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Shawn Brummund: Good morning,
and welcome to another edition
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of the "Sabbath
School Study Hour."
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We are just so glad that you
have joined us here this morning
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and, as we come together,
to be able to worship the Lord
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in a very real and sincere
way as we continue to connect
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with the one who has
loved us and saved us.
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We are just so glad
that you are with us.
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I know that there are many
that are joining us locally
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as we continue to make
our way through the pandemic,
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and I have the privilege
of being able to join you
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from the brand-new studio
that Amazing Facts has developed
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in their new facilities
and in which Pastor Doug
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had opened up our
new "Revelation Now!"
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prophecy seminar
that just began as well.
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And so for those of you who are
joining us livestream locally,
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across the nation, in
different parts of the world,
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we are thankful
that you have joined us.
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For those of you who are
watching this recorded program
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later on, on the
different various TV networks,
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it is also nice to be
able to have you join us,
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and it is always our
prayer that God will bless you
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and that you will
truly come closer to Christ
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in a knowledge of Him.
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And so my name is Pastor Shawn
Brummund and associate pastor,
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a family life pastor,
over at the Granite Bay
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Hilltop Seventh-day Adventist
Church, and I want to invite all
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of you to take advantage of a
very special offer that we are
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offering here this
morning, and it is entitled
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"The Rest of Your Life:
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Everything You Need to
Know About the Sabbath."
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And so, many
people, many Christians,
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and even some non-Christians
are asking the question,
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"What does the Bible teach
in concern to the Sabbath day
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and the fourth commandment
found in the Ten Commandments?"
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This is one of
my favorite reads,
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and so please take advantage
of it if you don't have it,
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if you've never studied in
particular about the Sabbath
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and what the Bible teaches.
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And you can call into
the number 1-866-788-3966.
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That's 1-866-788-3966.
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And for those of you
who may want a digital copy,
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or if you're not in continental
United States to be able
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to receive this free offer,
then you can always text it,
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and the message that you want
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to text in the
message box is "SH086."
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That's "SH086," as
you see on the screen,
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and you want to text
that to the number 40544,
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and you can
receive a free digital copy
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of our free offer here today.
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So before we get into our
study as we continue to look
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at this important quarterly
that's entitled "Education,"
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in the light of Christianity
and the Bible message,
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I want to ask that all of us
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might be able to
join together as we pray.
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Father in heaven, we
are thankful to be able
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to come together here
this morning, and for others
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that are watching
under different time zones
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and replay of this program,
Father, I want to pray that,
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no matter where they're
at, that You will bless them
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and that You will
enrich them with Your Spirit.
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Father in heaven, we
claim the promise that You gave
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to Your Son, Jesus,
that, when He left this earth,
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that He would send a Comforter,
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a Teacher that would
guide us into all truth.
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And so, Father, this morning,
we want to pray that that Spirit
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will truly be our Teacher today.
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Father in heaven, I
want to pray that I will fade
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in the background, Lord,
and that Your Word and Your name
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will come forward,
Lord, and be glorified
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even as we study
these important truths.
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And so we worship You
here this morning, Jesus.
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In Jesus's name we
pray these things, amen.
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All right, so we are
in lesson number seven,
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which is "Worship in Education."
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"Worship in Education."
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And for many of us who have
experienced Christian education
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either at the academy level
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or a local
Seventh-day Adventist school
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during your grade-school
experience or, for myself,
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in the different
various Adventist universities
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and colleges, the term
"chapel" is very familiar.
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In fact, if you talk
about chapels or dorm worships
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or afterglows and
vespers, and so on,
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I trust and hope
that, for many of us,
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that brings back some very
warm memories as we look back
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on our school or
college and university days.
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Certainly, these were organized
times when the student body
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came together for
collective worship of the God
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in whom we claim
as our God and Savior.
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And that's what we're
looking at here today:
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worship, worship in the
light of Christian education.
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Now, as it turns out, the Bible
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has a lot to speak
in regards to worship.
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It is a subject that is way
more exhaustive than we are able
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to look at here today that
the lesson study author was able
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to bring us through, but
certainly we're going to look
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at some highlights, and I'd like
to start actually by bringing us
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to the very last
book of the Bible,
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which is the book of Revelation.
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So turn with me, if you
will, to Revelation chapter 14,
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and as we come to the
14th chapter of Revelation,
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we find there God has
a three-pronged message
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for the very last years of
Earth's history just before
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Jesus comes, and so this is
a end-time, last-day message,
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the last message
that God has for mankind,
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just before Jesus comes in
deliverance and in judgment.
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And those three-pronged messages
are symbolized by three angelic
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heavenly angels, and so when
we are looking at the very first
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angel, which is what we're
looking at here this morning,
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verses 6 and 7, it says,
"Them I saw another angel flying
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in the midst of heaven, having
the everlasting gospel to preach
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to those who dwell on
the earth, to every nation,
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tribe, tongue, and people,
saying with a loud voice,
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'Fear God and give glory to Him,
for the hour of His judgment
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has come, and worship Him
who made heaven and earth,
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the sea, and springs of water.'"
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And so, friends, right in
the heart of the very beginning
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of the very first
prong or heavenly,
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angelic message
that God has for mankind,
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just before Jesus
comes--and, of course,
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we can't look at the study of
this in regards to His judgment
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hour coming, but if we did,
many of us have discovered that,
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indeed, that
judgment hour has begun,
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and this message is relevant
for our time in human history.
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And at the very heart of it,
we find that there was a call
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from heaven for
mankind to worship Him,
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who made the
heavens, the earth, the sea,
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and the springs of water.
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And so, friends,
this is the course,
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the very heart of our
subject and topic here today,
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which is that of
worship, a call to worship.
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Now, "worship" is
an interesting word
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even in the book of Revelation.
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As we look at this
last book of the Bible,
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you will discover
that the word "worship"
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comes up 22 different times,
and so it's a very prevalent
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theme and topic
throughout that last book.
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When we go to one of the most
critical chapters in the Bible,
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which is chapter 13, we find
there that the word "worship"
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comes up five times.
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And then, when we go
to the following chapter,
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Revelation 14--and I
would suggest that Revelation 13
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and 14, are probably the
two most instrumental chapters
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in the entire
book of Revelation.
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And when we find ourselves in
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the book of Revelation
chapter 14--13 and 14,
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I should say, we find that there
are seven times that the word
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"worship" comes up, and
all seven times of those,
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it is warning us against
the deception of the evil one,
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against worshiping both Satan,
as well as his biggest religious
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project in all of
history and the beast power
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of Revelation chapter
13, warning us against both
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worshiping it as
well as receiving
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its mark on our
forehead or on our hand.
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And then, of
course, as we've just read
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in Revelation chapter 14, the
word "worship" comes up once,
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where it calls for us
to make the best decision,
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the wisest decision,
the life-giving decision
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of actually worshiping
the true God of heaven.
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And all that the
Bible tells us is wrapped up
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in what true
biblical worship is.
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And so worship of God
is very, very important.
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Worship of God
was first challenged
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in the Garden of Eden.
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When we read the
2nd chapter of Genesis,
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we find there--or sorry--the
3rd chapter of Genesis,
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we find there that there is
an invitation by the serpent,
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who is being inspired,
and as a mouthpiece for Satan,
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to be able to
start to give our worship
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to something
else besides the Lord.
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And, sadly, as we look
at the next generation,
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we find that one of the
first children of Adam and Eve
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also chose a
different path of worship,
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a path of worship that
was not inspired by God
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but was giving glory, rather,
to the enemy of God Himself.
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And as we follow through
the Scriptures in the pages
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of the Bible, we
discover that, indeed,
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God has been
challenged for worship.
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There has been a challenge
to His throne for us to be able
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to choose either the true
God of heaven, to worship Him,
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or worship Satan in
the various different ways
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in which he has
developed different religions
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and non-religions to be able
to receive that worship himself.
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Now, the Bible also reveals
that God's challenge in concern
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to worship of His created
beings did not begin here
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on this planet, but
the Bible actually reveals
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that this particular
challenge for God's worship
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began even before the
foundation of this world,
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before mankind came to be.
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Who knows how long beforehand,
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but the Bible
makes it very clear that,
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even before the
world came to be,
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that a very exalted,
beautiful, and holy angel,
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who originally
was named Lucifer,
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came to
challenge God for worship
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from the heavenly
beings of heaven itself.
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I want to read for you a
quote from Isaiah chapter 14,
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and verses 12 through 14,
where we find one of the key
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revelations in regards to
that challenge for worship.
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And so it goes like this:
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"How you are fallen from heaven,
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O Lucifer, son of the morning.
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How you are cut
down to the ground,
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you who weakened the nations.
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For you have said in your heart,
'I will ascend into heaven,
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I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God.
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I will also sit on the
mount of the congregation,
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on the furthest
sides of the north.
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I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds,
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and I will be
like the Most High.'"
00:11:07.20\00:11:11.70
And so, very clearly, we
find here that Lucifer was found
00:11:11.73\00:11:15.24
with a very serious "I"
problem, and, of course,
00:11:15.27\00:11:18.61
that's our problem as well.
00:11:18.64\00:11:20.04
We have inherited that
since Adam and Eve first decided
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to give at least some of their
temporary worship to Satan,
00:11:22.94\00:11:26.51
brought sin upon this
world, and ever since then,
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we also are born
with an "I" problem,
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self-centeredness,
pride, and so on.
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And so we find here that
Lucifer was the first originator
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of this
particular sin and mindset,
00:11:39.63\00:11:42.13
this kind of headspace
that he found himself in.
00:11:42.16\00:11:45.80
And because he was so
powerful, because he had so much
00:11:45.83\00:11:48.84
influence, and he was
at the right hand of Christ
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and the Father, he decided
that, being at the right hand
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of Christ and the Father
was not enough, but, rather,
00:11:55.24\00:11:58.21
he decided that he wanted to
replace Christ and/or the Father
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on their throne, that he
might receive the worship,
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the ultimate worship
of the heavenly beings,
00:12:06.59\00:12:08.32
that only Christ and the Father
truly are capable of receiving
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and not letting
it get to their head,
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and, of course,
capable and deserving
00:12:15.33\00:12:17.50
of that worship as well.
00:12:17.53\00:12:20.94
And so, friends, in
light of what the Bible says,
00:12:20.97\00:12:23.30
both in the last-days message
that we find in Revelation,
00:12:23.34\00:12:26.61
and then also in
the history book,
00:12:26.64\00:12:28.68
of the history
books of the Bible,
00:12:28.71\00:12:30.48
from Genesis onward, does
this make the subject of worship
00:12:30.51\00:12:34.48
a very important topic?
00:12:34.52\00:12:36.89
Well, yes, it
does. It certainly does.
00:12:36.92\00:12:39.45
True worship is so central
to the Christian experience
00:12:39.49\00:12:42.82
that all faithful Christian
education must deal with
00:12:42.86\00:12:47.10
the question of worship.
00:12:47.13\00:12:49.66
And it is important
for us, as educators,
00:12:49.70\00:12:52.20
to be able to
bring our children,
00:12:52.23\00:12:53.60
both in the home
as parental educators,
00:12:53.64\00:12:55.80
as well as educators in
our different academies,
00:12:55.84\00:12:58.24
schools,
universities, and colleges,
00:12:58.27\00:13:00.41
and to be able to help establish
our children in what the Bible
00:13:00.44\00:13:05.25
teaches concerning true worship,
and then to encourage them
00:13:05.28\00:13:09.02
to make that best choice that
we can possibly make to worship
00:13:09.05\00:13:12.89
the Lord our God
with all our heart,
00:13:12.92\00:13:14.36
our strength, and our mind.
00:13:14.39\00:13:17.36
And so that's the
subject that we're looking at.
00:13:17.39\00:13:19.33
Sunday, we have some interesting
things that are brought up.
00:13:19.36\00:13:22.80
So if you have
your quarterly with you,
00:13:22.83\00:13:24.47
turn with me to
Sunday's lesson study,
00:13:24.50\00:13:28.74
and in Sunday's lesson study, it
says we all worship something.
00:13:28.77\00:13:35.34
And isn't that the
truth? We all worship something.
00:13:35.38\00:13:38.15
Now, when we
study human history,
00:13:38.18\00:13:39.75
it reveals that we have
worshiped many different things
00:13:39.78\00:13:43.55
in various
levels at different ways
00:13:43.59\00:13:46.82
under the name of "religion."
00:13:46.86\00:13:50.03
The quarterly points us back
to the ancient Egyptian society
00:13:50.06\00:13:53.26
that existed in Moses's day,
and we have discovered that,
00:13:53.29\00:13:57.10
indeed, there was a
plethora of different gods
00:13:57.13\00:14:00.40
in which the
Egyptians were found worshiping.
00:14:00.44\00:14:04.14
Pharaoh was one of them,
but there was also the sun god.
00:14:04.17\00:14:07.44
There was the god of the flies.
00:14:07.48\00:14:09.18
There was the god of the frogs.
00:14:09.21\00:14:11.11
There was the god of the Nile.
00:14:11.15\00:14:13.08
And, indeed, by the way, that
is--it was not by coincidence
00:14:13.11\00:14:16.95
that God, when He brought
His judgment plagues upon Egypt
00:14:16.99\00:14:21.16
to be able to free Israel, that
He had chosen to be able to turn
00:14:21.19\00:14:26.90
the Nile that was thought to
be the greatest blessing and,
00:14:26.93\00:14:30.70
certainly, on a physical basis,
was for the Egyptian society and
00:14:30.73\00:14:34.97
was the key--one of
the keys--that made them
00:14:35.00\00:14:37.14
the most prosperous
superpower of the world.
00:14:37.17\00:14:40.18
And so this was very
important on two counts:
00:14:40.21\00:14:42.68
Number one, this was revealing,
both to the Egyptians,
00:14:42.71\00:14:46.01
as well as to the
Israelites, first,
00:14:46.05\00:14:49.18
to the Egyptians that
their gods that they had chosen,
00:14:49.22\00:14:51.69
that they had
believed, were very real, divine
00:14:51.72\00:14:54.59
deities that could
bless them and prosper them
00:14:54.62\00:14:57.89
and benefit them in different
ways, were actually deceptive,
00:14:57.93\00:15:01.80
false forms of worshiping gods.
00:15:01.83\00:15:04.30
And, second of all, God
was then breaking the ties,
00:15:04.33\00:15:07.77
as much as He possibly could,
in the hearts of the Israelites
00:15:07.80\00:15:10.47
that had been duped
during the centuries
00:15:10.51\00:15:12.54
that they had been integrated
into this culture that,
00:15:12.57\00:15:15.08
indeed, these different
gods and their forms of worship
00:15:15.11\00:15:18.05
was something that
was actually a deception,
00:15:18.08\00:15:21.08
and that God, the God of Israel,
the God of Abraham and Isaac
00:15:21.12\00:15:26.22
and Jacob, is
actually the God of the Nile,
00:15:26.25\00:15:28.72
that God of Jacob--of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
00:15:28.76\00:15:32.89
was the God of the frogs,
00:15:32.93\00:15:34.73
was the God of all these
different entities and creatures
00:15:34.76\00:15:38.53
and beautiful things that
prospered the nation of Egypt,
00:15:38.57\00:15:42.24
actually came from
the true, creating God
00:15:42.27\00:15:44.34
of the Bible and of Israel.
00:15:44.37\00:15:47.28
And so there was two very
important accounts, or fronts,
00:15:47.31\00:15:52.61
in which God was able
to liberate as many people,
00:15:52.65\00:15:57.02
both within the
Egyptians and the Israelites,
00:15:57.05\00:15:59.52
in regards to
these various false gods
00:15:59.55\00:16:02.72
and various
false forms of worship.
00:16:02.76\00:16:05.99
And, of course, Egypt is
just an example of many nations
00:16:06.03\00:16:08.90
throughout all of history
find that the vast majority
00:16:08.93\00:16:11.83
of mankind and the vast majority
of all nations in all of human
00:16:11.87\00:16:16.24
recorded history is
found worshiping in different
00:16:16.27\00:16:19.91
false ways towards
different false gods.
00:16:19.94\00:16:23.58
It reveals that,
indeed, the devil
00:16:23.61\00:16:25.55
has specialized in religion.
00:16:25.58\00:16:27.95
That is where he pours
most of his energies into--
00:16:27.98\00:16:32.75
throughout history and
even is pouring vast resources
00:16:32.79\00:16:36.73
into that same
project even here today.
00:16:36.76\00:16:41.30
But, of course, we
live in a day and age,
00:16:41.33\00:16:42.73
especially in some
countries like the United States
00:16:42.76\00:16:44.97
of America and Europe,
Australia, and other developed
00:16:45.00\00:16:47.47
countries, where we find that we
are leaving religion altogether.
00:16:47.50\00:16:52.81
There is a growing
population of people,
00:16:52.84\00:16:55.88
especially in our
educational systems,
00:16:55.91\00:16:57.98
that is grooming the newer
generations to reject a God
00:16:58.01\00:17:02.32
of any kind and,
instead, adopt a naturalistic,
00:17:02.35\00:17:06.69
materialistic, atheistic kind
of world view and conclusion,
00:17:06.72\00:17:11.06
both in regards to
our origins, our history,
00:17:11.09\00:17:13.56
our past, and then, of
course, the unknown future.
00:17:13.60\00:17:18.70
But in the light of that, we can
still find ourselves worshiping,
00:17:18.73\00:17:21.74
as the quarterly
points out for us.
00:17:21.77\00:17:23.57
We can find
ourselves worshiping ourselves.
00:17:23.61\00:17:26.47
I have to confess
that I was steeped in this
00:17:26.51\00:17:29.08
before I met the Lord.
00:17:29.11\00:17:30.61
By the time I was 20 years
old, I was a major worshiper
00:17:30.65\00:17:33.92
of myself: me,
myself, and I, "numero uno."
00:17:33.95\00:17:37.79
This is who I looked out
first and looked out for first,
00:17:37.82\00:17:41.59
and I know I wasn't
alone at that point.
00:17:41.62\00:17:44.39
By God's grace,
He had called me.
00:17:44.43\00:17:45.93
I had been wise
enough to respond,
00:17:45.96\00:17:49.23
and that same
summer, when I turned 21,
00:17:49.26\00:17:52.03
I became born again, and God
had started to take my focus off
00:17:52.07\00:17:55.70
myself and started to put
it upon the One who made me,
00:17:55.74\00:17:59.14
who saved me and loves
me with an unending love.
00:17:59.17\00:18:02.64
And so Father--friends,
I'm just so thankful for that.
00:18:02.68\00:18:05.88
So we can find
ourselves worshiping ourselves.
00:18:05.91\00:18:08.25
We can find
ourselves worshiping fame,
00:18:08.28\00:18:10.32
money, power, sex, rock
stars, pop stars, celebrities.
00:18:10.35\00:18:14.79
Friends, there's a long list
of different things and people
00:18:14.82\00:18:18.83
that we can put our worship
in, and so I just want to read
00:18:18.86\00:18:23.26
a quote from the quarterly
on Sunday, and that's page 57,
00:18:23.30\00:18:28.04
if you haven't
opened your quarterly yet.
00:18:28.07\00:18:29.47
And it's
smack-dab in the middle.
00:18:29.50\00:18:32.07
There's just one
sentence that I want to read.
00:18:32.11\00:18:35.38
It says,
"Whatever we love the most,
00:18:35.41\00:18:37.45
whatever we focus
most of our attention on,
00:18:37.48\00:18:40.95
whatever we live for,
that is what we worship."
00:18:40.98\00:18:44.82
And, friends, I think
there's a lot of truth to that.
00:18:44.85\00:18:47.59
I think that really hits
the nail on the head in regards
00:18:47.62\00:18:50.56
to where we can derail or
where we can find ourselves,
00:18:50.59\00:18:55.46
perhaps, like myself,
who was raised secular,
00:18:55.50\00:18:57.80
just experience being
off the rails of worshiping
00:18:57.83\00:19:01.80
the true God, for
whatever time in your life
00:19:01.84\00:19:04.44
before you meet the Lord, and
so whatever we love the most.
00:19:04.47\00:19:09.98
And I brought to my mind when
I read this and was studying
00:19:10.01\00:19:12.51
the quarterly for
Sabbath school here today--
00:19:12.55\00:19:14.75
and that is one of
the most instrumental.
00:19:14.78\00:19:17.95
In fact, Jesus says this
is the most instrumental,
00:19:17.99\00:19:21.22
most important
verse in all of the Bible,
00:19:21.26\00:19:24.63
and it's found in Deuteronomy
chapter 6 and verse 5,
00:19:24.66\00:19:27.86
and it calls for
us, in the midst of that
00:19:27.93\00:19:30.57
most important verse, "to love
the Lord with all of our heart,
00:19:30.60\00:19:36.64
with all of our soul, and
with all of our strength."
00:19:36.67\00:19:40.48
And so, friends, "This is
the greatest commandment of all,
00:19:40.51\00:19:44.01
and then the second one
is like it," Jesus says.
00:19:44.05\00:19:46.11
"You shall love your
neighbor as you love yourself."
00:19:46.15\00:19:48.25
Jesus says, "All of the
law and the prophets hang on
00:19:48.28\00:19:50.95
these two greatest
of all commandments,
00:19:50.99\00:19:53.12
and the greatest
of the two is to love
00:19:53.15\00:19:54.59
the Lord your God with
everything that you have."
00:19:54.62\00:19:57.73
Friends, this is at the
very heart of worship as well,
00:19:57.76\00:20:00.66
is it not?
00:20:00.70\00:20:02.03
And so, friends, the topic
that we're looking at today
00:20:02.06\00:20:04.27
is also found in
the greatest commandment
00:20:04.30\00:20:06.00
and most important
verse in all of the Bible.
00:20:06.03\00:20:11.04
And so love must be at the heart
of our worship of the true God.
00:20:11.07\00:20:14.28
So choosing the
true God is important.
00:20:14.31\00:20:15.98
Of course, you need
to start with the right
00:20:16.01\00:20:17.58
and only living God,
even as the Bible says,
00:20:17.61\00:20:20.35
"I am God, and
there is no other."
00:20:20.38\00:20:21.75
"I am God, and
there is none like Me."
00:20:21.78\00:20:24.49
God points that
out in multiple places,
00:20:24.52\00:20:26.59
in multiple times
throughout the Bible
00:20:26.62\00:20:28.46
that we might
choose the right God.
00:20:28.49\00:20:30.16
The first
commandment itself says,
00:20:30.19\00:20:31.56
"You shall have no
other gods before Me."
00:20:31.59\00:20:33.93
And so God says,
"Listen, I, the Lord,
00:20:33.96\00:20:36.33
the Lord God is one,"
and He is the only one.
00:20:36.36\00:20:41.80
And so loving and choosing
that true God and then having
00:20:41.84\00:20:44.41
a foundation of
real, genuine love for God
00:20:44.44\00:20:48.14
is absolutely
important in true worship.
00:20:48.18\00:20:51.28
But I want to talk about
something else in regards
00:20:51.31\00:20:53.72
to worship, and we can find
that principle and call in some
00:20:53.75\00:20:57.32
of the first pages of the Bible.
00:20:57.35\00:20:58.65
Come with me to 1
Kings in chapter 18.
00:20:58.69\00:21:03.12
And so, again, if
you have your Bibles,
00:21:03.16\00:21:04.89
I invite you to join
me here this morning,
00:21:04.93\00:21:07.10
1 Kings chapter 18, and
we're looking at verse 21.
00:21:07.13\00:21:13.64
1 Kings chapter 18, in verse
21, and this is in the setting
00:21:13.67\00:21:19.67
of one of the greatest,
most biggest milestones
00:21:19.71\00:21:23.21
in the history of all of Israel.
00:21:23.24\00:21:24.81
Israel had found
themselves derailed
00:21:24.85\00:21:27.28
as a nation in a
very serious way.
00:21:27.32\00:21:29.45
The king and its queen had led
the way in derailing the country
00:21:29.48\00:21:32.92
from worshiping the true
God, and not only did they start
00:21:32.95\00:21:36.52
to worship the false
god of Baal and Moloch,
00:21:36.56\00:21:39.86
and a number of different
false--Ashtoreth, and so on.
00:21:39.89\00:21:44.10
You know, they also
found themselves leaving
00:21:44.13\00:21:47.30
the Scriptures, leaving
the commandments of God,
00:21:47.34\00:21:50.31
and worshiping this other god.
00:21:50.34\00:21:53.24
And so God had
brought it to head through one
00:21:53.27\00:21:56.01
of His most important and
greatest prophets of history,
00:21:56.04\00:21:58.51
and that is the prophet Elijah.
00:21:58.55\00:22:00.98
And so Elijah comes out
of hiding because the king
00:22:01.02\00:22:04.09
was after his head after he
had declared God's declaration
00:22:04.12\00:22:07.99
that they would not
have rain upon the land,
00:22:08.02\00:22:10.43
and they didn't for three years.
00:22:10.46\00:22:11.93
And so there's a
serious drought upon the land.
00:22:11.96\00:22:14.00
They were suffering
physically in a very real way,
00:22:14.03\00:22:17.13
and Elijah says, "Let's meet
on the top of Mount Carmel,"
00:22:17.17\00:22:20.70
one of the
mountains in the vicinity
00:22:20.74\00:22:23.20
of Galilee in northern Israel.
00:22:23.24\00:22:26.68
And so they met there, and so
as Elijah was having this great
00:22:26.71\00:22:31.15
showdown between the
false god Baal and the true God,
00:22:31.18\00:22:36.72
Yahweh, the God of Israel,
we find there that Elijah,
00:22:36.75\00:22:41.92
as he addresses the people,
starts with this declaration.
00:22:41.96\00:22:44.56
"He says, 'How long will
you falter between two opinions?
00:22:44.59\00:22:47.86
If the Lord is God, follow Him.
00:22:47.93\00:22:51.17
But if Baal, follow him.'
00:22:51.20\00:22:54.30
But the people
answered him not a word."
00:22:54.34\00:22:56.37
Now, they did answer
the Lord in that call
00:22:56.40\00:22:58.84
when it all came
to its conclusion.
00:22:58.87\00:23:00.71
A fire came down from heaven.
00:23:00.74\00:23:02.28
It consumed the sacrifice
that Elijah had set up--
00:23:02.31\00:23:05.15
had soaked with water,
and God supernaturally,
00:23:05.18\00:23:09.32
very powerfully consumed
not only that sacrifice,
00:23:09.35\00:23:11.95
but all the rocks and the water
00:23:11.99\00:23:13.32
that that
sacrifice was laid upon.
00:23:13.36\00:23:17.76
But what we want to pick
up here in the context of this
00:23:17.79\00:23:20.10
very powerful story is those
first words that Elijah shared
00:23:20.13\00:23:23.67
with the people of
Israel, and he's saying,
00:23:23.70\00:23:25.43
"Listen, if the Lord is
God--" it just doesn't say,
00:23:25.47\00:23:28.30
"Believe in Him, and
believe that He exists."
00:23:28.34\00:23:31.37
It actually says, "If
the Lord is God, follow Him."
00:23:31.41\00:23:35.58
And, friends, I fear that this
has been all too lost in much
00:23:35.61\00:23:39.95
of what is called
"Christianity" today.
00:23:39.98\00:23:44.39
We need to follow God.
00:23:44.42\00:23:45.65
This is part of our worship, and
it points us to who is our final
00:23:45.69\00:23:50.03
authority, and this is what
Elijah was inspired to challenge
00:23:50.06\00:23:54.03
the people with, not to
believe only that Yahweh exists,
00:23:54.10\00:23:57.23
and Baal doesn't, but
also to choose to worship Him
00:23:57.27\00:24:01.17
by choosing Him as
our ultimate authority,
00:24:01.20\00:24:04.34
that we will follow Him
wherever He tells us to go,
00:24:04.37\00:24:08.11
that He is the
Master of our life,
00:24:08.14\00:24:10.35
that He is the Lord of our life.
00:24:10.38\00:24:12.75
You know, so
often as Christians,
00:24:12.78\00:24:14.12
I think we refer to
Jesus and God as "our Lord"
00:24:14.15\00:24:16.85
or as "the Lord,"
but we've forgotten
00:24:16.89\00:24:19.45
what "Lord" actually means.
00:24:19.49\00:24:21.76
Means that He is
the Master of your life,
00:24:21.79\00:24:24.46
that He is the final say,
that He is the final authority
00:24:24.49\00:24:27.96
in regards to what is
truth, in regards to doctrine,
00:24:27.96\00:24:30.90
as well as regards to
direction for your life.
00:24:30.93\00:24:34.54
Friends, I know that many
have started to experience
00:24:34.57\00:24:36.97
that already, even as I've had
the privilege of experiencing,
00:24:37.01\00:24:40.38
but if you
haven't experienced that,
00:24:40.41\00:24:42.64
I want to encourage you
to respond to these words
00:24:42.68\00:24:45.98
that God has brought
to us through Elijah,
00:24:46.01\00:24:48.35
that if Yahweh, the God
of the Bible, is truly God,
00:24:48.38\00:24:51.25
then we need to
believe in His existence.
00:24:51.29\00:24:52.79
Yes, we need to choose Him of
all the plethora of gods that we
00:24:52.82\00:24:56.62
can choose from, but then we
also must choose to follow Him
00:24:56.66\00:25:01.10
and surrender our
lives and our hearts to Him.
00:25:01.13\00:25:03.77
And when we do that, friends,
we will never be the same,
00:25:03.80\00:25:05.87
I guarantee you.
00:25:05.90\00:25:07.24
I experienced it when I was
first turning 21 that summer,
00:25:07.27\00:25:10.04
and I've experienced it now
for the last 30-something years.
00:25:10.07\00:25:13.44
God is truly alive and well, and
the God of the Bible is the One
00:25:13.48\00:25:19.25
that changes our heart and works
with us in a very real way.
00:25:19.28\00:25:24.52
Now, in Revelation
chapter 14, verse 4,
00:25:24.55\00:25:27.32
as God is describing those who
are faithful and choose the God
00:25:27.36\00:25:31.09
and follow Him, even as Elijah
had challenged his generation
00:25:31.13\00:25:34.60
of Israel to follow, we find
that it says this key sentence.
00:25:34.63\00:25:38.10
It says, "These are the ones
who follow the Lamb wherever
00:25:38.13\00:25:41.67
he goes," and so, friends,
we find it in the first books
00:25:41.70\00:25:44.84
of the Bible as we
looked at 1 Kings chapter 18,
00:25:44.87\00:25:47.91
but we also find it in the very
last chapters in the last book
00:25:47.94\00:25:51.05
of the Bible, in which God
calls us to follow the Lamb,
00:25:51.08\00:25:55.28
wherever He goes.
00:25:55.32\00:25:57.55
Have you accepted
Jesus as your Savior,
00:25:57.59\00:26:00.16
as your Lord, as the
One in whom you've chosen,
00:26:00.19\00:26:03.09
not only to believe exists,
but that you've put your life
00:26:03.12\00:26:07.00
in the hands of the Almighty and
that you have come to discover
00:26:07.03\00:26:11.13
that, indeed, he loves you and
will change you and strengthen
00:26:11.17\00:26:15.37
you and give you that
abundant life that Jesus
00:26:15.40\00:26:18.41
talked about
that He came to give?
00:26:18.44\00:26:22.58
Friends, the devil has convinced
too many of us that worship
00:26:22.61\00:26:25.31
is limited to only singing,
praying, and attending church.
00:26:25.35\00:26:29.12
And I don't want to say that
in such a way that it diminishes
00:26:29.15\00:26:32.05
those essential elements that
God has clearly modeled both
00:26:32.09\00:26:36.42
through His New Testament
Church and the Old Testament,
00:26:36.46\00:26:38.53
as well as given us
instructions that we are to have
00:26:38.56\00:26:41.53
a holy convocation, that we are
to gather together as believers
00:26:41.56\00:26:44.83
and to be able to worship
the Lord and lift Him up,
00:26:44.87\00:26:47.70
that we are to
sing our praises as one.
00:26:47.74\00:26:49.97
And it tells us, even Isaiah
66, that "From every new moon
00:26:50.01\00:26:53.98
and from every
Sabbath to Sabbath,
00:26:54.01\00:26:56.24
that we will come together,"
friends, and we will find
00:26:56.28\00:26:58.91
ourselves
worshiping on the Sabbath day
00:26:58.95\00:27:01.55
collectively before the Lord.
00:27:01.58\00:27:03.75
And so this is an
important element,
00:27:03.79\00:27:05.35
but, again, I believe that
the devil has convinced too many
00:27:05.39\00:27:07.89
of us, as Christians, that
that's the beginning and the end
00:27:07.92\00:27:10.73
of what we call "worship,"
of what God calls worship.
00:27:10.76\00:27:14.10
But, friends, we've
already started to discover
00:27:14.13\00:27:15.96
in the Bible that
that's just not true.
00:27:16.00\00:27:18.47
Jesus said it the
strongest when He was preaching
00:27:18.50\00:27:21.44
the greatest sermon
that was ever preached
00:27:21.47\00:27:23.74
on the Mount of
Olives, and as He was preaching
00:27:23.77\00:27:26.71
that great inauguration sermon
before the hearers that day,
00:27:26.74\00:27:30.85
God had made certain that every
word was recorded for you and I.
00:27:30.88\00:27:34.32
And as we come to the concluding
words of that great sermon
00:27:34.35\00:27:37.65
in verse 21 of the 7th
chapter of Matthew, again,
00:27:37.69\00:27:41.39
that's Matthew chapter
7, starting with verse 21
00:27:41.42\00:27:44.09
through verse 24, I read
it again here this morning.
00:27:44.13\00:27:47.40
It says, "Not
everyone who says to Me,
00:27:47.40\00:27:49.86
'Lord, Lord,' shall
enter the kingdom of heaven,
00:27:49.90\00:27:52.47
but he who does the
will of my Father in heaven.
00:27:52.50\00:27:56.60
Many will say to Me
in that day, 'Lord, Lord,
00:27:56.64\00:27:59.87
have we not
prophesied in Your name,
00:27:59.91\00:28:01.94
cast out demons in Your
name, and done many wonders
00:28:01.98\00:28:05.48
in Your name?'"
00:28:05.51\00:28:06.88
And, friends, these
are church-going, active,
00:28:06.92\00:28:09.78
worshiping
Christians, yes or no?
00:28:09.82\00:28:12.15
Sure, it is.
00:28:12.19\00:28:13.52
Okay, friends, these are people
that use the name of Jesus
00:28:13.56\00:28:16.56
on a regular basis.
00:28:16.59\00:28:17.93
These are people that are
in church on a regular basis.
00:28:17.96\00:28:21.43
Verse 23, Jesus sadly says,
"Then I will declare to them,
00:28:21.46\00:28:24.13
'I never knew you.
00:28:24.17\00:28:26.07
Depart from Me, you
who practice lawlessness.'"
00:28:26.10\00:28:30.81
You see, friends, they had
chosen a different authority,
00:28:30.84\00:28:34.61
maybe themselves,
maybe it was the culture
00:28:34.64\00:28:36.91
and their peer
pressure and their family
00:28:36.95\00:28:38.75
traditions and
morals and ethics, friends.
00:28:38.78\00:28:42.22
But God has told us that
00:28:42.25\00:28:43.99
when we truly make
Jesus our Lord and our Savior,
00:28:44.02\00:28:47.19
when we truly give Him all
of our worship and love Him
00:28:47.22\00:28:49.82
with all of our strength, of
all of our heart and with all
00:28:49.86\00:28:53.50
of our soul, that, friends,
then it is then that we find
00:28:53.53\00:28:57.03
ourselves in a right place.
00:28:57.07\00:29:01.90
If our worship service
doesn't include an attitude
00:29:01.94\00:29:03.91
of surrendered obedience
to God's law and sayings,
00:29:03.94\00:29:08.34
Jesus tells us in
that same passage,
00:29:08.38\00:29:10.91
we are still lost and
without the Spirit of God.
00:29:10.95\00:29:15.12
And so being active,
churchgoing, worshiping
00:29:15.15\00:29:17.25
Christians doesn't
guarantee our salvation.
00:29:17.29\00:29:21.52
Peter said it another way.
00:29:21.56\00:29:23.22
He said it very
succinctly and very clearly,
00:29:23.26\00:29:25.39
for you and I, in Acts
chapter 5, in verse 32,
00:29:25.43\00:29:28.16
when he stated
before the religious leaders
00:29:28.20\00:29:30.87
of Israel of his day that
had called them on the carpet
00:29:30.90\00:29:33.50
and were trying to force them
and have them stop preaching
00:29:33.54\00:29:38.71
in the name of Jesus
and the gospel of Christ,
00:29:38.74\00:29:41.61
and he said to them,
"We are His witnesses--"
00:29:41.64\00:29:44.25
"His," with a
capital H, that's Jesus.
00:29:44.28\00:29:46.18
"We are Christ's
witnesses to these things,
00:29:46.21\00:29:48.12
and so also is the Holy Spirit,
00:29:48.15\00:29:50.92
whom God has given
to those who obey Him."
00:29:50.95\00:29:55.86
And so here Peter is, again,
reiterating the fact that the
00:29:55.89\00:29:58.39
Holy Spirit in the life
of a believer can only come--
00:29:58.43\00:30:01.86
and the life of a
human being can only exist
00:30:01.90\00:30:04.43
when we surrender
everything before Him.
00:30:04.47\00:30:07.54
And so, friends, our whole
entire life experience must be
00:30:07.57\00:30:10.21
an experience of worship,
not just during those hours
00:30:10.24\00:30:13.58
in chapels or dorm worships
00:30:13.61\00:30:15.74
or church services on
Sabbath or Sunday mornings.
00:30:15.78\00:30:21.08
In Daniel chapter 3, we find
that--the quarterly points us to
00:30:21.12\00:30:25.02
some very faithful
Jewish friends of Daniel,
00:30:25.05\00:30:29.46
and these particular
three friends find themselves
00:30:29.49\00:30:32.26
in a very difficult situation
in regards to their authority--
00:30:32.29\00:30:35.90
in regards to
their God's authority
00:30:35.93\00:30:38.43
in their life and
their worship of God.
00:30:38.47\00:30:42.27
And so, of course, we don't have
time to read the entire story,
00:30:42.30\00:30:45.97
but to put it in a
nutshell, the king of Babylon,
00:30:46.01\00:30:49.38
in which they were servants
and slaves and captives,
00:30:49.41\00:30:52.45
found themselves
serving in the king's court,
00:30:52.48\00:30:55.08
and because of that, they, as
well as every single important
00:30:55.12\00:30:59.65
name, leader, judge, and so
on, that existed throughout all
00:30:59.69\00:31:03.46
of the entire
vast empire of Babylon,
00:31:03.49\00:31:05.89
was called together and,
in one collective service,
00:31:05.93\00:31:09.16
under the signal of a
great orchestra of music,
00:31:09.20\00:31:13.07
was to bow down there on the
Plains of Dura before this great
00:31:13.10\00:31:17.81
golden image that we
can only assume is that
00:31:17.84\00:31:20.38
of the great King
Nebuchadnezzar himself.
00:31:20.41\00:31:23.65
And so as Nebuchadnezzar
was having this worship service
00:31:23.68\00:31:26.61
that was not extracurricular--it
was not an option for those
00:31:26.65\00:31:30.69
who were the leaders and
the biggest names in Babylon,
00:31:30.72\00:31:34.12
but, rather, it was
a required activity.
00:31:34.16\00:31:37.96
And he had a very hot furnace
to be able to enforce that
00:31:37.99\00:31:40.73
and to encourage you to be
able to follow his commands.
00:31:40.76\00:31:44.37
We find that three
of those Jewish people,
00:31:44.40\00:31:46.03
those Jewish young
men, the friends of Daniel,
00:31:46.07\00:31:48.77
found themselves
forced to be able to decide
00:31:48.80\00:31:52.81
"Who is my ultimate authority?
00:31:52.84\00:31:54.51
Who do I truly worship
and love from my heart?"
00:31:54.54\00:31:58.08
And once they had
determined that, indeed,
00:31:58.11\00:32:00.38
the God of Israel
was the only God in whom
00:32:00.42\00:32:02.62
they would worship, and as
they recollected those first two
00:32:02.65\00:32:06.82
great commandments of
the Ten Commandments that God
00:32:06.86\00:32:09.06
had given to them, and as
they recalled that God had said,
00:32:09.09\00:32:12.16
"You shall have no
other gods before Me,"
00:32:12.19\00:32:14.50
and as they recalled
that the second commandment
00:32:14.56\00:32:16.36
had told them, as well,
straight from the Lord Himself,
00:32:16.40\00:32:19.03
"You shall not make for
yourselves any carved image
00:32:19.07\00:32:21.24
of anything of the
likeness of anything in heaven,
00:32:21.27\00:32:23.37
on earth, or under the earth.
00:32:23.41\00:32:25.17
You shall not bow down
to them and worship them."
00:32:25.21\00:32:28.31
And so, friends, as
they recounted those two
00:32:28.34\00:32:30.15
great commandments, and
as they regarded their love
00:32:30.18\00:32:32.45
and their surrender before
the Lord and the surrendered
00:32:32.48\00:32:36.15
obedience that they had
given to them, they decided
00:32:36.18\00:32:38.95
that no matter
what comes before them,
00:32:38.99\00:32:41.62
whether they are incinerated in
the furnace or whether the Lord
00:32:41.66\00:32:44.43
delivers them that day,
00:32:44.46\00:32:45.83
they would not bow
down and worship that image.
00:32:45.86\00:32:49.16
Friends, this is one of the most
powerful examples that we have
00:32:49.20\00:32:52.40
in all of Scripture that
helps us to--and models for us
00:32:52.43\00:32:56.87
that we must follow God no
matter where He asks us to go.
00:32:56.91\00:33:01.98
Friends, history is full of
millions of faithful followers
00:33:02.01\00:33:06.35
of Christ that,
unlike those three Hebrews
00:33:06.38\00:33:09.42
that were miraculously delivered
as many have been delivered
00:33:09.45\00:33:14.22
over history, but, friends,
history books has millions
00:33:14.26\00:33:17.23
on the records in
which they were incinerated,
00:33:17.26\00:33:20.20
in which they were
burnt at the stake,
00:33:20.23\00:33:21.96
in which they were found
and finding themselves dying
00:33:22.00\00:33:24.93
on a cross as they were
crucified as the Lord had been,
00:33:24.97\00:33:28.17
and dying in dungeons
00:33:28.20\00:33:30.14
from starvation and
deprivation, and so on.
00:33:30.17\00:33:32.67
Lord, there is--friends,
there is a plethora of martyrs
00:33:32.71\00:33:37.51
throughout history
that have revealed that God
00:33:37.55\00:33:40.62
was the one that they
had decided to worship
00:33:40.65\00:33:43.45
with their heart no matter
where that consequence might be.
00:33:43.49\00:33:46.89
And, friends, I look
forward to meeting and eating
00:33:46.92\00:33:50.03
and fellowshipping with
those martyrs when Jesus comes
00:33:50.06\00:33:54.56
and the resurrection
of life takes place,
00:33:54.60\00:33:56.53
and we are able to eat
with our Lord around the table,
00:33:56.56\00:33:59.17
and they can tell their
stories and how the Holy Spirit
00:33:59.20\00:34:02.20
and God's presence
had strengthened them when
00:34:02.24\00:34:04.67
they had made that
decision, when we can sit down
00:34:04.71\00:34:07.21
with the three Hebrew faithfuls
that day and be able to share
00:34:07.24\00:34:10.61
some of the
details that the Bible
00:34:10.65\00:34:12.31
is not able to
record for us even today.
00:34:12.35\00:34:17.72
Well, then we go
to Monday's lesson,
00:34:17.75\00:34:19.32
and Monday's lesson
is interesting because
00:34:19.35\00:34:20.96
it points us to
a Psalm, Psalm 78,
00:34:20.99\00:34:23.89
and it's a psalm of praise.
00:34:23.93\00:34:25.36
It's a psalm of worship.
00:34:25.39\00:34:27.60
I think it was the
chief of the singing Levites,
00:34:27.60\00:34:30.80
Asaph, that had been inspired
to write that particular psalm.
00:34:30.83\00:34:36.37
And as the quarterly points out,
a psalm in the original Hebrew
00:34:36.40\00:34:40.88
actually means
"songs of praise."
00:34:40.91\00:34:43.38
And even today, if we
were to modernize that word,
00:34:43.41\00:34:46.55
"psalms," it's actually
an outdated English word
00:34:46.58\00:34:48.85
that literally means "songs."
00:34:48.88\00:34:51.19
And so, friends,
this is a beautiful,
00:34:51.22\00:34:54.02
inspired book that covers,
just, a whole range of life
00:34:54.06\00:34:59.13
experiences and faith
00:34:59.16\00:35:01.23
and struggles and
victories, and so on.
00:35:01.26\00:35:03.93
But in the midst of
it, we find Psalm 78,
00:35:03.97\00:35:08.34
and in Psalm 78, I'm
just going to read two verses
00:35:08.37\00:35:12.11
because it's just--these
passages are just too long
00:35:12.14\00:35:14.51
for us to be able to
cover here this morning.
00:35:14.54\00:35:16.48
But if you haven't read it all,
I encourage you to read at all.
00:35:16.51\00:35:20.05
Versus in 5 and 7, is
where I'd like to point out
00:35:20.08\00:35:22.08
and focus here this morning.
00:35:22.12\00:35:23.79
It says, "For He established
a testimony in Jacob,
00:35:23.82\00:35:26.82
and appointed a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers,
00:35:26.86\00:35:31.36
that they should make
them known to their children,
00:35:31.39\00:35:34.96
that the generation
to come might know them,
00:35:35.00\00:35:38.03
the children who would be born,
that they may arise and declare
00:35:38.07\00:35:42.04
them to their children--"
00:35:42.07\00:35:43.97
Sounds a whole lot like
Christian education, doesn't it?
00:35:44.01\00:35:46.64
That they might know
them, passing on knowledge.
00:35:46.68\00:35:50.25
And it tells us that we
bring it to our children--
00:35:50.28\00:35:54.38
"that they might
set their hope in God--"
00:35:54.42\00:35:56.38
this is the ultimate hope.
00:35:56.42\00:35:57.75
This is the ultimate goal as the
quarterly asks us that question,
00:35:57.79\00:36:00.66
"What is the
goal of this psalm?"
00:36:00.69\00:36:02.62
"What is the goal of worship?"
00:36:02.66\00:36:04.89
and "What is the goal
of Christian education?"--
00:36:04.93\00:36:07.36
"that they might
set their hope in God,
00:36:07.40\00:36:09.16
and not forget the works of
God, but keep His commandments."
00:36:09.20\00:36:12.60
And so, friends, when
we establish those roots
00:36:12.63\00:36:16.14
with our children and help
them to know both the law of God
00:36:16.17\00:36:19.54
as it points out His
commandments, to be sure,
00:36:19.57\00:36:22.58
but in addition to
that, also history,
00:36:22.61\00:36:25.58
Christian history,
Seventh-day Adventist history,
00:36:25.61\00:36:29.05
sharing with them the different
stories of how God had delivered
00:36:29.08\00:36:32.55
them and had led them
in some very powerful ways.
00:36:32.59\00:36:35.89
Friends, there is some of
the most fascinating history
00:36:35.92\00:36:38.13
that you can find, both in the
history of the Christian church
00:36:38.16\00:36:40.76
in general, and
then also in the history
00:36:40.80\00:36:42.93
of the Seventh-day
Adventist prophetic movement
00:36:42.96\00:36:45.73
that we're
involved in here as well--
00:36:45.77\00:36:48.14
powerful stories of how
God had allowed this small,
00:36:48.17\00:36:51.94
fledgling group of believers
to take these new truths,
00:36:51.97\00:36:55.91
including the Sabbath
of the Ten Commandment,
00:36:55.94\00:36:57.88
and to be able to
establish themselves and expand
00:36:57.91\00:37:00.65
to the point now where they--the
Seventh-day Adventist movement
00:37:00.68\00:37:03.75
is the second largest Christian
denomination in the world,
00:37:03.79\00:37:07.82
and it is the
fastest-growing denomination
00:37:07.86\00:37:10.69
in the world today as well.
00:37:10.73\00:37:13.53
It has one of
the largest, by far,
00:37:13.56\00:37:15.53
educational systems,
Christian educational systems,
00:37:15.56\00:37:17.93
and medical and hospital
systems across the world.
00:37:17.97\00:37:21.70
And so teaching our
children these histories of--
00:37:21.74\00:37:24.47
these history stories about how
God has led in the past can be
00:37:24.51\00:37:28.44
so helpful for helping our
children just set their hope
00:37:28.48\00:37:31.95
in God and know that
He is still living today,
00:37:31.98\00:37:34.85
that He didn't just
live in Moses's day,
00:37:34.88\00:37:37.09
that He wasn't just alive
during the days of Christ,
00:37:37.12\00:37:39.25
some 2,000 years ago.
00:37:39.29\00:37:40.66
He is still alive and willing
to work in your life today.
00:37:40.69\00:37:44.63
And so, friends, I want
to encourage you to teach
00:37:44.66\00:37:48.16
our children, both in
our schools and in our homes.
00:37:48.20\00:37:51.20
And, friends, I'm not sure
if we've covered that in this
00:37:51.23\00:37:54.80
quarterly yet--I'm sure
it will--of the importance
00:37:54.84\00:37:57.47
of the home being the
first and primary place
00:37:57.51\00:38:02.01
of where children receive
their Christian education.
00:38:02.04\00:38:06.95
Well, in our last few minutes,
we'll look at Tuesday's lesson,
00:38:06.98\00:38:09.35
and this is one of my
favorite encounters that Jesus
00:38:09.38\00:38:12.02
had with someone
while He was on this planet.
00:38:12.05\00:38:14.69
In this case, it
was a Samaritan woman,
00:38:14.72\00:38:16.89
and while this
particular Samaritan woman
00:38:16.93\00:38:19.59
was having this life-changing
encounter with Jesus--
00:38:19.63\00:38:23.80
and, again, time does not
permit us to be able to look
00:38:23.83\00:38:26.03
at the whole story, but as she
was having this life-changing
00:38:26.07\00:38:28.74
encounter with Jesus
beside a famous historical well
00:38:28.77\00:38:31.97
that Jacob himself once owned,
we find there that she starts
00:38:32.01\00:38:35.71
to bring up the
subject of worship, and because
00:38:35.74\00:38:38.65
that's our subject here
today, I think it is something
00:38:38.68\00:38:40.55
that could be helpful for
us in regards to true worship.
00:38:40.58\00:38:44.65
So come with me
to John chapter 4.
00:38:44.69\00:38:48.06
We'll go to the
gospel of John chapter 4,
00:38:48.09\00:38:50.46
and we're going to
pick it up with verse 20.
00:38:50.49\00:38:52.93
John chapter 4, and we're going
to pick it up with verse 20,
00:38:52.96\00:38:57.83
and, again, this is
where the Samaritan woman
00:38:57.87\00:38:59.80
brings up the
subject of worship.
00:38:59.83\00:39:02.67
She says, "Our fathers
worshiped on this mountain--"
00:39:02.70\00:39:05.61
okay, and Mount Gerizim,
if I remember correctly,
00:39:05.64\00:39:09.28
is the mountain
there by Sychar, her city,
00:39:09.31\00:39:11.41
and the well of Jacob.
00:39:11.45\00:39:12.75
"Our fathers
worshiped on this mountain."
00:39:12.78\00:39:15.88
Now, when she says their
fathers, she's talking about
00:39:15.92\00:39:18.32
this is Jacob's
well, we have to remember,
00:39:18.35\00:39:20.29
and this is the land, as the
Bible says in the same chapter,
00:39:20.32\00:39:24.16
that Jacob gave
to his son Joseph,
00:39:24.19\00:39:28.30
and so, friends,
there's a deep heritage,
00:39:28.33\00:39:30.63
the patriarchs of
the Jewish people,
00:39:30.67\00:39:33.23
the patriarchs of the great
nation of Israel that came out
00:39:33.27\00:39:35.54
from their genetic pool
and reproduction, friends.
00:39:35.57\00:39:38.81
It is them that worshiped on
that mountain in many centuries
00:39:38.84\00:39:42.94
past, and she
points that out in pride,
00:39:42.98\00:39:46.75
in religious and
heretical--not heretical,
00:39:46.78\00:39:49.32
but as a prideful heritage.
00:39:49.35\00:39:51.65
"Our fathers
worshiped on this mountain,
00:39:51.69\00:39:53.86
and you Jews say that
in Jerusalem is the place
00:39:53.89\00:39:56.69
in where one ought to worship."
00:39:56.73\00:39:58.49
And so this, she points
out another contentious issue
00:39:58.53\00:40:00.93
that was feeding this enmity
and this hatred between the Jews
00:40:00.96\00:40:04.53
and the Samaritans, and so the
Samaritans continued to point
00:40:04.57\00:40:08.97
to Sychar and Jacob's well
is the ultimate place to worship
00:40:09.00\00:40:12.37
God if you were to pick
a spot, and the Jews say,
00:40:12.41\00:40:15.88
"No, no, the temple,
the holy temple of God."
00:40:15.91\00:40:17.88
The Shekinah Glory
that was once found,
00:40:17.91\00:40:20.32
sadly, was not during
the days of Christ and during
00:40:20.35\00:40:22.58
this encounter, but
used to actually dwell
00:40:22.62\00:40:24.69
in the inner chamber, the
most holy place of the temple,
00:40:24.72\00:40:27.52
the holy city and
capital of Israel.
00:40:27.56\00:40:29.26
"This is where
you must worship."
00:40:29.29\00:40:32.96
Jesus doesn't take the bait.
00:40:32.99\00:40:34.63
He doesn't fall into
this contentious issue
00:40:34.66\00:40:38.17
but simply says, "Woman,
believe Me--" and, by the way,
00:40:38.20\00:40:41.87
when He says, "Woman," just as
He said to His mother earlier,
00:40:41.90\00:40:43.67
you know, this
was a term of respect.
00:40:43.71\00:40:46.88
It's like saying, "Ma'am."
00:40:46.91\00:40:48.78
"Believe Me, the hour is
coming when you will neither
00:40:48.81\00:40:51.51
on this mountain, nor in
Jerusalem, worship the Father."
00:40:51.55\00:40:55.42
So Jesus is
saying, "Listen, actually,
00:40:55.45\00:40:56.79
both are going to become
irrelevant very quickly."
00:40:56.82\00:41:00.52
Verse 22, "You
worship what you do not know,
00:41:00.56\00:41:02.82
but we know what we worship,
for salvation is of the Jews."
00:41:02.86\00:41:05.86
So He does very
tactfully and then directly say,
00:41:05.89\00:41:08.63
you know, actually, the
Jews are right on this account,
00:41:08.66\00:41:10.60
but you know what?
00:41:10.63\00:41:11.93
This is a non-issue starting
very quickly here anyway,
00:41:11.97\00:41:15.77
and so let's talk
about worship from the heart
00:41:15.80\00:41:18.71
and what true worship
really is in the first place.
00:41:18.74\00:41:21.94
Verse 23, it says,
"But the hour is coming,
00:41:21.98\00:41:24.55
and now is, when the
true worshipers will worship
00:41:24.58\00:41:27.95
the Father in spirit and truth,
00:41:27.98\00:41:31.49
for the Father is
seeking such to worship Him.
00:41:31.52\00:41:36.09
God is Spirit, and
those who worship Him
00:41:36.12\00:41:39.33
must worship in
spirit and truth."
00:41:39.36\00:41:43.53
And so Jesus is saying,
listen, one day it won't matter
00:41:43.57\00:41:45.83
what part of the
planet you're on.
00:41:45.87\00:41:47.24
The main thing is that
you're worshiping with these
00:41:47.27\00:41:49.70
two key elements,
the Spirit and in truth.
00:41:49.74\00:41:54.21
And so, friends, these
two elements are critical.
00:41:54.24\00:41:57.01
Now, I just appreciate the way
that the author has pointed out
00:41:57.05\00:42:00.28
the fact that too
often, as Christians,
00:42:00.32\00:42:02.68
we have been sold into buying
exclusively one or the other.
00:42:02.72\00:42:07.69
Either we're just
really into the spirit,
00:42:07.72\00:42:10.13
and truth and doctrine is really
irrelevant or kind of falls
00:42:10.16\00:42:13.29
into the
background and backdrop, and,
00:42:13.33\00:42:16.46
really, it's all
about having the Holy Spirit
00:42:16.50\00:42:19.07
and how he makes you feel,
00:42:19.10\00:42:20.47
and so we become a very
emotional-kind-of-based,
00:42:20.50\00:42:23.24
kind of Christian experience.
00:42:23.27\00:42:25.54
And Jesus here is
pointing out to the woman,
00:42:25.57\00:42:28.51
as well as you and I, that if
we stop simply only with seeking
00:42:28.54\00:42:33.11
the Holy Spirit, then
we're going to find ourselves
00:42:33.15\00:42:35.98
in deep trouble very quickly.
00:42:36.02\00:42:38.29
And so having the
Spirit only is not the answer.
00:42:38.32\00:42:43.73
Having Bible
truth intellectually
00:42:43.76\00:42:47.50
is also a problem, and
we find that played out
00:42:47.56\00:42:50.07
with the Pharisees, as
well as many other Jews,
00:42:50.10\00:42:52.17
religious Jews,
during Jesus's day.
00:42:52.20\00:42:54.14
They took great pride in having
00:42:54.17\00:42:57.37
deep knowledge of
the Scriptures of God.
00:42:57.41\00:43:00.71
When King Herod came to the
Jewish scholars and the scribes
00:43:00.74\00:43:04.25
of Jerusalem in his day when
the wise men came in and said,
00:43:04.28\00:43:06.98
"Where is the
Messiah, the King of the Jews?
00:43:07.02\00:43:08.55
We have seen His
star"-- and so he asked,
00:43:08.58\00:43:10.92
you know, he asked the scholars,
00:43:10.95\00:43:13.59
"Where is the
Messiah to be born?"
00:43:13.62\00:43:14.99
They didn't have to
go to the concordance.
00:43:15.02\00:43:16.89
They didn't have to look it up.
00:43:16.93\00:43:18.26
They just said--well,
it says in Micah chapter 3,
00:43:18.29\00:43:20.50
I think it is verse 2,
or something to that effect,
00:43:20.53\00:43:22.13
and, you know-- "In Bethlehem
of Ephrathah will He come from,"
00:43:22.16\00:43:27.34
and so they knew
their Scriptures very well,
00:43:27.37\00:43:29.70
and so
intellectually they were very
00:43:29.74\00:43:32.31
well acquainted
with the Scriptures.
00:43:32.34\00:43:33.78
They knew vast--some of them
knew vast passages by memory,
00:43:33.81\00:43:38.95
but, friends, they had
made the mistake of missing
00:43:38.98\00:43:41.22
the Spirit in their life.
00:43:41.25\00:43:43.69
And so, friends,
they had a lot of truth,
00:43:43.72\00:43:46.02
but the truth, Bible truth,
00:43:46.05\00:43:48.46
even Bible truth
without the Holy Spirit
00:43:48.49\00:43:50.56
leads to a very
dangerous spot as well.
00:43:50.59\00:43:53.03
We can find ourselves into a
legalistic self-righteousness
00:43:53.06\00:43:56.83
that Paul says was the demise
of his previous experience
00:43:56.87\00:44:00.37
and the demise of many,
00:44:00.40\00:44:02.17
the bulk of religious
Jews of his generation as well.
00:44:02.20\00:44:06.91
And so Jesus very helpfully
points out to us that we need
00:44:06.94\00:44:10.78
to have both, and I
just appreciate the quote
00:44:10.81\00:44:15.98
from "Desire of Ages,"
00:44:16.02\00:44:17.35
as given to us on
Tuesday's lesson, so,
00:44:17.39\00:44:20.92
if you have your quarterly,
you can follow along with me.
00:44:20.96\00:44:23.06
If not, we can--I'll
read it out loud here.
00:44:23.09\00:44:26.90
That's on page 59.
00:44:26.93\00:44:28.26
And right around the middle
or just below the middle there,
00:44:28.30\00:44:30.87
there's the quote, and it says,
00:44:30.90\00:44:32.37
"The religion
that comes from God
00:44:32.40\00:44:33.77
is the only religion
that will lead to God.
00:44:33.80\00:44:36.77
In order to serve him right,
00:44:36.81\00:44:38.14
we must be born
of the divine Spirit.
00:44:38.17\00:44:41.74
This will purify the
heart and renew the mind,
00:44:41.78\00:44:45.21
giving us a new capacity
for knowing and loving God.
00:44:45.25\00:44:48.98
It will give us
a willing obedience
00:44:49.02\00:44:50.85
to all his requirements.
00:44:50.89\00:44:52.75
This is true worship.
00:44:52.79\00:44:55.42
It is the fruit of the
working of the Holy Spirit."
00:44:55.46\00:45:00.33
And so, friends, we want to
make sure that we don't fall
00:45:00.36\00:45:03.00
into that kind of
intellectual, self-righteous,
00:45:03.03\00:45:05.83
legalistic experience that God
00:45:05.87\00:45:07.80
is trying to
protect us from as well.
00:45:07.84\00:45:11.01
And then, again, I want to quote
just from the author itself
00:45:11.04\00:45:14.01
of the quarterly in the very
last couple of sentences there,
00:45:14.04\00:45:17.25
and he says, "Spirit without
truth can lead to shallow,
00:45:17.28\00:45:20.55
sentimentalism that's
built more on fickle emotion
00:45:20.58\00:45:23.89
than on anything else.
00:45:23.92\00:45:25.52
In contrast, truth without
Spirit can lead to a lifeless
00:45:25.55\00:45:29.26
formalism and,
hence, we need both."
00:45:29.29\00:45:33.36
And that's what
Jesus is teaching the woman
00:45:33.40\00:45:35.06
at the well that day, and,
of course, God had made sure
00:45:35.10\00:45:37.37
that it was recorded,
that He might be able to
00:45:37.40\00:45:40.00
instruct us as well.
00:45:40.04\00:45:44.54
Well, we just have a minute
or two left in our study here
00:45:44.57\00:45:47.64
this morning, so we won't
be able to look at everything
00:45:47.68\00:45:49.94
that the quarterly
covers, and, of course,
00:45:49.98\00:45:52.21
I always have more
that I'm hoping to share
00:45:52.25\00:45:54.72
than I'm ever able to share,
but, friends, I just want to
00:45:54.75\00:45:57.79
encourage you, if you haven't
gone through the quarterly,
00:45:57.82\00:45:59.82
to make your way
through that and make sure
00:45:59.85\00:46:02.49
that you get everything
you possibly can out of it.
00:46:02.52\00:46:05.23
And so there is a quote that
is found on Wednesday's study,
00:46:05.26\00:46:11.60
so let's close with
that particular quote,
00:46:11.63\00:46:16.24
and that is in 1 Chronicles
chapter 16, and verse 29.
00:46:16.27\00:46:22.44
So, of course, you can
find it in your Bibles.
00:46:22.48\00:46:23.81
It's also in the
quarterly itself.
00:46:23.85\00:46:25.15
It says, "Give to the
LORD the glory due His name;
00:46:25.18\00:46:27.88
Bring an offering,
and come before Him.
00:46:27.92\00:46:29.98
Oh, worship the LORD in
the beauty of holiness!"
00:46:30.02\00:46:36.69
And so, friends,
the question is asked,
00:46:36.73\00:46:38.46
"What does that mean,
'the beauty of holiness'?"
00:46:38.49\00:46:42.33
Friends, God is holy.
00:46:42.36\00:46:44.20
You know, there's a statement
that's repeated more than once,
00:46:44.23\00:46:46.97
many times throughout the Bible
in regards to God's character,
00:46:47.00\00:46:50.94
and that is "God is
holy," and that "God is love."
00:46:50.97\00:46:54.91
And in this case, it's talking
about the beauty of holiness.
00:46:54.94\00:46:58.18
Friends, once you
have the Holy Spirit,
00:46:58.21\00:46:59.58
and you're interested in
surrender before the true God
00:46:59.61\00:47:02.62
and Savior of
the world, friends,
00:47:02.65\00:47:04.65
it is at that point that
God's holiness is beautiful
00:47:04.69\00:47:09.36
and that you be able to see
it in all of its glorious light.
00:47:09.39\00:47:12.56
And, you know, I was
at a conference once--
00:47:12.59\00:47:14.83
and I'll close with this.
00:47:14.86\00:47:16.97
I was at a big
conference with pastors,
00:47:17.00\00:47:19.10
thousands of pastors there.
00:47:19.13\00:47:20.50
There was a prominent professor.
00:47:20.54\00:47:21.87
I think the other
speaker in one of the seminars
00:47:21.90\00:47:24.14
was a professor as
well, perhaps a pastor.
00:47:24.17\00:47:26.47
And they had
different presentations.
00:47:26.51\00:47:28.08
One was that the foundational
truth about God's character
00:47:28.11\00:47:30.78
is that God is holy, and the
other one said the foundational
00:47:30.81\00:47:33.45
primary factor of God's
character is that He is love.
00:47:33.48\00:47:37.42
And so there was this
kind of battle that took place
00:47:37.45\00:47:40.26
throughout those
couple of days, you know:
00:47:40.29\00:47:41.86
Is God being love
first and foremost,
00:47:41.89\00:47:44.43
or is God being
holy first and foremost?
00:47:44.46\00:47:46.80
And as I've thought and
kind of ruminated on that,
00:47:46.83\00:47:50.80
I'd like to suggest
that they're not exclusive
00:47:50.83\00:47:53.17
one to another, but rather,
they are very synonymous:
00:47:53.20\00:47:57.04
God's holiness is full of
pure love and the fact that God
00:47:57.07\00:48:01.68
is pure love, and all of
that love is truly holiness.
00:48:01.71\00:48:05.75
And I think we make the mistake
if we tried to separate the two.
00:48:05.78\00:48:09.22
The two are inseparably
connected one to another.
00:48:09.25\00:48:13.42
God's love is pure holiness,
00:48:13.46\00:48:14.96
and God's pure
holiness is pure love.
00:48:14.99\00:48:17.83
And so, friends, we're
going to have to close it
00:48:17.86\00:48:20.10
with that here today.
00:48:20.13\00:48:21.33
Don't forget to take advantage
of our free offer that we made
00:48:21.36\00:48:25.23
at the beginning of the program.
00:48:25.27\00:48:27.14
Some of us had missed
that particular free offer,
00:48:27.17\00:48:29.77
so I'm going to just
say quickly here again,
00:48:29.80\00:48:31.97
"The Rest of Your Life:
00:48:32.01\00:48:33.34
Everything You Need to
Know About the Sabbath."
00:48:33.38\00:48:35.74
And so this is one of
the best reads and studies
00:48:35.78\00:48:38.41
that you can find concerning
the fourth commandment,
00:48:38.45\00:48:40.42
Sabbath, the seventh-day
Sabbath of the Bible,
00:48:40.45\00:48:42.68
and so just call
in to 1-866-788-3966,
00:48:42.72\00:48:47.22
as you see on the screen, and
ask for free offer number 813,
00:48:47.26\00:48:50.63
and if you want to get a
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00:48:50.66\00:48:53.13
you can from
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00:48:53.16\00:48:54.93
your phone, in particular,
by texting the code "SH086."
00:48:54.93\00:49:00.07
So, again, you put that in your
message box of your text app,
00:49:00.10\00:49:03.84
and then you want to
text that to the number 40544.
00:49:03.87\00:49:09.61
And you can receive
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00:49:09.64\00:49:12.31
Again, friends, thank you
for joining us here again.
00:49:12.35\00:49:14.75
We look forward to seeing
you next week as we continue
00:49:14.78\00:49:17.25
to study through this important
subject of Christian education.
00:49:17.29\00:49:21.79
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To get your digital
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to share it with others.
00:49:53.76\00:49:56.76
announcer: The
statistics are grim.
00:49:58.36\00:50:00.23
Millions have been
infected by coronavirus.
00:50:00.26\00:50:02.76
Thousands have died.
00:50:02.80\00:50:04.17
Race riots have
broken out on streets.
00:50:04.20\00:50:06.43
Political tensions
are at an all-time high.
00:50:06.47\00:50:09.07
Does the Bible have
anything to say about the times
00:50:09.10\00:50:12.07
in which we are living?
00:50:12.11\00:50:13.61
Doug Batchelor: Hi, friends,
this is Pastor Doug Batchelor.
00:50:13.64\00:50:16.61
Many people are wondering if
the world's about to implode.
00:50:16.64\00:50:20.02
Some are fearful that global
events point to a coming crisis
00:50:20.05\00:50:23.32
unlike anything
we've ever witnessed.
00:50:23.35\00:50:26.15
Did you know the Bible book
of Revelation actually speaks
00:50:26.19\00:50:29.56
about the days in
which we're living now?
00:50:29.59\00:50:32.03
And it contains a message of
hope if we would only listen.
00:50:32.06\00:50:36.26
That's why I'd like to
invite you to "Revelation Now!
00:50:36.30\00:50:39.93
Decoding the Bible's
Greatest Prophecies."
00:50:39.97\00:50:42.50
In this multipart series,
I'll be sharing relevant truths
00:50:42.54\00:50:45.77
for our time from the
last book in the Bible.
00:50:45.81\00:50:48.78
announcer: Coming October 23.
00:50:48.81\00:50:50.61
To learn more,
visit revelationnow.com.
00:50:50.65\00:50:54.28
¤¤¤
00:50:54.32\00:50:58.72
announcer: "Amazing
Facts Changed Lives."
00:51:02.22\00:51:07.23
Steve Johnson: I was
heading south on Interstate 5.
00:51:12.37\00:51:15.04
This commercial
come on KFBK radio
00:51:15.07\00:51:18.14
about a Revelation
seminar by Amazing Facts.
00:51:18.17\00:51:20.94
I began--my chest
began to tighten up.
00:51:20.98\00:51:24.01
I began sweating profusely.
I had difficulty in breathing.
00:51:24.05\00:51:28.75
There was this big
rest area, and at this time,
00:51:28.78\00:51:31.92
I pulled into there,
I thought, "Well, maybe
00:51:31.95\00:51:33.49
I'm having a heart attack."
00:51:33.52\00:51:35.69
I got out of my truck, walked
into the men's restroom there
00:51:35.72\00:51:39.46
and put cold water
on my face, and then,
00:51:39.49\00:51:41.83
finally, things subsided.
00:51:41.86\00:51:43.57
A week later, again, I heard
this Amazing Facts commercial
00:51:43.60\00:51:47.14
come on the radio.
00:51:47.17\00:51:48.54
In fact, the meetings were
going to start that very night.
00:51:48.57\00:51:50.41
And, again, immediately
I had these same symptoms.
00:51:50.44\00:51:54.01
I thought, "You
know, this isn't my heart.
00:51:54.04\00:51:56.38
I have to go to that meeting."
00:51:56.41\00:51:58.51
And as I was going
down to Sacramento,
00:51:58.55\00:52:00.52
I decided to park and go inside.
00:52:00.55\00:52:03.55
Well, I got in and walked into
the furthermost rear seat they
00:52:03.59\00:52:08.52
had in the pew there, and
this particular evangelist,
00:52:08.56\00:52:15.20
his name was Kim Kjaer.
00:52:15.23\00:52:16.90
It was like taking one
layer off at a time of an onion.
00:52:16.93\00:52:20.97
He laid it out so perfectly
that we could all understand it,
00:52:21.00\00:52:24.11
and I was really motivated.
00:52:24.14\00:52:25.54
I couldn't believe it.
00:52:25.57\00:52:26.91
Well, I finished. I
didn't miss a meeting.
00:52:26.94\00:52:28.68
In fact, on the fifth
night, they had an altar call,
00:52:28.71\00:52:32.51
and my knees stood right
up, and I walked forward,
00:52:32.55\00:52:35.52
and I gave my
heart to Jesus Christ.
00:52:35.55\00:52:38.62
I've learned
throughout this whole thing that
00:52:38.65\00:52:40.86
when you leave
the devil's territory,
00:52:40.89\00:52:44.26
he gets pretty active in
causing a lot of problems.
00:52:44.29\00:52:48.36
Well, I had the
evangelist come out,
00:52:48.40\00:52:50.97
and they had prayer
with me about my business.
00:52:51.00\00:52:53.64
I would find a sick
business and make it well,
00:52:53.67\00:52:56.77
and then market it.
00:52:56.81\00:52:58.67
I finally ended up with a
business that I really enjoyed
00:52:58.71\00:53:01.94
that was one that was
building equestrian centers.
00:53:01.98\00:53:05.78
And they said to
me, "Steve," he said,
00:53:05.81\00:53:07.48
"you know, if you're going
to really keep the Sabbath,
00:53:07.52\00:53:09.58
you've got to shut
your doors on the Sabbath."
00:53:09.62\00:53:12.15
Well, I did, and so I sold
the business to my brother.
00:53:12.19\00:53:15.29
Took me 22 years to
build that business,
00:53:15.32\00:53:18.66
and he lost it in 33 months.
00:53:18.69\00:53:21.66
My son, who was
my business partner,
00:53:21.70\00:53:23.80
I've been giving him 10%
of the business every year.
00:53:23.83\00:53:27.07
He thought I'd just
fallen off the bridge.
00:53:27.10\00:53:31.57
My son didn't talk
to me for 5 1/2 years,
00:53:31.61\00:53:35.01
and then a few
other things happened.
00:53:35.04\00:53:36.98
So I had an ex-employee
living in my guest house.
00:53:37.01\00:53:39.58
He kind of
watched after our place,
00:53:39.61\00:53:42.08
and he said, "Steve," he said,
"there's an Allied moving van
00:53:42.12\00:53:46.12
backed up to your
front door in your home."
00:53:46.15\00:53:48.42
I said, "You're kidding."
I said, "What do you mean?"
00:53:48.46\00:53:51.29
He said, "They're moving
everything out of your house
00:53:51.33\00:53:53.76
into this truck, and your wife
is out there supervising them."
00:53:53.80\00:53:57.93
And when I went home
and opened the front door,
00:53:57.97\00:53:59.70
my voice echoed in that house.
00:53:59.73\00:54:01.60
There wasn't any
furniture left anywhere.
00:54:01.64\00:54:03.71
There was one bed
left in the house.
00:54:03.74\00:54:06.81
I knew my wife was upset because
of my coming to this church,
00:54:06.84\00:54:11.31
but I had no idea that
she would move out like this.
00:54:11.35\00:54:14.25
That was a total shock to me.
00:54:14.28\00:54:16.58
It was some time there, I
locked myself in the bedroom,
00:54:16.62\00:54:19.45
and I began reading the Bible.
00:54:19.49\00:54:21.19
It's been about
a half a year, just
00:54:21.22\00:54:23.66
every night, getting
home, and I would study.
00:54:23.69\00:54:27.66
It allowed me to have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ.
00:54:27.66\00:54:31.33
Well, to make a
long story short,
00:54:31.37\00:54:33.17
I met Crystal, and
she was a godly woman.
00:54:33.20\00:54:36.97
That was the
Lord's doing, not mine,
00:54:37.01\00:54:39.31
and He was just
there to let me know that
00:54:39.34\00:54:41.74
"I'm with you all the way.
00:54:41.78\00:54:43.11
Even though you're going to have
some trials and you're going
00:54:43.14\00:54:45.18
to have some
hardships, I want you to know
00:54:45.21\00:54:47.82
that I'll be with you," because
no matter what I do know,
00:54:47.85\00:54:52.29
He is my leader.
00:54:52.32\00:54:54.02
He's the leader of my marriage,
00:54:54.06\00:54:55.42
He's the leader of
everything in my life today.
00:54:55.46\00:54:57.99
That one meeting with
the Amazing Facts seminar
00:54:58.03\00:55:00.73
changed my entire
life, and to this day,
00:55:00.76\00:55:04.33
I'm still on fire for God.
00:55:04.37\00:55:06.30
I'm still
witnessing to my neighbors.
00:55:06.33\00:55:08.34
My name is Steve
Johnson, and it's because of you
00:55:08.37\00:55:10.67
that Amazing Facts
has changed my life.
00:55:10.71\00:55:14.11
¤¤¤
00:55:14.14\00:55:20.18
¤¤¤
00:55:21.12\00:55:31.09
¤¤¤
00:55:31.13\00:55:33.13
Doug: Port
Royal, here in Jamaica,
00:55:33.16\00:55:34.96
was once considered the
most wicked city in the world.
00:55:35.00\00:55:38.13
They had more bars and
brothels per square foot
00:55:38.17\00:55:40.64
than any other
place on the planet.
00:55:40.67\00:55:42.47
It was said to be just
full of cutthroats and pirates,
00:55:42.50\00:55:45.14
but during this
time, the King of France,
00:55:45.17\00:55:48.04
Louie XIV, he began to
persecute the Protestants
00:55:48.08\00:55:51.45
and the Huguenots in
the kingdom, and many fled.
00:55:51.48\00:55:53.82
That's when Lewis
Galdy and his brother Laurent
00:55:53.85\00:55:56.58
came to Port Royal.
00:55:56.62\00:55:58.59
¤¤¤
00:55:58.62\00:56:00.69
Doug: When Lewis Galdy arrived,
00:56:00.72\00:56:02.09
he was absolutely dumbfounded
at the unrestrained immorality,
00:56:02.12\00:56:05.39
violence, and extravagance
that filled Port Royal.
00:56:05.43\00:56:08.56
That's why nobody was surprised
00:56:08.60\00:56:09.90
when the judgment of
God finally happened.
00:56:09.93\00:56:12.77
Just before noon, June 7, 1692,
there was a massive earthquake
00:56:12.80\00:56:17.37
that affected the whole island,
Port Royal in particular.
00:56:17.41\00:56:20.91
Two-thirds of it
slid into the sea.
00:56:20.94\00:56:23.08
Then came a
tsunami. Thousands perished.
00:56:23.11\00:56:25.81
Unfortunately, even
Lewis Galdy was swallowed up
00:56:25.85\00:56:29.18
in the earthquake.
00:56:29.22\00:56:34.12
Doug: You know, much
of Jamaica is a rock,
00:56:34.16\00:56:35.79
but Port Royal
was built on the sand,
00:56:35.82\00:56:37.96
and so, when the
earthquake struck,
00:56:37.99\00:56:39.76
the sand virtually liquified,
swallowing much of the city
00:56:39.79\00:56:42.83
and thousands of people.
00:56:42.86\00:56:44.33
Lewis Galdy was buried
alive, but while underground,
00:56:44.37\00:56:48.34
he was still
conscious, and he prayed.
00:56:48.37\00:56:51.01
He resigned himself to
his fate, prayed to the Lord,
00:56:51.04\00:56:53.68
and then another
miracle happened.
00:56:53.71\00:56:55.84
There was an aftershock with a
volcanic activity that exploded,
00:56:55.88\00:56:59.48
blowing Lewis
Galdy out of the earth,
00:56:59.51\00:57:01.98
hundreds of
yards off into the sea,
00:57:02.02\00:57:03.85
where he had a
pretty hard landing,
00:57:03.89\00:57:05.82
but he was able to
swim until he was rescued.
00:57:05.85\00:57:08.76
Lewis Galdy dedicated the
remaining 47 years of his life
00:57:08.79\00:57:12.06
to serving Jesus in this island,
00:57:12.09\00:57:14.40
and he's even
buried here still today.
00:57:14.46\00:57:16.40
¤¤¤
00:57:16.43\00:57:21.17
Doug: You know,
the Bible tells us,
00:57:21.20\00:57:22.54
just before Jesus comes back,
conditions in the world will be
00:57:22.57\00:57:25.04
very much like they were
in Sodom and in Port Royal.
00:57:25.07\00:57:28.31
There's going to be a
tremendous earthquake,
00:57:28.34\00:57:30.18
and even islands
will be swallowed up.
00:57:30.21\00:57:31.95
But God's people
don't need to be afraid.
00:57:31.98\00:57:33.95
The same way that the
Lord took care of Lewis Galdy,
00:57:33.98\00:57:36.65
He will take care of you.
00:57:36.69\00:57:38.22
It says in Psalm 91, that
you might see a thousand fall
00:57:38.25\00:57:41.19
at your side or ten
thousand at your right hand,
00:57:41.22\00:57:43.26
but only with
your eyes will you see
00:57:43.29\00:57:45.36
and behold the
destruction of the wicked.
00:57:45.39\00:57:47.03
He can protect
you and resurrect you.
00:57:47.10\00:57:49.40
¤¤¤
00:57:49.43\00:57:59.34
¤¤¤
00:58:01.28\00:58:11.25
¤¤¤
00:58:11.29\00:58:16.26
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00:58:16.29\00:58:24.87
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