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00:00 ♪♪♪ 00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:21 ♪♪♪ 00:31 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Shawn Brummund: Hello, and welcome to another edition 00:37 of the "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:38 We are just so glad that you have decided to join us 00:41 here on this particular program. 00:43 And I trust, and know, and confident that you are going to 00:46 be enriched and spiritually enlightened as we continue on 00:49 with this particular topic that, in fact, we're not continuing 00:53 on, but we're actually looking at it for the very first time 00:56 because today we're starting a new quarterly. 00:58 And this particular quarterly is entitled The Least Of These: 01:02 Ministering To Those In Need. 01:04 "The Least Of These: Ministering To Those In Need." 01:07 And so, I look forward to being able to look at our first 01:10 opening study on that as we look at our lesson study. 01:15 We are just so glad that everybody is watching that 01:16 is watching online, across the nation, across the world, 01:19 as those who are also watching on television. 01:22 We're also happy to always have our local Seventh Day Adventist 01:25 congregation here in the Granite Bay Church 01:28 in the Greater Sacramento area. 01:30 And so, welcome to everybody locally in the church family, 01:33 as well as the many visitors that join us 01:35 from week to week as well. 01:37 And so, we want to give a special welcome to you as well. 01:42 Now, if you don't have this particular quarterly, and you'd 01:44 like to get your hands on it or like to read it ahead of time, 01:46 as many people do, and get the most you can or even review it 01:50 after we have studied it in this particular program, then you can 01:54 actually go to a website and find a free digital download 01:59 copy of this particular lesson study and quarterly. 02:03 And you just simply go to lesson.aftv.org. 02:07 Again, that's lesson.aftv.org. 02:12 Go ahead and take advantage of that. 02:14 The other thing that I want to encourage you to take advantage 02:16 of is a free offer that we always have each and every 02:18 program and today, this particular offer is a DVD. 02:23 And so, this free offer is entitled, 02:26 "Evolution: Creation And Logic." 02:28 And this DVD is by Pastor Doug Batchelor, our senior pastor. 02:32 And you just simply need to dial 1-866-788-3966 02:39 and ask for offered number 870. 02:42 Again, that's 1-866-788-3966 and ask for offer 870. 02:50 Now, if you want a free digital download copy of that, we also 02:53 have that available for your phone and you just need 02:55 to simply dial or text to the number 40544, 03:01 and you want to text the code SH127. 03:06 So, go ahead and take advantage of that free offer and you can 03:09 go ahead and learn more about evolution, creation, and logic. 03:13 Now, before we open it with prayer and introduce our teacher 03:15 here today, I want to invite our singers out 03:17 as they are going to sing a song for us. 03:20 ♪♪♪ 03:22 ♪ I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. ♪ 03:28 ♪ I'd rather be His than have riches untold. ♪ 03:35 ♪ I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land. ♪ 03:43 ♪ I'd rather be led by His nail pierced hands, ♪ 03:50 ♪ Than to be the king of a vast domain ♪ 03:57 ♪ or beheld in sin's dread sway. ♪ 04:05 ♪ I'd rather have Jesus than anything ♪ 04:12 ♪ this world affords today. ♪ 04:20 ♪ I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause. ♪ 04:27 ♪ I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause. ♪ 04:35 ♪ I'd rather have Jesus than world wide fame. ♪ 04:42 ♪ I'd rather be true to His holy name, ♪ 04:50 ♪ Than to be the king of a vast domain ♪ 04:57 ♪ or beheld in sin's dread sway. ♪ 05:05 ♪ I'd rather have Jesus than anything ♪ 05:13 ♪ this world affords today. ♪♪ 05:22 female: Thank you for singing with us. 05:27 Shawn: Thank you for that song. 05:29 Today is a extra privilege for me to be able to stand up before 05:32 you today because we are, have we have a new pastor that has 05:37 been added to the pastoral staff here in the Granite Bay Church. 05:41 And we are just so thrilled to be able to have him, 05:43 not only in our pastoral staff, but also to be able 05:46 to teach our Sabbath School lesson today. 05:48 Now, he is our youth pastor. 05:50 He originally comes from Brazil, but he has been pastoring 05:53 for the last year or so in the state of Texas. 05:56 And so, we are glad that the Lord has led in such a way 05:59 that he has come to join us here in our church family. 06:03 So, Pastor Luccas Rador is going to be our teacher 06:06 but before he comes up, I want to invite everyone to join us 06:08 as we ask the Lord to bless us in prayer. 06:11 Father in heaven, this morning, we are thankful to be able to 06:13 come together and to be able to worship you. 06:16 We thank you so much for your Word. 06:17 We thank you for the gospel. 06:19 We thank you for your Son Jesus. 06:22 We thank you for giving us this day, an extra special day 06:25 that you made extra special, as your Genesis record tells us, 06:28 from the very beginning of human history. 06:31 On that day when you first rested, and you blessed it, 06:35 and you sanctified this special Sabbath day. 06:38 Lord God, we want to pray that you will bless this lesson, 06:41 and that you will guide us with your Holy Spirit. 06:43 Want to pray that you will anoint Pastor Luccas 06:46 in a very special way with your Spirit. 06:48 Be with his heart, his mouth as he speaks to us these great 06:51 truths that you have given to us from your Word. 06:54 In Jesus's name, we pray these things, God, amen. 06:58 Pastor Luccas, thank you. 07:04 Luccas Rador: Thank you, Pastor Shawn. 07:05 It's a privilege to be here and to be able to partake 07:09 of this moment with you all. 07:11 I'm very excited about this new lesson. 07:13 I hope that you are too. 07:17 This is a very appropriate lesson. 07:20 When we talk about the ministry of service, the ministry of 07:23 healing, the ministry of ministering to people around us, 07:27 there's a lot to be said and there's a lot to be done. 07:30 Actually, that's one of the dangers of this topic 07:34 is that we tend to speak more than we do. 07:38 Now, that being said, and before we get into the lesson 07:40 of this week, 07:42 I'd like to say something about this, this topic. 07:45 We live today in a world of activism, 07:49 you realize that, right? 07:50 We live today in a world of activism. 07:53 There are charities everywhere. 07:55 There are nonprofit groups everywhere. 07:57 There are a lot of people that do a lot of good, and it becomes 08:02 very easy, if you allow it, it becomes very easy to get carried 08:06 away just in the, in this activist part of the whole, 08:10 of the whole ordeal. 08:11 We hear about it a lot. 08:13 I remember back in Brazil, we had many ministries of outreach 08:15 programs and, you know, missionary outreach moments 08:21 with different kinds of people in different places. 08:23 And I remember that many of the youth at my church, 08:26 they would get so carried away with the activist part, 08:29 that they would often forget why they were doing it, 08:32 why they were ministering to other people. 08:35 If you remember the story of the rich young man, 08:38 this appears in three of the gospels, 08:40 in the gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 08:42 You'll find that story of the rich young ruler, 08:44 and he approaches Jesus and he asks Jesus, "Lord," 08:49 you remember his question. 08:50 "Lord, what must I do to be saved?" 08:54 Now, that's a very interesting question to ask Jesus 08:57 because this man, he was Jewish, he was very prominent in his, 09:02 you know, circle of influence, and for him to come to Jesus 09:05 and say, "Lord, what must I do to be saved?" 09:08 What does that tell us? That he didn't feel saved. 09:11 He felt out of the scope of salvation. 09:14 And so, Jesus, He comes to him and says, 09:16 "Well, you know the law. You know the law. 09:20 Do what's right." 09:21 And then Jesus goes on to list many of the latter part of the 09:24 Ten Commandments, the last six commandments. 09:27 Don't kill, don't steal, don't cheat, 09:29 and Jesus tells him all these things. 09:32 And then what is his answer to Jesus? 09:34 "Master, all these and more I have done." 09:38 Do you see that when you--when we talk about these, 09:41 these commandments, truly what we're talking about 09:44 is doing good one to another. 09:47 It's a type of missionary outreach when we don't kill, 09:50 when we promote fidelity and marriage and all these things, 09:53 they have to do with the relational aspect of us 09:56 with our neighbor. 09:57 That's what the Bible calls them, our neighbor. 09:59 So here, this young man, he has a crisis in his life because, 10:02 well, he doesn't feel saved, 10:03 even though he's doing all these things. 10:05 So, it's quite dangerous when we are activists, 10:09 but for the wrong reason. 10:10 And that is what this whole lesson is about. 10:13 The whole lesson this quarter is how we should live in relation 10:21 to God, how we should live in relation to our neighbor, 10:23 and how we should live in relation to ourselves. 10:26 That's the lost sum dove, do you remember that? 10:29 When they asked Jesus, what is the most important law? 10:31 He quotes, He summarizes the Ten Commandments and says, 10:34 "Love the Lord your God above everything else, 10:37 love the Lord your God with all your heart, 10:38 with all your soul, and with all your mind. 10:40 And love your neighbor as you love yourself." 10:44 So, there's God, there's the neighbor, and there's yourself. 10:48 The whole lesson this quarter, and we'll be looking at this. 10:51 It'll be talking about this general idea. 10:55 When we read, when we read Acts chapter 17, verse 28, it tells 11:01 us that, "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; 11:06 as also of your own poets have said, 11:08 For we are also His offspring." 11:10 You see, God is a relational being. 11:12 God is a relational being, there's no doubt of this. 11:15 God, He is a God of relationships. 11:18 When you see God in the Bible, 11:20 you see Him as a God of relationships. 11:21 From eternity past, God was relating 11:25 within the Godhead to Himself. 11:28 Truly the question, a question that I used to ask myself 11:30 when I was a child was, well, what did God do 11:33 before He created the first thing? 11:36 Ever ask yourself that? 11:38 What did God do before He created the first thing? 11:41 Because think about it, God is the only eternal being in the 11:44 universe, so there must have been a point where God created 11:47 the first creation or creature. 11:50 What did He do before that? 11:52 Now, we're not going to answer that question here. 11:55 I'm not even going to try. I don't think I'd get anywhere. 11:59 That's a question best left for heaven. 12:01 But the fact is that God, in eternity past, He was perfect, 12:06 has always been perfect, and He lived 12:08 in a perfect relationship with Himself. 12:12 But at one point, God decides to share this relationship 12:16 and to create, start creating. 12:18 And God started creating. 12:19 He started making things. 12:21 Now, you know, there's a principle in physics that says 12:25 that you don't--we don't create anything. 12:28 Humans don't create anything, we transform. 12:30 Ever heard that? 12:32 We don't create, we transform. 12:33 And truly that's, you know, that's reality. 12:37 We take a piece of wood, what can we make with it? 12:40 A table, a chair? Did we create it? 12:44 No, we just transformed the wood. 12:47 Now, when it comes to God, that is totally different. 12:50 We're talking about something on a completely different level. 12:54 When we talk about God's creative power, we talk about 12:57 something called creation ex nihilo, and it's a Latin phrase 13:01 that means spontaneous creation. 13:03 God can create spontaneously. 13:05 God speaks, and things come into being, 13:07 things come into existence. 13:09 God has this kind of power. So, what does God create? 13:12 What did God create in the beginning? 13:13 When we read the text in Genesis, we see that God, 13:17 He created in certain categories. 13:19 And here's the amazing fact for this morning, if you ever get 13:23 into an argument or conversation with someone that believes in 13:27 the theory of evolution, and the religion of evolution, 13:30 because that's truly what it is, of evolution, 13:33 ask them what kind of evolutionist they are 13:36 because evolution can be summed up 13:38 into six different areas. 13:42 Six different areas, you have cosmic evolution, you have 13:46 stellar and planetary evolution, you have chemical evolution, 13:50 organic evolution, macroevolution, 13:53 and microevolution. 13:55 And so usually, when they describe evolution, 13:56 they get into it, they're talking about these six 13:58 broad areas of evolution. 14:01 The thing is, is that most evolutions don't know, they 14:03 don't know that this is the reality in regard to evolution 14:06 and what's even more interesting is that 14:08 when you go into a certain area of evolution. 14:10 So let's say chemical evolution, the specialist in that area, 14:14 he will never claim that the greatest argument 14:17 for evolution is in his area. 14:19 He'll say, "Well, you know, the greatest argument for evolution 14:22 is in stellar evolution, or then cosmic evolution." 14:25 And well, that's what happens all around. 14:28 Now, when you get into creation, God also creates in some 14:32 categories, and very similar categories. 14:35 We know that God created the cosmos, the universe. 14:38 God created everything that exists in the universe, 14:40 the forces of nature, gravity, thermodynamics. 14:43 God created the universe. 14:46 We see also that God created the stellar 14:48 and the planetary systems. 14:49 He created galaxies, and nebulas, and planets, 14:52 and moons, and stars, and asteroids, and meteorites. 14:56 God created everything that exists. 15:00 When we read the description of Genesis, we see that God, 15:05 He wasn't creating for the first time. 15:08 This world was not the first thing that God created. 15:10 Our system was not the first thing that God created. 15:12 There were already angels. 15:14 There was already a place called heaven. 15:15 When you read the Book of Job, it says that the princes 15:18 from the other worlds, they came together. 15:20 And so, there are at least other worlds. 15:22 So, we see that this world was not God's first world, 15:25 He had already been creating. 15:27 We see that there's a whole chemical, and elementary 15:30 process in creation also. 15:32 Where did all the chemicals and all the elements come from? 15:35 So, hydrogen, nitrogen, iron, gold, silver, 15:39 where did these things come from? 15:41 God created them. 15:42 He created the building blocks of the universe. 15:46 Organic creation, when He creates the animals, vegetation, 15:49 the trees, the sky, the atmosphere, and He starts 15:53 creating the life, and mammals, and birds, you know, creatures 15:56 of the air and creatures of the seas. 15:58 This is called organic or biologic creation, 16:01 God creates all life, and it's a beautiful thing. 16:05 And what's more, God created relationships. 16:09 When God comes down and says, "Let us make them in our image," 16:14 what is He saying? 16:15 Among other things He's saying, Let us give them 16:17 this relational aspect, this relational existence. 16:21 And so, God gives us two different kinds 16:24 of relationships, a vertical relationship, one with Himself, 16:30 and a horizontal relationship, relationship with one another, 16:33 with each other. 16:34 And that's what God does. 16:36 And what's more, God says when He looks back at this, 16:39 He says that it's all good. 16:40 We find this in Genesis chapter 1, verse 31 16:43 where it says, "Then God saw every thing that He had made, 16:47 and indeed it was," what? 16:49 "Very good." 16:51 I can imagine, you know, when you, when you make something. 16:54 I remember when I was a child, I went to summer camp one time, 16:58 and they had us make a little wooden horse. 17:01 It was called Camp Frenda, this was in Canada, Toronto. 17:05 And at this summer camp, they had us make a wooden horse. 17:11 And I'll tell you that my wooden horse, it wasn't the best, 17:13 it wasn't the baddest, but it was pretty good 17:16 for a nine-year-old kid. 17:18 And I would look back at that horse and think, 17:20 "Yeah, this is pretty good." 17:21 And then I saw my teacher's horse and his, you know, 17:23 outdid mine and I was pretty disappointed in my own skills. 17:26 But I remember looking back at that and saying, 17:28 you know, this is, this is good. 17:31 I can imagine God looking back at all this creation, 17:34 the plants, the stars, and then specially in our system, 17:37 our world, the trees, the vegetation, 17:40 the birds, the animals, and He looked back and He said, 17:43 "Wow, this is good." 17:45 But, and here's the catch, God left something out. 17:51 God didn't complete all the creation at this point. 17:55 He left something out intentionally, and He let Adam 17:58 find out what it was, also intentionally. 18:01 And I want to focus on this because I need us to understand, 18:05 we need to understand this morning, 18:06 that God is a relational God, and He created relationships, 18:10 and He gave us the ability to relate to one another. 18:14 He made us like that. 18:15 No one was meant to live out isolated, 18:18 that's why God created man and woman. 18:20 That's why He created the first pair, the first couple. 18:22 I would like to explain one thing before we get to that 18:29 point, that God, in all of this, God, 18:31 He doesn't make things halfway. 18:33 God isn't a God of half measures. 18:35 The Bible shows us that. 18:37 God isn't a God of half measures in creation. 18:40 And what's good for us, a hope that we have, a great joy 18:43 that we have is that not only is God a God, not a God 18:47 of half measures, He finishes what He starts. 18:51 Now, in our life sometimes it seems as though 18:53 we were halfway there. 18:54 Have you ever had that feeling? 18:56 "I'm halfway there. I'm not there yet." 18:59 And this is something fairly common for all of us 19:01 because truly, we aren't there yet. 19:02 We're not at the gates of the eternal Canaan yet. 19:05 We're not at the pearly gates yet. 19:07 We're halfway there. 19:08 But my Bible also tells me that the good work that He started, 19:12 He is going to what? 19:13 Complete, He's going to finish that good work, 19:16 so praise God for this. 19:17 The Bible calls us to praise God in many texts. 19:20 I'd like to just read one of these for you. 19:23 It appears in Psalm chapter 148, and I'm going to read 19:27 from verse 8 through 12. 19:28 Look at what it says. 19:30 "Praise the Lord from the earth, You great sea creatures and all 19:35 the depths; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; 19:38 Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; 19:41 Mountains and all hills; 19:44 Fruitful trees and all the cedars; 19:47 Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl; 19:50 Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes 19:52 and all judges of the earth; Both young men and maidens; 19:55 Old men and children." 19:57 Praise God, Praise the Lord. 19:59 So, the Bible will give us many of these texts that tell us how 20:03 great God is, how wonderful God is, how complete is His 20:06 creation, how perfect is everything that He does. 20:10 And I don't know about you, but I feel overjoyed 20:11 when I read something like this because it tells me 20:14 that my God is a powerful God. 20:17 My God is a complete God. 20:18 My God is a God that still cares. 20:22 He hasn't walked away. He hasn't abandoned us. 20:25 What the world once was, it will be again, that's the promise. 20:30 This perfect creation that He created, that He made for us, 20:35 He's going to do that, He's going to recreate it. 20:37 Isn't that a blessed assurance? 20:41 But as I said before, something was missing, 20:44 something was missing. 20:45 God wanted Adam to know that something was missing. 20:50 Adam, you see, wouldn't be whole without a companion. 20:53 He couldn't be whole without companion. 20:55 And I can tell you today that I, as a person, 20:57 I would not be whole without my companion. 20:59 I didn't know this when I was single. 21:02 All right, when I was single, I thought I wanted 21:03 to be a lone wolf forever. 21:05 Any anyone here like that? 21:06 Oh, I see a few hands. 21:08 They want to be a lone wolf. 21:09 But I'll tell you something, what a blessed thing 21:11 marriage is. 21:13 It's a--isn't that true? I heard one amen. 21:15 I'd like to hear more, amen. It's a great thing. 21:17 Marriage is, you guys are kind of shaky. 21:19 Marriage is a great thing. It's amazing. 21:22 It's good for us. 21:24 And God wanted Adam to know that something was missing. 21:26 You see, and I want you to accompany me on the text. 21:28 It says Genesis, Genesis 2:18 it says, "And the Lord God said, 21:33 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a 21:36 helper comparable to him.'" 21:37 Now, when God says this, is Adam hearing God saying this? 21:42 No, Adam isn't. 21:44 And we realize this because in the next two verses, 21:47 you see that Adam had no idea. 21:50 Okay, God says, I imagine God's, you know, the Father's speaking 21:53 to Jesus and the Holy Spirit there and they're saying, 21:55 "You know what? Let's play a prank on Adam. 21:57 Let's have a little joke with Adam. 21:59 You see, it's a good thing for him to have a companion. 22:02 Let's make a companion for him." 22:03 God could have done that outright, but that's not the 22:05 process which we go through here. 22:07 This is what happens, verse 19, and 20, "Out of the ground," 22:11 right after saying this, "Out of the ground the Lord God 22:14 formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, 22:18 and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them." 22:21 Now, this is something interesting right in 22:22 and of itself, right? 22:23 Can you imagine God coming to you and saying, "You're going to 22:26 give sounds that mean something to these creatures, 22:30 and that's what they're going to be identified as." 22:33 Now, we know it's a different language. 22:34 It was an English, obviously. 22:36 But can you imagine that? 22:38 This thing with two ears, you know, big long ears, 22:41 I'm going to call it a rabbit. 22:43 Why? 22:44 I'd like to when I get to heaven, God willing, 22:47 I'd like to I like to study up on this. 22:50 I'd like to ask Adam, "What was going through your mind when you 22:52 gave, you know, names to these creatures?" 22:55 And there's some creatures, some weird creatures 22:57 with some very weird names, you know? 22:59 So, I want to get to heaven and I want to ask Adam about this. 23:02 But what's interesting is that Adam, he saw pattern. 23:06 Look at what happens. 23:07 "So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, 23:11 and to every beast of the field. 23:13 But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him." 23:18 Hmm, so Adam, he starts seeing a pattern. 23:22 "Well, these bunnies here, there are two of them. 23:27 These dogs here, there are two of them. 23:30 These cats here, there are two of them. 23:32 Where's, where's my pair? Where's my companion?" 23:36 And you can find her anywhere. 23:39 He saw some creatures that kind of were similar in a very 23:42 strange way to humans, you know, but you go up to a gorilla, 23:46 has fingers, and hands, and opposable thumbs, 23:48 he can walk upright a little bit, you know, and all that, 23:50 gets up on its haunches and all that. 23:52 But it's nothing like a woman, nothing like us. 23:58 Adam could not find his companion. 24:01 He couldn't find his significant other. 24:03 And he comes to God and says, 24:04 "Lord, I think you made a mistake. 24:06 Something's wrong here, all right, because every other 24:09 animal has a companion, but I don't." 24:11 And I can imagine God snapping His fingers and saying, 24:14 "Adam, you got it, you got it." 24:18 You notice the trick question, or the trick 24:21 that I play--I that I pulled on you. 24:23 And then God creates Eve, and then creation is complete. 24:29 And then creation is complete. 24:32 God is a God of relationships. 24:35 When He creates us in His image, as I already said, 24:39 that's what He's doing. 24:41 That's one of the aspects of being created in God's image. 24:43 We are imitating His capacity to hold and to have relationships, 24:48 and that is assurance for us today. 24:50 Also, the fact that God is a God relationships 24:53 means a few things. 24:54 It means, first of all, that He can, 24:56 and He wants to relate to us. 24:57 Not only that, He wants us to like with the world around us. 25:02 He wants us to relate with people that we don't know. 25:05 He wants us to show people who He is. 25:08 He wants us to reflect His character, 25:09 to reflect our relationship with Him. 25:11 Now, for us to do that, what do we need? 25:14 To have a relationship with Him. 25:17 So, here we find that as we go on it says--the Bible tells us 25:23 in Genesis 2:19, "Out of the ground--" 25:24 We've already read this a little bit, 25:26 but I want to focus on this again. 25:27 "Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field 25:30 and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam 25:32 to see what he would call them. 25:34 And whatever Adam called each living creature, 25:36 that was their name." 25:37 Do you see that God here is intentionally 25:39 sharing authority with Adam? 25:40 God is allowing Adam to take control. 25:44 God is allowing Adam to have a purpose. 25:48 We go forward and it says in Genesis 2:15 it says, 25:51 "The Lord God took the man and put him 25:52 in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." 25:54 What was Adam's purpose in life? 25:57 Here, to tend and to keep the garden, 26:02 to tend and to keep God's creation. 26:04 Not only that, God gave them a purpose. 26:07 In verse 28, chapter 1, verse 28 we read, "Then God blessed them, 26:14 and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; 26:17 fill the earth and subdue it; 26:18 have dominion over the fish of the sea, 26:20 over the birds of the air, 26:22 over every living thing that moves on the earth." 26:25 God gave Adam and Eve an origin, where they came from. 26:28 They were created by Him. 26:30 God gave them a purpose to fill the earth and to multiply it. 26:35 And He gave them a destiny, what would be their, 26:37 or their end game? 26:40 Well, to subdue the world, to have dominion over the world. 26:42 That was what God created them for. 26:46 Now, a very interesting fact that arises here, and something 26:48 that influences our world today is that even though God gave 26:52 Adam and Eve permission to subdue the world, 26:55 He gave them permission to, well, have dominion over it 26:59 and have authority over it. 27:00 Does that give Adam and Eve permission to exploit 27:03 the world as they want it? 27:04 No. 27:08 And yet, what happens today in our world? 27:11 You know that our forests are being killed off. 27:14 The animals, more and more, are being raised just for slaughter. 27:19 And I know many Christians, bear with me, I know many Christians 27:23 that are on board with this kind of thing. 27:25 And you know what their reasoning is? 27:27 They say that, "Well, the Bible already said that it would be 27:30 like this, and this means that Jesus is coming soon. 27:34 So let them, just let them kill it all." 27:36 Is that how we should live as Christians? 27:40 Can't be. 27:41 You know, the Bible tells us that God the Lord, 27:44 there will come the day when He will destroy those 27:47 who destroy the world. 27:50 Now, if God says that there will come a day when He will destroy 27:53 those who destroy the world, what's the opposite of that? 27:56 That the Lord will bless and protect those 28:00 who preserve the world. 28:02 So, we are called to be, what? Stewards, correct? 28:08 Now, I have a question for you, and I want you at home 28:13 to ask yourself this question. 28:16 What does it mean to be a steward? 28:18 We talked about this. 28:19 We have lessons, quarterlies about this. 28:22 There are sermons that are preached about this. 28:24 It's a word that's tossed to and fro, a steward, a steward. 28:27 But you know what I've come to notice? 28:28 I've been in the Adventist Church, 28:30 I've been an Adventist since a child, 28:32 and I've heard this word uncountable times. 28:35 I've heard my father preach about it. 28:36 But every time that I've--well, when I was younger 28:40 and I would consider this word, in my mind, 28:42 it was more of a financial thing. 28:44 Has that happened to you too? 28:46 You hear the word stewardship, 28:47 and immediately what comes to your mind? 28:49 Tithes and offerings, right? 28:52 At least in my mind growing up in a church, 28:54 that's what it would come to, 28:56 tithes and offerings and being faithful and, 28:58 you know, that. 28:59 To some people, being a steward is kinda, 29:04 it's almost a professional thing, 29:06 has to do with professionalism. 29:07 "I am a good steward. I'm a good professional of God.' 29:11 But here's the problem, stewardship goes so much 29:13 beyond that and in my mind, stewardship, 29:17 it truly has to do with sanctification. 29:21 It's a calling. It's a calling to be a part. 29:24 It's a calling to take care. 29:25 It's a calling to responsibility. 29:28 So, stewardship and sanctification, 29:30 they walk hand in hand. 29:32 If I am a good steward, I will be walking 29:35 the path of sanctification. 29:36 If I am walking the path of sanctification, 29:39 I will then be a good steward. 29:42 Now, here's the thing, many people think that being a good 29:44 steward has to do with them. 29:47 "I am going to be a good steward." 29:50 And I would disagree a little bit with that. 29:54 You know why? 29:55 It's based--and I'll have this disagreement based 29:58 on one verse in the Bible, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10. 30:02 Look at what it says, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10 says, 30:05 "For we are His workmanship," 30:07 you all know this verse, "For we are His workmanship 30:11 created in Christ Jesus for good works, 30:14 which He God prepared beforehand 30:17 that we should walk in them." 30:19 So, if sanctification and stewardship are so closely tied 30:22 together, and sanctification is a process, it's a walk. 30:27 Many confuse justification with sanctification. 30:30 Justification has to do with what God has already done 30:33 for you, or for what God does for you, 30:36 while sanctification is what God does in you. 30:39 And that's the main difference. 30:41 Stewardship is along the same lines because you realize 30:45 that God, in a relational aspect, loves you, 30:48 and He wants to have a relationship with you. 30:50 What is your answer? 30:51 What should be our response to that? 30:53 "Well, I want I want to be good at it. 30:56 I want to have a good relationship with Him." 30:58 It's the same thing as with in a marriage. 31:01 When you love your spouse, and you love the person you're with, 31:04 what do you want to do? 31:05 You want to work on your relationship, you want to make 31:07 it happen, you want to treat the other person well, and with 31:11 respect. 31:12 You want her or him to understand that, well, you love 31:15 them, and that's how it is with God. 31:18 That's what being a steward is. 31:19 That's what our calling to take care of this world should and 31:23 must be. 31:25 Now, the real problem with all of this is that sin 31:31 entered the world. 31:32 God made, God created something perfect, something beautiful. 31:38 He extended His personality, His relational qualities, 31:41 to us humans. 31:43 He made a complete thing. 31:45 He made us stewards of this world, to take care of it. 31:49 But there was a problem. 31:52 Something happened. 31:54 Humanity suffered a crisis. 31:58 One of God's greatest gifts to humanity was freewill, correct? 32:05 Truly the question is, when did God actually implement freewill 32:07 in the universe? 32:09 And honestly, I believe it was one of the first things that He 32:11 created or He conceded, He gave, because it has to do 32:16 with His character. 32:17 God is not a dictator. 32:20 So, He conceded freewill. 32:23 Now, there's a danger in confusing freewill with the 32:32 capacity to choose right and wrong. 32:34 And let me explain myself. 32:36 Can you decide what is right and wrong? 32:41 No, we cannot. 32:42 If I could decide what was right and wrong, if I could choose 32:47 this is right and this is wrong, I would be God. 32:51 Only God can say that murder is wrong. 32:54 He is the basis for morality. 32:55 Does that make sense? 32:57 God is the basis for morality. He decides. 32:59 He is the judge. He is the arbiter. 33:01 He is the one who says, "This is something good, 33:03 this is something bad." 33:05 He decides the quality, the moral quality, of things. 33:09 What do we have then? What is freewill? 33:11 I can choose one from the other. 33:14 I can choose to do good, and I can choose to do wrong, but I 33:17 cannot come and say killing is right. 33:19 I do not have that power, that authority, do you understand? 33:23 So, when God gives freewill, and I've seen many people who 33:26 struggle with this. 33:28 Well, then if I'm getting punished for choosing, what kind 33:30 of freewill is this? 33:32 That's not part of the game. That's not what God gave us. 33:34 God did not give us, as humans, the authority to say this is 33:38 right and this is wrong. 33:40 And well, it'd be so. 33:41 No, He gave us the authority to choose one from the other. 33:44 I can decide, I can choose not to do something because it's 33:48 wrong, but it is wrong independently of what I believe, 33:52 or it is right independently of what I believe. 33:54 And God gave humans freewill. 33:57 He gave them a choice to make. 33:59 He let us choose, even though He knew that in the end, He would 34:02 suffer the most. 34:04 You see, God Jesus, He's the Lamb slain since when? 34:08 The foundation of the world. 34:11 In what sense is He the Lamb slain 34:14 since the foundation of the world? 34:15 He knew. 34:17 He was committed. 34:19 He knew that from the beginning, from the moment He created, or 34:23 He gave, He conceded freewill, from that moment on, He knew 34:27 that one day He would suffer because of it. 34:30 And many question, "Well, then why did God do it? 34:32 Why did God create this world? Why did God create Lucifer?" 34:36 Because God is consistent with Himself. 34:39 A God of freedom cannot manipulate the future. 34:43 God knew that Lucifer would do what he did, but if He didn't 34:49 create Lucifer, He would be contradicting Himself. 34:52 He would be manipulating the outcome of the universe. 34:55 So, God, in His infinite wisdom, He creates Lucifer, He creates 34:59 this world, even knowing what would happen, even knowing that 35:04 He would pay the final price. 35:07 And what you find in this whole aspect of the fall, what I find 35:11 very interesting is that, you see, it works as a ladder. 35:18 There was a process in the fall. 35:21 Eve, she separates herself from Adam. 35:24 She then starts wandering about the garden, and I believe this 35:27 could have happened either way. 35:28 I'm not saying that, that women have weaker mindset or anything. 35:31 That's not what I'm saying. 35:33 What I am saying is that what happened is that Eve, she 35:36 separated yourself from Adam. 35:37 She starts wandering around the garden, she comes upon a 35:41 beautiful tree. 35:43 And this serpent, this beautiful creature, starts talking to her 35:46 and starts questioning, you know, precisely what? 35:50 Her relationship with God, her vertical relationship. 35:54 That's what He questions. 35:56 He says, and this is, you know, this is very interesting. 35:59 It's an interesting conversation. 36:00 He comes to Eve and he says, "Eve, did God really say that 36:04 you couldn't eat of this tree?" 36:06 And she says, "Yep, hundred percent. 36:09 Said if I eat it, I'm dead." 36:11 And he says, "No, I can't believe God said that. 36:15 I think you misinterpreted it. 36:16 I think you took it out of context." 36:18 Have you heard that one? 36:19 "I think you took it out of context, you misinterpreted it. 36:22 God would never say something like that. 36:24 And if He did, you know what? 36:25 God isn't, I don't think so because, you know what? 36:28 You won't die. What does that even mean?" 36:30 Imagine the concept of death in a universe where death had never 36:33 happened. 36:36 "What does that even mean, to die? 36:38 Nah, you're not going to die. 36:40 You know what's going to happen? 36:41 God knows that when you eat of this fruit, your eyes will be 36:45 opened, and you will be like unto Him." 36:49 And then the Bible tells us that Eve then saw that the fruit was 36:53 beautiful, and it was pleasant, and it was, you know, she wanted 36:57 to eat it for knowledge and so, 36:59 she took over the fruit and she ate it. 37:01 What was the first temptation? 37:02 To covet more than God had given to them. 37:06 That was truly the first temptation, to covet more than 37:10 God had truly given to them. 37:12 The results of this is the fall, the fall of mankind. 37:17 When we read God coming and wandering in the garden, and 37:20 asking them what's happened, why is the world broken? 37:22 God knew, didn't He? Of course, God knew. 37:25 Parents are like that sometimes. 37:26 I remember when I was younger, I spilled a cup of grape juice 37:32 on my mom's white sofa. 37:34 And you'll hear me use this story in another context, but I 37:40 didn't know what to do. 37:41 I scrubbed it, you know, and it just made it worse. 37:43 I scrubbed that stain, it just made it worse. 37:45 I turned over the cushion, dreading the day when my mom 37:49 would clean that sofa and that day finally came. 37:52 And you know what I heard? 37:54 "Luccas, come here right now." 37:56 And then I got--I knew, I already knew. 37:59 As soon as she said it in that tone, I knew what had happened. 38:02 I said, "All right, today's the day." 38:06 "Luccas, come here right now. What have you done?" 38:11 How I hated that question. 38:12 Don't you think she knew what I did? 38:14 Of course she did, she just wanted to rub it in? 38:17 No, what she wanted to do was make me think. 38:20 She wanted me to understand, to think a little bit of what, 38:24 you know, the consequences of my actions. 38:26 That's what God is doing here. "Adam Eve, where are you? 38:28 What have you done? Who told you these things? 38:31 Who told you that you were naked? 38:33 Who told you? Who told you?" 38:36 You can almost hear the sadness dripping from God's words. 38:40 "Who told you these things? 38:43 Have you taken from the fruit I told you not to eat from?" 38:46 Now, Adam and Eve they could have felt many things at this 38:50 moment, couldn't they? 38:52 They probably did. 38:53 They could have felt angry. 38:55 Adam could have felt angry at Eve, Eve could have felt angry 38:58 at Adam. 38:59 They could have felt afraid. They could have felt fearful. 39:02 They could have felt a series of things, but what is the first 39:06 feeling that humankind feels before--right, I'm sorry, right 39:11 after the fall? 39:13 What's the first feeling? 39:14 Shame, they felt ashamed and that tells us a lot. 39:20 You see, sin, more than anything else, it's a dirty thing. 39:25 It's a horrible thing, and it makes us want to hide. 39:31 It makes us feel unclean. 39:34 Sin broke, sin broke many things, but one of the worst 39:39 things that sin truly did that first day is that sin broke our 39:43 relationships, it destroyed them. 39:46 Sin broke our relationships with God, broke our relationship with 39:50 each other. 39:51 It broke our relationships with nature. 39:53 It broke our relationships with ourselves. 39:55 When you just study Genesis 3:16 through 19 and you see the 39:58 curses that were given upon the world due to sin, 40:03 look at what it says. 40:04 Genesis 3:16 through 19 tells us, "To the woman He said: 'I 40:07 will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In 40:11 pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be 40:14 for your husband, And he shall rule over you.' 40:17 Then to Adam He said, 40:19 'Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have 40:21 eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You 40:24 shall not eat of it': Cursed is the ground for your sake; In 40:27 toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 40:31 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you, And 40:35 you shall eat the herb of the field. 40:37 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return 40:41 to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, 40:45 And to dust you shall return." 40:48 You know what this means? 40:49 Life got hard for everyone. 40:54 Life got hard, got difficult. 40:58 Death, disease, pain, tears, hunger, famine, thirst, all 41:04 these things, the world broke. 41:09 The world busted at this moment. 41:12 Life became hard. 41:15 Sin affected every kind of relationship we can think about. 41:19 Sin affected our relationship with God. 41:21 You see, Adam and Eve, they walked and talked with God. 41:25 Have you ever wanted to walk and talk with God? 41:28 I have, multiple times. 41:29 I don't know about you, but I've sat down and cried because I 41:33 wanted to be like Adam and Eve. 41:34 I wanted to be, to have a relationship with God as close 41:37 as some of the Bible characters such as Abraham, 41:39 and Noah, and Moses. 41:44 Sin affected our relationship with God. 41:48 We lost that, that dimension, that spiritual dimension of the 41:52 universe where we can see angels and talk to them and see God and 41:56 talk to Him. 41:57 Clearly, we lost that. 42:00 We lost in regards to relationships with one another. 42:03 You know, when you study Genesis chapter 1 all the way to chapter 42:07 11, two problems emerge, two great problems. 42:11 And honestly, if you see that, you see that portion, the first 42:14 11 chapters of the Bible, roughly the first 2,000 years of 42:16 the world, you'll see that the rest of the Bible is God fixing 42:20 these two major problems. 42:23 The first problem appears in Genesis chapter 3, as we just 42:25 read it. 42:26 Humanity's relationship with God is destroyed, it's severed. 42:30 And then totally in chapter 11, that's when you'll see that our 42:34 relationship with each other in the Tower of Babel's experienced 42:37 there, you'll see that humanity was alienated from itself. 42:41 So, our vertical relationship with God, cut, our horizontal 42:47 relationship, cut, severed. 42:49 And the whole of the Bible, the rest of it, is God fixing these 42:53 two problems. 42:54 You'll see that in the Ten Commandments, for example. 42:56 What is God saying? 42:58 "Don't have any other gods. Don't make idols. 43:00 Don't say My name in vain," which is largely misunderstood. 43:04 Many people think that the third commandment has only to do with 43:07 saying a phrase, "Oh, my God." 43:09 Many people think that that is transgressing the third 43:11 commandment, only that. 43:13 You really think that God would isolate one of the Ten 43:16 Commandments just for a sentence, just for a phrase? 43:20 It's ridiculous. 43:22 Taking the Lord's name in vain is saying that you are His 43:24 child, but living against that. 43:28 It's saying one thing, but living another. 43:31 It would be like saying I'm taking my relationship 43:33 with my wife in vain. 43:35 "I love you, honey. I love you so much." 43:37 But behind her back, I'm living the life that shows 43:40 that I do not love her. 43:41 I'm taking our marriage in vain. 43:44 The fourth commandment, keep the Sabbath, remember the Sabbath 43:46 day to keep it holy. 43:48 What is that trying to accomplish? 43:50 To fix a relationship with God. 43:53 That's what these first four commandments are all about, 43:55 fixing and maintaining our relationship 43:57 with the Lord Almighty. 43:58 And the other six commandments, what are they about? 44:00 Fixing their relationships with one another. 44:03 Do you realize that in the New Testament, more than 70 times 44:08 this phrase appears various times "one another, love one 44:12 another, cherish one another, take care of one another, carry 44:15 each other's, one another's burdens." 44:17 "One another, one another, one another, more than 70 times in 44:21 the pages of the New Testament. 44:22 God is trying to fix these two major problems. 44:27 Our relationship with nature was broken. 44:31 Right from the beginning, Adam and Eve, they made clothes for 44:33 themselves out of what? 44:36 Leaves, fig leaves. 44:38 What does that include? 44:41 What does that mean? 44:43 They killed the leaves. 44:44 Now, that might seem very trivial for us today, leaves. 44:48 There was no death. 44:50 There was no destruction. 44:52 They had to destroy to cover them, their shame. 44:55 You understand this? 44:57 Death was involved when God had to cover them. 44:59 Truly, the first sacrifice in the universe where God killed 45:02 that little lamb to cover Adam and Eve's shame as a symbol that 45:06 one day He would be that Lamb. 45:10 Sin affected our relationship with ourselves. 45:12 We live in the era of stress. 45:15 We live in the times of depression. 45:18 People don't know how to relate to themselves anymore. 45:22 People hate themselves. 45:24 Solitude, loneliness, low self-esteem. 45:28 Why do you think the self-help books are the most sold books? 45:31 Because people have problems with themselves. 45:33 Sin affected every area of relationships. 45:38 Now, I want to close saying one last thing. 45:45 There is a philosophy that reigns in our world, a 45:48 philosophy called, or an ideology, called deism. 45:52 What is deism. 45:54 Deism is the idea that God created this world, but then He 46:00 turned His back and He walked away. 46:03 It's the theory of an absent landlord. 46:06 Ever heard of this deism? 46:09 I don't find that God anywhere. 46:13 The God that I find in the Bible is a God that, on the contrary, 46:17 instead of walking, turning His back and walking away, I find a 46:21 God that rolled up His sleeves and dived right into the middle 46:25 of the mess. 46:26 Do you see that too? 46:30 When we see missionary service in the Bible, we're not talking 46:33 about some abstract idea. 46:36 We're talking about a very concrete, absolute, real 46:40 identity to who God is. 46:43 He is this. 46:45 When He talked about "the least of these," 46:46 whose words are these? 46:47 They're Jesus's words. 46:50 So, in the pages of the Bible, you don't find deism supported 46:53 at all. 46:54 The God of the Bible is a God that cared so much, that loved 46:57 so much, that He came and He saved this world. 47:02 He came and He redeemed it, and He gave us the chance, the 47:07 privilege, to be instruments in the salvation of other people. 47:10 Now, I've asked myself many times why I chose to be a 47:14 pastor, or why this turned out this way. 47:17 You really want to know the reason? 47:19 I think God was so good to me and He knew that I would have a 47:22 hard time with salvation otherwise, that He allowed me to 47:26 be an instrument. 47:28 And He can do that for all of us. 47:30 He wants to do that for you, maybe not as a pastor, maybe 47:33 that's not your calling. 47:35 But maybe as a nurse, maybe as the head of a soup kitchen, 47:38 maybe as a greeter at church. 47:41 We are called to extend love to a dying world. 47:47 Now, the question is, are you doing this? 47:50 Look within yourself and ask yourself, are you doing this? 47:54 Are you being the face of God to a world that maybe sometimes 47:57 only sees you as a representative of God? 47:59 And I'll be honest with you, sometimes I had a hard time, I 48:02 have a hard time with this. 48:04 Sometimes I think that if it weren't for church and, you 48:06 know, being able to preach and teach at a Sabbath school, well, 48:09 then how would I be a missionary? 48:11 And I've had to think long and hard about it, and maybe you 48:14 have to think about that too. 48:15 But know that God wants to use you. 48:20 This God that made a perfect world, a complete world, this 48:24 relational God who asked you to be a steward, to be set apart. 48:29 This God that was there in the brokenness of the first world, 48:33 this God that was right there when Adam and Eve sinned and 48:36 fell, and this God that made the promise that someday someone 48:39 would come to fix this problem, and the same God that was here 48:42 to fix that problem, He is right here right now and He can live 48:46 inside of you, and He can transform you, and you can use 48:50 you, and He can change you. 48:53 One of the greatest satisfactions of life is knowing 48:57 that I can be used by God. 49:00 May God bless you in the study of this lesson. 49:03 May you truly, not only read, not only study, but apply it. 49:09 We hope to see you back again next week for another lesson. 49:15 We want to remember--remind you of our free offer, 49:18 it's number 870. 49:20 If you would like it, you call 866-788-3966. 49:24 And we're waiting to see you again next Sabbath 49:27 for another Bible hour. 49:30 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 49:32 free resource. 49:33 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 49:36 download a digital copy straight to your computer 49:38 or a mobile device. 49:39 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 49:42 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 49:47 shown on your screen. 49:49 And be sure to select the digital download option 49:51 on the request page. 49:52 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 49:56 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want. 49:59 And most important, to share it with others. 50:06 announcer: Amazing Facts, changed lives. 50:14 Charlie Green: My life was in turmoil. 50:17 My wife and I were fighting all the time. 50:19 I got away from everything and everybody. 50:21 I don't know, I just, I always had this emptiness in my heart. 50:25 I want it filled. 50:26 I just felt like I went my whole life, you know, just searching 50:29 for something. 50:31 And my father died and that ruined me a lot. 50:34 My father didn't believe suicide. 50:37 I didn't want to live but rather than disrespect him, I decided 50:40 I would just become so mean that someone else would do 50:43 it to me and I wouldn't have to. 50:44 So, I joined the Army thinking, what better place to get killed 50:47 than in the Army? 50:49 And while I was in the Army, my daughter got injured. 50:51 She was in an accident, and she was blind and paraplegic, and 50:57 it's just like I felt the whole world was coming down on me. 51:01 One morning, I just really got mad, and I gave God a cussing 51:05 like you wouldn't believe. 51:07 I said, "I'm not Moses, not Abraham, you know, I don't--but 51:11 I put my sandals on just like they do and I'm a man. 51:14 I don't want to know why this is happening to me, I just want to 51:17 know that it's happening for a reason. 51:19 If you tell me right now this is all for a reason, then you can 51:24 stack it on me from here till the end of time and I will never 51:27 complain again." 51:29 And that little TV came on, had been sitting there just static 51:33 all night long. 51:35 And there's this minister when he pops up and he says, "Today's 51:39 lesson's from the Book of Job. 51:40 God only lets those suffer that He loves the most." 51:44 And I said, "Well, that's all you had to say, Lord. 51:45 I appreciate it." 51:46 From that day forward, I knew that He was there, He was in my 51:49 life, and that He would help me. 51:53 I went to prison just almost immediately. 51:56 I was in prison for aggravated assault. 51:59 I was in one the worst prisons in the state of Tennessee. 52:02 It was full of gang activity. 52:05 I got my throat cut, 52 stitches. 52:08 My neck, I could take those fingers and stick them all the 52:10 way to out my mouth. 52:12 I'd gone to the library that day because it was really about the 52:15 only thing to do. 52:17 But I ran across this little book called 52:18 "The Richest Caveman." 52:20 This book is hilarious, but it is great. 52:24 I'm sitting there with this big beard and I'm thinking, 52:26 hey, I know what it's like to look like a caveman. 52:30 I'm not an educated person, I guess you'd say, 52:32 but I'm a simple guy. 52:34 I'm just really a simple guy. 52:35 That's what I loved about Doug Batchelor because this guy 52:38 is just straight out as you can get. 52:42 And my wife and I, we've kept contact through all these years. 52:45 And so much has gone on. 52:50 And I told her, I said, "Listen, this is the center of my world 52:55 right now." 52:57 And I said, "I really want you to be involved in it with me. 53:00 I need it," and I said, "And you will too if you ever just take 53:03 hold of it." 53:04 I told my wife I said, "Listen, they've got this Amazing Facts 53:07 Bible study going here and this is the best way me to get this 53:11 information, I think," I said, "because it's broken down and 53:16 they give you questions and to make you look for these things, 53:23 you know? 53:24 So, it's not anyone telling you, you find it on your own, 53:27 and they teach you actually to use the Bible." 53:30 She was there faithfully every Wednesday until we decided, 53:33 you know, she wanted to be baptized also. 53:38 She saw it coming around. 53:40 The choice was made and October 4, 2014, my wife and I were, we 53:46 were baptized in the water at the same time and we started our 53:52 walk together, I guess you'd say. 53:54 I went through everything that a man could possibly go through, 53:58 I guess, from marital trouble, loss of family members, 54:04 death in my family. 54:06 My children were harmed. 54:07 My daughter handicapped for life. 54:10 I went to prison, which still I kept my Word to God that He 54:16 could stack it on me as much as He wanted, and I'd never 54:19 question Him again, and I didn't. 54:22 But I can say this much, He never put nothing on me that I 54:26 couldn't handle, and He walked with me through it all. 54:29 And I'd like to say that anyone who is in prison, 54:33 not to give up. 54:36 Don't lose hope. 54:38 Put your faith in the Lord and study and seek Him 54:42 and He will seek you. 54:44 And my name is Charlie Green, and I want you to know that you 54:46 and Amazing Facts have changed my life. 54:51 ♪♪♪ 55:03 ♪♪♪ 55:14 Doug Batchelor: Friends, if you're scared of snakes, 55:16 this may not be for you. 55:18 I'm here at a reptile park outside of Durban, South Africa, 55:21 and I'm holding my friend here who's a red tail Boa. 55:24 Snakes are found all over the world, 55:27 and they come in all sizes. 55:29 Snakes can be found through the trees, they crawl on the ground, 55:32 they live under the ground, and they swim in the water. 55:35 Very interesting creatures. 55:36 Some snakes are venomous, not my friend here, but the Black 55:41 Mamba, very poisonous. 55:43 Matter of fact, their bite is often referred to 55:45 as the kiss of death. 55:47 They can grow 15 feet long and could travel up 55:49 to seven miles an hour. 55:51 They don't call them Black Mambas because of the color of 55:53 their skin, but the interior of their mouth is black. 55:56 Snakes also come in all sizes, like this Boa or a Python, 56:00 they can grow to great sizes. 56:02 Matter of fact, in South America, they found some fossils 56:05 of a snake that they call Titanoboa. 56:08 They believe it was as big as 50 feet long and weighed 56:11 as much as a car. 56:13 Say, "cheese." 56:15 A lot of people are scared of snakes. 56:17 I used to live in a mountain in a cave, 56:18 and I ran into snakes frequently. 56:20 They never bothered me unless I was bothering them. 56:22 In the Bible, the snake is often a symbol of the devil. 56:25 In reality, it's just a symbol. 56:28 They're animals like other animals, but it says they were 56:30 cursed to go upon their belly because they were the first 56:32 medium that the devil used to tempt Adam and Eve. 56:36 In the Book of Numbers chapter 21, it tells a story of how when 56:39 the children of Israel were going through the wilderness, 56:41 they began to complain about God's manna. 56:44 And it says the Lord allowed these fiery serpents to go among 56:47 the people and many were bitten and the venom was deadly. 56:51 I should probably mention at this point, that bread they were 56:54 complaining about is a symbol for the Word of God. 56:56 As many of the people were dying from this plague of serpents, 56:59 they will went unto Moses and they said, "What shall we do?" 57:02 God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole and 57:06 lift it up, that whoever looked upon the serpent, they would be 57:09 healed of their venom. 57:11 This is why it's so important because Jesus says in the gospel 57:14 of John chapter 3, verse 14 and 15, "As Moses lifted up the 57:19 serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted 57:22 up, that whoever believes in Him might not perish, 57:26 but have everlasting life." 57:28 They needed to look and to live. 57:30 You see, those ancient shepherds, when they would kill 57:32 a venomous snake, they would carry it off on their staff 57:35 and bury it. 57:37 So, a serpent on a pole represented a defeated snake. 57:40 It's talking about defeating the devil, friends. 57:43 Have you been bitten by the serpent? 57:44 We all have. 57:46 The only cure for the venom of Satan 57:48 is to look in faith at Jesus. 57:50 He then defeated the devil. 57:52 He took the venom of sin in His body to provide 57:55 the antidote in His blood. 57:57 So friends, I encourage you to look today and live. 58:00 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2019-07-02