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00:35 Good morning, friends, again,
00:36 and welcome to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:38 here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:40 in Sacramento, California. 00:42 Very warm welcome 00:43 to our online members who are joining us 00:45 and our friends across the country 00:47 and around the world on various television networks. 00:50 And as always, warm welcome to our members and visitors 00:53 right here in person 00:54 at the Granite Bay Church. 00:55 It's always nice to see you week after week 00:57 coming together to study the lesson. 00:59 Now as many of you know, 01:01 we've been studying through the Book of Acts, 01:02 that's this entire quarter's theme, 01:05 the Book of Acts. 01:06 Today we find ourselves on lesson number eight. 01:09 It is the first general conference session, 01:12 so to speak, of the Christian church. 01:14 It's called the Jerusalem Council. 01:16 And that's going to be our theme 01:17 for study this morning. 01:18 For our friends who are joining us, 01:19 if you don't have a copy of the lesson, 01:22 and you'd like to download a copy, 01:23 so you can follow along with us, 01:25 just visit study.aftv.org. 01:29 You can download lesson number eight. 01:31 That web address is study.aftv.org, 01:35 download lesson number eight, "The Jerusalem Council," 01:38 and you can study along with us. 01:40 Also for our friends who are watching, 01:41 we have a free gift we'd like to make available to you. 01:45 It is a book written by Pastor Doug, 01:46 entitled "Spiritual Israel." 01:49 For those who'd like to receive the book in the mail, 01:51 call 866-788-3966, and ask for offer number 174. 01:57 We'll be happy to send it to you through the mail. 02:00 If you'd like to receive 02:01 a digital download of the same book, 02:03 all you'll have to do is text the following code, 02:06 "SH062" to the number 40544. 02:12 You will then receive an email 02:14 where you can download a digital copy of the book, 02:17 "Spiritual Israel." 02:18 I think you'll be blessed as you read that book. 02:21 It goes along with our study today. 02:23 Before we get to our study, as always, 02:26 we'd like to lift our voices in song. 02:27 I'm going to invite our song leaders to come join me. 02:31 Good morning. 02:32 We're going to begin our worship time 02:34 and our Sabbath School time this morning with singing. 02:36 And we're going to start with number 208, 02:38 "There'll be no dark valley." 02:40 That's 208 in the Adventist hymnal. 02:42 And we invite all of you to get out your hymnals 02:45 and sing along with us, number 208, 02:48 "There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes." 02:51 It's going to be such a glorious, 02:53 glorious appearing 02:54 when He comes in all of His glory, 02:56 and there will be no dark valleys, 02:57 not only literally no dark valleys, 03:00 but also all the dark things of this world will be banished. 03:04 And it's going to be such a glorious time. 03:06 Let's sing together number 208, "There'll be no dark valley." 05:15 Let's bow our heads for word of prayer. 05:17 Dear, Father, once again we are grateful 05:19 for the opportunity to gather in Your house 05:20 on this, Your Sabbath day, to open up Your Word 05:23 and study this important book, the Book of Acts, 05:26 so many lessons that we can learn 05:28 from the first century Christian church 05:30 that apply to us today. 05:32 So, Father, we ask for the Holy Spirit 05:33 to come and guide our hearts, our minds, 05:35 impress upon us those things that You want us to know, 05:38 for we ask this in Jesus' name. 05:40 Amen. 05:42 Our lesson this morning is going to be brought to us 05:44 by our family life pastor here at Granite Bay, 05:46 Pastor Shawn Brummund. 05:50 Good morning to all. 05:52 It's good to see you, and it's always good 05:54 to be able to come together to study 05:56 as we continue to make our way 05:58 through one of my favorite books in the Bible, 06:00 which is called the Book of Acts. 06:02 And there's just something very special 06:04 about the Book of Acts, 06:05 you know, a lot of us might find ourselves attempted 06:09 to different action figures, 06:11 different action movies and this type of thing. 06:15 But, you know, there's just something attractive 06:18 about action. 06:20 And this particular book 06:23 is about the most important actions 06:25 that has ever taken place in the time of Christ 06:29 and in the early church. 06:30 And so, this is a very, very important subject, 06:34 a very, very important book. 06:35 Now, the subject that we're looking at today 06:37 is lesson number eight entitled, 06:38 "The Jerusalem Council." 06:41 And the Jerusalem Council in chapter 15 06:43 is no small chapter. 06:45 In fact, this is a huge milestone 06:48 that we find in the scriptures and in the Book of Acts. 06:52 In fact, if you look at the lesson study in the quarterly, 06:55 you'll notice that the first couple lessons, 06:56 they included just one chapter, Acts 1. 06:59 We had just looked at Acts 1 for a whole week. 07:01 We looked at Acts 2, Pentecost, huge, 07:05 so huge that we spent a whole week on it. 07:08 The rest of the weeks, you'll notice that we spend 07:10 two, three, sometimes four, five chapters 07:12 that we'll look at in one week. 07:14 But today we're looking at just one chapter again 07:17 because this chapter is huge, it's packed. 07:20 And it has all kinds of very important things 07:23 for us to see. 07:26 As I was preparing for this particular lesson, 07:29 one of the things that I was thinking to myself 07:31 is that another good title for this week's lesson 07:33 would be "Growing pains." 07:37 "Growing pains." 07:39 And this was not an easy experience for the church 07:43 as they came to what is recorded 07:45 in the Jerusalem Council or what we might call Acts 15. 07:52 And then I started to contemplate 07:53 the ministry of Jesus 07:54 as He was making His way through His public ministry 07:57 even before we come to the Book of Acts 08:00 and the fledgling Christian church. 08:02 And Jesus really, 08:04 when He was going through this earth, 08:05 of course, He was accomplishing 08:07 several large important things on His agenda. 08:12 And so His agenda was very large. 08:15 But two of the largest pieces of His agenda include, 08:21 and it was working in laying the foundation really 08:23 for what we're looking at in Acts 15. 08:28 And that is that when Jesus was on this earth, 08:31 He really... 08:33 Well, let's just say 08:34 that He really rocked this world in a very... 08:36 And rocked the world of Israel in a very significant way. 08:41 And He addressed it this way. 08:42 In Luke 5:39, He says it a number of different ways, 08:47 but in this way He says, 08:49 "And no one, having drunk old wine, 08:51 immediately desires the new, 08:53 for he says, 'The old is better.'" 08:58 And again coming back 09:02 to the two large things that Jesus, 09:06 two of the large things that Jesus was accomplishing 09:10 during His public ministry was that, 09:12 not only was He correcting a lot of the false theology, 09:16 a lot of the err, the traditions that had crept 09:18 into the religion of the Israelites 09:21 concerning the old covenant. 09:24 But He was also laying the foundation 09:26 to introduce the new covenant. 09:30 And Jesus knew that that was revolutionary. 09:32 And so really, He was revolutionary in two counts. 09:35 Number one, He was revolutionary in the fact 09:37 that He was clarifying again the old covenant 09:40 which had been skewed in so many various ways, 09:44 but then He was also laying the foundation 09:46 to introduce the new covenant as well. 09:51 And with the new covenant came some new wine. 09:54 It wasn't what the religious people of Israel 09:58 were accustomed to during their time. 10:01 And so Jesus was very patient with His disciples 10:04 and His followers during His public ministry. 10:07 And then we find that 10:08 Jesus was very patient with them 10:10 after He went to heaven, and He sent His Holy Spirit, 10:15 and He was continuing to guide His church, 10:19 His apostles, and His disciples. 10:24 When you think about it, really Jesus was introducing 10:28 when He brought in the new covenant, 10:30 He knew in His mind. 10:32 Because, of course, He knows 10:33 the beginning from the end, doesn't He? 10:35 And Jesus knew that He was introducing 10:38 what would become 10:39 the second great world religion. 10:42 Now we have three great world religions today 10:45 that have evolved over the last couple of thousand years. 10:48 And although even before if you count Judaism. 10:51 So Judaism, of course, had conceived of with Abraham 10:57 many years before Jesus. 10:59 Then Jesus came along with His disciples, 11:01 and they had conceived Christianity. 11:04 And then about 500 years later, we have Muhammad that rose up 11:07 and also brought in the third great world religion 11:11 which is that of Islam. 11:14 And so Jesus was introducing the second great world religion 11:19 when He began His public ministry. 11:23 You know, there's something I've been sharing 11:26 with my friends over the last... 11:27 Well, a couple of decades now as I've been studying 11:30 the Old and the New Testament, and realizing 11:33 that there is more parallels, and more in common 11:37 between the Old and New Testament 11:39 than there is different from the Old and New Testament. 11:42 In fact, it was so many parallels 11:44 that I started to say, you know, 11:45 "I'm going to write a book one day called, 11:46 "There's nothing new in the New Testament." 11:49 And really, of course, this is something 11:53 that flies in the face of that which has evolved in a lot of 11:58 what we call modern evangelicalism. 12:01 Over the last 50 or 60 years, 12:03 we have this kind of evolution of two gospels. 12:06 You have the gospel of the Old Testament, 12:08 which is more workspace to be kind of, you know, 12:11 merit based salvation, and then you have the grace 12:15 based salvation of Jesus in the New Testament. 12:17 And that just doesn't really fly 12:20 when you read the Old and New Testament 12:23 and realize that really they have way more 12:26 in common than they have not in common. 12:30 Now, of course, there is a couple of 12:31 different things that were clarified 12:32 with the New Testament, 12:33 and so we need to be fair when I say that. 12:35 When there's nothing new in the New Testament, 12:36 we have to say that in an overall sense 12:39 because God did clarify a couple of different things 12:42 that He winked at in the Old Testament. 12:43 I'm thinking in particular of that of polygamy. 12:48 You know, He kind of winked at polygamy 12:50 throughout the Old Testament era, 12:52 but then when the New Testament came along, 12:53 He said, "Okay, listen, this is a new standard 12:57 that I want to introduce." 12:58 And so He said, "When you pick your deacons, 13:00 and your elders, and so on, make that example 13:03 and be the husband of only one wife." 13:05 And so He kind of clarified that for us, 13:08 adornment and jewelry. 13:09 You know, Peter and Paul clarified that issue 13:12 more than any other writer up until that point. 13:15 And so, yes, there are some new standards 13:17 and new clarification that God kind of brought 13:19 God's people up to speed on. 13:22 But overall, really... 13:25 More than anything, there's nothing new 13:27 in the New Testament except for one 13:31 very significant thing. 13:35 What would that be? 13:38 All right, Jesus. All right. 13:40 Now, Jesus, and we can say in a way was... 13:42 It was the center of the Old Testament covenant. 13:46 The old covenant, Old Testament 13:47 even as it was with the New Testament. 13:50 So, yes to a certain degree, but what is the large minus. 13:54 There's one large removable from the old covenant. 13:59 No, it's not the Ten Commandments. 14:02 Okay. 14:03 All right, all right. 14:05 Now we're starting to get on to the answer. 14:06 Okay, we went from warm to hot to right on the dot. 14:09 And that is that we find that... 14:14 You know, there was the removal of the ceremonial 14:18 and the civil law of Moses. 14:22 Was that a large removal? 14:24 Yes, that was a huge removal. 14:27 And so there is one very significant difference 14:31 between the old covenant or Testament, excuse me, 14:35 and that of the new covenant or Testament. 14:38 And that is the fact that 14:39 there is the fulfillment of Christ in His life, 14:43 His death, His ministry, 14:46 and His high priesthood in heaven that replaced 14:50 all of that priesthood at earthly sanctuary, 14:53 and sacrificial system and so on here on earth. 14:57 And so this is no small difference 15:00 between the two. 15:03 And the civil law was removed, why? 15:05 Well, because Israel was going to soon be morphed 15:08 into a borderless nation. 15:10 Its citizens would no longer be bound to a bordered country, 15:16 but rather Israel was now to find itself morphed 15:18 into an international existence. 15:22 And so its citizens would find itself eventually living 15:24 in all nations around the world. 15:27 And so logistically, a civil government 15:30 just doesn't make sense, it doesn't fit, 15:32 it's not needed, and therefore that civil law of Moses 15:36 was to be set aside. 15:39 Not only that, but the Ceremonial Law 15:41 was to be removed. 15:42 Why? 15:43 Because its purpose was fulfilled 15:45 as I said earlier in the life-death ministry 15:47 and high priesthood of Jesus. 15:50 Now, one of the things that we need to keep in mind 15:52 as we come to Luke... 15:53 Sorry, the Book of Acts 15 is that 15:57 for the fledgling church that was predominately by far, 16:01 almost pretty well exclusively Jewish 16:05 by race as well as by religion, 16:10 we find that for the fledgling church, 16:12 this was not an easy pill to swallow. 16:17 For many, this was like cutting off their arm 16:19 or at least it felt like 16:21 they were asked to cut off their arm 16:22 because this was a big part of who they were. 16:25 I mean, the little... 16:27 The men, the women, they can remember 16:29 that first time when they were able to make 16:31 that pilgrimage with their families down 16:33 to Jerusalem at 12 years of age, 16:35 and participate for the first time, 16:38 and observe the temple, and the great sacrifices 16:41 that were taking place, and the great ephod 16:44 with the Urim and Thummim, you know, 16:47 the great gems on the chest of the high priest, you know, 16:50 they saw all that, and that made deep impressions, 16:53 and this was a very intricate, very important part 16:57 of their religious experience and understanding 17:02 of God's salvation of their religion. 17:05 And so this was not a small transition 17:08 that God was bringing them through. 17:10 And that's why we find it didn't happen in a day, 17:12 we find it didn't happen in a week, 17:14 it didn't even happen in a year, 17:15 but it took several years, in fact, 17:18 it took a few decades for the church 17:20 to be able to come to full terms 17:23 with not only the fact that uncircumcised gentiles 17:26 can come into the gospel without being circumcised, 17:30 come into Israel without being circumcised 17:32 and observe the Law of Moses, but that the Law of Moses 17:35 itself was fulfilled, and even 17:37 for the Jew was not necessary any longer. 17:41 And so step one is found in Acts 15, 17:46 and then the rest is found 17:48 throughout the rest of the decades 17:51 that followed, and really it wouldn't be 17:57 until the Book of Hebrews came along. 18:00 Now, the Book of Hebrews wasn't written 18:01 when the Jerusalem Council took place. 18:03 They were just coming to grips with uncircumcised gentiles 18:06 coming into the church, and into the kingdom, 18:08 and into Israel. 18:09 But then there was also the question of even a Jew 18:16 not being required, you know, to keep the feast and so on. 18:20 And so that's why you find that most Christian 18:25 that are also Jewish by background, you know, 18:29 they don't keep the feasts or the sacrifices. 18:32 In fact, really nobody does, does they, do they? 18:36 Because to keep the biblical feast 18:39 and the sacrifices means that you have to, 18:41 you have to draw blood. 18:44 And so nobody is really drawing blood anymore, are they? 18:47 There's no sacrifices of animals 18:49 that are taking place, there's no high priest, 18:50 there's no priesthood, there's no earthly sanctuary, 18:54 all these elements were necessary to be able 18:56 to keep most of the annual feasts 19:00 and so on that are found in the Old Testament. 19:05 So the Book of Hebrews was to come years later, and, 19:07 of course, the Book of Hebrews was the great treaties 19:09 concerning the fulfillment of the Ceremonial Law of Moses 19:14 in Christ. 19:15 And the Book of Hebrews is instrumental 19:18 because it declared most extensively 19:20 the elimination of the sacrifices. 19:22 It is the great long thrust that it gives to the church 19:27 that is to explain that the earthly priesthood, 19:31 the sanctuary, which is included in 19:34 all the daily rituals, the annual feast days, 19:36 and so on was fulfilled in Christ, that it was a copy, 19:42 that it was a shadow of the heavenly things 19:44 of the true, of the better. 19:47 In fact, I want to invite you. 19:49 And this is kind of a long introduction, I know, 19:50 but I think it's important for us to be able 19:52 to look at Acts 15, at least helpful to look at it 19:55 in the larger context of the New Testament, 19:57 and to be able to see that in a helpful way 20:02 in concerned to the Ceremonial Law of Moses. 20:06 So come with me to Hebrews 8. 20:09 Now Hebrews 7, 8, 9, and 10, 20:13 those four chapters in particular. 20:15 Now the whole book, and, you know, 20:17 the main gist of the book, and main purpose 20:19 that God inspired the book was to help... 20:24 Well, there's a couple of different things, 20:25 but one of the main things was to demonstrate 20:30 that the Ceremonial Law of Moses 20:32 was fulfilled in Christ. 20:35 So 8:13, Paul sums it up here. 20:40 If you feel like me, and you believe 20:41 that Paul was the one that wrote the Book of Hebrews. 20:43 In verse 13, it says, "In that He says, 20:45 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. 20:51 Now what is becoming obsolete 20:52 and growing old is ready to vanish away." 20:56 And so he summarizes that, what is growing old 20:59 is ready to vanish away, knows how God's mercy 21:02 and grace is there. 21:03 He's not saying, "Listen, 21:04 you need to cut this off right now." 21:07 In fact, he didn't even give the Book of Hebrews 21:09 till a few decades after a couple decades 21:14 the evidenced or so after the Jerusalem Council. 21:18 And even then he's not saying, 21:19 "Listen, you've got to just cut this off 21:20 if you're Jewish believer." 21:21 No. 21:22 He's saying, "It's becoming obsolete, 21:23 it's growing old, it's ready to vanish away." 21:25 God is giving time for the Jewish believers 21:27 to be able to let this part go and understand 21:29 its great fulfillment in Christ. 21:32 And no longer is the blood of bulls and goats required 21:35 to be brought before the Lord, 21:37 but now the blood of Jesus Christ, 21:38 the high priest in heaven is the one that we bring to Him 21:42 as our sacrifice, as the one who cleanses us. 21:46 Verse 8 in the next chapter, chapter 9. 21:50 In verse 8-10, also says it in a very powerful way, 21:52 it says, "The Holy Spirit indicating this, 21:55 that the way into the Holiest of All 21:57 was not yet made manifest 21:59 while the first tabernacle was still standing." 22:01 That's the earthly one. 22:04 "It was symbolic." What was it, friends? 22:07 "It was symbolic for the present time." 22:12 That's in Paul's time, the church's time, 22:15 all the way up to now. 22:17 "For the present time, in which both gifts and sacrifices 22:19 are offered which cannot make him 22:21 who performed the service perfect 22:23 in regard to the conscience. 22:26 Concerned only with foods and drinks, 22:27 and various washings, 22:28 and fleshly ordinances imposed until the..." 22:31 What? 22:32 "Until the time of the Reformation." 22:33 When is the time of the Reformation? 22:36 Now don't get this confused with the Reformation 22:38 with the Protestant Reformation of 1500s, no. 22:41 He's not making a prophecy into the future, 1,500 years. 22:44 No, he's talking about his time, isn't he? 22:46 Starting with Christ's ministry, 22:48 He was laying the groundwork for the New Testament. 22:50 Christ died on the cross. 22:51 He sealed the New Testament with His own blood. 22:54 He became our Passover lamb, He became the sacrifice, 22:57 that perfect sacrifice for the sin of all of mankind, 23:00 from Adam all the way to those of us who are living 23:03 when Jesus comes again. 23:06 And so we find here that Hebrews 23:09 is kind of summing up and finishing up 23:12 what is started in Acts 15. 23:18 And so for now... 23:21 By the way, in the Book of Hebrews, 23:25 you'll find that the word "better" 23:27 is repeated over and over as you go through that book. 23:29 And the reason is, is that God is trying to convince 23:33 the Jewish believers that, "Hey, I know that 23:36 what you had was good, but now I'm giving you 23:39 something even better." 23:41 You know, "Yes, the sacrifices were divinely ordained. 23:44 They were given, they were My idea to bring the lamb, 23:47 to bring the bull, the doves and so on. 23:49 But now I have something better. 23:50 I have My Son." 23:52 You know, yes, the earthly sanctuary 23:54 was magnificent in its glory, and it spoke volumes 23:59 of spiritual truth to you and so on. 24:01 But now I have something even better, 24:03 it's a heavenly sanctuary. 24:04 It's larger, it's more glorious, 24:06 and even speaks more volumes of truth in a powerful way. 24:11 He says, "Yes, I know, I haven't ordained 24:13 an earthly priesthood." 24:15 And the priesthood was important. 24:16 It was My idea, but this was symbolic. 24:18 It was a shadow, a copy of something better 24:21 that's in heaven, it's Christ, the priesthood. 24:25 He's the beginning and the end of the priesthood. 24:28 And so this is something that is even better for us now. 24:33 And so, it's shown in the powerful true light 24:38 that it really is it designed for us 24:41 and for the early Christian Jews 24:43 to be able to understand. 24:47 But for now, God seems to be opening the horizons to, 24:50 more to see that the Law of Moses 24:52 including that of the right of circumcision 24:54 was not required for gentile believers 24:57 to come into Christ, to come into Israel. 25:01 In fact, it's interesting 25:02 that baptism didn't really come up 25:03 until about John the Baptist, at least in part of God's plan. 25:07 And so John the Baptist was laying the foundation 25:09 for a new initiation into Israel, into salvation, 25:13 and now no longer is it circumcision, 25:16 but it is...? 25:17 It's baptism, isn't it? Yeah. 25:20 So he initiated a new physical ceremony 25:24 to enter into salvation in a physical ceremonial way. 25:31 And so it's my hope that today's study 25:33 will help some of us who may be watching, 25:35 who perhaps have mistakenly come to conclude 25:38 that for us to be faithful Christians 25:41 that we need to come back to the annual feast, 25:44 that we need to be able to keep the Passover feast, 25:46 that we need to keep the feast of the trumpets and so on. 25:50 And I know some very sincere Christians, 25:52 in fact, a family member of mine for years 25:55 was convinced that this was necessary. 25:57 And again, you know, I gently tried to share with him that, 26:00 you know, listen, you know, even if it was true, 26:06 you're not really keeping the Passover anyway, 26:09 because to be a Bible Passover keeper, 26:11 you have to bring a lamb, that's one year of age 26:14 without blemish into your house 26:15 for 10 days before the Passover, 26:17 get to know it, 26:18 then you have to slit its throat, 26:20 you have to take its blood, 26:21 you have to put it over the lintel of the... 26:23 And the side of your doorpost, you have to then, you know, 26:26 take the lamb, and you have to roast it whole, you know, 26:31 and then you need to be able to take that meat 26:33 as much as your family and household can eat, 26:35 then you eat it, and whatever's left over, 26:37 you burn it by morning. 26:40 I haven't met anybody yet. 26:41 Now, maybe there's some small group 26:43 over in Israel somewhere 26:44 that I've never heard of that is doing that, 26:45 but I haven't met or heard of anyone or people group 26:49 in the entire planet that's keeping 26:50 the Bible Passover today. 26:53 And that's okay. Why? 26:56 Because the good news is that 26:57 God has given us something better. 26:59 The Christ is our Passover lamb. 27:02 And so the Law of Moses and the Ceremonial Law of Moses 27:06 has been fulfilled. 27:07 And so Acts 15 is confirming that for us. 27:13 It's clarifying that issue for us 27:15 in a very powerful and needful way. 27:18 And so the Book of Hebrews, and the Acts 15 are exhibiting 27:23 and demonstrating that keeping the feast 27:27 is not the case. 27:29 God has fulfilled that, it was a copy, it was a shadow, 27:33 it was symbolic as we read in Hebrews 9:9 27:40 there earlier in our study today. 27:44 Well, that being said, 27:45 we don't want to run out of time 27:46 before we get into Acts 15, 27:48 we're going to review a little bit. 27:49 Two weeks ago, we looked at the chapter 11, 27:51 and we were studying the ministry of Peter. 27:53 And I had the privilege of being able to teach us 27:55 as we looked at that important subject. 27:57 And as we looked at chapter 11, 28:01 we discovered that Peter found himself 28:03 arriving in Jerusalem with kind of some cold shoulders 28:07 from his fellow apostles, and from his elders. 28:10 And the reason was that, rumor had already spread 28:13 to Jerusalem and preceded Peter's arrival, 28:16 and the rumor was that Peter had lowered himself 28:20 to enter into a non-Jewish home, 28:22 a gentile home, and not only eat with them, 28:26 but also preach to them, and then of all things, 28:28 baptize them. 28:30 And so the leaders in Jerusalem were horrified. 28:36 And so they kind of jumped on him 28:37 as soon as he got into the city, 28:38 and said, "Is this... 28:39 Is the rumors true?" 28:41 And so, poor Peter had to go into defense mode. 28:45 And he began to recount how he received 28:47 this amazing vision while he was on the rooftop 28:49 of Simon the tanner, in Joppa by the seaside, 28:52 and this amazing sheep came down 28:54 with all these unclean animals, and God says, 28:56 "Rise, kill, and eat." 28:57 Three times he refused. 28:59 And after the third time, God rose the vision up, 29:03 and Peter scratching his head afterward, and saying, 29:05 "What in the world did that mean?" 29:06 In the meantime, there are some messengers 29:08 that come from Caesarea, just up the coast, and say, 29:11 "Hey, listen, there's a Roman gentile 29:15 by the name of Cornelius, 29:16 and he's received this vision from God. 29:17 He sent his messengers and a soldier to come 29:19 and get you, because he's been told 29:22 that you have a message for him." 29:23 And the Holy Spirit tells Peter, this is true. 29:26 And so Peter goes on the way up to Caesarea, 29:28 and he's still trying to figure out 29:31 what the vision means. 29:33 And then when you look at Acts 10, 29:36 and I think it's around... 29:37 Well, let's take a look here. 29:42 Because that verse is so important, 29:44 I just don't want to guess. 29:46 Acts 10:28, we find that Peter confesses to Cornelius 29:52 and says, "Listen, I have to confess 29:54 that I don't feel comfortable here. 29:55 And I was trained all my life to say that this is wrong, 29:58 it's unlawful. 29:59 And I shouldn't even be in here, 30:01 but God has told me in the meantime 30:03 through this powerful vision that I should call 30:05 no man unclean or common." 30:09 And so Peter reveals the vision, 30:11 and the meaning of the vision at that point. 30:14 And so he goes ahead, and preaches, 30:15 and they break out in the gift of tongues 30:20 and begin to speak 30:21 different international languages and tongues, 30:24 just like they did on Pentecost. 30:25 And Peter looked at his cohorts and he said, 30:28 "Well, this is the same gift that God gave to us 30:32 when we were preaching to all the different pilgrims 30:35 that came into Jerusalem for Pentecost feast, 30:39 and spoke in all these different languages. 30:42 And so surely the Lord is with this and behind this, 30:46 and so what prevents us from baptizing them." 30:49 And so he went ahead and baptized Cornelius 30:51 and his household. 30:53 And so Peter shares all this with the religious leaders 30:56 and so we come 30:57 to the conclusion of the matter. 31:02 And we have a volunteer 31:03 that's going to be reading Acts 11:17-18 31:08 as we review that today. 31:09 Thank you. 31:10 Acts 11:17 and 18, 31:13 "If therefore God has gave them the same gift 31:17 as He has given us 31:18 when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, 31:21 who was I that I could withstand God? 31:25 When they heard these things they became silent, 31:29 and they glorified God, saying, 31:31 'Then God has also granted 31:33 to the gentiles repentance to life.'" 31:36 Okay, so here we have Peter in verse 17, 31:39 and then there's that dramatic silence, 31:43 that pause in verse 18. 31:46 What is going to be their conclusion? 31:47 Are they going to see the light 31:49 like Peter is coming to see the light? 31:52 And sure enough they said, 31:53 "Well, then God has also granted you gentiles 31:55 repentance to life." 31:58 And so this was a revolutionary 31:59 but very needful conclusion in truth and light 32:02 that went on in the minds of Peter, 32:04 and the apostles, the gentiles, and so on. 32:06 And they realize that. 32:07 "Hey, you know, uncircumcised gentiles 32:10 can come into the new covenant, 32:11 they can be baptized and not circumcised, 32:13 and they don't have to observe the Law of Moses. 32:15 They can come in, and yes, of course, 32:18 they are coming in to obey God." 32:21 And Paul goes on extensively 32:23 about that throughout his letters 32:24 and so, we don't have time to study and talk about, 32:28 you know, God's will 32:29 and concerned of the Ten Commandments, 32:31 and all these other wonderful things 32:33 that God has for the believer to follow. 32:36 But nevertheless, 32:38 we find that this was a revolutionary step for them. 32:43 It's also important for me to point out 32:45 that a proper interpretation of Acts 10 32:48 and the vision that Peter received is essential for us 32:51 to understand the workings of Acts 11 32:55 as well as the workings of Acts 15. 32:59 Because in both those chapters, 33:00 the vision comes up again, doesn't it? 33:02 And both those chapters, we find that... 33:04 When the vision comes up, Peter doesn't come up 33:06 and say, "Oh, by the way, God has also revealed to us 33:09 that we can eat pork, you know, 33:12 and we can eat unclean foods. 33:14 And God has cleansed all the clams, 33:17 and the lobsters, and unclean stuff that 33:19 that we used to be told to avoid." 33:22 It doesn't say that, does it? No. 33:24 Instead it says that God has told me 33:28 that we should not call any man unclean or common. 33:31 And so twice, 33:33 three times the interpretation is given to us in Acts 10:28. 33:38 Acts 11, we find the same thing is given to us in verse 9, 33:42 and then when we come to Acts 15, 33:44 we're going to discover that it's there as well. 33:47 And so three times it comes up, 33:49 three times the interpretation is given, 33:51 and it's important for us to understand 33:53 what it really means 33:55 because it has a critical application, 33:57 and it's a very needful application. 34:03 Well, after Acts 11, we kind of said to our self, 34:05 and it's natural to think to ourselves 34:07 that the matter was settled once and for all, 34:08 after all these were the apostles and the elders 34:10 that had concluded this with Peter, right? 34:12 And Peter was the apostle to the Jews, 34:14 he was the ultimate representative 34:17 that God had assigned to represent 34:18 and to minister to the Jews. 34:20 And so if God was able to first 34:23 bring this light of truth to Peter's mind 34:25 and then bring it through him 34:28 to the rest of the elders and the apostles, 34:30 why it was a settled matter? 34:34 But it would be over two years before the conclusion 34:36 the matter would make it into the church manual. 34:41 Before it would become policy, 34:42 before it would become official church doctrine 34:45 that would be on paper in print. 34:47 And so this is a process again 34:49 that God is bringing His church slowly 34:52 but surely in the right direction with, 34:54 and His grace is there to be able to help them 34:57 to be able to see that and come to terms with it. 35:00 Now, one of the things that's fascinating 35:02 between chapter 11 and chapter 15 35:04 is that Barnabas is in Jerusalem still 35:07 when Peter comes and explains himself, 35:10 and defends his baptizing of Cornelius and his household. 35:13 And so, he almost for certain was in that council 35:18 and in that conversation. 35:20 And he heard the conclusion 35:22 and was part of that conclusion. 35:24 And so we read that shortly after that 35:26 he was sent up to the city of Antioch, 35:29 that we say up because it's north, 35:30 but you'll find that when we read it in the Bible, 35:33 it says, "They went down to the city of Antioch." 35:38 When you look at the map, you say, "Well, wait a minute, 35:40 Jerusalem's way south of Antioch. 35:42 They went up. 35:44 And that confused me for the longest time. 35:47 And then I found out that it's, 35:49 you know, for the Jewish mind Israel is on a hill, 35:52 and it is on a bit of a hill and a mountain. 35:57 But it's the holy city, it's the capital, 35:59 it's the ultimate. 36:00 And so whenever you left Jerusalem, 36:02 you went down to wherever you were, 36:04 whether it was north, south, east or west, 36:06 it didn't matter which direction you went, 36:07 you were going down, 36:09 you were descending from the holy city. 36:11 And, so even when you go north, 36:13 you're going down to the city of Antioch. 36:20 And so while he was sent up to Antioch 36:21 to investigate the conversion of these different Hellenists. 36:24 Now, these were Jews that had become 36:26 just as much Greeks or maybe even more Greek 36:29 than they were Jewish as far as their tradition, 36:31 and even some of their religious practices 36:33 and so on. 36:35 And they were hearing the gospel, 36:37 and they were receiving the gospel, 36:39 and they were being baptized. 36:42 And Barnabas was excited about that, 36:44 then he makes his way over to Tarsus, 36:45 he picks up Paul, Paul comes back, 36:47 and for a year, they're just preaching, 36:49 and it's just a powerful, powerful year, 36:51 where they're baptizing all these different, yes, Jews, 36:54 but also Hellenists, 36:56 and probably even some uncircumcised gentiles. 36:59 And then they eventually pair up together, 37:03 both Barnabas and Paul, 37:04 and they went on their first missionary trip. 37:06 And as they went on their first missionary trip, 37:09 very naturally they started to preach, yes, 37:12 it says in the different synagogues, 37:14 and certainly there was a number of Jews 37:16 that were coming into the gospel of Christ 37:18 and accepting Him as the true Messiah, 37:20 but they are also baptizing 37:22 a large number of uncircumcised gentiles as well. 37:28 And Barnabas and Paul were doing this freely, why? 37:30 Because Barnabas was in Jerusalem 37:31 when Peter came in, and they had that conversation, 37:34 and they had that informal conclusion 37:37 that indeed repentance to life is given also to the gentiles, 37:41 even uncircumcised gentiles, 37:43 and they too can be baptized. 37:45 And so it makes sense why Barnabas and Paul went out 37:48 so freely as they were ordained, 37:50 and then authorized, 37:52 and sponsored by the Antioch church. 37:55 And so we come to Acts 14:27. 37:59 And we have a volunteer 38:00 that's going to read the last two verses 38:02 of that particular chapter in Acts 14. 38:05 Acts 14:27-28, "And when they were come, 38:10 and gathered the church together, 38:11 they rehearsed all that God had done with them, 38:15 and how He had opened the door of faith unto the gentiles. 38:20 And there they abode a long time 38:22 with the disciples." 38:29 So here we have Paul coming back, 38:32 and, of course, 38:33 you know, they didn't have slides like we do today, 38:35 there was no PowerPoint. 38:36 But if they did have PowerPoint, 38:38 they would be clicking away like we would, 38:40 you know, and showing the different slides, 38:42 and showing, 38:43 you know, this is what we did in Derbe, and Lystra, 38:46 and these different cities. 38:47 Now, when you look at the map 38:48 in some of the back of your Bibles, 38:50 you'll see that the first missionary trip 38:51 didn't go out very far. 38:52 The second and third went, they went way, way out. 38:55 First one, they're just kind of getting their feet wet, 38:56 and they go out 38:57 and they kind of circle back quite a bit shorter. 39:01 But when they come back, 39:02 they're just on fire for the Lord, 39:04 and they're just so excited to show all the pictures, 39:06 if they have pictures, and of course, they didn't, 39:09 but, you know, they're just so excited 39:12 to share all the wonderful things 39:13 that God had done through them. 39:16 And it says there in verse 28 39:18 that they stayed there a long time. 39:21 Now, how long is a long time? 39:24 Okay, that's what I asked myself, 39:26 you know, it's kind of open-ended question, isn't it? 39:28 It's more than a week? 39:29 I think we could probably all conclude it's more than a week. 39:32 Is it more than a month? 39:34 Yeah, probably. 39:36 You know, is it least several months 39:37 and maybe a year or two? 39:39 I don't know. It just says a long time. 39:41 And so, even when they got back, 39:42 they continued to grow the church in Antioch 39:45 and continue to evangelize, 39:47 and things were going well until we come to chapter 15. 39:52 And in chapter 15, 39:54 we find that there's a self appointed contingency 39:57 that comes from Jerusalem and arrives to stir the waters. 40:00 And I'm going to go ahead and read verse... 40:06 Actually verse 24. 40:08 Acts 15:24. 40:10 Now, I know that's jumping ahead. 40:11 In verse 24 is the letter 40:13 that the Jerusalem Council had eventually written 40:16 as they wrote this new policy 40:18 and doctrinal belief of the church. 40:20 Verse 24, it says, "Since we have heard 40:22 that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, 40:24 unsettling your souls, saying, 40:26 'You must be circumcised and keep the law 40:29 to whom we gave no such commandment.'" 40:33 And, so I see, I think it's important for us 40:35 to understand that the group that had arrived from Jerusalem 40:40 in the city of Antioch were self-appointed. 40:45 And that's a good lesson for us. 40:49 You know, I've never seen things turn out good 40:53 when there's a self appointed member 40:56 or a self-appointed group of members 40:58 that decide that they're going to go off 41:01 and teach something that's maybe contrary 41:04 or different than the church's teaching 41:06 on their own without going through the proper channels, 41:09 without working with their local pastors, 41:12 and conference, and so on. 41:14 And this is no exception. 41:16 This is a good lesson for us that it didn't turn out well. 41:22 So certain men came down from Judea 41:23 and taught the brethren, it says in verse 1. 41:27 And maybe I'm going ahead 41:28 and taking a volunteer's text, I think, I am. 41:30 Chapter 15, we're going to read verses 1-2, please. 41:35 "And certain men which came down from Judaea 41:39 taught the brethren, and said, 41:40 'Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, 41:46 ye cannot be saved.' 41:49 When therefore Paul and Barnabas 41:51 had no small dissension and disputation with them, 41:57 they determined that Paul and Barnabas, 42:01 and certain others of them, 42:02 should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders 42:07 about this question.'" 42:10 Okay. Thank you. 42:12 All right, so Paul and Barnabas 42:14 didn't take kindly 42:16 to the agenda of this particular group 42:18 that had arrived in the city of Antioch and so on. 42:23 And they could have handled this 42:24 in a number of different ways, 42:25 but they handled it in the proper way, didn't they? 42:28 They handled it in the healthy way. 42:30 And that is, they said, "Okay, well, 42:32 let's just not try to solve this locally, 42:33 let's go down to... 42:35 Let's send a representative group down 42:37 to the leadership of the church." 42:40 And we could kind of say that Jerusalem was the GC, 42:43 you know, the headquarters of the church during this era. 42:48 And we'll bring it 42:50 before the brethren and the leadership, 42:51 and we'll decide together 42:53 and we'll bring back the answer back to you. 42:56 And so that's what they did. 42:57 They started to make a journey on the way down, 42:59 they meet some pit stops on the way down, 43:01 reporting and such, and then they were received 43:03 in verses 3 and 4. 43:05 We pick it up in verse 5. 43:08 And I'm just going to go ahead and read verse 5-12 43:11 as we look at that, it says, 43:12 "But some of the sect of the Pharisees 43:14 who believed rose up, saying, 43:16 'It is necessary to circumcise them, 43:18 and to command them to keep the law of Moses.'" 43:21 And so, some of these likely represented local Pharisee 43:28 and Jewish believers that lived in Jerusalem. 43:30 Some of them may have been also representative 43:32 from the contingency that had gone up to Antioch 43:36 and now had come back down with Paul and Barnabas. 43:40 And they are agreeing, and they are saying, 43:42 "I think it is necessary to circumcise them, 43:44 and to command them to keep the Law of Moses." 43:47 "Now, the apostles and elders 43:49 came together to consider this matter. 43:51 And when there had been much dispute, 43:52 Peter rose up and said to them: 'Men and brethren, 43:54 you know that a good while ago God chose among us, 43:58 that by my mouth the gentile 43:59 should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 44:02 And so, God, who knows the heart, 44:04 acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, 44:07 just as He did to us, 44:09 and made no distinction between them and us, 44:11 purifying their hearts by faith. 44:13 Now therefore, why do you test God 44:14 by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples 44:16 which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" 44:20 Now before we go on, I just want to point out 44:22 a little bit there in verse 10, 44:23 you know, that kind of show, reveals again 44:25 that for Peter and the apostles, 44:27 you know, the Law of Moses 44:29 was something that was godly, God ordained. 44:33 But it felt like a yoke 44:34 because the traditions of the fathers, 44:37 the Jewish fathers had been added to that so extensively, 44:41 and it skewed so much in a lot of different ways 44:43 that it felt like a yoke. 44:45 And so that's why you have 44:46 that more negative connotation there. 44:49 In verse 11, it says, "But we believe 44:50 that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 44:52 we shall be saved in the same manner as they.' 44:57 And then all the multitude kept silent." 45:00 There's that, just like verse 11, 45:02 I mean, chapter 11, remember? 45:03 Chapter 11, there's that dramatic pause, 45:06 that silence. 45:08 "Then all the multitude kept silent 45:10 and then they listened to Barnabas and Paul 45:12 declaring how many miracles and wonders 45:14 God had worked through them among the gentiles" 45:16 So here we have Peter for the third time 45:18 giving us the interpretation 45:21 and the reason for the vision that he received in Acts 10 45:25 with the animals, of the unclean animals 45:26 and creatures that were found there. 45:28 And that is that God was teaching them 45:30 and bringing them up to speed 45:32 that indeed the gospel was intended for gentiles, 45:34 uncircumcised gentiles as well. 45:39 And so it's very important for us 45:40 to understand this truth. 45:45 Well, James then goes on and makes an appeal 45:47 to accept Peter's testimony, 45:48 and then verifies it with scripture, 45:50 as he quotes from the scripture and so on. 45:53 And then he proceeds to make a motion. 45:56 And we could find that motion in the same chapter, 45:59 verses 19-20. 46:02 And so we'll just ask a volunteer to go ahead 46:04 and read that for us. 46:06 Thank you, John. 46:07 Acts 15:19-20. 46:10 "Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those 46:14 from among the gentiles who are turning to God, 46:17 but that we write to them to abstain from things 46:19 polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, 46:22 from things strangled, and from blood." 46:25 Okay. Thank you. 46:26 So there is his motion. 46:29 And when we come to verse 22, it says the conclusion. 46:34 It says, "Then it pleased the apostles and elders, 46:36 with the whole church, 46:37 to send chosen men of their own company 46:39 to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, 46:40 namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, 46:45 leading men among the brethren." 46:47 And so they chose these different representative, 46:49 both the ones that came from Antioch 46:50 as well as local Jerusalem representatives 46:53 to be able to take the letter, put it in print, 46:55 officially bring it up to Antioch, 46:57 and to be able to have that 46:58 as their new official stand as a church. 47:03 And so the majority had, were in agreement, 47:07 they formally put it into print. 47:10 And also, it's interesting in Acts 16:4, 47:12 we find that Paul then took that letter 47:14 and he used that to bring it to the other churches 47:16 he applied to throughout the Roman world as well. 47:18 And so it didn't just stay in Antioch, 47:20 it was used extensively after that 47:22 by the missionary work. 47:25 By the way, does this all sound like organized religion? 47:30 It does, doesn't it? 47:32 Okay, the other reason I'm bringing this up 47:33 is because sometimes we have mistakenly come to a conclusion 47:38 that when we come to Christ 47:39 that Christ at least gives us the option 47:42 to be able to kind of be a lone ranger, 47:44 kind of a Christian. 47:47 And, you know, that God has called us 47:48 to kind of be isolated lone rangers, 47:51 and we just kind of do our own thing, 47:52 we worship God by ourselves, 47:54 we serve God by ourselves, and so on. 47:57 And some people have a real hang up 47:58 about organized religion. 48:01 And I want to make an appeal 48:04 to those of you who perhaps struggle 48:07 and maybe have been stung by organized religion, 48:09 and you see, have some different issues 48:11 or hang ups about organized religion. 48:13 And yet when we read the Bible, 48:15 we find here that organized religion 48:16 is very, very biblical. 48:18 It's God ordained, it's God's idea, 48:23 it's His plan for all Christians 48:24 to come together as a body. 48:26 And that's why Paul paints it as a head. 48:28 Jesus is the head, and then we have the body. 48:30 And the body is the makeup of all the believers, 48:34 and they come together every Sabbath and to worship. 48:37 They serve together, they encourage each other. 48:40 And so God is into organized religion. 48:44 And the Bible makes that abundantly clear, 48:46 especially in this chapter. 48:49 And so there's protocol, there's hierarchy, 48:53 there's leadership that is in placement 48:55 as God has ordained and appointed different people 48:57 in their different gift appointed positions and so on. 49:01 And all of that when it's done it with the Holy Spirit 49:03 with sincere believers, all works to the glory of God, 49:07 and benefits the world, 49:08 and brings the light of the gospel to the world 49:10 in a very powerful way. 49:12 And, so I want to recommend that none of us, 49:15 if we're bashers of organized religion that, 49:18 yes, sometimes organized religion 49:20 can be very negative. 49:22 But find the right organized religion. 49:25 And when you do that, 49:27 you know, like Granite Bay Church, 49:29 and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 49:31 you know, I thank God for the organized church, 49:35 and the blessings that He gives to me 49:37 and to all who are involved with it. 49:39 While I wish I had more time to continue to study 49:41 because this is just a powerful chapter, 49:43 and there's much more that we can draw out of this. 49:45 But our time is up here today, 49:47 and I do want to remind you that 49:48 if you would like to study further on Spiritual Israel, 49:51 we refer to that during our study here today 49:53 as we made our way 49:55 as Christ brought us as believers 49:57 from the old covenant to the new covenant. 50:00 There is a Spiritual Israel that continues to exist, 50:04 and we have a free gift 50:05 that we can offer you 50:06 that you can bring home with you, 50:08 and/or have sent to your home. 50:10 And so just a call 1866-788-3966. 50:14 That's 1866-788-3966 50:18 and ask for free offer number 174, 50:21 Spiritual Israel. 50:23 God bless you, love you all, 50:24 we'll see you next Sabbath. 50:27 Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible Study? 50:30 You don't have to wait until next week to enjoy 50:32 more truth-filled programming. 50:34 Visit the Amazing Facts Media Library 50:36 at AFTV.org. 50:39 At AFTV.org, 50:41 you can enjoy video and audio presentations 50:44 as well as printed material all free of charge, 50:47 24 hours a day, 50:49 7 days a week right from your computer 50:51 or mobile device. 50:52 Visit AFTV.org. 51:08 Hello, friends. 51:09 We're here in the Philippines overlooking 51:11 the Taal Volcano and Lake, 51:13 which is one of the most interesting pieces of geography 51:16 in the whole world. 51:17 For one thing, 51:18 this great caldera was once the biggest volcano 51:22 in the world. 51:23 And now it holds a lake, 51:24 that holds another volcano, 51:26 that has another little lake in it, 51:28 that has another little island in it. 51:31 This volcano has erupted six times 51:33 in a major way since the 1500s. 51:37 And even in 1911, 51:38 there was an eruption where over 1300 people died, 51:42 killed by the smoke and the ash that covered the community. 51:45 There were tsunamis that came from the lake 51:47 and destroyed the villages 51:49 that surrounded the borders of the lake. 51:51 In fact, this is one of the most carefully 51:53 monitored seismic places in the Philippines. 51:56 This volcano is being watched all the time. 51:59 And they've noticed, as of 2006, 52:01 that it appears 52:02 that the water temperatures are going up. 52:04 There's an increased seismic activity. 52:07 In other words, 52:08 they know that this volcano 52:10 is a ticking time bomb prepared to blow. 52:13 And it's very interesting 52:14 because this place is a place of great seismic activity, 52:17 but in spite of the fact, the volcanologists know 52:20 this is going to blow again someday, 52:22 it is a popular tourist destination. 52:24 They're fighting for the real estate, 52:25 they're building like mad 52:27 and sit on the edge of disaster. 52:29 It makes us think about how God has given us 52:32 so many warnings in His Word that the world is going to end, 52:35 that Jesus is going to come, 52:37 that the heavens will dissolve 52:38 with a great noise 52:39 and the elements will melt 52:40 with fervent heat. 52:41 Seeing then that all these things 52:43 will be dissolved, 52:44 what kind of people should we be 52:46 in our holy conversation and godliness? 52:49 Friends, are you becoming distracted 52:51 with the tranquil views of the world, 52:53 or are you preparing for the next world? 52:56 Are you getting ready for the Big Bang? 53:07 Amazing Facts Changed Lives. 53:16 Well, it was the year 2000. 53:18 Tony and I had been wanting to go North 53:20 and be near Canada, where his family was, 53:22 and Washington was looking out for green and pretty. 53:25 We did venture North, 53:27 and everything fell in the place. 53:28 Even we've got to build a home, 53:29 and became home owners for the first time. 53:32 When we got to Washington, 53:34 we fluttered church to church. 53:37 We've gotten hurts, and things were said, 53:39 some things were done to my son. 53:41 It was really painful. 53:43 And then I started traveling, 53:45 and it drove a wedge between Candace and I. 53:49 I was drinking so much on the road 53:52 that when I got home, 53:53 I would be just yelling at the top 53:55 of my lungs at my kids 53:57 because they didn't do something, 53:59 but yet I was hiding behind this corroded life 54:03 of pure selfishness. 54:05 It was killing my marriage, 54:06 it was killing my kids from the inside. 54:09 I remember just being... 54:10 There being a lot of, like, fights 54:12 and my dad getting angry. 54:16 The more that my dad would leave, 54:19 the harder it became. 54:21 Coming home was harder than coming on the road. 54:24 I can't wait to go back on the road again. 54:26 Oh, my word, I get to do what I want, when I want, 54:27 wherever I want. 54:29 I just relied on her to be 54:30 the spiritual side of the family. 54:32 You pray for them, you take them for church, 54:34 you teach them Jesus, you do that because I'm not, 54:39 I don't want to. 54:41 I was a terrified person trying 54:43 to find a balance to make him happy, 54:46 not get angry with me or even with the children. 54:48 For some strange reason, 54:50 I don't know how to explain it, 54:51 this amazing idea drops in my heart. 54:55 I really need to find a church on Saturday 54:56 because then Saturday, 54:57 I can really just like have time 54:58 with God, 54:59 and then Sunday could be 55:00 all about getting ready for Monday. 55:03 Couple of weeks later, 55:04 this postcard comes in the mailbox. 55:07 It just said Most Amazing Prophecies. 55:10 And I looked at the postcard, 55:11 and it had MostAmazingProhecies.com. 55:14 I watched one after another, after another. 55:16 When I got to number seven, 55:17 it was about the Sabbath. 55:19 I just got on my knees 55:20 and completely rededicated my heart to Jesus. 55:22 And from pretty much the middle of December 55:24 to the end of January, I spent Sabbath at home. 55:28 I would turn on saccentral.org. 55:31 I don't know how I came across it, 55:32 and I would listen to that and get out my Bible, 55:34 and I was like, "This is my church." 55:36 One of the commercials at the end of Amazing Facts 55:39 or whatever will say, SabbathTruth.com. 55:42 I think, "You know, I want to check out 55:44 SabbathTruth.com." 55:45 So I clicked on there, 55:46 and then off to the right hand side, 55:48 there was a spot that said, 55:49 "How can I find a Sabbath keeping church?" 55:52 So I clicked on it, Hey, there's Mount Vernon. 55:55 Mount Vernon's only about 20 miles south of me, 55:58 I could go there. 56:00 So I go inside, and I'm sitting there, 56:02 and then a gentleman comes up, he's like, 56:03 "Hi, what's your name?" 56:05 And his wife, and his kids, 56:06 "How did you find us?" 56:07 I told them my story. 56:09 And he goes, "Would you like to get baptized?" 56:12 Just about a week and so later, on the 9th, 56:14 I was baptized. 56:16 In here, I'm on the road, I'm on traveling, 56:18 and I'm drinking and doing the business. 56:21 I'm earning money, and it's coming home, 56:23 and it's keeping my wife at home 56:24 with the kids, 56:25 but our relationship was extremely strange 56:27 'cause of the things 56:28 I was being involved in on the road. 56:31 This is May now, 56:34 and I'm on a airplane flying home. 56:37 I've been watching my wife, I've watched my son, 56:40 my eight year old daughter at this time 56:42 was already been baptized. 56:43 All four of them 56:44 are in this radical relationship 56:46 with these people at this church. 56:48 And the one thing that bugged me the most 56:50 was this Sabbath day, like 56:52 "There has to be something missing here." 56:54 And so I had this list of scriptures. 56:56 I had two Bibles with me I traveled with, 56:59 and I started to read, and then it hits me. 57:02 My eyes just opening up to discover 57:06 that I had never 57:07 ever, ever honored God on His day. 57:10 Oh, we went to church. 57:12 We were children's and family pastors. 57:15 And here, I'm in this airplane, 57:17 and God's Word is speaking to me. 57:20 I came home and got on my knees, 57:22 and asked my wife to forgive me. 57:24 And that day, my life was radically changed this, 57:29 the kids saw. 57:30 My parents are two completely different people 57:32 than they were 10 years ago. 57:34 When we all came together as one family, 57:36 as one unit, nothing was going 57:38 to separate our family anymore. 57:39 We're more closer than before. 57:41 What Amazing Facts has done to my family... 57:45 Oh, my word, the fact 57:47 that we are talking like this right now is a miracle. 57:50 Is a miracle. 57:51 My girls to hug me, my son to hold me. 57:56 I am such a blessed man. |
Revised 2018-08-21