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Jean Ross: Good morning,
friends, welcome once again to
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"Sabbath School Study Hour"
here at the Granite Bay Seventh
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Day Adventist Church
in Sacramento, California.
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I'd like to welcome our online
members and our friends who are
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joining us across the country
and literally around the world,
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part of our extended
Sabbath school class.
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And I'd also like to welcome our
regular church members and our
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visitors who are
joining us here in person.
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It's always a joy to
see you week after week
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coming to study the lesson.
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Well, our lesson for this
quarter is dealing with the
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subject of the family, and
we're on lesson number 11 today,
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it's entitled,
"Families of Faith."
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Now, for our friends who are
joining us, if you don't have
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access to the lesson quarterly
and you'd like to study along
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with us, we do have a
website that you can go to.
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It's just
simply lesson.aftv.org,
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that's lesson.aftv.org.
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And you can
download today's lesson,
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it's lesson number 11.
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And you can
study along with us the
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theme of "Families of Faith."
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Well, before we
get to our study,
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as we always do, we'd like
to lift our voices in song.
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I'd like to invite our song
leaders to please come forward.
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¤¤¤
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¤ Standing on the
promises of Christ my King, ¤
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¤ through eternal ages
let his praises sing. ¤
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¤ Glory in the highest,
I will shout and sing, ¤
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¤ standing on the
promises of God. ¤
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¤ Standing, standing, ¤
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¤ standing on the
promises of God my Savior. ¤
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¤ Standing, standing, ¤
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¤ I'm standing on
the promises of God. ¤
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¤ Standing on the
promises that cannot fail, ¤
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¤ when the howling storms
of doubt and fear assail. ¤
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¤ By the living Word
of God I shall prevail, ¤
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¤ standing on the
promises of God. ¤
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¤ Standing, standing, ¤
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¤ standing on the
promises of God my Savior. ¤
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¤ Standing, standing, ¤
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¤ I'm standing on
the promises of God. ¤
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¤ Standing on the
promises of Christ the Lord, ¤
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¤ bound to him eternally
by love's strong cord. ¤
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¤ Overcoming daily
with the Spirit's Sword, ¤
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¤ standing on the
promises of God. ¤
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¤ Standing, standing, ¤
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¤ standing on the
promises of God my Savior. ¤
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¤ Standing, standing, ¤
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¤ I'm standing on
the promises of God. ¤¤
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female: Thank you
for singing with us.
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Jean: For those who
are joining us online,
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we'd like to let you know
about our free offer for today,
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it's a book entitled
"Alone in the Crowd."
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And we'll be happy to send
this to anyone in North America,
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just a great study,
the number to call is...
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and you can ask for the
book "Alone in the Crowd."
00:04:07.21\00:04:09.48
If you'd like to get a
digital copy of this free offer,
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what you need to do
there is text the number 40544,
00:04:12.68\00:04:17.85
and you want to
text the code SH004,
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and you'll be able to
get a digital download of the
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book "Alone in the Crowd."
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In addition to that, we'd like
to let you know about another
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book, it's a free offer
we want you to hear about,
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it's "The Culture and the
Christian," which goes along
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with our lesson as well.
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And you can read that
for free by simply going
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to the Amazing Facts website.
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At this time, let's
bow our heads as we start
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our time with prayer.
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Dear Father in heaven, we thank
you that we're able to open up
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your Word and gather together
and study a very important
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subject, talking about the
family and families of faith.
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And I pray, Lord, that your
Spirit would come and guide our
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hearts and our lives
in Jesus's name, amen.
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Our lesson this
morning is going to be brought
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to us by Pastor Doug.
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Doug Batchelor: We're
continuing in our lesson dealing
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with the subject of family.
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And today's study
is from lesson 11,
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and it's talking about,
really, family and culture.
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And so, it's talking
about families of faith,
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but it's really dealing with,
how do you have a family of
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faith in the varying cultures
of the world where you can
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be true to biblical principles?
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And we have a memory verse.
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Memory verse is Hebrews
chapter 12, verse 1 and 2.
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If you've got your lesson,
you want to say this with me,
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Hebrews 12, verse 1
and 2, and it's from
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the New King James version.
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Are you ready?
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It's got a little
abbreviated section,
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"Therefore let us run with
endurance the race that is set
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before us, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our
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faith, who for the joy that
was set before him endured the
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cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right
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hand of the throne of God."
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That's one of my
favorite verses here,
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Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1.
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Now, the essence of the lesson
we're going to talk about is,
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how can you have a faithful
family where culture is often
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working at odds
with Christian values?
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Says right here in the first
page of your lesson Christian
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families confront cultural
challenges all through time.
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Sometimes, the
cultural influences can be good.
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Most times, though, the
influence is negative or evil.
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Some examples of
cultural things that are good,
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I'm just so thankful for
the age we live in today,
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where things are a whole lot
more hygienic than they used to
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be if you were living in
New York City back in the 1870s,
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where there was still
sewage in the streets.
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I am so thankful for
those improvements in society.
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But now, instead of
the sewage in the streets,
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it comes in through
the computer screen.
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And they didn't have
that problem back then.
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And so, cultures, things change.
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Sometimes there are positive
things that you might see in a
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culture, but oftentimes
cultures, it's like it says
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in the book of Job,
"Man is prone towards
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trouble as the
sparks fly upward."
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It's just sort of a law of
nature that cultural changes
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are often antithetical
to Christian values.
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Now, you know,
we've had the privilege,
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and it's been a blessing,
to travel all over the world.
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And I enjoy some of the
cultural differences and nuances
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as you go to
different countries.
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I like the
different kinds of food.
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Assuming it's vegetarian food,
I like the different varieties
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that you find around the world.
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And you know, I really
enjoy eating the food in India.
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It's not hard to
find veggie food in India,
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but you better be
okay with hot curry.
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And I really enjoy the
veggie food in the Philippines.
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You go to a Filipino potluck,
if you get that invitation, go.
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It's really great.
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And when we were in China, boy,
they've got so many mushrooms
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there, it was just amazing.
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It's wonderful food in China.
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I remember Karen and I,
the boys, we went to Japan, and
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different places
in the world where you
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take your shoes off
before you go in, that's nice.
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You know, it talks about,
you know, the reverence of the
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church and when you
go into the church--
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We were in India,
oh, last year and went to
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a very large church there.
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Matter of fact, it's the largest
Christian church in the world,
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and everybody
takes off their shoes
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before they go in the church.
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And they got cubby
holes, rows, it looks
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like the Library of Congress.
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They got rows and
rows of cubby holes,
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where everyone puts their shoes
and no one loses their shoes.
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They're all kind
of grid-marked with,
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you know, letters and numbers.
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They come out,
they get their shoes.
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And in this
particular church we were in,
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the men and women
do not sit together.
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Husbands do not even
sit with their wives.
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The men all sat, and
there were, you know,
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20,000 of them
when we were there.
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Men all sat on one side,
women all sat on another side.
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You know, and just different
cultures have different
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traditions, and it's
interesting, it's wonderful
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as long as those
traditions do not violate some
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biblical truth or principle.
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Nothing wrong, you know?
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We say hello, we
shake hands at the door.
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In America, we
shake hands at the door.
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We just came from Paris.
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Everybody's kissing everybody
when they go to the door.
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And you know, we had--I
wasn't quite sure whether to
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go like this or lean forward.
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You're not
sometimes sure what to do,
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but it's, you know,
it's a cultural thing.
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And so, those
things may be different.
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But as you're going to
see in our lesson today,
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there are some cultural things
that Christians must struggle
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against because, as it
said in the lesson, most of the
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cultural shifts are like gravity
that sort of pull people down.
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So, let's, with that
lengthy introduction,
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we'll go to our first section,
it's talking about holding
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fast to that which is good.
00:10:02.00\00:10:04.07
Now, someone is
going to be reading for me
00:10:04.10\00:10:05.77
Acts 10, verse 1 and
2. Do you have that, Brad?
00:10:05.80\00:10:08.74
All right, in just a
moment I'll have you read that.
00:10:08.77\00:10:10.71
Before that, I'm
going to read Philippians 2,
00:10:10.74\00:10:12.84
verse 14 and 15,
here's a great principle.
00:10:12.87\00:10:15.34
"Do all things without
complaining and disputing,
00:10:15.38\00:10:18.68
that you might become
blameless and harmless,
00:10:18.71\00:10:21.22
children of God without fault
in the midst of a crooked and
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perverse
generation among whom you
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shine as lights in the world."
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God is calling for families to
shine as lights in the world in
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the midst of a
perverted generation.
00:10:35.20\00:10:38.90
And so, how can we do that?
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Now, we're going to look
at one family of faith here.
00:10:40.84\00:10:42.94
Go ahead, read for
us Acts 10:1 and 2.
00:10:42.97\00:10:46.51
Brad: "There was a
certain man in Caesarea called
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Cornelius, a centurion of what
was called the Italian Regiment,
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a devout man and one who feared
God with all his household,
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who gave alms
generously to the people
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and prayed to God always."
00:11:00.72\00:11:03.09
Doug: All right, we
learn about Cornelius.
00:11:03.12\00:11:05.13
Much of chapter 10
talks about this encounter.
00:11:05.16\00:11:07.66
Cornelius is the first recipient
of Peter taking the gospel to
00:11:07.66\00:11:13.54
the Gentiles from the time
Stephen was stoned in 34--I
00:11:13.57\00:11:19.77
guess he was
stoned in, yeah, 34 AD.
00:11:19.81\00:11:23.45
It wasn't long after that before
you see that the gospel now is
00:11:23.48\00:11:27.35
officially going, and Peter's
the one who brings it to them.
00:11:27.38\00:11:29.68
Was Cornelius a Jew?
00:11:29.72\00:11:33.36
Was he a Christian?
00:11:33.39\00:11:36.69
In his heart, but
they had--Peter had
00:11:36.73\00:11:40.33
to go preach to him.
00:11:40.36\00:11:42.46
But was he
someone who feared God?
00:11:42.50\00:11:45.23
Yes, he was.
00:11:45.27\00:11:46.67
And does the Lord have people
who fear him in every nation?
00:11:46.70\00:11:51.21
Bible says he does.
00:11:51.24\00:11:52.54
There are people who maybe
haven't heard the name of Jesus,
00:11:52.57\00:11:54.88
they're going to
get to heaven and say,
00:11:54.91\00:11:56.21
"What happened to your hands?"
00:11:56.24\00:11:58.48
Because they didn't
understand these things.
00:11:58.51\00:12:02.75
And there are missionaries
around the world that have gone
00:12:02.78\00:12:05.09
to people who never officially
heard the teachings of Jesus or
00:12:05.12\00:12:08.62
even the Old Testament, but they
have something of angels who
00:12:08.66\00:12:12.76
talk to them, they are walking
in the light that God has shed
00:12:12.79\00:12:15.33
on their path, and
they are faithful people.
00:12:15.36\00:12:17.90
But now Cornelius,
he was Italian probably.
00:12:17.93\00:12:22.70
It says he's of
the Italian Regiment,
00:12:22.74\00:12:24.77
a devout man, he fears God.
00:12:24.81\00:12:27.14
He and all his household,
his family was a God-fearing
00:12:27.18\00:12:29.98
family, they're
a generous family.
00:12:30.01\00:12:32.58
They have the
fruits of the Spirit,
00:12:32.61\00:12:34.02
but they don't know
about the plan of salvation.
00:12:34.05\00:12:36.25
Peter goes and preaches to them,
they're filled with the Holy
00:12:36.28\00:12:38.95
Spirit even
before they're baptized.
00:12:38.99\00:12:41.49
So, now we see in
the--from chapter 10 on,
00:12:41.52\00:12:44.56
the gospel begins
to go to the Gentiles,
00:12:44.59\00:12:46.53
and this presents a problem.
00:12:46.56\00:12:48.73
The Gentiles had
a lot of cultural
00:12:48.76\00:12:51.67
differences from the Jews.
00:12:51.70\00:12:53.84
And the Jews, the
early church was all
00:12:53.87\00:12:56.37
Jewish, even after Pentecost.
00:12:56.40\00:13:00.34
Says 3,000 were
baptized, 3,000 what?
00:13:00.38\00:13:03.21
Jews.
00:13:03.24\00:13:04.55
Later, 5,000 are
baptized, all Jews.
00:13:04.58\00:13:08.22
It's not until you
get to Acts 10--well,
00:13:08.25\00:13:10.35
there was some people in
Samaria that got baptized,
00:13:10.39\00:13:13.32
but they still
believed in the books of Moses,
00:13:13.36\00:13:15.76
and so it's not--you're
not going to the plain old
00:13:15.79\00:13:18.26
Roman-Greco pagans until
you get to Acts chapter 10.
00:13:18.29\00:13:22.13
From then on, the revival
among the pagans was so great,
00:13:22.16\00:13:27.10
the non-Jews, that it wasn't
very long before there were more
00:13:27.14\00:13:30.54
Gentile Christians
than Jewish Christians.
00:13:30.57\00:13:33.01
And so, they were
faced with a dilemma.
00:13:33.04\00:13:35.88
They had a lot of customs
that were not Jewish customs,
00:13:35.91\00:13:38.68
and they said, "How do we know
what we require them to do and
00:13:38.71\00:13:43.22
what we can sort
of just, you know,
00:13:43.25\00:13:45.09
say there are non-essentials?"
00:13:45.12\00:13:47.36
And after much discussion,
you get to Acts 15, verse 19.
00:13:47.39\00:13:51.99
They came to this conclusion, it
says it twice there in Acts 15,
00:13:52.03\00:13:54.93
"Therefore I judge that we
should not trouble those from
00:13:54.96\00:13:58.47
among the Gentiles
who are turning to God,
00:13:58.50\00:14:01.17
but that we write
to them to abstain from
00:14:01.74\00:14:04.57
things polluted by idols."
00:14:04.61\00:14:06.81
Now, idolatry's one
of the Ten Commandments.
00:14:06.84\00:14:08.54
In other words,
they need to keep all
00:14:08.58\00:14:10.08
of the Ten Commandments.
00:14:10.11\00:14:11.65
"From sexual immorality,"
this was also part of the Ten
00:14:11.68\00:14:15.02
Commandments as well
as some of the civil law.
00:14:15.05\00:14:18.75
"From things strangled and
blood," that was part of the
00:14:18.79\00:14:21.82
health laws, so they
were to keep the health laws.
00:14:21.86\00:14:24.66
"For Moses has throughout many
generations those that preach
00:14:24.69\00:14:28.00
him in every city being read in
the synagogues every Sabbath."
00:14:28.03\00:14:31.97
In other words,
scattered throughout the Roman
00:14:32.00\00:14:33.80
empire, there were synagogues.
00:14:33.84\00:14:35.17
These people who
were turning to God,
00:14:35.20\00:14:37.27
they have had some
exposure to the truth,
00:14:37.31\00:14:39.67
but these are the
things they are to walk in.
00:14:39.71\00:14:42.28
Now, one of the big areas you're
going to find a dispute in the
00:14:42.31\00:14:46.35
New Testament, once
you understand this,
00:14:46.38\00:14:48.88
it'll make it a lot easier.
00:14:48.92\00:14:52.95
Whenever you bought meat
in the Jewish marketplace,
00:14:52.99\00:14:57.79
many of the butcher shops,
whenever they slaughtered an
00:14:57.83\00:15:01.46
animal, they did it
in front of an idol.
00:15:01.50\00:15:04.67
And so the Jews said, "We cannot
eat things offered to idols."
00:15:04.70\00:15:08.84
Paul disagreed with
some of the other apostles.
00:15:08.87\00:15:11.11
He said, "Look."
00:15:11.14\00:15:12.54
You know, they're
talking about clean meat.
00:15:12.57\00:15:14.34
They're not even
talking about the unclean meats,
00:15:14.38\00:15:15.94
they're talking
about chicken and the sheep
00:15:15.98\00:15:17.71
and the goat and the
ox or whatever it was.
00:15:17.75\00:15:19.61
And whenever they killed them,
it was in front of the idol,
00:15:19.65\00:15:22.42
and then they'd sell it.
00:15:22.45\00:15:24.59
And Paul said, "Look, you
didn't offer it to the idol,
00:15:24.62\00:15:27.16
the idol has no power.
00:15:27.19\00:15:28.82
And so, if people buy
things in the marketplace,
00:15:28.86\00:15:31.36
don't ask, 'Was this offered to
an idol?' because then you're,
00:15:31.39\00:15:34.83
you know, maybe make
your weaker brother stumble."
00:15:34.86\00:15:37.53
Paul talks about
those who are weak in
00:15:37.57\00:15:38.90
faith eat only vegetables.
00:15:38.93\00:15:40.54
Has nothing to do with physical
weakness or vegetarianism.
00:15:40.57\00:15:43.81
It has to do with people who are
so--their consciences were so
00:15:43.84\00:15:46.74
sensitive that they couldn't buy
even the clean meat because it
00:15:46.78\00:15:50.55
may have been offered to
an idol and they thought,
00:15:50.58\00:15:51.98
"We will be
indirectly worshipping idols."
00:15:52.01\00:15:55.58
Let me bring
this down to our day.
00:15:55.62\00:15:57.69
How many of you like Thai food?
00:15:57.72\00:16:00.36
Chinese food?
00:16:00.39\00:16:02.09
Have you ever eaten
Chinese or Thai food?
00:16:02.12\00:16:04.63
Japanese food anybody?
00:16:04.66\00:16:06.33
And you've gone in and
you've seen the Buddha?
00:16:06.36\00:16:08.43
Let me see your
hands, come on, fess up.
00:16:08.46\00:16:11.90
Did you say, "I can't eat here.
00:16:11.93\00:16:14.67
They got incense
burning to a Buddha"?
00:16:14.70\00:16:17.44
Now, if you were
a devout Jew, that
00:16:17.47\00:16:19.37
could've been a moral dilemma.
00:16:19.41\00:16:22.01
But you and I realize we're
just eating their good food,
00:16:22.04\00:16:24.85
we're not worshipping Buddha.
00:16:24.88\00:16:26.75
And so, they had a
big struggle about this
00:16:26.78\00:16:28.98
back then, "What do we do?"
00:16:29.02\00:16:30.95
And so, and you'll find this
being addressed in Corinthians,
00:16:30.99\00:16:35.59
in Romans, and several places in
the Bible they talk about this.
00:16:35.62\00:16:39.13
So, they were saying, "Look,
tell them not to eat the unclean
00:16:39.16\00:16:43.06
food or things
that are strangled."
00:16:43.10\00:16:45.13
You're not supposed to eat even
the clean meat with the blood.
00:16:45.17\00:16:47.30
That's why he
said, "Don't eat blood."
00:16:47.34\00:16:48.64
Now, isn't it clear the idea
about not eating blood is part
00:16:48.67\00:16:53.78
of the Old Testament
health laws, so why, in the New
00:16:53.81\00:16:56.14
Testament, is it telling
them to remember the health law?
00:16:56.18\00:16:59.11
Why in Acts chapter 10
does Peter say, "Lord, not so."
00:16:59.15\00:17:04.22
God said, "Arise, eat
something from the sheet full
00:17:04.25\00:17:06.99
of animals, unclean animals."
00:17:07.02\00:17:09.16
Peter says, "Not so, Lord."
00:17:09.19\00:17:11.13
How dare someone
say, "Not so, Lord."
00:17:11.16\00:17:13.73
He says, "Not so,
Lord, I have never eaten
00:17:13.76\00:17:15.96
anything common or unclean."
00:17:16.00\00:17:18.03
Peter never eats
anything from the sheet.
00:17:18.07\00:17:20.80
That vision has nothing to
do with clean and unclean food,
00:17:20.84\00:17:23.44
it has to do with taking
the gospel to the Gentiles.
00:17:23.47\00:17:26.91
So, it's pretty clear
they still were observing
00:17:26.94\00:17:28.98
the health laws based on this.
00:17:29.01\00:17:31.31
Isn't that right?
00:17:31.35\00:17:33.62
I see my friend David here,
when we worked with the Navajo
00:17:33.65\00:17:35.72
Indians years ago,
these folks were having
00:17:35.75\00:17:38.29
big problems with alcohol.
00:17:38.32\00:17:39.95
Yeah, they ate
prairie dog and blood sausage.
00:17:39.99\00:17:42.36
That used to always just
make me cringe, blood sausage.
00:17:42.39\00:17:46.63
And then we brought a number of
people to the Lord and we'd have
00:17:46.66\00:17:49.30
potlucks, and there
might be some cheese lasagna.
00:17:49.33\00:17:52.63
Well, some of the saints from
Farmington would come and say,
00:17:52.67\00:17:54.90
"Haven't you
told these people they
00:17:54.94\00:17:56.24
shouldn't be eating cheese?"
00:17:56.27\00:17:58.61
And we said, "Look,
they've just given up alcohol,
00:17:58.64\00:18:01.51
blood sausage, and prairie dog.
00:18:01.54\00:18:03.01
Will you please
give them a break?"
00:18:03.04\00:18:05.81
And you know, and that's kind
of what was happening is some of
00:18:05.85\00:18:10.42
the Jews were
telling the Gentiles,
00:18:10.45\00:18:12.25
"Now, you got to keep
the feast days and you
00:18:12.29\00:18:14.19
got to make sure and
grow your beard long."
00:18:14.22\00:18:15.46
And they were telling them all
these things that really were
00:18:15.49\00:18:17.79
not commands,
circumcision and other things.
00:18:17.83\00:18:21.26
And so, they had to decide what
are the biblical principles and
00:18:21.30\00:18:24.93
what are the cultural things,
or maybe the traditional things.
00:18:24.97\00:18:28.57
All right, got to
move along though.
00:18:28.60\00:18:30.91
This is going to get
very interesting, as you see.
00:18:30.94\00:18:34.24
The power of culture on
family is our next section.
00:18:34.28\00:18:38.98
Genesis 16:1
through 3, "Now Sarai,
00:18:39.01\00:18:43.35
Abram's wife," this
is before she's Sarah,
00:18:43.39\00:18:46.45
"had borne him no children.
00:18:46.49\00:18:48.42
And she had an Egyptian
maidservant," probably picked
00:18:48.46\00:18:51.09
up during their
brief detour through Egypt.
00:18:51.13\00:18:54.73
"She had an Egyptian maidservant
whose name was Hagar.
00:18:54.76\00:18:58.00
So, Sarai says to
Abram, 'See, now the Lord has
00:18:58.03\00:19:00.67
restrained me
from bearing children.
00:19:00.70\00:19:02.47
Please, go into my maid.
00:19:02.50\00:19:04.24
Perhaps I shall
obtain children by her.'"
00:19:04.27\00:19:07.41
All right, let's stop here.
00:19:07.44\00:19:08.74
Anyone try--else
done that before?
00:19:08.78\00:19:12.11
Anyone here, maybe you're having
problems having enough children
00:19:12.15\00:19:15.62
or children, and so
you tell your husband,
00:19:15.65\00:19:17.09
"Look, let's just bring a
surrogate in to live with us.
00:19:17.12\00:19:20.76
And she can be your concubine."
00:19:20.79\00:19:24.49
Is that a cultural thing
that God would approve of?
00:19:24.53\00:19:30.13
Was that part of God's plan?
00:19:30.17\00:19:32.07
Were other people
doing it back then?
00:19:32.10\00:19:35.14
Yeah.
00:19:35.17\00:19:36.97
There were a lot of things
that were going on back then.
00:19:37.01\00:19:38.81
Did Abraham have slaves?
00:19:38.84\00:19:41.71
Is slavery okay?
00:19:41.74\00:19:44.65
Wait a second, God has
laws in the Bible about how
00:19:44.68\00:19:47.22
to treat your slaves fairly.
00:19:47.25\00:19:49.88
Doesn't that
mean slavery's okay?
00:19:49.92\00:19:52.32
God has laws in the Bible
that say, "If you have more than
00:19:52.35\00:19:55.09
one wife, you got to make
sure treat the second wife,
00:19:55.12\00:19:57.83
the less loved wife the same.
00:19:57.86\00:19:59.33
They all got to get--"
00:19:59.36\00:20:01.00
Does that mean
it's okay for polygamy?
00:20:01.03\00:20:04.57
Why did God make
some of these laws?
00:20:04.60\00:20:06.50
Because he approved of
what those cultures were doing,
00:20:06.53\00:20:09.40
or because he was
protecting people?
00:20:09.44\00:20:13.34
Jesus said because of
the hardness of your hearts,
00:20:13.38\00:20:15.84
he made laws about
divorce, it was never his will.
00:20:15.88\00:20:18.81
And because of the
hardness of their hearts,
00:20:18.85\00:20:20.32
he made laws to protect
slave, protect people that were
00:20:20.35\00:20:23.35
in multiple wife relationships.
00:20:23.39\00:20:24.99
Those were never
part of his will.
00:20:25.02\00:20:26.89
Those things were adopted
by the cultures around them.
00:20:26.92\00:20:29.69
David is a man after
God's own heart, would we agree?
00:20:29.72\00:20:33.23
How many of you have read Psalms
and you recognize it's inspired?
00:20:33.26\00:20:36.73
How many wives did David have?
00:20:36.77\00:20:39.70
Was that 'cause
it was God's will,
00:20:39.73\00:20:41.40
or because he was following
the culture around him?
00:20:41.44\00:20:46.14
As we said, most cultural
influences are not positive.
00:20:46.17\00:20:51.01
A lot of these things,
it's like sin is gravity
00:20:51.05\00:20:53.25
in our natures, it goes down.
00:20:53.28\00:20:56.18
Are there voices, are
there trends in cultures today
00:20:56.22\00:21:01.16
that are affecting families?
00:21:01.19\00:21:04.79
The biblical distinctions
between male and female,
00:21:04.83\00:21:09.10
are they under attack?
00:21:09.13\00:21:11.70
Does the Bible make
it very clear that he
00:21:11.73\00:21:15.07
made them man and woman?
00:21:15.10\00:21:17.01
There's not all these other
garbled letters in between where
00:21:17.04\00:21:19.37
people sort of pick what their
sexual gender or some nuance
00:21:19.41\00:21:23.85
or some
amalgamation of gender might be.
00:21:23.88\00:21:28.08
But is it in the culture?
00:21:28.12\00:21:30.85
Are we to have our values about
what the distinctions of men and
00:21:30.89\00:21:34.72
women are shaped by
culture or Scripture?
00:21:34.76\00:21:39.46
It's supposed to be--but how
many of you know Christians that
00:21:39.49\00:21:42.23
are beginning to second guess
what our views should be on
00:21:42.26\00:21:46.70
homosexuality because
we're being bombarded by
00:21:46.74\00:21:49.70
the culture to
view it differently?
00:21:49.74\00:21:53.31
You can see how that happens.
00:21:53.34\00:21:55.98
That happens a number of ways.
00:21:56.01\00:21:57.78
This is what was
happening to Abraham.
00:21:57.81\00:22:00.25
"So, she took Hagar her maid,
gave her to her husband after
00:22:00.28\00:22:03.65
Abram dwelt ten years
in the land of Canaan."
00:22:03.69\00:22:06.09
When in Canaan, do
like the Canaanites, right?
00:22:06.12\00:22:10.69
How did that end
for Abram and Sarai?
00:22:10.73\00:22:13.16
Not good.
00:22:13.19\00:22:14.46
And Hagar ended up getting
sent away because of that.
00:22:14.50\00:22:17.63
Romans 12, verse 2,
"Do not be conformed
00:22:17.67\00:22:23.00
to this world,
but be transformed."
00:22:23.04\00:22:26.01
So, is there a
constant influence
00:22:26.04\00:22:27.71
of the world to conform us?
00:22:27.74\00:22:30.38
What is a Christian
supposed to do in response?
00:22:30.41\00:22:33.82
It requires an
ongoing effort to resist being
00:22:33.85\00:22:38.89
conformed by the world.
00:22:38.92\00:22:40.46
But you know, we're all
under pressure all the time.
00:22:40.49\00:22:42.79
How often do I need to fight
that temptation to be conformed
00:22:42.82\00:22:47.96
to the world, its values,
its culture, its principles?
00:22:48.00\00:22:51.23
It's constant.
00:22:51.27\00:22:52.83
It's going on all the time.
00:22:52.87\00:22:54.17
"Do not be conformed, but
be transformed by the renewing,
00:22:54.20\00:22:58.11
an ongoing new birth in
your mind that you might prove,"
00:22:58.14\00:23:02.64
we got to test everything,
"what is the good and
00:23:02.68\00:23:05.28
acceptable and
perfect will of God."
00:23:05.31\00:23:06.95
How do we test, do
we turn on the news?
00:23:06.98\00:23:09.78
We go to social media?
00:23:09.82\00:23:11.52
Or do we open the Scriptures
to find out what is the good and
00:23:11.55\00:23:14.26
perfect and
acceptable will of God?
00:23:14.29\00:23:16.59
1 Timothy 5:14, "Therefore I
desire that the younger widows
00:23:16.62\00:23:22.16
marry, bear children, manage
the house, giving no opportunity
00:23:22.20\00:23:27.34
to the adversary to
speak reproachfully."
00:23:27.37\00:23:30.47
Now, today if a pastor
preaches a sermon and says,
00:23:30.51\00:23:34.24
"Okay, young ladies,
make sure you're good wives,
00:23:34.28\00:23:36.54
have children, take
care of the house," aah, what
00:23:36.58\00:23:40.25
kind of caveman are you?
00:23:40.28\00:23:43.22
I mean, we live
in a different world.
00:23:43.25\00:23:44.99
The idea that women should have
children and take care of the
00:23:45.02\00:23:47.62
house, talk about antiquated.
00:23:47.66\00:23:51.23
But where did I read that?
00:23:51.26\00:23:53.96
Who said that,
Doug? Is it possible?
00:23:54.00\00:23:56.56
Now, that's not saying
that women should not work.
00:23:56.60\00:24:00.34
Karen's working part-time
now and she's been a PT,
00:24:00.37\00:24:02.74
you understand what I'm saying?
00:24:02.77\00:24:04.57
But isn't it--isn't the
messaging of our culture today
00:24:04.61\00:24:08.34
that a woman is
somehow a lesser woman if she
00:24:08.38\00:24:10.38
says, "What do you do?"
00:24:10.41\00:24:11.71
"Well, I'm a domestic engineer.
00:24:11.75\00:24:16.08
I take care of things at home.
00:24:16.12\00:24:18.39
I have children and
I manage the house."
00:24:18.42\00:24:20.72
And have you ever read Proverbs
31 about this super woman?
00:24:20.76\00:24:25.89
She's the super wife
and the super mother.
00:24:25.93\00:24:29.83
She is not--she doesn't
have a career outside the home,
00:24:29.86\00:24:33.67
but she is spoken
of in glowing terms.
00:24:33.70\00:24:36.14
But boy, that is a very
unpopular sermon to preach, why?
00:24:36.17\00:24:41.38
'Cause the culture is
sending us different messages.
00:24:41.41\00:24:45.15
And matter of fact, anything you
say talking about distinctions,
00:24:45.18\00:24:48.28
biblical distinctions
between men and women,
00:24:48.32\00:24:51.19
it's considered rude,
insensitive because we're
00:24:51.22\00:24:56.83
supposed to be acting like
there's really no difference.
00:24:56.86\00:25:00.46
But the Bible says
there's big differences.
00:25:00.50\00:25:03.26
Let me read something to you
from the book "Adventist Home."
00:25:03.30\00:25:07.54
"There is a God above, and light
and glory from his throne rests
00:25:07.57\00:25:11.01
upon faithful mothers as they
try to educate their children to
00:25:11.04\00:25:14.84
resist the influence of evil.
00:25:14.88\00:25:17.25
No other work can
equal hers in importance.
00:25:17.28\00:25:21.68
She has not like the artist to
paint the form of beauty upon a
00:25:21.72\00:25:25.09
canvass, nor like the sculptor
to chisel it from marble.
00:25:25.12\00:25:28.72
She is not like the author to
embody a noble thought in word
00:25:28.76\00:25:32.79
of power, nor like
the musician to express a
00:25:32.83\00:25:35.43
beautiful sentiment in melody.
00:25:35.46\00:25:38.47
It is hers with the help of
God to develop in a human soul
00:25:38.50\00:25:42.20
the likeness of the divine."
00:25:42.24\00:25:44.44
She says, "The work of the mom
at home with her children is the
00:25:44.47\00:25:49.54
most important
work in the world."
00:25:49.58\00:25:52.98
More important than the CEO of a
multibillion-dollar corporation
00:25:53.01\00:25:56.45
is the work of a mother
at home with the children.
00:25:56.48\00:25:59.22
That's not a message
that culture is giving.
00:25:59.25\00:26:02.79
The message of the culture is
you've got to break that glass
00:26:02.82\00:26:05.89
ceiling, and keep getting that
next promotion, and working your
00:26:05.93\00:26:09.03
way away from the home on
up through the corporate world.
00:26:09.06\00:26:12.87
Isn't that right?
00:26:12.90\00:26:15.30
And so, all right,
someone's going to read for me
00:26:15.34\00:26:17.17
Matthew 24, verse 12 and 13.
00:26:17.21\00:26:19.91
All right, hold on
Brian, I'm going to read
00:26:19.94\00:26:21.24
a verse just before that.
00:26:21.28\00:26:22.58
Matthew 7, verse 14, Jesus said,
"Narrow is the way which leads
00:26:22.61\00:26:27.08
to life and few
there be that find it."
00:26:27.12\00:26:29.95
We're surrounded by
counterfeit doors and roads,
00:26:29.98\00:26:33.56
and so it's hard to
find the true one unless
00:26:33.59\00:26:35.79
you use the Scriptures.
00:26:35.82\00:26:37.23
Go ahead, read
that verse for us.
00:26:37.26\00:26:39.83
Brian: "And because
lawlessness will abound,
00:26:39.86\00:26:42.90
the love of many will grow cold.
00:26:42.93\00:26:46.10
But he who endures to
the end shall be saved."
00:26:46.13\00:26:49.27
Doug: The Lord tells us in
the last days that the devil is
00:26:50.21\00:26:52.77
going to have a deception that
is so overwhelming that if it
00:26:52.81\00:26:56.11
were possible, even the
very elect would be deceived.
00:26:56.14\00:26:59.45
My predecessor in "Amazing
Facts" who I have the greatest
00:26:59.48\00:27:01.58
respect for, Joe Crews,
he calls it the contaminating
00:27:01.62\00:27:06.52
process of gradual
compromise with a culture.
00:27:06.55\00:27:11.33
He thinks the deception that is
going to be so powerful that if
00:27:11.36\00:27:15.26
it were possible, even
the elect would be overtaken,
00:27:15.30\00:27:17.90
it's not something where
the devil pops up and he's got a
00:27:17.93\00:27:21.24
mask, and he looks
like Jesus, and he's going
00:27:21.27\00:27:23.20
to just hypnotize the world.
00:27:23.24\00:27:25.44
No, it's the gradual compromise
with the world that we're going
00:27:25.47\00:27:30.15
to get where we don't
know where to draw the line
00:27:30.18\00:27:31.88
between principle,
and culture, and biblical
00:27:31.91\00:27:36.05
truth, and what's popular.
00:27:36.08\00:27:38.69
This is what's going
on all the time around us.
00:27:38.72\00:27:41.09
All right, let me give
you an example of that.
00:27:41.12\00:27:43.73
Did they struggle, did families
in the Old Testament struggle
00:27:43.76\00:27:47.40
with compromising with
the cultures around them?
00:27:47.40\00:27:50.43
Genesis 35, verse 1 through
4, if you got your Bibles.
00:27:50.47\00:27:55.17
"Then God said to
Jacob, 'Arise and go up
00:27:55.20\00:27:58.01
to Bethel, and dwell there.'"
00:27:58.04\00:27:59.51
Now, what does the
word "bethel" mean?
00:27:59.54\00:28:01.84
House of God. How
did Bethel get its name?
00:28:01.88\00:28:06.41
It's where Jacob had a dream of
the escalator of angels going up
00:28:06.45\00:28:10.12
and down to heaven, right?
00:28:10.15\00:28:12.85
God is saying, "Renew
your covenant, come back to me.
00:28:12.89\00:28:14.86
Go to Bethel, dwell there,
make an altar there to God
00:28:14.89\00:28:17.99
who appeared to you
when you fled from the
00:28:18.03\00:28:20.10
face of Esau, your brother."
00:28:20.13\00:28:22.00
And Jacob said to his household
he's going to meet with God.
00:28:22.03\00:28:25.67
Jacob said to his household
and all who are with him,
00:28:25.70\00:28:28.14
his family and all the
servants in his family.
00:28:28.17\00:28:31.27
Not only at this point
does he have his servants,
00:28:31.31\00:28:33.17
but if you know the
Bible story, the sons of Jacob,
00:28:33.21\00:28:37.41
Simeon and Levi, annihilated
all the men in Shechem,
00:28:37.45\00:28:41.65
and then they took the women
and the children as slaves.
00:28:41.68\00:28:45.22
Do you remember that story?
00:28:45.25\00:28:46.55
This is
happening right after that.
00:28:46.59\00:28:48.26
And so, he's got a
great household now.
00:28:48.29\00:28:49.89
He's got--like he's just
basically plundered a town,
00:28:49.92\00:28:53.19
taken all the
people other than the men.
00:28:53.23\00:28:55.56
And so, now what happens when
you have all these Canaanites
00:28:55.60\00:29:01.20
that flow into your family?
00:29:01.24\00:29:04.41
Do they bring some of their
habits and customs with them?
00:29:04.44\00:29:07.68
And if you're looking
at that day after day,
00:29:07.71\00:29:09.74
does that begin to wear down
your values and your principles?
00:29:09.78\00:29:14.32
Does it get to just kind of--the
lines get fuzzy and grey about
00:29:14.35\00:29:18.89
what is the worship of the
true God, and it was being all
00:29:18.92\00:29:21.12
mixed up with the
worship of the Canaanite gods.
00:29:21.16\00:29:24.86
And so, he says,
"Let's go renew the covenant."
00:29:24.89\00:29:28.63
He could see the
things were slipping.
00:29:28.66\00:29:30.80
He says to his
household, "Put away the foreign
00:29:30.83\00:29:33.27
gods that are among you."
00:29:33.30\00:29:34.84
How did the
foreign gods slip in?
00:29:34.87\00:29:37.37
Well, he'd begun to
develop relationships with these
00:29:37.41\00:29:39.81
Canaanites, people from Shechem.
00:29:39.84\00:29:42.58
"Put away the foreign
gods who are among you,
00:29:42.61\00:29:45.05
purify yourselves,
change your garments."
00:29:45.08\00:29:49.62
Now, I don't want to take
this too far, but changing your
00:29:49.65\00:29:53.15
garments might not only mean
put on a clean set of clothes.
00:29:53.19\00:29:58.43
Are there garments of the world?
00:29:58.46\00:30:00.90
Does the world and the culture
dress differently than what
00:30:00.93\00:30:05.30
Christians should dress,
how Christians should dress?
00:30:05.33\00:30:08.84
So, maybe they'd started to
dress like the Canaanites when
00:30:08.87\00:30:11.74
he said, "Change your clothes."
00:30:11.77\00:30:13.11
It could also mean clean your
clothes 'cause you're going to
00:30:13.14\00:30:15.08
appear before God,
and that's probably
00:30:15.11\00:30:16.91
a good argument as well.
00:30:16.95\00:30:19.08
"Change your garments.
00:30:19.11\00:30:20.65
Let us arise and go to Bethel,
and there I will make an altar
00:30:20.68\00:30:24.12
to the God who answered
me in the day of my distress,
00:30:24.15\00:30:26.89
who has been with me in
the way that I have gone."
00:30:26.92\00:30:29.12
Let's renew our covenant to God.
00:30:29.16\00:30:30.46
We're not Canaanites,
we're people of Jehovah.
00:30:30.49\00:30:33.66
"So they gave Jacob
all the foreign gods
00:30:33.70\00:30:35.93
that were in their hands."
00:30:35.96\00:30:37.40
You wonder how big the pile was.
00:30:37.43\00:30:39.83
"And the earrings
that were in their ears."
00:30:39.87\00:30:42.27
Notice the connection between
foreign gods and jewelry.
00:30:42.30\00:30:47.48
And Jacob hid them, the
word "hid" there is really
00:30:47.51\00:30:49.31
he buried them under a tree.
00:30:49.34\00:30:51.65
He didn't just say, "Let's
hide them here so we can get our
00:30:51.68\00:30:53.15
gods and our jewelry later."
00:30:53.18\00:30:55.32
He said, "We're
going to bury it."
00:30:55.35\00:30:59.32
"And they hid them
under the terebinth
00:30:59.35\00:31:00.86
tree which lays by Shechem."
00:31:00.89\00:31:03.53
So, do we see that
the culture is affecting
00:31:03.56\00:31:07.56
the dress of Christians?
00:31:07.60\00:31:10.70
Is that something
that should be resisted?
00:31:10.73\00:31:14.70
Does it creep into our families?
00:31:14.74\00:31:17.81
And the young people, you know,
especially when they're going
00:31:17.84\00:31:19.87
through the teens and they
see all their friends at school,
00:31:19.91\00:31:24.05
not every Christian can
afford Christian school.
00:31:24.08\00:31:26.55
Some go to public school,
or they may go to a Christian
00:31:26.58\00:31:29.25
school that is not
a denomination school,
00:31:29.28\00:31:32.02
and they see the influences and
what's happening to the kids,
00:31:32.05\00:31:34.62
listening to the
music of the world,
00:31:34.66\00:31:36.22
and they're watching the videos,
and they're on social media.
00:31:36.26\00:31:38.86
And they don't always
dress like saints in that world.
00:31:38.89\00:31:42.23
Are you aware of that?
00:31:42.26\00:31:44.70
And they start to try to dress
like their favorite music stars,
00:31:44.73\00:31:48.04
and they start to look like them
and walk like--and the parents,
00:31:48.07\00:31:50.91
if you're a Christian parent,
you are under constant pressure
00:31:50.94\00:31:55.11
to say, "Now son,
daughter, is that how
00:31:55.14\00:31:58.11
Jesus wants you to dress?"
00:31:58.15\00:32:00.42
And they go, "Oh Mom, Dad,
you're so stuck in the mud."
00:32:00.45\00:32:03.79
And say, "All my
friends think I'm weird."
00:32:03.82\00:32:07.52
And if you try to live like a
Christian in this world today,
00:32:07.56\00:32:11.59
it is tough on parents to
continually be raising the
00:32:11.63\00:32:17.23
standard and drawing the lines,
and you got to teach your kids
00:32:17.27\00:32:19.77
principles as often--if
they're old enough and they can
00:32:19.80\00:32:22.07
understand,
explain the principles.
00:32:22.10\00:32:24.61
Sometimes you just have to say,
"I'm your parent and I'm bigger
00:32:24.64\00:32:27.24
than you are, and
God made me that way,
00:32:27.28\00:32:29.01
you got to listen to me," right?
00:32:29.04\00:32:31.55
How many of you
remember your parents saying,
00:32:31.58\00:32:36.69
"Because I told you so," and you
vowed you would never say that
00:32:36.72\00:32:40.69
to your children because
that's not a good answer?
00:32:40.72\00:32:43.83
Just wait until time goes by.
00:32:43.86\00:32:48.23
So Jacob said, "Whole
family is compromising."
00:32:48.26\00:32:51.67
Remember the story of Rachel,
when Jacob and his family fled
00:32:51.70\00:32:56.47
from Laban, and Laban comes
charging into Jacob's camp and
00:32:56.50\00:33:00.48
he says, "You stole away my
family and you stole my gods."
00:33:00.51\00:33:05.01
And who had taken his gods?
00:33:05.05\00:33:07.85
Rachel.
00:33:07.88\00:33:09.95
And so, was that part of the
Lord's plan that we--you know,
00:33:09.98\00:33:13.32
first of all,
we shouldn't steal.
00:33:13.36\00:33:14.66
Secondly, don't steal idols.
00:33:14.69\00:33:18.33
And some have said, "Well,
that's because those idols were
00:33:18.36\00:33:22.40
really deeds to the
property," and I have not
00:33:22.43\00:33:25.90
seen a lot that supports that.
00:33:25.93\00:33:28.60
Anyway, so it
started sneaking in.
00:33:28.64\00:33:30.77
Look at 1 Kings
11, verse 1 and 2.
00:33:30.81\00:33:34.48
"But Solomon loved
many foreign women."
00:33:34.51\00:33:37.45
Now, what did God say about do
not intermarry with the pagans?
00:33:37.48\00:33:41.58
He said, "Do not do this.
00:33:41.62\00:33:44.02
They will draw--if your
daughters marry pagan men and
00:33:44.05\00:33:47.39
your sons marry pagan ladies,
they will draw them away."
00:33:47.42\00:33:52.36
And it's so often true, not
always, but so often true that
00:33:52.39\00:33:56.67
when a believer marries
an unbeliever, the unbeliever
00:33:56.70\00:33:59.17
also has an
influence on the believer.
00:33:59.20\00:34:02.27
It's the siphon effect.
00:34:02.30\00:34:04.24
You know what the
siphon effect means?
00:34:04.27\00:34:06.21
Let me tell you a story.
00:34:06.24\00:34:08.48
Up in Covelo, we have two
water tanks above our house.
00:34:08.51\00:34:13.21
The water runs in one tank and
it runs out of the bottom of the
00:34:13.25\00:34:16.89
other tank, two
tanks side by side.
00:34:16.92\00:34:19.49
Both tanks always have the
exact same amount of water,
00:34:19.52\00:34:24.66
even though
they're separate tanks.
00:34:24.69\00:34:26.33
Because the two
tanks are connected,
00:34:26.36\00:34:30.00
they always even
out at the siphon point.
00:34:30.03\00:34:33.57
They're always going to level
off because they're connected.
00:34:33.60\00:34:35.74
If you disconnect
the tank, one may drain,
00:34:35.77\00:34:37.71
the other one stay full.
00:34:37.74\00:34:39.04
But when they're connected, they
sort of find a happy medium.
00:34:39.07\00:34:42.21
If one was too full,
once you connect them,
00:34:42.24\00:34:43.88
it goes down, the
other one goes up.
00:34:43.91\00:34:46.61
When you get one person
who's a Christian and they say,
00:34:46.65\00:34:49.42
"Ah, I've got--I'm in love
with this person over here.
00:34:49.45\00:34:52.65
They're tall, dark, and
handsome, and they're just so
00:34:52.69\00:34:54.42
nice, and I think
I can convert him.
00:34:54.46\00:34:57.19
It'll be easier to
make them study the Bible
00:34:57.23\00:34:59.26
with me after we're married."
00:34:59.29\00:35:01.56
Even though the Bible
says do not be unequally yoked.
00:35:01.60\00:35:04.80
And so, they get
married and they say,
00:35:04.83\00:35:06.47
"Oh look, they're
coming closer to the Lord.
00:35:06.50\00:35:08.74
Praise the Lord, they're
adopting my beliefs," but they
00:35:08.77\00:35:10.54
don't realize in the process
they're also making compromises.
00:35:10.57\00:35:14.64
That's the way it often works.
00:35:14.68\00:35:15.98
And sometimes, I've seen the
believer just completely abandon
00:35:16.01\00:35:18.11
their faith and level
off with the unbeliever.
00:35:18.15\00:35:21.72
This is what
happened to Solomon.
00:35:21.75\00:35:25.95
You've gotten so quiet, I
don't remember you ever being so
00:35:25.99\00:35:28.59
quiet during a Bible study.
00:35:28.62\00:35:32.06
But Solomon loved
many foreign women.
00:35:32.09\00:35:34.03
One more thing I got
to tell you about this,
00:35:34.10\00:35:36.06
this is a very
interesting verse.
00:35:36.10\00:35:39.60
How does this verse begin?
00:35:39.63\00:35:42.80
But why does it start that way?
00:35:42.84\00:35:46.44
'Cause everything it said prior
was in glowing terms of Solomon.
00:35:46.47\00:35:52.51
The kingdom was going
up, up, up, up, up, up.
00:35:52.55\00:35:56.08
Palace was
built, temple was built,
00:35:56.12\00:35:57.85
people are
flowing, money's flowing in,
00:35:57.89\00:36:00.06
the people are all blessed,
they got peace on every side.
00:36:00.09\00:36:02.69
The queen of Sheba,
she's coming saying,
00:36:02.72\00:36:04.26
"Your God is the greatest God,"
and everything's looking great.
00:36:04.29\00:36:07.56
Little, little amazing
fact, and it says in one
00:36:07.60\00:36:10.03
year 666
talents came to Solomon.
00:36:10.07\00:36:14.50
Immediately before
this verse, it says 666.
00:36:14.54\00:36:17.84
Isn't that interesting?
00:36:17.87\00:36:19.31
And then it says, "But."
00:36:19.34\00:36:20.88
And then the kingdom goes down.
00:36:20.91\00:36:24.35
Why?
00:36:24.38\00:36:26.18
Compromising with
the culture around him,
00:36:26.21\00:36:28.25
intermarrying
with pagan religions.
00:36:28.28\00:36:32.72
As well as the daughter
of Pharaoh, women of the
00:36:32.75\00:36:34.76
Moabites and the Ammonites
and the Edomites and the
00:36:34.79\00:36:37.43
Zidonians and the Hittites.
00:36:37.46\00:36:38.76
Now, you notice what happens.
00:36:38.79\00:36:40.86
First it mentions
Moab, Ammon, Edom.
00:36:40.90\00:36:43.93
Now, why were they different
than some of the other ites?
00:36:43.97\00:36:48.14
They were all sort of related.
00:36:48.17\00:36:50.41
Moabites came from Lot,
Edomites came from Esau,
00:36:50.44\00:36:54.21
Ammonites came from Lot.
00:36:54.24\00:36:56.18
They said, "Well, you
know, they're not really Jews,
00:36:56.21\00:36:59.25
but you know, they do practice
some of the same things.
00:36:59.28\00:37:01.82
In some ways they're
monotheistic, and they practice
00:37:01.85\00:37:03.79
circumcision, so if I marry
their daughters even though
00:37:03.82\00:37:06.15
they really have compromised,
what's the big deal?"
00:37:06.19\00:37:10.03
It's like a person saying,
"Well, I would never marry
00:37:10.06\00:37:11.79
someone who doesn't
believe in God, but you know,
00:37:11.83\00:37:14.00
I'm Christian, I'm going to
marry someone who's a Muslim.
00:37:14.03\00:37:16.93
At least they believe in God."
00:37:16.97\00:37:18.73
And they start to--they
say, "They're part way there."
00:37:18.77\00:37:21.64
See how compromise works?
00:37:21.67\00:37:23.41
Little steps until he
starts out marrying Edomites,
00:37:23.44\00:37:27.44
Moabites, Ammonites, and then he
just throws all restraint to the
00:37:27.48\00:37:31.31
wind and he starts to intermarry
with the Hittites and the
00:37:31.35\00:37:35.82
Zidonians and you
name it, the list of every
00:37:35.85\00:37:38.55
pretty girl out there.
00:37:38.59\00:37:40.62
And what happened?
00:37:40.66\00:37:42.19
These turned his hearts away.
00:37:42.22\00:37:44.93
Solomon clung to these in
love, and eventually he sets
00:37:44.96\00:37:48.33
up their idols in the temple.
00:37:48.36\00:37:51.23
So, what happened
to Solomon's family?
00:37:51.27\00:37:54.57
Instead of his influencing, God
wanted Solomon to be true to God
00:37:54.60\00:37:59.01
so people like the
queen of Sheba would
00:37:59.04\00:38:00.41
come and learn about God.
00:38:00.44\00:38:01.74
He would influence them.
00:38:01.78\00:38:03.08
He wanted them to be
a light in the world,
00:38:03.11\00:38:05.55
but because of
compromise, they influenced him.
00:38:05.58\00:38:09.05
And what
happened to the kingdom?
00:38:09.08\00:38:10.49
[whistling]
00:38:10.52\00:38:11.82
Went down that
vortex of compromise.
00:38:11.85\00:38:15.42
Ezra 10, now after the people
have been in Babylon for years
00:38:15.46\00:38:18.83
because of their bad
behavior, they come back,
00:38:18.86\00:38:21.43
they get their nation back, they
start to build the temple again,
00:38:21.46\00:38:23.90
and what's the
first thing they do?
00:38:23.93\00:38:25.83
They start to
intermarry again with the
00:38:25.87\00:38:28.24
locals, who were pagans.
00:38:28.27\00:38:31.87
And Ezra had a meltdown,
that's the only way to put it.
00:38:31.91\00:38:36.11
I think it's the story where
he's, like, pulling out his
00:38:36.14\00:38:37.58
beard, pulling out
other people's beards,
00:38:37.61\00:38:39.45
and he's just--he's all upset.
00:38:39.48\00:38:42.38
"And Ezra rose and he made the
leaders and the priests and the
00:38:42.42\00:38:44.82
Levites and all Israel to
swear an oath that they would
00:38:44.85\00:38:48.06
do according to this word."
00:38:48.09\00:38:49.46
They had to swear an oath
to put away all of the pagan
00:38:49.49\00:38:53.26
gods that were among them.
00:38:53.29\00:38:54.96
They had been
compromising so much
00:38:55.00\00:38:57.20
that it was just
destroying thing.
00:38:57.23\00:39:00.04
So, do we see these cultural
influences in our church today?
00:39:00.07\00:39:09.78
You're quiet. Say
amen if you agree with me.
00:39:09.81\00:39:12.88
Do we have to be aware of it?
00:39:12.91\00:39:16.02
Sometimes, you know, you need to
00:39:16.05\00:39:17.35
be specific and identify things.
00:39:17.39\00:39:20.06
What are some of the areas
where we're seeing compromise,
00:39:20.09\00:39:24.79
where God's
people, the remnant church,
00:39:24.83\00:39:26.36
is being urged to sort of
look the other way or not be so
00:39:26.39\00:39:30.70
distinctive in our beliefs?
00:39:30.73\00:39:32.37
I made a list of
about ten things.
00:39:32.40\00:39:35.84
No longer believing in the
inerrancy of the Word of God.
00:39:35.87\00:39:39.31
You know, there's
still, even within our church,
00:39:39.34\00:39:41.88
there's some people that
say, "Well, you know, some
00:39:41.91\00:39:44.11
of the stories in the
Bible may not be literal.
00:39:44.15\00:39:47.02
Those first 11 chapters of
Genesis could be figurative
00:39:47.05\00:39:50.35
and for teaching purposes.
00:39:50.39\00:39:51.92
Flood didn't really
happen, Adam and Eve, eh."
00:39:51.95\00:39:55.82
Doubting the six
literal days of creation,
00:39:55.86\00:39:58.73
yeah, I meet
people in the church.
00:39:58.76\00:40:00.06
Do we hear in our culture
about evolution all the time?
00:40:00.10\00:40:03.47
Isn't it being stated like fact?
00:40:03.50\00:40:06.33
Do you know that that
does have an impact on people?
00:40:06.37\00:40:09.54
In spite of the Word
of God, they start to say,
00:40:09.57\00:40:11.27
"Well, maybe I'm
misunderstanding these verses."
00:40:11.31\00:40:13.54
And instead of letting the Bible
define what is truth, they're
00:40:13.58\00:40:16.54
starting to read the Bible
through the glasses of culture.
00:40:16.58\00:40:20.88
Until pretty soon they say,
"Well, maybe those six days were
00:40:20.92\00:40:23.52
6 billion years or thousand
years or something like that."
00:40:23.55\00:40:27.09
And they begin to
compromise their beliefs.
00:40:27.12\00:40:29.99
Believing that God saves us with
our sin and not from our sin.
00:40:30.03\00:40:35.06
More and more you hear in
churches, not all, but many
00:40:35.10\00:40:38.67
Protestant churches, it's
basically that you just, you
00:40:38.70\00:40:41.67
know, say a prayer, accept
Jesus, and you pretty much live
00:40:41.70\00:40:43.97
like everybody else,
but you've got eternal life.
00:40:44.01\00:40:47.04
It doesn't talk about turning
from sin and living a life of
00:40:47.08\00:40:49.84
godliness, purity
of heart, holiness.
00:40:49.88\00:40:53.52
That message,
repentance from sin,
00:40:53.55\00:40:55.82
confession of
sin, turning from sin,
00:40:55.85\00:40:58.02
you're hearing less
and less about that.
00:40:58.05\00:40:59.79
And I, you know, started out
in the other Protestant churches
00:40:59.82\00:41:02.32
and then became an Adventist,
so I heard that a lot.
00:41:02.36\00:41:05.53
One of the things that appealed
to me about Adventism was I
00:41:05.56\00:41:08.10
thought it was teaching the
whole gospel about what real
00:41:08.13\00:41:11.30
grace really is, is God gives
you grace to be a new creature.
00:41:11.33\00:41:16.40
It's not grace that's
just always a coverup,
00:41:16.44\00:41:19.34
it's grace is
power to be transformed.
00:41:19.37\00:41:23.81
Well, you're getting where
you don't hear that so much.
00:41:23.85\00:41:25.78
And those
teachings and that theology,
00:41:25.81\00:41:28.02
I see it becoming more pervasive
even among God's people.
00:41:28.05\00:41:32.15
No longer having confidence
in the inspiration and authority
00:41:32.19\00:41:35.02
of the spirit of prophecy.
00:41:35.06\00:41:36.86
God did something for our
church he's not done for many,
00:41:36.89\00:41:40.13
is he's raised up a special
messenger to just help us to
00:41:40.16\00:41:45.03
understand the Word of God more
clearly in these last days, to
00:41:45.07\00:41:48.74
magnify the Scriptures,
and that's being challenged.
00:41:48.77\00:41:53.58
No longer preaching
the truth of the sanctuary
00:41:53.61\00:41:56.38
and rejecting the
significance of 1844.
00:41:56.41\00:41:59.05
A lot of churches you
can go to, you'll never
00:41:59.08\00:42:00.82
hear a message on that.
00:42:00.85\00:42:02.75
And yet, that's
part of the three angels
00:42:02.78\00:42:04.72
message for the last days.
00:42:04.75\00:42:07.39
Rejecting the idea that the
Seventh Day Adventist Church is
00:42:07.42\00:42:10.43
the remnant
church of Bible prophecy.
00:42:10.46\00:42:12.46
Instead, that's
played down, they say,
00:42:12.49\00:42:13.80
"Oh, we're not really special.
00:42:13.83\00:42:15.10
We're just one
of many churches and
00:42:15.13\00:42:16.83
all rivers lead to the ocean.
00:42:16.87\00:42:18.17
It doesn't matter what
denomination you're part of."
00:42:18.20\00:42:19.93
Instead of believing this is a
movement of prophecy that people
00:42:19.97\00:42:23.57
are being called into in
the last days with a special
00:42:23.61\00:42:26.44
work, that's being downplayed.
00:42:26.47\00:42:28.78
They say, "Oh, what
arrogance for you to think
00:42:28.81\00:42:31.55
that you have anything special."
00:42:31.58\00:42:33.88
But you know, that's what we're
founded on is a belief that we
00:42:33.92\00:42:37.09
are unique and a
movement of prophecy.
00:42:37.12\00:42:41.56
Rejecting biblical lines
of distinction, talking about
00:42:41.59\00:42:44.39
biblical lines of distinction
in the roles of men and women.
00:42:44.43\00:42:49.00
And even views about abortion
are being influenced by the
00:42:49.03\00:42:56.37
world instead of by Scripture.
00:42:56.40\00:42:58.91
That's another one I threw in.
00:42:58.94\00:43:01.18
Rejecting of reverence
in worship in favor for some
00:43:01.21\00:43:03.95
of the loud pagan
worship styles that have been
00:43:03.98\00:43:06.75
creeping into the churches.
00:43:06.78\00:43:09.28
Downplaying the
health messages, legalism.
00:43:09.32\00:43:12.85
Laxness in keeping
the Sabbath day as a holy
00:43:12.89\00:43:15.92
day instead of a holiday.
00:43:15.96\00:43:18.79
That's my little list of ten.
00:43:18.83\00:43:21.00
But you know, I think
all this was foretold.
00:43:21.03\00:43:23.06
These things that
are happening now,
00:43:23.10\00:43:24.40
let me read something to
you from 1 Selected Messages.
00:43:24.43\00:43:26.67
I'm looking at the clock
and I want to read this to you.
00:43:26.70\00:43:29.90
"The enemies of souls has sought
to bring in the supposition that
00:43:29.94\00:43:33.71
a great reformation was about
to take place among Seventh Day
00:43:33.74\00:43:36.51
Adventists, and this reformation
would consist of giving up the
00:43:36.54\00:43:39.48
doctrines that have
been pillars of our faith,
00:43:39.51\00:43:42.12
and engaging in a
process of reorganization."
00:43:42.15\00:43:45.09
That's that code for compromise.
00:43:45.12\00:43:48.26
"Were this
reformation to take place,
00:43:48.29\00:43:49.69
what would be the result?
00:43:49.72\00:43:51.26
The principles of truth that God
and his wisdom has given to the
00:43:51.29\00:43:54.00
remnant church
would be discarded.
00:43:54.03\00:43:55.93
Our religion would be changed.
00:43:55.96\00:43:57.70
The fundamental principles,"
we're talking about biblical
00:43:57.73\00:43:59.73
principles here, "that has
sustained the work for the last
00:43:59.77\00:44:03.37
50 years would be
accounted as an error.
00:44:03.41\00:44:06.11
A new organization
would be established.
00:44:06.14\00:44:08.08
Books of a new
order would be written.
00:44:08.11\00:44:10.25
A system of intellectual
philosophy would be introduced.
00:44:10.28\00:44:13.28
The founders of the
system would go into the cities
00:44:13.31\00:44:15.45
and do a wonderful work.
00:44:15.48\00:44:16.92
The Sabbath, of course,
would be lightly regarded,
00:44:16.95\00:44:19.55
as also the God who created it.
00:44:19.59\00:44:21.79
Nothing would be
allowed to stand in the
00:44:21.82\00:44:23.53
way of this new movement.
00:44:23.56\00:44:24.86
Their foundation
would be built on the sand,
00:44:24.89\00:44:27.50
and the storm and the tempest
would sweep away the structure."
00:44:27.50\00:44:31.00
I think that the compromise
in our culture is leading us in
00:44:31.03\00:44:34.64
that direction right now.
00:44:34.67\00:44:36.77
That's a very dangerous concern.
00:44:36.81\00:44:39.31
All right, moving on here.
00:44:39.34\00:44:41.34
So, you read now in the book
of Esther, Esther is trying to
00:44:41.38\00:44:44.91
maintain godly living surrounded
by the Persian empire.
00:44:44.95\00:44:50.19
And Mordecai, this
is Esther 2, verse 7,
00:44:50.22\00:44:53.86
"And Mordecai had brought
up Hadassah," that is Esther,
00:44:53.89\00:44:58.19
"his uncle's daughter, for she
had neither father nor mother.
00:44:58.23\00:45:01.53
The young woman was
lovely and beautiful.
00:45:01.56\00:45:03.60
And when her
father and mother died,
00:45:03.63\00:45:05.20
Mordecai took her
as his own daughter.
00:45:05.23\00:45:07.27
So it was when the king's
command was and the decree was
00:45:07.30\00:45:10.41
heard and many young women were
gathered at Shushan the citadel
00:45:10.44\00:45:14.21
under the custody of Haggai,
that Esther was also taken to
00:45:14.24\00:45:17.81
the king's palace
into the care of Haggai,
00:45:17.85\00:45:20.22
the custodian of the women.
00:45:20.25\00:45:22.12
Now, the young woman--" wait
a second now, let's just pause.
00:45:22.15\00:45:25.89
You've been
raised a faithful Jew.
00:45:25.92\00:45:28.79
Mordecai believed in God,
he would not bow down to Haman.
00:45:28.82\00:45:31.43
He had scruples, amen?
00:45:31.46\00:45:34.00
But all of the sudden,
this daughter he's adopted,
00:45:34.00\00:45:36.90
it's really, you know, a
relative, she, after all of her
00:45:36.93\00:45:40.87
godly upbringing, is thrust
into the middle of the Persian
00:45:40.90\00:45:43.87
pagan palace to be part
of a harem for the king.
00:45:43.91\00:45:48.84
How can you live
out your Christian
00:45:48.88\00:45:50.58
principles in a
situation like that?
00:45:50.61\00:45:53.72
Boy, she must've
had a real struggle.
00:45:53.75\00:45:55.38
And when they--all the
other girls were fighting
00:45:55.42\00:45:59.12
over the garments and
the jewels of what they were
00:45:59.15\00:46:01.09
going to wear, Esther
said, "Look, I'm just going to
00:46:01.12\00:46:03.66
let the eunuch decide,
the chief of the eunuchs
00:46:03.69\00:46:06.26
decide what I'm supposed to do."
00:46:06.29\00:46:07.76
She was not clamoring and
grasping, and she had such
00:46:07.83\00:46:10.03
a different spirit about her
that she became a light in the
00:46:10.07\00:46:13.10
palace, and ultimately the
king recognized that, right?
00:46:13.13\00:46:17.17
"Now the young woman pleased
him and obtained his favor,
00:46:17.21\00:46:21.08
so he readily gave
beauty preparations to
00:46:21.11\00:46:23.55
her beside her allowance.
00:46:23.58\00:46:25.28
Then seven choice maid servants
were provided for her from the
00:46:25.31\00:46:28.45
king's palace, and he
moved her and her maid servants
00:46:28.48\00:46:31.55
to the best place
in the house of women."
00:46:31.59\00:46:34.39
So, Esther's trying
to maintain her belief.
00:46:34.42\00:46:38.26
And of course, you know what,
Mordecai later sends a message,
00:46:38.29\00:46:40.43
he says, "Do not think
you'll escape any more than the
00:46:40.46\00:46:43.73
other Jews in the kingdom.
00:46:43.77\00:46:45.47
Perhaps you've
come to the kingdom for
00:46:45.50\00:46:46.94
such a time as this."
00:46:46.97\00:46:48.77
And then don't miss
this verse, Esther chapter 2,
00:46:48.80\00:46:50.81
verse 20, "Now Esther had
not revealed her family and her
00:46:50.84\00:46:54.94
people just as Mordecai had
charged her, for Esther obeyed
00:46:54.98\00:46:58.75
the command of Mordecai as
when she was brought up by him."
00:46:58.78\00:47:03.12
He's saying, "Look, there's
going to be a time for you to
00:47:03.15\00:47:06.09
reveal who you are
and what you believe,
00:47:06.12\00:47:09.16
but I believe that
right away is not that time."
00:47:09.19\00:47:12.33
So, when you're living in a
culture where you're surrounded
00:47:12.36\00:47:14.60
just by a rank paganism, you
need discretion and diplomacy to
00:47:14.63\00:47:20.20
know how to
share the distinctive
00:47:20.24\00:47:24.21
things of your faith.
00:47:24.24\00:47:26.41
Being a Christian in
this world is a challenge.
00:47:26.44\00:47:29.04
You know, there's a
quote in Adventist Home,
00:47:29.08\00:47:30.68
page 32, "The greatest evidence
of the power of Christianity
00:47:30.71\00:47:35.88
that can be
presented to the world is a
00:47:35.92\00:47:38.09
well-ordered,
well-disciplined family.
00:47:38.12\00:47:42.46
This will recommend the power
of truth as nothing else can,
00:47:42.49\00:47:45.76
for it is a living
witness of its practical
00:47:45.79\00:47:47.96
power upon the heart."
00:47:48.00\00:47:50.50
Now, I throw that there right
after this verse in your lesson,
00:47:50.53\00:47:53.20
Genesis 18:19,
"For I have known him,
00:47:53.23\00:47:56.24
Abraham, in order that he might
command his children and his
00:47:56.27\00:48:00.08
household after him, that they
keep the way of the Lord and do
00:48:00.11\00:48:03.45
righteousness and justice,
that the Lord may bring Abraham
00:48:03.48\00:48:07.42
what he has spoken to him."
00:48:07.45\00:48:09.82
Abraham came out from Ur
of the Chaldees, pagan world.
00:48:09.85\00:48:13.76
Because and then he--God says,
"I'm going to give you this
00:48:13.79\00:48:15.82
land," but he's still surrounded
by paganism, the Canaanites.
00:48:15.86\00:48:19.26
And what did Noah say?
00:48:19.29\00:48:20.83
Didn't Noah curse
the--Canaan, the son?
00:48:20.86\00:48:24.93
These were a cursed people.
00:48:24.97\00:48:26.27
Noah--or Abraham's
living in the midst of them;
00:48:26.30\00:48:28.97
and yet, he is
commanding his family after him.
00:48:29.00\00:48:32.51
So, you know, God calls upon us
to be faithful in our families.
00:48:32.54\00:48:37.38
Now, how do you do that?
00:48:37.41\00:48:41.08
It's a day by day.
00:48:41.12\00:48:42.42
I'm going to have
you read your verse.
00:48:42.45\00:48:44.79
First, I want
you to know Paul says
00:48:44.82\00:48:47.42
in--where does Paul say that?
00:48:47.46\00:48:53.29
Paul says, yeah, in
1 Corinthians 15:31,
00:48:53.33\00:48:56.46
"I affirm by the boasting
in you which I have in Christ
00:48:56.50\00:48:59.90
our Lord Jesus
that I die daily."
00:48:59.93\00:49:03.51
How do you be a
consistent witness?
00:49:03.54\00:49:05.51
Go ahead, read
your verse for us.
00:49:05.54\00:49:07.48
male: Luke 9:23,
"Then he said to them all,
00:49:07.51\00:49:10.25
'If anyone
desires to come after me,
00:49:10.28\00:49:12.38
let him deny himself and take of
his cross daily and follow me.'"
00:49:12.41\00:49:16.55
Doug: If you're dying to self
daily and taking up your cross
00:49:16.58\00:49:19.55
daily, you must
also be born again daily.
00:49:19.59\00:49:22.29
That is the
renewing of your mind.
00:49:22.32\00:49:23.83
We read about Jesus
said we must be born again,
00:49:23.86\00:49:27.76
and whoever believes
in Christ is born of God.
00:49:27.76\00:49:30.70
We become new
creatures every day.
00:49:30.73\00:49:32.60
We need to be
reborn and that happens
00:49:32.63\00:49:34.37
through the power of the Word.
00:49:34.40\00:49:35.70
The Word must be
defining our values.
00:49:35.74\00:49:38.21
Unless we're
reading the Word every day,
00:49:38.24\00:49:39.81
if you're surrounded by culture,
culture is going to define your
00:49:39.84\00:49:42.98
thinking and your worldview.
00:49:43.01\00:49:45.11
Your worldview
needs to be defined
00:49:45.15\00:49:46.68
by the Word of God, amen?
00:49:46.72\00:49:49.12
And we have a special
book, one that we'd like to make
00:49:49.15\00:49:52.19
available, it's
called "Alone in the Crowd."
00:49:52.22\00:49:53.86
If you'd like the free offer,
then you can simply call...
00:49:53.89\00:49:59.86
ask for offer number 714.
00:49:59.89\00:50:02.23
That's... and
that of course is in
00:50:02.26\00:50:05.10
North America
and its territories.
00:50:05.13\00:50:07.04
The book is "Alone in the
Crowd," or you can even text
00:50:07.07\00:50:10.44
SH004 to 40544, you can
download the book there.
00:50:10.47\00:50:17.18
Another good book I quoted here
in the lesson is a book called
00:50:17.21\00:50:22.08
"Culture and the Christian,"
it's at the Amazing Facts
00:50:22.12\00:50:24.62
website, "Culture
and the Christian."
00:50:24.65\00:50:26.55
Has some really good principles,
recommend that for everybody.
00:50:26.59\00:50:29.12
Thank you very much
for studying God's Word
00:50:29.16\00:50:31.09
with us this week, friends.
00:50:31.13\00:50:32.56
And until next
week, God bless you.
00:50:32.59\00:50:34.40
announcer: Don't
forget to request today's
00:50:35.80\00:50:37.10
life-changing free resource.
00:50:37.13\00:50:39.17
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receive this free gift in the
00:50:39.20\00:50:40.94
mail, you can download
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00:50:40.97\00:50:43.10
to your computer
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00:50:43.14\00:50:45.34
To get your digital
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00:50:45.37\00:50:48.08
simply text the keyword
on your screen to 40544.
00:50:48.11\00:50:52.25
Or visit the web
address shown on your screen.
00:50:52.28\00:50:55.02
And be sure to
select the digital download
00:50:55.05\00:50:56.89
option on the request page.
00:50:56.92\00:50:58.52
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00:50:58.55\00:51:02.02
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00:51:02.06\00:51:05.19
and most important,
to share it with others.
00:51:05.23\00:51:08.06
¤¤¤
00:51:09.46\00:51:18.37
Doug: Hello, friends.
00:51:20.71\00:51:22.01
We're here in the Philippines
overlooking the Taal volcano and
00:51:22.04\00:51:25.38
lake, which is one of the
most interesting pieces of
00:51:25.41\00:51:28.18
geography in the whole world.
00:51:28.22\00:51:30.29
For one thing, this
great caldera was once the
00:51:30.32\00:51:33.15
biggest volcano in the world.
00:51:33.19\00:51:35.76
And now, it holds a lake
that holds another volcano,
00:51:35.79\00:51:39.16
that has another
little lake in it,
00:51:39.19\00:51:41.30
that has another
little island in it.
00:51:41.33\00:51:43.83
This volcano has
erupted six times in a
00:51:43.87\00:51:46.57
major way since the 1500s.
00:51:46.60\00:51:49.57
And even in 1911, there was an
eruption where over 1,300 people
00:51:49.60\00:51:53.58
died, killed by
the smoke and the ash
00:51:53.61\00:51:56.34
that covered the community.
00:51:56.38\00:51:57.95
There were tsunamis that came
from the lake and destroyed the
00:51:57.98\00:52:01.22
villages that surrounded
the borders of the lake.
00:52:01.25\00:52:03.79
In fact, this is one of
the most carefully monitored
00:52:03.82\00:52:06.76
seismic places
in the Philippines.
00:52:06.79\00:52:09.49
This volcano is
being watched all the time.
00:52:09.52\00:52:11.69
And they've noticed as of 2006
that it appears that the water
00:52:11.73\00:52:15.83
temperatures are going up.
00:52:15.86\00:52:17.40
There's
increased seismic activity.
00:52:17.43\00:52:19.80
In other words, they
know that this volcano is a
00:52:19.83\00:52:22.60
ticking time
bomb prepared to blow.
00:52:22.64\00:52:25.47
And it's very interesting
because this place is a
00:52:25.51\00:52:27.61
place of great seismic activity.
00:52:27.64\00:52:29.88
But in spite of the fact
that volcanologists know this is
00:52:29.91\00:52:33.01
going to blow again someday, it
00:52:33.05\00:52:34.55
is a popular
tourist destination.
00:52:34.58\00:52:36.58
They're fighting for the
real estate, they're building
00:52:36.62\00:52:39.25
like mad, and sit on
the edge of disaster.
00:52:39.29\00:52:41.92
It makes us think about how God
has given us so many warnings in
00:52:41.96\00:52:45.73
his Word that the world is
going to end, that Jesus is
00:52:45.76\00:52:48.86
going to come, that the
heavens will dissolve with a
00:52:48.90\00:52:51.27
great noise, and the elements
will melt with fervent heat.
00:52:51.30\00:52:54.20
Seeing then that all
these things will be dissolved,
00:52:54.24\00:52:57.07
what kind of people
should we be in all holy
00:52:57.11\00:52:59.84
conversation and godliness?
00:52:59.87\00:53:02.31
Friends, are you becoming
distracted with the tranquil
00:53:02.34\00:53:04.51
views of the world, or are you
preparing for the next world?
00:53:04.55\00:53:08.45
Are you getting
ready for the big bang?
00:53:08.48\00:53:10.92
¤¤¤
00:53:10.95\00:53:16.22
announcer: Amazing
Facts, changed lives.
00:53:20.26\00:53:23.16
Justin: Growing up as a
kid, my mother was on drugs and
00:53:31.07\00:53:35.98
alcohol, lots of
fighting in the home.
00:53:36.01\00:53:39.25
My mom would be abused
mentally, verbally, physically.
00:53:39.28\00:53:44.25
Went from California to Oregon,
spent some time in Oregon,
00:53:44.29\00:53:48.56
and it was just the same cycle
of drugs, alcohol, violence.
00:53:48.59\00:53:53.13
My mom's boyfriend
would go to jail at times.
00:53:53.16\00:53:56.77
She would wait
until he would, you know,
00:53:56.80\00:53:59.17
get out of jail and it
was back to square one.
00:53:59.20\00:54:02.10
The drugs and the alcohol
escalated to a lot harder drugs,
00:54:02.14\00:54:06.74
crystal meth, cocaine,
and lots and lots of alcohol.
00:54:06.78\00:54:11.71
So, I started using the
alcohol to--as a medication.
00:54:11.75\00:54:16.89
It was like it took the
misery and the fear that I had,
00:54:16.92\00:54:20.36
I wanted to
drown all that misery.
00:54:20.39\00:54:22.72
Times I would just grab, you
know, a bottle of beer and go
00:54:22.76\00:54:27.86
out into the desert and just
drink until sometimes I'd just
00:54:27.93\00:54:31.47
pass out in the desert somewhere
and wake up the next morning.
00:54:31.50\00:54:34.94
And you know, and I
just couldn't find rest.
00:54:34.97\00:54:38.87
My stepdad had
got me a motorcycle,
00:54:38.91\00:54:42.24
and so I started
riding motorcycles.
00:54:42.28\00:54:44.45
I'd drink a lot of
beer, get on the motorcycle,
00:54:44.48\00:54:47.45
ride into the desert, do
donuts and just--you know,
00:54:47.48\00:54:50.65
just ride on private property.
00:54:50.69\00:54:53.92
People would chase me
off and I was just causing,
00:54:53.96\00:54:56.69
stirring up dust and
rocks and just causing chaos.
00:54:56.73\00:55:01.33
And the adrenaline rush that
I had was so exciting and the
00:55:01.36\00:55:05.87
feeling of it was so
intense that I loved it,
00:55:05.90\00:55:10.31
and I forgot
about all my problems,
00:55:10.34\00:55:13.38
you know, at the moment.
00:55:13.41\00:55:14.71
And I thought that
material things would make me
00:55:14.74\00:55:17.28
feel so good, you know?
00:55:17.31\00:55:20.05
And so, I started
working, started making
00:55:20.08\00:55:21.78
money, had a responsibility.
00:55:21.82\00:55:24.59
But as time went by, I had
more money, so I would, you
00:55:24.62\00:55:30.86
know, use my money that I
made to buy drugs and alcohol.
00:55:30.89\00:55:35.66
Got pulled over,
drinking and driving,
00:55:35.70\00:55:38.87
ended up going to
jail for a couple days.
00:55:38.90\00:55:42.70
I lost my job because I
missed work for a few days.
00:55:42.74\00:55:47.04
Lost my girlfriend, lost
all the money that I had.
00:55:47.08\00:55:51.91
So, once again I
was empty, no money,
00:55:51.95\00:55:55.25
no drugs, no alcohol, and that
was a turning point in my life.
00:55:55.28\00:55:59.42
At this time, I was
living with my grandfather.
00:55:59.45\00:56:02.26
And as I was flipping through
the channels on the satellite
00:56:02.29\00:56:06.16
system, I found "Amazing Facts."
00:56:06.19\00:56:09.10
Pastor Doug Batchelor
was telling his--sharing his
00:56:09.13\00:56:12.33
testimony about how
he was living in a cave.
00:56:12.37\00:56:16.07
And he was--he struggled the
same struggles of alcohol and
00:56:16.10\00:56:19.64
drugs, and I continued to read
the book "The Richest Caveman,"
00:56:19.67\00:56:24.25
and it really impacted my life,
and really related to the things
00:56:24.28\00:56:28.05
he was struggling with
and all the events that
00:56:28.08\00:56:31.52
took place in his life.
00:56:31.55\00:56:32.99
And when I started reading the
Bible, Philippians 4:13 says,
00:56:33.02\00:56:36.29
"I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me."
00:56:36.32\00:56:39.19
And I recognized
that I had no strength.
00:56:39.23\00:56:41.56
I was weak and I was
wretched and I needed help.
00:56:41.60\00:56:45.93
So, I just asked the Lord,
I said, "Just help me, Lord."
00:56:45.97\00:56:48.60
And the Holy Spirit
convicted me, and I decided to
00:56:48.64\00:56:54.18
be baptized and to give
my life to Jesus Christ.
00:56:54.21\00:56:58.35
A few years after the Lord took
the temptation of drinking and
00:56:58.38\00:57:02.58
doing drugs, he gave me a
beautiful wife I met at church.
00:57:02.62\00:57:07.16
Now, I have a beautiful
baby boy, two-year-old baby boy.
00:57:07.19\00:57:10.73
It's just
exciting to see, you know,
00:57:10.76\00:57:13.16
what God is doing in
my life and my family.
00:57:13.19\00:57:17.60
I met with some friends
from my local church that I was
00:57:17.63\00:57:21.30
attending, and they had told
me about Amazing Facts Center of
00:57:21.34\00:57:26.34
Evangelism Training Seminar.
00:57:26.37\00:57:28.91
The AFCOE to Go program really
inspired me and motivated me to
00:57:28.94\00:57:34.55
tell young
people about, you know,
00:57:34.58\00:57:37.95
the same struggles
that I was struggling with,
00:57:37.99\00:57:40.19
to help these kids give
their life to Jesus Christ.
00:57:40.22\00:57:43.59
And there's nothing
else that you could ask for.
00:57:43.63\00:57:46.03
I'm Justin, and God
used you to change my life.
00:57:46.06\00:57:50.60
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00:57:50.63\00:57:57.67
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00:58:01.08\00:58:11.05
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00:58:11.09\00:58:21.03
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00:58:21.06\00:58:22.46