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Jean Ross: Good
morning, friends.
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Welcome to the Granite Bay
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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here in Sacramento, California.
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I'd like to welcome all of
those who are joining us online,
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across the country,
and around the world.
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Very happy to have you.
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Also would like to welcome our
regular Sabbath School members
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who are meeting
here in the Sanctuary.
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We're very excited.
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Today is the start of a brand
new lesson quarterly entitled,
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"The Promise."
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And it's dealing
with the covenants:
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the everlasting
covenant, the new covenant,
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the old covenant, how
do they relate together?
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So just 13 weeks
of great studies.
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Now for those of
you who are here,
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if you don't have
a lesson quarterly,
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I want to encourage you, you can
pick one up as you leave today.
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For our friends who
are joining us online,
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if you don't have a
lesson quarterly you can just go
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to a local Adventist church and
you'll be able to get one there
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or go online and just type
in, "Sabbath School Quarterly."
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We're doing lesson
number-- oh, actually,
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we starting this
series called, "The Promise."
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It's for the month
of April, May, and June,
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and you can download the lesson,
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study along with us.
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We're looking at lesson
number one this morning.
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But before we get to
that, we want to tell you
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about our free offer.
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We have a book
entitled, "The Final Verdict."
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And this is our free gift to
anyone who would call and ask.
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The number for
that is 866-788-3966
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and you can ask
for offer number 162.
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We'll get it in the
mail, we'll send it to you.
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You can also receive a
digital copy of this book
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by texting the code
"SH078" to the number "40544."
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And you can get a
digital copy of the book,
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"The Final Verdict."
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I think you'll be
blessed as you read that.
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Well, before we get to
our study this morning,
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we have a special treat.
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We've got Every Breath
Quartet that'll be bringing us
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a special musical
number at this time.
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¤¤
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¤ Lord, let Your
light, light of Your face ¤
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¤ shine on us ¤
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¤ Lord, let Your
light, light of Your face ¤
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¤ shine on us ¤
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¤ That we may be saved ¤
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¤ that we may have
life to find our way ¤
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¤ in the darkest night ¤
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¤ Let Your light shine on us ¤
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¤¤
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¤ Lord, let Your
grace, grace from Your hand ¤
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¤ fall on us ¤
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¤ Lord, let Your
grace, grace from Your hand ¤
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¤ fall on us ¤
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¤ That we may be
saved, that we may have life ¤
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¤ to find our way
in the darkest night ¤
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¤ Let Your grace fall on us ¤
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¤ Lord, let Your
love, love with no end ¤
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¤ come over us ¤
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¤ Lord, let Your
love, love with no end ¤
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¤ come over us ¤
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¤ That we may be saved ¤
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¤ that we may have life ¤
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¤ to find our way
in the darkest night ¤
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¤ Let Your love come over us ¤
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¤ Let Your light ¤
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¤ shine on us ¤
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Jean: Let us pray.
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Dear Father in heaven,
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what a joy to be able
to gather in Your house
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on this beautiful
Sabbath that You've given us
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blue skies and opportunity
to open Your Word again,
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Lord, and just reflect
upon Your grace and Your love
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and the plan of redemption
that was set into effect many,
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many years ago, Lord,
revealed in the covenants,
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the promises made.
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And Lord, we ask
Your blessing as we study
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this very
important subject today.
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Be with Pastor Rod as he
opens the Word in Jesus's name,
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amen.
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Our lesson today,
lesson number one,
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is going to be brought to
us by Pastor Rod Thompson.
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Rod Thompson:
Good morning, everyone.
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I want to invite you
to open up your Bibles
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to Genesis chapter 1.
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Genesis chapter 1.
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What a beautiful song, huh?
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"May Your grace
come down on us."
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I want to welcome all
of you, whether you're here
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in the Sanctuary with
us, whether you're at home
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watching online or around
the country or around the world.
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Welcome to the
Granite Bay Hilltop Church
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Sabbath School Study Hour.
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And thank you, Pastor
Ross, for praying for us,
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but I'd like to
have another prayer.
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Let's bow our heads.
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O loving Father, thank You
so much for Your amazing love.
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And Lord, You are good
and we thank You so much
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that You did not abandon us to
the deceptions of the devil but,
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Lord, You have a plan and
You are working Your plan.
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And Lord, we want to surrender
our will to You and allow You
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to do in us what we
cannot do on ourselves.
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So we pray this morning
the Holy Spirit would speak to
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our hearts and minds and,
Lord, You would show us what
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You would have us do and we
ask it in Jesus's name, amen.
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I heard a story about a
group of scientists who, well,
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they decided that
we no longer need God.
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Now in our world today, that
might not surprise us at all
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that they would feel that
way, but they had this group
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and they decided that they were
going to send one of them to God
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to explain that to Him.
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And so the one that was
chosen went and he said to God,
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"God, we no longer need You.
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We've come a long way.
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We can--we can
clone a human being.
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We can do many
miraculous things.
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We can practically
create out of nothing.
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We don't need You anymore.
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You can go Your way."
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And God listened very patiently
to the scientist and when he was
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done, He said, "Wow, it sounds
like you guys think you've got
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it all figured out there.
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I'll tell you what, why don't
we have a man-making contest?"
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And the scientist got excited.
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He was like, "Wow,
that's a great idea.
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Let's do that."
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But God said, "Okay, but we're
going to do it like I did it
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back in the old days with Adam."
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And the scientist said, "Okay."
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And he got--he went and he got
his scientist buddies and they
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all got together and they were
so excited they went out and
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they got their wheelbarrow and
they got their shovels and they
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started digging in the dirt and
putting it in the wheelbarrow.
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And God said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa.
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What are you guys doing?"
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And they said, "We're
getting our dirt so that
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we can make a man."
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And God said, "No, no, you
gotta go get your own dirt."
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Now we have probably
all heard that story before.
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It's a cute story.
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It may make us chuckle
inside, but it teaches us one
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very important truth about God,
and that is that God created
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everything out of nothing.
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We believe that, don't we?
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I want you to notice what
it says in Hebrews chapter 11,
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verse 3.
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Paul says: "By faith we
understand that the worlds
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were framed by the word
of God, so that the things
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which are seen were not made
of things which are visible."
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Now if I just said
that a different way,
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I would just simply
say that we understand
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that the creative
process that God used was what?
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He spoke, and it was.
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He spoke things
into existence and so,
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on that first day of Creation,
He created matter and then
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He formed that matter
into the objects that we--
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that populate our
physical universe.
00:10:57.82\00:11:01.46
And as we start this new
quarterly on "The Promise:
00:11:01.49\00:11:06.23
God's Everlasting
Covenant," we want to start
00:11:06.26\00:11:08.76
with the biblical
account of Creation.
00:11:08.80\00:11:12.57
It is a story that
is filled with hope,
00:11:12.60\00:11:15.27
it is filled with happiness,
it is a story that is filled
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with perfection.
00:11:18.84\00:11:21.14
If you have your Bibles
open to Genesis chapter 1,
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and if you look there with
me, I'm not going to read this
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all to you, you can
read it for yourself,
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but we see in verses 3 through
5 the first day of Creation:
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God created light and
He saw that it was good.
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In verses 6 through 10 we
see the second day of Creation:
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God created the firmament,
the waters, and the dry land,
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and God saw that it was good.
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Verses 11 through 13 is
the third day of Creation.
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God created the
grass, the herbs, the trees,
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and He saw that it was good.
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Verses 14 to 19, the
fourth day of Creation.
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God created the sun
and the moon and the stars,
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and He saw that it was good.
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And verses 20 to 25 are
the fifth day of Creation,
00:12:02.95\00:12:06.19
and God created
the sea creatures,
00:12:06.22\00:12:08.49
the land beasts, and
the birds of the air,
00:12:08.52\00:12:11.69
and God saw that it was good.
00:12:11.73\00:12:13.66
And so the first
five days of Creation,
00:12:13.70\00:12:15.73
God saw that it was
good, it was good, it was good,
00:12:15.76\00:12:18.00
it was good, it was good.
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And then on the sixth day,
God created a man and He said,
00:12:20.24\00:12:23.64
"It is very good."
00:12:23.67\00:12:26.17
And so in six days, God
created all that is seen
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and He saw that it was good.
00:12:30.51\00:12:33.85
It was perfect.
00:12:33.88\00:12:35.65
And He created a seventh
day and rested on that day,
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observing and
enjoying His Creation,
00:12:39.95\00:12:43.16
and it was a perfect Creation.
00:12:43.19\00:12:45.39
It was spot--without spot.
00:12:45.43\00:12:47.30
It was without blemish.
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But, friends, that is not the
world that we have today, is it?
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And so the
question is, what happened?
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And that's the name of
our study today, isn't it?
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"What Happened?"
00:13:00.21\00:13:01.54
This world was perfect
when God first made it,
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but something happened
and now it's not perfect.
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And if we were to sum up this
entire quarter's new study on
00:13:07.85\00:13:13.19
"The Promise: God's Everlasting
Covenant," we could sum it up
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with just one
question, and that is,
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"What is God doing
now to make it right?"
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What's He doing to fix it?
00:13:24.33\00:13:25.87
What's He doing to
make it perfect once again?
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And Sunday's lesson teaches us
a very important lesson and that
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is in the Genesis account, those
first three chapters of Genesis,
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whether you read it in
there or whether you read,
00:13:41.45\00:13:44.52
Psalm 100, verse 3,
Isaiah 40, verse 28, Acts 17:26,
00:13:44.55\00:13:50.83
Ephesians 3, verse 9,
Hebrews 1, verse 2 and 10,
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or any other verse in the
Bible that talks about Creation,
00:13:54.36\00:13:58.30
nowhere in Scripture
does God ever try to prove
00:13:58.33\00:14:03.64
that He is the Creator.
00:14:03.67\00:14:05.71
The Creation account simply
says God created everything
00:14:05.74\00:14:10.05
out of nothing and
then in very basic language
00:14:10.08\00:14:14.18
it explains to us how He did it.
00:14:14.22\00:14:16.79
He spoke and it was.
00:14:16.82\00:14:19.19
He formed the man out
of the dust of the ground.
00:14:19.22\00:14:22.42
And if we go back to
Hebrews 11, verse 3 again,
00:14:22.46\00:14:25.76
let me read that to you.
00:14:25.79\00:14:27.23
"By faith we understand that the
worlds were framed by the word
00:14:27.23\00:14:31.30
of God, so that the things which
are seen were not made of things
00:14:31.33\00:14:35.20
which are visible."
00:14:35.24\00:14:37.01
I want you to focus on the
first two words of that passage:
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"By faith," because you
see, brothers and sisters,
00:14:41.34\00:14:45.18
whether you're a
Christian or not,
00:14:45.21\00:14:47.02
whether you
believe in God or not,
00:14:47.05\00:14:49.62
or you believe in Creation
or you believe in evolution,
00:14:49.65\00:14:53.05
everyone must live by faith.
00:14:53.09\00:14:57.33
And there's a reason for
that, and it's very simple:
00:14:57.36\00:15:00.96
because we weren't
here when it all started.
00:15:00.96\00:15:03.93
And so we have to live by faith.
00:15:03.97\00:15:05.80
And so if you're an atheist
and you believe in evolution,
00:15:05.83\00:15:08.87
you have to have a
measure of faith to believe
00:15:08.90\00:15:12.37
that there was nothing
and then it blew up and then
00:15:12.41\00:15:16.18
millions and
millions of years later,
00:15:16.21\00:15:18.75
we have all of this intelligence
and all of this life.
00:15:18.78\00:15:23.85
But on the
opposite side of the coin,
00:15:23.89\00:15:25.99
if you're a Christian
and you believe in a Creator
00:15:26.02\00:15:28.66
and you believe in the
six-day literal Creation,
00:15:28.69\00:15:32.53
then you too
have to live by faith.
00:15:32.56\00:15:35.26
And that's what Paul
says: "By faith we believe,"
00:15:35.30\00:15:40.34
or we understand, "that
the world was created by God."
00:15:40.37\00:15:46.51
And personally, I think that
it takes more faith to believe
00:15:46.54\00:15:51.11
in evolution than it
does to believe in God.
00:15:51.15\00:15:53.92
Let me tell you why.
00:15:53.95\00:15:56.05
Let me give you an analogy here.
00:15:56.08\00:15:59.45
How many of you--let
me see a show of hands.
00:15:59.49\00:16:01.56
How many of you have
heard the saying "blind faith"?
00:16:01.59\00:16:07.60
Blind faith.
00:16:07.60\00:16:09.73
Okay, almost everyone's
hand in the audience is up here,
00:16:09.76\00:16:12.53
and those that you didn't,
you're just afraid to do that
00:16:12.57\00:16:16.74
or--but I believe that all
of us have had that saying.
00:16:16.77\00:16:21.68
So let me ask you a question.
00:16:21.71\00:16:24.45
What is blind faith?
00:16:24.48\00:16:27.85
What is blind faith?
00:16:29.12\00:16:30.65
Is that believing in
something we can't see?
00:16:30.69\00:16:33.76
Okay, then what is faith?
00:16:33.79\00:16:37.73
Well, faith is also believing
in something we can't see,
00:16:37.76\00:16:40.53
but there's a
difference, isn't there?
00:16:40.56\00:16:42.53
Because, you
see, God doesn't say,
00:16:42.56\00:16:44.80
"Just believe that I'm the
Creator because I said so,"
00:16:44.83\00:16:47.47
but rather, He gives
enough evidence for Creation
00:16:47.50\00:16:53.88
that we can believe that
and we can, by faith, understand
00:16:53.91\00:16:58.15
that He formed the
worlds by His Word.
00:16:58.18\00:17:01.48
We believe that, don't we?
00:17:01.52\00:17:03.15
And in Monday's
lesson, it points us
00:17:03.18\00:17:05.82
to Genesis chapter 1, verse 27.
00:17:05.85\00:17:09.26
Notice what that says.
00:17:09.29\00:17:11.56
It says: "So God
created man in His own image,
00:17:11.59\00:17:15.13
in the image of
God He created him;
00:17:15.16\00:17:17.93
male and female
He created them."
00:17:17.97\00:17:21.14
We believe that, don't we?
00:17:21.64\00:17:23.81
God created us in His
image and in His likeness.
00:17:23.84\00:17:28.34
But that really
begs of us the question,
00:17:28.38\00:17:30.98
"What does it mean to be
created in the image of God?"
00:17:31.01\00:17:37.05
Well, we know that
John chapter 4, verse 24,
00:17:37.09\00:17:40.29
tells us that God is
Spirit and we must worship Him
00:17:40.32\00:17:43.66
in Spirit and truth.
00:17:43.69\00:17:44.99
But there's more to it
than that, isn't there?
00:17:45.03\00:17:46.73
We are physical beings.
00:17:46.76\00:17:49.76
We have a body.
00:17:49.80\00:17:52.27
And we are also
mental beings, aren't we?
00:17:52.30\00:17:55.50
We have a brain, we have a mind,
we have the capacity to think
00:17:55.54\00:17:59.17
and to reason.
00:17:59.21\00:18:01.41
So we're physical
beings, we're mental beings.
00:18:01.44\00:18:05.01
We're also emotional beings.
00:18:05.05\00:18:07.52
We have feelings and we
sometimes have our feelings hurt
00:18:07.55\00:18:11.12
and sometimes we have
joy and peace and love.
00:18:11.15\00:18:13.56
We have the capacity
to-- we are physical beings,
00:18:13.59\00:18:18.13
we are mental beings,
we are emotional beings.
00:18:18.16\00:18:20.93
But God also created
us to be spiritual beings,
00:18:20.96\00:18:25.43
didn't He?
00:18:25.47\00:18:26.80
He created us in His image.
00:18:26.84\00:18:29.24
Now, we read in
Genesis 1, verse 27,
00:18:29.27\00:18:32.64
that we're created in His
image but I want to show you
00:18:32.67\00:18:34.98
something.
00:18:35.01\00:18:36.31
Turn with me to
Genesis chapter 5,
00:18:36.34\00:18:38.91
and notice what it
says, starting in verse 1.
00:18:38.95\00:18:43.45
It says: "This is the
book of the genealogy of Adam.
00:18:43.49\00:18:46.76
In the day that God created
man, He made him in the," what?
00:18:46.79\00:18:51.99
"In the likeness of God."
00:18:52.03\00:18:54.56
So in Genesis 1:27, we see
we were made in the image of God
00:18:54.60\00:18:58.60
and here now, in
5, chapter 5, verse 1,
00:18:58.63\00:19:02.97
we see we're made
in the likeness of God.
00:19:03.00\00:19:06.31
Let's keep reading.
00:19:06.34\00:19:07.64
Look at verse 2.
00:19:07.68\00:19:08.98
"He created
them male and female,
00:19:09.01\00:19:10.98
and blessed them and
called them Mankind in the day
00:19:11.01\00:19:13.11
they were created.
00:19:13.15\00:19:14.68
And Adam lived 130
years old, and begot a son,"
00:19:14.72\00:19:18.92
in the likeness of God.
00:19:18.95\00:19:21.12
Is that what it says?
00:19:21.16\00:19:23.16
No, it says: "He begot
a son in his own likeness
00:19:23.19\00:19:27.66
and after his image,
and he named him Seth."
00:19:27.66\00:19:30.93
So we see that Adam was created
in the image and in the likeness
00:19:30.97\00:19:35.54
of God, but then
when Adam has a son,
00:19:35.57\00:19:38.67
rather than being made in the
image and the likeness of God,
00:19:38.71\00:19:43.01
he's made in the
image and likeness of Adam.
00:19:43.04\00:19:46.08
What happened?
00:19:46.11\00:19:48.65
Something went wrong there and
now he is not in the likeness
00:19:48.68\00:19:53.29
of God, but rather,
he's in the likeness of Adam.
00:19:53.32\00:19:57.19
But, of course, we know
what happened, don't we?
00:19:57.23\00:20:00.63
Our first parents
sinned against God and we lost
00:20:00.66\00:20:04.57
that Spirit nature.
00:20:04.60\00:20:07.54
We are no longer
in the image of God.
00:20:07.57\00:20:13.88
I find it very interesting that
this book that we call the Bible
00:20:13.91\00:20:17.75
has just three chapters
where God describes everything
00:20:17.78\00:20:23.39
that he created
and what happened.
00:20:23.42\00:20:26.35
Out of the entire
book, just three chapters.
00:20:26.39\00:20:30.19
And we know that there
was something that caused man
00:20:30.23\00:20:34.83
to no longer be
in the image of God.
00:20:34.83\00:20:38.27
Something that caused
this world to be cursed and,
00:20:38.30\00:20:41.27
of course, we
know what that was,
00:20:41.30\00:20:42.90
because Wednesday's lesson
took us to Genesis chapter 2.
00:20:42.94\00:20:46.37
And notice what it
says in verse 16 and 17.
00:20:46.41\00:20:50.25
It says: "And the Lord
God commanded the man, saying,
00:20:50.28\00:20:52.95
'Of every tree of the
garden you may freely eat;
00:20:52.98\00:20:55.52
but of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat,
00:20:55.55\00:20:59.22
for in the day that you eat
of it you will surely die.'"
00:20:59.25\00:21:03.29
Now, we know that it also talks
about there being another tree
00:21:03.32\00:21:07.03
in the garden, the tree of life.
00:21:07.10\00:21:09.40
And so we see that Adam
and Eve are created by God,
00:21:09.43\00:21:15.10
they're put in this garden.
00:21:15.14\00:21:17.47
It has two special
trees in it: the tree of life,
00:21:17.51\00:21:20.01
the tree of
knowledge of good and evil,
00:21:20.04\00:21:22.31
but God created man
to be free mortal agents.
00:21:22.34\00:21:27.32
He gave them
the right to choose.
00:21:27.35\00:21:29.65
And, friends, that's a very
dangerous thing to do, isn't it?
00:21:29.68\00:21:33.86
I mean, think
about that for a minute.
00:21:33.89\00:21:35.59
If you give someone the
right or the freedom to choose
00:21:35.62\00:21:39.26
to obey or disobey,
they just might disobey.
00:21:39.29\00:21:43.87
If you give them the
right or the freedom to choose
00:21:43.90\00:21:46.77
whether to love you back or
not, they just might not do it.
00:21:46.80\00:21:51.41
And so it's a very
dangerous thing that God did
00:21:51.44\00:21:54.71
but God does not
want us to be robots.
00:21:54.74\00:21:57.85
God didn't want us
to love Him just simply
00:21:57.88\00:22:01.15
because He
programmed us to do that.
00:22:01.18\00:22:04.22
And so He wanted his Creation
that was made in His image
00:22:04.25\00:22:09.52
and His likeness to
choose to love Him back.
00:22:09.56\00:22:13.73
God wanted to have a
relationship with His Creation.
00:22:13.76\00:22:18.73
God is love, isn't He?
00:22:18.77\00:22:21.37
To that, I don't think there's
any dispute among any of us.
00:22:21.40\00:22:24.77
God is love.
00:22:24.81\00:22:26.31
But in order for love to exist,
they must have the freedom
00:22:26.34\00:22:32.11
to choose whether
or not to love back.
00:22:32.15\00:22:36.75
God would allow the masterpiece
of His Creation to be tested.
00:22:36.79\00:22:43.63
He would ask that they would
prove whether they would love
00:22:43.66\00:22:47.60
and whether they would be
obedient and it would choose--
00:22:47.60\00:22:50.67
it would essentially force them
to respond either positively
00:22:50.70\00:22:56.24
or negatively to their
relationship with the Creator:
00:22:56.27\00:23:00.94
were they going to trust
Him or were they going to go
00:23:00.98\00:23:04.18
their own way?
00:23:04.21\00:23:06.41
I want you to notice
what it says in the book,
00:23:06.45\00:23:08.68
"Conflict and Courage."
00:23:08.72\00:23:10.29
Chapter 9, page 15.
00:23:10.32\00:23:13.29
It says: "To man, the
crowning work of Creation,
00:23:13.32\00:23:16.42
God has given power to
understand His requirements,
00:23:16.46\00:23:20.80
to comprehend the justice
and beneficence of His law
00:23:20.83\00:23:24.60
and its sacred claim upon him
and of man unswerving obedience
00:23:24.63\00:23:30.14
is required.
00:23:30.17\00:23:31.64
Like the angels, the
dwellers in Eden had been placed
00:23:31.67\00:23:34.88
upon probation.
00:23:34.91\00:23:36.88
Their happy estate could
be retained only on condition
00:23:36.91\00:23:40.18
of fidelity to
the Creator's law.
00:23:40.22\00:23:43.22
They could obey and live or
they could disobey and perish."
00:23:43.25\00:23:48.39
Here we see a little bit
more into the story that God
00:23:48.42\00:23:51.79
put our first parents
in the Garden of Eden.
00:23:51.83\00:23:55.10
He gave them the freedom to
choose whether to love Him back
00:23:55.13\00:23:59.63
or not, whether to be
obedient or disobedient,
00:23:59.67\00:24:02.94
and they were
placed there on probation.
00:24:02.97\00:24:07.34
In other words, as long as
they ate from the tree of life,
00:24:07.38\00:24:11.18
they would live, but if they ate
from the tree of the knowledge
00:24:11.21\00:24:15.45
of good and evil, they would no
longer have access to that tree
00:24:15.48\00:24:19.45
because God didn't--
wouldn't want them to live
00:24:19.49\00:24:22.26
in that condition forever.
00:24:22.29\00:24:24.59
But we also know that there's
more to the story than that,
00:24:24.63\00:24:28.80
isn't there?
00:24:28.83\00:24:30.63
We know that there was an angel
in heaven by the name of Lucifer
00:24:30.67\00:24:35.14
who was a very
high-ranking angel,
00:24:35.17\00:24:37.87
who also had the freedom to
choose whether to rebel or not,
00:24:37.91\00:24:43.01
or to love God or not.
00:24:43.04\00:24:44.71
And we know that he wanted
to have the prerogatives of God,
00:24:44.75\00:24:49.28
he wanted worship like
God, but he did not want
00:24:49.32\00:24:54.32
the image of God.
00:24:54.36\00:24:55.96
He did not want
the character of God.
00:24:55.99\00:24:58.09
He wanted to go his own way.
00:24:58.13\00:25:00.90
And, of course, he got a third
of the angels to rebel with him,
00:25:00.93\00:25:03.97
and the Bible tells us
there was war in heaven.
00:25:04.00\00:25:08.44
Oh, what happened, right?
00:25:08.47\00:25:10.91
There was perfection in heaven.
00:25:10.94\00:25:13.48
How could there
be war in heaven?
00:25:13.51\00:25:15.78
But it says that the
devil, that's Lucifer who gained
00:25:15.81\00:25:19.28
for himself the title
"devil" or "Satan," and a third
00:25:19.31\00:25:23.05
of the angels fought
against Michael and his angels
00:25:23.08\00:25:25.89
and they were
kicked out of heaven.
00:25:25.92\00:25:28.82
And I want you to notice
what it says in the book,
00:25:28.86\00:25:32.26
"Early Writings," page 145.
00:25:32.29\00:25:35.56
"When God said to His Son, 'Let
Us make man in Our own image,'
00:25:35.60\00:25:39.93
Satan was jealous of Jesus.
00:25:39.97\00:25:43.10
He wished to be consulted
concerning the formation of man
00:25:43.14\00:25:46.61
and, because he was
not, he was filled with envy,
00:25:46.64\00:25:50.61
jealousy, and hatred."
00:25:50.65\00:25:53.48
So here we see a little
bit into the insight of Satan,
00:25:53.52\00:25:57.39
that he wanted to be included
in the Creation of the world
00:25:57.42\00:26:01.26
and the Creation of
man, and because he wasn't,
00:26:01.29\00:26:03.89
he was furious.
00:26:03.93\00:26:06.13
He was jealous, he was envious,
and he was filled with hatred.
00:26:06.16\00:26:10.47
And guess what?
00:26:10.50\00:26:12.07
He brought that envy, jealousy,
and hatred to this world
00:26:12.10\00:26:16.20
and he tempted our first
parents into disobedience.
00:26:16.24\00:26:20.51
Notice what it says in "The
Great Controversy," page 532:
00:26:20.54\00:26:25.81
"Satan's envy was excited as he
looked upon the beautiful home
00:26:25.85\00:26:29.95
prepared for the sinless pair."
00:26:29.98\00:26:32.45
That's Adam and Eve.
00:26:32.49\00:26:34.06
"He determined
to cause their fall,
00:26:34.09\00:26:36.56
that having separated them
from God and brought them under
00:26:36.59\00:26:40.03
his own power, he might
gain possession of the earth
00:26:40.06\00:26:43.80
and here establish his kingdom
in opposition to the Most High."
00:26:43.83\00:26:49.04
So, again, we see a little
more into the picture here.
00:26:49.07\00:26:52.74
We see that Satan was envious
and his desire was to take away
00:26:52.77\00:26:59.91
the dominion of the
Earth from Adam and Eve.
00:26:59.95\00:27:03.12
Remember, God had
given them dominion.
00:27:03.15\00:27:05.39
And so his thinking was that he
was going to wrestle that away
00:27:05.42\00:27:09.76
from them and by deceiving them
and getting them to disobey God,
00:27:09.79\00:27:14.93
he gained for himself the
title, "Prince of this world."
00:27:14.96\00:27:20.07
I want you to notice
what it says in the book,
00:27:20.10\00:27:22.20
"The Pulpit
Commentary, Volume I," page 30.
00:27:22.24\00:27:26.41
It says that
English word "image" comes
00:27:26.44\00:27:30.98
from the Hebrew word "tzelem,"
and it says that it denotes
00:27:31.01\00:27:36.05
the shadow outline of a figure.
00:27:36.08\00:27:40.09
So the word "image" is a
shadow outline of a figure.
00:27:40.12\00:27:45.86
And then it goes on to say
that the English word "likeness"
00:27:45.89\00:27:49.50
comes from the Hebrew
word "demuth" which means
00:27:49.53\00:27:52.83
the correspondence or
resemblance of that shadow.
00:27:52.87\00:27:57.64
So if you and I are made in the
image or in the likeness of God,
00:27:57.67\00:28:02.41
we are a resemblance
of the shadow of God.
00:28:02.44\00:28:06.68
And so, like God, we
have the power to choose,
00:28:06.72\00:28:11.22
the freedom to think and act
according to moral imperatives
00:28:11.25\00:28:16.39
and thus we are free to love and
obey or to distrust and disobey.
00:28:16.42\00:28:23.13
And what was the result of that?
00:28:23.16\00:28:25.97
Well, in that book,
"Conflict and Courage," page 16,
00:28:26.00\00:28:29.34
it says this: "Having
herself transgressed, she,"
00:28:29.37\00:28:34.48
that is Eve, "became
the agent of Satan working
00:28:34.51\00:28:38.31
the ruin of her husband.
00:28:38.35\00:28:41.12
In a state of
strange unnatural excitement,
00:28:41.15\00:28:45.05
with her hands filled
with the forbidden fruit,
00:28:45.09\00:28:47.92
she sought his," that's
Adam's, "presence and related
00:28:47.96\00:28:51.73
all that had occurred.
00:28:51.76\00:28:54.63
An expression of sadness
came over the face of Adam.
00:28:54.66\00:28:58.17
He appeared
astonished and alarmed.
00:28:58.20\00:29:01.74
To the words of Eve, he
replied that this must be
00:29:01.77\00:29:04.57
the foe against whom
they had been warned.
00:29:04.61\00:29:07.68
And by the divine
sentence, 'She must die.'
00:29:07.71\00:29:12.58
To the words--" excuse me.
00:29:12.61\00:29:20.09
"In answer, she urged him
to eat, repeating the words
00:29:20.12\00:29:26.43
of the serpent that
they would not surely die.
00:29:26.46\00:29:30.70
She reasoned that this must
be true for she felt no evidence
00:29:30.73\00:29:36.14
of God's displeasure
but, on the contrary,
00:29:36.17\00:29:39.37
she realized a delicious,
exhilarating influence thrilling
00:29:39.41\00:29:45.21
every faculty with new life,
such she imagined as inspired
00:29:45.25\00:29:51.12
the heavenly messengers."
00:29:51.15\00:29:53.86
And so here we
see that, essentially,
00:29:53.89\00:29:56.93
what she said to Adam
was, "God said that we had--
00:29:56.96\00:30:00.53
would die but I didn't die.
00:30:00.56\00:30:02.76
I'm not feeling any ill effects
at all, so you should eat also."
00:30:02.80\00:30:07.37
And notice what it says
in, "The Spirit of Prophecy,
00:30:07.40\00:30:10.17
Volume I," page 40.
00:30:10.21\00:30:12.67
It says: "They both ate and they
obtained the knowledge of sin
00:30:12.71\00:30:19.55
and a sense of guilt.
00:30:19.58\00:30:21.45
The covering of light
about them soon disappeared
00:30:21.48\00:30:25.55
and under a sense of guilt and
loss of their divine covering,
00:30:25.59\00:30:30.16
a shivering seized them."
00:30:30.19\00:30:34.20
Isn't that interesting?
00:30:34.23\00:30:36.00
They gained the
knowledge of good and evil,
00:30:36.03\00:30:39.40
and the light that surrounded
them began to disappear
00:30:39.43\00:30:43.94
and they had a sense of guilt.
00:30:43.97\00:30:46.37
And Thursday's lesson tells us
at this point their relationship
00:30:46.41\00:30:52.51
with God was broken.
00:30:52.55\00:30:56.45
They were no longer
in the image of God.
00:30:56.48\00:31:00.39
God had warned them that if they
ate of that forbidden fruit,
00:31:00.42\00:31:04.73
that they would surely die.
00:31:04.76\00:31:06.63
And though they didn't
die physically that day,
00:31:06.66\00:31:09.56
in a sense they
died spiritually.
00:31:09.60\00:31:13.17
I want to read
in the Bible here.
00:31:13.20\00:31:16.91
Turn with me to Genesis
3 and notice what it says,
00:31:16.94\00:31:21.48
starting in verse 7.
00:31:21.51\00:31:23.24
This is after they ate of the
fruit: "Then the eyes of both
00:31:23.28\00:31:26.68
of them were opened, and
they knew that they were naked;
00:31:26.72\00:31:29.58
and they sewed
fig leaves together
00:31:29.62\00:31:31.49
and made themselves coverings.
00:31:31.52\00:31:33.09
And they heard the sound of the
Lord God walking in the garden
00:31:33.12\00:31:36.56
in the cool of the day, and Adam
and his wife hid themselves from
00:31:36.59\00:31:39.96
the presence of the Lord God
among the trees of the garden.
00:31:40.00\00:31:42.70
Then the Lord God
called to Adam and said to him,
00:31:42.73\00:31:45.37
'Where are you?'
00:31:45.40\00:31:46.77
So he said, 'I heard
Your voice in the garden,
00:31:46.80\00:31:48.50
and I was afraid
because I was naked;
00:31:48.54\00:31:50.37
and I hid myself.'
00:31:50.41\00:31:51.87
And He said, 'Who told
you that you were naked?
00:31:51.91\00:31:54.34
Have you eaten from the
tree of which I commanded you
00:31:54.38\00:31:57.68
that you should not eat?'"
00:31:57.71\00:32:01.38
I want you to notice that
as soon as Adam and Eve sinned,
00:32:01.42\00:32:07.29
God was immediately there.
00:32:07.32\00:32:09.62
Did you catch that?
00:32:09.66\00:32:11.29
God was immediately
there, not to bring immediate
00:32:11.33\00:32:14.76
physical death but
rather to question them.
00:32:14.83\00:32:19.03
"Why were you afraid?"
00:32:19.07\00:32:22.20
"What have you done," right?
00:32:22.24\00:32:25.07
God was there,
not to bring reproach,
00:32:25.11\00:32:29.94
but rather to bring hope.
00:32:29.98\00:32:33.21
God had
compassion and mercy on man.
00:32:33.25\00:32:37.49
He knew that they had
been deceived by the enemy and
00:32:37.52\00:32:41.86
God had compassion on them and,
rather than bringing immediate
00:32:41.89\00:32:47.03
death, he brought hope, he
brought forgiveness and healing.
00:32:47.03\00:32:51.70
And notice what it says in
verse 12: "Then the man said,
00:32:51.73\00:32:55.04
'The woman whom You gave to
me, she gave me of the tree,
00:32:55.07\00:32:58.47
and I ate.'
00:32:58.51\00:32:59.81
And the Lord God
said to the woman,
00:32:59.84\00:33:01.44
'What is this
that you have done?'
00:33:01.48\00:33:02.94
And the woman said,
'The serpent deceived me,
00:33:02.98\00:33:05.05
and I ate.'"
00:33:05.08\00:33:06.82
Verse 14: "So the Lord
God said to the serpent:
00:33:06.85\00:33:10.29
'Because you have done this.'"
00:33:10.32\00:33:13.52
Because you have
continued your rebellion,
00:33:13.56\00:33:17.63
even though you were
kicked out of heaven,
00:33:17.66\00:33:19.79
you've brought
that rebellion here.
00:33:19.83\00:33:21.36
Because you deceived
the crown of My Creation,
00:33:21.40\00:33:24.33
created in My
image and in My likeness.
00:33:24.37\00:33:26.67
Because you have done this,
notice what He says in verse 15:
00:33:26.70\00:33:30.51
"'I will put enmity,'"
that is hatred for sin,
00:33:30.54\00:33:34.74
'between you and the woman, and
between your seed and her Seed;
00:33:34.78\00:33:40.18
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.'"
00:33:40.22\00:33:44.85
Notice that God says,
"I'm going to put enmity,
00:33:44.89\00:33:48.32
I'm going to put
hatred, between you, Satan,
00:33:48.36\00:33:51.96
and the woman."
00:33:51.99\00:33:53.76
And of course, in Bible prophecy
we know a woman represents
00:33:53.80\00:33:56.20
the church, right?
00:33:56.23\00:33:58.13
God's people.
00:33:58.17\00:33:59.83
"I'm going to put hatred for
sin in between the two of you."
00:33:59.87\00:34:03.64
And notice what it says
in, "The Great Controversy,"
00:34:03.67\00:34:06.54
page 505.
00:34:06.57\00:34:09.24
It says: "This enmity is
not naturally entertained.
00:34:09.28\00:34:14.12
When man
transgressed the divine law,
00:34:14.15\00:34:17.72
his nature became
evil and he was in harmony
00:34:17.75\00:34:22.19
and not at variance with Satan.
00:34:22.22\00:34:25.23
There exists naturally
no enmity between sinful man
00:34:25.26\00:34:30.00
and the originator of sin.
00:34:30.03\00:34:32.80
Both became evil
through apostasy.
00:34:32.83\00:34:38.57
The apostate is never at rest,
except as he obtains sympathy
00:34:38.61\00:34:43.11
and support by inducing
others to follow his example.
00:34:43.14\00:34:46.85
For this reason, fallen
angels and wicked men unite
00:34:46.88\00:34:50.75
in desperate companionship.
00:34:50.79\00:34:53.52
Had not God
specifically interposed,
00:34:53.56\00:34:57.16
Satan and man would have
entered into an allegiance
00:34:57.19\00:35:01.60
against heaven and instead of
cherishing enmity against Satan,
00:35:01.63\00:35:05.57
the whole human
family would have been united
00:35:05.60\00:35:09.00
in opposition to God."
00:35:09.04\00:35:12.01
Here we see that if
God had not stepped in,
00:35:12.04\00:35:16.18
if He had not intervened,
00:35:16.21\00:35:18.41
that man would
have been lost forever.
00:35:18.45\00:35:21.85
Because we would not have the
capacity to overcome that evil
00:35:21.88\00:35:26.62
on our own, and so He
says, "I'm going to put enmity
00:35:26.65\00:35:30.36
between you."
00:35:30.39\00:35:31.76
And here He promises a redeemer,
the one who would reconcile God
00:35:31.79\00:35:38.07
to man, the one who
would restore our relationship
00:35:38.10\00:35:42.14
with Him, and
that is the beginning
00:35:42.17\00:35:45.11
of the atonement
process that God began.
00:35:45.14\00:35:49.31
Another way of saying
atonement is at onement, right?
00:35:49.34\00:35:53.15
God is a social
creature and He desires
00:35:53.18\00:35:56.92
to have fellowship with man.
00:35:56.95\00:35:59.92
He created them in His own
image and in His own likeness,
00:35:59.95\00:36:03.86
and His desire more than
anything else is that we would
00:36:03.89\00:36:08.23
choose of our own
free will to love Him back.
00:36:08.26\00:36:13.60
In fact, in 1 John
chapter 4, verse 19,
00:36:13.64\00:36:16.17
it says that "we love Him
because He first loved us."
00:36:16.20\00:36:21.78
And so God came into the
garden to point man forward,
00:36:21.81\00:36:27.48
to show him how he can
recover from the mistake
00:36:27.52\00:36:33.12
that he had made.
00:36:33.15\00:36:34.66
And I want you to
notice that Adam and Eve
00:36:34.69\00:36:36.73
understood what God said.
00:36:36.76\00:36:38.86
Let me show it to you.
00:36:38.89\00:36:40.43
Look with me in your
Bibles, Genesis 4, verse 1.
00:36:40.46\00:36:44.43
The Bible says: "Now
Adam knew Eve his wife,
00:36:44.47\00:36:47.97
and she conceived
and bore Cain, and said,
00:36:48.00\00:36:51.74
'I have acquired a
man from the Lord.'"
00:36:51.77\00:36:55.61
That's what it says in
my New King James Version.
00:36:55.64\00:36:58.88
But it's very interesting,
brothers and sisters,
00:36:58.91\00:37:01.62
if you go back to
the original text,
00:37:01.65\00:37:04.65
it literally reads this way:
"I have gotten a man the Lord."
00:37:04.69\00:37:14.46
Do you see the difference?
00:37:14.46\00:37:16.30
In the New King James, it
says: "I have gotten a man
00:37:16.33\00:37:18.43
from the Lord," but in
the original text, it says:
00:37:18.47\00:37:21.50
"I have gotten a man the Lord."
00:37:21.54\00:37:24.61
In other words, when Eve
held her child in her arms,
00:37:24.64\00:37:29.51
she remembered the promise
of God and she entertained
00:37:29.54\00:37:33.62
the hope that he was
the promised deliverer,
00:37:33.65\00:37:37.65
and she named him "Gotten."
00:37:37.69\00:37:40.29
Notice what it says in,
"The Desire of Ages," page 31:
00:37:40.32\00:37:44.16
"The Savior's coming
was foretold in Eden,
00:37:44.19\00:37:47.30
and when Adam and Eve
first heard the promise,
00:37:47.30\00:37:50.20
they looked for
its speedy fulfillment.
00:37:50.23\00:37:52.93
They joyfully
welcomed their firstborn son,
00:37:52.97\00:37:56.20
hoping that he
might be the deliverer."
00:37:56.24\00:38:02.18
They were expecting
God to answer that prayer
00:38:02.21\00:38:06.28
in their firstborn son.
00:38:06.31\00:38:09.35
And God further showed man
how redemption and restoration
00:38:09.38\00:38:16.29
to a relationship with
Him could be brought about.
00:38:16.32\00:38:19.86
He instituted the sacrificial
system by which man could have
00:38:19.89\00:38:26.00
his sins covered.
00:38:26.03\00:38:27.84
And you'll remember that
both of Adam and Eve's sons,
00:38:27.87\00:38:31.37
Cain and Abel, they
both brought a sacrifice.
00:38:31.41\00:38:35.54
They both brought
an offering to God.
00:38:35.58\00:38:37.78
Cain brought the
fruit of the ground,
00:38:37.81\00:38:39.85
and Abel brought
the lamb sacrifice,
00:38:39.88\00:38:42.25
the blood offering,
that God had asked for.
00:38:42.28\00:38:46.15
And, of course, the
blood offering was the only one
00:38:46.19\00:38:50.26
that was accepted,
because only through the death
00:38:50.29\00:38:54.40
of an innocent animal could
the sin of man be accounted for.
00:38:54.46\00:38:59.73
The penalty for
disobedience was death.
00:38:59.77\00:39:03.81
And either man had
to pay for his own sins
00:39:03.84\00:39:07.68
or a substitute had to be found.
00:39:07.71\00:39:11.21
And so by transferring
his sins upon the animal,
00:39:11.25\00:39:15.45
and then slaying the animal,
could his sins be covered up.
00:39:15.48\00:39:23.43
And even though the promise,
it was dim and shadowy in
00:39:23.46\00:39:29.93
its outline, and it was foretold
as the seed of the woman,
00:39:29.96\00:39:34.74
what--that was completely
to restore the lost dominion
00:39:34.77\00:39:39.34
and glory of man, it was to
restore man in the image of God,
00:39:39.37\00:39:46.01
therefore, sin must
not only be covered up,
00:39:46.05\00:39:50.49
but sin has to be
completely eradicated.
00:39:50.52\00:39:55.12
And God has shown
us how we can do that.
00:39:55.16\00:39:59.86
And you'll remember that
Jesus was speaking to a Pharisee
00:39:59.89\00:40:04.33
by the name of
Nicodemus in John chapter 3,
00:40:04.37\00:40:07.44
and He told him,
"You must be born again."
00:40:07.47\00:40:12.04
And of course, you'll remember
how Nicodemus responded to that.
00:40:12.07\00:40:15.28
He was thinking that
was something physical.
00:40:15.31\00:40:17.85
He said, "How can
I enter a second time
00:40:17.88\00:40:20.52
into my mother's womb?"
00:40:20.55\00:40:22.32
And Jesus,
essentially, said to him,
00:40:22.35\00:40:24.65
"You're thinking physically
but I'm speaking spiritually.
00:40:24.69\00:40:28.56
You have lost your spirit nature
and you need to get it back.
00:40:28.59\00:40:34.36
You must be born again," right?
00:40:34.36\00:40:37.30
And so we look at the
Holy Spirit and we understand
00:40:37.33\00:40:42.34
and we know that after
Pentecost, the Holy Spirit
00:40:42.37\00:40:45.81
was poured out but Jesus
said that the Holy Spirit is
00:40:45.84\00:40:51.35
in the world and He
is convicting the world
00:40:51.38\00:40:55.52
of what is wrong, what is right,
00:40:55.55\00:40:58.39
and trying to
lead you to a decision.
00:40:58.42\00:41:01.99
You know, many times, I
have been talking to people
00:41:02.02\00:41:04.29
about spiritual things
and I've heard people say,
00:41:04.33\00:41:07.40
"Well, I'm a good person."
00:41:07.46\00:41:10.30
You ever heard
somebody say that?
00:41:10.33\00:41:12.30
I love it when people
tell me that because then I can
00:41:12.33\00:41:14.94
tell them the only reason that
you're as good as you are is
00:41:14.97\00:41:18.37
because the Holy Spirit
is there convicting you,
00:41:18.41\00:41:21.78
but God wants more than that.
00:41:21.81\00:41:24.65
He wants you to invite Him into
your heart because you can't
00:41:24.68\00:41:30.22
do it on your own, and you
need to be born of the Spirit.
00:41:30.25\00:41:35.22
You need the
Spirit of God in you.
00:41:35.26\00:41:37.73
And when He comes in, He
writes His law on your mind
00:41:37.76\00:41:41.33
and in your heart.
00:41:41.36\00:41:42.90
He gives you the power and
the capacity to live for Him
00:41:42.93\00:41:47.10
and no longer
follow or live in sin.
00:41:47.14\00:41:51.37
There's that enmity between
Satan and the church so that
00:41:51.41\00:41:57.31
now we have the power,
now we have the capacity,
00:41:57.35\00:42:00.82
now we have the
ability, to live for God.
00:42:00.85\00:42:08.09
I want you to notice
what it said in the magazine,
00:42:08.12\00:42:11.33
"The Signs of the
Times," on December 12, 1895.
00:42:11.36\00:42:16.93
It says: "In the
councils of heaven,
00:42:16.97\00:42:20.80
hope was furnished
for the fallen race.
00:42:20.84\00:42:25.04
Jesus Christ offered His life
as a ransom for the lost as the
00:42:25.07\00:42:29.48
price by which He might purchase
the right to recreate the sinner
00:42:29.51\00:42:35.88
and form again the
image of God in the soul.
00:42:35.92\00:42:40.76
Fallen man was to be
renewed in the divine likeness.
00:42:40.79\00:42:44.53
He was to be uplifted,
to be pardoned and redeemed,
00:42:44.56\00:42:47.86
not by the law, but by
Jesus Christ our righteousness."
00:42:47.93\00:42:53.03
You see, all of those lambs that
were temporarily covering up
00:42:53.07\00:42:58.21
sin, they were actually pointing
to Jesus Christ who would come
00:42:58.24\00:43:03.24
and ultimately
be the Lamb of God
00:43:03.28\00:43:05.95
that would take away
the sin of the world.
00:43:05.98\00:43:08.32
That He would give you the power
and the capacity to live for Him
00:43:08.35\00:43:14.26
and that He could recreate
you into the image of God.
00:43:14.29\00:43:20.16
And so God instituted that
sacrificial system to help us.
00:43:20.20\00:43:26.80
God continued His revelation
of reconciliation then with Noah
00:43:26.84\00:43:33.81
and with Abraham and with
Moses, and the consummation
00:43:33.84\00:43:39.51
of His revelation was in
the giving of the commandments,
00:43:39.55\00:43:45.05
the covenant, and
the Sanctuary service.
00:43:45.09\00:43:49.06
And so today we
have laid the foundation
00:43:49.09\00:43:53.13
for this amazing study that
we're going to be doing called,
00:43:53.16\00:43:57.20
"The Promise: God's
Everlasting Covenant."
00:43:57.23\00:44:02.47
The problem that the majority
of the Christian world has today
00:44:02.50\00:44:10.21
is that they don't understand
the plan of salvation.
00:44:10.25\00:44:15.52
There's a verse in
the Bible that says:
00:44:15.55\00:44:18.59
"Your way, O God,
is in the sanctuary."
00:44:18.62\00:44:22.52
And if we are going to truly
understand how God is going to
00:44:22.56\00:44:26.46
make atonement for our sins,
how God is going to save us,
00:44:26.49\00:44:29.86
we need to understand
the sanctuary service.
00:44:29.90\00:44:33.10
We need to
understand the covenants.
00:44:33.13\00:44:35.87
And so I think it's very
timely as we are living in these
00:44:35.90\00:44:40.21
last days that God is bringing
this study to us that we can
00:44:40.24\00:44:47.15
truly understand both the old
covenant and the new covenant.
00:44:47.18\00:44:52.29
And so we have
laid the foundation.
00:44:52.32\00:44:55.59
And I don't know about you
but I'm excited about this study
00:44:55.62\00:44:58.16
and I can't wait as we get
further and further into it.
00:44:58.19\00:45:02.46
But before we end
today, I want to remind you
00:45:02.50\00:45:05.17
of our free offering today.
00:45:05.20\00:45:07.54
It is the pocketbook
called, "The Final Verdict,"
00:45:07.57\00:45:10.31
and you can get this
by dialing 866-788-3966.
00:45:10.34\00:45:18.45
You can ask for,
"Offer number 162,
00:45:18.48\00:45:21.72
'The Final Verdict.'"
00:45:21.75\00:45:24.19
You can also get that by
texting the code "SH-078"
00:45:24.22\00:45:31.43
to the number "40544,"
and you can get that book,
00:45:31.46\00:45:35.43
"The Final Verdict."
00:45:35.46\00:45:38.43
Why don't we close
with a word of prayer.
00:45:38.47\00:45:43.17
Loving Father,
Lord, You are so good.
00:45:43.20\00:45:50.55
Lord, You could have just
abandoned us to the deceptions
00:45:50.58\00:45:55.45
of the devil, but You stepped
in and You were providing a way
00:45:55.48\00:46:00.59
for us to be restored
to a relationship with You,
00:46:00.62\00:46:05.89
to be restored into the image
and in the likeness of God.
00:46:05.93\00:46:11.00
Lord, we pray
for Your forgiveness.
00:46:11.03\00:46:14.70
We pray that You would continue
the work that You have begun
00:46:14.74\00:46:19.01
in us, and Lord, that You
would bring it to completion.
00:46:19.04\00:46:22.98
We understand,
Lord, that it's not about
00:46:23.01\00:46:25.41
trying harder to be good,
00:46:25.45\00:46:27.32
but rather it's about
surrendering our will.
00:46:27.35\00:46:29.88
And Lord, we know that
every single person that arrives
00:46:29.92\00:46:34.89
in heaven will arrive there with
their free will still intact.
00:46:34.92\00:46:39.49
You will never take that away.
00:46:39.53\00:46:42.30
You have given that to us
because you want a relationship
00:46:42.33\00:46:46.30
with us.
00:46:46.33\00:46:48.20
You want us to love You
back because we choose to.
00:46:48.24\00:46:50.37
And Lord, by
surrendering our will to You,
00:46:50.41\00:46:53.41
we are still within the
confines of our own will.
00:46:53.44\00:46:57.48
You have given us that
privilege and that joy.
00:46:57.51\00:47:01.75
And Lord, our desire is as we
continue forward in this study,
00:47:01.78\00:47:06.65
that You would show us
that plan of salvation.
00:47:06.69\00:47:11.09
Help us to understand
the Sanctuary service.
00:47:11.13\00:47:13.73
Help us to
understand the Commandments,
00:47:13.76\00:47:16.40
that they are still applicable
today and they are still
00:47:16.43\00:47:19.47
a requirement of God that we
would follow them and keep them,
00:47:19.50\00:47:23.14
and that You give us the
power and the capacity to do it.
00:47:23.17\00:47:26.27
And it's the devil still working
today to try and convince us
00:47:26.31\00:47:30.21
that we don't need to
keep the Commandments.
00:47:30.25\00:47:32.88
And Lord, we want to
understand those covenants,
00:47:32.91\00:47:36.05
and so we pray as we
go forward in our study
00:47:36.08\00:47:39.45
that You would bless
us and You would keep us.
00:47:39.49\00:47:42.76
Make Your face shine upon us,
Lord, and give us Your peace.
00:47:42.79\00:47:47.50
And we ask it all
in Jesus's name, amen.
00:47:47.50\00:47:51.77
Well, God bless you all.
00:47:51.80\00:47:53.47
I hope that you enjoyed
that first study as we laid
00:47:53.50\00:47:56.44
the foundation for more to come.
00:47:56.47\00:48:00.44
God bless you
and have a great day.
00:48:00.48\00:48:02.64
male announcer: Don't forget
to request today's life-changing
00:48:05.15\00:48:07.45
free resource.
00:48:07.48\00:48:08.78
Not only can you receive
this free gift in the mail,
00:48:08.82\00:48:10.35
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copy straight to your computer
00:48:10.39\00:48:13.05
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00:48:13.09\00:48:14.66
To get your digital
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00:48:14.69\00:48:17.23
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00:48:17.26\00:48:21.73
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00:48:21.76\00:48:25.03
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00:48:25.07\00:48:27.67
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00:48:27.70\00:48:30.94
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announcer: "Amazing
Facts" Changed Lives.
00:48:41.15\00:48:43.65
Charlie Green: My
life was in turmoil.
00:48:49.16\00:48:51.49
My wife and I were
fighting all the time.
00:48:51.53\00:48:53.66
I got away from
everything and everybody.
00:48:53.70\00:48:56.26
I don't know, I just always
had this emptiness in my heart,
00:48:56.30\00:48:59.57
and I want it filled.
00:48:59.60\00:49:01.40
I just felt like I
went my whole life,
00:49:01.44\00:49:03.27
you know, just
searching for something
00:49:03.30\00:49:05.84
and my father died
and that ruined me a lot.
00:49:05.87\00:49:09.11
My father didn't
believe in suicide
00:49:09.14\00:49:11.31
and I didn't want to live
but, rather than disrespect him,
00:49:11.35\00:49:14.82
I decided I would just become
so mean that someone else would
00:49:14.85\00:49:17.82
do it to me and
I wouldn't have to.
00:49:17.85\00:49:19.42
So I joined the army, thinking,
00:49:19.45\00:49:21.02
"What better place to
get killed than in the army?"
00:49:21.06\00:49:23.49
And while I was in the
army, my daughter got injured.
00:49:23.53\00:49:26.16
She was in an accident and
she was blind and paraplegic and
00:49:26.19\00:49:31.93
it's just like I felt the whole
world was coming down on me.
00:49:31.97\00:49:35.80
One morning, I
just really got mad
00:49:35.84\00:49:38.54
and I gave God a cussing
like you wouldn't believe.
00:49:38.57\00:49:41.54
I said, "I'm not
Moses, not Abraham, you know.
00:49:41.58\00:49:44.68
I don't--but I put my sandals on
just like they do and I'm a man.
00:49:44.71\00:49:49.18
I don't want to know
why this is happening to me.
00:49:49.22\00:49:51.65
I just want to know that
it's happening for a reason.
00:49:51.69\00:49:54.59
If You tell me right now
that this is all for a reason,
00:49:54.62\00:49:57.23
then You can stack it on me
from here to the end of time
00:49:57.26\00:50:00.36
and I will
never complain again."
00:50:00.40\00:50:04.20
And that little TV came on.
00:50:04.23\00:50:06.60
It had been sitting there
just static all night long.
00:50:06.63\00:50:09.84
And there was this minister,
when he pops up and he says,
00:50:09.87\00:50:12.71
"Today's lesson's
from the book of Job.
00:50:12.74\00:50:15.08
God only lets those
suffer that He loves the most."
00:50:15.11\00:50:18.38
And I thought, "That's
all You've got to say, Lord.
00:50:18.41\00:50:19.95
I appreciate your Word.
00:50:19.98\00:50:21.28
From that day forward,
I knew that He was there,
00:50:21.32\00:50:23.95
He's in my life, and
that He would help me.
00:50:23.99\00:50:27.76
I went to prison just
almost immediately after that.
00:50:27.79\00:50:31.73
I was in prison
for aggravated assault.
00:50:31.76\00:50:33.86
I was in one of the
worst prisons in the state
00:50:33.90\00:50:36.36
of Tennessee.
00:50:36.40\00:50:37.70
It was full of gang activity.
00:50:37.73\00:50:39.50
I got my throat
cut, 52 stitches.
00:50:39.53\00:50:42.74
I could take those
fingers and stick 'em
00:50:42.77\00:50:45.64
all the way
through, out my mouth.
00:50:45.67\00:50:47.18
I'd gone to the library
that day because it was really
00:50:47.21\00:50:49.88
about the only thing to do.
00:50:49.91\00:50:51.75
But I ran across
this little book called,
00:50:51.78\00:50:53.55
"The Richest Caveman."
00:50:53.58\00:50:55.05
This book, it's
hilarious, but it is great.
00:50:55.08\00:50:58.82
I'm sitting there
with this big beard.
00:50:58.85\00:51:00.46
I'm thinking, "Hey, I know what
it's like to look like a caveman
00:51:00.49\00:51:02.76
but [laughing]--
00:51:02.79\00:51:04.73
I'm not an educated
person, I guess you'd say,
00:51:04.76\00:51:06.66
but I'm a simple guy.
00:51:06.70\00:51:08.43
I'm just really a simple guy.
00:51:08.46\00:51:10.10
That's what I loved
about Doug Batchelor,
00:51:10.13\00:51:12.37
because this guy, he's just
as straight out as you can get.
00:51:12.40\00:51:17.14
And my wife and I, we've kept
contact through all these years
00:51:17.17\00:51:19.97
and so much has gone on.
00:51:20.01\00:51:25.38
And I told her, I said, "Listen,
this is the center of my world
00:51:25.41\00:51:30.42
right now."
00:51:30.45\00:51:31.85
And I said, "I really want you
to be involved in it with me.
00:51:31.89\00:51:34.46
I need Him."
00:51:34.49\00:51:35.79
And I said, "You will too if you
ever get to take hold of it."
00:51:35.82\00:51:38.83
I told my wife, I said, "Listen,
they've got this 'Amazing Facts'
00:51:38.86\00:51:41.43
Bible study going here and
this is the best way for you
00:51:41.46\00:51:45.60
to get this
information, I think,"
00:51:45.63\00:51:48.30
I said,
"because it's broken down
00:51:48.34\00:51:50.41
and they give
you questions and--
00:51:50.44\00:51:55.04
to make you look for
these things, you know?
00:51:55.08\00:51:58.18
So it's not anyone telling you.
00:51:58.21\00:52:00.28
You find it on your own.
00:52:00.32\00:52:01.75
And they teach you to
actually use the Bible."
00:52:01.78\00:52:04.42
She was there
faithfully, every Wednesday,
00:52:04.45\00:52:06.62
until we decided, you know,
she wanted to be baptized also.
00:52:06.65\00:52:12.46
She saw it coming round.
00:52:12.49\00:52:14.36
The choice was
made, and October 4, 2014,
00:52:14.36\00:52:19.30
my wife and I, we were baptized
in the water at the same time.
00:52:19.33\00:52:23.30
And we started
our walk together,
00:52:23.34\00:52:27.71
I guess you'd say.
00:52:27.74\00:52:29.21
I went through everything that
a man could possibly go through,
00:52:29.24\00:52:32.25
I guess, from marital
trouble, loss of family members,
00:52:32.28\00:52:38.02
death of my family,
my children were harmed
00:52:38.05\00:52:40.82
and my daughter's
handicapped for life.
00:52:40.86\00:52:44.63
I went to prison, but
still, I kept my word to God
00:52:44.66\00:52:49.03
that He could stack it
on me as much as He wanted
00:52:49.06\00:52:53.03
and I'd never
question Him and I didn't.
00:52:53.07\00:52:56.40
But I can say this much:
He never put nothing on me
00:52:56.44\00:53:00.21
that I couldn't handle.
00:53:00.24\00:53:02.31
And He walked me through it all.
00:53:02.34\00:53:04.48
And I like to say that
to anyone who is in prison,
00:53:04.51\00:53:10.15
not to give up.
00:53:10.19\00:53:11.49
Don't lose hope.
00:53:11.52\00:53:12.85
Put your faith in the
Lord and study and seek Him
00:53:12.89\00:53:16.96
and He will seek you.
00:53:16.99\00:53:18.49
And my name is Charlie
Green and I want you to know
00:53:18.53\00:53:21.16
that you and "Amazing
Facts" have changed my life.
00:53:21.20\00:53:25.27
¤¤
00:53:25.30\00:53:35.31
announcer: "Amazing
Facts" Changed Lives.
00:53:41.82\00:53:44.49
Diamond Garcia: Hi,
my name is Diamond Garcia
00:53:49.99\00:53:51.53
and I am from the
beautiful islands of Hawaii.
00:53:51.56\00:53:54.00
I was raised in a
very dysfunctional family,
00:53:54.03\00:53:57.57
like most families.
00:53:57.60\00:53:59.37
Being in that environment,
I would lie, cheat, steal,
00:53:59.40\00:54:02.77
rob houses, cheat
in school on tests,
00:54:02.80\00:54:05.91
and lie to teachers
and getting into fights
00:54:05.94\00:54:08.31
and all kinds of stuff.
00:54:08.34\00:54:11.41
One day I was asked to take
this little box of something and
00:54:11.45\00:54:14.85
I had to walk down the
road and give it to someone
00:54:14.88\00:54:17.69
and they would give me money
and I would walk back home.
00:54:17.72\00:54:19.55
And I later
realized I was dealing drugs.
00:54:19.59\00:54:24.06
Growing up in that environment,
I thought that, you know,
00:54:24.09\00:54:26.39
being an adult was a
life of drinking and smoking
00:54:26.43\00:54:29.23
and partying and
that's just what adults did.
00:54:29.26\00:54:33.67
When I looked at my
family and saw the road that
00:54:33.70\00:54:35.94
they were going
down, getting arrested,
00:54:35.97\00:54:38.24
getting beaten up,
00:54:38.27\00:54:39.71
coming home drunk and
puking all over the floor,
00:54:39.74\00:54:42.08
I just didn't
want that for myself.
00:54:42.11\00:54:46.08
Growing up, I had a grandma
who was baptized as a Christian
00:54:46.11\00:54:49.32
in her 20s but then she wasn't
a real practicing Christian.
00:54:49.35\00:54:53.12
And so one day I was at
her house and there was a box
00:54:53.15\00:54:55.62
of various books so I
went to the bottom of that box
00:54:55.66\00:54:58.09
and found a book
called, "The Great Controversy."
00:54:58.13\00:55:01.46
And I picked it up and I
said, "This is interesting."
00:55:01.50\00:55:03.87
And I opened to the first
page of that book and it said:
00:55:03.90\00:55:06.70
"If thou hast known," I
had no clue what it meant.
00:55:06.74\00:55:11.04
And so I said, "You
know what? Forget this."
00:55:11.07\00:55:12.77
I put the book down.
00:55:12.81\00:55:14.24
I just walked
away, did my thing.
00:55:14.28\00:55:16.11
But then something
told me, "You know, Diamond,
00:55:16.14\00:55:17.71
go back to that book."
00:55:17.75\00:55:19.58
And so I went back to
the book, picked it up.
00:55:19.61\00:55:21.78
Went to the last two
chapters and I read it.
00:55:21.82\00:55:25.92
And I said to my
grandmother, I said,
00:55:25.95\00:55:27.62
"What church is this from?
00:55:27.66\00:55:29.32
I want to go to that church."
00:55:29.36\00:55:30.66
So she brought me down to
the local church and I walk
00:55:30.69\00:55:33.09
in through the back
door and the piano's off-key,
00:55:33.13\00:55:36.30
people were off-key.
00:55:36.33\00:55:37.63
It's, like, "Man,
this is really kind of--
00:55:37.67\00:55:40.14
I don't want to be here."
00:55:40.17\00:55:42.54
And I got to the front of
the church and I sat down.
00:55:42.57\00:55:44.24
I was listening to the
sermon and the whole service
00:55:44.27\00:55:46.51
was so boring to me.
00:55:46.54\00:55:48.68
But then someone gives me the
set of DVDs and it was called,
00:55:48.71\00:55:52.35
"The Prophecy Code."
00:55:52.38\00:55:55.58
It was through
watching Doug Batchelor explain
00:55:55.62\00:55:57.59
the truths found in the Bible
that really brought me to Christ
00:55:57.62\00:56:01.26
and brought me to
realize that, you know what?
00:56:01.29\00:56:03.26
There is a life
better than my family's life.
00:56:03.29\00:56:07.86
My second week at
church on Sabbath,
00:56:07.93\00:56:09.76
there was one person there.
00:56:09.80\00:56:11.90
He basically told
me, "Hey, Diamond,
00:56:11.93\00:56:13.47
do you want to make some money?"
00:56:13.50\00:56:15.14
And I said, "Sure." I
said, "What do you do?"
00:56:15.17\00:56:17.37
He says, "Well,
I'm a colporteur.
00:56:17.41\00:56:19.17
We go door to door and
we sell Christian books."
00:56:19.21\00:56:21.61
I said, "Oh, okay.
00:56:21.64\00:56:23.24
Well, that sounds interesting.
00:56:23.28\00:56:24.65
I do want to
make some money too."
00:56:24.68\00:56:26.08
And so he said, "Okay, well,
why don't you come with me?"
00:56:26.11\00:56:29.22
We drove out to
the neighborhood,
00:56:29.25\00:56:31.35
parked the car, and
that night was just raining.
00:56:31.39\00:56:33.72
It was pouring and pouring.
00:56:33.76\00:56:35.16
It could not stop raining.
00:56:35.19\00:56:36.86
He prayed.
00:56:36.89\00:56:38.19
He said, "God, this
is Diamond's first night.
00:56:38.23\00:56:40.00
If it's Your will, stop the rain
so we can go knocking on doors."
00:56:40.03\00:56:42.90
And as soon as he said,
"Amen," the rain just stopped.
00:56:42.93\00:56:45.93
I was just thinking in my head,
"Is this guy a prophet or what?"
00:56:45.97\00:56:49.47
I mean, he just prayed
and asked God and it happened.
00:56:49.50\00:56:53.58
And so I was so happy, I
grabbed the books and I went
00:56:53.61\00:56:56.54
to the first door, and
the first door I went to,
00:56:56.58\00:56:58.41
the person gave me 50 bucks.
00:56:58.45\00:57:00.62
That night was actually a
big night for me because it was
00:57:00.65\00:57:02.98
where I saw God's power
work in stopping the rain
00:57:03.02\00:57:06.45
and people actually
giving me lots of money.
00:57:06.49\00:57:09.72
I then became a colporteur
or a canvasser and I saved money
00:57:09.76\00:57:12.33
to pay for my way through the
academy and when my church began
00:57:12.36\00:57:15.60
to see how God was using me
and they immediately recognized
00:57:15.63\00:57:19.80
that it was God's Spirit moving
and they put me, you know,
00:57:19.83\00:57:22.67
preaching and
teaching and sharing my faith.
00:57:22.70\00:57:24.61
And I've been engaged in
ministry for the past six
00:57:24.64\00:57:27.28
or seven years now and God
has taken me all over the world
00:57:27.31\00:57:30.11
on multiple continents,
sharing my testimony,
00:57:30.15\00:57:32.35
how God has
brought me out of darkness
00:57:32.38\00:57:34.45
into His marvelous
light, which is total contrast
00:57:34.48\00:57:37.75
as to was I was before I am now,
you know, it's a total contrast.
00:57:37.79\00:57:42.62
My name is Diamond
and "Amazing Facts"
00:57:42.66\00:57:44.96
has helped to change my life.
00:57:44.99\00:57:47.13
¤¤
00:57:47.13\00:57:55.97