-
Hey children,
-
did you know that there's a Savior?
-
Yes.
-
Hey children,
-
did you His name is Jesus?
-
Say His name!
-
I am the Way, the Truth, the Life.
-
No one comes to the Father
-
except through Me.
-
Tim: So, what did you learn about today?
-
I want that guy.
-
You what?
-
You barely got here?
-
Okay, well let me tell you what
they learned about today.
-
At least this is what the email said.
-
Okay, you tell me.
-
How sinful we are?
-
Is that was today's was about?
-
What was it?
-
You might have heard about that.
-
You learned about Jesus Christ?
-
Is that what you learned about too?
-
Tomorrow, I think you learn
-
more about the cross right?
-
Isn't that how it goes?
-
What did you learn about?
-
Real loud, I can't hear
your soft little voice.
-
Okay, shh...
-
Jesus dying on the cross?
-
For our sins.
-
What were you going to say?
-
You forgot? No, you didn't forget.
-
You just raised your hand 10 seconds ago.
-
Okay, well, that's good.
-
Now, the email I got said
-
you were going to look at who Jesus is.
-
Right? Does that sound familiar?
-
Okay, let's think about this.
-
You and I,
-
we had a beginning.
-
There was a time we were born.
-
Any of you remember when you were born?
-
No, you don't.
-
You remember when you were born?
-
Now, you may know the day you were born,
-
but do you remember it?
-
Do you remember looking at
your mama for the first time?
-
No.
-
We don't have that good of memories right?
-
We haven't been around long, have we?
-
How long have you been around?
-
This guy right here - 30 years?
-
He's been around 30 years!
-
But you know what?
Jesus had no beginning.
-
Jesus did not have a
beginning like you and me.
-
Why didn't Jesus have a beginning?
-
Because He is God.
-
See, you look at me.
-
What do I look like?
-
In a lot of ways, I look like you, right?
-
He's scowling - "I don't
want to look like that guy!"
-
But the thing is,
-
we both have arms, we both have fingers,
-
we both have a head, we have eyes,
-
we have a nose, we have ears,
-
we have feet, we have knees. Right?
-
All of you have that.
-
All of you do.
-
I forgot a lot of things.
-
We have stomachs, right?
-
We have shoulders. We have hair.
-
Some more, some less, but we have hair.
-
Jesus became a man,
-
but He wasn't always a man.
-
Before He became a man, what was He?
-
He was a spirit.
-
Now look, all of you pay attention.
-
Before Jesus became a man,
-
He has always been God.
-
You know what that means?
-
God is over here. He's right here.
-
He's all around here.
-
And He's over here at the same time.
-
And if you ran to my house right now,
-
He's over there.
-
And if I ran to your house
right now, He's over there.
-
And if we went to the
moon, He's over there.
-
And if we dug a hole way
down in the planet here
-
and went way down in there,
-
like down in the mines, way down there
-
where they get gold and they get diamonds
-
and they dig all those things out -
-
He's there.
-
And if we went to the bottom
of the ocean, He's there.
-
And if we went to Mars, He's there.
-
And if we went way out
to other galaxies, He's there.
-
God is everywhere at the same time.
-
I used to tell my children that.
-
Is God in here? Yep.
-
Is He out at the mailbox?
-
(which was quite a ways from our house)
-
Yep, He's out there too.
-
How?
-
Can you be in two places at once?
-
He can be. Do you know why?
-
Because Jesus Christ isn't just a man
-
like you and me,
-
He's God.
-
Which means, He's almighty.
-
He has power.
-
Know this? Omniscience -
-
that's a fancy word, but
you know what it means?
-
He knows everything.
-
Did you know that Jesus knows
-
every single thought that you have?
-
When mom and dad can't
look inside your head,
-
He does.
-
He knows every thought
you have ever thought.
-
Does that make you feel good or bad?
-
Do you like it that He knows
everything you've ever thought?
-
Would you like it if I knew
everything you ever thought?
-
He does.
-
He knows everything.
-
He knows everything!
-
He knows every hair on your head.
-
He knows every little bird.
-
He knows every pebble of sand.
-
He knows everything.
-
He knows exactly how the wind is blowing
-
in every part of the earth right now.
-
He knows every cloud.
-
And you know what happened?
-
Infinite, all knowing, almighty,
-
the fullness of God
-
came to this earth in a man.
-
Just like you and me.
-
You know what the Bible says?
-
He was made just like us except one thing.
-
What one way was He not made like us?
-
Okay, sir, you raised your hand.
-
Do you have the answer?
-
What way wasn't Jesus made like us?
-
See, one exception.
-
He's made like us in every
way except one way.
-
Do you know what way?
-
Sin. That's right.
-
I know lots of you knew that answer.
-
He never had sin.
-
And you know what?
-
He's a man now forevermore.
-
And so here He came to this earth,
-
and I want you to see something
-
about what He was like.
-
Georgie, come here.
-
Yow know, Georgie is not Christ.
-
But right now, imagine that he is.
-
There was once a man.
-
He had a horrible disease.
-
It made his flesh turn colors
-
and it was horrible, horrible!
-
It made a person stink.
-
It made their flesh come off.
-
It's called leprosy.
-
And here comes a man one day.
-
He's horrible.
-
You didn't even want to touch him.
-
You didn't want to be around him.
You didn't want to smell him.
-
He was horrible.
-
He was gross.
-
He was covered with a horrible disease.
-
And he came to Jesus one day.
-
And he came up to Him and he said,
-
"Lord, if You will, You
can make me clean."
-
And do you know what Jesus did?
-
Jesus not only healed him.
-
Jesus put out His hand
-
and He touched him.
-
You never touched a leper!
-
Ever! Why? They were unclean.
-
They were horrible.
-
Everybody avoided them.
-
Everybody ran from them.
-
If you had leprosy,
-
you had to go around saying,
-
"Unclean! Unclean!"
-
You had to cover your mouth
-
so that you wouldn't
breathe that stuff on people.
-
And Jesus touched him,
-
and He said, "I will. Be clean."
-
And you know what the Bible teaches us?
-
Jesus healed people of diseases
-
to show us that He could heal your sin.
-
That's what it's meant to teach.
-
There was another day.
-
Imagine he's Jesus again.
-
He's not, but he's playing the part.
-
Imagine me. I'm blind.
-
Remember the guy's name?
-
Bartimaeus.
-
And you now what? He heard.
-
Somebody told him.
-
Somebody whispered to him,
-
"Jesus! Jesus is coming!"
-
"Lord, heal me!
-
Lord, I need sight!
-
Lord!" He called out to Him.
-
"Son of David, have mercy upon me."
-
Do you think Jesus would have mercy?
-
You know why they all said yes?
-
Because they've heard the stories enough.
-
Do you know this?
-
Jesus had mercy on everybody
-
that wanted mercy from Him.
-
No exceptions.
-
Go through this book
-
again and again and again.
-
Jesus always had mercy
-
on those who wanted mercy.
-
And you know what Jesus said to him?
-
"What would you have me do to you?"
-
He said, "Lord, that I
might have my sight."
-
And He gave him sight.
-
Go ahead and sit down.
-
Do you know another day?
-
Here's Jesus.
-
All the fullness of God
is packed into Him.
-
And you know what happened?
-
A friend of His died.
-
Come on, you can come back over here.
-
Lay down on the floor.
-
Come here, little red shirt
Marisa and Miss Patience.
-
You come here too.
-
These are the sisters.
-
What are they doing?
-
This is Lazarus.
-
Lazarus is dead.
-
You know how long he's been dead?
-
Four days.
-
Do you know what happens
-
when somebody's dead four days?
-
That plane was just shot down.
-
Dead people begin to stink real fast.
-
Where I go and pray in the morning,
-
I can smell something dead.
-
Animals die. They stink.
-
He's been dead four days.
-
They said that he already stank.
-
His sisters - you're crying.
-
You have to cry.
-
And you know we laugh
-
because you know these people.
-
But do you know Jesus saw their sorrow?
-
He heard the mourning of the people.
-
He heard their cries.
-
He heard their sorrow.
-
And do you remember?
-
It's the shortest verse in the Bible.
-
Do you know what it says?
-
"Jesus wept."
-
What do you do with that?
-
Hey guys, do you know Jesus wept?
-
There's hope in those tears.
-
You know what?
-
God came to this earth as a man
-
and He didn't go around
-
with fiery thunderbolts and
just zap everybody.
-
Did He?
-
In fact, there was a day, remember it?
-
They came out to get Him.
-
They had clubs
-
and they had their lanterns
-
or their torches.
-
And they came out. They had swords.
-
And you remember what happened?
-
He said, "Who are you looking for?"
-
And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
-
And He said, "I am He."
-
And remember what happened?
-
They all fell down!
-
But He didn't kill them.
-
He didn't strike them dead.
-
He showed them,
-
you would have no power over Me
-
unless I gave you power.
-
He was God Almighty.
-
He is God Almighty.
-
He will always be God Almighty.
-
And forevermore, He'll be a man.
-
But He's almighty God joined to man.
-
It's a mystery.
-
And you know what He did
-
at the tomb of Lazarus? He wept.
-
Can you imagine tears
falling down His face?
-
You know what that does? It gives me hope!
-
It gives me hope that
God came to this earth
-
and He would actually weep
-
over our condition.
-
Those tears tell me that He'll help us.
-
He'll help us if we want Him.
-
He'll help us if you call upon Him.
-
He will.
-
If you need His help, He'll come.
-
And you know what He said?
-
"Lazarus, come forth."
-
Look at that!
-
It happened for real.
-
It happened for real.
-
And they unbandaged him; let him free.
-
You know what?
-
He raised the dead.
-
He healed blind eyes.
-
He cured lepers to show us
-
that He can get rid of
our spiritual blindness
-
and cure the leprosy of our sin,
-
and He can raise us
from the dead spiritually.
-
He can give us eternal life.
-
That's what He was showing us.
-
That's what He was showing us.
-
Okay, my actors can go sit down.
-
Hold on, buddy. Where are you going?
-
Bathroom?
-
We just have a few minutes.
-
I want you all to know this.
-
One day, this Jesus is coming.
-
Right now, if you ask Him for mercy,
-
He'll heal you.
-
But when He comes, it's too late.
-
Or when you die, it's too late.
-
And you know what He's going to do?
-
The Bible says that Jesus Christ
-
is going to judge all of us.
-
And He's going to come
-
as a great, triumphant King.
-
And He's going to come,
-
and you know what the Bible says?
-
He's going to say:
-
right here.
-
There's the dividing line.
-
All My sheep
-
and My goats.
-
He's going to divide every person
-
like a shepherd divides
-
his sheep and his goats.
-
And to these on His right,
-
He's going to say,
-
"you did good. Well done.
-
You poured out your lives on My behalf.
-
You loved people.
-
You lived righteously."
-
These over here, they lived wickedly;
-
they lived selfishly,
-
and He's going to tell them to depart
-
into everlasting punishment.
-
The good and the bad.
-
And you know how to be good?
-
It says that the good,
-
the resurrection of the just -
-
how do you be good enough?
-
How can you be good enough?
-
When we've done bad things?
-
Well, you know what we do.
-
We go to Christ and we trust
Him to make us good.
-
We trust Him to heal us
-
and wash away our sin
-
and to make us good.
-
And if He makes us good, we are good.
-
And if we are good,
-
He's going to welcome us in,
-
but only if we're resting on Him.
-
He's going to divide us.
-
Which side do you want to be on?
-
When He divides, do you
want to be on the right hand
-
or do you want to be on the left hand?
-
You guys didn't like
it over here, did you?
-
You didn't like acting that part.
-
You don't like being on the left hand.
-
I feel that too. I don't want
to be on the left hand.
-
Even in the acting!
-
You want to be on the right hand.
-
But there's only one way
to be on that right hand.
-
When Jesus comes to separate man,
-
what's the only way?
-
What's the only way to be
on the right hand of Jesus?
-
And to hear, "Well done,
good and faithful servant"?
-
What's the way?
-
Believing on Him. Trusting Him.
-
Look how He healed everybody.
-
Look how He gave sight.
-
Look how He raised Lazarus.
-
He raised Lazarus from the dead.
-
He did all these miracles and
you know why He did it?
-
He calmed storms.
-
He actually walked on water.
-
Have you ever walked on water?
-
You've splashed in water,
-
but you haven't walked on top of it.
-
Jesus did.
-
And He did all those things
to show us His power.
-
Is Jesus powerful?
-
You better believe He is.
-
He showed us that He's powerful.
-
So powerful that He can wash you
-
whiter than snow.
-
How many of you have ever seen snow?
-
Whiter than snow.
-
He'll wash all the sin away.
-
Look, remember how it was
-
with blind Bartimaeus?
-
"Son of David!" He cried out to Him.
-
"Jesus! Son of David!"
-
You know the way he cried out?
-
He would not give Jesus any rest
-
until Jesus healed him.
-
That's the way you need to be.
-
You need to cry out
that way this very day.
-
Look, this isn't make believe.
-
This is all very real.
-
Children, we're having you come here
-
because we want to tell you the truth.
-
If you call upon this Lord Jesus,
-
He will save you.
-
And to be saved is the greatest thing
-
in this world.
-
To have Christ for your own
-
and to be saved by Him
-
and to have your sin washed clean,
-
and to have Him working
powerfully in your life
-
to make you good,
-
that's everything!
-
You're young right now,
-
and you think you're
going to live forever,
-
but you're not going to live forever.
-
And very soon, we're all going to be gone.
-
And you know what?
-
Most people, let me tell you this,
-
most people get saved when they're young.
-
Not many people get
saved when they're old.
-
This is the time.
-
This is the time to call upon the Lord.
-
This is the time.
-
The Bible says today's
the day of salvation.
-
Today's the day you want to be saved.
-
Children, do you know
what's going to happen
-
as soon as I'm done?
-
You're going to all jump up
-
and you're going to get crazy right?
-
Well, I hope these thoughts
will stay with you.
-
Jesus, we heard that You are God.
-
We heard that You came to this earth
-
and You became a man
-
and You actually shed tears.
-
And if you know you have sin,
-
I hope you'll see that those tears speak.
-
What Jesus did speaks.
-
It says something.
-
You know what?
-
God becoming a man and coming here
-
and weeping - if He was just angry:
-
Argh!
-
If He just did that at us,
-
we'd think, wow,
-
because of our sin, we deserve that.
-
Think about it.
-
He doesn't roar at us.
-
He weeps.
-
That tells us what kind of Savior we have.
-
A gentle Savior.
-
And that's what He said.
-
He said, "Come unto Me,
and I'll give you rest."
-
"Learn of Me.
-
I'm gentle. I'm meek."
-
I saw that word "meek" over there.
-
You guys have been
making something today -
-
all these different words
that describe Jesus.
-
I saw compassionate.
-
I saw meek. That's right.
-
I mean, what do you think?
-
He weeps tears.
-
And He raises Lazarus.
-
Can you imagine how happy
-
Lazarus' sisters must have been
-
to have him raised from the dead?
-
And you will be even more happy
-
if He raises you from the dead.
-
You say, "Well, I'm not dead yet!"
-
Oh yes, you are - spiritually.
-
Because of what we heard about yesterday -
-
Adam fell.
-
The problem is we all fell in him.
-
We're spiritually dead.
-
Not physically.
-
I know you very much have physical life.
-
But you need to be made alive.
-
And Jesus can make you alive
-
and He will make you alive
-
if you call upon the Lord.
-
You will find that He is
very much a life-giver.
-
What do you think, children?
-
We have a great Savior.
-
A great One. A powerful One.
-
But He's coming.
-
He's coming, and if you ignore Him,
-
you can't ignore Him forever.
-
Because He's going to come one day
-
and He's got an appointment with you.
-
He's going to come see you.
-
And if you've lived your life
-
resting on Him and trusting Him,
-
He'll greet you with a smile,
-
and He'll take you to His home
-
forever and ever.
-
You'll go to Heaven with Him.
-
But if you turn your back on Him,
-
even if you're little children,
-
if you turn your back on Him,
-
He will be very angry.
-
And He will tell you to depart from Him
-
into hell.
-
It's a serious thing to reject this Jesus.
-
He is glorious.
-
He is a glorious King.
-
But you reject Him,
-
and you will find Him a fierce enemy.
-
You don't want Jesus for an enemy.
-
Oh, so often we think
of Jesus with the tears,
-
and we think of Jesus
compassionate and meek,
-
but if you ignore Him and refuse Him
-
and reject Him,
-
you will find Him
-
to be a very great enemy.
-
We don't want to toy with Jesus.
-
He's compassionate,
-
but He's also very holy,
-
and He punishes sin
-
and we have a lot of sin.
-
You know what I want?
-
I want my sin punished in Him.
-
I want Him to take my punishment for me.
-
Don't you all want that?
-
So that I can go free.
-
That's what you're going to all
-
be learning about tomorrow.
-
That's what I want.
-
And you can have that.
-
We can all have that.
-
Jesus said it like this,
-
"Come to Me."
-
Come to Me.
-
How do you go to Him
-
because we can't see Him?
-
You call upon Him.
-
He's here.
-
Here's very close to every one of us.
-
How do you come to Him?
-
You say, "Jesus, help me."
-
"Jesus, save me."
-
"Jesus, forgive me for my sins."
-
You can all do that, right?
-
I told you yesterday, talk to Him.
-
Talk to the Lord.
-
We have a Lord that healed.
-
We have a Lord that gave life to the dead
-
and gave sight to the blind
-
and He healed lepers.
-
Talk to Him. He's very kind.
-
He's very merciful.
-
He's the kind of Savior
that you and I want.
-
So talk to Him. Call upon Him.
-
Do that. Seriously, do that.
-
Father, I pray that You would draw
-
these little ones to You.
-
Draw them to Christ.
-
Draw them. Pull them.
-
Lord, may something in their simple ways,
-
their minds may grasp hold of this
-
and that in their youth,
-
they would trust You;
-
they would hear these things
-
and in just simple faith
-
they would cling to You.
-
I pray in Christ's name, Amen.
-
Okay, children.
-
What did you learn about today?
-
(unintelligible)
-
Where's my little red shirt actress?
-
Marisa, are you hiding back there?
-
My kids last night said,
-
"Dad, you forgot Marisa's name!"
-
I said, "I didn't forget Marisa's name."
-
Sometimes I just call
people by other words.
-
I called you "little miss
red shirt" yesterday, right?
-
Okay, what did you learn about today?
-
(from the room) Me?
-
Tim: Yeah.
-
Did you learn something about the cross?
-
Do you all see the cross over here?
-
Can you imagine
-
if that cross was big?
-
About this big,
-
so that a man could hang on it.
-
If I was hanging on it,
-
I would be up higher.
-
Can you imagine a big cross here?
-
A real cross.
-
Can you imagine a real cross?
-
What's up there?
-
Can you imagine a big cross?
-
The Roman soldiers came.
-
Once Jesus was up on that cross -
-
we're imagining this cross.
-
They nailed something to the top.
-
They nailed something on there
-
in three different languages.
-
It said something.
-
They nailed probably a piece of wood
-
that they had written on.
-
Does anybody know what it said?
-
What did it say?
-
The King of the Jews.
-
Can you imagine that little guy
right there knows that answer?
-
You guys fill in all the names don't you?
-
You won't let me get by with
calling him "the little guy."
-
He knows that.
-
Why did they put that up there?
-
Do you know what they did?
-
Jesus wasn't the only one crucified.
-
Lots of people were crucified.
-
Do you know why they got crucified?
-
There was more than one cross.
-
How many crosses were there?
-
Three.
-
What did the guys on the other side do?
-
They were thieves.
-
Okay, think about this.
-
Do you know what they would have
-
gone up and put on the other crosses?
-
They would have nailed
something up there too.
-
What would they have nailed
-
up on top of their crosses?
-
Thief.
-
Right. Do you know what they did?
-
They put the person's crime.
-
The bad thing that they did,
-
they nailed whatever it was to the cross
-
so that you knew what their crime was.
-
How is it a crime for Jesus
-
to be the King of Israel?
-
Or the King of the Jews?
-
How is that a crime?
-
What did you say?
-
Well, you know what?
-
The Jews said, "we have a law."
-
You see, the Jews didn't like
-
what was up on that cross.
-
They told Pilate -
-
Pilate was the one that had Him crucified.
-
He was the Roman governor.
-
They said to Pilate,
-
"No, don't say, 'the King of the Jews.'"
-
What did they want put up there?
-
"He said He was the King of the Jews."
-
You see, there's a difference.
-
The Jews wanted it to be said
-
that this was just what He claimed,
-
and He's not true; He's not genuine.
-
He's a fake.
-
He's not really the King of the Jews.
-
He just said He's the King of the Jews.
-
And what did Pilate say?
-
What I wrote, I wrote.
-
You know what?
-
I did enough for you Jews.
-
Be done with you. Go away.
-
Don't bother me anymore.
-
You guys have bothered me enough.
-
Pilate didn't want to kill Him.
-
Pilate didn't want to crucify Him.
-
The Jews kept saying,
-
"Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"
-
"Away with this man!
Spare Barabbas, but kill Him."
-
Now, here's the thing.
-
Imagine that this is our piece of wood
-
that we're going to nail up here
-
to the top of our imaginary cross.
-
You guys are good at imagining, right?
-
Little children have imaginations.
-
You can still see that cross up there.
-
I want you to know what the Bible says
-
about Jesus being on that cross.
-
Have you ever done anything bad?
-
What have you done bad before?
-
I mean, what's something really bad
-
that you remember that you did?
-
Okay, come here.
-
What store?
-
(from the child)
I think it was a gas store.
-
Earnest.
-
You know what Earnest said?
-
Did you all hear him?
-
He said he stole something
-
from like a gas store.
-
He stole something from
-
maybe like a gas station
-
or one of those corner stores.
-
When somebody steals something,
-
what does it make them?
-
A robber.
-
Here. Here's his crime.
-
Earnest. Let's write this on here.
-
Earnest. Robber. Thief.
-
Now you know what?
-
I'm making an example out of Earnest.
-
But you know what? I stole things too.
-
I've stolen things from stores.
-
I could put my name on here too.
-
In fact, not just Earnest,
-
let's put Tim Conway on there.
-
This is our crime.
-
Earnest, you can go ahead and have a seat.
-
This is my crime
-
and this is Earnest's crime.
-
And it's written.
-
And do you know what the
Bible says in Colossians 2?
-
Here's what it says.
-
Here's what happened.
-
Jesus' cross - imagine it's still there.
-
And Jesus has His crime -
-
yeah, we could use this.
-
This is probably good,
-
but this is pretty stationary, isn't it?
-
We can always make things mobile, right?
-
So here's the cross.
-
And Jesus, when He died on that cross,
-
they nailed this up here.
-
And it said, if you read this,
-
it said, "King of the Jews."
-
But you know what?
That was really no crime.
-
Because Jesus never committed any crimes.
-
Jesus had no sin.
-
Jesus was an innocent man.
-
They were killing an innocent man.
-
But you know what?
-
Jesus didn't die on the cross
-
for His own sins, did He?
-
He didn't have any.
-
In Colossians 2, it says this.
-
Earnest, this is huge.
-
Earnest, robber and thief.
-
But what God does
-
is He takes your crime.
-
Do you see my name on there too?
-
Tim Conway. You and me.
-
We're thieves. This is our crime.
-
What happens is God takes our crimes
-
and nails them to the cross.
-
What does that mean?
-
That's what the Bible says.
-
Our crimes get nailed to the cross.
-
Our sins. Our bad things
-
get nailed to His cross.
-
What does that mean?
-
What does it mean?
-
See, Jesus is on this cross.
-
What is nailed up here
-
is the crime He's guilty of.
-
But you say, wait! That's my crime!
-
That's your crime! That's exactly right.
-
See, that's what God did.
-
God takes your crime, my crime -
-
He takes our crimes and He nails them
-
up here on Jesus' cross,
-
and Jesus makes my crime His crime.
-
It's kind of like if your mama would have
-
found out that you did that,
-
what would she have done?
-
Or did she find out?
-
Oh you're looking around for her.
-
You were little?
-
Being little doesn't excuse it.
-
It's still a crime.
-
You know what?
-
You know what you deserve for that crime?
-
What do you deserve?
-
What does he deserve?
-
We might think, oh,
he deserves a spanking.
-
That might be what he deserves
-
from a parent.
-
But what does he deserve from God?
-
(from the room) Death!
-
Tim: Wow!
-
Isn't that going overboard?
-
Isn't that going overboard?
-
Look, I just go into a store and I look
-
and nobody's looking
-
and I put some candy in my pocket.
-
Should I go to hell for that?
-
(from the room) Yes!
-
Tim: You're not so sure, right?
-
I mean, doesn't that seem,
-
to get thrown into fire
-
for taking one piece of candy,
-
doesn't that seem like
it's going overboard?
-
Does it seem that way?
-
Doesn't that seem like
-
God is being pretty severe?
-
I mean, think about it.
-
What's the last thing you can remember
-
that you did wrong?
-
Hm?
-
You lied.
-
Wow.
-
We could put liar up there too.
-
Don't look at her.
-
We could put liar up there
for every one of us, right?
-
You can't get away down here on the end
-
because you know.
-
Liar. Lies.
-
Okay.
-
Patience tells a lie.
-
Patience stand up.
-
If I was her father and I said,
-
"Patience, did you tell a lie?"
-
She nodded yes.
-
I take this hammer and crush her skull
-
and drop her dead right
here in front of you.
-
Would you say, "Whoa!!!"
-
"That's excessive!"
-
"That's crazy!"
-
You would look at me as though
-
I was the criminal, right?
-
But isn't that what God says He does
-
to sin, to lies, to being a thief?
-
Isn't that what God says?
-
Death.
-
You know the lie she told deserves death.
-
She deserves death.
-
We all deserve death.
-
For stealing, you deserve death.
-
You can have a seat.
-
Look, but if it all gets nailed up here,
-
can you imagine?
-
The Roman soldier?
-
He pounds it up there.
-
There's Jesus hanging.
-
And you run up there and you see
-
what's His crime?
-
His crimes?
-
He's a liar.
-
But He didn't tell any lies.
-
And you look, and it doesn't say
-
it's Jesus Christ's lies;
-
it says it's Tim Conway's lies.
-
My sin is nailed up there!
-
What does that mean?
-
That means that the punishment I deserve
-
for those sins,
-
He's getting it there on that cross.
-
God is smashing and crushing His Son
-
and punishing His Son
-
and forsaking His Son.
-
When He hung on that cross,
-
He said, "My God, My God,
why have You forsaken Me?"
-
I'll tell you why God forsook Him.
-
Because of these crimes.
-
And they're none of His.
-
None of His crimes are on here
-
because He never committed a crime.
-
The thing they put up there about Him
-
that He was the King of the Jews,
-
He was the King of the Jews!
-
He is the King of the Jews.
-
And He always will be.
-
He is the King of Israel.
-
There is a King. He is that King.
-
He will always be that King.
-
And what Pilate put there was truth.
-
Remember, Pilate said, "what is truth?"
-
I'll tell you what truth is.
-
What Pilate had written
on that piece of board
-
that was nailed up there. That was truth.
-
He is the King.
-
But when we go up there and we look
-
and it says "robber, thief, liar,"
-
you see that's what happened on the cross.
-
(unintelligible)
-
You did what without permission?
-
(unintelligible)
-
She started up her mama's
car without permission.
-
You were wanting to ride down the road?
-
You know what?
-
We could all talk about our crimes.
-
Our crimes are many.
-
You probably heard about this this week.
-
You've probably heard about this today.
-
You know what?
-
It seems to us that if
God kills us for sin,
-
it feels like, wow, that's overreacting.
-
I mean, really?
-
If Diego took out this hammer
-
and crushed Patience's head
-
because she told a lie,
-
we would all think,
-
wow, that was overreacting!
-
That was severe!
-
But can I tell you this?
-
Her crime was really that bad.
-
We're almost done, buddy.
-
Just have a seat.
-
Her crime is that bad.
-
We don't think of it that bad.
-
You know why?
-
Because all of us in here,
-
we've all done those things,
-
and so we look at each other and we say,
-
well, I'm not as bad as that person.
-
And I'm not as bad as that person.
-
And I'm not as bad as that person.
-
But compared to God?
-
Remember, we fell.
-
You remember we talked about that?
-
We fell into sin.
-
And now we're ugly.
-
We are ugly to God.
-
We become something terrible,
-
something sinful, something vile,
-
something that God looks at
-
and He detests.
-
The Bible talks about us being
-
an abomination to God.
-
That's a big word, but it just means
-
we are really ugly to God.
-
But Jesus took our crimes up here
-
so that we don't have to suffer.
-
He suffered in our place.
-
I want to ask you all something.
-
Jesus said seven things on that cross.
-
Do you know what this
week has been all about?
-
We want you to know who God is.
-
We want you to know who Jesus Christ is.
-
You can learn about Jesus Christ
-
by what He said on the cross.
-
He said seven things on that cross.
-
Can anybody tell me what He said?
-
(unintelligible)
-
Let's take them in order.
-
What the first thing that
we know that He said?
-
Or one of the first things?
-
The first thing He said
-
was He prayed to His Father
-
for those who were crucifying Him.
-
Do you remember that?
-
Think.
-
What I'm going to tell you right now
-
teaches you about who Jesus is.
-
Watch this.
-
Can you imagine you're
nailed to the cross?
-
And Jesus says
-
to the ones who pounded nails
-
through His hands and through His feet.
-
Wham!
-
He said, "Father, forgive them,
-
for they know not what they do."
-
The people who were hurting Him -
-
what do you usually say to the people
-
who are hurting you?
-
If somebody pinches you, what do you do?
-
Punch him.
-
That's about what
everybody naturally (does).
-
Revenge!
-
Somebody hurts me. I hurt them back.
-
Or I'm going to cry.
-
What did Jesus do? He didn't cry.
-
No self-pity.
-
He didn't punch, and
He could have punched.
-
You know what He did?
-
Watch Jesus.
-
Jesus is a real Savior and watch Him
-
even when He's dying on that cross.
-
"Father, forgive them,
-
for they know not what they do."
-
He's praying for forgiveness.
-
Listen, if Jesus will ask His Father
-
to forgive those who are
nailing Him to the cross,
-
do you think He'll forgive you
-
if you ask Him for forgiveness?
-
Yes!
-
If He forgives His enemies
-
who nail Him to that cross,
-
certainly He'll forgive you.
-
What's the next thing that He does?
-
What's the next thing He says?
-
The next thing He says has to do
-
with His mother.
-
What did He say?
-
(unintelligible)
-
He looked at John.
-
He said, "Behold, your mother."
-
And He looked at His mother,
-
and He said, "Behold, your son."
-
Right? He gave His mother over to John.
-
Even as He's dying, He's
not thinking about Himself.
-
He's thinking about how His
mother's going to be cared for.
-
Isn't that the kind of Savior you want?
-
He's suffering and He's thinking
-
about His mother.
-
That's the kind of Savior you want.
-
That even in the worst sufferings,
-
He thinks about those that He cares for.
-
Even while He's suffering,
-
He thinks about His enemies.
-
This is a tremendous Savior!
-
What's the next thing that He says
-
on that cross?
-
We've got two.
-
What's the next one?
-
Remember there was a man hanging -
-
I'm going to think it's
on His right hand side -
-
I don't know which side he was on.
-
But there was another man -
-
there were two other men -
-
but there was one, a special man
-
hanging next to Him,
-
and He had some words for him.
-
What words did He have for him?
-
Remember? Here is a man
-
hanging next to Him,
-
and even as Jesus is dying, again,
-
He's thinking about others.
-
You can put your hands down
-
because I'm going to tell you about it.
-
This man looks at Him and He says,
-
"Lord, remember me
-
when You come into Your Kingdom."
-
What did He say to him?
-
What did He say to him?
-
Hm?
-
He said, "This day,
-
you will be with Me in Paradise."
-
Have you noticed something
-
about these first three things?
-
He's concerned about His enemies -
-
His crucifiers.
-
He's concerned about His mother.
-
And He's having mercy on this thief.
-
This guy's just a common criminal.
-
And Jesus has compassion.
-
And He didn't say,
-
"Oh, I'll just save you off the cross."
-
He said, "I'll save you and take you
-
to Paradise with Me."
-
Wow.
-
What's the fourth thing?
-
You know all the answers.
I'm not going to call on you.
-
Okay, you're the only one
that had your hand up,
-
so I'll default to you.
-
"My God, My God, why
have You forsaken Me?"
-
Did you know that God
forsook Jesus Christ?
-
God left Him.
-
God turned His back on Him.
-
Did you know that the sun stopped shining?
-
Why? Because God's judgment,
-
God's wrath was being poured out
-
upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
-
And He cried out.
-
Three hours of darkness.
-
He just hung there
-
bearing the punishment for sin.
-
Not for His own sin -
-
for our sins that are nailed up here.
-
Three hours of darkness
-
and He just hung there.
-
And only these words came from His mouth:
-
"My God, My God, why
have You forsaken Me?"
-
I'll tell you why God forsook Him.
-
God forsook Him to save
sinners like you and me.
-
He had to be forsaken in our place.
-
Either He gets forsaken for our sins
-
or we get forsaken for our sins
-
and we go to hell.
-
What's the next thing
-
that He said on the cross?
-
He said after it was all done,
-
"I thirst."
-
Jesus was every bit a man.
-
He hung on that cross and He was thirsty.
-
They offered Him something to drink
-
before those three hours. He refused it.
-
Now He said, "I thirst," and He drank.
-
And once He drank, do you know
-
what He said next?
-
He said, "It is finished."
-
Do you know what that means?
-
That means that what's on here is done!
-
It's done! It's finished!
-
It's paid for! It's gone!
-
He paid it.
-
And what was the next thing He said?
-
"Father..." It's not, "My God, My God,
"why have You forsaken Me?"
-
Fellowship has been restored. Why?
-
Because sin's been paid!
-
"Father, into Your hands
I commit My spirit."
-
And He bowed His head and He was dead.
-
But that grave didn't hold Him, did it?
-
That cross is not the end of the story.
-
He came out of the grave.
-
Death couldn't hold Him.
-
Three days later.
-
I'll tell you, He came out of that grave
-
to prove that everything
He did on that cross,
-
God accepted it.
-
Wow, we have a wonderful Savior, don't we?
-
We do.
-
Children, we do have a wonderful Savior.
-
Father, I pray to You
-
that all the glories of "it is finished,"
-
all the glories of a thief this day
-
being with Him in Paradise,
-
all the glories of a Christ -
-
we have a Savior who would actually ask
-
that You would pity His enemies
-
and caring for His mother
-
and caring for a thief
-
and bearing the wrath of God
-
and the forsaking that our sins demanded,
-
our sin...
-
Lord, we admit, we think it's
overreaction to our sin
-
because we see our sin so small
-
and we see You as being so small.
-
Oh, Lord, if we could see it as it is.
-
What crimes we've committed!
-
What glory there is in the
payment that Christ made!
-
What infinite value, worth,
-
of the shed blood on that cross!
-
And to hear those words, "it is finished."
-
All done. We don't have to do penance.
-
We don't have to do works
-
to earn Your favor.
-
We don't have to do anything!
-
It's done! It's finished!
-
It's complete for those
who trust in Christ.
-
Lord, have mercy on these children.
-
May something in all this that they've
-
learned in this week, Lord,
-
may these truths be used of You.
-
May they register in their minds.
-
May they be clung to
-
and may they believe on this Jesus.
-
I pray in Christ's name.
-
Children, I want to tell you.
-
All week I've been telling you this.
-
Jesus wants you to trust Him.
-
Talk to Him.
-
Pray to Him.
-
Even if you don't know how,
-
ask Him, "Jesus, teach me to talk to You."
-
"Teach me to pray."
-
Anything you need, go to Him.
-
Anything.
-
Talk to Him.
-
Tell Him about the fact you stole.
-
Ask Him to forgive you.
-
You told a lie.
-
Ask Him to forgive that lie.
-
He forgives lies.
-
He forgives thievery.
-
He forgives every sin.
-
Every kind of sin that's committed by men,
-
He forgives murder.
-
He forgives the kind of sins you've done.
-
Talk to Him.
-
Tell Jesus what you did
-
and ask Him to forgive you.
-
Georgie, talk to Him.
-
Seriously, talk to Him.
-
He's here.
-
He's not far away. He's close.
-
And you know in the Bible, He said,
-
"Bring the little children unto Me."
-
Well, if He said it back
then, He doesn't change.
-
He'll have you come unto Him right now.
-
Look, we have a Savior
-
who prayed for His enemies.
-
We have a Savior who took
-
a thief to Paradise.
-
Don't you want to go to Paradise?
-
I do.
-
I do!
-
Oh, I want to go
-
and see God in all of His glory.
-
And I don't want sin to stand between
-
me and Him.
-
And Jesus, He took that barrier down
-
by that cross.
-
Okay, children.
-
Thank you for being so attentive
-
these last four days.
-
I don't think I'll see you all tomorrow,
-
but we still have one more day
-
of Vacation Bible School.
-
Tomorrow's graduation, I understand.
-
Celebration? Not graduation?
-
Okay.
-
We're all done.