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Series Code: SSH
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00:35 Hello, friends, we'd like to welcome all of you
00:36 once again to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:39 coming to you here from the Granite Bay 00:40 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:41 This is our in-depth 00:43 Bible study portion of our worship service. 00:46 We'd like to welcome our online members 00:47 and also those who are joining us 00:49 across the country and around the world, 00:51 and also the members and the visitors 00:53 right here at the Granite Bay Church, 00:55 always a joy to see you 00:56 week after week as we study together. 00:58 We've been studying through our lesson quarterly 01:00 dealing with the subject of stewardship. 01:03 We're nearing the end of our quarterly 01:05 and we're on lesson number 12 today. 01:08 It is entitled "The Habits of a Steward". 01:11 Then after that we have one more 01:13 that we would be dealing with this subject. 01:14 Now for those of you who are joining us 01:16 that don't have a copy of the study, 01:19 you can download one at the following website, 01:21 just study.aftv.org. 01:26 Just study.aftv.org, 01:28 and you can follow along with us 01:30 with the notes right there in front of you. 01:32 And also for those joining us on Facebook, 01:35 we appreciate all of the questions 01:36 that have been coming in. 01:38 And about 20 minutes into the lesson this morning, 01:41 Pastor Doug's going to give us 01:43 a few moments to ask Bible questions. 01:45 So those of you on Facebook, 01:47 if you have a question related to the subject of stewardship 01:50 or the subject dealing with habits, 01:52 making good habits, 01:54 type that in and we'll try to answer 01:56 as many of those questions during our study time today. 02:00 We also have a free offer. 02:01 For those joining us in North America for free, 02:04 we'll be happy to send you a book entitled 02:06 Remember Lot's Wife". 02:09 And this free offer is offer number 108. 02:13 And the number to call for that is 866-788-3966 02:18 or 866-Study-More. 02:21 If you're outside North America, 02:23 you can still read it. 02:24 Just go to the Amazing Facts website, 02:26 just AmazingFacts.org. 02:29 Well, before we get to our study this morning, 02:31 we're going to have a special musical item. 02:34 I'd like to invite some of our members right here 02:36 at Granite Bay and they'll be bringing us 02:38 something in music this morning. 02:40 O sacred Head, now wounded 02:47 With grief and shame weighed down 02:53 Now scornfully surrounded 02:59 With thorns, thine only crown 03:05 O sacred Head, what glory 03:11 What bliss till now was Thine! 03:17 Yet, though despised and gory 03:24 I joy to call Thee mine 03:30 What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered 03:37 Was all for sinners' gain 03:43 Mine, mine was the transgression 03:50 But Thine the deadly pain 03:55 Lo, here I fall, my Savior! 04:02 'Tis I deserve Thy place 04:08 Look on me with Thy favor 04:15 Vouchsafe to me Thy grace 04:22 What language shall I borrow 04:28 To thank Thee, dearest friend 04:34 For this Thy dying sorrow 04:41 Thy pity without end? 04:47 O make me Thine forever 04:53 And should I fainting be 04:59 Lord, let me 05:02 Never, never 05:08 Outlive my love 05:12 To Thee 05:18 Let's bow our heads for word of prayer. 05:20 Dear Father in heaven, once again we are grateful 05:22 for the opportunity together 05:23 to get and open up Your Word 05:24 and study this important subject of stewardship, 05:28 and in particular how we can form good habits. 05:30 So we pray, Lord, once again with the Holy Spirit. 05:33 We're praising to God our hearts, our minds, 05:35 lead us into a clear understanding of truth 05:37 and Your will for our lives, in Jesus' name, amen. 05:41 We're just delighted that Pastor Doug 05:43 will be bringing us our lesson study this morning. 05:47 Amen. 05:49 Delighted, that's what happened to the lightning bugs 05:52 that got hit by the lawn mower. 05:54 Morning, everybody. 05:56 I'm glad to see you 05:58 and I want to welcome our friends 05:59 that are watching on satellite or on the internets. 06:03 And Karen and I just got back yesterday from Nashville, 06:07 we met a number of people in the south there 06:08 that were attending 06:09 the National Religious Broadcasters Convention 06:12 and so many watched the program, 06:15 both members and nonmembers and so that was very exciting. 06:19 And they want to encourage you as Pastor Ross mentioned 06:22 that if you have any questions on the study today 06:24 and the lesson today is dealing with habits of a steward, 06:27 talking about your lifestyle, how to overcome habits, 06:31 habits of time management, 06:33 living out the ministry and the message, 06:37 then you can text those to us, 06:38 go to our Facebook page and you can text them, 06:41 there's someone in the back, 06:42 they'll then put them up on the screen. 06:43 We're going to try and take some live questions 06:45 during the program. 06:47 But let's begin and by the way, 06:48 it's lesson number 12, "Habits of a Steward" 06:51 and there's a memory verse. 06:52 And the memory verse is from 06:54 the Book of Psalms 119:9-11. 06:58 I'd invite you to say this with me. 06:59 This is by the way 07:00 from the New King James version. 07:02 Are you ready? Psalm 119:9-11. 07:06 "How can a young man cleanse his way? 07:10 By taking heed according to Your word. 07:13 With my whole heart I have sought You. 07:16 Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 07:19 Your word I have hidden in my heart, 07:21 that I might not sin..." 07:23 How many of you know that? 07:25 "Your word I have hidden in my heart, 07:26 that I might not sin against You." 07:28 That's one part of that great Psalm 07:32 that all of us should remember. 07:34 Well, you know, this suit, I like this suit, 07:36 but it's just, it's a magnet. 07:38 It just picks up hair all the time 07:40 and it looks like I've been wrestling with a sled dog. 07:43 Anyway, okay, back to our lesson. 07:47 So we're going to be dealing with some of the very important 07:50 core issues of being a Christian. 07:55 Talking about habits, you know, it all boils down to habits. 08:00 Daniel had a habit of daily prayer, 08:02 we'll talk about that in a minute. 08:03 Paul, it says, "As his custom was..." 08:05 What's a custom? 08:07 It's a habit. 08:08 As his custom was, 08:09 he would go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. 08:12 What about... And that's Acts 17:1. 08:14 What about Jesus' custom? 08:16 Have you read before where it says, 08:18 as his custom was, 08:19 He would go to the synagogue, that is Luke 4:16. 08:24 Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, 08:26 "Do not be deceived, 08:27 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'" 08:30 So where is one of the ways that you get bad habits? 08:34 Bad company. 08:35 How many of you have seen 08:36 good kids raised in a good home, 08:38 they hang out with the wrong people 08:41 and they start picking up the habits. 08:43 You ever have your kids come home 08:45 and they use a word you know they did not learn at home? 08:48 And you say, "Who have you been playing with?" 08:50 Right? 08:51 And in the same way, 08:53 picking good friends help develop good habits. 08:58 So you need to cultivate good habits 09:01 to overcome the bad ones, 09:02 you overcome evil with good. 09:05 You know, we're not exactly sure 09:07 who originated this statement 09:09 because there are several people 09:10 who have shared different variations of it 09:13 but you've probably heard it before. 09:15 Watch your thoughts, they become words. 09:19 Watch your words, they become actions. 09:22 Watch your actions, they become habits. 09:26 Watch your habits, they become character. 09:29 And watch your character 09:30 because it will become your destiny. 09:33 And so the little daily habits really make up who you are 09:37 and they determine your eternal destiny, 09:40 so how important is this study, dealing with everything. 09:45 Now, am I the only one 09:46 that find it's easy to develop a bad habit 09:48 and hard to develop a good one? 09:52 How do you change your habit? 09:55 Well, it's sort of like developing a habit in reverse. 10:02 I used to smoke, but you may be shocked to know 10:05 I was not born smoking. 10:07 I learned to smoke. 10:10 And what happened is one day, 10:13 the other kids after school were hanging around outside, 10:15 they were smoking and I was now in junior high, 10:17 they wanted to be tough. 10:18 I don't know I must have been 12 years old. 10:20 My mother had cigarettes on the piano that for company, 10:24 anyone could take one back then everybody smoked. 10:27 So I said, I took one, 10:29 I was so used to smoke as my parents smoked it, 10:31 you know, some kids smoke and they start coughing, 10:33 I was so used to secondhand smoke, 10:35 I didn't have that experience. 10:37 And so I smoked one cigarette walking to school 10:40 and I just did one a day walking to school. 10:43 I thought, "Oh, I kind of like the feeling, 10:45 that's a good drug. 10:46 And then I started taking two, 10:50 I take one to smoke on my way to school, one to smoke... 10:54 And, you know, if I tried to stop after the first day, 10:56 probably thought I can stop any time, 10:57 I don't do this very often, not a problem. 11:00 I can stop any time. 11:01 What difference can one make? 11:03 You ever heard that? 11:06 And then I started taking two, 11:08 one to school, one on the way from school, 11:10 and then I realized my mom's going to notice 11:11 that I'm pilfering her cigarettes 11:13 that she's put in, 11:14 there is a little porcelain thing 11:15 on the piano with cigarette sticking out, 11:16 looked like a birthday cake, anyway for company. 11:20 And they were all stale cigarettes 11:21 'cause they'd been sitting there a long time. 11:23 I said, she's going to notice, so I managed to get a pack 11:26 and back then they had cigarette machines 11:28 and any kid could buy a pack of cigarettes, 11:29 it's like 30 cents. 11:32 So I started getting my own. 11:34 And then it just got worse and worse and so for years, 11:38 I got to where then I couldn't quit. 11:41 And once or twice, 11:44 well, it's like Mark Twain said, 11:46 I quit 100 times, nothing not hard to quit, 11:49 I did it a hundred times. 11:50 It was staying quit that was difficult. 11:54 So you're not born smoking, you learn it. 11:57 Little by little you develop a groove. 12:00 And the way that you break a habit is the same thing, 12:03 you need to take time practicing, 12:06 doing something different. 12:08 Let me see if I could illustrate it this way. 12:11 Here is a big meadow 12:14 and you want to get to the other side of the meadow 12:16 'cause there's a beautiful spring 12:18 there you want to drink from, 12:20 and there's cliffs on the side you can't get around, 12:22 you got to get through the meadow. 12:23 But the problem is, all through this meadow are berry bushes. 12:26 Now, berries aren't so bad 12:27 but walking through the berries, they tear you to pieces, 12:30 I know because we have them up in Covelo. 12:33 And the first time you tried, you notice, 12:35 any of you tried to walk through hedges of berries. 12:39 It just tears you up. 12:39 It sticks to your clothes, you get scratched, 12:41 this is miserable, 12:43 but you want to get across there. 12:45 And so the first time you try to get across, you stomp... 12:50 And I've done it before, you just say, 12:51 I mean, this is, you know, which is one 12:53 I'm pulling a little berry aside 12:54 and put my foot, I'm stepping on these, 12:56 while I pull those aside and then I'm stepping on these. 12:58 Sometimes I have garden clippers 12:59 and I'll clip a few, and you fight your way through 13:03 and you get your drink and so wonderful, 13:05 and then you fight your way back and it was tough. 13:09 But the next day you want to go get a drink. 13:12 It's a little easier, isn't it? 13:15 Because you started a path 13:19 and so you still find you miss stuff, 13:20 you get snagged. 13:22 Little by little that trail if you continue to use it, 13:25 gets wider until pretty soon 13:27 the berries don't touch you anymore. 13:31 That's like breaking a bad habit. 13:33 The first time you say, 13:35 I don't want to do this anymore, 13:37 I want a new path, it's a struggle. 13:40 But every time in your brain you say no to the temptation, 13:44 you're building a path 13:46 and it gets easier and easier and easier 13:48 and conversely, when you develop a bad habit, 13:51 every time you say yes to something bad... 13:57 Any of you remember the sermon 13:58 I did on Cold Confession about my addiction to ice cream? 14:03 Do you know I was not born eating ice cream? 14:06 I developed that habit 14:07 and it started through once or twice that, 14:10 you know, my mom, couple times a week she'd say, 14:12 "You can have ice cream for dessert." 14:14 And I enjoyed it so much. 14:15 I want to do it every night. 14:17 And when I moved to live with my dad, 14:18 I got to be a teenager, I could do it every night. 14:21 And then just it got to where I developed a habit 14:24 where I thought I had to have it every night, 14:25 but it started little by little. 14:28 The way you change your habit is the same thing in reverse, 14:31 you got to say no little by little 14:33 and then replace it with something good, 14:36 instead, tofu ice cream or whatever it happens to be. 14:41 So the whole Christian life it revolves around habits, 14:45 and you want to have the good habits. 14:47 Listen to this in Testimonies Volume 4, 14:49 there's a quote, this is in your lesson. 14:51 "We shall individually, for time and eternity, 14:54 be what our habits make us. 14:57 The lives of those who form right habits, 15:00 and are faithful in the performance of every duty, 15:02 will be as shining lights, 15:04 shedding bright beams upon the pathway of others." 15:07 Our good influence will affect others. 15:10 So we want to have the habits that will please God. 15:14 All right, here we're going to start going 15:16 into some of those sections now in your lesson. 15:18 Here's a habit, a habit of making God a priority. 15:23 Think it says in your studies, seeking God first. 15:27 Matthew 6:33, 15:29 "What's to be the priority for the Christian?" 15:31 Seek ye... 15:33 How many of you know this one? 15:34 You know the song? 15:36 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 15:40 seeking the righteousness of God in your life, 15:43 seeking His kingdom in your life, 15:44 making that the priority of everything you do. 15:46 When you evaluate 15:48 what are the priorities for your day, 15:51 and what you're going to say, and what you're going to do, 15:53 always ask "How will this affect the kingdom of God? 15:57 How will this communicate the righteousness of Jesus?" 16:03 You ever met anybody that the only way 16:05 you could see things the way they see things 16:07 as if you put on their glasses? 16:09 You know what I'm talking about, 16:10 they got the strange belief. 16:13 I hope I don't hurt anybody's feelings. 16:16 But Pastor Ross and I got a phone call last week 16:19 at the radio station, 16:21 and at the beginning of the call 16:22 they just seemed so nice, 16:24 and then they began to try to persuade me 16:26 that the earth was flat. 16:28 Now if I heard that a few years ago, 16:30 I thought this is a joke but they are dead serious. 16:33 And they started looking at all the verses in the Bible 16:36 and I had never looked at the verses 16:38 that way to say the earth was flat. 16:41 And I had to see what they see the way they see it, 16:44 you have to wear their glasses. 16:48 As a Christian, you need to put on glasses 16:50 where you see everything in life 16:52 through the spectacles of God's kingdom 16:55 is the priority. 16:57 That's good, those are good glasses. 16:59 Some people put on the wrong glasses 17:01 and they see everything 17:02 through the perspective of how will this benefit me? 17:05 What will this get me? 17:07 And as a Christian you don't think that way, 17:09 you think how will this glorify God? 17:12 How will this spread His word? 17:15 So seeking God first must be the priority. 17:18 Was that the priority with Jesus? 17:22 Luke 2:46, "So it was after three days..." 17:27 Remember, Mary and Joseph 17:28 on their way back from the feast, 17:30 they thought Jesus was somewhere 17:31 in the parade of people heading north 17:33 and they didn't see Him. 17:35 Says after three days, 17:36 they found Him in the temple 17:38 sitting in the midst of the teachers, 17:40 both listening to them and asking questions, 17:43 and all who heard Him were astonished 17:44 at His understanding and answers. 17:46 So when they, Mary and Joseph saw Him, 17:48 they were amazed. 17:50 And his mother said, "Son, why have you done this to us? 17:54 Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously." 17:57 And he said, "Why did you seek me? 17:59 Did you not know I must be about my father's business?" 18:03 What was the priority for Jesus? 18:05 The father's business, 18:07 more than his mother and His father? 18:11 Matthew 10:37, "He who loves father or mother more than me 18:16 is not worthy of me 18:17 and he that loves son or daughter 18:20 more than me is not worthy of me." 18:22 Now did God model what He teaches? 18:27 Did God put His son 18:30 on the altar for us? 18:34 So His love for us, 18:36 did Abraham put his son on the altar for God? 18:40 Did Jesus put Himself on the altar to save us? 18:44 God is saying, I need to be your priority, 18:47 even at the expense of your life, 18:48 seeking first His kingdom. 18:50 That's easy in theory for me to stand here and teach that, 18:52 I'll tell you it's really hard in practicing that. 18:57 And I talk to somebody just this last week 19:00 that lost a child in a terrible accident, 19:06 a pastor, actually lost a grandchild. 19:09 And we wrote a note and said, 19:15 "We know how you feel." 19:18 And they understood that's all we needed to say, we know. 19:21 Matter of fact, I didn't even said, 19:22 I think I said, "How you feel?" 19:23 We just said, "We know." 19:25 And it's hard to explain. 19:26 So when you're talking theory 19:28 about putting it all on the altar, 19:29 it sounds really good in church, 19:30 but when you get out of church... 19:33 You talk about Will, I love him more than my father and mother, 19:36 Jesus said, you know, even for seeking husband or wife 19:39 for my sake in the gospels, really making God a priority. 19:43 That's hard. 19:45 But when you think about it, it's the logical thing to do 19:47 because what do you love more, 19:50 a gift or the one who gives you the gift? 19:54 It should be, I mean, are you going to love the... 19:56 It's like people worshipping the sun 19:58 instead of the one who made the sun, right? 20:01 So we're to worship the giver more than the gift, 20:05 and so even our family and our loved ones 20:08 come from God. 20:09 I knew a lady that she learned the truth 20:13 and she was going to church for a while 20:15 and that bothered her husband, he didn't believe, 20:18 and then she started missing church. 20:20 And I said, "Sister, you know, 20:22 I haven't seen you for a while." 20:24 "But my husband, he, you know, I got to honor my husband, 20:28 he doesn't want me to go to church." 20:29 And I said, "You know, there's a lot of areas 20:31 where I think that would be true, 20:32 but if you're putting him above God that's a mistake, 20:35 you need to put God first." 20:37 And her husband had a terrible accident at work 20:41 that nearly killed him, put him in the hospital, 20:44 I went to the hospital to visit him. 20:46 And she said in front of her husband, 20:48 "I had made a mistake, I put my husband ahead of God 20:51 and God almost took my husband away." 20:54 And reminding me that He needs to be first in my life 20:57 and sometimes the best thing 20:59 you can do to reach the ones you love 21:00 is by putting God first, not by putting them first. 21:05 And so He really needs to be the priority. 21:08 Now someone's going to read for me in a moment Proverbs 2, 21:11 if you have that, all right, 21:13 I'm going to read a couple of others. 21:15 Hosea 5:15, said "I will return again to my place, 21:21 I will return again to my place 21:23 till they have acknowledged their offense. 21:25 They will seek my face in their affliction, 21:28 they will earnestly seek me." 21:30 Why does God sometimes allow us to go through trials? 21:33 To get our priorities right. 21:36 Have you ever discovered that? 21:38 Sometimes you get shocked all of a sudden you think, 21:41 you know, the only thing that really matters is a loving God, 21:44 loving my neighbor, 21:45 and it is so easy for us to get distracted with other things. 21:49 Now go ahead and read for us please your verse. 21:53 "If you seek her as silver 21:56 and search for her as for hidden treasures, 21:59 then you will understand the fear of the Lord 22:02 and find the knowledge of God." 22:05 Thank you. Yeah, that's Proverbs 2:4 and 5. 22:08 Seeking after the wisdom of God, 22:09 of course, that's the Spirit of God. 22:11 One of the gifts of the Spirit is wisdom. 22:14 And so it's talking about seeking after God. 22:16 How? 22:17 More than any earthly treasure. 22:23 I don't know if I should tell you this, 22:24 but this week Karen and I were at a convention, 22:28 we're in a hotel room, turned on the TV. 22:31 I always feel little conflicted mentioning TV 22:33 'cause I think most Christians would be better 22:35 if they didn't even have a TV. 22:38 Many believers would be Christians 22:40 if they didn't have TV, 22:41 anyway so I'm confessing, we turn on the TV. 22:43 And then I thought we'll put on Discovery channel, 22:45 maybe there will be something edifying. 22:47 And they went in this long thing about these people 22:51 that have been spend years and millions of dollars, 22:55 looking for treasure on an island 22:58 called the Oak Island or something like that. 23:00 People died looking for the treasure 23:02 and it's all based on some legends and myths, 23:05 and personally from what I saw, 23:06 I don't think there's any treasure there. 23:08 But they dug holes and friends died, 23:10 and they're looking for treasure, 23:11 years, generations, looking for treasure. 23:15 And I thought would God, 23:16 that people would look for God that way, 23:18 invest their means, invest their energy, 23:20 put their lives on the line, 23:22 seeking after God like treasure. 23:24 And this is what Solomon is saying, 23:26 and that we should make that priority. 23:29 Psalm 27:8, "When You said, "Seek My face," 23:34 my heart said to You, 23:35 "Your face, O Lord, will I shall seek." 23:38 What was the big desire in the heart of Moses? 23:42 I mean, Moses had a close relationship with God. 23:45 If you could ask God a question, what would you ask? 23:49 Solomon asked for wisdom. 23:50 Moses said, "Lord, I want to see Your glory. 23:53 Can I see Your face?" 23:55 And so often in the Bible says, 23:58 "No man could see God and live." 24:01 Meaning, we can't see the Father and His glory 24:02 in our sinful condition. 24:04 But Revelation concludes by saying 24:06 and they will see His face. 24:10 Blessed are the pure in heart for, what? 24:12 They will see God. 24:16 And so that ought to be the big desire of our life. 24:20 Someone was talking to Martin Luther about, 24:22 you know, all the different things in heaven, 24:23 what will you want to do in heaven 24:25 and there will be golden streets in heaven, 24:27 and he said, I just want to see the face of the Lord. 24:31 Two of the most exalted angels in all of eternity, 24:34 their job is to be in the presence of God 24:36 and look at His face, 24:38 and they just declared glory, glory, glory, 24:40 holy, holy, holy, 24:41 just to see the face of the Lord. 24:44 All right, and we do this through our personal devotions. 24:49 Now we're talking about habits. 24:53 It's letter 36, 1901, it says, "Every morning dedicate 24:57 your soul, body, and spirit to God, 25:00 establish habits of devotion, 25:03 trust more and more in your savior." 25:07 Now, what does it say about Daniel in chapter 6, 25:11 when he went to his upper room? 25:14 He knelt on his knees and he prayed for Jerusalem, 25:17 windows are open. 25:19 How many times? 25:21 Three times a day. 25:22 Did he just start doing that when Darius became king, 25:26 or what does it say? 25:27 As he had done, since he was a youth. 25:30 He developed a habit of reading the Word. 25:33 How do you know he read the Word? 25:35 You read in Daniel 9, it says, 25:36 I was reading the prophecy of Jeremiah. 25:39 Another reason I know that Daniel read the Word. 25:42 Why did he prayed towards Jerusalem? 25:44 Because he read in the Bible where Solomon said, 25:46 if you're carried away because of your sins 25:48 then you pray towards this place. 25:51 Why did he pray three times a day? 25:52 'Cause Daniel read in the Bible in Psalm 55 25:55 where King David said, 25:56 "Morning, evening, and at noon will I pray." 25:58 So it wasn't just Daniel 26:00 that had the habit of personal devotions, 26:02 what about David? 26:05 King David says so much about meditate, 26:07 and David's meditation is not eastern meditation, 26:09 I'm talking about thinking on the Word of God. 26:12 And so often, you'll see the words Selah in the Psalms 26:17 and that means think on this. 26:19 So that something profound would be written, 26:21 it says, "Think on this," that means meditate on this. 26:23 And so meditating on the Word of God, 26:25 I tell you we just got back, 26:27 I told you twice already from this convention. 26:29 And they had some kids there 26:32 that were from a Bible be around the country, 26:36 all different churches came together, 26:38 and these kids, all different ages, 26:40 one of them looked like she was seven years old, 26:42 were reciting the long passages of scripture. 26:45 That to me was one of the most inspiring things I saw. 26:48 We saw these kids, just one passage after another. 26:50 You could open your Bible and follow along, 26:52 there are some who are not using the King James 26:53 but you could see that they had it. 26:56 And they were memorizing entire chapters, 26:59 difficult ones, like, you know, Paul, 27:01 read what Paul says in Colossians 1, 27:03 try and memorize that. 27:05 It is so deep and here, 27:06 a nine year old using these lofty terms, 27:09 it was inspiring. 27:10 So we need to have habits of studying the Word of God, 27:14 memorizing the Word of God. 27:16 How do we resist temptation? 27:18 By word I have hidden in my heart. 27:20 What does that mean? 27:21 Stored it, that I might not sin against you, 27:25 prayer, having habits of devotions. 27:29 This is what it means to walk with God, 27:31 not just praying three times a day, 27:33 but thinking about Him and His presence. 27:36 All right, another habit, 27:37 next section here is the habit of looking for, 27:41 living in the expectancy of Christ's return. 27:44 I'm really glad this is in the lesson 27:46 because I've seen some things written, 27:48 even in our own church lately where it says, 27:52 you know, we need to be thinking about the here and now 27:54 and not just constantly believing 27:56 for some future event, 27:57 it's, you know, 100, 50 years have gone by 28:01 and Adventists have talked about the second coming 28:03 and we need to stop focusing on prophecy 28:05 and start focusing on how to minister socially 28:07 now to people. 28:09 And the idea of living 28:10 with an expectancy of the second coming 28:12 has been played out. 28:14 Am I the only one that's heard that 28:15 or if you noticed that? 28:17 Oh, no, no. And, you know what? 28:19 You're in good company 28:20 if you make the priority of Jesus coming 28:25 big in your life. 28:27 How does the New Testament end? 28:29 Even so come Lord Jesus. 28:33 Did the Apostle John 28:34 lived with an expectancy of the second coming? 28:37 Adventists, people live in, 28:38 especially in the last phase of church history, 28:41 should have an expectancy of Jesus' coming. 28:44 Titus 2:13 just going to give you a bunch of verses here, 28:47 then I see some scriptures or questions are on the screen. 28:51 "Looking for the blessed hope in the glorious appearing 28:54 of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." 28:58 You know, living with the expectancy 29:00 that you're going to see someone you love 29:02 is a motivating power. 29:05 Living with an expectancy 29:07 that you're going to soon be with Christ 29:09 is it's a wonderful thing. 29:11 And, you know, every believer knows 29:15 that whether you see the Lord 29:17 because you live and you're alive 29:20 when He comes, or you live a faithful life 29:22 and then you see Him, it's short either way. 29:27 I mean, if we've had three score in 10 years 29:29 or if by reason of strength, we live longer. 29:31 What is that compared to eternity? 29:34 Our lives are short. Jesus is coming soon for you. 29:38 Ready or not, you know what I'm saying. 29:40 And so we need to be living in a sense of expectancy, 29:43 and that's why the Bible writers wrote this. 29:45 Philippians 3:20, "For our citizenship is in heaven 29:49 from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, 29:54 the Lord Jesus Christ." 29:55 How are we to do it? 29:57 We're living with an eager anticipation. 30:00 Now someone is going to read Hebrews 10:25 in just a minute. 30:04 I'm going to read Luke 12:35. 30:07 Here Jesus is sharing a parable, 30:09 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning 30:11 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, 30:15 when He will return from the wedding, 30:17 that when He knocks they may open to him immediately." 30:19 Why did they open immediately? 30:21 'Cause they're expecting Him. 30:23 "Blessed are those servants whom the master, 30:25 when He comes, will find watching." 30:27 Living within the essence of expectancy. 30:32 "Assuredly, I say to you that He will gird Himself 30:36 have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 30:39 And if He should come in the second watch, 30:41 or come in the third watch, and find them so, 30:44 blessed are those servants. 30:46 But know this, that if the master of the house 30:48 had known what hour the thief would come, 30:50 he would have watched and not allowed." 30:52 At any cost if you knew a thief was coming, 30:53 you would stay awake. 30:55 "He would have watched 30:56 and not allowed his house to be broken into. 30:57 Therefore, you also be ready." 31:01 The Bible says that we should live 31:03 looking up with our heads lifted, 31:07 praying that we should be accounted 31:08 worthy to stand before when He comes. 31:10 "Therefore, you also be ready for the Son of Man 31:12 is coming at an hour that you do not expect." 31:15 In Matthew 24, how does Jesus end Matthew 24? 31:19 "If that evil servant says in his heart, 31:21 'My Lord delays His coming.'" 31:24 And begins to eat and drink with the drunkard 31:26 and beat his fellow servants. 31:28 The master of that servant will come in an hour 31:30 he is not looking for and a day he is not prepared for. 31:33 I messed up a little bit but that's the idea. 31:37 But who is a faithful and just servant 31:39 that will be giving his fellow servants 31:41 a meat in due season. 31:42 That servant will be blessed. 31:43 You're waiting for the Lord's coming. 31:46 I remember years ago, I have probably told you this, 31:51 when I went to military school, they used to... 31:53 Once a year have the big inspection 31:54 they call that GI, government inspection. 31:57 You weren't just inspected by the local officers, 31:59 they brought in someone from the Pentagon 32:02 who inspected the rooms of all the cadets 32:05 at New York Military Academy. 32:07 And, I mean, we spent weeks 32:10 getting ready for government inspection, 32:13 we polished, every button were shining, 32:16 we literally polished with Brasso, 32:18 and our shoes were shining. 32:20 And we cleaned our windows, 32:21 you couldn't have one streak in your window. 32:23 Our beds were made so tight, they look like plastic. 32:26 I mean, and you could bounce a quarter on the bed, 32:28 you didn't see a single wrinkle in the sheet, 32:30 and everything on the shelves was stack, 32:32 all the books in order. 32:34 No dust anywhere, you could literally... 32:36 I would have eaten off my floor, 32:37 it was that clean. 32:38 And so we had to get the whole room clean, 32:41 but there is hundreds of cadets at the school. 32:43 And so when the government inspection began 32:44 something came over the place, 32:46 government inspection has began. 32:47 You had to stand in your dress, uniform, white gloves on. 32:50 And wait for, at this point it was General, 32:56 was it George Westmoreland, 32:57 some of you may remember that name. 33:00 And he was coming through to inspect, a General. 33:04 And we're all standing at our doors waiting, 33:05 and then someone would say, 33:07 you know, "Attention, he is coming to the hall." 33:09 But it took, you know, minutes went by, hours went by. 33:13 And we were boys, you know, I was like 13. 33:15 And you're kind of, you're all looking around, 33:17 you're picking your heads out the door 33:18 and just waiting and starting to get more and more relax, 33:21 you know, how it was. 33:24 I mean, hours we're waiting all day 33:26 for this inspection to happen. 33:28 Now what I didn't tell you is we used to wax our floors, 33:30 we buffed them with a buffing machine. 33:32 We used this butcher wax and spread out, buffed it. 33:35 It was so slick. 33:36 And we used to have fun. 33:38 You take off your shoes and you run up the hall, 33:40 and you just slide just like a skating rink. 33:43 And so some of the boys, they looked around, 33:46 they flipped off their shoes, and they would go running... 33:48 They thought it would be funny to go sliding by, 33:49 you go, you know, they're showing off, 33:51 look, I'm not scared that the General might come. 33:55 And so some of the guys were sliding up and down the hall, 33:58 and I didn't do it, I thought, 33:59 "You guys are going to get busted." 34:02 And all of a sudden someone came up our land 34:05 and they announced, attention... 34:07 I forgot they had some command 34:08 they gave when the General was there. 34:11 And right when he entered... 34:14 Came up the stairs on to our floor 34:16 one of the kid that went sliding by. 34:21 And the General said, 34:22 "You wicked and faithless servant." 34:24 No, he didn't say it. 34:26 But you could see 34:28 and that's human nature, isn't it? 34:30 We get tired of waiting, 34:32 and we don't live with the sense of expectancy 34:35 that we should be ready at any movement 34:38 because we don't know, amen? 34:39 All right, let's... 34:40 Wait a second, we're going to read a verse. 34:42 Go ahead. 34:44 Hebrews 10:25, 34:46 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, 34:49 as is the manner of some, 34:50 but exhorting one another, 34:52 and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." 34:55 Now, if Paul wrote that back then in Hebrews 34:57 as you see the day approaching exhort people even more 35:01 to not forsake assembling together, 35:03 and we should exhort people as we see the day approaching. 35:06 Is it just me or do you see the day approaching? 35:10 And, you know, I see signs of the coming of the Lord. 35:14 People go, "Oh, they've seen that for years. 35:16 Pastors have been talking about 35:17 the coming of the Lord for years and..." 35:20 Yeah, one of these days we're going to be right 35:23 and He is going to come. 35:24 And we all have been saying He's going to come soon 35:27 and when He does come, 35:28 I can promise you it will be too soon for many people. 35:32 Also look at Hebrews 11:10, it says, 35:35 "He waited for the city that have foundations, 35:38 whose builder and maker is God." 35:40 They look forward, the Bible picture that, 35:42 even in the Old Testament 35:44 lived with the sense of expectancy, 35:46 looking for it. 35:47 So don't ever be ashamed of the name Adventist 35:51 that you're a person 35:52 who is looking forward to the coming of the Lord. 35:54 The Bible writers were Adventists in that sense. 35:57 All right, practical question here that came in, 36:01 looks like through Facebook. 36:03 "What should I do 36:05 if I am starting daily devotions?" 36:07 Great question. 36:08 Some people say, I think you try and read 36:10 through the Bible in a month. 36:12 Don't overwhelm yourself. 36:16 One of the most important things 36:17 is not that you read a lot, 36:21 you may not even understand everything you read. 36:24 The most important thing about starting is starting. 36:28 Make up your mind, I'm going to take this time 36:30 and then stick to it, 36:32 and continue it, be, yes, religious about it. 36:37 And say I'm going to take this time 36:39 and I'm going to pray and, of course... 36:41 What I do, I get on my knees and I pray, 36:44 and I try not to get 36:45 in the ritual of saying the same thing. 36:47 Have you noticed? 36:48 Having the habit of devotion doesn't mean 36:50 you say and do the same thing, 36:51 you'll just be repeating the Lord's prayer 36:53 and Hail Mary. 36:54 And it stops really being devotion. 36:56 You want to have real interaction with God 36:58 where you're talking to Him, 36:59 you spend time, listening to Him talk to you. 37:02 And then have something regular, 37:03 you're studying through or you're reading through. 37:07 And, yeah, I'm always reading through the Bible. 37:10 The only day of the week I don't read a section of Bible 37:13 going through the Bible is Sabbath morning 37:15 because I'm usually touching up the sermon. 37:17 And the manna fell from heaven six days a week, right? 37:21 So that's my excuse for that. 37:23 But, yeah, I study Sabbath don't worry. 37:26 And you might want to begin by 37:32 getting an overview of the Bible, 37:36 and I recommend you read the books 37:37 that give you history. 37:39 Read like Genesis up to Exodus, and then go Joshua, and Judges, 37:46 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings. 37:48 You don't have to do Chronicles, 37:49 it's sort of a repeat of Kings, 37:51 and then you can read Ezra, and Nehemiah, 37:54 Esther, they give you history, 37:56 so you're getting the picture what's going on 37:58 because then when you get to the gospels 37:59 and you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 38:01 and Acts, their history. 38:04 So much of what Jesus said 38:06 is referring back to the history 38:07 in the Old Testament, 38:08 it all started making sense for me. 38:10 I started out reading the New Testament 38:12 and it moved my heart, but lot of what was said 38:14 I had no idea what they're talking about 38:15 because I didn't have the history. 38:17 So read the history 38:19 and then you may want to completely read through, 38:21 get good devotional books to read with your Bible. 38:25 Commentaries are great, 38:26 so you read a verse, you say I don't understand. 38:28 They got Bible software now 38:30 where you'll see the Bible on one side, 38:32 get a trustworthy commentary 38:33 and it will help you understand. 38:35 Now some of those commentaries you're going to watch out for. 38:37 Be aware of who the commenter was, 38:40 and where they're coming from because, you know, 38:42 every commentary is jaded a little bit 38:45 or is slanted a little bit towards that person's beliefs. 38:51 Reading the Spirit of Prophecy, you can't improve on that. 38:54 HMS Richards Sr. said that the average layman 38:59 if they have read Patriarchs and Prophets, 39:02 Prophets and Kings, 39:04 Acts of the Apostles, 39:05 Desire of Ages, not in that order, 39:07 and Great Controversy will know much more about the Bible 39:10 than the typical pastor that is pastoring a church 39:14 out there in Babylon. 39:16 So those books will give you such an education, 39:18 it's phenomenal, so you might do that with a Bible. 39:22 All right, another question. 39:24 "How do I get ready for the second coming?" 39:26 Surrender your heart to the Lord to start with, 39:28 that's the first step. 39:30 So if you have accepted Jesus, repented of your sins, 39:32 that's the first and most important thing. 39:35 It's not buying, 39:36 storing away foods somewhere in a, 39:38 you know, cave and being a prepper. 39:40 The best prep for the second coming 39:43 is make sure you get the heart preparation, right? 39:48 And then live day by day, surrendering your will to His, 39:52 saying, "Lord, help me be willing to do Your will 39:54 in every area where I know You will." 39:56 And search to know God's will. 39:59 All right, here is another question. 40:01 "What do you do 40:02 if a family member has a bad habit?" 40:04 And I'm assuming 40:05 they're meaning it's affecting you. 40:07 Where you got to be careful? 40:09 Sometimes you don't win your family members 40:11 to the Lord by badgering them, 40:14 but sometimes it might be helpful 40:16 to bring to their attention 40:17 that this is not good and encourage them. 40:21 If you just keep doing it over and over, 40:22 you know, you can drive a person away. 40:25 There's three things you've often heard me say, 40:26 there's three things you can do 40:29 when you want to reach or help someone that you love. 40:33 One is, if they're open, share information, 40:35 because truth sets you free. 40:37 The Word is information. 40:40 So share the Word if they listen. 40:42 Two, pray, and sometimes people always act like 40:45 that's the last resort, you know, 40:47 like that used to have in our school, 40:50 they had a little hammer hanging by a glass box 40:52 so you could pull the alarm, they don't have them any more. 40:56 And it said, break glass in case of fire. 40:59 Some people will think prayer is like that, 41:01 in case of fire break glass, you know, 41:02 some emergency you're going to start praying. 41:05 But prayer is powerful and you continue to pray. 41:08 And the third thing is be a good example. 41:11 Make sure you don't replicate the habit in your own life 41:13 when you're preaching to them. 41:15 My dad, I remember beat me up a little bit 41:18 because he caught me smoking, 41:19 but he had to put out a cigar to do it. 41:22 So how do you think that? So I didn't quit. 41:26 And so you want to be a good example, right? 41:31 All right, "I'm addicted to eating sweets, how do I stop?" 41:36 Remember the illustration I gave about 41:39 the field covered with berry bushes? 41:42 You know, how you cross the field like that, 41:45 one foot at a time. 41:47 And with any habit, whether it's smoking, 41:49 or sweets, or whatever it might be, 41:51 we live in time, 41:53 and you have to go moment by moment and say, 41:55 "Lord, can I make it?" 41:56 I've got several friends that quit smoking by saying, 41:59 "Can I make it another hour?" 42:01 Sometimes it would get so tough they say, 42:02 "Can I make it another five minutes?" 42:05 And they just kept saying five minutes at a time 42:08 praying for strength and they finally got where, 42:10 then they'd say, "Can I make it another day?" 42:13 And they'd say, "Can I make it another month or a week?" 42:16 And we live moment by moment, you know that song? 42:19 So you just pray God, 42:21 He'll give you the strength whatever the struggle is. 42:24 So another one. 42:25 "How do I know if someone has the Holy Spirit?" 42:30 Jesus said, you'll know them by their fruits. 42:33 And so, if they've got the fruits of the Spirit, 42:35 what are they? 42:36 Galatians 5, love, joy, peace so forth, 42:39 look that up Galatians 5 42:40 and I think it starts in verse 22 42:43 and look at the fruits of the Spirit. 42:45 And Jesus said, you'll know them by that. 42:47 "How do you overcome the habit of white lies?" 42:51 What's a white lie? 42:53 Is that a lesser lie? 42:59 So someone brings you a baby at the door after church 43:03 and you look at the baby 43:04 and say ugliest baby I've ever seen. 43:06 Are you lying if you don't say, 43:07 "You know, I just got to be honest, 43:08 that is the ugliest baby I have you ever seen." 43:13 No, you probably don't want to do that. 43:14 And Jesus said, there's many things I have to tell you, 43:16 but I can't tell you now because you cannot bear it. 43:21 So you need to pray for tact and diplomacy, 43:25 you don't have to always say everything you're thinking, 43:27 but I don't think you should ever, ever 43:29 utter anything that is dishonest. 43:32 You know, I think some of us 43:33 probably get close to the border 43:34 because you're trying to be... 43:35 How do you feel? I feel fine. 43:36 You don't really feel fine. 43:38 But, you know, people say it. 43:41 And so you might say, you know, God is good, you deflect. 43:45 You might be struggling. 43:46 People say, "How are you doing? 43:47 I say, "A lot better than I deserve." 43:49 That's sort of an answer that works all the time, right? 43:52 And so you always want to be honest, 43:54 you might say but don't you need to lie sometimes 43:57 just because if your kids want to ask 44:00 how little brother suddenly showed up, 44:02 you don't have to tell a five-year-old 44:04 all the details of the birds and the bees. 44:07 And so you just pray for wisdom that God will help you 44:09 put things in the simplest terms, 44:10 but don't say the stork brought the baby 44:13 or that Santa Claus brought the parents, 44:15 you're lying, right? 44:17 So, yeah, you just always want to be honest. 44:20 Amen? Amen. 44:21 Okay, I'm going to get back to the lesson here, 44:23 I've got a few minutes and a lot of neat things. 44:25 So we need to have a habit of 44:27 talking about the eminence of Jesus' coming. 44:30 Now here's one that's very important habit, 44:33 use your time wisely. 44:37 Priorities. 44:40 Job 8:9, 44:44 "For we were born yesterday, and we know nothing, 44:46 because our days on earth are like a shadow." 44:49 We've got a limited amount of time. 44:51 We need to pray that God will know, 44:53 teach us how to prioritize our time. 44:56 Psalm 39:4 and 5, "Lord, make me to know my end, 45:00 and what is the measure of my days, 45:02 that I might know how frail I am. 45:04 Indeed, You have made my days as a handbreadth." 45:07 We need to know how frail we are, our days are short. 45:09 "And my age is nothing before You. 45:11 Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor." 45:14 You know as you live a little longer, it seems like you go, 45:18 "I felt like it was just yesterday, I was a teenager. 45:21 And here I look in the mirror 45:22 I say who is that wrinkled old duffer staring back at me." 45:26 And it just seems like it goes by, it goes by so quick, 45:30 and so knowing that you want to prioritize 45:33 your life to seek first His kingdom, right? 45:36 There's a quote where... 45:38 Someone's going to read a verse for me in just a moment. 45:41 Ellen White says, this is Christ's Object Lesson. 45:43 This is a powerful quote, 45:45 page 342 in Christ's Object Lessons. 45:48 "Our time belongs to God. 45:50 Every moment is His, 45:51 and we are under the most solemn obligation 45:54 to improve it to His glory. 45:57 Of no talent has He given will He require 46:01 a more strict account than of our time." 46:04 That makes me shudder, but it's true. 46:06 We'll give an account to God for what we do with our lives 46:08 and that's basically your time that you have. 46:12 Go ahead and read for us, 46:13 I think you've got Ephesians 5:15, 16. 46:16 Ephesians 5:15, 16. 46:19 "See then that you walk circumspectly, 46:21 not as a fool but as wise, redeeming the time, 46:24 because the days are evil." 46:26 Thank you. 46:27 You know, one of the ways you can spot a fool 46:28 is just they're wasting their time 46:29 and trying to get you to waste yours. 46:32 Now time management, 46:37 you know, you got to be careful if you're a workaholic that, 46:39 you know, that part of what God 46:41 wants you to do with your time is spent time with your family. 46:45 And I'll just share with you, 46:48 two days ago I sat down for about half an hour 46:50 with Dr. David Jeremiah who is pastor, 46:53 has a radio, TV program, he was at this conference. 46:55 A wonderful man of God, and I really respect. 46:58 And he's a little older than me. 47:00 And so I said, 47:01 you know, one of the things I struggle with, 47:02 I don't get to talk very often to somebody 47:04 that has a television ministry, 47:05 radio ministry, publishing ministry, 47:07 you know, evangelism training, a lot of the same things we do, 47:09 so how do you manage your time? 47:11 And he said, "Boy, I don't know it's hard," 47:13 he said, "But, you know, this is one thing I learned 47:16 is my wife had to stop me 47:17 when our church and ministry really began to grow, 47:19 and she said you're sacrificing your family 47:22 on the altar of ministry. 47:25 And that someday Jesus is going to ask you, 47:28 where is your flock. 47:30 And so you've got to make priority for family, 47:33 you have to spend time with family. 47:35 And I'm telling you that not because I got the answer, 47:37 but because I've made the mistakes. 47:40 You've got to take time for your body. 47:42 I've known people that don't take..." 47:44 Bible says, "If you don't sharpen the axe, 47:47 you're going to work twice as hard 47:48 trying to cut that piece of wood." 47:49 That means you've got to stop swinging the axe 47:51 and sit down and sharpen it. 47:54 And whatever your work is 47:55 that means you need to take time to study. 47:57 If you're a pastor, you can't just be preaching, 47:59 you've got to take time alone to study so the axe is sharp 48:02 and you've got something to give, 48:04 whatever your field happens to be, 48:05 it's a principle. 48:06 So knowing how to manage your time 48:09 and taking care of your health, 48:11 you have to have a certain amount of recreation, 48:13 you need to get exercise because you live longer, 48:16 and you accomplish more. 48:18 So having the right amount of exercise, 48:19 and you need to be religious about certain things 48:21 when it comes to your time. 48:26 Don't cast your pearls before swine. 48:28 There are people that the devil sends along sometimes 48:30 that will try to monopolize your life, 48:33 and distract you from what God's plan is for you, 48:36 and I know you want to use that verse very carefully. 48:38 But I think you all know what I'm talking about. 48:41 And so think about, plan your days, sit down, 48:45 you know, sometimes at the end of a day say all right, 48:47 now you just map out the next day God willing, 48:49 set your plans before His feet and say, 48:50 "Lord, if you bless, 48:52 these are the things I'd like to get accomplished. 48:54 And Ecclesiastes 9:10, 48:57 "Whatever your hand finds to do 48:59 then with your time," do it how? 49:01 When you finally get around to it, 49:02 "do with all your might," wherever it happens to be. 49:06 Bible says there's a time for everything. 49:09 "Walk in wisdom towards those who are outside, 49:12 redeeming the time." 49:13 Another verse that says redeeming the time. 49:15 And then Romans 13:11, "And do this, knowing the time, 49:19 that it is high time to awake out of sleep, 49:22 for now our salvation is nearer than we first believed. 49:25 And the habits of self-discipline. 49:28 Wow, how much of this can I cover in 26 minutes, 49:31 probably not very much. 49:32 So with that I'm going to... 49:34 I'm gonna have to say please forgive me, 49:35 I will post my notes online 49:37 if you want to see the last part. 49:39 I want to remind our friends about the free offer 49:41 that we're making available. 49:43 It's a great book called 49:44 Remember Lot's Wife by Brother Joe Crews, 49:46 I read this, 49:47 and it is encouraging and sobering too. 49:50 Ask for offer number 108 when you call the number 49:52 866-788-3966. 49:56 It's simply 866-Study-More. 49:59 Read it and then share it with your friends. 50:01 God bless you, friends. 50:02 And we look forward to study in His Word together 50:04 again next week. 50:20 For over 60 years Jeepneys have been 50:22 the virtual king of the road here in the Philippians. 50:25 These unique vehicles that are festered 50:27 with colorful stickers, lights, and chrome 50:29 have grown into the cheap source of transportation 50:32 in the country. 50:33 Let's go. 50:38 These iconic four-wheel drive military vehicles 50:41 made by the Willys Company or known as Jeeps 50:44 because it's stood for general purpose, 50:47 but it also came from a character 50:49 in a Popeye cartoon that was known as Eugene the Jeep. 50:53 He was an imaginary dog 50:55 that can crawl across the ceilings and the walls, 50:57 and these jeeps could go anywhere. 50:59 When the Americans left the Philippines 51:01 following World War II, 51:03 it was just cheaper for them to leave 51:04 these thousands of military vehicles behind 51:07 rather than to transport them back to the States. 51:09 The creative Filipino people, 51:11 modified these military vehicles 51:13 by extending the frame about six feet. 51:16 They added a couple of cozy inventions 51:18 that are designed to carry about 18 people. 51:21 They put a cab over it 51:22 to prevent the water from coming in. 51:24 But I've seen that looks like 20 to 25 people 51:27 hanging on every possible edge and ledge of a Jeepney, 51:31 and jumping off, they're jumping on 51:32 as it goes through congested in just in the middle of traffic. 51:37 Every Jeepney is little bit different. 51:39 Some are just held together with patches of daily wire 51:42 and bubblegum, a little bit of duck tape. 51:45 Some are little more ornate and modern, 51:46 they've got chrome and stainless steel. 51:49 And there's good reason that the ceilings are padded. 51:54 When one of the local Filipinos wants to ride on a Jeepney, 51:57 they just flag them down, they shout, 51:59 they tap on the hood, then they jump on board. 52:01 They may not even slow down when they do this. 52:04 Then they pay about 8 pesos, 52:06 which is equivalent of 16 cents for us. 52:09 It's by far the most economical way 52:11 to get around in the country. 52:17 Some Jeepneys are even equipped with an old emergency privy. 52:23 One little downside to the Jeepneys is because the cabs 52:26 are open like this, they're not air-conditioned, 52:28 it gets very hot in summertime 52:30 and all the fumes from the street coming in, 52:33 which to make it an exhausting experience. 52:36 Part of the downside of a jeepney is they don't have 52:38 all of the modern safety features, no seatbelts. 52:41 You have to take advantage of the padding 52:43 if you hit a hard bump. 52:45 And if there is a serious accident, 52:47 there is no airbags other than the friends 52:49 that might be sitting around you. 52:51 But that's the upside of the Jeepney. 52:52 Because you're up close and personal with everybody, 52:55 you make some new friends. 52:57 Riding on a Jeepney requires teamwork. 52:59 If you buy something from one of the vendors, 53:01 you all sort of pass it back to each other. 53:03 And when passengers get on board, 53:05 you just pass your money upfront. 53:12 Thanks a lot. 53:18 Friends, it's safe to say there are no two Jeepneys 53:20 that are exactly the same. 53:22 They're all unique and distinct and so are you. 53:26 Have you ever felt that you get lost 53:28 in a massive humanity and God doesn't notice you? 53:31 Bible tells us that He knows your name, 53:33 the very hairs of your head numbered 53:35 and He hears your prayers. 53:36 More than that, the Lord wants to take you to His kingdom, 53:39 you just have to get on board. 53:56 Amazing Facts changed lives. 54:04 Hi, my name is Diamond Garcia, 54:06 and I'm from the beautiful islands of Hawaii. 54:08 I was raised in a very dysfunctional family 54:12 like most families. 54:14 Being in that environment I would lie, cheat, steal, 54:17 rob houses, cheat in school, in tests, 54:20 and lying to teachers, 54:21 and getting into fights, and all kind of stuff. 54:26 One day I was asked to take this little box of something 54:29 and I had to walk down the road and give it to someone, 54:32 and they would give me money, and I would walk back home, 54:34 and I later realized I was dealing drugs. 54:38 Growing up in that environment, I thought that, you know, 54:41 being an adult was a life of drinking, and smoking, 54:44 and partying, and that's just what adults did. 54:48 When I looked at my family and saw the road 54:50 that they were going down, getting arrested, 54:53 getting beaten up, 54:54 coming home drunk, and puking all over the floor. 54:56 I just didn't want that for myself. 55:00 Growing up I had a grandma who was baptized 55:03 as a Christian in her 20s, 55:04 but then she wasn't a real practicing Christian. 55:08 And so one day I was at her house 55:09 and there was a box of various books, 55:11 and I went to the bottom of that box 55:13 and found a book called The Great Controversy. 55:16 And I picked it up and I said, this is interesting. 55:18 And I opened to the first page of that book and I said, 55:22 "If thou hadst known." 55:24 I had no clue what it meant. 55:25 And so I said, you know what, forget this, 55:27 I put the book down, 55:28 I just walked away did my thing, 55:30 but then something told me, 55:31 you know, Diamond go back to that book. 55:34 And so I went back to the book, picked it up 55:36 went to the last two chapters and I read it. 55:40 And I said to my grandmother, I said, 55:42 "What church is this from? 55:44 I want to go to that church." 55:45 So she brought me down to the local church 55:47 and then I walked in from the back door 55:49 and the piano was off key, 55:51 people were off key, it's like, man, 55:52 this is really kind of I don't want to be here. 55:57 And I got to the front of the church, 55:58 and I sat down I was listening to the sermon 56:00 and the whole service was so boring to me, 56:03 but then someone gives me the set of DVDs, 56:06 and it was called The Prophecy Code. 56:10 It was through watching Doug Batchelor 56:12 explain the truths found in the Bible 56:14 that really brought me to Christ, 56:16 and brought me to realize that, you know what, 56:18 there is a life better than my family's life. 56:22 My second week at church on Sabbath, 56:24 there was one person there, he basically told me, 56:27 "Hey, Diamond, do you want to make some money?" 56:29 And I said, "Sure," I said, "What do you do?" 56:31 He says, "Well, I'm a colporteur, 56:33 we go door-to-door and we sell Christian books. 56:36 I said, "Oh, okay, well that sounds interesting. 56:39 I do want to make some money too." 56:40 And so he said, "Okay, well, why don't you come with me?" 56:44 We drove out to the neighborhood, 56:46 parked the car, and that night it was just raining, 56:48 it was pouring and pouring, it could not stop raining. 56:51 He prayed, he said, 56:52 "God, this is Diamond's first night, 56:54 if it's Your will, stop the rain 56:55 so we can go knocking on doors." 56:57 And as soon as he said amen, the rain just stopped. 57:00 I was just thinking in my head, is this guy a prophet or what? 57:04 I mean, he just prayed and asked God and it happened. 57:08 And so I was so happy, 57:10 I grabbed the books, and I went to the first door. 57:12 And the first door I went to, that person gave me 50 bucks. 57:15 That night was actually a big night for me 57:17 because it was where I saw God's power work 57:20 in stopping the rain 57:21 and people are actually giving me lots of money. 57:24 I then became a colporteur or a canvasser, 57:26 and I've saved money to pay for my way through academy. 57:29 And when my church began to see 57:31 how God was using me and they immediately recognized 57:34 that it was God's Spirit moving in me, 57:36 put me, you know, preaching, and teaching, 57:38 and sharing my faith. 57:40 And I've been engaged in ministry 57:41 for the past six or seven years now, 57:43 and God has taken me all over the world 57:45 on multiple continents sharing my testimony 57:47 how God has brought me 57:48 out of darkness into His marvelous light, 57:51 which is total contrast as to how I was before and now, 57:54 you know, it's a total contrast. 57:57 My name is Diamond 57:58 and Amazing Facts has helped to change my life. |
Revised 2018-03-19