Participants: Lonnie Melashenko
Series Code: VOPS
Program Code: VOPS000019
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00:32 One of the most amazing and utterly fantastic
00:35 descriptions of mass suicide comes down to us 00:38 from ancient history in the story of Pompeii. 00:43 Pompeii was a thriving resort city. 00:45 It was the Las Vegas of the Roman Empire, 00:48 situated approximately six miles south 00:50 of Mount Vesuvius 00:52 near the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. 00:56 Well, during the early part of the first century A.D., 00:59 its population was nearly 20,000 people 01:02 which is a pretty good sized city in ancient times. 01:05 And Pompeii was wealthy. 01:08 It was a pleasure seeker's paradise, plenty of wine, 01:11 women and song, and it reeked with gross immorality. 01:16 In fact by the time of Caesar Augustus, 01:18 the Bay of Naples was ringed 01:20 with the villas of the rich and famous 01:22 as we would say today and they were really something. 01:26 The very latest artistic fashions, 01:28 elaborate marble architecture and fantastic designs. 01:33 Forums, baths, an amphitheater seating 20,000 spectators 01:38 who came to watch gladiators sports in combat 01:41 or theater plays, dramas, tragedies 01:45 and famous poets like Seneca or comedians like Menander. 01:51 In fact these villas that you've seen some pictures here 01:53 in the screen now were so luxurious, 01:55 we still copy them today 01:57 by the worlds rich and famous the billionaires. 02:00 Like the Villa of the Papyri which provided the inspiration 02:04 and blueprint for an actual reconstruction 02:06 and perhaps you recognize this, 02:08 the John Paul Getty Museum at Malibu, California. 02:12 Jeannie and I were there, 02:14 we've been there some of you may have. 02:15 It is a perfect replica which billionaire John Paul Getty 02:19 used for his villa in Malibu. 02:22 Pattern after what happened there in Pompeii. 02:25 Well, history tells us that in 62 A.D., 02:29 there was a severe earthquake in that area 02:31 and for 16 years thereafter Mount Vesuvius just boiled 02:35 and fizzed and hissed and poured out smoke 02:37 and vapors like it would erupt any moment. 02:40 But then on August 23, in 79 A.D., Pompeii, 02:46 well, it looked like any other busy, prosperous city. 02:49 People were moving about, 02:50 they were visiting in their shopping malls 02:51 and they had shopping malls back then. 02:54 They were reading the newspapers, 02:55 they were sipping their coffee at Starbucks 02:58 and sharing friendly chit-chat. 03:01 But then on August 24, 79 A.D., 03:05 with the mighty roaring sound of a cosmic thunderclap, 03:09 Mount Vesuvius erupted and belched forth 03:11 such an enormous potion of poison and death 03:14 that the city of Pompeii was literally bombarded. 03:17 It was the largest eruption ever in Europe. 03:22 First, came the wind-driven lapilli, 03:25 those small pellets of volcanic pumice in minutes 03:29 buried the entire city in hot mud and ash 12 feet deep 03:34 and it literally made statues of people, 03:36 they died right in their tracks, still standing. 03:40 Those who managed to crawl into some shelter 03:43 or shop or under a table in the city 03:45 they were simply entombed permanently 03:47 and they deteriorated after a few weeks 03:50 and all that remains are their skeletons. 03:53 For example, dogs chained up with a leash died 03:58 trying to get away, look at this been very closely here. 04:01 He's trying to bite the tether that held him 04:02 and that's how he died. 04:04 You're looking at the actual volcanic skeletal remains 04:07 of this poor dog biting at his chain 04:09 when it finally succumbed and it perished. 04:13 Well, following the barrage of the lapilli 04:16 came the storm of wet ash and poison gas, 04:19 much more deadly than the explosion. 04:23 This was more dangerous. 04:24 Hissing, steam, mud, a horrible black cloud 04:27 belched out fire in snake-like flashes 04:30 and those individuals who manage to escape 04:32 the first part of the tragedy but they lingered around 04:35 now they desperately attempted to flee 04:37 but they too were now felled by the toxic vapors 04:41 and they literally sat down in their hot graves of muddy lava. 04:48 And the volcanic ash of course solidified 04:50 and, today has supplied archaeologist's perfect molds 04:54 of the bodies of the victims of Pompeii. 04:58 In fact, there were some other cities 05:00 that were involved in this and the neighboring town 05:02 of Herculaneum was buried beneath 75 feet of mud and ash. 05:10 In fact, those of you who are into computers 05:11 I encourage you to go to your websites, 05:14 I happen I don't go into the websites very often 05:16 but I went looked under Yahoo and I simply looked up Pompeii. 05:21 Fascinating photos and stories including some of the photos 05:24 that were taken by the space satellite in space. 05:27 Take a look at it tonight. 05:29 But when the pall of death finally lifted after three days 05:34 that entire city and 16,000 inhabitants 05:38 that's four fifths of population, 05:41 they lay under 20 feet of volcanic debris and ash. 05:46 The Las Vegas of Rome had become 05:48 one great big giant huge burial vault. 05:55 Suicide. Mass suicide. They had all the warnings. 06:02 They had all the signs to get out 06:04 but suddenly it was all over. 06:05 The final curtain, a curtain of volcanic ash. 06:12 Now ladies and gentlemen, life was going on as per usual 06:15 on that beautiful August day in Pompeii. 06:18 Bread was in the oven, eggs were on the stove, 06:21 shops were open for businesses. 06:23 The Los Angeles Lakers sportscaster 06:25 the late Chick Hearn, used to say basketball team there 06:29 that we happen to happened in Los Angeles. 06:31 He would say something like well, you know, 06:32 "the game was in the refrigerator, 06:34 lights were out, door was shut, eggs were cooling, 06:36 jellies jiggling and the butter is getting hard." 06:40 The evidence that everything was just plain okay is found 06:44 in the archaeological digs among the ashes. 06:47 The golf courses were crowded, the race track was busy, 06:50 the ball players and truck drivers were not on strike, 06:53 it was business and pleasure as usual. 06:57 But suddenly this busy city was converted into a time capsule. 07:04 And our Bible of prophecy tells us that a similar experience 07:09 befell ancient Sodom and Gomorrah 07:13 and also in the days of Noah and of the flood. 07:17 Luke 17:26-28 Jesus says, ladies and gentlemen, 07:22 "A similar experience will be duplicated again 07:26 when the Lord comes right at the end of time." 07:30 Luke 17:30, "Even so will it be in the days 07:37 when the Son of Man is revealed." 07:41 Ladies and gentlemen, the Voice of Prophecy 07:42 tonight speaks once again to tell us 07:45 that on God's great time clock we tonight are standing right 07:50 on the verge of the eruption that will terminate all society 07:54 and usher in the entrance of the kingdom of God. 07:58 And the question tonight is this. 08:01 Where do you and I stand? 08:04 The wise Pompeiians were those very few who escaped 08:08 with the very first explosion from Mount Vesuvius. 08:12 A remnant if you wish. They saw the danger. 08:16 They read the situation. And they acted upon it. 08:21 But the relics of the ruins clearly tell the tale 08:24 that those who were lost were the majority, 08:29 chiefly they were the wealthy by the way. 08:32 They refused you see, to abandon their precious homes 08:35 and their possessions and their education 08:37 and their jobs and their pets and their friends 08:41 just hoping this horrible nightmare 08:42 would somehow just pass. 08:46 But that decision cost them their lives, a mass suicide. 08:53 They were victims of procrastination. 08:57 And, my friend, that is the most tragic spiritual disease 09:00 that anyone can ever contract. 09:03 To hesitate, to wait, to put off responding 09:07 to the challenge of our eternal destiny. 09:10 Pastor, "Not now." Let's just wait. 09:16 Folks, those two words, "Not now." 09:20 Those are the fatal words that will fill hell. 09:24 Millions of people will be in hell who said, 09:27 "not now, I just want to wait." 09:32 They commit suicide, spiritual suicide. 09:39 During the past three weeks together 09:40 in this series of prophetic lectures 09:42 we've learned many, many new things from God's truth. 09:46 We've learned exciting things, truth that demands response 09:50 and some action on our parts. 09:52 You know, some truth hasn't always been easy 09:54 to accept has it? 09:56 Some of you told me that this is tough, this is heavy stuff. 09:59 But the question is friend, if it is truth, 10:03 we have come face to face with God. 10:06 Not Lonnie Melashenko. 10:09 And I would like to challenge you this evening, 10:11 what are you planning to do with what you've learned? 10:13 Amen. 10:15 You see like the citizens of Pompeii 10:17 are we spiritually immobilized by the paralysis of analysis? 10:22 Procrastination? 10:26 Friend, that's spiritual suicide. 10:28 When we see the warning, when we see the truth 10:31 and discover the will of the Lord, 10:32 then God expects us to step out and follow that truth. 10:35 James 4:17 says this, "To him who knows to do good 10:41 and does not do it, to him it is," what? 10:43 "Sin." "Sin." 10:45 You see friends that light of truth 10:48 that shines along our pathway it keeps on moving. 10:53 And if we fail to move and follow that light, 10:57 Jesus says we'll be left behind in darkness 10:59 greater than before we saw the light. 11:01 He says in John 12:35, 36. "Walk," Lonnie, you walk, 11:08 "while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. 11:12 While you have the light, believe in the light." 11:17 You see there came a time and the experience 11:19 of those citizens of Pompeii, when it was simply too late. 11:25 And friends, please, I'm not trying 11:26 to be emotional or dramatic, 11:29 but the time is soon going to come our Bible says, 11:32 when it is too late to make our decision for eternity. 11:37 A time when there will be no more changing 11:40 our minds or our attitudes. 11:41 In fact, Revelation 22:11 says, 11:45 the Lord is gonna announce, 11:47 "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, 11:51 he who is filthy, let him be filthy still, 11:53 he who is righteous, let him be righteous still, 11:56 and he who is holy, let him be holy still." 11:58 Amen. 12:02 I grew up in the prairies of the planes 12:04 of western Canada in Saskatchewan. 12:07 And I can still remember we left one 12:09 I was ten years of age and moved to New England. 12:12 But I can remember the spring thaw 12:13 on the great South Saskatchewan River. 12:17 The little fishing huts that they had there 12:18 during the hard winter would begin to sink in the ice. 12:23 And that ice would begin to break up 12:26 sometimes it would start to jam up in huge chunks 12:29 that had to be blasted apart by dynamite 12:31 or it would destroy bridges or harbors and docks for boats 12:35 and even push through some of the dams. 12:36 Well, I remember reading about one particularly large ice floe 12:40 that was grounded at the narrow entrance of a Canadian harbor. 12:44 And like all young Canadians who are born on skates. 12:47 Boy, this will looks too tempting, 12:49 they went out on this ice flow, 12:51 they swept off the snow, put on their skates. 12:54 Boy, for a couple of days they had a wonderful time 12:56 skating all around that giant ice floe. 12:59 And each day of course these two young guys will 13:01 become more and more daring, a little less observant. 13:05 After a week had gone by they failed to notice 13:09 that the spring tide had raised that ice floe 13:12 just enough to where it began to float. 13:16 So while they're out there one day skating away 13:18 the hearts content hitting the hockey pucks and so forth. 13:21 Slowly that ice cracked they didn't hear it 13:24 and it broke away form the shore 13:27 and it started to drift out into the tide. 13:31 One of those boys they saw it without a moment's 13:33 hesitation he shouted, "Jump for your life!" 13:35 And he skated as fast as toward the shore, 13:38 leaped across that open water and he desperately made his way 13:41 and scrambled up safely of the shore. 13:43 But the other little lad, well, he skated around there 13:46 and he waited for just a moment. 13:48 He saw that the distance was getting wider and wider 13:52 and he thought, well, maybe this will float down the river 13:55 and it'll get near the shore and I'll have 13:56 another opportunity, maybe better opportunity. 13:58 But that was too late. 14:01 He should have jumped at the first warning 14:03 because that moment of indecision 14:05 cost that young Canadian his life. 14:10 Friends, my Bible tells me one word 14:13 and this is the summary of the Voice of Prophecy 14:15 at the end of every broadcast. 14:17 God loves you. Amen. 14:20 He loves us always. 14:23 And we may think we can choose God always, 14:26 you know, at some future date 14:28 when it's maybe a little bit more convenient. 14:30 But we don't realize 14:31 the deceptiveness of procrastination. 14:35 You see the very first time that God calls 14:38 is always the loudest and the clearest 14:43 and if we keep putting Him off it gets a little fainter, 14:45 it gets a little fainter until one day it is finally too late. 14:49 The Bible says very clearly today is the day of salvation. 14:54 Amos 8:11-12 says, "Behold, the days are coming," 15:00 says the Lord, "That I will send a famine on the land. 15:04 Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, 15:07 but of the hearing of the words of the Lord." 15:09 Then it says, "And they shall wander from sea to sea, 15:12 and from north to east, they shall run to and fro, 15:14 seeking the word of the Lord, but shall," what? 15:18 "Not find it." 15:21 Can you see that little kid just skating all over, 15:23 trying to find a way off? 15:24 See the picture, men and women 15:25 looking for a way looking at the headlines. 15:28 Feeling, oh, it is time, time to escape, but it's too late. 15:34 God says there will be a famine someday 15:36 for the hearing of the Word of the Lord 15:38 and they will have waited too long. 15:41 And, friend, this is spiritual suicide. 15:47 By the way the Bible has another name for it, 15:50 calls it "the unpardonable sin." 15:55 The saddest spectacle in all the world is the man or woman 15:58 who has committed the unpardonable sin. 16:02 And many people are confused about this doctrine. 16:05 Wonder and how in the world 16:06 do you commit an unpardonable sin. 16:09 What is this sin? 16:11 Well, I want you to take your Bibles and notice with me 16:12 the most fateful words that have been ever uttered 16:15 by Jesus Christ over in Matthew 12:22-32, 16:20 we're gonna read long portion here together. 16:23 Let's look at the Bible account of this teaching. 16:26 If you have your Bible you can follow with me 16:27 or look on the screen. 16:29 "Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, 16:32 blind and mute, and He healed him, 16:35 so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 16:38 All the multitudes were amazed and said, 16:41 'Could this be the Son of David?' 16:43 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, 16:48 'This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, 16:54 the ruler of the demons.' 16:56 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, 17:00 'Every house divided against itself will not stand. 17:04 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. 17:07 How then will his kingdom stand? 17:09 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, 17:13 by whom do your sons cast them out? 17:16 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, 17:19 surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." 17:22 He who is with Me "Who is not with Me is against Me. 17:27 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy 17:31 will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against 17:33 the Spirit of God will not be forgiven men. 17:37 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, 17:39 it will be forgiven him but whoever speaks 17:41 against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, 17:44 either in this age or in the age to come." 17:50 You see those Pharisees 17:52 they knew that Jesus something unique. 17:54 He was Messiah, He had to be. 17:57 But they rejected Him and so they started 17:59 to ascribe to Jesus all of His miraculous healing 18:03 that it must have from Satan. 18:06 Beelzebub, which literally means translated. 18:09 Lord of dung, Prince of Flies and filth! 18:15 Bible says they knew intellectually 18:16 that Jesus was Messiah but there so envious of Jesus, 18:20 so jealous, so full of hatred 18:22 that they absolutely refused the impressions 18:24 of the Holy Spirit on their hearts to accept Him. 18:27 All along the way they had opportunities but they'd 18:30 refused many, many small daily chances to accept Christ. 18:35 Some of them probably said, oh, sure. 18:38 Maybe he is Messiah, but you know what? 18:41 I think I'm gonna just wait. 18:43 I'm gonna remain neutral about this whole thing 18:45 until all the facts are in. 18:47 So come weal or woe, my status is quo. 18:53 And they held back because it would cost them something. 18:58 They'd have to change. 19:00 They'd have to surrender their will or else 19:03 they'd lose their position, maybe their family would say, 19:08 "You get baptized and you follow that cult, 19:11 our marriage is through, pastor." 19:15 So now you see they had no other alternative 19:17 but to condemn His healings as from Satan 19:20 and therefore they could retain their prestige. 19:24 But my question is what did Jesus mean 19:26 when He said that this type of sin would "never be forgiven"? 19:30 What is an unpardonable sin? 19:36 I remember waiting about a doctor in Georgia 19:39 who staggered into his home late one night 19:41 under the influence of alcohol. 19:45 In his drunken stupor I can hardly tell the story 19:48 I get emotionally choked up when I talk about kids. 19:51 This doctor I will not be able to tell you the details 19:55 but he went over the fireplace, he took a poker 19:58 and he placed it there in that fire 20:00 for a long time until it was red hot. 20:05 Maybe you folks right here remember hearing about this 20:07 'cause I tap an just next store in Georgia. 20:10 He then went into the room 20:11 where his little six-month-old baby was sleeping. 20:16 And...Well, when I heard about that terrible crime 20:23 I said to myself, "God, You can't forgive a sin like that. 20:26 That's unpardonable." 20:29 But you know what God says, that's "Pardonable." 20:34 Pardonable. 20:35 We read of horrific crimes in the newspapers, 20:38 torture, salve, bondage here in the 21st century 20:42 and we say that has got to be unpardonable. 20:44 But you know what God says, it's pardonable. 20:48 The Bible even describes terrible murders, rapes, 20:51 incest crimes committed 20:53 and some of most bizarre manner and we think, 20:55 "Well, can God possibly forgive sins like that?" 20:57 You know what God says, "That's pardonable." 21:01 Amen. Pardonable. 21:03 So, how do we commit this "unpardonable sin? 21:06 This sin of blasphemy." 21:09 Well, let's take a look at the meaning of the word blasphemy. 21:12 That word in Greek "blasphemy" comes from two Greek words 21:16 actually which means to speak hurtfully of the Holy Spirit. 21:23 The text says in Matthew 12:32, "Whoever speaks against 21:27 the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him." 21:32 He commits the unpardonable sin. 21:37 Friend, I'd like to suggest tonight, first of all, 21:40 that even cursing God openly and outwardly 21:44 is not necessarily committing the unpardonable sin. 21:48 The sin against the Holy Spirit 21:50 is an inner resistance against God. 21:54 You see when a person inwardly rebels 21:57 against spiritual impression, 21:59 he's cutting off light God's revealing to him. 22:03 He's calling light darkness. 22:06 And by refusing to follow that light, he's calling 22:08 Christ's works of mercy on his heart the magic of Beelzebub. 22:14 And that is spiritual suicide. 22:17 John 16:8 says, "The Holy Spirit will convict the world 22:23 of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." 22:26 That's the Holy Spirit's work. 22:27 He comes night by night here, 22:29 he's been convicting all of us sin that we need to repent. 22:34 He convicts that we need the robe of Jesus Christ 22:36 and His righteousness to covers from our sin. 22:39 And the judgment is coming. 22:41 But you see there's no hope for the person who calls 22:44 day midnight who deliberately cuts off the only channel 22:49 by which God can communicate with him or her. 22:52 In fact 1 John 5:15-17 calls this, "A sin unto death." 23:00 Or another parts of the Bible, like Psalm 19:13, 23:03 it calls it, "The great transgression." 23:07 When you study your Bibles you'll notice 23:09 and maybe you remember that the Bible indicates 23:11 that King Belshazzar in ancient Babylon, 23:14 he committed this unpardonable sin. 23:17 You remember Belshazzar, He was the profligate, 23:19 blasphemous grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. 23:23 And Belshazzar literally insulated God. 23:26 Bible says his life was "weighed in the balances 23:28 and he was found," what? 23:30 "Wanting." "Wanting." When did he do? 23:33 He crossed God's deadline and he insulted heaven 23:37 when he brought in those sacred vessels of the temple 23:39 and used them for a great feast and drunken orgy 23:42 and insulated God when he'd writing on the wall 23:44 what he needed to do. 23:47 In the New Testament, we read that King Herod, 23:51 he spoke against the Holy Spirit and the Bible says, 23:53 when he did that he was immediately eaten by worms. 23:57 Awful death. 23:59 You see friends, it is a serious thing 24:01 to inwardly resist God's Holy Spirit. 24:06 But there's a second way to sin against the Holy Spirit 24:09 and that is to reject pardon. 24:14 You see friend, there is no sin God isn't willing to forgive. 24:18 Psalm 86:5 says, "You, Lord, are good, 24:21 and ready to forgive." Any sin. 24:24 John 6:37, "The one who comes to Me 24:26 I will by no means cast out." 24:29 1 John 1:9, one of my favorite text, "If we confess our sins, 24:33 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 24:35 and to cleanse us from" how much unrighteousness? 24:37 All. "All unrighteousness." 24:39 So, the unpardonable sin isn't a sin that's unforgivable 24:43 but it's one in which forgiveness is refused. 24:48 God can't forgive it 24:49 because the sinner doesn't want it forgiven. 24:52 Hebrews 6:4-6 says, "It is impossible for those, 24:58 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, 25:01 since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, 25:04 and put Him to an open shame." 25:07 You see, if he refuses to repent, 25:09 it's impossible to forgive this type of person. 25:12 But I hope you see the point. 25:14 It's people who are responsible 25:16 for this unforgivable sin, not God. 25:19 We can place ourselves in a position 25:21 where God simply can't reach us anymore. 25:24 So the unpardonable sin is the sin of rejected pardon. 25:31 Third, the sin against the Holy Spirit, listen to this. 25:36 Always involves man leaving God, not God leaving man. 25:44 God never gives up. 25:46 Amen. No soul is ever deserted by God. 25:49 People turn from God, not God from them. Amen. 25:55 When we moved from Saskatchewan to Massachusetts 25:58 in New England we lived in a great big storey house 26:01 an old, old house in Springfield, Massachusetts 26:04 right next to a railroad track. 26:06 I was only ten years old 26:07 that track was 50 steps from our background. 26:10 Cut right through our backyard. 26:12 Let me tell you the very first time a locomotive went through 26:14 our backyard we thought the house would fall down. 26:17 But after a while you know something, 26:19 you actually become accustomed to that sound. 26:23 Believe it or not it almost like an alarm clock. 26:26 Many people don't hear the alarm clock 26:28 go off after a while, right? 26:29 Yeah. Ever had that happen? 26:32 Well, it's a same of the Holy Spirit. 26:35 We can repeatedly reject his pardon to the extent 26:38 that pretty soon we don't even feel 26:40 we need to be pardoned or baptized or join a church. 26:44 See when you choose to reject the Hold Spirit's 26:46 still small voice theirs is no more that God can do. 26:53 You cut yourself off from God, 26:55 so they're finally has to come a time 26:57 when God's Spirit must honor a person's wishes and say, 27:02 "I'll let him alone." 27:04 You see, friend, the unpardonable sin 27:06 is committed deliberately, not unconsciously. 27:10 Unfortunately, it's committed many times by good moral people 27:14 unless if they don't speak against the Church, 27:16 they don't swear, they don't insult God. 27:18 In fact, they plan to give their heart to God 27:21 some day but not yet. 27:24 When the invitation is given, the call is given. 27:27 But they deliberately don't go forward. 27:31 Pastor, not now, later. 27:35 Friend, you're turning away from God when you do that. 27:38 You're stifling His voice. 27:40 James 4:17 says, "To him who knows to do good 27:47 and does it not to him it is sin." 27:52 Please listen to me you don't necessarily 27:55 have to reject Christ to commit this sin. 27:59 You don't have to do anything, absolutely nothing. 28:04 But that's the point. 28:06 Through repeated refusals to make a decision 28:11 we choose to be lost. 28:14 You see not to decide is to decide. 28:22 A fifth point I'd like to share with you tonight 28:25 is that the sin against the Holy Spirit 28:28 is not just a result of one decision, one refusal, 28:33 but it is the result of many decisions. 28:35 It's a gradual process of rejecting God 28:38 and rejecting new light. 28:42 In Hebrews 6:6 Paul says, 28:45 "It's impossible to renew them again unto repentance." 28:49 They commit spiritual suicide. 28:54 See the unpardonable sin isn't even stealing, 28:56 it isn't drinking, it isn't smoking, it isn't profanity, 28:59 it isn't adultery, not even murder. 29:02 But if you start to set your mind against God 29:07 and against His light, 29:09 so that your will becomes fixed against Him, 29:11 then you have crossed the deadline 29:13 and you've committed the unpardonable sin. 29:16 It's persistently rejecting the Spirit's call 29:19 to repentance, failure to permit Jesus in, 29:23 so that He can put away sin in our lives. 29:27 And finally, the sin against the Holy Spirit 29:31 it leaves deep inside a person a void of spiritual concern. 29:37 There's a spiritual vacuum if you wish. 29:41 Now the interesting thing is on the surface 29:42 this person might even go to church occasionally 29:46 but deep inside they really couldn't care less 29:49 about religion, let alone worry about 29:51 ever having committed the unpardonable sin. 29:54 So friend, if you've ever worried 29:55 that maybe you've committed it or you wonder 29:57 if you haven't committed the unpardonable sin, you haven't. 30:01 Since God will never leave you if you want Him, He's yours. 30:05 But when the Holy Spirit leaves a person, 30:08 we don't hear him any more. 30:11 He can even shout at us and we hear nothing. 30:15 So Romans 1:24 says that He has to give us up. 30:20 "Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness." 30:25 Hebrews 10:26 says 30:26 there remains no more sacrifice for us. 30:28 Notice what it says, "For if we sin willfully 30:31 after we've received the knowledge of the truth, 30:33 there remains no longer a sacrifice for sins, 30:37 but a certain fearful expectation of," what? 30:39 "Judgment and fiery indignation which will devour 30:42 the adversaries who trampled the Son of God underfoot, 30:46 counted the blood of the covenant 30:48 by which he was sanctified a common thing, 30:50 and insulted the Spirit of grace." 30:55 Jeannie and I spend ten wonderful years 30:56 in Northern California about 80 miles north of Sacramento 31:00 up in the foothills, Paradise, California. 31:03 One of the things I learned to do there 31:05 with some my friends used to go bird watching 31:07 and look for eagles, bald eagles 31:09 kind of rare up in that part of the world. 31:11 But I remember reading about a news photographer, 31:14 some where near Sacramento he was doing a story 31:16 on bald eagles and he wanted some photos close up. 31:19 So he went up into the Sierra Nevada hills there 31:22 where he spotted with his telescope 31:24 an eagle's nest perched on a perpendicular cliff. 31:28 In fact it kind of went it like this with a shelf 31:30 on it there very too far for his telephoto lenses. 31:33 So he decided he spot a certain identifying dead tree 31:37 and he went around he hiked around the mountains 31:40 over the canyon, he got to that tree 31:42 and he tied one end of the rope around the tree 31:46 far above that nest. 31:47 And then the other end he made a great big knot in the-- 31:51 in the rope took it in his hands 31:52 and he very carefully edged over that sheer vertical cliff 31:56 slowly but surely repelling down to the eagles nest 32:01 but it was in the-- he was suspended 32:03 1,000 feet above the floor there, just out in space. 32:06 But there it was the eagles nest 32:08 six to eight feet way from him. 32:10 And there was a baby eagle at there, parents were gone. 32:14 Well, he decided, you know, I get a closer look here 32:17 and I can get some photos right there. 32:19 So making his body a pendulum on that rope, 32:22 he started swing back and forth, 32:25 closer and closer to get to that eagles nest till finally 32:28 the last second he realized he had enough momentum 32:31 and as he got near that ledge he jumped 32:34 and he landed safely right by the eagles nest, 32:36 but as he did he let go the rope. 32:41 Now your mind does some amazing things 32:43 and they are like computers, you know. 32:45 He made some quick calculations. 32:48 I'm out here way up, nobody knows I'm here, 32:50 I'll die on this cliff, 32:51 I can't get down, I can't climb up. 32:54 What am I gonna do? 32:55 And his mind told them that the very first time 32:57 that rope comes back toward you is the very 32:59 first and best chance you're gonna have to get out of here. 33:03 So as it comes back toward if he crouched 33:06 with all of his muscles, all of his mighty spring 33:08 out into that air and he grabbed a hold to that rope 33:11 and let me tell you he climbed up out of there, 33:12 he left his cameras and he got out of there. 33:15 He was safe. 33:18 But friends, it's very, very same way with the Holy Spirit. 33:22 Yes. Amen. 33:23 The first time that he speaks to our hearts about truth. 33:26 Now Lon, today, this is the day of salvation do this. 33:31 Take that leap of faith now. Amen. 33:35 But each time we pass up on that still small voice, 33:37 our chances get slimmer and slimmer and I can't help 33:43 but think that there maybe some here tonight in this audience 33:46 or watching these video presentations 33:48 who maybe listening to their last opportunity. 33:52 You've been holding back. 33:55 You won't except heavens pardon. 33:58 Some people at an evangelist series of meetings altar call 34:01 they literally hold on to their seats 34:02 to keep from going forward when the call is made. 34:04 They don't want to make a decision. 34:07 The Spirit of God is working on their hearts, 34:10 but they won't turn loose. 34:12 They refuse to surrender. 34:15 Matthew 16:26, Jesus said but "What profit is it to a man 34:20 if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" 34:26 I've been told that only one person in 10,000 34:29 accept Jesus Christ after 45 years of age. 34:34 Looking at this audience tonight 34:35 we got a mixed age here tonight 34:37 and you've been coming bless your hearts from night to night 34:39 wherever you are in your downlink locations. 34:42 My friend, please, if you feel even a flicker in your heart. 34:48 Who do you think is calling? Who do you think is wooing you? 34:52 Who do you think is prodding and pricking that conscious? 34:55 Who do you think is inviting and pleading? 34:59 Please don't leave this place 35:01 without doing something about it. 35:03 Don't put off your decisions even one day 35:05 to follow the convictions of the Holy Spirit. 35:07 Amen. Don't commit spiritual suicide. 35:11 Pardon is being held out today, right now. 35:18 During a series of meetings, evangelistic meetings 35:21 back in the City of Chicago in 1871 Dwight L. Moody, 35:26 he once told his audience, 35:27 since he was beginning of week up meetings. 35:29 Ladies and gentlemen, I'm gonna you a whole week 35:31 to decide what you want to do with Jesus Christ. 35:35 But do you know it was that very night 35:36 that the great Chicago fire destroyed the entire city 35:39 and hundreds and thousands of people died. 35:43 And Moody never got to hold another series of meetings 35:45 in that city until 23 years later. 35:50 And as he looked out over the audience that night, 35:51 he said, "ladies and gentlemen, 23 years ago 35:56 I made the greatest mistake I ever committed. 35:58 I gave an audience a week to decide what to do with Jesus. 36:01 I do not see a single soul to whom I preached that night. 36:04 I shall never meet those people again 36:06 till they rise up against me in the judgment 36:08 and I'd rather have my right hand cut off 36:11 than ever give an audience a week 36:13 in which to decide what to do with Jesus." 36:15 Amen. Amen. 36:18 I want to make an appeal to your heart right now. 36:22 Friend, decide for Jesus. Don't wait even one more day. 36:28 Decide now to yield your all to Jesus Christ. 36:32 Come by the blood-stained path of Calvary's cross. 36:37 No, you may not have all the answers, 36:40 but accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, by faith 36:44 and come just as you are. 36:45 Give your life to Jesus. This is a choice you must make. 36:52 You see, Jesus is a gentleman. 36:54 He'll never force salvation on any person 36:56 who doesn't want Him. 36:58 He's not gonna take you by the lapel and drag you to Him. 37:02 No, you have to choose Him. 37:04 He knocks at your door, 37:06 but you must open the door and invite Him in. 37:09 Amen. 37:11 Friends, Jesus has spoken to our hearts again tonight. 37:16 He's made His move. He made it at Calvary. 37:20 He made it at these meetings. 37:21 The church has made its move, 37:23 it's opening its doors for you through these meetings. 37:26 The evangelist has made his move by inviting you. 37:30 Friend, the next move is your move. 37:35 What will you do? 37:39 I know you'll make your decision for Jesus Christ. 37:44 You know Jesus always asked people 37:46 to make a public profession. 37:48 Billy Graham has people 37:49 by the thousands streamed down to the front. 37:52 But I want you to do that right now 37:54 in your own seat right there where you are. 37:57 I want extended invitation to everyone here tonight. 38:00 I want to invite those who maybe have 38:01 never accepted Jesus Christ to make that decision 38:05 and say Lord, this is the night. 38:07 I want to put up first from now on, 38:09 I want to accept You as my Savior. 38:11 I want to invite those who maybe would need to take 38:13 the step of Bible baptism you haven't done it yet 38:15 as a further step in your walk with Jesus Christ, 38:18 there maybe individuals who made that decision, 38:21 I want them write that down again tonight in a few minutes. 38:24 There maybe individuals here who come to this meeting 38:27 or you're listening in by satellite or radio. 38:30 You realize that-- well, 38:32 you need to get re-baptized and I know that's not easy. 38:37 But, friend, the first step back home 38:40 is always the hardest, make that decision tonight. 38:45 And I want to make an invitation for any one here 38:48 from all different walks of life who feel 38:50 the special sense of the need of God's Holy Spirit 38:54 that gift that brings every other gift in its string 38:57 I would like to ask you to make a decision there 39:01 that you want the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 39:04 which we all need in these days, the latter rain. 39:07 There maybe someone who'd like to 39:08 just recommit their lives to Jesus Christ 39:10 John 6:37 says, 39:11 "He that cometh, I will no wise cast out." 39:15 And finally I know that they were growing Christians 39:17 here you've been coming, you've been studying, 39:19 you've been so gracious to come and listen to these meetings 39:22 but you'd like to make Jesus your Lord, 39:24 make Him the one so there's no more doubt it. 39:29 When you think of what He is done for you, 39:31 what can you do for Him? 39:34 Let's choose Him as the row captains pass down 39:38 those containers think about it as Joey sings. 39:44 He's my Lord 39:49 There is no other one 39:55 Who can calm the storms of life 40:01 Like my Lord 40:06 He'll give rest to the weary 40:12 Give new life to the hopeless 40:17 There's no doubt about it 40:23 He's my Lord 40:30 What will you do for Jesus? 40:38 He's done so much for you 40:44 He gave His life, a ransom for sin 40:53 What will you do for Him? 41:03 What will you do for Him? 41:13 Let's pray together, shall we? 41:14 Father in heaven, I want to thank You. 41:17 Thank You, Lord, for your amazing grace. 41:21 Your still small voice that gently calls 41:23 and invites each one of us. 41:26 Here we are tonight again and it's a time of decision, 41:29 Lord, not next week, next month but now. 41:35 It's time to stand up for Jesus right now. 41:37 Father, I want to thank You for the evidence, 41:39 so Your Holy Spirit it worked throughout this entire series. 41:43 The young people that were featured earlier 41:47 whose loved one died there in Iraq. 41:50 Touching the lives of individuals from California 41:52 to Canada the Newfoundland down here in South Carolina, 41:56 Florida, all around the great circle of the earth. 41:59 Your spirit at work so right now would You speak 42:02 earnestly to every heart that may still be undecided. 42:07 And, precious Lord, if there's one more who'd like to say, 42:10 Lord, I'm struggling, I'm wrestling, 42:12 I'm not turning away the Holy Spirit 42:15 but I just can't make that decision yet, 42:18 you'd like to be remembered in this prayer 42:19 that God will help you make that decision. 42:21 I hope you'll raise your hand 42:22 and just put it up to heaven right now. 42:25 God bless each of you. 42:28 I want you to take that response card now 42:31 while our heads are bowed an attitude of prayer. 42:33 I want you to respond of those five little boxes 42:36 you might want to check several. 42:38 I hope everyone here Christian or none will check 42:41 that first one and say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins 42:44 and I accept Jesus as my personal Savior. 42:47 Can you check that one tonight? 42:50 And, secondly, I love Jesus, 42:53 desire to follow Him in baptism. 42:57 I hope many will check that one tonight. 43:00 The Holy Spirit isn't speaking to your heart 43:01 and telling you, you need to do that to follow Jesus. 43:04 Please check that tonight, we'll give you the time 43:06 you need to prepare for it 43:07 but I want you to make that commitment right now. 43:10 Number three, I wandered away from Jesus 43:13 but I want to be re-baptized. 43:15 Would you like to make a check there 43:17 if that's your decision tonight? 43:20 Number four, I hope every person here will check 43:22 I need prayer for the Holy Spirits leading. 43:24 Would you put that down? We want to pray for you. 43:27 And number five, maybe if someone would like 43:30 some additional reading materials 43:31 we'd be glad to place that in your hands too. 43:35 Please make your decision then pass those cards 43:38 into the containers to the end of row as Joey sings. 43:44 What will you do for Jesus? 43:52 He's done so much for you 43:59 He gave His life a ransom for sin 44:07 What will you do for Him? 44:16 What will you do for Him? 44:28 Amen, let's continue it in prayer. 44:30 Precious Lord, I want to thank You for each decision 44:34 that's just been made for eternity. 44:38 And wonderful Savior, until we meet again 44:41 would You just smile down and bless us 44:44 with heavens choicest blessings 44:47 in the wonderful and powerful 44:49 forgiving and the loving name of Jesus, amen. 44:54 Amen. 44:57 Make sure that you passed your response card in. 45:01 I want to tell you a little bit about Friday. 45:04 Evil in Chains. 45:07 What about that period of time called the millennium? 45:10 Evil in Chains. 45:12 I know it's a big holiday weekend, 45:14 but dear friends, we will be here. 45:16 We hope you're gonna be right here too, 45:18 wherever you are your downlink sites. 45:20 And by the way, the hospitality centers 45:22 are being a big hit everywhere. 45:25 Got some new freshmen's for us it's over in this side, 45:27 wherever it is located for you be sure to meet 45:29 your host and hostesses they will be glad to talk with you 45:32 and have prayer with you. 45:33 And by the way, there is a discover Bible lesson 45:35 that goes with tonight's lesson mysterious power in my life. 45:39 We're gonna be having a graduation 45:40 in many of the downlink sites, I hope you're gonna take 45:42 advantage of it right where you are 45:44 in a couple of days you can catch up, 45:46 take all of those lessons you haven't done yet. 45:48 Be sure you're with us and ready 45:49 for the graduation on this weekend. 45:50 Discover Bible lessons and all of the downlink sites. 45:53 Until we see you again, remember as we close 45:55 our broadcast every day friend, God, really does love you. 46:02 Amen. Good night. |
Revised 2014-12-17