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00:10 ♪♪♪ 00:20 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Luccas Rodor: Hello, I'd like to welcome you all to our 00:37 "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:40 It's so good to have all of you here with us right now and I'm 00:43 sure that the Lord has been with you throughout this week, 00:46 throughout the study of this lesson, 00:48 taught here at the Granite Bay SDA Church and also in 00:51 partnership with Amazing Facts Ministries. 00:53 I'd like to welcome not only you who are here with us today, 00:56 our local congregation, but all of those that are watching 00:59 through the internet, our worldwide congregation. 01:04 It's so good to have you with us and I'm sure that you will be 01:07 blessed by this study hour. 01:09 Today we're going to be studying lesson number 11 which is 01:12 "Living the Advent Hope." 01:15 And that's--again, that's number 11 on our quarterly but if you 01:19 don't have the quarterly, that's okay, 01:21 you can find an online version of that and you can find that at 01:24 Lesson.aftv.org and you can download the current lesson, 01:30 the current quarterly right there. 01:34 Also we have a free offer for you and we like to--we'd like 01:38 you to take advantage of that free offer. 01:40 And today's free offer is "Ultimate Deliverance: 01:44 The Return of Jesus Christ." 01:46 And this is an amazing study. 01:48 It talks about when Jesus will come back 01:50 and how that's going to happen. 01:51 It has all the Bible verses and I'm sure that this will benefit 01:54 you, your family, and anyone else around you that you'd like 01:57 to talk about the return of Jesus. 02:00 Now, for you to get this in North America, 02:03 if you live in North America, you can call... 02:12 and that's how you can get your free offer. 02:13 Another way that you can do this here in North America is that 02:16 you can text the code "SH090" to the number 40544 and you can get 02:23 a digital copy of this. 02:25 Now if you're outside of the United States or Canada, 02:28 North America, you can go to study.aftv.org/SH090 and you can 02:36 get this free offer also. 02:37 I'd like to invite you to say a word of prayer before we invite 02:40 our teacher for today. 02:43 Let's pray. 02:44 Dear heavenly Father, we thank You and we praise You for all 02:48 of Your blessings, for Your love, and for Your guidance. 02:51 Lord, I ask You to be with Pastor Shawn as he 02:53 teaches us today. 02:54 Guide him, Lord, and may he be an instrument in Your hands. 02:57 I ask You these things in the name of 03:00 Jesus Christ, Your Son, amen. 03:02 Pastor Shawn, may God bless you. 03:04 Shawn Brummund: We are looking at "Living the Advent Hope." 03:08 Now as--for those of you who have looked through this lesson 03:10 study and have reviewed it before our time here today, 03:13 you have discovered that really there are two great hopes and 03:17 so maybe we could even call this lesson study, 03:20 "The Two Great Advent Hopes," and so they're very closely tied 03:26 together and we're going to discover how that takes place. 03:30 And so let's get right into it. 03:32 I'm going to jump ahead if I could. 03:34 I'm going to go right past Sabbath, 03:36 Sunday, Monday, we're going to come back to some of that 03:39 material as well during our lesson study here today but 03:41 I want to look at one of my favorite chapters and the first 03:44 great hope that God has given to us that's very closely tied 03:48 together with the hope of Jesus himself returning to this earth 03:52 and so let's open our Bibles and let's go 03:54 to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 03:58 As we go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 04:00 we're going to discover why this is one of my favorite chapters 04:05 and if you've studied this in detail in the past, 04:07 I also know why it is one of your favorite chapters as well. 04:12 As far as I can recall, this is the most extensive chapter that 04:16 we have in all of Scripture that talks about this great hope, 04:20 this great event which is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 04:25 And not only the Resurrection of Jesus Christ but also pointing 04:28 forward as He is the first fruits to the ultimate 04:31 resurrection of all the saved, the great Resurrection of Life. 04:35 And so it's no small chapter. 04:37 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is a huge chapter because of that. 04:41 Now, as God is working through the prophet apostle Paul and as 04:45 we come to the first verses of this, 04:46 because we're going to look at verses 3 through 8 as the 04:49 introduction to this chapter. 04:51 Now, obviously, time doesn't permit us to be able to go verse 04:54 by verse through this chapter even though that would be 04:56 a great study. 04:58 Verses 3 through 8 is kind of the introduction to the subject. 05:02 And puts it in the context for us so let's 05:05 read it here together. 05:06 At verse 3 it says: "For I delivered to you first of all 05:08 that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins 05:13 according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, 05:16 and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 05:20 and that He was seen by Cephas," and that's another name for 05:23 Peter, "then by the 12. 05:27 And after that He was seen by over 500 brethren at once, 05:30 of whom the greater part remain to present, 05:33 but some have fallen asleep." 05:35 And so in verse 6, it's intriguing here that Paul points 05:38 out the fact that more than the apostles saw 05:40 the resurrected Christ. 05:42 In fact, he tells us that there were 500 different individuals 05:45 that had witnessed that. 05:47 Now when we look at the context of the book of Acts in the 05:50 beginning and such, we find there the departure of Jesus and 05:52 that's almost for certain when we have this larger crowd that 05:56 had gathered and were devout followers of Christ and had 05:59 witnessed His ascension to His Father back in heaven. 06:03 And, of course, Paul is pointing out back when he penned 06:08 1 Corinthians that there was--the greater part of them, 06:11 they were still alive, still worshiping within the church, 06:14 witnessing for Jesus. 06:16 Then verse 7 goes on and says: "After that He was seen 06:18 by James, then by all the apostles. 06:21 And then last of all He was seen by me also, 06:23 as one born out of due time." 06:26 And so Paul also laid eyes upon the resurrected Christ when he 06:30 was first traveling to Damascus and as he was on the 06:35 way there, of course, Christ appeared to him. 06:38 But then he also writes later that he also had a number of 06:40 encounters prophetically with the resurrected Christ as well. 06:45 And so we have a number of eye witnesses that witnessed this 06:48 core truth that not only did Jesus die according to the 06:51 Scriptures, but just as importantly, 06:54 as Paul later is inspired to flesh out quite extensively, 06:58 then Jesus rose to glory according to 07:01 the Scriptures as well. 07:04 And so the Resurrection is just as much a part of the gospel and 07:07 the Advent hope that God has given to us as Christians as the 07:10 death of Jesus on the cross for the sins and guilt of mankind. 07:15 And so the greatest hope that we have for the future is founded 07:19 on the little resurrection of Christ. 07:22 He is the first fruits from the grave. 07:24 He is the example. 07:27 He is the one that we point to and that we focus on that we 07:29 might know that we also through Him will have 07:34 victory over the grave. 07:36 It's good news, isn't it? 07:38 Okay, good, I'm glad to hear an "Amen" out there. 07:41 Well, let's continue on. 07:42 We're going to go through verses 12 to 23 and so we're going to 07:46 pick up a larger part there concerning the Resurrection 07:49 because now God is inspiring the prophet Paul to be able to 07:52 expand on why the Resurrection is so important. 07:57 In verse 12 it says: "Now if Christ is preached that He has 08:00 been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there 08:03 is no resurrection of the dead?" 08:05 And so there is a bit of a rumor going around, 08:07 a little bit of a false theology that had entered into the ranks 08:11 of the Corinthian church and they were claiming that there 08:14 would be no resurrection for the dead. 08:16 Maybe they were, some of the Christians perhaps, 08:19 were of a Sadducee background because there was a larger 08:23 population of the Jewish religious world of Christ's day 08:27 that believed that there was no future resurrection. 08:30 That when we die, we die, that's the end. 08:32 We know we're eaten by worms or go back to the 08:34 dirt and that's the end. 08:36 And yet we find here that Paul is addressing that. 08:42 Somehow it had crept into the church. 08:44 And verse 13 says: "But there--if there is no 08:46 resurrection from the dead, then Christ is not risen. 08:49 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your 08:52 faith is also empty." 08:55 So if there's no resurrection of Christ, 08:57 are we left empty? 08:59 Yeah, our hope is left empty and, 09:01 really, he says the floor of the Christian faith really is just 09:05 pulled out from underneath you. 09:07 And so that makes it very important. 09:09 Verse 15, it says: "Yes, and we are found false witnesses of 09:13 God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, 09:17 whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. 09:21 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen." 09:24 So if there's no future resurrection and there's no such 09:28 thing as the power to be able to overcome death and come back 09:31 from the grave, then Christ hasn't come back from the grave 09:34 as well and so Paul here is saying, 09:36 "Listen, you can't take one and refuse the other." 09:39 And yet Paul says that "myself and 500 saw 09:41 the resurrected Christ." 09:44 Then we come to verse 17 and it says: "And if Christ is not 09:47 risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." 09:54 And so again, does the gospel require a resurrection 09:56 of the Messiah? 09:58 A resurrecting of the Savior? Yes, it does. 10:01 Okay, there's not much hope for a Savior that has died 10:04 permanently and is not the first fruits that go through the grave 10:08 to find that victory over the grave, 10:10 and to be able to have eternal life for you and me. 10:12 And so to have our sins forgiven is a wonderful thing and I know 10:16 many, if not all of us, have experienced what that is and the 10:18 freedom, the victory, that that brings into our life, 10:21 into our heart, and so on. 10:24 But if that forgiveness dies with us when we are buried 10:28 in the grave, then, of course, we're still futile, 10:32 we're still in our sins in a very large way. 10:35 Then verse 18, Paul goes on. 10:37 He says: "Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ 10:40 have perished." 10:43 In other words, those who have already gone ahead and died in 10:45 Christ, well, they had a great life, 10:46 they experienced salvation or at least the forgiveness of sin but 10:50 that's still the end of it. 10:52 And so it still comes up empty. 10:54 Verse 19: "If this life we only have hope in Christ, 10:57 then we are of all men most pitiable," there 11:00 he goes on, doesn't he? 11:01 Now, he's going on about this quite a bit 'cause he wants to 11:03 get it across and he wants us to be able to understand how 11:06 important this truth are and how pitiable we really are if there 11:10 is no resurrection of Christ and there is no hope of us having 11:13 the resurrection of life and eternal life. 11:17 Then in verse 20 he goes on: "But now Christ is risen from 11:20 the dead, and has become the first fruits of those 11:23 who have fallen asleep. 11:26 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection 11:29 of the dead." 11:32 Now Paul is looking at the biggest picture that we could 11:35 really see in all the Scripture, okay? 11:37 Outside of the great controversy between Christ 11:38 and Satan and good and evil that began in heaven, of course. 11:41 But here on earth in human history Paul is now pointing to 11:45 the greatest and biggest theme concerning salvation and so he 11:49 points us all the way back to the original man, 11:52 the original human being that God first created 11:55 in the very beginning. 11:56 That is Adam. 11:58 And so when he uses the term "man" in verse 21, 12:01 he's talking about Adam. 12:02 "For since by one man," that's Adam, 12:05 "came death," okay, because of course, 12:08 Adam gave us something that we really didn't ask for, did we? 12:12 I'm tempted to call it a present but it really isn't a present. 12:14 It is--that would be a misnomer because Adam gave us the curse 12:18 of a sinful nature, didn't he? 12:20 And because of that, we're all guilty of sin 12:22 and the wages of sin is? 12:24 Is death and that was Paul's here reviewing for you and me. 12:29 He says, "For since why by one man came death," because he also 12:32 brought to us sin and therefore we all face death, 12:34 "by Man," and some of your translations may even have 12:37 it capitalized. 12:39 M-A-N, that's Jesus, "by Man through Christ also came the 12:42 resurrection of the dead." 12:44 And so Christ came to reverse that which Adam 12:47 brought to mankind. 12:49 He came to reverse the curse of death and of sin. 12:53 In verse 22 he goes on and says, "For as in Adam," well, 12:56 there we go, now he's given it away for sure. 12:58 Just in case you were wondering who that man was for sure, 13:00 verse 22 goes on and says, "For in Adam all die, 13:06 even so in Christ all shall be made alive." 13:10 And so he parallels the previous verse of--21 and he actually 13:14 names the two individuals. 13:16 And then we come to the last verse that we'll be looking at 13:18 in this particular chapter. 13:20 It says: "But each of them--but each one in his own order: 13:22 Christ the first fruits, and afterwards those who are 13:27 Christ's at His coming." 13:32 Now that reveals a very important event and also plays 13:35 it in the--places it in the timeline of prophecy and of 13:38 God's plan for your future and mine. 13:41 In other words, when do we receive eternal life? 13:44 Do we receive it at death? 13:46 No, it's here revealing something that's very important 13:49 that all Bible prophets wrote on extensively, 13:52 we can find dozens of verses that tell us that when we go to 13:55 the grave we go to the grave and that's why he uses the 13:57 term--Paul uses the term over and over: 13:58 "They have fallen asleep." 14:00 Okay, why? 14:02 Because we rest in the grave, we rest in peace unconsciously 14:05 until we receive that eternal life, 14:07 that great hope of which Christ was the first fruits which is 14:11 the resurrection from the grave. 14:14 Overcoming death. 14:15 Now, this is one of the greatest subjects that we can find in all 14:18 of Scripture and, again, this is the most extensive passage that 14:20 we can find on the subject and, again, 14:22 I wish I could just go on verse by verse until we get all the 14:25 way through to the end because it's just so powerful and 14:27 there's so many important life-giving truths that are 14:30 found there but we just don't have time. 14:32 But we do want to be able to spend enough time in it to be 14:34 able to look at it biblically and understand that this is an 14:37 important powerful hope that God gives to us. 14:42 One of the things that God has given to me is I have taken that 14:45 and put it in my heart and I live by that from day to day, 14:50 is that it's given me a great source of encouragement. 14:55 And not only has it given myself a great source of encouragement, 14:57 but it's also given me the ability to encourage a lot of 15:00 fellow believers as a pastor. 15:02 Because as a pastor, you know, we're all called to encourage 15:04 each other and to serve each other, 15:06 but as a pastor you do it just a little bit more. 15:08 And so I've sat in a lot of homes and I've talked to a lot 15:12 of people in the hospitals and visited them and some of them 15:17 aren't walking out of that hospital with everything that 15:20 they had before they came into the hospital. 15:23 Some of them are walking out and some of them aren't walking out 15:25 of the hospital. 15:27 They used to walk before they went in but when they came out 15:29 they won't be walking again in this life. 15:32 And so there's a number of things that take away from us, 15:37 have you noticed that? 15:38 Now, there's one. 15:40 We can avoid all disease we might be one that's--are spared 15:42 disease and any serious injury that takes away different 15:46 physical functions and mental functions and 15:48 health that we have. 15:50 But there's one thing that we can't all avoid that takes away 15:52 slowly but surely and what is that? 15:56 It's called growing older, isn't it? 15:58 It's called aging. 16:00 And one of the curses of sin is that as each decade goes by, 16:03 we lose more and more, don't we? 16:06 You know, I know some beautiful people in our church here at 16:09 Granite Bay and I've talked to them about it and how they got 16:11 knee replacements and hip replacements and even in spite 16:14 of that, they're not able to walk the way they used to walk. 16:17 They're not able to ride a bicycle anymore the way they 16:19 used to ride a bicycle and so they have to give up their 16:22 bicycle-riding days until Jesus comes. 16:25 But the good news is the encouragement that is found and 16:28 I found that too, you know. 16:29 I went through spinal surgery in my neck. 16:31 I lost one of my vertebral joints. 16:35 You know, that's a major, major loss. 16:37 I'll never have my neck function the way that it did before that. 16:40 But I'll tell you, friends, one of the things that got me 16:42 through the day and continues to get me through the day, 16:45 and not only does it get me through the day 16:47 but it gives me joy. 16:49 It gives me genuine joy from the inside out, 16:51 is the fact that I know that it's a temporary loss. 16:55 To be able to know that one day God is going to give me a new 16:57 neck and I'm never going to have a pinched nerve, 17:01 I'm never going to have any of these difficulties that we face 17:03 in this life. 17:05 And so I want to encourage you to hold on to that, 17:07 to be able to find your hope and your encouragement in this great 17:10 hope that God gives to us. 17:15 And so God wants us to look forward to the time when death 17:17 is history, when we will never experience not only loss 17:21 personally, physically, mentally, 17:23 and so on, but we will never experience injustice anymore in 17:27 a sinful and corrupt world. 17:28 We'll never experience pain, we'll never be exposed to evil. 17:31 All of these different things that are negative that we need 17:35 to be able to battle with and deal with in different ways from 17:38 day to day, all of it will be gone. 17:41 And so God wants us to be able to hold on and look forward to 17:44 that time when it is history. 17:46 You know, there's a time when I was much younger, 17:48 I was just a young boy and I was eight or nine or ten years old 17:52 and all of us were there and so this is not a unique 17:54 illustration but, you know, especially when you're just 17:58 a little tyke and, you know, your mom and dad announce, 18:01 you know, "Guess what, we're going to go camping at Yosemite 18:03 this summer," or "We're going to go out to Hawaii and the 18:06 family's going to spend a week in Hawaii this January," 18:08 whatever it is. 18:10 And when you find out about it, wow, 18:11 you know, you're just starting to count the days. 18:13 Maybe you're marking off the calendar and, 18:14 you know, as it gets closer and closer you're more and more 18:16 anticipating it and there's a term that probably all of us 18:21 used to wait, "Oh, Mommy, Daddy, I can't wait. 18:24 I can't wait until we go to Hawaii," or "We go to Yosemite 18:26 camping," or whatever it is. 18:29 And that's the focus I believe that God wants us to have, 18:35 that we can't wait until Jesus comes, 18:37 that we receive that resurrection of life and we 18:39 receive that celestial perfect eternal body that had--God has 18:42 in store for us. 18:46 And so I know many of you, if not all of you, 18:48 are looking forward to that and I hope that everybody that is 18:50 watching is going to be able to experience that, 18:54 if you're not already. 18:56 Now, what is the second great hope that God has for us? 19:01 What is the second great hope that God has for us in the 19:03 future that we can look forward to? 19:07 Pardon me? 19:09 All right, judgment, somebody says. 19:10 Yes, okay, so it's judgment. 19:12 And so that can rub certain people wrong, 19:16 you know, just bringing up that subject sometimes. 19:18 You know, there's a couple of words that I've started to 19:20 observe and I haven't been in the church very long, 19:23 maybe since the early, mid-'80s is when I started going in 19:28 church for the first time in my life and so I don't have a lot 19:31 to be able to compare to over the years but it seems to me 19:35 that there's two words that have become kind of bad words even 19:38 within Christianity, even within the church and the churches 19:42 of our modern day. 19:44 And that is "judgment" and "repentance," you know, 19:48 and both of them speak to the heart, don't they? 19:51 And Adam, you know--I'm not an expert and I haven't looked at 19:58 the studies, I haven't looked at Barna and seen what kind of 20:02 surveys they've made. 20:04 You know, one of the most extensive Christian poll takers 20:06 and survey takers and such, but I'm--if I was to put my money 20:11 somewhere and probably guess, I would guess that the reason that 20:13 judgment is a topic that's not all that popular, 20:16 even amongst Christians today, is because there's a growing 20:18 unfaithfulness that is happening within Christians today as well. 20:23 You know, we want the heaven, we want the eternal life, 20:26 we want that first hope, you know, 20:28 we really get excited about the first hope that we looked 20:30 at which is eternal life and heaven and so on, 20:32 but when it comes to accountability, 20:34 we're not so sure we're as excited about that. 20:37 You know, we--you know, judgment kind of tells us and reminds us, 20:41 as we'll look at some verses that kind of uncover everything 20:45 and such and so sometimes we get just a little 20:50 bit nervous about that. 20:52 Now, that's not to say that God is expecting us to be perfect or 20:55 that we should be reflecting Christ exactly perfectly with a 21:00 week of baptism because sanctification is something that 21:02 takes place over the years of our life and God takes different 21:06 character traits and different weaknesses and He makes them 21:09 into strengths and gives us victories. 21:12 But are we being faithful? 21:14 Is our heart in the right place? 21:16 If it is, then we can look forward to a time in the future 21:19 when God makes all wrongs in this world right. 21:23 This is found in an event and process that is written perhaps 21:26 more than any other subject in the Bible and that is judgment. 21:29 It's not a small subject and that's why we find that there 21:32 are hundreds, literally hundreds, 21:34 of verses from the beginning of the Bible to the end that talk 21:37 about this great subject. 21:39 And so how we view it, of course, 21:42 depends on where our life is right now, where our heart is. 21:45 But for the sincerely faithful, this should be 21:47 nothing but good news. 21:49 Judgment is something that we shouldn't be fearful of but we 21:52 understand the gospel correctly and we understand our heart 21:54 correctly and we know that we're making choices or decisions both 21:57 in private as well as in public for Him then we can know that 22:02 the judgment is a good thing. 22:06 Why is it a good thing? 22:08 Well, this sinful world is chock full of unfairness. 22:10 Have you noticed? 22:12 This world is chock full of injustices. 22:16 You know, there's things that are stacked against us, 22:20 depending on who we're born to, where we're born, 22:24 what era we're born, you know. 22:27 Many of us have been born with all the cards stacked against us 22:30 and it's not our fault. 22:32 It's not because we chose that but, 22:34 nevertheless, that's the pathway that we're born into. 22:38 Now, Jesus gives us light and He gives us strength and He gives 22:42 us help and He helps us to be able to come onto higher ground 22:45 and be able to make an impact in the world in a positive way but, 22:48 friends, this world is chock full of injustices. 22:52 It's so unfair. 22:53 Greed, corruption, power mongering, 22:56 all of these things are making this world a very unjust world, 23:00 a very unfair world. 23:04 And so it should be something--judgment should be 23:08 something that we look forward to it if our heart and life is 23:10 right with Christ. 23:13 Well, come with me to John chapter 3. 23:15 We're coming to that powerful chapter when Jesus meets with 23:21 Nicodemus in the night. 23:23 Talks about the importance of being born again full of the 23:26 Holy Spirit and, of course, you can't see or enter into the 23:29 kingdom of God without being born of the Spirit as 23:32 that chapter powerfully paints for us. 23:39 But I want to look at verses 19 and 20 as Jesus here is 23:41 concluding His conversation and instruction with this very 23:47 influential Jewish leader, Nicodemus. 23:50 In verse 19, Jesus here kind of helps us to get to the heart of 23:54 why judgment for many is a very unpopular topic. 23:59 In verse 19, it says: "This is the condemnation, 24:01 that the light has come into the world, 24:03 and men have loved darkness rather than light, 24:07 because their deeds," were? 24:09 "Because their deeds were evil." 24:11 Verse 20 says: "For everyone practicing evil hates the light 24:14 and does not come into the light, 24:16 lest his deeds should be exposed." 24:17 You know, my wife was at home. 24:20 I was going for an annual Father's Day campout which I try 24:24 to do every spring, in June, when Father's Day come along, 24:27 I'll go and spend that Sunday night camping with, 24:29 first, my oldest daughter when she was alone. 24:32 Now, both my daughters. 24:33 And so we had headed up to Lake Tahoe to camp for the night. 24:38 And I got a text from my wife, I don't know, 24:40 about 10 o'clock, 10:30. 24:41 She goes, you know, "The police just left the house. 24:43 I'm still shaking," you know, "I'm so glad everything's okay." 24:48 And so, of course, you know, I immediately, 24:50 "What is the problem?" 24:52 And she said, "Well, you know, I was in the front room and 24:55 I was watching the news. 24:57 There's something on TV and all of a sudden I," you know, 25:00 there's a gate that goes along the paved sideway. 25:03 There's a fence that runs all the way around our house and 25:06 comes up to the front of the corner, 25:08 and she was just on the inside of that wall with a window there 25:11 and so whoever approached that gate, 25:13 certainly would have known somebody was there, 25:16 that the television was on 'cause the window was open and 25:18 the light would have come through and such, 25:19 but they just boldly came up and opened the gate and had these 25:21 big heavy boots, thump, thump, thump, 25:24 thump, you know, along the side of the house, 25:25 and there was a flashlight kind of, 25:27 you know, being flashed and there was one or two of them 25:30 just walked right into the back of the house. 25:31 I guess they're just quickly trying to see what they could 25:33 loot in different back yards and so then she called the police 25:40 right away and they showed up and they had a K-9 unit. 25:44 There was, like, four cruisers out there. 25:46 It was quite an event that she went through as they kind of 25:49 sent the dog back there first to see if he's still there and, 25:52 of course, they don't know what they're up to as the police goes 25:55 in the dark back yard and he--the perpetrators were long 26:00 gone but, you know, after that, I saw a couple of these solar 26:06 lights, you know, these security lights now, 26:08 you know, and you can--it has a little solar panel and it's got 26:11 a motion detector and so on. 26:12 So I bought two of those. 26:14 I put one right in the corner there, that same 26:15 house where the gate is. 26:16 I put the gate, you know, latch on the inside so you had to--you 26:19 literally can't really open it unless you're on the inside of 26:22 the gate now. 26:23 And then I put one of these lights on and then I put another 26:27 one on the driveway, you know, and so if anybody comes near, 26:29 they, boom, you know, this great big light kind of flashes and 26:31 lights them all up. 26:33 Thieves don't like light, you know? 26:35 It's a very effective deterrent for many thieves because what 26:40 they know is something that they know is wrong and they also know 26:44 it is very dangerous and they can get caught and so we find 26:47 here that it's a deterrent. 26:51 And Jesus is using that metaphor here, isn't He? 26:53 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not 26:56 come into the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." 27:01 And so Jesus here is really getting to the root of why some 27:04 of us might not be excited--all that excited about this 27:08 particular topic. 27:10 Now, it's important for us to understand that when Jesus is 27:13 making this statement, by the way, 27:15 He's not just talking about the non-religious people. 27:17 He's talking about the religious people as well, isn't He? 27:20 In fact, the greatest enemies that God had were those who were 27:24 pretending to be very pious, pretending to be very devout and 27:27 sincere to God but really, they weren't and so they weren't all 27:32 that excited about Jesus as well. 27:36 Well, all of this is best summarized in Wednesday's text 27:38 on the subject of judgment and why judgment should be good news 27:42 for us as believers. 27:44 Let's go to Ecclesiastes chapter 8. 27:47 Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and verse 14. 27:53 We're going in Ecclesiastes chapter 8. 28:03 Okay, and verse 14. 28:08 In Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and verse 14 it says: "There is a 28:11 vanity which occurs on the earth, 28:13 that there are just men to whom it happens according to the 28:16 works of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it 28:20 happens according to the work of the righteous. 28:22 And I said that this is also vanity." 28:24 Now, of course, this is balanced out as Solomon was also inspired 28:29 to write many of the Proverbs that tell us that when we follow 28:31 God and His law's a delight and God is a delight and we truly 28:35 love Him and sincerely want to follow Him and surrender to Him 28:37 and so on, that we are like a tree that is planted by a river, 28:42 you know, and God prospers us in many different ways and so he 28:44 does tell us that there is a general trend when you follow 28:47 after righteousness and you follow after what is--and keep 28:50 your integrity in that which is good, 28:52 then your life will be a blessing and you will receive 28:55 the fruits of that in general. 28:57 But at the same time, there's many psalms as well as here in 29:00 Ecclesiastes he's just read, that there is also a--there's a 29:03 great injustice about the way that the world works too often 29:08 and that is that we have those who are choosing wickedness on 29:13 a regular basis and they don't have integrity, 29:16 they don't have honest--honesty is not a virtue, 29:19 and among other things. 29:21 And so, they'll steal and lie and cheat and sometimes even 29:26 kill if they need to, to be able to achieve great prosperity and 29:29 such and so it appears like they're receiving the reward 29:34 of the righteous. 29:36 And history today tells us that some of the greatest men and 29:39 women on earth, you know, have lived out many--much of their 29:41 life, if not all of the last years of their life in prison, 29:45 you know, just simply because they were standing for what is 29:48 right and believing in Christ and following Him and so that 29:53 general rule isn't always followed, 29:56 isn't always fleshed out the way that we'd like it. 29:58 It's an unjust reality that exists in a fallen world with 30:04 human nature being followed the way it is 30:06 today, our sinful natures. 30:09 And so to have the mind of Christ is to hate and despise 30:12 all that is evil, all that is wrong, all that is unjust. 30:17 And we, as believers, can look forward to when 30:19 all of that is exposed. 30:22 Much of it is done in the dark. 30:24 The motion detectors aren't catching them right now. 30:27 The lights aren't being turned on but one day those lights will 30:30 be turned on, Jesus says. 30:32 One day those lights will be turned on. 30:34 And we can look forward to when it's all exposed, 30:36 when all secret and rebellious corruption is 30:38 fully exposed and stopped. 30:39 You know, one of the greatest temptations that 30:42 some of us have, especially if we're retired, 30:43 is that we can get wrapped up and just spend endless hours, 30:46 literally, for the rest of your years in your retirement years 30:49 online looking at different conspiracy theories, you know? 30:54 And you can waste the rest of your life, 30:56 you know, looking at those and the key word of that is theory. 31:03 Conspiracy "theories." 31:06 And see, the problem with theories is that 31:08 they're not proven. 31:09 Now, sometimes we're absolutely convinced that they're proven 31:11 but I would venture to say that well over half, 31:14 the vast majority of them are not proved--they're theories. 31:17 Some of them may be true but the vast majority 31:20 I would say are not true. 31:22 But you know what, friends? 31:23 There is going to be a time when every true conspiracy, 31:26 evil conspiracy, will be exposed in the light for all that it is. 31:30 And, friends, I can't wait 'til that takes place. 31:34 I can't wait. 31:36 Come with me to Mark chapter 4 and verse 22. 31:40 Let's go to the Gospel of Mark. 31:41 Mark chapter 4. 31:43 Mark chapter 4 and verse 22. 31:47 In Mark 4 and verse 22 Jesus touches on the same subject and 31:49 again He says, "For there is nothing hidden which will not be 31:51 revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should 31:55 come to," there's that key word again. 31:58 Back to light, okay? 32:00 And so again, Jesus is saying, one day during the judgment hour 32:04 that's taking place in heaven, even right now. 32:05 When you look at prophecy we know that over the last 32:07 100-and-something years that wrap-up time is taking place, 32:10 the books are open, the angels, the angelic jury, 32:13 and Jesus and the Father are sitting on the judgment throne 32:16 and They're examining and the lights are being turned on 32:19 in heaven right now. 32:20 But one day on earth those lights will also be turned on 32:22 and everything that is being done in secret that is evil 32:26 will come to light. 32:29 Come back with me to Ecclesiastes. 32:31 Ecclesiastes chapter 12. 32:33 This is another important text that the lesson study brings 32:36 to light and I'm not saying that as a pun. 32:41 But obviously it's on the top of my mind. 32:43 It's a natural metaphor. 32:46 Okay, Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verses 13 and 14. 32:50 These are the last two verses of the book and so God is inspiring 32:55 Solomon, King Solomon, to come to the conclusion, 32:58 the summary, and even uses that term in verse 13. 33:02 It says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: 33:06 Fear God and keep His commandments, 33:09 for this is man's all. 33:11 For God will bring every work into judgment, 33:13 whether every secret thing--including every secret 33:17 thing, whether good or evil." 33:18 And so one day the secret things that are good and Jesus actually 33:21 counseled us as believers. 33:22 He says, "Listen, when you do good things, 33:24 don't advertise it." 33:26 He said, "Don't advertise it, you know. 33:28 When you're fasting or when you're praying extra, 33:30 you know, you're giving alms and, 33:32 you know, giving to charity or to the church and so on, 33:35 don't advertise it." 33:36 He says, "You--that which is kept in secret and done in 33:38 secret, God will reward you in secret. 33:41 But that who advertises it, your reward is already with you," and 33:43 you want to keep that reward for when Jesus comes. 33:45 And so that's why the Bible here tells us that every secret thing 33:49 whether good or evil will be exposed. 33:52 And so the best secrets that we should have, 33:55 the only ones that we should have, 33:56 is that of doing good because we don't advertise it. 34:04 So that's important. 34:05 Now, statements like the ones that we looked at can either 34:07 scare us or they can encourage us. 34:10 And so, friend, I want to take this opportunity. 34:12 If you have never surrendered to Christ, 34:14 if you have never found Christ as your Savior, 34:16 if you have never understood and experienced Christ as your 34:20 friend, a forgiving friend that offers you free forgiveness, 34:24 to be able to find that forgiveness in Christ. 34:26 And to be able to know that He has forgiven you, 34:29 that you are clean, that He has a robe of righteousness that 34:32 belongs to Him that He covers you with, 34:34 and that He will work with you and that He will mold you into 34:39 the character and the person of Christ. 34:41 And that you can know that one day Christ will return and that 34:44 He will take you home. 34:46 You don't have to be scared. 34:47 You don't have to be afraid because you have a 34:49 friend that is returning. 34:52 And so to be best friends with the judge in any court process 34:58 is a very comforting thing. 35:00 And so you too can be ready for judgment day. 35:05 You too can know that when Jesus comes that you have eternal 35:07 life, that you will be part of the resurrection of life. 35:12 Now, God gives us all an opportunity to move from fear 35:14 of the subject to a love of the subject. 35:17 And so nobody, no preacher, no reader, 35:19 no prophet, has ever intended or should intend to be able to 35:24 bring the subject of judgment to scare people. 35:27 Now, sometimes in the past, especially in the Middle Ages, 35:30 but even in different chapters of evangelicalism and 35:33 Protestantism, we've used the judgment process to scare people 35:37 into heaven and we'll start to describe the great, 35:40 you know, sufferings that you're going to experience in hell one 35:44 day and so on. 35:47 But, friends, God doesn't convert through fear. 35:49 He converts through love. 35:52 "Do you not know it is the goodness of God that leads 35:53 you to repentance," it tells us in the second chapter of Romans. 35:58 It's only the love that melts our hearts. 36:01 Jesus says, "And I--when I am lifted up will draw 36:03 all men unto Me." 36:05 Now, he doesn't lift up--Jesus is not talking about being 36:08 lifted up as a vindictive judge that can't wait until you make 36:11 your mistake or that you can come to judgment day and 36:14 I can throw you into hell. 36:15 No, we find that Jesus has died on the cross, 36:18 that His sacrifice--He voluntarily for your 36:22 eternal life. 36:25 And that's what draws us. 36:27 That's what converts the heart because fear only converts the 36:31 behavior but Jesus wants to convert the heart. 36:36 That's why Jesus says you must be born again. 36:41 Jesus says, "I want to come in. 36:42 Whoever opens the door, I will come in and dine 36:44 with him and he with Me." 36:46 It's an internal experience, not an external experience. 36:53 Now without judgment, and this is important subject, 36:55 because without judgment it would be impossible for God to 36:58 make the world right. 37:00 The nightly news is full of people victimized by evil, 37:02 crying out for justice, crying out for judgment. 37:08 They want judgment. 37:10 And sometimes we'll be guilty of wanting judgment because we've 37:13 been the victim of some great evil but, 37:15 at the same time, we don't want to be--we don't want the light 37:18 to shine too brightly at us because there's, 37:20 you know, maybe something that we're not bringing to the Lord 37:22 that we need to bring to the Lord and such. 37:26 But, friends, this world is chock full of victims that are 37:29 crying out for judgment and justice and we should be the 37:31 greatest criers of that. 37:34 And so in light of these two great hopes of the future, 37:37 this week's lesson study points us to what the Bible teaches on 37:40 how we should spend our time until judgment day and the 37:43 resurrection of the saved. 37:45 And so the--in light of those two great hopes that we can't 37:49 wait for, that we're anticipating, 37:51 what should we do between today and resurrection and judgment 37:56 day, the Coming of Jesus? 37:59 Because the Coming of Jesus, those two events take place on 38:02 the same day, by the way. 38:03 I don't think I clarified that. 38:04 Most of you know that but some of you who may be watching or 38:06 are here tonight don't know that, 38:08 but both those events, when Jesus comes in glory, 38:11 very clearly the prophecies and the teachings of Jesus tell us 38:14 that there will be the resurrection of life, 38:17 all those who have died by faith in Christ will rise again and we 38:21 who are alive will be changed in an instant, 38:23 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. 38:25 We will receive these eternal perfect bodies and minds and 38:28 then all of us will be raptured up into the air to 38:30 meet the Lord in the air. 38:32 And we will always be with the Lord. 38:34 And so that takes place, the resurrection of life, 38:36 eternal life is granted on that day. 38:38 But it also tells us that there's a last phase of judgment 38:43 because it tells us in the last chapter of Revelation that when 38:46 Jesus comes His reward is with Him to give to everyone 38:48 according to his work, according to the fruits of their life, 38:51 either for good or for evil, for eternal condemnation 38:54 or eternal life. 38:56 And so judgment day is also on the time when Jesus comes. 38:59 The same day is the day of judgment. 39:03 We want to make sure that we're on the right side, amen? 39:05 We want to make sure that we are--that we have allowed 39:08 ourselves the opportunity to take that opportunity to melt 39:11 our hearts and fall in love with our Savior and 39:15 to make Him our friend. 39:18 And so does the Bible tell us that between now and judgment 39:23 day, the return of Jesus, that we should retreat to the hills 39:25 and isolate ourselves somewhere? 39:29 Is that what the Bible teaches? 39:31 Not totally. 39:32 It's kind of yes and no but there's much more no than yes. 39:35 I know it can be tempting, you know, 39:37 because once we come to Christ we start to hate sin, 39:39 we hate evil, we hate, you know, observing it. 39:42 We hate hearing people use God's name in vain. 39:44 We hate all these things that the world exposes and 39:46 unbelieving people around us are exposing us to. 39:49 We hate all these things now and so it's tempting to say, 39:52 "Okay, well, the best thing I can do is just retreat out into 39:54 the mountains, some crazy faraway place where I can 39:58 minimize my exposure to mankind and sinful humanity." 40:02 Now, that's not what Jesus taught. 40:05 Now, in the early Christian centuries, 40:06 we had made that mistake and it led to the building of 40:09 monasteries and convents and so on and, 40:12 you know, they believed that, you know, 40:16 the best thing we can do, the holiest life you can experience, 40:19 is to build big walls and isolate ourselves from the world 40:22 as much as possible. 40:25 But God doesn't call us to retreat. 40:26 He says to go forward. 40:28 God has given us the offensive. 40:30 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. 40:32 Baptize in the name of the Father, 40:34 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 40:36 Teach them to observe all things which I have commanded you and, 40:38 lo, I'm with you always even to the end of the age." 40:40 That's an offensive. 40:41 He tells us, listen, I want you to take the offensive, 40:43 not the defensive. 40:46 I want you to go out in battle. 40:48 I want you to pick up the sword of the Spirit which is the Holy 40:51 Spirit and the Word of God and I want you to go in there. 40:55 I want you to convert sinners, not avoid sinners. 40:58 I want you to convert sinners. 41:00 That's what God has called us. 41:02 Matthew chapter 5, verse 13. 41:05 Let's verify that because I don't want to just stand 41:08 on my own opinion. 41:12 I want us to be able to understand this biblically. 41:14 So let's hear it straight from the words of Christ Himself. 41:16 The Sermon on the Mount, the greatest and most 41:19 powerful sermon in all of history. 41:21 Chapter 5 and verse 13. 41:24 Right at the beginning, the very first chapter in the 41:27 three-chapter sermon. 41:29 Verse 13, He says: "You are the salt of the earth; 41:31 but if the salt loses its flavor, 41:33 how shall it be seasoned? 41:35 It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and 41:37 trampled under the foot." 41:38 Now, friends, when you put salt on your plate, 41:41 you have a meal and you want to add some salt, 41:43 do you just put it on one little--do you put it on the 41:46 edge of the plate right here? 41:47 Make sure it doesn't touch the food? 41:50 No, not at all, okay? 41:51 You take that salt and that's why we have salt shakers, why? 41:53 Because there's all kinds of holes at the end so that 41:56 it helps you. 41:58 And so you can just go like this without going crazy, 41:59 but when you go like this, why, it's flying all over 42:02 the place, isn't it? 42:04 It's intermingling. 42:05 Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth. 42:08 You are the salt of the earth. 42:09 Go and make disciples." 42:10 In verse 14: "For you are the light of the world. 42:13 A city that is set on a hill cannot be--cannot be hidden." 42:18 Verse 15, He says, "Do not--nor do they light a lamp and put it 42:22 under a basket, but on a lampstand, 42:23 and it gives light to all those in the house. 42:26 Let your light so shine before men, 42:28 that they may see your good works and glorify 42:30 your Father in heaven." 42:33 And so, friends, we are to model something 42:36 different to the world. 42:37 But if we're hiding up in the woods somewhere. 42:39 By the way, I don't want this to be misunderstood because 42:42 I know we have a lot of beautiful Christians, 42:44 even members in this church, that have acreages out 42:46 in the woods and so on. 42:48 I'm not talking about outside Auburn here and, 42:50 you know, within a half an hour or even ten minutes of 42:53 civilization and so on. 42:54 And of course, they're amongst other acreages and they have 42:56 neighbors to witness to still. 42:58 I'm talking about some crazy place up in Truckee or Covelo 43:02 or something like that, you know, and that's a bit of an 43:06 inside joke but, no, there's some beautiful 43:09 people in Covelo but way up in the woods outside of Covelo. 43:12 You don't want to stay out there too long, right? 43:14 Yeah, yeah. 43:17 So country living is a beautiful thing and I encourage it. 43:20 If you have an opportunity, especially when you have young 43:22 children that you're raising. 43:23 It's a beautiful environment and so on and stuff but, 43:25 at the same time, you want to also instruct and train your 43:27 children to mingle with the unbelievers and to know that 43:32 their commission and your commission as a family is to 43:34 make sinners into Christians, is to bring the gospel to the lost. 43:39 And we need to be able to be that salt of the earth. 43:43 In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus makes it clear that in the times 43:47 of extreme persecution, retreating to the hills and the 43:50 wilderness can be fitting at times. 43:52 So in extreme situations, you know, 43:55 going up to somewhere like in the woods outside of Covelo and 43:59 I know on Sabbath School Study Hour Pastor Doug has even 44:02 invited us and said, you know, "When it comes to that extreme 44:05 if we're still alive, you know, I have a place and you can be 44:09 welcome to be able to join me there and such." 44:13 And so, yeah, there are times. 44:14 Jesus made it very clear. 44:16 In extreme situations where retreating, 44:19 you know, the walled-in season and so on we have during the 44:21 persecutions in Europe during the 1260 years of persecution. 44:25 During those most intense times in years and decades, 44:27 God's people have had to retreat to the hills just to survive, 44:31 just to live, so that they could make disciples. 44:34 Because you can't make disciples if you're dead and so sometimes 44:37 God's people need to retreat in those 44:40 different extreme situations. 44:41 And Matthew chapter 24 makes that very clear. 44:45 I want to bring us to Monday's lesson and read a quote there. 44:49 So if you have your lesson study, 44:51 that's helpful, but if you don't, 44:53 I invite you just to listen carefully. 44:56 It's the last sentence in the main section there that's 45:01 written by the authors. 45:02 It says: "To focus solely or even primarily on the escape 45:05 aspect of the Christian hope for the future is to miss some 45:09 of the deeper points Jesus was making." 45:11 And so we want to make sure that we're not guilty, 45:14 and some Christians have been and may be today, 45:16 that we just want to get up in the day and just kind of hold on 45:20 to the hope of the resurrection and things made right and our 45:23 bodies made whole and so on and we just want to kind of, 45:27 you know, leave the world to itself and just kind of focus 45:32 on that every day. 45:33 But Jesus doesn't want us to focus on that as our main focus. 45:36 He wants us to find the encouragement and hold on to it. 45:39 But He wants our main focus is to bring our 45:42 neighbors to heaven as well. 45:44 His main focus is to be able to bring as many people here 45:46 in greater Sacramento, Northern California, 45:48 America, different nations, to heaven. 45:52 Our main focus is the--is to increase the population of 45:55 heaven, of the kingdom. 45:58 That's the main focus that we need to be able to focus on. 46:00 So that's very important and lesson study points us to 46:04 Matthew chapter 24 and 25. 46:07 And what a wonderful study that would be if we could stay with 46:09 that for the rest of our study. 46:11 But again, of course, we don't have time for that. 46:12 Some of you have read it in the past, 46:14 maybe over the last week, but those two are very critical. 46:19 It's a sermon that Jesus preaches to His 46:21 disciples and apostles. 46:22 Does this sermon speak to--or how does this sermon speak to 46:28 our living until Jesus comes? 46:30 How should we live? 46:31 We come back to that key question. 46:33 Well, first of all, Matthew 24, Jesus makes it very clear that 46:36 we're to be careful not to be deceived by false Christs 46:40 and false prophets. 46:41 So He says, "Be careful because many will come in My name and 46:44 claim to be Christ. 46:45 Many will come in My name and claim to be prophets and receive 46:48 visions and messages." 46:49 And inevitably, they always lead it into some kind of doctrinal 46:54 heresy, some kind of erroneous theology. 46:57 And so Jesus says, "Be very careful in concern to that." 47:02 The second trap that I believe that we also have to be aware 47:04 of and be careful not get caught up in is doing 47:09 what Christ told us not to do. 47:11 And this comes back to the escapism kind of focus of our 47:14 Christian experience. 47:15 We look so forward and we focus so much on the Second Coming, 47:18 the resurrection of life, eternal bodies, 47:21 you know, perfect harmony and love, 47:23 and all evil being eliminated, that that's 47:25 all we can think about. 47:27 And so our focus is so much that we fall into that trap of 47:29 wanting to know, "Is Jesus going to come next week? 47:33 Is He going to come next month? 47:35 And if He is going to come next month, 47:36 what day of the month is He going to come?" 47:39 And then we get caught into that trap of thinking that, 47:41 "Well, God wants us to know what day it is so that I can focus on 47:44 it even more." 47:45 Now, again, this is--almost seems anti-Adventist 47:48 but it's not, okay? 47:50 What it is, is it's being an Adventist in the context 47:54 of the teachings that Jesus gives to us. 47:56 How are we to be Adventists and look forward to the Coming? 48:00 Well, one of the important things that we need to be able 48:02 to be very much aware of is that in both Matthew 24 and 25, 48:05 Jesus tells us four times--four times He says, 48:10 "You do not know the day or the hour and you will never know the 48:14 day or the hour until that day," okay? 48:18 Four times He repeats that and He counsels us, 48:21 "Do not try to set a date for no one knows the day or the hour." 48:25 Why is Jesus telling us that? 48:27 He says, "Don't focus on that. 48:30 Focus on the Coming of Jesus," 48:32 and He says--you know, my favorite, you know, in 48:34 Matthew chapter 24, there's a lot of good important verses 48:36 but if you were to ask me, "What's your favorite?" 48:38 I'd say right away Matthew chapter 24, 48:40 verse 14: "And this good news of the kingdom, 48:44 this gospel of the kingdom, will be preached in all the world as 48:48 a witness to all nations and then the end will come." 48:52 What is Jesus telling you and I? 48:54 By the way, that's the only sign that we can 48:56 focus on as believers. 48:57 The rest are all the devil's work. 48:59 Everything else He covers there in the signs 49:01 are the devil's work, okay? 49:04 The only sign that He gives to us that you and I are to 49:06 participate is the one that we should focus on. 49:08 Again, "Go make disciples. 49:11 Bring the gospel to every nation, 49:12 tribe, tongue, and people." 49:14 That's our focus. 49:16 That's our focus. 49:19 So He gives us three parables in Matthew chapter 24 and we're not 49:22 going to be able to go into those in details but we have the 49:25 foolish virgins and, of course, the foolish ones--the ten 49:30 virgins, the foolish five are short of oil and the wise ones 49:33 are trimming their lamp and they've brought extra oil, 49:36 representing the Holy Spirit and a true experience in Christ. 49:41 And they found that in two ways: they watched, 49:42 which means they studied; they prayed, 49:44 as Jesus counseled them; and they're found in 49:46 Christian service, contributing to the gospel. 49:49 How can I contribute to the gospel? 49:52 And even the second parable is telling us the same thing. 49:55 Talents are used, our spiritual gifts, 49:57 not as an option but as a requirement to be able 50:01 to expand the gospel. 50:03 So I'm going to close with a quote from 50:06 one of my favorite authors. 50:08 Her name is Ellen White and I believe that she was given 50:10 a genuine spiritual gift of prophecy and she gives this 50:14 statement in a book that she wrote called "Trials and 50:17 Triumph," page 30. 50:19 And this is what she reads. 50:21 She reads: "But near the close of the earth's harvest, 50:23 a special bestowal is promised to prepare the church for the 50:27 Coming of the Son of Man. 50:29 This outpouring is the latter rain and for this added power 50:33 Christians are to send their petitions to the Lord of the 50:36 harvest in the time of the latter rain. 50:38 In response, the Lord, quote, 'Shall give 50:41 them showers of rain.' 50:44 He will cause to come down the, quote, 'The rain, 50:47 the former rain and the latter rain.'" 50:48 Now, she's quoting off and on from Zechariah chapter 10, 50:51 verse 1, and Joel chapter 2, verse 23. 50:53 Both of them are speaking about this latter spiritual rain that 50:56 will take place just before the Coming of Christ. 51:00 "But only those who constantly receive fresh supplies of grace 51:04 will have ability to use that power. 51:08 Daily," that's in the here and now as she's talking about. 51:11 "Daily, they are improving the opportunities for service that 51:14 lie within their reach, witnessing wherever they may be, 51:19 in the home or in a public field of usefulness." 51:23 Public field of usefulness means in the workplace. 51:27 And so, friends, I want to encourage you to be able to, 51:32 in the light of the Advent hope, to be able to look forward to 51:34 the time when Christ comes again, 51:37 yes, when we have evil brought to an end, 51:40 yes, but to be able to contribute to the 51:43 Coming of Jesus. 51:45 Now, I want to invite everybody before we close 51:48 here to take advantage. 51:50 If you haven't caught the beginning of our program or you 51:52 didn't write down the different phone numbers or text numbers, 51:54 take advantage of that. 51:56 We have a great study. 51:57 It's one of my favorites: "Ultimate Deliverance: 51:59 The Return of Jesus Christ." 52:00 How will Jesus come? When will He come? 52:03 And what will take place? 52:06 We looked at some of those different teachings already here 52:08 today but this will go to it in more detail. 52:10 You can see the information on the screen. 52:12 You can dial the 1-800 number or 1-866 number and there's also a 52:18 text number that may be on the screen for you to take advantage 52:21 of as well. 52:22 An so until next week, we look forward to seeing you again. 52:25 May God bless you. 52:26 May He keep you. 52:27 And don't forget that God loves you. 52:30 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 52:32 free resource. 52:34 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 52:36 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 52:38 or mobile device. 52:40 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 52:43 simply text the key word on your screen to 40544 or visit the web 52:47 address shown on your screen, and be sure to select the 52:50 digital download option on the request page. 52:53 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 52:56 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want and most 53:00 important, to share it with others. 53:03 ♪♪♪ 53:14 Doug Batchelor: What can be more irresistible than a kitten? 53:16 These guys might look cute now but some of their ancestors have 53:19 grown into man-eaters. 53:21 [lion roaring] 53:26 Doug: We're here in a lion park in South Africa now where 53:28 we can view these creatures in relative safety. 53:30 But there's a reason they're known as the king of beasts. 53:33 So what is it that people find so enchanting and frightening 53:36 about lions? 53:38 Is it their speed, their claws, their sharp teeth, 53:41 or all of the above? 53:42 Might also be some of the stories about man-eating lions, 53:45 like in 1898, right here in Africa, 53:48 they were building a bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya and two 53:52 brother lions terrorized the construction process, 53:56 eating 135 workers. 53:59 Did you know, lions are mentioned in the Bible over 54:02 100 times and you can find them all the way from 54:05 Genesis to Revelation. 54:07 It's usually in reference to their ferocity and 54:09 how dangerous they are. 54:11 Of course, Samson killed a lion with his bare hands, 54:13 David killed a lion, there are man-eating lions in the Bible. 54:17 The way that they punished criminals was by throwing them 54:20 in the lions' den, and early Christians were 54:22 even fed to lions. 54:24 But amazingly, as the Bible mentions, 54:26 not all lions are to be feared. 54:28 There have been a few friendly lions in history. 54:31 For example, in the 1950s a couple, 54:34 George and Margaret Westbeau who lived up at a ranch near 54:38 Seattle, Washington, adopted an abandoned lion cub. 54:42 They named it Little Tyke because they felt sorry for it. 54:45 But they discovered as they tried to feed her, 54:47 she refused to eat any meat at all. 54:51 They were concerned, thinking there was no hope for this 54:53 little lioness to survive and everybody told them the same 54:56 because we know in the wild lions survive on almost an 55:00 entirely meat diet. 55:02 Then someone showed the Westbeaus that verse in the 55:04 Bible that talks about in heaven the animals are vegetarians and 55:08 the lion will eat straw like the ox. 55:11 That encouraged them and so they began to feed Little Tyke 55:15 a purely vegetarian diet. 55:17 Not only did she survive, she thrived, 55:19 growing into a lion that was over 352 pounds 55:24 and over 10 feet long. 55:26 In fact, zoologists that examined Little Tyke when she 55:29 was full grown said they had never seen such a perfect 55:31 specimen of a lioness in their life. 55:34 A pure vegetarian. 55:36 You know, when we hear incredible stories about that, 55:38 of Little Tyke, it reminds us that God's original plan was to 55:42 make a world of total peace. 55:44 It describes it here in the Bible in Isaiah chapter 11, 55:47 verse 6: "The wolf also will dwell with the lamb, 55:51 the leopard will lie down with the young goat. 55:53 The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; 55:56 and a little child will lead them." 55:58 Nothing is going to hurt and destroy in the new heavens and 56:02 the new earth that God is going to create. 56:03 Wouldn't you like to live in a kingdom where there's perfect 56:05 peace, where there's no more death or killing or pain? 56:09 God says that He wants you in that kingdom. 56:11 The Lamb of God made it possible for you to have an encounter 56:16 with the Lion of the tribe of Judah. 56:18 Wouldn't you like to meet Him today? 56:21 ♪♪♪ 56:27 ♪♪♪ 56:37 ♪♪♪ 56:47 ♪♪♪ 56:48 [car honking] 56:50 ♪♪♪ 56:52 male: Buddy, jump in. 56:53 ♪♪♪ 57:03 ♪♪♪ 57:13 ♪♪♪ 57:24 Doug: How many of you wish you could get a new start? 57:26 I'd like to live my life over knowing what I know now. 57:28 I don't want to start over and just make all the same mistakes. 57:30 I want to have my memories so I don't make the same mistakes. 57:34 But you do get a new beginning. 57:36 You become a new creature. 57:37 That feeling of all your sins being washed away because God 57:39 promises it, isn't that a wonderful concept, friends? 57:43 male: "I was thirsty and you gave Me drink. 57:52 Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, 57:55 my brethren, you did it to Me." 58:01 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2019-09-09