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CC by Aberdeen Captioning
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Jean Ross: Good
morning, friends.
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We want to welcome you to
"Sabbath School Study Hour,"
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coming to you here from
the Granite Bay Seventh-day
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Adventist Church in
Sacramento, California.
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I'd like to welcome our many
online members and those who are
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joining us across the
country and around the world.
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I know a number of our regular
members are still home due to
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the pandemic, but we are so
glad that you're joining us for
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our study time.
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We've been looking at a really
great book in the Old Testament
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for our study
time, the book of Isaiah,
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and that's what our
lesson is all about.
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Today we find ourselves
on lesson number 10 entitled
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"Doing the Unthinkable."
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And so we're excited to look at
a beautiful chapter that we find
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in Isaiah, and we'll be getting
to that in just a moment.
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I'd like to remind you
of our free offer today.
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We have a book entitled "Down
from His Glory," and we'd be
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happy to send this
to anyone for free.
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If you're in North America,
all you need to do is call
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866-788-3966 and you can
ask for offer number 154.
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We'll get that in the mail,
and they'll send it to you.
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If you're outside of North
America or even in North America
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and would like to receive a
digital download of the book,
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all you have to do is text the
code SH139 to the number 40544
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and you'll be able to
get a digital download.
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Again, welcome.
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We're glad that you're here,
part of our "Sabbath School
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Study Hour" this morning.
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But before we get to our lesson,
we're going to lift our voices
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in song.
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We're going to be
singing hymn number 272.
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It's "Give Me the Bible."
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Jean: Let's bow
our heads for prayer.
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Dear Father in heaven,
what a joy to be able to gather
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in Your house to worship You.
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And as we always do, Father,
we ask Your Spirit to come,
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especially as we open up
Your Word and we look at just
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a beautiful passage, a passage
that points to the Messiah,
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to Jesus.
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And, Father, we pray that Your
Spirit will come and guide our
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hearts and our minds and just
impress upon us those wonderful
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truths that You
would want us to know.
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For we ask this in Jesus's name.
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Amen.
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Our lesson today is going to
be brought to us by Pastor Doug.
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Doug Batchelor: Morning.
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I want to welcome our friends
that are watching online,
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or on satellite, or
Amazing Facts Television,
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the Hope Channel, 3ABN.
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We're glad you're
joining us for Sabbath School.
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Here in California at this point
things are beginning to ease up
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a little bit, and so
we're really glad that we have
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a little bit of a local class
here as well as we continue in
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our study of the book of Isaiah.
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And today's lesson,
as you heard earlier,
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is lesson number 10, and it's
titled "Doing the Unthinkable."
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Lesson number 10
in your quarterly,
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"Doing the Unthinkable."
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And, you know, I didn't adhere.
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They may have
already mentioned that.
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For those who are watching,
if you're wondering what we're
00:05:45.61\00:05:47.51
doing is--it's typically the
pattern in the Adventist Church
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that we have a quarterly.
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Once every quarter we
have a different study guide,
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and the objective is is that we
sort of go through the panorama
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of the entire
Bible in a 5-year period.
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And this lesson, of
course, is dedicated to Isaiah.
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If you want to get one of
these, you can read it online,
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or you can go to your local
Seventh-day Adventist Church and
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I'll bet they'll be happy
to supply one for you for free.
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Now, there's a memory
verse for today's study,
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and it's taken
from the book of Isaiah
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chapter 53, verse 5.
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You're going to want
to find your way to Isaiah
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chapter 50 and 53.
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That's the main study
we're going to go through today.
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Isaiah 53, verse 5.
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If you want, you can
read this out loud with me.
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"But he was wounded
for our transgressions,
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he was bruised
for our iniquities;
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the chastisement of
our peace was upon him,
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and with his
stripes we are healed."
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It's one of the most magnificent
passages in all of Scripture,
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is what we have the
task of talking about today.
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And I really feel
like I am on holy ground.
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And so pray for me as I do
my best to unpack some of these
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beautiful trues that are
in this passage of prophecy.
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Now, again, our
assignment--there's really
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two verses we're looking
at for the whole lesson today.
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Isaiah chapter 50,
verses 4 through 10;
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and then it will jump to Isaiah
52 starting with verse 13,
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reading through
chapter 53 to verse 12,
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one of the great messianic
prophecies in the Bible.
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And so if
you've got your Bibles,
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let's start with
Isaiah chapter 50,
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and we're going to
start with verse 4.
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And I'm just going to
read and do my best to expound
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as we do that.
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"The Lord God has given
me the tongue of the learned,
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that I should know how
to speak a word in season to
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him who is weary."
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And here, Isaiah--these are
prophecies not only of Isaiah
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the prophet, but he's really
prophesying about the Messiah
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and how he would
have the Spirit of God.
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That's how God gives us
the tongue of the learned,
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that we can know how to speak
a word of encouragement to him
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that is weary.
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Now, this is one of the
hallmarks of a Christian.
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You want to
encourage the discouraged,
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and it's only the Lord
that can give you the tongue and
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know what to say to a person.
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We don't know what a
person is going through.
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Always is amazing to me.
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Very amazing.
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Sometimes after church I go to
the door and I greet the people
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and visitors in particular,
and folks will come up and say,
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"How did you know that's exactly
what I needed to hear today?"
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Well, I had no idea
that's what they needed to hear,
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and--or sometimes
they're a little upset they say,
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"Pastor, I know you
were singling me out today."
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I say, "I can promise you--"
Except a few rare occasions in
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the small church, but otherwise
I'll admit there's a couple
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times I had a someone in
mind with a particular sermon.
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But most of the time
it's just expounding the Word.
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But the Holy Spirit, you know,
he guides you in what to say,
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and--amazing how that works.
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"That I might speak a word
in season to him who is weary.
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He awakens me
morning by morning."
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You know, I think of that verse
"Great is His faithfulness.
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His mercies are
new every morning."
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And he goes on.
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"He awakens my ear
to hear as the learned."
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So you notice he's
got the tongue to speak.
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It says the
tongue of the learned,
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and the ear of the learned.
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You know, if you want to
have the tongue of the learned,
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you need to have
the ear of the learned.
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You need to be able to
listen to be able to speak.
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"And the Lord God
has opened my ear,
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and I was not rebellious."
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Now, does Jesus talk
about those who are having eyes
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they do not see?
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I'm going to talk a little about
that in the sermon later today.
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Having ears they do not hear?
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Jesus actually quotes
from this prophecy in Isaiah,
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saying, you know, "I'm preaching
the truth and so many of the
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scribes and the
Pharisees rejected his message.
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Even though they had
eyes, they did not see.
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They had ears,
they could not hear."
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In Revelation, when
Jesus is giving the message to
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the church, he
says, "He that has ears,
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let him hear
what the Spirit says."
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I remember I had an
English teacher in school,
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and he became a
little exasperated with me.
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I was not a great
student, not in English anyway.
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And--if you could
only see me today.
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I went to a Catholic school.
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This is one of
the brothers there.
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And I used to always
say--he'd asked me a question,
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I'd say, "I didn't hear."
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And he'd say, "You heard.
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You weren't listening.
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You've got selective hearing."
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My English teacher
and my wife tell me that.
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Selective hearing.
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"You're not listening."
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Sometimes the Holy
Spirit tells us stuff and
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we're not listening.
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I remember years ago
reading about the great preacher
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George Whitfield, and
he had an incredible voice.
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You know, unfortunately they did
not have recordings back in his
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day, but Whitfield--they wrote
a book about him I read called
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"The Trumpet of the Lord."
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And before he became a minister
he was actually an actor
00:11:08.26\00:11:10.93
in England, and he had a
tremendous voice for projection
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and resonance, and
it was such a marvel.
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This one man's voice was so
amazing that Benjamin Franklin,
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who was good
friends with Whitfield,
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did an experiment.
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And when he was preaching
at some point in Philadelphia,
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Franklin went
to hear him preach,
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and he said, "I've
never heard a voice like that.
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You can hear him distinctly
from anywhere in the crowd."
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And so Franklin began to walk
further and further away and
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see how far he could
go--he was a very curious man,
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always doing experiments.
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How far away he could go and
still clearly hear his voice.
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And he was a quarter mile away
and he could still hear him.
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That's quite a ways.
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He said, "Now I believe the
rumors that 30,000 people--"
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'Cause they used to say 30,000
people would come to hear him
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and they could all hear him.
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And he says, "Now I believe
the rumors I'd heard that 30,000
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people could be in one gathering
and everyone could hear
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him distinctly."
00:12:04.55\00:12:05.92
Well, one--you know, Whitfield
would go through towns and he'd
00:12:05.95\00:12:08.26
preach and
there'd be great revivals.
00:12:08.29\00:12:09.92
And they close all
the bars and saloons,
00:12:09.96\00:12:12.09
and a couple of men
in the bar were saying,
00:12:12.13\00:12:15.00
"Yeah, the preacher,
Whitfield, is coming to town."
00:12:15.03\00:12:16.83
He says, "You
better enjoy your drink.
00:12:16.87\00:12:18.27
They're going to close--they'll
probably close the bar after
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he gets done with his revival."
00:12:20.17\00:12:22.27
And one fella said,
"Well, I'd like to see the guy,
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but I don't want to
hear him because I don't want
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to quit drinking."
00:12:27.28\00:12:29.18
So he went to the field
where Whitfield was gathered,
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and he--they had
a makeshift podium.
00:12:33.58\00:12:35.42
And he was up there and
he was preparing to speak,
00:12:35.45\00:12:37.59
and this guy climbed a tree
like Zacchaeus 'cause there were
00:12:37.62\00:12:39.75
so many people
who wanted to see him,
00:12:39.79\00:12:41.76
but he didn't want to hear him.
00:12:41.79\00:12:43.02
So he got up in the tree, and he
kind of leaned against the tree
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and wrapped his legs around
the branch he was sitting on
00:12:45.33\00:12:47.56
and then he put his
fingers in his ears.
00:12:47.60\00:12:50.90
And Whitfield got up
and he started to preach,
00:12:50.93\00:12:54.24
and a horsefly began to
buzz around this guy's face.
00:12:54.27\00:12:59.91
Now, horseflies
are not regular flies.
00:12:59.94\00:13:02.18
They bite.
00:13:02.21\00:13:03.75
And the horsefly
landed on his nose,
00:13:03.78\00:13:06.08
and he pulled his fingers out
of his ears to swat at the fly.
00:13:06.11\00:13:09.28
Right when he pulled
his fingers out of the ears,
00:13:09.32\00:13:11.49
Whitfield said
with that booming voice,
00:13:11.52\00:13:13.29
"He that has ears, let him hear
what the Spirit says," quoting
00:13:13.32\00:13:18.33
from Revelation, and the man was
so stunned that those would be
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the first words
that he would hear.
00:13:22.13\00:13:24.20
That's a story--once he fell out
of the tree and was converted
00:13:24.23\00:13:26.77
like Zacchaeus.
00:13:26.80\00:13:29.07
But sometimes we don't want to
hear what the Holy Spirit says.
00:13:29.10\00:13:32.91
It says, "He awakens my
ear to hear as the learned.
00:13:32.94\00:13:36.85
The Lord God--" I'm
in verse 5, Isaiah 50.
00:13:36.88\00:13:40.22
"The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious nor did
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I turn away."
00:13:45.62\00:13:47.16
Now here's where you'll begin to
recognize the messianic part of
00:13:47.19\00:13:49.79
this prophecy.
00:13:49.82\00:13:51.96
"I gave my back to
those who struck me."
00:13:51.99\00:13:55.30
Doesn't say they held him down.
00:13:55.33\00:13:57.53
It's--he's offering himself.
00:13:57.57\00:14:00.07
"I gave my back to
those who struck me,
00:14:00.10\00:14:02.50
and my cheek to those
who plucked out the beard."
00:14:02.54\00:14:06.24
You know, you'll see some
accounts of Jesus's sufferings
00:14:06.27\00:14:09.18
they talk about them
not only hitting him.
00:14:09.21\00:14:11.18
We know he was
whipped on the back,
00:14:11.21\00:14:13.65
but they talk about him
having--they pulled out his
00:14:13.68\00:14:16.99
beard, and this is
where that comes from.
00:14:17.02\00:14:20.72
It's not actually
in the New Testament.
00:14:20.76\00:14:23.56
"I gave my cheek to those
who plucked out the beard."
00:14:23.59\00:14:26.66
You know what
else that would imply?
00:14:26.70\00:14:28.80
Jesus had a beard.
00:14:28.83\00:14:31.00
"I did not hide my face
from shame and spitting."
00:14:31.03\00:14:36.24
So they beat him,
they spat upon him.
00:14:36.27\00:14:42.21
It was extremely humiliating.
00:14:42.24\00:14:44.21
"For the Lord God will help me.
00:14:44.25\00:14:47.88
Therefore, I
will not be disgraced.
00:14:47.92\00:14:50.29
Therefore, I have set
my face like a flint."
00:14:50.32\00:14:53.49
You know, when Jesus made up his
mind to go to Jerusalem and die,
00:14:53.52\00:14:57.09
it tells us that he
set his face like a flint.
00:14:57.13\00:15:00.26
It's what "Desire
of Ages" tells us.
00:15:00.30\00:15:02.33
He had made up his mind.
00:15:02.36\00:15:04.17
The devil tried to detour him.
00:15:04.20\00:15:06.27
Jesus told the disciples
in the book of Matthew,
00:15:06.30\00:15:08.37
he said, "I'm going to
Jerusalem--" I think this is
00:15:08.40\00:15:11.01
in Matthew 16.
00:15:11.04\00:15:12.34
Right after Peter
says, "You are the Christ,
00:15:12.37\00:15:13.74
the son of the
living God," he said,
00:15:13.78\00:15:15.54
"I'm going to Jerusalem.
00:15:15.58\00:15:16.88
I'll be betrayed
into the hands of sinners.
00:15:16.91\00:15:18.68
The son of man will
be beaten, crucified,
00:15:18.71\00:15:21.32
and rise the third day."
00:15:21.35\00:15:22.85
And Peter took
him aside and said,
00:15:22.88\00:15:24.62
"Not so, Lord.
00:15:24.65\00:15:25.95
Don't even talk like that.
00:15:25.99\00:15:27.36
That's being negative.
00:15:27.39\00:15:28.69
God's got great plans for you."
00:15:28.72\00:15:30.03
And Jesus said to Peter,
"Get thou behind me, Satan."
00:15:30.06\00:15:32.79
He knew the devil was trying to
discourage him from his mission.
00:15:32.83\00:15:37.30
He had set his
face like a flint.
00:15:37.33\00:15:38.83
Now, flint is not pliable.
00:15:38.87\00:15:40.77
Flint is a very brittle stone.
00:15:40.80\00:15:44.57
It's why they used it to make
arrowheads because you could
00:15:44.61\00:15:47.38
sharpen it and it won't indole.
00:15:47.41\00:15:49.71
It was very brittle.
00:15:49.74\00:15:51.05
And so he had made up his mind
to go and to die for the sins of
00:15:51.08\00:15:54.55
the world, to go
forward with his sacrifice.
00:15:54.58\00:15:57.05
"Therefore, I set my face like a
flint," still finishing verse 7,
00:15:57.09\00:16:01.66
"and I know that I
will not be ashamed.
00:16:01.69\00:16:04.86
He is near who justifies
me, who will contend with me.
00:16:04.89\00:16:10.07
Let us stand together.
00:16:10.10\00:16:11.73
Who is my adversary?"
00:16:11.77\00:16:13.90
Now, what is an adversary?
00:16:13.94\00:16:15.47
You know how you
say the word Satan?
00:16:15.50\00:16:17.47
Satan is adversary.
00:16:17.51\00:16:19.41
That's what that word means.
00:16:19.44\00:16:21.14
"Let him come near me.
00:16:21.18\00:16:22.91
Surely the Lord
God will help me.
00:16:22.94\00:16:25.11
Who is he that condemns me?"
00:16:25.15\00:16:27.25
The Bible says Satan comes,
and "He has nothing in me,"
00:16:27.28\00:16:30.02
Jesus said.
00:16:30.05\00:16:31.62
He had lived without sin.
00:16:31.65\00:16:33.79
"Indeed they will all
grow old like a garment.
00:16:33.82\00:16:36.62
The moth will eat them up.
00:16:36.66\00:16:38.63
'Who among you fears the Lord?
00:16:38.66\00:16:40.83
Who obeys His
voice like His servant?'"
00:16:40.86\00:16:42.93
Now, in your Bibles you
notice the word servant.
00:16:42.96\00:16:44.47
I see you all looking at me,
and you're really good students,
00:16:44.50\00:16:47.07
but I want you to
also look at your Bible.
00:16:47.10\00:16:48.67
But it says right here, "Who
obeys the voice of His servant?"
00:16:48.70\00:16:55.08
That's His,
capital H, capital S.
00:16:55.11\00:16:58.65
Is that right?
00:16:58.68\00:17:00.32
They understood
this is the Messiah.
00:17:00.35\00:17:03.59
He's often
referred to as the servant.
00:17:03.62\00:17:05.32
We talked about this last week.
00:17:05.35\00:17:07.46
"And who walks in
darkness and has no light?"
00:17:07.49\00:17:10.79
You know, one of the signs of
Jesus was that he said no sign
00:17:10.83\00:17:15.30
will be given
to this generation,
00:17:15.33\00:17:17.40
except the sign
of the prophet Jonah.
00:17:17.43\00:17:21.27
"As Jonah was in the belly
of the fish three days and three
00:17:21.30\00:17:24.94
nights, so the son of man will
be in the heart of the earth
00:17:24.97\00:17:27.54
three days and three nights."
00:17:27.58\00:17:29.11
And that's Matthew chapter
12, and start with verse 38.
00:17:29.14\00:17:31.68
Was Jonah in the darkness?
00:17:31.71\00:17:34.52
Can you get darker
than being in a fish?
00:17:34.55\00:17:38.42
I scuba-dive.
00:17:38.45\00:17:41.12
Karen and I and the
boys are all certified.
00:17:41.16\00:17:43.59
And, you know,
the deeper you go,
00:17:43.63\00:17:47.50
the darker it gets.
00:17:47.56\00:17:49.50
And a few years ago, we went
to look at the whale sharks in
00:17:49.53\00:17:52.90
Belize, and I'll tell
you that's really something.
00:17:52.93\00:17:55.20
But you go down about 80 feet
and you look down and it's pitch
00:17:55.24\00:17:58.71
black, and you look
up and you see the light.
00:17:58.74\00:18:01.71
Jonah went down, where he
would have normally needed
00:18:01.74\00:18:04.38
a decompression chamber coming
up, but he--the Lord supplied
00:18:04.41\00:18:06.92
that in the fish.
00:18:06.95\00:18:08.55
But he was in the dark, and
that describes the sufferings
00:18:08.58\00:18:11.22
of Christ.
00:18:11.25\00:18:12.75
Christ went
through that darkness.
00:18:12.79\00:18:15.32
When the Father left
Jesus, it was at night.
00:18:15.36\00:18:17.93
When he was
betrayed, it was night.
00:18:17.96\00:18:20.40
Jesus said, "Now is the hour."
00:18:20.43\00:18:22.40
It was the hour of darkness.
00:18:22.43\00:18:24.17
The Father
withdrew His protection,
00:18:24.20\00:18:26.50
His presence.
00:18:26.53\00:18:28.04
"Who walks in
darkness and has no light?
00:18:28.07\00:18:30.41
Let him trust in the name of
the Lord and rely on his God."
00:18:30.44\00:18:33.58
And he in the
end, of course, said,
00:18:33.61\00:18:36.21
"Lord, into Your
hands I commend my spirit."
00:18:36.24\00:18:38.41
"Look, all who kindle the fire,
who encircle yourselves with
00:18:38.45\00:18:42.08
sparks, walk in the light
of your fire and the sparks
00:18:42.12\00:18:45.09
you have kindled.
00:18:45.12\00:18:46.62
You shall have from my
hand--this you shall have
00:18:46.65\00:18:49.52
my hand.
00:18:49.56\00:18:50.89
You will lie down in torment."
00:18:50.93\00:18:52.23
That's talking about the
religious leaders that were
00:18:52.26\00:18:55.10
walking in the light
of their own kindling,
00:18:55.13\00:18:57.37
their own sparks,
worshiping their own god.
00:18:57.40\00:18:59.87
They weren't
walking in the light of God.
00:18:59.90\00:19:01.64
It talks about
the sun, the moon,
00:19:01.67\00:19:03.87
and the stars,
that's God's light.
00:19:03.91\00:19:05.27
They were
walking in manmade fire.
00:19:05.31\00:19:07.34
And so this is just one of the
prophecies here that outlines
00:19:07.38\00:19:10.68
the sufferings on the Messiah.
00:19:10.71\00:19:13.18
Now we're going to jump to--go
with me to Isaiah chapter 52,
00:19:13.21\00:19:17.09
and we're going to
start with verse 13,
00:19:17.12\00:19:21.36
which is where
this prophecy begins;
00:19:21.39\00:19:24.16
that is, again,
taking up the prophecy.
00:19:24.19\00:19:27.73
You know, I probably ought
to say something at this point
00:19:27.76\00:19:30.90
that's important.
00:19:30.93\00:19:32.83
Prophecies like
Daniel, Revelation,
00:19:32.87\00:19:37.07
Ezekiel, Isaiah,
Zachariah--there are a lot
00:19:37.11\00:19:41.64
of these apocalyptic
prophets in the Bible.
00:19:41.68\00:19:44.31
They do not tell
their prophecies in
00:19:44.35\00:19:46.72
a running discourse.
00:19:46.75\00:19:48.65
It's not a chronological story.
00:19:48.68\00:19:50.99
They are taken in
prophecy from scene to scene,
00:19:51.02\00:19:55.12
and they write what
they're being shown.
00:19:55.16\00:19:57.73
And so you've got sound bites
of these prophecies that are not
00:19:57.76\00:20:02.00
always connected, and I
think I shared with you before
00:20:02.03\00:20:04.77
in Isaiah 14.
00:20:04.80\00:20:06.37
He starts out and he
talks about the king of Babylon,
00:20:06.40\00:20:08.80
and then all of a sudden
he's showing the devil who is
00:20:08.84\00:20:11.34
manipulating the king of
Babylon behind the scenes.
00:20:11.37\00:20:13.78
And then you read in Revelation
12 about this dragon about to
00:20:13.81\00:20:17.15
devour the woman.
00:20:17.18\00:20:19.25
It's talking about Herod who
kills the babies in Bethlehem,
00:20:19.28\00:20:24.02
tries to devour the child,
but it's talking about the Roman
00:20:24.05\00:20:26.19
power that is being
manipulated by the devil.
00:20:26.22\00:20:29.59
And then you read
in Ezekiel, it says,
00:20:29.62\00:20:31.49
"Give this message
to the king of Tyre."
00:20:31.53\00:20:33.90
Starts out talking
about the king of Tyre,
00:20:33.93\00:20:35.73
and then it goes
to the devil, says,
00:20:35.76\00:20:37.63
"You are in need
in the garden of God.
00:20:37.67\00:20:39.03
Every precious stone was--"
Talks about the devil behind
00:20:39.07\00:20:41.00
the king of Tyre.
00:20:41.04\00:20:42.77
And so Isaiah, he's commingling
his prophecies about what Israel
00:20:42.80\00:20:49.28
was going through in their
day when the king of--well,
00:20:49.31\00:20:52.78
I should say what Judah was
going through in that day when
00:20:52.81\00:20:55.88
the king of Israel and the king
of Assyria were harassing and
00:20:55.92\00:21:01.36
warring against
them from the north.
00:21:01.39\00:21:03.96
And then he goes back and forth,
and then he talks about the
00:21:03.99\00:21:06.66
ultimate deliverance that
would come from the Messiah
00:21:06.70\00:21:09.23
when he came.
00:21:09.26\00:21:10.67
So here in the midst of chapter
52 suddenly he begins to talk
00:21:10.70\00:21:16.30
again about the Messiah,
and you see if you don't agree.
00:21:16.34\00:21:18.97
"Behold, my servant
will deal prudently."
00:21:19.01\00:21:21.88
All right.
00:21:21.91\00:21:23.21
Now, we're going to go through
some of these little by little.
00:21:23.24\00:21:26.15
Who is this servant?
00:21:26.18\00:21:28.42
Tell you what, let me
read a few verses then back up.
00:21:28.45\00:21:30.85
"Behold, my servant
will deal prudently.
00:21:30.89\00:21:33.19
He will be exalted and
extolled and very high.
00:21:33.22\00:21:36.69
Just as many were
astonished at you,
00:21:36.73\00:21:39.46
his visage was marred
more than any man and more than
00:21:39.49\00:21:41.60
the sons of men."
00:21:41.63\00:21:43.13
Christ was beaten in
his visage, meaning his
00:21:43.16\00:21:46.07
appearance was marred.
00:21:46.10\00:21:47.97
He suffered.
00:21:48.00\00:21:50.04
"So he will
sprinkle many nations--"
00:21:50.07\00:21:52.01
This is what a priest did.
00:21:52.04\00:21:53.64
He would sprinkle the blood to
make atonement for the people.
00:21:53.68\00:21:58.01
"He would
sprinkle many nations--"
00:21:58.05\00:21:59.68
Not just for Israel,
but even for the Gentiles.
00:21:59.71\00:22:02.68
"Kings will shut
their mouths at him;
00:22:02.72\00:22:04.49
for what has not been
told them they will see,
00:22:04.52\00:22:08.06
and what they had not
heard they will consider."
00:22:08.09\00:22:10.53
And so this is talking about
the sufferings of Christ here.
00:22:10.56\00:22:13.96
Now, let me just--let me back up
and kind of establish something
00:22:14.00\00:22:19.47
before we dive into this.
00:22:19.50\00:22:23.37
The Jewish nation misunderstood
a lot about the coming
00:22:23.41\00:22:26.78
of the Messiah.
00:22:26.81\00:22:28.84
The New Testament
church was born out of a
00:22:28.88\00:22:31.68
great disappointment.
00:22:31.71\00:22:33.35
Did you know that?
00:22:33.38\00:22:34.85
The disciples--not
just the 12 apostles,
00:22:34.88\00:22:37.22
but all the disciples of Jesus
when they walked in front of
00:22:37.25\00:22:39.95
Jerusalem and he rode the
donkey down into Jerusalem,
00:22:39.99\00:22:46.16
they shouted
hosanna to the son of David,
00:22:46.19\00:22:50.07
what were they
thinking was going to happen?
00:22:50.10\00:22:52.87
Were they
thinking, "This is great.
00:22:52.90\00:22:54.37
He's going to die in two days."
00:22:54.40\00:22:56.27
Well--it was
actually about a week later.
00:22:56.30\00:22:59.17
Or were they thinking,
"He's now going to be coroneted
00:22:59.21\00:23:02.84
as the king, the son of David.
00:23:02.88\00:23:05.71
He will sit on the throne.
00:23:05.75\00:23:07.05
He's going to use his miraculous
power to multiply bread
00:23:07.08\00:23:09.62
and feed an army.
00:23:09.65\00:23:10.95
We're going to rise
up against the Romans.
00:23:10.99\00:23:12.49
We'll become an
international power again.
00:23:12.52\00:23:14.32
Israel will be a world nation."
00:23:14.36\00:23:16.26
And they had all
these glorious ideas.
00:23:16.29\00:23:18.36
Why do you think the
disciples came to Jesus,
00:23:18.39\00:23:20.46
and James and John said,
"When you come in your kingdom,
00:23:20.50\00:23:22.70
we want to sit on
your right and your left?"
00:23:22.73\00:23:25.67
And Jesus just probably
pulled them aside and said,
00:23:25.70\00:23:27.37
"I'll be the treasure."
00:23:27.40\00:23:29.34
And they were all thinking about
places in an earthly kingdom.
00:23:29.37\00:23:33.68
Isn't that right?
00:23:33.71\00:23:35.24
Because they
misunderstood the prophecies.
00:23:35.28\00:23:37.55
See, there's two prophecies
about the Messiah coming.
00:23:37.58\00:23:40.22
One has the
Messiah coming as a lion.
00:23:40.25\00:23:42.85
That's the second
coming, with a roar.
00:23:42.88\00:23:47.19
The other is have
him coming as a lamb.
00:23:47.22\00:23:49.99
Isaiah is now talking
about when he comes like a lamb.
00:23:50.03\00:23:53.50
The disciples got
the comings mixed up.
00:23:53.53\00:23:55.90
They had Jesus
coming as a lion first.
00:23:55.93\00:24:00.30
They didn't even really
know much about the lamb.
00:24:00.34\00:24:01.94
They didn't understand that.
00:24:01.97\00:24:03.81
You know what the
church is doing today?
00:24:03.84\00:24:05.31
A lot of evangelicals have Jesus
coming quietly the next time,
00:24:05.34\00:24:07.91
secret Rapture; are getting
the lion and the lamb mixed up.
00:24:07.94\00:24:11.51
No, he came
quietly the first time.
00:24:11.55\00:24:14.05
He did not
damage a bruised reed.
00:24:14.08\00:24:16.32
He came quietly. He came meekly.
00:24:16.35\00:24:17.79
He even said, "I
am meek and lowly."
00:24:17.82\00:24:19.22
He's coming next time.
00:24:19.25\00:24:20.56
He's a lion.
00:24:20.59\00:24:21.89
He's coming with triumph.
00:24:21.92\00:24:23.22
So they didn't understand
he's coming like lamb.
00:24:23.26\00:24:25.56
Look here, for
instance, in Matthew 11:3.
00:24:25.59\00:24:29.00
"And they said to him,
'Are you the coming one?'"
00:24:29.03\00:24:33.03
John the Baptist
sent his messengers.
00:24:33.07\00:24:34.87
"Are you the Coming One?"
00:24:34.90\00:24:36.20
Capital Coming One.
00:24:36.24\00:24:38.17
"Or do we look for another?
00:24:38.21\00:24:39.54
Are you the one
we've been looking for?"
00:24:39.57\00:24:41.31
John couldn't understand.
00:24:41.34\00:24:42.64
Even John the Baptist.
00:24:42.68\00:24:44.38
"How come you're just teaching
these nice things and you're
00:24:44.41\00:24:47.72
healing people, and
that's all wonderful,
00:24:47.75\00:24:49.82
but I'm waiting
for you to, you know,
00:24:49.85\00:24:53.62
overthrow the Romans,
to establish yourself on
00:24:53.66\00:24:56.59
the throne of David."
00:24:56.62\00:24:58.79
You can look in Luke 24.
00:24:58.83\00:25:01.06
When he rose from the dead and
he met the two disciples on the
00:25:01.10\00:25:03.30
road to Emmaus, Cleopas said,
"We were hoping that it was
00:25:03.33\00:25:07.84
he that was going
to redeem Israel."
00:25:07.87\00:25:10.24
What did they think
redeem Israel meant?
00:25:10.27\00:25:11.61
You and I think of redemption
as forgiveness for sin.
00:25:11.64\00:25:14.98
They thought
redeem Israel meant,
00:25:15.01\00:25:16.71
"You're going to
save us from the Romans."
00:25:16.75\00:25:19.18
"We thought he was the one
who was going to redeem Israel."
00:25:19.21\00:25:21.78
He just did on the cross.
00:25:21.82\00:25:23.65
"Indeed, beside all
this, it's the third day."
00:25:23.69\00:25:25.95
He told them what
was going to happen even
00:25:25.99\00:25:28.66
after the Resurrection.
00:25:28.69\00:25:30.66
Acts chapter 1,
verse 6: "Therefore,
00:25:30.69\00:25:33.29
when they'd come together,"
just before his ascension,
00:25:33.33\00:25:35.93
"they asked him, saying, 'Lord,
will you at this time restore
00:25:35.96\00:25:39.63
the kingdom to Israel?'"
00:25:39.67\00:25:40.97
Now, can that be misunderstood?
00:25:41.00\00:25:42.44
What were their expectations?
00:25:42.47\00:25:44.77
That Jesus was going to
restore the kingdom to Israel.
00:25:44.81\00:25:49.11
It wasn't going to be
under the Babylonians,
00:25:49.14\00:25:50.81
or the Persians, or
the Greeks, or the Romans.
00:25:50.85\00:25:52.68
They had been under oppression
ever since the days of
00:25:52.71\00:25:54.85
Nebuchadnezzar.
00:25:54.88\00:25:56.22
Someone else had
been ruling them.
00:25:56.25\00:25:57.65
They wanted to be another world
power as it was back in the
00:25:57.69\00:25:59.39
days of Solomon.
00:25:59.42\00:26:00.82
They thought the Messiah
was going to come riding in
00:26:00.86\00:26:02.92
on a white horse.
00:26:02.96\00:26:04.46
That's, you know, the future,
and establish his kingdom.
00:26:04.49\00:26:08.53
They said, "All right,
Lord, you died on the cross.
00:26:08.56\00:26:10.10
That's kind of--we're not too
clear of why that all happened.
00:26:10.13\00:26:12.67
Now are you going to overthrow
the--now do we get to sit down
00:26:12.70\00:26:16.67
on the right and the
left of you and help rule
00:26:16.71\00:26:19.54
the tribes of Israel?"
00:26:19.57\00:26:21.81
And Jesus said, "It's
not for you to know the times
00:26:21.84\00:26:24.65
or the seasons."
00:26:24.68\00:26:25.98
They still did not get it.
00:26:26.01\00:26:27.82
By the way, the Seventh-day
Adventist Church was also born
00:26:27.85\00:26:31.12
out of a great
misunderstanding of prophecy,
00:26:31.15\00:26:34.06
a great disappointment.
00:26:34.09\00:26:35.72
So it's biblical that
movements begin that way.
00:26:35.76\00:26:38.39
Are we clear on that?
00:26:38.43\00:26:40.53
All right.
00:26:40.56\00:26:42.06
So now we're going to
Isaiah chapter 52 again,
00:26:42.10\00:26:45.80
and he says, "My
servant--" This is verse 13.
00:26:45.83\00:26:49.34
"My servant
will deal prudently."
00:26:49.37\00:26:51.34
Jesus is called
the son of David,
00:26:51.37\00:26:53.34
and one of the characteristics
of David was that
00:26:53.38\00:26:55.71
he dealt prudently.
00:26:55.74\00:26:58.41
You're looking 1 Samuel 18:14.
00:26:58.45\00:27:01.42
"And David be hazed--behaved
himself wisely in all of his
00:27:01.45\00:27:05.62
ways, and the
Lord was with him."
00:27:05.65\00:27:08.56
Going back to Isaiah, it says,
"He will be exalted and extolled
00:27:08.59\00:27:13.56
and be very high."
00:27:13.60\00:27:15.66
Does that fit the
description of Jesus?
00:27:15.70\00:27:18.40
Paul says in Philippians 2,
verse 9 through 11--I'm looking
00:27:18.43\00:27:24.37
forward to when we get to
the other side of all these
00:27:24.41\00:27:27.44
pandemic restrictions.
00:27:27.48\00:27:28.78
I like the days when we
would have different people read
00:27:28.81\00:27:30.81
the verses in the audience.
00:27:30.85\00:27:33.21
We'll try and find a way
to make this more interactive,
00:27:33.25\00:27:35.68
but in the meantime, this
has got to be speeching--kind of
00:27:35.72\00:27:38.02
preaching teaching mixed up.
00:27:38.05\00:27:40.32
It says he's
exalted and very high.
00:27:40.36\00:27:43.09
Philippians 2,
verse 9: "Therefore,
00:27:43.12\00:27:45.53
God has also highly exalted him
and given him a name which is
00:27:45.56\00:27:49.13
above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should
00:27:49.16\00:27:52.80
bow, of those in heaven and
those on the earth and under the
00:27:52.83\00:27:56.64
earth, and that every tongue
could--should confess that
00:27:56.67\00:28:00.38
Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father."
00:28:00.41\00:28:03.21
Well, does that fit the criteria
he will be exalted and extolled
00:28:03.24\00:28:06.88
and very high?
00:28:06.92\00:28:08.85
Jesus fits that.
00:28:08.88\00:28:11.09
Go to verse 14.
00:28:11.12\00:28:12.55
I'm in Isaiah chapter 52.
00:28:12.59\00:28:14.76
"Just as many
were astonished at you,
00:28:14.79\00:28:17.03
so his visage was marred
more than any man and his form
00:28:17.06\00:28:20.46
more than the sons of men."
00:28:20.50\00:28:22.03
Here, Jesus is
suffering like Job.
00:28:22.06\00:28:24.73
Now, Job had boils from
the crown of his head to the
00:28:24.77\00:28:28.37
sole of his foot.
00:28:28.40\00:28:29.70
His visage was marred.
00:28:29.74\00:28:31.71
The sufferings of Job are a
type of the sufferings of Jesus.
00:28:31.74\00:28:34.24
You read in
Matthew 26, verse 67,
00:28:34.28\00:28:37.45
"And they spat in his face."
00:28:37.48\00:28:40.08
Did we read that in Isaiah?
00:28:40.12\00:28:42.25
"And they beat him, and
others struck him with the palms
00:28:42.28\00:28:45.95
of their hands."
00:28:45.99\00:28:47.29
And we learned
something else that happened,
00:28:47.32\00:28:49.19
as they pulled out his beard.
00:28:49.22\00:28:51.39
They abused him in just
about every way imaginable.
00:28:51.43\00:28:54.30
Of course, they mocked
him, they put a robe on him,
00:28:54.36\00:28:58.50
and they took a reed.
00:28:58.53\00:28:59.93
They said,
"Here's your scepter."
00:29:00.04\00:29:01.34
They put it in his hand, and
they took the reed and they beat
00:29:01.37\00:29:03.51
him about the head after putting
the crown of thorns on his head.
00:29:03.54\00:29:07.64
So all these
sufferings Jesus said,
00:29:07.68\00:29:10.35
"I offered myself.
00:29:10.38\00:29:12.01
I gave my back to
those that beat me."
00:29:12.05\00:29:15.85
Jesus said, "No
man takes my life.
00:29:15.88\00:29:17.92
I lay my life down."
00:29:17.95\00:29:19.99
Christ was a sacrifice,
but he was a willing sacrifice.
00:29:20.02\00:29:23.56
He was like the son of Abraham.
00:29:23.59\00:29:25.93
What was his name?
00:29:25.96\00:29:27.56
Isaac.
00:29:27.60\00:29:29.00
Do you really think Abraham
at 118 years of age jumped up
00:29:29.03\00:29:33.47
on Isaac,
wrestled him to the ground,
00:29:33.50\00:29:35.34
and tied him up like
a cowboy with a calf?
00:29:35.37\00:29:37.97
No.
00:29:38.01\00:29:39.71
He explained to his son
what God had called him to do,
00:29:39.74\00:29:41.98
and Isaac offered himself.
00:29:42.01\00:29:44.41
He was a willing sacrifice.
00:29:44.45\00:29:45.81
Indeed, he carried the wood
on his back as Jesus carried
00:29:45.85\00:29:48.55
the cross on his back.
00:29:48.58\00:29:49.88
Psalm 71, verse 7: "I
am a wonder unto many."
00:29:49.92\00:29:54.86
They were astonished.
00:29:54.89\00:29:56.99
"So over--" Now I'm in
verse 15, Isaiah chapter 52.
00:29:57.03\00:30:01.76
"So he will
sprinkle many nations."
00:30:01.80\00:30:03.53
We talked about that.
00:30:03.57\00:30:05.53
That's talking about the
sacrifice of the priests.
00:30:05.57\00:30:08.64
An example would
be--go to Numbers 19,
00:30:08.67\00:30:10.17
verse 18.
00:30:10.21\00:30:12.17
"A clean person shall take
hyssop and dip it in the water,
00:30:12.21\00:30:16.78
and sprinkle it on the
tent and all the vessels and on
00:30:16.81\00:30:19.75
the persons who were there."
00:30:19.78\00:30:21.45
The clean person
shall sprinkle the unclean,
00:30:21.48\00:30:23.82
and on the third
day he will be clean.
00:30:23.85\00:30:26.52
That's Numbers 19:18 and 19.
00:30:26.55\00:30:29.69
And so that's sprinkling to
the Jew represented someone who
00:30:29.72\00:30:33.70
is clean through this
ceremony cleansing the unclean.
00:30:33.73\00:30:38.43
Jesus through his
sacrifice--you know,
00:30:38.47\00:30:41.04
not only did blood
come out of his side.
00:30:41.07\00:30:42.57
What does John say came out?
00:30:42.60\00:30:44.71
Blood and water.
00:30:44.74\00:30:46.78
And Jesus said to
the woman at the well,
00:30:46.81\00:30:48.38
"I'm offering you
living water," artesian water,
00:30:48.41\00:30:51.95
"that will satisfy
and that will cleanse."
00:30:51.98\00:30:55.15
In our sermon later today, we
find out about a man who washed
00:30:55.18\00:30:57.95
and came away sin.
00:30:57.99\00:31:00.42
And there's a cleansing.
00:31:00.46\00:31:01.89
So he sprinkles many nations,
and they are made clean.
00:31:01.92\00:31:06.46
"Kings will shut
their mouths at him;
00:31:06.49\00:31:08.83
for what had not been
told them they will see,
00:31:08.86\00:31:11.80
and what they had not
heard they will consider."
00:31:11.83\00:31:14.50
Revelation 6:15, "And
the kings of the earth,
00:31:14.54\00:31:18.84
and the great men, and the rich
men hid themselves in the caves
00:31:18.87\00:31:21.14
and the rocks of the mountains."
00:31:21.18\00:31:23.78
And Jesus when he was
tried before Pilate and Herod,
00:31:23.81\00:31:28.38
they weren't
able to condemn him.
00:31:28.42\00:31:32.55
Pilate said, "I
find no fault in him."
00:31:32.59\00:31:35.26
Now we're going to
Isaiah 53, Isaiah 53.
00:31:35.29\00:31:40.23
And if you look--we'll start
with--we're going to go through
00:31:40.26\00:31:42.73
this whole chapter here.
00:31:42.76\00:31:44.70
Isaiah 53, verses 1 and 2:
"Who has believed our report,
00:31:44.73\00:31:48.30
and to whom has the arm
of the Lord been revealed?
00:31:48.34\00:31:52.41
For he will grow up
before him as a tender plant.
00:31:52.44\00:31:55.11
And as a root out of dry ground,
he has no form or comeliness.
00:31:55.14\00:31:59.01
And when we see him,
there's no beauty that we should
00:31:59.05\00:32:01.38
desire him."
00:32:01.42\00:32:03.72
It says here in John 12:37, "But
although he had done many signs
00:32:03.75\00:32:08.46
before them, they
did not believe him,
00:32:08.49\00:32:11.73
that the word of Isaiah the
prophet might be fulfilled which
00:32:11.76\00:32:14.46
he spoke, 'Lord, who
has believed our report,
00:32:14.46\00:32:17.67
and to whom is the arm
of the Lord revealed?'"
00:32:17.70\00:32:19.67
Now, did you
catch what we just did?
00:32:19.70\00:32:22.17
We are actually reading from
Isaiah 53 in the New Testament.
00:32:22.20\00:32:26.81
John is quoting
Isaiah 53, saying Isaiah is
00:32:26.84\00:32:30.35
a fulfillment of Jesus.
00:32:30.38\00:32:33.25
So we don't need to be
wondering or doubting who does
00:32:33.28\00:32:35.55
this represent.
00:32:35.58\00:32:37.12
This is how the New
Testament writers understood
00:32:37.15\00:32:39.15
this prophecy.
00:32:39.19\00:32:40.59
And then it says
there's no beauty,
00:32:40.62\00:32:42.69
no desire, no
outly form or comeliness.
00:32:42.72\00:32:45.59
Have you ever seen an
ugly painting of Jesus?
00:32:45.63\00:32:49.40
Not too often.
00:32:49.43\00:32:51.47
And I'm not
saying Jesus was ugly,
00:32:51.50\00:32:53.57
I'm just saying he
looked like a normal person.
00:32:53.60\00:32:56.04
Now, how do we know that?
00:32:56.07\00:32:58.14
When they
wanted to betray Jesus,
00:32:58.17\00:33:01.58
they had to get one
of the apostles and say,
00:33:01.61\00:33:03.68
"You know, he looks
like everybody else.
00:33:03.71\00:33:05.51
Which one is he?"
00:33:05.55\00:33:07.95
Now, if Christ
looked like your, you know,
00:33:07.98\00:33:09.82
typical striking
movie star, that'd say,
00:33:09.85\00:33:11.42
"There he is."
00:33:11.45\00:33:13.46
But he looked like a normal man.
00:33:13.49\00:33:17.29
He looked like a carpenter.
00:33:17.33\00:33:20.30
There's no outward
beauty that we should desire.
00:33:20.33\00:33:23.16
What is it about Jesus
that changed the world?
00:33:23.20\00:33:26.43
Is it a photograph, is it
a painting or a sculpture,
00:33:26.47\00:33:29.27
or is it his words?
00:33:29.30\00:33:31.67
It's what he said
that changed the world.
00:33:31.71\00:33:34.81
"There's no beauty
that we should desire him."
00:33:34.84\00:33:37.61
Verses 3: "He is
despised and rejected by men,
00:33:37.65\00:33:41.62
a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief.
00:33:41.65\00:33:45.25
And we hid, as it
were, our faces from him."
00:33:45.29\00:33:48.72
Now, when it says that Jesus is
a man of sorrows and acquainted
00:33:48.76\00:33:53.36
with grief, some people
think that means that Christ
00:33:53.40\00:33:57.53
was always in a
bad mood, always sad,
00:33:57.57\00:34:00.10
never smiled.
00:34:00.14\00:34:01.44
No, that's not true.
00:34:01.47\00:34:02.77
Jesus--you know,
children were attracted to him.
00:34:02.80\00:34:05.34
He smiled.
00:34:05.37\00:34:06.78
I'm sure he laughed.
00:34:06.81\00:34:09.01
But because he was
holy, the son of God,
00:34:09.04\00:34:12.98
living in an unholy world,
he was often saddened by the
00:34:13.01\00:34:17.25
suffering of humanity and by the
sins that were hurting people.
00:34:17.29\00:34:23.79
You know, Jesus tells a
parable about his second coming,
00:34:23.83\00:34:27.03
and he said it'll be
like a shepherd who separates
00:34:27.03\00:34:31.50
the sheep from the goats.
00:34:31.53\00:34:33.80
And he'll say to the
sheep on his right hand,
00:34:33.84\00:34:35.80
"Well done, good
and faithful servants.
00:34:35.84\00:34:38.27
Enter into the joy of
the Lord because I was hungry
00:34:38.31\00:34:40.34
and you fed me.
00:34:40.38\00:34:41.74
I was thirsty,
you gave me drink.
00:34:41.78\00:34:43.41
I was a stranger
and you took me in.
00:34:43.45\00:34:45.38
I was naked and you clothed me.
00:34:45.41\00:34:47.25
I was a prisoner
and you came to me.
00:34:47.28\00:34:49.45
I was sick--" Now, I
got those out of order,
00:34:49.48\00:34:51.05
but the six
things I got them all.
00:34:51.09\00:34:52.72
"I was sick and
you visited me." Okay?
00:34:52.75\00:34:55.39
Can any of you here name
any suffering of humanity that
00:34:55.42\00:34:59.83
does not fit into
one of those categories?
00:34:59.86\00:35:03.93
You realize that covers
all the suffering of man:
00:35:03.97\00:35:06.80
hunger, thirst,
loneliness, sickness, cold,
00:35:06.84\00:35:13.64
stranger, imprisonment.
00:35:13.68\00:35:16.51
I mean, it really--any suffering
that you could think of would
00:35:16.54\00:35:19.08
fit, and a lot of you
right now are thinking,
00:35:19.11\00:35:20.55
"I fit the sick category."
00:35:20.58\00:35:23.62
"I'm in the lonely category."
00:35:23.65\00:35:25.99
But all the suffering
of humanity is in that.
00:35:26.02\00:35:29.26
Jesus in that parable describes
the suffering of humanity,
00:35:29.29\00:35:33.73
and he said, "In as much as you
have ministered to the least of
00:35:33.76\00:35:36.30
these, you did it to me."
00:35:36.33\00:35:38.50
Why does God say that?
00:35:38.53\00:35:40.74
Because God is
not only omnipresent,
00:35:40.77\00:35:43.64
God is omnipotent.
00:35:43.67\00:35:45.61
He's all-powerful.
00:35:45.64\00:35:46.94
He can be everywhere.
00:35:46.98\00:35:48.28
He's omniscient,
he knows all things.
00:35:48.31\00:35:49.61
And here it is,
God is omnipathic.
00:35:49.64\00:35:52.41
Omnipathic means you
feel everything anybody feels.
00:35:52.45\00:35:56.72
That goes along
with being all-knowing.
00:35:56.75\00:35:58.62
But there's no
sensation, no impulse,
00:35:58.65\00:36:01.39
no feeling, no pain
anywhere in the universe God
00:36:01.42\00:36:03.69
is not aware of.
00:36:03.73\00:36:05.03
Is that right?
00:36:05.06\00:36:06.73
So when Jesus is in the world
and he's experiencing all the
00:36:06.76\00:36:09.90
suffering of humanity, can
you understand why it says he's
00:36:09.93\00:36:12.30
a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief?
00:36:12.33\00:36:15.17
In spite of that, he was
still able to rejoice at times,
00:36:15.20\00:36:20.24
and Jesus often
rejoiced and marveled when he
00:36:20.28\00:36:23.48
saw people of faith.
00:36:23.51\00:36:25.28
And so it goes on and
it tells us that he will go
00:36:25.31\00:36:33.56
before him--still in verse 2.
00:36:33.59\00:36:35.79
"He'll grow up as a
root out of dry ground."
00:36:35.82\00:36:38.23
Why does it say that?
00:36:38.26\00:36:39.66
Jesus grew up quietly.
00:36:39.69\00:36:40.96
You know, there's no miracle
that Christ performs until he
00:36:41.00\00:36:43.93
begins his ministry
and he's anointed at 30.
00:36:43.97\00:36:47.00
That first 30 years, he lived
as a holy person among humans
00:36:47.04\00:36:51.41
without using any
miraculous power to save himself
00:36:51.44\00:36:54.24
or to prove who he was.
00:36:54.28\00:36:55.84
He lived a meek
and a quiet life.
00:36:55.88\00:36:58.41
Matter of fact, it's so meek and
quiet that a lot of people just
00:36:58.45\00:37:01.38
can't accept that Jesus actually
didn't learn at the feet of
00:37:01.42\00:37:05.75
some great guru or teachers.
00:37:05.79\00:37:08.52
And they say, oh, during those
years he disappeared and he
00:37:08.56\00:37:11.16
went to India and he
studied from the Maharajis,
00:37:11.19\00:37:13.96
or he went to Egypt and he
studied from the leaders there,
00:37:14.00\00:37:17.20
or he went--and they've got all
these theories about where did
00:37:17.23\00:37:20.47
Jesus go during
those quiet years.
00:37:20.50\00:37:22.20
It tells us he went home and
he was subject to his parents.
00:37:22.24\00:37:25.07
He worked with his
father in the carpenter shop.
00:37:25.11\00:37:27.81
And so, you know, don't
believe--I remember when I was
00:37:27.84\00:37:30.95
a new Christian someone gave me
a copy of "The Aquarian Gospel
00:37:30.98\00:37:34.35
of Jesus Christ," talking
about how Jesus went and studied
00:37:34.38\00:37:37.79
under all the
masters of the East.
00:37:37.82\00:37:40.19
That's where he
got all his wisdom.
00:37:40.22\00:37:41.86
No, he got it from the Bible.
00:37:41.89\00:37:44.39
He got it from his
mother reading the Bible to him,
00:37:44.43\00:37:47.13
he--from the Holy Spirit.
00:37:47.20\00:37:49.16
He went to the temple.
00:37:49.20\00:37:50.50
He asked them
questions, and he listened,
00:37:50.53\00:37:52.20
and he learned.
00:37:52.23\00:37:54.27
"Who has believed our report?"
00:37:54.30\00:37:55.60
They did not believe.
00:37:55.64\00:37:57.71
"He's despised
and rejected of men,
00:37:57.74\00:38:00.14
a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief.
00:38:00.18\00:38:02.78
And we hid, as it
were, our faces from him."
00:38:02.81\00:38:06.95
For most of humanity, they did
not want to accept who he was.
00:38:06.98\00:38:10.15
"He's despised and
yet we did not esteem him.
00:38:10.19\00:38:13.32
Surely he has borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows."
00:38:13.36\00:38:18.66
Every time we pray, we're
casting our cares upon God.
00:38:18.69\00:38:21.60
Is that right?
00:38:21.63\00:38:25.13
"Yet we esteemed him
stricken, smitten by God,
00:38:25.17\00:38:28.94
and afflicted.
00:38:28.97\00:38:31.47
He was wounded," why,
"for our transgressions."
00:38:31.51\00:38:34.71
I mean, how can
that be mistaken?
00:38:34.74\00:38:36.58
"He was bruised
for our iniquities.
00:38:36.61\00:38:38.41
The chastisement of
our peace was upon him,
00:38:38.45\00:38:41.08
and with his
stripes we are healed."
00:38:41.12\00:38:43.69
Stripes doesn't mean like on
a barber pole or on candy cane.
00:38:43.72\00:38:46.35
Those stripes are talking
about--that's a word--when you
00:38:46.39\00:38:48.86
were whipped in Bible times,
it left stripes on the back,
00:38:48.89\00:38:52.23
either from the
rod or from the whip.
00:38:52.26\00:38:55.46
And it's saying
that the punishment that
00:38:55.50\00:38:57.50
we deserve he took.
00:38:57.53\00:38:59.50
With his stripes we are healed.
00:38:59.53\00:39:01.17
He has borne our griefs.
00:39:01.20\00:39:02.50
He's the great substitute.
00:39:02.54\00:39:04.31
See--and this is the thing that
should--when you really believe
00:39:04.34\00:39:07.88
it, it should really
make you love the Lord,
00:39:07.91\00:39:10.28
when you realize that he took
the punishment for all of your
00:39:10.31\00:39:13.31
sins and your eternal loss.
00:39:13.35\00:39:16.75
Because he loves you so
much, he wants you to be saved.
00:39:16.79\00:39:19.52
That ought to touch us all.
00:39:19.55\00:39:21.42
Amen?
00:39:21.46\00:39:22.92
I think we ought
to be moved by that.
00:39:22.96\00:39:24.66
"All we, like
sheep, have gone astray.
00:39:24.69\00:39:26.90
We've turned
everyone to his own way,
00:39:26.93\00:39:29.20
and the Lord has laid upon
him the iniquity of us all."
00:39:29.23\00:39:33.07
Who can miss that?
00:39:33.10\00:39:34.57
John the
Baptist points to Jesus,
00:39:34.60\00:39:36.07
says, "Behold, this is the
lamb of God that takes away the
00:39:36.10\00:39:37.67
sin of the world."
00:39:37.71\00:39:39.01
"All of us have gone astray,
but this is the lamb that
00:39:39.04\00:39:41.58
takes away our sin.
00:39:41.61\00:39:43.24
He's punished for us."
00:39:43.28\00:39:44.65
Now, you might be wondering,
how in the world does a Jew
00:39:44.68\00:39:50.09
read this passage
and not see Jesus?
00:39:50.12\00:39:53.79
Well, first of all, there's
a lot of Jews who have not read
00:39:53.82\00:39:56.62
the New Testament and so they're
really only vaguely acquainted.
00:39:56.66\00:39:59.39
You can take it from me.
00:39:59.43\00:40:00.73
I have a lot of Jewish family.
00:40:00.76\00:40:02.36
They're only vaguely
acquainted with anything about
00:40:02.40\00:40:04.43
the ministry of Jesus.
00:40:04.47\00:40:06.07
The other thing
is Jewish rabbis.
00:40:06.10\00:40:07.80
When they read
this, they say, "Oh,
00:40:07.84\00:40:09.14
this suffering servant."
00:40:09.17\00:40:10.64
This is describing
Israel's suffering because
00:40:10.67\00:40:12.87
of the Gentiles.
00:40:12.91\00:40:14.44
"Because we are a
nation of kings and priests,
00:40:14.48\00:40:16.28
we are sprinkled
in many nations."
00:40:16.31\00:40:17.61
And they just say it's
all applying to Israel.
00:40:17.65\00:40:19.75
But, you know,
this last part here,
00:40:19.78\00:40:21.62
it just--it can't be
anything other than the Messiah.
00:40:21.65\00:40:27.02
It says, "He was taken
from prison and judgment,
00:40:27.06\00:40:31.13
and who will
declare his generation?
00:40:31.16\00:40:33.26
He was cut off from
the land of the living;
00:40:33.29\00:40:35.43
for the transgressions of
my people he was stricken."
00:40:35.46\00:40:38.73
It's talking about an individual
who is punished not for a man--
00:40:38.77\00:40:43.30
I might--you might think that
one man might die for the sins
00:40:43.34\00:40:45.64
of one man, but this is someone
who dies for the sins of people.
00:40:45.67\00:40:48.64
Many.
00:40:48.68\00:40:50.28
He died for the
sins of all the world.
00:40:50.31\00:40:52.51
"They made his
grave with the wicked."
00:40:52.55\00:40:55.02
He was crucified
between two thieves.
00:40:55.05\00:40:57.79
"But in the rich in his death
because he had done no violence
00:40:57.82\00:41:01.42
nor was any
deceit in his mouth."
00:41:01.46\00:41:03.83
Now, if you have your Bibles,
if you have any doubts about
00:41:03.86\00:41:06.16
what this means, you
go to Acts chapter 8,
00:41:06.19\00:41:08.53
verse 30; Acts 8, verse 30.
00:41:08.56\00:41:14.70
And so Philip is told by
the Holy Spirit to go down to
00:41:14.74\00:41:17.64
the deserts of Gaza.
00:41:17.67\00:41:19.57
And while he's there, he
sees that there's this wealthy
00:41:19.61\00:41:22.18
Ethiopian
treasure for Queen Candace.
00:41:22.21\00:41:25.25
And he's maybe riding along
slowly or he's parked in his
00:41:25.28\00:41:29.18
chariot and maybe
have an umbrella over him,
00:41:29.22\00:41:31.32
and he's reading
from the scroll of Isaiah.
00:41:31.35\00:41:34.66
And God tells
Philip, "Go near to him."
00:41:34.69\00:41:36.99
"So Philip ran to him,
and he heard him reading
00:41:37.03\00:41:39.59
from the prophet Isaiah.
00:41:39.63\00:41:41.53
And he said, 'Do you
understand what you're reading?'
00:41:41.56\00:41:44.27
He said, 'How can
I?'" He's frustrated.
00:41:44.30\00:41:47.10
He said, "This seems deep."
00:41:47.14\00:41:48.64
"How can I unless
someone guides me?"
00:41:48.67\00:41:50.81
This is a wise man.
00:41:50.84\00:41:52.37
He's not too wise to have
someone else instruct him.
00:41:52.41\00:41:54.91
"And he asked Philip to
come up and sit with him.
00:41:54.94\00:41:58.21
The place in Scripture where
he read was this: 'He was led as
00:41:58.25\00:42:02.55
a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its
00:42:02.58\00:42:05.65
shearer is silent."
00:42:05.69\00:42:07.12
Now, we're reading
New Testament, right?
00:42:07.16\00:42:08.46
In the New Testament, it's
telling us about this Ethiopian
00:42:08.49\00:42:11.36
treasure who's
reading from Isaiah 53.
00:42:11.39\00:42:12.99
He's wealthy.
00:42:13.03\00:42:14.36
He's got a scroll.
00:42:14.36\00:42:15.66
Not everybody could
afford a scroll back then.
00:42:15.70\00:42:17.27
"'So he opened not his mouth,
in his humiliation his justice
00:42:17.30\00:42:20.24
is taken away.
00:42:20.27\00:42:21.90
And who will
declare his generation?
00:42:21.94\00:42:23.54
For his life is
taken from the earth.'
00:42:23.57\00:42:25.21
So the eunuch answered
00:42:25.24\00:42:26.47
Philip and said, 'I ask you, of
whom does the prophet say this,
00:42:26.51\00:42:29.64
of himself or
of some other man?'
00:42:29.68\00:42:32.25
Then Philip opened his mouth,
beginning at this Scripture,
00:42:32.28\00:42:35.82
and he preached Jesus to him."
00:42:35.85\00:42:38.29
Philip found this was a perfect
Scripture to preach Jesus.
00:42:38.32\00:42:42.29
'Cause doesn't this passage talk
about the sufferings of Christ
00:42:42.32\00:42:45.46
for the sins of the world?
00:42:45.49\00:42:47.36
That's what it's all about.
00:42:47.40\00:42:49.63
And it says he kept silent
as a lamb before her shearers.
00:42:49.66\00:42:53.54
Look in Matthew
chapter 26, verse 62.
00:42:53.57\00:42:56.81
"And the high
priest arose and said,
00:42:56.84\00:42:58.51
'Do you answer nothing?
00:42:58.54\00:43:00.88
What is it that these
men testify against you?'
00:43:00.91\00:43:04.08
But Jesus kept silent."
00:43:04.11\00:43:06.41
Matthew 27, verse 57:
"Now when evening had come,
00:43:06.45\00:43:10.79
there was a rich man
from Arimathea named Joseph,
00:43:10.82\00:43:13.69
who himself also had
become a disciple of Jesus.
00:43:13.72\00:43:16.79
This man went to Pilate and
asked for the body of Jesus.
00:43:16.83\00:43:20.16
Then Pilate commanded
the body to be given him.
00:43:20.20\00:43:22.90
When Joseph had taken the body,
he wrapped it in clean linen,
00:43:22.93\00:43:26.37
cloth, and he laid
it in his new tomb,
00:43:26.40\00:43:29.77
which he had
hewn out of the rock.
00:43:29.80\00:43:32.01
And he rolled a large
stone against the door of
00:43:32.04\00:43:34.14
the tomb and departed."
00:43:34.18\00:43:35.41
Now, how could you ever prophesy
so specifically that this person
00:43:35.44\00:43:38.01
would be beaten for
other people's sins,
00:43:38.05\00:43:40.65
he'd be counted with the wicked,
he dies with two thieves,
00:43:40.68\00:43:43.92
and yet he's
buried with the rich?
00:43:43.95\00:43:46.39
It's kind of hard to plan that,
but this is what happens here.
00:43:46.42\00:43:51.13
He's buried in
a rich man's tomb.
00:43:51.16\00:43:53.86
Jeremiah 11:19: "But I
was like a docile lamb brought
00:43:53.90\00:43:59.53
to the slaughter.
00:43:59.57\00:44:01.27
I did not know that they
had devised schemes against me,
00:44:01.30\00:44:04.21
saying, 'Let us destroy
the tree with its fruit,
00:44:04.24\00:44:06.31
and let us cut him off
from the land of the living,
00:44:06.34\00:44:08.98
that his name may be
remembered no more.'"
00:44:09.01\00:44:11.68
It's not just Eze--Isaiah.
00:44:11.71\00:44:14.02
Even in Jeremiah, he
talks about that same passage.
00:44:14.05\00:44:16.58
Now go to verse 10, Isaiah 53.
00:44:16.62\00:44:19.85
"Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him.
00:44:19.89\00:44:22.19
He has put him to grief.
00:44:22.22\00:44:24.49
When you make his
soul an offering for sin--"
00:44:24.53\00:44:27.73
Now this is what we do.
00:44:27.76\00:44:29.50
We actually choose
to consciously say,
00:44:29.53\00:44:32.03
"Lord, I am accepting the
sacrifice of Jesus for my sins."
00:44:32.07\00:44:36.44
"When we make his
soul an offering for sin,
00:44:36.47\00:44:39.17
He," God, "will see His seed.
00:44:39.21\00:44:41.68
He will prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the Lord
00:44:41.71\00:44:45.08
will prosper in his hands."
00:44:45.11\00:44:46.82
He will bless those who
make the soul of Jesus our lamb
00:44:46.85\00:44:50.19
that takes away our sin.
00:44:50.22\00:44:52.85
Says it pleased
the Lord to bruise him.
00:44:52.89\00:44:54.99
Jonah 1:14: "Therefore,
the sailors cried out and said,
00:44:55.02\00:45:00.20
'We pray, O Lord, please do not
perish for this man's life and
00:45:00.23\00:45:03.06
do not charge us
with innocent blood;
00:45:03.10\00:45:05.00
for you, O Lord, has
done as it pleased you."
00:45:05.03\00:45:08.54
Saying they--the Lord was
pleased that Jonah would die,
00:45:08.57\00:45:13.27
that they might have peace.
00:45:13.31\00:45:15.58
What Jesus said is an
allegory for his own sacrifice.
00:45:15.61\00:45:19.08
And then it just
makes a beautiful statement
00:45:19.11\00:45:23.32
here at the end.
00:45:23.35\00:45:24.75
You go to Isaiah chapter 53:12.
00:45:24.79\00:45:26.82
"Therefore, I will divide
for him a portion with a great,
00:45:26.86\00:45:30.09
and he will divide the
spoil with the strong because he
00:45:30.13\00:45:32.69
poured out his soul unto
death, and he was numbered--"
00:45:32.73\00:45:37.10
Christ said, "It is
finished" and then he died.
00:45:37.13\00:45:38.80
"He was numbered
with the transgressors."
00:45:38.83\00:45:41.54
It says that twice.
00:45:41.57\00:45:42.90
"He bore the sin of many."
00:45:42.94\00:45:44.87
That can only mean Jesus.
00:45:44.91\00:45:46.91
"And he made intercession
for the transgressors.
00:45:46.94\00:45:49.04
He even
interceded from the cross,
00:45:49.08\00:45:50.51
saying, "Father, forgive them.
00:45:50.55\00:45:52.85
They do not know what they do."
00:45:52.88\00:45:54.55
He made intercession
through his whole life.
00:45:54.58\00:45:56.02
John chapter 17 is the great
intercessory prayer of Jesus.
00:45:56.05\00:46:00.32
This is a perfect picture of the
Messiah and his sufferings here
00:46:00.36\00:46:05.09
in this passage, and--you know,
anyone who wonders about the
00:46:05.13\00:46:08.13
inspiration of the
Bible, we know Jesus lived,
00:46:08.16\00:46:10.73
we know he died.
00:46:10.77\00:46:12.67
You read this
prophecy in Isaiah,
00:46:12.70\00:46:14.17
and it's just hard to deny that
the Bible is an inspired book.
00:46:14.20\00:46:18.94
But you've got the
whole gospel in this prophecy,
00:46:18.97\00:46:21.38
in this passage.
00:46:21.41\00:46:22.71
Amen?
00:46:22.74\00:46:24.05
Now, for those who have
joined us a little late,
00:46:24.08\00:46:25.65
I want to remind you we
do have a special offer.
00:46:25.68\00:46:27.42
It's a book called "Down from
His Glory," and we'll give this
00:46:27.45\00:46:30.65
to you for free.
00:46:30.69\00:46:31.99
All you've got to do
00:46:32.02\00:46:33.32
is call 866-788-3966.
00:46:33.36\00:46:37.13
That's really 866-Study-More.
00:46:37.16\00:46:39.66
Might make it
easier to remember.
00:46:39.69\00:46:41.33
And ask for offer number 154.
00:46:41.36\00:46:43.47
And you can even
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We can send it to you via
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00:46:53.14\00:46:57.51
Or go to the
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00:46:57.55\00:46:59.18
Under our free library, you'll
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inspiring book.
00:47:02.72\00:47:04.79
Thank you very
much for joining us.
00:47:04.82\00:47:06.15
God bless you, friends, and Lord
willing we'll study His Word
00:47:06.19\00:47:09.09
together again next week.
00:47:09.12\00:47:11.83
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announcer: Amazing
Facts. Changed lives.
00:47:49.23\00:47:53.34
Christine Vanodor: I was
born into a family of criminals.
00:47:56.84\00:47:59.71
When I got older and I
started breaking the rules,
00:47:59.74\00:48:02.68
no one ever taught me
about "Thou shalt not steal.
00:48:02.71\00:48:05.01
Thou shalt not lie.
00:48:05.05\00:48:06.88
Thou shalt not commit adultery."
00:48:06.92\00:48:08.65
Anything like that.
00:48:08.68\00:48:10.09
When I became a runaway at 14, I
was just a wild and lost child.
00:48:10.12\00:48:16.36
I had somebody tell me, "Hey,
you want to earn some money
00:48:16.39\00:48:19.36
cleaning this guy's kitchen?"
00:48:19.39\00:48:21.06
So I went to this house on
a different side of town than
00:48:21.10\00:48:23.10
I was used to.
00:48:23.13\00:48:24.67
Someone kept giving
me alcoholic drinks.
00:48:24.70\00:48:27.24
And being 115
pounds and 14 years old,
00:48:27.27\00:48:31.04
it really didn't take much time
before I was so inebriated that
00:48:31.07\00:48:34.48
I had no control over
what was going on around me.
00:48:34.51\00:48:38.61
He took me to another
location, another town,
00:48:38.65\00:48:41.12
and I was put in isolation.
00:48:41.15\00:48:43.75
I would come out to
be abused between three
00:48:43.79\00:48:45.92
and eight times a day.
00:48:45.95\00:48:47.26
I was degraded.
I was humiliated.
00:48:47.29\00:48:49.76
I had no value as a human being,
and I learned very quickly that
00:48:49.79\00:48:54.36
what I felt and what I thought
and how this made me feel
00:48:54.40\00:48:57.97
did not matter to him at all.
00:48:58.00\00:48:59.60
If I even thought about not
doing what he wanted me to do,
00:48:59.63\00:49:04.64
I would have a gun to my
head, a knife to my throat.
00:49:04.67\00:49:10.51
There was one time in particular
where he had been tormenting me
00:49:10.55\00:49:16.32
psychologically,
and one day he said,
00:49:16.35\00:49:19.92
"Oh, you'll never kill yourself.
00:49:19.95\00:49:21.59
You'll never do it."
00:49:21.62\00:49:23.39
And almost defiantly I
was like, "Yes, I will."
00:49:23.43\00:49:26.23
And he handed me a
big old handful of pills,
00:49:26.26\00:49:28.26
and I took them.
00:49:28.30\00:49:30.33
While I was overdosing and I
had been overdosing all night,
00:49:30.37\00:49:33.07
I cried out to a God
that I didn't even believe in.
00:49:33.10\00:49:36.10
And at that very moment
in the most powerful way,
00:49:36.14\00:49:39.74
God shone his light on me and
he gave me peace of mind like
00:49:39.77\00:49:43.85
I never had; and he let me know
right then and there while I was
00:49:43.88\00:49:47.88
on that bathroom
floor that he was real,
00:49:47.92\00:49:50.29
and that he was love, and that
I did not know how at that time
00:49:50.32\00:49:53.89
but he was going to help me.
00:49:53.92\00:49:56.12
A little less than a
year later, I became pregnant,
00:49:56.16\00:49:58.86
at 15.
00:49:58.89\00:50:00.50
I loved my son
with my whole heart.
00:50:00.53\00:50:02.26
He also became something that my
abuser could use against me in
00:50:02.30\00:50:05.53
order to pump
more fear and coercion.
00:50:05.57\00:50:09.90
I had finally got
away from my abuser,
00:50:09.94\00:50:13.71
and I had finally built up
a support system to help me
00:50:13.74\00:50:16.61
stay on the move
and stay on the run.
00:50:16.64\00:50:18.95
And I was at my
grandmother's house,
00:50:18.98\00:50:21.28
and on my son's third
birthday he took my son.
00:50:21.32\00:50:29.42
And when I
called the police, said,
00:50:29.46\00:50:30.76
"My son's just been
kidnapped," they said,
00:50:30.79\00:50:32.53
"He's the father.
00:50:32.56\00:50:33.86
We can't do anything about it."
00:50:33.90\00:50:35.50
After my son was
gone, I lost my mind.
00:50:35.53\00:50:38.67
I started doing drugs, and
within a month of it and a half
00:50:38.70\00:50:41.54
I robbed a convenience store.
00:50:41.57\00:50:43.41
So I was sentenced
to 70 months; 5 years,
00:50:43.44\00:50:46.88
10 months in prison, and
it was the best thing that
00:50:46.91\00:50:51.25
ever happened to me.
00:50:51.28\00:50:53.85
I started attending the
church services in prison 7 days
00:50:53.88\00:50:57.05
a week.
00:50:57.09\00:50:58.42
It blew my mind. I was hooked.
00:50:58.45\00:51:01.19
And then we went through--it
was "Millennium of Prophecy" and
00:51:01.22\00:51:05.66
"Net 99" that just solidified
my faith in such a powerful way,
00:51:05.69\00:51:11.63
and I knew
God--that God was leading me.
00:51:11.67\00:51:14.34
Even the guards there commented
on how much I had changed.
00:51:14.37\00:51:18.57
And since I started doing
the studies on Amazing Facts,
00:51:18.61\00:51:23.08
I was so excited about what I
was learning that I was coming
00:51:23.11\00:51:25.58
back from there and trying
to convert my hardened criminal
00:51:25.61\00:51:30.32
friends with
historicals of prophecy.
00:51:30.35\00:51:32.99
Every question I
ever had, every worry,
00:51:33.02\00:51:35.52
everything that I
ever wondered about,
00:51:35.56\00:51:38.26
the Bible answered everything,
and it was so clear and so easy
00:51:38.29\00:51:43.03
to understand.
00:51:43.06\00:51:44.90
It's been 11 years
since I've been out of prison.
00:51:44.93\00:51:47.44
I am married to an
amazing, wonderful man,
00:51:47.47\00:51:50.31
my first non-abusive
relationship in my whole
00:51:50.34\00:51:52.54
entire life.
00:51:52.57\00:51:54.08
Before we got married, we
watched the "Millennium of
00:51:54.11\00:51:56.21
Prophecy" series together and it
was just such a blessing to be
00:51:56.24\00:52:01.38
able to see him
learn and see him grow.
00:52:01.42\00:52:05.49
And I feel like my life now
is just a gift that every single
00:52:05.52\00:52:09.62
thing that happened to me bad in
the past is nothing compared to
00:52:09.66\00:52:13.53
the joy and the happiness and
the stability that I have now.
00:52:13.56\00:52:18.57
My name is Christine Vanodor,
and my life has been changed
00:52:18.60\00:52:21.90
by Jesus Christ
and Amazing Facts.
00:52:21.94\00:52:25.34
announcer: Amazing
Facts. Changed lives.
00:52:34.98\00:52:38.45
Sue: I felt like I was
receiving some angel messages
00:52:43.19\00:52:46.46
in around my son's death.
00:52:46.49\00:52:48.96
My son Jesse was
just 31 years old,
00:52:49.00\00:52:51.43
so I didn't expect
him to die before I did.
00:52:51.47\00:52:55.50
But in November of 2009 we
decided to have Thanksgiving
00:52:55.54\00:53:01.34
with him, and we won't
normally go to a family
00:53:01.38\00:53:04.15
to have Thanksgiving.
00:53:04.18\00:53:05.48
I didn't know that was going
to be the very last time that
00:53:05.51\00:53:07.55
I would see my son alive.
00:53:07.58\00:53:09.38
And in April of 2010, I was
urged to call him on the day
00:53:09.42\00:53:14.36
that he died.
00:53:14.39\00:53:15.82
I didn't make that call.
00:53:15.86\00:53:17.49
I was too busy.
00:53:17.53\00:53:18.83
I thought I had till the
next morning to call him,
00:53:18.86\00:53:21.13
and it turns out that I didn't.
00:53:21.16\00:53:24.90
And then my husband's father was
passing away in a nursing home
00:53:24.93\00:53:28.14
slowly, not eating,
taking his medicine.
00:53:28.17\00:53:32.47
Just wasting away.
00:53:32.51\00:53:34.58
male: We were putting
out Amazing Facts' Bible
00:53:34.61\00:53:38.35
study guides.
00:53:38.38\00:53:40.62
And we had sent out
cards, and we had this card.
00:53:40.65\00:53:46.89
But when I knocked on Sue
and Kirk's door by mistake--
00:53:46.92\00:53:53.13
male: And we were convinced
that this was the right house,
00:53:53.16\00:53:55.83
and it obviously turned
out to our surprise to be
00:53:55.86\00:53:58.93
the wrong house.
00:53:58.97\00:54:00.34
Kirk: When they came by,
we weren't expecting them.
00:54:00.37\00:54:04.17
They told me
about these pamphlets,
00:54:04.21\00:54:07.14
this Amazing Facts
that explain their doctrine.
00:54:07.18\00:54:13.85
male: Well, to our surprise,
when they answered the door,
00:54:13.88\00:54:17.15
the gentleman, when he
saw what we were doing,
00:54:17.19\00:54:20.56
he said, "Well, we would
like to take these studies."
00:54:20.59\00:54:23.46
Kirk: Anything about
the Lord increases my faith.
00:54:23.49\00:54:28.66
I'm always open.
00:54:28.70\00:54:31.20
Sue: These lessons came at a
time when we didn't know what
00:54:31.23\00:54:34.97
were searching, we
didn't know what we needed.
00:54:35.00\00:54:37.97
We were just hurting from the
grief that we'd been through.
00:54:38.01\00:54:41.28
When I saw the studies by
Amazing Facts about the Sabbath,
00:54:41.31\00:54:45.91
it struck a chord with
me because I remembered when
00:54:45.95\00:54:50.32
I'd talked to my mother
as a child about the Sabbath,
00:54:50.35\00:54:55.69
about seeing that truth when I
was only 8 years old and asking
00:54:55.72\00:54:58.86
her why we didn't
honor the Sabbath day,
00:54:58.89\00:55:02.36
and she told me that it was just
not the way they did things.
00:55:02.40\00:55:07.84
Well, that wasn't a
good enough expression,
00:55:07.87\00:55:10.97
a good enough explanation.
00:55:11.01\00:55:12.71
There was no scriptural
basis for what she told me.
00:55:12.74\00:55:15.78
She just said to forget it.
00:55:15.81\00:55:17.61
And I'd went through all of
the studies that we had gotten
00:55:17.65\00:55:20.45
and I wanted more.
00:55:20.48\00:55:22.12
So I decided that, "Well,
if they put out these Amazing
00:55:22.15\00:55:26.22
Facts' Bible studies, there must
be something online about them."
00:55:26.25\00:55:30.79
So I decided to check it out.
00:55:30.83\00:55:32.86
I went on the
computer to Amazing Facts,
00:55:32.89\00:55:35.40
and it said it right down
the bottom of the Bible studies
00:55:35.43\00:55:37.73
amazingfacts.org.
00:55:37.77\00:55:39.73
I checked it out, and there
was free Bible studies there.
00:55:39.77\00:55:42.10
It was the very same ones
that we had been studying.
00:55:42.14\00:55:44.84
After finding the Amazing
Facts' Bible studies online--
00:55:44.87\00:55:48.71
and I did them all.
00:55:48.74\00:55:50.05
I think there were
27, 28 Bible studies.
00:55:50.08\00:55:52.78
I felt like I was finally seeing
the truth after all these years.
00:55:52.81\00:55:57.19
We ordered the
Amazing Facts DVDs,
00:55:57.22\00:56:00.89
like "The Cosmic Conflict," and
"The Final Events," "Prophecy
00:56:00.92\00:56:06.33
Foundations," and
different materials like that.
00:56:06.36\00:56:10.50
Went through them,
enjoyed all of them,
00:56:10.53\00:56:13.57
and they impacted
our lives even more.
00:56:13.60\00:56:17.31
female: Well, I
worked at the post office.
00:56:17.34\00:56:19.24
I knew Kirk and Sue
for a very long time.
00:56:19.27\00:56:21.81
And she--I wasn't allowed to
talk to anyone about the Bible
00:56:21.84\00:56:26.08
and Bible studies
and things like that
00:56:26.11\00:56:28.38
'cause they told us not to.
00:56:28.42\00:56:30.75
But anyway, when Sue
came in and talked about it,
00:56:30.79\00:56:33.22
she talked about the Sabbath.
00:56:33.25\00:56:34.86
And I told her, I said, "Sue,
I go to church on Saturday."
00:56:34.89\00:56:38.63
Sue: So I invited myself.
00:56:38.66\00:56:39.96
She was excited, of
course, to have me go.
00:56:40.00\00:56:41.90
My husband and I both started
going that very next Sabbath,
00:56:41.93\00:56:45.70
and it wasn't but just
four months after that that we
00:56:45.73\00:56:49.27
were baptized in this
church and it felt like the most
00:56:49.30\00:56:53.21
glorious experience
I could have ever had.
00:56:53.24\00:56:57.08
male: The thing that touches
my heart the most is--and I
00:56:57.11\00:57:00.68
have been doing this
for--over the last year and
00:57:00.72\00:57:04.02
a half for two years, and
Sue is not the only one that has
00:57:04.05\00:57:07.49
responded to Amazing Facts.
00:57:07.52\00:57:09.46
We've had several
others that have responded and
00:57:09.49\00:57:12.29
had been baptized.
00:57:12.33\00:57:14.03
So this is what
really makes it exciting.
00:57:14.10\00:57:17.27
There's times it's discouraging,
but the bottom line is
00:57:17.30\00:57:20.50
every time you see somebody
in the water being baptized,
00:57:20.54\00:57:22.97
it's a thrill.
00:57:23.00\00:57:24.31
Sue: I know that Jesus loves me.
00:57:24.34\00:57:26.01
After all of the
tragedy that I've been through,
00:57:26.04\00:57:28.98
he made sure that the
two men came and brought the
00:57:29.01\00:57:32.95
Amazing Facts' Bible
studies to me and my husband.
00:57:32.98\00:57:36.52
My life will never be the same.
00:57:36.55\00:57:39.05
It is forever
changed, and I am forever
00:57:39.09\00:57:41.89
part of the family of God.
00:57:41.92\00:57:44.29
¤¤¤
00:57:44.33\00:57:54.27
¤¤¤
00:57:54.30\00:58:04.31