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00:17 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Luccas Rodor: Hi friends, welcome to our Sabbath School 00:37 study hour here in Granite Bay Seventh Day Adventist Church, 00:40 also in partnership with Amazing Facts Ministries. 00:43 I'd like to welcome our local church, so good to have you 00:46 all here this morning. 00:48 And also you watching from around the world, we'd like 00:50 to welcome you and hope you have a great time here with us. 00:54 Today we have a very beautiful lesson to be studied, and it's 00:57 lesson number 12 To Love Mercy, and Pastor Shawn Brummund 01:02 will be teaching us this morning. 01:03 But before that, I have a free offer for you this morning. 01:07 Now, this offer is written by Joe Crews, and the name 01:13 of the booklet is "Riches To Grace." 01:16 And if you would like to receive this offer, receive this free 01:19 gift, all you have to do is call the number 866-788-3966 for 01:26 a mail out, or if you want a digital copy, and this is in 01:30 North America, you have to text the code SH056 to the number 01:35 40544, and then you'll get a digital copy for this. 01:40 If you're outside of North America, then you can go online 01:43 at amazingfacts.org and you can look for this digital copy. 01:47 This morning before we go into the study, we have some 01:51 beautiful worship and I'd like to call our praise team to come 01:54 out so they can begin praising the Lord here for our 01:57 Sabbath School. 01:58 May God bless you. 02:01 ♪♪♪ 02:11 female: Today we're going to be singing hymn 286, 02:13 Wonderful Words Of Life. 02:22 ♪ Sing them over again to me, ♪ 02:26 ♪ wonderful words of life; ♪ 02:30 ♪ let me more of their beauty see, ♪ 02:34 ♪ wonderful words of life; ♪ 02:39 ♪ words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty. ♪ 02:47 ♪ Beautiful words, wonderful words, ♪ 02:52 ♪ wonderful words of life. ♪ 02:57 ♪ Beautiful words, wonderful words, ♪ 03:01 ♪ wonderful words of life. ♪ 03:07 ♪ Christ, the blessed one, ♪ 03:10 ♪ gives to all wonderful words of life; ♪ 03:15 ♪ sinner, list to the loving call, ♪ 03:19 ♪ wonderful words of life; ♪ 03:24 ♪ all so freely given, wooing us to heaven. ♪ 03:32 ♪ Beautiful words, wonderful words, ♪ 03:37 ♪ wonderful words of life. ♪ 03:41 ♪ Beautiful words, wonderful words, ♪ 03:45 ♪ wonderful words of life. ♪ 03:50 ♪ Sweetly echo the gospel call, ♪ 03:54 ♪ wonderful words of life; ♪ 03:59 ♪ offer pardon and peace to all, ♪ 04:04 ♪ wonderful words of life; ♪ 04:08 ♪ Jesus, only Savior, ♪ 04:12 ♪ sanctify forever. ♪ 04:16 ♪ Beautiful words, wonderful words, ♪ 04:21 ♪ wonderful words of life. ♪ 04:26 ♪ Beautiful words, wonderful words, ♪ 04:30 ♪ wonderful words of life. ♪♪ 04:51 Shawn Brummund: Well, thank you for that, ladies. 04:53 Wasn't that beautiful? 04:55 It's good to be able to be here. It's beautiful Sabbath. 04:57 It's sunny where we are. 04:59 We're trusting that if it's not sunny, that you are sunny in 05:01 your heart. 05:02 If you're watching online here this morning live or maybe 05:04 you're watching it on archive and or if you're watching later 05:09 on satellite TV, we want to just give you a special welcome, all 05:13 our online members as well that are watching. 05:16 We are glad to have each and every person, both friend and 05:18 member watch us here today, and so it's good to be able to study 05:22 a very important subject. 05:23 We're almost wrapped it up. 05:25 Time flies, doesn't it? 05:27 It seems like every time we start a new quarter before we 05:29 know it, we blink a couple of times and we're wrapping that 05:31 quarter up. 05:33 And, of course, the older we get, the more fast time goes. 05:36 So, maybe that's just a sign of my aging. 05:40 To Love Mercy, lesson 11 the second last lesson of this 05:44 quarter, which is the least of these, ministering to 05:47 those in need. 05:48 Now, I would like to do something different and read a 05:50 quote from Friday. 05:52 But before we do that, we want to make sure that we asked for 05:54 the Holy Spirit and Lord to be with us here in prayer. 05:57 Father in heaven, we stop for a moment and we thank You for this 06:00 opportunity to be able to worship You, to be able to learn 06:05 from Your Word, Lord, what You would require and desire to do 06:08 through us in our lives in regards to those in need. 06:11 Father in heaven, want to pray that today we'll add to the 06:15 study that we've had in past weeks and over the last two 06:18 or three months to be able to understand Your plan for us and 06:23 for Your church, also, to be able to see Your love as well. 06:28 God, we want to pray for Your Holy Spirit to guide us 06:30 and to lead us. 06:31 In Jesus's name, we pray these things, God, amen. 06:33 Yes, I'm going to go to Friday and so if you 06:37 have your lesson study 06:38 or, of course, more than welcome to come with me there, but 06:40 there's just a powerful quote there. 06:41 And so, we're going to do, again, something different. 06:43 We're going to start with the last day, and I think it just 06:47 makes a great introduction. 06:48 It kind of sets the tone of the theme for this week's 06:50 lesson study. 06:53 And so, we are going to page 102, page 102 and it says this, 07:01 and this comes from the "Thoughts From The Mount Of 07:03 Blessing," page 137. 07:05 By the way, if you've never read that book, I just strongly 07:06 highly recommend it, "Thoughts From The Mount Of Blessing." 07:09 And basically this is a commentary on the Sermon on the 07:12 Mount, the greatest sermon ever preached in all history, as far 07:15 as I'm concerned. 07:17 And, of course, it comes from the lips of Jesus. 07:19 And so, this is the quote it says, "Search heaven and earth, 07:22 and there is no truth revealed more powerful than that which is 07:26 manifest in the works of mercy to those need--to those who need 07:31 our sympathy and aid." 07:35 That means our help. 07:37 "This is the truth as it is in Jesus. 07:40 When those who profess the name of Christ shall practice the 07:43 principles of the golden rule, the same power will attend the 07:47 gospel as in our apostolic times." 07:49 Did you hear that, friends? 07:51 Now, I've heard other conditions that are also revealed, both 07:54 through the spiritual gift of prophecy, as well as through the 07:56 Holy Scriptures, that tell us other important elements that we 07:59 have to make sure that we're at the center of. 08:01 If we want to be part of that last power, that latter rain 08:04 where we reflect the Apostolic Church in its fullness and 08:07 power, even perhaps a little bit more, as God wraps things up on 08:10 this earth just before Jesus comes. 08:13 But one of the things that it tells us here is something that 08:15 was new to me until I read this, that it's only those who profess 08:19 the name of Christ shall practice the principles 08:21 of the golden rule. 08:22 What is the golden rule? 08:24 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 08:29 So, in other words, treat others in the way that you would like 08:31 to be treated. 08:32 And so, that's the golden rule that Jesus gave to us. 08:35 "Love others, even as you love yourself," is another way that 08:38 He had put it as the second greatest commandment in 08:41 all of the Bible. 08:43 And when we do that, and the more we do that, the more we'll 08:44 experience the power that was experienced by the apostles and 08:47 the early Christian Church in those powerful first years. 08:51 Well, then we come to the very first day. 08:54 Now we're going to back up and go to the Sabbath day 08:57 and on the Sabbath day, of course, 08:59 the main key text that we find there is a 09:01 coming from the Old Testament book of Micah chapter 6 and 09:05 verse 8. 09:06 It's one that many of us heard before, perhaps some of us have 09:09 even memorized it. 09:11 And it says this, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; 09:15 And what does the Lord require of you." 09:18 What does the Lord what? 09:19 Require of you. So, is this a suggestion? 09:22 No, not at all. 09:24 This is what the Lord requires of us. 09:27 "To do justly, to love mercy." 09:31 Well, there's the title of our week study, and that's where 09:33 they got it from. 09:35 "To love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." 09:39 And so, this is a very famous, very well-known verse. 09:42 And why is that? 09:44 Because it's one of those verses that kind of encapsulate pure 09:46 religion in the way that God has seen it and sees it today, the 09:50 way that he wants it in our life. 09:52 He said, if you want to just kind of boil it down again, as 09:55 he does in different ways, of course, one of those boiled down 09:58 ways is to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with 10:02 your God. 10:04 And how much do we want that in our lives? 10:07 Now, one of the things that I want to cover as we reflect this 10:11 important topic, mercy and helping those in need and such, 10:15 is that we live in a fallen and evil world. 10:18 Have you noticed that? 10:19 It's a very fallen and evil world. 10:22 We just have to watch the news for the first three minutes each 10:24 evening and we're reminded again how fallen and evil our world 10:27 really is, and it's becoming more and more. 10:30 And because we live in a fallen and evil world, there will 10:33 always be victims of circumstances. 10:36 Now, these are circumstances that those people 10:38 did not choose. 10:39 There will always be those who are born with the cards 10:42 stacked against them. 10:45 You know, Jesus said the sad truth best when He was talking 10:48 to His disciples toward the end of His earthly ministry in 10:50 Matthew 26, and verse 11. 10:53 And he says, "For you have the poor with you always." 10:57 And so, Jesus says, "Listen, one of the harsh realities of this 11:00 whole sin lesson, this great controversy between good and 11:03 evil, of living in a fallen world in which the prince of 11:07 darkness is the prince of this world because of the choice of 11:09 the vast majority of those around us is that there will 11:13 always be those who are poor, those who are struggling to put 11:17 food on their table, struggling to pay the rent, struggling to 11:22 put a roof over their head or the roof over the heads of their 11:25 children and families. 11:27 And so, this is one of those sad realities. 11:29 Now, it can be tempting for us to say, "Well, that is a reality 11:33 you just stated. 11:34 You know, Pastor Shawn just said it and, so why try to solve 11:38 something that's never going to be solved?" 11:40 Well, we have to be careful with that too, right? 11:43 Even though it is true that this world will never alleviate all 11:46 of its suffering, will never alleviate all of its poverty or 11:49 all of its social injustice, it's important for us to 11:52 understand that God has always intended for his people, for his 11:57 believers on earth, to help stem the tide of that poverty, to 12:00 help stem the tide of suffering and social injustice, and so on. 12:06 God wants us to reflect the heart of Him and God has a heart 12:10 for the poor. 12:11 Do I hear an amen out there? He does. 12:13 He has a heart for the suffering. 12:15 He has a heart for the discouraged. 12:16 My heart goes out when I see these different news stories and 12:20 such of children that have been depraved because of the evil 12:23 choices of their parents. 12:25 You know, some are--some parents are drug addicted and are 12:29 selling their souls in different ways. 12:30 And the children are finding themselves, from birth on, in 12:34 circumstances that really have all the cards stacked 12:37 against them. 12:38 Now friends, did those children choose that circumstance? 12:41 No, not at all. 12:44 Friends, you and I could be in that circumstance just as easily 12:46 if we were born to that family, and so we have to be 12:48 very careful. 12:50 So, why am I sharing this? 12:52 Well, one of the greatest dangers that I've come to 12:53 observe in life amongst Christians, amongst myself, is 12:58 one of the greatest dangers of those of us who have perhaps 13:01 been born with advantage. 13:03 Some of us have been born into fortunes. 13:05 Some of us have never even come close to know what it's like not 13:09 to be able to put a meal on your table. 13:11 Some of us have never been close to knowing what it's like to 13:14 have one set or two sets of clothes, you know, or the 13:18 struggle to pay the rent, or, you know, all these essentials 13:22 just to have been assumed since our birth. 13:25 And perhaps some of us have had to work for it at first, but now 13:29 it's been so long that we just kind of assume it and, and one 13:32 of the, one of the dangerous byproducts of that is that we 13:36 can become very easily calloused, and even worse, 13:39 judgmental upon those who are less advantaged than we are. 13:44 We can start to look down our noses at them and say, "Well, 13:48 what's their problem?" 13:50 This is one of the dangers that we have as Christians and as 13:54 human beings that kind of just assume all these things because 13:59 we've had either all our life, or for so long. 14:02 I want to share a case in point, prostitutes. 14:08 Now, prostitutes is not a very popular industry, at least among 14:12 the Christian church, and among believers and upright citizens, 14:16 and so on. 14:18 The vast majority of prostitutes, we have to 14:20 understand, by far the vast majority of prostitutes, did not 14:24 choose that industry because they were raised in a 14:26 privileged, loving, well-educated home. 14:29 You'd be hard pressed to find one that came from that 14:34 background. 14:36 Most of them are finding themselves in that industry 14:39 because as a young age, they were sold or kidnapped into the 14:41 sex slave trade. 14:43 This is a growing industry that is taking place right here in 14:46 America, and don't think this is a problem that's overseas. 14:49 You know, we have, in fact, Sacramento is one of the hubs. 14:56 It's, in fact, I've been told it may be the biggest hub, the most 14:59 active hub and all of America in regards to the sex slave trade. 15:03 And that's why we find massage, massage parlors on every second 15:10 mile of our streets. 15:12 You don't have to look far to see a massage parlor, and these 15:16 are not licensed therapists. 15:19 And so, this trade is something that many young women, and sadly 15:23 some boys as well, are sold into, are kidnapped 15:27 and forced into. 15:30 Some of those who are finding themselves as in the prostitute 15:33 industry were raised with drug addict addicted parents. 15:37 They were raised in a home in which their parents were 15:40 addicted to drugs in a very serious way. 15:43 And so, they saw no other way to be able to be able to feed 15:48 themselves and put a roof over their heads than to sell 15:52 their bodies. 15:53 Abject poverty, childhood sexual abuse is one of the most common 15:58 backgrounds of different women that have found--are finding 16:02 themselves right now active in the prostitution industry. 16:05 And did these women that are active in the industry today, 16:10 did they choose those circumstances as they grew up, 16:12 as they entered into adulthood? 16:15 No, these were all circumstances that were forced upon them by 16:19 the sinful choices of those who were supposed to be responsible 16:23 for their well being. 16:24 And so, it's very easy and tempting for us to be able to 16:28 look down our noses at different women that are in the 16:30 prostitution industry. 16:33 One of the great books that we give away to our visitors every 16:35 Sabbath morning is called "At Jesus's Feet" written by our 16:39 senior Pastor Doug Batchelor. 16:41 And it just paints a wonderful story and offers us a study in 16:44 the Scriptures and such of the life of Mary Magdalene. 16:48 Now, many of us, not all of us here today, understand that Mary 16:52 Magdalene was a prostitute for many years. 16:55 In fact, when she came to the Lord, she was 16:57 an active prostitute. 17:00 Did she have a background that was similar to the circumstances 17:03 that I just shared? 17:04 Was she abused? 17:06 Was she brought up in circumstances that pushed her in 17:08 that direction? 17:10 Well, as it turns out, the answer is yes. 17:12 Now, it's not crystal clear in the Scriptures. 17:15 But if you go to the book "Desire of Ages," page 566 and 17:18 this is written by an author that I believe it was given the 17:22 genuine spirit of prophecy. 17:25 And God had given some more details in the windows of the 17:28 lives of some of these different characters, and one of them is 17:30 Mary Magdalene. 17:32 On page 566, it talks about a feast and everybody's acquainted 17:35 with this scenario. 17:37 Simon, who is referred to sometimes as Simon the leper, 17:41 because he was a leper before Jesus touched him with his 17:43 supernatural hand and healed Simon of that leprosy. 17:47 And Simon is a well-to-do man. 17:49 He is not one that worries about whether he's going to get food 17:53 on his table or he's going to pay the rent. 17:55 His house was probably paid off in full. 17:57 He wasn't worried about these type different types of things. 18:00 He was worried about the leprosy, but the Lord had mercy 18:03 on him and healed him of his leprosy. 18:05 He has a big feast in Jerusalem in his home. 18:08 He wants to be able to treat Jesus in a special way. 18:11 And so, he invites Jesus in his inner circle into his house and 18:13 they have a special feast. 18:15 And while they're having that feast, Mary Magdalene, the 18:17 delivered one now, she comes into the room and this is just 18:20 hours before Jesus is about to be arrested, 18:23 and or a day or two. 18:25 And, Jesus, you know, she comes in and she pours the alabaster 18:31 jar of this expensive perfume, frankincense, myrrh, some of the 18:36 most expensive elements that you can find in their day, probably 18:40 in our day would cost, you know, in the hundreds. 18:42 And she pours it over the feet of Jesus and then she's weeping 18:45 tears, and then she wipes his feet with her hair. 18:49 And she's just pouring out her worship upon the Lord. 18:52 And everybody in the room is getting very uncomfortable 18:56 because these are well-to-do citizens, and Simon is the host 19:00 and he's embarrassed about whatever is going on. 19:04 And so, he says to himself, "If Jesus were a prophet, he would 19:07 know what kind of woman this is that is doing this to his feet 19:12 and he would stop it immediately." 19:15 Page 566, this statement, these two very revealing 19:22 sentences are revealed. 19:24 It says, "Simon had led into sin the woman he now despised." 19:28 Who led her into sin? 19:31 The one that is hosting this feast. 19:33 "Simon had led into sin the woman he now despised. 19:36 She had been deeply wronged by him." 19:39 Now, that's as far as the author is inspired to go. 19:44 And I believe that even that was an act of mercy. 19:48 God didn't want to reveal the gory details of this deep sin of 19:53 Simon that had led and pointed Mary Magdalene down a pathway 19:57 that was an industry that is very despised by, even us in 20:01 society today. 20:05 Now, we can only guess and, of course, the most likelihood is, 20:09 you know, some kind of sexual systematic sexual abuse that she 20:12 was, you know, exposed to by Simon. 20:14 And if not then she was raped at least once at some point by him 20:21 in the past. 20:23 Second case in point, the homeless. 20:27 Now this is a real common one first to look down our noses 20:29 very easy at, isn't it? 20:31 "What's their problem? Why can't they get a job? 20:33 Why can't they can put a roof over their head like I do? 20:35 I have to go to work every day from Monday to Friday, and I 20:37 don't particularly like my work. 20:39 And why don't they get--" 20:40 Well, sometimes that is true. 20:42 You know, there are such things as genuine bums, okay? 20:46 And, some of them, some of them are choosing that lifestyle. 20:49 And so, they choose to be a homeless person. 20:52 And certainly, we need to be able to help and encourage them 20:54 to make better choices. 20:56 So, even they need help, they just need to be pointed in a 20:58 better direction and maybe convinced, prayed over and such 21:02 because the devil has them in his hand, you know, big time. 21:05 And so, even then. 21:08 2008 during the crash, approximately ten million 21:11 Americans lost their home in that year alone. 21:14 Ten million homes were lost by Americans in America in 2008. 21:21 That's not a small number, is it? 21:23 And for the years that followed, I remember even in Canada where 21:26 I was living at the time, you know, there's a lot of media 21:28 coverage on different people that were living out of their 21:30 cars because that's what their lives were reduced to. 21:34 Now, these were good, hardworking Americans, okay? 21:37 These were people that had a Monday to Friday job. 21:40 They were, you know, they had a house, and a mortgage, and a 21:42 family and, and now they're trying to feed their kids out of 21:45 their car. 21:46 They're homeless. 21:48 Did they choose that circumstance? 21:49 No, sometimes circumstances are thrown on us even in adulthood 21:52 that bring us into a place that suddenly we are despised by the 21:55 same society that we used to be a part of. 21:59 And so, we need to be very, very careful on that. 22:02 And so, my conclusion is always to err on the side of, of not 22:08 judging that person and saying, "Well, this guy just wants a 22:11 dollar so he can go get another beer." 22:14 Well, that might be the case, but it might be that he just 22:16 desperately needs a sandwich, and he was--had circumstances 22:22 thrown on him or her that they did not ask for, would never 22:25 have chosen. 22:27 And so, it's part of our job as Christians to help them in 22:30 whatever little way or big way, if the opportunity presents 22:33 themself, to help that person get back on their feet again. 22:36 And so, what's the bottom line? 22:40 The bottom line is that I'm spending a good portion of our 22:42 time here today talking about this because I think it's 22:44 important for us, any of us that were born or thrown into the 22:48 same circumstances, would be no different, okay? 22:51 Any one of us could find ourselves in the prostitution 22:56 industry if we were born in the same circumstances. 22:59 You know, I wasn't born with a knowledge of God. 23:02 I didn't have any advantage religiously, or faith wise, or 23:05 spiritually. 23:07 You know, it wasn't until 20 when I went to church on my own 23:08 and I started discovering the Lord that he began to start to 23:11 change me and brought me on to a much higher plain, a much higher 23:15 ground, because I didn't know any better. 23:19 I was brought up in circumstances that weren't to my 23:21 advantage spiritually. 23:23 Some of us are brought up in circumstances that aren't to our 23:25 advantage spiritually, but also physically and emotionally. 23:28 Now, fortunately, my parents were still loving people. 23:31 They weren't--they were very loving parents. 23:33 We had a very tight, loving family. 23:35 And so, emotionally I was stable, and physically I was 23:37 well cared for, even though sometimes times were tight, 23:42 you know, we had that love in our family. 23:46 But some don't have any of the above. 23:48 They don't have the spiritual advantage. 23:49 They're born with a physical disadvantage, and they're born 23:52 with emotional disadvantage. 23:54 And so, every single one of us are potential prostitutes. 23:58 Now, that might be a little bit hard to swallow, 24:00 but that's true. 24:02 That's true. 24:04 So, circumstances make a big difference in concern to where 24:06 our life path goes. 24:08 Now, God doesn't leave us there, he chases us. 24:10 He runs for us, even as he did for Mary Magdalene. 24:14 And Jesus poured out his great mercy upon Mary, didn't he? 24:18 Jesus knew that she didn't choose that industry. 24:22 It wasn't an industry--she grew up in a loving, well-educated, 24:25 privileged home and thought, "You know, I'm kind 24:26 of bored with life. 24:27 I'm going to go work the streets." 24:30 No, not at all. No, not at all. 24:33 It's because she was a victim. 24:37 And when she had the opportunity, when somebody came 24:41 along, in this case, Jesus Himself, He offered her to come 24:46 to a higher place. 24:48 And she accepted the invitation, didn't she? 24:50 And then she became an ex-prostitute, why? 24:52 Because the Holy Spirit filled her, she started to have the 24:54 true, she started to have the forgiveness, and the and the 24:56 power of Christ in her heart in her life. 24:59 And she was demon possessed. 25:00 She was freed from that, and now she was a free, born-again 25:04 believer of Jesus Christ. 25:10 This world simply is an evil and perverse place where it is 25:12 anything but fair, and we need to be able to remember that. 25:15 God calls us to be able to see it in this perspective, even in 25:18 the way as God sees it. 25:20 And God forbid that we should ever look down our noses at 25:22 those who are less advantaged than we are, that are even at a 25:26 lower moral stance than we are. 25:29 Friends, if you would have met me on the street, or in the 25:31 store, at the theater, wherever, you know, at the club when I was 25:34 19 years old, you would have found a much different person, a 25:38 totally different person, totally different person. 25:42 You know, my mouth was so full, you know, I used to be as God's 25:46 name in vain on a regular basis. 25:48 I thought it was cool. 25:49 I thought that was--that's what the world taught me. 25:52 So, I was just running with the flesh and with the world, that's 25:55 all I knew, why? 25:56 Because I was spiritually, morally disadvantaged. 25:59 I didn't know any better. 26:00 I didn't even have an opportunity to know. 26:02 I didn't even know there was a choice. 26:04 So, there it goes. 26:08 Now, of course, God calls us to be able to, just like Jesus with 26:12 Mary Magdalene, to help people on to their feet. 26:15 That's important for us to be able to understand. 26:18 You know, God calls us, not to make people eternal victims, but 26:24 to understand that some of us are victims, but we need to be 26:27 able to help them to understand that they can put that 26:29 victimization behind them. 26:30 They can make it history and God can bring them on to higher 26:33 ground, amen, that God can do something special in their life. 26:36 And, you know, it reminds me of this whole subject when I used 26:40 to hear my wife Denise's Opa as they call it in Germany, call 26:44 your grandpa Opa. 26:45 And so, Opa's passed away now and waiting for the resurrection 26:50 of the Lord. 26:52 But, you know, he used to talk about when he was in Germany 26:54 and, of course, Denise's parents immigrated to Canada when they 26:57 were in their teens from Germany. 26:59 So, we have all these German war stories of World War II and how 27:04 Denise's Opa and Oma, and their family had escaped just by the 27:08 skin of their teeth. 27:10 They made it across the border from East Berlin to West Berlin, 27:12 you know, when it was still possible to escape. 27:15 They were already shutting down the bridge and so on, and the 27:17 border but they just managed to barely get into West Berlin. 27:20 And it was very unpopular to be an Eastern German in western 27:26 Berlin with the kids, with the population. 27:28 And they were very wealthy, extremely wealthy. 27:32 They had, you know, Opa had a clothing factory. 27:36 They had maids. 27:38 They had cooks. They had a big mansion. 27:40 They had had everything, and they had to leave it all behind. 27:43 And so, when they got to East Berlin, all they had was the 27:44 food or the clothes on their back, that was it. 27:48 I forget if the currency was the same or not, but yeah, they 27:52 barely--I'm not even sure if they had a penny to their name. 27:54 And so, they had to start from ground zero again. 27:57 And so Opa, he would go over and he would buy some tomatoes 28:00 somewhere from the farm. 28:02 He'd go outside of the city and buy some farm, and then he'd 28:04 come into the city with a little cart and he'd start to sell 28:06 those one tomato at a time. 28:09 You know, he always just to say to me, "Shawn, as long as I have 28:11 these two hands, that's all I need. 28:14 As long as my two hands work, that's all I need," and such. 28:18 But there was different Western Berlin Germans that had mercy, 28:25 that loved mercy, and they had mercy on him and his family. 28:29 And they gave him some different advantages and help that they 28:32 needed to help them get back on their feet again. 28:35 And so, beautiful story. 28:38 And from there, he'd be able to eventually start his own store, 28:42 and then move to Canada and start a hairdressing shop there. 28:47 So, so, yeah, so yes, we need to be able to help people 28:51 understand that God wants us to be able to help them to come on 28:54 to higher ground and stay there. 28:57 But sometimes we can't make it there unless we have the mercy 28:59 and the compassion of those around us that are more 29:03 advantaged than we are at the moment. 29:06 And so, it is in this light, that we who are more advantaged 29:12 and have a saving faith in Christ are told by God to serve 29:16 the poor, to serve the uneducated, to serve the 29:18 destitute in whatever ways we can. 29:21 In James chapter, chapter 1, and verse 27, it's one of my 29:24 favorite verses on this subject and it, again, one of those ones 29:27 that encapsulates true religion. 29:29 James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion before God 29:33 and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their 29:38 trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." 29:41 And so again, we find here that God calls us not only to a 29:44 purity and obedience in Christ as He works through us and in 29:48 us, but He also calls us to visit the orphans, to visit the 29:51 widows, those who are more disadvantaged than ourselves. 29:54 Well, we have a volunteer. 29:57 We're going to go to, I think what is it Monday's 29:59 kingdom priorities? 30:01 And so, one of the key texts there is Matthew chapter 6. 30:05 It's one of my favorite Scriptures, Matthew chapter 6, 30:08 verse 25 to 33, and so we'll invite our volunteer to read it 30:12 for us here this morning. 30:15 female: "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your 30:18 life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your 30:22 body, what you will put on. 30:24 Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 30:29 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap 30:33 nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 30:37 Are you not of more value than they? 30:40 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 30:45 So why do you worry about clothing? 30:48 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they 30:52 neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in 30:57 all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 31:01 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, 31:07 and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more 31:11 clothe you, O you of little faith? 31:14 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' 31:17 or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 31:21 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. 31:24 For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 31:28 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and 31:33 all these things shall be added to you." 31:36 Shawn: Thank you. 31:38 So, the punch line is really the last verse that she just 31:40 read, wasn't it? 31:42 And seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and 31:45 then all these other things will be added unto you. 31:47 And so, Jesus gives us Kingdom priorities as Sunday's lesson 31:50 entitles it. 31:52 And so, before that though, Jesus goes to quite a great 31:55 extent to be able to give us the assurance that hey, listen, 31:59 don't worry about prioritizing because if you do prioritize My 32:02 righteousness in doing what's right first, okay, and all these 32:07 things will be added unto you, then all these things will be 32:10 added unto you. 32:12 And so again, He says over and over, don't worry, don't worry, 32:13 don't worry. 32:15 He says, "Listen, if He clothes the sparrow of the field, and 32:18 the grass, and the flowers of the field, 32:20 will He not clothe you? 32:21 O, you of little faith. 32:23 And so, God gives us that reassurance and in extension to 32:27 that reassurance, He tells us to prioritize. 32:29 Now, I have to confess every time I've come to that, that 32:31 really helped me as a new Sabbath keeper because what I 32:33 discovered the Sabbath truth, the seventh day Sabbath is the 32:37 fourth commandment in which many of us, as Christians, have lost 32:39 over the centuries, and many are coming back to. 32:41 And so, that was a big step for me to move to keeping Sabbath 32:45 holy from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, and that was a 32:48 whole new concept. 32:50 And it comes with some very practical challenges at work, in 32:52 the home, in the families, you know, looking at you sideways, 32:55 and friends, and so on. 32:57 And so, it comes with a lot of strain, a lot of stress 33:00 to take that stand. 33:01 And so, I used to lean upon that verse, "Seek first the kingdom 33:04 of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be 33:09 added unto you." 33:10 And I lost my job, you know, because of the stand 33:13 for the Sabbath. 33:15 And so, when you start losing your job, you know, you have to 33:17 lean upon these things and know that God will provide and such. 33:23 And so, you know, seek first the kingdom of God and His 33:26 righteousness, obey your Ten Commandments. 33:29 Obey the Ten Commandments of the Lord, and He will add all these 33:31 things unto you. 33:33 Now, does that apply to that? Sure certainly does. 33:35 But there's an interesting twist. 33:37 The lesson study and the authors here are pointing to this, not 33:40 in regards to obeying the Ten Commandments as applying to 33:44 looking out for the poor and the disadvantaged of God. 33:46 It also has required of us and so, that also is a priority that 33:51 God tells us that He requires of us. 33:54 And so, interesting twist, he kind of takes the Ten 33:56 Commandments but expands it to other commands and requirements 33:59 that the Lord has given to us. 34:02 By the way, did the life of a ministry of Christ reflect a 34:05 burden for people's physical and emotional needs? 34:07 Did Jesus only focus on the spiritual needs of people? 34:10 No, not at all. 34:12 Okay, it's very important for us as we look at the, at the 34:15 ultimate model of life, which is the life of Christ, amen. 34:19 We find here that Christ, you know, first and foremost, His 34:23 theme was the gospel and salvation through Him. 34:27 You know, when you talk to Pontius Pilate at the end of his 34:28 ministry, he said, "I have come to testify of the truth." 34:32 And so, Jesus certainly made a great, prominent theme in the 34:36 words that He spoke, which was to restore truth and to proclaim 34:40 salvation through himself as the Messiah, 34:43 the Savior of the world. 34:45 And so, spiritual message was certainly first and foremost. 34:50 The very first words that He spoke when he began his public 34:53 ministry was "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." 34:57 And, of course, He's talking about the spiritual kingdom of 35:00 God, salvation through Jesus. 35:03 But at the same time, He also spent tremendous time and 35:08 tremendous effort healing the sick, visiting and feeding the 35:13 poor, and also encouraging the discouraged. 35:17 And so, if Jesus did that, does He want us to do it? 35:20 Sure. 35:22 1 John says make sure you walk even as He walked. 35:24 Okay, so God tells us to walk even as the Lord Jesus walked. 35:28 And so, we, as individuals and as a church, need to be able to 35:32 make sure that God is able to lead us into those things. 35:35 You know, there's two branches in the Seventh Day Adventist 35:36 Church that I really, really have come to appreciate and 35:39 respect greatly in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. 35:43 Now, I know it's not the first denomination to do that because 35:45 God was working through the Baptist movement into the 35:46 Methodist movement and because of that, we have hospitals that 35:49 are that are spotted and riddled across this nation, as 35:53 Christians obey the requirement that God has called us to heal 35:56 the sick, to help those who are physically disadvantaged, and 36:01 then to be able to package that with the spiritual message 36:05 and love of Jesus. 36:07 And so, medical services Seventh Day Adventist Church by God's 36:10 grace, we have 175 hospitals operating around the world. 36:14 We have 450 medical clinics that are meeting people's physical 36:20 needs and giving them a helping hand in regards to those 36:23 physical needs around the world today. 36:25 Second thing is ADRA. 36:27 Now, ADRA is an acronym and it stands for Adventist Development 36:31 and Relief Agency, Adventist Development and Relief Agency. 36:35 Why? 36:36 Because it's a organization, it's the humanitarian 36:38 organization and arm of the Adventist church that is 36:41 designed to be able to help develop projects, help different 36:44 peoples in need develop projects, development, and 36:49 relief, to be able to give immediate relief as well. 36:52 And so, it specializes in development projects like 36:55 digging wells and bringing clean running water to different 36:59 villages and towns for the first time. 37:01 It specializes in educating women where women are not being 37:04 educated and girls are not being educated, business loans to 37:07 different women to be able to help them and their families get 37:09 on their feet financially. 37:11 Again, giving a helping hand to help people come 37:14 to higher ground. 37:15 And so, I thank God for ADRA. 37:18 It also feeds and clothes the poor. 37:21 It's there for emergency response when we have an 37:23 earthquake or hurricane, not only in America, but 37:26 internationally. 37:28 We have one of the most renowned and respected teams that show up 37:31 through ADRA, and there are many countries, many governments, 37:34 that will look first or will be on the top five, you know, 37:38 charity organizations that they'll look for because 37:41 they can trust us. 37:43 They know that we'll actually come through with what we say. 37:46 And so, I thank God for ADRA. 37:48 By the way, if you're not, if you're not donating to ADRA, 37:53 start today, okay? 37:56 You know, I'm kind of biased towards that but, you know, if 37:59 you're not giving to humanitarian aid, an 38:02 organization that you know is doing a really good job, then 38:05 you need to start that today. 38:08 We're going to talk about that in a little bit if we have time. 38:10 Well, what about compassion fatigue? 38:14 That's Monday's lesson, compassion fatigue. 38:17 What does that mean? 38:18 Well, compassion fatigue is kind of talking about getting kind of 38:23 worn out having compassion. 38:25 You know, you're pouring out all this compassion on people, 38:27 you're loving mercy on people, and you start to get tired. 38:30 Fatigue means being tired. 38:31 There's even a term that came out, you know, in the last ten 38:34 years, have you noticed how many more natural disasters have come 38:36 upon the planet? 38:38 You know, there used to be a time when you had a big 38:40 earthquake somewhere and it would be, you know, somewhere 38:42 we'd pour our energies and our funds into and such, and then it 38:46 would be three, five years before another one takes place. 38:50 Well, we were just, recently we've just been boom, boom, you 38:53 know, and so they called it giving fatigue. 38:55 The media even had that term giving fatigue. 38:57 People getting worn out because it's like, "Another one, I just 39:00 gave $100 to this, you know, in Haiti, and then over in China, 39:04 and Mexico City." 39:05 And it's like, you know, it's just coming at us so fast that 39:09 people are getting fatigued from giving, and so on. 39:13 So, Monday's lesson goes into a number of different good 39:16 counsels on how to help people in a good, educated, prayerful, 39:20 compassionate way. 39:22 And so, I encourage you to read that if you haven't. 39:23 What about prayer? 39:28 What about prayer? Is prayer helpful? 39:32 Sure, it is, isn't it? 39:33 If you believe in intercession, if you believe in the power and 39:36 the moving hand of God, then you want to pray for those 39:38 in need as well. 39:40 And so, sometimes we can say, "Well, prayer, that's, you know, 39:42 I would rather get out there and roll up my sleeves." 39:44 Well, yes, rolling up your sleeves is important too, but 39:47 prayer also is just as important. 39:50 And so, the work won't get done and the help won't get done 39:53 if you only pray. 39:55 But it also won't get it done in the measure that it could be in 39:58 should be if you're not praying, so you need to combine 40:00 them both. 40:02 And so, that's important for us to understand. 40:03 So yes, do it make sure that you're praying for 40:05 those in need. 40:06 What does James tell us in James chapter 2, verses 15 and 16. 40:12 You can turn your Bibles there, James chapter 2, 40:15 verses 15 and 16. 40:17 And we have another volunteer. 40:19 Alberto, if you could kindly read that for us. 40:22 Alberto: James 2:15, 16. 40:24 "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily 40:27 food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye 40:33 warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not 40:36 those things which are needful to the body; 40:38 what doth it profit?" 40:41 Shawn: Thank you. 40:42 By the way, this is a couple that read the last two 40:45 Scriptures here. 40:47 I know that we know that locally, but we have so many 40:49 friends that watch Granite Bay on a regular basis and such. 40:52 And we just appreciate Alberto and Havde so much as a married 40:56 couple here in this church. 40:58 Okay, so what does James tell us? 41:02 What does James tell us? 41:05 Okay, does it help just to say, "You know, I'm 41:07 going to pray for you"? 41:09 He doesn't say that, but he's kind of implying it. 41:11 You know, I'm going to pray for you. 41:12 Be warned, be fed, and so on and then we keep walking down. 41:15 No, no, not at all. 41:18 And so, James says, "Listen, you know, we want to be able to ask 41:23 God how can we be a part of answering that prayer as well? 41:26 You know, sometimes prayer is all that we can offer, so we 41:30 shouldn't feel guilty at times when we can't offer anything 41:32 more than prayer. 41:34 Prayer makes a difference. 41:36 But if you have an opportunity, and you have the resources to be 41:39 able to help, and the time and the energy, then God 41:41 is calling you. 41:43 He requires of it of us. 41:46 Then we come to Tuesday. What about generosity? 41:48 Is generosity a trade of God? 41:51 Is God generous? 41:53 Sure He is. 41:56 Does He give us more than we need quite often in life, even 41:58 in our fallen world, okay, even where we're disappointed in Him 42:01 in different ways? 42:03 Yeah, He does, doesn't He, okay? 42:05 God is a gracious generous God. 42:08 You know, even when you read about the holy New Jerusalem, 42:10 you know, He says, "Listen, I'm going to make a holy--" 42:12 What kind, what are you going to make it? 42:13 It's going to be beautiful wood, beautiful stained wood. 42:17 Is that what it's made of? 42:18 No, God says, "No way, I'm going to--we're--every gate 42:21 is going to be a gigantic pearl. 42:23 There's going to be 12 huge gates into the city." 42:25 And these are big gates, friends. 42:27 This is 375 miles wide on one side of the city. 42:30 And He says, "Listen, these huge gates are going to be 42:32 one gigantic pearl." 42:34 We must have some really smooth pavement, you know, not like 42:37 some of those pavement, you know, the closer you get 42:39 downtown to Sacramento, the more you're four by fouring, you 42:41 know, on the pavement. 42:43 It must be just premium payment that He's going to have. 42:47 Yeah, He says, "In fact, it's going to be gold." 42:49 You know, God is generous. 42:50 He's--He wants to give us the best, especially once we get 42:54 through this whole sin problem. 42:55 And so, it's a trait therefore that we should reflect 42:59 in our life as well. 43:00 And Psalm 112, verse 5, we find that at the top of lesson 43:05 number, or day Tuesday. 43:08 And so I'm going to read a quote from the middle of that page. 43:14 It says, "Generosity is an attitude toward life that is 43:18 large, bold, and embracing. 43:20 So much in our individual lives, societies, and cultures prompts 43:23 us to focus on ourselves, to keep as much as we can for 43:27 ourselves. 43:29 And let's face it, for most of us, the default mode is always 43:32 self, self, self anyway." 43:34 Have you noticed that? 43:36 You know, Ellen White made a statement she said, "The 43:38 greatest battle that we face when we become a Christian and 43:40 daily, on a daily basis, is a battle with ourself." 43:43 Why? 43:45 Because our default mode is selfishness. 43:48 Okay, so we're always trying to take care of ourselves, and feed 43:51 ourselves, and get things for ourselves. 43:54 And so, by God's grace, we need to pray that God helps us to win 43:56 that battle more and more every day. 43:59 Acts chapter 20, and verse 35. 44:01 That's not in the lesson study, but this is a key statement that 44:04 Jesus said, it is more blessed to give than to? 44:07 To receive. 44:09 Now, friends, that's a short statement, isn't it? 44:12 It's a powerful, huge statement that we find in the life and 44:16 teachings of Christ. 44:18 It's humongous, and it is one of the most difficult ones for us 44:23 to wrap our minds around and actually live by. 44:26 Have you noticed that? 44:27 Why is that verse one of the hardest verses to 44:29 actually live by? 44:34 Because we're selfish, right? 44:37 And it's the--it's the the complete opposite of 44:41 selfishness. 44:43 It is more blessed to give than it is to receive. 44:47 Now, how many here actually believe that? 44:49 Okay, I see a number of hand goes up. 44:51 My hand goes up sincerely too. 44:53 I believe it, but it's hard to practice. 44:55 It's hard to take Him at His Word on it, isn't it? 44:58 Okay, because I like getting stuff. 45:00 Do you like getting stuff? 45:01 Now, we have to remember that Jesus doesn't say that it's not 45:04 a blessing to receive it, He said it's more blessed 45:07 to give than to receive. 45:08 And so, Jesus wants us to be able to receive the blessing of 45:12 receiving stuff. 45:14 Now, if none of us wanted to receive stuff, and all we wanted 45:16 to do is give, who's going to receive it, right? 45:19 Okay, so obviously God wants us to be able to experience the 45:22 blessing of receiving as well. 45:24 And He says, but He said, when you look at the two blessings, 45:28 the greatest and the most fulfilling and the most joyous 45:32 one is actually giving. 45:34 What, giving? I like getting. 45:37 That's what I like about Christmas. 45:39 You know, what presents am I going to get, right? 45:43 No, you know, if we have the mind of Christ. 45:46 It says, mine be in you as it is also in Christ Jesus. 45:49 So, Christ, when He looked forward to Christmas, or 45:52 different festivals, or birthdays, or whatever it is, 45:54 He would look forward to what He can give. 45:57 He liked other people's birthdays more than His because 45:58 then He had the opportunity to give because it is more blessed 46:02 to give than it is to receive. 46:05 And, so that's a reflection of generosity, 46:07 the great trait of God. 46:10 But we have one more text that a volunteer is going to read 46:12 for us in 1 John chapter 3, and verse 16 to 18. 46:16 Now, that's not the gospel of John 3:16, but this is 1 John 46:20 chapter 3, and verses 16 to 18. 46:23 Thank you. 46:26 male: "By this we know love, because He laid down His life 46:28 for us. 46:30 And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 46:32 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in 46:35 need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of 46:39 God abide in him? 46:41 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but 46:45 in deed and in truth." 46:47 Shawn: Thank you. 46:48 All right, so it's important for us to be able to give 46:53 as Jesus gave. 46:54 Jesus gave to the point where He said, "Listen, I'll even give My 46:57 life," and it wasn't just, you know, a quick electric chair or, 47:02 you know, He said, "I'll give my life with intense, the most 47:06 intense suffering than any human being has ever experienced." 47:09 Now, there's been some really horrendous, torturous deaths 47:13 that have taken place, so the physical death of Jesus died was 47:16 not greater than some other human beings that have died and 47:19 found their death. 47:22 But He died with the most intense suffering because He 47:24 took the guilt of our sin upon Himself, and He felt that utter 47:28 separation from His Father, as He took that sin upon Himself. 47:31 And so, Jesus gave everything for us, and so he calls 47:36 us also to give. 47:38 So, is it important to give alms? 47:42 Anybody familiar with the term alm? 47:44 I see a few hands go up. 47:46 It's not a term that we use in our modern vernacular English 47:49 today, is it, alms? 47:52 You know, and sometimes when I think of alms, oh, that's a 47:54 that's a teaching practice of our Islam friends and so on 47:57 because they teach and talk about it more often. 47:59 They use that term, but it's actually found several times in 48:01 the Bible. 48:02 And God tells us several times that giving alms is important to 48:06 God, it's not an option. 48:08 He requires us to give alms. 48:09 That's what I'm saying, if you're not giving to ADRA or 48:11 some humanitarian charity on a regular basis, then you need to 48:16 start doing that now 'cause God's asking you to. 48:18 He wants you to be able to live for more than yourself. 48:21 He wants you to spend your money on more than yourself, or of 48:25 your family, and friends. 48:26 He wants you to spend it on strangers that are in need. 48:30 Did Jesus help strangers that He had never met before? 48:32 Yes, and He would give the shirt off his back, literally, if it 48:37 made a difference with somebody else that He had never met 48:40 before, but was an obvious need, much more need than Himself. 48:44 And so, that's the kind of Christians God calls us to be. 48:47 I want to read a passage here as we're coming to the end of our 48:49 study here today. 48:51 It's in Acts chapter 10, and verses 1 to 3, and it's about a 48:56 individual by the name of Cornelius. 48:59 Now, he lives in Jerusalem, not in Jerusalem, but in Israel, but 49:04 he's not an Israelite. 49:05 He's not a Jew. 49:07 He's an Italian. He's a Roman citizen. 49:10 It says, "There was a certain man in Caesarea named 49:12 Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 49:16 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who 49:20 gave alms generously," there's that term again, generous. 49:24 "Who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed 49:26 to God always. 49:28 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an 49:31 angel of God coming in and saying to him, 'Cornelius!' 49:36 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and 49:38 said, 'What is it, lord?'" 49:40 He was overwhelmed by this angelic being. 49:42 "So he said to him, 'Your prayers and your alms have come 49:46 up for a memorial before God.'" 49:49 And so, there are two things here 49:51 that Cornelius had caught the attention of the Lord. 49:54 All of heaven was focusing on this particular individual, 49:59 a key individual that played a key individual in the plan of 50:01 the gospel proclamation of salvation. 50:03 And he said, "Listen, the reason that we have chosen you to be 50:08 able to receive, be the first Gentiles to receive this direct 50:12 preaching of the gospel in your house by Jewish apostle is 50:16 because you have been noted for your prayers and your alms, 50:22 your generous giving to those in need." 50:25 Now, the majority of those recipients were Jews. 50:28 What did you think of Cornelius? 50:30 Well, most religious Jews looked down their nose at Cornelius and 50:33 said, "Well, that's just a dog over there. 50:35 They're, you know, that's an unclean animal. 50:38 You know, that's the one that if I brush up against it at the 50:41 market, oh, great, now I gotta go through the ceremonial 50:44 washing and undefile myself." 50:48 And so, they come up with all kinds of terrible theology and 50:54 views of Cornelius and those in his population. 50:58 But here was God, one that God didn't care. 51:02 He knew that he was one of the most exalted in all of heaven 51:05 because he was a man of true faith, regular prayer, and he 51:10 gave alms on a regular basis. 51:12 Are you giving alms on a regular basis? 51:15 If heaven looked down today and said this is an individual that 51:18 cares and gives on a regular basis to those that they don't 51:21 know that are in need? 51:31 Well, we come to the end of our lesson study here today. 51:34 And so, don't forget, if you haven't read through the lesson 51:37 study, there's peacemaking, there's a voice 51:40 for the voiceless. 51:41 As usual, you know, it's just impossible for us to be able to 51:44 look in any depth at all the material each week. 51:47 But again, please take advantage of that if you haven't read 51:50 the study. 51:52 And also, we have this free gift offer. 51:54 If you missed it at the beginning, make sure you take 51:55 advantage of it now. 51:57 It's free offer number 152. So, simply refer to that. 52:00 The title, of course, is not 152, it's "Riches of Grace" 52:03 written by Joe Crews. 52:04 And so, 1-866-788-3966. 52:07 You can see it on the screen. 52:08 Make sure you call it and take advantage of that you're in 52:10 North America or the American territories. 52:12 If you're not, you can also go online to amazingfacts.org and 52:17 there's a free gift offer, a link that you can find on that 52:20 website as well. 52:22 Until next week, God bless you and don't forget that 52:24 God loves you. 52:26 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 52:28 free resource. 52:30 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 52:32 download a digital copy straight to your computer 52:35 or mobile device. 52:36 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 52:39 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 52:43 shown on your screen. 52:45 And be sure to select the digital download option on the 52:47 request page. 52:49 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 52:52 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, and most 52:56 important, to share it with others. 53:00 announcer: Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible study? 53:02 You don't have to wait until next week to enjoy more 53:05 truth-filled programming. 53:07 Visit the Amazing Facts media library at aftv.org. 53:11 At aftv.org, you can enjoy video and audio presentations, as well 53:17 as printed materials all free of charge 24 hours a day, seven 53:21 days a week right from your computer or mobile device. 53:25 Visit aftv.org. 53:31 ♪♪♪ 53:40 Doug Batchelor: Friends, if you're scared of snakes, this 53:42 may not be for you. 53:44 I'm here at a Reptile Park outside of Durban South Africa, 53:48 and I'm holding my friend here who's a Red-Tail Boa. 53:51 Snakes are found all over the world, and they come 53:54 in all sizes. 53:55 Snakes can be found through the trees, they crawl on the ground, 53:58 they live under the ground, and they swim in the water. 54:00 Very interesting creatures. 54:02 Some snakes are venomous, not my friend here, but 54:06 the Black Mamba, very poisonous. 54:09 Matter of fact, their bite is often referred to as the 54:11 kiss of death. 54:13 They can grow 15 feet long and can travel up to 54:16 seven miles an hour. 54:17 They don't call them Black Mambas because of the color of 54:19 their skin, but the interior of their mouth is black. 54:23 Snakes also come in all sizes, like this Boa or Python, they 54:26 can grow to great sizes. 54:28 Matter of fact, in South America, they found some 54:30 fossils of a snake that they call Titanoboa. 54:34 They believe it was as big as 50 feet long and weighed 54:37 as much as a car. 54:39 Say, "cheese." 54:41 A lot of people are scared of snakes. 54:43 I used to live in a mountain in a cave, and I ran into snakes 54:45 frequently. 54:46 They never bothered me unless I was bothering them. 54:48 In the Bible, the snake is often a symbol of the devil. 54:51 In reality, it's just a symbol. 54:54 They're animals like other animals, but it says they were 54:56 cursed to go upon their belly because they were the first 54:58 medium that the devil used to tempt Adam and Eve. 55:01 In the Book of Numbers chapter 21, it tells the story of how 55:05 when the children of Israel were going through the wilderness, 55:07 they began to complain about God's manna. 55:10 And it says the Lord allowed these fiery serpents to go among 55:13 the people and many were bitten, and the venomous deadly. 55:16 I should probably mention at this point, that bread they were 55:19 complaining about is a symbol for the Word of God. 55:22 As many of the people were dying from this plague of serpents, 55:25 they went on to Moses and they said, "What shall we do?" 55:28 God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole and 55:31 lift it up, that whoever looked upon the serpent, they would be 55:35 healed of their venom. 55:37 This is why it's so important because Jesus says in the gospel 55:39 of John chapter 3, verse 14 and 15, "As Moses lifted up the 55:45 serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted 55:49 up, that whoever believes in Him might not perish, but have 55:52 everlasting life." 55:54 They needed to look and to live. 55:56 You see, those ancient shepherds when they would kill a venomous 55:58 snake, they would carry it off on their staff and bury it. 56:02 So, a serpent on a pole represented a defeated snake. 56:06 It's talking about defeating the devil, friends. 56:09 Have you been bitten by the serpent? 56:11 We all have. 56:13 The only cure for the venom of Satan is to look 56:15 in faith at Jesus. 56:16 He then defeated the devil. 56:18 He took the venom of sin in his body to provide the antidote 56:21 in his blood. 56:23 So friends, I encourage you to look today and live. 56:27 ♪♪♪ 57:30 Doug: Wish you could get a new start. 57:31 I'd like to live my life over knowing what I know now. 57:34 I don't want to start over just make the same mistakes. 57:36 I want to have my memories so I don't make the same mistakes, 57:39 but you do get a new beginning. 57:41 You become a new creature. 57:43 That feeling of all your sins being washed away because God 57:45 promises it, isn't that a wonderful concept, friends? 57:48 Jesus: I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink. 57:58 Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, My brethren, 58:02 you did it to Me. 58:10 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2019-09-09