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00:35 Good morning, friends.
00:36 Welcome to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:38 here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:40 in Sacramento, California. 00:42 I'd like to welcome my friends 00:43 joining us across the country and around the world, 00:45 as well as our regular online Sabbath School members. 00:50 We're delighted that you've tuned in 00:51 to study our lesson with us today. 00:53 And, of course, I'd also like 00:54 to welcome our regular Sabbath School members 00:57 here in person as well as those who are joining us, 01:00 our visitors that are here, 01:01 very warm welcome to all of you. 01:03 As many of you know 01:04 that's been attending for the last few weeks, 01:06 we started a new series talking about the family. 01:09 And the topic today, 01:11 lesson number four, 01:12 our lesson is entitled "Family Seasons." 01:15 And topic number four is "When Alone." 01:18 And that's going to be our study for today. 01:20 But before we get to our lesson, 01:21 we'd like to let you know, 01:22 if you don't have a copy 01:23 of today's Sabbath School lesson, 01:25 you can download for free a copy of the lesson 01:27 at lesson.aftv.org. 01:32 Again, that's lesson.aftv.org, 01:35 lesson number four, 01:36 and you can study along with us. 01:38 We also have a free offer 01:39 we'd like to let you know about. 01:40 This is a premium gift 01:42 that we would like to make available to those 01:43 who are viewing online in North America, 01:46 a book written by Pastor Doug 01:47 entitled "Marriage Divorce and Remarriage." 01:51 If you'd like to get a copy of this book, 01:52 the number to call is 866-788-3966, 01:56 and ask for offer number 831, 01:59 or you can download a digital copy of this book. 02:03 We'll send you a link 02:04 as to where you can go to download. 02:06 Just a fantastic book, 02:07 dealing with the subject of marriage, 02:09 divorce and remarriage. 02:11 Well, before we get to our lesson today, 02:12 I'm delighted that our orchestra 02:14 is here with us, 02:15 and we're going to begin by lifting our voices in song. 02:17 I'd like to invite our song leaders 02:19 to come forward. 02:22 We'll be singing number 310 02:24 in the Seventh-day Adventist hymnal, 02:25 "I Would Draw Nearer to Jesus." 02:27 We'll be singing the first and third verses. 02:30 Please sing with us. 02:39 I would draw nearer to Jesus 02:45 In His sweet presence abide 02:51 Constantly trying to serve Him 02:57 Safe and secure at His side 03:03 I would draw nearer to Jesus 03:09 I would draw nearer to Him 03:15 Fully surrendered each moment 03:21 I would draw nearer to Him 03:27 I would draw nearer to Jesus 03:34 Seeking His strength to be true 03:40 Willing to tell of His goodness 03:46 Gladly His blest will to do 03:52 I would draw nearer to Jesus 03:58 I would draw nearer to Him 04:04 Fully surrendered each moment 04:11 I would draw nearer 04:14 to Him 04:20 Thank you for singing. 04:29 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 04:32 Dear Father in heaven, again we thank you 04:33 that we have this opportunity to gather in your house 04:35 to worship You on this special day 04:37 that You have set apart for us 04:39 to worship You in a special way. 04:41 We do ask that You'll bless our time now 04:43 as we open up the Word in study, 04:45 for we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 04:48 Our lesson today is going to be brought to us 04:49 by Pastor Doug. 04:52 Morning! Morning! 04:53 Happy Sabbath. 04:54 Want to welcome everybody 04:56 who is here at our Granite Bay Church. 04:58 I'm glad you're studying God's Word 05:00 with us today, and our friends 05:01 who are joining us on television, 05:03 we have some of you 05:04 who are part of our online Sabbath School class, 05:08 and some of our online members from around the world. 05:11 Good to see you as well. 05:12 We enjoyed being with our friends 05:14 at the White Memorial Church this last week 05:17 and the number of people 05:18 there said that they watch every week, 05:21 and we just claim you as family. 05:23 We're continuing in our Sabbath School quarterly 05:26 dealing with family seasons. 05:29 And today we've got an interesting lesson 05:32 and it's on "When Alone." 05:35 Now in this lesson, we're going to be talking about 05:37 a lot of aspects of what it means 05:39 to be alone as a Christian. 05:41 Some of those deal with just loneliness. 05:44 We're going to be talking about alone through divorce. 05:50 Some people are alone through singleness. 05:53 Some are alone by a command of the Lord 05:59 and so, 06:01 a very important study for dealing with loneliness. 06:05 Now, we have a memory verse, 06:07 and the memory verse comes from Genesis Chapter 28. 06:10 I'm sorry, Genesis 2:18. 06:12 Genesis 2:18, 06:14 and this is in the New King James Version. 06:16 If you'd like to say that with me, that'd be great. 06:18 Are you ready? 06:20 "And the Lord God said, 06:22 'It is not good that man should be alone, 06:26 I will make a helper comparable to him.' " 06:31 I don't know how many of you have heard 06:32 the story of Robinson Crusoe. 06:37 Robinson Crusoe is a book 06:39 written by Daniel Defoe 06:40 many years ago, 06:42 and it actually is based on a true story. 06:46 It's about a young man 06:47 by the name of Alexander Selkirk. 06:50 He was born in Scotland. 06:53 And he was a son of a tanner. 06:56 He was very adventurous 06:58 and he decided that he wanted to run away and go to sea, 07:01 so he did and he joined up with some ships, 07:02 and over a short period of time 07:04 he ended up becoming a sailor on a ship 07:08 with a famous captain, William Dampier. 07:11 Now, Dampier was going up and down the Pacific 07:15 raiding Spanish ships. 07:16 England was at war with Spain during the time. 07:20 And along the way, Selkirk, who was a little bit hotheaded, 07:24 got into a pretty fierce argument 07:26 with Captain Dampier. 07:28 And when they got near an island, 07:30 they stopped at an island called San Fernando, 07:33 that's 400 miles off the coast of Chile 07:36 to get some water and provisions. 07:38 It was a deserted island, 07:39 but they could get some water there. 07:41 He said, 07:43 "I'd rather live by myself on this island 07:45 than sail anymore with you." 07:48 And because of his pride and his anger, 07:49 the captain said, "Good enough, we're leaving you here." 07:53 And so they put him off on the island 07:56 and gave him some gunpowder and some basic provisions. 08:02 He had a knife, and an axe, and a flintlock. 08:06 I think I've got a little note here 08:07 that tells us. 08:08 "When Selkirk was put ashore, 08:10 he had with him clothes and bedding, 08:11 a flintlock, some gunpowder, bullets, 08:13 a hatch and a knife, a kettle, 08:15 a few books of Bible. 08:17 He tried to stay busy, but for the first eight months 08:20 he had to bear up against terrible melancholy, 08:23 and the terror of being left alone 08:25 in such a desolate island for the rest of his life." 08:29 Have you ever thought, what would it be like 08:31 if you were the only one left on earth? 08:35 Sometimes I'm actually excited about that thought, 08:39 but not everyone's that way. 08:42 He tried to stay busy. 08:44 But the first eight months he had a real struggle. 08:47 He built two huts with palmetto trees. 08:50 He covered them with long grass 08:51 and aligned them with the skins of goats, 08:53 which were abundant on the island. 08:55 When his clothes wore out, 08:57 he made himself new ones with goat skins. 08:59 When his gunpowder was spent, 09:01 he created fire by rubbing sticks together 09:03 upon his knee. 09:05 At first, he was plagued 09:06 with great numbers of cats and rats 09:08 that bred on the island because when ships came ashore, 09:11 sometimes rats got off the ships 09:13 and cats got off the ship. 09:16 And a few have escaped and multiplied. 09:18 But he tamed many of the cats 09:20 so that they would lie about his shack in hundreds, 09:24 and soon delivered him from the rats. 09:26 He also tamed some of the goats 09:29 and he diverted himself now and then, 09:30 and he'd sing and dance with them and his cats. 09:33 So he had last came to conquer 09:35 all the inconveniences of his solitude 09:37 and to be very happy. 09:39 So Kirk remained there on the island 09:41 for four and a half years. 09:43 Finally, in February 1790, 09:46 he was discovered by Captain Woodes Rogers, 09:48 another famous captain in the sailing ship Duke, 09:51 whose pilot happened to be his old captain Dampier. 09:55 Now the rest of the story is after Dampier, 09:58 who was captain dropped him off on the island, 10:01 they left, their ship sank and most of the crew perished 10:05 except Dampier and a few officers. 10:08 And so if Selkirk had stayed on the ship, 10:10 he likely would have died with the crew. 10:13 But now captain Woodes Rogers, 10:15 and by the way something else 10:16 that was interesting is, 10:17 when he first got back on board, the ship, 10:20 he had gone four years without talking to people, 10:23 talk to the goats and the cats. 10:25 And he would kind of speak, it took a while for him 10:27 to get regular speech rhythm going again, 10:30 because if you don't talk to anybody, 10:33 you start to lose the art. 10:35 And, but they had conquered some Spanish ships. 10:40 And so they made Selkirk 10:41 captain of one of the Spanish ships, 10:44 and Dampier was his pilot. 10:46 So he ended up being the captain 10:47 of his former adversary. 10:49 It's very interesting story. 10:51 They got back to England and eventually 10:52 when Daniel Defoe heard the story, 10:54 He's like, this is a great story 10:55 and he wrote, 10:57 wrote a book called Robinson Crusoe. 10:59 So, have you ever felt lonely before? 11:03 Ecclesiastes 4:9, 11:07 Two are better than one, 11:09 because they have a good reward for their labor. 11:11 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. 11:15 But woe to him who is alone 11:17 when he falls, 11:18 for he will have no one to help him up. 11:22 Again, if two lie down together, 11:23 they will keep warm, 11:24 but how can one be warm alone? 11:27 Though one might be overpowered by another, 11:29 two can withstand him, 11:31 and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." 11:35 So here in Ecclesiastes, it's Proverbs, 11:36 it's talking about how important it is 11:38 to have friends and companionship. 11:42 Now, when Jesus sent out the disciples preaching, 11:45 how did He send them? 11:47 Two by two. 11:48 Let's look at some of these verses here. 11:50 Mark 6:7, 11:52 "He called twelve to Himself, 11:53 and He began to send them out 11:54 two by two, 11:56 and He gave them power over unclean spirits." 11:59 And again, later, after these things, 12:01 the Lord appointed 70 others also, 12:03 and He sent them out how? 12:05 Two by two, 12:07 to go before his face into every city and place 12:09 where he himself was about to go. 12:11 Now, why did the Lord send out the disciples two by two? 12:17 Well, for one thing, when we train people at AFCOE, 12:20 we send them out two by two, survival method. 12:23 When one is making a presentation, 12:24 another one is praying. 12:25 If one gets discouraged, 12:26 ostensibly the other one will encourage them. 12:30 Two heads are better than one. 12:31 You ever heard that. 12:33 And so sometimes you're making a decision about what to do, 12:35 which way to go and the combined judgment, 12:37 you can make better decisions. 12:38 And, you know, 12:40 while I don't agree with their message, 12:43 I do admire the method 12:46 of Jehovah Witnesses and Latter-day Saints 12:49 because they send people out two by two. 12:52 We believe in sending people out 12:54 two by two and we do that 12:55 as I mentioned in our evangelism training. 12:57 This was a method that Jesus recommended. 13:01 Now in a moment someone's going to read to me from Mark 14. 13:03 You'll have that, Hoftis? Okay. 13:05 I'm going to read Luke 10:1. 13:08 I'm sorry, I'm going to read John 16:32. 13:11 "Indeed the hour is coming, yes, is now come, 13:14 that you will be scattered, each to his own, 13:17 and will leave Me alone. 13:19 And yet I am not alone, 13:21 because the Father is with Me." 13:23 So how did Jesus deal with loneliness? 13:27 He said, "Well, I'm never really alone 13:28 because God is with me. 13:31 God is my companion." 13:33 And then Philippians 4:11-13. 13:36 Paul was often imprisoned by himself. 13:39 And he said, "Not that I speak in regard to need, 13:41 for I have learned in whatever state I am, 13:44 to be content: 13:45 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. 13:48 Everywhere and in all things 13:49 I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, 13:51 both to abound and to suffer need. 13:53 I can do all things through Christ 13:55 who strengthens me." 13:57 So if you are a believer, are you ever alone? 14:00 No, right? 14:02 Go ahead, read for us please, Mark 14:33 and 34. 14:05 "And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, 14:08 and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 14:13 Then He said to them, 14:14 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, 14:17 even to death. 14:18 Stay here and watch.'" 14:20 Isn't that an astounding thought 14:22 that here the Creator of all men was lonely, 14:27 and He wanted people to be with Him, 14:29 to support Him. 14:30 You know, the Bible says, 14:31 Christ was tempted in all points 14:33 as we are, yet without sin. 14:35 Was He tempted with loneliness? 14:38 He was 100% human. 14:40 Did God create humans to enjoy and thrive in companionship? 14:46 What happens to a person 14:47 when they live all their time alone? 14:50 I'm an expert. 14:52 I can tell you about it. 14:55 I've shared with you before, 14:56 there's probably not too many people here 14:58 that can tell me, 15:00 I have spent five or six days by myself 15:03 where I did not hear another human voice, 15:05 no radio, no telephone, no TV, 15:07 there were no cell phones back then, 15:10 and no human input. 15:13 So I'd go several stretches where I'm all by myself. 15:17 Do you know when you live all by yourself, 15:18 you become eccentric. 15:22 You start to develop unbalanced ideas. 15:26 We sometimes by communication, 15:29 we start to balance our wisdom off each other 15:31 and it sort of keeps you in the middle. 15:34 And God does something about social interaction. 15:41 You know, they discovered that in the animal kingdom, 15:44 the smartest animals are social animals. 15:50 They found that some 15:51 of the most highly intelligent dolphins 15:55 are social animals. 15:57 They're always in pods. 15:58 They swim together, they interact, 15:59 they communicate, they play games together, 16:01 and it does something to build their intelligence, 16:04 and it gives them balance. 16:05 They work in cooperation with each other. 16:08 And there's several different groups of monkeys 16:10 and different animals 16:11 that when they work in social groups like that, 16:13 there's combined intelligence. 16:15 And so God designed 16:18 that we should not be alone. 16:21 He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. 16:24 So when the Bible says, 16:25 it's not good that man should be alone. 16:27 It didn't just mean that man needed a woman. 16:31 It's also a broader principle that people need people 16:35 and that we are social creatures. 16:37 In America, we're a little more independent 16:39 than some countries. 16:41 You know, you go to India, you go to the Philippines, 16:44 you go to China, 16:45 a lot of countries where I traveled, 16:46 they've got large families, 16:47 and family is very important. 16:50 And they each spent a lot of time in family functions. 16:52 Even if you go down south of the border, 16:55 in the Mexican families, 16:57 they get together, and they have large families 16:59 and the interactiveness is part of life, 17:01 that they communicate. 17:02 You come north 17:03 and we're an independent country. 17:07 You know, there's a lot of reasons for that. 17:09 America, a lot of people came from different places, 17:11 so they didn't always interconnect. 17:13 And we had a large land without, 17:15 wasn't so heavily populated. 17:17 And, 17:18 it just seems like we developed a little more independently. 17:22 But there are a lot of folks that are very lonely. 17:25 It's not God's plan for that. 17:26 That's part of why we have church, amen? 17:29 So that we could have fellowship 17:32 and spend time together. 17:34 So, yeah, 17:36 you never really need to be alone 17:38 if you're a believer. 17:40 You read in Matthew 28, 17:41 one of the last words in the New Testament, 17:44 teaching them to observe all things 17:46 that I've commanded you and... 17:51 There was a Chinese gentleman 17:53 who converted from Buddhism to Christianity. 17:56 His name was Lo Wong. 17:58 And when he finally got to Matthew and he read it. 18:01 He learned some English, 18:02 it said, lo, I am with you always. 18:05 It was very special to him. 18:09 He said, "Lo, I am with you always, 18:11 even to the end of the age." 18:14 And so God is promising. 18:15 I am always with you. 18:18 So are we ever really alone? 18:20 And then you read in Hebrews 13:5, 18:22 "Let your conduct be without covetousness, 18:25 be content with such things as you have. 18:27 For He Himself has said, 18:29 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'" 18:32 Now that's Hebrews 13:5. 18:35 What verse in the Bible is Paul quoting in Hebrews 18:38 where he says, "I will never leave you 18:40 or forsake you?" 18:43 We can't find it in the gospels. 18:45 Do you realize that Paul is quoting something 18:47 Jesus obviously said, 18:48 but the gospel writers did not write down 18:50 that exact phrase. 18:52 But we believe Paul, 18:54 if you have a red letter edition, 18:56 when you read Hebrews 13:5 it's in red, 18:59 "I will never leave you or forsake you." 19:01 You don't find that in the four gospels, 19:03 but you do find it in Hebrews. 19:05 And so Jesus made that promise. 19:07 But it's kind of like that when He said, 19:08 I'm with you always, right? 19:10 To the end of the world. 19:11 All right, so as a principle, 19:13 God does not want us to live as islands. 19:16 Now before I go too deep into the lesson, 19:18 I think it might be good to mention at this point. 19:20 Is it always bad to be alone? 19:25 Now, being alone sometimes is a wonderful thing. 19:28 Who is it? 19:29 Isaiah that said, 19:31 "Woe to them that join house to house 19:33 and lay field to field till there is no place 19:36 where a man may be alone in the earth." 19:39 That Jesus sometimes rise up 19:41 a great while before it was day and go alone. 19:45 And even asked the disciples, He said, you know, 19:47 we've been so busy with the multitudes. 19:49 He says, we need to come to a desolate, 19:51 an isolated wilderness place so we can rest. 19:55 John the Baptist, 19:56 where did he go for his ministry? 19:59 To the wilderness 20:00 and he spent a lot of time out there 20:02 in the cathedral canyons of God's creation. 20:06 I think it's good sometimes for people 20:09 to get out by themselves 20:10 and spend some time alone with God. 20:12 I think that when you enter into your closet to pray, 20:15 matter of fact, there's a quote, 20:16 Karen showed this to me this morning. 20:18 If you go to your lesson, I'm going to jump to Friday. 20:21 Friday usually doesn't have a subject, 20:23 it sort of got like further thoughts. 20:25 And then if you go to Friday in your lesson, 20:28 it talks about Enoch. 20:29 And it says, "In the midst of a life of active labor, 20:33 Enoch steadfastly maintained his communion with God. 20:37 The greater and more pressing his labors, 20:39 the more constant and earnest were his prayers. 20:43 He continued to exclude himself 20:45 at certain periods from all society. 20:47 After remaining for a time among the people, 20:50 laboring to benefit them by instruction and example, 20:53 he would withdraw, to spend a season in solitude, 20:56 hungering and thirsting for that divine knowledge 21:00 which God alone can impart. 21:02 Communing thus with God, 21:04 Enoch came more and more to reflect the divine image." 21:06 How did he do that? 21:08 He got away from it all and from everybody. 21:11 It's sometimes, I think creates a healthy balance 21:15 in our character, 21:16 not only to know how to deal with people, 21:18 but are you comfortable by yourself. 21:20 It's not a bad thing. 21:22 I mean, even in a family, in a marriage, 21:24 for you to say, I need some, what's the word for it? 21:27 Alone time. 21:29 And every now and then, 21:30 Karen will say, "Doug, you just need to go to Covelo." 21:33 And I'll hop in the truck 21:34 and I'll drive up there by myself. 21:36 And I'll spend a couple of days in praying, 21:38 you know, it's wonderful 21:39 just to be alone with God, 21:41 and you read and get out in the woods and, and... 21:46 You wouldn't believe some of the places 21:48 I've been by myself out in the wilderness 21:50 and I just think, oh, man, 21:52 you see such wonderful things. 21:54 But then you know what the problem is, 21:56 you see such wonderful things you think. 21:58 I wish I could show this to someone 22:00 or share this with someone. 22:03 But I said, "Lord, thank you for showing this to me." 22:05 So it's not always wrong to be alone. 22:07 The Bible says that actually can be a problem 22:10 if you can never be alone. 22:14 All right, so then we go to the next section, 22:18 the unmarried life. 22:21 And someone's going to read for me in a moment, 22:22 Luke 23:29. Okay. 22:25 I'm going to read Jeremiah 16:1-2. 22:27 Now, this is talking about, 22:29 there is a time to choose to be unmarried. 22:33 A little later in the lesson 22:34 we'll talk about those who are unmarried 22:36 just by circumstances. 22:37 And this is some people who are been told by the Lord. 22:41 Jeremiah 16:1-2, 22:42 "The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 22:45 'You shall not take a wife, 22:47 nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.'" 22:50 Now why did God tell Jeremiah not to marry? 22:54 You don't ever hear about Mrs. Jeremiah. 22:56 Why? 22:57 He didn't tell everybody that. 22:59 What's the general order for humans? 23:03 It is a good thing, 23:04 he that finds a wife finds a good thing. 23:05 And if you're married, he that finds, 23:06 she that finds a husband finds hopefully a good thing. 23:10 And so that's the normal order of things, 23:12 but it's not the absolute. 23:13 Now, why did he tell Jeremiah that? 23:16 What time did Jeremiah live in? 23:19 What happened during Jeremiah's life? 23:22 Nebuchadnezzar came 23:23 and it was foretold many times 23:25 to Jeremiah that I am going to destroy in a big way. 23:29 The city, that the city is going to be besieged, 23:31 there's going to be starvation, 23:32 there's going to be cannibalism. 23:34 There's going to be bloodshed, there's going to be plague. 23:37 The people are going to be carried off, 23:38 the houses will be burned, the temple will be burned. 23:42 He said, you better not marry. 23:45 Are there other times in the Bible 23:46 where God has that? 23:48 Jesus said in Matthew 24, 23:51 speaking of the tribulation in the last days, 23:54 "Woe to them who are pregnant 23:56 and those who are nursing babies 23:57 in those days." 23:59 Now we're not in those days. 24:02 Sometimes I'll have young couples 24:03 come to me and they'll say, 24:05 "Pastor Doug, 24:08 we read these verses in the Bible. 24:10 We think we're near the end, should we have children?" 24:13 You know what I tell them? 24:15 I say, "I don't know." 24:17 You got to be very careful about telling people 24:20 how to run their lives that way. 24:22 If you know Adventist history, 24:24 you know, the Adventist Church was born out of the belief 24:26 in the eminence of Jesus coming, 24:28 and I do believe Jesus is coming soon, 24:29 but there were several times 24:31 where James White counseled couples, 24:33 we're so close to the end, 24:35 we shouldn't even have children. 24:38 And he later repented of that, he said, 24:39 I shouldn't have said that. 24:40 Of course, he and Ellen had four. 24:43 So how many of you have gray hair thought 24:48 Jesus would have come before now? 24:52 Or any of you remember like World War II? 24:56 Couple of you alive back then. 24:58 When nuclear bomb, they said, this is it. 25:03 We don't have any children now, you know the world's ending. 25:07 Of course, kids born back then now are grandparents. 25:11 So you got to be careful about saying, 25:12 you know when that time is. 25:14 Every individual needs to pray about when they think 25:16 that time comes. 25:18 Go ahead, read your verse for us. 25:20 Luke 23:29, 25:22 "For indeed the days are coming 25:24 in which they will say, 25:26 'Blessed are the barren, 25:28 wombs that never bore, 25:30 and breasts which never nursed!'" 25:32 Now, when did Jesus make this statement? 25:36 He's on the way to the cross. 25:37 It's a short little sermon, Jesus preaches to the women 25:40 who are weeping as they see Him bearing His cross, 25:43 to the place of crucifixion and He says, 25:45 "Don't weep for me." 25:47 Now, why did He tell them that? 25:49 Because Jerusalem was going to be destroyed 25:52 in the generation, so the days are coming. 25:55 And the same thing that happened 25:56 in the days of Nebuchadnezzar happened again 25:59 in the days of Titus 26:01 when the city was burned, 26:03 the people were besieged, 26:05 the temple was destroyed, it all happened again. 26:09 So He said, "There's a time when it may not be a good idea 26:11 to start families." 26:12 So let me give you some examples of that here. 26:15 If you read 1 Corinthians, 26:18 as Paul writes to the church in Corinth, 26:20 persecution had arose. 26:23 See, it was later 26:25 in the ministry of Peter and Paul, 26:27 Rome began to crack down on the Jews. 26:30 And as they crack down on the Jews, 26:31 you can read in Acts where it says, 26:33 "All the Jews had been expelled from Rome." 26:35 It started slowly because the Roman, 26:36 the Jews were beginning to rebel 26:38 against the Roman Empire, 26:40 and they could see it was fomenting 26:41 and it was going to turn into rebellion, 26:44 that a great persecution happened 26:47 from the Romans against the Jews, 26:48 because Christians shared so much 26:51 with the Jewish religion. 26:52 Christianity really was, 26:54 the Jews sought as a sect or a branch of Judaism. 26:58 They were monotheistic, they worshiped the same God, 27:01 Jesus was a Jew, they read a Jewish book, 27:03 they kept the Jewish Sabbath. 27:05 And so, they really put Christians 27:08 in the same group. 27:10 And Paul said, look, persecution is beginning, 27:13 1 Corinthians 7:8, 27:16 "I say to the unmarried and to the widows: 27:18 It's good for them to remain even as I am." 27:22 All right, let me just pause right there. 27:24 Was Paul married? 27:27 Maybe once, we don't know. 27:30 Now, some wonder if Paul isn't married at some point 27:32 because what seems Paul may have been part, 27:35 he was a Pharisee 27:36 and he was part of the Sanhedrin 27:37 and somewhere in the Jewish Talmud, 27:40 it said to be part of the Sanhedrin, 27:41 you have to be married. 27:43 It's kind of like where Paul says 27:44 that a pastor should be the husband of one wife. 27:46 He kind of drew that from what they had is 27:49 you're going to be spiritual leader, 27:50 you need to understand family. 27:52 And... 27:56 We just hired a new youth pastor. 27:59 But I can't tell you who it is yet. 28:01 But one of the criteria was, the board said, 28:04 "We want someone who is married, 28:06 that has a little bit of experience 28:08 because they're going to be helping lead 28:10 the young families and the children." 28:13 So, Paul may have been married, his wife could have died. 28:19 He may have been married, 28:20 but when he converted to Christianity, 28:22 the things fell apart. 28:24 But he never did remarry. 28:26 And some may argue that he was never married, 28:28 but evidently when he writes these words here, 28:30 he's not married at this point, because he says, 28:32 to the unmarried, 28:33 "I asked that they remain even as I am, single. 28:37 But if they cannot exercise self control, 28:40 let them marry." 28:41 Now one reason that some people think 28:42 Paul at least had been married at some point 28:45 is because he sure seemed to give a lot 28:47 of counsel on marriage, 28:49 and you think he must have known 28:50 something about it. 28:55 "It's good for them to remain even as I am, 28:57 but if they cannot exercise self control, let them marry. 29:01 For it is better to marry than to burn with passion." 29:04 So God kind of designed everybody that, 29:06 you know, once you reach the teenage years, 29:09 the hormones begin to surge 29:11 and God naturally programmed people 29:13 to start craving that opposite sex. 29:17 And if that didn't happen, none of us would be here. 29:22 Right? 29:23 And so there's that natural desire. 29:25 Now, if you don't eat... 29:28 Sex is a physical desire, 29:29 but it's different because if you don't eat, 29:31 that's a physical desire to you, 29:32 you will die. 29:34 But even though sex is a desire, 29:36 if you don't fulfill it, you will not die. 29:39 You may think so, but you won't. 29:42 And so, it's something that should be controlled 29:44 until it is fulfilled in the marriage relationship. 29:49 And if not there, the Bible's pretty clear 29:51 that you're supposed to live a pure life 29:53 and Paul talks about that. 29:55 1 Corinthians 7:25, 29:58 "Now concerning the virgins..." 30:00 This is during that same time period 30:01 when the persecution was beginning. 30:03 Paul is beginning to advise families of Christians, 30:06 you better think about the rough world 30:09 you're going to bring your spouse and children into 30:11 if you marry. 30:12 "Concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord, 30:15 yet I give my judgment," 30:17 Paul is speaking by permission here, 30:19 "As one whom the Lord, 30:21 in His mercy has made trustworthy. 30:24 I suppose therefore that this is good 30:25 because of the present distress" 30:27 that he's talking about, 30:28 the persecution that it started to happen 30:30 and against Jews and Christians, 30:32 "That it is good for a man to remain as he is. 30:35 If you're bound to wife, if you're engaged, 30:37 don't seek to be loosed. 30:38 You've made a covenant of engagement. 30:41 If you loose from a wife..." 30:43 Sometimes the wives would leave through either divorce 30:45 or separation. 30:46 "Do not seek a wife. 30:48 But even if you do marry, you have not sinned, 30:51 and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. 30:53 Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, 30:56 but I would spare you." 30:57 He said, "I'm trying to save you the problems 30:58 that if you marry now 30:59 during these difficult times of persecution, 31:02 it may be harder." 31:04 "But this I say, brethren, the time is short, 31:07 so that from now on even those who have wives 31:09 should be as though they had none, 31:11 for those who weep even as though they did not weep, 31:14 those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, 31:16 those who buy as though they did not possess," 31:19 and because they had to maybe flee 31:21 and leave their possessions. 31:24 "And those who use this world is not misusing it. 31:28 For the form of this world is passing away. 31:30 But I want you to be without care." 31:31 Don't be encumbered with the cares of this life. 31:34 "He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord. 31:36 You are free to go out and do mission work. 31:38 How he might please the Lord. 31:40 He who is married cares about the things of the world, 31:42 how he might please his wife. 31:44 And there is a difference between a wife and a virgin. 31:48 The unmarried man cares about the things of the Lord, 31:50 that she may be holy both in body and in spirit." 31:53 There it's talking about that purity. 31:55 "But she who is married cares about the things of the world, 31:57 how she might please her husband. 31:59 " I've seen this happen many times 32:00 where you got some AFCOE graduate, 32:04 he's on fire and he's out winning souls 32:06 and then some woman lands him. 32:09 And unless she's mission minded, 32:12 she says, oh, man, you got to get a better job. 32:13 You can't be a missionary. 32:15 How you are ever going to build a house or buy a car on that? 32:18 And pretty soon he gets pulled out of the Lord service 32:20 because he must please his wife. 32:21 And I've seen it the other way. 32:22 You get some young lady, she's a Bible worker, 32:24 she's a soul winner, but meets a guy 32:26 and next thing you know, she has 62 children, 32:29 and she's not giving Bible studies anymore. 32:32 Now, that's an exaggeration, but, you know what I'm saying. 32:35 So Paul is saying, you know, you're a little more free. 32:38 They were saying, look, 32:39 let's take the gospel to the world. 32:41 But once they got married, 32:42 and with the persecution it became a little more difficult. 32:45 Now, I'm going to read something 32:47 that Jesus says about this. 32:50 The disciples said, you know, 32:52 they're asking Him a question 32:53 about marriage and divorce and Jesus 32:54 threw something in Matthew 19:12, 32:56 He doesn't mention it anywhere else. 32:59 "For there are eunuchs..." 33:00 Now, we all know what a eunuch is. 33:01 Now, there are eunuchs, 33:04 Daniel was a eunuch in the palace of Babylon. 33:07 That was foretold by Isaiah that the children of Hezekiah 33:10 would be captured by the king of Babylon 33:12 and made eunuchs in his palace. 33:14 And the eunuchs were often the wise men. 33:16 And they made him eunuch 33:17 so because coming and going in the palace, 33:19 King has his harem there. 33:23 He wanted to know all the king's children 33:24 were the king's children. 33:26 And so Jesus says, 33:28 "There are eunuchs who are born from their mother's womb." 33:31 There are some people who... 33:33 They just have no desire in that respect. 33:36 "And there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men." 33:38 Some are captured and they're forced into that. 33:41 "Then there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs." 33:44 That could mean either by practice or by procedure. 33:49 And then Jesus said, and He says, 33:50 "For the kingdom of heaven sake, 33:53 and then he is able to accept it, 33:56 let him accept it." 33:58 And so Jesus said, you know, there are some. 34:00 Now, was Christ married? 34:04 It's a trick question. 34:05 No, technically, 34:07 to the church who is the bride of Christ, 34:09 so. 34:11 Now there's, you know, 34:12 I don't believe that goes around in the world today 34:15 that Jesus really was married to Mary Magdalene. 34:18 There's not a shred of historical, or a scientific, 34:22 or biblical evidence for that. 34:25 It just made for good movie telling. 34:28 And they found some cryptic gospel 34:30 where Jesus something about kissing Mary. 34:32 I'm going to talk today about Mary kissing Jesus' feet. 34:34 That doesn't mean they were married. 34:36 And so they've tried to build this whole crazy scenario 34:39 out of some apocryphal piece of papyr, 34:43 and that's all it says. 34:45 So no, Jesus was not married. 34:47 So all right, let's go to a difficult part. 34:49 It says when a marriage ends. 34:53 Genesis 24:14. 34:56 First of all, 34:57 how does God feel about divorce? 35:00 Maybe I ought to read Malachi before I read Genesis. 35:03 I'm going to read Malachi 2:15. 35:05 And in a moment, someone's going to read John 4:17. 35:10 All right, Malachi 2:15. 35:12 "And this is the second thing you do: 35:15 You cover the altar of the Lord with tears 35:17 with weeping and crying, 35:18 so He does not regard the offering anymore 35:20 nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. 35:23 You say, 'For what reason?' 35:24 Because the Lord has been a witness 35:26 between you and the wife of your youth, 35:29 with whom you have dealt treacherously, 35:31 yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 35:35 But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? 35:40 And why one? 35:41 He seeks godly offspring.' 35:43 " God wants families to stick together, 35:45 He wants godly offspring. 35:46 So we all know as it's more difficult on children 35:48 that have been through divorce. 35:50 "Therefore take heed to your spirit, 35:53 and let none deal treacherously with a wife of his youth. 35:57 'For the Lord God of Israel says he hates divorce, 36:00 for it covers one's garment with violence,' 36:02 says the Lord of hosts. 36:04 'Therefore take heed your spirit 36:05 that you do not deal treacherously.' 36:08 " Now Moses made in his law a provision that 36:11 if there was some uncleanness found in a woman 36:14 or technically the woman with a husband, 36:17 there could be a certificate of divorce. 36:19 This was not God's plan, 36:20 but Jesus said 36:21 because of the hardness of your hearts, 36:23 He permitted this. 36:25 It was not His ideal, obviously. 36:28 But by the time of Christ, 36:30 they had actually written laws that 36:31 if a wife burned her husband's food, 36:34 he could write a certificate of divorce. 36:37 I mean, the reasons for divorce had become really bad. 36:41 And they had no social services. 36:45 Once a woman had been married for several years 36:48 and she was divorced. 36:49 Sometimes they were divorced 36:50 because they couldn't have children. 36:52 Why did Elkanah take a second wife? 36:55 Because Hannah at first was barren 36:56 and he felt like, I've got to have children, 36:58 who's going to run the farm when I'm old. 37:00 I mean, that was the only thing, 37:01 you had to have children. 37:03 And so, and look at all the hardship 37:05 it brought into that family. 37:06 Sometimes they would just divorce their wife 37:08 and get another one 37:09 that they thought would be more prolific. 37:12 And so, 37:13 God says you are breaking the covenant 37:15 dealing treacherously. 37:18 That's like the word treason with the wife of your youth. 37:21 But having said that, 37:23 are there times when even God commanded divorce? 37:28 Yeah. 37:29 Let's look at Genesis 21:14. 37:32 "So Abraham rose early in the morning, 37:34 and took bread and a skin of water, 37:36 and he put it on the shoulder of Hagar. 37:40 And he gave it the boy to Hagar and sent her away. 37:44 And she departed 37:45 and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba." 37:48 God told Abraham after there was internal strife 37:52 between Sarah, and Isaac, and Hagar, and Ishmael. 37:55 He said, "You need to put away Hagar." 37:58 That word put away is the word divorce. 38:01 He obviously, 38:02 he was in a marriage relationship with her, 38:05 but this was never God's plan. 38:08 You know, when we're in Africa, 38:11 and when the Adventist church is doing evangelism over there, 38:15 they still practice polygamy. 38:17 And so the church has been faced with a conundrum. 38:19 What do you do when you have somebody 38:22 who comes from some of these paganistic religions, 38:25 and they accept the truth, 38:26 but they've got two or three wives, 38:29 typically it was the chiefs that had multiple wives 38:32 and a lot of children. 38:35 And the church grappled with that because you think, 38:37 you know, what do you do? 38:38 And they said, finally they came up and they said, 38:40 you need to keep the first wife, 38:42 but you need to continue supporting 38:44 the other wives and children. 38:46 But you can only have one wife. 38:49 We ran into this 38:50 when I was pastoring on the Navajo Reservation. 38:53 I met this gentleman, and they said, "Yeah, 38:56 this is his wife a little while later," 38:57 they said, "Yeah, this is his wife ago." 38:59 Oh, which one is it? 39:00 They said, "Yeah, he married sisters." 39:03 And that creates some difficult situations. 39:07 All right, go ahead and read for us, 39:09 John 4:17 and 18. 39:11 John 4:17 and 18, 39:13 "The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.' 39:16 Jesus said to her, 'You have well said, 39:20 'I have no husband,' 39:21 for you have had five husbands, 39:24 and the one whom you now have is not your husband, 39:28 in that you spoke truly." 39:29 All right. 39:32 Now, back when I first joined the church, 39:33 I was led to believe no one actually said it, 39:36 but just the feeling was that 39:38 when a person had been through a divorce, 39:40 that was sort of the unpardonable sin. 39:42 That doesn't say that in the Bible. 39:46 Do we have examples like Abraham? 39:50 How about David? 39:51 Did David had more than one wife? 39:54 When David sinned with Bathsheba, 39:55 that was adultery, that was a sin, 39:57 it must not have been the unpardonable sin. 39:59 And what do you do if... 40:00 Let's suppose you divorce without biblical grounds. 40:02 We'll get to that in just a moment, 40:04 and then you remarry. 40:05 Is there any forgiveness in those categories? 40:08 Oh, there can be but it forever creates a taint 40:12 on your credibility. 40:15 Here, Jesus reveals Himself to the woman at the well. 40:19 And He says, "You've had five husbands 40:20 and the one you're living with, you're not even married to." 40:22 But does He show her that He's the Messiah? 40:26 And then does He use her in ministry 40:29 in reaching other people? 40:30 So He forgives her. 40:32 God meets you where you're at. 40:34 And I meet people, they say, 40:35 "Pastor Doug, I've been married six times. 40:36 Can God forgive me, 40:37 and I was a pagan, I didn't know." 40:41 And I heard a pastor say once, 40:42 you cannot unscramble scrambled eggs. 40:45 Everybody comes to the Lord a little bit scrambled. 40:48 Now, if you grow up in the church, 40:50 you're a little more responsible. 40:53 A lot of people came to Christ and they didn't know. 40:57 David when he sinned with Bathsheba. 40:59 Nathan the Prophet came, he confronted him with a sin. 41:04 There was terrible punishment for the sin. 41:07 Not only did the baby die, 41:10 but there were three other sons of David that died 41:12 and he lost a lot of respect from his people. 41:15 But you know what it says after the baby died? 41:17 First it says, you've taken the wife of Uriah. 41:21 But then after that, 41:22 and after David spent seven days on his face praying, 41:25 it says, David comforted his wife. 41:30 And he and Bathsheba ultimately had Solomon 41:33 who became the next king. 41:35 So was David and... 41:37 Were David and Bathsheba forgiven? 41:39 Yes. Was it a sin? 41:40 A terrible sin, but he was forgiven. 41:44 And so we need to just keep perspective on this. 41:48 And then you read in Matthew 19. 41:50 You can also read about this in the Sermon on the Mount. 41:53 He says, "Have you not read that 41:54 He that made them at the beginning 41:56 'made them male and female,' and he said, 41:58 'For this reason a man leaves his father and mother 42:01 and has joined his wife. 42:02 The two shall become one flesh. 42:04 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. 42:07 Therefore what God has joined together, 42:09 let not man separate.' 42:11 And they said to him, 42:12 'Why then did Moses command 42:14 to give a certificate of divorce 42:15 and put her away?' 42:16 Said Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, 42:19 permitted you to divorce your wives, 42:21 but from the beginning it was not so. 42:23 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, 42:26 except for sexual immorality, 42:28 and marries another commits adultery, 42:30 and whoever marries her 42:31 who is divorced commits adultery.' 42:33 " So if a person is in a state of singleness, 42:37 because their spouse is either abandoned them, 42:40 and you can't force another person to do anything, 42:43 everybody's free, 42:45 but they've been abandoned. 42:46 Or if once spouse, 42:48 sometimes if they have their mind made up, 42:49 I'm leaving, and I'm going to divorce. 42:51 Maybe they found someone else and they get married, 42:54 and you find yourself alone. 42:55 You're not alone if you're with the Lord. 42:58 And in a church, we often talk about the context of family, 43:01 but we need to be sensitive to people 43:03 who are alone because of divorce, 43:06 or because of singleness, or because of death. 43:10 And we need to remember to integrate 43:12 everybody as part of the family, 43:14 all of those. 43:15 Amen? 43:16 All these people need to be treated as part of the family. 43:20 We see that Jesus dealt with it this way. 43:24 Death and loneliness, 43:26 like there's so much more I could say about the other, 43:27 you need to get the free offer 43:29 that we're mentioning because it talks about it, 43:31 death and loneliness. 43:32 Isaiah 57:1-2, 43:35 "The righteous perishes, and no one takes it to heart. 43:38 Merciful men are taken away, 43:41 while no one considers 43:42 that the righteous is taken away from evil, 43:45 and he will enter into peace 43:47 and they will rest in their beds, 43:48 each one walking in his uprightness." 43:51 And so the Bible talks about a situation 43:53 where even good people die. 43:56 And ultimately someone may be alone 43:59 because their spouse has died. 44:02 Not always but typically, 44:04 women live a little longer than men. 44:07 I think that the average lifespan of women 44:09 in North America is about two or three years. 44:11 I see some doctors here that might correct me, 44:13 longer than men. 44:15 The gap used to be much bigger 44:16 because more men died in working accidents, 44:18 but there's more safety precautions now 44:20 so we're closing the gap. 44:21 But women do physiologically live longer than men, 44:24 but not always that way. 44:26 You know, I know a lot of men that just outlive their wives, 44:29 but we have people who are lonely, 44:33 that maybe they're single and you know, 44:35 it's really tough sometimes 44:36 when if somebody loses their spouse and they're 35, 44:40 and they're widowed. 44:42 There's a good chance 44:43 they're going to have a lot of life together. 44:44 They may say, "Well, I'll remarry." 44:47 It's not as likely 44:49 after they've been married to somebody for 50 years 44:52 or something that, you know, 44:53 you're set in your ways, your whole, 44:55 all your memories are filled with this one individual. 44:58 And it's especially hard 45:00 when you've been married to someone that long 45:02 and then they're gone. 45:03 I remember talking to one dear saint, 45:05 she was married for 50-60 years 45:07 to the same person and they die. 45:08 And she said, "Oh Brother, Doug," 45:10 She said, "I forget that he's not alive. 45:11 And I'll walk down the hall 45:12 and I'll just shout out his name Jack, 45:14 because I need his help with something, 45:15 and then I'm hit with the truth that he's gone." 45:18 And it's a terrible wave of sadness, 45:21 so it's very difficult. 45:22 And we need to show love for our widows and widowers 45:25 that are in the church 45:27 and help bring them 45:29 and involve them in the things that are happening. 45:34 But, you know, 45:36 you can still get married even after 130, 45:42 Abraham did. 45:44 So Sarah died, and Abraham took Keturah. 45:48 Not only did he get married again, 45:50 he then had a whole litter of kids with Keturah. 45:55 So the miracle was not so much Abraham's age or Sarah's age. 46:01 Revelation 21:4, 46:03 "And God will wipe away every tear from the eyes, 46:06 there will be no more death, sorrow or crying, 46:08 neither will there be any more pain." 46:10 You know, one of the beautiful things 46:12 that we read about loneliness 46:14 and the lack of loneliness is how does the Bible end, 46:17 we're separated from God from our sins. 46:22 But the Bible says in heaven, 46:23 God Himself will be with us and we'll never be alone again. 46:27 We'll not see that... 46:29 That's just to me is a wonderful truth, 46:31 we'll see Him face to face. 46:33 You ever thought about that? 46:38 Also, we find comfort 46:39 if a person is widowed in the resurrection, 46:41 1 Thessalonians 17. 46:43 Now, you know, when I go to work, 46:45 I kiss Karen, goodbye. 46:47 I say, I see you later. 46:48 Sometimes I say, I'll see you at lunch or sometimes I say, 46:50 I'll see you later in the afternoon. 46:52 Sometimes I get on a plane, I say, I'll see you in a month. 46:56 That's the worst case scenario, that's happened twice. 46:59 And it's really tough. 47:01 But she gets through it. 47:03 Okay, I get through it, okay, 47:05 because you know, you get back together 47:07 and you count down the days. 47:10 If you believe the Bible, and your loved one is saved, 47:14 are we going to get back together? 47:16 So you look at it as a temporary separation. 47:19 People always ask me, "Pastor Doug, 47:21 will we be married in heaven?" 47:23 I said, "Well, the Bible says, 47:24 there'll be no new marriages in heaven. 47:27 It says they neither marry, that's a verb, act of marrying, 47:31 or are they given in marriage. 47:32 But when Adam and Eve get to heaven, 47:34 does God give them divorce papers? 47:38 So if you have the standard person 47:41 where you've got one marriage, there's no baggage, 47:43 no interruptions, they're married 60 years, they die. 47:45 Karen's grandparents, Ed's parents were married, 47:51 how long, Bonnie, 72 years? 47:54 About 72 years. 47:56 They died in the same room on the same day, 47:59 within two hours of each other, 48:01 and they were always afraid that one would die 48:03 without the other. 48:05 And what's their next conscious thought? 48:08 Ten minutes apart, 48:09 and next thing they know 48:11 they're back together again, right? 48:13 Resurrected. 48:14 Do you think they're going to get to heaven and say, 48:15 "Well, I'm glad to be through with you now. 48:17 I don't have to be married to you anymore. 48:19 That's what the Lord said. 48:23 I know one lady, 48:24 she'll say it right in front of her husband. 48:25 She said, Jesus said, "Man, I married you 30 years, 48:27 when I get to heaven, I'm on my own. 48:30 They're teasing each other but... 48:32 So I think that that command doesn't mean 48:33 you can't be with the one you love. 48:35 Now, there're probably no new births in heaven. 48:38 Because the Bible tells us 48:39 God is going to populate the world with a redeemed, 48:42 He told Adam and Eve be fruitful and fill the earth. 48:44 At some point they would have been full. 48:46 And, you know, God doesn't need us to forever, 48:48 like bunnies procreate, you know, 48:51 through the universe. 48:53 But that doesn't mean that the married people 48:57 who have not had interruptions won't still be 48:59 free to choose to be together. 49:01 Then we've got those who are single, 49:04 either by choice or just circumstances. 49:07 They find year by year goes by, they haven't found that person, 49:12 and they wonder if they ever will. 49:14 I'd say, first of all choose to be content 49:17 until God's timing to be happy. 49:21 I know several people got married first time like 50. 49:25 Moses didn't get married until he was 40. 49:28 Isaac was 40, Jacob was 60. 49:31 And then he got four wives. 49:32 So be careful what you pray for. 49:35 So, 49:36 I also always thought it was interesting that 49:41 Jacob found Rachel at a well, 49:45 Moses found his wife at a well, 49:49 Isaac's wife was found at a well, 49:53 and so for those who are single, 49:54 I would say, hang out by the water fountain. 49:56 You never know you might get lucky. 49:59 But sometimes that you just feel so loneliness, 50:01 you want somebody, and you say, "Why isn't it happening? 50:04 Is that am I not attractive? 50:06 Is it my character? 50:08 You wonder, "Is there something wrong with me?" 50:10 I'll tell you what? 50:11 You 're better being alone than being in the wrong marriage. 50:13 So don't rush to get married if you're single. 50:16 I've met people, it's just their main burden in life 50:18 is they got to get married. 50:19 Anybody they saw out, please marry me. 50:22 And it ends up being a disaster. 50:24 So you're much better off 50:26 being alone with the Lord than married to the wrong person. 50:31 Isaiah 45, I'm sorry, Isaiah 54:5, 50:34 "For your Maker is your husband." 50:36 That would be if you're a man or woman, 50:38 God is technically your husband. 50:39 Amen? 50:41 The Lord of hosts. 50:42 Hosea 2:19 and 20, 50:44 "I will betroth you to me forever." 50:46 So you're not alone. 50:48 The Lord is your spouse. 50:50 Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, 50:53 in love and kindness and mercy. 50:55 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness." 50:59 But it's like, there's a little boy who is going to bed 51:02 and he was nervous and it was raining outside 51:05 and he said, 51:07 "Dad can you lay in bed with me, I'm scared." 51:10 And he says, "You're not alone, Jesus is with you. 51:12 He said, "Yeah, but I want someone with skin." 51:15 So the single people out there I say, you know, 51:17 the Lord is with you in this. 51:19 Yeah, I want someone, people, 51:20 somebody with skin on, you know. 51:22 I want a real person. 51:25 Psalm 72:12, 51:26 "For he will deliver the needy when he cries, 51:29 the poor also with no helper. 51:30 You're never really alone with God. 51:32 I've got more I can say but I'm out of time. 51:34 We do have a good book that talks more about 51:36 some of the things that said about singleness, 51:37 marriage, divorce, remarriage. 51:39 This is really a premium offer. 51:41 If you don't have this, 51:42 we encourage you to go and ask for it, 51:43 we'll send it to you for free. 51:46 And ask for... 51:47 When you call the number, it's 866-788-3966. 51:51 That's 866-Study-More. 51:53 If you want to be able to download a PDF of this, 51:56 you can text "SH125." 51:59 That's SH125 texted to 40544. 52:04 And if you call in, it's offer 831. 52:06 God bless you, friends. 52:08 We're out of time for today's study, Lord willing, 52:10 we will do it again next Sabbath. 52:13 Don't forget to request today's life changing free resource. 52:17 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 52:19 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 52:22 or mobile device. 52:23 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 52:26 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 52:30 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 52:33 And be sure to select a digital download option 52:35 on the request page. 52:36 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 52:39 with Amazing Facts 52:41 wherever and whenever you want and most important, 52:44 to share it with others. 52:50 Amazing Facts changed lives. 52:58 Early 1980s, all the baby boomers were turning 21. 53:02 The nightclub scenes were exploding, 53:03 and I started entertainment lighting company. 53:06 I was the president, 53:07 and there were six divisions doing the raves 53:10 in the '80s and '90s, you know, in some warehouse, 53:12 where you're setting up lighting, and fog, 53:14 and, you know, who knows 53:15 what's going on in there, and nightclub, 53:18 nightclub installations, I loved it, 53:21 and it was who I was. 53:23 Bought a new house out of town, 53:24 and we moved about two, three times, 53:26 but we were always going to different churches. 53:29 We're in a Lutheran church, 53:30 and then we are in the Methodist church, 53:32 I think we went to three different Baptist churches. 53:34 My wife was raised Catholic, I was raised Methodist. 53:37 Currently, I've been out 53:38 reading all the Helen Zille books, 53:40 and watching all the Left Behind movies. 53:42 So I really wanted to understand 53:43 what the Book of Revelation was all about, 53:45 but nothing really ever made sense to me. 53:47 One day Pastor Lloyd Logan came knocking, 53:50 and he had that Net 99 flyer. 53:53 We were preparing for an evangelistic series. 53:57 And different people were going different directions 54:00 with those handbills 54:02 to invite people to the meetings. 54:04 I saw that coming at me, 54:06 you know, all the colors, and I thought, 54:07 "Oh, no, this is some kind of cult thing." 54:10 And she said, "Thank you very much, 54:11 I'm not much interested myself, 54:14 but my husband like that kind of thing." 54:16 Then Lloyd said, 54:17 "Would you give it to him please?" 54:19 And I said, "Okay, I will." 54:21 So I took the pamphlet and I put in on the counter. 54:25 Gary came home and he walked by it. 54:27 Ran to the kitchen to quickly eat, 54:29 and take a shower, and go back out, 54:30 and work a show. 54:32 Two, three days went by like this, 54:33 and I moved that brochure from the counter, 54:37 put it on the dining table, put it back on the counter, 54:41 in fact I actually threw in the garbage. 54:43 As I threw it in that garbage can, 54:45 I could hear him, and see his face saying, 54:48 "Would you give it to him, please?" 54:50 And I actually took the garbage out, 54:51 and that night lying in bed, 54:53 I kept seeing his face and hearing his voice and thinking, 54:56 "Oh, boy, I got to get that brochure out of the garbage." 55:00 And I took that, 55:01 and I put it right underneath remote control, 55:05 bright colors, he'll see it. 55:07 I finally sat down in my living room, 55:08 and I picked up the remote, 55:10 I saw that angel holding up that scroll. 55:12 Wow, cool, what is this? 55:15 And I was in the kitchen cooking, I thought, "Oh, no." 55:19 And I looked at it, and I turned it over, 55:21 and then I saw a little building, 55:22 little church building, 55:23 and it wasn't too far away, it was about six houses down. 55:27 And it said, "Friday night." 55:28 And I certainly wasn't going. 55:30 I mean, it wasn't my intention to go. 55:32 I didn't have any shows going on that night. 55:34 And so I thought it was a one night deal, 55:36 and I went, and as I heard about the Millennium Man, 55:39 I was just blown away. 55:41 I didn't want it to end, 55:42 I knew what I was hearing was all from the Scripture, 55:45 and it wasn't based on Hollywood movies 55:47 or other books that were written. 55:49 They said, "Come again tomorrow night." 55:51 And I thought, "Wow, great! 55:52 Two nights. 55:53 So I tried to tell my wife about it, 55:55 and she still wasn't interested, 55:57 and then she decided to come. 55:58 I started to hear the truth, you know, I started to get fed. 56:02 Every night after the seminar, 56:03 he would hand us an Amazing Facts study guide. 56:06 I couldn't do those fast enough. 56:08 The business kept us going seven days a week, 56:11 and it was night and day. 56:13 Crew working all around the clock, 56:14 and so when we finally heard the Sabbath message, 56:17 you know, 56:18 so far everything has been true right from the Bible. 56:20 Church on Saturday, no work, anyway it all clicked. 56:24 Both our heads turned at each other, 56:26 our jaws dropped open. 56:28 I said, "We can't do that." 56:31 And the first thing that came out of my mouth was, 56:32 "We have to." 56:34 I knew that it would be a sacrifice, 56:36 and I was in fear about it. 56:39 We didn't know how we're going to do it, 56:40 but we talked to the pastor about it, 56:44 and the pastor said, "We'll just pray about it, 56:46 and God will open door." 56:47 I didn't want to give up all the connections I made, 56:50 all the networking, all the money, 56:52 all the investment. 56:53 We went to the board and asked them 56:55 if they would consider closing on Saturday, 56:57 and they agreed to. 56:58 So we closed the store front on Saturday, 57:01 but we were still doing productions, 57:02 and that kind of bothered us. 57:04 So a couple of months later, God opened a door for my wife, 57:08 she exited the company, I prayed about it, 57:10 and God opened a door for me too. 57:12 Gary, shortly after, was offered a job 57:15 being paid more money than he made 57:17 as an owner of the company. 57:19 He said, 57:21 "I will give you a $1,000 raise, 57:22 and you will never work another weekend." 57:25 And we were able to keep the Sabbath 57:27 and enjoy the wonderful blessings 57:30 that God had for us on the Sabbath day. 57:32 And my kids never again had to say, 57:34 "Quit talking about work." 57:36 After the seminar, we'd go over, my wife and I, 57:38 and my children were all baptized 57:39 into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 57:41 Even if I gave up everything, 57:43 I knew that God would have something better. 57:45 I have much more understanding, 57:48 and there's much more depth 57:50 in my Christian walk with the Lord. 57:52 We started an Amazing Facts Bible school at a church 57:55 that allows anybody to understand the Scripture, 57:58 to understand the end times. 58:00 Church changed my life dramatically, 58:02 and I'm very happy and excited to be a part of it. |
Revised 2019-04-23