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[0:00] Amen. Well, good to be saved. Good to be a church. Anything else come to mind? Amen. Thank you. Oh, I got this on already. I want to turn to Hebrews chapter 11.

[0:20] Now, what if I told you this morning, and I'm gonna, what if I told you this morning that you had, that you could do something that God can't do? Now, when I say that, the first thing you think is sin. I can sin. God can't sin. Well, yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about.

[0:40] What if I told you that you had an ability to do something that God doesn't have the ability to do? Now you go, well, that can't be true. Yeah, actually, yeah, actually, we all have an ability to do something that God himself cannot do. I told you to turn to Hebrews chapter 11.

[0:59] And while you turn in there, some of you are old enough, you'll remember this. When I was a kid, they had a movie called The Invisible Man. And this guy, he could be standing in a room, you wouldn't see him. He was invisible. And that was a science fiction movie, like a lot of evolution stuff. But I am here to tell you this morning that such a man or woman, but such a man as Invisible Man does indeed exist. And that you can see him, and God cannot. You know, you all look like, can't you get on a plane now? Okay? Look what it says, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 27, talking about Moses. It said, by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Father, I ask you to be in this service, Lord. I ask you to speak to the hearts of the people. Get Sam Gipp out of their way, out of your way. Speak their hearts, God. I know the message is here, but it's up to you to deliver it, because if it's just me, this is just a hollow gathering if you don't come. So you're the most important invited guest. You're the one that we want you to be in this building at all times. Be in this service, God. Claim this time as your own.

[2:19] In Jesus Christ's name I pray. Amen. Now, let me explain something. I like writing. I like research. I'm kind of addicted to it. It sometimes gets me caught up in a project that ends up being years when I thought it would be weeks, but I enjoyed that. And I study. That's not a boast. I research.

[2:44] There's some guys, you know, I always say it this way. I'm sorry, the young generation. But for some of you guys, if it's not on Wikipedia, you're never going to know it. You think that punching a button on the computer is Bible study. No, that's called punching a button on a computer. And the electronic age has hurt our churches in two different ways. It's hurt our ladies in one way. It's hurt our men in another. The way it's hurt our ladies is sound equipment, cheap sound equipment and soundtracks have made a bunch of women who cannot sing think that they can.

[3:24] I have heard these women. Okay. I mean, it sounds like somebody hit a cat, but you know, she gets up here and I was in this church. I can't believe it. You won't believe it. This lady got up to sing.

[3:36] She was 83 years old. She had her black denim jeans on her black sequined jacket, put a boom box. And she started saying, I'm available. And I told Kathy, I said, I think she is. But, um, you know, that's what happens because she doesn't hear what she hears. She hears the person she's trying to pretend, pretend she is. The electronic age has hurt our men in a different way. Computer Bible programs have made a bunch of men who are not students of the Bible think that they are.

[4:08] And what happens is you think that Bible study is type a word into my computer, tell it to search, and then you go out and mow the grass and come in two hours later and your printer has thrown up on your desk, uh, like 50 pages or a hundred pages. And you go, wow, I studied the Bible. No, you mowed the grass, which is really a good thing to do. Um, I was in a church one time and this guy, he came up to me and he, he fast fancy himself as a, as an intellectual. And he comes up eight and half by 11, half an inch thick and walks up to me and goes like this. Here you go, brother.

[4:41] I said, what is this? That's the word forever. Every time it appears in the Bible. And how could he have known that I woke up that very morning wringing my hands, wondering how many times the word forever appeared in the Bible? The upside of this was they had to kill trees to make the paper.

[4:59] So that was, you know, that was the joy side of it. Uh, I threw it away, uh, because I don't do that. And I study, I don't, I don't do that. Uh, I'll tell you what happened. The understandable history was my first book came out in 1987. The second book was the blue answer book that came out in 1989.

[5:17] Uh, and in, I think about 1990, uh, some guy in Finland refuted me. Now I like to be refuted mainly because if I've got 20 verses that prove something, when I get refuted, I go find five more. I like to always keep fresh. I always am looking for something else. And so this guy, uh, he writes to, uh, to a missionary cause they never will contact me. The, the academics won't contact me because then I'll show where they're wrong and I will mention their name. So they always go through a marionette. Uh, and, and here's what this guy said. Now I was in the, in the blue answer book, we talk about the two sources of manuscripts, Antioch and Alexandria. Uh, and guys, there's a rule of Bible interpretation that, that King James Bible believers did not fabricate. It has been around for a long time and it's called the law of first mention. First time something is mentioned in the Bible pretty much sets the stage on how God looks at it. And, and I, and so I showed the, the, the first mention of Egypt, which is negative. And the first mention of Alexandria, which is in Egypt, which is negative. And then I showed the first mention of Antioch, which is positive.

[6:25] Well, this guy writes this, this missionary, he said, Dr. Gipp didn't give you the first mention of Syria where Antioch is because he knew it was negative. Well, actually it wasn't that sinister. I just never thought of it. And then he gave the first reference to Antioch, uh, to Syria. Um, go back to Josh, uh, Judges chapter 10, Judges chapter 10.

[7:05] And look at verse six. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, uh, and serve Balaam and Ashtaroth and the gods of Syria and the gods of Zidon, the God of gods of Moab, uh, and the gods of the children of Ammon and the gods of the Philistines and forsook the Lord and serve not him. Well, I'd say that's kind of negative. Okay. But see, I think you ought to read your Bible. I think you ought to know your Bible, but I think you ought to be familiar with your Bible. So what do you mean? Uh, there's a story told this young man wanted to learn about Jade, Jade. And there was a man who was famous for being a, a, a, uh, an expert on Jade. And so he knocks this guy's door and he says, I understand, you know, you're like the, like the authority on Jade. I'd like to learn about Jade. He said, okay. He's come back tomorrow morning, eight o'clock. So he shows up to the guy's house, eight o'clock in the morning. And he gives him a little piece of Jade. He says, I'll put this in your hand and come with me. And he showed him his house. That's all he did. He told about how it was built and all this stuff, you know, and never mentioned Jade. When he's done, he says, give me the, give me the Jade. You go home, come back tomorrow morning, eight o'clock. So he comes back in the morning at eight o'clock, gives him a piece of Jade and he takes him out and shows him his property. Tells him how many acres there are, what the boundaries are and everything. And, and when he gets done, doesn't say a thing about Jade.

[8:34] Jade. And when he gets done, he's okay. Give me the Jade and, and come back tomorrow morning, eight o'clock. And he does this for like three months. I mean, he's telling about his family history. This guy is talking about everything but Jade. Never mentions Jade in, in, in all that time. And one morning he said, yep, come back tomorrow morning, eight o'clock. And he comes back the next day and the guy puts it on his hand and the guy goes, this is not Jade. All the time he was holding that Jade. He was learning something. And he, he got so familiar with the feel of Jade that when the guy gave him a rock that wasn't Jade without ever being told, he knew it wasn't Jade. He was familiar with it. My wife, she's not a big shopper and sometimes we're together and, and she goes to, we go to the mall and she shops and I'm the old guy that sits out there in those benches out there. And I read my, I'm reading my Bible on my phone and I'll be sitting there and I'll hear a woman coming click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click. I don't even look up. And then I'll be reading and I hear another one click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click. And I don't look up. And then I'll hear a woman coming and

[9:43] I hear click, click, click, click, click, click, click. And I look up to greet my wife. we have been together so long I'm familiar with her I think you should be familiar with your Bible and when this guy showed this and this back in 1990 this the gods of Syria here's what I thought I don't think that's the first time Syria's mentioned a Bible I can't put my finger on it but I don't think this is the first time now today you know you have a computer Bible program and you punch in a word but there's no computers if there were there weren't very many of them and there were certainly no Bible programs in 1990 but does anybody remember the little maroon plastic Franklin it was like a it was electronic concordance had a little keyboard and you'd type in a word and it would find the word and when I looked at this Syria you know I thought I don't think this guy's a student I think this guy punched Syria into a Franklin and Franklin took him to that now here's what the Franklin would do

[10:48] I don't know if Bible programs I don't think Bible programs do it but if you typed in Syria these five letters it would bring you to that verse but if you typed in Syria and put an asterisk after the A it would take you to Syria Syrian and Syrians and so I've got before I show you next I want to ask you a deep Bible question see if you guys can handle this in your Bible does Genesis come before judges Rich just found out he just found that out anyway take a look at Genesis chapter well let's go to Genesis chapter 12 we looked at that a little bit this morning and get Genesis chapter 12 and Genesis chapter 24 and in Genesis chapter 12 in a Sunday school we looked at these three verses first three verses but look at the first one it says this now the Lord had said unto Abram get thee out of what's the next two words thy country okay we are not told what the country is he just said get out of your country he doesn't say get out of the country of he just said get out of your country so this his country is not identified by name here now look at

[12:07] Genesis chapter 24 and let me talk to you a little bit about typology typology is nice but we find typology by knowing the truth we don't establish a truth with typology the Bible has ample ample scriptural evidence of what we call the Trinity there are people who say I don't believe in the Trinity the word's not even the Bible okay call it the Godhead but there's the Father the Son the Holy Ghost that is God and and and that in now we believe that without Genesis chapter 24 but in Genesis chapter 24 you have one of the greatest types of the of the Trinity you have Abraham who represents God the Father he has a son Isaac represents Jesus Christ he has Eliezer his servant who represents the Holy Spirit and the Father sends sends the Holy Spirit to to to get a Gentile bride for his son you know who a Gentile bride is?

[13:04] you look what he tells him he says I gotta find it here my it's a new version I'm using ah here it is verse 4 but thou shalt but thou shalt go unto what's the next two words?

[13:25] okay or isn't the my country of this verse the thy country of chapter 12 but we still don't know what it is we just know it's Abraham's country so if we're gonna find out what Abraham's country is we're gonna find out where Eliezer went correct?

[13:39] alright look at chapter 25 and look what it says in in chapter 25 and look at verse 20 and Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah to wife the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan Aram the sister to Laban the Syrian that is the first time those five letters Syria appears in your Bible that is and guys you can't pretend that's negative that is obviously positive so I don't study my Bible that way I I do research and if you do if you if you study your Bible that way you're gonna have some problems now before I continue I have to give you guys a little warning about this message that's the only message I have like this and this is what this message is like what if I told you this I'm gonna take you to a really nice place

[14:41] I got a really nice place I'm gonna take you we gotta go by plane you get on the plane all the windows are taped off you can't see out and I say now I can't tell you where we're going but trust me you're gonna like it when we get there and so during this flight you're going up you're going down you're making lefts and rights and at some point you're sitting on that plane you know what you're gonna start thinking where is he going with this plane okay you're gonna have that thought about this message I hope you can trust me I am going to take you to a nice place but the trip there is this message and somewhere halfway through this message you're gonna go where is he land the plane and so that's why I'm just letting you know now the reason I'm critical of that punch a word in isn't the name of your Savior Jesus okay if you want to do a study

[15:42] I'm gonna do a I'm gonna do a thorough study on my Savior go to your go to your Bible program and type in Jesus and your Bible program will run the references and come up with 983 mentions of the name Jesus now that's not your Savior you have to you have to take two of those away one of those is a guy named Justice who they called him Jesus but they called him Justice instead and and the other one is I think it's in Hebrews chapter 4 where it refers to Joshua in the Old Testament he's called Jesus so so those 983 references 981 of them refer to our Savior yeah man I got the study no because you're gonna miss every reference in the Bible that has Jesus in it every verse but doesn't have his name you'll miss every every verse where he's called Christ aren't there times when he's called Christ but not Jesus you're gonna miss you're gonna miss every verse where he was called Lord you're gonna miss where he's called

[16:44] Master where he's called Messiah Son of Man Son of God Son of Mary the Prophet Rabbi Son Lamb or God so by punching in Jesus you say I'm gonna do a thorough study no no it's gonna be like all them other verses aren't even a Bible all you're gonna find is the one you're looking for here's what I mean I'd say this but the Pentecostal scares to death charismatics they scare us to death and it's because of what they say and they say something that's biblical when they talk about about about the Holy Spirit they say the Holy Ghost well they've talked about the Holy Ghost so much that we're afraid to call it the Holy Ghost so we say I say the Holy Spirit okay I'll give you a little challenge go home after service type Holy Spirit into your Bible program let me tell you what's gonna happen you're gonna come up with only six times in your Bible does holy come before spirit they are not they are not six references to the Holy Spirit most of them are holy is an adjective where it'll say something like

[17:52] God's Holy Spirit like like the guy's red car there's only one time in your Bible where Holy Spirit references to the third of the Trinity so if you're gonna do a study on Holy Spirit you're gonna get one verse on the Holy Spirit you are gonna miss 90 references where he's called the Holy Ghost you're gonna miss four where he's called the Comforter so you understand by punching in Holy Spirit you're really not gonna see everything on the subject yeah nice plane ride isn't it anyway somebody asked me last night who my favorite who my favorite character in the Bible was and I said Peter now I personally think the Apostle Paul was the greatest Christian that ever lived I just think that but my guy's Peter and I describe Peter like this Peter only opened his mouth to change feet Peter you know it's kind of funny we talk about the old days of computers you know like the first computer

[19:02] I had didn't even have a hard drive it didn't have a hard drive it had a crank on the side and then I got one you know that had the biggest hard drive you could get so I didn't have to buy another one 20 megabytes this watch has more than 20 megabytes so so that's the old days I'm sorry that's the old days of computers and and if you have a computer you probably all do and you work with your files and your computer like right over here you have a a four drawer file cabinet and you have files in it but you can't work on them in there so when you open a file the cabinet is like your computer and you pull that drawer open and you take a file out of that and you take it to your desk and you open it up well that desk where you work on your file that's called random access memory RAM RAM is where you're working on a file

[20:03] I describe Peter like this he had very small RAM like like he could only have one idea at the time and the only way to get a second idea is to get the first one out of RAM and it usually came out of his mouth and sometimes it was good and sometimes it was like put your foot back in okay I'll give you an example the Bible tells us that if everything Jesus Christ did was written down the world couldn't contain the books so isn't there a lot about the time when Jesus walked this earth with his apostles that we don't know anything about okay aren't there times when Jesus Christ was alone and the twelve were he was not with the twelve you think these guys didn't talk about him you think they didn't say you think he's him what do you mean you think our you think our master you think he's the messiah yeah I think he is I think they talked about that so in

[21:03] Matthew chapter 16 now they didn't talk about it out loud okay they didn't talk about it out in public and in Matthew 16 the Lord walks in and says hey guys who do they say that I am oh well some say Elijah some say Jeremiah some say one of the prophets who do you guys say that I am and eleven of them went not Peter he had one thought and he said thou art the Christ the son of the living God wasn't that good but there's a problem Ram is now empty and Peter can have a second thought and not ten verses later the Lord says they're going to kill me and Peter says he took him and rebuked him and said I'm not going to let him do that and what did he have to say get thee behind me Satan so if you're going to do a study on Peter now one thing about Peter there's nobody else named Peter in the Bible so if you do a study on Peter you type go home do it type in Peter and your Bible program will kick!

[22:01] back 156 times the name Peter appears in the Bible and you will miss every reference where he's called Simon now of the times he's called Simon I think there's 71 of them you got to remove Simon the leper Simon the Pharisee Simon the sorcerer in Acts chapter 8 but what I'm saying is that if you're looking for Peter your computer will never see Simon it'll never see where he's called Cephas it'll never see where he's called that apostle or the other apostle do you understand so you need to find out all of I told you I thought the apostle Paul was the greatest Christian ever lived and if you want to do a study on Paul now again there's nobody else in the Bible named Paul if you want to do a study on Paul go home today turn on your computer and type in Paul and your Bible program will not kick out 156 mentions like

[23:04] Peter it'll kick out 158 times that the apostle is mentioned by Paul I want you to go to Acts chapter 7 in Acts chapter 7 you know guys when we preach we give an invitation we hope you come forward at the end of the preaching in Acts chapter 7 Stephen preached and they all came forward and killed him so if that thought passes through your mind stay where you are at the end of service and look what it says in verse 54 when they heard these things they were cut to the heart and they nashed on him with their teeth but he being full of the Holy Ghost he wouldn't afraid to say it looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God then they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord and cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was

[24:21] Saul I have a question this guy Saul isn't that the same guy we call Paul yeah I mean he's not saved but this is the same guy correct and if you type Paul into your computer it's not going to take you to that verse look at chapter 8 chapter 8 verse 1 and Saul same guy right same guy that we know as Paul wrote 14 books in New Testament and Saul was consenting unto his death and at that time there was great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles that Saul of that verse is the same guy that we're referring to every time we say Paul but you type in Paul into your computer Bible program it will not take you to chapter 7 it will not take you to chapter 8 verse 1 it will not take you to guys we already established this guy

[25:41] Saul in that verse is the guy that we all talk about by the name of Paul right look at chapter 9 this guy it didn't say he caused trouble it said he wreaked havoc in the churches this guy is tearing up the services and he's done such a job he's still not satisfied he goes I'm going to go to Damascus I'm going to do the same thing up there so look at Acts chapter 9 verse 1 and Saul yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord went into the high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues that if he found any of this way whether they were men or women he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem okay if you go home you type in Paul in your Bible program you're not going to see Acts chapter 7 where they laid the coats at his feet you're not going to see Acts chapter 8 verse 1 you're not going to see Acts chapter 8 verse 3 you're not going to find that verse right there correct it's almost like they don't exist it's almost like they're invisible if they're invisible to your computer because you told your computer look for

[26:55] Paul you never told it to look for Saul you told your computer look for Peter you never said Simon or Cephas this is the same guy Paul what's the major difference you're not saved right guys that's invisible man that's invisible woman say who you before you got saved now I asked this maybe last night or Friday you know how many got saved young and I told you if you got if you got saved young in your life you have the best testimony in this room but I say it this way some of us got found in a ditch and and we're kind of a mess let me tell you what happened when I was 14 years old I stole my first car when I was 14 years old I was arrested my first time when I was 14 years old I spent my first night in jail when

[27:55] I was 14 years old this is sidebar about three months ago we came to evening service and our church is about 1,100 people so it's a big I'm sorry it's a big area and we pulled on the property and there's like a half a dozen cop cars with their lights on and as I turned to go to the parking lot I told my wife I said man last time I saw this many cop cars in one place I didn't sleep in my own bed and I guess they were chasing some suspect and he went out across our property but when I was 16 years old that's 1966 when I was 16 years old four friends of mine and I went to a local mercury dealer car lot we hired two brand new 1966 Comet Cyclone GT 390 335 horsepower four speeds we took them out and flogged them I mean literally we beat them to death we left them smoking alongside the road and you know

[28:59] I tell young people you know most people don't get caught committing crimes you gotta be pretty stupid to get caught committing a crime most people do the crime and then about two weeks later the cops pull up and arrest them because they did a little bit of investigative work and it was about two weeks later black and white unit pulled up from my house and I was arrested and I was charged with two cases of grand theft auto and on August 23rd 1966 I was sentenced to six months in the notorious Mansfield Ohio reformatory anybody here been to Mansfield Ohio okay but some of you have seen the Mansfield reformatory no no we've never been to Ohio no but let's find out let's find out has anybody ever seen a movie entitled the Shawshank Redemption the opening scene that ominous prison there is no Shawshank prison that is the Mansfield reformatory and another story but it ended up being instead of having to go to

[30:05] Mansfield I got two years probation but I was arrested for auto theft in 1966 on June 14th 1970 almost four years later I came forward to church it was just like this one except 5,000 people invitation was given I came forward I got down on my knees and I trusted the Lord as my personal savior 10 weeks later on of all things August 23rd 1970 exactly four years to the date that I was sentenced to Mansfield for auto theft I pulled in Pensacola Florida to go to Bible College now I've been preaching since I got saved I was preaching before I went off to Bible College here's what happened they would have a class of 16 year olds that would in this big church and the guy who was running the class said I'd like you to come to our class and give your testimony now you understand I was the lost Roman Catholic I didn't know what testimony was the only thing I knew about a testimony was I put one hand up put another

[31:06] Bible swear to tell truth whole truth nothing but truth I ain't telling! these people nothing so I just got up and preached I didn't know what a testimony was now what would happen if you could go to God today and say you let get preached yeah I didn't preach or didn't hear what he did oh no what did he do stole two brand new cars right off the lot when did he do that well how could he do that four years before he was born right in fact don't we have a new name written in glory you know like Saul and there's only one letter difference but you look for Paul you'll never see Saul isn't that true and maybe that's why we got a name because we did such a bad job on the first one now

[32:07] I got to tell you this this is my personal fear you don't have to worry about this I have to worry about this I have a small fear about the judgment seat of Christ it's not what I'm going to answer for that's not what it is at all I have this mental picture of the judgment seat and you know how you stand in line waiting and he's got the guy right in front of me up there I'm the next guy up and the guy you know like I say exit stage left and he calls my name to come up and be judged I have this horrible fear and he's going to say!

[32:38] Samuel Jip Jip Jip No no it was Jip I got called that all my life I thought you knew everything guys do you know how many times I've been called Jip I've been called Gibbs I've been called all kinds of things in fact this really happened Kathy and I were married four years and we were supporting this mission missionary work and they would send the letters back to Sam Crip C-R-I-P-P and I'm so used to it it didn't bother me at all but my wife she said well I'm going to write him and tell him your name is Gip not Crip I said I go for it she's a nice lady she wrote a nice letter and she said

[33:40] I just wanted to let you know my husband's name is Gip G-I-P-P not C-R-I and I got a letter back a letter of apology and there was Gip four times boom boom boom boom but it was you know how you have a computer generated letter and you leave the name blank and you type the name we are so sorry that we misspelled your name Mr.

[34:11] Damn Gip I mean four times I told Kathy I said I've been called that before never by Christian organization but guys you know what God can't do doesn't it say look let me tell you what happened the day I got saved I came forward well let me I gotta go back a little bit before I was saved no one ever witnessed to me it was after I got saved that I found out that I was even drinking with Christians but nobody ever witnessed me and they didn't witness to me for one of two reasons they're afraid that I wouldn't get saved or they're afraid that I would but somebody did witness to me and do you know who it was do you know the first person to ever witness to me about my soul was me I am the first person that ever witnessed to me which also means I'm the first person I ever witnessed to which really makes my head hurt but here's what happened I'm sitting in a bar one night all my friends are gone there's a fight or a party somewhere nobody here none of my guys there and here's what I said to myself

[35:17] Sam you're going to die one of these days where are you going to go does that not sound like a witness well I didn't know any Bible I said well what are you going to do to get to heaven keep ten commandments oh I don't think I know those okay I was very liberal keep the golden rule guys I don't know how to tell you this I was a crook but I was honest who knows I could have ended up in Congress and it took me five seconds to realize nobody can keep the ten commandments nobody can keep the golden rule I am going to hell no I was a Roman Catholic did you believe in purgatory yes I did did you believe you were going there nope I did not you know what the first one was you see the day outside

[36:18] I called these blue sky days you guys got a lot of we got a lot of in Idaho and here's why when I see a blue sky day like this I would take a mental picture of it because I thought when I go to hell the only thing I can take with me is my memory and maybe when I'm in hell I will be I quit taking God's name in vain no I didn't quit stealing I didn't quit fighting I didn't quit getting drunk I didn't quit cussing but here's what I told God you made a way for me to get to heaven the Ten Commandments it is not your fault that I'm going to hell I'm the one that broke them so in appreciation I'm not going to take your name in vain anymore and I didn't well just before I got saved like three days before I got saved I graduated from a school two year course on computer programming I graduated a computer programmer and the school was in a city about 35 40 miles away so

[37:26] I know I'm going to graduate on Friday night and then I'm going to go out with all the guys and get drunk and then I'm in that city home now in town my car knew the way home when I was drunk but this and so I was afraid that I might not be able to find my way home drunk so I but I knew was gone there was nothing I could do about it so if you talk to me about hell I think well that's nice but I'm going so we're coming back and this Christian starts telling me not about hell but about the tribulation I never heard such a thing they're telling me about the water turning to blood!

[38:25] 50 pound blocks of ice hailstones falling out of the sky the earth opening up and these things coming up with a tail like a scorpion and a face like Hillary terrifying now when I quit taking God's name in vain I didn't do it to get points with God but I'm going to tell you something guys you know this is true every one of us if we do anything we think is good somewhere along the line we try your house burnt down of course most of your state already burnt down but but if you find out that your house burnt down when you were in church would you go well I was in church see what I'm saying so here I am and I mean literally the earth has opened up right beside me in this little Volkswagen and I'm about to take the mark just so I get out of know how long it was and

[39:30] I said I'm not saying if there was a free way to heaven I am not saying that you would save me but I think you would at least let me know about it so I could make a yes or no decision do you remember the first time you thought God talked to you that was the first time I ever thought God talked!

[39:52] to me and here's how he addressed me and here's how he got my attention I'm driving down the interstate and God reached in and smacked me across the head and said hey stupid now if you are ever praying and you hear those two words please hang up this is a private conversation I have no problem being stupid but here's what God said hey stupid what do you think sitting right to heaven that is when I realized this on a Monday morning that was when I realized I could be saved now you might say why didn't pull off and get saved I didn't know I could do that I thought I had to be in church this Sunday so I told the Lord I am going to get saved this Sunday but I got a bunch of bad things in my life and this is

[40:53] Monday and I thought I am going to call the youth director at this church and I am going to find out what I got to do because I got from Monday to Saturday to get all this stuff out of my life so I can get saved Sunday I called him he wasn't home Monday he wasn't home Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday he wasn't home Saturday I never got being in church before they got saved but some people say oh man they gave the invitation and I was hanging on to the pew not me the Holy Spirit I don't know how many times I I go to church two or three months invitation given the Holy Spirit if he was in that room he never talked to me he never tapped me on the shoulder never touched me in the heart I so he gets me under conviction and what it felt like for me is it felt like

[41:58] God had a thumb this wide this long and he had it right on top of my head and he shoved me right through the concrete floor of that room now I have to confess since I've been saved this is entirely too small but I said this to God I wasn't putting him off I said you don't next Sunday I said the youth director is right there as soon as this service is over I'm going to go down there I'm going to make an appointment to meet him tomorrow he's going to tell me how to get this stuff out of my life I'm getting saved next Sunday all I can tell you guys is the Holy Spirit made it very plain to me I was not going to be next Sunday I want to get this stuff out of my life and then get saved next Sunday and God just tells me I'm not going to be there next Sunday I got so mad that

[42:59] I said this if I'm not going to be here next Sunday get saved I'm going to go today just as I am they ought to make a song out of that so I come forward I in a family of two kids my parents almost adopted me out of the family and so brother I never showed up anywhere that somebody was glad to see me when I came forward I wasn't weeping or running or I was grinning because I found somebody who loved me so I come down here I get on my knees and the youth gets down beside me now I came forward to get don't you know if I go into if I go into buy a car and I go look I'm going to give the cash here it is don't sell it to me don't tell me no no no this is a done deal well this guy decides to do a

[44:05] Bible study now I knows what he knows what he does this before I give you know then he says this do you believe if you asked Jesus Christ save you right now he would save you don't you think that's a stupid question to ask a guy at the altar at the invitation at the end of a service I I said because you just told me and he said no and I thought you want to fight this guy wants to fight

[45:05] I have no idea why he decided to pick a fight with me but I thought you and I are going to fight and then when we're done I'm going to get saved I just really want to believe but I'm so mad I said then why and this guy took his Bible big old white margin just like that stuck it in my face and said because that book says so and I'm staring at a Bible right in front of my face seconds from trusting Christ and I thought does that book have that much power and a voice from somebody who was not in the room but was in the room said it sure does now let me tell you about a prayer that I prayed before I got saved I was a Roman Catholic and I prayed some Roman Catholic prayers I prayed to Mary she didn't do me a bit of good I prayed what the Catholics call it the Our Father we call it the Lord's Prayer it's actually the disciples prayer Our

[46:05] Father which art in heaven but at least it's biblical so I prayed that I prayed to Mary I prayed to an angel he never helped me you know what I found out after I got saved St.

[46:16] Christopher never even existed I suspected that before I got saved because I wore St. Christopher's mail he's supposed to protect me and every time I got in a fight that chain would get busted and while this guy's beating help me so I pray our father prayed to Mary she didn't help me I made an act of contrition I did not mean I this but I made up my own prayer it was a short prayer and here's what I'd say God if I could get rid of all my sins I'd start fresh I'd pray that pray sober I would pray that pray drunk but whenever I prayed that prayer? Every single time I prayed it, right after I got done, I wept.

[47:06] Because I knew it couldn't get rid of all my sins. So I just got saved. I'm sitting on the front pew and that Bible study. One of the verses he showed me, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, Therefore, for any man being Christ, new creature, old things are passed away.

[47:24] Build all things become new. I got my prayer answered. So I'm 20 years old. Listen, at the time I got saved, a buddy of mine and I were planning a robbery. We were going to break into a guy's house. He was an antique dealer. We were going to steal some stuff from him, you know, when he was not home. And my friend said, what do we do if he comes home and catches us?

[47:42] I said, we'll kill him. I really did not care. Do you understand? And I'm sitting on the front pew, and my 19th year on this earth was the worst I ever had. And I told God at the start of 1970, I said, my last year was the worst I've ever had.

[47:58] If this one isn't better than the last one, there will not be a 21st. And I knew I'd be putting myself in hell. So I'm sitting on this front pew. Of course, it's a Baptist church, so the invitation is going on for about three weeks.

[48:12] And I went to prayer, and here's what I said to God. I said, God, I said, I am saved. And I said, you just took everything away and gave me a brand new life. I said, I'll tell you what I'll do with this new life.

[48:25] I'll ruin it in five years. Because all I've had practice at is ruining a life. I'm amazed at how many people get saved, and then they get a dumb idea, like, now that I'm saved, I know how to run a life.

[48:36] You messed up the first one. And I told the Lord, I said, I've had 20 years of practice. I said, five years from now, I might still be saved, but I'll be as unhappy as I am right now. And then I said this.

[48:47] I did not know what I said when I said it. But I said, I've already had a life. You take this new one and do what you want with it. Now, if you'd like an earthly equivalent to that prayer, let me give it to you.

[49:02] You ever ride a roller coaster? Now, I like roller coasters. Man, I love them. I can't ride them anymore because of my neck. If I got a roller coaster now, the roller coaster would make the first turn, and my head would just keep on going.

[49:15] But if you don't like roller coasters, but you're with your friends, and they go, come on, come on. So they talk you into it. But like, you got like a 45-minute wait, right? 45 minutes to contemplate the last moments of your life.

[49:28] But you've got 45 minutes at any moment to say, I'm sorry, guys. I can't do this. And I'll wait for you here, right? You can be the very first person in line. As soon as a roller coaster comes in, they drag out the bodies, hose it down.

[49:40] You can be the first guy to get on the roller coaster. But you can say, you know, I can't do this. You can get on that roller coaster and say, nope, nope, I can't. And get out. You can change your mind until one thing happens.

[49:54] That bar comes down and you hear this sound. Click. And when you hear that sound, I am not a Calvinist, but the next two and a half minutes of your life are predestinated.

[50:08] And they're going to be associated with rapid heart rate and a lot of screaming. I didn't know it, but here's what I said to God. Lord, I've already had a life. You take this new life and click.

[50:20] Do what you want with it. A drunk Roman Catholic, a drunkard, prayed that prayer on June 14th, 1970. Ten weeks later, I prayed that in Ohio.

[50:32] Ten weeks later, I pulled in Pensacola, Florida, go to Bible college. I pulled in. I was still wearing, I still had long hair. I was wearing see-through body shirts, bell bottoms, open-toed sandals.

[50:45] And I pulled in in that red, white, blue Volkswagen. And it's another story, but it did float. And I didn't find this out for years, but there were like, there were 33 guys in my class.

[50:57] And somebody, when that BW pulled on there and I got out of the car, some third year student said, see that guy right there? He won't last six months. Out of the 33 that started, I'm on a six that graduated three years later.

[51:08] But that guy was right. That guy didn't last six months. Six months later, I had my hair cut off. I was wearing socks and tying my shoes on my feet. It was terrible. But, but that was the change.

[51:22] Now, I had a little problem my first two years of Bible college. Not a sin problem, not a security problem. But, here was my problem.

[51:35] The Bible says, therefore, if any man be in Christ a new creature, old things pass away before all things become new. Correct? And I said this, Father, I know you said old things have passed away and all things become new, but I said, in my hometown of Massillon, Ohio, somebody can go down to the police station, go to a file cabinet, go to the G's, open it up, leaf through, and they will find a file that says, GIP, Samuel, C.

[52:02] And they could read about the first time I was arrested when I was 14 years old. They could read about being busted when I was 16. I mean, they would have every time, every bad thing I did that I got caught for, right?

[52:15] But I said, but you said old things have passed away. But it's up there right now. And I wasn't not believing him. I just couldn't, I couldn't put the two together. Now, when I was in Bible college, I didn't get a lot of mail.

[52:28] Most of the mail, did you ever move to a new place and you got the mail from the guy that lived there before you? Yeah, I got the guy before me. His name was Resident. And the guy before him was a guy named Occupant. And you ladies would cry if you know how many, how many hundred dollars worth of grocery coupons I threw away that belonged to those guys.

[52:44] About two weeks before my second year of college was over, I got a letter in the mail addressed to me. I said, man, that got my attention. Then I looked at the return address and it really got my attention.

[52:58] It was addressed to me and it was from the Ohio State Department of Juvenile Justice. And I knew exactly what happened. You see, there's a lot of unsolved crimes in 1968, 69, first half of 1970 in my hometown.

[53:13] And I thought, one of my buddies got busted and ratted me out on something and now I've got to go back and go to jail. Here I'm trying to live for God and I've got to go back.

[53:25] I hadn't even opened it up yet and I thought, well, I'm going to handle this like a Christian should. I'm going to throw it away and pretend I never got it. But I couldn't do that.

[53:39] And I told the Lord this. I said, Lord, I'm finishing this year. I won't be here next year but I'm not going up tomorrow. I've got two more weeks. I'm going to finish my second year and then I'm going to surrender and plead guilty to whatever they got me for.

[53:53] So I opened up this letter. That wasn't what it was about at all. Here's what it said. Dear Mr. Gipp, we at the Hyatt State Department of Juvenile Justice notice you haven't been arrested for two years.

[54:08] And I thought, I haven't. I hadn't thought about that. I thought, that's pretty cool. And you know, the world does not understand salvation. I was talking last night, you know, if you told somebody you got saved, they'd say you got religion.

[54:21] And it said, since you haven't been arrested for two years, it is obvious that you are trying to turn over a new leaf. And it said this, because you're obviously trying to live a new life, your police record has been pulled from our files, permanently sealed, never to be opened again.

[54:44] You know what the last line of that, the last letter in that sentence, that letter said, I mean, it flipped me out. It said, now, if you fill out a job application, and there's a question that says, do you have a police record?

[54:57] You can honestly say no. And when I read that sentence, you know what went through my mind? Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, though all things become new.

[55:11] Guys, the invisible man, and the invisible, can't you remember what you were like before you were saved? God can't. You weren't born to him. I'll tell you this, I'll be done. I used to preach this message, a meeting up in Connecticut every year.

[55:27] It was a camp meeting outdoors. We met in a tabernacle. And one year, I don't know who invited this guy, but this young guy, he was a Roman Catholic, I think he was an accountant, he looked like an accountant.

[55:39] You ever see a guy with a suit and he looked like he belonged in it? This guy was probably born in a suit with a tie. And he's standing right over here, ramrod straight, lost Roman Catholic, suit and tie, and they gave the invitation and this guy come forward and got saved.

[55:53] He was about, I would say, you know, maybe 32, 33. And have you ever heard the description, so and so got gloriously saved? This guy got gloriously saved.

[56:06] I mean, he got the double dose. Okay, so the meeting's over, I go, I leave, a year later, I'm back. There he is, standing there just beaming, singing. I mean, he is saved.

[56:17] He is, he got baptized. He got in a church. He's knocking on doors. I mean, he jumped in this deep, okay? Another year goes by, there he is. Another year, after the third year, his Roman Catholic wife said, I can't stand living with you anymore.

[56:31] I'm divorcing you. And I come back that summer, there he is, still happy, still singing about the Lord, still serving God. That went on for about eight, nine, maybe ten years. And then he met this lady, Christian lady, whose husband had died, and they got married.

[56:49] And if you knew him and you knew her, this was the right pair. They just, everybody, they weren't just excited they were getting married, but they knew this is the right marriage. And the next year I come, and now they're both standing there, and they're beaming, and they're singing, and they're both serving God in that church.

[57:07] And they've been married maybe a little over a year, and the lady, as she had many times, she left her husband home, went to the grocery store, got the groceries. She comes home from the grocery store. She's about to carry the groceries inside door of the house by the driveway, and there is a note posted on the door.

[57:27] And here's what it says. It's his handwriting. Don't come in the house. call the pastor. Have him come in the house. Well, it didn't make any sense.

[57:40] She went around to the front door. Don't come in the house. Call the pastor. Have him come in the house. Well, that puzzled her.

[57:51] She called the pastor. She said, Preacher, I just got home from getting groceries. I was about to go in the house, and I found a note on the door that says, don't come in the house. Call the pastor.

[58:01] I think I'm coming out. He said, have you guys had a fight? He goes, no. She said, no, we're happy. Everything's fine. There's no problems at all. Will you come and go in the house?

[58:12] He said, yeah, I will. So he comes down, takes her keys, tells her, wait here on the porch. He went in. The living room was fine. Dining room was fine. But he saw it in the kitchen before he ever walked in there.

[58:25] that guy had put a 12-gauge shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger and blown the top of his head off all over that kitchen wall. And he left a suicide note.

[58:37] This guy's about 40 years old. He's been saved for like 8, 10 years. And his suicide note said he killed himself for something he did when he was 14 years old.

[58:52] You know what his problem was? He was spending too much time looking at the invisible man. He was looking at something about himself that God himself could not see.

[59:06] Now, if you came, you know, if you got saved, like I say, God found you in a ditch, and you know some of the things that you were before you got saved, would you quit looking?

[59:18] Don't spend too much time saying, oh, you don't know what I did. Not only do I not know what you did, I don't care what you did. Because in God's eyes, you were born the day you were what?

[59:31] Born again. And everything before that is invisible. And if God punches your new name into his computer, it's going to start on that day, and he won't see what you did the day before.

[59:45] He won't see what you did a week before, or a month before, or a year before. You understand that? Aren't you glad there's an invisible man? So don't spend too much time looking at him.

[59:56] You can thank God for what he did, but don't spend too much time looking at him. You know what I do? Sometimes I thank God that I'm saved. You know what I do? I go to June 14, 1970, the day I got saved, and I look back over the last 20 years, and I go, boy, I'm glad I'm saved.

[60:12] But sometimes I don't thank God I'm saved. Sometimes I thank God that I'm still saved. And when I do that, I go to the same date. But instead of looking back at the last 50, or the previous 20 years, I look at the last 54, and I go, boy, I'm glad I'm still saved.

[60:32] Aren't you glad you're saved? Aren't you glad that if God, on his little computer Bible program, or whatever he's got up there, if he punches in your new name, he will find every reference to your Paul, and he will never see your Saul.

[60:48] Because before you were saved, you were invisible. I'd like you to stand with your heads bowed. Your heads bowed and your eyes closed.

[61:01] I told you, and it's true, if you got saved young, you got the best testimony in the room, and some of you got saved young, then you wouldn't get out in the world.

[61:15] Well, that's what 1 John 1, 9 is for, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Maybe before we leave here tonight, somebody's get down their knees, say, Lord God, thank you.

[61:30] Thank you, God, that you cannot see who I can see. thank you that you can't see me before I was saved. Thank you that I've been born again. And if you got saved early and you got away from the Lord and you're back in church now, it's gone.

[61:46] You need to thank God for his mercy and you need to thank God for his grace. Father, thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your grace and your mercy. I thank you, God, for the invisible man.

[61:59] I thank you, God, that that which I can see you cannot. And there are people here and they know what they were like and they don't want anybody ever to know what they were like. But you don't remember what they were like.

[62:11] They're passed away, God. All things have become new. Some of these folks have been spending too much time looking at what they were before they were saved. They need to quit doing that.

[62:23] That man had gotten saved around 32 years old and did the dumbest thing in his life because of what he did when he was 14. spent too much time looking at the invisible man.

[62:35] Thank you God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ's name I pray. With your heads bowed and your eyes closed the piano plays. If you need to thank the Lord for the invisible man, the invisible woman, thank God that he has forgotten what you can remember.

[62:50] whoever.

[63:04]