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00:06 CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 abercap.com 00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Shawn Brummund: Hello and welcome to another edition 00:36 of the "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:38 We trust that you are going to be really enriched as we 00:41 come together and continue to study the Word of God. 00:44 We are almost finished our quarterly study that we've been 00:48 looking at, a very deep, a very practical but 00:50 very spiritual subject that is the subject of the family. 00:54 And so we are on lesson number 12, 00:57 "What Do They See in Your House?" 01:00 What do they see in your house? 01:01 And so normally we offer the Sabbath School quarterly, 01:05 and we can continue to do that if you like to download it 01:09 at lesson.aftv.org. 01:12 But we're almost finished and so we're going to be able to look 01:16 at a new theme in just a couple of weeks. 01:18 And so we're looking at number 12-- 01:20 lesson number 12 today, 01:22 "What Do They See in Your House?" 01:24 The influence of the family is something that should be 01:27 number--never underestimated. 01:29 Now, before we continue on, we want to make you aware 01:32 of a free offer that we always like to give each and every 01:34 "Sabbath School Study Hour" and this is no exception. 01:37 And so today we're going to offer a little booklet written 01:40 by our lead pastor, Pastor Doug Batchelor, 01:43 which is entitled "Compromise, Conformity & Courage." 01:48 And so please take advantage of that. 01:49 You just simply need to dial 1-866-788-3966. 01:55 Again, that's 1-866-788-3966 and ask for free offer number 774. 02:04 Now, if you'd like a digital download of that, 02:07 that's also available. 02:08 You can get on your phone and you can text the code "SH019." 02:13 That's "SH019" and you just simply text that 02:17 to the number 40544, and you can see that in your screen. 02:23 So please take advantage of that. 02:25 You continue to study a very important topic, 02:27 especially in our day and age as we want 02:29 to be faithful to Christ. 02:31 And so, again, we're so thankful that you've joined us, 02:34 those who are watching on television, online. 02:36 We're thankful always for our local church family 02:38 in the Granite Bay Seventh Day Adventist Church right here 02:41 in the Greater Sacramento area of California. 02:45 Now, before we open with prayer and introduce our study and 02:47 our teacher here today, we're going to celebrate God in song. 02:52 And so we'll invite our singers out, even right now. 02:58 male: We'll be singing this morning song number 431, 03:01 "Over Yonder." 03:03 We'll sing all three verses. 03:18 ♪ Come let us sing of homeland ♪ 03:22 ♪ down by the crystal sea wonderful land ♪ 03:27 ♪ where Jesus buildeth a mansion for me ♪ 03:35 ♪ Over yonder, down by the crystal sea ♪ 03:42 ♪ Over yonder, that's where I want to be ♪ 03:50 ♪ No more sorrow, toil, grief, nor care ♪ 03:57 ♪ in the homeland bright ♪ 04:02 ♪ and fair over there, over there ♪ 04:09 ♪ Water of life there floweth ♪ 04:13 ♪ fruit in abundant store ♪ 04:17 ♪ Citizens of that country ♪ 04:21 ♪ hunger and thirst never more ♪ 04:26 ♪ Over yonder, down by the crystal sea ♪ 04:34 ♪ Over yonder, that's where I want to be ♪ 04:42 ♪ No more sorrow, toil, grief, nor care ♪ 04:50 ♪ in the homeland bright and fair over ♪ 04:56 ♪ over there ♪ 05:02 ♪ Come go with me to homeland ♪ 05:05 ♪ Jesus invites you there ♪ 05:10 ♪ Help spread the invitation ♪ 05:13 ♪ Tell it to men everywhere ♪ 05:19 ♪ Over yonder, down by the crystal sea ♪ 05:27 ♪ Over yonder, that's where I want to be ♪ 05:35 ♪ No more sorrow, toil, grief, nor care ♪ 05:43 ♪ in the homeland bright ♪ 05:46 ♪ and fair over, over there ♪ 05:58 Shawn: God in heaven as we stop, 05:59 we continue to ask for your Holy Spirit to guide us for it is 06:02 the only hope that we have to understand your Word. 06:04 You tell us that spiritual things are spiritually discerned 06:07 and you give us the promise that you would send your Holy Spirit 06:10 that you might be able to teach us all truth, 06:12 and guide us into all things and what you want us to know. 06:15 And so God we want to pray that your Holy Spirit will be with us 06:18 in a very needful way even right now. 06:21 Want to pray that you'll be with Pastor Doug Batchelor. 06:23 As he teaches us, be with his heart, 06:25 his mind, his mouth as he serves us, Lord, 06:27 and he serves you. 06:29 In Jesus's name, we pray these things, God. 06:31 Amen. 06:32 Pastor Doug Batchelor, thank you for teaching again today. 06:36 Doug Batchelor: We're continuing, 06:37 as Pastor Shawn mentioned, our study on families, 06:40 and our lesson today is lesson number 12 and it's talking 06:43 about, what have they seen in your house? 06:46 That title is based on a Scripture we're going to look at 06:49 in just a moment. 06:50 What have they seen in your house? 06:51 We have a memory verse, which is 1 Peter chapter 2, 06:54 verse 9, 1 Peter 2, verse 9. 06:57 Now, sometimes I share my testimony, 06:59 and when you share a testimony, it's not like a sermon where 07:02 you have a lot of Scripture; but the one Scripture I read 07:04 before I do my testimony is this verse. 07:08 Why don't you say it with me? 07:09 Here it's in the New King James Version. 07:11 You ready? 07:12 "But you are a chosen generation, 07:15 a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 07:18 his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him 07:23 who has called you out of darkness 07:26 into his marvelous light." 07:28 God wants us to live lives that are proclaiming praises. 07:32 Now, Jesus is the light of the world, 07:36 but he said, "You are the light of the world." 07:38 Individually, you're all little lighthouses. 07:41 We're supposed to let his light shine out of us. 07:44 It's just like the sun has-- or the moon has no light 07:47 of its own except it reflects the light of the sun. 07:50 The church is to be a light in the world. 07:54 And we're in the final stages of building a church that is going 07:59 to be a training center, an evangelist training center. 08:03 Been working on this for, believe it or not, 08:05 20 years from conception to delivery, 08:08 which we trust is this year, and we want that--it's up on a hill. 08:12 It's really nice view, but we want it to be literally a light 08:14 on the hill from medium. 08:16 But not only is the church in the community to be a light 08:19 on the hill, families are to be a light on the hill. 08:23 You are to be lights in your community through your families, 08:27 and that's the theme. 08:29 We're talking about, what did they see in your house? 08:31 Now, I may as well get right into what the lesson 08:34 is dealing with. 08:36 Turn in your Bibles to the Book of Isaiah chapter 38. 08:40 We need to do a little reading here and get this story, 08:44 and it'll basically set the stage for all that we're going 08:47 to be studying today. 08:49 Isaiah chapter 38. 08:51 This is one of the--you know, in the New Testament, 08:53 you'll find the same story three times 'cause it's 08:55 in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 08:58 They call it the harmonic or Synoptic Gospels. 09:02 Very rarely in the Old Testament you find a story mentioned 09:05 three times. 09:07 The story we're going to look at now, 09:08 maybe the only one I can think of that you find mentioned 09:10 three times, it's in Isaiah, we're going to read it 09:13 in Isaiah, it's in Chronicles, and it's in Kings. 09:16 So it really stood out in Old Testament history. 09:20 First go to Isaiah 38, verse 1. 09:22 "In those days, Hezekiah was sick and near death, 09:27 and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, 09:30 went to him and said, 'Thus says the Lord, 09:33 'Set your house in order for you will die and not live.'" 09:39 Now, setting your house in order, you know what that means. 09:42 He said, "Make sure that you've got your will and your estate 09:45 plan and how you want your affairs to be taken care 09:49 of after you're gone. 09:51 Get things set in order." 09:52 Some of you remember Ahithophel. 09:54 He went and set his house in order and then hung himself. 09:57 He knew he was about to die so he freshened up his will 10:01 and his estate plan and then he hung himself. 10:04 So when Isaiah says to Hezekiah, "Set your house in order," 10:07 he says, "You have your will and your estate plan 10:10 all taken care of 'cause you're going to die." 10:12 Now, how many of you would like to get that news? 10:16 That's terrible to get one of those doctor reports that says 10:19 that your days are numbered. 10:21 Of course if you didn't know it, all of us our days are numbered. 10:24 I don't know--I don't want to shake you up but, you know, 10:26 life is terminal, this life, till you are born again. 10:31 Then you just go to sleep and you die. 10:35 So Hezekiah is not very happy about that. 10:37 It's natural for us to try to live as long as we can, 10:40 even in this life. 10:41 "So he turned his face toward the wall and he prayed, 10:44 and he said, 'Remember now, oh Lord, 10:46 I pray how I've walked before you," Hezekiah was a good king, 10:50 "with a loyal heart and I've done what was good 10:52 in your sight.' 10:54 And Hezekiah wept bitterly," 10:57 and it just moved the heart of God. 10:59 "And the Word of the Lord came to Isaiah, 11:01 saying, 'Go tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the Lord--'" 11:03 As a matter of fact, the Word of Lord 11:05 came to Hezekiah before he got all the way 11:06 out of the palace complex. 11:09 "Go tell Hezekiah, 'The Lord God of David your father, 11:15 I have heard your prayer. 11:17 I have seen your tears. 11:19 Surely I will add to your days 15 years.'" 11:22 Now in English, it rhymes. 11:25 "'I will deliver you in this city from the hand 11:27 of the king of Assyria and I will defend this city, 11:30 and this is the sign to you that the Lord will do this thing 11:34 that he has spoken. 11:35 Behold I'll bring the shadow of the sundial, 11:37 which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz 11:41 10 degrees backward.' 11:43 So the sun returned 10 degrees on the dial, 11:46 by which it had gone down." 11:48 It says, "The writing of Hezekiah the king of Judah, 11:51 which he had been sick--" 11:52 And then it goes through a prayer of Hezekiah. 11:54 So this incredible experience, Hezekiah is told 11:58 he's got a terminal disease. 11:59 We later learn that he had some kind of a boil that was causing 12:02 a fever and an infection, and he was going to die 12:05 from some septic problem. 12:07 'Cause later, not only does God say, 12:09 "I'm going to heal you," he then applies a natural remedy 12:13 and he tells the court physicians to put 12:16 a poultice of figs on the boil and you will recover. 12:21 Some of you remember this. 12:22 You can read this, like I said, in 1 Kings also. 12:26 And he gets better, but he says, "I'm going to give you a sign." 12:30 And he asks Hezekiah, "Do you want the sun to go down 12:33 10 degrees or do you want it to go back 10 degrees?" 12:36 And Hezekiah was sick, but he was still sharp enough to know 12:39 it's a small thing for the sun to go down 10 degrees. 12:42 It does that all the time. 12:44 But if it were to go backwards, people would spot it. 12:47 If it were to jump ahead 10 degrees, 12:48 they think they just missed something. 12:49 But if it went backwards and they can measure that on 12:52 a sundial--and so something happened because 12:56 of the prayer of Isaiah and Hezekiah that had 12:59 never happened before or happened since. 13:02 In the days of Joshua, Joshua prayed and the sun stood still. 13:05 But now what's happening is the sun is not just standing still, 13:07 it's going backwards. 13:09 Now, you can go ahead and blow a gasket, 13:11 try to figure out how God did this astronomically. 13:14 I mean, did the earth stop spinning? 13:16 How come everyone didn't fly off? 13:18 Did the sun stop moving or, you know--so people try 13:22 to figure out, how did God do this? 13:23 I'm not going to worry myself. 13:25 I'll ask the Lord that question. 13:26 It's a conundrum. 13:28 It's an enigma. 13:29 We'll ask him when we get to heaven. 13:30 I just don't doubt. 13:32 Maybe God just created the illusion for everyone 13:33 on the planet, but he did it however he wanted to do it. 13:37 So sun--world stopped, time stopped. 13:41 It went backwards. 13:43 Now, people that made it their business to study the heavens 13:46 in Mesopotamia, the wise men-- now, these are not astrologers, 13:51 they are astronomers. 13:53 Very different, and they noticed this. 13:58 They were of the same order of the wise men of Babylon. 14:01 Daniel was part of them Magi. 14:03 He was the chief of the wise men. 14:05 So there were still people there in Mesopotamia 14:07 that made it their business to study the heavens, 14:09 and when they noticed what happened-- 14:12 now you got to jump to chapter 39. 14:16 Go to Isaiah chapter 39. 14:19 "At that time, Merodachbaladan--" 14:22 This is one of the ancestors of Nebuchadnezzar 14:24 who had not been born yet. 14:26 "Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, 14:28 king of Babylon, he sent letters and a present to Hezekiah 14:33 for he heard that he'd been sick and recovered." 14:37 Now, why did he do that? 14:39 Just because he's sending a get well card? 14:42 No. 14:44 They realized that--you know, when they saw the sun go 14:47 backwards, they said, "What has caused this phenomenon?" 14:49 And words had trickled through the kingdoms that it was 14:53 the God of Hezekiah, Jehovah; the God of Israel 14:57 that had done this wonder. 15:00 And they thought, "Wow, I'd like to know more 15:01 about a God like this." 15:02 So here, the king of Babylon who's wanting to find out more 15:05 about this marvel--what a great witnessing opportunity. 15:11 He wants to find out more about this. 15:13 He sends a gift. 15:14 He tries--you know, it says gift paves way for a king. 15:17 He's got these emissaries that come. 15:18 They say, "Tell us, how did your God do this? 15:21 Our wise men want to know. Our people want to know. 15:23 Our priests want to know." What a great opportunity. 15:27 But instead of Hezekiah say, "Let me tell you about my God," 15:33 he thought, "Wow, wise men from Babylon. 15:36 Babylon? 15:38 That's where the center of learning. 15:39 That's where all the math experts are 15:40 and the astrologers are. 15:42 You want to know something from me?" 15:44 And he was so impressed that they would come from Babylon 15:48 that he wanted to impress them back with his greatness. 15:52 And instead of telling them about God, 15:55 he blew this grand opportunity. 15:59 It says, "Hezekiah was pleased with them." 16:01 That means impressed. 16:03 "And he showed them the house of his treasures: 16:06 the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious ointment, 16:09 and all his armory, all that was found among his treasures. 16:14 There was nothing in his house," there's where you get the 16:17 lesson, "or in his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them." 16:22 You notice the one thing it doesn't mention is God's house. 16:26 He shows them his house, his treasury. 16:29 "Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah," 16:32 I'm in Isaiah 39, verse 3, "and he said to him, 16:37 'What did these men say? 16:39 Where did they come to you from?' 16:41 Hezekiah said, 'They came to me from a far country, 16:43 from Babylon.'" 16:44 Now, a far country in the Bible often means 16:46 it's a symbol for the lost. 16:48 The gibeonites said, "We have come from a far country." 16:51 The prodigal son went to a far country. 16:53 These people were separated from God, 16:56 and he had a chance to witness. 16:58 "He said, 'What have they seen in your house?' 17:03 And Hezekiah answered." 17:04 He still was clueless about what Isaiah is saying. 17:07 So wow, yeah, yeah, he's still just glowing with the 17:08 "Hey, they came to me from Babylon." 17:10 "What did they see in your house? 17:14 He said, "I've shown them all that's in my house. 17:16 There is nothing among all my treasures 17:18 I have not shown them." 17:20 "And Isaiah said, 'Hear the word of the Lord. 17:22 Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house 17:27 that your fathers have accumulated until this day 17:29 will be carried to Babylon. 17:31 Nothing will be left,' says the Lord. 17:33 They'll take away some of your sons who will descend from you." 17:37 Their names were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 17:40 Actually, names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 17:45 "And they will be eunuchs in the palace of Babylon." 17:47 Did that prophecy come true? 17:50 "So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'The word the Lord has spoken is 17:53 good for he said in his heart at least it'll be peace in my day." 17:56 It's going to happen later on. 17:58 It's like he didn't care about what was going to happen 18:00 to his posterity. 18:02 It's kind of like that motorhome, 18:03 that big old motorhome you see going down the road; 18:06 that RV, and it's got the bicycles on the back 18:09 and the satellite dish on the front and it's towing a jeep. 18:12 It's got a bumper sticker it says, 18:14 "I'm spending my children's inheritance." 18:17 Seen that? 18:19 So Hezekiah says, "I don't care what happens to the grandkids. 18:21 At least there's peace in my day." 18:23 So this is a very important lesson because here he had this 18:28 great opportunity to--they come to him to find out about his God 18:32 and instead he didn't show God. 18:36 He tried to show his glory instead of God's glory. 18:39 You know, I heard that one of the great tragedies 18:42 of history--you know, the Protestant church 18:46 is growing the fastest in Catholic countries. 18:49 Did you know that? 18:51 Places like Mexico, the Philippines, South America, 18:53 right now Catholicism is declining, 18:57 the evangelical churches and our churches as well are exploding. 19:03 You know how much--the places we're really struggling 19:06 in are places like Middle East and China. 19:10 Do you know that when Marco Polo went to China with his uncle, 19:15 Nicolo, and his father, Mateo Polo, 19:19 the Kublai Khan was impressed with the Christian religion? 19:24 Marco Polo was--became very good at learning languages, 19:28 and he spoke fluent Mandarin or whatever it was 19:31 the Kublai Khan spoke. 19:33 I don't know if it was some form of Cantonese, 19:35 but he learned the language and he told about the Christian God. 19:40 And the Kublai Khan said, "When you go back and you're 19:44 conducting your trade--next time you go back to your country, 19:46 to Venice," says, "you tell your chief priest, 19:50 the pope, send 100 of his priests to my country 19:53 to teach our people about your God." 19:57 So when the Polos went back to Italy, 20:01 they tried to get an audience with the pope and says, 20:03 "We've just come from this incredibly large empire, 20:05 much bigger than Europe, of China, 20:08 like a wall 1500 miles around, and they have asked for us 20:12 to send 100 priests." 20:15 Well, that was at the moment when there were two popes 20:18 warring with each other about who was the real pope. 20:20 You know, there were a couple of times in Catholic history 20:22 the popes were warring. 20:23 There were two popes that said, "No, I'm the pope." 20:25 The other one said, "I'm the pope." 20:26 They were fighting with each other and they kept said-- 20:28 they said, "We don't have time for that." 20:29 They said, "You've got-- this is the greatest 20:31 missionary opportunity in history. 20:33 Send 100 priests to teach them. 20:35 The whole nation, there's millions of people. 20:37 They will convert." 20:39 And they didn't do it 'cause they were too preoccupied. 20:41 Finally, at the pleading of the Polos, 20:43 they sent two priests. 20:44 One got sick and died along the way, 20:46 the other one turned back, and historians say history 20:49 would have been so different if they had taken this seriously. 20:54 Have we sometimes missed missionary opportunities because 20:57 of what people see in our house? 21:02 You know, you don't hear much about hospitality these days. 21:08 I have a friend. 21:09 He wrote a book on Christians and hospitality, 21:11 and I was convicted when I read it. 21:13 I thought--you know, I'm one of these guys that after church, 21:16 I go home and I want to crawl in my cave and-- 21:21 but the day was when people had a lot more hospitality, 21:27 Christians would bring people to their houses every week. 21:30 I remember in our churches we always had who were the elders 21:35 that took the visitors home. 21:37 When you are in a bigger church, it's a little harder for 21:39 one family to say, "I'm going to take these 20 visitors home." 21:42 But that's why we have some kind of a visitor's potluck every 21:46 week and the elders come here and--but people used to bring 21:49 everyone to their homes. 21:51 Things have changed. 21:55 Some of you, you've heard of Tom Bodett. 21:59 You know, Tom Bodett was famous before he did 22:01 the Motel 6 commercial. 22:03 He was a speaker, a regular speaker in NPR radio, 22:07 and Motel 6 hired him to do a commercial for their motel, 22:12 and this was many years ago. 22:14 It was 1986. 22:16 And so they hired these very expensive marketing executives 22:19 to write a radio script that was supposed to be an exact amount 22:22 of time, and then they gave it to Tom to read the script 22:26 about Motel 6--come to Motel 6. 22:28 Well, Tom was something of an expert on the radio 22:31 'cause he did radio broadcasts with NPR every week, 22:33 and he realized as he was getting to the end 22:35 of the script, he was stopping 3 seconds short. 22:37 Three seconds is an eternity in radio. 22:39 And he thought, "I got to put something else in there." 22:42 And so totally, he ad-libbed: "We'll leave the light 22:46 on for you." 22:48 That wasn't in the script. 22:49 That became the most important advertising campaign, 22:53 one of the most successful advertising campaigns ever 22:55 and it wasn't even invented by the marketing experts. 22:58 That whole idea that our home is your home. 23:03 You know, it's like the farmer coming in from the fields. 23:05 "Honey, I'll leave the light on for. 23:06 Kids coming home late, I'll leave the light on for you." 23:08 It give that feeling of welcome, and he just ad-libbed that 23:12 but it communicated that homey feeling. 23:15 It proved to be very successful. 23:18 Well, is your light on for others to come into your home? 23:24 What have they seen in your house? 23:26 This is a very important part of visiting. 23:30 You know, I had an experience I'm not proud of. 23:33 You may be heard me share this before, 23:35 but some watching Sabbath School maybe did not hear this. 23:41 You know, we have a house up in the hills. 23:44 I'll be taking a little trip up there later this afternoon. 23:47 I haven't been there in a few weeks. 23:49 And been there 40 years-- or had it 40 years and-- 23:54 David and Cindy are here today. 23:57 They built a house. 23:59 They lived up there with us 30 something years ago. 24:02 It's been awhile. 24:04 And house is off the grid, gravity flow waters, 24:07 solar electric. 24:09 Even years later, we put on a little Pelton wheel 24:11 to make electricity from running water, 24:13 and good soil, southern exposure. 24:15 It's nice. 24:19 So one day I had some gas delivered. 24:24 Now, one thing I don't have-- I do use firewood. 24:27 We can heat our water with firewood, 24:28 but we use gas for the refrigerator and for the stove. 24:32 In the summer, it's too hot inside to cook with wood 24:35 so we cook with gas. 24:37 So we have to have propane delivered. 24:39 So one summer, the propane comes up to deliver propane, 24:41 and the young man jumps out and I look at him and I realize 24:45 he's a young man that I know. 24:48 He used to be in my junior Sabbath School class. 24:51 I used to teach him. 24:52 I also knew he had not been going to church for a while, 24:57 and I thought, "Lord, what a providential appointment. 25:01 Here I can talk to him about his soul and how he needs 25:03 to come back. 25:04 He's now a young man and--" But he made a terrible mistake. 25:10 He said, "Doug, I have never been up here. 25:11 This is a nice place. 25:13 Did you design this yourself?" 25:15 Oh, he let the genie out of the bottle, a genie of pride. 25:19 And I said, "Well, matter of fact, yes I did." 25:22 And I said, "You know, I designed it here. 25:24 So it's got--the sun comes in the winter, 25:26 and I got the right angle on the roofs so in the summertime 25:29 you don't get the sun, in the winter you do. 25:31 See the solar panels on the roof? 25:32 Let me show you the electric room." 25:34 And I started showing him. 25:35 It said, "It's gravity flow water," 25:36 and I started talking all about the house. 25:38 And he seemed interested for a little while, 25:41 but sometimes I've discovered I become hypnotized by my own 25:43 voice and people aren't near as interested as I think they are. 25:47 You know, sometimes you think everyone wants to hear 25:49 everything you're thinking and they don't necessarily. 25:51 And then he looked at his watch, he said, 25:53 "Hey, I got to go make another deliver." 25:54 And he hopped in his truck and he drove away. 25:57 And just as I saw the dust billowing behind his truck, 26:01 I heard a little voice say, "What has he seen 26:05 in your house?" 26:07 The Lord sent him to me for me to talk to him about his soul 26:11 and just all of a sudden I realized how proud I was. 26:14 I just started talking about me and my stuff and how smart I am, 26:20 and I've never seen him again and I lost that opportunity. 26:25 I didn't get his contact information or anything. 26:28 Now here's--this leads into this next verse: 2 Chronicles 32. 26:34 "In those Hezekiah--" 26:35 This is 2 Chronicles 32, verse 24. 26:38 "In those days Hezekiah was sick near death, 26:41 and he prayed to the Lord and he spoke to him 26:44 and he gave him a sign." 26:46 Sun went backwards. 26:47 "But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him 26:51 for his heart was lifted up." 26:54 He thought, "Hey, I'm so close to God. 26:56 I pray and there's astronomical changes. 26:59 I'm so close to God." 27:01 He started to think a little too much of himself. 27:04 "His heart was lifted up. 27:05 Therefore, the wrath was looming over him and over Judah and 27:07 Jerusalem, and Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his 27:12 heart and the inhabitants of Jerusalem so the wrath 27:14 of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah." 27:17 That's the same story we're talking about. 27:19 So in our first section here, it's talking about learning 27:22 from the king's mistake. 27:25 When people come to our house, we need to be interested 27:29 in talking to them about them. 27:31 How many of you have heard the phrase FORT, F-O-R-T? 27:35 If you'd like to know how to share your faith in your home 27:37 with people you meet, just--you might want to write this down, 27:40 F-O-R-T. 27:42 FORT: family, occupation, testimony-- 27:47 no, family, occupation, religion, testimony. 27:52 I can't spell either. 27:55 Ask them about their family. 27:56 Whether you go to their house or they come to your house, 27:59 let them talk about them. 28:02 It's so easy for us to talk about ourselves 28:04 when people come over. 28:06 Get to know them. 28:07 Find out about them. 28:09 Then ask about their-- "What do you do?" 28:11 You know, I meet people all the time and--just this week, 28:17 one of our members here, Tony and I were playing racquetball. 28:19 As a matter of fact, yesterday morning, 28:21 and Nathan was with us, and met a new person 28:24 and wanted to get to know them. 28:27 So we said, "So what do you do?" It's a natural segue. 28:30 And then they'll often say, "What do you do?" 28:32 And I said, "Well, I'm a pastor." 28:33 And they said, "What church?" 28:34 And you get a chance to start talking about 28:36 religion almost instantly. 28:37 Then finally, tell your personal testimony. 28:39 So you can say, "So what do you do?" 28:41 And then you say, "Do you go to church somewhere?" 28:47 It used to be everybody went to church in America. 28:49 He says, "What church?" 28:50 Well, now you kind of say, "Do you go to church?" 28:52 And then the last thing you say, "Yeah, 28:54 I'm a Christian also and God's done so much for me," 28:58 and give your testimony. 28:59 And that then creates a segue to talk about spiritual things, 29:02 and this is a great program to follow in your family. 29:07 Go to the next section: family first. 29:10 And someone's going to read for me Acts 1, verse 8, 29:13 in just a moment, and we'll get you ready for that. 29:16 I'm going to read John 1:40 and 42. 29:19 Chapter 1 of John the Gospel, one of the two who heard 29:23 John the Baptist speak, when he said this is 29:25 the Lamb of God, followed him. 29:27 He followed Jesus. 29:29 "He was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 29:31 He first found his own brother Simon and said, 29:34 'We have found the Messiah,'" which is translated Christ, 29:38 "and he brought them to Jesus." 29:40 So as soon as Andrew--Andrew is always bringing people to Jesus. 29:43 You know, it's Andrew who brought the Greeks to Jesus. 29:45 It's Andrew who brings a little boy to Jesus. 29:47 Andrew never preaches a sermon that we know of, 29:50 but Andrew is always trying to bring people to Christ. 29:53 First person he brings is who? A family member. 29:56 That's where it should start. Go ahead. 29:57 Read for us please your verse. 30:00 female: Act 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the 30:03 Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me 30:07 in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria 30:11 and to the end of the earth." 30:14 Doug: Notice that Jesus gave concentric circles to 30:18 the disciples when he told them how they were going to witness. 30:21 He said, "You'll be witnesses for me: Jerusalem, Judea, 30:24 Samaria, and everywhere else, the end of the world." 30:29 This is exactly how they did it. 30:30 Holy Spirit's poured out in Jerusalem. 30:32 That's where they lived. That was their home. 30:34 They started witnessing there and then it expanded 30:38 and it went on to Judea and then it went on to the half Jews, 30:43 the Samaritans, and then, to the ends of the world. 30:46 You know, that's how it happened in Acts. 30:48 Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, then the Holy Spirit in Judea, 30:51 then the Holy Spirit fell in Samaria, 30:53 then the disciples in chapter 8 were scattered everywhere 30:56 preaching the gospel. 30:57 So, the very thing Jesus said would happen, 30:59 is how you read it unfolding in the Book of Acts, 31:02 but it starts at home. 31:04 You want to be able to start doing evangelism. 31:06 You know, sometimes in doing our AFCO training, 31:09 people come to our program and they say, 31:11 "Why are you taking the training?" 31:14 "I want to go to the foreign mission field. 31:15 I want to be a missionary." 31:17 I said, "That's wonderful. 31:18 The Lord's put that on your heart." 31:19 Said, "How many people have you lead to the Lord at home?" 31:23 "Well, I haven't. 31:24 Yeah, it'll be much easier to go talk to them pagans out there 31:28 and primitive countries and--" 31:29 "So wait a second. 31:31 You haven't led any of your family to the Lord? 31:34 You're not leading anyone in your neighborhood 31:36 or where you work to the Lord?" 31:38 You don't want to go overseas. 31:41 First, you want to start at home and see, 31:42 "Can I lead someone here locally?" 31:44 If you can't reach anybody locally, 31:46 why do you think it's going to be easier when you go 31:48 to a foreign country you can't speak the language? 31:51 And so good evangelism is going to begin right there 31:55 in the home. 31:56 By the way, where is it the hardest? 31:59 It's in the home. 32:01 Jesus said a prophet is not without honor except where? 32:04 At home. 32:06 The hardest people for me to reach was my family 32:08 because they knew my past before I came to Christ. 32:11 When I said, "I found the truth." 32:12 They said, "Oh man, you've tried all these different religions. 32:14 This is just another one, Doug." 32:16 It took a few years for them to say, 32:18 "It looks like you're serious about this Christianity stuff." 32:21 Because I've been hopping from, you know, 32:23 Buddhism to yoga to meditation, and just all 32:25 these different things. 32:26 They said, "Yeah, yeah, I don't--" 32:28 So hard to reach your family sometimes. 32:31 Luke 8:39. 32:33 After Jesus saved the demoniac, he said, 32:36 "I want to go with you, Jesus." Jesus said, "No. 32:39 Return to your own house and tell what great things God 32:43 has done for you." 32:44 Jesus said, "Go to your house." What did he do? 32:47 "He went his way and he proclaimed through 32:48 the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him." 32:51 But where did Jesus tell him to start? 32:54 Jesus blessed his efforts. He was sincere. 32:56 But he said, "Go home. Tell those in your home." 32:59 And telling those in your home doesn't mean you go shake them 33:01 by the throat and say, "You need to believe." 33:04 It means witnessing in your home, 33:07 and you want to be a consistent witness. 33:10 1 Timothy 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his own," 33:14 meaning his own family, "and especially those 33:16 of his household, he's denied the faith and is worse than 33:19 an unbeliever." 33:20 So here's a principle. 33:22 When it comes to providing financially--Bible says 33:24 if you're not providing for your own family, 33:26 speaking of a working man, you're worse than an infidel. 33:29 What's more important, providing for your own family 33:31 financially or spiritually? 33:34 The first priority would be-- well, you want to make sure 33:36 they're fed, but make sure they're fed spiritually. 33:40 Deuteronomy 6, after he makes that wonderful statement, 33:45 "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. 33:47 Thy shall love the Lord with all your heart, 33:48 mind, soul, and strength." 33:49 He then says, "And these words that I command you today--" 33:52 This is the Ten Commandments you find in Deuteronomy 5. 33:56 "These words I command you today shall be in your heart. 33:58 You shall teach them diligently to your children. 34:01 You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, 34:04 when you walk by the way, when you lie down, 34:08 when you rise up." 34:09 That means, do you have evening worship? 34:12 Last night before we went to sleep-- 34:14 well, when the Sabbath started in our family, 34:16 we only got one of our offspring at home for the summer: Nathan. 34:19 So we have family worship, have a Sabbath worship. 34:22 Woke up this morning, we kneel together, we pray. 34:25 Don't have time Sabbath morning for a while--a long study 34:27 'cause everyone's kinda running hither and thither. 34:28 But you always take your time and you spend time 34:31 with the Lord. 34:32 But it's not just when you're, you know, 34:35 having your formal worship. 34:36 When you walk by the way, put the word on the doors 34:40 of your house, on your gates so that it's surrounding 34:44 all you do in your family. 34:46 This is--let him see it in your house. 34:50 Ruth chapter 1, verse 14. 34:54 Because of the witness of Naomi in the home, 34:57 it especially impressed her daughter-in-law. 35:01 Says, "Then they lifted up their voices again and wept, 35:04 and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, 35:06 but Ruth clanged to her. 35:08 She said, 'Look, your sister-in-law has gone back 35:10 to her people and her gods.'" 35:12 In other words, Orpah-- was about to say Oprah. 35:15 Orpah at one time had worshiped Jehovah, 35:21 but now she said she's going back to her gods. 35:23 "Return after your sister-in-law. 35:26 But Ruth said, 'Entreat me not to leave you or to turn back 35:30 from following after you. 35:31 For wherever you go, I will go. 35:33 Wherever you lodge, I will lodge. 35:34 Your people will be my people. 35:36 Your God, my God. 35:38 Where you die, there will I die and I will be buried. 35:40 The Lord do so to me and more also of anything, 35:43 but death parts you and me." 35:45 There's hardly a more poignant declaration of loyalty 35:50 in the Bible. 35:51 I sometimes use this when I do weddings, 35:54 of what Ruth said to Naomi. 35:57 Why did she say that? 35:59 She had seen God in Naomi's heart, 36:03 and she saw it was so different from the gods of the Moabites. 36:06 She says, "No, I'm staying with you. 36:07 Your God is my God." 36:09 Because she saw her live it out in the home. 36:11 Wasn't because she had all the blessings because here she lost 36:15 her husband and two sons in the time that Ruth knew her. 36:19 But she saw how Naomi dealt with all that through trusting God, 36:22 and she said, "I'm sticking with you." 36:25 And because of that, she ended up becoming a mother in Israel. 36:27 Now, somebody has got for me 1 Peter 2, verse-- 36:33 1 Peter 3, rather, verse 1 and 2. 36:36 Dan, I think we're ready for that now. 36:38 So you go ahead. 36:39 male: "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your 36:41 own husbands that even if some do not obey the Word, 36:45 they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives 36:49 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear." 36:54 Doug: All right, thank you. 36:55 Now, Peter is talking here about a situation where 36:57 you got a believer married to a non-believer. 36:58 Let's hope that's because one was converted. 37:02 We know there are cases where-- even though we've been 37:05 counseled very clearly in the Word believers should not marry 37:08 unbelievers, sometimes they still do it anyway and then 37:12 they repent later and they say, "I've got to bring my spouse, 37:16 wife, or husband to the Lord." 37:18 And what's the best way of doing that? 37:21 Being a witness by your behavior. 37:24 It says conversation in the King James Version. 37:26 By their conversation. 37:28 It would certainly include your words, 37:30 but the most important thing is your conduct. 37:32 It means as they behold your godly conduct, 37:36 your love--and I'll tell you, if anybody is going to know 37:39 that you've got flaws and warts, it's going to be your spouse. 37:47 Being a consistent, loving, patient Christian that does not 37:51 get irritated, that does not retort and be sarcastic, 37:56 and to be loving and kind in the family, 37:59 that is the biggest challenge. 38:02 And boy, if you can do that there, it'll win their hearts. 38:05 You've probably heard me share this story before. 38:07 It's one of the old evangelism stories about this-- 38:10 a woman that was married to just an ordinary man. 38:13 She had converted to Christ after their wedding, 38:16 and he ended up turning to drink and he was often coming home 38:20 drunk and he'd bring his friends home and he'd wake up 38:22 his wife and say, "Cook me something. 38:24 I got some friends. You got anything to eat?" 38:26 Just very rude. 38:27 His friends banging around in the house making noise, 38:29 waking her up, and she was always so kind and so patient. 38:33 I'm not saying you should have to put up 38:34 with that kind of abuse, but she did. 38:37 And one night after he had brought his friends over and 38:40 she cooked them something to eat and they had been misbehaving 38:43 and they all left, he began to cry. 38:46 He realized how mean he was being to his wife. 38:49 And she came over and she put her hand on his shoulder, 38:53 and he says, "How come you're so good to me?" 38:55 Says, "I am so rude and I'm so inconsiderate. 38:57 I'm so unkind to you and you are so good and patient and loving. 39:02 You put up with such bad behaviors." 39:03 He says, "Why are you so good to me?" 39:06 And she said, "Honey," she said, "I found Jesus 39:09 and I have everlasting life." 39:11 She says, "I'm going to have a new body and live in a world 39:13 and he's prepared a mansion for me, 39:15 and I'm going to be happy forever." 39:18 She said, "The only happiness you're going to have 39:19 is this life. 39:20 I feel sorry for you so I'm just trying to make you as happy 39:23 as I can." 39:25 And that broke his heart, and he was converted. 39:28 So it doesn't always happen that way, 39:31 but one of the best ways you can reach people, 39:34 if you're in a divided home, is by your behavior. 39:37 And you really need to pray for extra grace to make that happen, 39:40 amen? 39:42 Paul says, "Now, what if you are married to an unbeliever?" 39:45 Now, when Paul writes this, keep in mind he's talking-- 39:49 the gospel had taken off like wildfire among the Gentiles. 39:53 Greeks everywhere were accepting Christ, 39:55 but sometimes just one member of the family, 39:57 maybe just the husband or just the wife. 39:59 So he's not talking about people who chose to be unequally 40:01 married, he's talking about people who are pagans: 40:03 one of them accepted the Lord, the spouse has not. 40:07 And so this is what he's talking about here in 1 Corinthians 7, 40:10 verse 12. 40:12 "To the rest, I say, not the Lord, 40:15 'If any brother has a wife that does not believe 40:18 and she's willing to live with him, let her not-- 40:21 let him not divorce her. 40:22 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, 40:25 if he's willing to live with her, 40:26 let her not divorce him. 40:28 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, 40:32 and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. 40:35 Otherwise, your children would be unclean.'" 40:38 This is a very important theological point here, 40:40 that there's a sanctified influence 40:43 of the believing parent on the children. 40:46 And Paul is also saying the children are an additional 40:50 reason for married people to stay married, 40:54 and you're setting an example for them there. 41:00 But he goes on to say, "But now they're holy. 41:04 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. 41:07 A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. 41:11 God has called us to peace." 41:12 So this is one of the few exceptions for divorce, 41:15 that if you got two people that are pagans, 41:17 not talking about Christians-- two people that are pagans, 41:19 one accepts the Lord, the unbeliever says, 41:22 "I didn't sign up for that. 41:24 I worship Mercury and Jupiter. I'm leaving." 41:27 And this young woman now is abandoned and maybe 41:31 she has children. 41:32 Is she now never allowed to remarry again? 41:35 The Bible says--Paul says here, this would be a case 41:37 where she would be allowed to remarry again. 41:39 Says, "You're not under bondage in such cases." 41:42 But--so you'd be a witness in your family 41:44 to your unbelieving spouse. 41:46 Look in Ephesians 5:22. 41:51 "Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord 41:55 for the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is 41:57 the head of the church, and he is Savior of the body. 42:00 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, 42:02 so let the wives be to their own husbands and everything. 42:06 Husbands, love your wives as Christ also love the church 42:09 and gave himself for you--for her." 42:12 So he's talking about, there needs to be love. 42:15 There needs to be submission in the family, 42:18 and you melt the other person's heart by the behavior. 42:22 All right, and then there's--the next section talks about family 42:25 life is for sharing, and here we go to 1 Corinthians 4:16 and 17. 42:31 By your example, you mirror Christ in the family, 42:36 to visitors and to the actual other members of the family. 42:40 1 Corinthians 4:16 and 17, "Therefore I urge you, 42:44 imitate me. 42:46 And for this reason, I've sent Timothy to you, 42:48 who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, 42:50 who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere 42:54 in every church." 42:56 So there should be a modeling of Christ in the family. 43:00 Ephesians 5:1, "Therefore, be imitators of God 43:04 as dear children." 43:06 And so we want to model God's behavior in our family. 43:10 1 Thessalonians 1:16, "And you became followers of us 43:14 and of the Lord, having received the Word in much affliction, 43:19 with joy of the Holy Spirit." 43:21 And then one more here in Hebrews 6, verse 12. 43:25 "That you do not become sluggish, 43:27 but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit 43:30 the promise." 43:32 You all know what bonding is in animals? 43:37 You have--they found it in fish, they found it in birds, 43:42 and they find it even in mammals. 43:47 I remember when I was a kid, I was playing soccer 43:50 in Central Park. 43:51 I actually kicked the soccer ball up against the window 43:54 of the Natural Museum of Natural History. 43:56 It didn't hurt the window 'cause there were iron bars. 43:59 But I went to get my ball and I found--this cat ran out from 44:04 the metal bars of the window and I looked down and I realized, 44:08 "Oh, she had some kittens." 44:10 You know, there's feral cats all over New York City. 44:11 They also have feral rats, too. 44:14 But I thought, "Wow,--" 44:17 I looked in and saw these little bitty kittens. 44:20 They weren't that big. 44:21 And I went to pick one up and it's spat at me 44:24 and it wanted to kill me. 44:26 Now, it couldn't do much, but it scared me. 44:28 You ever seen that little bitty cat? 44:29 It was just old enough where it knew that I was not its mother, 44:34 and it was wild. 44:38 I couldn't take it home. 44:40 Then, again, I've been there when baby kittens are born 44:43 and they're used to a human being around the mother 44:46 and petting the mother. 44:47 You can pick them right up and they figured, 44:49 "Okay with mom, okay with me." 44:51 That kind of bond, they become used to it. 44:54 With ducks, do you know if-- when the duck hatches, 44:59 if the mama duck is not there but the family dog is there, 45:02 if that dog is lying by the baby ducks, 45:04 when that dog gets up, the ducks will follow the dog. 45:07 How many of you have seen this? 45:10 They bond, and people have a little bit of that inside us. 45:15 Every human being has a little photographic plate, 45:18 for lack of a better word, inside our minds and we sort 45:22 of become like what we behold. 45:24 We are changed by beholding. 45:26 And so as we model Christ in our families--it's especially 45:29 sensitive when they're children, but even for older people-- 45:32 when I first became a Christian, I had no idea how a Christian 45:35 was supposed to act, but a pastor and his wife took me 45:39 into their home and they modeled Christianity. 45:42 I said, "I don't know. How do you keep the Sabbath? 45:44 What does Sabbath keeping look like?" 45:46 I saw how they did it. 45:47 "What does family worship look like?" 45:49 I saw how they did it. 45:51 "How are you supposed to talk to a husband and wife?" 45:53 I saw how they treated each other. 45:54 They're just so kind. 45:56 One time he was carrying a long pile of lumber, 45:59 Pastor Phillips. 46:00 He was like 80 something years old. 46:02 He had a long piece of lumber and his wife was 46:04 in the driveway. 46:05 When he turned around just like a vaudeville thing, 46:07 he hit her in the head with a board. 46:10 She said, "Joe." He clobbered her. 46:12 And he said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, dear." 46:14 She said, "It's okay." And they were so nice. 46:16 I thought, in most families, they would be screaming 46:18 and cursing each other after something like this. 46:20 But--so I saw how they modeled it. 46:23 And people--even when you're older, 46:26 by beholding people, modeling Christianity, 46:29 you become changed. 46:30 So you want to do that in your family. 46:32 If you have not been doing it, it's not too late to change. 46:35 Amen? 46:36 You get the Holy Spirit, all things are possible. 46:39 Someone's going to read for me Isaiah 58. 46:42 Our families should be centers of contagious friendliness. 46:46 Okay, you have that? 46:49 female: "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose 46:52 the bond of the wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, 46:57 to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? 47:01 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, 47:04 and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; 47:08 when you see the naked, that you cover him, 47:10 and to hide yourself from your own flesh?" 47:14 Doug: So what does he say? 47:16 What Isaiah is saying is one of the most important fasts. 47:19 You bring people into your homes, 47:22 that you bring to your home the poor who are cast out. 47:24 Jesus said, "When you have a feast, 47:26 don't invite your friends." 47:27 Bring them in your home. 47:28 Now, that doesn't mean that you need to all go get a van and 47:30 drive around the neighborhood and bring 47:31 all the homeless to your home. 47:33 Blessed are the poor in what? Spirit. 47:37 God especially wants us to bring people into our home that are-- 47:39 have spiritual poverty. 47:40 They don't know the Lord. Study with them. 47:44 1 Peter 4:19, "Be hospitable to one another without grumbling." 47:49 You know one reason we don't have so much hospitality today? 47:53 Hotel chains everywhere. 47:55 People travel, they don't stay in homes anymore. 47:57 They stay in hotels. 47:59 I know. Bonnie's here. 48:01 When the Heritage singers first started going on the road, 48:03 they stayed--you would arrange houses for them to stay 48:06 and they stayed in people's homes. 48:07 Last few years, it was all hotels. 48:09 Things started changing. 48:11 You remember when pastors would come to a town and do a meeting? 48:13 It's, "What family would they stay with?" 48:16 But now it's, "What hotel will they stay in?" 48:19 Now, people communicate digitally. 48:22 People used to go to homes and talk. 48:24 They talk on the phone. 48:25 Singing. 48:27 You wanted to sing with a group? You went to home and you'd sing. 48:29 Now, you just press the button on your iPod or whatever 48:32 and you get the music that way. 48:35 Relationships used to be you interact with people. 48:38 Now, you turn on television and you watch other people relate. 48:42 People are so absorbed now in their personal comfort 48:44 and convenience. 48:46 The idea that a stranger would invade our homes kind of puts us 48:49 all out, but what does the Bible say about hospitality? 48:52 "Speaking of someone who qualifies as a bishop, 48:56 sober-minded, good behavior, hospitable, able to teach." 49:02 Titus chapter 1, verse 7 and 8, "But a bishop must be blameless 49:06 as a steward of God, not self-willed but hospitable, 49:10 a lover of what is good." 49:12 Romans 12, verse 9, "Be kindly affectionate one to another 49:16 with brotherly love, distributing to the needs 49:19 of the saints given to hospitality." 49:22 Was Lot hospitable with the angels? 49:26 Ended up saving them. 49:27 What about Rehab with the spies? 49:29 Did Jethro take in Moses? 49:32 And Moses got a wife out of the deal. 49:35 And those of you who are singles, 49:39 Elijah stayed with a widow and she had a baby 49:42 and a resurrection. 49:44 She invited him to her upper room. 49:46 Jesus was invited to Peter's house and he healed 49:49 Peter's mother-in-law. 49:52 And you got Zacchaeus. 49:55 Jesus said, "And I want to abide in your house." 49:56 Martha and Lazarus invited Jesus. 49:58 A lot of hospitality in the Bible. 49:59 We're just out of time. 50:01 Let me remind you of what our free offer is today. 50:04 Friends, if you've joined us a little late, 50:06 you missed this at the beginning, 50:07 it's called "Compromise, Conformity & Courage." 50:09 Talk to us about how to live in the last days. 50:11 If you'd like a free copy, all you need to do is call, 50:15 800-866-788-3966. 50:19 That's 866-STUDY-MORE. 50:21 Ask for offer number 774. 50:23 You can also get this--you can text and download it. 50:25 Just text "SH019" to 40544 and you can read that online. 50:34 God bless you till we study his Word together again next week. 50:38 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 50:40 free resource. 50:42 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 50:44 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 50:46 or mobile device. 50:48 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 50:50 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit 50:55 the web address shown on your screen and be sure to select 50:58 that digital download option on the request page. 51:01 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 51:04 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 51:07 and most important to share it with others. 51:14 announcer: Amazing Facts changed lives. 51:22 Gary: Early 1980s, all the baby boomers were turning 21 51:24 and the nightclubs seemed to exploding and I thought 51:28 of the entertainment lighting company. 51:30 female: I was the president. 51:31 There were six divisions doing the raves in the '80s and '90s, 51:35 you know, in some warehouse where you're setting up lighting 51:37 and fog and, you know, who knows what's going on 51:40 in there and nightclub installations. 51:43 I loved it, and it was who I was. 51:46 Gary: Bought a new house out of town and we moved about two 51:49 or three times, but we were all going into different churches. 51:53 We're in a Lutheran Church and then we're at a Methodist Church 51:55 and I think we went three different Baptist churches. 51:58 My wife was raised Catholic. 52:00 I was raised Methodist. 52:01 Currently, I've been reading all the Hal Lindsay books 52:03 and watching all the "Left Behind" movies. 52:05 And so I really wanted to understand what 52:07 the Book of Revelation was all about, 52:09 but nothing really ever made sense to me. 52:11 female: One day, Pastor Lloyd Logan 52:13 came knocking and he had that Net 99 flyer. 52:16 Lloyd Logan: We were preparing for an evangelistic series, 52:21 and different people were going different directions. 52:24 I was in Hidden Hills to invite people to the meetings. 52:28 female: I saw that coming at me, you know, 52:30 all the colors and I thought, 52:31 "Oh, no, this is some kind of cop thing." 52:33 Lloyd: And she says, "Thank you very much. 52:35 I'm not much interested myself. 52:37 Well, my husband likes that kind of thing." 52:40 female: And Lloyd said, 52:41 "Would you give it to him, please?" 52:43 And I said, "Okay, I will." 52:45 So I took the pamphlet and I put it on the counter. 52:48 Gary came home and he walked by it. 52:51 Gary: Ran to the kitchen, quickly eat and take a shower, 52:53 and go back out and work a show. 52:55 female: Two, three days went by like this and I moved 52:57 that brochure from the counter, put it on the dining room table, 53:03 put it back on the counter, and I actually threw it 53:05 in the garbage. 53:06 As I threw it in that garbage can, 53:08 I could hear him and see his face saying, 53:11 "Would you give it to him, please?" 53:13 And I actually took the garbage out. 53:15 And that night lying in bed, I kept seeing his face 53:18 and hearing his voice and thinking, "Boy, I got to get 53:21 that brochure out of the garbage." 53:24 And I took that and I put it right underneath 53:27 the remote control. 53:29 "Bright colors. He'll see it." 53:30 Gary: I finally sat down in my living room and I picked up 53:32 the remote and I saw that angel holding out that scroll. 53:35 female: "Whoa, cool. What is this?" 53:38 And I was in the kitchen cooking and I thought, "Oh, no." 53:42 Gary: And I looked at it and I turned it over and then 53:45 I saw a little building-- a little church building, 53:47 and it wasn't too far away. 53:48 It was about six houses down, and I said, "Friday night." 53:52 female: And I certainly wasn't going. 53:54 I mean, it wasn't my intention to go. 53:56 Gary: I didn't have any shows going on that night. 53:58 And so I thought it was a one night deal. 54:00 I went and as I heard about the Millennium man, 54:03 I was just blown away. 54:05 I didn't want it to end. 54:06 I knew what I was hearing was all from the Scripture, 54:09 and it wasn't based on Hollywood movies or other books 54:11 that were written. 54:13 They said, "Come again tomorrow night." 54:14 And I thought, "Wow, great. Two nights." 54:17 So I tried to tell my wife about it and she still 54:19 wasn't interested, and then she decided to come. 54:22 female: I started to hear the truth, you know, 54:24 and I started to get fed. 54:26 Gary: Every night after the seminar, 54:27 they would hand us an Amazing Facts study guide. 54:30 I couldn't get those fast enough. 54:31 female: The business kept us going 7 days a week 54:35 and it was night and day. 54:36 Gary: Crew is working around the clock. 54:38 And so, when we finally heard the Sabbath message, you know, 54:41 so far everything was true right from the Bible. 54:43 female: Church on Saturday, no work? 54:46 Anyway, it all clicked. 54:48 Gary: Both our heads turned at each other. 54:49 Our jaws dropped open. 54:51 female: I said, "We can't do that." 54:54 Gary: And the first thing that came out of my mouth was, 54:56 "We have to." 54:57 female: I knew that it would be a sacrifice 55:00 and I was in fear about it. 55:02 Gary: We didn't know how we were going to do it, 55:05 but we talked to the pastor about it and the pastor said, 55:08 "We'll just pray about it and God will open doors." 55:11 female: I didn't want to give up all the connections 55:12 I've made, all the networking, all the money, 55:15 all the investment. 55:17 Gary: We went to the board and asked them if 55:18 they would consider closing on Saturday, and they agreed to. 55:22 So we closed the storefront on Saturday, 55:24 but we're still doing productions and that kind 55:26 of bothered us. 55:27 So a couple months later, God opened the door for my wife. 55:31 She exited the company. 55:32 I prayed about it, and God opened the door for me too. 55:35 female: Gary shortly after was offered a job being paid 55:39 more money than he made as an owner of the company. 55:43 Gary: He said, "I'll give you $1,000 raise 55:46 and you will never work another weekend." 55:48 female: And we were able to keep the Sabbath and enjoy 55:52 the wonderful blessings that God had for us on the Sabbath day. 55:56 Gary: My kids never again had to say, 55:58 "Quit talking about work." 55:59 After the seminar was over, my wife and I and my children were 56:02 all baptized into the Seventh Day Adventist Church. 56:05 Even if I gave up everything, I knew that God 56:07 would have something better. 56:09 female: I have much more understanding and there's 56:12 much more depth in my Christian walk with the Lord. 56:16 Gary: We started an Amazing Fact Bible School at our church. 56:19 It allows anybody to understand the Scriptures, 56:22 to understand the end times. 56:23 Church changed my life dramatically, 56:25 and I'm very happy and excited to be a part of it. 56:36 announcer: Let's face it. 56:37 It's not always easy to understand everything 56:39 you read in the Bible. 56:41 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 56:45 the Bible can generate a lot of questions. 56:47 To get biblical straightforward answers, 56:49 call into Bible Answers Live, a live nationwide calling radio 56:53 program where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor 56:56 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 56:59 For times and stations in your area or to listen 57:02 to answers online, visit bal.amazingfacts.org. 57:09 announcer: Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible study? 57:11 You don't have to wait until next week to enjoy 57:14 more truth-filled programming. 57:16 Visit the Amazing Facts media library at aftv.org. 57:21 At aftv.org, you can enjoy video and audio presentations 57:25 as well as printed materials all free of charge, 57:29 24 hours a day, 7 days a week right from your computer 57:33 or mobile device. 57:34 Visit aftv.org. 57:39 announcer: Did you know that Noah was present 57:41 at the birth of Abraham? 57:43 Okay, maybe he wasn't in the room, 57:45 but he was alive and probably telling stories 57:47 about his floating zoo. 57:50 From the creation of the world to the last day of events 57:52 of Revelation, biblehistory.com is a free resource where 57:56 you can explore major Bible events and characters, 58:00 enhance your knowledge of the Bible, 58:02 and draw closer to God's Word. 58:04 Go deeper. 58:05 Visit the amazing Bible timeline at biblehistory.com. |
Revised 2019-06-10