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00:35 Just want to welcome everyone to Sabbath School Study Hour,
00:40 if you are watching us from online 00:42 or if you are around the world 00:45 and even here visiting with us here at Granite Bay 00:47 and our visitors and our local members as well, 00:51 we are so glad to have you today. 00:55 We are going to be going through the lesson, 00:58 Oneness in Christ, is the lesson or the quarterly 01:04 that we've been going through, 01:05 but the lesson itself is When Conflict Arises, 01:12 and you are available, if you don't have that, 01:14 if you home viewers and around the world, 01:17 if you don't have that, you can go to 01:21 lesson.aftv.org, 01:27 and when you go there, you can click on it 01:29 and download it for yourselves, 01:32 When Conflict Arises. 01:34 Also, we have a free offer that's available to you 01:39 and it's a DVD called "Forgiving Friendly Fire," 01:45 and to get that offer all you need to do is dial 01:49 866-788-3966 01:56 and ask for offer number 862. 02:01 We also have a digital version of that, 02:06 and all you need to do is text this code 02:10 to "SH188" 02:16 and you text it to 40544, 02:22 and it'll send you to a link 02:23 where you can download this as well. 02:26 And, so we are so glad 02:29 you are able to worship with us, 02:30 and at this time the song leaders will come out 02:33 and they will share a song to bless us with today. 05:31 Very soon, one day, 05:33 we will ever Thy glorious face to behold 05:38 when Jesus comes in the clouds of glory. 05:41 At this time, Pastor John will have our opening prayer. 05:46 Our loving, kind and heavenly Father, 05:48 as we are just here, we are asking Your blessing 05:51 as we study this lesson today is 05:57 Conflicts Arise, dear Father, we are asking Your blessings 06:00 as You guide Pastor Shawn Brummund 06:03 to share this message today. 06:04 We pray in Jesus' name. 06:07 Amen. 06:08 I want to welcome one of our pastors here, 06:12 Pastor Shawn Brummund 06:13 to share the message today for us. 06:17 So we are looking at study lesson number seven, 06:20 and lesson number seven is an interesting topic. 06:25 I have to confess... 06:27 Anybody here like conflict? 06:30 Anybody here enjoy conflict? 06:33 No. Yeah, me neither. 06:35 I'm putting my hand up just, you know, as a model, 06:37 but I am not putting my hand up 06:38 because I enjoy conflict. 06:41 You know, I've met the rare individual 06:44 and you probably have too that seem somehow, 06:46 you know, wired a little bit different, 06:48 and they seem to kind of, 06:49 they seem to thrive on conflict, 06:51 you know, they like a good fight, 06:52 they like a good argument, 06:54 or they kind of thrive on having these verbal battles. 06:58 And sometimes we can watch them 06:59 on our news networks as well, can't we? 07:03 So they kind of gravitate and make a career or maybe 07:05 and that's why we have 07:06 such a big concentration of them there. 07:08 But for the most part, 07:09 you know, I know that I speak for most of us. 07:13 Most of us don't enjoy conflict. 07:16 Has anybody experienced conflict? 07:18 Okay. 07:19 Now some are laughing, 07:20 they don't need to put their hand up, 07:21 I mean that's kind of a no-brainer. 07:23 If you've lived more than a couple of years, 07:25 you know, you would know 07:26 what conflict is about firsthand 07:28 because you've already experienced it. 07:31 And, so it's not exactly my favorite subject, 07:33 I have to confess, but nevertheless, 07:36 it's one that we shouldn't avoid 07:38 because when I ask that second question, 07:41 "How many of you have ever experienced it?" 07:42 Of course, everybody has experienced conflict 07:45 and we have experienced it more than once in this world. 07:48 Whenever you have two or more human beings 07:51 spending any significant amount of time together, 07:56 it's inevitable it seems that 07:59 we eventually experience some kind of tension, 08:02 some kind of dispute or conflict 08:03 that will take place for different reasons 08:06 at different measures. 08:09 And so the quarterly is entitled, 08:11 "Oneness in Christ," 08:12 and I trust that all of us really like that title 08:16 because that was at the heart of Christ's prayer 08:19 when He prayed before His disciples in John 17. 08:22 It's recorded just before He went to Gethsemane 08:24 and then when He was arrested and then crucified. 08:27 And Jesus said, "Lord, Father, 08:29 I pray that they may be one even as we are one." 08:32 Does God want us to be 08:33 oneness in spirit, and mind, and in unity? 08:37 He does, doesn't He? 08:38 That's one of the great goals and the fruits, 08:41 one of the outcroppings 08:43 of having the Holy Spirit in our hearts 08:45 and falling on our knees each morning and saying, 08:48 "Lord, you know, please fill me with Your Holy Spirit today. 08:51 I die daily again. I die today." 08:53 Even as the Apostle Paul says, "I die daily 08:58 that I might not get in the way of your purposes 09:02 and add to division rather than to oneness." 09:07 Our memory verse on page 56 in lesson seven again 09:10 is found in Galatians 3:27, 28. 09:16 And, so I'm just gonna go ahead and read that 09:17 and you can read in your Bibles 09:18 or your quarterlies if you wish. 09:20 It says, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ 09:23 have put on Christ. 09:25 There is neither Jew nor Greek, 09:26 there is neither slave nor free, 09:28 there is neither male nor female, 09:30 for you are all one in Christ Jesus." 09:35 And so if there's any verse 09:37 that we could pick in all the Bible 09:38 to be able to reflect 09:39 the actual title of our quarterly 09:41 that would be it, wouldn't it? 09:43 That when we put on Christ... 09:45 Have you put on Christ this morning? 09:47 Now some of you have 09:48 and I know that some of you haven't. 09:51 What does it mean to put on Christ? 09:55 Well, to put on Christ means that 09:57 you stop and you again get on your knees 10:00 and you say, "Lord, you know, I want Your Holy Spirit today. 10:03 Please baptize me, immerse me, 10:06 help me to put Your Spirit in my heart in life, 10:08 help me to put You on here this morning." 10:10 And so for those of you who prayed this morning, 10:12 asked for God in your heart, you've put on Christ. 10:15 For those of you who haven't, this is your reminder 10:18 that Christ has called you to put Him on 10:20 each and every morning, and so that's important. 10:22 Amen? Amen. 10:23 Okay. 10:24 Glad I got a couple of amens on that 10:25 because that's no small truth 10:27 that we are looking at in light of conflict 10:30 because when conflict arises, 10:31 first of all, less conflict takes place 10:32 when we are dying to ourselves daily. 10:35 And even when there is disagreements 10:36 and sometimes even arguments or tension and such, 10:39 how to handle that is dependent on whether or not 10:42 we are humbly putting on Christ each morning. 10:46 Before we look at the actual scriptures 10:49 and such that the lesson study points us to, 10:51 and because we've looked at some of those things, 10:53 The Jerusalem Council in Acts Chapter 15, 10:56 the vision that Peter received, the unclean animals 10:59 and so on that came down from heaven 11:00 in a sheet in this prophetic vision, 11:02 we looked at that in detail in the last quarterly. 11:04 In fact, I was the one that taught both of those lessons 11:08 just by happenchance, and so I didn't want to go 11:11 over the same material too thoroughly 11:13 even though we will look at The Jerusalem Council 11:15 one more time in an important way. 11:17 But I want to bring us back to, 11:19 not at the beginning of the Christian churches 11:21 we are looking in our lesson study, 11:22 but all the way back to Moses' day. 11:25 And in Moses' day, we find that God had chosen Moses 11:29 as a very important instrument in serving, called by God 11:33 to be able to lead the Israelites out of bondage. 11:36 The Egyptians, even though they had a good relationship 11:38 with the Israelites in their first years, 11:41 sadly as the centuries actually went by, 11:43 because it was about 400 years 11:44 that they were in Egypt and multiplying, 11:46 we find that at some point, 11:49 there was a Pharaoh that wasn't quite 11:50 as righteous as the first ones 11:53 and not quite as kind and so they began to misuse 11:55 and abuse the Israelites and turn them into slaves, 11:58 and not only did they turn them into slaves 11:59 but they abused them as slaves as well, 12:03 and so it was not a pretty picture. 12:04 And so God had sent Moses in to deliver them. 12:07 And many of us know the story in the Book of Exodus, 12:09 indeed in a very powerful way, 12:11 God had delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. 12:14 And they weren't more than a month and a half 12:17 outside of that experience, 12:18 this great Exodus, this great exit that took place 12:22 and despite the fact that God had done some very powerful 12:25 and some of them, really the largest amazing miracles 12:29 that God has ever performed in all of human history 12:32 took place during the days of Moses 12:34 and the deliverance out of Egypt. 12:36 And so it was no small thing that the Israelites, 12:40 this first generation of freedom had experienced. 12:46 And despite the fact 12:47 that they were just less than 45 days 12:49 since they had been at the shore of the seaside 12:53 shore of the Red Sea, 12:55 and we find that the women were signing 12:56 and they have the tambourines, 12:57 they are dancing, and great celebration, 12:59 they are praising and they are thanking God 13:01 for this delivery from death and from captivity. 13:07 And despite the fact that surely 13:11 more than a few of the Israelites 13:13 had been strengthened in their faith, 13:14 they had been strengthened in their trust in God, 13:17 they had been doing some soul searching, 13:18 and all this experience for some of them 13:20 was strengthening their faith, strengthening their trust. 13:24 But in spite of all of that, it's important to understand 13:27 that this fledgling nation of God's people 13:30 were still dealing with different conflicts 13:32 from within the camp. 13:36 Like the first months and years of the early church, 13:39 they were involved in disputes 13:41 that were threatening the unity of Israel. 13:44 Sadly, some of those complaints and even false acquisitions 13:47 were being lifted up and coming to the ears of Moses, 13:50 false acquisitions that were laid against 13:53 God's humble and faithful servant Moses himself. 14:00 And as we read through the Book of Exodus as many of us have, 14:04 we'll find very quickly and very sadly 14:07 that more than once 14:08 there was murmuring within the camp, 14:10 there was different disputes, there was complaints, 14:12 sometimes amongst themselves 14:13 and quite often against the leadership 14:16 that God had established at that time. 14:20 Now we can find a key verse that helps us 14:22 to be able to understand that just a little bit better, 14:23 if you come with me 14:25 to the Book of Exodus Chapter 18. 14:27 We are going to go to the Book of Exodus, 14:29 that's the second book of the Bible. 14:34 That's Exodus Chapter 16... 14:39 and we are going to go ahead and read verse 16. 14:42 Now I have asked a volunteer 14:44 to go ahead and read that for me. 14:45 Is that you, Dan? That's me. 14:47 Okay, thank you, Dan. 14:48 You go ahead and read that for us, please. 14:49 Exodus 18:16, 14:52 "When they have a difficulty, they come to me, 14:54 and I judge between one and another, 14:58 and I make known the statutes of God and His laws." 15:01 Okay. 15:02 So here we have a statement that Moses is making 15:04 in the midst of a very interesting conversation 15:06 that he is having with his father-in-law, Jethro. 15:09 Now Jethro is Midianite priest, 15:12 and he lives in the vicinity of Mount Sinai 15:14 and we find that the Israelite camp is camped 15:17 at the very base of the mountain of God, 15:20 Mount Sinai, and Moses is giving a firsthand account 15:24 of all these powerful things that took place 15:25 from the moment that Moses got into the land of Egypt 15:28 and how God had delivered His people 15:30 in such a powerful way. 15:32 And Moses is sharing, and now he says, 15:35 "I'm so busy that I'm working from day to night 15:37 just judging people. 15:38 I just sit on the judgment seat 15:39 and there's a big line up of Israelites 15:41 and they come to me with their different disputes, 15:43 their different difficulties and conflicts, 15:48 and I make judgment on them 15:49 in light of the laws of God and so on." 15:53 Well, it's interesting, it's almost comical 15:54 but it's certainly something that was very much needed 15:57 in regards to counsel to Moses. 15:59 And so Jethro responds in verse 17. 16:01 In the last half he says, 16:02 "The thing that you do is not good." 16:05 Well, Moses must have been taken aback. 16:06 "What do you mean, not good? 16:07 Really, I am serving the Lord 16:08 and doing all these important things. 16:10 It is good." 16:13 And then Jethro explains himself 16:15 even more at the end of verse 18. 16:17 He says, "You are not able to perform it by yourself." 16:22 So that's... 16:23 So Jethro follows up and says, "This is why I am saying 16:24 the things you are not doing is good. 16:26 You are doing a good work for sure, 16:28 but you can't perform it all yourself. 16:30 You are going to frustrate the people. 16:32 You are going to wear yourself out. 16:33 You are going to wear them out 16:34 because their line ups are going to get so backlogged 16:36 that they are going to be dealing with 16:37 tensions and difficulties much longer than 16:39 they should have to deal with 16:41 and not finding that relief that they need 16:43 and so you need to be able to find some help." 16:45 And so we find that famous counsel where Jethro says, 16:48 "You need to able to divide 16:49 the whole camp of Israel into thousands 16:51 and put a leader and elder in charge of those thousands. 16:54 Then they divide each group of thousand 16:56 into hundreds, ten hundreds 16:58 and so then you have ten sub-leaders 17:00 and they are in charge of hundreds. 17:01 Now take each of those groups of hundreds and cut it in half 17:04 and have a captain for each of the fifties in that hundred. 17:07 And then in those same fifties, 17:08 you want to divide it into ten groups of ten 17:11 and so you have a team leader for each of those 17:13 to be able to judge the smallest matters. 17:15 And of course, the smallest matters 17:17 would be judged by leader of ten, 17:18 and if he can't sort it out, 17:19 then he goes to their leader of fifty, 17:21 and if they can't sort it out, 17:22 then they move it up to leader of a hundred and a thousand 17:25 and then finally they go the Supreme Court 17:28 if they need to, 17:29 and the Supreme Court at that time was Moses." 17:33 Verse 22, it says, 17:34 "Let them judge the people at all times. 17:36 And then it will be that every great matter 17:38 that they bring to you, 17:40 but every small matter they themselves may judge. 17:43 It will be far easier for you, 17:44 for they will be able to bear the burden with you." 17:50 And so very, very wisely, we find this counsel 17:52 that is not only was followed by Moses very smartly, 17:55 but many church leaders and organizations 17:58 have followed that counsel, 18:00 many Christian, more heritage based nations 18:04 like the US and so on, 18:05 politicians and governments have leaned upon that counsel, 18:08 you know, all kinds of different organizations 18:10 have benefited from that very important counsel. 18:14 And so now Moses is sharing the burden 18:16 and more people are involved 18:18 and being able to be a part of a good organized 18:24 healthy conflict handling society 18:28 and this is a good thing. 18:35 Why do non-theological disputes take place 18:38 among God's people in the first place? 18:41 You know, different disputes... 18:44 You know, of course, there's a variety of different reasons 18:46 why we get in to conflict with each other at different times. 18:49 Why does it take place amongst God's people even? 18:51 Now we understand that it would take place amongst the world 18:53 because the world is carnal, 18:56 and of course, when you are carnal, 18:59 you gravitate towards conflict, and you know, selfishness 19:03 and self-centeredness and so on takes over, 19:06 but why do we have it within God's people? 19:09 Well, I like to suggest that there's two possible reasons 19:11 that this takes place. 19:13 The first one being that the Bible calls it 19:15 in the same Book of Exodus by the way, at 12:38, 19:19 he calls it a mixed multitude, 19:21 a mixed multitude, you see? 19:23 In verse 38, it says that 19:25 when the Israelites were gathering 19:26 all their stuff together, 19:27 gathering their families or gathering themselves. 19:29 And by the way, the Bible says, 19:30 they went over in a very orderly fashion as well. 19:32 God is a God of order, not of confusion, isn't He? 19:35 And so God had organized His people into ranks 19:38 through Moses and the other elders 19:39 to be able to very orderly find themselves 19:43 leaving the land of Egypt. 19:45 And it says that, "A mixed multitude 19:46 went up with them also, 19:49 and flocks and herds, and a great deal of livestock." 19:52 And so here we find that 19:55 it wasn't just those who loved God 19:57 that had found themselves putting their faith 19:59 in the God of Israel 20:00 and were so thankful for the promise of God 20:03 being fulfilled as He said He would 20:05 through Abraham, through Jacob, and Joseph, and so on. 20:07 And so, they were following by faith 20:10 and they were so happy to be able to leave, 20:12 but there was also a mixed multitude. 20:14 Some of them weren't leaving 20:15 for the best motives in the world. 20:18 Some of them weren't really leaving 20:19 because they had a great faith in God, 20:21 they saw the miracles 20:22 and they wanted to surrender to This god of gods, 20:25 you know, that was demonstrating himself 20:27 to be the true God and not the gods of Egypt. 20:31 And so this points out a very important 20:34 and needful reality 20:36 that we need to understand as God's people even today. 20:38 And that is, God's organized people have never been 20:40 made up of only sincere lovers and followers of God. 20:43 It's never been that way. 20:45 It wasn't that way 20:46 from the very conception of the Israelite nation 20:49 as we just took a quick peek at in Moses' day. 20:52 And in the beginnings of the early church, 20:55 we find that there was a mixed multitude as well. 20:58 Even when we look at the 12, 21:00 the 12 apostles. 21:01 Were they all sincere lovers and followers of God? 21:04 No, no. 21:06 We have Judas Iscariot, don't we? 21:08 And so Judas Iscariot was there for ulterior motives. 21:11 He was going through the motions 21:12 and he was pretending he was on the same page, 21:15 but he wasn't, was he? 21:17 And so, right from the very inception 21:19 of the Christian church even amongst the 12, 21:21 we found that there was a bit of amongst mixed multitude. 21:26 It's no coincidence that 21:27 one of the more extensive or longer parables 21:30 that Jesus had shared was one concerning a farmer 21:33 and some wheat, as well as some tares. 21:35 Why? 21:36 Because Jesus wanted to clearly communicate that so that 21:39 when we as new Christians, 21:41 especially when you are new and you come to the faith. 21:43 I remember when I joined the Adventist church, 21:44 I was baptized and so on, 21:46 and I was just full of the spirit 21:48 and I thought everybody just lived like Jesus. 21:50 They were perfect just like heaven. 21:52 And it didn't take me very long to realize, 21:54 "Hey, wait a minute. 21:55 There're some real faults among these people. 21:57 What's up?" 21:58 And so this parable helped me when I came to it 22:02 because it clarified for me that, "Hey, listen." 22:04 You know, Jesus said, "It's like a farmer, a land owner." 22:06 He had different servants, and they went out 22:08 and they had a sack of pure seed, 22:10 this was high quality, top quality grain seed, 22:14 you know, wheat seed, and so they went out 22:15 and they planted it, 22:17 waited for the early rains to come 22:18 and being able to give that sprouting that they needed, 22:21 and sure enough they started to sprout and they came up. 22:23 But Jesus says, "In the night while they were sleeping, 22:25 there was an enemy that came in 22:26 and planted seeds from weeds called tares." 22:29 Now scholars as it turns out have discovered 22:31 that tares is a weed 22:32 that looks pretty similar to the wheat plant. 22:36 And so the servants didn't figure this out at first. 22:38 It had to grow for a while, but after it grew up 22:40 and got a little bit more mature, 22:41 they started to realize, "Hey, lo and behold. 22:43 Not every plant here is wheat. 22:46 There's also tares among it." 22:47 So they were distressed, they ran to the land owner 22:49 and said, "Hey, wait a minute. 22:50 Didn't we... 22:51 I got to swear that we only just planted good seed." 22:54 And he said, "Yes, we did." 22:55 He said, "Well, what's all these tares here?" 22:57 He said, "An enemy came and planted those." 23:00 And so sadly then they said, 23:02 "Well, should we go and gather them up?" 23:04 And Jesus said, "No, no. Just leave them. 23:05 Let them grow with the rest of the wheat. 23:07 At the harvest, we'll separate the wheat from the tares." 23:11 And then later He deciphered that and said that 23:13 that represents the gospel, the Word of God and the church. 23:18 And so sadly, not all of us are putting on Christ. 23:25 Maybe we've never put on Christ 23:27 and surrendered to Him in the way 23:28 that we need to be saved 23:30 and to be able to find that born again experience in Jesus 23:33 or perhaps some of us have found ourselves, 23:35 it's been so long since we put on Christ 23:37 that we're not really walking with Him anymore. 23:41 And so this is God's opportunity 23:43 as He's speaking to you right now and saying, 23:46 "If this is true for you," and God is speaking, 23:48 you are feeling maybe some conviction in your heart, 23:51 then this is the time to be able to do a reset 23:53 if you used to know Christ, 23:55 and if you know you've never really fully surrendered, 23:57 this is the time to be able to give yourself to Him. 24:03 Well, the second reason that we can find disputes 24:05 among God's people is that even amongst 24:07 those who were sincere, even amongst the wheat, 24:09 we can find conflicts, can't we? 24:11 Okay, you just find two sincere born again people 24:13 that are married, 24:15 and you ask them, 24:16 "You know, have you ever had conflict in your marriage?" 24:20 And if they're honest, they'll say yes, 24:22 okay, you know. 24:24 And I'll be the first one to put my hand up. 24:26 There's times in my growing experience 24:28 where I have failed my wife and I've said things 24:31 or done things that I shouldn't have said 24:33 and I had to apologize after and reconcile with her. 24:37 Did that make me insincere or non-born-again Christian? 24:41 No, not at all. 24:42 But it did make me a growing Christian, didn't it? 24:45 And so we're all sinners saved by the grace of God. 24:48 We're learning obedience. 24:49 We're learning and forming our character 24:51 to reflect the character of Christ. 24:54 The Bible has a long word for it. 24:56 We don't use it on the street very often. 24:57 It's called sanctification. 25:00 And sanctification is a long theological term, 25:02 it's in the Bible, 25:03 and it refers to being set apart to be like Jesus, 25:06 to be holy even as Jesus is holy. 25:10 But that is a process that takes place. 25:12 One of the things that we find out as Christians 25:14 is not only are others within the church not perfect, 25:17 but we start to realize that we are not perfect yet either. 25:20 And so you don't become like Jesus 25:21 within a month after baptism. 25:23 You don't come perfectly like Jesus a year after baptism. 25:28 One wise person says that it's a work of a lifetime. 25:32 One of my favorite verses is found in 1 Peter 3:18, 25:36 and it's the very last verse of 2 Peter, 25:40 sorry, 2 Peter 3:18. 25:42 And it's the very last verse 25:44 that he shares with the Christian church. 25:46 It's his last letter, his last words, 25:49 and these are the words that he shares. 25:51 He says, "But grow..." 25:53 What does he ask us to do? 25:55 He asks us to grow in the grace and the knowledge 25:58 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 26:02 And so, Peter understood 26:04 and, of course, he understood that firsthand. 26:06 We can read his record and realize 26:07 there was bumps in the road for him too, wasn't there? 26:09 And he had to get on his knees and say, 26:11 "Lord, please forgive me. I really blew it," 26:13 and learn and grow and become a better Christian, 26:17 a better human being, more like Christ because of it. 26:19 And so he gives that same encouragement to you and I. 26:23 One of my favorite church conference president 26:25 used to say, "The saints are in process, Shawn. 26:28 The saints are in process, you know?" 26:30 If there's one sure place 26:32 that you want to witness this process, 26:33 just go to a summer camp meeting 26:36 and go there on the final Sabbath. 26:38 If it's a two weekend Sabbath, 26:40 typically, the last Sabbath is the grand finale 26:42 and you have a lot of locals 26:43 within the same part of the state, neighboring states. 26:46 They'll drive over 26:47 and join for a nice picnic and worship 26:49 and the crowd is big and the parking is sparse. 26:53 And you'll start to find that 26:55 the saints indeed are in process. 26:57 Sometimes spirits come out 26:59 that aren't exactly the spirit of God, are they? 27:01 And sometimes, the saints have to apologize to each other 27:06 and say, "Wait a minute. 27:07 I got carried away there. You gonna have to forgive me. 27:09 I didn't really act like Christ in that particular instance." 27:15 Well, this week's quarterly brings our attention 27:17 to a non-theological dispute and complaint 27:19 among the saints of a newly budding church, 27:21 and we find it in Acts 6:1. 27:24 And so we're going to turn there together, 27:28 Acts 6:1, 27:34 and again, we have a volunteer. 27:35 And Case is going to kindly read that for us. 27:37 Thank you. 27:38 "Now in those days, 27:39 when the number of the disciples was multiplying, 27:42 there arose a complaint 27:43 against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, 27:46 because their widows were neglected 27:48 in the daily distribution." 27:50 Okay. Thank you. 27:52 And so it sounds a lot like Moses' day, doesn't it? 27:55 The word, "complaint," came up a lot in the Book of Exodus. 27:58 And we find that lo and behold, 27:59 when we come to just weeks or at the most months 28:03 into the existence of the Christian church, 28:05 we find that there's a complaint 28:06 that's rising up to the leadership. 28:08 And they are saying, "Hey, listen. 28:09 We've got a problem." 28:11 There's inequity that's taking place. 28:14 There's unfairness in practice 28:15 in concerned to a welfare system 28:17 that had sprung up within the church 28:19 because the church recognized very quickly 28:21 once it began that there was a need within the church 28:26 for different people to have lodging, 28:28 different members to have food, and there was for 28:30 a couple or three different reasons for that. 28:32 One of them was that there was widows within the camp 28:35 and those widows had stood for Christ, 28:38 but the family didn't. 28:39 And so, whatever sons or family maybe were supporting them 28:43 basically had disowned them, you know, because they joined 28:45 this Jewish cult called Christianity, 28:49 and so they experience this kind of excommunication 28:53 from their home, 28:54 and different individuals were expelled 28:57 from their homes and disowned. 28:58 And so there was a real need, 29:00 very immediate need that rose up within the church. 29:04 Well, there wasn't a welfare system 29:06 like we have in our government in United States 29:08 and other countries around the world. 29:11 And so the only option that they had was 29:13 to be able to gather together funds and different food 29:15 and bread to be able to feed 29:17 these different individuals within the church 29:19 and make sure that they are taken care of. 29:20 And we read some of those things 29:23 in the early chapters of Acts in our quarterly study already 29:25 where people didn't count things as their own, 29:27 but if they had an extra house or extra land, 29:29 they would go and sell and bring the money 29:31 before the feet of the apostles, 29:32 and some of that was used to feed the needy 29:35 within the church. 29:37 Well, there were widows 29:38 that were being fed on a daily basis. 29:40 They were distributing food, and as it turns out, 29:45 the Hebrew Christians were the majority in Jerusalem. 29:48 And so they would have taken charge 29:50 of this particular distribution of the food. 29:53 And we find that they are guilty of doing something that 29:55 you and I can find ourselves doing very, very easily 29:59 if we're not very, very careful. 30:01 And so this is a very important life lesson for us 30:02 in our sanctification, 30:03 in our growth experience in Christ. 30:06 And we find that the Hebrews, 30:08 the Hebrew Christians were playing favoritism, 30:12 and they were guilty of offering favoritism 30:15 to the Hebrew widows, but not to the Hellenists. 30:18 And so the Hellenist widows were getting half the amount 30:21 that the Hebrew widows were getting. 30:23 Well that's not fair, is it? No. 30:27 And so a rightful complaint came before the leadership, 30:31 something unfair is taking place within the church. 30:34 Now it's interesting 30:36 and it's important to understand 30:37 that a Hebrew widow and a Hebrew Christian 30:41 would be one that was of a culture 30:44 within the Jewish nation in which 30:47 they continued to speak Hebrew within the home. 30:50 They would memorize and read the Hebrew Scriptures, 30:53 the Torah and so on. 30:55 They were the gatekeepers 30:57 of the Hebrew culture and traditions 30:59 that had been developed over the centuries beforehand. 31:02 And so they were as Hebrew or Jewish as you could be. 31:07 The Hellenists were also Jews 31:09 and they also believed in the same God. 31:10 They have the same Bible, 31:11 went to synagogues on Sabbath as well. 31:14 But their difference was that they had adopted 31:16 the universal language of the Roman Empire 31:18 which was Greek, 31:19 and so they were speaking Greek in the home instead of Hebrew. 31:22 And not only that, they had a Greek, the Septuagint, 31:25 they had the Greek Scriptures that they would read 31:27 and they had also adopted some of the Greek culture as well, 31:30 and some of the Greek traditions 31:32 rather than staying strictly in Hebrew tradition. 31:35 And so it was very natural and easy for the Hebrews, 31:39 the Hebrew Christians to look down their noses 31:40 at the Hellenists and say, 31:41 "Well, you know, we're superior to you, 31:44 and besides, you're not of our kind, 31:47 and so therefore, 31:48 I'm going to give you a little bit of food, 31:50 but here is a great big food 31:52 for you over here, Hebrew widow." 31:57 Well, the good news is that the following verses tell us 31:59 that there was a very real 32:00 and effective process that took place. 32:02 The God had guided the apostles, 32:05 the apostles gathered together the membership of Jerusalem, 32:08 and so the majority of the membership 32:10 of the Jerusalem church came together, 32:11 and he said, "Now, listen. 32:12 This is the problem 32:13 and this is how we would like to suggest that we solve it. 32:15 We want you to choose seven men amongst yourselves, 32:20 and we're going to place those seven men 32:22 to be full time in-charge of distributing the food fairly 32:27 amongst both the Hebrew and the Hellenist widows." 32:30 And so sure enough, the people got together, 32:33 they chose a seven. 32:34 And we call them deacons today 32:36 because later on, deacons are spoken of, 32:38 and the responsibilities are very much the same. 32:41 And so traditionally, 32:43 we referred to these seven as the first seven deacons. 32:48 Well, not only would these deacons be in charge 32:50 of policing the distribution of the food to make sure 32:54 that everything was being fair and rightly distributed, 32:57 but it also gave opportunity for the guilty ones, 33:01 for the guilty ones that were playing favoritism before, 33:04 now they had an opportunity to repent and say, "Okay." 33:07 You know, maybe they weren't even conscious 33:10 that they were doing it, or realize that 33:11 it was something that was wrong 33:13 and now God and the Holy Spirit was bringing conviction, 33:16 the governance of the church 33:17 and the leadership had brought that conviction and correction. 33:20 And now they had opportunity 33:22 to be able to start to treat everybody the same 33:26 regardless of their ethnic background, 33:28 and ethnicity, or race. 33:30 Can you say amen? Amen. 33:32 Okay, good. 33:34 All right. So yeah. 33:36 So it gave them an opportunity to be able to be corrected 33:39 and to find themselves in harmony 33:41 with this important principle that they were not practicing. 33:45 Another important part in achieving a successful unity 33:47 and harmony was noticed in verse 3, 33:50 and so I'm going to get our last volunteer, 33:52 if you could kindly read verse 3 for us 33:54 in chapter 6, Acts 6:3. 33:59 "Therefore, brethren, 34:01 look you out among seven honest reward, 34:06 full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, 34:09 whom we may appoint over this business." 34:12 Okay. Thank you. 34:13 So they didn't just say pick any seven, did they? 34:16 But they said, "Pick men that are of good reputation, 34:20 that are full of the Holy Spirit." 34:23 Now isn't that interesting? 34:24 They were full of the Holy Spirit. 34:28 You know, I've been in a lot of nominating committees 34:30 and processes as a pastor over the last 21 years, 34:33 and not too often that I've heard, 34:35 you know, the nominating committee say, 34:36 "Okay, now we are thinking of 34:37 such and such to be our head deacon. 34:40 Is he full of the Holy Spirit?" 34:43 You know, not too often we say that. 34:44 How do we know if somebody is full of the Holy Spirit? 34:47 You know, that's one of the qualifications. 34:49 So John Smith shouldn't be nominated as the head deacon 34:52 if we're not convinced that he's full of the Holy Spirit. 34:55 Well, you know, the Bible gives us some different types. 34:58 You know, Jesus says, 34:59 "You know, a good tree cannot produce bad fruit." 35:02 You know, you shall know them by their fruits. 35:04 And so we need to examine their fruits 35:07 and maybe even ask them and say, 35:08 "Are you asking for the Holy Spirit 35:10 on a regular basis in your life?" 35:13 You know, you'd be surprised how many might say, 35:15 "Well, you know... 35:18 Two months ago, you know." 35:21 And so it's important for us to be able to make sure 35:23 that our leaders are full of the Holy Spirit. 35:25 Good reputation and also have wisdom, of course, 35:29 experience and understanding. 35:31 And so finally in the same chapter, 35:32 we find a solid Bible model 35:34 for nominating key leaders in the church. 35:37 Notice how the apostles didn't choose them. 35:38 He said, "Now I want you to choose amongst yourselves," 35:41 and that's what we're doing in Granite Bay 35:42 and many churches across the world 35:43 in our world church this fall, aren't we? 35:45 Before the year ends, 35:46 we're getting nominating committees together 35:47 that are chosen by you, and then that group of you 35:50 then nominates different leaders 35:52 to be able to be in charge 35:53 of different ministries and departments, 35:55 and then you bring that list to the whole church, 35:57 and then you vote on whether or not they'll be the leaders. 36:00 And so you're voting and choosing 36:02 from amongst yourselves, aren't you? 36:04 And so we don't have this kind of monarchy kind of 36:07 approach to the leadership of the church 36:10 but rather it's chosen from amongst yourselves. 36:14 And so we're following a good model, 36:16 and I take great confidence in knowing that. 36:21 Well, for the last few minutes that we have together, 36:23 we're going to look at the next conflict in the church. 36:25 And again, we studied this in detail in the last quarterly, 36:27 so we're just going to quickly run over that. 36:31 Now this conflict was way bigger than the conflict 36:33 we just saw in Acts Chapter 6 36:35 way more intense, way longer, 36:37 it took several years for them 36:38 to work through this particular conflict. 36:40 And so Chapter 6 was kind of just a little bit of a warm up 36:45 for what was ahead because it was just after chapter 6 36:47 that we find that one of those seven deacons 36:49 that were chosen by the name of Stephen 36:52 found himself as the first martyr. 36:55 God had chosen Stephen to give one more last appeal 36:57 to the highest leadership of Israel 36:58 and in the midst of that, 37:00 Stephen realized he's not making it through. 37:02 He could tell by their reaction 37:03 and their anger that was growing 37:04 that he's not going to make it to the end of his speech. 37:07 And so he makes a bit of an appeal 37:09 and then they take him outside 37:10 and they throw rocks at him until he is dead. 37:17 So Stephen became the first Christian martyr to die 37:20 for his faith in Christ, 37:22 and so he's a very honorable person for us to remember. 37:27 Well, as it turns out, the following scriptures 37:29 in the Book of Acts tells us 37:30 that this execution flamed the fires of persecution, 37:34 the church leaders within, not church leaders 37:36 but the Jewish religious leaders of Jerusalem 37:38 then kind of took the momentum and fire from that 37:41 and they began to persecute within Jerusalem 37:43 in a very aggressive way 37:44 and then started to spread out 37:45 to the other cities in Judea and Israel and such. 37:49 And as a result of that, 37:50 we find a very key verse in Acts 8:4. 37:53 It says, "Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere 37:57 preaching the Word." 37:59 And so not only were they scattered 38:00 outside of Judea and Israel, 38:02 but we find that they went preaching 38:05 and sharing the great gospel and good news 38:07 that they had found of Jesus as the Messiah 38:09 and Savior of the world. 38:11 Well, as a result of this, 38:12 they began to expose the gospel to Gentiles. 38:14 Well, what are Gentiles? 38:16 Gentiles is a biblical term 38:18 that was used back in Bible times, 38:20 in Jesus' times, to refer to non-Jewish people. 38:23 So any race or person that's not Jewish 38:26 is referred to as a Gentile. 38:28 And so these Gentiles were exposed 38:30 to the Gospel of Christ and His kingdom, 38:32 and they started to accept, they started to believe, 38:34 and some of them were even being baptized, 38:37 and they were finding themselves within the church. 38:40 Well, what did the apostles and Jewish Christians 38:42 think about this? 38:45 Well, Peter said it best in Acts 10:28, 38:48 when he was in a house full of Gentiles. 38:50 He was in a house that was packed, 38:53 and you can almost picture, 38:54 it packed from wall to wall as this gentile Roman leader 38:59 by the name of Cornelius had gathered his whole family, 39:01 his neighbors, his friends, any believers 39:03 or anybody that's open to the God of Israel, 39:04 and he brought them together. 39:05 And Peter says to them, 39:07 "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man 39:09 to keep company with or go to one of another nation. 39:13 But God has shown me that I should not call 39:16 any man common or unclean." 39:19 And so here we have 39:20 the biblical interpretation of that great vision 39:22 where the unclean animals all came down 39:24 on this heavenly sheet 39:25 that Peter had received three days before, 39:28 and three times God said, "Rise, kill, and eat," 39:30 and three times says Peter, "No way. 39:33 You know, you told me very strictly, very clearly 39:35 that eating these things is an abomination. 39:37 This is not Your will." 39:38 And so finally the sheet goes up 39:40 and Peter scratching his head on the way 39:42 over to Cornelius' house, 39:43 and on the journey God reveals to him 39:45 the interpretation we find in 10:28 as we read. 39:51 And so Peter then goes on to proceed to preach the gospel, 39:55 and as he's preaching the gospel 39:56 to this house full Gentiles, 39:58 lo and behold, the Holy Spirit falls down upon them, 40:01 and not only does it fall down upon them, 40:03 they become born again, 40:05 but they began to speak in tongues. 40:07 Now we have to understand that as Peter later explained it 40:10 to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem in Acts 11:15. 40:13 He said the tongues fell down upon the people, 40:15 then it was manifested in the same way 40:17 as it was upon us in the beginning. 40:20 And so Peter points his listeners 40:23 and you and I back to the day of Pentecost. 40:25 He says, "In the same way 40:26 that we were used with the gift of tongues," 40:29 and we use that spiritual gift 40:30 to speak international languages 40:31 to an international crowd 40:33 in several different known languages and dialects, 40:37 so did it happen with Cornelius. 40:39 Now as it turns out, 40:40 everybody in Cornelius' household knew Greek. 40:42 All Peter had to do was preach in Greek, 40:45 and he probably was, or Aramaic. 40:49 But the reason that God manifested 40:52 it was to be able to confirm to Peter 40:55 and to Peter's colleagues 40:57 that indeed this was the genuine Holy Spirit 41:00 and these were genuine born again, 41:02 saved believers of Jesus Christ. 41:06 And so Peter says, 41:07 "What prevents us then from baptizing them?" 41:09 And so he baptized them that same day. 41:13 And so the bottom line is this. 41:15 As the Gentiles were joining the church, 41:18 there was a large, big disagreement on 41:21 whether or not they should be circumcised, 41:23 whether or not they were required 41:24 to keep the Jewish feast like 41:25 the Jewish church generally believed 41:27 they should at that time. 41:29 And I know as a pastor again 41:32 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church for many years 41:35 that there's more than a couple of us, 41:36 the Seventh-day Adventists have asked the sincere question, 41:38 "Should we be keeping the Jewish feasts?" 41:41 "Is this something that's required of us?" 41:43 "Is this part of God's plan for us as Christians?" 41:45 And there's certainly nothing wrong 41:48 with asking any question concerning the Bible, 41:50 but it's good to make sure you get a good Bible answer. 41:52 And so I'm going to take this opportunity 41:54 to plug something. 41:55 A new book that's just been published by Amazing Facts 41:57 written by Doug Batchelor, and it's entitled, 42:00 "Should Christians keep the Jewish feasts?" 42:03 "Should Christians keep the Jewish feasts?" 42:04 And so, if you don't have a copy of that book yet, 42:06 make sure you go to amazingfacts.org, 42:09 and you can order a hard copy on there, and if not, 42:12 you can also probably download 42:14 or purchase a digital copy of that as well. 42:17 So if you haven't had that satisfactorily answered, 42:19 I can't answer with our time here today, 42:21 but if you haven't had an answer, 42:22 make sure you go and get that book, very good book. 42:26 Paul and Barnabas were missionaries to the Gentiles 42:28 and believed that Gentiles were not required to be circumcised 42:32 and to keep the Jewish feasts 42:33 and to keep the ceremonies of Moses. 42:35 And so they made it very clear, 42:36 and they weren't requiring it 42:37 as they were converting 42:38 hundreds and hundreds of different Gentiles 42:41 in the different cities of the Gentile world 42:43 of the Roman Empire. 42:45 But there was a very substantial group 42:48 of Christian believers, and some of them leaders, 42:51 who strongly disagreed 42:54 despite the testimony of Peter and his vision, 42:57 despite Cornelius' household and their conversion. 43:01 And so finally, the tension grew 43:03 long enough and deep enough 43:04 that there were delegates that came from Antioch. 43:07 Now Antioch was a key city 43:10 that was just to the north of Israel 43:12 on the Mediterranean Sea 43:13 and it was kind at the edge of Israel 43:15 and it was at the edge of the Gentile world, 43:17 the Roman Empire. 43:18 And so it was a key place 43:20 where God then started to sponsor 43:22 through that church different missionaries 43:24 to the Roman world and Peter and... 43:26 Not Peter, but Paul, and Barnabas, and Timothy, 43:28 and Luke, and Mark, and others 43:29 were sponsored on these different missionary journeys. 43:34 And so finally, delegates from Antioch church 43:37 came down to Jerusalem 43:38 to speak with the leaders of the world church. 43:43 And so it all came down to the organized church council 43:47 where the apostles and appointed elders prayed. 43:49 They did three key things. 43:52 They prayed in a very key and quality way, 43:56 they discussed the issue that was at hand, 44:00 they looked at it in the light of Scripture, 44:03 and then the third thing they did after the discussion 44:06 was that they voted or they agreed or disagreed. 44:09 Now in this case, they agreed 44:10 that observing the ceremonial law of Moses 44:13 was not necessary for the Gentile believers. 44:19 And so they within a day or two, 44:22 the same chapter of Acts Chapter 15, 44:24 it tells us that they drafted up a letter. 44:27 And when they had drafted up that letter, 44:29 they found themselves distributing 44:31 to the rest of the world church. 44:32 Yes, they brought it to the Antioch church, 44:34 but as you read the rest of the Book of Acts, 44:35 you find that Paul and others also brought 44:38 that letter to the other churches 44:40 that were established within the Roman Empire 44:42 and the known world as well. 44:45 And so this was the official stand, 44:48 one of the first world church policies and doctrines 44:52 that were voted at the highest level of the world church. 44:56 Now I know that if Paul was here, 44:59 he would be able to say it much more strongly than I 45:02 that how much he wishes that 45:05 that was the end of the problem. 45:07 How much he wishes that everybody 45:09 that was on the other side, 45:10 that was opposing it would say, "Okay. Listen. 45:12 If I'm right, eventually 45:14 the Lord's going to be able to help us to see the light 45:16 and bring it according to His speed, 45:19 and if I'm wrong, 45:22 Lord, please help me to be correctable 45:24 and see the light that I'm not seeing in regards 45:25 to the rest of the world church." 45:28 Wouldn't that be wonderful if that's what happened? 45:31 Is that what happened as we read the record? 45:33 No, it's not, is it? 45:35 Sadly, the Bible records 45:37 that some of those that were at that meeting 45:39 and some who heard about that particular meeting 45:41 that held the opposing viewpoint 45:43 never seemed to surrender, 45:46 and they chose upon themselves 45:48 to continually openly influence the local churches 45:51 to reject this church policy, and to place their opinions 45:54 above the voice of the world church. 45:58 Did that make Paul's life a lot more difficult? 46:01 Yes. When you read... 46:02 Poor Paul, you know, every time I read his letters, 46:04 I just feel so sorry for him 46:05 because he had to battle opposition 46:08 from this particular faction within the church 46:13 not just up to Acts Chapter 15, 46:15 but in all the years that followed 46:16 after Acts Chapter 15 as well. 46:18 And so sadly, that was a very real reality. 46:23 And so as a result, the world church was wracked 46:25 with all kinds of division and distresses 46:28 that really shouldn't have existed. 46:31 And so I hope that we as a church can learn from that 46:35 and allow God to speak to us as we find ourselves 46:38 disagreeing in conflict over different things as well. 46:43 As we close, I would like to go to Friday's page 46:49 on our lesson study for this week. 46:51 And on Friday page 62, 46:55 we find there a quote from one of my favorite books 46:57 called the Acts of the Apostles. 47:00 And it's written by one of my favorite, 47:02 well, the favorite author that I have outside the Bible 47:04 which is Ellen G. White 47:06 and I believe that Ellen G. White 47:07 was given the genuine gift of the Spirit of Prophecy. 47:11 And this is what she writes in this powerful, 47:14 powerful book on pages 196 and 197. 47:17 "The council which decided this case 47:18 was composed of apostles and teachers 47:21 who had been prominent in raising up the Jewish 47:23 and Gentile Christian churches, 47:26 with chosen delegates from various places. 47:28 Elders from Jerusalem, deputies from Antioch were present, 47:31 and the most influential churches were represented. 47:35 The council moved in accordance 47:36 with the dictates of enlightened judgment, 47:38 and with the dignity of a church 47:40 established by the divine will. 47:42 As a result of their deliberations 47:44 they all saw that God Himself 47:46 had answered the question at issue 47:47 by bestowing upon the Gentiles the Holy Ghost, 47:50 and they realized that it was their part 47:52 to follow the guidance of the Spirit. 47:55 The entire body of Christians 47:57 was not called to vote upon the question. 48:00 The "apostles and elders," men of influence and judgment, 48:03 framed and issued the decree, 48:05 which was thereupon 48:06 generally accepted by the Christian churches. 48:10 Not all, however, were pleased with the decision, 48:12 there was a faction of ambitious 48:14 and self-confident brethren who disagreed with it. 48:17 These men assumed to engage in the work 48:19 on their own responsibility. 48:21 They indulged in much murmuring and faultfinding, 48:23 proposing new plans 48:24 and seeking to pull down the work of the men 48:26 whom God had ordained to teach the gospel message. 48:30 From the first the church has had such obstacles to meet 48:34 and ever will have until the close of time." 48:40 What was the last part? 48:42 Ever will have until the close of time. 48:44 You know, sometimes 48:45 when we have disagreements with other church 48:47 and sometimes as church members and church leaders, 48:50 we can find ourselves for a time, you know, 48:54 misrepresenting the church and misrepresenting Christ 48:59 and behaving in ways 49:00 that perhaps Christ wouldn't have us behave. 49:04 And that can be disheartening sometimes 49:05 to us as church members, 49:07 but I have to say that we have to remember 49:10 that the statement from God's servant here tells us 49:13 that this has always been the case 49:16 and it always will be until the end of time. 49:17 And so this is not a new experience 49:20 that we're experiencing. 49:21 We just read it in Acts Chapter 15 49:23 on another issue 49:24 and there's going to be other issues in the future. 49:26 That's just part of the nature of living in this world 49:29 and within this church and in God's plan and kingdom 49:32 until Jesus comes. 49:34 Well, that's our study for today. 49:36 I'm so glad that you're able to join us here 49:38 both of course here in Granite Bay, 49:40 we're always happy to have visitors 49:41 as well as members as well as those 49:42 who are watching online. 49:44 I want to wish you a blessed Sabbath, 49:45 a blessed rest of the week 49:46 until we come together next week. 49:49 Don't forget to request 49:50 today's life changing free resource. 49:53 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 49:55 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 49:58 or mobile device. 49:59 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 50:02 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544, 50:06 or visit the web address shown on your screen, 50:08 and be sure to select that digital download option 50:11 on the request page. 50:12 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 50:15 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 50:19 and most important, to share it with others. 50:33 On Christmas Eve, 1971, 50:35 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke 50:38 boarded LANSA flight 508 with her mother in Lima, Peru. 50:42 They intended to join her father for Christmas 50:44 at his research station in the Amazon rainforest. 50:48 After crossing the Andes at about 21,000 feet, 50:51 their aircraft was enveloped by large, dark thunderclouds, 50:55 and it encountered severe turbulence. 50:58 Lightning was flashing everywhere 50:59 and the plane was shaken violently 51:01 which naturally terrified the passengers. 51:04 Then a bolt of lightning struck the plane's engine 51:08 and tore off a wing. 51:10 As the doomed airliner hurdled towards the earth, 51:12 the cabin came apart and the next thing she knew, 51:15 Juliane found herself strapped alone to a row of seats 51:19 falling and spinning silently from over 10,000 feet 51:23 above the rainforest. 51:24 She plummeted through the jungle canopy 51:26 and slammed into forest floor. 51:28 When she awoke the next day, Juliane was amazed to realize 51:32 she had survived the 2 mile fall 51:35 with just a broken collar bone 51:36 and a bad gash in her arm. 51:38 After failing to find any other survivors, 51:41 Juliane relied on what her father had taught her 51:44 that walking downstream 51:45 will always lead to civilization. 51:48 So with the bag of candy that had fallen from the plane 51:51 and one sandal, she started walking. 51:54 For 10 days, Juliane hobbled, swam or floated downstream. 51:58 The wounds became infected and she was plagued by maggots, 52:01 while having to dodge crocodiles, piranhas 52:04 and relentless insects. 52:06 Eventually, she came to a shack, 52:09 where she slept and she was soon discovered 52:11 by Peruvian loggers. 52:13 Eventually, Juliane was united with her amazed father. 52:17 It's hard to imagine a 17-year-old girl 52:19 surviving such a fall and then hiking alone 52:22 out of the world's largest rainforest. 52:26 You know, the Bible talks about some who survived 52:28 an even greater fall than Juliane. 52:30 In fact, according to the scriptures, 52:32 when Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, 52:35 it brought the whole human race down. 52:37 But Jesus came to redeem the world from sin. 52:40 Perhaps you're thinking to yourself, 52:42 well, that's okay for the world, 52:44 but I've fallen too far. 52:46 Well, if the Lord can save Juliane, 52:48 God can save you. 52:49 You've not gone farther than Moses, 52:51 who was guilty of murder, 52:52 or David, who was guilty of adultery, 52:54 or Peter who denied Jesus, 52:56 and all of them were saved and restored from their fall. 53:00 Or maybe you're thinking, I've fallen too many times. 53:04 Be of good courage, it says in Proverbs 24:16, 53:07 "A righteous man falls seven times 53:10 and rises again." 53:11 And Jesus cast seven devils out of Mary Magdalene. 53:14 So don't get discouraged, friend, 53:16 if you've fallen, get back up again. 53:18 The same way that He could save Juliane, 53:20 lead her from that lost condition in the rainforest 53:23 and restore her to her father, 53:25 Jesus can lead you from your lost condition 53:27 and restore you to your heavenly father. 53:39 Let's face it. 53:40 It's not always easy to understand everything 53:42 you read in the Bible. 53:44 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 53:48 the Bible can generate a lot of questions. 53:50 To get biblical straightforward answers, 53:52 call into Bible Answers Live, 53:54 a live nationwide call in radio program 53:57 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor, 53:59 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 54:02 For times and stations in your area, 54:04 or to listen to answers online, 54:06 visit bal.amazingfacts.org. 54:18 You probably heard the expression before, 54:20 "If you don't like the weather in Texas, 54:22 just wait, it'll change." 54:24 And you've also heard, 54:25 "Everything is bigger in Texas." 54:27 The ranches, the belt buckles, 54:29 the cowboy hats, 54:31 but the most famous slogan about Texas 54:33 is remember the Alamo. 54:39 The violent battles and bravery of iconic heroes 54:42 have been the stuff of legends throughout 54:43 which entire cultures often draw their identity and pride, 54:47 even long after centuries have passed. 54:49 And in Texas, the story of the Alamo has been 54:52 a rallying cry of Texas Independence for 200 years. 54:56 One reason that Texans love to brag 54:58 that everything is bigger in Texas is, 55:00 of course, because Texas is the largest 55:02 of the lower 48 US states. 55:05 It's hard to believe that this massive state 55:07 got its beginning 55:09 in a very small Christian mission 55:11 during the Battle of the Alamo. 55:13 Every year, this famous mission museum 55:15 receives over two and a half million visitors 55:18 from all parts of the planet 55:19 that are eager to get a good look at this legendary site. 55:23 The Alamo played a critical role 55:25 in the Texas Revolution. 55:27 In December, 1835, 55:29 Texans and Tejano volunteers 55:31 battled Mexican troops quartered in the city 55:33 forcing General Martin Perfecto de Cos to surrender. 55:37 The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo 55:39 and strengthened its defenses. 55:42 Famous Americans like Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, 55:45 and Colonel William Travis, made this location, 55:48 this ancient mission, the beachhead, 55:50 the last stand in an epic battle 55:52 to win independence of Texas from Mexico. 55:56 On February 23rd, 1836, 55:59 the arrival of General Antonio Lopez Santa Ana 56:02 nearly caught them by surprise. 56:04 Undaunted, the Texans and Tejanos 56:07 prepared to defend the Alamo, 56:09 for this small ragtag group of rebels, 56:11 the youngest of who was about 16 and the oldest 75 56:14 was against the well-trained and organized Mexican army 56:17 of 6,000 plus soldiers. 56:19 It was a fierce and lopsided battle. 56:22 Yet, the small force of rebels was able to repel the troops 56:25 for 13 days. 56:28 Legend holds that 56:29 with the possibility of additional help fading, 56:32 Colonel Travis drew a line in the ground with a sword, 56:35 and asked any man willing to stay and fight, 56:37 to step over the line. 56:39 All except one crossed over. 56:42 The final assault came before daybreak. 56:44 On the morning of March 6, 1836, 56:47 the 13th day of the siege, 56:49 cannon and small arms fire from inside the Alamo 56:52 beat back several Mexican attacks. 56:55 Regrouping, Santa Anna's soldiers scaled the walls, 56:58 and rushed into the compound. 57:00 The desperate struggle continued 57:02 until the defenders were overwhelmed. 57:04 By sunrise, the battle had ended, 57:06 and the garrison was slain. 57:08 You know, historians may debate 57:10 some of the details 57:11 regarding the Battle of the Alamo, 57:13 but none of them questioned the incredible sacrifice 57:15 that was made and the courage 57:16 that was displayed during that intense conflict. 57:19 They made the ultimate sacrifice, 57:21 giving their lives. 57:23 And this is why the story of the Alamo 57:24 is so inspiring and so encouraging. 57:27 You know, and that's why the Bible 57:28 is so inspiring, friends, 57:30 because someone was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, 57:32 and give his life 57:34 so that you can have freedom and eternal life. 57:36 Don't you think you could trust your life 57:38 to a friend like that, 57:39 that would give everything? 57:41 The story of the gospel is a story of courage and hope. 57:44 It's a story of a God who will never leave you 57:46 without defense and support. 57:48 Jesus is the good news, 57:50 and the gospel is a story worth remembering. |
Revised 2018-11-13