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00:35 Good morning, friends.
00:36 Welcome again to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:38 here at the Granite Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Church 00:40 in Sacramento, California. 00:42 A very warm welcome 00:43 to our online members and those who are joining us 00:45 across the country and around the world 00:47 and the various television networks, 00:49 we're delighted that you're here with us 00:51 to study our lesson together. 00:53 Also, the members and the visitors 00:55 as usual here at the Granite Bay church, 00:56 always a warm welcome to you. 00:58 Good to see you here this morning. 01:00 We've been sending through the book of Acts, 01:02 that's been out theme for the entire quarter. 01:04 Today, we find ourselves on lesson number nine, 01:07 which is entitled The Second Missionary Journey. 01:10 So we'll deal with that in more detail this morning. 01:13 But before we get to our lesson, 01:15 we'd like to let our friends know of a free offer, 01:18 it is a sermon DVD by Pastor Doug 01:21 entitled Spurning a Great Invitation. 01:24 And this is our free offer for today. 01:26 If you'd like to receive this DVD, 01:28 you'd want to give us a call on our resource phone line, 01:31 that's 866-788-3966, 01:35 and you can ask for offer number 854. 01:38 We'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. 01:41 You can also receive this sermon DVD 01:43 in a digital format simply by texting the code 01:47 "SH103" to the number 40544. 01:54 You'll then receive an email link 01:55 where you can download this sermon DVD, 01:58 and I think it will be a great blessing to you. 02:01 Well, before we get to our lesson study, 02:03 we always like to begin 02:04 with lifting our voices in song. 02:06 I'd like to invite our song leaders 02:08 to come forward. 04:34 At this time, Pastor Ross will have our opening prayer. 04:39 Dear Father in heaven, once again, we are so grateful 04:41 for the opportunity to gather to get in your house, 04:44 open up Your Word and study. 04:46 Lord, this is an important subject 04:47 and the great commission 04:48 has been given to us individually 04:50 to take the gospel to those nearest to us 04:53 and then to some of us 04:54 to take the gospel around the world 04:56 and pray that we might be inspired 04:58 and instructed as we look at Paul's example 05:01 that we find in the book of Acts. 05:02 Bless our time together 05:04 for we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 05:07 This morning, our lesson will be brought to us 05:09 by Pastor Dough Bachelor. 05:11 Good morning, friends. 05:13 I want to welcome any who are visiting 05:15 could be just my imagination, 05:17 it seems like we have a lot of visitors 05:19 from around different parts of California in the country, 05:22 we're glad you're here worshipping with us 05:24 at the Granite Bay Church studying the Word with us. 05:26 I want to welcome our extended Sabbath school class 05:30 that's watching on television, 05:31 and we've got a great lesson today from the book of Acts. 05:34 Our focus is going to be today 05:36 to read Acts 16 and 17 and 18 05:42 through about verse 11. 05:44 A lot of adventures happened in here. 05:46 We're dealing with Paul's Second Missionary Journey. 05:50 And there's three principle ones that it talks about, 05:53 we're talking of the second journey today. 05:55 And we have a memory verse. 05:56 The memory verse is from Acts 18:9 and 10. 06:01 I always feel more secure if you say it with me, 06:04 that's Acts 18:9 and 10. 06:07 I'm reading it from the New King James here. 06:08 Do you have it? 06:11 "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 06:15 'Do not be afraid, 06:17 but speak and do not keep silent, 06:20 for I am with you, 06:21 and no one will attack you to hurt you, 06:23 for I have many people in this city.'" 06:26 And He makes that promise in Acts 18 06:30 because in Acts 16 he is attacked. 06:33 And so God was trying to encourage Paul, 06:35 "Don't be bashful about preaching," 06:37 He says, "I'm with you, 06:38 I've got a lot of people in the city." 06:40 They did attack Sosthenes, his friend, 06:42 but didn't attack Paul. 06:43 God protected him. 06:44 Anyway we're going to learn a lot about this. 06:48 And why don't you go with me in your Bibles 06:50 to the book of Acts 16, 06:52 we'll be doing well if we can get through it all. 06:54 Acts 16, I'm going to start right with verse 1. 07:00 And it says, "And then he came to Derby and Lystra, 07:03 and, behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, 07:06 the son of a certain Jewish woman, 07:08 who believed, but his father was a Greek, 07:11 and he was well spoken of by the brethren 07:13 who were at Lystra and Iconium." 07:16 Now it doesn't say much about how Paul got to Jerusalem 07:22 or how he got from Jerusalem back up to Lystra, 07:25 you can read at the end of chapter 15. 07:27 It says, "Paul chose Silas and departed 07:29 being commended by their brethren..." 07:31 I mean, the Acts 15:14, 07:34 "Being commanded by the brethren and departed. 07:38 And he went through Syria and Sicilia 07:41 strengthening the churches." 07:43 So it doesn't go into everything he said 07:46 in every church that he visited along the way, 07:48 but it's kind of taking up the narrative now 07:51 with a new experiences in new churches. 07:53 So as he went from church to church 07:55 going from Jerusalem back through Antioch 07:57 he makes his way up to the Lystra 07:59 and he's been strengthening 08:01 the churches that he had established, 08:03 you read in other places that he went, 08:04 he's appointing elders. 08:06 And if they needed a change in leadership 08:08 or more leadership, he would help there. 08:10 But he was in a hurry to get on and do more what? 08:14 Paul is an Itinerant evangelist, he's a missionary, 08:17 he wants to get on and do more mission work. 08:20 Now with a little bit of sadness 08:23 in the Bachelor family this week, 08:26 now all the kids left than this 08:28 little more than a year ago, 08:30 Nathan came home for the summer 08:32 and he's taking a year off of college 08:33 and he's going to do "mission" work. 08:36 And he's going to be part of the church mission program 08:39 and we had took him to the airport, 08:40 actually Karen took him to the airport 08:41 yesterday morning, 08:43 and he's flying to the Marshall Islands 08:45 in the South Pacific place called Majuro, 08:49 we're going to pray for him. 08:51 In Bible times, 08:52 they did not take jets to islands 08:54 when they went to do mission work. 08:57 They took very slow boats. 09:00 And the cabins were not very comfortable. 09:05 And the accommodations were very primitive. 09:08 And sometimes 50% of the missionaries 09:10 would die of scurvy or disease or shipwreck 09:14 before they ever got to their mission fields. 09:16 So going to do mission work in Paul's day 09:19 took a great deal of courage. 09:21 Let me just read you just so you get your mind 09:24 kind of wrapped around what's involved in it. 09:26 Paul's account, now Paul is writing to the Corinthians 09:29 and he's actually arguing a different point, 09:32 but listen to how he describes what he had been through, 09:36 and in some of his missionary journeys 09:38 and then not over yet. 09:39 Go to 2 Corinthians 11:23. 09:42 I think Debbie referred to this in her comments. 09:45 2 Corinthians 11:23. 09:48 "Are they ministers of Christ? 09:50 I speak as a fool," you see, I'm getting ready to brag. 09:53 I'm talking like a fool. 09:54 "I am more, in labors more abundant, 09:58 in stripes above measure." 09:59 I've been whipped so many times, 10:01 can't even count, "In prisons, more frequently." 10:04 It's like can you see all the missionaries 10:06 in Christ's time getting together 10:07 and say, "Oh, what you guys have been doing?" 10:09 "Oh, well, I've been in six prisons." 10:10 "Six? I've been in eight prisons." 10:12 I mean, this is the kind of thing 10:13 that says I was in prisons, not prison, 10:16 prisons more frequently. 10:19 "I've been arrested so many times in deaths," 10:21 not death, "deaths often from the Jews 5 times, 10:27 40 stripes minus 1," 10:28 he doesn't even talk about the gentiles. 10:31 "Three times I was beaten with rods. 10:33 Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked." 10:38 So there you have it again, 10:39 going as you travel on these missionary trips. 10:41 Every time you got on a boat, it was dangerous. 10:45 Yeah, of course, how did Jonah's journey end? 10:49 You remember reading about where was a King Jehoshaphat 10:52 went to build ships with the king of Israel, 10:54 and they were all shipwrecked, the whole venture was lost. 10:58 And so it was a risky business. 11:00 "Shipwrecked three times, a night and a day, 11:04 I have been in the deep," he floated around in the ocean. 11:07 "In journeys often in perils of water, 11:11 in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, 11:14 in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, 11:18 in perils in the wilderness." 11:20 You could say he had a city and a country ministry. 11:22 "In perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, 11:26 in weariness and toil, 11:28 in sleeplessness often in hunger and thirst, 11:31 in fasting often, in cold and nakedness. 11:34 Besides all of these things what comes upon me daily, 11:37 my deep concern for all the churches." 11:40 So Paul comes from missionary journey number one, 11:43 he gets to Jerusalem, he checks into a hotel, 11:45 and he gets a hot shower and a nice meal. 11:48 And someone says, "Are you ready 11:49 for missionary journey number two?" 11:52 How many of you were signed up for number two? 11:55 Let alone three? You couldn't stop him. 11:59 He said, 12:00 "You know, I feel constrained to preach Christ." 12:05 It was his hunger to do this. 12:08 And so when you think 12:10 about going on one of these mission trips, 12:12 he was in such a hurry to get on to new places. 12:15 And then you look 12:16 at how they picked the different places, 12:18 you'll see as we read on, he did not have invitations, 12:24 he did not have, you know, now you can book a room ahead, 12:28 and, you know, you've got a place to stay 12:29 when you get there. 12:30 Of course, that's not always true, 12:32 Karen booked a room this week, and she got to San Francisco, 12:34 and they said, "Ah, didn't go through, 12:35 there's no room at the end." 12:39 And so but, you know, he would go to a town, 12:42 and they would just be praying, 12:44 "Lord, open an opportunity for me to preach here." 12:47 Didn't know where they were going to preach. 12:49 And so that took great faith back then. 12:53 And so with that introduction, 12:57 "Then they came to Derby and Lystra, 12:59 and behold a certain disciple was there named Timothy," 13:02 you know, he comes up a lot in the Bible, 13:04 this is where he's first introduced, 13:06 "The son of a Jewish woman who believed, 13:08 but his father was a Greek." 13:11 Now does a Bible say something is wrong 13:14 with believers marrying unbelievers? 13:18 Answer me, please. 13:20 I just commented, no, it's not very popular 13:22 because it does happen, 13:23 but the Bible says 13:24 you should not be unequally yoked together, 13:26 Paul said that, but did it happen? 13:29 And as the Jews were scattered among the Gentiles, 13:32 it was a little more common. 13:34 So here you have an example of a woman, 13:35 but she must have been a devoted woman 13:38 because she and her mother 13:39 spent a lot of time teaching Timothy. 13:42 Matter of fact, I'm going to have someone 13:43 read a verse for me. 13:44 Will you do that in just a moment, Katrina? 13:45 You're going to have 2 Timothy. 13:47 Let me read a couple of verses first, 13:51 and then in the 2 Timothy 1:5, "When I call to remembrance..." 13:56 Paul is writing to Timothy of course. 13:58 "When I call to remembrance 13:59 the genuine faith that is in you, 14:02 which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois 14:05 and in your mother Eunice, I am persuaded is in you also." 14:10 This is unusual because so often in the Bible 14:12 it doesn't even name the mother let alone the grandmother, 14:16 but these must have been two women that had great faith. 14:18 You know what else that tells me, 14:19 not only was Timothy a believer in Jesus 14:22 but his Jewish mother and his Jewish grandmother, 14:25 they must have also been part of the churches 14:27 'cause they're mentioned by name. 14:28 What else? Go ahead, read that for us in 2 Timothy 3:15. 14:32 "And that from childhood, 14:34 you have known the Holy Scriptures, 14:35 which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith 14:39 which is in Christ Jesus." 14:41 So Timothy even as a very young man, 14:45 he was committed to the Word, he knew the Word, 14:48 he had been taught it. 14:50 And it tells us... 14:55 He must've been very young men 14:57 'cause even later about 10 years after this, 15:00 Paul says don't let anyone despise your youth. 15:03 And he's already been working with Paul for 10 years. 15:06 But then again, you know, I notice now 15:08 I'm calling 40-year olds young men as you get older, 15:12 everything's just a matter of perspective 15:14 as you're looking forward or looking back. 15:16 How important is it to teach people 15:18 when they're young the Word of God? 15:22 What's one of the great commandments? 15:24 How many of you know what the Shimei is? 15:26 That's that declaration 15:27 that you find there in Deuteronomy 6, 15:30 "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. 15:32 Thou shall love the Lord with all your heart, 15:33 mind, soul, and strength." 15:35 And then Jesus adds 15:36 you should love your neighbors as yourself 15:37 quoting Leviticus 19:18. 15:41 But read on a little further, 15:43 and it tells us how you show your love for God. 15:46 And you read Deuteronomy 6:6 and 7, 15:48 "These words that I command you today..." 15:51 He had just repeated the Ten Commandments 15:53 in Deuteronomy 5. 15:54 "These words that I command you today 15:56 shall be in your heart," how do you get them there? 15:59 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, 16:02 you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, 16:05 when you walk by the way, when you lay down, 16:08 and when you rise up." 16:10 I was thinking about this this week, 16:12 and so Nathan was packing for his trip. 16:14 And I said, "Nathan, third commandment, tell me." 16:18 And he stopped and thinking about it 16:19 and then he quoted to you. 16:21 But that's kind of what it involves 16:24 in being a Christian parent is to just drill it in. 16:29 It says it's to be there 16:30 when you rise up in the morning worship, 16:31 when you lie down, evening worship, 16:33 when you walk by the way, 16:34 just surround them with the Word of God. 16:38 You know, you can have scriptures up on the wall, 16:39 but pretty soon they don't notice that, 16:41 you need to talk to them. 16:42 Be teaching them... Teaching them how? 16:45 Diligently. 16:47 You know what diligently means? 16:49 It means to the point of perspiration, 16:52 aerobic teaching. 16:54 In other words, it's got to be deliberate, 16:56 teaching them the Word of God, putting in them, 16:57 helping them to memorize scripture. 17:00 You know, you'd be surprised, but we don't challenge I think 17:05 a lot of the young people to remember the Word today 17:08 the way they used to. 17:09 Now my father, who kind of became an agnostic 17:12 later in life after World War II, 17:14 but he was raised a Baptist. 17:17 And years later, he gave me the New Testament 17:19 that the issue of the servicemen. 17:21 You know, when you're a serviceman, 17:22 they used to give you a New Testament with Psalms, 17:25 maybe Psalms and Proverbs, 17:27 and they give that to all the service men. 17:29 And I think the Jewish service men, 17:32 they might give them a Jewish prayer book. 17:35 And then he gave me his book that he had 17:37 in Baptist Sunday School in Oklahoma, 17:40 and he got an award for memorizing the Beatitudes. 17:45 I thought he never would have thought 17:47 that my dad had gotten an award for memorizing the Beatitudes. 17:53 How many of you could recite the Beatitudes right now? 17:57 How many could recite the Ten Commandments 18:00 without making a mistake? 18:03 Oh, God, I could see a couple hands. 18:05 One of them was a pastor's daughter, 18:07 Sherry. 18:09 I think I could do it. But I'm a pastor you're saying. 18:11 But shouldn't we be able to do that? 18:14 I think Jesus probably had that. 18:16 And it wasn't by any supernatural ability, 18:18 it's because His mother taught Him. 18:19 I think Jesus had the book of Deuteronomy memorized. 18:24 We had a young man that came to our Church 18:26 in Sacramento, 18:28 and the father said, 18:29 "He's memorized the whole book of Revelation." 18:32 So we had him stand up and do a demonstration, 18:34 a whole book of Revelation. 18:35 He says he's working on Daniel now. 18:38 My next door neighbor, 18:40 before we moved to where we're at now, 18:42 had the entire New Testament memorized. 18:47 And so don't tell me you can't do it. 18:51 Now if you spend all your time 18:53 surfing Facebook and watching TV, 18:55 you're probably going to have a hard time doing it. 18:58 They didn't have that to contend with 100 years ago. 19:02 But there's so many areas, so much other dribble 19:04 we fill our brains with today, 19:06 when we ought to be storing the Word of God. 19:07 Timothy had a great command for the Word 19:10 even as a young man, 19:11 he was made an elder in the church 19:13 because of his commitment to God 19:16 in the command of the Word of God he had. 19:17 All right, I haven't gotten very far. 19:20 Keep going. Go to verse... 19:23 Let me see here. Go to verse 4. 19:26 "And as I went through the cities..." 19:27 Well, wait a second here, 19:28 I want to go back up a little bit. 19:29 And Paul wanting to have him go with him, 19:31 he's wanting him to now join hands Silas 19:33 on this missionary trip, 19:34 he took him and circumcised him 19:36 because of the Jews who were in that region 19:38 for they all knew that he was a Greek. 19:40 Now this is a very important point 19:42 because you read in chapter15... 19:45 We're in Acts 16 now, in 15, 19:49 they said circumcision was or was not required? 19:53 Not required. 19:54 And later, Paul says circumcision is nothing, 19:56 uncircumcision is nothing. 19:58 And then he tells the Galatians how have you fallen from grace 20:01 and that you're requiring circumcision. 20:02 After all that, Paul says about that, "What's with this?" 20:06 He circumcised everything. 20:08 It says because of the Jews that were there. 20:10 That means look, 20:11 if it's going to be a stumbling block 20:13 and Timothy said, "Look I'm willing, 20:14 my mother's Jewish, 20:16 if it will help me minister to the Jews, 20:18 let's get it over with." 20:20 So he says, you know, become all things to all people 20:22 that you might read some for Christ. 20:24 I'll tell you quick story, I may have told you already. 20:27 Pastor Doug nearly divided the church one time 20:30 over the subject of ties, not tithes, 20:35 ties like I'm wearing 20:38 because I don't believe in artificial ornamentation. 20:43 I don't wear jewelry. 20:44 And I think that your clothing ought to be practical. 20:48 And when I first learned these things, 20:49 I was very idealistic and I said, 20:51 "Please explain to me, you say don't wear jewelry, 20:53 why you wearing a tie?" 20:56 You can't give me a good reason. 20:59 As it just chokes you to death, 21:01 they don't get washed very often, 21:03 they probably carry all kinds of pathogens, 21:06 and you could start a pandemic with your tie, 21:09 and just drags in your food, 21:10 and you wear it in the next day and the next day, 21:12 and cuts off the circulation. 21:14 And what man would want to start the day 21:16 by putting a noose around his neck. 21:17 I said there's no good reason to wear a tie. 21:20 And I was very eloquent in making an argument for that 21:23 as you can tell. 21:24 And so I went around among the churches 21:27 and said, "Why do we wear tie? 21:28 You don't have to..." 21:29 Now this is all happening 21:30 in the context of the pastor in our church 21:32 that invited me to preach, I'm a layman now. 21:34 I'm just a layman in the church. 21:36 And I said, "You said you'll need to wear ties." 21:37 I said, "Why?" I was indignant. 21:40 It says here, you say no jewelry. 21:41 You say, you got to wear a tie." 21:43 He said, "Show me that verse." 21:46 And I managed to split the whole church over a tie. 21:51 I mean, it wasn't ugly, but, you know. 21:54 And then something happened, 21:55 I had also been visiting a local Assembly of God church, 22:00 and I was very involved in, 22:01 you know, visiting different churches, 22:03 and so I wanted to convert the world back then. 22:06 And I'd come out of Sunday churches not long before, 22:09 so I still was comfortable visiting there 22:11 and studying with them. 22:12 And the pastor actually said Pastor Dwayne was his name. 22:17 He said, "Look, Doug, 22:18 how'd you like to preach next Sunday?" 22:21 I thought I'd love to preach. 22:24 And then after we talked a little bit about it, 22:25 he said, "Now, you know, you'll need to wear a tie." 22:30 I was like, "Oh, man." 22:32 You know, I was going to waste my time 22:33 trying to argue with the principle of ties here 22:37 and God convicted me that look, 22:39 "If you get to hang a piece of cloth around your neck, 22:41 it's not going to hurt you in order to reach people 22:43 or if the culture feels like it's a sign of respect 22:47 and propriety, and just do it." 22:50 And you know what I'm saying, 22:52 become all things that all men that you might... 22:55 I'm not waiting for ties to go out of fashion, 22:57 it's happening slowly, 22:58 and I'll be very glad when it's complete. 23:00 But anyway, so Paul, he circumcised Timothy, 23:05 so it won't be a stumbling block 23:06 to the Jews he's visiting. 23:08 And they went through the cities... 23:09 I'm in Acts 16:4. 23:12 "And they delivered to them the decrees 23:14 which were determined by the Apostles 23:15 and elders of Jerusalem." 23:17 Remember in Acts 15, they said, 23:18 "Tell the Gentiles that we're not going to require 23:22 that they keep the ceremonial laws, 23:23 they don't have to continue with circumcision, 23:26 but they're to obey the Ten Commandments, 23:28 they are to obey the health laws." 23:29 Remember among the things they said abstain from blood. 23:32 That was in the category of the health laws. 23:34 And so they sent them communicating 23:37 what of these things they were to still observe 23:41 and to keep themselves from fornication and so forth. 23:46 And so they're sharing these things with them 23:47 and they're going through these parts of Asia Minor. 23:52 And the churches were strengthened 23:53 and they increased in number daily. 23:57 "Now when they've gone through Phrygia, 23:58 the region of the Galatia, 24:01 they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit 24:04 to preach the Word and in Asia, after they'd come to Mysia, 24:10 they'd tried to go to Bithynia, 24:12 but the Spirit did not permit them." 24:13 So it's almost like dark, 24:14 people in a room trying to find a door, 24:17 they say, "Now, Lord, where do you want us to go?" 24:18 They didn't have their itinerary all mapped out. 24:21 They're being led by the spirit 24:23 where to go from place to place in their mission work. 24:26 So little frustrated, 24:27 I don't know exactly how the Spirit prevented them, 24:29 it's just may had no peace in their heart 24:31 or when they made preparations that everything fell through, 24:34 but have you ever had those experiences 24:36 where you think you're supposed to do something, 24:38 as you attempt to do, it's like everything goes wrong, 24:40 it just doesn't feel right and you say, 24:41 "Yeah, I don't think 24:42 that's where I'm supposed to go." 24:44 And then they try something else 24:45 and it just doesn't feel right. 24:47 Now I know how that feels 24:51 because every year Amazing Facts needs to plan. 24:56 I mean, pastors in a church, 24:57 you kind of know from week to week, 24:58 you plan your preaching schedule and stuff, 25:00 and you know where you're going to be. 25:02 But Amazing Facts, we're planning overseas, 25:04 mission work, and evangelism, we have so many invitations, 25:07 we don't know which ones, 25:09 we say, "Lord, we can't go to all these invitations." 25:12 I remember I'd go to any invitation, 25:13 I'm so thankful, 25:15 I got an invitation to speak to 20 people in Texas. 25:18 I drove across the country. 25:19 Praise the Lord, there's 20 people 25:20 that will listen to me. 25:22 But, you know, as time goes by 25:24 and you get all these invitations, 25:25 you say, "I want to be economical, 25:26 Lord, where do you want us to go." 25:28 And we really pray the Holy Spirit guides us. 25:31 And so as we get these invitations, 25:33 I know I frustrate some of the people 25:35 around the world that invite us 25:37 I say, "Well, let me put it down or pray about it." 25:39 And I really pray and we look for openings. 25:42 We look for providential openings, 25:44 we look for openings where there can be synergy, 25:48 can we mix this program with some evangelism training, 25:50 where are we going to get the greatest results. 25:53 And so we're always looking for the Spirit to guide. 25:55 I remember one time, years ago, 25:59 I had a dream about going to India. 26:03 This is the truth. I dreamed I was preaching in India. 26:06 I'd never been to India. 26:08 The next day, a man asked 26:10 if he could have lunch with me during the camp meeting, 26:11 he said, "Please, please talk to me." 26:13 I said, "Okay." 26:14 I'll just have lunch with him, he's very persistent. 26:15 I went meet... 26:16 Well, he is an Indian gentleman. 26:18 He said, "We want you to come to India." 26:21 I said, "Well, this is strange." 26:23 And then more he talked about it, 26:25 the doors just all opened up 26:26 and we ended up doing 40 days of evangelism in Madras. 26:31 At the time, it was one of the biggest meetings 26:33 that had been done in India. 26:34 We just saw the providential opening. 26:36 Now I don't always have dreams. 26:37 That's one of the few times I have. 26:39 But so you look for openings. 26:41 They were doing this, I suppose 26:42 in the Holy Spirit was just shutting certain doors 26:44 and so while he's wondering what do we do, 26:49 Paul in the night has a vision. 26:52 I'm in verse 9, 26:54 "A vision appeared to Paul in the night, 26:56 a man of Macedonia stood there and pleaded with him, 27:00 saying, 'Come over to Macedonia, and help us.'" 27:04 This is the northern part of Greece 27:05 and they're in Asia Minor now or turkey area. 27:09 And after we'd seen the vision, immediately we saw 27:12 and made plans to go to Macedonia, 27:13 and now something happened here, who caught it? 27:17 Something very big just happened in the book of Acts. 27:21 Did you miss it? Did it slip by? 27:24 Let me see, read some to you again. 27:33 Go to Acts 16:8. 27:35 "So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 27:39 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night, 27:41 a man of Macedonia stood pleading with him, 27:44 saying, 'Come over to us, and help us.' 27:46 Now after he had seen the vision immediately we..." 27:51 Now the book of Acts has transitioned 27:53 from Luke writing "they" to Luke writing "we." 27:58 What does that tell you? 28:01 Suddenly, Luke is in the picture. 28:04 From here on, Luke is with Paul in all of his travels, 28:08 it just changed everything else before this point is they, 28:12 now after he has this vision 28:13 of a man in Macedonia, he says we. 28:16 Some have wondered does this mean 28:19 who is the man that he saw in Macedonia. 28:23 Was it Luke? 28:24 Well, the problem is Luke is now still travelling 28:26 with him to Macedonia. 28:28 So he hasn't gone there yet. 28:29 Luke could have been a Macedonian physician. 28:32 Luke is probably 28:33 one of the only Gentile writers of the Bible 28:37 with the exception of a small passage 28:38 written by Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 5 28:41 or sorry, is it 4? 28:45 But the rest of the Bible is written by Jews. 28:48 So it could have been Luke is this man who pled, 28:51 and then Paul saw him the next day, 28:53 and he says, "Will you please come with us?" 28:55 And he's the man I saw in the vision 28:56 and they went together to Macedonia." 28:58 And Luke is with them from there on 29:00 through the rest of the book of Acts. 29:02 Ain't that interesting? 29:03 So many people miss that, 29:04 it says, "They, they, they, they, we." 29:07 And then from now on, 29:08 it's "We went here, we went there." 29:10 So I think I made that point, we'll move on. 29:14 Go to verse 10. 29:17 And it says here, 29:18 "Now after he had seen the vision 29:20 immediately we sought to go to Macedonia 29:22 concluding the Lord had called us 29:24 to preach the gospel to them. 29:26 Therefore sailing from Troas, 29:28 we ran a straight course to Samothrace, 29:31 and the next day we came to Neapolis, 29:34 and from there to Philippi which is the foremost city 29:36 in that part of Macedonia, a colony." 29:38 When it says a colony it means it's a Roman colony, 29:41 the Romans had a cultural center there. 29:46 "And we were staying in that city for some days. 29:49 And on the Sabbath day 29:50 we went out of the city to the riverside, 29:52 where prayer was customarily made." 29:53 Now we're in the section, 29:55 the section that's dealing with Philippi 29:56 in the Sabbath school lesson. 29:59 "A place where prayer was customarily made... 30:01 Now wait a second, 30:02 why did you say on the Sabbath day? 30:03 I thought they'd given up on the Sabbath. 30:06 It's not a Sabbath in a synagogue. 30:08 It's a Sabbath by riverside. 30:10 People say, "Well, the only reason that Paul 30:13 and Silas and Barnabas, 30:14 they went to the synagogues on the Sabbath 30:16 is because that's where the Jews went." 30:18 But here it says on the Sabbath, 30:19 we went out of the city to a river. 30:23 It doesn't say on the Jewish Sabbath. 30:26 All through the book of Acts 30:28 whenever Luke talks about the Sabbath, 30:29 Luke being a Gentile, he always refers to it 30:31 as a Sabbath still recognized by Christians. 30:35 It would be very easy for him 30:37 to try to explain to Gentile readers, 30:38 this is a special Jewish holiday, but he doesn't. 30:42 He says it is though 30:43 this is something all Christians know about 30:45 'cause it's our day of rest. 30:46 He never says that on the first day, 30:49 we now begin to keep a holy day. 30:53 "So we go out of the city by the riverside 30:56 or customary place to pray. 31:00 And we sat down and we spoke to the women who met there. 31:05 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us, 31:09 and she was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira 31:12 who worshipped God." 31:14 Now it could be 31:15 that she worshipped the Jewish God, 31:16 she could have been Jewish, we don't know, 31:20 could be one reason 31:21 that they were gathered on that time. 31:23 "The Lord opened her heart 31:25 to heed the things spoken by Paul," 31:27 it says he sat down and spoke to them. 31:28 What do you think they spoke to him about? 31:30 They're talking to them about 31:31 how Jesus was the Messiah, right? 31:34 Now she's a seller of purple. 31:37 In Bible times, this Royal Purple was gathered 31:41 and they still do it today by collecting mollusks, 31:46 shellfish that grow in certain places, 31:48 and it is a very intensive process 31:51 to get them to excrete, they heat them up 31:54 and they excrete is very deep rich purple color, 31:57 it is worth more than gold. 32:00 So when it says that Lydia is a seller of purple, 32:02 she may also be a person of means. 32:05 It was common in Bible times 32:07 for people to specialize in different colors. 32:11 Rahab and her family may have had a cottage ministry 32:14 of scarlet, making dying scarlet. 32:17 And if you ever heard of cochineal red, 32:21 cochineal red, 32:22 the Native Americans would sell these beans 32:27 to the Spanish conquistadores that they would crush, 32:30 and it produced a very bright red, 32:35 and the British would buy it and pay a lot of money for it 32:38 because they use it to dye the coats of their soldiers. 32:42 And that actually came 32:43 from the deserts of the southwest. 32:46 So it made a long trip 32:47 to get the deepest, richest red. 32:52 For years, people thought 32:53 they were these tiny cedar bean, 32:54 it's actually a beetle, 32:57 they're cochineal beetles, and they would crush them, 32:59 and produce this very bright red dye. 33:01 Well, it was very time-intensive to get it. 33:04 Again, it was almost worth its weight in gold. 33:06 Lydia could have because she's a seller of purple 33:10 could have been very wealthy, she had a big home, 33:12 she takes the Apostles in, she's taking in at least Paul, 33:15 and Silas, and Timothy into her home. 33:17 They use that as their beachhead, 33:19 this is what Jesus said, "Go out two by two 33:22 in whatever home they receive you, there stay. 33:24 Don't go from house to house, 33:26 but find a home where you can get settled 33:28 and work out of that place in the home." 33:31 Lydia said, "Look, if I found the grace of the Lord..." 33:34 She opened her heart, she opened her household, 33:37 she was baptized, she begged a saint, 33:39 "If you have judged me to be faithful. 33:42 And you have come into my house, stay." 33:44 So she persuaded us. 33:46 You know to say they always urged them to come in. 33:49 "Now it happened as we went to prayer 33:51 that a certain slave girl 33:52 possessed with the spirit of divination met us 33:55 who brought her masters much profit 33:57 by fortune telling." 33:59 I drove by a place of business in Rockland, 34:04 there's several roundabouts there and Rockland 34:06 on the Pacific drive or near there 34:09 and one of them says Psychic, place looks very ominous, 34:13 it's all like dark lettering. 34:16 And there are people 34:18 I think that are in league with the enemy 34:20 that at least some of are probably charlatans, 34:23 some of them may seem to have 34:25 some kind of supernatural insights. 34:27 This girl really did have a spirit. 34:31 "And she begins to follow Paul up and down the street, 34:35 Paul and Silas, 34:36 and she's crying out after them, 34:37 she points them, 34:39 and she cries out and advertises, 34:41 'These men are the servants of the most high God 34:43 who proclaim to us the way of salvation.'" 34:47 Do you want the devil doing your advertising 34:48 doesn't it kind of give you a bad association. 34:52 Did the Devils do that to Jesus, too? 34:56 When Jesus was preaching in the synagogue, 34:57 this demon-possessed man said, "I know who you are 35:00 you're Jesus, the Son of God." 35:02 And they would call him out. 35:04 And then Jesus cast out the devils. 35:05 Well, Paul is having the same problem. 35:07 He didn't want advertising from the devil. 35:10 "And Paul greatly annoyed, he put up with it for a while 35:14 he finally turns around he says to the spirit," 35:17 not talking to the girl. 35:19 "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ 35:21 to come out of her." 35:23 Now right there is... 35:26 I don't do special seminars on how to cast out devils, 35:29 but if I ever do encounter someone 35:32 that you're convinced as demon-possessed, 35:35 don't engage them in dialogue. 35:37 I hear about these people that say 35:38 they've got special exorcism ministries 35:40 and they talk to the devils, they interview the devils. 35:42 And the Bible... 35:44 The only time it ever happened 35:46 Jesus simply asked one question, 35:47 he said, "What is your name?" 35:49 for our benefit so we would know 35:50 that bad man was possessed by a legion of devils. 35:53 But don't engage the devil, 35:54 that's how Eve got in trouble, right? 35:57 Kind of parley with the devil. 36:00 "And he said, 'Come out,' 36:02 and he came out that very hour and when her masters saw 36:07 that their hope of profit was gone 36:09 without the Spirit, she'd maybe accepted Christ 36:12 that ruined their gain, they became so upset." 36:16 Now this, you know, they've got a sex slave trade 36:20 in different countries, including North America 36:21 where there are people who we call pimps 36:24 that make money 36:26 off taking advantage of typically young ladies 36:31 and marketing them here with these people 36:34 that were spiritual pimps. 36:36 It's really what it amounts to. 36:38 It is they were using her spiritualistic skills 36:41 to make money. 36:42 And now she's been delivered from the devil 36:45 and the hope of their gain is gone. 36:48 And they get all upset. 36:50 And they seize Paul and Silas, I'm in verse 19. 36:54 "They dragged them into the marketplace 36:55 to the authorities, 36:57 and they brought them to the magistrates, and said, 36:59 'These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city.'" 37:01 Now the Jews said, 37:02 "These men, being Christians..." 37:04 The Pagans say "These men, being Jews..." 37:06 Why? 37:07 Because there is very little difference in their mind 37:08 between the belief of the Christians and the Jews, 37:13 which is why it became very difficult for Christians 37:15 when the Jews rebelled against the Romans 37:18 because the Romans saw the Jews as they saw the Christians 37:21 as just a branch of Judaism, 37:24 they are another monotheistic branch of Judaism. 37:27 They said, "These men, being Jews, 37:30 do exceedingly trouble our city, 37:33 and they teach customs 37:34 that are not lawful for us to be in Romans to receive." 37:37 This is what they accuse Jesus of 37:39 when they brought him before Pilate. 37:41 "Then they multitude without examining 37:43 or getting a fair trial... 37:44 "Then the multitude rose up together against them, 37:46 the magistrate tore off their clothes 37:49 and commanded them to be beaten with rods." 37:52 That's a painful business. 37:54 I don't know if any of you remember, 37:55 a few years ago, a young American boy 37:57 who was probably a little entitled, 38:00 he broke some law in Singapore, 38:02 I think is name of Michael Fay, 38:05 and he was arrested. 38:07 And according to the law, he was to be beaten with a rod 38:10 which is a long bamboo pole, 38:12 and they strike you three or four times 38:14 on the small of the back of the back of the legs, 38:16 I forget. 38:17 And there was big outrage in America, 38:19 he had like spray graffiti on something, 38:21 I forgot what he did. 38:23 He did commit a crime, 38:24 and the Americans and the ambassadors, 38:27 everyone said, "This is barbaric. 38:28 How dare you don't do this?" And they fought it. 38:31 And the people in Singapore said, "This is our law. 38:33 He broke our law." 38:34 And he was beaten with rods. And it just raise... 38:36 It's very painful, raises a well, 38:38 but it will heal. 38:39 But it's very painful. 38:40 And so this is what they're doing now. 38:41 They're beating them with rods. 38:44 And it's not designed to kill you. 38:45 It's designed to extract just terrible shocking pain. 38:49 And when they had laid many stripes on them, 38:51 every time you strike, it's a big red welt. 38:54 "They threw them in prison, 38:56 commanding the jailer to keep them securely 38:59 having received such a charge and said, 39:01 'I'm not taking any chances. 39:03 I heard these apostles of escape from prison before.' 39:07 He put them in the inner prison 39:09 and fastened their feet in the stocks." 39:12 Now you'd be in a lot of pain if that had been done to you, 39:15 you're sore, you're uncomfortable. 39:19 It's dark, it stinks, it's unsanitary, 39:24 you can't say, "Hello, I need to go to the bathroom," 39:27 they don't care. 39:29 I'll just leave that to your imagination. 39:30 So in these terrible, miserable conditions, 39:33 would you get discouraged? 39:35 I would. 39:36 I get discouraged if I got a dirty hotel room. 39:41 I was sure they would get discouraged, but did they? 39:43 No, they had suffered for Christ's sake. 39:45 And what does Jesus say you're supposed to do 39:47 if you suffer for Christ's sake? 39:48 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad." 39:51 And it says, "At midnight," verse 25, 39:53 "Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God 39:56 and the prisoners were listening." 39:58 You know, when you're going through trials, 40:00 the prisoners are listening to how you respond. 40:02 When you going through a hard time, 40:04 there will be other people who are imprisoned by the devil 40:06 that will watch you as a Christian to see 40:08 how are you going to react to your trials. 40:10 Will you be positive? 40:11 Are you going to mope and mourn like everyone else 40:13 and be bitter and complain? 40:15 Or are you going to glorify God and be positive? 40:18 "And as they were singing praises to God 40:20 and the prisoners were listening to him 40:22 in astonishment. 40:23 Suddenly, there was a great earthquake. 40:26 So the foundations of the prison were shaken. 40:30 And immediately..." 40:31 It doesn't say it's a universal earthquake, 40:32 it's a prison earthquake. 40:35 "And immediately, all the doors were opened. 40:37 This is a very supernatural earthquake 40:39 caused by angels that unlock all the prison doors, 40:42 and everyone's chains were loose." 40:44 Have you ever seen an earthquake 40:46 that would undo handcuffs? 40:48 Is it clear to you 40:49 this is a supernatural specific earthquake? 40:53 And I don't miss the point that if you glorify God 40:56 in your darkness and trials, 40:59 God will use it as a means to liberate others 41:05 and yourself in the process. 41:08 Paul said, "I've learned in whatever state I am 41:10 to be content and to praise God even in your trials." 41:15 Jesus sang a hymn before He went to the cross. 41:17 You wonder how could he do that? 41:18 Peter, I'm sorry, Daniel got on his knees 41:20 and gave thanks before he went to the lion's den. 41:24 It takes a lot of faith to do that. 41:28 "Everyone's chains were loose, 41:29 then the keeper of the prison awakened from his sleep, 41:31 seeing the prison doors open 41:32 supposing the prisoners had fled, 41:34 he drew his sword 41:35 and was about to kill himself," why? 41:37 'Cause Roman law was if you lose a prisoner, 41:39 it's your life or their life. 41:42 "But Paul called and said with a loud voice, 41:44 'Do not do yourself no harm for we're all here.'" 41:47 Now he's just a jailer, 41:48 he's probably the one who would whip them. 41:50 For the Bible says, "Love your enemies." 41:52 And because Paul cared about him 41:56 instead of saying, "Well, that's good, 41:57 he whipped us, "Go ahead, stab yourself, I want to watch. 42:00 You're going to get what you deserve. 42:02 We weren't even tried and you beat us. 42:04 Couldn't have been better." 42:05 He cared about the man's soul, 42:06 he said, "Don't hurt yourself, we're all here." 42:09 They could have run forth, they didn't. 42:12 "And he called in for a light..." 42:16 you know, after you've heard the apostle sing, 42:19 light comes in, 42:20 "He ran, and he fell down 42:21 trembling before Paul and Silas." 42:23 It's just interesting reversal. 42:25 A little while ago, 42:27 Paul and Silas were trembling with pain 42:31 as he was beating them, 42:32 now he is trembling before them. 42:35 "And he brought them, and he says, "Sirs, 42:37 what must I do to be saved?" 42:38 How many of you would like to have 42:39 more people ask you that question? 42:42 I went to give a Bible study 42:44 to these families and neighbors years ago. 42:46 And I remember the wife is with tears in her eyes, 42:48 she says, "What do we need to do to be saved?" 42:50 Almost right out of the Bible. 42:52 And it was so wonderful to hear somebody 42:54 just ask me straight up. 42:55 I didn't have to get into Bible, 42:56 it was the first time there, 42:57 didn't have to get in the Bible study two or three, 42:59 "What do we need to do to be saved?" 43:01 And I was able to kneel with the husband and wife, 43:02 and pray with them, and talked about how to receive Christ. 43:06 "So they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 43:09 and you will be saved, you and your household.' 43:12 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him." 43:14 So obviously, there's more in believing, 43:15 they teach them what's involved. 43:18 "He took them the same hour of the night, 43:20 washed their stripes that he had put on earlier, 43:23 and immediately he and all his family were baptized. 43:27 Now when he had brought them out into his house 43:29 he set food before him and he rejoiced 43:31 having believed in God with all his household." 43:33 He went from near suicide to rejoicing in one night 43:37 from hearing the Word. 43:39 Talk about an amazing the transformation. 43:43 "And when it was day, 43:44 the magistrates sent the officers, saying, 43:46 'Let those men go.' 43:48 So the keepers of the prison reported these words to Paul, 43:50 saying, 'The magistrates have sent to let you go. 43:53 Now therefore depart, and go in peace.'" 43:57 I just realized I took the verse 43:59 she was supposed to read. 44:00 I read it. Are you okay? 44:02 I got hypnotized by my own voice. 44:05 I got carried away. 44:09 It happened a long time ago too. 44:13 "So the magistrates come and say, 44:15 'Oh, you're free to go now.' 44:17 And the keeper of the prison reported 44:19 these words to Paul saying, 44:20 'The magistrates have sent to let you go. 44:22 Now therefore depart and go in peace,' 44:23 but Paul said to them, 44:25 'They've beaten us openly, uncondemned being Romans...'" 44:29 Now what did we just read about Philippi? 44:30 It was a Roman colony, it is ruled by Roman law, 44:32 and they were Romans in a Roman colony, 44:34 they should have been protected by the process. 44:37 They who have done this 44:40 could be prosecuted by the Romans 44:42 for beating a Roman untried. 44:45 And Paul knows this, Paul's half Roman. 44:47 He knows the law, uncondemned. 44:50 "They've thrown us and now 44:51 they're going to put us out secretly? 44:52 No indeed, let them come in cells and get us out. 44:57 And the officers told these words to the magistrates 45:00 and they were afraid 45:02 when they heard that they were Romans." 45:03 This happened twice in Paul's life. 45:06 "Then they came and pleaded with them, 45:08 and brought them out, 45:10 and they asked them to depart from the city." 45:11 Now why did Paul do that? 45:13 Did he do that just to be difficult? 45:15 Well, he did it partially because he wanted them to know 45:17 "You've just broken the law." 45:18 I think another reason he did it 45:19 is he had just established church in Philippi. 45:23 He was now going to let the magistrates know, 45:26 "I have leverage. 45:28 If I want to, I can report you to the Romans, 45:31 you do not bother this group, 45:32 you just whipped us because of our teachings. 45:34 You better not bother them or I'm going to the Romans 45:37 to say that you beat a Roman untried, 45:41 you condemn me, 45:42 I've got the welts on my back to prove it," 45:44 and I think that he bought some peace 45:47 for the Philippian baby church 45:50 through that meeting with the magistrates. 45:52 What do you think? 45:53 So I think that's part of the reason he did that. 45:56 "So they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, 45:59 and they asked them to depart from the city. 46:01 All of a sudden the magistrates are very apologetic. 46:04 So they entered the house of Lydia, 46:07 and when they had seen the brethren, 46:08 they encouraged them and they departed." 46:10 They didn't leave the same day. 46:11 So they had strengthen the church 46:12 and they went on to establish another church. 46:16 Chapter 17. 46:18 "Now when they had passed through Amphipolis 46:21 and Apollonia, 46:22 they came to Thessalonica, 46:24 where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 46:26 Then Paul, as his custom was, 46:28 he went into them, and for three Sabbaths, 46:29 he reasoned with them from the Scriptures." 46:31 First, he'd go and gathered in the synagogues, 46:34 people already had the foundation for the truth, 46:36 "Explaining and demonstrating that Christ had to suffer 46:41 and rise again from the dead saying, 46:43 'This Jesus, who I preached you, 46:45 is the Christ,' 46:47 and some of them were persuaded, 46:48 and a great multitude of the devout Jews, 46:51 and not a few of the leading women, 46:52 joined Paul and Silas." 46:54 So some of the Jews, 46:55 a great multitude of the converted Jews, believed 46:58 and some of the women, they joined. 46:59 So immediately after his preaching, 47:01 they've got believers, 47:03 they get a church established there in Thessalonica, 47:06 but some did not believe. 47:08 Go to verse 5. 47:10 "But the Jews who were not persuaded 47:12 becoming envious..." 47:14 You know, what causes a lot of splits in the church? 47:17 Envy. 47:18 You know what's caused a lot of theological splits? 47:20 One pastor is jealous 47:22 of the other pastor has more listeners. 47:25 Why did they want to kill Jesus? 47:27 Pilate said he knew it was because of envy 47:31 that they had brought Christ to him. 47:33 They were jealous that Jesus had such crowds. 47:36 It was their pride. 47:38 "But the Jews who were not persuaded, 47:40 becoming envious, 47:41 took some of the evil men from the marketplace, 47:44 and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar 47:47 and attacked the house of Jason, 47:49 and sought to bring them out to the people. 47:51 But when they did not find them, 47:52 they dragged Jason and some brethren 47:54 to the rulers of the city, crying, 47:56 'These who have turned the world upside down 47:58 have come here too.'' 48:00 So had Christians made some impact at this point? 48:03 Amen. 48:04 I mean, there must have been some truth to their accusation. 48:06 They've turned the world upside down. 48:09 Paul, and it wasn't just Paul going out, 48:11 Peters going out, 12 apostles are going out, 48:13 Barnabas and Mark are going out. 48:15 So there's different missionary groups 48:17 are fanning out from Jerusalem. 48:19 What happened to Pentecost? 48:20 Devout Jews out of every nation under heaven heard the gospel, 48:23 they went back home. 48:25 And so the teaching of Jesus 48:26 just began to permeate the Roman Empire. 48:29 Paul being one of the most outspoken, 48:31 we read about him in Acts, 48:33 but you can have Acts of the Apostles 48:35 written about Peter, 48:36 you can have an Acts of the Apostles 48:37 written about Thomas, 48:38 you can have an Acts of the Apostles 48:39 written about... 48:40 pick your favorite apostle. 48:43 They were all going out doing things. 48:45 And so it says, "They've turned the world upside down, 48:47 they've come here now. 48:50 And Jason is harbored them, 48:52 and these are all acting contrary 48:54 to the decrees of Caesar, saying there's another king," 48:56 isn't that what they accused Jesus of? 48:58 He's saying they should worship another king. 49:01 "And they troubled the crowd in the rulers of the city," 49:03 they get them all stirred up, "Where they heard these things. 49:06 So when they had taken security from them, 49:09 from Jason and the rest, they let them go." 49:12 Then... 49:13 Oh, I'm out of time. 49:15 Wow. 49:17 I didn't even get Paul to preach in Athens, 49:19 it's amazing 49:21 God providentially gives him an opportunity 49:23 to preach in the biggest arena in the Greek empire back then 49:28 but He gives him an audience and he preaches about Jehovah 49:31 using one of their altars to be unknown God. 49:33 It's a brilliant example of evangelism. 49:36 And then he eventually 49:38 after some success there in Athens, 49:40 he goes into Corinth and has great success there. 49:44 You'll read about that in Acts 18:1-11. 49:48 Of course, you've got 1 and 2 Corinthians 49:50 so you know that he established 49:51 some significant churches in Corinth. 49:53 I apologize I was hoping I could just read through it, 49:55 but I got involved 49:57 doing some sort of expository preaching. 49:59 Hope we learned something along the way. 50:01 Hey, I want to tell our friends before we sign off, 50:03 I want to remind you we do have a free offer. 50:06 And it's a message based on not missing 50:09 the great invitation of the gospel. 50:10 It's called Spurning a Great Invitation. 50:12 We'll send you a free DVD. It's actually... 50:14 I think it's DVD, yeah. 50:16 It's got the audio and the visual 50:18 ask for offer number 854 when you request this 50:21 and call the number 866-788-3966. 50:26 It translates into 866 Study More. 50:28 And if you want to get it digitally, 50:30 you can download this right now for free. 50:32 Simply go on your phone, 50:35 text "SH103" to 40544, 50:41 and you can then get a link 50:43 and you'll be able to download that audio message 50:45 and video message right now. 50:46 God bless you, friends. 50:47 We'll study His Word together again next Sabbath. 50:51 Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible Study? 50:54 You don't have to wait until next week 50:56 to enjoy more truth-filled programming. 50:59 Visit the Amazing Facts Media Library at AFTV.org. 51:04 At AFTV.org, 51:06 you can enjoy video and audio presentations 51:09 as well as printed material all free of charge, 51:12 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 51:15 right from your computer or mobile device. 51:17 Visit AFTV.org. 51:31 We're here on the beautiful coast 51:33 of the island of Puerto Rico. 51:35 And if you were to travel east about 2,000 miles, 51:38 of course you'd be out the middle of the ocean, 51:40 but you'd also be in the middle of a mystical sea 51:42 called the Sargasso Sea. 51:44 It gets its name 51:46 because of it is common brown seaweed 51:48 that can be found floating in vast mass. 51:52 The area of the Sargasso Sea is about 700 miles wide 51:56 and 2,000 miles long. 51:58 Now the seaweed itself is fascinating stuff. 52:01 It was first observed and called Gulf weed 52:03 by Christopher Columbus. 52:04 It gets the name Sargon from the Portuguese. 52:07 Some people use it as herbal remedies. 52:09 But out in the middle of the Sargasso Sea, 52:11 the water is some of the bluest in the world 52:14 'cause there you can see 200 feet deep in places. 52:18 It also has a great biodiversity an ecosystem 52:20 that surrounds the Saragossa Sea. 52:23 For years, scientists wondered 52:24 where the American and the Atlantic Eels 52:26 were breeding, 52:28 they knew the adult eel swam down the rivers 52:30 out into the Atlantic, 52:31 but they never could find a place 52:32 where they reproduce. 52:33 Finally they discovered 52:34 it was out in the middle of the Sargasso Sea. 52:37 So it's a fascinating place. 52:39 But if you are an ancient sailor, 52:41 you did not want to get stuck there. 52:45 Being caught in the doldrums 52:47 was extremely difficult for the ancient sailors. 52:50 Of course, their boats were driven by wind and sail, 52:53 and they'd be caught in the vast mats of the seaweed 52:56 that would wrap around the rudder, 52:57 barnacles would begin to grow. 52:59 It's an area that is notorious for light in baffling winds, 53:03 and so they'd make no progress, they'd get stuck. 53:06 The men would become extremely dispirited. 53:08 Sometimes violence 53:10 and even insanity would break out 53:11 as people were trapped in the doldrums. 53:14 Well, friends, perhaps sometimes 53:16 you felt that you're trapped in the doldrums. 53:18 You've gone through episodes of depression, 53:20 you feel like you're going in circles, 53:22 life seems stifling. 53:24 You know, the Bible offers good news. 53:26 There is a way out. 53:27 Bible talks about a famous character 53:29 that was trapped in a cycle of depression. 53:32 He was low as you could be. 53:34 Matter of fact, he even had seaweed 53:35 wrapped around his head. 53:36 His name was Jonah. 53:38 But God gave him a way of escape. 53:40 In Jonah 2:3-7, we read, 53:44 "For you cast me into the depths 53:46 into the heart of the seas and the flood surrounded me, 53:50 all of your billows and your waves passed over me. 53:53 Then I said, 'I have been cast out of your sight, 53:56 yet I will look again towards Your Holy temple.' 53:59 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul, 54:02 the deep closed around me. 54:04 Weeds were wrapped around my head. 54:06 I went down to the moorings of the mountains. 54:09 The earth with its bars closed behind me forever, 54:12 yet you've brought my life up from the pit, 54:15 O, Lord, my God. 54:17 When my soul fainted within me, I remember the Lord. 54:20 And my prayer went up to You into Your holy temple." 54:24 You know, friends, the way the Jonah 54:25 got out of the sturgeon circumstance, 54:28 he turned to God and he prayed. 54:30 And if God could hear Jonah's prayers, 54:31 just think about it, 54:33 he was as far away from God as anybody could be, 54:35 he was in the belly of a sea monster, 54:37 in the bottom of the ocean, in the dark, 54:39 yet he turned to God, and God heard his prayer. 54:42 You know, these ancient sailors, 54:43 when they were trapped 54:44 on the deck of a ship for weeks, 54:46 stuck in the doldrums discouraged, 54:48 sometimes they would have a prayer meeting 54:50 and pray that God would send a breeze 54:52 that would set them free, and get their boats moving. 54:55 They turned to God in prayer, 54:56 and often miracles would happen, 54:58 and the wind would flutter in the sails, 55:00 and bring them out of their seaweed prison. 55:03 Friends, maybe you have been stuck in the doldrums. 55:06 Maybe you've been caught in a cycle of depression. 55:08 If God can do it for Jonah, 55:10 if He can do it for the ancient sailors, 55:11 He can do it for you. Turn to the Lord in prayer. 55:14 Trust His spirit to blow through your soul 55:16 and to set you free. 55:25 Let's face it, it's not always easy 55:28 to understand everything you read in the Bible. 55:30 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 55:34 the Bible can generate a lot of questions. 55:36 To get biblical straightforward answers, 55:39 call into Bible Answers Live, 55:41 a live nationwide call-in radio program 55:43 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Bachelor 55:46 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 55:48 For times and stations in your area 55:50 or to listen to answers online, 55:52 visit Bal.AmazingFacts.org. 56:06 So what is the brightest light in the world? 56:08 Well, naturally, you'd say the sun, 56:10 but we're talking about 56:11 the brightest manmade light in the world. 56:13 It's the light that shines 56:15 out of the roof of that pyramid shaped hotel 56:17 in Las Vegas called the Luxor. 56:20 There in the cap of that hotel there is a room that contains 56:23 39 washing machine size Xenon bowls, 56:27 and each of those bowls requires 56:29 about 7,000 watts altogether, 56:31 they produce about 40 billion candle power of light. 56:36 Can you imagine getting that electric bill 56:38 of the Luxor Hotel every month? 56:40 That light is so bright 56:41 that planes can see it 250 miles away, 56:45 they're shooting light 10 miles up into space. 56:48 I mean if you happen to be floating by, 56:50 you could read a newspaper up there. 56:53 And as you might have guessed, 56:54 that bright light has become the world's best bug attractor, 56:58 bringing in moths, bats, and owls 57:00 creating its own ecosystem there at night above the hotel. 57:03 But the sad thing 57:05 about the brightest light in the world is, 57:06 especially when the night air is clear 57:09 without any particles, the light doesn't hit anything 57:12 and it's invisible, it shoots up into empty space. 57:16 The brightest light in the world 57:18 illuminates nothing. 57:20 You know, the Bible tells us 57:21 that there's another great wasted light, 57:24 and that's the light of God's Word. 57:26 It says in Psalm 119:105, 57:29 "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet 57:31 and a light unto my path." 57:33 And yet so many people are walking in darkness. 57:36 Furthermore, Jesus said, if you do have that light, 57:39 make sure you don't put it under a bushel, 57:40 but you let it shine 57:41 and illuminate the lives of others. 57:44 Jesus said in Matthew 5, 57:46 "Set your light up on a hill like a city 57:48 so that all might see it." 57:50 Light only benefits others 57:52 when it reflects off of something. 57:54 God wants our lights 57:56 to illuminate the lives of others. 57:58 So are you glowing for God? 58:00 Remember, Jesus said, "Let there be light." |
Revised 2018-08-30