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00:35 Good morning, friends.
00:36 Welcome once again to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:38 here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:41 in Sacramento, California. 00:43 I'd like to welcome our online members 00:45 and our friends who are joining us 00:46 across the country and around the world, 00:48 as well as our regular church members, 00:50 our Sabbath School members, 00:52 and friends that are right here in person in the sanctuary. 00:55 Again, thank you for joining us, 00:56 we're gonna be studying a brand new lesson, 00:59 a new lesson quarterly dealing with the subject of the family. 01:03 It's actually entitled, "Family Seasons," 01:05 and I think most of you hear in the church, 01:07 you have your lesson quarterly, so you're ready to study. 01:10 We're gonna be starting with lesson number one today 01:13 entitled, "The Rhythms of Life." 01:15 But before we get to our study, 01:17 we do have a free offer 01:19 that we'd like to let our friends 01:20 know about those who are watching online 01:22 and later on in the various television networks. 01:26 Our free offer today is a magazine entitled, 01:28 "The Rest of Your Life." 01:30 And if you'd like to receive this, 01:32 the number to call is 866-788-3966. 01:36 And you can ask for offer number 813. 01:39 And we'll be happy to send that out to anyone 01:41 in North America. 01:42 If you would like to receive a digital version 01:45 of this great magazine, 01:47 all you need to do is text the code "SH086" 01:51 to the number 40544. 01:55 You'll then receive a response that you click on that 01:58 and you'll be able to download the magazine entitled, 02:01 "The Rest of Your Life." 02:03 Well, before we get to our study, 02:04 we always want to begin our time in prayer, 02:07 so let's bow our heads for prayer. 02:09 Dear, Father, once again we're grateful 02:11 that we're able to gather together 02:12 and open up Your Word and study a subject 02:14 that is important to each of us, 02:16 the subject of the family. 02:17 We know that the family here on earth 02:19 is to be a reflection of what it's like in heaven. 02:22 So we do pray, Lord, 02:23 that You would guide our hearts, our minds, 02:25 lead us into a clear understanding 02:27 of how we can be more effective 02:29 in ministering to our family and those around us, 02:32 for we ask this in Jesus' name. 02:34 Amen. 02:35 So starting this brand new lesson 02:37 quarterly on the family, 02:38 we thought it would be appropriate 02:39 to have our Family Life pastor here at the Granite Bay Church, 02:44 start our series on this topic. 02:47 So I'd like to welcome Pastor Shawn Brummund, 02:49 and he'll be leading us in our study today. 02:53 Well, good morning, every one. 02:56 It's good see you here on this sunny 02:58 beautiful Sabbath morning. 02:59 It's always good to be able to come together 03:01 with the Granite Bay Church and study. 03:04 And continue to learn one of my favorite topics. 03:07 It certainly better be if I'm the Family Life pastor, 03:09 right? 03:10 And yes, family is one of the most 03:12 beautiful gifts that God has given to us. 03:14 And it's a beautiful gift for everyone, 03:17 for many here in this room, 03:19 in the sanctuary as well as many that are watching online 03:22 and on the television as well. 03:25 By the way, just looking back at our free offer today, 03:27 The Rest of Your Life, 03:30 if you've never studied and looked for a Bible answer 03:34 on the Sabbath question, 03:35 this is by far one of the best offers 03:37 that I have and best reads, that I've ever come across. 03:41 So I just wanna give my plug for that as well. 03:44 I'd like to invite you to open your Bibles to our first text 03:47 that reflects our memory text, 03:49 but I'd like to look at the whole passage 03:51 in the Book of Ecclesiastes. 03:53 Now we don't turn to Ecclesiastes very often. 03:55 It's a smaller book in the Old Testament, 03:57 but it is one of the most important ones 04:00 that we can find there. 04:01 And so as we come to the third chapter, 04:04 Ecclesiastes Chapter 3. 04:07 And that's right after the Book of... 04:10 Ecclesiastes, we don't go very often, 04:12 it's right after the Book of Proverbs, why? 04:14 Because as it turns out, 04:16 most of the Proverbs were written by King Solomon 04:19 and Ecclesiastes is also written by King Solomon. 04:25 And so we're going to the third chapter 04:29 and we're going to that key passage, 04:32 starting with verse 1. 04:35 Ecclesiastes 3:1, it says, 04:38 "To everything there is a season, 04:40 a time for every purpose under heaven: 04:43 A time to be born, and a time to die, 04:47 a time to plant, 04:48 and a time to pluck what is planted, 04:51 a time to kill, and a time to heal, 04:53 a time to break down, and a time to build up, 04:56 a time to weep, and a time to laugh, 04:58 a time to mourn, and a time to dance, 05:01 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones, 05:05 a time to embrace, 05:06 and a time to refrain from embracing, 05:09 a time to gain, and a time to lose, 05:12 a time to keep, and a time to throw away, 05:16 a time to tear, and a time to sew, 05:19 a time to keep silence, and a time to speak, 05:24 a time to love, and a time to hate, 05:27 a time of war, and a time of peace." 05:32 And so here we have this great poetic rendition 05:36 that God has inspired the king to be able to write 05:39 in the Holy Scriptures for you and I. 05:42 Now we're gonna play a little bit of trivia, 05:44 I'm gonna give you the easiest trivia question 05:46 that you've ever had. 05:48 And it comes with a sound effects and everything, 05:49 I want you to guess what I'm imitating. 05:51 Are you ready? Are you ready? 05:54 Okay, I hear some yeses. Okay. 05:56 Here it goes. Are you sure? 05:59 Okay. 06:00 Boom, boom, boom, boom, 06:04 boom, boom, boom, boom. 06:07 Okay, right away, everybody got it. 06:08 You didn't take it, 06:10 how long did it take you to be able to guess? 06:11 Probably, after the first boom, boom, right? 06:14 I told you, it's going to be easy. 06:16 Okay, what makes our heart sound like that? 06:18 If you ever picked up a stethoscope 06:20 or may be put your head against the chest 06:22 of a loved one in your family 06:24 and you've kind of listen to the heartbeat 06:25 and you hear that boom, boom, boom, boom. 06:28 What makes a heart beat like that? 06:32 Well, I don't know. 06:33 I'm a pastor, 06:35 I'm not a doctor, I'm not a biologist. 06:36 I can't give you the full answer to why, 06:38 why a heart beats like that. 06:40 Now I do a little bit. 06:41 Remember a little bit in my biology class 06:44 in high school and maybe in college 06:46 when I wasn't paying attention 06:47 as much as I should have at that time. 06:49 But some of it saying, 06:50 again, it's a little bit blurry, 06:52 but it has something to do with the four ventricles 06:54 or chambers that are found in the heart 06:56 and they kind of, you know, 06:58 they're kind of flexing at different times 07:00 and what makes those flex while the muscles 07:02 and, you know, the neurons and all those other things. 07:05 And I know that a doctor and a biologist 07:06 could do a much better job at describing exactly 07:10 why we hear that distinct boom, boom, 07:12 and why it is so consistent. 07:14 And not only why is it so consistent, 07:16 but why is it so important 07:19 that it's so consistent in that matter. 07:21 In fact, as soon as a doctor starts to pick up something, 07:23 and when I was about 12, 07:24 you know, he put the stethoscope to my heart. 07:27 And then he kind of had a conversation 07:28 with my parents afterward and said, 07:30 you know, there's a little bit of a glitch in his heartbeat 07:34 and there's what they call a murmur. 07:35 I don't know if that's what they call it today. 07:37 But back then they called it a murmur. 07:39 And so I had to go back to the doctor, 07:40 I don't know once a year for all my growing years 07:43 until that murmur kind of faded away by God's grace. 07:45 I'm very thankful that it never materialized 07:48 into something bigger. 07:51 But why am I talking about a heart 07:53 during Sabbath School Hour, during a Bible Study? 07:56 And well, the point is that the lesson study 07:58 that we're looking at that opens up 07:59 this great study on family. 08:02 It points out that our body is containing essential rhythms 08:05 to function effectively. 08:07 And so if our heart started to lose that essential rhythm, 08:11 why we would get alarmed very quickly 08:13 because now our life's on the line. 08:15 Now our health, our strength's on the line. 08:18 And that's just one example. 08:19 Again, if you were to talk to a biologist or a doctor, 08:21 I'm sure that they could spend much more time than I could 08:24 talking about all these essential rhythms, 08:26 these regular activities 08:28 that function with very essential regularity. 08:32 And again, if we lose that rhythm, 08:34 if we lose that regularity, 08:36 then we're in trouble, aren't we? 08:37 Then we find ourselves at the hospital 08:39 or the doctor's office and they're trying to diagnose, 08:41 they're trying to look at why is this essential rhythm 08:45 not working properly. 08:48 Well, the rhythms, or cycles, or seasons of life 08:51 here on this planet earth can be found everywhere. 08:53 It's not just in our bodies, but scientists have discovered 08:56 that there's all kinds of different rhythms, 08:58 or cycles, or seasons that take place in nature, 09:02 and all of creation, and the universe, 09:04 and the planets that are around us, 09:06 the stars in the universe. 09:08 And so there's all these essential rhythms 09:11 and cycles in regularity that take place. 09:17 Ellen White had made this comment 09:18 in page seven of our actual quarterly study. 09:22 And so there's a short quote, 09:24 one of the shortest quotes I've ever seen 09:25 from her writings, but it is essential, 09:28 it speaks volumes, it says, "Order is heaven's first love." 09:34 "Order is heaven's first law," I should say, did I say love? 09:39 I did, didn't I? 09:40 See, God is, by the way that's also true. 09:45 God is love but order is heaven's first law. 09:49 And so God is a God of order. 09:51 You know, when we look at our bodies, 09:53 when we look at creation, 09:54 we look at the creation story in Genesis, 09:57 we find there that there is order found 09:59 right from the very beginning 10:01 of the conception of life here on earth. 10:03 And so from the very get-go when God began to bring life 10:06 and a life giving planet 10:08 to this particular part of the universe 10:11 is very distinctly, 10:13 very importantly found in some regular order, 10:17 rhythms, cycles, seasons. 10:22 Now I have to confess that there is something 10:24 that I really don't like about the passage 10:25 that we read in Ecclesiastes. 10:29 Anybody wanna guess what I don't like about 10:30 the passage that we just read? 10:33 Pardon me. A time to kill. A time to hate. 10:35 Okay, I hear a number of different answers. 10:37 Somebody says, a time to die. 10:38 Over here, it Says, a time to kill 10:40 and what was the other one? 10:42 A time to hate. Okay. 10:44 And those are just the outstanding ones. 10:46 Yeah, there's a number of things 10:47 that I don't like about this particular passage. 10:50 And I have a feeling that God agrees, 10:52 I have a feeling that He doesn't like 10:53 that as well. 10:55 In fact, there's many verses that will sustain 10:57 that particular perspective from the Lord Himself. 11:03 There's positives in this passage 11:04 and there's also negatives, isn't there? 11:08 Okay, at first, I thought it was always, 11:10 you know, positive, time to born and a time to die, 11:13 you know, a time to this and a time for that. 11:15 And I thought it was always 11:16 positive, negative, positive, negative, 11:17 but then I looked at it more carefully, 11:19 I realized that's not true. 11:20 It's actually positive, negative, positive, negative, 11:22 then it goes negative, positive, negative, positive, 11:23 positive, negative. 11:24 And so there's not a particular pattern, 11:26 maybe there's a rhythm inside that that goes back 11:28 from positive, negative to negative, positive. 11:31 But the point is that, 11:33 essentially every one of those different statements, 11:35 we find a positive, and we also find a negative. 11:39 And, of course, that wasn't original, 11:41 originally found in the plan, was it? 11:44 Was that God's part? 11:45 Was that part of God's original plan? 11:47 Was it, the way that God had always designed? 11:51 Now some of us as Christians have been duped 11:53 into thinking that, 11:55 and we've started to buy into the lie 11:57 of atheistic evolution, we call it theistic evolution. 12:01 We kind of try to put God in there 12:02 and so we say theistic, 12:04 coming from the Greek word theo or theos, which means God. 12:08 And so we try to bring God 12:10 into the modern Darwinism of evolution. 12:14 And so we say, well, 12:15 negative is always been a part of God's plan 12:17 because survival of the fittest is always been the way 12:19 that God has kind of evolved creatures 12:21 into higher more complex, more capable beings. 12:25 But, of course, then we have to have 12:26 the negative right from the beginning, don't we? 12:28 But that's not what the Bible teaches. 12:29 The Bible teaches something very radically different. 12:32 And so we need to be careful if any of us here in this room 12:35 are watching online or in television 12:37 that have fallen into that trap that I invite you to think 12:40 that through as we just reflect Genesis. 12:43 And the first chapter, the second chapter 12:45 as we read the actual biblical creation story 12:48 and ask ourselves, can we fit 12:53 the elements of Darwinism and the survival of the fittest 12:56 that theory with what the biblical record tells us. 12:59 And I think that there's a resounding no, 13:02 there's a resounding no. 13:03 And so, it's important for us 13:05 to be able to stay with the Word, 13:07 stay with what the Bible says, 13:08 because that's the only safe place that we can be. 13:12 Now, when we read Genesis Chapter 1, 13:14 we find it very orderly, 13:16 but not all along moderately orderly, 13:18 but according to the Bible lesson, 13:20 and this, of course, is on Sunday's lesson 13:22 in the actual study guide, that there is a very orderly, 13:26 scientifically logical progression of creation 13:31 that is found. 13:32 And so that 13:34 which is established in science, 13:35 I'm not talking about theory, 13:36 because we have to remember 13:37 that evolution or Darwin's evolution 13:40 is a theory of evolution. 13:43 It is not an observational, reproducible, experimental, 13:48 established fact. 13:50 Even though that's what the media 13:51 and the scientific community is trying to convince us of. 13:54 It's just a theory, okay. 13:57 But when we look at established science, 13:59 that which is observable, that which is reproducible, 14:01 that which is recordable, 14:04 and then we compare that to the way 14:06 that God had brought different pieces 14:09 into the creation of the planet which you and I now live in, 14:13 we find that there is perfect harmony. 14:15 Amen? 14:16 And so it's very important for us to be able to understand 14:19 that fact that the Bible is not contrary 14:23 to established science, 14:26 scientific fact that we have established, 14:28 but rather it is in perfect harmony. 14:30 Let's just quickly review that. 14:32 Because it is in our lesson study, 14:33 as we look at the different cycles of life. 14:35 God is establishing creation, on the first day He created... 14:41 First day He created light, didn't He? 14:42 Okay, so does that make sense? Sure. 14:46 If you're gonna go into your workshop 14:47 and you're gonna create something, 14:49 okay, what's the first thing you do? 14:51 You look for the light switch, don't you? 14:53 And so you turn on the lights. 14:54 And so God turned on the lights. 14:56 All right, so He turns on the light 14:58 for His workshop and so, 14:59 so far we're in perfect harmony with logic and with science. 15:03 Day two He created the... 15:06 The atmosphere as well, we could call it, 15:08 the Bible usually says the firmament. 15:10 I had to go and look that up. 15:11 And so I think we can safely say that synonymous 15:14 with the atmosphere. 15:16 And so if God is gonna have life, 15:18 and of course before He can create life forms, 15:21 He knows that He has to create an environment 15:24 that will sustain and help those life forms 15:26 to be able to continue to live and to prosper and to flourish. 15:31 Now I don't know about you and I, but... 15:33 Well, I do, I do know about you and I, 15:35 both of us know that science has very clearly established 15:38 that we can't live long without air. 15:41 And not only us, but also the plant life. 15:43 And so really, 15:45 it's pretty well impossible to find living things 15:48 on the planet that can't be sustained 15:50 without the different elements of air. 15:52 And so it tells us that God created air 15:55 after He turned on the lights, 15:56 and so day two He created the atmosphere. 15:59 He created a shell around the planet 16:04 and He created the sky 16:05 that separated from the waters of the planet 16:08 and He put just the right elements of oxygen, 16:12 and nitrogen, and carbon, and so on. 16:15 And just the right elements and the different molecules 16:18 to be able to sustain that life. 16:19 And so now we have the right temperature, 16:21 we have the right elements in the air, 16:23 what we call now the air. 16:26 And so now God can safely begin 16:28 to establish those different living creatures. 16:31 So then we come to day three and He creates dry land. 16:35 And not only did He separates, begin to separate the waters 16:39 from the land because before that, 16:40 the Bible tells us that it was completely 16:42 covered with water. 16:43 So that does well for the marine life 16:45 but it doesn't do well for you and I, does it? 16:47 Doesn't do well with the cows, and the deer, and the dogs, 16:50 and the cats, and everything else 16:51 that we enjoy that God later created upon the dry land 16:54 and so He knew, He needed to be able to create 16:56 that before He created the different animals 16:59 that we find on the planet. 17:01 And so very wisely, and very logically, 17:03 and scientifically, He separated the waters 17:05 and created dry land. 17:08 Well, the next thing He tells us, 17:09 He begins to create His first life form 17:11 on that third day as well. 17:12 What's that life form? It's the plant life, isn't it? 17:17 So God created all the different 17:19 wonderful species of plant life, 17:20 and not only did He covered the dry land, 17:23 but we also know when we look under water, 17:24 in our local freshwater lakes, the ocean, 17:26 and so on that we also find 17:28 plant life there as well, don't we? 17:30 Okay. 17:31 Now God also knew that the later life forms 17:35 that He was going to create wouldn't last long 17:37 not only without air but without plants, why? 17:40 Because what's the number and number one 17:42 and only source of energy 17:44 that 99.99% of all living creatures 17:47 upon the planet rely on? 17:50 Plants. 17:51 Okay, the only way that you and I get to the day, 17:53 the only way that we can receive calories 17:55 is through plants. 17:56 And some of you are saying, well, I'm not a vegan, 17:58 I get some of my energies from dairy products, 18:00 and from meat, and so on. 18:02 And so what, well, let's back up a little bit. 18:04 Let's go back before, 18:06 you know, where did the cow that gave you the milk 18:08 and gave you the meat? 18:09 Where did he get his energy from? 18:11 They eat another cow. 18:14 No, he didn't get it from meat, he got it from, from plants. 18:17 All right, so if we back up far enough, 18:19 no matter what we put in our mouth, 18:20 the only way that we get energy from that is from plants. 18:24 And so God very logically, very distinctly, 18:28 very intelligently put plant life upon the planet. 18:31 Then we come to number four, when we come to day four, 18:34 God knows that He needs to be able to establish 18:36 something that will turn on the lights every day. 18:39 And so He establishes the sun in just the right place. 18:42 He establishes the moon to reflect the sun 18:44 to give us some light during the night as well. 18:47 And then He established the stars 18:49 in this part of the universe as well. 18:52 And so we have this wonderful account 18:53 in which God now puts the sun. 18:55 Now, of course, if He creates the plants, 18:57 He knows that the plants, 18:58 you know, if you put your plant in the closet 19:00 and you close the door without a light in there, 19:01 how long will they live? 19:03 They won't live very long, will they? 19:04 Why? 19:05 Because science established to us. 19:06 And again, you can do that science experiment yourself. 19:09 This is primary, established scientific fact. 19:13 You can do your experiment, 19:14 put it in, and week later your plants 19:16 not going to be doing very well, is it? 19:17 Why? 19:18 Because it requires its energy source 19:21 to come from the sun, 19:23 from the UV rays that come down upon it, 19:25 and through photosynthesis, and so on. 19:27 It does this wonderful thing where he transfers that, 19:29 that ultraviolet radiation, and light, and energy 19:32 into its own energy into calories 19:36 and it burns its calories through that. 19:38 And then if we pick it up and eat it, 19:40 we also can find our calories from that as well. 19:44 And so He knew that the plants weren't going to last very long 19:46 and so very scientifically, very logically, 19:48 He creates the sun and puts it in place 19:51 to keep the right temperature upon the planet, 19:53 to be able to turn on the lights 19:55 and turn it off every day and every night, 19:57 as well as to be able to give us the energy, 19:59 the plant life as well as all other animal forms, 20:02 and life forms the energy that it needs as well. 20:07 Are you with me so far? 20:08 Okay, then we come to number five. 20:10 Day five He creates, He fills the air now. 20:13 And as He fills the air, 20:14 He fills it with the different species of birds. 20:17 Now, we don't know how many original 20:18 species of birds there were, 20:19 but we know there was more than a couple. 20:21 And there was more than a few million 20:23 that filled the air as it began to flourish 20:25 and fill the air and be able to enjoy 20:28 their different ways of life on the planet, 20:31 and in the air, in the sky. 20:32 And then, of course, He also created the marine life 20:34 and so He filled the air and then He also filled 20:37 the water with different creatures 20:38 and different life forms. 20:41 And then, of course, we come to the sixth day, 20:43 He creates animals on the dry land, 20:45 He creates every creeping thing, 20:47 which is the insect life and then finally, 20:49 He creates us, doesn't He? 20:52 And we have the privilege of knowing 20:53 that He originally created us in His own image, 20:57 and not only physically in His own image, 20:59 but much more importantly 21:00 He created us in the image of God 21:02 in regards to our character, 21:04 and in regards to having a relationship with God, 21:07 that no other living creature on the planet can have. 21:09 There's not a single other animal I've never, 21:11 you know, I've had dogs, 21:12 many years of my life not once I've ever seen him 21:14 pray to God. 21:16 You know, there's something special, 21:17 there's something unique that God has given to us 21:19 in which we have a personal, intelligent 21:21 and spiritual relationship with God. 21:24 And so we're the pinnacle of creation. 21:26 It didn't take millions of years 21:28 to evolve through all kinds of negative aspects, 21:30 and killing, and try to outdo each other, 21:34 and doing away with the week. 21:35 No, God had created us all perfect. 21:38 And that's where we come to our next scripture reading 21:42 and we have a volunteer that's gonna read that for us, 21:44 which is Genesis 1:31, 21:48 and I believe 21:49 Doris is gonna bless us with that reading. 21:51 Thank you. 21:52 Genesis 1:31, 21:57 "Then God saw everything that He had made, 22:00 and indeed it was very good. 22:03 So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." 22:07 Okay, thank you. All right, so what... 22:10 How does God conclude when He stands back 22:12 and He looks at everything that He created? 22:14 He said, "Hmm, that's pretty close." 22:17 Is that what He said? No. 22:19 He said, "It was very good." Okay. 22:22 So we have an adjective, we have the very, 22:24 He said not only was it good but it was, it was very good. 22:28 It was a wonderful thing that God looked down upon. 22:31 And everything was in all of its perfection. 22:34 You see, the original, the point is 22:36 that the scriptures and the lessons 22:38 that He's trying to point us to is that the original rhythms, 22:40 the regularity of everything that existed, the seasons, 22:46 the rhythms, the cycles, and so on, 22:47 only included the positive. 22:50 In other words, the passage that we originally read 22:52 in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 22:53 wouldn't fit in the original plan. 22:56 It wouldn't fit in the original world 22:57 in existence that God had created 22:59 with all of its wonderful life on the planet 23:01 including you and I. 23:03 And so we would have to take out the hate, 23:05 we'd have to take out the killing, 23:08 we'd have to take out the dying, wouldn't we? 23:11 In fact, I did a little bit of an exercise and if you'll... 23:15 If you'll permit me, I'd like to share a little bit 23:17 about what I believe Ecclesiastes might have 23:19 had to be written about or might have sounded like, 23:23 if sin had never entered the planet. 23:25 And so if sin had never cursed the world, 23:28 I believe it goes something like this, 23:30 "A time to be born and a time to live forever, 23:36 a time to plant 23:37 and a time to enjoy that plant forever, 23:41 a time to enjoy life 23:44 and never a time to need healing, 23:47 a time to only build up never to weep 23:50 but always lots of opportunity to laugh, 23:54 never to mourn 23:55 but always many reasons to dance, 23:58 a time to continually gather stones, 24:02 always a good time to embrace, 24:05 always a time to gain, but never lose, 24:09 always to keep, but never to throw away, 24:13 never to tear and therefore never a time to need to sew, 24:18 a time to love and never hate, 24:21 always peace and never war." 24:26 Wouldn't that be a much better passage? 24:28 This is the passage that would fit 24:30 with the original plan, wouldn't it? 24:31 Why? 24:32 Because the original plan, the original world, 24:34 before sin had cursed the world was only full of joy, 24:37 wasn't it? 24:38 When all creation got up in the morning, 24:40 when the lights went on at sunrise in every morning, 24:42 when they would get up and they'd have joy 24:44 in their hearts. 24:46 Have you ever woken up sometimes in this life 24:47 and you didn't have that joy? 24:50 Now, I'm not talking about the joy of the Lord, 24:51 where even during the hardest times you have that inner joy, 24:53 but I'm talking about more of the happiness part of joy. 24:56 Have you ever woken up in the morning 24:57 where you're not happy? 24:59 Sure, you have. 25:00 You don't have to live very long to be able 25:01 to experience that. 25:03 But every creature was originally blessed, 25:05 and originally created to enjoy and to be happy from the moment 25:09 that they opened their eyes every morning, 25:11 when the lights turned on all the way through 25:13 until they closed their eyes for rest again that night. 25:16 Isn't it a beautiful picture? 25:18 You long for that day when we can go back 25:19 to that original cycle, 25:21 that original rhythm that God had given to us? 25:24 That's the great hope of the gospel, isn't it? 25:26 That's the great hope that God has given to us. 25:28 Not only is it a hope, but it's a promise. 25:30 God has promised us that He will take us, 25:33 and He will recreate this planet, 25:34 and He will recreate our bodies, 25:35 He will recreate our hearts, our mind, 25:37 and it will all be just like it was in the beginning. 25:40 He will reverse the curse of sin completely 25:43 after Jesus comes again. 25:45 And that's why I thank God 25:46 that I'm a Seventh-day Adventist. 25:48 And I thank God that I have Seventh-day Adventist believer, 25:50 brothers and sisters in this church 25:52 and around the world that also cling to that hope 25:54 and believe that Jesus is going to reverse the curse. 26:00 But for now in a sinful and selfish world, 26:05 many if not most of the negatives 26:07 that we find in the passage 26:08 of Ecclesiastes must apply to our lives. 26:11 Now, that's not really good news, is it? 26:14 It's part of reality. It's part of our life. 26:15 But the good news is this. 26:17 And this is what the lesson study 26:18 also points out for you and I. 26:20 What the scriptures give to you and I, 26:21 and that is that it tells us of the good news is that we don't, 26:25 but that we aren't call to go it alone. 26:27 That we aren't call to go through the day 26:29 and through our struggles and the challenges 26:31 that come with a curse of sin, 26:32 a fallen world but He tells us that He wants us to have help, 26:35 that He wants us to have important relationships, 26:39 so that we don't have to go it alone. 26:41 Now, the first relationship, of course, is God Himself, 26:43 offering Himself to you and me. 26:46 God tells us that we are not to go through the day alone, 26:49 but we are to invite Him into our hearts every day. 26:52 Jesus tells us He stands at the door and He knocks 26:56 and if anyone, how many? 26:58 And if anyone, 26:59 that's every single human being, 27:01 if anyone opens the door, Jesus says, 27:04 He will come in and dine with us 27:05 and us with Him. 27:09 And, of course, that's representing 27:11 an intimate relationship 27:12 when you have a lunch with somebody, 27:14 when you have shared a meal with, 27:16 with someone, there's something special 27:18 about eating together, 27:19 and Jesus' culture was no different. 27:21 In fact, even more so than ours, 27:23 that was recognized as an act of friendship, 27:25 an act of a relationship, one with another. 27:30 And so Jesus knocks on the door of our hearts on a daily basis 27:33 and the wisest of us will open our hearts 27:35 and will say, Lord, please come in. 27:37 I want to dine with you again today. 27:39 Help me through the day, 27:40 help me to be able to have the wisdom, 27:41 and the courage, and the peace, 27:42 and the compassion, and the forgiveness, 27:44 and all the other attributes 27:45 I need to be able to get through the different negatives 27:48 that this life also brings as well as enjoy the positives 27:51 and to praise You for helping the negatives 27:55 and also forgiving the positives. 27:58 Well, the good news is that we're not to go alone, 28:00 not only because we can have God at our side 28:03 and in us to be able to work in us 28:05 and with us through the day, 28:06 but it also tells us that God gives us each other as well. 28:10 God had never intended both before the fall 28:13 as well as since the fall for us to live in isolation. 28:16 You know, one of the biggest deceptions 28:18 that the devil brought into Christian traditions 28:20 is that the greatest and most joy filled 28:22 and holiest life that you can live is to go 28:24 and isolate yourself somewhere from other people, 28:27 kind of build walls around the monastery or different, 28:30 you know, institutions and buildings. 28:32 And, you know, there's one individual 28:33 I forget his name now 28:34 and, you know, and he kind of put himself up 28:37 on the top of the pillar. 28:39 And he just lived up on top of this pillar, 28:41 you know, I don't know, 50 feet up 28:43 or something and people throw food 28:44 up to him and water. 28:46 And he would live for years that way. 28:47 And he became one of the most famous 28:49 individuals in Christianity, 28:50 but he had been duped because God didn't call us 28:54 to be able to isolate ourselves from each other. 28:56 He's called us to be able to, to look to each other 28:59 and that's why we have dozens of verses, 29:01 one of my favorites in Hebrews Chapter 10. 29:03 I think it's verse 25. 29:05 It said, "Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves 29:07 but rather come together, come together, gather together, 29:13 to encourage each other in good works and in love." 29:17 God has called us to encourage each other. 29:24 And so I think that's an important point 29:25 for us to be able to understand that good news. 29:27 Now, of course, who is most, often the most consistent 29:33 and closest people 29:34 that we find outside of ourselves? 29:37 And so, if you were to think of the most consistent 29:39 and the most closest people 29:40 outside of ourselves in relationships, 29:43 who would those people be? 29:45 Family, okay. There's another easy question. 29:47 Okay, I'm not challenging you too much here this morning. 29:50 And so I'm giving easy questions, 29:51 it's family, isn't it? 29:53 All right, there is no more relationships for most of us. 29:56 Now we live in a fallen world and I know there's more than 29:58 one person here in this room and is watching 30:01 this particular program and your family experience 30:05 hasn't been all that positive. 30:06 In fact, may be, 30:08 you are estranged from your family completely, 30:11 you know, we will talk a little about that 30:13 if we have time, if not in future weeks. 30:16 We talk about that as well. 30:18 But for the most part, for most of us, 30:21 the most consistent, longstanding, 30:24 most loyal relationships that we can find in life 30:28 is in the family unit. 30:31 And so here is another easy question. 30:32 Does that make the family unit important? 30:35 Yeah. It does, doesn't it? 30:37 All right. 30:39 Now it's important before the fall, 30:41 his family was invented by God 30:42 even before sin cursed the world, 30:44 but now it's even more important 30:47 than it was before sin came into the picture. 30:50 Why? 30:51 Because it's hard to get through life now, isn't it? 30:54 It's more difficult to get through the day 30:55 a lot of the times. 30:58 And so that's why God has given us family, 31:01 and I believe that's also why the devil is attacking 31:03 that particular unit more than ever. 31:07 Now we have to remember that, 31:08 attack on the family is a quarterly point 31:10 so, it's not new, 31:12 you know, yes, it's part of our society today, 31:15 it's part of the challenge that we have, 31:17 the devil's on rage with the remnant, 31:19 he's in rage with everything that reflects Christ, 31:21 but he is always been against Christ 31:23 and everything that Christ has gifted us, 31:24 including the family unit. 31:26 And so the family unit has always been under attack, 31:29 perhaps just a little bit more intense 31:31 now than it has been in the past 31:35 and so, there's a good reason why God gives us 31:38 hundreds of verses on how to do family well. 31:42 Why? 31:44 Because He wants us to be able to know how to do family well. 31:46 He wants us to have a successful family, 31:48 He wants us to have a positive family experience. 31:54 You know, I'm just so thankful for the many parents. 31:56 We've about 20 something, 21, 22, 23 31:59 different homes that have represented 32:00 in this parenting seminar that we are conducting 32:03 every Wednesday evening for 17 nights. 32:06 And at first, it sounded daunting, 17 nights, 32:09 but as I kind of helped to get on that perspective, 32:12 and we have these different parents 32:13 and they are coming night by night, we know, 32:14 I think we have finished night seven now. 32:17 And I asked them, how is it going, 32:19 is this routine working for you? 32:20 And they are, yeah, they are going gung ho there. 32:22 They're eating it up, why? 32:23 Because they are committed to the family. 32:26 Every time they show up on Wednesday evening, 32:28 they are coming there and vesting 32:30 in the most important social unit 32:32 of their life, in the world, 32:35 and so I'm very thankful for that. 32:39 And so because of that, 32:40 we find that is not by coincidence, 32:42 I believe that family is one of the most 32:44 prominent themes that we find throughout the Bible. 32:49 And then I started to do a bit of a cursory study 32:51 as I started to kind of walk through the Bible quickly 32:55 in preparing for this lesson. 32:56 And as I started to walk through the Bible, 32:58 I started recognizing, 32:59 right from the beginning to the end, 33:01 there is family theme, 33:03 that theme is very, very strong, 33:05 stronger than perhaps 33:06 I've ever thought about it before. 33:08 What is the first family? 33:09 I keep challenging you in such an easy way, don't I? 33:11 All right. 33:12 Many of you that read the Bible, that's a no-brainer. 33:14 What is the very first family in history? 33:18 Okay, Adam and Eve, isn't it? Okay. 33:19 But Adam and Eve, they're nice like themselves, 33:21 God didn't say, "Okay now go and enjoy 33:22 the world to yourselves." 33:24 No, He said, "Go and be fruitful 33:25 and multiply," He says, doesn't He? 33:28 He says, start your family. 33:29 And so that's what they did, 33:30 and so they had their first child 33:32 and from the Bible record everything seems to indicate 33:35 that the very first born was Cain. 33:38 Now we kind of hesitate to say that 33:39 because he didn't turn out too well, did he? 33:43 But then they had another boy and his name was Abel, 33:46 and he made good choices. 33:48 As far as the Bible record goes, 33:49 he made good choices all the way 33:50 through to the end of his premature life 33:52 because we also find 33:53 the first family feud very sadly, 33:55 and so sins started to take its course, 33:58 and started to reveal its ugly head 34:00 in a very evil way 34:01 and that family feud started to, 34:03 that actually led to murder, didn't it? 34:06 And so Cain eventually murdered his younger brother, Abel. 34:11 And, of course, 34:12 then Adam and Eve continued on 34:14 and they had another son, and his name was Seth, 34:18 and was that the end of the family for Adam and Eve? 34:22 No, that's a common Bible question, 34:23 you can find in Genesis Chapter 4 or 5, 34:26 I should say in verse 4, 34:27 that the Bible record tells us in that particular verse, 34:30 again Genesis 5:4, 34:32 it says that "There were many other sons and daughters 34:34 that Adam and Eve had." 34:35 And just before that, it gave the whole life span of Adam. 34:38 You know, he lived 800 and something years 34:40 after Seth was born. 34:42 And so the best indication that we find 34:45 from the biblical record is that Adam and Eve 34:47 had children for hundreds of years after 34:49 he had Cain, and Abel, and Seth. 34:51 And so they probably had dozens, 34:53 maybe even hundreds of sons and daughters 34:56 through those centuries as they continue to multiply. 34:59 And so we don't know exactly how large that family began, 35:02 but it was the first family, 35:04 and it was the first example that we have. 35:06 It was an example through the parents of how a parent, 35:09 a mom or a dad can blow it in a very serious moral way 35:13 and what got us all in trouble in the first place. 35:15 But it also can reflect how that parent 35:17 can show the grace of God and repent from that sin 35:21 and make their relationship right with God again. 35:23 And we also have that on record, 35:25 and that's the good news about the first family, 35:26 isn't it? 35:27 Is that all records of all the evidence indicates 35:30 that Adam and Eve repented from their sin, 35:33 and they gave their hearts and devotion to God 35:35 for the rest of their lives. 35:36 And so that's a great example 35:39 of restoration for us as families. 35:43 And then we come to those sections in the Bible, 35:45 you know, that we find in the first chapters 35:47 of Genesis and then you come to Numbers 35:49 and people get bogged down, they think, 35:50 "Oh my goodness, how many genealogies 35:53 do I have to read." 35:55 You know, these are the boring passages 35:57 and sometimes, you know, it can get you bogged down 35:59 and so, I recommend that you kind of, I do, 36:02 you know, I start speed reading, 36:03 you know. 36:04 And so I'll read that genealogy 36:05 in that chapter about 30 seconds 36:07 and just keep going because I don't want 36:09 to get discouraged and bogged down 36:10 but genealogy is really is recording what? 36:14 It's recording families, isn't it? 36:16 And so here is the family of Levi, 36:19 one of the brothers of, and sons of Jacob, 36:22 I should say, you know, 36:23 the sons of Judah, and his family, 36:26 and their family's family 36:28 and then his great grandchildren. 36:29 Oh, and here's Judah's great, great, great, 36:30 great, great children. 36:31 Oh, and then he also has some great, great, great, great, 36:33 great grandchildren and that's their names. 36:35 And so we find family trees, 36:36 genealogies really are family trees, aren't they? 36:39 Sure they are, and so again it speaks family, family. 36:44 God is telling us that the family unit is important, 36:48 even when we come to the genealogies, 36:50 and so God doesn't just stop at Adam and Eve, 36:51 or Cain, and Abel, and Seth, 36:52 but we find that Cain had children, 36:54 recorded his children's children, 36:56 Seth's children, and his children's children, 36:59 that their family tree is all recorded, 37:00 they all had families. 37:02 Then we come to Noah. 37:03 Was Noah mentioned in isolation? 37:07 No, not at all. 37:08 It not only talks about Noah but it talks about Mrs. Noah, 37:11 doesn't it? 37:12 Okay. 37:14 All right, so we have Noah, and then we have his wife, 37:15 and it also says that he had three sons 37:17 and not only did he have three sons, 37:19 but he had three daughters-in-law, 37:21 and after the flood, it says that they had children, 37:23 and then it records their children, 37:24 and their great, great grandchildren, 37:26 their great, great grandchildren, 37:27 and so we have the family life of Noah 37:30 that is recorded. 37:31 Not only for family life, the family, 37:33 but we also have different incidence 37:34 that take place within that family life 37:37 that are recorded. 37:38 Now, with Noah, it's a little bit more limited, 37:40 but it is there 37:41 and we find it even more so when we come 37:43 to Abraham and Sarah, we find a lot of incidents 37:46 and recorded in their family life, 37:50 and not only do we have it in Abraham but also Isaac. 37:55 And then, the most, of course, we find in the great grand 37:59 or the grandchild of Abraham, which is Jacob. 38:04 And then, of course, we have many, many chapters, 38:06 the most chapters that we record 38:09 and many of those chapters 38:10 is recording the family life of Jacob. 38:16 Did everything go well with the Jacob's family? 38:19 Did Jacob always make good decisions? 38:21 No, he didn't, did he? Yeah. 38:23 It records the bad and it records the good, 38:26 the bad, and the ugly, doesn't it? 38:27 And that's why the Bible is so real, 38:30 you know, it's from God, 38:31 God wants us to see the whole story, 38:33 not just part and so, 38:35 it's important for us to see that I believe as well. 38:40 And then 400 plus years later, the Bible picks it up again 38:42 with a man named Moses. 38:45 And is Moses mentioned in isolation? 38:48 No, in fact, it starts by introducing 38:50 his family, doesn't it? 38:52 In case, it talks about his mother, 38:54 and he has a father 38:56 and in the Book of Numbers 26:59, 38:58 he names them, Jochebed and... 39:00 Now here's a... 39:01 Oh, I shouldn't have gave you that. 39:02 Now I want to challenge you a little bit more, 39:03 I have been so easy on you. Trivia question. 39:06 What's the name of Moses's mother? 39:09 Jochebed, you're right, you're right. 39:11 Jochebed, okay. 39:12 And then, what's the name of Moses's dad? 39:17 Pardon me. 39:19 Amram, that I think I heard of somewhere, 39:20 that's good. 39:21 That's a harder one, isn't it? 39:23 Okay, we have Amram and Jochebed, 39:25 and they have more than just Moses, 39:27 but it mentions Moses's brother, 39:29 his elder brother Aaron, 39:30 and it also mentions his sister, 39:32 who's named Miriam, who also became a prophetess 39:35 and a key player in the plan of salvation for God 39:38 and the Israelite people. 39:39 And so the whole family is mentioned there, 39:42 and then we have some beautiful family life pictures in windows 39:46 that we can see through. 39:47 You know, we find that Moses, his life is on the line, 39:49 they hide him for three months and then finally they come up 39:52 with this plan to be able to put him in this basket, 39:55 this waterproof basket. 39:56 They kind of strategically placed it 39:59 within the reeds, 40:00 you know, nearby where one of the princesses 40:01 of the Pharaoh would come down and bathe 40:04 or at least, you know, some scholars are also saying 40:06 that she came now not so much to bathe 40:09 as they had baths within the palaces and so on, 40:11 but to give her oblations, 40:13 her worship to the river god or gods of the Nile. 40:17 And so, while she was down there, 40:18 she spotted this, 40:20 you know, this floating basket. 40:23 Many of us know the story. 40:24 And we find there that Moses wasn't alone 40:27 but his sister Miriam was there, wasn't she? 40:29 And so she is hiding behind the bushes or something 40:32 and watching the whole scene 40:33 and saying her prayers, I'm sure. 40:34 And then once the princess kind of 40:37 picked up the baby, 40:38 and the baby kind of won her heart. 40:40 She risks her life on a real way 40:43 and she comes out from the bushes 40:44 and she comes out and speaks up to royalty. 40:47 Now this is a slave, you have to remember. 40:49 Miriam is not an Egyptian citizen, 40:52 and so when she step forward from the bushes, 40:54 she was risking her life. 40:55 She knew she could die, 40:57 because she was approaching royalty 40:59 without being invited 41:01 and so she risks her life. 41:03 Why? 41:04 Because there is a loyalty within the family unit 41:07 that is stronger than any other loyalty... 41:09 I'm talking about a healthy family. 41:11 Within a healthy family, 41:13 there is loyalty within the family unit 41:15 that is stronger than any other unit, 41:16 isn't that true? 41:18 Sure, it is. 41:19 Now you can talk about my neighbor 41:21 and you can tell me some of their faults, 41:22 you start talking about my daughters like that, 41:24 oh boy. 41:26 The temperature rises fast, doesn't it? 41:28 You start talking about my wife that way, 41:30 you know, so there's a loyalty, isn't there? 41:33 There's a special protective loyalty 41:36 that God gives to us. 41:37 And we'll even risk our lives for each other 41:39 more than we would for other people 41:40 and Miriam is one of those prime examples. 41:44 Then we have Samson, 41:46 he is not mentioned in isolation, 41:47 we have his family mentioned, family life incidents, 41:49 Ruth and Boaz, what a beautiful picture. 41:52 That's all surrounded under this beautiful family, 41:55 some of the hardships 41:56 and the losses they went through 41:58 and how the loyalty 41:59 is within that family unit got them through. 42:02 Elkanah and Hannah, 42:04 now this is an interesting story. 42:06 They gave up the firstborn for adoption, 42:08 his name was Samuel, and Samuel became 42:11 one of the most key players in the history 42:13 of God's plan of salvation in Israel. 42:16 And so Samuel found himself adopted 42:19 in a very unique and special way 42:21 and still in connection with his parents, of course. 42:23 And then we have Eli who had adopted him, 42:26 and did Eli have a very successful family life? 42:29 Not at all, did he? 42:31 In fact, we find that his children turned out to be, 42:34 you know, super bad apples in the sanctuary 42:38 and in the temple services and so on. 42:40 And so it didn't turn out very pretty 42:42 and so, God didn't choose one of his sons, 42:44 but He says, "Listen, I've got a plan for another boy, 42:47 his name is Samuel." 42:49 And so, Eli now is set up to adopt somebody, 42:53 another son that is to be able to take that place. 42:57 And so we have a beautiful picture 42:58 of Samuel coming through 43:00 and these two families kind of blending 43:02 because you think Eli and his family 43:03 as well as Elkanah and Hannah 43:05 kind of had a special relationship? 43:07 Sure, they did. Okay. 43:08 Because this was not your typical adoption scenario, 43:12 and so there was a continual lifetime relationship. 43:14 King Saul, 43:15 we have all kinds of family life windows 43:17 into his life, don't we? 43:19 And again, some of them didn't turn out very pretty. 43:22 We find that one of his first sons-in-laws, 43:24 may be was his first son-in-law was named, King David, 43:27 okay, so he eventually gave his daughter Michal 43:31 to David, 43:33 and so David married the princess 43:35 who's the daughter of Saul. 43:37 And now David is in the family of Saul now. 43:40 He is married into the family. 43:41 That's why we say during marriage counseling 43:44 and so on pre-marriage counseling is that, 43:46 you know, we always point out to the couple. 43:47 You have to remember that when you marry somebody, 43:50 you are not just married into your spouse, 43:53 you and your husband or wife, 43:54 but you're also marrying into a new family, aren't you? 43:58 Okay, that took place with David and Saul. 44:01 Did things go well, did David have a good relationship 44:03 with his new family, 44:06 with his second family 44:07 we could say, his in-law family? 44:10 Well, he did with his brother-in-law, 44:11 didn't he? 44:12 He had a wonderful relationship with his brother-in-law, 44:14 his name was Jonathan, 44:17 and so they loved each other like brothers. 44:19 And so they had a wonderful relationship 44:21 that brought them through some very real hardships 44:24 because we feel sorry for David so often 44:26 but we have to remember, 44:27 we have to feel sorry for Jonathan as well. 44:29 Did he have a good relationship with his dad? 44:32 It would be impossible. 44:34 In fact, we find all kinds of evidence 44:35 that he had a very, very difficult 44:38 and estranged relationship with his dad. 44:41 When you have a dad that wants to murder your best friend, 44:44 is that a good relationship? 44:46 No. 44:47 So we have all kinds of windows within this family 44:49 and of course that dynasty then carries on, 44:51 because David makes some very serious mistakes 44:53 that affects their family in negative ways for decades 44:56 that follow after right up until David's death. 44:59 And even after his death 45:01 there was different repercussions 45:03 because of his serious and sinful mistakes. 45:07 So that's all painted out for us. 45:08 We find the good, the bad, and the ugly 45:10 as we look in the windows of these different families. 45:12 But it's so pervasive throughout the Bible. 45:14 All the way through, we have Abigail, 45:16 of course, one of the other wives of David 45:21 and again it's giving us that life lesson 45:23 that picking more than one wife is not a good plan. 45:28 And so David is no exception and so we'll find out as well. 45:32 Polygamy is pointed out 45:34 and painted out as a negative thing. 45:36 Bathsheba, 45:38 okay, finding your wife outside of your marriage 45:41 and having a child before you get married, 45:43 is that a good idea? 45:45 No. It didn't turn out well, did it? 45:47 Okay. 45:48 And so we have Bathsheba 45:49 eventually became the wife of David 45:50 but in a very painful 45:53 and with some very negative consequences. 45:56 And one of those consequences was one of his sons, 45:58 David's son Absalom. 46:00 And when we look at Absalom, 46:02 of course, we have all kinds of strange really, 46:04 you know, evidence that there was 46:06 a very strained relationship 46:07 between Absalom and his dad. 46:10 You know, David was hesitant 46:12 to be able to discipline his sons 46:15 and to guide him in the way of righteousness 46:16 even though he had sincerely repented 46:19 because, of course, he carried that shame with him 46:21 through the rest of his life. 46:24 And so because of that, 46:25 Absalom rebelled against his own dad 46:28 and tried to take the throne from his dad by force. 46:31 Was that a good thing? No, not at all. 46:35 He failed, didn't he? 46:36 He eventually failed, 46:37 you know, we got the classic story, 46:39 his long hair got caught in one of the, 46:41 you know, one of the branches over top of him 46:44 as he was riding the horses through the warfare 46:46 that was taking place between him and his army 46:48 and David and his armies 46:50 and then, of course there's, you know, 46:53 the general and his soldiers came up 46:55 and pierced him through that he might die 46:58 because, you know, when you rebel against the king 47:02 and try to overtake the throne that was standard procedure. 47:05 Was David happy about that? 47:06 Did he say, oh, good, finally I got my throne back 47:08 and everything is going to be good, 47:09 that the kingdom is in peace? 47:11 No, here we have a man that, that lied to David. 47:16 He systematically won the hearts of the population 47:20 of Jerusalem, the capital of his kingdom 47:23 and of the Israelites 47:24 so that he might be able to win the throne 47:26 and forcefully take it from his own dad. 47:29 And then he goes through with the plan 47:31 and is willing to do anything he needs to. 47:34 In fact, I'm sure even take his own dad's life 47:37 if it was need be. 47:38 And yet here we find the dad's loyalty, 47:40 his heart is still for his son Absalom, isn't it? 47:43 And he has the struggle in his heart, 47:45 do I grieve over this or do I not, 47:48 and his general eventually had to kind of straighten him 47:50 out a little bit on that, didn't he? 47:53 So we have all these families again as we go through, 47:56 as we walk through the scriptures 47:57 and then there's Solomon. 47:59 Now Solomon is the ultimate major example 48:01 of how not to do family. 48:04 Solomon kind of took all the negatives, 48:06 and the bad, the worst decisions 48:07 that you could possibly make 48:08 and he just took it to the nth degree, 48:10 just as far as he could possibly take it. 48:13 You know, if polygamy is bad with three, or four, or five, 48:16 what's it gonna be like if I have a few thousand. 48:19 You know, and so, you know, 48:21 he just took it to the worst extreme. 48:24 And so that's the ultimate example 48:25 of when we look at his family life 48:26 on how not to do family. 48:29 Then we have Job, again not in isolation, 48:31 he has a wife, he has 10 kids, 48:34 church grown children 48:36 and, of course, we find 48:37 that there's some relational strains 48:39 between him and his wife 48:40 as they go through a very difficult time. 48:43 And then we have Isaiah, 48:44 we have the kids that are named with different prophetic names, 48:48 concerning God's promises for Israel 48:50 as he was speaking through the Prophet Isaiah. 48:53 Hosea. 48:55 What about Hosea? 48:57 Okay, anybody ever recommend to their son 48:58 as they get to married age, 48:59 you said, you know, I think it's a good idea 49:01 if you go down to the red light district, 49:04 and pick yourself out a nice young bride. 49:08 Can anybody ever do that 49:09 with their daughter or their sons? 49:11 No, I don't recommend it. 49:12 And I don't think God does either. 49:13 This is a very unique exception, isn't it? 49:16 But here we have God telling the prophet Hosea, 49:18 He say, go down to the red light district 49:19 and pick yourself out 49:21 one of the active prostitutes there as your bride. 49:23 And, of course, his whole life and his family life 49:26 then became a living message to Israel 49:29 of how God feels and how God is going 49:32 through his marriage relationship 49:34 and his relationship with Israel as a nation 49:37 and how unfaithful Israel was to Him. 49:42 And then, of course, we come to the New Testament 49:43 and the most important family we could probably think of 49:47 in all history is Jesus' family. 49:50 Okay, and so here we have a faithful young woman 49:52 by the name of Mary we have her, 49:54 her husband to be Joseph. 49:56 They come together in wedlock 49:59 and then we find that as they go forward, 50:01 she has the little baby Jesus. 50:04 Was Jesus alone when He grew up? 50:07 No, the Bible tells us that He had brothers. 50:09 And some have speculated and we don't know for certain 50:12 but you know the Bible evidence isn't clear, 50:15 crystal clear in that. 50:16 But, because Joseph was already out of the picture 50:18 by the time Jesus died 33 years after His birth, 50:22 the evidence is that there's a good chance 50:25 that Joseph was quite a bit older 50:26 and he already had children from another 50:27 and he was a widower 50:29 and so, these would be Jesus' step brothers. 50:32 But we don't know for certain, it doesn't tell us that, 50:34 because we do know that Mary and Joseph. 50:36 Joseph did not know Mary after she gave birth to Jesus. 50:40 And so they had an active intimate life 50:42 and so there's a really good chance 50:43 that they also had children together as well. 50:46 And so we have this great relationship 50:50 or this great family 50:52 and, of course, Jesus is the only perfect child 50:53 that ever lived. 50:55 And, of course, as He grew up, 50:57 He influenced His family in a good way, 51:00 but was that the end of it? 51:02 Well, no, it didn't turn out good at first, did it? 51:04 In fact, we find on the Bible record 51:05 that Jesus found His brothers frustrated with Him 51:07 and they were quite worldly in their thinking. 51:10 They were frustrated with Jesus, 51:11 go out there and make a name for yourself. 51:12 You got all this power and stuff, 51:13 you got to capitalize on it. 51:15 You've got to be able to get out there. 51:16 Think of the power, and the prestige, and the fame, 51:18 and the popularity that You can have. 51:20 And Jesus says, 51:21 "You're thinking in a worldly way. 51:23 I'm not interested in all that, 51:24 I'm interested in saving souls. 51:27 I'm interested in being able to bless the world 51:29 and not try to only receive from it." 51:32 And, but the good news is that the Bible tells us that 51:35 eventually He, 51:37 eventually He did win His brothers through 51:40 and so we can find evidence later. 51:42 And Acts 1:14, we're going to ask a volunteer in there. 51:46 I see that we're out of time, 51:47 and so we're gonna have to close, thank you. 51:53 Acts Chapter 1? 51:55 Acts 1:14. Thank you, Michael. 51:57 Acts 1:14, 52:01 "These all continued with one accord 52:03 in prayer and supplication, 52:06 with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, 52:11 and with his brothers." 52:13 Okay, good, thank you. 52:16 All right, so there we have Jesus' brothers. 52:18 Our families may not be perfect, 52:20 but there is hope for growth and success. 52:22 And so that's the hope I want to leave with you 52:23 as we close here today 52:25 is that growth and success is where we have it. 52:28 How do we find that? 52:29 Faith in Jesus. 52:30 We find that in Wednesday's lesson study, 52:32 Philippians 1:16, 52:34 okay, tells us that "He who has begun a good work in us 52:37 will also complete it." 52:39 And so that's important for us as well. 52:41 And then we have some other scriptures 52:42 to look there as well. 52:43 So I'm just so glad 52:45 that you have joined us here for our Bible study 52:47 as we look at this very important subject on family. 52:50 And again, don't forget to take advantage 52:52 of our free gift offer, The Rest of Your Life. 52:56 Everything you need to know about the Sabbath. 52:58 And so, please if you've never studied 52:59 or if you've studied through this particular free gift, 53:01 take advantage of that. 53:03 Phone the number that is on the screen 53:04 and or text it and you can get it yourself 53:06 a free copy to study. 53:09 God bless you, and we look forward 53:10 to seeing you next week. 53:12 Don't forget to request 53:13 today's life changing free resource. 53:16 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 53:18 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 53:21 or mobile device. 53:22 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 53:25 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 53:29 or visit the web address shown on your screen 53:31 and be sure to select a digital download option 53:34 on the request page. 53:35 It's now easier than ever for you 53:37 to study God's Word with Amazing Facts 53:40 wherever and whenever you want 53:42 and most important, to share it with others. 53:59 For over 60 years 54:01 Jeepneys have been the virtual king of the road 54:03 here in the Philippians. 54:04 These unique vehicles 54:06 that are festered with colorful stickers, 54:08 lights and chrome, 54:09 go into their chief source of transportation 54:11 in the country. 54:12 Let's go. 54:18 These iconic four-wheel drive military vehicles 54:21 made by the Willys Company 54:23 or known as Jeeps 54:24 because it's stood for general purpose, 54:27 but it also came from a character 54:29 in a Popeye cartoon 54:31 that was known as Eugene the Jeep. 54:33 He was an imaginary dog 54:35 that can crawl across the ceilings 54:36 and the walls, 54:37 and these jeeps could go anywhere. 54:39 When the Americans left the Philippines 54:41 following World War II, 54:42 it was just cheaper for them 54:44 to leave these thousands of military vehicles behind 54:46 rather than to transport them back to the States. 54:49 The creative Filipino people 54:51 modified these military vehicles 54:53 by extending the frame about six feet. 54:55 They added a couple of cozy inventions 54:57 that are designed to carry about 18 people. 55:00 They put a cab over 55:01 to prevent the water from coming in, 55:04 but I've seen that looks like 20 to 25 people 55:07 hanging on every possible edge and ledge of a Jeepney. 55:10 They're jumping off, they're jumping on 55:12 as it goes through 55:13 in just in the middle of traffic. 55:16 Every Jeepney is little bit different. 55:19 Some are just held together with patches of daily wire 55:22 and bubblegum, a little bit of duck tape. 55:24 Some are little more ornate and modern, 55:26 they've got chrome and stainless steel. 55:28 And there's good reason that the ceilings are padded. 55:34 When one of the local Filipinos wants to ride on a Jeepney, 55:37 they just flag them down, they shout, 55:38 they tap on the hood, then they jump on board. 55:41 They may not even slowdown when they do this. 55:44 Then they pay about 8 pesos 55:46 which is equivalent of 16 cents for us. 55:48 It's by far the most economical way 55:50 to get around in the country. 55:56 Some Jeepneys are even equipped with an old emergency privy. 56:02 One little downside to the Jeepneys 56:04 is because the cabs are open like this, 56:07 they're not air-conditioned, 56:08 it gets very hot in summertime 56:10 and all the fumes from the street coming in 56:12 which can make it an exhausting experience. 56:16 One of the downside of the Jeepney 56:17 is they don't have all of the modern safety features, 56:20 no seatbelts. 56:21 You have to take advantage of the padding 56:23 if you hit a hard bump. 56:24 And if you're in a serious accident, 56:26 there is no airbags other than the friends 56:28 that might be sitting around you. 56:30 And that's the upside of the Jeepney 56:32 because you're up close and personal with everybody, 56:34 you make some new friends. 56:36 Riding on a Jeepney requires teamwork. 56:39 If you buy something from one of the vendors, 56:41 you all sort of pass it back to each other. 56:43 And when passengers get on board, 56:45 you just pass your money upfront. 56:52 Thanks a lot. 56:57 Friends, it's safe to say there are no two Jeepneys 57:00 that are exactly the same. 57:02 They're all unique and distinct and so are you. 57:05 Have you ever felt 57:06 that you get lost in a massive humanity 57:08 and God doesn't notice you? 57:10 Bible tells us that He knows your name, 57:12 the very hairs of your head are numbered 57:14 and He hears your prayers. 57:16 More than that, 57:17 the Lord wants to take you to His kingdom, 57:19 you just have to get on board. 57:34 Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible Study? 57:37 You don't have to wait until next week 57:39 to enjoy more truth-filled programming. 57:41 Visit the Amazing Facts media library at aftv.org. 57:46 At aftv.org, 57:49 you can enjoy video and audio presentations 57:51 as well as printed material all free of charge, 57:54 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 57:57 right from your computer or mobile device. 57:59 Visit aftv.org. |
Revised 2019-04-02