Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH021749A
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00:35 Good morning, friends.
00:36 And welcome to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:37 coming to you here from the Granite Bay 00:39 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:40 I'd like to welcome our online members 00:42 and also those joining us across the country 00:45 and around the world 00:46 part of our study group here every Sabbath morning. 00:49 I'd like to welcome the members and the visitors 00:51 here at Granite Bay, 00:52 delighted to see you all here again this morning. 00:55 We've been studying through the Book of Romans 00:57 for our lesson quarterly, 00:58 and we're nearing the end of the study. 01:00 Today, we're on lesson number 10, 01:02 which is entitled "Children of the Promise", 01:06 that deals with Romans, 01:08 talking a little bit of Romans 8, 9. 01:10 So lesson number 10 is what we'll be on, 01:12 Children of the Promise. 01:13 For those who are joining us online, 01:15 if you don't have a copy of the lesson quarterly, 01:17 but you'd like to study along with us, 01:19 you can go to the Amazing Facts website, 01:21 just amazingfacts.org. 01:23 You can download a copy of today's study, 01:25 that's lesson number 10 01:27 and you can study along with us. 01:29 We do have the free offer. 01:30 We'd also like to let you know about, 01:31 it is a book entitled "Can a Saved Man Choose to Be Lost"? 01:36 And that is our free offer. 01:37 To receive that, call us on our resource phone number 01:40 866-788-3966. 01:44 And you can ask for offer number 112. 01:46 If you're outside of North America, 01:48 just go to the Amazing Facts website, 01:50 amazingfacts.org. 01:52 You can download a copy of the book 01:54 and you can read it for free online. 01:56 Well, before we get to our study, 01:57 we always like to start by lifting our voices in song. 02:02 I'd like to invite our song leaders 02:03 to come and join me on stage this morning. 02:06 What Child is this, who, laid to rest 02:14 On Mary's lap is sleeping? 02:22 Whom angels greet with anthems sweet 02:29 While shepherds 02:32 Watch are keeping? 02:37 This, this is Christ the King 02:44 Whom shepherds guard 02:48 And angels sing 02:52 Haste, haste, to bring Him laud 02:59 The Babe 03:01 The Son of Mary 03:08 Why lies He in such mean estate 03:15 Where ox and ass are feeding? 03:22 Good Christian, fear, for sinners here 03:30 The silent Word 03:34 Is pleading 03:38 This, this is Christ the King 03:45 Whom shepherds guard 03:48 And angels sing 03:53 Haste, haste, to bring Him laud 03:59 The Babe 04:01 The Son of Mary 04:08 So bring Him incense 04:13 Gold, and myrrh 04:16 Come, peasant, king, to own Him 04:23 The King of kings salvation brings 04:30 Let loving hearts 04:34 Enthrone Him 04:39 This, this is Christ the King 04:45 Whom shepherds guard 04:49 And angels sing 04:53 Haste, haste, to bring Him laud 05:00 The Babe 05:02 The Son of Mary 05:13 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 05:15 Dear Father in heaven, 05:16 what a privilege to be able to get in Your house 05:18 on the Sabbath morning and open up Your Word 05:21 and study this very important book, 05:23 The Book of Romans, 05:24 message of righteousness by faith. 05:27 Father, we ask for the Holy Spirit 05:28 to come and draw close to us, 05:30 got our minds, our hearts as we study the scriptures, 05:33 for we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 05:36 Our lesson this morning, 05:37 it's gonna be brought to us by Pastor Doug. 05:42 Happy Sabbath. 05:43 I want to welcome those that are here. 05:45 We know we have some of our folks that are gone 05:47 because of the oncoming Thanksgiving holiday. 05:50 And we have some who are here that may be visiting family, 05:53 and we're just glad for each of you, 05:55 glad for our extended class 05:57 that watches around the country, 05:59 all over the world every week. 06:01 And we know some of you are also 06:03 part of the Granite Bay church family 06:05 via the online members, 06:07 and we want to welcome you as well. 06:10 We are continuing our study in the Book of Romans, 06:13 one of the great masterpiece explanations of the gospel 06:19 that you find in scripture. 06:21 And today we're gonna be dealing 06:22 with one of the most difficult passages in the Bible. 06:29 Before I get to the lesson, let me just share with you 06:33 why this chapter can be so challenging. 06:38 Within Christianity, there is a great divide. 06:42 Now I'm not talking about between Seventh-day Adventists 06:44 and other Protestants or Catholics. 06:47 Among Protestants, you have two great groups. 06:51 You've got Calvinists, you've got the free will group. 06:57 You've got Calvinism, Arminianism, and what... 07:04 You've heard of the doctrine, 07:05 "Once saved, always saved and predestination." 07:10 A lot of that springs out of this chapter, 07:14 some things we're gonna be discussing. 07:15 And so there's other good material in here, 07:18 but I just want you to know that, 07:19 even one of the sections 07:20 in the lessons is titled mysteries, 07:23 because there are some difficult passages in here. 07:26 Our memory verse comes to us from Romans 9:18. 07:29 And it is, it's at the heart and core 07:31 of what one of these challenges is. 07:33 Romans 8:19, if you have your Bibles, 07:35 I invite you to say it along with me. 07:37 Are you ready? 07:38 "Therefore has He mercy on whom He will have mercy, 07:44 and on whom He will He hardens." 07:47 Now right they're out of the gate, 07:49 the Lord is saying, "Well, I guess, I'll harden some hearts 07:52 and I'll have mercy on others." 07:54 And it almost sounds like God is up there in the sky 07:57 as an arbitrary Greek god 07:58 or something that's looking down saying, "What shall I do? 08:01 Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. 08:03 I'll save this one, but I think 08:05 I'm gonna harden her heart, harden his heart." 08:08 And, you know, someone's got to be the fall guy 08:11 that will betray Jesus, I'll just call him Judas. 08:14 And as much as he might want to be saved, 08:17 I need someone that's gonna be the bad guy in the script, 08:20 so I'm gonna harden his heart. 08:22 Or I'm gonna harden pharaoh's heart. 08:26 Let me see, how shall I do this? 08:27 I'll save you, but you're gonna be lost, sorry. 08:30 I'll save you, but I need the lost. 08:32 I got to teach a lesson, 08:33 so I need some lost people to help illustrate this lesson. 08:36 This is what some people see when they read Romans 9. 08:41 And so with that troubling introduction, 08:45 let's get into it. 08:47 Matter of fact, why don't we start by going to Romans 9, 08:51 and I'm just gonna read the first few verses. 08:53 Maybe I'll read verses 1-3, 08:56 and then we'll discuss some of this, 08:59 give you a little background 09:00 about what's happening as we delve in here. 09:03 Romans 9:1, "I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, 09:08 my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 09:12 that I have great sorrow 09:14 and continual grief in my heart. 09:16 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ 09:20 that my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 09:23 who are Israelites, to whom pertains the adoption, 09:27 the glory of the covenant, giving of the law, 09:29 and the services of God, and the promises." 09:32 So Paul is saying... 09:35 You know, I know it looks like 09:36 that the promises of God have failed. 09:39 I'd be willing to sacrifice my own eternal life 09:41 that they might be saved, 09:44 and He's making this great sacrifice. 09:47 You see, God had said in the Old Testament. 09:49 You can read this in Exodus 19:6, 09:52 when he called Israel. 09:53 He said, I've called you, 09:54 I want you to be a kingdom of kings and priests. 10:00 I want you to be a nation of royalty. 10:02 You know, typically in the ancient kingdoms, 10:07 they often had, the kings and the priests 10:09 were the leaders. 10:11 Some were priest kings, some were king priests. 10:13 Anyone ever played chess 10:16 that would be willing to confess it? 10:19 What's right next to the king and the queen? 10:22 The bishops, they had the church. 10:24 But even in the... 10:25 If you go to the Egyptians 10:28 thereby Pharaoh were the priests. 10:31 And they were the ones who were tax free 10:33 and this is in many religions, even among the Greeks 10:36 and among the Romans. 10:37 You had the... 10:38 It seemed like the religious leaders, 10:40 the political leaders knew they needed the support 10:43 of the religious leaders, 10:45 that's why America was such an unusual experiment. 10:47 Here you had a country without a king, 10:50 and a religion without priests and popes 10:52 that were running things. 10:54 And so God wanted them to be a nation of kings and priests, 10:59 and now he's writing, 11:00 and they've been conquered by the Romans, 11:07 they are divided among themselves, 11:09 you've got the Hellenists, 11:11 the ones who were following the Greek teaching, 11:13 and you get the Sadducees, and you get the Pharisees, 11:16 and then you have the Essenes, 11:17 and all these different divisions. 11:18 Then the Christianity came along 11:20 and it just began to explode. 11:22 It looked like the whole plan that God had 11:24 for the Jewish nation had failed, 11:26 so this is something that Paul is addressing 11:29 because Paul is saying, no it hasn't failed. 11:32 When you consider that 11:33 the gentiles become spiritual Jews, 11:36 the plan is working better than ever. 11:38 So with that as a backdrop, but then he says, well, 11:41 even though all who believe in Christ 11:45 become spiritual Israel, 11:46 God still has a plan for the literal Jews. 11:49 In fact, Paul says, I'd be willing to sacrifice 11:52 my eternal life that Israel could be saved. 11:57 Now, is it normal to want to be saved 12:01 and not to be lost? 12:05 But it's almost abnormal to say, 12:06 I am willing to be lost that others might be saved. 12:13 Why would you accept Christ? 12:16 You know, you've heard the expression 12:17 before I've talked about the WIIFM effect. 12:20 W-I-I-F-M, "What's In It For Me." 12:26 And so many people make the decisions based on WIIFM. 12:30 What's in it for me? 12:32 Well, you won't go to hell and you will go to heaven, 12:34 and that's why a lot of people come to the Lord. 12:37 But when you really become a converted Christian, 12:39 you stop thinking WIIFM, 12:41 you start thinking what's in it for God. 12:44 Will this bring glory to God? 12:47 Are there others in the Bible who said, 12:49 we're willing to have our names stricken from the book of life, 12:52 but what about your name God? 12:54 Someone read for me in just a moment Exodus 32:32, 12:58 you'll have that Hoftis, okay. 13:00 I'm gonna read Romans... 13:01 I'm gonna read rather 2 Samuel 24:17. 13:06 "A plague is going through the land of Israel 13:08 and David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel 13:10 who was striking the people, and he said, 13:12 'Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly, 13:15 but these sheep, what have they done? 13:16 Let Your hand, I pray, be against me 13:20 and against my father's house.'" 13:22 It's the sign of a good shepherd. 13:23 Was David willing to lay down his life to save sheep? 13:27 Doesn't it seem strange that a human would be willing 13:29 to risk his life for a sheep? 13:32 And David, he was saying, take it out on me 13:36 and against my father's house, 13:38 don't make the people suffer, self-sacrificing. 13:41 Read for me Exodus 32:32, please? 13:44 "And now, if you will forgive their sin, and if not, 13:48 please, blot me from your scroll 13:50 that you have written." 13:51 Now, who is speaking in this verse? 13:54 That's Moses, right? 13:56 And God, the golden calf experience, 13:58 God said, let me alone... 14:00 Is it kind of God, it's like God is saying to... 14:03 Have you ever seen people kind of get in the bar fight? 14:05 I don't know, don't answer that. 14:07 You know, and it's like, and one guy is holding back 14:11 the other guy that's real angering, 14:13 say, "No, no, no, control yourself. 14:14 And he say, "No, let me out him, 14:15 let me out him." 14:16 And it's like God is almost saying to Moses 14:19 to stop, stop holding me back, let me go 14:22 and I'm gonna wipe them out, I'll make a great nation 14:25 of you, this is what God said. 14:27 I will destroy them and I'll make a great nation 14:28 of your offspring, like you'll be the next Abraham. 14:32 Well, that might appeal to some of us. 14:35 And Moses said, "No, Lord, 14:38 just look what will happen to your reputation. 14:40 The Egyptians will say their god wasn't big enough 14:42 to bring them all the way into the Promised Land. 14:45 And what will happen to Your reputation? 14:47 What will happen to Your glory, Your honor? 14:50 And Moses said, "Take my name out of the book." 14:53 But what will happen to your name? 14:55 That's real self-sacrificing love. 14:58 Who else was willing to be stricken 15:00 from the book of life for the sake of God's people? 15:06 His name begins with a letter J. 15:09 Jesus, yeah. 15:11 When Jesus went to the cross, you know, 15:13 He was facing the second death. 15:16 And He said, not my will, thy will be done, 15:18 Lord, if there is any other way. 15:20 And at times, the guilt of sin was so terrible 15:24 that it looked like eternal separation, 15:26 but that's what real divine love is. 15:28 You're willing to say, I will lose everything 15:32 that others might be saved, that's a mature Christian. 15:35 It's not what's in it for me, 15:36 it's you're motivated by love like God. 15:40 Because you're really, it's almost selfishness 15:42 when you say, "Sure, I'll accept eternal life 15:44 in a new body." 15:46 Who wouldn't want that? 15:48 But when you're really matured as a Christian, 15:50 I think I remember reading in the Spirit of Prophecy, 15:52 and I don't remember the reference. 15:54 With the computer you can look it up pretty easy. 15:58 A fear of hell and the desire of heaven 16:00 might be a suitable starting point 16:03 for a lot of people. 16:05 When you're doing evangelism, evangelists might talk about, 16:08 well, there's a heaven to win, and a hell to shun, 16:11 that is an appropriate starting point. 16:13 When you're teaching children, you may use 16:15 elementary basic things like that. 16:17 Listen to me, no spanking. Disobey, spanking, you know. 16:22 Or you listen to me, you get this treat, this privilege. 16:25 But as you matured, you want your kids 16:27 to always be obeying for those reasons. 16:31 You'll get a cookie if you do your homework. 16:33 I mean, you want them to eventually think 16:35 you'll be smarter if you do your homework, you know. 16:39 And you'll be able to serve God and your fellowman 16:41 if you're well educated. 16:43 And so you want them to grow. 16:45 And Paul, he had that total self-sacrificing attitude. 16:49 Someone else I thought of in the Bible, 16:52 there's a lady who said this. 16:55 How many of you remember Abigail? 16:57 David was on his way to wipeout the house of Nabal. 17:02 And Abigail came to intercede, and she says... 17:05 This is 1 Samuel 25, 17:07 "She fell at his feet, and she said, 17:08 "On me, my lord, on me, let this iniquity be." 17:12 Just so she's stopping David's wrath 17:15 against the household and saying, take it out on me. 17:18 And so you see this intercession 17:20 in a number of God's people in the Bible 17:22 that were genuinely converted. 17:25 So next as you read on, you know, they're wondering 17:31 if God's promises have failed. 17:34 You read in verse, I will read verse 5 and 6, 17:37 Romans 9:5 and 6. 17:39 "Of whom the fathers and from whom, 17:41 according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, 17:44 the eternal blessed God. 17:46 Amen." 17:47 Now have you ever wondered is Jesus God? 17:51 Have you ever run into people that wondered if Jesus is God? 17:55 Is Jesus the eternal God? 17:58 What does Paul call Him here? 18:01 He's not talking about the Father and Jesus 18:02 as two separate ones, notice. 18:05 "Christ came who is over all the eternal blessed God." 18:10 Amen. 18:12 Is that clear? 18:14 That Jesus is also the eternal blessed God. 18:17 And then notice the next verse, verse 6. 18:19 "But it is not that the word of God 18:21 has not taken effect." 18:24 So some are saying, see, God's word failed. 18:26 He had all these big plans for Israel but it flopped. 18:30 The prophecies that God made for Israel have flopped. 18:34 Have you read some of the Old Testament prophecies 18:37 and have people say, well, this was a prophecy 18:39 that God made that what He wanted to do with Israel 18:42 if they had been successful, but those prophecies right now, 18:45 you just, you can strike them out 18:46 because Israel failed, they're irrelevant now. 18:50 Is there any prophecy like that in the Bible? 18:53 I don't think so. 18:54 I think some of the prophecies had maybe a dual meaning 18:58 that if Israel had been faithful, 18:59 this is what would have happened, 19:01 but you read deeper in that very prophecy 19:03 and it's going to be fulfilled through spiritual Israel. 19:07 But do any of God's words ever fail? 19:11 I want to read something to you from Joshua. 19:14 Joshua 23:14. 19:18 "Behold..." 19:19 This is Joshua 23, he's later in the book. 19:21 He's an older man now. 19:23 They've conquered, 19:24 they've entered the Promised Land, 19:26 they've got their possession. 19:27 And Joshua says, "Behold, this day 19:29 I'm going the way of all the earth." 19:31 He means, I'm getting old, I'm going that way, I'm dying. 19:34 "And you know in all of your hearts 19:37 in the hearts and your souls that not one thing has failed 19:42 of all the good things 19:44 which the Lord God spoke concerning you. 19:47 All has come to pass for you, 19:50 not one word of them has failed." 19:53 Now how much of the Word of God 19:54 and the prophecies of God come true? 19:58 Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away. 20:01 Everything God says in His prophecies will come true, 20:05 but some of it that they may have thought 20:07 was going to happen with literal Israel, 20:10 in fact is happening with spiritual Israel. 20:13 And so this is a point that is made 20:16 as we read on here, still going on in Romans. 20:19 He says here, for they are not... 20:22 And I'm still reading Romans 9:6, 20:24 halfway through the verse. 20:25 "For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 20:30 nor are they all children because they are the seed 20:34 of Abraham, but, 20:35 'In Isaac your seed shall be called.'" 20:38 Now here's the point that I know this is deep, 20:40 I hope you're all still with me. 20:41 This is the point that Paul is making here. 20:44 Abraham initially had two sons. What were their names? 20:48 Ishmael is really the technical firstborn, 20:49 but he's the son of the flesh. 20:51 Isaac is the son of the promise through his wife, 20:55 so he's technically the legitimate son. 20:58 So when God said to Abraham, I'm gonna multiply your seed 21:01 and through all, through your seed 21:03 all the world will be blessed. 21:04 Which seed was he talking about 21:07 through which the blessing would come? 21:08 Ishmael, and the children of east 21:11 that are known as Islam today, or Isaac? 21:15 So God said... 21:17 Abraham had a lot of children but the blessing 21:19 wasn't to come through all the children, 21:20 it was to come specifically through Isaac. 21:23 Patriarchs were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Messiah, 21:27 messianic line came through there. 21:29 And then he goes on to say so, 21:31 not every child of Abraham is a child of promise. 21:36 That's the point he's making. 21:38 Meaning, even some who are literal physical Jews, 21:43 they are not the spiritual seed of Abraham. 21:46 And there are some who may not be physical Jews, 21:50 but they are the spiritual seed of Abraham. 21:52 So all the promises that God made to Israel 21:55 are going to be fulfilled because he says 21:58 and here several versus I'm gonna give you now. 22:00 Now this, what I'm getting ready to say, 22:02 it really aggravate some people. 22:05 It angers Jews and certain evangelicals 22:09 because there are a number... 22:12 Again, I'm prophesying what I'm saying. 22:13 I told you it was a tough chapter. 22:16 There's a number of evangelicals who believe 22:19 that everyone in the nation of Israel's gonna get converted, 22:22 and they're gonna rebuild the temple. 22:25 And that, you know, that's what Shepherd's Rod believed. 22:31 You got quiet. 22:33 Shepherd's Rod were a branch that kind of split off 22:36 from among Seventh-day Adventists 22:38 back in 1930 something. 22:40 And when we were back in Washington last week, 22:44 we were preaching at the General Conference office. 22:46 And on our last Sabbath, as we drove through the gate, 22:49 there's all these people protesting our meetings 22:51 with posters that said all kinds of things, 22:53 I don't remember all of that they said. 22:55 They were there when we did our Prophecy Code in Florida 22:58 and they were Shepherd's Rod, 22:59 they are not allowed to come on the ground 23:00 so they stand at the gate when people are coming in 23:02 and they hold up their signs and they protest. 23:04 But they were a group who believed 23:06 that they were all literally gonna get transported 23:08 somehow to Israel and the literal kingdom 23:10 was gonna get rebuilt, 23:11 and Jesus was gonna literally reign on earth. 23:13 There are evangelicals who believe that. 23:15 They think that Jesus reigns on earth during the millennium. 23:19 Now what I'm gonna share with you 23:21 aggravates evangelicals and some Jews, 23:24 because they believe that it's a substitution. 23:30 In other words that the promises of God 23:32 are not gonna be fulfilled because the gentiles 23:35 have been substituted for the Jews. 23:37 I don't believe that. 23:39 I believe that God still 23:40 if they call replacement theology. 23:42 You ever heard that before? 23:43 I believe God still has a special work for the Jews, 23:46 there's going to be a revival among the Jewish nation. 23:49 There will be many Jews that will be involved 23:51 but not all of them, and it will not be 23:53 a nationalistic revival. 23:54 There may be Jews in any part of the world. 23:57 But I think God still has a special plan for them. 24:01 I'll give you a little amazing trivia. 24:06 Years ago... 24:07 I may have told you this once before, 24:08 I don't remember. 24:10 Years ago, I was in Toronto 24:13 during a General Conference meeting. 24:15 I was walking up the street looking for something to eat, 24:17 and I ran into Clifford Goldstein 24:19 now on all the Sabbath school quarterlies, 24:22 you'll see a couple of names among the editors, 24:24 one of them is Clifford Goldstein. 24:27 Another one you'll see is Sharon Thomas Crews. 24:31 Our Amazing Facts was founded by Joe Crews. 24:34 Last week I had the privilege of spending some time 24:37 with his widow Lu Ann Crews who is 93 years old now 24:41 and doing fine. 24:43 And so I ran into Clifford Goldstein, 24:46 and he said, I'm looking for a place to eat. 24:48 So we went, we sat down, we ate together. 24:49 While we're talking, he said, you know, 24:51 "So where did you grow up?" 24:52 And I said, "Well, you know, I lived in Miami Beach." 24:54 He said, "I grew up in Miami Beach." 24:57 I said, "I live in New York City, 24:58 I came to Miami Beach 24:59 and then went to school there for a while." 25:00 Where'd you go to school? I went to Nautilus. 25:02 Cliff said, "I went to Nautilus." 25:05 And it turns out he was a Jewish atheist 25:09 that went to a school in Miami Beach. 25:11 I was a Jewish atheist 25:12 that went to school in Miami Beach. 25:14 And now he edits the Sabbath school lesson 25:18 and I teach it. 25:19 So God still has a work for the Jews, doesn't He? 25:23 And Sharon Crews edits it, you know, 25:25 someone from connect with Amazing Facts, 25:26 so I thought that was kind of cool. 25:28 But so I do think God has a special work for the Jews, 25:30 but it's not that the gentiles have replaced the Jews, 25:34 this is a very important point. 25:37 The gentiles are grafted in to the Jewish stock, 25:42 so all the promises that God made to the gentiles 25:46 belong to you as well. 25:48 Let me give you few verses on that. 25:50 Galatians 3:7, 25:53 "Therefore know that only those who are of faith 25:57 are sons of Abraham." 25:58 Not some of those who are among faith 26:00 but only those. 26:01 So if you're a literal Jew and you don't have faith, 26:04 then you're not a son of Abraham. 26:07 Didn't Jesus say to some of the Jewish religious leaders, 26:10 they said, Abraham's our Father. 26:11 Jesus said, Abraham is not your father. 26:14 So if you want to argue with Jesus, 26:15 you take it up with Him. 26:16 He said, just because you're a physical Jew, 26:17 does not mean Abraham is your father. 26:20 Jesus said, you're of your father, the devil 26:22 'cause you're trying to kill me. 26:23 Abraham didn't do that, Abraham longed for my day. 26:27 They said, "What do you mean Abraham longed for your day? 26:29 You're not even 50 years old. 26:31 What do you mean? You're crazy." 26:32 And so it's not about being a physical Jew. 26:36 Does God saved people because He examines their DNA? 26:41 Says well, wouldn't that be kind of racism 26:44 if he did it that way? 26:46 Or does the Bible say, 26:48 God is made of all nations, one blood. 26:52 And doesn't the Bible say, 26:53 whosoever will might come to Him. 26:56 Even in the Old Testament, 26:57 in the days of the Jewish dispensation, 27:00 could you be saved? 27:02 Could you be grafted in? 27:04 Uriah was called, Uriah the Hittite. 27:07 Meaning, he was a Hittite that converted. 27:10 What about Ruth? 27:12 When she said to Naomi, 27:13 your people will be my people, your God are my God. 27:16 Did she then become a mother in Israel? 27:19 And Rahab, when she married Salmon, 27:22 did she become a mother in Israel? 27:24 Are they ancestors of Jesus? 27:26 So is it a new thing 27:27 that a gentile could be grafted into the stock of Israel 27:30 and be a real child of God? 27:32 It's not a new thing. 27:34 And there were a number of literal Jews 27:37 that turned from God to idols, 27:40 and the Bible said, God said, I'm turning from you. 27:43 So God has never saved people 27:45 based upon looking at their blood. 27:48 He prophesied that 27:49 through their blood the Messiah would come, 27:51 but every individual is saved based upon faith. 27:55 You're still with me? Amen. 27:57 All right, here are some other words. 28:00 Romans 9:6, 28:02 "For not all of Israel are Israel." 28:04 Romans 2:28, this is a good one. 28:07 "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly..." 28:11 When Paul talked about outwardly, 28:12 he meant, you know, they had been circumcised. 28:15 "You're not a Jew who is one outwardly, 28:16 nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, 28:20 but he is a Jew, who is one inwardly, 28:22 and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, 28:25 not the letter, whose praise is not from men but from God." 28:29 This is not just a New Testament teaching, 28:31 this is an Old Testament teaching, 28:32 way back in the days of Moses. 28:34 Moses said to be circumcised in your heart. 28:38 That means a covenant is a heart covenant. 28:41 Galatians 3:29, 28:44 "And if you are Christ's, 28:45 then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs 28:48 according to the promise." 28:49 And didn't Jesus and John the Baptist say, 28:52 many will come from the east and the west, 28:55 and sit down in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 28:59 and the literal children of the kingdom 29:01 will be in outer darkness. 29:04 What's the parable about the rich man and Lazarus? 29:07 Really has nothing to do with the state of the dead. 29:09 You know that parable in Luke 16. 29:11 Got a rich man feasting on this best food, 29:15 poor beggars at his gate wanting the crumbs 29:17 that fall from his table. 29:18 Rich man represented the Jewish nation 29:20 and those who know the truth 29:21 and this is the bread of life, they're feasting. 29:23 All the gentiles that were lost, 29:25 they want the crumbs. 29:26 But in the resurrection, 29:28 there's a great irony that happens. 29:31 Lazarus, the gentile, he is an Abraham's bosom, 29:35 the destination of where the Jews want to go. 29:38 They want to be with father Abraham. 29:40 But the rich man, who represents a Jewish nation, 29:43 he's in Hades, 29:44 that's the place of pagan torment. 29:47 You see the paradox of what Jesus is saying here. 29:50 The rich man who represents the Jews, 29:53 he ends up in the pagan place of suffering, Hades. 29:56 And the poor man who represents the gentiles, 29:59 he's in Abraham's bosom and it's all a parable. 30:03 But what the Lord is saying is, 30:05 if they do not believe Moses and the prophets, 30:09 then it doesn't matter if they're your brethren. 30:12 They've got to believe. 30:14 And so it has to do with faith. 30:16 Many will come from the east and the west 30:18 and sit down in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 30:20 and the children of the kingdom, 30:22 people who would have been naturally the children, 30:24 they are in outer darkness. 30:26 Pastor Doug, you're talking about the Jews 30:29 and their evangelicals now? 30:31 I'm talking about you and me. 30:34 Can we say, I go to church, I'm a third generation 30:40 Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 30:42 And so God, I get like I'm first in line. 30:44 You know, God needs to save me. 30:47 And honestly I've met people before 30:49 when they find out I'm Christian, 30:50 they say, "Oh, well, you know, my cousin's a pastor." 30:53 It's like, you think that's gonna help you 30:55 at the judgment? 30:57 You know, haven't you met people? 30:59 Have you heard these things before? 31:01 "Oh, yeah, my grandfather, he was a pastor," 31:04 not gonna help you. 31:06 Someone once said, God has no grandchildren. 31:10 You are adopted as a child. 31:12 And so Paul is making this very important point here. 31:16 And then it gets really difficult 31:18 when we read on. 31:20 And he says here, I'm gonna read verse 8. 31:23 That is those who are children of the flesh, 31:26 these are not the children of God, 31:28 that's as clear as it can be. 31:29 But the children of the promise, 31:31 they are counted the seed. 31:33 For this time, the word of promise at that time, 31:36 I will come and Sarah will have a son. 31:38 In other words, it was Isaac who was a son of promise. 31:42 And not only this, 31:43 but when Rebecca had also conceived by one man, 31:45 even our father Isaac, 31:47 for the children not being born 31:48 having done anything good or evil 31:50 that the purpose of God according to election 31:52 might stand not of works but of him who calls, 31:55 it was said of her, 31:56 the older shall serve the younger. 31:58 Esau, the older would serve the younger, Jacob. 32:00 Now this is where, 32:02 this is where it starts getting really difficult. 32:05 The older will serve the younger... 32:07 Verse 13, "As it is written, 32:08 'Jacob, I have loved, and Esau I have hated.'" 32:12 What in the world does that mean? 32:14 Someone's gonna look up for me 1 Timothy 2:3-5, 32:18 I think you can read 3 to 4, actually. 32:21 Jacob I've loved, Esau I've hated. 32:23 Let me tell you how some people read that. 32:26 God being a God of predestination, 32:30 they say, I don't believe this. 32:32 He says, well, you know, I want to teach a lesson, 32:35 and so I know that Rebecca is gonna have twins, 32:37 I'm just gonna show that, 32:39 I'm gonna save who I want to save. 32:41 And instead of it being 32:42 the oldest will be the firstborn, 32:43 and he gets all the blessings, 32:44 I'm gonna give the blessings to the youngest 32:46 just to mess with him. 32:48 I'm gonna give the older one a hard heart, 32:51 I'm gonna save the younger one, because I just decide, 32:55 you know, who I want to save and who I want to be lost. 32:59 Now you just read there in Romans. 33:01 He said, Jacob I loved, Esau I hated. 33:04 And it makes it sound like 33:05 he decided to love Jacob before he was born, 33:08 and to hate Esau before he was born. 33:10 Does God hate any baby before it's born, 33:13 before it does anything? 33:16 Listen now, Paul is quoting the Old Testament. 33:19 You gotta know your Old Testament. 33:21 Listen to what Paul is quoting. 33:22 Go to Malachi 1. 33:25 He says, "I have loved you,' says the Lord. 33:27 You say, 'In which way have You loved us?' 33:29 Was not Esau Jacob's brother, says the Lord. 33:33 Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, 33:36 and laid waste his mountains and his heritage 33:39 for the jackals of the wilderness." 33:42 Jacob and Esau are referring to the nations of those people. 33:48 And God loved and hated them because of what they did. 33:52 And so when he quotes here, 33:54 Jacob I loved, and Esau I've hated, 33:55 He's talking about the Edomites and the Israelites. 33:59 They summarize their names 34:01 by calling one Jacob and one Esau. 34:04 He is not saying that I loved the individual Jacob, 34:06 and I hated the individual Esau. 34:08 He later hated what Esau did, 34:11 and you can read about that in Hebrews. 34:13 When Esau did not appreciate his birthright, 34:16 and he wanted... 34:17 He was so carnal minded, 34:18 he said, what good is a spiritual birthright, 34:20 give me beans now, I want beans now. 34:23 I'm gonna starve to death if I don't have my beans. 34:26 And so he was carnally minded. 34:28 Where Jacob said, I want the spiritual blessing. 34:31 And just to prove that 34:32 when Jacob came back from wandering in Mesopotamia, 34:36 he said to Esau 34:37 here, I'm gonna give you lots of money. 34:39 He gave him all of these sheep, and goats 34:40 and camels and servants, 34:41 he says, it's a gift. 34:42 I'm not after that blessing, 34:44 I want the spiritual blessing of our father. 34:48 So it was what Jacob did that God loved. 34:53 When Jacob said, 34:54 I won't let go unless you bless me, 34:56 He loved that. 34:57 When Esau said, you know, 35:01 I just want the carnal things for right now. 35:05 Jacob, he went a long way to get a spiritual bride, 35:08 didn't he? 35:09 He traveled all the way to Haran. 35:12 Esau didn't want to make that trip. 35:13 He married a local pagan girls. 35:16 And so you just see that there is difference. 35:19 And so their offspring, 35:21 He hated the Edomites because they were carnal, 35:25 He loved the Israelites initially 35:27 because they were spiritual. 35:29 Let me give you another example of that. 35:31 Why did God pick the Levites to be the priests, 35:36 and He did not pick from the other 11 or 12 tribes, 35:41 depends on how you number them. 35:42 Remember, He divided Jacob's tribe. 35:44 Why did He pick the Levites? 35:45 Did God say, well, I've just chosen them spiritually 35:50 and I'm gonna give them the blessing? 35:53 Or was there something that happened that made it happen? 35:57 You remember at the Mount Sinai, 35:59 the golden calf experience? 36:01 And Moses said, "Who is on my side? 36:05 Come to me." 36:06 And the Levites gathered around other than Aaron, 36:10 they had not supported the apostasy. 36:13 And they were chosen. 36:15 And the Levites strapped on their swords 36:17 and they went through the camp 36:18 and they killed the ringleaders of this idolatry that happened. 36:21 You remember there's a terrible story. 36:23 And then after that God says, 36:26 because of their dedication to the things of God, 36:29 I am gonna have the Levites be the ones 36:31 who were the guardians of the truth. 36:33 There was something they did. 36:35 Now it also gets difficult, well, let me keep reading here. 36:41 All right, and then it says, 36:42 oh, wait, I never had you read your verse. 36:44 So does God save people, 36:46 He will love someone and He hates others, 36:48 or does God want everyone to be saved? 36:51 All right, go ahead, please and read for us, 36:52 1 Timothy 2:3 and 4. 36:54 "For this is good and acceptable 36:56 in the sight of God our Savior, 36:58 who desires all men to be saved..." 37:00 Pause right there. 37:02 God who desires what? 37:04 All men. 37:05 How many men to be saved? 37:06 All. 37:08 Who wrote Romans? Paul. 37:10 Who wrote 1 Timothy? Paul. 37:13 Paul. 37:14 He wants everybody to be saved. 37:16 Now these are some of the scriptures 37:18 that the Armenians and the predestination people 37:22 and the once saved, always saved, 37:23 their law back and forth. 37:25 Some say, I've elected Jacob, I hated Esau. 37:30 But then Paul says, He wants all men to be saved. 37:32 Go ahead, finish reading that verse. 37:34 "Who desires all men to be saved 37:36 and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 37:39 Yeah, and he goes on says, 37:40 for there is one mediator of knowledge of the truth, 37:44 one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ 37:46 who gave Himself a ransom for all. 37:49 A ransom for how many? 37:50 All. For all. 37:51 I guess I should have had you read that last verse, 37:53 I forgot why put it in there. 37:55 Let me give you another one. 37:56 Titus 2:11, 37:58 "For the grace of God that brings salvation 38:01 has appeared to a few people." 38:05 Hopefully, you're spotting 38:06 when the pastor changes the verses there. 38:10 Now I'm gonna tell you when I change it, 38:12 others will not tell you, so you need to know your Bible. 38:15 "For the grace of God that brings salvation 38:17 has appeared to all men." 38:18 Why? 38:20 'Cause He wants all men to be saved. 38:21 John 1:9, 38:23 "That was the true light that gives light to every man 38:27 that comes into the world." 38:29 And then you... 38:30 The Bible closes that says, whosoever will, 38:33 let him take the water of life freely. 38:35 Whosoever, what's John 3:16? 38:37 Whosoever believes in Him might not perish, 38:39 because He wants everyone to be saved. 38:42 God is love. 38:43 Can you imagine a father, a loving father saying, 38:46 well, I need someone to help illustrate a point 38:48 in the gospel 38:49 so, I'm sorry, but you're gonna die 38:51 and then I'm gonna put you in hell. 38:52 And I'm making, 38:53 I'm predetermining before you're even born 38:56 that I'm wiring you, so you cannot be saved. 39:00 And then I'm gonna put you in hell. 39:03 Do you realize, that's what some believe. 39:06 Doesn't that sort of make God an accomplice to their crime? 39:11 If God is able to predetermine 39:13 that He's gonna make somebody love Him, 39:16 doesn't that cancel out the whole plan of salvation? 39:19 And you would then say, He must have said, 39:21 well, I need to teach the universe a lesson, 39:23 so I'm gonna make Lucifer turn on me. 39:27 God knew it would happen but He doesn't make it happen, 39:30 that's a different, He really makes His creatures free. 39:33 It's a very important point to understand, 39:35 because you see where this goes. 39:37 God says, "I am gonna make Judas a liar and a thief." 39:44 He doesn't have any choice. 39:46 I am gonna just wire him that way from the factory 39:49 and so that's how he's gonna live his life 39:51 because I need to use him. 39:53 So, you know, what they call that in our criminal system? 39:56 You're an accessory. 39:58 You're an accomplice. 40:00 And if nothing else, 40:01 if the government set somebody else to commit a crime, 40:03 if they set them up they call it entrapment. 40:07 Isn't that right? 40:08 And it's considered illegal. 40:11 You get to hell, 40:12 terrible philosophical problems if you believe that, 40:16 but God who wants all men to be saved, 40:18 He creates everybody with an opportunity 40:20 to love, to choose. 40:23 And every man is rewarded according to what? 40:26 His works. 40:27 Jesus says that, isn't that right? 40:29 So if God is gonna reward people 40:31 according to his works, 40:32 but if He is pre-deciding what your works gonna be 40:34 before you're even born, 40:36 and He is making you do certain works 40:38 and then He is punishing you for doing bad works, 40:42 wouldn't that be kind of like, you know, 40:43 pushing your kid in the cookie jar 40:44 and then spanking them, for eating cookies? 40:48 It just wouldn't make sense. 40:51 So this is why I told you this is a challenging chapter. 40:54 I need to move on here, some of the mysteries. 40:57 Isaiah 55:8 and 9, 41:00 first of all, there are some difficult things, 41:01 I don't want to pretend there're not. 41:04 God says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 41:06 and neither are your ways My ways," says the Lord. 41:10 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 41:11 so are My ways higher than your ways 41:14 and My thoughts than your thoughts." 41:16 So now we're gonna jump into Romans 9:14, 41:21 "What shall we say then? 41:23 Is there unrighteousness with God?" 41:26 See, Paul is saying, I know what you're thinking. 41:28 Did God make Esau to be lost? 41:31 Is there unrighteousness with God? 41:33 He says, certainly not. 41:35 How many of you have a King James? 41:37 I think it says, God forbid there. 41:39 God forbid, don't even think that. 41:41 Is there any unrighteousness, we got an accessory. 41:46 For He said to Moses, 41:47 I'll have mercy on whomever I'll have mercy, 41:49 and I'll have compassion on whoever I want compassion. 41:52 So then it is not him who wills nor of him who runs, 41:56 but God who shows mercy, 41:58 and then he gives you an illustration. 42:01 For the scripture says to the Pharaoh, 42:03 for this very purpose I have raised you up, 42:06 that I might show my power in you 42:08 and that my need might be declared in all of the earth. 42:13 So God raised up Pharaoh, 42:15 and, you know, there's several places 42:16 where it says God hardened Pharaoh's heart, 42:21 and He raised up Pharaoh and he said, look, I got to 42:23 somehow I have to have a bad guy in the script. 42:26 So that I can show My mighty power, 42:28 and so I've raised you up and I've hardened your heart. 42:30 And you don't have any choice, 42:32 but you're going to be the most stubborn king ever, 42:34 who ever lived. 42:35 And you're also gonna be really stupid 42:36 because plague after plague 42:37 and you keep doing the same thing. 42:40 So is that what He's saying. 42:43 Therefore, He has mercy on whom He will, 42:46 and who He will He hardens, 42:49 and you'll say to me then why does He find fault? 42:51 Why would God punish 42:52 if He's making a person that way? 42:55 For who has resisted his will. 42:58 But indeed, oh, man, 42:59 who are you who reply against the will of God? 43:03 You reply against God. 43:05 Will the thing formed, that you, the creature, 43:07 say to Him who formed it, why did you... 43:09 How dare You make me like this? 43:12 Does not the potter have power over the clay 43:14 to make from the same lump, one vessel for honor 43:17 and another vessel for dishonor. 43:20 All right, so it says, God hardened Pharaoh's heart, 43:23 three or four times, you might look it up, 43:25 but at least three or four times 43:27 it says, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. 43:30 Someone's going to read for me in Exodus 9:34, 43:34 and before you do, I'll read some of the others. 43:37 Exodus 8:15, 43:38 "But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, 43:41 he hardened his heart and did not heed them." 43:45 Now the relief was the mercy of God to forgive the plague. 43:50 Exodus 8:32, 43:52 "But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, 43:55 neither would he let the people go." 43:56 Go ahead, read Exodus 9:34. 43:59 "And when Pharaoh saw 44:01 that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, 44:04 he sinned yet more, and he hardened his heart, 44:08 he and his servants." 44:11 So, what do you do 44:13 when you got what appears to be conflicting verses, 44:15 one place there God says, 44:16 I'm gonna harden Pharaoh's heart, 44:17 and the other place it says, Pharaoh hardened his heart. 44:21 When the sun shines on wax, it gets soft. 44:26 When the sun shines on clay, it gets hard. 44:30 You could say the sun harden the clay, 44:35 but that same sun shining right next to the clay, 44:38 softens the wax. 44:40 The circumstances that God allowed to come, 44:44 Pharaoh took those things and he hardened his heart. 44:47 Let me read something to you from the book, 44:49 it's actually from a quote 44:51 from the Review and Herald, February 17, 1891, 44:55 "We're told that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, 44:58 the repeated refusals of the king 45:00 to hear the Word of the Lord called forth 45:02 more direct, more urgent, and forcible messages. 45:05 At each rejection of light, 45:07 the Lord manifested 45:08 a more marked display of His power, 45:11 but the king's abstinence increased 45:13 with every new evidence of the power and majesty 45:16 of the divine heaven, 45:18 until the last arrow of mercy was exhausted 45:21 from the divine quiver. 45:24 And then of course, 45:25 the plague of the Passover came, 45:27 the firstborn die, including Pharaoh's. 45:30 He said, mercy was sent, 45:31 so what's hardening Pharaoh's heart? 45:34 The mercy of God. 45:36 And when God said, I am gonna reveal My power in Pharaoh, 45:40 what did God reveal? 45:41 His patience, His mercy. 45:44 And he hardened his heart against the mercy. 45:46 And here's a quote I want you to get, 45:48 "The man was utterly hardened 45:51 by his own persistent resistance." 45:55 That's pretty clear. 45:57 Pharaoh sowed abstinence 45:59 and he reaped the harvest of the same in his character. 46:02 The Lord could do nothing more to convince him, 46:05 for he was barricaded in abstinence and prejudice 46:09 where the Holy Spirit 46:10 could not find access to his heart. 46:12 God kept sending the Spirit to even Pharaoh to reach him, 46:17 showing His power, showing His patience. 46:20 And he just folded his arms and he said, "Who is the Lord? 46:22 Who is the Lord? 46:23 I'm not gonna listen to God, I'm gonna go to my gods. 46:27 And so God said, 46:29 I'm going to allow this circumstance 46:33 to be a lesson for Israel. 46:35 See, God takes things 46:38 that are bad that the devil does, 46:39 and He works them for good. 46:41 And so the hardness of Pharaoh, Pharaoh hardened his own heart, 46:46 ended up being a demonstration 46:47 of God's power and His goodness. 46:50 Yes, God raised up Pharaoh, 46:52 God raised him up with a free will. 46:54 God knew what he would do, 46:56 and he said it will be an opportunity 46:58 to teach a lesson 46:59 but he didn't pre-program 47:01 and make Pharaoh be stubborn and lost. 47:04 See, what I'm saying? 47:06 So that's very important I think. 47:07 And let me give you one more verse, 47:08 1 Samuel 6:6, 47:11 now this is way up in Samuel's, 47:12 not in Exodus any more. 47:14 1 Samuel 6:6, Samuel said, 47:16 "Why then do you harden your hearts 47:19 as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? 47:23 When he did mighty things among them, 47:25 they did not let the people go that they might depart." 47:29 So that I think is pretty clear. 47:32 And I'm moving on here in Romans, 47:35 he talks about, we talked about Pharaoh 47:38 that his name might be revealed in him, 47:40 the potter has power over the clay. 47:46 Let me see here, and then he says, 47:49 "And that he might make known the riches of His glory, 47:52 so why does he allow this to happen 47:54 that he might make known the riches of His glory 47:56 on the vessels of mercy 47:58 which he prepared beforehand for glory, 48:00 even to those who he called not of the Jews only, 48:03 but also the gentiles." 48:04 So this is the point 48:05 he just keeps trying to bring back, 48:06 it's not just Jews but the gentiles also. 48:09 As he says in Hosea, 48:11 "I will call them my people who are not my people, 48:14 and her beloved who is not beloved, 48:17 and it will come to pass in the place 48:18 where I said to them, you are not my people, 48:20 there they will be called the Sons of the Living God, 48:22 places that were formally pagan 48:24 are now being called Sons of the Living God." 48:28 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel. 48:31 Though the number of the children of Israel 48:32 be as the sand of the sea the remnant will be saved, 48:36 for he will finish the work 48:37 and cut it short and righteousness. 48:38 Who? 48:39 What qualifies you to be a remnant? 48:41 The ones who believe, it's by faith. 48:44 When you get through Revelation 48:45 and you find out about the remnant, 48:46 Revelation 14. 48:49 Here are those that keep the commandments of God 48:51 and have the... 48:53 Not the testimony, the faith of Jesus. 48:57 There it says, here are those 48:58 that keep the commandments of God 49:00 and have the faith of Jesus. 49:02 The remnant is composed of people 49:05 who are saved by faith. 49:07 They keep the commandments 49:08 because they have the faith of Jesus. 49:11 They don't keep the commandments to be saved, 49:13 is that right? 49:14 So Paul is saying through history, 49:16 God has saved a remnant who had faith. 49:17 Abraham had faith, Isaac had faith, 49:19 Jacob had faith. 49:21 But not every Israelite is going to be saved, 49:23 is that clear? 49:24 There were some who had faith 49:26 and it highlights many of them through history, 49:28 read Hebrews 11, 49:29 it talks about the heroes of faith. 49:30 But you know among the heroes of faith, 49:32 they're not all Jews. 49:33 Doesn't he also talk about Noah built an ark by faith, 49:37 he wasn't a Jew. 49:38 Rahab had faith. 49:40 She was not an Israelite. 49:41 And so Paul is making the point that those who believe, 49:46 they're the ones who are saved by faith. 49:48 And reading on here, Romans 9:29. 49:53 "And as Isaiah said before, 49:54 unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed." 49:57 Sabaoth there it doesn't mean Sabbath, 49:59 it means a lord of hosts or armies. 50:01 "Had left us a seed, 50:02 we would have become like Sodom, 50:04 it would have been like Gomorrah." 50:05 It's the remnant that God ultimately saves. 50:07 And God saved the remnant out of Sodom and Gomorrah, 50:10 that was Lot and his daughters. 50:12 What shall we say then, 50:14 that the gentiles 50:15 who did not pursue righteousness 50:16 have attained to righteousness, 50:18 even the righteousness of faith? 50:20 But Israel pursuing the law of righteousness 50:22 has not attained to righteousness, 50:24 the law of righteousness why? 50:25 Because they did not seek it by faith, 50:28 but as it were by the works of the law. 50:30 For they stumbled at the stumbling stone, 50:33 "As it is written, 50:35 'Behold I lay in Zion, the stumbling stone, 50:38 and the rock of offense, 50:39 and whoever believes on him will not be put to shame.'" 50:42 And here it's talking about that rock of stumbling. 50:44 Someone's going to read for me Psalm 118:22. 50:49 "The stone which the builders rejected 50:51 has become the Chief Cornerstone. 50:54 This was the Lord's doing, it is marvelous in our eyes." 50:58 And here he's referring back to a story 51:00 when they were building the Solomon's temple 51:01 and all the stones were prepared 51:03 at a separate quarry, 51:05 they brought them to place, 51:06 they sent up the cornerstone early on 51:09 but it was an odd looking stone 51:11 because part of it rested on the bedrock, 51:15 and it had been cut and sloped, and it was a corner, 51:20 and it was right in the middle of the work site, 51:22 and they kept bumping into it, 51:24 and tripping on it and scuffling their toes on it, 51:28 and hitting their heads on it. 51:29 And they got upset, 51:30 and they rolled it down into the Kidron Valley, 51:32 then when it came time to build the temple, 51:35 they start actually assembling the masonry, 51:37 they said, where is the cornerstone, 51:40 they sent back a text to the quarrian. 51:43 They said, "Where is that cornerstone?" 51:44 They said, "We sent that a long time ago." 51:46 Oh, that's that stumbling stone 51:48 that was right in the middle that we were cursing. 51:51 And it's the foundation of the whole temple, 51:53 we had no idea. 51:55 You find that referred to many times 51:57 through the New and the Old Testament. 51:59 And then finally 52:00 in the New Testament they say, 52:01 "That was Christ." 52:03 When the Messiah finally came, 52:05 they didn't know, and they rejected Him, 52:07 and they cast Him out of the city. 52:09 And He ended up being the foundation for everything. 52:13 That's why you read in Ephesians 2, 52:16 "Now therefore 52:17 you are no longer strangers and foreigners..." 52:19 Gentiles you're not far off. 52:22 "But you are fellow citizens with the saints, 52:24 and members of the household of God 52:26 having been built on the foundation 52:28 of the apostles and the prophets, 52:30 Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 52:35 in which the whole building fitly frames together." 52:38 Anyway I can see we've run out of time. 52:40 I want to remind our friends, 52:41 I know we talked about some difficult things 52:43 dealing with predestination and the sovereignty of God. 52:47 We have a free offer, it's number 112, it's called, 52:50 "Can a Saved Man Choose to Be Lost"? 52:53 We'll send it to you for simply asking, 52:55 we do ask you read it, 52:56 and you'll be blessed, and then share with a friend. 52:58 Here's a number 866-788-3966. 53:03 That adds up to 866-Study-More 53:05 and we'll send it to you free, please do so. 53:07 And thank you, friends, for joining us, 53:09 God willing will study His word together 53:11 again next week. 53:23 Have you ever heard a mouse howl like a wolf? 53:27 Well, what would you expect would happen 53:29 when a creature changes its destiny 53:31 from the hapless prey to mighty predator? 53:35 From the outside they look very much like 53:37 just an oversized field mouse, 53:39 cute brown fur, white on the underbelly, 53:42 nice little beady eyes, 53:43 but that's where the similarities stop. 53:45 Grasshopper mice are very unusual making them 53:49 the objects of great interest for animal researchers. 53:53 These furry little creatures are found 53:55 in the harsh deserts of North America. 53:57 They're very territorial in nature. 53:59 And they will monopolize and fend off 25 acres. 54:03 They don't build their own homes 54:04 but sort of confiscate the burrows 54:06 and the homes of other creatures. 54:09 They're not called grasshopper mice 54:10 'cause they hop around. 54:12 But it's because they eat a lot of grasshoppers. 54:13 In fact scientists have discovered 54:15 grasshopper mice are the only mice 54:17 that are purely carnivorous. 54:21 They hunt much like cats or weasels, 54:23 stalking their prey in a predatory fashion, 54:26 and when they pounce, they are ferocious. 54:28 Sometimes even taking on snakes, and scorpions, 54:31 and centipedes. 54:33 When a grasshopper mouse gets into a fierce battle 54:36 with a snake, or a scorpion, or centipede, 54:38 they may be bit or stung several times. 54:41 But what is amazing to researchers 54:43 is they've noticed when they are bitten, 54:45 they somehow shake it off 54:47 because they convert the toxin and the venom to pain killer. 54:52 I think you can understand why this information would be 54:55 of special interest to scientists 54:57 that are trying to discover new ways for people 55:00 to deal with chronic pain. 55:02 One of the most intriguing characteristics 55:04 of these little creatures 55:06 is when they're defending their territory 55:08 or celebrating a victory over some adversary, 55:11 they'll throw back their head 55:13 and let out this earthshaking howl. 55:16 It's a mousy howl. Check it out. 55:25 The grasshopper mouse 55:26 is not the only member of creation 55:28 that can survive encounters with venomous predators. 55:31 In Luke 10:19 it says, 55:33 "Behold, I will give you authority 55:36 to trample on serpents and scorpions, 55:38 and over all the power of the enemy: 55:41 nothing will by any means hurt you." 55:43 We don't have to be the biggest and the strongest 55:46 to defeat our enemy and led out that victory roar. 55:49 When God called David to be king, 55:51 no human would have guessed that he had it in him. 55:53 He was young and insignificant, 55:55 from the outside he looked like there was no greatness in him. 55:59 But when God looked at his heart, 56:01 He saw courage, humility, compassion, and love. 56:04 David wasn't perfect and he made mistakes 56:07 but through God's power he was able to conquer giants. 56:11 Friend, God does not intend 56:12 that you live out the rest of your life 56:14 cowering and trembling like a little field mouse. 56:17 If God can take the grasshopper mouse 56:19 and give him courage 56:20 so that he fights snakes, and scorpions, and centipedes. 56:24 If God can put in the heart of David 56:25 the courage to fight giants like Goliath, 56:28 then He can give you that same courage. 56:31 The scripture say, 56:32 God has not given you the spirit of fear 56:34 but of power, love, and a sound mind. 56:38 And you can have that peace in your heart 56:40 when you invite the Prince of Peace in your heart. 56:42 Why don't you do that right now? 56:53 For life changing Christian resources, 56:56 visit afbookstore.com, 56:58 or call 1-800-538-7275. 57:03 Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible Study? 57:06 You don't have to wait until next week 57:08 to enjoy more truth-filled programming. 57:10 Visit the Amazing Facts media library at aftv.org. 57:16 At aftv.org, 57:18 you can enjoy video and audio presentations 57:21 as well as printed material all free of charge, 57:24 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 57:26 right from your computer or mobile device. 57:29 Visit aftv.org. 57:33 Let's face it, 57:34 it's not always easy to understand everything 57:37 you read in The Bible. 57:38 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 57:42 The Bible can generate a lot of questions. 57:44 To get biblical straight forward answers, 57:47 call into Bible Answers Live, 57:48 a live nationwide call-in radio program 57:51 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor 57:53 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 57:56 For times and stations in your area 57:58 or to listen to answers online, 58:00 visit bal.amazingfacts.org. |
Revised 2017-12-04