Autograph

So let's get started on this sermon. The title of today's sermon is Autograph. Autograph. Have you ever asked somebody for autograph? Yeah, you have? Okay. Was the person famous? Yes? Okay, we've got a few yeses out there. Is there any value to that autograph? Yes? I think maybe it is. Like Phil, you've got an autograph. I'm sure it wasn't of Dale. Babe Ruth! Oh, outstanding. Wow. I didn't think you were that old. Oh, that's amazing. Anyone else have an autograph that you got from someone? I've never really asked. You got one? Grizzly Adams. The TV show or the actor? Yes, in the back. Dan Marino. Okay, man. You guys have been. Anybody else? Yes? The McGuire sisters. Oh, okay. Are they all still alive today? I don't think so. I think that's amazing. Well, I bring that out because what is the most valuable autographs in the entire world? We may even touch on that here as we go today through this service. But most valuable autographs, according to the internet, the latest technology. First one.

Anybody know who that is? Well, you're not British, but you still know. Queen Elizabeth. Anybody know how much her autograph is worth? Six thousand dollars. So if you have that, that's pretty good. Next. It's amazing because most of you know who this one is. She's not. She wasn't the queen. She was a princess, but her autograph is worth twice as much as the queen. Twelve thousand dollars. So if you have Lady Di's autograph, you can collect your money from there. Next. Ah, thank you. Thank you very much. Elvis. Now, what would you think? And Elvis Presley.

I found it to be amazing because his autograph is only worth twelve hundred dollars. And do you know what? He signed a lot of them. That's kind of the key. You signed a lot of autographs. Elvis. Next. Ah. Yes, Einstein. Seventy-five thousand dollars. If you have an autograph from Albert Einstein, which he did not sign many at the time. How about next? This guy. Anybody know who he is? Who? I almost said Mick Jagger. David Bowie. Okay. How much is a David Bowie autograph worth? Anybody? Elvis was twelve hundred. Sixty-three thousand dollars. He didn't sign many. And he wouldn't sign many. So, if you have an autograph, it worth something. Jeffrey, next one. Ah! Now, how about a JFK? What do you think that's worth? Thirty-nine thousand dollars. Thirty-nine thousand dollars. And remember, he signed a lot when he was a senator before he was, obviously, killed even as president. How about this one?

Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee. What do you think Bruce Lee's worth? Fifteen thousand dollars. He didn't sign a great deal, but of course he didn't live, but two or thirty years old, or twenty-seven thirty-two, I think he lived to be. How about another one? How about this guy? Anybody know who it is? Ah, yeah, you know who Jimi Hendrix was. Do you think he's worth a lot? You know, he died when he was young, too.

His actual contract, where he signed a record contract, his last one, sold for two hundred thousand dollars. That it has a signature on. Worth quite a bit. What else we got? Ah, there we go. Phil.

I can't tell you what Phil's is worth, because I don't know that Phil was standing there and got it from him, but you did. You got his... Wow! Oh, is that right? Wow, something. I've never met anybody that famous, I don't think. I've not even seen anybody. Babe Ruth would sign baseball bats more than he would sign paper. So if somebody had a bat, they would bring it to him and sign. The last bat that was sold that he signed with his autograph was three hundred and eighty-eight thousand dollars. So you might want to make Phil your friend. Doesn't have a bat, but he's got a polo ball. Okay, that may be even more or more. He may not have many of those. How about this one? Anybody know who he is? Not Jesus. John Lennon, you are correct. John Lennon's autograph worth quite a bit, but the one that the last one he signed. Remember the last one he signed? He signed it for his killer. Just an hour before he was killed, an LP. This, who is it? Chapman? What was it? Date? What'd you write? David. Okay, yes. He actually signed it for him and that was sold. Five hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars for that. Let's wrap this up with the last ones. How about this man? It's got to be worth a lot. Yes, but the actual autograph that is worth the most of record sale was his 1863 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation where he signed it. So if you happen to have that copy, it's worth 3.7 million dollars, his signature there. Interesting because as I was growing up, there was an older man who lived a lot older than I was. I was just a kid and treated me very well, but his father sold cattle during the Civil War to the United States government, cattle and horses, and he had a letter, one of the last letters that Lincoln wrote in 1865, thanking him for selling that stuff to the for the troops, and it was in his house, and the house burnt down. Somebody said, don't fire, and he said, well, I wasn't going to do anything with it anyway. So that's interesting. Let's do the last two. How about this guy? He never signed many. He did a lot of writing, though, didn't he? William Shakespeare. Yes, he did a tremendous amount of writing, but he wasn't really famous during his time. In fact, he struggled to make a living. Yet now, if you have just one autograph of him, it's wherever he signed anything, five million dollars, and the most expensive autograph ever sold is this man. He did not sign hardly any other than bills and so forth. He didn't even, when he was a surveyor. You have to remember, this man only had a sixth grade education. His autograph, a few years ago, sold for 9.8 million dollars. So I bring that up just to set the stage for today, because I would like for you to consider the most valuable and prestigious handwriting in the history of the world. It is the handwriting of God. The handwriting of God. Rare indeed, but to us, probably the most valuable thing of all. I will finish the sermon today. Hopefully I can convince you of that, and just how important it is, because I have five examples of places that take place in this book of the incredible autograph, incredible writing of God. I would like, with your help, to go through that as my sermon today, because there are five different occurrences, many occurrences of various ones, but five different examples I'd like to go through today of this autograph. I'd like to do it in chronological order if you can. If you can think about your Bible, can anyone tell me the very first occurrence of God's handwriting in the Bible? Ah, where would that be? In the book of Exodus? Anybody know Exodus what?

Anybody else? Another guess? Ah, Exodus 20, as most people think or would know, is not the first place, because Exodus 20 is verbal. He is not writing it down. But my friend from the Yankee from the North here actually is pretty close. So let's go to the very first occurrence of the handwriting, and if you'll go with me to Exodus 31. Exodus 31. Okay? If you're following my Bible, I'll try to get out of the way here so I'm not for those blocking.

Is this thing a little over this far too? I don't know. Usually it's further out, but I didn't want to get in the way. Exodus 31, and let's go to verse 18. And it said, And when he had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he, God, gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone written with what? The finger of God. Written with the finger of God.

The very first time. Can you imagine those stones? Okay. Let's go over to Exodus 32 as we follow this story. Exodus 32. Exodus 32, verse 15. And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides, and on one side, and on the other side they were written. Now, the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. How precious that must have been!

God wrote them with his finger in stone. He's got some hard nails to be able to do that. And what happened to that first set of stones? Wow! Verse 19, 32. So it was as soon as he came near the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing. You never want to combine the two. So Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. You think God was happy? I think he was happy that he was hot, but not happy for what he did.

There is righteous indignation. What does he say? When you become angry, sin not. And can you imagine the first written law ever put down that we know of on those stones, and Moses broke them. But it all turned out well, because as my friend from the Yankee from the North said, let's turn to Exodus 34. Exodus 34, verse 1. And the Lord said to Moses, Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words which were on the first tablets, which you broke.

Verse 4. So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up to Malcai and I, and as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. Now let's go over to verse 28 of the same Exodus 34, verse 28. So he was there on that mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water.

He had already fasted before the first time. Now he's doing it again. And he, look at you, what does it say? He, is that he capitalized? Yes. He, meaning God, wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Verse 29. So it was when Moses came down from Malcai and I, and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain.

So here is the first example of that incredible handwriting of God. It doesn't take place very often in Scripture, but it was important then, and it's even more important today. Worth more than our first president, our other presidents, most famous people, William Shakespeare.

It's worth so much more than that. So can somebody else tell me a physical writing? Next occurrence. Where? I didn't hear you. I can't. Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar are the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Right? Ah, so he's going with Daniel 5. Let's go to Daniel 5 if you will join. Daniel 5-5. Can we go there? Daniel 5-5. Get back to Daniel 5 verse 5. As we know, Belshazzar is having this party, and it's a party. They're drinking wild women, you name it. It's kind of what's going to go on next Friday night somewhere around here.

Okay? It's just a big party, and they certainly aren't thinking about God. As a matter of fact, they're bringing out the vessels that were holy vessels used in the temple at the time of Daniel, and they're going to use them and carry on this party. God's not happy. So Daniel 5 verse 5, And in the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster on the wall of the king's palace.

And the king saw the part of the hand that roped. And of course, then, of course, the king's countenance changed. He might have sobered up a little bit, and his thoughts troubled him, and the joints of his knees were loose, and his knees knocked together against each other. And you go back to the original Hebrew. He was so scared he lost control of his bowels. He wet himself. So this hand was something that frightened even the king. So let's go over, as Dale said, let's go a little bit further in 5 verse 22. Chapter 5, let's turn over to verse 22.

And we'll go through 22 through 26. He said, But you his son Belshazzar have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this, and you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunken wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know, with the God who holds your breath in his very hands and owns all your ways. You have not glorified. Then the fingers of the hand that was sent from him were sent from him, and this writing was given in the writing of Minamina Tikal, Eufarsa. Okay? So everybody says that is the hand of God. But it doesn't say that it is, does it? What does it say? Was a hand sent from God? Could it have been his hand? Yes. Could it have been an angel's hand? Yes. Could it have been anything? Because he does control anything. He could have taken a dog's paw. It was a thing. It was a thing. Yeah, the thing like the Addams family. All right, Bill, only you would have thought of that, I must say. Next you're going to tell me, Cousin It is going to come in the room here. So all he saw was a hand, but whose writing was it? Whether it was God's hand, we don't know, but we know who controlled that hand and who sent it, and that was God's. So that would have been God's writing, whether he did it or whether he sent an angel. We don't know. But it was a very important time and it made an impression. Does anybody remember what happened later on that night? Belshazzar was conquered. The whole kingdom fell that night as Daniel told him that was about to happen. But before it did, he offered Daniel all this riches for telling him you're in trouble. So that would have been, whether it was an angel or whether it was God, or whatever he made happen, he made happen. Someday we'll find out. But that was a second occurrence. Can anybody tell me the third? A third occurrence of God's writing. Not yet, not chronologically. Yes, Carolyn. Well, that's what Dale just said. We're going to get to that one. Anything between between now and then in the Old Testament. No? Good! I was afraid you'd get them all and then you're just like, what did you give that for? We knew it all. So let's go and look at this. And it may be one of the most important.

No? You're right. Not this time. Let's go as my deacon in the back gave you an incredible hint here. Let's go to Jeremiah 31, 33. How about it? Jeremiah 31. How about 33? He said, but this is a covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saying, I will put my law in your minds and write it on your hearts. When did that happen? I want Jesus Christ because this was a new covenant.

When Christ died, the new covenant took place. And the Holy Spirit was given on that first day of Pentecost in Mass. And so from that time on, we should, if we have His Spirit, when He is working with us, He is what? Writing on our hearts. You can have it up here. You can have God's law up here in your head. And a lot of people do. There are people who have, I've talked to people who have got two doctorate degrees in theology, but they don't really understand. But what we have here is where God is writing His laws in on your heart. How do you know that God has written His laws on your heart? Anybody? Carol Ann? You keep them! Yes! Yes! But when they're in your mind, you don't necessarily have to have them written down, do you? Remember in the Old Testament, they would have to have these reminders, whether it was zig-zagged, whether it was the thread that came down, and it was to remind them of the Ten Commandments. But with us, we have it written down, but do we need to carry it around and go as we go through the day? Oh, let's see before I make this decision. Exodus 20 verse. Okay, wait a minute. What was that again? Oh, wait a minute. Boy, I really like that shirt you had on the other day, Phil, but wait a minute. That's the 10th commandment. Man, I'm glad I could look at that and write that down, because I was going to covet his shirt and tie, which I almost did, but I have one just like it now. So I guess you could say I coveted it.

But here, he's going to write it on on our hearts. Why? Because Christ came, and on the sermon on the mount, matter of fact, he started it out with a with a group of scriptures, the beatitudes, didn't he? And then he started getting into the rest of his sermon about if you look upon a woman to lust. So he began to bring in not only the written law of the commandment, but he said, but I say, and he gets into the spiritual, the spirit of the law, spirit of the law, the Ten Commandments. How do we determine that with the Holy Spirit? Holy Spirit tells us, I don't need to go there. I don't need to see this. I don't need to watch that. I don't need to open my mouth. He writes his laws in our hearts, and the heart being, as he was saying, the center of the human body, the way God looks at it. It controls us, because people, if they want to do something, if their heart's fully into it, what happens? They're going to do that. They're going to go do it because it's their heart's desires. Desire. And he says what? You know, he's going to do that. God even said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart. And so he's beginning to write that. And this is a turning point of no longer just because I have it written down. Do I have to look at it and go, oh wait a minute, Mary, I'm about to leave. It says, now she and I commit adultery. Man, glad I read that before I left the house. No, that's not it. You know, it's in here. And God begins to work with us through that incredible spirit that he's given to our mind and stirs that up. But it's because we want, not because we're told not because we want to please God, we want to obey God with all our heart. Is that not an incredible autograph handwriting to us? It's not to everybody because he doesn't write his law on everybody's heart. Just look at, turn on the TV tonight. You can definitely see it's not written in everybody. So how precious is this? Oh, I think for us it's almost the most precious. Almost. Because I still have one at the end. That to me is the most precious autograph of God. But you've done three. You've done a very good job. And you've already done four because she came up with it, you came up with it, and everything. And it is what? Jesus. So let's go there, the number four. Number four. And where is that? It comes at John chapter eight. John eight. And you know what happened to that woman? Caught in adultery, right? And this is just after the Passover. Or, Thee-Stabbin-Eckles, excuse me. Let me just get that wrong. So it's right at the end there. So let's go to John chapter eight, and let's go to verse six. As you know, they caught the woman in adultery in the very act.

And you only got one person? I don't know how that happens, but you blame the woman. Where's the man? That should be a big question. Okay? And so they were wanting to put Christ, of course, on the spot. Because they asked Him in verse five. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. What do you say? Then he says in verse six, but they said testing Him. They said test so. So here they were testing Him. So you tell me they set this up. They were going to test Him. So you tell me they didn't set the whole scenario up. They'd have to be awfully naive to say that they didn't, because they hated Him. They wanted to put Him on the spot. Testing Him that they might have something in which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger as though He did not hear them. Imagine that. He stooped. He didn't kneel. He stooped down. Right down here. And He's right here. Now, it's interesting because some translation says dirt. Others say ground. Others even say sand. Don't know. Really know. Does it really matter? But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger. That finger of God that wrote the Ten Commandments is the same finger, except it's physical this time and would have been spiritual when He wrote the Ten Commandments. But His Spirit controls physical. Okay. As though He did not even hear. So He's just...

So they continued asking Him. He raised Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let Him throw a stone at her first. Or as the old King James cast you the first stone. And then what He did? And again, He stooped down and wrote on the ground. What do you think He wrote? Anybody? Caroline? Would have written the Word of God. That's possible. Yes. He started writing their sins. Ah, He could have written their sins. Who would have known their sins? He would have known. That's a possibility. We don't know, but it could have been that. Yes, Jeannie? Or the names of all the... Or all the women they had slept with. Yes?

Yes. And blows it away. Right. Yeah, Dan?

So they couldn't come back against Him because that's... He could have said what He's doing. Yes. So we don't know what He wrote. I think all those are pretty good answers. I do want to find out someday. Because all of a sudden, all these men... And you know it just wasn't one or two. They turned tail and ran, as it says here. You know, he stooped down. But let's... So how incredible was that? That's the only autograph we got in the New Testament of where He wrote something down, isn't it? The only one I could find. If you can find something else, let me know because I checked and I couldn't find anywhere else. Or the Messiah. Oh, we got one more. Got one more. But I'd like you to turn one thing because I do have just... I have 10 minutes to go and I have one to do. But I found this so interesting. I thought you would you would find this interesting, too. So I don't have it up here because I just came across this this week after I already sent you the PowerPoint. But we had just read, if you have your Bibles and you have them open, we read verse 7. Then we read verse 8 and it says again, He stooped down and rode on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. Is that what you have? Okay. Now let's look at this. Let's go back to 9. Said, then those who heard it, and then He says being convicted by their conscience, was nowhere, anywhere in the Greek. That was all added. That was added. It wasn't in the majority of manuscripts. It wasn't in you. It wasn't anything. Somebody added this, too, to the Scriptures. I think it, I always like to know if something's been added. Who added it? We don't know. I could probably do some research and find out, but it was added. Hundreds of years later. Now, maybe they were thinking, oh well, that must have been, but that's not. We don't know that they were convicted by their conscience. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. But what did the Bible say? Don't add or take away from my word. It's good enough. Let's read what's good enough. Then those who heard it went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last, and Jesus was left there alone. Sounds pretty good to me, without having to speculate that it was their conscience, because some of those men had no conscience. They were the same ones who took Christ up and slaughtered Him. Well, had the Romans do it. There wasn't a lot of conscience there, so I thought you might find that interesting. Okay, so we've covered four of the greatest autographs ever. There is one more, and I hope one of you will tell me before I have to say it. Dale?

It's pretty good, but that's not it. That's pretty good, because it's in that same realm.

There we go. Lillian, you can have one of these roses. It was what? That your name is written in the book of life. Who writes it in the book of life? Who allows it to be written in the book of life? The most powerful autograph, the most powerful signing of God. Let's look. Let's go to Revelation 20 as Dale was telling us here. Revelation 20, verse 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. It is the book of eternal life. If your name is written in there, guess what? It equals eternal life. And the dead were judged according to the books by the things which were written in the books. So here is the first example of it. But let's go to Daniel 12. Daniel 12. Daniel 12, verse 1, reading from the New King James Version. At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince which stands watch over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation. Even to that time, and at that time your people shall be delivered. Everyone who is found written in the book of life, the book of eternal life, he's telling Daniel. Let's go to Luke 10, verse 20. Luke 10, verse 20. Christ is saying this, never the less do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven. That's where the book of life is. So they were all excited because they cast out demons and we did all this stuff and they obey us and they are, that's great! No! This is what's big. This is what's really, really big. And it should be to each and every one of you in here. That name, your name written by God, whether an angel writes it down, I don't know. Whether he writes it down, whether he takes great pleasure, whether it's the word, whether it's our Savior, our intercessor who writes it down. I don't know. I don't care as long as it's written in there because it means you have eternal life with God and you inherit everything, everything. Let's go to Philippians 4 and verse 3. Philippians 4 and verse 3. And I heard you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel with Clement also and the rest of fellow workers, whose names are in, what? Book of life. Their names, just like us, following God in the church of Philippi. Their names were written in the book of life. Exhes 32 verse 1, then Moses said to the Lord, Oh, these people have committed a great sin and have made themselves a God of gold. Yet if you will forgive their sins, but if not, I pray, blot blot me out of your book which you have written. He was willing to lose eternal life. He was willing to lose eternal life so that God would not kill those people. That is amazing. I know why Moses is considered a great man, why he was called the meekest. He was willing to do that.

Verse 33, the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book. But then Psalm 69 verse 27 said, Add iniquity to iniquity and let them not come into your righteousness. Do we have more on that one? Oh, 69 verse 29. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living and not be written with the righteous. Another reference to the book of life.

Revelation 13 verse 8, All who dwell on the earth will worship him. Those whose names have not been written in the book of hell of the Lamb slain from the foundations of those that not live, I'd like to understand that too then. Revelation 13 verse 8 Anything Remember how important is this writing of this time? Revelation 17, verse 8, your book. Not written in your book. I just covered seven or eight of these. You know the book of life that he's talking about? This book of eternal life that he wants our names written in? That when we were baptized? When Jesus Christ became our Savior? Our names were written in the book of life at that time. Where we stood before God and all the heavenly hosts and we called upon Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, Lord and Master, high priest and soon coming King, Matthew. That's what? And you said he is. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? I do. And it is bound in heaven as it's bound on earth. And at that time, your names are written in the book of life. Can they be taken out? Yes. How are we going to do that? How can you do that? Who can do that? That's another sermon. But I want you to know over 14 times, at least 14 times in this book is the book of life mentioned and the importance of it. I've given you only so many. Check out Hebrews 12, verse 22 and 23. Check out Revelation 3 and verse 5. Check out Revelation 21 and verse 27. Check out Psalm 139, verse 16 and read the entire Psalm 139. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Check that out, but read it in the New Living Translation. It will make you see just how important that book of life and that every second of your life is being recorded before one day ends. Don't believe me, read the Bible. Read Psalm 139. And even in Malachi 3 and verse 16. Brethren, we have so much evidence. We have so much shown to us, given to us. These incredible autographs. What's important to us? I'd like to know what Jesus wrote in the sand. I'd like to know some of these other things. I'd like to know where the stone that He broke, that He wrote on the hand of God. I'd like to know some of these things. But what should be important to us? Jeremiah 31, 33, writing on our hearts. Because if it's written on our hearts, we don't have to worry about the fifth one. Because our name will definitely be in the book of life, the book of eternal life. And we will live with God forever and ever and ever and ever. That is the most valuable autograph that's ever existed.