 Samaria figs, St. John's honey, and Sea of Galilee sardines. 27:01 Are you hungry now? 27:03 Nah, just for the ice cream. 27:05 That's what I thought. 27:06 Now out in front of the little church where they say 27:09 Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, there is another 27:12 of those big grind wheels there, grind stones. 27:16 But we want to go inside to notice the little altar. 27:19 There is a stone beneath that altar. 27:21 And they say that Jesus sat upon that stone 27:24 when the little boy's lunch was brought to Him and He 27:26 blessed it and multiplied it. 27:28 And down in front in the mosaic, some of you perhaps 27:31 are able to see, there's a little basket with some 27:34 loaves in it, some biscuits, 27:36 and the fishes over here on either side. 27:39 The multiplication of the loaves and fishes. 27:41 You can imagine, can't you now, Jesus beginning to speak here 27:46 and the crowds come and they continue to come and press. 27:48 And finally, there are so many that Jesus has to get in a boat 27:52 and push off shore a little ways. 27:54 And He speaks to them, as is recorded in 27:57 Matthew chapters 5, 6, & 7, from the sermon on the mount. 28:01 And the people wouldn't go home. 28:03 And a couple of hours and the folks are still there. 28:07 And by now, the children are certainly getting hungry. 28:10 And still, their parents are more hungry for 28:12 spiritual food and they stay. 28:14 And finally, Jesus sends His disciples out to see 28:18 if there's anything that can be eaten. 28:21 And it's Andrew who finds a little guy with his lunch. 28:24 And he asks, "Would you be willing to share?" 28:26 And they take that to Jesus and He multiplied it. 28:29 And the Bible says they fed 5000, 28:32 but that only counted the men. 28:35 Including the women and children, probably there were 28:37 15,000 or 20,000 who were miraculously fed that day. 28:41 And that same Jesus is well able to take care of all of our needs 28:45 and feed our kids and take care of our families as well. 28:47 Well, we need to come to a conclusion here tonight. 28:50 I want to thank you very much. 28:55 "He's got a gun," they said. 28:57 "He's got a gun. " 28:58 "He's in the back seat with a rifle. " 29:00 The police in Rochester, New York in 1993, surrounded a car. 29:06 And indeed, in the back seat there was a guy with a rifle. 29:10 And they surrounded him from some safe distance. 29:12 They began to shout through the megaphone, 29:14 "Come out, leave the weapon. Come out with your hands up. " 29:17 And nothing happened. 29:19 They got closer and were now with their shields. 29:21 "Come out, come out. Leave the gun, get out. " 29:24 And nothing happened. 29:26 They attempted, then, to negotiate. 29:28 And brought in this psychiatrist. 29:30 And nothing happened. 29:32 They would talk to the person in the back seat, 29:35 and there was no answer. 29:36 They decided to watch and wait, and wait and watch. 29:38 And after some long while, they decided they would 29:41 do the rush in, and they did that. 29:43 And they smashed the windows and they reached in. 29:47 And in the back seat with a rifle 29:50 was a mannequin. 29:56 When they found the owner of the automobile, they asked, 30:00 "What is your purpose? What are you doing here? 30:02 You've caused some problems. " 30:04 "Well," he said, "I keep him back there for protection. " 30:07 "It's safer when I drive through the hood. 30:10 They're not so anxious to hi-jack my car. " 30:13 We live in dangerous times, ladies and gentlemen. 30:15 There's no doubt about that. 30:17 These are difficult days. 30:19 And there are some more that are coming. 30:20 And there is a need for protection. 30:23 And I want to assure you tonight, that we're going to be 30:26 under the protective arm of our Lord Jesus. 30:29 We're going to talk about some difficulties. 30:32 But we're going to always leave with a reassurance 30:34 that we're under the umbrella of God Almighty. 30:39 We're going to share some good news and some bad news. 30:42 And sometimes really bad news. 30:45 And then always, we shall conclude 30:47 with some wonderful news. 30:49 Would you please open your Bibles with me 30:51 to Matthew chapter 24. 30:55 Matthew chapter 24, as we eluded last night, 30:58 finds our Lord Jesus answering a question of His disciples. 31:02 They said, "Lord tell us, what is it going to be like when 31:04 You come, and at the end of the world? 31:06 Spell it down for us in very careful and child-like detail. " 31:10 And so Jesus began to tell them, it's going to be like this, 31:12 and this and this and this and this. 31:14 I'm going to take up the reading, ladies and gentlemen, 31:17 tonight at verse 29. 31:22 And we'll read through to verse number 33. 31:27 Alright. 31:28 Matthew's gospel, chapter 24. 31:32 The sermon on last day events. 31:35 Beginning to read at verse 29. 31:41 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, 31:46 the sun is going to be darkened and the moon 31:48 will not give her light, 31:52 and the stars are going to fall from the heavens, 31:54 the powers of the heavens are going to be shaken. 31:56 And then there's going to appear in the heavens, the Son of Man, 32:00 and all those upon the earth are going to mourn, 32:02 those who are not ready, for they see Him coming 32:05 in the clouds with power and with great glory. 32:08 He's going to send His angels with the sound of a 32:10 great trumpet, and He's going to gather His elect 32:13 from the four points of the compass, 32:15 from one end of the heavens to the other. 32:17 Now learn this parable, the parable of the fig tree. 32:21 When the branches are still tender and putting forth 32:25 their leaves, know that summer is coming near. 32:27 So likewise, when you see these things approaching, 32:30 know that the end is near, even at the doors. " 32:38 I had a first cousin who was there. 32:40 He was logging nearby to where it happened. 32:43 Snowflake, Arizona. 32:45 Some of you, perhaps, know where it is. 32:47 Just a little bit to the east and perhaps a bit north 32:50 of flagstaff, Arizona, in the mountains and in the timber. 32:55 Six loggers were returning from a day's work 32:58 in the logging camps. 32:59 Driving together in what loggers call the crummy 33:01 or the man-wagon, when suddenly there was 33:04 an unidentified flying object that landed in the logging road 33:08 right in front of them, blocked their path. 33:10 It stayed there, and the men in the vehicle 33:13 stayed in their seats. 33:15 But one of them, braver perhaps, than the others, got out. 33:17 His name was Travis Walton. 33:19 He got out and went over near. 33:21 And as he went near to the space craft, it lifted up. 33:24 And lifted up somewhere, he believes, to about 100 feet. 33:28 He walked directly beneath it and he was sucked up inside. 33:33 Strange story, strange situation. 33:36 Yea, did it really happen? I don't know. 33:39 All I can tell you is what I do know of the rest of the story. 33:42 The six loggers all took and passed polygraph tests. 33:48 They said it really happened. 33:49 This story was first turned into a book and then into a movie. 33:54 And the federal investigator who played the part, 33:58 I should say, the actor who played the part 34:00 of the federal investigator was none other than 34:03 Norman, Oklahoma native James Gardner, and Oscar winner. 34:07 He said, before he took on the challenge of the movie, 34:10 before he signed any contract, he met with those loggers. 34:14 Including the one that said he was taken up 34:16 in the flying object. 34:18 And he said, and I quote, "I came away 34:21 entirely believing their story. " 34:25 Signs in the heavens. 34:28 UFOs, strange things going on. 34:32 I'm going to tell you my own personal experience. 34:35 Mine and Peggy's, and our family's in a broader way. 34:38 It was 1974, and Peggy and I were holding meetings 34:41 very like these in Twin Falls, Idaho. 34:44 When Wednesday came, we had no meeting. 34:47 And so we decided we would go home on Tuesday night. 34:50 Do the laundry and catch up on a few things. 34:53 Our home was in Boise, a distance of 120 miles. 34:56 I'd had a hard day and I was lying down in the back seat 34:58 of our old Cadillac and Peggy was up front driving. 35:01 And as she got somewhere around 35 miles north and along the 35:04 rim of the Snake River Canyon, she shouted at me, 35:07 "Look, would you look over the river!" 35:09 And I got up, wide awake now, and I looked. 35:11 And there above the river, hovering, was something 35:15 with a very, very bright light. 35:17 We stopped and rolled the windows down, 35:19 and we heard nothing at all. 35:21 And then suddenly, and with no noise, the thing began to move. 35:24 Rapidly it moved. 35:25 And then it stopped and hovered again. 35:27 And then, suddenly it was gone. 35:30 In the Yukon, to move north a ways, in 1996 there were 35:36 31 civil engineers who were working up toward the 35:41 oil pipeline country, when a huge flying object, 35:46 unidentified, landed near to the service station where they were. 35:50 And stayed there for at least 1 hour. 35:54 They also took lie detector tests, they also passed. 35:59 And these are not calamity hollers, there are not the 36:01 kind of guys that are seeking 5 minutes of fame. 36:04 These are men that are trustworthy. 36:06 These are men that come from good Christian homes 36:09 and families, and from good background. 36:11 And they all told the same story. 36:13 And then more recently, it was in Ely, Nevada. 36:16 And I thought about this when about 7 days ago, Peg and I 36:19 drove through on our way from Phoenix to here. 36:22 The Smith brothers, some while back, decided early one morning 36:26 to go into town to get some feed and some other farm supplies, 36:29 veterinary supplies, so they could get back to their 36:32 cattle ranch in time to do still a day's work. 36:35 It was 4:30 in the morning, they said, when it landed 36:38 on the pavement in the highway, right on the center line 36:43 and in front of them. 36:44 And it stayed there bright as daylight, they said, 36:47 with lights flashing all the way around. 36:51 They said, "We were frightened enough to stay inside. 36:55 It remained for several minutes, and then suddenly took off 36:59 without any sound. 37:01 And faster than we could imagine. " 37:03 When the brothers Smith got into Ely, and went into the 37:07 restaurant and into the Sheriff's department 37:09 to tell their story, no one laughed at them. 37:12 These were real cowboys, these were guys that weren't 37:15 seeking fame or fortune, but told it just like it was. 37:19 Like it is. 37:20 They're still talking about it in Phoenix. 37:23 They were when I was there. 37:25 It happened on March 13, 1997 over Camelback Mountain. 37:31 How many of you know about Camelback Mountain in Phoenix? 37:33 Yea, a bunch of you do. Of course. 37:35 For your interest sake and those of you who don't know, 37:37 that is the area where the Mucky Mucks live. 37:40 That's the way we say it in Idaho. 37:41 That's the area where the rich and the upper middle class, 37:45 that's where the executives of Motorola industry live. 37:49 And they have huge homes there around the mountain. 37:52 And they have huge swimming pools in the back yard. 37:54 And they have fountains in the front yard. 37:56 This is not some ghetto or slum. 38:01 The sisters, Monica Bush and Erin Watson, 38:06 were on television again just a few days ago 38:10 reciting what had happened. 38:11 They were over visiting their parents that evening. 38:14 They said it was one of those beautiful spring nights 38:17 when the skies were clear and the stars were so close 38:21 it seemed you could reach up and touch them. 38:23 And then they said it came over the Camelback Mountain silently. 38:28 "It hovered right above our parents home and stayed there 38:31 making absolutely no noise. " 38:33 And by the way, for those of you with a scientific background, 38:36 this whole phenomenon of these flying machines 38:39 making no noise at all, it's called now magneto dynamics. 38:42 I've got to do some more research in that area 38:44 because I personally find it interesting. 38:46 It stayed there for the longest time, 38:48 and then suddenly, it moved away. 38:53 There was no flight pattern. 38:55 There were no jets who were flying that area. 38:58 This is not in the path of Sky Harbor airport. 39:02 But after several minutes, it suddenly flew away. 39:06 There have been many professional witnesses. 39:09 Not only just commoners and loggers, 39:11 but professional witnesses. 39:13 And there's a man by the name of James Fox who's made a book 39:16 out of going to interview these "professionals". 39:19 He's talked to pilots and navigators and 39:22 men with lots of stripes from the Navy and from the Air Force. 39:26 His book, "Out of the Blue", is now as we speak, 39:31 being made into a movie. 39:34 More recently, Stephenville, Texas. 39:38 I was holding meetings, as I mentioned, down in 39:40 Phoenix Arizona, when this happened in Stephenville, Texas. 39:43 By the next night, Larry King Live was on top of the story. 39:46 And the following night, Bill O'Reilly highlighted 39:49 and headed with it as well. 39:50 There were over a thousand people who saw it there. 39:53 It went across the little town and then returned. 39:58 And as it returned, the jets of the Air Force 40:01 began to give it chase. 40:03 Military jets chased the thing, they said, for about 7 minutes. 40:07 The Sheriff saw it happen. 40:09 I have a buddy who lives about three miles away. 40:12 He's a retired banker by the name of Ernie. 40:15 His wife's name is Barbara. 40:17 And as soon and I got the news of what had happened there, 40:19 I called my friends down in Texas and asked if they were ok 40:24 and had they been caught up or sucked up inside the machine? 40:27 Zoom me up, huh Scottie? 40:29 Now, it's happening folks. 40:32 It's happening everywhere. 40:33 A pilot, commercial pilot by the name of Steve Allen, was there 40:37 and he saw it and he described it. 40:39 He said, "My estimation is that the things were going 40:42 at about 2000 mph, and it was silent as an empty tomb 40:47 while it flashed the bright lights. " 40:49 Fairly recently, there was held in Washington DC, 40:55 a UFO conference. 40:58 High leaders, men of high rank from all of the armies, 41:02 really of the world, were there to discuss and to have a look 41:05 and to share ideas. 41:06 A Belgium general was, it seems, the most vocal 41:10 when he came away shaking his head and saying, 41:13 "We don't know what's going on. We just don't know. " 41:19 In mid-America, a state trooper was out patrolling 41:22 in the middle of the night, when suddenly his car stalled. 41:25 And then he noticed the object above him. 41:29 When the situation was over and he drove back 41:33 to the police headquarter, got out and inspected his car, 41:36 and others came out to have a look as well, 41:38 there were laser type burns on the car that the scientist said 41:42 couldn't have been produced by no ordinary heat that is known. 41:46 US Air Force pilots have been witnesses to this kind of thing. 41:52 The US Air Force, itself, has spent multiplied millions 41:55 looking into it. 41:56 And they really don't have any answers. 41:58 They shared some suggestions, I'll share one or two of those. 42:02 They say, one thing is the possibility of optical illusion. 42:06 That there are things out there, objects real enough, 42:09 perhaps a jet airliner when at the certain light 42:12 and in just the certain sort of a ray from off of a cloud or 42:16 some such thing, it could seem to be an unidentified object. 42:21 But it's really something that we know 42:22 and understand very well. 42:23 Another cause, they say, is the possibility of swamp gas. 42:28 Swamp gases, in certain places and certain times can 42:31 at night especially, fluoresce and give off gases 42:34 that are not only fluorescent, but incandescent as well. 42:38 More than that, many of the reports 42:42 come from disordered minds. 42:44 And that's not a surprise to us. 42:46 Not everyone has a good handle on everything that's going on. 42:50 You heard about the guy that said, "You know, I don't quite 42:53 know what's on, and my brother ain't even suspicious. " 43:02 And so there's some of that. 43:04 There are some folks who drink a little much 43:07 and puff a little too much from the happy stick. 43:09 And they give reports like this. 43:11 On the other hand, some of these things remain 43:14 absolute mysteries, even to the scientists. 43:17 I've been asked on more that one occasion, 43:19 "Lyle, what is your belief? What do you think is happening?" 43:22 And my answer is quick and it's clear. 43:25 I think that something is going on. 43:28 Something we don't yet understand. 43:30 Do I believe that these are aliens 43:32 from another people planet? 43:34 No, I do not. 43:35 For I do not believe God would allow His created children 43:39 from an unfallen planet to come here 43:41 and visit this sin cursed earth. 43:42 I don't believe He'd allow that to happen. 43:44 Moreover, God's creations are perfect and they're beautiful. 43:48 And in the beginning, all of His children were that way 43:51 until sin came and caused some of us... 43:55 Well, I'll stop there. 43:59 I'm going to stop right there. 44:04 In Roswell, New Mexico, you're well aware, 44:06 there was the report that one of these machines had crashed 44:10 and some of those aboard were killed. 44:14 And this mystery, I suppose, like the death of John Kennedy 44:17 will continue as long as there is time. 44:19 But the little creatures who were said to have died 44:22 in the impact were green looking men with long faces 44:26 and great big buggy eyes. 44:28 And I don't believe God made anybody that looked like that. 44:32 What might it be? 44:33 I believe that the devil may well be setting us up 44:36 for the greatest delusion of all time. 44:39 When he comes to impersonate Jesus, and he's going to do that 44:43 because our Lord Himself said that it's going to happen. 44:46 It wouldn't be of any import, the warning of Jesus, 44:49 unless it's going to happen, would it now? 44:51 And so Jesus said, "Beware, antichrist is going to come. 44:54 When he comes, he's not going to come on the back of a camel. 44:57 He's going to be more modern than tomorrow's newspaper. 45:00 Why not come as a representative from some other planet? 45:04 Jesus, perhaps, who's come back from heaven in a space craft. 45:10 Now, the flying saucer phenomenon so far, 45:14 has not been all that dangerous. 45:17 Really perhaps, it's more humorous than dangerous. 45:20 That could change at any time, of course. 45:22 But now I want to transition to something that I believe 45:25 really is dangerous and real. 45:28 And something that we'd do well to think about. 45:31 Our Lord Jesus is going to come back, as we said last night, 45:34 not out of whim or out of caprice, 45:35 but out of absolute necessity. 45:37 And for the next three nights, we're going to be 45:39 talking about these subjects that necessitate 45:41 the imminent coming of Jesus. 45:43 If there's anyone left here to save, 45:44 He's going to have to hurry back. 45:46 And He's going to do it. 45:47 I'd like for you next, if you will please, to read with me 45:51 from Revelation chapter 1. 45:53 Revelation chapter 1 contains the key scripture for not only 45:58 the chapter 1 of Revelation, but for the whole of the book of 46:01 Revelation as well. 46:03 We're going to note chapter 1 of Revelation, the 7th verse. 46:07 We said last night, I'll mention while you're turning with me, 46:10 that the book of Revelation is the last book, not by accident. 46:12 It's for those who live in the last days, 46:15 just before the last missionary goes over the last hill 46:17 and Jesus comes on a rescue mission. 46:20 And so, the theme thought, the verse that is the fulcrum, 46:23 if you please, for the whole of the rest of the prophecies of 46:26 Revelation is found in the 1st chapter and the 7th verse. 46:29 And here is the way it reads. 46:31 "Look," or "Behold," it says in the King James, 46:34 "Behold, He comes with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, 46:38 including also those who pierces Him. 46:41 And every kindred of the earth shall wail because of Him. 46:44 Even so, Amen. " 46:46 Now I want us, without any transitional statement, 46:49 to go from there to a promise of Jesus found in the 46:52 Gospel of John, chapter 14. 46:54 I encourage you once more, to bring your Bibles. 46:57 And if you don't have one, we'll be happy to help you to get one. 47:00 John chapter 14 finds His disciples, at the end of 47:04 three years of ministry and instruction and discipling, 47:07 in an upper room. 47:08 He said to them, "I'm going to have to go away. 47:10 You can't come with me, not now and not yet. " 47:12 And their hearts are broken. 47:14 And so, Jesus speaks in that context, words of comfort. 47:18 You memorized the verses long, long ago, didn't you. 47:22 John's gospel, chapter 14 verses 1-3, where it says... 47:27 Would you like to say them with me? 47:29 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, 47:34 believe also in Me. 47:36 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, 47:41 I would have told you. 47:42 I go to prepare a place for you. 47:45 And if I go, I may come back. 47:49 There's possibility that I'll come again. " 47:51 Is that what it says? No, it's in the positive. 47:54 "I will come again to receive you unto Myself; 47:57 that where I am, there you may be also. " 48:00 Jesus is coming back out of absolute necessity. 48:04 I want you to go with me please, to Isaiah chapter 25 48:07 because we need to notice real quickly, 48:09 another of these promises from God. 48:13 Isaiah did his writing about 700 years before the birth of Jesus. 48:16 And we need to remind ourselves, in these times and places, 48:20 of the promises of God. 48:21 Isaiah chapter 25, and I'm going to be reading at verses 8 and 9. 48:26 Isaiah 25, beginning to read at verse 8. 48:29 It says about our God, "He will swallow up death in victory. 48:33 The Lord God is going to wipe every tear 48:36 from the faces of His children. 48:38 He's going to rebuke folks and take away from off all 48:41 of the earth, evil from the face of the earth. 48:45 For the Lord has spoken it. 48:47 And it shall be said in that day, 'This is our God. 48:51 We've waited for Him and He will save us. 48:55 We've waited so long, we'll be glad and rejoice 48:58 in His salvation. '" 48:59 So here then, are the people of God that look up in the sky 49:02 and see Jesus coming on the rescue mission. 49:05 This is our God. 49:06 Now, I want you to go from there to the words of Jesus 49:11 in Luke chapter 21. 49:13 Luke chapter 21, along with Matthew 24 and Luke 17, 49:17 are parallels and they talk about end time events. 49:20 And here in Luke chapter 21, we find our Lord Jesus 49:23 again speaking to this question of the disciples, 49:25 "What will it be like when you come back? 49:27 What are events going to be like? 49:28 How can we know and how can our children's children be ready?" 49:31 And Jesus said it's going to be like this and this and this. 49:34 Now follow while I read, beginning at verse 25. 49:37 Luke 21:25, and following. 49:40 "There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, in the stars; 49:44 upon the earth distress of nations, perplexities, 49:47 the sea with its waves roaring; and men's hearts 49:49 failing them for fear. " 49:50 We could talk tonight at some length about the rapid increase 49:54 in heart disease, couldn't we? 49:55 Stress related heart disease, it's the number 1 killer 49:58 in the United States, today, among males who are grown. 50:01 And beyond reckless driving. 50:03 Alright, "Men's hearts are failing them from fear 50:05 for looking after the things that are coming upon the earth, 50:07 the powers of heaven are going to be shaken. " 50:09 "And then," verse 27, "then they see the Son of Man 50:12 coming in the cloud with power and great glory. 50:15 And when you see these things begin, then look up 50:18 and lift up your heads and know 50:20 that your redemption draws near. " 50:23 Now let's go to verse 11 from the same passage. 50:29 And it's really kind of a continuation and relationship. 50:31 It says, "Great earthquakes there stall be, 50:33 in various and different places, famines and pestilences; 50:36 and fearful sights and signs from... " 50:39 Now you tell me what it says. "... from heaven. " 50:41 I want to talk to you a little bit, ladies and gentlemen, 50:43 about asteroids. 50:45 Not science fiction. 50:49 There is a man who recently wrote a book that he entitled, 50:50 "The Death of a Star" 50:52 His name is Neil deGrasse Tyson. 50:58 He said when a star explodes, it releases tons and tons of 51:01 radioactive ores and flash. 51:04 By the way, if you want to know more about his credentials, 51:06 he has a PhD degree. 51:08 He is with the American Museum of Natural History. 51:11 And he has a cohort who agrees 51:14 and shares with him in his writings. 51:15 His name is Michael Shara, also a PhD working at the same place. 51:19 Now I'm quoting from these two men. 51:21 "While watching for gamma rays that might be coming from 51:24 the former Soviet Union, we found we're getting hit by 51:28 radiation from outer space much, much more and 51:31 to a greater degree than we ever realized. 51:34 We see the death of at least one major star a day. 51:37 Now, what if one explodes nearby, perhaps in the nearest 51:41 proximity of our own galaxy? 51:43 If so, we could have two suns in our sky. 51:47 Moreover, it would deplete instantly, 51:50 all of the ozone layer. 51:52 The ozone is our only defense against high energy radiation. " 51:56 And so men of science are suggesting that there are grave 51:59 possibilities out there that are moving quickly our own way. 52:03 Now I want to talk briefly about a connection, 52:05 and then we'll move again to talk of asteroids. 52:09 How many of you folks can remember where you were when 52:11 Mount St. Helens blew? 52:12 Can you remember that day? 52:13 They say when something of earth shaking import happens, 52:16 you can remember right where you were. 52:17 Peggy and I were working in meetings like these 52:20 on the west side of Denver, Colorado when she blew up. 52:23 I shall never forget. 52:24 May 18, 8:42 in the morning, 1980. 52:30 And David Johnston, who'd pitched his tent several miles 52:32 from the north face, went on the radio, 52:35 "Vancouver, Vancouver. This is it!" 52:37 And then he was blown into outer space. 52:40 One square mile of rock and lava was blown way beyond 52:46 our own atmosphere. 52:50 Bill McGuire, professor of geohazards 52:54 from the University College of London says, 52:57 "If you think St. Helens was something, just listen. " 53:00 "The earth's crust," he goes on, "is only 25 miles deep. 53:04 And beneath that crust, there is a pressurized ocean 53:09 of molten rock just looking for a way to escape. " 53:13 And then he begins to talk about Yellowstone Park. 53:15 Now I love Yellowstone Park. 53:17 I felt really badly when the fires destroyed it, but it's 53:19 rebuilt itself in a beautiful way. 53:21 And I know many of you go there and love it 53:23 and enjoy it as well. 53:24 But this is what he says, "There's a potential danger 53:28 beneath the Yellowstone that could plunge the Unites States 53:30 instantly into a total darkness. 53:32 It would be an explosion 1000 times greater 53:36 than Mount St. Helens. 53:37 There are 40 such super volcanoes around the globe. 53:42 If the Yellowstone eruption should happen, 53:46 it would bury Rapid City, South Dakota instantly 53:50 beneath 20 feet of ash and lava. 53:53 Within a matter of just a few minutes, it could bury 53:56 the entirety of Wyoming and South Dakota. 53:59 How would we know that it's happened?" 54:01 "We wouldn't," he said, "except for the black sky. " 54:03 And then he goes on to say, "The only way we'll be able to see 54:06 such a phenomenon is by the cameras that are way out 54:09 in outer space, by satellite hookup, 54:12 it's going to be that big. 54:13 In 30 minutes it could bury thousands and thousands 54:17 and thousands of square miles. " 54:18 "Now," he said, "you must remember, no vehicles 54:20 will be able to move. 54:22 No airplanes will be able to fly through the sky 54:24 lest their engines instantly be choked. " 54:26 By the way, to pause for a moment, can you folks remember, 54:29 can you remember those big breathing systems they had to 54:32 put on the state vehicles? 54:33 Yea, this officer knows. 54:35 Yea, otherwise that, it looked like talcum powder 54:39 and you rub it between your fingers and it would 54:40 instantly take the skin off. 54:42 Peggy and I took our boy, Troy, I was looking at the pictures 54:44 just this afternoon, we went up to Mount St. Helens 54:47 just shortly after it erupted. 54:48 And that stuff would take the skin off your fingers 54:51 in an instant almost. 54:54 "There will be no transport of food, there will be shortages. 54:57 Temperatures are going to be affected worldwide. " 55:00 Now, let's get back to this connection because 55:03 they are connected. 55:04 The asteroids and the volcanoes, and all this kind of weather. 55:08 A man by the man of Neil deGrasse Tyson who's an 55:11 astrophysicist says and I'm quoting, 55:15 "We're living in a shooting gallery 55:17 with wayward asteroids having us right in their sights, 55:21 right down the gun barrel. 55:22 Some of these asteroids are small as sand, 55:25 others are as big as the state of Texas. " 55:28 Now I want you to leave your minds there and go with me 55:30 very quickly to Revelation chapter 8. 55:32 Revelation chapter 8, and I want to read just the 8th verse. 55:37 Revelation chapter 8 and verse 8, and it says, 55:40 "The second angel sounded, as it were, and a great mountain 55:45 burning with fire was cast into the sea, 55:47 and a third part of the sea became like blood. " 55:50 Revelation 8, verse 8. 55:55 Serious times. 55:57 Signs in the heaven, in the sky; sun, moon, stars, 56:01 unidentified flying objects. 56:05 And I want to comfort you tonight as we conclude, 56:07 as I promised I would. 56:09 I want to tell you that our Lord Jesus is not only our Savior, 56:12 He is also our Creator. 56:14 It is He who spoke and planet Earth flashed 56:18 into its hole in space. 56:19 It was our Lord Jesus who hung the moon and the stars. 56:24 And the same Jesus who created planet Earth 56:26 is still upon the throne. 56:28 The same Jesus who cast the stars into their dark openings 56:33 is still in charge. 56:36 A poet asked, "How big is God?" 56:39 How big and wide His vast domain? 56:42 To try to tell, these lips can barely start. 56:51 But He's big enough. 56:56 He's big enough to rule His mighty universe. 57:03 And he's small enough to live within my heart. " 57:09 Let's pray. 57:14 Without faith, Lord, we don't know how we face tomorrow. 57:21 Thank You for Your word. 57:23 In Your word we see Your warnings, 57:24 but in Your warnings we see Your love. 57:26 When You warned through Noah, You were speaking 57:28 from a heart of love. 57:29 When You warned through the folks who were living in 57:33 Sodom and Gomorrah, You spoke out of a heart of love. 57:35 And as we read Your warnings tonight, 57:37 we know You're speaking from Your heart of love. 57:39 Give us the good common sense to listen. 57:43 Instead of being fearful, let us strengthen 57:45 our relationship with You. 57:46 We want to know better our Bibles, 57:48 we want to memorize those promises. 57:49 But best of all, most of all, we want to really 57:53 well know the Author. 57:54 Give us this blessing. In Jesus name, Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17