Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht
Series Code: RIN
Program Code: RIN000003
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01:02 Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
01:03 Say, it's good to see you. 01:06 You can tell the "A" students. They're always here on time. 01:09 Have their notebooks out and their text book in their hands. 01:13 Isn't it wonderful to have a Bible? 01:15 Have the privilege and the freedom to read and 01:17 study from a Bible? 01:18 Each evening at 7:00 o'clock, we travel to some country 01:21 that it has been my privilege to visit. 01:23 The travel is related to the subject matter that we 01:26 study from the Bible later. 01:28 And just now, I'm going to ask you please 01:30 lean back, relax, fasten your seat belts, 01:34 we're going to be on our way this evening. 01:36 We're going to go to what is said to be the most 01:39 romantic city in all the world. 01:44 Maybe I ought to have a little contest. 01:46 Where do you think we're going, the most 01:47 romantic city in the world? 01:48 Where do you think? 01:49 Paris, how many of you said Paris, you thought Paris? 01:52 How many of you? 01:54 You're all wrong. 01:56 Come on. 01:58 I heard somebody say Ritzville. 02:04 Alright. 02:06 No, we're going to Venice. 02:07 And then we'll decide in a bit if we think it's the most 02:10 romantic city in all the world. 02:13 I left from the city of Florence in Italy 02:18 at about 5:00 o'clock in the morning by way of train. 02:22 And I traveled a few hours to Venice, got off the train. 02:25 And everything that I would do from that point on 02:28 by way of conveyance or travel, other than foot travel, 02:32 would be done in a boat. 02:34 For this city, you see, is unique. 02:36 It is made of the result of a confluence of rivers. 02:41 In Alaska, I suppose, they might call them chain rivers. 02:45 Where one river runs through another and they 02:47 co-mingle like this, you see. 02:49 Intermingled together. 02:51 This co-mingling, this confluence has resulted 02:55 in a bit over 100 islands, most of them fair size. 02:59 And upon these 100 islands, the city of Venice originated 03:04 several hundred years ago. 03:05 It was in fact, America's foremost literalist and writer 03:10 of the past century, Mr. Ernest Hemingway, 03:13 who because of his love of the city went here and spent months 03:16 and ended up writing a book entitled, 03:18 "Across the River and Into the Woods" 03:24 Across the rivers, there were once dense forests. 03:28 Hardwood forests, Oak and Larch. 03:31 And they cut those trees down, made pilings or ties 03:36 out of them, brought them back and drove them down 03:38 into the mud, and then built the city atop those pilings. 03:42 And so tonight, we're going to be seeing a number of 03:45 different kinds of boats. 03:46 And perhaps I'll point some of them out to you. 03:49 Here over on the left hand side, we see a boat that is 03:52 Philippine mahogany. 03:54 A plank mahogany boat and it's a fair size boat. 03:57 And that tells us that the owner of that boat is either a 04:01 fairly successful business man or a wealthy family. 04:04 It's not unlike having a Rolls Royce Corniche 04:08 down in the Hollywood area. 04:10 And those boats are very, very expensive and they're 04:12 really quite rare now. 04:14 And then in the center picture, we see the city bus. 04:18 It's a fiberglass boat. 04:20 And if you want to travel from one island to the next, 04:23 or at any distance at all, you get aboard the city bus boat. 04:27 And then over to the right hand side, you see the boat 04:30 that's called the boat of romance. 04:33 That is the Gondola. 04:34 And we're going to talk much more about those 04:37 in just a little bit. 04:38 But now, let's move in. 04:41 Just today, as I was driving down Broadway Street, 04:45 I saw the ambulance going with lights and 04:48 siren flashing and all. 04:50 And it reminded me of this picture on this occasion. 04:53 This is the ambulance in the city of Venice. 04:57 And aboard that boat, they have all the 05:00 measures for life support. 05:02 Oxygen and the defibrillators, and all of the rest. 05:04 And they will attempt to stabilize someone while they're 05:07 rushing them to the hospital. 05:09 They do it aboard a boat. 05:11 But that's not all. 05:12 If there is a funeral, that is the hearse ladies and gentlemen. 05:16 And someone's taking the last ride in that boat. 05:22 This will give you a little bit of an idea of main streets 05:26 sort of intersecting with lesser streets. 05:28 Perhaps you have heard that the city has been sinking 05:32 down into the mud. 05:33 Well that's not exactly true. 05:35 While the water is getting higher and doing 05:38 more and more damage to the buildings, 05:39 it's really not the result of the city sinking. 05:43 Matter of fact, in the last few years there has been 05:46 an up thrust, there has been a push up against 05:49 those planks and timbers that are down in the mud. 05:52 And the city has been raised up just a fraction. 05:55 But in spite of that, there is more water. 05:58 And that may sound strange but here 06:00 is the answer to the riddle. 06:02 In order to get the bigger ships nearer and nearer to town, 06:06 in order that the vegetable ships can come right in to the 06:11 vegetable warehouses, they have widened the canals 06:16 and deepened the channel. 06:18 And that, of course, lets more water come in from the sea. 06:21 The sea, by the way, is the Adriatic. 06:23 Which is just an arm or a branch off of the Mediterranean. 06:27 Consequently, the deepening of the water has ruined 06:31 some of the most wonderful, some of the most famous art 06:34 in all the world. 06:36 And it's caused some other problems as well. 06:38 Now here we see streets and alleys. 06:41 You see a sidewalk there with folks 06:44 walking over the top of it. 06:45 And down beneath it, you see a boat going 06:48 through the archway there. 06:50 And this also gives us a pretty fair idea of the construction. 06:53 Remember, driven down into the mud 06:56 are those pilings of hardwood. 06:58 And then atop those are the foundations stones, big stones. 07:03 And then atop those big stones there have been laid bricks. 07:08 And the bricks have then been covered over with plaster. 07:11 And it seems to matter little whether or not you repaint. 07:19 Because, they will repaint these buildings 07:21 and make them bright and lovely. 07:23 And just a matter of days, as a result of the destruction 07:28 of the salt water and the pollution 07:31 that comes from the factories. 07:33 By the way, this is the center, you ladies of course knew this, 07:37 this is the center of the most lovely lead crystal glass 07:42 in all the world. 07:43 Venetian glass. 07:45 And something else originated there. 07:47 Could you guess what it might be? 07:48 It covers the windows. 07:50 That's right, Venetian blinds. 07:53 So it has lots of factories. 07:55 And those factories belch out pollution. 07:57 And we're going to talk more about that 08:00 as we go along as well. 08:01 Now this is the police cruiser. 08:03 This last night, my officer buddy sat 08:05 right over here near the front. 08:07 And we conversed a little bit, do you remember. 08:09 Officer Twigg. 08:11 Well, this is the cruiser and they pulled someone over 08:14 and they're writing him a ticket. 08:16 I don't know if he was speeding or maybe driving 08:18 under the influence of something or another. 08:20 But I thought about this. 08:22 It'd be a little bit embarrassing 08:25 to be pulled over and written a ticket 08:27 right on your front step, wouldn't it now. 08:30 I'll bet all the neighbors are looking and laughing, huh. 08:32 Boy, it's about time, huh. 08:34 I'm tired of him speeding by and razing a wake. 08:38 This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Grand Canal. 08:40 We would call it main street. 08:41 And across this main street, there is a bridge called Rialto. 08:47 You may want to go home and look it up and read a bit about it. 08:49 It is the second oldest bridge in all the world. 08:52 It was built in 1588. 08:55 There is one older bridge and we'll see that in another city, 08:59 not so far away, on another evening. 09:02 The Grand Canal. 09:04 I have noticed that when folk come to this auditorium, 09:08 whomever drives often lets out the passengers 09:12 out near the entry and then backs away, or drives away, 09:15 to park somewhere in the parking lot. 09:17 Well, this is the way it is here. 09:19 This is one of the many cathedrals. 09:21 And they have one for each island, you might 09:23 be interested to know. 09:24 And whomever drives here brings the passengers right over here 09:28 and they off load. 09:29 And then he backs the boat away and parks it 09:31 somewhere over here in the parking lot. 09:37 In Europe, Paris and Rome, certainly in other major cities, 09:40 they have their outdoor restaurants 09:44 which are lovely through the spring, summer, and fall. 09:47 And folks are asked when they enter, 09:50 "Would you prefer to dine inside or alfresco?" 09:53 Outside. 09:54 Well here, they're not going to be outdone. 09:57 They have built an addition to the front of the restaurant 10:00 a wharf, I guess we could say, or a dock. 10:03 And they've put awnings and they have put tables and chairs. 10:07 And you're given the option to dine outdoors. 10:11 I noticed this, however, if you're seated on the 10:14 backside of the table, the maitre d' will whisper 10:18 in your ear, "Be careful when you push away. " 10:21 Not a bad idea, I'll tell you. Not a bad idea at all. 10:26 Well, this is a typical home. 10:30 There's the front door. 10:31 It opens onto the canal, as you can see. 10:34 I've thought about this, it wouldn't be a good situation 10:38 if you had a problem with somnambulates. 10:41 And if there's anyone here from Idaho, that means 10:43 someone who sleepwalks. 10:47 We'll pick on the Idahoans a little more later. 10:49 Because I'm laughing at myself. 10:52 You know that by now, don't you. 10:54 Ole Idaho Lyle. 10:55 By the way, down in Salem where I worked a while back, 10:58 before we were finished they were calling me Spuds Albrecht. 11:04 And that's okay. 11:06 But I'll tell you what, if you wandered out of that door 11:09 in your sleep, you'd be for a rude awakening by the time 11:11 you hit that polluted water. 11:12 But now notice up the second level 11:14 and you'll see this lady's garden. 11:17 These happen to be flowers. 11:19 But I have seen in similar pots, tomatoes, bell peppers, 11:24 other kinds of garden things that you might put in a salad. 11:28 For you see, the folks have no opportunity to go 11:30 into the backyard and grow a garden. 11:32 There's no backyard, and so they do the best 11:34 that they're able to do. 11:35 And that we're now passing by. 11:38 This is parade day on the Grand Canal. 11:41 And you see the boats coming. 11:44 And traditionally, whether it's 4th of July or 11:47 some other occasion in our environment, 11:50 the band leads the parade. 11:52 And the drums beat and the horns blow 11:55 and the marchers come behind them. 11:57 It's not really unlike that here. 11:58 In the first boat is the band. 12:01 Now, when we decorate up a wagon or we decorate up something, 12:06 and put it in a parade, what do we call it? 12:08 What do we call that? 12:10 A float, exactly so. 12:11 The Pasadena Rose Parade, here comes the 12:13 float from the Jaycees. 12:16 This whole idea of floats originated here in this city, 12:20 in the parades. 12:22 Those are the original floats, ladies and gentlemen. 12:25 And the folks who live in along the Grand Canal and 12:28 have apartments up above, lofts, if you please, 12:31 have a really good view of the parade. 12:34 Now let's talk a little bit about this boat of romance, 12:38 the Gondola. 12:40 Originally, it was a war ship. 12:44 The Doge family who ruled the city/state here 12:47 for decades and decades and decades, kept here a large army. 12:53 Hundreds and hundreds of sailors and a 12:56 large ground force as well. 12:59 They had here 1600 boats, some of them large, 13:02 but the majority of them were gondolas, war ships. 13:06 And these are not so terribly different from the war canoes 13:11 of the native Americans who lined the 13:13 Oregon, Washington, British Columbia coasts 13:15 a few hundred years back or even less time than that. 13:19 Less than a hundred years in some instances. 13:22 Well, since there is no longer a great navy here, 13:26 or a need for it, they have turned these boats 13:29 into boats of romance. 13:32 Ladies and gentlemen, it is said in study after study 13:36 that there are more folk who come to this city 13:39 to be engaged, to celebrate Valentine's Day, 13:45 to celebrate an anniversary, or to have their wedding performed. 13:50 More folks come here in that way than 13:53 any other single city on the earth. 13:56 I'm not sure of the accuracy of that statement, 13:58 but the folks over here certainly advertise in that way. 14:02 Now as soon as I got back from this trip, someone asked me, 14:06 "Did you take a gondola ride?" 14:08 And I said, "No, I did not. " 14:11 For a couple of reasons. 14:12 Firstly, I was traveling with three preachers 14:15 and I wasn't feeling particularly romantic. 14:21 But secondly and more importantly really, 14:24 while the canals in these pictures don't show it, 14:28 they are terribly polluted. 14:30 Now you just think with me for a moment. 14:33 Here is a city that was built hundreds of years ago. 14:36 Built in and on the water. 14:39 Where do you suppose the sewer all originally went? 14:42 If you have a leaking pipe today, 14:44 where do you suppose it goes? 14:46 You know where it goes. 14:49 I shot this film with Kodak kodachrome film, 14:53 and these pictures on kodachrome film. 14:55 And kodachrome has the effect to make reds more brilliant, 14:59 blues more blue, and greens a brighter green. 15:03 In spite of that, you can see that the waters here are brown. 15:08 They're nasty, they're ugly, they're polluted. 15:10 And they smell badly. 15:13 And I could not see the romance in paying some guy 15:16 a 100 bucks to paddle me through the city sewer. 15:19 I just couldn't do it. 15:22 But lots of folks were doing it. 15:24 They were lined up in a line over a block long, 15:27 paying their money. 15:28 And the gondolier will take the lovers out onto the canals 15:31 and he will ask them, if they're celebrating perhaps 15:34 an anniversary, "What song was sung at your wedding?" 15:38 Or what song were they singing, what was playing on the jukebox 15:42 when you first danced and fell in love? 15:44 And then he will sing that song. 15:45 And they know nearly all the great standards, 15:48 the great love songs. 15:49 And with their Italian tenor voices, they sing. 15:52 And it's quite nice really, to hear those pretty voices 15:55 coming across the waters of the canals and 15:59 then perhaps even the Adriatic. 16:01 Now this is an aerial view of what I believe to be 16:05 one of the most fascinating churches in all the world. 16:08 This is the cathedral of St. Mark. 16:10 And I want to just point out a couple of things. 16:13 Notice there, the onion shaped domes. 16:15 Anytime you see a dome like that, you know that you're 16:19 seeing the result of the influence of ancient Byzantium. 16:23 That's Byzantine in architecture. 16:25 And today, of course, we call that area Turkey. 16:29 But this church was built to be a special place of internment, 16:35 a special place of burial for St. Mark. 16:38 And here is the history behind it. 16:41 While the Doge family was having the cathedral completed, 16:44 they sent an armada of ships from here, Venice, 16:49 over to Alexandria on the north of the continent of Africa, 16:53 on the north of Egypt, for that matter. 16:55 And there, Mark had died on a mission journey. 16:58 You see, in the early centuries 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 17:01 Alexandria was a Christian outpost. 17:04 And many an apostle went out from there 17:07 to other places in the world. 17:08 They'd catch the ship in Alexandria and go elsewhere 17:11 to share the love of Jesus. 17:12 And Mark was there when he died. 17:15 And in a quiet little place, he was buried. 17:19 Over the centuries, Islam replaced Christianity. 17:24 While once it was a great Christian center, it is today 17:28 and has been now for hundreds of years, a very strong center 17:31 of the faith of Islam. 17:33 Consequently, the tomb of Mark the evangelist 17:37 went unnoticed and the grounds went into disrepair, 17:40 and largely the place was ignored. 17:43 And the Doge family, with strong feelings about that neglect, 17:47 decided they would exhume his remains and have them 17:51 brought over to Venice and interred beneath the high altar 17:55 inside this cathedral. 17:57 And so when the cathedral was near completion, 18:00 they sent some ships and some sailors from Venice 18:03 over to Alexandria to exhume the remains of Mark. 18:08 And they went first to the city fathers. 18:11 And they asked the city fathers, "Would it be alright 18:14 if we exhume Mark's remains and took him to Venice 18:18 to bury him in a sacred place?" 18:20 And without thinking really, the fathers said, "No, no way. " 18:25 And the sailors plead the case of the Doge family 18:30 and the idea behind it. 18:32 "You folks are followers of Islam. 18:34 There are hardly any Christians within miles of here. 18:37 We'd like to give him a sacred Christian place of burial. 18:40 Why not?" 18:42 And the city fathers said, "Look, this is where he died 18:44 This is where he's buried. 18:46 This is where history knows about him. 18:48 And this is where he's going to stay. " 18:51 Well, without arguing, the sailors went back to their ships 18:55 but they didn't immediately leave. 18:57 A couple of nights later, under the cover of darkness, 19:00 a sky with no moon, they went to the grave of Mark 19:05 with their shovels and their spades, 19:07 and they exhumed his remains and wrapped them in burlap, 19:11 and headed back to their boat. 19:13 At about daylight, they were stopped 19:16 by the local constabulary. 19:18 The policemen stopped them and said, "What do you have there? 19:22 What are you taking aboard your boat?" 19:23 And the sailors said, "We're ready to go back now to Venice. 19:29 We're ready to take the bad news back to the Doge leadership. 19:33 But before we left, we thought we would take some 19:37 protein to eat on the way. 19:39 And so we have been out to a farmer just outside of town. 19:42 And he butchered a couple of hogs for us 19:44 and we wrapped them in this burlap. 19:46 Would you like to see our pork?" 19:48 And the leaders of Islam and the jurisdiction, they said, 19:52 "We don't even want to hear about pork. 19:54 You go ahead and get on your boat. " 19:56 And in that way, history says, they brought Mark back 20:00 and buried him on the inside. 20:03 And so in just a moment, we're going to go inside. 20:05 But before we do that, I wanted you to notice this. 20:09 This is, today, the bell tower. 20:12 The bells for the cathedral are up in there. 20:14 And every hour, on the hour, they ring. 20:16 You, by the way, can go up inside there and climb stairs, 20:20 get up in there and walk in and around, amongst the bells. 20:23 But from experience, I can tell you this. 20:25 You don't want to be on there when the clock strikes the hour. 20:28 Because you're ears are going to ring for a good long while. 20:32 I could give several tourist tips but let that be one to you. 20:36 It originally, this tower, was a lookout for the sailors. 20:41 And always there were the lookouts, two or three, 20:45 that were watching the canals and watching the Adriatic 20:49 to see if a ship be friend or foe. 20:51 And if they didn't know who it was, then they would 20:53 send out the war ships. 20:56 Now before we go inside St. Mark's cathedral, 20:58 I want you to notice the beauty of the exterior 21:02 of the architecture. 21:03 Those statues that we're looking at on the spires 21:06 are standing about 22 feet high from their base. 21:11 And they're made of pure Carrera Marble. 21:14 And this was done 1000 years ago folks. 21:17 Long before power tools, long before pneumatic tools. 21:22 It was done by men with hammers and chisels in their hands. 21:27 And I suggest to you, they did a really good job. 21:29 What do you think? 21:31 Yea, they did a good job. 21:33 There is that bell tower that we spoke about a bit ago. 21:37 And up inside there, the sailors watched. 21:40 And that original tower though, I should tell you, fell down. 21:44 It literally collapsed and this one is from more modern times. 21:50 Not in just the last few years but from what we would 21:52 call historically, modern times. 21:55 Now we're going to go through the entry door. 21:58 Inside and there at the altar, 22:03 we have at the base, the tomb of Mark. 22:07 Mark was not one of the twelve disciples. 22:12 And this is a strange idea, and I'll just share this 22:15 with you quickly because you may find it of interest. 22:18 It'll help you in your Bible study. 22:22 You cannot study, carefully, the gospels without recognizing 22:26 almost immediately, that the leader of the 22:28 disciples was Peter. 22:30 When there was a questions asked, Peter gave the answer. 22:33 When there was an action to be taken, whether it was 22:35 jumping out of the boat or whipping out his sword, 22:36 Peter takes the action. 22:38 Peter, indeed, was the leader of the disciples. 22:43 We have the gospel according to John. 22:46 We have the gospel of Luke. 22:49 We have the gospel of Matthew. 22:51 But no gospel of Peter? 22:53 When he was the leader? Strange. 22:55 No, on the other hand we do. 22:58 You see, Mark, was a traveling companion of Peter. 23:01 When Peter would go out as an apostle and preach, 23:05 Mark would write down his sermons. 23:07 So therefore then, when we're reading the gospel of Mark, 23:10 we're, in reality, reading the gospel according to Peter. 23:15 Now we're going to move again and go out the rear exit and 23:19 as we do, we notice the beauty of the interior of the dome. 23:22 They have mosaic stories and art stories, Bible stories. 23:27 These, built during the dark ages when folks couldn't 23:30 read or write, were beautifully decorated with Bible art. 23:33 And the leaders of the church would take the folks around 23:36 and show them the art and tell them the Bible story 23:38 that went with them, and educate them in that way. 23:42 Now we're going to go around by boat to the Doge chapel. 23:49 On weekends they worship in the cathedral of Mark. 23:51 But during the week, morning and evening, those who wanted, 23:56 and most did, worship inside the chapel. 23:59 And I want you to go with me up those marble steps, 24:02 past those statues of Neptune, god of the sea, 24:06 and we'll go right through this door into what I believe to be 24:10 one of the most beautiful rooms in all the world. 24:13 Some of the most gorgeous parquet hardwood flooring. 24:17 is to be found in that floor. 24:19 And over the centuries it's been beautifully 24:21 kept and redone and redone. 24:23 And then you'll notice up in the ceiling the hardwood 24:26 has been hand carved. 24:28 Delicately carved and then covered over with gold leaf. 24:31 That is not spray paint, that's the real thing. 24:34 But my reason for wanting you to come inside with me tonight, 24:38 was to show you this painting that decorates 24:41 the front of the chapel. 24:42 We're going to move in for a little bit of a close-up. 24:45 And what we have? 24:46 We have our Lord Jesus seated on the throne, 24:49 coming back from heaven on a rescue mission. 24:52 Coming on clouds. "And every eye shall see Him. " 24:55 And He said, "When I come, I'll come with the 24:57 glory of all of My angels. " 24:58 There they are on the clouds, all of the holy angels. 25:01 And He said, "I'll come with the glory of My Father. " 25:03 There in the painting is the Holy Father. 25:07 Coming to rescue the children. 25:10 And this is what thrilled me so. 25:13 Even during the darkest of ages, ladies and gentlemen, 25:18 during the darkest of ages, at a time when Bibles 25:22 were extinct, people were disallowed to read them. 25:26 And the Bibles that were around were literally chained 25:29 to monastery desks and were for the private interpretation 25:32 of the pastors only. 25:34 During the darkest ages, the church never completely 25:38 lost sight of the beautiful teaching of the 25:41 second coming of Jesus. 25:43 And I hope that we're emphasizing it 25:45 to our benefit each evening, at least as we conclude, 25:49 and lifting up Jesus. 25:50 And your heart, like mine, will long to see Him face to face. 25:54 He is coming again. 25:57 Thank you for traveling with me. 26:02 As I travel the major cities of the United States, 26:04 and other of the world for that matter, 26:05 and I'm introduced as a native of Idaho, 26:08 I often become the brunt of Idaho jokes. 26:12 I'll share one or two of them with you folks. 26:16 "What's the difference," I've been asked, "in Idaho 26:20 between a tornado and a divorce?" 26:23 "Oh, I don't know. " 26:25 "Well either way someone's going to lose their trailer house. " 26:32 How do you know when you're in Idaho? 26:34 Well, if your wealthiest relative invites you over 26:38 for a house warming, and before you leave 26:41 they ask you to help take the tires off the house, 26:44 you're probably in Idaho. 26:50 If you decide finally you're going to mow the front lawn 26:53 and you find there a 1960 Plymouth Valiant, 26:58 you're probably in Idaho. 27:01 Now I'm not trying to be a standup comic, 27:03 and those things sound to me like kind of remakes of 27:05 Jeff Foxworthy, but at any event, my point is this. 27:09 We folks who've lived in and around Idaho, and perhaps 27:12 some of you who are neighbors to us, have sort of 27:15 been looked down upon as hay seeds. 27:18 Like we've fallen off the turnip truck fairly recently. 27:21 And that in Idaho, we have a lot of junk along the roadsides, 27:26 and a lot of old refrigerators in the backyard. 27:29 And tragically, a lot of that is true. 27:31 Tragically. 27:32 I use to often drive, I now more often fly, but when I would 27:37 drive from the east to the west, or go from Oregon or Washington 27:41 into Idaho, it seemed I could almost tell when 27:44 I had crossed the border because there was 27:46 a lot of trash along the highway. 27:48 And there were a lot of trashy old places 27:50 and a lot of junk parked around. 27:52 You know, spare parts. 27:54 I confronted one Idahoan about it. 27:56 And I said, "You know, you could clean up a little around here. " 27:59 He said, "Well, I'll tell you what, I just got religious. " 28:02 He said, "I was just born again and I don't believe 28:05 in righteous by works. " 28:11 Our Lord Jesus told a story, a parable that He called 28:17 the parable of the steward. 28:19 And in that parable, He made it abundantly clear to us 28:22 that this world does not belong to us. 28:25 My backyard is not mine to trash. 28:27 The highways upon which I drive are not mine 28:32 to through my garbage upon. 28:33 But rather, I am to be the caretaker. 28:36 I am to watch over His world and I am to take 28:40 very good care of it. 28:41 And in His word, He has warnings for me if I choose 28:44 to do otherwise. 28:45 Now I want to share with you very quickly, 28:47 something that I think is related. 28:49 And before we conclude, I believe you'll agree with me. 28:51 On Fox news this evening, there was the report that fuel prices 28:55 across the United States in the last 10 days have risen 28:59 as much as 20 cents. 29:00 Now that's not news to you. 29:01 Especially the price of diesel. 29:03 You farmers know what's been going on. 29:05 Even that red stuff has gone out of sight in cost. 29:09 And they went on to say that farming and manufacturing 29:12 and delivery by rail and by truck are all affected. 29:16 And that at the grocery store, whether we're going to get 29:18 Cheerios or a head of lettuce, we're going to pay more money. 29:24 And then they gave some illustrations. 29:26 They said that in the last 10 months, in the major grocery 29:30 chains in the United States, a loaf of bread has increased 29:33 in price 35 percent. 29:35 And that during the same last 10 months, the price of a 29:39 gallon of milk has gone up 40 percent. 29:42 And it's largely due to the great increase 29:45 in the cost of fuel. 29:47 Now, George Will, in last weeks Newsweek Magazine, 29:52 did a little bit of a commentary on his page, "The Last Word". 29:57 And I'm not going to read to you from that tonight 30:00 because I've much other to read. 30:01 And by the way, when tonight I read perhaps more than usual, 30:04 it's because I want to share original sources. 30:07 I think it's not fair for Lyle to stand up here 30:10 and sort of set up straw men, 30:13 and leave folks with the idea that maybe he made that up. 30:16 Where's the background, where is the origin for that resource? 30:19 I, further, want to go on record at the outset tonight 30:22 by saying that I am not some kind of a fanatic. 30:25 I am not a Greenpeace nut. 30:28 I am not a tree hugger. 30:30 I am an old logger. 30:32 And I'll go, at the same time, on record to say to you 30:35 that I have always strongly been against clear cut logging. 30:38 And I'm against the slaughter of what's left 30:41 of our old growth forests. 30:44 Okay? So you know where I stand on some of these issues. 30:47 But at any event, George Will says that, "The American people, 30:50 it seems obvious, have decided to avoid drilling up in the 30:54 Alaskan area where we could get enough oil 30:58 to provide our needs for at least several years. 31:00 We have chosen instead to destroy the forests of the earth 31:05 and create all kinds of greenhouse gases. 31:08 And to grow a lot of corn and soybeans 31:11 and try to make fuel out of that. " 31:13 And he said, "It's going to cost us more in the diesel 31:16 for the tractors to grow the soybeans than it is 31:19 if we would do some exploration off shore 31:22 or maybe up in Alaska. " 31:23 And so, the point that I want to make at this juncture is 31:26 that we're caught in a catch-22. 31:28 We really are, we're in that proverbial vicious cycle. 31:32 Now I'd like you, ladies and gentlemen, if you will please 31:34 to open your Bible's to our first scripture, 31:37 Revelation chapter 11. 31:39 We've said over and over again that the book of Revelation 31:42 is for those who live in the last days. 31:44 It's not the last book by accident, but by God's design. 31:48 It's information for those who live in the very last days. 31:52 And I also, while we're turning to Revelation 11, want to 31:55 say once more that prophecy is history written in advance. 32:00 It's God pulling aside the curtain that veils the future 32:02 and giving us insights as to what the future holds 32:06 in order that we might get ready, make preparation. 32:09 Spiritual, most of all. 32:11 On the other hand, history is the 32:14 mirror reflection of prophecy. 32:15 It is prophecy fulfilled. 32:18 And prophecy and history go together like identical twins. 32:23 Now, we're ready then to read from Revelation chapter 11. 32:29 Revelation chapter 11, and I'm going to read at verse 18. 32:38 "The nations were angry, Your wrath has come, 32:43 and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, 32:48 and You're going to reward those Your servants and the prophets 32:52 and Your saints, and those that have done work in Your name, 32:57 both small and great, and You're going to destroy those who... " 33:04 There it is. 33:05 Did you know that the Bible was filled with warning 33:08 about destroying our planet? 33:11 God says that in the end time, "I'm going to have to destroy 33:14 the folks that willingly and flagrantly 33:18 and purposely destroy the earth. " 33:20 Those who pollute and know they're polluting 33:22 are going to come to a sad end. 33:25 In the beginning, ladies and gentlemen, we lived, 33:27 our parents, I should better say, lived in a perfect world. 33:30 And the record of Genesis is abundantly clear. 33:32 God, in the center of the universe, placed planet earth. 33:36 In the center of planet earth, he placed a beautiful garden. 33:38 In the center of the garden, He placed our parents Adam and Eve. 33:42 My daughter called me from the Big Island of Hawaii yesterday. 33:46 She said, "Dad, you won't believe where we are. " 33:48 She said, "We're in a botanical garden. 33:51 We're in a natural garden alongside the sea. " 33:54 And she said, "There's the most lovely plants and flowers. " 33:57 "In fact," she said, "I and the grandkids were just 34:00 saying a bit ago, it reminds us of the Garden of Eden. 34:04 It must have been much like this. " 34:06 It was indeed beautiful. 34:07 More beautiful, I'm sure, than anything we've ever imagined. 34:10 And so God said to our parents Adam and Eve, "Live here. " 34:13 "Make this your home, train the vines, 34:16 name the animals, raise your kids. 34:18 I'll stop by in the evening time to visit with you. " 34:21 And then, as you read on, you find God giving instruction. 34:27 And let's go there to read, shall we. 34:28 We ought to do that together. 34:30 It's one thing for Lyle to say it. 34:31 It's something else again for us to read it from our Bibles. 34:34 Genesis chapter 1, beginning with verse 27. 34:37 Here was God's instruction to the family 34:39 shortly after He'd placed them inside the garden. 34:43 Genesis chapter 1, beginning to read at verse 27. 34:53 "God created them in His image; in the image of God 34:56 He created them; male and female He created them both. 34:59 And then God blessed them, and He said unto them, 35:01 'Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, subdue it; 35:08 have dominion over the fish in the sea, 35:10 and over the fowls of the air, 35:12 and every moving, living thing. '" 35:15 This is your home, you're in charge of it all. 35:17 Take care of it. 35:20 And then you continue your study in the book of Genesis. 35:22 And you come over to chapter 7. 35:25 And we don't have time to turn and 35:27 read chapter 7 and 8, of course. 35:28 The story of the great flood and of the 35:31 great destruction that would come. 35:34 Men had become so sinful and so belligerent against God's truths 35:37 that God said, "I'm going to have to destroy the thing. " 35:40 "Noah, you better build a big boat. " And he did. 35:42 And then the flood waters came and the earth 35:44 was drastically changed. 35:46 And from that point on, we Christians believe in what 35:49 we call catastrophism. 35:51 Some folks look at the age of the earth through 35:53 the eyes of the evolutionists. 35:54 And they see millions and millions and millions of years. 35:57 Other folks, Christians in particular, look at the earth 36:01 through God's eyes and from the vantage point of God's word. 36:03 And we see catastrophe that changed the earth 36:07 instantly and suddenly, and did not require 36:10 millions of millions of years. 36:12 But only just a few thousands of years. 36:15 I remember so very well and not so very long ago, 36:17 a man who was leading a group of tourists down into the bottom 36:22 of the Grand Canyon. 36:23 They were riding on the backs of mules. 36:26 And they would go a ways and down a few switchbacks, 36:29 and then they would dismount. 36:30 And the guide would point out 36:32 various strata and various ideas. 36:34 And then he looked down into the bottom of the canyon, 36:38 pointed out the little narrow ribbon of water 36:40 that was the Colorado River. 36:41 And he said, "Now, look at the river and then slowly 36:45 raise your eyes and look up to the rim of the canyon. 36:48 And imagine how many millions and millions 36:51 and millions of years it took that tiny little bit 36:53 of water to carve this massive canyon. " 36:56 And folks jaws dropped, "yea". 36:59 They said they'd heard of scientific fact. 37:01 And a little bit later, the guide stopped the group. 37:07 And he made this remark, "Those of us who have spent 37:10 a lifetime studying the canyon and its environment 37:14 have seen the mud of the canyon turn into stone. " 37:20 Now he didn't seem to catch it, but he'd raised a question. 37:22 Did the Colorado River carve that massive canyon out of stone 37:26 or out of mud? 37:28 I was a student at Walla Walla college when there came 37:31 a break in the irrigation ditch out in the countryside east. 37:35 And by the next morning, there was a washout in the sand hills 37:39 that you could park, I don't know, 50 or 60 big trucks in. 37:44 And it happened just like that. 37:45 And so there are several ways to look at the world 37:49 and its origin, its beginnings. 37:50 And no matter how you look at it, it requires faith. 37:54 Now, we want to read together from Genesis chapter 9, 37:58 because this is God's instruction now after the flood. 38:01 And we're going to begin at the very first verse, 38:03 Genesis chapter 9. 38:06 Genesis 9 and reading forward. 38:09 "God blessed Noah and also his sons, and He said unto them, 38:14 'Be fruitful now and multiply and replenish the earth. '" 38:19 And so, man did a really good job of replenishing the earth. 38:22 And I want to just share with you now, the facts in regard to 38:26 the growth of the population on planet earth. 38:29 Scientists who mathematically study these kinds of events 38:32 say with some certainty that before there were ever a 38:36 first billion people here who'd lived on planet earth, 38:39 it took 5000 years. 38:41 Do you have that now? 38:42 You "A" students are going to want to write it down. 38:44 It took 5000 years to produce the first billion people 38:48 here on planet earth. 38:49 The second billion took only 100 years. 38:54 Now look at that leap. 38:55 From 5000 years to 100 years for the second billion. 38:59 The third billion took only 35 years. 39:01 The fourth billion took 5 years. 39:03 And the fifth billion took only 2 years. 39:07 At the present rate of growth around the world, 39:09 by the year 2020, there shall be 16-18 billion of us. 39:14 More than we can possibly feed and clothe. 39:16 And that is from, that is a fact, a statement 39:19 from the scientists. 39:20 Not from Lyle's library. 39:22 Mike Wallace from 60 Minutes Magazine made this 39:26 report recently, and I jotted it down. 39:28 He said, "Today around the world, there are 39:31 1 million new people every 48 hours. " 39:36 A million folks, new babies, every 48 hours. 39:42 A few years ago, a group of scientists formed a think tank. 39:48 They formed a study group to try to look at the 39:51 problems of pollution and population explosion. 39:54 And the feeding of humanity and what the future might hold. 39:57 And they gave themselves the title, "The Club of Rome" 40:00 because that was sort of a central meeting place. 40:03 Had nothing to do with religion or church. 40:05 The Club of Rome, and I want to read to you 40:08 a little bit of what they have said. 40:10 They were formed in 1968. 40:12 They're made up of economists, humanists, civil servants, 40:15 and governors and so forth. 40:17 Now listen, "We members are united by an overriding 40:22 conviction that the earth's major problems are so complex 40:27 that traditional policies are not going 40:29 to be able long to cope. " 40:30 "The trouble," in big caps now, "WE ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE, 40:36 BIG TROUBLE." 40:37 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 40:40 recently presented this fact. 40:42 They said, "The present model that we now study 40:46 of interaction between the population 40:48 and its relationship to agriculture, 40:50 industrial production, natural resources, 40:53 and environmental health and degradation is frightening. " 40:58 Now these are scientists, these are not preachers. 41:00 These are not maniacs who've escaped from a 41:02 looney bin somewhere. 41:03 These are the scientists. 41:05 You know, if a few years ago, a preacher said 41:07 something like this, he'd be immediately tagged as 41:10 some kind of a weirdo from a storefront church down on Main. 41:13 You know? 41:14 But no longer. 41:15 Now the scientists are saying it, and the men who spent 41:17 years and years and years studying it. 41:20 And then they go on, from The Club of Rome, 41:22 to spell down some of the problems. 41:24 Number 1, too many children. 41:32 Too many children. 41:33 Number 2, agricultural burning. 41:38 Number 3, over consumption. 41:44 And number 4, improper waste disposal of our household, 41:47 our kitchen garbage. 41:48 Number 5, improper human waste disposal. 41:53 And that includes the sewer. 41:55 And then number 6, pesticides and overcrowding. 42:01 And finally, economic dependence upon growth. 42:04 And what they're saying is that the economies of the 42:07 industrialized world's depend upon 42:10 a super abundance of people. 42:11 We must have more people so we can have more refrigerators. 42:14 And vice versa, you see. 42:15 More people so we can sell more automobiles, and vice versa. 42:18 And so we're caught in that catch-22 once again. 42:21 "And it's out of hand," say the leaders of the world 42:23 who study this thing. 42:25 Now listen to me. 42:26 I began to speak to you about 11 minutes ago, there's the clock. 42:29 About 11 minutes ago, I began to talk to you. 42:32 10 minutes ago, in the last 10 minutes, I should better say, 42:41 there have been 565 people born. 42:45 3 per second. 42:49 In the last 10 minutes, 58 have died from hunger, 42:52 from starvation. 42:54 In the last 10 minutes, 327 acres of wild lands 42:58 have been lost. 42:59 1.7 acres per second. 43:02 In the last 10 minutes, 140,893 metric tons of carbon dioxide 43:07 have been released up into the atmosphere. 43:10 That's 708 tons per second. 43:16 10 minutes ago, since the last 10 minutes, 148,853 metric tons 43:22 of top soil have been lost by erosion. 43:25 That is 747.5 tons per second. 43:29 Thousands and thousands of acres of farmland 43:32 in the last short while have been concreted over. 43:35 Have you folks noticed that in your area? 43:37 Let me tell you a little bit about what has 43:39 happened in my home town. 43:40 And I say that kind of loosely because I haven't lived there 43:43 for a while, but I refer often to Boise, Idaho as my home town. 43:48 Born nearby and raised nearby, and lived in 43:51 the city itself for several years. 43:54 Boise took an explosion, a growth spurt a few years ago, 43:58 that has continued and increased at a phenomenal rate. 44:01 They're so far behind now in their infrastructure, 44:04 in the roads and sewers and streets and sidewalks 44:07 and schools, that they don't know if they'll ever catch up. 44:11 Now, the Treasure Valley which extends from Ontario, Oregon 44:15 out to near Mountain Home, Idaho is one of the most fertile 44:19 valleys in all of this world. 44:21 I mean, you put a seed in the ground, 44:23 you give it a little water, and it's going to grow. 44:26 And grow very, very well. 44:28 And you folks have some similar soils around here. 44:31 It's volcanic and alluvial, and it's great and really very good. 44:38 About 4 years ago, the city of Boise 44:41 surpassed Spokane, Washington. 44:43 Spokane had been the 3rd largest city in the 44:45 Pacific Northwest. 44:46 There was Seattle, there was Portland, 44:47 and then there was Spokane. 44:49 But 4 years ago, Boise surpassed Spokane, 44:52 became the 3rd largest. 44:53 18 months ago, Boise surpassed Olympia, Washington. 45:00 And now it is Seattle and Portland, and then Boise. 45:04 The third largest city. 45:06 And they have poured concrete and pavement 45:08 over the most fertile soil that I have ever 45:10 known in my lifetime. 45:12 And I wonder now when I drive through the Treasure Valley; 45:15 where in the world are we going to get our spuds? 45:19 And when you look at this whole situation from the 45:22 farmers point of view, you have to be sympathetic. 45:24 You know, they've struggled and struggled and struggled, 45:27 and worked and worked, and often they've gone behind 45:29 for that year. 45:30 And they wonder how they're going to buy the fuel and 45:33 the fertilizer for next year. 45:35 And then someone comes along and offers them 45:37 millions and millions of dollars for those few acres, 45:39 you can't blame them for selling out. 45:42 I read, by the way, about a farmer in Iowa who'd won 45:45 several million dollars at the lottery. 45:47 And the reporters went to him, as reporters often do when such 45:50 good news comes to a community, and they said to him, 45:52 "What do you plan to do with all that money?" 45:54 And the guy said, "Well, I guess I'll just keep farming 45:56 until it's all gone. " 46:02 Scientists from the Central Institute in New Zealand 46:05 say that the present global population of 6 billion 46:09 is 30% more than the earths biological capacity 46:12 to sustain the present standard of living. 46:17 Growth may not even be able to be stabilized. 46:21 It's projected to be 10 million in a few short years. 46:24 There are 51 billion hectares of earth's surface. 46:28 But only 13 billion of these are arable and suitable for farming. 46:35 3.3 billion are used as pasture land to feed cattle. 46:41 The world needs to immediately reduce its 46:44 carbon dioxide emissions by at least half. 46:47 The United Nations recognized this desperation and they 46:50 put out the warnings. 46:52 But few, it seems, at least in the third world, 46:55 are paying any attention. 46:57 And then they go on to say that the industrialized nations, 47:02 and that includes us, we're right at the top of the list, 47:05 are the biggest polluters. 47:06 You see again the conundrum, the catch-22. 47:09 And when a country becomes industrialized, 47:12 such as now is happening in China and out in India, 47:15 they pump out more and more and more pollution. 47:17 And the problem increases, drastically increases. 47:21 I want to read you again from the scientists 47:23 of The Club of Rome only just very briefly. 47:26 I'm going to read it. 47:30 "Changing weather patterns are reducing permanently 47:34 the amount of arable land and the growing population is 47:36 simultaneously demanding more food. 47:38 Water is essential for the supply of both domestic use 47:45 and agriculture purposes, and is becoming critical 47:47 in so very many countries. 47:50 Some states are looking for desalinization as the solution. 47:53 This means pumping water over long, long distances 47:58 which demands more electrical power. 48:00 With our growing population, there is an increasing problem 48:02 of pollution in our drinking water sources. 48:05 Much power is generated from oil and natural gas. 48:08 New reserves will continue to be discovered, but 48:10 recent detailed reports suggest that we now find 48:20 1 new barrel of oil for every 4 that we consume. " 48:24 Amazing, amazing. 48:29 "In spite of the best efforts of technology, 48:32 we have no alternatives for oil and gas. 48:34 Technology cannot replace limited resources. " 48:39 I told you folks, I think a night or two ago, 48:43 but just during the announcement period, 48:44 that while I was in Phoenix, Arizona there came 48:47 the announcement that over in Los Angeles that day 48:51 they began to drink, for the first time, the water 48:54 that had been in their toilets 3 days before. 48:57 And they say the water is pure, and as pure as that which is 49:00 coming down from the Shasta Mountain snow melt. 49:03 Pure water. 49:04 Some were shocked at that but it's been happening 49:07 in and around Denver, Colorado for years and years and years. 49:10 And when I moved to the Denver area to work, 49:12 it was suggested to me by some of the folks that I might take 49:15 my cup of drinking water and hold it up to the light 49:19 and then decide whether or not I was really all that thirsty. 49:23 Here's one again. 49:26 Here's one for you. 49:27 And this comes from the scholars over in France. 49:31 "The global economy is using natural resources faster than 49:35 they can be renewed. " 49:37 This from Lester Brown of the Washington based 49:40 Earth Policy Institute. 49:42 "We're releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere 49:45 faster than the earth can begin to absorb it. 49:47 Our economy is based upon cutting trees 49:49 faster than they can grow, over pumping aquifers 49:52 and draining rivers, soil erosion of our crop lands 49:55 exceeds new soil formation. 49:57 We're taking fish from the ocean faster than they can reproduce. 50:01 We're creating an economy who's output is inflated 50:04 by drawing down the earth's national capital. 50:06 The challenge is to deflate the global economic bubble 50:09 before it bursts with an effect to the entire world. 50:13 To avoid this, action has to be taken to reduce 50:15 water consumption to a sustainable level, 50:18 to address the population of the world to a point of stability 50:22 in the developing countries, as well as stabilizing emissions. 50:27 Avoiding the effects of higher temperatures on crop yields 50:30 means quickly stabilizing the climate by cutting 50:33 global carbon emissions in half by at least 2015." 50:38 But those who are in the know say 50:39 that is quite, quite impossible. 50:44 Bad news, huh? 50:46 Someone said, bad news travels like wildfire 50:49 while good news travels slow. 50:53 But there is good news, ladies and gentlemen. 50:57 There is good news. 50:58 One day, our Lord Himself is going to come 51:00 and purify this earth. 51:02 One day Jesus is going to come riding down the skies. 51:06 And He's going to bring an end to all of these things 51:09 that we have brought upon ourselves, 51:10 or the devil has been in partnership in bringing upon us. 51:14 I want to elude quickly to a book now. 51:16 Some of you may want to go and buy it. 51:18 It's entitled, "Ten Billion Mouths to Feed" 51:21 and the author is David Pimentel. 51:24 Listen to him. 51:26 "What will the world do for fertility 51:29 when petroleum is gone? 51:31 What will happen to people's crops when the 51:34 over pumped aquifers deplete? 51:36 Hydrologists say we're running out of water. 51:39 The chemists say we're running out of air. 51:41 The botanists say we're running out of food. " 51:43 But Lyle says, the Bible says we're running out of time. 51:48 We're out of time. 51:50 Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, while we're gathered here, 51:53 8 million in the third world are starving to death. 51:59 8 million. 52:03 The Weyerhaeuser company for whom I worked at a time 52:08 began on the east coast. 52:10 And with their handsaws, they chopped their way 52:13 through the eastern forests in a couple of generations. 52:17 And then they moved to the heartland, 52:20 to Wisconsin and Minnesota. 52:21 And it was said when they moved there, there was timber enough 52:24 to last forever. 52:26 But within 25 years, they had cut the majority of the forests 52:31 of mid-America. 52:32 And then they moved to the Pacific Northwest. 52:35 And when they saw the old growth and the virgin forests 52:37 of the Pacific Northwest, the Weyerhaeuser company said, 52:40 "We have timber enough to last now, indeed, forever and ever. 52:44 We shall never be able to get ahead of the growth. " 52:48 Well you and I know better. 52:50 We know better. 52:51 And I appreciate the timber companies, 52:54 Weyerhaeuser and Boise Cascade and others, 52:57 that are replanting and that kind of thing. 52:59 But you know folks, we're really not keeping up. 53:02 We're not keeping up, we're not getting ahead. 53:05 We're continuing to destroy our forests. 53:07 Forests that take a lot of pollution out of the sky 53:11 and make our air so much better to breathe. 53:15 In Isaiah 51:6, God described what would happen to this world 53:19 before Jesus comes back. 53:21 He said, "This earth is going to wax old like a garment. " 53:26 Like your clothes wear out when they get old and tired. 53:30 And then in Joel 1:17 there God, through the prophet Joel said 53:34 that in the last days the seed would rot under the clod. 53:39 And that's happening all around the world. 53:41 The Gobi Deserts and the other, the African desert, 53:44 and some of the South American deserts 53:46 are growing by acres, multiplied acres. 53:49 Every single day, the deserts are moving on a march northward. 53:54 Northward still. 53:56 I suggest to us tonight that instead of putting our minds 54:01 totally upon solutions, and there's much we can do about it, 54:04 don't get me wrong. 54:05 And there is much we must do about it 54:07 because we are stewards now. 54:09 But instead of setting our hearts on this world and 54:12 putting our hope in a fix, I suggest that we place our minds 54:18 and hearts, like Abraham did, on the next world. 54:21 Because the apostle Paul, as he sat in jail and wrote his last 54:24 lesson, would say, "I look for the blessed hope, 54:28 the glorious appearing of our great God and 54:30 Savior Jesus Christ. " 54:31 This preacher tonight wants to say to you, 54:33 I believe it's our only hope. 54:35 He must come again, and indeed, He's going to do that. 54:39 Get our priorities in order. 54:42 The ostrich syndrome is not going to work for us. 54:46 We began our first night with the story of a lady, 54:49 who near her death called in the pastor and gave instructions 54:53 for her funeral. 54:54 Do you remember? How many of you were here? 54:55 That was the first night. 54:57 Do you remember, yes? 55:00 And she said, "Pastor, I don't want to be in my casket with 55:02 my hands over my chest and folded together. 55:05 No, I want my hands to be by my side. 55:10 And in my left, I want my Bible. 55:13 And in my right hand, I want a fork. " 55:17 And the preachers jaw dropped and he said, 55:19 "What do you mean, what's with the fork?" 55:21 She said, "Pastor, I always really get encouraged 55:24 when at the end of the fellowship dinners at church, 55:27 those who come by to clear the tables say to me, 55:29 keep your fork. 55:33 Because then I know that something better is coming. " 55:40 So each of you tonight again, this preacher would say, 55:43 "Keep your fork. " 55:46 Keep your fork. 55:47 In Psalm 37:25, there God said through David, 55:51 "I've never seen God's children going hungry or begging bread. " 55:55 Things are going to get better. 55:57 In John 10:10, Jesus said, "I've come that you might have life, 56:02 and that more abundantly. " 56:03 So keep your fork. 56:05 In Jeremiah 11:5, God said, "I'm going to take you to a land 56:09 flowing with milk and honey. " 56:11 Keep your forks now. 56:13 In Isaiah 65:21-22, God said, in the earth made new 56:19 you're going to plant vineyards and grow wonderful gardens. 56:22 In Revelations 22:1-4, God says, "I'm going to take you 56:29 to a place that I have remade. 56:32 And you're going to eat from the fruit of the tree of life. " 56:37 And then you move through your Bibles 56:40 to the last three chapters of the book of Revelation. 56:43 And what do you find? 56:44 You find the earth restored. 56:47 You find in the center of this restored, remade earth 56:50 the garden of Eden. 56:51 Beautiful as ever it was, even perhaps, more lovely. 56:55 In the center of the garden is the tree of life. 56:59 And where in Genesis, the folks were forbidden 57:01 to eat from the tree, and the flaming sworded angel stood 57:04 in front to guard it, it says in the Revelation 57:07 that we shall eat regularly from the tree. 57:11 And it's fruit is for the healing of the nations. 57:14 You see my dears, everything lost in the 57:16 first 3 chapters of Genesis because of sin, 57:19 is restored in the last 3 of Revelation because of grace. 57:23 And it's not an accident. 57:25 Because in every passage, in every chapter, 57:27 every book between, you find God running around, 57:31 And begging, through His Son and through His prophets, 57:33 "Accept Me, let Me be your Lord. " 57:36 We thank You, dear Lord, for Your promise. 57:41 Our hearts could be worried, upset. 57:44 We could develop diseases; high blood pressure, hypertension, 57:49 ulcers, as we look at the things that have come upon the earth. 57:52 You predicted that in the end time, 57:54 men's hearts would fail them for fear. 57:56 But then we see and read Your promise, "I will come again. " 58:00 "I'll restore everything, even better than 58:03 it was to begin with. " 58:04 Thank You, dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for Your love. 58:08 Thank You that You've become the hound of heaven. 58:10 You go into the cities, into the skyscrapers, 58:14 looking for Your children and calling them out. 58:16 You go into the mountains and into the woods 58:19 and into the wildernesses seeking Your own. 58:22 Calling them, "Come to Me. " 58:23 "I want to restore to you the best of everything. " 58:27 Thank You tonight. In Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17