Participants: Jim Ayer
Series Code: MW
Program Code: MW000039
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00:01 Wake up, wake up, wake up, it's a call that Lidia heard.
00:05 Find out how in just a moment. 00:50 The seven cities to whom the Apostle John wrote 00:52 his well known letters from the Island of Patmos 00:55 were in western Asia Minor. 00:57 Two of them Sardis and Pergamum 01:00 have been formally been capitals of powerful kingdoms 01:03 still possess great political prominence in the time of John. 01:08 The whole area in which the seven churches 01:10 of Revelation were found 01:12 it is rich in historical memories 01:14 of the early Christian period 01:16 and played a great role in ancient history. 01:20 Sardis's thought to have been found it 01:22 around the second millennium B.C. 01:24 At that time it was apparently 01:26 the capital of the small principality 01:28 situated on the border of the Hittite nation. 01:33 During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. 01:36 the powerful Lydian kingdom 01:38 which ruled over more than half of Asia Minor 01:41 had its capital at Sardis. 01:45 In the second century B.C. it was taken over by Rome. 01:48 For more than four centuries Rome administered 01:51 the area as the province of Asia. 01:54 In 17 A.D. it was destroyed by an earthquake, 01:57 but it was always rebuilt. 02:00 It was one of the great cities of western Asia Minor 02:03 until the later Byzantine period. 02:08 Over my left was the main thoroughfare, 02:11 the main road for Sardis. 02:13 This is all side walk area. 02:15 Matter of fact, imagine if you can kick out 02:17 some of the dirt in this area, 02:18 there would be a lot more marble revealed. 02:21 But up and down this whole thoroughfare were shops, 02:26 possibly the food shops, the little restaurants, 02:30 the various things that people sell their wares 02:32 come from the country, the farms 02:34 and sell their fruits and vegetables, 02:36 maybe even their hand knit rugs 02:38 and all the other wonderful things 02:39 that Turkey is actually known for. 02:43 Lidia, thank you for coming today. 02:46 I am very happy to see you as well. 02:48 I am so glad that isn't raining today. 02:50 We've had so much rain in Ukraine. 02:53 This was a blessed meeting. 02:56 Tell me, where were you born? 03:00 Foreign language 03:01 It's a very nice historical place with name Yuma. 03:04 Foreign language 03:07 Beautiful parks and lots of beautiful places. 03:10 Foreign language 03:13 Tell me little more about the family, 03:15 big family, little family. 03:17 My grandfather had ten kids. 03:20 My mom was eleventh. 03:22 In my family, it's only me and my brother. 03:25 Little smaller. 03:27 Tell me a little more about yourself as far as, 03:29 where the family Christians or did they not believe, 03:33 where they communist? 03:35 Foreign language 03:37 I learnt everything from my grandparents. 03:40 They show me how to pray. 03:42 We went to church together to a small church. 03:45 Foreign language 03:52 It wasn't an Adventist church. 03:55 I'm not sure what kind of church it was, 03:58 but they were with God. 03:59 Foreign language 04:03 My mother was an Adventist. 04:05 Foreign language 04:08 So did you grow up then a Christian yourself? 04:11 Foreign language 04:13 I was educated about Christ until fourth grade, 04:17 because I was put in an orphanage. 04:20 After that I was separate from Christ, 04:23 because I didn't have anyone to talk about to Christ. 04:27 Foreign language 04:28 My mother was very ill, 04:31 back then a lot of people were getting sick and died. 04:35 I believed that Christ saved her life. 04:37 Foreign language 04:39 She had a serious brain illness. 04:41 She was going through 04:43 with the brain treatments for eight years. 04:46 And finally they decided to make a surgical procedure. 04:50 I was in eighth grade at the time. 04:53 So you went to the university, 04:55 tell me a little more about your university days. 04:59 Foreign language 05:04 I had no help I worked and support myself. 05:08 I had the opportunity at school to communicate 05:11 and meet everyone through Ukraine 05:15 and that's a very nice thing. 05:16 Foreign Language 05:23 I still keep in touch with my classmates. 05:26 Every thing back than was nice. 05:29 God blessed me with a good job 05:31 that was easy to keep while I was in school. 05:34 Foreign Language 05:52 I am very sure that, if they knew I was Adventist, 05:56 they wouldn't have let me attend to college. 05:59 I knew that I couldn't express myself 06:02 and I couldn't talk about Christ, 06:04 I kept Christ in my heart. 06:06 Foreign Language 06:15 Praise the Lord, they were not 06:16 in those times of persecution now. 06:18 You and I can be sitting here in a park 06:20 and talking and it's wonderful. 06:23 Foreign Language 06:27 I thank God everyday for this freedom to praise Him, 06:31 to know Him and to believe and follow Him. 06:34 Foreign Language 06:39 It definitely feels good not to hide. 06:42 God is very important to me now and everything I do is with Him. 06:48 Foreign Language 06:55 This is just one of the capitals of the column like that. 06:58 You can imagine look at the size of this, 07:00 look at how massive those are. 07:02 This is the Temple of Artemis, 07:04 she was the goddess of fertility. 07:06 They normally built a temple like this close to the river. 07:09 They apparently had a system 07:12 where they would cut off portions of an animal, 07:15 drape them over her. 07:16 After a while she would become very bloody, 07:18 so once a year they had a ceremony 07:20 to take her statue down to the river 07:22 and wash and cleanse that statue for the next season. 07:25 Interesting God. 07:34 Until you actually get right up to these, 07:37 you just can't appreciate the size. 07:43 It makes you wonder exactly how they built this. 07:46 There is various stories 07:47 about how they built up sand mounts 07:50 and then added layer after layer of columns. 07:53 Then as they took away the sand, 07:55 they would then chisel and do all their ornate design. 07:59 Whatever it was, they were pretty intelligent. 08:10 As you can see many of these column parts 08:13 are not carved yet. 08:14 Apparently the reason is they started construction 08:17 here during the Hellenistic period, 08:19 it went all the way through into the Roman period 08:22 but it was never finished. 08:29 Excavation of the site began in 1910 by Princeton University. 08:34 Today some of the equipment used 08:35 in the first excavation can still be seen. 08:43 As you can see, AWR is frontline mission radio. 08:47 Our first priority is to travel where missionaries cannot go. 08:52 We broadcast thousands of hours 08:54 each day in 70 major languages of the world. 08:57 AWR has the capability and capacity of blanketing 09:00 almost 80% of the world's population. 09:04 Not only do we broadcast via shortwave radio 09:07 but our signal is on over 09:08 1,000 FM and AM stations around the world as well. 09:13 Our podcast subscribers, Internet users, 09:16 satellite downlinks are growing rapidly. 09:18 Evidenced by the hundred thousand plus emails, 09:21 letters and phone calls we receive each and every year. 09:25 Yes, AWR is your mission radio. 09:29 No walls and no borders, 09:30 for AWR that means change lives 09:32 and changed hearts around the world, 09:34 because God is using the airwaves of AWR 09:38 to reach people everywhere. 09:47 There are remains of several churches, 09:49 the Temple of Artemis 09:50 and most impressive are the partially rebuilt 09:53 ruins of the Roman gymnasium and the Jewish synagogue. 10:03 Somewhere between 150 and 250 A.D. 10:06 this building was remodeled 10:08 and redesigned from the civic building 10:10 of the government into a Jewish synagogue. 10:13 The area behind me the large labour. 10:16 They speculate that was used for the washing of hands 10:19 before prayer or perhaps just a large gathering area. 10:23 This building holds over a thousand people, 10:26 so it tells them this must have been 10:28 a large Jewish community in the area. 10:31 Over here apparently, these were used to hold torah. 10:35 The artwork here is tremendous on the walls, 10:38 on the floors everywhere, the mosaics, the tiles, 10:41 everything are just tremendous. 10:51 At the front of the synagogue, 10:52 we find this table immediately behind, 10:55 were the areas for the elders to sit. 10:57 What I really wanted to call 10:58 your attention to though is this eagle, 11:01 one on each side of a table, 11:02 a Roman eagle clutching dual thunderbolts. 11:12 The discovery of the Sardis synagogue 11:14 has change the perception 11:15 about Judaism in the later Roman Empire. 11:19 It is now known that the Jewish communities 11:21 were still a vital part of the Roman 11:23 Imperial civic life. 11:25 However most Jewish communities at this time 11:28 were overshadowed by the new Christian religion. 11:33 These marble slabs were originally used by the Pagans, 11:36 had pagan symbols, pagan writing, 11:38 but notice the cross 11:40 is superimposed over the top of them. 11:42 It's believed that this was then used as Baptistery 11:53 After the university what did you do? 11:56 Foreign Language 11:59 I did go to church, 12:01 but I did go to the wrong church for about a year. 12:04 Foreign Language 12:08 This all had a lot to do with my husband passing away. 12:12 I was going through a lot of stressful moments. 12:15 Foreign Language 12:21 At that time I didn't pay attention 12:23 to the different churches. 12:26 I thank God everyday for sending special people into my life 12:31 that helped me get through this tough time. 12:34 Foreign Language 12:38 I happened to read the newspaper and notice the Voice of Hope 12:43 and their Bible study assignment that were offered. 12:47 I know that God wants me to study the Bible 12:50 and He's continuously opening up to me. 12:54 Thanks to Christ, 12:55 I found His truth and His destiny. 12:58 Foreign Language 13:00 Well, it's exciting, tell me more? 13:03 Foreign Language 13:05 The first I ever saw the Bible, God says, 13:09 "If you love Me fulfill My commandments. 13:14 How did that text of John affect your life and your practice? 13:18 Foreign Language 13:20 I've failed to fulfill the fourth commandment 13:25 and I can feel this troubling me till this day. 13:29 Foreign Language 13:31 I thank God for His love and patience. 13:35 He has been waiting for me to correct my ways. 13:40 When I read the scripture, 13:42 I have realized that we're here 13:45 destined to fulfill the good ways 13:49 and like our Christ. 13:51 I own Him myself for taking me 13:54 and keeping me away from the wicked lies. 13:58 Foreign Language 14:00 At first I didn't know what I was doing, 14:05 but later I opened up, 14:07 repented and accepted Christ when I was baptized. 14:13 And I thank God, 14:14 I will never give up and I'll never leave this path. 14:19 And I'll always believe His commandments. 14:22 Foreign Language 14:24 So you started to attend church then? 14:27 Foreign Language 14:29 Yes, I went right away, 14:32 I enjoyed the support that we offer for others. 14:36 We pray for others that Christ would heal, 14:41 help, and support them. 14:43 I receive a great joy and happiness 14:47 that I have the ability to ask Christ 14:50 to support their health and their healing. 14:53 I thank God for this joy and happiness 14:57 and I pray that He would give me ability to help 15:02 and heal others as well. 15:04 Foreign Language 15:08 The Roman gymnasium was an important part of life. 15:11 The ancients believe that the human body 15:13 was a thing of beauty 15:15 and should be displayed and exercised regularly. 15:26 I don't know if you can figure out 15:27 where I'm standing right now, 15:28 but it's actually in the Roman bathroom. 15:31 They had tremendous ingenuity. 15:33 This is four spots here 15:35 and they actually used their slaves to sit down 15:37 and warm the stone before the Roman's would sit here. 15:40 A whole sewage system caught everything 15:43 and washed it all out in the drainage system, 15:45 tremendous ingenuity. 16:02 Here in the ancient city of Sardis, 16:05 I was thinking and contemplating about the lives of the people 16:07 who lived here, 16:09 especially the lives of the Christians. 16:13 I sometimes forget as I read my Bible 16:15 and think about these people 16:17 that they had real lives everyday lives 16:19 like you and I have everyday lives. 16:22 They had to work, they had to eat, 16:23 they had to sleep, 16:25 and they had to survive among the culture a bit, 16:29 that didn't believe like they did. 16:31 They sacrificed humans, 16:33 they looked to gods of sun and moon and stars 16:38 and all the other things. 16:40 The people in Sardis had a faith in Jesus Christ, 16:45 but at some point many of them left that faith, 16:47 but there were those who stayed faithful. 16:49 There were those that held on to the message of Jesus Christ. 16:53 Jesus pointed them to a life hereafter, 16:57 and this was the life that they wanted to have. 17:01 Here in this massive gymnasium, 17:04 the people had fun, and games, and frivolity. 17:08 Oh, they may have believed someone in health, 17:10 but specially the Greeks they love the good game. 17:14 It's exhibited by this massive structure. 17:19 They loved the beauty of the eye, 17:22 the beauty of the senses, 17:25 and these were some of the things 17:26 that the Christians had to struggle against here in Sardis. 17:36 Through the radio waves of AWR, 17:38 God is reaching people around the world. 17:42 We'd like to offer you an addition of Making Waves. 17:44 Its four of our episodes 17:46 brought to you from around the world. 17:48 God speaking to hearts, 17:50 the hearts of the listeners of AWR exciting stories. 17:53 We hope that you'll share those with friends and neighbors, 17:56 acquaintances, anyone you come in contact with. 17:58 Join us to make waves, it's completely free. 18:01 Right now the information is on your screen. 18:05 For your free no obligations DVD 18:07 write to Adventist World Radio, 18:10 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland, 18:14 20904 or call 1-866-503-3531 18:21 or log on to www.awr.org/mwdvd. 18:28 Be sure to request offer number 10 18:31 that number again is 1-866-503-3531. 18:44 To the untrained eye, this site really does not look like much 18:47 except perhaps through the cross on the wall over there, 18:50 telling us that may be there was a church here. 18:52 Indeed the archeologists tell us there are two churches. 18:56 Perhaps put the words of Jesus when he said 18:58 "Gather up all the fragments, so nothing be lost" 19:01 applies here because an earthquake or something else 19:04 may have destroyed the first church, 19:06 they gathered up all those fragments, 19:08 added to it, and built another church on top of it. 19:11 Who knows one of these days 19:13 they might find the actual church of Revelation. 19:21 In Revelation 3 verses 1 through 6, 19:24 John speaks of the church of Sardis. 19:27 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. 19:32 This is the message from the one 19:33 who has the sevenfold Spirit of God 19:35 and the seven stars, 19:37 "I know all the things you do, 19:39 and that you have a reputation for being alive-- 19:42 but you are dead. 19:44 Now wake up! 19:45 Strengthen what little remains, 19:47 for even what is left is at the point of death. 19:50 Your deeds are far from right in the sight of God. 19:54 Go back to what you heard and believed at first, 19:56 hold to it firmly and turn to me again. 19:59 Unless you do, I will come upon you suddenly, 20:02 as unexpected as a thief. 20:05 Yet even in Sardis, 20:06 there are some who have not soiled 20:08 their garments with evil deeds. 20:10 They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 20:15 All who are victorious will be clothed in white. 20:18 I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, 20:20 but I will announce before my Father 20:23 and His angels that they are mine. 20:27 Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit 20:29 and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches." 20:35 What a message for all of us, 20:36 "Wake up, wake up the time is at hand 20:39 when everyone will come before the judgments seat of God." 20:43 Turn again to what you once knew to be true. 20:45 Turn again to the faith you once possessed. 20:49 This was the very message 20:50 God continue to whisper to Lidia. 20:53 She had wandered far from her faith, 20:56 but one day she heard God calling her back 20:59 and she did indeed wake up. 21:04 You did things a little different 21:06 than many of our listeners. 21:07 You first did our Bible studies 21:10 and then you said you listened to the radio. 21:13 Tell me how did that work out? 21:15 Foreign Language 21:19 I really wanted to be familiar with the word 21:23 and so I studied newspaper and magazines. 21:26 Foreign Language 21:30 I didn't enjoy listening to the radio 21:33 nor did I watch the television. 21:37 It just didn't feel right being connected that way 21:41 with the rest of the world. 21:44 But I'm really happy 21:45 that Voice of the Hope brought to me 21:48 and give me opportunity to listen to Voice of Hope. 21:52 Foreign Language 21:58 I wanted to tell everyone at church and to my sisters. 22:03 I want everyone to listen, because it's very interesting. 22:08 Foreign Language 22:13 When listening to this, I would definitely say that 22:18 there is a seed planted in the park. 22:21 Foreign Language 22:24 You seem like you're like every one of our AWR listeners. 22:28 As soon as you hear it, 22:29 you want to share the programs with others. 22:31 You want to make waves to everybody else. 22:33 Foreign Language 22:37 Yes, I was always around other people at the foster home 22:42 and even now I tell people about it. 22:46 And after a while they want my presence, 22:50 they thirst for it. 22:52 and I love that feeling that someone else needs me. 22:56 Foreign Language 22:59 There were people that are going to watch 23:02 the two of us talking today and they may realize 23:06 there is something missing in their lives. 23:08 What would you tell them is missing? 23:11 Foreign Language 23:15 I want to say that God is with us today 23:20 and He was there in my past. 23:22 Foreign Language 23:26 I have a lot of friends all over the country 23:29 and when they hear my voice, I hope that they come to Christ. 23:34 Foreign Language 23:37 I really want them to hear me testify 23:40 and I hope that they all come to Christ 23:44 and my relatives as well. 23:47 I want them to have a future with Christ. 23:51 I want them to live an eternal life. 23:54 Foreign Language 23:58 I love them all and I love God, 24:02 because He unite us all. 24:04 Foreign Language 24:09 I know that He will find them when they are lost. 24:13 Foreign Language 24:16 You said it wonderfully. 24:19 Thank you so much for coming today. 24:20 Foreign Language 24:22 I thank God for you guys. 24:24 Foreign Language 24:28 In our story today we saw the experience of Lidia. 24:32 Her mother was an Adventist, 24:34 but she only lived with her mother 24:36 a relatively short time, 24:38 but even that short time made an imprint upon her mind, 24:43 then came the long days of communist atheism. 24:47 It was a dark period for her soul, 24:50 but then the time of change began 24:54 and as communism was fading, 24:56 she learned about the Bible correspondence course 24:59 offered by the Voice of Hope. 25:01 When she began to study that Bible course, 25:04 she had two kinds of reactions. 25:07 One reaction was 25:09 "Hey, I've heard some of these things before. 25:12 I remember that my mother talked about Jesus who saves us, 25:16 and the second coming of Jesus 25:18 and how she went to church on the Sabbath." 25:21 And so she felt happy about that, 25:24 but on the other hand she felt a different kind of feeling. 25:28 She realized that in her life 25:30 she wasn't keeping God's will and so she felt guilty 25:35 and she felt like she should make a change. 25:39 From her study of the Bible lessons 25:41 one key text stood out, it was John 14:15. 25:46 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 25:49 In one sense, she felt bad 25:52 because she hadn't been keeping God's commandments. 25:55 On the other hand when she remembered that 25:58 Jesus had saved her, 25:59 she wanted to keep the commandments, 26:01 because she loved Jesus. 26:03 Well, it wasn't long before Lidia discovered 26:07 an Adventist Church in her neighborhood 26:10 and when she began to attend that church, 26:12 somehow she just felt like she was at home, 26:15 she had returned to her roots. 26:18 I'm standing here in the area 26:20 where the city of Sardis once stood 26:24 and there was a letter written 26:26 in the Book of Revelation to the city of Sardis. 26:29 There are some differences between Lidia's story 26:32 and the experience of the people here in Sardis. 26:35 In Sardis, the people were known to be Christians, 26:39 but the message to them was 26:41 "Wake up because you're essentially dead." 26:44 In Lidia's case 26:46 she was involved in circumstances 26:49 beyond her control that kept her from learning more about God. 26:54 But finally Lidia took the advice. 26:56 She has returned to the fold of Jesus Christ 27:00 and that's how God wants us to be 27:02 whether we're in the church or outside of the church, 27:05 He wants us to come back to Him. 27:08 Won't you help AWR 27:10 lead many, many more people to find Jesus Christ 27:14 and return to the fold, 27:16 so that we can be with Him when He comes. 27:20 AWR is touching the lives of people 27:22 all around the world for Jesus Christ. 27:25 If you would like to partner with us, 27:26 please give us a call 1-866-503-3531 27:32 or write us at 12501 27:34 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland 27:37 20904 or log on to www.awr.org. 27:44 Thank you for watching and please join us again 27:46 for another exciting gospel adventure, 27:48 because around the world AWR is making 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Revised 2014-12-17