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00:35 Good morning, friends, and welcome again
00:37 to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:38 here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:40 in Sacramento, California. 00:42 Very warm welcome to our friends 00:44 who are joining us online, 00:45 our online members who tune in every week 00:47 to study the lesson with us, 00:49 also our friends across the country 00:51 and around the world, 00:53 the various television networks, 00:54 very warm welcome to you, 00:56 as well as to the members and the visitors 00:58 right here in person at the Granite Bay Church. 01:01 Thank you for joining us today. 01:02 Now for many of you, you know we've been studying 01:04 through the past 13 weeks 01:07 on the theme of Oneness in Christ. 01:10 Today, we find ourselves 01:11 on the final lesson in the series, 01:13 Lesson Number 13, it's entitled 01:16 Final Restoration of Unity. 01:18 So this will be our final lesson 01:20 in this quarterly. 01:22 Starting next week, 01:23 we start a brand new series of studies. 01:25 I'm very excited about this. It's on the book of Revelation. 01:29 So that's going to be our theme of study 01:30 for the next 13 weeks, starting next week. 01:34 Now for our regular church members 01:35 that attend here at Granite Bay, 01:38 you can pick up your copy of the new lesson courtly 01:42 in the church foyer on the book of Revelation. 01:46 For those of you who are visiting, 01:48 if you plan on coming back, 01:49 you are more than welcome to get a book as well. 01:52 Otherwise, if you are already a member at a different church, 01:55 be sure to pick up the book from them 01:57 on the book of Revelation and study along with us. 02:01 We do have a free offer 02:02 that goes along with our study today. 02:04 It is a DVD, a sermon DVD by Pastor Doug Batchelor. 02:08 It's entitled How Perfect Must a CHRISTIAN Be? 02:13 And for friends who are watching, 02:14 if you'd like to receive a copy of this DVD, 02:16 the number to call is 866-788-3966, 02:21 and you can ask for offer number 863. 02:25 And we'll be happy to send that to anyone 02:26 who calls and asks. 02:28 Or if you'd like to download the video, 02:32 you'll be able to do so by texting the code SH117 02:37 to the number 40544. 02:40 And you'll be able to download and watch that sermon online. 02:44 Well, before we go to our lesson this morning, 02:47 we're going to invite our song leaders to come, 02:48 and they'll lead us in some music this morning. 05:56 I want to thank our young musicians 05:58 who are joining us today. 06:00 You all did a very lovely job. 06:01 And I love to see young people getting involved 06:04 and using their talents at a young age, 06:06 and that just stays with them for the rest of their lives. 06:09 At this time, Pastor Ross 06:11 is going to have our opening prayer. 06:15 Dear Father in heaven, again, 06:16 we thank You for the opportunity 06:17 to gather together and open up Your Word 06:19 and study this very important subject 06:21 talking about unity. 06:23 And throughout the entire quarter, 06:25 we've been looking at this theme, 06:26 we recognize it's so important to You, 06:29 it's important to us as believers. 06:31 And once again, we ask for Your spirit 06:33 to guide our hearts, our minds. 06:34 In Jesus' name, amen. 06:37 Our lesson this morning is going to be brought to us 06:39 by Pastor Doug Batchelor. 06:42 Today, we're going to be going through our last lesson 06:45 on Oneness in Christ, talking about unity. 06:49 And I'm really excited about this one. 06:50 And I'm also very excited, as Pastor Ross mentioned, 06:53 next week, and I get to teach the first lesson 06:55 in the new quarterly on Revelation. 06:58 You know, theoretically, when this is over, 07:03 you'd have a real good evangelistic program 07:07 on the tapes of the studies on Revelation. 07:10 So I'm looking forward to that. 07:12 Now our lesson today is talking about 07:14 the final restoration of unity. 07:16 This is Lesson Number 13 in the quarterly. 07:19 And we have a memory verse. 07:20 Memory verse is 2 Peter 3:13. 07:24 It's from the New King James Version. 07:25 If you want to say it out loud with me, 07:27 I appreciate that. 07:28 2 Peter 3:13. You ready? 07:33 "Nevertheless, we according to His promise, 07:37 look for a new heavens and a new earth 07:40 in which dwells righteousness." 07:44 I'm looking forward to that, aren't you? 07:46 Now I wanted to say something since I read this verse, 07:48 and it appears several times in our lesson today. 07:51 When people start reading the Bible, 07:53 they're going to hear several references too. 07:55 "As the new heavens and the new earth 07:56 that I will make shall remain before Me. 07:58 The new heavens and new earth..." 08:00 When people say new earth, I get that. 08:01 You know, the earth has got lots of problems right now. 08:03 "The whole creation groans and travails." 08:06 Why new heavens? What's wrong with the heaven? 08:08 They've got a need to make a new one. 08:11 You just need to understand 08:12 that the word heaven in the Bible, 08:14 there were three ways the Jews talked about heaven. 08:17 There was the heaven 08:19 which was the atmosphere around the planet. 08:22 It's where the clouds float, the birds fly, 08:25 and right now we got some pollution 08:26 in that atmosphere. 08:28 Then you have the heavens 08:29 that was called the second heavens, 08:31 that was the heavens where you've got 08:32 the heavenly bodies, 08:33 the stars, the sun, the moon, and so forth. 08:36 Third heaven was paradise, the dwelling place of God. 08:40 That's why Paul says, "I knew a man 08:41 who was caught up to the third heaven," 08:43 meaning, the presence of God. 08:44 But when it talks about 08:45 "The heavens are dissolved with a great noise," 08:48 it's the atmosphere of the world. 08:50 It's the first heaven. 08:51 And so nothing wrong with the heaven 08:53 where God lives right now. 08:54 It's perfect. God is perfect. 08:56 It's talking about a new atmosphere and a new earth. 08:58 Remember, in Genesis, it says, 09:00 "God separated the heavens from the waters," 09:04 and it's about the atmosphere that was above the earth. 09:07 So just wanted to throw that in for free 09:10 right there at the beginning, 09:11 everything else is going to be charged. 09:13 So get your credit card out. 09:15 No. All right. So we're talking about unity. 09:18 And you know what I really like about our lesson today 09:23 is we're talking about a time 09:24 when unity is going to be natural. 09:28 Right now when we talk about unity, 09:30 we all, really in this world, because of sin, 09:33 need to strive for unity, right? 09:36 We need to make an effort to maintain unity, 09:39 whether it's in the church, in work relationships, 09:42 in families, you're smart, 09:44 you know that you got to work for unity. 09:47 In heaven, is it going to be an effort for unity 09:51 or will it be natural? 09:54 In fact, unity in heaven is going to be more natural 09:58 than unity in the Garden of Eden. 10:00 Who will tell me why? 10:04 Why will the unity we have in the end 10:08 to be even more natural? 10:10 What happens to the devil 10:13 once we get to the other side of the millennium? 10:16 He's cast in the lake of fire, he burns day and night. 10:20 We don't know how long. 10:21 But the Bible says that he will be no more. 10:25 And so in the Garden of Eden, 10:26 they still had a tree of good and evil 10:28 where there was some risk involved, right? 10:31 Will we have that test in the new earth? 10:33 So there'll be perfect unity, natural unity. 10:36 It will flow from us to each other for eternity, 10:41 were right now we strive for unity. 10:43 There are several verses in the Bible that talks about 10:46 strive for unity, you know, to labor for this unity. 10:50 But it won't be a labor, 10:51 it's going to be natural at that point. 10:53 All right. So... 10:54 Well, let's get into the first section here. 10:56 It talks about the certainty of Christ's return. 10:58 Now this marks the beginning of eternity 11:01 and reaching this perfect unity. 11:03 And we're also in this series, we're kind of going through 11:05 some of the foundational doctrines 11:08 that talk about this unity, the return of Christ. 11:12 When did we first begin to hear 11:13 about the second coming of Jesus? 11:15 Wasn't it after His first coming? 11:19 Or do we first hear about the second coming of Jesus 11:21 even in the Old Testament? 11:24 Which is it? 11:26 The Second Coming, matter of fact, 11:28 the Jews in Jesus' day, 11:31 one reason they didn't accept Him 11:32 is they had been reading the prophecies 11:34 about the Second Coming, 11:36 and they didn't understand 11:37 the prophecies about His First Coming, 11:39 and they thought, "You can't be the Messiah 11:41 because You're supposed to come like a roar of a lion, 11:43 You're supposed to come with fire, 11:45 You'll plead with all flesh." 11:46 The Bible says, 11:47 "The Lord will come in with fire, He'll plead..." 11:49 "But what is this? 11:50 A guy riding around on a donkey, 11:51 and that's not our Messiah. 11:53 We expected something a little..." 11:55 They're thinking about the Second Coming. 11:57 So the prophecies about the Second Coming 11:59 go all the way back. 12:00 But you know what I'd like to emphasize is 12:04 the Bible is so clear that this is not it, 12:08 that the Lord is going to come. 12:10 And for those who are worshiping with us today, 12:12 in our sermon later, 12:14 we're also going to be talking about the Second Coming, 12:17 but so it's very fresh in my mind. 12:20 But it is so important to know that things are not going 12:23 to go on like this indefinitely. 12:25 And that there's going to be a culmination, 12:28 the second coming of Jesus 12:29 is the climax of history on earth. 12:31 Let's look at some verses that talk about this. 12:34 How many of you have memorized John 14, 12:36 the first three verses, those promises? 12:39 Karen raised her hand, I knew she would. 12:41 I see another. 12:43 This is where Jesus says, 12:44 "Let not your heart be troubled, 12:46 neither let it be afraid. 12:48 In my Father's house are many mansions. 12:51 If it were not so, I would have told you 12:53 I go to prepare a place for you. 12:55 And if I go and prepare a place for you," 12:57 what's the next part? 12:59 "I will come again." Is that definitive? 13:04 Now did He go? 13:06 He said, "If I go, I will come." 13:07 So He's going to come back. That's the promise He's made. 13:11 Now people say, "Well, when Lord? 13:13 It seems like it's taking a long time." 13:15 When God first promised to Adam and Eve 13:17 that He would sent His Son, 13:18 how long was it from the promise 13:20 in the Garden of Eden 13:22 when He said that the seed 13:23 would strike the serpent's head? 13:26 How long until Jesus' first coming? 13:29 Four thousand years. 13:31 Don't you think some of them thought 13:32 that was a long time? 13:34 So is God late? 13:36 Or is He operating right in the way He normally does? 13:39 All right, look at another one. We just... 13:41 We'll read this one again later as well. 13:43 Titus 2:13. 13:45 "Looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing 13:49 of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." 13:52 Now is Jesus just Savior or He's the great, what? 13:56 Great God and Savior. 14:00 He's not dividing them. 14:01 Our great God and our Savior 14:02 are going to be two different people. 14:04 He's identifying Jesus as our great God and Savior. 14:08 It's like when Christ rose from the dead, 14:10 it says that Thomas... 14:12 When He appeared to Thomas the second week, 14:13 Thomas missed Him the first week, and Jesus said, 14:17 "Thomas, look, don't be doubting, 14:18 here's the scars on my hand, on my side." 14:20 He knelt and he said, "My Lord, and my God," right? 14:24 So Jesus is our great God and our Savior. 14:27 Christ is God the Son, He's eternal. 14:30 There's been a lot of discussion 14:31 about that lately, 14:32 some are letting go of that truth. 14:35 Jude 14. 14:36 Now here's Jude quoting from a text, 14:40 and this is kind of an apocryphal text. 14:41 It's called The Book of Enoch that the Jews had. 14:44 It probably was not written by Enoch, 14:45 but it was written by some Babylonian author, 14:48 one of the Jews in Babylon. 14:51 But there's one part of it that Jude quotes 14:53 and believes is evidently true. 14:56 "Now, Enoch, the seventh from Adam, 14:58 prophesied about these men, saying, 15:01 'Behold, the Lord comes.'" 15:04 And so it was understood that... 15:06 Now did Enoch live before or after the flood? 15:10 Before the flood. 15:11 So the idea of the Lord coming, how far back does it go? 15:16 It says that He was coming 15:17 and that He wasn't coming alone as well. 15:19 It says, "Behold, the Lord comes 15:20 with ten thousands of His saints." 15:24 Not ten thousand, "Ten thousands of His saints 15:28 to execute judgment on all, to convict all 15:30 who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds. 15:32 It's a time of judgment 15:34 which they have committed in an ungodly way, 15:36 and all the harsh things which ungodly sinners 15:39 have spoken against Him. 15:40 There is a day of judgment. 15:41 The Lord is going to come." 15:43 And so that he says, 15:44 "This is Enoch who prophesied of these." 15:47 Now is it possible that Enoch said that? 15:51 And Jude said that he did. 15:52 That doesn't mean the whole book of Jude is true. 15:55 Paul periodically even quoted from some Greek authors. 16:00 It doesn't mean everything they said was true, 16:02 but he quoted something they said that was true. 16:05 And so, you know, inspired writers 16:08 have the prerogative to take excerpts and say, 16:12 "You know, this is true, 16:14 like God helps those that help themselves." 16:18 Is that in the Bible? 16:20 No, that's in Poor Richard's Almanack 16:22 written by Benjamin Franklin. 16:23 But it is true, you know what I mean? 16:26 So there are truths out there. 16:28 That doesn't mean everything 16:29 that Benjamin Franklin wrote is inspired. 16:31 You see what I'm saying? 16:33 So they have the Holy Spirit, 16:35 they can make that determination. 16:37 Here's another Old Testament prophecy 16:40 about the Second Coming. 16:41 In a moment, I'm going to ask someone to read 16:43 1 Thessalonians 4, you'll have that, okay? 16:46 Psalms 50:3, "Our God shall come." 16:50 Is that clear? 16:53 "Our God shall come and not keep silence." 16:55 It's not a secret coming, secret rapture. 16:58 "A fire shall devour before Him, 17:01 and it will be very tempestuous, 17:03 stormy all about him." 17:04 Storms of glory. 17:06 "He will call to the heavens from above and the earth 17:09 that He may judge His people, 17:11 'Gather My saints together to Me, 17:13 those who've made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.'" 17:15 So here He is even saying, "Gather My saints," 17:17 which is what our next verse is. 17:19 Why don't you read that for us? 17:21 The verse says, "For the Lord Himself 17:24 will descend from heaven with a shout, 17:28 with the voice of an archangel, 17:30 and with a trumpet of God. 17:33 And the dead of Christ will rise first." 17:36 Yeah, Good. Thank you. 17:37 And of course, that's 1 Thessalonians 4:16. 17:39 There again, He's talking about 17:41 He will come and gather His saints, 17:43 "The dead in Christ shall rise." 17:45 Even in the Old Testament, it says, "The Lord will come. 17:47 He is going to gather them." 17:48 Not only will the dead in Christ rise, 17:50 what happens to the living when He comes? 17:52 "Those of us who are alive and remain will be caught up 17:54 to meet them together in the clouds." 17:56 And so there's a gathering that happens. 17:58 There's a judgment that happens when the Lord comes. 18:01 Zachariah 14. 18:03 This is a verse that has caused some confusion, 18:06 but it is pretty clear about this part. 18:08 "Then the Lord will go forth 18:09 and fight against those nations, 18:11 as He fights in the day of battle. 18:12 And in that day, His feet will stand 18:14 on the Mount of Olives, 18:16 which faces Jerusalem on the east, 18:19 and the Mount of Olives will be split in two." 18:21 Now you've heard about the first coming of the Lord, 18:24 and what happens after the First Coming? 18:28 What happens after the first of anything? 18:30 Second Coming. Second Coming. 18:32 How many of you have heard of the Second Coming? 18:34 Okay. 18:35 How many of you have heard 18:36 a good sermon on the Third Coming? 18:39 Is there a Third Coming? 18:40 Yes. Yes. 18:42 So when the Lord comes next, sequentially, 18:46 He doesn't touch the earth. 18:48 We are caught up to meet Him. 18:50 "The dead in Christ rise to meet Him." 18:53 He says, "I take you to the mansions 18:55 which I prepared." 18:56 Didn't we just read that? 18:57 We live and reign with Him for a thousand years. 19:00 We're not here on earth 19:01 reigning over the destruction and the wicked. 19:04 That's what some churches teach. 19:05 I don't believe the Bible teaches that. 19:07 There's a judgment that's taking place. 19:08 At the end of the 1,000 years, the New Jerusalem comes down. 19:14 The Lord raises all the wicked. 19:15 The Bible says, "The rest of the dead don't live again 19:17 till the thousand years is finished," 19:19 which means they do live again 19:20 after the thousand years are finished. 19:22 God raises all the wicked. 19:24 Jesus said, "There's the resurrection of the just 19:26 and the resurrection of the unjust." 19:28 He comes back with a New Jerusalem 19:30 and He actually... 19:32 When He calls for the wicked, 19:33 He touches His feet to the Mount of Olives. 19:36 That is the Third Coming. 19:38 So if someone is walking around the world, 19:40 and they're on the earth in the near future, 19:43 and they say they're Jesus, how do we know it's not Jesus? 19:46 One very clear simple fact, 19:49 Christ is never touching the ground 19:50 in the Second Coming. 19:51 He doesn't touch the ground again 19:52 until the Third Coming. 19:54 So anybody walking around, says I'm Jesus, 19:56 you know right away he's a false Christ. 19:59 He said, "That coming will be 20:00 like lightning shining from the east to the west." 20:02 Lightning is up in the sky. 20:04 We're going to be caught up to meet Him in the air. 20:06 So then there's the Third Coming. 20:08 Now this is all moving towards the unity 20:10 that we're talking about. 20:11 That must happen. 20:12 That's when it says that 20:14 "With fire, He will plead with all flesh." 20:17 There's a great judgment. 20:19 When the wicked finally seek to take the city, 20:21 all the wicked are called 20:22 "May God surround the beloved city," 20:25 Christ then rises up on His white throne, 20:27 all are judged, every knee will bow, 20:30 fire comes down from God out of heaven, 20:31 devours the wicked. 20:33 And the devil, and his angels 20:35 are all cast into this lake of fire 20:36 that's formed from this rain. 20:38 You ever seen a lot of rain form a lake? 20:40 I have. 20:43 There are some places in the world 20:44 where it dries up in the summer 20:45 and turns into a lake in the winter. 20:48 And there's lake of fire all around the world. 20:51 God is going to use that fire to purify the planet. 20:53 But just like a moat around the castle, 20:56 that lake of fire will surround the New Jerusalem, 20:59 it will not be harmed. 21:01 When the fire goes out, 21:02 God is, then on the ashes of this purified world, 21:04 going to create a new heavens and a new earth 21:07 wherein dwells righteousness, and it talks about that 21:10 "The saved will go forth and tread upon the wicked 21:14 for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet. 21:16 Blessed are the meek, they will inherit the earth." 21:20 This is the time those verses all come true. 21:22 And that's a time when we'll have 21:24 the perfect restoration of unity. 21:27 Here's another verse. 21:28 And I better wrap up my Second Coming verses 21:30 because there are a lot of them. 21:32 Isaiah 66:15, "For behold, the Lord will come with fire 21:36 and with chariots, like a whirlwind, 21:39 to render his anger with fury, 21:40 and his rebuke with flames of fire. 21:43 For by fire and by His sword, the Lord will judge all flesh, 21:47 and the slain of Lord will be many." 21:49 Bible says it's not going to be good news 21:51 for most of the world when Jesus comes. 21:53 Isn't that what it tells us? 21:55 "Then all the tribes of the earth, 21:56 they'll see the sign of His coming in the heavens, 21:58 and all the tribes of the earth will mourn." 22:01 Let's talk about the majority of people 22:02 "Because strait is the gate 22:04 and narrow is the way that leads to life, 22:06 and few find it," few want to find it. 22:09 "Broad is the way that leads to destruction." 22:11 It seems like majority go down that wrong road. 22:15 And that by the way was Matthew 24:30. 22:18 It says, "The Son of Man, 22:19 His sign will appear in the heavens." 22:22 So when He comes again, He's in the heavens. 22:24 We're caught up to meet Him. All right. 22:26 Now we're going to talk about the promise of restoration. 22:28 Someone is going to read for me a verse in just a moment. 22:31 I think it's from 1 Corinthians 2:9. 22:33 Before you read that, I'm going to read Isaiah 11. 22:36 I like this verse. 22:38 "The wolf also will dwell with the lamb, 22:41 and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, 22:44 the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, 22:48 and a little child will lead them." 22:49 Okay. Stop. Several things here. 22:51 Will there be animals in the new earth? 22:52 Yes. 22:54 Will there be any children? 22:57 Will there be new marriages? 23:01 Will there be new births? 23:03 No new marriages. No new births. 23:05 So how do the children get to heaven as children? 23:10 They either were children when Jesus came 23:12 or they died as children. 23:14 Sometimes, people say, "Why? 23:16 Isn't the Lord mean that during the flood, 23:19 maybe there were some kids that wanted to get in the ark? 23:22 And only know... And these kids were in there... 23:24 They're all losses." 23:25 No, they'll be resurrected if any of them were saved. 23:29 There may be some children without parents in the kingdom. 23:33 Have you ever thought of that? 23:35 And so there'll be some adoptions taking place. 23:39 And they will grow up. 23:40 I'm going to talk to you about that. 23:41 They're going to grow more slowly. 23:42 I'll get to that in just a minute. 23:45 Let me read on here. 23:46 So there's animals there, 23:47 "The cow and the bear will graze." 23:50 You know, bears while we always think of them as carnivorous, 23:53 you know, bears eat more grass than meat. 23:56 They do a lot of grazing. 23:58 "The cow and the bear will graze. 24:00 And the lion will eat straw like the ox." 24:03 Any of you ever read that book about Little Tyke, 24:07 it was a lioness that was adopted by this couple. 24:11 They thought the lioness, 24:12 the little lion cub, was going to die 24:14 'cause its mother just kept trying to kill her. 24:16 And they rescued it from its mother. 24:17 This family had a sort of an animal farm. 24:19 They had all kinds of animals on their farm. 24:21 I think it was in Oregon. 24:24 They adopted this little lioness and fed it. 24:27 But they discovered they could not 24:29 get it to drink milk, 24:30 but it would not eat meat under any circumstances. 24:32 Turned up its nose or rather starve than eat meat. 24:35 So they could give it porridge, and vegetables, 24:38 and all kinds of different food, 24:39 and it would eat it. 24:40 But it would not eat meat. 24:43 And that was all chronicle grew into a... 24:44 Everyone said, "Oh, it's never going to make it." 24:46 It grew into a healthy, full size, massive lioness. 24:49 Very happy, very gentle. 24:50 You could put a lamb down next to it, 24:52 would not hurt the lamb, a living lamb. 24:55 And some of you read that book? 24:57 You can just look up Little Tyke. 25:00 In heaven, will the animals eat each other? 25:02 Was it ever God's plan for there to be death? 25:06 Will we be eating animals there? 25:08 No. No. 25:11 So you just picture the saints running around heaven 25:13 with a meat cleaver chasing the chicken. 25:16 It doesn't fit. Does it? 25:19 And so can you see benefits in vegetarianism? 25:24 Do we need to wait 25:25 till we get to heaven to try that? 25:27 Are we better off maybe trying it now? 25:30 I went to the doctor this week 25:33 and they took my blood pressure... 25:35 I'm bragging, I'm sorry. 25:38 And it was like, you know, 112/72. 25:42 And they went, "Whoa! 25:44 You're doing okay for an old guy." 25:46 And then the doctor said, "Are you vegetarian?" 25:48 I said, "Yes." He said, "Are you a vegan?" 25:50 I said, "Yes." He said, "I could tell. 25:52 You'll live longer." 25:54 Okay. Go ahead. Read for us. 25:57 Oh, no, I didn't finish my verse. 25:58 Sorry, I keep stopping you. 26:01 It says, "The nursing child will play on the cobra's hole, 26:05 and the weaned child 26:07 will put his hand on the viper's den. 26:09 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain." 26:12 No animals will be harmful. 26:14 "For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord," 26:16 not just people, but even animals, 26:18 "as the waters cover the sea." 26:20 Right now. Go ahead and read. 26:22 1 Corinthians 2:9. 26:25 "But as it is written, 26:26 eye has not seen, nor ear heard, 26:28 nor have entered into the heart of man, 26:30 the things which God has prepared 26:32 for those who love Him." 26:33 You can't even imagine. 26:35 By the way, he's quoting from Isaiah here 26:37 when he says this. 26:38 He says, "As it is written." 26:40 You can't even imagine 26:41 the things that God has prepared. 26:42 So no matter how far you try to stretch your mind 26:46 about the glories, how bright heaven will be, 26:48 you cannot picture it bright enough. 26:50 No matter how far you try to stretch your mind 26:53 about what the bliss and the joy will be like 26:56 in being in heaven, you can't imagine it. 26:59 The beauty and the harmony 27:01 of the animals and the creation, 27:03 when you try to picture that, it can probably thrill you, 27:06 you can't imagine it. 27:09 Paul was probably taken to heaven. 27:10 He said, "I knew a man caught up, 27:12 saw the third heaven and saw things 27:14 that can't be uttered." 27:15 And John saw things, he says, "I can't even write it." 27:18 I mean, there are so many things 27:19 that are so indescribable. 27:21 Some of you have read some of Ellen White's visions. 27:24 She's said, "Oh, if I had the tongue of an angel 27:26 that I could describe to you the things that I've seen, 27:29 but it's beyond description." 27:32 All she could do when she came back was say 27:33 "Dark, dark, dark." 27:35 It is so dark here compared to that world. 27:38 So God has a beautiful world prepared. 27:41 And then you go to Revelation, 27:42 we're talking about the promise of restoration still. 27:45 Revelation 21:1. 27:49 "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, 27:53 for the first heaven and the first earth 27:55 were passed away." 27:56 Now I just want to pause and make a point here. 27:59 When he says the first heaven 28:00 and the first earth were passed away, 28:01 is it because this planet exploded 28:04 and He had to go make another one? 28:06 Or did He come back and recreate on this planet 28:08 what He had originally planned? 28:11 See, God had an original plan. 28:14 His plan was frustrated by a rebellious angel 28:18 known as Lucifer, Satan, devil. 28:22 And so God's plan was interrupted. 28:23 But can you ever stop God from doing 28:26 what He ultimately wants to do? 28:29 So is the planet... 28:30 Is God going to restore this world? 28:32 It's this world... 28:33 He is going to do with this world 28:35 what He originally planned with this world, 28:37 except as I like to say, 28:40 sometimes, I go to pick up a rental car, 28:43 and when I get there, they say, 28:45 "You know, there's been a convention in town, 28:46 and the car you rented is not available." 28:49 And at first I go, "Oh." 28:51 And then they say, 28:52 "So we're going to give you an upgrade." 28:56 Once or twice, I was just in Canada a little while ago, 29:01 and they said, "Sorry, 29:03 your mid-sized economy car is not available, 29:06 so you've got to drive this premium car." 29:09 "Oh man, it's really nice." 29:12 It was really nice also because it was brand new. 29:15 You know, sometimes, you get a rental car 29:16 and it's got, like, 90,000 miles on it, you know? 29:19 And it's really high mileage 29:21 'cause people don't take care of rental cars 29:22 like they do their own car. 29:24 But if you can get a rental car where it's like 29:26 they just take off the dealer sticker, you know, 29:29 still it's a brand new car, you get in, 29:31 it's got 10 miles on it. 29:34 It was brand new, 29:35 and it had all these new features, 29:38 and it even had the free satellite radio upgrade. 29:42 So wherever we were driving in the country... 29:43 Karen, I had this car, we were going across... 29:48 Yeah, we went by Pennsylvania, Michigan, up into Canada. 29:50 We had a great time. 29:51 And so much... "Got it upgraded." 29:54 So are things going to be as good as they were 29:56 in the Garden of Eden or better? 29:58 Better. 30:00 You know, whenever God makes something over, 30:01 do you think He makes it as well or does He say, 30:03 "I'm God, I can make it better"? 30:05 Right? 30:06 And so it's going to be even better than before. 30:10 And... 30:12 Oh, I lost my verse here. 30:14 So you've got the restoration. Now listen to this. 30:17 "New heavens, new earth, 30:18 first heaven and earth are passed away. 30:20 There is no more sea." 30:22 Now does that mean there's no more water? 30:25 Bible says there are rivers in the new earth, 30:28 isn't that right? 30:30 "River of crystal flows from the throne of God." 30:33 So there are rivers in the new earth? 30:34 Where does the river usually run? 30:37 Into a body of water. 30:39 Why does God say there's no more sea? 30:42 For them, the sea... 30:43 You could not drink sea water, you could not water your plants 30:46 with seawater, it burned your eyes. 30:50 They meant there's no more briny sea. 30:52 In the Garden of Eden, originally, 30:53 there was no salt water. 30:54 The salt water all happened 30:55 from the breaking up of the earth mantle, 30:58 exposing these rich salt caverns beneath the earth, 31:01 and it's, you know, tainted the water. 31:03 You know, what I think is really interesting 31:05 is you got sharks that swim in salt water, right? 31:11 And most sharks now 31:13 if you take them out of salt water, 31:14 you put them in a lake, they'll die. 31:16 But you know, there are sharks in the Lake Titicaca that is... 31:22 whatever it is, 14,000 feet up in the Andes Mountains 31:26 because when the world went through this change, 31:29 these original sharks swam in freshwater. 31:32 And this mountain range was pushed up 31:33 with these sharks still there, and the water was fresh. 31:36 And they were used to it. 31:38 The other sharks had to get used to salt water. 31:40 And it probably, as the salt was released gradually, 31:43 they were able to get used to it. 31:45 I don't know if any of that made sense to you. 31:46 But there's still water. There are still seas. 31:50 They're fresh water. 31:51 It's like you got great lakes. America's got the great lakes. 31:56 Some are fresh, some are salt. 31:57 I forget which are which, some of you know. 32:00 Anyway. All right. 32:03 And it says, "There's no more sea. 32:05 And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, 32:07 coming down from heaven from God, 32:10 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 32:13 The Bible says, "Husbands, love your wives, 32:15 even as Christ loves," what? 32:17 Who is in... 32:18 Is God marrying a city with buildings and minerals? 32:20 Or is He marrying people that live in the city? 32:23 It's His church. This is the home of the church. 32:27 "Behold, the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God..." 32:30 It says, "I heard a voice out of heaven, saying, 32:32 'The dwelling place of God is with men. 32:34 He will dwell with them. 32:36 They will be His people. 32:37 God Himself will be with them and be their God.'" 32:41 Now you think about that. 32:42 That is one of the most beautiful promises. 32:45 Yeah. 32:47 When we talk about unity, 32:49 is it just unity between people and families 32:52 and relationships and countries? 32:56 Where is the biggest disunity in the world right now? 33:03 When Adam ran from God in the Garden of Eden, 33:08 God says, "Your sins have separated you from Me," 33:12 right? 33:13 The purpose of the plan of salvation 33:15 is to restore the relationship between man and God. 33:19 When you get to Revelation, the Bible says, 33:21 "God Himself will be with them." 33:24 That is like underlined and highlight. 33:27 It's one of those verses that screams. 33:32 God Himself will be with them. 33:34 God is going to move the capital of the universe 33:36 to our planet. 33:37 Just think about that. 33:39 How wonderful that's going to be. 33:40 I just realized, Pastor Ross, 33:42 I got to preach about the same thing next week, 33:43 I better not say too much. 33:46 We're talking about heaven. 33:47 We're having an amazing doctrines program 33:49 that will be broadcasting here the next Friday. 33:52 I think it is next Friday, right? 33:53 Yeah. Next Friday, and all day Sabbath. 33:56 And one of my assignments is to talk about heaven. 33:59 "And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes, 34:02 and there'll be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, 34:05 neither will there be any more pain." 34:08 All right. 34:09 Suppose you get to heaven when Jesus comes 34:12 and some of you are crying. 34:17 Why would you cry? 34:20 Because there are people in heaven 34:21 you hoped would never be there. 34:24 No. 34:26 Some of them would be like, 34:27 "Oh, I was hoping there won't be my neighbor." 34:30 No, because there are people you hoped would be there 34:33 that are not there, right? 34:35 That would cause some tears. 34:36 Some people say, "Well, there'll be no tears in heaven. 34:38 Heaven is a place of perfect joy." 34:40 That's not biblical. 34:42 Do angels just laugh and sing giddy songs 34:44 when Jesus was on the cross? 34:47 The fact that angels rejoice over a sinner that turns 34:50 means that they have emotion in heaven. 34:54 Just like the children of Israel 34:55 hung their harps in the willows by the rivers of Babylon, 34:59 the angels hang their harps in sadness 35:02 when people are lost in this world, 35:04 when there's tragedy. 35:06 And they rejoice when people turn to God. 35:09 So when people get to heaven, 35:11 if they see there are certain people 35:12 that are not there that they love, 35:14 and there may be some sadness, there may be some sadness. 35:17 And when we get to heaven, we think, "Oh, 35:18 if I had only done some more, more people would be here." 35:21 We might have regrets. That's right. 35:24 People are going to get to heaven. 35:25 Do you realize that even among the saved, 35:27 there are varying degrees of reward? 35:28 How many of you know that? 35:32 That's why we want to build on a solid foundation. 35:34 Some are building with wood, hay, and stubble. 35:36 Paul says, "And when they get to heaven, 35:38 they're going to see that very little is accomplished." 35:45 Bible says, "Every man is judged 35:46 and rewarded according to their works." 35:48 We may have some regret. 35:49 We think, "Oh, why didn't I care more? 35:51 Why didn't I believe more? Why didn't I do more? 35:53 There are people maybe that could have been here 35:57 if I had cared more." 36:00 And so there maybe tears at first. 36:05 There may be tears when we see... 36:08 Does for Lord, is He sad at the lost? 36:12 He calls the destruction of the wicked His strange act. 36:15 The Lord is not willing that any should perish. 36:19 So there may be some sadness among God's redeemed. 36:23 We'll be, you know, joyful, they'll be raptured, 36:26 and praise for being there, 36:28 but we'll have moments of reflection 36:30 when there may be some sadness. 36:32 When we're in the New Jerusalem 36:33 and God once finally rained fire 36:35 down upon the wicked, 36:36 do you think we're going to be singing in the city? 36:38 Or will it be a sad time? 36:40 I think there'll be some sadness. 36:42 That's why it puts in that verse, 36:43 "God will wipe away all tears." 36:45 Some of you might be thinking, "Pastor Doug, 36:48 if my daughter or my son is not in the kingdom, 36:50 I don't think I could ever recover. 36:52 I don't see how I could ever get over the sadness." 36:57 Well, I probably couldn't console you 36:59 but God could. 37:01 It's not a man wiping away your tears, 37:03 it's God wiping away your tears. 37:06 You know, there's a statement in the Bible. 37:07 King David had many sons, 37:09 and several of them, their lives ended tragically. 37:12 And Amnon in particular, David was mourning for Amnon, 37:16 but he finally dried his tears twice. 37:18 He mourned for a baby that died for seven days. 37:21 But finally, he got up and he wiped his tears away, 37:24 he said, "It's the Lord's will," 37:26 and he went on with life. 37:28 And he was able to write more songs. 37:30 Yeah. God can dry your tears. 37:32 And you ever heard the expression time heals. 37:36 How much time will you have 37:37 between the Second Coming and the Third Coming? 37:40 A thousand years. Thousand years. 37:42 That can do a lot of healing, especially when you're, 37:45 you know, walking down golden streets 37:47 and you get to talk to Bible patriarchs. 37:49 God will wipe away all the tears 37:51 from their eyes during that time. 37:53 All right. 37:54 Now it talks about the resurrection 37:56 and restored relationships. 37:59 And I know, this seems out of order, 38:00 but I'm doing it the way the lesson is written. 38:03 1 Thessalonians 4:13. 38:05 "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, 38:07 concerning those who have fallen asleep 38:10 that you do not sorrow as others who have no hope. 38:13 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 38:16 even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 38:20 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, 38:22 that we who are alive and remain 38:23 until the coming of the Lord 38:25 will by no means precede those who are asleep. 38:27 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven 38:30 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 38:33 with a trumpet of God, 38:34 and the dead in Christ will rise first. 38:37 Then we who are alive and remain 38:38 will be caught up together with them." 38:40 Do you notice those words? 38:42 Now we're separated. 38:44 When you say the words together with them, 38:46 you're talking unity, aren't you? 38:48 And how long will that unity last? 38:51 As long as you want. 38:53 You might say, you know, to your friend 38:54 or some family member that you meet in the clouds, 38:58 after you spend a few hundred years together, 39:00 say, "You know, I hope you don't mind, 39:01 but I'm going to just take a little road trip. 39:02 I want to go to another planet. 39:04 I'll be back in 50 years." 39:05 I mean, you got forever. 39:08 But there's a unity there, right? 39:14 "We'll be caught up together with them in the clouds, 39:16 to meet the Lord in the air, 39:17 and thus we shall always be with the Lord." 39:20 You see the word unity in there? 39:22 United with the Lord, united with each other, always. 39:25 There's a unity in those verses. 39:27 "Therefore, comfort one another." 39:30 So if a Christian comes to the funeral of a believer, 39:34 if we cry, who are we crying for? 39:38 For them or for ourselves 39:41 that we're going to miss them until the resurrection? 39:43 Don't cry for them? Because what do they get? 39:48 You might even be jealous. 39:50 If they die saved, their next conscious thought 39:52 is the presence of the Lord, right, and the resurrection. 39:56 And so why would you cry for them, 39:57 you rejoice for them. 39:58 If you're thinking about them, 40:00 they've laid down their armor, they don't study word anymore. 40:04 I mean, I've been at funerals of people 40:06 who I knew were saved. 40:07 Let's all face it. 40:08 We go to some funerals, we hope they're saved. 40:10 But I've been at funerals of people 40:11 who I knew would be saved, 40:12 and I just stood there jealous 'cause I thought, "Wow! 40:16 If I could be Mrs. Philips... 40:19 I can't imagine what it's going to be like for her." 40:21 First of all, she's old. 40:23 She's going to wake up young, 40:25 and she's going to wake up with Jesus, 40:27 be together with her husband, and just the joy, 40:30 just thinking about her next experience, 40:32 actually made me very happy for her, 40:33 but it made me jealous, 'cause I'd like to have that. 40:37 We're still stuck in this world. 40:39 All right. 40:40 And so continuing on, it says, "He will send... 40:44 When Jesus comes, He'll send His angels 40:46 with the sound of a trumpet." 40:48 Now you notice it says the Lord will send from heaven 40:50 the shout and the trumpet. 40:52 "He will send His angels," this is in Matthew 24:31, 40:54 "with the sound of a trumpet, 40:55 they will gather together His elect 40:58 from the four winds of heaven." 41:01 Now when it says four winds, what does that mean? 41:03 North, south, east, west. 41:04 It's just talking about the four corners of the earth. 41:06 You've read in Revelation, four angels holding back 41:08 the four winds, they should not blow. 41:13 You can also read 1 Corinthians 15:51, 41:18 "Behold, I tell you a mystery, we will not all sleep, 41:21 some of us won't die, but we'll be changed 41:25 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet," 41:27 there it is, again, "For the trumpet will sound 41:30 and the dead will be raised incorruptible, 41:32 and we will be changed. 41:35 For this corruptible," these bodies that get old, 41:38 "must put on incorruption 41:40 and this mortal must put on immortality. 41:42 So when this corruptible body shall put on incorruption, 41:46 and this model has put on immortality, 41:47 then is brought to pass the saying, 41:49 that is written," he's quoting from Psalms 41:51 "Death is swallowed up in victory. 41:54 O death, where is your sting? 41:55 O grave, where is your victory?" 41:57 All right. 41:58 Someone's going to read for me now 42:00 from Hebrews 11. 42:02 Just before you do that, I'm going to read Isaiah 30:26, 42:06 talking about the new earth for the redeemed. 42:10 It says here in Isaiah 30:26, 42:12 "Moreover, the light of the moon 42:13 will be like the light of the sun, 42:16 and the light of the sun will be sevenfold 42:19 as of the light of the day. 42:20 And in the day that the Lord binds up 42:23 the bruise of his people 42:25 and heals the stroke of their wound." 42:26 It says, "The light of the moon is bright as a sun is now 42:29 and the light of the sun then 42:31 will be seven times brighter than the sun now." 42:34 Now you would think, "Seven times brighter, 42:35 why don't that burn everything up?" 42:36 It doesn't say seven times hotter, does it? 42:39 It says seven times brighter. 42:41 How God's going to do that? I don't know. 42:42 But I think, it just means 42:44 everything's going to seem brighter. 42:45 Your eyes will probably be brighter. 42:48 You know, sometimes, 42:49 your eyes are dim as we get old. 42:52 And everything is going to be a brighter world. 42:54 Good. Read your verse for us. 42:56 Hebrews 11:9-10, 42:59 "By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise, 43:02 as in a foreign country dwelling in tents 43:04 with Isaac and Jacob, 43:07 the heirs with him of the same promise, 43:09 for he waited for the city, which has foundations, 43:12 whose builder and maker is God." 43:15 And here he's talking about Abraham 43:18 who believes that this is not it. 43:21 He's looking forward to a world restored, 43:24 and the New City of God. 43:26 And then you go to verse 35, Hebrews 11, 43:28 same chapter, verse 35. 43:30 "Women received their dead raised to life again. 43:32 Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, 43:35 that they might obtain a better resurrection." 43:38 They all believe there was that better resurrection 43:40 that was coming. 43:41 Go to Isaiah 60:19. 43:44 Old Testament is full of these promises. 43:46 "The sun shall no longer be your light by day, 43:50 nor for brightness, 43:51 shall the moon give light to you, 43:52 but the Lord will be an everlasting light, 43:56 and God your glory, your son will no longer go down." 44:00 Now it doesn't mean there won't be days. 44:02 Just keep reading. 44:03 "Nor the moon withdraw itself, 44:05 for the Lord will be your everlasting light, 44:09 and the days of your mourning shall be ended. 44:11 No more sadness. 44:12 Now what is Isaiah talking about? 44:14 You read in Revelation 21, 44:16 "The city had no need of the sun." 44:18 Now will there be days and night in new earth? 44:23 Yes. There's separation of time. 44:25 We have day and night, part of God's original plan. 44:28 God is going to restore His original plan, 44:30 but there'll be one upgrade. 44:32 God is moving His capital to the universe. 44:34 So in the New Jerusalem, God dwells, 44:36 the temple of God is in the city. 44:38 He says He is the temple of it, His presence is there. 44:41 He'll be flanked by two angels like He is in heaven there. 44:45 The glory that streams from heaven 44:48 and bounces off of the atmosphere 44:49 is going to illuminate the whole planet. 44:51 But the planet still revolves. 44:53 There still will be these other bodies 44:55 that God's created, 44:56 the sun, and the moon, and the stars. 44:57 We're still going to have day and night. 44:59 How do we know that? 45:01 It tells us that we won't need to afraid 45:02 of the forest at night. 45:04 It tells us that "From one new moon to another 45:08 and one Sabbath to another..." 45:09 In order to have a Sabbath, you got to have days, right? 45:12 "All flesh will come and gather," not just Jews, 45:15 all flesh come and worship before Him 45:19 in the new earth. 45:20 Amen. 45:22 And then you can read also in Revelation 21:23, 45:28 "The city had no need of the sun or the moon. 45:31 God's the glory." 45:32 Look in Isaiah 65:17, "For behold, 45:35 I create a new heavens and a new earth, 45:38 the former world not be remembered 45:40 or come into mind." 45:41 Okay, stop. 45:44 "Pastor Doug, I've done some things 45:45 I'm ashamed of. 45:46 And I know Jesus has forgiven me, 45:47 but I just wish I could have my brain washed." 45:51 Well, you will someday. 45:53 Bible says, "The former will not come into mind." 45:54 Does that mean we don't remember 45:56 Jesus saved us? 45:57 Or the former painful memories no longer come into mind? 46:04 You notice, as you get older, 46:06 for those of you who have gotten older, 46:08 things used to... 46:09 think about on a regular basis. 46:10 If you have nothing that's happened, 46:12 or you haven't said a name in a long time, 46:14 you haven't seen someone 46:15 you used to know in a long time, 46:16 you can actually really forget the name 46:18 because it's been out of your mind for so long. 46:21 Now people you see every day, you can remember their names. 46:24 But if you haven't seen somebody in years... 46:26 It happened to me last night. Karen, I was laying in a bed. 46:28 I said, "That's a Pastor..." She said, "I know who it is." 46:31 She couldn't think of the name. I couldn't think of the name. 46:34 And we're falling asleep. 46:35 And finally, I called out the name. 46:37 I couldn't rest until I remember the name. 46:39 But it's just someone I don't see every day 46:41 and so I forgot it. 46:42 Well, you know, as the eons roll by, 46:46 the painful memories, got to wipe away the tears. 46:48 "The former will not be remembered 46:50 or coming to mind," meaning, the sadness of this world. 46:52 We're still going to remember what God did to save us, right? 46:57 "For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing 47:00 and her people a joy. 47:02 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy My people." 47:07 Pardon me. 47:08 "And the voice of weeping 47:09 shall no longer be heard in her, 47:11 nor the voice of crying. 47:13 No more..." 47:14 And this is a verse that sometimes troubles people. 47:17 "No more shall an infant 47:18 from there live but a few days." 47:20 You know, often, infant mortality is very high. 47:23 "Nor an old man that is not fulfilled his days 47:25 for the child will die a 100 years old." 47:27 People will go, "What? Child will die? 47:30 We're talking about heaven. 47:31 It wouldn't mean the child will die." 47:33 Have you ever wondered about that verse? 47:36 He's just saying, "There won't be an infant 47:38 that hasn't fulfilled his days. 47:40 The child will not even cease being a child till it's 100. 47:44 Or die." There it means... 47:45 the word is die, child will not die, 47:47 but it's talking about child doesn't cease being at 100. 47:50 Have you ever read the genealogies in Genesis 47:53 before the flood 47:54 that it says so and so lived 120 years 47:56 and he got married? 47:58 He didn't get married until he was 100, 47:59 he was a kid at 80. 48:02 You see what I'm saying? It's how it's saying. 48:03 You know, once we enter eternity, 48:05 they don't even cease being children until later. 48:09 "They will build houses and inhabit them." 48:11 Do we float on clouds or does God have plans for us 48:13 to do real things in the new earth? 48:16 "They'll build houses and inhabit them. 48:18 They'll plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them." 48:20 You know why it adds "and eat the fruit," 48:22 children of Israel, often, they built houses 48:24 and they planted vineyards, 48:25 and then they were driven away by their enemies. 48:28 The Philistines would invade their country, 48:29 and they drive some away, and they'd take their towns. 48:33 Or the Syrians coming from the north, 48:34 they'd take their towns, 48:35 they'd take all the work they've done, 48:36 all their vineyards and all their farming. 48:39 God says, "You won't have to worry about that. 48:40 You will build, inhabit, you will plant, you will eat." 48:45 That'll be the nice part of it. 48:47 And then finally, life on the new earth. 48:51 I've gone over. So I'm just going to read, you know... 48:53 I read several verses about... 48:56 Revelation 21, "He showed me a pure river of water, 49:00 clear as crystal, preceding from the throne of God, 49:03 and the tree of life that has 12 kinds of fruit 49:06 12 times a year, the leaves of the tree 49:09 are for the healing of the nations. 49:11 No more curse, but the throne of God 49:14 and the lamb shall be in it." 49:16 The Throne of God, 49:17 the dwelling place of God is in the city. 49:19 I like to close by reading the quote to you 49:24 from special releases. 49:25 This is... 49:26 It says, "As the years of eternity roll, 49:29 they'll bring richer and more glorious revelations 49:32 of God and of Christ. 49:33 As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, 49:36 and happiness increase. 49:39 The more men learn of God, the greater will be 49:41 there admiration of His character. 49:43 As Jesus opens before us the riches of redemption 49:47 and the amazing achievements 49:48 and the great controversy with Satan, 49:50 the hearts of the ransom beat with stronger devotion, 49:53 and they sweep the harps of gold 49:55 with a firmer hand, 49:57 and ten thousand times, ten thousand 49:59 and thousands of thousands of voices unite 50:03 to swell the mighty chorus of praise." 50:06 And that's page 432 and 433. 50:09 It talks about great unity in the kingdom there. 50:14 Have you ever noticed that bees and ants 50:19 all seem to communicate with each other, 50:21 they work together as the united whole 50:24 for whatever they're doing? 50:25 It's almost like they've got a telepathy 50:27 that gives them a unity. 50:30 And I can't explain it, 50:31 but through the Holy Spirit in heaven, 50:33 I think we're going to be united through God's Spirit, 50:35 where we kind of have this telepathy 50:38 where we're all going to be one and it's going to be wonderful. 50:42 It's going to be wonderful. Get it. 50:44 Don't forget, next week, 50:45 we're going to be studying our quarterly on Revelation. 50:48 I want to remind those who came in. 50:49 We are out of time for today's study. 50:51 Thank you very much for joining us. 50:53 Oh, I forgot to mention the free offer. 50:55 What is the free offer? 50:58 They left it up here for me. Oh. 51:00 Hey, this is good. It's a DVD by me. 51:04 How Perfect Must a Christian Be? 51:06 If you like that, then ask for offer number 863. 51:09 It actually is good. 51:10 People wonder, "How perfect must I be to get to heaven? 51:12 You can get this DVD or call 866-788-3966. 51:17 That's 866-Study-More. God bless you, friends. 51:21 We'll study His Word together again next week. 51:25 Don't forget to request today's life-changing free resource. 51:28 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 51:30 you can download a digital copy 51:32 straight to your computer or a mobile device. 51:34 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 51:37 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 51:41 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 51:44 And be sure to select 51:45 that digital download option on the request page. 51:47 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 51:51 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 51:54 and most important, to share it with others. 52:01 Amazing Facts Changed Lives. 52:09 I met my ex-wife, 52:10 and her family were real big into drugs. 52:12 And it started out with them wanting me 52:15 to go to the doctor to help get them drugs. 52:17 And you know, I'm noticing they're going to the doctor, 52:20 they're coming back with like 60 pills, 52:22 and they're selling these pills for like $1,000. 52:24 And I'm thinking, "Wow, 52:27 this is a lot of money I'm giving these people, 52:29 so I'm just going to start selling it myself." 52:31 But a problem with that was we had all this money 52:34 but we were absolutely miserable. 52:37 She would go out and sleep with other guys to get drugs, 52:41 and that ended my marriage. 52:43 But during this time, I have to get a job 52:45 to build back up to where I was at, 52:47 to open my shop again. 52:48 So I get a job at Food City. 52:50 And when I get this job at Food City, 52:52 there was my wife now, Rebecca, she's a cashier there. 52:56 And when I walk in, she's the most beautiful girl 52:59 I've ever seen in my life. 53:01 I was like, "Man, 53:02 I could never have a girl like that. 53:04 Wow. She is so beautiful." 53:05 But as I'm working with her, 53:07 she's actually kind of mean to me. 53:10 And she was saying, 53:11 "I don't want anything to do with you, 53:13 get away from me," stuff like that. 53:15 But you know, I just kept being nice to her 53:17 and kept trying to give her my phone number. 53:19 And it's around Christmas Eve, 53:21 we'd just been dating for a little while 53:24 and moved in together. 53:25 My ex-wife shows up with my three children 53:28 that I had by her. 53:29 And she's like, "Here's your kids, 53:31 here's their birth certificates, 53:32 here's our social security cards. 53:34 I'm done." And we were starting a family. 53:36 We already have three kids. 53:39 During this time, we spent the next year 53:41 watching nothing but Amazing Facts on YouTube. 53:44 I didn't even know 53:45 they even had a website at this time. 53:46 I just knew that this little guy on YouTube 53:49 was super smart, was teaching Bible, 53:51 and I wanted to follow him, I wanted to be a Christian. 53:55 I gave my life to God now because of these truths 53:58 that I'm learning from Doug Batchelor. 54:00 Just because Doug taught it, 54:01 didn't make me real sure about going to this church. 54:05 I really didn't want anything to do with it. 54:06 But I called the guy and I'm telling him, 54:09 and I'm not very nice about it actually. 54:11 I'm telling him, "Look, we were thinking about 54:13 coming to your church." 54:14 And he's really nice and he's like, 54:16 "You're more than welcome to. We'd love to have you come." 54:19 And I'm like, "Well, hold on. 54:20 I'm going to lay down some ground rules." 54:23 I'm telling him, I said, "Look, here, I'm covered in tattoos. 54:25 And I'm a tattoo artist." 54:27 And he didn't say, "Well, you know, wow, 54:29 I didn't know all that, Don't come to my church." 54:31 He says, "You're more than welcome. 54:33 We would love to have you. Please come." 54:37 He asked me what I want to do. 54:38 And I said, "Well, I want to preach." 54:41 I said, "I have all these truths. 54:42 I have all this knowledge, stuff I've never known before, 54:45 stuff if I had when I was younger, 54:47 that would have been life changing to me." 54:50 I said, "I got to share this with the world." 54:53 And I said, "I want to preach, I want to teach." 54:55 He gives me the book, says, "Study that." 54:58 Well, now that I'm a Bible worker, 54:59 I'm able to go, reach people 55:01 that most of the normal churches 55:03 wouldn't even bother to even speak to. 55:05 I'm able to go out and reach the people 55:07 who have lived the life that I've lived. 55:10 I'm able to let them know that "I am like you. 55:13 I've been there, I've done that. 55:16 I want to show you what my life is like now. 55:19 I want to teach you this Bible. 55:20 I want to show you what Jesus can do for you. 55:23 It's not too late." 55:53 Have you ever heard the expression before 55:55 they eat like a bird, 55:56 talking about somebody that has a minuscule appetite? 56:00 Well, you might want to think twice 56:01 next time you use that expression. 56:03 For example, take the hummingbird. 56:06 In order for it to maintain its incredible metabolism, 56:09 it has to eat about 50% of its bodyweight every day. 56:13 To put that in perspective, 56:15 if 100-pound woman was to eat like a hummingbird, 56:18 she would have to eat 50 pounds of sugar a day 56:20 just to maintain her bodyweight. 56:22 Imagine that. 56:24 Maybe you don't want to imagine that. 56:26 But perhaps, you want to consider this another way. 56:29 The hummingbird typically consumes 56:30 between four to seven calories a day, 56:33 on the other hand, a human, about 3,500 calories a day. 56:37 But if you were to eat like a bird, a hummingbird, 56:39 you'd have to eat over 150,000 calories a day. 56:45 But that's like a man, 170 pounds 56:47 that would be eating 3000 Oreo cookies. 56:51 Under normal conditions, 56:53 a hummingbird needs to eat every five or 10 minutes, 56:55 but there's actually one time during the year 56:57 that hummingbird will eat 56:59 its entire bodyweight every day. 57:02 You see once a year, they make this migration 57:04 of 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico 57:07 from Texas to the Yucatan Peninsula. 57:11 In order to do that, the hummingbird feast on nectar 57:14 and gorges themselves on this nectar 57:17 for about a week, doubling their bodyweight. 57:20 That's the only way they can store enough calories 57:22 to help them with their 70 wing beats per second 57:26 or roughly 4 million wing beats on that journey. 57:30 You know, in the same way, friends, 57:31 as we near the end of time, we need to be feasting 57:34 and gorging ourselves on the nectar of God's Word. 57:37 We've got to be able to have that strength 57:38 to get us through the times of trouble that are ahead. 57:41 So when it comes to the Bible and your personal devotions, 57:44 if you're going to eat like a bird, 57:45 eat like a hummingbird. |
Revised 2018-12-24