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>> Good morning, boys and girls.
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How are you doing today?
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>> Good.
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>> Good? Good?
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Happy Sabbath.
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You guys look good.
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So, today, I have a story
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for you guys about me
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when I was a younger kid.
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So, how many of you guys
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like to ride bikes?
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>> Me!
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>> Me.
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>> Oh, yeah.
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I loved riding bikes
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when I was growing up.
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And at a certain point,
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I started
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to get into mountain biking.
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Do you guys know what
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mountain biking is?
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Yeah?
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It's where you ride your bike
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in the woods on trails.
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Did you know
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that Andrews University
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actually has mountains?
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It's the only place in Michigan
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that has mountains.
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But you got to come to Andrews.
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All right?
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So, I used to ride
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my bike here on Andrews
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on the trails in the woods
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back there all the time.
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But the problem was,
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my bike was kind of old.
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It was kind of rusty,
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and it kept breaking down.
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And so I went to my mom and
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my dad, and I said, "Mom, Dad,
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I like riding my bike so much.
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And the problem is,
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whenever I hit a jump,
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the handlebars are loose,
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and they always kind of
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just fall down,
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or the chain is constantly
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falling off,
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and the the wheel's
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constantly going flat.
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And I don't know what we can do,
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but it would be possible for me
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to somehow find a better bike?"
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And my mom and dad,
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they said, "Johnny, you know
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we don't buy things
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for you all the time.
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We don't have a lot of money
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to just spend on this and that.
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But we see that you love
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riding your bike so much.
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We're going to take you
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to the store
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and get you a new bike."
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And I was like, "Oh, let's go."
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So we got in the car,
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and we went to the store
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that you always go to
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to buy the most quality bikes.
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We went to Walmart, right?
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And so we go --
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we go to Walmart.
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And my mom and dad said,
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"Hey, you can look at
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the bikes here
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and pick out a bike as long
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as it's under $100.
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And I was like,
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"Okay, no problem."
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So I -- man,
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I'm just going through,
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looking at the different bikes.
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And there I saw it,
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a brand-new mountain bike
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with full suspension.
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And I said,
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"I'm gonna get this one."
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So we got the bike.
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And, man,
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I loved riding that thing.
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Then, about a few weeks later,
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I went on a bike ride
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on the trails
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with some of my friends.
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And this time, we kept riding
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further and further
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back into the woods.
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And then we got to a part
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of the trails that I had never,
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ever been on before.
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My friends had been
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there, and they said --
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They said, "Johnny, Johnny,
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this trail is really,
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really fun the faster you go."
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And I was like, "Okay.
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All right."
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And so they said,
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"We're gonna go down first,
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and once we get to the bottom
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of the hill, we're going to yell
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back up at you
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and tell you that you can go."
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So all of my friends,
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they rode down first
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until it was just me
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at the top of the hill.
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And then I heard
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from the bottom of the hill,
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"Johnny, you can go now!
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Remember, don't use your brakes!
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Go really fast!"
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And so, you know, I --
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I get on my bike right there
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at the top of the hill,
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and I start down the trail.
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And I start pedaling faster,
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faster.
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I'm picking up more speed,
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more speed, more speed,
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more speed, faster, faster,
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faster, faster.
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When all of a sudden -- fww!
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I flew off the hill.
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And my tires were like this high
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off the ground.
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And it was just me
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and my bike in midair.
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And all I saw
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in front of me was a tree.
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[ Congregation groans ]
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The front of my bike
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hits the tree.
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I go flying over the handlebars,
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land on the ground.
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My friends come up to me
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and they say,
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"Johnny, Johnny, are you okay?"
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And I couldn't really breathe
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because I got the wind
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knocked out of me,
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and I was like, "Uh, yeah."
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And they said, "Hey,
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it's okay to cry.
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Real men cry. It's okay.
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It's manly to cry."
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And I said, "No, no,
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I'm not gonna cry.
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I was more concerned about
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my bike.
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So I got up,
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I had a couple scratches,
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but I got up, and I went over,
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and I looked at my bike.
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Oh, no!
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My brand-new bike.
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The front tire was bent.
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The frame
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of the bike was twisted.
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And I said, "Oh, man."
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Apparently, Walmart
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actually doesn't have
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the best bikes in the world.
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[ Laughter ]
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So I said,
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"What am I gonna do?"
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So what do you guys think I did?
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I was scared.
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I was scared my mom and dad
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were going to be angry at me
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for breaking this bike
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that they had just got me.
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Aww. So I hid it.
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I hid it in my garage.
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I didn't want to tell
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my parents.
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So, one week passes by,
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and I kept the bike hidden.
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I was scared -- "Mom and Dad
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are gonna be angry.
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I feel so guilty about this.
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I don't want to tell them.
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I don't want to tell them."
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Two weeks go by.
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Aw, man.
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The guilt just keeps
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eating away at me.
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Now it's awkward.
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My interaction with my parents
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is a little more awkward now
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'cause I'm hiding
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something from them.
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Three weeks, four weeks pass by.
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And finally, I can't take
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the guilt any longer.
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I go to my mom and my dad.
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I say, "Mom, Dad?"
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"Yes, son?"
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"Remember that bike you got me?"
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"Yes."
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"I crashed it, and I broke it."
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"We know."
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They said,
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"You did a terrible job
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at hiding it in the garage."
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My dad said, "I saw it
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every single day.
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I was just passing..."
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[ Laughter ]
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And then they said,
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"Are you okay?"
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My mom said, "Are you okay?"
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And I said, "Yeah, I'm okay,
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but I just feel so guilty."
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And they said, "We forgive you.
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It's okay."
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And they gave -- they got down,
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and they both gave me a big hug.
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And this is oftentimes
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how it goes with God.
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Sometimes when we make mistakes,
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we're afraid of God,
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and we think that he's gonna be
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angry with us
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and not forgive us.
00:14:27.13\00:14:28.73
But the Bible tells us
00:14:28.83\00:14:31.03
that we don't have to hide
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our mistakes or our sins
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from God because it says
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that if we go to God
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and we tell him
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that we're sorry for what
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we have done,
00:14:41.14\00:14:42.58
he will always forgive us.
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So how many of you want to say,
00:14:46.18\00:14:46.88
with one hand,
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"Lord, I'm sorry for the
00:14:48.28\00:14:49.95
mistakes that I've made in life.
00:14:50.05\00:14:51.62
I want to ask for
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your forgiveness"?
00:14:52.32\00:14:53.66
And then, with the other hand,
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say, "Thank you so much, Lord,
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for being so loving
00:14:56.83\00:14:58.56
and so forgiving
00:14:58.66\00:15:01.66
and for being someone
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that we can always go to
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and not be afraid of."
00:15:05.77\00:15:07.57
All right. Can I get
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a volunteer for prayer?
00:15:08.74\00:15:12.54
All right, I'm going to come --
00:15:12.64\00:15:14.08
We're going with you.
00:15:14.18\00:15:16.21
What's your name?
00:15:16.31\00:15:17.21
>> Josiah.
00:15:17.31\00:15:18.51
>> Josiah. All right.
00:15:18.61\00:15:20.45
Let's kneel for prayer
00:15:20.55\00:15:21.22
right here.
00:15:21.32\00:15:25.89
>> Dear Heavenly Father,
00:15:25.99\00:15:27.62
please bless this day.
00:15:27.72\00:15:29.29
Please bless the people
00:15:29.39\00:15:32.46
who's at church today.
00:15:32.56\00:15:34.36
Please bless the people
00:15:34.46\00:15:35.10
who are sick
00:15:35.20\00:15:36.20
because we are in the winter.
00:15:36.30\00:15:38.10
And please bless that we have
00:15:38.20\00:15:39.23
a good Sabbath today.
00:15:39.33\00:15:41.10
Amen.
00:15:41.20\00:15:41.84
>> Amen.
00:15:41.94\00:15:43.27
Thank you, boys and girls,
00:15:43.37\00:15:44.17
for coming to Children's Story.
00:15:44.27\00:15:45.01
You guys can go
00:15:45.11\00:15:46.01
back to your seats.
00:15:46.11\00:15:47.61
>> Happy Sabbath
00:17:48.53\00:17:49.66
and happy New Year, everyone.
00:17:49.76\00:17:51.43
>> Happy Sabbath.
00:17:51.53\00:17:53.37
>> [ Chuckles ]
00:17:53.47\00:17:55.74
I threw you for a loop there,
00:17:55.84\00:17:56.47
didn't I?
00:17:56.57\00:17:57.14
Yes, that's outside
00:17:57.24\00:17:58.21
of the Adventist rhythm.
00:17:58.31\00:17:59.27
The Sabbath part was fine,
00:17:59.37\00:18:00.44
but the New year was
00:18:00.54\00:18:01.21
not quite there, yeah.
00:18:01.31\00:18:03.68
Well, truly happy New Year
00:18:03.78\00:18:04.41
to you.
00:18:04.51\00:18:05.28
It is good to be back with you.
00:18:05.38\00:18:06.55
Been away
00:18:06.65\00:18:07.32
for a little bit, at least.
00:18:07.42\00:18:08.38
I went down to GYC
00:18:08.48\00:18:09.85
in Columbus, Ohio.
00:18:09.95\00:18:11.59
Had a good visit there.
00:18:11.69\00:18:13.29
Their weather's
00:18:13.39\00:18:14.82
not very impressive.
00:18:14.92\00:18:15.72
The water falls
00:18:15.82\00:18:16.73
from the sky in liquid form.
00:18:16.83\00:18:19.83
It's not like here in Michigan,
00:18:19.93\00:18:21.00
where we have hearty weather
00:18:21.10\00:18:21.93
and it falls frozen.
00:18:22.03\00:18:23.37
That's definitely an improvement
00:18:23.47\00:18:25.40
to be back here at home.
00:18:25.50\00:18:27.37
I want to let you know here
00:18:27.47\00:18:28.20
at the beginning of this year
00:18:28.30\00:18:30.01
that the Pioneer Memorial Church
00:18:30.11\00:18:32.67
elders, of which there are many,
00:18:32.77\00:18:34.78
have been in the process
00:18:34.88\00:18:36.41
and will continue to be
00:18:36.51\00:18:37.48
in the process of developing
00:18:37.58\00:18:39.21
a comprehensive
00:18:39.31\00:18:40.52
strategic ministry plan for
00:18:40.62\00:18:43.22
our congregation.
00:18:43.32\00:18:45.52
They have met three times so
00:18:45.62\00:18:46.69
far, and my guess is,
00:18:46.79\00:18:49.02
I'm going to say six months.
00:18:49.12\00:18:49.92
We might be done
00:18:50.03\00:18:50.59
sooner than that.
00:18:50.69\00:18:51.66
We'll see.
00:18:51.76\00:18:52.76
But our hope is that,
00:18:52.86\00:18:54.36
by the beginning
00:18:54.46\00:18:55.40
of next school year,
00:18:55.50\00:18:56.46
certainly, we will be ready
00:18:56.56\00:18:57.93
to begin
00:18:58.03\00:18:58.63
to do some implementation.
00:18:58.73\00:18:59.73
You'll be hearing more
00:18:59.83\00:19:00.27
about this
00:19:00.37\00:19:01.57
in the weeks and months ahead.
00:19:01.67\00:19:03.07
In fact, I will be taking some
00:19:03.17\00:19:05.87
of the time from the pulpit here
00:19:05.97\00:19:08.04
to explain what
00:19:08.14\00:19:10.05
the elders are looking at.
00:19:10.15\00:19:11.45
Some of the big-picture items,
00:19:11.55\00:19:12.68
the ministry concepts,
00:19:12.78\00:19:14.65
the biblical concepts, that
00:19:14.75\00:19:16.69
the elders are wrestling with,
00:19:16.79\00:19:18.09
looking to implement deeper
00:19:18.19\00:19:20.26
and deeper here at Pioneer.
00:19:20.36\00:19:22.36
In that way, you'll be able
00:19:22.46\00:19:23.29
to kind of go along with us
00:19:23.39\00:19:24.29
on this journey.
00:19:24.39\00:19:25.43
I'm excited.
00:19:25.53\00:19:26.39
I think there's
00:19:26.49\00:19:27.10
some great possibilities.
00:19:27.20\00:19:28.36
There's all kinds
00:19:28.46\00:19:29.46
of really good things
00:19:29.56\00:19:30.53
that are already
00:19:30.63\00:19:31.47
happening here at Pioneer.
00:19:31.57\00:19:32.23
Amen?
00:19:32.33\00:19:34.37
And we think we can take
00:19:34.47\00:19:35.40
those great things
00:19:35.50\00:19:36.64
and make them even more fruitful
00:19:36.74\00:19:39.61
with some additional planning
00:19:39.71\00:19:40.98
and some additional work.
00:19:41.08\00:19:41.94
So please pray for us.
00:19:42.04\00:19:44.48
Pray for us as a group of elders
00:19:44.58\00:19:46.31
as we go through this process.
00:19:46.41\00:19:47.62
Ask that the Spirit will be
00:19:47.72\00:19:49.08
the leader at each one
00:19:49.18\00:19:50.29
of our planning meetings.
00:19:50.39\00:19:51.35
Ask for the Spirit
00:19:51.45\00:19:52.15
to fill each elder.
00:19:52.25\00:19:53.86
Because in between meetings,
00:19:53.96\00:19:54.76
we always have homework.
00:19:54.86\00:19:55.72
We're always thinking about
00:19:55.82\00:19:56.19
things
00:19:56.29\00:19:56.93
and working on Google Docs
00:19:57.03\00:19:58.53
together, and we really want
00:19:58.63\00:20:00.33
this to be something
00:20:00.43\00:20:01.66
that will bear much fruit
00:20:01.76\00:20:02.70
for the Kingdom of God.
00:20:02.80\00:20:04.20
So we appreciate your prayers.
00:20:04.30\00:20:05.63
And by the way, next week is
00:20:05.73\00:20:08.24
when I'm going to begin
00:20:08.34\00:20:08.97
to share with you some
00:20:09.07\00:20:09.90
of the big-picture items
00:20:10.01\00:20:11.77
that the elders are looking at.
00:20:11.87\00:20:13.14
So I hope that you can be here
00:20:13.24\00:20:14.88
with us.
00:20:14.98\00:20:17.91
As we contemplate that process,
00:20:18.01\00:20:19.95
as we look towards becoming
00:20:20.05\00:20:21.98
even more fruitful
00:20:22.08\00:20:23.02
for the Lord here,
00:20:23.12\00:20:24.72
I thought it might be helpful
00:20:24.82\00:20:26.05
if we took some time
00:20:26.15\00:20:27.96
to remember.
00:20:28.06\00:20:31.13
To remember
00:20:31.23\00:20:32.39
some foundational truths.
00:20:32.49\00:20:35.06
If you're listening right now
00:20:35.16\00:20:36.26
and you're not yet a follower
00:20:36.36\00:20:37.43
of Jesus Christ, we're so glad
00:20:37.53\00:20:38.50
that you're listening.
00:20:38.60\00:20:39.53
What I'm gonna say this morning
00:20:39.63\00:20:40.64
might seem shocking,
00:20:40.74\00:20:42.64
perhaps even scandalous.
00:20:42.74\00:20:44.27
I know it did to many of us
00:20:44.37\00:20:45.71
before we became Christians.
00:20:45.81\00:20:47.34
And if you are a Christian,
00:20:47.44\00:20:48.88
my prayer is,
00:20:48.98\00:20:49.94
is that what we do,
00:20:50.05\00:20:51.18
this reminder this morning,
00:20:51.28\00:20:53.31
will inspire you afresh at
00:20:53.42\00:20:55.05
how deep and broad
00:20:55.15\00:20:56.28
and great is the love
00:20:56.38\00:20:58.25
that God has lavished upon us.
00:20:58.35\00:21:00.32
>> Amen.
00:21:00.42\00:21:01.62
>> Let me begin with a story.
00:21:01.72\00:21:06.76
Way back in 1944, December 16,
00:21:06.86\00:21:11.27
a young lieutenant --
00:21:11.37\00:21:12.07
He was a pilot.
00:21:12.17\00:21:14.17
Lieutenant Chuck Hartman --
00:21:14.27\00:21:16.87
took off from a place called
00:21:16.97\00:21:18.91
Tacloban, where the military
00:21:19.01\00:21:20.98
base was located at,
00:21:21.08\00:21:22.21
along with 14
00:21:22.31\00:21:23.51
other planes in his flight.
00:21:23.61\00:21:24.71
Now, Tacloban is
00:21:24.81\00:21:25.81
in the Philippines,
00:21:25.91\00:21:26.48
and forgive me if I'm
00:21:26.58\00:21:27.52
not pronouncing it correctly.
00:21:27.62\00:21:29.32
I pronounced it this way
00:21:29.42\00:21:30.02
in first service
00:21:30.12\00:21:30.72
and no one came up
00:21:30.82\00:21:31.62
and chastised me,
00:21:31.72\00:21:32.39
so I'm assuming
00:21:32.49\00:21:33.32
I'm doing this correctly.
00:21:33.42\00:21:34.92
Tacloban in the Philippines
00:21:35.02\00:21:35.82
there, they took off.
00:21:35.92\00:21:37.46
It was reasonably clear weather.
00:21:37.56\00:21:38.93
They were out
00:21:39.03\00:21:39.83
to do some strafing runs
00:21:39.93\00:21:41.00
and some bombing runs.
00:21:41.10\00:21:43.10
Lieutenant Hartman was
00:21:43.20\00:21:44.47
in a P-47 fighter plane.
00:21:44.57\00:21:46.57
And for those of you
00:21:46.67\00:21:47.54
that know your World War II
00:21:47.64\00:21:48.84
history, the P-47 was one
00:21:48.94\00:21:50.07
of the staples
00:21:50.17\00:21:51.31
of the U.S. military in the air.
00:21:51.41\00:21:53.91
It was a fairly heavy fighter
00:21:54.01\00:21:56.38
plane, and that meant it tended
00:21:56.48\00:21:58.65
to use a bit of fuel.
00:21:58.75\00:22:01.42
That's important, because
00:22:01.52\00:22:03.15
as we'll see here,
00:22:03.25\00:22:03.92
when they went out for
00:22:04.02\00:22:04.62
the strafing run,
00:22:04.72\00:22:05.59
they finished doing their runs,
00:22:05.69\00:22:09.32
and the commanding officer
00:22:09.42\00:22:10.39
radioed to everybody,
00:22:10.49\00:22:11.06
"Okay, it's time
00:22:11.16\00:22:11.79
to head back to base."
00:22:11.89\00:22:13.46
They turned
00:22:13.56\00:22:14.60
and began to begin to head back
00:22:14.73\00:22:15.93
towards Tacloban, and as they
00:22:16.03\00:22:17.60
were over the island of Negros,
00:22:17.70\00:22:20.84
they ran into weather.
00:22:20.94\00:22:23.41
Now this was not a thunderstorm.
00:22:23.51\00:22:25.51
Not that kind of a storm.
00:22:25.61\00:22:26.54
No high winds.
00:22:26.64\00:22:27.94
Just clouds, very deep.
00:22:28.04\00:22:31.78
And so they climbed.
00:22:31.88\00:22:32.95
They said, "Well, we'll climb
00:22:33.05\00:22:33.92
over the top of those
00:22:34.02\00:22:34.72
so that we can then come
00:22:34.82\00:22:35.52
back down and land at base."
00:22:35.62\00:22:37.49
They went up to 10,000 feet,
00:22:37.59\00:22:38.72
11,000 feet, 12,000,
00:22:38.82\00:22:40.56
all the way up to 16,000 feet,
00:22:40.66\00:22:42.09
and there was no break.
00:22:42.19\00:22:44.33
And finally, Lieutenant Hartman,
00:22:44.43\00:22:45.53
I mean, all this climbing
00:22:45.63\00:22:46.33
is taking what little fuel
00:22:46.43\00:22:47.23
he had left.
00:22:47.36\00:22:48.30
He looks at his fuel gauge.
00:22:48.40\00:22:49.96
He has about 30 pounds
00:22:50.07\00:22:51.77
of fuel left.
00:22:51.87\00:22:52.90
And for those of you
00:22:53.00\00:22:53.77
who know anything about a P-47,
00:22:53.87\00:22:55.20
that's like a whisper
00:22:55.30\00:22:56.54
of fuel left over. Okay?
00:22:56.64\00:22:59.84
He radios his commanding
00:22:59.94\00:23:01.04
officer, and he says,
00:23:01.14\00:23:02.08
"I got to go down.
00:23:02.18\00:23:02.94
I got to find a place to land."
00:23:03.04\00:23:04.68
And right about that time,
00:23:04.78\00:23:05.78
there was this small break
00:23:05.88\00:23:07.25
in the clouds.
00:23:07.35\00:23:08.95
And he took it.
00:23:09.05\00:23:09.92
He dove down through.
00:23:10.02\00:23:12.22
He leveled off just above
00:23:12.32\00:23:13.86
sea level,
00:23:13.96\00:23:14.76
couple hundred feet above
00:23:14.86\00:23:15.59
sea level there.
00:23:15.69\00:23:16.26
And to his relief,
00:23:16.36\00:23:18.49
he looked over to his left,
00:23:18.59\00:23:19.86
and there was an island.
00:23:19.96\00:23:21.20
He thought, "Well, okay,
00:23:21.30\00:23:22.03
if I gotta ditch in the water,
00:23:22.13\00:23:22.96
there's gonna be someplace
00:23:23.06\00:23:23.57
I can go."
00:23:23.67\00:23:24.97
He gently brings the plane
00:23:25.07\00:23:26.53
down like this,
00:23:26.63\00:23:27.40
and the tail kisses the water,
00:23:27.50\00:23:29.47
and then it grabs it
00:23:29.57\00:23:30.61
with a vengeance,
00:23:30.71\00:23:31.44
slams the plane down.
00:23:31.54\00:23:33.44
Big wave of water washes over.
00:23:33.54\00:23:35.01
He thinks, "Oh, no!
00:23:35.11\00:23:35.88
I'm sinking already."
00:23:35.98\00:23:37.75
The water recedes.
00:23:37.85\00:23:39.21
"Oh, great."
00:23:39.31\00:23:40.52
And then, it starts to turn.
00:23:40.62\00:23:43.52
P-47 was kind of top-heavy.
00:23:43.62\00:23:45.65
And in a flash,
00:23:45.75\00:23:47.49
Lieutenant Hartman throws
00:23:47.59\00:23:48.56
back the canopy,
00:23:48.66\00:23:49.39
grabs his life raft,
00:23:49.49\00:23:51.03
bails out of the plane
00:23:51.13\00:23:52.43
just as the thing goes blub blub
00:23:52.53\00:23:53.76
underneath the water.
00:23:53.86\00:23:55.40
He inflates the raft
00:23:55.50\00:23:57.60
and begins to paddle
00:23:57.70\00:23:58.80
towards the land.
00:23:58.90\00:24:00.07
Now, that would've been
00:24:00.17\00:24:01.20
all fine and good,
00:24:01.30\00:24:02.57
except that the tide was
00:24:02.67\00:24:04.04
against him, and he was not --
00:24:04.14\00:24:05.54
After a little while,
00:24:05.64\00:24:06.41
it was very clear he's
00:24:06.51\00:24:07.38
not making any progress at all.
00:24:07.48\00:24:08.74
He looks through the foggy air,
00:24:08.84\00:24:10.48
and he sees on the beach,
00:24:10.58\00:24:11.98
there's like seven or eight
00:24:12.08\00:24:12.78
people there.
00:24:12.88\00:24:14.62
And suddenly, it dawns on him --
00:24:14.72\00:24:16.89
"I have no idea
00:24:16.99\00:24:19.55
which island in the Philippines
00:24:19.65\00:24:20.96
I've just landed next to."
00:24:21.06\00:24:23.56
You see, at that time
00:24:23.66\00:24:24.63
in the war -- this is 1944.
00:24:24.73\00:24:27.36
The war didn't end until 1945,
00:24:27.46\00:24:28.93
but by the end of 1944,
00:24:29.03\00:24:30.20
in the Philippines,
00:24:30.30\00:24:30.77
there was portions
00:24:30.87\00:24:31.80
of the islands that were still
00:24:31.90\00:24:32.70
in enemy hands,
00:24:32.80\00:24:33.74
and there were portions of it
00:24:33.84\00:24:34.60
that weren't and that were
00:24:34.70\00:24:35.47
friendly to U.S. soldiers.
00:24:35.57\00:24:37.94
And he's like,
00:24:38.04\00:24:39.01
"Which one is it?"
00:24:39.11\00:24:40.41
And just then, those seven
00:24:40.51\00:24:41.21
or eight people jump
00:24:41.31\00:24:42.61
into a large canoe
00:24:42.71\00:24:43.61
and begin paddling
00:24:43.71\00:24:44.68
very swiftly towards him.
00:24:44.78\00:24:47.98
He reaches for his .45
00:24:48.08\00:24:49.05
to make sure
00:24:49.15\00:24:49.85
that it's still accessible.
00:24:49.95\00:24:52.19
And, finally, this canoe
00:24:52.29\00:24:53.22
is getting closer and closer,
00:24:53.32\00:24:54.59
and when they're close enough,
00:24:54.69\00:24:55.59
you can almost make out
00:24:55.69\00:24:56.42
some facial features.
00:24:56.52\00:24:57.43
He heard the last thing
00:24:57.53\00:24:58.46
he expected to hear --
00:24:58.56\00:25:00.96
"Don't shoot! We're friends!"
00:25:01.03\00:25:05.63
And sure enough, they were.
00:25:05.73\00:25:08.94
You see, as it turns out,
00:25:09.04\00:25:11.14
this was the island of Bohol,
00:25:11.24\00:25:13.71
and right near the town
00:25:13.81\00:25:15.04
of Valencia.
00:25:15.14\00:25:17.11
And the enemy forces
00:25:17.21\00:25:19.05
had actually been occupying
00:25:19.15\00:25:20.15
Bohol since 1942.
00:25:20.25\00:25:22.32
It had not gone well
00:25:22.42\00:25:23.25
for the locals.
00:25:23.35\00:25:24.95
But the tides of war
00:25:25.05\00:25:27.06
had changed just recently,
00:25:27.16\00:25:29.09
and the enemy had
00:25:29.19\00:25:29.92
withdrawn from the island.
00:25:30.03\00:25:33.16
Those 7 or 8 people on the beach
00:25:33.26\00:25:35.76
had seen Lieutenant Hartman's
00:25:35.86\00:25:37.60
plane before it went under,
00:25:37.70\00:25:39.57
and they recognized its markings
00:25:39.67\00:25:41.07
as being American.
00:25:41.17\00:25:43.04
And in their minds,
00:25:43.14\00:25:44.84
the liberators had come home.
00:25:44.94\00:25:48.04
The word traveled like wildfire,
00:25:48.14\00:25:49.88
and almost 200 people greeted
00:25:49.98\00:25:52.08
Lieutenant Hartman
00:25:52.18\00:25:53.08
there on the beach.
00:25:53.18\00:25:54.72
You know, 6 feet tall,
00:25:54.82\00:25:56.35
you know, young, muscular.
00:25:56.45\00:25:57.69
To them, he seemed to embody all
00:25:57.79\00:25:59.22
that was good about America,
00:25:59.32\00:26:00.76
and they were going to let
00:26:00.86\00:26:02.02
him know.
00:26:02.12\00:26:03.49
For the next three weeks,
00:26:03.59\00:26:05.26
they treated him like a king.
00:26:05.36\00:26:07.60
In fact,
00:26:07.66\00:26:08.40
they even called him that.
00:26:08.50\00:26:09.36
They gave him the title
00:26:09.46\00:26:10.83
"King of the Island."
00:26:10.93\00:26:12.77
They assigned him six chefs.
00:26:12.87\00:26:15.77
Now, I don't know
00:26:15.87\00:26:16.57
what you do with six chefs,
00:26:16.67\00:26:17.64
but I'll bet you eat pretty well
00:26:17.74\00:26:18.64
when you've got that many,
00:26:18.74\00:26:19.27
right?
00:26:19.37\00:26:20.31
They assigned him, also,
00:26:20.41\00:26:21.34
a personal bodyguard
00:26:21.44\00:26:22.54
and another person
00:26:22.64\00:26:23.71
to hold his pistol for him.
00:26:23.81\00:26:25.98
Okay? That was their whole job.
00:26:26.08\00:26:27.78
He couldn't go anywhere there in
00:26:27.88\00:26:29.45
Valencia without having
00:26:29.55\00:26:30.69
one 100 to 200 people
00:26:30.79\00:26:32.32
that were following him around.
00:26:32.42\00:26:33.49
Later on,
00:26:33.59\00:26:34.19
Lieutenant Hartman said,
00:26:34.29\00:26:35.09
"I had no idea how to act."
00:26:35.19\00:26:36.02
I mean,
00:26:36.12\00:26:36.86
I guess they don't teach you how
00:26:36.96\00:26:37.96
to deal with this in boot camp.
00:26:38.06\00:26:39.43
And so he said,
00:26:39.53\00:26:40.33
"I didn't know what to do,
00:26:40.43\00:26:41.06
so I just waved like FDR,"
00:26:41.16\00:26:43.16
like the president would, right?
00:26:43.26\00:26:44.07
Okay?
00:26:44.17\00:26:45.17
He'd travel around
00:26:45.27\00:26:46.03
and people would greet him,
00:26:46.13\00:26:46.84
"Thank you for your service.
00:26:46.94\00:26:47.74
Thank you, thank you,
00:26:47.84\00:26:48.30
thank you."
00:26:48.40\00:26:49.40
After three weeks
00:26:49.50\00:26:50.71
of this royal treatment,
00:26:50.81\00:26:54.44
somebody got a radio message
00:26:54.54\00:26:56.14
back to Tacloban and said,
00:26:56.24\00:26:57.25
"Hey, I think we've got one
00:26:57.35\00:26:57.91
of your guys here."
00:26:58.01\00:26:59.71
And sure enough,
00:26:59.81\00:27:00.92
they sent a seaplane over,
00:27:01.02\00:27:03.05
I think it was at Catalina.
00:27:03.15\00:27:03.92
They came in and landed there.
00:27:04.02\00:27:05.55
And it honestly was
00:27:05.65\00:27:07.06
a very emotional goodbye
00:27:07.16\00:27:09.49
for the people of Valencia.
00:27:09.59\00:27:10.66
They bid
00:27:10.76\00:27:12.66
Lieutenant Hartman goodbye,
00:27:12.76\00:27:14.23
he got on the plane,
00:27:14.36\00:27:15.00
and he left,
00:27:15.10\00:27:16.20
bringing to an end
00:27:16.30\00:27:17.10
probably one
00:27:17.20\00:27:18.40
of the most unusual episodes
00:27:18.50\00:27:20.97
in the Pacific Theater
00:27:21.07\00:27:22.37
in all of World War II.
00:27:22.47\00:27:24.21
And I wonder...
00:27:29.78\00:27:32.61
how would you like
00:27:32.71\00:27:34.75
to be treated like that?
00:27:34.85\00:27:39.12
Not bad, huh?
00:27:39.22\00:27:41.19
To be treated like royalty.
00:27:41.29\00:27:42.82
To be treated like
00:27:42.92\00:27:43.99
a king or a queen?
00:27:44.09\00:27:45.33
You know, if it's your birthday
00:27:45.43\00:27:46.73
or, like, if you're mom or dad,
00:27:46.83\00:27:47.66
it's Mother's Day
00:27:47.76\00:27:48.40
or Father's Day.
00:27:48.50\00:27:49.16
Something like that, right?
00:27:49.26\00:27:50.37
That you might get a few hours
00:27:50.47\00:27:51.70
of royal treatment.
00:27:51.80\00:27:53.13
But when the sun comes up
00:27:53.23\00:27:54.24
the next day, everybody says,
00:27:54.34\00:27:55.67
"We're done with that.
00:27:55.77\00:27:56.40
That was so yesterday.
00:27:56.50\00:27:57.37
All right? Okay?
00:27:57.47\00:27:58.04
We're not doing that."
00:27:58.14\00:27:59.24
Imagine being treated like this.
00:27:59.34\00:28:00.84
And this is not, this scenario
00:28:00.94\00:28:02.28
with Lieutenant Hartman,
00:28:02.38\00:28:03.14
this is not like, you know,
00:28:03.24\00:28:03.75
slaves serving
00:28:03.85\00:28:05.71
a conqueror or something.
00:28:05.81\00:28:06.88
These were willing people.
00:28:06.98\00:28:08.12
"Oh, yes,
00:28:08.22\00:28:08.88
we want to do what --
00:28:08.98\00:28:10.12
We'll take your clo--
00:28:10.22\00:28:11.32
We'll take all of these things.
00:28:11.42\00:28:12.15
We'll do them for you.
00:28:12.25\00:28:12.82
We'll feed you.
00:28:12.92\00:28:13.59
We'll lavish all of this --
00:28:13.69\00:28:15.12
this great treatment on you."
00:28:15.22\00:28:17.09
Wouldn't it be great
00:28:17.19\00:28:19.29
to be treated like royalty?
00:28:19.39\00:28:26.60
Well, good news.
00:28:26.70\00:28:29.10
You can be.
00:28:29.20\00:28:32.04
And let me show you how.
00:28:32.14\00:28:34.61
Turn in your Bibles,
00:28:34.71\00:28:35.51
please, to Zechariah 3:1.
00:28:35.61\00:28:39.61
Zechariah 3:1.
00:28:39.71\00:28:42.75
So, on page 637,
00:28:42.85\00:28:44.39
in the red Bible,
00:28:44.49\00:28:45.42
that's probably somewhere around
00:28:45.52\00:28:46.49
where you're sitting, page 637,
00:28:46.59\00:28:48.89
Zechariah chapter 3,
00:28:48.99\00:28:50.79
beginning with verse 1.
00:28:50.89\00:28:51.86
Let me give you a little history
00:28:51.96\00:28:53.06
that's behind this story
00:28:53.16\00:28:54.86
in Zechariah 3.
00:28:54.96\00:28:56.67
Zechariah was a prophet of God,
00:28:56.77\00:28:59.07
and his ministry took place
00:28:59.17\00:29:00.94
after the return from exile
00:29:01.04\00:29:03.44
in Babylon for the Jews.
00:29:03.54\00:29:05.01
Now, if you're not familiar
00:29:05.11\00:29:05.71
with that,
00:29:05.81\00:29:06.61
let me just briefly tell you.
00:29:06.71\00:29:08.41
The Israelites, God's people
00:29:08.51\00:29:10.45
for centuries actually had been
00:29:10.55\00:29:11.71
in rebellion against God
00:29:11.81\00:29:12.81
to varying levels.
00:29:12.91\00:29:14.12
And towards the end of
00:29:14.22\00:29:15.45
this time, they were
00:29:15.55\00:29:17.59
openly in rebellion.
00:29:17.69\00:29:18.72
Terrible things were happening.
00:29:18.82\00:29:20.49
Murder was an epidemic.
00:29:20.59\00:29:22.49
There are texts in the Bible
00:29:22.59\00:29:23.46
that talk about blood running
00:29:23.56\00:29:24.66
in the streets in Jerusalem.
00:29:24.76\00:29:26.33
Idolatry was everywhere.
00:29:26.43\00:29:27.60
There was temple prostitution.
00:29:27.73\00:29:28.60
There was even
00:29:28.70\00:29:29.63
the sacrifice of children
00:29:29.73\00:29:31.20
in the flames to foreign gods.
00:29:31.30\00:29:34.10
Israel, consequently,
00:29:34.20\00:29:35.37
was allowed to be taken
00:29:35.47\00:29:36.54
into captivity into Babylon.
00:29:36.64\00:29:38.64
It's where modern-day Iraq
00:29:38.74\00:29:39.47
is today.
00:29:39.57\00:29:40.68
They were there for 70 years,
00:29:40.78\00:29:42.48
and after that time finished,
00:29:42.58\00:29:43.58
God opened the way
00:29:43.68\00:29:44.71
for the Israelites
00:29:44.81\00:29:45.55
to come back to Palestine,
00:29:45.65\00:29:47.22
and that's the time
00:29:47.32\00:29:48.12
of Zechariah's ministry.
00:29:48.22\00:29:49.98
They come back to Palestine.
00:29:50.09\00:29:51.19
They are rebuilding --
00:29:51.29\00:29:52.75
they're rebuilding Jerusalem,
00:29:52.85\00:29:53.82
and most importantly,
00:29:53.92\00:29:55.79
they are rebuilding the temple.
00:29:55.89\00:29:58.53
Now, if you've heard
00:29:58.63\00:29:59.39
this part of Jewish history
00:29:59.49\00:30:00.43
before, it's kind of easy
00:30:00.53\00:30:01.13
to pass over that fact.
00:30:01.23\00:30:02.13
But let me just re-emphasize
00:30:02.23\00:30:03.10
for you.
00:30:03.20\00:30:04.20
This was absolutely huge.
00:30:04.30\00:30:06.97
The temple being rebuilt was
00:30:07.07\00:30:09.04
a sign that the one
00:30:09.14\00:30:11.07
and only building
00:30:11.17\00:30:12.57
on planet Earth
00:30:12.67\00:30:14.41
dedicated to the worship
00:30:14.51\00:30:15.84
of the one true God, Yahweh,
00:30:15.94\00:30:17.68
was being restored.
00:30:17.78\00:30:19.15
It was a massive deal.
00:30:19.25\00:30:23.28
And that's
00:30:23.39\00:30:24.32
where we join the story.
00:30:24.42\00:30:26.42
Zechariah 3.
00:30:26.52\00:30:27.69
Let's read just verse 1.
00:30:27.79\00:30:30.49
"Then he," meaning God,
00:30:30.59\00:30:32.26
"showed me," Zechariah,
00:30:32.36\00:30:34.30
"Joshua, the high priest,
00:30:34.40\00:30:36.67
standing before the angel
00:30:36.77\00:30:38.03
of the Lord,
00:30:38.13\00:30:39.50
and Satan standing at
00:30:39.60\00:30:41.60
his right side to accuse him."
00:30:41.70\00:30:45.34
Pause there, please.
00:30:45.44\00:30:47.44
Three characters right off
00:30:47.54\00:30:48.68
the bat in this story.
00:30:48.78\00:30:50.51
Joshua here,
00:30:50.61\00:30:51.55
character number one, is
00:30:51.65\00:30:53.45
not the same Joshua of --
00:30:53.55\00:30:55.28
He's not Moses' protégé,
00:30:55.38\00:30:56.69
not the one that helped lead
00:30:56.79\00:30:57.59
the conquest of Canaan,
00:30:57.69\00:30:58.52
er cetera, er cetera.
00:30:58.62\00:30:59.65
That Joshua would be quite
00:30:59.75\00:31:01.36
well-preserved by this point.
00:31:01.46\00:31:02.96
This is a different Joshua,
00:31:03.06\00:31:04.66
and he is actually
00:31:04.76\00:31:06.19
the first high priest in Israel
00:31:06.29\00:31:09.40
after the return from exile.
00:31:09.50\00:31:10.93
He's serving in Jerusalem,
00:31:11.03\00:31:12.47
although not quite yet
00:31:12.57\00:31:13.37
because the temple's not done.
00:31:13.47\00:31:14.94
He is an actual person,
00:31:15.04\00:31:16.14
an actual human being.
00:31:16.24\00:31:17.14
He's character number one
00:31:17.24\00:31:18.21
here in this first verse.
00:31:18.31\00:31:19.71
Character number two
00:31:19.81\00:31:21.84
is this angel of the Lord,
00:31:21.94\00:31:23.91
which is almost certainly
00:31:24.01\00:31:25.51
Jesus Christ himself.
00:31:25.61\00:31:28.78
Now, this tends
00:31:28.88\00:31:29.72
to trouble some Christians
00:31:29.82\00:31:31.02
because they don't like
00:31:31.12\00:31:31.85
Jesus being referred to
00:31:31.95\00:31:32.82
as an angel, right?
00:31:32.92\00:31:34.56
But actually the Bible does this
00:31:34.66\00:31:35.76
on a couple of occasions.
00:31:35.86\00:31:37.33
And, indeed, it is
00:31:37.43\00:31:38.26
very appropriate here
00:31:38.36\00:31:39.66
because as we're going to see
00:31:39.76\00:31:40.50
in just a few verses,
00:31:40.60\00:31:41.93
this angel of the Lord
00:31:42.03\00:31:43.77
does something
00:31:43.87\00:31:45.17
that only Jesus Christ can do.
00:31:45.27\00:31:49.44
So, we have Joshua,
00:31:49.54\00:31:51.37
the high priest.
00:31:51.47\00:31:52.64
We have this angel
00:31:52.74\00:31:53.51
of the Lord, Jesus Christ,
00:31:53.61\00:31:55.94
and we have this third
00:31:56.04\00:31:57.01
character, Satan.
00:31:57.11\00:31:59.81
And when this was being read,
00:31:59.91\00:32:01.35
because that's what this
00:32:01.45\00:32:02.12
was for.
00:32:02.22\00:32:02.92
This message from Zechariah
00:32:03.02\00:32:04.12
is to be read to the people of
00:32:04.22\00:32:05.25
Israel there, to be
00:32:05.35\00:32:06.49
of an encouragement to them.
00:32:06.59\00:32:07.86
When this was read to them,
00:32:07.96\00:32:09.76
my guess, at the very least,
00:32:09.86\00:32:12.16
some of the Jews that
00:32:12.26\00:32:13.26
were listening were surprised,
00:32:13.36\00:32:14.93
and my guess is there were many
00:32:15.03\00:32:16.46
of them, maybe even most,
00:32:16.56\00:32:18.00
that were absolutely astonished
00:32:18.10\00:32:19.80
to hear this.
00:32:19.90\00:32:22.60
Because the devil is
00:32:22.70\00:32:25.21
almost front and center
00:32:25.31\00:32:26.98
in this prophetic scene.
00:32:27.08\00:32:31.48
And to our ears today,
00:32:31.58\00:32:32.51
if you're a Christian, you've
00:32:32.61\00:32:33.21
been around the Bible
00:32:33.31\00:32:33.85
for a while, you say,
00:32:33.95\00:32:34.58
"Well, what's the big deal?
00:32:34.68\00:32:34.98
I mean,
00:32:35.08\00:32:35.68
we've seen the devil front
00:32:35.78\00:32:36.65
and center in a lot
00:32:36.75\00:32:37.49
of different scenarios."
00:32:37.59\00:32:38.89
It is true.
00:32:38.99\00:32:39.79
We are familiar with that,
00:32:39.89\00:32:41.26
but not in the Old Testament.
00:32:41.36\00:32:44.46
In fact, in the Old Testament,
00:32:44.56\00:32:46.36
this almost never happens.
00:32:46.46\00:32:49.90
In fact,
00:32:50.00\00:32:51.00
you know the Hebrew word here
00:32:51.10\00:32:51.97
in Zechariah 3:1 is "Sah-tahn."
00:32:52.07\00:32:54.24
You'll never guess how we
00:32:54.34\00:32:55.00
translate that in English.
00:32:55.10\00:32:55.87
Yes. "Sah-tahn."
00:32:55.97\00:32:58.11
And it literally
00:32:58.21\00:32:59.17
translates as "adversary."
00:32:59.27\00:33:01.18
In other words,
00:33:01.28\00:33:02.31
Satan was just kind of a
00:33:02.41\00:33:03.61
run-of-the-mill word,
00:33:03.71\00:33:04.95
and it was used to describe
00:33:05.05\00:33:05.95
human adversaries.
00:33:06.05\00:33:06.95
You know, if a opposing army
00:33:07.05\00:33:08.82
was coming towards Israel,
00:33:08.92\00:33:10.12
then it was called satan, okay?
00:33:10.22\00:33:11.45
It was an adversary, right?
00:33:11.55\00:33:13.19
But here in Zechariah 3:1,
00:33:13.29\00:33:15.56
the word has the definite
00:33:15.66\00:33:16.83
article attached to it.
00:33:16.93\00:33:17.99
In other words, it has the word
00:33:18.09\00:33:19.69
"the" attached to it.
00:33:19.79\00:33:21.20
"ha-satan"
00:33:21.30\00:33:22.43
or literally "the adversary."
00:33:22.53\00:33:26.13
In other words,
00:33:26.23\00:33:27.04
this is not an adversary,
00:33:27.14\00:33:28.74
but the adversary,
00:33:28.84\00:33:30.07
Satan himself.
00:33:30.17\00:33:31.54
And such a reference
00:33:31.64\00:33:32.31
specifically to
00:33:32.41\00:33:33.24
the personal being of Satan
00:33:33.34\00:33:34.94
occurs only rarely
00:33:35.04\00:33:36.48
in the Old Testament.
00:33:36.58\00:33:37.35
In fact, there's really
00:33:37.45\00:33:37.98
only three places.
00:33:38.08\00:33:39.31
There's 1 Chronicles 21,
00:33:39.41\00:33:40.42
there's Job 1 and 2 --
00:33:40.52\00:33:41.58
same story, two chapters --
00:33:41.68\00:33:43.32
and Zechariah right here.
00:33:43.42\00:33:44.72
Those are the only examples.
00:33:44.82\00:33:47.56
And why -- why -- the silence?
00:33:47.66\00:33:52.89
I mean, in the New Testament,
00:33:52.99\00:33:53.80
Satan gets named all the time,
00:33:53.90\00:33:55.73
but in the Old Testament,
00:33:55.83\00:33:56.73
almost never.
00:33:56.83\00:33:58.60
How come?
00:33:58.70\00:34:00.40
Well, the Bible itself
00:34:00.50\00:34:02.50
does not say specifically,
00:34:02.60\00:34:05.14
but our best guess is probably
00:34:05.24\00:34:06.84
this -- the most plausible
00:34:06.94\00:34:08.01
reason for this silence about
00:34:08.11\00:34:09.54
Satan's name as a personal being
00:34:09.64\00:34:11.05
is that for much
00:34:11.15\00:34:11.98
of the Old Testament era,
00:34:12.08\00:34:13.52
when Israel found a being
00:34:13.62\00:34:15.22
that was strong, powerful,
00:34:15.32\00:34:17.22
and could bring harm to those
00:34:17.32\00:34:18.49
who opposed it,
00:34:18.59\00:34:19.52
they had a strong
00:34:19.62\00:34:20.46
tendency to do what?
00:34:20.56\00:34:23.12
Yeah, I heard a few people.
00:34:23.22\00:34:23.93
To worship it.
00:34:24.03\00:34:26.63
And so God may
00:34:26.73\00:34:27.83
have intentionally kept a lid
00:34:27.93\00:34:29.30
on Satan's name,
00:34:29.40\00:34:30.60
keeping him from being
00:34:30.70\00:34:31.47
directly identified
00:34:31.57\00:34:32.50
and potentially,
00:34:32.60\00:34:33.37
therefore, directly worshiped.
00:34:33.47\00:34:35.17
But if that's the case,
00:34:35.27\00:34:36.34
in Zechariah 3,
00:34:36.44\00:34:38.64
all of that is gone.
00:34:38.74\00:34:43.41
And how come?
00:34:43.51\00:34:44.75
Why name Satan
00:34:44.85\00:34:46.41
specifically here?
00:34:46.51\00:34:51.12
Well, quite possibly
00:34:51.22\00:34:53.52
because the stakes for God's
00:34:53.62\00:34:54.69
people are sky high.
00:34:54.79\00:34:58.73
Israel is
00:34:58.83\00:34:59.86
at a crossroads in her history.
00:34:59.96\00:35:01.53
Let me just fill in some
00:35:01.63\00:35:02.30
of the gaps here.
00:35:02.40\00:35:03.67
At the very time of this vision,
00:35:03.77\00:35:05.60
that Zechariah is getting here
00:35:05.70\00:35:06.50
in Zechariah 3,
00:35:06.60\00:35:07.74
the reconstruction
00:35:07.84\00:35:08.64
of the temple,
00:35:08.74\00:35:09.27
as I mentioned before,
00:35:09.37\00:35:10.27
and with it,
00:35:10.37\00:35:11.04
the last opportunity
00:35:11.14\00:35:12.57
for Israel to become
00:35:12.67\00:35:13.58
a healthy host
00:35:13.68\00:35:14.61
for the coming Messiah.
00:35:14.71\00:35:16.08
That reconstruction effort
00:35:16.18\00:35:17.75
is being dramatically opposed.
00:35:17.85\00:35:22.58
Satan saw their progress.
00:35:22.68\00:35:25.59
The spirit of prophecy
00:35:25.69\00:35:26.39
is crystal clear on this.
00:35:26.49\00:35:27.72
Satan saw the progress of
00:35:27.82\00:35:29.12
of Jerusalem
00:35:29.22\00:35:30.13
and to his great dismay,
00:35:30.23\00:35:32.19
the temple being restored.
00:35:32.29\00:35:33.73
He knew what that meant.
00:35:33.83\00:35:34.86
He knew what was going to happen
00:35:34.96\00:35:35.70
in that building.
00:35:35.80\00:35:37.00
And so he stirs up the tribes,
00:35:37.10\00:35:38.57
the nations that are
00:35:38.67\00:35:39.57
around Jerusalem there,
00:35:39.67\00:35:40.37
to come and oppose
00:35:40.47\00:35:41.87
the rebuilders.
00:35:41.97\00:35:42.70
You can read about this
00:35:42.80\00:35:43.57
in Ezra and Nehemiah.
00:35:43.67\00:35:45.44
And I'm just going to sum
00:35:45.54\00:35:46.24
up here.
00:35:46.34\00:35:47.11
Essentially, these other tribes
00:35:47.21\00:35:48.44
and nations around Jerusalem
00:35:48.54\00:35:49.31
came and said,
00:35:49.41\00:35:50.41
"If you keep rebuilding,
00:35:50.51\00:35:51.81
we will kill you.
00:35:51.91\00:35:54.32
We will take your vineyards.
00:35:54.42\00:35:55.52
We will take your houses.
00:35:55.62\00:35:56.48
We will kill your family,
00:35:56.58\00:35:57.49
and we will kill you."
00:35:57.59\00:36:01.16
And to many of those in Israel
00:36:01.26\00:36:03.22
at that time, it looked like
00:36:03.32\00:36:05.33
the rebuilding effort
00:36:05.43\00:36:06.63
for the most important building
00:36:06.73\00:36:08.70
on the planet was going to fail.
00:36:08.80\00:36:15.30
And at this time,
00:36:15.40\00:36:16.47
under the threat of death,
00:36:16.57\00:36:18.31
what now would the Jews do?
00:36:18.41\00:36:21.71
God's people 80 years earlier,
00:36:21.81\00:36:23.31
70 years earlier,
00:36:23.41\00:36:24.15
70, 80, 100 years earlier,
00:36:24.25\00:36:25.58
they had made mistakes.
00:36:25.68\00:36:26.45
They had made
00:36:26.55\00:36:27.08
the wrong decision.
00:36:27.18\00:36:28.08
What would they do now?
00:36:28.18\00:36:29.62
Would they cave to Satan's
00:36:29.72\00:36:30.95
pressures or
00:36:31.05\00:36:32.19
would they stand firm for God?
00:36:32.29\00:36:35.99
And to my understanding,
00:36:36.09\00:36:36.99
this is surely
00:36:37.09\00:36:37.76
why God is breaking
00:36:37.86\00:36:38.86
with this millennia of silence
00:36:38.96\00:36:40.33
about Satan and directly
00:36:40.43\00:36:41.40
in his name, et cetera,
00:36:41.50\00:36:42.33
because he is trying
00:36:42.43\00:36:43.50
to drive home
00:36:43.60\00:36:44.63
a very important point.
00:36:44.73\00:36:45.73
Let me put it here
00:36:45.83\00:36:46.57
on the screen for you.
00:36:46.67\00:36:47.54
If you are trying
00:36:47.64\00:36:48.74
to do something good for God,
00:36:48.84\00:36:50.37
particularly something
00:36:50.47\00:36:51.74
very good, don't be surprised
00:36:51.84\00:36:53.58
when Satan pays you
00:36:53.68\00:36:54.51
a personal visit.
00:36:54.61\00:36:58.35
I mean, the Israelites,
00:36:58.45\00:36:59.25
think of the temptation here.
00:36:59.35\00:37:00.48
"Oh, you know, we thought
00:37:00.58\00:37:01.32
we were doing the right thing.
00:37:01.42\00:37:01.98
You know,
00:37:02.08\00:37:02.75
we're rebuilding the temple.
00:37:02.85\00:37:03.75
This is for God's glory.
00:37:03.85\00:37:05.12
And now look what's happening.
00:37:05.22\00:37:06.55
Swords at our throats and bows
00:37:06.65\00:37:07.66
and arrows pointed at us."
00:37:07.76\00:37:09.92
And, basically, what
00:37:10.03\00:37:10.96
God is saying here, "No, no, no,
00:37:11.06\00:37:12.19
no, don't be surprised.
00:37:12.29\00:37:14.76
You're doing something good
00:37:14.86\00:37:15.86
and even grand for me
00:37:15.96\00:37:16.97
and for my glory.
00:37:17.07\00:37:18.03
Of course the devil
00:37:18.13\00:37:19.40
is going to show up.
00:37:19.50\00:37:23.30
Don't be surprised.
00:37:23.41\00:37:28.28
Time-out for just a moment.
00:37:28.38\00:37:30.21
Come back to the present.
00:37:30.31\00:37:33.45
Pioneer family,
00:37:33.55\00:37:37.35
if the elders here at our church
00:37:37.45\00:37:40.52
are successful --
00:37:40.62\00:37:43.12
we're praying they will be --
00:37:43.22\00:37:45.56
and great plans begin to unfold
00:37:45.66\00:37:47.50
for our church and beyond,
00:37:47.60\00:37:50.47
plans that will bring glory
00:37:50.57\00:37:51.53
to God and a greater harvest
00:37:51.63\00:37:53.44
for Him, and glory to His name,
00:37:53.54\00:37:55.50
do we really think
00:37:55.60\00:37:56.71
that the devil is going to
00:37:56.81\00:37:57.94
just sit back,
00:37:58.04\00:37:59.87
wave, and wish us good luck?
00:38:00.04\00:38:03.78
I mean, the devil wants nothing
00:38:03.88\00:38:04.85
more than to keep every church
00:38:04.95\00:38:07.18
in the doldrums, you know?
00:38:07.28\00:38:09.42
People can be happy
00:38:09.52\00:38:10.39
when they come to church.
00:38:10.49\00:38:10.99
That's fine.
00:38:11.09\00:38:11.89
They can enjoy the fellowship.
00:38:11.99\00:38:13.52
But they can't become fruitful
00:38:13.62\00:38:15.32
in the devil's mind.
00:38:15.42\00:38:16.26
They cannot become fruitful.
00:38:16.36\00:38:18.46
Don't let them get energized
00:38:18.56\00:38:19.83
and moving out
00:38:19.93\00:38:20.66
into the community
00:38:20.76\00:38:21.50
and branching out in new ways.
00:38:21.60\00:38:22.73
Don't let them become galvanized
00:38:22.83\00:38:23.87
as you're contending
00:38:23.97\00:38:25.23
as one person for the gospel.
00:38:25.33\00:38:26.63
Don't let that happen.
00:38:26.74\00:38:30.51
So, ladies and gentlemen,
00:38:30.61\00:38:32.74
if over the next few months
00:38:32.84\00:38:35.34
the devil decides to show up
00:38:35.44\00:38:37.41
in person, in whatever form that
00:38:37.51\00:38:39.08
would be, don't be surprised.
00:38:39.18\00:38:43.45
This is
00:38:43.55\00:38:44.69
why we must be people of prayer.
00:38:44.79\00:38:47.46
Amen?
00:38:47.56\00:38:48.19
>> Amen.
00:38:48.29\00:38:49.26
>> This is why we must,
00:38:49.36\00:38:50.16
each of us,
00:38:50.26\00:38:51.09
walk with Christ each day.
00:38:51.19\00:38:52.66
This is why we must be filled
00:38:52.76\00:38:53.93
with the Holy Spirit of God.
00:38:54.00\00:38:55.66
Yes, that we may know
00:38:55.76\00:38:56.63
Jesus Christ, of course,
00:38:56.73\00:38:57.77
and that we may stand
00:38:57.87\00:38:59.17
against the devil
00:38:59.27\00:39:00.04
and his schemes,
00:39:00.14\00:39:01.00
because by God's power,
00:39:01.10\00:39:02.64
we will prevail over them.
00:39:02.74\00:39:07.04
You say, "How do you know?"
00:39:07.14\00:39:09.71
Because my Bible tells me so.
00:39:09.81\00:39:13.18
Let me read verse 1 again,
00:39:13.28\00:39:14.52
and this time let's go just
00:39:14.62\00:39:15.55
a little bit further.
00:39:15.65\00:39:18.32
Zechariah 3:1.
00:39:18.42\00:39:19.62
"Then he showed me Joshua,
00:39:19.72\00:39:20.59
the high priest,
00:39:20.69\00:39:21.46
standing before the angel
00:39:21.56\00:39:22.72
of the Lord, and Satan standing
00:39:22.82\00:39:24.16
at his right side
00:39:24.26\00:39:24.93
to accuse him."
00:39:25.03\00:39:25.59
Verse 2.
00:39:25.69\00:39:27.00
"The Lord said to Satan,
00:39:27.10\00:39:29.56
'The Lord rebuke you, Satan!
00:39:29.66\00:39:31.53
The Lord who has chosen
00:39:31.63\00:39:32.67
Jerusalem, rebuke you!
00:39:32.77\00:39:34.40
Is not this man a burning stick
00:39:34.50\00:39:37.01
snatched from the fire?'"
00:39:37.11\00:39:40.84
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:39:40.94\00:39:43.81
God fights for his people.
00:39:43.91\00:39:48.38
When the devil shows up,
00:39:48.48\00:39:49.98
it's not like Jesus just kind of
00:39:50.09\00:39:51.15
sits back and says,
00:39:51.25\00:39:51.89
"Well, good luck.
00:39:51.99\00:39:52.59
Hope you make it," right?
00:39:52.69\00:39:54.39
When the devil shows up
00:39:54.49\00:39:55.36
to oppress God's people,
00:39:55.46\00:39:56.73
Jesus shows, too,
00:39:56.83\00:39:57.79
and he fights for his people.
00:39:57.89\00:39:59.69
He's not content to simply --
00:39:59.79\00:40:00.93
You know, "Let them go,
00:40:01.00\00:40:02.00
and maybe they'll get mashed.
00:40:02.10\00:40:02.73
Maybe they'll make it,
00:40:02.83\00:40:03.33
maybe they won't."
00:40:03.43\00:40:04.07
No, no, no, no, no, no.
00:40:04.17\00:40:05.23
Jesus is incarnational
00:40:05.33\00:40:06.90
from the very beginning.
00:40:07.00\00:40:08.14
His mindset is incarnational.
00:40:08.24\00:40:09.94
He will fight for his people.
00:40:10.04\00:40:11.94
And did you notice
00:40:12.04\00:40:12.61
the imagery here?
00:40:12.71\00:40:13.48
It said there at the end
00:40:13.58\00:40:14.58
of verse 2,
00:40:14.68\00:40:16.08
"Is not this man a burning stick
00:40:16.18\00:40:17.95
snatched from the fire?"
00:40:18.05\00:40:19.11
Do you see what that means?
00:40:19.21\00:40:20.62
For 70 years,
00:40:20.72\00:40:22.95
the Jews had been in captivity.
00:40:23.05\00:40:24.82
They were afflicted.
00:40:24.92\00:40:27.36
They were in the fires
00:40:27.46\00:40:28.36
of affliction,
00:40:28.46\00:40:29.42
the furnace of affliction.
00:40:29.52\00:40:31.29
Because of their disobedience,
00:40:31.39\00:40:32.49
God could no longer protect them
00:40:32.59\00:40:33.56
as he had before.
00:40:33.66\00:40:34.46
And so, yes,
00:40:34.56\00:40:35.40
the fire of Satan's wrath
00:40:35.50\00:40:36.73
was against them.
00:40:36.83\00:40:37.70
And for that 70 years, it was
00:40:37.80\00:40:39.07
like all the promised blessings
00:40:39.17\00:40:40.17
of God were going up
00:40:40.27\00:40:41.67
in smoke and ash before them.
00:40:41.77\00:40:46.01
But Jesus is not afraid of fire.
00:40:46.11\00:40:48.51
>> Amen.
00:40:48.61\00:40:49.41
>> Jesus isn't afraid of
00:40:49.51\00:40:50.18
anything.
00:40:50.28\00:40:52.01
And when he sees his people
00:40:52.11\00:40:53.38
here, when the time
00:40:53.48\00:40:54.72
of their correction was up,
00:40:54.82\00:40:56.62
he reaches into the fire --
00:40:56.72\00:40:58.15
doesn't wait for it to go out.
00:40:58.25\00:40:59.09
He reaches into the fire,
00:40:59.19\00:41:00.72
and he pulls his people out.
00:41:00.82\00:41:04.23
Praise the Lord that we do
00:41:04.33\00:41:05.06
not serve a God
00:41:05.16\00:41:05.79
who sits afar off,
00:41:05.89\00:41:06.90
but he will fight for us.
00:41:07.00\00:41:11.20
But the story gets even better.
00:41:11.30\00:41:13.80
Think carefully here.
00:41:13.90\00:41:16.24
We would think
00:41:16.34\00:41:18.14
that for Christ to defend
00:41:18.24\00:41:19.71
someone so vigorously --
00:41:19.81\00:41:21.84
right? -- face-to-face,
00:41:21.94\00:41:22.58
reaching into the fire,
00:41:22.68\00:41:23.81
as it were, to pull them out,
00:41:23.91\00:41:25.61
we would think that the person
00:41:25.71\00:41:27.48
he is fighting for
00:41:27.58\00:41:28.68
must be a great prize.
00:41:28.78\00:41:31.49
And look the part.
00:41:31.59\00:41:33.69
In human thinking,
00:41:33.79\00:41:34.96
isn't that how we do it?
00:41:35.06\00:41:36.06
Like, if we're going to risk
00:41:36.16\00:41:36.76
life and limb,
00:41:36.86\00:41:37.46
the prize had better be
00:41:37.56\00:41:38.56
pretty good, right?
00:41:38.66\00:41:39.03
According to
00:41:39.13\00:41:39.76
normal human nature.
00:41:39.86\00:41:41.86
We humans love to chase after
00:41:41.96\00:41:44.47
bright, shiny objects, right?
00:41:44.57\00:41:47.24
If it's going to bring us money
00:41:47.34\00:41:48.17
or, you know, gold, silver,
00:41:48.27\00:41:49.54
fame, power, all these things,
00:41:49.64\00:41:51.11
we'll fight for that, right?
00:41:51.21\00:41:52.44
And so we would think, "Joshua
00:41:52.54\00:41:54.44
here, he must be a great prize."
00:41:54.54\00:41:55.64
Well, what does
00:41:55.74\00:41:56.78
this great prize look like?
00:41:56.88\00:42:00.32
Verse 3.
00:42:00.42\00:42:04.65
"Now Joshua was dressed
00:42:04.75\00:42:06.55
in filthy clothes
00:42:06.65\00:42:08.29
as he stood before the angel."
00:42:08.39\00:42:12.43
Oops.
00:42:12.53\00:42:13.60
[ Chuckles ]
00:42:13.70\00:42:15.33
Not much bright and shiny here,
00:42:15.43\00:42:16.20
is there.
00:42:16.30\00:42:18.90
But now we can understand
00:42:19.00\00:42:19.70
something.
00:42:19.80\00:42:21.20
We can now understand
00:42:21.30\00:42:22.50
why the devil was so bold
00:42:22.60\00:42:24.07
in his accusations of Joshua.
00:42:24.17\00:42:25.81
Did that cross your mind
00:42:25.91\00:42:26.68
when we first read this?
00:42:26.78\00:42:28.04
Satan is not sending
00:42:28.14\00:42:29.28
a letter to Joshua.
00:42:29.38\00:42:30.75
He's not standing
00:42:30.85\00:42:31.95
from a thousand yards away
00:42:32.05\00:42:33.15
and shouting his accusations.
00:42:33.25\00:42:34.98
Satan is pictured here
00:42:35.08\00:42:35.78
in this vision
00:42:35.88\00:42:37.22
actually in the presence of God
00:42:37.32\00:42:39.15
himself, right at the right hand
00:42:39.25\00:42:41.09
of Joshua, accusing him.
00:42:41.19\00:42:42.69
And now we know why he felt
00:42:42.79\00:42:43.93
so confident to do that.
00:42:44.03\00:42:45.26
Because Joshua is a mess.
00:42:45.36\00:42:48.10
He's filthy, he's dirty,
00:42:48.20\00:42:51.13
he's grungy.
00:42:51.23\00:42:53.40
Surely the devil
00:42:53.50\00:42:54.84
must have thought, "Jesus won't
00:42:54.94\00:42:57.14
fight for this one."
00:42:57.24\00:43:01.61
But notice what
00:43:01.71\00:43:02.58
Christ's response is.
00:43:02.68\00:43:03.48
Verse 3 again
00:43:03.58\00:43:04.35
and then further.
00:43:04.45\00:43:06.18
"Now Joshua was dressed
00:43:06.28\00:43:07.35
in filthy clothes
00:43:07.45\00:43:08.65
as he stood before the angel.
00:43:08.75\00:43:10.42
The angel said --"
00:43:10.52\00:43:11.52
this is Jesus now --
00:43:11.62\00:43:12.79
"to those who were standing
00:43:12.89\00:43:13.62
before him,
00:43:13.72\00:43:15.36
'Take off his filthy clothes.'
00:43:15.46\00:43:19.86
Then he said to Joshua, 'See?
00:43:19.96\00:43:22.13
I have taken away your sin,
00:43:22.23\00:43:24.17
and I will put
00:43:24.27\00:43:25.43
rich garments on you.'"
00:43:25.53\00:43:27.30
And about this time,
00:43:27.40\00:43:28.27
Zechariah is getting caught up
00:43:28.37\00:43:29.30
here in this renewal.
00:43:29.40\00:43:30.34
"Then I said, 'Put a clean
00:43:30.44\00:43:31.94
turban on his head.'
00:43:32.04\00:43:33.51
So they put a clean turban
00:43:33.61\00:43:34.64
on his head and clothed him
00:43:34.74\00:43:35.98
while the angel of
00:43:36.08\00:43:36.85
the Lord stood by."
00:43:36.95\00:43:40.22
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:43:40.32\00:43:41.28
here is the blessed
00:43:41.38\00:43:42.75
scandal of the gospel.
00:43:42.85\00:43:44.69
Here is the pure little secret
00:43:44.79\00:43:45.99
of salvation
00:43:46.09\00:43:47.26
that sets Christ apart
00:43:47.36\00:43:48.99
from legions of earthly rulers
00:43:49.09\00:43:50.66
and frustrates
00:43:50.76\00:43:51.63
the devil to no end.
00:43:51.73\00:43:52.79
Here it is.
00:43:52.89\00:43:53.83
Christ fights for us
00:43:53.93\00:43:55.76
before we're cleaned up.
00:43:55.86\00:43:57.73
>> Amen.
00:43:57.83\00:43:58.87
>> That's what's happening here.
00:43:58.97\00:44:00.07
Joshua --
00:44:00.17\00:44:01.00
The Lord goes into the fire
00:44:01.10\00:44:02.50
of affliction
00:44:02.60\00:44:03.41
and brings his people out before
00:44:03.51\00:44:05.57
they have cleaned themselves up.
00:44:05.67\00:44:07.88
This is an astonishing thing.
00:44:07.98\00:44:08.94
The Bible talks about it
00:44:09.04\00:44:09.94
on numerous occasions.
00:44:10.05\00:44:10.98
Notice this -- Romans 5,
00:44:11.08\00:44:12.65
beginning with verse 6.
00:44:12.75\00:44:14.02
"You see, at just the right
00:44:14.12\00:44:14.78
time, when we were still
00:44:14.88\00:44:16.08
powerless, Christ died for
00:44:16.18\00:44:17.42
the ungodly.
00:44:17.52\00:44:18.69
Very rarely will anyone die
00:44:18.79\00:44:19.92
for a righteous person,
00:44:20.02\00:44:20.92
though for a good person,
00:44:21.02\00:44:22.16
someone might possibly dare
00:44:22.26\00:44:23.06
to die.
00:44:23.16\00:44:24.16
But God demonstrates
00:44:24.26\00:44:25.73
his own love for us in this.
00:44:25.83\00:44:27.86
While we were still sinners,
00:44:27.96\00:44:29.63
Christ died for us."
00:44:29.73\00:44:32.67
>> Amen.
00:44:32.77\00:44:34.60
>> You know, Satan must have
00:44:34.70\00:44:35.60
thought that Joshua was
00:44:35.70\00:44:36.27
pretty easy prey,
00:44:36.37\00:44:37.24
so dirty and filthy
00:44:37.34\00:44:38.37
was this supposed man of God.
00:44:38.47\00:44:40.11
And by extension,
00:44:40.21\00:44:41.01
because Joshua was the high
00:44:41.11\00:44:41.91
priest, he represented
00:44:42.01\00:44:42.91
the entire nation.
00:44:43.01\00:44:44.31
Satan must have thought
00:44:44.41\00:44:45.28
the entire nation was easy prey.
00:44:45.38\00:44:47.28
"Look how filthy
00:44:47.38\00:44:48.25
and dirty that they are."
00:44:48.35\00:44:50.89
But the truth, from Scripture,
00:44:50.99\00:44:52.99
is crystal clear.
00:44:53.09\00:44:55.56
Christ, in full knowledge of our
00:44:55.66\00:44:58.46
sin, sees in us
00:44:58.56\00:45:01.20
who have rebelled against God,
00:45:01.30\00:45:03.10
the possibility of new life,
00:45:03.20\00:45:05.87
the possibility of fellowship
00:45:05.97\00:45:07.57
with him, the possibility
00:45:07.67\00:45:08.90
of a clean heart, a new heart,
00:45:09.00\00:45:10.57
even a joyful and obedient one.
00:45:10.67\00:45:13.81
And yet it gets even better.
00:45:13.91\00:45:16.54
Look at verse 6, please.
00:45:16.64\00:45:21.05
"The angel of the Lord
00:45:21.15\00:45:22.05
gave this charge to Joshua.
00:45:22.15\00:45:24.45
'This is what
00:45:24.55\00:45:25.25
the Lord Almighty says:
00:45:25.35\00:45:27.39
"If you will walk in my ways
00:45:27.49\00:45:28.76
and keep my requirements,
00:45:28.86\00:45:30.66
then you will govern my house
00:45:30.76\00:45:33.96
and have charge of my courts,
00:45:34.03\00:45:35.60
and I will give you a place
00:45:35.70\00:45:36.97
among these standing here."'"
00:45:37.07\00:45:38.27
Let me read that again,
00:45:38.37\00:45:39.03
the words of the Lord.
00:45:39.13\00:45:40.47
"'"If you will walk in my ways
00:45:40.57\00:45:42.27
and keep my requirements,
00:45:42.37\00:45:44.17
then you will govern my house
00:45:44.27\00:45:45.91
and have charge of my courts,
00:45:46.01\00:45:47.34
and I will give you a place
00:45:47.44\00:45:49.08
among these standing here."'"
00:45:49.18\00:45:51.35
Do you see what God is offering
00:45:51.45\00:45:52.91
to Joshua and,
00:45:53.01\00:45:53.88
by extension, to us?
00:45:53.98\00:45:56.15
You know the first part there
00:45:56.25\00:45:56.99
in that declaration,
00:45:57.09\00:45:58.52
says, "Walk in my ways
00:45:58.62\00:45:59.65
and keep my requirements."
00:45:59.75\00:46:01.16
This is a call to freedom.
00:46:01.26\00:46:03.53
It's a call to freedom.
00:46:03.63\00:46:05.59
The Bible is
00:46:05.69\00:46:06.26
very clear about this.
00:46:06.36\00:46:07.20
The Book of James talks about
00:46:07.30\00:46:08.23
look deeply into the law
00:46:08.33\00:46:09.66
that brings freedom.
00:46:09.76\00:46:10.93
Some translations say "liberty"
00:46:11.03\00:46:13.30
because God's ways are always
00:46:13.40\00:46:14.47
the ways of freedom.
00:46:14.57\00:46:15.77
When Jesus died on the cross,
00:46:15.87\00:46:17.37
he made it possible for us
00:46:17.47\00:46:18.91
to die to the old ways of sin.
00:46:19.01\00:46:21.08
And when he rose from the grave,
00:46:21.18\00:46:22.41
he made it possible for us
00:46:22.51\00:46:23.45
to not merely be forgiven,
00:46:23.55\00:46:24.65
as good as that would be,
00:46:24.75\00:46:25.85
but now to have the power
00:46:25.95\00:46:27.05
to live a new life in him.
00:46:27.15\00:46:29.12
You do not have to be held
00:46:29.22\00:46:30.79
in chains of sin any longer,
00:46:30.89\00:46:33.39
because Jesus has made it so.
00:46:33.49\00:46:35.99
And that's a call to freedom.
00:46:36.09\00:46:37.89
God's ways are always
00:46:37.99\00:46:39.49
the paths of freedom.
00:46:39.59\00:46:40.86
Any other path is
00:46:40.96\00:46:41.96
the path of bondage.
00:46:42.06\00:46:44.37
At the very beginning here,
00:46:44.47\00:46:45.70
Jesus calls Joshua and,
00:46:45.80\00:46:46.87
by extension, us
00:46:46.97\00:46:48.14
to the ways of freedom.
00:46:48.24\00:46:49.30
"Obey me," he says.
00:46:49.40\00:46:50.04
"Follow my law,
00:46:50.14\00:46:50.84
follow my commands.
00:46:50.94\00:46:52.14
These are the paths of freedom.
00:46:52.24\00:46:55.24
Secondly, he says,
00:46:55.34\00:46:56.14
"Govern my house."
00:46:56.24\00:46:57.38
"Joshua, you keep
00:46:57.48\00:46:58.35
the covenant with me,
00:46:58.45\00:46:59.31
you will govern my house."
00:46:59.41\00:47:00.72
Now, for Joshua,
00:47:00.82\00:47:01.75
this was a powerful thing
00:47:01.85\00:47:02.85
because, basically, what
00:47:02.95\00:47:03.89
Jesus was saying to Joshua was
00:47:03.99\00:47:05.12
this -- "The temple
00:47:05.22\00:47:06.55
will be rebuilt.
00:47:06.65\00:47:09.02
You will have courts
00:47:09.12\00:47:09.96
to serve me in.
00:47:10.06\00:47:11.29
Those people that
00:47:11.39\00:47:12.29
are threatening you right now,
00:47:12.39\00:47:13.29
saying they're gonna take your
00:47:13.40\00:47:14.00
vineyards and your houses,
00:47:14.10\00:47:14.93
et cetera, don't believe them.
00:47:15.03\00:47:15.96
They're not going to win.
00:47:16.06\00:47:17.20
I will prevail.
00:47:17.30\00:47:18.63
You will have a place."
00:47:18.73\00:47:20.14
And by extension, the promise
00:47:20.24\00:47:21.77
comes to us, as well.
00:47:21.87\00:47:23.34
When Jesus saves us,
00:47:23.44\00:47:25.04
he doesn't save us to set us
00:47:25.14\00:47:26.31
on the sidelines somewhere
00:47:26.41\00:47:27.38
where we're just gonna be bored
00:47:27.48\00:47:28.38
and kind of twiddle our thumbs
00:47:28.48\00:47:29.28
until the kingdom comes.
00:47:29.38\00:47:30.65
No, he gives each one of us
00:47:30.75\00:47:32.28
gifts that we might be
00:47:32.38\00:47:33.58
substantial servers
00:47:33.68\00:47:35.42
in his kingdom,
00:47:35.52\00:47:36.95
and many others will be blessed
00:47:37.05\00:47:38.52
because of that ministry.
00:47:38.62\00:47:40.29
You have been called.
00:47:40.39\00:47:42.56
And number three,
00:47:42.66\00:47:44.43
Jesus says to Joshua,
00:47:44.53\00:47:45.43
"You're gonna have a place
00:47:45.53\00:47:46.46
among these standing here,"
00:47:46.56\00:47:48.40
he says.
00:47:48.50\00:47:49.26
Now, notice carefully,
00:47:49.36\00:47:50.33
at this point in the vision,
00:47:50.43\00:47:51.37
the devil's gone.
00:47:51.47\00:47:52.93
He's lost the fight.
00:47:53.03\00:47:54.80
He's not in this picture.
00:47:54.90\00:47:56.17
If we were to read earlier
00:47:56.27\00:47:57.17
in the book of Zechariah,
00:47:57.27\00:47:58.14
we would discover exactly
00:47:58.24\00:47:59.27
who is standing there.
00:47:59.37\00:48:01.24
It's angels.
00:48:01.34\00:48:03.18
Let that sink in.
00:48:03.28\00:48:05.45
What Jesus is saying to Joshua
00:48:05.55\00:48:07.48
and to us,
00:48:07.58\00:48:08.58
to anyone who is willing
00:48:08.68\00:48:09.78
to call Jesus Lord and Savior,
00:48:09.88\00:48:11.32
is this -- that not only
00:48:11.42\00:48:13.22
will you have the protection
00:48:13.32\00:48:14.46
and guidance of angels
00:48:14.56\00:48:15.82
now, this side of heaven,
00:48:15.92\00:48:17.83
but someday soon, you will go
00:48:17.93\00:48:19.69
home with Jesus, and you
00:48:19.79\00:48:21.66
will be surrounded forever
00:48:21.76\00:48:23.67
with the company of those
00:48:23.77\00:48:25.23
standing there that day.
00:48:25.33\00:48:28.27
That's tremendous.
00:48:28.37\00:48:29.94
I mean, what better
00:48:30.04\00:48:30.84
reward could there be?
00:48:30.94\00:48:32.57
We will be sons and
00:48:32.67\00:48:34.28
daughters of God.
00:48:34.38\00:48:35.91
We will be royalty
00:48:36.01\00:48:38.98
and treated like it.
00:48:39.08\00:48:41.18
We have been chosen
00:48:41.28\00:48:44.55
for this very thing.
00:48:44.65\00:48:50.13
Which reminds me of a story.
00:48:50.23\00:48:52.19
Or perhaps, I should say,
00:48:52.29\00:48:53.86
the rest of the story.
00:48:53.96\00:48:57.53
In 2004, Lieutenant Hartman,
00:48:57.63\00:49:01.50
now in his 80s,
00:49:01.60\00:49:03.67
went to the doctor's office
00:49:03.77\00:49:05.47
not far from his home
00:49:05.57\00:49:06.98
in western Pennsylvania.
00:49:07.08\00:49:08.84
He met a doctor there
00:49:08.94\00:49:09.64
who's named Dr. Lim,
00:49:09.74\00:49:10.61
and in the course
00:49:10.71\00:49:11.35
of their conversation,
00:49:11.45\00:49:12.28
Dr. Lim casually mentioned
00:49:12.38\00:49:14.15
that he had been born
00:49:14.25\00:49:15.25
in the Philippines
00:49:15.35\00:49:16.28
on the island of Bohol
00:49:16.38\00:49:18.22
in the little town of Valencia.
00:49:18.32\00:49:21.62
Well, you can imagine
00:49:21.72\00:49:22.59
the conversation that ensued
00:49:22.69\00:49:23.56
after that.
00:49:23.66\00:49:24.49
The enthusiastic sharing
00:49:24.59\00:49:25.96
memories and whatnot like this.
00:49:26.06\00:49:27.60
But nothing more came of it,
00:49:27.66\00:49:29.20
at least not right away.
00:49:29.30\00:49:32.57
Sometime later,
00:49:32.67\00:49:34.04
Dr. Lim flew home.
00:49:34.14\00:49:35.37
He went to Valencia
00:49:35.47\00:49:36.44
on the island of Bohol
00:49:36.54\00:49:37.34
in the Philippines.
00:49:37.44\00:49:39.04
And when he landed
00:49:39.14\00:49:39.81
at the airport,
00:49:39.91\00:49:40.71
he ran into a stranger,
00:49:40.81\00:49:41.78
and they struck up
00:49:41.88\00:49:42.58
a conversation, and explained,
00:49:42.68\00:49:43.88
"I'm a doctor.
00:49:43.98\00:49:44.75
I work in the United States,"
00:49:44.85\00:49:45.25
et cetera.
00:49:45.35\00:49:46.15
And somehow mentioned,
00:49:46.25\00:49:47.38
"Oh, you know what?
00:49:47.48\00:49:48.22
I'm actually working with a guy
00:49:48.32\00:49:51.69
that crash-landed his plane
00:49:51.79\00:49:53.46
off of the shore of Valencia."
00:49:53.56\00:49:55.96
And the stranger immediately
00:49:56.06\00:49:57.03
said back, "Oh,
00:49:57.13\00:49:58.36
you mean Lieutenant Hartman."
00:49:58.46\00:50:00.96
Wow.
00:50:01.06\00:50:02.66
One thing led to another,
00:50:02.76\00:50:05.77
and in October of 2005,
00:50:05.87\00:50:08.10
61 years after he had splashed
00:50:08.20\00:50:10.67
down his P-47 near Valencia,
00:50:10.77\00:50:13.44
Lieutenant Hartman, his wife,
00:50:13.54\00:50:14.71
and one of his sons
00:50:14.81\00:50:15.61
went back to Valencia.
00:50:15.71\00:50:19.25
40 people met them
00:50:19.35\00:50:20.42
at the airport with a big banner
00:50:20.52\00:50:21.58
that read "Welcome home,
00:50:21.68\00:50:22.58
Chuck Hartman."
00:50:22.68\00:50:23.82
It turned out to be
00:50:23.92\00:50:24.59
quite a visit.
00:50:24.69\00:50:25.45
The chief of police met them
00:50:25.55\00:50:27.06
at the base of the stairs.
00:50:27.16\00:50:28.36
You know, when I get on --
00:50:28.46\00:50:29.56
when I go flying
00:50:29.66\00:50:30.59
and someone from the police
00:50:30.69\00:50:31.66
department greets me, it's never
00:50:31.76\00:50:32.83
to treat me like royalty.
00:50:32.93\00:50:33.60
It's always
00:50:33.70\00:50:34.30
for some other purpose.
00:50:34.40\00:50:35.76
But not so here.
00:50:35.86\00:50:36.77
I mean, they come down the steps
00:50:36.87\00:50:37.73
of the airline, and there's
00:50:37.83\00:50:38.83
the chief of the police and his
00:50:38.93\00:50:39.80
lieutenant next to him there,
00:50:39.90\00:50:40.97
welcoming them to Valencia.
00:50:41.07\00:50:43.07
They put them up at this great
00:50:43.17\00:50:44.04
hotel, local resort
00:50:44.14\00:50:45.04
right there on the beach.
00:50:45.14\00:50:46.81
Lieutenant Hartman's wife later
00:50:46.91\00:50:48.24
said, "We carried nothing
00:50:48.34\00:50:51.15
during our visit.
00:50:51.25\00:50:52.58
Not a thing.
00:50:52.68\00:50:53.62
Bags, plates, I mean,
00:50:53.72\00:50:54.98
you name it, they just --
00:50:55.08\00:50:56.12
'Oh, let me take that for you.
00:50:56.22\00:50:56.95
Please, let me take that
00:50:57.05\00:50:57.42
for you.'"
00:50:57.52\00:50:58.25
Treated them like royalty
00:50:58.35\00:50:59.42
from morning till sunset.
00:50:59.52\00:51:01.22
They went to the local school.
00:51:01.32\00:51:02.36
They were greeted like heroes
00:51:02.46\00:51:04.06
by the schoolchildren.
00:51:04.16\00:51:05.26
They were smiling and laughing
00:51:05.36\00:51:06.29
and shaking their hand.
00:51:06.39\00:51:07.73
Newspaper reporters came
00:51:07.83\00:51:09.66
to interview them.
00:51:09.76\00:51:10.97
And wouldn't you know it,
00:51:11.07\00:51:12.10
among those 40 people
00:51:12.20\00:51:13.74
that first greeted him
00:51:13.84\00:51:14.77
at the airport,
00:51:14.87\00:51:16.20
two of them were in the canoe
00:51:16.30\00:51:18.67
61 years earlier that went out
00:51:18.77\00:51:20.68
to greet him in the water.
00:51:20.78\00:51:23.38
And throughout his visit,
00:51:23.48\00:51:24.35
these people
00:51:24.45\00:51:25.18
that were only children
00:51:25.28\00:51:26.28
when Lieutenant Hartman landed
00:51:26.38\00:51:27.38
on the shore, came up to him
00:51:27.48\00:51:28.58
and they greeted him,
00:51:28.68\00:51:29.15
shook his hand,
00:51:29.25\00:51:29.72
and they thanked
00:51:29.82\00:51:30.35
him for his service.
00:51:30.45\00:51:32.72
October 27th in Valencia
00:51:32.82\00:51:34.19
was Founder's Day,
00:51:34.29\00:51:35.46
and Lieutenant Hartman
00:51:35.56\00:51:36.59
and his wife, riding in a jeep,
00:51:36.69\00:51:37.76
were named
00:51:37.86\00:51:38.86
grand marshals of the parade.
00:51:38.96\00:51:43.30
And at the end of their visit,
00:51:43.40\00:51:44.33
it culminated with a visit back
00:51:44.43\00:51:47.07
to the very beach location
00:51:47.17\00:51:49.20
where he had come ashore
00:51:49.30\00:51:50.71
way back December 16, 1944.
00:51:50.81\00:51:58.08
There were tears all around
00:51:58.18\00:52:00.62
at Lieutenant Hartman's visit.
00:52:00.72\00:52:03.45
Tears from the locals
00:52:03.55\00:52:04.65
because of the joyful reminders
00:52:04.75\00:52:06.19
of the freedoms won long ago.
00:52:06.29\00:52:09.72
And tears from
00:52:09.82\00:52:10.69
Lieutenant Hartman,
00:52:10.79\00:52:12.29
who, in 1944,
00:52:12.39\00:52:13.86
was just another military pilot
00:52:13.96\00:52:16.77
but came to be loved
00:52:16.87\00:52:18.17
and cherished
00:52:18.27\00:52:19.33
and treated far better
00:52:19.43\00:52:20.37
than he deserved,
00:52:20.47\00:52:21.44
even like royalty, by people
00:52:21.54\00:52:24.91
he had previously never known.
00:52:25.01\00:52:30.88
Pioneer family,
00:52:30.98\00:52:33.62
as we contemplate new ministry
00:52:33.72\00:52:35.55
plans for the new year,
00:52:35.65\00:52:37.72
as we consider ramping up
00:52:37.82\00:52:39.22
our efforts to reach others
00:52:39.32\00:52:40.22
for Christ
00:52:40.32\00:52:41.06
and to become more effective
00:52:41.16\00:52:42.19
for him and for his glory,
00:52:42.29\00:52:43.99
let us let Joshua and God's
00:52:44.09\00:52:45.93
Word, and
00:52:46.03\00:52:47.03
even Lieutenant Hartman's story
00:52:47.13\00:52:48.56
remind us
00:52:48.66\00:52:49.76
of these foundational truths,
00:52:49.86\00:52:52.07
that all of us
00:52:52.17\00:52:53.13
have crash-landed in the ocean
00:52:53.23\00:52:54.90
of sin at some time or another,
00:52:55.00\00:52:57.17
that apart from Christ,
00:52:57.27\00:52:58.04
our spiritual
00:52:58.14\00:52:58.91
clothes are filthy.
00:52:59.01\00:53:00.68
Satan stands at our right side,
00:53:00.78\00:53:02.38
exalting in our dirty rags.
00:53:02.48\00:53:03.75
Many of us
00:53:03.85\00:53:04.51
have been tempted to give up
00:53:04.61\00:53:05.71
and sink beneath the waves.
00:53:05.81\00:53:09.15
But we must never forget
00:53:09.25\00:53:10.89
that Jesus himself
00:53:10.99\00:53:12.65
has chosen us to be royalty
00:53:12.75\00:53:14.76
for him,
00:53:14.86\00:53:16.42
and to have fellowship with him
00:53:16.52\00:53:17.73
both now and forever.
00:53:17.83\00:53:20.03
Ellen White put it this way.
00:53:20.13\00:53:21.66
"Prophets and Kings."
00:53:21.76\00:53:22.83
She says, "Zechariah's vision
00:53:22.93\00:53:24.00
of Joshua and the Angel
00:53:24.10\00:53:25.47
applies with peculiar force to
00:53:25.57\00:53:27.10
the experience of God's people
00:53:27.20\00:53:28.54
in the closing scenes
00:53:28.64\00:53:29.80
of the great day of atonement."
00:53:29.90\00:53:30.81
In other words, now.
00:53:30.91\00:53:32.71
"The remnant church will then
00:53:32.81\00:53:33.91
be brought into great trial
00:53:34.01\00:53:34.94
and distress.
00:53:35.04\00:53:36.54
Those who keep the commandments
00:53:36.64\00:53:37.55
of God and the faith
00:53:37.65\00:53:38.48
of Jesus will feel the ire
00:53:38.58\00:53:40.02
of the dragon and his hosts.
00:53:40.12\00:53:41.55
Satan numbers
00:53:41.65\00:53:42.38
the world as his subjects.
00:53:42.48\00:53:43.75
He has gained control even of
00:53:43.85\00:53:45.12
many professing Christians.
00:53:45.22\00:53:46.72
But here is a little company
00:53:46.82\00:53:48.46
who are resisting his supremacy.
00:53:48.56\00:53:50.49
If he could blot them
00:53:50.59\00:53:51.19
from the earth,
00:53:51.29\00:53:51.99
his triumph would be complete.
00:53:52.09\00:53:53.63
As he influenced
00:53:53.73\00:53:54.40
the heathen nations
00:53:54.50\00:53:55.06
to destroy Israel,
00:53:55.16\00:53:56.36
so in the near future
00:53:56.46\00:53:57.37
he will stir up the wicked
00:53:57.47\00:53:58.23
powers of earth
00:53:58.33\00:53:59.30
to destroy the people of God.
00:53:59.40\00:54:01.17
Men will be required
00:54:01.27\00:54:02.00
to render obedience
00:54:02.10\00:54:03.04
to human edicts in violation
00:54:03.14\00:54:04.44
of the divine law.
00:54:04.54\00:54:07.01
But all who have put on the robe
00:54:07.11\00:54:10.08
of Christ's righteousness
00:54:10.18\00:54:11.85
will stand before him as..."
00:54:11.95\00:54:13.78
What's that word?
00:54:13.88\00:54:15.25
Chosen.
00:54:15.35\00:54:16.15
"...as chosen and faithful
00:54:16.25\00:54:17.69
and true.
00:54:17.79\00:54:19.15
Satan has no power to pluck them
00:54:19.25\00:54:20.72
out of the hand of the Savior.
00:54:20.82\00:54:21.96
Not one soul
00:54:22.06\00:54:23.02
who in penitence and faith
00:54:23.12\00:54:24.13
has claimed his protection,
00:54:24.23\00:54:25.29
will Christ permit to pass
00:54:25.39\00:54:26.46
under the enemy's power.
00:54:26.56\00:54:27.66
His word is pledged.
00:54:27.76\00:54:29.30
'Let him take hold
00:54:29.40\00:54:30.27
of my strength,
00:54:30.37\00:54:31.53
that he may make peace with me,
00:54:31.63\00:54:32.40
and he shall
00:54:32.50\00:54:33.37
make peace with me.'
00:54:33.47\00:54:34.20
Isaiah 27:5.
00:54:34.30\00:54:36.24
The promise given
00:54:36.34\00:54:37.04
to Joshua is given to all:
00:54:37.14\00:54:39.94
'If you will keep my charge,
00:54:40.04\00:54:41.61
I will give you places to walk
00:54:41.71\00:54:43.78
among these standing here.'
00:54:43.88\00:54:46.82
Angels of God will walk
00:54:46.92\00:54:47.92
on either side of them,
00:54:48.02\00:54:48.88
even in this world.
00:54:48.98\00:54:50.62
And they will stand at last
00:54:50.72\00:54:51.89
among the angels that surround
00:54:51.99\00:54:53.79
the throne of God."
00:54:53.89\00:54:57.69
Let it ring loud and clear.
00:54:57.79\00:55:00.73
Christ has chosen you.
00:55:00.83\00:55:05.23
You are chosen to be
00:55:05.33\00:55:06.40
his sons and daughters,
00:55:06.50\00:55:08.34
sons and daughters of the king,
00:55:08.44\00:55:09.57
and he is ready
00:55:09.67\00:55:10.51
to treat us like royalty.
00:55:10.61\00:55:12.37
And with that kind of status
00:55:12.47\00:55:14.14
and power and protection
00:55:14.24\00:55:15.74
standing guard over us,
00:55:15.84\00:55:17.51
we can go boldly into 2025,
00:55:17.61\00:55:20.65
confident, courageous,
00:55:20.75\00:55:22.15
unafraid to make new plans
00:55:22.25\00:55:23.82
to reach new people in new ways
00:55:23.92\00:55:25.49
and tackle the work
00:55:25.59\00:55:26.52
that God has given us
00:55:26.62\00:55:27.52
to do with all the energy
00:55:27.62\00:55:28.56
and strength
00:55:28.66\00:55:29.36
that Heaven can give.
00:55:29.46\00:55:31.93
So, Pioneer family,
00:55:32.03\00:55:34.10
if you would like to thank God
00:55:34.20\00:55:35.46
for choosing you,
00:55:35.56\00:55:37.70
if you would like to say to God
00:55:37.80\00:55:38.87
that you desire
00:55:38.97\00:55:39.90
to do whatever he asks in 2025
00:55:40.00\00:55:42.14
and that you will help make
00:55:42.24\00:55:43.27
his Church the most effective
00:55:43.37\00:55:44.47
it can be for His glory,
00:55:44.57\00:55:46.88
then I invite you to stand
00:55:46.98\00:55:47.98
to your feet right now.
00:55:48.08\00:55:50.01
Lord Jesus, you have seen
00:56:00.69\00:56:01.72
our commitment here right now.
00:56:01.82\00:56:04.33
Indeed, you have chosen us.
00:56:04.43\00:56:07.10
You have not chosen us for
00:56:07.20\00:56:08.63
meaninglessness or obscurity,
00:56:08.73\00:56:10.47
Lord.
00:56:10.57\00:56:11.87
You have chosen us
00:56:11.97\00:56:12.70
to be your sons and daughters,
00:56:12.80\00:56:14.07
even royalty in your kingdom.
00:56:14.17\00:56:17.14
We are grateful for this, Lord,
00:56:17.24\00:56:18.24
and now empower this commitment.
00:56:18.34\00:56:20.31
You've seen us stand.
00:56:20.41\00:56:21.11
Please, Lord,
00:56:21.21\00:56:21.84
send your Holy Spirit
00:56:21.94\00:56:22.91
in the former and
00:56:23.01\00:56:23.75
the latter rains to fill
00:56:23.85\00:56:24.85
each person that has responded
00:56:24.95\00:56:26.01
to your call just now.
00:56:26.11\00:56:27.62
You long
00:56:27.72\00:56:28.45
for your work to be finished.
00:56:28.55\00:56:29.52
We would love it
00:56:29.62\00:56:30.62
if 2025 were the last year.
00:56:30.72\00:56:34.22
Please, Lord,
00:56:34.32\00:56:35.46
help us to make it so.
00:56:35.56\00:56:36.62
Empower your people
00:56:36.73\00:56:38.33
that great things
00:56:38.43\00:56:39.59
might be done for your glory,
00:56:39.69\00:56:41.70
the work might be finished,
00:56:41.80\00:56:43.26
and we might soon see
00:56:43.37\00:56:44.53
you face-to-face.
00:56:44.63\00:56:46.33
This is our prayer,
00:56:46.43\00:56:47.47
and we ask it in your name.
00:56:47.57\00:56:49.04
Amen.
00:56:49.14\00:56:49.97
I'm Shane Anderson,
00:56:53.14\00:56:54.08
the lead pastor here
00:56:54.18\00:56:55.34
at Pioneer Memorial Church.
00:56:55.44\00:56:57.55
At Pioneer Media,
00:56:57.65\00:56:58.65
we have been blessed
00:56:58.75\00:56:59.58
by the financial support
00:56:59.68\00:57:01.25
that comes from our viewers
00:57:01.35\00:57:02.45
like you that enable us
00:57:02.55\00:57:04.22
to continue this ministry.
00:57:04.32\00:57:06.72
We've made a conscious decision
00:57:06.82\00:57:08.12
not to continually appeal to you
00:57:08.22\00:57:09.56
for that support.
00:57:09.66\00:57:11.23
However, keeping this ministry
00:57:11.33\00:57:12.36
going takes money
00:57:12.46\00:57:13.63
to support our staff and
00:57:13.73\00:57:15.00
technology needs.
00:57:15.10\00:57:16.87
If God has blessed you
00:57:16.97\00:57:18.50
and you would like to further
00:57:18.60\00:57:19.37
the work of this ministry,
00:57:19.47\00:57:20.90
we invite you
00:57:21.00\00:57:21.70
to partner with us.
00:57:21.80\00:57:23.47
You can donate on
00:57:23.57\00:57:24.47
our website -- pmchurch.org --
00:57:24.57\00:57:27.48
then click "Giving" at the top,
00:57:27.58\00:57:29.81
then select "Media Ministry,"
00:57:29.91\00:57:32.91
or call the number 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:33.01\00:57:36.65
Again, that number is 877,
00:57:36.75\00:57:38.89
the two words "His will."
00:57:38.99\00:57:41.62
My prayer is that the God
00:57:41.72\00:57:43.32
who has blessed you
00:57:43.43\00:57:44.79
will continue to pour
00:57:44.89\00:57:45.79
into your life the gifts
00:57:45.89\00:57:46.83
of His joy and His hope.
00:57:46.93\00:57:49.30
Thank you, and I'm
00:57:49.40\00:57:50.80
looking forward to seeing
00:57:50.90\00:57:51.77
you right here again next time.
00:57:51.87\00:57:54.07
¤
00:57:54.17\00:57:56.30
¤
00:57:59.37\00:58:09.35
¤
00:58:09.45\00:58:19.36
¤
00:58:19.46\00:58:27.54