Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH021642A
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00:00 [music]
00:11 [music] 00:22 [music] 00:26 [music] 00:34 Jolyne Simle: Welcome to "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:37 We are so glad that you have joined us 00:39 to study God's Word together. 00:41 As you know, we are in the book of Job, 00:44 and enjoying a study and learning about Job's 00:47 relationship with Christ, and how it applies to us today. 00:51 Before we get started in our lesson study, 00:54 Pierre van der Westhuizen is from South Africa, 00:59 and he has been traveling around the United States doing concerts 01:02 for the last 14 months. 01:04 And he's going home this Wednesday, 01:07 so he is here to bless us with his music. 01:10 This morning, he will be singing for us 01:12 "How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings." 01:17 Pierre van der Westhuizen: God is good all the time. 01:21 God is good. Happy to be with you today. 01:24 Thank you, Michelle. 01:26 [music] 01:36 ♪ How lovely are thy dwellings, ♪ 01:42 ♪ O Lord of hosts. ♪ 01:47 ♪ My soul longeth, yea fainteth, for the courts of the Lord. ♪ 01:58 ♪ My heart and my flesh cry out to the living God. ♪ 02:11 ♪ Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, ♪ 02:18 ♪ and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young. ♪ 02:26 ♪ Even thine altars, even thine altars, ♪ 02:37 ♪ O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. ♪ 02:47 ♪ O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. ♪ 02:57 ♪ O Lord of hosts, hear my prayer. ♪ 03:08 ♪ I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God ♪ 03:18 ♪ than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. ♪ 03:28 ♪ For a day in thy court is better than 1,000. ♪ 03:38 ♪ How lovely art thou dwellings, O Lord of hosts. ♪ 03:48 ♪ My soul longeth, yea fainteth, for the courts of the Lord. ♪ 03:59 ♪ My heart and my flesh cry out fot the living God. ♪ 04:12 ♪ Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, ♪ 04:19 ♪ and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young. ♪ 04:29 ♪ Even thine altars, even thine altars, ♪ 04:39 ♪ Oh Lord, my God, my King and my God. ♪ 04:49 ♪ Oh Lord, my God, my King and my God. ♪ 04:54 [music] 05:04 [music] 05:11 Jolyne: Thank you so much, Pierre. 05:13 That was beautiful. 05:15 Let's pray. 05:16 Our Father in heaven, we humbly come before you this morning, 05:19 and we thank you so much for the opportunity to freely worship 05:23 you, to open our Bibles that so often we take for granted. 05:31 Just bless us today, Lord. 05:32 Open our ears to hear what you have to say 05:34 through us through Pastor Doug. 05:36 Help us to take the words that we hear, 05:40 apply them to our lives, that we can be shining lights for you 05:43 and do our part to finish your work so that you can come 05:46 soon and take us home. 05:47 We look forward to that day. We long for that day. 05:50 Lord, please just keep us ready and prepared. 05:53 I pray these things in your name, Jesus, amen. 05:57 At this time, our study will be brought to us by Pastor Doug. 06:03 Doug Batchelor: Thank you, Jolyne and our musicians. 06:07 Thank you, Pierre, that was beautiful. 06:08 Appreciate that. 06:11 Morning to our class. How is everybody? 06:15 We're continuing our study on the book of Job. 06:18 And today's lesson is going to be lesson number three. 06:24 Does Job fear God for naught? 06:27 I want to take a moment just to greet those who are some of our 06:30 extended Sabbath School class that are watching 06:34 from around the world. 06:35 I was in--where was I this last week? I forget. 06:38 No, I was in Louisville, Kentucky, 06:40 and drove across Indiana, was at 3ABN, 06:43 and just visiting with our friends there because 06:44 they air this program, of course, on 3ABN, 06:47 as well as Hope Channel and Amazing Facts TV, 06:49 and a few other networks. 06:52 And so, it was fun to meet some of our extended class. 06:55 They said, "Oh, we study with you every week." 06:56 And so, I just like to always--I say, 06:58 "Next time, I'll greet you." 07:00 And want to tell you thank you so much. 07:02 We have a memory verse in our lesson today. 07:06 And the memory verse is from the book of Job 2, verse 10. 07:10 Job 2:10, this is the New King James version. 07:13 If you want to read it right out of your lesson, 07:15 do it with me, you ready? 07:18 "But he said to her, 'You speak as one 07:21 of the foolish women speaks. 07:23 Shall we indeed accept good from God? 07:26 Shall we not accept adversity?' In all this Job did 07:30 not sin with his lips." 07:33 And so this, of course, is that time when this second wave 07:37 of temptations and trials comes to Job. 07:41 So, the lesson today is dealing with a number of themes 07:47 that are still based on the first two chapters, 07:49 this wave of attacks that comes. 07:52 And under the first section, it talks about Job, God's servant. 07:58 It's interesting it says there's a man--there was a man in the 08:02 land of Uz who feared the Lord. 08:05 And God refers to him as his servant. 08:08 Now, when the devil comes before the Lord, 08:09 and the devil says, "I've come from walking to and fro on the 08:13 earth, and up and down in the earth," 08:16 and God says, "It's not yours. 08:18 I know you're pacing the world as though it's your territory, 08:22 but have you considered my servant Job?" 08:25 And don't we all want God to look down on earth and say, 08:28 "Have you considered my servant Doug?" 08:30 Or my servant insert your name there, 08:33 that he sees us as his servants. 08:36 Everybody serves somebody. 08:39 How do you know whose servant you are? 08:43 Who do you obey? 08:45 Romans chapter 6, whoever you obey, 08:49 that's whose servant you are. 08:51 And if we love and follow and obey God, 08:53 we're his servants. 08:55 And Job, he obeyed God. 08:58 And you can look here, and Jesus gives us this principle of 09:01 servanthood in Luke 22:25. 09:05 He said, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over 09:09 them, and they exercise authority upon them, 09:12 are called benefactors. 09:14 But you will not be so. 09:16 But he that is greatest among you, 09:18 let him be as the younger, and he that is chief among you as 09:22 him that does serve. 09:24 For who is greater, he that sits at the dinner table, 09:26 or he that serves? 09:28 Is it not he that sitteth at meat? 09:30 But I am among you as he that serves." 09:32 Christ said, "Look, I have come among you as a servant, 09:35 and I'm your example." 09:38 Now, Karen and I were reading on our way to church this morning. 09:41 We were reading Colossians chapter 1 and part of chapter 2. 09:46 And it says that in Christ, all the fullness 09:50 of the Godhead dwells bodily. 09:53 Jesus said, "If you have seen me, 09:55 you have seen the Father." 09:58 Jesus came, he said, as one that serves. 10:00 He cared about people's practical needs. 10:04 He was concerned about when they were hungry, 10:07 and when they were tired. 10:08 And you know, he got down and washed the disciples' feet. 10:14 But all the fullness of God was in Jesus. 10:17 Is God a servant? 10:20 God spends all his time ministering. 10:24 It says, "He opens his hand and satisfies the desire 10:27 of every living thing." 10:29 God spends his life, his time, giving. 10:34 He's providing, he's sustaining all the time. 10:38 Jesus came to show us what the Father is like. 10:40 Now, why do we serve God? 10:42 This is the big challenge that the devil made. 10:44 You know, you look back there in Job, 10:46 and Job says to the Lord--I'm sorry, 10:49 the devil says to the Lord, "Does Job serve God 10:54 for naught, for nothing? 10:57 Why is he serving you?" 10:59 Why do we serve the Lord? 11:01 You know, we talked about this at church, 11:03 oh, a few months back, WIFIM. 11:06 Anyone remember what WIFIM is? 11:10 WIFIM, W-I-F-I-M, what's in it for me? 11:15 So many people, when they are evaluating a decision, 11:18 they think WIFIM. 11:20 "How will this affect me?" 11:24 But with the Lord, it's always, "How will it affect others?" 11:28 What are the great commands? 11:33 What did Jesus say--how do you summarize the great commands? 11:36 Thou shalt love the Lord 11:38 with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. 11:40 And what's the second part? Love your neighbor. 11:42 Do either of those include you until you get to the very end? 11:46 Love your neighbor as yourself. 11:48 So, it starts out with the Lord, it ends with yourself. 11:52 But most of the world has the equation inside out 11:55 and upside down. 11:56 We are first concerned with what's in it for me. 12:00 Jesus cane to say, "Love others. Give to others. 12:04 Love the Lord, and make that the priority." 12:07 And so, the devil said, "Oh, he's just like other people. 12:09 He's just doing it because of what's in it for him. 12:11 The reason he serves you is because you bless him 12:13 and you protect him. 12:14 It's all about what's in it for me." 12:17 Now, is there some truth to the devil's accusation that there 12:21 are some people, we used to call them rice Christians? 12:24 You ever heard that expression before? 12:28 I think it came out of the missionary days in China, 12:32 where if you gave free rice to the people, 12:35 they'd be a Christian. 12:37 And it's like when Jesus multiplied the bread, 12:40 they were all ready to follow him when 12:42 they multiplied the bread. 12:43 Today, there's another term. We call it prosperity preachers. 12:48 And they tell people if you serve God, 12:50 if you have faith in God, you will be healthy, 12:52 wealthy, and wise. 12:54 So, the reason to serve God is for your health, 12:57 wealth, and wisdom. 12:59 Is that the right reason? 13:01 Now, is there some truth to the idea that God blesses 13:07 those who serve him? 13:09 Yeah. Does God also protect people? 13:12 Let's look at some verses that first bear this out. 13:15 And by the way, I want to read Job 1:10. 13:18 This is the devil's accusation. 13:19 "Have you not made a hedge about him, 13:22 and about his household, and about all that he has? 13:25 You have blessed the work of his hands, 13:27 and his possessions have increased in the land." 13:29 Generally speaking, not always, but generally speaking, 13:33 it is true God will bless his people. 13:37 It doesn't mean that bad people don't receive blessings because 13:41 God sends blessings on the just and the unjust. 13:44 And it doesn't mean that bad things don't happen to good 13:46 people, as good and bad comes to everybody. 13:50 But generally speaking, the Lord has a lot of promised blessings. 13:54 Let me ask you, what are some of the blessings? 13:57 Can you think of any offhand? 13:59 If you pay your tithe, what's the blessing? 14:02 "I will open for you the windows of heaven, 14:06 and pour out a blessing that you'll not 14:07 have room enough to receive it. 14:08 I'll rebuke the devourer for your sake." 14:10 There's a blessing promised. 14:12 Does God keep that promise? 14:14 So, do you find that theoretically, 14:17 statistically, people who are faithful tithe payers 14:19 are blessed? 14:21 Is that right? 14:22 If God keeps his word. 14:24 What are the other promises and blessings that God offers 14:27 to his people? 14:30 "I was young, and I am now old, but hath not seen the righteous 14:32 forsaken or his seed begging bread." 14:35 Does God provide--seek first the kingdom of God 14:37 and his righteousness, and all these 14:39 other things will be added to you. 14:40 Meaning what shall I eat, what shall I drink, 14:42 what will I wear? 14:43 If you seek first God's kingdom, does he seem to provide 14:46 for our daily needs? 14:48 If he does for the birds and the flowers, right? 14:51 So, he promises provision. 14:53 Can you name some other blessings? 14:58 Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long on 15:01 the land that the Lord your God gives you. 15:03 So, does he promise that if you honor your fathers and mothers, 15:06 you'll maybe have a longer life? 15:10 I think I mentioned once before it can be demonstrated 15:13 statistically that some of the longest living people in the 15:16 world are the Japanese, and they also have a very high regard 15:20 for their elders. 15:23 Even though Japan is a largely atheistic country, 15:25 they still get the blessing of their days are long on the land. 15:30 Someone else--I heard a couple of others. 15:31 What are some of the typical--what's in it for you if 15:34 you serve the Lord in this life? 15:37 Is it wrong to ever think that? 15:40 I mean, should we feel selfish if we're wondering what do we 15:45 get if we serve the Lord? 15:48 Peter said, Matthew 19:27, Peter said, 15:52 "Lord, we've left everything and followed you. 15:55 What will we have?" 15:56 WIFIM. 15:58 Peter said to the Lord, "What's in it for me? 16:01 What do I get?" 16:02 You know, Jesus said, "No man has left father or mother, 16:05 or houses or lands for my sake and the gospels but he'll have a 16:09 hundredfold more in this life with persecution." 16:15 So, is it generally true that God blesses his people? 16:18 It is. 16:20 Let's look at some other verses on that. 16:21 Someone's going to read for me in just a moment 2 Kings 6:17. 16:24 You have that, Alberto? 16:26 I'll read Psalm 91, you all know this, 16:29 verse 11 and 12. 16:30 "For he will give his angels charge over you, 16:34 to keep thee in all thy ways. 16:36 And they will bear you up in their hands, 16:38 lest you dash your foot against a stone." 16:40 They're guarding you so you don't even slip 16:42 and crush your foot. 16:46 I went kayaking--no, rafting this last week with a number of 16:52 the Amazing Facts employees and their families. 16:55 I hadn't been river rafting in years. 16:57 We went down a section of the American River, 17:00 about a 4-hour trip, 3 rafts, had about 20 of us. 17:04 And I felt pretty confident, even though we were going 17:09 through some number three rapids, 17:10 I had nothing to fear because I kayaked for years. 17:13 I've gone through a number of six rapids. 17:14 If you know what that is, that's the highest, 17:15 most difficult level of rapids. 17:17 A hundred feet after launching the kayak, 17:22 it hit a rock and I fell over. 17:24 I was so embarrassed. 17:26 I made it through the rapids fine, 17:27 but I fell over before we even got out of kindergarten. 17:32 And the raft started kind of going over me, 17:34 and I thought, "Oh, this is it. My life is flashing before me." 17:37 But you know what? 17:39 I got back in the boat even though I got tumbled 17:40 around a little bit, didn't get hurt. 17:45 I thought, "Thank you, Lord. That could have really hurt." 17:48 In the water, you know, between the raft and the rock, 17:51 and getting bounced around a little bit. 17:54 And God's got angels watching us all the time. 17:59 Go ahead, read for us 2 Kings 6:17. 18:05 male: "And Elisha prayed and said, 18:08 'Lord, I pray open his eyes, that he may see.' 18:11 Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, 18:13 and he saw. 18:15 And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots 18:18 of fire all around Elisha." 18:20 Doug: You remember the story. 18:23 The king of Assyria wanted to capture Elisha the prophet 18:26 because he was like God's secret weapon for the king of Israel. 18:29 And he sent an army to surround the little town of Dothan. 18:34 Dothan is this little town in a valley, 18:36 and it means wells. 18:38 And he's there with his servant. 18:41 His servant wakes up, and he looks, 18:43 and in the morning, they see the glittering armor of all these 18:46 soldiers and army, horses surrounding the little town. 18:51 And the servant is panic stricken, 18:53 and Elisha said, "Don't be afraid. 18:55 Lord, open his eyes." 18:56 Elisha wasn't afraid because he knew that the angel of the Lord 19:00 encamps roundabout those that fear him. 19:02 See, Elisha read David. 19:04 Elisha comes after David. 19:05 And the eyes of the servant are opened, 19:08 and suddenly he sees there is an army of God and his angels that 19:12 surrounds the army of Syria. 19:17 Does the Lord put a hedge about his people? 19:20 He does. 19:21 And then I'll read you Psalm 34:7, 19:23 "The angel of the Lord encamps roundabout those that fear him, 19:28 and delivers them." 19:29 Now, these are just a few, but there are other Scriptures in 19:32 the Bible that share this principle that God does protect. 19:36 So, was the devil's accusation at least partially true? 19:42 Yeah, there's always the--the devil is a master 19:44 of mixing some truth. 19:45 He says, "You've hedged him in." 19:46 And God, basically God is saying, 19:48 "Well, I am blessing and protecting Job." 19:51 Because as soon as God withdraws that protection, 19:55 oh, the devil comes in, he's able to do all kinds 19:57 of things to Job. 19:59 And so, the book of Job is a sobering reminder 20:01 that except for God's grace and his hedge, 20:05 we would be going through what Job went through. 20:08 Now, some of us have gone through parts 20:10 of what Job went through. 20:12 Some of us have been sick, maybe not as bad as Job, 20:16 or at least not as much physical pain. 20:18 Some of us have experienced financial loss. 20:22 Job lost everything. 20:24 Some of us have lost loved ones. Job lost all of his children. 20:31 And imagine having all those 20:33 things happen one after the other. 20:34 I mean, and then you lose your health. 20:36 It's like you're just, "What's the point of living?" 20:39 at that time. 20:41 And then you have to ask yourself, 20:46 "How much is God protecting me?" 20:49 Now, God protected Job, and he was a righteous man. 20:52 I don't know, is there anyone here that's going to claim to 20:54 have the righteousness of Job? 20:57 It says, "Though these three were in the land, 21:00 Daniel, Job, and Noah, they will deliver 21:02 neither son nor daughter." 21:04 Job is up there with the greatest righteous people 21:08 in the Bible. 21:10 And yet, Job went through trials, 21:11 so do we have a right to complain when 21:13 we go through trials? 21:16 God protects us even though we're not as faithful as Job 21:19 because God is good, amen? 21:21 All right, then you go to the next section, 21:24 it's called Skin for Skin. 21:25 And this brings us back to the devil's other accusation. 21:28 Turn to the book of Job and you'll see that here 21:31 in I believe chapter 2. 21:36 Job chapter 2, "And again there was a day when the sons of God 21:39 came to present themselves before the Lord, 21:41 and Satan also came among them to present himself 21:44 before the Lord. 21:46 And the Lord said to Satan, 'Where did you come from?' 21:49 'From going to and fro on the earth, 21:51 and walking back and forth on it.' 21:52 And the Lord said to Satan, 21:55 'Have you considered my servant Job, 21:57 that there is none like him on the earth, 21:59 a blameless and an upright man who fears God and shuns evil. 22:03 And he still holds fast his integrity." 22:05 Now, you remember what his wife said to him? 22:07 "Do you still retain your integrity?" 22:09 "Although you incited me against him to destroy him 22:14 without cause." 22:15 The devil is the accuser of the brethren, 22:17 and he wants God to destroy Job. 22:19 And God is saying, "You know, I took everything he had away. 22:21 He lost all his family. 22:23 And he said, 'Blessed is the name of the Lord.'" 22:26 And Satan said, "Skin for skin." 22:30 Now, this has always--this phrase has been something 22:32 of a mystery to the commentators. 22:34 What did the devil mean by that, skin for skin? 22:38 "Yea, all that a man has he will give for his life." 22:42 It almost sounds like it's, you know, a trade. 22:44 And he's saying, "Oh, someone else's life for their life, 22:50 skin for skin." 22:52 You've heard the expression "by the skin of your teeth"? 22:54 That actually comes from the book of Job, I believe. 22:57 Oh no, no, that's from Psalms, I take that back. 22:59 No, skin of the teeth, I think that is from Job. 23:02 At your wit's end is from Psalms. 23:05 There's some of these expressions that we use 23:07 are in the Bible. 23:09 Anyway, and so he's basically saying that we are all wired, 23:14 humans are wired with this natural desire for 23:17 self-preservation. 23:19 How many atheists do you know that want to stay alive even 23:25 though they don't believe life has a purpose? 23:29 Isn't that interesting? 23:31 Not all, I mean, there's some, I suppose, that commit suicide. 23:34 But I know a lot of atheists that are 23:36 very tenacious for life. 23:37 They call it survival of the fittest. 23:39 And I always think, well, if you think there's no God 23:41 and there's no purpose, why do you want to survive? 23:44 Why do we have this desire to continue existing? 23:46 And why do we naturally jump out of the way of an oncoming car? 23:54 Why are we wired to do everything 23:58 to try to preserve our life? 24:01 If your fingers are burning, why not let them just burn? 24:06 We're predisposed to protect ourselves, 24:09 to nourish ourselves, to feed ourselves, 24:11 to save ourselves. 24:13 And God is basically saying, "Job's lost everything 24:18 and Job lost everyone, but he's still in good health. 24:21 When his life is at risk, he'll curse you." 24:24 Skin for skin, a man will give everything to save his skin. 24:28 That's pretty much what the devil's accusing, right? 24:33 And so, he says, "All right, I'm going to let him into 24:37 your hands, but do not touch his life." 24:41 Now, why is the devil attacking Job? 24:44 Is the devil's battle really with Job, 24:47 or is it with God? 24:50 Job is just a pawn. 24:52 Why does the devil tempt you and I? 24:54 Because he just hates humans? 24:56 Well, he does hate humans, but why? 24:59 What did we ever do to bother the devil? 25:03 I don't remember ever having a personal dispute with the devil, 25:06 and he's out to destroy me. 25:08 It's because he knows God loves you. 25:10 The devil resents that man was given dominion of the world, 25:12 so he took that dominion because Satan lost his leadership 25:15 in the universe. 25:17 And man was given leadership of the world. 25:20 And I think the devil also resents that he cannot create 25:23 life, and man was given the ability, 25:25 like God, to procreate in our own image, 25:29 as God made man in his own image. 25:31 So, and then he sees how much God loves us. 25:34 And if you want to hurt your enemy, 25:35 hurt what they love. 25:37 And the devil hates us because he hates God, 25:40 and he knows God loves us. 25:42 And so, really this is about hurting God 25:44 and proving God wrong. 25:46 And what good is it to prove that to God 25:50 unless there's an audience? 25:52 Who's watching? 25:54 See what I'm saying? 25:56 If you're ever going to be vindicated for being right, 25:58 what good is vindication if nobody knows? 26:00 I suppose there might be some self-satisfaction. 26:04 But if you've been accused publically, 26:07 and finally you're vindicated and the public doesn't know 26:09 you're vindicated, that would kind of defeat 26:12 a lot of it, right? 26:13 And so, there's an audience in all of these things. 26:16 He comes to present himself before the Lord, 26:18 this heavenly gathering. 26:20 You can look, for instance, in Hebrews 12:1, 26:25 "We also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud 26:29 of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that 26:32 does so easily ensnare us, and let us run with endurance the 26:36 race that is set before." 26:38 We're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. 26:42 Who are these--who's the cloud of witnesses that's mentioned 26:44 there in Hebrews chapter 12? 26:49 First of all, you read in Hebrews 11, 26:51 it talks about all of the great faithful. 26:54 And Paul is saying, "Look, we've got this cloud of witnesses 26:57 through history." 26:58 But is that the only cloud of witnesses? 27:02 I don't know how many people are here this morning. 27:04 It changes from the start of Sabbath School 27:06 until the end of Sabbath School. 27:07 But if I were to look out and do an evangelist count--well, 27:09 if I'm doing an evangelistic count, 27:10 there's thousands of people here. 27:12 But if I was to do a realistic account, 27:18 maybe 150, 200 people. 27:21 Is that about right? 27:23 What do you think, Pastor Luke? 27:27 A hundred? 27:29 You don't turn around. 27:30 So, how many are in the room, 150, 200? 27:36 Or are there beings in the room that you don't see? 27:41 Yeah, I'm not talking about kidney beans and pinto beans. 27:43 I'm talking about angelic beings. 27:47 There's a lot that--and how many angels fell? 27:52 We don't know the number, but we know the percentage. 27:55 It says about a third. 27:56 Satan was cast out, and he drew a third of the stars with his 28:00 tail, and cast them to the earth. 28:02 About a third of these angels fell, which is good. 28:05 That means there's about two good angels for every bad angel. 28:09 But they're not just out there in heaven at these meetings. 28:13 They're here on earth. These are ministering spirits. 28:15 When the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened, 28:17 he saw the armies of God. 28:20 And so, God has his angels. 28:22 When Jacob's eyes were opened in vision, 28:25 what did he see? 28:26 Angels of God ascending and descending 28:29 on this heavenly escalator. 28:32 And so, there are angels around. 28:36 You read in 1 Corinthians 4:9, "For I think that God has set 28:40 us, the apostles, last, as it were appointed to death, 28:44 for we are made a spectacle unto the world, 28:47 and to angels, and to men." 28:50 A spectacle, being watched by angels and men. 28:54 We're not alone in this. 28:56 There's a stadium all the time beholding the things that are 28:59 happening here on earth. 29:01 Now, someone's going to read for me again that verse 29:06 in Job 2:4 and 5 in just a moment. 29:08 You'll have that Hafdis. 29:09 I also want you to look at Daniel 7, verse 10. 29:13 This is a picture of that great judgment. 29:15 It says, "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. 29:19 Thousands of thousands ministered to him, 29:22 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him, 29:26 and the judgment was set, and the books were opened." 29:29 Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present 29:31 themselves before the Lord. 29:32 How many of them were there? 29:36 Doesn't say in the text. 29:38 I think sometimes, we picture--well, 29:41 Revelation says he's got 24 elders around his throne. 29:44 Maybe there were 24 of them, and Lucifer showed up. 29:48 Or maybe that meeting in heaven is more like what we read in 29:52 Daniel 7, where it says 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him, 29:57 thousands of thousands ministered to him. 30:00 These are the ministering spirits. 30:02 And the ones who stand before him, 30:04 they could be the sons of God. 30:05 I mean, you think about these big heavenly gatherings. 30:08 We don't know how many there were. 30:10 If these are the leaders of unfallen worlds, 30:12 how many unfallen worlds are there? 30:16 For you and I, it's probably almost infinite, 30:18 I mean, just from what we know about space. 30:20 We can't even comprehend the vastness of space. 30:23 And so, it's a big universe out there. 30:25 All right, let's go back, we're going to return to that thought 30:28 about skin for skin for just a moment. 30:29 Why don't you read that for us? 30:32 female: So, Satan answered the Lord 30:34 and said, 'Skin for skin. 30:37 Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. 30:41 But stretch out your hand now, and touch his bone and his 30:45 flesh, and he will surely curse you to your face.'" 30:48 Doug: First of all, who is it that ends up 30:51 touching his bone and his hand? 30:54 Satan says to the Lord, "You stretch out your hand, 30:56 and you touch him." 30:58 Is it God who does it, or is it Satan who does it? 31:02 God then says, "I'm putting what he has in your hands, 31:07 but don't take his life." 31:08 In other words, you ever heard the expression 31:10 "within an inch of his life"? 31:14 He was tortured within an inch of his life. 31:17 That means he was just at the border of expiring physically. 31:21 And so Satan, he had to probably measure and back off his 31:26 torture every now and then when he said, 31:28 "Oh, he's almost dead." 31:29 You hear every now and then about people who are in some 31:32 concentration camp, where they're being tortured 31:34 by some cruel enemy. 31:36 And they don't want to kill them because they might 31:38 want them for ransom. 31:40 They might want them to trade with other prisoners, 31:42 but they've got information, so they torture them 31:43 within an inch of their life. 31:46 And they got to be careful not to kill them because 31:48 that might defeat the purpose. 31:50 And so, this is what the devil was doing. 31:52 How much can I torture Job so that he gives up his faith? 31:56 But I don't want him to die right away. 31:58 You know, I think it shocked the devil when Jesus on the cross 32:04 said, "Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit," 32:07 he breathed his last, and he died. 32:10 I think he died sooner than the devil expected. 32:13 Pilate did not believe he had died so quickly because he had 32:17 just tried him that morning, and a crucifixion victim 32:20 would often last for days. 32:24 But Jesus didn't die from the whipping and the torturing. 32:27 The Romans had developed crucifixion to extract the 32:30 maximum amount of suffering they could from a victim. 32:34 They didn't want them to die right away. 32:35 They wanted to make him--torture him. 32:38 And this is what the devil was doing to Job. 32:39 By the way, and it'll come up later, 32:41 and you've heard me say it, Job is a type of Christ. 32:45 And it seems like he's a virtually sinless person, 32:50 though he did sin, but he's a type of somebody 32:53 who is righteous. 32:56 Look at the difference between Job and Adam. 33:02 Adam is surrounded with blessings, 33:03 and health, and paradise, and he denies God. 33:08 Job is plagued on every side, has everything taken away, 33:11 he's suffering physically, and he retains his integrity. 33:15 He obeys God. 33:17 All right, skin for skin. 33:20 I was thinking of a few examples in the Bible where people sold 33:23 out to save their lives. 33:25 The devil's saying, "Job is going to sell out on you, 33:28 God, to save his life." 33:30 How many of you remember in the book of Judges, 33:33 when I think it was the people of Dan were trying to capture a 33:36 city, and they're taking the Promised Land, 33:38 and they see this one man out there trying to find the secret 33:40 entrance to the city? 33:42 And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city," I think 33:45 it's the city of Luz, "they said to him, 33:47 'Please show us the entrance to the city, 33:49 and we will show you mercy.' 33:50 So, he showed them the entrance of the city, 33:54 and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, 33:56 but they let the man and his family go." 33:58 They basically said, "You're dead unless you sell out 34:02 your city." 34:03 To save his life, he sold out all of his neighbors 34:06 to save his family and his life. 34:09 Not the first time that's happened in history, right? 34:14 Then you read in 1 Samuel 30, verse 15 the Amalekites had 34:19 captured David's family and the families of his mighty men. 34:24 And it says, while they're to hunt and figure out 34:26 where the Amalekites are, and rescue their family, 34:28 they find this Egyptian servant that had been abandoned 34:33 by the raiding party. 34:35 And David says to him, "Can you take me to this troop?" 34:38 to the soldiers. 34:39 He said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me or 34:43 deliver me into the hands of my master, 34:45 and I will take you down to this troop." 34:47 Evidently, they made that promise because he took him down 34:49 to the army, and they killed all the Amalekites, 34:52 or most of them. 34:54 And he was ready to make a deal to do what? 34:57 Skin for skin, save his life. 35:03 Is there going to be a time in the last days where we may be 35:06 tempted with the same test? 35:09 What does it say regarding those who 35:11 do not bear the mark of the beast? 35:13 They can't buy or sell, which implies what? 35:18 Credit card at the mall will be of no use. 35:23 Yeah, we're not--we're not thinking about just not being 35:26 able to keep up with the latest fashions, 35:27 though that may be torture for some. 35:30 But I mean, cannot buy or sell, for me 35:32 it's a little deeper than that. 35:34 I'm thinking we can't buy or sell anything. 35:37 No gas for your car, no food for your refrigerator. 35:42 Maybe you don't pay your water bill, 35:43 they cut off the water. 35:46 It could get pretty--you could be in strait places 35:48 if you can't buy or sell. 35:50 And you'll be thinking, "Skin for skin. 35:54 All that a man has, he'll sell to save himself." 36:00 And if that doesn't work for God's people, 36:02 not being able to buy or sell, what's the final--what's 36:04 the final law? 36:07 Those who don't receive the mark of the beast should be killed. 36:12 Well, it doesn't get a lot more serious than that. 36:14 But what did Jesus say about if you're tortured 36:16 or killed for your faith? 36:18 Fear not them that can punish, torture, 36:23 kill the body, but they can't hurt your soul. 36:25 Don't fear those who can torture your body. 36:28 Fear rather those who can destroy. 36:30 If you're the one who can destroy soul and body in hell, 36:33 which is who? God. 36:34 He's got your eternity. 36:36 So, to get temporary relief, we might be tempted to sell out, 36:41 skin for skin. 36:44 But Christians need to have the courage of Job. 36:47 And even though he was suffering incredible physical pain, 36:50 he would not deny God. 36:52 He retained his integrity. 36:54 I remember reading that--you know, 36:56 there's a book, it's not--it's not a happy reading, 37:02 but it's an interesting book. 37:05 You ever heard of the book called "Fox's Book of Martyrs"? 37:09 you can download it for free and read it. 37:10 It's an old book. 37:12 It's a history of the martyrs of the Christian church up through 37:17 the Reformation, written by a guy named Fox. 37:20 And he just--he was a historian that chronicled, 37:24 he gathered all of the records and the chronicles he could of 37:27 what the martyrs went through, going all the way back to the 37:30 Christians thrown to the lions. 37:33 And boy, I'll tell you, it'll really challenge you. 37:37 A lot of them went through incredible suffering, 37:39 and they would not deny their faith. 37:42 Some of the martyrs that were burned for their faith, 37:44 one of them begged that they would add dry wood to the fire 37:48 because he was burning too slowly. 37:51 And he said, "Please speed it up." 37:53 I mean, it's terrible to think that a person--but he wouldn't 37:56 deny his faith. 37:58 Of course, at that point--some of them, 38:02 when they were being tortured, not by fire--during the 38:06 Inquisition, they would torture people with tortures I won't 38:08 even say on television, just awful things. 38:11 And they'd torture and say, "Renounce your beliefs." 38:14 And when the torture was so intense, 38:17 they'd say, "Okay, I renounce it, 38:18 I renounce it, I renounce it." 38:20 And they said, "Okay, not you got to sign here 38:22 that you renounce it." 38:23 And they'd say, "Oh no, I don't renounce my beliefs. 38:26 That wasn't me. 38:27 That was my flesh crying out." 38:29 And so, then they'd start torturing them again, 38:31 they'd say, "Okay, I renounce it." 38:32 They said, "Oh, sign here." 38:34 "No, I can't sign, I don't believe it." 38:35 They said, "When I'm in extreme pain, 38:37 I'll say anything, skin for skin. 38:40 But it's not me, it's the flesh." 38:44 I always thought that was interesting, 38:45 they had this one individual that they kept torturing them, 38:47 and then they'd try and get him to sign. 38:48 Once they stopped the torture, they said, 38:50 "I'm not signing." 38:52 They said, "I can't control what I'm saying when you're 38:54 tearing my skin off. 38:56 I'll say anything." 38:57 So you know, just the record of what people 39:00 went through for their faith. 39:02 And Job, even though he suffered just intense agony, 39:05 would not deny his faith. 39:08 All right, let's keep going here. 39:09 Got to get onto something a little happier. 39:12 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 39:15 And after Job goes through this--now, 39:17 you notice in chapter 1, when he lost everything, 39:22 he shaved his head, tore his clothes. 39:25 He sat down, said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb. 39:28 Naked I will return there. 39:30 The Lord has given; the Lord has taken away. 39:33 Blessed is the name of the Lord." 39:37 I remember hearing once about a farmer that he used 39:42 to always tell other people in town, 39:46 "You know, my crop's not my crop. 39:47 It's God's crop." 39:50 And they said, "You know, you're 39:52 always talking about God's crop." 39:53 And a drought came through, and then some grasshoppers, 39:57 and just ate up his field. 40:00 And some of his atheist neighbors were saying, 40:02 "Well, Wilbur, what happened to your crop? 40:05 I thought you said it was God's crop. 40:07 And if it was God's crop, how come he didn't protect it?" 40:10 And Wilbur answered, he said, "Well, look, if God 40:13 wants to feed his grasshoppers his corn, that's his business. 40:17 It's his crop." 40:20 So, no matter what, he said, "Blessed 40:21 is the name of the Lord. 40:23 Naked I came into the world; naked I go out. 40:24 The Lord gave; the Lord taken away. 40:26 It's up to him." 40:27 It's hard to have that kind of faith sometimes. 40:30 Psalm 113, verse 1 through 3. 40:34 By the way, where you find the phrase "blessed be the name of 40:37 the Lord," you don't find that often in the Bible, 40:38 but here's one of the places. 40:40 Psalm 113, verse 1 to 3, "Praise the Lord. 40:45 Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. 40:48 Blessed be the name of the Lord." 40:50 There's that phrase. 40:51 "From this time forth and forevermore." 40:54 It makes you wonder if David is quoting Job. 40:56 "From the rising of the sun to its going down, 40:58 the Lord's name is to be praised." 41:01 And so, you know, we complain when 41:05 we're surrounded with blessings. 41:07 Job praised to God when he was surrounded with cursing. 41:12 Isn't that interesting? 41:14 I don't know about you, but I'll admit that I can sometimes gripe 41:18 and complain, even though you stand back and you think, 41:23 "Wow, there's a lot of things to be thankful for." 41:25 But one little thing goes wrong, I could be blessed 41:28 on every side, but like I get a flat tire, 41:30 oh, the whole day is ruined, you know? 41:32 All you got to do is air it up. 41:33 And then you look at other people and they are happy, 41:39 and they're going through terrible trials. 41:41 Sometimes, I'm so ashamed. 41:43 Here I complain surrounded with blessings, 41:45 and Job praises God surrounded with cursing. 41:47 Does the Bible say give thanks to God in all things? 41:52 "In all circumstances, from one end of the earth to the other, 41:55 let the name of the Lord be praised." 41:57 And someone's going to read for me in just a moment 42:00 Matthew 15:8, okay? 42:04 But I'm going to read--it says here when Hezekiah found out 42:09 that the Babylonians were going to take everything away 42:11 because he was bragging about his stuff, he said, 42:14 "The word of the Lord is good." 42:17 Even though he heard that it was a pronouncement, 42:18 he said, "The word of the Lord is good." 42:19 But then he was thinking in his heart, 42:21 "At least there will be peace and truth in my days." 42:24 And so, he was still just thinking about himself. 42:27 Now, when--and this is a difficult passage. 42:30 When Job's wife heard that after not only losing all of his 42:34 stuff, but losing his health, he still said, 42:37 "Shall we receive good from the hand of the Lord and not evil? 42:40 Good and bad comes to everybody," 42:41 she had reached her snapping point. 42:44 And she said, "Do you still retain your integrity? 42:48 Curse God and die." 42:51 Now, can we understand the exasperation of Job's wife? 42:55 Yeah. 42:57 I mean, she's lost--what mother would not be devastated having 43:01 lost all of your possessions, all of your children, 43:05 and your husband's health? 43:08 I mean, the husband was often the principle source of the work 43:10 in the fields, and you could be left destitute. 43:14 And so, you can understand her being that way. 43:17 But Job said to her, "'You speak as one of the foolish women. 43:21 What, shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord? 43:25 And shall we not receive evil?' 43:27 In all this, Job did not sin with his lips." 43:30 Now, I just want to make something clear. 43:33 When it says he did not sin with his lips, 43:35 what does that mean? 43:39 With his words, right? 43:43 But where do your words come from? 43:47 Out of the abundance the heart, the mouth or the lips speak. 43:52 You remember when Isaiah saw the Lord, 43:54 he says, "Woe is me, I am undone because I am a man of unclean 43:58 lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. 44:01 For mine eyes have seen the Lord of Hosts." 44:03 Most people, they're not sincere with their speech, 44:06 or they're not clean and pure with their speech, 44:08 but Job would not say anything that was wrong 44:12 because his heart was right. 44:14 Go ahead, read for us please Matthew 15, verse 8. 44:16 male: "These people draw near to me with their mouth, 44:22 and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." 44:27 Doug: Yeah, so sometimes even people will, 44:29 with their lips, they'll say they love the Lord, 44:32 and they'll say pious, spiritual things, 44:36 but they're not sincere. 44:38 Job was sincere in his heart and in his words. 44:41 Now, when it says Job did not sin with his lips, 44:45 does it say and Job was sinless? Huh? 44:50 How many sinless people have lived? 44:54 One on earth. 44:56 I mean, of course God and unfallen beings are sinless. 44:59 But that one is Jesus. 45:01 All others have sinned. 45:03 You can read, of course, in Romans 3:12, 45:06 "They have all turned aside. They have become unprofitable. 45:09 There is none who does good, no not one." 45:13 Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fallen short 45:16 of the glory of God." 45:18 Galatians 3:22, "But the Scripture has confirmed all 45:22 under sin, that the promise of faith in Jesus Christ might be 45:26 given to those who believe." 45:28 So, all have sinned, including Job. 45:29 Matter of fact, in the book of Job, 45:31 it says in chapter 5, verse 7, Job 5:7, 45:34 "Yet a man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward." 45:41 Now, is there ever a good excuse for sin? 45:46 I don't know if any of you are planning on having children that 45:48 haven't had them yet, but what do you think the odds are if you 45:51 do have children that they will sin? 45:54 How many think there's a 100% chance that if you have a child 45:59 and they live long enough, they will sin? 46:01 And you're still going to do it. 46:03 Would you still have them? 46:07 And people say, "Why did God make Adam and Eve 46:08 if he knew they might sin?" 46:10 You're going to do the same thing, right? 46:13 You're admitting that you're going to have kids. 46:16 Some of you have had kids that have really gotten into trouble, 46:18 and you're thinking, "Well, now if I had to think of it over--" 46:24 So, there's something about, you know, 46:26 just we are prone towards sin. 46:29 Mark 10:18, Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? 46:33 There is none good but one, and that is God." 46:36 Only God is good. 46:38 You know, one of the things I love about the book of Job is 46:42 that the reason Job is so inspirational to us is because 46:46 he was able to witness through trials. 46:48 Suppose there was a story in the Bible that said, 46:51 "There was a faithful and upright man who loved God 46:54 and hated evil. 46:55 And he had 5,000 oxen, and 5,000 donkeys, 46:58 and 10,000 camels, and billions in gold. 47:02 He's a nice guy, next chapter. 47:05 Let's talk about Esther." 47:07 If the only thing it said about Job is there was a blessed, 47:09 wealthy man, would the story of Job be in the Bible? 47:15 You know why the story of Job is in the Bible? 47:17 Because he went through incredible trials, 47:19 and he was faithful. 47:21 When are we the strongest witness, 47:24 when God saves us from trial or through trial? 47:26 You know why the Exodus is such a great story? 47:30 Because God saved a nation through trial. 47:34 Why is Joseph a great story? 47:36 Because Joseph is saved through trial. 47:39 The Bible says it is through tribulation we enter the kingdom 47:42 of God. 47:44 And so, do we want to pray, "Lord, 47:46 save me from all trouble"? 47:49 Or should we be saying, "Lord, help me be faithful should 47:52 I go through trouble"? 47:54 How many of you know that if you continue living, 47:56 you're probably going to have some problems? 48:01 I don't look forward to it, but it's probably going to happen, 48:05 and I just want to say, "Lord, help me be faithful when the--" 48:08 You ever think of looking at a problem as an opportunity? 48:12 An opportunity to witness, an opportunity to grow. 48:16 How many of you want opportunities? 48:20 How many of you want problems? 48:24 Nobody--the people who said, "I want opportunities," didn't put 48:27 their hands up when I said, "Do you want problems?" 48:30 But those problems are opportunities to witness. 48:33 All right, now in what Job's wife said we also 48:37 need to look at. 48:38 And the lesson addresses this, it's called Job's Wife. 48:40 Someone's going to read for me Luke 17:2. 48:42 You'll have that, John? 48:45 When somebody is going through a trial, 48:47 do we ever want to say anything to discourage them further? 48:52 Philippians 4:11 to 13, "Not that I speak in regard to need, 48:57 for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. 49:00 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. 49:03 Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full 49:06 and hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 49:10 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 49:13 We may go through all kinds of trials, 49:16 but we don't want to be the source of discouraging 49:20 or increasing anybody else's trials. 49:22 Go ahead and read the next verse 49:24 for us, Luke 17:2. 49:25 male: Luke 17:2, "It would be better for him if a millstone 49:30 were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, 49:34 than that he should offend one of these little ones." 49:37 Doug: Jesus is telling us take heed what you do. 49:42 Don't do anything that is going to cause someone to stumble. 49:45 Now, when he says these little ones, 49:47 not only does he mean let's be good, 49:49 encouraging, optimistic examples for children, 49:54 but some are little in the faith. 49:55 Some are children in the faith. 49:57 And boy, I'll tell you, it's frightening when you think--I've 50:00 sometimes seen people who are new, 50:02 they make mistakes, they're learning how to be Christians. 50:06 And some who have been in the church for years are very harsh 50:09 in their treatment and their judgment of them. 50:12 We need to be as positive and encouraging--how does Jesus feel 50:15 about it if we discourage people who are already down? 50:21 We ought to speak words of encouragement, 50:23 words of hope, words that are positive. 50:25 1 Thessalonians 5:11, "Therefore comfort." 50:30 And that Greek word there, comfort, 50:31 is really literally the word "encourage." 50:34 "Therefore encourage each other, edify, 50:37 build up each other, just as you were doing." 50:41 Paul always says, "Do these things, 50:43 as I'm sure you are doing." 50:44 1 Corinthians 8:12, "But when you sin so against the brethren 50:50 and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." 50:54 Now, is that serious business? 50:56 If we sin against each other by hurting a person's conscience or 50:59 by discouraging person, you sin against Christ. 51:03 Didn't Jesus say, "In as much as you've done it to the least of 51:06 these, you've done it to me"? 51:08 And so, we need to encourage each other. 51:11 We need to speak words of optimism, 51:13 words of faith. 51:15 It says, "You sin against Christ, 51:17 wherefore if meat makes my brother offend," he's talking 51:21 about if I'm eating food that's offered to an idol. 51:23 "If it offends my brother, I will eat no flesh while the 51:27 world stands," for the rest of the world, 51:29 "lest I make my brother offend." 51:31 You got to be careful about things that might offend others. 51:36 Then obedience unto death is the last section. 51:40 Says, "God--in all this, Job did not sin or charge God 51:44 with wrong." 51:46 First of all, we've all sinned. 51:48 1 John 1:10, "If we say that we have not sinned, 51:53 we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 51:56 But when we know the truth and we surrender to God," 51:59 he wants us to obey the truth. 52:01 And the Bible tells us in Philippians chapter 2, verse 5, 52:05 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ 52:09 Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery 52:14 to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, 52:18 taking the form of a bondservant, 52:20 and coming in the likeness of men. 52:22 And being found in the appearance of a man, 52:24 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, 52:29 even the death of the cross." 52:33 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were they obedient 52:36 to the point of death? 52:38 Daniel and the lion's den, was he obedient 52:40 to the point of death? 52:42 The apostles, when they stood before the Sanhedrin and they 52:45 said, "We ought to obey God rather than men," were they 52:48 obedient to the point of death? 52:50 And so, who was it that said, "If a man doesn't have a cause 52:54 for which he is willing to die, he is not fit to live"? 52:58 We need to have something we believe in, 53:01 and say, "I'm willing to lay down my life." 53:03 Truth is worth dying for. 53:05 Did you ever think about that? 53:07 'Cause Jesus is the truth, 53:08 and he is worth dying for, amen? 53:10 Well, we are out of time for today's lesson. 53:13 Boy, the book of Job, it's the--it's real business, amen? 53:17 And we have an offer we'd like to tell you about. 53:20 You've probably heard it mentioned already, 53:21 but in case you missed the beginning, 53:23 it's called "Satan's Confusing Counterfeits." 53:26 And just ask for offer number 191 when you call. 53:29 The number, again, is ... 53:33 That's ... 53:35 And we'll send you this free book. 53:37 Read it, please, and share it. You'll find it very encouraging. 53:40 God bless you till we get to study his Word 53:42 together again next week. 53:45 [music] 53:55 Doug: What can be more irresistible than a kitten? 53:57 These guys might look cute now, but some of their ancestors 54:00 have grown into man eaters. 54:06 We're here in a lion park in South Africa now, 54:09 where we can view these creatures in relative safety. 54:11 But there's a reason they're known as the king of beasts. 54:15 So, what is it that people find so enchanting 54:17 and frightening about lions? 54:19 Is it their speed, their claws, their sharp teeth, 54:22 or all of the above? 54:24 It might also be some of the stories about man eating lions, 54:27 like in 1898 right here in Africa, 54:30 they were building a bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya, 54:33 and two brother lions terrorized the construction process, 54:37 eating 135 workers. 54:42 Did you know lions are mentioned in the Bible over 100 times? 54:45 And you can find them all the way from Genesis to Revelation. 54:48 It's usually in reference to their ferocity 54:50 and how dangerous they are. 54:52 Of course, Samson killed a lion with his bare hands, 54:54 and David killed a lion. 54:56 There are man eating lions in the Bible. 54:59 The way that they punished criminals was 55:00 by throwing him in the lion's den. 55:02 And early Christians were even fed to lions. 55:06 But amazingly, as the Bible mentions, 55:08 not all lions are to be feared. 55:10 There have been a few friendly lions in history. 55:12 For example, in the 1950s, a couple, 55:16 George and Margaret Westborough, who lived up at a ranch near 55:19 Seattle, Washington adopted an abandoned lion cub. 55:24 They named it Little Tyke because they felt sorry for it. 55:26 But they discovered as they tried to feed her, 55:29 she refused to eat any meat at all. 55:32 They were concerned, thinking there was no hope for this 55:35 little lioness to survive, and everybody told them the same 55:38 because we know in the wild, lions survive on almost an 55:41 entirely meat diet. 55:43 Then someone showed the Westborough that verse in the 55:45 Bible that talks about in heaven, 55:48 the animals are vegetarians, and the lion will eat 55:51 straw like the ox. 55:52 That encouraged them, and so they began to feed Little Tyke 55:56 a purely vegetarian diet. 55:58 Not only did she survive, she thrived, 56:01 growing into a lion that was over 352 pounds, 56:05 and over 10 feet long. 56:07 In fact, zoologists that examined Little Tyke when she 56:10 was full grown said they have never seen such a perfect 56:13 specimen of a lioness in their life, 56:15 a pure vegetarian. 56:17 You know, when we hear incredible stories about that 56:20 of Little Tyke, it reminds us that God's original plan 56:23 was to make a world of total peace. 56:26 It describes it here in the Bible in Isaiah chapter 11, 56:29 verse 6, "The wolf also will dwell with the lamb, 56:32 the leopard will lie down with the young goat. 56:34 The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; 56:37 and a little child will lead them." 56:40 Nothing is going to hurt and destroy in the new heavens and 56:42 the new earth that God is going to create. 56:44 Wouldn't you like to live in a kingdom where there's perfect 56:47 peace, where there's no more death, 56:48 or killing, or pain? 56:51 God says that he wants you in that kingdom. 56:53 The Lamb of God made it possible for you to have an encounter 56:57 with the Lion of the tribe of Judah. 56:59 Wouldn't you like to meet him today? 57:01 [music] 57:09 male announcer: Can't get enough "Amazing Facts" Bible study? 57:11 You don't have to wait until next week 57:14 to enjoy more truth-filled programming. 57:16 Visit the "Amazing Facts" media library at aftv.org. 57:21 At aftv.org, you can enjoy video and audio presentations, 57:26 as well as printed material, all free of charge, 57:29 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, right from your computer 57:33 or mobile device. 57:34 Visit aftv.org. 57:38 announcer: In 6 days, God created the heavens 57:41 and the earth. 57:43 For thousands of years, man has worshipped God 57:46 on the seventh day of the week. 57:48 Now, each week, millions of people worship on the first day. 57:52 What happened? 57:53 Why did God create a day of rest? 57:56 Does it really matter what day we worship? 57:58 Who is behind this great shift? 58:00 Discover the truth behind God's law and how it was changed. 58:04 Visit sabbathtruth.com. 58:09 [music] |
Revised 2016-10-10