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00:35 Hello, friends, we'd like to welcome all of you
00:37 to Sabbath School Study Hour, coming to here 00:39 from the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:41 We'd like to welcome our online members 00:43 and those who are joining us 00:44 on the various television networks. 00:47 Thank you for tuning in, 00:48 to be a part of our study time today. 00:51 Also to the members and the visitors 00:52 right here at the Granite Bay Church, 00:53 it's always good to see you, Sabbath after Sabbath, 00:56 gathering together to study God's Word. 00:58 We've been studying through our lesson quarterly 01:00 dealing with the subject of stewardship. 01:02 It's called "Stewardship, Motives of the Heart". 01:05 Today, we find ourselves on lesson number 10, 01:08 entitled the Role of Stewardship. 01:10 So that will be our theme for study this morning. 01:13 For those who are joining us online, 01:15 if you don't have a copy of today's lesson, 01:18 the Role of Stewardship, 01:19 you can download the lesson at the following website, 01:22 just study.aftv.org, 01:27 at study.aftv.org. 01:29 You can download lesson number 10, 01:31 and you can study along with us. 01:33 We have a free offer, 01:34 a book entitled "Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears". 01:38 That is the free offer for today. 01:40 Just give us a call on our resource phone line. 01:43 That number is 866-788-3966, 01:47 and you can ask for offer number 726. 01:51 If you are outside of North America, 01:53 just go to the Amazing Facts website, 01:55 just amazingfacts.org, 01:57 and you can download the book for free, 01:59 and you can read it right there online. 02:01 But before we get to our study time, 02:03 as we normally do, 02:04 we like to lift our voices in song. 02:06 I'd like to invite our song leaders 02:07 to come join me this morning. 02:10 We are so glad that it's that time 02:12 where we get to sing together like we do every week. 02:15 So we are singing one song today 02:18 that ties in with our lesson. 02:21 It's in the stewardship section of the hymnal, 02:25 and it's found on the 636, God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending. 02:30 So pay attention as we sing 636. 02:33 We'll do all three stanzas. 04:37 I hope that is your prayer this week, 04:40 serving You by loving all. 04:43 At this time, Pastor Ross will have our opening part. 04:54 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 04:56 Dear Father in heaven, we thank You once again 04:58 that we have this opportunity to gather together 05:00 and open up Your Word and study this important theme, 05:03 talking about how we can be better stewards 05:05 of the things that You've given us. 05:07 So Father, we pray once again 05:08 for the Holy Spirit to be praised 05:10 and to guard our hearts and our minds 05:11 as we open up Your word, 05:13 for we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 05:16 Our lesson this morning is going to be brought to us 05:18 by our senior pastor here at the Granite Bay Church, 05:21 Pastor Doug. 05:22 Welcome, everybody. 05:24 I'm glad to see each of you here at the Granite Bay Church. 05:28 And want to remind you those who are watching, 05:30 we have a lot of friends who are watching online, 05:33 and sometimes we see 05:35 a few days after we've done Sabbath school, 05:37 there are literally thousands of people 05:39 that study with us online. 05:41 Some of them are... 05:42 Some of our digital disciples, our online members. 05:45 And we know there's people scattered around the country, 05:47 other parts of the world 05:49 that have no local church that they can attend. 05:52 And if you want to know what it means 05:53 to be one of our online members or digital disciples, 05:56 then just go to our website which is granitebaysda.org, 06:03 and we'll be happy to contact you 06:05 and give you more information on that. 06:08 We are in lesson number 10 in our quarterly 06:11 talking about stewardship. 06:13 That is a very broad and a comprehensive subject. 06:16 And the lesson today, in particular, 06:18 it's called the Role of Stewardship, 06:21 and we have a memory verse. 06:22 Memory verse is from 1 Thessalonians 4:7, 06:26 hearing your lesson that's from the NIV. 06:27 Now we're going to go ahead and look at this together, 06:29 you ready? 06:30 1 Thessalonians 4:7, 06:32 "For God did not called us to be impure, 06:36 but to live a holy life." 06:39 And so one of the aspects of stewardship is 06:43 we are to manage and be stewards 06:47 of our time in our lives for the purpose of holiness. 06:50 Stewardship is, like I said it's comprehensive, 06:53 it covers so many different things. 06:55 Matter of fact, right here in the beginning of the lesson, 06:59 I want to reiterate, if you have any questions, 07:02 you who are watching online in particular, 07:05 if you have any questions about the lesson today, 07:07 go ahead and send them via Facebook. 07:10 You can send them through 07:12 either the Amazing Facts Facebook, 07:13 Granite Bay Facebook, my Facebook page. 07:16 We have people in the back that are looking, 07:18 they're scanning at your texts and your posts, 07:21 and you can enter those in, 07:22 and about two-thirds of the way through the lesson, 07:25 I'm going to try and take some questions. 07:26 I think Pastor Ross said, if you had any Bible questions, 07:29 I think he meant questions about the lesson, 07:31 otherwise they could be all over the place. 07:33 So anything on stewardship, we welcome. 07:37 You know, Le Roy Froom, great author, 07:41 he wrote in his book, 07:43 Stewardship in Its Larger Aspects. 07:45 He said, "It is not a theory or a philosophy, 07:49 but a working program. 07:51 It is in verity the Christian law of living." 07:54 Stewardship, it's a Christian law of living. 07:56 "It's necessary to an adequate understanding of life, 08:00 and essential to a true, vital religious experience. 08:04 It's not simply a matter of mental assent, 08:07 but it's an act of the will 08:09 and a definite, decisive transition 08:11 touching the whole perimeter of life." 08:15 Stewardship affects where you park your car 08:19 when you go shopping. 08:22 You want to be a steward of your time, 08:24 so you try not to park too far away from the entrance. 08:28 Or if you want to be a steward of your car, 08:30 you don't park right where they put the shopping carts 08:35 because it could damage your car, 08:36 and that's bad stewardship. 08:38 Stewardship is reaching over, 08:41 and if you see the children 08:42 have dropped a wrapper in the church of something 08:47 that you pick it up 08:48 and throw it in the garbage can. 08:50 Stewardship is just realizing 08:53 that this is our Father's world, 08:56 that your body belongs to Him, 08:58 that we're to use our time and our means to glorify God, 09:02 that we have a mission and a message... 09:04 Lesson talks more about that but stewardship really, 09:06 it encompasses every aspect of your life, 09:10 the management of the life, and influence, and means 09:13 that God has given you. 09:16 As I've said before, 09:17 you're just here for a short time. 09:20 The longer you live, the shorter you realize it is. 09:24 And when you look back over your life, you'll realize, 09:27 "Did I spend my life the way God wanted me to?" 09:31 That's what stewardship is. 09:33 It's about spending, not just money, spending life. 09:36 And so we want to... 09:37 And we'll give an account to God, won't we? 09:41 You've got stewardship of your words. 09:42 We give an account to God for every word we speak. 09:45 Bible says, "You need to budget your words." 09:48 Did you know that? 09:49 Solomon said, "Let your words be few." 09:53 And a fool's voice is known by the multitude of words. 09:56 So I set myself up for failure when I stand here to teach 09:59 because you expect me to just keep on rambling 10:01 for the next 50 minutes. 10:05 So we're stewards of everything that we do. 10:09 And so we want to be faithful stewards. 10:12 All right, well, one of the first things 10:13 we're going to explore here in our first heading 10:15 is Christ as the center. 10:17 Keeping Christ as the center really gives you perspective 10:20 on what the stewardship means. 10:22 And someone, in a moment, is going to read for me 10:25 John 13:3, 10:27 I got a few verses before we get there. 10:29 And we're using in our lesson 10:31 the analogy of like a chariot wheel. 10:34 It doesn't have to be a chariot wheel, 10:36 you can call it a wagon wheel. 10:37 But the whole idea is that you've got the rim, 10:41 you've got all the spokes that go towards the center, 10:43 and then you got the hub and the axle 10:46 right there in the middle. 10:48 You'll see there's a lot of different spokes, 10:51 they all kind of go to a common end. 10:54 One of them is understanding the centrality of Christ 10:59 in everything in our religion in the Bible. 11:02 John 5:39, 11:05 Jesus said, "You search the scriptures, 11:08 for in them you think you have eternal life. 11:10 These are they that testify of Me." 11:14 So when you're reading the Bible, 11:15 the Bible is all about Jesus. 11:18 And, you know, being a steward helps, 11:21 it helps to realize that 11:23 in our lives it's all about Christ, 11:26 it's all about the scriptures and the messages, 11:28 all about Jesus. 11:29 "These are they that testify of Me." 11:32 In other verse on the similar theme. 11:34 Luke 24:27, "And beginning at Moses..." 11:38 This is on the road to Emmaus, He made this statement. 11:40 "Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, 11:43 he expounded unto them in all the scriptures, 11:47 the things concerning himself." 11:49 So everything in the Bible is about Jesus. 11:52 And part of our stewardship is as we share Christ with others, 11:56 what is to stay the hub of that doctrine. 12:01 You might have all these different doctrines, 12:03 they're like spokes, 12:04 but they all point to the center, 12:05 and what is the center? 12:06 Christ. It's Christ. 12:08 Jesus has to stay the center of your life. 12:10 You know, if you keep Christ at the center of your life, 12:13 chances are you're going to be a responsible steward 12:16 of your time, and your energy, and your means. 12:20 Now go ahead, please read for us, John 13:3. 12:23 John 13:3, 12:25 "Jesus, knowing that the Father 12:27 had given all things into His hands, 12:29 and that He had come from God, and was going to God." 12:33 Yeah, and then, of course, he goes on 12:35 and talks about the foot washing service, 12:36 but I want to emphasize the part that says, 12:39 "All things were given into His hands. 12:42 He came from God, He's going to God." 12:45 Every word in the Bible is about Him 12:47 in one way or the other. 12:49 That Christ really needs to stay the hub 12:51 and the center of our lives. 12:53 Look at Hebrews 10:7, 12:56 "Then I said, 'Behold, I come, in the volume of the book, 13:01 it is written of me to do your will, O God.'" 13:04 And so it's safe to say when you talk about the Bible, 13:07 and you've heard me say this many times. 13:13 You don't say, well, Exodus is about Moses, 13:16 and Genesis is about Abraham, and Judges is about Samson, 13:21 who we're talking about today. 13:24 Genesis is about Jesus, and Exodus is about Jesus, 13:27 and Numbers, and Deuteronomy, Leviticus, 13:29 I got that out of order, and Joshua, and Judges, 13:31 and 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 13:33 it's all about Jesus, 13:35 "In the volume of the book, it is written of Me." 13:38 Karen and I, sometimes we'll watch Christian programming. 13:42 And we are watching something last night in particular, 13:45 and they said, the pastor said, 13:48 "We're going to be looking at one of the Psalms." 13:52 And he said, 13:53 "I know some of you don't have an Old Testament. 13:54 All you have is your New Testaments, 13:56 but you can just listen. 13:58 And I thought, 13:59 "How sad that a pastor would even tolerate a church 14:04 only having a third of their Bible." 14:08 Because Jesus doesn't begin in the New Testament, 14:12 Jesus is all the way through the Bible. 14:15 Amen? Amen. 14:16 And so keeping that at the center 14:18 is I think a very important chord. 14:21 All right, you can read also, here's another great one, 14:25 I think we all know. 14:26 John 1:1-3, talking about the prominence, 14:31 and the priority, and the preeminence of Jesus. 14:35 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 14:38 and the Word was God. 14:40 He was in the beginning with God. 14:43 All things were made through Him, 14:45 and without Him, 14:46 nothing was made that was made." 14:49 So He made everything. 14:51 All things are made by Him. 14:53 He is the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, 14:57 and so it's just very clear 14:59 that the Bible is all about Jesus. 15:01 In Matthew 28, I like this one. 15:03 He says in verse 18, 15:06 "And Jesus came and He spoke, saying, 15:08 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.'" 15:14 So Christ is really everything. 15:16 Let me give you one more verse on that before we move on. 15:18 Colossians 1:16, you know, these words moved me, 15:22 and the power is in the Word. 15:23 And sometimes I find myself in the Sabbath school study, 15:26 I go, oh! 15:27 Oh! Oh! Here's a good one. 15:28 Here's another one, here's another one, 15:30 but I got to be careful as a pastor, 15:32 not just laying one scripture on top of another 15:34 because sometimes your eyes begin to glaze over 15:37 when I do that. 15:39 But these words move me 'cause that's where the power is. 15:42 It's in the Word, the proof is in the Scripture, 15:45 and so I said, "Oh, I can't leave that one out. 15:46 Oh! And that's another good one." 15:48 Colossians 1:16-18, 15:51 still talking about Christ being everything. 15:52 This one sums it up. 15:55 "For by Him, all things were created, 15:57 that are in heaven, and that are on earth, 16:00 visible and invisible, 16:02 whether they're thrones, or dominions, 16:04 or principalities..." 16:05 I'm going to pause there for a moment. 16:09 Principalities or powers, 16:10 where else do you find that word principalities and powers? 16:14 "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, 16:17 but against principalities and powers." 16:21 What is it talking about in Ephesians 6? 16:23 Who are we wrestling against? 16:26 The devil, fallen angels. 16:28 Who made them? 16:30 Oh, they weren't devils, but it says, 16:33 "He made all things including principalities and powers, 16:37 all things were created through Him and for Him." 16:41 And have you ever wondered what you're made for? 16:45 You're made for God. 16:49 "And He is before all things." 16:52 We're never hidden from His eyes. 16:54 "And in Him, all things consist." 16:56 Oh, wasn't for God, 16:57 we'd just sort of vaporize and disassemble. 17:01 "And He is the head of the body of the church, 17:04 who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 17:07 that in all things He may have the preeminence." 17:11 And so that's a pretty powerful scripture 17:13 that says that, 17:15 "The foundation for your stewardship in life 17:18 is understanding that God is all in all. 17:22 The foundation for faithful stewardship 17:24 is understanding that He owns everything, 17:27 that He made everything, that everything belongs to Him, 17:32 that everything will answer to Him, 17:34 that He has all authority." 17:36 And so when God says something meager, 17:39 like "Remember to be faithful with your tithe." 17:43 And we say, "Well, let me think about that." 17:46 What? 17:48 He's God. 17:50 He says He will supply all of our needs, 17:54 do we really believe, 17:56 and when you understand the prominence of God, 17:59 it helps make that I think, it puts it in perspective. 18:02 All right, now you probably would not normally suspect that 18:07 in a lesson dealing with stewardship, 18:11 we'd say, "Now let's talk about the sanctuary." 18:15 But you even learn about the stewardship principle 18:20 through the sanctuary doctrine. 18:21 That's our next section here. 18:22 Here's a quote from the book Evangelism, 18:26 "The correct understanding of the ministration of Christ 18:30 in the heavenly sanctuary 18:32 is the foundation of our faith." 18:36 Now what happened there in the sanctuary 18:38 actually teaches us about God, 18:41 teaches us about the plan of salvation, 18:42 and in connection with that, 18:44 it teaches us about stewardship. 18:47 The whole sanctuary dealt with bringing something to God. 18:51 You would walk through that door with an offering, 18:54 isn't that right? 18:56 And what happened is... 19:00 The sanctuary talks about separation, 19:04 it's got a border, there's one door, 19:07 we're on the outside, God's on the inside. 19:10 We're trying to get to where God is. 19:13 The sanctuary represents a journey. 19:16 And let's just say for instance that here you've got... 19:18 Just use your imagination, okay? 19:20 Here you've got the courtyard of the sanctuary, 19:23 at the other end, 19:24 the farthest you could go from the door 19:27 is the Holy of Holies. 19:29 God's there, you're on the outside, you're here. 19:31 There's one way to begin the journey, 19:32 you walk through the door. 19:33 Who is the door? 19:35 Jesus is the door. 19:37 And when you get to the door, 19:38 and you're coming with what when you first enter? 19:40 Enter His gates with Thanksgiving, 19:42 an offering of Thanksgiving, and you bring Him offering. 19:45 You don't come before the Lord without an offering. 19:46 Now the Bible says, 19:47 "You don't come before a king without an offering." 19:50 But we're really coming to make atonement 19:52 to prepare us to go into His presence 19:55 because our sins have separated. 19:56 The blood must be applied 19:58 before we can go into His presence. 20:00 So first thing you do as you come in, 20:01 first thing that there is an altar. 20:03 It's there to receive an offering, 20:06 a sacrifice for your sins. 20:09 Offering is made, 20:11 then after the offering, there's a laver. 20:12 And the laver's for cleansing. 20:14 Now isn't that interesting, 20:15 why doesn't it have the water first? 20:17 You think, "Well, first, you get clean, 20:20 then you make your offering." 20:22 Is that how it works? 20:25 Have you heard a parent say to their child, 20:27 "Will you get cleaned up, so you can take a bath?" 20:31 Doesn't that sound backwards? 20:33 You take a bath so you can get cleaned up. 20:36 So the real hard cleansing that prepares us for everything else 20:39 is the sacrifice of Jesus, it's the lamb. 20:41 The altar, first thing is the lamb. 20:43 Before the children of Israel went through the Red Sea, 20:47 what happened in Egypt? 20:49 Passover Lamb, right? 20:51 The lamb came before baptism, the cross comes before baptism, 20:56 and so then came to the water, there is the washing, 20:59 then they went into the holy place. 21:00 This is now... 21:01 They've entered a new dimension here. 21:03 First of all you're justified in the courtyard. 21:05 You're sanctified in the holy place. 21:08 You are glorified in the Holy of Holies. 21:12 But the whole journey, it begins with an offering. 21:15 And you bring your lamb, you come, and you're cleansed, 21:20 you go into the holy place, 21:21 and there's three things in there, 21:23 you got the lamb, you got the bread, 21:25 you got the altar of incense. 21:27 Those are the three disciplines of the Christian life. 21:31 Bread, it's Word of God. 21:34 The light is sharing your faith. 21:35 Let your light so shine. 21:38 And the incense is prayer. 21:40 The three disciplines that help you grow as a Christian 21:42 are there. 21:44 You read your Bible, you pray, and you share your faith. 21:49 If you're not doing any one of those three things, 21:51 you're probably stunted spiritually. 21:54 You need to be... 21:56 On our way to church this morning, 21:57 Karen and I saw a graph. 21:58 There's another Christian program on, 22:00 it said, "An increasing..." 22:01 No. 22:02 "A decreasing number to Barna study graph. 22:05 A decreasing number of American Christians 22:08 are reading their Bible." 22:10 And some say, "Oh, yeah, I read my Bible." 22:12 Then the question was, "Well, do you read it besides church?" 22:18 It's like 17% read their Bible outside of church in the week. 22:22 So it's just surprising. 22:25 You need, 22:26 if you're going to be sanctified 22:27 there in the holy place, 22:29 you need to read your Bible, 22:30 you need to have a regular prayer life, 22:32 and you need to be proactively sharing your faith 22:35 using your different gifts in some way. 22:37 Not all are evangelists or pastors, 22:38 you can give out literature, you can do something, 22:40 but we should be sharing our faith. 22:43 And then when sanctification is complete, 22:47 then you move into the presence of God. 22:51 Now when you look at the sanctuary, 22:52 how much of that is about Jesus? 22:54 All the spokes go back to the same hub. 22:57 Is that right? 23:00 Who is the door? 23:02 Jesus. Jesus. 23:03 Who is the high priest? 23:04 Jesus. Jesus. 23:06 Who is the lamb? 23:08 You all know your cue. 23:10 You're just supposed to say when I ask, 23:11 you say Jesus, right? 23:13 Who is the bread? 23:14 Jesus. Jesus. 23:16 Who is the light of the world? 23:18 Jesus. Jesus. 23:19 And in whose name do we pray? 23:21 Jesus. Jesus. 23:22 His incense is what makes our prayers acceptable. 23:26 I'm sure I've left things out. 23:28 Jesus said, His body is the temple. 23:30 So destroy this temple, I will raise it up, 23:32 and he spoke of His body. 23:33 So He's not just the door, He's the whole thing. 23:36 And so all of it is teaching us about Christ in some way. 23:39 And now this message, 23:41 we are stewards of that message. 23:43 And so we want to be faithful in sharing that with the world. 23:47 And now in just a moment, 23:48 someone's going to look up for me, Galatians 6:14. 23:51 You'll have that, Brian? Okay, hang on. 23:54 I want to read 1 John 2:1, 23:58 "My little children, 23:59 these things I've written to you that you may not sin. 24:02 And if any one sins, 24:04 we have an advocate with the Father, 24:06 Christ the righteous." 24:08 Now this is important, I won't rush past it. 24:14 Is it the desire of the apostle here, 24:16 and we are presuming the desire of God 24:18 that we may not sin? 24:21 When Jesus healed the woman that was caught in adultery, 24:25 He said, "Neither do I condemn, 24:27 you go and try to sin a little less." 24:31 Is that what He said? 24:32 No. No. 24:33 And then there was a man who Jesus healed, 24:36 and He said 24:40 "Go and sin no more unless the worst thing come upon you." 24:45 God's goal for us always is to run as far from sin as we can, 24:49 and yet I hear more and more pastors say, 24:51 "Just try not to sin too much." 24:53 Really, that's the message I'm hearing. 24:55 "We got God's grace, don't take sin too seriously." 24:58 And I understand where they're coming from. 25:00 There are so many people that are so guilty 25:02 because of their failures that they just gave up on God, 25:05 and saw this great emphasis 25:06 on the grace part of the message, 25:08 but it seems like the pendulum 25:10 has swung too far the other way now, 25:11 and folks are not being told about holiness 25:14 and believing that God gives you the power 25:16 to turn from sin. 25:18 And so here He said, "My little children, 25:21 I write these things that you do not sin, 25:22 but praise the Lord if we do sin, 25:24 if anyone sins, 25:26 we have an advocate with the Father." 25:29 So part of the sanctuary message is 25:30 when we do fall, we can bring our lamb, Jesus, 25:35 to the door of that. 25:36 Now how do we do that? 25:39 Is the church now the sanctuary? 25:43 Or do we come boldly before God's sanctuary now 25:46 through Christ, through faith in the heavenly temple? 25:49 We pray, and we see 25:50 that He ever lives to make intersession for us. 25:52 He's our high priest. 25:53 He spreads out His hands that are scarred, 25:56 and He pleads His own blood. 25:58 And so this is part of the gospel. 26:00 The sanctuary message 26:01 is a very important part of the gospel today 26:03 in helping people understand 26:05 that He is before the Father interceding. 26:07 Amen? 26:09 Okay, you're quiet group. 26:11 Revelation 14:7, 26:13 matter of fact, we've got this later in the... 26:17 I'll say here too. 26:18 Revelation 14:7, 26:20 "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, 26:23 for the hour of his judgment is come," 26:25 part of the sanctuary message is that we're living in a time, 26:28 an awesome time of judgment 26:30 that begins at the house of God, 26:32 "and worship him who made the heaven, and the earth, 26:35 the sea, and the springs of water 26:37 are returning to the worship of God as our creator." 26:41 Go ahead and read for us, Galatians 6:14. 26:44 Now this is under the heading 26:45 of Christ centered doctrinal beliefs. 26:48 Okay, Brian? 26:49 "But God forbid that I should boast 26:51 accepting the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, 26:55 by whom the world has been crucified to me, 26:58 and I to the world." 27:00 What was the center of Paul's boasting? 27:03 And he's using that word sort of a... 27:05 In a little bit of an analogist way, 27:09 said, "The only thing that I have to boast about 27:11 is the Christ and the cross." 27:13 That is central. 27:15 Jesus said, John 14:6, 27:17 "I am the way, the truth, and the life, 27:21 no one comes to the Father, except through Me." 27:24 He is the door, 27:25 He is all in all as we've discovered. 27:28 And He says, "I am the truth." 27:30 So sad that Pilate there, Pontius Pilate, 27:33 he was standing in the presence of truth incarnate, 27:37 and he said, "What is truth?" 27:38 and then he turned and walked away, 27:40 he did not even wait for an answer. 27:41 How sad to be that close to the embodiment of truth, 27:46 and not listen to what He had to say. 27:49 But to be cynical about it, "Huh, what is truth? 27:51 Who knows what truth is?" 27:52 Truth was right there in front of him. 27:54 The greatest concentration of truth in the universe 27:56 was in front of him, 27:57 and he turned and walked away. 27:59 How many other people still do that? 28:03 How many people stay in a hotel room 28:04 with a Bible right there by their bedstead? 28:07 Thanks to Gideons, and they've never opened it up. 28:11 So close to truth. 28:14 Now, when we talk about the different doctrines 28:18 in the Bible, 28:19 and that you would present in an evangelistic meeting. 28:22 How was Jesus supposed fit into that? 28:25 For example, when we preach the doctrine, 28:29 well, you know, we're Seventh-day Adventists, 28:31 so we talk about the Sabbath. 28:33 People think about Baptists, 28:35 they think about baptism by immersion, 28:37 and then people think about Pentecostals, 28:41 they will typically think about speaking in tongues, 28:43 and there's a lot more doctrine to Seventh-day Adventism 28:46 than just the Sabbath, 28:47 but it's their sort of card of finding our name, 28:51 but should the Sabbath ever be preached 28:54 outside of the context of Jesus? 28:58 Or should... 28:59 How is Jesus connected with a Sabbath doctrine? 29:03 It talks about Him as our creator. 29:08 It talks about the rest that we have in Christ. 29:12 Now once we've got the spiritual rest, 29:13 do we still need physical rest once a week? 29:16 And once we understand that 29:18 we're to worship Him seven days a week, 29:20 do we no longer need weekly worship? 29:22 Corporate worship together? 29:24 No, of course, that's still there too. 29:26 When we talk about the doctrine of death, 29:29 how does Jesus fit in with that? 29:34 Well, it's true, in death He rested. 29:36 Is He also our resurrection? 29:38 Yeah. 29:39 Christ says that He is the resurrection 29:41 and the life. 29:42 What about the law? 29:44 If you're going to talk about the doctrine of the law of God, 29:47 people think, "Well, don't talk to me about the law, 29:48 talk to me about Jesus." 29:50 You ever heard that, something like that? 29:52 They think that talking about the law 29:53 is not talking about Jesus. 29:55 Jesus is the rock. 29:57 He is the law that is written in our hearts. 30:00 He said, "He that hears these words of Mine 30:01 is building on the rock." 30:04 And the law was written on a rock. 30:06 And the God... The New Covenant is what? 30:08 The law of God written on our heart 30:10 through love for Christ. 30:12 And so He is everything. 30:13 The health message. 30:15 People think, "Well, you know, 30:17 we'll talk about the clean and the unclean foods, 30:20 and just don't eat this, 30:22 and you can go ahead and eat that, 30:23 don't eat too much of this." 30:26 Should that be done outside of Christ? 30:29 Isn't He the great physician, first of all? 30:32 And Christ is our healer, and He fasted 40 days, 30:36 and we probably could live without pork. 30:39 You know what I mean? 30:41 So you just look at Christ, 30:42 and look at His life in self-denial. 30:44 And you think, you know, 30:46 it should always be done in the context of Jesus. 30:49 Now, I've got more in my lesson here, 30:50 but I see some questions on the screen. 30:54 Some people wrote questions, 30:55 it looks like a few of them are on the subject of stewardship. 30:59 So we're going to answer some of those, right? 31:01 Here's a questions that came in on Facebook, 31:04 it looks like it came in. 31:05 "Is sending my tithe 31:06 to a non-Christian humanitarian organization 31:10 equivalent to tithing?" 31:12 Well, I would say no. What do you say? 31:15 No, because it tells us that the tithe was set aside 31:19 for the proclamation of the gospel. 31:22 And while I might care about, you know, dogs and cats, 31:26 I would never send tithe money to the ASPCA 31:29 or an animal shelter, 31:31 and think that I was using that to proclaim the gospel. 31:33 You'd really have to sort of torture your logic to do that. 31:37 And so no, tithe is different, 31:40 but there are 31:41 number of good humanitarian organizations out there, 31:44 and I think Christians should sometimes think about 31:47 supporting those things. 31:48 I don't think Christians should be known as the people 31:49 that only give to the church, 31:51 they don't give to any worthy project. 31:54 We got a project here in town 31:56 where they help people get off the streets, 31:59 loaves and fishes. 32:01 And there's a couple of them 32:02 that help people struggling with drinking, 32:03 try and get off of it. 32:05 And that's a great, those are some great ministries. 32:06 They do it in the Christian context, 32:08 but that's not we use tithe for. 32:11 So there are some good humanitarian charities 32:13 out there, 32:15 and there's some charity out there, 32:16 they just go around 32:17 and people that are dying from waterborne disease, 32:19 they're drilling wells for them in these poor countries. 32:22 That's a great thing, providing clean water. 32:24 That's kind of Christian, isn't it? 32:26 But I don't want to use tithe for that. 32:28 See, that's what's different. Our next question. 32:30 "Isn't second tithe the same as stewardship 32:33 or is it different?" 32:35 Well, both, first and second tithe 32:37 are connected with stewardship. 32:39 The second tithe was different. 32:41 The second tithe is typically something that's mentioned 32:44 that was done connected with the feasts. 32:48 They might take another tenth with them. 32:51 They could use that along the way 32:52 to subsidize their travel to the feast, 32:55 they could give it to the poor, they could help buy provisions, 32:58 or by sacrifices that they might bring to the temple, 33:00 and this was a second tithe. 33:02 It was something separate from the first tithe 33:05 which is right off the top 33:06 that went towards the storehouse 33:08 and the priesthood. 33:09 We have some others that have come in. 33:11 "Wasn't the tithe done away with 33:14 like the feast days?" 33:15 No. 33:17 Keep in mind 33:18 that one of the ways you can draw a distinction 33:20 between the feast days and tithe is, 33:22 ask yourself did it exist before the Exodus, 33:26 do you find it in Genesis. 33:29 There were a number of annual Sabbaths 33:31 that came in the Book of Exodus connected with the... 33:37 They're written on paper, 33:38 and they were connected with the temple and its services, 33:42 these were nailed to the cross, 33:43 but the weekly Sabbath, 33:45 it goes all the way back to Genesis. 33:47 Matter of fact, goes back to before sin, doesn't it? 33:50 Do you find an example of the principle of tithe 33:53 in Genesis? 33:55 Yeah, it goes all the way back. 33:57 And so... and then does Jesus repeat it? 34:00 When He says in Matthew 23:23, 34:02 "You pay tithe of your mint, and your anise, and your cumin, 34:05 and you've omitted the weightier matters 34:06 of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. 34:09 these you ought to have done," 34:10 notice the last part of this verse, 34:11 "and not leave the other undone." 34:14 He says, "You're meticulous in your tithe, 34:16 and that's good." 34:18 He says, "But don't neglect the most important things, 34:20 justice, mercy, faith. 34:23 These you ought to have done. Don't let the other be undone." 34:26 Christ could have said, 34:28 "Don't worry about tithe anymore," 34:29 but He didn't. 34:31 And Paul said, "Those who preached the gospel 34:33 live of the gospel." 34:34 That's what tithe is all about. 34:35 The Levites, their fulltime job 34:37 was to go through the communities, 34:39 preach the gospel, they lived of the tithe. 34:41 Paul repeats that same principle 34:42 for New Testament Christians. 34:44 Most evangelical pastors still believe in tithe. 34:49 There are some that think it's part of the old law. 34:53 But, yeah, I think most do believe it. 34:55 Okay, I see another question. 34:58 "The only way I can afford to pay tithe 35:00 is by working on Saturday." 35:04 Sorry. 35:06 "What's more important, 35:07 paying tithe or not working on Saturday?" 35:11 I would disagree with your premise for your question 35:15 that the only way that you're going to be able 35:16 to afford to pay tithe is by working on Saturday. 35:19 How do you know that? 35:21 If you are paying your tithe first and not last, 35:26 God will supply your needs if you're faithful. 35:29 Doesn't mean you won't be tested, 35:31 but if you take up God on His challenge, 35:34 He says, "Prove me now." 35:35 I've never seen God fail. 35:36 If you think that you proved God 35:38 and He failed the test, let me know. 35:40 But God says, "Prove me," He is inviting us to test Him, 35:44 "and be faithful in this, 35:45 and see if I don't open for you the windows of heaven." 35:47 How many of you... All right, studio, 35:50 get ready for an audience shot. 35:52 Find some really happy-looking people 35:54 before you do. 35:56 And I want to ask this question, 35:58 how many of you can say you've proved God 36:00 on the tithe issue, 36:01 and He has come through for you? 36:03 Raise your hands. 36:04 Okay, there you got the testimony 36:05 of our Sabbath school class. 36:08 So try it, the jury is in that God is faithful. 36:11 Do we have another question? 36:13 Yup. 36:15 It said, "You mentioned that those on Social Security 36:18 didn't have to pay tithe." 36:21 No, I didn't say that. 36:24 I said that if when you, you know, 36:26 if you're giving out of your check, 36:28 Social Security every week 36:30 or every, you know, two weeks when you get your paycheck, 36:33 and you're paying tithe on your gross. 36:35 In theory, you have paid tithe 36:37 on some of your Social Security income. 36:40 But I would never even worry about that, 36:41 I just pay on your gross when you first get it in. 36:45 And it said, "Isn't not giving our tithe, 36:47 not trusting God to give to us? 36:49 Yeah, I think we should just... 36:51 You can never outgive God. Be faithful with your tithe. 36:54 All right, if you get some more questions in, 36:56 just pop them up on the screen, 36:57 I've got more lesson, I'm gonna go back to right now. 37:00 And we're talking about 37:01 Christ-centered doctrinal beliefs. 37:03 Ephesians 1:19, and it says, 37:07 "And what is the exceeding greatness 37:09 of His Power towards us who believe, 37:11 according to the working of His mighty power, 37:13 which He worked in Christ, 37:15 when He raised Him from the dead, 37:16 and seated Him at His right hand 37:18 in the heavenly places, 37:20 far above all principalities and powers," 37:23 we talked about the principalities and powers, 37:26 "and might, and dominion, and that every name is named, 37:29 not only in this age, but in the age to come, 37:32 and He put all things under His feet, 37:34 and gave Him to be the head over all things 37:37 to the church, which is the body, 37:39 the fullness of Him who fills all in all." 37:42 Look at the great experlatives 37:43 that Paul is using to talk about Christ 37:45 is above everything 37:46 and everything is under His feet, 37:48 and He's all in all and overall. 37:50 Here we see the Son exalting the Father, 37:52 and the Father exalting the Son. 37:54 And if you look in 1 Corinthians 2:2, 37:58 Paul, he says, "For I am determined 38:00 not to know any thing among you, 38:03 except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 38:06 So it's pretty clear that 38:07 the emphasis of the New Testament writers 38:09 was the centrality of Jesus in every doctrine. 38:12 Whatever it is you're going to teach on Amazing Facts, 38:15 teachers, evangelists, 38:16 we always tell them, 38:17 "Make sure you keep the Christ in the middle of it." 38:20 And one of the classes I teach for AFCOE 38:22 is that Christ in all the Bible. 38:24 It's one of my favorite themes 38:26 is whatever doctrine you're teaching, 38:28 whatever story you're teaching, 38:30 look for the gospel in that story 38:32 because I think you find it everywhere. 38:35 All right, the three angels' message, 38:37 our mission, here's where you talk about the wheel, 38:39 but this is where the wheel meets the road, so to speak. 38:41 How does the stewardship effect what we say? 38:44 In the book, Nine Testimonies to the Church, 38:49 page 19, 38:50 "In a special sense, 38:52 the Seventh-day Adventist have been set aside 38:55 in the world as watchmen and light bearers. 38:57 To them has been entrusted the last warning 39:01 for a perishing world. 39:02 On them is shining wonderful light 39:04 from the Word of God. 39:06 They've been given a work of the most solemn import, 39:09 the proclamation of the first, second, 39:11 and third angels' messages. 39:13 There is no other work 39:14 that is of so great and importance. 39:16 They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention." 39:20 How many of you have been coming 39:21 to our midweek Bible study? 39:22 This will put you on the spot. Some of you. 39:25 Hasn't it been good? 39:27 We've been doing the three angels' message, 39:31 and I think last week, I talked about Babylon, 39:33 and how to come out. 39:35 And we posted that on Facebook, 39:37 and it's got like 80,000 hits on it. 39:40 So people out there are interested in that, 39:42 so out there, we got 80,000 people, 39:45 but in the room, we got 30, 39:48 we had 50 out of 500 members. 39:52 Guilt. 39:54 If you didn't pick up on that, 39:58 we're here, Tuesday, 7 o'clock, here for study, 40:00 we're going through the three angels' message, 40:02 and we're doing it thoroughly too. 40:03 I think we spent weeks just on verse 6, 40:06 and there's new things all the time. 40:09 What are those messages? 40:10 Let me read them to you real quick, 40:12 and this is Revelation 14:6-12, 40:14 she said this should be a priority. 40:16 This is what happens just before Jesus comes, 40:19 it tells in verse 14, 40:21 "I looked down on cloud one like the son of man." 40:24 And so actually it's a little later than that. 40:30 That's Jesus coming, 40:31 so the messages that go to world 40:32 before Christ comes, 40:34 "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, 40:36 having the everlasting gospel 40:38 to preach to those who dwell on the earth, 40:40 to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." 40:42 That's a global message. 40:44 "Saying with a loud voice, 40:45 Fear God, and give glory to him..." 40:47 That's a message of reverence for God, 40:49 we need to practice reverence. 40:52 "Give glory to Him 40:53 for the hour of His judgment is come. 40:55 Let people know that we're living in a time of judgment 40:58 prior to the second coming." 41:00 You know people think that's a difficult doctrine. 41:02 It's really a very simple doctrine. 41:04 How many of you know that when Jesus comes, 41:07 He's dispensing rewards when He comes, is that clear? 41:10 Behold he comes, my reward is with me, 41:12 to give to every man according as his work shall be, 41:14 okay. 41:15 So does it makes sense to you, 41:17 some investigation takes places before He comes. 41:20 That's called the pre-advent judgment. 41:22 It's an investigation that happens before He comes, 41:24 we're living in that time right now. 41:28 And it says, 41:29 "Judgment has come, worship Him who made..." 41:31 We're to worship the creator. It's a revival and worship. 41:34 "The heaven, and earth, 41:35 and the sea, and the springs of waters." 41:36 He is the creator, 41:37 you wouldn't have an evolution as to people were 41:40 understanding the three angels' message. 41:42 "And another angel followed, saying, 41:44 Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, 41:46 because she's made all nations 41:47 drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication." 41:50 Go to Revelation 18 says, 41:51 "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, come out of her, my people, 41:54 or you'll receive of her plagues 41:55 and partaker of her sins." 41:56 And so it's an important message. 41:58 People need to know what is Babylon, 42:00 and how do people get out. 42:02 And then there, you've got the third angel. 42:05 "Follows with a loud voice saying, 42:06 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, 42:09 and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 42:11 he himself will drink the wine of the wrath of God 42:14 that is poured out with full strength 42:16 into the cup of his indignation.'" 42:18 The most fearful warning in the entire Bible, 42:21 I challenge you to find a more fearful warning 42:23 than the one that says, 42:26 "They will drink the wine of the wrath of God 42:28 poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation 42:31 and tormented with fire and brimstone 42:33 in the presence of the holy angels, 42:35 and in the presence of the Lamb, 42:37 and the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever, 42:39 and they have no rest, day or night, 42:42 who worship the beast and his image." 42:44 And yet you're going to hear people say, 42:45 "Ah, don't talk about the mark and the beast?" 42:48 Have you heard that? 42:50 Don't we have a message of warning? 42:52 The Bible says, "If you know the enemy is coming, 42:55 and you do not warn them, they're going to be destroyed, 42:57 but their blood, I'll require at your hands." 43:00 And so we have a message of warning in that third angel 43:03 to avoid the most fearful proclamation 43:07 in the entire Bible. 43:08 People say, "Oh, the Old Testament 43:09 is judgment and plagues, 43:11 New Testament is love." 43:12 This is New Testament, 43:14 tormented, fire and brimstone, present law. 43:17 We got to warn people, amen. 43:19 This is a message that goes to the world. 43:22 How that they need to avoid the beast and his image, 43:24 so don't ever fall for that mushy nonsense 43:27 you hear pastors say, 43:28 "We don't need to talk about the mark and the beast." 43:32 Jesus said to do it, so we're going to do it. 43:33 Amen? 43:36 And you know what? 43:38 Those pastors don't get baptisms. 43:41 When you preach the three angels' message, 43:44 it converts. 43:46 When you do that in an evangelistic program, 43:48 there is power, 43:49 people understand the relevance of it, 43:50 and it reaches people. 43:52 Amen. 43:55 "Here is the patience of the saints. 43:57 Here are those who keep the Commandments of God, 43:59 and the faith of Jesus." 44:01 Part of stewardship is keeping, 44:03 and that would include keeping the Commandments of God. 44:06 All right, 44:08 I'm going to jump down because I see the clock, 44:10 and part of stewardship, 44:12 and this is where our memory verse came from, 44:14 deals with holiness. 44:16 We've been given lives, we've been given minds, 44:21 and with our lives and with the things we think, 44:23 God has called us to be pure in heart. 44:26 He's called us the holiness. 44:27 We will give an account to what we do, 44:29 that's stewardship, with what we have, 44:31 and one of the things He's given you is a mind. 44:33 We need to pray the Lord will brainwash us. 44:37 Wash our brains. 44:38 Anyone in for that? You know what I mean. 44:41 And that we can be sanctified, 44:43 and that we can be made pure in heart. 44:46 Hebrews 9:14, 44:48 "Of how much more shall the blood of Christ, 44:50 who through the eternal Spirit, 44:52 who offered Himself without spot to God, 44:54 cleanse your conscience from dead works 44:57 to serve the living God?" 44:58 He cleanses you in here, in your conscience too. 45:01 Someone's going to read for me in a moment. 45:03 1 Thessalonians 4, you got that, Mangie? 45:07 All right, you're next. 45:08 Luke 1:35, 45:10 "And the angel answered and said to Mary, 45:12 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, 45:14 and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. 45:17 Therefore, that holy one 45:20 who will be born is called the Son of God.'" 45:22 Jesus is that holy one, and He needs to be born in us. 45:27 All right, go ahead please. 45:28 1 Thessalonians 4:7 and 8, 45:31 "For God did not call us to uncleanliness, 45:35 but in holiness. 45:37 Therefore he who reject this does not reject man, but God, 45:44 who has also given us His Holy Spirit." 45:48 Hard to imagine that 45:49 someone would reject the teaching of holiness. 45:52 Paul is not talking about people in the world 45:53 who reject it, 45:55 they have no concept. 45:56 He's talking about people in the church 45:57 that would reject the teaching of holiness. 46:00 Do we have that in the church today? 46:02 Absolutely. 46:04 And people, you talk about holiness, 46:05 they call it legalism, 46:07 as though obedience is legalism. 46:10 God has called us the holiness. 46:11 Holiness means you're set aside. 46:14 You strive for purity of mind, purity of life, 46:16 purity of heart, 46:17 and you are to be stewards of that life 46:20 to lead everyone keep his vessel in holiness, 46:23 the Bible says. 46:24 Hebrews 12:14, 46:26 "Pursue peace with all people, 46:28 and, " catch this, 46:29 "holiness, without which no one will see God." 46:35 Now the Lord imputes holiness to us 46:40 through sanctification and justification. 46:42 He imparts holiness to us 46:45 through sanctification as we follow Him. 46:47 And there will be battles. 46:50 You are going to wrestle, you're going to strive, 46:52 you're going to run, 46:53 there's struggles of self-denial. 46:55 If people aren't told this, they're being fooled. 46:58 If you want to be a Bible Christian, 47:00 there are struggles, and there are great rewards. 47:03 But, you know, on your way to the Promised Land, 47:05 there are battles to fight. 47:07 But the reward of holiness and the peace of mind 47:11 that passes understanding. 47:14 1 Peter 1:15, 47:16 "But as He who has called you is holy, 47:18 so also be holy in all your conduct 47:22 because it is written. 47:23 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" 47:25 And none of us is going to say, 47:26 "Oh, yeah, I think I'm holy enough." 47:28 We all feel like we fall short, but what is our goal? 47:31 To be like Christ, 47:32 and He was that holy one 47:34 that was conceived of the Holy Spirit. 47:36 Isaiah 35:8, the Bible says, 47:38 "A highway will be there, a road, 47:40 and it will be called the highway of holiness. 47:43 And the unclean will not pass over it." 47:46 This is the way. Jesus is the way. 47:48 Philippians 4:19, 47:50 "And my God will supply all your need 47:53 according to the riches in glory by Jesus Christ." 47:56 So when we're talking about stewardship, 47:58 and God supplying all of our need, 48:00 so often we think, "Ah, my bank account, 48:03 God will supply all of my need." 48:05 But when we're talking about holiness, 48:07 and we say, "God will supply all my need," 48:09 what are you thinking? 48:12 Aren't you thinking of the grace that you need, 48:14 the power of the Spirit to resist temptation, 48:18 to keep your eyes in the right place, 48:20 to keep your head in the right place, 48:22 to keep your ears in right place? 48:24 That's what it means. God will supply all your need. 48:26 This is, He supplies all your need 48:28 that you need to be what He wants you to be. 48:31 Let me read one more thing, and then I'm done. 48:33 "The sanctification of the soul 48:35 by the working of the Holy Spirit 48:37 is the implanting of Christ nature in humanity. 48:40 Gospel religion is Christ in the life, 48:42 a living act of principle. 48:45 It is the grace of Christ revealed in the character 48:47 and wrought out in good works. 48:49 The principles of the gospel cannot be disconnected 48:52 from any department of practical life. 48:54 Every line of Christian experience 48:57 and labor 48:58 is the representation of the life of Christ." 49:01 We are to represent Jesus in the world by our lives. 49:04 We are stewards of our influence 49:07 among other things. 49:08 Amen? 49:09 I want to remind our friends that are watching 49:11 or some are just listening 49:13 that we do have a free offer 49:14 and it's called Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears, 49:17 talks about being open to the Holy Spirit, 49:19 726 is the offer you'll ask for when you call 800... 49:23 I'm sorry, 866-788-3966, that's 866-Study-More. 49:28 We'll send it to you for free, please send for this. 49:30 It'll bless you, read it, share it with a friend, 49:33 and God bless you 49:35 till we study His word together again next week. 49:48 Among the people living in the tropics, 49:50 for thousands of years, 49:52 the coconut has been a virtual tree of life. 49:55 The people use it for food, for clothing, for water, 49:58 for tools, for soap, 50:00 it does just about everything. 50:03 The coconut has also saved a lot of lives. 50:07 During World War II, pilots that were shot down 50:09 or sailors that were stranded on Pacific Islands, 50:12 they lived for many months 50:13 on nothing other than the coconut trees 50:15 that were on their islands. 50:17 Yes, sir, the coconut is a tree of life. 50:21 One of the amazing things about coconut 50:23 is they're designed so they're actually able to float 50:25 across oceans. 50:27 Coconuts can go thousands of miles 50:28 after many months 50:29 be washed up on some deserted sandy beach, 50:32 then they take root, sprout, come to life 50:37 and they'll develop a whole new ecosystem, 50:39 holding islands in place through a hurricane. 50:42 When the ancient Polynesian travelers 50:44 crossing oceans 50:45 saw an island with coconut trees, 50:47 they knew there was hope. 50:49 It's amazing how in virtually no time at all, 50:51 those living on Pacific Islands 50:53 know how to make baskets and all kinds of tools 50:56 from the leaves of the coconut tree. 51:01 The coconuts even serve different purposes 51:03 at different times in their development. 51:05 The younger green coconut, they're full of water, 51:08 that'll keep you alive. 51:11 You can even make utensils from the coconut. 51:14 My spoon is part of the green shell 51:17 and here this is a coconut jelly, 51:20 makes good for breakfast. 51:24 The more mature coconuts, that's where you get the meat, 51:27 but you want to make sure that they're not bad, 51:29 the way you test this 51:30 is you can hear the water inside. 51:31 You bring that mike over here. 51:34 Can you hear it? That's a good one. 51:36 How about we take a bite? 51:38 Now that makes meal that will really fill you up 51:40 and it cleanse your teeth at the same time. 51:45 Throughout the Bible, 51:46 Jesus uses a number of metaphors 51:48 to remind us that everything we need to survive 51:50 comes from Him. 51:51 He says that He's the living water. 51:54 Jesus tells us He is the bread of life. 51:56 His robe covers us with righteousness. 51:59 He is our good shepherd that protects us. 52:01 Jesus is the living vine through which we get our life 52:05 and our nourishment. 52:06 You might say Jesus is like the coconut tree, 52:09 a tree of life. 52:11 You know, the first few verses in the Bible tell that 52:13 God provided a tree of life for man 52:15 so he could live forever, 52:17 but because of sin, man was 52:18 separated from that tree and from the garden. 52:21 But through trusting in Jesus 52:22 and trusting in His sacrifice on the cross, 52:25 we once again will have access to the tree of life 52:27 and have eternal life with Him in the kingdom. 52:30 But this is all made possible because we trust in Jesus, 52:33 who is the real tree of life. 52:35 Jesus said, "Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, 52:38 you have no life in you." 52:39 But when we accept Christ as our sacrifice 52:41 and we allow Him to cleanse us 52:43 and fill us with His Spirit, 52:44 we become new creatures, 52:46 and we can be with Him 52:47 and sharing the gift of everlasting life with others. 52:50 Matter of fact, we could do that right now 52:52 by tossing a coconut out 52:53 and praying that it lands on a deserted beach. 53:15 Amazing Facts, changed lives. 53:24 My greatest wish 53:26 is that my children will see me 53:29 the way I see my own father. 53:35 He's a very devoted man. 53:37 And that kind of framed my childhood 53:39 going forward from there 53:41 where I was always involved in church work, 53:45 and I had a very rich experience 53:48 with the Lord at a young age, 53:51 all the way up through college. 53:53 Then after I got married, 53:55 I got in a company called Comcast. 53:58 And I spent the past roughly eight and a half years, 54:02 nine years at Comcast. 54:05 And I was actually watching television with my son. 54:09 And a Comcast commercial came on the air. 54:13 And he said, "Oh, daddy, that's Comcast, 54:16 that's where you work, daddy." 54:19 And most fathers would be proud of something like that, 54:22 but it really struck me that, 54:25 you know, my son is getting older 54:27 and he does not see me as a servant of the Lord. 54:30 He sees me as a servant of my company. 54:33 And I knew that I would have to make some changes, 54:38 because I wanted him to know me as a man of God. 54:43 I never thought I would be a preacher 54:44 or anything like that. 54:46 But I knew that there was room in the work for me 54:50 and for my talents. 54:54 And I wanted my son to see me operating in the work. 55:00 That's when I knew that my time there was coming to an end. 55:05 I was sitting in my office one day 55:07 and I was kneeling in prayer, 55:09 I said, God, now show me what You want me to do 55:12 because, you know, 55:14 it seems like a big move here and... 55:20 Everyone is thinking, I'm crazy. 55:23 And I don't know exactly how, 55:27 you know, things are gonna go if they don't go well. 55:31 You know, the crazy thought when you, 55:33 you're thinking about God 55:36 and I lifted my head up in prayer 55:40 and they were just like a flock of... 55:43 Oh, maybe 300 birds that were just flying 55:48 and they were swooping down over the water 55:50 and they would fly back up 55:52 and then, they would chase each other around 55:55 and, you know, I was just looking 55:56 at the pattern of the giant flock, 55:59 and the promise of the Lord came to me where He says that, 56:03 you know, He takes care of the sparrows, 56:07 and you don't see them worrying about 56:10 how they are going to be taking care of from day to day. 56:13 You know, they don't, you know, wring their hands wondering, 56:17 you know, will there be any worms to eat tomorrow? 56:20 And that promise really stood out to me 56:24 and He said, "How much more do I love you? 56:27 You know, I'm not gonna send you on a mission 56:30 to do My work 56:32 and leave you high and dry, 56:34 because you claim to be My child, 56:36 you claim to be My son." 56:38 And everyone knows that, 56:41 that assurance allows me to know that, 56:43 whatever happens here, whatever happens after here. 56:49 We're sons of God 56:51 and there are certain things that we shouldn't worry about. 56:55 From the day we arrived at AFCOE, 56:59 it's been obvious that God has blessed 57:02 the Amazing Facts Ministry, the AFCOE program, 57:06 and I will be using my AFCOE experience, 57:11 no matter where I go to reach people 57:13 because the personal touch of face-to-face evangelism, 57:19 speaking and sharing the Word of God 57:22 out of your own mouth, 57:23 there's no replacement for that. 57:26 And Amazing Facts has been very instrumental in helping me 57:30 find the area of the work of God 57:35 and show me how large and how broad it is. 57:39 It's been a tremendous blessing 57:41 to be in a place where we are around people 57:45 seeking to do God's will 57:47 and listening for His voice in their life, 57:50 and that's very, very important today. 58:00 Together we have spread the gospel 58:02 much farther than ever before. 58:05 Thank you for your support. |
Revised 2018-03-06