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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Dave Steward

The Kidnapper, the Ransom, and You

Well, this is the remnant of the remnant here today, isn't it?

I don't know if I've ever seen Advent Hope so So potent with just those that are here.

Let's just put it that way Anyway, if I wasn't preaching I'd probably be sneaking over to hear Dwight Nelson too, so I can understand why there's a lot of empty seats.

Anyway, I'm really privileged to be here anyway with all of you and I appreciate you coming.

It's good to be with familiar friends and brothers and sisters.

Jennifer, thank you for picking 3 of the hymns.

Sorry to hit you up with that at the last minute.

Let's go ahead and begin with the word of prayer, shall we?

Dear Heavenly Father, I want to claim the promise of Isaiah 55.11, that your word would not return unto you void this morning, but it would accomplish your purpose.

Lord, I just have 1 goal and that is to lift up Jesus Christ this morning and draw men unto him.

The title of my sermon is The Kidnapper, The Ransom, and You.

It happened just a few weeks ago in Riverside.

I got the call to come out and be part of the investigation.

There was a wealthy family, a husband and wife, to protect their identity, I'll just call them Tom and Lisa.

They own a successful business, They live in a nice home in Canyon Crest.

And around noon, Tom, the husband, got a call from his wife.

And she called and said, honey, I've fallen.

When he got there, he looked all over for Lisa and she was nowhere to be found.

And you can imagine what was going through Tom's mind.

What would go through your mind if you got a call that someone you love was in trouble at your home and you go home and they're nowhere to be found.

Well, while he couldn't find his wife, Tom did find 1 thing.

He did find an envelope with his name on it and inside the envelope was 2 Polaroid pictures.

These pictures were not just of anything, they were of his wife, Lisa.

She had a hood over her head, she was bound, she was tied up, and she'd urinated.

Along with these 2 photographs was a nine-page ransom note which arrested the attention of Tom right off the bat because it was addressed to him.

The first page said, Tom, we need to make a few things clear right out of the gate.

First, if you want to see your wife alive again and have your lives return anything close to normal, do not call the police or anyone else.

He then tells him to read through the document twice, take time, because he says, I know your mind's racing.

Then at the bottom of the first page, as if he needed to say this, he said, it is obvious at this point we have kidnapped your wife for ransom.

And he said, we are very dangerous, don't question our resolve, just do what we say.

Don't call the police, we're watching your every move, the FBI is monitored, we're monitoring the police, Don't try anything.

And then the note is largely devoted to giving him directions on how to get money.

If you're into boats, tell him you just found a new boat and you need the money.

If you're into planes, if you're into gold, tell them that's what you're into and you need the money and you need it now.

And this guy's kind of crazy, I mean, 1 of the things he says is, remember, through all of this, remain calm and upbeat.

You are about to get something you really want in more ways than 1.

Finally At the end he said, don't try to be a hero.

Bruce Willis isn't going to come and rescue your wife.

He told him that there would be multiple drop sites, 4 different sites that he would walk him through and there would be instructions at each different site throughout Riverside.

Follow our instructions to a T and you and Lisa will come out just fine.

If you don't, you will be lamenting later saying things like, the money wasn't important.

I would have done anything to get her back, etc.

Well, now's the time to enact those policies.

Don't be the guy known for the rest of your life as the 1 that got his wife killed over $140, 000.

People may not say it to your face, but they will always remember it.

It will be the story that precedes you every time you go somewhere that someone knows you.

Or should I end it there to get you out in time?

Well, Tom was very upset obviously and he did not call the police.

He did, though, contact his banker, and his banker had enough sense to call the police.

They devoted incredible resources, as you can imagine, to trying to find Lisa.

But it wasn't through the call to the police, the Riverside Police Department, that did any good.

Actually what happened was, a few hours later, there was a citizen that lives in the Lake Hills area between Corona and Riverside, those hills south of the 91, some newer homes on the hill there.

Someone saw, a woman saw a really unusual vehicle in her neighborhood.

It was pulling a motorcycle, a dirt bike, kind of a weird combination.

And she saw this guy go from the van to the back of the van, and he kept opening the door, and he kept fanning it like there was a bad smell in there.

And so she called the police and a deputy sheriff arrived and when he got there, the van was gone.

So then, a little later, the van came back, the good citizen called again the police, and again a sheriff's deputy, a different agency than was trying to find Lisa, which was the Riverside Police Department.

But the Riverside Sheriff again came and it was Deputy Portales.

And he came and he saw the van and he saw the motorcycle and he saw a man named Mark Warren standing outside the van.

He said, so he went up and talked to him.

And Mark Warren said, well, I'm in the construction business.

There's a good view from here and I'm looking at the view for some construction development.

You know, he kind of paused for a while but then that's ultimately what he said.

And then the officer looked at his license and noticed he was from Victorville.

So then he said, do you mind if I look inside the van?

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The Kidnapper, the Ransom, and You

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