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Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH021916A
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00:35 Hello and welcome to another edition
00:37 of the Sabbath School Study Hour. 00:39 It's always good to be able to see 00:40 each and every one of you that is joining us 00:42 from different parts of America 00:44 as well as different parts of the world. 00:47 And we want to welcome you to our church 00:48 here in Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:51 in the Greater Sacramento area. 00:54 It's always good to have each and every one of you 00:56 that is here with us here today, 00:57 of course, in our church family. 00:59 It's always encouraging to be able to see 01:00 all those faces of my church family. 01:03 And it's always good to be able to come together 01:05 for the most important reason of all, 01:07 which is to worship God and to study His Word. 01:10 And that we're here for both. 01:12 And so I welcome everybody that is here. 01:14 And again, welcome everybody that is watching online. 01:17 Now before we open it with prayer, 01:18 and we get into our subject that we have here today, 01:21 want to take advantage, 01:22 or I'll invite you to take advantage 01:24 of a special free offer that we have available just for you. 01:27 It's called "Keys to a Happy Marriage, 01:29 Keys to a Happy Marriage." 01:32 Now, this is one of the best studies 01:33 that I've ever used in the past years, 01:37 and I know that it will be a great benefit to you as well, 01:40 especially if you're looking at marriage, 01:41 or you're involved in a marriage even right now. 01:44 Keys for a Happy Marriage, 01:45 you can text or you can call in. 01:47 Now, the number that you can call in for is 1-866-788-3966. 01:52 Again, that's 866-788-3966 01:56 and ask for free offer number 164, 02:00 that's free offer164. 02:02 We'll be happy to send that free 02:03 to you in North America 02:05 or different American territories 02:07 available to you as well. 02:08 Now, if you don't live in North America, 02:11 or you don't want a hard copy, 02:12 and you'd like to be able to get a digital copy, 02:13 we also have that available for you as well. 02:15 You simply need to text the code, "SH046." 02:19 That's SH046, and you want to text 02:23 that to the number 40544, as you can see 02:26 on your screen as well. 02:28 And so please, I want to encourage you 02:30 to take advantage of that, 02:31 as we have that available for you. 02:34 Now, for those of you who don't have 02:36 the lesson quarterly study 02:37 that we started just two weeks ago, 02:39 entitled Family Seasons, I want to invite you 02:43 to be able to take advantage of a free copy of that as well. 02:45 Now we can't mail a hard copy out to you, 02:47 but what we can do is encourage you to go 02:50 and get a free digital download of this particular quarterly. 02:53 And you can go to Lesson.aftv.org. 02:58 Now, again, I'm gonna say it one more time, 03:00 because you might be running for your phone, 03:01 plug it in or to be able to write it down. 03:03 It's Lesson.aftv.org. 03:08 Please take advantage of that and get yourself a copy. 03:11 That way you can kind of take a daily devotion 03:14 as you study the different topics, 03:15 even before we get together, 03:17 as we are looking at lesson number three here today. 03:21 Well, with that being said, 03:22 I want to invite all of us 03:24 to come to the Lord as we ask Him 03:26 to be with us in prayer. 03:29 Father in heaven, we're thankful 03:30 here this morning to be able to worship You. 03:33 We're thankful for Your Word. 03:35 We're thankful for the truth that You give to us, 03:37 and the great encouragement that You offer to us 03:40 in the subject that we look at here today. 03:42 God, we want to pray that You will help us 03:43 to take it to heart, that Your Holy Spirit 03:45 will guide us and lead us as You promise, 03:48 and we pray all these things in Christ's name, 03:50 amen. 03:52 Well, today we are looking at lesson number three, 03:56 lesson number three and what is the title? 04:01 Preparing for Change, 04:03 I hear some of you calling that. 04:04 Okay, that's right. 04:06 Okay, Preparing for Change, 04:09 and let's look at the memory text 04:11 that we find on page 22 at the very beginning 04:14 of this particular lesson study. 04:16 It comes from Psalm 85:13. 04:19 It says, "Righteousness will go before him, 04:23 and shall make his footsteps our pathway." 04:27 Now, how reassuring is that? 04:30 Very reassuring. 04:31 Let's stop and think about that for a moment. 04:34 God is telling us that if we submit to God, 04:37 if we worship and if we trust God, 04:40 He will go ahead of us. 04:41 That's what He just said, didn't He? 04:43 We simply follow in His footsteps. 04:45 Now, I don't know about you, but I've come to recognize 04:48 and realize that God's footsteps 04:49 are much larger than mine. 04:51 And I have come to recognize that God is much smarter 04:54 and wiser than I am. 04:55 And I've also come to recognize that 04:57 God has a special plan for me 05:00 and so He's watching out for me. 05:02 In other words, this verse is saying, 05:03 He's got our back. 05:05 Isn't that reassuring? 05:06 Every time I get up in the morning 05:08 as I go through the day, I keep reminding myself 05:10 as I talked with the Lord that He's going before me. 05:13 All we need to do is simply follow in His footsteps 05:16 is what the Word has just told us. 05:19 And so it's not our footsteps, it's His. 05:22 Now, can this reality help us in handling unexpected, 05:25 sometimes unwanted change in life? 05:30 Sure, it can, can't it? 05:31 Of course, yes. 05:33 One of the deep realities of living in this life 05:36 is that there's a lot of changes in there. 05:38 Okay. 05:39 Now, I wish I could say 05:40 that all the change was positive, 05:42 but is all the change always positive? 05:43 No. 05:44 A lot of the times that change is negative. 05:47 A lot of the times there's change 05:48 that is unwanted, it's uninvited. 05:51 It's something that we would rather not have in our life. 05:55 And so God gives us this powerful promise 05:57 in Psalm 85:13. 06:01 Now, it is true 06:02 that there are some that might say 06:03 that this may help us in a psychological way. 06:06 But that's kind of the end of the story. 06:08 That's it, the best of it in concern to realities, 06:11 or I should say verses 06:12 such as we just read in Psalm 85. 06:15 But that's not what the Bible offers. 06:17 That's not what the Bible is saying. 06:19 The Bible offers something more. 06:20 God is offering 06:21 a psychological benefit to be sure. 06:23 My heart is at much more peace, my mind, my emotions 06:28 are much more controlled when I lean upon the Lord, 06:31 when I know that when I am worshiping 06:33 and putting my trust in Him, that His footsteps 06:35 are making the trail ahead of me, 06:38 that God is my trailblazer. 06:40 And so to be sure, 06:41 there is a psychological benefit. 06:43 But that psychological benefit does not come 06:45 because we can imagine a God going before us 06:48 in an imaginary way as some might 06:51 try to conclude or suggest. 06:54 No. 06:55 The Bible makes it very clear. 06:56 What the Bible is offering is that 06:57 because we can know that 06:59 God is literally going ahead of us, 07:01 because we can know 07:02 that He is preparing us a future, 07:06 we can lean upon Him and have that benefit. 07:09 And so it's more than psychological, 07:10 even though it also includes that psychological benefit. 07:15 Now, last week, we shared an old saying, 07:18 and it's an old saying that 07:19 we chuckle out through the years, 07:20 you know, there's two things that is certain in life, 07:22 death and taxes. 07:24 For those of you who were here last here, 07:26 about last week, you remember that 07:27 and you've heard it before, 07:28 I'm sure. 07:29 And, of course, last week, we added at least one 07:32 and today we're adding the second one. 07:33 This week and last week study, add at least two more 07:35 to that saying, and that is Choices, 07:37 as we studied last week, and now also Change. 07:41 Those two things are certain as well. 07:43 In fact, we can't get through the day 07:45 without facing both of those. 07:46 We have to make several choices every day. 07:48 And we also have to face change every day as well. 07:54 Every day we face changes. 07:57 In fact, we can even start with our face, 07:59 our physical face. 08:00 Does our physical face experience changes? 08:04 Sure, it does. Okay. 08:06 All right, it starts right from the get-go, doesn't it? 08:08 When we're born, do we have a certain face? 08:10 Yes, we have that cute little pudgy. 08:12 You know, and sometimes not even pudgy face, 08:14 but then as that mommy keeps feeding the little one, 08:17 you know, the cheeks kind of puff out 08:19 a little bit more 08:20 and you have that kind of squirrel 08:21 or go for kind of look, 08:23 and we enjoy that look for a while 08:25 and it's important to have that extra body fat 08:28 because the brain requires that. 08:31 As the brain is developing that the body draws 08:33 on that extra body fat to be able 08:35 to develop the brain in a very healthy way. 08:38 And so it's healthy to be able to start 08:39 with kind of pudgy cheeks, and a pudgy body. 08:43 And then as we continue on, of course, 08:45 that body fat is drawn into the brain development 08:47 and, of course, they get more and more active 08:49 as they start to run around on their little feet, 08:51 legs for the first time 08:52 and that body fat is burned off, 08:54 and then pretty soon the face changes 08:55 and you look at them from two months old, 08:57 or six months old, to two years old, 08:59 and they almost look like a different person, don't they? 09:02 And so the face changes in a very noticeable way. 09:05 And then even from two years old, 09:07 if you're out of town for three months, 09:08 you come back, that person, 09:09 that child looks different again, 09:10 doesn't he or she? 09:12 And so our face continually go through different changes 09:14 as we experience and grow into our adulthood, 09:18 but doesn't stop there? 09:20 No, of course not. 09:22 Now, of course, as we continue to grow in teenage years, 09:25 but also for many of us, in our adult years, 09:26 there's acne that comes and goes. 09:28 Our face has experienced bumps and bruises, 09:30 and cuts and swelling. 09:33 For those who are a little bit more of pale skin, 09:35 sometimes we look pale in the winter 09:37 and our face would look tanned and brown in the summer. 09:40 Sometimes it will even be burnt. 09:42 All kinds of changes we find in our faces. 09:46 Sometimes our faces are green with envy, 09:50 or is that just the saying. 09:52 Doctor Friend, is that? I think that's just to say. 09:56 What about seasickness, does seasickness turn us green? 09:59 Well, we say it, I'm not sure, 10:00 I can't remember seeing somebody seasick, 10:02 and if they're green or not, 10:03 but we think of green, don't we when we are seasick. 10:06 And, of course, we can be green with envy. 10:09 Sometimes our face is turned red 10:10 when we're blushing or we have a high fever. 10:13 Then sometimes our faces can turn blue, 10:16 when we're too cold. 10:18 Sometimes we have crooked noses, 10:20 because we've just had an accident 10:21 and it broke our nose. 10:22 We might have missing teeth. 10:24 Sometimes our face has experienced black 10:25 or swollen under the eyes as we've been underslept, 10:29 or overstressed, or both. 10:33 And then, of course, our face is changed 10:34 hundreds of times every day because our expressions change. 10:38 Sometimes we have looks of confusion, 10:40 sometimes we have looks of anger, 10:41 sometimes we have looks of happiness and joy, 10:44 sometimes sadness. 10:45 And so our faces go through hundreds of different changes, 10:48 just through that alone every single day. 10:52 For those of us who are over 40, 10:55 we're also daily... 10:56 We have a daily reminder that we are growing older. 10:58 Why? 10:59 Because as we stare in our face, 11:00 in the mirror every day, it gets different, doesn't it? 11:04 I have to chuckle still, 11:05 and I still have to look back on. 11:07 It was just a few weeks ago 11:08 or maybe a couple of months ago, 11:10 when our lead pastor, Pastor Doug Batchelor 11:12 was up front here. 11:14 And he was saying that, you know, every, every morning, 11:16 I look in the mirror and it gets worse. 11:20 And I'm still chuckling over that, 11:22 you know, our faces go under transformation, 11:26 doesn't it? 11:27 Sometimes transformations that we're not excited about, 11:29 some of us are spending thousands of dollars 11:31 to be able to avoid and resist that change 11:34 in our faces as we grow older. 11:38 And so just our faces alone can represent much change 11:42 that there is in the life and in this world. 11:45 Now, some of the change that we experience, 11:47 we expect that change, we know it's coming. 11:49 We all know that we're gonna grow old, don't we? 11:51 We all know that 11:52 that's gonna take place for all of us. 11:53 Now when we were 17, sometimes we think, 11:56 tempted to think it'll never happen, 11:57 but it doesn't take long till you're 40, 11:59 and all of a sudden you recognizes, 12:00 I'm in the same boat he was or she was. 12:05 So some of that we expect, some of that comes unexpected. 12:08 Some changes comes right out of the blue. 12:10 We didn't know it was coming. 12:12 Some of that change is good. 12:14 And very sadly, some of that change that comes, 12:17 we wish had never happened. 12:20 Now, did I talk about old age yet? 12:26 I fear that too many of us fear change 12:29 and resist it at all costs 12:31 when it comes to negative changes, 12:33 like contracting a new disease, or financial bankruptcy. 12:37 Well, I can't blame you, you know, 12:39 who would want to embrace that? 12:42 Who would not want to resist these different unexpected 12:45 and unwanted changes that come into our life? 12:47 But I think at the same important point, 12:50 it's also important for us to be able to understand that, 12:53 that change is God given, do you believe that? 12:56 Do you understand that change is God given? 12:59 God came up with the idea of change. 13:01 Now, can you imagine how boring life would be 13:04 if we didn't have change? 13:05 I want to invite you to think with me 13:07 as we think this through. 13:09 There's a very good reason why your hymnal is this thick. 13:12 Okay. 13:13 There's a very good reason why we have hundreds of hymnals 13:15 and not just one or two, why? 13:17 Because we like variety, don't we? 13:20 We like the whole gamut. 13:21 And some of those hymns say the same thing. 13:23 It's not like everyone says different things. 13:24 But we like different tunes, we like different, 13:27 we like different hymns as we continue to sing 13:29 and to worship God. 13:30 Why? 13:31 Because God has given us a desire 13:33 and a need for change. 13:37 We don't want to sing the same hymn 13:38 every single week. 13:40 Now God created change, 13:41 continual change right from the get-go. 13:43 As soon as we open the Bible, we find change. 13:45 We come to Genesis in Chapter 1. 13:48 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 13:52 And then it tells us that on day one, 13:53 He created light. 13:55 He said, "Let there be light and there was light," 13:59 was there not? 14:00 Now, did He keep it light? No. 14:03 Now, he turned on the lights, and you know, of course, 14:05 then He started to create the daily cycle. 14:07 But was the daily cycle intended? 14:09 Did God say, "Well, now that we have light, 14:11 let's just kind of try to hold it there. 14:12 Let's just stay with light. 14:15 No, it tells us that He turned the darkness into light, 14:17 but then He mixed it up a bit, 14:18 He kind of mixed it up and He said, you know what? 14:20 Let's bring some variety to this. 14:21 Let's bring the darkness back for half. 14:23 And so we're gonna have half light, 14:25 we're gonna have half dark. 14:26 we're gonna bring some change every single 24 hours, 14:28 every 12 hours, things are gonna mix it up 14:32 just a little bit. 14:34 And then after He created us. 14:37 After He created us, 14:38 He didn't tell us to hunker down 14:40 and maintain the status quo, no matter what the cost. 14:43 Is that what He said? No, not at all. 14:45 When we read the original Genesis record, 14:47 we find that God says, "Okay, now, 14:48 look and embrace the world that I have given to you. 14:51 Go and be fruitful and multiply." 14:55 Now, let's think about that for a moment, friends. 14:58 As we think through that commission 14:59 that God had given to the first man 15:01 and the first woman, 15:02 the first husband and wife as they looked out 15:04 into the grand world that God had created. 15:07 Friends, we find here that there's all kinds of change 15:09 that is implied with that commission. 15:12 Okay, there's travel, 15:14 there's exploration that is involved. 15:17 There's all kinds of change 15:19 that was involved in that particular commission. 15:22 Change is the spice of life. 15:26 And again, friends, 15:27 I fear that too many of us fear change. 15:30 And some of us make the mistake 15:32 of resisting change at all costs. 15:35 But that's not what God intended for us. 15:36 God intended for us to embrace change, 15:39 to look for good change, of course, 15:40 and not negative change. 15:43 And even when we have negative change, 15:45 to be able to look for God's hand 15:47 and His help as we go through it and for... 15:49 What is He going to say, 15:50 accomplishing in spite of the negative change. 15:55 God calls us to set new goals, to accomplish things 15:58 that keeps us growing and getting, 16:00 and keeps us younger. 16:02 God wants us to continue to, 16:04 to stay as young in our hearts and our minds as possible. 16:07 And one of the ways that He does that 16:08 is He calls us to set goals. 16:10 He calls us to embrace change, 16:12 He calls us to be able to continue to grow 16:14 and to embrace new things and to accomplish things 16:17 that God has set upon our hearts. 16:21 Now, this week's lesson touches on two of life's 16:23 most largest positive changes 16:26 that most of us experience in this life. 16:30 Now, when I say positive, of course, 16:32 that comes with a bit of an explanation or explanation 16:36 that is necessary, which is that 16:38 if you do it right, 16:40 it can be one of the most positive, 16:42 and was intended to be 16:43 one of the most positive changes 16:45 that we bring in our life. 16:46 And that is marriage and children. 16:50 Okay, having children, raising children. 16:52 So these are two that are looked at 16:54 two of the biggest, largest positive changes 16:57 if we do it right, that can come into our life 17:00 that God has planned for many of us. 17:04 And then the lesson study 17:05 also touches on two of life's most challenging 17:08 and unwanted changes. 17:10 And that is old age and death. 17:14 So two positives, potentially positives 17:16 and two negative changes 17:19 that come into our life as well. 17:21 Now, we're not gonna be able to address 17:23 all four topics in this program. 17:24 I just want us to know that up front 17:26 because we just won't have the time allotted 17:29 for us here to be able to study through them all. 17:32 But I do want to encourage you to read the quarterly. 17:34 If you haven't read through this week's quarterly, 17:36 go back and look at some of these 17:38 in regards to these four big changes 17:40 that most of us experience in life. 17:43 And there's great counsel, 17:45 there's great tips for us to be able to, to benefit from. 17:51 Now, of course, old age and death 17:53 can represent all the negative changes 17:56 that are involved in this life 17:58 and, of course, that all came since sin 18:01 and rebellion against God entered into the picture. 18:05 And so what is the key 18:06 to handling all these negative changes? 18:08 Negative changes are inevitable. 18:10 That's just one of the realities of this life 18:12 and has been ever since sin but how do we handle them? 18:17 What is the key to them? 18:18 Somebody else said, John had said, 18:19 put our trust in God. 18:21 Yes. Good. 18:23 And that's why I believe that the authors of this week, 18:25 they put in there Psalm 85, you know, trust in God 18:27 and allow Him to make the footsteps. 18:30 Let Him go ahead. 18:32 Good. 18:33 Yeah. 18:35 How do we handle all the negative changes? 18:37 Well, one of the ways that I think we can do that 18:39 is to imitate one of the models 18:40 that God has given unto us in the Bible. 18:43 Now, his name is very familiar to many of us. 18:45 His name is Daniel. 18:46 And Daniel was no small person. 18:50 Now, he was a great man of faith. 18:53 He was one of the greatest examples 18:55 that God has given to us in all history 18:56 and all the Bible. 18:58 Now, the question that we need to ask first off. 19:00 Did Daniel face any negative challenges, 19:02 any negative changes that came unexpected 19:04 and unwanted in his life? 19:07 Some of you are smiling and it say, 19:08 well, yeah, of course, He did. 19:11 He faced all kinds of negative changes. 19:14 Now, Daniel probably faced 19:15 more negative change in his life 19:17 than most of us in this room 19:18 have ever faced and will ever face. 19:20 Not all of us, but most of us. 19:24 Daniel, first, was about 17 years old, 17 years of age. 19:29 He was enjoying his home city of Jerusalem. 19:31 He was enjoying his friends, his cousins, his families, 19:34 his uncles and aunts, his uncles, 19:35 his grandma, his grandpa, 19:37 you know, he was enjoying all the things that many of us 19:38 have the privilege of enjoying in life. 19:40 He was enjoying his home country 19:41 and then suddenly, 19:42 this foreign war came into his land, 19:45 a foreign army that came in 19:48 and began to conquer the land of Jerusalem. 19:51 Now Daniel was close enough to God 19:53 that he was probably listening 19:54 to the Prophet Jeremiah very closely, 19:56 he understood that things were not as they should be. 19:59 Unexpected and unwanted change 20:01 was already entering in his life 20:02 before Nebuchadnezzar 20:04 and the Babylonian army had come into town. 20:07 But nevertheless, he, his world 20:10 was turned upside down literally, wasn't it? 20:12 He was taken a captive during that war. 20:15 We can only imagine that it was almost for certain 20:18 that he had seen with his own eyes, 20:21 some of his own friends, some of his own family members 20:23 that were killed by some of those Babylonian soldiers. 20:28 And so the trauma that Daniel went through 20:30 was no small trauma. 20:32 And then after that, the Bible record tells us 20:35 that he was taken a captive along 20:36 with many hundreds and thousands 20:38 of other Israelites. 20:40 And then he was marched over 1000 miles 20:42 to a land that he had never seen 20:44 and probably never wanted to see. 20:46 He was taken to the land of Babylon 20:48 over 1000 miles away. 20:51 And then when he arrived in Babylon, 20:53 rather than being the one, some of the ones, 20:55 the majority of the Israelites who were set free 20:57 to be able to, to be able to make a life 21:00 for themselves, to build houses, 21:02 to be able to plant vineyards, and gardens, and so on. 21:05 No, Daniel was young 21:07 and he was one of great health and intelligence, 21:10 and so he was recruited into the king's palace. 21:14 Now we might be thinking to ourselves, 21:16 well, that's better than having to build a house 21:17 and try to, you know, kind of homestead out 21:19 in the land and make a life for yourself 21:21 and all the vigors and stresses that come with that. 21:23 He'd be able to... 21:24 He got to be able to enjoy 21:26 the luxuries of the king's palace. 21:29 But it wasn't quite like that, was it? 21:30 When he got there, 21:32 not only was it against his free will, 21:33 he was a slave for life, for the rest of his life. 21:36 Daniel was commissioned to be a slave. 21:39 And not only that, 21:40 but when you're assigned to the king's palace, 21:42 and you're a man, you are physically castrated, 21:45 that was standard procedure. 21:47 And so Daniel had experienced that in a very real way. 21:52 Now, why is that? 21:53 Well, because he's near the king's harem. 21:56 And so if you have access to the king's harem, why? 22:00 You are physically castrated. 22:03 And so Daniel was traumatized physically, emotionally 22:07 in some very, very serious ways. 22:11 When he also experienced that particular procedure 22:13 by the Babylonian army 22:15 or powers to be, of course, then that caught off any, 22:19 any hopes of being married or having children. 22:22 Two of the biggest positive changes 22:24 that we can bring into our life. 22:27 Did Daniel experience negative changes? 22:30 Sure he did, 22:31 he experienced huge, massive negative change. 22:35 Now, in spite of all this negative change, 22:37 did Daniel achieve positive changes for himself? 22:40 Did he shine and interact in a positive way 22:43 to those around him? 22:45 He did, didn't he? 22:46 It's a resounding yes. It's a resounding yes. 22:51 And so it's important for us to be able to understand that, 22:56 that there are a number of things 22:57 that we can remember if we've read 22:59 the Book of Daniel in the past 23:00 and there are number of things that, 23:03 that, of course, if you're reading this 23:04 and studying it for the first time, 23:06 maybe new to you. 23:08 Now one of the first things that God did in life of Daniel, 23:10 is that He rose Daniel 23:12 to the top of the Babylonian government. 23:15 Not only was he a slave in the king's household, 23:17 but then he became the right hand man of the king. 23:19 He was the prime minister 23:21 of the entire grand empire of Babylonia. 23:25 And so that was no small thing. 23:27 And so he rose and he shone within his sphere of influence. 23:32 He made decisions and choices and trusted in God 23:35 to the point where God's large and powerful 23:37 and wise footsteps went ahead of him 23:39 and brought him all the way down 23:41 right next to the throne of the king himself. 23:45 Not only that, but he led that same king 23:48 to a saving faith relationship with the one and only true God. 23:52 Not only through his example, 23:54 through the interpretations of the prophetic dream 23:56 that God had given to that Babylonian king. 23:59 In fact two prophetic dreams 24:00 that he had given to the Babylonian king. 24:03 And all those different things, 24:04 the model that Daniel had the different conversations 24:08 that he inevitably had with Nebuchadnezzar 24:10 as they discussed the things of life 24:12 and the philosophies of religion and gods and so on. 24:16 And all of that culminated 24:18 completely into the full conversion 24:21 of this powerful ancient king called Nebuchadnezzar. 24:24 And so Daniel had made choices and positive change in his life 24:28 to the point where he had converted 24:30 the most powerful man of his day. 24:33 Not only that, but we also read 24:34 in the very first chapters of Daniel 24:36 that he was also the leader of his faithful four friends, 24:39 that small circle of the ones that decided not to compromise. 24:43 They wanted to follow, and worship, 24:44 and submit themselves to God fully. 24:47 And so he had, they had determined 24:49 that they would not eat of the king's diet. 24:51 Now the king's diet was very deadly. 24:53 It had lots of alcohol, 24:54 and unclean foods, and meats, and so on, 24:56 and so they had decided to be able to request 25:02 the one that was in charge of them 25:03 if they might be able to eat only vegetables 25:05 or a vegetarian plant based diet only. 25:09 And so Daniel was the spokesperson, 25:11 he's the kind of, was the head of that, 25:14 that faithful circle, and he was the one 25:15 that approached the powers to be and... 25:18 So because of that, 25:20 they were able to live a much healthier life, 25:21 eat a much healthier diet, a God given diet 25:23 rather than the king's much more deadly diet. 25:28 And then the fourth positive change 25:30 that he brought into his life, and God brought into his life 25:34 is that because of his faith in God, 25:36 he had received the most important, 25:38 and powerful, and longest reaching prophecies 25:42 in the future that any human being 25:44 has ever received. 25:47 Now, friends, that's no small thing, is it? 25:49 Because of Daniel's positive choices, 25:52 and bringing positive change into his life, 25:55 in spite of all these massive negative changes, 25:58 he was able to accomplish great things for God. 26:03 I would propose to you that indeed the prophecies of Daniel 26:06 are the most important prophecies 26:07 of the future than any other Bible prophet. 26:12 Now, some of you might be saying, 26:13 well, what about Revelation? 26:15 I thought Revelation was the most important 26:16 and the most powerful book that points us into the future. 26:20 And certainly is a very, very close number two, 26:23 but let me tell you why I put still Daniel on the top. 26:27 As it turns out, many of us 26:28 that have studied the Book of Revelation 26:30 have discovered that most of the symbolism 26:31 and you can't understand unless you have the book of... 26:35 Unless you have the prophecies of Daniel. 26:37 And so the Book of Revelation is largely useless 26:40 unless we have the Book of Daniel 26:41 to be able to interpret the great deep symbols 26:44 that God had revealed in the Book of Revelation. 26:47 And so that's why I still put Daniel 26:48 at the top of the list with Revelation 26:50 being a very close, brother, in second place. 26:54 And, of course, they're sister or brother books. 26:58 And so these are some massive great examples 27:02 of somebody in great distress, massive negative change 27:06 that was able to shine for Jesus 27:08 in some of the most powerful ways 27:09 any human being has ever shined. 27:13 And so the question again. 27:14 What enabled Daniel to handle 27:16 these massive negative changes so well, 27:19 that he accomplished such great positive changes? 27:23 Well, first and foremost, 27:24 he chose a faith relationship with God every single day. 27:30 And, of course, this was the key, 27:33 it was the bedrock, it was the cornerstone, 27:35 it was the foundation for his success in life. 27:40 Now, of course, he had that 27:41 and he was setting that foundation 27:43 before the negatives came, 27:44 that's where you want to be, is it not? 27:46 Friends, you want to be in that foundation 27:48 and that cornerstone of faith before the storms of life come. 27:52 Now, some of us, 27:53 you know, we make foolish choices 27:55 and we don't set that bedrock. 27:57 And we don't come to the rock 27:59 and make sure we're connected with it. 28:01 And so when the storms come, now we're searching desperately 28:03 for the rock and the Lord is merciful. 28:06 He will use those times quite often 28:08 to be able to start connecting with us. 28:10 But, friends, those storms 28:11 are gonna be much harder to handle 28:13 because of that. 28:14 And so you want to be able to set that foundation, 28:16 even right now, just as Daniel did 28:18 in the very earliest years of his life. 28:22 And so that's the bedrock 28:23 that's the cornerstone of his success. 28:27 Now, Daniel had an experience that's very similar, 28:29 not in the circumstances so much, 28:31 but in their feelings 28:32 and the great negative changes and challenges 28:34 that came upon their shoulders in their life. 28:37 And the other figure that I'm thinking of 28:39 is another prophet by the name of David. 28:42 David went through a lot of hard years, 28:46 great challenges. 28:47 Now, be it, it is true 28:48 that some of them he brought upon himself 28:50 and he had reaped those consequences for years. 28:53 But even before that, I mean, can you imagine, 28:56 you marry into the family and your father-in-law, 28:58 you know, my father-in-law's here today. 29:00 I'm thankful to be able to have 29:01 such a good loving relationship with him. 29:03 But can you imagine if your father-in-law 29:05 was out to get your head? 29:09 Okay, so imagine if my father-in-law 29:11 turned on me and he was doing everything 29:12 within his power to be able to take my life. 29:16 That's where David was. 29:18 That's where David was, is that a negative change? 29:20 Sure, it's a great negative change 29:22 and challenge in his life and he had a number of those. 29:24 And so David experienced a lot of negative changes, 29:28 massive negative changes, just like the Prophet Daniel. 29:32 And I believe that's why when he was inspired 29:35 to write the 23rd Psalm, 29:36 it's something that not only David could relate to, 29:38 but of course, Daniel would be able 29:43 to relate to that as well. 29:44 And so Daniel would have leaned upon Psalm 23, 29:50 I'm sure more than once during his experiences. 29:53 And so I'm gonna invite Denise to be able to read 29:56 that Psalm in its fullness, 29:58 'cause it's just so fitting on this topic here today. 30:01 Psalm 23, "Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 30:07 He makes me to lie down in green pastures. 30:10 He leads me beside the still waters. 30:13 He restores my soul. 30:15 He leads me in the paths of righteousness 30:17 for his name's sake. 30:19 Yea, though I walk through the valley 30:22 of the shadow of death, 30:23 I will fear no evil, for you are with me, 30:27 your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 30:31 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 30:35 You anoint my head with oil. 30:37 My cup runs over. 30:40 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 30:43 all the days of my life, 30:45 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 30:49 Amen. 30:51 Do I hear an amen out there? Amen. 30:54 You know, I don't think there's any passage of scripture 30:58 in history, 30:59 at least in American history that has been memorized 31:02 by American Christians than that particular Psalm. 31:06 How many times have I been at the deathbed 31:08 or the sickbed of different church members 31:12 that are reciting the 23rd Psalm? 31:15 That 23rd Psalm 31:17 kind of encapsulates the heart of God 31:20 and encapsulates the hard experience of David, 31:22 Daniel and many of us sitting in this room as well. 31:26 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, 31:27 He leads me beside still waters. 31:29 It's reflective and I'm unpacking 31:31 really the first verse, 31:32 the memory text in Psalm 85 that we read, did we not? 31:35 That it is God that goes ahead. 31:36 He's the one that's in charge. He's the leader of our life. 31:39 Is He the leader of your life? 31:42 That's what God wants in our life. 31:45 Well, Daniel made it a regular habit of looking 31:47 to His God for help. 31:48 He learned to trust in Him in all circumstances, 31:51 no matter how overwhelming and negative they might become, 31:54 as change, inevitable change came into his life. 31:59 As the famous pastor by the name of Chuck Swindoll 32:02 once had stated, it's a statement 32:04 that has echoed through the years 32:08 ever since it's been repeated by many of us 32:10 is that life is 10% what happens to you, 32:12 and 90% of how you react. 32:16 Isn't that true? 32:17 Life is 10% of what happens to you, 32:20 but it's 90% of how you react. 32:24 And if your heart is connected to God, 32:26 if your heart is connected to the one 32:27 that made the heavens and the earth, 32:29 the one who has a desire to prosper you 32:31 and to give you hope and a future. 32:33 Friends, you can, 32:34 there's nothing that you can't handle. 32:37 There's been examples that are too strong, 32:39 that are too deep, 32:40 even as we looked at Daniel's life itself. 32:43 Now, Daniel made choices that armed him 32:45 with the armor of God, 32:46 so that when the storms and negative challenges of life 32:48 came along, they surely, as they surely do, 32:51 for every one of us. 32:52 None of us is exempt from the storms 32:54 and the negative changes that life brings in this life. 32:56 If you have not experienced it yet, 32:58 just wait until tomorrow. 33:01 Because, friends, I'm telling you, 33:02 none of us comes out exempt, 33:05 none of us comes out without being challenged 33:08 by the negative storms of life. 33:11 But Daniel was able to handle those storms, 33:13 he was able to stand for the right, 33:15 he was able to persevere in achieving positive changes 33:19 in spite of the negative changes 33:20 that this world brought upon him. 33:23 And God may be speaking to you right now. 33:26 You may know in the depths of your heart 33:28 that you have not been making the choices 33:30 that Daniel made. 33:31 You may know in your heart of hearts 33:33 that when things get tough 33:34 and unwanted change comes into your life 33:37 that you react in some very unhelpful ways. 33:41 Let me give you some examples. 33:43 Perhaps you're one of those that when negative changes 33:45 come into your life, unwanted changes, 33:47 negative changes, you blow your top, 33:50 you lose your temper, 33:52 you find yourself in uncontrollable anger, 33:54 perhaps that's been your unhealthy 33:56 and unhelpful way of handling negative change. 34:00 Or perhaps you're one of those types 34:01 that just wants to curl up in your bed 34:04 into the fetal position, pull the covers over your head 34:07 and hope that it all goes away. 34:09 And by the way, friends, 34:10 even if you're not finding yourself in bed 34:12 all curled up, and you're at the bar, 34:14 you're drowning your woes 34:16 and your negative changes in alcohol, or drugs, 34:18 or in your work. 34:20 Friends, that's the same thing. 34:21 It comes under the same category. 34:25 Unhelpful ways. 34:30 Maybe you immediately compromise what is right, 34:32 and you find yourself lying, and cheating, and stealing. 34:35 You're betraying as much as you need to, 34:37 to be able to make things good for yourself again. 34:40 These are all very common, unhelpful, 34:43 unhealthy ways of handling negative change in our life. 34:47 And, friends, if you're finding yourself 34:49 in that position, and God is calling to you, 34:50 and He wants to help you to be able to connect with Him 34:53 and to be able to make those good choices 34:56 and stand for the right though the heavens fall. 35:00 To be able to maintain and develop an integrity 35:03 that regardless of the storms that come around us 35:05 that I will be able to handle it, 35:06 I will be able to lift up my head 35:08 and keep it high 35:09 and find myself on a regular basis on my knees. 35:13 So that I can allow the God, 35:15 the Lord and the God of the universe 35:16 to be able to go ahead of me and make those footsteps. 35:20 Then I can leave all these negative, 35:22 unhelpful ways, and unhealthy ways behind 35:24 and handle them in a positive and productive way. 35:29 I want to invite you here today to surrender to the God 35:31 that loved and help Daniel in a 100 different ways 35:34 that allowed him to shine, even in the darkest valleys. 35:38 Daniel was able to shine. 35:42 This is the one and only way 35:43 that you can really come through this life 35:45 and end up on top, 35:46 that you can really find yourself undefeated 35:48 when it's all said and done. 35:51 Isn't that the way you want to end your life? 35:53 Don't you want to end your life on top? 35:56 Now, I'm not talking about the one who dies 35:57 with the most toys wins. 36:00 No, I'm talking about really being on top, 36:03 knowing that I have followed the Lord, 36:05 knowing that I have stood for the right, 36:07 knowing that I have lived the truth 36:09 and the life that God has given to me. 36:12 This is the way that God wants us to live our life 36:14 and to end it, to be able to end up on top 36:16 when it's all said and done. 36:20 Well, we have a little bit of time 36:21 to look at one of our subjects here today. 36:24 But I want to invite our last volunteer. 36:26 He's a young man by the name of Ben, 36:27 and he's agreed to be able to read for us 36:29 from Matthew 11:28-30. 36:33 And so if you have your Bibles, you want to follow along, 36:35 that's Matthew 11:28-30, 36:38 as we come to the words of Christ. 36:42 "Comes to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 36:45 and I will give you rest. 36:46 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 36:48 for I am gentle and lowly in heart 36:50 and you will find rest for your souls. 36:52 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 36:56 Thank you, Ben. 36:57 One of my favorite scriptures, is Christ again, 37:00 the heart of God calling out to us, 37:02 and saying, learn from me. 37:04 Jesus wants to be our teacher. 37:06 He wants to be our leader, 37:07 but He also wants to be our teacher. 37:09 Now, both my daughters 37:10 can tell you about some very, very awesome 37:13 and amazing teachers 37:14 that they've had during their grade school years, 37:17 as they look back, and my youngest one, 37:19 even if she's experienced, a good teacher even right now. 37:23 But, friends, none of them 37:24 compared to the greatest teacher of all. 37:26 And that's Jesus Christ. 37:27 Come unto me and learn from me, 37:29 Jesus says, enter into the school of Christ, 37:32 be a disciple, a student of the master. 37:35 Come to the one that knows life and is the creator of life 37:37 and will be able to give you a life 37:39 that you can never find without Him. 37:45 Well, earlier on we are talking about old age 37:47 and I heard somebody in the audience, 37:49 I think they said, "You're not old yet." 37:52 How can you talk to us about being old? 37:54 Well, I don't know if my Mom just gave me 37:57 the right vitamins or what it was, 38:00 but you know, I'm 51, and so I'm old enough to say 38:05 that I'm not old as in a senior, 38:09 but I'm certainly old enough to know what it's like to be 38:11 on the other side. 38:13 And I certainly know what it's like 38:15 to be able to start going down the other direction. 38:19 And there's different changes 38:21 that have started to develop into my life 38:23 that I'm not exactly excited about. 38:26 And, you know, of course, 38:27 as I visit and pastor different members 38:30 that are a few years ahead of me, 38:31 they share some things that I can expect 38:34 and look forward to. 38:35 And I'm not sure I'm all that excited about it. 38:39 You know, preparing for old age and accepting the fact 38:42 that we all grow old, it's not exactly something 38:45 that we all get up in the morning and go, 38:46 hey, great, I'm older again today. 38:49 You know, when we say we're over the hill, 38:51 there's a real reality to that. 38:53 You know, you kind of peek and then things start 38:57 to kind of go down the other direction. 38:59 And so let's look at that for a little bit. 39:02 Psalm Chapter... 39:04 Not chapter, there's no chapters 39:06 in Psalm really, 39:07 it's a collection of 150 songs, did you know that? 39:12 It's 150 songs. 39:13 So these were really inspired by God to be sung. 39:16 And they were sung originally. 39:17 Psalm is an old English word for song. 39:20 And so really, it's the book of songs. 39:23 Let's go to the 90th Psalm which is verse 10. 39:27 Now, you can look at it in your Bible 39:28 or you can go to your quarterly study, 39:29 if you desire, on page 26. 39:35 And on page 26, at the very top, 39:39 we find that verse Psalm 90:10, it says, 39:41 "The days of our lives are seventy, 39:44 and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, 39:46 yet their boast is only labor and sorrow, 39:48 for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.' 39:52 And, of course, the flying away 39:54 is that we start to disappear and we go to our rest 39:57 until Jesus comes again and so... 40:02 That's one of the realities of life. 40:03 One of the realities of life 40:05 is that life doesn't last forever 40:06 in this life. 40:08 There's an intermission for most of us 40:10 until Jesus comes again. 40:11 Now, we have the hope that God is gonna resurrect us 40:13 from that death. 40:14 Death is an enemy that has overcome 40:15 and this lesson study wisely points that out, 40:17 as the Bible tells us, death is an enemy 40:20 that Jesus had conquered. 40:22 And so it's good to be able to know 40:24 that even if we go to our rest today, 40:26 that Jesus is still there for us, 40:28 and He will wake us up tomorrow. 40:32 So preparing for old age. 40:35 Now, on Wednesday's lesson, we looked at Psalm 71. 40:39 And that's the key passage that we look at 40:42 and it speaks to aging with success. 40:45 Now, the best way to maximize success 40:47 in growing old is beginning to invest early on. 40:51 You need to start investing 40:52 early on to prepare for old age. 40:56 You don't want to wait until you're 50, or 60, or 70 40:59 to be able to prepare for old age. 41:01 You want to start investing now. 41:05 And so what does that mean? 41:07 Well, does that mean that I should start looking 41:08 and studying stocks, and bonds, and real estate? 41:11 Well, it's good to have a good retirement plan. 41:13 I don't want to advise against that, 41:15 I've got a retirement plan, conference, 41:18 you know, gives us a retirement plan, 41:19 we have different options to look at. 41:21 So it is good to be able to look 41:22 into your future financially and make sure 41:24 that you're not a burden 41:25 as much as possible on yourself, 41:27 your family and such. 41:29 But there's more to it than that. 41:31 I'm talking about investing 41:32 in other very important areas of life. 41:35 So that when you do reach your old age years, 41:37 that you're prepared. 41:39 Now, the most important investment 41:40 that we can make, 41:41 of course, we already spent most of our lesson study 41:43 looking at and that is, that is our faith in God, 41:46 investing spiritually in your relationship with God. 41:50 So that when our older years do come along, 41:52 we can lean upon Him because we do, we need God 41:55 perhaps even more 41:56 when we find ourselves in our senior years. 41:59 In some ways, yes. 42:00 We need to be able to lean upon Him to be able to, 42:03 to make sure that we have a rock 42:04 in which we can lean upon and look to. 42:08 And we want to start that now. 42:10 Again, just like Daniel 42:11 before the storms came and the challenges, 42:12 and the negative changes came, 42:14 he had already established himself 42:16 with the rock. 42:18 He had already established himself with God. 42:20 And so Psalm 71:5, 42:24 it points out for us and says, 42:25 "You are my hope, oh Lord God, you are my trust from my youth, 42:30 from my" what? 42:31 "From my youth." 42:32 And so it's in our youth 42:33 that we want to start depositing those investments 42:36 so that when we reach our senior years, 42:38 that we can have a rock solid relationship 42:40 with God. 42:41 And we can also have better memories as well. 42:44 When we're in the latter stage of our life, 42:45 we can be able to lean upon those 42:48 and reflect upon all the different ways 42:49 that God had led you in your life, 42:52 all the different beautiful relationships 42:53 that you have developed in the church of God 42:55 over the years, 42:57 and with your neighbors as you've loved them 42:58 with the love of Christ. 43:00 And then, of course, 43:01 we also want to invest depositing our families. 43:05 In Proverbs Chapter 31, 43:06 we find one of the most powerful examples 43:08 of that as we read through that, 43:09 that Psalms, particularly the last half of Proverbs 31, 43:13 we find there that there is a wife and a mother 43:15 that is pouring her life out into her family, 43:19 beautiful scriptures. 43:21 She's depositing something there 43:23 that she's gonna reap in her senior years, 43:25 is she not? 43:26 Sure, she is. 43:27 She's investing in her future, 43:29 even as she's investing in her family in the present. 43:32 And so investing in your family relationships, 43:35 and making sure that your family 43:36 doesn't fall to the wayside in that most important circle, 43:39 social circle is protected 43:42 and that you're investing in it in a regular basis, 43:44 so that you can have a bright future 43:46 when you reach your senior years. 43:49 And then, of course, our marriage, 43:51 Ephesians Chapter 5, 43:52 God calls husbands and wives to invest in each other, 43:55 to bring lots of love and respect to one another 43:58 as you make your way through the years together 44:01 in your marriage relationship. 44:03 It is God's plan, 44:04 is it not for us to be able to become closer? 44:08 If you're celebrating your silver anniversary, 44:10 and then your golden anniversary 44:12 after 50 years of marriage, 44:14 should you be closer together at the golden 44:16 than you were at the silver? 44:18 Sure, that's God's plan, is it not? 44:21 God has called the husband and wife 44:23 to invest into their marriage, 44:24 and how many of us have made the mistake 44:26 of not investing 44:27 into their marriage relationship? 44:30 How many tragic stories that we have represented 44:32 just in this room alone. 44:35 Now, I'm not talking about you individually, 44:36 but people that you know, 44:38 you know, in your families 44:39 and so on, the pain and the hurt that is resulted 44:41 because there's couples 44:43 that have been married for 10, 20, 30, 44:45 sometimes even 50 years, 44:47 and then all of a sudden they make 44:48 this grand announcement to the family, 44:50 we're separating, we're getting a divorce. 44:53 Why? 44:55 Because they had made the tragic mistake 44:56 of not investing in that marriage relationship 44:59 all the way through those years 45:01 so that when they reach their senior years, 45:02 they have the companion 45:04 that God had designed you to have. 45:08 That you have that lifelong friend 45:09 that knows you, 45:11 that the only person that knows you better 45:13 is God Himself. 45:15 Isn't that the plan that God has? 45:17 Invest in your marriage now, 45:19 if you're not investing in your marriage, 45:21 God is speaking to us today. 45:22 And He's calling us to be able to, 45:24 to do some soul searching 45:25 and find ourselves realigning our lives 45:28 in such a way that we're investing 45:29 in that which is so important that we can have the best, 45:32 most successful senior years possible. 45:38 Well, I think we're running out of time. 45:40 Psalm 71:14 45:42 also talks about developing good habits and attitudes. 45:47 So that when we reach our senior years, 45:49 we can find ourselves developed into the character 45:52 and people that He wants us to be. 45:54 Psalm 71:14, 45:56 it says, "But I will hope continually, " 45:58 I will what? 46:00 I will hope continually 46:02 and will praise you yet more and more." 46:04 And so having a lifetime of good habits of praising God 46:09 clinging on to hope, and recognizing 46:12 that God always has a future 46:13 and He desires to prosper us 46:15 and give us a positive future and bring positive changes 46:18 into the lives of those in whom we touch. 46:21 Developing good attitudes, 46:23 how sad it is that so many of us, 46:25 we find ourselves at the end of our life, 46:26 and we find ourselves with the worst attitudes 46:28 when we're retired. 46:30 How many cranky, crankity, grumpy people do we find, 46:36 you know, in the last years of our life? 46:38 Friends, we should be the sweetest, most loving, 46:40 most godly, most caring people 46:42 by the time we reach our senior years. 46:48 God is finishing a work 46:50 that He had already begun in you. 46:54 It hurts my heart sometimes. 46:55 And this might sting a little bit 46:57 for some different pastors and world leaders. 46:59 And I'm just saying that as an example, 47:00 because that's my world, 47:02 you know, I rub shoulders with church leaders and pastors 47:04 and so on. 47:05 And more than once, 47:07 and this is still the exception and not the rule. 47:08 So don't get me wrong. 47:09 This is not the general pattern. 47:11 But I've seen more than one 47:13 that has found themselves retired, 47:16 they're not accountable to them, 47:17 they've got an empty nest, their house is empty. 47:20 And so now they're not accountable to anybody, 47:22 and they could just be as grumpy and cranky 47:23 as they possibly want to be. 47:26 And they do. 47:28 Is that what God wants? 47:30 No, He doesn't want that, He wants us to be the opposite. 47:34 We should be at the pinnacle of our Christian character. 47:37 We should be reflecting Christ more 47:39 in the last years of our life than at the beginning. 47:42 And yet the devil is convinced too many of us 47:44 when the accountability has gone on earth 47:48 that now we can just kind of 47:49 be as cranky and grumpy as we want. 47:53 Investing into the passion of God's mission. 47:55 Psalm 71:15 will be our last verse. 47:57 It says, "My mouth shall tell of your righteousness 48:00 and of your salvation all the day." 48:03 Friends, having a passion for God's mission 48:05 both now through the years 48:06 and through your retirement years as well. 48:10 Just because you've retired from your job, 48:11 your career should never include retiring 48:13 from helping people to find faith. 48:16 From being a witness, 48:17 a mouthpiece for Jesus to be able 48:19 to continue to spread the good news 48:21 and to be able to contribute to His mission 48:22 in other ways as much as possible, 48:25 volunteering in the church, 48:26 volunteering in our neighborhood 48:27 and different community events and touching people's lives. 48:32 Well, we're at the end of our study here today, 48:35 and I'm just so glad 48:36 that all of you were able to join us 48:37 both here at the Granite Bay Church 48:38 as well as online 48:41 and the different television networks. 48:43 Don't forget to take advantage of our free offer, 48:46 which is Keys for a Happy Marriage. 48:48 This is Amazing Facts study guide number 5, 48:51 and you just have to dial 1866-788-3966 48:55 and ask for free offer number 164. 48:59 And again, you can see that the number, 49:00 free offer number 164 49:01 and the number is on the screen. 49:03 And I encourage you to take advantage of that. 49:06 One of the topics on positive changes was marriage. 49:10 Thank you for joining us, and we will see you next week. 49:14 Don't forget to request today's life changing free resource. 49:17 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 49:19 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 49:22 or mobile device. 49:23 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 49:26 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544, 49:30 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 49:33 And be sure to select the digital download option 49:35 on the request page. 49:37 It's more easier than ever for you 49:38 to study God's Word with Amazing Facts, 49:41 wherever and whenever you want. 49:43 And most important, to share it with others. 49:50 Amazing Facts changed lives. 49:59 When I was a little boy, 50:01 I grew up in a typical Christian family. 50:05 We had the American dream, 50:06 but I began to realize that something was not quite right. 50:11 I wanted to be with the girls. 50:15 I wanted to do girl things, 50:17 I would pretend to be one person, 50:22 but yet feel like I was trapped like this, 50:26 this girl was trapped inside my body. 50:30 You know, my parents would, 50:32 would go to the mall or we'd be at a store 50:34 and I would sneak off to, 50:40 you know, the girl's department. 50:42 I was living this double life. 50:44 So as I started to attend college, 50:47 on one hand, I would be going to school 50:49 and on the other hand, I would be starting to dress up 50:54 and something was working in my mind and in my heart 50:58 to tell me that this is not right. 51:02 And so I joined an on campus Christian group. 51:07 We took several trips to overseas, to Taiwan. 51:11 And after I graduated from the university, 51:14 I got my ticket and I... 51:16 It was a one way ticket, 51:17 and I was planning on staying in Taiwan for a while. 51:22 And there I met my wife, 51:24 we finally came back to America. 51:26 And I thought, well, maybe marriage, 51:29 you know, would be the right answer. 51:31 It was only a couple of years into our marriage 51:34 and the desires to be a woman started to come back up again. 51:41 I would get airline tickets and I would fly 51:44 to get away from her 51:45 so that I could live my lifestyle. 51:48 You know, for 24 hour periods, for one week periods, 51:51 to go shopping, 51:53 just spending inordinate amounts of money, 51:56 because I felt like I had missed so much 51:59 and I was trying to be that person 52:03 that I thought it was on the inside. 52:06 And so I started to live my life full time. 52:12 I started wearing women's clothes. 52:17 I started to grow my hair out real long, 52:19 and I just didn't see any way around it. 52:21 So finally, I had made my transition 52:24 and I had realized fully who I thought 52:26 I was supposed to be. 52:27 But there was still something missing, like I was... 52:30 I felt empty inside. 52:31 I decided to search online, I stumbled upon Amazing Facts. 52:35 And I started to watch one 52:37 and then I had watched the entire seminar series, 52:40 and I started to see who God was, 52:43 and who I was. 52:46 That God loved me so much.. 52:51 That I just can't live this life anymore. 52:55 He says to me, I'll work with you on this. 52:59 I love you and you can change. 53:03 Going through the central study hour 53:05 Sabbath School lessons on the Amazing Facts website, 53:08 I decided to finally change in the male attire 53:12 for the first time in a couple of years. 53:16 I still had my long hair. 53:18 But you know, I'm gonna go to church, 53:20 and I attended the AFCO to Go series. 53:23 It was just an amazing experience. 53:25 My life was totally different. 53:28 That love that God showed me started to work in my life 53:33 to where I wanted to do exactly the same for others. 53:36 I started to want to give more, to give more of my time 53:43 and give more of my energy 53:45 and God continued to gradually change me. 53:47 The desires to be that person finally then went away, 53:51 and I finally felt free at last. 53:55 And I can say with a big smile on my face 53:58 that God has completely healed me through the process. 54:02 I just thank God for giving me a second chance. 54:07 I'm Wendell, 54:08 and God has used you to change my life. 54:34 For over 60 years, 54:35 Jeepneys have been the virtual king of the road 54:37 here in the Philippines. 54:39 These unique vehicles that are festive 54:41 with colorful stickers, lights, and chrome 54:43 have grown into the chief source 54:45 of transportation in the country. 54:47 Let's go. 54:52 These iconic four-wheel drive military vehicles 54:55 made by the Willys Company were known as Jeeps 54:58 because it stood for general purpose. 55:01 And it also came from a character 55:03 in a Popeye cartoon 55:05 that was known as Eugene the Jeep. 55:08 He was an imaginary dog 55:09 that could crawl across the ceilings and the walls, 55:11 and these jeeps could go anywhere. 55:13 When the Americans left the Philippines 55:15 following World War II, 55:17 it was just cheaper for them to leave these thousands 55:19 of military vehicles behind rather than to transport them 55:22 back to the States. 55:23 The creative Filipino people 55:25 modified these military vehicles 55:27 by extending the frame about six feet. 55:29 They added a couple of cozy inventions 55:31 that are designed to carry about 18 people. 55:35 They put a cab over it 55:36 to prevent the water from coming in, 55:38 but I've seen what looks like 20 to 25 people 55:41 hanging on every possible edge and ledge of a Jeepney. 55:44 They're jumping off, 55:46 they're jumping on as it goes through 55:47 congested Manila traffic. 55:51 Every Jeepney is little bit different. 55:53 Some are just held together with patches of daily wire 55:56 and bubblegum, a little bit of duck tape. 55:58 Some are little more ornate and modern, 56:00 they've got chrome and stainless steel. 56:03 And there's good reason that the ceilings are padded. 56:08 When one of the local Filipinos wants to ride on a Jeepney, 56:11 they just flag them down, they shout, 56:13 they tap on the hood, and then they jump on board. 56:15 They may not even slowdown when they do this. 56:18 Then they pay about 8 pesos 56:20 which is equivalent of 16 cents for us. 56:23 It's by far the most economical way 56:25 to get around in the country. 56:31 Some Jeepneys are even equipped with an own emergency privy. 56:37 One little downside to the Jeepneys 56:39 is because the cabs are open like this, 56:41 they're not air-conditioned, it gets very hot in summertime 56:44 and all the fumes from the street coming in 56:46 which can make it an exhausting experience. 56:50 One of the downside of the Jeepney 56:51 is they don't have all of the modern safety features, 56:54 no seatbelts. 56:55 You have to take advantage of the padding 56:57 if you hit a hard bump. 56:59 And if you're in a serious accident, 57:00 there is no airbags 57:02 other than the friends that might be sitting around you. 57:04 And that's the upside of the Jeepney 57:06 because you're up close and personal with everybody, 57:09 you make some new friends. 57:11 Riding on a Jeepney requires teamwork. 57:13 If you buy something from one of the vendors, 57:15 you all sort of pass it back to each other. 57:17 And when passengers get on board, 57:19 you just pass your money up front. 57:26 Thanks a lot. 57:31 Friends, it's safe to say there are no two Jeepneys 57:34 that are exactly the same. 57:36 They're all unique and distinct and so are you. 57:40 Have you ever felt that you get lost in a massive humanity 57:43 and God doesn't notice you? 57:45 The Bible tells us that He knows your name, 57:47 the very hairs of your head are numbered 57:49 and He hears your prayers. 57:50 More than that, 57:51 the Lord wants to take you to His kingdom, 57:53 you just have to get on board. |
Revised 2019-04-10