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Jean Ross: Good
morning, friends.
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We'd like to welcome you
to, "Sabbath School Study Hour,"
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coming to you here
from the Granite Bay
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Seventh-day Adventist Church
in Sacramento, California.
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We'd like to welcome our many
online members who are tuning in
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and those who are
watching, wherever you might be,
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whether you're in North America,
or maybe you're watching us
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on the Internet
outside of North America.
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Perhaps you're
participating in this service
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several weeks later,
and you're doing the lesson,
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we'd like to welcome all of you.
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Our lesson today is
lesson number nine in the series
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of studies dealing
with the book of Isaiah,
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and today is
particular important.
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It's called "To
Serve and to Save."
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That is the title of our lesson.
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Now, if you don't have a copy
of the Sabbath School lesson,
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we want to
encourage you to go online,
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and you can download
a copy of the lesson.
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You can visit a local
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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You can ask for a
copy of the quarterly,
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the lesson guide, and you're
able to study along with us.
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Well, before we
get to our study,
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we always like to begin by
lifting our voices in song,
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and so for those of you at
home, you're welcome to join us.
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We're going to be singing that
well-known hymn "Amazing Grace."
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It's hymn number
108 in the hymn book,
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and I think we're going to
be doing three of the verses.
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¤¤¤
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¤ Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound ¤
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¤ that saved a wretch like me ¤
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¤ I once was
lost, but now am found ¤
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¤ was blind, but now I see ¤
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¤ The Lord has
promised good to me ¤
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¤ His word my hope secures ¤
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¤ He will my
shield and portion be ¤
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¤ as long as life endures ¤
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¤ When we've been
there 10,000 years ¤
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¤ bright shining as the sun ¤
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¤ we've no less days
to sing God's praise ¤
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¤ than when we first begun ¤¤
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Jean: Let us bow his prayer.
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Dear Father, once again, we
are so grateful that we're able
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to gather in Your presence
and invite Your Spirit to come
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and teach us as
we open up Your Word.
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And so, Father, we
invite You to draw close to us.
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Give us understanding.
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It's such an important
lesson, such an important book
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that we are studying.
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So we ask Your
special blessing, Lord.
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Be with those who are
listening or watching wherever
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they might be, and 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: Good morning.
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We are continuing in our
study on the book of Isaiah.
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We want to welcome everybody.
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And today we're going to be
dealing with lesson number nine,
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and the title of that lesson
is "To Serve and to Save."
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And we have a memory
verse, and the memory verse
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is from Isaiah chapter 41.
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I'm sorry.
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Isaiah chapter 42,
verse 1, and if you have that,
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you're welcome
to say it with me.
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For those that are here
and those that are home,
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"Behold, My
Servant whom I uphold,
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My Elect One in
whom My soul delights.
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I put My Spirit upon Him.
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He will bring forth
justice to the Gentiles."
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Now, our assignment today
is to be studying a number of,
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just, magnificent chapters
from the book of Isaiah,
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and that would be
Isaiah chapter 41,
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all of chapter
41, Isaiah chapter 42,
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verse 1 through
7, Isaiah chapter 44,
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verse 26 through 45,
and Isaiah chapter 45--
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through Isaiah chapter
45, verse 6, and Isaiah 45,
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1 through 12.
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And I know the writers of
the lesson had a real challenge
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because they've got the 66
chapters in Isaiah to study
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in 13 weeks, and they
tried to find out the best way
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to break it up so that
there were common themes
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in the different sections
that were being studied.
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So there's a lot that's
being said in Isaiah chapter 41.
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Matter of fact, if
you have your Bibles,
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you may want to just
join me and go to Isaiah 41.
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We're going to read
some sections there,
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and I don't know if we'll
get the whole chapter done--
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that talks about the servant.
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Now, I should tell you probably
right at the outset that
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there's two things that are
being spoken of in this theme.
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One is that God is going to work
through a human instrumentality
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as a servant, to
be a type of Christ,
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and you'll find out later
in the study that it's talking
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about a Persian
king named Cyrus.
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And then it's also a
type of God's people.
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Jacob is the servant of God.
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And then you're also going
to be hearing about Christ,
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who is the ultimate servant.
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And so, you know, one of the
wonderful things about prophecy
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is there are different
depths that you look at.
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There's, like, layers to it.
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Now, let me see if I
can give you an example
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of what I'm talking about
before I even go to Isaiah 41.
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If you have your Bibles, if
you turn real quick to Isaiah
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chapter 14, I think it's
important to understand just,
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kind of, this principle
about why these prophets seem
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to bounce around a little bit.
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If you go to Isaiah chapter 14,
and you'll see in the beginning
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of Isaiah chapter
14, he has this prophecy.
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You can go to, oh, let's
say, verse 4, Isaiah 14:4,
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"that you will take
up this proverb against
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the king of Babylon--"
now, who is the proverb against?
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King of Babylon, okay?
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But then you get
down to chapter 12,
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"How you are fallen
from heaven, O Lucifer,
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the 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've said in your heart,
'I will ascend into heaven.'"
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Now, who's this
prophecy talking about?
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The devil.
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Well, you just said he's talkin'
about the King of Babylon.
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Let me give you another example.
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If you go to
Revelation chapter 12--
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you don't have to
go there right away--
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and it says that,
"The dragon stood before
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the woman to devour the man
child as soon as it was born."
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Now, who is the
dragon in Bible prophecy?
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It's the devil.
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But what kingdom
did the devil use
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to try to kill Jesus as a baby?
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Rome.
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All right, so, you
see, it's talking about
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the spiritual power behind
this government, but God often--
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He can operate
through governments,
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and the devil can
operate through governments.
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If you go to Ezekiel, in Ezekiel
chapter 28--you can go there
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real quick, and you'll see
it starts out--go to verse 11.
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Ezekiel 28, verse 11, "Moreover
the word of the Lord came to me,
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saying, 'Son of man, take
up a lamentation for the king
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of Tyre--" okay, who is this
oracle prophecy directed to?
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King of Tyre.
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That was up north.
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It was the Phoenician kingdom.
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But you get down to verse 14,
"You were the anointed cherub
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who covers."
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And it says in verse
13, "You were in Eden
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in the garden of God."
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The king of Tyre was not there.
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"Every precious
stone was your covering."
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Says, "It was prepared for you
in the day you were created."
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The king of
Tyre was not created.
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He's a human. He was born.
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So who is this
prophecy talking about?
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It's talking about Lucifer,
who is the power that was
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manipulating the king of
Tyre to persecute God's people.
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And so the prophets often
talk about earthly powers,
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but then you can see
they're being transported
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behind the veil to see
what is the spiritual power
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that is behind
these political powers.
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Now, surprisingly,
when we study Isaiah today,
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we're going to see that
the spiritual power behind
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an earthly political
power, a pagan political power,
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it's not always the devil.
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It's going to actually be
the Lord who is working behind
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a pagan political power
to accomplish His purposes.
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Okay, with that
lengthy introduction,
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I hope that made sense
that sometimes these prophets,
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you say, "Seems like
he's bouncing around.
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He's often going
from the physical,
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and then he's transported
back to the spiritual,
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behind the scenes.
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All right, let's go
back to Isaiah chapter 41,
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and we're just going
to read a few verses here.
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"Keep silence--" this
is verse 1, Isaiah 41:1,
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"Keep silence
before Me, O ye coastlands,
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and let the people
renew their strength.
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Let them come near,
then let them speak.
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Let them come near
together for judgment.
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Who raised up one from the east?
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Who in righteousness
called him to His feet?
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Who gave the nations before him,
and made him rule over kings?
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Who gave them as
the dust to his sword,
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a driven stubble to his bow?"
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He's talking about this power.
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Now here we believe--
he spends several chapters,
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and he's talking
about the Persian king
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who will
overthrow their enemies.
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He comes from the east.
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He conquers
Babylon that has oppressed
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and destroyed Jerusalem,
and this Persian king is Cyrus.
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He is a type of
Christ-- Christ, who is the King
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who comes from the east.
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And so it leads
up and, you know,
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later it'll mention him
by name as you get closer.
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It says that, verse
3, "Who pursued them,
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and passed safely by
the way that he had not gone
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with his feet?
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Who has
performed it and done it,
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calling the
generations from the beginning?
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'I am the Lord.
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I am the first,
and I am the last.'"
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Do you find a
place in Revelation
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where you find that term?
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It's when Jesus is called,
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"from
everlasting to everlasting,
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the Alpha and the
Omega, the First and the Last."
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That means as far as back as you
can go in the back of history
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and as far forward as you
can ever go in the forward
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that you never
reach the end of God.
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He is eternal from
everlasting to everlasting.
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He says, "I am He."
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Verse 5, "The
coastlands saw it and feared.
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The ends of the
earth were afraid.
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They drew near, and they came.
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Everyone helped his neighbor,
and said to his brother,
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'Be of good courage.'
00:11:57.91\00:11:59.85
So the craftsman
encouraged the goldsmith,
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and he who smooths
with the hammer inspired him
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who strikes the anvil, saying,
'Is it ready for the soldering.'
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Then he fastened it with
pegs, that it might not totter."
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He's talking about the nations
that turn to their idols.
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"But you, Israel--" contrasted
to these pagan nations--
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"you are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen--"
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now why does God call Jacob,
Israel, the servant of God?
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You're going to find
that a lot of things that--
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a lot of titles that God
has for His people, Israel,
00:12:33.88\00:12:37.32
are also titles
for Christ Himself.
00:12:37.35\00:12:39.99
Israel is called a servant.
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When Moses came to the Pharaoh--
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and if you look in Exodus
chapter 7, verse 16, He says,
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"Let My people go,
that they may serve Me."
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Why does God save us?
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So that we could go on an
all-expenses-paid vacation?
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Why does He save us?
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We are
ultimately saved to serve.
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It says in Exodus 19:6,
"You shall be to Me a kingdom
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of priests and a holy nation."
00:13:13.36\00:13:16.02
Is a priest a
person who just relaxes,
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or is a priest busy
in making atonement?
00:13:18.46\00:13:21.73
He's a mediator.
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He's bringing people to God.
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And we're to be a nation
of people, kings and priests,
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that are bringing people to
God, that are defending others.
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You look again in Isaiah 44:1,
"Hear now, Jacob, My servant,
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Israel, whom I have chosen."
00:13:35.54\00:13:37.85
Was Jacob brought out of Egypt?
00:13:37.88\00:13:41.02
Do you remember reading
in Matthew where Jesus--
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did He spent some time in Egypt?
00:13:44.22\00:13:46.59
And God has this
prophecy that says,
00:13:46.62\00:13:48.92
"Out of Egypt I
have called My Son."
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Not only is that true that
Jesus was called out of Egypt,
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Jacob was called out of Egypt.
00:13:55.23\00:13:58.30
And you read Isaiah 41, verse
8, "But you, Israel, My servant,
00:13:58.33\00:14:06.37
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
00:14:06.41\00:14:08.74
the offspring of
My friend Abraham."
00:14:08.78\00:14:11.58
Now, Jesus reminds us, if
you look in Matthew chapter 23,
00:14:11.61\00:14:16.08
verse 11, "He who is greatest
among you will be your servant."
00:14:16.12\00:14:23.12
You look in
Matthew 20, verse 27,
00:14:23.16\00:14:25.69
"And whoever desires
to be first among you,
00:14:25.73\00:14:28.70
let him be your slave, just the
Son of Man did not come to be
00:14:28.73\00:14:32.73
served, but to serve and to give
His life a ransom for many."
00:14:32.77\00:14:37.57
So in the same
way He saved Israel,
00:14:37.61\00:14:41.38
Jacob, to serve--and
Jesus is an example of one
00:14:41.41\00:14:44.91
who is among us to serve--
why are Christians saved?
00:14:44.95\00:14:48.48
To serve.
00:14:48.52\00:14:51.32
Does that
diminish our happiness,
00:14:51.35\00:14:55.32
or does the real
happiness come from service?
00:14:55.36\00:14:58.43
You know, I remember reading
this report a few years ago
00:14:58.46\00:15:03.40
that, after Hurricane Katrina,
a number of Christian churches
00:15:03.43\00:15:07.87
basically sent missionary
teams to go help rebuild
00:15:07.90\00:15:11.27
different communities and
facilities and infrastructure,
00:15:11.31\00:15:14.21
and it was amazing
how many of the families
00:15:14.24\00:15:17.28
and the contractors
that had donated this time,
00:15:17.31\00:15:19.78
they said, "This was the
best vacation of our life.
00:15:19.81\00:15:24.45
We took our families to serve."
00:15:24.49\00:15:27.46
You know, I found
that out in my own life.
00:15:27.49\00:15:29.19
Karen and I, we've
traveled many times,
00:15:29.22\00:15:31.03
many parts of the world
to do different, you know,
00:15:31.06\00:15:33.33
mission projects,
evangelistic programs,
00:15:33.36\00:15:35.33
camp meetings,
whatever, and sometimes
00:15:35.36\00:15:39.00
we go to exotic
countries, and it's great.
00:15:39.03\00:15:41.00
We find, whenever
we go somewhere to do
00:15:41.04\00:15:43.94
some mission work, we
have our best vacation.
00:15:43.97\00:15:48.98
We went to Roatan years ago to--
00:15:49.01\00:15:50.58
we did both an
evangelistic meeting,
00:15:50.61\00:15:53.08
and we helped
Maranatha in building
00:15:53.11\00:15:54.98
some Sabbath School rooms,
but we got in some spare time
00:15:55.02\00:15:57.79
diving and spending
some time for the people.
00:15:57.82\00:16:00.62
That was a great trip.
00:16:00.66\00:16:03.32
And then we said, "We're
going to take a pure vacation,
00:16:03.36\00:16:06.03
no preaching, no
responsibilities."
00:16:06.06\00:16:08.00
You know, I won't tell you
who said it, but I've heard,
00:16:08.03\00:16:10.47
"Doug, every
time you go somewhere,
00:16:10.50\00:16:11.90
you always have to preach."
00:16:11.93\00:16:13.30
It'd be nice if we
just went on a vacation
00:16:13.34\00:16:14.80
with no responsibilities.
00:16:14.84\00:16:16.84
So we did that.
00:16:16.87\00:16:18.44
Went to Hawaii--rained
every day we were there.
00:16:18.47\00:16:23.88
Matter of fact,
it was historic rain.
00:16:23.91\00:16:26.28
It rained every day
in Hawaii for 40 days,
00:16:26.31\00:16:29.42
including every
day we were there.
00:16:29.45\00:16:31.99
We went to the
beach in the rain anyway,
00:16:32.02\00:16:33.66
but we thought, "How much
more fun we have when we take
00:16:33.69\00:16:37.03
the family, and we
go do a mission project.
00:16:37.06\00:16:40.36
And so, you know, Jesus
said, "It's more blessed to give
00:16:40.40\00:16:43.53
than receive," and if we
look upon service as a blessing,
00:16:43.57\00:16:50.84
that's where you find
your greatest happiness.
00:16:50.87\00:16:53.61
"He who seeks to save
his life will lose it."
00:16:53.64\00:16:56.78
It'll rain every
day of your vacation.
00:16:56.81\00:16:59.08
"But he who forsakes his life--"
you give your life to Christ--
00:16:59.11\00:17:02.28
"that's when you find it."
00:17:02.32\00:17:03.62
That's when you get
the greatest blessing.
00:17:03.65\00:17:05.59
So we, like Israel, like
Christ, our purpose in life
00:17:05.62\00:17:10.09
is to be His servants.
00:17:10.13\00:17:12.86
I remember--and this is a
great message for churches,
00:17:12.89\00:17:16.06
you know?
00:17:16.10\00:17:17.60
A lot of people
that come to church,
00:17:17.63\00:17:19.70
come, they sit, they
try to just soak it up.
00:17:19.73\00:17:22.34
They may bring their
offering, and then they leave,
00:17:22.37\00:17:25.34
and you don't hear from
them again for another week.
00:17:25.37\00:17:27.94
They say, "Well, I
kind of put in my time.
00:17:27.98\00:17:29.34
I gave my offering."
00:17:29.38\00:17:31.31
But they're not
really involved in service.
00:17:31.35\00:17:35.22
And, you know, God has
really called us to serve.
00:17:35.25\00:17:38.62
You've heard the statistics
before that 80% of the work
00:17:38.65\00:17:43.63
in any church is
done by 20% of the people.
00:17:43.66\00:17:48.16
You know, that's true.
00:17:48.20\00:17:50.33
Eighty percent is
usually done by twenty percent.
00:17:50.37\00:17:54.14
Do you know, 80% of the
giving is usually done by 20%
00:17:54.17\00:17:58.11
of the people.
00:17:58.14\00:18:00.38
Are you aware that 20%
of the carpet in your house
00:18:00.41\00:18:02.94
gets 80% of the traffic?
00:18:02.98\00:18:07.02
And I take that a
different direction.
00:18:07.05\00:18:08.38
It's called the 80-20 rule.
00:18:08.42\00:18:09.92
It's true in many areas of life.
00:18:09.95\00:18:12.85
You ever notice that?
00:18:12.89\00:18:14.26
Your carpet, most of
your carpets really good
00:18:14.29\00:18:16.73
'cause you don't walk
on it, but you have trails.
00:18:16.76\00:18:18.53
Twenty percent of
it, you'll wear out.
00:18:18.56\00:18:20.60
Well, that's kind of
the way it is in life.
00:18:20.63\00:18:22.70
It seems like there's
always 20% of the people
00:18:22.73\00:18:25.80
doing 80% of the work.
00:18:25.83\00:18:27.74
I heard a story
one time, years ago,
00:18:27.77\00:18:29.44
this man was waiting
for a stagecoach to take him
00:18:29.47\00:18:32.54
from one city to another in the
West, and he went to the office
00:18:32.57\00:18:35.81
where they were selling
the tickets, and it said,
00:18:35.84\00:18:39.31
"First class, $1,
second-class ticket 50 cents,
00:18:39.35\00:18:44.85
third class ticket, 25 cents.
00:18:44.89\00:18:47.66
And he looked out the
door, and he saw the stagecoach
00:18:47.69\00:18:49.52
was just arriving, and
all three groups, first class,
00:18:49.56\00:18:52.83
second class, third class,
climbed out of the same cabin
00:18:52.86\00:18:55.53
and had the same seats.
00:18:55.56\00:18:57.47
He thought, "Well, I'm
dumb, but I'm not stupid.
00:18:57.50\00:18:59.40
I'm going to get a
third-class ticket."
00:18:59.43\00:19:01.10
He thought he was pretty smart
and he saved a lot of money.
00:19:01.14\00:19:03.77
So he got on board,
and he's riding along,
00:19:03.81\00:19:05.44
and he's looking at this fellow.
00:19:05.47\00:19:06.78
He's got a first-class
ticket, and he's thinking,
00:19:06.81\00:19:08.11
"Hah, he's not very bright."
00:19:08.14\00:19:10.45
He said, "He paid a
dollar. I paid 25 cents.
00:19:10.48\00:19:12.51
We're getting to the same place.
00:19:12.55\00:19:14.08
We're riding in the same coach.
00:19:14.12\00:19:16.02
I don't know how
they can do that"--
00:19:16.05\00:19:17.82
until they came to
the first steep hill,
00:19:17.85\00:19:21.49
and they
stagecoach driver, he said,
00:19:21.52\00:19:23.02
"Okay, second-class
passengers, get out and walk.
00:19:23.06\00:19:28.80
First-class
passengers, remain seated.
00:19:28.83\00:19:31.57
Third-class
passengers, get out and push."
00:19:31.60\00:19:38.04
Problem in most churches
is we're full of first-class
00:19:38.07\00:19:40.88
passengers, hah-ha.
00:19:40.91\00:19:44.28
We need more third-class
passengers that are willing
00:19:44.31\00:19:46.98
to get out and push, amen?
00:19:47.02\00:19:49.98
You know, Paul,
in Romans chapter 1,
00:19:50.02\00:19:52.95
he refers to himself as
the servant of Jesus Christ.
00:19:52.99\00:19:57.33
Matter of fact, in
several of his letters,
00:19:57.36\00:19:58.76
he refers to
himself as a servant.
00:19:58.79\00:20:00.10
Matter of fact, in
some of your versions,
00:20:00.13\00:20:02.03
it'll actually say,
"Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ."
00:20:02.06\00:20:07.57
Now, in the Bible, you know, now
we think of people as employees.
00:20:07.60\00:20:14.08
You've got the boss, and
then you've got the employee,
00:20:14.11\00:20:16.51
but in Bible times, those
who served were not employees.
00:20:16.54\00:20:20.18
It was a whole
different mind-set.
00:20:20.22\00:20:22.08
You didn't punch hours
and have all these rights
00:20:22.12\00:20:24.65
and all these safety
measures, and, you know,
00:20:24.69\00:20:27.16
it wasn't all
for your convenience.
00:20:27.19\00:20:28.89
You really were at the
beck and call of your master
00:20:28.92\00:20:30.89
24 hours a day.
00:20:30.93\00:20:33.56
And so, when we talk
about serving the Lord,
00:20:33.60\00:20:37.47
you don't punch a clock.
00:20:37.50\00:20:42.24
Sometimes as I'm traveling
between one speaking engagement
00:20:42.27\00:20:44.87
and another speaking
engagement, I might be tired,
00:20:44.91\00:20:48.08
and I'll get on the
plane, and I'll think,
00:20:48.11\00:20:51.78
"Well, I hope nobody sits
in this seat next to me so that
00:20:51.81\00:20:55.92
I can have a little more
room to spread out and maybe do
00:20:55.95\00:20:58.62
some writing or reading,"
and then someone will sit down
00:20:58.65\00:21:03.79
next to me, and I'll
hear a little voice say,
00:21:03.83\00:21:05.56
"Doug, maybe you
should witness to him.
00:21:05.59\00:21:08.06
Strike up a conversation."
00:21:08.10\00:21:09.50
And I'll think,
"But Lord, I'm off duty."
00:21:09.53\00:21:13.10
I'm going from--I'm
a pastor, and I'm going
00:21:13.13\00:21:15.07
from one speaking occasion
to another speaking occasion,
00:21:15.10\00:21:18.51
and when I get there,
then I'll be back on duty.
00:21:18.54\00:21:21.28
And God says,
"You're never off duty.
00:21:21.31\00:21:25.51
You're My servant.
00:21:25.55\00:21:27.32
And, you know,
you're to serve Me
00:21:27.35\00:21:28.85
whenever an
opportunity presents itself."
00:21:28.88\00:21:31.95
So--and that's the way it
should be with a Christian.
00:21:31.99\00:21:34.29
We don't say
when we leave church,
00:21:34.32\00:21:35.62
"Okay, I'm off
the clock now," right?
00:21:35.66\00:21:39.03
Matter of fact, that's
when you really on the clock.
00:21:39.06\00:21:41.66
I remember seeing this church
that you drove onto the church
00:21:41.70\00:21:47.77
premises, and it
said-- it had a sign.
00:21:47.80\00:21:50.91
It said, "Enter to
learn," and then, as you left,
00:21:50.94\00:21:54.01
it said, "Leave to serve."
00:21:54.04\00:21:56.88
I know another church
that, as people drove out--
00:21:56.91\00:21:58.45
we might do this.
00:21:58.48\00:21:59.78
It's a good idea.
00:21:59.81\00:22:01.12
As they left the parking lot,
there's a bit sign that said,
00:22:01.15\00:22:03.18
"You are now
entering the mission field."
00:22:03.22\00:22:06.86
And it kind of
reminded everybody
00:22:06.89\00:22:08.32
that your work really begins.
00:22:08.36\00:22:10.03
You're here to kind
of worship and learn,
00:22:10.06\00:22:11.56
and then you leave, and
you are in the mission field.
00:22:11.59\00:22:14.20
You know,
sometimes, even in the church
00:22:14.20\00:22:15.50
you're in the
mission field, right?
00:22:15.53\00:22:17.30
But I think that just
helps keep it in our minds
00:22:17.33\00:22:19.93
that we are called to serve.
00:22:19.97\00:22:22.37
It's not just
about saving ourselves.
00:22:22.40\00:22:25.71
So, Isaiah often identifies
God's people as his servants.
00:22:25.74\00:22:34.35
Now go to chapter 42.
00:22:34.38\00:22:36.08
I'm going to read the
first six verses here.
00:22:36.12\00:22:38.49
I think our lesson is
telling us first seven verses.
00:22:38.52\00:22:41.02
"Behold, My
Servant whom I uphold,
00:22:41.06\00:22:45.46
My Elect One in
whom My soul delights."
00:22:45.49\00:22:48.43
Now, how many of
you, in your Bibles,
00:22:48.46\00:22:50.43
when you read
verse 1, of Isaiah 42,
00:22:50.47\00:22:53.34
the word
"Servant" is capitalized?
00:22:53.37\00:22:57.61
And it says, "My Elect One."
00:22:57.64\00:23:00.58
It says, "Elect
One" is capitalized.
00:23:00.61\00:23:03.65
Why is that?
00:23:03.68\00:23:05.08
Who is that Servant?
00:23:05.11\00:23:06.68
That means it's a proper
name. This is a special one.
00:23:06.72\00:23:09.65
This is a prophecy about Jesus.
00:23:09.68\00:23:12.05
So you notice,
chapter 41, it says,
00:23:12.09\00:23:13.96
"Isaac, Jacob, My servant," and
talks about Abraham His servant.
00:23:13.99\00:23:19.59
Here it says,
"Behold, My Servant,"
00:23:19.63\00:23:21.53
it's talking about the Messiah.
00:23:21.56\00:23:23.87
"I put My Spirit upon Him,
and He will bring forth justice
00:23:23.90\00:23:28.07
to the Gentiles.
00:23:28.10\00:23:29.84
He will not cry
out, or raise His voice,
00:23:29.87\00:23:32.64
nor cause His voice to
be heard in the street."
00:23:32.67\00:23:34.98
Matthew actually
refers to this passage
00:23:35.01\00:23:39.25
in one of his prophecies,
saying that, you know,
00:23:39.28\00:23:41.62
He would not make a stir.
00:23:41.65\00:23:43.35
Jesus often,
healed a person, and then,
00:23:43.39\00:23:45.75
He wouldn't say
anything about it.
00:23:45.79\00:23:47.42
Look in Matthew chapter
12, verse 14, and just--
00:23:47.46\00:23:49.99
so you can see that,
if you have any doubts
00:23:50.03\00:23:53.06
about who this is, the
apostles tell us who this is.
00:23:53.09\00:23:56.67
Matthew 12, verse 14,
"Then the Pharisees went out
00:23:56.70\00:23:59.83
and plotted against Him,
how they might destroy Him.
00:23:59.87\00:24:02.90
But when Jesus knew
it, He withdrew from there.
00:24:02.94\00:24:05.37
And great
multitudes followed Him,
00:24:05.41\00:24:07.84
and He healed them all.
00:24:07.88\00:24:09.51
Yet He warned them
not to make Him known--"
00:24:09.54\00:24:12.55
how often did Jesus
heal somebody and say,
00:24:12.58\00:24:14.52
"Now, don't tell anybody"?
00:24:14.55\00:24:16.52
Like that man
who was born blind--
00:24:16.55\00:24:18.52
not the man who was born blind.
00:24:18.55\00:24:20.52
That's the sermon later today.
00:24:20.56\00:24:21.99
The man who was full of leprosy.
00:24:22.02\00:24:24.13
Jesus healed him, and He said,
00:24:24.16\00:24:25.46
"Now, don't say anything."
00:24:25.49\00:24:26.80
So often, Jesus
would heal a person,
00:24:26.83\00:24:28.23
even some of the
blind people, and He'd say,
00:24:28.26\00:24:30.00
"Don't say anything."
00:24:30.03\00:24:31.50
Why did He do that?
00:24:31.53\00:24:33.17
Well, one, the--too much
notoriety was going to hinder
00:24:33.20\00:24:37.04
His work, and the other was
just the meekness of Christ.
00:24:37.07\00:24:40.54
Going on here, it says
here in Matthew chapter 12,
00:24:40.58\00:24:44.35
"He healed them all.
00:24:44.38\00:24:45.78
Yet He warned them
not to make Him known,
00:24:45.81\00:24:48.05
that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken of by the prophet
00:24:48.08\00:24:52.09
Isaiah, saying, 'Behold,
My Servant whom I have chosen,
00:24:52.12\00:24:55.89
My Beloved in whom
My soul is well pleased.
00:24:55.92\00:24:58.19
I will put My Spirit upon
Him, and He will declare justice
00:24:58.23\00:25:01.90
to the Gentiles.
00:25:01.93\00:25:03.43
He will not quarrel or
cry out, nor will anyone hear
00:25:03.47\00:25:06.77
His voice in the street.
00:25:06.80\00:25:08.27
A bruised reed
He will not break,
00:25:08.30\00:25:10.37
and smoking flax
He will not quench,
00:25:10.41\00:25:12.67
till He has sent
forth justice to victory,
00:25:12.71\00:25:15.18
and in His name the
Gentiles will trust.'"
00:25:15.21\00:25:18.38
This is a very vivid prophecy.
00:25:18.41\00:25:21.15
What does it mean when it
says there in Isaiah chapter 42,
00:25:21.18\00:25:25.29
"A bruised reed he will break"?
00:25:25.32\00:25:29.82
And a little piece of grass,
it might be bent a little bit,
00:25:29.86\00:25:33.56
but He won't snap it off.
00:25:33.60\00:25:35.43
He didn't want to do
anything to discourage anybody.
00:25:35.46\00:25:39.20
He was tenderhearted.
00:25:39.23\00:25:40.54
"Smoking flax He
will not quench."
00:25:40.57\00:25:43.91
You know, as they sometimes
carried fire from place
00:25:43.94\00:25:46.37
to place, they did not
have matches in Bible times,
00:25:46.41\00:25:49.38
and they would get a
piece of smoking flax,
00:25:49.41\00:25:51.51
and they would keep
it smoldering to get
00:25:51.55\00:25:53.65
to the next place
where they'd start a fire.
00:25:53.68\00:25:55.82
Because I don't know if you've
ever tried to start a fire,
00:25:55.85\00:25:57.69
rubbing wood together, you know,
you hear Boy Scouts can do that.
00:25:57.72\00:26:03.29
It is really hard.
00:26:03.32\00:26:05.69
You work up a sweat,
and they didn't always have
00:26:05.73\00:26:07.76
a steel and a flint,
and it wasn't always easy,
00:26:07.83\00:26:09.63
and they would try to
keep some smoking flax going.
00:26:09.66\00:26:12.10
So the idea of "smoking
flax He would not quench,"
00:26:12.13\00:26:14.74
it means He will not discourage
the flame of hope in any heart.
00:26:14.77\00:26:18.61
He will not take a
little bruised reed and bend it.
00:26:18.64\00:26:21.44
He cares about
the poor and the weak.
00:26:21.48\00:26:24.31
He cared about the sinners
and those who were discouraged.
00:26:24.35\00:26:29.25
"He will bring
forth justice for truth.
00:26:29.28\00:26:31.39
He will not fail
or be discouraged--"
00:26:31.42\00:26:35.39
even though He
encountered so much opposition--
00:26:35.42\00:26:38.13
"till He has established
justice in the earth,
00:26:38.16\00:26:41.40
and the coastlands--"
meaning the Gentiles--
00:26:41.43\00:26:45.10
"will wait for His law."
00:26:45.13\00:26:46.77
So this is one of the
prophecies that the Messiah--
00:26:46.80\00:26:48.60
His ministry was
not just for the Jews,
00:26:48.64\00:26:52.11
but it was
principally that He was going
00:26:52.14\00:26:53.88
to then take the
message-- the Jews were to be
00:26:53.91\00:26:56.01
a nation of kings and priests.
00:26:56.04\00:26:57.65
Kings and priests for who?
00:26:57.68\00:26:59.18
They were going to be a nation
of priests to present the Word
00:26:59.21\00:27:01.85
to the
Gentiles, the whole world,
00:27:01.88\00:27:04.19
in other words.
00:27:04.22\00:27:05.75
And so this is just one
of those vivid prophecies.
00:27:05.79\00:27:07.92
"And the coastlands
shall wait for His law.
00:27:07.96\00:27:11.96
Thus says God--" I'm
in Isaiah 42, verse 5--
00:27:11.99\00:27:15.03
"the Lord, who created
the heavens and who stretched
00:27:15.06\00:27:18.10
them out, who spread forth
the earth and that which comes
00:27:18.13\00:27:22.00
from it, who gives
breath to the people on it,
00:27:22.04\00:27:25.57
and spirit to
those who walk on it:
00:27:25.61\00:27:27.68
'I, the Lord, have
called You in righteousness,
00:27:27.71\00:27:30.55
and I will hold Your hand.
00:27:30.58\00:27:32.35
I will keep You and give
You as a covenant to the people,
00:27:32.38\00:27:35.72
as a light to the
Gentiles, to open blind eyes,
00:27:35.75\00:27:40.06
to bring the
prisoners out from the prison,
00:27:40.09\00:27:42.79
and those who sit in darkness
from the prison house.'"
00:27:42.82\00:27:46.43
Now does that sound familiar?
00:27:46.46\00:27:49.13
If you look in
Isaiah chapter 61,
00:27:49.16\00:27:53.23
when Jesus began His ministry,
00:27:53.27\00:27:56.44
He quoted from a
very similar passage.
00:27:56.47\00:27:58.51
I forgot I put
it in my notes here.
00:27:58.54\00:28:00.94
"The Spirit of the Lord
is upon Me because the Lord
00:28:00.98\00:28:03.48
has anointed Me to
preach good tidings to the poor.
00:28:03.51\00:28:06.58
He has sent Me to
heal the brokenhearted,
00:28:06.61\00:28:09.08
to proclaim
liberty to the captives,
00:28:09.12\00:28:10.89
and the opening of
prison to those who were bound."
00:28:10.92\00:28:14.12
What was the first sermon that
Jesus preached when He stood up
00:28:14.16\00:28:16.79
in Nazareth, in
His hometown church?
00:28:16.83\00:28:19.39
Isaiah 61, which is repeating
the message from Isaiah 42.
00:28:19.43\00:28:24.30
Tells about the ministry of
the Lord to proclaim justice,
00:28:24.33\00:28:28.47
to set the oppressed
free, to liberate those
00:28:28.50\00:28:31.61
who were in prison.
00:28:31.64\00:28:33.51
All right, well, there's
still a lot to cover here.
00:28:33.54\00:28:38.78
And it says that, "My
Spirit will be upon Him."
00:28:38.81\00:28:42.12
I want you to notice that.
00:28:42.15\00:28:43.45
"Behold, My
Servant whom I uphold.
00:28:43.49\00:28:45.09
I put My Spirit upon Him."
00:28:45.12\00:28:47.79
What does the
word "Christ" mean?
00:28:47.82\00:28:51.56
When I was first going to
church and I heard them refer
00:28:51.59\00:28:53.93
to Jesus Christ, it's
like, "I'm Douglas Batchelor."
00:28:53.96\00:28:56.43
I thought his
last name was "Christ."
00:28:56.46\00:28:58.70
I had no idea what that meant.
00:28:58.73\00:29:00.10
I had heard it all my
life, but I just assumed it was
00:29:00.14\00:29:01.37
His name and that His father was
"Joseph Christ," and His mother
00:29:01.40\00:29:08.38
was "Mary Christ,"
and He was "Jesus Christ."
00:29:08.41\00:29:11.41
The word "Christ,"
of course, is a title,
00:29:11.45\00:29:14.38
and it means "Anointed."
00:29:14.42\00:29:16.95
You know when
they christen a ship?
00:29:16.99\00:29:21.36
"Christos," it means
"to anoint" something.
00:29:21.39\00:29:24.13
When you christen a
baby, they put a little water
00:29:24.16\00:29:26.23
on the baby's forehead.
00:29:26.26\00:29:27.76
When they splash a
bottle of champagne or something
00:29:27.83\00:29:30.40
on a ship, they
christen the ship.
00:29:30.43\00:29:32.70
It means "to anoint."
00:29:32.73\00:29:34.54
So it's simply the
Greek word for "the anointed.
00:29:34.57\00:29:37.74
"Messiah," is the Hebrew word.
00:29:37.77\00:29:40.91
And so, when it
says, "Jesus anointed,"
00:29:40.94\00:29:42.64
anointed with what?
00:29:42.68\00:29:44.61
Martinelli's?
00:29:44.65\00:29:46.11
Champagne? Water?
00:29:46.15\00:29:47.95
Or the Holy Spirit?
00:29:47.98\00:29:50.42
It's talking about Jesus being
anointed with the Holy Spirit,
00:29:50.45\00:29:53.46
and when was He
anointed with the Holy Spirit?
00:29:53.49\00:29:58.53
Let me read to you here
in Acts chapter 10, verse 37,
00:29:58.56\00:30:03.60
"that word you know,
which was proclaimed throughout
00:30:03.63\00:30:05.97
all Judea, and began from
Galilee after the baptism which
00:30:06.00\00:30:10.37
John preached, how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth--"
00:30:10.41\00:30:15.38
now, there, that would
be the closer to His name,
00:30:15.41\00:30:17.15
"Jesus of Nazareth."
00:30:17.18\00:30:19.35
"God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
00:30:19.38\00:30:23.49
and with
power--" at His baptism,
00:30:23.52\00:30:25.79
the Spirit came down--
00:30:25.82\00:30:27.42
"who went about
doing good and healing all
00:30:27.46\00:30:30.03
who were oppressed by the devil,
00:30:30.06\00:30:31.83
for God was with Him."
00:30:31.86\00:30:33.26
So when we pray
for the Holy Spirit,
00:30:33.29\00:30:34.93
what are you praying for?
00:30:34.96\00:30:36.26
A good feeling or
power to go about doing good
00:30:36.30\00:30:39.13
and healing those who
are oppressed by the devil?
00:30:39.17\00:30:42.20
Shouldn't our ministry
be the same as Christ's?
00:30:42.24\00:30:44.24
Why does God give
us the Holy Spirit?
00:30:44.27\00:30:46.01
"That you might
be My witnesses."
00:30:46.04\00:30:47.84
Isn't that what Jesus said?
00:30:47.88\00:30:50.15
And so it's not
just that we might say,
00:30:50.18\00:30:52.58
"I've got the
power of the Sprit,
00:30:52.61\00:30:54.05
and I can now, you
know, do miracles."
00:30:54.08\00:30:56.85
It's really to
preach the Gospel,
00:30:56.89\00:30:59.09
to be witnesses for Christ.
00:30:59.12\00:31:01.89
All right, if we go
to the next section here,
00:31:01.92\00:31:03.96
it says, the
"Persian 'Messiah.'"
00:31:03.99\00:31:06.66
And you look in
Isaiah chapter 44,
00:31:06.70\00:31:08.63
and we're going to
start with verse 26.
00:31:08.66\00:31:11.43
This is really fascinating.
00:31:11.47\00:31:15.04
Here it's foretelling--
well, first of all,
00:31:15.07\00:31:18.47
Isaiah talks about
the Babylonian captivity,
00:31:18.51\00:31:22.48
but if you go to
Isaiah chapter 44, verse 26,
00:31:22.51\00:31:27.55
"Who confirms the
word of His servant,
00:31:27.58\00:31:30.92
and performs the
counsel of His messengers,
00:31:30.95\00:31:33.92
who says to Jerusalem,
'You will be inhabited,'
00:31:33.96\00:31:37.09
and to the cities of
Judah, 'You will be built'--"
00:31:37.13\00:31:39.13
now, why would He be saying,
00:31:39.16\00:31:40.46
"Jerusalem,
you'll be inhabited"?
00:31:40.50\00:31:41.76
You know, when
Isaiah prophesied that,
00:31:41.80\00:31:43.57
Jerusalem was already inhabited.
00:31:43.60\00:31:45.97
See, Isaiah was looking beyond
to the time when Jerusalem
00:31:46.00\00:31:48.94
is uninhabited because
the Babylonians have destroyed
00:31:48.97\00:31:52.51
the temple and
carried them all away.
00:31:52.54\00:31:55.68
And he, in advance--Isaiah is
one of the most amazing prophets
00:31:55.71\00:31:59.28
because he
prophesies very specific events
00:31:59.31\00:32:03.05
with such incredible precision,
and this is an example of that.
00:32:03.08\00:32:07.12
He foretold that
Babylon would destroy them,
00:32:07.16\00:32:10.46
destroy the temple.
00:32:10.49\00:32:11.79
They'd be carried
away, but He said,
00:32:11.83\00:32:14.10
"Don't be
discouraged when this happens."
00:32:14.10\00:32:16.63
Says, "'You will be inhabited.'
00:32:16.67\00:32:18.53
The city of Judah,
'You will be built.
00:32:18.57\00:32:20.94
You will raise up
her waste places--'"
00:32:20.97\00:32:23.00
it's saying that they would
all be wasted by the enemy--
00:32:23.04\00:32:26.91
"Who says to the deep, 'Be dry,'
00:32:26.94\00:32:30.68
and to the rivers, 'And
I will dry up your rivers,'
00:32:30.71\00:32:34.28
who says to Cyrus,
'He is My shepherd.'"
00:32:34.32\00:32:37.92
Now, Isaiah is making
this prophecy 150 years
00:32:37.95\00:32:42.26
before King Cyrus--
now, when you say, "Cyrus,"
00:32:42.29\00:32:45.19
there was one
really great Persian king.
00:32:45.23\00:32:47.83
He was Cyrus II, technically.
00:32:47.86\00:32:50.13
If I say,
"Nebuchadnezzar," we all think
00:32:50.17\00:32:52.07
about King Nebuchadnezzar,
but did you know,
00:32:52.10\00:32:53.94
Nebuchadnezzar is
really Nebuchadnezzar II?
00:32:53.97\00:32:56.27
Nebuchadnezzar the Great
was really the second guy
00:32:56.30\00:32:58.77
by that name.
00:32:58.81\00:33:00.61
And so, Cyrus the Great,
who had one of the most vast
00:33:00.64\00:33:06.41
empires--and, you know, I
really enjoyed Bible study
00:33:06.45\00:33:09.35
when I got into these prophecies
because I was good at history,
00:33:09.38\00:33:12.52
and I do remember
studying the Persian Empire,
00:33:12.55\00:33:16.59
and I do remember studying
the Babylonian Empire back
00:33:16.62\00:33:19.29
in New York City public school.
00:33:19.33\00:33:21.23
So when I read these
things in the Bible, I said,
00:33:21.26\00:33:22.86
"Yeah, I remember that."
00:33:22.90\00:33:25.13
So he was this Persian
general who conquered Babylon.
00:33:25.17\00:33:28.54
How did he conquer Babylon?
00:33:28.57\00:33:30.64
Well, he was--his beginnings
were a little bit vague
00:33:30.67\00:33:36.11
in history.
00:33:36.14\00:33:37.45
Some of the historians
contradict each other,
00:33:37.48\00:33:39.71
but Herodotus, the
historian says that he was
00:33:39.75\00:33:42.08
from the Median mother.
00:33:42.12\00:33:44.79
The Medes and the Persians
kind of joined together,
00:33:44.82\00:33:48.56
and he created an alliance,
and he conquered Nabonidus,
00:33:48.59\00:33:53.70
who was the real king
of Babylon at that time.
00:33:53.73\00:33:55.53
He had put his son Belshazzar in
charge of things down in Babylon
00:33:55.56\00:34:00.70
while he was off
in another kingdom.
00:34:00.74\00:34:02.87
That's why we think
Belshazzar was king of Babylon.
00:34:02.90\00:34:05.04
He was actually the vice regent.
00:34:05.07\00:34:06.51
He was king while
his father was gone.
00:34:06.54\00:34:09.41
Cyrus defeated Nabonidus,
and then he made his way
00:34:09.44\00:34:12.78
towards Babylon.
00:34:12.81\00:34:14.12
Well, Babylon was
an extremely large city
00:34:14.15\00:34:16.69
that Nebuchadnezzar had built.
00:34:16.72\00:34:18.12
Several walls,
inner walls, outer walls.
00:34:18.15\00:34:21.02
One historian says the
walls were 60 miles around,
00:34:21.06\00:34:24.13
though some
historians contest that.
00:34:24.16\00:34:26.23
And that there were
hundreds of feet high,
00:34:26.26\00:34:28.36
and there were outer
walls and inner walls,
00:34:28.40\00:34:30.07
and they all agree with that.
00:34:30.10\00:34:31.43
They had outer
gates and inner gates,
00:34:31.47\00:34:32.77
and the Euphrates River
ran under the wall because
00:34:32.80\00:34:36.17
it was a main water supply
for the city, and they had
00:34:36.20\00:34:38.64
the walls built down by--
the waters had flood stage,
00:34:38.67\00:34:42.51
so you couldn't
really get under the walls,
00:34:42.54\00:34:44.68
and it irrigated the
whole city, provided water
00:34:44.71\00:34:48.65
for the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon that Nebuchadnezzar
00:34:48.68\00:34:51.32
had built for his wife because
she was from the mountains,
00:34:51.35\00:34:54.19
and Babylon was a
great plain, and he said,
00:34:54.22\00:34:57.79
"I don't want you to be
homesick for the mountains,
00:34:57.83\00:34:59.66
so I will build you a mountain."
00:34:59.69\00:35:01.46
And he built these man-made
mountains and took all these
00:35:01.50\00:35:04.20
exotic plants and had clever
engineers pumping water up
00:35:04.23\00:35:08.27
to irrigate waterfalls,
and Herodotus said it was
00:35:08.30\00:35:11.57
one of the wonders
of the ancient world.
00:35:11.61\00:35:13.44
So Babylon still had that glory
even after Nebuchadnezzar died
00:35:13.48\00:35:17.41
during the time of Belshazzar.
00:35:17.45\00:35:19.55
So they had all
the food in the city.
00:35:19.58\00:35:22.15
They had the storage of
food, plus they could grow food
00:35:22.18\00:35:25.19
in the city, and so when Cyrus
came with his very big army
00:35:25.22\00:35:29.12
and laid siege to
show they were not afraid--
00:35:29.16\00:35:31.86
and historians
even support this.
00:35:31.89\00:35:33.43
It's not only in the
Bible. It's in history.
00:35:33.46\00:35:35.53
Says that the king of Babylon
had a great festival to show
00:35:35.56\00:35:38.87
they were not afraid to mock
the Persians outside the gate.
00:35:38.90\00:35:43.67
Well, Cyrus made
like he was withdrawing,
00:35:43.71\00:35:47.54
and he took his soldiers,
and he went out of sight,
00:35:47.58\00:35:50.08
and he did something
he had done once before.
00:35:50.11\00:35:52.91
He made these canals to
divert the Euphrates River.
00:35:52.95\00:35:56.62
Left the dams in
place, dug canals so that,
00:35:56.65\00:35:59.69
at the right moment,
they would break the dams
00:35:59.72\00:36:01.42
and all the water normally
in the river would run out
00:36:01.46\00:36:04.29
of the river,
and the water level
00:36:04.33\00:36:07.00
would drop precipitously,
and then they could send
00:36:07.03\00:36:11.17
some men under the
walls to sneak in at night,
00:36:11.20\00:36:15.97
open the gates, and let
the army in, and they did that.
00:36:16.00\00:36:20.54
The historians said that.
00:36:20.58\00:36:21.94
Now, the Euphrates
River today is a shadow
00:36:21.98\00:36:25.71
of what it used to be.
00:36:25.75\00:36:27.82
In fact, something you
might find interesting,
00:36:27.85\00:36:30.69
I've seen several
articles-- right now, today,
00:36:30.72\00:36:33.39
you can read them--that says
Euphrates River is running dry.
00:36:33.42\00:36:37.26
It's been drying up for years.
00:36:37.29\00:36:39.09
I've seen them
talking about this for years
00:36:39.13\00:36:40.46
because Turkey has
got, like, 40 dams up river.
00:36:40.50\00:36:44.10
They dammed the Euphrates.
00:36:44.13\00:36:45.57
They're taking all the water
before it ever gets to Iraq,
00:36:45.60\00:36:48.30
and then they've
had some droughts,
00:36:48.34\00:36:50.17
and there are so many places you
could walk across the Euphrates
00:36:50.21\00:36:52.87
where, before, they used to fly
ships up and down those waters.
00:36:52.91\00:36:57.51
It was a mighty river back then.
00:36:57.55\00:37:00.35
But, so Cyrus, he
was able to divert it
00:37:00.38\00:37:03.28
into some dry channels.
00:37:03.32\00:37:04.62
They all broke these dirt dams.
00:37:04.65\00:37:06.35
The water all went running out.
00:37:06.39\00:37:08.66
His soldiers,
just like clockwork,
00:37:08.69\00:37:10.73
they went under the walls.
00:37:10.76\00:37:12.49
The soldiers who were supposed
to be guarding the inner city,
00:37:12.53\00:37:15.10
they had left the inner
gates open because they thought,
00:37:15.13\00:37:17.50
"Well, we'll see when they
come. We'll lock inner gates."
00:37:17.53\00:37:20.17
They were drunk
from the festival.
00:37:20.20\00:37:22.57
This is the great
feast that Belshazzar--
00:37:22.60\00:37:24.64
you read about in
Daniel chapter 5--
00:37:24.67\00:37:26.88
they open the
gates, they came in.
00:37:26.91\00:37:29.11
They stormed the city.
00:37:29.14\00:37:30.45
Matter of fact, the city
was already taken by the time
00:37:30.48\00:37:33.92
Belshazzar heard
in the banqueting hall
00:37:33.95\00:37:35.88
that they had
breached the walls.
00:37:35.92\00:37:37.65
That's how quickly
they took the city.
00:37:37.69\00:37:39.69
Now, when you read
what happened in history,
00:37:39.72\00:37:42.09
and then you look
at this, and it says,
00:37:42.12\00:37:44.29
"I will raise up
her waste places.
00:37:44.33\00:37:46.66
Who says to the deep, 'Be dry.'
And I will dry up your rivers.'"
00:37:46.70\00:37:51.13
That's what Cyrus did.
00:37:51.17\00:37:52.53
"Who says of
Cyrus--" called him by name.
00:37:52.57\00:37:56.81
I mean, that's pretty amazing.
00:37:56.84\00:37:59.47
There were no Jews named Cyrus.
00:37:59.51\00:38:01.88
Calls him by name.
00:38:01.91\00:38:03.24
Says, "'He is My shepherd.
00:38:03.28\00:38:04.95
He will perform My
pleasure,' saying to Jerusalem,
00:38:04.98\00:38:08.12
'You will be built.'"
00:38:08.15\00:38:09.72
Cyrus was the Persian king
who let them go from Babylon,
00:38:09.75\00:38:12.35
back to Israel, who not only
gave them permission to build,
00:38:12.39\00:38:15.26
he supported
them in the project,
00:38:15.29\00:38:17.06
gave them funds to do
it, and to the temple,
00:38:17.09\00:38:20.10
'Your foundation will be laid.'"
00:38:20.13\00:38:22.26
He was the one who initiated
all these things happening.
00:38:22.30\00:38:24.97
What a amazing
prophecy, and some people say,
00:38:25.00\00:38:28.57
"Well, yeah, that part of
Isaiah was written afterward."
00:38:28.60\00:38:33.78
And there's some
people that argue that,
00:38:33.81\00:38:35.11
"Everything from
Isaiah chapter 39, on,
00:38:35.14\00:38:37.15
was written by
a different Isaiah
00:38:37.18\00:38:39.91
because how could he possibly
know all that with such detail?"
00:38:39.95\00:38:43.72
No, the scholars
look at it in the theme,
00:38:43.75\00:38:46.62
the style of Isaiah.
00:38:46.65\00:38:49.02
There's nothing in
Hebrew literature that shows
00:38:49.06\00:38:50.83
there are two Isaiahs.
00:38:50.86\00:38:52.46
It was one book.
00:38:52.49\00:38:54.00
In fact, if you go
to the Dead Sea Scrolls,
00:38:54.03\00:38:55.96
all of this is one
book, and they know
00:38:56.00\00:38:58.73
that it was written
before the time of Christ.
00:38:58.77\00:39:02.30
Then you go to chapter 45.
00:39:02.34\00:39:04.01
Keep in mind, the
chapters were not there.
00:39:04.04\00:39:05.77
They were added later.
00:39:05.81\00:39:07.11
So it's still continuing
with the theme of Cyrus.
00:39:07.14\00:39:09.44
"Thus says the
Lord to His anointed,
00:39:09.48\00:39:12.35
To Cyrus, whose
right hand I have held,
00:39:12.38\00:39:14.85
to subdue nations before him--"
00:39:14.88\00:39:16.65
Now, Cyrus, in a
way, is a type of Christ,
00:39:16.69\00:39:20.42
and you might be
thinking, "How can a pagan king
00:39:20.46\00:39:24.03
be a type of Jesus?
00:39:24.06\00:39:26.39
Well, he was a great liberator.
00:39:26.43\00:39:29.20
He freed them
from their enemies.
00:39:29.23\00:39:31.33
He made it possible for
them to go to the Promised Land.
00:39:31.37\00:39:34.84
And any leader who makes
it possible for God's people
00:39:34.87\00:39:37.34
to go to the Promised Land
who frees them from slavery
00:39:37.37\00:39:40.54
is in a way a type of Christ.
00:39:40.58\00:39:44.11
"Thus says the Lord
to His anointed to Cyrus
00:39:44.15\00:39:47.55
whose right hand I have held."
00:39:47.58\00:39:49.88
God says, I'm the one
who's giving you victory
00:39:49.92\00:39:51.69
over these other nations--
"to subdue nations before him,
00:39:51.72\00:39:55.49
to loose the armor of
kings, to open before him
00:39:55.52\00:39:59.16
the double doors."
00:39:59.19\00:40:00.53
What did we learn?
00:40:00.56\00:40:02.03
That, when the general of
Cyrus went under the walls
00:40:02.06\00:40:04.90
with his men, they had left
the inner bronze gates open.
00:40:04.93\00:40:10.14
God had arranged that.
00:40:10.17\00:40:11.67
"So the gates will not be shut."
00:40:11.71\00:40:13.54
This is exactly what happened.
00:40:13.58\00:40:15.28
"I will go before you and make
the crooked places straight."
00:40:15.31\00:40:19.55
Have you ever had a
difficult day where God
00:40:19.58\00:40:21.35
all of a sudden straightened
all the crooked places for you?
00:40:21.38\00:40:24.35
You say, "Lord, everything
fell into place today?
00:40:24.39\00:40:26.96
So many things
could've gone wrong,
00:40:26.99\00:40:28.42
but you made the
crooked places straight.
00:40:28.46\00:40:30.26
You made my going easy."
00:40:30.29\00:40:32.86
God removed the obstacles.
00:40:32.89\00:40:35.40
"I will break in
pieces the gates of bronze
00:40:35.43\00:40:37.90
and I will cut
the bars of iron."
00:40:37.93\00:40:39.77
They also had bars of
iron on the other gate.
00:40:39.80\00:40:42.77
"I will give you the
treasures of darkness--"
00:40:42.80\00:40:44.64
all the treasures that
Babylon had accumulated.
00:40:44.67\00:40:47.58
Now, Greece was
the bronze kingdom.
00:40:47.61\00:40:51.98
Rome was the iron kingdom.
00:40:52.01\00:40:54.18
Persia was what metal?
00:40:54.22\00:40:57.82
Silver.
00:40:57.85\00:40:59.62
And what was Babylon?
00:40:59.65\00:41:01.69
Why was Babylon
called the "Golden Kingdom"?
00:41:01.72\00:41:05.36
Because Babylon,
under Nebuchadnezzar
00:41:05.39\00:41:06.86
was the wealthiest.
00:41:06.90\00:41:09.43
They had great treasures.
00:41:09.46\00:41:12.33
Keep in mind, Nebuchadnezzar
had conquered Egypt.
00:41:12.37\00:41:14.20
Do you know how much gold
they found in the pyramids?
00:41:14.24\00:41:16.81
They've had a fabulous
amount of gold in the city,
00:41:16.84\00:41:20.98
and so he says, "I'll give
you the treasures of darkness--"
00:41:21.01\00:41:24.68
meaning the treasures
that had been accumulated
00:41:24.71\00:41:26.48
by the Babylonians.
00:41:26.51\00:41:28.65
And, by the way, I'm in
Isaiah chapter 45, verse 3,
00:41:28.68\00:41:32.82
"I'll give you the treasures
of darkness and the hidden
00:41:32.85\00:41:34.92
riches of secret places,
that you might know that I,
00:41:34.96\00:41:38.59
the Lord, am the One
who has called you by name."
00:41:38.63\00:41:41.66
God is saying, "Cyrus, I am
God who's calling you by name."
00:41:41.70\00:41:44.93
Now, what do you
think it did for Cyrus when,
00:41:44.97\00:41:46.87
after he conquered
Babylon, when Daniel,
00:41:46.90\00:41:50.24
or one of the other Hebrews,
came up to him and said,
00:41:50.27\00:41:52.47
"You want to see something?
00:41:52.51\00:41:53.84
Let us show you
this ancient scroll."
00:41:53.88\00:41:56.11
Here we got a scroll.
00:41:56.14\00:41:57.45
It's 150 years old, and look
what our prophet said about you.
00:41:57.48\00:42:01.05
We'll translate it for you.
00:42:01.08\00:42:03.02
"And I am the One
who called you by name."
00:42:03.05\00:42:04.39
Can you see why Cyrus
would be friendly to the Jews?"
00:42:04.42\00:42:08.29
You know, it's
interesting when you talk to--
00:42:08.32\00:42:12.76
you read what the
historians say about Cyrus,
00:42:12.79\00:42:14.86
and they try to figure
out what his religion was.
00:42:14.93\00:42:18.03
And they say, "You know,
we really can't figure out
00:42:18.07\00:42:20.10
his religion.
00:42:20.14\00:42:21.44
It doesn't seem clear
that he was polytheistic or,
00:42:21.47\00:42:24.67
you know, one of the
other Middle Easter religions,
00:42:24.71\00:42:29.71
and it could be
that, when he saw that,
00:42:29.74\00:42:32.18
he started worshiping the God of
Israel because he actually told
00:42:32.21\00:42:34.98
the priests when they
went back to rebuild the city,
00:42:35.02\00:42:37.19
he said, "Build the
temple for the Lord--"
00:42:37.22\00:42:40.36
and he uses the word
Jehovah, and he said,
00:42:40.39\00:42:42.69
"And pray for the king."
00:42:42.72\00:42:45.36
And so, he had at least
acknowledged the God of Israel.
00:42:45.39\00:42:50.60
"That you might know
that I am the Lord--"
00:42:50.63\00:42:52.23
I'm, again, in
Isaiah chapter 45, verse 3,
00:42:52.27\00:42:55.20
"That you might know that I'm
the Lord who called you by name.
00:42:55.24\00:42:57.44
I am the God of Israel.
00:42:57.47\00:42:58.94
For Jacob My servant's
sake, and for Israel My elect,
00:42:58.97\00:43:02.71
I have even
called you by your name."
00:43:02.74\00:43:05.21
God is emphasizing that.
00:43:05.25\00:43:06.88
"I have named you,
though you've not known Me.
00:43:06.92\00:43:09.98
I am the Lord,
and there's no other.
00:43:10.02\00:43:12.25
There is no Gods beside Me."
00:43:12.29\00:43:13.66
He's telling Cyrus, "There
is no other God beside Me.
00:43:13.69\00:43:15.86
I will gird you,
though you've not known Me,
00:43:16.49\00:43:19.79
that they may know
from the rising of the sun
00:43:19.83\00:43:22.30
to the setting thereof,
there is no God besides Me.
00:43:22.33\00:43:24.97
I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
00:43:25.00\00:43:27.07
Was there a time
during the Persian kingdom
00:43:27.10\00:43:31.11
when the king of
Persia made a decree
00:43:31.14\00:43:33.84
that everyone should
worship the God of Daniel?
00:43:33.88\00:43:37.45
You remember when
Daniel was brought
00:43:37.48\00:43:38.85
out of the lion's den
during the time of Darius?
00:43:38.88\00:43:42.65
He's part of the
Medo-Persian kingdom.
00:43:42.68\00:43:44.49
He issued a decree
that nobody should speak
00:43:44.52\00:43:47.02
against the God of Daniel.
00:43:47.06\00:43:49.36
And so God said,
"Through your kingdom,
00:43:49.39\00:43:51.69
My name is going to
be known everywhere."
00:43:51.73\00:43:53.50
Did that come true?
00:43:53.53\00:43:55.20
Can you think of--
now, there's other people
00:43:55.23\00:43:58.33
who were foretold
by prophets by name.
00:43:58.37\00:44:01.47
Did the angel
foretell the name of Jesus?
00:44:01.50\00:44:04.94
Yeah, and some others.
00:44:04.97\00:44:06.71
I forget--what? Ishmael.
00:44:06.74\00:44:08.88
I think the angel maybe
gave His name and some others,
00:44:08.91\00:44:11.21
but wasn't there another king
where God foretold his name,
00:44:11.25\00:44:14.45
long before he was born?
00:44:14.48\00:44:16.99
Yeah, you can read about
when God foretold King Josiah.
00:44:19.15\00:44:27.30
Go to this prophet.
00:44:27.30\00:44:29.26
He's an unnamed
prophet, 1 Kings 13, verse 2.
00:44:29.30\00:44:32.93
An unknown prophet
goes to the King of Israel,
00:44:32.97\00:44:36.24
and he prophesies against
this false altar to Baal,
00:44:36.27\00:44:42.08
and he cried out against the
altar by the word of the Lord,
00:44:42.11\00:44:44.78
and said, 'O altar, altar.
00:44:44.81\00:44:46.95
Thus says the
Lord, "Behold, a child,
00:44:46.98\00:44:50.15
Josiah by name, will be
born to the house of David,
00:44:50.19\00:44:54.42
and on you he will sacrifice the
priests of the high places who
00:44:54.46\00:44:58.09
burn incense on you, and men's
bones will be burned on you,'"
00:44:58.13\00:45:02.13
meaning that that
altar would be defiled.
00:45:02.16\00:45:04.60
Did that happen?
00:45:04.63\00:45:06.47
It did, hundreds of years later.
00:45:06.50\00:45:09.37
Josiah was born, and he went up,
and he did the very thing that
00:45:09.40\00:45:13.21
the prophet of Judah foretold,
and so, every now and then
00:45:13.24\00:45:17.71
God is going to really spell
things out very definitively,
00:45:17.75\00:45:20.78
and he says, not only am
I telling you what's going
00:45:20.82\00:45:22.55
to happen, I'm going to
tell you the name of the person
00:45:22.58\00:45:24.52
who's going to do it.
00:45:24.55\00:45:27.06
You know, Moses gave a prophecy.
00:45:27.09\00:45:29.76
He said, "There
will be a prophet--"
00:45:29.79\00:45:33.90
and this is
Deuteronomy chapter 18.
00:45:33.93\00:45:35.66
He says, "There's a Prophet
that God is going to raise up a
00:45:35.70\00:45:37.87
Prophet to you, who is like me,
and He's called the Prophet."
00:45:37.90\00:45:44.87
And he prophesies about Jesus.
00:45:44.91\00:45:48.01
And they always called
Him, "Who is that Prophet
00:45:48.04\00:45:50.05
that would come that
would be like Moses,"
00:45:50.08\00:45:52.35
and ultimately,
He's identified as Jesus.
00:45:52.38\00:45:55.18
Then, finally,
the last section here,
00:45:55.22\00:45:58.02
I talked a little bit
about "Hope in Advance,"
00:45:58.05\00:46:00.62
that section
already, and God told them,
00:46:00.66\00:46:04.46
"Though you're carried
away, I'm giving you promises
00:46:04.49\00:46:06.96
in advance.
00:46:07.00\00:46:08.26
The Babylonians
will carry you away.
00:46:08.30\00:46:09.60
Don't get discouraged.
You will come back again.
00:46:09.63\00:46:11.77
You know, there--how many of
here remember there were some
00:46:11.80\00:46:20.18
books that went out years ago in
the Adventist Church about Dan.
00:46:20.21\00:46:27.32
It was called "Dare to
Dan," and I hope I'm sayin'
00:46:27.35\00:46:30.95
the title right.
00:46:30.99\00:46:32.32
And this guy would
invite people to meetings,
00:46:33.15\00:46:36.52
and he would
explain prophecy to them,
00:46:36.56\00:46:38.46
and it was just an
incredible example.
00:46:38.49\00:46:42.20
And one of the things is
that he foretells deliverance
00:46:42.23\00:46:46.40
before it ever happens.
00:46:46.43\00:46:48.90
You can read in
Leviticus 26, for instance,
00:46:48.94\00:46:51.81
Leviticus 26, verse 40, he says,
"If My people are unfaithful
00:46:51.84\00:46:55.94
and they're carried
off by their enemies,
00:46:55.98\00:46:57.78
if they confess their
iniquity and the iniquity
00:46:57.81\00:47:00.68
of their fathers--" this is
what Daniel did in chapter 9,
00:47:00.72\00:47:04.05
with their unfaithfulness
in which they were unfaithful
00:47:04.09\00:47:07.66
to Me, then I'll
remember my covenant with Jacob,
00:47:07.69\00:47:11.06
my covenant with Isaac,
my covenant with Abraham,
00:47:11.09\00:47:13.53
and I'll remember
their land," and he says,
00:47:13.56\00:47:15.80
"I will bring them back."
00:47:15.83\00:47:17.13
So God, in advance, way
back in the time of Moses, said,
00:47:17.17\00:47:20.14
"If you're carried
away by unfaithfulness,
00:47:20.17\00:47:22.77
I will bring you back."
00:47:22.80\00:47:24.11
What did Solomon say
during his dedication prayer?
00:47:24.14\00:47:26.68
"And if your people by
unfaithfulness are carried off
00:47:26.71\00:47:30.55
by their enemies, if
they pray towards this place,
00:47:30.58\00:47:33.15
Daniel literally prayed
towards Jerusalem, said,
00:47:33.18\00:47:36.55
I will hear their prayer.
00:47:36.58\00:47:37.95
I will bring them back again.
00:47:37.99\00:47:39.39
God gives us hope
in advance in his Word.
00:47:39.42\00:47:43.63
And then, finally,
you read in Isaiah 49,
00:47:43.66\00:47:46.53
about the feeling
and suffering servant.
00:47:46.56\00:47:49.76
He says, "Listen,
O coastlands to Me,
00:47:49.80\00:47:51.73
and take heed,
you peoples from afar.
00:47:51.77\00:47:54.24
The Lord has
called Me from the womb.
00:47:54.27\00:47:56.64
From the matrix of my Mother
He has made mention of My name.
00:47:56.67\00:47:59.94
And He has made My
mouth like a sharp sword.
00:48:00.04\00:48:03.31
In the shadow of His
hand, He has hidden Me,
00:48:03.35\00:48:05.61
and He's made Me
like a polished shaft.
00:48:05.65\00:48:07.98
In His quiver He has hidden Me."
00:48:08.02\00:48:09.75
So He said, "You
know, I even foretold--
00:48:09.78\00:48:11.35
Jeremiah says, God said,
"I've called You from the womb."
00:48:11.39\00:48:15.22
Jesus was foretold in advance.
00:48:15.26\00:48:17.33
Moses was foretold, "O Israel,
in whom I will be glorified,"
00:48:17.36\00:48:22.26
and you go down to verse
5, "And now says the Lord,
00:48:22.30\00:48:25.97
Who formed Me in the
womb to be His Servant,
00:48:26.00\00:48:29.04
to bring Jacob back to Him, so
that Israel is gathered to Him,
00:48:29.07\00:48:33.21
for I shall be glorious
in the eyes of the Lord,
00:48:33.24\00:48:36.75
and My God shall be My strength.
00:48:36.78\00:48:39.21
Indeed He says, 'Is it too
small a thing that You should be
00:48:39.25\00:48:42.25
My Servant to raise
up the tribes of Jacob,
00:48:42.28\00:48:44.92
and to restore the
preserved ones of Israel.
00:48:44.95\00:48:47.19
I will also give You as
a light to the Gentiles--"
00:48:47.22\00:48:50.33
this is a prophecy
of Jesus the Servant--
00:48:50.36\00:48:52.49
"that You should be My salvation
to the ends of the earth.'"
00:48:52.53\00:48:56.40
Oh, wonderful
prophecies in Isaiah that
00:48:56.43\00:48:58.87
we can look back now and say,
00:48:58.90\00:49:00.30
"How could they miss it
because they were all so clear?"
00:49:00.34\00:49:02.67
Friends, I think we have run
out of time for today's study.
00:49:02.70\00:49:05.34
For those who
are joining us late,
00:49:05.37\00:49:07.41
I want to remind you
that we have a free offer.
00:49:07.44\00:49:09.98
It's called,
"Christ's Human Nature."
00:49:10.01\00:49:12.61
And you can get this
simply by calling 866-788-3966.
00:49:12.65\00:49:17.95
Ask for Offer Number
729, and you can also get it
00:49:17.99\00:49:21.36
by texting "SH017" to 40544.
00:49:21.39\00:49:28.26
This is for North America.
00:49:28.30\00:49:29.80
God bless you.
00:49:30.13\00:49:31.43
We'll study His Word
together again next week.
00:49:31.47\00:49:33.47
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00:50:09.80\00:50:17.95
Ashley: I grew up
in Northern New Jersey,
00:50:17.98\00:50:20.22
just about 35
minutes out of New York City,
00:50:20.25\00:50:23.45
and I grew up
in a famous family.
00:50:23.49\00:50:26.15
And so, my father played for the
New York Giants for nine years.
00:50:26.19\00:50:30.53
That's how we
ended up where we were.
00:50:30.56\00:50:32.26
He also played for
the San Francisco 49ers,
00:50:32.29\00:50:35.26
and he was in the Pro Bowl.
00:50:35.30\00:50:37.70
He won two Super Bowls.
00:50:37.73\00:50:40.37
And I also had an
older brother who played
00:50:40.40\00:50:43.84
professional baseball, so
I had a lot to live up to.
00:50:43.87\00:50:47.74
Everything we did
was based around sports.
00:50:47.78\00:50:50.28
That was my
life, and I loved it,
00:50:50.31\00:50:52.15
but inside I was--I
struggled daily with insecurity,
00:50:52.18\00:50:56.95
lacking confidence.
00:50:56.99\00:50:58.62
You know, I would look at
myself in the mirror and not--
00:50:58.65\00:51:02.72
and would not see
good things about myself.
00:51:02.76\00:51:04.76
I started to put all
my energy into soccer,
00:51:04.79\00:51:08.83
and I decided that I was
going to go far with that.
00:51:08.86\00:51:15.90
So I ended up
getting a scholarship to play
00:51:15.94\00:51:19.44
in the University of Miami.
00:51:19.47\00:51:21.98
I was being pulled in
these, like, two directions of,
00:51:22.01\00:51:24.25
you know, wanting to
live this party lifestyle
00:51:24.28\00:51:27.72
with my teammates,
and I was so engulfed
00:51:27.75\00:51:32.49
in soccer and school,
but I also had this, like,
00:51:32.52\00:51:35.62
strong yearning
desire to serve God,
00:51:35.66\00:51:40.33
and I was just struggling
to figure out the balance
00:51:40.36\00:51:42.53
and how to do that.
00:51:42.56\00:51:43.97
I was in Sin City, in
Miami, and I couldn't--
00:51:44.00\00:51:47.97
I felt like I was
swimming upstream.
00:51:48.00\00:51:50.27
And I just felt
like I couldn't breathe.
00:51:50.31\00:51:52.41
I had everything
everyone would've wanted.
00:51:52.44\00:51:54.61
I had everything.
00:51:54.64\00:51:55.94
I had a
scholarship to pay for school.
00:51:55.98\00:51:57.61
I was playing a sport.
00:51:57.65\00:51:58.95
I was the captain of my team.
00:51:58.98\00:52:00.88
I was in Miami.
00:52:00.92\00:52:02.45
I was--I had a great family.
00:52:02.48\00:52:05.19
I had a lot of friends.
00:52:05.22\00:52:08.06
But where was God?
00:52:08.09\00:52:09.59
It was--all of that is
meaningless unless I had Him.
00:52:09.62\00:52:14.36
And the lifeline that He gave me
was this soft whisper in my ear,
00:52:14.36\00:52:21.50
saying, "Go."
00:52:21.54\00:52:22.94
I just remember, "Go."
00:52:22.97\00:52:24.31
So I decided to go, and
I spent two months in Kenya
00:52:24.34\00:52:27.51
and two months in
Uganda, and God was saving me
00:52:27.54\00:52:31.15
by sending me there.
00:52:31.18\00:52:32.55
It was God's prescription
for my life, for my existence.
00:52:32.58\00:52:35.95
When I returned from
Africa, I went back to school.
00:52:35.98\00:52:39.35
I finished
school, finished soccer.
00:52:39.39\00:52:42.16
I went to the
University of Tennessee
00:52:42.19\00:52:46.56
to get my master's
when I met my husband.
00:52:46.59\00:52:49.96
Our motto in life was we wanted
to live in reckless abandon
00:52:50.00\00:52:52.80
for our Creator
and whatever that was,
00:52:52.83\00:52:56.54
whatever that looked like,
and, you know, we've traveled,
00:52:56.57\00:52:59.84
and we've done mission work,
00:52:59.87\00:53:01.84
but we've mostly
been in Tennessee,
00:53:01.88\00:53:03.85
and when we spent the
summer apart a year after that
00:53:03.88\00:53:08.88
we were married, and
it was the summer of 2015,
00:53:08.92\00:53:12.29
when we came back
together, he's like,
00:53:12.32\00:53:15.42
"I have some things I
want to share with you.
00:53:15.46\00:53:18.63
I want you to listen to this."
00:53:18.66\00:53:20.66
And we were on a
14-hour car ride,
00:53:20.70\00:53:23.33
and he just started
playing this "Prophecy Code"
00:53:23.37\00:53:26.77
all the way back from
2005, and it was so clear,
00:53:26.80\00:53:30.71
and I just was
comprehending it so well.
00:53:30.74\00:53:34.11
You know, after a couple,
like, three or four, I was like,
00:53:34.14\00:53:36.44
"I need a break.
00:53:36.48\00:53:37.78
My mind is going to,
like, explode from all this,
00:53:37.81\00:53:40.42
like, information overload,"
and everything that I thought
00:53:40.45\00:53:43.08
I had known about the
Bible and about Scripture
00:53:43.12\00:53:48.36
is just completely different.
00:53:48.39\00:53:51.86
I was in shock.
00:53:51.89\00:53:53.66
Everything that I was
hearing, it was like Scripture
00:53:53.70\00:53:55.76
is proving Scripture
is proving Scripture.
00:53:55.80\00:53:58.17
My heart was, like, changing
in that car ride because
00:53:58.20\00:54:00.67
it's like learning more about
God than I ever had before.
00:54:00.70\00:54:06.01
After that car ride and
after listening to the whole,
00:54:06.04\00:54:08.21
"Prophecy Code," my
life was completely changed.
00:54:08.24\00:54:12.11
He's become more real to us
than He ever had been before,
00:54:12.15\00:54:15.15
and that has pushed us
to disciple and to minister
00:54:15.18\00:54:19.89
to others and share
with them what we know.
00:54:19.92\00:54:24.49
My name is Ashley, and I want to
thank you for changing my life.
00:54:24.53\00:54:28.66
¤¤¤
00:54:29.13\00:54:36.30
announcer: Amazing
Facts, Changed Lives.
00:54:40.48\00:54:43.48
Dan: One particular
evening, we're searching through
00:54:48.28\00:54:51.22
the channels and happened
to find a program called,
00:54:51.25\00:54:55.59
"Amazing Facts with
Pastor Doug Batchelor."
00:54:55.62\00:54:58.86
Some of the things
that he was talking about
00:54:58.89\00:55:01.66
were very
interesting and intrigued me.
00:55:01.70\00:55:04.70
female: As Dan
began to continue to watch
00:55:04.73\00:55:06.37
"Amazing Facts"
with this Doug Batchelor,
00:55:06.40\00:55:10.27
this caveman that
had an incredible story,
00:55:10.31\00:55:12.97
my world was
beginning to change.
00:55:13.01\00:55:15.04
It's been turned upside down.
00:55:15.08\00:55:17.65
I was resistant.
00:55:17.68\00:55:19.38
I think hit me was really
the testimony of Pastor Doug.
00:55:19.41\00:55:22.95
This was a real person
with a real story that had had
00:55:22.98\00:55:26.32
some things in his lifetime
that maybe I didn't experience,
00:55:26.35\00:55:30.63
but he was real.
00:55:30.66\00:55:31.96
His journey was real.
00:55:31.99\00:55:33.29
He was honest about wanting
to share and giving that light
00:55:33.33\00:55:36.30
to other people so they
too could have more light.
00:55:36.33\00:55:39.67
That's when we got
the cancer diagnosis,
00:55:40.70\00:55:42.77
and nobody wants that "C" word,
"cancer," and then to find out
00:55:42.80\00:55:47.91
that it's
aggressive, and sometimes people
00:55:47.94\00:55:49.98
get to wait
with prostate cancer,
00:55:50.01\00:55:52.08
but we didn't
have that opportunity.
00:55:52.11\00:55:54.75
He's in surgery,
and doctor comes out,
00:55:54.78\00:55:57.42
and I knew something was wrong.
00:55:57.45\00:55:59.45
Come find out that my
husband has had a stroke.
00:55:59.49\00:56:03.06
So we go about
midnight and have an MRI,
00:56:05.83\00:56:09.40
and they confirmed
that it truly was a stroke,
00:56:09.43\00:56:11.77
and he was going to be okay.
00:56:11.80\00:56:13.94
¤¤¤
00:56:13.97\00:56:15.44
Dan: Within one year and a half,
00:56:15.47\00:56:17.17
I had a major
heart attack, cancer,
00:56:17.21\00:56:20.61
aggressive cancer, and a stroke.
00:56:20.64\00:56:22.94
I really was at
the lowest point.
00:56:22.98\00:56:26.58
I didn't know
what I was going to do.
00:56:26.61\00:56:30.09
We had rehabs scheduled after I
was dismissed from the hospital.
00:56:30.12\00:56:38.23
female: And I watched him walk
out of a facility with a cane
00:56:38.26\00:56:42.33
that, two weeks before,
he couldn't even walk into.
00:56:42.36\00:56:46.13
Dan: God knew ahead of time
that I was going to be going
00:56:46.17\00:56:48.90
through all of this, and I truly
believe that it was His hand
00:56:48.94\00:56:52.97
that brought the Amazing Facts
and the additional light that I
00:56:53.01\00:56:57.78
was getting, that it helped take
my mind off of the circumstances
00:56:57.81\00:57:03.99
at the time and in a way that I
don't think anything else could.
00:57:04.02\00:57:08.72
female: It's so comforting
to know that we have a Christ
00:57:08.76\00:57:14.96
that loves us so much
and will always hold us.
00:57:15.00\00:57:19.43
Dan: I cannot
thank the people enough
00:57:19.47\00:57:25.11
who support
ministries like this.
00:57:25.14\00:57:29.18
Because of them, I
am one of those lives
00:57:29.21\00:57:35.72
that have been changed.
00:57:35.75\00:57:37.59
¤¤¤
00:57:37.62\00:57:40.96
Dan: And I can only
thank God for leading me
00:57:40.99\00:57:43.86
through His
providence to that program.
00:57:43.89\00:57:49.46
My name is Dan.
00:57:49.50\00:57:51.17
Thank you for changing my life.
00:57:51.20\00:57:52.60
¤¤¤
00:57:52.63\00:58:00.54