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00:10 ♪♪♪ 00:20 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Jean Ross: Good morning, friends. 00:36 Welcome to "Sabbath School Study Hour" here at the Granite Bay 00:39 Seventh Adventist Church in Sacramento, California. 00:41 I would like to welcome our online members who tune in week 00:44 after week as well as our friends who are joining us 00:46 across the country and around the world and, 00:49 of course, our regular Sabbath School members, 00:52 those of you who are here in person. 00:54 We're delighted that you're here this morning, 00:56 ready to study together. 00:58 Today, we're going to continue our study in 01:00 our lesson quarterly. 01:02 It's entitled "The Least of These: Ministering 01:04 to Those in Need." 01:06 And lesson number ten is an important study. 01:08 It's entitled "Living the Gospel," so that's lesson number 01:11 ten in our lesson quarterly. 01:13 For those of you who are joining us who might not have a lesson 01:15 quarterly but you'd like to study along with us, 01:18 you could just simply go to Lesson.aftv.org and you'll be 01:23 able to download lesson number ten. 01:25 Again, that's Lesson.aftv.org, download lesson number ten, 01:29 and you'll be able to study along with us. 01:32 Well, before we get to our study, 01:33 we like to let our friends know about a free offer that we have. 01:36 It's a sermon DVD entitled "How Perfect Must a Christian Be?" 01:41 Good question. 01:43 "How Perfect Must a Christian Be?" 01:44 If you'd like to receive a free copy of this DVD, 01:47 the number to call is...and ask for offer 01:52 number 863 or you're able to text the code "SH117" to the 01:59 number 40544 and you'll be able to download a digital copy 02:04 of the sermon. 02:05 Again, it's entitled "How Perfect Must a Christian Be?" 02:09 Very important subject. 02:11 Well, before we get to our study this morning, 02:13 going to invite our song leaders to come and they'll be leading 02:15 us in our song for Sabbath School today. 02:19 ♪ Oh, there'll be joy when the work is ♪ 02:22 ♪ done, joy when the reapers gather home, ♪ 02:27 ♪ bringing the sheaves at set ♪ 02:31 ♪ of sun to the New Jerusalem. ♪ 02:36 ♪ Joy, joy, there'll be joy by and by, ♪ 02:40 ♪ joy, joy, where the joys never die. ♪ 02:44 ♪ Joy, joy, for the day draweth nigh when ♪ 02:48 ♪ the workers gather home. ♪ 02:53 ♪ Sweet are the songs that we hope to sing, ♪ 02:57 ♪ grateful the thanks our hearts shall bring, ♪ 03:01 ♪ praising forever Christ our King ♪ 03:05 ♪ in the New Jerusalem. ♪ 03:10 ♪ Joy, joy, there'll be joy by and by, ♪ 03:14 ♪ joy, joy, where the joys never die. ♪ 03:18 ♪ Joy, joy, for the day draweth ♪ 03:22 ♪ nigh when the workers gather home. ♪ 03:27 ♪ Pure are the joys that await us there, ♪ 03:31 ♪ many the golden mansions fair; ♪ 03:34 ♪ Jesus Himself doth them prepare ♪ 03:39 ♪ in the New Jerusalem. ♪ 03:44 ♪ Joy, joy, there'll be joy by and by, ♪ 03:47 ♪ joy, joy, where the joys never die. ♪ 03:52 ♪ Joy, joy, for the day draweth nigh ♪ 03:56 ♪ when the workers gather home. ♪♪ 04:03 Jean: Let's bow our heads for prayer. 04:05 Dear Father in heaven, we thank You for the opportunity 04:07 to gather together on this Your Sabbath day, 04:09 opening up our Bibles and studying together an important 04:12 theme we find throughout the Bible, 04:14 that of living our faith and being the gospel in living form, 04:18 revealing the love of Jesus to others. 04:20 So bless our time together for we ask this 04:22 in Jesus's name, amen. 04:24 Our lesson today is going to be brought to us by our senior 04:27 pastor here at the Granite Bay Church. 04:29 If you didn't know, it's Pastor Doug. 04:33 Doug Batchelor: We're continuing in our study talking 04:36 about "The Least of These," and in today's study we're talking 04:40 about "Living the Gospel," lesson number ten. 04:43 We have a memory verse and the memory verse is from Ephesians 04:46 chapter 2, verse 8 through 10. 04:49 I bet a lot of you probably already know 04:51 this verse by heart. 04:52 But I'd encourage you to go ahead and say it with me. 04:54 It's Ephesians 2:8 through 10, New King James Version. 04:58 Are you ready? 05:00 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 05:03 and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 05:07 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 05:11 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good 05:16 works, which God prepared beforehand that we 05:19 should walk in them." 05:22 So living the gospel. 05:24 On the streets we used to say, "They're not just talking the 05:27 talk, they're," what? 05:29 "They're walking the walk." 05:31 And more people have been turned away from Christianity because 05:33 of hypocrisy, people who, they put on the mask of Christianity 05:38 but they don't really live the life. 05:40 The Lord is--it's great that we come to church and I wish more 05:44 people would do it more faithfully, 05:46 but even more important than that is that we live like 05:50 Christians through the week and that they say character is that 05:55 you're the same person when you're alone as you are around 05:58 others, that you are, of course, unless you're ornery, 06:01 then you're just an ornery character, 06:03 but if you're a good person, you want to be good, 06:06 you want to be honest, whether people are watching or not, 06:08 because you have integrity. 06:10 And Christians should be living out the gospel that way. 06:14 And people want to see Christianity with skin on it, 06:18 as they say. 06:20 Now, in our first section it talks about, 06:22 "For God so loved," and it's based on John 3:16. 06:27 Now when it says, "For God so loved," it says, 06:29 "For God so loved the world," I used to wonder. 06:31 I'd say, "Well, Lord, didn't You say, 06:34 'Love not the world'?" 06:36 This is in 1 John chapter 2. 06:38 "'Love not the world or the things that are in the world. 06:41 If any man loves the world, the love of the Father's not in 06:43 him,' and then You say, 'For God so loved the world.' 06:46 Well, which is it, Lord? 06:48 Are we supposed to love the world or not love the world?" 06:50 And there's really two different meanings here. 06:53 When we talk about worldliness, God does not want us to be 06:57 worldly and love worldliness but the word that's used here in 07:02 John 3:16 is the word "cosmos," and it means the creation and 07:06 the people in the creation. 07:08 "God so loved the people in the creation that He gave His 07:11 only begotten Son." 07:13 Now, probably, you know what the most quoted verse 07:17 is in the Bible? 07:20 Anyone? 07:23 It's not John 3:16. 07:26 The most quoted verse in the Bible is often quoted by people 07:29 that don't know any other part of the Bible. 07:31 But they say, "Judge not lest you be judged." 07:37 But when they--and they can't tell you what the 07:40 verse is, usually. 07:42 But I've heard and I believe that that's probably one of the 07:45 most quoted verses in the Bible. 07:47 Another one is: "Do not worry," or "Worry not." 07:51 But the verse you'll see popping up everywhere on the street, 07:54 in football games, is John 3:16, why? 07:57 Because it encapsulates the gospel so beautifully. 08:03 Just let me give you an example here. 08:06 This was Martin Luther's favorite verse: "For God," the 08:11 greatest giver, "so loved," the greatest motive, 08:17 "the world," the greatest number, 08:20 "that He gave," the greatest act, 08:23 "His only Son," the greatest gift, 08:26 "that whosoever," the greatest invitation, 08:30 "believes in Him," the greatest opportunity, 08:33 "should not perish," the greatest deliverance, 08:37 "but have eternal life," the greatest joy." 08:40 Isn't that beautiful? 08:42 When you really think about it, it's telling us about what the 08:45 problem is: we're perishing. 08:47 It tells us what the answer is, that God gave His Son, 08:50 and if we believe in Him we might not perish. 08:52 And so just the whole gospel is encapsulated in this 08:55 beautiful, beautiful verse. 08:58 And it reminds us that God--now we always think about God 3:16 09:03 in relation to ourselves, but--in John 3:16 in relation to 09:08 ourselves, but God wants us to also consider John 3:16 in 09:11 relation to others. 09:14 That God so loves the world, meaning it's others, 09:17 not just us, that He sent His only begotten Son. 09:22 Now, it tells us that He gave. 09:25 He wants us to give of ourselves and that's sometimes 09:30 the hardest thing to do. 09:32 Most people are lost because of selfishness and if we could 09:38 learn to not live and be all wrapped up in ourselves, 09:41 they say the smallest package in the world is someone wrapped up 09:44 in themselves, but to be able to give. 09:46 Heard about this hiker. 09:47 He was walking across the desert in Nevada and he got lost and 09:50 got--ran out of water. 09:54 And he was really--his life was at risk that 09:56 he was going to die of thirst. 09:58 Now, I've been out in those deserts and I was 10:00 with some friends. 10:01 We ran out of water and it was serious business. 10:03 It's, you know, 90 degrees and very hot. 10:05 But he managed to stumble along an old homestead. 10:10 It was an abandoned homestead. There had been a ranch there. 10:12 All the boards had fallen off the walls and stuff and no 10:14 cattle in the corral but it had been abandoned 10:17 many years earlier. 10:19 And--but they had a hand pump, one of the old hand crank pumps 10:24 that went down to a well, and next to the hand pump was a 10:27 clear gallon jug, a glass jug, full of water. 10:33 Oh, praise the Lord, I'm saved. 10:34 Now there was a sign--a note was written and pasted on the jug 10:38 and it said, "Do not drink this water. 10:41 Pour the water down in the well while you're pumping. 10:47 It'll lubricate the pump and prime the pump and you'll have 10:54 all the cold clean water you can want. 10:58 Do not drink this water." 11:00 Now the man had to make a terrible decision. 11:03 Does he believe the note or does he pour it out, 11:07 believing--he's going to pour it out believing that if he pumps 11:11 it it's going to lubricate that leather washer and start 11:13 bringing cold water up from where he can't reach it, 11:15 or does he say, "Forget the note. 11:17 I'm drinking it"? 11:18 And of course, the next person that comes by, 11:19 they're in trouble 'cause there's no way 11:21 to prime the pump. 11:22 So he thought, "All right, well, I'm going to try this." 11:25 As thirsty as he was, as much as he wanted to drink that water, 11:28 it was a little warm but it was clean water, 11:31 he took the water and he poured it down the well as he was 11:34 pumping and pretty soon he felt some pressure and then gradually 11:38 some brown water sputtered out of the pump and then clear water 11:41 began to come out of the pump. 11:43 He kept pumping. 11:45 He drank all he could drink, filled his canteen, 11:47 and then he filled back up the jug, 11:49 put the cork back in and left it there by the well. 11:51 That's the key to the Christian life. 11:54 Some people say, "I want everything right now. 11:56 I don't trust that God has eternal life for me later. 11:59 So I'm just going to take what I can get now," and in doing that, 12:03 that's all you get and you lose everything else. 12:05 But if you believe that Jesus is offering everlasting life and 12:08 you're willing to give this life, 12:11 it primes the pump so you get everlasting life, 12:15 all you can take, and your cup runs over. 12:17 Good story, huh? 12:19 I've seen those wells before out there 12:22 in--riding around in the desert. 12:24 "For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son." 12:29 You know, that word "so." 12:34 Have you ever wondered why they--why didn't it just say, 12:37 "God loved the world and He gave His Son"? 12:39 But it says, "He so." 12:41 Define "so" for me. 12:44 He didn't just love the world. 12:45 He so loved the world. 12:48 It makes it bigger, right? 12:52 Pastor Fagel, some of you remember the original television 12:58 program, "Faith for Today," that was on and he was reading the 13:07 paper, the way I heard the story. 13:09 He was reading the paper one day when he was a pastor before he 13:12 started the TV program. 13:13 And in the obituary of the paper, 13:15 he saw a very tragic story about a boy who had gotten a new red 13:21 wagon for his birthday and he took it down the driveway, 13:24 didn't know how to turn it quite yet, 13:26 and it went out into the street. 13:29 He was hit by a truck and he was killed. 13:30 And the pastor read that. 13:32 He said, "Oh, that is so heartbreaking." 13:34 His wife saw him weeping. 13:35 He's sitting there reading the paper and he 13:36 said tears were in his eyes. 13:38 She said, "What's the matter?" He pointed to the story. 13:39 Now, shortly after he had done that, 13:41 the phone rang and it was someone who--in the family, 13:46 and they said, "We're looking for a pastor who can do this 13:47 funeral for us." 13:49 He said, "I'll be happy to help." 13:51 And so at the funeral, he commented that, 13:54 you know, sometimes after the service and the little white 13:56 casket, this four-year-old boy is in there and the casket's 14:01 open and after the service and the family, 14:03 all the visitors go by and they greet the family, 14:06 and the family, typically before you take the body out to the 14:08 hearse, they go by the casket and say their farewells 14:11 before they close it. 14:14 And the pastor's job is to stand at the head of the casket, 14:17 which can be a difficult vantage point for these events. 14:20 And he said he'll never forget how the mother when she finally 14:24 got to the little boy, that she just kind of went to pieces and 14:28 said over and over again, "We loved you so, 14:31 we loved you so." 14:34 And he said he could never preach on John 3:16 again 14:36 without thinking about how big that little word is. 14:40 "God so loved." 14:43 He demonstrates what "so" means in that He gives His Son to show 14:47 how much He loves the world. 14:50 So how much should you and I love the least of these? 14:56 So I can see why God so loves the world 'cause I'm in it. 15:01 But does He still feel the same way if I wasn't here? 15:04 You know I'm being sarcastic, I hope. 15:08 But I'm not totally being sarcastic 'cause I think all of 15:11 us figure, "Well, of course, He so loves the world, 15:13 I'm part of it." 15:15 But even if you weren't part of it, 15:17 would He love it any less? 15:19 Which means He loves everybody, right? 15:22 It's not just me. He so loves everyone. 15:26 And that should affect how mobilized we are in sharing the 15:30 gospel with other people. 15:32 Because He so loves the world that He does the greatest thing: 15:35 He gives. 15:37 And let's face it, if we're all honest, 15:40 we would say as we drive around and look at the children of men 15:43 that some seem more valuable than others. 15:48 We've all seen people that they don't look very good and they're 15:52 sick and they don't look like they're very talented and they 15:54 don't have much going for them, and when gifts were passed out, 16:00 it's like they were at the end of the line and you think, 16:03 "I certainly am worth more than they are." 16:05 But it's not true in God's eyes. 16:07 God often surprises us by saving His best for the least. 16:10 People had written off Mary Magdalene and yet Jesus reveals 16:14 to her He's resurrected. 16:16 And who was it that finds out of all the abundant treasure? 16:20 It's four lepers at the gate that couldn't 16:22 even get in the city. 16:23 God reveals to the four lepers, "There's this great treasure out 16:26 there 'cause the Assyrians had run." 16:29 And just all through the Bible you find God seems to use little 16:33 unnoticed instruments. 16:37 It's the little maid in Naaman's house, right? 16:39 It's the little boy with the five loaves. 16:41 God likes to glorify the least and so we shouldn't rush 16:45 past that truth. 16:47 Heard about a nurse that was working in Africa in a leper 16:53 hospital and a friend came to visit her from another country 16:57 and she came and saw her at work one day, 17:00 dressing the wounds of the lepers, 17:02 and when she got her alone she said, 17:04 "I don't know how you can do that." 17:06 She said, "You couldn't get me to do that for 17:09 a million dollars." 17:11 And her friend who was the nurse said, 17:13 "You couldn't get me to do it for a million dollars either. 17:16 But for Jesus, I'll do it for free." 17:18 So when you think about it, we're not doing it 17:21 for earthly reward. 17:24 We're doing it for the one who loved us so much. 17:26 And then it says: "So--whosoever believes in Him." 17:31 Now this is an often misunderstood part of John 3:16. 17:36 How many believe in the Lord? 17:40 But in the Bible it says the devils will even tremble. 17:43 Which way do you believe? 17:45 Is your belief a belief that, yes, 17:48 He exists and He came into the world, 17:49 He died for sinners? 17:50 Does the devil believe that? He does. 17:53 Is that going to save him? No. 17:55 So what kind of belief do we need? 17:57 It's a different kind of belief. 17:59 Might I submit the word "believe" here doesn't mean just 18:03 acknowledge that God exists. 18:05 It means "be-live in Him." 18:08 "Whosoever be-lives in Him." 18:10 I'll give you an example of what biblical belief is. 18:12 You have to understand this 'cause there's a lot of cheap 18:15 grace out there and they take the word "believe" and they 18:17 totally abuse it. 18:19 If I were to say to you, "I've just received supernatural 18:25 message from the Lord that in 60 seconds this building is going 18:30 to implode in a terrible earthquake," and I say, 18:35 "How many believe me?" 18:36 And you say, "We believe you, brother Doug." 18:38 But you sit there. 18:39 You don't believe me. 18:41 If you believe me, you run out of the building, right? 18:46 So when we say, "I believe Jesus," that means I believe 18:50 what He commands and I am going to do what He says." 18:56 Now we may not always do it perfectly or on time but our 18:58 goal in life is we believe His words and we 19:00 want to live His words. 19:02 Says, "Whoever believes in Me," doesn't mean that 19:03 he believes He exists. 19:06 The devil knows that. 19:08 It means whoever believes His teachings. 19:10 How do you show you believe His teachings? 19:11 You follow them, right? 19:13 And so whoever believes in Him will not perish but have 19:20 everlasting life. 19:21 The Bible says: "All that call in the name of the 19:23 Lord will be saved." 19:25 That's true. 19:26 What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? 19:29 Does it mean just to say one prayer? 19:32 Well, it starts with one prayer and you can be 19:33 saved after one prayer. 19:35 But those who are Christians, it's all those who have a life 19:38 of calling on God. 19:41 Do you have a life of regular prayer? 19:43 All those that call on the Lord, it's an ongoing verb. 19:48 So a lot has been done to damage and cheapen what it means to 19:52 believe and to call on the name of the Lord. 19:55 So, you know, I could go on and on through--but the wonderful 20:00 thing is it says: "They will not perish." 20:02 You know, I like this John 3:16. 20:04 When you're teaching the state of the dead, 20:06 you can't get better than John 3:16. 20:09 People think you die and you burn forever and ever in hell. 20:11 That's not according to John 3:16. 20:14 The word "perish" means to cease to exist. 20:17 But, contrasting with it, they have everlasting life. 20:21 It doesn't say you get everlasting life in the fire or 20:23 everlasting life in heaven. 20:24 It's either perish or everlasting life. 20:28 And so John 3:16 is just one of my favorite verses. 20:32 All right, let's go to the next section here that talks about 20:36 compassion and repentance. 20:38 And in a moment I think I've got someone going to read a verse 20:41 for me, okay? 20:42 I'm going to start with John 9:36: "But when He," Jesus, 20:47 "saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion, 20:51 because they were weary and scattered, 20:55 like sheep having no shepherd." 20:57 What does it mean when a person is moved with compassion? 21:01 Well, He didn't just think compassionate thoughts 21:03 in His head. 21:04 His disciples saw Him visibly demonstrate how it broke His 21:09 heart that all the people were weary and scattered and 21:13 wandering like sheep having no shepherd. 21:15 That's why He often fed them or at least a couple of occasions 21:18 'cause He had compassion on them. 21:20 He says, "These people are hungry. 21:22 They're going to faint on the way going back home. 21:24 They've had nothing to eat. 21:25 They've been sitting all day." 21:26 Jesus cared how people felt. 21:28 He was--you know what the word "compassion" comes from? 21:32 It's where you get the word "sympathy." 21:34 "Com" means with, passion or pathos, with feeling. 21:39 And it means you're feeling what another person feels. 21:41 That's where you get pathos, sympathy. 21:43 And Jesus knows how we feel. 21:48 I think I touched on this last week. 21:50 He really does. 21:51 He knows when you're hungry, He sees every tear you cry, 21:53 He knows when you're joyful, and He shares. 21:57 You know, the Bible commands us, "Weep with those that weep." 21:59 When God ask us to do something He didn't do, 22:03 the Bible says, "Rejoice with those that rejoice. 22:06 Weep with those that weep." 22:07 And that's because this is how God lives. 22:09 He feels what we feel. 22:10 He rejoices with us, assuming you're rejoicing over something 22:14 you can rejoice over. 22:16 And He weeps when we weep. 22:18 And so Jesus was moved. 22:20 He felt the suffering of humanity. 22:23 Luke 19:41: "Now as He drew near the city of Jerusalem, 22:27 He wept over it, saying, 'If you had known, 22:31 even you, especially in this your day,'" 22:34 oh, the day they'd waited for. 22:36 The Messiah had come. 22:37 "'The things that make for your peace! 22:40 But now they're hidden from your eyes. 22:42 For the days will come upon you when enemies will build an 22:45 embankment around you, and surround you and close you in on 22:48 every side, and level you, and your children within you, 22:52 to the ground; and they'll not leave in you one stone upon 22:55 another, because you did not know the 22:57 time of your visitation.'" 22:59 They'd missed their golden opportunity of 23:02 recognizing the Messiah when He came, 23:04 making peace with Him and exalting Him. 23:06 And He wept over the city, like David wept over Jerusalem, 23:10 Jesus wept, 'cause He felt compassion. 23:13 All right, go ahead please. Read your verse for us. 23:16 female: John 11:34 through 36: "And He said, 23:20 'Where have you laid him?' 23:22 They said to Him, 'Lord, come and see.' 23:25 Jesus wept. 23:27 Then the Jews said, 'See how He loved him!'" 23:32 Doug: Yeah, that was Jesus weeping for Lazarus. 23:36 Not necessarily because He was getting ready to raise Lazarus 23:39 but He saw the people weeping and in that funeral I think that 23:44 every time you've gone to a funeral and you see people 23:46 weeping, you know, Jesus wept with them. 23:50 Christ was looking at that grave there of Lazarus and He was 23:54 thinking of all the people through the ages that will not 23:57 just die and the grief that's caused by that but He's thinking 24:00 about the second death. 24:02 People that will die a death where they don't get the 24:05 resurrection, the resurrection of life anyway. 24:11 So He was weeping with them. 24:12 He felt compassion. 24:14 Was this the only time Jesus cried? 24:18 No, I think there's many times in the life of Christ when He 24:23 was moved with compassion and He wept. 24:25 This is one time that it's recorded. 24:27 By the way, this is not the shortest verse in the Bible. 24:31 It is the shortest verse in the King James Version. 24:35 There is a shorter verse in Greek and it's the word 24:39 "Rejoice forevermore." 24:40 It's that verse where it says, "Rejoice forevermore." 24:42 It's actually shorter than the one that says: "Jesus wept." 24:45 But--so Christ felt what others feel. 24:48 If you look in Ezekiel chapter 33. 24:51 These verses always move me. 24:53 Ezekiel 33:11, Christ is telling the prophet, 24:57 "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord, 25:00 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, 25:02 but the wicked will turn from his way and live.'" 25:05 I mean, God has made an incredible investment 25:08 in this world to keep us from perishing 'cause he cares. 25:11 He has compassion and he wants us to turn. 25:14 He wants us to live. 25:16 He says, "Turn, turn from your evil ways! 25:20 For why will you die, O house of Israel?" 25:24 You know, whenever you see that word, 25:26 "Oh," it's like the word "So." 25:27 You can almost hear the pleading of God in there. 25:31 Turn, turn, why will you die? 25:33 God is pleading, "Why are you going to destroy your life by 25:36 clinging to sin?" 25:38 God is pleading. 25:40 His heart wants us to be saved. 25:42 Deuteronomy 5:29, a similar verse. 25:44 It begins with the word "Oh." 25:47 There you get that "Oh" again. 25:49 Deuteronomy 5:29: "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that 25:53 they would fear Me always and keep all of My commandments, 25:57 that it might be well with them and their children." 26:00 God's saying, "Oh." 26:02 You ever felt that way about your kids? 26:03 Oh, when will they learn? 26:05 And God is wanting us to be saved. 26:09 You can hear it. 26:10 You can hear the ache in God's heart in so 26:13 many of these verses. 26:15 And then, of course, it's talking about 26:18 compassion and repentance. 26:20 Now, I don't want to park here too long but I do want to slow 26:23 down and just emphasize a point. 26:26 You hear it here in this church but I like to channel surf and 26:32 listen to other Christian preachers and pastors and 26:35 ministries and just see what's going on out there 26:37 in the Christian world. 26:38 And I'm stunned so often how little--there's a famine of 26:44 preaching on the priorities of repentance. 26:49 Repentance is, like, the first sermon that Jesus preached. 26:53 It says He began preaching, saying, "Repent." 26:57 First thing John the Baptist said in preparing the way for 27:00 Christ, he said, "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 27:03 First thing the apostles said after the Holy Spirit was 27:06 poured out is what? 27:08 "Repent and be baptized, every one of you and you shall receive 27:11 the Holy Spirit." 27:13 Part of the salvation process is a sorrow for sin and a 27:18 willingness, a confession of sin and a willingness 27:23 to turn away from sin. 27:25 And I listen to a lot of pastors and it's starting to kind of 27:28 encroach even in our own church ministries and denomination 27:32 where people kind of dumb down the gospel. 27:36 It's like they dilute the medicine so that it has 27:38 no effect anymore. 27:40 And they say, you know, if you want to accept Jesus, 27:42 you just bow your head and close your eyes, 27:45 repeat after me, and they say some prayer that, 27:48 you know, I don't want to diminish that God can save 27:50 people with anyone praying, making those first steps but you 27:53 can't skip the step of repentance. 27:57 It's one of the steps in salvation, 27:59 it's what you see when Isaiah saw the Lord and he 28:02 finally said, "Woe is me. 28:04 I am undone." 28:06 And David fell on his face before the Lord. 28:08 And repentance is a sorrow for sin but it's not just sorry like 28:11 Judas went out and hung himself after he repented. 28:13 That's now what God wants. 28:15 Pharaoh repented until the next plague went away. 28:18 That's not the repentance. 28:20 Repentance is where Peter went out and he wept bitterly and he 28:23 was a changed man. 28:25 It's, you know, seeds can lay dormant for years until they get 28:30 the water and a lot of seeds of life have been sprouted in the 28:33 tears of our repentance. 28:36 And it's through broken clouds that you get the shower, 28:40 it's through a broken alabaster box you get the ointment, 28:44 and it's through broken hearts that you get the new birth. 28:48 And so part of living life means that there's a repentance and a 28:54 sorrow for sin that will lead then to a turning away from it. 28:58 I'd feel a lot better if someone would say, 29:00 "Amen" at this point because I think that's a true point that I 29:05 just--I want to make sure people listening out there know I'm not 29:07 alone in that teaching. 29:10 In--oh, wait, did I leave a verse out here 29:12 I was going to share? 29:14 Yeah, and so 1 John 1:8 through 10, 29:17 if we do sin after you've repented, 29:19 don't become discouraged. 29:21 It says: "If we say we have no sin, 29:23 we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 29:25 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us 29:31 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 29:34 If we say we've not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word 29:37 is not in us." 29:39 So, you know, be encouraged. 29:40 John said, "Everyone struggles with sin. 29:43 As long as you're in this life," I'll be talking more later about 29:45 the spiritual warfare that's going on. 29:47 All right, next section is grace and good works, 29:51 and I want to spend a little time on this as well. 29:53 Going back to our memory verse in Ephesians chapter 2: "For by 29:58 grace you have been saved through faith, 30:03 that not of yourselves; it's the gift of God, 30:06 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 30:09 For we are--" Now I want to stop right there. 30:11 "It's the gift of God, not of works, 30:13 lest anyone should boast." 30:15 Can anybody--does anyone really have a right to boast that 30:18 they're saved? 30:21 Because if it wasn't for the outside work of God, 30:24 you would continue on your road to destruction. 30:27 God somehow arrested your attention with the Holy Spirit 30:30 that brought conviction or some crisis in your life that God 30:35 basically, He went after you. 30:38 If you're saved, it's not because you are brilliant and 30:42 you had an epiphany one day on your own. 30:44 And God intervened in your life and He acted to save you. 30:51 You--and then the grace to turn from your sins and live a new 30:55 life, all that power comes from Him. 30:57 We are not saved because we've done these good works and the 30:59 Lord said, "You know, normally, I have to just forgive people 31:03 but you've been so good, you've worked so hard." 31:06 Have you ever met anybody--my father used to think this. 31:09 He thought that in the judgment day that God had a scale and 31:14 He'd put your bad works--He figured everyone was allowed so 31:17 many bad works and then you get some good works and as long as 31:21 you had more good works than bad works, 31:22 you were going to make it. 31:24 In my dad's mind, he thought, "As long as I'm donating more 31:26 money and helping a lot of people more than my own personal 31:29 sins, then I'm going to make it." 31:33 As a dad, it doesn't work that way. 31:34 You don't have enough money to pay for your forgiveness and you 31:38 could never do enough good works to earn it. 31:41 This is what Paul is saying. 31:43 God doesn't grade on the curve. 31:45 And it's not how many good works you do against your bad works. 31:48 Had nothing to do with your works. 31:49 The thief on the cross, the one that turned to Jesus, 31:53 will he be saved? 31:55 Is he saved based on the good works he did after 31:58 he came to Christ? 32:00 Well, he did one good work, you know? 32:02 Jesus said, "This is the work you should do: believe on the 32:05 One the Father has sent. 32:07 Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ," right? 32:09 So he believed. 32:11 That was the work he did but he didn't go out and saying, 32:14 "I'm going to go raise up an orphanage, 32:15 and I'm going to go give money to the poor and I'm going to go 32:18 feed people and visit the hospital." 32:19 He didn't do good works after that. 32:22 He saved solely on his faith. 32:24 Now, if he had come off the cross, 32:26 of course I can't prove that, but I'm--can guarantee you if by 32:30 some miracle he didn't died on the cross after coming to Christ 32:34 and they'd taken a crowbar and pulled the nails out and bound 32:37 up his wounds and he went on to live his life, 32:39 would he have then had different works? 32:42 We hope so. 32:45 If he was really converted, would he 32:46 have had different works? 32:48 So why is it then if we're saved by grace, 32:51 we're judged by our works? 32:53 Let me read some verses here. 32:55 First of all, before I get to that point, 32:57 let's get to the second part of that verse. 33:02 It says: "Lest anyone should boast." 33:04 I'm still on Ephesians 2, verse 8 through 10. 33:07 "For we are his workmanship," it's Him working in us, 33:10 "created in Christ Jesus for good works." 33:14 Why'd He create us? "For good works." 33:16 He wants us to have good works, "which God prepared beforehand 33:19 that we should walk in them." 33:21 That means we should be walking in good works and this includes 33:25 good works for our fellow men, the least of these. 33:28 Someone's going to read 2 Timothy 2 in just a moment. 33:32 I'm going to read 1 Timothy first. 33:34 That's 'cause 1 Timothy comes before 2 Timothy. 33:38 1 Timothy 5, verse 10: "Well reported for good works: if she 33:43 has brought up children," now what Paul is saying here--keep 33:47 in mind, Paul wrote Ephesians. 33:48 Paul is saying here that when you look at the criteria for 33:52 having a widow within the church, 33:54 that gets assistance from the church, 33:56 there's certain criteria you've got to meet. 33:59 And here's the criteria: that she's "well reported 34:03 for good works." 34:05 You mean they're going to judge a person for good works? 34:07 Yeah. 34:08 "If she's brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, 34:10 if she's washed the saints' feet, 34:12 if she's relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed 34:15 every good work." 34:18 It's amazing to me that people say it's not of works and they 34:20 try to make it sound like good works have nothing to do with 34:24 living the Christian life. 34:26 Notice I didn't say salvation. 34:27 Are good works part of the Christian life? 34:31 Should we teach good works? 34:33 Did Paul teach good works? 34:35 He did, and so--but now, if you mention about works, 34:39 it's almost like that's a dirty word in modern Christianity. 34:44 They go, "Oh, you're works oriented." 34:46 Well, Paul was pretty works oriented too. 34:48 We're not saved by them but if you are saved, 34:51 you will have good works. 34:53 Isn't that right? 34:54 All right, go ahead please. Read your verse for us. 34:57 male: 2 Timothy 2:21: "Therefore if anyone cleanses 35:01 himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, 35:05 sanctified and useful for the Master, 35:07 prepared for every good work." 35:10 Doug: So if we've received the Lord, 35:12 if we've been saved by grace, we are sanctified by the 35:15 Master, prepared for what? 35:17 Every good work. 35:19 Jesus said we're saved by grace but He 35:23 says: "You will know them by what? 35:26 By their fruits. 35:28 And what are the fruits of the Spirit? 35:30 Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 35:33 goodness, faith, mercy. 35:35 And that will be demonstrated in a lifestyle of living out the 35:39 Christian virtues and loving others. 35:41 So when we're talking about walking the walk and living the 35:45 Christian life, I think I have shared this story many times. 35:53 I know we have different people here so I'll repeat it and if 35:55 you've heard it before, you can take a brief nap. 35:57 I'll wake you up when it's over. 35:59 But I was driving--I pick up hitchhikers periodically. 36:06 I don't go looking for 'em but I'm impressed sometimes and 36:08 I spent a lot of time hitchhiking so I feel 36:10 empathy, compassion. 36:13 And I remember, I was up by Clearlake and I was going down 36:16 this long hill just before you get to the flat part of where 36:19 Clearlake is and there was a guy who was standing on the road and 36:23 he was hitchhiking, going my direction. 36:26 And I went by him. I had cars behind me. 36:29 It wasn't a good place to pull over. 36:31 I went by and I felt impressed to pull him 36:32 over but I didn't right away. 36:34 And then I felt convicted I should give him a ride. 36:36 I really felt this strong, like, you need to 36:39 give that guy a ride. 36:40 And I had already gone, like, half a mile down the road. 36:43 Finally said, "All right, this is not going to let 36:45 me have any peace." 36:46 So I turned around, I came back, and now, 36:49 of course, I'm going the other direction 'cause I'm just coming 36:51 back to pick him up but now he's gone across the road to 36:54 the other side of the road and he's hitchhiking 36:56 the opposite direction. 36:58 I'm saying, "Lord, this guy's confused. 37:00 He doesn't know where he's going." 37:01 So I pull over and I say, "Look, I stopped to pick you up but you 37:04 were going the other way and I'm not really going this way." 37:08 He said, "I know." He said, "I don't care." 37:10 He said, "There was no traffic going that way so I went over 37:12 this way because I'm freezing." 37:14 I said, "Oh, it is really cold out, yeah." 37:16 I said, "Well, climb on in. 37:17 I'm going back the other way towards Yucay." 37:19 He said, "Oh." 37:21 He got in and we're driving along for a minute and I don't 37:24 know how it came up but usually I bring it up somehow. 37:26 He said, "Where are you coming from?" 37:27 And I said, "Well, I'm a pastor and I'm going--" 37:29 "Oh, you're a pastor. I'm a Christian too." 37:31 He said, "I'm just not a practicing Christian." 37:36 I said, "Oh, I didn't know there was that category." 37:40 Is there that category? 37:42 No, I know a lot of people out there that say, 37:45 "Once you're saved, you can't be lost and so I got saved when I 37:48 was 15 years old and I'm a Christian but, 37:50 you know, now I'm kind of over fools hill. 37:52 I'm not practicing but I'm still a Christian, 37:54 I'm still saved." 37:56 I said, "Tell me about that." 37:58 And he said, "Well, yeah, I've had all these problems. 38:00 I just got out of jail and, you know, 38:03 had these problems. 38:04 My girlfriend and I had a big fight," and he's telling me all 38:08 the trouble he's having and I said, 38:09 "So your trouble is with sin, right?" 38:12 "Yeah." 38:13 I said, "Did Jesus save you from your sins?" 38:16 "Well, yeah, He forgave me." 38:17 I said, "Wait a second. 38:19 Did He save you from your sins or did He save 38:20 you in your sins?" 38:23 I said, "A Christian is not saved in their sins. 38:24 He's saved from their sins." 38:26 I said, "Sin is controlling your life, not Christ. 38:28 Sin should not have dominion over you." 38:31 Said, "But I got a cross." He says, "See my cross?" 38:34 He started telling me about this cross. 38:36 I said, "Did Jesus ask us to wear the cross or 38:38 bear the cross?" 38:39 He got real quiet, and he said, "I guess I'm not a 38:42 Christian, am I?" 38:45 I said, "But we can fix that." 38:46 And so by the time I dropped him off, 38:49 we had prayer together. 38:51 I talked about what it means to really be a Christian. 38:52 God wants to save you from your sins and the drugs and the 38:55 different things in his life that were causing 38:57 all his problems. 38:58 I said, "God wants to save you. He saved me." 39:00 I think I even had a testimony book I gave him. 39:01 But you'd be surprised. 39:03 There's a lot of people out there that think, 39:05 "Oh, I am a Christian. 39:06 I'm just not a practicing Christian." 39:08 There is no such category. 39:11 Didn't Jesus say, "You are either with Me," or what's 39:14 the other option? 39:15 "You're against Me." 39:17 There's no middle ground in this. 39:19 Titus 2:7: "In all things showing yourself to be 39:23 a pattern of good works." 39:25 The same author who wrote Ephesians. 39:28 We are to, "in all things, have a pattern of good works; 39:31 in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptible." 39:35 Revelation 22:12, last chapter in the Bible, 39:38 what does Jesus say? 39:39 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, 39:42 to give to every one according to his faith." 39:47 Did you catch that? I misquoted that. 39:49 Preachers are going to fool you if you're not careful. 39:52 "Behold, I'm coming quickly, My reward is with Me, 39:55 to give to every one according to my grace." 39:58 Doesn't say that. 40:00 Says: "To give to every one according to his work." 40:04 "But Pastor Doug, we are saved by grace." 40:06 We are and your works will demonstrate whether you have 40:08 been saved by grace, right? 40:11 Jesus said, "You'll know them by their fruits." 40:15 All right, there's a interesting verse in the book, 40:17 "Ministry of Healing," page 103. 40:20 "Those who receive are to impart to others. 40:22 From every direction are coming calls for help. 40:25 God calls upon men to minister gladly to their fellow men." 40:29 And so doing the good works, showing love to their fellow men 40:33 is just a very important part of the gospel. 40:36 Someone put it this way: "I used to be a sinner running after 40:39 sin, but now that I'm saved, I'm a sinner running from sin." 40:44 'Course, but there's to be a holiness there so I don't 40:47 totally agree with that quote. 40:48 "Grace does not save us against our will. 40:51 He makes us willing by his grace. 40:54 He does not tear up the door of our hearts with a forcible entry 40:58 but rather the key of grace that softens our heart." 41:00 All right, then we've got the section on our common humanity 41:05 and I like this passage here. 41:07 Malachi 2:10. 41:08 Someone's going to read for me 1 Corinthians 41:10 12:13 in just a minute. 41:12 That'll be you. 41:14 I'm going to read the Malachi 2:10 first. 41:16 "Have we not all one Father? 41:19 Has not one God created us?" 41:21 Even in the Old Testament they recognized all people are 41:25 sons of Adam. 41:27 Acts 17:26: "He has made from one blood every nation of men to 41:32 dwell upon the face of the earth, 41:34 and has determined their preappointed times." 41:37 "Made of one blood." 41:39 We did not evolve from different subcategories of orangutan in 41:42 different parts of the world. 41:44 You know, they've done DNA testing now and even atheists 41:47 agree that all the humans in the world came from 41:49 two original humans. 41:50 Have you heard that? 41:52 Yeah, so hmm, I know what their names were. 41:58 The DNA won't show that but the Bible does. 42:02 Yeah, we're all really--go ahead, 42:04 read for us your verse. 42:05 female: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one 42:09 body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have 42:14 all made to drink into one Spirit." 42:18 Doug: Very good, thank you. 42:19 And by the way, that's 1 Corinthians 12:13. 42:21 So it doesn't matter if you're a Jew, you're Greek. 42:23 Do you mean--Greek means Gentile, any non-Jew. 42:27 We are all related. 42:29 Yeah, I'm thankful my mother--when I was growing up I 42:32 went to so many different schools and including public 42:35 school in New York City which I don't know if any of you hung 42:38 out in New York City but you cross the street and 42:40 you're in Italy. 42:41 Then you cross the street again, you're in Germany. 42:43 Then you cross the street again, you're in Chinatown. 42:45 And it just--it's like every block has its 42:49 own international ethnicity. 42:51 And I went to a public school. 42:53 It was international exposure. 42:55 And so my friends were from all over the world and I'm thankful 42:58 that I had that experience because it just--it helps you 43:03 realize the equal value of all of God's children. 43:07 But even in the church, sometimes people 43:10 have--they discriminate. 43:14 There's some prejudice. 43:15 They think others are worth more. 43:16 The Jews had it. 43:18 Didn't the Lord have to convince Peter it was okay to preach 43:20 to the Gentiles? 43:22 He got that vision. 43:23 Said, "Lord, I can't be defiled by going to a Gentile's house." 43:28 God said, "Do not call unclean what I've cleansed." 43:33 And even Jesus was nearly killed at the beginning of His ministry 43:35 because He said that God has people outside of Jews that He 43:39 wants to save. 43:41 And Luke 4:25, Christ is preaching: "I tell you truly, 43:46 many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, 43:48 when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, 43:51 and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 43:53 but to none of them was Elijah sent," he wasn't sent to any 43:57 Jewish widow. 43:58 "He was sent to Zarephath, to the region of Sidon," up by 44:01 Tyre, "to a woman who was a widow," a pagan, Canaanite. 44:04 "And there were many lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha the 44:08 prophet, but none of those lepers were healed but the 44:11 Syrian was healed." 44:12 And they got so upset. 44:14 "You mean, God is going to hear the prayers of these pagans from 44:19 a different race?" 44:20 And Jesus said, "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying." 44:22 That's why you've got stories in the Bible about Rahab being 44:26 adopted into the family Israel, Ruth, 44:28 Naaman, the Phoenician woman that Elijah lived with, 44:32 and many others. 44:35 Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned." 44:38 Since all have sinned, Jesus is offering the remedy to how many? 44:42 To all. 44:44 Isaiah 53: "All we like sheep have gone astray. 44:47 We've turned everyone to his own way and the Lord laid upon him 44:51 the iniquity of all." 44:53 So Jesus paid for the sin of just the church members? 44:58 Of every human. 45:00 Did Jesus pay for the sins of even those who do 45:03 not accept Him? 45:05 He did. 45:07 Which makes it really tragic that their sins 45:09 will be paid for twice. 45:11 If they don't accept Christ, He suffered for their sin, 45:14 they're going to suffer too. 45:16 So His payment was a waste. 45:18 That's why He talks about those who have done despite to 45:20 the spirit of grace. 45:22 And then finally we've got the everlasting gospel here. 45:25 Revelation 14:6: "I saw another angel fly in the midst of 45:29 heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who 45:33 dwell on the earth." 45:34 How far does it go? 45:35 "Every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." 45:38 See, right there in the Bible it says the gospel is to go beyond 45:41 just the church members or one group or one race. 45:45 It was to go everywhere. 45:47 Every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every people. 45:50 Jesus said, "Go into all the world, 45:52 preach the gospel." 45:54 Said, "Beginning in Judea and Jerusalem and Samaria, 45:57 then the uttermost parts of the earth." 46:00 That encompasses everything. 46:01 And I tell you, it's been fun. 46:04 I just praise the Lord that, you know, 46:07 Karen and I and when the kids were young, 46:09 we took the kids. 46:10 We have been able to travel all over the world and it is so neat 46:14 because we meet Seventh Day Adventist Christians in 46:18 New Guinea, in China, in Africa, in Europe, 46:24 and they got some really interesting customs and food. 46:27 I like just about all the food. 46:31 But they all believe the same Bible. 46:35 They all have the same faith. 46:36 They know the same God. 46:38 It is the most amazing thing. 46:39 I can stand up and preach from the Bible and, 46:41 even though it's going through a translator, 46:43 I don't have to worry about, "Well, 46:45 I wonder how this sermon is going over in this culture." 46:47 If I'm preaching the Word of God I'm getting "Amens." 46:51 Sometimes I think my translator's fixing what I'm 46:53 saying before it goes to them. 46:57 But it's for all people. 46:58 Everlasting gospel. 47:00 2 Samuel 23, verse 5. 47:03 David's praying: "Although my house is not so with God, 47:06 yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant." 47:10 That's why it's called the everlasting gospel, 47:12 ordered in all things. 47:13 Psalm 145:13: "Your kingdom, O Lord, 47:16 is an everlasting kingdom and your dominion endures throughout 47:21 all generations." 47:23 Were people saved under one dispensation in the Old 47:26 Testament and now they're saved with a different gospel and a 47:29 different dispensation in the New Testament? 47:31 They were saved by works then and we're saved by faith now. 47:36 The everlasting gospel, the same gospel that saves us is the same 47:39 gospel that saved Adam and Abel, back in the Garden of Eden. 47:44 They were all saved by the blood of the Lamb. 47:46 They were saved by faith looking forward to the cross. 47:50 We are saved by grace and faith, looking back to the cross. 47:53 It is an everlasting gospel for all people in 47:56 all parts of the world. 47:57 Can you say, "Amen" please? 47:59 Thank you. 48:00 Psalm 139, verse 23: "Search me, O God, 48:03 and know my heart. 48:05 Try me and know my ways, my anxieties. 48:07 See if there's any way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." 48:12 The way everlasting is the everlasting gospel 'cause the 48:16 result of the everlasting gospel is everlasting life. 48:21 Isn't that good news? 48:22 We are out of time for today's lesson but we got most of it. 48:25 I want to remind our friends before we sign off, 48:28 there is a free offer we mentioned at the beginning 48:30 of the broadcast. 48:31 And it's called "How Perfect Must a Christian Be?" 48:34 I think you'll find this encouraging. 48:35 And you can ask for offer number 863. 48:38 Just call... 48:43 That's 866-Study-More. 48:44 Should see it on your screen there. 48:46 You can even get this by texting. 48:48 You can go and listen to it online. 48:50 You text "SH117" and you text that to 40544. 48:59 Easy for you to say. All right, friends. 49:02 Thank you so much for joining us and we'll look forward to 49:04 studying again next week. 49:08 male announcer: Don't forget to request 49:09 today's life-changing free resource. 49:11 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 49:14 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer or 49:16 mobile device. 49:17 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 49:20 simply text the key word on your screen to 40544 or visit the web 49:25 address shown on your screen, and be sure to select the 49:28 digital download option on the request page. 49:30 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 49:34 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want and 49:37 most important, to share it with others. 49:42 ♪♪♪ 49:45 announcer: "Amazing Facts Changed Lives." 49:53 Diamond Garcia: Hi, my name is Diamond Garcia and I am from 49:56 the beautiful islands of Hawaii. 49:57 I was raised in a very dysfunctional family, 50:01 like most families. 50:03 Being in that environment, I would lie, 50:05 cheat, steal, rob houses, cheat in school in tests and lying to 50:09 teachers and getting into fights and all kinds of stuff. 50:15 One day I was asked to take this little box of something and I 50:18 had to walk down the road and give it to someone and they 50:21 would give me money and I would walk back home. 50:23 And I later realized I was dealing drugs. 50:27 Growing up in that environment, I thought that, 50:29 you know, being an adult was a life of drinking and smoking and 50:32 partying and that's just what adults did. 50:37 When I looked at my family and saw the road that they were 50:40 going down, getting arrested, getting beaten up, 50:43 coming home drunk and puking all over the floor, 50:45 I just didn't want that for myself. 50:49 Growing up, I had a grandma who was baptized as a Christian in 50:52 her 20s but then she wasn't a real practicing Christian. 50:55 And so one day I was at her house and there was a box of 50:59 various books so I went to the bottom of that box and found 51:02 a book called "The Great Controversy." 51:04 And I picked it up and I said, "This is interesting." 51:07 And I opened to the first page of that book and it said: "If 51:10 thou hast known," I had no clue what it meant. 51:14 And so I said, "You know what? 51:15 Forget this." I put the book down. 51:17 I just walked away, did my thing. 51:19 But then something told me, "You know, 51:21 Diamond, go back to that book." 51:23 And so I went back to the book, picked it up. 51:25 Went to the last two chapters and I read it. 51:28 And I said to my grandmother, I said, 51:31 "What church is this from? 51:32 I want to go to that church." 51:34 So she brought me down to the local church and then I walk in 51:37 through the back door and the piano's off-key, 51:39 people were off-key. 51:41 It's, like, "Man, this is really kind of-- 51:43 I don't want to be here." 51:45 And I got to the front of the church and I sat down. 51:47 I was listening to the sermon and the whole service was 51:50 so boring to me. 51:51 But then someone gives me the set of DVDs and it was called 51:55 "The Prophecy Code." 51:58 It was through watching Doug Batchelor explain the truths 52:02 found in the Bible that really brought me to Christ and brought 52:05 me to realize that, you know what? 52:07 There is a life better than my family's life. 52:10 My second week at church on Sabbath, 52:13 there was one person there. 52:15 He basically told me, "Hey, Diamond, 52:17 do you want to make some money?" 52:18 And I said, "Sure." I said, "What do you do?" 52:20 He says, "Well, I'm a colporteur. 52:22 We go door to door and we sell Christian books." 52:25 I said, "Oh, okay. 52:27 Well, that sounds interesting. 52:28 I do want to make some money too." 52:30 And so he said, "Okay, well, why don't you come with me?" 52:32 We drove out to the neighborhood, 52:34 parked the car, and that night was just raining. 52:37 It was pouring and pouring. 52:38 It could not stop raining. 52:40 He prayed; he said, "God, this is Diamond's first night. 52:43 If it's your will, stop the rain so we can go knocking on doors." 52:46 And as soon as he said, "Amen," the rain just stopped. 52:49 I was just thinking in my head, "Is this guy a prophet or what?" 52:53 I mean, he just prayed and asked God and it happened. 52:57 And so I was so happy, I grabbed the books and I went to the 53:00 first door, and the first door I went to, 53:02 the person gave me 50 bucks. 53:04 That night was actually a big night for me because it was 53:06 where I saw God's power work in stopping the rain and people 53:10 actually giving me lots of money. 53:12 I then became a colporteur or a canvasser and I saved money to 53:16 pay for my way through the academy and when my church 53:18 began to see how God was using me and they 53:22 immediately recognized that it was God's Spirit 53:24 moving and they put me, you know, preaching and 53:27 teaching and sharing my faith. 53:28 And I've been engaged in ministry for the past six or 53:31 seven years now and God has taken me all over the world on 53:33 multiple continents, sharing my testimony, 53:35 how God has brought me out of darkness into his marvelous 53:38 light, which is total contrast as to how I was before, 53:42 I am now, you know, it's a total contrast. 53:46 My name is Diamond and "Amazing Facts" has helped 53:48 to change my life. 53:51 ♪♪♪ 54:02 ♪♪♪ 54:12 Doug: We're here on the beautiful coast of the island 54:14 of Puerto Rico. 54:16 And if you were to travel east about 2,000 miles, 54:18 of course, you'd be out in the middle of the ocean, 54:21 but you'd also be in the middle of a mystical sea called the 54:23 Sargasso Sea. 54:25 It gets its name because of this common brown seaweed that can be 54:29 found floating in vast mass. 54:32 The area of the Sargasso Sea is about 700 miles wide and 54:36 2,000 miles long. 54:38 Now, the seaweed itself is fascinating stuff. 54:41 It was first observed and called gulf weed by 54:44 Christopher Columbus. 54:45 It gets the name sorghum from the Portuguese. 54:47 Some people use it as herbal remedies. 54:49 But out in the middle of the Sargasso Sea the water is some 54:52 of the bluest in the world. 54:54 It's there you can see 200 feet deep in places. 54:57 It also has a great biodiversity and ecosystem that surrounds 55:01 the Sargasso Sea. 55:03 For years, scientists wondered where the American and the 55:06 Atlantic eels were breeding. 55:08 They knew the adult eel swam down the rivers out into the 55:11 Atlantic but they never could find the place 55:13 where they reproduced. 55:14 Finally, they discovered it was out in the middle of 55:16 the Sargasso Sea. 55:17 So it's a fascinating place but if you were an ancient sailor 55:21 you did not want to get stuck there. 55:26 Doug: Being caught in the doldrums was extremely difficult 55:28 for the ancient sailors. 55:30 Of course, their boats were driven by wind and sail and 55:33 they'd be caught in the vast mass of the seaweed that would 55:37 wrap around their rudder, barnacles would begin to grow. 55:39 It's an area that is notorious for light and baffling winds and 55:42 so they'd make no progress. 55:44 They'd get stuck. 55:46 The men would become extremely dispirited. 55:48 Sometimes, violence and even insanity would break out as 55:51 people were trapped in the doldrums. 55:54 Well, friends, perhaps sometimes you've felt that you're trapped 55:57 in the doldrums. 55:59 You've gone through episodes of depression, 56:00 you feel like you're going in circles, 56:02 life seems stifling. 56:04 You know, the Bible offers good news. 56:06 There is a way out. 56:07 The Bible talks about a famous character that was trapped 56:10 in a cycle of depression. 56:12 He was low as you could be. 56:14 Matter of fact, he even had seaweed wrapped around his head. 56:16 His name was Jonah. 56:18 But God gave him a way of escape. 56:20 In Jonah chapter 2, verse 3 through 7, 56:23 we read: "For You cast me into the depths, 56:27 Into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; 56:30 all of Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 56:33 Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; 56:36 yet I will look again towards Your holy temple.' 56:39 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the 56:42 deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head. 56:46 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; 56:48 the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; 56:52 yet You've brought my life up from the pit, O Lord, my God. 56:57 When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; 57:00 and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple." 57:05 You know, friends, the way that Jonah got out of his 57:06 discouraging circumstances, he turned to God and he prayed. 57:10 And if God could hear Jonah's prayer, 57:12 just think about it, he was as far away from God as anybody 57:15 could be, he was in the belly of a sea monster in the bottom of 57:18 the ocean in the dark, yet he turned to God and 57:21 God heard his prayer. 57:22 You know, these ancient sailors, when they were trapped on the 57:24 deck of a ship for weeks, stuck in the doldrums, 57:27 discouraged, sometimes they would have a prayer meeting and 57:30 pray that God would send a breeze that would set them free 57:33 and get their boats moving. 57:35 They turned to God in prayer and often miracles would happen and 57:38 the wind would flutter in the sails and bring them out 57:41 of their seaweed prison. 57:43 Friends, maybe you have been stuck in the doldrums. 57:46 Maybe you've been caught in a cycle of depression. 57:48 If God can do it for Jonah, if He can do it for the ancient 57:51 sailors, He can do it for you. 57:52 Turn to the Lord in prayer. 57:54 Trust His Spirit to blow through your soul and to set you free. 57:58 ♪♪♪ 58:08 ♪♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2019-08-27