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Jean Ross: Hello, friends.
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We'd like to welcome all of you
once again to "Sabbath School
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Study Hour," here at the Granite
Bay Seventh Day Adventist Church
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in Sacramento, California.
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I'd like to
welcome those joining us,
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across the country
and around the world,
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as well as our extended
Sabbath School church members,
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our online members, very
warm welcome to all of you.
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And as always, we'd like
to welcome our regular Sabbath
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School members here, and those
who are visiting with us today.
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As many of you know if
you've been coming regularly,
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we've been studying through
the two Old Testament books,
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Ezra and Nehemiah, and
that's actually the title of
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this quarter's study.
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Today, we're going to be
looking at lesson number 11,
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an important topic.
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It's called,
"Backslidden People."
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As Christians we always need
to be careful of what the Bible
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refers to as backsliding.
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We'll learn more about
that as we study today.
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We do have a free offer
we'd like to let you know about.
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It's one of the "Amazing Facts"
Study Guides and one of the
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reasons why many people
backslide is because of the
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things in this
world, the love of money,
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so our lesson, or at
least our free offer,
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goes along with this theme.
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It's called, "In God We Trust?"
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And we'll be happy to send this
to anyone who calls and asks.
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The number is...
and you want to ask
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for offer number 135
and we'll be happy to send
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this to anyone
who calls and asks.
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Or you can get a digital copy of
our lesson by simply texting the
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code "SH038" to
the number "40544."
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You'll then be able to download
a copy of the Study Guide and
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read about one of the
dangers as Christians:
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how do we manage money?
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How do we avoid money causing
us to lose our faith or our
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commitment to Christ,
and you'll find that helpful.
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Well, before we get to
our lesson this morning,
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I'd like to invite our song
leaders to come and they'll be
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leading us in our worship
song this morning and then,
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following that, we will
get started with the study.
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female: We will be
singing hymn number 373,
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"Seeking the Lost."
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¤¤¤
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¤ Seeking the lost,
yes, kindly entreating ¤
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¤ Wanderers on
the mountain astray; ¤
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¤ Come unto Me, His
message repeating, ¤
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¤ Words of the
Master speaking today. ¤
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¤ Going afar upon the mountain ¤
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¤ Bringing the wanderer
back again into the fold. ¤
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¤ Into the fold
of my Redeemer. ¤
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¤ Jesus the Lamb
for sinners slain, ¤
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¤ for sinners slain. ¤
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¤ Seeking the lost
and pointing to Jesus. ¤
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¤ Souls that are weak
and hearts that are sore, ¤
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¤ Leading them forth
in ways of salvation, ¤
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¤ Showing the path
to life evermore. ¤
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¤ Going afar upon the mountain ¤
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¤ Bringing the wanderer
back again into the fold. ¤
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¤ Into the fold
of my Redeemer. ¤
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¤ Jesus the Lamb
for sinners slain, ¤
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¤ for sinners slain. ¤
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¤ Thus I would go
on missions of mercy, ¤
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¤ Following Christ
from day unto day, ¤
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¤ Cheering the faint
and raising the fallen, ¤
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¤ Pointing the lost
to Jesus, the Way. ¤
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¤ Going afar upon the mountain ¤
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¤ Bringing the
wanderer back again. ¤
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¤ Into the fold
of my Redeemer. ¤
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¤ Jesus the Lamb
for sinners slain, ¤
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¤ for sinners slain. ¤¤
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Jean: Dear Father in heaven,
we thank You that we're able to
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gather in Your house to
open up Your Word and study.
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Lord, we are grateful that You
are our shepherd and that You're
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leading us but help us to follow
close to You and not allowing
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things of this world to pull us
back and so give us guidance and
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understanding as we look at
this important subject today,
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for we ask this in
Jesus's name, amen.
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Our lesson today is going to
be brought to us by Pastor Doug.
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Doug Batchelor: Happy Sabbath.
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It's good to see some of our
young people home from college
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for Thanksgiving, singing.
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It's partly
good, it's partly bad,
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because I remember when
they were just teenagers and now
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they're adults which
means I'm getting older.
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But otherwise it's
good to see them prospering.
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And you may, if
you're tuning in online,
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notice that the background is a
little different at Granite Bay
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and it will be a little
different for a while because
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you may know we're
building a new church right now.
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It's not quite finished.
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We sold this building to some
dear people in another church
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and they're being kind enough to
rent it back to us and so we're
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sharing the space on the
platform and some construction
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is happening and so that's why
you've got a little different
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fabric and something
going on behind us right now.
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I may explain that again for our
church family online for church.
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To our lesson.
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We're continuing our
study on "Ezra and Nehemiah."
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And we're in
lesson number 11 today.
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And if you have
your quarterlies,
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some of you have them in
paper form and some are doing
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it online now.
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You'll notice we
have a memory verse.
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Memory verse is
from Nehemiah 13,
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verse 22, and this here is
in the New King James Version.
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Nehemiah 13:22.
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I always like if you
can say that with me.
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Are you ready?
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"And I commanded the
Levites that they should cleanse
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themselves, and they
should go and guard the gates,
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to sanctify the Sabbath day.
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Remember me, O my
God, concerning this also,
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and spare me according to
the greatness of Your mercy!"
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You'll find several times in
the book of Nehemiah he says,
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"Remember me, remember me."
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Matter of fact, I think the last
verses you'll find in the book
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of Nehemiah, he
says, "Remember me."
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Almost makes me think
about the thief on the cross.
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What did he say to Jesus?
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"Remember me when You
come into Your kingdom."
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And, by the way, the lesson
title is "Backslidden People."
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Now, is there a particular
generation that we see in the
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Bible where they
struggled with backsliding?
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Or do we see it
happening a lot in the Bible?
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Well, let's talk about it.
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God makes Adam and Eve
perfect and they backslide.
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And then He renews His
covenant with them and says,
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you know, "Raise up
your children that way,"
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but Cain backslides.
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And then He tells
Adam and Eve, "Well,
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just make sure the children of
Seth don't get mixed up with the
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daughters of Cain," but they
intermarry and they backslide.
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And then after the
flood comes as a result,
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Noah plants a vineyard and
he does a little backsliding.
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Then they build the tower
of Babel and they backslide.
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Then He calls Abraham out and he
goes to Egypt and lies and says,
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"She's not my
wife; she's my sister."
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And are you getting the point?
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God keeps
calling out this remnant.
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He keeps seeking to call and to
purify His people but there's a
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battle between good and evil
that is going on from Genesis to
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Revelation in the Bible.
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And it's not really 'til
you get to Revelation that the
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backsliding stops and
that's not until you get to the
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last three chapters.
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But this struggle, this
tug-of-war in the heart of man,
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between God and the
devil is continually going on.
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Don't be discouraged by
it; it's a fact of life.
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We must resist the backsliding
that happens in our lives.
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There's a gravity.
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Sin is like this
constant pull and you need
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to consistently resist it.
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If you don't, you'll backslide.
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Now, the reason that backsliding
is especially insidious is
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because notice
it's not back hopping,
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jumping, or skipping.
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It's not back jogging
or climbing, it slides.
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You know, you can slide in your
sleep and it's something that
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can be imperceptible and I think
I've told you that story before
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where I was hiking up the hill
and I found--a buddy and I found
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a bottle of wine floating in
this pool on--by a waterfall on
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our way up.
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Did I tell you this story?
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We were hiking,
when I lived in the cave.
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I don't even
remember the guy's name.
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We were hiking uphill
and halfway up the mountain,
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we stopped.
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There's this pool
called "Square Pool."
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It's one of the few places in
the desert where you had clear
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water, you could
actually get in and cool off,
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you could drink the water, and
it was cold because some of the
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water came up from underground.
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And somebody had
providentially, we thought,
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left an unopened bottle, like
a half gallon of Chianti in the
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pool to keep it cold.
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Well, there was no one in
the canyon and so we thought,
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"Well, this is
sent from heaven."
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And so my buddy
and I thought, "Well,
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let's just take a sip or two,"
and we took a sip or two that
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turned into about
drinking most of the bottle.
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And we realized as the sun went
down that we probably were in no
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shape to hike the rest of the
way up the canyon and--but there
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was a big flat rock.
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You didn't want to sleep on the
pebbles and the sand and there
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was a smooth flat rock and
it stayed warm during the night
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because the sun had
hit it during the day.
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We thought, "We'll go up here
above the waterfall and we'll
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just lay on the flat
rock and get some sleep,
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and when the sun comes
up we'll head to town."
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Well, I went to
sleep and I thought,
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"Now, I'll lie here and I
want to make sure I'm plenty of
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distance from the
waterfall because there's a,
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you know, 50-foot drop."
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So I laid down and when I woke
up very early in the morning,
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it was still dark, I felt
something odd was happening that
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I was, like, my bed had changed
and all of a sudden there was a
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big slope underneath me.
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Well, I didn't realize there was
just a little bit of a grade and
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every time, you know,
you move in the night when
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you're--without
thinking about it.
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And every time I shifted
and moved during the night,
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because the rock
was sloped downward,
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which way did I go?
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I was wiggling and moving
downward and when I woke up in
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the morning, I was right
at the edge of the waterfall.
00:12:08.69\00:12:10.79
And I thought to myself, "Boy, I
wasn't very far from that being
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the end of the story."
00:12:17.07\00:12:19.13
And it was happening
imperceptibly because there was
00:12:19.17\00:12:24.94
a little grade, a
little down bend and,
00:12:24.97\00:12:28.08
in the world, everything is
bending towards the downward
00:12:28.11\00:12:31.81
spiral and unless we are
constantly aware and resisting
00:12:31.85\00:12:35.82
it, we will slide.
00:12:35.85\00:12:38.19
And so you see that happening.
00:12:38.22\00:12:40.09
And Nehemiah and Ezra are books
of great reform and revival.
00:12:40.12\00:12:43.59
In the midst of the reform and
revival and the commitments and
00:12:43.63\00:12:47.56
the covenants we
read about last week,
00:12:47.60\00:12:49.46
they still managed to slide.
00:12:49.50\00:12:52.07
And so we always
have to be on our guard.
00:12:52.10\00:12:54.07
Problem is, if you're on
your guard too much you will be
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accused of being a legalist and
Nehemiah was accused of that.
00:12:58.17\00:13:02.51
But you've got to watch--you've
got to watch or you tend
00:13:02.54\00:13:07.35
to slip backwards.
00:13:07.38\00:13:08.88
All right, so let's get
into our study with that lengthy
00:13:08.92\00:13:10.95
introduction, talking
about His backsliding people.
00:13:10.99\00:13:15.22
Turn--now, our mission today
is in the book of Nehemiah.
00:13:15.26\00:13:18.83
We've got two lessons left
and--but today we're going to be
00:13:18.86\00:13:22.73
talking about Nehemiah
13, verses 1 through 22.
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So if we get 1 through 22, we'll
have accomplished our mission.
00:13:26.84\00:13:29.74
I want you to notice
in Nehemiah chapter 13,
00:13:29.77\00:13:32.64
verse--I'm going to read 1 to 3:
"Now on that day they read from
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the Book of Moses in the hearing
of the people," and this is not
00:13:37.88\00:13:41.58
the only time they did that.
00:13:41.62\00:13:43.35
Sometimes, they
did it half the day.
00:13:43.39\00:13:45.32
"And it was found written that
no Ammonite or Moabite should
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ever come into
the assembly of God,
00:13:49.32\00:13:52.43
because they had met the
children of Israel--I'm sorry,
00:13:52.46\00:13:56.03
because they had not met the
children of Israel with bread
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and water, but hired Balaam
against them to curse them.
00:13:59.13\00:14:01.97
However, our God turned
the curse into a blessing.
00:14:02.00\00:14:05.11
So it was, then
that we heard the Law,
00:14:05.14\00:14:08.68
they separated all the
mixed multitude from Israel."
00:14:08.71\00:14:12.51
Now, in their midst after
the children of Israel had been
00:14:12.55\00:14:16.12
carried off to Babylon, some
of the surviving Moabites and
00:14:16.15\00:14:19.52
Ammonites and I don't know
if there were any surviving
00:14:19.55\00:14:22.19
Edomites, they had come and
filtered back into the country
00:14:22.22\00:14:25.13
and intermarried with
the remaining Canaanites,
00:14:25.16\00:14:28.90
and when the
Israelites came back,
00:14:28.93\00:14:31.97
you've already read in the books
that they began to intermarry
00:14:32.00\00:14:35.50
and not only do business with
them but they were marrying with
00:14:35.54\00:14:38.37
them and they were
coming into their church.
00:14:38.41\00:14:40.74
And you might be
thinking, "Why did God say that?
00:14:40.78\00:14:45.45
Is that being restrictive?"
00:14:45.48\00:14:47.68
Look in Deuteronomy 23, verse 3.
00:14:47.72\00:14:50.19
This is probably what they were
reading that day: "An Ammonite
00:14:50.22\00:14:55.12
or Moabite shall not
enter the assembly of the Lord;
00:14:55.16\00:14:59.49
even to the tenth generation
none of his descendants shall
00:14:59.53\00:15:03.03
enter the assembly
of the Lord forever,
00:15:03.06\00:15:05.00
because they did not meet you
with bread and water on the road
00:15:05.03\00:15:08.67
when you came out of Egypt, and
because they hired against you
00:15:08.70\00:15:12.31
Balaam the son of Beor
from Pethor of Mesopotamia,
00:15:12.34\00:15:15.68
to curse you."
00:15:15.71\00:15:17.55
Now, the story, you can actually
find is in Deuteronomy chapter 2
00:15:17.58\00:15:21.85
and Moses is repeating
this at the end of his book.
00:15:21.88\00:15:24.52
You go to the beginning of
Deuteronomy and it says: "So I
00:15:24.55\00:15:28.46
sent messengers from the
Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon
00:15:28.49\00:15:32.66
king of Heshbon."
00:15:32.69\00:15:34.23
Now, the children of Israel,
they're done wandering 40 years.
00:15:34.30\00:15:36.13
They're making their way
towards the Jordan River.
00:15:36.16\00:15:38.50
The most direct route means
they have to go through the
00:15:38.53\00:15:41.37
land of the Moabites.
00:15:41.40\00:15:43.87
To not be able to go through the
land of the Moabites would mean
00:15:43.91\00:15:46.61
an extremely long, grueling trip
north or south that was going to
00:15:46.64\00:15:53.11
exhaust them and their resources
and so just to make the direct
00:15:53.15\00:15:58.19
line through their
country and he said,
00:15:58.22\00:16:00.69
"Look, let us go through."
00:16:00.72\00:16:02.32
Notice what he says.
00:16:02.36\00:16:03.66
"'Let me pass through your land;
I will keep strictly to the
00:16:03.69\00:16:07.00
road,'" me and my people.
00:16:07.03\00:16:08.73
"'I'll turn neither to
the right hand or the left.
00:16:08.76\00:16:11.47
You'll sell me food,'" if
we're along the way and if your
00:16:11.50\00:16:14.64
merchants want us to sell
food, "'we'll pay money for it,
00:16:14.67\00:16:17.21
that I might eat and give
water--and give me water for
00:16:17.24\00:16:21.31
money,'" we'll pay for
water, "'that I might drink;
00:16:21.34\00:16:24.31
only let me pass
through on foot.'
00:16:24.35\00:16:26.55
But Sihon the king of Heshbon
would not let us pass through."
00:16:26.58\00:16:31.02
And you go to verse 32: "Then
Sihon and all his people came
00:16:31.05\00:16:33.99
out against us
to fight at Jahaz.
00:16:34.02\00:16:37.06
And the Lord our God
delivered him over to us;
00:16:37.09\00:16:39.59
so we defeated him, and
his sons, and his people."
00:16:39.63\00:16:42.53
So there was a curse pronounced
on them because they had been
00:16:42.56\00:16:45.27
so unhospitable to,
really, their relatives.
00:16:45.30\00:16:50.04
The Moabites, remember,
are descendants of Lot who's
00:16:50.07\00:16:53.38
related to Abraham.
00:16:53.41\00:16:55.21
This was family and
they said, "Look, we're
00:16:55.24\00:16:57.31
just passing through.
00:16:57.35\00:16:58.65
If we take
anything, we'll pay for it.
00:16:58.68\00:17:00.08
We're not going to
take anything that's yours.
00:17:00.12\00:17:01.92
We're not going to molest you,
we're not going to bother you."
00:17:01.95\00:17:03.92
A peaceful message.
00:17:03.95\00:17:05.45
And instead of saying, "No,"
they not only said "No," they
00:17:05.49\00:17:07.62
attacked them so there was
a curse pronounced on them.
00:17:07.66\00:17:09.82
Now here's a question.
00:17:09.86\00:17:13.50
How carefully did
they enforce that?
00:17:13.53\00:17:17.50
Not too carefully.
00:17:17.53\00:17:19.40
Can you think of a Moabite
that ended up going into Israel
00:17:19.43\00:17:22.07
and--what was Ruth?
00:17:22.10\00:17:26.88
Ruth was a Moabite, wasn't she?
00:17:26.91\00:17:31.05
And this took place,
of course, after Moses.
00:17:31.08\00:17:34.32
But she was allowed to marry
Boaz and probably Boaz was the
00:17:34.35\00:17:44.29
son of Salmon, one of
the spies we're suspecting.
00:17:44.33\00:17:47.36
And they could enter
the temple of the Lord.
00:17:47.40\00:17:50.67
So when a person converted
to God and if a man was
00:17:50.70\00:17:53.84
circumcised, they
usually waived this.
00:17:53.87\00:17:56.67
But even to the time
of Christ, notice this.
00:17:56.71\00:17:59.81
Why did they want to
kill Paul, do you remember?
00:17:59.84\00:18:02.04
When you get to Acts chapter 21,
verse 27: "Now when the seven
00:18:02.08\00:18:06.78
days," Paul has
finished a missionary tour.
00:18:06.82\00:18:08.68
He comes to Jerusalem.
00:18:08.72\00:18:10.12
He's wanting to
celebrate the feast.
00:18:10.15\00:18:11.59
Says--and during that time he
shaved his head and he's going
00:18:11.62\00:18:14.66
into the temple.
00:18:14.69\00:18:16.36
"Now when the seven
days were almost ended,
00:18:16.39\00:18:18.53
the Jews from Asia,
seeing him in the temple,
00:18:18.56\00:18:21.93
stirred up the
people, the whole crowd,
00:18:21.96\00:18:24.53
and they laid
hands on him, crying out,
00:18:24.57\00:18:26.94
'Men of Israel, help!
00:18:26.97\00:18:29.00
This is the man who teaches
all men everywhere against the
00:18:29.04\00:18:31.91
people, against the
law, and this place;
00:18:31.94\00:18:34.31
and furthermore he has brought
Greeks into the temple and
00:18:34.34\00:18:38.31
defiled this holy place.'"
00:18:38.35\00:18:39.75
So did they still have a
law, even down to the time of
00:18:39.78\00:18:43.25
Jesus that you were not
supposed to bring Gentiles
00:18:43.28\00:18:45.59
into the regular temple?
00:18:45.62\00:18:48.49
They had a place called the
Gentile Court and they even had
00:18:48.52\00:18:52.23
a place called the Women's Court
where the women would come in.
00:18:52.26\00:18:55.90
But you were not
supposed to bring a Gentile.
00:18:55.93\00:18:58.80
If you go today,
to the Wailing Wall,
00:18:58.83\00:19:02.40
which is that-- they
call it the Western Wall,
00:19:02.44\00:19:05.57
that part of Israel is,
you know, kept by the Jews.
00:19:05.61\00:19:09.91
And they've got the barricade
around it and you can't go in
00:19:09.94\00:19:13.11
there, unless
you cover your head.
00:19:13.15\00:19:15.45
They got some strict laws.
00:19:15.48\00:19:17.59
And there are very strict laws
about anybody who would go up
00:19:17.62\00:19:21.62
onto the place where
the compound used to be.
00:19:21.66\00:19:24.33
Orthodox Jews won't do
it because they say it's
00:19:24.36\00:19:26.13
holy ground.
00:19:26.16\00:19:27.60
And so even to this
day, there are some strict
00:19:27.66\00:19:31.60
behavioral things.
00:19:31.63\00:19:33.37
On the Sabbath, they stopped us.
00:19:33.40\00:19:35.47
They didn't want you taking
pictures once you're in there
00:19:35.50\00:19:39.67
because you're making an image.
00:19:39.71\00:19:43.95
Kind of interesting.
00:19:43.98\00:19:45.28
And so, yeah,
they had some laws.
00:19:45.31\00:19:46.68
They did not want the Gentiles
entering into that place and so
00:19:46.72\00:19:49.28
when they realized
that, what did they do in the
00:19:49.32\00:19:52.12
book of Nehemiah?
00:19:52.15\00:19:54.09
They separated themselves from
the Gentiles that were coming
00:19:54.12\00:19:57.23
into the house of the Lord
so they're trying to implement
00:19:57.26\00:19:59.69
these revivals
'cause they--supposedly,
00:19:59.73\00:20:05.13
Paul had brought Gentiles in.
00:20:05.17\00:20:07.60
Go to verse 4, Nehemiah
13, verse 4: "Now before this,
00:20:07.64\00:20:12.27
Eliashib the priest, having
authority over the storerooms
00:20:12.31\00:20:16.85
of the house of our
God, was allied with Tobiah."
00:20:16.88\00:20:21.02
All right, now, who is Tobiah?
00:20:21.05\00:20:24.29
Do you remember reading about
there was these three characters
00:20:24.32\00:20:29.49
that were trying to stop them
from building the walls when you
00:20:29.52\00:20:32.76
read in the first four
to six chapters of Nehemiah?
00:20:32.79\00:20:36.33
You've got Tobiah,
Sanballat, and the Arabian,
00:20:36.36\00:20:41.87
and it says that
he was mocking them.
00:20:41.90\00:20:44.67
You can look in
Nehemiah chapter 4,
00:20:44.71\00:20:46.81
verse 3: "Now Tobiah the
Ammonite," not only is he not a
00:20:46.84\00:20:49.98
Jew, he's an Ammonite who they
were already told to not have
00:20:50.01\00:20:52.25
even the people in the temple.
00:20:52.28\00:20:53.78
Says: "He was
beside him, and he said,
00:20:53.82\00:20:56.15
'Whatever they
build, even a fox goes up,
00:20:56.18\00:20:57.95
he will break down their wall.'"
00:20:57.99\00:20:59.55
He was trying to fight it.
00:20:59.59\00:21:02.16
Now, Nehemiah, he implemented
these reforms but you remember,
00:21:02.19\00:21:05.99
he got permission from
the king of Persia to come and
00:21:06.03\00:21:08.16
to do this work.
00:21:08.20\00:21:09.86
He didn't get permission
to quit and leave forever.
00:21:09.90\00:21:12.13
He went back to Persia,
took care of some business,
00:21:12.17\00:21:15.60
and while Nehemiah was gone,
somehow the church leaders had
00:21:15.64\00:21:21.61
allowed this Ammonite to not
only come into the courts of the
00:21:21.64\00:21:25.58
temple, but
they gave him a room.
00:21:25.61\00:21:27.85
They turned the
temple into an Airbnb.
00:21:27.88\00:21:30.85
Not just for
anybody, but their enemy.
00:21:30.89\00:21:36.12
Maybe he thought, "Well,
this will help us ingratiate
00:21:36.16\00:21:40.50
ourselves to the Ammonites
and can't we all just get along?
00:21:40.53\00:21:43.47
And, you know, we need to
make some compromises so we
00:21:43.50\00:21:46.70
can all be one."
00:21:46.74\00:21:48.37
And it would have been really
interesting to hear the priests'
00:21:48.40\00:21:50.27
arguments for this.
00:21:50.31\00:21:52.51
But it's kind of outrageous when
you and I look at it today that
00:21:52.54\00:21:56.21
the man that you find
consistently fighting them and
00:21:56.24\00:21:59.08
trying to stop the temple
and the walls from being built,
00:21:59.11\00:22:01.75
suddenly has a first-class room
in the temple itself that had
00:22:01.78\00:22:05.39
been set aside for the articles
of the temple and the things you
00:22:05.42\00:22:09.56
needed to serve in the temple.
00:22:09.59\00:22:11.83
It's really outrageous
when you think about it.
00:22:11.86\00:22:14.50
"He had prepared
for him a large room,
00:22:14.56\00:22:18.70
where previously they had
stored the grain offerings,
00:22:18.73\00:22:21.90
and the
frankincense, and the articles,
00:22:21.94\00:22:24.31
and the tithe of grain,
and the new wine and the oil,
00:22:24.34\00:22:26.61
which were commanded to be given
to the Levites and the singers
00:22:26.64\00:22:29.58
and the gatekeepers, and
the offerings and the priests."
00:22:29.61\00:22:32.48
Now how does--how does
Nehemiah feel about that?
00:22:32.51\00:22:36.18
Go to the book of Nehemiah
and I want to read this to you.
00:22:36.22\00:22:40.06
And it says: "But doing all
this I was not in Jerusalem,
00:22:40.09\00:22:47.76
for in the 32nd year of
Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had
00:22:47.76\00:22:51.43
returned to the king.
00:22:51.47\00:22:53.44
And after certain days I
obtained leave from the king,
00:22:53.47\00:22:55.84
I came to Jerusalem and
discovered the evil that
00:22:55.87\00:22:59.71
Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in
preparing a room for him in the
00:22:59.74\00:23:03.91
courts of the house of God.
00:23:03.95\00:23:05.78
And it grieved me bitterly;
therefore I threw out all the
00:23:05.81\00:23:10.75
household goods of Tobiah."
00:23:10.79\00:23:12.49
You ever been driving down the
road in a suburb and you see a
00:23:12.52\00:23:19.29
bunch of furniture kind of
being thrown out in the streets?
00:23:19.33\00:23:23.33
And you figure that there might
have been a marital squabble or
00:23:23.37\00:23:28.37
some girlfriend got tired of her
boyfriend and--or the other way
00:23:28.40\00:23:33.61
around, and this is
what's going on here.
00:23:33.64\00:23:37.08
Nehemiah, he doesn't
wait for Bekins Movers or
00:23:37.11\00:23:40.48
Mayflower or anything.
00:23:40.52\00:23:42.18
He says, "Throw
this stuff out of here."
00:23:42.22\00:23:45.09
He wouldn't even wait.
00:23:45.12\00:23:46.42
He thought,
"This is sacrilegious."
00:23:46.45\00:23:48.39
"Therefore, I threw
all of the household goods
00:23:48.42\00:23:52.36
of Tobiah out of the room.
00:23:52.39\00:23:54.36
And I commanded them
to cleanse the rooms;
00:23:54.40\00:23:56.50
and I brought back into the
rooms the articles of the house
00:23:56.53\00:23:59.80
of God, with the grain
offering and the frankincense."
00:23:59.83\00:24:03.30
So how does that
apply to us today?
00:24:03.34\00:24:13.35
Do we ever invite the wrong
people into the temple of the
00:24:13.98\00:24:16.58
Lord, into holy places?
00:24:16.62\00:24:19.55
Have you ever seen an
occasion where unbelievers,
00:24:19.59\00:24:26.03
even people who under normal
circumstances would be seen as
00:24:26.06\00:24:28.66
the enemies of our
message, are invited into
00:24:28.70\00:24:31.30
the pulpit to speak?
00:24:31.33\00:24:34.24
And you think, "What
are they doing there?
00:24:34.27\00:24:38.37
These are people that
scoff at what we believe.
00:24:38.41\00:24:41.51
And we've invited them in?"
00:24:41.54\00:24:43.78
Now, let me read something
to you and this is from the SDA
00:24:43.81\00:24:46.92
Church Manual 2019 Edition, page
120: "Under no circumstances
00:24:46.95\00:24:55.22
should a pastor, elder, or other
officer invite strangers or any
00:24:55.26\00:24:59.23
unauthorized
persons to conduct services.
00:24:59.26\00:25:02.86
Individuals who have been
removed from the ministry or
00:25:02.90\00:25:05.60
have been removed from
membership in other places or
00:25:05.63\00:25:08.17
designing persons who have
no authority from the church
00:25:08.20\00:25:11.37
should not be given
access to the pulpit.
00:25:11.41\00:25:14.04
Those worthy of confidence will
be able to identify themselves
00:25:14.08\00:25:18.31
by producing proper credentials.
00:25:18.35\00:25:20.38
At times, it is acceptable for
government officials or civic
00:25:20.42\00:25:24.02
leaders to address a
congregation but all others
00:25:24.05\00:25:26.89
should be excluded from
the pulpit unless permission is
00:25:26.92\00:25:30.26
granted by the conference.
00:25:30.29\00:25:32.03
Every pastor, elder, and
conference president must
00:25:32.06\00:25:34.36
enforce this rule."
00:25:34.36\00:25:36.90
Why is that so important?
00:25:36.93\00:25:39.80
You've seen it, I've seen it.
00:25:39.83\00:25:42.24
And it's one of those things,
it's a very slippery slope if
00:25:42.27\00:25:48.14
you're not careful.
00:25:48.18\00:25:49.81
An area that where
backsliding can happen.
00:25:49.84\00:25:51.61
Now, we're getting
ready, God willing,
00:25:51.65\00:25:52.95
this coming year, we're
hoping in April we're going
00:25:52.98\00:25:54.38
to have 30 days of praise.
00:25:54.42\00:25:55.78
We'll be dedicating
the new Word Center,
00:25:55.82\00:25:57.82
the church, and the offices,
and we're going to have a whole
00:25:57.85\00:26:00.22
month of special services.
00:26:00.26\00:26:02.52
And one of those weeks,
we're going to invite people who
00:26:02.56\00:26:05.43
helped us put the church
together and we're going to have
00:26:05.46\00:26:08.53
them stand and we're going
to thank them and some of the
00:26:08.56\00:26:11.43
builders and others who
have helped this all happen.
00:26:11.47\00:26:13.70
We may invite someone
from the community and so,
00:26:13.74\00:26:15.74
you know, we are here to serve
the community and if you'd like
00:26:15.77\00:26:18.67
to say a word of
thanks to the local Advents,
00:26:18.71\00:26:21.91
we might invite them up to
say, "Thank you for coming.
00:26:21.94\00:26:23.61
We look forward to
seeing how this building can
00:26:23.65\00:26:25.78
serve the community."
00:26:25.81\00:26:27.12
See what I'm saying?
00:26:27.15\00:26:28.45
That's what I'm talking
about, a civic situation.
00:26:28.48\00:26:31.22
We might thank the fire marshal
for his help, I don't know.
00:26:31.25\00:26:33.89
You know, you do stuff
like that, that's one thing.
00:26:33.92\00:26:36.16
But to say, you know,
we're going to bring a pastor of
00:26:36.19\00:26:40.60
another denomination and he's
going to preach because he's a
00:26:40.63\00:26:44.23
specialist in
this special category.
00:26:44.27\00:26:46.97
And you know that in his other
services he mocks those that
00:26:47.00\00:26:51.47
believe in the three angels
message, that's not appropriate.
00:26:51.51\00:26:55.71
They shouldn't be put
in positions of teaching.
00:26:55.74\00:26:57.75
Yeah, anyone who wants to
say, "Amen," I welcome that.
00:26:57.78\00:27:00.05
This is what they
happen--had happened in
00:27:00.08\00:27:03.22
the time of Nehemiah.
00:27:03.25\00:27:04.55
He came back
absolutely incredulous.
00:27:04.59\00:27:06.72
He is outraged
that this fella Tobiah,
00:27:06.76\00:27:09.66
who had been openly
fighting against their work,
00:27:09.69\00:27:12.56
now has a large
room in the temple.
00:27:12.59\00:27:15.40
"We should not be giving place
to the devil," the Bible says.
00:27:15.43\00:27:20.37
"Oh, but Pastor Doug,
you are being a legalist.
00:27:20.40\00:27:24.77
And shouldn't we
all just--John 17.
00:27:24.81\00:27:27.31
Let's just all love each other."
00:27:27.34\00:27:29.04
Well, I can love people fine
but when a person stands in the
00:27:29.08\00:27:33.05
sacred desk to
teach or to preach,
00:27:33.08\00:27:35.95
they need to be rooted
and grounded in the message.
00:27:35.98\00:27:39.05
They--we shouldn't
be inviting people in to
00:27:39.09\00:27:42.56
take a sacred position.
00:27:42.59\00:27:44.76
I know I was presented with a
little bit of a moral dilemma.
00:27:44.79\00:27:50.33
A pastor from another--I'm being
very open and honest with you
00:27:50.37\00:27:52.40
now, I hope you don't mind.
00:27:52.43\00:27:53.80
Pastor from
another denomination said,
00:27:53.84\00:27:56.34
"Brother Doug, would you be
willing to preach to us in our
00:27:56.37\00:27:59.11
church one day?"
00:27:59.14\00:28:01.04
I thought about it
and I said, "You bet you."
00:28:01.08\00:28:04.48
And then he says, "And we
might even exchange pulpits."
00:28:04.51\00:28:08.58
I said, "Oh."
00:28:08.62\00:28:11.29
I said, "That
could be a problem."
00:28:11.32\00:28:13.29
I didn't know you
were going to say,
00:28:13.32\00:28:15.42
"Well, you think you're good
enough to preach to them but
00:28:15.46\00:28:17.49
they're not good
enough to preach you?"
00:28:17.53\00:28:18.99
Well, I think
we've got the truth.
00:28:19.03\00:28:23.93
And I don't think they've got
the truth and I'm--if they don't
00:28:23.97\00:28:28.14
think they've got the truth,
then they ought to come and sit
00:28:28.17\00:28:31.27
and listen with us.
00:28:31.31\00:28:33.27
But every pastor--I'm surprised
another pastor would let me do
00:28:33.31\00:28:36.98
that but they
have and I've done it.
00:28:37.01\00:28:39.41
I've spoken in other
denominations and it was really
00:28:39.45\00:28:44.22
amazing in China.
00:28:44.25\00:28:46.35
You know, China's a
little different animal.
00:28:46.39\00:28:48.26
They sort of got the
government-approved Christian
00:28:48.29\00:28:50.63
churches and they
push them all together.
00:28:50.66\00:28:52.93
And when we did our
evangelistic meetings in China,
00:28:52.96\00:28:55.70
they had us preaching in this
Three Self Church which is sort
00:28:55.73\00:28:58.97
of their Protestant church
and all the Protestant pastors
00:28:59.00\00:29:05.94
brought all of their people to
our meeting and I asked my local
00:29:05.97\00:29:08.81
pastors through
the translator, I said,
00:29:08.84\00:29:10.71
"Now, these are all the Sunday
members and these are their
00:29:10.75\00:29:13.11
pastors here and
I'm--you want me to preach?
00:29:13.15\00:29:15.12
I'm going to preach mark of the
beast, Sabbath, you want me--"
00:29:15.15\00:29:17.19
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
00:29:17.22\00:29:18.52
"State of the dead,
punishment of the wicked?"
00:29:18.55\00:29:20.56
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
00:29:20.59\00:29:22.09
I said, "Okay," and I did.
00:29:22.12\00:29:24.53
It's very unusual but
sometimes I've been invited to,
00:29:24.56\00:29:26.90
like, share my testimony in
another church and you want to
00:29:26.93\00:29:29.43
be sensitive not to say
things that would be offensive.
00:29:29.46\00:29:31.37
And--but when I travel
with the Heritage Singers,
00:29:31.40\00:29:36.17
for years I--we were
in all different churches,
00:29:36.20\00:29:38.21
a lot of Adventist churches as
well as Methodist and Nazarene,
00:29:38.24\00:29:41.08
Assembly of God,
Foursquare, non-denominational.
00:29:41.11\00:29:43.55
And, you know, night
after night I'd get up and
00:29:43.58\00:29:46.55
I'd share my testimony.
00:29:46.58\00:29:47.88
You want to be
respectful of, you know,
00:29:47.92\00:29:49.32
where they are and share
things that would encourage them
00:29:49.35\00:29:51.55
without offending their beliefs.
00:29:51.59\00:29:53.42
I think as a Christian, you need
to be sensitive to those things.
00:29:53.46\00:29:55.86
But I don't believe and I know
you may think this is pretty
00:29:55.89\00:30:01.23
rigid, I don't believe we
should be inviting people to our
00:30:01.26\00:30:04.73
pulpits that do not in their
heart believe what we believe.
00:30:04.77\00:30:09.80
It can send the wrong message.
00:30:09.84\00:30:12.14
Tell you one reason.
00:30:12.17\00:30:13.71
Let me give you an example.
00:30:13.74\00:30:16.18
There's a pastor, has
a good marriage ministry,
00:30:16.21\00:30:18.71
and someone said,
"Well, yeah, I know,
00:30:18.75\00:30:22.18
he doesn't believe exactly like
us but let's have him come and
00:30:22.22\00:30:24.82
he'll talk Sabbath
morning about marriage."
00:30:24.85\00:30:27.76
Now, if he
wants to do a seminar,
00:30:27.79\00:30:29.12
it's a different thing.
00:30:29.16\00:30:31.19
And people come and they hear
him and they see his name and
00:30:31.23\00:30:34.56
say, "Oh, that was really good."
00:30:34.60\00:30:36.73
And then they realize, "He's got
a whole series of books out on
00:30:36.77\00:30:39.93
the 'Secret Rapture.'
00:30:39.97\00:30:42.24
I think I'll get his books."
00:30:42.27\00:30:44.17
You see how one
thing can lead to another?
00:30:44.21\00:30:46.64
It kind of--it's almost
like you are endorsing the other
00:30:46.68\00:30:51.05
things they say.
00:30:51.08\00:30:52.78
So you've got to
be careful about that.
00:30:52.81\00:30:54.25
I know I'm going to
get letters on this.
00:30:54.28\00:30:55.68
Anyway, Nehemiah got
letters too so I'm okay.
00:30:55.72\00:31:00.52
So he said Tobiah had to go and
you just wonder how in the world
00:31:00.56\00:31:06.76
the priest had
decided to give him a room.
00:31:06.80\00:31:12.50
Here, they're kicking all
the foreigners out and they give
00:31:12.53\00:31:17.24
Tobiah a room in the sanctuary.
00:31:17.27\00:31:20.34
So he threw it all out.
00:31:20.38\00:31:22.84
Then you go on to verse
10, the Levites in the fields.
00:31:22.88\00:31:28.22
Nehemiah 13, verse 10.
00:31:28.25\00:31:30.72
I talked a little
bit about this last week.
00:31:30.75\00:31:32.59
Says: "I also realized that the
portions for the Levites had not
00:31:32.62\00:31:38.49
been given to them; for each of
the Levites and the singers who
00:31:38.53\00:31:43.23
did the work had
gone back to his field.
00:31:43.26\00:31:46.13
So I contended with
the rulers, and I said,
00:31:46.17\00:31:49.00
'Why--'" By the way, you know,
one of the things the Bible
00:31:49.04\00:31:54.61
tells us is that
part of teaching is called
00:31:54.64\00:31:58.01
reproof and exhortation.
00:31:58.05\00:32:01.25
When there's
reproof and exhortation,
00:32:01.28\00:32:04.15
that might mean that you're
challenging why someone is
00:32:04.19\00:32:08.09
believing or teaching or
doing what they're doing.
00:32:08.12\00:32:10.56
That is biblically healthy.
00:32:10.59\00:32:12.69
Every now and then we've got to
keep each other accountable so
00:32:12.73\00:32:15.26
Nehemiah's going to them.
00:32:15.30\00:32:17.00
Nehemiah's not a priest.
00:32:17.03\00:32:18.53
He's a governor
but he said, "Look,
00:32:18.57\00:32:20.40
I need you to
explain this to me.
00:32:20.44\00:32:22.04
I contended with
the rulers, and said,
00:32:22.07\00:32:23.37
'Why is the
house of God forsaken?'
00:32:23.41\00:32:27.44
And I gathered them together
and I set them in their place.
00:32:27.48\00:32:29.78
Then all of Judah brought the
tithe of the grain and the new
00:32:29.81\00:32:34.08
wine and the oil
to the storehouse.
00:32:34.12\00:32:35.95
And I appointed as treasurers
them over the storehouse."
00:32:35.98\00:32:39.25
So, you know, God has a design
and there's a lot of Scriptures
00:32:39.29\00:32:45.76
we've got here that
kind of outline this.
00:32:45.79\00:32:47.50
You look, for instance,
1 Corinthians chapter 9,
00:32:47.50\00:32:51.33
verse 13: "Do you not know that
those who minister of the holy
00:32:51.37\00:32:58.57
things eat of the
things of the temple,
00:32:58.61\00:33:01.31
and those who serve at
the altar partake of the
00:33:01.34\00:33:04.55
offerings at the altar?
00:33:04.58\00:33:06.82
Even so the Lord has commanded
that those who preach the gospel
00:33:06.85\00:33:09.75
should live from the gospel."
00:33:09.78\00:33:11.92
Now before I
became an ordained pastor,
00:33:11.95\00:33:14.16
I was a lay pastor
and I was self-supporting.
00:33:14.19\00:33:16.86
And at that time I already
had three kids and I was doing
00:33:16.89\00:33:23.06
construction work, I
was doing mechanic work,
00:33:23.10\00:33:25.37
I was doing--selling firewood,
just whatever you could do,
00:33:25.40\00:33:29.67
and preaching
and doing evangelism.
00:33:29.70\00:33:33.04
And you know, let me
tell you in case you didn't
00:33:33.07\00:33:34.38
know, that's hard.
00:33:34.41\00:33:36.18
I remember I had a friend in a
small town where I worked and he
00:33:36.21\00:33:42.45
was pastor of
the Baptist Church.
00:33:42.48\00:33:44.82
And he had a full-time job.
00:33:44.85\00:33:48.39
It was a small church.
00:33:48.42\00:33:49.72
They just did not have
the money to support him.
00:33:49.76\00:33:52.06
They also did not have the
tithing system that we have.
00:33:52.09\00:33:54.60
And he would try to live on
whatever offerings there were
00:33:54.63\00:33:57.83
but they needed the offerings to
fix up the building and to pay
00:33:57.87\00:34:00.87
the electric bill and stuff.
00:34:00.90\00:34:02.60
There was almost
nothing left for him.
00:34:02.64\00:34:04.31
So he had a
full-time job, a very hard job,
00:34:04.34\00:34:06.68
all week long, working at, like,
the lumber mill and then in that
00:34:06.71\00:34:10.71
time he'd have to try and
take care of his own home,
00:34:10.75\00:34:12.98
his family, and take
care of the household of God.
00:34:13.01\00:34:16.05
That poor guy, he'd fall
asleep during his own sermons.
00:34:16.08\00:34:20.99
It's not easy.
00:34:21.02\00:34:23.29
If you want to have a
pastor who's really involved in
00:34:23.32\00:34:25.33
ministry--my father used
to tease me all the time.
00:34:25.36\00:34:27.96
He said, "Ah, you
just work one day a week.
00:34:28.00\00:34:29.90
You're a preacher.
00:34:29.93\00:34:31.43
You just--you just get up
and you preach one day a week."
00:34:31.47\00:34:33.50
And if you talk to the people at
"Amazing Facts" and they'll tell
00:34:33.54\00:34:37.14
you that Pastor Ross and I, man,
it's like seven days a week.
00:34:37.17\00:34:42.18
And you know, you got
the radio program on Sunday.
00:34:42.21\00:34:45.38
There's weddings
sometimes on Sunday.
00:34:45.41\00:34:48.72
In the evening,
there's board meetings.
00:34:48.75\00:34:51.62
There's all kinds of different
council meetings and there's
00:34:51.65\00:34:55.49
visitation and, you know, all
week long we've got office work.
00:34:55.52\00:35:00.96
There's writing, there's
studying that goes into it.
00:35:01.00\00:35:03.33
And, boy, you've got to
plan your day really careful.
00:35:03.37\00:35:06.17
If I had another
full-time job besides ministry,
00:35:06.20\00:35:10.07
you just can't do it.
00:35:10.11\00:35:12.27
I couldn't do
what I'm doing now.
00:35:12.31\00:35:14.01
And so God designed a method so
that those who preach the gospel
00:35:14.04\00:35:19.55
are supported of the gospel.
00:35:19.58\00:35:22.02
Now, here at Granite Bay,
again, I may be giving you more
00:35:22.05\00:35:25.19
information but nothing
secret, we have a little bit
00:35:25.22\00:35:27.99
of a unique situation.
00:35:28.02\00:35:29.26
Pastor Ross and I are ordained
Adventist pastors credentialed
00:35:29.29\00:35:33.73
by the conference but we get
no tithe money from this church.
00:35:33.76\00:35:38.60
We're paid by "Amazing Facts."
00:35:38.63\00:35:40.74
Our other pastors,
Pastor Luccas and Pastor Shawn,
00:35:40.77\00:35:42.94
are paid from the
regular conference tithe.
00:35:42.97\00:35:45.11
And--but it's a system where
those that are paying a faithful
00:35:45.14\00:35:51.05
tithe helps to support the
missionaries and pastors and
00:35:51.08\00:35:54.05
teachers that are doing
the work around the world.
00:35:54.08\00:35:56.28
When that's neglected,
what do they end up doing?
00:35:56.32\00:35:59.69
"We've got to go find other work
to feed our families and take
00:35:59.72\00:36:03.89
care of their practical needs."
00:36:03.93\00:36:05.76
And that's what was happening.
00:36:05.79\00:36:07.46
Let me read this
verse, Matthew chapter 10,
00:36:07.50\00:36:09.53
verse 9 and 10:
"Provide neither gold--"
00:36:09.56\00:36:13.23
Jesus sent out the apostles
00:36:13.27\00:36:14.90
and what did he tell
them as they were preaching?
00:36:14.94\00:36:16.44
He said, "Provide neither gold
nor silver or copper in your
00:36:16.47\00:36:20.18
money belts, nor
bags for your journey,
00:36:20.21\00:36:23.14
nor two tunics, nor sandals,"
meaning no extra sandals,
00:36:23.18\00:36:27.22
"nor staffs; for a
worker is worthy of his food."
00:36:27.25\00:36:31.42
Now that's in
red-letter edition.
00:36:31.45\00:36:33.02
That, once again, was Matthew
chapter 10, verse 9 and 10.
00:36:33.05\00:36:36.02
When Jesus sent
out the apostles,
00:36:36.06\00:36:37.76
how did he expect
they would be sustained?
00:36:37.79\00:36:40.56
By the people
they were preaching to.
00:36:40.60\00:36:43.23
They said, "You are
worthy of your hire.
00:36:43.26\00:36:45.53
You are out there doing the work
of the Lord and you should trust
00:36:45.57\00:36:48.44
in the hospitality of
people to help sustain you
00:36:48.47\00:36:50.71
as you do your work."
00:36:50.74\00:36:52.47
Now that's a--again, that's a
fine line because I was living
00:36:52.51\00:36:57.28
in a small town in Texas
one time and this guy showed up.
00:36:57.31\00:36:59.78
He lived in a school bus
with his family and he said,
00:36:59.81\00:37:01.82
you know, "Do you
want to study the Bible?"
00:37:01.85\00:37:04.15
I said, "Sure,
let's study the Bible."
00:37:04.19\00:37:05.89
And I had a Bible
study with him and he said,
00:37:05.92\00:37:07.86
"Now you need to support me and
my family 'cause it says here
00:37:07.89\00:37:10.46
that I'm working for the Lord
and you need to support us."
00:37:10.49\00:37:12.53
I said, "Wait."
00:37:12.56\00:37:15.23
I said, "I didn't send you."
00:37:15.26\00:37:17.07
[laughing]
00:37:17.10\00:37:19.03
I think we did help him a little
bit but he just went everywhere
00:37:19.07\00:37:21.00
kind of counting on everybody to
pay all his bills and I guess,
00:37:21.04\00:37:24.31
you know, if the
Lord moves you to do that,
00:37:24.34\00:37:26.68
but some people kind
of exploit that principle,
00:37:26.71\00:37:32.21
you know what I'm talking about?
00:37:32.25\00:37:33.55
They kind of just move
in and mooch off people.
00:37:33.58\00:37:35.48
And you can't have it that way.
00:37:35.52\00:37:37.45
But the disciples when they were
involved in full-time itinerate
00:37:37.49\00:37:40.02
preaching, he said, "A
worker is worthy of his food."
00:37:40.06\00:37:43.32
In Luke chapter 10,
verse 7, Jesus said it a little
00:37:43.36\00:37:47.50
different: "And remain
in that house," they trusted
00:37:47.56\00:37:50.43
in people's hospitality.
00:37:50.47\00:37:52.03
You remember the story of Lydia.
00:37:52.07\00:37:53.70
She went to Paul
and Silas and said,
00:37:53.74\00:37:56.00
"Please stay with me," and
as Paul and his people traveled,
00:37:56.04\00:38:00.88
sometimes they'd stay
at an inn, sometimes they'd
00:38:00.91\00:38:03.18
sleep on the road.
00:38:03.21\00:38:04.58
They often were
brought into people's homes.
00:38:04.61\00:38:06.48
I heard this week there were
no churches until probably 200
00:38:06.51\00:38:10.32
years after Christ when the
Christians actually had their
00:38:10.35\00:38:13.22
own church buildings.
00:38:13.25\00:38:15.39
And that was after the
severe persecution that happened
00:38:15.42\00:38:19.16
during that period.
00:38:19.19\00:38:21.50
He said, "Remain
in the same house,
00:38:21.53\00:38:23.37
eating and drinking
such things that they give,
00:38:23.40\00:38:25.90
for a laborer is
worthy of his wages.
00:38:25.93\00:38:28.40
Do not go from house to house."
00:38:28.44\00:38:30.97
Don't be bouncing
from house to house.
00:38:31.01\00:38:32.37
Once you find a house, you can
use it as a staging point for
00:38:32.41\00:38:35.31
your mission
work, you travel around.
00:38:35.34\00:38:37.61
How many remember the Shunammite
woman as Elisha went on his
00:38:37.65\00:38:42.42
circuit teaching?
00:38:42.45\00:38:44.49
She said, "This is a man of God.
00:38:44.52\00:38:46.19
Let's build a
little upper room for him."
00:38:46.22\00:38:48.29
And she said, "Let all
of your needs be upon me."
00:38:48.32\00:38:51.46
She took care of him.
00:38:51.49\00:38:52.96
And another woman
took care of Elijah.
00:38:52.99\00:38:54.83
And they were both thankful
'cause both of them had boys
00:38:54.86\00:38:57.43
resurrected in
connection with that.
00:38:57.47\00:38:59.90
If you read in the book,
"Prophets and Kings," page 670,
00:38:59.93\00:39:03.64
"Not only had the temple been
profaned," speaking about the
00:39:03.67\00:39:07.88
time of Nehemiah, but the
offerings had been misapplied.
00:39:07.91\00:39:11.08
This had tended to discourage
the liberalities of the people.
00:39:11.11\00:39:14.78
They lost their zeal and fervor
and they were reluctant to pay
00:39:14.82\00:39:18.32
their tithes because the work of
their Lord was being neglected.
00:39:18.35\00:39:21.02
"The treasury of the Lord's
house was poorly supplied,
00:39:21.06\00:39:24.06
many of the singers and others
employed in the temple service
00:39:24.09\00:39:26.96
were not receiving
sufficient support.
00:39:27.00\00:39:29.66
They had left the work
of God to labor elsewhere."
00:39:29.70\00:39:32.47
Now here's a point that
I thought I should make.
00:39:32.50\00:39:36.00
Many of the what?
00:39:36.04\00:39:37.41
Not only the Levites who are
doing the teaching and offering
00:39:37.44\00:39:39.71
the sacrifices.
00:39:39.74\00:39:41.04
It said the singers.
00:39:41.08\00:39:42.81
Do you think there's a
good Bible argument for
00:39:42.84\00:39:45.05
ministries--for music ministry
being part of the church?
00:39:45.08\00:39:51.02
I think so.
00:39:51.05\00:39:53.62
Not all churches can do that.
00:39:53.66\00:39:55.02
I remember when I
first joined this conference,
00:39:55.06\00:39:56.76
we had four conference
evangelists and one or two that
00:39:56.79\00:39:59.46
were involved in
doing just music.
00:39:59.49\00:40:02.16
And I remember when Dale Galusha
who is now with Pacific Press
00:40:02.20\00:40:07.30
and Gary Vinden, they
were music evangelists
00:40:07.34\00:40:11.27
in the conference.
00:40:11.31\00:40:13.27
And I could go through a
list of the King's Herald.
00:40:13.31\00:40:15.28
A lot of the
evangelists went on the road,
00:40:15.31\00:40:17.25
they took several
musicians with them.
00:40:17.28\00:40:19.51
And Heritage Singers, I think,
just got done doing a meeting
00:40:19.55\00:40:22.12
where they did an
evangelistic meeting with Jean
00:40:22.15\00:40:24.75
in Southern California.
00:40:24.79\00:40:26.19
Part of the budget:
bring a team of singers.
00:40:26.22\00:40:28.69
Music is part of
preaching the message.
00:40:28.72\00:40:30.86
It's very powerful but it seems
like it's been neglected and
00:40:30.89\00:40:35.03
funds have just not
been there for that.
00:40:35.06\00:40:37.33
And then, of course, I think
we all know Malachi chapter 3,
00:40:37.37\00:40:42.50
but I'd be remiss
if I did not read that.
00:40:42.54\00:40:45.67
Malachi 3, verse 8:
"'Will a man rob God?
00:40:45.71\00:40:49.21
Yet you've robbed Me!
00:40:49.24\00:40:51.71
But you say, "In what
way have we robbed You?"
00:40:51.75\00:40:53.88
In tithes and offerings.
00:40:53.92\00:40:56.42
You're cursed with a
curse, for you have robbed Me,
00:40:56.45\00:40:58.89
even this whole nation.
00:40:58.92\00:41:00.36
Bring all the
tithes into the storehouse,
00:41:00.39\00:41:02.72
and there might
be food in My house,
00:41:02.76\00:41:04.69
and try Me,'" or prove Me,
"'now with this,'" test Me,
00:41:04.73\00:41:07.66
"says the Lord, 'If I will
not open for you the windows of
00:41:07.73\00:41:10.70
heaven and pour you out such a
blessing there will not be room
00:41:10.73\00:41:14.50
enough to receive it.'"
00:41:14.54\00:41:16.14
Notice, He says, "There's a
curse when you don't; there's a
00:41:16.17\00:41:18.77
blessing when you do."
00:41:18.81\00:41:20.58
It's just that simple.
It's a very clear verse.
00:41:20.61\00:41:23.48
He says, "Not only
will I bless you," He says,
00:41:23.51\00:41:25.28
"'I will rebuke the devourer,'"
things that are threatening to
00:41:25.31\00:41:28.48
consume what you do have.
00:41:28.52\00:41:30.39
"'I'll rebuke the
devourer for your sake,
00:41:30.42\00:41:32.65
and he will not destroy
the fruit of your ground,
00:41:32.69\00:41:35.26
nor shall the vine fail to bear
fruit for you in the field,'
00:41:35.29\00:41:38.23
says the Lord; 'and all
nations will call you blessed,
00:41:38.26\00:41:41.13
for you will be a delightful
land,' says the Lord of hosts."
00:41:41.16\00:41:44.90
You know, I do believe
God has blessed America.
00:41:44.93\00:41:48.80
It's hard to deny that there's
a degree of prosperity here you
00:41:48.84\00:41:52.27
don't see in every country.
00:41:52.31\00:41:54.41
And I sometimes wonder if it's
connected with the fact that
00:41:54.44\00:41:56.78
more charity is sent by North
America globally than any other
00:41:56.81\00:42:02.98
country per capita.
00:42:03.02\00:42:04.85
It's, I mean, I forget
what the numbers are but,
00:42:04.89\00:42:08.56
I mean, it's a
phenomenal amount.
00:42:08.59\00:42:10.49
Americans are a very generous
people in charity that is sent
00:42:10.53\00:42:16.40
overseas around the world.
00:42:16.43\00:42:18.63
And mission work.
00:42:18.67\00:42:19.97
More missions are
supplied by North America than
00:42:20.00\00:42:21.70
any other country.
00:42:21.74\00:42:23.30
And so I think that in
spite of all our problems,
00:42:23.34\00:42:25.47
God has blessed us
materially because we're
00:42:25.51\00:42:28.88
generous in that way.
00:42:28.91\00:42:31.05
And it's also still
true in the church, amen?
00:42:31.08\00:42:35.02
1 Corinthians 9:3:
"My defense to those who
00:42:35.05\00:42:38.92
examine me is this."
00:42:38.95\00:42:40.89
Paul is being criticized as he
travels and preaches with Silas
00:42:40.92\00:42:43.16
or Barnabas, and
they're saying, you know,
00:42:43.19\00:42:49.80
you need to support yourself.
00:42:49.83\00:42:51.73
You need to do your own work.
00:42:51.77\00:42:53.67
Paul says, "My defense to those
who examine me is this: Do we
00:42:53.70\00:42:56.17
have no right to eat and drink?
00:42:56.20\00:42:59.01
Do we have no right to
take along a believing wife,
00:42:59.04\00:43:01.41
as do the other apostles, the
brothers of the Lord," meaning
00:43:01.44\00:43:03.91
James and Cephas or Peter?
00:43:03.95\00:43:06.48
They evidently took
their wives with them.
00:43:06.51\00:43:08.52
You know, our
evangelists at Amazing Facts,
00:43:08.55\00:43:11.95
we pay the wife
because these evangelists,
00:43:11.99\00:43:16.02
when they're doing a meeting
out of town for six weeks,
00:43:16.06\00:43:17.96
we want their wives with them.
00:43:17.99\00:43:20.23
You know, causes
problems if they don't travel
00:43:20.26\00:43:21.56
with their wife.
00:43:21.60\00:43:22.83
We want their wives with them
and the wives often help with
00:43:22.86\00:43:25.17
the meetings and they can't
do other work because they're
00:43:25.20\00:43:27.04
traveling with their husbands
and we believe that's fair.
00:43:27.07\00:43:30.87
I'm so thankful
Amazing Facts, not every trip,
00:43:30.91\00:43:34.14
but they'll often cover the
expenses for me to take my wife.
00:43:34.18\00:43:36.95
Years I couldn't do it
'cause the kids were at home and
00:43:36.98\00:43:39.75
now I can, I will.
00:43:39.78\00:43:41.22
And so it's kind of nice.
00:43:41.25\00:43:42.55
But the apostles, it
says they had a right.
00:43:42.58\00:43:44.75
So the church already had
a policy that they'd not only
00:43:44.79\00:43:47.39
supply Peter, they said,
"You can bring your wife."
00:43:47.42\00:43:49.62
They'd not only
supply James and Jude,
00:43:49.66\00:43:51.96
they said, "You
can bring your wives."
00:43:51.99\00:43:53.29
And they would help
sustain their wives.
00:43:53.33\00:43:55.53
And Paul said, "And
here, you're saying that I've
00:43:55.56\00:43:58.27
got to go make tents?
00:43:58.30\00:44:00.04
I can't support--be supported?"
00:44:00.07\00:44:03.20
He said, "The other
apostles, the brothers of
00:44:03.24\00:44:05.47
the Lord, and Cephas?
00:44:05.51\00:44:06.98
Or is it only Barnabas and
I who have no right to refrain
00:44:07.01\00:44:09.61
from working?"
00:44:09.64\00:44:11.45
In other--when he says, "No
right to refrain from working,"
00:44:11.48\00:44:13.11
they're saying you have to work.
00:44:13.15\00:44:14.52
"Who ever goes to
war at his own expense?
00:44:14.55\00:44:17.29
Who plants a vineyard and
does not eat of its fruit?
00:44:17.32\00:44:20.52
Or who tends a flock, even
the poorest of shepherds get to
00:44:20.56\00:44:24.03
drink the milk of the flock."
00:44:24.06\00:44:26.43
You read on, again
in 2 Corinthians 9,
00:44:26.46\00:44:30.23
verse 6: "But this I say: He
that sows sparingly will reap
00:44:30.27\00:44:34.70
sparingly, and he
who sows bountifully will
00:44:34.74\00:44:37.84
reap bountifully."
00:44:37.87\00:44:39.47
So here's my question for you.
00:44:39.51\00:44:40.94
How would you like to
reap, bountifully or sparingly?
00:44:40.98\00:44:45.98
So how must you sow?
00:44:46.01\00:44:48.05
That will
determine how you reap.
00:44:48.08\00:44:50.09
Isn't that what it says?
00:44:50.12\00:44:52.52
"And not
grudgingly or of necessity."
00:44:52.55\00:44:56.36
You know, the ideal is that
you're giving no matter what's
00:44:56.39\00:44:58.99
in it for you, but
because you love the Lord.
00:44:59.03\00:45:02.06
"Let each one give as
he purposes in his heart,
00:45:02.10\00:45:04.73
not grudgingly or of necessity;
for God loves a cheerful giver."
00:45:04.77\00:45:08.94
God doesn't just approve of
it, He loves it when we give
00:45:08.97\00:45:12.31
from a cheerful heart.
00:45:12.34\00:45:13.64
But if you're not
going to give cheerfully,
00:45:13.68\00:45:15.48
God will take it from a grouch.
00:45:15.51\00:45:18.48
1 Timothy 5:18:
"For the Scripture says,
00:45:18.51\00:45:21.68
'You shall not muzzle the ox
while it treads out the grain,'
00:45:21.72\00:45:25.32
and, 'A laborer is
worthy of his wages.'"
00:45:25.35\00:45:27.99
Now here, Paul is
quoting--he's quoting what
00:45:28.02\00:45:31.86
we just read that
Jesus said earlier.
00:45:31.89\00:45:34.63
Now go to Nehemiah
15, verse--Nehemiah 13,
00:45:34.66\00:45:39.47
verse 15: "In those
days," here's another area
00:45:39.50\00:45:42.80
of a little backsliding.
00:45:42.84\00:45:44.54
"In those days I saw the people
in Judah treading winepresses on
00:45:44.57\00:45:48.28
the Sabbath," and
that's--now that's,
00:45:48.31\00:45:50.91
I mean, it's not like
you're picking a grape.
00:45:50.95\00:45:53.38
When you get out
there, take off your shoes,
00:45:53.42\00:45:55.32
and you're tromping
up and down making--boy,
00:45:55.35\00:45:56.79
that's plain old work.
00:45:56.82\00:45:58.15
They're treading wine--and
these are not just the pagans,
00:45:58.19\00:46:01.29
it's the people of
Judah, on the Sabbath day.
00:46:01.32\00:46:03.86
Do you think that
all happened in one day?
00:46:03.89\00:46:05.96
Or did it happen
little by little?
00:46:05.99\00:46:07.86
They started
saying, "Well, you know,
00:46:07.86\00:46:10.40
the sun's going down, I
can maybe tread a couple more
00:46:10.43\00:46:13.10
clusters," Friday afternoon.
00:46:13.13\00:46:15.40
And then they got easy enough
to do it even after the sun went
00:46:15.44\00:46:17.27
down and then they said, "Well,
I'll do a couple more in the
00:46:17.31\00:46:19.71
morning just to make sure
the harvest is almost done and I
00:46:19.74\00:46:22.74
don't want to
waste these grapes."
00:46:22.78\00:46:24.11
And they started to rationalize
it until pretty soon--isn't that
00:46:24.15\00:46:26.18
how the devil works?
00:46:26.21\00:46:27.45
Little by little they begin
to rationalize until pretty soon
00:46:27.48\00:46:31.05
not guarding the
edges of the Sabbath,
00:46:31.09\00:46:32.75
they were just plain old
harvesting grapes and stomping
00:46:32.79\00:46:35.32
out the grape
juice on the Sabbath day.
00:46:35.36\00:46:38.46
"And they're
loading donkeys with wine,
00:46:38.49\00:46:40.46
and grapes, and figs,
and all kinds of burdens,
00:46:40.50\00:46:42.36
that they brought to
Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
00:46:42.40\00:46:44.70
And I warned them about
the day on which they were
00:46:44.73\00:46:48.17
selling provisions."
00:46:48.20\00:46:49.50
He said, "You know,
speak to them verbally.
00:46:49.54\00:46:50.97
Maybe they forgot."
00:46:51.01\00:46:52.91
"And men of Tyre,"
these are Phoenicians,
00:46:52.94\00:46:55.58
they're not even Israelites,
"who dwelt there also,
00:46:55.61\00:46:57.31
they brought in their
fish and all kinds of goods,
00:46:57.35\00:46:59.61
and sold them."
00:46:59.65\00:47:01.12
Are we supposed to be buying
and selling on the Sabbath?
00:47:01.15\00:47:05.19
Huh? No.
00:47:05.22\00:47:07.92
Are we supposed to be doing our
heavy cooking on the Sabbath or
00:47:07.96\00:47:12.96
does the Bible say: "Bake what
you're going to bake and boil
00:47:12.99\00:47:15.46
what you're going to boil.
00:47:15.50\00:47:17.17
Get everything done that
you can get done ahead of time"?
00:47:17.20\00:47:19.20
Now, if you've got one of those
time-sensitive things that will
00:47:19.23\00:47:21.64
nuke things for you that's great
but the principle is get all the
00:47:21.67\00:47:24.47
cooking and preparation
done that you can get done.
00:47:24.51\00:47:27.18
Don't be going out and buying
and shopping and paying other
00:47:27.21\00:47:29.94
people to cook for
you at a restaurant.
00:47:29.98\00:47:33.25
Now, some people on the road,
that might be unavoidable but
00:47:33.28\00:47:36.35
a lot of people do it
'cause they're plain lazy.
00:47:36.38\00:47:38.62
And Christians ought to
treat the day as holy, amen?
00:47:38.65\00:47:42.56
Backsliding happens little
by little through compromise.
00:47:42.59\00:47:47.60
He says, "I contended
with the nobles at Judah,
00:47:47.60\00:47:51.00
and said, 'What evil
thing is this that you do,
00:47:51.03\00:47:54.40
by which you
profane the Sabbath day?
00:47:54.44\00:47:56.84
Did not your fathers do thus,
and did not our God bring down
00:47:56.87\00:48:00.04
all this disaster on
us and on this city?'"
00:48:00.08\00:48:02.81
So is there judgment that
comes from breaking his law?
00:48:02.84\00:48:08.52
"'Yet you bring added
wrath on Israel by profaning
00:48:08.55\00:48:11.32
the Sabbath.'
00:48:11.35\00:48:12.65
So it was, at the
gates of Jerusalem,
00:48:12.69\00:48:15.12
as it began to be
dark before the Sabbath,
00:48:15.16\00:48:17.36
I commanded the
gates to be shut,
00:48:17.39\00:48:19.46
and I charged they must not be
opened 'til after the Sabbath.
00:48:19.49\00:48:22.20
Then I posted some of
my servants at the gates,
00:48:22.23\00:48:25.17
that no burdens would be
brought in on the Sabbath day."
00:48:25.20\00:48:28.20
We've got to guard
our gates sometimes.
00:48:28.24\00:48:30.87
"Now the merchants and sellers
of all kinds of wares lodged
00:48:30.91\00:48:34.28
outside
Jerusalem once or twice."
00:48:34.31\00:48:36.91
They just waited
outside hoping that they'd open
00:48:36.95\00:48:38.78
the gates for them.
00:48:38.81\00:48:40.15
"And I warned them, and
said, 'Why do you spend the
00:48:40.18\00:48:41.82
night around the wall?'"
00:48:41.85\00:48:43.15
It's a Sabbath.
00:48:43.18\00:48:44.49
"'If you do this again,
I'll lay hands on you!'"
00:48:44.52\00:48:46.35
Meaning we'll arrest you.
00:48:46.39\00:48:47.86
"From that time they
came no more on the Sabbath."
00:48:47.89\00:48:50.16
He had to take some drastic
measures to get the people to
00:48:50.19\00:48:53.43
take it seriously.
00:48:53.46\00:48:56.67
And he said, "Then I
commanded the Levites to cleanse
00:48:56.70\00:49:00.37
themselves, and they
should go and guard the gates,
00:49:00.40\00:49:03.71
and sanctify the Sabbath day."
00:49:03.74\00:49:06.37
You know, you'll be called a
legalist if you guard the gates
00:49:06.41\00:49:09.08
but every now and then you've
got to speak up and everybody in
00:49:09.11\00:49:14.08
our day and age is so afraid of
offending anybody that we don't
00:49:14.12\00:49:18.15
say anything and pretty soon the
backsliding becomes chronic and
00:49:18.19\00:49:21.66
I think every now and then
you've got to just cry aloud
00:49:21.69\00:49:25.56
and spare not.
00:49:25.59\00:49:27.36
And then Nehemiah says in
the last verse we're going to
00:49:27.40\00:49:31.10
consider here,
Nehemiah 13:22: "Remember me,
00:49:31.13\00:49:35.40
O my God, concerning this also,
and spare me according to the
00:49:35.44\00:49:40.48
greatness of Your mercy!"
00:49:40.51\00:49:42.28
Now does God say, "Remember,"
somewhere in His law?
00:49:42.31\00:49:44.38
Says, "Remember
the Sabbath day."
00:49:44.41\00:49:47.75
And Nehemiah says, "I'm going to
remember the Sabbath day, Lord.
00:49:47.78\00:49:50.35
Please remember me."
00:49:50.39\00:49:52.29
How many of you
want God to remember you?
00:49:52.32\00:49:54.26
Then you need to remember Him
and the things and the times and
00:49:54.29\00:49:57.66
the ways and the
means He calls holy.
00:49:57.69\00:49:59.63
Well, we are out of
time for our study today.
00:49:59.66\00:50:02.06
I want to remind you
we have a good lesson
00:50:02.10\00:50:03.70
on Christian finances.
00:50:03.73\00:50:05.13
We touched on the
Sabbath truth today and we will
00:50:05.17\00:50:06.94
send it to you free.
00:50:06.97\00:50:08.34
It's called, "In God We Trust."
00:50:08.37\00:50:10.21
Has a great series of studies
on tithes and offerings and what
00:50:10.24\00:50:14.28
the Bible says about that.
00:50:14.31\00:50:15.91
And ask for offer
135 when you call in.
00:50:15.94\00:50:18.78
You can also get this--you can
download it right now by simply
00:50:18.81\00:50:21.88
texting SH038 to
40544 or you can call...
00:50:21.92\00:50:31.93
God bless you, friends.
00:50:33.56\00:50:35.30
Lord willing, we'll study His
Word together again next week.
00:50:35.33\00:50:38.00
male announcer: Don't forget
to request today's life-changing
00:50:40.97\00:50:43.07
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To get your digital
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00:51:01.19\00:51:04.63
It's now easier than ever
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most important, to
share it with others.
00:51:10.40\00:51:13.47
announcer: Amazing
Facts: Changed Lives.
00:51:18.97\00:51:22.71
Kip Johnston: I was raised
very spoiled and very lucky,
00:51:27.05\00:51:30.75
very blessed.
00:51:30.79\00:51:32.15
I was raised in
the church, actually.
00:51:32.19\00:51:33.79
As a child, God was presented
to me as vindictive so it didn't
00:51:33.82\00:51:38.19
interest me very much.
00:51:38.23\00:51:39.93
When I got much older I was
told by a friend of mine that I
00:51:39.96\00:51:43.10
wasn't even a Christian.
00:51:43.13\00:51:44.80
I said, "I'm a good
person, I don't steal,
00:51:44.83\00:51:46.60
I don't cheat, I don't kill."
00:51:46.63\00:51:48.34
And it was told to me that, no,
in order to be a Christian you
00:51:48.37\00:51:52.11
must be born again.
00:51:52.14\00:51:53.58
The next day I went
and appropriated a Bible.
00:51:53.61\00:51:55.78
I read the New Testament.
00:51:55.81\00:51:57.51
I just set the
Bible down and said,
00:51:57.55\00:51:59.78
"God, if You're
real deal me in."
00:51:59.81\00:52:01.92
I went to a Christian college
to study theology and about God.
00:52:01.95\00:52:06.82
But when I left college, I
took a job selling Christian
00:52:06.86\00:52:10.23
literature and
Bibles door to door.
00:52:10.26\00:52:12.46
And I went flat broke.
00:52:12.49\00:52:14.40
I stopped in to play
poker in a place in L.A.
00:52:14.46\00:52:17.43
I was an instant success.
00:52:17.47\00:52:19.17
My life became poker and I got
books and I read poker books.
00:52:19.20\00:52:22.60
I had my Bible in one
hand, a poker book in the other.
00:52:22.64\00:52:24.77
I was a Christian poker player.
00:52:24.81\00:52:26.41
I thought the
Lord was blessing me.
00:52:26.44\00:52:27.84
The amount of money that I
made playing poker was so big it
00:52:27.88\00:52:30.78
would scare you.
00:52:30.81\00:52:32.95
I was very self-indulgent.
00:52:32.98\00:52:34.48
I did not deny myself anything
that I thought would make me
00:52:34.52\00:52:37.09
happy but I was still empty.
00:52:37.12\00:52:40.32
I went to all the
Christian churches,
00:52:40.36\00:52:42.02
gave them all a fair shot.
00:52:42.06\00:52:43.99
Some of them three
months, some of them two years.
00:52:44.03\00:52:46.09
Unimpressed, Saturday morning,
I happened to be traveling from
00:52:46.13\00:52:50.50
one poker place to another, I
just happened to have a little
00:52:50.53\00:52:53.67
TV in my truck and Doug
Batchelor came up on there and I
00:52:53.70\00:52:57.87
was, like, "This
guy makes sense."
00:52:57.91\00:52:59.57
I knew Doug Batchelor
was in Sacramento so I came
00:52:59.61\00:53:02.11
to meet him.
00:53:02.14\00:53:03.95
I told him, I said, "I am a
Christian doing God's work and I
00:53:03.98\00:53:07.22
make a living playing poker.
00:53:07.25\00:53:09.42
And I am giving away
great converses to players,
00:53:09.45\00:53:11.95
I go to church and
help the community.
00:53:11.99\00:53:14.76
And don't tell me that
I'm not doing what's right."
00:53:14.79\00:53:16.99
And he said, "No,
you've got to get out of
00:53:17.03\00:53:19.09
that casino, period."
00:53:19.13\00:53:21.30
I said, "I'm making good money."
00:53:21.33\00:53:23.10
And he says, "I know
that you know what I'm
00:53:23.13\00:53:25.27
telling you is right."
00:53:25.30\00:53:26.74
And I did.
00:53:26.77\00:53:28.14
I recognized through
it all I wasn't happy.
00:53:28.17\00:53:32.07
I said, "Lord, my
life is a disaster.
00:53:32.11\00:53:36.08
I'm selfish, I'm empty.
00:53:36.11\00:53:38.15
I've tried to do what You wanted
me to do so many times and I've
00:53:38.18\00:53:41.62
always failed.
00:53:41.65\00:53:43.69
Why do I always fail?
00:53:43.72\00:53:45.79
Why do I always lose my way?"
00:53:45.82\00:53:50.19
And the Lord spoke to me.
00:53:51.86\00:53:53.93
Says, "You've
got to be involved.
00:53:53.96\00:53:56.93
You've got to be
involved in My work."
00:53:56.97\00:54:00.44
And that's when I said, "I need
to dedicate my life fully to
00:54:00.47\00:54:03.04
God's work."
00:54:03.07\00:54:05.17
I, by the grace
of God, and my wife,
00:54:05.21\00:54:08.14
we went to India.
00:54:08.18\00:54:10.21
Until the Lord
tells me otherwise,
00:54:10.25\00:54:12.38
we're going to build orphanages
in India so that children can
00:54:12.41\00:54:15.38
grow up and hear about Jesus and
they can go tell the 1.3 billion
00:54:15.42\00:54:19.59
people in their country.
00:54:19.62\00:54:21.39
God had a plan for me and now I
just want to be fully dedicated
00:54:21.42\00:54:27.03
to the Lord's cause.
00:54:27.10\00:54:30.53
I am Kip Johnston and
God used Amazing Facts
00:54:30.57\00:54:33.10
to change my life.
00:54:33.13\00:54:35.70
¤¤¤
00:54:37.64\00:54:44.81
¤¤¤
00:54:45.48\00:54:54.99
Doug: Friends, have you
ever heard of the bowhead whale?
00:54:55.02\00:54:57.86
This enormous
leviathan is the second largest
00:54:57.89\00:55:00.83
creature in the world.
00:55:00.86\00:55:02.40
Dark and stocky, it roams the
fertile Arctic northern waters.
00:55:02.43\00:55:06.30
These massive creatures can be
more than 65 feet long and weigh
00:55:06.33\00:55:10.67
more than 75 tons.
00:55:10.71\00:55:12.91
That's heavier
than the space shuttle.
00:55:12.94\00:55:15.48
Yet, in spite of
their titanic size,
00:55:15.51\00:55:18.28
they're able to leap
entirely out of the water.
00:55:18.31\00:55:20.85
Can you say "belly flop"?
00:55:20.88\00:55:23.45
The bowhead whale gets its name
from its bow-shaped skull and
00:55:23.49\00:55:27.09
they've got one
ginormous noggin.
00:55:27.12\00:55:30.29
Matter of fact, their heads are
about 40% of their body size,
00:55:30.33\00:55:33.43
which comes in handy
when you find out how
00:55:33.46\00:55:35.53
they use their heads.
00:55:35.56\00:55:37.10
They've got very thick skulls.
00:55:37.13\00:55:38.87
Sometimes they get trapped under
the surface and they use their
00:55:38.90\00:55:41.64
heads to ram the ice.
00:55:41.67\00:55:44.04
They can break a breathing
hole in the ice that is a
00:55:44.07\00:55:46.98
foot and a half thick.
00:55:47.01\00:55:48.88
Friends, you have to just
imagine what it would be like to
00:55:48.91\00:55:51.11
be walking around on the Arctic
ice and all of a sudden have the
00:55:51.15\00:55:54.45
ground beneath you crack and
split and rise as one of these
00:55:54.48\00:55:58.72
sea monsters pushes its head
up to breathe for the first time
00:55:58.75\00:56:02.56
in 90 minutes.
00:56:02.59\00:56:04.49
Because bowheads make their
home in the coldest part of our
00:56:04.53\00:56:06.70
world, they have the
thickest blubber of any whale.
00:56:06.73\00:56:09.70
But this, plus their
friendly and curious nature,
00:56:09.73\00:56:12.67
made them prime targets
when the European whalers
00:56:12.70\00:56:15.74
discovered the bowheads.
00:56:15.77\00:56:17.44
They hunted them
nearly to extinction.
00:56:17.47\00:56:21.18
Fortunately, because
of conservation efforts,
00:56:21.21\00:56:24.05
we've slowly seen their
numbers begin to increase
00:56:24.08\00:56:26.72
since the '60s.
00:56:26.75\00:56:28.52
One of the most amazing
facts about the bowhead whale
00:56:28.55\00:56:30.85
is its longevity.
00:56:30.89\00:56:32.72
Scientists have discovered by
evaluating harpoon tips found in
00:56:32.75\00:56:36.19
their skull and
examining their eye tissue,
00:56:36.22\00:56:38.93
there are bowhead whales
out there that are probably over
00:56:38.96\00:56:41.96
200 years old.
00:56:42.00\00:56:44.33
You realize that means there
are bowhead whales swimming the
00:56:44.37\00:56:47.77
oceans right now that were
alive before Abraham Lincoln was
00:56:47.80\00:56:51.67
elected president.
00:56:51.71\00:56:53.64
Can you imagine that?
00:56:53.68\00:56:55.28
Among the other amazing
megafacts about the bowhead
00:56:55.31\00:56:58.08
whale is its megamouth.
00:56:58.11\00:57:00.38
They have the largest mouth
of any in the animal kingdom.
00:57:00.42\00:57:03.79
And when they open
their pie hole full extended,
00:57:03.82\00:57:06.32
it's large enough to park
a medium-sized SUV inside.
00:57:06.35\00:57:09.96
[car honking]
00:57:09.99\00:57:11.29
Yet, in spite of the fact
they've got such big mouths,
00:57:11.33\00:57:12.86
they survive by eating the very
smallest creatures in the ocean:
00:57:12.89\00:57:16.80
plankton, krill, and
other microscopic animals.
00:57:16.83\00:57:20.60
Friends, I'm always amazed
by the creatures God has made.
00:57:20.64\00:57:24.01
This bowhead whale is able
to dive to the deepest oceans.
00:57:24.04\00:57:26.98
They can break through the ice
and move mountains with their
00:57:27.01\00:57:30.45
head and completely leave the
water and fly through the air.
00:57:30.48\00:57:33.25
And yet, they do all that
by gaining strength from almost
00:57:33.28\00:57:36.28
microscopic organisms.
00:57:36.32\00:57:38.59
Helps us remember that we
survive through the little
00:57:38.62\00:57:41.66
promises in God's Word.
00:57:41.69\00:57:43.63
Jesus, when
tempted by the devil,
00:57:43.66\00:57:45.53
He quoted just a few
little verses and He sent
00:57:45.56\00:57:47.60
the enemy running.
00:57:47.60\00:57:49.10
You can also have that same
durability and long life as the
00:57:49.13\00:57:52.33
bowhead whale by trusting
in God's Word and His promises.
00:57:52.37\00:57:56.64
¤¤¤
00:57:56.67\00:58:06.65
¤¤¤
00:58:06.68\00:58:16.66
¤¤¤
00:58:16.69\00:58:26.67