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Luccas Rodor: Hello and
welcome to our "Sabbath School
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Study Hour" here in
sunny Sacramento, California.
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It's so good to
be here with you.
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Our lesson today is taught
here at Granite Bay Seventh Day
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Adventist Church,
also in partnership with
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Amazing Facts Ministries.
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I'd like to welcome everyone
that's here this morning,
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also those who are joining
us online around the world.
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It's so good to
have you with us.
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Today we'll be studying lesson
number two of our new lesson,
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which is "The Least Of
These," and it's called
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"Blueprints For A Better World."
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Now, before we get into
the study of the lesson,
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I'd like to offer
you our quarterly.
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If you haven't had the chance
yet of acquiring this quarterly,
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and it promises to be
a very special quarterly,
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please go to our online
quarterly given by the church.
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And, of course, you can
acquire one of these also.
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And before we begin our
singing, I'd like to give you,
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I'd like to offer you and remind
you of our free offer of the
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day, "A Colossal City In Space."
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If you've ever had any questions
about what heaven is going to be
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like, I don't
know if you know this,
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but one amazing fact about
heaven is that it is bigger.
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It's larger than many
countries in the world.
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So, if you ever have
any questions about that,
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or if you'd like to
understand more about that,
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you can, if
you're in North America,
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you can call the number
866-788-3966 for a mail out,
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or you can text 40544
and you can text SH122,
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and we'll be happy
to send that to you,
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a virtual copy of
this, an online copy of this.
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If you're
outside of North America,
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you can also go to
amazingfacts.org and you
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can also acquire one of these.
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I'd like to invite our singers
which will be leading us in
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song service this morning.
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female: Good
morning and happy Sabbath.
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The song we're going to sing
this morning is number 47, all
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four verses, "God Who Made The
Earth And Heaven," number 47.
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¤¤¤
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¤¤¤
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¤ God, who made
the earth and heaven, ¤
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¤ Darkness and light: You
the day for work have given, ¤
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¤ For rest the night. ¤
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¤ May your angel guards
defend us, Slumber sweet ¤
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¤ your mercy send us, ¤
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¤ Holy dreams and hopes attend
us All through the night. ¤
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¤ And when morn again shall
call us To run life's way, ¤
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¤ May we still, whatever
befall us, Your will obey. ¤
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¤ From the power of
evil hide us, In the ¤
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¤ narrow pathway guide us, ¤
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¤ Never be your smile
denied us All through the day.¤
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¤ Guard us waking,
guard us sleeping, ¤
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¤ And when we die,
May we in your mighty ¤
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¤ keeping All peaceful lie. ¤
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¤ When the trumpet
call shall wake us, ¤
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¤ Then, O Lord,
do not forsake us, ¤
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¤ But to reign ¤
in glory take us ¤
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¤ With you on high. ¤
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¤ Holy Father, throned
in heaven, All holy Son, ¤
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¤ Holy Spirit, freely given, ¤
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¤ Blest Three in
One: Grant us grace, ¤
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¤ we now implore you, Till
we lay our crowns before you ¤
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¤ And in worthier strains
adore you while ages run. ¤¤
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Luccas: Please bow
your head with me as we say
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a word of prayer.
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Dear Father God, we praise
you for the opportunity and the
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privilege that we
have of coming before you,
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Lord, and
learning more about you.
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Thank you so much for
this lesson that teaches us,
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Father, how to
serve, serve others,
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serve the church, and serve you.
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Dear God, please
bless Pastor Shawn,
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Pastor Brummund as he
leads out for us this morning.
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Help us truly understand
and incorporate in our lives the
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blueprints for a better world.
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I ask you this in
Jesus's name, amen.
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As I've just mentioned, Pastor
Shawn Brummund will be teaching
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our lesson for
us this the Sabbath.
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The lesson title is
"Blueprints For A Better World,"
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and we understand that God left
a lot for us to learn in the
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Bible of how to, even
though in a fallen world,
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live a better life,
treat others better,
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and ultimately serve God better.
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Pastor Shawn, may God
bless you as you lead out
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for us this morning.
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Pastor Shawn Brummund:
Well, good morning to everyone.
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It's good to see everybody here
in the Granite Bay Seventh Day
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Adventist Church
and to be able to see so
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many familiar smiling faces.
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I know we can't
see your smiling faces,
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you're watching our program
either online or the different
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television networks, but we are
always privileged to be able to
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know that we are sharing
our Bible study session here on
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Sabbath morning with
many people across the
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nation, across the world.
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So, a special
hello to you as well,
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to all our friends out
in internet and TV world.
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So, this morning, as
Pastor Luccas has pointed out,
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we're looking at lesson
number two of our quarterly,
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a new quarterly that
we just began last week.
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And it's entitled,
"The Least Of These,"
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and we are looking
at lesson number two,
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which I believe
starts on page 14.
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And so, I'm going to invite
everybody to open up to page 14
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because we're going to read a
key verse that introduces this
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particular study and
topic here this morning.
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And so, we're going to go right
into the middle of that page,
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and you can go to your
Bibles if you don't have
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a lesson study with you.
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Genesis chapter
12, verses 2 and 3,
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Genesis chapter
12, and verses 2 and 3.
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And so, let's
read that instrumental
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verse here together.
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God is speaking to
Abraham and he says,
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"And I will make
you a great nation,
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and I will bless you and
I will make your name great,
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and you will be a blessing.
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And all peoples of the earth
will be blessed through you."
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And so, this is no
small verse, is it?
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This is a calling.
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This is a calling of
God to yet another prophet.
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Now, is this the first
prophet that God had called?
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No, if you've read your Bibles,
you know that God had called
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a number of prophets.
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In fact, almost from the get-go
ever since sin has become a
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problem here on earth, ever
since the devil and his angels,
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his fallen angels, demons, have
had full reign on this planet,
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we find that God has been
working actively and calling and
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choosing different individuals
through the centuries.
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We have Enoch in
Adam's generation,
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the first generation of mankind.
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You know, we have others.
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We have Noah also was an
instrumental figure and prophet.
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for God far before
Abraham came along.
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And so, when we read
the calling of Abraham,
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we find here that it speaks
volumes as to why God has called
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and why God has chosen different
prophets through the centuries
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ever since sin, and evil, and
the devil has been given that
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free reign here upon the planet.
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And so, God
tells Abraham, "Listen,
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I am calling you, and
I'm going to make a great
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nation out of you."
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You know, that in itself is
something special to be able to
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know, "Okay, I'm
going to have children,
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first off, which
can be a blessing.
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And second off, my
great, great, great,
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great, great grandchildren are
going to multiply to the point
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where they become their
own country, their own nation."
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But God doesn't
stop there, does He?
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What else does He say?
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God also goes on to
tell us that indeed,
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God intends, not only to
bless Abraham and his family,
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but through
Abraham and his family,
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He intends to
bless all nations so,
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would that
include the entire world?
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Sure it would, wouldn't it?
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Okay, so this is the
entire planet that God
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is speaking about.
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And so, that's why this
particular verse and this
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particular calling of Abraham
is so instrumental and tells us
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a very key truth in
regards to prophets.
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Now, you know, one of the
interesting things is being a
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pastor is that over the years
I've been exposed to probably,
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Oh, I'd say, estimate about a
couple of dozen different people
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over the years that
I've been in their homes,
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I've talked to
them at church and such,
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and they'll share with me some
personal epiphanies that they've
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had with God in the past.
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You know, some have
even gone as far as saying,
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"You know, I've
received a dream in the night,
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or some kind of vision of some
kind that I have experienced,"
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and more than once,
they'll share about how that was
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instrumental in leading
them to see that God is real,
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helping them to
understand that God is,
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cares about their
lives and loves them,
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and gives them a hope when
they're at a very low point of
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their life and brings them
into relationship with God.
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And some others have shared that
it's brought them through a life
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experience
sometime later on in life.
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Some people here, either in our
church this morning or watching
00:11:12.07\00:11:14.97
this particular program,
have experienced some kind
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of a personal, supernatural
experience with God,
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not to be called as
a prophet like Abraham,
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or Noah, and Enoch, and
so on, but nevertheless,
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a very real supernatural
experience with God.
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I myself have experienced
that a couple of times.
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Now, I've never
received a vision or a dream,
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but I have called, I
would say it was strong enough
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that I would
call it an epiphany.
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And some of the
scholars will want to name it,
00:11:43.37\00:11:45.13
which is an
obvious personal experience
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with the supernatural God.
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The first time was
when God called me to
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a relationship with Him.
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Some of you know that I
was raised in a secular home.
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My parents had decided to leave
religion all together by the
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time I was one, or
two, or three years old,
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and so I have no recollection or
exposure consciously to church
00:12:02.85\00:12:06.12
or religion up until
I was 20 years of age.
00:12:06.15\00:12:09.56
But the age of
20 was a low point.
00:12:09.59\00:12:11.59
I had tried a number of the
different things that the world
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had told me would
give me satisfaction,
00:12:14.36\00:12:16.53
would give me joy,
happiness, fulfillment,
00:12:16.56\00:12:18.73
and all of it came up empty.
00:12:18.77\00:12:21.10
And so, I was at a really low
point as I was very discouraged
00:12:21.14\00:12:25.94
with my life and with the world.
00:12:25.97\00:12:27.81
And I was
driving down the highway,
00:12:27.84\00:12:30.38
and I can specifically
remember that God gave me this
00:12:30.41\00:12:33.11
experience, and I
never heard an audible voice,
00:12:33.15\00:12:34.78
but I knew it was a voice and an
intelligence outside of myself
00:12:34.82\00:12:39.35
and said, "Shawn, I want you
to check out this church thing.
00:12:39.39\00:12:42.09
I want you to
start going to a church."
00:12:42.12\00:12:44.33
And it took me about a month
before I actually started going
00:12:44.36\00:12:47.56
because I thought you had
to be a member to go to church.
00:12:47.60\00:12:49.83
That's how unknowing I was
of the whole Christian world and
00:12:49.86\00:12:54.50
church world and so I
said, "Well, I don't want
00:12:54.54\00:12:55.94
to get kicked out.
00:12:55.97\00:12:57.27
I want to go in and they'll
say, "Sorry, only members here."
00:12:57.31\00:12:59.01
And so finally, I saw a little
church in one neighborhood and
00:12:59.04\00:13:03.38
it had a sign it says,
"All welcome Sunday services
00:13:03.41\00:13:05.95
8:30 and 10:30."
00:13:05.98\00:13:07.82
And so, I showed up with
gusto 8:30 every Sunday morning.
00:13:07.85\00:13:10.52
And fortunately, the pastor
was a very dynamic pastor.
00:13:10.55\00:13:15.12
He was still
excited about the Bible,
00:13:15.16\00:13:16.79
and was
preaching from the Bible.
00:13:16.83\00:13:18.46
And so, the Lord, I believe, had
guided me to that experience.
00:13:18.49\00:13:21.36
And from there I met
Denise that same summer,
00:13:21.40\00:13:23.83
and she brought
me to her church,
00:13:23.87\00:13:25.63
the Missionary
Alliance Church in Canada.
00:13:25.67\00:13:27.77
And then we continued to go
through different churches until
00:13:27.80\00:13:30.31
we found the Seventh
Day Adventist Church.
00:13:30.34\00:13:32.74
And so, we
continue to grow, you know?
00:13:32.77\00:13:35.71
But if it wasn't
for that epiphany,
00:13:35.74\00:13:37.18
I don't believe that
I probably would have
00:13:37.21\00:13:38.51
stepped into a church.
00:13:38.55\00:13:39.85
If it wasn't for
that voice of God,
00:13:39.88\00:13:41.18
that experience that
I had outside of myself.
00:13:41.22\00:13:44.52
Now, the second time that I
had that experience was when God
00:13:44.55\00:13:47.69
called me into ministry.
00:13:47.72\00:13:49.69
Now, this doesn't
happen to everybody
00:13:49.72\00:13:51.03
that's called into ministry.
00:13:51.06\00:13:52.36
God works in
mysterious and different ways.
00:13:52.39\00:13:54.46
But with me, I guess He wanted
me to put my seatbelt on because
00:13:54.46\00:13:57.33
I was barely in the
baptismal waters and He said,
00:13:57.37\00:13:59.73
"Shawn, I want you to be a
preacher and an evangelist."
00:13:59.77\00:14:02.14
And again,
there's a specific time,
00:14:02.17\00:14:05.44
and a specific room, on a
specific couch that I was lying
00:14:05.47\00:14:08.51
and praying before the
Lord when He spoke to me.
00:14:08.54\00:14:10.91
So, I know that more of one of
us that are studying here with
00:14:10.95\00:14:15.62
us together today have
had that kind of experience.
00:14:15.65\00:14:17.39
But prophets are a little
bit different in the fact that
00:14:17.42\00:14:20.66
they're not just getting the
supernatural experiences with
00:14:20.69\00:14:23.86
God for their personal benefit
but as Abraham is being told
00:14:23.89\00:14:28.36
here, he tells us
that God calls prophets
00:14:28.40\00:14:31.47
to benefit other people.
00:14:31.50\00:14:34.17
God has called them to minister
to those outside of themselves
00:14:34.20\00:14:37.27
and to bless them, to show
people the genuine truth and
00:14:37.31\00:14:41.61
expose Satan's lies,
expose Satan's deceptions,
00:14:41.64\00:14:45.15
and give people an opportunity
to be able to know the truth
00:14:45.18\00:14:48.78
about God, who He
is, what He's done,
00:14:48.82\00:14:51.25
what He's doing,
what He's going to do,
00:14:51.29\00:14:53.02
and the hope of eternal
life that He gives to us.
00:14:53.05\00:14:55.36
And so, thank God
for prophets, amen?
00:14:55.39\00:14:59.33
Thank God that God is actively,
and has been actively choosing
00:14:59.36\00:15:02.23
individuals to be able
to bless, even as He did
00:15:02.26\00:15:05.00
with Abraham's generation.
00:15:05.03\00:15:07.74
Of course, we're still
benefiting from the life of
00:15:07.77\00:15:10.17
Abraham and his prophetic
ministry because we're reading,
00:15:10.21\00:15:12.34
and we have the
preserved records,
00:15:12.37\00:15:15.11
the sacred records,
of the messages that God
00:15:15.14\00:15:17.65
had given to him.
00:15:17.68\00:15:19.65
You know, when we
look at Jesus Himself,
00:15:19.68\00:15:22.48
He came not to be served but
to, but to serve as He told his
00:15:22.52\00:15:26.49
disciples toward the
ends of his earthly life.
00:15:26.52\00:15:29.16
Just shortly
before He was crucified,
00:15:29.19\00:15:30.86
He was trying to
teach His disciples,
00:15:30.89\00:15:32.86
His first followers that
important message that God
00:15:32.89\00:15:37.33
has called him as a servant.
00:15:37.37\00:15:41.57
He didn't come into the world
to have everybody wait on Him.
00:15:41.60\00:15:44.64
No, He came to wait on others.
00:15:44.67\00:15:47.14
Is that your attitude?
00:15:47.18\00:15:49.38
Do we not call, be
called to have the same attitude
00:15:49.41\00:15:52.38
as the prophets?
00:15:52.41\00:15:53.82
We may not be called to give
visions and messages from God,
00:15:53.85\00:15:56.05
but nevertheless, God has called
us to have that same attitude,
00:15:56.08\00:15:59.79
to know that we
are called as servants,
00:15:59.82\00:16:02.79
and that the greatest of those
in the kingdom of heaven are
00:16:02.82\00:16:05.89
those who serve the most.
00:16:05.93\00:16:07.93
And so, there's a great
principle that we can draw out
00:16:07.96\00:16:10.73
of that, and Jesus
shared that as we find it in the
00:16:10.77\00:16:14.20
book of Mark,
chapter 10, and verse 45.
00:16:14.24\00:16:19.27
Well, of course, Jesus said,
not only did He not come to be
00:16:19.31\00:16:22.11
served but to serve,
but He also came to give His
00:16:22.14\00:16:24.75
life a ransom for many.
00:16:24.78\00:16:27.12
And so, the ransom that He
gave, that death on the cross,
00:16:27.15\00:16:30.79
the penalty that He paid on that
cross when He allowed the nails
00:16:30.82\00:16:34.32
to go through
His, through His hands,
00:16:34.36\00:16:36.26
through His wrists,
and through His feet,
00:16:36.29\00:16:38.76
when He gave up His
Spirit, His life on that,
00:16:38.79\00:16:42.20
on that cross with all of the,
of the horrible feelings and
00:16:42.23\00:16:47.90
emotions that He
had, feeling forsaken from
00:16:47.94\00:16:50.84
His Father himself.
00:16:50.87\00:16:52.61
We find that Jesus
did it all for you and I.
00:16:52.64\00:16:54.98
Again, not for his benefit.
00:16:55.01\00:16:56.95
Well, ultimately it
was because he says,
00:16:56.98\00:16:59.05
"I am looking forward to
the fruits of My sacrifice."
00:16:59.08\00:17:01.72
But first and foremost, He
was thinking of you, wasn't He?
00:17:01.75\00:17:05.22
First and foremost,
He was thinking of me,
00:17:05.25\00:17:06.96
and that's the God that we serve
and that's the model that God
00:17:06.99\00:17:10.63
gives to us in this life.
00:17:10.66\00:17:12.33
But did Jesus come simply
and only to be sacrificed?
00:17:12.36\00:17:16.03
Well, if it was only that,
He would have just kind of kept
00:17:16.06\00:17:19.40
pushing the limit
and bringing up the,
00:17:19.43\00:17:22.17
you know, turning up the heat
instead of as He so often did,
00:17:22.20\00:17:25.07
"Don't tell people what I said,
or don't tell people that I'm
00:17:25.11\00:17:27.34
the Christ, and don't advertise
too strongly the miracles that
00:17:27.38\00:17:31.05
I'm doing," because he wanted
to keep the heat level down low
00:17:31.08\00:17:33.48
enough that He was able to
minister for three-and-a-half
00:17:33.52\00:17:36.75
years before He was finally
apprehended and crucified.
00:17:36.79\00:17:39.89
But, of course, He wanted to
minister for three-and-a-half
00:17:39.92\00:17:43.26
years before He died
for the sin of the world.
00:17:43.29\00:17:46.13
And what is one of the
key reasons why He did that?
00:17:46.16\00:17:50.70
Somebody said
their example, yes,
00:17:50.73\00:17:52.40
He wanted to set an example.
00:17:52.43\00:17:54.00
"I've come to fulfill
all righteousness," Jesus
00:17:54.04\00:17:56.24
said at His baptism.
00:17:56.27\00:17:58.61
And so, Jesus came along
that He might be able to model
00:17:58.64\00:18:01.28
a perfectly righteous
and holy life for you and I,
00:18:01.31\00:18:03.85
a perfectly loving
life for you and I as well.
00:18:03.88\00:18:07.22
And so, that's important.
00:18:07.25\00:18:08.75
Another statement that Jesus
made at the end of his life as
00:18:08.78\00:18:11.92
He was just hours from being
crucified was a statement that
00:18:11.95\00:18:15.26
He made before a
very powerful man and
00:18:15.29\00:18:17.46
ruler in Israel, in Jerusalem.
00:18:17.49\00:18:19.76
His name was Pontius
Pilate, he was the governor.
00:18:19.79\00:18:22.13
And he tells us that
Jesus came to--Jesus told him,
00:18:22.16\00:18:26.94
I should say, that he
also came to clarify the truth.
00:18:26.97\00:18:31.94
You see, by the time
Jesus came onto the scene,
00:18:31.97\00:18:33.98
Israel had left and departed
largely from the truth that God
00:18:34.01\00:18:38.88
had revealed through His
prophets that were recorded
00:18:38.91\00:18:40.95
in the Old Testament Scriptures.
00:18:40.98\00:18:43.25
And so, Jesus came to
testify, to witness what
00:18:43.28\00:18:45.22
the truth really was.
00:18:45.25\00:18:47.82
He cut through
a lot of darkness.
00:18:47.86\00:18:49.76
He cut through a lot of
traditions that had buried the
00:18:49.79\00:18:51.93
light of God, and he had
brought it back to light.
00:18:51.96\00:18:55.36
In fact, we have a volunteer
that's going to read for us here
00:18:55.40\00:18:59.27
and the text is John
chapter 18, and verse 37.
00:18:59.30\00:19:04.74
And so, we're going to
invite our volunteer to
00:19:04.77\00:19:07.01
read that here this morning.
00:19:07.04\00:19:08.54
female: John 18:37,
"Pilate therefore said to Him,
00:19:08.64\00:19:13.05
'Are you a king then?'
00:19:13.08\00:19:15.75
Jesus answered, 'You say
rightly that I am a King,
00:19:15.78\00:19:19.75
for this cause I was
born and for this cause,
00:19:19.79\00:19:23.79
I have come into
the world, that I should
00:19:23.83\00:19:26.16
bear witness to the truth.
00:19:26.19\00:19:28.66
Everyone who is in--who is
of the truth hears My voice.'"
00:19:28.70\00:19:34.20
Shawn: All right, so here
Jesus is not only declaring
00:19:35.20\00:19:37.71
that He is a King,
He is the King of kings
00:19:37.74\00:19:39.67
and Lord of lords, amen?
00:19:39.71\00:19:41.01
And so, that's important.
00:19:41.04\00:19:42.68
And He wasn't
going to deny this truth.
00:19:42.71\00:19:45.41
Now, of course, Pontius Pilate
must have been quite puzzled
00:19:45.45\00:19:48.55
about that because most kings
didn't act and accept what he
00:19:48.58\00:19:52.29
was accepting, as
far as the mockery,
00:19:52.32\00:19:54.39
the beatings, the
eventual crucifixion and such.
00:19:54.42\00:19:56.69
But nevertheless, Jesus made it
clear that Pontius Pilate might
00:19:56.73\00:19:59.83
walk away knowing that he
had been with the King of kings
00:19:59.86\00:20:03.37
of the universe.
00:20:03.40\00:20:04.70
But it also tells us that
Jesus told Pontius Pilate that,
00:20:04.73\00:20:08.14
"I have come that I might bear
witness of the, of the truth."
00:20:08.17\00:20:12.71
And so, Jesus wanted to
set the record straight.
00:20:12.74\00:20:15.14
Jesus wanted to reset
that which had been distorted
00:20:15.18\00:20:19.21
in so many different ways.
00:20:19.25\00:20:22.15
You know, one of the best
ways to summarize all that
00:20:22.18\00:20:24.79
Jesus brought to
humanity is found in a text that
00:20:24.82\00:20:27.12
became a text for me.
00:20:27.16\00:20:30.69
It was the signature one.
00:20:30.73\00:20:32.03
It was the first
one that I memorized.
00:20:32.06\00:20:33.50
It was the first one that jumped
off the pages of the Bible as a
00:20:33.53\00:20:35.66
new Christian in those first
year or two that I was opening
00:20:35.70\00:20:39.53
the Scriptures and
reading through the gospels.
00:20:39.57\00:20:41.87
And when I came through the
Gospel of John and I came to
00:20:41.90\00:20:44.14
John 10:10, that just described
my experience that I had found
00:20:44.17\00:20:48.28
as a young man.
00:20:48.31\00:20:49.94
And Jesus says in John 10:10,
some of you know it by memory.
00:20:49.98\00:20:52.75
You know, "the thief
does not come except to steal,
00:20:52.78\00:20:55.32
and to kill, and to destroy."
00:20:55.35\00:20:58.59
Now, this is a metaphorical
passage we're quoting from
00:20:58.62\00:21:00.72
and so Jesus is
metaphorically representing the
00:21:00.76\00:21:03.79
thief as Satan himself.
00:21:03.83\00:21:05.76
And He says, "Listen, Satan
doesn't come except to kill,
00:21:05.79\00:21:07.50
and steal, and
destroy but I," He says,
00:21:07.50\00:21:10.27
"I have come that they might
have life and have it that they
00:21:10.30\00:21:14.00
might have it more abundantly."
00:21:14.04\00:21:16.91
And so, many of us here today
if you weren't raised in the
00:21:16.94\00:21:20.38
abundant life and
known it all your life,
00:21:20.41\00:21:22.81
which is even a more wonderful
experience, by the way.
00:21:22.84\00:21:25.08
Never be envious
of us old guys that,
00:21:25.11\00:21:28.75
you know, that kind of
came in later in life and think,
00:21:28.78\00:21:31.45
"Oh boy, I wish
I'd had that contrast,
00:21:31.49\00:21:33.76
that kind of gangs to God
experience because there's a
00:21:33.79\00:21:37.56
great, great disadvantage to
having that gangs to God kind
00:21:37.59\00:21:42.40
of experience and conversion
because now you have all those
00:21:42.43\00:21:44.77
horrible memories that
you have to carry through
00:21:44.80\00:21:46.47
the rest of your life.
00:21:46.50\00:21:47.87
You know, there's
many things that I did,
00:21:47.90\00:21:49.80
I was very, very ashamed,
still I'm ashamed of today.
00:21:49.84\00:21:52.77
And so, I'd do anything to be
able to erase my life and to be
00:21:52.81\00:21:56.48
able to do it different, and to
know that abundant life all my
00:21:56.51\00:21:58.95
life, to have that advantage.
00:21:58.98\00:22:01.12
But some of us
have come later in.
00:22:01.15\00:22:03.15
God doesn't give up
on us even if we didn't
00:22:03.18\00:22:05.29
know that abundant life earlier.
00:22:05.32\00:22:07.26
God brings us into
that abundant life,
00:22:07.29\00:22:08.99
if we allow Him to, if
we respond to His voice.
00:22:09.02\00:22:11.63
And so, the
first key, of course,
00:22:11.66\00:22:13.96
in our study, the one thing that
we want to pull away more than
00:22:14.00\00:22:16.23
anything is that God is calling
each and every individual,
00:22:16.26\00:22:19.20
and He's calling you and He
wants you to have a personal
00:22:19.23\00:22:21.90
relationship with Jesus Christ.
00:22:21.94\00:22:26.07
And you're no exception.
00:22:26.11\00:22:27.58
No matter what you've done, no
matter what shameful things you
00:22:27.61\00:22:30.98
have in your past or
even in your present,
00:22:31.01\00:22:33.01
God wants to accept you just as
you are and He wants you to have
00:22:33.05\00:22:35.62
a personal saving
relationship with Him.
00:22:35.65\00:22:38.82
He wants to forgive you.
00:22:38.85\00:22:40.16
He wants to
give you a new start.
00:22:40.19\00:22:44.06
Well, as we look
at the life of Jesus,
00:22:44.09\00:22:45.69
we find that Jesus played the
role of a prophet to be sure.
00:22:45.73\00:22:48.40
Over and over he
says, "My Father,
00:22:48.43\00:22:50.20
I do not say the
things that I think,
00:22:50.23\00:22:51.63
but rather I am
speaking the word of My Father."
00:22:51.67\00:22:55.04
Over and over he
kept saying, "Listen,
00:22:55.07\00:22:56.64
I am giving you
messages from My Father."
00:22:56.67\00:22:59.64
But, of course, Jesus was, had
a special relationship with His
00:22:59.67\00:23:02.98
Father and the fact that
He was the eternal Son of God.
00:23:03.01\00:23:05.45
And so, He was
God Himself incarnate.
00:23:05.48\00:23:08.75
He was God Himself
cloaked in human flesh.
00:23:08.78\00:23:12.22
And so, Jesus was speaking
the words of His Father,
00:23:12.25\00:23:15.29
but the words of
His Father, of course,
00:23:15.32\00:23:17.03
we know as we read
the teachings of Jesus,
00:23:17.06\00:23:19.16
was also the words of
the mind of Jesus Himself.
00:23:19.19\00:23:23.26
Towards the end
of His life He says,
00:23:23.30\00:23:24.60
"You have seen me,
you have seen the Father."
00:23:24.63\00:23:27.80
You know, as Philip
or Thomas had asked him,
00:23:27.84\00:23:30.47
you know, says,
"Father, you know,
00:23:30.51\00:23:31.81
Jesus, if you just
show us the Father,
00:23:31.84\00:23:33.17
we will be satisfied."
00:23:33.21\00:23:34.51
And Jesus says, "I
already have, for the Father and
00:23:34.54\00:23:37.91
I are eternally one."
00:23:37.95\00:23:41.18
And, of course, then Jesus was
also the Savior of the world,
00:23:41.22\00:23:45.19
the only one that could
die for the sins of the world.
00:23:45.22\00:23:47.39
And so, Jesus played the role
of the prophet like Abraham,
00:23:47.42\00:23:49.62
but He was much more than that.
00:23:49.66\00:23:51.29
Now, when we look at Abraham, we
find that Abraham was more than
00:23:51.33\00:23:53.80
an average prophet as well.
00:23:53.83\00:23:56.03
You know, most
prophets that we find,
00:23:56.06\00:23:58.80
you know, Hosea and Jeremiah,
00:23:58.83\00:24:00.77
and Daniel, and
some of these others,
00:24:00.80\00:24:02.80
you know, there's
dozens of them in the Bible.
00:24:02.84\00:24:04.84
And all of them were called
with supernatural messages
00:24:04.87\00:24:07.61
and visions and dreams to
be able to give to God's people
00:24:07.64\00:24:10.78
and ultimately to the world.
00:24:10.81\00:24:12.85
But with Abraham, he was called
to play the role of a prophet,
00:24:12.88\00:24:16.08
but he was also called
for another high calling,
00:24:16.12\00:24:20.12
and that is that he was
going to be the great patriarch,
00:24:20.16\00:24:22.39
he was going to be
the father of a nation.
00:24:22.42\00:24:25.63
Now, there was others that God
had called and had prophesied
00:24:25.66\00:24:28.43
and said, "They will
be fathers of nations."
00:24:28.46\00:24:30.50
You know, on
Tuesday night study,
00:24:30.53\00:24:32.50
we've been studying recently and
verse by verse through Genesis,
00:24:32.53\00:24:35.64
and we discovered that Esau
also was to develop a nation.
00:24:35.67\00:24:38.81
And there's other
examples of that as well.
00:24:38.84\00:24:41.88
So, this is not unusual or
isolated just with Abraham,
00:24:41.91\00:24:45.18
but Abraham's
nation was to be different.
00:24:45.21\00:24:48.35
The Bible reveals that about
2,000 years before Jesus came,
00:24:48.38\00:24:52.59
God called
Abraham to be a prophet,
00:24:52.62\00:24:54.59
yes, but He had also called him
to be the Father of the great
00:24:54.62\00:24:58.26
grand plan that Jesus had, that
the Father had with His Son and
00:24:58.29\00:25:02.63
the Holy Spirit, to be able
to bring together a country that
00:25:02.66\00:25:05.13
would be unique from every
other country upon the planet.
00:25:05.17\00:25:09.50
It would be a grand plan that
God had to preserve the truth
00:25:09.54\00:25:13.21
and to use that particular
nation to model the blessings
00:25:13.24\00:25:18.78
and the power that God
can give to a nation when they
00:25:18.81\00:25:22.88
give themselves over to God.
00:25:22.92\00:25:24.99
When they make God,
their only a king and
00:25:25.02\00:25:27.86
ruler in their country.
00:25:27.89\00:25:30.83
God was to develop a
people and country that
00:25:30.86\00:25:33.60
He would custom make.
00:25:33.63\00:25:35.40
You know, the
other countries, Esau,
00:25:35.43\00:25:36.77
God just let him
run his reign, you know,
00:25:36.80\00:25:39.03
run his course and do his thing
and his descendants' thing,
00:25:39.07\00:25:42.57
but not so with Abraham, not so
with the descendants of Abraham.
00:25:42.60\00:25:46.57
Now, in order for God to be able
to fulfill this particular plan,
00:25:46.61\00:25:50.25
he had to look upon the planet
and pick some key real estate.
00:25:50.28\00:25:53.75
He knows that every nation needs
some place to live and so as He
00:25:53.78\00:25:57.35
looked upon the real estate
of this particular planet,
00:25:57.39\00:25:59.42
He looked at what we
now call the Middle East.
00:25:59.45\00:26:02.19
And He looked along the eastern
shore of the Mediterranean Sea
00:26:02.22\00:26:06.80
between the sea
and the Jordan River,
00:26:06.83\00:26:09.53
the Sea of Galilee, a good water
source just a stone's throw from
00:26:09.56\00:26:13.54
the Euphrates River, which was
a key traveling and trade route.
00:26:13.57\00:26:17.54
And God chose what we,
even today, call modern Israel.
00:26:17.57\00:26:22.31
And so, God looked down upon the
land of Canaan as it was called,
00:26:22.34\00:26:25.75
and He said, "Listen,
we--I'm going to choose
00:26:25.78\00:26:28.55
this particular
part of the planet."
00:26:28.58\00:26:31.19
And this was not arbitrarily.
00:26:31.22\00:26:33.46
God had chosen it for a
very specific reason, why?
00:26:33.49\00:26:36.36
Because as it turns
out in the ancient world,
00:26:36.39\00:26:38.16
Israel, where
Israel, the land of Canaan,
00:26:38.19\00:26:41.30
as it was first called, was not
only a very fertile plain where
00:26:41.33\00:26:44.93
you have the the River Jordan
and the Sea of Galilee there for
00:26:44.97\00:26:48.60
all kinds of irrigation,
blessings, and benefits.
00:26:48.64\00:26:51.41
But even more
importantly, was the crossroads
00:26:51.44\00:26:53.71
of the ancient world.
00:26:53.74\00:26:55.74
And when you look at the globe
and it's flat--or a map of the
00:26:55.78\00:26:59.15
world, and it's
kind of flat source,
00:26:59.18\00:27:03.62
you know, not that I'm
saying that the world is flat,
00:27:03.65\00:27:05.32
don't get me wrong.
00:27:05.35\00:27:06.79
Got to be careful nowadays
because there's a returning
00:27:06.82\00:27:08.66
trend back to a
flat world theory,
00:27:08.69\00:27:12.13
but if you look at a flat map
that represents the round world,
00:27:12.16\00:27:15.93
we find that there's Israel and
to the right when you're looking
00:27:15.96\00:27:19.87
at the map, which
is the east, you have?
00:27:19.90\00:27:23.24
You have the Asian
continent, don't you?
00:27:23.27\00:27:24.91
You have India, and
China, and all the like
00:27:24.94\00:27:26.51
over on that direction.
00:27:26.54\00:27:28.44
And then when you look to the
north and to the west, you have?
00:27:28.48\00:27:32.28
You have Europe, don't you?
00:27:32.31\00:27:34.08
Okay, another great continent
in that part of the world.
00:27:34.12\00:27:36.28
And then if you go to
the south, you have Africa,
00:27:36.32\00:27:39.95
some of you are saying.
00:27:39.99\00:27:41.29
All right, so
then you have Africa.
00:27:41.32\00:27:42.79
And so, as you have these
three great continents coming
00:27:42.82\00:27:45.36
together, you have this
intersection, which is Israel.
00:27:45.39\00:27:48.16
And so, this was a major,
major cross--trade crossroads.
00:27:48.20\00:27:52.97
Now, is that because God wanted
to just make everybody in Israel
00:27:53.00\00:27:56.37
rich so that they can
have a big party for centuries?
00:27:56.40\00:27:58.97
No.
00:27:59.01\00:28:00.38
Now, He certainly wanted
to bless them and make them
00:28:00.41\00:28:01.71
prosperous, that
was part of the deal.
00:28:01.74\00:28:03.78
But much more importantly, God
had intended for them to be at
00:28:03.81\00:28:07.62
the crossroads of the
known world back then because He
00:28:07.65\00:28:10.05
wanted to expose as many people
and nations to this grand plan
00:28:10.09\00:28:15.26
that He had, this grand nation
and model that would show the
00:28:15.29\00:28:18.43
world the great blessings
and power that can come
00:28:18.46\00:28:21.06
from following the
true God of heaven,
00:28:21.10\00:28:23.73
and from following in the truth.
00:28:23.77\00:28:28.27
Now, there's the real estate,
there's the part of the world
00:28:28.30\00:28:30.31
that God had chosen, but
who would be its citizens?
00:28:30.34\00:28:32.54
Well, we've already
kind of looked at that.
00:28:32.57\00:28:34.41
Abraham's descendants would be
the descendant--the citizens of
00:28:34.44\00:28:37.78
this new unique nation
that God was developing.
00:28:37.81\00:28:40.85
And, of course, the ultimate
citizen that would eventually
00:28:40.88\00:28:44.09
come out of those
citizens would be the Messiah,
00:28:44.12\00:28:49.86
Jesus Christ Himself,
the Savior of the world,
00:28:49.89\00:28:52.16
you know, the lion
of the tribe of Judah,
00:28:52.19\00:28:54.10
the descendant of King David.
00:28:54.13\00:28:56.16
Yes, and so, Abraham had a great
privilege with his prophetic
00:28:56.20\00:29:02.10
calling, and it
was a key privilege.
00:29:02.14\00:29:06.11
Now, most importantly, as God
was developing this particular
00:29:06.14\00:29:08.94
nation, God would
be their only King,
00:29:08.98\00:29:12.58
and all civil
laws were not created.
00:29:12.61\00:29:17.05
As we're used to here
in America or in the U.S.,
00:29:17.09\00:29:19.65
where we looked at
Congress to make our laws.
00:29:19.69\00:29:21.42
No, the laws that
were developed and were
00:29:21.46\00:29:24.73
to run civilly,
morally, ethically.
00:29:24.76\00:29:27.96
And in regards
to health, finances,
00:29:28.00\00:29:31.63
everything was
actually created by God.
00:29:31.67\00:29:33.97
And so, God gave
them the Ten Commandments,
00:29:34.00\00:29:36.74
and He also gave them
what we call the law of Moses.
00:29:36.77\00:29:40.91
Now, we don't want to get
confused and think that because
00:29:40.94\00:29:42.88
we call it the law of
Moses, Moses came up with it.
00:29:42.91\00:29:45.25
We don't want to get
confused and think that
00:29:45.28\00:29:46.92
it was his development.
00:29:46.95\00:29:48.25
No, he was simply the messenger.
00:29:48.28\00:29:49.58
Moses was a
prophet, and God told them,
00:29:49.62\00:29:52.29
each and every one of those 613
additional laws that were to run
00:29:52.32\00:29:57.33
the country and to help the
country of Israel understand,
00:29:57.36\00:30:00.56
"What do I do if my
neighbor steals my cow?
00:30:00.60\00:30:02.60
What do I do if somebody
in my neighborhood is killed?"
00:30:02.63\00:30:05.77
What--excuse me?
00:30:05.80\00:30:07.10
"What do I do when these
different things take place?"
00:30:07.14\00:30:08.80
And so, God gave the whole civil
and justice system laid out
00:30:08.84\00:30:13.04
through His prophet
Moses for this nation
00:30:13.07\00:30:15.58
that He would develop.
00:30:15.61\00:30:18.91
Now, of course, because
every law was created by God,
00:30:18.95\00:30:20.88
were those laws perfect?
00:30:20.92\00:30:22.58
Yes, of course,
they were, weren't they?
00:30:22.62\00:30:26.25
Okay, every law
that we pass at Congress,
00:30:26.29\00:30:28.19
is it always perfect?
00:30:28.22\00:30:29.86
Not so much, okay?
00:30:29.89\00:30:31.69
Some of them are pretty good and
we'd like to put our confidence
00:30:31.73\00:30:33.60
in our leaders and in
collective wisdom and so on.
00:30:33.63\00:30:36.90
But even with
collective human wisdom,
00:30:36.93\00:30:38.73
collective human wisdom, even
amongst some of our greatest
00:30:38.77\00:30:42.50
leaders and
thinkers that we have,
00:30:42.54\00:30:44.87
can never come up with the
perfect justice system that
00:30:44.91\00:30:48.21
God can come up with.
00:30:48.24\00:30:49.64
And so, God was
developing something very unique
00:30:49.68\00:30:52.11
in the nation of Israel.
00:30:52.15\00:30:54.98
There's a good example of that
and it's actually found in our
00:30:55.02\00:30:58.79
lesson study but if
you have your Bibles only,
00:30:58.82\00:31:00.76
turn to Leviticus
chapter 19, and verse 18.
00:31:00.79\00:31:04.69
You'll find that's our memory
text as well on the first page
00:31:04.73\00:31:08.23
of the lesson, and
we're going to have a
00:31:08.26\00:31:11.00
volunteer read
that for us as well.
00:31:11.03\00:31:13.60
Thank you, Rachel.
00:31:13.64\00:31:15.84
Rachel: Leviticus 19, verse 18,
00:31:17.27\00:31:21.01
"You shall not take vengeance,
nor bear any grudge against the
00:31:21.04\00:31:25.48
children of your
people, but you shall love
00:31:25.51\00:31:28.95
your neighbor as yourself.
00:31:28.98\00:31:30.85
I am the Lord."
00:31:30.89\00:31:33.76
Shawn: Okay, so here we have
the first penning and giving of
00:31:33.79\00:31:37.36
one of the most instrumental
laws that God gave to the
00:31:37.39\00:31:40.13
Israelites, and that is to
love your neighbor as yourself.
00:31:40.16\00:31:43.33
Now, that brings up a bit
of a side note that I just,
00:31:43.37\00:31:45.83
you know, as a pastor of the
Adventist Church and a student
00:31:45.87\00:31:48.57
of the Bible, evangelist,
I can't help but just address
00:31:48.60\00:31:51.77
that a little bit because
that particular commandment,
00:31:51.81\00:31:53.88
there's many
Christians, sincere Christians,
00:31:53.91\00:31:56.21
that I've met that are
confused about that particular
00:31:56.24\00:31:58.45
commandment because
they understand that the Ten
00:31:58.48\00:32:01.62
Commandments of God were
replaced by the two greatest
00:32:01.65\00:32:03.79
commandments that
Jesus was, had stated
00:32:03.82\00:32:07.29
during his public ministry.
00:32:07.32\00:32:09.26
He says, "You shall love
the Lord your God with all your
00:32:09.29\00:32:10.79
soul, your
strength and your mind."
00:32:10.83\00:32:12.59
And then he said
the second is like it,
00:32:12.63\00:32:14.00
"You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."
00:32:14.00\00:32:17.27
And so, many sincere Christians
believe that Jesus made those
00:32:17.30\00:32:19.63
up at that moment and
said, "This is the new law
00:32:19.67\00:32:21.20
for the New Testament."
00:32:21.24\00:32:23.64
And that just simply doesn't
hold water when you read the
00:32:23.67\00:32:26.78
Bible because you
discover that Jesus didn't make
00:32:26.81\00:32:29.21
up that second commandment.
00:32:29.24\00:32:30.68
No, He was quoting
from Leviticus chapter 19,
00:32:30.71\00:32:33.38
and verse 18.
00:32:33.42\00:32:35.48
And so, it's important for us to
understand that Jesus didn't say
00:32:35.52\00:32:38.09
that's a New Testament,
new covenant commandment,
00:32:38.12\00:32:42.72
a replacement commandment.
00:32:42.76\00:32:43.99
No, he says, "Don't forget that
that's the second most important
00:32:44.03\00:32:46.33
of the commandments."
00:32:46.36\00:32:49.50
And so, that's
important for us to understand.
00:32:49.53\00:32:54.20
Ancient Israel was the most
unique nation to ever be created
00:32:54.24\00:32:57.04
in history because of its
origins and also because of the
00:32:57.07\00:33:00.78
purpose that God had for it.
00:33:00.81\00:33:03.45
You know, during the first years
of my Christian experience,
00:33:03.48\00:33:06.28
I didn't know almost
anything about the Bible.
00:33:06.31\00:33:08.38
I was kind of
starting from ground zero,
00:33:08.42\00:33:10.25
and as I exposed to different
Christian conversations,
00:33:10.29\00:33:13.59
and different denominations, and
churches that Denise and I were
00:33:13.62\00:33:16.76
exploring, having conversations
with Denise raised in the
00:33:16.79\00:33:19.29
Lutheran Church,
and reading the Bible,
00:33:19.33\00:33:21.66
you know, in a limited basis, we
started to think to ourselves,
00:33:21.70\00:33:26.37
why is God so, so
biased towards the Israelites,
00:33:26.40\00:33:32.51
and towards Israel,
and to the Jewish people,
00:33:32.54\00:33:35.24
but He doesn't
really seem to show that
00:33:35.28\00:33:37.88
favoritism to the rest?
00:33:37.91\00:33:39.21
He kind of seems to
have favorites in the world,
00:33:39.25\00:33:41.62
and His favorites is the ones
that he kind of pours out all
00:33:41.65\00:33:44.29
of his attention, and
his blessings, and so on.
00:33:44.32\00:33:48.46
And the rest of us just kind
of get the crumbs that fall off
00:33:48.49\00:33:50.63
the table and such.
00:33:50.66\00:33:54.00
And so, God didn't
appear very fair and almost like
00:33:54.03\00:33:58.00
a form of predestination.
00:33:58.03\00:34:00.27
If you were born a
Jew, you had it made.
00:34:00.30\00:34:02.07
If you weren't born a
Jew, well, tough luck.
00:34:02.10\00:34:05.07
And I think--I
don't think I was alone.
00:34:05.11\00:34:08.01
I think there's more than one
thinking Christian and worshiper
00:34:08.04\00:34:11.38
of God that is
saying, "You know,
00:34:11.41\00:34:12.85
why is it that God
seems to, you know,
00:34:12.88\00:34:14.68
show favoritism to one
particular nation and people?
00:34:14.72\00:34:18.32
And as I read the
Bible completely through,
00:34:18.35\00:34:21.86
I found out that that
really wasn't the case at all.
00:34:21.89\00:34:24.26
The problem was that I hadn't
read the Bible through yet and
00:34:24.29\00:34:27.30
so, there's a very good case for
us here today and that case is
00:34:27.30\00:34:30.97
this, is it important for us
as individual Christians to read
00:34:31.00\00:34:34.17
the Bible through as a
whole ourselves personally?
00:34:34.20\00:34:37.87
It is, I'm glad I heard a number
of voices speak up and say that
00:34:37.91\00:34:41.81
because it is absolutely
critical and essential to make
00:34:41.84\00:34:45.41
the Bible your own.
00:34:45.45\00:34:47.28
You know, we don't want
to fall into the trap of the
00:34:47.32\00:34:49.45
Roman Church tradition, which
kind of developed to the point
00:34:49.48\00:34:54.36
where they say, "Listen, only
the priest is required to read
00:34:54.39\00:34:57.56
the Bible as a whole, and
he is the only one that is
00:34:57.59\00:34:59.96
authorized to interpret it."
00:35:00.06\00:35:01.90
So, if you're not reading the
Bible and you've never read it
00:35:01.93\00:35:05.10
through yourself, you're
actually following more of the
00:35:05.13\00:35:07.74
Catholic tradition, than
you are the biblical tradition.
00:35:07.77\00:35:11.14
And so, please, I
want to encourage you,
00:35:11.17\00:35:13.84
this is a challenge.
00:35:13.88\00:35:15.11
If you haven't read the Bible
through, read it for yourself.
00:35:15.14\00:35:17.48
Make it your own.
00:35:17.51\00:35:18.81
See the the answers
that God will give to you.
00:35:18.85\00:35:20.22
This is one of the answers
that God gave to me is that,
00:35:20.25\00:35:22.18
that God actually
had intended Israel,
00:35:22.22\00:35:24.85
not to be exclusive, not to be
these kind of favorites that God
00:35:24.89\00:35:28.69
would kind of pour
everything, his attention on.
00:35:28.72\00:35:30.99
No, God was pouring his extra
attention on them so that they
00:35:31.03\00:35:33.96
could draw
others into their fold,
00:35:34.00\00:35:36.60
and they too can have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ.
00:35:36.63\00:35:40.54
That was the original origin and
purpose of God calling Abraham
00:35:40.57\00:35:44.64
the Israelite nation.
00:35:44.67\00:35:46.84
And so, I
discovered in the law of Moses,
00:35:46.88\00:35:49.54
the very first
writer of the Bible,
00:35:49.58\00:35:52.65
that in his writings, God had
instructed him very clearly to
00:35:52.68\00:35:56.22
put important accommodations
for non-Jewish people,
00:35:56.25\00:35:59.92
for Gentiles, to be fully
integrated into the Israelite
00:35:59.95\00:36:03.16
citizenship, to be
heirs of God's kingdom,
00:36:03.19\00:36:06.63
and to be fully
called a worshiper of Yahweh,
00:36:06.66\00:36:11.57
of the God of Israel.
00:36:11.60\00:36:13.40
I also found mission
statements for Israel
00:36:13.44\00:36:15.24
in the book of Isaiah.
00:36:15.27\00:36:17.44
One of the key ones is
found in Isaiah chapter 56.
00:36:17.47\00:36:21.04
And so again, I want to invite
you to open your Bibles here
00:36:21.08\00:36:23.48
this morning as we
look at Isaiah chapter 56.
00:36:23.51\00:36:30.92
And we're going to
start with verse 3,
00:36:30.95\00:36:34.86
Isaiah 56, and
let's start with verse 3.
00:36:34.89\00:36:43.93
And we're going to read
right through to the end of
00:36:43.97\00:36:45.27
verse 7, so stay with me.
00:36:45.30\00:36:47.30
It says, "Do not let the son
of the foreigner Who has joined
00:36:47.34\00:36:50.11
himself to the
Lord speak, saying,
00:36:50.14\00:36:51.94
'The Lord has utterly
separated me from His people';
00:36:51.97\00:36:55.28
Nor let the eunuch say,
'Here I am, a dry tree.'
00:36:55.31\00:36:58.45
For thus says the Lord:
'To the eunuchs who keep
00:36:58.48\00:37:01.22
My Sabbaths, And
choose what pleases Me,
00:37:01.25\00:37:04.25
And hold fast My covenant, Even
to them I will give in My house
00:37:04.29\00:37:08.22
And within My walls
a place and a name.'"
00:37:08.26\00:37:12.99
Okay, that's a name in
His kingdom, citizenship.
00:37:13.03\00:37:15.46
"Better than that
of sons and daughters;
00:37:15.50\00:37:17.93
I will give them an everlasting
name That shall not be cut off."
00:37:17.97\00:37:22.34
How encouraging, verse 6 says,
"Also the sons of the foreigner
00:37:22.37\00:37:25.71
Who join themselves to
the Lord, to serve Him,
00:37:25.74\00:37:28.28
And to love the name of
the Lord, to be His servants.
00:37:28.31\00:37:31.95
Everyone who keeps
from defiling the Sabbath,
00:37:31.98\00:37:33.92
And holds fast My covenant, even
them I will bring to My holy
00:37:33.95\00:37:38.05
mountain, I will make them
joyful in My house of prayer."
00:37:38.09\00:37:42.19
Where's His house of prayer?
00:37:42.22\00:37:44.19
The holy temple of
Jerusalem itself, yeah.
00:37:44.23\00:37:47.40
"Their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices will be accepted on
00:37:47.40\00:37:51.30
My altar; for My house shall be
called a house of prayer for,"
00:37:51.33\00:37:54.57
how many nations?
00:37:54.60\00:37:56.64
For all nations.
00:37:56.67\00:37:58.01
Now, for many of us, as we read
that particular statement and
00:37:58.04\00:38:00.34
prophecy of Isaiah, we think
immediately of the scene of
00:38:00.38\00:38:04.58
Jesus when He comes into
the courtyard of the temple.
00:38:04.61\00:38:09.22
And as he's in the open
courtyard of the temple in the
00:38:09.25\00:38:11.79
area of the temple mountain,
and such surrounding the temple,
00:38:11.82\00:38:15.79
we find that He
cleanses the temple.
00:38:15.82\00:38:18.16
And He goes through and He
overturns the moneychangers,
00:38:18.19\00:38:20.50
and He lets the different
sacrificial animals go,
00:38:20.53\00:38:22.76
not because He didn't believe
in the sacrificial system,
00:38:22.80\00:38:26.70
He's the one that created
it as a symbol pointing forward
00:38:26.74\00:38:28.97
to the ultimate
sacrifice, Jesus.
00:38:29.00\00:38:31.44
But the problem was
that they had turned it
00:38:31.47\00:38:33.54
into a marketplace.
00:38:33.58\00:38:34.94
The problem was that it was
just a big noisy marketplace,
00:38:34.98\00:38:37.85
and they were there just to
try to make as big a profit as
00:38:37.88\00:38:40.88
possible no matter
how much they defiled the
00:38:40.92\00:38:43.15
court and the temple.
00:38:43.18\00:38:44.75
And it was just a
noise, a noisy place.
00:38:44.79\00:38:48.92
And so, we find here
that Jesus, of course,
00:38:48.96\00:38:52.29
tried to get involved.
00:38:52.33\00:38:54.03
He very clearly got
the message across that,
00:38:54.10\00:38:55.63
"Listen, My house was not called
to be a marketplace or a den
00:38:55.66\00:38:59.00
of thieves, but rather it was
called to be a house of prayer
00:38:59.03\00:39:01.84
for all nations, all nations."
00:39:01.87\00:39:05.77
And so, this is no small
prophecy that Isaiah was given.
00:39:05.81\00:39:08.11
It was the mission statement
of the nation of Israel.
00:39:08.14\00:39:13.65
And so, one of the exciting
things that I discovered again
00:39:13.68\00:39:15.78
as I went through
the entire Old Testament,
00:39:15.82\00:39:18.22
not only Isaiah but many others,
Jonah is another outstanding
00:39:18.25\00:39:21.52
example where God has
called His prophets to speak,
00:39:21.56\00:39:24.96
not only the Israelites,
but also those outside of the
00:39:24.99\00:39:27.03
borders of Israel, why?
00:39:27.03\00:39:29.06
Because God has revealed
very clearly in the Bible
00:39:29.10\00:39:31.27
as an International God.
00:39:31.30\00:39:34.20
God has been working with
every nation across the world.
00:39:34.24\00:39:37.21
God has been trying to draw with
all His strength and with all
00:39:37.24\00:39:40.61
His power, each and every nation
that exists today and ever has.
00:39:40.64\00:39:45.08
God is interested in working
with each nation and individual
00:39:45.11\00:39:48.25
that has always
lived upon the planet, why?
00:39:48.28\00:39:51.09
Because he's always been
interested in having a personal
00:39:51.12\00:39:53.92
relationship with every single
human being that has ever lived.
00:39:53.96\00:39:58.59
And so, it's important for to
be able to see that Bible truth
00:39:58.63\00:40:01.43
that God can be
seen for who he is,
00:40:01.46\00:40:03.73
and Israel can be seen for
what God had intended it to be.
00:40:03.77\00:40:08.90
Now, that being said, we just
don't have time to be able to
00:40:08.94\00:40:12.37
address another issue.
00:40:12.41\00:40:13.84
I'd love to spend
another half hour on it,
00:40:13.88\00:40:16.18
and we're kind of touching on
it as we look at the nation of
00:40:16.21\00:40:18.68
Israel because we're
looking at ancient Israel.
00:40:18.71\00:40:20.68
But then we ask the question,
what about modern Israel?
00:40:20.72\00:40:23.69
Does modern
Israel still play a part?
00:40:23.72\00:40:26.32
Well, it might, I'm not
saying it won't play a part.
00:40:26.35\00:40:28.42
It certainly will play
a part because it has been
00:40:28.46\00:40:31.26
stewards of God's Scriptures.
00:40:31.29\00:40:33.56
But one of the saddest
statements that Jesus made
00:40:33.60\00:40:36.50
before He was crucified is that
He would take--He would remove
00:40:36.53\00:40:40.30
the kingdom from
the nation of Israel,
00:40:40.34\00:40:43.14
and He would give it to
another nation delivering
00:40:43.17\00:40:45.77
the fruits thereof.
00:40:45.81\00:40:47.84
You know why?
00:40:47.88\00:40:49.11
Because God tried everything He
could to be able to work through
00:40:49.14\00:40:52.28
the nation of Israel.
00:40:52.31\00:40:53.85
But sadly, there was only
small windows of time over the
00:40:53.88\00:40:56.85
centuries where they
fulfilled their purpose,
00:40:56.89\00:40:59.75
where they fulfill that model
that God wanted them to be,
00:40:59.79\00:41:03.19
the evangelists of the
world, the light on a hill.
00:41:03.22\00:41:07.30
And sadly, even when
Jesus came to His own,
00:41:07.30\00:41:10.30
His own accepted Him not, as
it says in the first chapter of
00:41:10.33\00:41:13.94
the Gospel of John.
00:41:13.97\00:41:15.87
And so sadly,
Jesus says, "Listen,
00:41:15.90\00:41:17.97
because of your
choice, not mine,
00:41:18.01\00:41:19.97
I need to remove the kingdom
from your--your purpose from
00:41:20.01\00:41:23.18
you, and now give
it to another nation,
00:41:23.21\00:41:26.41
and that nation is a
nation without borders."
00:41:26.45\00:41:29.15
You know, Peter later
on reiterated that said,
00:41:29.18\00:41:31.12
"Listen, we are a holy nation.
00:41:31.15\00:41:33.12
You know, we are a priesthood.
00:41:33.15\00:41:35.56
You know, we are living stones
that are called to be the light
00:41:35.59\00:41:39.63
to the world, the
salt of the earth."
00:41:39.66\00:41:41.76
And so, Peter was pointing
to a new nation of Israel,
00:41:41.80\00:41:45.27
a spiritual Israel.
00:41:45.30\00:41:47.40
Now again, if you
want to study this further,
00:41:47.44\00:41:49.07
and I've opened up a
bit of a can of worms.
00:41:49.10\00:41:50.51
If you've never
studied it, I hope it's enough
00:41:50.54\00:41:51.84
to get your interest.
00:41:51.87\00:41:53.11
But I want to recommend that you
go to Amazing Facts store which
00:41:53.14\00:41:56.24
is afbookstore.com.
00:41:56.28\00:41:59.25
That's A-F as in
facts, bookstore.com.
00:41:59.28\00:42:02.98
And you can find there
an, order, a little booklet.
00:42:03.02\00:42:05.02
It's called "Spiritual Israel."
00:42:05.05\00:42:07.82
And it's written by Pastor Doug
Batchelor and Steve Wohlberg.
00:42:07.86\00:42:10.59
It's a really good
read, really well done.
00:42:10.63\00:42:13.23
I highly recommend it if you've
never studied that before.
00:42:13.26\00:42:17.10
Well, what's some
examples in the Bible times,
00:42:17.13\00:42:20.67
in Old Testament times,
where God had used Israel in
00:42:20.70\00:42:24.04
a successful way to
bring those outside of Israel,
00:42:24.07\00:42:27.08
those who are not Jews,
into a relationship with God?
00:42:27.11\00:42:31.71
Well, a couple
that came to my mind,
00:42:31.75\00:42:33.38
one of his whole
book is named after her.
00:42:33.42\00:42:35.78
Her name is Ruth,
and Ruth was a Moabite,
00:42:35.82\00:42:38.79
a Moabitess, I
guess we could call her.
00:42:38.82\00:42:41.32
And she had married
a Israelite young man,
00:42:41.36\00:42:45.19
as their family had needed
to go to Moab and live there for
00:42:45.23\00:42:48.63
a time during a
famine in Israel.
00:42:48.66\00:42:51.07
And we find that Ruth's
mother-in-law was widowed.
00:42:51.10\00:42:56.14
And so, the widow was required
to go back to Israel to be able
00:42:56.17\00:42:59.21
to find sustenance, to
be able to find a way to be
00:42:59.24\00:43:04.15
able to feed herself.
00:43:04.18\00:43:06.01
And so, she went back
and she told her sons and her
00:43:06.05\00:43:08.45
daughter-in-laws,
"Listen, you can stay here."
00:43:08.48\00:43:10.05
Ruth said, "No, I
choose to go with you.
00:43:10.09\00:43:12.35
I accept your God,
and I want to worship God.
00:43:12.39\00:43:15.62
I want Him to be my God, even
as I accepted Him in my heart."
00:43:15.66\00:43:18.76
And so, we find
that there's a beautiful
00:43:18.79\00:43:20.96
story how she
became an Israelite.
00:43:20.96\00:43:22.60
The Queen of Sheba, the
most powerful window in Israel's
00:43:22.63\00:43:26.57
history when they fulfilled that
great purpose that God had is
00:43:26.60\00:43:30.11
that they were doing so
well spiritually in wisdom
00:43:30.14\00:43:33.44
and prosperity, that it was
drawing the attention that God
00:43:33.48\00:43:37.08
had always intended for Israel
of the nations around them.
00:43:37.11\00:43:40.68
You know, rumors started to
spread fast through the nations
00:43:40.72\00:43:42.92
of that part of the
world, in Africa, and Europe,
00:43:42.95\00:43:45.42
and in Asia.
00:43:45.45\00:43:46.76
And they started to hear about
this great King Solomon in this
00:43:46.79\00:43:49.26
little tiny country called
Israel that was more powerful
00:43:49.29\00:43:52.96
than some of the
largest countries that existed
00:43:52.99\00:43:55.36
in the world.
00:43:55.40\00:43:57.20
And so, we have the Queen
of Sheba that comes up now.
00:43:57.23\00:43:59.70
Where's Sheba?
00:43:59.73\00:44:02.07
If you look on the map, you'll
find that there's Saudi Arabia.
00:44:02.10\00:44:04.41
And then just below there,
there's a little strip before
00:44:04.44\00:44:06.71
the ocean there,
and it's called Yemen.
00:44:06.74\00:44:10.31
And so, modern Yemen is
where Sheba used to exist.
00:44:10.35\00:44:12.61
And so, we find that
this Queen of the south,
00:44:12.65\00:44:16.22
as Jesus referred to her,
came up and she wanted to hear
00:44:16.25\00:44:20.12
for herself from
this great famous King.
00:44:20.16\00:44:22.49
And when she was
finished with her visit,
00:44:22.52\00:44:25.23
she said to the
King, "Listen, you know,
00:44:25.26\00:44:26.73
you have outlived or you
have outdone, the rumors.
00:44:26.76\00:44:30.23
I've heard rumors that
I found hard to believe,
00:44:30.27\00:44:32.53
but I find that your
wisdom and the prosperity,
00:44:32.57\00:44:36.04
and the fulfillment of
your people is greater than the
00:44:36.07\00:44:39.17
rumors that I've heard."
00:44:39.21\00:44:40.94
And so, you think the Queen
of Sheba went back with God
00:44:40.98\00:44:44.31
in her heart in a real way?
00:44:44.35\00:44:46.21
Well, the evidence shows us that
there's a much higher chance
00:44:46.25\00:44:50.22
that she became a
lifetime worshiper of Yahweh
00:44:50.25\00:44:52.69
after that experience.
00:44:52.72\00:44:55.59
In fact, Jesus gives us
some of that evidence in Matthew
00:44:55.62\00:44:59.16
chapter 12, and verse 42.
00:44:59.19\00:45:01.80
It says, "The queen of
the South will rise up in the
00:45:01.83\00:45:05.47
judgment with this
generation and condemn it,
00:45:05.50\00:45:07.34
for she came from the ends of
the earth to hear the wisdom of
00:45:07.37\00:45:10.64
Solomon; and indeed a
greater than Solomon is here."
00:45:10.67\00:45:14.18
And so, Jesus
rebukes His nation,
00:45:14.21\00:45:16.71
rebukes His
generation of Israelites,
00:45:16.75\00:45:19.71
and He says, "Listen, you know,
the Queen of Sheba was more
00:45:19.75\00:45:21.95
openhearted to the workings of
God and her day than you are in
00:45:21.98\00:45:27.49
My day, and I'm doing greater
things than Solomon did."
00:45:27.52\00:45:30.76
And so, we give some strong
evidence that the Queen of
00:45:30.79\00:45:33.83
Sheba's heart was wide open
to have relationship with God,
00:45:33.86\00:45:36.67
more than likely brought it back
to her nation and shared it with
00:45:36.70\00:45:40.40
others in her country.
00:45:40.44\00:45:43.14
Well, after the children
of Abraham reproduced for over
00:45:43.17\00:45:45.27
400 years in Egypt, God had
delivered them out of some cruel
00:45:45.31\00:45:48.94
slavery that they had fallen
into during those centuries
00:45:48.98\00:45:51.51
that they were spending there.
00:45:51.55\00:45:53.31
And now the children of Israel
were so great that most Bible
00:45:53.35\00:45:56.95
evidence points as to
approximately 3 million
00:45:56.99\00:45:59.39
people that existed that
were the descendants of Abraham.
00:45:59.42\00:46:02.79
God had developed them large
enough that they could become
00:46:02.82\00:46:05.33
their own genuine
country and, of course,
00:46:05.36\00:46:09.53
He'd already chosen the spot.
00:46:09.56\00:46:14.17
He settles them in, but on the
way to the land of Canaan to the
00:46:14.20\00:46:17.37
Promised Land, God does
something very important.
00:46:17.41\00:46:20.94
He reveals to them the greatest
primary universal eternal code
00:46:20.98\00:46:26.48
of ethics, that was given both
audibly and in written form on
00:46:26.51\00:46:31.09
stone to the Israelites.
00:46:31.12\00:46:34.26
It was like the constitution, as
the lesson study points up for
00:46:34.29\00:46:37.03
us, the constitution for
this new budding founded nation
00:46:37.06\00:46:41.53
that God Himself had founded.
00:46:41.56\00:46:44.03
And the very foundation of
it, the very foundation of its
00:46:44.07\00:46:46.80
government that God gave was so
important that not only did He
00:46:46.84\00:46:50.64
write it on stone giving it
an extra strong message of its
00:46:50.67\00:46:55.58
important and foundation,
but He also audibly spoke
00:46:55.61\00:46:58.88
from the Mountain of Sinai.
00:46:58.91\00:47:00.95
And the Israelites,
with their own ears,
00:47:00.98\00:47:02.52
had heard God's
voice speak and thunder
00:47:02.55\00:47:04.79
these great commandments.
00:47:04.82\00:47:06.92
And then He gave it for
permanent record in a golden
00:47:06.96\00:47:09.42
box, or ark, as it's called,
that was put in the most holy
00:47:09.46\00:47:13.06
room of the great holy
sanctuary of the Israelites.
00:47:13.09\00:47:18.93
How many here can
recite the Ten Commandments?
00:47:18.97\00:47:25.34
All right, I see
two or three people.
00:47:25.37\00:47:27.74
Now, this is, I'm not
asking this to shame you,
00:47:27.78\00:47:29.88
but I'm asking
it to challenge you.
00:47:29.91\00:47:31.58
If this is so important, and
God wants to write it upon our
00:47:31.61\00:47:36.52
hearts, should we know them?
00:47:36.55\00:47:39.05
Sure, we should be
able to list them off.
00:47:39.09\00:47:40.72
If we don't know it up here,
how can God write it down here?
00:47:40.76\00:47:44.23
And so, it's very
important for us to be able to
00:47:44.26\00:47:45.63
take this seriously.
00:47:45.66\00:47:47.30
So, let's say it
together, "You shall have
00:47:47.36\00:47:48.66
no other gods before me.
00:47:48.70\00:47:51.77
You shall not make for yourself
any carved images of any
00:47:51.80\00:47:54.50
likeness of anything
in heaven, and the earth,
00:47:54.54\00:47:57.17
and the sea or under the earth,
and you shall not bow down to
00:47:57.21\00:47:59.37
them, nor serve them.
00:47:59.41\00:48:02.51
For I the Lord your God am a
jealous God visiting upon the
00:48:02.54\00:48:05.41
iniquity of the
fathers to the children,
00:48:05.45\00:48:07.28
to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate Me,
00:48:07.32\00:48:08.92
but at the same time, showing
mercy to thousands to those
00:48:08.95\00:48:14.39
who love Me and
keep My commandments."
00:48:14.42\00:48:18.36
Yes, got that one.
00:48:18.39\00:48:20.43
That's the
longest one, isn't it?
00:48:20.46\00:48:21.80
Second one or the third one is,
"You shall not take the name of
00:48:21.83\00:48:25.63
the Lord your God in
vain, for the Lord will
00:48:25.67\00:48:27.37
not hold him guiltless."
00:48:27.40\00:48:29.10
He uses his name in vain.
00:48:29.14\00:48:30.84
Then we come to another
long one, but an important one.
00:48:30.87\00:48:33.07
"Remember the Sabbath day," this
universal Sabbath day that God
00:48:33.11\00:48:37.31
created in Genesis
in Adam and Eve's day.
00:48:37.35\00:48:39.68
"Remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy.
00:48:39.71\00:48:42.18
Six days you shall
labor and do all your work,
00:48:42.22\00:48:44.35
but the seventh day is the
Sabbath of the Lord your God.
00:48:44.39\00:48:47.59
In it, you
shall do no work, you,
00:48:47.62\00:48:49.12
your son, your
daughter, your manservant,
00:48:49.16\00:48:50.79
your maidservant,
your cattle, nor the
00:48:50.83\00:48:52.46
strangers within your gates.
00:48:52.49\00:48:54.23
For in six days the
Lord created the heavens,
00:48:54.30\00:48:56.63
the earth, the sea,
and all that is in them,
00:48:56.67\00:48:59.10
but rested the seventh day.
00:48:59.13\00:49:02.17
Therefore the Lord bless the
seventh day and hallowed it."
00:49:02.20\00:49:06.54
That's the second longest one.
00:49:06.57\00:49:09.51
Then we come to the fifth one,
"Honor your father and mother
00:49:09.54\00:49:12.25
that the days may be
long in the land that the Lord
00:49:12.28\00:49:14.58
your God has given you."
00:49:14.62\00:49:17.09
That's an important one.
00:49:17.12\00:49:18.65
Don't want to forget that one.
00:49:18.69\00:49:20.42
Then we come to the
sixth one, "You shall not,
00:49:20.46\00:49:22.86
you shall not murder, you
shall not commit adultery.
00:49:22.89\00:49:25.89
You shall not steal.
00:49:25.93\00:49:28.26
You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor."
00:49:28.30\00:49:31.43
In other words,
be honest, don't lie.
00:49:31.47\00:49:33.34
And the last one, "You shall
not covet your neighbor's house,
00:49:33.37\00:49:37.94
your neighbor's
wife," your neighbor's ox,
00:49:37.97\00:49:40.78
their donkey, their
car, their Mercedes,
00:49:40.81\00:49:43.11
there RV, or anything
that is your neighbors, right?
00:49:43.14\00:49:48.15
And so, there it
is, if I can do it,
00:49:48.18\00:49:50.72
you can do it, can't you?
00:49:50.75\00:49:52.49
And so, there's your challenge.
00:49:52.52\00:49:54.39
Go home and take that
constitution because that was
00:49:54.42\00:49:57.56
not only the constitution
for the Israelites in literally
00:49:57.59\00:50:00.83
Israel, but now Peter says
there is a spiritual Israel.
00:50:00.86\00:50:05.03
We are a holy
nation, a royal priesthood,
00:50:05.07\00:50:09.54
and we are called to bring
that great constitution to those
00:50:09.57\00:50:12.07
around us and help them to know
that that is the very foundation
00:50:12.11\00:50:14.38
of having a
prosperous, happy life.
00:50:14.41\00:50:16.78
And God wants to
write that upon our hearts.
00:50:16.81\00:50:18.91
How much I wish
we had more time,
00:50:18.95\00:50:20.78
but we don't
this particular study.
00:50:20.82\00:50:22.48
And so, we're going to
have to wrap it up here
00:50:22.52\00:50:24.35
for our study today.
00:50:24.39\00:50:25.82
But if you have not taken
advantage or you missed the
00:50:25.85\00:50:27.86
beginning of our program, I want
to invite you to take advantage
00:50:27.89\00:50:30.96
of our free offer,
which is Offer Number 115.
00:50:30.99\00:50:34.30
It's entitled "The
Colossal City In Space."
00:50:34.36\00:50:37.53
And so, take
advantage of this free,
00:50:37.57\00:50:39.37
very informative
Bible study guide.
00:50:39.40\00:50:42.17
And the number is on the
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00:50:42.20\00:50:45.77
You can also text the code
SH122 and dial that to 40544.
00:50:45.81\00:50:53.35
And so, God bless
you and we look forward
00:50:53.38\00:50:55.45
to seeing you next week.
00:50:55.48\00:50:57.49
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all different types of things.
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I finally hit rock bottom when I
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00:51:45.67\00:51:50.01
having a night of
partying with some friends.
00:51:50.04\00:51:52.91
I was drunk, high on ecstasy,
and I realized then that I had
00:51:52.94\00:51:58.58
to make a change.
00:51:58.61\00:52:00.82
Vince: I was in the military
and listening to very satanic
00:52:00.85\00:52:03.08
music every day
and heard this whisper,
00:52:03.12\00:52:06.05
and carve 666 in my knuckles.
00:52:06.09\00:52:08.39
I contemplated on it a while,
and I was sitting at my desk and
00:52:08.42\00:52:11.59
I had my knife on me.
00:52:11.63\00:52:16.03
And I started carving the
horizontal lines for the sixes
00:52:16.06\00:52:18.87
in my index finger
first with serrated edges
00:52:18.90\00:52:25.41
and started to enjoy it.
00:52:25.44\00:52:27.51
I wanted to make it known
who I wanted to follow actually,
00:52:27.54\00:52:32.45
not knowing I was
following Satan at the time,
00:52:32.48\00:52:35.22
just I thought it
was a cool thing to do.
00:52:35.25\00:52:37.09
Brittany: So, I
met this guy online,
00:52:37.12\00:52:38.65
and that was my husband Vince.
00:52:38.69\00:52:41.12
And I noticed his ears.
00:52:41.16\00:52:44.39
And we started talking
and he was just adorable.
00:52:44.43\00:52:47.83
Vince: Flew down and actually
met her here in Arizona.
00:52:47.86\00:52:49.83
Brittany: And at that point,
I found out quickly after we met
00:52:49.86\00:52:54.90
that I was pregnant.
00:52:54.94\00:52:56.91
Vince: So, shortly
after our daughter was born,
00:52:56.94\00:52:58.17
it was a very exciting moment,
but nurses and doctors noticed
00:52:58.21\00:53:01.11
something right away
that she was extremely
00:53:01.14\00:53:02.78
orange with jaundice.
00:53:02.81\00:53:04.95
Brittany: And she ended
up in the hospital very sick,
00:53:04.98\00:53:07.98
and it was extremely hard on us.
00:53:08.02\00:53:12.52
We were teenagers, we
were scared, our baby was sick.
00:53:12.55\00:53:16.89
I was someone
that was very angry.
00:53:16.93\00:53:20.90
And at that point, we
were in the hospital room,
00:53:20.93\00:53:26.77
and I remember a chaplain coming
in and speaking with the people
00:53:26.80\00:53:31.11
since it was like a conjoined
room we had a roommate.
00:53:31.14\00:53:34.38
And the chaplain
had said, you know,
00:53:34.41\00:53:37.45
if they could pray
for the other family.
00:53:37.48\00:53:40.22
And that's when I knew
that there was my chance.
00:53:40.25\00:53:42.65
I had to take that opportunity.
00:53:42.68\00:53:45.12
And I asked my husband,
"Should I go talk to him?"
00:53:45.15\00:53:47.72
Vince: I said, "No way."
00:53:47.76\00:53:49.06
I wanted nothing to do with God.
00:53:49.09\00:53:50.39
I wanted nothing to do
with talking to this chaplain.
00:53:50.43\00:53:52.06
Brittany: I decided that I
was going to get up anyway.
00:53:52.09\00:53:55.63
And I got up and you
could tell he was very
00:53:55.66\00:53:58.43
angry that I
decided to walk over.
00:53:58.47\00:54:00.27
And I went to the chaplain and I
asked him to come over and speak
00:54:00.30\00:54:05.61
to us, and he did.
00:54:05.64\00:54:06.98
Vince: And he came in,
and we asked him questions,
00:54:07.01\00:54:09.21
and he actually came to
visit us every single day.
00:54:09.24\00:54:11.85
Brittany: The chaplain that
we met with mentioned Amazing
00:54:11.88\00:54:14.65
Facts study guides
and just the ministries.
00:54:14.68\00:54:17.55
Vince: He showed us videos
and study guides from Amazing
00:54:17.59\00:54:21.96
Facts, specifically.
00:54:21.99\00:54:23.73
It was on final
events and cosmic conflict.
00:54:23.76\00:54:25.63
And at that point, we had
transferred hospitals to an
00:54:25.66\00:54:27.56
outpatient hospital, and we
were able to watch these videos.
00:54:27.60\00:54:31.37
And we were hooked on them.
00:54:31.40\00:54:33.54
Brittany: It
was a huge blessing.
00:54:33.57\00:54:35.47
We would watch Pastor Doug, and
we would sit up late at night
00:54:35.50\00:54:40.68
watching sermons.
00:54:40.71\00:54:42.94
And we, we were just teenagers.
00:54:42.98\00:54:45.31
Most kids our age were out doing
crazy things and here we are
00:54:45.35\00:54:48.62
at home with popcorn, chocolate
bars, watching Pastor Doug.
00:54:48.65\00:54:52.99
Pastor Ben Lundquist:
This young couple came into
00:54:53.02\00:54:54.66
the Camelback Church
holding a beautiful little baby.
00:54:54.69\00:54:57.56
And this was one of
the first times that I had
00:54:57.59\00:54:59.86
ever met Vince and Brittany.
00:54:59.89\00:55:02.03
Vince: We needed somebody
to show us that they loved us,
00:55:02.06\00:55:04.43
that they supported us,
and Pastor Ben was there giving
00:55:04.47\00:55:06.37
us Bible studies on marriage
counseling, as well as baptism.
00:55:06.40\00:55:09.54
Brittany: I was still
smoking and drinking lightly,
00:55:09.57\00:55:11.94
and a few things
along those lines.
00:55:11.97\00:55:15.34
And it was one day when
I woke up on February 15,
00:55:15.38\00:55:20.25
2011 after watching many sermons
on "Amazing Facts" from Pastor
00:55:20.28\00:55:25.85
Doug and having a
really solid church family that
00:55:25.89\00:55:29.09
I was able to say no more.
00:55:29.12\00:55:31.26
And from that day on, I
stopped all of my addictions.
00:55:31.29\00:55:36.06
Pastor Charles White: And
ultimately their lives began to
00:55:36.10\00:55:38.00
take on just a new
dimension of congruity because
00:55:38.03\00:55:41.74
Jesus was there,
and He was the one that
00:55:41.77\00:55:43.37
was bringing that sense of
belonging, and hope, and help.
00:55:43.41\00:55:46.98
Brittany: We decided to
get baptized and married,
00:55:47.01\00:55:49.98
and we got baptized one
day and married the next,
00:55:50.01\00:55:53.82
and it was an
amazing experience.
00:55:53.85\00:55:55.62
Ben: And we found a
spot by the lake and
00:55:55.65\00:55:57.22
it was absolutely perfect.
00:55:57.25\00:55:59.29
The evening was
coming to a close,
00:55:59.32\00:56:01.12
the sun was
about ready to go down.
00:56:01.16\00:56:03.02
Vince: We were standing
in the water with Pastor Ben,
00:56:03.06\00:56:05.19
and the sky was such a deep red,
the reflections off the moon,
00:56:05.23\00:56:11.23
the sky was almost as if
we were standing in blood.
00:56:11.27\00:56:14.30
We were washed in
the blood of Jesus.
00:56:14.34\00:56:15.74
Ben: And that was the moment
that God painted the canvas of
00:56:15.77\00:56:18.57
the sky with the
most beautiful colors,
00:56:18.61\00:56:20.98
signifying the journey that
he was going to be laying out
00:56:21.01\00:56:24.91
for Vince and Brittany.
00:56:24.95\00:56:26.65
Vince: Shortly
after we were baptized,
00:56:26.68\00:56:28.32
about a month
later, we had realized that
00:56:28.35\00:56:32.29
my scars were gone.
00:56:32.32\00:56:33.62
I was completely healed
physically of not having the 666
00:56:33.66\00:56:35.99
on my knuckles anymore.
00:56:36.02\00:56:37.63
And I struggled with that for
so long because of what I did,
00:56:37.66\00:56:41.83
and He forgave me.
00:56:41.86\00:56:43.57
Pastor Malcolm Douglas: Many
times when we think of the way
00:56:43.60\00:56:45.07
that we've been led to Christ,
we think there's usually one
00:56:45.10\00:56:46.77
individual but having been able
to work alongside Pastor Ben and
00:56:46.80\00:56:51.31
Pastor White, it's been great to
see how we've been able to work
00:56:51.34\00:56:54.94
with Brittany and Vincent
and seen them just really grow.
00:56:54.98\00:56:58.31
And this has really
been something that's
00:56:58.35\00:57:00.45
been beneficial to me.
00:57:00.48\00:57:01.82
You know, sometimes I think
about this and the Bible says,
00:57:01.85\00:57:04.82
"More blessed is he
who gives than receives."
00:57:04.85\00:57:07.32
And I feel many times more
blessed just seeing them and
00:57:07.36\00:57:10.76
seeing all the
challenges they've gone through,
00:57:10.79\00:57:13.56
all the difficulties, and seeing
them overcome these things.
00:57:13.60\00:57:17.23
It just, it amazes me.
00:57:17.27\00:57:19.43
Vince: As I reflect back on
everything I've done in my life,
00:57:19.47\00:57:24.14
completely going against God,
wanting nothing to do with Him,
00:57:24.17\00:57:27.54
He still tried so hard, as if I
was the only one that was lost,
00:57:27.58\00:57:31.58
just as He promises.
00:57:31.61\00:57:32.91
He still went and found
me, even though I wanted
00:57:32.95\00:57:36.69
nothing to do with Him.
00:57:36.72\00:57:38.22
Brittany: Having Amazing
Facts and the pastors in our
00:57:38.25\00:57:40.69
lives help us so much, it's
really a blessing and I feel
00:57:40.72\00:57:45.39
like now we're happy.
00:57:45.43\00:57:47.50
And we have these two
healthy, beautiful little girls,
00:57:47.56\00:57:50.67
and God has truly blessed us.
00:57:50.70\00:57:53.60
And I just want to
share it with everyone.
00:57:53.64\00:57:56.17
I want to scream it.
00:57:56.20\00:57:57.71
I'm so excited, and I feel
really blessed to even have
00:57:57.74\00:58:01.44
this opportunity
to share my story.
00:58:01.48\00:58:04.68
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00:58:04.71\00:58:14.69
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00:58:14.72\00:58:24.67
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00:58:24.70\00:58:28.30