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Shawn Brummund: Hello,
and welcome to another edition
00:00:35.16\00:00:36.46
of the "Sabbath
School Study Hour."
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We are so glad that you are
joining us here today as we come
00:00:38.33\00:00:41.00
together to be able to
study my favorite book,
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which is the Holy Bible.
00:00:43.34\00:00:44.97
And we are starting a
new adventure as we started
00:00:45.01\00:00:47.31
a new quarter for this year.
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We are looking at a new topic.
00:00:49.34\00:00:51.18
Last quarter, we were looking
at helping those in need.
00:00:51.21\00:00:53.62
And we are studying a new
subject now, and we're looking
00:00:53.65\00:00:56.25
at two very critical books
in the Old Testament entitled
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"Ezra and Nehemiah."
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And so, if you don't have a
copy of the new quarterly yet,
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make sure you get a copy
of it in your local church.
00:01:04.73\00:01:07.13
If you're not a Seventh Day
Adventist and you have a Seventh
00:01:07.13\00:01:09.40
Day Adventist church in
your local neighborhood or town,
00:01:09.43\00:01:12.03
make sure that you go and
visit them, and chances are
00:01:12.07\00:01:14.87
that they'll have an
extra copy to give to you.
00:01:14.90\00:01:17.97
Now, we do have something
that's available as well online.
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And so, if you don't have a
local church that you can get a
00:01:22.74\00:01:26.01
hard copy from, you can
always get a digital copy at the
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website, which
is lesson.aftv.org.
00:01:30.05\00:01:34.22
I'll say that one
more time, lesson.aftv,
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that's for
Amazing Facts TV .org.
00:01:37.33\00:01:40.90
Make sure you get a copy as
we continue this new adventure
00:01:40.93\00:01:43.93
in Bible study.
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We are just so glad to be able
to have everybody that joins us
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of course locally here in
the Granite Bay Seventh Day
00:01:48.70\00:01:51.47
Adventist Church here
in the greater Sacramento
00:01:51.51\00:01:53.74
area of California.
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And then, of course, the Granite
Bay Church has the privilege of
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having an extended family around
the country and sometimes in
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different parts of the world,
as we also welcome our online
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members that are joining us
here for the program as well.
00:02:06.76\00:02:10.13
All friends that are joining
us from around the world,
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we want to welcome you as well.
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So good to be here, we
look forward to our study.
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But before we
get into our study,
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we invite our singers out.
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We always have a free offer that
we like to offer to you for your
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further study even after
we spend this hour together.
00:02:25.27\00:02:28.74
And so, today's
study is entitled
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"Twelve Steps to Revival."
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And it's actually written by
our senior pastor, our teacher
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today, which is the
pastor Doug Batchelor.
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And so, the free
offer is number 780.
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And so, when you call in, the
best reference that you can make
00:02:41.69\00:02:44.46
is to free offer number 780.
00:02:44.49\00:02:47.96
And you can dial 1-866-788-3966.
00:02:47.96\00:02:52.87
Again, that's 1-866-788-3966.
00:02:52.90\00:02:58.51
Now again, we live in a digital
world, and so some of you may
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not be in America or in the
American territories or Canada
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to be able to get that
hard copy sent out to you.
00:03:04.45\00:03:06.72
But anybody in the world that
has Internet can find themselves
00:03:06.75\00:03:09.75
downloading a free digital copy.
00:03:09.78\00:03:11.72
And so many of
us have smartphones.
00:03:11.75\00:03:13.52
You simply need to text the code
SH001, that's SH001 and you want
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to dial that
out to 40544, 40544.
00:03:20.26\00:03:26.20
And you could receive a
free digital download for that.
00:03:26.23\00:03:29.10
So, please take
advantage of that.
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I know you'll be blessed
and your faith will be revived.
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Well, before we open with
prayer and we invite our teacher
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out today, we want to
invite our singers out
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as they lead us in praise.
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God bless you.
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female: We always love
to sing together because
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that is truly part of worship.
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In this crazy world that we are
living in, and it gets crazier
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every week it would seem, and
I'm always grateful every time
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we get back together to
study, "Nearer My God to Thee."
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We need to press
closer and closer every day.
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And we're going to sing
about that, hymn number 473,
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"Nearer My God To Thee."
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We're going to sing the first,
the third, and the last verse.
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¤¤¤
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¤¤¤
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¤ Nearer, my God, to Thee, ¤
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¤ nearer to Thee, ¤
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¤ even though it be a
cross that raiseth me. ¤
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¤ Still all my
song shall be nearer, ¤
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¤ my God, to Thee. ¤
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¤ Nearer, my God, to Thee, ¤
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¤ nearer to Thee. ¤
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¤ There let the way appear, ¤
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¤ steps up to heaven. ¤
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¤ All that Thou sendest me, ¤
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¤ in mercy given. ¤
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¤ Angels to beckon me nearer, ¤
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¤ my God, to Thee. ¤
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¤ Nearer, my God, to Thee, ¤
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¤ nearer to Thee. ¤
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¤ Or if, on joyful wing ¤
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¤ cleaving the sky, ¤
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¤ sun, moon, and stars forgot, ¤
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¤ upward I fly. ¤
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¤ Still all my
song shall be nearer, ¤
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¤ my God, to Thee. ¤
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¤ Nearer, my God, to Thee, ¤
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¤ nearer to Thee. ¤¤
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Shawn: Well, thank
you for that blessing.
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And as we have been fed with
song and inspired, I invite you
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now to pray as we ask
the Lord to be with us.
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Father in heaven, we are
thankful for this opportunity
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to be able to study.
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We are thankful for Your Word.
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We're thankful for Your great
servant Ezra, as well as Your
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servant Nehemiah.
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And as we read the life and
teachings and the events that
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surrounded their lives, the
ministry You've given them in
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such an instrumental time, want
to pray that You will bless us,
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and teach us, and help us to be
able to grow in our faith, and
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follow You even as
they did during their time.
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We ask for the Holy
Spirit as our teacher.
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We pray that You will be with
our pastor that is going to be
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leading this lesson.
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In Jesus's name
we pray, God, amen.
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Thank you so much for Pastor
Doug, and he's going to be
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presenting our
lesson here today.
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Doug Batchelor:
Thank you to our singers.
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Good to have Jodi
here today, thank you for
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playing piano for us.
00:08:06.11\00:08:08.32
Morning, everyone.
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Do you remember me?
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I've been gone.
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But it's good to be home again.
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And Karen sends her regards.
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Poor thing, we flew back from
Asia, and then she had two days
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at home, and she
got on another airplane.
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She's helping babysit her
nephews in Phoenix right now,
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so hello dear.
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She said she might
be tuning in depending
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on the time difference.
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So, we're glad
to be back with you.
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And the timing is
great, we get to start.
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I'm glad that I can sort of do
the introduction in our lesson
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on Ezra and Nehemiah,
a couple of my favorite
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books in the Bible,
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and a very interesting
time in biblical history.
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But with your permission,
before we get into the lesson,
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you know, sometimes
you go to Sabbath School
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and they have what
they call a mission report.
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Is it okay if I give you a brief
mission report on where we were
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the last couple of weeks and
tell you some exciting stories?
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This, we just threw this
together the last few minutes,
00:09:06.64\00:09:09.61
so I'm going to ask Rosa to
go ahead and put some of the
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pictures on the screen here, and
we're going to give you a little
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report on our trip to Asia.
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Now, what we did is we
went to three countries.
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You can barely see them on
the map there, but we went to
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Taiwan, which is technically
part of China, but it really
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operates as an
independent country.
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And we went to Singapore
and Malaysia, not in that order.
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We went Taiwan,
Malaysia, Singapore.
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You may not know Singapore is
a country, even though it is an
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island, it's very small.
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Matter of fact, right there it's
one of the smallest countries in
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the world along with
the Vatican and Monaco.
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But I'll get to
that in just a minute.
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So, next picture.
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See, we've got a very
sophisticated way of advancing
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the slides, I
just say next picture.
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So, first we went to Taiwan.
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And this was kind of neat for
Karen because Karen worked in
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Taiwan doing some
mission work and volunteer work
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about 30 years ago, so
this is the first time she had
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a chance to go back.
00:10:06.23\00:10:07.97
She volunteered at the
hospital in the PT department
00:10:08.00\00:10:10.47
many years ago.
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And I'm showing you there that
building because while when we
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travel and we do ministry,
we preach and we teach, we also
00:10:14.88\00:10:17.78
record "Amazing
Facts" wherever we go.
00:10:17.81\00:10:20.38
So, one of the "Amazing
Facts" we recorded was on this
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building, it's the Taipei 101,
which for many years was the
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tallest building in the world.
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And we did an amazing fact about
a man named Robert Alain, who
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climbed it.
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Matter of fact, he climbed
virtually all of the tallest
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skyscrapers in the world.
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He climbed the--I think the
Empire State Building, the Burj
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Khalifa, the Eiffel
Tower, the Sears Tower.
00:10:45.84\00:10:52.18
I mean, it's amazing, and most
of the time he did this with no
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ropes, just did it freehand.
00:10:54.62\00:10:57.59
So, we did some "Amazing
Facts" while we were there.
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Taiwan is a very
interesting country, very clean.
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Karen said it's changed a lot,
it's a lot cleaner than when she
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worked there.
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They've got an
interesting habit in Taiwan.
00:11:06.33\00:11:08.06
You'll never see
garbage cans out on the street.
00:11:08.10\00:11:10.73
People keep the garbage within
the front doors of their home or
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their business.
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Five days a week,
they have garbage pickup.
00:11:15.07\00:11:16.91
In our town,
they do once a week.
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Five days a week.
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And early in the morning, you'll
hear the garbage trucks all
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going out up the street,
and they play music like our ice
00:11:22.28\00:11:24.65
cream trucks used to do.
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And I think they're going
da da da da da da da da da,
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whatever it is.
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And that's your signal you
better run out with your garbage
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and you toss it in the can.
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They do this, it keeps--there's
no rats or cockroaches.
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It keeps a lot
of the pests down.
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And so, it was
a very clean city.
00:11:39.93\00:11:41.23
So, we did some speaking
there at what they call an ASI
00:11:41.26\00:11:44.57
Pacific, it's the
Asia Pacific ASI meeting.
00:11:44.60\00:11:47.67
For those of you who don't know,
ASI is like Adventist Service
00:11:47.70\00:11:51.71
Incorporated.
00:11:51.74\00:11:53.11
It's Adventist businesspeople
telling different ways they're
00:11:53.14\00:11:55.34
sharing Christ
in the marketplace.
00:11:55.38\00:11:57.35
And so, we had leaders of
Christian businesses from around
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Asia all
descended here in Taiwan.
00:12:01.55\00:12:05.35
And I was able to share with
them, and we heard wonderful
00:12:05.39\00:12:07.72
stories of how the gospel
is going out in many different
00:12:07.76\00:12:11.16
countries around
Asia during that time.
00:12:11.19\00:12:13.76
So, we were in Taiwan and
very much enjoyed the food
00:12:13.80\00:12:17.93
while we were there.
00:12:17.97\00:12:19.67
They actually have quite a few
veggie options in Asia because
00:12:19.70\00:12:22.77
of both the Hindu
and Buddhist influence.
00:12:22.80\00:12:26.17
So, if you're a vegetarian, you
eat pretty good, so I enjoyed it
00:12:26.21\00:12:29.38
while I was there.
00:12:29.41\00:12:30.71
Let's go to the next slide.
00:12:30.75\00:12:32.28
And we went from Taiwan
to Malaysia, and this is the
00:12:32.31\00:12:37.15
capital Kuala Lumpur.
00:12:37.19\00:12:38.85
And there's another building
there, it's called the Petronas
00:12:38.89\00:12:41.52
Towers, which again was the
tallest building in the world
00:12:41.56\00:12:44.49
for awhile until
it was surpassed by
00:12:44.53\00:12:47.10
the Taipei building.
00:12:47.13\00:12:48.53
And yes, Robert Alain
climbed that building too.
00:12:48.56\00:12:52.60
And so, now Malaysia is
very different from Taiwan.
00:12:52.63\00:12:56.34
There's a lot more
freedom to preach the gospel.
00:12:56.37\00:12:58.34
Even though it's technically
Chinese, it's not governed
00:12:58.37\00:13:02.18
by the communist
China, it's really a republic.
00:13:02.21\00:13:05.75
And so, Christianity is
pretty freely proclaimed
00:13:05.78\00:13:08.75
there in Taiwan.
00:13:08.78\00:13:10.19
But when you go to Malaysia,
it's an Islamic country.
00:13:10.22\00:13:14.46
It's about 32
million people in Malaysia.
00:13:14.49\00:13:16.42
Interesting country
because southern Malaysia is the
00:13:16.46\00:13:20.46
northern island of
Borneo, and northern Malaysia
00:13:20.50\00:13:27.10
is the southern tip
of the Asian peninsula.
00:13:27.14\00:13:29.54
So, Malaysia is one country
kind of spread on two or three
00:13:29.57\00:13:33.64
different pieces of land, and
many, many thousands of islands.
00:13:33.68\00:13:39.01
Part of the reason we went
there, and let's go to the next
00:13:39.05\00:13:41.22
picture, is because "Amazing
Facts," I'll just tell you this
00:13:41.25\00:13:45.72
first and then I'll get to that.
00:13:45.75\00:13:47.62
They took us there, we
recorded an "Amazing Facts"
00:13:47.66\00:13:49.66
of the Batu Caves.
00:13:49.69\00:13:51.73
You can see there in
this picture, there's a very
00:13:51.76\00:13:54.46
large--they got this very large
statue to the Hindu god Murugan.
00:13:54.50\00:14:00.67
And so, we did an "Amazing Fact"
on Daniel 3, you know, when
00:14:00.70\00:14:04.21
Nebuchadnezzar made
this big golden image.
00:14:04.24\00:14:06.74
What else do you think
about when you look at that?
00:14:06.78\00:14:09.24
And but there's some caves
up at the top, and you can look
00:14:09.28\00:14:12.48
at the next picture.
00:14:12.51\00:14:13.82
When you climb up those stairs,
all these pilgrims go up and
00:14:13.85\00:14:15.55
down the stairs, and
there's massive caves up there.
00:14:15.58\00:14:19.35
It's quite a job to get there.
00:14:19.39\00:14:21.32
Forget how many hundreds
of steps it is up there.
00:14:21.36\00:14:24.09
But and so we did some stuff on
Hinduism, we did some recording
00:14:24.13\00:14:27.93
and facts on
Hinduism, we did a recording.
00:14:27.96\00:14:30.70
And you'll see these
come out on our websites
00:14:30.73\00:14:33.00
in the months to come.
00:14:33.03\00:14:35.07
And but Malaysia is--there are a
number of Hindus there, there's
00:14:35.10\00:14:39.94
a number of Buddhists there,
but it is like 75% Islamic.
00:14:39.97\00:14:45.28
And our work in Malaysia must be
done very carefully so as to not
00:14:45.31\00:14:49.42
offend and get
people into trouble.
00:14:49.45\00:14:52.19
Next picture, please.
00:14:52.22\00:14:54.06
Now, there we have
that's our team that was there.
00:14:54.09\00:14:56.39
Of course, you got Karen and I.
00:14:56.42\00:14:57.79
And on the fourth one there is
Jared, he is a member here and
00:14:57.83\00:15:02.46
works in the media department.
00:15:02.50\00:15:03.83
He was with us
doing some recording.
00:15:03.87\00:15:06.03
In the middle, you have Aaron.
00:15:06.07\00:15:07.50
Aaron runs our Amazing
Facts Indonesia school.
00:15:07.54\00:15:10.91
We have ongoing
training that's happening.
00:15:10.94\00:15:13.81
In fact, he sent me a picture
this morning of a Bible camp
00:15:13.84\00:15:18.31
that got 400 people
that's going on right now.
00:15:18.35\00:15:20.95
So, Amazing Facts has an
evangelism training school that
00:15:20.98\00:15:23.72
operates in Indonesia.
00:15:23.75\00:15:25.52
Indonesia is the largest
Islamic country in the world,
00:15:25.55\00:15:29.42
280 million people.
00:15:29.46\00:15:31.79
We've been there before in
Jakarta, one of the busiest
00:15:31.83\00:15:33.96
cities in the world.
00:15:34.00\00:15:35.26
So, Aaron is a businessman
who does this on his own dollar,
00:15:35.30\00:15:38.50
but he runs a school and he's
converted a lot of our material
00:15:38.53\00:15:42.14
into Bahasa Indonesian.
00:15:42.17\00:15:44.74
And next picture, please.
00:15:44.77\00:15:46.11
Oh, and the far right and
before we get there is Pakrosh.
00:15:46.14\00:15:49.34
He is running our new
Malaysian--now we're launching
00:15:49.38\00:15:51.91
an evangelism school in
Malaysia, has 32 million people.
00:15:51.95\00:15:56.42
The wonderful thing is that
the languages between Indonesia
00:15:56.45\00:16:00.39
and Malaysia are very similar.
00:16:00.42\00:16:01.89
The people in Malaysia
understand what they call
00:16:01.92\00:16:04.29
Bahasa Indonesian.
00:16:04.33\00:16:06.56
Next picture, please.
00:16:06.59\00:16:08.26
And here we have in
Malaysia our graduating class
00:16:08.30\00:16:13.87
of Amazing Disciples.
00:16:13.90\00:16:15.87
I like going to Asia
'cause I'm tall in Asia.
00:16:15.90\00:16:20.34
It gives me the
illusion that I'm tall.
00:16:20.38\00:16:23.75
And so, we had about 25
students, young people that
00:16:23.78\00:16:27.65
graduated the
Amazing Disciples program.
00:16:27.68\00:16:29.68
They're learning how to share
their faith in a largely Islamic
00:16:29.72\00:16:33.22
country, and they
must be very careful.
00:16:33.25\00:16:35.32
You're not allowed in
Malaysia to have a manger scene,
00:16:35.36\00:16:39.33
for example.
00:16:39.36\00:16:40.73
When we hand out our literature
in Malaysia, you know how
00:16:40.76\00:16:43.23
cigarette packs here have
a warning, says this stuff
00:16:43.26\00:16:45.40
can kill you?
00:16:45.43\00:16:46.90
In Malaysia, we have to put a
sticker on all our material that
00:16:46.94\00:16:50.07
is a warning that it
is Christian material,
00:16:50.11\00:16:52.51
that it is not Islamic.
00:16:52.54\00:16:54.21
And so, it's very interesting
doing the work there.
00:16:54.24\00:16:56.75
We have had some pastors
arrested and worse in the past.
00:16:56.78\00:17:01.08
Next picture, please.
00:17:01.12\00:17:03.59
While we were there, we also had
some evangelistic presentations
00:17:03.62\00:17:06.79
that were done in
a Christian center.
00:17:06.82\00:17:08.36
They got a Christian center that
is shared among several churches
00:17:08.39\00:17:11.59
because they really restrict
how many places Christians
00:17:11.63\00:17:14.93
can meet in Islamic countries.
00:17:14.96\00:17:17.33
And they won't let you put
a church right on a main road,
00:17:17.37\00:17:20.37
so we're sort of off the
road, and several churches often
00:17:20.40\00:17:22.74
have to share.
00:17:22.77\00:17:24.11
Works for Adventists
because we're meeting usually on
00:17:24.14\00:17:26.17
Sabbath, and the other Sunday
churches fight among themselves
00:17:26.21\00:17:29.41
more about who
gets it on Sunday.
00:17:29.44\00:17:31.48
But so, we had a good
group there for Malaysia,
00:17:31.51\00:17:35.05
so there--probably have
30,000 Adventists in Malaysia.
00:17:35.08\00:17:39.45
We were in Kuala Lumpur, where
you've got the smaller number.
00:17:39.49\00:17:42.26
Most of them are by the islands.
00:17:42.29\00:17:44.59
Next picture, please.
00:17:44.63\00:17:46.76
Here's an example.
00:17:46.80\00:17:48.40
For instance, our "Amazing
Facts" magazine, this actually
00:17:48.43\00:17:51.60
may be the cover for
the "Amazing Facts" DVD
00:17:51.63\00:17:53.87
on final events.
00:17:53.90\00:17:55.60
And we also have the magazine,
we have our lessons, all our
00:17:55.64\00:17:58.34
Bible studies are
all in Bahasa Indonesian,
00:17:58.37\00:18:00.71
and they do very high quality.
00:18:00.74\00:18:03.24
Sometimes as we travel
into other countries and we see
00:18:03.28\00:18:05.68
they've translated our material,
it's really sad 'cause it's like
00:18:05.71\00:18:08.32
very cheap
newspaper, it's black and white.
00:18:08.35\00:18:11.85
But our team in
Indonesia is doing an excellent,
00:18:11.89\00:18:15.79
professional job
in translating it.
00:18:15.82\00:18:18.26
And so, it's going not
only all over Indonesia,
00:18:18.29\00:18:21.10
but Malaysia as well.
00:18:21.13\00:18:22.66
We just put one thing of
their--one printing example up
00:18:22.70\00:18:26.23
there for you.
00:18:26.27\00:18:27.57
Next picture, please.
00:18:27.60\00:18:29.04
And this is the
picture I got this morning.
00:18:29.07\00:18:31.94
So, it's going on as we speak.
00:18:31.97\00:18:35.51
Aaron said this is our
Bible camp that's happening now
00:18:35.54\00:18:39.45
in Indonesia.
00:18:39.48\00:18:40.95
I think it's near--well,
there it is, Kupang, Indonesia.
00:18:40.98\00:18:43.99
And this is a
lot of people there.
00:18:44.02\00:18:46.69
This is an Islamic country,
so it's just wonderful to see
00:18:46.72\00:18:49.02
the work going forward.
00:18:49.06\00:18:50.36
That may be the last,
do we have other pictures?
00:18:50.39\00:18:52.13
Oh yeah, we got
Singapore coming.
00:18:52.16\00:18:53.93
This is--well, that was
still--there's Singapore.
00:18:53.96\00:18:56.26
That was also our
other meeting in Malaysia.
00:18:56.30\00:18:58.70
Singapore is an
interesting place.
00:18:58.73\00:19:02.37
You don't hear a lot
about mission work in Singapore
00:19:02.40\00:19:04.24
because it's very hard to get
missionaries to go to Singapore
00:19:04.27\00:19:09.78
and pastors because it is one
of the top three most expensive
00:19:09.81\00:19:14.15
cities in the world to live in.
00:19:14.18\00:19:16.48
Those three cities are Hong
Kong, Paris, and Singapore, and
00:19:16.52\00:19:21.02
Singapore may be number two.
00:19:21.06\00:19:22.76
It's very expensive.
00:19:22.79\00:19:24.29
Singapore is an incredibly
important international city.
00:19:24.33\00:19:27.23
Of everything you buy, one out
of four shipping containers in
00:19:27.30\00:19:31.73
the world goes
through the Singapore harbor.
00:19:31.77\00:19:36.07
Because of where it's located
in Asia strategically, it is the
00:19:36.10\00:19:39.87
busiest harbor in the world.
00:19:39.91\00:19:42.98
It is a very wealthy city.
00:19:43.01\00:19:45.21
There are banks--the skyline
is covered with bank buildings.
00:19:45.25\00:19:49.45
There's an
incredible amount of money.
00:19:49.48\00:19:51.22
So expensive, a lot of
missionaries just can't afford
00:19:51.25\00:19:53.42
to live there.
00:19:53.46\00:19:54.82
A lot of pastors, they don't
want to go to Singapore because
00:19:54.86\00:19:57.69
it's so expensive that they can,
you know, barely make ends meet.
00:19:57.73\00:20:01.33
And so, but we have had a lot
of people there who have been
00:20:01.36\00:20:04.03
watching our programs either
on satellite or on the Internet.
00:20:04.07\00:20:09.54
They got very good high
speed Internet in Taiwan and in
00:20:09.57\00:20:13.38
Singapore, not so much Malaysia.
00:20:13.41\00:20:15.74
In Malaysia, they're not
allowed to have the satellites.
00:20:15.78\00:20:18.68
There's only one government
satellite allowed in Malaysia.
00:20:18.71\00:20:21.98
If you're found with a satellite
that is picking up Christian
00:20:22.02\00:20:24.52
programming--you could put one
in, but if you're caught with
00:20:24.55\00:20:26.65
it, very serious
fines or imprisonment.
00:20:26.69\00:20:30.49
And but it's not so much
so in Singapore and Taiwan.
00:20:30.53\00:20:34.23
They can get it on satellite.
00:20:34.30\00:20:35.60
Internet's very
fast, very modern cities.
00:20:35.63\00:20:37.80
So, we ran into a lot
of people--please advance.
00:20:37.83\00:20:41.40
We ran into a lot
of people there that
00:20:41.44\00:20:44.41
were watching our programs.
00:20:44.44\00:20:46.31
We spoke--I spoke
14 times in 14 days.
00:20:46.34\00:20:50.01
I mean, some days were travel,
so some days we doubled up the
00:20:50.05\00:20:52.85
speaking and teaching.
00:20:52.88\00:20:54.88
We were teaching AFCOE students.
00:20:54.92\00:20:56.85
We were speaking to
Christian businessmen.
00:20:56.89\00:20:59.32
We were doing
evangelism training
00:20:59.35\00:21:00.92
and an evangelistic meeting.
00:21:00.96\00:21:02.42
We did an evangelistic
meeting in Singapore, kind of an
00:21:02.46\00:21:05.13
abbreviated meeting.
00:21:05.16\00:21:06.59
We met in the
Thomson Chinese Church.
00:21:06.63\00:21:08.73
It's called the Thomson because
it's on Thomson Road, but it's a
00:21:08.76\00:21:10.97
Chinese church.
00:21:11.00\00:21:12.47
But Singapore,
they speak English.
00:21:12.50\00:21:13.97
It used to be an English colony,
so except for Sabbath morning,
00:21:14.00\00:21:17.27
there was no translation.
00:21:17.31\00:21:18.54
They all understood me, which
is always nice, it saves time.
00:21:18.57\00:21:22.31
Next picture, had hundreds
of people, church was full.
00:21:22.34\00:21:25.01
And this was one of
the evening meetings.
00:21:25.05\00:21:27.42
Sabbath morning and Friday
night, they had overflow rooms
00:21:27.45\00:21:30.49
downstairs that were full.
00:21:30.52\00:21:32.35
And heard some
wonderful stories.
00:21:32.39\00:21:35.42
Next picture, I
might have--yeah,
00:21:35.46\00:21:38.19
here's some of the people.
00:21:38.23\00:21:39.53
I think there were
about six baptisms.
00:21:39.56\00:21:40.90
Two of the people in
this baptism came to the Lord
00:21:40.93\00:21:43.43
from "Amazing Facts."
00:21:43.47\00:21:45.87
One learned about the Lord
in China, and then they got from
00:21:45.90\00:21:50.27
China to Singapore,
and we heard the story.
00:21:50.31\00:21:52.67
But they were reading
our material, looking at the
00:21:52.71\00:21:54.74
websites in China.
00:21:54.78\00:21:56.58
Then they led
their fiance to the Lord,
00:21:56.61\00:21:58.75
and I baptized the fiance.
00:21:58.78\00:22:01.38
The girlfriend is
not in the picture.
00:22:01.42\00:22:03.22
I heard another story--go to
the next picture, I don't know
00:22:03.25\00:22:05.65
if I have--if I put them up.
00:22:05.69\00:22:08.02
Oh, this is one
young man named Matthew.
00:22:08.06\00:22:10.73
We got to the airport and
Singapore airport is--people
00:22:10.76\00:22:15.00
actually go to Singapore
to look at the airport.
00:22:15.03\00:22:17.97
It is considered the most
beautiful airport in the world,
00:22:18.00\00:22:20.84
not one of, it is the most
beautiful airport in the world.
00:22:20.87\00:22:24.21
They have rainforests,
they've got the tallest manmade
00:22:24.24\00:22:26.81
waterfall, just the monorail
goes through the airport,
00:22:26.84\00:22:29.98
it's just amazing.
00:22:30.01\00:22:31.31
So, they took us to the airport
early so that we could look
00:22:31.35\00:22:33.18
at the airport.
00:22:33.21\00:22:34.72
I've never gone to an
airport to look at the airport.
00:22:34.75\00:22:37.29
And I usually want to get out of
there when I get to the airport.
00:22:37.32\00:22:40.42
But it really was beautiful.
00:22:40.46\00:22:42.59
And we finally go
to the immigration.
00:22:42.62\00:22:45.03
Everybody must funnel through
these one doors when you leave
00:22:45.06\00:22:47.23
the country, and there had been
a young man there named Matthew,
00:22:47.23\00:22:50.70
been waiting for us
for two hours just so he
00:22:50.73\00:22:53.94
could say thank you.
00:22:53.97\00:22:55.67
He had been raised a Christian,
drifted from the Lord, was lost,
00:22:55.70\00:22:59.21
and he ran into some
Amazing Facts material.
00:22:59.24\00:23:01.58
In fact, I think it was the
Amazing Facts Final Events DVD
00:23:01.61\00:23:05.45
got him back watching material
again, studied his way back into
00:23:05.48\00:23:09.08
the faith, and now
he's solid in the Lord.
00:23:09.12\00:23:11.62
He just wanted to thank
us and he waited two hours.
00:23:11.65\00:23:13.99
And we thought
that it was so nice.
00:23:14.02\00:23:15.32
Met another--well,
here's a neat story.
00:23:15.36\00:23:18.29
Couple in the Philippines raised
Catholics, this is going to be
00:23:18.33\00:23:22.46
my last story and
we'll get to the lesson.
00:23:22.50\00:23:24.87
Don't worry about the
lesson, just introduction today.
00:23:24.90\00:23:27.70
And so, this couple was very
devout Catholics, and they just
00:23:27.74\00:23:35.08
weren't happy.
00:23:35.11\00:23:36.41
They're going to church and
they said, "We went through the
00:23:36.44\00:23:37.85
rituals, we made our donation,
we left, we just felt empty."
00:23:37.88\00:23:39.95
They thought, "Isn't
there more to God than this?"
00:23:39.98\00:23:41.95
So, they're just searching,
very honest, hardworking couple,
00:23:41.98\00:23:45.19
young professionals.
00:23:45.22\00:23:46.99
They ended up then going to some
evangelical churches and they
00:23:47.02\00:23:50.69
all taught different things.
00:23:50.73\00:23:52.16
And finally, they got
on their knees and said,
00:23:52.19\00:23:53.80
"Lord, what is the truth?
00:23:53.83\00:23:55.33
Show us the truth."
00:23:55.36\00:23:57.07
And after this, they ran
into the Amazing Facts material,
00:23:57.10\00:24:00.24
they started
searching for preaching online.
00:24:00.27\00:24:02.74
They ran into
our material online.
00:24:02.77\00:24:05.34
And they said,
"This makes sense."
00:24:05.37\00:24:07.08
They kept watching and
listening, they're watching, and
00:24:07.11\00:24:08.94
then they started just
binge watching, went through
00:24:08.98\00:24:11.31
all of our beliefs.
00:24:11.35\00:24:13.01
But they said they watched for
a year and a half, they never
00:24:13.05\00:24:15.02
heard that we were
Seventh Day Adventists.
00:24:15.05\00:24:16.85
I guess I need to
mention that more often.
00:24:16.89\00:24:19.42
And then finally I said
something, they said, "Oh."
00:24:19.45\00:24:22.12
So, by this point, they're
living in Singapore, and so they
00:24:22.16\00:24:25.33
said, "Let's go check out one
of these Adventist churches."
00:24:25.36\00:24:28.76
And so, they were so afraid,
they went in, thought, "What are
00:24:28.80\00:24:30.70
they like?"
00:24:30.73\00:24:32.03
You know, and they didn't
want to tell anyone they were
00:24:32.07\00:24:33.37
visitors, they wanted to
first check everybody out.
00:24:33.40\00:24:35.87
But after the second or third
week there, the pastor, and
00:24:35.90\00:24:39.81
their names were Arlyn, Cherry,
husband and wife, and the pastor
00:24:39.84\00:24:42.98
was Pastor Egan.
00:24:43.01\00:24:44.31
They went to the
Filipino church in Singapore.
00:24:44.35\00:24:46.58
He spotted them as
visitors and they said,
00:24:46.61\00:24:48.38
"Well, we're
kind of interested."
00:24:48.42\00:24:50.35
They started studying together
and I had a chance to meet them.
00:24:50.39\00:24:54.32
He baptized them and he said,
"You know, I didn't have to
00:24:54.36\00:24:57.73
study much with them
'cause they knew it all
00:24:57.76\00:25:00.33
from just watching online."
00:25:00.36\00:25:02.16
And now they're leading a whole
'nother group in the church.
00:25:02.20\00:25:05.13
So, we just saw there in their
life, we saw the whole story of
00:25:05.17\00:25:07.84
people who study their way in,
they came in, they got baptized,
00:25:07.87\00:25:11.77
they got grounded,
and now they're out
00:25:11.81\00:25:13.58
doing evangelism work.
00:25:13.61\00:25:15.08
So, it was
really exciting for us.
00:25:15.11\00:25:16.41
I'm just sharing you--with
you a few stories of things
00:25:16.44\00:25:18.91
that were happening there.
00:25:18.95\00:25:20.25
And so, it was a thrill
to be there, and thank you.
00:25:20.28\00:25:24.72
I can promise you we're seeing
lots of people come to the Lord
00:25:24.75\00:25:27.56
through the public
evangelism and even the ministry
00:25:27.59\00:25:31.26
of Amazing Facts.
00:25:31.29\00:25:32.76
All right, so in our
study today, our lesson title is
00:25:32.79\00:25:35.20
talking about making
sense, speaking of making sense,
00:25:35.23\00:25:38.60
making sense out of the
history of Zerubbabel and Ezra.
00:25:38.63\00:25:42.87
A little later, we'll
get more into Nehemiah.
00:25:42.90\00:25:45.27
We have a memory
verse, and the memory verse
00:25:45.31\00:25:47.04
is from Ezra 1, verse 2.
00:25:47.08\00:25:49.74
If you've got your lessons,
you can say it out loud with me.
00:25:49.78\00:25:51.91
Or if you got your Bible, here
it's from the New King James
00:25:51.95\00:25:54.72
Version, Ezra 1,
verse 2, you ready?
00:25:54.75\00:25:58.19
"Thus says Cyrus, king of
Persia, 'All the kingdoms of the
00:25:58.22\00:26:02.56
earth the Lord God has given me,
and He has commanded me to build
00:26:02.59\00:26:07.03
Him a house at
Jerusalem, which is in Judah.'"
00:26:07.03\00:26:10.80
Now, the story of Ezra and
Nehemiah are best summarized
00:26:10.83\00:26:14.44
by reading the passage
together, the timing of it.
00:26:14.47\00:26:18.51
If you go to the last chapter in
the last book of--last chapter
00:26:18.54\00:26:21.88
in the last book of the history,
which is called Chronicles,
00:26:21.91\00:26:27.22
2 Chronicles.
00:26:27.25\00:26:29.52
If you turn to 2 Chronicles and
we're going to look at verse,
00:26:29.55\00:26:36.19
let's see here,
we'll start with verse 11.
00:26:36.22\00:26:39.29
2 Chronicles 36, forgot
to tell you the chapter,
00:26:39.33\00:26:42.83
2 Chronicles 36, verse 11.
00:26:42.86\00:26:47.77
"Zedekiah was 21 years
old when he became king."
00:26:47.80\00:26:52.01
Now, Zedekiah is one of
the sons of good King Joash.
00:26:52.04\00:26:55.14
Sorry, Josiah
rather, good king Josiah.
00:26:55.18\00:26:58.61
"He became king and he
reigned 11 years in Jerusalem,
00:26:58.65\00:27:02.28
and he did evil in the
sight of the Lord his God.
00:27:02.32\00:27:05.19
And he did not humble himself
before Jeremiah the prophet,
00:27:05.22\00:27:07.96
who spoke from
the mouth of the Lord.
00:27:07.99\00:27:10.63
He also rebelled against King
Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him
00:27:10.66\00:27:13.46
swear an oath by God,
but he stiffened his neck
00:27:13.50\00:27:16.56
and he hardened his heart
against--and turning against
00:27:16.60\00:27:19.40
the Lord God of Israel.
00:27:19.43\00:27:20.97
Moreover, all the leaders
of the priests and the people
00:27:21.00\00:27:23.54
transgressed more and
more according to all the
00:27:23.57\00:27:26.31
abominations of the nations.
00:27:26.34\00:27:28.14
And they defiled the
house of the Lord, which he had
00:27:28.18\00:27:30.71
consecrated in Jerusalem."
00:27:30.75\00:27:32.48
So, it's telling you that
Zedekiah, he had made a vow
00:27:32.51\00:27:34.78
that he would serve and
pay taxes to Nebuchadnezzar.
00:27:34.82\00:27:37.79
He broke his vow, he believed
the false prophets that said,
00:27:37.82\00:27:41.12
"No, God's going to
deliver us from Nebuchadnezzar.
00:27:41.16\00:27:43.09
Egypt's going to attack them,
we'll be free, don't pay taxes
00:27:43.12\00:27:45.06
to them anymore."
00:27:45.09\00:27:47.13
And Jeremiah said, "No,
the prophets are lying to you.
00:27:47.13\00:27:50.70
Nebuchadnezzar's going to
come and destroy the city."
00:27:50.73\00:27:53.27
You read last half of Jeremiah,
he's pleading with Zedekiah,
00:27:53.30\00:27:58.91
"Don't listen to
the false prophets.
00:27:58.94\00:28:01.38
If you serve the king of
Babylon, you will be free,
00:28:01.41\00:28:04.15
you'll be safe.
00:28:04.18\00:28:05.48
If you don't, he'll destroy the
city, he'll burn the temple."
00:28:05.51\00:28:07.75
He didn't listen.
00:28:07.78\00:28:09.65
The priests didn't listen.
00:28:09.68\00:28:11.92
All the leaders and the priests
and the people transgressed
00:28:11.95\00:28:14.62
more and more.
00:28:14.66\00:28:15.96
They defiled the house.
00:28:15.99\00:28:17.49
Go to verse 15, "And the
Lord God of their fathers sent
00:28:17.53\00:28:20.96
warnings to them by His
messengers rising up early and
00:28:21.00\00:28:23.77
sending them because He had
compassion on His people and on
00:28:23.80\00:28:27.44
His dwelling place.
00:28:27.47\00:28:29.34
But they mocked the messengers
of God, despised His words, and
00:28:29.37\00:28:33.21
scoffed at His prophets until
the wrath of the Lord arose
00:28:33.24\00:28:36.68
against His people
till there was no remedy."
00:28:36.71\00:28:40.35
You can reach a point of
no return, and this is what
00:28:40.38\00:28:42.88
happened to the nation.
00:28:42.92\00:28:44.79
"Therefore he brought against
him the king of the Chaldeans,
00:28:44.82\00:28:47.92
who killed their young men with
the sword and the house of the
00:28:47.96\00:28:51.19
sanctuary, and had no compassion
on young men or virgin, on the
00:28:51.23\00:28:55.46
aged or the weak.
00:28:55.50\00:28:57.10
He gave them all into his hand.
00:28:57.13\00:28:59.00
And the articles from the house
of God great and small, the
00:28:59.03\00:29:01.67
treasures of the house of God
and the treasures of the king
00:29:01.70\00:29:05.37
and the leaders, all
these he took to Babylon.
00:29:05.41\00:29:07.58
Then they burned the house of
God and broke down the wall of
00:29:07.61\00:29:10.21
Jerusalem."
00:29:10.25\00:29:11.58
This is important, you
want to know why Nehemiah
00:29:11.61\00:29:13.08
is building up the walls?
00:29:13.11\00:29:14.92
It's 'cause
Nebuchadnezzar broke them down.
00:29:14.95\00:29:17.99
They--you know, you really
got to be mad at a nation once
00:29:18.02\00:29:20.39
you've conquered them, then
you send your soldiers in with a
00:29:20.42\00:29:22.66
wrecking crew and say, "Break
down the walls so they can't
00:29:22.69\00:29:25.06
make a city out of this again."
00:29:25.09\00:29:27.40
You know, the Romans
did that to Jerusalem too.
00:29:27.40\00:29:29.03
They said, "Not only are we
going to conquer you, not only
00:29:29.06\00:29:31.03
are we going to burn the city,
not only are we going to not
00:29:31.07\00:29:33.50
leave one stone upon another,"
the Romans also did this, "we're
00:29:33.54\00:29:36.34
then going to sow the land
with salt so nothing will grow."
00:29:36.37\00:29:41.71
Have you ever wondered
why Jerusalem seems so bleak
00:29:41.74\00:29:44.88
and barren for so many years?
00:29:44.91\00:29:47.08
The Romans wanted to see to
it that they would never be the
00:29:47.12\00:29:49.18
Promised Land again.
00:29:49.22\00:29:51.25
Boy, that's a big government
investment to do that.
00:29:51.29\00:29:54.69
I mean, so they were really
committed to teaching a lesson.
00:29:54.72\00:29:58.66
You can almost see a
diabolical rage of these nations
00:29:58.69\00:30:01.70
against God's city.
00:30:01.73\00:30:04.57
"He broke down the wall,
destroyed all its possessions,
00:30:04.60\00:30:08.17
and those who escaped from the
sword he carried away to Babylon
00:30:08.20\00:30:11.64
where they became servants to
him and his sons until the rule
00:30:11.67\00:30:15.14
of the kingdom of Persia."
00:30:15.18\00:30:16.78
This is a great chapter to even
overrule after Persia conquered
00:30:16.81\00:30:19.65
Babylon, "To fulfill the
Word of the Lord by the mouth of
00:30:19.68\00:30:22.62
Jeremiah until the land
had enjoyed her Sabbaths.
00:30:22.65\00:30:26.72
As long as she laid
desolate, she kept Sabbath
00:30:26.76\00:30:29.12
to fulfill 70 years."
00:30:29.16\00:30:30.86
I want to pause right now.
00:30:30.89\00:30:32.69
As long as it was a desolate,
it was keeping the Sabbath.
00:30:32.73\00:30:36.33
Why was God putting
this enforced Sabbath?
00:30:36.36\00:30:39.73
You know, God had said in His
law, "You farm the land for six
00:30:39.77\00:30:42.10
years, you let it rest
every seventh year," right?
00:30:42.14\00:30:44.91
They weren't keeping--they
weren't allowing for that
00:30:44.94\00:30:47.24
agricultural
Sabbath every seventh year.
00:30:47.28\00:30:49.34
And God says, "Well, I'm
going to enforce that Sabbath."
00:30:49.38\00:30:52.95
Now, a day with the Lord is like
1,000 years, and 1,000 years
00:30:52.98\00:30:56.55
like a day, right?
00:30:56.58\00:30:59.39
How old is the world biblically
right now approximately?
00:30:59.42\00:31:03.16
Just about 6,000 years if you
add up the ages in the Bible.
00:31:03.19\00:31:06.23
We don't know exactly 'cause
there's some grey area around
00:31:06.26\00:31:09.53
Noah and a few places.
00:31:09.56\00:31:13.74
So, it's about 6,000
years old, it's like six days.
00:31:13.77\00:31:17.61
How long do we spend in
heaven during the millennium?
00:31:17.64\00:31:21.31
A thousand years we
live and reign with the Lord.
00:31:21.34\00:31:23.24
What is the condition of the
world during the 1,000 years?
00:31:23.28\00:31:27.32
Desolate.
00:31:27.35\00:31:28.98
The world is keeping
a 1,000 year Sabbath.
00:31:29.02\00:31:31.89
See, Jesus has been farming the
land for 6,000 years with the
00:31:31.92\00:31:35.32
seed of the gospel,
that's Christ's own parable.
00:31:35.36\00:31:38.66
He's coming in
Revelation to harvest.
00:31:38.69\00:31:42.30
We live and reign, He says,
"I've gone to prepare a place."
00:31:42.33\00:31:44.70
He takes us to the place that
He's prepared, we live and reign
00:31:44.73\00:31:46.94
with him for 1,000 years.
00:31:46.97\00:31:49.00
The world is keeping
Sabbath while it is desolate.
00:31:49.04\00:31:53.04
The end of the 1,000
years, he makes a new heaven
00:31:53.07\00:31:55.11
and a new earth.
00:31:55.14\00:31:56.48
We then build houses and
inhabit them, plant vineyards,
00:31:56.51\00:31:59.35
and eat the fruit of them.
00:31:59.38\00:32:00.75
So, there's a parallel
here between 2 Chronicles
00:32:00.78\00:32:03.99
and even what happens
in the end of the world.
00:32:04.02\00:32:06.09
As long as it laid
desolate, it kept Sabbath.
00:32:06.12\00:32:08.39
Now, go to verse 22.
00:32:08.42\00:32:10.73
"Now, in the first year of king
Cyrus, king of Persia, the Word
00:32:10.76\00:32:15.56
of the Lord came by
the mouth of Jeremiah
00:32:15.60\00:32:18.03
that it might be fulfilled.
00:32:18.07\00:32:19.47
The Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus, the king of Persia, so
00:32:19.50\00:32:22.87
that he made a proclamation
throughout all of his kingdom.
00:32:22.90\00:32:26.31
And he put it in writing,
saying, 'Thus says Cyrus, king
00:32:26.34\00:32:29.71
of Persia, all kingdoms that are
on the earth the Lord God has
00:32:29.74\00:32:33.05
given to me.
00:32:33.08\00:32:34.38
He's commanded me to
build him a house in Jerusalem,
00:32:34.42\00:32:37.55
which is Judea.
00:32:37.59\00:32:39.15
Who among you of all His people,
may the Lord his God be with him
00:32:39.19\00:32:43.22
and let him go up.'"
00:32:43.26\00:32:44.73
That's the end of
the book of Chronicles.
00:32:44.76\00:32:47.66
So, this is really the
last thing you find of the kings
00:32:47.66\00:32:51.00
until there really is no more
lineage of the king's ruling per
00:32:51.03\00:32:55.94
se until you get to King Jesus.
00:32:55.97\00:32:59.54
But this gives you an
overview of what happened.
00:32:59.57\00:33:02.91
At the end of that 70 years,
what happened is in the first
00:33:02.94\00:33:07.72
group, there are three groups
that come from Babylon back to
00:33:07.75\00:33:11.72
the Promised Land.
00:33:11.75\00:33:13.46
You've got one that comes
during the time of Zerubbabel.
00:33:13.49\00:33:17.06
It's kind of a fun numb
to say--fun name to say.
00:33:17.09\00:33:20.80
Some say Zerubbabel, some say
Zerubbabel, and it depends on
00:33:20.83\00:33:24.60
what part of the US you're from.
00:33:24.63\00:33:27.60
And then you've got those
who came back during the time of
00:33:27.64\00:33:30.94
Ezra, and then
another group came during
00:33:30.97\00:33:33.88
the time of Nehemiah.
00:33:33.91\00:33:35.91
Actually, Nehemiah
came and then Ezra.
00:33:35.94\00:33:38.08
And so, you've got these groups
that continue to come back in
00:33:38.11\00:33:42.58
just three waves.
00:33:42.62\00:33:44.99
And there's so few that come
back compared to how many were
00:33:45.02\00:33:47.29
in Babylon.
00:33:47.32\00:33:48.62
Now, here's the problem.
00:33:48.66\00:33:50.96
If you go somewhere to live
for 70 years, what would you do?
00:33:50.99\00:33:55.33
Would you make
yourself comfortable?
00:33:55.36\00:33:57.30
Would you get a business?
00:33:57.33\00:33:58.93
Would you raise a family?
00:33:58.97\00:34:00.84
Would you plant a garden?
00:34:00.87\00:34:02.17
Would you plant fruit trees?
00:34:02.20\00:34:04.71
And after you've been somewhere
70 years, you put down roots,
00:34:04.74\00:34:07.28
do you learn the language?
00:34:07.31\00:34:08.94
You get comfortable, you learn
the customs, you know your way
00:34:08.98\00:34:10.98
around, it's your home.
00:34:11.01\00:34:13.65
All of a sudden, the king says,
"You can go back to your ancient
00:34:13.68\00:34:16.79
Promised Land."
00:34:16.82\00:34:18.85
And a lot of the Jews were
going, "That's nice, thank you
00:34:18.89\00:34:21.42
very much, but I
think I'll stay right here."
00:34:21.46\00:34:25.36
And so, God's people
were in Babylon, He told them,
00:34:25.39\00:34:28.66
"Come out of Babylon
into the Promised Land,"
00:34:28.70\00:34:32.03
and they didn't
want to come out.
00:34:32.07\00:34:33.87
So, when you get to Revelation,
it says, "Babylon has fallen,
00:34:33.90\00:34:36.84
has fallen.
00:34:36.87\00:34:38.17
Come out her, My people, lest
you partake of her plagues."
00:34:38.21\00:34:40.31
Terrible things were going
to come on the nation of Persia
00:34:40.34\00:34:42.61
after these kings, and they were
not going to be safe, and they
00:34:42.64\00:34:46.41
needed to get out of Babylon.
00:34:46.45\00:34:47.92
God said, "I'm going to
bless you in the Promised Land.
00:34:47.95\00:34:49.72
Come back to the Promised Land."
00:34:49.75\00:34:51.55
They don't want to come back.
00:34:51.59\00:34:53.52
They've gotten
comfortable in Babylon.
00:34:53.56\00:34:55.39
And so, when you're reading
about these waves of Jews that
00:34:55.42\00:34:58.19
came, it's not very big.
00:34:58.23\00:35:00.60
I think one group,
they had like 50,000.
00:35:00.63\00:35:03.20
I mean, compared to the millions
that lived there, it was
00:35:03.23\00:35:05.47
comparatively small.
00:35:05.50\00:35:07.30
So, a lot of them
settled in Babylon and they sort
00:35:07.34\00:35:09.40
of became Babylonians.
00:35:09.44\00:35:12.27
Is God telling us
to come out of Babylon?
00:35:12.31\00:35:15.14
Isn't that a message in
the second angel's message?
00:35:15.18\00:35:17.35
Babylon has fallen.
Come out of her, My people.
00:35:17.38\00:35:20.42
All right, so that kind
of gives you an overview
00:35:20.45\00:35:22.12
of what's happening.
00:35:22.15\00:35:23.45
So Zerubbabel, he leads out in
this first wave that comes back.
00:35:23.49\00:35:28.32
And he is--interesting thing
about Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel,
00:35:28.36\00:35:32.56
he is an ancestor of Jesus.
00:35:32.59\00:35:35.00
If you look at Luke chapter 3,
you're going to see that he is
00:35:35.03\00:35:38.23
mentioned among
the ancestors of Jesus.
00:35:38.27\00:35:40.40
So, there's two
groups that come back.
00:35:40.44\00:35:42.84
One is Joshua, the high priest,
who is a descendant from Aaron,
00:35:42.87\00:35:48.54
so a leader from Aaron.
00:35:48.58\00:35:50.75
The priests come back,
and Zerubbabel comes back
00:35:50.78\00:35:53.78
and he is a leader from
the lineage of the kings.
00:35:53.82\00:35:57.42
And so, you've got
the church and the state.
00:35:57.45\00:35:59.85
They come back again, but
they operate separately like
00:35:59.89\00:36:02.42
in the United States.
00:36:02.46\00:36:04.69
And they lead the people,
Zerubbabel is given permission
00:36:04.73\00:36:08.23
by the king of Persia to
sort of act as a governor,
00:36:08.26\00:36:11.07
and Joshua is
acting as the priest.
00:36:11.10\00:36:14.00
Now, I think it's interesting
that there are three Joshuas
00:36:14.04\00:36:18.71
in the Bible.
00:36:18.74\00:36:21.44
You know who they are?
00:36:21.48\00:36:22.88
You've got Joshua, who is
the general, who also is the
00:36:22.91\00:36:26.58
attendant of Moses, he
later is appointed general.
00:36:26.61\00:36:29.98
He leads the people from
the wilderness into the Promised
00:36:30.02\00:36:33.69
Land, correct?
00:36:33.72\00:36:35.66
Then you've got a Joshua who is
a high priest, who leads people
00:36:35.69\00:36:39.76
from Babylon into
the Promised Land.
00:36:39.79\00:36:42.93
And then you've got
Joshua who is Jesus.
00:36:42.96\00:36:46.53
You see, Jesus's name is Yeshua,
who saves people from slavery
00:36:46.57\00:36:51.17
and brings us
into the Promised Land.
00:36:51.21\00:36:52.84
So, you got three interesting
people who are named Joshua.
00:36:52.87\00:36:56.31
One is a general, one is a
priest, and then of course you
00:36:56.34\00:36:58.61
got our Lord, who is the
ultimate judge and prophet.
00:36:58.65\00:37:04.19
So, then you hear about
Zerubbabel, let me just read
00:37:04.22\00:37:07.49
something about him.
00:37:07.52\00:37:08.82
He was the head of the
tribe of Judah during the time
00:37:08.86\00:37:10.86
of the return from
the Babylonian exile.
00:37:10.89\00:37:14.23
He was the prime
builder of the second temple.
00:37:14.30\00:37:18.03
Well, when you say second
temple, second permanent temple.
00:37:18.07\00:37:21.14
You're talking about the
tabernacle in the wilderness,
00:37:21.17\00:37:23.97
then Solomon's
temple, then Zerubbabel builds
00:37:24.01\00:37:27.81
a third temple.
00:37:27.84\00:37:29.18
It was later remodeled and it
was Herod's temple, but Herod's
00:37:29.21\00:37:32.55
temple was really the
third temple, it's just a major
00:37:32.58\00:37:35.25
upgrade, very expensive upgrade.
00:37:35.28\00:37:37.15
So, it was in the same location,
they just completely redid it.
00:37:37.19\00:37:40.59
You remember during the time
of Christ, Jesus said, "Destroy
00:37:40.62\00:37:43.49
this temple made with hands and
I'll make one without hands."
00:37:43.53\00:37:46.86
And they were aghast
that He should say that.
00:37:46.90\00:37:48.83
They said, "Forty-six years
it took to build this temple,
00:37:48.86\00:37:51.40
You're going to
raise it up in three days?"
00:37:51.43\00:37:53.30
That's 'cause King Herod
the Great had spent 46 years
00:37:53.34\00:37:56.40
refurbishing and remodeling
Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel's
00:37:56.44\00:38:00.51
temple that they had
built following the captivity.
00:38:00.54\00:38:03.65
Interesting, that temple was
partly subsidized by the kings
00:38:03.68\00:38:07.75
of Persia.
00:38:07.78\00:38:09.42
They helped provide some of
the money to build the temple.
00:38:09.45\00:38:11.45
They said, "We'll
help you build it.
00:38:11.49\00:38:12.79
You've got to
promise to pray for us.
00:38:12.82\00:38:15.02
Sacrifice to your God for us.
00:38:15.06\00:38:16.76
We'll even give
you the sacrifices."
00:38:16.79\00:38:18.86
So, they were very interested.
00:38:18.89\00:38:20.36
Why were these kings of
Persia so impressed with the God
00:38:20.40\00:38:22.46
of the Jews?
00:38:22.50\00:38:26.10
You remember Darius?
00:38:26.13\00:38:28.60
Was he a Babylonian king
or was he a Persian king?
00:38:28.64\00:38:32.01
And what happened to
him in chapter 6 of Daniel?
00:38:32.04\00:38:37.55
He threw Daniel in a
lion's den, Daniel lives.
00:38:37.58\00:38:40.35
And at the end of the chapter,
he says, "There is no God like
00:38:40.38\00:38:42.92
the God of Daniel.
00:38:42.95\00:38:44.35
And I make a decree throughout
my whole empire that if anyone
00:38:44.39\00:38:47.26
speaks against the
God of Daniel--" What did
00:38:47.29\00:38:49.62
Nebuchadnezzar do in chapter
3 after Shadrach, Meshach,
00:38:49.66\00:38:53.33
and Abednego
survive the fiery furnace?
00:38:53.36\00:38:56.23
He issues a decree
that goes out to the world.
00:38:56.26\00:38:58.33
These Persian
kings knew about Jehovah.
00:38:58.37\00:39:01.94
And they knew he
was very popular,
00:39:01.97\00:39:03.51
powerful God I should say.
00:39:03.54\00:39:05.64
And so, they helped subsidize
their return and the building of
00:39:05.67\00:39:10.88
the temple.
00:39:10.91\00:39:12.31
And who did the
king of Persia marry?
00:39:12.35\00:39:16.02
Let me get--let me get out
my little cheat sheet here.
00:39:16.05\00:39:19.25
I'm going to give you
some of the history real quick.
00:39:19.29\00:39:23.83
You've got Xerxes I, who's
got another name, Ahasuerus,
00:39:23.86\00:39:29.23
who did he marry?
00:39:29.26\00:39:31.60
Esther.
00:39:31.63\00:39:33.13
So, you got a Persian
king married to a Jewish queen.
00:39:33.17\00:39:36.64
And so, did God's
people have a major influence
00:39:36.67\00:39:40.31
on these Persian kings?
00:39:40.34\00:39:42.21
They did.
00:39:42.24\00:39:43.61
Let me give you an overview just
of what we've talked about here
00:39:43.65\00:39:47.22
so you understand the time that
our book is covering in Ezra,
00:39:47.25\00:39:52.62
Nehemiah, and even--there
is no book called Zerubbabel.
00:39:52.65\00:39:56.56
Zerubbabel is
mentioned in the book of Haggai,
00:39:56.59\00:40:00.56
and but which comes later.
00:40:00.60\00:40:02.26
So, what we're reading is not
chronological, so let me give
00:40:02.30\00:40:04.77
you a quick chronology.
00:40:04.80\00:40:07.10
In 587 BC, the Babylonian
power captures Israel.
00:40:07.14\00:40:11.97
Now, these dates, some of
them are still approximate.
00:40:12.01\00:40:16.91
Then in 539, Babylon is
conquered by the Persian king,
00:40:16.95\00:40:20.38
you know the story of
the handwriting on the wall.
00:40:20.42\00:40:23.32
And that's when king--the
combined Median-Persian empire
00:40:23.35\00:40:27.29
under Darius and
Cyrus, they conquer Babylon.
00:40:27.32\00:40:31.66
In 539, Israel captives
are released to return home.
00:40:31.69\00:40:36.36
That's when Cyrus
issues his decree.
00:40:36.40\00:40:39.23
And 538, Zerubbabel leads the
first wave and he returns, first
00:40:39.27\00:40:44.67
wave of Jews largely from the
tribe of Judah, from exile, and
00:40:44.71\00:40:48.21
he builds this third temple,
the third tabernacle, it's the
00:40:48.24\00:40:52.95
second permanent temple.
00:40:52.98\00:40:54.98
That's about 515 BC.
00:40:55.02\00:40:57.75
In 520, the books of Haggai
and Zechariah are written,
00:40:57.79\00:41:00.99
that's why you find Zerubbabel
mentioned in these books.
00:41:01.02\00:41:04.56
In 478, Esther
becomes queen of Persia.
00:41:04.59\00:41:08.46
458, you realize you're
going from BC, you're counting
00:41:08.50\00:41:11.87
backwards as going forward in
time, 458, Ezra leads the second
00:41:11.90\00:41:18.81
wave of the Jews who
return from exile to reestablish
00:41:18.84\00:41:23.28
the Torah and the worship.
00:41:23.31\00:41:24.98
He brings the
sacred books with him.
00:41:25.01\00:41:26.82
Now, where were the books kept,
the sacred books of Israel,
00:41:26.85\00:41:29.72
where do they keep them?
00:41:29.75\00:41:31.69
In the temple.
00:41:31.72\00:41:33.12
So, when Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed the temple, it says he
00:41:33.15\00:41:35.39
took all the sacred
articles from the temple,
00:41:35.42\00:41:37.19
what did he take?
00:41:37.23\00:41:39.36
Have any of you ever been to a
Jewish synagogue and the primary
00:41:39.39\00:41:42.20
object in a Jewish synagogue
is the Torah up in the front?
00:41:42.23\00:41:45.20
And it's often in a gold case,
in a very ornate container.
00:41:45.23\00:41:50.14
So, Nebuchadnezzar
carried off their sacred books.
00:41:50.17\00:41:53.78
Now, among the things that they
were allowed to bring back were
00:41:53.81\00:41:56.24
the sacred writings of Moses.
00:41:56.28\00:41:58.48
Ezra brings them back with him.
00:41:58.51\00:42:01.32
And he was--Ezra was probably
foremost in helping to organize
00:42:01.35\00:42:06.29
the books and edit the
books of the Old Testament
00:42:06.32\00:42:09.09
the way we have them today.
00:42:09.12\00:42:10.63
Ezra is a priest, he's
from the linage of Aaron,
00:42:10.66\00:42:15.00
and he is a scribe.
00:42:15.03\00:42:17.03
And most scholars agree
that Ezra probably had a very
00:42:17.07\00:42:20.67
prominent role in organizing the
books of the Old Testament the
00:42:20.70\00:42:24.14
way the Jews have their Old
Testament, the exact same Old
00:42:24.17\00:42:26.98
Testament you
have, you realize that.
00:42:27.01\00:42:29.14
When you see new books in
the Old Testament from the
00:42:29.18\00:42:31.45
apocryphal books, like a
Catholic Bible has different
00:42:31.48\00:42:33.52
books in the Old Testament,
it's not quite the same
00:42:33.55\00:42:36.02
as the Jewish Bible.
00:42:36.05\00:42:38.09
All right, 445, Nehemiah
leads the third wave of Jews
00:42:38.12\00:42:42.89
that come from exile.
00:42:42.92\00:42:44.26
And his job is to
rebuild the walls.
00:42:44.29\00:42:47.76
And probably about
444 BC, the books of Ezra
00:42:47.76\00:42:52.33
and Nehemiah were
written and edited.
00:42:52.37\00:42:54.84
And then by the time you get
to 397, you've got the last book
00:42:54.87\00:42:58.01
of the Old
Testament, Malachi is written.
00:42:58.04\00:43:00.98
So, that just kind of
gives you a little overview
00:43:01.01\00:43:03.31
of what's happening here.
00:43:03.35\00:43:06.01
There's a quote from the book
"Prophets and Kings" page 677.
00:43:06.05\00:43:13.56
It says, "The work of
restoration and reform carried
00:43:13.59\00:43:16.26
on by the exiles unto the
leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra,
00:43:16.29\00:43:20.60
and Nehemiah present a
picture of a work of spiritual
00:43:20.63\00:43:24.13
restoration that is to be
wrought in the closing days of
00:43:24.17\00:43:27.37
earth's history."
00:43:27.40\00:43:28.77
Why do we need to
study these books?
00:43:28.80\00:43:30.31
Because we need
revival, we need restoration.
00:43:30.34\00:43:33.71
What they went through and the
challenges they faced are some
00:43:33.74\00:43:36.21
of the same things we're
going to face in the last days.
00:43:36.24\00:43:40.42
"The remnant of Israel were
a feeble people exposed to the
00:43:40.45\00:43:43.69
ravages of their enemies.
00:43:43.72\00:43:45.59
But through them, God purposed
to preserve in the earth a
00:43:45.62\00:43:48.22
knowledge of
himself and his law.
00:43:48.26\00:43:50.46
They were guardians of the true
worship and keepers of the holy
00:43:50.49\00:43:53.33
oracles."
00:43:53.36\00:43:54.93
So, here we are, God's people
in the last days like a remnant.
00:43:54.93\00:43:58.57
There's opposition in the
culture and even sometimes from
00:43:58.60\00:44:02.00
the religious groups around
us, but God is calling us to be
00:44:02.04\00:44:05.71
faithful and to be called
repairers of the breach, the
00:44:05.74\00:44:09.74
restorer of paths to dwell in.
00:44:09.78\00:44:11.91
We are to build up the
temple and restore the walls.
00:44:11.95\00:44:14.52
What is that temple?
00:44:14.55\00:44:15.95
You are living stones in that
temple of the household of God.
00:44:15.98\00:44:20.26
We are a royal
priesthood, the Bible says.
00:44:20.29\00:44:23.16
So, as in the next 13 weeks, 12
weeks we study the books of Ezra
00:44:23.19\00:44:28.23
and Nehemiah, just keep in mind
we're kind of reliving some of
00:44:28.26\00:44:31.90
that history.
00:44:31.93\00:44:33.50
God is calling people out of
Babylon, he's calling us to a
00:44:33.54\00:44:35.77
work of restoration, he's
calling us back to keep his law.
00:44:35.80\00:44:39.24
And you know, one of the
interesting things, I'm getting
00:44:39.27\00:44:41.31
ahead of myself, when you get
into the book of Nehemiah and
00:44:41.34\00:44:45.71
Ezra, you're finding the very
same challenges for revival we
00:44:45.75\00:44:48.88
face today they faced then.
00:44:48.92\00:44:50.69
They were
forgetting to keep the Sabbath.
00:44:50.72\00:44:52.69
Nehemiah's got a whole chapter
where he talks about that,
00:44:52.72\00:44:54.79
they've got to return and
start keeping the Sabbath.
00:44:54.82\00:44:56.93
They had started to
compromise in their marriages.
00:44:56.96\00:45:00.56
Ezra talks about that.
00:45:00.60\00:45:02.73
So, there's just a lot of
the same issues that these books
00:45:02.76\00:45:05.50
you're going to
find are very relevant.
00:45:05.53\00:45:07.94
All right, under the section of
the first return of the exiles,
00:45:07.97\00:45:12.87
you can read in Jeremiah 25,
verse 11, "And this whole land
00:45:12.91\00:45:16.85
will be a
desolation and an astonishment.
00:45:16.88\00:45:20.12
These nations will serve the
king of Babylon for 70 years."
00:45:20.15\00:45:24.25
Now, this is a prophecy.
00:45:24.29\00:45:25.65
If you go to Daniel 9,
Daniel says, "I was reading the
00:45:25.69\00:45:28.92
prophecy of Jeremiah."
00:45:28.96\00:45:31.09
Daniel start praying for
deliverance of God's people that
00:45:31.13\00:45:34.13
they could be going home.
00:45:34.20\00:45:36.16
And you know, by the time you
get to the end of the book of
00:45:36.20\00:45:39.30
Daniel, they have been
liberated by the Persians.
00:45:39.33\00:45:43.27
In fact, when you
read in Daniel chapter 1,
00:45:43.30\00:45:48.24
you know what it says there?
00:45:48.28\00:45:50.51
That Daniel--what's
Daniel chapter 1 dealing with,
00:45:50.55\00:45:54.55
prophecy or health?
00:45:54.58\00:45:57.19
It's about the diet.
00:45:57.22\00:45:58.52
Remember the
challenge over diet?
00:45:58.55\00:46:00.26
The very first thing it says
in Daniel chapter 1, it says,
00:46:00.29\00:46:02.76
Daniel 1:21, "Daniel
continued till the first year
00:46:02.79\00:46:06.46
of King Cyrus."
00:46:06.49\00:46:08.06
Now, Cyrus the Great, who
let them all go home, he reigned
00:46:08.10\00:46:11.53
about his--sometimes called
Cyrus II, but he's the one we
00:46:11.57\00:46:14.67
call Cyrus the Great.
00:46:14.70\00:46:16.44
He consolidated the kingdom,
I'll say a word about him.
00:46:16.47\00:46:20.31
Under his rule, the
empire embraced all the previous
00:46:20.34\00:46:23.75
civilized states of the ancient
Near East, it encompassed all of
00:46:23.78\00:46:26.28
Babylon, and expanded vastly.
00:46:26.31\00:46:29.28
And eventually, he conquered
most of western Asia, much of
00:46:29.32\00:46:32.42
central Asia from the
Mediterranean Sea and Hellas
00:46:32.45\00:46:35.99
Point in the west to
the Indus River in the east,
00:46:36.02\00:46:39.56
all the way to the
borders of India Cyrus reigned.
00:46:39.59\00:46:42.80
It was one of
the most vast empires
00:46:42.83\00:46:44.83
in the world to that time.
00:46:44.87\00:46:47.47
And so, Daniel
lived until his reign.
00:46:47.50\00:46:50.21
Sometime during the reign of
Cyrus, Daniel died 'cause when
00:46:50.24\00:46:53.11
Cyrus began to reign, Daniel was
probably 85, 90 years of age.
00:46:53.14\00:46:58.31
So, it tells you his
health kept him alive
00:46:58.35\00:47:01.08
even into the reign of Cyrus.
00:47:01.12\00:47:02.98
When you get to Daniel
chapter 6, again it says,
00:47:03.02\00:47:06.12
"Daniel continued
until the time of Cyrus."
00:47:06.15\00:47:08.79
Some have wondered, why does it
say that twice, Cyrus is the one
00:47:08.82\00:47:13.90
who issues the
decree they can go back?
00:47:13.93\00:47:16.63
Did Daniel, in spite of his
age, decide to go back with some
00:47:16.67\00:47:22.07
of the captives?
00:47:22.10\00:47:23.74
The Bible's
really silent on this.
00:47:23.77\00:47:25.81
There is one Daniel who's
listed in the record of Ezra and
00:47:25.84\00:47:29.48
Nehemiah, but they don't
believe that's the same Daniel.
00:47:29.51\00:47:32.41
It wasn't that
uncommon of a name.
00:47:32.45\00:47:34.68
There was a tribe called Dan.
00:47:34.72\00:47:36.48
So, makes you want about--makes
you wonder about that.
00:47:36.52\00:47:41.02
Again, just reviewing.
00:47:41.06\00:47:42.36
After Cyrus the Great,
then you have Cambyses II,
00:47:42.39\00:47:46.33
he reigns from 530 to 522.
00:47:46.36\00:47:49.63
You have Darius I, 522 to 486.
00:47:49.66\00:47:54.10
Xerxes I from 485 to 565.
00:47:54.14\00:47:59.04
And I think that's the same
Xerxes that gets into a war with
00:47:59.07\00:48:02.31
the Spartans.
00:48:02.34\00:48:03.71
You've heard
about the 300 Spartans.
00:48:03.75\00:48:06.55
But he also marries Esther.
00:48:06.58\00:48:09.42
And then you've got Artaxerxes
I, he's the one who writes the
00:48:09.45\00:48:12.72
famous decree that you find
in the book of Ezra chapter 7.
00:48:12.75\00:48:16.19
That is the starting
point for the 490-year prophecy.
00:48:16.22\00:48:20.06
From the going forth of the
command to restore and build
00:48:20.10\00:48:22.63
Jerusalem, that's the one given
during the time of Artaxerxes.
00:48:22.66\00:48:26.17
So, there are really three
decrees that you find in the
00:48:26.20\00:48:28.80
book of Ezra that tell them in
different degrees that they can
00:48:28.84\00:48:32.11
go back, they can build the
temple, they can fix the walls.
00:48:32.14\00:48:37.21
That all happened in stages.
00:48:37.25\00:48:41.02
There are about 12 families that
are specifically mentioned when
00:48:41.05\00:48:44.45
they return in the book of Ezra,
which is interesting because
00:48:44.49\00:48:48.26
there were 12 tribes.
00:48:48.29\00:48:49.89
And there were about
1,500 men when Ezra came back.
00:48:49.92\00:48:54.00
That would approximate about
5,000 to 6,000 people when you
00:48:54.00\00:48:56.63
include young men,
women, and children.
00:48:56.67\00:49:02.44
And then you can read in Ezra,
I'm looking at the clock, Ezra
00:49:02.47\00:49:05.94
chapter 7, verse 12 to 17, there
it says, "Artaxerxes king of
00:49:05.97\00:49:10.35
kings, to Ezra the priest,
a scribe of the law of God."
00:49:10.38\00:49:13.72
You know why I love the
book of Ezra and Nehemiah?
00:49:13.75\00:49:16.62
Because there is so much overlap
with history we do know about
00:49:16.65\00:49:20.76
these Persian kings.
00:49:20.79\00:49:22.39
How many of you studied the
kingdom of Persia when you were
00:49:22.42\00:49:24.63
in school, like
fifth grade somewhere?
00:49:24.66\00:49:26.43
World history.
00:49:26.46\00:49:27.93
I mean, I didn't go
to a Christian school.
00:49:27.96\00:49:29.86
I went to a couple Catholic
schools, but mostly public,
00:49:29.90\00:49:32.27
but I remember
studying these kingdoms.
00:49:32.30\00:49:34.30
I remember looking at the maps.
00:49:34.34\00:49:35.84
So, when I started reading the
Bible and it's talking about the
00:49:35.87\00:49:38.97
decrees of these
kings, I thought the Bible
00:49:39.01\00:49:41.24
really meshes with history.
00:49:41.28\00:49:44.45
And he says, "To Ezra the
priest, scribe of the law of God
00:49:44.48\00:49:46.88
of heaven, perfect peace and so
forth, I issue you a decree that
00:49:46.92\00:49:50.52
all those people in Israel and
the priests and the Levites in
00:49:50.55\00:49:53.15
my realm who volunteer to go
up to Jerusalem," they weren't
00:49:53.19\00:49:55.96
forced, "may go with you.
00:49:55.99\00:49:58.33
And whereas you are being
sent by the king and the seven
00:49:58.36\00:50:01.20
counselors to inquire concerning
Judah and Jerusalem with regard
00:50:01.23\00:50:04.53
to the law of your God
which is in your hand."
00:50:04.57\00:50:07.47
He took the law with him.
00:50:07.50\00:50:08.74
"And whereas you are to carry
the silver and gold which the
00:50:08.77\00:50:11.11
king and his counselor have
freely offered to the God of
00:50:11.14\00:50:14.08
Israel, whose
dwelling is in Jerusalem."
00:50:14.11\00:50:16.58
Look at his faith
in the God of Israel.
00:50:16.61\00:50:18.55
"And whereas all the silver and
gold that you may find in all
00:50:18.58\00:50:21.02
the province of Babylon, along
with the freewill offering of
00:50:21.05\00:50:24.12
the people and the priests,
are to be freely offered for the
00:50:24.15\00:50:26.82
house of their God in Jerusalem.
00:50:26.86\00:50:29.16
Now therefore, be careful to buy
with this money bulls and rams
00:50:29.19\00:50:32.39
and lambs with their
grain offerings and their drink
00:50:32.43\00:50:34.30
offerings, and offer them on the
altar of the house of your God."
00:50:34.36\00:50:38.03
Goes on to say, "And
pray for me and my sons."
00:50:38.07\00:50:41.50
So, it's just a wonderful book.
00:50:41.54\00:50:44.41
You know, I see I'm out of time.
00:50:44.44\00:50:46.44
Let me just read, I did get
through a lot of what I wanted
00:50:46.47\00:50:49.21
to say here, let me read
something just here at the end,
00:50:49.24\00:50:51.88
a quote from the book
"Prophets and Kings" page 608.
00:50:51.91\00:50:57.82
"Born of the sons of
Aaron, Ezra had been given
00:50:57.85\00:51:00.66
a priestly training.
00:51:00.69\00:51:01.92
And in addition of this, he had
acquired a familiarity with the
00:51:01.96\00:51:04.79
writings of the magicians and
the astrologers and the wise men
00:51:04.83\00:51:08.16
of Medo-Persian realm."
00:51:08.20\00:51:09.80
One says magicians
there, that was the magi.
00:51:09.83\00:51:12.57
It didn't mean guys that
pull rabbits out of hats.
00:51:12.60\00:51:16.71
"But he was not satisfied
with the spiritual condition.
00:51:16.74\00:51:19.01
He longed to be in
full harmony with God.
00:51:19.04\00:51:21.44
He longed for wisdom to
carry out the divine will.
00:51:21.48\00:51:24.55
And so, he prepared
his heart to seek the law
00:51:24.58\00:51:26.68
of the Lord and to do it.
00:51:26.72\00:51:28.52
The history of God's people as
recorded in the writings of the
00:51:28.55\00:51:31.22
prophets and the kings, he
searched the historical and
00:51:31.25\00:51:34.16
poetical books of the Bible to
learn why the Lord had permitted
00:51:34.19\00:51:37.06
Jerusalem to be destroyed and
his people carried captive into
00:51:37.09\00:51:40.33
a heathen land."
00:51:40.36\00:51:41.66
Just tells you that Ezra
went through a real conversion.
00:51:41.70\00:51:44.00
And the rest of his life, his
passion was to bring the people
00:51:44.03\00:51:47.10
back to the truth of the
Word and the God of the Bible.
00:51:47.14\00:51:51.07
Anyway, that give you I think
kind of an overview of the time
00:51:51.11\00:51:55.11
and the times, and what was
going on that led to the writing
00:51:55.14\00:51:59.05
of the books of
Ezra and Nehemiah.
00:51:59.08\00:52:01.65
When you look at your Bible,
the books of Ezra and Nehemiah
00:52:01.68\00:52:04.52
do not appear in
chronological order of
00:52:04.55\00:52:07.99
where those things happened.
00:52:08.02\00:52:09.92
And so, just keep that in mind.
00:52:09.96\00:52:12.29
With that, I want to just
re-mention our closing appeal,
00:52:12.33\00:52:16.00
our closing offer.
00:52:16.03\00:52:18.47
We have a book that we're
offering, it's called "Twelve
00:52:18.50\00:52:20.40
Steps to Revival," free.
00:52:20.44\00:52:21.90
If you'd like a copy of
this, you can call, ask for it.
00:52:21.94\00:52:24.37
That's 866-788-3966.
00:52:24.41\00:52:28.14
That translates
into 866-STUDY-MORE.
00:52:28.18\00:52:30.55
And ask for offer
780 when you do it.
00:52:30.58\00:52:33.58
You can also get this anywhere
in the world, just download it
00:52:33.62\00:52:35.92
by texting SH001, and
text that number to 40544.
00:52:35.95\00:52:43.53
You can download and
read it wherever you are.
00:52:43.56\00:52:45.86
Thank you very much, friends.
00:52:45.89\00:52:47.20
We are out of time,
we'll study God's Word together
00:52:47.23\00:52:48.90
again next week.
00:52:48.93\00:52:51.53
male announce: Don't forget
to request today's life-changing
00:52:51.57\00:52:53.77
free resource.
00:52:53.80\00:52:55.24
Not only can you receive this
free gift in the mail, you can
00:52:55.27\00:52:57.31
download a digital copy
straight to your computer
00:52:57.34\00:52:59.77
or mobile device.
00:52:59.81\00:53:01.31
To get your digital copy of
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00:53:01.34\00:53:04.45
the keyword on your screen to
40544, or visit the web address
00:53:04.48\00:53:09.32
shown on your screen.
00:53:09.35\00:53:10.82
And be sure to select the
digital download option on the
00:53:10.85\00:53:13.15
request page.
00:53:13.19\00:53:14.82
It's now easier than ever
for you to study God's Word with
00:53:14.86\00:53:17.86
Amazing Facts wherever and
whenever you want, and most
00:53:17.89\00:53:21.36
important to
share it with others.
00:53:21.40\00:53:23.40
announcer: Amazing
Facts changed lives.
00:53:28.07\00:53:31.17
¤¤¤
00:53:31.21\00:53:39.01
Justin: Growing up as a
kid, my mother was on drugs
00:53:39.05\00:53:43.75
and alcohol, lots of
fighting in the home.
00:53:43.79\00:53:47.12
My mom would be abused
mentally, verbally, physically.
00:53:47.16\00:53:52.16
Went from California to Oregon,
spent some time in Oregon, and
00:53:52.19\00:53:56.43
it was just the same cycle
of drugs, alcohol, violence.
00:53:56.46\00:54:01.40
My mom's boyfriend
would go to jail at times.
00:54:01.44\00:54:04.71
She would wait until he
would, you know, get out of jail
00:54:04.74\00:54:07.94
and it was back to square one.
00:54:07.98\00:54:09.98
The drugs and the alcohol
escalated to a lot harder drugs,
00:54:10.01\00:54:14.55
crystal meth, cocaine,
and lots and lots of alcohol.
00:54:14.58\00:54:19.92
So, I started using the
alcohol too as a medication.
00:54:19.95\00:54:24.86
It was like it took the
misery and the fear that I had,
00:54:24.89\00:54:28.26
I wanted to
drown all that misery.
00:54:28.30\00:54:31.00
Times I would just grab, you
know, a bottle of beer and go
00:54:31.03\00:54:35.67
out into the desert and just
drink until sometimes I'd just
00:54:35.70\00:54:39.37
pass out in the desert somewhere
and wake up the next morning.
00:54:39.41\00:54:42.94
And you know, and I
just couldn't find rest.
00:54:42.98\00:54:46.75
My stepdad had got me a
motorcycle, and so I started
00:54:46.78\00:54:51.02
riding motorcycles.
00:54:51.05\00:54:52.75
I'd drink a lot of beer, get
on the motorcycle, ride into the
00:54:52.79\00:54:55.99
desert, do donuts and
just--you know, just ride
00:54:56.02\00:54:59.83
on private property.
00:54:59.86\00:55:01.76
People would chase me off and
I was just causing, stirring up
00:55:01.80\00:55:05.23
dust and rocks and
just causing chaos.
00:55:05.27\00:55:10.21
And the adrenaline rush that
I had was so exciting and the
00:55:10.24\00:55:13.84
feeling of it was so intense
that I loved it, and I forgot
00:55:13.88\00:55:19.28
about all my problems,
you know, at the moment.
00:55:19.31\00:55:22.42
And I thought that material
things would make me feel
00:55:22.45\00:55:26.29
so good, you know?
00:55:26.32\00:55:28.29
And so, I started
working, started making money,
00:55:28.32\00:55:30.53
had a responsibility.
00:55:30.56\00:55:33.03
But as time went by, I had more
money, so I would use my money
00:55:33.06\00:55:39.57
that I made to
buy drugs and alcohol.
00:55:39.60\00:55:43.91
Got pulled over, drinking and
driving, ended up going to jail
00:55:43.94\00:55:49.08
for a couple days.
00:55:49.11\00:55:50.68
I lost my job because I
missed work for a few days.
00:55:50.71\00:55:55.45
Lost my girlfriend, lost
all the money that I had.
00:55:55.48\00:55:59.75
So, once again I was empty,
no money, no drugs, no alcohol,
00:55:59.79\00:56:04.86
and that was a
turning point in my life.
00:56:04.89\00:56:07.36
At this time, I was
living with my grandfather.
00:56:07.40\00:56:10.17
And as I was flipping through
the channels on the satellite
00:56:10.20\00:56:14.04
system, I found "Amazing Facts."
00:56:14.07\00:56:16.91
Pastor Doug Batchelor
was telling his--sharing his
00:56:16.94\00:56:20.11
testimony about how
he was living in a cave.
00:56:20.14\00:56:23.88
And he was--he struggled the
same struggles of alcohol and
00:56:23.91\00:56:27.58
drugs, and I continued to read
the book "The Richest Caveman,"
00:56:27.62\00:56:32.22
and it really impacted my life,
and really related to the things
00:56:32.25\00:56:35.92
he was struggling
with and all the events
00:56:35.96\00:56:39.13
that took place in his life.
00:56:39.16\00:56:40.90
And when I started reading the
Bible, Philippians 4:13 says,
00:56:40.93\00:56:44.13
"I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me."
00:56:44.17\00:56:47.04
And I recognized
that I had no strength.
00:56:47.07\00:56:49.44
I was weak and I was
wretched and I needed help.
00:56:49.47\00:56:53.74
So, I just asked the Lord,
I said, "Just help me, Lord."
00:56:53.78\00:56:56.95
And the Holy Spirit convicted
me, and I decided to be baptized
00:56:56.98\00:57:03.92
and to give my
life to Jesus Christ.
00:57:03.95\00:57:06.49
A few years after the Lord took
the temptation of drinking and
00:57:06.52\00:57:10.56
doing drugs, he gave me a
beautiful wife I met at church.
00:57:10.59\00:57:15.00
Now, I have a beautiful
baby boy, two-year-old baby boy.
00:57:15.03\00:57:18.50
It's just exciting to see,
you know, what God is doing
00:57:18.53\00:57:22.07
in my life and my family.
00:57:22.10\00:57:25.41
I met with some friends
from my local church that I was
00:57:25.44\00:57:29.14
attending and they had told
me about Amazing Facts Center of
00:57:29.18\00:57:34.32
Evangelism Training Seminar.
00:57:34.35\00:57:37.09
The AFCOE to Go program really
inspired me and motivated me to
00:57:37.12\00:57:42.92
tell young people about, you
know, the same struggles that I
00:57:42.96\00:57:47.23
was struggling with,
to help these kids give
00:57:47.23\00:57:49.63
their life to Jesus Christ.
00:57:49.66\00:57:51.83
And there's nothing
else that you could ask for.
00:57:51.87\00:57:54.00
I'm Justin, and God
used you to change my life.
00:57:54.04\00:57:58.71
¤¤¤
00:57:58.74\00:58:05.45
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00:58:09.85\00:58:19.83
¤¤¤
00:58:19.86\00:58:29.47