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Good morning. Good morning. How are you? Good. Good. My name's Tony. Tony? Yeah. I'm Jimmy. Jimmy. Good to meet you, Jimmy. Why'd you stop? Huh? You got to get going? Yeah. Okay. Read this again. Talk to me again. Okay? All right. Because I want to finish what we started, all right? You got to get to school, though. All right. Good to see you, Diane. I can't believe you're a senior now. Yeah. I cannot believe you're a senior now. You're a senior? Yeah. High school? Yeah. You look young. She gets that a lot. So what can I do for you, Jimmy? I wanted a free Bible. Yeah, you bet. There you go. Do you have any particular spiritual beliefs? I... I wouldn't really categorize myself as anything, but I do consider myself like an omnius. What's that? I've never heard that term. I believe there's truth within every religion. Okay, and how do you know that's true? Personal experience. With every religion? You've experienced every religion. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just trying to get to know Jimmy. But in order to know that there's some truth in every religion, you would have to know every religion, I would think. I know mostly about Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity. I'm still, like, doing, like, a lot of research currently about, like, religion and stuff. And why are you doing that? Because... I feel as if the West and East need to, like, cooperate together. Like, the combination of, like... technology combination of my life with spiritual side of things we just work together we could create some amazing technology so so the goal is technology That's where this world is really shifting into anyway. That's what you think, yeah. How old are you, Jimmy? 22. 22, okay. Are you a student anywhere, or are you studying comparative religion somewhere in particular, or are you just doing this on your own? Just self-research. Okay, okay. I used to go to Iowa State. Okay, alright. I had to drop out. Okay, alright. So, what do you know about Christianity? I'm a Christian. So, what do you know about Christianity? How would you describe Christianity to me? So... I want to take a couple of pauses. Sure. So, Genesis was like the beginning of creation. Revelations is like the end time. Okay. There was... 12 disciples but from what I learned there was actually 24 disciples and 12 were women it's probably something that yeah you won't you won't find that anywhere in there yeah you won't yeah and that's that's the standard That that's the standard that's that is the Bible. That's the Word of God that is what biblical Christianity is based upon and So there are no Christians who believe that there were 12 women apostles Because that's not anywhere in that book. So what is what is? What does Christianity believe teach? about About man about mankind. In fact, let me back up a little bit. What does Christianity teach about God? Yeah, what does Christianity teach about God? It teaches that the kingdom of heaven is within you. But what does it teach about God himself? God himself? Yeah. Who is God? That God is literally everything. God is what? Literally everything. Everything? It could be like... No, Christianity doesn't teach that at all. Christianity teaches that God is omnipresent, meaning he's everywhere, but God is not everything. God is not everything. What about the... What else do you know about Christianity as it relates to who God is? Honestly, I don't really resonate with Christianity. I feel there's good people in Christianity, but there's just like some toxicity. Actually, there are no good people in Christianity. There's no good people anywhere according to the Bible. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah. Jimmy, you're not good. Jimmy, right? Yeah. You're not good, according to the word of God, and neither am I. Because God, there's one God in the heavens, one God who created all things. There's not my God, your God, his God, her God. There aren't different gods. There's only one God who created everything. And that one God is triune, meaning one God in three persons. He's a trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And only God is good according to God's standard of goodness, which is moral perfection. The Bible says that all have sinned, broken God's law, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Bible says in Romans chapter 3 in the New Testament, the Bible is one book comprised of two testaments, an Old Testament and a New Testament, prior to Christ and during and after Christ, that that God and God alone is good, that man is not good, that man, every human being, is broken God's law and by God's standard has fallen short of his glory and are actually under the wrath of God, wrath being his severe anger, the wrath of God. So, none of us are good. Yeah, none of us are good, according to the Word of God. Well, yes. This is my daughter, Michelle, and my granddaughter, Bethany. This is Jimmy. Can you say, hi, Jimmy? So, the Bible teaches what Christians believe. Now, there are a lot of people who call themselves Christians who aren't. Because they've created a God in their imagination to suit themselves. And they say they're a Christian, but they do not believe God's book. They do not believe the Bible. They say they're Christians, but they say that there's many ways to heaven. And the Bible says there's not. To me, I feel as if the Bible has been very mistranslated and... And how do you know that? From ancient civilizations. A person named Billy Carson. Who's Billy Carson? He is... the one that like studied ancient tablets one is called the emerald tablets and with that yeah but how do you know that the bible has been mistranslated yeah how do you know that i just i can't explain it i just kind of okay well you actually don't know because and i don't mean to be rude But you can go online right now and you could look at some 25,000 different manuscripts, all within, many of them within a generation of when they were written. And you will see, comparing it from the ancient Hebrew, the ancient Greek, and the Aramaic, the three translations in which the English Bibles we have are translated from, and you will see that they're the same. It's the same today. And typically, someone who says that the Bible's been mistranslated knows nothing about the original languages. And they'll say it's mistranslated because they don't want to submit to it. They want to be the authority. But the Word of God is the authority. We're not. So no, it's simply not true that the Bible's been mistranslated. I've been reading this book for 36 years, almost every day of my life. and it's not been mistranslated. So, Jimmy, what do you think's gonna happen to you when you die? What do you believe? You can place under the light. I'm sorry, you can what? You get placed under a life review. And who reviews your life? Well, that's vicious circular reasoning. I, I, my life has been reviewed because I have reviewed my life. But it's like, so in the end you're the judge. Every person you ever wronged. Yeah. You will know how they felt. You will feel it, but you will also know like all the good that you have done. Okay. So again, Jimmy, you've done no good. Now, hear me when I say that. If I compared this nice young man who came up to talk to me and have a friendly conversation to Osama Bin Laden and Adolf Hitler, and I'm told, hey, you gotta pick a friend, well, I'm gonna pick Jimmy, right? But you're not gonna be the one who judges yourself as whether or not you did good. You're gonna be judged, like all of us, you're gonna be judged by the God who created you. the God who's actually written his law on your heart. You see, Jimmy, you know it's wrong to lie, correct? Right? Yeah. We agree. It's wrong to lie. But you know that, Jimmy, because the God who created you isn't a liar. You know it's wrong to steal because the God who created you isn't a thief. You know it's wrong to look at a woman and have an inappropriate sexual thought. You know that's wrong because the God who created you is not immoral. He's not unfaithful. You know what's wrong to hate another human being for any reason. Because the God who created you is not a murderer at heart and he sees hatred as murder. See, that law has been written on your heart. You were created in the image of God. You're not a God, but you were created in his image. And unlike the birds and the fish and the dogs and the cats that have no souls, My dog back home doesn't know it's wrong to lie, steal, or look at a male dog in the wrong way, right? Because it's just a dog. Right? But you, like me, and my granddaughter, and my daughter, we were created in the image of God. And as such, we know that there is only one God who created the heavens. But yet the Bible says that most of mankind suppress that truth by their unrighteousness. professing to be wise, they render themselves fools because they worship the creature, namely the person they see in the mirror, rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. So we know that God exists, but yet even though we know that there is one God who created all things, Mankind still will cut down a tree, use a third of it to build his home, use another third of it to heat his home and cook his food, and then what's left, he'll carve into some kind of image and he'll bow down and worship that. He'll worship that piece of wood. It still happens today, a billion, right? Or they'll do the same thing in their mind. They'll create a god in their imagination to suit themselves. So Jimmy, you know that God exists. And you know the difference between right and wrong, not because of how you were raised, when, where, or by whom, but because the God who created you has written his law in your heart. And when you die and stand before this creator God, he's going to judge you according to that law. You're not going to judge yourself. I'm not going to judge you. You're going to be judged by the judge of the universe who created you. So have you ever told a lie? Yeah, so everything I'm about to ask you I'm guilty of two Have you ever stolen anything even if it's small? Okay. I have as well Have you ever had an inappropriate sexual thought about a woman Okay, that's Jesus refers to that as adultery Have you ever hated another human being even if you didn't act upon it, but just thought in your mind I think I hate that person Not anymore, but I used to. You used to, okay, all right. So time doesn't forgive sin. Time doesn't forgive sin. If I were to, I assume you drove up in a car. If I were to run over and steal your car, and I got away with it for 20 years, and then one day there's a knock on my door and it's Davenport PD saying, hey, Tony, we've just discovered some new evidence. We know you're the one who stole Jimmy's car. If I were to say, well, that happened 20 years ago, I'm no longer guilty, would that be true? I'm still guilty of stealing your car. Right? So time doesn't forgive sin. So it doesn't matter that you hated someone before, that sin is still counted against you. So now everything you admitted to, I'm guilty of as well. Okay. But by your own admission, You're a lying, thieving adulterer and murderer at heart. Sorry for that. That's okay, no. No, I understand. That's a common reaction. But does that sound like a good person? Look, if... If you're too young, my daughter's much older than you are, but if my daughter brought you home and said, hey, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Jimmy. He's a lying, thieving adulterer and a murderer at heart. What do you think, Dad? I think Jimmy needs to go. Jimmy ain't coming in my house, right? Seriously, though, does that sound like a good person? Someone who lies and steals and, okay. Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Used God's name in an inappropriate way? G-D-O-M-G. Yeah, right. That's blasphemy. And that's the standard by which you're going to be judged. The same as the rest of us. Right? But I actually have good news for you, Jimmy. Because, do you think God would find you innocent or guilty of breaking his law? Do you think he'd find you innocent or guilty? Based on his standard. We just went over just a few portions of it. Do you think he'd find you innocent or guilty of breaking his law? It's not difficult. Might be hard to admit, but I think you know the answer. Yeah, he'd find you guilty, right? Alright, so if he finds you guilty, heaven or hell? Not what you want, but what a thrice holy God should do with guilty sinners who break his law, heaven or hell? Probably hell. Yeah, and everyone says probably, when they know in their heart, it's definitely. Does that concern you at all? Honestly, it doesn't really concern me. Yeah, and that's your greatest problem. That really is your greatest problem. Because what you've done, Jimmy, is You've created a God in your imagination and his name is Jimmy. You're going around comparing other religions, you're picking out what you like and creating for yourself a fantasy of who God is and his name is Jimmy. You're going to be the one who judges the book that I gave you. You're going to be the one who's going to judge whether or not you ought to be concerned about standing before the God who created you. And that is the oldest sin in the book. It really is. Do you know why Lucifer, whose name was changed to Satan, do you know why Lucifer was cast out of heaven? He was once an angel. Yeah, he was going like... Do you know why he was cast out of heaven? Yeah. Why? Why was he cast out of heaven? He was... He went against... I have it in my mind, but I just can't work it out. Oh, that's right. Let me help you. He declared that he wanted to be like the Most High God. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's what Jimmy's doing. Oh, yeah. That's kind of right. That's what Jimmy's doing. Shit. And that's why you should be concerned. You should certainly be more concerned for your soul than I am. And I'm concerned. That's why I'm out here. Shit. There's a remedy. There's a remedy for this, Jimmy. I have good news for you. But I don't want it to fall on deaf ears. Because God's made a way for you to be reconciled. What's funny? I'm not offended, but what's funny? I think I am very like-minded with Lucifer. Well, God can change that mind, which is a condition of the heart. God can change that, Jimmy. Why are you laughing? Is it just a nervous laughter? Or what is it? I don't even know. And again, I'm not offended. I'm not offended because you're laughing. I'm not. I'm concerned. I'm concerned for you that you would find humor... I shouldn't be laughing, but... Maybe it's a nervous laughter. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah, it could possibly be. Do you have any idea what God did so that you may not have to spend eternity in hell as the just punishment for your sins against God. Do you have any idea what he did? Do you have any idea? I think it was a good talk. I think I should go. Why? And Jimmy, that's the most tragic thing of all. Because I'm about to offer you a way out of your eternal predicament. You find humor in seeing a likeness of yourself in Satan. And when I'm about to tell you about how your sins can be forgiven, you don't want it. You want to walk away. My own interpretations, I believe, say in it are two different entities. Yeah, it doesn't matter what you believe. What matters is whether or not what you believe is true. And it's not true simply because you believe it. Truth isn't determined by what you believe. Truth is that which comports to reality as perceived and revealed by the mind and the word of God. So you... No, I am getting deja vu. Why is that? I literally... remember this. Well, you and I have never talked before. Yeah. I don't think so. I don't recall meeting you. I mean, I've... I meet hundreds, if not thousands of people, but I don't recall a conversation like this. But Jimmy, why wouldn't you want... Why wouldn't you want to have your sins forgiven? Why would you be content walking away knowing you're bound for hell? Why would you be content with that? Why would you want that? I mean, I certainly don't want it for you. I can't change your mind. I can't change your heart. But I know the God who can. He changed my daughter's heart and mine. He changed my heart and mind. Because like you, in some ways, I created a God in my imagination to suit myself. A God who would just ignore my sin, and so long as what I thought was my good outweighed my bad, He would let me into heaven someday. And that left me to live however I wanted to live. And it was all a lie, until someone loved me enough to bring me the truth, to speak the truth to me in love. And that's what I'm trying to do with you, because I love you as my neighbor. I may or may not ever see you again, but I love you as my neighbor. The two greatest commandments, Jesus said, are to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. And the greatest way I can show love for you, Jimmy, is to point you to the one who can forgive your sin. And that makes you laugh. Why does that make you laugh? It's good laughing, is it not? I'm not laughing at you. And again, I'm not offended. I'm concerned for you. I'm not offended by your laughter. If someone were to come up here and point a gun at us, do you think the appropriate response is to laugh about it? Or if I were your doctor and I said, you have end stage cancer and there's nothing I could do for you, would the appropriate response be to just laugh about it? Or if someone who cares about you says, Jimmy, the wrath of God abides upon you. because you've sinned against your creator, and if you die in that state, in that condition, and he finds you guilty of breaking his law, he's going to send you to hell for all eternity, the appropriate response is not laughter. I'm trying to hold it in, but I literally can't hold it in. Can you even explain why you're laughing? Okay, yeah, let me try to explain it. I think it stems from childhood, when I get a joy of pissing people off. Oh, but you're not doing that here. Yeah, I'm not doing that here. Yeah, I'm not angry with you at all. Not in the least. I will say that I am a diagnosed schizophrenic. Okay. So something, maybe something to do with that, like chemically or something. Yeah. Are you taking medication for that? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Do you want to know how your sins can be forgiven? Or do you really not care? I, personally, I don't really care. Okay. I don't really believe in the concept of sin. Yeah, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you believe I believe it you did good deeds. Yeah, that's not true. No, there's no promise of that Because because because well you might have heard that somewhere yeah in something called karma But the reality Jimmy is is that according to God's standard you're not good According to God's standard I'm not good because I've sinned against him, just like you. Look, Jimmy, if you were to go across the street and rob the Shell station, and the police arrest you, and you say, hey, I don't believe in, I don't believe in robbery. I don't believe what I did is robbery. Oh, okay, yeah, we'll just let you go. Jimmy doesn't believe he robbed anybody. I guess we're obligated to let him go, because that's, Jimmy doesn't believe in robbery. They're gonna let you go? They're not gonna let you go because you don't believe in robbery. because you don't believe you did anything wrong. They're not gonna let you go. So again, it doesn't matter what you believe about sin, what matters is whether or not what you believe is true. And that's the truth. Word of God says, God bless you, have a good day. Word of God says, God is true, though every man is found to be a liar. I'll ask, what are you thinking? About the shooting yesterday. What, the school shooting? Where was that? Georgia. Was there any loss of life? Four dead, 30 injured. 30 injured? Four dead. All students? I believe so. And what makes you think about that at this moment? obviously a tragic event, but what makes you think about that at this moment? I'm thinking, did my actions possibly somehow manage to... To what? Affect that shooting? No, no. No, you're nowhere near Georgia, Jimmy. OK. You have no idea who the person was who did it. Yeah. No, you're going to be responsible for your own sin, Jimmy, not anybody else's. OK. When you die and stand before God, you will give an account for your sins, not for some person who shot up a school in Georgia. You're not going to give an account for my sins or anyone else's. I do believe that God has saved my life countless times. And it's like I'm taking it for granted or something. Well, if that's true, if it is true that God has saved you countless times and maybe there, look, I'm sure he's saved me a number of times, probably times I don't even know he did it. Right. But if that's true, then yeah, that's exactly what you're doing, Jimmy. You're taking it all for granted. You're presuming upon the goodness and kindness of God, and you're giving Him the finger. Okay, I think I know why you're laughing. The way you, like, word things is so funny. Because even though God has shown, God has shown every one of us common grace and kindness. The Bible says He allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike. He gives you breath, yet you don't give Him glory. And that's why He created you. That's why He created every human being, was to bring Him glory, to give Him glory, and to enjoy Him forever. And you're saying, no, I won't. And that's OK. I think I'm laughing because like. Saying like I won't, but I know that. You know what, Jimmy? Maybe, maybe not maybe, but laughing because your energy is like really good energy. In the end, that means nothing. Yeah, it means nothing. Right. Because if you die today, Jimmy, you're going to face the wrath of God for your sins against him. So whether or not you perceive some good energy from me, whether that's true or not, in the end, that means nothing. Jesus said, what is a profit a man if he gains the whole world, but yet forfeits its soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul? Your soul hangs in the balance. Karma is not going to help you. Some imaginary figure named Buddha is not going to help you. The millions of false gods of Hinduism aren't going to help you. And you're not going to help yourself. Only Jesus Christ can save you. Only Jesus Christ can forgive your sin. God the Father sent his Son to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, truly God, truly man, and without sin. He lived a life of perfection for some 33 years that you have already failed to live today. Yet even though he knew no sin, and even though God the Father gave all authority to judge to God the Son, he voluntarily submitted himself to the torturous bloody death of a Roman cross. He died a death he did not deserve, Jimmy, to take upon himself the punishment you and I and all of us rightly deserve for our sins against God. And then he forever defeated sin and death when he rose from the grave. Jesus Christ is Lord. And one day, Jimmy, you're going to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. Because the Word of God says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess on earth and in heaven and under the earth that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You will either do that in this life, receiving grace and mercy and forgiveness from God through faith in Jesus Christ, or you will declare Him Lord as you are separated from God for all eternity in a literal place called hell where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth and where the fire is never quenched as the just punishment for your sins against God. Now, obviously, I don't want the latter for you. I don't want hell for you. I have no authority to change that. I want God's grace and mercy for you. God bless you both. God bless you both. Have a great day. Thank you. I want God's grace, mercy and forgiveness for you, Jimmy. But you must come to God on his terms, not yours, because God doesn't negotiate with sinners. And right now, you are of your father, the devil. Because you reject the Christ. Because you reject Jesus Christ as Lord. Turn to Christ and live while God's giving you time, Jimmy. You're not God. And neither are these imaginary beings that you've created in your head. or that other religions have created that tantalize you and interest you. There's only one God. You know, I really appreciate the talk. Do you, like, want any money? Of course not. How can I support you? I don't need your... I'm not being rude, but my church sends me out to do this work. So, I'm not here because I want your money. I don't want anything from you I want God's very best for you. And that will only come through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Christ is your only hope in this life and in the life to come. Christ is your only hope. I put a bookmark in here. If you're unfamiliar with the Bible, the Gospel of John is a really good place to start. I would encourage you to read it. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. That's the fourth of the four Gospels. Yeah. All right. Good to meet you, Jimmy. God bless you. We'll be praying for you. Have a good day.
A Demoniac or Just a Troubled Young Man?
Series Black Hawk College
A Young man stopped for a Bible while Tony ministered on the corner of Harrison and Locust, in Davenport, Iowa.
At different times during the conversation, the young man would start to laugh. It was difficult to discern if the young man was simply troubled, nervous, or if there was something more nefarious going on.
Was he simply a troubled young man affected by the use of psychotropic medication or could he have been influenced or possessed by a demon?
Sermon ID | 96242048303729 |
Duration | 36:46 |
Date | |
Category | Special Meeting |
Bible Text | Matthew 28:18-20 |
Language | English |
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