Participants: Jac Colon
Series Code: RNN
Program Code: RNN000005
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00:19 I want to ask you a question.
00:24 And I just want you to answer it inside. 00:28 Search your own heart and see where you stand. 00:39 Have you come to the place in your life 00:44 where if you were to die right now, 00:50 you would know without any hesitation, 00:52 without any doubt, 00:53 you would know that you'd have eternal life? 00:58 Don't answer out loud, just answer to yourself. 01:03 Have you come to the place where you would know 01:06 without a doubt or hesitation 01:09 whatsoever, if you would die right now, 01:11 you would have eternal life or, 01:16 or you are not sure, 01:18 or perhaps some of you may feel like 01:21 I know I wouldn't have eternal life. 01:25 Well, I've got good news for you, 01:28 the Bible says, "I write these things to you 01:31 who believe in the name of the Son of God 01:33 so that you may know that you have eternal life." 01:36 1 John 5:13. 01:38 God wants you to know, He wants you to be sure. 01:43 He doesn't want you to doubt, He doesn't want you to wonder. 01:47 God wants you to know 01:49 that if something would happen to you right now, 01:51 this instance you would have eternal life. 01:53 The problem is there are a lot of forces 01:56 that work in this old world 01:57 that want to take that assurance away from you. 02:01 They want you to doubt, 02:03 they want you to think you are not worthy, 02:05 that you are not good enough. 02:06 There are forces in the work in this world 02:09 that are trying to prevent you from knowing the lamb. 02:12 Open your Bibles to Revelation 13. 02:15 In the 13th Chapter of Revelation 02:18 you can identify them. 02:20 Actually let's start in Chapter 12:17 02:23 as it kind of review of what we've studied so far, 02:26 "Then the dragon was angry at the woman, 02:30 and he went off to make war 02:32 against the rest of her offspring, 02:35 those who obey God's commandments 02:38 and hold to the testimony of Jesus." 02:40 Two points of attack 02:43 that the dragon launches against God's people, the rest. 02:47 The King James says the remnant. 02:49 It means the last of God's people on this earth. 02:52 This is it, this is the last battle 02:55 that will unfold on this earth. 02:57 What are the two points of attack? 03:00 They obey the commandments of God 03:03 and cling to the testimony of Jesus Christ. 03:08 The law and the gospel, the law and the cross, 03:12 Jesus and His law, 03:14 the two points of attack in the last days. 03:18 We'll understand a lot more about that 03:20 but watch how this battle, how this war unfolds. 03:24 The next verse Chapter 13:1, 03:27 "The dragon," that's the devil, remember. 03:29 "The dragon stood on the shore of the sea 03:34 and saw a beast coming up out of the water. 03:37 He had ten horns, seven heads, 03:39 ten crowns on his horns, 03:40 on each head a blasphemous name." 03:42 The dragon sees this beast rise up out of the water. 03:47 Watch what he does, at the end of verse 2, 03:50 "The dragon gave the beast his power, 03:54 his throne and great authority." 03:58 So it's the dragon who gives his authority to the beast. 04:05 Now watch, verse 4, "Men worshiped the dragon," 04:10 that's the devil. 04:12 Well, who would worship the devil? 04:14 Oh, there are few devil worshippers around but not many. 04:18 Who would really worship the devil? 04:20 Watch this, "Men worshiped the dragon 04:24 because he had given authority to the beast, 04:29 and they also worshiped the beast." 04:32 You see that's his plan. 04:33 The dragon, that's the devil gives his authority to the beast 04:38 and the whole world worships the beast 04:41 but in fact they are worshipping the dragon, 04:44 that's the devil 04:45 because he gave his authority to the beast. 04:49 That's his plan. 04:55 Why would they ever worship the beast? 04:57 We can sit here in this comfortable auditorium, 05:00 it's like not me. 05:02 I would never worship the beast. 05:05 Well, how does it happen? 05:07 Verse 11, "I saw another beast come up out of the earth." 05:10 First one came out of the water, 05:12 this one comes out of the earth. 05:14 Remember the Book of Revelation is symbolic, 05:17 these beasts are not real animals 05:19 running around on the earth, 05:21 they are symbolic. 05:22 "So the beast comps up out of the earth, 05:25 that's the false prophet, look at him, 05:27 he has two horns like the lamb. 05:37 He looks like the lamb. 05:44 But he speaks like the dragon." 05:50 He looks like the lamb. 05:53 "And he exercised all the authority 05:55 of the first beast on his behalf, 05:57 and made the earth and its inhabitants 05:59 worship the first beast." 06:01 So this false prophet, 06:03 a beast who looks like the lamb 06:05 forces the earth to worship the first beast 06:08 who comes out of the water 06:11 and get's his authority from the dragon. 06:13 Now how does he do it? 06:15 First, he looks like a lamb but secondly, verse 13, 06:23 "He performed great and miraculous signs." 06:27 And verse 14, "Because of the signs or the miracles, 06:30 he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, 06:34 he deceived the inhabitants of the earth 06:37 and ordered them to erect an image in honor of the beast." 06:40 So the false prophet does miracles, 06:43 he looks like a lamb. 06:44 He appears as though he is a man of God. 06:47 He appears as though he is a follower of Jesus Christ. 06:50 He does miracles. 06:52 And by the power of the miracles, 06:54 he gains the confidence of the people 06:56 and somehow deceives them into worshipping the beast 07:01 but they think they are worshipping the lamb. 07:09 And that's the devil's master plan. 07:13 They think they are worshipping the lamb. 07:17 In verse 8, he tells us 07:18 all of the inhabitants of the earth 07:21 will worship the beast. 07:28 "All whose names have not been written 07:30 in the book of life belonging to the lamb." 07:34 Folks, we need to have our names written in that book, amen. 07:41 We need to have our names written in that book 07:45 because everyone else will worship the beast 07:49 thinking they are following the lamb. 07:53 Jesus said the same thing in Matthew, Matthew 7. 07:59 Matthew 7:15, "Watch out," Jesus said, 08:03 "Watch out for false prophets. 08:05 They come to you in sheep's clothing, 08:08 but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." 08:13 False prophet, there he is. 08:16 He comes in sheep's cloth, oh, he looks like a man of God, 08:20 looks like a lamb, a Christian, a powerful preacher 08:26 but inwardly he is a ferocious beast. 08:32 It's the same thing John saw in Revelation 08:36 but watch what Jesus said 08:38 and this ought to get our antennas up 08:43 and grab our attention. 08:46 Verse 21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' 08:53 will enter the kingdom of heaven." 08:58 Not everyone, 09:00 "but only he who does the will of my Father 09:02 who is in heaven." 09:04 Verse 22, "Many," how many? 09:08 "Many will say to me on that day, 09:12 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, 09:16 and drive out demons 09:18 and perform many miracles in Your name? 09:26 And then I will tell them plainly, 09:30 'I never knew you, 09:35 away from me, you evildoer.'" 09:45 Not everyone who says, 09:46 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom. 09:51 Many people who do miracles in the name of God, 09:56 many who drive out demons in the name of God. 10:02 Many who can pray for healing in the name of God. 10:06 And Jesus said, "I never knew you." 10:12 What kind of a person is this? 10:16 Is this is a murderer, raper, 10:20 not raper, rapist. 10:24 You know what I meant. 10:27 Terrorist, mean, vile, vicious abuser. 10:35 These are the holiest looking people you can find. 10:39 They go around praying all the time. 10:42 They do miracles in the name of God. 10:44 They talk about the Lord all the time 10:48 and yet Jesus said I never knew you. 10:54 In fact if any of those people were here 10:57 and I ask the question, 10:58 how many of you know without a doubt 11:01 that you've come to a place in your spiritual life, 11:02 if you were to die right now, 11:03 you know you would have eternal life. 11:05 They would be the first ones to raise their hands, 11:07 wouldn't they? 11:11 Sure, they would. 11:13 So now I am going to ask you a hard question, 11:20 I ask you to search your own heart 11:23 and answer that question. 11:26 Do you know without a doubt that you have eternal life? 11:30 And some of you said, yes to yourselves, I do. 11:37 I want to ask you. 11:39 How do you know that you are not one of them 11:46 who think they have eternal life 11:49 but in the end they hear, away from me you evildoer? 11:55 How do you know you are not one of them? 11:59 Don't tell me it's because my spirit bears witness, 12:01 that's exactly what they would say. 12:05 So how do you know that you don't think 12:09 you have eternal life only to find out at the end, 12:12 they hear the words, I never knew you. 12:17 Is that a fair question? 12:20 It's a hard question but it's one we better ask ourselves. 12:26 What was the problem with these people? 12:29 I kind of read over it quickly, let's look at it again, 12:33 "Not everyone who says to me, 12:34 'Lord, Lord,' will enter kingdom 12:36 only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." 12:42 You see, God is not interested in just lip service. 12:46 He is not interested in a bunch of people who are-- 12:48 oh, praise the Lord, hallelujah, 12:49 I got saved on the beach of California 25 years ago, 12:52 while they are living the same old sinful life, 12:57 only he who does the will of my father. 13:01 Remember the two points of attack, 13:03 the commands of God and the cross of Jesus Christ. 13:07 Only he who obeys the will of my father. 13:10 In fact if you look at that last verse 13:12 and of you could read it in Greek, 13:14 "I never knew you, away from me, you evildoer." 13:17 The word evildoers is anomia in Greek, 13:21 it means, you lawless one, 13:23 you who lives without the law. 13:29 So how do we know? 13:30 The only way you can know 13:32 that you are among God's people 13:36 is that you do the will of the father. 13:41 That raises an interesting question. 13:45 How much of the father's will do I have to do 13:48 before I know that I've done enough to be sure 13:50 that I have eternal life? 13:53 How good do I have to be? 13:55 James tells us, little Book of James 2:10, 13:59 "Whoever keeps the whole law 14:01 and yet stumbles at just one point 14:04 is guilty of breaking all of it. 14:07 Because he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' 14:09 also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery 14:13 but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker." 14:17 So God demands perfect obedience to the law. 14:20 Remember, the law is that big circle. 14:22 He says, "This is the way I made you, 14:23 I made you according to these principles. 14:25 If you live within the circle 14:27 or these principles you are going to live, 14:28 if you step out of bounds you're going to die." 14:30 And that's why if we break one, 14:32 it's the same as breaking them all 14:34 because when we step out of bounds, 14:36 we break, we get hurt, 14:38 we suffer and bad things happen to other people. 14:42 So God wants perfect obedience. 14:45 He goes on to say in that same passage, 14:47 "Speak and act as those 14:49 who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom." 14:53 Freedom only comes so they agree 14:54 that we find ourselves in harmony with the law of God. 14:59 And God is not going to allow people into His kingdom 15:05 that don't trust Him enough 15:07 to want to be obedient to His law. 15:10 He's not going to let this thing rise up again in the future. 15:15 So God wants people who trust Him enough 15:17 to live their lives within that circle perfectly. 15:22 You say, "Ooh, pastor, that's bad news." 15:25 It is bad news because the Bible tells us in 1 John 3:4 15:30 that sin is transgression of the law. 15:33 Sin is stepping outside of the circle. 15:36 Deciding to live the life 15:37 the way you want to live instead of trusting God 15:41 to provide joy and peace and happiness 15:42 the way He made us, that's sin. 15:47 Sin is transgression of the law and heathen, 15:49 it gets even worse. 15:52 In Romans 6:26 the Bible says, 15:57 "The wages of sin is death." 16:01 Sin is transgression of the law, 16:02 sin is breaking the law and the wages of sin is death, 16:04 that's' bad news and it gets even worse. 16:06 We say, "Pastor, I don't want to hear bad news, 16:08 I want to hear good news." 16:09 Well, you can't understand good news 16:10 unless you hear the bad news first. 16:14 Good news isn't good news without bad news. 16:19 Sin is transgression of the law and the wages of sin is death, 16:24 and God demands perfect obedience to the law, bad news. 16:29 But the worst news, I am sorry, 16:30 comes in Romans 3:23, the worst of the bad news, 16:35 "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 16:40 That doesn't leave us with much hope, does it? 16:44 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 16:46 the wages of sin is death. 16:47 We all deserve to die and no amount of doing good 16:52 and obeying laws or anything else like that 16:54 is ever going to save us 16:55 because we have sin and the wages of sin is death. 17:00 Now comes the good news, are you ready for it? 17:05 Now comes the good news, verse 20, 17:07 "But now a righteousness from God 17:10 apart from the law has been made known." 17:14 So what is this righteousness of God apart from the law? 17:19 The righteousness of God, 17:20 righteousness is a kind of technical religious word 17:23 but it's really simple, it means right doing. 17:27 Well, what is right doing? What is right? 17:32 Paul said in Roman 7, the law is right. 17:36 So righteousness is right doing, 17:38 right doing is becoming obedient to the law. 17:44 Now a righteousness apart from the law 17:46 has been made known. 17:47 Here is the good news, verse 22, 17:49 "This righteousness, right doing, 17:52 this obedience to the law comes from God, 17:58 through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." 18:02 You see, God can only allow 18:05 those who are perfectly righteous, 18:08 perfectly obedient to Him. 18:10 Those are the only ones 18:11 He can trust to enter His kingdom. 18:13 We can't do that, we've already all sinned 18:17 but He sent His son, Jesus who was God 18:21 and became a human being like us 18:24 and He perfectly obeyed the law and He ascended to heaven. 18:30 And now He wants to give you as a free gift 18:33 the perfect life that He lived. 18:39 And that's the righteousness, the obedience that saves us. 18:45 Now the devil is not very happy about that. 18:49 He says, "God, you can't do that. 18:53 You can't do that because they are all sinners. 18:55 How can you just give them the perfect life Jesus lived?" 18:58 And God says, "Devil, you don't understand." 19:02 Listen, this is a verse 19:05 that's not often understood by many, 19:07 verse 25, "God presented him, 19:10 that's Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement, 19:12 through faith in his blood." 19:14 Why did He sacrificed Jesus? Why did Jesus have to die? 19:19 He did this in order to demonstrate His justice. 19:24 He did it in order to show that He is doing the right thing 19:28 when He saves you to whom He gave the free life, 19:31 perfect life of Jesus freely as a gift. 19:34 You see, when Adam and Eve ate the tree, 19:36 remember God said, if you eat the fruit from that tree, 19:39 you are going to die. 19:42 They ate it, God didn't want them to die, 19:47 He loved them. 19:49 But how could He allow them to live 19:53 and number one, still be saying the truth 19:55 when He said, if you eat it you will die, 19:57 that was His dilemma. 19:59 How could He allow them to live outside of the bounds, 20:03 the circle that provides peace and joy and happiness for us? 20:09 You see that was God's dilemma. 20:13 Well, the solution, the answer to the question is 20:15 Jesus came and died in our place 20:23 so that God can be fair 20:25 and just when He saves us 20:27 by giving us the perfect life of Jesus Christ. 20:31 He did this to demonstrate His justice. 20:34 Jesus died so God could demonstrate 20:37 His justice at the present time 20:39 and be just or fair 20:41 in the one who saves those who have faith in Jesus. 20:45 And the devil says, "Oh wait a minute. 20:46 That still doesn't wash with me 20:50 because they sinned, not Jesus. 20:54 Colon sinned, not Jesus. 20:57 Colon deserves to die. 20:58 Jesus just can't go die in his place." 21:02 And God says to the devil, 21:04 "You still don't get it, do you?" 21:07 Let me help you understand. 21:09 2 Corinthians 5, I believe, 21:13 maybe the most important verse in the Bible. 21:16 You should circle it, underline it, memorize it. 21:19 2 Corinthians 5:21, 21:25 "God made Him, that's Jesus Christ, 21:28 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, 21:33 so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 21:38 What a verse. 21:40 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us 21:43 so that in Him we can become the righteousness of God, 21:47 perfectly obedient to God. 21:50 Let me ask you a question, 21:52 I want you to raise your hands and answer. 21:57 How many have you believe that Jesus was sin? 22:05 Was Jesus sin? 22:08 And I see about half a dozen hands go up. 22:13 Does Jesus ever sin? 22:17 Let me read this verse again. 22:20 "God made Him 22:22 who had no sin 22:25 to be sin for us." 22:31 Now God made Him to be sin, 22:35 was He sin? 22:40 Is the Bible true? 22:43 God made him to be sin, was He sin? 22:49 Why is it so hard to believe what the Bible says? 22:52 I will tell you why some of you are struggling. 22:55 You think that I am saying that Jesus sinned. 22:59 No, God made Him who had no sin. 23:04 He never sinned, not in action, 23:09 not in word, not even in thought. 23:12 Jesus never sinned 23:14 but by a miracle God made Him to be sin for us. 23:20 What does that mean? 23:22 It means, like Peter said, 23:25 he bore our sins in His body. 23:30 God took the guilt for every sin 23:33 that you and I and the whole world has ever done, 23:36 He took all of that guilt and put it in the body of Jesus, 23:41 so that Jesus became sin. 23:45 Jesus became guilty for your sins 23:49 even though He never sinned. 23:53 But it was just the same as though He did 23:57 because God by a miracle 23:59 which I believe is the greatest miracle of all 24:02 takes the guilt for our sins and made Jesus guilty. 24:05 If you tell a lie, Jesus becomes a liar. 24:09 If you want to be a druggie, 24:11 Jesus is the one sticking the needle in His arm 24:14 even though He never did it, He become guilty of it. 24:19 If you insist on destroying your body 24:22 with alcohol and tobacco, 24:24 you are forcing Jesus to take a drink, 24:26 you are forcing Jesus to light up and take a puff. 24:29 He never did it, you did it. 24:34 But you're making Him become guilty 24:36 just as though He did. 24:41 And folks, that's why Jesus dies on the cross. 24:45 Not because of the nails in His hands, 24:49 not because of the crown of thorns on His head 24:54 but because He bore in His body 24:57 the guilt for your sins. 25:02 The abusers, the wife beaters, the cheating wives, 25:08 the liars, the murderers, 25:12 Jesus felt it all as though He did it. 25:17 He felt the sickness, the dirty feeling of sin, 25:23 the shame and it crushed His life. 25:30 He was made to be sin for you. 25:34 In fact He so identified with you that in verse 14, 25:39 "One died for all therefore all died." 25:45 Jesus became so much one with your sin 25:49 that when He died on the cross, 25:51 you died with Him and that's how God can say, 25:56 "If you eat the fruit you will die." 25:59 That's how God can say, "The wages of sin is death." 26:03 And then save those who choose to love Him 26:07 because Jesus became guilty for your sins 26:11 so much that He died, you died with Him. 26:15 And now in Jesus you become a new creation. 26:18 The old man is dead. 26:23 And now I am a new creation in Jesus Christ. 26:26 Well, how do I know He did that for me, 26:29 people ask me. 26:31 Not everybody is going to be saved. 26:32 In fact most people are going to worship the beast. 26:35 How do I know He did that for me? 26:39 1 John 5:11, 26:43 "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in the Son. 26:48 He who has the Son has life and he who does not have 26:51 the Son of God does not have life." 26:53 How can you know if you have eternal life or not? 26:55 It's simple, do you have Jesus? 26:59 If you have Jesus then you have eternal life. 27:04 If you don't have Jesus, then you don' have eternal life. 27:08 I don't care how many good things you do, 27:10 I don't know how many good deeds you worked, 27:12 if you don't have Jesus, you don't have eternal life. 27:15 So the next question obviously is 27:19 how do you get Jesus? How do you get Jesus? 27:23 Look at the next verse, "I write these things to you 27:25 who believe in the name of the Son of God 27:27 so that you may know that you have eternal life." 27:30 He wants you to know-- how can we know? 27:32 Look verse 14, "This is the confidence 27:35 that we have in approaching God. 27:38 If we ask Him for anything 27:40 according to His will, He hears us." 27:42 And we know that we have what we have asked. 27:45 So how can we be sure, what is our assurance, 27:48 what is our confidence? Our confidence is this. 27:51 If we ask Jesus for anything 27:54 according to His will, He is going to give it to you. 27:57 Is it His will to save you? Yes. 28:00 That's why He died on the cross. 28:03 So if you say, "Jesus, I want you to come in to my heart." 28:06 Will He come? Yes. 28:08 How do you know? Because He said so. 28:12 You know, the most profound little song 28:14 that I've ever heard. 28:16 "Jesus loves me, 28:19 this I know for the Bible tells me so." 28:28 One lady told me, "Pastor, I know I am saved." 28:30 I said, "Tell me, how do you know?" 28:32 Because when I got saved, 28:33 I felt electricity go up in my back. 28:38 I said, "What verse is that?" 28:42 Show me that verse, 28:43 I didn't feel any electricity on my back. 28:47 I know I am saved because Jesus said, 28:50 if you ask me and I promise you, I'll come 28:54 and He doesn't lie. 28:56 Revelation 3:20, He says, 28:58 "I stand at the door and knock 29:00 and if any man hears my voice 29:02 and opens the door I might come in? 29:04 No, I will come in." 29:08 If you confess your sins, 29:09 if you ask Jesus into your heart, 29:11 He will forgive you, He will come in 29:13 and He who has the son has life 29:16 and you can be sure of that. 29:21 You can be sure. 29:22 Now asking Jesus, you have to understand, 29:25 we've already said it's more than just saying the words 29:29 because not everyone who says Lord, 29:31 Lord is going to enter. 29:33 So it's not just saying Jesus come into my heart. 29:36 When you ask Jesus into your heart, 29:38 you have to ask Him in as your Savior 29:41 and as your Lord and Master. 29:47 And what does the Lord do? He rules. 29:51 Asking Jesus into your heart is saying, 29:53 "Jesus, I want to pray like You did. 29:59 Father, not my will, let Your will be done." 30:04 Asking Jesus in your heart 30:05 is asking not to be your co-pilot 30:07 but your pilot. 30:15 It's saying, "God, I messed up 30:18 and every time I try, I don't do very good. 30:21 Now I am putting it into Your hands." 30:27 And He will change you. 30:29 He will give you a new heart. 30:32 He gives you the perfect obedience of Jesus 30:34 and credits it to your checking account. 30:39 And He changes your heart 30:40 and creates within you a desire to be obedient to Him, 30:44 to want to live according to the way He made us. 30:48 To seek that peace and happiness 30:50 that He wants to give us. 30:53 We trust Him with that. 30:55 That's what asking Jesus into your heart means. 30:58 No, you are not going to be perfect 31:00 as soon as you accept Jesus. 31:03 But you're going to have eternal life 31:05 and in God's eyes you will be perfect 31:07 because His righteousness becomes yours. 31:11 First time Jesus went into a temple, 31:14 they were selling animals, cheating the people. 31:19 Now Jesus didn't step outside 31:21 and said, "Wow, you get out of there before I come in." 31:26 He didn't do that. What did He do? 31:31 He went in with a whip in His hand. 31:37 And He turned over those tables 31:41 and chased out the cows and chased out the goats 31:45 and the pigeons and the money changers. 31:54 You are the temple of God. 32:00 And when you say Jesus come in to my life, 32:04 all you're doing is saying, Jesus here is the whip, 32:09 come on in, clean it up. 32:13 And He starts chasing out those cows, 32:16 chasing out those sheep. 32:19 Get them out of there. 32:21 Turns over the tables, cleanse your life up. 32:27 I bet you some of those goats 32:29 and cows went around the back door 32:31 and came in again. 32:34 Sometimes they do that for us, don't they? 32:38 Lord, help me never do it again and, oh, Lord, I did it. 32:42 Forgive me, help me again. 32:46 And He keeps chasing them out 32:47 over and over and over again 32:49 as many times it takes to keep him out. 32:53 And He will chase him out 32:54 as long as you let Him have that whip, 32:58 but you have to say, 32:59 "Jesus, you see that cow over there, 33:02 the black one with the white spots, 33:06 that's my favorite cow. 33:09 Leave him, let be there, don't chase him out." 33:14 What you're saying is give me back the whip, 33:17 I am Lord here, don't trust you anymore. 33:23 As long as you let Him have the whip, 33:24 He is cleaning your life up, 33:25 no matter how many times you stumble, 33:27 no matter how many times 33:28 those animals come in the back door, 33:30 Jesus is there and He who has the Son has life. 33:35 And He will give you power, you will be victorious. 33:38 I know, He changes your heart 33:40 because I haven't always been a Christian, 12 year-- 33:43 I was 12 years old, not 12 years ago. 33:49 I was 12 years old 33:50 and I went to a religious meeting something like this. 33:54 Now this is back in the days of hellfire brimstone preachers 33:57 and I am telling you 33:59 this preacher knew how to make it hot. 34:02 He preached the hottest hell you could ever imagine 34:04 and right at the end of the ceremony, 34:06 it just seems that he pick me up by my ears 34:08 and dropped me in the fire. 34:11 Who want's to get saved? 34:13 Oh, I bounced out of my seat, 34:15 I didn't want to burn in that fire, 34:19 so I got baptized, I got saved. 34:23 But you know when you serve God out of fear 34:27 of the hell's fire, 34:29 pretty soon those flames start cooling down. 34:33 That's what happened to me. 34:36 I went to a Christian high school. 34:40 I even went to a Christian college 34:44 and there on the campus of that Christian college, 34:47 I began to drift away from my Lord Jesus Christ 34:53 and I can remember exactly what happened. 34:57 One day I was in my dorm room, 35:01 some friends came in and they said, 35:03 Jac, we are going downtown to do something, 35:05 I knew was wrong. 35:08 Now I am not going to tell you what it was, 35:10 doesn't even matter. 35:12 What matter is that when you know that something is wrong 35:17 and you chose to do it anyway, 35:20 it works back on you and starts to dampen 35:25 that spiritual walk that you have 35:30 and makes it easier to do it again. 35:33 You know what I am talking about. 35:34 We've all been there. 35:38 And so I began doing more and more things 35:41 that were not a part of God's plan for me. 35:45 And by the time I graduated from that Christian college, 35:50 I didn't even believe in God anymore. 35:54 I thought that religion, 35:57 Jesus, God were crutches 36:00 for weak people to get through life 36:03 and I am not a weak person, 36:05 I am a man, I can make it on my own. 36:07 God, go help somebody else. 36:11 I didn't even care. 36:16 In order to show what a real man I was, 36:20 I joined United State's Air Force, 36:23 didn't stop to think that there were also 36:25 women in the Air Force. 36:28 It didn't prove anything. Oh, but I am the man. 36:35 I went to flight school, assigned to B52 bomb crew, 36:40 60 second bomb wing. 36:43 Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. 36:49 I was Captain in the Air Force 36:50 with a 105 combat missions in Vietnam. 36:57 I was the man and I could do it all on my own. 37:01 I didn't need God, 37:04 except that I can remember sometimes 37:07 especially the first time we flew into North Vietnam. 37:12 You see, when we first went over there, 37:14 they gave us all the easy missions 37:16 around Saigon in the south. 37:18 There was no threat down there. 37:21 But finally, after we had some experience 37:24 went in for target study and there it was North Vietnam, 37:30 an area defended with anti-aircraft artillery 37:33 but we were too high for that 37:36 but there was surface to air missiles 37:39 and there were MIG bases not too far away. 37:46 So we did a pre flight climb on the air plane, 37:51 headed for Vietnam, North Vietnam. 37:57 The closer we got to that target area, 38:01 the more I began to realize 38:05 that there were people on the ground 38:07 that wanted to knock us out of the air. 38:11 And the closer we got to that target area, 38:15 the more I began to realize we might not be going home 38:25 and I got scared. 38:27 Oh, I may be the man all right but this man was scared. 38:34 Sweat dripping off of me like buckets full. 38:40 In fact I got so scared, do you know what I did? 38:46 Sure you do. 38:49 I prayed. 38:52 And to God, if you get me out of this mess, 38:55 I promise I will be good from now on. 39:00 Did you ever make a little deal with God like that? 39:05 Now praise the Lord, he got me out of that mess. 39:09 We landed back at the air base after we debriefed. 39:15 I was back at the officers club again, 39:19 drinking, living it up. 39:21 Forgot all about the little deal 39:24 that I made with God, after all I am the man. 39:27 I don't need God. 39:31 After five years I decided, 39:34 if am really going to make my mark on the world, 39:37 I need to make plenty of money. 39:40 It was a sin, sure I wasn't 39:41 going to get rich in the military 39:44 so I resigned my commission 39:48 and decided the best way to get 39:49 rich fast is to be a stockbroker. 39:52 I got interested in stocks 39:54 and played around with it a little bit. 39:57 So I took all the training, I became a stockbroker. 40:02 I was a broker for Paine, Webber, Jackson and Curtis, 40:05 one of the largest firms on Wall Street at that time. 40:11 And I set a goal to be a millionaire 40:12 by the time I was 35, and will be unto anyone 40:17 who dare to get in my way 40:20 because the only thing that mattered to me 40:23 was making money and I was going to make a lot. 40:30 It wasn't long till I discover that the business world 40:35 is just as vicious if not more than fighting a war. 40:41 Making money was the only thing that mattered 40:46 and don't you dare get in my way 40:50 because I am going to get there. 41:00 And I remember some of the people 41:03 that I did business with 41:04 because business was good for me. 41:06 I was considered one of the bright stars 41:09 on the horizon in my firm. 41:13 I remember at first $3,000 payday, 41:19 two weeks later another one. 41:21 Now that doesn't sound like a lot of money today 41:23 but back then that was plenty money 41:26 and it was just the beginning. 41:29 There was a lot more where that came from 41:31 and I was on my way, 41:34 millionaire by the time I was 35, 41:37 I never made it. 41:38 Still I haven't made it but I will, 41:42 because my millions are waiting for me up there, amen. Amen. 41:49 Oh, I remember walking down the streets of New Orleans, 41:52 big roll of bills in my pocket, 41:55 making sure the 100s were on top, 41:57 oh so everybody could see, oh, what a man, wow. 42:03 I remember walking down the sidewalks 42:05 looking at the big buildings, the cars, the people. 42:08 New Orleans, this is my city. 42:10 I got you in the palms of my hands. 42:12 Watch out New Orleans, 42:14 Jac Colon is here and it felt good. 42:21 Some of my friends, clients, had already made it all. 42:26 They had millions of dollars in the banks. 42:29 Made their fortunes in oil, 42:32 real estate, businesses. 42:37 They had big beautiful homes, 42:40 yachts, condos in Aspen, 42:43 on the Riviera with jet setters. 42:46 They could go wherever they wanted to go 42:48 anytime they wanted to-- they had everything. 42:50 Beautiful families, beautiful wives they had it all. 42:55 And I was going to get it soon even more than I thought 43:01 because I began to notice 43:04 that they were not happy people. 43:09 No, I am not saying that all rich people aren't happy 43:12 but I am telling you this group was not 43:16 a group of happy people. 43:19 There was something missing in their lives. 43:22 They put away a fifth of scotch in a day 43:24 without even thinking about it. 43:28 And they used my nice beautiful apartment 43:33 so they can cheat on their wives. 43:35 They weren't happy. 43:38 And I was beginning to discover for myself what it was. 43:44 I learned quickly that in order to be 43:46 successful in the business world, 43:47 you have to look successful. 43:48 You got to buy successful looking suits. 43:53 You got to drive successful looking car. 43:57 I couldn't afford a Cadillac or a Continental, 43:59 so I got me a little yellow Datsun 240z car. 44:03 That's successful looking enough for a starter. 44:06 You have to live in a successful looking place. 44:11 You have to associate with successful people 44:13 and I learned quickly 44:14 that in order to associate with successful people, 44:16 you have to spend successful amounts of money. 44:22 So I found myself spending more and more 44:24 in order to make more, 44:26 so that I could spend more in order to make more. 44:31 I was caught in this vicious circle. 44:39 The pressure began to build and I would work 44:42 harder and harder and longer and longer, 44:46 stress got to be too much, turn to drink a lot. 44:51 We passed volumes around like M&M's. 44:56 And they stop working, turn to alcohol. 45:01 I can remember stopping on my way home 45:03 at night in the lounges and the clubs 45:06 and standing in the dance floor with the strobe lights going, 45:09 the heavy beat of the music, 45:11 can of beer in my hand thinking, 45:13 wow, I am on top of the world 45:15 and then I go home 45:17 and I felt as low as you could ever get 45:21 because there was an empty feeling inside. 45:25 That's the devil's big lie. 45:27 Young people here tonight, 45:28 you are not going to find happiness like that, 45:31 maybe for a moment but it ends 45:33 and then you are down lower than you were before. 45:38 And it just kept getting worse and worse and... 45:44 I turned more to alcohol, experimenting with drugs. 45:50 And I believe something else at that time, 45:52 I used to believe a real man 45:54 never lets people know what's inside. 45:56 Did you ever heard that lie? 45:59 They had to keep it all in. 46:02 My life is a mess on the inside and I can't tell anybody. 46:05 I started staying away from my friends even 46:08 because I was afraid I might slip, 46:09 give him a glimpse of that awful struggle going on. 46:12 I even stayed away from my family 46:14 because they thought, oh, everything is just great, man. 46:17 He is riding the crust of the wave. 46:20 Have you ever been alone? I was alone. 46:26 I turned my back on my friends, 46:28 I turned my back on my family. 46:30 I turned my back on my God. 46:34 I was alone and I just wanted to die. 46:40 And that's when God began to work. 46:43 I am convinced sometimes He let us get-- 46:45 let us get beat down so low 46:48 because He knows that's the only way we will ever look up. 46:54 You know, it was lunch time, didn't even feel like eating, 46:58 walking down the sidewalk, New Orleans. 47:01 Cars going by, I didn't have that buzz inside anymore 47:08 and I saw a sign on the wall, 47:11 of a window of a travel agency said, 47:17 Tahiti is calling you. 47:22 And I thought, Tahiti. 47:26 I have been working too hard. 47:28 I just need a break. 47:31 I used to love to go to the Caribbean, 47:32 I am a scuba diver and the Caribbean is just tops 47:36 but Tahiti sounded wow, great. 47:39 So I will go to Tahiti. 47:42 See, God was beginning to work in my life 47:44 because he had to stop, 47:46 He wanted me to make on the way. 47:49 I got somebody to cover all my accounts 47:52 and I got on that big jet going to Club Med, Tahiti. 47:58 Oh, it doesn't get better than that, does it? 48:01 Wild club, party, lot of fun. 48:07 I stopped in Los Angeles 48:08 and spend two nights with some friends of mine, 48:10 from that Christian college so many years ago. 48:14 And while I was there, went to bed that night, 48:19 reach out to bookshelves 48:20 to get a book to read, I love reading. 48:23 And there was that book, The Planet in Rebellion. 48:28 Look like a science fiction book to me. 48:31 So I took it off the shelves, George Vandeman, 48:35 turned out that was a religious book. 48:37 He is an evangelist, passed away now. 48:41 I started reading and I got interested in it. 48:45 So the next morning I said, 48:47 "Hey, can I take this with me to Tahiti?" 48:50 Yeah, they were surprised, I wanted a book like that 48:51 but they said sure, take it. 48:54 So I got on a big jet for Tahiti 48:56 with The Planet in Rebellion in my briefcase. 49:00 We landed in Papeete, 49:02 got a little boat to the island of Moorea. 49:04 We were greeted by the beautiful Tahitian dancing girls. 49:07 They gave us some refreshment to drink, 49:10 put a crown of flowers on our heads. 49:12 Oh, man, I felt good already. 49:14 First day there I went swimming, 49:17 scuba diving, water skiing, played tennis, 49:21 enjoyed the big buffet, lunch they had for us 49:25 and dance band late that night. 49:27 making my way back to my bed, 49:29 I thought wow, that's all I needed just to live hard, 49:32 play hard and I will be ready to go back to work. 49:35 Well, God had a different idea 49:36 because I woke up in the middle of the night 49:39 with a headache you would never believe. 49:42 It wasn't what you think it is. 49:45 I had got an ear infection 49:48 in both of my ears and it hurt. 49:53 Hurt to lay down, hurt to stand up, hurt to do anything. 49:56 I got up, walked up and down the beach 49:58 until the infirmary opened early that morning, 50:00 I went into the infirmary. 50:02 Doctor took a look in there and he said something in French, 50:05 I don't know what it was 50:09 but the nurse said you got ear infections. 50:14 You need to stay out of the water. 50:17 I said, "What?" No scuba diving? 50:23 No scuba diving for sure. 50:25 Water skiing, just my ankles were going to get wet. 50:28 No water skiing, you might fall down. 50:30 I don't fall down. No water skiing. 50:35 No swimming. I will go play tennis. 50:38 Every step just sheer agony. 50:43 There was nothing for me to do in Tahiti. 50:47 So I went to my bed and I open my briefcase 50:50 and took out The Planet in Rebellion 50:53 and I began to read. 50:57 And I read about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane 51:03 and God made Him to be guilty for my sins. 51:11 And it just seem so real to me 51:14 that I can see Jesus laying on that cold ground 51:18 crying out, father, not my will, let your will be done. 51:26 And I realize He was doing that for me, Jac Colon. 51:33 And for the first time in my life 51:36 I began to understand what real love was all about. 51:43 And for the first time in my life 51:46 I realized that Jesus Christ was a real man 51:54 and Jac Colon was just a phony. 52:02 And then I read the next part, Calvary. 52:08 How He was tried like a common criminal, 52:13 beat, spit on, dressed in a purple robe, 52:16 stick in His hand, 52:18 marked as the king of the Jews. 52:21 He had to carry that cross up the hill 52:23 so he couldn't go anymore 52:25 and somebody had to take it for Him. 52:28 It was so real, 52:31 it seems like I was right there watching 52:34 as they stretch His arms out on those rough boards. 52:40 And I can see the Roman soldiers 52:42 just pick up the big nails, heavy hammer 52:46 and drive them through His hands, 52:50 same hands that He reached out 52:51 and healed, touched, loved 52:58 and now they are nailing them 53:02 to the old rugged cross because of me. 53:08 It was so real, it's like I was right there. 53:13 And I could almost see them 53:15 as they picked up that cross 53:18 dropped it in the hole prepared for Him. 53:20 What a sickening thought. 53:23 His body racking in pain, 53:27 hanging on the cross like that old serpent on the pole. 53:33 So real. 53:36 I felt like I was standing right there. 53:41 It seems like His eyes locked on mine. 53:47 And He said, "Father, forgive him 53:54 because he doesn't even know what he is doing." 54:00 And that was all I could take. 54:06 So I slipped to my knees 54:09 beside my bed in Club Med at Tahiti. 54:13 And I said, "God, I give up. I give up. 54:20 If anyone is going to do anything 54:21 with this miserable life, 54:23 it's gonna have to be You because I can't." 54:28 At that moment it felt like a heavyweight 54:30 was lifted off of my shoulders 54:33 and I became a new person 54:38 in Club Med at Tahiti. 54:43 And God told His angel, go and write the name, 54:46 Jac Colon in the Lamb's Book of Life. 54:54 As far as I know, I am the only person on this planet 54:57 that ever got saved at the Club Med. 55:01 You can't get too far away from God. 55:05 He will find you. He will come after you. 55:11 I went back to the States 55:13 and I didn't even want to go back to work. 55:17 I said, give me another week, 55:18 I stayed home, read my Bible all the way through 55:23 and then I decided, I don't want to be 55:25 a stockbroker anymore. 55:26 Nothing wrong with being a stockbroker, 55:27 don't misunderstand me. 55:29 I just didn't want to do it anymore 55:31 but I didn't know what else to do. 55:33 It wasn't much of a demand 55:34 for dropping bombs in civilian life. 55:41 So I prayed, I said, "God, 55:42 whatever you want me to do let me know. 55:45 You open the door, I walk through it." 55:46 Never pray that prayer, 55:51 unless you really mean it 55:54 because just the few days later, 55:55 I went to church and the evangelist 55:58 spoke in our church, talking about evangelism 56:01 and I just knew that's what God wanted me to do. 56:03 I went up to him, afterwards I told him my story 56:06 and he said to me, he says, "Jac, 56:08 I'm going to be teaching a class 56:10 for Bible college down in Texas. 56:12 I'm going to be teaching a class in Oklahoma City. 56:15 They are coming up there and I am going to show them 56:17 how to do evangelism. Why don't you come?" 56:19 I said, "I will be there." 56:20 So I can't pay you much, just a $100 for six weeks, 56:24 didn't matter anymore, I didn't care. 56:26 So I quit my job at Paine Webber and packed everything 56:28 I can get into that yellow Datsun 240z, 56:31 left New Orleans, bound for Oklahoma City, 56:34 filled with peace and joy and happiness 56:36 and knowing that it's just me and God. 56:39 And God blessed my work there. 56:42 And as a result I helped many people find Jesus 56:47 and I got the attention of a few people. 56:50 And by the time I finish that, 56:51 I had an invitation to be a pastor 56:53 of a little church in Claremore, Oklahoma. 56:57 Four weeks, less than six weeks, after I was baptized, 57:02 I was a pastor of a little church. 57:06 I didn't know what I was doing 57:07 but I knew Him and He knew what to do. 57:13 That's not the only thing that happened to me there 57:15 because the last weekend of that prophecy seminar 57:19 I met the evangelist's daughter. 57:33 We fell in love, got married a year later 57:39 and we believe with all of our hearts 57:40 that God brought us together 57:43 just to be able to tell people like you, 57:47 here and around the globe 57:49 watching on television 57:52 about Jesus Christ. Amen. 57:55 And how He made something beautiful out of my life. 58:00 He wants to make something beautiful out of your life too, 58:04 if you just let Him. |
Revised 2014-12-17